The No Neck Blues Band have been enjoying a surge in popularity of late, what with their incredible Qvaris album last year and now a collaboration with Embryo on the Staubgold label turning heads good and proper. This album was the band’s first foray into the digital realm and was released way back in 1998 on the influential Ser label. Unavailable for far too long, Very Friendly have seen sense in re-issuing it, and for many of us (me included) it is the first time we can get to hear it in un-abridged form. It is a double cd pack, and cleverly made up of two very different albums – the first is a straight jazz record, standards played in NNCK’s warped but very listenable style. The second disc is where it really gets interesting though – these three tracks were apparently recorded on a rooftop but it’s hard to tell amongst the deep spiritual improvised drones and noise. If anyone wants to discover where the sound of bands like Sunburned Hand of the Man originated from then this album would be a great revelation – NNYK really pioneered the ‘weird America’ sound before anyone even realised it existed. Incredibly influential and of course, essential listening.