One of Henry Mancini's best soundtracks – made even better! The score for Mr. Lucky was a masterpiece of jazzy little themes – and it's always been one that we've loved way better than Peter Gunn or some of Mancini's other more famous work. Here, Mancini redoes that music with a west coast Latin feel – a cool blend of jazzy riffing and percussive rhythms – never as hard-hitting as other Latin work on RCA, which is part of the charm of the record. The rhythms are often a bit gentle, but step in nicely to give Mancini's music a nice little punch – and titles include "Mr Lucky Goes Latin", "Blue Mantilla", "Siesta", "The Sound Of Silver", "The Dancing Cat", and "Cow Bells & Coffee Beans". LP, Vinyl record album

Cool beans! This is the original US single version of this tasty cut by Piero Umiliani! "Mah Na Mah Na" is simply wonderful – a weird nasally vocal humming along while some female singers come around in back – organ bubbling, the whole thing sounding about as mad as it can be! The flip is straighter – but still pretty groovy! 7-inch, Vinyl record

An incredible album – and one of the most revolutionary rock albums of the late 60s! The Who recorded this one as a tribute to mainstream radio at the time – linking together some solid stand alone tunes with shorter, wittier tracks that were recorded as commercials for products that included baked beans, acne cream, and deodorant – as well as cool announcer bits too! The end result is one of the most sonically complex records issued by a mainstream rock act of the time – sort of like The Who said "yeah, everyone's trying to copy Sgt Peppers with big arrangements, but we'll take this concept album thing in a whole new direction!" Brilliant all the way through, and with tracks that include "Armenia City In The Sky", "Heinz Baked Beans", "Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand", "I Can See For Miles", "I Can't Reach You", "Rale", "Sunrise", and "Silas Stingy". CD features some great bonus tracks too – including "Glow Girl" and "Early Morning Cold Taxi". CD

An incredible album – and one of the most revolutionary rock albums of the late 60s! The Who recorded this one as a tribute to mainstream radio at the time – linking together some solid stand alone tunes with shorter, wittier tracks that were recorded as commercials for products that included baked beans, acne cream, and deodorant – as well as cool announcer bits too! The end result is one of the most sonically complex records issued by a mainstream rock act of the time – sort of like The Who said "yeah, everyone's trying to copy Sgt Peppers with big arrangements, but we'll take this concept album thing in a whole new direction!" Brilliant all the way through, and with tracks that include "Armenia City In The Sky", "Heinz Baked Beans", "Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand", "I Can See For Miles", "I Can't Reach You", "Rale", "Sunrise", and "Silas Stingy". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible album – and one of the most revolutionary rock albums of the late 60s! The Who recorded this one as a tribute to mainstream radio at the time – linking together some solid stand alone tunes with shorter, wittier tracks that were recorded as commercials for products that included baked beans, acne cream, and deodorant – as well as cool announcer bits too! The end result is one of the most sonically complex records issued by a mainstream rock act of the time – sort of like The Who said "yeah, everyone's trying to copy Sgt Peppers with big arrangements, but we'll take this concept album thing in a whole new direction!" Brilliant all the way through, and with tracks that include "Armenia City In The Sky", "Heinz Baked Beans", "Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand", "I Can See For Miles", "I Can't Reach You", "Rale", "Sunrise", and "Silas Stingy". CD features an insane 53 tracks in all – both mono and stereo versions of the album, plus 27 bonus tracks that include additional songs, commercials, and previously unreleased versions – titles that include "Things Go Better With Coke", "Rael Naive", "Relax (early demo)", "Rotosound Strings (with final note)", "Girl's Eyes", "Sodding About", "In The Hall Of The Mountain King", "Top Gear", "Rael 1 & 2 (remake)", and "Coke After Coke". CD

Includes tracks by The Chiffons, The Shirelles, The Shangri-Las, the Dixie Cups, the Jaynetts, Claudine Clark, the Excitiers, the Jelly Beans, Cher, and more. CD

Includes tracks by Shangri La's, Jelly Beans, Dixie Cups, Ad Libs, Evie Sands, and Butterflies. LP, Vinyl record album

Brian Auger's first album away from singer Julie Driscoll – and a landmark batch of funky organ work that made big waves in both the rock and jazz worlds at the time! Auger's really stretching out here – getting past the simple R&B of his roots, and going into a bubbling funky style that's clearly touched by chromatic inspirations from Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith – both of whom are referenced by some of the song structures on the set. The album's filled with killer organ-based instrumentals – some lean and stripped down, others full and rich – and all of them coming across with a richly soulful sound that you'd hardly expect from a member of the British rock scene! Titles include "Day In The Life", "Red Beans", "Definitely What!", and his classic "Bumpin' On Sunset". LP, Vinyl record album

Four incredible albums from Hammond legend Brian Auger – a key link between jazz and the headier sounds of the UK scene at the end of the 60s! First up is Open – one of the amazing early albums from the team of Julie Driscoll and Brian Auger – kind of a next-generation to the Brit beat group sound of the mid 60s – one that moves beyond simple R&B modes, to bring in more sophisticated soul and jazz touches! Driscoll's vocals are amazing – some of the boldest belted out in the British scene at the time – and Auger's Hammond work really cooks throughout – at a level that easily makes him one of the best UK organists to hit the scene, amidst some very heady company in the 60s. There's a few bluesy moments, but our favorites are the funky ones – especially the group's reading of "Season Of The Witch", which is tremendous. Other cuts include "In & Out", "Black Cat", "Goodbye Jungle Telegraph", and "Break It Up". Definitely What is a landmark batch of funky organ work that made big waves in both the rock and jazz worlds at the time! Auger's really stretching out here – getting past the simple R&B of his roots, and going into a bubbling funky style that's clearly touched by chromatic inspirations from Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith – both of whom are referenced by some of the song structures on the set. The album's filled with killer organ-based instrumentals – some lean and stripped down, others full and rich – and all of them coming across with a richly soulful sound that you'd hardly expect from a member of the British rock scene! Titles include "Day In The Life", "Red Beans", "Definitely What!", and his classic "Bumpin' On Sunset". Streetwise is filled great funky grooves by the legendary Trinity group – featuring excellent keyboard work by Brian Auger, recorded during the period when he was really beginning to stretch out a bit, and hit a much more open-ended kind of sound. Julie Driscoll is still on vocals, singing in her raw sound, but Brian's Trinity group gets a fair number of nice instrumental moments on the set – which are greatly appreciated! Titles include the classic and sample laden "Light My Fire", "Czechoslovakia", "Finally Found You Out", "In Search Of The Sun", "Ellis Island", "I've Got Life", and "Save The Country". Befour is the third album from Brian Auger & The Trinity – and the first to feature the group recording without vocals from Julie Driscoll! The sound here is just as soulful as before – a tight take on American soul jazz and funky soul of the 60s – pushed along by Auger's mighty work on the Hammond organ, and featuring (this time around) some male lead vocals, which seem to give the album an even deeper feel than earlier work! Auger's included some great covers of American tunes like "I Want To Take You Higher", "Listen Here", and "Maiden Voyage" – all redone with some great Brit beat group touches – and the album also features a great take on Faure's "Pavane", and Auger's own "Just You Just Me". LP, Vinyl record album

A super-funky group from the Estonian scene – one who serve up a blistering barrage of drums, riffing guitar, and fast-moving basslines – all at a level that has these guys sounding like some sort of incredibly sharp group from the 70s! The style is a bit like the best blue-eyed funk acts from years back – vocals that are rolling over the top of the grooves, but with a real focus on incredibly sharp instrumentation throughout – played at a pace that never lets up, and which really earns these guys the second part of their name! Titles include "Funky Lump", "Look Behind You", "The Poet", "Too Hot", "Tell Me Tell Me", "Beef Grinder", "Cookin Some Beans", and "Get Up Move On". CD

Rare Ghanaian funk from Marijata – a rawer, rootsier take on the mid 70s African funk sound, and really unique vibe overall! Marijata is a core 3-piece featuring drummer Kofi Addison, organist Bob Fischian and guitarist Nat Osmanu of the group Sweet Beans – a set up that provides for a distinctive, loose-limbed feel on the sparest moments – always funky, but without any reliance and bigger, denser orchestrations. Even when augmented by a horn section they've got a great, gritty vibe all their own! This live in the studio set is one of the most hard-sought of the genre, and now that we've heard it, we can see why! Raw, riveting and soulful stuff – a real treasure! Includes "I Walk Alone", "We Live In Piece", "No Condition Is Permanent" and "Break Through". LP, Vinyl record album

An early Northern Soul collection from the UK, done before Charly and Ace really started hitting the record racks – and with a great batch of 16 tracks from American soul singers, including work from Barbara Mills, The Showstoppers, Dobie Gray, Johnny Bragg, Gloria Jones, Sandy Wynns, The Carstairs, Ann Sexton, Eloise Jaws, The Jelly Beans, and others! LP, Vinyl record album