... LP, Vinyl record album

Nothing weird here, just wonderful – a fantastic assortment of music from a time when the British scene was really changing things up – served up in a book-styled package with notes that are as dynamic as its music! The tracks here move way past the obvious – that's an image of John Lennon on the cover, but these aren't the tracks by The Beatles and bigger acts of the time – and instead, the collection really does a great job of digging around all the really wonderful groups that were recording for the bigger British labels of the period, but who were given a lot of freedom to really try out new ideas – both in their music, and in the way the music was recorded. The package is the best we've ever seen to present this slice of English rock – and the set features 122 titles on 5CDs – with work from Ron Geesin, Atlanta Roots, Simon Dupree, The Smoke, John's Children, Ivor Cutler, Tinsel Arcade, The Soft Machine, Canto, New Generation, Medium Rare, 117 Venusian Moonshine, Friday's Chyld, New Generation, Third Ear Band, Wimple Winch, The Deviants, Sorrows, Rupert's People, Orange Bicycle, Shuster, Felius Andromeda, Tomorrow, Crystal Ship, The Moles, and many others – and the set also features 9 never-issued tracks! CD

Bring on the sun if it burns this strongly – as we're more than happy to get extra toasty in the light of such wonderful tracks as these! The set's a stunning look at the massive musical shift on the UK scene in the year of 1967 – a time when psych was certainly making its influence felt, but groups were also opening up in all these other sorts of ways too – really getting past the jaunty rhythms and catchy lyrics of a few years before – and instead somehow managing to make all these amazing things happen in just the space of a short 7" single! Some of the artists here are artists who were making more mainstream music a few years earlier, others are new acts that would soon become superstars, and a few more are genius groups who burst out strongly, then disappeared from view – all brought together in a great 3CD package, with 79 tracks in all, and very detailed notes. Artists include The Herd, Idle Race, Dave Davies, John Williams, Svensk, Universals, Australian Playboys, Tony Rivers, Great Uncle Fred, Artwoods, 23rd Turnoff, Vocal Point, Zombies, Nirvana UK, Lisa & Francesca, The Mirage, Virgin Sleep, Accent, Our Plastic Dream, David Bowie, Living Daylights, John's Children, Episode Six, Orange Bicycle, The Poets, Genesis, Crocheted Doughnut Ring, Piccadilly Line, Scott Henderson, Made In Sheffield, Caleb, and many others! CD

Sunshine Pop is a style that's usually associated with the American west coast scene of the 60s – music that sprung up in the wake of The Beach Boys and some of the other upbeat, harmony-heavy groups of the time – yet as you'll see in this set, there was also plenty of sunshine pop coming from the UK too – some by older artists influenced by musical changes, some by very cool English groups, and some by artists who were really taking the sound and spirit in their own direction! The box tracks a great stretch in the UK scene when things were sweet and well-produced, with a really great focus on well-crafted vocals amidst lovely arrangements – never too slick or sleepy in a soft rock way – and often presented with some unique British twists that make the tunes a great change from Sunshine Pop in the US! We love it when the Grapefruit label digs into a genre we never would have explored this deeply – and the 3CD package is a wonder throughout – with 87 tracks in all, alongside a big booklet of notes – presented by a huge array of artists who include Butterscotch, Dawn Chorus, The Mirage, Design, The Zombies, Paul Ryan, Roger Webb Sound, Agincourt, The Flies, Jason Cord, Symbols, Pinkerton's Colours, Tony Rivers & The Castaways, West Coast Consortium, The Seekers, Wilson Malone Voiceband, Orange Bicycle, Ken Smart, Harmony Grass, Episode Six, and many many others! CD

A lovely blend of fusion and Brazilian roots – and one of Toninho Horta's standout sets from his US years at Verve! The album's got a warm, organic feel that's quite different from other American fusion of the time – still filled with some of the influences that drove that music in the US, but carried off in a way that's much deeper and more personal overall – thanks to Toninho's always-great approach! Horta sings wordlessly and plays guitars – and the instrumentation shifts a bit from track to track, creating different moods with the addition of players who include Pat Metheny on guitar, Onaje Allen Gumbs on synth, Billy Drewes on soprano sax, and Nana Vasconcelos on percussion. Titles include "Spirit Land", "Francisca", "Sun Song", "Bicycle Ride", "Eternal Youth", and "Gershwin". CD

One of the coolest compilations we've ever heard from Ace Records – a really special set that follows in the tradition of their other St Etienne cafe/pub collections – and like those gems, a very different package than usual! This time around, the duo of Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs (who you'll also know from the Croydon International label) focus on an overlooked strand of British sounds at the start of the 70s – music that's moody, often jazzy, and almost always touched with a hint of blue – a kind of melancholic moment after the heady 60s – one that takes into stock all the great changes that had happened in the music, but delivers them in this laidback style that's completely unselfconscious. This isn't singer/songwriter material, and it's not progressive either – although it carries light traces of some of the best of those scenes – and if we had to try to dig for a tag for these tracks at all, we might use the term "folk funk" that was bandied about years ago – for cuts that have a vibe that's complex yet personal, and lots of jazziness in the phrasing. Titles include "Last Cloud Home" by The Orange Bicycle, "Love Song With Flute" by Caravan, "Moon Bird" by The Roger Webb Sound, "Early Morning Eyes" by The Peacock Band, "JTL" by T2, "Evening Shade" by Alan Parker & Alan Hawkshaw, "Windfall" by Offspring, "Never Let Go" by Camel, "Bottles" by Belle Gonzalez, "Watching White Stars" by The Way We Live, "Wise Man In Your Heart" by Daevid Allen, "Til The Christ Come Back Home" by Bill Fay, "Pamela" by Scot Mist, and "O Caroline" by Matching Mole – a song which perfectly sums up the mood of the set. CD