Sitar madness galore – and another fantastic entry in the Sitar Beat series – low on packaging, but heavy on exotic grooves! This volume may be one of the coolest in the run so far – as it's got 5 tracks that really go past the obvious – and offer up some great unusual variations on the grooviest sound of Bollywood in the old days! There's a bit of electronics on some of these tunes, making for an especially great sound – and titles include "Disco Cammata (edit)" by Kalyanji Anandji, "Pyar Karnewale (edit)" by RD Burman, "YOGA (edit)" by Kalyanji Anandji, "The Burning Train Theme (edit)" by RD Burman, and "Disco 82" by an unknown artist! LP, Vinyl record album

A record that was initially thought by some as a cheap cash-in on the Sgt Peppers concept – but an album that, to us, really helped set The Rolling Stones free to express themselves in so many new and amazing ways! There's definitely a bit of the hippie vibe to the set at times – such as sitar that might have been unimaginable on a Stones track a few years before – but there's also an explosively creative approach to the album's arrangements and production, creating a kaleidoscope of sounds that only further seems to illuminate the Jagger and Richards genius! Titles include the classic "She's A Rainbow" – plus "Citadel", "2000 Man", "On With The Show", "Sing All This Together", "In Another Land", "The Lantern", and "Gomper". LP, Vinyl record album

Shankar was one of the few flying the flag of jazz/Indian music crossovers in the 80s – pushing the genre a bit farther forward at a time when most other players had abandoned it! Given that his instrumentation here is violin and drum machine, the sound's a bit different than some of the sitar/tabla-based sessions of the past – but there's a similar sensibility going on, one that stretches out the sound with inspirations drawn from Indian music, executed by a quartet that also includes Jan Garbarek on soprano and tenor sax, Zakir Hussain on tabla and congas, and Trilok Gurtu on additional percussion. Titles include "Paper Nut", "I Know", "Watching You", "Conversation", "Song For Everyone", and "Let's Go Home". LP, Vinyl record album

A wild little record, and one that's got a lot more going on than the usual blues-inspired rock set of the time! Sure, Mike Bloomfield is on guitar, and Barry Goldberg handles keyboards – but the set also features some sitar from Richie Havens, plus moog from Paul Beaver, more guitar from Sivuca, and even a touch of strings – all driven strongly by the drums of Buddy Miles! LP, Vinyl record album

One of the coolest albums ever cut by guitarist Gabor Szabo – a set that also has him playing sitar as well! The album's got a sound that's as groovy as you'd expect from the title – a mix of Gabor's usual jazz modes, which are already pretty darn great, and some of the Indian music sounds that were bubbling under in the 60s – a wicked little blend that makes for an album we've treasured for years! Rhythms often hit that breezy Spellbinder mode of Gabor's Impulse years, but the addition of sitar and tablas makes for a great change too – one of the best chapters in Szabo's legendary 60s years. Bernard Pretty Purdie plays drums on all cuts, and titles include "Raga Doll", "Search for Nirvana", "Ravi", "Krishna", "Sophisticated Wheels", "Comin Back", "Summertime", "Mizrab", and "Walking On Nails". LP, Vinyl record album

A record that's definitely after our own heart – in case you couldn't tell from the title! The set has Jackie Gleason expanding his bag a bit for the late 60s – moving from the easy sound to the "Now Sound" – with the help of some cool electric sitar, pictured on the front of the set – and other hip instrumentation from Tom Scott on flutes, Milt Holland on tabla, and Emil Richards on a range of exotic percussion! The album's as totally wild and exotic as similar efforts on Impulse or Verve, but the record's still a great batch of "establishment hip" instrumentals – which shows Jackie trying to get a little hip for the times. George Williams handles arrangements, still with lots of the trademark Gleason strings – and titles include "Live For Life", "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You", "It Must Be Him", and "I Won't Cry Anymore". LP, Vinyl record album

The second album from Incredible String Band – and incredible it is, a UK psychedelic folk gem that finds the group challenging conventions across the board – both artful and inviting, it's wonderful stuff! At this point, Clive Palmer had left, and Mike Heron and Robin Williamson contribute lead vocals with the additional vocalist Licorice also taking lead on a few tunes, the sound is fleshed out with more accompaniment and a rich warmth on a bevy of instruments – guitar, sitar, bowed gimbri, finger cymbals, tamboura, oud, rattles, flute, bass and piano. Includes the lovely and oft-covered "The First Girl I Loved", plus "Chinese White", "No Sleep Blues", "Painting Box", "The Eyes Of Fate", "The Hedgehog's Song", "You Know What I Could Be", "Gently Tender", "Way Back In The 1960s" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the best Rotary Connection albums for Cadet – with an incredible baroque spacey soul sound that still feels very fresh today! The group's vocals are especially eerie – and float around these wild arrangements by Charles Stepney, peppered with strings, soul, fuzzy guitars, and even slight bits of electronics. The album features their incredible cut "Memory Band" – the one that begins with those cool sitar riffs that have been sampled by Tribe Called Quest and The Fugees. Other tracks include "Ruby Tuesday", "Soul Man", "Amen", "Rapid Transit", and "Black Noise". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the grooviest albums of the 60s – and the first album in Donovan's legendary run with producer Mickie Most! The sound here is light years away from the heavy Dylan of Donovan's first recordings – and is steeped in eastern influences that sparkle in both the songwriting and arrangements – and which can be most strongly heard in the album's trademark use of tablas and electric sitar! Donovan's vocals are completely sublime, too – done in that raspy, almost lispy style that brings out all the best edges in his songwriting – and the lyrics of the tunes are a mind-expanding array of themes that really pushed the boundaries of 60s pop. Titles include the sublime classic "Sunshine Superman", plus "Bert's Blues", "The Fat Angel", "The Trip", "Celeste", "Three Kingfishers", and the funky funky "Season Of The Witch"! LP, Vinyl record album

One of Jerry Butler's funkiest moments of the 70s – served up in a fantastic soundtrack co-penned and arranged by the great Jerry Peters! Peters is best known for his hip work with a variety of soul acts in the studio, but he really steps out here for the score to Melinda – a lesser-known blacksploitation film from the early 70s, but one that boasts a heck of a great soundtrack! Peters approach here is a bit more baroque than some of his contemporaries – and he uses stepping strings equally alongside funky rhythms – creating a groove that's complicated, yet still plenty darn funky – and a sound that's as soulful on the mellower tunes as it is on the standout uptempo ones. Jerry Butler sings vocals on "Speak Truth To The People", "Tank's Theme", "Love is", and "Melinda Reprise" – but the instrumental tracks are even better, and inlcude the clavinet groover "Part III", the sitar-styled "Melinda Latino", and the cuts "Music For Tank's Boat", "The Blues (Dope Pusher's Theme)", and "I Can't Let You Go". LP, Vinyl record album

Although Ramsey first scored big with his spare trio recordings during the late 50s, by this point in his career, Cadet were wisely playing with his sound a lot, adding in new elements to keep things fresh and soulful. Such is the case with this album, which has Ramsey's second trio (with Cleveland Eaton and Maurice White) performing with very groovy arrangements by Richard Evans. The result is some totally cool material – very much in the best crossover mode of the Cadet Concept years. The highlight of the album is the Eastern-tinged funky number "Jade East", which has some nice sitar and chimes in the background. Other tunes include "Party Time" and "Bear Mash", plus hard piano covers of "I Was Made To Love Her", "Soul Man", and "Respect". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible album – and one of the most groundbreaking blends of jazz and global music ever recorded! Reedman Tony Scott plays here with a little-known group of Indonesian jazz players – brought together in a special project for MPS/Saba records, in a blend of modal jazz elements and other tunes that really find a way to echo the gamelan styles that you might expect from Indonesian music – emphasized by the group's phrasing on piano, guitar, and siter, as well as Scott's interweaving lines on clarinet! The sound is fantastic, completely other worldly, and must be heard to be believed – served up with other players who include Marjono on tenor and vocal, Bubi Chen on piano and sitar, Jack Lesmana on guitar, Yopi Chen on bass, and Benny Mustafa on drums. Tracks include "Ilir Ilir", "Gambang Suling", "Djanger Bali", and an amazing rendition of "Summertime". LP, Vinyl record album

A lesser-known soundtrack from Ennio Morricone – but one of his grooviest moments of the late 60s! The score is a great blend of heavy and light – and blends together that wonderful floating Morricone style with some heavier, fuzzier tunes that show the late 60s period of the film – all making for a really fleshed-out sound, of the sort that you're usually likely to hear in some of Morricone's classics! The album includes one great number that's got an extended sitar solo, and a few more with hard-edged male vocals by Patrick Samson that almost feel like late 60s French pop! Titles include "Gloria", "Sytar", "Una Voce Allo Specchio", "Tell Me Tell Me", "Sospendi Il Tempo", "In Tre Quarti", "Laila Laila", and "Dinamica Per 5 + 1". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastically jamming album – one with searing guitar from Fred Walk, who also plays electric sitar – and vocals and organ from Stephen Miller, a very soulful talent! Plus, Larry Easter serves up these cool lines on tenor, soprano sax, and flute – sometimes sounding like they've been electrically processed – on titles that include "Protect & Serve/Bad Things", "Fast Days", "Cave Song", "Moon Food", and "Lower Lemons". LP, Vinyl record album

The funky sitar of Ananada Shankar – recorded in the 80s, but with all the brilliance of his 70s work! Like his other great albums, the production's a mix of soundtrack and funky instrumental styles with more traditional Indian ones – and the bulk of the set comes off sounding like some lost Bollywood score from the 70s – funky and spacey at the bottom, without as much of the clunky styles that you might expect from the cheesy 80s image on the cover. The set includes the long mellow tune "2001", plus shorter groovier numbers that include "Planet X", "Flights Of Fantasy", "Universal Magic", "The Voyager", "Vibrations", and "Explorations". LP, Vinyl record album

A wild little soundtrack that's equal parts biker and hot rod – a great rocking rarity that really bridges two sub-genres of rockish sounds in the 60s! The set's one of Mike Curb's great soundtracks for AIP – and like some of the others, it features a set of lesser-known talents coming together in a batch of tracks that works equally well as a rock album or a soundtrack! Some cuts have vocals, other feature fuzzy guitars riffing away instrumentally – a bit more surf/hot rod than psych, but still nice and trippy at times – and the lineup features the great "Theme From Thunder Alley" by Band Without A Name –plus "Pete's Orgy" and "Mud Fight" by The Sidewalk Sounds, "Calahan's Theme" by The Lorraine Singers, "When You Get What You Want" by Annette, and "Riot In Thunder Alley" by Eddie Beram – which is an excellent drum and sitar track that is worth the price of the album alone! LP, Vinyl record album

A nice one! Although the 101 Strings did some lousy work in their time, this album is a groovy package of tracks with a late 60s swing – all wrapped up in a very strange cover emblazoned with the words "Adults Only"! Bebe Barron contributes "exotic" lovemaking sounds to the breathy "I Remember", there's some nice sitar funk on the track "Karma Sitar, there's a good organ on the cut "Don't Leave Me Like This", some more Bebe Barron vocals on the funky cut "Instant Nirvana", and a nice choppy guitar on the easy-funk track "Besame Mas". Great stuff, and an excellent package! LP, Vinyl record album

A split LP that offers some key tracks from the classic Dave Mackay & Vicky Hamilton album on Impulse from 1968, plus later piano trio recordings by Dave from 1982! Dave & Vicky are represented here by the first 4 tracks on the record – "Blues For Hari", "Here", Now", and "3 For 5" – and on these tunes, the pair are sort of like a hip version of Jackie & Roy – usually singing together on their tracks, with a mixed male/female vocal approach that sounds totally great – and which really fits the breezy mood of the tunes on the set! Dave himself plays Fender Rhodes and piano – along with an odd little combo that includes flute and tenor played by Ira Schulman, percussion by Francisco Aguabella, and guest sitar by by Ray Neapolitan. Other tracks on the album are all from 1982, and feature Dave in warmer trio context with Andy Simpkins on bass and Joey Baron on drums. Titles include "Hands", "The Andyman Suite", and "Triste". LP, Vinyl record album

Quite a groovy soundtrack – a mixture of vocal and instrumental numbers written by Billy for this groovy film about the liberated woman of the late 60s! The album sports a few vocal numbers by bigger stars – "Look Again" by the Brooklyn Bridge, "Used To Be" by Vicki Lawrence, and "As Far As I'm Concerned" by Bobby Russell – but the best tunes are the shorter instrumental ones by Goldenberg. These have a sparkling quality that mixes easy instrumentation, some slight grooves, and a few mode touches of instrumentation – like electric sitar, guitar, and more. What this means is that about half the album is very nice groovy music – with titles that include "La De Da", "Tommy Doesn't Like Rosie At All", "Traveling With A Star", "Christine In Las Vegas", "Bonanza Paree", and "Soft Music For Rosie". LP, Vinyl record album