Joe Bennett and his South Carolina group are best known for one classic rocker – the great "Black Slacks" – but back in the day, the group had a much longer legacy of recordings – all of which are presented here in a really well-done set! The groove is great – upbeat, romping, and with plenty of rockabilly elements – but also given a sharper tune at times too, especially as the music moves into the 60s and the package features related material by Joe & The Jaguars, Billy & Eddie, and Karina Con Los Jaguars – the last of whom even deliver some lyrics in Spanish! The package is great – the usual Bear Family huge amount of notes and details on this near-lost group – and the set features 38 tracks in all, with titles that include "Black Slacks", "What The Heck", "Softly", "De Nada", "La Hora", "Well Dressed Man", "Run Rabbit Run", "Do The Stop", "Late Again", "Penny Loafers & Bobby Sox, "Let's Go Rock & Roll", "Maybe Baby", and "Rocket". CD

Music from the Beach Boys, Chordettes, Chantays, Billy Fury, Chiffons, Connie Francis, Patti Page, Billy Stewart, the Tymes, Del Shannon, Jan & Dean, Harpers Bizarre, and Chuck Berry. 52 tracks total. CD

There's nothing "soft" about the nuggets in this great little collection – as all the tracks here are the cream of the crop of the late 60s pop scene in the US – not super-huge hits, but instead some overlooked gems that definitely warrant the "nuggets" in the title! Most of the work here is from the Warner/Atlantic catalog – but there's also some nice bits from other labels too – and the collection focuses on the warm, breezy, completely sublime sounds that have come to be known as Sunshine Pop over the years – music that's well-produced, but very personal too – and which often has a quality that's a bit deeper than the usual oldies radio material from the time. As usual with most Japanese collections we love so much, the track selection is ultra-hip, and also includes some rare 45-only titles – with two dozen tracks in all, a good number of which we might not have heard otherwise. Titles on this first volume include "Black & White Rainbow" by The Visions, "To Put Up With You" by The Holy Mackerel, "Good Morning New Day" by The Coronados, "Candy Apple Cotton Candy" by Pat Shannon, "Randy" by The Happenings, "Mind Excursion" by The Tradewinds, "Silver & Sunshine" by The Looking Glass, "Fifi The Flea" by The Sidekicks, "Once Again" by The Poor, "Come To The Sunshine" by Harpers Bizarre, "Guess I'm Dumb" by Glen Campbell, "Kitty Doyle" by Dino Desi & Billy, "Susan" by The Buckinghams, "Happiness" by Anita Kerr, "Let's Ride" by Roger Nichols & The Small Circle Of Friends, "She Is Today" by The Vogues, and "Portrait Of My Love" by The Tokens. CD