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An excellent little album from the team of Herbie Mann & Buddy Collette – one that has both players using a wide range of reed instruments, and not just flute! Herbie and Buddy are wonderfully paired here – in a way that expands past the usual flute jazz mode by adding in bits of tenor sax, alto, and clarinet – as well as a range of different flutes too – not in a mode that's gimmicky, but which complements the lighter sound of the flute with some heavier notes on tenor at just the right moment – in a style that reminds us of some of Jerome Richardson's best records of the time. Rhythm is by the trio of Mel Lewis on drums, Buddy Clark on bass, and Jimmy Rowles on both piano and a bit of celeste – and tracks are long, with a freshly spontaneous feel that's really great! Titles include "Morning After", "Here's Pete", "Theme From Theme From", "Give A Little Whistle", "Herbie's Buddy", and "Pop Melody". This is a 2nd pressing of the Mode album Flute Fraternity – without Buddy Collette as the co-leader on the cover, and with his name listed in the notes as Bobby Collette!

Fuzzy Texas work from the 60s – music that's got a mighty strong influence from Bob Dylan – but which is done with a sound that's way more garagey than Bob would have every attempted! There's a vibe here that almost offers an early look at the Dallas scene that gave the world some headier psych – a style that still has one foot in folk rock, but another even more strongly pointed towards reverb and distortion – often with really cool results! Tunes are mostly originals, and mix jingle jangle leanings with some darker tones – on titles that include "A Public Execution", "Cryin Inside", "Lie Beg Borrow & Steal", "Look At The Sun", "Promises Promises", "Do The Best You Can", and "Maid Of Sugar Maid Of Spice".

Rare early 70s soul from Cinci! "Doon-Chang" by the female vocal combo 4 Jades has a little bit of a psych funk vibe going on thanks to the guitars – with a funky bassline prominent in the mix, some sax, nicely -grooving organ and solid drums. Still, it's the voices that shine the brightest! Sweet lead and backup vocals really make this one a standout. "Gee How I Miss You" is a mellower tune – but still with a heavy bass groove – and the vocals are even more sublime on this track!

Rare early 70s soul from Cinci! "Doon-Chang" by the female vocal combo 4 Jades has a little bit of a psych funk vibe going on thanks to the guitars – with a funky bassline prominent in the mix, some sax, nicely -grooving organ and solid drums. Still, it's the voices that shine the brightest! Sweet lead and backup vocals really make this one a standout. "Gee How I Miss You" is a mellower tune – but still with a heavy bass groove – and the vocals are even more sublime on this track! The flip has a pair of strong, stylistically divergent tracks by Longmire – the funky disco instrumental gem "Make You Wanna Holler" – and the tender vocal ballad "Everybody's Somebody's Fool".

Smoking soul from the Cincinnatti scene – a massive amount of work we've never heard before – no surprise, since the set features lots of unreleased tracks! Most of the music here came from the Fraternity label – and most of the artists are blue-eyed soul singers hitting a funkier sort of vibe – one that's got occasional bits of funky rock in the mix, with echoes of the headier sounds going on in Detroit! Upbeat moments mix nicely with darker undercurrents – and most music comes from the Cinci songwriting/producing team of Wayne Perry and Randy McNutt – who also perform here a bit too. While there's been no shortage of soulful sounds from Ohio to find release in the past few years, this stuff really has a unique vibe – largely done with a tightly-arranged, highly-energetic vibe that stands out right away. Titles Includes "Mr Bus Driver", "Gimme The Green Light", "Right Or Wrong", and "Get 'Em While They're Hot" by Wayne Perry; "Gonna Have A Good Time" by Little Flint, "Pain" by The Boys In The Band, "Little Bit Of Lovin'" by Wood-I with Wayne Perry, "Waiting For You" by The Hometown Band, "I Like Skin" by Rick Bam Powell, and "Souled Out" by Soul Limited.

A long-overdue collection of work by this sublime Ohio soul group of the 60s – a trio of lovely ladies with a really tremendous sound! Gigi & The Charmaines are hardly the girl group cliche you might think from their sweet name and the image on the cover – and on most of the numbers here, they're hard-rolling at a pace that's somewhere between the best Detroit Northern Soul of the time, and some of the sweeter female soul that was coming out of Chicago at the end of the 60s. Ace have really outdone themselves with the collection – and bring together the group's singles on the Columbia, Date, and Fraternity labels – as well as some other key sides that have them performing vocals on records by other artists in the lead! CD features a whopping 28 tracks in all, plus a full set of notes – with titles that include "Guilty", "Poor Unfortunate Me", "Eternally", "Girl Crazy", "If You Ever", "I Idolize You", "Rockin Old Man", "On The Wagon", "What Kind Of Girl Do You Think I Am", "All You Gotta Do", "GI Joe", "I Can't Go On This Way", and "I Don't Want To Lose Him" – plus "I'm So Satisfied" with Max Falcon, "Lucy Miloo" with Kenny Smith, "Baby Please Don't Go" with Carl Edmonson, and "Baby What's Wrong" with Lonnie Mack.

Far out harmonies and psyche pop from the mid-to-late 60s – and another groovy batch of obscurites from the Cali scene and beyond in the Soft Sounds For Gentle People series from Pet Records! The series has only gotten deeper and groovier since the first one came out – many singles from groups that were recording for the major labels at the time, but the majority of whom are fresh discoveries to us – and if labels like Columbia, Warner Bros and Capital provided the opportunity for richer sounds and production, it's used to shoot the grooves even further out, without comprising the catchy grooves and sweetly soaring male and female harmonies. Possibly the best entry yet! 21 tracks in all: Titles include "Take A Bus" by Stix & Stonz, "Nothing Sacred" by The Johnnys, "Look At The Sun" by Mouse, "Hello" by Things To Come, "Kill The Cobra" by Bentley Road, "It's A Groovy World" by The Lollipop Fantasy, "Looking Down" by 1st Century, "Wispy Paisley Skies" by Fraternity Of Man and more.