An ultra-hip record from Lorez Alexandria – one of her grooviest albums ever, and a set that was only ever issued in Japan! The set features Lorez hitting some of the hippest, most rhythmic modes of her career – working with jazzy backing arranged by Gildo Mahones and Art Hillery, filled with soul and spirit, and really inspiring Lorez to hit those snapping sort of grooves that make her best tracks so great! Titles include her classic take on "Send In The Clowns" – a real jazz dance classic that goes far beyond its roots – plus the titles "Maybe This Time", "Where Is Love", "Change Partners", "One", "Come Sunday", "Bright Lights & You", and "You Leave Me Breathless". LP, Vinyl record album

An early jazzy soundtrack from the great Piero Umiliani – made even better by some key work from Chet Baker on trumpet and Helen Merrill on vocals! The set was done at a time when both artists were spending some time in Italy – shaping the scene with their presence, and really standing out on a handful of rare recordings like this one – quite different than their American material of a few years before! Baker is especially striking – with lead solos that have a great sense of compression, and a depth of soul that really move beyond the Pacific Jazz recordings. And Merrill is wonderful, too – with that special flavor she only ever seemed to open up when she went overseas – and got to move into more unusual settings. But the real star is Umiliani throughout – balancing modern impulses with late night jazz in a way that really points the way towards his later scores in the 60s – but which is already nearly perfect here! Titles include "Smog" (done in instrumental and vocal versions by Baker and Merrill), plus "Dawn", "Tensione", "Tops", "California In The Summer", "Hollywood Tonight", "Bowling", and "Twilight At Los Angeles". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the most famous Jerry Goldsmith soundtracks ever – even if the film itself wasn't much of a hit! Goldsmith really rose to the top ranks of film composers with his work for Blue Max – able to orchestrate both full action and quiet moments with effortless ease – often through these compressed passages that really move beyond the usual Hollywood scoring standard of the time! Things are never too flowery, yet still remain quite full at times – and Goldsmith really demonstrates his great skill with creating special odd sounds out of more familiar instruments. Titles include "First Blood", "Bridge Duel", "The Lonely Victor", "Small Favor", "Statchel in Berlin", and "The Bridge". CD

A huge look at the Liverpool scene in the UK – but one that doesn't focus on the generation of the Beatles and Brit Invasion groups – and instead brings some great attention to the city's contribution to the post-punk years and beyond! The package is tremendous – 100 songs in a huge booklet of notes – tracing an evolution from the late 70s years, when Liverpool was as creative and fervent of a scene as other North England territories, like Manchester and Sheffield – but also one that could quickly develop some tuneful aspects too, which no doubt helped the rest of the UK music scene of the 80s find a way to expand in some great global directions! Throughout the whole time covered here, there's a great tension between experimentation and commercial success – one that's covered beautifully by the many tracks in the collection, and also documented in the hefty notes within. There's far too many tracks here for us to list – but let us say that the package is overflowing with work by artists as diverse as Dalek I, The Wild Swans, China Crisis, Pink Industry, Care, Box Of Toys, Deaf School, Big In Japan, Pale Fountains, Icicle Works, Dead Or Alive, The Lotus Eaters, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Mr Amir, Brenda & The Beach Balls, Jegsy Dodd & The Sons Of Harry Cross, The La's, Jactars, Magic Carpets, Barbel, The Walking Seeds, Thomas Lang, Ministry Of Love, Nightmares In Wax, OMD, The Planets, Spitfire Boys, Geisha Girls, Royal Family & The Poor, Public Disgrace, It's Immaterial, The Balcony, The Yachts, Teardrop Explodes, Original Mirrors, The Press Gang, Moderates, Egypt For Now, Those Naughty Lumps, Flock Of Seagulls, Freeze Frame, Echo & The Bunnymen, and many more! CD