RCA, 1960. Very Good-
This is a pretty jazzy record compared to the usual Mancini soundtrack-type stuff. It's mostly mellow the whole way through and has some very nice moments due to the quality of the playing. His orchestra includes such folks as Pete Condoli on trumpet, Dick Nash on trombone, Johnny Williams on piano ...
United Artists, Early 60s. Very Good+
"America's Greatest Drummers" in a percussion spectacular with a lot of loud exotic sounding tracks like "Boka Butu", "Ja Ki Lin", "Noma", and "Bambu". I don't know if we'd use the word "greatest" in describing the drummers – ...
Mercury, Early 60s. Near Mint-
"Eastern" lounge artist Tak Shindo hits the Old West, and lays down a set of exotic versions of Western hits like "Jingle, Jangle, Jingle", "Tumblin Tumbleweed", "I'm An Old Cowhand", and "High Noon". Recorded on 35mm film, with some nice ...
49th State Hawaii, 1956. Very Good+
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Bainbridge, 1985. Very Good+
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A&M, 1969. Very Good
Fantastic work by maestro Burt Bacharach – subtle genius, and an album that offers more to us every time we listen to it! Burt's work has been recorded by many – but few ever gave it the kind of treatment that he did – as you'll hear in this brilliant array of sweeping strings, ...
Tower, Mid 60s. Near Mint-
Tijuana Brass sound-a-like, but with a Latin-y feel of its own! Includes the cuts "Life", "Slinky", "Manhattan Spiritual" and others. Tabasco Brand Hot Sauce sponsored this record!
United Artists, 1969. Near Mint-
A very cool record! This is one of our favorite "instrument & a voice" LPs, with lots of great jazzy piano cuts that feature a wordless female vocal lilting over some nice soulful keyboards. Includes a great cut called "To Make it Right", which has a sort of Tribe Called ...
RCA, 1955. Very Good+
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Verve/Forecast, Late 60s. Near Mint-
A very groovy record – sort of a mix of 60s pop, eastern trippiness, and bits of psyche jazz that you might hear on other albums on Verve at the time! Danny's vocals aren't too bad – and on the best cuts, he's got a slightly broken style of singing that breathes a bit of honesty into ...
Mercury, Late 60s. Very Good+
A fairly sincere collection of instrumental versions of tracks from Sgt Pepper's, performed by the great Brit Easy bandleader Peter Knight, who worked with Scott Walker, Dusty Springfield, and Dee Dee Warwick. The album's a lot less camp than you'd expect, and Knight does a good job of coming up ...
New Dawn, 1980. Very Good
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Kapp, 1961. Very Good+
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Mobile Fidelity/Philips, Late 60s. Near Mint-
One of the best early albums from the Mystic Moods – largely because it really ups the use of sound effects that was begun on the group's first album. The record is a smooth blend of train sounds, beach sounds, night sounds, and a million other weird noises – all filtered through late ...
Liberty, Late 60s. Very Good+
Groovy stuff from Sandy Nelson – one of his best albums ever! Despite the title, this isn't exactly the Latin soul adventure you might think – but it is a nice batch of drum-heavy instrumentals, with a good soul boogaloo beat to them. The best tracks are the ones with "boogaloo&qu ...
Columbia, 1962. Near Mint-
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Solid State, 1966. Near Mint- Gatefold
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Surprise, 1960s. Very Good+
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Fiesta, Early 70s. Near Mint-
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Jubilee, Late 50s. Very Good
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United Artists, Mid 60s. Very Good+
UA makes the film copyright cash register jingle again on this second set of tracks from their James Bond films, performed by other artists in the catalog. Tracks include "Thunderball" & "Underwater Chase" by Al Caiola, "007" & "The Golden Horn" by ...
Fontana, 1960s. Very Good+
Nice little bit of Brit easy jazziness. Features a few Dankworth originals, plus versions of "African Waltz", "Skyliner", and "Ja Da". Recorded in "complex multi-track stereo" to get that "Living Presence Stereo" sound!
Vox, Mid 50s. Very Good
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RCA, 1970. Sealed
Includes selections by The Living Strings, Melachrino Strings & Orchestra, Living Brass, Bob Armstrong, Mel Lewis, Malcolm Dodds, and Living Jazz.
RCA, 1967. Sealed
Here's What's Happening offers up a take on the sound of the young, served up by easy instrumental maestro Floyd Cramer! The mix of modes is surprisingly great – as the flowing, echoey Cramer piano turns towards tunes from some of the hipper corners of the 60s – rock and pop bits that ...
Roulette, 1960s. Very Good+
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ABC, 1958. Very Good
Very cool work from Creed Taylor – material cut when he was still a bandleader, and hadn't yet evolved into the role of super-producer! The session's a long way from the CTI sound of the 70s – and instead has Creed playing some very spooky stuff – compositions by Kenyon Hopkins ...