Swirling strings galore – but served up with just the right mix of sex and drama to fit the spirit of this second Airport film! The music is a lot more complex than the first time around – and sometimes has these spare dramatic moments that echo European thrillers of the period, mixed with some even hipper numbers that show some cool colors coming together in this brilliant tapestry that works very well apart from the screen. A few numbers echo earlier bossa modes – including a take on "How Insensitive" and "A Man & A Woman" – and other tunes include the great "Airport 1975 Theme", plus "Montage", "Alexander's Death", "In Flight Collision", and "Interludium". CD

A never-heard soundtrack for a never-seen film – and a record that's every bit as funky as better-known sets from the blacksploitation era! Final Solution were a small time group from Chicago's west side in the 70s, but on this wicked little soundtrack they sparkle just as brightly as Isaac Hayes, Willie Hutch, Curtis Mayfield, or any of our favorite soundtrack soul artists from the time – working in a really righteous approach to soul with lots of heavy rhythms on the bottom and rumbling bass in the mix – so that even when the tunes are mellow, there's still a bold, brash sort of power to the set! The vocals are mostly delivered in harmony style, again with a nice edge – a bit like The Impressions work on Three The Hard Way, but with more of an indie soul feel overall, given the production circumstances. Once again, our hats are off to Numero for unearthing this gem – and as usual, the full tale of the group, the movie, and the music is told at length in the accompanying 16 page booklet! Titles include "Brotherman", "Never Coming Back Again", "I Don't Care", "Girl In My Life", "Gotta Get Through To You", "One Day", "I'm Ready For Love", "Theme From Brotherman", "No Place To Run", and "We Can Work It Out". (Soul, Soundtracks) CD

A treasure trove of lost music from the Man From UNCLE TV show – tracks composed by Jerry Goldsmith, with a feel that's quite different than the Hugo Montenegro recordings that comprised the more famous RCA soundtrack album! Jerry still keeps the tense "spy" mood of the show, but he also brings in some styles that are a lot more brooding, moody, and contemplative – really heightening the suspense of the music with some sharp-edged string passages alongside jazzier and more forthcoming riffing from the horns. The beautifully-done 2CD set features a total of 32 tracks in all, along with a great booklet of photos and notes on the music! Titles include "The Iowa Scuba Affair", "Alexander The Greater Affair", "The Deadly Goddess Affair", "Alternate Fourth Season Main Title", "The Pop Art Affair", "Third Season Main Title", and "One Of Our Spies Is Missing". CD

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

One of the catchiest TV themes of the 60s – plus a whole batch of other groovy music too! Vic Mizzy really knocked himself out for the Addams Family TV show – coming up with the ultra-cool main theme, complete with low horn parts and that great snapping bit. But he also managed to score some equally great incidental music for the program – with a swinging mod feel that incorporates lots of groovy elements, like electric harpsichord, wordless female vocals, and other great 60s touches that feel like they were lifted off the best Italian or Brit soundtracks of the time! Titles include "Thing", "Gomez", "Uncle Fester's Blues", "Laugh? I Thought I'd Die", "Hide & Go Shriek", and "Moritica's Theme". CD

A brilliantly overstuffed package of work from Italian composer Riz Ortolani! Una Sull'Atra is groovy little gem from Riz Ortolani! The soundtrack's got an excellent late 60s feel – with tracks that mix electric bass with sitar, flute, organ, and some fuller jazzy arrangements. There's a strong jazz component running through the mix – taking the score past some of the easier campier moments, and giving it a solid overall sound that will keep you coming back to it again and again. Titles include "Sitar In Blues", "Lombard Street", "St Francisco Railways", "St Quentin", "Un Sull Altra", and "Susan & Jane". Teresa La Ladra is an unusual Monica Vitti vehicle – and Ortolani's score features the funky theme "Teresa L'Illusa", alongside some mellower numbers that include "Teresa For Sax", "Teresa", and "Teresa & Blues". The best of the bunch, though, are the CD's 8 tracks from the Tiffany Memorandum – a groovy action score that's as wonderful as the name might imply! The work has a mod, swinging feel that's really nice – one that mixes together Italian "shake" modes of the 60s with some jazzier American touches on the best cuts. Titles include "Beat Fuga Shake", "Tiffany Sequence M8", "Tiffany Sequence M22", "Tiffany 23", and "Notte Al Grand Hotel". CD

An incredibly untapped world of cinematic jazz – pulled from an array of Spanish films of the late 50s and early 60s – most of which have soundtracks as dynamic as work coming from France or Italy at the time! A good portion of the tracks here are scored by Jose Sola – who seems to draw inspiration from some of the west coast jazz soundtracks of the 50s – work by Elmer Bernstein, Shorty Rogers, Leith Stevens, and others – blending standout soloists with fuller backings, but in a way that matches the stark energy of the images on the screen! The CD's an unusual one in that many of the tunes are quite long – upwards of 10 minutes, and very different than the shorter snippets of jazz you might get on other soundtrack efforts from the same generation – and some numbers keep in bits of the dialogue, presenting the music with sound that's more "cinematic" than straight studio recording. Solo instruments include a fair bit of trumpet and alto sax – and the package comes with a great booklet with notes in English and Spanish, plus images from the films. Titles include "Un Vaso De Whisky", "A Sangre Fria", "Altas Variedades", "Los Cuervos", "Regresa Un Desconocido", and "El Salario Del Crimen" by Jose Sola; plus "091 Policia Al Habla" by Augusto Alguero, "Juventud A La Intemperie" by Enrique Escobar, and "A Tiro Limpo" by Federico Martinez Tudo. CD