Mono 2023

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life.

"Columbia Rarities (1971-88)" by Boz Scaggs is a compilation album released on September 15, 2023. It features a selection of rare and lesser-known tracks recorded by Scaggs during his tenure with Columbia Records between 1971 and 1988.

A Garland of Red is the debut album by pianist Red Garland, recorded in 1956 and released on the Prestige label.

Two CD set. Four albums plus bonus tracks from the master of exotica Martin Denny. Mono reproductions of the key albums that launched the space age bachelor pad music trend in the late 1950s. Complete with bird calls, deranged percussion, super cool vibes and Denny's distinctive piano. Including a host of hit records that launched a thousand copyists and ensured that the tiki trend, easy listening and the call of the islands would blossom. Featuring the super expensive (if you seek them out on vinyl) original mono mixes. It was 1957, down in Hawaii; some jazz guys had come in to take up the slack at the bar, playing subtle cool sounds while people drank and talked. It was the Hawaiian Village Hotel in Wakiki. The room was filled with palm trees and bamboo curtains, it was a sanctuary in the madness of the place, a stopping off point for the weary traveller, a refuge from reality. The band did long stints, fuelled by the free bar; the exotic setting slowly infused itself into their music, got under their skin. What started as a few bird calls amid the scraped percussion, shuffling drums, tinkling piano and offset vibes soon became the signature sound of the bar. The "sound effects", created by the players, increased and through chance, misfortune, rum and possibly initially boredom, exotica was born.

Though the early Rolling Stones' repertoire was dominated by covers of electric blues, R&B, and Black rock'n'roll songs, even on their first album they were also branching out into contemporary soul music, including a version of Marvin Gaye's recent hit "Can I Get a Witness." (Actually they released their first soul cover slightly earlier, when they put Arthur Alexander's "You Better Move On" on their first British EP.)

6 albums and a host of singles from Foghat's tenure at Bearsville Records in the early 70s. You would be forgiven for assuming that Foghat were from the United States judging by the way that they ruled America's airwaves and filled America's arenas throughout the 1970s. In fact, they emerged from the same British blues boom of the late 60s that had given us Free, Fleetwood Mac and Ten Years After. Foghat formed in London in 1971 when Savoy Brown's "Lonesome" Dave Peverett on guitar and vocals, Tony Stevens on bass and drummer Roger Earl joined forces with Black Cat Bones' Rod Price on guitar. Kicking off with their Dave Edmunds-produced self-titled debut (CD1), 'Foghat' was snapped up by the fledging Bearsville Record label - home to Todd Rundgren and Sparks, among others - in 1972.

Four CD set featuring mono and stereo mixes of the three albums The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band recorded for Reprise Records, marking the first time the mono mixes have been available on CD. In addition to the mono and stereo mixes of the albums and some edited 45 releases, this set also features an abundance of previously unissued recordings, including out-takes from 'Volume 2' and an entire alternate version of 'A Child's Guide To Good And Evil' that offers a fascinating insight into the production of that album, as well as a rare radio promo spot. The set has been lovingly remastered by Alec Palao and also includes a 40-page booklet featuring an extensive history of the WCPAEB by Gray Newell packed with rare photos and other memorabilia. The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, an unlikely musical collaboration between a trio of well-heeled teenage musicians from the Hollywood Hills and a wealthy wannabe- hipster playboy in his mid- 30s, are regarded by those in the know as one of the most idiosyncratic groups to emerge during the psychedelic era, attracting a devoted cult following thanks to their unique sound. The WCPAEB recorded three albums for Reprise between 1966 and 1968, and this collection captures the group at their creative peak.

First complete anthology of late 60s recordings by highly-regarded Irish singer/ songwriter. Includes his best-known song, the huge European hit 'Days Of Pearly Spencer', as well as more than a dozen tracks making their CD debut. At the height of the protest singer boom that spawned the likes of Dylan and Donovan, Irish-born music industry heavyweight Phil Solomon received a demo tape from a young Ballymena-based singer/songwriter by the name of David McWilliams. Sensing the possibilities, the entrepreneur added McWilliams to his Irish-based roster of acts (The Bachelors, The Dubliners, Van Morrison's Them, etc) and placed the youngster on his fledgling record label Major Minor. Launched in a blaze of publicity in mid-1967, McWilliams coupled voguish songs about social deprivation with lighter, more romantic material, with producer and occasional Beatles/ Rolling Stones associate Mike Leander providing the striking string arrangements.