An early Madonna single, with a nice Niles Rodgers remix on the a-side. 12-inch, Vinyl record

An early Madonna single, with production from Reggie Lucas and Jellybean Benitez. 12-inch, Vinyl record

An early Madonna single, with production from Reggie Lucas and Jellybean Benitez. 12-inch, Vinyl record

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

An early Madonna single – featuring some sweet Niles Rodgers production and some clubby Jellybean touches on "Like A Virgin"! 12-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Titles include "Papa Don't Preach", "Open Your Heart", "Live To Tell", "Where's The Party", "True Blue", and "La Isla Bonita". LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Fats is back, and sounding pretty darn great – working here with rootsy production from Richard Perry, who's got a great ear for all of Domino's older strengths, yet also manages to update his sound a bit for the late 60s! The record's got a really romping groove – lots of New Orleans elements in the rhythms, brought forward a bit by players who include King Curtis on sax, Eric Gale on guitar, and Earl Palmer on drums – all working amidst some Warner-styled arrangements that have plenty of respect for the past. The Blossoms sing backing vocals on a few numbers, and titles include "I Know", "Lady Madonna", "So Swell When You're Well", "I'm Ready", "One More Song For You", "One For The Highway", "Make Me Belong To You", and "Honest Papas Love Their Mamas". And be warned, the album starts with a track called "My Old Friends" – which is a scratchy collage of old Fats Domino records! CD

A strange and ultimately very fun set from Nina Hagen circa '83 – with production by Giorgio Morodor that's clearly geared towards an 80s mainstream club soul sound – and the record turns out to be all the weirder because of it! Nina's vocals are as anti-pop as they come, and Morodor's synthy grooves makes for a strange mix. She trys to vamp it up Blondie style on some tunes, but her punk operatic tendancies and that scary Berlin accented growl are never far behind the attempts at sweetness – and Morodor's shiny, shiny gloss and drum machines are really charming in the context! In hindsight, it was probably pretty naive to think Nina Hagen could pull off a Madonna style hit record – and that makes this one of the more fascinating miscalculations of the early 80s – and worth a listen! Titles include "New York New York", "My Sensation", "Flying Saucers", "I Love Paul", "The Change", "Silent Love", "What It Is" (featuring backing by wee little group of youngsters who call themselves The Red Hot Chili Peppers), "TV Snooze", "Springtime And Paris", "Zarah". LP, Vinyl record album

Solo work from Mark Morriss – formerly a member of The Bluetones, but maybe even more striking here as an artist on his own! The album features a compelling mix of covers – songs originally recorded by Jess Conrad, Scott Walker, OMD, Buffalo Springfield, Jesus & Mary Chain, Weezer, and even Madonna – but all given a very personal spin by Morriss! Mark's got this way of weaving together different 60s influences – a bit of blue-eyed pop, touches of mod or psych instrumentation, even some slightly folksy currents – all to suit the modes of the individual songs – with a mode that maybe even gets past the idea of any sort of single style for the record. Titles include "Duchess", "Self Control", "Angel", "Almost Gold", "Don't Let Go", "Love Comes Quickly", "Rock & Roll Woman", "Souvenir", "This Pullover", and "Lucretia (My Reflection)". CD

Solo work from Mark Morriss – formerly a member of The Bluetones, but maybe even more striking here as an artist on his own! The album features a compelling mix of covers – songs originally recorded by Jess Conrad, Scott Walker, OMD, Buffalo Springfield, Jesus & Mary Chain, Weezer, and even Madonna – but all given a very personal spin by Morriss! Mark's got this way of weaving together different 60s influences – a bit of blue-eyed pop, touches of mod or psych instrumentation, even some slightly folksy currents – all to suit the modes of the individual songs – with a mode that maybe even gets past the idea of any sort of single style for the record. Titles include "Duchess", "Self Control", "Angel", "Almost Gold", "Don't Let Go", "Love Comes Quickly", "Rock & Roll Woman", "Souvenir", "This Pullover", and "Lucretia (My Reflection)". LP, Vinyl record album

A really overlooked album from Caetano Veloso – one that's quite different than the more experimental modes of records like his Tropicalia sets, or his Araca Azul record – but with a unique charm that makes it every bit as special as those! The set's quite stripped-down and personal – and really has Veloso getting back to basics – in ways that are a bit like his UK album from 1971, but more upbeat and positive too. The tunes are really thoughtfully presented, with spare backing that puts Veloso's amazing vocals right out front – heard to especially wonderful effect on the album's English-language readings of three late Beatles tracks – "Eleanor Rigby", "For No One", and "Lady Madonna". All titles are great, though – and tunes include "Nicinha", "La Flor De La Canela", "Drume Negrinha", and "Samba E Amor". CD

Stax Does The Beatles – and they do a pretty nice job of it too! The collection's a much better one than you might expect from the title and cover – as the grooves here are all pretty darn soulful, and not just simple copycat modes of hits by the Fab Four – but even more importantly, the package features a number of previously unissued tracks from the Stax Records vaults – making it even more essential, even if you have some of the originals! The vibe here is totally great – a real transformation of The Beatles' original ideas – taken into heavier Memphis soul territory, which often gets increasingly righteous during some of the later recordings here. Previously unreleased titles include "Got To Get You Into My Life" by Booker T & The MGs, "Yesterday (live)" by Carla Thomas, "With A Little Help From My Friends" by The Bar-Kays, and an alternate take of "Day Tripper" by Otis Redding – plus "Help" by David Porter, "And I Love Her" by Reggie Milner, "Something" by Isaac Hayes, "Hey Jude" by The Bar-Kays, "My Sweet Lord" by John Gary Williams, and "Lady Madonna" by Booker T & The MGs. LP, Vinyl record album

A set of covers by NYC ska revivalists The Slackers – crafted like a radio playlist, but it's all timeless ska & reggae inflected classic and comparably covers by a crew that's never been even remotely as lethargic as their name suggests! Includes takes on tunes by The Box Tops, The Misfits, Madonna, the Stones, The Sonics and others. Cassette

A really overlooked album from Caetano Veloso – one that's quite different than the more experimental modes of records like his Tropicalia sets, or his Araca Azul record – but with a unique charm that makes it every bit as special as those! The set's quite stripped-down and personal – and really has Veloso getting back to basics – in ways that are a bit like his UK album from 1971, but more upbeat and positive too. The tunes are really thoughtfully presented, with spare backing that puts Veloso's amazing vocals right out front – heard to especially wonderful effect on the album's English-language readings of three late Beatles tracks – "Eleanor Rigby", "For No One", and "Lady Madonna". All titles are great, though – and tunes include "Nicinha", "La Flor De La Canela", "Drume Negrinha", and "Samba E Amor". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the funkiest albums ever from Junior Parker – a great little set that shows he had a lot more to offer than just the average bluesman! The album's got a nice little soul sound in the backings – tight rhythms from Horace Ott, who nicely avoids a lot of the cliches that the blues business was hitting at the time – in order to keep Junior in hip territory that's filled with breaking drums and heavy basslines! There's a few key crossover tracks here, plus some surprisingly sweeter numbers – and the album's a gem through and through – well-appreciated by new generations over the years, thanks to its diversity of tracks! Titles include a great break version of "Taxman" – plus two more Beatles numbers, "Tomorrow Never Knows" and "Lady Madonna" – and the tracks "Outside Man", "Darling Depend On Me", "You Know I Love You", "River's Invitation", and "Just To Hold My Hand". CD

The funky rock & soul blast of a self-titled set from The Velvert Turner Group – with some pummeling, post-Hendrix fuzz and vocal inflections, but also some big left turns from that vibe into trippy psychedelic soul! It's works really well, particularly with such a killer group backing him – heavy, heavy drums by Tim McGovern and thundering bass from Perscott Niles at the core of it – plus keyboards on a few tunes. Titles include "Madonna (Of The Seven Moods)", "Country Chicken", "Xcuse Me Gentlemen", "The Slow Swirling Seas", "Scarlet Warrior", "Just Look And See" and more. LP, Vinyl record album