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Mid 60s surf grooves from Jerry Cole – blazing guitar-led instrumentals, though this is not a simple, quickie cash-in on the surf trend – it's a actually a top notch taste of expert LA studio genius! Cole is a brilliant guitarist, and the Spaceman he assembled for the Surf Age record features the crème of the crop of LA studio geniuses from the period – including Hal Blaine, Earl Palmer, Steve Douglas and others. The mix of searing guitars with a raw rhythms with virtuoso musicianship really puts this record above and beyond most others! Includes "Surf Age", "Martian Surf", "Night Rumble", "Night Rumble", "Power Surf", "Bronze Surfer", "Jerry's Jump", "Deep Surf", "Racing Waves", "One Color Blues", "Ride-Um!" and more. CD includes 6 bonus tracks, too: "Boss Dance", "Super Charged", Drag Shot", "Wild Willys", "The Screamer" and more!

An overlooked gem from the glory days of the west coast surf scene – the standout set from The Fantastic Baggys, a group who are also known for their backup work with Jan & Dean! There's a very Jan & Dean vibe going on here – right down to the backings from Hal Blaine and the Wrecking Crew – but the overall sound's a bit looser, too – a bit less iconic, and almost a bit less perfect – in ways that make for a lot of charm as the album rolls along! The set's almost worth it alone for the track "This Little Woody" – and other titles include "Big Gun Board", "Alone On The Beach", "Surfer Boy's Dream Come True", "When Surfers Rule", and "Wax Up Your Board".

Very nice record of lost soul from LA, recorded for Hanna-Barbera, who are much better known as purveyors of cartoons, not music! We don't know much about Jean, but she's got a lovely voice, and the setup for the record – which is an intimate live setting – gives her perfect space to groove around a lot. She's backed by a tiny combo that has Pete Jolly on piano, Howard Roberts on guitar, Hal Blaine on drums, and Emil Richards on percussion. Shorty Rogers and Gene Page did the arrangements, and they did a nice job coming up with tight jazzy backings that have a bit of an uptown sound, but which sound a lot harder because of the live setting. Great stuff, and a record we almost never see! Tracks include "All I Really Want To Do", "Just My Style", "England Swings", "Watermelon Man", and "I Got You".

Smoking hot rod grooves – put together by studio maestro Bruce Johnston in the years before he became a bigger Beach Boy! The set's one of many groovy surf/car sets that Johnston cut during this mid 60s stretch – although it's more obscure than most, given its release on Smash Records – instead of the usual Capitol or Columbia outlets for his work. But the lineup features some key familiar faces from those other projects – guitar from Glenn Campbell and Tommy Tedesco, and some mighty drums from the great Hal Blaine! Hot Rod enthusiast George Barris adds his name to the project – and also gives up some nice car knowledge on the back cover – and titles include "Stick Six", "Fireball", "Jive Driver", "Super Fine", "Firecracker 400", "Hotty 32", and "Speed Shifters".

Some very groovy work – played by an LA septet with Mike Melvoin on organ and piano – plus Tom Scott on saxes, Gary Coleman on vibes, and Hal Blaine on drums! Also features work by Dennis Budimir on guitar, Larry Knechtel on bass, and Jim Horn on sax – on titles that include "Figures", "Vehicle", "Make Me Smile", "Little Green Bag", "Hum A Song", and "Love Me Or Le Me Be Lonely".

Mindblowing music from this ultra-cool musician – nearly three albums packaged on one CD! First up is Stones – a very groovy set of tunes that we'd rank right up there with Hal Blaine's Psychedelic Percussion for sheer nuttiness! Emil Richard plays a range of percussion instruments – as on other albums from the time – vibes and lots of mallet and percussion instrument – but he's also working with a really noisy moog, handled by Paul Beaver, and some weird "22-tone-to-the-octave" instruments that give the album an other-worldly tone that we really love. The whole thing bubbles and bleeps and grooves – with plenty of jazz still in the mix, as befits Richards' roots in the LA scene of the late 50s. 12 tracks in all – all named after birthstones – with titles that include "Garnet", "Moonstone", "Emerald", "Topaz", "Opal", and "Ruby". Next up are 6 tracks from New Time Element – one of the grooviest albums to come from the godlike hands of Emil Richards! This album's got a bit more punch than some of Richard's more jazz-based sessions – with Emil playing a wide range of percussion instruments, plus vibes and marimba – all backed by some incredibly groovy work on organ and piano by Dave McKay! Arrangements are by Tom Scott and Paul Beaver – and the record's got the jaunty, swinging quality of some of Scott's best early work of the time – particularly his early gems for Impulse! Titles include a great version of Tom Scott's oft-recorded "Blues for Hari", a very groovy number with a great 60s eastern feel – plus "Hot Fudge Sundae", "Happy Together", "Jimmy", and "Georgy Girl". And last but not least are 8 tracks that comprise Journey To Bliss – a fantastic bit of "Eastern" tinged jazz – and a real musical Journey To Bliss on its own! Vibist Emil Richards has always been totally groovy in our book – but he really outdoes himself here – working in an exotic mode that features lots of weird percussion over choppy modal grooves from keyboards, guitar, and drums – all in a wild blend of rhythms and grooves played by Richards and his Microtonal Blues Band. Players include Tom Tedesco and Dennis Budimir on guitar, Dave MacKay on keyboards, and Joe Porcaro on drums – but all players handle a variety of instruments, as does Richards, who must play dozens of different percussion elements on the set! Side one of the album features some great short groovers – like "Maharimba", "Bliss", "Mantra", and "Enjoy Enjoy" – all of which are in a tripped-out LA guru hippy mode that's simply wonderful! Side two features the extended "Journey To Bliss" suite, which has some spoken bits and a much wilder sound – but also the same sort of groovy pop-Eastern sound as side one!

Raucous drag strip rockers and driving R&B-fueled instrumentals by The T-Bones – killer material on Liberty from a group of young session wizards – including Hal Blaine, Glen Campbell, Leon Russell, Dave Pell, Steve Douglas and others! It's wildly fun stuff that goes all in with the drag strip novelty – but totally transcends it – with some rubber-burning, rumbling excellence! Killer guitars, sax, organ drums from a one-time relatively anonymous cast of players. Includes "Hey Little Cobra", "Shut Down", "Drag City", "Draggin'", "Scorchin", "Little Deuce Coupe", "Boss Drag" and more.

The set's got a nice small combo sound – thanks to work from Pete Jolly on piano, Emil Richards on vibes, Julius Wechter on percussion, Jimmy Bond on bass, and Hal Blaine on drums!

A wonderful early album from soul singer Al Wilson – a well-crafted mix of modes that really stands out in late 60s pop – and which showed that Al was quite different than most of his contemporaries! The album's got some very hip production by Johnny Rivers – who was really stretching out his own sound at the time – and arrangements are by Gene Page and Marty Paich, who create a sublime blend of jazz, soul, and strings – plus a slight undercurrent of more righteous modes from the late 60s post-folk underground! In addition to straighter soul, Wilson sings a mix of hip contemporary compositions by Fred Neil, Jimmy Webb, and others – showing a depth of sound that's really wonderful. Instrumentation's by a small combo that includes Hal Blaine on drums, Larry Knechtel on keyboards, and some especially great flute from Jim Horn – whose sound here really brings some dark moments to the record. Titles include a classic version of Oscar Brown Jr's "The Snake" – which has gone onto become something of a dancefloor stormer over the years – plus the cuts "Shake Me Wake Me", "I Stand Accused", "Who Could Be Lovin You", "Brother Where Are You", "Summer Rain", "Do What You Gotta Do", and a groovy cover of Fred Neil's "The Dolphins".

C'mon, you can never have too much Love – particularly the beautiful, soulful voice of Darlene Love – and this fantastic compilation from Ace puts together a diverse set of singles from the 60s & 70s, a few rare demos, plus hard to find tunes from earlier and later years! Darlene had an incredibly wide ranging career, from girl group leader, to in demand session singer, to Broadway star, but this set is heavily steeped in the soaring, beautifully arranged solo soul singles and remarkably diverse stuff with her group The Blossoms – plus some really cool session tunes with Dick Dale, Hal Blaine and others. Gorgeous! Titles include "That's When The Tears Start", "So Much Love", "The Gospel Truth", "Good, Good Lovin'" and more with the Blossoms, solo tracks "Too Late To Say You're Sorry", "Ooh-Wee Baby", "Let Him Walk Away", "Mr Fix It" and more, "King Of The Surf Guitar" with Dick Dale & The Del Tones, "Drummer Boy Plays For Me" with Hal Blaine, and much more. 24 tracks in all.

A nice bit of hippy-dippy rock/pop from late 60s California – a male and female vocal team, with a sound that's somewhere between The Mamas & The Papas and Ian & Sylvia and Jefferson Airplane. The overall sound of the record is very nice – thanks to production by Steve Barri, arrangements by Tom Brown, and a backup combo that includes Hal Blaine on drums and percussion, and Larry Knechtel on piano and organ. Songs are short and catchy, and titles include "November Snow", "Establishment Blues", "Sonora", "Golden Gate Park", "Sausalito Sunrise", "Gardens of Chelsea", and "Quick Draw Man".

Plenty of surf number stepping out here – but often with that great second-chapter Beach Boys mode – that pre-Pet Sounds style that's often got some darker currents underneath! The pair are great in the lead, and get a bit of harmony support from The Fantastic Baggys – and some great instrumental assistance from Hal Blaine – who's really knocking it out of the park with a host of west coast wonderfuls – all produced by Jan with a nice echoey vibe! Titles include "Ride The Wild Surf", "Tell Em I'm Surfin", "The Restless Surfer", "Skateboarding (part 1)", "Surfin Wild", and "The Submarine Races".

Sweet 70s grooves from Percy Faith – a snoozer of an arranger in the 60s, but a talent who picked up a lot for us in the 70s! Both albums feature some strong tracks in which Percy mixes strings and easy instrumentation with electric bass and some nice drum work by Hal Blaine or Earl Palmer – creating tunes that at once have a glossy sweep, but also a nice little bounce that actually makes for some nicely funky moments that sparkle with a soundtrack feel. Some tunes are easy – but there's some really nice ones on here, like Percy's cover of Freddie Hubbard's "First Light", or versions of "Pata Pata", "Enter The Dragon", "Corazon", "Crunchy Granola Suite", "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life", "Sing", "Kodachrome", "Pillow Talk", and "The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia", all of which come off with the feel of some of the better tunes on the MPS Snowflakes compilation!