Really hard-jamming work from keyboardist Brian Auger – the first of a 2-part live set from the US, and easily some of his greatest work on record! The tracks are all very long and stretched out here – an extrapolation of the territory Auger was already exploring on studio sides, taken into even more cosmic realms through the lively nature of the set. As with other records from the time, Alex Lighterwood sings on some cuts – but the real highlight is the keyboard work of Auger – served up on both organ and electric piano, and hitting a great blend of funk, fusion, and keyboard soul! Titles include a really great funky remake of "Bumpin On Sunset", the original break track "Don't Look Away", and the tunes "Truth", and "Beginning Again". CD

Really hard-jamming work from keyboardist Brian Auger – the first of a 2-part live set from the US, and easily some of his greatest work on record! The tracks are all very long and stretched out here – an extrapolation of the territory Auger was already exploring on studio sides, taken into even more cosmic realms through the lively nature of the set. As with other records from the time, Alex Lighterwood sings on some cuts – but the real highlight is the keyboard work of Auger – served up on both organ and electric piano, and hitting a great blend of funk, fusion, and keyboard soul! Titles include a really great funky remake of "Bumpin On Sunset", the original break track "Don't Look Away", and the tunes "Truth", and "Beginning Again". LP, Vinyl record album

The second smoking Live Oblivion set from Brian Auger and crew – twice as long, and maybe even twice as funky as the first! The tunes on here all really push the ten minute mark – stretching out the original Auger conception on studio sides, and featuring plenty of room for really wicked solo work on organ and electric piano! The live setting seems to inspire the group to even greater new heights – and there's an intensity here that makes for some really great moments. Titles include the wonderful break-heavy version of "Compared To What" – plus "Second Wind", "Maiden Voyage", "Straight Ahead", "Freedom Jazz Dance", and "Inner City Blues". CD

The second smoking Live Oblivion set from Brian Auger and crew – twice as long, and maybe even twice as funky as the first! The tunes on here all really push the ten minute mark – stretching out the original Auger conception on studio sides, and featuring plenty of room for really wicked solo work on organ and electric piano! The live setting seems to inspire the group to even greater new heights – and there's an intensity here that makes for some really great moments. Titles include the wonderful break-heavy version of "Compared To What" – plus "Second Wind", "Maiden Voyage", "Straight Ahead", "Freedom Jazz Dance", and "Inner City Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

Really hard-jamming work from keyboardist Brian Auger – the first of a 2-part live set from the US, and easily some of his greatest work on record! The tracks are all very long and stretched out here – an extrapolation of the territory Auger was already exploring on studio sides, taken into even more cosmic realms through the lively nature of the set. As with other records from the time, Alex Lighterwood sings on some cuts – but the real highlight is the keyboard work of Auger – served up on both organ and electric piano, and hitting a great blend of funk, fusion, and keyboard soul! Titles include a really great funky remake of "Bumpin On Sunset", the original break track "Don't Look Away", and the tunes "Truth", and "Beginning Again". LP, Vinyl record album

A really mind-expanded set from keyboardist Brian Auger – and a record that has him stepping out of the 60s shadows of American jazz and R&B, into a groove that's much more solidly his own! Auger's really finding his sound with the Oblivion Express group here – bringing in a bit more influences from rock and fusion, and going for a progressive sound that still steps out with plenty of jazzy changes, and the kind of tight keyboards that always made Auger one of the best players on the British scene. The guitar's a bit more up in the mix than on previous records, but Auger's keys still dominate the solo space – and titles include the stretched out jammer "A Better Land", plus "Dawn Of Another Day", "Marai's Wedding", "Trouble", "Woman Of the Seasons", and "Tomorrow City". LP, Vinyl record album

Soaring organ work from Brian Auger's Oblivion Express – and arguably the greatest album he ever cut with this post-Trinity group! The sound here is clean and lean – with Brian himself on a mix of organ, piano, and moog – really hitting a nice jazz funk mode that drops some of the bluesier touches of earlier years, and goes for a 70s-styled sound that we really like a lot – and which even makes us like the vocals a bit more than usual! Backings are mostly spare bass, drums, and percussion – and the set's got a great remake of "Inner City Blues", plus the spacey original "Light On The Path", a nice cover of "Compared To What", plus "Whenever You're Ready" and "Voices Of Other Times". LP, Vinyl record album

Later work from Brian Auger's Oblivion Express group – really pushing the envelope from previous work with a soaring blend of fusion and soul! The keyboards are still very firmly at the front of the sound – stretching out a lot from Brian's original work on organ – and the group features Lenny White on drums, kicking things up a bit nicely, with that outerspace groove he was laying down on some of his own records at the time. Alex Lingenwood sings vocals on a few cuts, and titles include "Spice Island", "Gimme A Funky Break", "Back Street Bible Class", "Got To Be Born Again", and "Never Gonna Come Down". LP, Vinyl record album

A trio of key albums from the Pink Fairies – served up with lots of bonus tracks too! First up is Never Never Land – the fantastic debut of the Pink Fairies – easily one of the shaggiest, headiest bands on the UK scene at the start of the 70s – and a group who rose from the ashes of the equally important Deviants! The record's an unusual mishmash of modes – a set that confidently swaggers between psych, hard rock, and maybe even a bit of proto-punk – very confident in its approach, and coolly compressed in the production, but never in the slick style that would dominate British rock more strongly in the mid 70s. The Fairies aren't afraid to let their freak flag fly, but they're also clearly moving past hippiedom too – on titles that include "War Girl", "Do It", "Say You Love Me", "Tack One Side Two", "Thor", "Uncle Harry's Last Freakout", and "The Dream Is Just Beginning". What A Bunch Of Sweeties is filled with freaky fuzz from the Pink Fairies – a seminal UK group who were maybe trapped in a space between late psych and early glam – and somehow equally important to both! There's lots going on in the set – modes that are as offbeat as styles put forth by The Fugs in the late 60s, but a lot sharper overall from a musical perspective – especially in the way the group uses great guitar work and a few catchy numbers to sew the whole thing together – on titles that include "Portobello Shuffle", "Marilyn", "Pigs Of Uranus", "Walk Don't Run", "X-Ray", "I Went Up I Went Down", and "I Saw Her Standing There". Kings Of Oblivion is maybe the most fully-formed album from the legendary Pink Fairies – and a set that's got some really searing guitar from Larry Wallis – a melodic genius whose sound really holds things together, and gives the group a stronger focus than ever before! The guitar lines seem to bring out and amplify all the ideas the group were going for before – and maybe give the group a sense of darkness that they never fully reached – not hard rock cliche, but this tightness that's also completely individual – maybe like early Thin Lizzy at their best, yet in a completely different way. Titles include "I Wish I Was A Girl", "City Kids", "When's The Fun Begin", "Chromium Plating", "Street Urchin", and "Chamber Maid". Bonus tracks include "Going Down", "Walk Don't Run (first version)", "War Girl (alt mix)", "The Snake", "Do It (single mix)", "Uncle Harry's Last Freakout (alt mix)", "Well Well Well (alt mix)", "City Kids (alt)", and "Hold On (single)". CD

A trio of key albums from the Pink Fairies – served up with lots of bonus tracks too! First up is Never Never Land – the fantastic debut of the Pink Fairies – easily one of the shaggiest, headiest bands on the UK scene at the start of the 70s – and a group who rose from the ashes of the equally important Deviants! The record's an unusual mishmash of modes – a set that confidently swaggers between psych, hard rock, and maybe even a bit of proto-punk – very confident in its approach, and coolly compressed in the production, but never in the slick style that would dominate British rock more strongly in the mid 70s. The Fairies aren't afraid to let their freak flag fly, but they're also clearly moving past hippiedom too – on titles that include "War Girl", "Do It", "Say You Love Me", "Tack One Side Two", "Thor", "Uncle Harry's Last Freakout", and "The Dream Is Just Beginning". What A Bunch Of Sweeties is filled with freaky fuzz from the Pink Fairies – a seminal UK group who were maybe trapped in a space between late psych and early glam – and somehow equally important to both! There's lots going on in the set – modes that are as offbeat as styles put forth by The Fugs in the late 60s, but a lot sharper overall from a musical perspective – especially in the way the group uses great guitar work and a few catchy numbers to sew the whole thing together – on titles that include "Portobello Shuffle", "Marilyn", "Pigs Of Uranus", "Walk Don't Run", "X-Ray", "I Went Up I Went Down", and "I Saw Her Standing There". Kings Of Oblivion is maybe the most fully-formed album from the legendary Pink Fairies – and a set that's got some really searing guitar from Larry Wallis – a melodic genius whose sound really holds things together, and gives the group a stronger focus than ever before! The guitar lines seem to bring out and amplify all the ideas the group were going for before – and maybe give the group a sense of darkness that they never fully reached – not hard rock cliche, but this tightness that's also completely individual – maybe like early Thin Lizzy at their best, yet in a completely different way. Titles include "I Wish I Was A Girl", "City Kids", "When's The Fun Begin", "Chromium Plating", "Street Urchin", and "Chamber Maid". Bonus tracks include "Going Down", "Walk Don't Run (first version)", "War Girl (alt mix)", "The Snake", "Do It (single mix)", "Uncle Harry's Last Freakout (alt mix)", "Well Well Well (alt mix)", "City Kids (alt)", and "Hold On (single)". CD

... CD

Includes 19 tracks by Toni Basil, Jo Boxers, Heaven 17, The Nails, Culture Club, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, The Motels, Katrina and the Waves, and others. CD

Music from The Human League, Scritti Politti, Bananarama, The Dream Academy, Arcadia, Johnny Hates Jazz, Corey Hart, Timbuk 3, The Polecats, Stray Cats, and more - 19 tracks in all. CD

Includes 19 tracks by Wang Chung, The Fixx, Spandau Ballet, Dexy's Midnight Runners, The Motels, Strawberry Switchblade, The Church, Tones On Tail, The Blow Monkeys, and Wide Boy Awake. CD

At this point in his career, Joe probably was living off of nickels and dimes – despite the fact that he was one of the 70s hipper jazz singers, in a soulful spiritual camp that included vocalists like Andy Bey and Rufus Thomas. This album's a nice mellow effort, taken from a live show at Columbia Radio in 1972. The record features a nice moody reading of Harold Ousley's "Aquarian Melody", plus Horace Silver's "Strollin", Gloria Coleman's "You Make Me Want To Dance", and the groovy "Jazz Ain't Nothin But Soul". LP, Vinyl record album

Long lean groovers from Brian Auger and the Oblivion Express group – recorded with a slightly freer feel than some of the group's earlier albums, and an approach that has them stretching out nicely! Brian still sings a bit on some tracks, but there seems to be more of a focus than before on the keyboards – that nicely compressed Auger use of Hammond and electric piano that actually went onto influence a fair bit of American players at the time, in the way that Auger himself had been influenced before by their own earlier work. Rhythms are great throughout – making all tracks funky, in a laidback sort of way – and titles include a remake of "Bumpin' On Sunset", one of the band's best tracks, plus "Change", "Beginning Again", "You'll Stay In My Heart", and "Straight Ahead". LP, Vinyl record album

Include the songs "Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte", "Black Orpheus", "Pavane", "Oblivion", "Reverie", "Healing In Foreign Lands", "Apres Un Reve", "Excerpt From Alexandra", and "Cinema Paradiso". CD

Darkly beautiful sounds from the duo of Don & Stevie Gere – a husband and wife who work here with a style that's folksy, but a bit spooky too – possibly due to the fact that the music within was recorded in their California home, and never issued for years! There's a deeply personal feel to the songs here – almost like we're peeking in on the intimacy of the couple, but as they try to put together a message to reach outside of their home too – themes of their own love mixed with greater societal issues – later taken up as some of the songs were reworked by other artists like David Gates, Curt Boettcher, and Waddy Wachtel. Yet there's an innocence to these original recordings that's really mindblowing – rescued from oblivion on aging acetates, and represented here on cuts that include "Sweet Sugar", "Keep An Eye On You", "Another Blue Day", "What Do You Think Of Me", "Kindly", and "Tell Me Now". LP, Vinyl record album

Barry Harris recorded live in Tokyo – working at the intimate Dug nightclub, with backing from Japanese players Kunimitsuj Inaba on bass and Fumio Watanabe on drums! The style here is in the warmer side of the Harris spectrum – sometimes introspective, sometimes a bit more grooving – but always played with a strong degree of sensitivity on the keys of the piano, and recorded in a way that has Barry right out front in the mix. There's a great sense of maturity and grace going on here – and if anything, Harris has become an even more interesting pianist as the years have gone on – dropping some of his too-powerful styles from earlier years, in favor of well-placed notes and a greatly expanded sense of space that really comes through on this set. Titles include "Luminescence", "Somebody Loves Me", "No Name Blues", "Oblivion", "It Could Happen To You", "East Of The Sun", and "Nascimento". CD

Warm, wonderful work from pianist John Hicks – stretching out here in a trio set that also features some vibes from Bobby Hutcherson! The best tracks here have that great Hicks groove – a style that's not really funky or modal, but leaping forward with a warm approach to the rhythms – almost like Cedar Walton at his best, but a bit more exploratory, too! The rhythm section is sweet – with Walter Booker on bass and Idris Muhammad on drums – and although Hutcherson doesn't play on every track, he really brings some nice energy to the record. Titles include "Soul Eyes", "Pas De Trois", "Paul's Pal", and "Say It". CD also includes bonus tracks "Take The Coltrane" and "Oblivion". CD

One of the few Bud Powell sessions cut for RCA, but a brilliantly swinging date that has the pianist working at the height of his powers! There's an edge here that comes through right from the start – an off kilter vibe in both Bud's tone, and even in the way he's vocalizing joyously in the background at a few spots – not singing, but exclaiming – at a level that really helps you feel how much he owns the piano while he's performing! Dark pockets and sharp angles pervade – while still swinging right down the middle – balanced off perfectly with work from Art Taylor on drums and George Duvivier on bass. Tremendous all the way through – and different than Bud's work for Verve and Blue Note – in a really compelling way. Titles include "Another Dozen", "Like Someone In Love", "She", "Oblivion", "Swedish Pastry", and "Birdland Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Just when The Ramones were fading into cultural oblivion in the mid 80s – despite being the defining NYC punk band and a group that distilled the previous couple decades of the best and fiercest rock & roll into their own influential blasts – this epic compilation brought about their first and only gold record. Hey ho to Ramones Mania for bringing the boys to the kids of the 80s and cementing their legendary reputation! Includes the best of the early classics and also the most tolerable of their 80s efforts to this point: "I Wanna Be Sedated", "Teenage Labotomy", "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker", "We're A Happy Family", "Bonzo Goes To Bitburg", "Psycho Therapy", "Rock N Roll High School" and many more. CD

Doug Raney on on guitar, Jesper Lundgaard on bass, and Morten Lund on drums. Titles include "Blue Monk", "Oblivion", "Dear Old Stockholm", "Little Girl Blue", and "Photograph". CD

US collection of work by Brian Auger from the late 60s – released on Polygram, most likely to cash in on the fame he was having with the Oblivion Express group. Not that that fame was that great, though – and frankly, we always like this stuff a lot better, as Brian's funky organ is leaner and meaner, and the R&B influences are a lot closer to the core. The record features some groovy remakes – like a wonderfully baroque-yet-funky version of "A Day In The Life", a moody version of Wes Montgomery's "Bumpin On Sunset", and a crazy 7 minute version of Donovan's "Season Of The Witch" that turns the track into a slow grooving dancefloor number! LP, Vinyl record album

Wonderfully warm work from the great Michael Cochrane – a pianist we always love, and who also seems to be playing a bit of Fender Rhodes on this album too! The instrument's not credited on the back, but turns up in an excellent version of Denny Zeitlin's "Quiet Now" – which is handled by Cochrane with just the right sort of space and tone to really open up the composition – in a way that's very different from the bolder, more soulful tones the pianist uses throughout the rest of the album. As always with a record from Michael, the original tunes are some of the best – and include "Discovery", "MC's Bossa", "Erie Blues", and "Fantasy" – all the kind of numbers that always have us digging for his records whenever we get the chance. Other tunes include "Oblivion", "Yesterdays", and "Visitation" – and the trio includes Daryl Johns on bass and Steve Johns on drums. CD

Weird and wild sounds from 60s/70s composer Andrzej Korzynski – an artist we mostly know from soundtrack material, but represented here by a rich array of rare material from his personal archives! The scope of styles is really wonderful – as the set steps between funky numbers and very offbeat instrumentals – kind of the full range of sound library elements you might get from the hippest European scenes of the 70s – no surprise, given that this material was recorded in France, Italy, and Poland! Some tunes are heavy on electronics, others use a mix of acoustic and electric instruments together – and almost all the tracks are relatively short, and work together as this shifting palette of musical statements from Korzynski – almost a mini-movie in sound, with all the vivid qualities that reference implies. Titles include "Third Part Of The Night Main Theme)", "Diabel", "La Grabuge", "Roza Roza", "Bossa Nova", "Saved From Oblivion", "Trying To Catch A Fly", "Agent No 1", "Tajemnica Enigmy", and "W Instyucie". LP, Vinyl record album

A solo piano album – tracks include "After The Rain", "All Of You", "Heroes", "Oblivion", "Contemplation", and the original "Blues For Maybeck Recital Hall". CD

A nice collection of sides cut by Powell for Norman Granz, in the early 50s, originally issued on 10"s. Bud's in fine, fiery form, presented here solo and in a trio setting with Ray Brown and Buddy Rich. The second half is almost all solo piano work. 12 tracks in all, including "Parisienne Thoroughfare", "Hallucinations", "Oblivion", "The Last Time I Saw Paris", "Tea For Two" and "A Nightingale Sang In Berkely Square". CD also features 2 bonus tracks! CD

One of the most unusual albums ever cut by the legendary Latin jazz trombonist Juan Pablo Torres – and one of the grooviest, too – a special set that was recorded in Milan in the mid 80s, with backings by a sweet group who do a great job of blending Latin rhythms, clubby grooves, and just the right touch of jazz! Juan's on trombone in the lead – working with the Algo Nuevo group, which features the mighty Gonzalo Rubalcaba on piano, Fender Rhodes, and other keyboards – plus trumpet work from Adalberto Lore, who balances out Torres' sound in a really great way! There's both a mix of electric and acoustic percussion on the set, and the groove is more 80s club than 70s disco – and also comes across with the style of some of the more unusual hybrids that you'd be likely to find on the Areito label during Juan's generation in Cuba. Titles include "Alone", "Que Melcocha", "Y Caramba Que Son", "Oblivion", "Rialto", "Bermuda Triangle", and "Cubadisco". LP, Vinyl record album

Tracks include "Oblivion", "Blue Monk", "Ask Me Now", "Dusk In Sandi", "So In Love", "But Beautiful", and "Brazil". CD

Barry Harris recorded live in Tokyo – working at the intimate Dug nightclub, with backing from Japanese players Kunimitsuj Inaba on bass and Fumio Watanabe on drums! The style here is in the warmer side of the Harris spectrum – sometimes introspective, sometimes a bit more grooving – but always played with a strong degree of sensitivity on the keys of the piano, and recorded in a way that has Barry right out front in the mix. There's a great sense of maturity and grace going on here – and if anything, Harris has become an even more interesting pianist as the years have gone on – dropping some of his too-powerful styles from earlier years, in favor of well-placed notes and a greatly expanded sense of space that really comes through on this set. Titles include "Luminescence", "Somebody Loves Me", "No Name Blues", "Oblivion", "It Could Happen To You", "East Of The Sun", and "Nascimento". Note that this 2CD set is the full, complete version of the recordings that were only issued on one disc by Enja – a total of 15 tracks, and a great deal of music overall! CD

The Mekons follow up to Fear & Whiskey, another incredible moment in what might by their best ever period – and most certainly a favorite of ours for the addition of the great Sally Timms to the band! We can't speak for the crowds overseas, but at this point in the Mekons touring career, we'd wager that as many 25 out of every 40 people at their live shows in the US were rock critics with literary ambitions. We mean that as a compliment to both the band and the critics. There's a poetic, boozy passion to the lyrics and the musical craft is a little more straight forward here than the preceding effort, and a maybe a little more formative of the alt country sound they'd come be credited for inspiring. It's their second straight up classic album in a row, with titles including "Hello Cruel World", "Ugly Band", "Big Zombie", The Letter", "Dream Dream Dream", "Slightly South Of The Border", "King Arthur", and "Oblivion". CD