'One riproaring compilation.'
MOJO ****
'...a manifesto for a cultural revolution.'
Uncut ****
'...perfect selection...a veritable who's who of pre-Ramones alternative music.'
Clash 9/10
'... an ideal guide to the poseurs and provocateurs of the punk and pre-punk era...'
Q ****
'...close to definitive...What's fantastic is here's Needsy's mix tape of what he hears in the backstory of punk'
Record Collector****
'...a wonderful, diverse journey...surprises at every turn.'
The Independent ****
'...his knowledge of the backwaters is bottomless...'
The Word
'...engaging, entertaining and enlightening.'
Mudkiss
'...the brilliant Needs essay that fills the bulging booklet is the icing on the cake...'
Shindig! Star Pick

The 2CD format comes with the addition of an in-depth 76-page perfect-bound book written by Needs. Across three decades, the album showcases 33 influential tracks that shaped the sound and attitude from New York Dolls, Mott The Hoople, T Rex, Suicide, MC5, Can , Sun Ra, The Stooges and Dr Feelgood plus many more. Also included for the first time on CD is the ultra-rare Hollywood Brats cover of The Kinks' “I Need You” alongside a treasure trove of unlikely but immeasurably crucial obscurities.

Also available on 23 track 2LP and digital download.

We have 3 sets to give away of both our brand new Year Zero releases. All you have to do is head over to our Year Zero Facebook page and answer a frighteningly easy question.

Click Here to go over to our Facebook page and enter

Year Zero are absolutely thrilled to announce a brand new release for 25 October, the second in our W.A.U! Mr Modo themed releases - the label started by The Orb and Youth in the late 80s. This deluxe 3CD, 2LP and download package tells the story of the label's pioneering acid house, ambient and dub sounds during it's existence in 1989-1991.

W.A.U!. Mr Modo was the product of likeminded music freaks and lifelong friends Youth and Dr Alex Paterson setting out to celebrate and play their part in the acid house revolution sweeping the UK in the late 80s. In the process, they became two of the most well-known, lasting and influential names to emerge from the whole movement, while the label epitomises the innocence and questing spirit of the era.

Alongside this revolutionary collection of music, we have lined up some killer special content to accompany the package. The cover image is designed by label cohort Jimmy Cauty who produced tracks on the label before going on to form The KLF with Bill Drummond. Also in the package is an extensive 'scrap book' fold out poster of original W.A.U! Mr Modo cuttings from 80s and 90s music press unearthed from Alex Paterson's personal archive. Add the bonus third disc mixed by The Orb and this package really celebrates the label and everything it stood for giving the owner a collectable package of acid house history.

Click here for more info and tracklisting.

'Bustin' Out 1983 - New Wave To New Beat Volume 3' is the third installment in veteran DJ Mike Maguire's sparkling, ongoing series chronicling the seismic developments in electronic based music through the often misrepresented 1980s.

The microscope now falls on 1983, when the fallout from the previous year's 'Planet Rock' spawned electro funk in tandem with the emerging hip hop and graffiti cultures, while electronic developments started infiltrating many more stratas of new music, whether disco, punk or even mainstream.

Steering clear of the obvious route the set kicks off with electro-punk poetess Anne Clark from Croydon, proceeding with an atmospheric mix of legendary film director-composer John Carpenter's theme to 'Assault On Precinct 13', before hitting New York City's boiling electro scene with Special Request's 'Salsa Smurf' and later the Jonzun Crew's 'We Are The Jonzun Crew', while Downtown is represented by Liquid Liquid's 'Optimo'. New York's clubs also massively influenced New Order, as beautifully shown on their 'Power, Corruption And Lies' album, represented here by the grand melancholy of 'Your Silent Face', while San Francisco's innovative electronic movement is represented by Twilight 22 [formed by Stevie Wonder's former synth programmer Gordon Bahary].

Rather than focusing entirely on US developments, the set carries on its tradition of exploring Europe's often darker use of the new technology, including Belgium's Front 242 and The Neon Judgement, Denmark's Laid Back with the enigmatic electro of 'White Horse', German goth-punks Xmal Deutschland, while Koto's dub of 'Chinese Revenge' spotlights the burgeoning Italo disco movement. Another standout track comes from German synth duo The Unknown Cases fronted by legendary former Traffic percussionist Reebop Kwaku Baah on the rousing Afro-electro of 'Masimba Bele'. After such a potent, multi-strained hotbed, the UK's Cocteau Twins make the perfect finale.

"Shows how the introduction of new technology had led to electronic music bustin' out to become a worldwide phenomenon. The beat lives on..." 4/5 Big Cheese Magazine

"The third in the series of DJ Mike Maguire's incisive series brings some seriously influential electronic moments from the often grossly misrepresented early-'80s. He's done a magnificent job in not just separating the wheat from the chaff but also licensing some previously very elusive gems from Anne Clarke, Jonzun Crew and Front 242. A firm history lesson"
7/10 Clash Magazine

Click here for more info.

We tracked down Daniel Bressanutti from Front 242, Jose Diaz from Special Request, Gordon Bahary from Twilight 22 and Dirk Da Davo from Neon Judgement and asked them to cast their minds back to when they were making musical history...

1. What did 1983 mean to you?

NJ : "The beginning of our career with The Neon Judgement. We were young and we thought that we might be able to change the world and make it a better place through our music"

F242 : "We were in an optimistic mood after good reactions to our music from many places around the world"

SR :"It was a great time to experiment with sounds and express yourself musically"

T22 : "The cold war, Brave New World, the cleanest beats with drum machines and razor sharp sound, rap music being radical and exciting"

2. What do you remember about recording your track?

NJ : "It was recorded in a small basement...It was the period that we first started to use a sequencer to build up our tracks... The Fashion Party was recorded with a 4 track tape recorder! "

F242 : "We wanted to refine our sound and build on the experiments started. I just modified my Jupiter 4 so it could be triggered as four separated voices from the Roland Mc4 sequencer. The challenge was to compose "Take One" with just a system 100 from Roland and the Jupiter 4 + rhythm box. It was a good school for techniques that we would use to create part of our future sound"

SR : "It was a very simple track done on a 4 channel tape machine"

T22 : "The clock on the studio wall and going over budget, and having to ask my father to borrow $2,000. The excitement and being told by the studio staff that I had just made a hit song, and somehow knew it"

3. Did it feel like you were breaking new ground or experimenting with new technology when you were doing it? What were you trying to say with the music?

NJ : "No, we didn't have the idea that we were doing something new really. We used electronic instruments because we were only 2 people in the band.. With synthesizers it was easier to make a lot of noise with less people.
We felt that it was important that our compositions had to be very danceable.
They reflected a feeling that was all around us : the dark part of the Eighties you know"

F242 : "We wanted to explore the rhythmic and vocal aspect of our music in a more ‘in your face’ manner, with even less regard for conventional methods. We did not have a master-plan. Belgium is a tough country to achieve anything with music, and electronics gave us the means to express something different that was not constrained by borders and classifications. The main thing was that we did not sound Belgian, but European …in the good sense of the term!"

SR : "I was experimenting with new sounds and technology at that time trying to find a new groove to capture the audience. I was trying to mix Latin beats with electronic sounds. With this song I was trying to open up people’s ear to a different type of genre"

T22 : "Yes it felt like new ground, and the technology was a big part of the excitement. I wanted kids to make something of themselves and get off the street. I asked the co-lyricists to say that and gave them the theme. It was magical"

4. What was the reaction to the music you were doing then - hostile, positive or ignored?

NJ : "The main press wasn't to wild about the songs in the beginning. They didn't have a clue what we were all about, so it took a rather long time before the main music press started to accept our sound. But that wasn't bad : it gave us the time to develop our sound in a more 'relax' and 'free' way. But underground press was positive about us from the first release on!"

F242 : "As weird as it can seem, the bad reviews, and there were lots of those, gave us a positive push, because what was criticised and disliked were the things that we found the most important aspects of our musical direction. In Belgium just a few people gave us support, but these people were key players in the music media - it was a time when the old guard was pushed out because of their irrelevance, and they where quite hostile and insulting"

SR : "The reaction to the music was positive. Some were in awe cause it was different, I guess you can say ahead of the time"

T22 : "My white friends thought I went crazy and into a culture I had no business in (black/hip hop). They looked at me as if I was someone they didn't know. But it was part of who I was. The A&R man at the record label called me on a Saturday and screamed into the phone "that's a hit!" They were great days and it was good for getting dates!"

For full album info and tracklisting, click here

Second in our series of ‘New Wave To New Beat’ series, charting the groundbreaking developments in electronic based music through the ‘80s, features Gary Numan, E.S.G., Man Parrish, Mark Stewart, Colourbox and Portion Control amongst others.

Click here for more info and tracklisting.

“…fascinating and almost disturbing electronic avant-innovation” Record Collector
" An intriguing snapshot of a time when the underground kicked against the pricks and almost anything appeared possible." ROCK SOUND
"You have to say 1982 was a pretty good year for decent, innovative music given the quality and diversity of the artists on this particular compilation" 4 STARS BIG CHEESE
"DJ Mike Maguire spins Man Parrish, ESG, Dub Syndicate and Portion Control and it all sounds terrific" 3 STARS MOJO

Last year the mighty X-ray Spex played one heck of a comeback gig in Camden, North London. You weren't there? Well all can now relive the magical live one-off comeback of X-ray Spex first live performance since 1979 as ‘X-ray Spex Live @ The Roundhouse London 2008’ CD/DVD is OUT NOW.

We still have some signed copies of the album to buy. You can order the album by clicking here

There are also a couple of interviews with Poly online:
CLICK HERE TO READ POLY TALKING TO ARTROCKER
CLICK HERE TO READ POLY TALKING TO VIVELEPUNK

To celebrate our re-issue of the SOUND IRATION "IN DUB" album, we are excited to bring you an exclusive free download of a Sound Iration promo DJ Mix from MANASSEH.

Taking inspiration from his legendary Kiss FM shows, the mix is peppered with sirens, FX and infamous Manasseh jingles.
ENJOY !

The Manasseh DJ Mix can be downloaded here.

You can buy the album here.

Formed by ‘Scruff’ and Nick Manasseh, Sound Iration’s only album ‘In Dub’ was a seminal affair, spearheading a new age in homegrown British reggae and pioneering what's now known as ‘80s digi dub, the original album is much sought after by collectors.

The album is now reissued along with a second disc of previously unreleased material including tracks from the unfinished follow up album, demos and much sought after dub plates.

The release marks the first in our series of classic reissues from the Wau! Mr Modo label, formed by Killing Joke bassist Youth and The Orb co-founder Alex Paterson.

“This lovingly compiled reissue of Sound Iration ‘In Dub’, and with Disc Two the collectors treat, make this a crucial document of a musical turning point” London Metro
"Mightily welcome re-release this could hardly be bettered" - Reggae Music
"One of the most important UK dub albums ever made" - 9/10 IDJ
"With a bonus CD of unreleased dubplates, 80s dub at its weightiest" - DJ MAG

And here are some features with Nick…
http://www.headshighmusic.com/2010/04/re-issue-sound-iration-in-dub/
http://www.datatransmission.co.uk/Features/585/

For a tracklisting, further info and to buy the album click here

The first in our series of New Wave to New Beat compilations 'Bustin' Out, The Post Punk Era 1979-1981', will be released on 15th of February. The music termed post punk is well represented in many of its diverse strains by some of its prime movers; encompassing anything from Tubeway Army's austere electronic pop on 'Replicas', through to 23 Skidoo's atmospheric tribal boogie on 'Gospel Comes to New Guinea', every track charts a different musical seam, which invariably proved to be highly influential, from Killing Joke's 'Almost Red', to Belgian new beat pioneers Front 242's 'Body to Body' to Bill Laswell's Bustin' Out and Tuxedomoon's gripping 'Desire' ………….

For a tracklisting, further info and to buy the album click here.

First released in May 1961 as a (slightly premature) 10th Anniversary celebration of the famous Soho jazz venue, Jazz At The Flamingo now serves as an ideal introduction to Fantastic Voyage’s new series of competitively-priced Ember Jazz Originals. Founded in 1952, the Flamingo in Wardour Street played host to both the cream of visiting US jazz musicians and also the emerging British talent. It is the latter on which Ember Jazz Originals will focus primarily. During the Fifties, Flamingo founder Jeffrey Kruger built up his interests in music publishing and also facilitated recordings of some of his favourite artists, initially placing them with established outlets including the Tempo label. Then in 1960, the first British jazz releases appeared on his own Ember label, both reissues of material previously placed elsewhere, and releases of entirely new repertoire.Jazz At The Flamingo was a collection of personal favourites, some previously released on Tempo, Decca, Parlophone and the nascent Ember itself, others new to vinyl. As such, it is a perfect primer for the Ember Jazz Originals series, which will reissue entire albums by many of the feature artists and others besides. To maximise the nostalgia of this reissue, Fantastic Voyage has faithfully retained the original album’s artwork, and the CD booklet reproduces the album’s original labels and sleeve notes (penned by Kruger himself). To increase the desirability of this release, Fantastic Voyage has added all four tracks from The British Jazz Trio EP of September 1962 (again reproducing all original artwork) and two previously unissued, longer outtakes from sessions for the Tommy Whittle Quintet album of 1959.

For more info click HERE.

Founded in 1952, the Flamingo in Wardour Street played host to both the cream of visiting US jazz musicians and also the emerging British talent. It is the latter on which Ember Jazz Originals will focus primarily. During the Fifties, Flamingo founder Jeffrey Kruger built up his interests in music publishing and also facilitated recordings of some of his favourite artists, initially placing them with established outlets including the Tempo label. Then in 1960, the first British jazz releases appeared on his own Ember label, both reissues of material previously placed elsewhere, and releases of entirely new repertoire.The London Jazz Quartet album was recorded in May 1959 and first released on Tempo. A year later it was reissued on Ember with new artwork, incorporating the striking “swirl” graphic, which would be a feature of many Ember jazz sleeves. The project leader, drummer Tony Crombie, had previously been associated with big bands, so this quartet recording was quite a departure for him, and one that saw him collaborating with eminent British musicians Tubby Hayes, Alan Branscome and Jack Fallon. It’s a testament to the quartet’s proficiency and agility that, while Fallon sticks to bass throughout, the rest cover ten instruments between them. Crombie contributes the majority of the atmospheric tunes, which also include compositions by Tony Kinsey, Alan Clare and Bill Le Sage.This reissue, mastered from stereo tapes, is housed in the original Ember sleeve, while the booklet reproduces the original Ember sleeve notes and labels, plus the sleeve to the earlier Tempo release.

For more info click HERE.

I think Phil [Spector] made some good records, but I know a lot of people who made better records and more of them, and no one knows who they are! Maxwell Davis…I doubt if you’ve ever heard that name – but Maxwell Davis made records, he was the quiet producer/arranger for the Mesner brothers at Aladdin, the Bihari brothers at Modern and Art Rupe at Specialty. Maxwell Davis must have made a hundred hits, not 12 or 17. And nobody knows who Maxwell Davis is today!Jerry LeiberWailin’ Daddy is the inaugural volume in our new Architects of Rock ’n’ Roll series tracing the forefathers of the Big Beat. Fantastic Voyage is thrilled to be able to kick off this new series with the first ever overview of the Wizard of the West Coast: Wailin’ Maxwell Davis. His work as a saxophonist, bandleader, arranger and producer has earned him the title Father of West Coast R&B.CD1 is devoted to the best sides released by Davis in his own right between 1945 and 1956, while on CDs 2 & 3 R&B expert Dave Penny has concentrated on recordings (from the ’40s and ’50s respectively) on which Davis appears as accompanist, be it band member, session player or band leader…but always contributing an exciting tenor sax solo or two!The labels with which Davis was associated represent a stunning role call of the major players in Post war R&B: legendary indies such as Aladdin/Philo, Modern/RPM, Imperial/Colony , King/Federal, Exclusive/Excelsior, Specialty, Down Beat/Swing Time and Black & White, as well as major labels like Capitol, Decca/Brunswick, Mercury and RCA Victor, and smaller operations like Supreme, Pacific, Miltone and Chesterfield.Likewise the artists with whom Davis worked reads like a Who’s Who of Post War blues and R&B: Helen Humes, Amos Milburn, Charles Brown, Floyd Dixon, Johnny Otis, Joe and Jimmy Liggins, Gene Phillips, Lloyd Glenn, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Big Joe Turner, Little Willie Littlefield, Pete Johnson, Lowell Fulson, T-Bone Walker, Louis Jordan, Percy Mayfield, Johnny “Guitar” Watson, Etta James and B B King. Davis also fitted in comfortably with the jazz scene (Charlie Mingus, Marshal Royal, Jay McShann, Lee and Lester Young, Ray Anthony and June Christy) and the rock ’n’ rollers (Oscar McLollie, Dolly Cooper, Donna Hightower and Rusty McDonald). Genre aficionados will appreciate the lesser names featured here and the rare, new-to-digital sides…some of which have never been reissued in any form until now!

For more info click HERE.

A comprehensive 2 CD collection of blondes, brunettes and redheads, Bombshells is a silky selection of 40 curvaceous singing sirens of the silver screen that covers the 1940s through to 1960 like a bullet bra under a tight sweater! Bombshells: Singing Sirens of the Silver Screen is a must-have collection that features 40 of the most enduring blondes, brunettes and redheads to ever slither across the silver screen. Once upon a time an aspiring actress who could dance, act and sing was referred to as a “triple threat” and in theory the more proficient she was at one or all of them the more likely she would garner work. This collection focuses on those very same vocal attributes and while some of these gals certainly sang better than others they all looked pretty darn good trying.This dreamy collection affords the listener a rare opportunity to share an evening with American starlets such as Marilyn Monroe, Ava Gardner, Dolores Gray and Betty Grable as well as international stars such as English Goddess Diana Dors, the Spanish flower Sarita Montiel as well as the Italian sirens both Sophia Loren and the tragic Pier Angeli and that is just a few of the fine ladies on this set. Not only does this collection feature actresses from the big screen it also showcases a few that found fame on the small screen of television such as lovely Linda Lawson and the buttery blonde Lola Albright, who both starred in very popular late 1950s American programs. Stylistically this set contains a wide array of Post War pop flavours from standard show tunes to big band ballads and small combo jazz, as well as a touch of rhythm and blues and even rock ’n’ roll!Each song on Bombshells: Singing Sirens of the Silver Screen has been carefully digitally remastered, with such clarity it is as if you are hearing these delightful divas for the first time. This diverse, historic 2CD set includes extensive biographical liner notes that touch on the careers of each individual starlet as well as the recording dates and personnel of each track. With rare recordings and vast liner notes, this painstakingly assembled collectors keepsake offers a full visual and audio experience that inferior downloading simply cannot supply.

For more info click HERE.

Next up in our regional rock n roll survey takes us to the West Coast with 60 tracks - many of them hard-to-find on CD. Includes many sought-after original recordings from the Capitol, Dot, Era, Imperial, Liberty, Orbit and RPM labels. Featured artists include Wanda Jackson, Ricky Nelson, Bob Luman, The Collins Kids, Glen Glenn, Alis Lesley and many more.

For more info click HERE.

75 prime cuts of Memphis Rock & Roll, including many new to digital. Artists featured include Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, Conway Twitty, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Charlie Rich and Sonny Burgess, but genre aficionados will also savour the less-known names. As with previous ‘Sugar’ releases, this is once again compiled and annotated by record producer and music historian Stuart Colman.

For more info click HERE.

Good Rockin’ Man presents 50 essential tracks from one of the finest blues shouters and exponents of jump blues/R&B. Drawing on sessions for Gold Star, DeLuxe, King, Home Of The Blues and Imperial, blues authority Neil Slaven selects the best recordings from Roy Brown’s most successful years. This definitive collection features all 16 of the singer’s R&B hits, including the original version of Good Rocking Tonight.

For more info click HERE.

A whopping 88 tracks from the Platters’ most successful years with the Mercury label. Features 33 US Top 100 Hits 1955-1961 including chart toppers ‘The Great Pretender’, ‘My Prayer’, ‘Twilight Time’ and ‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes’ plus the R&B No.1 ‘Only You (And You Alone)’. The album is superbly annotated by vocal group authority Marv Goldberg.

For more info click HERE.

We are pleased to announce a new series titled Ember Jazz Originals, featuring re-mastered versions of the wealth of British Jazz albums originally issued on the Ember record label. Featuring artists such as Tubby Hayes, Tony Crombie, Ronnie Ross and they friends, these guys entered the spotlight through the infamous Flamingo Jazz club founded by Jeffrey Kruger in 1952 located in Wardour Street in Soho, London.

The first two reissues - London Jazz Quartet and Jazz at the Flamingo hit the streets on 17th October available at the attractive low price of £4.99 each.

Former Radio 2 and Never Mind the Buzzcocks man Mark Lamarr begins a brand new 2CD rock ‘n’ roll series for us entitled 'Wild Streak!' with the first release hitting in November. In addition, Mark follows up the popular Rhythm & Blues Christmas album with a new yuletide offering called 'Rockin'& Rollin with Santa Claus', released in October.

5 STARS – LONDON EVENING STANDARD

Compiled and packaged to appeal both to devotees of the multi-platform L.A. Noire video game, and fans of 1940s jazz and R&B, this 2CD set showcases 46 prime examples of atmospheric 1940s jazz, blues and R&B, bookended by classic film noir themes. Big-name artists include Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Buddy Johnson, T-Bone Walker, Louis Jordan and many more.

For more info click HERE.

4 STARS - MOJO

Possibly the definitive and most comprehensive Doo Wop compilation ever released, this 3CD compiles the 89 best-selling R&B vocal group hits of the Fifties, including 34 R&B No.1s.! Annotated by Marv Goldberg: the world’s leading authority on R&B vocal groups, this is the first of a series exploring different aspects of Doo Wop: future sets will cover “white” doo wop, more hits & rarities

For more info click HERE.

Definitive 2CD, 50-track exploration of jump blues singer Wynonie Harris at his peak 1944-1960 covering classics recorded for Decca, Philo, Apollo, Hamp-Tone, Aladdin, Bullet, King and Roulette.

This 2CD includes all 15 of his R&B hits, plus his 1945 chart debut with the Lucky Millinder Orchestra. Wynonie is regarded as one of the key forerunners in rock n roll - a true legend.

For more info click HERE.

The new edition of our Fantastic Voyage podcast is now available to stream and download from iTunes. The podcast is hosted again by acclaimed radio host John Silke and features tracks and info from all our July and August releases. There is also an exclusive competition to WIN a copy of our award winning British Jazz 3CD collection - 'Tubby Hayes: Jazz Genius - The Flamingo Era'.

Stream or download the July podcast HERE.

50-track feel-good celebration of dining al fresco: the food, the drink, the sunny days and warm summer nights. This 2 CD set features a tasty blend of rock & roll and R&B, concocted by record producer and music historian Stuart Colman. The set features the likes of Louis Jordan, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Coasters and Gene Vincent rub shoulders with more obscure fare, making it the perfect accompaniment to your summer BBQ.

For more info click HERE

Forth edition of our Sugar series, following the successful previous editions 'Heavy Sugar' (New Orleans), 'Savvy Sugar' (West Coast) and 'Sassy Sugar' (Nashville). Classy Sugar features 75 prime cuts of New York Rock & Roll and R&B including Duane Eddy, Elvis Presley, The Platters, Bobby Darin, Ray Charles, The Drifters and Neil Sedaka, but genre aficionados will also savour the less-known names. The set is compiled and annotated by record producer and music historian Stuart Colman.

For more info click HERE.

A definitive and wide-ranging survey of Slack’s boogie woogie recordings of the ’40s and ’50s, including sides cut for Columbia and Capitol, as well as rarely-compiled tracks for Decca and EmArcy. Includes the hits Cow Cow Boogie, Riffette, Cuban Sugar Mill and The House Of Blue Lights (later covered by Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis).

For more info click HERE.

Following acclaimed sets devoted to Bluegrass and Western Swing, Fantastic Voyage’s survey of the sounds which shaped country and rock ’n’ roll now focuses on the golden years of Honky Tonk. 'Honky Tonkin' features 87-track selection spanning 3 decades of vintage country and Features many of the giants of country: Ernest Tubb, Hank Williams, Webb Pierce, Hank Thompson, Faron Young, Ray Price, Lefty Frizzell, Buck Owens and George Jones, as well as early sides by Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn. Songs like Walkin’ The Floor Over You, I’m Moving On, Wild Side Of Life, There Stands The Glass, In The Jailhouse Now and Lovesick Blues have become standards of country repertoire. This really is the ultimate Honky Tonk compilation!

For more info click HERE.

Following the phenomenal success of Girls Gone Rockin’, Fantastic Voyage is proud to present a sister volume of distaff delights drawn from across the Rock’n’Roll spectrum. Like its predecessor, Let’s Have A Party offers a toe-tappin’ selection of hits and rarities that will please both avid collectors and those just beginning to explore the genre. From the sock-hoppin’ ‘Petticoat Baby’ to the risqué ‘Drill, Daddy, Drill’, it’s time to leave the ‘Dirty Dishes’ and get this party started!

READ MORE.

We’ve teamed up with Bigmikeydread Reggae Radio and album compiler Phil Etgart to bring you a podcast delving into Jamaican Sound System history that forms the backbone to this release.. Mikey and Phil discuss the American Shuffle Blues and R&B music that was played on the Sound Systems before Jamaica’s own home grown recording industry was born and play a variety of influential tracks from the album. It’s an invaluable guide to this era of Jamaican music and we hope you find it a pleasurable and educational listen!

Download or stream the podcast HERE.

Put together by leading reggae collector & authority Phil Etgart, this collection draws together the most popular of the influential Jamaican sound system favourites, many of which were later covered by some of Jamaica’s biggest names, from early pioneers such as Laurel Aitken, Derrick Morgan and the Skatalites to internationally successful acts that include Ken Boothe, John Holt and U Roy. This is the music that provided the inspiration for Ska and all that followed - and with many of these 85 essential and hugely influential recordings making their first official release on CD, this 3 disc set is sure to appeal to both Jamaican music fans and followers of hard-hitting Fifties R&B and Shuffle Blues alike.

READ MORE.

The most complete set ever released of the underappreciated and pioneering “Blonde Bombshell of Rhythm”. Disc 1 compiles all the known recordings of all-girl band Ina Ray Hutton and Her Melodears. As well as the commercial 78rpm recordings, the album also includes film soundtrack and radio broadcast performances.  This is the essential 3CD set, with detailed sleeve notes, session details and rare photos.

READ MORE.

George Jones is regarded as The Greatest Living Country Singer so it’s only right we bring you a round up of his work in this major release, compiling all the Starday singles (A’s and B’s) plus highlights from the Starday albums, as well as his early recordings for Mercury over a generous bumper 3CD set. As well as honky-tonk and country gospel, Ragged But Right features rockabilly sides recorded under aliases. This 86-track selection has been compiled and annotated by ’50s music authority Dave Penny.

This important compilation brings together, for the first time, the birth of the legend. Collecting all the A- and B-sides of every one of Jones’ early singles for the Texas-based Starday label from his recording debut in January 1954 through the switch to the major Mercury Records in 1957 and on into 1959 when he crossed over into the mainstream pop charts and beyond. Featuring no less than 18 US Country and Pop chart smash hits, these include the original versions of “Why Baby Why” (1955), “Gonna Come Get You” (1956) and “White Lightnin’” (1959) as well as “Don’t Stop The Music”, “Color Of The Blues”, “Who Shot Sam?” and “Big Harlan Taylor”. In addition to this proud legacy of stone honky-tonk and country gospel, we also offer George’s secret history when, hiding behind pseudonyms such as Thumper Jones or Hank Smith, he recorded cover versions of country hits for various mail-order record companies and along the way was responsible for some of the wildest rockabilly to be recorded outside of Memphis.

For more info and to order, click here.

Waiting For A Song, the 1974 solo album by former member of the Mamas and the Papas Denny Doherty, was only released in the UK and the singer’s native Canada. Fantastic Voyage has remastered the album from the original tapes and retained the original UK sleeve artwork. The album spans the sunshine pop/harmony vocal sounds of the Sixties (check out Together), country/soft rock (Southern Comfort) and the singer/songwriter sound prevalent in the Seventies. Doherty tackles songs by such notable writers as Gary Osborne (lyricist for Jeff Wayne’s The War Of The Worlds project and occasional collaborator with Elton John), the Addrisi Brothers (of “Never My Love” fame), and music duos England Dan & John Ford Coley and Hall & Oates. He also tackles “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’”, while a Forties standard by Harry Warren & Mack Gordon gave him a US Easy Listening Top 20 hit. Much in evidence are the harmony vocals of his former bandmates “Mama” Cass Elliott and Michelle Phillips. In a new essay, journalist and BBC broadcaster Spencer Leigh recounts Doherty’s early years, the story of the Mamas and the Papas, and the singer’s subsequent career.

For more info and to order, click here.

We are thrilled to announce that our first of our new monthly Fantastic Voyage Podcasts is now available to download for free. We have teamed up with John Silke (The Silke Selection) who presents a wide variety of tracks from our current and forthcoming releases as well as delving deep into the back catalogue to uncover gems from our earlier releases. Download for free from iTunes HERE or Jellycast HERE.

By drawing on surveys of sheet music sales, which were only published in the US trade press (as England’s Top Twenty) and which provided the basis of Radio Luxembourg’s chart show from 1949 onwards, journalist and pop musician Bob Stanley has effectively pushed back the charts by 13 years. In 2009 Fantastic Voyage released Britain’s First Number Ones 1945 to 1952 (FVTD028), a 3CD round-up of the chart-toppers from August 1945 through to August 1952. Now Bob, again with the assistance of pre-rock music authorities Ossie Dales and Brian Henson (co-writer of the definitive reference book First Hits) has compiled another 3CD set, covering number ones from December 1939 to July 1945. This was an era of massively popular British and American bands, led by the likes of Geraldo, Ambrose, Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller. Singers (either billed solo or working with these bands), included Gracie Fields, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and the Andrews Sisters. Much of the world was at war during this period, and the armed forces had their own “sweethearts”, Vera Lynn and Anne Shelton.

There is considerable interest in the British singles charts, as evidenced by the success of Fantastic Voyage’s British Hit Parade series. Our two volumes of Britain’s First Number Ones now enable collectors to pursue their consuming interest all the way back to 1939.

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Conway Twitty was a Country music icon, a businessman, a theme-park owner and fast-food chain founder. Prior to undergoing his C&W makeover in the mid-sixties, he existed as a first rate rock & roll singer. For some reason this latter credibility has lagged behind in the man’s career overviews, which is nothing short of a travesty. Good as his country sides are, they don’t have the testosterone and the kinetic energy of the MGM recordings he laid down during the late fifties. Conway could roar like the lion on the MGM crest head, and he couldn’t get enough of the rock & roll stuff that drove his desires. Compiled by Stuart Colman, Tell Me One More Time features the pick of the lip-curling litter that Conway Twitty bequeathed to Metro Goldwyn at the Owen Bradley studio in Nashville throughout a 28-month period beginning in May 1958. There is no shortage of compilations of Conway’s country repertoire, but until now his exhilarating rock & roll sides have been under-represented. Tell Me One More Time sets things to right, with a selection which includes the chart-topping ‘It’s Only Make Believe”, 8 further US hit singles and ‘Rosaleena’, which was recorded specifically for UK release.

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By the 1950s, the classic period for western swing had come to an end, the big bands were rapidly declining and rock & roll was in the ascendancy. Many might-have-been country singers were choosing to record rockabilly or rockabilly-influenced hillbilly styles, while western swing stars were starting to make more pop and rhythm & blues influenced (and influencing) material. Western swing had always been a composite music, built from elements of jazz and blues, old-time cowboy and fiddle tunes, and the polkas and waltzes of the old countries. Now, in the fifties, this heady musical cocktail was being produced in state-of-the-art recording studios and was taking on the lustre of the more pop-oriented productions of the time.

This is still a form of “country music”, but one where Spade Cooley can orchestrate western strings with big band horn arrangements and Hank Penny can pen a tune that will go on to be a jump blues classic, where the sweet harmonies and pop crooning can replace the nasal twang and still be country. Compiled by Brighton-based DJ Shamblin Sexton, Crossroads in Cowtown collects together a swinging selection of western pop tunes that brings on the hillbilly fever!

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Drawing on his knowledge and enthusiasm for vintage rhythm & blues and rock & roll, Mark Lamarr gathers together songs in celebration of weddings, harmonious or otherwise. There hasn’t exactly been a flurry of wedding songs recently. Luckily we can turn our attentions to a more innocent time when teenage dreams, or occasionally adult lust, ruled the recording studio. So here’s your perfect wedding package, bells and shotguns included.

Rockin’ Rollin’ Wedding packs in 24 tracks, including hits courtesy of Big Bopper, Buddy Holly, the Willows, LaVern Baker, the Quin-Tones, Johnny Otis (with Little Esther), and the Five Satins. Other featured artists range from the famous (Roy Brown, Wynonie Harris, and Hank Ballard’s Midnighters) to the obscure, ensuring a satisfying compilation for collectors and wedding disco enthusiasts!

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Ember Originals is Fantastic Voyage’s new series of boxed sets. As the title implies, each set comprises a number of albums originally issued on the British indie label Ember, which operated throughout the ’60s and ’70s. Each album has been remastered from tapes, and comes housed in a mini reproduction of the original gatefold sleeve. Mint copies of the contained albums from 9.30 Fly, Knocker Jungle and Blonde On Blonde albums have been known to change hands for £300, £50 and £100 respectively. Each of these three albums has been enhanced with at least one bonus track (including a previously unreleased 9.30 Fly recording). The fourth album, Blue Beard, was readied for release on Ember, but then cancelled: this is the first time it has been released on CD.

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75 prime cuts of Nashville Rock & Roll from artists including Buddy Holly, The Everly Brothers, Carl Perkins, George Jones, Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline and Gene Vincent, but aficionados of southern rock & roll will also savour the less-known names. Sassy Sugar is compiled and annotated by record producer and music historian Stuart Colman and is the companion to the much-praised Heavy Sugar (New Orleans) and Savvy Sugar (West Coast) collections.

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Following acclaimed sets devoted to Old Timey and Bluegrass Music, Fantastic Voyage’s survey of the sounds which shaped country music and rock ’n’ roll now focuses on Western Swing. A generous 85-track selection from across three golden decades of western swing including artists such as Milton Brown & His Brownies, Spade Cooley, Hank Thompson and Tex Williams. The release comes in an attractive three-fold digipack housing illustrated, annotated booklet.

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Latest in the series from the label behind the exhaustive British Hit Parade compilations, beloved of chart completists. The release comes packed with 28 of 1957’s most enduring hits, including many chart-toppers. THEN 1957 is compiled and annotated by eminent chartwatcher Dave McAleer, who also recalls the year’s most newsworthy events.

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The Quiller Memorandum focuses on the songwriting team whose songs have been covered by the likes of The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Gram Parsons and Norah Jones. It features 25 great rock & roll and country performances: a satisfying blend of the familiar and the obscure. The release is compiled and annotated by producer and music historian Stuart Colman. Features the popular songs; ‘Wake Up Little Susie’, ‘Bye, Bye Love’ and ‘Raining in My Heart’.

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T-Bone Walker was a pioneer of electric blues guitar, hugely influential on the likes of BB King, Chuck Berry, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. This release is a 3CD, 75-track set exploring T-Bone Walker at his peak in the 1940s and 1950s. The release covers classics recorded for Capitol, Mercury, Black & White, Imperial and Atlantic, and is compiled and annotated by blues authority Neil Slaven.

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Chronicles the formative years of James Brown & The Famous Flames from the smash hit debut Please, Please, Please in 1956, via the chart-topping Try Me from 1958, to I'll Go Crazy, Think and the other hit sides released in 1960. The release compiles in the order that they were recorded, and features every track released by James Brown between 1956 and 1960. As a bonus the album features both sides of hit single (Do The) Mashed Potatoes, featuring James Brown, but credited to Nat Kendrick & The Swans. The accompanying booklet features notes by Grammy Award-winning James Brown authority Cliff White, as well as details of recording date, location and original catalogue number for each track.The booklet also chronicles the genesis and evolving line-up of The Famous Flames, and explores the circumstances surrounding the early recording sessions. The booklet also lists the recording date, location and original catalogue number for each track. I'll Go Crazy provides a thorough survey of James Brown's journey to stardom, which earned him the ultimate accolade of Godfather of Soul.

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The Sisters Anthology is a much-needed celebration of four decades of singing sisters. Compiled by New York-based singer Athan Maroulis, the Sisters Anthology features 32 different US and UK acts, represented by 38 carefully-chosen recordings ranging from the 1924 rendition of "Red Hot Mama" by the Brox Sisters (largely responsible for the post-Vaudeville success of singing sister acts) to the obscure jazz vocal group the Clark Sisters and their 1959 performance of "Take the 'A' Train". Famous acts include the Andrews, Fontane, Boswell and McGuire Sisters, while the Gumm, Stafford and Clooney Sisters feature early appearances by Judy Garland, Jo Stafford and Rosemary Clooney respectively.

In his informative sleeve notes Maroulis traces the origins of the singing sisters phenomenon back to the 19th century world of Music Hall, Vaudeville and Burlesque, and on through the advent of recording technology. He provides fascinating biographical details of all featured acts, as well as presenting full recording and first release details for each track.

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Feels Like Rockin' is a terrific new series exploring the regional US rock'n'roll scenes, commencing in Tennessee. Carefully compiled with assistance from the legendary Wild Wax Show's deejay "Jailhouse" John Alexander, Feel Like Rockin' offers a fine selection of tracks whose popularity has endured thanks to the thriving European Rock'n'Roll club scene and is guaranteed to have toes tapping and quiffs a-flapping. From Tiptonville's Carl Perkins and Memphis-born Johnny Burnette to those like Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Benny Joy and Charlie Feathers who flocked from all over the Southern states to cut the Big Beat at little indie labels such as Sun, Meteor and Dixie in Memphis, Feel Like Rockin' also wends its way north-east to the nation's Country music capital Nashville where Rockabilly fillies such as Brenda Lee and Janis Martin championed distaff Rock'n'Roll alongside Nudie-suited stars such as Webb Pierce and Bobby Helms.

For more info, and to pre-order click here for CD, and here for vinyl.

Latest volume of Let Me Tell You About The Blues, the now-established, collectable series profiling the evolution of the blues in key American cities and regions. Memorable songs collected here include 'Good Rockin' Tonight', 'The Fat Man', 'Stack-A-Lee', 'The Things That I Used To Do', 'Let The Good Times Roll', 'Directly From My Heart', 'Mardi Gras In New Orleans', 'Dust My Blues', 'I Wonder Who' and the original 'See You Later Alligator'. Who said the blues has to be sad? The compilation is thoughtfully compiled and annotated by acknowledged blues authority Neil Slaven.

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One of the most exciting bands of the era, Bill Haley & His Comets popularised rock 'n' roll and remained revered in Europe and Latin America long after the last hits in the USA. February 9th 2011 marks the 30th anniversary of Bill Haley's passing. No matter how many times pop music historians attempt to adjust the facts, Bill Haley was without doubt the father of rock 'n' roll. Elvis Presley proved to be enough of a fan to include 'Rock Around the Clock' in his set, and John Lennon once asserted that Bill Haley was "the man who started it all". The recordings that Bill and the Comets made for US Decca in the late fifties still shine like burnished gold. The freewheeling joy of rock 'n' roll music, untainted by the constraints of big business, will forever be encapsulated in such timeless titles as 'Shake, Rattle and Roll', 'See You Later, Alligator' and 'Razzle Dazzle'. During the period that Bill Haley & His Comets were with Decca, they recorded several albums. So, in order to honour the man and his music at this point in time, Fantastic Voyage have assembled a generous 2CD set combining four of those groundbreaking long-players, backed-up by a string of classic singles. Each and every one of the Haley hits is included, and the compilation comes complete with detailed notes from long-time fan, Stuart Coleman.

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This is the fifth and last volume in a series detailing UK indie label Ember's releases from the sixties pop era. Beautiful Dreams is the fifth instalment of the series, following on from Have You Seen My Baby?: Ember Sixties Pop Volume 4 (FVCD068). It compiles the releases of three fine girl singers for the label in that era (and a little beyond). All recordings are mastered from tape and the booklet is illustrated with sleeve and label shots. The original Ember records are highly collectable (mint copies of both of the Twiggy singles are valued at £30, as is the Linda Thorson promo 45 with her released singles at £20 each). The Sixties Pop series is complemented by compilations devoted to beat and rock from the Ember vaults.

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The highly anticipated latest edition of Fantastic Voyages flagship British Hit Parade series has been expanded to accommodate the larger UK singles chart for 1960. Comprehensively annotated by record producer and music historian Stuart Colman,The 1960 British Hit Parade Parts 1 and 2 collectively present ALL 355 RECORDS to debut on the UK hit singles chart during 1960, drawing on the expanded Record Retailer Top 50 (introduced that March), as well as the New Musical Express, Melody Maker and Record Mirror charts. The 1960 British Hit Parade is lavishly packaged as two competitively-priced, deluxe long boxes, each housing 6 CDs and a 76-page booklet, in which Stuart Colman recalls the big news and music headlines month by month, and provides fascinating background information to each hit. Using the best available sources, Fantastic Voyage has mastered these sets to their customary high standard, as attested by the many satisfied purchasers of our previous editions. 1960 saw the launch of the independent Triumph label (co-founded by producer Joe Meek) and the staging of the first New Musical Express Poll Winners Concert. Elvis Presley made his much-anticipated return to civilian life. The year also witnessed the death of Eddie Cochran in a road crash, and the acclaimed debut of Lionel Bart s musical Oliver! Cliff Richard published his autobiography and was voted top British Male Vocalist by the New Musical Express. Adam Faith was John Freeman s interviewee on BBC TV s Face To Face. Acker Bilk brought trad jazz to the charts, while Shakin All Over and Apache would inspire a generation of musicians, who would go on to dominate the exciting new decade. Part 1 features 179 tracks, which charted between January and July, including the following golden oldies: Shakin All Over (Johnny Kidd & The Pirates), Poor Me (Adam Faith), El Paso (Marty Robbins), Running Bear (Johnny Preston), The Theme From A Summer Place (Percy Faith), Stuck On You (Elvis Presley), Cathy s Clown (The Everly Brothers), He ll Have To Go (Jim Reeves), Puppy Love (Paul Anka), Stairway To Heaven (Neil Sedaka), Please Don t Tease (Cliff Richard & The Shadows), Good Timin (Jimmy Jones), My Old Man s A Dustman (Lonnie Donegan), Three Steps To Heaven (Eddie Cochran), True Love Ways (Buddy Holly), Hit And Miss (The John Barry Seven) and, possibly the rarest single to chart that year, Mean To Me (Shaye Cogan).

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The highly anticipated latest edition of Fantastic Voyages flagship British Hit Parade series has been expanded to accommodate the larger UK singles chart for 1960. Comprehensively annotated by record producer and music historian Stuart Colman,The 1960 British Hit Parade Parts 1 and 2 collectively present ALL 355 RECORDS to debut on the UK hit singles chart during 1960, drawing on the expanded Record Retailer Top 50 (introduced that March), as well as the New Musical Express, Melody Maker and Record Mirror charts. The 1960 British Hit Parade is lavishly packaged as two competitively-priced, deluxe long boxes, each housing 6 CDs and a 76-page booklet, in which Stuart Colman recalls the big news and music headlines month by month, and provides fascinating background information to each hit. Using the best available sources, Fantastic Voyage has mastered these sets to their customary high standard, as attested by the many satisfied purchasers of our previous editions. 1960 saw the launch of the independent Triumph label (co-founded by producer Joe Meek) and the staging of the first New Musical Express Poll Winners Concert. Elvis Presley made his much-anticipated return to civilian life. The year also witnessed the death of Eddie Cochran in a road crash, and the acclaimed debut of Lionel Bart s musical Oliver! Cliff Richard published his autobiography and was voted top British Male Vocalist by the New Musical Express. Adam Faith was John Freeman s interviewee on BBC TV s Face To Face. Acker Bilk brought trad jazz to the charts, while Shakin All Over and Apache would inspire a generation of musicians, who would go on to dominate the exciting new decade. Part 2 features 176 tracks, which charted between July and December, including the following memorable hits: Apache (The Shadows), Wonderful World (Sam Cooke), As Long As He Needs Me (Shirley Bassey), Only The Lonely (Roy Orbison), It s Now Or Never (Elvis Presley), Poetry In Motion (Johnny Tillotson), Wondrous Place (Billy Fury), Walk Don t Run (The Ventures), Save The Last Dance For Me (The Drifters), Tell Laura I Love Her (Ricky Valance), Portrait Of My Love (Matt Monro), Strawberry Fair (Anthony Newley), Let s Think About Living (Bob Luman), The Twist (Chubby Checker) and Goodness Gracious Me! (Peter Sellers & Sophia Loren).

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R&B Spotlight 60 compiles 60 tracks selected from the US charts of 1960. All of the songs were R&B and or pop hits and many have become classics of the genre. Artists include legends like Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino, the Coasters, Ruth Brown, Lavern Baker, Joe Turner and the Platters. The collection, which includes full details of the original label issues, is the third in an ongoing series chronicling Rhythm and Blues hits year by year. Informative booklet notes come from respected Echoes Record Collector journalist Mike Atherton. A parallel series, Soul Breakout, is released simultaneously and the two series are intended to complement each other, with no duplication of tracks. This 1960 instalment of R&B Spotlight sees the genre continuing to boom, with many of the entries also crossing over to the pop charts. Established hitmakers include Etta James duetting with Harvey Fuqua of the Moonglows, Lloyd Price, Johnny Otis and Little Willie John, while Jessie Hill, Jimmy Jones, Aaron Neville and Joe Jones are among the chart newcomers. Group sounds remain popular with chart placings for Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, Little Anthony and the Imperials, the Olympics and the Spaniels. In 1960 you could do the Madison, the Hucklebuck, the Mashed Potatoes and of course the Twist. Blues hits are growing scarce, but Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker and Elmore James are all present. Timeless tracks include Honey Hush, Road Runner, Fannie Mae, Walking To New Orleans, Good Timin, Stay and Let s Go, Let s Go, Let s Go.

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Soul Breakout 60 compiles 60 tracks displaying the development of soul music in the US charts of 1960. All of the songs were R&B and / or pop hits and many have become classics of the genre. Artists include legends like Ike & Tina Turner, Ray Charles, the Drifters, Aretha Franklin, the Miracles, Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, James Brown and Bobby Bland. The collection, which includes full details of the original label issues, is the third in an ongoing series following the evolution of soul year by year. Informative booklet notes are authored by respected Echoes Record Collector journalist Mike Atherton. A parallel series, R&B Spotlight, is being released simultaneously and the two series are intended to complement each other, with no duplication of tracks. 1960 found soul pioneers Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, Bobby Bland and James Brown enjoying R&B smashes and also seriously denting the pop charts. This was the year Ben E. King left the Drifters to start his own run of hits, but also provided the lead vocals on the group s classics like Save The Last Dance For Me while they decided on a replacement frontman. Other newcomers to the listings that became stars of the genre include Aretha Franklin, Ike and Tina Turner, Mary Wells, Ted Taylor, Irma Thomas and Maxine Brown. Indeed the embarrassment of riches in the charts of 1960 is such that we have taken the necessary step of increasing Soul Breakout from a 1CD, 30-track format to a generous 60-track, 2CD selection. This allows us to do full justice to the soul hits of 1960 and the golden years that lie ahead.

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Mark Lamarr is regularly called upon to present a Radio 2 show on Christmas Day and it is the R&B, blues, doo wop and jazz element of that show that is reflected in this selection of yuletide favourites drawn from his own collection. The Ravens’ “White Christmas” and Mabel Scott’s “Boogie Woogie Santa Claus” reached #9 and #12 respectively on the R&B chart over the 1948 Christmas holiday period; Felix Gross’s “Love For Christmas” and The Oriole’s “What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?” both peaked at #9 a year later; and “Far Away Blues (Xmas Blues)”, which featured Little Esther and Mel Walker singing with the Johnny Otis Orchestra, was a #6 hit in 1950. The remainder of Mark’s selection is a mixture of familiar names (The Moonglows, Joe Turner, Jimmy Witherspoon, Lightnin’ Hopkins and Louis Armstrong, among others) and a smattering of less well known artists, all conspiring to make your seasonal holiday a Rhythm & Blues Christmas to remember.

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Latest volume of Let Me Tell You About The Blues, the now-established, collectable series profiling the evolution of the blues in key American cities and regions which is designed to appeal not just to existing aficionados, but also to newcomers looking to acquire a well-considered survey of the genre. As always it comes in a 3 CD set in deluxe 3-fold digipack, containing a generous 75 tracks.

Mention Nashville and the first thing that enters most minds will be Country Music and the Grand Ole Opry. Perhaps less well-known is that throughout the late 1940s and 1950s, Nashville was also the home of a thriving blues and R&B recording industry. Principal among the labels were Bullet, Republic, Tennessee, Nashboro and Excello, with a welter of smaller ones such as World, Mecca, J-B and Cheker.

Bullet, the creation of musician Wally Fowler, music publisher C.V. Hitchcock and deejay/artist manager Jim Bulliet (pronounced Boulay), dominated Nashville’s recording scene in the immediate post-war years and later launched records by Wynonie Harris and ‘G.I. Singsation’ Cecil Gant; Harris moved on but Gant became a prolific Bullet artist, soon joined by bluesmen Rudy Greene, Walter Davis, Max (Blues) Bailey and Rufus Thomas disguised as Mr Swing. Bullet was joined in 1951 by Republic, Tennessee and Nashboro, the latter run by Ernie Young, owner of Ernie’s Record Mart. Tennessee’s most popular artist was Christine Kittrell, a talented and powerful singer who never achieved nationwide fame, while Republic’s Bernard Hardison cut the original version of ‘Too Much’, later made a hit by Elvis.

Starting in August 1952, Excello soon swept its competition aside with a roster of artists that included Kid King’s Combo, Shy Guy Douglas, Max Bailey, Arthur Gunter (Elvis commandeered ‘Baby Let’s Play House’), Gunter’s brother Little Al, Louis Brooks, Good Rockin' Sam, Louis Campbell, Clarence Samuels (with a manic Johnny Copeland on guitar) and Jerry McCain, alongside a host of less commercial but no less interesting talent like Slim Hunt, the Dixie Doodlers, the Leap Frogs, the Blue Flamers and the Blues Rockers. Excello would go on to even greater (and international) success when in 1956 Young started to release Louisianan J.D. Miller’s swamp blues recordings by the likes of Lightnin’ Slim, Lonesome Sundown and Lazy Lester – but that’s another story.

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After a decade of gospel music, soul diva Candi Staton returned to secular music in the '90s and recent albums have met with acclaim. 2009 inductee into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, Bobby Womack sang with Gorillaz at Glastonbury this year. Gospel Celebrities & Celestial Lights offers an opportunity to hear them both singing the music that launched their careers. Vocalists like Sam Cooke, Joe Hinton and Judy Clay are well known to collectors of vintage soul, but all of them were equally adept at gospel. The same is true of R&B singers Marie Knight, LaVern Baker and Ann Cole, bluesmen Jesse Fuller and Nappy Brown, and all-rounder Lou Rawls. Even wild man of rock 'n' roll Little Richard turned to gospel on occasion. Also present are gospel giants Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who was not adverse to rocking out in the service of the Lord, Mahalia Jackson, The Five Blind Boys Of Alabama, The Golden Gate Quartet, The Dixie Hummingbirds, The Staple Singers and The Swan Silvertones. However, Gospel expert Opal Louis Nations has been careful to avoid a round-up of over-familiar repertoire. An authority of the genre, with many much-praised collections to his name, Opal has included rarities and unreleased material, as well as turning the spotlight on some significant but under-compiled acts, namely The Gospel Clefs with Leon Lumpkins, Rev. Morgan Babb & The Philco Singers, LC Cooke & The Zion Travelers and The Soul Seekers of New Orleans. As a result, Gospel Celebrities & Celestial Lights will appeal equally to aficionados and newcomers to the vocal delights of gospel music..

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Blue Beard is best known for the single Sly Willy, which was released in 1971 across Europe, and is now sought after as a prime slice of funky rock. Its flipside, Country Man, is a pleasing, mellow affair. Copies of the single, in its various picture sleeves, change hands for between £20 and £40. The album itself only surfaced in Italy and is now a scarce item, commanding £300+ for an original copy. Highlights include the rococo pop of Baby I Need You, the heavily-strummed, gruffly-sung God Save The World (reminiscent of Cat Stevens) and the up-tempo proggy rock of Losing You, penned by John Irvine. Not much is known of Blue Beard and its musicians but Bob Welch was a member of Fleetwood Mac from the summer of 1971 through to 1975, a stalwart through one of their rockiest phases. Welch next formed trio Paris, before embarking on a successful solo career.

We’ve delved deep into the Ember vaults for this nugget and lovingly brought it back to life in a luxurious package of 180 gm heavyweight vinyl and the original gatefold sleeve.

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Fourth in the series of our THEN series takes us to 1956 – now that’s what we call a year of music transition!. It was the first year that rock ’n’ roll really made its mark, with the old guard having to fight off an army of pretenders led by Elvis Presley and Bill Haley. Alongside all the year’s UK No.1s, this collection includes many of 1956’s most unforgettable records and songs, from both the ballad and beat sides of the battle. 1956 was also the year that Lonnie Donegan kick started the skiffle craze with Rock Island Line and playgrounds rang to the sound of The Ballad Of Davy Crockett.

Like its predecessors, THEN 1956 is not constrained by chart position or label in its aim of presenting the most memorable sounds of the year. It is compiled and annotated by eminent chartwatcher Dave McAleer, who works on the Virgin Book of British Hit Singles & Albums.

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Worshipped by rock gods such as Little Richard and Gene Vincent, flamboyant gospel pianist S Q Reeder Jr was tempted into the recording studio several times in 1958 to demonstrate his secular capabilities. However, the resulting Wildcat Shakeouts, by the renamed Esquerita, were deemed far too extreme even for black radio... Judge for yourself!

At the very dawn of the UK's rock 'n' roll revival in the late 1960s, Jeffrey Kruger's Ember Records launched its Speciality subsidiary to concentrate on back catalogue rhythm & blues and rock 'n' roll. Unlike the vast majority of reissue labels from that time, however, Speciality made its name with left-field reissues from a variety of US labels, including compilations of Ella Mae Morse & Freddie Slack, The Johnny Otis Show, The Jodimars and, most startlingly, an LP collection of wild rock 'n' roll by the uniquely-named Esquerita titled "Wildcat Shakeout".

Fantastic Voyage now resurrects the "Wildcat Shakeout" LP in all its glory, bolstered by a handful of additional tracks, thus gathering together all of his original 1958-1959 releases. Also included as an additional bonus are both sides of the debut single by erstwhile Blue Cap, Paul Peek, on which the Wildcat plays piano in his inimitable style.

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The follow up to our highly popular Looking Towards The Sky release, this compilation is a must for fans of psychedelic, progressive, funky and folk rock. Gathering together many rare and highly collectable recordings including tracks from 9.30 Fly and Blue Beard albums, valued at £150 and £200 respectively, most tracks have been remastered from the original Ember tapes.

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A celebration of the vibrant dance scene of the ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s, as relived on the current booming burlesque/swing/jive club scene. The lavishly illustrated booklet recalls the dances (from the Charleston to the Lindy Hop), the sartorial style of the dancers, the legendary venues and the leading bands and the three discs boast an expertly selected soundtrack of hot jazz, sweet music, swing, big band boogie and rhythm & blues. Across the 70 tracks, artists include King Oliver, Woody Herman, Count Basie, Benny Goodman and Louie Jordan.

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We continue our survey of the sounds which shaped country and rock music with a 3CD / 76 track digipack companion set to Bluegrass Big Three, which focused on Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys, Flatt & Scruggs and Reno & Smiley. This collection features further tracks by Bill Monroe and highlights other notable bluegrass artists like The Stanley Brothers, Uncle Dave Macon, Jim Eanes and the McCormick Brothers and traces the genre’s roots in old-timey music.

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Presenting two and a half hours of the most popular Italian music of the fifties featuring great artists such as Sophia Loren, Mario Lanza, Domenico Modugno, Marino Marini and Adriano Celentano. Additionally, Latin-American performers like Dean Martin and Connie Francis also feature, singing wholly or partly in Italian. The collection is compiled and annotated by Spencer Leigh, acclaimed BBC Radio DJ and freelance journalist. A must for collectors of Italian popular music and those seeking a well-considered, wide-ranging introduction to the genre.

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Worshipped by rock gods such as Little Richard and Gene Vincent, flamboyant gospel pianist S Q Reeder Jr was tempted into the recording studio several times in 1958 to demonstrate his secular capabilities. However, the resulting Wildcat Shakeouts, by the renamed Esquerita, were deemed far too extreme even for black radio... Judge for yourself!

At the very dawn of the UK's rock 'n' roll revival in the late 1960s, Jeffrey Kruger's Ember Records launched its Speciality subsidiary to concentrate on back catalogue rhythm & blues and rock 'n' roll. Unlike the vast majority of reissue labels from that time, however, Speciality made its name with left-field reissues from a variety of US labels, including compilations of Ella Mae Morse & Freddie Slack, The Johnny Otis Show, The Jodimars and, most startlingly, an LP collection of wild rock 'n' roll by the uniquely-named Esquerita titled "Wildcat Shakeout".

Fantastic Voyage now resurrects the "Wildcat Shakeout" LP in all its glory, bolstered by a handful of additional tracks, thus gathering together all of his original 1958-1959 releases. Also included as an additional bonus are both sides of the debut single by erstwhile Blue Cap, Paul Peek, on which the Wildcat plays piano in his inimitable style.

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Seventh volume of Let Me Tell You About The Blues, the now-established, collectable series profiling the evolution of the blues in key American cities and regions. Detroit in the 1940s and '50s didn't have a thriving record industry like Chicago. Detroit artists went there because that's where the companies were. Even musicologist Alan Lomax made just one visit for the Library of Congress in 1938, when he recorded Calvin Frazier and Sampson Pittman. Nevertheless, enterprising individuals like Jack and Devora Brown, Bernard Besman and Joe Von Battle did their best to reflect the city's musical talent. The Browns' Fortune label moved into blues recording after years of pop and rockabilly releases, Besman's Sensation encompassed blues, jazz and R&B, while from his first 1948 recordings on JVB, Von Battle covered a broad blues spectrum

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There is a memorable photograph of Edith Piaf performing at Carnegie Hall in January 1957. She is a tiny figure, not five foot tall and perhaps seven stone, wearing a simple, dark dress on a vast stage and we can see hundreds of people intently watching her. Her records were great, still are, but it was on stage that she truly revealed her compelling personality. Piaf's concert at the Manhattan venue was a triumph on a par with her famed concerts at the Paris Olympia. She was working with her regular conductor, Robert Chauvigny, and Piaf could choose from over 100 of his arrangements for orchestra and choir.

Sometimes intentionally, sometimes accidentally, her songs often reflected the tragedies in her life and Piaf poured her feelings into them. No other performer, not even Billie Holiday, Judy Garland or Shirley Bassey, has performed with such intensity. You can appreciate the feelings in her songs even if you don't know the language, but for this concert Piaf speaks and sings in English on occasion, making this album (first released in 1977) one that is particularly cherished by her many fans worldwide. Now, for the first time, the entire album can be purchased on CD.

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As well as singles, the label started releasing pop albums in this period and we have concentrated on selections from three fine LPs. The WASHINGTON DC’S gained their only album appearance by supplementing the two sides that the Dave Clark Five had cut for Ember. The LP was titled Dave Clark Five And The Washington DC’s, issued in August 1965. Although Dave Clark has since wisely scooped up his own back catalogue, six excellent performances by the Washington DC’s are reissued here for the first time. RAY SINGER’s January 1966 long-player For Those In Love gathered up five sides from his first three 45s. A notable bonus is Ray’s previously unreleased version of The Girl Can’t Help It. The very next Ember album issued after Ray Singer was MARCUS TRO’s Introducing Marcus Tro. Six LP-only tracks, two of which showcase Marcus’s songwriting talents, get their first digital release on this compilation.

The original albums are highly collectable (mint copies of Washington DC’s are valued at £30, and both Ray Singer and Marcus Tro at £40 each). Subsequent volumes will carry the story through to the end of the sixties, with further sought-after tracks included. The series is complemented by compilations devoted to beat and rock from the Ember vaults. Recordings are mastered from tape, where available, and booklets illustrated with sleeve and label shots.

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1955 - now, that’s what we call an exceptional year! In Britain, 1955 saw Anthony Eden replace Winston Churchill as prime minister, Ruth Ellis become the last woman ever to be executed, Donald Campbell brake the world water speed record and Stirling Moss become the first British driver to win the British Grand Prix. It was also the year that blue jeans became popular, Coke came in cans and Princess Margaret did not marry Group Captain Peter Townsend.

Dave’s sleeve notes spend as much time recalling the news events of the year as they do exploring the musical highlights. If you are looking to build up a library of the most enduring British hits from each year, THEN is the series for you. If you are looking for a souvenir of a particular year - to remember a birth, a first kiss, or a wedding - THEN will provide the soundtrack to those memories.

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It took a while, ten years in fact, before the music, mood and majesty of the mambo entered the mainstream. Cuban bandleader Perez Prado first introduced the dance at La Tropicana night-club in Havana, and through a natural and gradual process the message quickly spread. Taking its name from a variety of sources including a Haitian voodoo priestess, the mambo was a flamboyant form of self-expression that blended rhythmic swing with ethnic canción.
In 1954 the zeitgeist began to infiltrate the pop scene, and the nation's best-sellers were suddenly blessed with a string of self-evident song titles - 'Mambo Italiano', 'Papa Loves Mambo' and 'They Were Doin' The Mambo'.
Now, for the first time ever, all of the elements of this fascinating music have been brought together by compiler Stuart Colman for the Fantastic Voyage CD "Mambo in the Mainstream". One listen and the feelgood factor will ascend to an all-time high.

Also available on shrinkwrapped 180 gram deluxe double vinyl format.

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There was nobody quite like Lightnin’ Hopkins. John Lee Hooker may have made more records but even he couldn’t match the consistently high level of Hopkins’ creativity. He and his vast repertoire represented the epitome of Texas country blues. No question. He came from a musical family and his unique guitar style was fashioned from the traditions he learned in the presence of Blind Lemon Jefferson and Texas Alexander, a distant cousin. His guitar both underscored and complemented the songs he drew from his own life and the lives of those around him. His recording career began in 1946 and hardly paused for the next three decades.

Lightnin’ Hopkins went on from these recordings to become an international blues star before his death in January 1982. He may have travelled in foreign climes but his heart was always in Houston’s Dowling Street, amongst the friends and neighbours whose lives he memorialised in his songs.

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This set has been compiled to represent the three most commercially successful groups of the post-war explosion of traditional bluegrass from its “labour pains” in 1945 through its widespread acceptance in the late 1950s shortly before the revolution in progressive bluegrass. As with the beginnings of all new music, early bluegrass was fraught with animosity between rivals and former colleagues, incestuous relationships between the personnel of the first bands and professional jealousy, but these three CDs contain arguably the greatest examples of this newly-minted music from its greatest purveyors.

Our first disc is devoted to Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys, the second to Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs whilst Don Reno, Red Smiley & The Tennessee Cutups take care of disc three.

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Welcome back to the Ember Lounge where you’re now greeted on the door as a regular. The soundtrack remains an impeccably blended cocktail of predominantly sixties recordings. Equal measures of top notch easy listening (courtesy of John Barry and Mark Wirtz), light jazz featuring some of Britain’s top names (Tony Crombie, Bill Le Sage, Ken Moule and Tommy Whittle) and torch songs from divas Annie Ross and Lita Roza, are blended with sumptuously-arranged pop from Twiggy and Chad & Jeremy, spiced up with a couple of novelty instrumentals and a single shot of funky rock. All sourced from the vaults of British indie label Ember. The mood ranges from breezy, to exhilarating, to exotic, ending on a melancholic note, as you reluctantly take your leave and hail a cab home.

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Just as Doo Wop and the Girl Group sound made an important contribution to the story of Rock’n’Roll, so too did the Pop Instrumental, bringing with it a new dimension and diversity to the charts. From the mid-1950s until the British Invasion, arguably Instrumentals were to spawn more one-hit wonders than any other genre, largely because so many were recorded by “faceless” session players, not bona fide Pop artistes.

Dyed-in-the-wool Jazzers, seasoned Bluesmen, Country gentlemen and proto-Punks peppered the US Pop and R&B charts with numbers both perky and menacing, their sax-honkin’, piano-plinkin’, bongo-stompin’, Fender-twangin’, finger-clickin’ sounds leaving an indelible print on Pop music.

Covering the period 1956-9, this carefully compiled, hit-laden 50-track set draws together chart-toppers (Dave ‘Baby’ Cortez, Santo & Johnny, The Champs, etc.), lesser-heard gems (Joe Maphis, The Frantics, Cozy Cole) and cult classics (The Spacemen, Link Wray, Martin Denny). Essential listening for all instro devotees.

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The sixth title in our popular ‘Let Me Tell You About The Blues’ series, we move the story onto the West Coast, where the blues flourished in the region in the late 40s and 50s after millions had flocked there during the war.

Legendary artists to have either recorded or been based there over this time include T-Bone Walker, the Johnny Otis Orchestra, Big Joe Turner, Amos Milburn, Ray Charles, Ettta James, Jimmy McCracklin and Peppermint Harris.

You can find all these and more on Let Me Tell You About The Blues; West Coast, which you can buy here.

Our new THEN series, which follows the year by year british chart hits, reaches its second volume with Then 1954.

Summarising 27 of the year’s biggest chart hits across one disc, hit makers from 1954 included acts such as Frank Sinatra, Max Bygraves, Perry Como, Nat King Cole, Vera Lynn, Frankie Laine, Doris Day and Dean Martin.

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Hello My Angel is the third title in our Ember Sixties Pop series.

Checking the original tapes for this compilation has turned up a tremendous treasure trove of tracks that were unissued at the time, namely 8 tracks by Count Downe & The Zeros, whose delicate slice of 60s pop sits nicely amongst the other songs featured here.

Other tracks of particular note are the John Barry produced track ‘Ecstasy’ by Steve Cassidy and the Mark Wirtz produced songs by Marcus Tro and Sheila & Jenny.

Amongst the many other gems littered through the compilation we also have tracks by Chad & Jeremy, Ray Singer and Russ Hamilton.

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Welcome to ‘Savvy Sugar’, the story of how rock ‘n’ roll evolved in 1950s California.

Designed as a successor to our New Orleans R&B compilation ‘Heavy Sugar’, which received a very favourable 4 star review from Uncut magazine, ‘Savvy Sugar’ is the perfect summarisation of the West Coast rock ‘n’ roll story.

Containing several ‘hard to find’ gems amongst classics by artists such as ‘Gene Vincent’, ‘Nat King Cole’, ‘Johnny Otis’ ‘The Tramps’ and the like, ‘Savvy Sugar’ is a must for fans of this sound.

Classic rock n roll from famous names who, for one reason or another, had decided that the time had come in their career to masquerade some of their new material under a different guise. The album features classic acts such as Bill Haley’s Comets, Phil Spector, Chuck Berry, The Champs and Ritchie Valens, amongst many others, all working in subterfuge under an alias.

Take a journey across the channel as we travel through time revisiting the most popular French music of the past that is a must for collectors and enthusiasts alike.

Offering two and half hours of great French music ‘Echoes Of France’ contains music from such legends as Edith Piaf, Juliette Greco, Jacques Brel, Serge Gainsbourg and Django Reinhardt.

Step into the Ember lounge, where the soundtrack is an impeccably blended cocktail of sixties and seventies recordings sourced from the vaults of British indie label Ember. Featuring artists such as John Barry, Mark Wirtz, Polly Niles and the Edwin Astley Orchestrea ‘Happy Hour In The Ember Lounge’ is a breezy, exhilarating, melancholy and blissful journey through some of the more eclectic parts of the Ember back catalogue.

The two Rockabilly titles on Fantastic Voyage, Good Rockin Tonight and Routes Of Rockabilly were amongst the most popular titles in the labels range. We are therefore delighted to announce the release of this sister title, ‘Girls Gone Rockin’.

Across the 3 CDs and 75 tracks ‘Girls Gone Rockin’ sees chart-topping R&B mamas rubbing shoulders with boogie woogie country gals, and demure Pop princesses mingling with Rockabilly fillies whose lesser-heard down-home ditties have nonetheless earned them a place in collectors’ hearts. Featured artists including Wanda Jackson, Etta James, Sandy Lee and LaVern Baker.

“A grandly definitive statement which strikes on many levels” 4 STARS Record Collector

Our popular ‘Let Me Tell You About The Blues’ series makes its fifth stop off in the city of Atlanta, where, like Memphis, it was home to an impressive number of guitarists who established a very distinctive style of playing that became synonymous with the city.

Home to the first country blues artist Ed Andrews, some of the many other artists to grace and become associated with Atlanta include Little Richard, Chuck Willis, Blind Willie McTell, Billy Wright, Barbecue Bat, Charlie Lincoln and Peg Lee Howell.

Designed as a compact alternative to run alongside our extremely well liked comprehensive British Hit Parade titles, welcome to Then 1953, a one disc recollection of the top chart hits from yesteryear.

Then 1953 contains 28 tracks, including all the UK chart toppers from the year, and serves as an ideal audio souvenir of the time. The booklet also recall’s the year’s most newsworthy events, 1953 was of course Coronation Year, which is celebrated here in a sequence of themed hits.

Coming in special digi packaging there will be more titles released in this series throughout 2010.

The chronicling of British independent label Ember ‘60s pop output continues apace with the release of Two Timing Baby, the second in the series.

Covering the years 1961 – 1962 it features many sought after singles, including records by the likes of Mark Douglas, Carter, Lewis & The Southerners and Lita Roza, with original copies of their singles regularly go for £75, £50 and £30 respectively.

“The celebration of Jeff Kruger’s label continues” 3 Stars Record Collector

Milt Matthews Inc were an early ‘70s Soul / Rock outfit who signed to British indie label Ember in 1971 for one album.

‘For The People’ is a definitive vintage piece of the time, spanning many musical genres and appealing to soul and rock fans alike, it features 5 Milt penned tracks along with 3 covers.

"Highly recommended: not just as a curio but something which bears repeated hammering. A stone classic" - STAR PICK SHINDIG

"Ultra-collectable 70s psych-soul gem" - 4 STARS RECORD COLLECTOR

The album has received high praise from the music press. You can buy your copy of the album and find out more by clicking here.

‘The blues come to Texas, loping like a mule,’ Blind Lemon Jefferson sang through a shower of surface noise as he made his recording debut in March 1926. Yes, our highly popular blues series ‘Let Me Tell You About The Blues’ has arrived in the down trodden streets of Texas, when the blues decisively went south.

Featuring the artists Henry ‘Ragtime’ Thomas, Texas Alexander, Robert Johnson, Smokey Hogg, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Clarence ‘Gatemouth’ Brown, Clarence Garlow, Lil’ Son Jackson and two of the most influential blues musicians to come out of Texas in the postwar years Lightnin’ Hopkins and T-Bone Walker, both of whom encountered Lemon Jefferson in their youth.

For more information and to buy a copy of the album click here.

Brand new series, ‘Ember Sixties Pop’ will collect the best of the labels output throughout the decade. This first album, ‘Say When’ covers up to 1961 and features many highly collectable tracks. Included in these are two singles by Michael Cox, mint versions of which are worth £45, and two by Grant Tracy & The Sunsets, which are valued at £20. Other artists featured include Roy Young, Cuddly Duddly and Ray Ellington.

For more information and to buy a copy of the album click here.

Following the success of last year’s R&B Spotlight 58 we now move the series onto 1959 on this 2 disc 60 track compilation.

1959 was a year which saw the increasing popularity of Rhythm & Blues, with many of the entries also crossing over to the pop charts. The R&B chart mixed successes from both one-hit wonders and fifties stars all of which feature on this album and include:- Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Little Willie John, Fats Domino, the Coasters, Ruth Brown, Lavern Baker, Nat “King” Cole, Jimmy Reed, Little Walter, Lavern Baker and Sarah Vaughan.

For more information and to buy a copy of the album click here.

To celebrate the recently released ‘Looking Towards The Sky’ Ember Rock compilation we have just made available for free download the track ‘Losing You’ by acclaimed ‘lost’ cult act Blue Beard.

Taking from the ‘Looking Towards The Sky’ album, ‘Losing You’ is one of the 15 tracks featured on the album which gathers together the very best of Ember’s Rock, Psychedelic, Progressive and Folk releases.

TO DOWNLOAD BLUE BEARD ‘LOSING YOU’ CLICK HERE.

TO BUY LOOKING TOWARDS THE SKY CLICK HERE.

British indie label Ember released a number of rock albums and singles between 1969 and 1972, which today are much sought after by collectors of psychedelic, progressive and folk rock sounds. Many of the best of these recordings are gathered together on the terrific new Fantastic Voyage compilation ‘Looking Towards The Sky: Progressive Psychedelic & Folk Rock From The Ember Vaults’, which is out on now.

Melding together highly collectable tracks from a treasure trove of the known and unknown, the obscure and the cult, featured bands include 9.30 Fly, Blonde On Blonde, Milt Matthews Inc, The Dorians and Blue Beard amongst many many others.

“With 9.30 Fly, Knocker Jungle and other obscure names such as The Back Street Band and Davey Payne & The Medium Wave, it’s a pretty exciting maiden voyage” 4 STARS RECORD COLLECTOR

“Eminently collectable” STUART MACONIE 6 MUSIC

The album is out now and you can buy it here.

Famed as both an Actor and Singer, Ricky Nelson’s rockabilly orientated styling’s sold millions of copies across America that transcended his pin-up status and would elevate him to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. Ricky produced all of his own hits, and on the strength of his music alone, transported him to global star status, even in countries that never aired the TV show which originally made his name.

Over 2 CDs ‘Lonesome Town’ gathers all the American star’s highly impressive 50’s releases, including all 18 to make the US singles chart during this fruitful era. A third CD features a 78 minute, never heard before, exclusive interview with Ricky.

The album is out now and you can buy it here.

After four highly successful years on US label Decca, Peggy Lee returned to what she called her ‘home’ when she re-signed to Capitol, a decision which proved highly rewarding as she went onto record an incredible 5 albums during an extremely fruitful 3 year period.

Over 3 CDs ‘Ridin’ High’ assembles all the releases from 1957- 1959, a triumphant period in Peggy Lee’s career, and also includes an exclusive, never heard before interview with the star.

The album is out now and you can buy it here.

The second volume in our This Record Is Not To Be Broadcast series was album of the week on both Mark Lamarr’s and Russell Davies Radio 2 show this weekend (6th / 7th February). You can listen again to both of these shows at www.bbc.co.uk/radio2 and follow each show’s links.

The album is out now and you can buy it here.

The last year of the decade was a year in which the first Grammy Awards were held, music genres continued to diversify ever further thanks to the continuing evolution of rock n roll, rhythm n blues and soul, Elvis proved he was still the king with a string of hits, despite being consigned to barracks in West Germany, and arguably most notably and sadly of all, marked the death of Buddy Holly.

Yes, in our ongoing and extremely popular British Hit Parade series we have now reached 1959. Both Parts 1 and 2 of this era defining year will be released on 18th of January 2009.

For a tracklisting, further info and to to pre-order Part 1 click here.
For a tracklisting, further info and to to pre-order Part 2 click here.

It has often been reported that a record has been banned by the BBC but it was not until the release of the groundbreaking set, This Record Is Not To Be Broadcast, in 2008 that actual proof was given! Going through old BBC files the 3 CD set bought to light for the first time not only what songs the BBC had banned by also why they had banned them.

After receiving much critical praise and media features we are to proud to present the second volume in the series.

For a tracklisting and further info on this release click here.

There’s some great reviews in this month’s music press of the latest Fantastic Voyage releases. Uncut gave an incredible 5 STARS to our Routes Of Rockabilly compilation whilst Word gave an excellent write up to our brand new John Barry boxset. Meanwhile Britain’s First Number Ones got 4 stars from MOJO and Record Collector gave 4 stars and lots of praise for Done Me Wrong, the second volume in our Ember Beat series.

Both the albums and the magazines are out now.