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A really ear-opening compilation – one that brings together an insane range of music from Estonia – one of the smaller of the Soviet-era Eastern Bloc nations – and a surprising hotbed of groovy activity! The tunes here are definitely in the funk, disco, and jazz modes promised by the title – but they all often have very unusual approaches to the genres, too – weird ways of coming up with instrumentation, or arranging the rhythms, or laying down the vocals next to some wonderfully jazzy solos – but never in a way that sacrifices the soulful side of the spectrum, as these tunes have plenty of appeal to fans of more familiar West European funk from the time. Vocals are mostly in Estonian – which further makes the tunes sound unique – and titles include "Malestuste Teel" by Eesti Raadio Estraadiorkester, "Rasked Veosed" by Valter Ojakaar, "Keskoo" by Els Himma, "Naed Vaid Oma Silmi" by Tiiu Varik, "Uksi Kuid Vabana" by Marju Kuut, "Mets Neidude Vahel" by Collage, "Marss Eksprompt" by Uno Naissoo, "Leidmine" by Gunnar Graps & Magnetic Band, and "Keskoosamba" by Eesti TV & Raadio Estraadiorkester. Comes with English liner notes too! CD

A pair of mid 60s Texas rockers – killer cuts by San Antonio's Outcasts – a tight garage ensemble who move with the best of the Sunset Strip – and some more lost gems from SJ & The Crossroads! The best-known track on the set is the Outcasts' classic "I'm In Pittsburgh & It's Raining" – a wicked bluesy rocker – and other tunes follow suit nicely, with titles that include "Smokestack Lightning", "Route 66", "The Price Of Victory", "The Birds", and "Everyday". SJ & The Crossroads cuts include "Breakdown", "Funny Woman", "The Darkest Hour (parts 1 & 2)", and "London Girl". CD

Johnny Shines isn't standing at the crossroads at the same time as Robert Johnson, but he's still sounding pretty darn great here – recording this stripped-down set in Cali in 1970, with just his own guitar alongside his vocals! Shines is maybe best known for his Chicago recordings of the postwar years – but the sound here is in a style that actually goes back farther than that, and recalls the modes that Johnny first used when picking up the guitar in the early 30s – a time in which he also crossed paths with Johnson, given a tribute here in the approach of the record. Titles include "Standing At The Crossroads", "My Rat", "Don't Take A Country Woman", "Kind Hearted Woman", "Baby Sister Blues", and "Drunken Man's Prayer". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the last albums that Albert Ayler ever recorded before his strange and mysterious early death – and one of his most memorable records as well! The record shows Ayler at the crossroads, filled with emotion and meaning, struggling to convey his message to a lager audience. At times, he takes a strange soul/jazz format to do so, and has tracks featuring backing by "the Soul Singers" – at others, he plays solo, with some of the most plaintive tones he ever laid down on wax! The record features an incredibly haunting "Message From Albert", plus the tracks "New Generation", "Sun Watcher", "New Ghosts", and "Free At Last". Completely fascinating, and a record that really makes you wonder what would have happened had he not left the planet so early! CD

One of the last albums that Albert Ayler ever recorded before his strange and mysterious early death – and one of his most memorable records as well! The record shows Ayler at the crossroads, filled with emotion and meaning, struggling to convey his message to a lager audience. At times, he takes a strange soul/jazz format to do so, and has tracks featuring backing by "the Soul Singers" – at others, he plays solo, with some of the most plaintive tones he ever laid down on wax! The record features an incredibly haunting "Message From Albert", plus the tracks "New Generation", "Sun Watcher", "New Ghosts", and "Free At Last". Completely fascinating, and a record that really makes you wonder what would have happened had he not left the planet so early! LP, Vinyl record album

The Beatles at their late best – on a self-titled set that's been long immortalized as The White Album! The White Album capped offed a period of intense creativity for the band, with a double set that's as freewheeling as anything they'd ever release. It's got raw rockers with wry lyricism, tender acoustic balladry, psych blues jams and some flat out weird bits. As was always the case, John's and Paul's songs cover the majority of the sides, but The White Album also features what's arguably George's most vital moment as a Beatle with "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". Other tracks include "Back InThe USSR", "Dear Prudence","Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", "Happiness Is A Warm Gun", "Martha My Dear", "Rocky Raccoon", "Why Don't We Do It In The Road", "Julia", "Yer Blues", "Sexy Sadie", "Helter Skelter", "Revolution 1", Good Night" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Amazing music from Jimmy Giuffre – and a much-needed document of this under-recorded time in his career! The 2CD set brings together two different live performances – each done two years after his groundbreaking Free Fall album for Columbia, and with a sound that's even more far-reaching than that classic set! The Giuffre heard here is extremely free on his reeds – especially clarinet, which is blown at a level that prefaces countless European free jazz work to come – with an incredible range of sounds, colors, and tones. Giuffre also plays tenor – with more bite and soul than ever before – almost at an ESP sort of level – and the accompaniment on both sessions is very loose and free, too – with Joe Chambers on drums on both concerts – working with Richard Davis on bass on a trio set, and with a quartet that includes Don Friedman on piano and Barre Phillips on bass. The whole thing is mindblowing – a chapter of this amazing musician's career that demands to be heard – and stands as even more of a revelation than other Giuffre releases in recent years. Titles include "Cry Want", "Syncopate", "Drive", "Angles", "Quadrangle", "Crossroads", and "Three Bars In One". LP, Vinyl record album

A seminal work in the development of the American jazz avant garde, and one of the most "out" records that Kenton (or Capitol) ever released! The whole album is based around two startling compositions by Robert Graettinger – "This Modern World" and "City Of Glass" – and both are chilling longform works in a distinctly modern idiom. The pieces have been cited often in the development of American avant garde jazz, and they represent a postwar crossroads of ideas that incorporates atonal composition and bop-oriented approaches to instrumentation. Titles include "Thermopylae", "A Trumpet", "Modern Opus", and "City Of Glass". CD

A pair of early 70s albums from the mighty Alexis Korner – back to back in a single set! First up is Bootleg Him – a record with a strange mix of elements on the outside – a confusing title, a proggy-cover image – but one that's got a sound that's a perfect maturation of the fantastic sound of Alexis Korner in the 60s! Korner's one of the overlooked heroes in British music – a strong devotee of American blues, and maybe so much so that sounds more like his inspirations than most – but never in a slavish way, as Alexis is always able to full absorb the sound, and make you feel like it's coming from his own deep soul – and over the years, he really shifted things in these slight, but powerful ways – making his music a huge influence on a big generation of UK rock acts to come. Here, the double-length set is almost a "thanks back" affair – as Korner records with a huge all-star array that includes folks like Robert Plant, Jack Bruce, Charlie Watts, Ginger Baker, Graham Bond, Lol Coxhill, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Ray Warleigh, Harry Beckett, and many more – a fantastic crossroads of all that's hip in British rock, blues, and jazz at the start of the 70s. Titles include "I Got A Woman", "Rockin", "She Foold Me", "I Wonder Who", "Dee", "Love Is Gonna Go", "Clay House Inn", "Evil Hearted Woman", "Mighty Mighty", "Sunrise", and "Hellhound On My Tail". Accidentally Borne In New Orleans (title correct, by the way!) is a record that really has Alexis Korner stretching out from the straighter blues of his 60s material – using his fantastic style on a set of tunes that show as much New Orleans influence as you might guess from the title – but also an evolved British roots rock quality too! The group is very interesting – relatively lean, and with loads of saxophone solos from Mel Collins – the reedman who made some early 70s King Crimson albums so great – plus second guitar from Peter Thorup, who also adds a bit of slide, and makes for a strongly guitar-based groove amidst some of the slightly funky rhythms. Titles include "Gospel Ship", "Lo & Behold", "County Shoes", "Don't Change On Me", "Rock Me", and "Sweet Sympathy". CD

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An amazing classic from Orchestra Baobab – one of those records that reminds us why the group were always so different than anyone else! Some of the rhythms are familiar, but the execution is very unique – chopped up at times, so that the grooves are a perfect mix for the angular tenor and alto lines form Issa Cissokho, whose saxophone presence here may well be worth the price of admission alone! But all other aspects are great, too – from the sharp-but-snakey guitar solos of Barthelemy Attiso, to the sonorous vocals of the group – sometimes inflected in more of an east African style, but which maybe also belie the group's roots in the crossroads city of Dakar. Titles include "Autorail", "Sibou Odia", "Sotante Xalat", "Bon Bon I", and "Ndiambaane". LP, Vinyl record album

Larry Rose plays some mighty sweet keyboards on this late 70s set – electric piano, organ, and other keys as well – and also sings a fair bit on the record, in this great blend of jazz, soul, and some tighter modes of the time! The approach is maybe a bit in the territory of jazzy soul – or maybe electric jazz with vocals – and although Larry hails from the US, the whole thing was recorded in Holland – which maybe gives it a bit of a tie to some of the warmer European fusion modes of the period! Production is nice and lean – never too slick or commercial, which means that even some of the more AOR-styled moments come off with a down-home vibe – and all titles are originals by members of the group. Tracks include "Nana", "Blues Are Dyin", "Who Conned The Lady", "Oregon", "Luciana", "The Sand", and "Papa". CD

Larry Rose plays some mighty sweet keyboards on this late 70s set – electric piano, organ, and other keys as well – and also sings a fair bit on the record, in this great blend of jazz, soul, and some tighter modes of the time! The approach is maybe a bit in the territory of jazzy soul – or maybe electric jazz with vocals – and although Larry hails from the US, the whole thing was recorded in Holland – which maybe gives it a bit of a tie to some of the warmer European fusion modes of the period! Production is nice and lean – never too slick or commercial, which means that even some of the more AOR-styled moments come off with a down-home vibe – and all titles are originals by members of the group. Tracks include "Nana", "Blues Are Dyin", "Who Conned The Lady", "Oregon", "Luciana", "The Sand", and "Papa". LP, Vinyl record album

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A great collection of early work by tenor giant Hal Singer – a wonderful player who recorded for Savoy during the late 40s and early 50s, and whose work was a key part of the shift from swing-based tenor work to R&B. The set brings together 16 tracks that were only ever issued on 78s – and which really haven't been reissued properly since this mid 80s album – complete with great notes and session information. Titles include "Hot Rod", "Crossroads", "Hound's Tooth", "Hometown", "Cornbread", "Swing Shift", "Rice & Red Beans", and "Rent Party". CD

One of the very best rock albums of the late 60s from overlooked genius Doug Sahm and his Sir Douglas Quartet – a brilliant hybrid of the laconic country and rural rock ragged glory that was piping through so many under appreciated groups at the time (and went on to be bastardized by crap factories like The Eagles) and classical Spanish and Mexican folk guitar playing. Sahm plays fiddle, guitar, pedal steel and just about anything with strings, along with the amazing Augie Meyers (who you may remember from the beautiful organ work he contributed to Bob Dylan's late masterpieces Time Out Of Mind and Love And Theft) and others. Beautiful stuff! Includes "Mendocino", "I Don't Want", "I Wanna Be Your Mama Again", "At The Crossroads", "Lawd, I'm Just A Country Boy In This Great Big Freaky City", "She's About A Mover" and more. LP, Vinyl record album