Eccentric Boogie

Selected and Compiled by Tim Zawada and Kool Hersh in partnership with The Numero Group. 10 cuts of hard hitting rare boogie joints. Overseas folks, keep a look out soon for pre-order links in your local countries.

Ever since bursting on the scene with his 1993 release »» The Nutcracker Suite, Tim Sparks has captivated guitar fans with some of the finest fingerstyle guitar playing around. An artist who can be difficult to categorize, Sparks albums and live performances have featured classical, blues, jazz, folk, klezmer, and other styles, and yet they all have a common thread that makes them immediately identifiable. Clearly, for Sparks the music itself is more important than the genre it may have originated in, and Chasin the Boogie continues this approach.

During its late '70s and early '80s heyday, France's disco-boogie scene tended towards the eccentric. Yet despite the camp, tongue-in-cheek feel adopted by many French bands and producers, much of the music was of an impressively high standard. That much is clear from Charles Maurice's second French Disco Boogie Sounds compilation. Packed full of slick, synthesizer-driven material and punchy, horn-heavy disco-funk thrillers (see the Teena Marie style "Movin" by Jackie Esam), it's a fine collection of Gallic dancefloor treats. You're unlikely to find a better example of jazz-funk positivity than Black Bells Group's "Talk Me Mam's", while Messan's "Keep Cool" is a lesson in thrusting, up-tempo disco sweatiness.

Almost seven years ago, the Queens rapper Action Bronson emerged from the underground like a neighborhood goofball. If you watch the video for an early single like “Shiraz,” from 2011, Bronson’s world is hyperlocal: in a hooded trench coat and athletic shorts, he surveys olive tubs and orders sheets of prosciutto from a Bronx corner store. Back then, his flamboyance seemed grinning and poised, but out of place and maybe a bit schticky as a result. Bronson’s sideshow character may have been bombastic, but his rapping was always legitimately prodigious, crass as it was witty, and just downright fun.

The absolute paradise for all jazz piano lovers. I decided to reupload this excellent work of our friend Oceandrop in the quality and artwork extend of his initial upload, adding simply an mp3 version and putting it all in a single post. An amazing collection with 5 booklets full of historical and musical information for the piano jazz from the ragtime till today. Enjoy "a full day" (24 hours) of wonderful piano jazz.

Limited 20 disc (17 CDs + three DVDs) set. As one of the UK's most beloved and unconventional bands, the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band have delighted audiences for over 60 years with their distinctive blend of music, comedy, and surrealism. This comprehensive 20-disc collection celebrates the complete works of the legendary Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and their impact on a generation of revered artists and comedians, from The Beatles to Monty Python. Known for their hit "I'm the Urban Spaceman," produced by Paul McCartney under the pseudonym Apollo C. Vermouth, the Bonzos left an indelible mark on the British music and comedy landscape. Seven years in the making and put together with band's full co-operation, 'Still Barking' includes: 17 CDs documenting a spectacularly entertaining career featuring: Stereo versions of all of the band's original albums, carefully remastered to capture their idiosyncratic charm. Additional remastered versions 'Gorilla' and 'The Doughnut In Granny's Greenhouse' in their original mono mixes. A newly compiled remastered CD of all the band's singles. Two discs of demos, rehearsals, and outtakes. A single disc of backing tracks. Three discs of BBC Sessions that capture the band's eccentric live energy. Two live discs: Studio Bellevue, Amsterdam. Recorded: November 1968. Fillmore East, NYC, 17 October 1969. A CD featuring a live show from London's Marquee Club and additional material of band rehearsals from the Manor Studios in Oxfordshire. Plus: Three DVDs of TV performances, including the complete 'Do Not Adjust Your Set' shows, 'Colour Me Pop', 'Beat Club', and more. Highlights include rare appearances, short films, and vintage footage from the height of their career. 148 page hardback coffee table book featuring an essay by Bonzos authority Chris Welch and an in-depth Day By Day Chronology/Cornology by noted author Andy Neill (The Who; Ready, Steady, Go!).

Limited 20 disc (17 CDs + three DVDs) set. As one of the UK's most beloved and unconventional bands, the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band have delighted audiences for over 60 years with their distinctive blend of music, comedy, and surrealism. This comprehensive 20-disc collection celebrates the complete works of the legendary Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and their impact on a generation of revered artists and comedians, from The Beatles to Monty Python. Known for their hit "I'm the Urban Spaceman," produced by Paul McCartney under the pseudonym Apollo C. Vermouth, the Bonzos left an indelible mark on the British music and comedy landscape. Seven years in the making and put together with band's full co-operation, 'Still Barking' includes: 17 CDs documenting a spectacularly entertaining career featuring: Stereo versions of all of the band's original albums, carefully remastered to capture their idiosyncratic charm. Additional remastered versions 'Gorilla' and 'The Doughnut In Granny's Greenhouse' in their original mono mixes. A newly compiled remastered CD of all the band's singles. Two discs of demos, rehearsals, and outtakes. A single disc of backing tracks. Three discs of BBC Sessions that capture the band's eccentric live energy. Two live discs: Studio Bellevue, Amsterdam. Recorded: November 1968. Fillmore East, NYC, 17 October 1969. A CD featuring a live show from London's Marquee Club and additional material of band rehearsals from the Manor Studios in Oxfordshire. Plus: Three DVDs of TV performances, including the complete 'Do Not Adjust Your Set' shows, 'Colour Me Pop', 'Beat Club', and more. Highlights include rare appearances, short films, and vintage footage from the height of their career. 148 page hardback coffee table book featuring an essay by Bonzos authority Chris Welch and an in-depth Day By Day Chronology/Cornology by noted author Andy Neill (The Who; Ready, Steady, Go!).

Available exclusively from Sony's Pop Market website, The Columbia Masters is a compact, 16-disc box set that includes Earth, Wind & Fire's 15 Columbia albums - from 1972's Last Days and Time through 1990's Heritage - individually packaged in mini-LP replica sleeves. A 16th disc, dubbed Constellations: The Universe of Earth, Wind & Fire, collects rarities and several of leader Maurice White's outside productions for the likes of Ramsey Lewis, Neil Diamond, and Barbra Streisand. There's also a thick booklet with notes penned by White. Since EW&F's Columbia releases were remastered/reissued in 2004, a fair portion of the group's devout fans will see this as redundant; part of that faction will also covet disc 16, unavailable elsewhere. Those who had been waiting for a comprehensive box finally get one, with a price that should average out to less than 10.00 U.S. dollars per disc.