1. Beny MoréEl Inigualable(RCA LPD 531, LP, Cuba, 1957)Born in 1919, Bartolome Maximiliano Moré remains unrivalled as Cuba’s best-loved singer of popular music. Moré’s sound fuses traditional son with the guajiro music traditionally associated with the Cuban countryside. His big break came in 1945, following a tour with Miguel Matamoros’…
There’s a case to be made for Two Virgins being the most controversial record ever made. The first of three experimental albums by John Lennon and Yoko Ono – then the most hated woman in Britain – it features no discernible hits and came in a brown paper bag on account of the couple’s nakedness. I Want To Hold Your Hand it isn’t. To steal…
Yoko Ono’s catalogue has long outgrown the reputation of a historical footnote or an avant-garde curiosity, and her albums across decades of solo work, collaborations, and constant reinvention reveal a body of music that moves between pop songwriting, performance art, noise, and danceable experimental rock—often within the same record. This lis…
A selection of some of the best hip hop singles from the Golden Era highlights key 7” releases from the mid-1980s to early 1990s that helped define the sound and culture of rap music. Featuring landmark tracks by artists including Run DMC, Public Enemy, Eric B & Rakim, A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul, it traces hip-hop’s rise from its b…
Among the most influential metal guitar albums ever, not bad for 11 mainly live-in-the-studio cuts in 35 minutes. Gestating five years, it was all the material they had, but Eddie Van Halen’s ‘Brown Sound’ double-tapping announced their Eruption on the scene, while Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony fueled David Lee Roth’s combustible vocal…
Exploring the golden era of funk and disco records from the Middle East, this list traces dancefloor-driven releases from the early 1970s to the late 1980s. Spanning Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey, Libya and the wider diaspora, the selection highlights artists fusing traditional Arabic, Anatolian and North African sounds with funk, disco, jazz and early el…
This list explores early electronica albums through pioneering records that helped define electronic music in its formative years, spanning from the late 1950s to the early 1990s. From experimental studio innovators to visionary artists blending synths with pop, rock, and classical forms, these albums showcase groundbreaking uses of the Moog, tape …
Here are ten of the finest live jazz albums, selected by Chris Wheatley for Record Collector 566. These performances showcase master musicians in full command of their craft, exploring bold ideas with energy and subtlety. From intense, free-flowing passages to rich, expressive moments, this is jazz captured live — dynamic, memorable, and enduring…
