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Genius, pure genius! (Have we said that about Lee too many times before?) The work of Lee Hazlewood is beyond description – a bit of vocals, a bit of country, a bit of lounge, and a bit of rock – all wrapped up with a sinister edge that has you believing that this was the man who used to refer to his frequent musical partner as "Nasty" Sinatra over the headphones during recording sessions! The set features 35 tracks from Lee's obscure years at MGM records – wonderful vocal tunes that rank with some of his best ever, plus a few weird instrumentals, recorded by Lee Hazlewood's Woodchucks. Insanely wonderful stuff – records that we come back to again and again and again over the years – finally presented in their entirety, with a great set of notes on the music! Tracks include "Hands", "Mannford Oklahoma", "This Town", "Sand", "Child", "Little War", "Fort Worth", "Summer Wine", "I Move Around", "After Six", "Batman", "Summer Nights", "Suzi Jane Is Back In Town", "In Our Time", "When A Fool Loves A Fool", and "So Long Babe".

Music that no home should be without – presented here in a lavish package, with rare mono mixes too! The set's a wonderful way to get these early gems from Lou Reed, Nico, and The Velvet Underground – and the box set features the first three Velvet Underground albums for Verve, plus Nico's legendary Chelsea Girl debut, and the sublime unreleased 1969 album – filled with tracks that appeared elsewhere later ("Ocean", "Foggy Notion", "I Can't Stand It", "Rock & Roll", "Ride Into The Sun", "Lisa Says", and "I'm Sticking With You") – presented here as they were originally intended for record! The box features all original artwork, and heavy Sundazed vinyl with great remastering – with two bonus posters too.

A huge collection of work from the great Tommy Edwards – a set that features four full albums' worth of material, and which stands as a rich testament of Edwards' contributions to American music at the end of the 50s! Tommy has a unique approach on these tracks – a style that's rooted in older jazz vocal modes, especially given his poise and class – but which also has some pop production too – in ways that arguably make Edwards a key figure in the development of early soul music! You'll definitely hear a key criss-crossing of modes on these tracks – heartfelt vocals mixed with captivating production – and the package features a whopping 57 tracks in all – material from albums that includes For Young Lovers, It's All In The Game, Step Out Singing, and You Started Me Dreaming – with titles that include "Music Maestro Please", "Please Mr Sun", "My Sugar My Sweet", "It's All In The Game", "You Win Again", "Always", "Until The Real Thing Comes Along", "The Composer", "Should I", "Suzie Wong", as You Desire Me", and "Once There Lived A Fool".

One of the smartest moves Phil Woods ever made was to move to Paris in 1968 and pick up a European rhythm section that featured George Gruntz, Henri Texier, and Daniel Humair. At the time, the idea of a European rhythm section might have been considered suicide by some folks – but for Woods, it was a liberating move that allowed him to expand his sound tremendously. With the help of these three players – all loose modernists who still knew how to swing – Woods was able to craft some incredible tunes, long flowing numbers that featured his amazing tone stretching out in kind of a post-Coltrane sort of mode. This live set is one of the group's best recordings, and features extended versions of tracks that include "Capricci Cavaleschi", "I Remember Bird", "Ad Infinitum", and "Riot".

The complete recordings of Every Mothers' Son – two full albums, and a bonus single too! First up is the self-titled Every Mothers' Son album – filled with cool, catchy numbers that have a wonderfully sunny feel overall – and a spare approach that's a bit different than most of the group's contemporaries! The drums seem much more up in the mix than usual for this sort of work – snapping with a jaunty quality amidst guitar that's a bit more laidback, and harmonized vocals that have that perfect folk-into-pop mode that other Sunshine Pop groups were using at the time. There's a few blue notes here and there, which give the music some of the darker undercurrents you might hear in The Left Banke – and titles include "Come On Down To My Boat", "For Brandy", "I Won't", "Allison Dozer", "Sittin Here", "Come On Queenie", and "Didn't She Lie". The second album is a great step forward for Every Mothers' Son – a set that's got all the catchy charm of their debut, yet a deeper sound overall! There's a great maturation in the music going on here – as some cuts show a love of pop-psych elements, which comes off in fuller backings that swirl strongly around the lyrics – while other tracks have a leaner quality and more acoustic elements, almost into the territory of Beau Brummels on Reprise, especially given the way the vocals come across. The whole thing's a 60s pop treasure – filled with great original tunes that include "Rainflowers", "Dolls In The Clock", "Only Child", "Sally (Life Story #3)", "Put Your Mind At Ease", and "Larry's Birthday Party". CD also features a bonus mono single mix of "No One Knows".

Quite an unusual soundtrack from Les Baxter – not just because it's a rare one done for an early 60s horror film, but also because this presentation of the music features a handful of very long songs – rather than the usual shorter film score numbers! In a way, the music works like one long suite, divided up into a few passages – heavy on the kind of exotic scoring that Baxter was using in his key Capitol Records sides a few years before – but also turned towards darkness a bit more, as you'd guess from the setting! Instrumentation isn't far off from Baxter's exotic records – light strings, percussion, vibes, offbeat woodwinds, and more – but the phrasing is a lot more eerie – and at points, a lot more dramatic too. Titles include the short "Main Title" – plus the longer "Drop Of Water", "The Telephone", and "The Wurdalak".

A weird early 70s Godfather-era concept album – older tunes, given a hip twist with arrangements by Arthur Greenslade!

Nice bit of soulful late 60's pop recorded under the baton of Clyde Otis. She sang with Walter Wanderley for a bit before this recording, and some of this stuff has a sort of bossa Latiny feel to it. Other tracks are more 60's soul sounding, but with a pop diva twist. Tracks include "Look at Me", "The Magic Door", "On Top of the World", and "We Could Learn Together".

Quite an unusual little album from Connie Francis – her attempt to join in on the Bonnie & Clyde album craze of the late 60s – but a set that's got a different feel than most! While others were steeped in country and bluegrass sounds, the approach here is mostly in a 30s pop vocal mode – playful arrangements from Don Costa, occasionally augmented to give them an "old time" feel in the studio – and vocals from Connie that are quite different than her usual pop modes – really changed up nicely to fit the different spirit of the tunes. Titles include "Ace In The Hole", "Gold Diggers Medley", "Connie & Clyde", "Maybe", "Button Up Your Overcoat", and "Am I Blue".

Not one of Stan's greatest albums, but one that's got some pretty wonderful moments! The album features larger arrangements by Richard Hewson, set to production by George Martin – done in an easy jazzy style, with Stan out front on lead solo, blowing in a mellow way, as he did on albums of the sort done for Verve in the late 60s. A few of the tracks are a bit sleepy, but there's some well-chosen pop tunes that provide a whole new vehicle for Getz's always-great tone. Titles include "Without Her", "Cecilia", "Marrakesh Express", "The April Fools", and "Raindrops Keep Fallin On My Head".

An excellent soundtrack to this early 70s thriller that starred George C Scott! Jerry Goldsmith has come up with some strong action themes that are very much in a Lalo Schifrin mode – mixing guitar, electric harpsichord, and strings with a harder-edged groove so that there's a lot of space in the overall blend of elements – allowing each one to step out nicely, identified on its own! Even the mellower tracks are great – with an airy feel that recalls some of Michel Legrand's best action scores at the end of the 60s – with colors that flow out and really give the record a sense of soul! Steve Lawrence sings "The Last Run" in a mode that recalls Matt Munro's performances on other thriller soundtracks – and other titles include "Claudie's Stockings", "The Trap", "Border Crossing", "Rickard Escapes", and "Double Cross".

An amazing collection of music – and essential to any collection of blacksploitation soul and funk, even if you own the original Shaft album on Stax! Disc 1 features the original film score for the Shaft movie, not the record issued by Stax – so although Isaac Hayes handled the music, it's different from what you might have on record – and features a great array of vocal tracks and shorter funky sound cues – all with rhythm by The Bar-Kays and The Movement! Titles on disc 1 include "Bumpy's Theme", "I Can't Get Over Losin You", "Reel 4 Part 6", "Source No 1 6M1C", "Source No 2 7M1A", "Shaft Strikes Again/Return Of Shaft", "Shaft's Pain", "Rescue/Roll Up", "Love Scene Ellie", "Harlem Montage", "Shaft's First Fight", and "Title Shaft". Disc 2 features the killer soundtrack to Shaft's Big Score – written by Gordon Parks, and played with full funky style by Dick Hazard, who's getting a bit of help from the mighty Tom McIntosh. The tracks seem to include everything issued on the original LP, plus a bit more – with titles that include "Symphony For Shafted Souls", "9M3", "Funeral Home", "Don't Misunderstand", "Fight Scene", "Ike's Place", "First Meeting", "Smart Money", and "Blowin Your Mind". That disc and all of disc 3 features music from the Shaft TV series – some really under-exposed music that's totally great too, but almost with more of a crime/cop sort of style – although also with some cool moody moments too. Some of this music was done by Johnny Pate, and titles include work from the episodes The Executioners, The Killing, Hit Run, The Cop Killers, and The Kidnapping. 3CD set also features 2 bonus tracks from a single – "The Men" and "Type Thang".

Pure AM radio pop from the glory days of MGM! Pop impresario Tony Scotti was one of the harmony vocalists who comprised Heaven Bound – and he produced the album with a sweet sound that's part late Beach Boys, part 70s Four Seasons, and part LA electric soundtrack. The record's got some real charms, and plenty of breathy 70s pop song hooks. Includes versions of Neil Young's "On The Way Home" and The Beatles' "I Will" – plus "He'd Rather Have The Rain", "I Kept On Loving You", "Five Hundred Miles", and "Come Run With Me".

A smoking version of the Herd – with Red Norvo on vibes, Flip Phillips on tenor, Bill Harris on trombone, Pete Candoli on trumpet, and Chubby Jackson on bass!

A smoking version of the Herd – with Red Norvo on vibes, Flip Phillips on tenor, Bill Harris on trombone, Pete Candoli on trumpet, and Chubby Jackson on bass!

One of the few albums ever cut by Claire Hogan – an overlooked 50s singer with a wonderfully lush sort of style! Claire's never soppy or poppy, but has a way of sliding into the tunes with this easygoing approach that's mighty nice – definitely informed by jazz, but not really jazz vocals either – although she definitely knows how to make things swing at all the right moments! Backings are by LeRoy Holmes, who's already showing an equal skill for a subtle swing – and songs are all by the team of DeSylva, Brown, & Henderson – with titles that include "Just Imagine", "My Sin", "Thank You Father", "If I Had A Talking Picture Of You", "Lucky In Love", and "I'll Know Him".

Titles include "Lady Is A Tramp", "Love Of My Life", "Deed I Do", "Where Or When", and "Can't Help Lovin That Man".

Very cool work from Claudine Longet – a record that really has her stretching out a bit from the 60s – moving into some more sophisticated, adult styles that are totally great! The set's still got the same fragile sweetness of her previous albums – thanks to Claudine's trademark vocals – but there's also a slightly different feel to the backings, which are handled by Dann Lottermoser in a style that's nicely compressed on the bottom, and spaced out a bit more to the sides – all with great effects on Longet's voice! The titles are well-chosen too – with some more personal, maturing rock selections that come off quite well. Titles include "Birds", "When I Loved Him", "God Only Knows", "That's No Way to Say Goodbye", "Jealous Guy", "Sleep Song", "While You're Sleeping", and "Wake Up To Me Gentle".

A pretty nice action soundtrack from French composer Jacques Loussier – not as all-out groovy as some of his other work from the 60s, but filled with some nice touches that include jagged instrumentation over orchestrations, creating some jazzed-up bits that feel more like 60s crime jazz than 70s adventurism. Titles include "Curry & The Diamonds", "The Mercenaries", "Claire's First Appearance", "Friendly Natives Having Fun", "The Fight", and "Curry Kills Henlein".

One of Hugh's more poppy efforts, but still a nice batch of instrumentals with a good Afro soul groove to them, and the jaunty trumpet sound that was Hugh's stock in trade at the time. Tracks include "Actin' Like A Fool", "If I Needed Someone", "Sounds Of Silence", "Along Comes Mary", "It's Not Unusual", and "From Me To You".

70s country genius from CW McCall – the man who took the trucker style to a whole new level! Trucker country had been around for at least a decade before CW cracked the charts – mostly tracks about the hard life, lost loves, and weary eyes of the truck driver in the US. But McCall really stepped things up with these tracks recorded for MGM – showcasing not just the core culture that had grown up in the rising world of the interstates, but also the growing politics that came with the job of driving a truck in an era when gas prices rose and speed limits dropped. And sure, some of these tunes might be seen as throwaway novelty/story numbers – but they've got a surprising depth when heard together like this – and you can trust us on that, as McCall's "Convoy" was one of the first 45s we ever bought! The set features 25 tracks in all – including "Black Bear Road", "Old 30", "I've Trucked All Over This Land", "Four Wheel Drive", "Night Rider", "Classified", "Wolf Creek Pass", "Crispy Critters", and the seminal "Convoy".

A pair of classics from the great Bill Medley – pulled from his key early years on his own! Bill Medley 100% a surprisingly wonderful little record – and a real testament to the blue-eyed soul of Medley! The set's a solo outing that has Bill stepping away from his fame as a Righteous Brother – but almost sounding even better on his own, with a depth of soul to his vocals that's really amazing – echoes of Ray Charles, Jerry Butler, Chuck Jackson, and other 60s greats – served up with a surprising lack of cliche – at least in comparison to folks who tried this sort of thing in later years. Bill Baker serves up some sparkling arrangements for the set – and titles include "Brown Eyed Woman", "You're Nobody Til Somebody Loves You", "Let The Good Times Roll", "Show Me", "One Day Girl", and "That's Life". Soft & Soulful is a record that really has Bill Medley deepening up his groove – moving past some of the more standard soul music modes of earlier efforts, and stretching out in a rich tapestry of modes that clearly sets the scene for soul singers in generations to come! There's still a strong dose of 60s soul in the mix here, but the arrangements complicate things nicely – and bring in this "adult" approach to the music that no doubt went back from Medley's mainstream presence to have an influence on other soul singers as well – kind of a template for more mature modes that would show up more strongly in the 70s. Medley wrote some of the tunes on the set himself – which further deepens the personality of the record – and titles include "Winter Won't Come This Year", "Peace Brother Peace", "100 Years", "I'm Gonna Die Me", "Softly", "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby", "Any Day Now", and "Street Of Dirt".

Nothing too slow and easy about this 50s set from Jaye P Morgan – as the album's got a gentle groove on most of the numbers – just the right amount of jazzy swing to open up Jaye's vocals just right! Ray Ellis handles the backings – and during this best stretch in his career, he's got a really great way of making things sound lean and groovy – which gives the music a nice sort of bounce, and plenty of jazz-based flourishes that really help Morgan step out at her best – with qualities that really make this album stand out from some of her other recordings of the time! Titles include "Should I", "I Never Knew", "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To", "Another Martini Another Call", "Did I Remember", and "Just For Two".

Sublime southern soul from The Ovations – a group with a really unique approach to their music! Unlike other southern groups of the time, The Ovations had a somewhat sweet style overall – one that was informed by their great love of the older music of Sam Cooke, and turned onto a hipper, more 70s-styled Memphis groove overall! Lead vocalist Louis Williams has a style that's as equally charming as Cooke, although with his own great touches overall – and the backings on some of the cuts add in a nice southern soul component, although still with the same sort of polish that Cooke might have appreciated. CD features 21 tracks in all – including their rare album for MGM, plus other singles for the Sounds Of Memphis and XL labels – as well as 6 previously unissued tunes, and one rare single for Chess! The package is a long-overdue tribute to this wonderful group, and titles include "Hooked On A Feeling", "One In A Million", "Touching Me", "So Nice To Be Loved By You", "I Can't Believe It's Over", "Having A Party", "Don't Say You Love Me", "I'm In Love", "Pure Natural Love", "Sweet Thing", "I Care For You", "Till I Find Some Way", "Hangin On", "You're My Little Girl", and "Gotta Get Free".

Killer early work from Freda Payne – an early album recorded for MGM many years before her later hit "Band Of Gold" – and a set with a great mix of soul and jazz modes, all arranged by the mighty Benny Golson! The record's got a really classy feel – one that has a lot more poise than some of Freda's later soul, and shows elements of the jazz she'd bring more to the forefront on Impulse Records. Yet Golson's backings also still keep plenty of soul in the mix too – using full arrangements to almost give Payne an uptown soul sound, with a heavy groove on some of the album's most memorable numbers. Titles include "San Juan", "I Don't Love You Anymore", "Too Late", "You Never Should Have Loved Me", "Feeling Good", "It's Here For You", "If You Loved Me", and "Sad Sad September".

A great little soundtrack – even if it looks a bit snoozy from the outside! Don Costa's usually not our favorite arranger, but he does a great job with this one – laying out some hard blacksploitation grooves that have funky keyboards, sweet sitar, and lots of nice cop show grooves to them. The bulk of the record is instrumental – with some great funky cuts like "Main Title – Charley", "Main Theme to Water Tower", "Can You Dig It?", and "Train's Comin" – plus a few more "with chorus" tracks that are a bit more mellow. Lou Rawls sings on two cuts – the groovy "Sometime Day", which has a very strong "soundtrack theme" feel, and the mellower "Morning Comes Around", which ends the record with a nice soulful tone.

A pretty darn rare Lalo Schifrin soundtrack – to a lost crime thriller that starred David McCallum, Stella Stevens, and Telly Savalas – all of whom are pictured in a nice collage-type movie painting on the front cover! The tracks run from mellow bossa to fast and jazzy, and the album also includes a few mellower Latin-tinged numbers to set the scene of the action. There's not as much funk as in Schifrin's other scores from the time – but it makes up for it with groovy passages and many great moments that make the album worth seeking out! Titles include "Charanga", "The Golden Trip", "Sol Madrid", "Fiesta", "Adagietto", and "Villanova's Chase".

Great work from this British singer of the 50s – a vocalist whose tones match those of the best American gals on the west coast scene of the time! Rosemary Squires sings here with a well-crafted approach to the lyrics – never too over the top, but never too staid either – a nicely punctuated mode that has an inherent sense of swing, even when things get soft and mellow! Backings are by Frank Phillips, who mixes strings and woodwinds nicely, but always lets Squires get out front – and titles include "When You Kiss Back", "Where Love Lies Waiting", "April Heart", "My Love Is A Wanderer", and "My Wayward Heart".

Vaughan is backed by an orchestra for this collection of standards that she does in a style all her own. Tracks include "Tenderly", "Don't Blame Me", "I'm Thru With Love", "I Cover The Waterfront", "The Man I Love", "I've Got A Crush On You", and "I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You".

Incredible! This album is a masterpiece of subtle rock beauty, and it's still one of our favorite albums of all time. After the onslaught of the band's second album, White Light/White Heat, the Velvets laid back, toned down, and turned out this fantastic album of wonderfully crafted little songs. Every track is a delight, and the album bubbles with a dark genius that is incredibly hard to pinpoint. Tracks include "Pale Blue Eyes", "After Hours", "I'm Set Free", "Candy Says", "What Goes On", and "Jesus".

You came a long way from Motown baby! This is Kim's weird, oddly patriotic (and slightly reactionary) album with Marty Paich arrangements of tracks like "The House I Live In", "This Is My Country", and "This is America". Also with tracks like "Exodus" and "People". A strange, but not unpleasant mix of pop easy soul tracks – and it also features Kim's rendition of "Lift Every Voice", oddly placed in the record, but one of the most standard soul versions!

A 70s repackaging of an earlier album that Sammy and the Count cut for Verve – one that features Sammy vocalizing very strongly in front of a large brassy ensemble. Sammy didn't always get backing this strongly – and the album's got Quincy Jones handling the arrangements for Basie in the same mode the he used on the Sinatra/Basie sides for Verve. Titles include "The Girl From Ipanema", "She's A Woman", "New York City Blues", "Work Song", and "Blues For Mr Charlie" – and the album even features Sammy doing a bit of tap dancing!

Michel Legrand leads an american ensemble through a host of famous film themes from the 60s – like his own "Watch What Happens", plus "Manha De Carnaval", "Norma Jean's Theme", "Two For The Road", "Hombre", and "The Girl I've Never Met". The overall feel is mostly orchestral, but Legrand always adds in some nice touches, like occasional jazzy flourishes.

This one's got a bluesy jazz approach – set by Ray Charles' version of the title theme, and followed through by Lalo's great instrumental tracks – which mix strings, soul, and just the right jazzy touches to keep things moving along with a subtle groove. Ttiles include "The Chase", "Dialogue In The Rain", "Melba", "The Game", "The Cinncinnati Kid", "The Cock Fight", and "Shooter".

The mostly orchestral music used for the Kubrick film, with alternating spooky and grand passages Strauss, Ligetti and others. Inlcudes "Also Sprach Zarathustra", "Requiem For Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Mixed Choirs & Orchestra", "Luz Aeterna", "The Blue Danube" and "Atmospheres". In a groovy gatefold sleeve with great stills from the film inside and and excellent sci fi illustration on the front and back cover!

A terrifying comedy score from Les Baxter – one penned for a mid 60s film that starred Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff! Baxter's music has just the right twist to fit the title – and really matches the tongue-in-cheek images on the screen – the right sort of drama for a spooky film, but often given these sprightly little touches that shade the scene with a nice degree of humor too! Instrumentation has all the key hallmarks of Baxter's exotic orchestrations from the Capitol Records years – and titles include "He Is Not Dead", "Play It Straight", "The Axe", "Hearse Of A Different Color", "A Tisket A Casket", and "Two Birds".

One of the greatest spy soundtracks of the 60s – a very groovy batch of tracks written for Stefanie Powers' brief TV show, The Girl From UNCLE! The music here is better than the male version of the UNCLE franchise – hip 60s spy themes, done in a groovy style for the television audience – often a cool blend of swirling strings, jazzy orchestrations, and some very hip rhythms! Dave Grusin penned the music, and Teddy Randazzo arranged – bringing his 60s soul background into the work in a really great way – emphasizing the grooves even more than on other records of this nature, in a way that's made the set very sought after in the crate-digging scene. There's plenty of nice 60s elements – keyboards, wordless vocals, funky flute, and other hip effects – and titles include "Movin On", "Out Of The Frying Pan", "The Girl From UNCLE", "Sneaky Search", "The Countess", and "Bomb Scare".

Rare MGM recordings by The Seeds in a double 7" set!

A bossa-styled set from singer Pat Thomas – one that boasts some especially nice backings from the great Lalo Schifrin! Lalo's using a fair bit of strings on the set, but he also keeps things lean too – a bit in the mode of his own bossa work for Verve during the time, although with Pat's vocals in the lead this time around! Thomas has a strong undercurrent of soul in her work – a much deeper vocal approach than you might hear from a more familiar bossa singer of the period, which is one of the things that really sets this album apart. Schifrin really seems to get this quality of Pat's, and he brings in a good sense of timing in rhythms to present Thomas at her best. Titles include "Recardo Bossa Nova", "Carnival", "To Welcome The Day", "Could Be", "Samba De Orfeu", and "Once Again".

Two lost scores – packaged together on a single CD! First up is Billion Dollar Brain, composed by Richard Rodney Bennett – done for an obscure late 60s spy thriller starring Michael Caine, and a really dark soundtrack! Bennett did a fair bit of jazz arranging in his time – and the score to this one mixes some dark dramatic bits with some lighter motifs that feature good work on woodwinds and percussion. The main theme has some nice floating piano over the top, and a few other tracks have a cool whistling suspense theme – but things also really change up a lot nicely, and the whole thing almost has an audio collage feel at times, with its sense of variety. Titles include "Love Scene", "Hoe Down", "Anya", "The Church", "Skidoo", "Ambush", "Car Chase", and "Billion Dollar Brain". Roy Budd handles the score for Final Option – an early 80s spy thriller, but one that gets some beautiful Budd treatment that's right up there with Roy's famous soundtracks of the 70s! The instrumentation often has an airy, eerie feel – slowly cascading keyboards, with almost a hint of Italian space between – used with a lot less schlock than some of the tinnier, cheesier action scores that were more of the mainstream at the time. A few tunes were composed and conducted by Jerry & Marc Donahue – and titles include "Who Dares Wins", "Straight Ahead Blues", "Nature Of The Beast", "Reds Under The Beds", "Hi Jack (part 1)", "American Medley", and "SAS Or Nothing".

Wonderful lost work from Michel Legrand – a fantastic, and fantastically overlooked, 70s soundtrack – completely essential to have in a CD version like this, since most of the music hardly appeared in the film at all! The score takes off nicely from some of Legrand's more famous work of the 60s and early 70s – with a mixture of warm themes, jazzy elements, and some of the funkier touches you'd expect from a cop/crime film – all at a level that's a bit less sentimental than some of his French film work, with just the right qualities to fit the offbeat story of the movie. There's a real Dave Grusin sort of approach going on at times – although with a bit more acoustic piano than electric keyboards – but Legrand also throws in a few softer bits to round things out nicely, and create a lot more depth in the music than you might expect for a low-budget film. Really great stuff overall – the kind of soundtrack that should have gotten proper release at the time, as it easily matches any of Legrand's bigger LP hits – and presented with great notes on both the film and music. Titles include "Papa Joe The Padrone", "Downtown", "Wall Street", "The Chase", "The Sleep Song", "The Sellers", and "Uptown".

Some great Nino Rota/Fedrico Fellini collaborations – and definitely their most unusual on record! First up is Satyricon – one of Nino Rota's most amazing soundtracks, to one of Fellini's most bizarre films! The music has some of the usual tightly composed Rota melodies, but it's also touched by lots of weird percussion bits, and slightly "savage" moments – possibly to convey the paganism of the film's setting. The soundtrack's an essential chapter in the Rota/Fellini relationship – and it's much darker and more twisted than some of the better-known collaborations from the early 60s. Titles include "Sulla Nave Di Lica", "La Schiavetta Innamorata", "Tema Di Gitone", and "Il Minotauro". CD features 20 tracks from the film – more than we've seen reissued before! Roma is presented here in a different version than we've seen on reissue too – a different track list that makes for some really evocative music! There's six versions of the "Aria Di Roma" – a really haunting theme, handled in a variety of spare instrumentation – plus two takes on "Trasteverina", which has a moody, almost melancholy feel. There's then four parts of the "Ecclesiastical Fashion Show" – almost a mini-suite that's got an older Rota feel – lots of playful themes intertwining, including a great take on "La Dolce Vita".

A weird bit of folk funk rock – and really a strange one! The album was recorded during the Mike Curb years at MGM – and has a similar pop crossover, adult hip kind of sound to some of Curb's other big success stories. The sound's certainly a bit schmaltzy now – although the track "Let's Love" is a nice spacey groover with a flanged-out pop sound. Songs include "Butterfly", "From Japan To America", "Low Lay Low", "Teddy Bear", "Harlequin", "Caroline", "Face Of A Clown", "The Gun", "Rain", "Elie Lama Sabacthani", and "Let's Love".

With Calvin Newborn on guitar, Carl Pruitt on bass, and Bill English on drums.

Slightly hipper than some of Johnny Tillotson's other work – filled with lesser-known tracks that mix sweeter themes with some of the headier topics of the times – almost showing that great way that country pop was coming into play with some of the issues and pressures of the late 60s. As before, the album's got some great production by Paul Tannen – and titles include "Tommy Jones", "Long Hair Committee", "Make This Train", "Deafening Roar Of Silence", "Round In Circles", and "Come Back When You Grow Up".

One of Basie's biggest albums – but still a work of pure genius! "April In Paris" is one of the darkest jazz standards ever written, and it never sounded better than in this original version, which features that great ending in which Basie and the band stop, then start, then stop – leaving you completely unresolved at the finish. The group's a strong one – with Frank Foster, Frank Wess, Freddie Green, Sonny Payne, Marshall Royal, Henry Coker, Joe Newman, and Thad Jones – and tracks include "Shiny Stockings", "Midgets", "Mambo Inn", "Sweety Cakes", and "Corner Pocket".

A really wonderful back to basics session for Basie – featuring arrangements by longtime band members Frank Foster, Erick Dixon, Bobby Plater, and Thad Jones! The set also features vocals on 2 tracks by bluesy vocalist Richard Boone – a singer with a really great scatting approach – but overall, the real strength is the horn section, particularly Al Aarons, Dixon, and Eddie Lockjaw Davis – who all get in some very nice solo work. Tracks are mostly older numbers, Basie-ized – and played with a laidback tone that's a real contrast from the higher energy early 60s recordings. Titles include "Squeeze Me", "Frankie & Johnny", "Boone's Blues", "I Got Rhythm", and "Hey Jim".

A pretty sublime album from Bill Evans – one that has him playing both Fender Rhodes and Steinway, overdubbed together, for an effect that's laidback and completely wonderful! The Fender Rhodes was a natural choice for Evans – given his fluid lyrical style, and on this set (and on his equally great record for MGM) Bill opens up with an approach that really suits him well. Each track features him shifting back and forth between electric and acoustic modes, dancing from one to the other in a way that makes the instruments come together beautifully – supported by some incredibly soulful bass work by Eddie Gomez, and drums by Marty Morrell. Titles include "Sugar Plum", "Funkallero", "Waltz for Debby", "TTT", "Re: Person I Knew", and "Comrade Conrad".

A classic vocal set from Ella – filled with standards from the Rodgers & Hart songbook – including "My Romance", "Spring Is Here", "Thou Swell", "A Ship Without A Sail", and "Have You Met Miss Jones".

Arrangements by Buddy Bregman – on titles that include "Give It Back To The Indians", "Ten Cents A Dance", "There's A Small Hotel", "I Could Write A Book", "Bewitched", "My Romance", "Blue Moon", and "Lover".

A portrait of Duke, done by Dizzy – and one that's got a whole different feel than you might think! Gillespie's working here with arrangements by a young Clare Fischer – who takes Ellington's themes and recasts them with an even deeper sense of color and tone – one that pushes the already-modern themes of the numbers into a whole new realm of sound, and uses the horn passages to carve things out a lot differently than Duke might have done! The result is a wonderfully striking session – one with familiar melodies that unfold in a whole new way – and which showcases some great phrasing from Dizzy, over rhythms by a combo that features Hank Jones, George Duvivier, and Charlie Persip – playing alongside a group of larger horns. Titles include "Perdido", "Caravan", "Upper Manhattan Medical Group", and "Chelsea Bridge".

Amazing sounds from Lee Hazlewood – some of his most offbeat, unbridled recordings ever – and that's saying a lot if you've already heard his classics for Mercury, MGM, and Reprise! The package here brings together rare work from Lee's own LHI label – packaged beautifully with a rich set of notes, session details, and some amazing photos that follow in the spirit of the nutty-looking cover image! Hazlewood's voice is sublime throughout – that deeper-than-deep quality that always leaves us breathless – perfect for the sly wit and and "aw shucks" sensibility of the tunes – and also for unlocking the growing adult sensuality that Lee was letting into his work at the time. A few female singers step forth in that great Hazlweood duet mode – Nina Lizell, Suzi Jane Hokom, and Ann Margret – who each sing on a few tracks – but Lee's in the lead on most numbers, and titles include the previously unreleased "I Just Learned To Run" – plus "The Bed", "Sleep In The Grass", "The Night Before", "If It's Monday Morning", "Won't You Tell Your Dreams", "Hey Cowboy", "No Train To Stockholm", "What's More I Don't Need Her", "Trouble Maker", and "Nobody Like You".