An amazing record! By all rights, this shouldn't be so good – but it's an incredible album of haunting tracks that really has us coming back again and again over the years. The formula is simple: Jose plays late 60s pop tunes on acoustic guitar, and sings them in his spacey soulful voice. Backings are by George Tipton, plus a jazz combo made up of Jim Horn, Ray Brown, and Milt Holland – but it's Jose that really makes the whole thing amazing! His style of presentation is like anything else we can describe – filled with sadness and soul, but enough joy to keep moving forward. He takes tracks like "Light My Fire", "In My Life", "Sunny", and "California Dreamin", and transforms them into an amazing document of the darkness hidden behind the sun of southern California. "California Dreamin" is especially amazing – and Jose's version is one of the best soul songs of all time! LP, Vinyl record album

A classic set of tracks from Peggy – featuring the sublime hit "Is That All There Is?", produced by Lieber & Stoller, and arranged and conducted by Randy Newman. Other arrangements are by the likes of Mike Melvoin, Mundell Lowe, George Tipton, and Bobby Bryant – all of whom conspire to give Peggy one of her hippest albums ever. Titles include "I'm A Woman", "Love Story", "Brother Love's Travelling Show", and "Don't Smoke In Bed". LP, Vinyl record album

A short detour in the 60s career of Chet Baker – one that we sure like a heck of a lot! This side is one of a couple that were recorded as an answer to the big success of Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass – with Chet's trumpet was backed by jaunty, brassy arrangements penned by Jack Nitzsche, and George Tipton. And while it might be easy to dismiss the tunes as copycat sound-a-likes, they're really not – as Nitszche brings in a much fuller groove to most of the numbers than Herb Alpert ever did – more of a sunny LA pop feel that has the whole group really gliding along on bold waves of sound all topped off by Baker's horn – sounding stronger and more confident here than on many of his other recordings of the 60s! Some numbers have a Latin undercurrent while others lean towards mainstream pop – a style that's bolder than A&M's approach to Tijuana – and one that explodes with some youthful LA energies! 12 tracks in all, including "Happiness Is", "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)", "The Phoenix Love Theme (Senza Fine)", "On The Street Where You Live", 'Armen's Theme", "You Baby" and "It's Too Late". LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic sunshine pop from the Strawberry Alarm Clock – an album that's a bit trippy, a lot sunny – and just the right mix of psych and harmony soul! There's some wonderful overlooked nuggets on the record – tunes that go past their chart hits, and which really remind us that the group was definitely a cut above most of their contemporaries – with these edges and surprises that really keep things interesting. The mighty George Tipton helped arrange some of the best cuts – and titles include the massive "Barefoot In Baltimore" – a perfect bridge between the earlier 60s harmony sounds, and the headier mode of the later generation – as well as the tracks "Sea Shell", "Lady Of The Lake", "A Million Smiles Away", "Shallow Impressions", and "Eulogy". LP, Vinyl record album

Jose Feliciano really lives up to the title here – stepping out strongly with the same style used on his "California Dreamin" hit – a massive blend of strings, soul, and Jose's unique vocal approach! Feliciano came out of the Latin market in the 60s, but by the time of this record he's really a key crossover force in soul – and one that helped establish the brown-eyed variant of the music through his massive work for RCA. The instrumentation is often as groovy as the record – with backing by a small combo that includes Milt Holland on percussion, Ray Brown on bass, and Mike Melvoin on keyboards – plus added arrangements from RCA talents George Tipton and All Capps. Titles include the groovy "Hitchcock Railway", plus "Younger Generation", "Sad Gypsy", "Hi Heel Sneakers", "She's Too Good To Me", and "Sleep Late My Lady Friend". LP, Vinyl record album

Brilliant stuff – and exactly the place to start with Harry Nilsson! Long before his style had become cliched – or before it was copied by too many others – Nilsson cut this mad album of wonderful little songs – sort of a cross between folksy singer-songwriter work, and more baroque-oriented styles, like those of Scott Walker – and like Walker, in a really unique space of its own! The key element here is whimsy – and Nilsson let arranger George Tipton take him all over the map, from the somber tone of his classic "Without Her", to the spacious joy of "River Deep Mountain High", to the silliness of "1941", and the sad beauty of "She's Leaving Home". Great stuff all around – with a sound that's impossible to pinpoint, but which is perfect all the way through! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the coolest-sounding Martin Denny albums of the 60s – a record that blends his earlier exotica sound with elements of Indian music, and maybe some great bossa nova currents too! For the set, Denny takes a tip from the sound of the East – adding some slight Indian flavors to his usual groove with the help of arranger George Tipton – who you might know from his work with Nilsson, or some of his own great instrumental records! Most of the music is still in the lush piano instrumental mode that Denny was using in these later Liberty years – but things are definitely groovy throughout, even if the Indian elements are sometimes used in ways that are more bossa than anything else. Maybe not the clearest picture you'll get of the sound of India in the 60s – but a sweet little record, with titles that include "Incense & Peppermints", "Live For Life", "Touch Of India", "Hypnotique", and "Indrani". LP, Vinyl record album

Great stuff from Nimoy – and proof that his committment to being more than just a sci-fi actor was real, if not successful! The record features groovy pop and vocal tracks with arrangements by George Tipton, and a nice mod-ish feel that works well with Nimoy's Scott Walker-ish vocals and seriousness. The record features a number of very nice original tracks like "Contact", "Piece Of Hope", "The Man I Would Like To Be", and "Maiden Wine" – plus covers like "Cycles", "Nature Boy", and "A Trip To Nowhere". Very groovy! LP, Vinyl record album