... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

Two fantastic albums from Hugo Montenegro – back to back on a single CD! Hugo In Wonder-Land is one of Hugo Montenegro's best moog albums – and a killer batch of tracks written by Stevie Wonder – hence the title! Hugo and crew go to town with a host of electric keyboards – including moogs and Arps, backed up by some straight electric piano – and they lay down 10 smooth funky renditions of Stevie Wonder hits from the late 60s and early 70s. The approach is a great one, and it really gives substance to Montenegro's moogy musings – which sometimes can lack direction. Includes great versions of "Living For The City", "Too High", "Superstition", "Higher Ground", "You've Got It Bad, Girl", and "All In Love Is Fair". Niel's Diamonds is a weird and wonderful record – the early hits of Neil Diamond, played on the moog and ARP by the mighty Hugo Montenegro! The approach to the set is pretty darn cool – as it takes 10 of Neil's best early tunes, and runs them through arrangements by Montenegro that run from funky to groovy to dreamy – and which feature some very strange use of electronics! Sparkling and weird all the way through – with versions of "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon", "Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show", "Sweet Caroline", "Two-Bit Man Child", "Porcupine Pie", and more! CD

A pair of albums by Johnny Mathis from the 70s – with bonus tracks too! First up is First Time Ever I Saw Your Face – one of those records that perfectly illustrates the shift that Johnny Mathis had made by the 70s – his move from the late nite spot on the cushions of the couch, to a more sophisticated interpreter of richer emotions that provide more than a day's worth of expression on an album like this! Mathis has completely perfected his voice by this point – and almost uses it in painterly fashion, over full arrangements from All Caps and D'Arneill Pershing – with lightly flowing strings, tinkling piano, and all these subtle elements that never get in the way of Johnny's majestic lead. Titles include "The Summer Knows", "Since I Fell For You", "Without You", "Betcha By Golly Wow", "Last Night I Didn't Get To Sleep At All", "Speak Softly Love", and "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face". Song Sung Blue is a nice little album that has the legendary voice of Johnny Mathis taking on mature songwriting material from Gilbert O'Sullivan, Ralph MacDonald, Burt Bacharach, Neil Diamond, and even Bill Withers! All the tunes get completely transformed in the Mathis approach – very different than their familiar versions, not just thanks to Johnny's unique vocals – but also the rich arrangements by D'Arneill Pershing, who was turning out to be one of the best Mathis arrangers in the 70s – able to balance individual elements in the backings in just the right way to echo the spirit of the songs. Titles include "Play Me", "Alone Again Naturally", "Lean On Me", "Too Young", "Where Is The Love", "Run To Me", and "Song Sung Blue". Bonus tracks include "Remember The Good", "Morning Has Broken", and "Sometimes". CD

The Monkees had so many fantastic records during their short span of recording, nearly all of them might well be "greatest hits" – but this set does a nice job of slimming the selection down to focus on some of the most long-lasting tracks from the group! There's a few killer Boyce & Hart compositions, produced by the duo too – and the set also features contributions from other 60s pop heavyweights, like Chip Douglas, Neil Diamond, Jeff Barry, and the duo of Carole King & Gerry Goffin – all of whim give the foursome some great material, on tunes that include "Theme From The Monkees", "Last Train To Clarksville", "She", "Listen To The Band", "A Little Bit Me A Little Bit You", "Daydream Believer", "Pleasant Valley Sunday", "Steppin Stone", "I'm A Believer", and "I Wanna Be Free". LP, Vinyl record album

The Monkees had so many fantastic records during their short span of recording, nearly all of them might well be "greatest hits" – but this set does a nice job of slimming the selection down to focus on some of the most long-lasting tracks from the group! There's a few killer Boyce & Hart compositions, produced by the duo too – and the set also features contributions from other 60s pop heavyweights, like Chip Douglas, Neil Diamond, Jeff Barry, and the duo of Carole King & Gerry Goffin – all of whim give the foursome some great material, on tunes that include "Theme From The Monkees", "Last Train To Clarksville", "She", "Listen To The Band", "A Little Bit Me A Little Bit You", "Daydream Believer", "Pleasant Valley Sunday", "Steppin Stone", "I'm A Believer", and "I Wanna Be Free". CD