Rather than focus on one specific subset of style, this latest compilation from Teensville shines a spotlight on 29 “straight ahead” pop tracks that made the grade, but not the hit parade. There’s a splattering of lots of different styles within the pop realm (think bubblegum pop, sunshine pop, Mersey-Beat, baroque/psych all from 1966-1972. 29 Tracks all in glorious mono. Features a fully annotated 24 page colour booklet with lots of rare photos and artists pics.

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of their self-titled iconic debut – the UK’s best-selling album of 2004 – Scissor Sisters release a brand-new Limited Edition 2LP and 3CD. Taking the world by storm with their eccentric style, high energy, and feel-good lyrics, it’s no surprise that this album, originally released on February 2nd, 2004, catapulted the band to international success. Since then, the album has sold nearly 4 million copies globally, has 300 million streams to date and won ‘Best International Album’ at the 2005 BRIT Awards. This 20th Anniversary expanded 3CD features hit singles ‘Laura’, ‘Comfortably Numb’, ‘Take Your Mama’, ‘Mary’ and ‘Filthy / Gorgeous’ alongside a plethora of b-sides and rarities. The 3CD also includes a bonus remixes disc.

This 4 CD collection features Wes Montgomery's complete recorded output between 1960 and 1965 - the finest music Wes Montgomery was ever to make. Jazz guitarist John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery, born March 6, 1923, is widely considered one of the major guitarists from the jazz genre, emerging in the late 1950s. Coming after such seminal figures as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian before him, he went on to influence countless others, from Kenny Burrell to Jimi Hendrix. This 4 CD collection features Wes Montgomery's complete recorded output between 1960 and 1965 - the finest music Wes Montgomery was ever to make during his short life.

The much-anticipated follow-up to LA-based singer-songwriter Natalie Bergman’s critically acclaimed 2021 solo debut album ‘Mercy’. Since then, Bergman (previously of successful brother-sister duo Wild Belle) has released the high-streaming EP ‘Keep Those Teardrops From Falling’, along with a collaboration with Beck. Her new album 'My Home is Not in This World' channels psychedelic soul and alt-'60s pop, and is brimming with unforgettable melodies that only an artist as uniquely talented as Bergman could conjure.

Cruelty Bacchanal, the second release from guitarist Matt Hollenberg’s group Shardik, is a ferocious statement of intent. Years in the making and issued on John Zorn’s Tzadik label, the album presents a volatile and politically charged fusion of modern classical structure, metal intensity, and free jazz unpredictability. Hollenberg’s compositions are marked by intricate rhythmic architecture and an uncompromising sonic vision, alternating between explosive virtuosity and dark, layered atmospheres. A bold and relentless listening experience, this is a powerful testament to the expressive potential of contemporary guitar music.

In Return is the second studio album by British singer Shola Ama. It was released by Freakstreet and WEA on 8 November 1999. The album saw Ama working with various producers such as Fred Jerkins III, Stargate, Soulshock and Karlin, D'Influence and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. Ama would also co-write some of the songs on the album, along with Angie Stone, Babyface, and David Foster. Two singles were released from the album, "Still Believe" and "Imagine". Both of them would reach the top thirty of the UK Singles Chart.

Strut proudly presents a new edition of one of Sun Ra's most celebrated albums, Sleeping Beauty, reissued in its original artwork for the first time. Originally released in 1979 on his independent Saturn label, Sleeping Beauty captures Sun Ra and his Arkestra at their most soulful and serene. A masterclass in cosmic jazz, the album blends lush grooves, celestial soul, and meditative funk with Ra’s singular spiritual vision — a sound both grounded and otherworldly. The album emerged during an extraordinarily fertile period for Sun Ra in late-‘70s New York. Between 1978 and 1982, Ra “occupied” Variety Recording Studios on West 42nd Street, often staging marathon sessions following late-night Arkestra gigs around the city — from the Village Vanguard to Sweet Basil and even a wedding in Central Park. These were not just recordings; they were rituals. Ra and his core players — John Gilmore, Marshall Allen, June Tyson, Michael Ray, and others — would begin sessions mid-morning, often continuing past midnight, much to the dismay of the studio owner. Out of this creative whirlwind came some of his most enduring work, including A Fireside Chat With Lucifer, On Jupiter, and Sleeping Beauty.

The British group the Parlour Band sounded slightly like a much more mainstream, less art-rock-inclined Yes on their sole LP, 1972's little-known Is a Friend. Several members later played in A Band Called O, also sometimes referred to as O Band. Parlour Band's only LP is progressive rock-tinged mainstream early-'70s British album-oriented rock, competent but no more than that. Both keyboard and guitar parts take a strong role, and there's a bit of the multiple tempo changes and classical-tinged organ burble of bands like Yes in songs like "Forgotten Dreams." Some other songs steer well clear of art rock, though, "Pretty Haired Girl" coming across like prototypical early-'70s mellow California harmony rock.

Although released in 1971, the debut self-titled album by Spirit of John Morgan was actually recorded two years earlier, before the spirit of the '60s dissipated into the excesses of the '70s. But even back in 1969, the British quartet were already fish out of water, gasping for R&B in a Technicolor age of psychedelia. So they created their own, an entire album's worth of strong, shadowed, R&B numbers underlit by magnificent musicianship and powerful rhythms. The set opener, a menacing cover of Graham Bond's "I Want You," is a case in point, stalker-like in its intensity, with John Morgan's organ conjuring up a phantom of the opera from which there is no escape.

This album is Don Airey's debut solo album, released in 1989 and paying tribute to the dramatic 1986 K2 expedition that took the lives of 13 extraordinarily experienced climbers. Featuring beautifully orchestrated keyboard, guitar and drum parts all of which are played by friends from bands from Airey's past: Gary Moore, Cozy Powell and Colin Blunstone on vocals complete this Prog-Rock anthem of an album. 'K2 - Tales of Triumph and Tragedy' is a story told by music; intriguing and breathtaking.

This is the album where Jeff Lynne finally found the sound he'd wanted since co-founding Electric Light Orchestra three years earlier. Up to this point, most of the group's music had been self-contained – Lynne, Richard Tandy, et al., providing whatever was needed, vocally or instrumentally, even if it meant overdubbing their work layer upon layer. Lynne saw the limitations of this process, however, and opted for the presence of an orchestra – it was only 30 pieces, but the result was a much richer musical palette than the group had ever had to work with, and their most ambitious and successful record up to that time. Indeed, Eldorado was strongly reminiscent in some ways of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

A concept album loosely based on man's fascination and allure for war throughout the ages, Daughter of Time contains all the elements required to create a pure progressive rock album. Joining David Greenslade and Chris Farlowe is Louis Cennamo from Renaissance, who plucks away at the bass guitar with a heavy hand. A multitude of instruments combine to create a brilliant melange of music on every one of the eight songs. Vibrant spurts of trombone, trumpet, and flute are driven to the height of each song, which gives way to some implements of jazz fusion.

The concept of the album is all about trusting feeling over thought. It’s a stepping into and an acceptance of the stories, experiences and memories that shape who I am. When I listen to what my body’s telling me, it feels like an unwavering light at the end of the tunnel, an orienting point - something fixed like a ‘true north’ while everything else around it spins. When I follow thought, I'm in with everything that’s spinning.

GREATEST EVER DECADE: 60s is packed with much-loved tracks from timeless artists such as Aretha Franklin, Gerry & The Pacemakers, Dionne Warwick, Herman’s Hermits, Sonny & Cher, The Monkees, Otis Redding, The Animals, Petula Clark, The Foundations and The Hollies amongst many others. Weighing in at four CDs and 80 tracks, this collection is a superb encapsulation of a wonderful decade of music.

You might call Jimmy D. Lane a natural born bluesman. His father was the legendary Jimmy Rogers, who Jimmy D. shared the stage with for many years before recording on his own. Lane can play it '50s-style, as he did with his father and on Eomot RaSun's album, but he can also turn it up and rock out with any of the finest guitar slingers. For It's Time, Lane tackles a program of original tunes (except for one), with the aid of Double Trouble, Stevie Ray Vaughan's rhythm section. These guys bring decades of experience to their blues rhythms, and know exactly how to support a player like Lane. Keyboard duties are split between Celia Ann Price on B3 and piano, and Mike Finnigan on the B3. In addition, the album was produced and engineered by the one and only Eddie Kramer, who adds crisp, clear production values and some very subtle studio tricks (check out the panning in the slide solo on "Stuck in the Middle"). As a writer, Lane sticks close to standard subject matter "What Makes People" is certainly a close cousin of Willie Dixon's "The Same Thing," but the variety of tempos and grooves and great playing all around keep the album exciting.