The last slice of work to be released from the incredible Monks – a group of American servicemen who rocked the German scene in the mid 60s – and have gone onto become the stuff of legend over the years! The group's Polydor recordings have been issued and reissued many times – but this shorter batch of tracks features five tunes recorded at the Top Ten Club in the summer of 1967 – evidently the last work that the group did together before breaking up – with a sound that's every bit as amazing as their famous album, if not more adventurous overall! The Monks' approach is very hard to peg – certainly elements of garage and psych, but with a madness that really makes these guys completely unique – maybe even more so here, as they weren't trying to please any execs at a record company. Titles include "I Need U Shatzi", "Yellow Grass", "Julia", "PO Box 3291", and "I'm Watching You" CD

Two rare tracks from Monk Higgins – possibly his jazziest on record! Both cuts have a rolling soul jazz kind of groove – a bit like work by Ray Bryant, but with a stronger tip on the horns, which snake in and out of the tracks with some nice angular solos. Great stuff – and proof that Monk could hit it hard in any genre! 7-inch, Vinyl record

An incredible batch of prime garage rock era nuggets from the Peruvian scene – fuzzy gems by the Saicos! The Saicos bring a sense of menace to these tunes – with a guitar tone touched with an eerie vibe, and lead vocals that are really piercing and gravelly in that instills this primordial edge that needs to be heard to be believed – but that balance it off with some moddish, British invasion grooves, too. The overall sound manages to blend both the heavy menace of cult acts like the Monks and the Seeds with the tunefulness of the Animals – and clear precursor the garage punk for decades to come! Titles include "Come On (Ven Aqui)", "Ana", "Demolicion", "Lonely Star (Estrella Solitaria)", "Cememterio", "Te Amo", "Fugitivo De Alcatraz", "Salvaje", "El Entierro De Los Gatos", "Besando A Otra" and "Intensamente". Comes with a great booklet, too! LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Stonebury", "Monks At Casamari", "They Haven't Got The Girls In The USA", and "The Cardinal In Vienna". LP, Vinyl record album

A 60s Cali group named The Pyramids, but one who might have been named The Monks instead – given that all their members shaved their heads, while also delivering a razor-sharp version of guitar-heavy surf rock! The Pyramids may not have been the biggest name on the west coast scene at the time – but like so many other "lost" groups, they've got amazing instrumental chops – not just on guitar, but on bass, drums, and keyboards – which they deliver with great intensity in this mix of vocal and instrumental tracks! Titles include "Koko Joe", "Sticks & Skins", "Paul", "Here Comes Marsha", "Walkin The Dog", "Everybody", "Out Of Limits", "Contact", "Pressure", "Pyramid Stomp", "Custom Caravan", and "Midnight Run". CD

The box takes its name from a Red Noise song issued in 1979 – and the collection features a whole host of other crucial tracks from that important year in the British music scene – a time when punk was already fading some of its initial glow, but opening the door for a whole host of new groups and creative styles to make their way into the world – as you'll hear here on this really well-collected batch of tracks from right at the tail end of the 70s! The work here is by artists who'd soon raise to greater fame, maybe just represented here by an initial single or two – mixed with others that left a big mark at the time, but maybe didn't have the longer staying power – a blend that's a great reminder of how dynamic the UK scene was at the time, and much more receptive to newcomers than some of the more bloated American music outlets in 1979. Styles move way way past punk – and the box features a whopping 75 tracks in all, with work by Glaxo Babies, Dead Fingers Talk, Jonnie & The Lubes, The Members, Joy Division, John Cooper Clarke, Magazine, Sham 69, Three Party Split, Tubeway Army, Teardrop Explodes, The Skids, Clash, Jags, Undertones, The Ruts, Jam, XTC, The Regents, Spizzenergi, Madness, The Monks, Vapors, The Pack, Disco Zombies, Swell Maps, and many others! CD

A beautiful record – although one that's tinged with a touch of sadness, given the setting. In what was becoming an unfortunate tradition in their later years, the remaining members of the legendary South African jazz group The Blue Notes join together to mourn the passing of one of their original bandmembers – the great bassist Johnny Dyani, a player whose sound had a key influence on both African and European jazz scenes of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. The group for this session is reduced to Chris McGregor on piano, Louis Moholo on bass, and Dudu Pukwana on alto and soprano saxes – working together in a beautiful session of tunes that hearken back to the rhythms of the group's roots – while still allowing some of the freer interplay that they discovered in later years. McGregor's piano is especially nice – tinged with sadness and appropriate blue notes – providing a nice undercurrent to the solo work of Pukwana. Titles include "Funk Dem Dudu", "Eyomzi", "Blues For Nick", and "Monks & Mbizo". CD

A beautiful record – although one that's tinged with a touch of sadness, given the setting. In what was becoming an unfortunate tradition in their later years, the remaining members of the legendary South African jazz group The Blue Notes join together to mourn the passing of one of their original bandmembers – the great bassist Johnny Dyani, a player whose sound had a key influence on both African and European jazz scenes of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. The group for this session is reduced to Chris McGregor on piano, Louis Moholo on bass, and Dudu Pukwana on alto and soprano saxes – working together in a beautiful session of tunes that hearken back to the rhythms of the group's roots – while still allowing some of the freer interplay that they discovered in later years. McGregor's piano is especially nice – tinged with sadness and appropriate blue notes – providing a nice undercurrent to the solo work of Pukwana. Titles include "Funk Dem Dudu", "Eyomzi", "Blues For Nick", and "Monks & Mbizo". LP, Vinyl record album

A 60s Cali group named The Pyramids, but one who might have been named The Monks instead – given that all their members shaved their heads, while also delivering a razor-sharp version of guitar-heavy surf rock! The Pyramids may not have been the biggest name on the west coast scene at the time – but like so many other "lost" groups, they've got amazing instrumental chops – not just on guitar, but on bass, drums, and keyboards – which they deliver with great intensity in this mix of vocal and instrumental tracks! Titles include "Koko Joe", "Sticks & Skins", "Paul", "Here Comes Marsha", "Walkin The Dog", "Everybody", "Out Of Limits", "Contact", "Pressure", "Pyramid Stomp", "Custom Caravan", and "Midnight Run". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic outing of solo piano by Thelonious Monk – a format that wasn't used often, but which always made for some really compelling work! Monk in this mode is often different than the bolder leader of a trio or larger group – and there's a more introspective quality to the record that we really like – a sound that's sometimes tentative, then sometimes pushing forward with strength – almost more human than on some of his other efforts of the late 50s. John Coltrane makes a surprising appearance on the last track – "Monk's Mood" – and other titles include "April In Paris", "Ghost Of A Chance", "Functional", "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You", "I Should Care", "'Round Midnight", and "All Alone". Features bonus tracks "Monks' Mood (false start)", "Ghost Of A Chance (take 5)" & "I Should Care (takes 1 & 2)". CD