Excellent electric 70s work from The Mystic Moods! The record moves way past the sleepy sexy easy sound of their early albums – and it's got some great keyboard work and a few great funk tracks. "Honey Trippin" is one of these – a great groover with a sound that's almost in... read more
The Mystic Moods take a clever gimmick, and make it stick – using sound effects of rain and storms, as on other early albums, and mixing the whole thing with some really sweet instrumentals! The album features some great Don Ralke originals that get past the covers on earlier sides –... read more
A classic bit of mature mood music – one that featuers 60s instrumental pop themes, mixed with sound effects of a rainy stormy night! Titles include "Love Is Blue", "Waltz For Tricia", "Lover's Lullaby", "Visions", "Come Saturday Morning",... read more
A 60s party from drummer and madly grooving instrumentalist Sandy Nelson – way more than a frat party – this one's for the beaches, basements, drag-strips and anywhere else! This is the second dip into the wealth of Imperial singles and albums cut by Sandy – into the mid 60s... read more
A totally excellent album! Sure, Peter Nero could be one of the sleepier piano players of the 60s – but on this little gem, he's playing moog, and it sounds great! Nero's taking moog to the sweet soundtrack groovers "Midnight Cowboy" and The Windmills Of Your Mind" –... read more
The tinkling piano of Peter Nero – heard to great effect on these two 60s albums for RCA! On Impressions, the sweet piano of Peter Nero takes on the music of Burt Bacharach – all with results that are every bit as groovy as you might expect! There's a bit more punch to the record than... read more
Janko Nilovic —
Chorus ... CD
Dare Dare (France),
Early 70s. New Copy ....
$9.99
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,... read more
A very high-art moment for Jack Nitzsche – and a set that prefaces most of his famous soundtrack work to come! The album's completely different than Jack's earlier work in the 60s – and is more of a full-scale orchestral session, done with the London Symphony Orchestra, and featuring... read more
Wild! The Nutty Squirrels were an obvious attempt to cash in on the success of Alvin & The Chipmunks during the late 50s – a studio-trickery session handled with the voices of Don Elliott and Sascha Burland – but to our ears, honestly, the album's a lot better! You see, both... read more
Gilbert O'Sullivan —
Himself ... LP
MAM/London,
1971. Very Good ....
$1.99
A wonderful album from the young Irish singer/songwriter who went onto become one of the brightest lights in 70s pop! The record isn't his most famous, but it's got loads of great early songs that show O'Sullivan's brilliant talent for putting together lyrics that were simple and witty, yet never... read more
The 101 Strings organization matches up with a groovy percussion ensemble, for a sound that's like some of the good RCA percussion bachelor pad LPs from the 50's. Tracks include "Voodoo Moon", "Ski Run", "Dizzy Fingers", "Roller Coaster", and "Bats In... read more
A weirdly great little record! At first glance, you might think that this album's just another version of the super-huge moog hit "Popcorn" – but it's a lot more than that! The group has sort of a sing-song funky feel – hard piano, some nice drums, and grooves that remind us... read more
We're not entirely sure about the "incident" mentioned in the title – clearly front page news back in the day – but we can say that the album's a sweet little groover with a nice mod bounce – a set that features lots of great organ and piano from the mighty Marty Paich,... read more
Rene Paulo —
Black Coral ... LP
Liberty,
Late 50s. Very Good ....
$11.99
A fairly straight album of piano tracks for Liberty, but with a subtle Polynesian feel to it. The cover would imply more, though – since it's got a beautiful underwater shot of an exotic looking model hiding behind some coral! Titles include "Hana", "Black Coral", "M... read more
A great bit of moogy madness! The Peppers were a bit like Hot Butter and other early 70s moog-based combos, but they also had a style that was a bit more funky – and was geared more towards the soul market, in which most of their singles usually travelled. This album's one of the group's... read more
An obscure US album that presents some late 50s work recorded by Parisian easy maestro Andre Popp! Popp's had a strong reputation for years as being the Esquivel of the other side of the Atlantic, and this album's a perfect illustration of that point – very much like the earliest Esquivel... read more
Elsa Popping & Her Pixieland Band (Andre Popp) —
Delirium In Hi Fi ... LP
Columbia,
1957. New Copy (reissue)....
$6.99
A lost Hi Fi gem! Released in America under the name of "Elsa Popping & Her Pixieland Band" – the record is actually a stunning collaboration between French orchestra leader Andre Popp and sound effects wizard Pierre Fatosme. The sound is wild and swinging, with a feel that's... read more
Groovy late 60's record in which the great Latin bandleader takes his style into a whole new bag, baby! Some of the stuff on here is straight Latin, but most of the cuts are weird Latin soul instrumentals, with a range of material that includes Brazilian stuff (Deodato's "Cabo Frio" and... read more
Nice one! This is a groovy reissue of the soundtrack to Milano Violenta, written by Enrico Pieranunzi and Silvano Chimenti, and performed by the funky studio group Pulsar Music Ltd. The feel of the album is similar to that of some of the best tracks on the Stroboscopia comps – with lots of... read more
Sun Ra (listed as Dan & Dale) —
Batman & Robin ... LP
Tifton,
1966. Good+ ....
$19.99
Holy Saturn! This is an incredibly rare album that has Ra & The Arkestra shilling for bucks by playing jazzy versions of cartoony themes – wrapped up in a "Batman & Robin" package designed to cash in on the popularity of the mid 60s TV show! Ra plays Hammond B-3 on a... read more
Great work from pianist Don Randi – and a lost David Axelrod gem! The album features Randi playing over Axelrod arrangements – and as a whole, it's really more of an Axelrod album than anything else – especially considering the fact that Randi was the player on some of Axe's own... read more
Not Raymond Scott himself, but an assemblage of current players, inspired by the work of composer Raymond Scott – coming together to perform new versions of some of Scott's madder compositions! The set is extremely well put-together – produced by Irwin Chusid, curator of the Scott... read more
A Brit easy gem from the great Les Reed – one of the massive talents working in England's instrumental scene during the 60s, and an arranger who's got a hipper flair for a tune than most! Les does a great job here with a set of sunny groovers – mostly standards, including a few with a... read more
Mindblowing music from this ultra-cool musician – nearly three albums packaged on one CD! First up is Stones – a very groovy set of tunes that we'd rank right up there with Hal Blaine's Psychedelic Percussion for sheer nuttiness! Emil Richard plays a range of percussion instruments... read more
One of the grooviest albums to come from the godlike hands of Emil Richards – a hip LA vibist who touched equally the worlds of jazz, soul, rock, and easy! This album's got a bit more punch than some of Richard's more jazz-based sessions – with Emil playing a wide range of percussion... read more
Johnny Richards —
Wide Range ... LP
Capitol,
1957. Very Good ....
$4.99
A killer album from Johnny Richards – possibly the best he ever cut! The album sparkles with all the intensity he brought to Stan Kenton's Cuban Fire album – with bits of Latin, jazz, and some of the modernist scoring that Kenton, Richards, and Pete Rugolo were using at the time. ... read more
Jay Richford & Gary Stevan —
Feelings ... LP
Golden Pavilion (Portugal),
1974. New Copy (reissue)....
$25.99Just Sold Out!
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... read more
One of the weirdest Beatle-related projects of the 60s – and one of the most abstract, as well! The album's got kind of an odd concept – in that it purports to be a rediscovery of rare baroque music roots of famous Beatle tunes by Lennon & McCartney – recorded with offbeat... read more
Easy instrumentals and jazzy genius from the early 70s Brit scene – groovy, moddish jazz takes on pop and soundtrack hits of the time from the Harry Roche Constellation – with a vibe that betters the grooviest of sound library discoveries! There's a loungey charm to many of the tunes,... read more
A nice little session of Latin jazz – percussive at the bottom, but with an overall jazz mambo feel that's similar to early 50s work by Chico O'Farrill. Tracks are shortish, but have some nice solos by unnamed players – and titles include "Hi Fi Mambo", "Mambo A La... read more
David Rose (with David Axelrod) —
Bible ... LP
Capitol,
Mid 60s. Sealed ....
$3.99
A relatively obscure chapter in David Axelrod's career at Capitol – a record of instrumental themes from the film The Bible, plus other 60s epics – like Spartacus, Ben Hur, and so on. Axelrod only produced the album, but you can definitely hear his influence on Rose's sound –... read more
The Rubber Band turn their talents towards The Beatles – after successful earlier albums based around the work of Cream and Jimi Hendrix! The sound here is a bit more playful than the funkier sets from before – almost whimsical at times, with instrumentation that does odd things with... read more
An incredible little record – and one that helped take the Capitol Records surf sound of the early 60s into much hipper territory for the 70s! The record is certainly a "surf symphony" – in that it features a larger orchestra conducted by Jan Rubini – set to groovier... read more
Although not nearly as well-remembered as Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl is really our favorite comedian from the late 50s. He's got this incredible delivery style that is both immediately arresting and surprisingly heartfelt – and instead of doing short canned "bits", he just sort of... read more
The Marquis De Sade never sounded so sweet! For some strange reason, Schifrin decided to pay a musical hommage to De Sade with this one – but fortunately, he's not punishing himself with the subject matter at all, and is sticking to his jazzy bossa guns. The arrangements have a tight Verve... read more
A wonderful album from Lalo Schfrin! This one mixes together bossa piano and sweeping string arrangements – in a style that's incredibly dark-edged and driving, with a sound that's at once spooky and lovely – a dancing groove that makes the best tracks really sparkle! The album's... read more
Under-exposed genius from the legendary Raymond Scott – a set of straighter jazz material from the late 40s, but all of it with Scott's undeniable sense of madness still very firmly in place! Most of the work here is small combo – played by either a quintet or sextet – and... read more
Billed as "an infant's friend in sound" these Soothing Sounds albums were issued in the early 60's as an electronic aid to mothers with new babies. In reality, though, the records are these amazing bits of early electronic music, put together by the legendary Raymond Scott (known best to... read more
Spy themes galore – a full CD of famous James Bond tunes, paired with a whole bonus CD of additional work from Brit maestro Roland Shaw! Back in the 60s, Shaw recorded a host of great spy-styled sets for Decca – two albums of work with Bond on the cover and in the title, and two more... read more
2 LP set filled with spy themes conducted by Brit bandleader Roland Shaw, with a very groovy Phase 4 sound. Titles include "Mr Kiss-Kiss, Bang-Bang", "The Saint", "The Avengers", "Ipcress File", "Our Man Flint", "James Bond Theme", "D... read more
George Shearing —
Deep Velvet ... LP
Capitol,
1964. Very Good- ....
$2.99
An overlooked 60s gem from George Shearing – mellow and jazzy, and done with a slightly different style than usual! Deep Velvet takes Shearing's piano and vibes and backs them up with a 12-piece woodwind choir – one that creates a shimmering backdrop of colors and tones for the core... read more
Cybil Shepherd sings Cole Porter tunes as they were originally written – meaning that all the double meanings and "blue" lyrics are intact without the editing that was later done for the general listening public. Her singing is not bad, very much in the style of a Broadway musical... read more
Not sure what they mean by "Ameriachi" in the title – but from the sound of the music, there's definitely a great A&M Records-styled mix of jazz, Latin, and South American modes! The set begins with a set of cookers from drummer Hideo Shiraki – working with an excellent... read more
Fanstastic LP! Produced by Nathan Davis, and released on the same label as his first two U.S. albums (after his return from Europe), this is a mad mix of breezy jazz and breakbeats. Break fans will looooove the cuts "Lunar Invasion" and "Fonky First", which both have a tight... read more
Soaring grooves from Bebu Silvetti – a set that definitely has the disco touches you'd expect on the Salsoul label, but which also seems to pick up a few soundtracky styles as well! Some tunes are upbeat and grooving, with a great blend of strings and beats – the kind that Silvetti... read more
Lots of percussion – and loud! Slatkin's normally a bit sleepy, but this record's filled with drums and chimes and vibes and loads of exotic percussion instruments – and swings with a groove that's in the best of the Liberty easy styles from the late 50s. Titles include "Night... read more
Soulful Strings —
Groovin' ... LP
Cadet,
1967. Very Good ....
$6.99
Seminal instrumental groovers from the Chicago Chi-soul scene! This great group was led by Chess/Cadet soul arranger Richard Evans, and it featured many of the instrumentalists who made Chess records so great – like Cleveland Eaton, Charles Stepney, Morris Jennings, and Phil Upchurch. The... read more
Soulful Strings —
In Concert ... LP
Cadet,
Late 60s. Very Good+ ....
$7.99
Given that the Soulful Strings were really just a studio side project of the Chi soul arranger Richard Evans, it seems sort of strange to have them cut a live LP, but the session, recorded at Chicago's London House, works quite well, and has a bit more lively feel than some of their classic studio... read more
Moogy, groovy, and really wonderful stuff – a set of rare private recordings made by the team of Scott Ludwig and Maximillian Crook, both electric inventors and very groovy musicians in their own right! The pair have a bit of a connection to Del Shannon – who used their Musitron... read more
This is the third movement in the fantastic pop symphony that is Spanky & Our Gang! The record's perhaps their oddest to date – and mixes groovy vocal stylings with some fairly advanced production approaches that work perfectly with the incredible songs written by Stuart Scharf and Bob... read more
Groovy groovy stuff from Dusty – and some of her best work! Forget the Memphis sessions, we think this early British material is her best stuff – and the album's got Dusty grooving along in perfectly soulful format, on lots of nice tunes like "24 Hours From Tulsa", "Wishi... read more
Steel & Brass —
Steel & Brass ... LP
United Artists,
1970. Near Mint- ....
$3.99
Groovy steel band cuts – sweet takes on "Aquarius", "Everybody's Talkin", "Popi", and "Oh Calcutta"!... read more
Jack Sterling —
Cocktail Swing ... LP
Harmony/Columbia,
Late 50s. Very Good ....
$1.99
Ettore Stratta & His Orchestra —
Themes 75 ... LP
RCA,
1975. Very Good ....
$29.99
Great work from this famous Italian maestro – sweeping, soaring instrumentals – but also a bit funky at times too! Ettore brings a real soundtrack approach to most numbers – fitting, given that most tunes here are film themes – and he uses full strings, plus some nicely... read more
Big Jim Sullivan —
Sitar Beat ... LP
Mercury,
Late 60s. Good+ ....
$38.99
Groovy groovy sitar pop – played by Big Jim Sullivan, also known as Lord Sitar! This set is a great session of 60s pop tunes, turned Eastern, in the mode of work by Ananda Shankar or Vince Bell – with a blend of original compositions, mixing sitar, tabla, and all manner of baroque 60s... read more
Fantastic! This is Yma Sumac's rock album from the early 70s – and it's got a wild sound that's totally different from any of her work at Capitol! The record includes lots of electric instrumentation, and Yma's voice moves from the exotic to the psychedelic, as she sings along with some... read more
Yma Sumac —
Recital ... CD
ESP,
1961. New Copy ....
$10.9912.99
Yma Sumac on ESP Records – a unexpected meeting that's given us a rare concert performance from 1961! The CD features Yma singing live in Romania – working with backings from longtime partner Moises Vivanco, on a set of tracks that mixes older Peruvian roots with some newer, jazzier... read more
One of the earliest Capitol albums by otherworldly singer Yma Sumac! As with Yma's other records, the album features many original tunes written by Moise Vivanco – her frequent musical collaborator at the time, and the force behind much of the stronger South American musical elements of the... read more
Excellent trippy pop-psychedelia from Gabor Szabo! The record's a bit less jazz than some of his other efforts, with more of that faked-out "eastern"production that you'd get on efforts like these – with occasional voices behind his guitar. Titles include "The End Of... read more
Sweet and dreamy instrumental pop from John Andrews Tartaglia – an arranger we only know from a few late 60s sides at Capitol Records – all of which are pretty great! Tartaglia's got a style that's still heavy in mainstream 60s easy modes, but borrows a fair bit from the generation of... read more
A pair of very unusual albums – back to back on a single CD! The set's a bit out of order – and actually starts with Panic, the sequel to Creed Taylor's previous album for ABC, and like that one, a very weird mix of jazzy backings, odd sound effects, and cool production techniques! ... read more
The set's got a nice small combo sound – thanks to work from Pete Jolly on piano, Emil Richards on vibes, Julius Wechter on percussion, Jimmy Bond on bass, and Hal Blaine on drums!... read more
Alec Templeton —
Magic Piano ... LP
Atlantic,
Late 50s. Very Good ....
$0.49
A beautiful little overview of the work that Cal Tjader recorded for the Skye Records label at the end of the 60s – some of his grooviest work ever, and all done with a unique blend of styles that Cal barely ever captured again! The rhythms are often inspired by bossa nova, but usually end... read more
A strange little record – instrumental tunes arranged as a "symphony for soul", and mostly comprised of late 60s soul numbers! The whole thing was put together by Mort Garson – known better for his later moog work, but still sounding pretty nice here with some cool twists on... read more
One of the greatest soundtracks we've ever heard from Piero Umiliani – an incredibly groovy record from the very first note! The score's got a fantastic mix of groovy scoring, jazzy bits, and cool little vocals – spare organ lines that set the tune on most numbers, stepping basslines... read more
The accordion never sounded groovier – thanks to some great playing by Art Van Damme and amazing production by MPS! This 5CD set features a whopping 10 albums that Art recorded for the legendary German label between 1966 and 1972 – all of which are hipper and more swinging than any of... read more
The Ventures are always pretty darn fabulous, but they somehow sound especially nice on this tight little 60s set – a great batch of tunes that really catches them at the crossroads! The guitars here are still mostly in that super-clean style the group pioneered in their earlier years, but... read more
Is that barock or baroque? Whatever the case, the album's a pretty darn groovy affair – twin flutes from Sadao Watanabe and Akira Miyazawa – two of Japan's best reedmen at the end of the 60s – working here with some sweet arrangements that mix classical roots with mod... read more
An incredibly groovy album – filled with instrumental tracks that shift between funky big band and groovy 60s soundtrack – all arranged by Mike Nesmith and Shorty Rogers! The feel here is like that of some of Rogers' other groovy late 60s instrumental one-off albums – like his... read more
John Williams —
Collection ... CD
Castle (UK),
1988. Used ....
$4.99
An early 60s Columbia classic from Johnny Williams – a rare album of stereo-heavy instrumentals done in a style that's quite similar to the RCA Stereo Action series of the time – with lots of unusual instrumentation, and a wide-ranging sound that leaps back and forth from speaker to... read more
One of the weirdest, wildest moog albums you'll ever hear – an amazing collaboration between moogy maestro Mort Garson and "word man" Jacques Wilson! The album's an electronic fairy tale for the late 60s scene – a pretty scary little set at the heart, given all the analogue... read more
Wild! This is, supposedly, "electronic boogie and blues composed and played on the moog" – but the sound is more like tripped-out funky computer music, with a good fuzzy edge, and none of the hokiness you'd think of from the "boogie" tag in the title. Paul Beaver is part... read more
Si Zentner back to back – two nice ones from the 60s on a single CD! From Russia With Love is one of the grooviest Si Zentner albums of the 60s – thanks to a host of hip spy themes that keep things interesting throughout! The material really brings out the best in Si – as does... read more
We don't know if this music actually "started" the Italian Lounge scene – because Italy's always been pretty darn loungey to us – but we can say that the package is a great batch of groovy soundtrack tunes, as sparkling musically as the cover is visually! The set pulls... read more
Fuzzed-out groovy 60s tunes – very mod, hip, and out of this world! These tasty little gems are pulled from obscure Italian soundtracks – very nicely collected in this fab package, with an ear-popping sound that includes great work on organ, guitars, electric harpsichord, and other... read more
The best bits from one of our favorite compilation series ever – Blue Juice, the 3 volume set on Blue Note that brings together a mind-bending mix of funky soul, jazzy funk, groovy grooves, and other odd and delightful bits from a wide variety of sources! This one shows the expansive scope... read more