WEWANTSOUNDS - Forced Exposure

$34.50 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 1/24/2020

Double LP version. Wewantsounds present a 40th anniversary reissue of Akiko Yano's Gohan Ga Dekitayo, originally released in 1980. This superb double-album was recorded with Yellow Magic Orchestra at a time when she was part of the group's touring line-up between 1979 and 1980. The album is pure Akiko Yano featuring her superb singing and piano playing, enhanced by touches of YMO's synth-pop sound (check her cult version of YMO's classic, "Tong-Poo"). First album release outside of Japan. When Gohan Ga Dekitayo came out in 1980, Akiko Yano had been touring with Yellow Magic Orchestra for more than a year. She'd play keyboards alongside the three founding members -- Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Yukihiro Takahashi -- plus guitarist Kenji Omura and synth wizard programmer Hideki Matsutake (as part of the 1980 North American tour, she'd also feature in the group's cult TV appearance on Soul Train for a memorable rendition of "Tighten Up") and they are all present on Gohan Ga Dekitayo. The double-LP, whose title could be translated by "Dinner Is Ready", was co-produced with Ryuichi Sakamoto and recorded at two legendary studios: Tokyo's Alfa Studio "A" and Los Angeles's Sound City. It was Akiko's first shift towards a fuller synth sound following four studio albums mixing pop and jazz funk, including her landmark debut from 1976, Japanese Girl (WWSCD 017CD/WWSLP 017LP). A shift that would continue with the release of Tadaima in 1981 (WWSCD 016CD/WWSLP 016LP_, also featuring the YMO musicians. The fourteen tracks on Gohan Ga Dekitayo find Akiko in top form mixing her singer-songwriter's sensitivity with the electro-pop sound of YMO. It's interesting to note though that it is very much an Akiko Yano album even if the group is present on the album (interestingly they do also play analog instruments on the album). Akiko is clearly the one in charge with a string of beautiful compositions and the rendition of one of the group's classics, "Tong Poo" which she reinvents as a slower, less metronomic-paced song adding her own lyrics. Other highlights on the album include "Dogs Awaiting...", a hypnotic composition featuring fascinating electro arrangements or "Coloured Water" sung in English by Akiko accompanying herself on Fender Rhodes with subtle percussion by Tatsuo Hayashi and electronics by Ryuichi Sakamoto. There are many more great moments on this superb album which announces the further experiments of Tadaima. Remastered audio by Mitsuo Koike.

$18.00 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 1/24/2020

Wewantsounds present a 40th anniversary reissue of Akiko Yano's Gohan Ga Dekitayo, originally released in 1980. This superb double-album was recorded with Yellow Magic Orchestra at a time when she was part of the group's touring line-up between 1979 and 1980. The album is pure Akiko Yano featuring her superb singing and piano playing, enhanced by touches of YMO's synth-pop sound (check her cult version of YMO's classic, "Tong-Poo"). First album release outside of Japan. When Gohan Ga Dekitayo came out in 1980, Akiko Yano had been touring with Yellow Magic Orchestra for more than a year. She'd play keyboards alongside the three founding members -- Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Yukihiro Takahashi -- plus guitarist Kenji Omura and synth wizard programmer Hideki Matsutake (as part of the 1980 North American tour, she'd also feature in the group's cult TV appearance on Soul Train for a memorable rendition of "Tighten Up") and they are all present on Gohan Ga Dekitayo. The double-LP, whose title could be translated by "Dinner Is Ready", was co-produced with Ryuichi Sakamoto and recorded at two legendary studios: Tokyo's Alfa Studio "A" and Los Angeles's Sound City. It was Akiko's first shift towards a fuller synth sound following four studio albums mixing pop and jazz funk, including her landmark debut from 1976, Japanese Girl (WWSCD 017CD/WWSLP 017LP). A shift that would continue with the release of Tadaima in 1981 (WWSCD 016CD/WWSLP 016LP), also featuring the YMO musicians. The fourteen tracks on Gohan Ga Dekitayo find Akiko in top form mixing her singer-songwriter's sensitivity with the electro-pop sound of YMO. It's interesting to note though that it is very much an Akiko Yano album even if the group is present on the album (interestingly they do also play analog instruments on the album). Akiko is clearly the one in charge with a string of beautiful compositions and the rendition of one of the group's classics, "Tong Poo" which she reinvents as a slower, less metronomic-paced song adding her own lyrics. Other highlights on the album include "Dogs Awaiting...", a hypnotic composition featuring fascinating electro arrangements or "Coloured Water" sung in English by Akiko accompanying herself on Fender Rhodes with subtle percussion by Tatsuo Hayashi and electronics by Ryuichi Sakamoto. There are many more great moments on this superb album which announces the further experiments of Tadaima. Remastered audio by Mitsuo Koike.

$31.00 IN STOCK

LP version. Wewantsounds present a reissue of Donna McGhee's Make It Last Forever, originally released in 1978. Donna McGhee has been one of the key female singers of the New York disco scene, gracing several cult albums with her superb singing. The Brooklyn native began her career singing gospel in her grandmother's choir from an early age. Her first break in the industry came when she was spotted by bass player Johnny Flippin, who invited her to join his band. The group was none other than The Fatback Band led by drummer Bill Curtis. This was 1975 and the album was Raising Hell. McGhee's vocals can be heard throughout the album, including the dancefloor classic "(Are You Ready) Do The Bus Stop". She stayed with the group for another few years recording Night Fever in 1976 and touring across country. Following an encounter with producer Greg Carmichael, Donna McGhee jumped ship and started working with the prolific producer and his partner Patrick Adams. A string of collaborations followed with singles and albums: Donna can indeed be heard singing with Bumblebee Unlimited, Universal Robot Band, and on Phreek's classic self-titled album from 1978, singing on the track "May My Love Be With You". In 1978, After Greg Carmichael set up his own label, Red Greg Records, he and Adams decided to get McGhee in the recording studio and produce her first solo album. With the pair playing most of the instruments, they got five tracks out of the session. The result, Make It Last Forever is an all-time Adams/Carmichael classic: funky disco arrangements with a touch of synths over a pulsating groove magnified by McGhee's superb sexy singing. All five tracks have become classics in their own right. "I'm A Love Bug" was a remake of Bumblebee Unlimited's cult favourite from 1976, "Love Bug" (also released on Carmichael's Red Greg label) while "Make It Last Forever" was later re-recorded by Inner Life (featuring Jocelyn Brown). "Do As I Do" and "Mr. Blindman" keep the groove going and finally, we have "It Ain't No Big Thing". The remake of a 1976 single by Personal Touch, produced by Adams for his PAP label and arranged by Leroy Burgess, it is one of the highlights of the album and is a superb catchy composition which has now become a true underground disco standard. An essential disco album. Newly remastered audio.

$18.00 PREORDER RELEASE DATE: 12/6/2019

Wewantsounds present a reissue of Donna McGhee's Make It Last Forever, originally released in 1978. Donna McGhee has been one of the key female singers of the New York disco scene, gracing several cult albums with her superb singing. The Brooklyn native began her career singing gospel in her grandmother's choir from an early age. Her first break in the industry came when she was spotted by bass player Johnny Flippin, who invited her to join his band. The group was none other than The Fatback Band led by drummer Bill Curtis. This was 1975 and the album was Raising Hell. McGhee's vocals can be heard throughout the album, including the dancefloor classic "(Are You Ready) Do The Bus Stop". She stayed with the group for another few years recording Night Fever in 1976 and touring across country. Following an encounter with producer Greg Carmichael, Donna McGhee jumped ship and started working with the prolific producer and his partner Patrick Adams. A string of collaborations followed with singles and albums: Donna can indeed be heard singing with Bumblebee Unlimited, Universal Robot Band, and on Phreek's classic self-titled album from 1978, singing on the track "May My Love Be With You". In 1978, After Greg Carmichael set up his own label, Red Greg Records, he and Adams decided to get McGhee in the recording studio and produce her first solo album. With the pair playing most of the instruments, they got five tracks out of the session. The result, Make It Last Forever is an all-time Adams/Carmichael classic: funky disco arrangements with a touch of synths over a pulsating groove magnified by McGhee's superb sexy singing. All five tracks have become classics in their own right. "I'm A Love Bug" was a remake of Bumblebee Unlimited's cult favourite from 1976, "Love Bug" (also released on Carmichael's Red Greg label) while "Make It Last Forever" was later re-recorded by Inner Life (featuring Jocelyn Brown). "Do As I Do" and "Mr. Blindman" keep the groove going and finally, we have "It Ain't No Big Thing". The remake of a 1976 single by Personal Touch, produced by Adams for his PAP label and arranged by Leroy Burgess, it is one of the highlights of the album and is a superb catchy composition which has now become a true underground disco standard. An essential disco album. Newly remastered audio.

$18.00 IN STOCK

Wewantsounds present a reissue of Ryuichi Sakamoto's first solo album Thousand Knives Of, originally released in 1978 on the sought-after Better Days label. Save for a small-scale release in 1982, this is the first time the album is being released on vinyl outside of Japan. 1978 was a key year for Japanese music. Haruomi Hosono, one of the country's most innovative musicians had just formed Yellow Magic Orchestra pursuing the sonic experimentation he had started with his solo album Paraiso. The album, recorded between December '77 and January '78, featured both Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi. Hosono quickly invited both musicians to form YMO but before the group could release their first album, Sakamoto entered the Nippon Columbia studios in April 1978 with a plan. Sakamoto had become an in-demand session musician after studying composition at the Tokyo University of Art and had played on many key albums of the time, such as Taeko Ohnuki's Sunshower (1977) and Tatsuro Yamashita Spacy (1977). This led to an invitation by Hosono to feature on Paraiso. A penchant for avant-garde and improvisation had gotten Sakamoto interested in electronic music early on, and with Thousand Knives he decided to get Hideki Matsutake on board as he had mastered the art of synth programming following a stint with Electronic Music pioneer Isao Tomita. Thousand Knives took several months to record as Sakamoto would be busy during the day with his session work and would only record at night. Named after Belgian-born poet Henri Michaux's description of a mescaline experience, the album is a reflection on how synthesizer technology might come to change the face of music. The first side conceived as a long suite opens with the title track and a recitation of the Mao Zedong poem "Jinggang Mountain" filtered through a vocoder, before morphing into a mid-tempo synthpop instrumental. It is followed by "Island Of Woods", a ten-minute track buzzing with insect-like synth sounds. Side one ends with "Grasshoppers", a beautiful acoustic piano melody underlined by a subtle synthesizer soundscape. Side two opens with "Das Neue Japanische Elektronische Volkslied", acknowledging the influence of the German sound spearheaded by Kraftwerk. The track features a mid-tempo metronomic beat skillfully intertwined with a Japanese folk sounding melody. The album ends with two catchy up-tempo synthpop tunes in the form of "Plastic Bamboo" and "The End Of Asia", which both became staples of YMO's and Sakamoto's live shows. YMO's sound included various influences from its three members but there is no denying Thousand Knives paved the way for the group's Computer Music sound. Remastered from the original tapes by renowned producer and engineer Seigen Ono.

$31.00 LOW STOCK LEVEL

LP version. Wewantsounds present a reissue of Ryuichi Sakamoto's first solo album Thousand Knives Of, originally released in 1978 on the sought-after Better Days label. Save for a small-scale release in 1982, this is the first time the album is being released on vinyl outside of Japan. 1978 was a key year for Japanese music. Haruomi Hosono, one of the country's most innovative musicians had just formed Yellow Magic Orchestra pursuing the sonic experimentation he had started with his solo album Paraiso. The album, recorded between December '77 and January '78, featured both Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi. Hosono quickly invited both musicians to form YMO but before the group could release their first album, Sakamoto entered the Nippon Columbia studios in April 1978 with a plan. Sakamoto had become an in-demand session musician after studying composition at the Tokyo University of Art and had played on many key albums of the time, such as Taeko Ohnuki's Sunshower (1977) and Tatsuro Yamashita Spacy (1977). This led to an invitation by Hosono to feature on Paraiso. A penchant for avant-garde and improvisation had gotten Sakamoto interested in electronic music early on, and with Thousand Knives he decided to get Hideki Matsutake on board as he had mastered the art of synth programming following a stint with Electronic Music pioneer Isao Tomita. Thousand Knives took several months to record as Sakamoto would be busy during the day with his session work and would only record at night. Named after Belgian-born poet Henri Michaux's description of a mescaline experience, the album is a reflection on how synthesizer technology might come to change the face of music. The first side conceived as a long suite opens with the title track and a recitation of the Mao Zedong poem "Jinggang Mountain" filtered through a vocoder, before morphing into a mid-tempo synthpop instrumental. It is followed by "Island Of Woods", a ten-minute track buzzing with insect-like synth sounds. Side one ends with "Grasshoppers", a beautiful acoustic piano melody underlined by a subtle synthesizer soundscape. Side two opens with "Das Neue Japanische Elektronische Volkslied", acknowledging the influence of the German sound spearheaded by Kraftwerk. The track features a mid-tempo metronomic beat skillfully intertwined with a Japanese folk sounding melody. The album ends with two catchy up-tempo synthpop tunes in the form of "Plastic Bamboo" and "The End Of Asia", which both became staples of YMO's and Sakamoto's live shows. YMO's sound included various influences from its three members but there is no denying Thousand Knives paved the way for the group's Computer Music sound. Remastered from the original tapes by renowned producer and engineer Seigen Ono.

$18.00 IN STOCK

Wewantsounds present a reissue of Yukihiro Takahashi's debut solo album Saravah!, originally released in 1978. One of the key Japanese albums of the '70s, it was released at a key time when, following his tenure with Sadistic Mika Band, Takahashi had just joined the nascent line up of Yellow Magic Orchestra. A sophisticated mix of disco funk, synth pop, ambient, French exotica, and bossa nova, the album has the stylish feel of a night out clubbing in Paris circa 1978. It's the missing link between the city pop scene of the late '70s and the synth sound of YMO which was about to revolutionize the world. The month before recording the YMO debut album that would help alter the course of music, Yukihiro Takahashi entered the studio with his fellow band-members Ryuichi Sakamoto and Haruomi Hosono to record Saravah! together with the cream of the Japanese scene. He drew his inspiration from globe-trotting French musician Pierre Barouh who had introduced Bossa Nova in France in 1966 with "Samba Saravah" (featured in soundtrack the Oscar winner A Man And A Woman which he co-wrote) and subsequently launched Saravah Records. Saravah! starts off with a couple of French and Italian exotica classics ("Volare" and "C'est Si Bon") with delicious touches of synth while "Saravah!" is a nod to Pierre Barouh, a languid bossa nova with beautiful soulful strings arranged by Ryuichi Sakamoto. The album gets hotter with "La Rosa", a superb mid-tempo ambient funk featuring Shigeru Suzuki's fluid guitar. Next is an amazing exotica-synth version of the standard "Mood Indigo", announcing the midi revolution that was to come before things get funkier shortly after with Ryuichi Sakamoto's superb up-tempo disco instrumental "Elastic Dummy" featuring soulful strings and horns with solos by Sakamoto and guitarist Tsunehide Matsuki. The album then moves on to the ambient synth pop of "Sunset" before switching back to disco funk with "Back Street Midnight Queen" which, like "Elastic Dummy", has become a dancefloor cult classic. Saravah! ends on a perfect note with the beautiful "Present" a perfectly crafted pop song which Takahashi wanted to do in a city pop mode, featuring a superb melody and high-class arrangements.. Newly remastered by renowned engineer Mitsuo Koike. Features original artwork with photos by Masayoshi Sukita (David Bowie's Heroes (1977)); includes four-page insert and a new Introduction by Benjamin Barouh (of Saravah Records).

$31.00 IN STOCK

LP version. Wewantsounds present a reissue of Yukihiro Takahashi's debut solo album Saravah!, originally released in 1978. One of the key Japanese albums of the '70s, it was released at a key time when, following his tenure with Sadistic Mika Band, Takahashi had just joined the nascent line up of Yellow Magic Orchestra. A sophisticated mix of disco funk, synth pop, ambient, French exotica, and bossa nova, the album has the stylish feel of a night out clubbing in Paris circa 1978. It's the missing link between the city pop scene of the late '70s and the synth sound of YMO which was about to revolutionize the world. The month before recording the YMO debut album that would help alter the course of music, Yukihiro Takahashi entered the studio with his fellow band-members Ryuichi Sakamoto and Haruomi Hosono to record Saravah! together with the cream of the Japanese scene. He drew his inspiration from globe-trotting French musician Pierre Barouh who had introduced Bossa Nova in France in 1966 with "Samba Saravah" (featured in soundtrack the Oscar winner A Man And A Woman which he co-wrote) and subsequently launched Saravah Records. Saravah! starts off with a couple of French and Italian exotica classics ("Volare" and "C'est Si Bon") with delicious touches of synth while "Saravah!" is a nod to Pierre Barouh, a languid bossa nova with beautiful soulful strings arranged by Ryuichi Sakamoto. The album gets hotter with "La Rosa", a superb mid-tempo ambient funk featuring Shigeru Suzuki's fluid guitar. Next is an amazing exotica-synth version of the standard "Mood Indigo", announcing the midi revolution that was to come before things get funkier shortly after with Ryuichi Sakamoto's superb up-tempo disco instrumental "Elastic Dummy" featuring soulful strings and horns with solos by Sakamoto and guitarist Tsunehide Matsuki. The album then moves on to the ambient synth pop of "Sunset" before switching back to disco funk with "Back Street Midnight Queen" which, like "Elastic Dummy", has become a dancefloor cult classic. Saravah! ends on a perfect note with the beautiful "Present" a perfectly crafted pop song which Takahashi wanted to do in a city pop mode, featuring a superb melody and high-class arrangements.. Newly remastered by renowned engineer Mitsuo Koike. Features original artwork with photos by Masayoshi Sukita (David Bowie's Heroes (1977)); includes four-page insert and a new Introduction by Benjamin Barouh (of Saravah Records).

$27.50 IN STOCK

Following the success of the special Record Store Day Abu Ali edition (WWSLP 021LP), Wewantsounds are reissuing a standard version of Ziad Rahbani's mythical disco 12" which was originally issued in Lebanon in 1978. This reissue on black vinyl features the original artwork, with remastered audio. Wewantsounds is to announce the first-ever official vinyl reissue of Ziad Rahbani's mythical Lebanese Disco 12" Abu Ali, originally issued in Lebanon in 1978 on his label Zida Records. A highly collectible album, it will get reissued by Wewantsounds with its original artwork, remastered by Colorsound Studio in Paris. Ziad Rahbani is a cultural icon in Lebanon. The musician, pianist, and producer is also a renowned playwright and a political activist, one of the most important exponent of the Lebanese left-wing counterculture to emerge from the '70s. Coming out of an illustrious artistic dynasty (his father is the famous composer and musician Assi Rahbani, member of group The Rahbani Brothers and his mother is the legendary Middle East Diva, Fairuz), Ziad Rahbani started his music career during his late teens, composing music for his mother. Rahbani quickly spread his wings further. He started producing his own music co-founding the label Zida in 1978 at age 22 in the process and started releasing records under his own name. Among these was Abu Ali recorded in Greece at the EMI Studios in Athens with a full orchestra -- there he also recorded his mother's 1979 album Wahdon (WWSLP 022LP) -- and released it as a limited run EP for the Lebanese market. Legend has it that the album was only pressed at 500 unit hence its rarity. The result is a fabulous New York-meets-Beirut disco ecstasy, developing over two 13-minute tracks and one of the most collectible albums on the international dance and disco scene.

$18.00 IN STOCK

Wewantsounds continues its collaboration with Bob Shad's grandchildren, Mia and Judd Apatow, to present a selection of 13 turntable-friendly Mainstream Records tracks recorded between 1970 and 1973. Ultimate breaks and beats from Mainstream Records. The Mainstream sound is unmistakable: Earthy, rich and funky, it's the signature sound of producer Bob Shad. After working with such geniuses as Charlie Parker, The Platters, Billie Holiday, and Janis Joplin over three decades, Shad decided to go back to producing Great Black Music in the early '70s through his label Mainstream Records and started releasing a formidable series of jazz albums known as the 300 series. Released between 1971 and 1974, these albums are the main source of this set. Coincidentally, it opens with one of the two tracks on the tracklist not produced by Shad himself. Saundra Phillips' "Miss Fatback" is nonetheless fascinating as it's one of cult disco producer Greg Carmichael's earliest productions from 1975. The other track not issued by the Shad sound factory is Almeta Lattimore's 7" single "These Memories," a truly great soulful track from 1975 and now a sought-after classic on the international soul scene. Shad's forte was jazz, and the sessions with great musicians, including Bernard Purdie, Billy Hart, Stanley Clarke, Dom Um Romao, Joe Sample, Freddie Robinson, to name just a few. Filled with gorgeous Fender Rhodes chords and heavy basslines, they define the unmistakable Mainstream sound which had one foot in the great jazz and bop tradition and the other in the sonic jazz explorations of the early '70s. Oscillating between jazzed-up covers of soul hits like Jay Berliner's "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" or Afrique's "Kissing My Love" and more introspective originals such as Hal Galper's "This Moment" or Dave Hubbard's "T.B.'s Delight", They all have this perfect balance between groove and depth. One perfect example is Pete Yellin's "Bird And The Ouija Board", a superb 12-minute opus starting off with a deep abstract improvisation before switching to an up-tempo funk beat. Shad had a long-standing association with such jazz divas and this side is represented here by Maxine Weldon's beautifully breezy version of David Gates' standard "Make It With You" and Sarah Vaughan's superb "Just A Little Lovin'". Also features December's Children, Blue Mitchell, Reggie Moore, and Buddy Terry. Most of the tracks released for the first time since their original release. Remastered from the original tapes. Liner notes by UK journalist Paul Bowler.

$34.50 IN STOCK

Double LP version. Wewantsounds continues its collaboration with Bob Shad's grandchildren, Mia and Judd Apatow, to present a selection of 13 turntable-friendly Mainstream Records tracks recorded between 1970 and 1973. Ultimate breaks and beats from Mainstream Records. The Mainstream sound is unmistakable: Earthy, rich and funky, it's the signature sound of producer Bob Shad. After working with such geniuses as Charlie Parker, The Platters, Billie Holiday, and Janis Joplin over three decades, Shad decided to go back to producing Great Black Music in the early '70s through his label Mainstream Records and started releasing a formidable series of jazz albums known as the 300 series. Released between 1971 and 1974, these albums are the main source of this set. Coincidentally, it opens with one of the two tracks on the tracklist not produced by Shad himself. Saundra Phillips' "Miss Fatback" is nonetheless fascinating as it's one of cult disco producer Greg Carmichael's earliest productions from 1975. The other track not issued by the Shad sound factory is Almeta Lattimore's 7" single "These Memories," a truly great soulful track from 1975 and now a sought-after classic on the international soul scene. Shad's forte was jazz, and the sessions with great musicians, including Bernard Purdie, Billy Hart, Stanley Clarke, Dom Um Romao, Joe Sample, Freddie Robinson, to name just a few. Filled with gorgeous Fender Rhodes chords and heavy basslines, they define the unmistakable Mainstream sound which had one foot in the great jazz and bop tradition and the other in the sonic jazz explorations of the early '70s. Oscillating between jazzed-up covers of soul hits like Jay Berliner's "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" or Afrique's "Kissing My Love" and more introspective originals such as Hal Galper's "This Moment" or Dave Hubbard's "T.B.'s Delight", They all have this perfect balance between groove and depth. One perfect example is Pete Yellin's "Bird And The Ouija Board", a superb 12-minute opus starting off with a deep abstract improvisation before switching to an up-tempo funk beat. Shad had a long-standing association with such jazz divas and this side is represented here by Maxine Weldon's beautifully breezy version of David Gates' standard "Make It With You" and Sarah Vaughan's superb "Just A Little Lovin'". Also features December's Children, Blue Mitchell, Reggie Moore, and Buddy Terry. Most of the tracks released for the first time since their original release. Remastered from the original tapes. Liner notes by UK journalist Paul Bowler.

$31.00 IN STOCK

Following the success of Wewantsounds' Alice Clark RSD edition featuring an extra 20-page booklet, the label reissues the standard version of Alice Clark's highly sought-after soul jazz classic produced by Mainstream Records' Bob Shad in 1972. Featuring original artwork, remastered sound making this reissue is the first official reissue of Alice Clark's original album for decades, a long overdue release of one of the best Soul albums ever recorded. When it comes to legendary albums, very few can match the cult status achieved on the international jazz and funk scene, by Alice Clark's eponymous album, recorded for Mainstream Records in 1972. The record which went unnoticed when it first came out has become one of the most sought-after albums ever since it became cult on the London jazz and funk scene in the late '80s. It is now being acknowledged as one of the best soul albums of all-times. Recorded live over two days at the Record Plant studios in New York City, the album was produced by Bob Shad and arranged by jazz veteran Ernie Wilkins with a big band setting. The music is a superb mix of jazz and soul blessed by Clark's superb singing and including two all-time favorites, "Don't You Care" and "Never Did I Stop Loving You" plus a selection of heart-wrenching songs beautifully sung by Clark. Hailed as a soul masterpiece alongside Aretha Franklin or Roberta Flack's best albums, Alice Clark's LP took almost fifty years to achieve classic status and Alice Clark is now finally getting the recognition she deserves.

$31.00 NOT IN STOCK

Wewantsounds continues to pursue its exploration of great Lebanese music with the reissue of Wahdon, released in 1978 by legendary Middle Eastern diva Fairuz and recorded during the Abu Ali sessions (WWSLP 021LP). The album includes the Lebanese dancefloor cult classic, "Al Bostah". 1978 was a turning point for the Lebanese diva. The '70s had seen her rise as an international star, playing sold out concerts in the US and in Europe, and appearing on national TV in France. She had had a long-lasting artistic collaboration with her husband Assi Rahbani and his brother Elias (aka The Rahbani Brothers) who, together, had penned most of the singer's classics. In 1978, Assi who had suffered a brain hemorrhage in 1972 got weaker and the collaboration finally ended (together with their personal relationship). Their 22-year-old son Ziad took over Fairuz's musical reins and set to work on their first album together, Wahdon ("Alone"), serving as her mother's producer, composer and musical director. Wahdon typifies this key moment in Fairuz's career when she switched from traditional to more modern arrangements. The first side of the album encapsulates the more traditional side of the singer with such mesmerizing songs as "Habaitak Ta Neseet Al Naoum" (I Loved You So Much I Forgot To Sleep) or "Ana Indi Haneen" (I'm Nostalgic), filled with gorgeous Arabic strings and percussion. The second side though is a whole different affair. Recorded in Athens at the EMI Greece studio at the same time as the Abu Ali sessions, the two long tracks brings a hipper, contemporary funk and disco feel that has made the album such a collector's item with DJs and diggers around the world. Clocking at almost nine minutes "Al Bostah" (The Bus) tells the story a woman in love remembering a bus journey with her lover under a scorching heat, enhanced by an hypnotic up-tempo funkified disco beat, while "Wahdon" brings a slower and jazzier underlay to Fairuz's superb singing. These tracks shocked some of the diva's fans at the time but they've since passed the test of time and have become highly sought after. Whadon has since become both a classic Fairuz album and a cult Ziad Rahbani production that Wewantsounds is delighted to bring to a wider audience for the first time.

$31.00 IN STOCK

LP version. Obi strip; Includes insert. Wewantsounds present a reissue of Akiko Yano's Iroha Ni Konpeitou, originally released in 1977. Another superb Akiko Yano album and one of her funkiest, highlighting her singing and songwriting talents. Iroha Ni Konpeitou is perhaps Akiko Yano's best-known album in the Western world not just because of its striking front cover -- a shot by famed photographer Bishin Jumonji featuring Akiko holding an inflatable dolphin. A slick mix of Japanese pop and New York funk, the album was recorded in Tokyo except for the title track which was recorded in NYC with an all-star line-up consisting of Rick Marotta, David Spinozza, Will Lee, and Nicky Marrero. For the rest of the album, Akiko is accompanied by some of the best musicians from the Tokyo music scene gravitating around the groups Happy End and Tin Pan Alley: the ubiquitous Haruomi Hosono on bass, Tatsuo Hayashi on drums, Shigeru Suzuki on guitar, to name just a few. Interestingly, two Hosono compositions are featured on the album: "Ai Ai Gasa" which he recorded on his 1973 landmark debut Hosono House and "Hourou" originally recorded in '75 by singer and musician Chu Kosaka, on the eponymous album Horo. Last but not least, Hideki Matsutake is handling the keyboard programming duties on the album as Yano is playing a wide array of keyboards: Moog IIIc, Mini Moog, String Ensemble, on top of the Fender Rhodes, Clavinet, and Yamaha CP7C. Matsutake would soon become programmer in chief for Yellow Magic Orchestra, touring and playing with them around the world (like Yano herself). Although the album feels very accessible and funky, there are complex keyboard layers underneath as on the first short introduction "KAWAJI", a short electro fantasy, or on such tracks as "Ai Ai Gasa" and "Kino Wa Mou" on which Akiko is playing bass with her Moog, making the album a richly textured and inventive one once you scratch its surface. The tracks on the album flow effortlessly also highlighting Akiko Yano's superb songwriting and knack for creating fascinating pop song. "Iroha Ni Konpeitou" sounds as fresh and beautiful as when it first came out more than forty years ago and will please the growing circle of Akiko Yano fans around the world as a welcome addition to her brilliant discography. Remastered sound. First release outside of Japan.

$18.00 IN STOCK

Wewantsounds present a reissue of Akiko Yano's Iroha Ni Konpeitou, originally released in 1977. Another superb Akiko Yano album and one of her funkiest, highlighting her singing and songwriting talents. Iroha Ni Konpeitou is perhaps Akiko Yano's best-known album in the Western world not just because of its striking front cover -- a shot by famed photographer Bishin Jumonji featuring Akiko holding an inflatable dolphin. A slick mix of Japanese pop and New York funk, the album was recorded in Tokyo except for the title track which was recorded in NYC with an all-star line-up consisting of Rick Marotta, David Spinozza, Will Lee, and Nicky Marrero. For the rest of the album, Akiko is accompanied by some of the best musicians from the Tokyo music scene gravitating around the groups Happy End and Tin Pan Alley: the ubiquitous Haruomi Hosono on bass, Tatsuo Hayashi on drums, Shigeru Suzuki on guitar, to name just a few. Interestingly, two Hosono compositions are featured on the album: "Ai Ai Gasa" which he recorded on his 1973 landmark debut Hosono House and "Hourou" originally recorded in '75 by singer and musician Chu Kosaka, on the eponymous album Horo. Last but not least, Hideki Matsutake is handling the keyboard programming duties on the album as Yano is playing a wide array of keyboards: Moog IIIc, Mini Moog, String Ensemble, on top of the Fender Rhodes, Clavinet, and Yamaha CP7C. Matsutake would soon become programmer in chief for Yellow Magic Orchestra, touring and playing with them around the world (like Yano herself). Although the album feels very accessible and funky, there are complex keyboard layers underneath as on the first short introduction "KAWAJI", a short electro fantasy, or on such tracks as "Ai Ai Gasa" and "Kino Wa Mou" on which Akiko is playing bass with her Moog, making the album a richly textured and inventive one once you scratch its surface. The tracks on the album flow effortlessly also highlighting Akiko Yano's superb songwriting and knack for creating fascinating pop song. "Iroha Ni Konpeitou" sounds as fresh and beautiful as when it first came out more than forty years ago and will please the growing circle of Akiko Yano fans around the world as a welcome addition to her brilliant discography. Remastered sound. First release outside of Japan.

$27.50 IN STOCK

RSD 2019 release; yellow vinyl, last available copies... Wewantsounds is delighted to announce the first-ever official vinyl reissue of Ziad Rahbani's mythical Lebanese Disco 12" Abu Ali, originally issued in Lebanon in 1978 on his label Zida Records. A highly collectible album, it will get reissued by Wewantsounds with its original artwork, remastered by Colorsound Studio in Paris. Ziad Rahbani is a cultural icon in Lebanon. The musician, pianist, and producer is also a renowned playwright and a political activist, one of the most important exponent of the Lebanese left-wing counterculture to emerge from the '70s. Coming out of an illustrious artistic dynasty (his father is the famous composer and musician Assi Rahbani, member of group The Rahbani Brothers and his mother is the legendary Middle East Diva, Fairuz), Ziad Rahbani started his music career during his late teens, composing music for his mother. Rahbani quickly spread his wings further. He started producing his own music co-founding the label Zida in 1978 at age 22 in the process and started releasing records under his own name. Among these was Abu Ali recorded in Greece at the EMI Studios in Athens with a full orchestra -- there he also recorded his mother's album Wahdon (1979) -- and released it as a limited run EP for the Lebanese market. Legend has it that the album was only pressed at 500 unit hence its rarity. The result is a fabulous New York-meets-Beirut disco ecstasy, developing over two 13-minute tracks and one of the most collectible albums on the international dance and disco scene.

$31.00 IN STOCK

LP version. Includes download card and original four-page insert with lyrics and line-up. Wewantsounds continues their Akiko Yano reissue program with the release of Japanese Girl, her landmark debut album from 1976. Backed by Little Feat with Lowell George and by top Japanese musicians (including Haruomi Hosono), Japanese Girl is one of the most important Japanese albums of the '70s, mixing pop, rock, and Japanese folk together with Little Feat's superb classic sound. After a marriage with musician/producer Makoto Yano and the birth of her son (Fuuta), Yano and her team resumed the recording of the album and decided to pitch Little Feat for a collaboration as she loved the group. Against all odds they said yes and Yano left Tokyo for Los Angeles in March 1976 to record a full side with them. The legend has it they found it so difficult to keep up with Yano's compositions they returned some of their fee. The session was nevertheless stunning and Lowell George even compared Yano to Stevie Wonder. The Little Feat blend of New Orleans groove matched Yano's melodies perfectly, as witnessed on "Funamachi-Uta Part ". Originally a traditional song from The Nebuta Festival in her hometown of Aomori, the Little Feat version is a formidable slow-funk workout not dissimilar to their classic, "Spanish Moon", serving Yano's beautiful vocals and sense of groove to perfection. The whole side is a match made in heaven, showcasing the classic Little Feat line up at their funkiest with Yano's unique Japanese twist. The Japanese side on the album gives a great snapshot of the Tokyo music scene of the '70s with many musicians gravitating around Haruomi Hosono and also several musicians from Japanese band, The Moonriders. Recorded at the legendary Onkyo Haus studio in Tokyo, the sessions mix singer-songwriter sensitivity and pop with traditional Japanese sounds and instruments like the shinobue transverse flute, the koto string instrument, or the Tsuzumi hand drum as played on "Hekoriputaa" by the legendary percussionist Kisaku Katada who was appointed Living National Treasure by the Japanese state in 1999; together they create a beautiful east-meets-west mix masterfully driven by Yano's creativity and unique talent. First international release. Remastered sound.

$18.00 IN STOCK

Wewantsounds continues their Akiko Yano reissue program with the release of Japanese Girl, her landmark debut album from 1976. Backed by Little Feat with Lowell George and by top Japanese musicians (including Haruomi Hosono), Japanese Girl is one of the most important Japanese albums of the '70s, mixing pop, rock, and Japanese folk together with Little Feat's superb classic sound. After a marriage with musician/producer Makoto Yano and the birth of her son (Fuuta), Yano and her team resumed the recording of the album and decided to pitch Little Feat for a collaboration as she loved the group. Against all odds they said yes and Yano left Tokyo for Los Angeles in March 1976 to record a full side with them. The legend has it they found it so difficult to keep up with Yano's compositions they returned some of their fee. The session was nevertheless stunning and Lowell George even compared Yano to Stevie Wonder. The Little Feat blend of New Orleans groove matched Yano's melodies perfectly, as witnessed on "Funamachi-Uta Part ". Originally a traditional song from The Nebuta Festival in her hometown of Aomori, the Little Feat version is a formidable slow-funk workout not dissimilar to their classic, "Spanish Moon", serving Yano's beautiful vocals and sense of groove to perfection. The whole side is a match made in heaven, showcasing the classic Little Feat line up at their funkiest with Yano's unique Japanese twist. The Japanese side on the album gives a great snapshot of the Tokyo music scene of the '70s with many musicians gravitating around Haruomi Hosono and also several musicians from Japanese band, The Moonriders. Recorded at the legendary Onkyo Haus studio in Tokyo, the sessions mix singer-songwriter sensitivity and pop with traditional Japanese sounds and instruments like the shinobue transverse flute, the koto string instrument, or the Tsuzumi hand drum as played on "Hekoriputaa" by the legendary percussionist Kisaku Katada who was appointed Living National Treasure by the Japanese state in 1999; together they create a beautiful east-meets-west mix masterfully driven by Yano's creativity and unique talent. First international release. Remastered sound.

$18.00 IN STOCK

Wewantsounds present a reissue of Jaye P. Morgan's 1976 ultra-rare private press, featuring the cream of the LA jazz and funk scene -- and one of David Foster's first productions -- is reissued on vinyl and CD. This lost classic recorded in LA at the legendary Sound City Studios is also the first full-blown production by David Foster two years before he co-produced Earth Wind & Fire's album I Am (1979) and went on to become one of the hottest producers on the scene. Featuring an extraordinary lineup of the best LA musicians including Harvey Mason, Ed Greene, Jay Graydon, Ray Parker Jr. Tower of Power, Ernie Watts, and many more, it's probably one of the most expensive private press ever produced and a delight of sophisticated Los Angeles funk featuring Jaye's superb soulful vocals. "This album is one of the first David ever produced and I know he was going all the way to the top" stated Jaye P. Morgan in an interview when asked about David Foster before adding: "I tried to make a soulful album and I loved David's work. We used the best musicians in the world." And they certainly did making this album one of the most expensive private presses in the world! This album was a bold move for the singer who had made her mark in the '50s and '60s as a singer and actress. Hiring Foster was a masterstroke as he hadn't yet produced any noticeable hit, but together they gathered the most impressive crew of musicians you could think of including two of Foster's closest associates, guitarist Jay Graydon and singer/arranger Bill Champlin (of Sons of Champlin's fame) and created the perfect white soul album with a breezy California feel. Featuring masterful renditions of such iconic songs as Stevie Wonder's songs as "Seems So Long" and Earth, Wind & Fire's "Can't Hide Love" (Foster, Champlin, and Graydon would soon pen "After The Love Has Gone" which would become a mega hit for Earth Wind & Fire two years later), together with a handpicked selection of originals, the sound alternates between up-tempo funk and soulful mid-tempo ballads, all served by Morgan's superb vocals. The missing link between Steely Dan and Earth, Wind & Fire, Jaye P. Morgan is pure, undiluted funk music and an essential LA classic.

$31.00 IN STOCK

LP version. Includes original four-page insert full of session photos and credits. Wewantsounds present a reissue of Jaye P. Morgan's 1976 ultra-rare private press, featuring the cream of the LA jazz and funk scene -- and one of David Foster's first productions -- is reissued on vinyl and CD. This lost classic recorded in LA at the legendary Sound City Studios is also the first full-blown production by David Foster two years before he co-produced Earth Wind & Fire's album I Am (1979) and went on to become one of the hottest producers on the scene. Featuring an extraordinary lineup of the best LA musicians including Harvey Mason, Ed Greene, Jay Graydon, Ray Parker Jr. Tower of Power, Ernie Watts, and many more, it's probably one of the most expensive private press ever produced and a delight of sophisticated Los Angeles funk featuring Jaye's superb soulful vocals. "This album is one of the first David ever produced and I know he was going all the way to the top" stated Jaye P. Morgan in an interview when asked about David Foster before adding: "I tried to make a soulful album and I loved David's work. We used the best musicians in the world." And they certainly did making this album one of the most expensive private presses in the world! This album was a bold move for the singer who had made her mark in the '50s and '60s as a singer and actress. Hiring Foster was a masterstroke as he hadn't yet produced any noticeable hit, but together they gathered the most impressive crew of musicians you could think of including two of Foster's closest associates, guitarist Jay Graydon and singer/arranger Bill Champlin (of Sons of Champlin's fame) and created the perfect white soul album with a breezy California feel. Featuring masterful renditions of such iconic songs as Stevie Wonder's songs as "Seems So Long" and Earth, Wind & Fire's "Can't Hide Love" (Foster, Champlin, and Graydon would soon pen "After The Love Has Gone" which would become a mega hit for Earth Wind & Fire two years later), together with a handpicked selection of originals, the sound alternates between up-tempo funk and soulful mid-tempo ballads, all served by Morgan's superb vocals. The missing link between Steely Dan and Earth, Wind & Fire, Jaye P. Morgan is pure, undiluted funk music and an essential LA classic.

$18.00 IN STOCK

Wewantsounds present a reissue of Akiko Yano's Tadaima., originally released in 1981. The first release Wewantsounds' ambitious program to release Akiko Yano's albums outside of Japan Tadaima. ("I'm home" in Japanese) is Yano's fifth studio album and a synth-pop masterpiece, co-produced by her then husband Ryuichi Sakamoto and featuring all the musicians from Yellow Magic Orchestra (Haruomi Hosono, Yukihiro Takahashi, and Sakamoto), the group she was touring with at the time. Japan's best kept secret, Akiko Yano is one of the most ground-breaking artists to come out of the '70s Japanese music scene along with Haruomi Hosono and Ryuichi Sakamoto. A piano child prodigy, Yano started her solo recording career in 1976 at just 21, recording her debut album Japanese Girl with no less than Little Feat as the backing band. This album created a stir on the Japanese scene and Yano was on the map. She went on to record a series of superb albums mixing funk, electro, and city pop featuring the cream of Japanese (and sometimes American and English) musicians; The fact she was producing, writing and composing herself made her a true maverick in a very male-dominated industry. These albums, incredibly, have never been released outside of Japan to this day. Tadaima. is Yano's first attempt to leave the acoustic piano aside and delve into the synth sounds of the early '80s. The result is a fascinating electro pop masterpiece showcasing her talent as a writer, musician, and singer, creating her own unique universe. Mixing Japanese and English lyrics, Yano crafts perfect pop songs such as "Tadaima.", "I Sing", "Harusaki Kobeni" (which became one of her most famous songs after its use in a Japanese cosmetics ad), while "Taiyo No Onara" is a suite composed of nine short stories written by children. Contributors on Tadaima. also include Shigesato Itoi, one of Japan's most famous copywriters (for Studio Ghibli among others) who wrote two tracks on the album and his friend legendary illustrator Teruhiko Yumura -- aka King Terry -- who revolutionized underground manga in the '70s with his "heta-uma" (bad-good) style, as showcased on the album's striking artwork. Tadaima. is the perfect entry point to Akiko Yano's unique body or work. This reissue includes original artwork by cult illustrator King Terry and a new introduction by renowned DJ Joakim.

$31.00 NOT IN STOCK

LP version. Obi strip; Includes two-page insert. Wewantsounds present a reissue of Akiko Yano's Tadaima., originally released in 1981. The first release Wewantsounds' ambitious program to release Akiko Yano's albums outside of Japan Tadaima. ("I'm home" in Japanese) is Yano's fifth studio album and a synth-pop masterpiece, co-produced by her then husband Ryuichi Sakamoto and featuring all the musicians from Yellow Magic Orchestra (Haruomi Hosono, Yukihiro Takahashi, and Sakamoto), the group she was touring with at the time. Japan's best kept secret, Akiko Yano is one of the most ground-breaking artists to come out of the '70s Japanese music scene along with Haruomi Hosono and Ryuichi Sakamoto. A piano child prodigy, Yano started her solo recording career in 1976 at just 21, recording her debut album Japanese Girl with no less than Little Feat as the backing band. This album created a stir on the Japanese scene and Yano was on the map. She went on to record a series of superb albums mixing funk, electro, and city pop featuring the cream of Japanese (and sometimes American and English) musicians; The fact she was producing, writing and composing herself made her a true maverick in a very male-dominated industry. These albums, incredibly, have never been released outside of Japan to this day. Tadaima. is Yano's first attempt to leave the acoustic piano aside and delve into the synth sounds of the early '80s. The result is a fascinating electro pop masterpiece showcasing her talent as a writer, musician, and singer, creating her own unique universe. Mixing Japanese and English lyrics, Yano crafts perfect pop songs such as "Tadaima.", "I Sing", "Harusaki Kobeni" (which became one of her most famous songs after its use in a Japanese cosmetics ad), while "Taiyo No Onara" is a suite composed of nine short stories written by children. Contributors on Tadaima. also include Shigesato Itoi, one of Japan's most famous copywriters (for Studio Ghibli among others) who wrote two tracks on the album and his friend legendary illustrator Teruhiko Yumura -- aka King Terry -- who revolutionized underground manga in the '70s with his "heta-uma" (bad-good) style, as showcased on the album's striking artwork. Tadaima. is the perfect entry point to Akiko Yano's unique body or work. This reissue includes original artwork by cult illustrator King Terry and a new introduction by renowned DJ Joakim.

$31.00 IN STOCK

2019 repress. Wewantsounds present the first ever reissue Jack Wilkins's highly sought-after Mainstream Records album Windows, originally released in 1973. Produced by Bob Shad, the album, which is on many want-lists, is especially cult for his rendition of Freddie Hubbard's classic "Red Clay", notably sampled by A Tribe Called Quest (on "Sucka Nigga") and Chance The Rapper. Recorded in 1973 at New York's Record Plant, this superb session sees guitarist Jack Wilkins in a trio setting accompanied by Mike Moore on bass and young seasoned west coast drummer Bill Goodwin (Gabor Szabo, Gary Burton, Paul Horn, Tom Waits). Together, the trio plays mix of classics including John Coltrane's "Naima", Wayne Shorter's "Pinocchio", and Chick Corea's "Windows", showcasing their instant rapport. Jack Wilkins is an underrated guitarist; he's accompanied such stars as Stanley Turrentine, Ray Charles, Sarah Vaughan, and Sammy Davis Jr. but he has remained more of a musician's musician. Windows has reached cult status for the fact that its slow funk version of Freddie Hubbard's "Red Clay" has been sampled by A Tribe Called Quest for "Sucka Nigga" from their masterpiece Midnight Marauders (1993). ATCQ's jazz samples have always garnered a huge amount of attention from DJs and hip-hop fans and this one has had an instant effect on Windows's popularity, making it one of the most sought-after albums released on Mainstream. Chance the Rapper has also sampled "Red Clay", in the song "Nana" which featured on his second mixtape, Acid Rap (2013). This reissue is thus a great opportunity to (re)discover a great guitarist. Comes in gatefold sleeve featuring never-seen session photos and new liner notes by leading UK journalist, Kevin Le Gendre (Jazzwise, Echoes, BBC's Jazz Line Up).

$31.00 IN STOCK

LP version. Wewantsounds present a reissue of Serge Gainsbourg's cult score for the 1968 French film Le Pacha. These tracks were composed by Serge Gainsbourg at the height of his '60s cool when he was briefly going out with Brigitte Bardot and the couple was on the verge of recording the infamous first version of "Je T'aime... Moi Non Plus" (1969). All the tracks here are arranged by famed arranger Michel Colombier, who had been responsible for some of Gainsbourg's best songs ("Bonnie & Clyde" and "Harley Davidson") and had also arranged Pierre Henry's classic Psyche-Rock around the same time -- note the similarity between Psyche-Rock and "Un Noel 67" from this set. Many of these nuggets blend '60s pop and psychedelia -- pure undiluted Gainsbourg with his classic psyche-pop sound of the late '60s. The original soundtrack features his classic "Requiem Pour Un Con" together with a previously unreleased instrumental mix, along with two bonus tracks from William Klein's 1968 film Mister Freedom. Digitally remastered from the original tapes, this is the first time the full soundtrack is released on vinyl in its entirety. Includes two bonus tracks. Includes liner notes featuring interview by cult French bass player Francis Darizcuren. Artwork by famed poster designer Maxime Pecourt.

$18.00 IN STOCK

Wewantsounds present a reissue of Serge Gainsbourg's cult score for the 1968 French film Le Pacha. These tracks were composed by Serge Gainsbourg at the height of his '60s cool when he was briefly going out with Brigitte Bardot and the couple was on the verge of recording the infamous first version of "Je T'aime... Moi Non Plus" (1969). All the tracks here are arranged by famed arranger Michel Colombier, who had been responsible for some of Gainsbourg's best songs ("Bonnie & Clyde" and "Harley Davidson") and had also arranged Pierre Henry's classic Psyche-Rock around the same time -- note the similarity between Psyche-Rock and "Un Noel 67" from this set. Many of these nuggets blend '60s pop and psychedelia -- pure undiluted Gainsbourg with his classic psyche-pop sound of the late '60s. The original soundtrack features his classic "Requiem Pour Un Con" together with a previously unreleased instrumental mix, along with two bonus tracks from William Klein's 1968 film Mister Freedom. Digitally remastered from the original tapes, this is the first time the full soundtrack is released on vinyl in its entirety. Includes two bonus tracks. Includes liner notes featuring interview by cult French bass player Francis Darizcuren. Artwork by famed poster designer Maxime Pecourt.