they're still smart enough to play to their strengths, wearing their 1970s classic-rock heritage like a badge of honor. Indeed, there's nary a contemporary influence in sight, just the familiar riff- and bass-heavy hard rock of their Me Decade prime, infused with an enviable--if not exactly Rhodes scholarly--economy of purpose and a deceptively easy pop sensibility forged by the core members' (Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, Eric Bloom, and Allen Lanier) three-decade alliance. Given the idiom and its expectations, the subject matter naturally tends toward 2-D nihilism ("I Just Like to Be Bad") and goth-apocalyptic lite ("The Old Gods Return," "One Step Ahead of the Devil"). The band maintains a level of literacy that would at least do Todd McFarlane proud...  (less)

and more. Camden.  (less)

original keyboardist Allen Lanier, Club Ninja nevertheless features some of the best material in the band's catalogue. Tracks such as 'Dancin' In The Ruins', 'When The War Comes Down' (with intro. by U.S. shock jock, Howard Stern) and the sublime 'Perfect Water', display why B™C are still regarded as one of the World's premier Rock outfits. This version offers the superior U.S. mix of the album available officially for the first time in the U.K. Lemon. 2009.  (less)

original keyboardist Allen Lanier, Club Ninja nevertheless features some of the best material in the band's catalogue. Tracks such as 'Dancin' In The Ruins', 'When The War Comes Down' (with intro. by U.S. shock jock, Howard Stern) and the sublime 'Perfect Water', display why B™C are still regarded as one of the World's premier Rock outfits. This version offers the superior U.S. mix of the album available officially for the first time in the U.K. Lemon. 2009.  (less)

original keyboardist Allen Lanier, Club Ninja nevertheless features some of the best material in the band's catalogue. Tracks such as 'Dancin' In The Ruins', 'When The War Comes Down' (with intro. by U.S. shock jock, Howard Stern) and the sublime 'Perfect Water', display why B™C are still regarded as one of the World's premier Rock outfits. This version offers the superior U.S. mix of the album available officially for the first time in the U.K. Lemon. 2009.  (less)

original keyboardist Allen Lanier, Club Ninja nevertheless features some of the best material in the band's catalogue. Tracks such as 'Dancin' In The Ruins', 'When The War Comes Down' (with intro. by U.S. shock jock, Howard Stern) and the sublime 'Perfect Water', display why B™C are still regarded as one of the World's premier Rock outfits. This version offers the superior U.S. mix of the album available officially for the first time in the U.K. Lemon. 2009.  (less)

for decades and never before reissued domestically, these two cult classics have been meticulously restored, using Sundazed's usual exacting standards; each is pressed on high-quality audiophile vinyl, and features original cover art. Originally released in 1968 and 1969 respectively, Scratching the Surface and Blues Obituary are landmarks of Britain's blues-rock movement. Led by master guitarist/singer/songwriter Tony McPhee, the bandformed in the mid-'60s, borrowing their name from a John Lee Hooker song. Prior to launching their recording career, the Groundhogs developed a reputation as a powerful live act, and backed such visiting American blues greats as Champion Jack Dupree and Hooker himself. The raw, rootsy Scratching the Surface...  (less)

material.  (less)

country music. It’s ironic then that his debut album, Penitentiary Blues, wasn’t a country album at all, but a blues album through and through. Though it received only limited distribution upon its 1968 release, it has achieved cult-classic status. Shout! Factory, in association with HackTone Records, is proud to release Penitentiary Blues on CD for the first time. The packaging mimics the original die-cut album cover, and in addition to a booklet with notes by Grammy-winner Colin Escott, we have put together a bonus booklet consisting of excerpts from Coe’s legendary self-published book, EX-Convict. The result is the ultimate edition of this prison classic.  (less)

As he did for Present Tense , Usher called on the cream of L.A.'s studio pros as well as members of the like-minded Millennium, and the results are once again magnificent. Layered with creamy vocal harmonies, brass, flute, and Moog synthesizer, The Blue Marble will have fans of the Millennium, the Association, the Yellow Balloon, and similarly grandiose baroque pop acts positively floating on air. Sourced from the original Together Records analog masters, this CD edition contains four bonus tracks.  (less)