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Nico - The Frozen Borderline 1968-1970 (2007) {2CD Set Rhino 8122-74885-2}
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© 1968-70, 2007 Elektra / Reprise Records / Rhino | 8122-74885-2
Rock / Avant Rock / Art Rock / Experimental Rock

A companion to the same label's masterful reissue of John Cale's Paris 1919, The Frozen Borderline remasters the two albums that Nico recorded (with Cale in attendance) for Elektra and Reprise in 1968 and 1970, adding a heap of bonus tracks and the kind of deluxe packaging that fans – accustomed to the cheapness of other Nico repackagings – have previously only dreamed about. Spread across two discs, one per original LP, the two albums sound spectacular. Neither was exactly a production tour de force, their instrumentation dominated, of course, by harmonium, and the handful of flourishes that Cale layered on.

Various Artists - Twelve Inch Eighties - Let's Groove (2016) {3CD Demon Music TWIN80004}
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© 2016 Demon Music | TWIN80004
Synth Pop / Hi NRG / Euro-Disco / Soul / Rhythm & Blues / Funk / New Wave / Pop Rock

Twelve Inch Eighties is the new 3CD range by Crimson Productions, compiling extended alternate mixes of some of the biggest hit singles of the 80s. Each themed release is housed in a sleek 3CD digipak with abstract imagery representative of early dance label releases. These carefully selected titles across the range will bring together the finest eighties pop, dance and disco, amongst other genres, in all their full 12” single glory. Let’s Groove is the latest title in the range and the first dip into the classics 80s Disco scene. These extended hits will keep you in your platforms all night long.

Bo Diddley - Road Runner: The Chess Masters, Vol. 2 - 1959-1960 (2008) {2CD Set Geffen–Hip-O Select B0011076-02}
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© 1959-60, 2008 Hip-O Select / Geffen Records / Universal | B0011076-02
Rock and Roll / Rhythm and Blues / Early R&B / Blues / Electric Chicago Blues

Road Runner, the second volume of Hip-O Select's ongoing chronicle of Bo Diddley's complete Chess/Checker master recordings, covers roughly one calendar year whereas its predecessor, I'm a Man, spanned four — a good indication that 1959 was an eventful year for Bo. During this one year, he had his biggest pop hit in the jive-talking "Say Man" and had another sizable R&B hit with "Crackin' Up," but both these sides were cut in 1958 and released as a single in 1959.

More Music from the Rum Diary, the second collection of material from the 2011 film adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's 1998 book, relies less on composer Christopher Young's jazzy, Caribbean-inspired score and more on selections from period players like Mantovani & His Orchestra, Ismael Rivera, Dick Dale & His Del-Tones, and Hound Dog Taylor & the Houserockers. The last six tracks on the collection are from Young, with Patti Smith providing vocals on one of two versions of "The Mermaid Song."

George Russell - Stratusphunk + The Stratus Seekers (1960, 1962) {2012 Japan SHM-CD Jazzplus Series UCCU-3175} (featuring Don Ellis)
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© 1960, 1962, 2012 Riverside / Universal Japan | UCCU-3175 | 24-bit remaster
Jazz / Post Bop / Experimental Jazz / Third Stream

Features the high-fidelity SHM-CD format (compatible with standard CD players). Brand new digital remaster. A pair of modern moments from George Russell – back to back on a single CD! Stratusphunk is not "phunk", in the way you might think of "funk" – but an album that sets a whole new standard for modern jazz in the 60s – thanks to the fresh ideas of George Russell! Russell's in his best modal mode here – and there's a highly rhythmic construction to most tunes – layers that build beautifully, and which have a sharper edge than some of George's earlier work in the 50s – a balance that's better heard than described by our words, and which is completely compelling right from the start.

Issued just after his landmark two-week June 1998 gig at the Village Vanguard and subsequent U.S./Canada tour, Chucho Valdйs' first album for Blue Note bears out a lot of the hype surrounding this hugely gifted Cuban pianist. Unlike many of today's younger Cuban keyboard hotshots, Valdйs not only has great technical chops and musical erudition, he manages to stay closely tied to his Cuban rhythmic roots. Thus, he employs a Cuban percussionist Roberto Vizcaino Guillot along with the standard bass (Alain Pйrez Rodriguez) and drums (Raъl Pнсeda Roque), which dramatically increases the possibilities for rhythmic experiments. Valdes more often than not is all over the keyboard, comfortable with everything from Ravel-ian classical complexity to Bill Evans' introspection to Cecil Taylor-like crunches.

Essentially a vehicle for Hammond organ maestro Mick Weaver, late 60s British band Wynder K. Frog specialised in funky club Soul/Jazz. Hailing from Bolton, Lancashire, but based in London for much of their career, Mick and the band made three albums for Island Records between 1966 and 1970. These have long been coveted by Mod collectors and fans of the prestigious Island label. For the first time ever, all three LPs - Sunshine Super Frog (mono, 1966), Out Of The Frying Pan (stereo, 1968) and the US-only Into The Fire (stereo, 1970) - appear on one package, accompanied by a host of rare non-album tracks, previously unissued material, a track from a BBC radio session and two stereo mixes from the soundtrack to the 1968 film The Touchables…

Adam Faith was a contemporary of early British rock & rollers like Cliff Richard and Billy Fury, but Faith's sound was less Elvis Presley-derived and more aligned with teen idol pop such as that of Bobby Vee (who covered Faith's number one U.K. hit "What Do You Want?"). John Barry had a hand in Faith's early efforts, and the instrumental arrangements are truly remarkable, from the surprising hoedown-style fiddling on "Don't That Beat All" to the musical saw on "What Now." In fact, it is the arrangements that elevate this music above standard teen idol fare. Faith rocked occasionally, as on "Made You," had moderate success adapting to the changes wrought by the Beatles, and later worked with folk-pop material. The Very Best of Adam Faith tracks his evolution by collecting 26 U.K. chart hits from 1959-1966, four of which were recorded with the Roulettes. Faith had two minor hits in the U.S. in 1965 that aren't included, but The Very Best of Adam Faith is otherwise an exemplary and essential anthology of an early British pop star.