Whether it was singing with Big Brother And The Holding Company or with her Full Tilt Boogie Band, Janis Joplin had one of the most identifiable, most emotional and most soulful voices ever recorded. Coming to San Francisco from Texas in 1966, Janis soon had the music world’s total attention, simply blowing the audience away at Monterey in 1967 while fronting Big Brother and gaining a record deal with Columbia Records in the process. After that, it was hit after hit with songs like her signature Piece Of My Heart, Cry Baby, and her Number One take of Kris Kristofferson’s present day standard Me And Bobby McGee, all included here. Through it all, Janis Joplin established herself as one of the very best and one of the most important singers and song interpreters ever to hit the music scene.

The tune "East-West" from the second Paul Butterfield Blues Band album of the same name made music history. It is arguably the first extended rock solo, a fusing of blues-rock with Eastern scales and tone. Here is the root of psychedelic acid rock.

CD reissue of killer early 70s hard rock album originally released in the RCA label, but now very hard to turn up. …

THE DEVIANTS - Ptooff! / Disposable (2006 UK 21-track CD album, compiling the 1st 2 LPs from the legendary Deviants, 'Ptooff!' and 'Disposable', originally released in 1967 and 1968 respectively - The Deviants were something like the British equivalent to the Fugs, with touches of the Mothers of Invention and the British R&B-based rock of the Yardbirds and Pretty Things; their simplistic riffing anticipated acts like the Stooges for an inspired collision of punk attitude and psychedelic eclecticism!

Bridge of Sighs is the second solo album by the English guitarist and songwriter Robin Trower. It was released in 1974. Bridge of Sighs, his second album after leaving Procol Harum, was a breakthrough album for Trower. Songs from this album, such as "Bridge of Sighs", "Too Rolling Stoned", "Day of the Eagle" and "Little Bit of Sympathy", have become live concert staples for Trower. The album was remastered and remixed in 1999 with bonus tracks recorded for KMET radio on 29 May 1974 at The Record Plant in Los Angeles, California.

One of those real rare hard rock group often considered as heavy progressive, Jenghiz Khan produced one sole album that is now a highly-priced collectible item. With an amazing cartoon-like gatefold cover of the Great Conqueror having cut the group member's heads, this obscure quartet is also the start of bassist Rapsat's lengthy career (he had recorded with another "prog" group Laurelie the same year) as a French-speaking rock singer/songwriter. The album is the hard rock that one can expect from the era with an amateur trait, but also some undeniable progressive tendencies. The album has received a CD issue sometime ago and is now most likely scarce also.

Friday, May 12, sees the release of Earth Electric’s Vol.1: Solar on Season of Mist, which we are streaming it in its entirety now. The group finds former Mayhem guitarist Rune Ericksen teaming with highly respected Portuguese musicians Alexandre Ribeiro (bass, Grog Neoplasmah) and Ricardo Martins (drums, Jibóia) as well as London-based keyboardist Dan Knight (Messenger). Joined by vocalist Carmen Simoes (ex-Ava Inferi), the symphonic rock outfit blends the best stained glass elements of succinct, classic progressive rock with the power of unapologetic metal, culminating in an album that appeals to a broad base of listeners while never losing its integrity.

Looking On is the third album by The Move, released in the UK in December 1970. The LP is their first to feature Jeff Lynne, their first containing entirely original compositions. It includes both their 1970 singles, the Top 10 hit "Brontosaurus," released on Regal Zonophone in March, and the less successful "When Alice Comes Back To The Farm," released on Fly in October. It's also the first LP to feature both Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne as a tandem, with Wood’s use of cello and woodwinds and Lynne's piano in addition to their usual guitars and vocals, anticipating the work they would later pursue in The Electric Light Orchestra, whose debut album they were starting to record at around the same time…

This "concept" album related to an infamous rock'n'roll habit! Unfortunately the album sleeve didn't list the line-up, but it seems likely that Ken Hensley of Uriah Heep fame had a leading role. He recorded the Weed album during March 1971 in between the Uriah Heep albums Salisbury and Look At Yourself. Some members of the 1970/71 Virus line-up were also involved, Bernd Hohmann and Werner Monka at least and possibly their rhythm section as well. All six tracks were composed by the concert promoter Bobo Albes and Phillips' household producer Rainer Goltermann made sure the sessions in the Windrose Studios in Hamburg were preserved for posterity.

The Violent Side is a 2CD bootleg by British rockers The Who. True to its subtitle, the album is a soundboard recording of the full set of The Who at Woodstock on 16 August, 1969. The second half of disc two are bonus tracks recorded at Young Vic in London, England in April of 1971. This comes courtesy of Countdown Factory.

Riot Act is the seventh studio album by American rock band Pearl Jam, released on November 12, 2002 through Epic Records. Following a full-scale tour in support of its previous album, Binaural (2000), Pearl Jam took a year-long break. The band then reconvened in the beginning of 2002 and commenced work on a new album. The music on the record featured a diverse sound, including songs influenced by folk, art rock, and experimental rock. The lyrics deal with mortality and existentialism, with much influence from both the political climate after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the accidental death of nine fans during Pearl Jam's performance at the 2000 Roskilde Festival.

Recorded on a shoestring budget, UFO has several challenging sonic moments. The uneven mixes and amateur performances that some listeners might find quaint or innocent could be distracting to others. In their pre-Michael Schenker days, the British band made a much more experimental noise that reflected psychedelic as well as R&B influences pitched with a dark resonance. This swirling mish-mosh barely suggests the early British metal of the group's commercial pinnacle that was still years off when they released their eponymous debut…

One of Rolling Stone’s top 100 albums of the decade, Rated R from Queens Of The Stone Age marks its 10th anniversary with the expanded, two-CD Rated R - Deluxe Edition (Interscope/UMe), released August 3, 2010. Added to the original album is a second disc with six B-sides and the band’s memorable summer 2000 Reading Festival concert–featuring nine previously unreleased songs, including live versions of Rated R’s “Feel Good Hit Of The Summer”, “The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret”, “Better Living Through Chemistry” and “Quick And To The Pointless”.

Looking back at The Black Angels' 13-year career, it's a wonder it took the group so long to name an album Death Song. The Austin-based collective originally took its name from The Velvet Underground classic "The Black Angel's Death Song," as befits its dark, droning take on hard-edged psychedelia. The Black Angels' Death Song, however, is far from some kind of VU tribute. While continuing to evolve the seething, hypnotic tradition laid down by Lou Reed, John Cale, and company in the 1960s, The Black Angels have delivered an enormous and frighteningly timely fifth album full of uniquely trippy anthems to oblivion.