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Beautiful CD that brings together 20 tracks of the fragile French folk songwriting of the great Georges Brassens. If you don't know Brassens, he was one twisted mofo, and his work has gone onto provide the inspiration for a range of musicians that runs from Serge Gainsbourg to Momus. This set's got some of his racier stuff, including classics like "Le Pornographe", "Le Coco (Cuckold)", "La Traitresse", and "Comme Une Soeur". Very spooky spare sound, and lots of haunting vocals accompanied by spare guitar! CD

Fantastic work from one of the greatest French songwriters of the 20th Century! CD

Beautiful US album that features some of Brel's most famous tracks, served up in a lovingly-packaged edition that includes a gatefold cover, and a handsome inner booklet with notes and translations of the songs. The whole thing's a great way to get into Brel's work – and was the record that provided the best introduction of his great talent to the American audiences of the 60s. Titles include "Le Moribond", "Ne Me Quitte Pas", "Marieke", "La Tendresse", and "La Valse A Mille Temps". LP, Vinyl record album

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Erasmo Carlos sounds even cooler here than usual – still working with tunes penned with his brother Roberto – but also taking on music by Caetano Veloso, Jorge Ben, and Marcos Valle too! There's a heady undercurrent to the record that's maybe a filtering-through of an earlier Tropicalia vibe – a mode that Erasmo never embraced, but which leaves its impression in some of the more striking arrangements here – especially in the way things trip out at all the best times! Fuzzy guitar and offbeat production really add a lot to the set – and titles include "Maria Joana", "Agora Ninguem Chora Mais", "26 Anos De Vida Normal", "Cica Cecilia", "Mundo Deserto", "Sodoma E Gomorra", "Masculino Feminio", and "De Noite Na Cama". CD

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3 incredible albums from the British jazz scene at the end of the 60s – all together in one 2CD package! Down Another Road is incredible work from one of England's greatest jazz talents – bassist Graham Collier, a player with an amazing ability to absorb a lot of the modern and progressive influences of his jazz generation – but all without succumbing to the same indulgences as them – a fact which resulted in a razor-sharp style that forged some of the freshest jazz ever to come out of the UK. This 1969 album is a masterpiece – filled with a modal groove and a strident searching theme, yet also as tight and grooving as most of the best Blue Note sessions from the same time. Harry Beckett's on trumpet, Nick Evans is on trombone, John Marshall plays drums, and Stan Sulzmann handles the reeds. Tracks include "Down Another Road", "Danish Blue", "The Barley Mow", and "Aberdeen Angus". Songs For My Father is a masterpiece of modernist soul jazz, with a sound that recalls the best late Blue Note work by Lee Morgan or Hank Mobley. Alan Wakeman's tenor is perfectly pitched, and searingly searching; Harry Beckett's trumpet is round, lyrical, and filled with soul; and the piano of John Taylor comps along in chunky modal grooves that make the whole album fall together brilliantly. Tracks include "Song One", "Song Two", "Song Three", etc – and they're all fantastic! Mosaics is a wonderfully searching session – filled with warm McCoy Tyner-esque modal moments, and searing post-Coltrane solos! The album comprises one long piece – Collier's "Mosaics" – performed live by a group that includes Alan Wakeman on tenor and soprano, Harry Beckett on trumpet, and Geoff Castle on piano. "Mosaics" has that amazing mid 60s Coltrane quality of going out in a spiritual kind of way – yet always returning to the groove, never getting too free, and always remaining firmly focused on the direction ahead. All players are great, and the record crackles with the intensity of a classic session on Impulse! CD

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Pretty great jazzy work from Johnny Dankworth – one of the hipper Brit bandleaders of the 60s, working here in a sweet 70s mode that reminds us of some of the larger MPS projects of the same time. The tracks have a bit of an electric glow in the basswork and production, but the main focus is on acoustic big band grooving – with breakout solos, and some tighter ensemble passages. Side two features the side-long suite "Lifeline", which has a few funky moments – and side one features "Tomorrow's World", "WRVR", and "Fighting The Flab". Players include Don Rendell, Tony Hymas, Ken Gibson, and Dankworth himself. LP, Vinyl record album

An early gem from the great guitarist Paco DeLucia – and one of the first to feature his solo instrument right out front in the mix, without support from another player or any large arrangements! The setting is breathtaking – incredibly deft guitar lines, with a style rooted in flamenco, but a level of personal expression that's quite different – a rich new voice on the acoustic guitar, at a time when it already seemed like the instrument had been explored fully by so many others! The album's a landmark, and is filled with treasures that include "Gitanos Trianeros", "Impetu", "El Tajo", "Llora La Siguiriya", "Jerenza", and "Punta Umbria". CD

A wonderfully rich extrapolation of the sound of Paco DeLucia – still served up with all the intensity of his solo guitar work of the 70s, but also with some additional instrumentation that helps bring out a stronger jazz vibe too! The approach is different than Paco's early jazz flamenco albums – in that the presentation is more focused on his guitar first – but the sense of freedom and spontaneous expression is definitely similar – and strongly aided by the work of Jorge Pardo on flute and soprano sax, Rubem Dantas on percussion, Pepe De Lucia on rhythm guitar, and frequent partner Ramon De Algeciras on additional guitar. Titles include "Palenque", "Alta Mar", "Solo Quiero Caminar", "Chiquito", and "Gitanos Andaluces". CD

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A great little album from Serge – possibly his last truly genius record, and one with a very unusual twist! The album was recorded in Jamaica with production from Sly & Robbie – very much in the late 70s, big-business reggae mode – but done with Serge's usual flair for the lyric. The album's not really a reggae album – more a set of dubby tracks that have a similar feel to some of Serge's other backings during the 70s, with whispered sexy lyrics over the top. The record shouldn't work, but it does – and picks up a sound that's similar to Serge's work on the excellent album L'Homme A Tete Chou! Titles include "Relax Baby Be Cool", "Daisy Temple", "Javanaise Remake", "Pas Long Feu", and "Marilou Reggae Dub". CD

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A strange late soundtrack for this film that starred Serge, Catherine Deneuve, and Gerard Depardieu! The score features the main theme "La Fautive" – in both a vocal version by Serge, plus two instrumental readings that have a mellower tone. Other tracks include the duet with Deneuve on "Dieu Fumeur De Havanes", also done later as an instrumental – plus 2 vocal numbers, "Papa Nono" and "La P'Tite Agathe", written by Serge, but sung by Depardieu with the band Bijou! LP, Vinyl record album

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A late 60s soundtrack by Serge Gainsbourg – but a record that's easily as great as any of his studio albums from the same time! The bulk of the album has a spare, punctuated groove that's somewhat funky – quite a bit like Melody Nelson in its sense of space and timing – and its sex-heavy groove that bubbles up nicely from the bottom of bassy backings and mod orchestrations. Serge sings a bit – as does Anna Karina and Jean-Claude Brialy, Gainsbourg's co-stars in the film – and the orchestrations on the record were handled by Michel Colombier, and easily rank as some of his greatest work ever! Titles include both vocal and instrumental versions of "Sous Le Soleil Exactement", "Pas Mal Pas Mal Du Tout", "Boomerang", "Un Jour Comme Un Autre", "Ne Dis Rien", "Roller Girl", "GI Jo", "Pistolet Jo", "Photographes Et Religieuses", "Rien Rien J'Disais Ca Comme Ca", and "Un Poison Violet C'Est CA L'Amour". CD

No baby pop here, as France Gall is all-woman throughout – one of the best of the French female pop singers of the mid 60s, working here with an upbeat, groovy sound throughout! Backings are by the great Alain Gouraguer, who gives the record a tightly jerking kind of feel – a sound that's the Paris contribution to the same sort of mod grooves that were coming out of the London scene at the time. The album's filled with classics by Gall, all sung in a sweet voice that's a great contrast to the music – wonderful stuff throughout, with titles that include "Baby Pop", "Cet Air La", "L'Amerique", "Mon Bateau De Nuit", and "Deux Oiseaux". LP, Vinyl record album

France Gall won the Eurovision song contest with the title track of this one – and for good reason too, given that the tune is totally groovy! The rest of the work here really follows suit – romping, jerking, and grooving in that wonderful mix of mod rhythms that made France's 60s material so great – some of the best of the French pop scene at the time, with a sound that's really a cut above on all the numbers here! Backings are by the mighty Alain Gouraguer, who brings in a hip mix of jazz inflections, rocking rhythms, and some of the more sparkling soundtrack elements bubbling in the French 60s scene – all a perfect accompaniment for Gall's catchy girl pop vocals. Titles include "Poupee De Cire Poupee De Son", written by Serge Gainsbourg – plus "Le Coeur Qui Jazze", "Le Premier Chagrin D'Amour", "On T'Avait Prevenue", "Dis A Ton Capitaine", "Nounours", "Laisse Tomber Les Filles", and "Bonne Nuit". LP, Vinyl record album

The rare 3rd album by Gilberto Gil, and a key piece of the Tropicalia puzzle – one of the most wildly experimental albums from those years, and Gil's last before going into exile! The sound is much more electric than his other albums from the late 60's – and the production, songwriting, and instrumentation get very crazy at times – but never too crazy to cover up Gilberto's excellent singing, which is still as filled with feeling as ever. Arrangements are by the mighty Rogerio Duprat, who does as great a job here of balancing Gil's sensitivities as he does on Gal Costa's sublime efforts from 1969 – and the instrumentation is a weird and wonderful mix of Bahian rhythms, fuzzy guitar, and crazy electronics – all heartfelt one minute, freaked out the next. Tracks include "Cerebro Eletronico", "Volks Volkswagen Blue", "Futurivel", and "2001", which was written by Tom Ze and Rita Lee – plus the wild cut "Objecto Semi-Identificado", which is sort of a John Cage-esque track of found radio and electronics, with vocals by Gil! CD

A rare British recording from Gilberto Gil – sung completely in English, and recorded while living in London, in political exile along with Caetano Veloso! The album's somewhat similar to Veloso's famous London album from 1971 – certainly in structure, as the backings are relatively stripped-down, and mostly feature acoustic guitar, bass, and percussion, alongside Gil's English lyrics. But the record's somewhat different too – in that it's got a brighter, more redemptive feel – almost an indication that Gilberto's time abroad hadn't been such a terrible thing – especially given that the record is a new creative departure in his music! The English lyrics are really a treat – and are sometimes sung as a broken strand of familiar words, trying to work themselves together into a fragile tapestry of emotion – sometimes succeeding, sometimes not – but always beautiful, and always filled with the emotion of his experiences in exile! Titles include "Volkswagen Blues", "The Three Mushrooms", "Babylon", "Nega (Photograph Blues)", and "Mamma" – plus 3 bonus cuts: "Can't Find My Way Home", "Up From The Skies", and a great version of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". US version also features great sound and new liner notes by Peter Margasak! CD

It may have been recorded on the French Riviera – but the session's actually a killer batch of Latiny tinged tracks from Dizzy & Co – with with great arrangements by Lalo Schifrin! There's a wonderful 10 minute version of "Chega De Saudade", done as "No More Blues" to start it out, and it's got a great loping Latin vibe, in the manner of Dizzy's best sides from the 60s. Lalo's on piano, and the great Leo Wright is on flute and alto, with Tzigane Elek Bacsik on guitar, Chris White on bass, Ruby Collins on drums and Pepitoo Riestria on percussion. Other nice ones include "Long Long Summer", "Desafinado", and "Pau De Arara". A great album, and one not to pass up! LP, Vinyl record album

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A very groovy set of tunes from the hip European scene of the 60s – and one of the best blends of jazz and classical music we can think of! Sure, the tunes are from Corelli, Handel, Pachelbel, and other baroque composers – but they're taken to hip jazzy territory here in the hands of pianist George Gruntz – who plays some mighty cool electric harpsichord on the set! The sound's more like a 60s soundtrack swing than any staid sort of longhair classics – thanks in part to great work from Klaus Doldinger on soprano sax, and Emil Mangelsdorff on flute – plus swinging rhythms from the team of Peter Trunk on bass and Klaus Weiss on drums. The horns bring in a sense of depth and soul to the record that's missing from other dates of this nature – especially trio sets, like those of Jacques Loussier – and titles include "Corrente", "Pavana", "Gavotte En Rondeau", "Le Croc En Jambe", and "Musette En Rondeau". LP, Vinyl record album

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Great takes on Haydn trios from this excellent group! CD

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An album that has Brian Hyland singing with some wonderfully full backings, and shifting between catchy teen numbers and more serious older ballads! Arrangements are by Allen Lorber and Bill McElhiney, and are well-suited to the more spacious modes of Hyland's vocals – that spread-out quality that starts to emerge in his work, and which is a great precursor to the later sunshine sound. As with most of his best work, there's a nice undercurrent of darkness throughout – an edge that's almost inexplicable, but which is really what keeps his albums exciting. Titles include "Two Kinds Of Girls", "Her's To Our Love", "Now I Belong To You", "Graduation Day", "The Nearness Of You", "Moments To Remember", "Young Years", and "That's The Way Our Love Goes" – a number of which are original compositions by producers Gary Geld and Peter Udell. LP, Vinyl record album

Funky funky Thailand – just about the only 70s funk group we've ever seen from that part of the globe, and a great one at that! The Impossibles work in a tightly-crafted ensemble funk style that's clearly influenced by Kool & The Gang – but which also has the group hitting some well-polished notes on a few of the album's vocal numbers – in a totally cool groove that's got plenty of hard funky riffs at the bottom, sweet horns in the middle, and some great compressed pop vocals on the top! The album's a real lost treasure – one that we've never seen on this side of the Atlantic – and was oddly recorded and issued in Sweden in the mid 70s! But this album is way more than just a musical oddity – as it's super-funky all the way through, with a level of quality that will have it at the top of your crates for a long, long time! Titles include "Hotpepper", "Give It Up", "California", "C'mon Baby", "Easy To Be Hard", "Pretty Thing", "Love Will Keep Us Together", and "Love The Life You Live". CD

One of the greatest soundtracks ever – a record that set a whole new standard for audio representation of a film! The mad music for the set was composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim, with lyrics by Vincius De Moraes – and performed by Luiz Bonfa on guitar – but despite such prime bossa pedigree, the whole thing's got a sound that goes way beyond the familiar – a crazy mix of batucada percussion, samba rhythms, bossa guitar, and loads of sound effects from the film – so much so that the first half of the record is almost a sound-for-sound replication of the first 20 minutes of the movie! The sound collage is amazing – an extremely unique approach to soundtrack representation, and one that's never been done so beautifully since. A truly breathtaking record, filled with mindblowing sounds – and an early example of the genius that would explode in 60s music in Brazil. Some key bossa classics are represented here in early versions – including "Felicidade", "O Nosso Amor", and "Manha De Carnaval" – but they're wrapped up in odd sounds and rhythms that really make them sound different! LP, Vinyl record album

The first album by Joyce – one of our favorite Brazilian singers ever! The album's a wonderfully lyrical batch of tracks – many written by Joyce herself, plus a few by Brazilian songwriters Jards Macale, Toninho Horta, and Marcos Valle – and the orchestrations are by Gaya, and played on a number of tracks by Dori Caymmi and his group. The style shows many elements of Joyce's later unique style, filtered through a more standard late bossa sound – light and breezy, but with a bit of a dark edge that's in a classic Jobim mode. Includes the track "Superego", which feels a lot like Joyce from the 70s – plus the lovely "Litoral", and the tracks "Me Disseram", "Nao Muda, Nao", "Cantiga De Procura", "Choro Chorado", "Bloco Do Eu Sozinho", and "Improvisado". LP, Vinyl record album

An uber-rare album from Orlando Julius & The Afro Sounders – recorded at Ginger Baker's studio in Lagos and originally (apparently quite scarcely) released by Philips in 1973 – wonderful stuff and on par with the excellent material the group recorded in the handful of previous years! The sound is terrific, still fresh and live sounding, but recorded with the best studio technology Julius had access to to date. The drums and percussion are prominent in the mix and so is the bass – with punchy, soulful brass, organs and passionate vocals. Wonderful! Tracks include "Yio Si Da Miliki Beat", "Afro Instrumental", "Osika Ranti", "Buje Buje", "Aseni" and "Kete Kete Koro". CD

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The music may be Gershwin, but Karin Krog gives it a twist that's all her own – working here with wonderful small combo backing, and putting the tunes over in a style that's spare and personal – yet never sleepy or cloying! The approach is really fresh, yet never also overly modern or gimmicky – and Krog shows once again that she's one of the best interpreters of song on either side of the Atlantic – hitting a space here that's just perfect, and which makes us love the record a heck of a lot more than we ever would have expected for a Gershwin-titled set! The group's a quartet, with some excellent tenor from Bjarne Nerem – who sounds especially great on an instrumental reading of "That Certain Feeling" – and titles include "Nice Work If You Can Get It", "Who Cares?", "Our Love Is Here To Stay", and "They All Laughed". CD

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Fantastic! This is the US release of the Michel Legrand score to Jaques Demy's incredible 1965 film The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg. Every word of dialogue in the film is sung, and Legrand came up with an amazing array of themes to carry the emotion of the film. Embedded in here are lines that later became worldwide hits – like "I Will Wait For You" and "Watch What Happens" – but in this version, the songs are just themes in the huge pastiche of dialogue and narrative, and they lurk behind the score in a beautiful way. This is one of our favorite all-time soundtracks, and this US version has a heavy cardboard gatefold sleeve, with a book in the middle that has lines from the film, and very nice pictures of Catherine Deneuve! LP, Vinyl record album

Some of the greatest jazz work ever recorded by Michel Legrand! Although Legrand's always been known for his sweet soundtrack work and his famous easy listening sides – he's also a heck of a jazz pianist, and here in this rare 1959 session, he works in a trio format that puts him right up there with the best of the French piano-technics of his generation, like Maurice Vander or Rene Utreger. The arrangements are wonderfully off-beat – and Legrand dances around the piano with a versatility that we didn't know he had. The group features Guy Pedersen on bass and Gus Wallez on drums – and titles include "Paris In The Spring", "Sous Les Ponts De Paris", "Paris Canaille", "Moulin Rouge", and "La Vie En Rose". CD

One of our favorite soundtracks ever – a jazzy swinging ode to love found and love lost – all penned by the legendary Michel Legrand! The work was composed in collaboration with director Jacques Demy for his 1966 film of the same name – and, like the previous Demy/Legrand collaboration, Umbrellas Of Cherbourg, the movie's a story in song – one that has much of the dialogue presented as sung lyrics to the tunes. The mode takes off from a Hollywood musical style, and pushes the genre into territory that's much hipper, very French, and with a soaring approach that's filled with plenty of mod 60s jazz grooves. Legrand's genius has never sparkled so brightly – and his ability to interweave different themes, stories, and grooves is simply amazing! This US package is even better than the original French one – with a nice colored book inside the gatefold cover that has some great photos and lyrics (translated) for the songs. Titles include "Nous Voyagons De Ville En Ville", "Depart De Camionners", "Arivee Des Camionneurs", "Chanson De Maxence", "Marins, Amins, Amants Ou Maris", and "Chanson De Jumelles". LP, Vinyl record album

Ah, so French! Quite different than most of Michel Legrand's usual work – this one is much more of a tongue in cheek effort, featuring tunes that have a jaunty French-like sound – sort of served up for the American audience – with narration by Charles Boyer, in a Maurice Chevalier-type style. The whole thing's more kitschy than romantic, as is Legrand's other work from the time – but enjoyable nonetheless, and works well as an album. Ttiles include "Bossa Nova Ala Boyer", "Booby Trapped", "Be Free At Sea", "Chango Twist Party", "Millie's Theme", and "Love Is A Ball". LP, Vinyl record album

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Two early 70s gems from French easy maestro Paul Mauriat – both from a time when he was at the height of his powers! Penelope has a sexy lady on the front cover, and a sound that definitely matches that mood too – although Mauriat also manages to bring up some funky strings at a few points too – maybe giving the music more of a special sort of soundtrack mix than some of his earlier records! The sound is bright, but never too polished – and titles include "Penelope", "Melancholy Man", "La Bikina", "Et Mourir De Plaisir", "Reviens Je T'Aime", and "Etude In The Form Of Rhythm & Blues". Holidays is a sweet set that serves up easy instrumental versions of European and American pop hits from the late 60s and early 70s – all done with that spacious blend of strings, piano, and electric bottom bass that always made Paul Mauriat one of the sexier, slinkier easy listening artists of his time! Titles include "Jesus Cristo", "Holidays", "La Chanson Pour Anna", "Mother Of Mine", "Here's To You", "Speak Softly Love", and "Apres Toi". CD

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