Way more than just "hits" – given that this hip box set features tracks from every single 12" released by the legendary P&P family of labels – a massive amount of underground dancefloor work from the late 70s and early 80s, and a set that gives new meaning to the word discography! If you know even just a bit of the P&P sound, you'll know you've got a revolutionary listening experience in store – music that goes way beyond conventional club and disco, with lots of weird little twists and turns – in both the instrumentation and production, which often use these cool little homemade spacey touches! Vocals are often right in synch with the offbeat grooves – and just about every cut on here is massively funky, too. Package features work by Cloud One, Milton Floyd, Sons Of Darkness, Jesse Gee, Scoopy, Rudy Stuart, Little Scotty, Henry Brooks, Fly Guy, Ahzz, Super Jay, Otis Turner, Sherod, The Destiny Orchestra, Bobby Mann, and many others – from singles that originally appeared on labels like Queen Constance, La Shawn, Land Of Hits, Golden Flamingo, Heavenly Star, Clarence, Destiny, Mr Brown, P&P, Sound Of New York, and others. 185 songs, on 15 CDs, packaged in cool slim sleeves in a tight box set – over 18 hours of music, and all of it great! CD

A really lovely little record – one that feels like an instant classic in the world of MPB – the sort of long-overdue new release by a Brazilian artist that we hope we'll be hearing plenty from in years to come! As with the elite list of our Brazilian favorites of the past 20 years, Bruno's got a way of reaching into the past to grab just a bit here and there – then folds things together with a style that's crispily fresh, and very much his own – soulful, yet not mainstream soul at all – electronic at times, but with a warmly beating acoustic heart – and the kind of music that will grab you instantly upon first listen, at a level that our words could never hope to convey! Titles include "So Nois Dois", "Some Nyame", "Quero Dizer", "Ate Meu Violao", "Virginia Talk", "Sereno", "Arraiada", and "Beat 1". LP, Vinyl record album

Cypress Hill's debut masterpiece – one of the biggest and best first albums in 90s hip hop! There's little we can add to the canon when it comes to describing this album's impact, but it's still pretty revelatory. Like other west coast rap heavies of the time, Cypress Hill documents real world street violence with a darkly comic sensibility, redefined usage of the word "blunt" forever more, and simply delivered one of the most influential rap (or rock, considering the astonishing crossover success) albums of the decade. Titles include "How I Could Just Kill A Man", "Hand On The Pump", "Hole In The Head", "Real Estate", "Stoned Is The Way Of The Walk", "Phunky Feel One", "Pigs", "Latin Lingo", "Something For The Blunted", and "Psychobeatbuckdown". Cassette

Cypress Hill's debut masterpiece – one of the biggest and best first albums in 90s hip hop! There's little we can add to the canon when it comes to describing this album's impact, but it's still pretty revelatory. Like other west coast rap heavies of the time, Cypress Hill documents real world street violence with a darkly comic sensibility, redefined usage of the word "blunt" forever more, and simply delivered one of the most influential rap (or rock, considering the astonishing crossover success) albums of the decade. Titles include "How I Could Just Kill A Man", "Hand On The Pump", "Hole In The Head", "Real Estate", "Stoned Is The Way Of The Walk", "Phunky Feel One", "Pigs", "Latin Lingo", "Something For The Blunted", and "Psychobeatbuckdown". CD

A trio of albums from The Grass Roots – plus lots of bonus tracks too! First up is Leaving It All Behind – a really great shift for the Grass Roots – a set that has the group sounding more confident before, and maybe a bit more soulful too – really coming at things with this nice sense of punch both in the lead vocals, and the way the overall groove drives the set! The arrangements are superb – handled by Sid Feller and Jimmie Haskell – and we can especially hear the talents of the latter, in the way that Jimmie can take simple elements and make them sound groovy – but all in a very unassuming way. Titles include "Out Of This World", "I'm Lovin For You Girl", "Wait A Million Years", "Take Him While You Can", "Walking Through The Country", and "Truck Drivin Man". Move Along is a record with a big, bold sound – lots of soulful arrangements from Jimmie Haskell, full of horns and driven by great basslines – all of which really pushes the dynamic energy of the group! The Grass Roots look a bit more mature on the cover, and that comes through in their vocals too – some raspier charms that really reflect the passage of years, and enforce a bit more feeling in the lyrics – giving a heft to the album that's an unexpected surprise, especially if you only know their earlier hits. Titles include "Move Along", "Two Divided By Love", "Monday Love", "One Word", "Runnin Just To Get Her Home Again", and "Anyway The Wind Blows". Alotta Mileage is a 70s standout from The Grass Roots! Back in the 60s, the Grass Roots already had this tight, compressed energy that was totally great – a quality that also makes their 70s work like this so wonderful too! There's a focus here that's totally great – horns informed by earlier soul music styles, and vocals that borrow a bit too – upbeat and bubbling, but with maybe a nicely mature vibe too – still hook-heavy, but slightly different than the earlier hits – on titles that include "Just A Little Tear", "Pick Up Your Feet", "Where There's Smoke There's Fire", "Ballad Of Billy Joe", "We Almost Made It Together", "Ain't No Way To Go Home", and "Claudia". 2CD set features 14 more bonus tracks – including "Temptation Eyes", "Sooner Or Later", "Bella Linda (single version)", "Get It Together", "Baby Hold On", "I'd Wait A Million Years (single version)", "We Can't Dance To Your Music", and "I Can Turn Off The Rain". CD

Wild stuff – and very different than Gary McFarland's earlier albums! Today was recorded late in Gary's career, and is has him moving a bit away from jazz – into a more sunshine pop feel – one that still retains plenty of the bossa and breezy elements of his Verve work, but which also features a bit more vocals and a cool and groovy style overall! Gary's singing on most tracks – not just in his wordless and whistling mode, but also taking some of the lyrics more directly – delivering them with a hauntingly-recorded quality that makes the whole thing sound beautifully moody. The core group is still quite jazzy – and features Hubert Laws, Curtis Fuller, and Grady Tate – plus some light cello, guitar, and even a bit of percussion by Airto. Titles include "Suzanne", "My Cherie Amour", "Sombras De Saudade", "Berimbau", "Desafinado", "I Will Wait For You", and the Beatles' beautiful tune "Because", done in a great breathy style! Moody and beautiful, and proof that McFarland was one of the 60s true pop geniuses! LP, Vinyl record album

A dark and murky classic from Prince Far I – a set that has his words of wisdom brewing up amidst a whole host of dubby productions from Joe Gibbs! The Prince takes dub production to fresh territory here – toasting over the tracks, but in a way that's very different than some of the more upbeat modes that you might find when a dee jay was working a crowd – and instead moodier, and more in his mind – with a sinister edge that really makes the album stand out, and which is maybe the blue print for the On-U Sound generation to come! Tracks include "Rain A Fall", "Big Fight", "Show Me Mine Enemy", "Deck Of Cards", "Young Generation", and "Heavy Manners". LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant album from Kaidi Tatham – deeper by far than anything we've ever heard from him, and way more than you might expect if you only know his singles from the London scene! This set's got a very strong jazz component – monstrous keyboard work from Kaidi that stretches and soars with the kind of sound you might expect from George Duke on MPS – coupled with some leaner, more rhythmic elements that show Tatham's strong ties to the London scene – yet still in ways that really break from its conventions! There's mostly a great groove to the tracks, but there's also a warmth, depth, and spirituality to the record that's really amazing – the kind of new territory that others have found on the excellent Freedom School label – a place that offers a rare outlet for creative expression in times like these. The whole thing's instrumental, and Kaidi played all instruments himself – mixing acoustic percussion with beats, electric keyboards with piano, and coming across with a sound that's far richer than the sum of its core elements. Titles include "Simiya", "I'm High", "So Amazed", "Swift Inspiration", "In Search Of Hope (part 1)", "Do What You Gotta Do", "On A Vibe", "These Things Will Pass", and "He Laughs She Cries". CD

Nothing chilled out here – as this Chill comes from the time before heavy hip hop usage of the word, and instead has a nicely upbeat sort of groove! There's a definite 80s sort of vibe going on here – thanks to keyboards and drum programs from Chuckii Booker, who's certainly left his mark on the record – working tightly with guitarist Ronnie Vann, who also co-produced the set with Booker. Vocals are slid in nicely next to the beats and keyboards – more catchy than deep – and titles include "Sexy So Nasty", "Think About It", "Misty", "Lady Seduction", "Hanging On", "Do It With Control", and "Never Walk Another Day Without You". CD

Cypress Hill's debut masterpiece – one of the biggest and best first albums in 90s hip hop! There's little we can add to the canon when it comes to describing this album's impact, but it's still pretty revelatory. Like other west coast rap heavies of the time, Cypress Hill documents real world street violence with a darkly comic sensibility, redefined usage of the word "blunt" forever more, and simply delivered one of the most influential rap (or rock, considering the astonishing crossover success) albums of the decade. Titles include "How I Could Just Kill A Man", "Hand On The Pump", "Hole In The Head", "Real Estate", "Stoned Is The Way Of The Walk", "Phunky Feel One", "Pigs", "Latin Lingo", "Something For The Blunted", and "Psychobeatbuckdown". LP, Vinyl record album

Cypress Hill's debut masterpiece – one of the biggest and best first albums in 90s hip hop! There's little we can add to the canon when it comes to describing this album's impact, but it's still pretty revelatory. Like other west coast rap heavies of the time, Cypress Hill documents real world street violence with a darkly comic sensibility, redefined usage of the word "blunt" forever more, and simply delivered one of the most influential rap (or rock, considering the astonishing crossover success) albums of the decade. Titles include "How I Could Just Kill A Man", "Hand On The Pump", "Hole In The Head", "Real Estate", "Stoned Is The Way Of The Walk", "Phunky Feel One", "Pigs", "Latin Lingo", "Something For The Blunted", and "Psychobeatbuckdown". LP, Vinyl record album

Eraldo Bernocchi on electronics and guitar, Bill Laswell on bass, and Mick Harris on electronics and beats. CD

The only full length album cut by singer Taana Gardner – quite a surprise, given how much impact she had on the clubs with her 12" singles at the start of the 80s! The album's got Gardner as a much richer singer than you might expect – able to lay back on a mellow track as well as step out on a groover – always with that higher range of vocals that really made her a standout at the time, but in ways that are never gimmicky or poppy at all. And in fact, there's a lot more depth to the record than you'd guess from the dated exercise cover image – a classic soul approach that's also quite a surprise for the mostly disco West End label too. Tracks are all nice and long – and backings are by Sunship, with Bernard Wright on Fender Rhodes. Titles include "Work That Body", "We Got To Work It Out", "When You Touch Me", "Paradise Express", and "Just Be A Friend". CD features the previously unreleased "That's The Word (12" club)", plus "Heartbeat (12" club)", "Heartbeat (12" party)", "No Frills (12" club)", and "No Frills (12" party)". CD

Debut single from Sage Francis & Joe Beats, and still a highlight from the late indie days, with clever wordplay, strong delivery, and blazing beatmaking. 12-inch, Vinyl record

The great Patsy Cline left this planet all too soon – so soon that she never got a chance to record in the full length album mode that would soon be such a big part of country music expression in the 60s – which left it up to the labels to put together albums of her work after she died at a tragically young age! In other words, although these are greatest hits sets, they're also two of Patsy's greatest albums – filled with the kind of heartbreaking material that made her a country music legend right from the start – and an undeniable influence on American music for decades to come! The package features 24 tracks in all – filled with classics that include "Crazy", "Sweet Dreams", "Lovin In Vain", "Who Can I Count On", "Why Can't He Be With You", "Leavin On Your Mind", "I'll Sail My Ship Alone", "Your Kinda Love", "Does Your Heart Beat For Me", "When You Need A Laugh", "Faded Love", "Crazy Arms", "Blue Moon Of Kentucky", and "You Took Him Off My Hands". CD

A pair of later albums from Stax Records' guitar genius Steve Cropper! On the cover of Playin My Thang, Steve Cropper's looking a lot more loose and upfront than he ever did on albums he cut with Booker T & The MGs – and maybe that's because he's emerging here as a more more of a lead artist as well – singing next to his classic work on guitar, while still letting his strength on that instrument carry most of the vibe of the set! There's still plenty of classic Cropper elements in place here, including backing by the Memphis Horns – and at some level, Steve's vocals are always a lot more understated than his guitar – as if he knows that's what we really came for. The set's got a number of original titles – including "Give Em What They Want", "Playin My Thang", "Fly", "With You", "Ya Da Ya Da", and "Why Do You Say You Love Me". Night After Night is a surprisingly nice later set from Stax guitarist Steve Cropper – a record that definitely has some of the modern elements you'd guess from the image on the cover, but which also has a huge amount of contributions from the Memphis scene – from session musicians, to backup vocalists, to all sorts of other elements that give the record a vibe that's very much in keeping with Cropper's legacy from the MGs onward! In other words, forget the slickness of the package, and be surprised at the more soulful, roots-based sound on most numbers – a set of cuts that include "Sad Eyes", "Hold Your Fire", "Can't Break The Habit", "Heartbeat", "Make You Feel Love Again", and "Night After Night". CD

A mighty tribute to the genius of one of the greatest producers of all time – a figure who helped not only shape the sound of Jamaican music from the late 60s onwards, but also influence a fair bit of the rest of the world as well! The set's a well-chosen collection of material from a range of different segments of Perry's career – impossible to sum up perfectly in a short space, but very well-conveyed here! Titles include "Tighten Up" by The Inspiration, "Return Of Django" by The Upsetters, "Words Of My Mouth" by The Gatherers, "Beat Down Babylon" by Junior Byles, "Do It Baby (7" mix)" by Susan Cadogan, "Three Blind Mice" by Max Romeo, "Bushweek Corntrash" by Bunny & Ricky, "Sufferer's Time" by The Heptones, and "Natty Pass Through Rome" by Prince Jazzbo – plus Perry tracks that include "Roast Fish & Corn Bread (Jamaican mix)", "Bucky Skank", "Stay Dread", "People Funny Boy", and "Jungle Lion (7" mix)". LP, Vinyl record album

The sleeveless shirt and sunglasses give away the 80s origin of this obscure electro set from the 80s – music recorded on the German scene, but with some of the better elements of the catchy sounds that UK artists had brought to their work at the start of the decade! In other words, Skorpio's not as cold as you might expect – still using plenty of keyboards, beats, and electronics that situate him nicely in a cold wave style – but with a stronger sense of song, great hooks, and a surprisingly compelling personality at times! Titles include "Long Hard Climb", "Under The Rainbow", "Jealousy Lane", "Take Me", "Black Mercedes", and "Escapade With Zero". LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Eight Days A Week", "Words Of Love", "I Don't Want To Spoil The Party", "Every Little Thing", and "Yes It Is". LP, Vinyl record album

A very cool artifact from the glory days of The Beatles – a set that features interviews with the group, words from their fans, and tracks from their records – all combined in a great mix of music and voice! LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark leaping-off point for The Beatles – and a record that really paved the way for countless new ideas to come! The mix of catchy pop and freer ideas here is really wonderful – tunes that introduce a whole new mature world in mainstream music – yet manage to have all the catchy complexity of the earlier years too. Production, songwriting, and delivery is superb – and this version features 14 songs that include "Drive My Car", "Norwegian Wood", "Nowhere Man", "Think For Yourself", "The Word", "What Goes On", "Girl", "I'm Looking Through You", and "Run For Your Life"". LP, Vinyl record album

Beats, Rhymes & Life – crucial aspects of Tribe Called Quest and hip hop in general – and the fourth album by the inimitable Tribe! After a couple or three years of down time following Midnight Marauders, the Tribe returned with this extra stripped down sound, collaborating with Jay Dee and the Ummah. Titles include "Jam", the r&b crossover ready "Stressed Out" feat Faith Evans, "Motivators", the great "Phony Rappers", and "Keeping It Moving", "Word Play", "The Pressure", "Word Play" and much more. CD

Beats, Rhymes & Life – crucial aspects of Tribe Called Quest and hip hop in general – and the fourth album by the inimitable Tribe! After a couple or three years of down time following Midnight Marauders, the Tribe returned with this extra stripped down sound, collaborating with Jay Dee and the Ummah. Titles include "Jam", the r&b crossover ready "Stressed Out" feat Faith Evans, "Motivators", the great "Phony Rappers", and "Keep It Moving", "Word Play", "The Pressure", "Word Play" and much more. LP, Vinyl record album

A classic set of sample-heavy wizardry from Edan – and a record that's every bit as psychedelic as you might expect from the cover! There's plenty of great psych flourishes in the samples, grounded in some heavy breakbeats that keep things on tracks – while the rhythms mix touches of madness and genius, with tongue twists that pay homage and blast forward simultaneously. Guests include Mr Lif, Insight, and Percee-P – and titles include "Funky Voltron", "I See Colours", "Torture Chamber", "Promised Land", "Time Outt", "Fumbling Over Words That Rhyme", "Making Planets", "Murder Mystery", "Rock & Roll", and "Smile". CD

A landmark leaping-off point for The Beatles – and a record that really paved the way for countless new ideas to come! The mix of catchy pop and freer ideas here is really wonderful – tunes that introduce a whole new mature world in mainstream music – yet manage to have all the catchy complexity of the earlier years too. Production, songwriting, and delivery is superb – and titles include "Norwegian Wood", "Think For Yourself", "The Word", "Girl", "I'm Looking Through You", and "Run For Your Life"". LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark leaping-off point for The Beatles – and a record that really paved the way for countless new ideas to come! The mix of catchy pop and freer ideas here is really wonderful – tunes that introduce a whole new mature world in mainstream music – yet manage to have all the catchy complexity of the earlier years too. Production, songwriting, and delivery is superb – and this version features 14 songs that include "Drive My Car", "Norwegian Wood", "Nowhere Man", "Think For Yourself", "The Word", "What Goes On", "Girl", "I'm Looking Through You", and "Run For Your Life"". CD

Beats, Rhymes & Life – crucial aspects of Tribe Called Quest and hip hop in general – and the fourth album by the inimitable Tribe! After a couple or three years of down time following Midnight Marauders, the Tribe returned with this extra stripped down sound, collaborating with Jay Dee and the Ummah. Titles include "Jam", the r&b crossover ready "Stressed Out" feat Faith Evans, "Motivators", the great "Phony Rappers", and "Keep It Moving", "Word Play", "The Pressure", "Word Play" and much more. CD

A landmark leaping-off point for The Beatles – and a record that really paved the way for countless new ideas to come! The mix of catchy pop and freer ideas here is really wonderful – tunes that introduce a whole new mature world in mainstream music – yet manage to have all the catchy complexity of the earlier years too. Production, songwriting, and delivery is superb – and this version features 14 songs that include "Drive My Car", "Norwegian Wood", "Nowhere Man", "Think For Yourself", "The Word", "What Goes On", "Girl", "I'm Looking Through You", and "Run For Your Life"". CD

Prime early electro hip hop genius from Mantronix – and a set that includes tight singles, 12" mixes and some classic production work for T La Rock, Just Ice and more – 2LPs that cover a vital mid 80s period! All the classic early hits with the booming 808s and other trademark elements – heavy bass, handclaps, high hats, vocoder vox and party rap. Vinyl version features 13 tracks on 2LPs: "Bassline", "Needle To The Groove (12" Version)", "Fresh is The Word (12" Version)" and "We Control The Dice" by Mantronix proper, plus "Turbo Charged" and "Cold Getting Dumb" (parts I and II) by Just Ice, "Breaking Bells" (12" and dub versions) by T La Rock and "Johnny The Fox" by Tricky Tee. LP, Vinyl record album

Sublimely soulful work from Azymuth – 2 albums back to back on a single CD! Cascades is fantastic fusion from a group who just couldn't miss during these early 80s California years! The sound here is smooth, but never slick – always a little offbeat, and quite different from more mainstream US fusion of the time – thanks to the genius of Jose Roberto Bertrami's keyboards, which glide one moment, dip the next, and often have these slight changes in speed that are totally great. Other members of the core trio include Alex Malheiros on bass and guitar and Ivan Conti on drums and percussion – and the set also features guest work by Mauricio Einhorn on harmonica, Jose Carlos on flute, and Sidney Moreira on percussion. Titles include "Remembering Milton", "Club Morocco", "Through The Window", "Festa Nativa", "Cascade Of The Seven Waterfalls", and "Indian Pepper". Rapid Transit is a set with a really warm groove overall – hardly the too-fast, or too-urban record you might expect from the title! Instead, there's a nicely organic sensibility going on here – a sound that feels fresh and spontaneous, even when it's in the highly electric territory of Jose Roberto Bertami's keyboards. There's a slight bit of added flute and percussion on the set, but most of the sounds here are from the core Azymuth trio – who even vocalize wordlessly on one of the album's best tracks. Titles include "Missing Doto", "Make Mine Guarana", "Gate Of Time", "I'm Just Looking Around", "Somewhere In Brazil", and "Afternoon". CD

Funky new jack galore – a set that has Colin England stepping out as both a hell of a singer, and a surprisingly strong producer as well – really reveling in that early 90s moment when old school funk elements came back to soul music via sampling – while also kicked up a few notches by beats and breaks borrowed from the hip hop scene! There's a wonderfully warm flow to the whole record – almost uplifting, but in a way that's different than we might use that term with other soul albums – bubbling, bouyant, and completely captivating – on titles that include "Out Of Control", "No 1/2 Steppin", "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word", "You Took My Love Away", "What's On Your Mind", and "I'll Do Anything". CD

Streetwise raps from Freddie Gibbs, backed by inventive production from Madlib – here on one of the best records yet on 'Lib's own Madlib Invazion imprint! If you'll forgive us a little bit of repetition – because we KNOW we've written this before – there's just something extra riveting about Madlib's production work for straight shooting, street lingo slinging, no nonsense MCs. The freewheeling inspiration and bottomless depth of unpredictable sample funk is there, as always. It's leaner, tighter and with a thicker backdrop of beats. Gibbs is sharply on point throughout here, and if it seems like an oddball pairing at first glance, rest assured, these guys work GREAT together. Guests include Danny Brown – who drops some top shelf wordplay of his own on "High" – plus the Wu legend Raekwon on "Bomb", Domo Genius & Earl Sweatshirt on "Robes", Domo Genius, G-Whiz, Mac Miller and more on the title cut, and more. Other titles include "Supplier", "Scarface", "Deeper", "Harold's", "Thuggin'", "Real" and "Uno". LP, Vinyl record album

It's hard to stop the Blastfighter when he's got music like this to back him up – an assortment of sounds served up by Fabio Frizzi – in a style that uses some of the instrumentation of his better-known horror work, but in a very different way! The buzzword here is "action" – and the best cuts have a throbbing rhythm driven by drum machines, and washes of 80s keyboards over the top – then guitars, basslines, and whatever touches are needed to move things forward – with an occasional rest on a cut that's a bit more mellow, but never sleepy at all! If you dig 80s action scores, you'll find plenty to love here – and there's a lean, compact vibe that gives the whole record a very unified feel. CD

Really great vocal work from legendary underground figure Brion Gysin – best known as a poet, but also a key European connection for the American beats – and a frequent partner in the language experiments by William S Burroughs! Here, Gysin mixes his words in both singing and spoken styles – a bit more of the former than some of his recordings with avant jazz musicians – and hits a groove that bubbles over with all sorts of cool funky touches that often recall the vibe of the Ze Records material from the French scene of the early 80s. Ramuntcho Matta handles production and the main creative direction of the music – and opens the door to work from Don Cherry on pocket trumpet, Lizzy Mercier Descloux and Caroline Loeb on vocals, and Yann Le Ker on bass and guitar,. Titles include "Sham Pain", "Junk", "Kick (discomix)", "Stop Smoking", and "Baboon". LP also features the unreleased tracks "Kick (alt 7" mix)" and "Kick (alt 7" inst)" – plus "All Those Years", "VVV", and "Stop Smoking (alt mix)". LP, Vinyl record album

A swinging sex comedy score from the legendary Neal Hefti – not as well-known as some of his big 60s hits, but a wonderfully groovy record throughout! The film itself is a pretty silly farce – and Hefti definitely matches that action in his music – by mixing up jazzy, upbeat numbers with some sweeter tunes that have that lush, laidback style we always love in his orchestrations! Things are never too heavy, and the whole thing's got a lightness that really stands out from other work of this nature by Hefti's contemporaries – especially on a few of the tracks that make some great use of groovy wordless vocals. Titles include "Prologue (Main Theme)", "Suspicion", "Virna", "Here's To My Lover", "Stag Party Blast", "Bash Brannigan", "How To Murder Your Wife", "Scene Of The Crime", "Cartoon Capers", and "Requiem For A Bachelor". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the lesser-known JJ Johnson albums of the mid 60s – and nice little session that's done with a fresh sort of style! The album's got JJ playing mostly with larger arrangements – penned by Dick Hyman, Slide Hampton, and Billy Byaers – in modes that range from upbeat, mod, and swinging – to mellow, lush, and soulful. A few cuts have vocalists – like the lovely Marlene Ver Planck, who sings wordlessly on the album's amazing groover "Pense A Moi" – a sweetly skipping jazz waltz that's almost worth the price of the record alone! Marlene returns on a great version of "Agua De Beber", and Osie Johnson sings on versions of "The Seventh Son" and "In The Name Of Love" – and other nice tracks include "008", "Feeling Good", and "G'Won Train". LP, Vinyl record album

A trio of later comedy soundtracks – all served up by Italian maestro Detto Mariano! W La Foca has a really playful main theme – one that romps around in a very catchy theme, nicely lilting and served up here in ten different variations – including a very cool moog reading at the end! Cornetti Alla Crema has a wider variety of modes – including some more moogy keyboards, and a few clubbier moments as well – plus occasional sing-song female vocals that have a groovy wordless approach. Last up is the longest soundtrack in the set – La Moglie In Vacanza L'Amante In Citta – music that still has some of the keyboards and the theme-cycles of the other two, but which fleshes things out a bit more, shifting through different instruments that make the whole thing almost feel like a longer suite, based on the same melody. CD features 32 tracks in all! CD

Morricone fans – this one's got it all! The music is completely wonderful throughout, and a great mix of everything that makes Ennio Morricone so tremendous – a bit of bossa here, some funky bits there, and even some spookier slow passages with a nice atonal feel! The main theme of the record is more than enough to get us going – a wonderful tune with wordless female vocals in the best Mondo Morricone mode – but other instrumental tracks follow with some very cool, slow moments – including some great love themes which then lead to some beefier, bouncier numbers that are really great too. This limited 2CD version is great – with a total of 24 tracks that include "La Lucertola", "Magia Nera", "Giorno Di Notte", "Spiriti", "Ancora Ad Est", "Sfinge", "Spostato Ad Est", and "A Lucio Fulci". CD

Kenneth Patchen, like Kenneth Rexroth, was one of the few poets who really understood what it meant to read and write in a jazz idiom – as you'll hear on this excellent set of beatnik jazz tracks! The album features Patchen reading in a great style – angular, cynical, really working the words of his poems perfectly over backings by the Alan Neil Quartet. The poems are set to music written by George Wallington, Charlie Parker, and others – and tracks include "There's A Place", "They Won't Let You In There", "Do I Not Deal With Angels", "Not Many Kingdoms Left", "The Lonesome Boy Blues", "As I Opened The Window", and "A Sight Is Little Altered". CD

Vocalist Amy Sheffer works with an all-star cast here – a very cool quartet that includes Billy Bang on violin, William Parker on bass, and Lou Grassi on drums! Bang is especially great, and his work on violin often recalls the spirit of the 80s work that really made us fall in love with his music – a great companion to the offbeat vocalizations of Sheffer, who certainly channels some of the more groundbreaking vocal jazz modes that emerged from the 70s scene onwards. The tracks were recorded in 2001, and some just feature Sheffer's voice with drums – on titles that include "You Rise", "Words From TS", "Drone Bone", "Improv", "Museeum", "Hovering", and "Bleddidit". CD

A very cool project – one that was initiated by the late Tony Allen in collaboration with Detroit keyboardist/percussionist Jeff Mills – and which is carried forth here by a trio with a really soaring, far-reaching vibe! Percussion is at the core – played both by Mills and by Prabhu Edouard, who adds in all this great work on tablas, which grounds the acoustic side of the record – as Jean Phi Dary plays keyboards along with Mills, and really sends the whole thing climbing to the skies! There's a mix of jazz and broken beat energy going on here – although the beats certainly aren't broken, and we're using that reference to indicate some of the best spiritual inspirations of the 4Hero generation. Yet these guys are definitely onto something new, and very much their own – on titles that include "Rising Water", "Words Of Wisdom", "Peace Pipe", and "Metamorphosis". LP, Vinyl record album

A spooky little soundtrack, with some slight erotic moments as well – all scored for a schlocky Italian film starring an ex-patriot Farley Granger! The story centers around an investigation of an earlier rape and murder – and the music does a good deal to underscore the mix of sexual tension and drama in the film – often using spare stepping basslines that move very slowly on the bottom of the tunes, while eerie keyboards, guitar, and weirder effects drift lightly over the top. A few numbers have a slightly warmer feel, in keeping with more erotic moments in early 70s Italian cinema – and there's also a bit of wordless vocals that float through some of the tunes, often with a theremin-like quality. LP features 15 tracks from the film! LP, Vinyl record album

Sexy ladies on the cover, and some equally sexy sounds underneath – served up in a perfect 60s Italian blend of jazz and bossa-based styles! Sweeping strings bring a nice sense of depth to some numbers, while others have a more intimate feel – either via spare guitar, or some jazzy elements on piano, sax, and organ – shifting instrumentation that really keeps things interesting throughout, and which makes the record feel like some rich narrative on its own, in sound – without any need for the images on the screen. The whole thing is wonderful – one of those Italian soundtrack treasures that delivers even more than it promises – and music was composed by Alessandro Alessandroni and Francesco De Masi, then orchestrated by De Masi, with some cool wordless vocal moments as well. Titles include a number of variations on "Lesbo" plus the sweet vocal opener "Qualsiasi Cosa", "Crepuscolo Sul Mare", and "IL'Isola Dell'Amore". CD

One of the most compelling albums ever recorded by guitarist Eugene Chadbourne – a set billed as "free improvised country and western bebop" – and which features Chadbourne serving up these wild variations on tunes by Carl Perkins, Roger Miller, David Allen Coe, Bobby Bare, Merle Haggard, and other country music legends! The album's much more Eugene than Nashville – although Chadbourne does sing lyrics on all of the tunes, but in a way that's very offbeat and hardly unlike the originals at all – as is his guitar work, which is acoustic and all twisted and turned up in all the offbeat phrasings you might expect! Much of the record is Chadbourne on vocals and electric dobro – but the set also features some drums by David Licht, saxes from John Zorn, and cello from Tom Cora. Titles include "The Last Word In Lonesome Is Me", "I'm The Only Hell My Mama Ever Raised", "Georgia In A Jug", "Motel Time Again", "Dang Me", "Window Shopping", "Jealous Loving Heart", "Mr Record Man", and "Swingin Doors". CD

Paid In Full, indeed! Eric B & Rakim's seminal debut still pays off in so many ways, and it was such a vital link between the party rockin' style of the old school and the terse, hard-hitting beats and rhymes of the nascent school, we can't even come up with the words for the praise it's due. Essential would be an understatement, it's really part of the bedrock for some of the best hip hop to come, very little of which could match it! Includes the immortal "I Ain't No Joke", "Eric B Is In The Cut", "I Know You Got Soul", "Move The Crowd", "Paid in Full", "Chinese Arithmetic", and "Eric B. Is President". LP, Vinyl record album

A really unique album, and one that's a bit hard to describe on words (which means you might want to run over to the bandcamp link!) – as Naima Farao has all the jazzy currents you might expect from her first name, but also opens up here in a blend of cosmic soul, spacey instrumentation, and all sorts of other really cool touches – a bit like some of the post-jazz London experiments in recent years, but with some deeper soul currents in the mix on most numbers! Naima's got a breathy way of singing at times, which really sparkles with the instrumentation – yet she can then swing into a deeper style that's equally powerful, and which takes off and runs on the best tunes. The set features guest appearances from Ilhan Ersahin and Napoleon Maddox – and titles include "Vortex", "Heirloom", "Run", "Buoyancy Of Water", "Process", "Roll Back In", and "Increase The Light". LP, Vinyl record album

It's hard to stop the Blastfighter when he's got music like this to back him up – an assortment of sounds served up by Fabio Frizzi – in a style that uses some of the instrumentation of his better-known horror work, but in a very different way! The buzzword here is "action" – and the best cuts have a throbbing rhythm driven by drum machines, and washes of 80s keyboards over the top – then guitars, basslines, and whatever touches are needed to move things forward – with an occasional rest on a cut that's a bit more mellow, but never sleepy at all! If you dig 80s action scores, you'll find plenty to love here – and there's a lean, compact vibe that gives the whole record a very unified feel. LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet set of Polish easy from the end of the 70s, but one that's got a style that's much more in the early 70s mode of other Euro territories – particularly that upbeat, optimistic work from the German economic miracle scene! Tunes have a soaring vibe that's driven by nice drums, tight horns, and these wordless female vocals that often scat along with the grooves – bringing a very lively, playful sort of quality to the whole thing – sunny-sounding, and just right for foot-tapping through a day of hard work and house cleaning! Titles include "El Arenal", "Zagubione Nadzieje", "Sul Mare", "Hacjenda", "Zloty Kask", "Stracony Dzien", "Porty Zagaslych Swiatel", and "Kolorowa Ballada". CD

Sexy ladies on the cover, and some equally sexy sounds underneath – served up in a perfect 60s Italian blend of jazz and bossa-based styles! Sweeping strings bring a nice sense of depth to some numbers, while others have a more intimate feel – either via spare guitar, or some jazzy elements on piano, sax, and organ – shifting instrumentation that really keeps things interesting throughout, and which makes the record feel like some rich narrative on its own, in sound – without any need for the images on the screen. The whole thing is wonderful – one of those Italian soundtrack treasures that delivers even more than it promises – and music was composed by Alessandro Alessandroni and Francesco De Masi, then orchestrated by De Masi, with some cool wordless vocal moments as well. Titles include a number of variations on "Lesbo" plus the sweet vocal opener "Qualsiasi Cosa", "Crepuscolo Sul Mare", and "IL'Isola Dell'Amore". CD

A late entry in the Black Emanuelle series starring Laura Gemser and featuring music by Nico Fidenco – La Via Della Prostituzione – featuring a mix of sulty Fidenco sounds and more funky and disco oriented grooves! Much of the material here has never been released before this great CD from Beat Records – and it's full of funky 70s dancefloor styled sounds with spacier touches, clapping rhythms and evocative wordless vocals. Great stuff – benchmark late 70s erotic soundtrack grooves after the international dancefloor sounds seeped into the style! Titles include "Run Cheetah Run", "A Modern Reportage", "Performing Joy", "Red Room", "Lady Surprise", "Reporter In Action", "Strange Hospital", "Lady Fighting", "Too Much AgaiN" and more. CD

One of the strangest collaborations of the post-punk years in England – a one-off project that unites reedman Lol Coxhill with Gerry & The Holograms – an offbeat combo who were perfect for the odd range of ideas that Coxhill always wanted to express! Lol's best known these days for his free jazz improvisations – but back in the 70s, he would often cross the tracks to work with artists in a range of different styles – which he does here beautifully, adding both his voice and his reeds to the record – while the rest of the group create tunes that are slightly punky, sometimes funky, and resonate with the best spirit of the DIY generation. Titles include "Discolero", "Rhino Whip", "Snap It Around", "Relentless", "Camracadabra", "Psychle Sluts", "Samurai Swords", and "You Were Never There". Also features bonus tracks "Cob On" and "Tootsies". LP, Vinyl record album

Mindblowing work by The Impressions – a double-length set that's totally great! First up is the soundtrack for the Fred Williamson/Jim Brown/Jim Kelly action flick Three The Hard Way – not only a great soundtrack, but one of the best 70s albums by The Impressions! The set was written, arranged, and produced by the Curtom super-team of Rich Tufo and Lowrell Simon – and it's got a super-dope feel that reminds us of the work by Natural Four from the same time, with sweet harmonies over funky backings, in a hip 70s groove that's totally great! All cuts are vocal, but they have plenty of funky moments – and in a way, the whole album's as great as the lead track, which is normally the best one in a blacksploitation soundtrack like this. In other words, if you dig hit soundtrack theme songs like "Across 110th Street" or "Theme from Cleopatra Jones", you'll dig this entire album! Tracks include the great "Having A Ball", plus "Make A Resolution", "Something's Mighty Mighty Wrong", and "Three The Hard Way (Chase & Theme)". First Impressions is hardly the first album by The Impressions, despite the title – but a wonderful batch of modern soul tunes that proves that the group could groove long after Curtis Mayfield was gone! As with other Curtom gems from the 70s, the album has the group working with some really top-shelf help in the studio – production from Ed Townsend, who does a really great job of making the harmonies sparkle with a rich quality that really stands out – a mode that returns the group to the mellow brilliance of their 60s recordings, but still keeps some of the maturity they picked up along the way. Townsend also wrote most of the tracks on the set, with a confident male soul style that's not unlike the best love-heavy territory that Marvin Gaye was exploring at the time – a perfect fit for the newly-refined vocals of the mid 70s quartet lineup that included original members Sam Gooden and Fred Cash, plus Ralph Johnson and Reggie Toran. Titles include the sublime "Groove", which has a nice two-step feel, and "Sooner Or Later", which is a nice mellow cut with an undercurrent of funk – and other tracks include "Old Before My Time", "Same Thing It Took", "I'm So Glad", and "How High Is High". CD

We're not often the biggest fans of poetry in the work of Steve Lacy – but somehow, this set seems to come off especially right – thanks, no doubt, to the fact that beat legend Brion Gysin composed all of the words! Gysin himself only speaks on 2 titles – but his presence there is especially strong – grounding the other vocals by Irene Aebi with a gruff and gritty sensibility that she seems to carry back to her own interpretations of his words on the other titles. Members of the group here are usual Lacy conspirators – Aebi on voice and violin, Bobby Few on piano, Steve Potts on alto and soprano saxes, Jean-Jacques Avenel on bass, and Oliver Johnson on drums. Titles include "Luvzya", "Permutations", "Gay Paree Bop", "Nowhere Street", "Somebody Special", and "Keep The Change" – all of which feature music by Lacy, set to words by Gysin! CD

A second great collaboration between Masta Ace and Marco Polo – the latter of whom really seems to bring a new sort of open, honest quality to the proceedings – at a level that helps Masta Ace get there as well! There's this down to earth quality to the proceedings that's totally great – and the record thematically follows some of Marco Polo's experience growing up in Richmond Hill outside of Toronto, while tying things to more contemporary issues as well. The album features lots of guest work – from Blu, Inspectah Deck, Stricklin Wordsworth, and others – on titles that include "Hero", "Life Music", "Brooklyn Heights", "Below The Clouds", "Heat Of The Moment", and "Jordan Theory". LP, Vinyl record album

A warmly sensual 70s soundtrack from Italy – scored by the lesser-known Gianfranco Plenizio, but sounding like the best of the time from Morricone! The music here is often slinky and spare – flowing with a subdued sense of eroticism that's never cheesy, and which has a bit more sophistication than you might expect from the exploitative film for which it was written! Many tracks build gently, using bits of piano, or roundly rolling electric bass – never too over the top, but just enough to get things going with some subtle, but effective encouragement. A few numbers have a darker, more atonal feel – clearly the creepier moments of the film – creating the same sort of juxtaposition you'd fine in some of the better known erotic scores of this time. CD features 6 tracks that have never been issued before – a total of 21 titles that include "Requiem", "Foul Sin", "Lost Lover", "Ricordi Di Un Amore", "Grigio Perla", "Hypnosis", "Crowded Solitude", "Ghostvoice", "Sarto Per Signora", and "Voce D'Amore", which features haunting wordless vocals by Edda Dell'Orso! CD

Streetwise raps from Freddie Gibbs, backed by inventive production from Madlib – here on one of the best records yet on 'Lib's own Madlib Invazion imprint! If you'll forgive us a little bit of repetition – because we KNOW we've written this before – there's just something extra riveting about Madlib's production work for straight shooting, street lingo slinging, no nonsense MCs. The freewheeling inspiration and bottomless depth of unpredictable sample funk is there, as always. It's leaner, tighter and with a thicker backdrop of beats. Gibbs is sharply on point throughout here, and if it seems like an oddball pairing at first glance, rest assured, these guys work GREAT together. Guests include Danny Brown – who drops some top shelf wordplay of his own on "High" – plus the Wu legend Raekwon on "Bomb", Domo Genius & Earl Sweatshirt on "Robes", Domo Genius, G-Whiz, Mac Miller and more on the title cut, and more. Other titles include "Supplier", "Scarface", "Deeper", "Harold's", "Thuggin'", "Real" and "Uno". LP, Vinyl record album

Lesser-known work by Love – recorded immediately after the group's seminal records on Elektra, with a slightly different sound! The CD brings together tracks from the albums Out Here and False Start – both of which feature the band moving back to basics, working in a harder rocking style that has less of the baroque arrangements of albums like Da Capo or Forever Changes. Arthur Lee's still as incredible as ever – with that slightly mad vocal approach that gives even the most mundane tunes a real edge – and the guitar work's supported by an even heavier style of rhythm, one that almost gives a few tracks some nice funky moments. CD features 14 tracks in all, including "Gimi A Little Break", "Nice To Be", "Listen To My Song", "I'll Pray For You", "Love Is Coming", "Signed DC", "Gather Round", and "Love Is More Than Words Or Better Late Than Never". CD

A second great collaboration between Masta Ace and Marco Polo – the latter of whom really seems to bring a new sort of open, honest quality to the proceedings – at a level that helps Masta Ace get there as well! There's this down to earth quality to the proceedings that's totally great – and the record thematically follows some of Marco Polo's experience growing up in Richmond Hill outside of Toronto, while tying things to more contemporary issues as well. The album features lots of guest work – from Blu, Inspectah Deck, Stricklin Wordsworth, and others – on titles that include "Hero", "Life Music", "Brooklyn Heights", "Below The Clouds", "Heat Of The Moment", and "Jordan Theory". CD

Morricone fans – this one's got it all! The music is completely wonderful throughout, and a great mix of everything that makes Ennio Morricone so tremendous – a bit of bossa here, some funky bits there, and even some spookier slow passages with a nice atonal feel! The main theme of the record is more than enough to get us going – a wonderful tune with wordless female vocals in the best Mondo Morricone mode – but other instrumental tracks follow with some very cool, slow moments – including some great love themes which then lead to some beefier, bouncier numbers that are really great too. This limited 2CD version is great – with a total of 24 tracks that include "La Lucertola", "Magia Nera", "Giorno Di Notte", "Spiriti", "Ancora Ad Est", "Sfinge", "Spostato Ad Est", and "A Lucio Fulci". CD

The funky Rob way is a massive one at that – a new path into Afro Funk modes for the 70s, with a groove that's made this set a collectors classic for decades! The group is tighter than most, yet more skittish too – percussion rattling alongside basslines that have these echoey qualities that go deep and dark, but with more of a soul-based style than some of the psych-influence work from Zimbabwe and other scenes of the time! Spare electronic bits come into play with the keyboards, guitar, drums, and bass – but at a level that's never overdone – just enough to keep things slightly offbeat and unsettling, while Rob himself grooves away in the lead! It's almost impossible to describe in words what makes this set so unique – but one drop of the needle will have you hooked for life – thanks to cuts that include "Funky Rob Way", "Forgive Us All", "Boogie On", "Just One More Time", "More", and "Your Kiss Stole Me Away". LP, Vinyl record album

Hazy, weird, lo fi and highly insistent sounds from Vex Ruffin on Stones Throw – music that's tough to describe – mixing minimalist beats, fuzzy bits of guitar, stream of conciousness wordplay and more. You can hear influences floating throughout this record from the postpunk UK (think PiL) and proto noise rock from the midwest (think early Big Black, though far less caustic), and freeform sampler funk (think Madlib at his weirdest or James Pants) – the latter of which allows him to feel natural enough in the contemporary Stones Throw roster. Sounds like a crazy mix of styles? Kinda, but it's all fused together somehow to the base ingredients, and it's a fun bit of tripped out underground sounds. Titles include "Sacrifice", "Man With A Plan", "Shield For You", "I'm Creative", "My Mind", "Crash Course" and "Hey Jerald". CD

Foundation is right, in more than one sense of the word! The Brentford Avenue stalwarts are showcased here on a nice double album compilation of classic and groundbreaking early ska and rocksteady tracks that would become the template for so much Jamaican music to follow. The team of Coxsone Dodd with Don Drummond, Lloyd Brevett, Tommy McCook, Jackie Mittoo, Roland Alphonso, Jerry Hinds, Dizzy Moore and Johnny Moore was unstoppable, it's hard to imagine where the reggae sound would be without this seminal music! 32 tracks in all, including "Dick Tracy", "Alley Pang", "Christine Keeler", "Fidel Castro", "Beardsman Ska", "Third Man Ska", "Simmer Down", "Exodus", "King Solomon", 'Eastern Standard Time", "I Should Have Known Better", "Hot Cargo", "Black Sunday", 'Ska La Parisienne", "Don D Lion", "Third Man Ska", "Nimrod", "Cleopatra", "Addis Ababa", "Silver Dollar", "Killer Diller", "Naked City" and "Ringo's Theme". CD

A very cool project – one that was initiated by the late Tony Allen in collaboration with Detroit keyboardist/percussionist Jeff Mills – and which is carried forth here by a trio with a really soaring, far-reaching vibe! Percussion is at the core – played both by Mills and by Prabhu Edouard, who adds in all this great work on tablas, which grounds the acoustic side of the record – as Jean Phi Dary plays keyboards along with Mills, and really sends the whole thing climbing to the skies! There's a mix of jazz and broken beat energy going on here – although the beats certainly aren't broken, and we're using that reference to indicate some of the best spiritual inspirations of the 4Hero generation. Yet these guys are definitely onto something new, and very much their own – on titles that include "Rising Water", "Words Of Wisdom", "Peace Pipe", and "Metamorphosis". CD

A cool collection of very unusual grooves from Argentine composer/guitarist Rodolfo Alchourron – part of a generation of groundbreaking musicians in his homeland that also included Lalo Schifrin and Gato Barbieri – yet unlike those artists, a talent that never achieved greater global fame! The first album here – the initial Santa Y Clarificacion set – is very much like something Lalo Schifrin might do, but even more offbeat – as it's a weird blend of jazzy instrumentation, funky rhythms, and spacious sounds that would definitely be right at home in a film score – yet which stretch out even more in the expanded space of the album's long tracks! Instrumentation includes Organ, tenor, alto, flute, and some great electric bass and drums – really romping at the bottom, and driving the tunes along wonderfully. There's a bit of wordless vocals at a few spare points – breezily grooving along – on titles that include "Clarificacion", "El Stanabancos", "No Divaguen", "Melopea", and "Pajaros Sueltos". The second album – Santa Y Clarificacion – has a similar groove, but one that goes out even more – almost a touch more of a fusion influence at points, although there's still some great horn charts that continue a soundtrack vibe. Horns cascade beautifully, falling into some great chord changes and washes of color that really warm things up – and titles include "Vals Trunco", "Esas Dos Cosas Benditas", "Casi Un Tango", "Vals En La Muy Sostenido", and "Algunos Dias Alguna Noches". CD

The Apostles are nice and groovy here – working in this offbeat way that combines upbeat cuts with some unusual mellower numbers – but all at a level that really keeps things interesting throughout! These guys can clearly move with the groove and hit some sharp funky instrumentation at all the right moments – but they're also maybe more song-conscious than some of their contemporaries, which really comes through in the way they put together their lyrics! The vocals are in English throughout, but very oddly accented – not just because of the origin of the group, but also because of the way the lead singer has of clipping off some of his words and phrases – an odd style, but one that fits the moody modes of instrumentation. Titles include the sweet chromatic "Disciple Funk" – plus "Banko Woman", "Mr Too Know", "Yours Sincerely", and "Faith Luck Music". CD

Sweet bossa-tinged grooves from the 70s – but recorded in Switzerland, not Brazil! Guitarist Pierre Cavalli had plenty of experience with the scene in Brazil during the late 60s – and for these 70s sides, he really tries to recreate the best sounds of Rio from a few years back – but often mixes in some of his own offbeat twists and turns, including some of the hipper undercurrents he picked up while working on recordings for MPS! The tunes are less straight bossa than some great Germanic imagining of bossa nova – with slightly tripping turns from Pierre on his guitar, cool wordless vocals in a few spots, sweet Fender Rhodes, and arrangements from Bruno Spoerri and Angel Gatti that are mighty nice. The set's easily one of the best in Sonorama's reissue series – and titles include "Possarinhos", "Cachaca", "Violao Em Foco", "Pao De Acucar", "Transmissao Mutavel", "Tempo In Tempo", "Tecidos", and "Alegria". CD

A later score from Italian maestro Riz Ortolani – best known for some of his blockbusters of the 60s, but equally well at home here on a set from the early 80s – one that has a fair bit of electric instrumentation served up in a range of playful grooves! As with many Italian comedies from the time, there's a very catchy upbeat theme – one that has some of the tightness of the disco years, but mixed with a nice sense of whimsy – and, importantly, balanced by some even nicer mellow cuts that have great electric piano lines, and some very nice wordless female vocals! The CD features 27 tracks in all – with a good sense of pacing and variety throughout. CD

The debut album of Talk Talk, and a set that might have seemed to be just another bit of Brit electro pop at the time – yet which has gone on to be the start of a surprisingly great legacy of music! The tunes are certainly catchy, and more upbeat than some of the more introspective work the group would later be known for – but there's no denying that singer Mark Hollis is already really finding a way to set himself apart from the rest – on titles that include "Talk Talk", "It's So Serious", "Today", "Hate", "Mirror Man", "Have You Heard The News", "Another Word", "Candy", and "The Party's Over". LP, Vinyl record album

A Def Jam classic from Tashan – and a record that really helped bridge the gap between male soul and hip hop in the 80s! The style's still as warm and soulful as most of Tashan's contemporaries, but the record definitely shows a bit of street soul in the rhythms too – often just a bit gentle, but prefacing the changes that would come more strongly in the next decade – an aspect that really made this one stand out from the rest! Tashan's vocals are in a classic romantic mode, but often set to beats that provide a nice contrast and a good sort of punch – a definite Def Jam mode that's famously heard on the title track. Titles include "Ooh We Baby", "So Much In Love", "I Don't Ever", "Love Is", "Read My Mind", "If Words Can Express", "Chasin A Dream", and "Strung Out On You". CD

A beautiful score to this lesser-known Marcello Mastroianni film from 1970 – sublime sounds from the great Armando Trovajoli – done in a beautiful mix of electric keyboards, wordless vocals, and dreamy orchestrations! The set's got this warmly stepping groove that's really tremendous – spacious sounds that draw on Trovajoli's previous bossa work, with some more electric 70s elements at times – but never too much at all. The whole thing's as charming as you'd guess from the cover – and titles include "Se Mesi Di Felicita", "Tema Di Oreste", "Dramma Della Gelosia", "Incontro Alla Balera", and "Adelaide". CD also featuers 6 never-issued bonus tracks – plus a poster-style booklet too! CD