NEW RELEASES: GIL SCOTT-HERON – THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED; PRINCE – PURPLE RAIN (2-CD DELUXE EDITION); ODYSSEY – GOING BACK TO MY ROOTS: THE BEST OF ODYSSEY

GIL SCOTT-HERON – THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED (BONUS TRACKS)

A set that wasn't initially conceived as a full album by Gil Scott-Heron – but one that's come to be an essential part of his catalog, thanks to the always-relevant title theme! The album's actually a classic collection of work from the early years of Gil Scott-Heron at the Flying Dutchman label – a time when he was recording some of his most impressively righteous material ever – a hip mix of protest poetry and sweet jazzy numbers – played with great keyboard accompaniment from frequent partner Brian Jackson on keyboards on nearly every track – plus help from Hubert Laws on flute and sax, and Bernard Purdie on drums. Nearly all the famous classics by Gil are here, and the titles include some of Gil's best jazz funk groovers, including "Pieces Of A Man", "Lady Day & John Coltrane", "Home Is Where The Hatred Is", "Save The Children", "Sex Education Ghetto Style", "Whitey On The Moon", "Did You Hear What They Said", The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", and "No Knock". Plus, this CD edition adds in 9 more bonus tracks – including "Free Fall", "I Think I'll Call It Morning", "When You Are Who You Are", "Who'll Pay For Reparations On My Soul", "Speed Kills", "Paint It Black", "The Middle Of Your Day", "Free Will", "Or Down You Fall", and "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (first version)".  ~ Dusty Groove

PRINCE – PURPLE RAIN (2-CD DELUXE EDITION)

One of the greatest crossover albums of the 80s – and the record that catapulted Prince very firmly into the mainstream! There's a tightness here that surpasses even that of Prince's early classics for Warner Brothers – an unabashed love of a pop hook that makes for some incredibly catchy tunes that are still delivered with a nice funky undercurrent. The whole Prince family is at the top of their game at this point – and titles include "Darling Nikki", "Let's Go Crazy", "I Would Die 4 U", "When Doves Cry", "Baby I'm A Star", and "Purple Rain". This fantastic 2CD version features a completely new 2015 Paisley Park remaster of the album, done by Prince – plus a full CD that features unreleased songs and tracks from the vaults – with titles that include "Katrina's Paper Dolls", "We Can F**k", "Father's Song", "Possessed", "Computer Blue (hallway speech version)", "Love & Sex", "The Dance Electric", "Our Destiny/Roadhouse Garden", "Wonderful Ass", "Velvet Kitty Cat", and "Electric Intercourse (studio version)". ~ Dusty Groove

ODYSSEY – GOING BACK TO MY ROOTS: THE BEST OF ODYSSEY

A fantastic soul trio, and one who turned out to be a fair bit more classy than some of their club contemporaries in the late 70s – with an ability to change things up in a great way as time moved on, and really keep their groove fresh for the 80s! This set brings together almost every one of the excellent groovers that Odyssey recorded during their years at RCA – many cuts in single versions that got plenty of play back in the day, and which together really show a wonderful transformation in sound over just a few short years. The package is a heck of a deal – 30 tracks at one mighty nice price – and titles include "Native New Yorker (12" disco mix)", "Going Back To My Roots (12" version)", "Inside Out (12" mix)", "Don't Tell Me Tell Her (12" mix)", "Roots Suite", "If You're Lookin For A Way Out", "Use It Up & Wear It Out (7" mix)", "I Got The Melody", "Follow Me", "Oh No Not My Baby", "Hang Together", "Easy Come Easy Go/Hold De Mota Down", "Lucky Star", "It Will Be Alright", and "Every Lovin Sam".  ~ Dusty Groove