Just 18 September 2013

Leon Thomas became a star on the back of his original cut of The Creator Had A Master Plan recorded with Pharaoh Sanders. This success was consolidated with four studio albums and several live sessions recorded for Flying Dutchman. A year as a member of Santana brought him to the attention of an even wider audience. His yodeling style allied with deep blues roots has influenced several generations of jazz singers, most recently the Grammy Award-winning jazz star of 2012, Gregory Porter. Leon Thomas' music mixed spiritualism with African influences and became important to the acid jazz scene, where he was sampled by Galliano, while his records became sought after collector's items. In recent years the soul crowd has pushed up the value of his 45s Love Each Other and Just In Time To See The Sun. The Creator… pieces together the very best tracks from his five years at Flying Dutchman, including his collaborations with the Pharaoh Sanders band on his debut album, The Creator Has A Master Plan and Let The Rain Fall On Me; later more soul-influenced numbers, and the apocalyptic spiritual jazz masterpiece Shape Your Mind To Die. We have also found a previously unreleased full length version of his live favorite Um Um Um.

While such albums as 1980's Permanent Waves and 1981's Moving Pictures are usually considered Rush's masterpieces (and with good reason), 1978's Hemispheres is just as deserving. Maybe the fact that the album consists of only four compositions (half are lengthy pieces) was a bit too intimidating for some, but the near 20-minute-long "Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres" is arguably the band's finest extended track…

For his fourth album, Elvin Bishop organized a new backup group and switched to Capricorn Records. Capricorn was known as the standard bearer of the Southern rock movement–the Allman Brothers Band, The Marshall Tucker Band, etc.–and Bishop was able to emphasize the country/blues aspects of his persona and his music in the move from Marin County, California, to Macon, Georgia…

Poco dealt with a lot during the recording of their debut album – the sudden departure of bassist Randy Meisner, the frustration of working with an engineer who didn't quite get what they were trying for, and a lot of pressure to deliver a solid collection of country-rock songs – and came up with this startlingly great record, as accomplished as any of Buffalo Springfield's releases, and also reminiscent of the Beatles and the Byrds…

Hailing from Brazil, JOEY SUMMER and guest musicians bring us his latest offering in “Even The Saints Are Sinners”. Perris Records states that Mr. Summer’s music has an appeal to fans of TOTO, JADED HEART, STREET TALK, EUROPE…

Though it was considered a disappointment upon its release (indeed, its production was much too sleek at times, and it lacked the creative daring of Perfect Strangers), 1987's House of Blue Light has actually stood the test of time just as well, if not better, than its predecessor. The second effort from the re-formed Mark II lineup, this album showed Deep Purple searching for an '80s-flavored hit single, and by doing so, sounding uncomfortably similar to guitarist Ritchie Blackmore's other band, Rainbow…

Elvin Bishop broke the bank with the success of "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" in the spring of 1976, so when he returned with this album in the fall, he turned up on the cover holding bags of money. The question, of course, was whether the hit would turn out to be a breakthrough or a fluke…

Continuing on the hugely successful legacy that the 80 From range has bought, comes the newest release in the series - 80 From America! For the first time 80 From branches out to explore one of the most influential regions in the history of music, the United States Of America. 80 From America features 80 different tracks and artists that epitomize the American culture and have taken a piece of musical history with classic tracks from the likes of The Beach Boys, Lionel Richie, Dolly Parton, ZZ Top, Marvin Gaye, Willie Nelson, The Knack, Otis Redding, Jackson 5, Elvis Presley, Billy Joel, Aretha Franklin, Blondie, Dean Martin, Journey and so much more! 80 From America - nothing but classic American hits!