Operation Ivy Operation Ivy (1991) [remastered 2007]

After releasing the much-delayed The Apprentice, Martyn was once again on a roll, and, while not quite as strong as The Apprentice, Cooltide was a solid outing. His jazziest release yet, it's marred slightly by a gravelly hoarseness in his voice, which makes him sound like he's just recovered from laryngitis. "Jack the Lad" was the single released, and, along with "Annie Says" and the aching "Call Me," they show him entering the 1990s in fine form. The title song had a long gestation, originally recorded for 1979's Grace and Danger under the title "Running up the Harbour." While a bit long, it's a great hypnotic, groove-oriented track that's smooth and cool, with Martyn venturing a little further afield than he had in quite a while.

'60s British pop trio the Ivy League consisted of members John Carter, Ken Lewis (previous members of Carter-Lewis and the Southerners), and Perry Ford. All three members were session singers who possessed high-pitched singing voices, forming the group in 1964. Although an initial single quickly disappeared from sight, their second single, "Funny How Love Can Be," turned out to be a surprise U.K. Top Ten hit. Further hits followed, including "That's Why I'm Crying" and a cover of "Tossin' And Turnin'," the latter of which hit number three on the U.K. charts. The original trio managed to only release a single full-length album, 1965's This Is the Ivy League, before both Carter and Lewis left the group a year later. With replacement members Tony Burrows and Neil Landon taking the recently departed original members' places, the Ivy League issued two more full-lengths, 1967's Sounds of the Ivy League and 1969's Tomorrow Is Another Day.

Ginger Baker's mid-'70s profile took another unexpected turn following Cream's blues-rock blood and thunder and his Afro-beat matchups with Fela Kuti. He formed this straight-ahead power trio with the guitar- and bass-playing brother team of Adrian and Paul Gurvitz, who'd briefly lit up the '60s U.K. charts as Gun (of "Race With the Devil" fame). Such a step might have seemed subversively normal for Baker, but he and the brothers had an undeniable chemistry; not surprisingly, their debut album is a self-assured, aggressive affair. "Help Me" and "I Wanna Live Again" are punchy and succinct; so are the hard-driving instrumentals "Love Is" and its funkier cousin, "Phil 4."

Gravy Train were a progressive rock group from Lancashire, England, formed by vocalist and guitarist Norman Barratt in 1969. Also featuring J.D. Hughes (keyboards, vocals, wind), Les Williams (bass, vocals) and Barry Davenport (drums), the band would record four studio albums. The first two were released on the Vertigo label, the latter two by Dawn Records. In 1973, Gravy Train moved from Vertigo to Dawn Records, the progressive offshoot of Don Kirshner’s PYE Records label. This produced Second Birth — eight tracks, two of which ("Strength of a Dream" and "Tolpuddle Episode") were released as a single. Again it failed to set the charts alight.