'Underground London' Dazzles with Its Scope and Anti-Establishment Music

Cherry Red issues a gargantuan collection of anti-establishment music associated with the 1960s London counterculture, a movement which challenged the norms and conventions of mainstream society by drinking from the well of psychedelia, free jazz, Beat poetry, musique concrete, electronics, and minimalism.

                                      
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Smithsonian Folkways chronicles 50 years of folk recordings on Sound Portraits from Bulgaria. It is a truly essential addition to any global folk collection.

The obscure soul of Charm City: a new four-volume retrospective of Baltimore's Ru-Jac Records provides a goldmine of long-forgotten R&B recordings previously unknown to anyone but the most hardcore of soul aficionados.

Vintage music from the Peruvian Andes makes for a lively compilation, although it loses something in the translation from past to present.

This definitive, five-CD anthology is a challenging and enlightening listen, a triumph of curatorship that provides near-encyclopedic insight into this important chapter of UK popular music history.

Strut Records delivers the best of vintage African music yet again, this time straight from Réunion Island.

Bobo Yéyé: Belle Époque in Upper Volta is a goldmine for musical history buffs and an excellent purchase for anyone in need of a little more African jazz.

Aaron and Bryce Dessner have masterfully assembled a dizzying array of contemporary artists to reinterpret the songs of the Grateful Dead.

Dust-to-Digital extensively explores the culture of Morocco in a box set filled with the earthy, soulful pleasures of the country's music.

The production makes you shake your head as well as your booty as ever single word is articulated with clarity, cadence, and a purpose.

These are talented amateurs trying to match professional production values without the luxuries of a big budget and uninterrupted oceans of recording time.

As a potential workout mix, the compilation probably wouldn’t be bad, and as a soundtrack to sex, it’d be a little aggressive.

Stones Throw and Leaving Records team up for one of the most unique and experimental albums in recent memory. But do the fiercely independent artists found within have what it takes to hang with the big boys?

You know that a rarities collection is digging deep when the most famous band featured is the Virgin Prunes.

In the end, it doesn’t matter. Clark’s songs are high quality enough for just about anybody to perform and sound good.

An eclectic and oddly put-together mixtape from an eclectic region, Golden Beirut is a very good cross-section of certain musical trends that are occurring in contemporary Lebanon.

This compilation is a vibrant celebration of rebellious sound displaying the glut of funky, resonant music coming out of Indonesia during the fertile and tense '70s.

The fourth volume of Tompkins Square's excellent Imaginational Anthems series shines the light on some of the brighest folk guitarists in the UK and US.

The music belongs to the technology of the time. It is filled with funky, bass-heavy synthesizer sounds, electronic drum beats, and scratchy rhythm guitar lines. Like the fashions of the period, there’s a flashy cheesiness to it.

Be forewarned: This is old-timey music remastered from scratchy recordings. Its historic value outweighs audio fidelity. But that doesn’t mean the performers lack talent as players, singers, and songwriters.

Framed by Putumayo, the Rainbow Nation sounds unified. South Africa presents, not so much a country, as a massive group hug.

In taking a break from his attention-demanding main gig, Murphy proves himself a capable and affecting songwriter, often armed with nothing more than an acoustic guitar and his voice.

Revolution starts with an admirable idea, but unfortunately doesn’t live up to its promise.

Classic Stax hits aside, collections like this can spoil a specific experience that most hip-hop heads treasure.

No, it's not a Depeche Mode tribute. It's a compilation from the Japanese ambient label, Mule Electronic.

This 1980 compilation of '60s garage rock and pre-punk snarl is still a nice package that hasn't lost any of it's luster over time, but a better quality copy would be nice.

A well-ordered, well-selected assortment.

The tracks are stubbornly various, each song unexpected.

Cover bad, album pretty good.

The groundbreaking West African compilation is reissued and ready to take you back to one of Nigeria’s most-creative musical eras.

Keen’s no fool. He knew the only way to ensure the resulting tribute disc wouldn’t suck was to sing on it himself.

Massive Attack is opened up, and its insides are revealed to be made of muzak and precious stones.

The India of the tourist brochure.

The Roots, the Ting Tings, the Aquabats, and Mark Kozelek are just a few of the indie-luminaries that contribute new songs to this ... Nick Jr. kids show soundtrack?

Although Sahm has received some attention recently, he remains a cloudy figure for many listeners. With its enthusiastic, loving performances, Keep Your Soul goes considerable distance to correcting this injustice.

Although it offers nothing new, this is a fine introductory piece for new or unacquainted J Dilla listeners.