2012 collection of rare Australian Garage nuggets from the '60s. Down Under Nuggets: Original Australian Artifacts 1965-67 features 29 of the wildest Australian recordings from the '60s from such outfits as the Missing Links, the Purple Hearts, the Black Diamonds, the Lost Souls, the Wild Cherries, the Loved Ones, the Throb and the Moods. Long term fans of the genre will be thrilled to find we've included the never-before heard full-length 5:29 version of the Sunsets' classic 'The Hot Generation'.

Somewhat overshadowed by Decca's rush-released From the Beginning, appearing just weeks before this 1967 LP, and often confused with their 1966 debut by virtue of its sharing an identical title, the Small Faces' eponymous debut for Immediate Records is one of the great British pop albums of the '60s. The Small Faces were breaking away from their R&B roots, dabbling with LSD and psychedelia, and tightening up their songwriting, emphasizing pop melodies in a way they never did on their debut. Sonically, The Small Faces doesn't get as far out as the abandoned Decca cuts that surfaced on From the Beginning - there may be some harpsichords but no outright psychedelia - but it is bright, colorful, and concentrated, its very brevity playing like snappy pop art…

Just when the first-generation British Invasion bands galloped ahead into pop art in 1966, the Small Faces worked a heavy R&B groove on their 1966 debut. That's not to say that this pack of four sharp-suited mods were unaware of the times. If anything, no other British band of the mid-'60s was so keenly tuned into fashion, the four Small Faces capturing the style and sound of dancing pilled-up mods better even than the Who, possibly because the group could carry a groove better than the Who, as this tightly propulsive debut amply illustrates. Like many '60s debuts, The Small Faces is split between covers, songs the label pushed on the band, and originals, some clearly interpolations of songs they'd been covering in clubs. "Come on Children" echoes James Brown's "Think," and "You Need Loving" is based on Willie Dixon's "You Need Love"…

Since their formation in 1994, Toronto's Sadies have developed, even perfected,a style of music that is uniquely their own. Possessing a deep fondness and reverence for the best of country, bluegrass and blues (CBGB!), they are equally informed and influenced by everything from 60s garage and psychedelic rock (Pebbles, Nuggets, et al) to surf instrumentals and punk rock. The quartet's newest album, Colder Streams, is their best album yet. Produced by Arcade Fire's Richard Reed Parry, the 11-song platter exhibits again why The Sadies are in a league of their own

24 "Nuggets From the Golden State" from the record label best known for releasing Syndicate of Sound's 1966 garage classic "Little Girl"; this compilation features this track + cuts by the Brogues (feat. pre-Quicksilver Greg Elmore & Gary Duncan), Wm. Penn & the Quakers, Gerry & Leslie, the Stop Sign & the Diminished Fifth.

Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce the next release in their series of compilations celebrating the so-called “underground” rock music – “Banquet – Underground Sounds of 1969”, is a 3CD clamshell boxed set which gathers together nearly four hours of music from 1969, a year that saw a huge progression in both musically and socially.

The Bomboras have announced that they will return with their first album in 25 years - "Songs From Beyond!" - out May 5th on MuSick Recordings. Glamorous go go girls, looming tiki heads, and Farfisa organs (literally) ablaze are just some of the lasting impressions left by cult '90s L.A. neo-surf band The Bomboras. Now this famously incendiary act is not only picking up where it left off a quarter-century ago, but has returned more inspired and accomplished than ever on long-awaited comeback album Songs From Beyond!, coming from MuSick Recordings on May 5.

The Blue Things Review by Richie Unterberger
This self-titled CD reissue is basically a reissue of their only album (from 1966), which has been known both as Listen & See and The Blue Things, bolstered by the significant addition of all six songs from their three non-LP 1966-1967 RCA singles. All of this material, except the final 1967 single (recorded after the departure of Val Stecklein), has been reissued in some form on other releases. This edition, however, has a big advantage over other reissues in that it was remastered from the RCA tapes, also adding extensive, excellent historical liner notes. As for the 1966 album that forms the backbone of this disc, it's still one of the finest overlooked folk-rock records of the 1960s, combining some of the best elements of the Byrds and Beau Brummels in its mid-tempo electric-acoustic arrangements. The 1966 psychedelic single tracks "Orange Rooftop of Your Mind," "One Hour Cleaners," and "You Can Live in Our Tree" are also fine cuts that show the band progressing at a furious rate, with psychologically complex lyrics and unusual fuzz and violin-ish distorted guitar textures. The final single ("Somebody Help Me"/"Yes, My Friend"), though, was a pretty lame offering considering the quality of the band's prior RCA efforts.

Get Ready to Fly is Big Beat's second volume of rarely-heard 1960s masters from the vaults of the legendary Norman Petty studios. This time the focus is on the mind-bending rock and pop sounds the producer recorded during the late 1960's.

The mighty Guided By Voices are set to unleash upon the world their 35th and quite possibly… best album, Crystal Nuns Cathedral. How do they do it you might ask? Well we have no idea how they do it, but we certainly do know why they do it. They do it because quite honestly we need them to do it. The world needs The Rock, and we need loud guitars, we need anthemic songs, we need a reason to raise a rock fist in the air and give a “Hell Yeah”! On Crystal Nuns Cathedral, the band delivers all of this and so much more.

La La Land is somewhat of a companion piece to Tremblers and Goggles By Rank and continues to explore a path of diversity in styles and in longer, more adventurous song structures.

An album populated by mysterious characters in various states of danger - cursed lovers, doomed souls, women deliriously haunted by unseen forces. Over the course of its 11 spellbinding tracks, Olivia Jean amplifies that drama with her wildly melodic take on garage rock, handling each riff with the power and precision she's previously shown as a member of the Black Belles and as an in-demand session/touring musician who has played with legends like Wanda Jackson.

British beat combo founded in Weybridge, Surrey in 1962. They were part of the wave of British bands to play in Hamburg, Germany, before going on to have a level of success in the United States. They were one of the first groups, along with The Spencer Davis Group, to be invited to play in Hungary in 1967 and have a very big and loyal fanbase there up to this day. On the departure of Arthur Sharp in 1972, Ray Phillips (2) was left as the only remaining original member. They disbanded in 1973, but were reformed by Phillips in 1980. Between 1973 and 1980 Ray Philips toured Hungary with several line ups under the guise of The Nashville Teens.

Recorded in Glasgow, Scotland, while the Kinks were on tour in 1967, Live at Kelvin Hall (aka The Live Kinks) has the distinction of being the only undoctored concert recording of a British Invasion band at the peak of its popularity. Like the Stones and the Beatles, the Kinks faced audiences filled with screaming, shrieking teenagers. Often, the noise was so loud that it drowned out the amps on-stage, and since the band couldn't hear each other, its performances were ragged and rough. The Kinks held together in Glasgow better than their peers, but Live at Kelvin Hall is still rough going. True, it does offer an audio document of the band in concert, but the crowd is so damn noisy, it's hard to hear anything besides screaming…

Subtitled - Tripping with the Texas Girls. The best girl bands of the 60's and 70's which produced the first 'punk' tracks. From totally unknown Connie Carroll to the most famous Texan female rocker Janis Joplin (this CD features her first recordings!). Features also the mythical Heartbeats. This 'Hors Serie' volume shows the diversity, energy and genuineness of these fresh and crazy Texan ladies. Includes tracks from, the Brazen Huzzies, the Word D, the Heartbeats, Lou Ann Barton, the Bombshells, Janis Joplin and more. Digitally re-mastered. 2002.