Back catalogue: Progressive Rock

Review: The Tele Music catalogue follows a long tradition of library music mores; stock patterned album art and themed series included. Originally from 1973, Rhythmiques functions as one of the label's most iconic releases. Written entirely in collaboration between French composer and percussionist Pierre Dahan and synthesist Mat Camison, it features tense funk, blunted jazz and heavy breaks all the way. It is considered the rightful sequel to Continental Pop Sound, and despite the origin as library music intended for TV and film, has endured as a vital album for producers and DJs.

Review: Les Claypool is of course best known for spearheading Primus, the twisted funk metal pioneers that put slap bass at the top of the agenda. As a virtuoso musician with the most inquisitive of minds, Claypool naturally explored many other musical avenues beyond Primus' oddly-angled jams, and this box set does a damn fine job of summarising those exploits through the lens of his Prawn Records label. Spread across seven LPs, we're treated to remastered versions of projects such as The Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, Colonel Claypool's Bucket Of Bernie Brains and The Fancy Band. You're as likely to wind up in weirdo jazz hoedowns as funked-out rock music, but in between these niches there are so many other undefinable surprises in store.

Review: Larry Manteca's Zombie Mandingo album arrived back in 2013 and in the danced plus has only ever been available digitally. Now it makes its debut on wax and remains a bold listen that was devised as a soundtrack to a non-existent exploitation film. It fuses funk, jazz, and Afrobeat influences with plenty of niche cinematic references such as the zombies in Lucio Fulci's horrors and Umberto Lenzi's cannibalistic adventures. The resulting mash up is beguiling to say the least with horror-tinged exotica next to Fela Kuti rhythms and elements of Italian Library music and colourful psychedelia. A boundary pushing work to say the least.

Review: Over the course of his long and successful career, Ennio Morricone composed many dance songs in step with the fashions of the late 60s and early 70s. These were themes not necessarily directly connected with his films' synopses, but which were nonetheless played in disco clubs, on jukeboxes, turntables and on the radio. This collection contains a selection of pieces such as the brilliant main theme from Grand Slam (1967); the shake rock (opening credits) from Dario Argento's classic Four Flies On Grey Velvet (1971) the danceable from the noir film Violent City (1970); the beat version of the opening credits of 'Pioggia Sul Tuo Viso' by the Sorrows, from How I Learned to Love Women (1966); 'Per Vittorio (Bossa)', an elegant bossa nova with flute and percussions from The Success (1963); the tribal shake from I Cantori Moderni, which winks at the dies irae from Garden of Delights (1967); 'Scuola di Ballo al sole', a wild surf piece from the Hawks and the Sparrows (1966); the supreme bossa nova from One Night at Dinner (1969) with the super iconic voice of Edda Dell'orso; the shake music of "'Ostinazione al Limone from What Have you Done to Solange? (1972); and 'Donnabossa' from Full Hearts and Empty Pockets (1964), a delicate bossa nova piece with a prominent harpsichord.

Review: Headed up by the revered trumpeter and visionary composer Ian Carr, Nucleus have penned many a seminal album and Elastic Rock certainly is one of them. It was a real milestone for the jazz-rock fusion scene and marked a stunning debut in 1970 that has been hard to find ever since. Saxophonist Brian Smith, guitarist Chris Spedding - who wouold later go on to produce the Sex Pistols' first recordings - drummer John Marshall, bassist Jeff Clyne and sax, oboe and pianist Karl Jenkins all brought energy and invention in equal measure on this one with cuts like the title track offer lovely electric blues, '1916' featuring heavy drums and melancholic horns and 'Striation' being more serene. Be With have remastered this reissue from the original tapes.

Review: Not to be confused with the US electro outfit of the same name, Nucleus was - as many readers will know - a pioneering British jazz-rock outfit helmed by Ian Carr, whose releases frequently drew on a wide palette of influences (think funk, soul, pyschedelic and progressive rock). They made a lot of great albums during the 1970s, though few are quite as inspired as 'We'll Talk About It Later', a wonderfully laidback and atmospheric 1971 set that has now been given the reissue treatment by the consistently impressive Be With Records. The many highlights include - but are in no way limited to - the bluesy, slow-motion shuffle of 'We'll Talk About It Later', the wah-wah guitar sporting summer bliss of 'Sun Child', the gently unfurling brilliance of 'Oasis' and the pleasingly heavy jazz-rock pulse of 'Ballad of Joe Pimp'.

Review: First released on Vertigo in 1975, the growling basslines and irresistible rolling grooves of Nucleus emerge in full force for Snakehips Etcetera - an infectiously energetic record that sounds as though it has barely aged a day. Opening onto the unctuous grooves of 'Rat's Bag', where a jubilant trumpet solo takes centre stage, this track instantly takes us into the heart of Nucleus' entirely distinctive terrain. On the B-side, the title track emerges at a slower pace and with synthesised elements moving to the fore - this is a release that perfectly demonstrates how electronics and instrumentation can be combined to reach new heights. With original copies of this release proving virtually impossible to score, we're thankful Be With have gifted the world with a much-needed re-release.

Review: Osibisa's magnificent The Lost 70s Live Shows resurrects the pulsating energy of the Afrobeat and highlife fusion that defined the band's vibrant sound. Released as a testament to their dynamic live performances in the 1970s, the album captures the group's fierce genre-defying spirit with infectious rhythms, hypnotic percussion, and spirited horns. It is with these that the group create an immersive experience that transcends time with multicultural influences abounding throughout. Osibisa's lost live shows showcase their ability to ignite stages with an infectious blend of African, Caribbean, and jazz elements so do not sleep on this reissue.

Review: .You don't need to hear much on The YumYum Tree to understand how apt the story behind Ozric Tentacles is. A troupe which formed from an impromptu six-hour jam session which took place around a campfire during the 1983 Stonehenge free festival, the band name itself came about when an audience member asked guitarist and keyboardist Ed Wynne what the group - which included his brother Roly, Nick 'Tig' Van Gelder (later of Jamiroquai note) and Joie Hinton - were called. Originally dropping from the cosmos in 2009, The YumYum Tree is archetypal stuff from the outfit in question. Complex guitar solos taking us into the stratosphere, uptempo, highly commanding, cacophonic arrangements, star-gazing, mood-setting, deeply textured space rock, and moments of pure new age bliss. A journey to musical unknowns, captained by progressive rock visionaries.

Review: Acclaimed Japanese artist Yuji Toriyama's self titled album has long been hard to find. It now gets its first ever official issue outside of Japan and what a joy it is. The man was known for his work on TV, film and game sound design but also dropped this one in 1993 and it is a sublime fusion of Japanese jazz-rock with smooth melodies and catchy grooves. A perfectly retro-future record full of 80s nostalgia and ripe for sun drenched beaches and lounge bars alike. Whether you're a die-hard fan or this is the first time you have been enchanted by the sounds of Toriyama's music, you will keep on coming back for more this summer and beyond.