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! LP, Vinyl record album

An early entry in the classic Mood Mosaic series – a set of compilations that were crucial in helping to bring rare European tracks over to our American ears, especially in a pre-internet world! There's a real 90s sample head vibe to the record – 70s vintage tracks that have just the right sort of beats, basslines, and keyboards to appeal to a later scene – with a set list that includes "Coming and Going" and "Go Down Dying" by Ray Brown, plus "Caribbean Sunrise" by Clay Pitts, "Vixen & The Constable" by Ingo Kantor, "Le Train Fou" by Jacques Denjean, "Amame" and "Dr No Piano" by Claudia Vita, "Good Time" by Dan Seepers Soul, "Pazuzu" by Tony Sylvester, "Continental Exchange" by Sounds Nice, and "Sado Maso" by De Giafferi. (Funky Compilations, Now Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

A beautifully baroque batch of tracks, written and arranged for the Electric Prunes by the great David Axelrod – a really groundbreaking mix of modes that had quite an impact back in the late 60s! The record shows Axelrod's perpetual fascination with the spiritual – mixed with that great modern style of funk that he was forging at Capitol during the late 60s. The record's not really preachy, nor is it proggy. It's more of a complex blueprint of rock, jazz, funk, and touches of soul – all hung together on the same sort of "mass" structure that Axelrod would later use with Cannonball and on his own. Titles include "Kyrie Eleison", "Gloria", "Benedictus", and "Sanctus". (Rock, Now Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant set of percussively grooving tracks, modulated at a low tempo, and recorded in the Henry J. Kaiser aluminum dome in Hawaii with a sound that inspired countless other exotic groups. Art plays vibes, and is augmented by percussion and piano, plus other bits of exotic instrumentation. Fire up that console stereo and break out the Tiki glasses! Cuts include "Taboo", "Quiet Village", "Honolulu Nites", "Yellow Bird", "Polynesia" and "Brazilleros". CD

Classic first by the enigmatic Dimitri – one of the first modern artists to take the bachelor pad sound of the 50s, and transform it into funky grooves for the 90s. The whole thing's got a wonderfully loungey sound – with nice bits of Frenchiness and downtempo beats, plus other jazzy moments. Titles include "Un World Mysteriouse", "Par Un Chemin Different", "Sacre Francais", "Nothing To Lose", "Un Termede", "Attente Musicale", and "Dirty Larry". The CD includes two tracks on the vinyl. (New Grooves, Now Sound) CD

Very groovy stuff from Cugie! It's the late 60s, and he's got more of a pop Latin groove than earlier – and lays down some nice peppy covers of pop material, plus a few other Latin standards. Not exactly Latin soul – but not that far off, either. Includes a great version of "Samba Saravah", plus "Mellow Yellow", "Compadre Pedro Juan", "Shadow Of Your Smile", "Jungle Rhumba", and the perennial favorite "Music To Watch Girls By". (Latin, Now Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

An album with as much power as you'd expect from the title – and a set that's billed as featuring "Music To The Limits Of Audibility"! The limits explored are the farther ones in sound – not the lower tones at the end of hearing – and Marty Gold does a very good job of hitting the heights with his bold orchestrations, captured here in dramatic RCA sound of the time! Orchestrations are often a bit more complicated than the usual bachelor pad record – with lots of complex horn patterns especially, instead of driving rhythms – and titles include "Stella By Starlight", "The Moon Was Yellow", "I'll Remember April", "A String Of Pearls", "Without A Song", and "Misty". Very dramatic – and bound to make your speakers pop! LP, Vinyl record album

(Rock, Now Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet little Stereo Action set from Ray Martin, recorded with a very dynamic edge – hence the title! The feel here is a bit in the Esquivel mode – with orchestrations that swing all over the map, and use the stereo recording technology to their best advantage. And although Ray's perhaps a bit more sedate than Juan Garcia, lots of the tunes have some interesting instrumentation that keeps things interesting – sly little bits that sneak in under the radar, and crop up in the song to jazz things up a bit! Titles include "Mood Indigo", "Cry Me A River", "Bye Bye Blues", "Humoresque", "The Moon Was Yellow", and "Pagan Love Song". LP, Vinyl record album

Groovy stuff! After paying tribute to Stevie Wonder and Bob Dylan on other LPs, Hugo Montenegro turns his talents to the groovy compositions of Elton John in this nice album of moogy instrumentals – a set that's got some upbeat material that almost hits a funky club style – graced with loads of work on Arp by John Montenegro! The tune are all big ones by Elton, mostly – and the presentation here is pretty cool, with a very different vibe than the big hits. There's also a few solos by trumpeters Chuck Findley and Gary Barone – and titles include "Rocket Man", "Bitch Is Back", "Daniel", "Take Me To The Pilot", "Philadelphia Freedom", and "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" – plus the originals "Splashdown" and "Blastoff", which bracket the album in a "rocket" theme. LP, Vinyl record album

The great Lalo Schifrin plays piano and leads a crack group of studio players through some larger orchestral material with a nice jazzy feel! The overall approach is similar to Lalo's classic 60s soundtrack work – with nice solos arching out over sweeping strings and orchestral passages, and all tracks written with a good deal of punch, plus lots of little Latiny influences. Easily one of his most perfectly conceived albums of the 60s – and pretty darn tough to find. Tracks are long and titles include "El Salon Mexico", "New Fantasy", "Sabre Dance", and "Prelude #2". (Jazz, Now Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

The hardest to find of the David McCallum albums on Capitol – and like the others, a very nice set of moody tunes with arrangements by HB Barnum, and hip production by David Axelrod! Axelrod gets in some very nice moments on the set, slipping in some dark passages underneath simple pop tunes – a blend of late 60s covers and a few cool originals for the set, like "White Dasies", "Oh My", and "BB". Also includes versions of "98.6", "I'm A Believer", "Mellow Yellow", "California Dreamin", and "Mercy Mercy Mercy". LP, Vinyl record album