The back cover of this one says "This Album Should Be Titled MONSTER" – and for once, the back cover is right! The album's the only one we've ever seen by the super-dope LA guitarist Cal Green – a wonderful talent with a hard-edge approach to the strings, one that's a bit like that of George Freeman, but a bit more laidback and spaced out. You might know Green from his work on albums by organist Charles Kynard – and Kynard joins Green here in a sweet little quartet session with some very funky moments. The album's got a killer original called "Trippin" which has some super-wonderful work on guitar – and it's also got some surprisingly great covers of "Days Of Wine & Roses" and "My Cherie Amour", taken with the chromatic wandering style of Eddie Fisher. Other highlights are the originals "Sieda", and "Mellow In Blue", plus the slightly offbeat "Johnny's Gone To Vietnam". A monster – indeed! LP, Vinyl record album

Way before Sinatra first grabbed the "Chairman Of The Board" title for his own musical persona, Basie laid great claim to the tag with this tight little album for Roulette! The album's got the 50s Basie band working at the height of their powers – with original compositions written and arranged by Frank Foster, Ernie Wilkins, Thad Jones, and Frank Wess – all of whom play in the bad, along with other all-stars like Freddie Green, Billy Mitchell, and Al Grey. The sound is tight, soulful, and searing Basie all the way through – with tunes that include "Segue In C", "Blues In Hoss' Flat", "Who Me?", "The Deacon", "Half Moon Street", "Mutt & Jeff", "TV Time", "Speaking Of Sounds", and "HRH". CD features 2 bonus tracks – "Fair & Warmer" and "Moten Swing". CD

BBE strikes again with another massive bit of funk! This time, they've got Pete Rock helping Keb Darge to choose the tracks – and the set's divided up so that the first half's all cuts picked by Pete, and the second's picked by Keb. These two funky selectas go head to head in a wonderful batch of rare tunes – and if you ask us, the listener's the real winner! Titles include "Trespasser (part 1)" by Bad Medicine, "Chains & Things" by BB King, "Soul Lover" by Mutt & Jeffo, "Break It Loose (part 2)" by Onyx, "You're Welcome Stop On By" by Vickie Anderson (Mommie O), "Big Bad John" by Big John Hamilton, "Prelude To Say Brother" by Stark Reality, "We Are The Chosen Few" by The Chosen Few, "Nothin But A Party (part 1)" by The Blenders, "Jones N" by The Soulistics, "Don't Give A Damn" by King Cain & Silvertone Band, "Twine Time" by Seeburg Spotlite Band, "Ca Ba Dab" by Soul Swingers, "Deal With It" by Jimmy Lane & The Incredibles, and "What They Doing (Funkie Junkie)" by Charles Pryor & Power Of Love. Loads of excellent cuts – and almost none of them have been reissued before! CD