Includes the songs "Old School Jam", "Groovology", "Bring A Li'l Love", "Ain't No Stoppin'", "Change The World", "I Will Always Love You", "The Next Level", "I Need You", "Don't Hold Back", and "We Fall Down". CD

Mike Ladd, wearer of many brands of hats, drops some high concept hip hop on the broad minded Big Dada imprint, more or less a follow up to the Infesticons project started a few years back. You know the drill, post electro beats that refuse to admit they're jiggy, that'll appeal to fans of Anti Pop and fellow travellers in the left field world of the new school. Underground heroes like Vast Aire, Murs and El Producto saddle up next to Ladd and others whose names are even less household like Cheeta Chinchilla, Premadon-a etc. 15 party tracks, including "Piranha Party", "Platinum Blaque Party", "Helicopter Party", "Dwarf Star Party" and "San Trope Party". Be there or be square. CD

The younger Grant Green grooves in ways that would have made his pops proud – recording here in a sweet old school style that features Hammond from either Reuben Wilson or Michael Torsone, plus alto sax from the legendary Eddie Pazant! There's a warm, fluid groove to most tracks – one that hits that same sort of Prestige-era groove referenced in the "Jungle Strut" title – and the hollow-body tones of Green's instrument ring out very nicely next to the organ lines on the set. Titles include "Green Onions", "We Can Fly", "Jungle Strut", "Walk On By", and "When A Man Loves A Woman". CD

The fantastic first album from LL Cool J – one that really kicked off a whole new school of hip hop – the early Def Jam era! Radio features straight up excellent early Def production from Rick Rubin and loads of tight tracks from LL – whose charisma continued to flow for the next couple of decades – even if his later records could never approach this benchmark level. Tracks include "I Can't Live Without My Radio", "Rock The Bells", "Dangerous", "That's A Lie", "You'll Rock" and "I Can Give You More". A piece of history – and an album that changed hip hop forever! CD

The fantastic first album from LL Cool J – one that really kicked off a whole new school of hip hop – the early Def Jam era! Radio features straight up excellent early Def production from Rick Rubin and loads of tight tracks from LL – whose charisma continued to flow for the next couple of decades – even if his later records could never approach this benchmark level. Tracks include "I Can't Live Without My Radio", "Rock The Bells", "Dangerous", "That's A Lie", "You'll Rock" and "I Can Give You More". A piece of history – and an album that changed hip hop forever! LP, Vinyl record album

An insane collection of work – one that hugely expands the two-album legacy of this legendary American group! The box first includes their debut, Gyrate – overlooked genius from the scene in Athens, GA – served up by a group who also borrow plenty of influences from the UK post-punk world too! Pylon are heavy on bass that might be borrowed from Young Marble Giants, but then turned up in sound and speed – matched with these great guitar lines that are complex in sound, but right on the money in terms of placement – all topped with the vocals of Vanessa Biscoe Hay – a singer who's nicely understated, and as much a part of the sonic mix as the other elements in the group! Titles include "Feast On My Heart", "Precaution", "Driving School", "Gravity", "Working Is No Problem", "Stop It", "Danger", and "Read A Book". Next, the set features the album Chomp – a fantastic record from the Athens, GA scene of the early 80s – served up by a group who maybe never hit the fame of REM or B-52s, but who are maybe even groovier overall! Pylon have a strong bassline that almost seems borrowed from the Brit post-punk years, but also mix it with some catchier lyrics by a female singer – but one who's often nicely down in the mix, right alongside the jagged guitars and splashy drums – all of which create a sound that's like the best of the indie underworld of the period! The group almost feel like they would have been right at home on Factory or Rough Trade – which is partly why they maybe got more attention overseas than here – and the titles include "Italian Movie Theme", "Spider", "Yo Yo", "Buzz", "No Clocks", "Altitude", and "M Train". The set also features the rare Razz Tape – Pylon's first recordings, a set of 13 tracks that were unreleased at the time, and which predate their first 7" single! Then, the set also features the Extra CD – with 11 more tracks including some pre-Pylon work, the rare song "Recent Title", the original mix of "Crazy", and some other unreleased studio and live tracks. PLUS, the whole thing comes with a huge 12" square, hardbound book – 216 pages of notes and images, all in color – with a huge amount of essays, interviews, and other material on the group. CD

A beautiful lost record from the 70s – recorded by a singer from Harlem, but attending a Quaker school in Pennsylvania – which makes for a wonderfully cool blend of sounds and styles on the set! There's almost an acoustic core to the record, but the set also uses just the right amount of bass as well – next to piano that has some jazzy undercurrents, and which has the record coming across somewhere in the folksy soul territory of Terry Callier – recorded with a very similar sense of sophistication in both the songs and the performances! Shira's voice is great – very personal, and just right for the material – and titles include "Fingerpainter", "Cool Dude", "Here I Stand", "I Want To Lay With You", "Lights Gleam Lonely", "Touch Of Blue", "Gimme Magic", and "In An Open Field". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best-remembered albums from the Underground Kingz – a set that was even more expansive than most of the big hip hop records on the charts at the time – which leaves plenty of room for the Kingz and all of their entourage to do their thing! The set features plenty of guests, both older school and newer artists, some of whom balance the harder sound at the core with some soulful warmth – others of whom fan the flames a bit more. Outkast famously help shape the sound of "Intl Players Anthem" – and other features include Too Short on "Life Is 2009", Rick Ross on "Cocaine", Charlie Wilson and Willie D on "Quit Hatin The South", Talib Kweli and Raheem DeVaughn on "Real Women", and Big Daddy Kane and Kool G Rap on "Next Up" – next to other tracks that include "Underground Kingz", "Like That", "Living This Life", "Stop N Go", "How Long Can It Last", "Grind Hard", "The Game Belongs To Me", and "Swishas & Dosha". LP, Vinyl record album