A trio of albums from pianist Hal Galper – one early, two later, and served up in a single set! Guerilla Band is electric piano genius from Hal Galper – one of his best non-acoustic albums ever, and a set that's filled with moody colors and changes! The album's a fair bit more dynamic than some of Galper's other albums from the 70s – with horns from the Brecker Brothers, guitar from Bob Mann, and tightly rhythmic work on the bottom that makes some of the best numbers hear all-out funky jams! There's a sharply angular feel to the record that's made it a favorite for beatheads for years – plenty of tunes that are ripe for samples, even when things get slightly mellow – and Galper's approach to the keys is really amazing, unlike any other player we can think of at the time! Titles include "Figure Eight", "Call", "Black Night", "Point of View", "Welcome To My Dream", and "Rise & Fall". Rebop is a gem of a later album from pianist Hal Galper – one that has him teaming up with tenorist Jerry Bergonzi, as both players really find a way to make the other sound great! Galper's always got a nicely spacious approach to the piano – using the spots between the notes in just the right way, which is great for Jerry, as he likes to fill them with well-placed, well-timed tenor elements that really make his horn sound great. The balance is a bit like that which Bergonzi brings up on some of his best sessions for Red Records – and the group also features Jeff Johnson on bass, and Steve Ellington on drums. Titles include "All The Things You Aren't", "Jackie-Ing", "Take The Coltrane", "Laura", and "It's Magic". On Just Us, the trio of pianist Hal Galper gets some great guest work here from tenorist Jerry Bergonzi – a rich-toned player who really seems to bring out a different vibe in Hal's music! Galper's touch on the keys seems to be extra-dexterous here – really spinning out these long, lively lines that are balance with the well-placed tones of Bergonzi – given gently swinging support from Pat O'Leary on bass and Steve Ellington on drums! Many of the tunes are standards, but opened up with all these great colors – and titles include "Just Us", "Bye Bye Blackbird", "Stablemates", "Lover Man", "I'll Never Be The Same", and "Unforgettable". CD

An early pairing of Miles Davis & John Coltrane – one of the duo's mid 50s classics for Prestige, as you might guess from the verb in the title! And although "Steamin" might be a word that's a bit too firey to describe the action going on here, the album's got a tremendous sense of presence throughout – as Davis' cooler trumpet is matched with Trane's earthier solo work – all supported by Red Garland trio backing in a style that's as near-classic as it comes for 50s jazz. Titles include "Diane", "Something I Dreamed Last Night", "When I Fall In Love", and "Salt Peanuts". This is a re-pressing of the Steamin With Miles Davis album – given a different cover and a shortened title, for a 1968 repackaging. LP, Vinyl record album

Four of the more obscure RCA albums from the great Bobby Bare – all brought together here in a single set! First up is the very unusual English Countryside album – a special set that has the vocals of Bobby Bare paired with a group from the UK – Liverpool's Hillsiders, who sing with a style that's a bit folk, and a bit rock – but which takes on a very distinct country vibe amidst the RCA production of Chet Atkins! Both Bare and The Hillsiders sing solo on the record – but most of the set has them paired together, and the presence of all those voices on the tracks create a nice sense of spontaneity – maybe a hint at the more relaxed recording approach that Bobby would use on his big albums of the mid 70s! Titles include "Sweet Dreams", "Six Days On The Road", "Find Out What's Happening", "Love's Gonna Live Here", "Goin Home", "Blue Is My Lonely Room", and "I Washed My Face In The Mountain Dew". Margie's At The Lincoln Park Inn is a seminal album in the career of Bobby Bare – and the record that really has him turning from a young smiling country singer to the kind of more adult, mature talent that would really send him over the top! The album's promise of "controversial country songs" is certainly apt – as in addition to the great Tom T Hall title cut, the album also features Bare taking on great material from Kris Kristoffersen, Mel Tillis, and even the team of Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn – all set to arrangements that are nicely more sophisticated than those used on the more pop productions of some of Bobby's earlier albums. Titles include "Margie's At The Lincoln Park Inn,", "The Law Is For The Protection Of The People", "Watching The Trains Go By", "Skip A Rope", "Rainy Day In Richmond", "Cincinnati Jail", "Wild As The Wind", and "Drink Up & Go Home". I Hate Goodbyes is the record that marked the return of Bobby Bare to RCA Records in the early 70s – and one that also marks the start of a very different phase in Bare's career! This time around, Bobby's handling the production himself – working with the kind of thoughtful, mature material that would really let him open up – songs from Billy Joe Shaver, Mickey Newbury, the team of Bill Rice and Jerry Foster, and even an early tune from Shel Silverstein – who would soon become one of the biggest contributors to Bobby's records. The vibe is very different than his RCA material of the mid 60s, and in a great way – on titles that include "I Hate Goodbyes", "Restless Wind", "Ride Me Down Easy", "Send Tomorrow To The Moon", "You Know Who", "An Offer She Couldn't Refuse", "What's Your Mama's Name Child", and "Poison Red Berries". Last up is Cowboys & Daddys – an overlooked gem in the mid 70s RCA years of the great Bobby Bare – and a set that really shows the dedication that Bare had during these years to finding the most sophisticated material of the new country generation! The list of songwriters alone is great – as the set features tracks from Terry Allen, Shel Silverstein, David Hickey, and Tom T Hall – plus an early contribution from Bob McDill, with whom Bare would soon record a lot more material on albums to come. There's a mature, laidback vibe to the whole set – different than some of the more playful Bobby Bare albums of the time – and titles include "Chester", "The Cowboy & The Poet", "Amarillo Highway", "Speckled Pony", "Calgary Snow", "Last Dance At The Old Texas Moon", "Pretty Painted Ladies", and "The Stranger". CD

Kind of a dream combination in one little album – especially if you dig breezy bossa from the 60s! Back in 1966, Verve Records got the great idea of teaming up its (then) biggest Brazilian imports – vocalist Astrud Gilberto and organist Walter Wanderley – both of whom were selling plenty at the time! Astrud's lovely vocals are matched beautifully with the lean, rhythmic bossa grooves of Wanderley's trio – and the result is a record that's near-perfect in execution. Most of the tracks are quite short, as is the record itself – but it's a perfectly concentrated dose of the Verve bossa sound at its best, with tracks that include "Portuguese Washerwoman", "Tu Meu Delirio", "A Certain Smile", "Call Me", "Here's That Rainy Day", "A Certain Sadness", "It's A Lovely Day Today", and a vocal version of Wanderley's big hit "Summer Samba", redone here as "So Nice"! Plus, this groovy reissue also includes two previously unissued cuts – "Who Needs Forever" and "The Sadness of After"! CD

Tremendously beautiful work from one of our favorite-ever artists – performing here in a genre unto itself! We've always loved Seu Jorge's own work – the funky samba tunes and mellower guitar work that have made him one of the most exciting talents from Brazil in recent years – but his performance in Wes Anderson's film The Life Aquatic opened up a whole new side of his talents, an ability to perform in a solo acoustic setting that's even more stripped down than the barest work on his album Cru! In the film, Jorge performs a series of David Bowie tunes translated into Portugese – sung as if they're folksy ballads penned by the singer himself, and done with loads of jazzy inflections that really transform the songs from their original recordings. And while David Bowie doesn't seem too hot on the idea himself (at least according to his "damning with faint praise" quote in the notes), we're really stunned at how beautiful this work is – not a gimmick at all, but really personal, honest interpretations of the tunes that make them Jorge's own through his unique performance. The CD brings together 14 tracks from sessions recorded for the film – many of which were never presented in their entirety on screen, and which were not included at all on the official soundtrack for the movie – which only had 4 Seu Jorge songs in all. Really great stuff throughout – with titles that include "Life On Mars?", "Queen Bitch", "Five Years", "Suffragette City", "When I Live My Dream", "Quicksand", "Oh You Pretty Things", "Changes", and the original "Team Zissou". CD

A totally fresh take on French sounds of the late 60s – served up here with a sound that's as revolutionary as the image on the cover! This isn't the dreamy strings of familiar Paris in the Spring – but instead, the sound of change that happened in and around 1968 – as a whole new generation of younger French musicians, singers, artists, and intellectuals were really making themselves known in bold new ways! You'll recognize a few names here – like Serge Gainsbourg or Brigitte Fontaine – but the collection goes way beyond those bigger names, and features loads of obscure artists from the scene that will be a real revelation. The collection was done by the same Saint Etienne team that gave us the excellent English Weather and Songs For The Carnegie Deli compilations on Ace – and titles include "L'Elu" by Ilous & Decuyper, "La Metaphore" by Jacques Dutronc, "Looking For You" by Nin Ferrer, "Chanson D'Un Jour D'Hiver" by Cortex, "Couleurs" by Leonie, "Leslie Simone" by William Sheller, "Litanies" by Triangle, "Baleines" by Francois De Roubaix, "Lileth" by Leonie, "Ystor" by Ys, "Chanson Pour Que Tu M'Aimes U Peu" by France Gall, "Le Victime" by Karl Heinz Schafer, "Les Adventures Extraordinaires D'Un Ballet De Banque" by Bernard Lavilliers, "Helicoptere" by Mireille Darc, "Les Garde Violent Au Secours Du Roi (alt version)" by Jean Claude Vannier, and "La Chanson D'Helene" by Romy Schneider & Michel Piccoli. LP, Vinyl record album

A baker's dozen from Darkstar, Hurt 'Em Bad, Ronnie Hudson, Uncle Jamm's Army, King M.C. & D.J. Flash, Ice-T, Kid Frost, The Triple Threat Three, L.A. Dream Team, Bobby Jimmy & The Critters, The Egyptian Lover, Rodney-O & Joe Cooley, and D.J. Matrix. CD

One of a few rare albums recorded as a leader from bassist Cleveland Eaton – a player who first rose to fame with Maurice White in the second Ramsey Lewis trio – and one who gave the world some amazingly hip records on the Black Jazz label in the 70s! This set is a unique effort for the label of Philly soul team of Gamble & Huff – yet the set was recorded in Chicago, and has a wickedly funky vibe that's very much like the coolest Chess/Cadet material of the period – nice fuzzy touches around the edges, and some righteous soul currents too! There's plenty of great Chicago players on the session – Odell Brown on Fender Rhodes, Artee Duke Payne on tenor and flute, and Morris Jennings on drums – on titles that include "Keep It Funky", "Slipping Into Darkness", "Here Comes Funky Lou", "Day Dreaming", "Ah Movin On", and a nice cover of "People Make The World Go Round". LP, Vinyl record album

A bold step forward for the Rascals – and a record that really has them taking some great chances with their music! There's a definite psychedelic influence in the mix, but the sound is also more ambitious too – not just a scattering of elements borrowed from their contemporaries, but a real effort to find a new place for their music – with some wonderful results! The great Arif Mardin is firmly teamed with the group here on arrangements – filling in the rough ideas of the tunes with some near-perfect backings – and the vocals themselves have a quality that's much more deeply personal than before – moving past the simple soul themes of earlier years. Titles include "Silly Girl", "My World", "Easy Rollin", "Please Love Me", "My Hawaii", "I'm Gonna Love You", "Singin The Blues Too Long", and "Sattva". LP, Vinyl record album

One of a few rare albums recorded as a leader from bassist Cleveland Eaton – a player who first rose to fame with Maurice White in the second Ramsey Lewis trio – and one who gave the world some amazingly hip records on the Black Jazz label in the 70s! This set is a unique effort for the label of Philly soul team of Gamble & Huff – yet the set was recorded in Chicago, and has a wickedly funky vibe that's very much like the coolest Chess/Cadet material of the period – nice fuzzy touches around the edges, and some righteous soul currents too! There's plenty of great Chicago players on the session – Odell Brown on Fender Rhodes, Artee Duke Payne on tenor and flute, and Morris Jennings on drums – on titles that include "Keep It Funky", "Slipping Into Darkness", "Here Comes Funky Lou", "Day Dreaming", "Ah Movin On", and a nice cover of "People Make The World Go Round". LP, Vinyl record album

A great look at the changing tone on the American scene at the end of the 60s – that moment when Vietnam, social unrest, and many other problems weighed heavily on the country's consciousness – and made their presence manifest in all sorts of pop music as well! We're not talking about the familiar sounds of the Woodstock generation – but instead more mainstream artists who had never touched on politics or social issues before – but suddenly found themselves singing alongside the underground about the bigger problems of the day. This package is a superb look at that moment – put together by the team who've given us the great English Weather and Paris In The Spring collections for Ace – with the same care for choice of tracks, and a wealth of wonderful notes that really get at the nature of these unusual tunes. Titles include "Clean Up Your Own Back Yard" by Elvis Presley, "Wine In The Wind" by Anita Kerr Singers, "Paint Me Black Angels" by Eartha Kitt, "This Crazy World" by Paul Anka, "Questions" by Bobby Darin, "Do You Believe This Town" by Dean Martin, "Cardboard California" by Buddy Greco, "Cherrystones" by Eugene McDaniels, "Save The Children" by Teresa Brewer, "Welfare Hero" by Johnny Tillotson, "What Do We Do With The World" by Bing Crosby, "4th Of July" by The Beach Boys, "Mr Businessman" by Ray Stevens, "Paint America Love" by Lou Christie, "Hitchhiker" by The Four Preps, "Brand New Day" by Della Reese, "Saturday's Father" by The 4 Seasons, and "Southbound Jericho Parkway" by Roy Orbison. CD

A legendary set from the team of guitarist Jim Hall and pianist Bill Evans – both already wonderful players on their own, but really hitting a magical sort of space here together! The record is a classic in understatement – the inevitable meeting of two players who'd both made a career out of saying more with less – and both Evans and Hall manage to make this special sort of sound when working together in such a space – spare, but never short on ideas – filled with color and tone, but never overdone. The tracks are long and dreamy, and the piano/guitar lines seem to float in the air, suspended on naught but idea and imagination. Titles include a very nice version of "Skating In Central Park", plus "Dream Gypsy", "Romain", and "Darn That Dream". LP, Vinyl record album

A later groover from Jimmy McGriff – but done in a style that's nicely old school overall! The sound here is almost a Prestige Records mid 70s mode – somewhat tighter than the early 70s jazz funk years of the label, but still quite far from the slicker modes you might expect from a 90s date – thanks to classic production work from Bob Porter, the kind of a guy who always knew that it was best to let players like these just lay back and do their thing! McGriff plays Hammond B-3, alongside David Newman on tenor, Red Holloway on tenor and alto, Mel Brown on guitar, and Bernard Purdie on drums – on titles that include "Don't Blame Me", "Fleetwood Stroll", "Red Not N New", "McGriffin", "Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away", and "Things Ain't What They Used To Be". CD

Three dub classics, two of them impossible to get for years, except for the occasional "unofficial" LP repressing. On the first LP of the set, Scratch teams up with the great Tommy McCook for one of his hardest to find gems, recorded in the late 70s, when his wigged out follies at the Black Ark had reached their peak, and though there's a bit of debate over whether these tracks were actually recorded at the Black Ark, this was originally one of the first LPs issued after the studio burned to the ground. In any case, you can't argue with the tracks on this one: spare instrumentals with jaunty guitar, loping syncopated drums and bouncing bass, a baker's dozen tracks, including "Cloak & Dagger", "Musical Transplant", "Liquid Serenade", "Iron Claw", "Rude Walking", "Caveman Skank" and "Pee-Wee Special". Blackboard Jungle Dub, the second album of the triptych, is widely cited as the first full length dub LP, though we'd rather not get too academic about it. Besides, this is one mighty set of Perryisms, wrought in the pre-Black Ark era, with a dozen of the Upsetter's finest rhythms rendered in dub versions here, and with King Tubby reportedly responsible for the wonderful reverb and mixing console action taking these tracks to the next level. An essential dub masterpiece, with 14 tracks on this version of the LP, including "Black Panta", "Khasha Macka", "African Skank", "Dreamland Skank", "Jungle Jim", "Dub Organizer", "Apeman Skank" and "Jungle Fever". The third album included is another tough one to get, originally issued in a tiny, tiny batch, though it's been bootlegged more than a few times over the years. 10 tracks in all, a tasty stew with that Black Ark groove running through it pretty heavily, with some nice guitar and a really spare approach to the often murky Perry tone poetry. Includes "Dub Revelations", "Womans Dub", "Kojak", "Doctor On The Go", "Bush Weed", "Dreadlock Talking", "Own Man", "Dub The Rhythm", "Black Hand" and "Rain Drops". CD

A wonderful Chicago house groover from the Risque rhythm team – one that bubbles along in that mellower, moodier later Chicago groove – with as much emphasis on the keys and bass as on the beats. The softening of the colder edge is really significant – and makes for a perfect setting for the tune's mythical spoken vocals! "Risque Madness" has some nice Kraftwerk keys running throughout – but also features vocal snippets that emerge as found samples, really keeping the "madness" theme intact! 12-inch, Vinyl record

Rewind the tape and full steam ahead – as Ubiquity's latest collection of funky soul covers really pushes the boundaries of this already-hip series! As with other volumes, the format here has current groups covering sounds of the 60s and 70s – mostly funk and soul, but also with some surprising rock contributions this time around – tunes that may have roots in more guitar-based originals, but which sparkle anew here in more electric or soul-based remakes! The list of performers here may be the hippest so far in the series – which accounts for most of the success of the tunes – and titles include "Dreams" by Black Shakespeare, "Be Still My Beating Heart" by Randy Watson Experience, "Crazy You" by Osunlade, "Spoiled" by Daz-I-Kue with Bembe Segue & Colonel Red, "Caroline No" by Owusu & Hannibal, "Walk On By" by El Michels Affair, "Handle It" by Rebirth, "Dirty Love" by J Davey, "No Quarter" by Nuspirit Helsinki, and "L'Abeille" by Henrik Schwarz. LP, Vinyl record album

An early pairing of Miles Davis & John Coltrane – one of the duo's mid 50s classics for Prestige, as you might guess from the verb in the title! And although "Steamin" might be a word that's a bit too firey to describe the action going on here, the album's got a tremendous sense of presence throughout – as Davis' cooler trumpet is matched with Trane's earthier solo work – all supported by Red Garland trio backing in a style that's as near-classic as it comes for 50s jazz. Titles include "Diane", "Something I Dreamed Last Night", "When I Fall In Love", and "Salt Peanuts". CD

An early pairing of Miles Davis & John Coltrane – one of the duo's mid 50s classics for Prestige, as you might guess from the verb in the title! And although "Steamin" might be a word that's a bit too firey to describe the action going on here, the album's got a tremendous sense of presence throughout – as Davis' cooler trumpet is matched with Trane's earthier solo work – all supported by Red Garland trio backing in a style that's as near-classic as it comes for 50s jazz. Titles include "Diane", "Something I Dreamed Last Night", "When I Fall In Love", and "Salt Peanuts". LP, Vinyl record album

An early pairing of Miles Davis & John Coltrane – one of the duo's mid 50s classics for Prestige, as you might guess from the verb in the title! And although "Steamin" might be a word that's a bit too firey to describe the action going on here, the album's got a tremendous sense of presence throughout – as Davis' cooler trumpet is matched with Trane's earthier solo work – all supported by Red Garland trio backing in a style that's as near-classic as it comes for 50s jazz. Titles include "Diane", "Something I Dreamed Last Night", "When I Fall In Love", and "Salt Peanuts". CD

An early pairing of Miles Davis & John Coltrane – one of the duo's mid 50s classics for Prestige, as you might guess from the verb in the title! And although "Steamin" might be a word that's a bit too firey to describe the action going on here, the album's got a tremendous sense of presence throughout – as Davis' cooler trumpet is matched with Trane's earthier solo work – all supported by Red Garland trio backing in a style that's as near-classic as it comes for 50s jazz. Titles include "Diane", "Something I Dreamed Last Night", "When I Fall In Love", and "Salt Peanuts". CD