An album that's very out of time, especially given all the musical trends that were taking place in the year it was released – but that hardly seems to matter at all to Allan Wachs, as he's got a very personal style to the record – one that welcomes you in to a world that's all his own in a set of very compelling self-penned songs! Acoustic guitar is mixed with light flute, keyboards, and other touches that would sound a lot slicker if Wachs had produced the album with a more commercial appeal – but which here really underscore the human, upfront quality of his lyrics. The whole thing's overflowing with charms, in part because it's so well put together – and titles include "Adventures Of The Invisible Dog", "Mountain Roads", "Northwest Passage", "Mountain Man Breakdown", "Anna Lena", "Pretty Face", and "Least Of My Strangers". LP, Vinyl record album

The classic first LP by this stellar Chicago harmony group – and a monster! Heaven & Earth had a wonderful falsetto harmony sound that reminds us a lot of east coast winners like Blue Magic or The Stylistics – and like some of the best east coast groups, this group's vocals work equally well on slow ballads or faster uptempo numbers, both of which are handled extremely well on the record by producer Clarence Johnson. The bulk of the arrangements on the record were done by Tom Tom 84 – one of Chicago's true soul geniuses, and in perfect form on this record. The whole thing's amazingly well put together for an indie soul group album – and is a sure indication of the group's later fame on Mercury. Titles include "Nature's Miracle", "The Message", "I'll Always Love You", "Let Me Back In", and "I Can't Seem To Forget You". CD

Underground soul genius from the great Ron Henderson – one of those great 70s also-rans – a true top talent who never fully got his due, but who cut some really wonderful material back in the day! The set features rare 70s singles and some unreleased tracks – all of which work together to showcase Ron's special way of blending older deep soul currents with warmer mellow soul touches – a great blend of southern and sophisticated styles that was years ahead of its time, which may well be why Henderson's genius is only getting its full appreciation in the 21st century! The package features 13 cuts in all – including "Your Love", "Reole Rose", "Sunshine", "She Pleases Me", "The Other Side", "Problem Child", "Yours Is The Love I Want", "You're Twenty One Today", and "Baby I Wanna Be Yours". LP, Vinyl record album

A great presentation of this classic work from Elmore James – a set that brings together all of his 7" singles for the Fire & Fury labels in a special box – with each single done as an exact replica of the original! Fire & Fury were as much a powerhouse of soul and R&B as they were of blues, and these singles from James were some of his key crossover cuts – work that still retained the gritty sound of his roots, but also had a more modern crackle at times – especially on the later sides recorded in New York! Players on the sessions include Johnny Walker on piano, Paul Williams on Baritone Sax, JT Brown on tenor, and Sammy Myers on harmonica – and titles include "Make My Dreams Come True", "Bobby's Rock", "Anna Lee", "Stranger Blues", "Look On Yonder Wall", "It Hurts Me Too", "Pickin The Blues", "Dust My Broom", "Bleeding Heart", "The Sky Is Crying", and "Rollin & Tumblin". Limited edition – in box set with booklet of notes and photo! 7-inch, Vinyl record

A groundbreaking session of European jazz – one of the first true moments of genius from singer Karin Krog! Tracks are long and experimental without getting too far out – and Karin's icy voice flows out magically over compelling tunes that still remain some of the most striking jazz vocals ever recorded! The set has Karin singing with a group of young, hip Scandinavian players that include Jan Garbarek on saxes, Arild Andersen on bass, and Terje Bjorklund on piano – all of whom stretch out in long, spare, modally-influenced grooves – of the sort that completely transform the role of the singer in jazz. The whole thing's great – trippy, yet still soulful, rhythmic, and swinging – with titles that include "Mr Joy", "Karin's Mode", "Round Midnight", and "Maiden Voyage/Lazy Afternoon". CD

One of the only full sets we've ever seen to document the great run of singles cut by Jackie Brenston in the early 50s – work initially done in Memphis, as a real precursor to that city's soul scene – and later cut also in Chicago, with a really hard-wailing approach! The set's titled after "Rocket 88" – a track many folks call the first rock and roll song ever – recorded at Sun Studios in Memphis by Sam Philips, with Ike Turner as the real bandleader – before Chess took over the single, and then started recording Jackie up in Chicago. Titles include "Rocket 88", "I Want To See My Baby", "Jackie's Chewing Gum", "88 Boogie", "Pat Meat Is Greasy", "True Love", "The Blues Got Me Again", and "Lovin Time". LP, Vinyl record album

Underground soul genius from the great Ron Henderson – one of those great 70s also-rans – a true top talent who never fully got his due, but who cut some really wonderful material back in the day! The set features rare 70s singles and some unreleased tracks – all of which work together to showcase Ron's special way of blending older deep soul currents with warmer mellow soul touches – a great blend of southern and sophisticated styles that was years ahead of its time, which may well be why Henderson's genius is only getting its full appreciation in the 21st century! The package features 13 cuts in all – including "Your Love", "Reole Rose", "Sunshine", "She Pleases Me", "The Other Side", "Problem Child", "Yours Is The Love I Want", "You're Twenty One Today", and "Baby I Wanna Be Yours". CD

Four fantastic early albums from Waylon Jennings – all served up in a single package! First up is Folk Country – a mid 60s classic from Waylon Jennings – cut for RCA at a time when the singer was really beginning to find his own style! While not really a folk album, the use of the word in the title is maybe key to an understanding of Waylon's approach here – as he's already trying to go past the conventions of mainstream country music, and maybe bring in some of the depth of material and presentation that you'd be more likely to find from a folk singer – but all while still staying very true to the country music core that would hold strong over the decades! There's some great material on the album – and titles include "Another Bridge To Burn", "Cindy Of New Orleans", "I Don't Mind", "What Makes A Man Wander", "Look Into My Teardrops", and "Down Came The World". Leavin Town is a record with a really fantastic sense of spirit – from the rough-around-the-edges look of Waylon Jennings on the cover, to the album's presentation of music that really shows the deeper style of the singer at the start – tunes of yearning and searching that still sound fantastic all these many years later! The production is still somewhat in the Nashville RCA mode, but there's also some deeper currents that seem as if they're trying to pull in some of the hipper side of the scene too – served up nicely on titles that include "Leavin Town", "Anita You're Dreaming", "Doesn't Anybody Know My Name", "I Wonder Just Where I Went Wrong", "Time Will Tell The Story", "Baby Don't Be Looking In My Mind", and "Time To Bum Again". Next up is Wayon Sings Ol Harlan – a tribute to songwriter Harlan Howard! As with the best of his contemporaries, Waylon Jennings was always ready to acknowledge how important a good songwriter was to his music – definitely the case here on this late 60s tribute to the work of Harlan Howard! Howard wasn't the biggest star in the studio himself, but he gave key songs to a number of country acts in the 60s – and the rock-solid quality of his songs makes the album a real standout in the early RCA catalog of Waylon Jennings – a no-filler collection that's filled with gems that include "Sunset & Vine", "Busted", "Woman Let Me Sing You A Song", "She's Gone Gone Gone", "In This Very Same Room", "Heartaches For A Dime", "Tiger By The Tail", and "The Everglades". Last up is Nashville Rebel – a pretty nice soundtrack from the mid 60s – featuring a mixture of vocal and instrumental tunes, sung by Waylon Jennings, who also stars in the film, and arranged by Chet Atkins, who's also producing the album. Waylon's in fine form, and often singing with a style that's more expressive than earlier records, maybe because of his presence on the screen – and the instrumentals are great too – with kind of a honky tonk mod approach, similar to tracks you'd find in another groovy 60s soundtrack, but with a bit of a country twist. This means that you've got heavy twang in the guitar upfront, tightly snapping rhythms over a bit of strings, and a bit of organ or piano. Titles include "Lang's Theme", "Rush Street Blues", "Hoodlum", "Tennessee", "Silver Ribbons", "Nashville Bum", and "Green River". CD

Black Gold indeed – as the album's a real classic from Nina, one of the excellent sets she cut with the Stroud Productions imprint during the early 70s! The style here is even hipper than her late 60s work on Philips – with a mixture of open-ended jazz and soul that's best summed up in the album's extended reading of "Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair", and a great version of "To Be Young Gifted & Black", which was written by Weldon Irvine, who's probably playing piano here with Nina. Other titles include the funky "Ain't Got No I Got Life", plus "Westwind", "Who Knows Where The Time Goes", and "The Assignment Sequence" – all very hip numbers! LP, Vinyl record album

Producer BK-One teams up with beatmaker Benzilla and underground MCs to craft a killer record for Rhymesayers – featuring unpredictable psych, funk, Latin & Brazil steeped sounds! MCs include Brother Ali, Slug, Raekwon, I Self Divine, POS, Blueprint and more – and how could we not love a record with interlude tributes to Caetano Veloso and Tom Ze? Titles include "Gitittit" feat Slug & Brother Ali, "Mega" feat Aceyalone Myka 9 & Abstract Rude, "The True & Living" feat Raekwon & I Self Divine. "Philly Boy" feat Black Thought, "Blue Balls"f eat Blueprint, "Eighteen To Twenty-One" feat Murs, "American Nightmare" and more. CD

A real gem from Freddie Hubbard's 60s years – an all soul jazz outing, cut with a hip array of players that show that young Fred was definitely on the forefront of jazz at the time! Despite the "blues" in the title, the main groove is spiritual soul jazz – in a style that puts Freddie a few years ahead of the Strata East crew, and working here in a mode that he oddly didn't continue into the 70s. The album's got a really righteous sound overall – with long tracks that really stretch out wonderfully with rich feeling and spirit – thanks to work from players who include Weldon Irvine and Kenny Barron on piano, Bennie Maupin and James Spaulding on reeds, and Freddie Waits on drums. The set's filled with great original tunes that include Freddie's "Latina", "True Colors", and "For BP" – as well as a version of Weldon Irvine's "Can't Let Her Go". CD

The fourth album from Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – solidifying what we learned pretty early on from the indomitable soul spirit that is Sharon and her impeccable combo the Dap-Kings – it's that this is not some retro soul revival novelty act, what they are is the greatest active embodiment of a true soul sound that will never go away! We've always loved that Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings recognize the studio and the stage as different worlds. On stage, Sharon is the possibly the most energetic, charismatic presence you'll ever see and the band brings heft and heat. In the studio, they stretch out and diversify wonderfully, bringing both raw, unpolished funky soul realness to some more stripped down numbers and a full on Stax or Hi level heaviness to the bigger ones. The songs are better and more memorable than ever on this record – with "The Game Gets Old" and "I Learned The Hard Way" (an astoundingly strong one/two punch for the opening minutes) plus "Better Things", "Give It Back", "Money". "The Reason", "Window Shopping", "I'll Still Be True", "Without A Heart", "If You Call" and "Mama Don't Like My Man". CD

A killer of an album – a real corker from Lloyd, one of those singers who kept on growing tremendously after his early big hits! The album was recorded in Muscle Shoals, but it's got a smooth modern sort of finish – all compressed and slightly funky, in a manner that's partially inspired by Philly, partially by Marvin Gaye's mid 70s hits. The whole thing's extremely great – with lots of hip modern numbers that bear no resemblance whatsoever to Lloyd's early work, and which will have you going "Hey, who's that? He's really great!" A bit like Sydney Joe Qualls, Johnny Bristol, or Prince Phillip Mitchell – and with tracks that include "N'Sele", "Uphill Peace Of Mind", "Street Love", "Mr & Mrs Untrue", "What Did You Do With My Love", and "Music Music". LP, Vinyl record album