The complete work from a short but wonderful stretch of recording – a series of sides done for the Fire/Fury record label – which match the genius talents of Lightnin Hopkins and the soulful production of Harlem's great Bobby Robinson! The mix of modes is great – and rather than go for an uptown version of Hopkins' music, Bobby seems to understand it even more than most producers – and really allow the strings of the guitar to resonate with this chromatic, almost sparkling sort of quality – sounding fantastic next to the raw growl of the man himself! The record is still as classic as can be for Lightnin – no added instrumentation or arrangements – and titles include "Coffee For Mama", "Black Mare Trot", "Glory Bee", "Shine On Moon", "Santa", and "Have You Ever Loved A Woman". CD features 18 tracks in all – the full Mojo Hand album, plus material from singles too! CD

One of the more obscure albums on Casablanca from the disco years – but also a pretty decent batch of club tracks with a nice roller disco approach on the best numbers! The track "Disco Symphony" is a strident stormer – over 10 minutes long, and with some vocals by Eddie Dozier than give the cut a much more soulful sound than you'd expect. Other tracks include "In & Out Of Love", "Baby Without Your Love", and "I Love The Way You Love Me". LP, Vinyl record album

With Steve Jones and Paul Cook! 7-inch, Vinyl record

An album that brings together unissued tracks from the Arhoolie catalog by each of the three blues artists on the cover! CD

With a record like this, it's hard to believe that Christian Scott started out in more standard jazz – as Chief Xian Atunde Adjuah is a very different artist altogether, one who wraps together worlds and eras of musical heritage – working here in a set that's very heavy on percussion, vocal refrains, and other elements you never would have heard in his earlier music! The leader works a whole host of percussion along with other members of the group, but also adds in some larger production elements too – always in a way that's nicely subtle, and preserves the acoustic energy at the core – yet which really enriches the proceedings too! The album's overflowing with righteous power – and titles include "On To New Orleans", "Bark Out Thunder Roar Out Lighting", "Xodokan Iko Hu Na Ney", "Trouble That Mornin", "Blood Calls Blood", "Ashe Chief Donald", "Golden Crown", and "Shallow Water". CD

With a record like this, it's hard to believe that Christian Scott started out in more standard jazz – as Chief Xian Atunde Adjuah is a very different artist altogether, one who wraps together worlds and eras of musical heritage – working here in a set that's very heavy on percussion, vocal refrains, and other elements you never would have heard in his earlier music! The leader works a whole host of percussion along with other members of the group, but also adds in some larger production elements too – always in a way that's nicely subtle, and preserves the acoustic energy at the core – yet which really enriches the proceedings too! The album's overflowing with righteous power – and titles include "On To New Orleans", "Bark Out Thunder Roar Out Lighting", "Xodokan Iko Hu Na Ney", "Trouble That Mornin", "Blood Calls Blood", "Ashe Chief Donald", "Golden Crown", and "Shallow Water". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Two Headed Man", "One More Shot", "Trading Post", "In The Dark", and "Eyeballin". LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... CD

A killer set from a group that may well be the most perfectly realized version of the Exploding Star concept from Rob Mazurek – one who've got some fantastic parts that come together here in a wonderfully visionary record! Rob's still in the lead on trumpets and electronics – but the group really resonates from some key contributions from Damon Locks on voice and more electronics – at a level that has him rising to that long-overdue role of stardom, which seems to give the whole group an even greater source of focus and energy. Jeff Parker lays down some wicked guitar, Angelica Sanchez and Craig Taborn are fantastic on Wurlitzer electric pianos and moog – and the great Nicole Mitchell is on flute and a bit of vocals. There's a sense of majesty here that Mazurek has never had before – and the album is maybe one of the most crowning achievements in his long and very storied career. Titles include "Future Shaman", "Shape Shifter", "White River", "Dream Sleeper", and "Black River". LP, Vinyl record album

Stunning sounds from the first three years of Niney The Observer on record – a huge amount of rare singles from back in the day, served up in a double-length package that features 22 tracks on CD for the first time ever! The mix of modes here is incredible – and a real demonstration of that made creative genius that made Niney such an important force in the studio and in front of the microphone – as lots of these tracks have really unusual inflections, odd arrangements, and a way of putting over a weird sound that most folks think was only invented by Lee Scratch Perry! Instead, Niney maybe claims his own throne here with well-deserved credit that is spun out in the very detailed notes – next to fantastic tracks by Niney & The Observers, and lots more from The Sound Dimensions, Dennis Alcapone & Lizzy, Eric Monty Morris, The Hardy Boys, Max Romeo, The Virgins, Max Romeo, and others – stretched out over 47 cuts in all. CD

Includes 24 tracks from Buddy Guy, Larry Johnson, India Arie, Keb Mo, Mavis Staples, Solomon Burke, Mos Def, Gregg Allman, Natalie Cole and Odetta. CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Two Headed Man", "One More Shot", "Trading Post", "In The Dark", and "Eyeballin". CD

Tremendous early work from George Jones – the full White Lightning album for Mercury Records, stacked here with a huge amount of bonus tracks too! George is wonderful throughout – already a standout in the shifting country scene of the 50s – with one ear that understands the sharper edges of the rock generation, but another that brings out all the sentiment in the tunes he touches – material that's delivered with this magical approach that few other singers could touch. If you only know George as a blue-tinged singer of ballads from his later years, you'll really be stunned here – as lots of the tracks have a sound that's quite different, and a lot more vibrant. Titles include "White Lighning", "Give Away Girl", "Wandering Soul", "Life To Go", "Flame In My Heart", "What Am I Worth", "I Take The Chance", "Settle Down", "I'm A One Woman Man", "Revenooer Man", "Sparkling Brown Eyes", and "Color Of The Blues". CD

One of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time – a pioneering blast of mid 80s thrash from Metallica at an early peak! Say what you will about Metallica's later career triumphs and failures, there's no overstating how huge their impact was on metal and hard rock early on, and their best few records are incredible to this day. This may well be they're very best album – the culmination of a couple years of slow-building word-of-mouth reputation-building for genre work that can't be praised highly enough. One metal classic after another: "Fight Fire With Fire", "Ride The Lightning", "For Whom The Bell Tolls", "Fade To Black", "Trapped Under Ice", "Escape", "Creeping Death" and "The Call Of Ktulu". CD

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

A sweet club set from early 80s Chicago – one that follows very nicely in the mode of Starvue and some of the city's stronger uptempo groups! Side one of the set is dominated by the great two part groover "To The Meat" – a track that steps out with great keyboards, jazzy guitar riffs, and a cosmically-infused dancefloor sound that's worth the price of the album alone! The set also features the great mellow ballad "What You Thought (Dissatisfaction & Reflection)", the funky groovers "Pure De Funk" and "Sinister", and the tracks "Don't You Know Heart" and "As The World Turns". LP, Vinyl record album

Alternate studio takes recorded by James Marshall in 1968. LP, Vinyl record album

Stevie Ray Vaughan plays and is the producer! Titles include "Hound Dog Man", "Stop", "Long Way From Memphis", "Strike Like Lightning", and "You Ain't Got Me". LP, Vinyl record album

The only album ever from Broken Glass – a group that features the great Stan Webb from Chicken Shack on guitar – bringing in all the strengths that he added to that well-known group! There's some of the blues rock inspiration of that earlier combo, but refined a bit more with a compressed sort of 70s Brit vibe – great production from Tony Ashton, who makes all the best licks and catchier lines of the songs really stand out – but without ever making the album sound too commercial. Titles include "It's Alright", "Keep Your Love", "It's Evil", "Ain't No Magic", "Broken Glass", "Take The Water", "Standing On The Border", and "Jersey Lightning". LP, Vinyl record album

Very groovy organ work from the amazing Mike Dogliotti – a player with a wonderful sense of whimsy and rhythm, heard here in a key collection of jazzy groovers – tracks that are almost the Argentine answer to Walter Wanderley's classic bossa sides from the 60s! The styles here are all quite lively – with a fair bit of heavy percussion underneath Mike's lightning-fast work on the keys – organ lines that move way faster even than Wanderley's best, and which show a similarly fluid approach! And in case you're worried that you've never heard of Dogliotti before, don't worry – because the package features a whopping 27 tracks in all, including 2 complete albums' worth of music, plus bonus tracks – more than enough to help you catch up on listening! Titles include "Don Pascual", "Candela", "Dona Gregoria", "Las Mazanas", "Siga El Baile", "Tierra", "Biricunyamba", "Ahi Va La Camparsa", "Chiquilada", "Biafra", "El Candomble", and "Palo Y Tamboril". CD

A later session from Bill Evans – but one that features some great work from Lee Konitz on alto and Warne Marsh on tenor – one of Evans' last sessions with horn players! Eddie Gomez plays bass – and titles include "Eiderdown", "Pensativa", "Everytime We Say Goodbye", "Pensativa", and "Speak Low". LP, Vinyl record album

Raw genius from Smokey Hogg – a set of recordings originally issued as singles for the Modern/RPM label, brought together here to make one of the few full length documents of Hogg's talents from the time! Smokey sings here with spare acoustic guitar on most tracks, and a bit of piano added in on some others – but all with a very lean, very rootsy vibe that reflects his rural roots, and which is especially resonant with Lightning Hopkins on the piano-less tunes! Titles include "I Got Your Picture", "Goin Back To Chicago", "Coming Back Home To You Again", "You Can't Keep Your Business Straight", "Look In Your Eyes Pretty Mama", and "It's Raining Here". LP, Vinyl record album

A killer album of funky blues – recorded by Howlin Wolf during the period when Chess/Cadet was backing its older artists up with some of the newer funk musicians it had working in its studios! The overall sound works quite well – and although purists at the time moaned at the way artists like Wolf, Etta James, and Bo Diddley were being handled (especially with a "we know better than them" message on the cover like this!), the funky blues records from this time actually seem to be some of the most enduring from Chess – especially with younger listeners in the 21st Century! A big part of the success here goes to producers Charles Stepney and Gene Barge – who helped bring together a younger batch of players for Wolf's backing – including Pete Cosey and Phil Upchurch on guitars, Louis Satterfield on bass, and Morris Jennings on drums. Titles include "Spoonful", "Tail Dragger", "Smokestack Lightning", "Red Rooster", "Evil", and "Down In The Bottom". LP, Vinyl record album

A huge musical treasure – a full unreleased album by Weldon Irvine, plus a bonus video as well! The music is from the stage play Young Gifted & Broke – a short-lived production by Weldon, and one that's done with some of the same hip modes he was bringing to his own music of the 70s – as well as to other artists as well, especially Nina Simone! The style's more jazz than funk, but is still mighty nice – as the instrumentation features loads of electric piano lines from Weldon, and a sparklingly soulful style that's way hipper than most of what you'd find on the stage at the time. Most tunes have lyrics, but are still heavy on Fender Rhodes lines from Weldon – and titles include "Karate Dancer", "Pity for The Man", "Black Lightning's Song", "Musical Interlude", "Comin Home", "We Got A Deal", "No Now Never None", and "Ghetto Lament". LP, Vinyl record album

A huge musical treasure – a full unreleased album by Weldon Irvine, plus a bonus material as well! The music is from the stage play Young Gifted & Broke – a short-lived production by Weldon, and one that's done with some of the same hip modes he was bringing to his own music of the 70s – as well as to other artists as well, especially Nina Simone! The style's more jazz than funk, but is still mighty nice – as the instrumentation features loads of electric piano lines from Weldon, and a sparklingly soulful style that's way hipper than most of what you'd find on the stage at the time. Most tunes have lyrics, but are still heavy on Fender Rhodes lines from Weldon – and titles include "Karate Dancer", "Pity for The Man", "Black Lightning's Song", "Musical Interlude", "Comin Home", "We Got A Deal", "No Now Never None", and "Ghetto Lament". CD

Titles include "Aching, Breaking Heart", "Just One More", "Why, Baby, Why", "Love Bug", "White Lightning", "She Still Thinks I Care", and more – 18 tracks total. CD

A brilliant setting for the spiritual reed talents of the legendary Idris Ackamoor – set here amidst more meditative sounds from Carlos Nino, who uses percussion and other instrumentation to create a magical landscape of sounds – while guitarist Nate Mercereau also joins in the mix, and also directs the overall sound of the set from the recording studio too! The sharper reed lines of Idris are a wonderful contrast to the more organic elements in the music at times – and really gives the feel of a jazz performance to the record, which might be more of a soundscape effort without his mighty presence. Titles include "Lightning Progression"," Time On Earth", "Group Effervescence", "We Love You So Much", and "Heaven Cruise Heaven Humming 2". LP, Vinyl record album

A six track EP by the re-formed group – with titles that include "No Second Chance", "Talk Of The Devil", "I Think It's Coming Back Again", "Can't Find The Lady", "As Long As The Price Is Right", and "Waiting For The Lightning To Strike". LP, Vinyl record album

Really unique material from Sun Ra – a pair of recordings that were initially circulated much more strongly than some of his Saturn Records material, thanks to the power of the BYG/Actuel label in the early 70s – but tracks that actually come from a variety of different sessions that Ra himself did with the Arkestra in the late 60s! Tracks are shortish, but very inventive – a well-chosen snapshot of all the new ideas that the group were cooking up during the end of the 60s in New York, with an increased mission to explore the outer reaches of space, and use more electronics than ever before! Ra plays some killer keyboards – moog, spacemaster, and acoustic piano – often with these really eerie tones – and other players include Kwame Hadi on trumpet, Akh Tal Ebah on space dimension mellophone, Ali Hassan on trombone, Marshal Allen and Danny Davis on alto and flute, John Gilmore on tenor, and Pat Patrick on baritone – and the whole group vocalizes at points, joined by other singers who include June Tyson and Art Jenkins. There's also some great use of "strange strings" on the sessions, not to mention a bit of reverb – and tracks on this first volume include "Spectrum", "The Satellites Are Spinning", "Seen III Took 4", "Adventures Of Bugs Hunter", "Legend", and "The Realm Of Lightning". LP, Vinyl record album

Really unique material from Sun Ra – a pair of recordings that were initially circulated much more strongly than some of his Saturn Records material, thanks to the power of the BYG/Actuel label in the early 70s – but tracks that actually come from a variety of different sessions that Ra himself did with the Arkestra in the late 60s! Tracks are shortish, but very inventive – a well-chosen snapshot of all the new ideas that the group were cooking up during the end of the 60s in New York, with an increased mission to explore the outer reaches of space, and use more electronics than ever before! Ra plays some killer keyboards – moog, spacemaster, and acoustic piano – often with these really eerie tones – and other players include Kwame Hadi on trumpet, Akh Tal Ebah on space dimension mellophone, Ali Hassan on trombone, Marshal Allen and Danny Davis on alto and flute, John Gilmore on tenor, and Pat Patrick on baritone – and the whole group vocalizes at points, joined by other singers who include June Tyson and Art Jenkins. There's also some great use of "strange strings" on the sessions, not to mention a bit of reverb – and tracks titles include "Spectrum", "The Satellites Are Spinning", "Seen III Took 4", "Adventures Of Bugs Hunter", "Legend", "The Realm Of Lightning", "The Utter Nots", "Outer Spaceways Inc", "Scene 1 Take 1", "Strange Worlds", "Ancient Ethiopia", "Pyramids", and "Interpretation". CD

Really unique material from Sun Ra – a pair of recordings that were initially circulated much more strongly than some of his Saturn Records material, thanks to the power of the BYG/Actuel label in the early 70s – but tracks that actually come from a variety of different sessions that Ra himself did with the Arkestra in the late 60s! Tracks are shortish, but very inventive – a well-chosen snapshot of all the new ideas that the group were cooking up during the end of the 60s in New York, with an increased mission to explore the outer reaches of space, and use more electronics than ever before! Ra plays some killer keyboards – moog, spacemaster, and acoustic piano – often with these really eerie tones – and other players include Kwame Hadi on trumpet, Akh Tal Ebah on space dimension mellophone, Ali Hassan on trombone, Marshal Allen and Danny Davis on alto and flute, John Gilmore on tenor, and Pat Patrick on baritone – and the whole group vocalizes at points, joined by other singers who include June Tyson and Art Jenkins. There's also some great use of "strange strings" on the sessions, not to mention a bit of reverb – and tracks titles include "Spectrum", "The Satellites Are Spinning", "Seen III Took 4", "Adventures Of Bugs Hunter", "Legend", "The Realm Of Lightning", "The Utter Nots", "Outer Spaceways Inc", "Scene 1 Take 1", "Strange Worlds", "Ancient Ethiopia", "Pyramids", and "Interpretation". CD

Really unique material from Sun Ra – a pair of recordings that were initially circulated much more strongly than some of his Saturn Records material, thanks to the power of the BYG/Actuel label in the early 70s – but tracks that actually come from a variety of different sessions that Ra himself did with the Arkestra in the late 60s! Tracks are shortish, but very inventive – a well-chosen snapshot of all the new ideas that the group were cooking up during the end of the 60s in New York, with an increased mission to explore the outer reaches of space, and use more electronics than ever before! Ra plays some killer keyboards – moog, spacemaster, and acoustic piano – often with these really eerie tones – and other players include Kwame Hadi on trumpet, Akh Tal Ebah on space dimension mellophone, Ali Hassan on trombone, Marshal Allen and Danny Davis on alto and flute, John Gilmore on tenor, and Pat Patrick on baritone – and the whole group vocalizes at points, joined by other singers who include June Tyson and Art Jenkins. There's also some great use of "strange strings" on the sessions, not to mention a bit of reverb – and tracks titles include "Spectrum", "The Satellites Are Spinning", "Seen III Took 4", "Adventures Of Bugs Hunter", "Legend", "The Realm Of Lightning", "The Utter Nots", "Outer Spaceways Inc", "Scene 1 Take 1", "Strange Worlds", "Ancient Ethiopia", "Pyramids", and "Interpretation". CD

Clubby tracks with a bit of a Caribbean influence – recorded in New York, with some really great instrumental touches on keyboards! The tracks mostly feature chorus vocals by a group of singers that includes Luther Vandross, Gloria Covington, and Lani Groves – but the best part of the set is the overall instrumentation, which gets a chance to break out on the longer tunes. Titles include "Discocide", "Get On Up Get On Down", "Tonight's The Night", "Manhattan Fever", and "Lightning Striking Twice". LP, Vinyl record album

The warm sound of the Sea & Cake gets a just a touch more guitar based on their lucky 7th album – with a bit more of a kick in the drums and bite to the strings in spots – a subtle but definite change from the one of the most consistent indie pop crews ever This time out, longtime producer/drummer John McEntire stays behind the drums and other percussion and lets producer Brian Paulson man the booth – which may, or may not be the reason for the slightly punchier vibe, but it works. This is still very much the Sea & Cake we've loved since the get go – there's no mistaking Sam Prekop's vocals – but there's an anthemic turn or two applied to their mannered genius. Some reviewers give them flak for supposedly repeating themselves, but those folks need to listen more closely. Titles include "Up On Crutches", "Too Strong", "Crossing Line", "Coconut", "Exact To Me", "Lightning", "Introducing", "Left On" and "Transparent". LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the grooviest collection of work we've ever seen from the lovely Nancy Sinatra – a set that features some of her hits, but also includes a lot more material that's much more obscure – and which shows that Nancy was a hell of a song stylist, far from the charts! The core of the work features Sinatra's fantastic collaborations with Lee Hazlewood – the producer who created a darkness in her sound that moved her far from simple pop – and who sometimes joined her in duets, with a mature, adult quality that was dripping with sensuality! The set also features some post-Hazlewood material, too – still very cool, and very groovy – a sublime blend of Cali 60s elements and slight country touches. Titles include "So Long Babe", "Sugar Town", "Kind Of Woman", "Machine Gun Kelly", "Arkansas Coal", "Down From Dover", "How Are Things In California", "Some Velvet Morning", "Hello LA Bye Bye Birmingham", "Hook & Ladder", "Happy", "You Only Live Twice", "Sand", "Lightning's Girl", "How Does That Grab You", "Paris Summer", "Jackson", "Lady Bird", and, of course, "These Boots Are Made For Walking". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Smokestack Lightning", "Heart Full Of Soul", "New York City Blues", "Shapes Of Things", "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago", and "Over Under Sideways Down". LP, Vinyl record album

A collection of early 60s recordings from the first few years of the Arhoolie label – titles by Little Son Willis, Fred McDowell, Bukka White, Manny Nichols, Essie Jenkins, Detroit Slim, RC Smith, Mercy Dee, Lightning & Spider, and others! LP, Vinyl record album