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One of the moddest soundtracks of the 60s Italian scene – a great blend of jazzy riffing, bassy bouncing, and some occasional cool vocal touches – all put together in a way that features lots of short tunes all grooving around one another! The approach often has the music coming out in short snapshots – little tracks that change mood quickly, but all often feature some odd variation on the main theme – slightly redone instrumentally, sometimes giving way to sparer percussion or vibes – while at other times picking up the pace to hit a far groovier mode! The work was composed and conducted mostly by Francesco DeMasi, but Alessandro Alessandroni helped out on the famous "Tema Di Londra" – and also conducted I Cantori Moderni on a number of tracks! 28 titles in all – including "Tema Di Londra", "Double Gaming", "Goldsmith", "Pianochain", "Madrid Theme", "Mister Owen's Suit", "Chasing The Spy", "Get An End", "The Game Is Going To", and "Il Mondo Va Cosi". CD

An earnest, kinda lovable hard rock soundtrack to the modern classic movie version of the earnest, TOTALLY lovable SNL-sketch Wayne's World! Naturally opening with Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", thanks the flick's most unforgettable scene, the soundtrack is a goofy, but fun mix of glammy and hard rock, classic 70s jams and early alt rock of the time, plus glam pop tunes by co-star Tia Carrarre and Mike Myers and Dana Carvey on the Wayne's World theme. Party on! Includes "Foxey Lady" by Jimi Hendrix, "Ballroom Blitz" by Tia Carrere, "Feed My Frankenstein" by Alice Cooper, "Dream Weaver" by Gary Wright, "Time Machine" by Black Sabbath, "Loving Your Lovin" by Eric Clapton and more. CD

Probably the greatest album ever by the Art Ensemble of Chicago – and also one of their rarest! The album was cut for Pathe Marconi in Paris in 1970, and was the soundtrack to a film that was as obscure as the album. The group's never been finer – and plays with a creative tightness that you'll be hard pressed to find on other records. Some tracks are almost straight jazz – but there's all these wonderful little breakdowns and burst of creative energy that keep the AACM spirit alive and true. The lead track of the album is the massive "Theme De Yoyo", a righteous powerful groover that features vocals by Fontella Bass (wife of Lester Bowie of the group), and which has become an all-time jazz dance classic! Other tracks have a sparer soundtracky feel, and a few more are in the experimental vein of the Art Ensemble's other Paris work at the time. Wonderful overall though – and an incredibly righteous album filled with power and imagination! Titles include "Theme De Celine", "Proverbes", "Theme Libre", and "Variations Sur Un Theme De Monteverdi". (Jazz, Soundtracks) CD

One of Ennio Morricone's most famous film scores – and certainly the one that got him recognized as a genius on a global level! The whole thing's pretty damn eerie – about as eerie as the movie, which is a real stunner – and it shifts from dark orchestral themes to sparer numbers that use guitar, banjo, and some really creepy whistling to set the mood – that landmark Morricone sense of space that really transformed film music in the 60s. Some tracks feature vocal work by I Cantorni Moderni, directed by Alessandro Alessandroni – and titles include "C'Era Una Volta Il West", "Cheyenne", "Armonica", "L'Uomo Dell'Armonica" and "L'America Di Jill". Plus, this bonus version features loads more extra tracks – making for a total of 27 in all, the fullest version of the score we've ever seen! CD

A very cool late 60s spy soundtrack from Italian maestro Armando Trovajoli – possibly one of his most dynamic scores of the time, filled with a range of modes – from jazzy, to moody, to mellow! The main theme of the film has a leaping, soaring piano/horn line that's totally great – quite driving and catchy, with enough of a groove to make it alone worth seeking out – but other tracks are plenty wonderful too, and feature a nice array of jazzy passages mixed with sweeter strings, plus a few sparer, more contemplative moments that echo the theme in very subtle ways. The lovely Lara Saint Paul sings the theme song "The Touch Of A Kiss" – and other titles include "The Report Is Completed", "Just Pull The Trigger", "The Last Gift", "A Bank In Zurich", "The Cottage Over The River", "Unexpected Note", "A Forced Meeting", "Suddenly An Old Friend", "Tears & Spies", and "She Dangerous Stuff". CD

Probably the greatest album ever by the Art Ensemble of Chicago – and also one of their rarest! The album was cut for Pathe Marconi in Paris in 1970, and was the soundtrack to a film that was as obscure as the album. The group's never been finer – and plays with a creative tightness that you'll be hard pressed to find on other records. Some tracks are almost straight jazz – but there's all these wonderful little breakdowns and burst of creative energy that keep the AACM spirit alive and true. The centerpiece of the album is the massive "Theme De Yoyo", a righteous powerful groover that features vocals by Fontella Bass (wife of Lester Bowie of the group), and which has become an all-time jazz dance classic! Other tracks have a sparer soundtracky feel, and a few more are in the experimental vein of the Art Ensemble's other Paris work at the time. Wonderful overall though – and an incredibly righteous album filled with power and imagination! Titles include "Theme De Celine", "Proverbes", "Theme Libra", and "Variations Sur Un Theme De Monteverdi". (Jazz, Soundtracks) CD

A surprisingly complex score from the great Les Baxter – written for Roger Corman's famous film version of The Fall Of The House Of Usher! The music is quite lush at times – more orchestral than some of the Baxter exotica from the same period, but still filled with lots of great little twists and turns – especially as the narrative moves on – that ear for odd sounds and unusual tunings that made Les one of the real standouts of his generation! There's lots of weird watery passages, moody reed tones, and offbeat string sounds – and this great reissue features remastered sound and a full booklet of notes. Titles include "Madeline Usher", "Roderick Usher", "Buried Alive", "Catalepsy", "Pallbearers", and "The Ancestors". CD

A surprisingly sweet little soundtrack at times – with tunes that are nicer than you might expect from the title or the image on the cover! Some of the material here is definitely in keeping with the horror setting of the movie, but other tracks have a slinky, almost jazzy feel – bits of piano, keyboards, or guitar skipping along with some lightly rhythmic backings that lilt them up and down with a gentle swing. Other tracks are slower, and sparer, but even these are usually not too dark, and certainly not in the atonal modes of other Italian scores from the time. The DeAngelis approach here is almost like Stelvio Cipriani at his best – and the CD features 33 tracks in all, most of them previously unreleased, with titles that include "Perugia", "Il Primo Omicidio", "Corpi Smembrati", "La Strage Ha Inizio", and "Marcellazione". CD

One of Ennio Morricone's most famous film scores – and certainly the one that got him recognized as a genius on a global level! The whole thing's pretty damn eerie – about as eerie as the movie, which is a real stunner – and it shifts from dark orchestral themes to sparer numbers that use guitar, banjo, and some really creepy whistling to set the mood – that landmark Morricone sense of space that really transformed film music in the 60s. Some tracks feature vocal work by I Cantorni Moderni, directed by Alessandro Alessandroni – and titles include "C'Era Una Volta Il West", "Cheyenne", "Armonica", "L'Uomo Dell'Armonica" and "L'America Di Jill". Plus, this bonus version features loads more extra tracks – making for a total of 27 in all, the fullest version of the score we've ever seen! CD

Pure 70s genius from Lalo Schifrin – and the lost soundtrack to the second Dirty Harry film! Magnum Force never received a proper soundtrack album at the time – and although we've waited over 30 years, this overstuffed package finally gives the Schifrin score it's due – serving up a great variety of short tunes that fully illustrated the musical genius that made the Dirty Harry films so great. The set's got a total of 22 tracks in all – and goes way beyond the Dirty Harry Anthology sets to include some of the darker, moodier numbers from Magnum Force – some great shorter tunes that sit nicely next to the more famous funky themes! Titles include "Warm Enough", "Last Dance In Sausalito", "Early Is Late", "Briggs", "Magnum Force", "Stakeout", "Execution Squad", "The Bullet", "Potrero Hill", "The Faceless Assassin", "The Crooks", and "Harry's Ostinato". CD

A familiar record – but a fantastic one! You probably all know the famous theme to "Mission Impossible" – Lalo Schfrin's beautiful jazzy number, with three piano notes revolving over and over again with incredible intensity – and the rest of the record is every bit as great, filled with a wonderful mix of groovy styles! The groove ranges from fast bossa to groovy 60s crime jazz to sparer tenser numbers that still manage to move nicely – and listening to the record over the years, our ears are always happily surprised at the level of genius that was allowed expression in the guise of a normal TV soundtrack. 22 cuts that include "More Mission", "Self Destruct", "Intrigue", "Jim On The Move", "The Plot", "The Sniper", "Danger", and "Barney Does It All". CD

Our favorite chapter in the long and storied career of film score legend John Barry – music from a moment when he'd moved past the fame of his earlier James Bond soundtracks, and started hitting territory that was even more mindblowing overall! Barry was already great with Bond, and as those films moved on, he developed this amazing ear for more sophisticated, subtle elements – which unfold here at a level that easily puts the composer/arranger in territory of much more lauded studio and sound library talents! There's still some catchy vocal tunes in the mix – but what's even more striking is Barry's evolved sense of sound and timing – so that familiar instruments can sound all weird and unusual – yet still tuneful too – almost as if he were running over to the European avant garde to borrow a few sonic ideas, then fold them into the groovier numbers included within. The set features some of our favorite John Barry tracks ever, mixed with other more obscure numbers that are equally great – tunes that include "Follow Follow", "The Adventurer", "Highway 101", "The More Things Change", "Theme From The Appointment", "Fun City", "Midnight Cowboy", "Theme From Romance For Guitar & Orchestra", "We Have All The Time In The World", "Afternoon", "Theme From The Persuaders", "Lion In Winter", and "Who Will Buy My Yesterdays". CD

A pretty nice little record from Jobim – one that builds on the larger orchestrations he was crafting during the 70s, working into a sound that's rich, warm, and a strong accompaniment for this film that starred Marcello Mastroianni. Oscar Castro Neves conducts the orchestra, and Jobim and Gal Costa sing on a few songs – dueting in an especially lovely way on the tracks "Tying The Knot", "Love Theme From Gabriela", and "Love Theme – Long Version". Other titles include "Arrival Of The Wanderers", "Thinking Of Life", "Playing Leapfrog", and "Walking Through The Forest". (Brazil, Soundtracks) CD

Includes the sublime theme for Laura – plus music from Bad & The Beautiful and Forever Amber – all rerecorded with great sound in the 70s, with Raksin directing the orchestra! CD