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Just drums and keyboards!

A lost lounge gem from the RCA catalog – with a dreamy exotica feel that's right up there with the best of the bachelor pad era! Gerald Fried arranged and conducted this ersatz studio group, and his overall approach has lots of sweeping woodwinds and percussion, similar to the great Les Baxter work on Capitol during the same time. The tracks have a pronounced Eastern feel – as you'd guess by titles like "Yokahama Ferryboat", "Rain In Rangoon", "Madam Sloe Gin's", "Night Of The Tiger", and "Nagasaki". Great "Eastern" cover, too!

Rarely has a compilation on an artist ever been done so well! This materful set compiles all of the rare recordings made by The Left Banke for Mercury during the late 60's – and it puts all 26 tracks together with a great set of notes that details the rocky history of the group. If you don't know The Left Banke, their unique style of "baroque rock" is a wonderful mix of groovy organ, electric harpsichord, and swirling strings – all set as instrumentation for some of the tightest, grooviest little songs you'll ever hear. Nearly every track on here is a toe-tapping hummer, and even if you know their big hits like "Walk Away Renee" and "Pretty Ballerina", you'll still find lots of other goodies like "Desiree", "Ivy Ivy", "Barterers & Their Wives", and "I Haven't Got The Nerve". Great stuff, and a CD that we're never without on a road trip!

A very weird one – as Henry Mancini pays tribute to the work of John Philip Sousa! As you'd expect from Sousa's marches, most of the work has a parade band military sound – and Mancini, despite his grooviness, hardly breaks format to change the style of the work. The approach has touches of some of Mancini's more military soundtrack work – and the recording quality definitely has a classic Hollywood approach – but overall, it's still Sousa. Titles include "The Gladiator", "Washington Post", "National Fencibles", "The Thunderer", and "Drum Corps".

A great record that's sort of a follow-up to Gabor's excellent Sorcerer LP – and like that one, features long tracks that have a spiralling modal feel that's much more serious, much more grooving, and a lot less campish than some of his other albums of the time. The album features a two-guitar lineup that mixes rhythm and melody – perfect for the tunes on the set, like "Los Matadoros", "Spellbinder", "Comin Back", and "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds".