Vocalists — All Formats  

Rare Bacharach galore – an assortment of under-reissued tracks all penned by the mighty Burt – most of which are from the heyday of 60s uptown soul! Despite the 1952 in the date range on the title, almost all the tunes here are from the mid 60s – that time when Bacharach was writing new tunes like a demon, and getting most of them recorded by a range of great talents on the New York scene. Singers are a good mix of soul, pop, rock, and vocal artists – and although the material was done for a variety of different labels, there's a relatively unified feel – thanks to that snapping syncopation that Burt always brought to work like this. CD features 26 titles in all – including "How About" by Della Reese, "Third Window From The Right" by Dean Barlow, "I Wake Up Crying" by Del Shannon, "I Looked For You" by Charlie Gracie, "That's Not The Answer" by Vi Velasco, "More Time To Be With You" by Brook Benton, "Three Friends" by The Turbans, "Move It On The Backbeat" by Burt & The Backbeats, "You're Telling Our Secrets" by Dee Clark, "Thirty Miles Of Railroad Track" by The Hammond Brothers, "The Story Of My Life" by Big Al Downing, "Made In Paris" by Trini Lopez, "Rain From The Skies" by Adam Wade, and "True Love Never Runs Smooth" by Don & Juan.

A really unique little record – and a wonderful cross-section of the Japanese scene at the start of the 70s! The album features work by three trios – hence the title – some avant, some straight, and all if it pretty great! First up are the Yosuke Yamashita trio – who really step outside on the tracks "Dore" and "Morkurin Gugan" – material that really demonstrates the sharp, free-thinking sound of the group. Next is work from a trio led by Itaru Oki, with some really bold trumpet lines – stretching out and carving great space over relatively open, free territory – on titles "Flying Into Space" and "Conversation With Water". The trio of Yuji Ono follows, grooving soulfully on some tracks instrumentally, joined by vocals from Kimiko Kasai on a few others – titles that include "Kenny's Mood", "Get Out Of Town", and "Autumn Leaves". Then, the best work of all – two long vocal tracks that feature Kasai singing hip and wordlessly, with combined backing from the groups of Oki and Ono – titles that include "Black Shadow Woman" and "Theme Of The Unknown People".