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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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Includes "Sha La La", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", "Pretty Flamingo", "The One In The Middle", "Oh No, Not My Baby", "Come Tomorrow", and more. LP, Vinyl record album

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

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

The Shadows on their own, without Cliff Richard – but that's OK with us, as it means that we get to hear plenty of great guitar work from Hank Marvin, and drums and pepiano from Brian Bennett! LP, Vinyl record album

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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A very cool early EP from The Animals – the group's second in this format, and never originally issued in the US! The group are at their young, gritty best here – with lots of bluesy currents in the music, thanks to Alan Price on Hammond – topped with soulful vocals from the mighty Eric Burdon, who never fails to blow us away. Titles include the great "I'm Mad Again", plus "Bury My Body", "She Said Yeah", and "I'm In Love". 12-inch, Vinyl record

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

A gem of a record from the groundbreaking Landsdowne series of UK jazz recordings at the end of the 70s – an ambitious effort directed by composer Neil Ardley, cut very much in the mode of the best work by the Ian Carr/Don Rendell group of the time! As the title might imply, the tunes are all of Greek mythological inspiration – but not in a hokey sort of style, or one that has any overdone "battle of the gods" feel. Instead, there's a warm, intimate approach to the work – almost in the mode of the best sophisticated jazz soundtracks of the late 60s – with a real concern for color, shadings, and tone – ultimately in a style that has less to do with mythology than you might think, but which is pretty darn impressive nonetheless! Carr plays trumpet and flugelhorn, Rendell plays saxes and flutes – and other players include Jack Bruce on bass, Chris Spedding on guitar, and and Barbara Thompson on reeds. Titles include "The Greek Variations", "Farewell Penelope", "Persephone's Jive", "Veil Of Ino", and "Siren's Song". LP, Vinyl record album

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

Like the other Art Ensemble record on Nessa, Les Stances A Sophie, this one was recorded in France on the beautiful July 7, 1969 during one of the most fruitful periods for the group. Unlike that one, though, this one is a very different recording musically. The LP features one long track, the title cut, and the music is very spare, with lots of nice isolated bass work, horn solos, and percussion. The group here is a quartet that features Roscoe Mitchell, Joseph Jarman, Lester Bowie, and Malachi Favors. LP, Vinyl record album

Sweet cosmic disco from the Italian scene of the 70s – a record that was produced at a time when the inspirations of Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream were really finding their way into the clubs! The group is really just the duo of Romano Musumarra and Claudi Gizzi– and the pair work together in this wonderful array of beats, basslines, and keyboards that really move past the usual – sometimes evoking the majesty of the prog years, but always holding onto the groove – and at other moments creating the sort of lean lines that made European acts like this such a strong inspiration for American electro and street soul in the decade to come! Titles include the side long "Automat" suite – plus "Droid", "Ultraviolet", and "Mecadence". LP, Vinyl record album

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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