Fantastic early material from Gregory Isaacs – captured here early in his career, and working in a deep roots reggae mode – recording at Channel One with great direction from Ossie Hibbert! The set's laidback and righteous, in ways that let all the soulful qualities of Isaac's vocals still come through – but in a very different way than on his later hits! The rhythms are provided by the Revolutionaries – a perfect choice for the record – and titles include "Slave Master", "Story Book Children", "Get Ready", "Set The Captives Free", "Hand Cuff", "Storm", "Sacrifice", and "Smile". LP, Vinyl record album

With guest spots by DJ Romes, Kombo, Wildchild, Planet Asia, Krondon, Phil Da Agony, Montage One, Rhettmatic and the Visionaries. 12-inch, Vinyl record

A record with a striking title – and a set that really marked the full promise of Linval Thompson in the 70s – a dubby classic that's every bit as strong on the vocal side of Thompson's skills, as it is the production side! The album was recorded at Tubby's with the Revolutionaries band and an uncredited Junjo Lawes (who would later go on to cut some of the best dub albums ever, with Scientist) – and the vocals have this great style of cresting between sweeter modes and more biting modes – particularly when wrapped around the social themes that always made Thompson stand out. Titles include "I Love Marijuana", "Don't Push Your Brother", "Dread Are the Controller", "The Children of the Ghetto", "Not Follow Fashion", and "Jamaican Colley Version". LP, Vinyl record album

A long-overdue tribute to the legendary Moondog – one of the true visionaries of American music in the 20th Century! Moondog got his starts as a blind musician working the streets of New York at the end of the 40s, but he did so (as you'll note on the cover photo) with a range of unusual instruments of his own invention, and in a minimal, rhythmic style that linked together primitivism with higher musical ideals. Moondog's often been called "the father of minimalism" – and while his experiments of the 50s prefaced the work of Steve Reich, Terry Riley, and others, his work was also much more personal, and had an earthy intensity that's still tremendously powerful even decades later! This collection is one of the first to dip into the earliest of Moondog's recordings – his recordings for the Mars, SRC, Brunswick, and Moondog labels – which are presented here alongside selected tracks from his albums for Epic and Prestige, also of similar vintage. Nearly all the tracks here offer a very primitive blend of percussion that's sometimes mixed with unusual woodwind or stringed instruments – nearly all of Moondog's own invention – and the package also features some great notes on his long career, plus some photos that are as gripping as the music itself! Titles include "Down Is Up", "Big Cat", "Bumbo", "Rimshot", "Rabbit Hop", "Instrumental Round", "Be A Hobo", "Dog Trot", "Oasis", "2 W 46th Street", and "Why Spend The Dark Night With You". CD

A never-issued album by the great Hermeto Pascoal – recorded in the space between his 70s classics Slaves Mass and A Musica Livre – and every bit as amazing as those classics! The music here is fluid, open, and a fantastic mix of jazz and all of Hermeto's new ideas about musical structure – performed at a level that's highly organic, and with that completely individual vision that Pasocal brought to his sound from the start! This isn't typical Brazilian fusion of the time, but nor is it anything like the tighter sounds that Airto and Flora Purim were recording up in the US – instead, a musical mode that's completely in its own space, and which needs only one listen to convince you of the master's genius. The group here is overflowing with young talent – Lelo Nazario on keyboards, Nivaldo Ornelas and Mauro Senise on saxes and flute, Toninho Horta on guitar, Zeca Assumpcao on bass, and Ze Eduardo Nazario on drums – all important musical visionaries on their own, working together here to hit an even new level of creativity. Aleuda Chaves sings wordlessly on a bit of the record – and the whole thing has that blend of soaring sound and lyricism that marks Pascoal at his best. Titles include "Danca Do Paje", "Natal", "Casinha Pequinina", and "Mavumvavumpefoco". LP, Vinyl record album

A massive overview of work from the legendary Front Line label – an imprint started by Virgin Records in the mid 70s, and one that quickly became as important as Island or Trojan in the growing world of reggae! Front Line was heavy on roots, but also released some great dub material as well – all of which is brought together in this huge box of 92 tracks – which includes 11 previously unreleased selections, and 30 that had never been issued on CD! The package is divided up into sections – with a three chapter evolution of the label, plus additional 12" mixes on one CD, and another devoted entirely to material from the vaults – which makes the collection an essential set for collectors, and not just an introduction to the label. Artists include The Mighty Diamonds, U Roy, Twinkle Brothers, Gladiators, Gregory Issacs, Sly Dunbar, Jah Lloyd The Black Lion, Big Youth, Delroy Washington, I Roy, Tapper Zukie, Althea & Donna, Prince Far I, Poet & The Roots, Johnny Clarke, The Revolutionaries, Keith Hudson, and many many more! CD

A pair of classic Albert Ayler albums from 1964 – back to back on a single CD! First up is Spirits – only the second album ever recorded by Albert Ayler, but a tremendous statement of music that clearly marks the tenorist as one of the most important jazz talents of the 60s! The set was recorded in New York, and only ever got initial exposure overseas – but has grown to become one of the best-remember Ayler albums over the years – thanks in part to a rock-solid lineup of equal visionaries in the group, a lineup that include Sunny Murray on drums, Norman Howard on trumpet, and both Henry Grimes and Earl Henderson on bass – playing together on the title track, which gives the whole thing a really tremendous power. Ayler's clearly the spotlight, though – shining his light with brilliance both in his phrasing of the tenor, and his sense of timing and inherent rhythm – which opens the door to whole new pathways in jazz. Titles include "Spirits", "Prophecy", "Holy Holy", and "Witches & Devils". Next is Ghosts – a seminal early moment from the legendary Albert Ayler – an important session recorded overseas in Copenhagen – where enthusiasm for Ayler's music caught fire more strongly than in the US! The group's got an edge that's maybe even sharper than some of Ayler's ESP material, but no less powerful – with Don Cherry on cornet, Gary Peacock on bass, and Sunny Murray on drums – working through tremendous readings of six Ayler classics that include "Ghosts", "Children", "Holy Spirit", "Vibrations" and "Mothers". A wonderful precursor to the ESP years – and equally great! CD

Pianist Uri Caine in a set of Brazilian jazz tunes – playing acoustic piano and Teclado Fender Rhodes – recorded in Brazil, with backing on guitar, bass, and lots of percussion. A number of the tracks have vocals in Portuguese – and the style of the music mixes the smoother sound you'd expect from Brazilian jazz, with some of the more off-beat touches you'll find in Caine's other work. Titles include "Teu Chamego", "Assalto Cultural", "Na Lapa", "Um Minuto So", "Adeus", "Samba Da Rua", "Choro Maluco", and "Revulucionario". CD

One of the greatest records that Charlie Haden ever did, and a record that stands as sort of a bookend to his Liberation Music album on Impulse. As with that record, he's got a large group on here, and also like that one, he's playing a batch of tracks that have a definite political bent. Players include Don Cherry, Carla Bley, Dewey Redman, Paul Motian, Jim Pepper, and Michael Mantler; and tracks include "Ballad Of The Fallen", "Too Late", "La Pasionaria", and "The People United Will Never Be Defeated". The sound's a little bit less harsh than his Impulse recording, but it's no less impassioned, and the record's a very emotional batch of music. LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic 70s classic from Stevie Wonder – part of a great run of records in which he broke completely from his earlier Motown sound – and showed the world that he was one of the true musical visionaries of the decade! The righteous currents of his previous few albums are fully in place here, taken with a bit more focus that helped the record gain Stevie a few new followers in the crossover market, while still offering up plenty to please all the minds that had already been blown by is initial work of the 70s! There's some fantastic themes here, and so many new ideas too – and titles include the slow-funk moog classic "Creepin", which has these wonderful washes of sound throughout, weird vocals by Stevie, and some drums that bump around in off-kilter little patterns just at the right moments. The album also includes the hit "Boogie On Reggae Woman", plus "Too Shy To Say", "You Haven't Done Nothin", "It Ain't No Use", "Bird Of Beauty", and "Please Don't Go". LP, Vinyl record album

With vocals Fathieh Honari. CD

A fantastic 70s classic from Stevie Wonder – part of a great run of records in which he broke completely from his earlier Motown sound – and showed the world that he was one of the true musical visionaries of the decade! The righteous currents of his previous few albums are fully in place here, taken with a bit more focus that helped the record gain Stevie a few new followers in the crossover market, while still offering up plenty to please all the minds that had already been blown by is initial work of the 70s! There's some fantastic themes here, and so many new ideas too – and titles include the slow-funk moog classic "Creepin", which has these wonderful washes of sound throughout, weird vocals by Stevie, and some drums that bump around in off-kilter little patterns just at the right moments. The album also includes the hit "Boogie On Reggae Woman", plus "Too Shy To Say", "You Haven't Done Nothin", "It Ain't No Use", "Bird Of Beauty", and "Please Don't Go". CD

An amazing collection of 50 tracks spread out over 3 CDs from the label's vast catalogue of reggae classics. There isn't nearly enough room to list all the crucial tracks included on the set here, but some of our favorites include "Miss Know It All" by Scientist, "Rebel Dance" by the Observer All Stars, "Dubbing Sandra" by the Upsetters, "Slum" by Gregory Isaacs, "Do You Dub" by the Aggrovators, "Herb" by Sly & the Revolutionaries, and "King Tubby's Badness Dub" by King Tubby. CD

A great early moment from Black Uhuru – a set recorded before their famous albums for Island Records, and in this nice lean style that draws plenty from the production team of Sly & Robbie – who also add plenty to the rhythms too! The Revolutionaries give Black Uhuru a perfect vibe on the record – lean and spacious, with tracks that stretch out a lot longer than their Island material – which only seems enhance the righteous message in the music, expanded out in the moodier, dubbier space of the recording! Wonderful all the way through, and a really unified set – with cuts that include "Leaving To Zion", "General Penitentiary", "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner", "Shine Eyed Gal", 'Abortion", "Natural Reggae Beat", and "Plastic Smile". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest records that Charlie Haden ever did, and a record that stands as sort of a bookend to his Liberation Music album on Impulse. As with that record, he's got a large group on here, and also like that one, he's playing a batch of tracks that have a definite political bent. Players include Don Cherry, Carla Bley, Dewey Redman, Paul Motian, Jim Pepper, and Michael Mantler; and tracks include "Ballad Of The Fallen", "Too Late", "La Pasionaria", and "The People United Will Never Be Defeated". The sound's a little bit less harsh than his Impulse recording, but it's no less impassioned, and the record's a very emotional batch of music. CD

Sensitive bass/guitar duets – Charlie Haden on the former, Antonio Forcione on the latter – both playing acoustic, and recorded in a wonderfully gentle space – with all the high-end sound quality we've come to expect from the Naim label! The album's a great reminder of Haden's perfect ear for color and tone – even amidst some of Forcione's more freewheeling flourishes – and titles include "Nocturne", "For Turiya", "La Pasionaria", "Snow", "Silence", and "Anna". CD

With guest spots by DJ Romes, Kombo, Wildchild, Planet Asia, Krondon, Phil Da Agony, Montage One, Rhettmatic, and the Visionaries. 12-inch, Vinyl record

A spooky score from Bruno Nicolai – one with some great instrumentation in the mix, as we've always come to expect from the maestro! The tracks here are all relatively short – really just mood-setters for scenes with Christopher Lee and Klaus Kinsky – but Nicolai does a wonderful job with the sound, and manages to pack a lot into a little with some stark, metallic guitar lines – echoing out almost like some offbeat harpsichord – with some of those weirdly displaced sonic qualities he learned from frequent musical partner, Ennio Morricone! That quality follows in some of the other instrumentation here – watery vibes, odd-tuned strings, and light woodwinds – all used in really wonderful ways, on titles that include "Strutture", "Sguardo", "Fremiti", "Incubo", "Magia", "Processo", and "Visionario". LP features the bonus track "Concerto Variato". LP, Vinyl record album

A really striking soundtrack from the great Armando Trovajoli – working here in a style that's a bit less bossa or mod than some of his other late 60s film scores, but with some wonderful musical moments throughout! The film's a period piece, and the instrumentation is somewhat more traditional than some of Trovajoli's modder or bossa moments – but the change is a nice one, and shows a richer, more complicated side of his music – especially on the few tracks that feature vocals from the lovely Edda Dell'Orso. Titles include "Nell Anno Del Signore", "Addio", "I Carbonari", "Paolina", "Tema De Giuditta", "Sapessi Quanto Amore", and "Coro Della Morte". Also features the bonus suite of tracks "Nell Anno Del Signore". LP, Vinyl record album

The name Channel One is well known to even the most neophyte aficionados of Jamaican music. One of the cornerstone studios on the Kingston scene, the birthplace of so many classic numbers, any collection is of tracks cut there is going to be heavy. This great set collects both well known hits and some tasty lesser known selections, 36 numbers in all! "I Need A Roof" by the Mighty Diamonds, "Without Love" by Leroy Smart, "CB 200" by Dillinger, "Fade Away" by Junior Byles, "Up Park Camp" by John Holt, "Far East" by Barry Brown, "Things & Time" by the Wailing Souls, "Road Block" by Sammy Dread, "Truly (DJ mix)" by Rankin Trevor, "Dances Are Changes" by Barrington Levy, "Ballistic Affair" by Leroy Smart, "Satisfaction" by John Holt, "Natty Burial" by the Lone Ranger, "Natty Have Credentials" by Don Carlos, "Hard To Confess" by the Tamlins, "MPLA" & "Burial" by Revolutionaries, "I Know Myself" by Ernest Wilson, "Welding" by I Roy, "Smoke Ganja Hard" by Little John, "Babylon" by Sugar Minott, "Worries In The Dance" by Frankie Paul and "Queen Majesty" by Jay & Trevor Rankin. LP, Vinyl record album