... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Features Fred Frith on guitar, bass, violin, keyboards, drums, voice and marimba,with Henry Kaiser on guitar, bass, keyboards and drums. CD

... CD

A seminal 80s midwest punk record, one we'd hope needs hardly introduction from us, even if this isn't the sort of album that we'd call our stock in trade. One of the LPs that put Minneapolis at the center of the North American rock universe during the 80s, perhaps not as well known as what Prince was doing at the time, but with hindsight easily as influential! Relive the salad days of punk rock with 15 anthems from Mould, Hart and Norton, including "New Day Rising", "Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill", "I Apologize", "Folk Lore", "If I Told You", "Celebrated Summer", "Perfect Example", "Terms Of Psychic Warfare", "59 Times The Pain", "Powerline" and "Plans I Make". CD

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of Henry Kaiser's more widely-circulated albums of the 80s – with work from Joey Baron on drums, Hank Roberts on cello, David Balakrishnan on violin, and a host of other artists too! CD

The wild, dusty punk debut from The Meat Puppets! The self-titled album is more or less remembered as their pre-psych country influenced and most hardcore punk indebted record – which is true, but there's actually plenty of signs of things to come. "Walking Boss" and their crazy cover of "Tumblin' Tumbleweeds" are most indicative of the Meat Puppets to come – but the whole thing is great. Great stuff from one of the distinctive bands to break out of the American southwest punk rock underground. Includes "Reward", "Love Offering", "Blue-Green God", "Melons Rising", "Litterbox", "Our Friends", "Milo, Morghym, And Maize" and "Meat Puppets". CD

... CD

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

The second album in Sonic Youth's earlier run as one the most exciting bands in underground rock, and possibly the greatest album in their long career! It doesn't take a genius to ram a screwdriver into the neck of a guitar, but when they're at their best (as they are on EVOL, Sister, and Daydream Nation), Sonic Youth is dizzyingly great. Thurston Moore and Lee Renaldo spin acres of white noise beauty on Sister, a melodic hurricane that really set the standard for the band's future work. It's way more than the lull, lilt, then ROAR style of indie rock that blanketed the late 80s/early 90s scene – the songs run deeper than that – with subtleties galore within all the clatter, making the frenzy around the corner that much more powerful. Essential! "Schizophrenia", "Catholic Block", "Beauty Lies In The Eye", "Stereo Sanctity", "Tuff Knarl", "White Cross", "Master Dik" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

An unmitigated blast of punk, worthy of setting the stage for the American hard core movement! While punk rock had been firmly established by the time this album came out, no one was prepared for the next level that Black Flag would take things to with this brutal, nihilistic, stripped down assault on the status quo! A classic that will stand up for ages, wit fist in the air anthems like "Rise Above", "Six Pack", "What I See", "TV Party", "Police Story", "Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie", "Thirsty & Miserable", "Depression", "Padded Cell", "Damaged I", "Damaged II", "Life Of Pain", "Room 103" and "No More". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

The first record by Green River – who were little-loved in their time, but are now legendary precursor to some of the most influential rock to come years later – featuring Mark Arm & Steve Turner before they'd go on to Mudhoney and Jeff Ament & Stone Gossard pre-Pearl Jam! Come On Down is the only Green River album to feature Turner, and this one's all the better for him still being in the mix, bringing more of the raucous garagey edge that would be a Mudhoney signature later on. Outside of the some the things coming out of the SST Records scene, there really wasn't a lot of bands so willfully out of step with trends as to meld the raw raging grit of punk with the sloppy yet pummeling hard rock as early as '84-'85, these guys really were trailblazers! Includes "Come On Down", "New God", "Swallow My Pride", "Ride Of Your Life", "Corner Of My Eye" and "Tunnel Of Love". CD

2 classics from funk legends Mass Production – back to back in a 2CD set, with 11 bonus tracks too! First up is In The Purest Form – a set that has Mass Production stepping forward as one of the best soul acts in the Cotillion Records roster at the end of the 70s – and maybe one of the hippest modern funk ensembles of the time! These guys have a way of making things sound nice and lean, despite a larger lineup – with a very strong focus on bassline currents, which seem to draw all the other elements into their wake in a mighty nice way! Yet the album's also not a slap-bass affair – as the deeper sounds are used with a nicely understated vibe, and even come through nicely on the mellower numbers – which might be our favorites. Tracks include "Our Thought (Purity)", "With Pleasure", "Next Year","Love You", "Firecracker", and "Can't You See I'm Fired Up". Also includes the great cut "Strollin" – which is a jazzy instrumental with trumpet and vibes, really working together in a tightly jamming groove! Massterpiece features more sweet grooves from Mass Production – a great little set that goes way beyond the usual ensemble funk and boogie at the start of the 80s! The set begins with a slightly mellower, more laidback feel than some of the other records by large funk acts – and that really sets the scene for the rest of the album – keeping a more well-rounded feel to the record, even when things get back into the more uptempo styles the group is known for! There's still plenty of bass in the mix, but the keyboards sparkle equally well – and the record's got some great instrumental moments too. Titles include "Enkuf", "Angel", "Forever", "Shante", "Gonna Make You Love Me", "Your Love", and "Nature Lover". Bonus tracks include 12" single versions of "Love You", "Firecracker", "Can't You See I'm Fired Up", and "Eyeballin" – and 7" mixes of "Shante", "Firecracker", "Love You", and "Angel". CD

... CD

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Brilliant work from an overlooked Swedish group of the 60s – a quintet led by tenorist Gilbert Holmstrom, a player we'd rank right up there with the best European modernists of his generation! The record's got a perfectly pitched sound that blends new overseas freedom with some of the structures still in place from the late 50s modern moments – echoes of Ornette, Harriott, and Dolphy – a wonderful balance of sounds that makes for plenty of individual expression on the record, while still moving forward with a soulful sense of swing! There's a nice degree of space in some numbers – almost painterly, with a quality that reminds us of French jazz soundtracks from a few years before – and in addition to Gilbert's great tenor and leadership, the group also features Arne Larsson on cornet, Clas Fehling on piano, Hans Lofman on bass, and Anders Soderling on drums. Titles include "Kontrast", "Ballad For Max", "Resan Till Hellas", "Disappointment", and "Modul". CD also features a great bonus track, too – a 1968 recording of "Novotec", done by a quartet that features Holmstroms on tenor and Ake Johansson on piano! CD

A really unique project from Philippe Samiguel – recorded in Bamako, where Samiguel has worked as a producer for many years – during which time he's pulled together ideas from all sorts of different projects, and forged them into a new groove of his own! Samiguel's worked most famously with Samba Toure – who's here on the record alongside other artists who include Hugo Race, Mariam Kone, Mamadou Sidibe, and others – working on music that has roots in Malian blues, Tuareg guitar, and other west African modes – but which has a quality that's also very much all its own. There's an experimental nature to the project that takes us back to some of the best global experiments from the early days of the Crammed label – and titles include "Are U Satisfied", "The First Tone", "Minamba", "Heaven Sands", "Mad Girl Lament", "Quicksand Blues", and "Golden Cage". CD

A really unique project from Philippe Samiguel – recorded in Bamako, where Samiguel has worked as a producer for many years – during which time he's pulled together ideas from all sorts of different projects, and forged them into a new groove of his own! Samiguel's worked most famously with Samba Toure – who's here on the record alongside other artists who include Hugo Race, Mariam Kone, Mamadou Sidibe, and others – working on music that has roots in Malian blues, Tuareg guitar, and other west African modes – but which has a quality that's also very much all its own. There's an experimental nature to the project that takes us back to some of the best global experiments from the early days of the Crammed label – and titles include "Are U Satisfied", "The First Tone", "Minamba", "Heaven Sands", "Mad Girl Lament", "Quicksand Blues", and "Golden Cage". LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful album of mellow-grooving tracks from Lou Donaldson – recorded during his rich post-bop late 50s years, and done with a wonderfully warm sound! The group features Horace Parlan on piano, Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Laymon Jackson on bass, and Dave Bailey on drums – plus Ray Baretto added in on conga, giving the whole session a little bit of a kick with a light Latinish groove on the best numbers! The rhythm's nice and skittish – lightly leaping around on even the quieter numbers, and letting Lou blow his alto in the strongly rhythmic mode that was starting to appear in his recordings of the time. Titles include "Crosstown Shuffle", "Mack The Knife", "Be My Love", and "Lou's Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

Gil plays Jimi? Sounds like a gimmick, but it comes off pretty darn great – and it helps you forgive him for trying to convince the kids that he's not as old as his grey hair might make you think! As always with Evans, the key to the album is a beautiful balance between the strength of the players and vision of the arrangements – a hip mix of musicians who include Billy Harper on tenor and flute, Marvin Hannibal Peterson on trumpet, and both Ryo Kawasaki and John Abercrombie on guitars! Arrangements are great too – handled by Tom Malone, Warren Smith, and Howard Johnson – all of whom make the album way more than just an instrumental reading of Jimi Hendrix tunes – and instead a great platform for improvisation that uses tunes that include "Up From The Skies", "Foxy Lady", "Gypsy Eyes", "Voodoo Chile", "Angel", "Crosstown Traffic", and "Castles Made of Sand". CD

One of those "greatest hits" of Greatest Hits collections – as Smash Hits has come to be regarded by many as a key entry in the cannon of classic rock – thanks to tremendous work from Jimi, bassist Noel Redding, and drummer Mitch Mitchell! Every track here is a gem – definitely the "smash" promised in the title, as the record's filled with Hendrix treasures that include "Purple Haze", "Fire", "The Wind Cries Mary", "Stone Free", "Crosstown Traffic", "All Along The Watchtower", "Red House", "Foxy Lady", and "Hey Joe". LP, Vinyl record album

A true classic by Jimi with the original Experience lineup – the third of three straight up masterpiece LPs to come out in just over a year's time by the group! You could call the leftfield astral effects in the mix experimental if you had to – innovations in the studio with echo, that hallucinatory backwards sound effect and other stranger bits – but the passionate, naturally expressive playing and singing by Jimi makes it all feel just right, and that Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell still don't get enough credit for being at the heart of such greatness. A massive 2LP effort that includes "Voodoo Chile", "Crosstown Traffic", "Electric Ladyland", "Little Miss Strange", "Moon Turn The Tides", "Still Raining Still Dreaming" and "All Along The Watchtower". LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderfully hard-to-categorize album from the start of the 80s – a Mexican record that mixes folkloric roots with electronic instrumentation – but all in a way that sounds much more ancient than you'd expect for the time! The fusion of modes here is wonderful – almost at a level that reminds us of some of the Graeme Revell experiments of the mid 80s, or some of the more organic electronics from Japan – as the whole thing feels a lot more acoustic than electric, with a wonderful blend of woody sounds, percussion, and other great elements. Titles include "In Altepetal Tonal", "I Pan In Xiktli Metztli", "Xochiyaoyoloh", and "Ketzalkoatl Yauh Miktlan". LP, Vinyl record album

Sublime soul from Superior Movement – an overlooked Chicago group of the 80s, but one that's every bit as wonderful as any of the bigger acts we can think of from the time! The group definitely put harmonies first in their music – and although the album's a bigger-label effort, the vocals have the wonderfully personal feel of smaller label harmony soul from years back – retooled a bit with 80s instrumentation, which makes for a surprisingly great mix with the lyrics. Things are tight, but never too smooth – very well balanced, with none of the too-commercial missteps that other groups were making at the time – and titles include "The Key To Your Heart", "For You", "Come Fly With Me", "Lost Affair", "Guilty", "Sweet Dreams", and "Be My Cinderella". CD

One of the best Stevie Wonder albums ever! Stevie's moving into god-like territory here – handling a multitude of styles, all well, and crafting some of the most sophisticated soul of his generation. The album's got the same jazzy references you'll find on the best work by Donny Hathaway – best heard on the sublime track "Golden Lady", which gets our clear vote for one of the best songs ever! Just about every track is great, though – and the album features the big hits "Living For The City", "All In Love Is Fair", "Higher Ground", and "Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing" – plus "He's Misstra Know It All", "Jesus Children Of America", and "Too High". LP, Vinyl record album

Music from the Orioles, the Ravens, the Crows, the Velvets, the Teenagers, the Clovers, the Willows, the Dells, the Pastels, the Monotones, the Shields, the Crests, the Elegants, the Bosstones, the Passions, the Edsels, the Regents, the Halos, and more – 101 tracks in all! CD

A wealth of grooves from one of the most surprising entries into the global funk scene of the 21st Century! The words "Spain" and "funk" aren't often used in the same sentence, but that's probably about to change – thanks to the efforts of all the artists on this set! As the collection shows, there's a heck of a lot of great little combos bubbling underground these days in Spain – groups who work in a mix of deep funk, soul jazz, and mod-styled rhythms – often with plenty of organ, guitar, or classic funk elements – in a groove that's sometimes instrumental, but which can also feature a fair bit of soul-styled vocals as well! The 2CD set is overflowing with great work – a total of 20 tracks in all that includes "Freedom" by Funxplosion, "I Turned You On" by Phat Fred, "Thriller" by Speak Low, "Royale 2006" by Guateque All Stars, "La Chica Humeda (parts 1 & 2)" by Ortophonk, "Friday Night" by Pybus Groove Quartet, "I Got You Man" by The Sweet Vandals, "Get Up & Dance" by Funkdacion, "Get It & Get On (extended)" by Clan Club, "Tu M'Enerves" by Cinnamon Gum, "Say It Loud" by Celofunk, "Pampi's Groove" by Asstrio, "Soul Drummer" by Los Fulanos, "A New One" by Watch Out, "Change Your Name" by Koniec, and "Think" by The Sir Alligator's Company. CD

A true classic by Jimi with the original Experience lineup – the third of three straight up masterpiece LPs to come out in just over a year's time by the group! You could call the leftfield astral effects in the mix experimental if you had to – innovations in the studio with echo, that hallucinatory backwards sound effect and other stranger bits – but the passionate, naturally expressive playing and singing by Jimi makes it all fell just right, and the Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell still don't get enough credit for being at the heart of such greatness. A massive 2LP effort that includes "Voodoo Chile", "Crosstown Traffic", "Electric Ladyland", "Little Miss Strange", "Moon Turn The Tides", "Still Raining Still Dreaming" and "All Along The Watchtower". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic batch of grooves – and a much-needed document of the rich array of funky sounds that were coming out of Nigeria in the 1970s! The country's best known as the homeland of Fela Kuti – an artist who forever changed the face of global funk – but what's not as well known is that there were a number of other artists operating in Fela's shadow, crafting their own interpretation of American soul and African funk during the same generation. This overstuffed package offers a great look (and listen) into that scene – and compiles tracks by a few artists you might already recognize, plus others that are presented here for the first time in such a set. As with other compilations on the Strut label, the notes are very well done, with loads of information and details on the recordings – but even more importantly, the music is fantastic, with a rich array of grooves that blows away most other recent compilations of Afro Funk from the 70s! Titles include "Enjoy Yourself" by Sahara All Stars Band, "Shango" by Peter King, "Dancing Time" by The Funkees, "Ikon Allah" by Bala Miller & The Great Music Pirameeds Of Afrika, "Tire Loma Da Nigbehin" by Monomono, "Kita Kita" by Gasper Lawal, "Agboju Logun" by Shina Williams & His African Percussionists, "Akayan Ekassa" by Sir Victor Uwaifo & His Melody Maesstroes, "Ja Fun Mi (inst)" by Sunny Ade, "Alla Wakbarr" by Ofo The Black Company, "Ifa" by Tunji Oyelana & The Benders, "Jenu Ko Ku" by Fela & Africa 70, "La La La" by Segun Bucknor, and "Orere Elejigbo" by Lijadu Sisters. 3LP set – with a total of 15 tracks, and notes on the inside of the cover on the music! LP, Vinyl record album

A great late album from Nat King Cole – one done with some wonderfully rich arrangements by Nelson Riddle, which unlock all the poise and class that Cole had developed during his 50s decade at Capitol Records! There's definitely a slight ear here towards the Johnny Mathis sound that was beginning to grab the ears of the period – but Nat's firmly in place to remind all that he was there first, and can handle material like this in a wonderful way – with vocals that are still as breathtaking as ever, in a setting that's free from any of the gimmicks or missteps of later years. Titles include "Love Wise", "To Whom It May Concern", "My Heart's Treasure", "Unfair", and "This Morning It Was Summer". CD