A Basie tribute, but a really smoking one – thanks to some hard swinging arrangements from Manny Albam, and plenty of heavy Hammond from the great Jimmy McGriff! The tracks are mostly numbers from the Count Basie songbook of the 50s and 60s, but they're strongly reworked here with a swinging 60s vibe – played with lots of strong horn work in the background, all used as a perfect foil for Jimmy's leaner organ solos over the top! The style's quite similar to other big band organ work of the time – particularly records made by Jimmy Smith in collaboration with Oliver Nelson, or Jack McDuff with Benny Golson – and McGriff's organ comes through nice and clean in the mix, with that sharply fluttering sound that really made him one of the true standouts of the 60s. Titles include "Hob Nail Boogie", "Cute", "Every Day", "Blues Go Away", and "Slow But Sure". CD

A Basie tribute, but a really smoking one – thanks to some hard swinging arrangements from Manny Albam, and plenty of heavy Hammond from the great Jimmy McGriff! The tracks are mostly numbers from the Count Basie songbook of the 50s and 60s, but they're strongly reworked here with a swinging 60s vibe – played with lots of strong horn work in the background, all used as a perfect foil for Jimmy's leaner organ solos over the top! The style's quite similar to other big band organ work of the time – particularly records made by Jimmy Smith in collaboration with Oliver Nelson, or Jack McDuff with Benny Golson – and McGriff's organ comes through nice and clean in the mix, with that sharply fluttering sound that really made him one of the true standouts of the 60s. Titles include "Hob Nail Boogie", "Cute", "Every Day", "Blues Go Away", and "Slow But Sure". LP, Vinyl record album

An almost-accidental classic by Prodigy – a great solo project after the split of Mobb Deep, and a set that was originally intended to just circulate as a mixtape – but which got issued properly based on the quality of the tracks! Alchemist is a key partner here – and the tracks have this approach that's straightforward, yet sophisticated – that subtle blend that Mobb Deep did so well, but pushed into more of a 21st Century east coast vibe. Titles include "Down & Out In New York City", "Return Of The Mac", "Stop Fronting", "My Priorities", "Nickel & A Nail", "That's That", "Take It To The Top", and "The Rotten Apple". LP, Vinyl record album

The third album from Squeeze and a straight up classic from the most pop ready realm of the new wave – 1980s Argybargy, the one that really got Squeeze over into the mainstream and deservingly so! The record that doesn't sound dated, even with a sound built largely around keyboards, thanks to the strength of the songwriting and hooks. Includes "Pulling Mussels (From The Shell)", "Another Nail In My Heart", "Separate Beds", "Farfisa Beat", "Wrong Side Of The Moon", "There At The Top" and more! CD

Amazing work from this seminal group on the FMP scene – a quartet led by pianist Alexander Von Schlippenbach, but equally balanced between the saxes of Evan Parker, bass of Peter Kowald, and percussion of Paul Lovens! We're not sure how much to take the "nails" in the title seriously, but it does sound as if Schlippenbach is playing prepared piano at times – or perhaps his command of the keyboard is just so strong, he can make other-worldly elements come from the instrument whenever he wants! Much of the music has a full-on FMP intensity – that non-stop, sonically adventurous quality inherited from Machine Gun – spun out over three great live improvisations, titled "Range", "Black Holes", and "Three Nails Left". CD

Amazing work from this seminal group on the FMP scene – a quartet led by pianist Alexander Von Schlippenbach, but equally balanced between the saxes of Evan Parker, bass of Peter Kowald, and percussion of Paul Lovens! We're not sure how much to take the "nails" in the title seriously, but it does sound as if Schlippenbach is playing prepared piano at times – or perhaps his command of the keyboard is just so strong, he can make other-worldly elements come from the instrument whenever he wants! Much of the music has a full-on FMP intensity – that non-stop, sonically adventurous quality inherited from Machine Gun – spun out over three great live improvisations, titled "Range", "Black Holes", and "Three Nails Left". CD

A massive double length set from Funkadelic! As if the group's vision wasn't already expansive enough in their early Westbound years, they really make incredible use of the space of this 2LP set to show off their talent for funky invention, fuzzed-out guitar, and mind-bending look at the world around them – taking off into a heady array of topics and settings that are even more chilling than before. If Maggot Brain can be taken as a document of Detroit after the apocalypse, this set should be read as a wider statement on the climate in America that was leading up to it – all served up with some of the group's funkiest rhythms on record to date! Titles include "You Hit the Nail On the Head", "A Joyful Process", "Loose Booty", "I Call My Baby Pussycat", "Biological Speculation", "Philmore", "We Hurt Too", "Everybody Is Going To Make It This Time", "Miss Lucifer's Love", and "If You Don't Like the Effects Don't Produce the Cause". LP, Vinyl record album

A massive double length set from Funkadelic! As if the group's vision wasn't already expansive enough in their early Westbound years, they really make incredible use of the space of this 2LP set to show off their talent for funky invention, fuzzed-out guitar, and mind-bending look at the world around them – taking off into a heady array of topics and settings that are even more chilling than before. If Maggot Brain can be taken as a document of Detroit after the apocalypse, this set should be read as a wider statement on the climate in America that was leading up to it – all served up with some of the group's funkiest rhythms on record to date! Titles include "You Hit the Nail On the Head", "A Joyful Process", "Loose Booty", "I Call My Baby Pussycat", "Biological Speculation", "Philmore", "We Hurt Too", "Everybody Is Going To Make It This Time", "Miss Lucifer's Love", "and "If You Don't Like the Effects Don't Produce the Cause". And even though the CD presents the full 2LP set on one disc, it's still got room for 2 bonus tracks – 45 rpm versions of "Loose Booty" and "A Joyful Process"! CD

An album with a very personal vibe, maybe even more so than other recent work on the Steeplechase label – as Andrew Rathbun composed all the tunes himself, and really seems to have a commanding sense of timing throughout the album! The music swings, but also stops for some more contemplative moments too – and in both modes, there's a really keen sense of feeling for sound and tone – almost painterly at points, and moving with bolder strokes at others. Gary Versace contributes some wonderful piano to the set – really resonating strongly with Rathbun – and the group also features bass from John Hebert and drums from Tom Rainey, on titles that include "Widen The Doorway", "Wandering", "Fast 5th", "Tooth & Nail", "Velocity Unknown", and "Still A Thing". CD

Not the first famous Twin Peaks soundtrack – but instead a big collection of all the cool tunes that David Lynch pulled together for the reboot of the series in 2017! Titles include "The World Spins" by Julee Cruise, "Snake Eyes" by Trouble, "My Prayer" by The Platters, "Shadow" by Chromatics, "Green Onions" by Booker T & The MGs, "Wild West (roadhouse mix)" by Leslie, "Out Of Sand" by Eddie Vedder, "Sharp Dressed Man" by ZZ Top, "I've Been Loving You Too Long (live)" by Otis Redding, "Lark" by Au Revoir Simone, "Twin Peaks Main Theme (edit)" by Angelo Badalmenti, "Tarifa (roadhouse mix)" by Sharon Van Etten, and "She's Gone Away" by Nine Inch Nails. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Basie was getting all over the place during the 50s – and this set's a great little concert recorded in London! The album's classic Basie for Verve – with Joe Williams on vocals on 3 tracks, and a tight group that includes Thad Jones, Joe Newman, Benny Powell, Matthew Gee, and Frank Foster. Titles include "Flute Juice", "Nails", "Blues Backstage", "Corner Pocket", "Roll Em Pete", and "Well All Right Okay You Win". LP, Vinyl record album