Way more than just the usual collection of famous British TV themes from the 60s – as this set offers up some great rare nuggets, unusual versions, and some obscure tracks that are all pretty darn fresh to our American years! As you well know if you're a fan of anything pop culture from this generation, British TV was way hipper than most of the American small screen in the 60s – from the stories, to the settings, to the wonderfully cool themes and backing music that supported the show – often a cool hybrid of postwar Soho jazz modes and lots of the best soundtrack/sound library styles that were evolving in the hands of an elite few on the London scene. Some of the best and grooviest of that generation are presented here – in an overstuffed collection that includes "Gurney Slade" by Max Harris, "Danger Man" by Red Price Combo, "The Avenger" by Johnny Dankworth, "Tuesday Rendezvous" by Bert Weedon, "Face To Face" by Frank Chacksfield, "Comedy Playhouse" by Ron Grainer, "What The Papers Say" by London Philharmonic, "Monty Python's Flying Circus" by Eastman Wind Ensemble, "The Saint" by Les Reed, "Fireball" by Don Spencer, "Z Cars" by Johnny Keating, and a number of tracks from The Prisoner too! (Soundtracks, Sound Library) CD

A cool contemporary set from Beirut producer Charif Megarbane – a set served up in a style he bills as "Lebrary" – which is a combination of Lebanese elements with a classic sound library aesthetic! The tunes here are short, funky, and colorful – and almost feel like some 70s studio take on expected Mid East musical modes – with the exotic and the groovy shaking hands in some very cool styles throughout! There's plenty of wonderful grooves on the record, with a nicely varied sense of instrumentation – and titles include "Shanklish", "Ma Ward", "Abou Boutros", "Chez Mounir", "Pas De Dialogue", "Soul El Ahad", "Tarator", "Ya Salam", "A Parking Lot By The Sea", and "Pale Baleine". (Global Grooves, Sound Library) CD

Funky sounds from Dan Ubick of Connie Price & The Keystones – and a killer set in this excellent sound library series from Madlib! As with the other volumes, the music has a strong nod to the classic 70s era of sound library funk, but also updates the work strongly too – in this case with the psychedelic funky elements that you'd guess from Dan's previous experience – served up in heavy drums from Connie Price that are often ready for hip hop samples – and colored with strings from Ubick at times, almost at a level that has a slight nod to David Axelrod! Other instrumentation includes guitars, bass, and keyboards – and tunes include "Snakes In The Walls", "El Escorpion", "The Return", "Antenna Up", "Flip Of A Switch", "Spanish Moss", "Black Coffee", "Gris Gris", "Hearts Of Darkness", and "Fly Swatter". LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet set of Polish easy from the end of the 70s, but one that's got a style that's much more in the early 70s mode of other Euro territories – particularly that upbeat, optimistic work from the German economic miracle scene! Tunes have a soaring vibe that's driven by nice drums, tight horns, and these wordless female vocals that often scat along with the grooves – bringing a very lively, playful sort of quality to the whole thing – sunny-sounding, and just right for foot-tapping through a day of hard work and house cleaning! Titles include "El Arenal", "Zagubione Nadzieje", "Sul Mare", "Hacjenda", "Zloty Kask", "Stracony Dzien", "Porty Zagaslych Swiatel", and "Kolorowa Ballada". CD