Monolithic doom riffs, pounding rap rhetorics, decades of jazz exploration, crackling acid and the best emos.
We. Are. Starting. It. Off. Loud. Southern Lord have made a limited pressing of Earth’s thunderous Primitive and Deadly LP. Originally released in 2014, it retains the cavernous tones of the earlier records, but guest vocal contributions - from Mark Lanegan and Rabia Shaheen Qazi - really take the dynamic somewhere special. Dark and writhing with euphoric payoffs.
+ Pressed on very limited Red colour vinyl.
An absolute all-time classic back in the racks with Public Enemy’s seismic second LP It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back getting a new 2LP pressing on Def Jam to celebrate it’s 35th anniversary. Chuck D and Flavor Flav just riffle, a fierce and charged stream of social and political commentary. The production is deft too, an ever-propulsive mix of psychedelic jazz hues and funk punch.
An absolute treat on Blue Note Tone Poet this week, with a reissue of Mccoy Tyner’s Extensions. The 1970 album turned its gaze to Africa as inspiration across a set of searching spiritual jazz scorchers. Alice Coltrane plays harp on three of the album’s four tracks as part of an amazing lineup. This one really does go somewhere. Produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analogue master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI and packaged in a deluxe tip-on jacket.
Also released on Toe Poet is Grant Green’s I Want To Hold Your Hand, a flowing set of pop covers (The Beatles, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Cole Porter) with a band of Larry Young, Elvin Jones and Hank Mobley. Corcovado especially has such a light vibe. Again, produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI and packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket.
Some great additions to the Craft Jazz Essentials series too, with Chet Baker Plays The Best Of Lerner & Loewe and the iconic ‘Chet’. I know that other players took jazz way further and more spiritual, but there was always such soul to Chet Baker, bittersweet sadness too.
Also in the series we have John Coltrane’s first session as band leader with Coltrane. The Quintet Jazz at Massey Hall (“the greatest jazz concert ever”) with Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus and Max Roach. Pretty mind-blowing tbh. Miles Davis’ Bags’ Groove which again features an incredible set of players across the two sessions.
Also this week we have a 30th anniversary pressing of Plastikman’s acid-techno masterpiece Sheet One. This one has such crackle, with Hawtin keeping the beats minimal and washing the speakers out with weird and wild dubs. Pressed on double ECO vinyl.
We also have a couple from the Los Campesinos! crew, firstly with a limited 10th anniversary pressing of their No Blues LP. Benefits from newly remastered audio, updated artwork and an exclusive vinyl colourway for us UK shops. The band’s R N Taylor also reissues his Tear Jerky EP under his alt-folk solo project Sparky Deathcap. His ‘September’ went bonkers viral, with over 36m streams on Spotify and 750,000 creations on TikTok. Probably earned over £100! Available as a limited Phenakistoscope Picture Disc.
Lastly this week, a really superb compilation via Numero (yep, ain’t they always), with Skyway Soul: Gary, Indiana. A twenty-one track compilation looking at the rich soul scene from the city as the former industrial titan crumbled. A lush package, all housed in a deluxe tip-on gatefold jacket with great liner notes and in-depth essay from Jake Austen, connecting the dots between The Spaniels, Michael Jackson and Freddie Gibbs. This one is a vibe.
- Drift