... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

Four new tracks by Eminem: "Lose Yourself", "Love Me", "8 Mile" and "Rabbit Run". Also includes Xzibit "Spit Shine", Jay Z "8 Miles And Runnin", Nas "U Wanna Be Me", Gangstarr "Battle" (yes, it's as dope as you would hope it to be) Rakim "RAKIM", Macy Gray "Time Of My Life" plus tracks by Obie Trice, 50 Cent, Boomkat, D12 and Young Zee. Marshall handles the production duties on his and some of the other tracks, and he's surprisingly strong in that capacity – with a low key, subtle and melancholy vibe on a couple that you wouldn't expect from the supremely, uhm, extroverted Slim Shady. CD

Produced by Eminem. 12-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

A batch of some of the best and/or biggest hits from one of the most singular talents in the history of hip hop – love him or loathe him! Most of our favorite Shady tracks either pre-date many of the ones here or were buried on the LPs (such is the case with most greatest hits packages) but it's still worth picking up if you don't have all the LPs, particularly the lesser later couple! It includes a few new tracks, to boot. 17 tracks on 2LPs (including the intro): "Fack", "The Way I Am", "My Name Is", "Stan" (main version plus live bonus version feat Elton John), "Lose Yourself", "Without Me", "Like Toy Soldiers", "The Real Slim Shady", "Mocking Bird", "Guilty Conscience" feat Dr Dre, "Just Lose It" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Four new tracks by Eminem: "Lose Yourself", "Love Me", "8 Mile" and "Rabbit Run". Also includes Xzibit "Spit Shine", Jay Z "8 Miles And Runnin", Nas "U Wanna Be Me", Gangstarr "Battle" (yes, it's as dope as you would hope it to be) Rakim "RAKIM", Macy Gray "Time Of My Life" plus tracks by Obie Trice, 50 Cent, Boomkat, D12 and Young Zee. Marshall handles the production duties on his and some of the other tracks, and he's surprisingly strong in that capacity – with a low key, subtle and melancholy vibe on a couple that you wouldn't expect from the supremely, uhm, extroverted Slim Shady. LP, Vinyl record album

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Produced by Dr Dre. Remix features Nate Dogg, Redman, Jadakiss, and Lloyd Banks. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Produced by Dr Dre. 12-inch, Vinyl record

Mountain Brothers MC gets production help on "Fresh Air" from Mister Jason of Porn Theater Ushers, and fellow MB Chops provides the beat for "Aquarian Mind". 12-inch, Vinyl record

A group who definitely earn their name, thanks to a very dynamic vibe overall! Tracks include "Wicked Woman", "Scitnarf", "Hey Joe", "More Of A Man", "Midnight To Six Man", "Her & Her Mountain", and "Shady Sam". LP, Vinyl record album

A record that's not a complete metamorphosis for Iron Butterfly, but one that definitely has the group stretching out with even more force and confidence than before! The group were maybe one of the few to come to hard rock via psych, instead of the blues rock path that so many others took at the time – and that difference is key here, as the songs really resonate with the potential for trippiness, but have this great sense of focus – one that makes the vocals sound even more potent than ever. There's still plenty of great organ work too – and titles include "Free Flight", "Shady Lady", "Best Years Of Our Life", "Slower Than Guns", and "Stone Believer". CD

A record that's not a complete metamorphosis for Iron Butterfly, but one that definitely has the group stretching out with even more force and confidence than before! The group were maybe one of the few to come to hard rock via psych, instead of the blues rock path that so many others took at the time – and that difference is key here, as the songs really resonate with the potential for trippiness, but have this great sense of focus – one that makes the vocals sound even more potent than ever. There's still plenty of great organ work too – and titles include "Free Flight", "Shady Lady", "Best Years Of Our Life", "Slower Than Guns", and "Stone Believer". LP, Vinyl record album

A really great live performance from this legendary bluegrass group – one who hailed from Southern California, despite their Kentucky name – and a combo whose work arguably set the scene for so much country rock to emerge at the end of the 60s! But even without that legacy, there's plenty here to enjoy from a standard bluegrass perspective – and the interplay between the mandolin of Roland White and guitar of Clarence Whit is worth the price of admission alone! A few guests drop in during the performance – Doc Watson is on a few tracks, and Bill Keith on three more – and titles include "Bill Cheatham", "Ain't Nobody Gonna Miss Me", "Shuckin The Corn", "Beaumont Rag", "Old Hickory", "Chicken Reel", "In The Pines", "Farewell Blues", "Soldier's Joy", "Shady Grove", "Flat Fork", "Brakeman's Blues", "Over In Glory Land", and "A Beautiful Life". CD

A landmark album for the O'Jays – a set that moved them from the indie ranks to 70s megasoulstatus! After years of bumping around on a variety of labels, and in a variety of styles, the group really exploded with this wonderful set – an album that has them soaring along in the righteous Philly groove of the early 70s – a sound that turned out to be a perfect foil for the trio's sublime, yet earthy harmonies. Arrangements are by some fo the best of the core Philly scene – Thom Bell, Norman Harris, Ronnie Baker, and Bobby Martin – and the album's overflowing with great tunes that completely redefine the sound of group soul in the 70s! Includes megahits "Back Stabbers" and "Love Train" – plus "Shiftless, Shady, Jealous Kind of People", "When The World's At Peace", "Time To Get Down", "Who Am I" and more! CD

A landmark album for the O'Jays – a set that moved them from the indie ranks to 70s megasoulstatus! After years of bumping around on a variety of labels, and in a variety of styles, the group really exploded with this wonderful set – an album that has them soaring along in the righteous Philly groove of the early 70s – a sound that turned out to be a perfect foil for the trio's sublime, yet earthy harmonies. Arrangements are by some fo the best of the core Philly scene – Thom Bell, Norman Harris, Ronnie Baker, and Bobby Martin – and the album's overflowing with great tunes that completely redefine the sound of group soul in the 70s! Includes megahits "Back Stabbers" and "Love Train" – plus "Shiftless, Shady, Jealous Kind of People", "When The World's At Peace", "Time To Get Down", "Who Am I" and more! LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic collection of rare sweet soul from the late 60s and early 70s – one with a strong focus on male vocals and harmony tunes, all put together with a great late nite sort of feel! The quality level of this one is way above lots of other dodgy sets on the market – and the folks at Latin Soul have chosen a beautiful batch of deep-burning tunes – recorded in a variety of different scenes at the time, but picked with an especial ear for the kind of tracks that play big for the west coast sweet soul crowd! The whole thing's got a real super-dope feel – one in which "sweet" means "heartbreaking" and "personal" – not cloying and child-like. 21 tracks in all – with titles that include "I'm Not Like The Others" by Little Jimmy Gandy, "Untrue Woman" by Debonaires, "True Love Will Never Die" by Apple & The Three Oranges, "Shady Side Of Town" by Talisman, "Send Me Some Sugar Baby" by Duke Turner, "Keep On Walking" by Main Attraction, "Leave It Like It Is" by The Steelers, "Story Of My Life" by Emulations, "Break Your Promise" by Chicago Gangsters, and "Things That A Lady Ain't Supposed To Do" by Four Dynamics. CD

It's a long way from The Mamas & The Papas by this time for John Phillips – standing on the beach on the cover, all bedraggled in a dirty hat and coat, with a long beard, and a worn-out look on his face – but that change turns out to be a great one for him, as you'll hear on the set! The style here is much rougher and earthier than the sweeter pop of the 60s – a batch of Laurel Canyon folksy numbers that show the hipper side of Phillips that didn't always get expressed in his former pop years. Titles include "April Anne", "Captain", "Drum", "Someone's Sleeping", "Holland Tunnel", and "Mississippi". Plus, the CD features 8 more bonus tracks, most of which are previously unreleased – "Shady", "Lonely Children", "Lady Genevieve", "The Frenchman", "16mm Baby", and "Black Girl". CD

A monstrous assortment of work from Iron Butterfly – one of the key groups in helping the American scene move from psych to hard rock at the end of the 60s! First up are mono and stereo mixes of Heavy – a record that's not nearly as well known as their classic In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida – but which has a very similar vibe all the way through! The songs are a bit shorter, but these guys really manage to do a lot with a little – using lots of brooding bass right up from the bottom, to create a blueprint for hard rock imitators in years to come – none of whom were able to match these guys' simple, direct approach – and their optimistic sense of power in their music. Many numbers often have this vocal interplay that really works wonderful with the fuzzy guitar lines – and titles include "Possession", "Unconscious Power", "So Lo", "Look For The Sun", "Stamped Ideas", "Fields Of The Sun", and a nice fuzzy funk version of "Get Out Of My Life Woman". Next is the stereo mix of In A Gadda Da Vida – the album that rocked a million dorm rooms back in the 60s – and for good reason, too – given that the title track is a side-long, totally jamming monster – the kind of track that was really revolutionary at the time, and which still has a hell of an impact all these many years later! "In A Gadda Da Vida" was shortened to a single – with the big hook intact – but this classic album version runs for 17 minutes in length, and has the group doing all these cool jams with their instruments – all the animals in the garden of Eden talking to each other (or at least that's what our addled teenaged minds always thought!) Shorter tracks are mighty nice too – a heady, heavy brew of Hammond and fierce guitar from Erik Brann, on cuts all penned by group leader Doug Ingle. Titles include "Termination", "My Mirage", "Flowers & Roses", and "Most Anything You Want". Next is the stereo mix of Ball – a killer classic from Iron Butterfly – a group who always had way more to offer than their hits, as you'll find out when dipping into this full length set! The album's worth it alone for the organ lines – which kind of take off from the territory of The Doors, but are often more unusual – and mixed with vocals that can have an eerie sensibility, but without ever sounding indulgent! The music's not pop psych, but it's also never too full of itself – and titles include "In The Crowds", "In The Time Of Our Lives", "Soul Experience", "Lonely Boy", "Belda Beast", and "Filled With Fear". Next are mono and stereo mixes of Live – great live document of the heady power of Iron Butterfly – with titles that include "You Can't Win", "Are You Happy", "In A Gadda Da Vida", "Filled With Fear", and "In The Time Of Our Lives". Next is Metamorphosis – a record that's not a complete metamorphosis for Iron Butterfly, but one that definitely has the group stretching out with even more force and confidence than before! The group were maybe one of the few to come to hard rock via psych, instead of the blues rock path that so many others took at the time – and that difference is key here, as the songs really resonate with the potential for trippiness, but have this great sense of focus – one that makes the vocals sound even more potent than ever. There's still plenty of great organ work too – and titles include "Free Flight", "Shady Lady", "Best Years Of Our Life", "Slower Than Guns", and "Stone Believer". The set also features the 2CD 1968 Fillmore East set – an unreleased live performance from Iron Butterfly – one that captures the group at their late 60s height, in front of a very heady crowd at The Fillmore East! The recording quality is great – very clear, and different than the group's studio albums – with maybe even a bit more focus on the vocals of Doug Ingle, and the guitar lines of Erik Brann – in a way that lifts them out of the bottom sound a bit more, and presents the group in a whole new sort of focus! Plus, the brief patter from the stage also really helps us get an idea of how a trippy band like this could hold such great sway over a crowd at the time – energy that doesn't seem to stop at all, through the 2CD set's presentation of material from four different shows, on two nights of recording. Titles include "Are You Happy", "Stamped Ideas", "Fields Of Sun", "You Can't Win", "Unconscious Power", "My Mirage", "Her Favorite Style", "Possession", "Iron Butterfly Theme", and the mighty "In A Gadda Da Vida". CD set also features more tracks from singles, new remastering, a poster, and a big booklet of notes! CD

Smooth mellow grooves, in the style that Eddie pioneered, and which he still did better than most. The album's a great batch of tracks with production by Leonard Caston, who also produced some of Eddie's earlier works, and the set's pretty darn great all the way through. With the cuts "Something Shady", "You Got It", "Intimate Friends", "Diamond Girl", and "California Woman". LP, Vinyl record album

Atlanta soul, and a little more too – as this sweet set collects a range of rare tracks from the GRC family of labels – based in the Peachtree city in the mid 70s, with arms wide enough to bring in some great sounds from Alabama too! The label group had a slightly shady background – which gave them an almost boom/bust sort of legacy in 70s soul – quick to appear, fast to disappear – but able to record some great sounds in a relatively short time – especially the kinds of tracks that really pushed southern soul forward with a new level of sophistication! Some of these artists are deep soul talents from the generation before, given a great new showcase here – while others are new discoveries made by the label, including some talents who were turning out great work for other singers – but who finally got their chance to stand alone here. The collection features detailed notes that really get at this overlooked scene – and the 24 track set features 8 previously-unissued tracks as well – with titles that include "A Love Like Yours" by Lorraine Johnson, "Claim Jumpin" by Bill Brandon, "What Good Is A Love" by Sam Dees, "Big Boat Ride" by Dorothy Norwood, "We Always Come Back Strong" by John Edwards, "Face To Face" by Judy Green, "Up Is Down" by Joe Hinton, "When A Woman Loves A Man" by Jean Battle, "I Can't Leave You Alone" by Jimmy Lewis, "So Can I" by Loleatta Holloway, "Complain To The Clouds" by Deep Velvet, "Come & Get It" by The Steppers, "Hollywood Faces" by Joe Hinton & Dee Erwin, "It Takes More Than A Moment" by Phase Four, "I Want Cha To Le Me Come Home" by Floyd Smith, "If I Had My Way" by Delia Gartrell, and "I've Come Too Far To Turn Back Now" by Rozetta Johnson. CD

Fantastic early work from Harlan Ellison – not his more obtuse sci fi, or some of his slightly shady short stories – but material penned at a time when Ellison looked young enough to penetrate the underground of the gang scene in New York, which then provided all sorts of great material for the juvenile delinquent stories in this book! The volume is not just a great look at Ellison's early years, but also a prime example of JD pulp at its best – a short-lived genre, but a great one – and presented here with the kind of prose you'd find in some of the best postwar noir and crime fiction. The titles of the stories alone give you an idea of what's inside – and selections include "Dead Wives Don't Cheat", "God Bless The Ugly Virgin", "Gang Girl", "Portrait Of The Artist As A Zilch Writer", "An Episode Of Sunbathers", and "The Silence Of Infidelity". Paperback, 174 pages. Book

A compelling later collaboration between Willie Colon and Ruben Blades – recorded as the soundtrack for a film that starred Blades as a boxer and Colon as his shady manager! The music's much better than the movie, though – and represents a mature meeting of these two talents from the 70s – reunited here in a style that's heavy on the trombone sounds of Colon's classics, and which has a nicely clean, clear sound overall – one that's a lot more personal and intimate than you might expect from the movie. Blades sings leads, but gets some cool chorus backings from Milton Cardona and Willie Colon – and Joe Torres plays a bit of Fender Rhodes in the backings, but these are mostly mixed low under the trombones. Titles include "What Happened", "Yo Puedo Vivir Del Amor", "Andanza", "Cimarron", "Y Tu Abuela", and "Venganza". CD

One of the rarest albums issued on the Crazy Cajun label – and a set that definitely doesn't have any cajun in the music at all! Instead, the South Funk Boulevard Band do a wonderful job of blending southern deep soul roots with some tighter funk ensemble modes – still nice and raw on the vocals, but with a sharpness of presentation that really holds the whole thing together! The album feels like the kind of funky soul that a label like Stax or Hi might have cut in the late 70s, had the Memphis scene still been going strong – and the whole thing's a further testament to producer Huey P Meux – sometimes shady, but always willing to let a hip group like this open up and get a chance to record something great! Allison provides vocals on a few tracks, the group's male singer is on the others – and titles include "It's Love", "You're All That Matters To Me", "I'm Gonna Love You Till I Die", "Mind Somewhere Else", "Blanket Of Love", "Pay Before You Lay", "Want You Back In My Arms", and "It's Love". LP, Vinyl record album

Kellee Patterson's far from her early jazz roots on the Black Jazz label – but that's A-OK with us, as she's changed up modes with an upbeat soul style that's equally nice – but in a very different way! At some level, the shift is a bit like that made by Jean Carne during the same period – as Patterson's got roots in jazz, which really helps her bring the most out of a tune – but also merges with more sophisticated modern soul modes, all handled here by Gene Russell – another former labelmate at Black Jazz, and Kellee's partner too. Titles include a groovy uptempo remake of "All The Things You Are", plus originals "Let Go Let Go", "Nice Girl", "How I Love Your Smile", and "Fancy Dancer". LP, Vinyl record album

Mighty nice work from Kellee Patterson – a singer who should have been huge, given her range of expression – but who's maybe even better as one of the underground soul stars of the 70s! The music here is really a cut above the commercial at the time – tunes that echo some of the uptempo modes of the clubs, but which are always trying for something different too – maybe like some of the hipper female vocal recordings on Philadelphia International, handled here by producer Gene Russell and arranger Larry Farrow. Patterson can soar high one minute, hit some earthy notes the next – and the set's full of original material that really helps her find her groove. Titles include the southern soul styled groove "If It Don't Fit Don't Force It", the slinky "Turn On The Lights", and the cuts "Moving In The Right Direction", "Heaven", "I'm Coming Home", "Let's Hold On To Love", and "Be Happy". CD features bonus tracks – "If It Don't Fit (single version)", and "Turn On The Lights (phase 1 & 2 – single version)". CD

Kellee Patterson's amazing first album for the Shadybrook label – a total killer all the way through, and much harder and heavier than any of her later sides for the label! The record's got a nice jazzy vibe that's a good bridge between her earlier work on Black Jazz, and her later, straighter soul material – a dose of funk in all the right places, and a touch of spiritual leanings too – really put together with a wonderful feel that sets the album apart from much other work of the time! Includes a sublime breakbeat version of "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby" – with killer drums, and an excellent monologue at the beginning – plus a great cover of Grover Washington's "Mister Magic", with some interesting vocals. Other titles include "Time To Space", "What You Don't Know", and "I Love Music". Gene Russell handled production and arrangements, too – giving the whole thing a nice tie to her album for Black Jazz. LP, Vinyl record album

Mighty nice work from Kellee Patterson – a singer who should have been huge, given her range of expression – but who's maybe even better as one of the underground soul stars of the 70s! The music here is really a cut above the commercial at the time – tunes that echo some of the uptempo modes of the clubs, but which are always trying for something different too – maybe like some of the hipper female vocal recordings on Philadelphia International, handled here by producer Gene Russell and arranger Larry Farrow. Patterson can soar high one minute, hit some earthy notes the next – and the set's full of original material that really helps her find her groove. Titles include the southern soul styled groove "If It Don't Fit Don't Force It", the slinky "Turn On The Lights", and the cuts "Moving In The Right Direction", "Heaven", "I'm Coming Home", "Let's Hold On To Love", and "Be Happy". LP, Vinyl record album