One of the best-remembered moments of the Virgin Prunes – a set that's pre-goth, and has strong post-punk production from Colin Newman of Wire! The group are really hitting on all their best strengths here – more tuneful and song-based, but still with a nice edge – one that really holds strong in the sinister vocals of Gavin Friday! Titles include the classic "Baby Turns Blue" – almost a dancefloor track from the group – plus "Theme For Thought", "Caucasian Walk", "Walls Of Jericho", "Ulakanakulot", and "Sweethomeunderwhiteclouds". LP, Vinyl record album

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One of the catchiest early songs by The Virgin Prunes – a cut that captures the group at a time when they were still light enough in their approach – so that the track does a great job of mixing the vocals of Gavin Friday with some upbeat rhythms and plenty of spooky guitar lines and keyboards! The "vibeakimbo" remix is longer, with a nice breakdown in the middle – and the single also features the slower, spookier "Dave-Id Is Dead". 12-inch, Vinyl record

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One of the best-remembered moments of the Virgin Prunes – a set that's pre-goth, and has strong post-punk production from Colin Newman of Wire! The group are really hitting on all their best strengths here – more tuneful and song-based, but still with a nice edge – one that really holds strong in the sinister vocals of Gavin Friday! Titles include the classic "Baby Turns Blue" – almost a dancefloor track from the group – plus "Theme For Thought", "Caucasian Walk", "Walls Of Jericho", "Ulakanakulot", and "Sweethomeunderwhiteclouds". CD

Titles include "The Forest", "Suck Me Baby", "Come To Daddy", "Deadly Box", "Slow Child", "Sandpaper Lullabye", "Pig Children", "Beast (Seven Bastards Suck)", "Brain Damage", "Sleep Fantasy Dreams", and "Sad World". CD

A great album from French combo Air – ingenious working on dual fronts – as the moody original score to Sofia Coppola's film adaptation of The Virgin Suicides, but it also works incredibly well as a stand-alone listening experience! While some tracks channel Pink Floyd a bit, many of their usual atmospherics are dusted off with fairly jazzy instrumentation and post-Bacharach arrangements. Gordon Tracks sings guest vocals on "Playground Love" and the whole thing's got a beautiful airy 60s pop style to it – tracks include "Clouds Up", "Bathroom Girl", "Cemetary Party", "Dirty Trip", "Highschool Lover (Theme From The Virgin Suicides)", "Afternoon Sister", "Ghost Song", and "Dead Bodies". CD

The genius of Roy Ayers knows no end – and as this set of unreleased work from the 70s proves, Roy was always working at top form back in the day – even above and beyond his classic albums from the time! The grooves here are tremendous – funky, soulful, jazzy, and every bit as wonderful as the work that Roy did for his classic albums on Polydor – and in a way, the whole set's even tighter and heavier than any of Roy's full LPs, because it's a distillation of his sound from the time, hand-picked from the vaults with an ear towards the kind of timeless grooves that have been a huge influence on many worlds of music for years! You've never heard any of these tunes before, but we can promise you'll love them every bit as much as Roy's tracks on albums like Coffy, Vibrations, Mystic Voyage, and other classics – and the quality of the set only further pushes our jaw-dropping respect for the man! Titles include "Holiday", "Kwajilori", "I Am Your Mind (part 2)", "Touch Of Class", "Third Time", "Come To Me", "Wide Open", "Funk In The Hole", "Liquid Love", "Tarzan", "Sunshine (demo)", and "I Like The Way You Do It To Me". LP, Vinyl record album

Brilliant later work from Ornette Coleman – quite adventurous stuff, too! By the late 80s, the shock of the new of Ornette's harmolodic sound had worn off enough that majors like CBS/Portrait were more than willing to invest in it – but for every catchy modern groove here, there's a left turn into more subtly daring territory! A few tracks feature Jerry Garcia – "3 Wishes", "Singing In The Shower", and "Desert Player" – and his jazz-folk-psych improv guitar style is a pretty wild match for Ornette and Prime Time. We didn't give those cuts nearly enough credit to over the years! The Garcia-less tracks show Ornette's awareness of hip hop and funky fusion, but he doesn't cop to trends. It's more that he's showing his continuing relevance in the 80s landscape. The group features Denard Coleman on percussion and keys, Calvin Weston on drums, Al MacDowell and Chris Walker on bass, Bern Nix and Charlee Ellerbe on guitars, and Ornette on alto, trumpet and violin. Other tunes include "Happy Hour", "Bourgeois Boogie", and "Spelling The Alphabet". LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of wonderful albums from the young Lalah Hathaway – plus bonus tracks too! First up is the self-titled Lalah Hathaway – the first album from Donny Hathaway's soulful daughter – an album that began a legacy that's lasted plenty strongly on its own – even without such a great family pedigree! Lalah's got a nearly-classic style in her work that's a fresh departure from many other soul acts of this period – a style that's almost influenced by the Soul II Soul or Loose Ends groove of the time, but is a bit more mainstream – and which shows that Hathaway has a lot more to offer than a famous last name. Production and arrangements are by Gary Taylor, Angela Winbush, Craig T Cooper, and Andre Fischer – and titles include "Baby Don't Cry", "Heaven Knows", "Somethin", "Stay Home Tonight", "I'm Coming Back", "I Gotta Move On", and "Obvious". Next is A Moment – an overlooked second set from the lovely Lalah Hathaway – a record that got less circulation than her classic debut, but which still very much continues the groove! As before, Lalah's working with a number of different producers throughout – changing things up a bit, but still holding strong with a quality level that's better than most of her contemporaries – thanks to vocals that are there first, and hardly need any studio help at all – and which really unify the proceedings throughout. Titles include a great remake of "Family Affair" with excellent help from BEF – plus "Bad By Myself", "Lean On Me", "Separate Ways", "Better As A Memory", "Do You Suppose", "Rise", and "Let Me Love You". 2CD set features 12 bonus tracks – including "It's Somethin (radio mix)", "Heaven Knows (7" version)", "Baby Don't Cry (radio)", "Heaven Knows (Yvonne Turner rmx)", "It's Somethin (12" mix)", "Baby Don't Cry (crybaby club version)", "It's Somethin (smoove & sassy rmx)", "Night & Day", "Let Me Love You (bed time mix)", "Dreams Don't Lie (club)", "Separate Ways (stringapella)", and "Night & Day (acappella)". CD

Brilliant later work from Ornette Coleman – quite adventurous stuff, too! By the late 80s, the shock of the new of Ornette's harmolodic sound had worn off enough that majors like CBS/Portrait were more than willing to invest in it – but for every catchy modern groove here, there's a left turn into more subtly daring territory! A few tracks feature Jerry Garcia – "3 Wishes", "Singing In The Shower", and "Desert Player" – and his jazz-folk-psych improv guitar style is a pretty wild match for Ornette and Prime Time. We didn't give those cuts nearly enough credit to over the years! The Garcia-less tracks show Ornette's awareness of hip hop and funky fusion, but he doesn't cop to trends. It's more that he's showing his continuing relevance in the 80s landscape. The group features Denard Coleman on percussion and keys, Calvin Weston on drums, Al MacDowell and Chris Walker on bass, Bern Nix and Charlee Ellerbe on guitars, and Ornette on alto, trumpet and violin. Other tunes include "Happy Hour", "Bourgeois Boogie", and "Spelling The Alphabet". CD

Seven full albums from Tangerine Dream, all served up in a single set, with bonus tracks too – all as a wonderful document of this second chapter of their career! During these years, Tangerine Dream had moved from the Krautrock underground to the spotlight of a new electronic music generation – as pioneers who opened the doors for many, and were still able to stay ahead of the game – thanks in part to growing exposure on the soundtrack scene! Most of these records still have the group working in their strong longform mode – with very extended tracks – and two albums, Logos and Encore, are both live albums that show that the group were every bit as compelling on stage as they were in the studio. CD

It's like a dream come true – 13 previously unissued recordings by Roy Ayers, all from the height of his glory years on Polydor! Roy's work from this time is some of our favorite ever – a burning blend of jazz, soul, and funk – handled with impeccable charm, and a level of soul that few other artists of the time ever matched. Roy's genius was strongly documented at the time by a series of excellent Polydor albums – but there was also a heck of a lot of great material that never saw the light of day, and which is every bit as great as the classics that we've come to know and love over the years. Hearing this set is incredible – like upping our already-massive appreciation of Roy's talents, and like finding a lost corner of soul music history that nobody's ever heard before. The tunes are all amazing – a great blend of jazzy soul, mellow soul, and dancefloor groovers – and the package is only the tip of the iceberg, from what we've been told! The full album does a great job to not cross over too much with the 12" singles previously issued in this "Virgin" series – and titles include "What's The T", "I Really Love You", "Sugar", "Mystery Of Love", "Green & Gold", "Brand New Feeling", "I Did It In Seattle", "I Just Wanna Give It Up", "Together Forever", "Boogie Down", "I Am Your Mind", and a great alternate version of "Mystic Voyage"! CD

It's like a dream come true – 13 previously unissued recordings by Roy Ayers, all from the height of his glory years on Polydor! Roy's work from this time is some of our favorite ever – a burning blend of jazz, soul, and funk – handled with impeccable charm, and a level of soul that few other artists of the time ever matched. Roy's genius was strongly documented at the time by a series of excellent Polydor albums – but there was also a heck of a lot of great material that never saw the light of day, and which is every bit as great as the classics that we've come to know and love over the years. Hearing this set is incredible – like upping our already-massive appreciation of Roy's talents, and like finding a lost corner of soul music history that nobody's ever heard before. The tunes are all amazing – a great blend of jazzy soul, mellow soul, and dancefloor groovers – and the package is only the tip of the iceberg, from what we've been told! The full album does a great job to not cross over too much with the 12" singles previously issued in this "Virgin" series – and titles include "What's The T", "I Really Love You", "Sugar", "Mystery Of Love", "Green & Gold", "Brand New Feeling", "I Did It In Seattle", "I Just Wanna Give It Up", "Together Forever", "Boogie Down", "I Am Your Mind", and a great alternate version of "Mystic Voyage"! LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary album from the Peruvian scene at the start of the 70s – a record from one of the key groups who were really helping deepen the sound of the music at the time, and take things far past some of the simpler Anglo-inspired music of the 60s! It's tempting to call these guys psychedelic, but they've also got so much more going on too – maybe a bit like some of the Argentine groups, in that they are allowing for regional instrumentation to play with electric elements – all while delivering tunes that have a surprisingly new level of thoughtfulness in the lyrics. The blend is a bit hard to describe, but it comes across instantly in the music – at a level that's made the set one of the true global rock classics of the decade! Titles include "Virgin", "Tell The World I'm Alive", "Yellow Sea Days (March 7th/March 8th/March 9th)", "Jews Caboose", "A Place In Time Called 'You And Me'", "Simple", "Meshkalina", and "Last Song". CD

Incredible early recordings by The Fugs – a set that captures the group at a time when they still had tremendous power and potential! The sessions were originally done for Folkways, then later sold to ESP – and the spare, earthy Folkways approach is perfect for the group, capturing them in a setting that's more of a happening than an actual recording session – a freewheeling hippie-esque party that's perfect for the protest and politics of the songs. Instrumentation includes a lot of hand-held percussion – maracas, tambourine, etc – and the Holy Modal Rounders join the group on some songs as well. Titles include "Saran Wrap", "We're The Fugs", "Caca Rocka", "My Bed Is Getting Crowded", "New Amphetamine Shriek", and "CIA Man". LP, Vinyl record album

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... 12-inch, Vinyl record

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

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... LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe the crowning moment of genus from the great Neneh Cherry – a record that's a huge evolution from her post punk funk of just a few short years before – and one that really helped her bridge the Atlantic and find a huge following over here at the time! There's a great mix of hip hop inspiration and electro soul styles going on here – but also fused with the chunkier modes that were coming out of the UK soul scene right at the end of the 80s – maybe a new love of the depth of classic soul, which is used to really amplify the spirit of the great lyrics that Neneh delivers throughout. Titles include the megahit "Buffalo Stance" – plus "Manchild", "Kisses On The Wind", "Inner City Mama", "Heart", "The Next Generation", "So Here I Come", "Outre Risque Locomotive", and "Love Ghetto". Beautiful 3CD version – packaged in a heavy 12" album-sized jacket – with loads of bonus materials! Titles include "Buffalo Stance (1/2 way 2 house rmx)", "Buffalo Stance (sukka mix)", "Manchild (Smith N Mighty rmx)", "Manchild (Massive Attack bonus beats)", "Manchild (old school mix)", "Kisses On The Wind (12" Spanish)", "Kisses On The Wind (lovers hip hop ext version)", "Next Generation (rap one mix)", "Next Generation (sub-woofer mix)", "Heart (club mix)", "Kisses On The Wind (David Morales a little more Puerto Rico mix)", "Inner City Mamma (cold blooded rmx)", "Buffalo Stance (Kevin Sanderson's techno stance rmx one)", and lots more. Also comes with a very cool 12" square, 48 page full color booklet of notes! CD

Includes the classics "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me" and "I'll Tumble 4 Ya". LP, Vinyl record album

The final album in Brian Eno's initial burst of genius in the 70s – and the last of those records to feature real rock songs, with vocals and lyrics! Eno steps off even further here from the territory he first explored on Another Green World – referencing some of his more private sonic experiments, but also still keeping things in a relatively tuneful mode – yet also somewhat personal, too – maybe a bit like Robert Wyatt at his early solo best. The record features contributions from some of his hipper contemporaries – Phil Manzanera and Robert Fripp on guitars, Fred Frith on "cascade guitars", Jaki Liebezeit and Phil Collins on drums (back when Phil was still hip!) – and more familiar musical partners Percy Jones on bass and Rhett Davies as the engineer. The whole album's brilliantly laid out – from fierceness to ambience, and back again – on titles that include "No One Receiving", "Kurt's Rejoinder", "King Lead Hat", "Spider & I", "Engery Fools The Magician", "Backwater", and "Here He Comes". CD

Don't let the "tapes" in the title fool you – as the album's not really some leftover material, and instead stands proudly as the third full record from Germany's legendary Faust! Even on a scene that was filled with progressive, experimental heavyweights, Faust could still stand alone – maybe more concerned with sounds than songs at times, as you'll definitely hear here – on shorter tracks that make for these marvelous mixes of sonic explosions and melodic inspirations – shifting effortlessly between longer tracks and very short bursts, with some occasional messed up vocals to liven things up! Brilliant throughout, and still overflowing with all the power it had back in the 70s. CD

Don't let the "tapes" in the title fool you – as the album's not really some leftover material, and instead stands proudly as the third full record from Germany's legendary Faust! Even on a scene that was filled with progressive, experimental heavyweights, Faust could still stand alone – maybe more concerned with sounds than songs at times, as you'll definitely hear here – on shorter tracks that make for these marvelous mixes of sonic explosions and melodic inspirations – shifting effortlessly between longer tracks and very short bursts, with some occasional messed up vocals to liven things up! Brilliant throughout, and still overflowing with all the power it had back in the 70s. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A new wave crossover classic from The Flying Lizards – one of the quirkiest groups of their era! The group were European, but have a sound that resonates strongly with the most playful post-disco work of the New York scene of the time, particularly the acts on Ze Records – a groove that mixes equal part punky and clubby rhythms, often topped with lyrics that are cold, but clever, done in the same ironic arty style of Cristina, or Devo. This album's the group's standout opus – and features their classic covers of "Summertime Blues" and "Money" – as well as originals "The Flood", "TV", "The Window", and "Russia". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Lots of heavy percussion from Pierre Moerlen – plus guitar from Steve Hillage, and moog and other keyboards from Hi T Moonweed! Titles include "Perfect Mistery", "The Isle Of Everywhere", "You Never Blow Yr Trip Forever", and "Magick Another Invocation". CD

Heaven 17 soften up their politics a bit with this second album (yet still address class inequality issues with the title!) – but they also manage to replace their Marxist agenda with some groovier, more soul-based tunes – just the kind of material that helped push them out of import obscurity into more of a crossover market in the US! The album's fondly remembered for the electro dancefloor numbers "Temptation", "Come Live With Me", and "Let Me Go" – all of which stand a cut above the work of their predecessors Human League, and show an ability to go past simple electronic pop riffs – even if they are all pretty darn catchy! Other tracks are great too – and the record has a joyous, optimistic quality that's every bit the best side of this scene from the early 80s generation. Titles include "We Live So Fast", "Best Kept Secret", "Crushed By The Wheels Of Industry", and "Key To The World". CD

The second album by Human League – and one that has them really honing their craft a bit, sliding from a world of messed-up broken-down synthesizers into more song-based forms that hint at the genius pop of later years. Things are still pretty darn dark – with vocals that would scare a cat, and lots of prog/punk riffs on the keys and drums – and the album's a key link in a trajectory of European music of the 70s that's still plenty darn powerful today! Titles include "Being Boiled", "Gordon's Gin", "The Touchables", "Crow & A Baby", "Toyota City", and "The Black Hit Of Space" – and CD features a huge amount of bonus tracks, including "Cruel", "I Don't Depend On You", "Boys & Girls", and "Marianne". CD

Kelis's first single, from her deeply under appreciated debut Kaleidoscope! 12-inch, Vinyl record