A very groovy musical – one done quite far from the bright lights of Broadway, in early 60s LA – with lyrics and presentation that offer up a wry postwar commentary on the city! The whole thing has the feel of some of the hipper off-Broadway material of the time – very witty little tunes, penned by Billy Barnes in a Tommy Wolf/Fran Landesman mode – handled by the cast with a nicely intimate feel that really makes the lyrical subtleties come through nicely. Instrumentation is relatively spare, and cast members include Ken Berry, Joyce Jameson, Tom Hatten, Sylvia Lewis, and Steve Franken – singing songs that include "The Pink Pussycat School", "Covina", "Keep Away", "LA Is", "Weather Report", "Does Anybody Here Love Me", and "I'm Glad I Call It Home". LP, Vinyl record album

A sublime soundtrack from John Barry – common, to be sure, but also a wonderfully-crafted set that goes way beyond the stereotypes of his work for the James Bond films! The record is probably best known for Nilsson's famous version of the Fred Neil tune "Everybody's Talkin" – which is great in itself – but it's Barry's own work on the title theme that we totally love. "Midnight Cowboy" is a darkly turning slowly pondering tune that will haunt us until the day we die – performed here on the original number with a sad-tinged harmonica that unites both the country of Joe Buck's roots and the sleaze of the love generation. The tune's great – and is matched here by the whimsy of "Florida Fantasy", and the Barry tracks "Fun City" and "Science Fiction". But also, Barry acted as the overall music director for the film – and used some tracks from the hip group Elephant's Memory, plus others by The Groop – but offbeat acts who really fit the spirit of the film. The record's almost worth it just for the cut "Old Man Willow", a really tripped-out longer track from Elephant's Memory – swirling around in organ and hippie vocals, and oddly echoing the main Barry theme of the set at times! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest of Barry's scores for the James Bond films – early enough to be raw, but confident enough to change up the mood nicely! The theme song features vocals by Tom Jones – and the rest of the tunes almost reads as a who's who of hipster influences, as so many of them have been taken up by other artists as band or album names. Titles include "Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang", "Thunderball", "The Bomb", "Chateau Flight", "Bond Below Disco Volante", "Death Of Fiona", and "Switching The Body". LP, Vinyl record album

A very groovy soundtrack to this cool British film – starring a young Jack Wild in his pre-HR Puffenstuff days! The film's kind of a mod kids film – with a number of bright and peppy tunes mixed with others that are either more serious or more jazzy – a blend of rock and more familiar soundtrack instrumentation that really keeps things interesting! The Bee Gees contribute a number of great tracks – like "Melody Fair", "In The Morning", "First Of May", and "To Love Somebody". Even better, though, are the instrumental bits by the Richard Hewson Orchestra – which include "Teacher's Chase", a killer groover with some sweet electric harpsichord and strings, plus the cuts "Working On It Night & Day", "Spicks & Spacks", and "Melody Fair". Peter Knight put the whole thing together, too! LP, Vinyl record album

(Comedy, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album

A selection of tunes from the film Pete Kelly's Blues – a 20s tale of jazz and gangsters that starred and was directed by Jack "Dragnet" Webb! Given the setting of the film, the tunes often have a more traditional jazz bent to them – with backing from the orchestra of Harold Mooney that features a fair bit of Kansas City-styled jazz. Peggy and Ella's vocals are pure 50s Decca, though – and if anything, the album's a great chance to hear them singing in a slightly different setting, but with all the strength of their best work of the time. Peggy sings on about 2/3 of the album – on tracks that include "Sugar", "I Never Knew", "Somebody Loves Me", and "I'm Gonna Meet My Sweetie Now". Ella sings on the last third – on tracks that include "Ella Hums The Blues", "Pete Kelly's Blues", and "Hard Hearted Hannah". (Vocalists, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album

We're alright. . .don't nobody worry 'bout us, we're smiling like fools at the sounds of this most classic of lowbrow 80s comedies – the unimpeachably hilarious Caddyshack – with we-don't-care-how-uncool-you-think-they-may-be pop anthems by Kenny Loggins and original music by Johnny Mandel! The Loggins tunes blend a masterful ear for the pop & soul hits of the previous couple decades, they're undeniable fun and catchy (if profoundly unhip, boo and hoo) and the cheeky bits of score by Mandel co-opting classical compositions in the interest of toilet humor are just as boisterous. Titles include "I'm Alright", "Make The Move" and "Mr Night" by Kenny Loggins, "There She Goes" by The Beat, "Divine Intervention", "Marina" and "The Big Bang" by Johnny Mandel and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A soundtrack for a very silly movie – and one of the oddest albums ever recorded by the great Paul Williams – who both sings and stars in the movie as the phantom in the title! The tunes have a surprisingly heartfelt quality that really comes out when you hear them away from the movie – not nearly as future-shocky, and instead quite personal, with this sense of loneliness and pathos that we love in Paul's other work of the time. The backings are great – mixing Williams' usual smooth LA A&M sound with some slight glam touches – and titles include "Phantom's Theme", "Upholstery", "Goodbye Eddie Goodbye", "Somebody Super Like You", "Old Souls", and "Faust". (Vocalists, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most striking albums ever recorded by Denny Zeitlin – the dark soundtrack to this late 70s remake of the horror classic Invasion Of The Body Snatchers. There's a very minimal use of electronics on the record, combined with some wonderful orchestrations from Zeitlin – very dark and turgid, with some touches that are almost electronic sounding themselves. Titles include "The Reckoning", "Escape To Darkness", "Flight", "On The Streets", "Angel Of Death", and "Rescue". LP, Vinyl record album