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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 similar to Esquivel, but with a lot weirder effects, and a little bit less music-based sound overall. Popp cares less about swinging than Esquivel, and he's much freer with his music – as there's moments on here that sound like avant garde chamber pieces, which then swing into tight little bits with cool sounds made by editing and playing with tape. The album's wonderful all the way through – with very high quality material that makes a lot of the other cheaper lounge releases sound hollow! Titles include "Java", "La Paloma", "La Java Du Diable", "Java Des Bombes Atomiques", and "Adios Muchachos".

One of Pete Rugolo's greatest albums – and some of his most groundbreaking work away from Stan Kenton! The album features Rugolo arranging for a tight group of west coast reed players – including Bud Shank, Dave Pell, and Bob Cooper – and the tracks are angular, complicated, and dosed with that right mixture of modernism and swing that made Kenton's best work from the early 50s so great. Titles include "Theme For Alto", "Igor Beaver", "Impressionism", "Our Waltz", "Polytonal Blues", and "Collaboration".

Sweet exotic sounds from the Arthur Lyman group – heavy on vibes and lots of hip percussion – recorded with a gently swaying feel that recalls the best energy of the Hawaiian scene in the postwar years! The set's one of Lyman's early solo dates – recorded Henry Kaiser Aluminum Dome in Hawaii – which you can almost hear in the way the sounds here resonate, and hang sweetly in air. The tunes are pretty mellow, but in a good way – more sonically sensitive than some more gimmicky, sound effect-heavy exotica – and titles include "Adventures in Paradise", "Andalusia", "Yellow Bird", "Arrivederci Roma", "Sweet & Lovely", "Bamboo Taboo", "Granada", and "Ravel's Bolero". Fire up that console stereo and break out the Tiki glasses!

The genius of Juan Garcial Esquivel is turned towards a host of tunes from a variety of global sources – including "Dark Eyes", "Hungarian Rhapsody No 2", "Torna A Sorrento", "In A Persian Market", "Tico Tico", "April in Portugal", "Cielito Lindo", and "Oye Negra". A Latin groove dominates most numbers, natch – and the piano of Esquivel is soaring over the top in fine hi-fi form!

A pair of 60s albums from one of the more dynamic bandleaders at RCA! Something Special For Movie Lovers has Marty Gold taking on a host of movie themes from the early 60s – numbers by Ennio Morricone, Henry Mancini, Johnny Mandel, and others – all given a twist that's somewhere in the territory of some of Marty's earlier hi-fi material, but which also respects the sensitivity of the original soundtracks as well. There's some inventive arrangements on the set – just what we'd expect from Gold – and titles include "Sylvia", "Goldfinger", "Funny World", "Polly's Song", "A Heart Must Learn To Cry", and "Emily". Suddenly It's Springtime features lush strings mixed with occasionally dynamic touches – definitely one of the mellower albums that Marty Gold ever cut, but a set that's still got a wonderful sonic range overall! Titles include "The Story Of My Love", "Portrait Of Jennie", "I Wish You Love", "Don't Take Your Love From Me", "Smile", and "Suddenly It's Springtime".

A pair of instrumental classics from Marty Gold – back to back on a single CD! Sounds Unlimited is filled with soaring sounds from RCA maestro Marty Gold – maybe not the totally unlimited record you might expect from the title, but definitely a key 60s entry in the genre of bachelor pad hi fi records! There's a fair bit of horns in the orchestrations, with solos by Don Butterfield, Joe Wilder, Phil Bodner, and Mel Davis – all of whom help to color the tunes with lots of nice jazzy tones – giving the whole thing a bit more depth than the usual instrumental outing. Titles include "Alone Together", "When I Fall In love", "Ballerina", "Skylark", "The Donkey Serenade", and "Tonight". For Sound's Sake has Marty Gold really pushing the needle into the red – using lots of jazzy inflections to expand the dynamic range of the instrumentals on the set – with key solo work by players who include Phil Bodner and Jerome Richardson on reeds, as well as Joe Wilder on trumpet. Titles include "Mood Indigo", "Memories Of You", "Yesterdays", "All The Things You Are", "I Love Paris", "El Cumbanchero", and "Baubles Bangles & Beads".

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 Basie", "Willie's Drums", and "Alamac".

A pretty cool record – even if it is mostly a "hi fi" sampler from RCA. The record demonstrates the full range of RCA's Living Stereo method – and it's got Ken Nordine narrating his way through a host of tracks from the label. As is typical with this sort of thing, about half of the music is classical – but there's also some nice numbers in the easy mode by Skitch Henderson, Ralph Flanagan, Lena Horne, and Jerome Hines. The best part is still Ken Nordine, though!

60s hi fi at its finest – a special record that helps you calibrate your stereo with one side of "test" sounds – and one side of music!

Swingin hi fi and big band sounds – and, as the label says, "a marriage of music and electronics – spellbinding". The "electronics" aren't moogy or anything like that, but the sound's pretty good, and there are some nice covers such as "A Taste Of Honey", "Michelle", "King Of The Road", "The Shadow Of Your Smile", and "People" plus an original called "The Soundaroundus".

Excellent work from Laurindo – a truly wonderful album, played with small combo backing, which gives the set a jazzier feel than usual! Players include Jimmy Rowles on organ, Bob Cooper on tenor, Howard Roberts on guitar, and Shelly Manne, Milt Holland, and Chico Guerro on percussion – and although there's no credits for the arrangements on the album, the overall feel is similar to Roberts best work for Capitol, especially because Rowles' work on organ gives the record such a groovy sound! Titles include "Acapulco 1922", "Misirlou", "Satin Doll", "More", "Till Then", "What Kind Of Fool Am I", and "Desafinado".

A sweet Latin-styled set from trumpeter Herb Alpert – but one that's got a very different vibe than his faux Latin grooves of the 60s! The set here is done with key contributions from both Juan Carlos Calderon as a songwriter, and Jose Quintana as a producer – both talents who really help Herb reshape his groove in a mighty nice way! Backings are big, and somewhat smooth – as in the "Rise" era – but there's also some Latin jazz elements in the mix too, and an overall approach that isn't nearly as cluttered as you might expect for the time – with an especially strong emphasis on Herb's trumpet solos in the lead. The set was the first issued on the A&M Latin label – AyM Discos – and also features a bit of Spanish language vocals as well. Titles include "Fandango", "Route 101", "Angel", "Aria", "Sugarloaf", "Coco Loco", "Latin Medley", "California Blues", and "Push & Pull".

One of the greatest albums ever by studio genius David Axelrod! The album's one of Axelrod's first on his own – cut for Capitol Records at a time when he was working with some of the label's biggest selling soul acts – like Cannonball Adderley and Lou Rawls – turning their already-successful sounds into super-hit material by adding some nice funky touches, and excellent baroque production. This album lets Axelrod fully explore his talents for larger studio arrangements, and complex yet soulful instrumentation. The record is subtitled "an anthology of awareness after birth, based on the 18th century poems of William Blake" – and it features incredible arrangements conducted by Don Randi, played by a host of excellent LA jazz and studio players. The overall sound is spacey and dark, with nice touches of funk, and plenty of cool instrumental passages that have been sampled over the years by hip hoppers and other producers. Titles include "London", "The Fly", "The Human Abstract", "A Divine Image", and "The Sick Rose". Reissued with the original gatefold cover, and everything!

The dreamy vocals and exotica arrangements of Exotic Dream by singer Ethel Azama and the "primitive" sounds of Mganga! by Tak Shindo – back-to-back in a single set! Ethel is a Hawaiian native jazz and cabaret singer from the 50s onward, gamely rolling with the exotica style of the time for this, her first LP – a nice mix of material that ranges from dreamy jazz pop with exotica flourishes, to more percussive gems. There's lots of vibes in the arrangements, which is something we never complain about, and the titles include "Two Ladies In De Shade Of De Banana Tree", "Shady Lady Bird", "Green Fire", "Speak Low", "Mountain High, Valley Low", "Nightingale", "Lazy Afternoon", "Autumn Leaves" and more. Tak Shindo turns in some of his best work ever on this "primitive" album of percieved jungle music – rawly rollicking percussion, eerie wordless vocals, effective use of woodwinds, replicated nature sounds and other evocative touches! Titles include "Mombasa Love Song", "Safari To Kenya", "Nyoba Festival", "Mganga!", "Mwanza Market Palce", "Port Of Trinkitat" and more. 24 tracks in all!

Insanely wonderful work by Bacharach – in a way that we can hardly begin to describe (but we'll certainly try!) By the time this one was recorded – 1971 – Burt's reputation as a songwriter and arranger were so firmly established that he had an incredible amount of freedom in the studio. Here, working with tunes that were mostly well-worn, plus a new one or two – Burt comes up with an amazingly complex set of arrangements, opening up his tunes like little flowers, focusing on a particular instrumental tendril, and drawing it out into incredible lines of melody and color. Proof of this is the album's extended version of "Wives & Lovers", or its suite for orchestra, entitled "And The People Were With Her". All tracks are great – from Burt's intimate vocal on "Hasbrook Heights", to the jangly instrumentation of "Freefall", to the completely recast versions of hits like "One Less Bell To Answer", "April Fools", and "Mexican Divorce". CD features a bonus track – a rare mono version of "All Kinds Of People".

A lost Burt Bacharach treasure – a bit later than classic vintage, but a wonderful album from the mature maestro – and sometimes overlooked, due to its status as a soundtrack! The work here is totally great – that mellow, easy-flowing style that Burt really perfected around the time of Living Together – served up here in a batch of sweet instrumental tracks, plus a few key vocal numbers with lyrics sung by Jackie DeShannon, Libby Titus, and Michael McDonald – all of whom slide down more into the Bacharach ethos than stand out as their usual selves – and we mean that in a good way! Titles include "I Don't Need You Any More", "In Tune", "If We Ever Get Out Of Here", "On The Beach", "I've Got My Mind Made Up", "Find Love", "Luisa", and "I Think I'm Gonna Fall In Love".

An obscure and wonderful chapter in the career of Burt Bacharach – material penned for a 1967 TV musical starring Rick Nelson and Joanie Sommers – all of it perfect 60s Bacharach pop all the way through! The plot of the musical is a bit silly, but the performance isn't – tightly-crafted vocal numbers that often mix Burt's older Brill Building style with a bit more of a Sunshine Pop kind of approach. Although penned by Bacharach, the music is actually conducted by Peter Matz – who does a great job of retaining the maestro's sense of space and timing, but also unlocks some bolder flourishes in the tunes, and manages to get some really amazing vocal performances out of both Sommers and Nelson! There's a sophistication here that goes beyond the roots of both singers – and the record's filld with lesser-known tracks that still sparkle with plenty of Bacharach brilliance – including "It Doesn't Matter Anymore", "They're Gonna Love It", "Juanita's Place Montage", "Try To See It My Way", "They Don't Give Medals", "Fender Mender", and "Juanita's Place".

A rare set of offbeat tunes from the creator of Alvin & The Chipmunks – in the style of some of the pre-chip sounds that Ross was doing for Liberty in the late 50s! Nice cover shot of Ross using a gold phone outside of his Rolls Royce!

An excellent gimmick – and yet another way that United Artists was trying to push its "Bond" catalog in the 60s! Count Basie brings a soulful swing to the work of John Barry – hitting hard on the tracks with his own smoking piano, and an orchestra filled with some of his best players, like Al Grey, Eric Dixon, and Freddie Green – as well as Eddie Lockjaw Davis, an artist who wasn't credited on the session at he time. Arrangements are by Chico O'Farrill and George Williams – and titles include "Thunderball", "From Russia With Love", "007", "Girl Trouble", and "Goldfinger".

An amazing little record – with results that are even greater than the sum of its parts! As you'd guess from the title, Count Basie takes on the 60s sounds of The Beatles – but he's doing so with arrangements from the great Chico O'Farrill – who really keeps things interesting throughout – throwing in those hip rhythms and odd twists and turns he first forged with his Latin recordings – in ways that definitely live up to the groovy pedigree of the tunes. And the Basie group's got a groovier sound than usual – probably due to the arrangements – and Basie plays some nice organ riffs on a number of the album's tracks – one of the Count's rare outings on the instrument, always a treat. Titles include "Help!", "Can't Buy Me Love", "I Wanna Be Your Man", "All My Loving", and "And I Love Her". Proof that The Beatles' influence was way farther reaching than you'd ever expect!

2 rare slices of exotica by Les Baxter – back to back on one CD! The first half of the set features material from the album Ports Of Pleasure – a dreamy exploration of south sea ideals that's got a more lightly drifting quality than some of Baxter's more percussive exotica albums, and which is awash in dreamy soundscapes penned by Les himself! The orchestrations are large and bold throughout – mixing strings and woodwinds almost in a soundtrack-y mode – but always with the light sense of interplay that makes Baxter's work so great. Titles include "Monkey Dance Of Bali", "Pearls Of Ceylon", "Tahiti A Summer Night At Sea", "Hong Kong Cable Car", "Tramp Steamer To Singapore", "Harem Silks From Bombay", and "Sidewalk Cafes Of Saigon". The Sacred Idol is a real standout set from the end of Les Baxter's run at Capitol Records – originally scored for a film that was never released, but a great set of tracks that more than stands strongly on its own! The theme here is a Mexican/Latin American one – explored by Baxter with his trademark blend of larger orchestrations and lighter exotica touches – often swirling around in an extremely evocative mode that makes us wish the film had been issued to the public, and at a few key moments even hinting at the funkier modes that would follow on some of Les' later work for other labels. Titles include "Aqueducts", "Gardens Of The Moon", "Pyramid Of The Sun", "Temple Of Gold", and "Procession Of The Princes".

Fantastic funkiness! Although Les Baxter's best known for his easy listening work in the late 50s/early 60s, this 1969 biker flick soundtrack is a motherlode of funky funky tracks, and a veritable cornucopia of breakbeats. The drums are nice and hard, and there's plenty of fuzzy guitars to give a razor sharp edge to the groove! A few tracks have vocals, but it's the funk rock instrumentals that drive this one into pulp soundtrack classic status. Highlights include the classics "Hogin' Machine" and "Hot Wind", but there's lots of other nice ones like "Soul Groove", "Chain Fight", "Dan's Theme", "Scoobee Doo" and the killer "Wheels (Main Title Theme)". This great limited edition CD version has a 4 bonus tracks made up of the full version of the end title song, medleys of shorter cues from the film, instrumental bits and more. "Travelin' Man", "Take It From Me (Source)/Gila Monster/Cathy Left Behind /Mongoose Gets Beans", "Gang Rides Through The Hills/Tosses Bike Over Bank/Snake Or Rope" and more.

Eerie early 60s material from Les Baxter – his soundtrack work for Roger Corman's American International feature The Man With X-Ray Eyes – plus Corman's Morella entry in the Poe-themed anthology Tales Of Terror! The Man With X-Ray Eyes is one of those groovy soundtracks where the mood and style of the material matches the titles pretty greatly – "Penthouse", "Fast Twist", "Casino Lounge", "Posh" and more. Fun stuff! The Morella material is, appropriately more gothic horror themed and it's very well done at that! Includes "The Corpse And The Ghost", "Lenora/Morella/Fire & Smoke/Eerie House" and more. This great La La Land set also includes 4 bonus tracks from The Man With X-Ray Eyes.

Genius work from Les Baxter – two of his best albums for Capitol, back to back on one CD! Ritual Of The Savage is one of those must-have albums from the 50s – a super-huge record upon its initial release, and an album that pushed the genre of exotica far further than most others at the time! Before this record, most attempts at exotica were simple instrumental pop, colored with slight worldly instrumentation – or too-dreamy recordings, putting over a sleepy version of life on the islands. Enter Les Baxter, who had an amazing ear for sounds, rhythms, and arrangements – one that was the first to record this sort of music in a way that was sonically evocative, and could stand on its own without other referents. Instrumentation is often conventional, but used oddly here – and Baxter's original compositions are all pretty darn great – playful without being goofy, and nicely mixing Latin and Pacific rhythms at the bottom. Titles include "Busy Port", "The Ritual", "Coronation", "Jungle Jalopy", and Les' original version of "Quiet Village". Heck, even the cover is gorgeous – with a brilliant blue illustration of some guy putting the moves on a woman amidst spooky tribal relics! The Passions is a really obscure box set recording – done as Les Baxter's classic exploitation of "a woman's passions", using vocalist Bas Sheva in the role of the tormented female! Shiva's got a bold, evocative style that's not unlike Yma Sumac – and she sings here wordlessly, as an added instrument on top of Baxter's orchestrations – playing the role of the inner psyche of woman, on titles that include "Lust", "Terror", "Joy", "Hate", "Ecstasy", and "Despair"! The whole thing's a mini docu-drama in sound – beautifully recorded in a flurry of red, blue, and other chromatic hues – not as exotic as Baxter's other work from the 50s, but equally great as a modern sonic psychoanalytic text!

A great focus for the Bill Black Combo – an album of bluesy tunes that seem to bring out a bit more soul than usual in their music – at least for this time in the group's history! Many of the numbers are older tracks that fall into the category of crossover blues – tunes played more by jazz artists than gritty bluesmen, which make them a good fit for the instrumental style of the combo – tuned a bit more towards the bluer side of the spectrum by the group's electric guitar and bass, and topped with some especially nice work on horns. Titles include "Basin Street Blues", "I'll Never Be Free", "Birth Of The Blues", "Peter Gunn", "Weary Blues", "St Louis Blues", and "Blues In The Night".

Bill Black and his classic combo – but with a sound that's a lot more Stax Records than usual! The grooves are gritty right from the get-go – no surprise, given that the back cover notes begin with an anecdotal definition of funk – one that Black and his group clearly seem to have read, given that they start the album with a mighty drumbreak! The set's still got that saxy Bill Black sound, but the organ is a lot more deeply burning, and the drums have a nice sort of punch too – maybe more Mar-Keys than MGs, but still mighty darn nice. Titles include "Turn On Your Love Light", "The Horse", "Philly Dog", "Big Boss Man", "Red Light", "Bright Lights Big City", and "Shoo Bee Doo Be Doo Da Day".

Issued after Lenny's death, but a record that contains some of his best bits ever! In fact, the later date of the album probably allowed Fantasy to get away with some rawer material, so you'll hear more of the "true" side of Lenny – especially on the album's live tracks. We think this stuff is pure genius, and it's more than just comedy – it's verbal improvisation on a scale that would match the best jazz soloist. As proof, listen to tracks like "Fat Boy", "The Sound", and "Thank You, Masked Man".