The near-complete work of one of the all-time great but overlooked groups of the UK scene of the late 60s – a group who jumped between a few different labels, mostly issued a handful of singles, yet managed to create a huge amount of magic at the time! You'll not find The Mirage in the history books, but they definitely gave the UK scene a few great singles, enough to get them onto the BBC – where a few of these tracks were recorded – and somehow managed to keep on working on great music, despite record label politics that would have buried most other acts of the generation. There's a tuneful approach to psych that begins some of the material, with maybe the odd freakbeat moment too – a quality that comes out even more strongly as the group morphs through a few later identities, including Yellow Pages, Portebello Explosion, and the really great Jawbone – the last of whom finally got a chance to record a full length album! The 3CD package divides up nicely – CD1 features singles and BBC tracks by The Mirage, plus a few by Portebello Explosion and Yellow Pages; CD2 features some stunning unheard outtakes that are maybe even more amazing than some Mirage singles; and CD3 features the full Jawbone album from 1970, a set that echoes some of the earlier moments, but with even sharper instrumentation and a nicely compressed sense of production. 3CD set features 60 tracks in all, and very detailed notes on the group and their music! CD

No Mirage here – as the album's got a presence that's impossible to deny – a solid, soulful uttering from this key Chicago combo of the 70s! The group's led by reedman Ari Brown – better known for his later avant work – and they've got a wicked blend of keyboards and horns with lots of complicated touches, played out over funky rhythms that are completely mindblowing! The great Ken Chaney plays keyboards, and in addition to Brown's reeds, the set also features trumpet from Frank Gordon, trombone from Steve Galloway, and bass from Rufus Reid – plus cool percussion from Arlington Davis and Drasheer Khalid. Most cuts are instrumental, and recorded beautifully – but one number, "The Ultimate Frontier", also features vocals from Anita Jefferies. Other cuts include "Slinky", "Mirage", "Just a Little Peace", and "March On". CD

Bring on the sun if it burns this strongly – as we're more than happy to get extra toasty in the light of such wonderful tracks as these! The set's a stunning look at the massive musical shift on the UK scene in the year of 1967 – a time when psych was certainly making its influence felt, but groups were also opening up in all these other sorts of ways too – really getting past the jaunty rhythms and catchy lyrics of a few years before – and instead somehow managing to make all these amazing things happen in just the space of a short 7" single! Some of the artists here are artists who were making more mainstream music a few years earlier, others are new acts that would soon become superstars, and a few more are genius groups who burst out strongly, then disappeared from view – all brought together in a great 3CD package, with 79 tracks in all, and very detailed notes. Artists include The Herd, Idle Race, Dave Davies, John Williams, Svensk, Universals, Australian Playboys, Tony Rivers, Great Uncle Fred, Artwoods, 23rd Turnoff, Vocal Point, Zombies, Nirvana UK, Lisa & Francesca, The Mirage, Virgin Sleep, Accent, Our Plastic Dream, David Bowie, Living Daylights, John's Children, Episode Six, Orange Bicycle, The Poets, Genesis, Crocheted Doughnut Ring, Piccadilly Line, Scott Henderson, Made In Sheffield, Caleb, and many others! CD

Sunshine Pop is a style that's usually associated with the American west coast scene of the 60s – music that sprung up in the wake of The Beach Boys and some of the other upbeat, harmony-heavy groups of the time – yet as you'll see in this set, there was also plenty of sunshine pop coming from the UK too – some by older artists influenced by musical changes, some by very cool English groups, and some by artists who were really taking the sound and spirit in their own direction! The box tracks a great stretch in the UK scene when things were sweet and well-produced, with a really great focus on well-crafted vocals amidst lovely arrangements – never too slick or sleepy in a soft rock way – and often presented with some unique British twists that make the tunes a great change from Sunshine Pop in the US! We love it when the Grapefruit label digs into a genre we never would have explored this deeply – and the 3CD package is a wonder throughout – with 87 tracks in all, alongside a big booklet of notes – presented by a huge array of artists who include Butterscotch, Dawn Chorus, The Mirage, Design, The Zombies, Paul Ryan, Roger Webb Sound, Agincourt, The Flies, Jason Cord, Symbols, Pinkerton's Colours, Tony Rivers & The Castaways, West Coast Consortium, The Seekers, Wilson Malone Voiceband, Orange Bicycle, Ken Smart, Harmony Grass, Episode Six, and many many others! CD

A much-needed look at an overlooked side of the genius of Quincy Jones – not his jazz work, not his productions for famous soul artists, but instead his huge legacy of soundtrack material – a part of Q's career that really took off in the 60s! By the time he started working in films, Jones had already had a decade under his belt as one of the hippest arrangers, leaders, and composers in jazz – and the film business really respected those talents, and allowed Quincy to bring some really fresh styles into play – modes that really opened up the vibe of American cinema, and also paved the way for the funky styles of the 70s! As that decade approached, Jones left behind the cinema to take on some more higher-profile records of his own – but all the charms of those great albums can be found here at their roots – in this stunning collection of soundtrack material, some of which has never been on CD. The package is way more than just a sampler – and includes an album's worth of material from the films The Pawnbroker, Slender Thread, Mirage, The Deadly Affair, In The Heat Of The Night, In Cold Blood, Walk Don't Run, The Italian Job, Lost Man, and John & Mary – plus two versions of the love theme from The Getaway, and a bonus CD with 18 tracks – titled Q's highlights, and featuring tracks from his Mercury records – plus more by Billy Preston, Arthur Prysock, Bill Cosby, Shirley Horn, Letta Mbulu, Toots Thielemans, and others. Even features the "Sanford & Son" and "Ironside" themes! CD

A really cool shift for this very hip group – a set of sweet exotica numbers, after a previous record of blacksploitation grooves – yet one that's every bit as funky as the previous album, thanks to all the right instrumental touches! At the top, the music has lots of older exotica touches – percussion, vibes, harp, and other exotic elements – but at the bottom, there's some heavier grooves – working with the sounds on the top, all at a level that's maybe somewhere in the territory of a hip kung fu soundtrack – or as if Martin Denny were asked to score a film called Shaft In Hawaii! Titles include "Exotique", "Sun Harp", "Astra-Desia", "Enter The Palace", "Iron Tusk", "Mirage", "Secrets In The Sand", and "The Second Moon". CD

A completely obscure batch of tunes – so much so that only two of the cuts here have been reissued – and a set that's every bit as wonderful as previous entries in this long-running series! Overall, there's probably a bit more soul than jazz – but every track within is on the hipper side of the spectrum – the sort of work that easily blends genres, and which comes from 70s acts working far from the mainstream, in a wonderful groove that's very much their own! Most numbers have a midtempo groove – perfect for the jazzier elements in the soul cuts – and as with previous editions in the series, there's a righteous current that gives most of these tracks a very positive, uplifting vibe. Titles include "It's A Long Road" by Babe, "Bend A Little" by Mirage, "Slip Back Into The Magic" by Leaves Of Autumn, "I Got The Hots For You"b y Ronnie Miller, "Hey Flicka" by Mikael Neumann, "Future Shock" by Synot, "Oh Senor" by Jan Lewis Group, "Mister Jones" by Charles Vickers, and "The Ring" by Dianne Elliott. CD