A heavily percussive set from the Polish scene at the end of the 60s – music that appears here for the first time as a commercial release, and which has a mix of drums and different instruments that would have been right at home as a late 50s Living Stereo album from RCA! The music has a very dynamic range – with a mix of percussive sources at the bottom, used in ways that move between Latin and exotica – topped with flute on a number of tracks, in a way that furthers the sonic space of the tracks with some wonderful woodwind action! The whole thing's mighty nice – jazzy at times, more bachelor pad at others – with titles that include "Bank Bank", "Namiastka", "Samba Karnawalowa", "Ostryga Pustyni", "Nadszedl Czas", and "Taniec Grzebienia". (Sound Library, Now Sound) CD

A sweet set of Polish easy from the end of the 70s, but one that's got a style that's much more in the early 70s mode of other Euro territories – particularly that upbeat, optimistic work from the German economic miracle scene! Tunes have a soaring vibe that's driven by nice drums, tight horns, and these wordless female vocals that often scat along with the grooves – bringing a very lively, playful sort of quality to the whole thing – sunny-sounding, and just right for foot-tapping through a day of hard work and house cleaning! Titles include "El Arenal", "Zagubione Nadzieje", "Sul Mare", "Hacjenda", "Zloty Kask", "Stracony Dzien", "Porty Zagaslych Swiatel", and "Kolorowa Ballada". (Sound Library, Now Sound) CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

The German easy groove of James Last gets a smooth 70s twist in this album of slick jazz funk numbers recorded with fusion players like Lee Ritenour, James Gadson, Tony Levin, Paulinho Da Costa, and Ernie Watts. The overall sound is a lot better than you'd expect – and the album's got a nice funky copy show sound in the best parts. Includes the slow spacey funk number "Glow", plus "Infight", "Falling Star", "The Seduction", "Dancing Shadows", and "Vibrations". LP, Vinyl record album

Some very groovy 60s instrumentals – played by Enoch Light's group with organ, sax, and a tight guitar-driven groove that's almost like the best work by Phil Bodner's Brass Ring. There's a campy groovy sound to most numbers – and titles include "The Jerk", "I Feel Fine", "Goldfinger", "Downtown", "Too Many Fish In The Sea", and "Girl From Ipanema". Cool organ by Dick Hyman! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the grooviest albums we've ever heard from Enoch – a set of lightly jazzy numbers with lots of cool touches! Some tracks are bossa-styled, others are a bit trippy, and a few even have some great percussion riffs that really liven up the sound. The instrumentation is nice and quirky too – with odd use of organ, horns, and piano – and titles include "The Girl From Ipanema", "Caravan", "Recado Bossa Nova", "Cute", "St Thomas", "Give Joy To The World", and "One Note Samba". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic compilation of groovy tracks from the 60's, and one that we've had for years, and never tire of playing! The whole thing was put together by the genius Karminsky Brothers, and the tracks are a swirling mix of Latiny, Bossa-y, Groovy, and Now Sound material – including stuff by Serge Gainsbourg, The Gimmicks, Berry Lipman, Wilson Simonal, Ray Rivera, Roberto Delgado, and others! Two of the biggest highlights include Burt Bacharach's rare beautiful track "Something Big", which is worth the price of the CD alone – and Astrud Gilberto's great version of "Happenings". Very long, with 23 killer tracks, and a gorgeous package, too! Expensive, but one of the best things you'll buy this year! (Funky Compilations, Now Sound) CD

The classic first volume in this series, put together back in the 80's, when loads of hip hop tracks were sampling things like "Inspector Gadget" and "Batman". Still classic now, though, and with loads of material, like The Flintsones, Batman, Lost In Space, Star Trek, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Green Acres, Mr. Ed, The Munsters, Popeye, Felix the Cat, Ironside, Mannix, The Man From UNCLE, Mission Impossible, and lots lots more! Classic stuff, with 65 tracks in all! (Soundtracks, Now Sound) CD