A sweet sampler of RCA Living Stereo classical recordings, with pieces by Khachaturian, Rimsky-Korsakoff, Moussorgsky-Ravel, Adler-Ross, Prokofieff, Copland, Saint Saens, Gould, and Berlioz. LP, Vinyl record album

Soundtrack funk doesn't get any better than this – thanks to a head-expanding of tracks from the Italian scene of the 60s and 70s – served up with the usual ear for a great cut by the folks at Easy Tempo! The groove here is far from the "easy" you might expect – and most numbers have tight drums, funky basslines, and other heavy elements – all put together with an approach to the music that's far different than anything happening in the US at the time, especially in the way the instruments sound in the end – and in the way that the production techniques make them do really crazy things! Titles include "Parangua" by Luiz Bacalov, "Flirt a Rio" by Piero Umiliani, "Side Sleep" by Berto Pisano, "Little Shakie Girl" by Armando Trovajoli, "Tremendous Stars" by Piero Piccioni, "Under Drama" by Giancarlo Gazzani, "Realta No 5" by Stelvio Cipriani, "So" by Lara Saint Paul, "Israelites" by Capuano, and "Citta Viva" by Ennio Morricone. CD

Way more than just the usual collection of famous British TV themes from the 60s – as this set offers up some great rare nuggets, unusual versions, and some obscure tracks that are all pretty darn fresh to our American years! As you well know if you're a fan of anything pop culture from this generation, British TV was way hipper than most of the American small screen in the 60s – from the stories, to the settings, to the wonderfully cool themes and backing music that supported the show – often a cool hybrid of postwar Soho jazz modes and lots of the best soundtrack/sound library styles that were evolving in the hands of an elite few on the London scene. Some of the best and grooviest of that generation are presented here – in an overstuffed collection that includes "Gurney Slade" by Max Harris, "Danger Man" by Red Price Combo, "The Avenger" by Johnny Dankworth, "Tuesday Rendezvous" by Bert Weedon, "Face To Face" by Frank Chacksfield, "Comedy Playhouse" by Ron Grainer, "What The Papers Say" by London Philharmonic, "Monty Python's Flying Circus" by Eastman Wind Ensemble, "The Saint" by Les Reed, "Fireball" by Don Spencer, "Z Cars" by Johnny Keating, and a number of tracks from The Prisoner too! CD

20 tracks produced by Allen Toussaint – one of the greatest talents to ever emerge from the New Orleans soul scene, working here in his earlier years, coming up with a rough and chunky groove that's virtually defined the sound of the city! Titles include "It Will Stand" by The Showmen, "Mother In Law" by Ernie K Doe, "Over You" by Aaron Neville, "Heavenly Baby" by Allen & Allen, "Te Ta Te Ta Ta" by Ernie K Doe, "It's Raining" by Irma Thomas, "A Certain Girl" by Ernie K Doe, "Whip It On Me" by Jessie Hill, "Fortune Teller" by Benny Spellman, "Lipstick Traces" by Benny Spellman, "39 21 46" by The Showmen, and "Ooh Poo Pah Doo (parts 1 & 2)" by Jessie Hill. CD

They're not lying with the title of this one, as most of the cuts here are unreleased – some completely unheard tracks from the Studio One catalog, others that are stereo versions of tunes that were only ever around in mono – mixed here with a few other rare gems from the deep vaults of one of the hippest reggae labels of all time! The styles run the gamut, but there's also an all-killer, no filler approach here – with titles that include the unreleased tunes "Sleeping Trees (discomix)" by The Saints, "Flying Time" by Carey Wildman Johnson, "Brentford Rock" by Studio One Rockers, "We Are In The Mood" by The Royals, "Kinshasa" by Count Ossie & The Sound Dimension, "Hello Carol" by Prince Jazzbo & The Gladiators, "Many Days" by Alton Ellis, "Too Long" by The Goods, "Think It Over" by Otis Gayle, and "Tribulation" by Jennifer Lara – plus unreleased stereo mixes of "Last Dance" by The Thrillers, and "Feel Like Jumping (take 2)" by Marcia Griffith. LP, Vinyl record album

Hardly the gospel of your father's generation – and hardly even the gospel of previous Numero releases either – as the set's a wonderfully offbeat batch of tracks that definitely lives up to the "apocryphal" in the title! Production sounds and musical styles go way past the mainstream – and lots of these numbers feel like secular soul from the definite left end of the spectrum in the 70s – especially the mellower cuts, which have a trippy quality that comes from weird instrumentation and unusual studio work – often matched by vocal presentation that's anything but spiritual, and which feels more like Darondo overall! These tunes are a real discovery – a deeper level of unusual gospel recordings than even the funk and or soul sides featured on other compilations – all pulled from the hinterland of self-released albums and singles from back in the day. As usual, Numero's done as great of job with the notes and packaging as they have with the music – really telling the full tale of this unusual stream of music – in a smoking set that features "That's All I Need" by Sensational Saints, "A Message Especially From God" by Robert Vanderbilt & The Foundation Of Souls, "Come Holy Spirit" by God's Band, "Faith" by Soul Superiors, "Can't Run This Race Alone" by Flying Eagles Gospel Singers, "Searching For The Truth" by Dwain Vinyard, "Get Involved" by Jonah Thompson, and "I Hear You Calling" by Francis Reneau & The Mission Singers. CD

From the end of the 70s onward, the Italian Black Saint record label offered up some of the most high quality spiritual and avant jazz of the time – really taking over where American record companies had dropped the ball, and allowing a huge wave of new energy from both older musicians and a younger generation who might never have gotten the right level of exposure, had Black Saint (and related Soul Note imprint) stepped into the scene! This package offers up some of the coolest cuts from Black Saint – and has an especially strong focus on the work that the label did to carry forward older spiritual sounds, especially those first unlocked on Impulse Records – a legacy that really comes through strongly here. Titles include "Love On A Far Away Planet" and "Mayan Temples" by Sun Ra, "Song For Mozambique/Sea Of Faces" by Archie Shepp, "Guitar Vibes" by Karl Berger, "Tap Dancer" by Oliver Lake, "Ode To The Flower Maiden" by John Carter, "Mama Marimba" by Joseph Jarman and Donh Moye, "Sixth Sense" by Don Pullen, "Hattie Wall" by World Saxophone Quartet, "Laja" by Muhal Richard Abrams, and "Metamusician's Stomp" by Andrew Cyrille & Maono. LP, Vinyl record album

A totally fresh take on French sounds of the late 60s – served up here with a sound that's as revolutionary as the image on the cover! This isn't the dreamy strings of familiar Paris in the Spring – but instead, the sound of change that happened in and around 1968 – as a whole new generation of younger French musicians, singers, artists, and intellectuals were really making themselves known in bold new ways! You'll recognize a few names here – like Serge Gainsbourg or Brigitte Fontaine – but the collection goes way beyond those bigger names, and features loads of obscure artists from the scene that will be a real revelation. The collection was done by the same Saint Etienne team that gave us the excellent English Weather and Songs For The Carnegie Deli compilations on Ace – and titles include "L'Elu" by Ilous & Decuyper, "La Metaphore" by Jacques Dutronc, "Looking For You" by Nin Ferrer, "Chanson D'Un Jour D'Hiver" by Cortex, "Couleurs" by Leonie, "Leslie Simone" by William Sheller, "Litanies" by Triangle, "Baleines" by Francois De Roubaix, "Lileth" by Leonie, "Ystor" by Ys, "Chanson Pour Que Tu M'Aimes U Peu" by France Gall, "Le Victime" by Karl Heinz Schafer, "Les Adventures Extraordinaires D'Un Ballet De Banque" by Bernard Lavilliers, "Helicoptere" by Mireille Darc, "Les Garde Violent Au Secours Du Roi (alt version)" by Jean Claude Vannier, and "La Chanson D'Helene" by Romy Schneider & Michel Piccoli. LP, Vinyl record album

22 tracks from Tippie & The Clovers, Leola & The Lovejoys, Bessie Banks, Dee Dee Warwick, Alvin Robinson, Lovejoys, Vic Donna, Cathy Saint, Bob Moore & The Temps, Tams featuring Little Floyd, and Moody & The Deltas. CD

Saint Etienne have brought us a number of wonderful compilations over the years – both in this format for Ace Records, and their work on their own great Croydon Municipal label – yet as much as we've loved all those others, we may well love this one the best – as it's a sublime blend of 60s soul, tear-stained pop, and cool numbers with a New York sort of sound! The focus is mostly on tracks from the mid 60s – and the work here often feels like the special sort of tracks the Brill Building talents might have been working on into the night, before stepping down to the Carnegie Deli for a snack – the kind of special songs that were often too sophisticated to make the charts, but which stand out all these many years later as true moments of genius from the 60s. As usual with a Saint Etienne set, there's a huge amount here we've never heard before – all given proper presentation by Ace Records, along with a full booklet of notes. Titles include "Night Hawk" by The Valli Boys, "Deep Dark Secret" by Dee Sharp, "Up On The Bridge" by The Chiffons, "Don't" by Marva Josie, "I'm Your Man" by Chuck Jackson, "Boy You Love Me" by Joan Moody, "Catch Me In The Meadow" by The Tradewinds, "He's A Lover" by Tutti Hill, "Let's Stop Fooling Ourselves" by Eddie Jones, "Is This The Way To Treat A Girl" by The Hesitations, "Summer's Comin In" by Little Anthony & The Imperials, and "Park Avenue" by Lou Johnson. CD

The Vietnam war was tough on most folks in the US – but it's no secret that it was especially tough on black Americans – who were often given little choice and little chance to get out of the callup to the military action – which left a huge impression on their community for years to come! This package documents the affect of Vietnam in soul music – in ways that are both direct and more subtle, as the package blends together a number of tracks that you likely don't know at all, and others that you might have missed as being critical of the war – as there's more subtle messaging going on, a lesson that was learned during the Civil Rights era, when a mellower lyric might get more mainstream circulation – as a call to action that a change was going to come. The quality of cuts here is wonderful – as well-selected as some of the Ace/Kent collections of rare soul music on small labels – and there's definitely a few here that we're hearing for the first time, alongside other numbers that really sound great in the setting. Titles include "Fighting For My Baby" by Donald Jenkins, "Lonely Soldier" by William Bell, "Letter To A Buddie" by Joe Medwick, "I Want To Come Home For Christmas" by Marvin Gaye, "My Ship Is Coming In Tomorrow" by The Pace Setters, "Johnny" by King Hannibal, "Going On Strike" by The Emotions, "Uncle Sam" by Jimmy Hughes, "My Soldier Boy Is Coming Home" by The Shirelles, "Glad To Be Home" by Charles Smith & Jeff Cooper, "The War Is Over My Brother" by The Sensational Saints, "Home To Stay" by RB Greaves, "Stop The War" by The Impressions, "Wish You Were Here With Me" by The Fawns, "VC Blues" by Allen Orange, "Promise That You'll Wait" by Michael Lizzmore, "Men Are Getting Scarce" by Chairmen Of The Board, and "Leave Him Alone" by Stu Gardner. CD

One of the cookingest funky compilations we've ever carried – a monster batch of 10 funky Hammond organ tracks, all pretty darn obscure! The set was done under the supervision of New York Funk 45 DJ Mr Fine Wine – and features a stunning batch of tunes that are all plenty darn hard to find – and filled with heavy drums, roaring basslines, and super-smoking work on keyboards! Plus, unlike lots of other dodgy sets on the market, the whole thing's totally legit – and very well researched and thought out. Titles include "Cool Dad" by Ross Carnegie, "The Hatch" by The TMGs, "Every Time part 2" by Buddy McKnight, "Soul Power" by Jimmy Willis, "Foot Stumping" by The Organics, "Put Your Weight On It part 1" by The Filmore St Soul Rebellions, "Shimmy" by Toussaint McCall, and "Don't Give A Damn" by King Cain/Silvertone Band. Great! CD