No group's work was more adaptable to groovy orchestral arrangements than John, Paul, George & Ringo – and Chacksfield is well beyond being merely up to task, and this set is loads of groovy fun. Includes "Get Back", "Michelle", "Yesterday", "A Hard Day's Night", "Norwegian Wood", "Come Together" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Beatles Back & Bacharach presents the Ted Heath group in some very groovy territory – playing a fair bit of the first and third "B" in the title, plus a little bit of the second! Heath's instrumentation is quite far from the brassier horns used on his earlier records – and Johnny Keating's sensitive arrangements for the date bring in a fair bit of groovier elements – electric bass, guitar, flute, and even some electric harpsichord! In a way, the record's much more of a Keating album than a Heath one – right down to the subtle dose of funk that Johnny was bringing to his music at this time – and titles include "This Guy's In Love With You", "Norwegian Wood", "B B & B", "Air On The G String", "Let It Be", "You'll Never Get To Heaven", and "I'll Never Fall In Love Again". (Jazz, Now Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

One of the trippier Hollyridge Strings albums – thanks to Uncle Mort! LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of Enoch Light oddities from the 70s – both in Quad! First up is Beatles Classics – a very cool take on the sound of The Beatles – served up here by Enoch Light, but in a way that's a bit different than some of his other records of the time! The set features symphonic readings of tunes by the fab four – much more heavy on woodwinds and strings than you might expect, but still delivered with that sense of separation that can make Light's music so great – with solo standouts that are completely seductive! Titles include the suite "Hello Goodbye/Something/Penny Lane" – plus "Eleanor Rigby", "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds", "Let It Be", "Hey Jude", "Michelle", and "Norwegian Wood". Serendipity has reverse sort of approach – as the set takes classical themes, but strips them down a bit for the 70s – the unique Enoch Light spin on themes from Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi, and Chopin! CD

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

A set that's dedicated to the famous Beatles producer George Martin, and which seeks to bring together a whole host of sounds and styles that not only influenced his work in the studio – but which also represent maybe the odder aspects of the British scene, in a way that really helps create a greater understanding of the more offbeat sounds of The Fab Four themselves! CD1 is titled In All Directions – and brings together jazz, skiffle, vocal tracks, and plenty more – in a nicely varied lineup that includes work from Basil Kirchin, John Dankworth, Bert Weedon, The Vipers, Christopher Logue, Temperance Seven, Ray Cathode, Ron Goodwin, and Cleo Laine. CD2 is titled Experiments With Pop – and has a bit of comedic moments mixed with more musical selections – in a lineup that includes Peter Sellers, John Dankworth, Flanders & Swann, Matt Monro, The Goods, Bernard Cribbins, and Ron Goodwin. CD3 is titled Comedy Surrealist, and continues that spirit – with more Goon Show material, Beyond The Fringe, The Alberts, Peter Cook & Dudley Moore, and other important pre-Monty Python acts from the UK – who often brought a lot of creativity to the production of their work in the studio. CD4 features straighter classical influences, but in a range of modes – tracks that begin with Bach, and move through Chopin, Ravel, Debussy, Holst, and even Gershwin. As always with these unusual sets on El Records, there's a lot of thought that goes into the choice of material – drawing lines between sounds that we really didn't expect! CD

Lots of nice effect-laden guitar covers of Animals, Paul Simon, Beatles, Procol Harum, and more! LP, Vinyl record album

About 30 years back, Joseph Lanza first turned us on to an amazing array of 60s easy listening records that we'd never fully given their due – and here, he continues the journey, but with a key shift into the world of psychedelia too! The book is a wonderful look at the way that easy listening and instrumental pop tried to stay vibrant in the second half of the 60s – and it follows the way that easy artists of the time were picking up the aesthetics of the younger generation in a variety of ways – not just doing cover versions of songs by The Beatles and Stones, but also going for trippier artwork on their album covers, and using more unusual studio techniques in production – all in ways that made for a huge legacy of very groovy records! At times, things would even move backwards – as older songs from the early part of the century were given a mod spin for the 60s generation – and the range of topics covered here is as wonderful as Lanza's presentation. The book is a very cool 7" square format – with lots of album reproductions and great graphics, plus a list of 50 essential records at the back – served up in a softcover volume that's 237 pages in length. (Books, Now Sound) Book

Quite possibly the grooviest album ever from Enoch Light – a trippy blend of many 60s styles, all put together with sublime Project 3 Sound! The album's billed as featuring "exploratory trips through the music of Bach, Bacharach, the Beatles – Integrating the Moog, the Guitar Scene, Electronic Harpsichord, Flugelhorns, etc" – and it definitely lives up to that bill, given the range of songs included! Rhythms are strong, and the use of sweetly compressed horn parts is very much in an A&M mode – as is the backing vocals, which are light and wonderful – a bit like Free Design, but more towards the territory of Singers Unlimited, although even groovier. The Beatles and Bacharach material is especially great – but even the Bach tunes come out wonderfully, given that most are re-arranged with a hip 60s soundtrack sort of groove – classical roots, but contemporary execution – especially when there's a bit of moog or electric harpsichord. Titles include "Walk On By", "Norweigan Wood", "What The World Needs Now", "Get Back", "Bond Street", "Petite Paulette", "My Silent Song", and "Lover's Concerto". LP, Vinyl record album

Wild stuff – and very different than Gary McFarland's earlier albums! Today was recorded late in Gary's career, and is has him moving a bit away from jazz – into a more sunshine pop feel – one that still retains plenty of the bossa and breezy elements of his Verve work, but which also features a bit more vocals and a cool and groovy style overall! Gary's singing on most tracks – not just in his wordless and whistling mode, but also taking some of the lyrics more directly – delivering them with a hauntingly-recorded quality that makes the whole thing sound beautifully moody. The core group is still quite jazzy – and features Hubert Laws, Curtis Fuller, and Grady Tate – plus some light cello, guitar, and even a bit of percussion by Airto. Titles include "Suzanne", "My Cherie Amour", "Sombras De Saudade", "Berimbau", "Desafinado", "I Will Wait For You", and the Beatles' beautiful tune "Because", done in a great breathy style! Moody and beautiful, and proof that McFarland was one of the 60s true pop geniuses! (Jazz, Now Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

Bud Shank takes on the sounds of The Beatles – and a whole host of other 60s pop stars as well – all with results that are as jazzy as they are groovy! The album's one of a few that Bud cut for Liberty in this format – alto and flute spread out over fuller backings from Bob Florence, a great arranger who knows how to make things swing by bringing in some wonderful 60s touches! There's a bit of guitar at times, some compressed horns – ala A&M – and some overall mod rhythms that help change things up nicely from tune to tune. Titles include "Michelle", "Yesterday", "Blue On Blue", "Sounds Of Silence", "Turn Turn Turn", "As Tears Go By", and "Girl". (Jazz, Now Sound) CD

Bud Shank takes on the sounds of The Beatles – and a whole host of other 60s pop stars as well – all with results that are as jazzy as they are groovy! The album's one of a few that Bud cut for Liberty in this format – alto and flute spread out over fuller backings from Bob Florence, a great arranger who knows how to make things swing by bringing in some wonderful 60s touches! There's a bit of guitar at times, some compressed horns – ala A&M – and some overall mod rhythms that help change things up nicely from tune to tune. Titles include "Michelle", "Yesterday", "Blue On Blue", "Sounds Of Silence", "Turn Turn Turn", "As Tears Go By", and "Girl". (Jazz, Now Sound) LP, Vinyl record album

An incredibly groovy session of Beatles tunes – one played by Dutch pianist Louis Van Dyke on a church organ, with no other instrumentation for accompaniment! Louis wisely chooses tracks from the later years of the Fab Four's career – some of the more introspective ones that have beautifully sweet themes that sound perfect on the massive pipe organ used for the record. The sound is quite unusual, but quite otherworldly as well – with none of the kitschy overtones you might expect, and instead a somewhat pointed, serious interpretation of these wonderful tunes. Titles include "Goodnight", "Golden Slumbers", "She's Leaving Home", "For No One", "Nowhere Man", and "Blackbird". (Jazz, Now Sound) LP, Vinyl record album