A great remake of the Wet Willie hit – one that's got a soaring, strutting clubby feel that's totally wonderful! The tune's a superb anthem from the old days – and although the hook's a bit commercial, it still sounds plenty great to us after all these years! 12-inch, Vinyl record

Michael Jackson's last album with his famous family – a set of electric 80s soul that's a bit different than Jackson's well-known solo work! In a way, the later Jacksons albums almost feel like a place where Michael can try out some ideas that don't fit as tightly into the overall sound of his own records – and there's definitely more diversity here than before – a shift between gentle ballads, beat-heavy tunes, and even a few rockish/poppish moments. Of course, we should probably be crediting the other Jacksons for their help in the sound here too – as they're certainly credited on the cover – but there's also less of the "many parts as one" sound than before, so it's hard to tell how they're working together. Titles include "The Hurt", "Wait", "Torture", "One More Chance", "Body", "We Can Change The World", and "State Of Shock", the big single, which features a guest appearance by Mick Jagger. LP, Vinyl record album

A very cool double-sized issue of Roctober – long-overdue, as we haven't heard from them in a bit – but well worth the wait, as the range of features and mix of material continues to be stunning – a great reminder that, decades back, this magazine was exploring this territory long before newer publications like Maggot Brain and some of its contemporaries! There's way too much to mention in great detail – but we can tell you you'll find interviews with Mavis Staples, Mike Love, Air Supply, Wanda Jackson, Sarah Dash, and Prince – and that's just in the first few pages. Other features include articles on Yoko Ono, Muzak, Kid Stuff Records, Mick Clintrock, obscure Weird Al songs, rare Maison Soul singles, the secret Sex History Of The Cabbage Patch Kids, Roky Erikson, Question Mark, and a host of reviews, obits, and lots lots more! Magazine

A deep deep look at a side of the British 60s scene that didn't always make big waves here in the US – but one that had a huge influence on UK sounds for years to come! The mighty book-like package documents the rich stream of sounds that exploded during the beat group years – a moment that was partly graced by some of the names that we'd know here as the Brit Invasion, but which soon moved off into much more expansive sounds that include mod moments, freakbeat grooves, and a fair bit of tunes influenced by American jazz and soul! The 6CD set features a whopping 165 tracks in all, plus a huge booklet of notes – and a number of the tracks are pulled from the Pye Records catalog – one of the most important Brit labels of the period – but the set also includes lot of bits from elsewhere too. Includes work by The Rogers, Marmalade, The Baskervilles, The Web, The Mighty Atoms, Glenda Collins, The Mike Stuart Span, Bobbi Rio & The Revelles, Carl Wayne & The Vikings, The Mike Cotton Sound, Ray Singer, Marilyn Powell, Just Four Men, Twinkle, Tony Jackson, The Cops N Robbers, Major Rowley, Paddy Klaus & Gibson, David Bowie & The Lower Third, The Lancastrians, New Faces, The Limeys, Mick & Malcolm, Kind, Episode Six, and many others! CD

Joe Pass on guitar, Milt Jackson on vibes, Ray Brown on bass, and Mickey Roker on drums. CD

Milt Jackson's working here with his "Big 4" group – a quartet (natch) that includes Oscar Peterson on piano, Niels Henning Orsted Pedersen on bass, and Mickey Roker on drums – all opening up nicely in this laidback live environment! Despite the Montreux hype of the 70s, the record's got a surprisingly intimate feel – and offers a nicely restrained Peterson doing some very sensitive solo work – augmented by some of Jackson's most chromatic sounds on vibes. Titles include "Mack The Knife", "Night Mist Blues", "Stella By Starlight", "Speed Ball", "Nature Boy", and "Funji Mama". LP, Vinyl record album

There's no "used to be" here – as vibes legend Milt Jackson is still very much at the top of his game – working in a really great small combo on this Japanese-only set of recordings – all put together by bassist Ray Brown of the quartet, with also features Cedar Walton on piano and Mickey Roker on drums! The warmth and lyricism of Walton's piano is a great match for Jackson's vibes, and really seems to pull out a lively, soulful quality in his music – as do the drums of Mickey Roker, who has a bit more snap here than some of the other drummers you might be used to hearing with Milt! 2CD set features 16 tracks from both volumes of the LP releases – titles that include "Blue Monk", "In Walked Bud", "Used To Be Jackson", "Blues March", "Come Sunday", "Django", "Manha Do Carnaval", "Close Enough For Love", "Our Delight", and "Nature Boy". CD

A weird idea for a collection, but a great one too – a set that brings together a batch of train-themed tunes from the 60s, and uses the transportation narrative as a way to unlock ideas of personal freedom and social change! The "train" here isn't just a gimmick – and instead focuses on the way that the mode of transportation helped open up new ideas and new vistas in the postwar years – a way of getting out, and getting past – served up here in a range of soul, blues, and other styles too! The set's got 25 tracks in all, put together with the usual top-shelf Ace Records approach – and titles include "Freedom Riders" by Harold Jackson, "Steam" by Caroline Day, "Number 9 Train" by Tarheel Slim, "Hurry Hurry Choo Choo" by Sharon Tandy, "Memphis Train" by Rufus Thomas, "Won't Be Long" by Dusty Springfield, "The Downbound Train" by Chuck Berry, "Train To Skaville" by The Ethiopians, "Go Go Train" by Jackie Pain, "Freedom Train" by James Carr, "This Train" by Sister Rosetta Tharpe, "Up The Line" by Little Walter, "Death Train Blues" by Daddy Long Legs, "Stop That Train" by Keith & Tex, "Country Line Special" by Cyril Davies, and "Big Train" by Bobby Wayne. CD

Three later live sets from Dizzy Gillespie – all in a single package! Sesjun Radio Shows 1 is great, and if you like Dizzy Gillespie as much as us, you'll know that he kept on getting better and better as the years went on – continuing to evolve as a musician, into territory that's always very different than what he was giving the world a few years before! That's definitely the case here, on two live performances done for Dutch Radio in the late 70s – both of which feature a guitar as the key partner – with Rodney Jones on the first half, Ed Cherry on the second, and bass from Benjamin Brown and drums from the great Mickey Roker. Tracks are long, and open up in this really wonderful way – and the group is joined by percussionist Sheyvonne Wright on the second half, who also sings a bit too. There's a quality here that's much more in the best 70s work on the Muse label than you might expect – and titles include "Barcelona", "Diddy Wah Diddy", "Toccata", "The Truth", "Night In Tunisia", "Manha De Carnaval", and Round Midnight". Sesjun Radio Shows 2 is further proof that the genius of Dizzy Gillespie knows no bounds, even in later years – as these two different radio performances feature Diz with very unique saxophonists – both of whom really transform the sound of the group! The first half of the set has Gillespie on trumpet with a young Paquito D'Rivera on soprano and alto sax – a young player really coming into his own here, in an unusual group that also features Canadian guitarist Ed Cherry, bassist Michael Howell, and drummer Ignacio Berroa – on titles that include the funky "Unicorn", plus "All The Things You Are" and "Cripple Crapple Crutch". The second half will be even more surprising to fans of avant jazz – as the legendary Sam Rivers joins the group on tenor and soprano sax – blowing straighter than on his free improv records, but definitely adding an edge! The rest of the group features Cherry and Berroa, with John Lee in on bass for Howell – and titles include "Tanga", "Manteca", and "Birk's Works". Concert Of The Century is a record with a title that's a hell of a claim to make – but it's also a hell of a concert, too – one that features Dizzy Gillespie blowing with an all-star small group lineup – in really stretched-out takes on the tunes, at a level that rivals his best 70s material on the Pablo label! In addition to Gillespie on trumpet, players also include Milt Jackson on vibes, James Moody on tenor and flute, Hank Jones on piano, Ray Brown on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums – all working together as seamlessly as you'd expect! Titles include "Darben The Redd Foxx", "The Shadow Of Your Smile", "Get Happy", "Blues N Boogie", "If I Should Lose You", and "Bass Solo/Manha De Carnaval/Work Song". CD

Damn great work from the amazing Eddie Harris – a record that's got a perfect blend of jazz and funk, but still holds onto more righteous elements too! Eddie's using his electric sax in a really great way – not as a gimmick at all, but as a way of linking both the soulful and progressive sides of the Chicago jazz scene – much like the way his old bassist Melvin Jackson did on the classic Funky Skull record! The group here is a small one, but features some really surprising work from players who include Muhal Richard Abrams on electric piano, Rufus Reid on electric and acoustic bass, Billy James on drums and Kalimba, Ronald Muldrow on guitar, and Henry Gibson on some mighty nice percussion. Eddie himself is a stunner – working not just on electric tenor, but also trumpet with a reed mouthpiece, and some weird way of vocalizing through a horn as well. The whole thing's got a vibe that matches the hippest, coolest electric jazz of the Cadet/Concept years – and titles include the great groover "Zambezi Dance", plus "Nightcap", "Tampion", "Instant Death", and "Superfluous". LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet silver cycles from Eddie Harris – a wonderful late 60s album that features lots of lines on the electrified Varitone saxophone, mixed with cool contributions from a shifting lineup of soulful musicians! The set's one of Eddie's real classics from the Atlantic years – completely inventive, but never in a gimmicky way – and a really great bridge between late 60s modes of funk, jazz, and soul – at the same level he'd serve up more famously in his collaborations with Les McCann! There's a lot of that same energy here, but the vibe is even tighter – and Harris really blows us away with his great arrangements, which get a slight bit of help from Arif Mardin. Other players include Melvin Jackson on bass, Seldon Powell on reeds, and Joe Zawinul on keyboards – and titles include "Silver Cycles", "Electric Ballad", "Little Bit", "Free At Last", "Coltrane's View", "Electric Salad", "1974 Blues", and "Smoke Signals". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic entry in this long running series – a batch of compilations that normally focuses on rare disco grooves, but which also features a fair bit of funky soul nuggets this time around! The groove is still mostly uptempo, but with all these wonderfully weird, wild funky elements in the mix too – not gimmicky tracks, but the kind of unusually-crafted cuts that are quite far from the mainstream – and which show that there were often some really amazing things happening in the farther reaches of the soul music underground at the end of the 70s! Plus, most of these cuts are impossibly rare – so much so that many are reaching our ears for the first time, via this excellent compilation – in a list of tracks that includes "Specialty Item" by MVP Cloudburst, "Give Me Love" by EKG, "Disco 2000" by Pleze, "Flashback" by Jeff Burns, "Dance Your Blues (part 2)" by Spellboun, "Forget Yourself" by Body Heat, "Say Raise Your Hand & Say McNasty" by McNasty, "Reflex" by Reflections, "Reaching For Our Star" by Sharon Revoal, "Space Ghost (parts 1 & 2)" by Jackson Lee, "Spend Some Time With Me" by Rideout, "Move On" by Frederick, "I'm Into Your Love" by Executive Jam, "Seeking" by Cash Money, "Give It Up" by Horizon, and "Twilight" by Firewater. CD

Sweet silver cycles from Eddie Harris – a wonderful late 60s album that features lots of lines on the electrified Varitone saxophone, mixed with cool contributions from a shifting lineup of soulful musicians! The set's one of Eddie's real classics from the Atlantic years – completely inventive, but never in a gimmicky way – and a really great bridge between late 60s modes of funk, jazz, and soul – at the same level he'd serve up more famously in his collaborations with Les McCann! There's a lot of that same energy here, but the vibe is even tighter – and Harris really blows us away with his great arrangements, which get a slight bit of help from Arif Mardin. Other players include Melvin Jackson on bass, Seldon Powell on reeds, and Joe Zawinul on keyboards – and titles include "Silver Cycles", "Electric Ballad", "Little Bit", "Free At Last", "Coltrane's View", "Electric Salad", "1974 Blues", and "Smoke Signals". CD

Milt plays mostly Monk – recorded live at Ronnie Scotts, with Ray Brown on bass, Monty Alexander on piano, and Mickey Roker on drums. CD

Milt Jackson's third album for CTI – part of a wonderful run that really helped him redefine his sound in the 70s! The album's got the electric approach you'd expect from the label – a great change from the sound of Jackson in the Modern Jazz Quartet, and a surprisingly great setting for his wonderful work on vibes! Milt's laidback style is perfect for the CTI mode – open, flowing, and filled with great tones – matched up here with sax work by Jimmy Heath, bass by Ron Carter, piano from Cedar Walton, and drums by Mickey Roker – a perfect setting to let loose in a way he rarely did on his earlier albums. The whole set's great – and titles include "Lost April", "Rerev", "The Metal Melter", "The Steel Bender", and "I'm Not So Sure". LP, Vinyl record album

The date's a bit late, but this is a nice groover from Willis, with a strong jazzy sound, and organ by Mickey Tucker and guitar by Pat Martino. A few of the tracks are a bit more lyrical than the old days, but Willis' tone is always a treat, even in the mellow moments. Titles include "Miss Ann", "Headed & Gutted", "Gator Whale", and "Blue Velvet". LP, Vinyl record album

One of Milt Jackson's best albums from the 60s – and one we love because it's got a lot more of a soul jazz feel than others! Of course, you've got to thank the rest of the group for that – because with players like Jimmy Heath, Jimmy Owens, Cedar Walton, Mickey Roker, and Walter Booker, Milt couldn't help being a little bit soulful. Tracks are short, tight, and Milt's vibes ring out in a soulful, almost Roy Ayers-ish jazzy way. Titles include "Some Kinda Waltz", "Bring It Home", "Whale Pool", "Tears Of Joy", and "One Step Down". LP, Vinyl record album

With Milt Jackson on vibes, Eddie Lockjaw Davis and Johnny Griffin on tenors, Tommy Flanagan on piano, and Mickey Roker on drums – on titles that include "Lover Come Back To Me", "What's New", and "Cherokee". CD

Short instrumentals from drummer Harry James – produced in a way that often has a slight hip hop influence at times, but mostly in the way the other instruments are layered into the mix! Harry's drums are often live, and nicely crackling – and there's some great use of piano on the record – often acoustic, but produced with some cool effects that give it a nice wash of color, mixed with contributions from other guests like Keefe Jackson, Rob Frye, and Gerald Bailey. The tunes are short, nicely melodic, and with this crispy blend of drumbeats and sentiment. Titles include "Shaving Ahab", "Tumbleweed", "Mickey's Mantle", "Bucket Boy", "Dragon Juice", "Twenty Five Brookside", and "Crusher Of Babylon". LP, Vinyl record album