I’m In Love – WILSON PICKETT****

Jealous Love/Stagger Lee/That Kind Of Love/I’m In Love/Hello Sunshine/Don’t Cry No More/We’ve Got To Have Love/Bring It On Home To Me/She’s Lookin’ Good/I’ve Come A Long Way

Wilson Pickett demonstrates another side to his talent with I’m In Love an album of mainly ballads and romantic numbers. Contains the US No. 15 hit single She’s Lookin Good. (US:70)

“I'm In Love is a superb and satisfying collection, and one of Wilson Pickett's most mature Atlantic albums. It steps away from the high-energy hits of the mid-60s into deeper emotional waters. This album is really emotionally and musically powerful from start to finish.”

“Beautiful album with both soulful ballads and dynamic, danceable yet rockin' numbers. This album emanates class.”

“This is a fun one, great party vibe. Come on people, the greatest hits isn't enough for the Wicked Pickett. Check it out - this is great party stuff - he even has fun with Sam Cooke's Bring It On Home. This is a wonderful record.”

“I'm In Love is a special album because it swoops from upbeat, gospel country church soul stompin' to heartbreaking blues wailing, and from exhilarated to depressed moods.”

“The Wicked Pickett sounds a lot more convincing on this album's romantic numbers than anyone would have had a right to expect from one of the baddest cats of Southern soul. Of course, there aren't all that many romantic ballads here, but Pickett's rough-and-ready soul shouting manages to sound just as convincing on Bring It On Home To Me and That Kind Of Love as he does on the pained Jealous Love.”

“Like most R & B albums of the period, I'm In Love sounds more like a set of tunes than a unified album, but it's a good set of tunes, performed with Pickett's usual high level of passion and skill, and if you're any kind of fan you'll revel in it.”

Horizontal – THE BEE GEES****

World/And The Sun Will Shine/Lemons Never Forget/Really & Sincerely/Birdie Told Me/With The Sun In My Eyes/Massachusetts/Harry Braff/Day Time Girl/The Ernest Of Being George/The Change Is Made/Horizontal

Horizontal was an excellent follow up from the maestros of elegant melodic pop, The Bee Gees, still in their teens. Includes the UK chart topper Massachusetts, and the top ten hit single World. (US:12 UK:16)

"Still in their teens, the brothers produce beautiful song after beautiful song on their follow up. A classic in its own right, Horizontal is full of memorable tunes with catchy melodies, thought provoking and sometimes eccentric lyrics, and stunning musical arrangements."

"There are songs that are whimsical and humorous, and songs whose lyrics can make you cry. Day Time Girl is one of the most beautiful songs The Bee Gees have ever recorded, and it's not even the best song on this disc. World is out of this world, and the title cut makes one float away."

"At first I ranked it lower than its effervescent, if highly derivative predecessor, but now I've found that it has just as much to commend it. As before, the variety of styles covered is almost dizzying. Starting off strongly with the spacey, psychedelic styled UK hit single World, we get a couple of predominantly Robin vocalised tracks, which while melodic do suffer from his over-excited vocal style. When brother Barry takes the tiller, we land on much stronger ground."

"The album Horizontal is a pivotal step in The Bee Gees transition from Beatle imitators to the broken hearted song maestros we know today. Each 60s album, tops the previous album. Without Horizontal, The Bee Gees would not have had the subsequent success that they did. I love my 60s Bee Gees."

"It's hard to believe that Horizontal was released less than a year after 1st was released. Prolific, enthusiastic and young, The Bee Gees demonstrated to the world talent that was undeniable. And by creating an album where the memorable Massachusetts is almost an afterthought, it's easy to see why they are legendary."

"This album, which came less than a year after their debut, is simply outstanding. It has everything, soft rock, hard rock, country, folk, you name it and it's here."

Green Tambourine – THE LEMON PIPERS***

Rice Is Nice/Shoeshine Boy/Turn Round Take A Look/Rainbow Tree/Ask Me If I Care/Stragglin’ Behind/Green Tambourine/Blueberry Blue/The Shoemaker Of Leatherware Square/Fifty Year Void/Through With You

Green Tambourine was the debut LP from the Ohio pop group The Lemon Pipers. The title track single was a US chart topper, peaking at No. 7 in the UK, and can definitely not be characterised as bubblegum. (US:90)

“A lot of the tracks are pretty much run-of-the-mill late 60s psych-pop. The success of the title track proved that this group was operating with a greater understanding of hooks than many of their contemporaries.”

“Unfortunately this is a Jekyll/Hyde release, with some ultra lightweight pop fluff, mixed with some awesome heavy psych. Of course, the fluff is relatively dispensable, though possessing some good period flavour. But that heavy psych is among the very best there is.”

“Comfortably above-average, worthwhile late 60s guitar pop in a common style. Green Tambourine is the famous nugget, and quite a gem. Rainbow Tree is probably the other major standout here. Great bowed string parts abound, and harpsichord too. Definitely fits the 'baroque pop' tag.”

“Good lightweight orchestral pop with many instruments, along with the band's own guitars, keyboards and drums. Sitar, horns, harpsichord and violin, are some of the other instruments added, that make this music more creative than most bubblegum.”

“The Lemon Pipers were somewhat of an anomaly in the 1960s bubblegum community because the group actually had creative aspirations. Unfortunately, their high-water mark came with their first single, the infectious Green Tambourine. The follow-up Rice Is Nice added interesting orchestrated baroque pop elements, but ultimately failed to attract much attention.”

"The group’s attempt to reach past the strictures of bubblegum into the lighter side of psychedelic garage rock makes them an intriguing timepiece. The Buddah stable of artists was easily the most successful purveyor of the 1960s phenomenon known as bubblegum - that heavy, repetitive bass beat combined with simplistic - and, at times moronic, lyrics. This one is a melding of bubble-pop and psychedelic, with some good and some stupid songs.”

Greatest Hits Vol. 2 – SMOKEY ROBINSON & THE MIRACLES*****

Going To A Go Go/The Tracks Of My Tears/I Second That Emotion/Ooh Baby Baby/My Girl Has Gone/Come On Do The Jerk/Whole Lot Of Shakin’ In My Heart/The Love I Saw In You Was Just A Mirage/(Come ‘Round Here) I’m The One You Need/More Love/Choosey Beggar/Save Me

This second greatest hits package from Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, is considered to be just as good as the first and an essential purchase for sixties soul music fans. (US:7)

"Smokey Robinson may have been the greatest songwriter of his era. No one else was coming up with such splendidly clever turns of phrase. Certainly, no one was able to combine the writing and the beautiful voice as he did. Back in the day, he was the one to sing the young sisters into a swoon. When someone put Smokey's Ooh Baby Baby or More Love on the record player, the party was going to get serious."

"Smokey was one of the most amazing songwriters of the 20th century, and his best work was with his group, The Miracles. And we can't forget about Smokey's pristine falsetto voice sailing over the music, with the tight harmonies of Bobby Rogers, Ronnie White, Warren 'Pete' Moore and Claudette Rogers Robinson holding it down in the background."

"This LP took me back into the past, to a time in my life that the music, the harmony, and the words of Smokey Robinson & The Miracles were as essential to me as bread and butter. This music made my day brighter then and still does now."

"Robinson's voice evokes a visceral, emotional response. It has an ethereal beauty that sounds more suited to heaven than earth. The precision of the back-up harmonies and arrangements makes for an effect that is uniformly appealing, and genuine. This music is never overtly clever or self-conscious - it is masterfully crafted and sincere."

"The Tracks Of My Tears was a definitive Smokey Robinson composition which is quite breathtaking with its sweeping, tempo-shifting musical arrangements where the fantastic range of harmonies all gel so divinely with each other. I Second That Emotion was a mid-beat number where Smokey's cool, sensual voice oozes such genuine emotion."

The Good,The Bad & The Ugly – SOUNDTRACK****

The Good The Bad & The Ugly Main Title/The Sundown/The Strong/The Desert/The Carriage Of The Spirits/ Marcia/The Story Of A Soldier/Marcia Without Hope/The Death Of A Soldier/The Ecstasy Of Gold/The Trio-Main Title

The iconic spaghetti western The Good, The Bad & The Ugly starred Clint Eastwood and showcased the imaginative and evocative soundtrack composed by Ennio Morricone. (US:4)

"By any stretch of the imagination, the score that Morricone composed and conducted for The Good The Bad & The Ugly is one of the most imaginative and intense scores composed for any movie, western or otherwise. Its familiar theme is so unmistakable and so pulse pounding. What seems to have escaped quite a few people is how a lot of this music happens to be in minor keys, emphasizing the broiling landscape of this movie's Civil War setting."

"With this score, Morricone pushed to its limits his rough, weird style of Western music that he developed in his two previous Westerns. The famous Main Title sums up Morricone's approach perfectly: bizarre instruments, jagged changes in sound, and a thunderous tempo. This main theme appears throughout the score in many variations, depending on which member of the unholy trinity it is describing."

"From the moment I finished watching The Good The Bad & The Ugly, I knew I needed the soundtrack. It's one of the best things about that awesome movie, which happens to be one of my favourites. It's what makes the movie more cool, and even more fun to watch. The soundtrack includes songs from some of the coolest parts of the movie, and the best part has to be the main title."

"The brilliant complexity of the main title theme, with its counterpoint and mixture of traditional and electric instrumentation, is nowhere else to be found on the album until deep into side two where we get The Ecstasy Of Gold and The Trio - Main Title. A masterpiece of an album this is not. Just because the movie is great - and so is its composer - doesn't mean that its soundtrack album representative has to be."

"Italian composer Ennio Morricone's finest moment, and by far the best soundtrack of all time in my opinion. This is just dusty, gritty, death refined into music. It is legendary, revolutionary and epic."

The Eyes Of – THE BEACON STREET UNION***

Recitation-My Love Is/Beautiful Delilah/Sportin’ Life/Four Hundred & Five/Mystic Mourning/Sadie Said No/Speed Kills/Blue Avenue/South End Incident/Green Destroys The Gold/The Prophet

The Eyes Of was the debut album from the Boston psychedelic rock group The Beacon Street Union. Their music featured a liberal use of fuzz guitar and organ. (US:75)

“Strong songwriting, hard edged guitar/organ interplay and a fair amount of punky energy all combine to make this an album that should appeal to anyone looking to dig a bit deeper into (relatively) obscure '60s sounds.”

“It's one of the great releases of 1968, at least as good if not greater than many an album by more famous bands from that year. It's a mystery to me why they are not more well-known. If you like late 60s rock, this album is a must.”

“Incredible, inspiring, varied and spectacular first release by the legendary 'Boston Sound' group The Beacon Street Union. Every track on this LP is very enjoyable and interesting. The styles are varied from bluesy to psychedelic to very Queen like. Truly amazing.”

“This album is very good from beginning to end. A few different styles of songs but overall a good psychedelic album.”

“All the hallmarks of the psychedelic genre can be found on this record. It's filled with powerful drumming, piercing guitar leads, droning, hypnotic basslines, eerie organ fills and plaintive, expressive vocals and it rocks pretty convincingly. The bulk of the record is made up of stellar tracks, many made up of moody, edgy mid tempo songs like Sportin' Life and the awesome The Prophet. Their uptempo stuff is even better.”

“The record contains a fairly diverse blend of garage driven material, with liberal doses of fuzz guitar and organ, yielding a strong psychedelic flavour. Decent production manages to remove most of their rough garage edges, but fails to overcome the relatively weak vocal performance.”

Boogie With – CANNED HEAT****

Evil Woman/My Crime/On The Road Again/World In A Jug/Turpentine Moan/Whiskey Headed Woman No.2/ Amphetamine Annie/An Owl Song/Marie Laveau/Fried Hockey Boogie

The commercial breakthrough for Los Angeles blues group Canned Heat came with their second album Boogie With. Contains the hit single On The Road Again, No. 16 in the US and No. 8 in the UK. (US:16 UK:5)

"This is a great electric blues album. On The Road Again would be the band's first big hit and you still hear it on the oldies stations once in a while. Amphetamine Annie is a cool tune with a humorous and dry lyrics from the charismatic Bob 'The Bear' Hite while My Crime and World In A Jug are more old school blues that work very well. An Owl Song has Alan Wilson's distinctive vocals and harmonica but with a horn section while Marie Laveau is an instrumental with some great solos. Fried Hockey Boogie is a long jam where the entire band get a turn to show off."

"This a great blues rock album. On The Road Again is one of my favourites. Alan 'Blind Owl' Wilson had great vocals reminiscent of Robert Johnson and a nice contrast to Bob Hite's more gruff belting style. He also played a mean slide guitar and harmonica. Evil Woman has a blistering guitar solo from Vestine and Fried Hockey Boogie is a Canned Heat classic, a long jam with Bob Hite talking a bit about each of the guys before they solo."

"This is the first Canned Heat record I ever bought and/or listened too. I was overwhelmed with joy when the needle first hit the vinyl and the bass line of Evil Woman started playing. From there to the end is nothing but a feel-good sounding record. I also like listening to this album because it sounds like the band are having a lot of fun. Even though the album is mostly covers, the originals blend in with the rest of the music, and are also good tunes. From one of the most overlooked bands of the 60s, this album really reflects the period and is great to just put on, chill out."

"With their second album Canned Heat showed how best to adapt country blues to west coast psychedelic rock and roll. Most of the songs are originals but they clearly show their roots and sources. On The Road Again featured Al Wilson's tremulous near falsetto voice and Henry Vestine's electric guitar innovations, all in service of delivering the song. Anyone interested in what Canned Heat were about should check out this record."