Now Sound — LPs  

An excellent little album – with a very funky sound! Don't be put off by the "jazz rock" in the title – because there's very little rock in here – just some hard funky drums and fuzzy use of guitar – served up by Don Sebesky in his approximation of the sound of the younger generation! The album's very much in the best groovy, groove-heavy Verve instrumental mode of the 60s – a soaring, swinging style that did plenty back in the day to bridge the generation gap. Guitar solos are by Joe Beck and Larry Coryell – and other players include Hubert Laws on flute, Richard Spencer on alto, and Don Sebesky on organ, clavinet, and electric harpsichord! Titles include "Shake A Lady", "Banana Flower", "The Word", "Big Mama Cass", "Somebody Groovy", "I Dig Rock & Roll Music", "You've Got Your Troubles", and "Meet A Cheeta".

One of the hippest Italian soundtracks of the 60s – and a motherlode of tracks by the great Piero Piccioni! The soundtrack is the source of the oft-compiled "Mr Dante Fontana", a nutty groover about the mod fashion scene in Italy – and it also features the famous tracks "Richmond Bridge" and "You Never Told Me". Most of the music is by Piccioni and the wonderful vocal group I Cantori Moderni, with Edda Dell'Orso on vocals – but the CD also features some work by Lydia Mac Donald, Julie Rogers, and Ennio Morricone. Includes a few versions of the "Fontana" and "Richmond", plus "Ascot Dream", "Magic Castle", "Tango Walk", "Drag Beat", "This Is Life", "Palace Parade March", "Babylon, I'm Coming", and "His Dream Has Come True". Very groovy – with loads of excellent material, and 27 cuts in all!

A damn funky record – way more so than you might expect from the "string" in the title! The group's kind of an answer to the Soulful Strings ensemble headed by Richard Evans for Cadet/Concept in Chicago – and like that group, it mixes up funky rhythms with some sweet large orchestrations – in a style that's almost a precursor of blacksploitation funk to come in the 70s! Paul Riser handles arrangements – very much in the same spirit of Evans – and he picks up a hip Motown groove that bridges sweeping soul and gritty funk – all played to perfection by an ensemble led by Gordon Staples, and featuring players from the Detroit Symphony Orchestra! There's lots of funky nuggets in the set – and titles include excellent originals like "Strung Out", "Toonie", and "Sounds of the Zodiac" – plus "The April Fools", "The Look Of Love", "Get Down", "If Your Love Were Mine", "Someday We'll Be Together", and "From A Heart That's True To Only You".