Some of our favorite work ever from the mighty Lee Hazlewood – material recorded under his own name for Reprise Records – during a stretch when he was also producing for the label with Nancy Sinatra and Dean Martin! The 2CD set features 3 full albums, plus great bonus tracks too – and the assembled lot is as great of a tribute to Hazlewood's genius as we've ever seen! First up is The NSVIPs – a set that follows up the same sort of "story song" format that Lee laid down on his wonderful Trouble album for Mercury – but done here with themes that are a bit hipper, and more wry – in keeping with his Reprise persona. Next is Friday's Child, which has some of Hazlewood's most beautifully-penned tunes – tracks that mix the whimsy of his bigger hits with some great darker elements. Last up is the amazing Love & Other Crimes – one of our favorite albums of the 60s, magically recorded in Paris with a very unique sound – and a style that's a bit different than some of Hazlewood's other records. Titles include "First Street Blues", "I Had A Friend", "Everybody Calls Me Something", "Me & Charlie", "A Real Live Fool", "Hutchinson Jail", "By The Way", "Houston", "Morning Dew", "The House Song", "Love & Other Crimes", "Pour Man", and "Wait & See". Bonus tracks are great too – and include Hazlewood tracks "Ode To Billie Joe", "Rainbow Woman", "I Am You Are", and "Charlie Bill Nelson" – plus other gems that include "Just Bluesin" and "Houston" by Sanford Clark, "A Stranger In Town" by The Vanguards, "The Whisk" by The Whisk Kids, "Zapata" by Jack Nitzsche, "What Are We Gonna Do In 64" by The Wildcats, "Our Man Flint" by The Ring A Dings, and "This Town" by Duane Eddy. 55 tracks in all. CD

The cover of this one might make the album one of the campiest records on Verve – but the session's a surprisingly great one, with a straighter vocal approach than you'd guess! Monica's got a really sweet vocal style – a bit sexy, and certainly adult – arranged here with some nice jazzy touches from Frank DeVol, working in backings that are a lot hipper than those we remember him using with other singers from the time. Monica handles herself like a big girl in front of all those Marines – all-woman, but clearly not giving it away to the first man in blue who walks down the street. Titles include "Blues In The Night", "Miss You", "Rough Ridin", "All Alone", "The Song Is You", "Undecided", and "I'll Be Seeing You". CD

Breezy electric vocals from 70s Sweden – a great little record that's heavy on electric piano and organ, and which features some sublime vocals from singer Meta Roos! The record does a great job of blending influences from bossa nova and sophisticated American soul – in a style that manages to draw on some of the bigger songwriters of the time, but which makes the work come across with a fresh sound of its own – thanks to creatively grooving arrangements from keyboardist Nippe Sylwen! Sylwen's keys dominate the music almost as much as Meta's warm vocals – and titles include great versions of "Zazueira", "Feel Like Makin Love", "For Peace & Love", "Oh Lori", "Here We Are Falling In Love Again", "You've Got A Friend", and "Street Walking Women". CD

2 swingers from Nancy – 2 of her first albums, back to back on one CD! Both sides feature jazzy arrangements from Billy May – backings that put Nancy in prime vocal mode, with less of the pop soul touches of her late 60s work – and more of the strong Capitol singer mode that May forged with Sinatra and other big acts during the 50s. Nancy, as always, really shines in the setting – working wonderfully through a mixture of older standards and some fresher tunes – on a set of 24 titles that include "Something Happens To Me", "He's My Guy", "I Wish You Love", "Teach Me Tonight", "Night Mist", "You Leave Me Breathless", "On The Street Where You Live", "If It's The Last Thing I Do", and her sublime reading of "Guess Who I Saw Today". CD

All of Prima's sides for Capitol from the late 50s and early 60s, plus wife and colleague Keely Smith and band leader Sam Butera's solo work from the era in an incredible 8 CD box! We often think of Louis as kinda of a loungey, Vegas cool cat, but what is so awesome about the material you'll find here is how furiously manic so much of it is. The first 3 discs document Prima at his wild, hard-swinging studio best – and could give Tito Puente a run for his money in the sweaty big-beat department! Tracks include "Buona Sera", "Just A Gigolo/I A'int Got Nobody ", "Jump, Jive, And Wail", "The Closer To The Bone", "Pennies From Heaven", "Pump Song", "Fee Fio Foo", "Lazy River", "I've Got You Under My Skin", and tons more. Discs 4 covers live sets at the Harrah's Club and the Sahara, and includes "On The Sunny Side Of The Street", "A Foggy Day", "Robin Hood", "Judy", and "Greenback Dollar Bill". Discs 5 & 6 cover Keely's sweeter but nearly as great sides, with Nelson Riddle and others, and tracks include "I Wish You Love", "It's Magic", and "Nothing In Common" and "How Are Ya' Fixed For Love?" with Frank Sinatra. Finally, Sam Butera's solo work is collected on the last 2 discs, returning things to Prima-style rockin' jazz, and including "Bim Bam", "Twinkle In Your Eye", "Bugs", "Tennessee Waltz", "Better Twist Now Baby", and "I'll Feel Good All Over". Great stuff from one of the tightest working units from the era, and a real treat to have in one place! CD

Some of our favorite work ever from the mighty Lee Hazlewood – material recorded under his own name for Reprise Records – during a stretch when he was also producing for the label with Nancy Sinatra and Dean Martin! The 2CD set features 3 full albums, plus great bonus tracks too – and the package is as great of a tribute to Hazlewood's genius as we've ever seen! First up is The NSVIPs – a set that follows up the same sort of "story song" format that Lee laid down on his wonderful Trouble album for Mercury – but done here with themes that are a bit hipper, and more wry – in keeping with his Reprise persona. Next is Friday's Child, which has some of Hazlewood's most beautifully-penned tunes – tracks that mix the whimsy of his bigger hits with some great darker elements. Last up is the amazing Love & Other Crimes – one of our favorite albums of the 60s, magically recorded in Paris with a very unique sound – and a style that's a bit different than some of Hazlewood's other records. Titles include "First Street Blues", "I Had A Friend", "Everybody Calls Me Something", "Me & Charlie", "A Real Live Fool", "Hutchinson Jail", "By The Way", "Houston", "Morning Dew", "The House Song", "Love & Other Crimes", "Pour Man", and "Wait & See". Bonus tracks are great too – and include Hazlewood tracks "Ode To Billie Joe", "Rainbow Woman", "I Am You Are", and "Charlie Bill Nelson" – plus other gems that include "Just Bluesin" and "Houston" by Sanford Clark, "A Stranger In Town" by The Vanguards, "The Whisk" by The Whisk Kids, "Zapata" by Jack Nitzsche, "What Are We Gonna Do In 64" by The Wildcats, "Our Man Flint" by The Ring A Dings, and "This Town" by Duane Eddy. 55 tracks in all – in a beautiful package with a gorgeous book! CD

Brilliant work by Peggy Lee – very different than most of her later more pop-oriented recordings! Peggy signed to Decca as a solo act right after working with bigger bands in the 40s, and her recordings for the label are wonderful – featuring many ballads and torchy numbers, recorded in small-combo fashion, in a style that's similar to some of Chris Connor's later Bethlehem work, plus some larger arrangements that push her even further, and which move into a wealth of interesting styles that show her to be an incredibly talented vocalist. The package features a total of 46 tracks in all – and tracks include "Black Coffee", "Lover", "You Go To My Head", "Let Me Go Lover", "Joey Joey Joey", "My Old Flame", "Street Of Dreams", "Where Flamingos Fly", "Johnny Guitar", "Sisters", "Bouquet Of Blues", "Love Letters", and "Sans Souci". CD

A great 30-track set that spans the breadth of Nancy Wilson's years at Capitol – and which includes many of her big hits, plus some of those excellent label cuts from the early 70s that have never made it onto other anthologies. In fact, even the hits from the 60s can sometimes be elusive – especially when looking over old LPs, since they were always more readily available as singles. Whatever the case, the set finally fills in some holes in the reissue market – and includes loads of nice numbers, like "You'd Better Go", "Guess Who I Saw Today", "Streetrunner", "Life, Love, & Harmony", "Love Has Smiled On Us", "Come Get To This", "All In Love Is Fair", "Face It Girl, It's Over", "Save Your Love For Me", "Peace Of Mind", "The Greatest Performance Of My Life", and "Don't Misunderstand". CD