Too Much! – LOU RAWLS***

Yes It Hurts(Doesn’t It)/Its An Uphill Climb To The Bottom/I Just Want To Make Love To You/You’re Takin’ My Bag/Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye/Dead End Street/Twelfth Of Never/Righteous Woman(Monologue)/I Wanna Little Girl/Why(Do I Love You So)/I’ll Take Time/You’re Always On My Mind

R & B vocalist Lou Rawls continued his string of hit albums with Too Much! However, from now on his career would remain in the doldrums until the mid seventies. (US:18)

"Lou Rawls was in the midst of a hot streak at Capitol, scoring smash singles and winning Grammy awards. This was one of three albums he released in 1967, all of which made the pop top 40 albums chart. It was superbly produced and arranged by David Axelrod, with Rawls being bluesy, soulful, anguished, triumphant and resigned. He displayed both a variety of moods and a vocal mastery at its peak."

"From the very beginning Lou Rawls sang about serious, adult subjects. And you could feel the emotion and the personal experience dripping in just about every tune the man ever sang."

"It was certainly terrific to hear Lou's classic 1967 tune Dead End Street."

"You can't go wrong with Lou Rawls. Listening to Lou Rawls is like listening to Frank Sinatra with a few extra blue notes thrown in for free."

"Like his friend and contemporary Sam Cooke, Lou Rawls began his musical career in gospel but was just as comfortable with R & B, pop and even jazz."

Thoroughly Modern Millie – SOUNDTRACK*****

Prelude/Overture/Jimmy/The Tapioca/Jazz Baby/Jewish Wedding Song/Intermission Medley/Poor Butterfly/Rose Of Washington Square/Baby Face/Do It Again/Thoroughly Modern Millie/Exit Music

Thoroughly Modern Millie tells the story of a Roaring Twenties flapper and starred Julie Andrews supported by Mary Tyler Moore and Carol Channing. Score by Elmer Bernstein, arranged and conducted by Andre Previn. (US:16 UK:9)

"Great film and the soundtrack is just swell to bop your head along to. You may even find yourself doing The Tapioca in your living room. As well as that there are more soulful moments where you can chill out, such as Jimmy."

"This recording overflows with warm, happy, effervescent tunes, that make you want to tap your feet and hum along. Julie Andrews is perfect as the ingénue, and everyone else on the cast makes listening to this soundtrack a must. The theme song is snappy and witty, definitely deserving of the Oscar nomination it garnered."

"It's got all the roaring '20s jazz baby feel to it. The songs aren't arranged in the order they appear in the film and no incidental music is included. That said, the disc is a great ride (how can it not be with Julie Andrews), and even better because it does not get bogged down the way the film does every now and again. The Jewish wedding scene is boring in the film, having absolutely no relevance to it whatsoever, but, being itself a great song, is a joy on the album." ,p> "The songs are a perfect blend of 20s standards as well as brand new numbers. Julie is at her best singing Jimmy, Poor Butterfly and the catchy title song. Carol Channing adds her brassy vocals to the show stopping Jazz Baby and Do It Again. James Fox is wonderful during the Tapioca number."

"Julie Andrews has never been better - excellent vocals, possibly the most perfect diction ever recorded - and the range. You gotta hear this one. The 'others'? Well Carol Channing is certainly not left in the dark - superlative - Jazz Baby and Do It Again. Thank you for this superb recording - excellent."

"It's a classic musical about a 1920s flapper. It's so cute and the music is great. The best song is Jazz Baby sung by Carol Channing. It's really upbeat and fun."

The Way I Feel – GORDON LIGHTFOOT****

Walls/If You Got It/Softly/Crossroads/A Minor Ballad/Go-Go Around/Rosanna/Home From The Forest/I’ll Be Alright/Song For A Winter’s Night/Canadian Railroad Trilogy/The Way I Feel

The Way I Feel was the follow up album from the noted Canadian folk singer songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. Consisting entirely of his own compositions it sees him adopting some pop and country influences.

“Gordon Lightfoot had used additional guitar and bass on his debut, but for his second LP he went for a fuller band sound, using a couple of the noted Nashville session men. The result was a brighter and more accessible sound, with the country elements more to the fore. The songs weren't quite as impressive as his first batch, but they were still very good, highlighted by the epic Canadian Railroad Trilogy and an electrified remake of The Way I Feel.”

“A major difference between this album and his first is that this one does not feature any cover songs. Apparently he wanted to focus on his own compositions, and that strategy yielded great results in many cases. Canadian Railroad Trilogy is a masterpiece of the folk genre, Song For A Winter's Night is one of his best UA songs, Walls is an irresistible country song and Home From The Forest is a melodic, sad folk tune that grows more powerful with each listen.”

. “There are some inklings of the folk-pop direction that he would take before too much longer. The bouncy beat and ringing acoustic guitars of If You Got It are very much in tune with 60s pop sensibilities. The Way I Feel has an echo like sound and Walls has a slight country feel to it.”

“Every song is good while two in particular stand out, Home From The Forest and the title track. This album is one of Gordon’s best works, every song is poetry in motion. His backing band provide strong support to the well arranged compositions, making this a must have recording for anyone who appreciates good folk music.”

“On his second album he sounds more confident, mature and self-assured, seems to be emphatically saying that he had not only arrived but he was going to stay around for a long, long time. The Way I Feel begins to more clearly define the Lightfoot sound and his future musical direction: still folk oriented, but with a larger influence of both country and pop.”

Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad – TAMMY WYNETTE****

Apartment No.9/Don’t Come Home A Drinkin’/Don’t Touch Me/There Goes My Everything/Send Me No Roses/ Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad/Walk Through This World With Me/I’m Not Mine To Give/I Wound Easy (But I Heal Fast)/Almost Persuaded

Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad was the debut album from country star Tammy Wynette. She would become the premier female country vocalist during the early 1970s.

"Good Girl is an absolutely risk free purchase for anyone even remotely familiar with her immense talents and a solid showcase of early Tammy.”

“This was the album that introduced Tammy Wynette to the music world. It was a musical form of experimentation for both her and her producer, Billy Sherrill, trying to find the right songs for her voice 'with the teardrop within'."

“This, Tammy's debut album, includes her first country hit, Apartment No. 9. It was only a minor success but it was followed by Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad, which was a major country hit. The album contains many covers of contemporary country songs, most of which are well known and brilliantly performed.”

“What else do you need to know, it is Tammy Wynette. There is a new 'Queen of Country Music' every few years but she was absolutely one of the tops. It is our blessing that her music will live on.”

“Before her major hits Tammy Wynette teamed up with Billy Sherrill with this illustrious endeavour that resulted in Tammy's auspicious recording debut. This is a first class country music album. It was obvious from the start that Tammy Wynette was destined to become a country music superstar.”

“This album, her debut, is about as country as it gets. A real classic. Apartment # 9 and the title cut are well known by fans. But the real keeper here is Don't Touch Me, an incredible ballad that is still one of my all-time favourite performances of any singer of any genre. Little wonder they call Tammy Wynette the Queen of Country Music. This is where it all began.”

“Her debut album is still one of her best. Although some of the material doesn't quite match the quality of the hits, it still contains enough solid tracks to ensure its status.”

Release Me –ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK*****

UK Release Me/Quiet Nights/Yours Until Tomorrow/There’s A Kind Of Hush/This Is My Song/Misty Blue/Take My Heart/How Near Is Love/Walk Through This World/If I Were You/Talking Love/My World/Ten Guitars US Release Me/Quiet Nights/Yours Until Tomorrow/There’s A Kind Of Hush/Ten Guitars/This Is My Song/There Goes My Everything/Take My Heart/Il Mondo/Talking Of Love/Walk Through The World With Me/How Near Is Love

Release Me was the debut album from Britain's best late sixties MOR vocalist Engelbert Humperdinck. The title track topped the UK singles chart and peaked at No. 4 in the States. Contrary to the final comment below you don’t have to be a bored middle class housewife to appreciate the brilliance of Engelbert’s vocal talents. Have you forgiven Engelbert yet for keeping The Beatles off the top spot? (US:7 UK:6)

"If you want to hear singing done to perfection with both power and smoothness this is the album. It is becoming one of my favourites and the more I listen to it the better it gets. Engelbert is without a doubt one of the finest vocalists to ever sing and this LP will prove it. His range and vocal quality is almost perfection."

"This LP is my all-time favourite. His voice is incredible. He sings every song with ease. And the music arrangement is superb."

"The music is superb. His voice has such range and volume and his love songs simply transport you to another place."

"Engelbert is absolutely the best crooner of all time. His voice was mellow and both masculine and broad in range. He captivated audiences with his voice and needed no frills. This album can be listened to over and over again."

"Engelbert began his career in spectacular style with Release Me, which stayed at No. 1 in the UK for six weeks, breaking the long run of Beatles chart toppers."

"For bored middle-class housewives of the 1960s, Engelbert became the glamorous embodiment of 'tall, dark & handsome'. His songs perfectly complemented the image, a gentleman at heart - lusty without being too dangerous. Viewed within this context, the music on this album is very good, but has no relevance beyond that context, because as 'product' to be 'consumed', it has no pretensions to being art."

Psychedelic Psoul – THE FREAK SCENE**

A Million Grains Of Sand/When In The Course Of Human Events/Rose Of Smiling Faces/Behind The Mind/The Subway Ride Through Inner Space/Butterfly Dream/My Rainbow Life/The Centre Of My Soul/Watered Down Soul/Red Roses Will Weep/Mind Bender/Grok

Psychedelic Psoul was the only album release from the psychedelic studio group The Freak Scene. This curiosity features songs interspersed with spoken word interludes on topics of current concern.

“This short album, populated by hypnotic bass-lines, pots and pans percussion, twangy improvised guitars and sitars, lots of trippy effects and a disembodied vocalist is, musically and lyrically, a microcosm of the late 60s radical student ethos...but who cares?...all you need to know is that it is also a true psychedelic gem.”

“An absolute masterpiece, this LP truly captures the essence of the late 60s counterculture, via the use of sitar, fuzz guitar, and various psych effects to create an enormous psychedelic atmosphere. But be warned: this is subtle psych. It's not going to bash you over the head with wild psychedelic freak outs and massive, feedback driven distortion as some of the better know proponents of the genre do.”

“A lot of critics have labelled this as nothing more than a follow up The Deep release. There are clearly similarities between the two albums, but I consider The Freak Scene project is the stronger of the two. Material such as The Subway Ride Through Inner Space, Butterfly Dream and My Rainbow Life offered up a great mixture of over-the-top psych lyrics, stoned vocals and wild studio production effects. A bit of social and political commentary has been added to the acid-drenched mix.”

“This is quintessential extreme example of early experimental psych. The bass playing is original and unusual which strengthens the mix in an album dominated by lyrics and bass. The vocals and vocal production (thin, nasal and processed) is the album's main weakness. Despite its faults and lack of good songs, its still somehow works and remains a fascinating and unusual micro-selling psych gem.”

"Great piece of psychedelic nostalgia from a band nobody ever heard of, capturing the youthful zeitgeist of 1967: war, generational conflict, the search for personal liberation in the midst of a society gone mad. Trippy music, sarcastic commentary, freaky humour, this obscure gem is entertaining listening for ageing nostalgia buffs.”

King & Queen – OTIS REDDING & CARLA THOMAS****

Knock On Wood/Let Me Be Good To You/Tramp/Tell It Like It Is/When Something Is Wrong With My Baby/Lovey Dovey/New Year’s Resolution/It Takes Two/Are You Lonely For Me Baby/Bring It On Home To Me/Ooh Carla Ooh Otis

This collaboration with Carla Thomas, King & Queen, was the final album release during Otis Redding's lifetime. It includes the UK No. 18 hit single Tramp. (US:36 UK:18)

"A fairly swell collection of duets between Otis and Carla. They fit together like, well, King and Queen. If you like the Stax/Memphis sound and Otis Redding and/or Carla Thomas, you can't go wrong on this one. Their version of Eddie Floyd's Knock On Wood is an absolute classic. Great album."

"What Otis didn't have, on his own, was humour - that's where Carla Thomas, daughter of Rufus, came in. Tramp is an exuberant duet, once heard it lingers in the mind. It's funny. The rest of this record, first released in 1967, lingers well, too. The covers of several rock and roll masterpieces like Tell It Like It Is, It Takes Two and Bring It On Home To Me, are crisp, light-handed and sure-footed."

"Otis Redding and Carla Thomas recorded one album together, made up of mostly covers, but Mr. Redding and Ms. Thomas attack the songs with a ferocity and verve that makes them sound all their own. Mr. Redding's smooth voice easily mingles with the sass of Ms. Thomas and this is no better illustrated than on Tramp which is pure Southern soul. King & Queen was a boastful title and the two more than live up to the claim."

"His career was firing on all cylinders at this point with this album. In keeping with some of the uptown duet albums Marvin Gaye had released with many different female performers during this time, Otis and label mate Carla Thomas did the same thing on this album. The major difference here is approach of course. Whereas the Motown duet albums were slick uptown R & B, this is the same funky Southern soul both artists had been doing from the outset."

"Carla Thomas holds her own as much as anybody could be expected to, and Tramp is an all-time classic. The album is a fine collection of tracks that do feature the king, if not quite the queen. But then the king gets his choice, and if Otis' choice was Carla, then who am I to argue?"