Features Mojo Buford on harmonica and vocals – with Little Smokey Smothers on bass, and Sonny Rogers, Sammy Lawhorn, and Pee Wee Madison on guitars! LP, Vinyl record album

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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Brian May and Roger Taylor chart the future of Queen this time around – amidst other articles on Mavis Staples, Bill Callahan, OMD, and the Pink Floyd reunion of Roger Waters and Nick Mason! There's also a look at the classic album In The Court Of The Crimson King – and the heavy year of 1969 for Creedence Clearwater Revival – plus 129 reviews of new releases, and a bonus CD that features rare and live tracks from King Crimson! 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

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

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

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

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Although he was the consummate high-class hipster at the start of his career, for some reason Jimmy Smith seemed to hit a forced sort of rootsy style about halfway through his years at Verve. The style worked well for him, even if it sometimes languished in bluesy tones that seemed a bit forced – and on this album, his basic trio of Grady Tate and Kenny Burrell are augmented by arrangements by Oliver Nelson. Nelson keeps things from getting too hokey, and Jimmy's organ lines are free and sharp on the best cuts. Titles include "Mustard Greens", "Hobson's Hop", "Got My Mojo Workin", and "High Heel Sneakers". Jimmy pays tribute to an earlier generation of R&B – in a hard-wailing set of soul jazz, done with backings from the legendary Oliver Nelson! A few tracks feature vocals by Jimmy, in a rough bluesy style, and others have some harmonica by Buddy Lucas – in a raspy, hard-wailing mode that still fits in nicely with the jazzier style of the album. Jimmy's organ is right up front on most numbers – recorded with that full, dynamic sound that makes so many of his Verve albums a treasure – and the best numbers have a more contemporary 60s groove alongside the older bluesy roots. Grady Tate plays drums – surprisingly funky at times – and other players include Melba Liston and Tom McIntosh on trombones, Billy Butler on guitar, Bob Cranshaw on Fender bass, and Joe Newman on trumpet. Titles include "Hi Heel Sneakers", "TNT", "Boom Boom", "Ain't That Just Like A Woman", and "One Mint Julep". CD

Music from John's Children, the Smoke, Tomorrow, the Attack, the Troggs, the Move, Small Faces, the In Crowd, Donovan, the Zombies, Focus Three & more. CD

The title's a bit bluesy, and the record is too – one of the grittier collaborations between Hammond legend Jimmy Smith and ultra-hip arranger Oliver Nelson – who manages to make the whole thing come across with all the right soul styles in the end! There's definitely a nod to the electric blues of Chess Records and Chicago, but the approach is more sculpted in Nelson's tight, swinging big band modes – which snap along in the background, as Jimmy takes some freewheeling solos on Hammond that are outta sight – and even vocalizes occasionally along with his grooves – in a grunting, bluesy sort of way! Rhythm is augmented strongly by Grady Tate on drums and Kenny Burrell on guitar – and titles include "Mustard Greens", "Hobson's Hop", "Got My Mojo Workin", and "High Heel Sneakers". LP, Vinyl record album

Music from Boyd Gilmore, Snooky Pryor, Ike Turner's Kings Of Rhythm, JB Lenor, Little Milton, Sonny Boy Williamson, Jimmy Reed, Jack Davis, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, BB King, Bo Diddley, Cleo Brown & more. CD

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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

A weird little record from Bill Cosby – a set that's not as all-out funky as some of his other vocal albums, but still pretty nice overall! The style here is more bluesy than soul-based, but production is still by Fred Smith, of 103rd Street Rhythm Band fame – and the album has a sense of grit that's a lot stronger than you might guess. Many of the tunes are covers from an older R&B era, and Cosby takes them with an approach that's a bit tongue-in-cheek at times – kind of garbling the lyrics and muddying up the sound, even though we know he can sing a bit more clearly from other records! There's certainly a few tracks that have a nice gritty soul sound, and titles include the great "Little Ole Man" which is basically Bill doing a skit over the "Uptight" rhythm – plus "Bright Lights Big City", "Big Boss Man", "Hush Hush", "Baby What You Want Me To Do", "Mojo Workout", "Doncha Know", and "Place In The Sun". LP, Vinyl record album

A tremendous non-Prestige moment from tenorist Booker Ervin – one of his first albums ever as a leader, and a record that bristles with 60s modern energy! The group here is only a quartet – with Horace Parlan on piano – and the album's got Booker's amazing tenor right out front, played with those angular, searching tones that are heard most famously on the Space and Freedom Book sessions for Prestige – but which seem to get almost more room for expression here! The remaining players are George Tucker on bass and Al Harewood on drums – both of whom help the album maintain a nicely rhythmic pulse, even when Ervin is going off into the stratosphere – and the album features 4 original tunes – "Mojo", "Uranus", "Boo", and "Booker's Blues" – plus versions of "Speak Low" and "Poinciana". 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

Excellent reissue of a lost session by Diz that was originally recorded for Limelight, and which 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! CD

A great issue of Paramount label 78s from the legendary Blind Lemon Jefferson – with titles that include "Lemon's Worried Blues", "Rabbit Foot Blues", "Bootin Me Bout", "Corinna Blues", "Low Down Mojo Blues", and "Piney Woods Money Mama". 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

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

A great little collection of Jimmy's tight tight tight Hammond sides cut for Verve during the 60s – with backings by Oliver Nelson and Lalo Schifrin, plus a few other sides in smaller combo format. Tracks include "Walk On The Wild Side", "Ol Man River", "The Cat", "Got My Mojo Workin", "High Heel Sneakers", "Hobo Flats", and "Organ Grinder's Swing". LP, Vinyl record album

A contemporary group, but one who play with a definite old school vibe – both in the style of their gritty blues, and even in the instruments and studio equipment they use! The vintage gear makes for a nicely raspy approach to the music – one that really helps give the record an edge you might not expect. Studebaker John sings, plays guitar and harmonica, and titles include "Cold Black Night", "Wicked Soul", "Shake It Down Now", "She's All Right", "Mississippi To Chicago", and "Mojo Hand". CD

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

The Memphis sound, working hard overseas – in a smoking live set that has some Stax Records stars working in Paris! There's a tightness here that arguably goes past the studio work by the singers – possibly because everyone's working in the same space, with the same backing group – and together have this intimacy that really makes the music sparkle. And sure, it's a bit rough around the edges at points, but in a good way – one that helps get past too-familiar modes in the tunes. Titles include "You Don't Know Like I Know" and "You Got Me Hummin" by Sam & Dave, "Raise Your Hand" and "But It's Alright" by Eddie Floyd", "Try A Little Tenderness" by Otis Redding, and "I Got My Mojo Working", "Let Me Be Good To You", and "Gee Whiz" by Carla Thomas. 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". LP, Vinyl record album

A tremendous non-Prestige moment from tenorist Booker Ervin – one of his first albums ever as a leader, and a record that bristles with 60s modern energy! The group here is only a quartet – with Horace Parlan on piano – and the album's got Booker's amazing tenor right out front, played with those angular, searching tones that are heard most famously on the Space and Freedom Book sessions for Prestige – but which seem to get almost more room for expression here! The remaining players are George Tucker on bass and Al Harewood on drums – both of whom help the album maintain a nicely rhythmic pulse, even when Ervin is going off into the stratosphere – and the album features 4 original tunes – "Mojo", "Uranus", "Boo", and "Booker's Blues" – plus versions of "Speak Low" and "Poinciana". LP, Vinyl record album

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

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

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

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