A two-CD survey of Winter's recordings for Columbia between 1969 and 1979, the era of his greatest commercial success. This collects many of his most popular tracks, though it doesn't do much to argue a case for artistic diversity. Includes two otherwise unavailable songs: an alternate take of "30 Days," and a previously unreleased 1973 cover of Robert Johnson's "Come on in My Kitchen."

Chapter Three: Viva Emiliano Zapata is the third of the four excellent "chapters" in saxophonist and composer Gato Barbieri's four-part "Latin America" series for Impulse, and released in 1974 with the core of a band he would use for his live outing on Chapter Four: Alive in New York. Produced by Ed Michel, this is a large group that included bassist Ron Carter, drummer Grady Tate, percussionists Ray Mantilla, the ubiquitous - and brilliant - Portinho, Ray Armando, and Luis Mangual, guitarists George Davis and Paul Metzke, and a large horn section. The session was arranged and conducted by the legendary Chico O'Farrill. There are six tunes on the set, divided between four Barbieri originals, and two covers including the legendary "Milonga Triste," and "What a Difference a Day Makes"…

Originally released in 1979, this album of Hillage's self-styled "elektric gypsy musick" was spread across two vinyl discs; when subsequently reissued during the digital era the guitarist/singer's cosmic space rock set - including a version of George Harrison's "It's All Too Much" - fit onto a single CD.
The album was recorded at the peak of Hillage's popularity (although peak might be too strong a word!) at a variety of gigs during 1977 and 1978, in and around the London (UK) area. The songs are primarily taken from Hillage's first album "Fish rising", "L" (which appears virtually in full) and "Motivation radio".

Texan Albert Collins was in the very first rank of post-war blues guitarists. This two-CD set is a reissue of all 36 sides he cut for Imperial from 1968 to 1970, representing this artist's second major recording stint. Instrumentals comprise roughly three-fourths of the material. They frame his distinctive guitar work with a tight ensemble of organ, bass, and drums, adding at times a piano and/or second guitar, punctuated by a horn section. About ten of these tunes are as great as anything Collins ever did. They are riddled with the biting, incisive, dramatic, and economical playing that made him a legend. There are also some outstanding vocals. Although this set is not without its clinkers, it is a solid package and a must for any Collins fan.

Scorchin' Blues marries tracks from Johnny Winter's early Columbia albums - including the classic National steel-driven "Dallas" from his 1969 debut - with material from his return-to-roots Blue Sky period in the late '70s. The aggressive playing and raunchy vocals will appeal to both blues and rock fans, and Ben Sandmel crams an authoritative biography into seven pages, complete with interesting Winter quotes. The one downside: a miserly ten tracks spread over only 43 minutes of playing time.

Originally released in 1979, this album of Hillage's self-styled "elektric gypsy musick" was spread across two vinyl discs; when subsequently reissued during the digital era the guitarist/singer's cosmic space rock set - including a version of George Harrison's "It's All Too Much" - fit onto a single CD.
The album was recorded at the peak of Hillage's popularity (although peak might be too strong a word!) at a variety of gigs during 1977 and 1978, in and around the London (UK) area. The songs are primarily taken from Hillage's first album "Fish rising", "L" (which appears virtually in full) and "Motivation radio".

Johnny Winter's sixth Columbia album was also his second since his comeback from drug addiction. Its predecessor, Still Alive and Well, had been his highest charting effort. Saints & Sinners was just as energetically played, but its mixture of material, including '50s rock & roll oldies like Chuck Berry's "Thirty Days," Larry Williams' "Bony Moronie," and Leiber & Stoller's "Riot in Cell Block #9," recent covers like the Rolling Stones' "Stray Cat Blues," and a couple of originals, was more eclectic than inspired. (Van Morrison completists should note that the album also contains Winter's cover of Morrison's "Feedback on Highway 101," a typical bluesy groove song that Morrison recorded for his 1973 Hard Nose the Highway album but dropped. Winter's is the only released recording of the song)…

Still Alive and Well proved to the record-buying public that Johnny Winter was both. This is a truly enjoyable album, chock-full of great tunes played well. Johnny's version of the Rolling Stones' "Silver Train" revealed the potential of this song and what the Stones failed to capture. Everything here is good, so get it and dig in.

A new album release by guitarist John Williams is always cause for great anticipation, not only for another opportunity to marvel at his virtuosity, but also to experience music from unheralded areas of the repertoire. EL DIABLO SUELTO is a survey of the guitar music of Venezuela, a vibrant mixture of elements from the cultures of the indigenous Indians, Spanish colonists, and the Africans originally brought to the country as slaves. Williams demonstrates a thorough understanding of the music's heritage, and his commitment is evident in performances that are dynamic and incisive. Williams' remarkable technique allows him to easily negotiate the complexities of these intensely rhythmic pieces, but his keen musical intelligence renders these accounts more than exercises of technical expertise. He skillfully wields a broad palette of tonal colors to express the rich harmonic language and beautiful melodies in works arranged by his mentor, the great Venezuelan guitarist Alirio Diaz.

After two late-'60s albums on Columbia, Johnny Winter hit his stride in 1970 working with Rick Derringer and the McCoys, now recruited as his sidemen and collaborators (and proving with just about every note here how far they'd gotten past "Hang on Sloopy"). In place of the bluesy focus on his first two albums, Winter extended himself into more of a rock-oriented mode here, in both his singing and his selection of material. This was hard rock with a blues edge, and had a certain commercial smoothness lacking in his earlier work. Derringer's presence on guitar and as a songwriter saw to it that Winter's blues virtuosity was balanced by perfectly placed guitar hooks, and the two guitarists complemented each other perfectly throughout as well…

Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce the long overdue release of an expanded 2CD remastered edition of the classic 1978 live album Alive & Well Recorded In Paris by the celebrated Jazz and Rock group Soft Machine. The album was the band ‘s third for EMI's Harvest label and featured a line-up of KARL Jenkins (Piano, Electric Keyboards, Synthesiser), John Marshall (Drums), John Etheridge (Acoustic and Electric Guitars) and new members Steve Cook (Bass Guitar) and Ric Sanders (Violin). The final live recordings to be released by the band during their lifetime, Alive & Well was the product of several nights of excellent concerts at Le Palace Theatre in Monmartre, Paris in July 1978. The album was initially released as a single album, although the discovery of multi-track masters of a concert in the archives has resulted in this expanded edition with a CD of additional material recorded in July 1978…

When Gato Barbieri signed to Impulse! Records in 1973 for a series of critically lauded albums, he had already enjoyed a celebrated career as a vanguard musician who had worked with Don Cherry and Abdullah Ibrahim (then known as Dollar Brand), recorded for three labels as a leader, and scored and performed the soundtrack to director Bernardo Bertolucci's film Last Tango in Paris. Chapter One: Latin America was a huge step forward musically for the Argentinean-born saxophonist, even as it looked to the music of his heritage. This turned out to be the first of four chapters in his series on Latin America, and for it he teamed not with established jazz musicians, but instead folk and traditional musicians from his native country, and recorded four of the album's five cuts in Buenos Aires - the final track, a multi-tracked solo piece, was recorded in Rio de Janeiro…

Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce the remastered release of Soft Machine’s final album (before their reunion album in 2018), "Land of Cockayne". By the time the album was recorded Soft Machine comprised keyboard player and saxophonist Karl Jenkins and drummer John Marshall. The duo were joined by musicians such as Jack Bruce, the returning Allan Holdsworth, Dick Morrissey and Ray Warleigh among others to produce a different, but polished album. This official Esoteric CD edition has been re-mastered from the original master tapes and features an essay by Sid Smith.