Elder Beck – Rock And Roll Sermon
Rev. Roger L. Worthy & Sister Bonnie Woodstock – Get Back Satan
Lula Collins – Help Me
{Update: For O-Dub’s take on this comp. and Numero’s Born Again Funk collection check on both Soul-Sides.com and NPR}
By divine intervention I received this collection of gospel music in the mail back in January, but [...]

José James – Code
José James – The Greater Good
Just in time for Valentine’s Day we have a new record, all about L.O.V.E., from vocalist José James. I’ve been listening to this new record from James for well over a month now, trying to figure out why I don’t like it as much as the [...]

Ada Richards – I’m Drunk & I’m Real High
T.L. Barrett – Like A Ship
Gospel Storytellers – Peter & John
Numero strikes gold once again (which gets me thinking, is there a more consistently inspiring independent label out there right now than this one?). This time, as part of their “Good God” series they mine funky [...]

King Crimson – I Talk To The Wind (Studio Run Through)
King Crimson – Epitaph (Backing Track)
This holiday season, musical nerd that I am, I was able to splurge and pick up the 5 CD anniversary edition of a classic LP, King Crimson’s debut from 1969, In The Court of the Crimson King. [...]

Orchestre Poly-Ryhtmo De Cotonou – Malin Kpon O
Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou – Ma Dou Sou Nou Mio
Orchestre Poly-Ryhtmo de Cotonou – Noude Ma Gnin Tche De Me
This was originally going to be just a little highlight of this record, but I just had too much to say and wanted to share just a bit more. [...]

Atlas Sound – Logos
Atlas Sound – Criminals
Let me just add my voice to the chorus currently singing the praises of the freakishly skinny (produced by Marfan Syndrome, which I only learned about today 1/8/10), but also freakishly talented Bradford Cox and his new record under the Atlas Sound alias, Logos. Much of the attention placed [...]

Mirtha y Raul – El Sueño De Andría
Grupo Monumental – Tremendo Tremendo
Back in 2007, out of seemingly nowhere, Canadian record label Waxing Deep released the first volume of Si Para Usted, featuring some extraordinarily rare (especially for us here in the States, what with the embargo and all) Cuban music from the 1960s and 1970s. [...]

Mos Def – Quiet Dog
Mos Def feat. Slick Rick – Auditorium
“Bright moments…bright moments always come back vivid.” – Mos Def – “Life in Marvelous Times”
I’m not entirely sure why it’s taken me so long to write this review. I’d planned on reviewing this record since the moment I heard it was going to be released. [...]

Los Bravos – Rudi’s In Love
Los Kifers – El Sol Es Una Droga
Los Roberts – El Saltamontes
This second volume builds on the deep sounds from vol. 1 and, for my money, exceeds the original volume, a feat fairly rare in the reissue game. Vampi Soul has for years been digging up obscured artists from [...]

24-Carat Black – I’ll Never Let You Go
For the second time in as many years, a musical dream of mine has come true. In 2008, I learned that there were instrumental versions of the records that David Axelrod recorded with the Electric Prunes.  I was nothing short of amazed. This collection of recordings [...]

The Aggrolites – Tonight
The Aggrolites – The Sufferer
If you just judge a book by it’s cover, the Aggrolites appear to be the kind of guys who routinely get profiled by LAPD as gang bangers. However, aside from the lead song “Firecracker,” which is more of a cautionary take on a guy with a “short [...]

Lloyd Miller – Gol-E Gandom
Salah Ragab & the Cairo Jazz Band – Neveen
Spiritual Jazz: Esoteric, Modal & Deep Jazz from The Underground 1968-1977
This collection was originally released through Jazzman in the UK in 2008, but recently got a stateside release through a partnership with Now-Again, a Stones Throw subsidiary. The music contained here carries [...]

Francoiz Breut – Les Jeunes Pousses
Francoiz Breut – Mouchoir De Poche
Francoiz Breut – L’Enticelle Ou La Contrainte Du Feu
This record was released in France late last year through T-rec, which is how I procured my original copy.  It’s finally been released stateside so this seems like a good time to do a full review of [...]

Jarvis Cocker – I Never Said I Was Deep
Jarvis Cocker – Caucasian Blues
For his second proper solo release, Jarvis Cocker is clearly not playing around.  This is not to say that he’s cleaned up his act at all, I simply mean that for a man that has rarely held anything back lyrically, he’s really pushed [...]

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble – Hypnotic
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble – Sankofa
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble – Hypnotic Brass Ensemble – Honest Jon’s
This is a record that I’ve literally been waiting for 2 years to be released.  The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble is currently based out of Chicago and now features 8 sons, (that’s right, 8 sons…and that’s out of 15 total [...]