Sound Library — All Formats  

Not percussion by a cultish ensemble, but a percussion record that's gone onto become a cult favorite over the years – thanks to a wide array of wonderfully groovy sounds throughout – all played by a youthful ensemble from late 70s Scotland! The album's awash in vibes, marimba, xylophone, and other melodic percussion instruments – played together in ways that clearly have their roots in some of the late 50s percussion albums from the bachelor pad years – yet definitely given a cool 70s twist on this set, both in the arrangements in sweet style of production. The cascading sounds are really wonderful – tuneful yet rhythm at the same time, and occasionally with a slight undercurrent of funk that really keeps things interesting. Titles include "Two Jubilee Pieces", "The Little Dancer", "Percussion Suite", "Baia", "Autun Carillion", and "Polymers".

Sweet KPM funk from the 70s – a set that features the legendary "Big City Suite" from David Gold, plus 20 other groovers from rare KPM sound library albums of the time! Gold's suite is really great – a hip mix of keyboards, wah wah guitar, and strings – all wrapped together warmly in a portrait of a city from a variety of angles, in a variety of moods. The work's almost an update of 50s city-symphony albums, but is put together here with a much hipper 70s soundtrack mode – lots of subtle elements that really keep things interesting! Other tracks offer up a mix of jazz, soundtrack, and sound library funk – hand-picked from KPM classics like Jazzrock, Synthesis, Sounds Of The Times, Trendsetters, and other legendary albums – really packed in here with a huge amount of cuts that are totally great! Titles include "Good Vibrations" and "Trial Of Strength" by Keith Mansfield, "Testing Time" by David Lindup, "Four O'Clock Earthquake" and "Smokey Joe's Dilemma" by John Cameron, "Watchful Eye" by James Clarke, "Sunshine Special" and "Get Ready Get Set Fly" by Alan Hawkshaw, "Open Roads" by Nick Ingman, "Go Getter" by John Cameron, "City Airscape" and "City Police" by David Gold, and "Lap Of Honour" by Clive Hicks.

The "chorus" in the title is appropriate – as there's a flurry of wordless vocals in the mix of this one! The record feels a bit like some of Ennio Morricone's more vocal-oriented soundtracks from the early 70s – with breezy voices drifting over slightly funky arrangements, working together in a mix of moods and styles that could have only come from the pen of the godlike Janko Nilovic! Titles include "Boom Bang", "Ilion", "One Together", "Third Power", "Mrs Brown", "Down Down", and "Magical World".

A legendary TV soundtrack – music for a show that only ran for 8 episodes, but which has lived on for decades past the original program! The Hanged Man features some of the funkiest grooves to ever come from the Themes International sound library label – cuts scored by Alan Tew, and played by the label's hip group of session musicians – including Alan Hawkshaw on keyboards and Alan Parker on guitar! Although originally billed to a group named Bullet, the recordings are actually straight sound library sessions – but funky enough to match the best cop/crime work of the time – similar to DeWolfe music used in The Sweeney! There's an armful of samples on here, and even more great funky instrumentals – and the set not only features the cuts issued as The Hanged Man soundtrack, but also the albums Drama Suite Vol 1 & 2 – the original sound library records that created the music. The CD features a whopping 47 tracks in all – including lots of short cuts never on any other Hanged Man releases – with titles that include "The Rub Contract Man", "Helicop", "Money Runner", "The Detectives", "Night Watch", "The Fence", "Total Silence", "Eyes", "Master Plan", "Big One Prelude", "Snout", "Car Patrol", and "The Heister".

Gentle grooves from the KPM sound library – two great albums back to back on a single CD! First up is Girl On The Beach – soft, seductive grooves from James Clarke – delivered with a nicely mature feel, and one that really takes Easy up a few notches from conventional 60s forms! There's a subtle Brit feel here that's miles beyond American work of this nature – a way of giving things a gentle sort of funk, even when mellow – thanks to stepping electric bass in the background, really making magic behind some vibes, guitar, and jazzy horns. There's almost a Euro erotic feel to some numbers – and titles include "Little Racer", "Girl On The Beach", "Edge Of The World", "Running Away", "Feet In The Sea", and "Nocturne". Gentle Sounds is a set that definitely lives up to its title – and a record that features great KPM work from Johnny Pearson, Keith Mansfield, and Steve Gray! There's some subtle rhythms on most tracks – grooves, but gentle ones – often with some Latin or bossa percussion elements in the mix, blended with other instrumentation that includes acoustic guitar, flute, trumpet, and marimbas – all delivered with a beautifully mature style. This is grown-up late 60s Easy at its best – the kind that hit the best acoustics of the FM dial, for adults who really knew how to choose their sounds wisely. Titles include "The End Of The Day", "Please Mr Pearson", "Quiet Interlude", "Soft Sell", "Floating Bossa", and "Quiet Waltz".

A sweet groover from the Italian scene of the 70s – music that's got a lush feel, but a funky one too – a great mix of strings and electric instrumentation that rivals the best cop/crime work of the time – yet also has a nice sexy feel too! There's almost a blacksploitation vibe to the record at times – and although some instruments solo at points, the real groove lies in the tight vamping of the orchestra – which hits all the right notes to really send the whole thing soaring – often with a nice use of tone and color too! Titles include "Flying High", "Fearing Much", "Going Home", "Running Fast", "Walking In The Dark", and "Feeling Tense".

Easy listening, but done the KPM Sound Library way – which means that most of the cuts here have a great undercurrent of funk! Given that KPM often employed the same artists who recorded the style of funky easy featured on the famous Sound Gallery compilations, you can bet that this set's a wicked winner – none of the sleepy sounds you'd get from American easy listening, and instead plenty of cool keyboards, slinky rhythms, and sweetly jazzy instrumentation – the best modes learned by the sound library scene in the 60s, taken here to some warmer 70s territory! Titles include "Airport People" by James Clarke, "Finding My Feet" by Steve Gray, "Scenic Route" by Dick Doerschuk, "Scenic Journey" by Keith Mansfield, "Summer Setting" by Keith Mansfield, "Light Preparation" by Nick Ingman, "Natural Blonde" by David Gold, "Sun Goddess" by Keith Mansfield, "Just Another Day" by David Lindup, "Sweet Summer" by Alan Parker, and "Liquid Sunshine" by John Cameron.

A treasure trove of Brit sound library work – most of it from the legendary KPM 1000 Series, plus assorted bits from the Conroy label as well! The work here leans heavily towards funky jazz – those fuzzy, hard-driving tunes that always made KPM sides a key choice for action films and cop shows – and which have made digging through sound library records such a delight all these many decades later! The compilers did a really wonderful job with this set – creating a feel that's a bit different than the usual sound library collection – because although funky overall, the package also features some jazzy moments too – key cuts that are interspersed with the action moments to create a really fleshed-out sense of mood and feeling. Plus, the set list is huge – 25 tracks in all, running for well over 70 minutes – truly the treasure trove we promised at the start of this review, with titles that include "Soul For Sale" and "Tycoon" by Keith Mansfield, "Block Buster" and "Head In The Clouds" by Johnny Pearson, "Loco Motion" and "Soul Foot Strut" by Dave Gold, "Traffic" and "Challenger" by Alan Hawkshaw, "Short Cut" by James Clarke, "Heavy Traffic" by James Cameron, "Speculation" by David Lindup, "Vegas To LA" by Dick Doerschuk, "Tough Assignment" by Chris Gunning, "Speedway" by Nick Ingman, "String Boogie" by Brian Bennett, and "The Double Take" by Steve Gray.

Soaring grooves from the legendary KPM Sound Library – a set of tunes that sparkles with all the charm and glamour of early 70s air travel! The title and cover really fit the spirit of the music here – as most of the tracks are upbeat and sky-flying – the sorts of numbers that go way beyond the sleepier side of easy listening, and really show the way that Easy maestros of the 70s were picking up plenty of funky elements in their music! There's no hard funk tracks here – as you might find on other sound library sets – but there's definitely an undercurrent of groove, thanks to some well-chosen rhythms, strong use of electric bass, and an overall sense of flow in most of the orchestrations – a feel that reminds us a lot of some of the excellent Brigade Mondaine compilations from a few years back. The package really offers up a different look than usual at KPM – and the tunes are as classy as anything we might have loved years ago, on the legendary Sound Library collections. Titles include "Sun Lover", "The Great Outdoors", "Husky Birdsong", and "Towards The Sun" by Keith Mansfield; "Holiday People", "Soft Memories", "Gentle Breeze", "Summer Dreams", "Summer Season", and "Friendly Faces" by James Clarke; "Paradise Found" by Dick Doerschuk, "Silk Stream" by David Gold, "Busy Spectacle" and "Fun In The Sun" by Neil Richardson, "Sunseekers" by David Lindup, and "A Tender Touch" by Steve Gray.

The "chorus" in the title is appropriate – as there's a flurry of wordless vocals in the mix of this one! The record feels a bit like some of Ennio Morricone's more vocal-oriented soundtracks from the early 70s – with breezy voices drifting over slightly funky arrangements, working together in a mix of moods and styles that could have only come from the pen of the godlike Janko Nilovic! Titles include "Boom Bang", "Ilion", "One Together", "Third Power", "Mrs Brown", "Down Down", and "Magical World".

A legendary set of sound library grooves – and actually one of the first to kick off the genre! The package brings together rare tracks from the small Italian Octopus label – not nearly as well-known as De Wolfe, KPM, or other sound library giants – but an equally great source of rare funky jazz cuts that were never issued to the public at the time – recorded as part of the huge wave of studio activity in Italy during the 60s and 70s! Given that the set was collected by Schema, you can bet that the tracks are right on the money – and titles include "Curly" by Stellio Subelli, "Sculturea Beat" by Angelo Baroncini, "Diacromeico" by Sandro Brugnolini, "Games" by Pasquale Castiglione, "First Black" by Mario Molino, "Maze" by Roberto Conrado, and "Verso L'Infinito" by Alessandro Alessondroni.

A great look at the Amphonic Sound Library – an under-compiled UK imprint from the 70s, and one who issued some very groovy groovy work! The set brings together a range of different sessions produced by Syd Dale – the mighty maestro you might know from his work at KPM, sounding equally groovy over here at Amphonic! The tracks are all from the 70s, and have a style that's a bit warmer and more electric than some of the earlier Brit sound library material – some especially sweet undercurrents that remind us a lot of our favorite styles coming from the Selected Sound label over in Germany. There's a jazzy feel to most of the numbers – lots of great keyboards, guitars, and horns – mixed in with swinging rhythms and some occasional fuller strings on titles that include "Swayin" and "Girl In A Whirl" by James Clarke, "Shifting Sands Of Sound" and "Cross Talk" by Dick Walter, "Soul Searching" and "Poltergeist" by Steve Gray, "Melina" and "Salvador Setup" by Ray Davies, "Setting The Scene" and "Vegas Venue" by Dick Walter, "First Flight" by Gerry Butler, "The Heavy Gang" by Syd Dale, "A Moment In Time" by Dick Doerschuk, and "Tomorrow Is Now" by Ronnie Hazelhurst. 25 tracks in all – and really great sound!

Two Amphonic sound library sets – back to back on a single CD! Shades Of Grey is a great set from Steve Gray – with some killer smooth jazz funk numbers! The feel's like a hip late 70s soundtrack, surprisingly wonderful overall – nice and tight, but never too uptight – that wonderful balance you'd find on some of the best sound library sets of the time! Steve Gray's at his best throughout – leading a large ensemble with the deftness of some of the best soundtrack maestros of the time – and titles include "El Sol", "Finely Fluted", "Simply Sophisticated", "Bill's Basement", "Only A Dream Away", and "Powerdrive". Brit Easy genius Syd Dale takes the helm on It's A Colourful World – a warm set of instrumental tunes dedicated to the west coast – topped with a San Francisco cover image, but with more than enough modes to stretch down highway 101 to Los Angeles! The sound is almost more early 70s than you'd guess from the date – not entirely funky, but quite picturesque – mixing some warm TV-styled soundtrack styles with evocative horns and woodwinds. Titles include "San Francisco Bay", "Redwood Valley", "Flamingo Parade", "The Puppet Factory", "Pink Bacardi", "Dancing At The Palace", and "French Lace".