Soul singer Barbara Massey and jazz guitarist Ernie Calabria paired up for this rare 1971 album. With Calabria having worked with Nina Simone and Harry Belafonte, among others, and Massey having sung backup for artists including Jimi Hendrix, Cat Stevens, and Herbie Hancock, the pairing was an inspired one and resulted in this superb soul-jazz outing. Massey has a dry yet passionate and evocative vocal quality that often brings to mind Grace Slick. Fittingly, the duo takes on Jefferson Airplane's "Somebody to Love," turning the Summer of Love anthem into a steamy and hypnotic soul-funk jam. Elsewhere, the duo touches upon such varying styles as folk, Latin, and psychedelic rock with cuts like "For You" and "Do You Know?," bringing to mind such similarly inclined acts as the Free Design and Bill Withers. Anyone who has even a passing interest in this kind of '70s cross-genre aesthetic will certainly want to seek out Prelude To…

AllMusic Review by Steve Leggett
While Herman's Hermits will undoubtedly never get the critical respect afforded other British Invasion groups like the Beatles, the Who, the Rolling Stones, or the Kinks, as a group they weren't as silly as most people remember them. OK, maybe they were – certainly when on camera – but they and their producer Mickie Most had the good sense to pick solid songs to cover (the Goffin & King nugget "I'm into Something Good," "Silhouettes," originally done by the Rays, and Sam Cooke's great "Wonderful World"), which allowed them to sustain a hit-making career long past the end of chart action for such rival pop-oriented British Invasion acts as Gerry & the Pacemakers and Billy J. Kramer. This four-disc set covers the Hermits' years with Most (1964 to 1972) about as well as one could in terms of content, representing everything the group did with him, including a brace of rarities, unreleased tracks, and sides that singer Peter Noone recorded with Most as a solo artist on the producer's RAK label. For most Hermits fans, it will seem like too much of a good thing, as all of the group's hits have reappeared numerous times in compilations too ubiquitous to list – but they would be making a terrible mistake to pass up this set. Indeed, if anything, this quadruple-disc set is too much of a great thing, if such a thing is possible (though with one important flaw). And that makes it well worth saving up for.

On the Brink is a collection of 20 previously uncomped and absolutely superb UK instrumentals from the '60s and early '70s, assembled by legendary psych musician and Psychic Circle label-head, Nick Saloman (The Bevis Frond). Presenting session men discovering sitars, orchestras getting into the freaky side of things, hip theme tunes, Hammonds, fuzz and brass. Somehow sophisticated and cheesy simultaneously, these acts created their own musical world of Chelsea apartments, mini-mokes, dark velvet bespoke tailoring and the dolliest birds this side of Battersea Bridge. Welcome to the soundtrack of your own unmade Swinging London movie. Artists include: Mike Vickers, the Jim Sullivan Sound, the Shock Absorbers, Wynder K. Frog, Rita, Offside, the Les Reed Orchestra, David Smith, the Keith Mansfield Orchestra, the Dave Davani Four, the Fidd, Ken Woodman's Piccadilly Brass, the John Schroeder Orchestra, Trax Four, the Mike Cotton Sound, Lee Mason and his Orchestra, the Vic Flick Sound, the Chris Barber Soul Band, Brian Bennett and Stanley Myers.

The Beta Band were a Scottish musical group formed in 1996. Their style was described as being "folktronica", although it was mainly a blend of folk, psychedelia, electronica, experimental rock and trip hop, often involving stylistic experimentation. Despite inner conflict and the eventual decline of the group, they became critically acclaimed after releasing their first few recordings and achieved a cult following as they began releasing studio albums, before disbanding in 2004. They were praised by members of both Radiohead and Oasis, the former of which chose them to open for their concerts in 2001. The band's music has been featured in multiple films, including High Fidelity and It's All Gone Pete Tong.

A double album boil down of Numero’s 2012 45 x 45RPM art object Eccentric Soul: Omnibus. Gathering 25 loose remnants from across the American soul diaspora, Minibus connects the dots between group harmony, funk, disco, and modern soul, 1966-1980. Housed in a deluxe gatefold, tip-on jacket and illustrated with co-pious notes and photographs, the first ever LP pressing fills in a crucial hole on your Numero shelf.

Teaming up with T-Bone Burnett was a good, healthy move for Natalie Merchant. She had begun to sink into vaguely tuneless singer/songwriterisms with her second solo album, Ophelia, and the sag in artistic quality was notable – which may have been why she bought time with a live album in 1999. Burnett helps restore some musical backbone to her music on Motherland, even if the record is hardly a gritty affair (apart from Merchant's voice, which seems to have deepened and grown tougher since the last time out). Still, there's some character within the sound – atmospheric, blues post-folk-rock, music that breathes – not nearly as precious as Tigerlily or any of the 10,000 Maniacs' records, for that matter, while retaining Merchant's signature sound. Upon first listen, none of the songs announce themselves, yet it all sticks together, and repeated plays reveal Motherland as a subtle grower that will satisfy her large cult.

God's Great Banana Skin is the twelfth studio album by Chris Rea, released in 1992. The album wasn't released in the USA, though some tracks later appeared on the US release of Rea's following album Espresso Logic. The song "Too Much Pride" was featured in the 1993 Erotic Thriller Cold Sweat.

2024 release from the British Pop band fronted by Dr. Robert. Together Alone, their first album since 2021's Journey to You, is another sumptuous collection of wonderfully crafted pop songs.

2014 remastered expanded edition CD reissue of her 1981 first solo album for the RCA label after leaving Motown. That includes a 6 track bonus disc with 7" single mixes, 12" single versions & other rarities. The album reached #15 in the USA & #17 in the UK. It was her second Platinum solo album. The album includes the Top 10 hits "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" & "Mirror Mirror". Also included on the album is the hit dance track "Work That Body", which was co-written by Ross with Paul Jabara & Ray Chew. A solo version of "Endless Love" is also included on the album, a re-recording of her number one duet with Lionel Richie. Also "It's Never Too Late" was also released as a single in some international territories. Why Do Fools Fall in Love was a slick and unpretentious album, which became the start of a great springboard for Ross' in her RCA years.

Let The Canary Sing is a career-spanning collection following Lauper’s career starting from her days in Blue Angel, to her breakout single, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” to the iconic pop stardom that followed. With hits, “True Colors,” “I Drove All Night,” and more, this collection is a staple for any Cyndi Lauper fan.

Influential American folk, psychedelic, and country rock band founded in Los Angeles in 1964. They recorded 12 studio albums before disbanding in 1973. During this period the band underwent several line-up changes with frontman and guitarist Roger McGuinn remaining the only constant member. In 1991 The Byrds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the original five members performing together for the last time after their induction.

Nicknamed "the Quiet Beatle" at the height of Beatlemania, George Harrison did indeed seem somewhat reserved compared to the other members of the Fab Four. He favored wry wit to Ringo Starr's clowning, and he never indulged in either John Lennon's penchant for controversy or Paul McCartney's crowd-pleasing antics. He preferred sly provocations to larger-than-life bravado. Harrison's measured, considered persona was reflected in his music, particularly his clean, composed lead guitar parts but also in his earliest songs for the Beatles where he didn't seem to waste a line. With the introduction of psychedelics, spirituality, and Indian music in the mid-'60s, George's horizons expanded considerably and he started to come into his own as a musician, releasing a pair of experimental albums on Apple's Zapple offshoot before settling into a songwriting style that spliced Dylanesque introspection with his natural pop grace, while also developing a unique slide guitar technique that owed nothing to the blues. Later Beatles albums hinted at this flowering of talent; The Beatles and Abbey Road contained some of his strongest work, with the latter including the standard "Something," a song Frank Sinatra called "the greatest love song of the past 50 years." Still, it wasn't until the 1970 release of All Things Must Pass, the post-Beatles triple album that was effectively his solo debut, that the general audience appreciated the depth of his talents.

Creedence Clearwater Revival was an American rock band that recorded and performed from 1959 to 1972 under various names before settling on Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1967. In early songs (“Born On The Bayou”, etc.), CCR created a kind of legend of “simple guys from the good old American South,” which was matched by vocalist John Fogerty’s deliberately blurred pronunciation and the stage persona of the musicians. In the general range of “classic rock” groups, the ensemble, in addition, stood out for its outwardly simple, but masterfully stylized lyrics, rich in social observations and political statements, in particular about the Vietnam War (“Fortunate Son”, “Run Through The Jungle”). Musically, they spanned roots rock, blues rock, southern rock, country rock and blue-eyed soul.

Maya Hawke is a musician, songwriter, actor and producer - She has released two lauded albums of music to date, Moss (2022) and Blush (2020), both of which showcase her natural gift for songwriting and storytelling, as well as a knack for striking visual presentation with sleeve designs of her own creation - "Therese," the lead single from Moss, garnered global attention with its mesmerizing Brady Corbet-directed video - and tens of millions of streams - and saw Maya make an impressive network TV performance debut on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

Influential American folk, psychedelic, and country rock band founded in Los Angeles in 1964. They recorded 12 studio albums before disbanding in 1973. During this period the band underwent several line-up changes with frontman and guitarist Roger McGuinn remaining the only constant member. In 1991 The Byrds were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the original five members performing together for the last time after their induction.