After the success of "Expansions" (1975) Lonnie Liston Smith and the Cosmic Echoes were riding high, with Lonnie at the height of his creative powers. Two more albums followed on Flying Dutchman before changes at RCA meant that it was decided that the next album would be released on the parent label. As such, the final Cosmic Echoes album on RCA was neglected and has remained out of print on vinyl since its original release back in 1976. Produced by Bob Thiele and Lonnie, this album we now restore this to its position in the Flying Dutchman catalogue on this vinyl reissue.
A masterpiece of cosmic jazz funk "Renaissance" includes the reflective 'Between Here And There', the jazz dance classic 'Mardi Gras (Carnival)' and the sensational 'Space Lady'.
180g black vinyl in replica gatefold sleeve. More

- Gil Scott-Heron was twenty-one years old when he was signed to Flying Dutchman by Bob Thiele to make an album of his poetry. The resultant "Small Talk at 125th and Lenox" was recorded before a small live audience and, released in 1970, sat perfectly in a world where the Last Poets had just tasted Top 10 success with their debut LP. "Small Talk at 125th and Lenox" opened with a spoken word version of 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised' and also featured poems and musical pieces like 'Omen', 'Brother', 'Plastic Pattern People', 'Paint It Black' and 'Everyday' that reflected on the black community and its condition within America at this time.

- The starkest of these sharp observational pieces from Scott-Heron was 'Whitey On The Moon', which recounts the US Government spending billions on landing a rocket on the moon at a time when, "a rat done bit my sister, Nell".

- Like its follow-up - "Pieces Of A Man" - "Small Talk at 125th and Lenox" is a classic album and we are delighted to serve it up again on vinyl in a gatefold sleeve with the original liner notes.

With current "Big Talk" of going back to the moon, whilst injustice still prevails for many black people in America, "Small Talk at 125th and Lenox" still conveys a message that resonates today. More

After the success of "Expansions" (1975) Lonnie Liston Smith and the Cosmic Echoes were riding high, with Lonnie at the height of his creative powers. Two more albums followed on Flying Dutchman before changes at RCA meant that it was decided that the next album would be released on the parent label. As such, the final Cosmic Echoes album on RCA was neglected and has remained out of print on vinyl since its original release back in 1976. Produced by Bob Thiele and Lonnie, this album we now restore this to its position in the Flying Dutchman catalogue on this vinyl reissue.
A masterpiece of cosmic jazz funk "Renaissance" includes the reflective 'Between Here And There', the jazz dance classic 'Mardi Gras (Carnival)' and the sensational 'Space Lady'.
180g black vinyl in replica gatefold sleeve. More

- 1971 and Black America was luxuriating in the soft soul of the O'Jays, the Temptations had just left behind their flirtation with psychedelia, James Brown was explaining Soul Power, Sly & the Family Stone were having a Family Affair, and Marvin Gaye was asking 'What's Going On'.
- In their own inimitable way, Funkadelic were laying down their own statement about the ecology of the planet in the opening of lead and title track 'Maggot Brain', turning it into an elegy for the Earth in the ensuing heart-wrenching extended Eddie Hazel guitar solo - one of the most radical records of the period.
- The album also spawned two Top 50 singles with the usual Funkadelic wry observational humour of 'You And Your Folks, Me And My Folks' and 'Can You Get To That'. And just in case you think things have normalised, the set closes with nine minutes of the chaotic sound collage 'Wars Of Armageddon'.
- This 50th anniversary edition includes a second 12" with two versions of the title track. Side A features the live version from Meadowbrook from the same year that the studio album came out. Jump forward 46 years to the "Reworked by Detroiters" release and side B has the BMG Dub, showing the enduring quality of one of the great guitar records of all time.
- This issue is mastered from fresh transfers of the tape.
- Facsimile gatefold sleeve.
- Coloured vinyl (Disc 1 - Blue & Splatter Red / Disc 2 - Clear). More

Sylvester has too many hits to count, but 'Over And Over' has to be up there. Originally released in 1977, the timeless slice of uptempo disco funk was a mighty meeting of minds - any track penned by Ashford & Simpson is set for iconic status, and with Sylvester up front it's even more of a sure thing. Quite simply eternal. Of course, Sylvester's most famous collaborator was Patrick Cowley, whose magic touch is all over the wriggling, brooding synth boogie of 'I Need Somebody To Love Tonight', presented here as a compact 7" edit for a short sharp blast of perfection More