A long-overdue look at a little-heard side of the career of 60s pop giant Lou Christie – his great but ill-fated recordings for Columbia Records – most of which appear here for the first time ever! Lou hit the label right after a massive hit for MGM – and Columbia gave him plenty of time in the studio, and continued his work with producer Charles Calello – the genius who crafted so many wonderful settings for Christie, as well as the Four Seasons at the time. Calello's genius is in full effect here – creating these incredible backdrops for Christie's stunning vocals – really pushing him past simple pop into a whole host of different modes that make the whole thing a great "what if" – had the label not given up on Lou so quickly. The CD features great sound, detailed notes, and 24 tracks in all – 15 of which appear here for the first time ever – a blindingly great mix of tracks that includes "I Remember Gina", "The Greatest Show On Earth", "Blue Champagne", "Tender Loving Care", "Gypsy Bells, "Escape", "Standing On My Promises", "Shake Hands & Walk Away Cryin", "Self Expression", "Yellow Lights Say", "Meditation", and "How Many Days Of Sadness". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Music from The Rockin' Berries, Henri Salvador, The Parlettes, Carol Lee, Justin Wilson, Chubby Checker & The Tokens, Lou Christie, The Heatwaves, The Revlons, The Bitter Sweets, The Romeos, and more – 25 songs in all. CD

Music from the Marcels, the Wildwoods, James Darren, Shelley Fabares, Paul Petersen, Little Eva, Carole King, the Cookies, Teddy Randazzo, Freddie Scott, the Girlfriends, Henry Alston, Lou Christie & more. CD

A great look at the changing tone on the American scene at the end of the 60s – that moment when Vietnam, social unrest, and many other problems weighed heavily on the country's consciousness – and made their presence manifest in all sorts of pop music as well! We're not talking about the familiar sounds of the Woodstock generation – but instead more mainstream artists who had never touched on politics or social issues before – but suddenly found themselves singing alongside the underground about the bigger problems of the day. This package is a superb look at that moment – put together by the team who've given us the great English Weather and Paris In The Spring collections for Ace – with the same care for choice of tracks, and a wealth of wonderful notes that really get at the nature of these unusual tunes. Titles include "Clean Up Your Own Back Yard" by Elvis Presley, "Wine In The Wind" by Anita Kerr Singers, "Paint Me Black Angels" by Eartha Kitt, "This Crazy World" by Paul Anka, "Questions" by Bobby Darin, "Do You Believe This Town" by Dean Martin, "Cardboard California" by Buddy Greco, "Cherrystones" by Eugene McDaniels, "Save The Children" by Teresa Brewer, "Welfare Hero" by Johnny Tillotson, "What Do We Do With The World" by Bing Crosby, "4th Of July" by The Beach Boys, "Mr Businessman" by Ray Stevens, "Paint America Love" by Lou Christie, "Hitchhiker" by The Four Preps, "Brand New Day" by Della Reese, "Saturday's Father" by The 4 Seasons, and "Southbound Jericho Parkway" by Roy Orbison. CD

Includes tracks by the Byrds, Mamas & the Papas, Beach Boys, Tommy James & the Shondells, the Knickerbockers, Lou Christie, Paul Revere & the Raiders, the Capitols, and Los Bravos – 22 tracks total. CD

Jack Nitzsche was one of the greatest producers of the LA scene of the 60s – a legendary talent whose work was a key counterpart to frequent associate Phil Spector, but which also took on lots of other weird twists and turns of its own! Jack has this mad appeal that you can probably guess from his image on the cover – a quiet genius who really finds a way to make artists shine at their best – whether he's working the knobs in the studio, or just scoring an arrangement or penning a tune! This volume is easily the most wild of Ace Records' series on Nitzsche – and features lots of offbeat tunes that almost feel more like Kim Fowley tracks than some of the more mainstream numbers that came from Jack's hands. The range of music here is really wonderful – lots of lost LA gems from the 60s, plus a few key tracks from later years too – in a lineup that includes "Puddin N Tain" by The Alley Cats, "What About You" by Ramona King, "Educated Fool" by Billy Storm, "Daddy You Just Gotta Let Him In" by The Satisfactions, "Louie Louie" by Honey Ltd, "Little Boy" by The Crystals, "Night Walker" by Jack Nitzsche, "If My Car Could Only Talk" by Lou Christie, and "Night Time Girl" by Modern Folk Quintet. CD

Funky mod grooves galore – and a sublime second set in the Le Beat Bespoke series! This one is even better than the first – and seems to dig even deeper in the crates to come up with a range of rare singles from around the globe – all dripping with heavy drums, fuzzy guitars, and sweet sweet Hammond organ work! Many numbers have vocals, and most are from the rockish side of the spectrum – but they've all got a romping, grooving bottom end that more than makes them a little bit funky – usually in a groove that's way different than the sort you'd find on other funky compilations! The notes are great, the tracks are amazing, and the CD's one of the freshest funky sets to hit our racks in a long long time. LP features 16 titles that include "Madeline" by Dick Turpin, "Dude" by Poppys Haunted House, "Springtime" by Jimmy Thomas, "One Two Boogaloo" by The Light Nites, "Little Louise" by Shere Khan, "I Found You" by The Tops, "You Know He Did" by Mary McCarthy, "Rouge Rouge" by Christie Luame, "Truth In My Tears" by Louisa Jane White, "Berlin" by Heidi Bruhl, and "Run Shaker Life" by Paul Nicholas. LP, Vinyl record album