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Brilliant 60s pop from the team of Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart – best known for their key early songwriting work for The Monkees, but a heck of a great duo on their own! Boyce & Hart have a sparkly, sunshiney sound that's very much a part of The Monkees generation – a beautiful post-folk, post-surf blend of styles, and one that's served up with all the warmth and charm that made The Monkees so great – yet also with some cool twists and turns that make a record like this so great – the kind of chance-taking that A&M sometimes allowed its artists to take at the time! Backings are super-groovy – arranged by Artie Butler and Don McGinis – and titles include "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonite", "Teardrop City", "I Wanna Be Free", "The Countess", "Population", and "Two For The Price Of One" – a great cover of a Larry Williams & Johnny Watson soul tune! Features bonus mono single tunes – "The Ambushers", "Love Every Day", "Where Angels Go Trouble Follows", and "I Wanna Be Free".

A highly detailed, heavily researched biography of the great Oscar Micheaux – one of the first important African-American film directors, even though he's only finally getting his due in the mainstream during more recent years! Patrick McGilligan's handled previous books on Hitchock and George Cukor, so he's already got his game when it comes to telling the story of folks behind the films – but the great thing about his account of Micheaux is that it also includes great information on his pre-film years, and really sets the context that helped African-American cinema emerge. 402 pages, paperback, with some black and white images.

A great revival for this well-done magazine – back in action with a great run of features! In addition to a report on our Chicago blues scene – the set also features a long cover article on The Green Brothers, plus a look at Baton Records, the west coast blues of Country Pete McGill, and gospel greats The Brooklyn All Stars! There's also lots of news on gigs and festivals, plus upcoming shows as well – as well as reviews, and an unusually large batch of obituaries.