The first Chicago album – presented here in all its jazzy brilliance! Back in the day, we used to wince when we heard these guys – but over the years, thanks to much rediscovery of the band by groove hounds, we've really come to like their work a lot. This first album especially has some great moments – complicated jazzy bits that you might have forgotten about, and some surprisingly groovy material that sounds a lot better than you might remember! Includes the classics "Beginnings", "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is", "Questions 67 & 68", and "Listen" – plus the tracks "Someday", "I'm A Man", "Free Form Guitar", and "Liberation". LP, Vinyl record album

The first Chicago album – presented here in all its jazzy brilliance! Back in the day, we used to wince when we heard these guys – but over the years, thanks to much rediscovery of the band by groove hounds, we've really come to like their work a lot. This first album especially has some great moments – complicated jazzy bits that you might have forgotten about, and some surprisingly groovy material that sounds a lot better than you might remember! Includes the classics "Beginnings", "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is", "Questions 67 & 68", and "Listen" – plus the tracks "Someday", "I'm A Man", "Free Form Guitar", and "Liberation". CD

A really dreamy bit of sunshine pop from The Critters – a wonderful group who do an excellent job of mixing sweet harmonies with pop-psych instrumentation – yet all in a way that's totally sweet, and very very catchy too! The record's got a very groovy feel overall – thanks to great work from lead singer Jimmy Ryan – who's got a voice that's sweet, yet kind of "broken" inside – a style that makes for some really wonderful delivery on the album's original tunes. Instrumentation includes a bit of organ and some really great jangly guitars – and the production also has some nice trippy touches that deepen the sunshine sound of the set – especially on some of the singles at the end! The CD features the full Younger Girl album, plus 13 more bonus tracks – all remastered from the original mono master tapes. Titles include "Younger Girl", "I Wear A Silly Grin", "Mr Diengly Sad", "New York Bound", "Little Girl", "Heart Of Love Head Of Stone", "No One But You", "Dancing In The Street", "Come Back On A Rainy Day", and "Forever No More". CD

Groovy 60s pop – a mix of the harmony style of groups like Harper's Bizarre, with some of the more garagey sounds of groups like The Shadows Of Knight. The album's got a great jangly quality – especially on the guitars, which are produced with a nice sharp edge that offsets that sweetness of the vocals. Titles include "Hey Joe", "Sugar & Spice", "July", "I Wanna Meet You", and "Ben Franklin's Almanac". 18 tracks in all! CD

An incredible fantasy of California pop – recorded too late in the 60s to really strike big, but with a perfect approach to mid-decade Beach Boys at their best! Mark Eric's clearly borrowing plenty of pages from Brian Wilson's bag for this set (and maybe Brian Hyland too) – and the original tunes have the beautiful quality of Wilson's best writing in the pre-Pet Sounds years – dealing with deeper themes, but in a very careful and sometimes guarded way that makes the tunes that much more heartfelt. The arrangements are Wilson-inspired too – but have a more mature style than the lyrics – handled by Vic Briggs with a quality that's similar to the brilliant Surf Symphony album of the same year – almost a dreamy remembrance of the sweeter side of California earlier in the decade, but undercut with some of the bluer, more adult modes of the time. Backings feature swirling strings, ringing vibes, and some groovy guitar – and Mark's vocals are often recorded in a way that harmonizes them against the lead – a one-man vocal group, with echoes of The Four Freshmen at times. Titles include "California Home", "Move With The Dawn", "Laura's Changing", "Lynn's Baby", "Just Passing By", "Sad Is The Way That I Feel", and "Take Me With You". LP, Vinyl record album

We love the idea of spending the summer with Shelly Fabares – especially if it would sound as groovy as this rare gem from the 60s! Shelly's not the best singer you'll ever find, and the tunes here are hardly personal tunes from her heart – but the album's production and presentation are flawless – and one of the best examples of great girl pop you'll ever find from the time! Maestro Stu Phillips arranged and produced, and has a very good ear for the right mix of jaunty and weepy sounds that work with Fabares vocal range – at a level that often leans heavy on echo to really resonate some of the best moments in the set. The album's a real pop masterpiece – and titles include "Johnny Loves Me", "Johnny Get Angry", "See You In September", "Palisades Park", "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do", "The Things We Did Last Summer", and "It Keeps Right On A Hurtin". LP, Vinyl record album

A jangle-pop spectacular from The Five Man Electrical Band – an incredibly groovy outfit from late 60s Canada! Although issued at the end of the 60s, the album's got a sweetly-crafted feel that sounds a lot like some of the best mid 60s pop – particularly that coming from overseas – almost a lost Brit Invasion sort of sound, but one that's tuned with a few odder touches that show the group's ear for some of the west coast musical changes of the time. All tunes are incredibly catchy, and recorded with great focus on the jangly lead guitar – so much so that the vocals are almost buried down a bit more in the mix, which makes for a kind of cooly tripped-out sound. Titles include "Maple Lane", "Fancy Dancin Man", "Black Sheep Of The Family", "Running Back", "Didn't Know The Time", "Five Man Electrical Band", and "Private Train". CD also features a whopping 9 tracks added to the original album – some by the group as The Staccatos – with titles that include "Half Past Midnight", "Weather Man", "Super Girl", "Let's Run Away", "Catch The Love Parade", and "Whisper Words". LP, Vinyl record album

The fab second album by the Free Design – one that has them moving confidently into the realm of groovy pop – magically touching songs with their unique innocent harmony approach, and completely transforming them in the process! The set includes wonderful versions of groovy 60s pop hits like "Windows Of the World", "Eleanor Rigby", and "California Dreamin" – but stands out even more for Chris Dedrick's original compositions – like "Quartet No 6 In D Minor", "A Leaf Has Veins", "An Elegy", "I Found Love", "You Could Be Born Again", and "Ivy On A Windy Day". Sublime throughout – and as the cover says – "The Freshest Sounds You've Ever Heard!" (Vocalists, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

One hit wonders – but oh what a hit! Friend & Lover's "Reach Out Of The Darkness" is a really unique little tune that brings together folksy vocals and funky rhythms – a solid jammer that brushed off the cobwebs of the aging folk scene of the 60s, and sprung into the charts with a trippy groove that still sounds great today! The rest of the record has a really similar feel – much heavier bass and drums than the usual folk outing, creating a sound that's nicely funky on some of the best numbers, and always groovy on all the others. Vocals are by "Friend" Jim Post and "Lover" Cathy Conn – harmonizing together nicely – and titles include "Reach Out Of The Darkness", "Saturday's Hero", "Zig Zag", "Boston Is A Lovely Town", "I'm A Woman I'm A Man", "Ode To A Dandelion", and "If Love Is In Your Heart". LP, Vinyl record album

A key late 60s country crossover set, but one that also inspired a fair bit of funk as well! The title cut's a well-known gem – one that's been covered instrumentally in some break-heavy versions, but which sounds even more amazing here in Bobbie's original version – one of the moodiest pop tunes we've ever heard, with lyrics, and a way of presenting them, that still leaves us breathless all these many years later. There's also some other funky bits here too – Gentry's raspy "Mississippi Delta" – an original number that almost seems to unseat Tina Turner for down-home soul – and the groovy "Sunday Best", "Niki Hoeky", "Papa Won't You Let Me Go To Town With You", and "Chickasaw Country Child", all numbers that echo the same lilting acoustic guitar grooves of "Billie Joe". (Folk/Country, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

A key late 60s country crossover set, but one that also inspired a fair bit of funk as well! The title cut's a well-known gem – one that's been covered instrumentally in some break-heavy versions, but which sounds even more amazing here in Bobbie's original version – one of the moodiest pop tunes we've ever heard, with lyrics, and a way of presenting them, that still leaves us breathless all these many years later. There's also some other funky bits here too – Gentry's raspy "Mississippi Delta" – an original number that almost seems to unseat Tina Turner for down-home soul – and the groovy "Sunday Best", "Niki Hoeky", "Papa Won't You Let Me Go To Town With You", and "Chickasaw Country Child", all numbers that echo the same lilting acoustic guitar grooves of "Billie Joe". (Folk/Country, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

The complete legacy of Glad – and the related New Breed group as well! The set begins with the group's classic album Feelin Glad – a sweet bit of 60s sunshine, and a record that's every bit as charming as you might guess from the cover – served up by a group who are well into the best harmonies of the time, but also digging for something deeper too! The vibe isn't really psychedelic, but there's certainly some of those elements at play – as the group get help on some larger arrangements from producer Erik Wangberg, who uses just the right touches from song to song to keep things interesting, and from ever falling into too-familiar territory! The record's filled with groovy little original tunes in a variety of flavors – and titles include "Bedtime Story", "A New Tomorrow", "Sweet Melinda", "Silly Girl", "Johnny Silver's Ride", "No Ma It Can't Be", and a cool remake of "Shape Of Things". CD also features 8 more mono Glad singles, mostly of tracks from the album – plus 8 more earlier tracks by The New Breed – all mono singles by an earlier version of the group, already really able to deliver pure Cali harmonic genius! CD

Despite the innocence of the title and cover image, the grooves here are pretty darn mature – really hard-jamming fusion tracks served up with Jerry Goodman on electric guitars and violin, and Jan Hammer on a wealth of groovy keyboards! Hammer's still a bit restrained at this point – not nearly a schlocky as in later years, and with a good ear for unusual sounds from the Moog, Oberheim, and electric piano – all used nicely here with plenty of cool effects. Goodman himself sings a bit on the record, but not much – and the whole thing has a fusion feel that's very much like other releases at the time on the Nemperor label. Titles include "Steppings Tones", "Night", "Full Moon Boogie", "No Fear", "I Remember Me", "Country & Eastern Music", "Topeka", and "Earth (Still Our Only Home)". (Jazz, Rock) LP, Vinyl record album

One of those unusual litle records on the Ampex label at the start of the 70s – a groovy rock group with a nice current of soul in the instrumentation – almost a Muscle Shoals sort of vibe – topped with nice vocals from Carol Breval, who's got this deep vibe that sounds nice next to the Hammond and horns! LP, Vinyl record album

A really cool record from Jerry Hahn – a guitarist who's maybe known for his initial work in jazz, but who steps out here with a very groovy mix of those roots and long-haired, lyrical psychedelic sounds too! The set's got vocals on nearly every track, but Jerry still gets in all these fantastic guitar licks too – strong single-note lines that really show his roots in other styles of music, mixed with some roots rock touches on the rhythms and lyrics, and sweeet use of organ and piano by Mike Finnigan. Mike often harmonizes with Jerry on the lyrics – and titles include "Martha's Madman", "Comin Down", "Captain Bobby Stout", "Thursday Thing", and "What I Gave Away". CD

An amazing set – all four of the legendary Warner Brothers albums by harmony giants Harpers Bizarre – plus bonus tracks too! First up is Feelin Groovy – the fab first LP by Harpers Bizarre! The group were one of the strangest pop ensembles operating in the seminal LA scene of the mid 60s – ostensibly a sweet harmony vocal group, but with a strangely childish approach that also had an ear open for the mind-blowing production styles of the Brian Wilson era. Van Dyke Parks was a big supporter of the group – and they perform a sublime version of his tune "Come To The Sunshine" as the leadoff track on the album – and even though Van Dyke didn't handle the arrangements of the record, the style of the music is very similar to his own, with guitar, bass, and drums coming into play with strings, woodwinds, and baroque orchestral touches. The record is as dark as it is sublime – one of those pop gems that hit big, but which has a brooding depth bubbling underneath the sugary coating – ala Pet Sounds. Tracks include "Happy Talk", "The Debutantes Ball", "I Can Hear The Darkness", "Raspberry Rug", and their huge hit version of "59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin Groovy)". Next is Anything Goes – the group's second album – and while it has a lot of similarities with the first, it's also a lot deeper of an expression of their strange blend of harmony vocals, sweet 60s pop, and the nostalgia for the early 20th century that was running through the Burbank Warner scene that included a young Van Dyke Parks, Randy Newman, Lenny Waronker, and other LA underground of the mid 60s. The whole record fits together beautifully – beginning with an old-timey radio kind of announcer, then sliding into sublimely crafted harmony tunes that include originals from the LA luminaries and the group, plus a few other surprising covers. Titles include the hit version of "Anything Goes", plus "The Biggest Night Of Her Life", "Milord", "Virginia City", "High Coin", "Jessie", "This Is Only The Beginning", and "You Need A Change". The Secret Life Of Harpers Bizarre is the third album by Harpers Bizarre – and one that shows them growing in leaps and bounds with each new release! The record is a sublime fusion of sweet pop California 60s harmonies (ala The Sandpipers or The Lettermen), baroque arrangements with a fake dreamy nostalgia (ala Van Dyke Parks or Randy Newman), and drug-addled underground takes on the eazy sound of the generation (ala Brian Wilson or Love). This album is one of their most perfectly-realized visions, and it features a great blend of older songs, all hipped-up to modern LA arrangements by the likes of Nick De Caro, Perry Botkin, and others. The record has an approach that's simply mindblowing when you consider the amount of funds and effort that must have been put into a record that would only be truly appreciated 40 years later – and it's filled with great titles that include "Me, Japanese Boy", "Look To The Rainbow", "Funny How Love Can Be", "Mad", "Green Apple Tree", and "Las Mananitas". Last up is the group's fourth album, unfortunately, the last Warner album by Harpers Bizarre – one of the few testaments of genius left to us by this incredible group! The record shows the group moving past the sweet pop and dreamy nostalgia of earlier albums – tentatively stepping into the haze of the late 60s LA scene with a blend of songs that share a lot musically with earlier work, but which also seem to have a more adult approach to some of their themes. Arrangements are by the group mostly – with help from pop geniuses like Jack Nitzsche, Nick De Caro, Lenny Waronker, Harry Nilsson, and Perry Botkin Jr. The harmonies are sublime – and the group effortlessly blends original tunes like "Soft Soundin Music", "All Through The Night", "When The Band Begins To Play", and "There's No Time Like Today, along with bizarre covers like "Hard To Handle", "Something Better", "I Love You Alice B Toklas", and Jim Pepper's "Witchi Tai To", which is worth the price of the record alone! Bonus tracks include "Both Sides Now", "Small Talk", "Poly High", "If We Ever Needed The Lord Before", "Malibu U", "Cotton Candy Sandman", "Lost My Love Today", and "Bye Bye Bye". CD

Sublime girl group sounds from the great Lee Hazlewood – the complete recordings of Honey Ltd – an obscure Hazlewood project from the end of the 60s! The style here combines all the depths of Lee's own music with some of the sweeter Sunshine Pop sounds you'd expect from the cover – a really unique mix that has these moodier moments coming forth at times that really surprise us – and which takes the music way way past that of any of the girls' hipper contemporaries – especially the similarly-named Honeys! The harmonies are incredible – definitely rooted in jazz, with a complexity that goes way past pop – and in a way, the group remind us a bit of the incredible Third Wave group who recorded for MPS around the same time – although these gals definitely get a more sinister sound from Lee's help in the studio. Songs are mostly originals by the group – penned with some very compelling lyrics – and the album features great arrangements from Ian Frebairn Smith, who really does a great job of mixing the baroque with the groovy! The set features the full rare album by the quartet, plus two single tracks, and some unreleased cuts as well – titles that include "The Warrior", "Silk N Honey", "Come Down", "For Your Mind", "I've Got Your Mind", "Tomorrow Your Heart", "Eli's Coming", "I'm So Glad", "Love The Devil (backing track)", and "Silver Threads & Golden Needles". CD

The complete recordings of July – a set that features their rare original album, unreleased tracks, and lots of surprisingly great later material too! First up is the self-titled July album from 1968, presented in both mono and stereo mixes – the debut album from July – a group who only gave the world this gem of a record back at the end of the 60s – but who've gone on to become legendary, based on the strength of the set! The whole thing is a real standout in the psych scene of the UK – well-crafted songs that are tight, but groovy and loose at the same time – tuneful, but filled with experiments – and produced with just the right sort of inventive qualities to make the special flourishes and individual moments of genius really come to light! There's so many great things going on here – an all-rich, no-filler record that's filled with gems that include "My Clown", "Dandelion Seeds", "Jolly Mary", "Hallo To Me", "You Missed It All", "The Way", "To Be Free", "Crying Is For Writers", "I See", and "A Bird Lived". Next is Second Of July – a great counterpart to the legendary self-titled album from July – material recorded in a private setting, to predate that psych masterpiece – but every bit as stunning overall! The quality of this work goes way beyond its origins as demo material – as the sound is wonderful, the musical ideas very rich, and overall psychedelic conception is amazing! There's no overindulgence, but also no easy pop psych modes either – and it's really incredible how much these guys can pack into a short song – from unusual guitar lines, to freewheeling rhythms, and trippy ideas in the lyrics. Many numbers have a sweet groove underneath, and are slightly freakbeatish – but there's also a much more unique feel to the record as well. Tracks include "Dandelion Seeds", "You Missed It All", "My Clown", "Friendly Man", "I See", "The Girl In The Cafe", and "Move On Sweet Flower". The box set then moves into two later albums from a re-formed group – Temporal Anomaly and Resurrection – both of which feature material conceived over a number of years, issued on Resurrection in 2013, and on Temporal Anomaly here for the first time ever. Tracks are great – still very much in the spirit of the classic material, and produced with a nicely understated vibe. Last up is The Wight Album – a recent project from July – still sounding surprisingly great after all these years! At this point, the group is a duo – original members Peter Cook and Tom Newman – but they really manage to craft some great sounds here, with a style that ties back to their initial recording in 1968, and which features some of the successful flourishes of their revived activity from about a decade ago! The tunes are way better than any sort of younger attempt at material like this – mostly because there's a nicely understated, although still quite psychedelic, approach to the whole thing – maybe a reminder that with the best psych records, charm is every bit as important as fuzz. Titles on the double-length set include "The Traveler", "Sophie", "Special Guy", "Henry's Squirrel", "Seeking The Hacksaw Blades", "The Game", "What's Gonna Be", "Disco Klingon", "Mods Of Ryde", "It's Up To Me", and "Once When We Was Free". CD

Groovy work from this X-side project – the famous punk group's country band! CD

2 of very best LPs ever cut by the Louvin Brothers – Tragic Sounds Of Life and Satan Is Real – back to back on CD complete with bonus tracks! Tragic Songs Of Life is quite possibly THE greatest record that the Louvin Brothers ever made – and a haunting batch of songs filled with death and disaster, sung in a crystalline harmony style by Ira and Charlie! Includes the oft-quoted "Kentucky", plus loads of other great ones, including "Take The News To Mother", "What Is Home Without Love", the bone-chilling "Knoxville Girl", and "Mary Of The Wild Moor". Great stuff, and completely essential! Satan Is Real is a fantastic record of country harmony spirituals, cut during the height of their years at Capitol! The record's a treasure all the way through – from great songs like "Satan is Real", "The Drunkard's Room", and "Dying From Home, And Lost" – to the groovy cover that has the Louvins smirking next to a flaming pile of garbage with a self designed statue of Satan. Incredible stuff! Other titles include the Gram Parsons epiphany "The Christian Life", "Satan's Jeweled Crown" and "I'm Ready To Go Home" and more. The CD also includes 4 bonus tracks of 45 sides: "Blue From Now On", "Red Head Hop", "Read What's In My Heart" and "My Heart Was Trampled On The Street". (Folk/Country, Rock) CD

Swirling psychedelia from the late 60s & early 70s – raga inflected soundscapes featuring the sitar – and a plethora of other mind-altering instrumentation in the psych pop canon! Many of the tunes are kind of sole examples of a psychedelic combo trying out the sitar sound, while others feature regular dabblers – but it's all groovy stuff. Features acts from the UK and US scenes, with the Mecki Mark Men, Moonkyte, Full Moon Band, the comparably iconic Ananda Shankar, and much more! Titles include "Free" by Mecki Mark Men, "Caves Of Her Mind" by Stunt's Blue Leg Expedition, "I Know What To Say" by The Ugly Ducklings, "Where Will The Grass Grow" by Moonkyte, "Prayer To St Peter" by Nick Carter, "Renunciation" by Ananda Shanker, "One Grain Of Sand" by Wizz Jones, "The Shoemaker Of Leatherwear Square" by Lemon Pipers, "Aurore Cosmic" by Popera Cosmic and more. 20 tracks in all. CD