A surprisingly soulful album from this novelty singer from the 70s! Back in the day, Charo was everyone's idea of a joke on TV, but this album's actually a pretty great little session – thanks to help from Vince Montana and the Philly crew! The album has Charo breathily singing and talking most of the lyrics – inflecting them with a slight Latin accent, as you'd expect from her many appearances on game and variety shows in the late 70s. Vince more than keeps things cool, though – providing some great soulful grooves, and a bit of vibes, to really flesh out the tunes, and keep them from being simple disco knockoffs. Titles include "Cookie Jar", "Speedy Gonzalez", "Only You", "Dance A Little Bit Closer", "El Reloj", "More Of You", and "Borriquito". LP, Vinyl record album

Rough-edged rock and roll from the Peruvian scene of the 60s – a set cut at a time when the scene was still very much in love with the R&B-influenced style of the UK beat groups, and less concerned with some of their later, more psychedelic directions! There's a nicely garagey quality to many of the tunes here – not just from the muddy drumbeats, fuzzy guitar, and bass – but also from the way that the lead vocals are recorded – often much louder than the instrumentation, blowing the sound way into the red. There's a few more psych-oriented moments – really just hints of what's to come, and less all-out jams – and titles include "Mira Tu", "Vallery", "Solo Pido Amor", "La Punta De Mi Lengua", "Charo", "Se Que No Cambiaras", "Abrazame Baby", and "Solo Estoy". LP, Vinyl record album

A sweet collection of grooves from the legendary Salsoul label – easily one of the hippest imprints on the New York scene of the 70s! Salsoul's grooves go way beyond the usual disco – crafted with roots that go back to soul and salsa of the earlier part of the decade – and often mixed to perfection with a sound that holds up strongly, even on a crowded dancefloor! This package features ten of the best-remembered gems from the label – most in long mixes that echo their strong popularity as 12" single – titles that include "Doctor Love" by First Choice, "Runaway" by The Salsoul Orchestra with Loleatta Holloway, "Jingo" by Candido, "Dreamin" by Loleatta Holloway, "By The Way You Dance" by Bunny Sigler, "Love Is You" by Carol Williams, "Dance A Little Bit Closer" by Charo, "I Love New York" by Metropolis, and "Rio De Janeiro" by Gary Criss. CD

American film may have invented the genres of crime jazz and blacksploitation funk – but by the mid 70s, the Italian scene was really giving us a run for our money – as they turned out some amazing grooves for their legendary run of cop and crime films at the time! The movies were awash in music that really kept the action moving – heavy drums, badass basslines, wah wah guitar, and anything else that fit the spirit of a great chase or action scene. This collection brings together some of the best of that stretch – and, as with other of these recent Sugar productions, adds in some unreleased material that makes the package essential, even if you've already got work from this scene in your collection. Titles include "Il Cappotto Dilegno (edit)" by Riz Ortolani, "Poliziotto Spring M2" by Stelvio Cipriani, "Silkin Street" by Guido & Maurizio De Angelis, "Ordine Firmato Inbianco" by Carlo Savina, "Onore E Guapparia M7" by Filippo Trecca, "L'Intoccabile Mr Cliff" by Riz Ortolani, "I Gabbianivolano Basso M13" by Roberto Pregadio, "Body Guard" by Stelvio Cipriano, "Il Braccioviolento Della Mala M10" by Vassili Kojucharov, and "L'Assassino Hale Ore Contate" by Luis Bacalov. CD

Great early genius from the Clarke Boland Big Band – proof that Kenny and Francy were onto something great, right from the start! The album really has the group hitting the heights of their MPS years – stretching out way past earlier big band modes, into the hip mix of rhythms and soulful solos that made the ensemble unlike any other group in the 60s – a really groundbreaking approach to their music, delivered by a range of top-shelf players! Arrangements are by Boland, who also plays piano – and other group members include Benny Bailey and Jimmy Deuchar on trumpets, Derek Humble on alto sax, Carl Drewo and Zoot Sims on tenor, Sahib Shihab on baritone sax and flute, and Ake Persson on trombone – plus rhythm from the rock-solid duo of Jimmy Woode on bass and Kenny Clarke on drums. Titles include the Latin-tinged "Los Bravos", and more great originals by Boland – including "Volutes", "The Styx", "Charon's Ferry", and "Box 703 Washington DC" – plus versions of "Gloria" and "Last Train From Overbrook". CD