One of the greatest and most historically important compilations ever put together by our friends at Light In The Attic – the first ever (!!!) anthology devoted to Stax sax great Charles "Packy" Axton! Packy was a founding member of the Mar-Keys and a cat who played with the best of them – Steve Cropper, Booker T, Teenie Hodges, Donald "Duck" Dunn and many more – all of whom can be heard on this mindblowing set of benchmark vocal and instrumental singles from the mid 60s – truly the blueprint material for the great Stax and all around Memphis soul to come! It features singles cut for labels such as USA, Bar, Hollywood and Pure Soul – soul/R&B vocal numbers and proto-funky instrumentals. Amazing, amazing stuff recorded at Royal and Ardent Studios with some of the greatest soul music players to ever come together – so highly recommended! Includes "Holiday Cheer", "Bullseye", "Hung Over", "I'll Always Love" and "Late Late Party" by The Martinis, "No Ending" and "No Love Have I" by Stacy Lane, "House Full Of Rooms", "Out Of Control" and "I'm A Fool (In Love)" by LH & The Memphis Sounds, "Stone Fox", "Hip Pocket" and "Greasy Pumpkin" by The Pac-Keys, and "Hole In The Wall" by The Packers. 17 tracks in all – treated beautifully by team LITA – with a thick booklet of notes (by Andria Lisle) and full of vintage photos of the players, shots of the inner labels of the original singles, details for each track and more. CD

A seminal set from Erasmo Carlos – a record that has him stepping past the simpler rock modes of his youth, and really embracing some of the great changes going on in Brazilian music at the start of the 70s! These changes aren't just the expected psych modes, but also some of the more lofty, complicated arrangements used by artists like Marcos Valle or Edu Lobo – a mode that comes through beautifully here and sets up Erasmo's vocals with these incredible backings that really make him sound fantastic – a bit funky here, a bit groovy there – and sometimes with this more cerebral sound that none of his listeners would have expected a few records back. Titles include "Estou Dez Anos Atrasado", "Jeep", "Teletema", "Sentado A Beira Do Caminho", "Coqueiro Verde", "A Bronca Da Galinha", "Menina", and "Saudosismo". Great reissue, too – with detailed notes – and song translations in English! CD

A record filled with cover images that run from Richard Nixon to Elvis Presley, to Mick Jagger, Caetano Veloso, Chairman Mao, Jorge Ben, Jimi Hendrix, and Andy Warhol – and a set whose sound definitely seems to live up to such heady company from the 20th century! Erasmo Carlos is at his inventive best here – very playfully creative, yet in a way that refines his style from his trippier years – almost a reinvention of the singer's approach for a new generation of MPB – in a manner that some of the Tropicalia artists were doing at the time. The songwriting and production are great – and if the album were in English, it may well have been a global hit (although it did pretty well at home back in Brazil!) – and titles include "Mane Joao", "Largo Da Segunda Feira", "Sabado Morto", "E Proibido Fumar", "Preciso Encontrar Um Amigo", and "Mundo Cao". CD

The biggest-label release ever cut by 70s funk legend Betty Davis – but a set that's every bit as hard and heavy as the indie dates that preceded it! Davis is at the top of her form here – bad-stepping amidst the heavy drums and freaked-out guitars that easily made her one of the funkiest folks working in the 70s – an artist who was definitely very much into her own bag, and who's only finally getting her due all these many years later! In a way, the groove is even leaner than before – especially the drums, which are turbocharged with energy, and set a badass vibe for the record throughout – mixing up equal parts of rock, funk, and soul – almost with the genre-busting modes that wouldn't really show up on the New York scene until a number of years later. The whole thing kicks ass – and titles include "Nasty Gal", "Talkin' Trash", "Dedicated To The Press", "FUNK", "Getting Kicked Off Havin Fun", "Shut Off The Light", "This Is It", "The Lone Ranger", and "Feelins". Great limited pressing of the classic – with liner notes, lyrics, and lots of cool photos! LP, Vinyl record album

The amazing Lizzy Mercier Descloux adds one more global feather to her cap with this sweet little album – a set recorded in Rio, with help from a host of Brazilian musicians – and some special guest work from legendary trumpeter Chet Baker too! The record warms up the sound a bit from some of Lizzy's earlier records – still quite creative in both the songwriting and overall approach, but almost given a warmer spin alongside instrumentation that includes accordion from Sivuca, cavaquinho from Alceu Maia, acoustic guitar from Neco, and percussion from Djalma Correa! Other instrumentation still includes some of the keyboards and rhythm lines you'd know from Lizzy's other Ze Record releases – and titles include "Simply Beautiful", "Fog Horn Blues", "My Funny Valentine", "One For The Soul", "A World Is A Wah", and "Scala Saga Samba". CD features the bonus tracks "Bravado" and "Let's Get It On". CD

The last lovely album in a wonderful run of records from Lizzy Mercer Descloux – one of the most unique talents to work on the Ze Records imprint in the 80s – and an artist who shared plenty of the genre-crossing, global-mixing elements of her contemporaries! The album's got a sound that's still as lean as Lizzy's earliest albums, but a slightly warmer glow too – almost a jazzy vibe at times, with a style that takes us back to our favorite sounds from the Swamp Children/Kalima on Factory Records at the same time – although with plenty of that French twist that she's always brought to her music. And in fact, this time around the lyrics seem even more French than ever – on titles that include "2 Femmes A La Mer", "L'Heure Bleu", "Once Upon A Time Out", "Echec Et Mat", and "A Room In New York". CD features bonus tracks – "Hurricane", "Playtime", "Gypsy Flame", "Lucky Strike Drive", and "Calypso Moguls (7" version)". CD

Fuzzy and genuinely well-crafted private press grooves from the Emerson brothers – with crazy good hooks, some surprisingly solid musicianship – and songs that range from straight-up catchy, though fuzz-drenched rock, to funk and soul! Donnie Emerson is the lead singer, guitarist and bass player, along with some synth – and on the best tunes, he's got a confident, laidback and warm style on vocals that truly doesn't feel the voice of a kid still in his teens – with brother Joe on drums and other friends on backing vocals here and there. Here's a record that profoundly transcends the private press novelty and the goofy jumpsuits they're rocking on the front cover! Includes "Good Time", "Give Me The Chance", "Baby", the instrumental groover "Feels Like The Sun", "Love Is", "Don't Go Lovin' Nobody Else", "Dream Full Of Dreams" and "My Heart". CD

Sunny wonderfulness from one of the grooviest vocal groups of all time! This is Free Design's legendary album for children – referred to in the title as "very important people" – and it's a strangely hip set of tracks designed to get the kids to open up in a groovy late 60s kind of way. Given that the Free Design always sounded like a bunch of hippy kids, the setting is perfect for them – and they dreamily make their way through a great set of nearly all original tracks that sparkle with an innocent charm that's slyly deeper than you'd guess from the kid-orientation of the set! Original titles include "Love You", "Kites Are Fun", "Daniel Dolphin", "Ronda 'Go Round", "Bubbles", "Little Cowboy", and "Scarlet Tree". CD features 2 bonus tracks – both outtakes from "For The Love Of Your Lips", a Chapstick commercial! CD

One of the wildest of the classic Free Design albums, and one that will leave you scratching your head – thinking that these guys were either the biggest acid freaks around, or the most simplistic kiddie-minded adults you'll ever meet! We don't know what got into the water in the studio on this one, but the group are really expanding their minds here – taking on some groovy-as-groovy can be material – all with the sweet mixture of harmony vocals, easy instrumentation, and hippie-era naivete! The titles alone state the case – with tunes that include "Stay Off Your Frown", "Bubbles", "Kije's Ouji", "That's All, People", and "Butterflies Are Free" – plus a great cover of "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head". CD features the bonus tracks – "To A Black Boy", which is previously unreleased, and "Butterflies Are Free (single version)". CD

One of the rarest Lee Hazlewood albums, and one of the coolest, too – the set falls a bit later than some of his other work on the Swedish scene – and, like Cowboy In Sweden, it's also a soundtrack too – but the vibe is different than that one, and almost shows this maturation of Lee's style – as if he's absorbing even more unusual elements during his time overseas, and finding a way to keep growing his sound away from his American years in LA! All the Hazlewood craft for songs and nicely wry vocals is still very much in place – but there's also some nice shifts in the arrangements, too – deepening things some fuller elements at times, yet stepping back into tighter elements at others. Titles include "Soul's Island", "A House Safe For Tigers", "Our Little Boy Blue", "Sand Hill Anna & The Russian", "Absent Friends", and a nice remake of "The Nights"! CD

We love Lee Hazlewood – and this album is one of his best! The record's a stunning batch of Lee's original compositions – all wonderful examples of the way that Lee could take a postwar fascination with Western themes and images, and turn it on itself to reveal the anxieties and frustrations of the 60s generation – all with a smooth presentation and near-perfect backings from the legendary Billy Strange! If you ever needed proof of why Lee Hazlewood's so great, this album may well be it – a record we'd gladly trade for a dozen by other 60s singer/songwriters. Titles include "The Girls In Paris", "After Six", "In Our Time", "Jose", "The Old Man & His Guitar", "Dark In My Heart", and "The Nights". Fantastic stuff! Great reissue features three bonus tracks from Lee Hazlewood's Woodchucks – "Frenesi", "Muchacho", and "Batman". CD

Pure genius from Lee Hazlewood – one of his gems cut for MGM in the 60s, and a session that features some great small combo backings! The feel here is almost a jazz-inflected take on the slight country tinge of Lee's other work – a style that's as sophisticated and unique as Hazlewood's well-penned lyrics and amazing vocals. Lee's completely at home here – working with the great engineer Eddie Brackett, who's sound for his vocals is just about as great as could be hoped – the matchless blend of ice and embers that perfectly defines the Hazlewood sound. All tunes are originals by Lee – and tracks include "Shades", "This Town", "Stone Cold Blues", "Child", "Little War", "Hands", "Fort Worth", "Them Girls", and "Mannford Oklahoma". Features two bonus tracks – "Moochie Ladeux" and "The Lone Ranger". CD

Wonderful work from one of our favorite singers of all time – an artist with roots in jazz, but one who quickly stepped out into something else entirely – as you'll hear on this beautiful selection of tunes! Karin Krog's been a key figure in the Norwegian jazz scene since the start of the 60s, but she's hardly ever gotten any global exposure (although we've always tried to stock her music whenever we can) – and she's got a sound that's really mindbending, and far-reaching – every bit as powerful and soulful as some of the new generation of jazz singers who worked in the US scene of the 70s – like Dee Dee Bridgewater, Flora Purim, or Ursula Dudziak – but with a sound that's maybe even more revolutionary than all three put together! Karin uses her voice like an instrument, but still pays very careful attention to the words as well – which is crucial, since her lyrics are often her own, or penned by hip collaborators like Steve Kuhn and John Surman. The result is something that's hardly jazz at all – but instead this really cosmic, forward-thinking approach that may well be the 70s equivalent in vocals to Herbie Hancock's work on the keys. No surprise, Karin turns in a wonderful version of "Maiden Voyage" here – and shines on other tunes that include "A Love Supreme", "Just holding On", "Don't Just Sing", "Glissando", "Break Of Day In Molde", "We Could Be Flying", "Raindrops Raindrops", "Lazy Afternoon", and "All I Want". CD also features two never-issued songs – "Images In Glass" and "Tystnaden" – and musicians include John Surman and Dexter Gordon too! CD

The bracing debut of Public Image Itd! First Issue is seriously one of the most stunning post punk albums of its time – and we think it's light years ahead of the Sex Pistols in terms of boundless creativity and originality. Given that the Pistols disintegrated mere months before First Issue was issued, this album is all the more amazing for how hugely different Public Image is – different from Lydon's own earlier revolutionary punk act and different from pretty much everything else on the late 70s landscape. The dissonant, driving post punk guitars and sneering vocals are recognizable, sure, but the dubby textures and more angular touches are so far outside the box and so hugely influential that it's hard to fathom myriad underground rock acts existing without it. Vital! This excellent 2CD expanded edition from Light In The Attic includes an hour long BBC interview from 1978 – and if you know anything about Mr. Lydon, you know that he's one hell of an interview – plus the rare B-Side "Cowboy Song". Other titles include "Theme", "Religion", "Religion II", "Annalisa", "Public Image", "Low Life", "Attack" and "Fodderstompf". CD

The record that forever put Nancy Sinatra over the top – thanks to the massive title hit "Boots Are Made For Walking" – and some impeccable Lee Hazlewood production that really found a way to make Nancy sound fantastic! The young Sinatra had been wanting to make her own records for awhile, and had definitely had a few shots before Boots – but Lee Hazlewood really finds a way to bring out the best in Nancy, often using the same kind of bass-heavy, well-paced rhythms that made his own songs so great – and using some spacious production that can make even familiar tunes sound wonderful in Nancy's hands! Billy Strange handled the arrangements, and is an equally force here alongside Lee – especially given his work on guitar – and in addition to "These Boots Are Made For Walkin", other titles include "I Move Around", "In My Room", "Lies", "So Long Babe", "Run For Your Life", "If He'd Love Me", and "Flowers On The Wall". Features bonus tracks – the unreleased "For Some", and the great "City Never Sleeps". CD

A rare early 70s record from guitarist, singer and songwriter Ray Stinnett – who was the guitar player for Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs at their wooliest and bulliest – and made this long-buried solo record for A&M in '71! Ray was born in Memphis, and after his success with Sam The Sham, he dropped out for a while in San Francisco before heading home to Memphis. A Fire Somewhere was recorded at Fame and Argent, and sure enough, it's got quite a swampy southern groove at times – but there's also some sparer acoustic numbers that carry a post-hippie vibe that he no doubt soaked up in San Francisco. It's hard to believe it's been shelved for such a long time! Includes "Salty Haze", "You Make Me-Feel", "Silky Path", "Wheel Of Time", "Stop", "Long Rivers Flow", "America", "You & I", "Honey Suckle Song", "Liberty High", "Natural High", "Love Is The Answer", "A Fire Somewhere" and "The Rain". CD

The great lost folk rock album from Jim Sullivan – who himself, literally went lost several years later – a set that's beautiful, yet just loose and ragged enough! It's a bit of a hybrid of folk and country rock, particularly in the acoustic guitars and laidback, warm vocals by Sullivan – but it's also got some Cali warmth – sweet strings and some horns and flute, pairing up with the looser, back porch style at the core quite wonderfully. Some great players from the LA studio scene played on the sessions – including members of the iconic Wrecking Crew – and it sounds like it! UFO came out on the small Monnie label, made hardly a dent, and after another record for the Playboy label, Sullivan disappeared, never to be heard from again in 1975 – lending a bit of a spooky air to the album, but the backstory truly not relevant to the quality – it's excellent, with or without the lore! Includes "Jerome", "Plain As Your Eyes Can See", "Roll Back The Time", "Whistle Stop", "Highways", "UFO", "So Natural", "Johnny", "Sandman" and more. CD

Some of the most brilliantly baroque work ever recorded by Marcos Valle – an obscure 1970 album that collects together tunes from a few of his odd soundtrack experiments of the late 60s, plus a few others that are in a very similar vein! Marcos is really going over the top here – breaking way way out from his bossa roots, into a mode that has him pushing the envelope of Brazilian music to unheard of heights, with equal parts groove and sophistication, hardly ever matched by any other artist since! Things are funky one minute, groovy the next, and subtly sophisticated at other points – a completely captivating blend that's one of the best illustrations of Valle's genius we can think of. Titles include "Quarentao Simpatico", "Ele E Ela", "Dez Leis", "Freio Aerodinamico", "Os Grilos", "Suite Imaginaria", and "Esperando O Messias". Also includes the bonus track "Berenice"! New reissue features in-depth liner notes, song notes from Valle, and lyrics in English too! CD

A totally hip instrumental album from Peter Walker – a Vanguard Records treasure that we'd rank right up there with the label's classics from Sandy Bull! Like Bull, Walker has a way of taking older folk instrumentation into richly psychedelic territory – working here on both the Indian sarod, and on acoustic guitar – both played in these long, modal styles – and mixed with light instrumentation from Jim Pepper on flute, John Blair on violin, and Jim Hotep on tabla. The songs are very spare, and very freewheeling – still with a rhythmic core, but also floating free to find their own energy too – but at a level that's not nearly as hippy-dippy as we make that sound! Walker's got these amazing sonic sensibilities – just like Bull – and titles include "Second Song", "Tear", "Southwind", "Barefoot", "Mixture", "Socco Chico", and "Circus Day". CD

A fantastic entry in this really groovy series – and one that's filled with even more surprises than the first two volumes! It's been quite awhile since Light In The Attic gave us those sets – and the time's been well-used to dig up a much later batch of tracks from the world of country music – tracks from a time when, overall, the country music mainstream was moving both towards the styles of rock and adult contemporary – and there was a bit less of the funk crossover styles that you would have heard a decade before. Yet surprisingly, there's still plenty of those grooves at hand here – and often for artists you might not expect, including some big country chart names who really surprise us with their funk-based entries on the set! Titles include "Get It Up" by Ronnie Milsap, "Rich Man" by Terri Gibbs, "Down To The Station" by Dennis Linde, "Do Me" by Travis Wammack, "I Got The Fever" by Bob Gailbraith, "Oliver Swan" by Billy Swan, "Sure Thing" by Dolly Parton, "One & Only One" by Eddie Rabbit, "Rhythm & Blues" by Jerry Reed, "Night Fires" by Conway Twitty, "Shake The Dust" by Steven Soles, "I Betcha Heaven's On A Dirt Road" by Larry Jon Wilson, "Hale To The Man" by Brian Hyland, "Gonna Let You Have It" by Gary & Sandy, "Shot From The Saddle" by Delbert McClinton, and "Alone At Last" by Tony Joe White. CD

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A soul record we'd put up there with some of our favorites produced in Chicago during the early 70s – a gospel album from Pastor TL Barrett, but one that's gone on to legendary status among funk and soul collectors over the years! Barrett works here with his Youth For Christ Choir, of Mt. Zion Baptist Church – a south side ensemble that's filled with genuine spirit and passion, aimed towards lofty ideals – but set up with some deep secular soul production touches and instrumentation that keep things razor sharp throughout! The album was cut at the affordable Sound Market Studio – but behind the soaring, spirited lead and chorus vocal arrangements are players supervised by Chess Records sax player and arranger Gene Barge – with other Chess players Richard Evans and Phil Upchurch on the sessions too. Raw drums, grooving organ, and incredible bass lines lay the foundation, but it's the voices that really shine on this completely wonderful, totally essential set! Titles include "Like A Ship", "Wonderful", "It's Me O Lord", "Ever Since", "Nobody Knows", "Joyful Noice", "Medley/Dr. Watts Hymn & The Disciples Prayer" and "Blessed Quietness". LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing second set from Sixto Rodriguez – recorded in the legendary Landsdowne Studios in London, with a groove that's a great extension from his debut! All of Rodriguez's best elements are in place here – his folksy guitar, personal lyrical style, and surprisingly biting approach to a variety of topics – and the London setting provides him with an even more sophisticated backdrop than before, one that creates a rich palette of sounds that takes the music in some really wonderful directions! There's a bit of strings at times, but most instrumentation is by a small combo – which includes Chris Spedding on guitar and Tony Carr on percussion – so that Rodriguez's vocals and guitar are really right up front in the mix, recorded with a brilliant balance between sharpness and compassion. Titles include "Climb Up On My Music", "Silver Words", "Heikki's Suburbia Bus Tour", "I Think Of You", "To Whom It May Concern", "Halfway Up The Stairs", and "Cause". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the most striking work we've heard from all the players in the group – and that's really saying a lot, given how many stunning records they gave us back in the 70s! The music here is wonderfully free and improvised, but also has a way of focusing on a specific element too – sometimes the piano pulsations of Keith Tippett, sometimes the very organic bass work of Chris Laurence, or the soulful alto sax work of Elton Dean, or intuitive percussion of Louis Moholo! The qualities are a bit hard to describe in words, but there's a vibe to the set that really shows why key players of the British 70s scene were often so different than their European counterparts – this mix of humanism and instrumental progressivism, sometimes a bit warmer than at other points – but balanced with freer flights of creativity. Titles include "Naima", "Dede Bup Bup", "Overdoing It", "Not Too Much", and "Nancy". CD features in four unissued bonus tracks, the most striking of the bunch – "Edeeupub", "Here's That Rainy Day", "Attic", and "Echoes". CD

Two different concert recordings from the great Charles Mingus – recorded with the space of more than a decade between them, and showing the continual evolution of his genius! The first 2CDs bring together a sublime recording by German Radio in Bremen from 1964 – work that's from that important European tour that included the soon-to-be late Eric Dolphy on alto, flute, and bass clarinet – as part of a fiery sextet that also includes Johnny Coles on trumpet, Clifford Jordan on tenor, and Jaki Byard on piano. All players are fantastic – getting that push with Mingus that could often make soloists even more dynamic with the leader at the helm than on their own recordings – as you'll hear on the extended concert readings of "Hope So Eric", "Fables Of Faubus", "Parkeriania", and "Meditations On Integration" – plus a shorter solo by Byard. Mingus is at the helm of a different, but equally great group on the 1975 concert – with Jack Walrath on trumpet, George Adams on tenor, Don Pullen on piano, and Dannie Richmond on drums (as on just about every Mingus recording!) The politics of the 64 performance are still in place, with a slight shift – and they're mixed with some of the late Mingus' love of Duke Ellington, who gets a tribute here in a few spots, but with some great touches by Charles. Most tracks are nice and long – and titles include "Remember Rockefeller At Attica", "Devil Blues", "Duke Ellington's Sound Of Love", "Black Bat & Poles", "For Harry Carney", "Sue's Changes", and "Free Cell Block F Tis Nazi USA". CD

Weird and wonderful sounds from a very electric man – the mighty Piero Umiliani, an Italian composer who first rose to fame for a set of groundbreaking film scores in the 60s – then moved into even more experimental sound library work in the following decade! This set has Piero working in all sorts of cool electronic styles – never too outside or avant, but definitely in the darker side of his spectrum – although almost always with that playful sense of a tune that made his 60s music such a delight! The range of instruments varies – Umiliani clearly had a studio that was full of brand-new, top-shelf technologies – and titles are mostly from the mid 70s, with a few later cuts from 1983. Tunes include "Danza Magica", "Soundmaker Blues", "Fruitori", "Batticuore", "Sinistro Carillon", "Dolomiti", "Apocolaisse Atomica", "Description", "Lavorazione A Mare", and "Elettrone". CD

Weird and wonderful sounds from a very electric man – the mighty Piero Umiliani, an Italian composer who first rose to fame for a set of groundbreaking film scores in the 60s – then moved into even more experimental sound library work in the following decade! This set has Piero working in all sorts of cool electronic styles – never too outside or avant, but definitely in the darker side of his spectrum – although almost always with that playful sense of a tune that made his 60s music such a delight! The range of instruments varies – Umiliani clearly had a studio that was full of brand-new, top-shelf technologies – and titles are mostly from the mid 70s, with a few later cuts from 1983. Tunes include "Danza Magica", "Soundmaker Blues", "Fruitori", "Batticuore", "Sinistro Carillon", "Dolomiti", "Apocolaisse Atomica", "Description", "Lavorazione A Mare", and "Elettrone". LP, Vinyl record album