(Sound Library, Now Sound) CD

One of the stranger albums on Atlantic at the start of the 70s – but a surprising hit as well! The group are a batch of Philly studio players who serve up instrumental versions of late 60s rock numbers, plus some of their own bits – all recording at the Sigma Sound studios, with arrangements from Richard Rome and Tom Sellers! It's our guess that some of the players are names we'd recognize from later 70s Philly soul – but here, they're working in a unique space that's partly fuzz instrumental, partly a bit more sensitive too – renditions that go way past the usual "let's remake the hits" style of other records, thanks to the arrangements. Titles include "Overture From Tommy", "Ohio", "Where The Woodbine Twineth", "Woodstock", "Mr Peppercorn", "Twenty Four Hours From Tulsa", and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". CD

One of the great records made by the cool French jazzy vocal group that included Ward Swingle and Christine LeGrand, and which did stuff that was much more straightforwardly jazzy than the semi-classical work of the Swingle Singers. This LP's got them backed by Jerome Richardson and his quartet, and has them running through a set of tracks associated with Ray Charles' Atlantic work. Cuts include "Stompin' Room Only, "Hit The Road, Jack", "Yes, Indeed", and "One Mint Julep", and all have a swingin' jazz vocalese sound. Cool stuff by one of the great lost groups of the 60's. (Vocalists, Now Sound) LP, Vinyl record album