A great little album from French singer Pat Kalla – an artist whose "Super Mojo" here is really the genius of producer Bruno "Patchworks" Hovart! The set is a collaboration between Pat and Patchworks – and uses the great vocals of Kalla to bring new focus to the kind of warm clubby grooves we've always loved on a Patchworks record – maybe a mix of Afro funk and underground club – all with a very vintage vibe! The rhythms are tight and focused, with maybe some Antilles elements too – and titles include "Ca Va Aller", "La Terre", "Ballade De Nuit", "Lady Angola", "Ancien Combattant", "Laissez Moi Danser", "Madiba", "Pygmee", and "African Disco". CD

A great little album from French singer Pat Kalla – an artist whose "Super Mojo" here is really the genius of producer Bruno "Patchworks" Hovart! The set is a collaboration between Pat and Patchworks – and uses the great vocals of Kalla to bring new focus to the kind of warm clubby grooves we've always loved on a Patchworks record – maybe a mix of Afro funk and underground club – all with a very vintage vibe! The rhythms are tight and focused, with maybe some Antilles elements too – and titles include "Ca Va Aller", "La Terre", "Ballade De Nuit", "Lady Angola", "Ancien Combattant", "Laissez Moi Danser", "Madiba", "Pygmee", and "African Disco". LP, Vinyl record album

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Bob Dylan's on the cover – part of a big look at his legendary Rolling Thunder tour – but to us, the real attraction is the issue's lost interview material with the late Scott Walker! There's also plenty more – articles on Metallica, Ptti Smith, The National, Lee Scratch Perry, Ranking Roger, and Elton John – plus page after page of reviews of new releases! The issue also comes with a bonus New Thunder Revue CD – with an exclusive Bob Dylan track, plus more by Robert Forster, Will Oldham, Wooden Wand, Jeff Tweedy, Marco Prince, Courtney Barnett, and others. Magazine

Never-issued material from the mighty Mojo Men – music recorded in San Francisco in the year before their bigger fame in the 60s – all of it pretty darn great! The tracks here are a great example of the tightness of the group – that razor-sharp blend of garage rock and trippier elements the combo was known for, served up here with a gritty intensity that rivals the best of the harder side of the Sunset Strip scene! Vocalist Janet Errico sounds especially great here – with that sharp-edged female sound that was coming out of the Bay Area scene at the time, but honed a bit more to match the tightness of the group's guitar and Hammond lines. CD features a whopping 24 rare tracks – a few of which are original takes of later hits, but most of which are fresh compositions – a set of tracks that includes "Til I Find You", "Look Into My Eyes", "Free Ride", "Not For Me", "Remember Me", "I've Had It", "She Cried", "Not Too Old To Start Cryin", "They May Be Right", "What's The Answer", "What Kind Of Man", "Happiness Is You", and "Don't Leave Me Crying Like Before". CD

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Mojo looks at the 50 greatest songs of Fleetwood Mac – a group who've had surprising longevity over the years, as is also recounted in another feature on their current lineup and status! The issue also has a look at Motown Records, unknown Joy Division material, the late Mark Hollis, the group Status Quo, and the current fantastic explosion of jazz on the UK scene. There's also loads of record reviews – and a bonus CD of 15 classic Motown tracks! Magazine

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Keith Richards both features in an exclusive interview for the issue, and edits Mojo as well – with features on personal heroes that include Muddy Waters, Bobby Keys, Peter Tosh, and Norah Jones! There's also a special Memory Motel CD – with favorite Keith Richards songs by Jimmy Reed, Toots & The Maytals, Funkadelic, Patti Labelle, and others – and the issue also has a look at the revived Dexy's Midnight Runners, and the Manchester scene in 1989. We're guessing those last two don't have much input from Keith – and the issue also features reviews for 131 new releases and reissues! Magazine

This issue's got a massive 22 page cover feature on the great Joni Mitchell – and also comes with a bonus CD that includes 15 songs inspired by Joni's genius too! Other articles look at The Specials and 40 years of 2Tone Records, the untold story of David Bowie, and Pete Shelly, John Sebastian, Small Faces, and Royal Trux – plus the magazine's always-great section of reviews and other music news! Magazine

The unhinged story of The Doors is the cover story this month – with lots more features, on Khruangbin, Donny Hathaway, Prefab Sprout, Fleetwood Mac, Noel Gallagher, The Moody Blues, Mick Jagger and the 50th Anniversary of his legendary, Nicolas Roeg-directed film Performance, 2019 music preview and the always deep section of reviews. Comes with the a CD, Swoons – 15 Alternative Pop Gems From The 80s, with Prefab Sprout, Microdisney, Scritti Politti, Orange Juice, Felt and more. Magazine

Titles include "Got My Mojo Working", "Easy Easy Baby", "Are You Satisfied", "My Tearful Heart", "You're Mine", "I've Got A Little Boy", "Brand New House", and "I've Got Nothing Working Now" LP, Vinyl record album

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A mixed bag of tracks from Gary – but a really nice record overall, one that has him stretching out in the Atlantic years! 3 of the album's tracks were recorded live in Montreux, the others were recorded back in New York – and Gary plays a variety of instruments in addition to vibes, including electric piano, organ, and piano. Tracks are a mixture of modern and hippy, and titles include "Moonchild/In Your Quiet Place", "The Sunset Bell", "Hullo Bolinas", "General Mojo's Well Laid Plan", and "Chega De Saudade". LP, Vinyl record album

Mindblowing work from Booker Ervin – one of our favorite albums ever from his years at Prestige, and a record that really earns its haunting title and cover image! Book's definitely headed out to space on this one – working in a freer mode than on some of his Texas tenor-styled albums – and getting great accompaniment in his journey from Jaki Byard on piano, Richard Davis on bass, and Alan Dawson on drums. The Davis/Dawson team is a delight throughout – soulful and in the pocket, yet working with enough sense of space to allow Ervin and Byard to really take off on their solos! The album features 4 long tracks – and titles include "There Is No Greater Love", "Number Two", "Mojo", and "I Can't Get Started". CD

A fantastic combination of modern jazz talents – the groundbreaking Gary Burton Quartet, and the young avant ensemble of trombonist Mike Gibbs! The set begins with a fantastic performance by Burton's group – heard here in a lineup that has the guitar of Dave Pritchard sharing equal chromatic roles with Burton's beautiful vibes – alongside sublime bass from Steve Swallow, and drums from Bill Goodwin. Gary solos on a great version of "Chega De Saudade", and other tunes include "General Mojo's Well Laid Plan", "Arise Her Eyes", "And On The Third Day", "Ballet", and "Portsmith Configurations". CD 2 features a full set by Gibbs' group – in a rare recording before their debut album – with a lineup that includes Kenny Wheeler and Trevor Barber on trumpets, Alan Skidmore and Ray Warleigh on saxes, Chris Spedding on guitar, and Chris Pyne on trombone with Gibbs. Tracks are all long, and really beautiful – and include "Nowhere", "Walter L", "Tanglewood 63", and "Sojourn/June The 15th 1967". There's also vibes on these performances, but the notes are a bit unclear – so we're not sure if they're by Burton, or Frank Ricotti – who also worked with Gibbs. Burton's group returns on the funky track "Doin The Pig" – and then CD3 features a full second performance from earlier in 1969 – with a group that also includes John Surman on soprano, Mike Osborne on alto, Henry Lowther on trumpet, Jack Bruce on bass, and Ricotti on vibes. Titles on this set include "Feelings & Things/June The 15th 1967", "Sweet Rain", "Family Joy Oh Boy", and "Fly Time Fly Sigh". CD

Dizzy Gillespie in Europe, 1965 – and a record that stands as a tremendous entry to Dizzy's very cooking small combo work of the time! The group is fantastic – and features a young Kenny Barron on piano, with Chris White on bass and Rudy Collins on drums – and James Moody on completely mindblowing alto and flute, really hitting a very groovy point in his career here – and working with Dizzy in energy that's as soulful as it is inventive! The album rivals the genius of Swing Low Sweet Cadillac and New Wave – and shares the same mix of soul and Latin influences in the groove – on titles that include "Fiesta Mojo", "Con Alma", "Tin Tin Deo", "Chega De Saudade", and "Enter Priest". CD

Beautiful original pressing of this great session that focuses on Diz's committment to Latin and Carribean rhythms. The set features Diz's great mid-60's combo with James Moody (on tenor and Latin flute), Kenny Barron (on piano and bass), and Chris White (on bass and guitar) – plus some added Latin percussion and occasional backing vocals by the group. Dizzy's sound is sparkling and shining, and soars ahead of the arrangements nicely – especially on groovers like "Fiesta Mojo", "Jambo", "Trinidad, Hello", and "Don't Try To Keep Up With the Joneses". Very groovy stuff, and packaged in an amazing gatefold cover, with very cool graphics, and a great booklet! LP, Vinyl record album

A set with younger players – "New Faces" – including Kenny Kirkland on piano, Branford Marsalis on tenor, and Lonnie Plaxico on bass! Ttiles include "Birk's Works", "Tin Tin Deo", "Fiesta Mojo", and "Tenor Song". LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty great concept from tenorist Craig Handy – a set that seeks to rework the songbook of Hammond hero Jimmy Smith, but with rhythmic influences borrowed from the second-line styles of New Orleans! The approach is less hokey than you might expect – as the Nola influences come through in the snapping rhythms of Jason Marsalis on drums, often blended with sousaphone from Clark Gayton instead of any work on bass – while Kyle Koehler plays the Hammond B3 with these romping modes that recall the most joyous sounds of Jimmy Smith on verve. Dee Dee Bridgewater sings guest vocals on one track, and Handy gets plenty of space to solo too – on titles that include "Mojo Workin", "Organ Grinder's Swing", "I Almost Lost My Mind", "High Heel Sneakers", "Mellow Mood", "Road Song", and "Minor Chant". CD

What? A brand new album from Jimi Hendrix? Didn't he, uh, check out a few decades ago? Well, turns out that the Experience folks have found some amazing work on the vaults – really incredible tracks that are way more than just a rehash of previous releases, aren't demo recordings at all – and are instead some wonderful work that really comes together well as a long-overdue full album! The set's a stunning smoker through and through – filled with the kind of deft guitar work that made Jimi a legend right from the start – and stuffed into tunes that pack as much of a punch as any of the famous Hendrix singles that have kept spinning for so many years. All tracks are studio recordings, all previously unreleased – and titles include new songs like "Somewhere" and "Hear My Train A Comin", plus studio takes of "Inside Out" and "Bleeding Heart" – and lots more great tracks that include "Earth Blues", "Let Me Love You", "Izabella", "Crash Landing", "Easy Blues", and "Mojo Man". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Mojo Hand (parts 1 & 2)", "Hello Central", "Black & Evil", "I Hear You Callin", "Annie's Blues", "Trouble In Mind", "One Kind Favor", "Hold Up Your Hand", "My Starter Won't Start This Morning", and "Back Door Friend". LP, Vinyl record album

Lots of early classics – "Pretty Flamingo", "Let's Go Get Stoned", "My Little Red Book", "Got My Mojo Working", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", and "Oh No Not My Baby". LP, Vinyl record album

Lost grooves from Spanish Harlem – an incredible set of Latin Soul from The 107th Street Stickball Team! With a name like that, the group certainly aren't as well-remembered as contemporaries like Joe Bataan or Willie Colon, but they've got a soulful groove that definitely fits the style of the time – a sweet uptown blend of Harlem soul and Latin rhythms – with the same blend of sweet soul ballads and uptempo groovers you'd find on some of Bataan's classic albums for Fania Records! Bobby Marin put the whole album together, with a tight groove that's very similar to his work for Speed Records – played here by a group that includes Orlando Marin, Louie Ramirez, Ozzie Torrens, and Joey Pastrana – all kings of Latin Soul at the time! Vocalists include Butch Johnson and Danny Agosto – but there's a real group feel to the record, with lots of harmonies behind the lead – the kind of streetcorner soul you might have heard while catching a stickball game on one of the side streets up north of Harlem. Titles include "Toma Guajira", "Look To Me", "You Put A Hurt In My Heart", "Rhythm & Soul", "Mojo Shingaling", "Barbara With The Kooky Eyes", "Tell Her I Love Her", and "Let Me Do My Thing". LP features unreleased tracks – "Lost In The Jungle", "Hey Mama", "Rose Marie With The Funny Knees", and "Come Live With Me". LP, Vinyl record album

The sound of Wilson Pickett is the sound of soul – bursting out here proudly in a classic session that features production from Rick Hall and the Fame Studios team! The record's got a gritty, nitty kind of feel that easily makes it one of Wilson's best – and with backing that includes Chips Moman on guitar, Spooner Oldham on piano and organ, and Roger Hawkins on drums, Pickett could almost sit the record out. But instead of taking it the easy way, he even outdoes the combo with a really hard-wailing performance of his own! Titles include the great 2 part take on "I Found A Love (parts 1 & 2)", plus "Mojo Mama", "I Found The One", "I'm Sorry About That", "Love Is A Beautiful Thing", "Soul Dance Number 3", "Funky Broadway", and "I'm Sorry About That". LP, Vinyl record album

Buzzingly sunny power pop on a level that's rarely reached post-millennium! Michael Rault wouldn't only be filed so close to the Raspberries in your record collections because of the Ra-, he's a genuine torch carrier for sounds pioneered by bands of that ilk – a mix of sweetness and grit with tuneful songs, bright vocals, fuzzy guitars and rhythms. Recorded at Daptone's House Of Soul in Brooklyn, it's pretty wonderful how the old school mojo that imbues funk & soul records made there works its way onto sunny psych/power, too – but all credit to Rault's voice and songcraft! Includes "I'll Be There", "New Day Tonight", "Sleep With Me", "Oh, Clever Boy", "Sitting Still", "Dream Song", "Pyramid Scheme", "Out Of The Light", "Sleeping And Smiling" and "When The Sun Shines". LP, Vinyl record album

Buzzingly sunny power pop on a level that's rarely reached post-millennium! Michael Rault wouldn't only be filed so close to the Raspberries in your record collections because of the Ra-, he's a genuine torch carrier for sounds pioneered by bands of that ilk – a mix of sweetness and grit with tuneful songs, bright vocals, fuzzy guitars and rhythms. Recorded at Daptone's House Of Soul in Brooklyn, it's pretty wonderful how the old school mojo that imbues funk & soul records made there works its way onto sunny psych/power, too – but all credit to Rault's voice and songcraft! Includes "I'll Be There", "New Day Tonight", "Sleep With Me", "Oh, Clever Boy", "Sitting Still", "Dream Song", "Pyramid Scheme", "Out Of The Light", "Sleeping And Smiling" and "When The Sun Shines". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "A Fool In Love", "Tra La La", "It's Gonna Work Out Fine", "Mind In A Whirl", "I Idolize You", "Letter From Tina", "Good Good Lovin", and "Mojo Queen". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the biggest albums of Muddy Waters' career – a key crossover effort that has Waters as the "father" working with "sons" Paul Butterfield and Michael Bloomfield! The style here is still quite rootsy overall – and the double-length session features one album recorded in the studio, and a second done live at the Super Cosmic Joy-Scout Jamboree – key evidence of the growing hippie audience for blues like this! The core group features Waters on vocals with Otis Spann on piano, Mike Bloomfield on guitar, Paul Butterfield on harmonica, Donald Duck Dunn on bass, and Sam Lay on drums – and guest players include Phil Upchurch on bass and Buddy Miles on drums – each on one number. Titles include "All Aboard", "Mean Disposition", "Forty Days & Forty Nights", "Sugar Sweet", "Twenty Four Hours", "I'm Ready", "Walkin Thru The Park", "Got My Mojo Working (parts 1 & 2)", "The Same Thing", "Baby Please Don't Go", and "Honey Bee". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the biggest albums of Muddy Waters' career – a key crossover effort that has Waters as the "father" working with "sons" Paul Butterfield and Michael Bloomfield! The style here is still quite rootsy overall – and the double-length session features one album recorded in the studio, and a second done live at the Super Cosmic Joy-Scout Jamboree – key evidence of the growing hippie audience for blues like this! The core group features Waters on vocals with Otis Spann on piano, Mike Bloomfield on guitar, Paul Butterfield on harmonica, Donald Duck Dunn on bass, and Sam Lay on drums – and guest players include Phil Upchurch on bass and Buddy Miles on drums – each on one number. Titles include "All Aboard", "Mean Disposition", "Forty Days & Forty Nights", "Sugar Sweet", "Twenty Four Hours", "I'm Ready", "Walkin Thru The Park", "Got My Mojo Working (parts 1 & 2)", "The Same Thing", "Baby Please Don't Go", and "Honey Bee". CD

Killer compilation with tracks by The Shadows Of Knight, "The Free, The Fenways, The Front Lines, The Mojo Men, The Bare Facts, The Vacant Lot, The Third Bardo, The Plunderers, Jay Brown and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A hell of a great record from Magic Sam – a really well-recorded live set from a small club in Milwaukee, and an album that really gets at all the gritty genius that made Sam so great! The set's almost equal parts blues and soul – definitely the former, but with plenty of funky undercurrents of the latter, too – especially given the open setting, and the group's mighty strong drums from Bob Richey! Sam's vocals and guitar are wonderfully raspy, but super-sharp at the same time – and the only other instrumentation in the set is some mighty nice bass from Big Mojo Elem. Titles include "Hully Gully Twist", "I Need You So Bad", "Feelin Good", "You Belong To Me", "That's All Right", "Lookin Good", "San Ho Zay", "Every Night Every Day", and "It's All Your Fault Baby". Also features an LP bonus track – "I Found Me A New Love". LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary night at Chicago's Checkerboard Lounge – when The Stones, in town for some shows out in Rosemont, sat in with their hero Muddy Waters! First and foremost – we're in Muddy's wheelhouse here – it's his show, and he sounds great, even this late in the game! The Stones, who are hardly ever better from the early 80s onward than when they're in hard blues homage mode, provide stellar support, and they may very well instigate Muddy and his band to bring their best, which they handily do! Also in action are Muddy's own great band and other guests, including John Primer, Rick Kreher, Earnest Johnson, Ray Allison and Mojo Buford – plus Junior Wells, Buddy Guy (who does some singing on the set, along with Mick and Muddy), Lefty Dizz and Nick Charles. The whole thing sounds great, and this 2LP edition also includes a DVD of the live show – and titles include "Sweet Little Angel", instrumental takes on "Country Boy" and "Baby Please Don't Go", "Hoochie Coochie Man", "Mannish Boy", "Got My Mojo Workin'", "One Eyed Woman", "Clouds In My Heart", "Champagne And Reefer" and more. CD

Fantastic work from a time when the London scene was heavy on influences from American soul, blues, and R&B – and sought to turn the best elements of that music into something new and unique! Some of the groups here are ones that you'll recognize from later years and greater fame, others are early combos that featured later stars, and still others are wonderful groups you've been lost to the shifting sands of time – but who really show the fantastic edge that the British scene had in the mid 60s! Lots of this work has the mod vibe you'd expect from the title, but there's also some fuzzier moments too – and the package is a hell of a deal at this great price! 80 tracks in all – with titles that include "Looking Back" by Spencer Davis, "I Don't Need Your Kind" by The Rockin Vickers, "Done Me Wrong" by The Couriers, "Broken Truth" by A Wild Uncertainty, "Looky, Looky" by The Brothers Grimm, "Kangaroo" by Hoagy Benson, "Reviewing The Situation" Jacki Bond, "No Good Without You" by The Birds, You Can't Be Serious" by The Mirage, "Jak D'Or" by Episode Six, "Until My Baby Comes Home" by The Mojos, "Hush" by Kris Ife, "Take It Easy" by Sugar Simone, "Yes I Do" by Ram John Holder, "Take Away" by The Couriers, "I'll Be Doggone" by Glen Ingram, "Ace Of Clubs" by The Knave, "Last Night" by Laurel Aitken & The Soulmen, "Baby Do You Know What You're Doing" by Arthur Brown Set, "Please Go" by The Trekkas, and "Tough She Says" by The In Crowd. CD

Stunning soul from the 70s – a host of rare tracks that mostly appeared as short-lived singles on Polydor – really lost to the shifting sands of time amidst the bigger acts on the label! The work here rivals the best of the best from the time – particularly the east coast groups who were getting bigger play on smaller indie labels – or some of the best Chicago acts of the time, who were helping to forge a new wave of modern soul! Production is never too slick, or uptight – and every single track is a mellow soul treasure that's brimming over with sweet vocals and laidback grooves – all hand-picked by legendary soul collector Bob Abrahamian, who also wrote some very detailed notes for the collection too. One of our favorite mellow soul collections ever – with tracks that include "You're Hardly Gone" by Tyrone Thomas, "The Goodbye Song" by Vaneese & Carolyn, "Step Inside My World" by The Reason Why, "Say You Will" by Mojoba, "All Alone By The Telephone" by The Checkmates Ltd, "We're Gonna Make It" by New World, "Sooner Or Later" by Alvarez, "Love Market" by JJ Williams, "Say Yeah" by Sam Dees, "I'm So Glad" by Prime Cut, and "I Just Want To Thank You" by Jules Johnson & The Dynamics. CD