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Review: There's a chance this Liverpudlian four piece will be familiar by now. This, their 11th studio outing, first unveiled as the 1960s slipped into the 70s, is a bonafide epic from an outfit that weren't lacking in epics; in many ways a culmination of their time together, marking the end of their active years and beginning of their legacy. By this stage, then, they've emerged from years spent on the inner journey and time on the outer, space cadeting to the hallucinogenic fuelled tones of "Sgt. Peppers" and "Revolver". Of course, there's still plenty of explorations happening, but the gritty blues rock of opening track "Come Together" really sets the tone. Five decades on, it still sounds great and maybe even better than you remember. Even if you own the original, this anniversary edition is worth having.

Review: As part of the Who's massive reissue bundle of Who's Next, their most popular album, the half-speed remastered edition on vinyl makes for a relatively reserved version, compared to the mammoth CD box-sets full of demos and rarities also in tow. Primed for audiophiles - whose needs sometimes cross over with, but are no less distinct from, that of collection completists - this version of the album is special in that the original tapes have been re-treated using a half-speed remastering process, which enhances the sound quality and clarity of the original recordings. What's more, this version was done at Abbey Road Studios, of all places, with the process overseen by acclaimed engineer Miles Showell and from tapes prepared by Jon Astley.

Review: There's a chance this Liverpudlian four piece will be familiar by now. This, their 11th studio outing, first unveiled as the 1960s slipped into the 70s, is a bonafide epic from an outfit that weren't lacking in epics; in many ways a culmination of their time together, marking the end of their active years and beginning of their legacy. By this stage, then, they've emerged from years spent on the inner journey and time on the outer, space cadeting to the hallucinogenic fuelled tones of "Sgt. Peppers" and "Revolver". Of course, there's still plenty of explorations happening, but the gritty blues rock of opening track "Come Together" really sets the tone. Five decades on, it still sounds great and maybe even better than you remember. Even if you own the original, this anniversary edition is worth having.

Review: Originally released in 1972, The Grand Wazoo is the eighth album by Frank Zappa and The Mothers. It was the second album Zappa had to record in a wheelchair following an on-stage assault in 1971, and it found the psychedelic jazz rock fusionist expanding his musical stamp with a bigger band dynamic. The music on the album is largely instrumental, following on from Hot Rats, Burnt Weeny Sandwich and Waka/Jawaka as another bold, bonkers excursion into the furrows of Zappa's highly creative mind. It's been some time since this gem was in print, and it's now comfortably resting into the chunky grooves of an 180 gm pressing, no less.

Review: A great example of how critics are often not all right, when Jack Johnson dropped his third studio album, In Between Dreams, music writers the world over adopted partisan positions. Some believed this definitely was worthy of catapulting him from Pretty Famous Acoustic Surf Rock Guy Popular With People Who Went Travelling Post-Millennium, to global superstar. Other were pretty non-plussed.

Suffice to say, we all know who won in the end - Jack Johnson. In Between Dreams rocketed to high chart positions, reaching number one in Australia and the UK, and number two in America, returning to reclaim that US position upon reissue in 2013. One of the most familiar records of the last couple of decades, even if you've never actually owned a copy (partly the result of all the advertising licensing that has taken place), perhaps now is the time to rectify that ownership issue.

Review: Queens of the Stone Age are one of the most widely revered rock band of their generation. Over the course of 20 years Josh Homme's crew cooked up a distinctive body of work that includes 2007's Era Vulgaris. It's a record that touches on electronic and acoustic textures next to heavy, crunching rock and has guest appearances by Julian Casablancas of The Strokes and frequent QOTSA friend Mark Lanegan. This version of the record marks the first-ever release of Era Vulgaris on 12" vinyl.

Review: Over the course of their epic career, the Rolling Stones has played countless now legendary concerts, though few quite as mythical as the two they held (in secret - fans thought they were going to see a then popular Canadian band) at the tiny El Mocambo Tavern in Toronto in March 1977. This double-disc set presents one of those shows in its entirety for the first time, with the band being joined on stage for the duration by the late, great Billy Preston. It's a genuinely terrific set all told, with the intimacy of the venue and the band's between-song chat adding only adding to the immersive feel. Highlights include - but are no way limited to - incendiary versions of 'Hot Stuff', 'Rip This Joint', 'Brown Sugar' and 'Tumbling Dice'.

Review: This special 25th Anniversary edition of REM's New Adventures in HIFi album comes on limited heavyweight vinyl in a replica of the original gatefold LP. The Grammy wining and Rock And Roll Hall of fame inductees are one of the most revered American bands of their era thanks to their singular mix of brash tunes, poetic lyrics and very singable choruses and never was that more obvious than on this album. First released in 1996 when the band were on a near-constant tour of the world, it experiments with various sonic textures, haunting effects and dissonant notes with singles like 'E-Bow' and 'Electrolite' all featuring.

Review: Weirdo guitar visionary Frank Zappa released his acclaimed fourth LP 'Waka/Jawaka' in 1972, after the phrase appeared to him miraculously on an ouija board. A pinnacle of jazz fusion, near-classical orchestral influences and prog rock, it serves as a lesser-known sequel-ish to the generally agreed classic Hot Rats. It's also a shining example of time signature-core, with the moustached axe mage modulating all manner of tempos like it's nobody's business, also setting a high bar for what would eventually become post-rock in the process.

Review: A stonking 23 tracks lifted from a famous live show in London makes up this mega-album-set, 'All Around Man', from Rory Gallagher, the Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist known for his distinctive brand of blues-rock, and helming of the blues collective Taste. Charting the best examples of Gallagher's concerts across London throughout 1974 to 1976 - despite his underratedly moderate success in the UK - all show off Gallagher's virtuosic guitar playing, passionate vocals, and energetic stage presence, all of which translate just as well to vinyl as they do to his now irreplicable live experience.

Review: The Rolling Stones In Mono was first released in 2016 as a box-set charting the megagroup's entire roster of British and American studio albums. Deferring to the original mono playback format for which their music was originally recorded (and thus sounds best with) this monster compilation is a comprehensive look back at the Stones' 1960s heyday - plus their 2016 additional exclusives and rarities album, Stray Cats.

Review: In many ways it's hard to get a fix on U2's 90s period. It's as though they folded time between their breakthrough 80s albums and the comfortable middle age period post the turn of the millennium. However, Zooropa remains a wildly exciting album which saw Bono and his buddies weren't afraid to mess with the formula and embrace what was happening outside of their mainstream rock bubble. There are some surprising risks taken and yet their gargantuan song craft remains undiminished. On this 30th anniversary pressing there's also some bonus remixes tucked onto side four, bringing Oakenfold's equally supersized Perfecto sound into the mix.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


A stonking 23 tracks lifted from a famous live show in London makes up this mega-album-set, 'All Around Man', from Rory Gallagher, the Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist known for his distinctive brand of blues-rock, and helming of the blues collective Taste. Charting the best examples of Gallagher's concerts across London throughout 1974 to 1976 - despite his underratedly moderate success in the UK - all show off Gallagher's virtuosic guitar playing, passionate vocals, and energetic stage presence, all of which translate just as well to vinyl as they do to his now irreplicable live experience.

Review: The Who's 50th Anniversary edition of Who's Next is being released in multiple formats and chief among them is this relatively short and succinct 4xLP version. Though four sides of vinyl isn't usually thought to be "short", this is a minimal incarnation of the reissued album, compared to the juggernaut CD and Blu-Ray box set which contains over 155 original audio tracks on it. This version is as comparatively minimal and monolithic as the 2001: A Space Odyssey monolith referenced on its front cover, though it's not still without its nice extra-album bonuses, 'Pinball Wizard' and 'Naked Eye' included.

Review: With all-time rock anthems like 'Won't Get Fooled Again' and 'Baba O'Riley', it's perhaps no wonder Who's Next is The Who's best selling album, but it's no commercial compromise. Songs like 'Behind Blue Eyes' are as raw and visceral as the foursome ever were, even compared to much of today's indie music. The 50th anniversary reissue package at large has dug up 89 unreleased demos and rarities for the completist collector, but this vinyl edition concentrates on the album itself and is all the more powerful a listen for it.

Review: Who's Next is probably the Who's biggest album, serving as a great introduction for new would-be fans. Suprisingly, though, it was their fifth, and was a whopping international seller despite its ambitious conception as a multimedia rock opera, first made under the working title Lighthouse. The blueprint for the next generation of stadium rock, the likes of 'Won't Get Fooled Again' and 'Baba O'Riley' are quintessentially epic songs, and have seamlessly translated into today's modern rock & pop cultural landscape. Now reissued 50 years later, it comes incredibly as the eighth edition of the album, featuring a humungous 155 audio tracks in total, 89 of them being unreleased demos and rarities.