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Lovely later work from Nana Caymmi – just the sort of record that makes her a perfect heir to her family's strong musical tradition! The arrangements are full, but the feeling is close-up and personal – that sense of intimacy that Nana always brings to her best work – in ways that are never in the too romantic or soppy styles that you might get from less-skilled singers. Best of all, there's a slight rasp to her vocals that really comes through well – cutting through the backings and bringing us even closer together. Titles include "Doralinda", "Cantiga", "Ate O Redentor", "Resposta Ao Tempo", "Meu Sonho", "Longe Dos Olhos", "Ate Pensei",a nd "A Cara Do Espelho". CD

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Really wonderful later work from the great Matt Monro – one of the greatest voices in British music during the 60s, still going very strong here through a range of fantastic albums in the 70s! At some level, maybe Matt was waiting for this decade to really take off – as he had a mature style, even when young – one that's really well suited for the more sophisticated arrangements of the tunes, which also have the same sort of themes and sentiments that Frank Sinatra was hitting during his later years at Reprise – material that's carried off beautifully by Monro with his impeccable phrasing, and the sort of timing that has Matt's version of any tune really standing out from the rest! The package features a whopping 91 tracks in all – the albums From The Present, The Other Side Of The Stars, The Long & Winding Road, and If I Never Sing Another Song – plus loads of singles and rare tracks too – all bundled with a huge set of notes. CD

A tremendous document of work by Jake Thackray – one of the most unique talents on the British music scene of the 60s, but an artist who's sadly been un-remembered over the years! At first glance, Jake's definitely a folkie, but he's also one with a strong influence from French singer/songwriters like Jacques Brel or George Brassens – and takes key inspiration from them in the depth and darkness of his work. Like both Brel and Brassens, Thackray's got a style that's almost out of time – one that's ageless at some points, but with a very contemporary way of viewing the world – personal, pointed, and penned with an incredible sense of wit. In an era when most folkies were attacking the political or pushing into the fantastic, Jake spent careful time looking at human foibles and the complexities of interpersonal relationships – always from a distance, but close enough to note the odd humor in even the most banal situations. This wonderful set brings together 4 of Thackray's albums for EMI – Bantam Cock, Last Will & Testament, Jake's Progress, and On Again On Again – all of which feature Jake's slightly jazz-inflected vocals alongside acoustic guitar and very spare, but well-chosen additional instrumentation. Package also features a full disc of unreleased material – including different versions of other tunes on the albums. 97 tracks in all, and a wonderful musical discovery throughout! Titles include "The Cactus", "Country Bus", "Brother Gorilla", "The Girl In The Window", "Ulysses", "Scallywag", "Salvation Army Girl", "On The Shelf", "Go Little Swale", "Isabel Makes Love On National Monuments", "Joseph", "Famous People", "The Gravedigger", and "Leopold Alcocks". CD

A sprawling promotional release with 88 tracks from Marvin Gaye, Edwin Starr, The Supremes, The Miracles, The Jackson 5, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, The Velvettes, The Commodores, Michael Jackson, Gloria Gaynor, Tammi Terrell, Kim Weston, Syreeta and others! CD

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The groovy Brit piano player lays down a set of standards like "April In Paris", "Spring Song", "It Might As Well Be Spring", "Summertime", "The Solway In Summer", "Summer Wind", "Early Autumn", "September Song", "Forever Autumn", "When Winter Comes", "Winter World Of Love", and "June In January". CD

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Includes the albums Plays For Dancers In Love from 1957 and Plays For Dream Dancing from 1961. CD

A great CD that features 2 of the Art Ensemble's best French recordings! The first part of the CD features the stunning album Les Stances A Sophie – probably the greatest album ever by the Art Ensemble of Chicago – and also one of their rarest! 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". People In Sorrow is quite a different record – and features one long track, the title cut, with very spare music, and lots of isolated bass work, horn solos, and percussion – played by the quartet of Roscoe Mitchell, Joseph Jarman, Lester Bowie, and Malachi Favors. The track's a nice counterpart to the music on the first part of the disc – long, moody, and almost chillout in nature! CD

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Not as "adult" as you might think – at least given the way the word is used today – but pretty great work by Pearl nonetheless! The tunes themselves are a bit "blue" in terms of subject matter – tales of girls with hot pants, loose love, and the kind of backroom hijinks that weren't always talked about so freely in the torch singer era. But given the time, and the setting, the tunes are still pretty soft on the subjects – and get the themes across through clever turns of phrase, slight innuendo, and just the right intonation at the right time – a style that makes Pearl Bailey perfect for the work! The set features 21 tracks in all, and titles include "I Want A Man", "She Had To Go & Lose It At The Astor", "The Physician", "Westport", "One Man Ain't Quite Enough", "Aggravatin Papa", and "Nobody's Chasing Me". CD

A collection of tracks recorded during their early run on the Harvest label. Includes "Early Morning", "Mr. Sunshine", "Pools Of Blue", "I Can't Go On Without You", "Eden Unobtainable" and more – 31 tracks over 2 discs! CD

A sublime second solo effort from Syd Barrett – and maybe his most perfectly-formed album ever! There's a sinister balance to the record right from the start – a gentle approach to the offbeat themes that is almost more unsettling than if the matter was undertaken more forcefully – weird little bits just tossed off by Syd as if they're really the ramblings of the madman promised on the cover of his first LP – almost with a deadpan quality that makes the whole thing even more unsettling with repeated listenings! Instrumentation is relatively lean – almost a folksy mix of acoustic guitar, electric, sullen bass, and some haunting keyboards – all as if someone picked apart Pink Floyd, then started to construct a rough sketch from the parts that lay scattered on the floor. The album's had an influence from psych through punk and many years beyond – and titles include "Baby Lemonade", "Gigolo Aunt", "Wolfpack", "Effervescing Elephant", "Winde & Dined", "Rats", and "It Is Obvious". CD

One of John Barry's earliest scores for Bond – when his style was nice and raw, and when the Bond theme couldn't be heard enough throughout the course of the movie! Matt Munro sings the lyrics to the forgotten title hit – and other tracks include "James Bond Theme", "Tania Meets Klebb", "Guitar Lament", "Spectre Island", "Stalking", "Death Of Kerin", and "007 Takes The Lektor". Plus, the CD contains bonus cuts – for a total of 18 tracks in all! CD

An amazing collection of New Orleans soul and R&B – all from the masterful hands of producer/arranger Dave Bartholomew! CD

Count Basie rewrites history – updating his older work for the Roulette Records years, in this hip collection that features lots of new arrangements from Frank Foster – and rich performances from his great group at the time! The recordings are all new, as are the conceptions of the tunes – so there seems to be even more syncopated swing in the rhythms than on any of the older takes on the material – that fresh sound that the group grew into with Neal Hefti – still going strong here in Foster's hands. So although the tunes are Basie classics – and classics from other bands of the 30s and 40s – the performances and solos are plenty fresh! Titles include "Swinging The Blues", "Out The Window", "Texas Shuffle", "Down For Double", "Lester Leaps In", "Topsy", "Taps Miller", "Shorty George", "Jive At Five", and "Dogging Around". CD

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Seminal sounds from Be Bop Deluxe – a massive package that features all five of their albums for Harvest in the mid 70s – plus loads of bonus tracks too! The Be Bop Deluxe sound is a bit hard to peg, especially over the evolution enclosed here – but they've definitely got a cool compressed approach to music that's a bit like ELO – or at least like some of the best Brit work of the period that was using that studio style of mixing the vocals and guitars all up in the same sonic space, then fusing the whole thing to a tight level of production, yet all without ever sounding too slick at all. Be Bop Deluxe never had many hits on this side of the Atlantic – which may well be a testament to the inventiveness going on here – especially as things stretch out towards the end of the group, and seem to echo the imminent solo career of Bill Nelson. 5CD set features the full albums Axe Victim, Futurama, Sunburst Finish, Modern Music, and Drastic Plastic – plus loads more bonus tracks, singles, and demos – a massive 82 tracks in all! CD

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An earlier classic from The Beach Boys – and easily one of their best records from the prime sun and surf era for the group – with rave up rockers and some sweet ballads! So much as been written about the foreboding behind-the-scenes circumstances in Beach Boys lore, even during these early years, it can steal away from the more innocent charms if you allow it to – but don't! This is all about soaring, groovy harmonies and impeccable production – on tunes that include "I Get Around", "All Summer Long", "Hushabye", "Little Honda", "Wendy", "Carl's Big Chance", "Girls On The Beach", "Drive-In", "Don't Back Down" and more. CD

The Beatles at their late best – 1968's self-titled set, now immortalized as The White Album! The White Album capped offed a period of intense creativity for the band with a double that's as freewheeling as anything they'd ever release. It's got raw rockers with wry lyricism, tender acoustic balladry, psych blues jams and some flat out weird bits. As was always the case, John's and Paul's songs cover the majority of the sides, but The White Album also features what's arguably George's most vital moment as a Beatle with "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". Other tracks include "Back InThe USSR", "Dear Prudence","Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", "Happiness Is A Warm Gun", "Martha My Dear", "Rocky Raccoon", "Why Don't We Do It In The Road", "Julia", "Yer Blues", "Sexy Sadie", "Helter Skelter", "Revolution 1", Good Night" and more. Includes The Beatles Mini Documentary. CD