A gem of a record from the late 60s British scene – one based around the sound poems of writer and poet Terry Durham! The record features Duram speaking and singing his own lyrics – supported by musical backings arranged by John Coleman, shaded in by some wonderful work by players that include Alan Parker on guitar, Evan Parker on saxes, and Chris Karan (from the Dudley Moore and Roy Budd trios) on some especially nice drums! Despite the poetic approach of the session, Durham's rough vocals give it a real sense of humanity – with none of the high-art pretension you might expect, and a real "everyman" sort of feel that comes from the overall delivery of the tunes. There's a nice link here between the other British jazz and rock experiments of the time – and in a way, Durham's a lost link in a lineage of hipper British artists that include Nick Drake and Scott Walker. A few tracks even get a bit funky, and titles include "The Fortunate Isles", "Sleep Train", "White Room Dreaming", "Branwells Corner", "Crystal Telephone", "Moving Through My Life", and "Stills From A Late Nite Movie". (Jazz, Rock) CD

Music from Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly, Freddie Bell & The Bell Boys, Big Dee Irwin With Little Eva, Bobby Darin, The Crickets, Jim Reeves, Mitchell Torok, Eddie Cochran, Brenda Lee, and more. CD

Who better to spend Halloween with than Lux and Ivy of The Cramps – a pair who almost act like it's the last day of October all year long! Lux and Ivy are well-known as collectors of strange and offbeat 45s from the late 50s and early 60s – and that period also coincides with a great run of horror rock, monster novelties, and other spook-oriented singles – the sorts that are almost like the audio equivalent of catching a schlocky film on the late late show, or sitting at the drive-in watching some low-budget monster movie! The package features a whopping 50 tracks in all – tunes that are maybe more funny and groovy than downright scary – but that's OK with us, because the whole thing's great. Titles include "He's A Vampire" by Archie King, "She's My Witch" by Kip Tyler, "Cannibal Stew" by Jerry & Mel, "Graveyard" by Leroy Bowman & The Arrows, "Beware" by Bill Buchanan, "Voodoo Kiss" by Don Sargent & The Buddies, "Rock N Bones" by Elro Dietzel & The Rhythm Bandits, "The Cave (part 1)" by Gary Spider Webb, "Strollin Spooks" by Ken Nordine, "The Rockin Ghost" by Archie Bleyer, "The Mummy's Bracelet" by Lee Ross, "Swamp Girl" by Kay Martin, "The Spook" by The Tomkos, "Mr Ghost Goes To Town" by The Five Jones Boys, and "The Fang" by Nervous Norvus. (Halloween, Rock) CD

Music from Cliff Richard, Elvis, Roy Orbison, Jimmy Jones, Adam Faith, Bobby Darin, Buddy Holly, Vic Damone, Paul Asnka, Jimmy Young, and much more. CD

A great look at the changing tone on the American scene at the end of the 60s – that moment when Vietnam, social unrest, and many other problems weighed heavily on the country's consciousness – and made their presence manifest in all sorts of pop music as well! We're not talking about the familiar sounds of the Woodstock generation – but instead more mainstream artists who had never touched on politics or social issues before – but suddenly found themselves singing alongside the underground about the bigger problems of the day. This package is a superb look at that moment – put together by the team who've given us the great English Weather and Paris In The Spring collections for Ace – with the same care for choice of tracks, and a wealth of wonderful notes that really get at the nature of these unusual tunes. Titles include "Clean Up Your Own Back Yard" by Elvis Presley, "Wine In The Wind" by Anita Kerr Singers, "Paint Me Black Angels" by Eartha Kitt, "This Crazy World" by Paul Anka, "Questions" by Bobby Darin, "Do You Believe This Town" by Dean Martin, "Cardboard California" by Buddy Greco, "Cherrystones" by Eugene McDaniels, "Save The Children" by Teresa Brewer, "Welfare Hero" by Johnny Tillotson, "What Do We Do With The World" by Bing Crosby, "4th Of July" by The Beach Boys, "Mr Businessman" by Ray Stevens, "Paint America Love" by Lou Christie, "Hitchhiker" by The Four Preps, "Brand New Day" by Della Reese, "Saturday's Father" by The 4 Seasons, and "Southbound Jericho Parkway" by Roy Orbison. CD

A great array of bug-related tunes from the glory days of the 45rpm single – mostly rock numbers, but with some cool instrumental, soul, and exotica tracks thrown into the mix as well! The package is one of the weirdest of the many great themed compilations we've stocked from Bear Family records – and is different than some of the more monster-oriented collections that come out every year for the Halloween season – as the work here is definitely filled with references to spiders, flies, and other six-legged critters – as you'll dig on cuts that include "Hornet's Nest" by Curtis Knight, "Tarantula" by Bruce Gist & The Invaders, "Black Widow" by The Nobles, "The Fly" by Chubby Checker, "Tsetse Fly" by Martin Denny, "Get Away Fly" by Buddy Lucas, "Lady Bug" by Chet Poison Ivey, "The Wedding Of The Bugs" by Moon Mullican, "Tarantula" by The Storms, "The Web" by Abie Available Baker, "Little Cricket" by The Royal Teens, "Tarantula" by The Tarantulas, "Fly Trouble" by Hank Williams, "The Spider & The Fly" by Bobby Christian, "Beatle Bug" by Link Davis, and "The Bug" by the Swing Kings. CD

With selections by Frankie Ford, Joe Houston, Young Jessie, Oscar McLollie, Hershel Almond, Jimmy & Johnny, Little Richard, Lee Kristofferson, Teen Queens, Buddy Milton & The Twilighters, Roy Perkins, Johnny Guitar Watson, The Chanters, and Jesse Belvin. LP, Vinyl record album