Label Review.

2019 debut album also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

Hailing from a small town near Stockholm in Sweden, and gifted with an amazing soulful voice, guitarist/pianist/songwriter Jesper Lindell delivers an intimate album that could have been recorded in the late sixties. This is modern classic rock music, and hearts full of soul will fall in love.

Engineered by Zach Anderson, of the American/Swedish band Blues Pills, Jesper Lindell’s enticing debut album ‘Everyday Dreams’ is a clever mixture of rock, folk, blues and soul, performed by a 26 year old musician in love with classic pop, Stax-Volt R&B, and that old time rock & roll.

Jesper Lindell was the breakout star of 2017 on the Swedish music scene, when he released his debut EP. Produced by Benkt Söderberg, father and former producer of the world-renowned sister duo First Aid Kit, Little Less Blue presented a collection of songs that were equal parts soul, Americana and rock. The praise from Swedish music journalists was immediate: the notable rock guru Jan Gradvall likened Jesper Lindell to a “young, agile and karate-kicking Van Morrison”, and well-respected music magazine GAFFA noted that Lindell was a “shooting star” who seemed too talented to be a product of a such a small country like Sweden.

Track Listing: Whatever Happens / So Long / Stormy Waters / Cheers / France / Good Sides of Me / Even If It Ain’t True / Just Holler / Sweet As Yesterday / Momentary Love / If I Wake Up in the Morning / Burn

Label Review.

Albums included: 'Crossing Muddy Waters'; 'The Tiki Bar Is Open'; 'Beneath This Gruff Exterior'; 'Master Of Disaster'; 'Live From Austin TX'; 'Same Old Man'; 'The Open Road'; 'Dirty Jeans And Mudslide Hymns'; 'Mystic Pinball'; 'Terms Of My Surrender'; 'The Eclipse Sessions'. 48 page book.

Our Overview.

‘Only The Song Survives’ is the definitive collection of the American rock guitarist, pianist, singer-songwriter, John Hiatt’s musical output spanning two decades of releases on New West Records. The vast box set includes eleven albums, spread across fifteen long play records, all pressed on high quality 180g vinyl. John is one of the late 20th century's longest running and best singer/songwriters, with music that ranges from idiosyncratic rock, new wave, blues, and country. He is a master lyricist and satirical storyteller, weaves hidden plot twists into fictional tales ranging in topics including redemption, relationships, growing older and surrendering, on his terms.

Four releases - ‘Crossing Muddy Waters’ (2000), ‘The Tiki Bar Is Open’ (2001), ‘Beneath This Gruff Exterior’ (2003) and ‘Master Of Disaster’ (2005) - have beenremastered for vinyl and pressed on wax for the very first time.

The box set’s 48-page book is autographed by John Hiatt and features rare photos, testimonials, essays and insights from many of Hiatt’s co-conspirators throughout his career - from Ry Cooder, Steve Earle, Sonny Landreth, Patterson Hood, Luther Dickinson, Rodney Crowell, James McMurtry and more.

Packaged in a leatherette portable record suitcase with suede inlay, housing all the records and the autographed book, complete with buckle, handle and gold foil stamping.

Albums included: ‘Crossing Muddy Waters’; ‘The Tiki Bar Is Open’; ‘Beneath This Gruff Exterior’; ‘Master Of Disaster’; ‘Live From Austin, TX’; ‘Same Old Man’; ‘TheOpen Road’; ‘Dirty Jeans And Mudslide Hymns’; ‘Mystic Pinball’; ‘Terms Of My Surrender’; ‘The Eclipse Sessions’.“It’s amazing. Twenty years. We packed a lot in, musically speaking.” - John Hiatt

Label Review. 

Compiling the 2 vinyl releases (Electronic Musik EARS165LP & Pictures of Purple People EARS166LP). For the very first time the most complete collection of Marc Bolan’s mid-1960s recordings. Easy Action.

Our Overview. 

For the very first time the most complete collection of Marc Bolan’s incredible early 1960s years. Compiled from tapes originally stolen from Marc & Gloria’s home and recently repatriated. Features some tracks with legendary John’s Children (the band Marc joined for about 3 months) plus solo outtakes of material used for singles in 1965. “Jasper C Debussy” features top session musicians of the time Nicky Hopkins & John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin). This was due to be the follow up to the 1965 single “Hippy Gumbo” but failed to get a release at the time. Includes the complete acoustic demos from 1966 remastered. Includes the very rare tracks recorded as Toby Tyler early in 1965. “Reality” & “A Soldiers Song” are included on an album for the very first time ever, having only ever been released for the very first time on 7” single in 2016. Many of the later acoustic demos give more than a nod towards the sound of the Tyrannosaurus Rex material that would be recorded and produced by Tony Visconti a year or so later.

Tracklisting. 

1. The Wizard (unused stereo mix) 19th November 1965
2. Beyond the Rising Sun (unused stereo mix) 19th November 1965
3. The Third-Degree 3rd June 1966
4. Hippy Gumbo 25th November 1966
5. Misfit 25th November 1966
6. Jasper C. Debussy
7. The Lilac Hand Of Menthol Dan (Dan The Sniff)
8. Misfit #2 (different drum mix)
9. Jasper C. Debussy #2 (Echo on voice)
10. Hippy Gumbo #3 (different vocals /mix)
11. Desdemona #1 single mix (2.27)
12. Midsummer Night’s Scene #1 single mix (2.35)
13. Sarah Crazy Child (2.29)
14. Sally Was An Angel (instrumental) (3.11)
15. Perfumed Garden Of Gulliver Smith (instrumental) (2.43)
16. Desdemona #2 (alternate lyrics) (2.27)
17. Hippy Gumbo (2.38) (Bolan vocal)
18. San Francisco Poet (1.43)
19. Gloria (The Road I’m On) (2.47) as Toby Tyler
20. Blowin’ In The Wind (Take 6) (2.41) as Toby Tyler
21. Reality (1.48)
22. Song For A Soldier (1.18)
23. Observations (Basic Track) (2.17)
24. Black and White Incident (1.43)
25. Jasmine 49 (2.25)
26. Cat Black (1.20)
27. You Got The Power (1.48)
28. Eastern Spell (1.27)
29. Charlie (1.54)
30. I’m Weird (1.18)
31. Pictures Of Purple People (2.19)
32. Horrible Breath (1.44)
33. Mustang Ford (1.39)
34. Hot Rod Mama (2.35)
35. Observations #2 (2 pianos) (2.13)
36. The Perfumed Garden of Gulliver Smith (1.53)
37. Hippy Gumbo #2 (1.53)

Label Review.

2019 album. Blues.

Our Overview.

‘White Crow’ is the the new and fourth album from American singer-songwriter Tim Scott - aka Ledfoot, the creator of the Gothic Blues. Once again, we’re diving into this dark gothic blues world where most things go sincerely wrong, but where the music somehow sets you free.

As always with his 12 string guitar fitted with extremely heavy strings, played with a brass slide and brass pick and steel finger picks, kicking his stomp box! Sometimes it’s best to just keep it simple and state the facts... ‘There’s a black crow I follow every night With a pack of wolves a running by my side. Through a darkness as dark as any mind. With a full moon hanging dead up in the sky. There’s no undoing all that I’ve done. There’s no forgiving this wayward son."

Tim has been touring and releasing music since the late 1970’s as a solo artist and as a member of ‘The Rockats’ in the early 1980’s and ‘The Havalinas’ in the early 1990’s, at which time Bob Dylan personally asked Tim if the band would open for him on the ‘Oh Mercy’ tour of France and England.

As a songwriter, Tim has written for artists as varied as ‘ Highasakite’ and ‘TnT’ to ‘Sheena Easton’. In 2014, Bruce Springsteen released his album ‘High Hopes’, the title track written by Tim. It debuted as No.1 in over 10 countries including the U.S. and the U.K..

LEDFOOT came into existence in 2006, when Tim put together the different techniques from over 30 years of playing and combined a 12-string guitar with steel fingerpicks, a brass slide, open-tunings, very heavy strings and a stomp box. Mixing this with a dark lyrical and melodic sense, he dubbed it ‘Gothic Blues’. Since than Ledfoot has released 4 albums and has toured England, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Holland and the U.S. “Exit” have already won the prize for Best Series in the International Panorama program at the Series Mania Festival 2019!

Track Listing:

Dead Man Can Do / Right Down The Whole / This Wayward Son / Nobody/ You’ve Gone Astray / Where I Lost Hope / The Wrong Road / Little Dog / Ain’t Yet Been / When An Angel Falls

Label Review.

1966 album. Sundazed.

Our Overview.

‘Fred Neil’ is a magnificent moody and influential NYC masterpiece from Greenwich Village circa ‘66, pressed on clear vinyl at RTI! Influential New York folk artist Fred Neil’s eponymous second album may not have been a sales smash, but it inspired countless contemporaries, from Jefferson Airplane to Crosby, Stills and Nash, to Harry Nilsson.

Fred Neil was an important figure in the NY Greenwich Village folk scene and the singer-songwriter was active in the 1960s and early 1970s and if he's known for anything today, it's for his songwriting. It was the latter’s cover of “Everybody’s Talkin”,’ featured in the Midnight Cowboy soundtrack, that garnered Neil his greatest notoriety, but the album is full of shimmering, surreal gems, like “The Dolphins” and the stunning ‘Faretheewell.’ Neil's songs are remarkable, the sort of ponderous, moody, complex music reminiscent of the best of Nick Drake, Richard Thompson and Leonard Cohen. His sound was characterized by nimble 12-string guitar playing; the ability to blend Indian, gospel, rock, and blues into folk music; and an impossibly deep, reverberant baritone voice, sort of like Johnny Cash with a midrange, control, and chops. Neil disappeared into reclusiveness not long after, but his legacy as a thoughtful, complex songwriter lives on.

Track Listing: The Dolphins / I’ve Got A Secret (Didn’t We Shake Sugaree) / That’sThe Bag I’m In / Badi-da / Faretheewell (Fred’s Tune) / Everybody’s Talkin’ / Everything Happens / Sweet Cocaine / Green Rocky Road / Cynicrustpetefredjohn Raga

Label Review.

2019 album. Cosmic Americana. Also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

‘Mapache’ is the new album from American duo Mapache, Youngn’s Clay Finch and Sam Blasucci, the Mapache boys, are barely in their 20s and are already rising to the top of the new wave of West Coast Cosmic Americana. Close your eyes and imagine the Everly Brothers wearing tie-dyed Nudie Suits. Okay, now open them. There’s Mapache.

Born and raised in Glendale, California, their breathtaking harmonies and heartfelt yet heady sound, was honed by surfing the beaches and exploring the deserts and canyons of their native California. Dan Horne of Beachwood Sparks produced the album at the vintage analog halls of Valentine Recording Studios, where the tape rolled and captured the live spirited harmony, skillful strumming and genuinely well-crafted songs that everyone from Chris Robinson to Jonathan Richman have fallen in love with.

The real charm lies in the simplicity of their voices and the songs that recall a young Gene Clark, The Louvin Brothers, Crosby, Stills and Townes...it’s all there and more. Mapache was originally released in 2017 on a limited run that sold out instantly and is now available again on LP. As an added bonus, Mapache’s 2018 Lonesome LA Cowboy 3-song EP is included with the CD as bonus tracks. This marks the first time the songs from Lonesome LA Cowboy are available on CD.

The lineage of Mapache has blood running back to the first wave of psychedelic country revivalists Beachwood Sparks. Clay is a cousin of Beachwood main man Chris Gunst. Chris and GospelbeacH’s Brent Rademaker went to bat for Mapache by helping them score their first club shows and recording sessions with Dan Horne. Since then they’ve made fans of no less than Chris Robinson, Neal Casal, Jonathan Richman and the Allah Las among numerous others on the California music scene.

“One memorable night they showed up to our gig with deep surfer tans and big white circles around their eyes just like raccoons—Mapache is Spanish for Raccoon,” remembers Rademaker. “The boys set up on stage, sang and played their timeless and soon to be classic songs into a single microphone. Time stood still, and the normally chatty LA crowd closed their mouths and opened their ears and their hearts to Mapache. At that very moment I knew they were on their way.”

Track Listing: Mountain Song / Like a Stone / Aquellos Ojos Verdes / In the Morning Light / Broken Down Cadillac / Chico River / Follow You Down / Saltillo / Blue Marble / Songs to a Seagull / Nellie / Katie Dear (Bonus Track) / Last Thing On My Mind (Bonus Track) / Lonesome LA Cowboy (Bonus Track)

Label Review. 

Official release of three live performances. Paradiso in Amsterdam 1982, Alabama Halle in Munich 1982 and The Farm in San Francisco 1985. Also available on CD. 

Our Overview.

In 1979, one of the definite punk rock bands of the period, the Dead Kennedys released their first single, “California Uber Alles,” which started a punk rock revolution in San Francisco and means that 2019 is the 40th Anniversary year of this legendary pioneering punk band.

In April, Manifesto Records released DK40, a 3CD set of 3 legendary Dead Kennedys performances; Paradiso in Amsterdam 1982, Alabama Halle in Munich 1982 and The Farm in San Francisco 1985. By popular demand, Manifesto will release DK40 on vinyl!

This 4 LP Box Set was re-mastered for vinyl and comes in high quality packaging in a beautiful box and amazing album artwork. The Dead Kennedys were and still are one of the most influential bands in the history of punk rock and were definitely one of the leaders in the “Punk Rock Evolution.” Their lyrics were political in nature, anti-establishment and anti-authority and they always took a stance for First Amendment Rights.

The Dead Kennedys live shows were legendary, high energy and powerful and that power is evident in the 3 performances included in “DK40,” which features all of their classic songs, including “Holiday In Cambodia.” It had been 15 years since a Dead Kennedys release, but the 40th Anniversary campaign has been a huge success and the best was definitely saved for last with this epic 4LP Box Set.

4 LP Set contains 3 often bootlegged, but never released legendary shows. Tapes have been digitally re-mastered for vinyl, providing highest sound quality.

4 LP Set comes in a beautiful high quality box with amazing album artwork.

Track Listing:

LP 1: Moral Majority / I Am the Owl / Life Sentence / Police Truck / Riot / Bleed for Me / Holiday in Cambodia / Let’s Lynch the Landlord / Chemical Warfare / Nazi Punks Fuck Off / Kill the Poor / We’ve Got A Bigger Problem Now / Too Drunk to Fuck

LP 2: Skateboard Talk+Intro Noise / Man With the Dogs / Forward to Death / Kepone Factory / Life Sentence / Trust Your Mechanic / Moral Majority / Forest Fire / Winnebago Warrior / Police Truck / Bleed for Me / Holiday in Cambodia / Let’s Lynch the Landlord / Chemical Warfare / Nazi Punks / We’ve Got A Bigger Problem Now / Too Drunk to Fuck / Kill the Poor

LP 3: Darren’s Mom / Goons of Hazard / Hellnation / This Coule Be Anywhere / Soup Is Good Food / Chemical Warfare / Macho Insecurity / A Growing Boy Needs His Lunch

LP 4: Forest Fire / Moon Over Marin / Jock-O-Rama / Encore / Stars and Stripes of Corruption / Second Encore / MTV Get Off the Air / Holiday in Cambodia

Label Review. 

Assembles all four complete concerts from New Year’s Eve 1969 and New Year’s Day 1970 presented in their original performance sequence. These tracks were selected for the album ‘Band Of Gypsys’. Official.

Our Overview. 

Over the course of four extraordinary years, Jimi Hendrix placed his indelible stamp upon popular music with breathtaking velocity. Measured alongside his triumphs at Monterey Pop and Woodstock, Hendrix’s legendary Fillmore East concerts illustrated a critical turning point in a radiant career filled with indefinite possibilities.

The revolutionary impact Jimi Hendrix, Billy Cox and Buddy Miles had upon the boundaries and definitions of rock, R&B, and funk can be traced to four concerts over the course of two captivating evenings. These performances were first celebrated by Band of Gypsys, which featured six songs from the two January 1, 1970 concerts, including “Machine Gun,” the album’s dramatic centerpiece. Issued in April 1970, ‘Band of Gypsys’ challenged and surprised the wide following of Jimi Hendrix with its extended arrangements and vibrant mix of rock and soul.

Their debut live performances were a series of four concerts at the Fillmore East in Manhattan – two on New Year’s Eve 1969 and two on New Year’s Day 1970, each of which were professionally recorded. Hendrix had sold out Madison Square Garden just nine months prior, but the Fillmore East was chosen as the setting for a live recording. Long before his fame, Hendrix had signed what he thought was a release for appearing as a studio musician in October 1965. Unfortunately, the one page artist agreement drafted by PPX Industries bound his services for a period of three years. Unwilling to live hands tied, Hendrix agreed to a 1968 legal settlement whereby Capitol Records would be granted the distribution rights for his next album. By the autumn of 1969, Capitol and PPX were pushing hard for the album delivery and Hendrix decided to give them a live album.

However stressful this legal obligation had been for the guitarist, the end result proved to be an artistic triumph. True to his unpredictability, Hendrix opened his four-show stint with a masterful, eleven song set that did not feature a single song he had commercially released. Exciting new songs such as “Izabella,” “Ezy Ryder” and “Burning Desire” thrilled the sold-out house. Hendrix would pepper the remaining three shows with supercharged reworkings of favorites such as “Stone Free,” “Purple Haze,” and “Fire” but these were presented alongside such devastating, newly developed fare as “Machine Gun.” In his review of the second New Year’s Eve concert, Down Beat critic Chris Albertson wrote, “That ability of his to utilize fully the technical possibilities of his instrument, combined with his fertile musical imagination, makes him an outstanding performer.”

The original 1970 Band of Gypsys album was edited and sequenced from songs performed during the two Fillmore sets on January 1, 1970. Subsequent collections mined more material from each of the performances with significant chunks of these phenomenal recordings from those nights sitting unreleased for almost half a century. Newly mixed and restored in sequence without edits, fans can finally hear Hendrix, Cox and Miles blast through their genre-defying sets that included freshly written songs like “Earth Blues” and “Stepping Stone,” as well as Experience favorites inclusive of “Foxey Lady,” “Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” “Wild Thing,” “Hey Joe” and “Purple Haze.” Additionally, exciting new versions of Howard Tate’s “Stop,” “Steal Away,” by Jimmy Hughes and a searing “Bleeding Heart” by Elmore James highlighted the command that the trio had over blues & R&B music.

Label Review. 

Not The Nine O’Clock News (1980), Hedgehog Sandwich (1981) and The Memory Kinda Lingers (2LP) (1982). All remastered. Demon. Also available on 4LP. 

Our Overview. 

“Not The Nine O’Clock News gave the world alternative comedy and made the media scene we have today.” Mark Lewisohn, Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy

Celebrating 40 years since the ground breaking comedy series arrived on BBC TV, this CD box set presents all three original albums on CD (‘Not The Nine O’Clock News’ appearing on CD for the first time, plus ‘Hedgehog Sandwich’ and the double CD ‘The Memory Kinda Lingers’ lovingly remastered from the original tapes. The first two albums made the UK Top Ten chart on their original release.

Let the famous signature tune take you back to the heady days of 1979, when Labour gave way to the Conservatives, striking workers created the Winter of Discontent, and Not The Nine O’Clock News inherited the BBC2 time slot vacated by Fawlty Towers. It quickly became a trailblazing smash hit, running for four series and making stars of Rowan Atkinson, Mel Smith, Pamela Stephenson and Griff Rhys Jones.

Among the many famous, and much loved, sketches included on the LPs are David Bloody Attenborough (aka Gerald the Gorilla), Points of View, General Synod’s “Life of Python”, Constable Savage, University Challenge, Hi Fi Shop, That’s Lies, Not The Parrot Sketch, Open Marriage, Question Time, Game For A Laugh, Two Ninnies, McEnroe’s Breakfast, What A Load of Willies, The Pope’s Visit, Simon and Garfunkel and yes The Return of Constable Savage. Produced and devised by John Lloyd and Sean Hardie.

Not The Nine O’Clock News won a Silver Rose at the Montreux Festival and a BAFTA for Best Light Entertainment Programme. Its large writing team included such future luminaries of TV comedy as Richard Curtis, David Renwick, Andrew Marshall, Guy Jenkin, Laurie Rowley, John Lloyd and Andy Hamilton.

Label Review. 

2019 album. Electronic. Also available on CD.

Our Overview.

‘Dead Air’ is the tenth studio album from British ambient group Marconi Union, following a career that began in 2002 in Manchester UK. Starting with the following year’s ‘Under Wires And Searchlights’, they’ve created an explorative body of instrumental work that’s shifted between electronica, dub, minimalism, avant-jazz and ambient music. Along the way they’ve collaborated with the likes of Jah Wobble, remixed Max Richter and Vök and provided soundtracks for art installations and other visual media. They’ve also had their own music remixed by Biosphere and Japan’s Steve Jansen, among others.

The new album offers ample evidence of a band in its prime. Marconi Union still sound vital and original, enthused by the possibilities that music has to offer. “We’ve never wanted to repeat ourselves,” states Talbot. “We’ve made ten albums and have been going for 17 years, but it still feels fresh. That’s been so important for us all the way through. We’re looking to do new things all the time” co-founder Richard Talbot says.

Indeed, the exquisite Dead Air bears only a passing resemblance to its 2016 forerunner, Ghost Stations. The trio have dispensed with beats, brass and guest musicians this time around, opting instead for a more intimate and textural approach, a constantly evolving soundworld of tones and sensory impressions.

Dead Air also bears little resemblance to the trio’s initial vision for it. “The album we set out to make had far more of a rhythmic element,” explains Talbot, “but fairly late in the process, we decided to completely change direction.” This is entirely in keeping with Marconi Union’s guiding methodology. Ideas remain fluid throughout the writing process, until Talbot and bandmates Jamie Crossley and Duncan Meadows ultimately settle on what feels right to them.

As such, Dead Air is a sublime testament to their collective instinct.

Marconi Union’s most successful album to date is Weightless (Ambient Transmissions Vol. 2). ‘Weightless is widely considered to be ‘the most relaxing track in the world’“

Marconi Union are amongst today’s most talented musicians” - Sunday Times

“Marconi Union have steadily released albums of pristine, clinical electronic music...continuing to refine their art in minimalist fashion and placing them firmly in the vanguard of acts making atmospheric, ambient music” - Music OMH

“Marconi Union have always excelled at the creation of a sonic space in which to shelter” - The Quietus

“Marconi Union always find beauty in the bleakest places “ - Uncut

Track listing: A.M.I.D. / Mossfield / Imbalance / Permafrost / Fractured / Dead Air / Burned

Label Review. 

1969 album. Originally on EMI Columbia. Jazz prog.

Our Overview. 

Starting out in the mid 1960’s English keyboardist Don Shinn recorded and performed with British Beat groups The MeddyEVILS, The Echoes (backing Dusty Springfield), and The Soul Agents (featuring Rod Stewart). In 1967 he formed his own band The Shinn, which also featured future Uriah Heep bassist Paul Newton, future drummer for The Nice, Brian Davison, and vocalist Eddie Lamb.

In 1969 he released two instrumental albums for EMI Columbia: ‘Temples With Prophets’ and ‘Departures’ which are both reissued here. Keith Emerson said: “Don Shinn got a fantastic sound from the L-100… He and Jimi Hendrix were controlling influences over the way I developed…”

After these two records he joined English band Dada (featuring Elkie Brooks) and appeared on their eponymous album released in 1970. He has also worked with Kiki Dee, James Taylor, Engelbert Humperdinck, Stan Tracey, Persian vocalist Parvaneh Farid, Iguana, and Renaissance.

Tracklisting. 

1. Space-Wards (Space Odyssey)
2. Bossa-Wards (Bossa)
3. H.VIII-Wards
4. Departure IV

BONUS TRACKS

5. Heaven Was Made To Be
6. Waltz For P
7. Mountain Music 

Label Review. 

1959-1962

Our Overview. 

Joan Baez, who recently announced her retirement from live performance is best known as a “Protest” singer from the 1960s who for a short time was indelibly linked with the name Bob Dylan. However, unlike Bob who used the protest scene to launch his career, Joan put her money her mouth was and stuck to the cause - the list of movements and rallies she has supported over the years (see on Wikipedia) is nothing short of astonishing. To reward her decades of dedicated activism, Baez was honoured with the Spirit of Americana/Free Speech award at the 2008 Americana Music Honors & Awards.

However, before anyone knew who Dylan was, Baez was already an established star in the US Folk scene and this double CD collects the entire contents of her first two albums for the Vanguard label along with some others tracks that didn’t make the cut at the time plus some even earlier recordings from 1959.

Tracklisting. 

CD1

O what a beautiful city (Traditional) 1959
Black is the color (Traditional, arr. John Jacob Niles) 1959
Sail away ladies (Traditional) 1959
Lowlands (Traditional) 1959
What you gonna call your pretty little baby (Traditional) 1959
Silver dagger (Traditional) 1960
East Virginia (Traditional) 1960
Fare thee well (10.000 Miles) (Traditional, arr. David Gude) 1960
House of the rising sun (Traditional) 1960
John Riley (Traditional) 1960
Mary Hamilton (Traditional) 1960
Henry Martin (Traditional) 1960
Girl of constant sorrow (Traditional) 1960
All my trials (Traditional) 1960
Wildwood flowers (Traditional) 1960
Donna Donna (Sholom Secunda, Aaron Zeitlin, Arthur Kevess, Teddi Schwartz) 1960
Rake and rambling boy (Traditional) 1960
Little Moses (Traditional) 1960
El preso número nueve (Roberto Cantoral) 1960
I know you rider (Traditional) 1960

CD2

Wagoner’s lad (Traditional) 1961
The trees they do grow high (Traditional) 1961
Lily of the west (Traditional) 1961
Silkie (Traditional) 1961
Engine 143 (Traditional) 1961
Once I knew a pretty girl (Traditional) 1961
Lonesome road (Traditional) 1961
Banks of Ohio (Traditional) 1961
Pal of mine (Traditional) 1961
Barbara Allen (Traditional) 1961
The Cherry Tree Carol (Traditional) 1961
Old blue (Traditional) 1961
Railroad boy (Traditional)
Plaisir d’amour [The Joy of love] (Traditional) 1961
Poor boy (Traditional) 1961
Longest train I ever saw (Traditional) 1961
I once loved a boy (Traditional) 1961
What have they done to the rain (Malvina Reynolds) 1962
The House Carpenter (Traditional) 1962
Railroad Bill (Traditional) 1962

Label Review.

2019 album. Indie.

Our Overview.

Hotly-tipped Norwegian newcomers Konradsen release their highly anticipated debut album ‘Saints and Sebastian Stories’. Konradsen, formed by life long friends; the duo of vocalist and pianist Jenny Marie Sabel and multi-instrumentalist Eirik Vildgren, trace their roots to the far north of Norway, where the black night of winter is backlit by the neon glow of the Northern Lights.

It’s a fitting metaphor for the music the pair crafts - tradition meets innovation, and the natural world expressing its astral filament. Inspired by the traditional songs and hymns Sabel sang with her family as a child, and the modern pop music she and Vildgren collectively admire - the work of Sufjan Stevens, Frank Ocean and composer Christophe Chassol, among others - debut album ‘Saints and Sebastian Stories’ weaves Sabel’s soulful and transportive vocals with field recordings and samples of ambient sounds.

These voices of past and present dance over minimalist piano, atmospheric electronics, programmed beats and organic horns, forming a delicate sonic narrativecentred on family and community that reflects the arc of their musical journey.

Recorded with lauded Norwegian producer K re Vestrheim at Propeller Recordings,and at Vildgren’s home studio in Oslo, ‘Saints and Sebastian Stories’ is a tender andhomespun thread between past and present elevating our underlying interconnectedness through a journey in friendship and quiet reflection.

Track Listing: Never Say A / Big Bruce / Television / Dice / Cosmic Kid Vibration / BabyHallelujah / Warm Wine / No One Ever Told Us / Odd Mistake / Red To Rhyme / Roasted / Give / Written To The Others

Label Review. 

2019 live album. Also available on 2CD, and 4CD. 

Our Overview. 

Christy Moore first made his name in the early 1970s in the Irish folk band Planxty who were a big hit in their native Ireland and toured extensively throughout Europe. After they broke up in 1975, Moore went solo and he has traded under his own name ever since (barring the odd Planxty reunion and his 80s ‘Celtic rock’ band Moving Hearts) attracting his first major label deal with Warners in the early 1980s.

Moore hasn’t shied away from expressing from political commentary in his songs with numerous numbers reflecting Irish Republican ideologies and he was once taken into questioning at the Welsh port of Holyhead in 2004 about his songs. Mainly though, Christy has spent his career promoting traditional Irish tunes but with a modern slant and injecting pop and rock flavours into the mix.

Of this new live collection Christy says: “We have recorded all our gigs in recent years. Producer Jimmy Higgins and Sound Engineer David Meade selected these takes from hundreds of gigs. It has been an enjoyable process. Listening back and discovering special moments, riffs that went unnoticed, choruses long forgotten. I have deep gratitude for the mystery of it all. At work I’m surrounded by a great team of comrades. Their talents and vital contributions keep the show on the road. Each night at 8.05 we stand side stage, breathe in the air of expectancy, the intoxicating waft of perfume and after shave. The crew complete their final checks, the lights go down and out we go once more to face the music.”

Label Review. 

1989 album. Contains a green vinyl LP, digipak CD, three 7 inch picture discs, a coke bottle, deck of cards, prescription notepad, drumstick pens, pins, guitar picks and band aids, all housed inside a leatherette satchel. Also available on CD and Vinyl.

Our Overview. 

The biggest commercial success of the most notorious rock band of all time is being released in a 30th Anniversary Edition: Motley Crue’s 1989 album “Dr. Feelgood’ featuring demos, picture discs, pens, badges and more. 2019 has seen not only the release of Motley Crue’s critically acclaimed biopic ‘The Dirt’ - the film sparked a renewed interest in the band, with sales, streams and downloads of their back catalogue soaring as a result - but also marks the 30th anniversary of the album ‘Dr. Feelgood’, their biggest commercial success, the band’s fifth studio album was originally released on September 1, 1989, and featured Crue classics including which contains band classics such as ‘Kickstart My Heart’, ‘Without You’, ‘Same Ol’ Situation’ and the title track.

Bassist Nikki Sixx says: “After feeling robbed of a number one album with ‘Girls Girls Girls’, the band was hell-bent on topping ourselves on every level. 

“Bringing in Bob Rock to produce and push us musically and lyrically was just what the doctor ordered. The band was clean, lean and sober and this album has some of our proudest work.”

The anniversary edition will feature the full album along with studio demos, with the deluxe edition containing the album on ‘coke bottle green’ vinyl, CD, three 7-inch picture discs, a doctor’s bag, a prescription notepad, a deck of playing cards, a pair of drumstick pens, pin badges and guitar picks.

Track Listing:


1. T.n.T. (Terror ‘n Tinseltown) 2. Dr. Feelgood3. Slice of Your Pie 4. Rattlesnake Shake 5. Kickstart My Heart 6. Without You 7. Same Ol’ Situation (S.O.S.) 8. Sticky Sweet 9. She Goes Down 10. Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away) 11. Time for Change 12. Dr. Feelgood (Demo)13. Kickstart My Heart (Demo)14. Without You (Demo)

Picture discs Tracks:

“Dr. Feelgood” Side A: Dr. Feelgood (Demo) Side B: Dr. Feelgood

“Kickstart My Heart” Side A: Kickstart My Heart (Demo) Side B: Kickstart My Heart

“Without You” Side A: Without You (Demo) Side B: Without You

Label Review.

2019 album. Blues.

Our Overview.

Minnesota native and NBC’s The Voice finalist, Nicholas David, is releasing his album ‘Yesterday’s Gone’. The pull of American heartland has been ever increasing in recent years, bringing this gifted, soulful pianist/singer/songwriter to the point where he can deliver, as he likes to say, “music from the heart for the heart”.

David headed to New Orleans to commence work on ‘Yesterday’s Gone’, with Samantha Fish in the producer’s chair. That week in January resulted in 13 tracks, to be trimmed to 11 for the record, and a collection of songs that displays beautifully both the heartland tug and Crescent City yearning possessing David’s musical mind, body and soul. It’s a naturally keyboard driven showcase for David’s songs, and he’s accompanied by some terrific studio contributors such as guitarists Duane Betts, and the recent Wild Heart Records artist Jonathan Long. Other musicians include Fish’s drummer Scott Graves and renowned Crescent City bassist Charlie Wooton.

David grew up studying piano and singing and listening to classical and jazz music before delving into pop songwriting as an adult. He released several independent solo albums under the name Nicholas Mrozinski, including 2008's Oak Chase Way, 2009's Together We're Stronger, and 2011's In Formation. In 2012, David was accepted onto The Voice and performed for Cee Lo Green's team. During his time on the show, David became a fan favorite for his emotional, soul-inflected style and his image as a caring father to his young son.

Track Listing:

Hole In The Bottom / Heavy Heart / With Or Without / I’m Interested / Peel Back The Leaves / Curious / Okay / Let U Go / Times Turning / Stars / Little By Little

Label Review. 

2019 album

Our Overview. 

‘American Utopia’ began as an album, which received a Grammy nomination and was the first by Byrne to reach the Top Five on the Billboard 200 chart. The concert tour in support of ‘American Utopia’, which inspired the Broadway show, included songs from the new album along with music from Talking Heads and Byrne’s solo career. Byrne and the ensemble performed more than 150 dates in twenty-seven countries over nine months. The NME said it "may just be the best live show of all time."

David Byrne’s ‘American Utopia’ features David Byrne with Jacquelene Acevedo, Gustavo Di Dalva, Daniel Freedman, Chris Giarmo, Tim Keiper, Tendayi Kuumba, Karl Mansfield, Mauro Refosco, Stéphane San Juan, Angie Swan, and Bobby Wooten III; Davi Viera also performs on the album. The show’s design team includes Rob Sinclair (lighting) and Pete Keppler (sound). Karl Mansfield and Mauro Refosco are Musical Directors. Choreography and Musical Staging is by Annie-B Parson. Alex Timbers serves as Production Consultant.

David Byrne’s recent works include the launch of Reasons to be Cheerful, an online magazine focused on solutions-oriented stories about problems being solved all over the world (2019); Joan of Arc: Into the Fire, a theatrical exploration of the historical heroine that premiered at the Public Theater in New York (2017); The Institute Presents: NEUROSOCIETY, a series of interactive environments created in conjunction with PACE Arts + Technology that question human perception and bias (2016); Contemporary Color, an event inspired by the American folk tradition of color guard and performed at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center and Toronto’s Air Canada Centre (2015); Here Lies Love, a twenty-two-song theatrical production about the life of Imelda Marcos, authored in collaboration with Fatboy Slim that premiered at The Public Theater in New York (2013), travelled to London’s National Theater for a sold-out run (2014–15), and was remounted at the Seattle Repertory Theater (2017); Love This Giant, a studio album and worldwide tour created with St. Vincent (2012); and How Music Works, a book about the history, experience, and social aspects of music (2012).

Byrne curated Southbank Centre’s annual Meltdown festival in London in 2015. A co-founder of the group Talking Heads (1976–88), he has released eight studio albums as a solo artist and worked on multiple other projects, including collaborations with Brian Eno, Twyla Tharp, Robert Wilson, and Jonathan Demme, among others. He also founded the highly respected record label Luaka Bop. Recognition of Byrne’s various works include Obies, Drama Desk, Lortel, and Evening Standard awards for Here Lies Love; an Oscar, Grammy, and Golden Globe for the soundtrack to Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor; and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Talking Heads. Byrne’s work as a visual artist has been published and exhibited since his college days, including photography, filmmaking, and writing.

Label Review. 

1959 album with 2 bonus tracks. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

“First Lady of Song’s” - Ella Fitzgerald - new release of ‘Hello Love’ with bonus tracks. By 1957, Ella Fitzgerald, one off the greatest female interpreters of the American songbook, was already a star with over twenty years experience as a professional singer. She had performed in countless venues and settings and recorded numerous sides. She was also the inspiration behind Norman Granz’s “Songbook” concept, which had become possible with the recently developed technology of “long play” LPs. The “Songbook” albums consisted of carefully designed multiple-LP box sets devoted to Ella singing the works of some of the best jazz composers, many of which resulted in best-selling albums.

Granz also presented Ella in an entirely different context. As a concert promoter with his Jazz at the Philharmonic, he recorded many performances and was one of the first record producers to issue live recordings. At forty-years old, Ella was reaching the peak of her abilities. Between 1957 and 1959, Ella recorded a series of sessions with the Frank DeVol Orchestra from which several albums were culled, among them Hello Love, presented here, and the better known Like Someone in Love. Ella and DeVol would record together on many other occasions. Other albums they collaborated on consist of Ella Sings Sweet Songs for Swingers (recorded on November 28, 1958), Ella Wishes You a Merry Christmas (from July 15-16, 1960), and Hello Dolly (March 3-4, 1964).

Presented here is the complete original LP ‘Hello Love’ (Verve MGVS- 6100), featuring the legendary Ella Fitzgerald backed by an all-star orchestra conducted and arranged by Frank DeVol. Among the band members are Harry “Sweets” Edison, Pete Candoli, Ben Webster, and Barney Kessel. Nine tracks from the same session which weren’t issued on the original LP (among them a rare vocal guitar duet with Herb Ellis on “Detour Ahead”) have been added as a bonus. ELLA FITZGERALD, vocals on all tracks Orchestra arranged and conducted by Frank DeVol Los Angeles, July 1957-March 1959.

Track Listing:

Label Review.

2019 album. Americana.

Our Overview.

‘Trio’ is the new album from Carter Sampson, an Oklahoma born and raised, award winning singer songwriter with a big voice. The Oklahoma City-based artist is blessed by a musical family legacy that includes talents like Roy Orbison.  Her journey as a naturally independent, free-spirited musician has seemed almost predestined at times. At age 15 she began experimenting with sound as a way to pass the time; now her creativity has matured into the dedicated and passionate performance that makes her a favorite female vocalist.

Carter Sampson burst onto the European Americana scene in 2016 with the release of her album “Wilder Side”. Both the general public and the media lauded the singer and her CD with all the praise one can imagine. As a result, in the first year after the release, the Queen of Oklahoma (as she is lovingly titled by both her fans and her colleague Okie songwriters) spent almost as much time in Europe as in her beloved Queendom: the Great State of Oklahoma.

Holland, Belgium, United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy: no matter where she went and how little she would understand of the local language (or how little the locals would understand hers for that matter): Carter’s charismatic and openhearted performances won over every single punter in the audience and media critics alike. 2018 saw the release of “Lucky”, a highly anticipated new album by this Oklahoma songstress.

After an absence of 18 months, Carter sets sail for another European tour, this time with 2 band members: Kyle Reid and Jason Scott. For the occasion, the Trio recorded 5 audience favorites in the touring set up. 4 originals and one well chosen cover now available on CD EP.

Track Listing:

Highway Rider / Since I Fell For You / Wilder Side / Queen Of Oklahoma / Rattlesnake Kate

Label Review.

2019 album. Indie.

Our Overview.

‘’I Entered The Void’ is a stunning foray into Tuva Hellum Marschhäuser’s beautifully haunting sound, both delicate and raw, aching and triumphant. Tuvaband is the solo project of singer, songwriter and producer Tuva Hellum Marschhäuser. She captures a strange magic in her songs through her songwriting and distinctive sound production, together with her feather-light vocal.

‘I Entered The Void’ is no exception. On the new album this magic is reinforced by a heavier, more full sound, which emphasize this quality even more. The album is a melancholic, personal and atmospheric indie pop/rock album. Tuvaband, playing with a band for the first time, is capable of building musical storms out of the songs on “I Entered The Void”.

Track Listing: I Entered The Void / He Said Me Too / Genuine / Ambiguous Flies / Young Adults And Old Grown Ups / Submerged / Arthur / Poisoned / I Don’t Feel Much Wiser / The Void

Label Review.

53 tracks. Includes CD debut of the 8 tracks he recorded with Chicago pianist Erwin Helfer in 1957. Jasmine.

Our Overview.

American Delta blues pioneer Big Joe Williams was the epitome of the rambling, wandering itinerant bluesman so romanticised in the early days of blues discovery and record collecting. The guitarist, singer-songwriter rambled across the United States from coast to coast in the 1920s and ‘30s and was notable for the distinctive sound of his nine-string guitar.

This 2CD collection features many of his most famous recordings in the post war years. His most famous composition was “Baby Please Don’t Go” eventually a major pop hit for Belfast’s blues rockers, Them in the UK and later for Ted Nugent and The Amboy Dukes in America.

The really exciting attraction of this compilation is the CD debut of the 8 tracks he recorded with Chicago pianist Erwin Helfer in 1957. These 8 tracks only ever appeared on two very rare UK Eps on the Collector label. This overview of Joe’s career goes on to embrace his career in the 60s when he became a popular performer on the global blues network. Fully detailed liner notes.

Track Listing:

CD 1: His Spirit Lives On / Baby Please Don’t Go / Stack Of Dollars / Mellow Apples / Wild Cow Moan / P Vine Blues / Bad And Weak Hearted Blues / King Biscuit Stomp / I’m A Highway Man / Banta Rooster Blues / Mean Stepfather Blues / House Lady Blues / Don’t You Leave Me Here / Jivin’ Woman / She’s A Married Woman / Mama Don’t Allow Me / Delta Blues / Over Hauling Blues / Whistling Pines / Friends And Pals / Juanita / She Left Me A Mule / Bad Heart Blues / Baby Please Don’t Go / Ride In My New Car With Me / Rather Be Sloppy Drunk / Cottage Grove Blues

CD 2: Goin’ Back / My Baby Left / King’s Highway / Lula Mae / All I Want Is My Train Fare Home / I’m Talkin’ About You / Joe Williams’ Blues / Don’t Leave Me Here / Cow Cow Blues / Crawlin’ King Snake / I May Be Wrong / Keep AKnockin’ / Cottage Grove / Meet Me In The Bottom / Bessemer Baby / Baby Please Don’t Go (Highway 49) / Shake Your Boogie / Jump Baby Jump / Mean Mistreater / Prison Bound / Whistlin’ Pines / Bluebird Blues / Elevate Me Baby / T.B. Blues / King Biscuit Stomp No 2 / Rootin’ Ground Hog

Label Review.

Recorded 1972-75.

Our Overview.

Re-Launch of Klaus Schulze’s successful “La Vie Electronique series (Vol. 1 to 16). “La Vie Electronique” first was published as a strictly limited 50 CDBox and later it was released in chronological order in 3CD-sets including some material never released before. This second set contains pieces, which have been recorded between 1972 and 1975 “North of the Yukon” and “Study for Philip K. Dick” are from another historic tape with no date or other markings, with no real start and no end.

lt was probably recorded in 1972 or 73 and what you hear is mostly the heavy sound of Klaus’ old electric Teisco organ to which he added some strange sounds. More of these strange sounds he used on “Electric Love-Affair”. Is it wrong if I state that Klaus was the first who dared to use noise (as in “ElectricLove-Affair”: a lot of noise and buzz) as stylistic device? The four tracks “Nightwind”, “Minuet”, “Signs of Dawn”, and “Land der leeren H user” are from a collaboration in the year 1973 between Klaus and a friend at this time, Hans- Jorg Stahlschmidt. These titles were played and recorded at ‘delta acustic” studio in 1973. The proposed group name for Klaus’ and Hans-J rgs collaboration changed between “Tau”, “Tao”, and “Timewind” (!)

Also, a deal with a German record company had already been made, but for reasons unknown today, the album never came out. The music sounds like early ‘New Age’, but of course this definition wasn’t known then. Klaus very own keyboard playing style is already identifiable. Klaus mostly plays the organ, and both played also guitars and bass guitar. The whispering voice on “Signs of Dawn” is Klaus. The singing voice on “Land der leeren H user” is not Klaus. The three shorter titles are the original titles as given on the tape box. In 1973, same more “avant-garde” music was done by Klaus, for the radio play “Das Gro e ldentifikationsspiel (The Big Garne of ldentification)”, a Science-Fiction thriller by Alfred Behrens, it won the award: “Preis der Kriegsblinden Deutschlands”, and since then it has been regularly repeated on German radio.

“Studies for Organ, Keyboard and Drumset”: recorded 1974 in Berlin, this music was then stored away in another of those dusty tape boxes, where I unearthed it 22 years later, under exactly this title. We hear Klaus play a drum set, a pair of bongos, the Farfisa ‘Professional Duo” organ (which I have just mentioned above), and a second keyboard which could be the ‘Solina String Ensemble”(?). Reverb, echo, phasing and stereo panning were also used by Klaus in his now established way. “Memento Mori” and “Blaue Stunde” belongtogether. Not that the music is the same, but they both mark a change in Klaus’ music. The era of “Timewind” and “Moondawn” is coming. I can still see Klaus, sitting night after night in front of his equipment in the cellar of the house that we had rented in Hamb hren, after our move away from Berlin in August 1975. The recording was probably done in autumn or winter 1975 .

Track Listing:

CD 1: North Of The Yukon / Nightwind / Minuet / Signs Of Dawn / Study For Phillip K. Dick

CD 2: Geburt Der Moderne / Devil May Care / Les 7 Boules De Cristal / On A March Sur La Lune / Der Schrecken Vom Amazonas / Schier Unendlich / Chaos / Gaia / Uranos / Electric Love Affair

CD 3: Land Der Leeren H user / Studies For Organ, Keyboards And Drumset / Memento Mori / Tooth Of Time / Every Inch A King / Chronique Scandaleuse / Con Amore / Last Not Least

Label Review.

1971 & 1972 albums.

Our Overview.

Los Panchos, also known as Trios Los Panchos, were a ground-breaking balladic group comprising Mexicans, Alfredo Gil and Chucho Navarro, and Puerto Rican, Hernando Aviles . Their high-pitched guitars and heartbreakingly beautiful vocal harmonies established the standard for the trio’s romantic form across the Spanish-speaking world.

They have sold hundreds of millions of records since forming in the mid-’40s and are best known for their interpretations of classic folk songs such as “Besame Mucho,” “Quizas, Quizas, Quizas,” “Como un Rayito de Luna,” and “Sin Ti.” They have appeared in more than 50 films and sold out concerts across the globe for more than 70 years. Their influence is unmatched in Latin America, where they are rightfully regarded as one of the top musical trios of all time.

Track Listing: Basura / Cari O Muerto / Hora Tras Hora / En Tu Camino / Cuando Llora El Mar / Hasta La Pregunta Es Tonta / No Corras / Por Dentro Y Por Fuera / Imploraci N / Rosario / Juntos A Morir / La Ltima Copa / Herida De Amor / Llam Ndote / Mar Y Cielo / Ya Me Voy / Ladrona De Besos / Cien A Os / Lo Dudo / Mil Besos / El Reloj / Piel Canela

Label Review.

56 tracks. Complete recordings. Jasmine.

Our Overview.

Session musician, record label founder/owner, talent scout and singer Bonnie Guitar enjoyed a career in music that few of today’s artists will ever match in terms of duration. She started singing as a teenager in the late 1930s and was still active in music when she died in January of this year (2019) - just a few weeks short of her 96th birthday!

Success first came to Bonnie as an artist in the mid-late 50s, when she scored a big pop and country hit with her original version of Ned Miller’s much covered (now) country standard ‘Dark Moon’. She followed up with several other Hot 100 hits, including 1959’s ‘Candy Apple Red’ which was one of the first releasedon her own Dolton label - also home to her discoveries the Fleetwoods and the Ventures. In this collection you will find every one of Bonnie’s recordings from 1955 to 1962 inclusive. All are of the highest quality, and many deserved to be more successful than they actually were. If you enjoy the vocals of the likes of Patti Page and Doris Day, and you are not yet familiar with Bonnie, you will find much to admire here.

Bonnie was a much admired individual who worked tirelessly on behalf of new talent, yet somehow she managed to sustain her own career - a career that also brought her almost a dozen more country hits from the mid-60s onwards. This superb 2CD collection - remastered, as always, from the finest available sources - will hopefully bring about the serious reappraisal of an artist who has been neglected for far too long.

Track Listing:

CD 1: Hello, Hello, Please Answer The Phone / If You See My Love Dancing (Original Version) / Clinging Vine - Bonnie Guitar And Lee Gotch / Dream Dreamers / Dark Moon / Big Mike / If You See My Love Dancing (Remake) / Half Your Heart / Mister Fire Eyes (Single Version) / There’s A New Moon Over My Shoulder / Making Believe / I Saw Your Face In The Moon / A Very Precious Love / Johnny Vagabond / Love Is Over, Love Is Done / Please My Love / Shanty Boat / Only The Moon Man Knows / I Found You Out / If You’ll Be The Teacher / Whispering Hope / Rocky Mountain Moon / Candy Apple Red / Come To Me I Love You (Akaka Falls) / Baby Moon / Solitude / Tell Her Bye / I’ll Step Down / Broken Hearted Girl / Who Is She?

CD 2: Moonlight And Shadows / Carolina Moon / Get Out And Get Under The Moon / By The Light Of The Silvery Moon / Moonlight On The Colorado / Shine On Harvest Moon / Moonlight And Roses / It’s Only A Paper Moon / The Moon Is Low / Roll Along Prairie Moon / Roll Along Kentucky Moon / In The Sweet Bye And Bye / Bringing In The Sheaves / Softly And Tenderly / Peace In The Valley / In The Garden / Lord, I Want To Find My Way / Let The Lower Lights Be Burning / The Old Rugged Cross / Just A Closer Walk With Thee / Rock Of Ages / God’s Tomorrow / Open The Door / Mister Fire Eyes (Album Version) / Down Where The Trade Winds Blow / Letter From Jenny

Label Review. 

Despite not releasing an album since Untrue (2007), acclaimed producer Burial has release a string of EPs since then and he has compiled a 150 minute selection from these across two discs.

Our Overview. 

Topping off Hyperdub’s 15th year, Burial selects ‘tunes’ from the last eight years of his EP releases on the label, for this very welcome two CD collection. Sequenced by Burial, ‘Tunes 2011-2019’ shows the depth and brilliance of his post-‘Untrue’ development; from long, twisting, collage works which travel through unexpected zones, to a more pointed, poppier side, and back again to the haunted, open horizons of his beatless pieces.

Emerging from South London in the mid-2000s, William Bevan aka Burial was introduced to the UK rave scene by his older brothers and became a fan of jungle and garage. When he began producing his own tunes he quickly developed his own unique style and was soon picked up by the indie label Hyperdub, who issued his debut EP in 2005 and album the following year. The album in particular drew many plaudits including album of the year in Wire magazine. At the time, his real identity was a secret and after his second album ‘Untrue’ won him a Mercury Music Prize nomination, mainstream newspapers got in on the act to try and find out his real identity. Bevan himself revealed his true identity soon after the nomination.

Since then however, Burial has not released a third album, concentrating instead on EPs and remixes for the likes of Massive Attack (once a whole remix album was rumoured), Thom Yorke, Bloc Party, and Goldie among others.

Derek Walmsley of The Wire said: “Burial decided at the outset to avoid at all costs the rigid, mechanistic path that eventually brought drum ‘n’ bass to a standstill. To this end, his percussion patterns are intuitively arranged on the screen rather than rigidly quantized, creating minute hesitations and slippages in the rhythm. His snares and hi-hats are covered in fuzz and phaser, like cobwebs on forgotten instruments, and the mix is rough and ready rather than endlessly polished. Perhaps most importantly, his basslines sound like nothing else on Earth. Distorted and heavy, yet also warm and earthy, they resemble the balmy gust of air that precedes an underground train.”

Label Review.

2019 album. Indie math rock.

Our Overview.

Hikes is a band of friends from Austin, Texas, inspired by nature, and driven to meld their love of heavy, technical rock with folk. ‘Mahal Kita’ is the Tagalog term for ‘I Love You’ and the title of the latest full length from the indie math quartet, Hikes.

The album is dedicated to the unrelenting will to make it through trauma while retaining the empathy and compassion that Nay learned from their Mother, and how Hikes is the vessel for implementing those ideals. ‘Mahal Kita’ follows the spectrum of hardships throughout the two years leading up to it and follows suit dynamically: from the ethereal pop opener of the album, reintroducing member Claire Puckett (Mother Falcon), to Extra Mile; featuring the bombastic technical prowess of long running members Colin Jenkins (Bass) and Chris Long (Drums), as well as marimbas from The Kraken Quartet.

Track Listing: been thinkin’ / extra mile (feat. The Kraken Quartet) / mahal kita / aurora / graying (feat. Atlys) / empathy / jejune / mauve rinsed / beauty, again.

Label Review.

2005 album. Real World Records.

Our Overview.

Highly acclaimed Bangladesh born, Indian classical sarod player Amjad Ali Khan was born in 1945 in Gwalior, one of the great cities of Madhya Pradesh, India. There are no musicians in India with a lineage as long and illustrious as Amjad Ali Khan - he’s the sixth generation sarod player in his family and his ancestors have developed and shaped the instrument over two hundred years. Amjad Ali Khan is revered by an astonishing number of people and he has received a huge number of awards but, unlike many of the other Indian musicians who’ve become famous in the West, he has stayed true to pure Indian classical music. For Amjad Ali Khan, his music is a serious art that deserves time and respect. He has taught his two sons Amaan and Ayaan, born in 1977 and 1979 respectively, who are starting out on solo careers.

In the West, the sitar has become better-known than the sarod but in India both string instruments are held in the highest regard. For this Real World recording, ‘Moksha’, Amjad Ali Khan tried something quite new for him and very unusual in the Indian classical music tradition. Instead of the usual lengthy slow introduction which explores the raga (scale pattern) before heading off into faster compositions, Amjad Ali Khan presents eight different ragas in relatively short compositions. This album gives the listener a variety of ragas, including some folk music. Amjad Ali Khan has named each piece according to its mood but stresses that they are just guides according to his (or his sons’) vision while performing the piece. “I just want listeners to enjoy the music and the feelings it creates without knowing any technical background.”

Label Review.

2019 album. Blues rock.

Our Overview.

’Flesh And Bones’ is the new album from 24 PESOS, who are a simply a unique and powerful live band that play great music. The sound they create together is a blistering energetic and joyous experience always musically enthralling and deeply personal. Established in 2009 , The band have been Nominated 10 times at the British blues awards and have released 4 critically acclaimed albums.

This new album features 12 tracks about life and death, love and pain and the simple comedy of plain ordinary people. It also features some very special guest appearances from the likes of Geno Washington , Marcus Malone , Giles Robson, Jj Milteau , Danny Del Toro and Katie Hector who all leave their prestigious mark. “Flesh & Bones” has got no filler tracks and will leave a large joyous musical footprint in anyones playlist “24 Pesos” comes at you full Throttle with a foot to the floor take no prisoners kind of attitude... kicking biting and snapping like a piranha fish on steroids infecting you withthey’re soulful Stax laced funky Blues.!! simply an oblix of a band , With 5 albums under their belt and many miles covered on the road, 24 Pesos are once again , ready to roll!!!

Label Review. 

2019 album. Rock. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

A Lazarus Soul (Brian Brannigan, Joe Chester, Julie Bienvenu & Anton Hegarty - who have spent time with the likes of Future Kings of Spain, Ten Speed Racer and other music acts,) is the latest addition to the Bohemia Records roster. They bring their unique brand of raw, genuine, unmistakably Dublin inspired story telling to an Irish music scene characterised, as ever, by a burgeoning range of eclectic talent pushing the envelope in every conceivable direction.

Through the years, ALS’s styles have changed (the 2011 album ‘Through a Window in the Sunshine Room’ veered towards ambient/electronic pop) but, with two notable exceptions (the Byrds-like jangle of “No Hope Road”, the pop-ambience of “A Tar Road”), the collective’s fourth album is rooted in the Irish folk song tradition.

Songwriter Brian Brannigan rejoins the fold at a time when reflecting social issues through art with a very personal fire that cannot be ignored is more important than ever. Despite the high quality of the musicianship here, the linchpin is vocalist and lyricist Brannigan, who, across folkloric tracks as bare and raw as Cruelty Man, Lemon 7s, Metal Railings and Settled Kids, addresses and mulls over topics such as community life, poverty, domestic upheaval and early loves.

“Vital and brilliant, this album sounds like Dublin feels’ - The Sunday Times.

“A low key but frequently powerful piece of work” - The Irish Times.

“A strong contender for best Irish album of 2019” - Irish Mirror.

“A rich tapestry that resonates with sadness and anger” - Hot Press.

“This is an essential Irish record” - Sunday Business Post.

Label Review.

Six albums across seven LPs that showcase how the band created an international network of underground pop entirely on their own terms.

Our Overview.

Domino release ‘We Are Beat Happening’, a box set of the band’s entire recorded output. Six albums across seven LPs that showcase how the bandcreated an international network of underground pop entirely on their own terms.

The albums have been newly remastered by Frank Arkwright at Abbey Road Studios and this will be the first time the entire Beat Happening catalogue has been in print in over a decade.

The story of Beat Happening - Calvin Johnson, Heather Lewis and Bret Lunsford - began in Olympia, Washington at the dawn of the 1980s. After playing their first ever shows in Japan, the trio released five albums and four EPs throughout1984 to 1992 and, whilst they may have played their last show in 1992 and made their final recording in 2000, it’s tricky to define their cessation. Along with the music they made and the shows that they played, Beat Happening created aconnectivity that is still completely present.

Shrink-wrapped and stickered deluxe 180g seven LP vinyl box set in hard slipcase and 40-page book with rare images and liner notes from Lois Maffeo plus digital download card.

Label Review.

20 best of from the CBS years.

Our Overview.

In celebration of the legendary band’s 50th Anniversary, featuring a peerless collection of classics, including Uncut’s No.1 Glam single of all time “All The Young Dudes”.

Mott the Hoople occupies a unique place in the annals of international rock music. Oozing style, attitude and unpredictability, the band recorded a peerless legacy of songs combining homage, honesty and killer hooks. As Mott’s focal point, lead singer Ian Hunter was also one of the toughest and most inventive writers of the early Seventies.

Over the years, Mott the Hoople have been cited as an inspiration by Queen, The Clash, Kiss, Primal Scream, Motley Crue, Cheap Trick and Def Leppard, whose frontman Joe Elliott remains a devoted fan. Mott reunited for several live appearances in 2009 and 2013 and toured the UK and America in 2019. The band are also releasing ‘Live at Hammersmith 1973’ via Madfish, which features their legendary riotous set as a double LP with six tracks appearing on vinyl for the first time.

‘The Golden Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll’ showcases Mott the Hoople’s amazing CBS Records repertoire including the Bowie penned No.3 anthem ‘All the Young Dudes’ which gave the band their mainstream break before they released the masterly Mott. The new 2LP set also includes the hit singles ‘Honaloochie Boogie’ (No.12), ‘All The Way From Memphis’ (No.10), ‘Roll Away The Stone’ (No.8) and ‘The Golden Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll’, as well as the superb ‘Marionette’ - a pre-Bohemian Rhapsody mini-opera described by Ian Hunter as a nervous breakdown on record.

This essential 50th-anniversary double vinyl album is presented in gatefold packaging complete with printed inner bags featuring original artwork for the classic LP’s ‘All The Young Dudes’, ‘Mott’ and ‘The Hoople’, plus liner notes written by Mott the Hoople and Ian Hunter biographer Campbell Devine.

“Mott the Hoople was the greatest rock’n’roll band ever.” - JOE ELLIOTT (DEF LEPPARD)

“Raw, fun, angry, glorious and jagged... Mott was everything.” - BRIAN MAY (QUEEN)

“If it hadn’t been for Mott, there would be no us” - MICK JONES (THE CLASH)

Label Review. 

1973 album. 2015 remaster. Also availble on CD.

Our Overview. 

“This is their holy grail, uncarved block and philosopher’s stone rolled into one” - Classic Rock

Gong’s - the sensational anglo-french psychedelic prog rock band - quintessential trilogy comprised of the albums ‘Flying Teapot’, ‘Angel’s Egg’ and ‘You’ are reissued worldwide by BYG / Charly Records, remastered in 2015 from the original tapes by Nick Robbins at Soundmastering Studios. featuring remastered audio and 8-page booklets or on 180g heavyweight audiophile “invisible” vinyl featuring remastered audio in gatefold packaging and 16- page booklets.

‘Angel’s Egg’ is not your usual progressive rock album. Very quirky, with many, mostly brief compositions, the album is a tad less spacy than ‘Flying Teapot’, with just a few psychedelic-inspired lyrics, and is very technically adept. This eclectic composition travels through several movements and time changes and comes across as a perpetually progressing piece. The album sees the classic Gong line-up in full swing with primo Daevid Allen vocals and lyrics, and Steve Hillage’s first full inclusion to the band bearing fruit with musical quality akin to his solo work.

The current line-up, which features Kavus Torabi (Knifeworld) following the passing of founder Daevid Allen, is enjoying the success and worldwide tour of 2016 album ‘Rejoice! I’m Dead!’ and have revealed the first of their 2019 festival appearances at the UK’s HRH Prog.

Track Listing: Other Side Of The Sky / Sold To The Highest Buddha / Castle In The Clouds / Prostitute Poem / Givin’ My Luv To You / Selene / Flute Salad / Oily Way / Outer Temple / Inner Temple / Percolations / Love Is How You Make It / I Never Glid Before / Eat That Phonebook Coda

Label Review.

2019 album. Also availbale on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

Jack Peñate announces the release of his third album ‘After You’. Over a decade in the making, the album was produced in collaboration with Paul Epworth, Inflo and Alex Epton.

Lead track ‘Prayer’ features Peñate playing several instruments, as well as the production credit he set out to achieve. It carries more than a nod to gospel, all set around a glorious pop hook, played on a Farfisa organ. Its musical and lyrical complexities belie the fact it was written in twenty minutes. “Once we had written it, all the pieces of the past ten years fell into place. It was like a puzzle coming together.”

Former Spankrock member turned producer and jazz drummer Alex Epton came on board and set to bring together 10 years’ worth of work into a cohesive album in XL’s New York studio, adding in additional programming and production as well as drums and percussion. Paul Epworth, with whom he created ‘Everything Is New’, came back in and worked on several tracks.

The album doesn’t just draw on Jack Peñate’s musical journey of the past ten years, it brings in influences from the music he heard as a child. ‘Loaded Gun’ has a pre-chorus that Lennon and McCartney would surely have liked to have written. As a child his brother would play him jungle and here’s elements of that too. His dad ran acid house raves - that’s in there. But perhaps the most poignant track is ‘Gemini’. With nothing more than piano, vibraphone and drum beat, the words of Peñate’s grandfather, the writer and artist Mervyn Peake, are read by his uncle Fabian.

That’s not the only family tie. The artwork for the album and the first video has been done by Peñate’s cousin, the acclaimed artist Eddie Peake. “We both grew up with an uncanny focus on what we wanted to do, but had never worked together,” says Jack. “His work is both incredibly joyous and melancholy, and it does something to me that music does to me too.”

If Peñate’s ambition was to be able to make a sound that sounded like a feeling felt and to be able to master studio production and to be able to have longevity in his career, then it’s safe to say that with ‘After You’ that ambition has been realised.

Label Review.

1979 album. World music.

Our Overview.

‘China Williams & His African Percussions’ is the first official reissue of hidden-gem album by Lagos-based bandleader Shina Williams.

Shina Williams ‘Agboju Logun’ was a ground-breaking fusion of afrobeat, electronics, boogie and disco. First released on Phonodisk in 1979 as part of the ‘African Dances’ album, then in 1984 as an alternative version on Rough Trade’s Earthwork off-shoot, it has gone on to attain cult-like status. So it remains a bit of a mystery how so little has been documented about the followup. Shina’s self-titled album was originally released on Help Records in 1980. It differs from the upfront afro-disco-funk of ‘African Dances’ as it diverts into deeper, hypnotic, afro-beat territory.

Though listed as a six-track album, each side (composing of 3 tracks) is built upon one continuous groove with call and response female & male vocals and instrumental solos coming and going as each side progresses. The results are raw, hypnotic, locked-in grooves, which sit perfectly on forward-thinking contemporary dance floors.

Official Mr Bongo reissue. Replica original artwork. LP only. Licensed from the family of Shina Wiliams.

Label Review.

2019 album. French shoegaze band produced by Mark Gardener out of Ride. Also available on Black Vinyl and Silver Vinyl.

Our Overview.

Mark Gardener produced third album by the best french shoegaze band Dead Horse One, who hail from Valence in the south of France. While recording their first album in 2014, they reached out to RIDE’s Mark Gardener.

After listening to their material, Gardener then decided to produce their first LP ‘Without Love We Perish’. Following the release of the album, the band hit it hard and played over a hundred gigs all over Europe for the next 3 years, which included an appearance at the Liverpool Psych Fest. In 2017, the band collaborated with producer John Loring (Fleeting Joys), who produced their second album, ‘Season of Mist’.

While on tour that year, they supported RIDE for a handful of shows during their European tour. The next year proved to be another momentous year for the band. Dead Horse One shared the stage with the legendary Brian Jonestown Massacre as wells with the Philadelphia based band, NOTHING for an epic gig in Paris.

For their third LP ‘The West Is The Best’ to be released November 2019, the band returned to the studio with the producer John Loring. The album marks a second collaboration with Mark Gardner, who mixed this release. When commenting on the new album’s title and album cover, the band’s lead singer/ songwriter, Olivier Debard, stated that ‘The West is The Best’ concerns a variety of complex contemporary and cultural themes and is therefore intentionally ambiguous. Debard continues that the album thematically is “a collection of thwarted love songs in the spirit of Sparklehorse and other such 90’s bands”.

“Clearly influenced by My Bloody Valentine, Dead Horse One also inject elements of Swervedriver, and, of course, Ride into their swirly concoctions. Despite the obvious reference points, they retain cred by using familiar sounds to create otherworldly sonic vistas that speak volumes whether you’re in France or Florida” - Bandcamp

Label Review. 

25 tracks. Cilla Black, The Liverbirds, Beryl Marsden, Jeannie & The Big Guys, Tiffany with The Thoughts, The Three Bells, Vernons Girls, The Breakaways, Glenda Collins, Nola York, Samantha Jones, Tiffany, Jacki Martin, Lyn Cornell, The De Laine Sisters, The Sharades, Cindy Cole, The Satin Bells, Sandy Edmonds. Ace.

Our Overview. 

With this latest compilation, from Ace Records, the focus is on a location: the music hotbed of Merseyside. While male beat groups ruled the Merseyside roost in the 60s, the area was also home to its fair share of female talent. To illustrate the point, here are 25 hand-picked girl-pop artefacts from thereabouts.

Liverpool’s pop queen Cilla Black is featured with her two most Merseybeat-oriented tracks, including a terrific version of “A Shot Of Rhythm And Blues”, the first song she ever recorded at Abbey Road. Guitar-toting cover girls the Liverbirds, who released no records in the UK but were stars in Germany – where their repertoire of Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry numbers made them favourites at the Star-Club – also appear twice.

The Breakaways, the Vernons Girls and Beryl Marsden – three other acts intrinsically associated with Liverpool – are also featured. Along with a selection of proven fan favourites, the collection contains many lesser-known gems, among them new-to-CD tracks by the Three Bells, Nola York, Tiffany, Lyn Cornell, Cindy Cole and, not least, Samantha Jones, whose hitherto-unreleased-in-any-format ‘I Don’t Want To Lose Him’ was recorded with visiting American producer Teddy Randazzo. A fantastic addition to the collection of any fan of 1960s Beat Group fare.

Label Review. 

2019 album. Americana. Also availble on CD.

Our Overview. 

‘County Seat ‘is a guitar-fueled Americana record, caught somewhere between the worlds of country and electrified rock. The songs are roomy and lush, the result of an inspired led by Will Stewart, - American, songwriter, frontman, and lead guitarist - who handles singing and guitar-playing duties, whose members recorded all nine tracks in two short days. There are swirls of swooning pedal steel, layers of vocal harmony, and the pastoral punch of a songwriter looking to turn the landscape of his home state into music.

Co-produced with Les Nuby (who also engineered and mixed the album) and recorded in a series of live takes, County Seat nods to a number of songwriters who sing about the beauty of their homeland without glossing over its imperfections. There are electrified moments influenced by Neil Young, guitar arpeggios suited for R.E.M., turns-of-phrase worthy of Bob Dylan, and the modern-day folksy charm of Hiss Golden Messenger. On an album that evokes some heavy starpower, though, Will Stewart shines the brightest. This is his first full-length release as a solo artist: a rallying cry from a Son of the South who, having returned home after a long trip, looks at his birthplace with renewed eyes.

Label Review.

2019 album. Indie rock.

Our Overview.

It’s been nine long years since the American indie rock band Pernice Brothers’ last album, 2010’s ‘Goodbye, Killer’. Joe Pernice has reunited the Scud Mountain Boys, formed the New Mendicants with Norman Blake and Mike Belitsky, released an album as Roger Lion with hip-hop producer Budo, and written for the Canadian cop show The Detail. And now, he’s getting the Pernice Brothers back together.

In a little over a week, the Pernice Brothers are releasing Spread The Feeling, their first new album in nine years. In addition to Joe Pernice and his brother Bob, it features the talents of Peyton Pinkerton, James Walbourne, Patrick Berkery, Ric Menck, Neko Case, Pete Yorn, Liam Jaeger, Budo, and more.“

Says Joe of the new album “’Spread The Feeling’ is the sixth or seventh studio LP by the Pernice Brothers and my 17th or so in general. I’m honestly not sure. I don’t keep track. All I know is that if I play one song off each album at a gig, it’s a long show. I recorded a full length Pernice Brothers record a few years back, but ditched it after it was mixed. Scrapping it had everything to do with me not liking the songs. The playing, the recording and mixing were fantastic to my ears.

“After letting the mixes sit for a while I revisited them for giggles. Still no dice, but there were a couple songs that were really good and deserved to be saved, unlike my soul. I holed up with engineer/musician extraordinaire Liam Jaeger in Toronto, and we reworked/mixed the songs worth the time. Then we kept recording new songs until “‘Spread The Feeling’ was done.

"Eric Menck came up with the title. I think it was a peanut butter ad campaign slogan. If it wasn’t, it should be. This record definitely has the most “muscle” of all my records. (That’s not saying much if you compare it to say, PINE BOX by the Scud Mountain Boys.) The playing is pretty nuts. Liam Jaeger and James Walbourne are two of the finest guitarists out there. Peyton Pinkerton is a true genius. It should be no surprise to learn that he’s an exceptional painter. All three players wowed me at every turn. Both Patrick Berkery and Ric Menck played drums. They are as good as it gets in my opinion.

“Neko Case and Pete Yorn were extremely generous with their voices. I’m grateful to both for elevating the songs. Oh, and my brother Bob is on there too, as always. The record was recorded and mixed in Boston, Toronto and Washington State. What’s the single? Probably “The Devil And The Jinn” or “Mint Condition” or “Lullaby.” I have my favourite songs, but they are almost never the ones most people like.”

Label Review. 

28 tracks. Soul, country, folk-rock, psychedelia, adult contemporary and much more. Ace.

Our Overview. 

By the mid-60s, while it was no longer the only outlet for the release of hot new American hits, London was still a name that commanded maximum respect among record buyers all over the UK, and the label was still bringing some of the most interesting (and very best) of what was currently happening in the USA over to our side of the Atlantic.

1967 was a watershed year in popular music, and the eclectically enjoyable nature of previous volumes is upheld by the 28 tracks in this latest volume, which – just as the US Hot 100 charts of the time did – embraces soul, country, folk-rock, psychedelia, adult contemporary and much more besides.

Legendary names – many of them with lengthy London American associations – rub shoulders here with terminally obscure one-record wonders, just as they had always done from the label’s earliest days. All tracks have been mastered from original mono sources, just as they appeared on London, with many coming to you from the original tapes used to manufacture those London 45s. Many of these tracks are on UK CD for the first time, and one that all aficionados of the London American label will be delighted to file next to the previous volumes in this series.

Label Review.

2019 album also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

After years as a struggling outsider musician, American singer-songwriter Beck came to prominence in the mid-90s with his hit “Loser” (1994) and has been a mainstay of popular culture ever since. And now the artist known for his pop-junk culture collage of musical styles, ironic lyrics, samples, drum machines, live instrumentation and heady sound effects is releasing his new album “Hyperspaces’ - along with a cryptic message: “In hyperspace electric life is in my brain.” The new release, which follows the Grammy-winning ‘Colours’ from 2017, features collaborations with Pharrell Williams, Chris Martin, Sky Ferreira, Greg Kurstin and more.

The albums artwork featuring Beck standing in front of a vintage car, with the album title spelt out in Japanese above him, the artwork has a ‘Back To The Future’ vibe that suggests Beck will once again take listeners on a wild journey through myriad styles in the way that only he can. As he explained the album was inspired by the 80s video game Asteroids: “It had a button where you were about to get destroyed called Hyperspace, that would save your life,” he said, adding that, on the album, “Each song has kind of a different way that different people hyperspace, or deal with the world.”

Despite its intergalactic title, Beck recently told attendees of a London album playback that ‘Hyperspace’ is “not really anything about outer space. It’s more of an interior space… The meditation of the record is finding peace in moment. I was thinking about music as a kind of escape… It sort of alters the room, alters a state of mind… every song does something different — it can be an escape from the moment.”

Beck has recently treated eager fans to the record’s first single, “Saw Lightning”. The new track sees Beck teaming up with Pharrell Williams, who provided songwriting and production assistance, as well as contributions on drums, keyboards, and mumbled vocals. The new tune bridges Beck's older folksier material and his more dancy tracks by blending jangly guitar riffs with percussive beats while he oscillates between bluesy and more hip-hop inspired vocal phrasing. As to be expected from the minds of these two genre-bending musicians, “Saw Lightning” is a quirky fusion of rock, synths, and even folk pop.

In an interview with NME, Beck said that he had always wanted to make a record with Williams, but the opportunity didn’t arise until after his tour in support of ‘Colors’. The duo originally planned on recording an EP before the sessions proved fruitful enough to lay the foundation of an album; Williams worked on seven of ‘Hyperspace‘s’ 11 tracks.

“I was not expecting the songs to come out how they did. I was going in thinking of songs like ‘Drop It Like It’s Hot’, y’know?” Beck told NME. “He felt very strongly that spending a little time with me, that ‘You need to be doing singer-songwriter type of songs’. So that was more of the direction we went in. I really tried to be less ambitious on the production on these songs, like to let them be simple and let them breathe. Pharrell is a master minimalist.”

Label Review. 

2019 album. Double album presented in two halves: Sunrise and Sunset. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

Coldplay are releasing their eighth studio album ‘Everyday Life’ and this one is a biggie to delight fans worldwide. The album, containing 16 tracks is a double album, inclusive of two parts with the first half titled ‘Sunrise’ and the other ‘Sunset’. So it seems to be a conceptual double-LP, a la the Smashing Pumpkins’ sprawling 1995 effort “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” (which was divided into “Dawn to Dusk” and “Twilight to Starlight” discs). 

Coldplay announced the news of the imminent album in a letter sent to fans, calling the album "sort of how we feel about things” and frontman Chris Martin spoke with BBC Radio 1 about the concept behind the album; “there is a lot of trouble, but there’s also so much positivity and so much great life happening…Sunset and Sunrise could mean the same thing. Because after every sunset, there is a sunrise.”

Alongside their marketing activities to promote the album - following a social media teaser campaign - the Brit pop-rock group started teasing its upcoming album with a series of vintage-looking posters which appeared in Berlin and Hong Kong. The announcement, styled like an old, typed postcard, reads:

“dear friends, my typing isn’t very good, i’m sorry i and we hope wherever you are you’re ok for the last 100 years or thereabouts we have been working on a thing called Everyday Life in the classifieds you might write “double album for sale, one very careful owner” one half is called “sunrise,” the other “sunset”
it comes out 22 november. it is sort of how we feel about things
we send much love to you from hibernation chris, jonny, guy and Will Champion esq.”

The ‘Everyday Life’ album cover features the band in an old-fashioned black and white photo which fans may recognize from the picture they previously shared on their social media earlier in the week. The cover art is actually based on a photo from 1919 featuring Coldplay guitarist Jonny Buckland's great-grandfather's band (music runs in the family!).

Among various world cities and unveiled the track list of its highly anticipated new double album, 'Everyday Life', in classified advertisements Wednesday in newspapers on opposite sides of the world, one in Wales and two in Australia. The ads in the North Wales Daily Post, Sydney Morning Herald and The West Australian are the latest in a string of hints from the band to build buzz around their new album. Coldplay certainly has a connection with North Wales: Lead guitarist Jonny Buckland hails from Pantymwyn, near Mold, and has been active in the community. Buckland also previously said that he had a holiday job working at the North Wales Daily Post.

Label review.

The recording sessions produced a wealth of material that ended up being sprinkled among multiple releases during FZ’s lifetime. This mammoth six disc collection documents and compiles every composition recorded during those days in July 1969, along with an abundance of rare mixes, Vault nuggets and complete basic tracks mixed from the original multi-track masters by Craig Parker Adams in 2019. Additional gems include images by original Hot Rats cover photographer, Andee Nathanson, and session photos taken by Bill Gubbins, liner notes by Matt Groening and essays by Ian Underwood, Andee Nathanson and Vaultmeister Joe Travers. The box set also includes a Zappa Land board game in celebration of this release with custom game pieces, dice and playing cards.Featuring 65 tracks, all but 6 tracks are previously unreleased. The 6 tracks previously available are from the 1987 CD mixes which have been out of print since 2012. Also available on Pink Vinyl.

Our Overview.

Featuring 65 tracks - all but 6 tracks are previously unreleased - ‘The Hot Rats Sessions’ is a glorious collection showcasing the music of the workaholic, perfectionist rock star, the incomparable Frank Zappa. This box set celebrates the 50th anniversary of one of the greatest albums in the history of recorded music. The original 1969 Frank Zappa album was the first record to be recorded on a prototype 16-Track Tape Machine. Self-described as a “Movie For Your Ears,” it was technically the second solo outing for the composer and the album that put FZ on the map as a guitar player. The recording sessions produced a wealth of material that ended up being sprinkled among multiple releases during FZ’s lifetime.

This mammoth six disc collection documents and compiles every composition recorded during those days in July 1969, along with an abundance of rare mixes, Vault nuggets and complete basic tracks mixed from the original multi-track masters by Craig Parker Adams in 2019.  Additional gems include images by original Hot Rats cover photographer, Andee Nathanson, and session photos taken by Bill Gubbins, liner notes by Matt Groening and essays by Ian Underwood, Andee Nathanson and Vaultmeister Joe Travers.  The box set also includes a Zappa Land board game in celebration of this release with custom game pieces, dice and playing cards.The 6 tracks previously available are from the 1987 CD mixes which have been out of print since 2012.

Also available as a 1LP of the original album, pressed on hot pink vinyl, pressed at Pallas.

Disc 1. Piano Music (Section 1) / Piano Music (Section 3) / Peaches En Regalia (Prototype)  / Peaches En Regalia (Section 1, In Session)  / Peaches En Regalia (Section 1, Master Take) / Peaches Jam - Part 1 / Peaches Jam - Part 2 / Peaches En Regalia (Section 3, In Session)  / Peaches En Regalia (Section 3, Master Take)  / Arabesque (In Session)  / Arabesque (Master Take) / Dame Margret's Son To Be A Bride (In Session) 

Disc 2. It Must Be A Camel (Part 1, In Session)  / It Must Be a Camel (Part 1, Master Take)  / It Must Be a Camel (Intercut, In Session)  / It Must Be a Camel (Intercut, Master Take)  / Natasha (In Session)  / Natasha (Master Take)  / Bognor Regis (Unedited Master)  / Willie The Pimp (In Session)  / Willie The Pimp (Unedited Master Take) / Willie The Pimp (Guitar OD 1) / Willie The Pimp (Guitar OD 2) 

Disc 3. Transition (Section 1, In Session)  / Transition (Section 1, Master Take)  / Transition (Section 2, Intercut, In Session) / Transition (Section 2, Intercut, Master Take)  / Transition (Section 3, Intercut, In Session)  / Transition (Section 3, Intercut, Master Take)  / Lil’ Clanton Shuffle (Unedited Master)  / Directly From My Heart To You (Unedited Master)  / Another Waltz (Unedited Master) 

Disc 4. Dame Margret’s Son To Be A Bride (Remake)  / Son Of Mr. Green Genes (Take 1) / Son Of Mr. Green Genes (Master Take)  / Big Legs (Unedited Master Take) / It Must Be a Camel (Percussion Tracks)  / Arabesque (Guitar OD Mix) / Transition (Full Version) / Piano Music (Section 3, OD Version) 

Disc 5. Peaches En Regalia (1987 Digital Re-Mix)  / Willie The Pimp (1987 Digital Re-Mix)  / Son Of Mr. Green Genes (1987 Digital Re-Mix)  / Little Umbrellas (1987 Digital Re-Mix) / The Gumbo Variations (1987 Digital Re-Mix) / It Must Be A Camel (1987 Digital Re-Mix) / The Origin Of Hot Rats / Hot Rats Vintage Promotion Ad #1 / Peaches En Regalia (1969 Mono Single Master) / Hot Rats Vintage Promotion Ad #2 / Little Umbrellas (1969 Mono Single Master) / Lil' Clanton Shuffle (1972 Whitney Studios Mix) 

Disc 6. Little Umbrellas (Cucamonga Version) / Little Umbrellas (1969 Mix Outtake) / It Must Be A Camel (1969 Mix Outtake) / Son Of Mr. Green Genes (1969 Mix Outtake) / More Of The Story Of Willie The Pimp / Willie The Pimp (Vocal Tracks) / Willie The Pimp (1969 Quick Mix) / Dame Margret's Son To Be A Bride (1969 Quick Mix) / Hot Rats Vintage Promotion Ad #3 / Bognor Regis (1970 Record Plant Mix) / Peaches En Regalia (1969 Rhythm Track Mix) / Son Of Mr. Green Genes (1969 Rhythm Track Mix) / Little Umbrellas (1969 Rhythm Track Mix) / Arabesque (Guitar Tracks) / Hot Rats Vintage Promotion Ad #4

Label Review.

2019 album. Art pop.

Our Overview.

Echoing the best British bands of the 1980s ‘Bell Of Wool’ is the striking new album from Blaue Blume, a Danish alternative art pop trio with a deep connection to the 80s new romantics. Referencing artists such as Talk Talk, The Smiths and Cocteau Twins, it’s clear their influences are with the more sensitive, magical aspects of music - and the eternal questions of love, life and death.

Following two singles the album ‘Bell Of Wool’ is finally with us. It’s suitably enchanting from start to finish. Two themes dominate Blaue Blume’s new album -darkness and adventure. Mostly made before singer Jonas Smith slipped into a depressive episode, the album’s lyrics and moods draw pictures of thedarkness, anxiety and tension that would mark Smith’s depression.

Sonically, the album sounds a distance away from anything they’ve done before. Indie and electro pop and rock are out and instead the album is crafted from soft, glowing synthscapes, dawns and skies transformed into sounds.

Even on hints of their older work, like on the acoustics of ‘Rain Rain’, the synthwork comes into the picture and swells the song into something bigger and more majestic. Opener ‘Swimmer’ introduces the listener to the softness and subtlety of the new sound, whereas songs like ‘Morgensol’ and ‘Bombard’ show it at its biggest and more grand.

“We can’t wait for more new music coming from those three very talented guys, ‘Lovable’ puts the bar really high.” - Good Because Danish

Label Review. 

16 track best of. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

The honoury queen of hip-hop soul, the multi platinum singer-songwriter and record producer, Mary J Blige is releasing ‘HERstory Volume 1’ Singles Collection, featuring her classic 1990s singles, the new set tells the story of Blige as she first established herself as a tour de force of ‘90s R&B and is a definitive look at her early days, one not to be missed.

Born in the Bronx and raised between Savannah, Georgia and Yonkers, New York, Blige caught the attention of Andre Harrell, co-founder of Uptown Records in 1988 when she recorded a cover of Anita Baker’s 1986 ballad “Caught Up in the Rapture” at the Galleria Mall in Westchester, New York. After a few years as a backing singer for Uptown artists like Father MC, she launched from the projects to stardom, Influenced at an early age by the music of Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan and Gladys Knight, Blige brought her own gritty, urban-rooted style—fusing hip-hop, soul and honest, frank lyrics—to the forefront on her 1992 debut album What’s the 411? The multi-platinum set, executive produced by Sean “Diddy” Combs, quickly spun off several hits, including two #1 singles “You Remind Me” and “Real Love.”

From her debut, which established her as the Queen Of Hip-Hop soul, Mary J. Blige has remained a global symbol of female empowerment and perseverance. “HERstory Vol. 1” is a collection of 16 hits and rare remixes, it’s a highly curated look into the multifaceted sounds of an unforgettable era in music. Featuring hits like “You Remind Me”, to the remix of “What’s The 411” featuring Notorious B.I.G and KCi. Plus “Everyday It Rains” and Jay-Z‘s “Can’t Knock The Hustle” with Mary on the hook. Check out the full tracklist below.

2LP Tracklist: You Remind Me / Real Love (Hip-Hop Remix) / Reminisce (Bad Boy Remix) / Love No Limit (Puff Daddy Mix) / You Don’t Have to Worry (Remix Main With Rap) / What’s the 411 (Puba Mix) / What’s the 411 (Notorious BIG and K-Ci) / Be Happy / Mary Jane (All Night Long)’ (Remix feat. LL Cool J) / I Love You (Remix feat. Smif n Wesson) / I’m Goin’ Down / You Bring Me Joy’ (LP Version) / I’ll Be There For You/You’re All I Need To Get By (Puff Daddy Mix feat. Method Man) / Everyday It Rains / Love Is All We Need / Can’t Knock The Hustle [Jay-Z] (** Available on physical versions only)

Label Review. 

Official live collection consisting of tracks recorded 1992-95, none of which have ever been released as studio recordings. Curated by David Lemieux, the band's archivist, this is the nearest we'll get to what the Dead's next studio album, following 'Built To Last' in 1989, might have been like had Jerry Garcia not passed in 1995. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

The legendary Haight-Ashbury sextet - that formed in 1965 and who took a long strange trip from acid-testing jugband to worldwide countercultural institution - the Grateful Dead are proud to announce the release of ‘Ready Or Not’. This album is an unprecedented collection, curated by David Lemieux, the band’s archivist, which is a stirring conclusion to the Grateful Dead's three-decade career, music filled with adventure and possibility, big questions, big punchlines, and cosmic wisdom...  featuring nine unreleased live versions of late-period Grateful Dead songs that debuted in 1992 and 1993, a reflection of what could have been the band's next official studio album.

Maybe you were lucky enough and caught a glimpse of what might have been. You swayed to the unfamiliar, floating along with an unknown melody, joining in for a chorus when you felt confident you had it down. Maybe you jotted a fat question mark in your meticulous setlist, certain you'd figure it out before the next show, anticipating a formal introduction in due time.As if their repertoire wasn't tall enough to reach the endless sky, the band began adding new tunes to their sets in 1992, working them into "quintessential Grateful Dead romps," with the intention of a new studio album. By the mid-90s, they set out recording with the wisdom of Willie Dixon's blues, Neil Young's fuzzed-out guitar, newcomer Vince Welnick's tried-and-true sketches, and Bobby reunited with Robert Hunter on a duo that had quickly become fan-favorites. Alas, it was not meant to be. Until now.

The Grateful Dead were known for their unique and eclectic songwriting style which fused elements of rock, folk music, bluegrass, blues, country and jazz and also for live performances of long modal jams. This stunning album consist of tracks debuted in 1992-93, none of which have ever been released as studio recordings. Including tracks such as ‘Days Between’, ‘Easy Answers’ and ‘So Many Roads’, this album includes some of their best live performances, all mastered from the original digital soundboard tapes. The album track list mirrors what would have been the Grateful Dead’s next studio album, following ‘Built To Last’ in 1989, had Jerry Garcia not passed in 1995.

Label Review.

Selections From The 2004 2007 2010 & 2013 Crossroads Guitar Festivals on Vinyl for the first time. Also available on CD.

Our Overview.

‘Crossroads Revisted’ is an exceptional collection of nearly four hours of live performances from Eric Clapton's acclaimed Crossroads Guitar Festival. The English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter - and the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame : once as a solo artist and separately as a member of the Yardbirds and of Cream - founded the festival in 2004 and it has given fans an opportunity to witness truly historic performances by some of the world's greatest guitarists. While fans have been able to relive those magical moments since 2016 thanks to a series of successful CD, DVD and Blu-ray compilations this is it’s first release on Vinyl.

A veritable "Who's Who" of guitar music can be heard on this set, including Clapton, Jeff Beck, Gary Clark Jr., Robert Cray, Billy F Gibbons, Vince Gill, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, John Mayer, Carlos Santana, Joe Walsh, Ronnie Wood, and Jimmie Vaughn, just to name a few. Naturally, the all-star jams deliver some of the collection s most unforgettable moments.

Held every three years since 2004, the Crossroads Guitar Festival raises funds for the Crossroads Centre in Antigua, a treatment and education facility that Clapton founded in 1998 to help people suffering from chemical dependency.

LP 1. Sweet Home Chicago”- Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin & Jimmie Vaughan / Rock Me Baby” - Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, B.B. King & Jimmie Vaughan / Steamroller - James Taylor with Joe Walsh  / What The Cowgirls Do - Vince Gill with Jerry Douglas  / After Midnight - J.J. Cale with Eric Clapton / Green Light Girl - Doyle Bramhall II  / Hell At Home - Sonny Landreth with Eric Clapton / City Love - John Mayer                                                

LP 3. Little By Little – Susan Tedeschi with The Derek Trucks Band / Poor Johnny - The Robert Cray Band / Paying The Cost To Be The Boss - B.B. King with The Robert Cray Band, Jimmie   Vaughan & Hubert Sumlin / Tulsa Time - Sheryl Crow with Eric Clapton, Vince Gill & Albert Lee / On The Road Again - Willie Nelson with Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill & Albert Lee / Isn’t It A Pity - Eric Clapton / Belief - John Mayer  / Mas Y Mas - Los Lobos                                                  

LP 4. Big Block - Jeff Beck / Presence Of The Lord - Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton / Cocaine - Eric Clapton / Waiting For The Bus/Jesus Just Left Chicago – ZZ Top / Don’t Owe You A Thang – Gary Clark Jr.  / Bright Lights – Gary Clark Jr.                                         

LP 5. Our Love Is Fading - Sheryl Crow with Eric Clapton, Doyle Bramhall II & Gary Clark Jr.  / Lay Down Sally - Vince Gill with Sheryl Crow, Keb’ Mo’, Albert Lee, James Burton & Earl Klugh / Space Captain - Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Band with Warren Haynes, David Hidalgo, Cesar Rosas & Chris Stainton / Hammerhead – Jeff Beck / Five Long Years - Buddy Guy with Jonny Lang & Ronnie Wood / Hear My Train A Comin - Doyle Bramhall II / Dear Mr. Fantasy - Steve Winwood & Eric Clapton                        

LP 6. Born Under A Bad Sign - Booker T. with Steve Cropper, Keb’ Mo’, Blake Mills, Matt “Guitar” Murphy & Albert Lee / Everyday I Have The Blues - The Robert Cray Band with B.B. King, Eric Clapton & Jimmie Vaughan / Please Come Home - Gary Clark Jr. / Tumbling Dice - Vince Gill with Keith Urban & Albert Lee / Shot The Sheriff - Eric Clapton / Crossroads - Eric Clapton 

Label Review. 

2019 covers album also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

Sydney-born/Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Ben Lee releases ‘Quarter Century Classix’ an album of the indie bands that have influenced him for the past 25 years. “Sonic Youth were my Grateful Dead,” declares Ben Lee. “J Mascis was my Jimmy Page. ‘Web in Front’ by Archers of Loaf was ‘Be My Baby.’”

When he recorded an album of songs by these and other indie rock favorites approached it both as a fan who long ago memorised every lyric and as an artist who was an active participant in that scene, who saw these bands up close, who even opened for a few of them. As a result, ‘Quarter Century Classix’ carries a lot more weight than your typical covers album. It’s an overview of a particularly vibrant era in indie rock, but it’s also an endeavour of personal archaeology. Lee burrows deep into these classix not only to see what makes them tick, but also to see how they make him tick.

The project started out of boredom and necessity. In January 2019, while touring with his duo Radnor & Lee (featuring the actor Josh Radnor of How I Met Your Mother fame), he found himself snowed in, trapped by the polar vortex in a lonely Chicago hotel room. Nothing to do, nowhere to go. To pass the time, Lee thought about his first trip to the city twenty-five years earlier: What was indie rock like at that time? 

While Ben and his collaborators were experiencing the joy of working very much in the present tense, at heart ‘Quarter Century Classix’ is closer to a musical memoir: a mixtape as statement of self, a means of connecting with his younger self. “Within the course of these 13 songs, I discovered that the entire template for what I would explore musically was laid out at that time in my life.” Of course, these songs mean very different things to the forty-something husband and father than they did to the teenage kid. All those years have given him a new perspective on these bands and their music. “Speeding Motorcycle” took on immense new significance after Lee played a handful of shows with Daniel Johnston in 2017; getting some first-hand experience of the troubled mind of an outsider-art hero behind one of your favourite songs will do that.

Recording and releasing ‘Quarter Century Classix’ doesn’t mean he’s done with these songs, or that he’s finally figured them out—or that he’s figured himself out. Rather, Lee understands that these songs will be playing in his brain for years to come, that he’ll be trying to puzzle them out for the next quarter century and beyond. “These songs truly touched me in the most profound way, but their narratives continue to unfold over the years for me.”

Label Review. 

2019 album. Nuclear Blast. Also available on CD.

Our Overview. 

Hearts will be enlightened by the fourth studio album ‘The Fire I Long For’ from Sweden’s globally praised Avatarium. The band have no musical boundaries and that plays a vital part in ensuring they have a signature sound. This open-minded, yet doom-laden collective draws elements of folk, jazz and psychedelic brilliance into a grandiose amalgamation that manages to maintain an almost pop-like elegance. After previous album ‘Hurricanes And Halos’ (2017) the band toured the world with their now significant and utterly unique repertoire. Another successful EU headline tour took place in autumn 2017. Next, they focused on crafting the next installment in their catalogue which is titled ‘The Fire I Long For’.

Avatarium was founded in 2012 by Leif Edling, a prominent member of CANDLEMASS. The project soon saw the arrival of Marcus Jidell (producer CANDLEMASS) and Jennie-Ann Smith who brought an air of charisma with her soulful grace. Their eclectic approach resulted in the widely celebrated EP ‘Moonhorse’ (2013), but the real impact came when the band released their eponymous debut album in the very same year. Their first live appearance outside Sweden happened at the legendary Roadburn festival in 2014 – resulting in another EP called ‘All I Want’. Since then they have expanded their touring to all over the world thanks to subsequent full lengths ‘The Girl With The Raven Mask’ (2015) and ‘Hurricanes And Halos’ (2017).

In the meantime, Avatarium has become an entity on its own. While Leif Edling still contributed three songs for the new album, the band’s current nucleus consists of Marcus Jidell and Jennie-Ann Smith, who are accompanied on this record by organist Rickard Nilsson and new drummer Andreas ‘Habo’ Johansson (THE DOOMSDAY KINGDOM). They crafted the new ideas into songs with Jidell as producer at Deep Well Studios in Stockholm. Says Jidell: “This is really a band effort. We have all been very involved in the arrangements of the songs on ‘The Fire I Long For’”. We move with ultimate dynamics between heaviness and fragility. It is emotional and it will always have those dark elements in it, it is all about light and shadow”.

Adds Jennie-Ann: “Leif’s artistry, willfulness and supreme songwriting is a great inspiration.”

"We have a heritage to take care of but also a responsibility to propone growth and development for our music.” Jidell concludes: ‘We were able to define the Avatarium sound better than ever. Leif and I keep on working together a lot - just think of THE DOOMSDAY KINGDOM or CANDLEMASS - but it does not restrict us from adding new elements to the Avatarium sound."

This record showcases the essence of a band who has found its signature sound, no matter what happens.‘The Fire I Long For’ includes nine genuine songs of exceptional purity. This fire they are yearning for is reflected in every single song on this album. Starting with the chunky sound of bombastic opener ‘Voices’, Avatarium also offers intimate beauty, represented by first single ‘Rubicon’ and the relaxed, sensitive ‘Lay Me Down’ with its smooth Americana feel. The wealth of variation on the Swede’s fourth statement is enriched with the doom-rooted heaviness of ‘Porcelain Skull’ and ‘Epitaph Of Heroes’, which the band describes as a rather idiosyncratic Avatarium song. The record is topped off with the bare intensity of the jazz-inspired piano ballad ‘Stars They Move’, bringing ‘The Fire I Long For’ to close.

Label Review. 

2019 album. Grand Slam was Phil Lynott’s post Thin Lizzy band. Original member Laurence Archer has formed a new line-up. This contains 6 numbers co-written with Lynott plus some new tunes. Also available on vinyl. 

Our Overview. 

Back in the post Thin Lizzy days, Laurence Archer wrote and performed with Phil Lynott as Grand Slam. Sadly, Grand Slam was cut short in its prime, with Phil Lynott’s untimely death leaving a hole in the fabric of rock music to this day. Laurence went on to make his name playing with UFO but always nurtured a long-term plan to rebuild the Grand Slam machine. And here it is - primed and ready.

The new band (Laurence alongside Mike Dyer, Benjy Reid and Dave Boyce) honours the traditions of the band’s history whilst also looking to the future - classic tracks co-written by Lynott and Archer sit alongside a set of brand new songs that embody the same ethos of freedom, positivity and adrenalin that ran through Grand Slam in 1984. As such fans will get to hear Lynott co-writes alongside brand new material from a very special band steeped in rock history.

Label Review. 

2019 album. Leonard’s son, Adam Cohen, produced and masterminded the project, enlisting a huge cast of musicians including Damien Rice and Leslie Feist (vocals), Arcade Fire bassist Richard Reed Parry, the National’s Bryce Dessner on guitar, Dustin O’Halloran on piano, and Leonard’s bandmate Javier Mas playing the man’s own guitar. Plus Beck (on guitar and Jew’s harp), Daniel Lanois, Jennifer Warnes, the s t a r g a z e orchestra, and others. Also available on vinyl. 

Our Overview. 

Seven months after his father passed, Adam Cohen retreated to a converted garage in his backyard down the street from Leonard’s house, to work with his father again, to stay in the company of his voice. From their previous collaboration on ‘You Want It Darker’ there remained bare musical sketches, at times little more than vocals. Leonard had asked his son to bring these works to completion.

This remarkable new album was made in many places. Javier Mas, the great Spanish laud player who accompanied Leonard on stage for the last eight years of touring, flew from Barcelona to Los Angeles to capture the artist’s spirit on Leonard’s own guitar. In Berlin, at a musical event called People Festival, Adam invited friends and comrades to lend their ears and talents. Damien Rice and Leslie Feist sang. Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire played bass. Bryce Dessner of The National played guitar, the composer Dustin O’Halloran played piano. The Berlin-based choir Cantus Domus sang, and the s t a r g a z e orchestra played. In Montrealthe famed producer Daniel Lanois dropped in, beautifully enriching sparse arrangements. The Shaar Hashomayim choir, who played such important part of the sound of the last album, contributed to a song, and Patrick Watson brought his inimitable talent as co-producer to a song. Back in Los Angeles Jennifer Warnes, one of the keepers of Leonard’s flame, sang background vocals, and Beck contributed on guitar and Jew’s harp. Michael Chaves, who elegantly recorded and mixed ‘You Want It Darker’, did the engineering and mixing.

And so was born ‘Thanks For The Dance’, a brand new Leonard Cohen album that uncannily recalls the essence of his sound.“In composing and arranging the music for his words, we chose his most characteristic musical signatures, in this way keeping him with us,” said Adam Cohen. “What moves me most about the album is the startled response of those who have heard it. ‘Leonard lives’! they say, one after the other.”‘Thanks for the Dance’ is an unexpected blessing, a gift of beauty and strength. Leonard Cohen’s voice has not been stilled. The dance goes on.

Label Review. 

1999 album. Vinyl box with The Secret Psychedelic Mixes, B-Sides & Remixes, DVD with promo videos and Live At Glastonbury 2000. Also available 2CD and 3CD+DVD. 

Our Overview. 

‘Surrender’ is the first Chemical Brothers album to receive the deluxe album treatment, the twentieth anniversary deluxe edition of their 1999 classic album, enhances the original eleven track album with two additional discs of rare and unreleased music and a DVD of remastered promos and footage filmed for the BBC live at Glastonbury Festival 2000 that hasn’t been seen since original broadcast. It also comes with a set of exclusive Kate Gibb prints of original sleeve artwork and an exclusive colour book featuring testimonials from key collaborators and guest musicians as well as new liner notes from Jon Savage, the band’s longtime visual collaborator Adam Smith and Alexis Petridis, who describes Surrender as‘a snapshot of a moment in time that could’ve been released yesterday’.

By the time ‘Surrender’ arrived in shops in the summer of 1999, The Chemical Brothers had already created their own mythology. The single that preceded it - “Hey Boy Hey Girl” - was built around a fiercely addictive mantra that was both a ballsy calling card for the record’s creators and readymade chant for the legions of hedonists consumed by a club scene that had finally gone global.

‘Surrender’, though, offered the listener so much more than soundbites. It was truly the moment that everything around The Chemical Brothers went full colour, whether through Kate Gibb’s hallucinatory artwork or the wild and propulsive psychedelia of tracks like album centrepiece “The Sunshine Underground.” Elsewhere, singular talents Bernard Sumner, Hope Sandoval, Jonathan Donahue and Noel Gallagher were filtered into the band’s sound, less like guest vocalists and more like moving parts of a bigger machine designed to make the listener… well… surrender.

‘Surrender’ went on to win Album of the Year at the 1999 Q Awards, and The Chemical Brothers won Best Dance Act at the 2000 Brit Awards. One year on from release, they headlined the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival, playing to the biggest crowd the festival had ever seen (this was prior to the fence going up when the festival had a massively exploded capacity).

The deluxe versions will be available as 3CDs or 4LP box sets – each with a DVD, book and 4 art prints. It’s released on UMC Virgin on November 22nd 2019. Two previously unreleased mixes of “Hey Boy Hey Girl” from the set- a new mix by KiNK and a recently unearthed alternate Chemical Brothers ‘Secret Psychedelic’ mix - are released today online (on streaming platforms everywhere and available as instant downloads with preorders).

Label Review. 

From 1962 to 1970, The Beatles released 22 UK singles; of those 44 A and B-side tracks, 29 were not included on the group’s British albums at that time. These singles, plus an exclusive new double A-side single for the mid-1990s-issued tracks Free As A Bird and Real Love, are newly cut for vinyl from their original mono and stereo master tapes by Sean Magee at Abbey Road Studios for a new limited edition boxed set. The Beatles: The Singles Collection presents 46 tracks on 23 180-gram seven-inch vinyl singles in faithfully reproduced international picture sleeves, accompanied by a 40-page booklet with photos, ephemera, and detailed essays by Beatles historian Kevin Howlett.

Our Overview. 

There have been seven inch singles collections of The Beatles before but this one beats all! Containing just the officially sanctioned singles the Beatles released during their lifespan plus the two mid-1990s ‘reunion’ tracks as a bonus double A side, all in glorious colour picture sleeves from around the world, this definitely the one to have.

Every single the Fab Four released had something new to offer and in some cases broke new ground. Wailing harmonicas on the first three: “Love Me Do”, Please Please Me” and “From Me To You” to the “Yeah Yeah Yeahs” of “She Loves You” - all uttered a new vibrancy to pop couched in the vocal prowess of John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison. By the time of “I Want To Hold Your Hand”, four track recording had entered Abbey Road and the band began to spend more time workshopping their songs, honing them for new angles. Less obvious chord changes and massed vocals classified their breakthrough US hit. Was it “I can’t hide” or “I get high” they were singing? Hard to tell with Lennon’s lo-fi rhythm guitar chopping underneath the recording.

1964 saw more advancements - acoustic guitars began to come into mix and they began to make their song intros distinctive too with the massive unclassifiable chord at the start of “A Hard Day’s Night” and the squeal of feedback that brings in “I Feel Fine” which then tumbles into a latin beat from Ringo after Lennon’s cracking riff. The following year saw them break the three minute mark for the first time with the dense and clanging “Ticket To Ride” whilst “Help!” - Lennon’s fourth consecutive A-side saw perhaps his most personal lyric yet married to a happy go lucky backing. Their first double A side was a cracker: “Day Tripper” had a riff to die for as well as it’s early drug allusion. “We Can Work It Out” saw Lennon and McCartney merge two completely different songs together for the greater good with its pumping harmonium and juxtaposing lyrics.

The end of their Beatlemania period saw the group rip roaring through “Paperback Writer” with its saturated guitar tone and electronic echo effects. It’s B-side “Rain” saw them meddling with backward tapes for the first time. They also played it fast and then slowed the tape down for the mixdown giving the song a draggy, murky feel. Another double A side pulled from their ‘Revolver’ album saw “Yellow Submarine” with all its sound effects and perfect vocal from Ringo coupled with Macca’s dark “Eleanor Rigby” punctuated with its staccato string backing arranged by their producer George Martin.

Retiring from touring their first studio bound single was another double A side. Acclaimed by many to be the greatest two sided single released ever: “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane” saw Lennon and McCartney at their best, recorded at the beginning of the sessions which then produced the little known (!) ‘Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ album. Their next single, Lennon’s “All You Need Is Love” was written for and performed during the worlds first satellite TV broadcast in June 1967. “Hello Goodbye” saw out 1967 in a simple, catchy style from McCartney’s pen. Paul was in command for four in row as he also wrote “Lady Madonna”, “Hey Jude” and “Get Back” during the period when The Beatles began to unravel. By 1969 they were still scoring big hits from “The Ballad Of John & Yoko” to George’s first A-side “Something” before they wrapped things up with the appropriate “Let It Be”.

That would be it until 1995 when McCartney, Harrison and Starr reunited to work on a couple of Lennon demos and turn them into proper songs under the name The Beatles. Produced by ELO’s Jeff Lynne, the two songs were a fine epilogue to the biggest band the world had ever seen.

Label Review. 

Both albums ‘Slaughter On 10th Avenue’ and Play Don’t Worry’ plus 1976 Sessions, singles, unreleased stuff and more. 60 tracks in total. 

Our Overview. 

When David Bowie announced at the Hammersmith Odeon on 3rd July 1973 that he (or, as it subsequently turned out, alter-ego Ziggy Stardust) was breaking up the band, manager Tony Defries glimpsed a golden opportunity rather than the end of an era. With the MainMan agency’s main man coming off the road for at least a while, there was, Defries reasoned, space in the rock star firmament for a new Bowie, particularly one who would also be under MainMan’s management…

Thus it was that Bowie’s faithful right-hand man, Mick Ronson, was thrust into the spotlight. Possibly the most reluctant solo performer ever, ‘Ronno’ was given three weeks to write and record a debut solo album. With Bowie’s help (he contributed three songs to the set), ‘Slaughter On 10th Avenue’ was quickly pieced together after the conclusion of Bowie’s ‘Pin Ups’ sessions. Despite its rushed nature it was a strong effort, and the LP reached the UK album charts Top Ten.

Buoyed by this success, Ronson then recorded a second album, ‘Play Don’t Worry’ - although before it could appear, he’d accepted Ian Hunter’s invitation to join Mott The Hoople. As a result, Mick’s sophomore solo set was largely overlooked, and his lukewarm attempts to promote it were further scuppered by his and Ian Hunter’s decision to leave Mott and relocate to America.

Sadly ‘Slaughter On 10th Avenue’ and ‘Play Don’t Worry’ would be the only solo albums released during Mick’s lifetime: after his departure from MainMan in mid-1976, he largely preferred to work in a group context rather than as a solo performer.

Nevertheless, he did continue to record sporadically as a solo act. A 4-CD set, ‘Only After Dark’ chronicles his solo work during the rest of the seventies after his split with Bowie, with those two official albums joined by B-sides, alternative versions, outtakes and a plethora of unissued-at-the-time studio recordings (including a handful with Guam, the backing band for Bob Dylan’s legendary 1975 Rolling Thunder tour) and various highlights from his live shows. Featuring some rare photos and a lengthy new essay on his Seventies career, ‘Only After Dark’ is the most comprehensive anthology to date of a major talent.

Label Review.

1992 album also available on Vinyl.

Our Overview.

Re-release of ‘Main Offender’, the second studio album by the invincible and legendary, guitarist Keith Richards, first released in 1992, in between his day job commitments with the Rolling Stones. On this record Richards teamed with Talk Is Cheap collaborator Steve Jordan and added Waddy Wachtel to the mix both in composing and producing Main Offender. Sessions with Richards’ group of musician friends known as “The X-Pensive Winos” took place in California and New York City from March to September 1992, with touring in Europe’s autumn and early 1993 in North America.

When Richards reunited with Mick Jagger in mid-1993 to start work on ‘Voodoo Lounge’, Jagger complimented him on ‘Main Offender’, and used the single "Wicked as It Seems" as inspiration for The Rolling Stones' next single, "Love Is Strong".

‘Main Offender’ was released in October 1992 to generally positive reviews. However, it failed to match the commercial success of ‘Talk Is Cheap’, reaching No. 45 in the UK, and No. 99 in the US. After the Main Offender tour, Richards returned to recording exclusively with the Rolling Stones and put his solo career on hold for the next 23 years, when he would record Crosseyed Heart.

Features the X-Pensive Winos including Steve Jordan, Waddy Wachtel & Ivan Neville

Label Review. 

1979 album 

Our Overview. 

By early 1979, Fleetwood Mac were high on the hog - ‘Rumours’ their current album had been out for two years and already racked up worldwide sales of 10 million and their label Warner Brothers were ready for a new album from their hot ticket. Mick Fleetwood had already said their new album would be a double and the bands three songwriters: Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, and Christine McVie had plenty of material to create such a beast.

Buckingham in particular wanted to remain relevant to New Wave audiences and was adamant that the new album would be a departure from the sound cultivated with ‘Rumours’ and its predecessor ‘Fleetwood Mac’ (1975). He had the lion share of the songs and became obsessive in the studio - one of the albums producers Ken Caillat labelled Buckingham a “maniac” regarding his unorthodox methods to achieve new sounds.

Nicks and McVie’s contributions counter-balanced Buckingham’s off-kilter productions retaining the Mac’s usual lushness. The whole band were also afflicted by a “cocaine blizzard” which gave the whole album its anything goes atmosphere. The title track featured the most number of musicians performing on a single by inviting the USC Trojan Marching Band to play. The band had to book the LA Dodgers Stadium to record them!

Despite the effort that went into the record, ‘Tusk’ was ultimately a failure compared to the wild sales of ‘Rumours’ but today stands as perhaps Fleetwood Mac’s “coolest” album due to the sheer audacity of the production. The Mac reined it in with their next album, 1982’s ‘Mirage’ which saw them return to their trademark soft rock sound.

Label Review.

Joe Browns' '60th Anniversary Collection' contains six albums of music drawn from across his entire career from the very beginning, through the folk/rock combo Brown’s Home Brew, right up to the present day. Many of the numbers will be little known while hitherto unreleased material also features. 12 box set including: Personalised, hand-written journal entry from Joe / 48 page hardback book of photos / 6 CDs + 1 DVD / Joe Brown 60th Anniversary plectrum / Joe Brown 60th Anniversary cloth patch / 1962 Joe Brown Cambridge Hall, Southport show poster card with The Beatles, Gerry & The Pacemakers as support acts / 1964 Joe Brown South Pier Blackpool show poster card with Johnny Kidd & The Pirates + Tornados as support acts / Contains new single All I Want For Christmas Is Peace, outtakes, 9 previously unreleased home demos & 4 Nashville demos plus 15 previously long term unavailable Brown's Home Brew tracks.

Our Overview.

Joe Brown was one of the original rock ’n’ roll stars to come out of the UK and one of the first UK session men. He topped the charts with his own records - even had The Beatles open shows for him - and his early career highlights include playing guitar with Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Johnny Cash and other US stars when they came over to Europe.

‘60th Anniversary Collection’ is Joe Brown’s first ever box set, which celebrates his prolific 60-year career playing music. It contains six albums of music drawn from across his entire career from the very beginning, through the folk/rock combo Brown’s Home Brew, right up to the present day. Many of the numbers will be little known while hitherto unreleased material also features. The package also contains a live DVD, three card inserts of early posters, a multi-coloured patch and a Joe Brown plectrum.

The very special collection pays tribute to a musician’s life well lived. It demonstrates both Joe’s versatility (he plays many instruments) and the range of his music. He is equally at home with Leadbelly standards, Golden Gate Quartet gospel songs,1930s’ classics and instrumentals, real hoe down country music and country blues. Not to mention klezmer, pop and absolutely authentic rock ‘n’ roll… Joe Brown’s skill set is diverse and his appeal all-embracing. He truly deserved his recent Mojo Lifetime Achievement award (as well as his MBE) and this box set shows exactly why Joe Brown has survived and prospered across the decades.

Label Review. 

1979 album. Original album and associated recordings newly remixed by Steven Wilson. / Full concert from the Netherlands recorded in March 1980 / Original album and 13 associated recordings mixed to 5.1 DTS and AC3 Dolby Digital / Flat transfer of the original 1979 mix at 96/24 LPCM stereo / 15 associated recordings mixed to 96/24 LPCM stereo and five original mixes at 96/24 LPCM stereo / Presented in a case-bound DVD book filled with an extensive history of the album, track-by-track annotations by Anderson and Palmer, rare photographs and more.

Our Overview. 

Jethro Tull released ‘Stormwatch’ in September 1979, completing a folk-rock trilogy the band started with ‘Songs from the Wood’ in 1977 and continued the following year with ‘Heavy Horses’. ‘Stormwatch’ was also the final album to feature the classic late-1970s Jethro Tull lineup, which included Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, John Glascock, John Evan, David (now Dee) Palmer and Barriemore Barlow. Among other subject-matters, the album touches heavily on the problems relating to the environment, oil and money.

‘Stormwatch’ marked the end of an era for Jethro Tull. Due to his deteriorating health, bassist John Glascock missed most of the sessions for the album and only appears on three of its songs (“Flying Dutchman,” “Orion” and “Elegy.”) Tragically, Glascock died shortly after the album was released. The lineup changed even more following the tour to promote the album as Barlow, Evan and Palmer left the group.

Label Review. 

2019 album with 3 bonus tracks. Also available on CD, and Vinyl. 

Our Overview. 

The Who has one of the greatest rock legacies in music history, they’re one of the all-time great live bands, have sold over 100 million records world including 9 US & 10 UK top ten albums and 14 UK top ten singles in a career spanning six decades. Now 55 years after they made their first recordings, The Who is back with their first new album in thirteen years entitled ‘WHO’. The eleven-track album was mostly recorded in London and Los Angeles during Spring and Summer 2019 and was co-produced by Pete Townshend & D. Sardy (who has worked with Noel Gallagher, Oasis, LCD Soundsystem, Gorillaz) with vocal production by Dave Eringa (Manic Street Preachers, Roger Daltrey, Wilko Johnson).

Singer Roger Daltrey and guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend are joined on the album by long-time Who drummer Zak Starkey, bassist Pino Palladino along with contributions from Simon Townshend, Benmont Tench, Carla Azar, Joey Waronker and Gordon Giltrap. The album cover has been created by famed pop artist, Sir Peter Blake who first met the band in 1964 at a taping of the legendary TV show Ready Steady Go. Sir Peter designed and contributed a painting to the sleeve of The Who’s album ‘Face Dances’ in 1981.

The songs on ‘WHO’ cover a myriad of subjects including the Grenfell Tower fire, musical theft, spirituality, reincarnation, the power of memory and “an old rock star that has lost his marbles”. Daltrey rates it amongst their strongest “I think we’ve made our best album since ‘Quadrophenia’ in 1973, Pete hasn’t lost it, he’s still a fabulous songwriter, and he’s still got that cutting edge”.

Pete Townshend: “This album is almost all new songs written last year, with just two exceptions. There is no theme, no concept, no story, just a set of songs that I (and my brother Simon) wrote to give Roger Daltrey some inspiration, challenges and scope for his newly revived singing voice. Roger and I are both old men now, by any measure, so I’ve tried to stay away from romance, but also from nostalgia if I can. I didn’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable. Memories are OK, and some of the songs refer to the explosive state of things today. I made new home studio demos of all these songs in the summer of 2018 using a wide collection of instruments old and new.“

Label Review. 

An 18-disc set (5xCDs, 6xBlu-Rays, 5xDVDs, 2x7 plus exclusive photo book and memorabilia) covering the material created by David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Richard Wright from 1987 onwards. 5CDs, contained in their own 60 page, hardback book, containing a guide to all content, tracklistings, exhaustive content detail and credits. CD1: 'A Momentary Lapse of Reason' Remixed & Updated. CD2&3 'Delicate Sound Of Thunder Remixed. CD4: Live Recordings 1987 & 1994 Unreleased Studio Recordings. CD5: Knebworth Concert 1990. 6 x Blu-rays, each contained in a gatefold wallet with dedicated cover art, including tracklistings and music publishing credits. Discs contained in protective plastic sleeves inside wallet. BR1: Surround & Hi-res Audio Mixes. BR2: 'Delicate Sound Of Thunder' Restored & Remixed. BR3: 'Pulse' Restored & Re-edited. BR4: Venice Concert 1989 & Knebworth Concert 1990. BR5: Unreleased Live Films Music Videos & Concert Screen Films. BR6: Documentaries & Unreleased Material. 5 x DVDs (duplicating the content of Blu-rays 2-6 above), each contained in a gatefold wallet with dedicated cover art, including tracklistings and music publishing credits.

Our Overview. 

Following on from 2016’s ‘The Early Years 1965-1972’ mega box set, comes a second collection of unreleased and cleaned up material from Pink Floyd, one the world’s biggest bands. This box covers the underrated final act of the bands long and storied career when guitarist David Gilmour assumed the helm following the departure of founder member Roger Waters. This period also saw the return of keyboardist Richard Wright who had left the band in 1981 while drummer Nick Mason remained the only member to have been in the group from the very beginning.

The bands first album post-Waters was ‘A Momentary Lapse Of Reason’ (1987) which receives a makeover in this set. The original album saw Mason leaving some of the drums to seasoned session players Jim Keltner and Carmine Appice whilst Wright who was still out of the group at the start of the project was drafted in late in the day to contribute and subsequently their presence wasn’t really felt on the album. This has been rectified with the albums new sonic look - Mason has recorded new drum tracks whilst Wright’s overdubs have been pulled into the mix to create an album which has more input from the primary members of the group.

The tour which accompanied this comeback album commenced in September 1987 and ran around the world until the following Summer. The live album ‘Delicate Sound Of Thunder’ (1988) covered this tour and it has not only been remixed for this set but 6 bonus tracks have been added. Three tracks recorded in Atlanta in 1987 which appeared as b-sides are also included on Disc 4. The film to accompany the album is finally issued on DVD/Blu-ray for the first time and it has been restored and remixed for this release. Additional films of their Venice 1989 and Knebworth 1990 shows are also included. The audio for the full Knebworth show also appears for the first time.

The band reformed in 1993 to prepare a new album ‘The Division Bell’ (1994) and several outtakes from the sessions are in the box. The live film Pulse (1995) has been re-edited for this release with a restored picture. The other main event is the bands final album ‘The Endless River’ (2014) which is accompanied by a film by the bands original animator Ian Emes. There is much more besides in this overflowing box of delights!