Two funky space albums – back to back on a single CD! An Astromusical Odyssey is a fantastic album of spacey funky tracks! The great John Keating put this whole thing together in the years before he cut his more famous space soul albums for EMI – and the record's a wonderful mix of spacey orchestrations, spare electronics, and haunting voices – a wicked journey to the stars with a hip Brit Easy feel! There's a lot more funk here than you'd expect from other Phase 4 albums of this generation – and plenty of the cuts have weird instrumental bits that are just waiting for sampling. The whole thing's wonderful, and titles include "Round Trip Mars", "Aquarius", "Nocturne", "Across The Universe", "Up, Up, & Away", and "Spinning Wheel". Nova Sounds Of The Stars is a second slice of Sounds Galactic work from the Phase 4 catalog – this time headed by Roland Shaw, but in the same moogy modes used by John Keating on the previous album! There's possibly even more cool electronics here than before – lots of cool analogue bits that bubble and squeak nicely – amidst more familiar instrumental modes from the Phase 4 universe, including some nice jazzy touches, bits of strings, and other styles – all blended nicely with plenty of odd production and sound effects! Titles include a great cover of "Pillow Talk", a version of "Live & Let Die", and the Carpenters' "Yesterday Once More" – plus the great "Mon Etoile (My Star)", "Summer", "Get Down", and "Love Is All". CD

A second slice of Sounds Galactic work from the Phase 4 catalog – this time headed by Roland Shaw, but in the same moogy modes used by John Keating on the previous album! There's possibly even more cool electronics here than before – lots of cool analogue bits that bubble and squeak nicely – amidst more familiar instrumental modes from the Phase 4 universe, including some nice jazzy touches, bits of strings, and other styles – all blended nicely with plenty of odd production and sound effects! Titles include a great cover of "Pillow Talk", a version of "Live & Let Die", and the Carpenters' "Yesterday Once More" – plus the great "Mon Etoile (My Star)", "Summer", "Get Down", and "Love Is All". LP, Vinyl record album

A fab set of James Bond tunes – performed by Brit easy maestro Roland Shaw, in a style that's arguably groovier than the original soundtracks themselves! There's some nice instrumental touches on a few of these that push the mood of the set in a good way – and Shaw's also chosen a lot of less-familiar numbers that have a more dramatic feel to them, getting past the obvious cliches of other albums of this type. Titles include "Kingston Calypso", "Thunderball", "Death Of Goldfinger", "Miami", "Spectre Island", "Underneath The Mango Tree", "Tania Meets Klebb", and "Arrival Of The Bomb & Countdown". LP, Vinyl record album

Easily one of the best of the Bond-alike albums of "spy" grooves from the 60s – handled by Brit easy maestro Roland Shaw, with a sound that's in keeping with the best soundtrack work of the time! Shaw's got a jazzy mode here that really opens up some of these tunes – letting the horns and piano come into play a bit more on a few numbers, and differing the songs a lot from their more famous versions used in the films. The package has a great kitschy cover, plus a cool montage of film scenes on the back – and titles include "The Saint", "The Ipcress File", "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold", "Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang", "Man From Uncle", "Our Man Flint", and "I Spy". LP, Vinyl record album

A fab set of James Bond tunes – performed by Brit easy maestro Roland Shaw, in a style that's arguably groovier than the original soundtracks themselves! LP, Vinyl record album

An obscure bit of disco from the UK – possibly put together by Brit Easy man Roland Shaw – mostly pretty sleepy, but with a few nice numbers that have kind of a smooth and easy feel to them. There's a few female vocals floating in and out of the mix, but mostly on the campier numbers that are kind of throwaway material. The best cuts are the mellow "Discover Me", and the funky "Bubbling Brown Sugar". LP, Vinyl record album

Sidney Bechet on sopranino saxophone, Andre Reweliotty on clarinet, Jean-Louis Durand and Vic Dickenson on trombone, Buck Clayton, Guy Longnon, and Roland Hug on trumpet, George Wein and Yannick Singery on piano, Arvell Shaw and Georges "Zozo" d'Halluin on bass, Kansas Fields, Marcel Blanche, and Poumi Arnaud on drums. CD

A war soundtrack – but with some different touches that make it nicer than you'd think! The music was written by groovy French composer Georges Garvarentz, and performed in the KPM studios by Roland Shaw's orchestra – so despite the fact that the setting of the film is a military thriller, there's also some nice numbers that have kind of a 60s easy feel to them. Tony Allen sings the title song – and other tracks include "Victory Day", "Rendez-vous Of Paulette & Eddie", "Test For Parachute Landing", "Le Bistro De Paulette", and "Elga & Eddie's Farewell". LP, Vinyl record album

Terrible! But pretty darn wonderful, too – at least if you dig The Odd Couple! Considering their roots in Broadway, Randall and Klugman should be pretty decent singers – but instead, they decide to camp it up for this one, as they spend a lot of time arguing about and during sweet old-fashioned tunes like "The Inch Worm", "Johnny One Note", "Brush Up Your Shakespeare", and "Together Wherever We Go" – plus a very groovy version of "You're So Vain". The record also features the extended "Odd Couple Opera", the track "Friendship', and "Applause, Applause". Arrangements by Brit Roland Shaw – probably because nobody in America would touch the record, and an Englishman like Shaw hadn't heard of the show yet! In a great gatefold cover, too. LP, Vinyl record album

An amazing chapter in the career of British saxophonist Lol Coxhill – two completely wonderful albums recorded for the Ogun label in the mid 70s! The feel here is similar to Coxhill's seminal albums for Virgin a few years before – jazz that's free, but never too "out" – working in a lovely way to explore sound and tone with a sense of joy and whimsy – often making a brief nod to more traditional modes, but very much in its own spirit. There's a sense of wonder here that we'd almost compare to the best Rahsaan Roland Kirk work for Atlantic – and Coxhill plays soprano sax throughout, joined by players that include Michael Garrick on electric piano, Ken Shaw on guitar, John Mitchell on percussion, Veryan Weston on piano, and Colin Wood on cello. The CD features the full tracks from 2 albums – Joy Of Paranoia and Diverse – and titles include "Joy Of Paranoia Waltz", "The Wakefield Capers", "The Cluck Variations", "Loverman", "Perdido", "Diver", and "Divers". CD

Seminal spy sounds from the 60s – a treasure trove of spy-themed tunes, and one that features loads of material you might not hear otherwise! The set doesn't feature the big hits from the James Bond films, and instead includes all the great little records that sprung up in the wake of those movies – cool jazz, vocal, and instrumental records that sometimes feature weird reworkings of more famous soundtrack numbers, sometimes lesser-known cuts from b-grade films, and sometimes fresh new spy numbers on their own! The style ranges from groovy guitar numbers to blaring jazzy tracks to slinky steppers that find a very cool balance between suspense and swing. Titles include "Dr Goldfoot & The Bikini Machine" by The Supremes, "The Last Of The Secret Agents" by Nancy Sinatra, "Theme From Danger Man" by Red Price, "A Man Alone" by John Barry, "Deadlier Than The Male" by The Walker Brothers, "Burke's Law" by Wynton Kelly, "We Should've" by Cleo Laine, "Our Man Flint" by Billy Strange, "Theme From Where The Spies Are" by Jimmy Smith, "The Liquidator" by Shirley Bassey, "I Spy" by Roland Shaw, "Come Spy With Me" by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, and "High Wire" by Brian Fahey. CD