My Mind & Me

Beth Hart is as real as it gets. At a time when other musicians polish their songs, airbrush their image, conceal their blemishes, deny their age and bury their darkest secrets, this is one artist who throws down her cards and invites you to either walk or love her anyway. And with War In My Mind, this Grammy-nominated talent has never served herself up so raw, on a record that embraces her merits and flaws, channels her bittersweet headspace and spins gold from her demons. "More than any record I've ever made, I'm more open to being myself on these songs,” Beth explains. "I've come a long way with healing, and I'm comfortable with my darknesses, weirdnesses and things that I'm ashamed of – as well as all the things that make me feel good."

UK three CD set. While the likes of Rubber Soul, 'See My Friends' and 'Still I'm Sad' had served notice in 1965 of British pop's heightened level of ambition, 1966 would prove to be an even more tumultuous twelve-month period as experimentation and innovation grew to new levels. The release that August of Revolver brought the concept of psychedelic music out of the margins and into the mainstream. However, psychedelia had been percolating throughout the year. The word was already in subterranean use in America, adapted by the likes of The 13th Floor Elevators and Hollywood hustler Kim Fowley, who in late 1965 had become the first person to promote a record with the term "psychedelic". Featuring 84 tracks, A Slight Disturbance In My Mind: The British Proto-Psychedelic Sounds Of 1966 examines the experimental pop element of the British music scene during that epochal twelve-month period with a dizzying, dazzling mix of nascent psychedelia, introspective pop and what's been retrospectively labelled freakbeat. We feature vital contributions from some of the era's biggest names (The Kinks, The Yardbirds, The Hollies, The Animals etc), a bunch of highly collectable cult classics, a huge stash of unissued-at-the-time nuggets and early outings for such future legends as Bowie, Bolan, Slade and The Bee Gees. Housed in a clamshell box containing a 52-page booklet crammed with biographical information and priceless period photos and memorabilia, A Slight Disturbance In My Mind is a glorious snapshot of British pop storming the gates of a new, strange and wonderful dawn.

At age 26, Cassie Taylor is already a veteran musician. She's spent a decade playing bass and singing on stage and in the studio with her father, modern-day blues innovator Otis Taylor. Now she stakes her own claim as an artist of intelligence, power and soul, drawing on a wide swath of influences – spanning centuries, continents and cultures – to create her own indelible and utterly modern sound. With influences ranging from a New Orleans second line to West African psychedelic rock, the album's 12 original songs – all written and arranged by Taylor – are the work of a truly 21st century musical omnivore. From the record's lead track, "Ol' Mama Dean (Part 1)," which opens with drums and theremin, to the wistful piano closer "Again," Taylor proves to be a gifted, independent-minded songwriter with a flair for the unexpected and a voice that will haunt your dreams.

Lost, way out sound from San Francisco's Mojo Men! There Goes My Mind finds the Mojo Men in full control of their high-wire blend of boy-girl vocals - They had regional, British Invasion-style hits in 1965-66, and even hit national top 40 in 1967! Abetted principally by sparkling keyboard wizardry, winsome vocals, and lavish guitars, this is your ticket to one of West Coast's best psychedelic garage bands.

Co-produced by Jair Willis and the group's cousin, Chris Wright, SPEAK My MIND showcases the vocals of Jair ("Is There More," "How Much Of Me Is You," "Level," "Give"), Jenny ("Pull You Down," "Speak My Mind,"), Jackson ("The Line," "Set Me Free"), Jasmine ("What Life's About, "Paper Dolls") and Jeanette ("I Choose Life"). Jenny is also the featured vocalist on the one song not written by the siblings: a gentle, wistful re-imagining of the Johnny Cash classic "Ring of Fire." Many of the Willises also share their chops on a variety of instruments. Jair plays most of the guitars, guitar-related instruments and the Uillean pipes.

Chronicles the Mississippi voter registration drive from 1961- 64.

With Country on My Mind, Carl Smith finds time to walk in the "California Sunshine" and celebrate womanizing ("Wonderful World of Women") before settling into the songs of honky tonkin' and heartache for which he is known. Smith wears Merle Haggard's "I Threw Away the Rose" like an old boot, and handles "Little Ole Wine Drinker" more capably than Robert Mitchum, for whom it was a hit. Marty Robbins' "Knee Deep in the Blues" and the Browns' "I'd Just Be Fool Enough" two songs written by Melvin Endsley are likewise right up Smith's alley, and he fills them with the kind of weariness and defeat that make you want to reach for a whiskey bottle. Country on My Mind produced no hits and was recorded very quickly, but is yet another fine album from a singer whose way with a honky tonk ballad is unsurpassed. This is music made for crying in your drink, so pull up a barstool and enjoy.

Solomon Vincent McDonald Burke (born James Solomon McDonald, March 21, 1940 – October 10, 2010) was an American singer who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues as one of the founding fathers of soul music in the 1960s. He has been called "a key transitional figure bridging R&B and soul", and was known for his "prodigious output".