b. Eddy Conrad, 1959, Gary, Indiana, USA. Conrad grew up in Indiana obsessed by the sound of Isaac Hayes’ ‘Theme From Shaft’. The first record he ever purchased, Conrad would spend his pocket money continually attending reruns of the film at local cinemas. ‘As a kid you always have heroes but with John Shaft [the film’s protagonist] it was serious. He had that certain macho feeling that every kid wishes he had too.’ In 1985 he fulfilled a long-held ambition by re-recording the track, which became a number 13 UK chart hit. It might well have charted higher had another version of ‘Theme From Shaft’ by Van Twist not been released at the same time. Afterwards, however, Conrad and his band disappeared from view completely.

Uprising would be the final studio album featuring Bob Marley & the Wailers to be released during Marley's lifetime. Prophetically, it also contains some of the band's finest crafted material, as if they were cognizant that this would be their final outing. The album's blend of religious and secular themes likewise creates a very powerful and singular quest for spirituality in a material world. Although it is argued that an album's graphic design rarely captures the essence of the work inside, the powerful rebirthing image of a rock solid Marley emerging with his arms raised in triumph could not be a more accurate visual description of the musical jubilation within. Musically, the somewhat staid rhythms often synonymous with reggae have been completely turned around to include slinky and liquid syncopation. "Work," "Pimper's Paradise," and the lead-off track "Coming in From the Cold" are all significant variations on the lolloping Rasta beat.

MACKS CREEK BAND out of Missouri are a working band still ripping it up decades after this rare private press LP was unleashed. This is primarily a live band, the scorching dual guitar action and propulsive rhythms captured here leave zero doubt they can jam your mind right out of your body at a show. Laid down at Parallax Recording Studios in Willow Springs, Missouri in 1980, the LP contains all original material loaded with riverboats, reefer, catfish, nasty ladies dressed to kill, characters like Diamond Jim and Bertha Bryan… southern rock potent enough to up the ante for the Allmans and other southern rockers they shared the stage with back in the day. They primarily worked the St. Louis / Southern Illinois area and are a reminder that some regional bands who made their bread and butter killing it live with cover versions of classic southern rock made the smart move to do all original material when it came time to make their own record.

Sticker, embossed "Inner Knot" logo on front cover. Includes an alternate mix of "Matte Kudasai" as a bonus track (not listed on back cover or side B label). Includes a branded inner sleeve.

Compilation on vinyl curated especially for Record Store Day 2023 with an additional 7" bonus disc.

Comes in a gatefold double pocket jacket and includes a double-page insert for "Atlantic Records 75th Anniversary" and an "Acoustic Sounds" catalog. Each LP comes in a "Quality Record Pressings" rice paper inner sleeve. There are 2 stickers on the front of the shrink-wrap - "Quality Record Pressings" and a "75 Atlantic Audiophile Series" hype sticker. Some copies have an additional sticker with "AAPA 003-45A". 100% All-Analog Mastered and cut to lacquer from a 1/4" EQ'd Dolby tape copy of the original master tape.

En España, la cantante Isabel Pantoja es considerada una de las mayores practicantes vocales de la copla tradicional de la historia. Aunque su versión andaluza del estilo folclórico está muy orquestada, su atención detallada a la narrativa, la melodía, el drama y el ritmo es singular. Desde mediados de los 80, ha ampliado su repertorio para incluir baladas pop románticas sin dañar su estatura. La querida reputación musical de Pantoja se ha visto impulsada por una vida llena de premios (más de 40 discos con certificación de platino), tragedias y desventuras (incluido un período de dos años en prisión por ser cómplice de lavado de dinero), así como una evacuación médica de emergencia de una isla remota durante su período de competencia en la edición española de la serie de televisión Survivor.

Wewantsounds is delighted to release 'Sharayet el Disco' a selection of Egyptian 80s Disco and Boogie tracks curated by Egyptian DJ Disco Arabesquo from his vast collection of cassettes. Most tracks have never been released on any other format and are making their vinyl debut with this set. A journey through the funky sound of 80s Egypt, Sharayet El Disco (which can be translated by "Disco Cassettes") features Simone, Ammar El Sherei and more obscure names from Cairo‘s cassette culture. The audio has been remastered for vinyl by David Hachour at Colorsound Studio in Paris and features artwork by young Egyptian graphic designer Heba Tarek.

I believe Rave On was Artful Dodger's best LP. I have all their albums and Rave On is a listen from beginning to end every time. I was lucky enough to receive the CD release from the Cleveland Agora back in the day. When I say lucky I mean really lucky! The first copy was blank, nothing was recorded on it and after I contacted the Cleveland Agora and they sent me a replacement. I've had the pleasure of listening to it ever sense. I also have the LP for when I want to hear this great album on vinyl. Forty three years and it never gets old.

Introducing "Ansonia Records Presents - Salsa Con Estilo - Dance Floor Gems from the Vaults: 1950s - 1980s," a vibrant compilation that traces the musical journey of salsa through the iconic NYC-based Latin label, Ansonia Records and its founder Rafael "Ralph" Pérez. A trailblazer in the U.S. recording industry, Pérez played a pivotal role in shaping the Latin music landscape, particularly during the label's heyday from the 1950s to the 1970s.

This album covers the period 1979 to 1987 and features 14 tracks. When punk rock started to fizzle out and Squat Punks started to appear on the streets, many of the UK's disaffected youths had already moved sideways into Modernism and fell in love with bands like The Jam, Secret Affair, The Purple Hearts, The Lambrettas and The Chords but lets also remember our love for The Beat, Madness and The Specials. Mod was another gang culture, to some a way of life, to some it became life. The smart, striking fashion sense, the scooters, the music; (some from the 60's, soul and Motown), some from the 70's and 80's, guitar driven power pop. Wow! Mod was the real deal.

Recorded in 1985 after a break from recording and time spent living in Barbados and Liberia, Nina’s Back features a rejuvenated Nina Simone reaching out to a wider musical audience. Featuring a number of memorable original Simone compositions, the band includes horns and backup singers for a recording that’s unique in Nina’s catalog.

Limited edition 40th anniversary version of the band’s second and final studio album, pressed on 180g crystal clear vinyl.
Originally released in July 1980 on Factory Records, the album reached number 6 in the UK Charts. In the same year, the album was voted number 1 in NME’s 1980 Albums of the Year poll. Closer was recorded in March 1980 at Britannia Row Studios in Islington, London. It was produced by the highly praised Martin Hannett whose distinctive production style utilised unorthodox sound recording and technology.

Four CD set. Kim Wilde has blazed a trail ever since she made her debut with the indelible 'Kids in America' back in 1981. Kim's early hits on Mickie Most's RAK Records blend angsty new wave energy with the innate pop sensibility she shares with her chief collaborators, brother Ricky and father Marty. 'Love Blonde: The RAK Years' is the most comprehensive collection of Kim's RAK output ever assembled. Boasting 50 tracks across four CDs, it brings together three classic studio albums, 'Kim Wilde', 'Select' and 'Catch as Catch Can', each remastered and expanded with bonus tracks, plus 'Special Disco Mixes'. Featuring era-authentic artwork and previously unseen photos, this exclusive remix album features 12" versions of ten singles, extended and reinvented in the spirit of the 80s. Six of these mixes have been newly commissioned especially for this package. Bonus material including B-sides and album out-takes from the album sessions rounds out a complete survey of Kim's RAK years. Presented in a stunning lift-off lid box with special print finish, each album in this package is housed in a gatefold sleeve featuring the original vinyl artwork. The 48-page booklet features lyrics, a RAK discography, rare photos and new sleeve notes written by Kim Wilde expert Marcel Rijs.

ENDE VOM LIED is a genre-spanning collection of punk, post-punk and avant-garde bands from the former East Germany, chronicling the work of free spirits pitted against government restraints and implied genre limitations. The underground scene in the GDR was a hydra, a noisy mix of musicians, poets, pain¬ters, photographers, filmmakers, punks and freaks. In the immediate aftermath of the primal scream that was punk, music often bred with poetry or painting in short-lived liaisons or enduring collaborations to produce a new generation of genre bastards. With the lines blurring between forms, a search for new shapes began. In the German Democratic Republic, this search constituted a tightrope walk, a dance for expression between subculture and a dictatorship.