Very cool – an early 80s album of European electronics based around the songs of Ennio Morricone – all instrumental, from that time when the Italian club scene was really tripping out on cosmos-styled grooves! Titles include "The Return", "Investigation Of A Citizen Above Suspicion", "Like Maddalena", "My Name Is Nobody", "Dawn Of The 5th Day", "March In A", and "Good Luck Jack". (Sound Library, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet set of soundtrack funk – from a film named after one of our favorite streets in Chicago! Although the record's got an approach that's perhaps a bit tighter and smoother than anything going down on Stony in the late 70s, it does manage to share a good deal of styles with the Chi-soul scene of the time – thanks to work on the record from Chicagoans Gene Barge, Sonny Seals, and Tennyson Stephens! Many of the tracks on the set have a bad-walking soul approach – one that's kind of a mixture of funky and bluesy – and these are laid out next to some jazzier instrumentals that we like most of all – tunes that have a great funky soundtrack feel, but with a bit more fusion touches than usual, probably because of the work of David Matthews. Titles include "Percy Fired", "Party Lights", "High Speed Posters", "Back To Business", "Chase The Train", "Gangster City", "Dream Ride", and "Peace Of Mind". LP, Vinyl record album

A wicked little James Bond soundtrack – one of the lesser-known ones, which is why it's all that more great! The title theme is a totally catchy number, sung by Shirley Bassey with all the dark energy of her best pop work – and Barry's score has some really surprising moments, including some nicely restrained tracks that are a good blend of spareness and moody instrumentation. Titles include "Bond Smells A Rat", "Bond Meets Bambi & Thumper", "Diamonds Are Forever", "Circus Circus", "007 & Counting", and "Q's Trick". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the coolest, grooviest albums that pianist Vince Guaraldi ever recorded – a set that's got the same Peanuts theme as his earlier dates for Fantasy Records, but which also features some sweet electric touches that only make things even better than before! In addition to his warmly vamping piano, with all those lyrical touches we love so much, Vince is playing an electric harpsichord too – which makes for some very groovy moments – in a cool quartet that features guitar from Eddie Duran, bass from Stanley Gilbert, and drums from the great Carl Burnett! All tunes are Peanut-themed – the music that Guaraldi wrote for the TV specials – but they're sometimes taken at a looser style that's even jazzier overall – as you'll hear on the classic "Linus & Lucy", plus "Red Baron", "Peppermint Patty", "Great Pumpkin Waltz", and "Rain Rain Go Away". (Jazz, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album

Over the years, we've come to realize that the best thing about the Peanuts cartoons isn't the actions of Charlie Brown and Lucy, but the wonderful music from Vince Guaraldi – perhaps the one aspect of the cartoons that's kept on giving over the years, and which we can proudly carry into adulthood! Vince's music is sublime – often simple, but groovy – a mix of rhythmic vamps and more lyrical passages that perfectly underscore the melancholy that graced the characters of Charles Schultz, and which perhaps defines them even better than the clunky stories or voiceovers on the screen. This set features all the best numbers from the glory days of those cartoons – mostly holiday numbers, but some other gems too – titles that include "Skating", "Little Birdie", "Baseball Theme", "Linus & Lucy", "Happiness Is", "Oh Good Grief", "Christmas Is Coming", "Great Pumpkin Waltz", "Thanksgiving Theme", and both vocal and instrumental versions of "Christmas Time Is Here". (Jazz, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album

Nice to know that we've lived past the year 2000 – and have managed to miss the holocaust that Kirk Douglas fought in this late 70s film! The movie's just the kind of overdone thriller that Kirk handled late in his career – but thankfully, the music from Ennio Morricone is much deeper overall – done in that brilliant blend of creepy styles that could make anything come together on the screen, even without any good special effects or dialogue! Some numbers have spooky, spare passages with earthy percussion and woodwinds, others have offbeat strings, some have some light electric elements – and overall, the music is nicely understated, always classy, and years ahead of some of the cheaper horror scoring of the time. CD features a whopping 33 tracks in all – the fullest version of the soundtrack we've ever seen – with titles that include "Holocaust", "Computer", "Slogan", "Jesus", "Il Bene Cattivo", "Serie Di Tre", "Strofa Monodica", and "Telefonata Interrotta". CD

A spooky little soundtrack, with some slight erotic moments as well – all scored for a schlocky Italian film starring an ex-patriot Farley Granger! The story centers around an investigation of an earlier rape and murder – and the music does a good deal to underscore the mix of sexual tension and drama in the film – often using spare stepping basslines that move very slowly on the bottom of the tunes, while eerie keyboards, guitar, and weirder effects drift lightly over the top. A few numbers have a slightly warmer feel, in keeping with more erotic moments in early 70s Italian cinema – and there's also a bit of wordless vocals that float through some of the tunes, often with a theremin-like quality. LP features 15 tracks from the film! LP, Vinyl record album