3/12 new arrivals

Mark March 12 in your calendar, folks, because it’s one of the best days for new additions to the site we’ve had in recent memory.

Writer’s Note: With 111 pages of new arrivals today, I am certain that I have overlooked lots. Please let everyone know what you’re digging from today in the comments section. Thanks!

Spoonie Gee: Are you kidding me??? This is totally bona fide, with “Love Rap” and many more of his classics (no “Monster Jam” though).

Cold Crush Brothers: A collection of 12-inches by one of the first hip-hop crews of all time. All the Way Live is live set recording from ‘82, nice and loose.

Medicine Head: Classified and remembered as an early ’70s blues-rock group, to these modern ears, Medicine Head sounds glam more than anything, the perfect midpoint between Bolan’s initial blues dabbling and the full glory of T Rex. “Pictures in the Sky,” the band’s hit single, is killer.

Ike & Tina Turner: AMG review: “Del Records’ issue, His Woman, Her Man, is a collection of previously unreleased material by Ike Turner & His Kings of Rhythm from the years 1970-1973 (and yes, Tina was in the band for these). The period was a fertile one for Turner, who had not only been digging deeply into funkier rhythms and progressions for his brand of soul, but for his embrace of new production techniques and instruments. Here are some of the first ARP synthesizer and drum machine tracks ever recorded and the way Turner utilizes them, we can hear the later sounds of the P-Funk organization as well as later Earth, Wind & Fire, Lonnie Liston Smith, and Herbie Hancock’s funk-jazz directions. . .Bottom line is that these sessions may not be awesome in terms of fidelity, but they’re plenty good, and in terms of sheer musical acumen and killer grooves, they more than compensate. Awesome.” Quite the scary album cover, too.

Flat Duo Jets: Three records from the crazy good masters of minimalist retro-billy rock, including their absolute classic Go Go Harlem Baby.

Never Mind the Bhangra: A Sex Pistols Tribute: Typically we try to stay away from tribute records for obvious reasons, but every now and then, exceptions must be made, and this is, without a doubt, the exception to end all exceptions. I can’t really speak to how credible the bhangra music is here, but I will say that despite the new age atmospherics, you can very much tell what you’re listening to. Somewhere, some crusty-punk-turned-new-age-hippie’s life was changed by this record.

Ike Turner & the Kings of Rhythm: Really fantastic grooves here, the majority of it instrumental, so tight a vocal would only get in the way.

Funky Funky Houston: For you blaxploitation fetishists, this is pretty much all you want, right here. The whole Funky Funky series, based on samples, seems pretty much unstoppable.

Biosphere: The first two albums from Norwegian ambient master Geir Jenssen come in from CD Baby. His debut, Microgravity, gets a perfect five stars from AMG, for what it’s worth.

John Coltrane: This is a live recording of Coltrane’s 1964 classic A Love Supreme. I haven’t checked it out as the album is two 20-minute tracks, but I guess for someone who has never heard the original, two tracks is a small price to pay for a taste.

June Gardner: This is the kind of record that Joe Keyes lives for, an amalgam of ’60s jazz, soul and R&B, all ready and waiting to be sampled for the perfect hip-hop track.

Ultramagnetic MC’s: Although none of the titles we received today are the records, it’s still exciting to see three albums from the Bronx legends (most notable these days, disappointingly, for being the birthplace of Kool Keith).

Queen Latifah: Again, it’s hard to find much info on what The Original Flava Unit actually is, aside early recordings, or its quality, but it should be a fun listen.

Barbed: Lounge-y ambient/glitchy electronic music.

Redd Foxx: I’m certain there must be bad or dull Redd Foxx routines, but I haven’t heard ‘em.

Nico: This All Tomorrow’s Parties live album has mediocre sound quality and arrangements that range from pretty good to just okay.

Abram Wilson: Smooth jazz but not “smooth jazz” from trumpeter Wilson.

Jose Feliciano: This best-of includes lots of really earnest, ’70s singer/songwriter Beatles and John Lennon covers.

Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings: A live album of blues covers from the former Rolling Stones bassist.

Chuck Simmons: Great album cover (take a peek) and album title (Hustler’s Strut), the music less so.

Savalas: I don’t think this is the Savalas of “Savath +” fame; this is more newer-wave stuff, somewhere along the lines of the Faint.

Fuel Introduction To Series: A quick note on these, of which many came in today. I’m not sure either way how reputable these are, as many of the featured artists I know of better than I know their music. However, many of these appear to be quite valuable, and, at the very least, contain “the hits” or some version thereof. If anyone wants to recommend (good or bad) any of these, please do so in the comments. We could all use some guidance here.