... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A classic – with titles that include "Baby It's You", "We've Only Just Begun", "Reason To Believe", "Close To You", "I'll Never Fall In Love Again", "Mr Guder", and "Another Song". LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... CD

A slightly bittersweet Christmas album from The Carpenters – given that the set was issued after the too-early death of the lovely Karen Carpenter, and stands as both a Holiday record and a farewell to the charms of this legendary pop duo! The music is a nicely evolved version of their classic A&M pop from the early years – nicely free of any too cluttered 80s arrangements, and done with just the right sort of warmth to fit the sound of the season – with some instrumental tunes thrown in to space things out between the vocal cuts. Titles include "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear", "Little Alter Boy", "Do You Hear What I Hear", "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve", "My Favorite Things", "He Came Here For Me", and "Home For The Holidays". (Holiday Music, Rock) CD

Includes the amazing "Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft"! LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

There's no shrieking going on here, as the music's got this gently groovy style that's warm and wonderful – post-folk, maybe a bit sunshine pop influenced – and coming across as almost like a Japanese attempt to hit some Carpenters territory! The songs are often more sophisticated than pop, and the arrangements by Takahiko Ishikawa are really great – never too commercial, but just the right direction to give the lighter vocals the push that they need – on titles that include "2001 Nen No Boku No Heya", "Tongarashi", "Kujira No Su San Sora Wo Iku", "Suginokiyama", "Oyashirazu", and "Kaeru No Tabi". (Japanese, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

Very groovy stuff! If you're not familiar with The Free Design, they were a cool easy/jazzy vocal group from the late 60s/early 70s, and they had a sound that was somewhere between The Four Freshmen and The Carpenters, and which also owed a lot to some of the Brazilian vocal groups of the 60's, like Grupo Manifesto or the Quarteto Em Cy. But over and above cool easy vocal harmonies, the group also wrote some pretty keen tracks that had a weird slightly-psychedelic bent to them. We're not saying that they were dropping acid or anything, but imagine what would happen if Karen and Richard Carpenter got their hands on Brian Wilson's stash, and spend the afternoon messing around in his studio – and you'll begin to get part of the picture. Loads of groovy cuts, including "I Found Love", "Bubbles", "2002 – A Hit Song", "My Brother Woody", "You Could Be Born Again", and a cool version of "A Man & A Woman". (Vocalists, Rock) CD