A. Holdsworth & 'igginbottom' 1969 'igginbottom's Wrench

This album, the group's third, was where they showed just how far their talents extended across the musical landscape, from blues to R&B to classical rock. In contrast to their hastily recorded debut, or its successor, done to stretch their performance and composition range, A Salty Dog was recorded in a reasonable amount of time, giving the band a chance to fully develop their ideas…

This is a reissue of Procol Harum's third and fourth albums released in 1969 and 1970. While there was outside and perhaps internal pressure to equal the success of "A Whiter Shade of Pale," this band was not deterred from creating wonderfully creative music that sometimes matched the grandeur of its 1967 smash but just didn't translate into a "hit."…

Of all the strange records this French vanguard pop chanteuse ever recorded, this 1971 collaboration between the teams of Brigitte Fontaine and her songwriting partner Areski and the Art Ensemble of Chicago - who were beginning to think about returning to the United States after a two-year stay - is the strangest and easily most satisfying. While Fontaine's records could be beguiling with their innovation, they occasionally faltered by erring on the side of gimmickry and cuteness. Here, the Art Ensemble provide the perfect mysterious and ethereal backdrop for her vocal explorations. Featuring the entire Art Ensemble of that time period and including fellow Chicago AACM member Leo Smith on second trumpet, Fontaine and Areski stretched the very notion of what pop had been and could be…

Esoteric Recordings are proud to announce the release of a newly re-mastered and expanded edition of the classic 1969 album A Salty Dog by Procol Harum. Released in June 1969, the record followed on from the huge international success of the band's debut single A Whiter Shade of Pale and the follow up single Homburg and the superb albums Procol Harum and Shine On Brightly. One of the finest releases of the era A Salty Dog saw the exquisite song writing of Gary Brooker and Keith Reid honed to perfection on highlights such as the album's title track, The Devil Came From Kansas, Wreck of the Hesperus, The Milk of Human Kindness and more. Recorded at Abbey Road studios, the album captured the excellence of the musicians in the group, namely Gary Brooker (voice, piano), Robin Trower (lead guitar), David Knights (bass guitar), B.J. Wilson (drums) and Matthew Fisher (Hammond organ)…

There is some intriguing music on this 1969 recording. Tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp met up with members of the Chicago avant-garde school for the first time, including Art Ensemble of Chicago members Lester Bowie, Roscoe Mitchell and Malachi Favors, on the lengthy "Yasmina," a track that also includes drummers Philly Joe Jones, Art Taylor, and Sunny Murray. On "Sonny's Back," there is an unlikely tenor tradeoff between Shepp and Hank Mobley, while "Body and Soul" gives Shepp a showcase opportunity.

In a Silent Way is a studio album by American jazz musician Miles Davis, released July 30, 1969 on Columbia Records. Produced by Teo Macero, the album was recorded in one session date on February 18, 1969 at CBS 30th Street Studio B in New York City. Incorporating elements of classical sonata form, Macero edited and arranged Davis's recordings from the session to produce the album. Marking the beginning of his "electric" period, In a Silent Way has been regarded by music writers as Davis's first fusion recording, following a stylistic shift toward the genre in his previous records and live performances.

Originally recorded in 1969 for Orfeon Records in Mexico, this unbelievably awesome set of psychedelic rock was shelved for decades, due in large part to its fantastic (though probably poorly chosen from a commercial standpoint) title Society Is a Shit. With the exception of a humorous, traditional-sounding acoustic number presenting the record in Spanish, this record is 100% pure, mind-expanding psychedelia sung mostly in English. It's got all the factors you'd expect from a psych record of the period, like the glorious fuzz guitar and organ, but this is a far more creative and strung-out record than most. For instance on the second track, the epic "Tlatelolco," which condemns the deadly repression of a protest by government forces, the group drifts from one bizarre part to the next with strange sound effects and varied instrumentation…

After having lived in semi-obscurity ever since his deal with King/Federal fell through in the mid-1960s, the Blues Boom that was spreading across America and the UK in the late '60s gave Freddie King the opportunity to revive his career. He did so by signing on to Atlantic Record's subsidiary Cotillion.
Having been known mostly for his ferocious instrumental workouts ("Hide Away", "Just Pickin'", "San-Ho-Zay", "The Stumble"), soul genius and sax player King Curtis, who would produce the blues man's entire Cotillion output - decided to put an emphasis on King's vocal prowess as well. 'Freddie King Is a Blues Master' is therefore divided in a vocal and an instrumental side…