Genius, pure genius! (Have we said that about Lee too many times before?) The work of Lee Hazlewood is beyond description – a bit of vocals, a bit of country, a bit of lounge, and a bit of rock – all wrapped up with a sinister edge that has you believing that this was the man who used to refer to his frequent musical partner as "Nasty" Sinatra over the headphones during recording sessions! The set features 35 tracks from Lee's obscure years at MGM records – wonderful vocal tunes that rank with some of his best ever, plus a few weird instrumentals, recorded by Lee Hazlewood's Woodchucks. Insanely wonderful stuff – records that we come back to again and again and again over the years – finally presented in their entirety, with a great set of notes on the music! Tracks include "Hands", "Mannford Oklahoma", "This Town", "Sand", "Child", "Little War", "Fort Worth", "Summer Wine", "I Move Around", "After Six", "Batman", "Summer Nights", "Suzi Jane Is Back In Town", "In Our Time", "When A Fool Loves A Fool", and "So Long Babe". (Vocalists, Rock) CD

A long-overdue look at the short but rich career of Sandy Posey on MGM Records – presented here in a set of four full albums, plus bonus non-LP singles too! Posey has a very unique approach, music that's a little bit country and a little bit pop – and which carries a distinct sound that really sets Sandy apart from so many other of her 60s contemporaries! Posey's approach is always a bit hard to peg, and that's what makes it great – a southern singer, working in Tennessee – but with soulful production from Chips Moman that pushes things both past the poppier side of Nashville, and some of the lighter girl singer modes of the east coast too – really on the cusp of something wonderful, and cresting nicely in all sorts of really wonderful ways – as distinct for Sandy maybe as Roy Orbison's special blend was for him. Chips Moman produced almost all the work here, although he gets a bit of help from Joe South near the end – and the 2CD set features 55 tracks in all, including "Born A Woman", "What A Woman In Love Won't Do", "All Hung Up In Your Green Eyes", "Deep In Kentucky", "Handy", "The Big Hurt", "Sunglasses", "Miss Lonely", "Single Girl", "Shattered", "Ways Of The World", "Take Me With You Baby", "I Take It Back", and "Bread & Butter". (Vocalists, Rock) CD

A great set of tracks by this lost 60s female singer – a lovely-voiced southern US singer who recorded mostly at Chips Moman's Memphis-based American Studios during the late 60s! Sandy works in a style that's part 60s girl pop, part country – with strong production on the vocals, and lots of nice instrumental elements like floating piano and pillowy strings, both of which make Sandy's voice sound even sweeter and sadder. Titles include "Sunglasses", "Come Softly To Me", "The Boy I Love", "Just Out Of Reach", "Born A Woman", "Single Girl", "What A Woman In Love Won't Do", and "Shattered". 23 tracks – and some great notes! (Vocalists, Rock) CD

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An east coast psych classic from Ultimate Spinach – a group who recorded for MGM, but who would have been equally at home next to some of the trippy rock groups on Mainstream or Vanguard at the time! Alan Lorber handles production, and he really lets the group's freak flag fly – using that great ear for psychedelic elements that he brought to some of his own groovy records, which gives familiar instrumentation some nicely shaggy edges that really help push the album over the top! There's all sorts of cool things going on here – especially on the longer tracks, of which there are a few – and titles include "Jazz Thing", "Mind Flowers", "Suite Genesis Of Beauty", "Fragmentary March Of Green", and "Fifth Horseman Of The Apocalypse". CD

Delicate dissonance, bruised beauty, and hazy noise pop – all in one of the best rock albums ever made – the amazing first album from the Velvet Underground and Nico! The album's the stuff of legend – and for good reason, too – a surprising slab of vinyl that barely set the world on its ear when first issued back in the mid 60s – yet a record that's gone onto have an influence felt for decades to come – arguably one of the most important rock records of all time. There's a really sinister edge to the record, even when things are sweet – and the range of subject matter and handling here is brilliant – from the dream pop slice of heaven "Sunday Morning", the melodic bitterness of "Femme Fatale", the massive White Light-esque freakout "European Son", and the sublime "Heroin" – quite possibly the inspiration for generations of drug use to come. The whole thing's a classic – with wonderful vocals from both Nico and Lou Reed – and titles include "Venus In Furs", "Run Run Run", "Black Angel's Death Song", "I'll Be Your Mirror", and "All Tomorrow's Parties". CD

A long-overdue look at a little-heard side of the career of 60s pop giant Lou Christie – his great but ill-fated recordings for Columbia Records – most of which appear here for the first time ever! Lou hit the label right after a massive hit for MGM – and Columbia gave him plenty of time in the studio, and continued his work with producer Charles Calello – the genius who crafted so many wonderful settings for Christie, as well as the Four Seasons at the time. Calello's genius is in full effect here – creating these incredible backdrops for Christie's stunning vocals – really pushing him past simple pop into a whole host of different modes that make the whole thing a great "what if" – had the label not given up on Lou so quickly. The CD features great sound, detailed notes, and 24 tracks in all – 15 of which appear here for the first time ever – a blindingly great mix of tracks that includes "I Remember Gina", "The Greatest Show On Earth", "Blue Champagne", "Tender Loving Care", "Gypsy Bells, "Escape", "Standing On My Promises", "Shake Hands & Walk Away Cryin", "Self Expression", "Yellow Lights Say", "Meditation", and "How Many Days Of Sadness". CD

Beautiful work from The Paris Sisters – one of the coolest, grooviest girl groups of the 60s – and one who've got a sound that's really a cut above most of their contemporaries! There's something strangely sinister about this trio – not just the sweet sounds you might expect, but also this undercurrent of darkness that often seems emphasized in the hip production they receive – work on these cuts by 60s studio giants like Phil Spector, Jack Nitzsche, Nik Venet, and Terry Melcher – who move these gals past simple Brill Building pop, into territory that's often a lot spookier. The package is the first to really offer up the full spectrum of the trio's genius – and features five never-issued tracks, plus work the girls did for Reprise, MGM, Columbia, Mercury, and Capitol Records – all with the usual top-shelf Ace Records presentation and notes. Titles include "Stand Naked Clown", "You", "Baby That's Me", "Lonely Girl", "When I'm Alone With You", "See That Boy", "Greener Days", "He Knows I Love Him Too Much", "My Good Friend", "Be My Boy", "Play It One More Time", "I Came A Long Way To Nowhere", "Long After Tonight Is Over", "Dream Lover", and even a "Diet Rite Commercial". CD

A nicely done compilation that couldn't have been easy to put together – probably as solid of an anthology of the long-running, legendary anti-establishment Czech underground rock collective Plastic People Of The Universe – with material from as early as 1969 up to 1985! A lot bands from a lot of places can be described as "underground", but few as aptly as Plastic People. The group was once jailed by the Czechoslovak communist regime and part of the movement leading up the Velvet Revolution. Astounding stuff in a social/cultural/political frame, but the music is incredible! Influences of benchmark western style underground heavies of their time, from Beefheart to Zappa and well beyond, but Plastic People Of The Universe evolved into an amazing entity all their own! 31 tracks on 2CDs: "MGM (Metro Goldwyn Mayer)", "Magicke Noci (On Magical Night)", "Apokalyptickej Ptak (Apocalyptic Bird)", "Francovka", "Okolo Okna (Along The Window)", "Pf (Happy New Year)", "Podel Zdi A Doleva (Along The Wall And To The Left)", "Jednou Nohou (With One Leg)" and many more. CD