Ok, ok, we'll admit it! When we were kids, we totally dug this hippy-dippy show and all of its insider jokes, games, and languages. Listening to this old soundtrack, though, we kind of wince to think how this drivel might have affected us if punk hadn't come along to make us totally boring and cynical for the better part of the 80s! With such favorites as "Zoom Theme", "Fannee Doodle", "Ballin The Jack", "I Believe In Music", and the legendary "Address Song"! LP, Vinyl record album

Early 80s funky soul from Zoom! Saturday, Saturday Night is crafted to be a good natured, party starting set – and it succeeds with charm to spare. It's a mix of uptempo club cuts and mellow modern soul ones with excellent harmonies by the group, and some nice hooks in all the right places! A blend of keys, bass, guitar, drums, trumpet and winds – with some spacier synth touches here and there. Our favorite cuts includes "Bye Bye Baby", a nice mellow stepper, but the album's also got other nice ones – like the soulful "Love Seasons, the uptempo jammer "Saturday, Saturday Night", the old school party rap styled "Move And Groove" and "I Believe In You".oulful "Love Seasons, the uptempo jammer "Saturday, Saturday Night", and "I Believe In You". LP, Vinyl record album

A collection of work by Francis Lai – the great French soundtrack composer who's best known for his magical work with Claude Lelouch on films like A Man & A Woman and Live For Life! The set features tracks from films that stretch back to 1966 and up into current years – and together, they offer a picture of Lai that shows a more serious, almost orchestral approach to his music – with plenty of darker themes that still contain the charm of early years, but which show a more traditional sense of soundtrack scoring. Still, there's plenty of nicely warm and romantic tracks – which are always his strongest suit – like "Live For Life", "Theme To Catherine", "Zoom", "A Man & A Woman", "Stronger Than Us", "Today It's You" and "124 Miles An Hour". LP, Vinyl record album

A great bit of boogie from the Chicago scene of the early 80s – a set recorded with a nice jazzy bounce overall, and a strong ear for a catchy hook and tight groove – very much in the mode of Omni or Zoom from the same period! Alfonzo's got a warm vocal style that soars up to falsetto one minute, but dips down deep the next – a perfectly fluid approach that works well with the dynamic grooves of the record. And throughout, the whole thing stays nice and cool – nice and classy – never too over the top or schlocky, and in a really timeless way that's held up great for years! Titles include "Gimmie", "Forever", "Only A Winner", "Gimmie Your Love", "Make It Feel Good", "Gotta Be Love", and "Our Love Is For Keeps". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the last totally righteous albums by the Temptations – recorded at the end of their progressive run at Motown, and done with some really hard-hitting tunes and production from Norman Whitfield! Tracks step off with that beautiful mix of badass soul, heavy production, and soaring harmonies that always made the group so great during this period – and the tracks are some wonderful numbers that get way way past the hit-bound material of other albums. Paul Riser handled arrangements for the set, bringing in a few sweet touches that are very much appreciated on the mellower numbers – and titles include the extended mellow funky number "Zoom" – plus "1990", "I Need You", "You've Got My Soul On Fire", "Heavenly", and "Ain't No Justice". LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning soundtrack from the legendary Francis Lai – a record that got a fair bit of circulation at the time, as it was a follow up to his huge global hit, A Man & A Woman (aka Un Homme Et Une Femme)! The style here is equally great – a groovy sound that completely changed the way soundtrack music was used in the 60s – airy, jazzy, and with the same mix of bossa and mod styles that you might find in some of your favorite Italian soundtracks of the time – although at a global scale, we always think that Francis really set the tune for others to follow! There's some nice organ, great use of trumpet, and the record even has some groovy vocals at points from the wonderful Nicole Croisille – who'd sung on the Man & A Woman soundtrack, and also worked with Lai on other Saravah Records albums too. And in a way, since Pierre Barouh had a hand in some of these tunes, the whole thing is almost a precursor to Saravah – certainly, like A Man & A Woman, where Barouh had some help in raising the funds for that project. Titles include "Theme To Candice", "Theme To Catherine", "Theme To Robert", "All At Once It's Love", "Zoom", and a few versions of the title cut! LP, Vinyl record album

The last true masterpiece by the greatest rock band to ever come out of the late 70s and early 80s L.A. scene. More Fun In The New World serves in a lot of ways as X's upright middle finger to the early years of the Reagan era, with the anthemic opener "The New World", and the ballad "I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts", perfectly encapsulating the fear and loathing brought about by the ridiculous politics that infected the entire decade. The album is very much a sequel to the amazing Under The Big Black Sun, full of razor pop anthems, Billy Zoom's punkabilly guitar acrobatics, and amazing depth thanks to John and Exene's sensitive and perceptive song writing. Awesome! Other tracks include "True Love", "We're Having Much More Fun", "Poor Girl", "Make The Music Go Bang", "Devil Doll", "Painting The Town Blue", "Hot House", "Drunk In My Past", "I See Red", and "True Love Part 2". LP, Vinyl record album

A huge hit for Aretha Franklin – and a record that brought her famous vocals to a whole new generation of listeners! The sound is definitely different than before – a change from both the deep soul of Atlantic years, and the initial classy approach of her time at Arista – and working with lots of help from Narada Michael Walden, Aretha gets an 80s groove that turns out to be a perfect platform for her sound – one that lets her vocals really take off, while still getting plenty of great hooks as well – all in a mode that somehow sounds far less commercial than we remember at the time. Includes the massive hits "Freeway Of Love" and "Who's Zoomin Who" – plus "Ain't Nobody Every Loved You", "Push", "Integrity", "Sisters Are Doin It For Themselves", and "Sweet Bitter Love". LP, Vinyl record album

The first album by The Tom Tom Club – a group that started out as a side project by Talking Heads members Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz – but which went onto have a surprising life of its own! Like the Talking Heads at the start of the 80s, Tom Tom Club were very open to pulling together rhythms from the soulful underground – bits of Caribbean influence and certainly some sounds from hip hop too – but used in these cool sing-songy tunes that also had ties to the same New York underground scene that gave the world ESG and Liquid Liquid! Yet there's also a nicely complex set of textures, too – thanks to work on the record by Adrian Belew and Steve Stanley – both of whom can balance out funky elements and more interesting textures. The record took off immediately with the track "Genius Of Love" – inspired by hip hop, and respected by that scene too – as was the album's classic "Wordy Rappinghood". The whole thing's great – an excellent document of the moment, but more timeless too – and other titles include "L'Elephant", "As Above So Below", "On On On On", "Lorelei", and "Booming & Zooming". LP, Vinyl record album

Here's a strange one! The record features an extended party that covers both sides of the record – with crowd noises, music, and glasses being clinked. The microphone zooms in on different partygoers from time to time, who are engaged in witty, often bawdy banter – very similar to a Mad magazine "Goes to a Party" type sketch. At some points, bawdy songs are sung – and the whole thing has a kitschy 60s cocktail party feel. Nice cover by Wally Wood, too! LP, Vinyl record album