A real standout set from the 80s years of trumpeter Woody Shaw – a solidly burning live set that blows away most of his studio work from the time! The album's noteworthy first of all for the presence of Bobby Hutcherson on vibes – whose soulful spiritual approach of the period dovetails nicely with the strongly righteous tone of Shaw's horn – but the rest of the group is great too, and benefits from extremely strong bass work from Stafford James, tight drums from Tony Reedus, spiraling piano lines from Mulgrew Miller, and some bold lines on trombone from a young Steve Turre! Tracks are all quite long – really flowing with an open, soulful sort of energy that really puts Shaw at the top of his power, and almost urges Hutcherson onto new heights in the process. Titles include "To Kill A Brick", "Apex", "Orange Crescent", and "All The Things You Are". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic gift from the gods – a lost live performance from one of our favorite trumpeters of all-time – and a set that has him really stretching out in all of his genius! Woody Shaw is really at the peak here – working in that soaring, spiritual mode that he virtually helped invent during the 70s – and which he carried with a strong torch still burning way into the 80s, at a time when some of his contemporaries had maybe lost their path a bit. Here, Woody soars to the skies on waves of soul – working with a wonderful group that includes Steve Turre on trombone, Mulgrew Miller on piano, Stafford James on bass, and Tony Reedus on drums – all players that really seem to be their best when working with Shaw! The rich basslines of James are always a key part of some of our favorite records by Woody, and they're equally great here – on titles that include "Rosewood", "Apex", "From Moment To Moment", "Theme For Maxine", and "Song Of Songs". Also features a bonus track – "Sweet Love Of Mine" – recorded in 1985 by the Paris Reunion Band. CD

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Music from the Jam, Generation X, the Rezillos, 999, Sham 69, Magazine, Wire, the Buzzcocks, X-Ray Spex, Stiff Little Fingers, the Lurkers, the Soft Boys, Alternative TV and more. CD

A deep dip into the sound of the late 70s – served up by writer Jon Savage, an author who's first claim to fame was his work on UK punk – which makes him a perfect guide for the sounds of this generation! Yet the music here is way more than just punk, too – as Savage really gets at the spirit of the time by mixing together revolutionary late 70s classics with more down to earth cuts – show just how much was going on at the time, and how the late 70s was still a moment of great experimentation and new ideas, even past the world of mohawks and safety pins! As with the other great entries in this "year" series from Savage, the overall presentation is wonderful – richly detailed notes that show his keen sense of musical observation and understanding – and a blend of 46 fantastic cuts on 2CDs, with titles that include "No Bones For The Dogs" by Joe Gibbs, "Magic Fly" by Space, "Prophecy Revel" by Bo Jangles, "Soda Passing" by The Boys, "Neat Neat Neat" by The Damned, "Utopia Me Giorgio" by Giorgio, "Day By Day" by Generation X, "The Modern Dance" by Pere Ubu, "Warm Leatherette" by The Normal, "Heavy Manners" by Prince Far I, "Kings Lead Hat" by Brian Eno, "Being Boiled" by The Human League, "28/8/78" by Scritti Politti, "Tired Of Walking Tired" by The Diodes, "I Remember" by Suicide, "Never" by Penetration, "White Night" by The Lines, "Come Back Jonee" by Devo, "The Set Up" by Cabaret Voltaire, "Human Fly" by The Cramps, "Situation" by The Middle Class, "Hippie" by Suzannes, "Warrior In Woolworths" by X Ray Spex, "Hindu God Of Love" by Lipstick Killers, "All Night Party" by A Certain Ratio, "Spacer" by Sheila B & Devotion, and "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" by The Slits. CD

A deep dip into the sound of the late 70s – served up by writer Jon Savage, an author who's first claim to fame was his work on UK punk – which makes him a perfect guide for the sounds of this generation! Yet the music here is way more than just punk, too – as Savage really gets at the spirit of the time by mixing together revolutionary late 70s classics with more down to earth cuts – show just how much was going on at the time, and how the late 70s was still a moment of great experimentation and new ideas, even past the world of mohawks and safety pins! As with the other great entries in this "year" series from Savage, the overall presentation is wonderful – richly detailed notes that show his keen sense of musical observation and understanding – and a blend of 46 fantastic cuts on 2CDs, with titles that include "No Bones For The Dogs" by Joe Gibbs, "Magic Fly" by Space, "Prophecy Revel" by Bo Jangles, "Soda Passing" by The Boys, "Neat Neat Neat" by The Damned, "Utopia Me Giorgio" by Giorgio, "Day By Day" by Generation X, "The Modern Dance" by Pere Ubu, "Warm Leatherette" by The Normal, "Heavy Manners" by Prince Far I, "Kings Lead Hat" by Brian Eno, "Being Boiled" by The Human League, "28/8/78" by Scritti Politti, "Tired Of Walking Tired" by The Diodes, "I Remember" by Suicide, "Never" by Penetration, "White Night" by The Lines, "Come Back Jonee" by Devo, "The Set Up" by Cabaret Voltaire, "Human Fly" by The Cramps, "Situation" by The Middle Class, "Hippie" by Suzannes, "Warrior In Woolworths" by X Ray Spex, "Hindu God Of Love" by Lipstick Killers, "All Night Party" by A Certain Ratio, "Spacer" by Sheila B & Devotion, and "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" by The Slits. CD

An early gem from saxophonist Muriel Grossmann – already at the sort of apex that would make her one of the key spiritual jazz players in the decade to come – creating the sort of music that's made her one of our favorite contemporary jazz musicians here at Dusty Groove! The vibe here is slightly different than some of Grossmann's more recent material – maybe a bit more open and less modal, but still with this way of building up a tune in these bold blocks of sound! Muriel blows alto sax throughout – and as on many of her other great recordings, guitarist Radomir Milojkovic is a key part of the sound here – creating all these tones and colors in a piano-less group that also features David Marroquin on bass and Marko Jelaca on drums. The album works as one long suite of tracks, with seven passages – including the segments "Strength", "Trust", "Breathing", "Patience", "Opening", "Slide", and "Welcome". CD

One of those unusual litle records on the Ampex label at the start of the 70s – a groovy rock group with a nice current of soul in the instrumentation – almost a Muscle Shoals sort of vibe – topped with nice vocals from Carol Breval, who's got this deep vibe that sounds nice next to the Hammond and horns! LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A tasty CD that brings together some cuts from Lonnie's legendary Afro-desia album for Groove Merchant from 1975, plus other tracks from later Groove Merchant sessions. The Afro-desia material is great – with Lonnie playing in a very stretched out, Larry Young-ish kind of way, and a young Joe Lovano laying down some sweet hard tenor solos. The other material features players like George Benson, Ben Riley, and Bob Cranshaw – and although the sound's a bit smoother, the groove's still pretty nice. Titles include "Apex", "Flavors", "Afrodesia", "All In My Mind", and "When Night Is Right". 7 cuts in all! CD

A really cool 70s album from the great Link Wray – done at the time when he was reinventing himself, and changing from a damn great instrumental guitarist to a singer as well – one with a much bolder presence in the limelight than ever before! Wray serves up some fantastic electric solos here, and sings a fair bit too – and the record has some connection to his earlier self-titled set on Polydor, but was recorded at Wally Heider's in San Francisco – instead of Link's three-track shack – which makes for a richer vibe overall! There's plenty of great help on the session – all-star work from Boz Scaggs on guitar, Pete Escovedo on congas, and Lenny Pickett on tenor – and Wray may well be at the apex of his 70s confidence in the lead, as you'll hear on titles that include "It Was A Bad Scene", "Good Time Joe", "Walkin/Bulldog", "I Got To Ramble", "We Said I Do", "Step This Way", "Super 88", and "She's That Kind Of Woman". CD

Tracks from Pentagon, Prince Po with Don Caligula, Wild S.P.I.C.K.S., P-Pham, Usual Suspex, Claudia Mia with Don Caligula, Bad Newz, Wild S.P.I.C.K.S., Bear, Pentagon with Stack A Dollar, and Union Officials. CD

A massive collection of work from these important years in music – and even if you don't know or care about Gary Crowley, who's pictured on the cover, you'll find plenty to love here if you dig UK sounds from the late 70s and early 80s! As indicated by the title, the set focuses on new wave and punk tracks – which also means that there's plenty of post-punk too – and the package does a really great job of offering up music that stands the test of time, even though much of it never got much play on American airwaves back in the day – music that really helped set the tone for a generation, and whose effects are still resonating all these many years later. As with volume one, the presentation is great – a very nice package, with detailed notes – and the 4CD set features 77 titles – with work by The Times, Shake, The Limps, Newtown Neurotics, The Slits, Gary Valentine, Basement 5, Dolly Mixture, Liquid Stone, The Subterraneans, Stiff Little Fingers, The Jam, Zounds, The Cure, The City Limits, Moving England, The Barracudas, Penetration, X-Ray Spex, The Limit, Magazine, Golinski Brothers, The Clash, and others. CD

Not girl pop, not chart hits, and instead a whole host of hard-burning tracks from the underground – a well-done collection that showcases a huge range of positive, powerful female musical expressions from the mid 70s onward! The set begins during the heyday of the early punk years, and focuses on a few key acts who were offering a great antidote to some of the more testosterone-fueled work of the time – then picks up some especially great pos-punk tracks, before making a brief stop in the early 90s, and ending up with a few key grrrl power cuts from the current century! As always with Ace records, the presentation is as great as the music – very detailed notes that tell as much of a store as the songs themselves – in support of a set list that includes "Survive" by The Bags, "Iama Poseur" by X-Ray Spex, "Kray Twins" by Mo-Dettes, "Popcorn Boy" by Essential Logic, "It's About Time" by The Pandoras, "Shakedown" by Au Pairs, "Das Ah Riot" by Bush Tetras, "Earthbeat" by The Slits, "Come On Now" by The Pussywillows, "Rules & Regulations" by We've Got A Fuzzbox, "What's Wrong With You" by Bratmobile, "Rebel Girl" by Bikini Kill, "I Gave My Punk Jacket To Rickie" by Mary Monday & The Bitches, "You're A Million" by The Raincoats, and "Expert" by Pragvec. LP, Vinyl record album

An early collection of punk and more from Virgin Records – includes songs from The Motors, X-Ray Spex, Roky Erickson, XTC, Penetration, Poet & The Roots, Avant Gardener, and The Table! LP, Vinyl record album

A great collection of material that showcases the contributions of female artists in the underground, from the punk years onward – all put together by author Vivien Goldman, who was a big part of that underground at the time! Vivien was partly an artist, but mostly a music journalist – and had ties with many different groups and singers on the UK scene – a good number of whom are included here, alongside American acts, both big and small – in a wonderful collection that's designed to accompany her book of the same name! There's been other sets like this before, but this may well be one of the best we've ever seen – as it features a massive 28 tracks in all, with work from Cherry Vanilla, Crass, Fertil Miseria, The Bags, X Ray Spex, Zuby Nehty, Mo-Dettes, The Selecter, Patti Smith, Tribe 8, Skinny Girl Diet, Big Joanie, Malaria, The Slits, Bush Tetras, Grace Jones, Tanya Stephens, Au Pairs, Neneh Cherry, Sleater Kinney, and even Goldman herself. CD

A great one from X-Ray Spex – one of the strongest of the first generation punks of the 70s – a group fronted by the amazing Poly Styrene, and blessed with some incredibly catchy tunes! There's a poppy playfulness to most of these tracks, underneath the fierce, full-on energy of the group – a rhythmic approach to punk rock that's almost a precursor to the Bow Wow Wow sound, but more decidedly punk at its heart. Tracks include "Oh Bondage Up Yours", "I Am A Cliche", "Highly Inflammable", "Let's Submerge", "I Am A Poseur", "Genetic Engineering", "Warrior In Woolworths", "Obsessed With You", "Artificial", and "The Day The World Turned Dayglo". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A really cool 70s album from the great Link Wray – done at the time when he was reinventing himself, and changing from a damn great instrumental guitarist to a singer as well – one with a much bolder presence in the limelight than ever before! Wray serves up some fantastic electric solos here, and sings a fair bit too – and the record has some connection to his earlier self-titled set on Polydor, but was recorded at Wally Heider's in San Francisco – instead of Link's three-track shack – which makes for a richer vibe overall! There's plenty of great help on the session – all-star work from Boz Scaggs on guitar, Pete Escovedo on congas, and Lenny Pickett on tenor – and Wray may well be at the apex of his 70s confidence in the lead, as you'll hear on titles that include "It Was A Bad Scene", "Good Time Joe", "Walkin/Bulldog", "I Got To Ramble", "We Said I Do", "Step This Way", "Super 88", and "She's That Kind Of Woman". LP, Vinyl record album