Miles of Davises

Miles Davis

The Complete On the Corner Sessions | Columbia Legacy

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Betty Davis

Betty Davis and They Say I'm Different | Light in the Attic

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A striking couple, Miles Davis and Betty Davis were briefly married during a transitional time (1968-1969) in soul, funk and jazz. These reissues show how both artists reflected that shift and in some cases steered that musical evolution. Miles's controversial On the Corner finally receives the exhaustive Columbia Legacy treatment, and like many of his recent box sets, is invaluable. The reams of audiotape spliced, split and cut by producer Teo Macero to produce this inspiring release are unfurled here and spread out over six CDs, giving fresh insight into the making of Miles's shadowy, sinister funk. The Betty Davis reissues, while not nearly as vital, refocus attention on a lesser-known funk superstar who embodied the music's freaky side. While Davis's cover art photos give her the appearance of a rogue crewmember on George Clinton's Mothership, her brash lyrics ("He was a big freak / I used to beat him with a turquoise chain") are sultry and dangerously seductive.

More than just bad teeth

Young Marble Giants

Colossal Youth | Domino

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Fire Engines

Hungry Beat | Acute

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Darlings of Britain's vital post-punk scene, both Young Marble Giants and Fire Engines were gone in a flash, dropping just one album and assorted EPs between them. But these collections of their sparse back catalogs aren't bare. The Giants turned delicate arrangements and offbeat melodies (especially on bass and organ) into something ethereal, especially alongside Alison Statton's feathery vocals. The Fire Engines are another in a line of jangly Scottish guitar groups, like Orange Juice, benefiting from deluxe reissues. While most things Scotch mellow after aging for 20 years, that's not the case with this twisted band. Though not masterpieces, both releases exemplify the unhinged nature of post-punk and the eclectic ways bands harnessed that freedom.

Sly and the Family Stone

Stand!, A Whole New Thing, Dance to the Music, Small Talk, Fresh, Life, There's a Riot Goin' On | Columbia

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It's become a Boomer cliché to call any music from the late 1960s and early 1970s a "soundtrack for the era," as if every 22-year-old in 1969 simultaneously experienced the same video montage. But it's hard to argue that any set of albums captures that period's exuberance, indulgence and ultimate burn-out like this series of funk gems. The multi-racial crew of Californians went from singing about harmony ("Everyday People") to defiance ("Don't Call me Nigger, Whitey") to strung-out despair and regret ("There's a Riot Goin' On") in only a few years. Sure, you've heard these songs before, and there are always newly unearthed rarities to enjoy -- like The ABC's of Kid Soul (Numero Group), a set of Jackson 5-style soul, and Pieces of Peace, the eponymous record from a lost crew of spiritual Chicagoans (Cali-Tex Records) -- but popularity doesn't diminish Sly's power.

Charles Mingus Sextet with Eric Dolphy

Cornell 1964 | Blue Note

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Showcasing the burly, mercurial bassist at his best, these previously unreleased concert recordings capture Mingus performing alongside the equally ferocious Eric Dolphy. Mingus has some excellent live albums in his discography, like Live at Antibes, but the Cornell album burns with a fiery intensity. Hammering away on tracks like "Fables of Faubus" and "Take the A Train," he gives his Ivy League audience something to cheer about.

Dubstep

Rumble in the Jungle, Box of Dub, Box of Dub II | Soul Jazz Recordings

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As reinforced by recent releases from scene standouts like Burial and Skull Disco, dubstep has become a vital and quickly evolving part of club culture, introducing a wicked and warped new breed of low-end sonics. In addition to the aforementioned albums, fans should pick up both Box of Dub compilations to get a good overview of the British-born genres best. Providing more bassbin destruction, Rumble in the Jungle takes a historical look at the early years of drum and bass, a 1990s predecessor of sorts to dubstep that fused sped-up breakbeats with equally jaw-dropping lower frequencies.