... CD

One of the proudest pop moments in the Windy City during the 60s – the fantastic Columbia debut of The Buckinghams, easily one of the most tremendous vocal groups of their generation! At their core, the quintet work in a sunny way that's not unlike other pop acts – but the key difference here is that they're getting some incredible production and arrangements from James William Guerico, working in a pre-Chicago mode that has complicated horn charts pushing up brightly underneath the vocals – edging the whole mix way up into the stratosphere with a uniquely soaring sound! Other instrumentation is great too – bright, but never slick, and really complementing the vocals perfectly. Titles include "The Married Life", "Don't You Care", "Pitied Be The Dragon Hunter", "And Our Love", "I'll Be Back", and "Remember". LP, Vinyl record album

A trippier set than usual from The Buckinghams – but still pretty darn nice! The group are clearly feeling the push of more psychedelic influences of their generation – and complicate their core pop sound with a fair bit of other modes here – bits of folk, roots rock, and some other more experimental styles that are perhaps the best of the lot. And they've also changed production a bit too – dropping James William Guerico for Jimmy Wiz Wisner (save for one track), and spreading out the arrangements to match the variety of styles on the set. Fortunately, the great voice of Dennis Tufano still makes even the rougher moments sound pretty sweet – and overall, there's a lot more solidity here than other filler-heavy records from the time. Titles include "Back In Love Again", "Our Wrong To Be Right", "Can't Find The Words", "Song Of The Breeze", "Simplicity", "What Is Love", "Are You There (With Another Girl)", and "The Time Of My Life". CD also features a whopping 12 bonus tracks – some stereo single versions of songs on the album, plus the tracks "It Took Forever", "You", "I Got A Feelin", and "I Just Don't Know How To Say Goodbye". LP, Vinyl record album

... 7-inch, Vinyl record

... LP, Vinyl record album

The Beatles weren't just the biggest recording act on the scene in the mid 60s, they were also probably the most influential from a songwriting perspective too – such that countless other groups, singers, and musicians picked up their songs and gave them a try, including some tracks that The Beatles never recorded themselves! These aren't just hack cover versions, though – as the artists here clearly love the Fab Four, and are dedicated to unlocking ways that the music inspires them, and makes them seek their own expressions too – expressions that are presented here in full force, in a very cool package that mixes up rock, soul, jazz, folk, and other styles too – all in a massive 85 track set, with very detailed notes. Artists include Jackie Lynton, Marilyn Powell, The Merseymen, Dick Rivers, Mary Wells, Duffy Power, The Coterie, Mark Wynter, Strawberry Fair, Brotherhood, The Buckinghams, Madeline Bell, The Transatlantics, Count Basie, Jimmy James, Spanky & Our Gang, Zoot, Junior Parker, Jackie Trent, The Four Preps, PJ Proby, Mae West, Five Man Electrical Band, Dave Baby Cortez, and many others. CD

Music from the Wild Sound Unlimited, Vinnie Zen & the Rogues, Padded Cell, the Dinos, the Jay Walkers, the Leaders, the US Stamps, the Buckinghams, Our Brothers Keepers, Larry Henley, Steve Alaimo and more. CD