One minute The Action were the ultimate mod cult band, belting out exuberant Anglicised approximations of Tamla/soul material in clubs across the country, the next they’d shed singer Reggie King and mutated into questing countercultural adventurers Mighty Baby…

Emerging out of the post-hippy fall-out of the late 1960s, Dave Brock and Hawkwind forged a new, psychedelic rock sound which, as the 1970s progressed, became the focal point of a festival scene that drew together countless alternative and counter-cultural artists, all of whom sought to take their listeners into previously unchartered realms of inner space.

UK five CD set comprising the band's first five albums, originally issued on EMI's Parlophone and Harvest labels between 1969 and 1972 (The Climax Chicago Blues Band, Plays On, A Lot of Bottle, Tightly Knit and Rich Man). Formed in Stafford in 1968 by Colin Cooper, the band (originally known as the Climax Chicago Blues Band) recorded their debut album in September and November 1968 with a line-up of Colin Cooper (vocals, harmonica), Pete Haycock (guitar, slide guitar, vocals), Arthur Wood (keyboards), Derek Holt (rhythm guitar, bass, organ), Richard Jones (bass) and George Newsome (drums)…

West, Bruce & Laing (WBL) were a blues rock power trio super-group formed in 1972 by Leslie West (guitar and vocals; formerly of Mountain), Jack Bruce (bass, harp, keyboards and vocals; ex-Cream) and Corky Laing (drums and vocals; ex-Mountain). The band released two studio albums, Why Dontcha (1972) and Whatever Turns You On (1973), during their active tenure. Their disbanding was officially announced in early 1974 prior to the release of their third and last album, Live 'n' Kickin'…

If 1977 was the year that punk broke, and 1978 saw the UK turn Day-Glo, then 1979 was all about the aftershock of punk, with the redrawn British musical landscape divided between various youth sub-cultures and factions. The release of the film Quadrophenia gave a focal point to the growing mod revival, power pop bands like The Jags similarly sought inspiration from the mid-‘60s, while 2-Tone recalibrated the ska sound of Prince Buster for a new generation of pork pie hat-wearing rude boys.

Filled with focussed recordings showcasing a band still determined to make it, and produced in conjunction with Tony Defries’ MainMan organisation, who famously steered the careers of Bowie, Iggy and Lou Reed during that period, ‘Born In A Trailer’ is a must-hear document of one of the great bands of the age accelerating into the final lap of a career which inspired a new generation of anti-establishment rock ‘n rollers in the years immediately following their demise.

There are few artists in country music more highly praised, or influential, as Lefty Frizzell. With a vocal styling often imitated but never matched, he found one of his greater advocates in Merle Haggard though musicians such as Keith Whitley, Johnny Rodriguez and Randy Travis were amongst others who also acknowledged his influence on their work.
The son of an oil field worker, William Orville Frizzell was born in Corsicana, Texas on 31st March 1928 but raised in Dorado, Arkansas when his family moved there shortly after his birth.

Among the first crop of Creation Records bands in the mid-1980s, THE LOFT seemed the most likely to break through. Following the success of The Smiths, guitar-based independent pop was in vogue, Alan McGee’s Creation label was turning heads – its bands blending 60s psychedelia, the melodic end of punk and a new sound which would soon be immortalised on NME’s C86 cassette. And in this London quartet, Creation had their answer to bands like Television, The Only Ones or early Modern Lovers, offering taut, off-kilter songs with an irresistibly deadpan cool.

SoulMusic Records is very proud to present “On & On: The Buddah/Columbia Anthology,” a hit-filled 2-CD by the iconic Gladys Knight & The Pips, whose international appeal spanned over three decades from the mid-60s to the mid-80s.Collection of recordings by the legendary family group (Gladys, brother Merald ‘Bubba’ Knight and cousins William Guest and Edward Patten) focuses on a particularly successful period of their consistent presence as mainstay global hitmakers from 1973-1985.Initially achieving US acclaim in the early ‘60s with ‘Every Beat Of My Heart’ and ‘Letter Full Of Tears’, the group’s dynamic stage act (with nifty choreography and distinctive harmonies) resulted in a 1966 contract with Motown Records and while some key hits provided a great platform for international exposure, by the early-’70s, Gladys & The Pips were ready to experience a new level of mainstream recognition.Disc One of this anthology chronicles the group’s five-year run of non-stop hits for Buddah Records, including the timeless ‘Midnight Train To Georgia’, ‘Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me’ and a live medley of ‘The Way We Were’ and ‘Try To Remember’. Drawn from eight Buddah albums that included production by Curtis Mayfield, Tony Camillo and Van McCoy among others, “The Buddah Years” features over a dozen charted singles and an alternate mix of ‘Make Yours A Happy Home’ from the Claudine soundtrack.

Having established Dinosaur Jr as a mainstay of, and influence over, the alternative scene by the mid-1990s, J Mascis began to venture out alone, performing acoustic sets of his band's material, alongside occasional cover versions.

The Misunderstood must rank as one of the greatest cult bands of the sixties psychedelia era. The band began forging their innovative sound in Riverside, California, where they were discovered by DJ John Peel (then working in the US as John Ravenscroft). Having cut a few recordings locally, the band relocated to the UK on Peel’s recommendation.

The first ever collection of solo works by Edgar Jones, leader of Liverpool cult heroes, The Stairs. On this 3 CD retrospective, the versatile Jones mixes jazz, R&B, soul, blues, rock and ska into his musical gumbo. Features rarities by Jones’ garage bands The Isrites and The Big Kids, previously only released physically on a CD limited to just 50 copies. The Big Kids included drummer Sean Payne and bassist Russ Pritchard, who later formed The Zutons, and guitarist Howie Payne, who started The Stands.

The plight of Northern Ireland throughout the 1970s and 1980s is well documented. Less widely acknowledged, though, is the unifying impact that punk rock and everything that came in it's wake had on the country's youth. Whilst violence, disenchantment and danger became everyday obstacles, punk provided an outlet, a means of expression and something beyond the political landscape in a way few other cities on earth could have understood. The Shellshock Rock film first captured this in 1978, and we proudly extend that account with three discs of tracks recorded during a period that breathed new life into the country's musical culture. The bands of Belfast and beyond created a scene entirely of their own, without the aid of an existent network of venues and publications. Punk forged alliances that reached across sectarian boundaries, and pushed back against a culture of traditions and establishment which seemed to offer very little to the country's youth. Featuring in-depth sleeve-notes, essays by both Stuart Bailie and John T. Davis, unseen imagery and, for the first time outside of Japan, the seminal Shellshock Rock film, this latest addition to our series of deep, geographically focussed sets promises to be the most vital of them all. Nowhere was punk as necessary and as life-changing as it was in Northern Ireland.

Longtime producer/engineer for Mike Oldfield and many others, Tom Newman displays his creative chops on this, his first solo effort. A real sleeper, Fine Old Tom is a relatively obscure yet refreshing original pop/prog-rock project constructed by Newman and his pals, with Jon Field, Mike Oldfield, Ned Callan, Chris Cutler and Fred Frith in the starring roles. Everything on this eclectic album is done with original style and vigor to spare, convention being left by the wayside. Even Newman's cover of Lennon/McCartney's "She Said She Said" is inventive. Beatles influences are obvious in several of the pop-oriented compositions. Album highlights include the energetic "Nursery Rhyme," a prog piece with cynical lyrics and blistering guitar, and the excellent "Superman," a reggae-meets-punk experiment.

Cherry Red Records is both delighted and proud to announce the newly remastered and expanded release of Howard Jones third long player album "One To One". Released in October 1986, "One To One" was produced by the legendary producer Arif Mardin and saw a change in Howard's writing and musical style. The album reached No. 10 in the UK Album Charts selling over 100,000 copies and achieving Gold status. It contained three tracks that were released as singles in the UK: 'All I Want' peaked at No. 35, 'You Know I Love You… Don't You?' at No. 43 and 'Little Bit Of Snow' at No. 70.