A hip little set that's as groovy as its cover – a whole batch of cat-themed tunes from the 50s and 60s, most of them in a hip jazzy sort of style! Things are never too kitty-creepy – as they are with that lady down the street who owns way too many cats – and instead, most of the numbers here have a clean, lean sort of sound that's more in the mode of a 50s jazz "cat" than that of the four-legged, furry type. About half the numbers here are instrumentals with a really mod feel, and the rest are vocal numbers, of a variety of different genres – all put together in a way that's surprisingly fresh, and plenty darn groovy throughout. Titles include "The Cat" by Eddie & Ernie, "Three Cool Cats" by The Coasters, "Cleo" by Rene Hall, "Kitty Kat" by Paul Ott, "El Pussy Cat" by Mongo Santamaria, "Sneakin Up On You" by Peggy Lee, "Cat Nip" by Dave Baby Cortez, "Cat Hop" by The Dodgers, "Walkin My Cat Named Dog" by Norma Tanega, "The Cat" by Jimmy Smith, "The Cat Came Back" by Sonny James, "That Darned Cat" by Buddy Greco, "The Kitty Kat Song" by Lee Dorsey, "If You Play With Cats" by Charles Brown, "Tom Cat" by The Rooftop Singers, and "Top Cat Theme Song" by Top Cat Orchestra. (Funky Compilations, Rock) CD

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

This is the kind of funky rock record we can get behind! Although Melting Pot are ostensibly one of the many drum-heavy rock groups of their generation, the band manages to kick it very well with a strong commitment to funk – a commitment that outweighs their rock-based lyrics much more than other bands of the type. The core of the group is a nice drum/organ/guitar groove – but there's other added instrumentation, including some tight horns. The record's got a nice funky instrumental version of the track "Kool & The Gang", by the group of the same name – plus vocal tracks that include "Tell Me The Truth", "Feeling Alright", "Await The Coming Day", "Welcome To The Party", and "Sunday Tree". LP, Vinyl record album

Robert Wyatt's excellent effort from 2003 – his first fully realized new album since the '97's Shleep, itself a great record – and Cuckooland lives up to it! Sonically, it covers a lot of territory, hazy, kinda noirish, yet timeless pop, to jazzy and suited nicely to players – including Annie Whitehead, Brian Eno, David Gilmour and others. Includes "Just A Bit", "Old Europe", "Cuckoo Madame", "Lullaby For Hamza", "Trickle Down", "Lullaloop", "Foreign Accents", "La Ahada Yalam", "Brian The Fox" and more. CD

A set that might have you rethinking the early years of punk – as it shows that right next to the short sharp shocks of the new sound, there was also a rebirth of tight tuneful music too – a style that became known as power pop, even though many of the acts were ever bit as indie as the punk rockers! Don't mistake the "pop" for thinking that these are big commercial productions – as most of the work here is really back to basics rock and roll – a focus on sharp guitars, great rhythms, and excellent songwriting – served up in a wonderful mix of lesser-known artists, plus a few that went on to be timeless stars. The box set is every bit as great as other Cherry Red 3CD packages – detailed notes, 75 tracks in all, and work by artists who include Filmstars, Elvis Costello, The Questions, Rollers, Bram Tchaikovsky, The Deaf Aids, Undertones, Pinkees, Rudi, Gross Club, Stiff Little Fingers, The Monks, Backseat Romeos, The Flys, Pleasers, Leyton Buzzards, Purple Hearts, Elevators, Public Skool, The Cartoons, Excel, The Quads, Squeeze, Linda & The Dark, The Aces, and many others. CD