... LP, Vinyl record album

(Vocalists, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album

The funky freaky soundtrack to Ralph Bakshi's animated feature Fritz The Cat – a really messed-up little film based around the original character created by Robert Crumb! Like the movie, the album's got a very skittish kind of feel – leaping from one genre to the next with each different track – but mostly featuring some older numbers from the Fantasy catalog, plus some key newer tracks for the set that are nice and funky! Original tunes include the bad-rapping "Fritz The Cat", by Ed Bogas and The Watson Sisters – plus the instrumentals "Duke's Theme" and "Bertha's Theme" by Ray Shanklin, and "The Riot" and "Winston" by Ed Bogas. Also includes "Love Light Of Mine" by The Watson Sisters, "Black Talk" by Charles Earland, and "Mamblues" by Cal Tjader. LP, Vinyl record album

Not the Prince music from the first Batman film – but all those other sounds that were used in the movie, penned and produced at a surprisingly strong level by Danny Elfman – who shows the world that he's got a lot more to offer than just his previous work in the group Oingo Boingo! This isn't a rock soundtrack by a fading talent from the mainstream – and instead, it's one of Elfman's first full forays into scoring – performed by the Sinfonia of London with a richness that's given the music maybe a more enduring quality than the film! Titles include "Birth Of A Penguin", "The Lair", "Selena Transforms", "Cat Suite", "Rise And Fall From Grace", "The Children's Hour", and "Final Confrontation". CD

A very spooky score for this film that's also known in America as "The Cat With Nine Tails" – the second collaboration between Ennio Morricone and noted horror director Dario Argento! The album's a bit different than some of Morricone's other work on horror films – and at times, it almost has qualities that sound more like a western – a spacious mix of light strings and more sparely focused instrumentation – sometimes a bassline, sometimes a bit of flute. Other numbers get a bit more dark and jagged – slightly atonal, with shimmering, shifting styles that create a tremendous amount of tension! Titles include "Paranoia Prima", "1970", "Sottintesi", "Ninna Nanna In Blu", "Placcaggio", and "Metafora Finale". This special version of the score features a 12 minute version of "Il Gatto A Nove Code", some other alternate takes, and a bonus interview with Dario Argento! CD

Music from Tweedy, Coldplay, The Hives, Cat Power, The Flaming Lips, Gnarls Barkley, Vampire Weekend, Wilco, Leighton Meester, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney & Wings, The Black Keys, and more. CD

Music from Huckleberry Hound, The Jetsons, Yogi Bear, Quick Draw McGraw, Top Cat, Wally The Gator, The Flinstones, and more. CD

A great Fantasy Records soundtrack – put together to accompany the Ralph Bakshi feature-length cartoon Heavy Traffic! The feel is similar to the Fritz The Cat soundtrack – in that the movie features some original music penned for the film, plus a fair bit of other tracks by better-known artists – all slipped into the movie as a sort of pop culture pastiche! As you might guess, we're partial to the original tracks – penned mostly by Ed Bogas, and featuring some organ and keyboards by Merl Saunders. These tunes include "Angie's Theme", "Carol's Theme", "What You Sow", "Heavy Traffic", "Cartoon Time", and "Scarborough Street Fair". Other titles include "Take Five" by Dave Brubeck, "Maybelline" by Chuck Berry, "Twist & Shout" by The Isley Brothers, and "Scarborough Fair" by Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66. LP, Vinyl record album

Killer funk from the Italian scene of the 70s – work by the Pulsar Music Ltd combo, originally used as the soundtrack for the crime classic Milano Violenta! Italian crime films were really hitting their height at the time – documenting the new wave of terror that was hitting the cities in the 70s – and music like this perfectly set the scene, with a sharp mix of funk, jazz, and other urban elements – all served up in a non-stop barrage of totally great cuts, of the sort that you'd only find sparsely on American soundtracks of the period. Music is composed by Italian jazz great Enrico Pieranunzi with Silvano Chimenti – and titles include "Leyla Theme", "Running", "Walking At Sunrise", "Six In", "Swinging Day", "Blue Funk", "Dreamland", and "Cat Theme". (Sound Library, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album

Great grooves from Piero Umiliani – a sweet 70s session of sound library material, served up in a warm blend of funky rhythms and mighty nice keyboards! Hammond is in the lead on most numbers – echoing those cool odd phrasing styles that Umiliani used in the late 60s, but given more of a straightforward groove thanks to the backings – which move between cop show funk and some slightly clubbier styles at point. The whole thing's got all the wit and whimsy we've come to love from Piero – and which you might expect from the cover image too – and titles include "Slogan", "Trip", "Bon Voyage", "Union Pacific", "Business Is Business", and "Wild Cat". CD

A treasure trove of bluesy rock material – and a set that almost works as well as a straight album project from Nick Gravenites and Mike Bloomfield – as it does as the soundtrack for this offbeat film that starred Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland! The vibe here is a bit like other rock/blues indie soundtracks of the time – such as Heavy Traffic or Fritz The Cat but Gravenites and Bloomfield are also nicely focused, too – and most numbers stand very strongly on their own, not just as scene-setters for the movie. The set also features a bit of vocals from Maria Muldaur, keyboards from Merl Saunders, and some harmonica from Paul Butterfield – and titles include "If You Cared", "My Bag", "Common Ground", "Lonesome Star Blues", "Woman's Love", and "Brand New Family". LP, Vinyl record album

A classic take on the "Batman" hit of the 60s – one that moves the tune from camp TV theme to sweet rock instrumental territory – in a manner that prefaces later takes on the tune by The Who and The Jam! The track may well be the biggest ever by The Marketts – and showcases their ability to step way past the usual surf instrumental modes of the time – and work within the larger studio genius of Warner Brothers to create some very groovy sounds! Dick Glasser heads up production – and moves the music into territory that's still instrumental, yet much more varied than usual for a rock album of the type – almost soundtrack-oriented in points, but mostly handled in a small combo mode. In addition to the "Batman" hit, other titles are all caped crusader-related – and include "Dr Death", "The Joker", "Bat Cape", "Cat Women", "Bat Cave", and "Bat Signal". (Rock, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album

One of Henry Mancini's best soundtracks – made even better! The score for Mr. Lucky was a masterpiece of jazzy little themes – and it's always been one that we've loved way better than Peter Gunn or some of Mancini's other more famous work. Here, Mancini redoes that music with a west coast Latin feel – a cool blend of jazzy riffing and percussive rhythms – never as hard-hitting as other Latin work on RCA, which is part of the charm of the record. The rhythms are often a bit gentle, but step in nicely to give Mancini's music a nice little punch – and titles include "Mr Lucky Goes Latin", "Blue Mantilla", "Siesta", "The Sound Of Silver", "The Dancing Cat", and "Cow Bells & Coffee Beans". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest soundtracks ever from the early years of Henry Mancini – a hip jazzy TV score that we've loved for years! The jazzy theme to "Mr Lucky" is reason enough to buy this album – as it's got these wonderful warm washes of sound, interlayed in a way that makes you wish the track went on and on and on again – but Mancini brilliantly follows that gem up with a host of wonderful other tunes – cool numbers that move past even the familiar crime jazz that Hank had given us on Peter Gunn, into a level of instrumental sophistication that set a whole new tone for the 60s generation to come. Other tunes include "Lightly Latin", "Tipsy", "One Eyed Cat", "Chime Time", and "March Of The Cue Balls", a Mancini classic if there ever was one! LP, Vinyl record album

Includes "Resurrection" with Masta Killa, "He Got Game", "Unstoppable" with KRS-One, "Is Your God A Dog", "House Of The Rising Son", "Politics Of The Sneaker Pimps", "Go Cat Go", "What You Need Is Jesus", "Game Face", and "Sudden Death". (Hip Hop, Soundtracks) CD

Beautiful, simply beautiful! The set features 23 tracks from a range of western-themed movies and TV shows – not really spaghetti westerns, but the sort of popular American work of the 50s and 60s, which often starred bigger names in show business, and which features popular vocal themes interpreted by chart stars of the time. The approach is quite different than most of our other soundtrack selections – a wealth of groovy pop vocal tunes united through western themes, and compiled together in a fantastic package with images from the films. Titles include "Fury" by The Prarie Chiefs, "The Man From Laramie" by Al Martino, "The Ballad Of Cat Ballou" by Nat King Cole & Stubby Kaye, "The Lonely Man" by Tennesse Ernie Ford, "Man With True Grit" by Glen Campbell, "Buttons & Bows" by Bob Hope, "The Wind The Wind" by Dean Martin, "Old Turkey Buzzard" by Jose Feliciano, "Marmalade Molasses & Honey" by Andy Williams, "The Legend Of Wyatt Earp" by Shorty Long, "Stagecoach To Cheyenne" by Wayne Newton, and "Bronco" by Johnny Gregory. CD

The classic first volume in this series, put together back in the 80's, when loads of hip hop tracks were sampling things like "Inspector Gadget" and "Batman". Still classic now, though, and with loads of material, like The Flintsones, Batman, Lost In Space, Star Trek, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Green Acres, Mr. Ed, The Munsters, Popeye, Felix the Cat, Ironside, Mannix, The Man From UNCLE, Mission Impossible, and lots lots more! Classic stuff, with 65 tracks in all! CD