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A wonderfully expansive album from The Incredible String Band – initially performed as a stage project with the Stone Monkey dance troupe, and featuring the ISB at their most evocative and creative! Some tunes have a darker, sinister undercurrent – that link between the band and the acid folk underground – but others are more hippy dippy, with playful touches that still seem to have this undercurrent of evil somehow – an offbeat quality that really marks the special way that British groups like this were taking folk in very odd directions at the time – never losing sight of roots, but still never having the sense of optimism or indulgence of American acts. The double-length set has loads of especially nice instrumental moments – both acoustic and electric – and titles include "Bridge Song", "El Wool Suite", "The Juggler's Song", "Bad Sadie Lee", "Partial Belated Overture", "Walking Along With You", "Invocation", and "Robot Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Ever-adventurous composer, arranger and coronet player Rob Mazurek teams up with similarly creative wanderer Emmett Kelly (Cairo Gang, Josh Abrams Natural Information Society and more)! Alien Flower Sutra finds the duo and their guest players crafting a pretty awesome mix of interstellar psych-jazz-folk with vocals and guitar – with lots of fuzzier, jazzier instrumental passages. Very cool stuff on International Anthem, which has quickly become one of Chicago's best indie labels for free thinking creative output! Mazurek handles the electronic treatments, synths and coronet, with Kelly's lyrics, voice and guitars, and accompanied by Guilherme Granado, Carlos Issam Thomas Rohrer and Brittany Mazurek. Includes "Back To The Ocean, Back To The Sea", "Android Love Cry", "Blackout", "Bright Nights Havoc", "I Untied My Wrists", "Of Time Wasted", "Remember Nothing", "Embryo Genesis", "We Are One" and "Overture Towards The Beginning Of The End Of Time". CD

A soaring debut from Audrey Powne – both a jazz musician and a soulful singer, and an artist who manages to wrap both those talents here together in a very righteous way! The album uses larger arrangements to set a very bold sonic scene – clearly informed by spiritual jazz, but taken to more cosmic currents at times – and topped with these airy vocals from Audrey that have a way of gliding effortlessly amidst the charts! Powne also plays a bit of trumpet – soloing with a nice sense of boldness – and overdubbing allows her to create her own choral vibe amidst the gentle strings and other elements – almost like a 21st Century update of the older Cadet/Concept sound from the end of the 60s. Titles include "Feed The Fire", "Souled Out", "Survive", "Indigo", "Overture", "From The Fire", and "Sleep". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most searing, soaring albums ever from Santana – a set that takes all the power of the previous two records, and packs it into one tight little set! There's plenty of Latin influences going on – mixed with heavy fuzz from Carlos, and lots of jazz and funky touches too – way more happening on the rhythm tip than most of Santana's contemporaries – which is why the record continues to find such a wonderfully wide audience over the years. Drop cuts like "Batuka","Toussaint L'Overture", "Jungle Strut", or "Para Los Rumberos" next to tracks by War, Mandrill or Tower Of Power and you'll see what we mean – and titles also include "No One To Depend On","Taboo", "Guajira" and "Everything's Coming Our Way". LP, Vinyl record album

Includes the great title track – plus "Give A Little Bit", "Fools Overture", and "From Now On". LP, Vinyl record album

War delivers the word, and a whole lot more as well – that amazing blend of styles that always made the group way more than just the sum of its parts! The classic groove is very firmly in place here – a great style that mixes jazz funk with a freer jamming style borrowed from Latin music – served up on a batch of long tracks that really let the band open up and groove! Vocals are part of the plan, but the instrumentation often gets as much time in the spotlight as well – and the set includes the classic jammer "Me & Baby Brother", plus "H2 Overture", "Blisters", "Southern Part Of Texas", "In Your Eyes", and "Gypsy Man". LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing stuff – one of those records you see for years, and always pass by – but which yields some real surprises once you dig in! Mason Williams is one of the cooler cats in the Warner Brothers stable of the late 60s – but he's also one of the more subtle, too – a folkie at heart, but an artist with a really great sense of wit, warmth, and variety – very much in the best genre-stepping style of the Burbank scene of the time. The set features, of course, Mason's huge hit "Classical Gas" – an instrumental you'll recognize instantly – but next to that is the sublime "Baroque A Nova", a very cool scatting harmony track that's like some lost late 60s Hugo Montenegro gem – and the camp psych gem "The Prince's Panties" – done with all the wit of late 60s Warner – as is the whole album! Other tracks include "Wanderlove", "Overture", "All The Time", and "She's Gone Away". LP, Vinyl record album

A trio of albums from this famous Brazilian trombonist – all of them great! First up is Sweet Lucy – a wonderful album from Raul De Souza, cut during the height of his fame on the California scene! Like Raul's other work for Capitol, this record really sparkles from tight help from George Duke – who handles production, and some of the arrangements – and really helps De Souza find a tight jazzy groove! The instrumentation is a bit leaner than some of Raul's other records of this nature, which is a nice thing – as you get to hear plenty of keyboards from Patrice Rushen, Fender Rhodes from Dawilli Gonga, trumpet from Freddie Hubbard, and percussion from Airto. There's a bit of chorus vocals at times, but the main focus is on Raul's trombone solos – and cuts include of Joao Donato's "Banana Tree", plus "Sweet Lucy", "New Love", "Wild & Shy", "Bottom Heat", "Wires", and "At Will". Don't Ask My Neighbors is a tremendous moment for trombonist Raul De Souza – working here in a style that's light years past his roots in bossa nova! The set's got a heavy California vibe – a late 70s blend of jazz and soul handled by producer George Duke, who also arranges many tracks on the record – but still leaves plenty of room for Raul to step out strongly in the lead! Things are never too overdone, and handled with that sunny style that players like Duke did so well – lots of warm jazzy elements in the backings, coming from Fender Rhodes by Bobby Lyle, percussion from Airto, and drums from the great Harvey Mason – who really brings an edge to some of the groovers. Titles include a killer cover of the Skip Scarborough tune "Don't Ask My Neighbors" – plus "La La Song", "Overture", "At The Concert", "I Believe You", and "Jump Street". Til Tomorrow Comes is filled with soaring sounds from Raul De Souza – a Brazilian musician who first recorded under the name of Raulzinho during the bossa nova years – but one who's at the height of his powers here working on the Cali scene at the end of the 70s! Raul manages to blend his lead instrument with fuller arrangements from Arthur Wright – who brings in plenty of the best elements from contemporary R&B, adds in some backing vocals, yet never diminishes Raul's presence on the record at all! Instead, De Souza seems to draw all sorts of energy from the folks around him on the sessions for the record – really stepping out with the best sort of jazz funk grooves that Capitol Records were laying down at the time – as you'll hear on cuts that include "Up & At It", "Self Sealing", "Pleasurize", "Fe No Me Nol", and "Til Tomorrow comes". CD features bonus tracks – single versions of "Til Tomorrow Comes", "Sweet Lucy", and "Daisy Mae". CD

A mindblowing first album from ELO – recorded back at a time when the group were taking the "Orchestra" in their name seriously, and when the group included Roy Wood! While Jeff Lynne's nascent pop genius is firmly in place already, the album's also awash in some of Wood's madder, folksier touches – making for a juxtaposition of styles that really amazing. Strings, guitars, oboes, and horns all come together in a post-folk mode that conjures up images of a crumbling England that stretches back to years before the birth of the British Empire! Titles include "First Movement", "Mr Radio", "Manhattan Rumble", "10538 Overture", "Look At Me Now", and "Whisper In The Night". LP, Vinyl record album

Collects Musicraft, V-Disc, and Columbia recordings – titles include "Sultry Sunset", "Happy-Go-Lucky Local", "Flippant Flurry", "Jam-A-Ditty", "Overture To A Jam Session", "Lady Of The Lavender Mist", and more – 24 tracks total. CD

A great live Santana set, recorded in Japan in '73 and never released on vinyl in the US! The band here is at their peak, and this set features a nice large lineup that includes Tom Coster, Richard Kermode, Doug Rauch, Armando Peraza, Jose Chepito Areas and Michael Shreve, plus Leon Thomas on vocals! Some tracks show the clear influence of Miles' electric jazz recordings from the same period, while others have a hardcore Latin percussion base, and as you can imagine there's no shortage of full on guitar pyrotechnics and jamming on all the band members' parts. Most of the group's tracks that have entered classic status are here, but the moments that shine the brightest are the lesser known numbers and extended passages where the group really gets into the groove! Includes "A 1 Funk", "Gypsy Queen", "Oye Como Va", "Yours Is The Light", "Batuka", "Xibaba", 'Waiting", "Free Angela", "Samba De Sausalito", "Mantra", "Kyoto", "Incident At Neshabur" and "Toussaint L'Overture". CD

One of the most searing, soaring albums ever from Santana – a set that takes all the power of the previous two records, and packs it into one tight little set! There's plenty of Latin influences going on – mixed with heavy fuzz from Carlos, and lots of jazz and funky touches too – way more happening on the rhythm tip than most of Santana's contemporaries – which is why the record continues to find such a wonderfully wide audience over the years. Drop cuts like "Batuka","Toussaint L'Overture", "Jungle Strut", or "Para Los Rumberos" next to tracks by War, Mandrill or Tower Of Power and you'll see what we mean – and titles also include "No One To Depend On","Taboo", "Guajira" and "Everything's Coming Our Way". Expanded edition includes new interviews, liner notes, photos and unreleased live bonus tracks. CD

A huge run of music from this legendary psychedelic band – all served up here in a single set! First up is their Part 1 album – the initial uttering from the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band – a group with a heady sound that definitely lives up to their name! There's less "pop art" going on here than just trippy psych – served up at a level that makes the group one of the best bigger label examples of the style at the time – and definitely a lot more edgey than some of their labelmates on Warner. Jimmy Bowen produced, but really keeps all the edges intact – and titles include the completely insane "Help I'm A Rock" (actually about a rock calling for help!) – plus "Shifting Sands", "1906", "Transparent Day", "Here's Where You Belong", and "If You Want This Love". Next is Volume 2 – the amazing second album from this ultra-cool group – a set that's even weirder and wilder than their debut! The trio are maybe one of the few who really live up to the farthest expectations of the psych generation – as they're really open to let their minds fly in their choice of lyrics, instrumentation, and overall presentation of the record – which hardly seems the sort to yield any sort of singles at all, even though a few of the tunes are downright catchy! Instead, the whole thing's put forth as a dark statement on late 60s society – with a sound that's as heavy as the subject matter, and not afraid to really pus all the freak and fuzz as far as it can go! Quite surprising, even for the Reprise label – and tracks include "Queen Nymphet", "Tracy Had a Hard Day Sunday", "In the Arena", "Smell of Incense", "Suppose They Gave A War & No One Comes", "Overture Wcpaeb (part 2)", and "Carte Blanche" – which supposedly they were given in recording the album! Next is Child's Guide To Good & Evil, the third album in the continuing genius of the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band – a group who are certainly as experimental as their name would imply, but who can also come across with some warmer Sunshine Pop touches too! And it's that which makes the group so wonderful – the blend of freak and sweet, of fuzz and fun – all given a special shape in the studio through the genius of producer Jimmy Bowen, whose work here with Bob Markley is superb – and very much open to the best freedoms that Warner was offering its creative talents at the time! The song titles are equally superb – and titles include "A Child's Guide To Good & Evil", "Ritual #1", "Anniversary of World War III", "Eighteen Is Over The Hill", "As Kind As Summer", and "Our Drummer Always Plays In the Nude". CD 4 features 18 more bonus tracks – rare takes and alternate mixes of titles that include "Watch Yourself", "Ritual #1", "As Kind As Summer", "Eighteen Is Over The Hill", and "Until The Poorest People Have Money To Spend" – plus other tracks too. And all the other three albums are presented in both mono and stereo mixes – which makes for 84 tracks in the full set! CD

A mindblowing first album from ELO – recorded back at a time when the group were taking the "Orchestra" in their name seriously, and when the group included Roy Wood! While Jeff Lynne's nascent pop genius is firmly in place already, the album's also awash in some of Wood's madder, folksier touches – making for a juxtaposition of styles that really amazing. Strings, guitars, oboes, and horns all come together in a post-folk mode that conjures up images of a crumbling England that stretches back to years before the birth of the British Empire! Titles include "First Movement", "Mr Radio", "Manhattan Rumble", "10538 Overture", "Look At Me Now", and "Whisper In The Night". Anniversary edition includes new mastering, six CD bonus tracks, and DVD-audio mixes of original stereo master and 1973 Quad mix! CD

Ever-adventurous composer, arranger and coronet player Rob Mazurek teams up with similarly creative wanderer Emmett Kelly (Cairo Gang, Josh Abrams Natural Information Society and more)! Alien Flower Sutra finds the duo and their guest players crafting a pretty awesome mix of interstellar psych-jazz-folk with vocals and guitar – with lots of fuzzier, jazzier instrumental passages. Very cool stuff on International Anthem, which has quickly become one of Chicago's best indie labels for free thinking creative output! Mazurek handles the electronic treatments, synths and coronet, with Kelly's lyrics, voice and guitars, and accompanied by Guilherme Granado, Carlos Issam Thomas Rohrer and Brittany Mazurek. Includes "Back To The Ocean, Back To The Sea", "Android Love Cry", "Blackout", "Bright Nights Havoc", "I Untied My Wrists", "Of Time Wasted", "Remember Nothing", "Embryo Genesis", "We Are One" and "Overture Towards The Beginning Of The End Of Time". CD

One of the most searing, soaring albums ever from Santana – a set that takes all the power of the previous two records, and packs it into one tight little set! There's plenty of Latin influences going on – mixed with heavy fuzz from Carlos, and lots of jazz and funky touches too – way more happening on the rhythm tip than most of Santana's contemporaries – which is why the record continues to find such a wonderfully wide audience over the years. Drop cuts like "Batuka","Toussaint L'Overture", "Jungle Strut", or "Para Los Rumberos" next to tracks by War, Mandrill or Tower Of Power and you'll see what we mean – and titles also include "No One To Depend On","Taboo", "Guajira" and "Everything's Coming Our Way". LP, Vinyl record album

War delivers the word, and a whole lot more as well – that amazing blend of styles that always made the group way more than just the sum of its parts! The classic groove is very firmly in place here – a great style that mixes jazz funk with a freer jamming style borrowed from Latin music – served up on a batch of long tracks that really let the band open up and groove! Vocals are part of the plan, but the instrumentation often gets as much time in the spotlight as well – and the set includes the classic jammer "Me & Baby Brother", plus "H2 Overture", "Blisters", "Southern Part Of Texas", "In Your Eyes", and "Gypsy Man". CD

A wild debut from Blood Sweat & Tears – one of those records that forever changed the face of popular music! The set's noteworthy not just for early vocals from Al Kooper – who was a key part of the group at their start – but also for key production work from a young John Simon – who helped arrange a bit, threw in a few musical touches, and really gave the group some focus on record – of the sort that would continue over the course of man albums. The set's got some added strings at points, and there's even some backup vocals from the duo of Valerie Simpson and Melba Moore. Titles include "Overture", "I Can't Quit Her", "Just One Smile", "Without Her", "My Days Are Numbered", "Morning Glory", and "So Much Love/Underture". CD

Pre-shock rock psychedelia from Alice Cooper – more of a Detroit-reared answer to early Pink Floyd than it is a clue to the early metal horror show to come – and a record that stands stunningly well on its own! Since most people never even heard Pretties For You until long after Alice became a notorious rock star – which has made it unfairly judged in most circles – because if you enter it fresh, and take it for what it is, the whole thing's an incredible record that stands with some of the more revolutionary British albums of the late 60s. We hear rare psychedelia by the bucketful that's not nearly as good as this album, but which celebrated by rare psych diggers purely for its obscurity – and the overall presentation and performance is right up there with some of the coolest material on Harvest or Vertigo. Titles include "10 Minutes Before The Worm", "Sing Low Sweet Cheerio", "Reflected", "Apple Bush", "Earwigs To Eternity", "Titanic Overture", and "No Longer Umpire". CD

A fantastic follow up to the first, better-known Christmas album from guitar genius John Fahey – and a set that's maybe even more mindblowing overall! Side one features Fahey's shorter interpretations of Christmas themes – done on acoustic guitar, with his amazing sense of phrasing and tone – in duet with Richard Ruskin on a few tracks, with titles that include "Oh Holy Night", "Carol Of The Bells", "Russian Christmas Overture", and "White Christmas". But on side two, things really get interesting – as the side features two long tracks – "Christmas Fantasy", in two parts – with the kind of long, exploratory guitar lines that we love on some of Fahey's non-Holiday albums for Takoma – extended acoustic work that goes way beyond the simple sounds of the season! LP, Vinyl record album

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Overtures by Mozart, Rossini, Beethoven, Glinka, Wagenr, Tchaikovsky, and Berlioz. CD

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One of the real standouts in the late 70s run of records from The Tubes – a set that's not only got the tunes united by a concept, but which also features some impeccable production from Todd Rundgren! The group's fuzz on the guitars is turned up nice – almost like they're trying to give a nod to the new wave generation, while Rundgren ups the catchiness of their tunes, and finds a way to make the whole thing not get bogged down in the larger concept of the record – which is a commentary about television in the modern age. Titles include "TV Is King", "Prime Time", "Getoverture", "I Want It All Now", "No Way Out", "Only The Strong Survive", and "Telecide". LP, Vinyl record album

A creative left turn for Waits – written for an ambitious theatrical project, which to a certain degree takes him into surprising new territory and is all the more exciting for it – but still comes through as great late Island-era Tom Waits album in its own light! The Black Rider stage work was written in collaboration with Waits, director Robert Wilson and William Burroughs, and while the songs have the overtures and shaggy orchestral flourishes inherent to and geared to theater, the songs are still so distinctively Waits-ian in all its woozy glory. Includes "November", "Just The Right Bullets", "Black Box Theme", "Russian Dance", "I'll Shoot The Moon", "Crossroads", "Ain't No Sin", "Lucky Day", " The Briar And The Rose" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the real standouts in the late 70s run of records from The Tubes – a set that's not only got the tunes united by a concept, but which also features some impeccable production from Todd Rundgren! The group's fuzz on the guitars is turned up nice – almost like they're trying to give a nod to the new wave generation, while Rundgren ups the catchiness of their tunes, and finds a way to make the whole thing not get bogged down in the larger concept of the record – which is a commentary about television in the modern age. Titles include "TV Is King", "Prime Time", "Getoverture", "I Want It All Now", "No Way Out", "Only The Strong Survive", and "Telecide". CD

Sweet jazzy work from War – a record that has them stretching things out a bit from before, and finding new ways to groove for the second half of the 70s! All the core elements are still firmly in place – that sublime blend of jazz, soul, funk, and Latin elements – but there's a slight shift in the presentation, with maybe just a touch more of the jazz promised in the title – which might have to do with the album's initial placement as a Blue Note Records title! The first half of the record features all new material, showcasing this slight shift in the group's sound – and a mode that's nicely free of any hits – and the second half of the set brings back some key jazzy tracks from earlier records, which fit perfectly into place. Titles include "War Is Coming", "I Got You", "LA Sunshine", "Platinum Jazz", "Slowly We Walk Together", "River Niger", "H2Overture", "City Country City", "Four Cornered Room", and "Deliver The Word". CD

Sweet jazzy work from War – a record that has them stretching things out a bit from before, and finding new ways to groove for the second half of the 70s! All the core elements are still firmly in place – that sublime blend of jazz, soul, funk, and Latin elements – but there's a slight shift in the presentation, with maybe just a touch more of the jazz promised in the title – which might have to do with the album's initial placement as a Blue Note Records title! The first half of the record features all new material, showcasing this slight shift in the group's sound – and a mode that's nicely free of any hits – and the second half of the set brings back some key jazzy tracks from earlier records, which fit perfectly into place. Titles include "War Is Coming", "I Got You", "LA Sunshine", "Platinum Jazz", "Slowly We Walk Together", "River Niger", "H2Overture", "City Country City", "Four Cornered Room", and "Deliver The Word". LP, Vinyl record album

A creative left turn for Waits – written for an ambitious theatrical project, which to a certain degree takes him into surprising new territory and is all the more exciting for it – but still comes through as great late Island-era Tom Waits album in its own light! The Black Rider stage work was written in collaboration with Waits, director Robert Wilson and William Burroughs, and while the songs have the overtures and shaggy orchestral flourishes inherent to and geared to theater, the songs are still so distinctively Waits-ian in all its woozy glory. Includes "November", "Just The Right Bullets", "Black Box Theme", "Russian Dance", "I'll Shoot The Moon", "Crossroads", "Ain't No Sin", "Lucky Day", " The Briar And The Rose" and more. CD