Herb Alpert's first-ever album – a runaway hit that was the birthplace of so many groovy things – not just the start of the Tijuana Brass sound, also the birth of A&M Records! The album's the first to feature Herb's trademark take on the Mexican band style – done here with a bit more "jaunty" pop stylings than in later years, including a "rocking" electric bass that kicks along nicely at the bottom of some of the more chart-oriented tunes. The first full album on A&M – and the beginning of an empire – with titles that include "The Lonely Bull", "El Lobo", "Desafinado", "Mexico", "Never On Sunday", and "Struttin With Maria". LP, Vinyl record album

Exactly the kind of record that makes us love sound library records so much – and definitely the sort that sets the style apart from anything else we can think of! Both Sandro Brugnolini and Giorgio Carnini turn in some great work here – a mindblowing mix of modes over the space of ten short tracks – some tunes a cascading array of instrumentation, in a hip groove that's neither American jazz or soundtrack funk, but a special space of its own! Other tunes use an electronic approach that's years ahead of its time – as groovy as 60s analogue, but a lot darker, too – in ways that the rest of the world might not touch until the German new wave. The balance is almost even between swinging groovers and darker electronic cuts – and titles include "Grinta", "Azione CIA", "Scalo Clandestino", "Alambicco Cibernetico", "Strutture Generative", "Omicido Bianco", and "CIA Massacre". (Sound Library, Now Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

The British Invasion, served up by 60s LA – as the hits of Lennon & McCartney are recast as groovy instrumentals through the studio talents of Jack Nitzsche! The cover promises "The Greatest Hits Of All Times – Arranged For The Greatest Dancing Of All Time" – and while we can't promise that these tunes are dancefloor material for everyone, they still come out sounding pretty darn great – more in a rocking American way, with lots of double-timed rhythms, honking sax bits, and strutting guitars that are a good deal fiercer than the jangle pop of the originals. Titles include "Chains", "She Loves You", "I Want To Hold Your Hand", "From Me To You", "Please Please Me", "All My Loving", and "It Won't Be Long" – plus the Nitzsche originals "Ringo" and "Beatle-Mania". CD