Central Station

Whether Lee Stringer is describing "God's corner" as he calls 42nd Street, or his friend Suzy, a hooker and "past due tourist" whose infant child he sometimes babysits, whether he is recounting his experiences at Street News, where he began hawking the newspaper for a living wage, then wrote articles, and served for a time as muckraking senior editor, whether it is his adventures in New York's infamous Tombs jail, or performing community service, or sleeping in the tunnels below Grand Central Station by night and collecting cans by day, this is a book rich with small acts of kindness, humor and even heroism alongside the expected violence and desperation of life on the street.

Five CD set. Second collection of rare and unreleased live recordings by Alcatrazz. Kicking off at the Golden Bear in Huntingdon Beach, California, in December 1983 on Disc 1 which features a healthy selection of songs from Alcatrazz's debut.. A Japanese tour was booked for early 1984, from which the Osaka date on 24th January 1984 was recorded at the Festival Hall, included here on Disc 2. Disc 3 features a set recorded at Graham Central Station in Albuquerque in New Mexico. Highlights are Too Young To Die… Too Drunk To Live. The Agora Ballroom in Cleveland, Ohio, had long been an important mid-west venue for touring rock bands in the 1970s and 1980s, so the band were guaranteed a warm welcome for their show there on 23rd May 1984, reproduced here on Disc 4. This collection concludes with Disc 5's gig on 8th June 1984 at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey. As an extra bonus, CD5 finishes with an interview originally released as a single promo B-Side, a Public Service Announcement from Graham, warning against drunk driving, plus three instrumental demo tracks.

For over 15 years The Old Grey Whistle Test graced British television screens and would go on to become one of the most incredibly influential music programmes. From its premiere in 1971, through to its finale in 1988, the BBC show hosted countless performances from a number of seminal artists. A remarkable appearance would often help propel an artist from being a mere unknown to a household name. UMC and the BBC have teamed up and created a set of lovingly curated branded compilations which celebrate the show and all the incredible music it featured.

A journey to the time when bell-bottoms were en vogue for the first time. On this sampler we hear first-class 70s funk, which provided the basis for many hip-hop tracks and titles, most of which are now hard to come by. Funk has many subcategories too, so we hear New Orleans second-line funk (Meters - "People Say", Idris Muhammad - "New Orleans"), jazz funk (Patrice Rushen - "Let There Be Funk" , Jimmy Smith - "Give Up The Booty", Kool & The Gang - "Rated X") and (for the time) progressive funk ("Graham Central Station - "Hair", Mandrill - "Positive Thing"). No concession to Disco, not a catchy 4/4 time - what all the songs have in common is the raw power that is radiated through percussion, syncopated rhythms, jazzy horns, the irresistible bass runs and the rough vocals.It was then that soul became friends with rock and jazz and some of the best results from this period are represented here.An indispensable part for collectors.