There's few big directors we'd trust with a compilation soundtrack as much as Quentin Tarantino – and once again, the Q's shown us that his knowledge of older music runs as deep as his talent for directing a fresh image on the screen! The package here is made up of older rock, soul, and soundtrack bits from the 60s and 70s – sweet pop next to heavy guitars next to deeper soul numbers – all in a way that makes even the familiar tunes sound somehow darker than before in this new company! There's a few snippets of dialogue from the film on the disc – but not too many to get in the way – and titles include "Sally & Jack" by Pino Donaggio, "Hold Tight" by Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick & Tich, "Jeepster" by T Rex, "The Love You Save" by Joe Tex, "Baby It's You" by Smith, "The Last Race" by Jack Nitzsche, "Paranoia Prima" by Ennio Morricone, "Staggolee" by Pacific Gas & Electric, "It's So Easy" by Willy DeVille, "Down In Mexico" by The Coasters, "Good Love Bad Love" by Eddie Floyd, and "Riot In Thunder Alley" by Eddie Beram. CD

One of the grooviest 60s soundtracks from Riz Ortolani – done for an Italian spy film, and very different than some of his bigger-name scores for global cinematic hits! The music here is very much in the best jazzy style you'd expect from a spy thriller, but also has some groovy mod numbers too – romping tunes that are an Italian take on UK beat modes, with really cool rhythms that are upbeat and very soulful – cuts that are then interspersed with slinkier numbers that fit the mode of the spy in the company of a lovely lady! This expanded CD is the first time this much music has ever been released from the film – a whopping 22 titles in all, in comparison to the previous release of only 9 tracks! CD

Music from the films Awaara, Dil Hi To Hai, Barsaat, Main nashe Men Hoon, Chori Chori, Mera Naam Joker, and more! (Global Grooves, Soundtracks) CD

One of the weirdest records Sun Ra ever made – music to accompany the strange film Space Is The Place – which itself was an odd mixture of science fiction and blacksploitation-type action! The sounds here are sometimes in the usual Arkestra mode – wonderfully exotic rhythms mixed with freewheeling jazz solos – but other parts seem to follow more of a soundtrack-styled need – and include some bolder action riffs, spare scene-setting moments, and even some strong vocal themes. Titles include "Watusa", "Calling Planet Earth", "Mysterious Crystal", "Outerspaceways Incorporated", "Cosmic Forces", "Satellites Are Spinning", and a version of "Space Is The Place". This special set also includes the bonus Mathematics Of The Altered Destiny, a full LP of unreleased music from Sun Ra featuring June Tyson – and the first ever US Blu-ray release of the film, and a standard DVD as well! CD also features the bonus track "The Idea Of A Greater Age". (Jazz, Soundtracks) CD

One of the weirdest records Sun Ra ever made – music to accompany the strange film Space Is The Place – which itself was an odd mixture of science fiction and blacksploitation-type action! The sounds here are sometimes in the usual Arkestra mode – wonderfully exotic rhythms mixed with freewheeling jazz solos – but other parts seem to follow more of a soundtrack-styled need – and include some bolder action riffs, spare scene-setting moments, and even some strong vocal themes. Titles include "Watusa", "Calling Planet Earth", "Mysterious Crystal", "Outerspaceways Incorporated", "Cosmic Forces", "Satellites Are Spinning", and a version of "Space Is The Place". This special set also includes the bonus Mathematics Of The Altered Destiny, a full LP of unreleased music from Sun Ra featuring June Tyson – and the first ever US Blu-ray release of the film, and a standard DVD as well! (Jazz, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album

One of the weirdest records Sun Ra ever made – music to accompany the strange film Space Is The Place – which itself was an odd mixture of science fiction and blacksploitation-type action! The sounds here are sometimes in the usual Arkestra mode – wonderfully exotic rhythms mixed with freewheeling jazz solos – but other parts seem to follow more of a soundtrack-styled need – and include some bolder action riffs, spare scene-setting moments, and even some strong vocal themes. Titles include "Watusa", "Calling Planet Earth", "Mysterious Crystal", "Outerspaceways Incorporated", "Cosmic Forces", "Satellites Are Spinning", and a version of "Space Is The Place". This special set also includes the bonus Mathematics Of The Altered Destiny, a full LP of unreleased music from Sun Ra featuring June Tyson – and the first ever US Blu-ray release of the film, and a standard DVD as well! (Jazz, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album

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

Side one of this LP isn't much to write home about – dramatic orchestral music, written by Mark Lawrence, and conducted by Norman Paris – dark stuff to accompany the film in the title. Side two is great, though – jazzy "impressions" of the main themes, played by a group that's led by Victor Feldman, with a free lyrical approach that's better than most of his other work from the time. Titles include "Theme From David & Lisa", "David & Lisa's Love Song", "Paree Paree Paree", and "Clock Smash". LP, Vinyl record album

Insane! This is a totally weird album of messed-up funky grooves, played by the enigmatic Pool-Pah rock group, with arrangements by Rupert Holmes (of "Pina Colada" fame!) The music is a weird mix of spare moogy instrumentals and flanged-out vocal tracks designed to accompany a strange film called The Flasher – and although the general concept of the film and music seem incredibly stupid, the overall sound is pretty darn great! The album includes the monster slow-moving break track "Sour Soul", plus other nice funky and moogy tracks, like "Flight", "Two Way Road", and "Flasher Theme". Incredibly obscure, and the kind of rare break record you dig for for years! LP, Vinyl record album

A 2CD set of music designed to accompany Japanese animation that starred "the little Norse Prince Valiant" – the cut lil' guy pictured on the cover, who gets some very action-packed accompaniment here! Most tunes are short and lively, and almost echo an older cartoon mode that you might have heard in the US in the 30s and 40s – not exactly Merrie Melodies or Raymond Scott, but not that far away either – as there's all sorts of playful arrangements, unusual horns, offbeat rhythms, and other things that really make the orchestrations sparkle! As with other titles in this series, the whole thing is very well done, but with all notes and titles in Japanese – a 2CD set with 54 tracks in all. CD

Haunting music composed to accompany the trippy Labyrinthe at Expo '67 in Montreal. Supposedly, the Labyrinthe was this wild maze of shapes, sounds, film images, and music with kind of a political twist to it. Rathburn's music includes a lot of electronic bits, and the sound shifts around a lot to move with the maze's different themes like "The Universe Spins On the Point Of My Head" or "The Wind In My Hand". And who says you ever needed drugs in the 60's? (Sound Library, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album

A great little album, put together to accompany one of Muhammad Ali's finest moments on the big screen – in a blend of music that's way deeper than the usual sounds you'd hear ringside! Michael Masser helmed the set – produced and wrote most of the material – but also with key contributions from George Benson, whose vocals grace some of the sweeter songs on the album – plus Mandrill, who help with some of the more hard-driving funky cuts! The set features the extended clubby groover "Ali Bombaye" – an almost Afro Funk-ish tune, performed by Mandrill – and other cuts include the mellower "I Always Knew I Had It In Me" and "The Greatest Love Of All", both sung by George Benson, plus "Ali's Theme", which is pretty nice. (Soul, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album

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