just plain fun.

One of the better records of this ilk, surely for this one, which is hard to find and is such a typically great theme. Kojak, of course, was the blowpop sucking detective played by Telly Savalas. And like the "Rockford Files", "Baretta", and "S.W.A.T.", deserves it's place in the not-so-rare groove DJ file. With the obligatory Moog sound leading the melody, it becomes instantly recognizable (and dateable). Whoever the cats are on this session are cutting some decent shit for sure. They also turn out a surprisingly funky version of the M.A.S.H. theme, as well as the three aforementioned. The crazy Peter Pan cover art is there, with cute stuff like poorly drawn representations of Alan Alda looking at a martini glass, and Gabe Kaplan's finger being bit by Baretta's Cockatoo!!

Does anyone know the composer?

This is a rather ridiculous but super–catchy take on this theme to the 1967 spoof Bond movie. Performed by German session musicians, it ends up being a rather groovy mix, with viola d’amore, flute, female wordless vocals, harpsichord, and that other staple of the Baroque era, funky drums. It’s short and sweet and really very cool. The late sixties were cool for many reasons, but one of them is that they could accomodate TWO albums called 'Bacharach Baroque' - this one, and the other great Snuff Garrett-produced one by 'The Renaissance'. Both are superb.

One of the most nonsensical song title ever, yes, I know and much derided for that reason, but to quote Otis Redding when told his lyrics didn't make any sense, "I'm gonna worry about settin' the groove. I get that groove going, they don't care what I say." Boogie Oogie2 has got groove to spare, with a jazzy intro (similar to Boogie Nights by Heatwave) before that bass line drops in shakes the floorboards. Just like all the dance craze songs of the 60s, the disco era about vocals were mostly used as a counterpoint to the rhythm section. The Mizell brothers add a touch of sophistication to this female-led band (Hazel Payne and Janice Marie Johnson on bass and guitar - they're the ones on the awesome album cover) which is a step further in the commercial direction after their work with Jazz Funk kings like Donald Byrd, Gary Bartz and Johnny Hammond. This song is up there with G.Q.'s "Disco Nights (Rock Freak)" and anything by Chic in the sophisticated disco category.

This song is simply unreal. It starts out in a kind of 4/4 samba groove with a highly prominent cuica and a funky strummed acoustic guitar chord progression before the super-catchy pizzicato-violins riff comes in, and Abilio's mellow voice singing the melody. It's sunshiney and catchy, with a bit of a haunting aftertaste, very Brazilian. I can never hear this song enough times!! Abilio Manoel is a Sao Paulo-based singer-songwriter from the late-60s-70s (still active) who wrote a few moderate hits without attaining even a Marcos Valle level of popularity. Good for Marcos, since Abilio's work would have caused me a few sleepless nights if I were him. And both on the same label, too! Abilio's stuff is hard to find, but very worth the effort.....I've already given Dusty Groove the heads-up about the CD....

It seems kind of creepy at first, because the guy is talking about jessica simpson, but it is sweet and funny and it kind of captures how individuals relate to celebrities.

A wickedly funky and twangy take on this classic Morricone theme. The beat is very cool - funky and surprisingly insistent, reminiscent of some of the best tracks on Howard Roberts's albums of the time on capitol. This track is from the interesting LP 'King Guitar', which also yields a Vinnie Bell-esque 'watery guitar' take on 'Sleepwalk' and a version of 'Tiny Bubbles' done in Latin boogaloo style.

this entire soundtrack to the film la planete sauvage comes highly recommended. never seen the film, but it can�t possibly be as good as the soundtrack suggests.
chilly, funky instrumental orchestral music. there�s a really haunting recurring theme through the album, nice use of choirs and twangy guitar too.

Another "detective themed" song that sounds like the backside of the theme from 'The Streets of San Fransisco'. Heavy basses, powerful percussion, trumpets and a cool melody to top it off. Run before they catch you!

A super cool instrumental track which for me is one of the highlights of the Italian 'Easy Tempo' series of film music compilations. A laid back funky beat drives the song forward. Strings seep in and out, twangy guitars play on. I guess if you're reading this you are getting the picture of the kind of stuff I like by now...

Hardcore song, fun and fast. Starts of fast.....continues to be fast.....ends fast. Great jump around song.

sweet, indie, girlie, i love it.

the exellent title track from reggae ladies althea and donna's 1978 effort, uptown top ranking. don't know too much about them, except that this is a nigh-on perfect album. short and sweet (about 35 minutes), but without a single skippable track. great arrangements and vocals, though the lyrics seem to borderline between daft and genius in places. still, this is top class, and absolutely essential party music.

From an excellent early hi-fi album, this is a hilarious slow blues number in which Alvino makes his steel guitar talk. In fact, he has a conversation with it. In spite of what you might think, this actually stands up to repeated listening, unlike the 'Talking Guitar' records made later in the sixties by Pete Drake, which I find harder to handle. Incidentally, I've never heard an Alvino Rey record I wasn't astounded by.

Folk? Soul? Pop? Rock? I don't know, I just know I REALLY like it. The sole album by this mysterious duo (Alzo's got a solo album too) is the very definition of groovy. This song, like the rest of the record, is hard to describe, but let's just imagine a funkier version of the 60s Bee Gees crossed with, I don't know, Donovan? No, maybe the Rascals crossed with Jose Feliciano and Joe Bataan is closer to it. It totally works, especially when they get to the falsetto chorus of "Everybody feel iiiiit......come on and clap your hands!" People, find this record: it will improve your life!

funky, jazzy, hypnotic...

one of my fave songs at the moment. what's better than a funky sitar mover? a funky sitar/moog mover! i think you can find it on ebay or on some indian comps.

Normally I'd steer well clear of anything on the Acid Jazz label - the early 90's bad music debts have a long way to go to be paid off - but the presence of one of my soul idols just tipped me into buying this natty little blue vinyl 45.

Everything that made me love Etta James' Fire (see recommendation elsewhere on site) is amplified through this brilliant, brilliant song. Bettye's vocals are super-harsh, matching the song's acid sentiment and grasping rock-funk.

It's a tribute to how well this single is done that I thought it was a new vocal performace from Bettye instead of a reworked version of an old song. Bravo!

A smart, funny rant -- half talking, half singing. Political as any of her music, but less angry and more mocking. Very cool. Even if you don't like Ani, this one deserves a listen.



"...all the radios agree with all the tvs, and the magazines agree with all the radios and I keep hearing that same damn song everywhere I go! Maybe I should put a bucket over my head and a marshmallow in each ear, and stumble around for another dumb, numb week for another humdrum hit song to appear."

This is my favorite these days. Totally cuts into my dull recession-based lifestyle and peppers it with some yellow Nashville sunshine....

The song bounces through a hum-drum monday with the bouyant post-it note poetics of a 9 to 5 cutie... Nothing is going right today, and the song sounds like the antedote :

" ...Gotta' go to work, really gotta per-cu-late... Try to catch the fish that's jumping off your
dish-or-plate...." To "Don't ask for help... from anybody... cause they'll only turn you down-ooo...
na-na-na-na-na, ooooooooooh na-na-na-na-na, Blame it on a mondaaaaayy..... YEAH! ....

The session smokes and the players are astounding! Huge southern brass-blasts counterpoint the bouncing hoe-down groove... It must have been a hoot to play because the track clocks in at over four minutes, but you hardly notice for all the fun....Funky in a very music-city way. Almost Nancy & Lee like, with a little Free Design-like harmonic optimisim in the vocal arrangements, which Anita's well known for.

I recommend the whole record though.It plays straight through, and you play it again & again. A lost gem.

You may remember Annie from her/their housey dancefloor number of a year or two back "The Greatest Hit".

Well, they've come back with this, a sublime downbeat track with a lush-yet-delicate female vocal. Instrumentally, it reminds me of a slower, swinging P-funk number, quite minimal beats but funky as all hell (in a chill kinda way).

Absolutely beautiful -hard to find but worth looking.

Originally a limited-release 7" on Norwegian label Telle, and quickly licensed by UK house label Loaded -it appears on a sampler they released late 2002.

electronic dancy pop. Unique but not cheap. worth a listen. I heard it here:

http://www.myspace.com/anothercynthia

I just found out about this chick (self-proclaimed, okay?!). I feel like Superman having been kissed by Kryptonite . . . "In-tri-guing . . .(gasp) . . .
Must ... find ... out ... MORE ..!" Why am I so
far behind? Sorry, can't really describe it. Funky, sultry, French, (France) Gallic & Gainsbourdian as noted by one reviewer of another April March song ... Derivative is one thing, but this is inspired.

a nice old jimmy webb song

Okay, here's an obvious Bollywood recommendation, a genre I don't know a lot about, but nevertheless, it's really a great track. It's from the movie Hare Rama Hare Krishna. The way Bollywood movies were able to draw elements of psychedelic, funk, and dance music, then fuse it with Hindi music is incredible to me. This song has a addictive, hard, danceable, and completely credible sound, not to be confused with some lighter, cheesier, or more kitsch Bollywood fare. Great stuff.

This is a great funky version of the jj cale classic. Groovy and sexy as can be.

An amazingly warm and funky cover of the Chicago song 'feelings'. I know that doesn't sound like a recipe for success, but it really is very cool. The song degenerates into a huge jamming session at the end and carries on for 9 minutes. But it's storming stuff!

This entertaining track opens with Astrud talking over a groovy guitar and piano background. As she starts to sing the words, the percussion becomes more pronounced, producing a nice bossa/funk hybrid. The production is very different to a lot Astrud’s work, probably because this album was from an obscure label (Perception) with contributions from different personnel than on many of her Verve recordings (e.g. Airto Moreira, Maria Toledo and Eumir Deodato).

A very funky track from Astrud's final US album. Very bass-heavy and percussive, just an excellent song. Stanley Turrentine's tenor sax doesn't meld with Gilberto's voice nearly as well as Stan Getz' warmer tones did, but that's a minor flaw that doesn't detract from the overall song too much.

this is a great mellow funky jazz Hungarian styled piece in the vain of Gabor Szabo...has a great drum beat with superb jazz guitar interplay by Atilla...well worth tracking down

This is the sound of summer in the sixties as I remember it from my childhood. Sunny, light, breezy. Its from one of Augusto Alguerro's 2 Polydor releases, and while not as funky or bizarre as some of the other tracks, in terms of shear fun pop its a total star. Starting with a nice little trombone riff, its quite fast with wordless vocals, flute and light brass. It has the very good production that you always seem to get with 60's polydor LP's. I wonder if the Ragovoy that wrote it is Jerry Ragovoy who I know better as a soul writer, penning Lorraine Ellisons mighty 'Stay with me baby' amongst others.

The 1966-original of this great raw soul tune from a much underrated blues/rnb singer, instrumentalist and songwriter. That's a smoking song, an underground rare-groove hit with many known djs in the scene; also covered in a great psyche-funk way by an unknown Silky Spearman (appearing in a Counterpoint compilation).

It's very 70's with a slow start but picks up and is really fun by the end. Diana DeGarmo sang it on American Idol, season 3.

So fun and quick- you just want to learn the words. It's almost rap, but not quite. It proves that Canadian white guys do indeed have rhythm. Who knew? :-)

A very 50's feel with fun lyrics. I'm not a big fan of Barry Manilow, but this one song gets me dancing.

this song makes me wanna throw a dance party.

Interesting Beatles related Exploitation Record with a nice Cover!
The Sound is much similar to the Original Beatles from Liverpool!

Go to http://www.easylounge.org to see the cover and look for other interesting Records! (Organ Sounds, Easy Listening, Funky Big Band Beats, Cheesy Listening.....a lot of them with sound samples!)

One of the more unusual mashups you'll hear. Combines the music of "Novacane" by Beck with Doris Day's vocals from the song "I've Never Been In Love Before," which is from Guys and Dolls. Pretty groovy. It works!

Very motown- lots of instrumentation. Simplistic but upbeat.

Space should only be this fun! Jazz-Funk surrounded by space age synths with a disco beat. Lipman is one of Germany's cheesiest composers, but when he gets it right people stand up and applaud. This album is some of the best sci-fi music ever.

This is one of those odd discoveries: a track on a CD I've owned for about 8 years, but which I had somehow overlooked. I buy a lot of CDs, and I guess is one of the later tracks on a long compilation cd. Still, that's not much of an excuse, is it!

This is a slow, groovy instrumental (well, with wordless vocals) with funky drums, some fine fuzz guitar work, nice spiky brass and some very pleasing chord changes. It is strongly reminiscent of similar work of the time by people like Johnny Harris. I have a few tracks by completely different artists with a very similar feel/orchestration and closely related chord sequences. It's simultaneously very hip sounding yet quite square with the choir and strings. I love it, obviously.

Fun lyrics, especially for one with Latino/Italian heritage. Great singing, good piano.

Can't fault this entire album, but this wins by a shade as my favourite. This is the sound of those very shoes being stabbed into your face, and you being grateful.

The regional goin'-to-the-shore chestnut gets remodeled as a Ziggy-era Mick Ronson production, captured in a wildly live performance. Good, silly, genre-smearing fun.

A little similar to Only the Good Die Young, but still fun and still quite good.

rhythm and blues, rock, soul and funk. Just a fantastic song which really has to be listened to, rather than explained.

great version of this song from calypso-influenced soul singer billy stewart. the opening track from a pretty fun album named "billy stewart teaches old standards new tricks", wich i bought mainly because of its insane cover artwork. it consists of fun, sometimes inventive soul reinterpretations of various old chestnuts.

One of the better known Blind Melon songs of of their self-titled debut, yet still fairly unknown. This song is a personal favorite of mine and preceeds No Rain on the album tracklist. Lead singer Shannon Hoon's voice plays off the acoustic guitar beautifully and his simple message is clear, change is okay. My favorite lines in the song plead with us clear and simply that,

"When you feel your life ain't worth living you've got to stand up and take a look around you then a look way up to the sky.
And when your deepest thoughts are broken,
keep on dreaming boy, cause when you stop dreamin' it's time to die. "

Some may not like this song, but others will fall in love with it. I've grown up listening to this song and i have continued to love it.

Fun Fact:

Lead singer Shannon Hoon donned a question mark on his head and performed this song live on The late show with David Letterman shortly after Kurt Cobain's suicide, in his own way dedicating the song to him.

Early urban blues from the master of all that is politically incorrect (listen to his lyrics on most tracks regarding women). Recorded as a tribute to a friend, full recording has a 3 minute rant by Blind Willie recounting the story of writing this, andsinging it at a friend's funeral. The finest early urban blues track - playful chord progression and a perfectly sophisticated urban take on his normal country blues output. Sharp lyrics are a joy to listen to.

This newer outing by Blondie is really a great listen. I think this track especially defines the album. It's a beautiful showcase for the great vocal range that Debbie Harry can perform. Blondie was fun to listen to in the early 80's and this just shows that they still have a fresh and fun approach to pop.

From the godfather of filthfy rap comes this FUNKY,slamming tune. It tells the story of trucker with a CB radio(timewarp) who is, in his mind anyway, the baddest bastard around. On his journey he picks up a transvestite hooker, masterbates, has a fight with the Grand Dragon of the klu klux klan, claims to be related to Mohammed Ali, and drinks a bottle of wine. The killer rhyme is "We got to the room, pulled off her clothes, and the funk from her p***y started f**king with my nose." If you don't mind that sort of talk, you'll love this cut.

An amazing, slow, funky cover of William Bell's classic electric blues. The whole thing serves as a great reminder of how instrumental the rhythm section of Al Jackson, Jr. & Duck Dunn was to "the Memphis Sound".

This one of the most insanely catchy and infectious tracks I've heard in a long time. Opens with a sparse bongo beat, accompanied by 'mouth percussion'. A German voice sounding slightly like aging British radio DJ Tommy Vance starts talking ('Der man, das Zigarillo'), before a catchy piano riff and jaunty easy listening chorus come in. A fun track - nice that compilations like 'pop shopping 2' come out and save things like this from total obscurity.

The Brand New Heavies were one of the significant groups of the then popular "Acid Jazz" sound in the early 90s. "Dream On Dreamer" still strikes me with it's precisely executed funk rhythm and lush production: Tight rhythm section with funky drums, guitar and bass combined with jazzy piano chords, swirling strings and a crisp brass section. On top of that some flutes, fluegelhorn, percussion and organ with a very pleasant vocal performance by N'Dea Davenport.

A really fun, upbeat song about the little things that you can rely on in life. An absolute gem.

One of former drummer Brian Bennett's best tracks. Mellow space funk with synthesizers, a deep bassline and weird sounds. Almost gives the feeling of floating around in space.

Honestly, I really like this one. I've done a lot of thinking as to the Max Martin style (ex-poodle rocker Max is Britney's songwriter and is basically responsible for the pop zeitgeist - he also does 5ive, NSYNC, Backstreet, even Bon Jovi these days), and believe you me, there is a pretty cynical formula here - verse, bridge, chorus, completely different verse, identical bridge and chorus, breakdown, then chorus to finish. Often this is pretty bad - NSYNC's its gonna be me is the nadir - but in this one it works really well - the verses are slinky, the chorus a classic pop one and basically the whole idea of oops! is pretty funny. I can't pretend I listen to it that often but I enjoy it when I do.

The best version of My Way I ever heard. Unfortunately I haven't heard it for thirty years or more. Never been able to find it since I had it as a single when I was a teenager.

This track is simply outstanding, a showcase for Nicolai as well as for Edda Dell'Orso. It's insane how this is put together: funky rhythm section with drums, bass and acoustic guitar, loads of brass throughout, reverb-laden plucked strings interchange with sweeping, floating strings and an incredible vocal performance by Edda Dell'Orso. Hard to describe how magically this is woven together...

Funny double entendres from mysterious doomed gay star of the 1930's. It can be heard online at queermusicheritage or thedoctordementoshow.com. Quick wit and chatty singing style that is like Dwight Fiske or Spivy, but far more musical and accessible. Nightclub classic, a jewel of an era and style no longer heard.

Ok, I feel kind of lame for recommending two tracks called 'out of this world' in one sitting, but as soon as I remembered this one, I felt compelled to recommend it. Before I became completely obsessed with the kind of smooth bossa-influenced stuff I've been recommending, my big thing in music was that it had to be twangy. This is quite twangy, but in a very tasteful way. An incredibly haunting song whoever it is performed by, 'out of this world' here gets its other-worldliness from Buddy's incredible multitracked guitars - the main tune is played on the slide guitar, while several other parts relentlessly pick out accompaniments. It's hard to categorize this track really - it's not remotely funky or particularly rocking, yet it's very catchy and undeniably compelling.

Another amazing version of this fantastic tune. This features several very different-sounding multitracked guitars, and really is quite astounding. It feels very short at a little under 2 and a half minutes. The opening features an acoustic guitar playing a wonderfully delicate and precise rhythm, accompanied by a nice wall of strings and electric guitar hits. A twangy picked guitar plays the melody, building gradually for about a minute.

The track then explodes into a quite amazing sequence, in which a dirty-sounding fuzz guitar picks out a bassline while a manic and jazzy improvised guitar solo moves around over the top and the strings maintain some solid bluesey chords. The sound is extremely funky, and vaguely reminiscent of some tracks from the late 60s 101 strings album 'Astro Sounds from beyond the year 2000', but ends up being more tasteful. Pure genius!

Beautiful slow jazz funk. Funky bass, floating flutes, trombone, rhodes piano. This entire album is a classic. You've probably heard some of it somewhere before, it's been sampled by lots of people from DJ Vadim to Buck 65. Originally recorded as library music and then used in the British TV series the Hanged Man, this record is one of my favorites.

Clare Fischer's oft-covered Latin jazz classic was first recorded by the man himself on a 1966 album whose title escapes me right now. Cal Tjader first cut it on "Soul Burst" the same year, but the truly classic rendition for me is the 1971 Tjader re-recording on "Agua Dulce." With a smooth, flowing Rhodes-based sound, some synth effects floating around and none other than Wendy & Bonnie on backing vocals, this version is the one to beat.

Just a perfect, perfect pop song. Makes you wanna dance and groove along, but at the same time it's soo unbelievably sweet and a just a liitle melancholy. It starts with a drum beat, and then there's this bass-and-drums groove for a few seconds. Then a little sweet electric piano line enters, just before the voice begins singing the melody: "I'm drinking stars up in the sky, you know where you are / I'm driving cars around your house, it seems so fun". When it's time for the chorus ("So listen to my bubble go pop / I'm coming in, I'm coming over the top"), the main voice sings over a backing vocal doing an "ooh" harmony, and then there's absolute genius backing vocal, where the word "pop" becomes "papapapa". After that, a little guitar riff/solo, along with a very cool electric piano line. Then it just repeats everything all over again one more time, for infinite happiness. The time for a middle break has arrived. A new funky bass groove with lots of different "papapa"s harmonizing together. Now, go back to the first bass-and-drums groove, with a jazzy, relaxed guitar solo, and then it's just grooves and grooves and heavenly harmonies, "Blowin' bubbles".

Carlo coup� es un nov�simo compositor espa�ol que cuenta en su haber con 3 discos repletos de un estilo exquisito y sibarita, recreando ambientes selectos llenos de largos cigarrillos, trajes de corte impoluto y vestidos op art, acompa�ado por supuesto por el toque m�gico de su hammond.
la canci�n que presento pertenece a su �ltimo disco, en el que pinta toques m�s funk y numerosos gui�os de ye ye espa�ol. pero lo m�s divertido es que el disco parece ser la soundtrack de una pel�cula italo-espa�ola de 1965 "mis balas llevan tu nombre" de la cual no se encuentra ninguna copia. cada cancion va precedida de un track con dialogo de tal pel�cula. todo ello es tan real que seguro caeras en la trampa de su mentira... o no? get it!!!!!!!!!!!

Powerful vocals... the verses have a strange and different tune- they sound almost like Celine's making it up as she goes along, but in a good way. Even if this isn't her most heartfelt song, it is very good and fun to listen to.

A delightfully poppy cover of Elvis's Don't Be Cruel. Although it is undeniably an 80s tune, it's not dated at all. Just a fun song to sing along to, and a great cover.

One of the more overdone of the Harrison tunes, brought to life by one of most understated jazz singers ever. This one always gets me, and I often prefer it to the original for it's pure poignancy. By this time in Chet's career he's not batting a thousand, but this whole album is pretty entertaining. It has a funky version of "Vehicle" and a fantastic version of "Come Saturday Morning"!

Great great cover of the Tom Tom Club song, and the highlight from Chicks On Speeds recent 99c album. Weighing in at almost 7 minutes, this is a great slab of electronica. Yes, ironic, yes, self referential, but here they totally excell their art school roots. Plinky plonky melody makes me think of the song 'Popcorn', and the nonsense chorus is like the poppier end of 60's girls with a dose of the Actionettes. Way too cool!

If only life could be like this. Taken from The free designs head honcho Chris Dedricks soloalbum "Be free" this is the best cut on an album that is 50 percent quite awful (free design meets prog rock, not so good) 50 percent quite lovely (free design meets simon & garfunkel, much better) Well, particulary this track that gets closest to that simon and garfunkel comparision.

'We won't do anything that shouldn't be done, only the groovy things like having fun'...& there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, in my book.

This is the title track to Chris Montez's third album with A&M, produced by Herb Alpert & it's very, very sweet, but, for some reason not sickly so. That's the magic of mid-'sixties Chris Montez.

This song was almost a hit in Britain. It was released just as the pirate radio stations were about to be banned. It was 'Record Of The Week' on Radio London the week it was shut down and sadly never grabbed it's deserved foothold after that.

A lot of people are taken aback by how high Chris's voice was when he sang, but once you get over that, his music from the A&M era (1966-8) is strangely addictive. Very warm and melodic.

He did mostly cover songs, mostly 'hits of the day', but also generous helpings of classics from the 1940's & '50's. Always giving them a brand new very mid-'sixties treatment.

actually, this is a german advertising-song from 1973. i wonder how advertising was in those days, since this track lasts 2:56min.
found on popshopping, a compilation with old funky german advertising-songs issued by the lable crippled hot dick wax, where you can find many of those obscure old recordings. for example shake sauvage. a compilation with old french film soundtracks. great catchy tunes in there, too!
anyway, christian bruhn is rather known here in germany. he wrote a lot of hits and a great soundtrack for the 70s/80s cartoon/anime series captain future.
this one is funky and catchy, with female "aaaaah" singings and great brass hits (which i like more and more....)

"Captain Future" was an end-70s Toei Animation science fiction series directed by Leiji Matsumoto (The same team who did all the clips for Daft Punk's singles from the "Discovery" album). For the german release of the series a whole new soundtrack was recorded by Christian Bruhn. The title track is an incredible mixture of funk and disco with sequencers and analogue keyboards galore and very Edda Dell'Orso sounding vocals providing the lead melody (the similarity is striking, but the vocals were performed by Bruhn's wife Erika).

funny song, funny lyrics

I'm surprised to find I haven't recommended this song before. An enchanting piece of futuristic pop written by Ennio Morricone, this great tune was part of the score for the wonderfully stylish Mario Bava movie 'Danger: Diabolik'. Christy, who also sung on some Piero Piccioni scores, was (is?) a heartfelt 'belter', and here she sings the italian lyrics, which are peppered with English phrases, especially passionately. There is a cool echoey effect on her voice, giving the whole affair an other-worldly, underwater feel. Musically, it's a very catchy psych-pop track, with a twangy, rocky guitar. It's quite short, but extremely powerful.

Great track. Entirely scat-sung, steady midtempo funky groove, with that distinctive Odeon Studios sound, and the bridge breaks into a waltz-time section, with Claudia's high-pitched vocal effects strongly reminiscent of something off the Vampyros Lesbos soundtrack album. Claudia's a big collector's favorite among Brazilian femme singers, since her stuff's consistently strong, she's got this great strong expressive voice, cool material choices including a number of exclusive Marcos Valle songs, and NONE of her early 70s Odeon sides have been issued on CD.

This is one of my all-time favourite tracks - most probably in my top-5 - and is a perfect example of what I understand "jazz-funk" to be. I came across it many years ago on a compilation put out by French label "Big Cheese Records". I hunted down the album it was from (not sure if it's been re-issued - or if it has, it hadn't been then) and was pleased to find that the whole album was strong with most songs carrying a similar vibe to VJC. Those that were different, were still great.

I'm not sure what VJC stands for. I wonder if it's the initials of someone close - his mother or another familiar member perhaps? Throughout many of the tracks, he seems to be playing a character with chatter between the tracks leading one into the other leaving.

Cloud Cults most famous song from this record. its a fun story if you listen to the words, and a great tune.

Beetles and eggs and blues and pour a little everything else...

maravillosa recopilaci�n alemana que con frase ir�nica por t�tulo nos presenta una veintena de canciones de diversa musicalidad.
en �l encontramos desde el funky mas setenta a cargo de Heinz Kiessling (petra), el sonido hammond y groove del siempre increible Jack Arel (following you), la diversi�n er�tica m�s lounge de Uschi Moser (love, jet t'aime, l'amour y sunny honey) o el beat ritmico de Gerhard Heinz (look at me), junto con otros temas que recuerdan al pop, la psicodelia, etc...
en conjunto, un disco para pedir ya, con el fantastico libreto repleto de fotos de las peliculas mencionandas que tampoco tiene desperdicio.

Of all the releases on spains siesta label i especially hold "Memory La" by Greece`s Constantin Veis closest to me. Constantin veis who along with his brother sang and wrote songs in 80´s group The Fantastic Something. A kind of Simon & Garfunkel for the the indie/twee generation. On Memory La he continues in the simon & garfunkel style but throws in a more singer songwriter vibe along with bits of jimmy and burt. Crystal clear acoustic guitars and a wistful melody dominates "people and places" that removes this listener looking out on the mediterrean sea with a glass of ouzo in your right hand.

The version I heard was actually just done acoustic, I've always liked acoustic guitar when I'm in an easy listening mood (good mood?) it was the words that attracted me to it Chorus:Mr.Jones and me/tell eachother fairy tales/stare at the beautiful women/she's looking at you/oh no no she's looking at me. The song is fun, okay? that's why I liked it.

I just like the deep voice, the song gets old fast, but it's fun while it lasts...

I love this Spanish version of the Stevie Wonder classic because it the new instrumentation. It is still very Stevie Wonder with a new, latin flair. The vocals are absolutely amazing, this guy can really sing.

Could this be the most self-aware song ever written? 'I'm the world's most opinionated man,' sings sweet-voiced David Crosby in a tone of utter resignation. Bear in mind he'd already dealt with fame, failure, bereavement, heroin, booze and yachting by this point. It's a very stripped-down arrangement, with even CSN's trademark harmony kept to a minimum. And Crosby's rueful laugh towards the end is a real killer. Should I die soon, stop by my funeral and you'll hear this song... From a very underrated album, recorded after that toerag Neil Young had come and gone.

vocal jazz/funk/soul

Cubismo Grafico -- aka Gakuji Matsuda -- has quickly become my favorite J-Pop act, and this here is one of my favorite tracks. My impression of J-Pop has been that it is either too overtly dancy or sickeningly cute for my tastes. (To be fair, my bias is based on a relatively small cross-section of music.) Anyway, this track is neither. This is an extremely well-constructed selection that strikes me as both very modern and very "easy" in a way that sounds good to my ears. On this track, Gakuki Matsuda is credited with guitar, steel pan, rhodes piano, mc-303, turntable, and voice. So, yeah, he seems like a talented guy. The music is structured around a child's narration of an amusement park attraction (found on the fascinating "Sounds For Little Ones" compilation of a few years back). The sample lends a fun, playful atmosphere. Delicado thinks he has spotted two of the musical samples used here (or at least the compositions used), and I'm pretty sure he is right. They're both very well known, and, much to the credit of this song, I'm amazed I didn't spot them myself. I'll give you a hint: one of them is one of Burt Bacharach's biggest hits.

Both shocking and extremely cool, this has to be heard to be believed - a 'rock' adapation of Rachmanninov's Prelude in C# minor which really does rock. Cy Coleman lays a huge funky breakbeat and a heavy bassline on top of the beautifully dark, doomy theme. A jazzy guitar comes in and out as the track builds. I've never heard anything quite like it (I mean that in a good way). I am now unable to hear the original piece without Cy Coleman's breakbeat!

this band is now defunct, but you can find their cds from some distros. its definitely worth it.

Man! You really have to get up early in the morning to find tracks like this. LA big band funk, banks of brass, electric bass throbbing away, and the hard hitting Jimmy Gordon on drums! But the best part is the vocals, done it a way that makes it sound like an Odeon recording from late 60's Brazil!... Stunning. The rest of the LP is no slouch either though, and reminds me a lot of Quincy's late 60's work and the Project 3 era Enoch Light stuff.

Highly recommended to lounge DJ's and fans of mod rarities.

This short track opens the classic 1995 easy listening compilation The Sound Gallery. I'm sure it's well known to anyone with a remote interest in the whole revival scene. It's a really beautiful track, with funky drums, organ, a gentle, whispery vocal chorus, and some great jazz piano. Evocative and glamorous, this evokes a swinging party attended by people wearing sparkly dresses. For me, this is perhaps the ultimate stylish/glamorous 60s recording.

That rarest of anomalys, psychedelic Northern soul,a strange land where a late sixties slice of psyche pop can run amok with soul legends and funk obscurities in some dingy cellar club in the middle of Blackpool.Innocent and as catchy as hell ,some de riguer flanging and Who style backing vocals cannot deter this song from its righteous melodic path.

An instrumental of monumental brilliance. Mixing religious moods with tight beats and strings really seems to work for me. The track opens quietly with piano chords and a bass guitar. A slow, funky drum beat comes in, and after this the track goes on all kinds of journeys, building up and down with doomy strings and psychedelic guitars. A really incredible way to set a mood...

Okay, I know this is kind of a well known, outplayed song...still, it is a classic...and so much fun to listen to.

"We live for just these twenty years to have to die for the fifty more..."

One of the greatest rock songs ever recorded. Loud, distorted, strangely tuneful and tuneless at the same time. An exhilerating rush of pure energy without being remotely fast.


The superior single version also has the mighty Nick Knox on drums. And I don't think is on the cd. But it is on the LP.

"Hammond Explosion"-Dieter Reith
German Hammond Organist
There are brilliant funky breaks and Hammond sounds on this awesome record!
Record Cover is visible on my website: www.easylounge.org

"I should have known it from the very start
This girl would leave me with a broken heart
Now listen people, what I'm telling you
keep away from Runaround Sue


I miss her lips and the smile on her face
touch of her hands and this girls warm embrace
so if you don't wanna cry like I do
keep away from Runaround Sue"


Half sad, half funky. A very groovy Doo Wop - track with a funny melody that makes it hard to believe that the guy is really blue...

This is a song by a one-man band, the DMX Krew. He's from England, and he uses only recording equipment and instruments that predate 1985. As you might guess, this guy has an affinity for a trademark 80s synth sound...but this song somewhat deviates from his normal style.
This song is fast, catchy as all get out, and features some of the most striking robot vocals I've ever heard in a song. There's a catchy guitar riff throughout, with a jet distortion sound that makes you feel like you're on an airplane, with a driving electronic beat under it that will make you want to move your head about. This song is just utterly fantastic. I work in a record store and have reccommended it to many people, and I've yet to meet a person who already knew this song...or that didn't instantly LOVE this song. I've gotten hoards of people hooked on this band.

awesome electro-rock group! good for if you're working out, going out or just want to dance around your house in your undies lol

An exquisite and much-sampled version of this nice tune from the Valley of the Dolls soundtrack. The slow, funky beat is simply one of the sweetest you will ever hear, and the harp melody is ethereal and beautiful.

The idea of a funky jazz harp rendition of this classic Jim Webb song is probably cheesy to some people, but trust me, this one works brilliantly. The opening shimmers delightfully with fender rhodes piano, strings, and a huge breakbeat. Dorothy's harp then takes over, and we move into a nice pop/funk/jazz take on the song. The relentless beat is pretty funny when you compare this version to others (e.g. the Glen Campbell hit version, also Nick Cave's classic stripped down version from 'Kicking against the pricks'), but it is really very charming, happy stuff. A similar funk/pop hybrid occurs on her version of 'Windmills of your mind' - highly recommended.

Cool in the Xxtreme !
Sixties dance jazz funk instumental from harpist Dorothy. Complete with organs, flutes and bongos it is driving classy joyful music .

The album also contains the awesome "Action Line " which is weirdly atmospheric and deeply strange

I've got 5 or 6 Dot Ashby albums, and this is by far my favorite song of hers.

It's breathtaking, no mistake. The bass and drums are steeped in funk, yet keep it mellow. A flute (?) section keeps it nice and light. Its all held together by 'Dorothy's harp' her playing is perfect, sprwaling rich deep soundscapes.

I can't emphisise how perfect this song is. If you've hard any version of 'Windmills...' I'm sure you can imagine a harp suitung it well.

I belive Cadet have recently reissued the 3 albums Ashby did with them (Afro Harping, The Rubiayat of Dorothy Ashby, and Dorothy's Harp), but they can still be hard to get hold of. An excellent quality copy from an original LP can be found on Dusty Fingers Vol.1, also on vynil.

I'm not sure if this is available on CD.

Taken from his exquisite Latin American Suite, this is an unusual sounding track to me. Mid-tempo, with an unrelenting bossa nova style beat, the action is shared between the piano and various horns and saxophones. I guess it's the strange discordant tones that take this track higher for me. They remind me of some chords I've heard in the more adventurous Brazilian pop music of the late 1960s - basically taking what is fundamentally a sweet sounding, warm chord, and overlaying notes that provide a darker, more forboding feel.

Adding to this, the punctuating horns and reeds give the whole thing a gently groovy feel that's reminiscent of quirky 60s soundtrack music. Really cool stuff, and I recommend the whole album.

Beneath the avant-garde lyrics and futuristic synth textures, there was always a pulsing dance music quality that drove the classic Duran Duran sound. As they progressed into the late '80s, they allowed that dance element to move up front and dominate their style. A good example of this tactic is "Skin Trade," a hit whose silky and funky style led to it being mistaken for a Prince song. The lyrics have a surprisingly direct, soul-searching feel to them as they lay out scenarios of people shortchanging their dreams to make money. These moments are followed with the dramatic proclamation that makes up the chorus: "Will someone please explain/The reasons for this strange behavior?/In exploitation's name/We must be working for the skin trade." The music lends contrast to the angry tone of the lyrics by creating a sultry, mellow melody that juxtaposes verses with a soft, hypnotic ebb and flow with an ever-ascending chorus that revs up the song's inherent drama. Duran Duran's recording is fuelled by funky but gently layered guitar textures and subtle drum work that push its groove along, plus some atmospheric synth textures on the chorus. Interestingly, Simon LeBon uses his normal tenor voice for the choruses but sings much of the verses in a lush, soulful falsetto that led many pop fans to initially mistake "Skin Trade" for a Prince ballad. The result was a perfect blend of slow-dance textures and adult social critique. It didn't do as well as "Notorious," just barely making the Top 40 in the U.S., but it got plenty of radio airplay and is fondly remembered by the group's fans as one of Duran Duran's most mature achievements of the late '80s.
(AMG)

A thoroughly wild hard funk track with some great congas...this came out on the same tiny label that Bing Crosby recorded for in his final years, and it couldn't be much more diametrically opposed! I don't have any info at all about this band or their other releases, so if you do, please let me know!

Italian singer Edda dell'Orso is the voice backing many soundtrack scores and lounge-beat tracks by Ennio Morricone, Alessandro Alessandroni, Armando Trovajoli (and his 'Mark 4'). This is a Cinecitta-composer Romolo Grano composition for the cult fantasy-drama TV-series 'La Montagna della Luce'. A very deeply and sensually voiced Edda accompanies the slightly latin-flavoured, percussive funky-jazz piece; the haunting funky bassline and a very gentle tenor present throughout the track complete this exotic, obscure jazzy soundtrack.

Unique love song, uplifting and fun. Love it.

Great weirdofunk song, it demonstrates best aspects of the sound of the seventies turning into the eighties. The insanely catchy bloop-twang bassline was sampled by Daft Punk for HarderBetterFasterStronger, but this is a gem in its own right. Five minutes and ten seconds go by amazingly fast when i'm listening to this baby.

I first heard this one on one of the radio mixes on Stereolab's website, and found a copy for relatively cheap on eBay shorty thereafter.

Anyway, it's great.

The sound reminds me of Gary McFarland's "Latin Lounge" stuff but with a bigger sound and an extra element of subtle funkiness. Gismonti's arrangement here is adventurous, unpredictable and totally engrossing.

The whole album is wonderful -- "Pendulo" and "Parque Laje" are equally as good -- but I'm still most partial to this, the first track that I heard.

The "Softrock Drivin'" series is a terrifically compiled collection of japanese soft rock and bossa nova gems from the late 60s/early 70s. And it clearly shows that the japanese interest in all kinds of easy listening music wasn't solely influenced by contemporaries like Burt Bacharach but by native artists as well. This track by Emma Sugimoto is a delightfully light and fluffy piece of japanese pop and sounds like a blueprint for some kind of "Shibuya-Kei" track artists like Pizzicato Five could have produced. With shimmering strings, harpiscord embellishments, slightly funky electric guitar and a wonderful trumpet on top. With the clear, transparent production and fine arrangement it's a true standout track of the series.

From the Italian western of the same name. I haven't seen the film, but it seems to be a comedy starring Thomas Milian and in the mode of the popular Trinity films. This track is kind of a light-hearted square dance with typically brilliant instrumenation by Morricone -- bells, banjo, organ, chorus, acoustic guitar, drums and violins. This makes a nice companion to the "Wanted Dead Or Alive" track I recommended earlier. Lots of fun.

a catchy organ riff and some duh duh wailing...it's just one of those fun obscure mid sixties soundtrack songs. sounds like a cheesy party sequence, although i've never seen the film it originates from.
good clean fun. Actually i was surprised when i found out morricone originally wrote this, because some cheap dance/pop bill (can't remember who right now)had a hit wich borrowed heavily from this sometime during the mid-to late nineties... why is it that every time something catchy pops in top 40-music, it turns out to be borrowed from one of the old masters?

An alternately stalking and storming rendition of the Donovan tune, featuring Vinnie Bell on electric sitar and tabla flavorings from Ed Shaugnessy (!). Jazz/funk firepower minus the fusion wank.

Avant-garde punk funk played by pre-teens from The Bronx. Rarely has anything this groovy been made with such few elements. A main point must be that these kids from the same family could barely play.

ESG played the closing night of Paradise Garage, NY and the opening night of Hacienda, Manchester.

It makes me laugh. I'm sure that it's supposed to, but oh well. I have a lot of fun listening to this song.

A funky bassline and psychedelic vocalising were not the norm for the normally synthy electronic Fad,a rumbling slightly intimidating track that pre dated The Stone Roses and Trip-Hop ,how this track can be nearly 30 years old is slightly unreal and the line "life begins when youre ready to face it" will resonate with anyone whos time has yet to come .

I first heard this cover of a traditional folk song via the 20 jazzfunkgreats blogspot. But I'd heard of Fairport convention previously, Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson and all that, but like so many English people i couldn't bring myself to listen to an English folk group - well MY LOSS.
The song is in two parts, with an eye opening second half drone jam. Spellbinding stuff, with the violin scraping long notes, and (presumably) Richard Thompson scattering trebly white noise almost chords around on top it. It's hard to gauge how much cross fertilisation back and forth between America and the UK their would have been but it's hard to imagine that this wasn't informed by the Velvet Underground.

Looking at these three girls on the cover of their album (and the two shadowy, deadly-dull string-pulling guys on the inside) you'd never think that something so chock-full of bubblegum Brooklyn attitood could produce the smart, sexy sound that is this marvellous track.

It's class in a glass. Sidestepping the cuteness factor and packaged cool (both of which, to their credit, they also do very well) of other tracks on the album, So Stylistic bombs along with a real old-skool hip-hop feel. This is balanced nicely by more than a smattering of electropop and gratuitous use of the vocoder, making it seem relentlessly contemporary. This is a band so up-to-date that they don't bother sampling any of that old jazz or funk nonsense, but go straight for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (on Things, another album highlight).

A rare example of a band manufactured down to the last pendant and all the better for it.

It's just pure fun baby, pure fun! Yes, the music itself isn't anything special, and the lyrics are very repetative and lame, but it's still a hit. Anytime you're feeling a little drained of energy, pop this baby in and watch yourself go!

13+ minute Jam african jazz with great percussion and funk overtones....if you like it try anything of his. His Son, Femi Kuti is more avant garde african jazz...similar but with more John Coltrane influence.

The arrangement in this song is perfection. Everything fits together so well but it all stands out in its own turn. Also, the lyrics are superb:

I was raised up believing I was somehow unique/
Like a snowflake distinct among snowflakes; unique in each way you can see/
And now after some thinking, I'd say I'd rather be/
a functioning cog in some great machinery serving something beyond me

Fans of Flight of the Conchords, who bill themselves as "New Zealand's 4th most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo", will know this track already as it is one of their most popular. Although lyrically clever and funny, I think their music writing is saved a lot by the production, to the point where the songs are very listenable and enjoyable (I wouldn't be recommending other wise, I guess). From their first widely available album (self-titled), this track is a highlight, as is 'Ladies of the World' (especially the shortvocal reprise - hard to believe it's them at times), and 'Business Time'. The second album has some great tracks also. The TV show's worth catching also.

Today on my way out from my favourite store I saw a bargain bin that had the lp 'In and out of Focus' (by Dutch band Focus). Anonymus is the B-side opener with magic interplay between flute and guitar (Jan Akkerman vs Thijs van Leer). Dutch progjazzfunkystuff all the way. For 50cents it's a perfect buy; I never bothered to pick it up along the way during many visiys. Essential listening!

An incredibly perfect easy listening piece, this opens with an other-worldly, John-Barry-ish synth sound, and then leads into a groovy, lightly funky piano riff, with shimmering strings. Francis Lai's signature organ sound carries the tune as the song builds into a dramatic orchestral pop masterpiece. A standout track, with superb wistful, lazy, summer day feel, rather like some of the best tracks on the 'Sound Gallery' compilation of a few years ago.

No diss on the Pixies, especially being a big fan myself, but there are times that I think Mr. Black Black has displayed a far more interesting range since breaking up the band. Teenager of the Year will always be up for consideration on my all-time top ten. I think that it's sadly and unfairly dismissed by too many people. But maybe I can assuage and tempt some of those doubters with this gem.

Inspired by real history and/or the movie "Chinatown," the subject matter is about bringing the Colorado river to the thirsty City of Angels, by hook or by crook, and all the fortune and fame to be had by the one to do it, thus the title. That's what makes the lyrics so fun.

But the real thrill is the "fukk yeah!" abandon of this melodically-twisting tune. It plain rocks...and is brain food to boot. I swear Eric Drew Feldman, of Pere Ubu fame, who produced and played on this album, takes Black's songs to magnificent heights. I've yet to hear a better album of his work.

This sample is an outro-guitar slide into homebase supplied by Lyle Workman. Standing as one of my all-time fave guitar parts, it is at once fret-adept, rhythmically punchy, and pure electrical flow exhiliration. Ol�!

An antiwar anthem that has even more relevance today than back then. Payne often sounded too girlish to pull off the sophisticated soul Invictus produced for her, but here she's fully in command. Maybe it's the gospel-esque fervor of the arrangement and the backing singers, but this is an awfully passionate song - to a heart-breaking degree. The highlight of Freda's funky, underrated album Contact.

up beat irish rock

The final song in the album Aim and Ignite couldn't be more perfect. It is the perfectly orchestrated song on an album that transcends musical genres. Vocalist Nate Ruess (of The Format fame) shows that he may be one of the best songwriters of his generation and indeed all time. What else can I say, this song and album is beautiful and should be listened to by everyone.

Great instrumentation, evocative lyrics, awesome closing song

I think this song has an unusual and interesting melody. The verses are particularly memorable, and the guitar/bass line are really great. The lyrics are actually quite repetitive but it still manages to sound very innovative and thought provoking.

I've recently decided to sell all my records, on the grounds that they are a bit 20th Century. So I went through them to see if there was anything worth replacing; and in general, the answer was no: I had several hundred records, and they were all rubbish.

However

I DID discover 2 records by Gallon Drunk which were absolutely fantastic - I can't believe that I haven't listened to them for so long. Both this album and the follow up (From the Heart of Town) are really good, very exciting and dynamic records. I picked Two Wings Mambo but almost any song of these
would do - Just One More, Jake on the Make, Arlington Road etc, they're all grrrrrrrrrrreat.

TWM has this huge introduction, beginning with the trademark super-cheap maracas sound, before all kicking in with the mambo beat. It has the sort of quiet verse/ loud chorus deal perfected by Nick Cave over the years only with a slightly funkier beat than Nick normally has. James Johnston eventually joined the Bad Seeds of course.

His singing definitely got better over the years - if I have sold this to you, I recommend that you start with From the heart of town.

I first heard this song sampled on 'The Truth' by Handsome Boy Modelling school, essentially the bones of the instrumental coffee cold, with new lyrics from Roisin Murphy (much better than Fergus MacRoy's on a alternate version of the original).

The song itself is piano based, and has amazing drumming. I am a musical goon and cannot explain it much more than that, but the song has a really nice dusty feel to it. The fact that this was sampled in a modern hiphop record and the drums remained unenhaced says a lot.

This is a great song and well worth tracking down for any fans of funk, jazz or hip hop.

"Mad World" was written and originally performed by the popular 80's band Tears for Fears. A more mellow, piano-based cover of the song was featured in the cult movie "Donnie Darko" (Jake Gylenhaal, Patrick Swayze) as performed by folk artist Gary Jules. His version of "Mad World" reached the coveted Christmas #1 spot in the UK in 2003, despite that it was 3 years old and performed by an unknown artist.
This song is quite possibly my favorite song of all time, at least in my Top Ten, because I feel that it describes life very accurately. The chorus of the song is:
"I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had."
To me, this song is saying "Hang in there...I know life sucks on this earth, but you will go to a far better place after your death."
Depressing? No. This song helps me to carry on.

The former Virgin Prunes member, Gavin Friday, recorded his first solo album in 1989, "Each Man Kills The Thing He Loves". After leaving the Prunes in 1986, he abandoned the music business to paint for a year and a half, returning to the fray after teaming up with pianist Maurice Roycroft (whom Friday renamed the Man Seezer). This debut album, "Each Man Kills the Thing He Loves", found him making unexpected moves into a sort of modern-day cabaret style, albeit with all the Bowie-isms of his vocal delivery intact. And this song, "Tell Tale Heart", is near to country sounds and also could come right from Nick Cave "Your Funeral My Trial".

An atmospheric soundtrack instrumental, with a superb blend of strings harpsichord, brass and woodwind. Everything is underpinned by a gently funky beat that delights me, and is typical of early 70s mood instrumentals.

A band that blend elements of classical, jazz, funk, rock, folk, and electronic music.

Why i like it; a beatiful song about moving forward in life, and Katie Noonan's vocals are wonderful to listen to....

...Say i love, i live and breathe in now....

What a winning track! Opening with Morricone-style 'boing' sounds, this is a sexy, funky pop song with interchanging female/male vocals and pounding drums.

The sub-genre of pop songs in this style, featuring flirting and laughing alongside groovy 60s backings, is under-appreciated. I can think of a few more examples: Piero Umiliani's 'Flirt a Rio', Marcos Valle's 'Ele e ela', and my previous recommendation, Ed Lincoln's 'Bon-jour'. Mina's 'Parole Parole' almost fits as well, although the interplay there is a bit more dramataic than flirtatious.

Confusingly, there's another track called "Love, L'Amour, Amore" by Gerhard Heinz, which appears on the "Melodies in Love" compilation of his work. But I gather from hearing a clip that this is a different track altogether.

From a career supplying funky/hunky, cheezy/sleazy grooves to a series of late Sixties/early Seventies German soft-core flicks, Gert recently apeared on "Eurotrash"...perfect music for when you're feeling a little "saucy", in the European parlance.

It took me a long, long while to �get� Gorillaz. Oh come on, who didn�t like �Clint Eastwood�? I dunno, having sunshine in a bag is a nice lyric to repeat when people are pissing you and your shit off� yet, �Clint Eastwood� didn�t make me a fan.

No, in fact, no Gorillaz track did more to bring me into the fold than �Dirty Harry�, with its amazing keyboards, bassline and children�s chorale�

It�s just been a while since I�ve come across pop music that was so far off the beaten track, that it redefines what is �mainstream�. This is always fun for music lovers, but once again goes to prove that noone with taste thinks the cookie cutter approach to popular music is the right way.

Well I�m a Gorillaz fan now, maybe three or four years late, but I�m a fan for sure. �Demon Days� has quickly jumped up to �Heavy Rotation� status in my last.fm and musicmobs profiles in a heart beat.

It�s weird, because someone brought a pre-release copy of �Demon Days� for me way back in April, but I listened to it a few times and then ignored it, forgot it for the most part (if you ignore the iconic billboards and posters everywhere across London). I�m famous for that though, I tend to err on the side of not believing the hype, a la Public Enemy.

It was only about three or four weeks ago, after my flatmate�s accidental stop on the �Dirty Harry� video one night, while I was in another room working.

Said keyboards, bass line and chorale, made me stop what I was doing, get up and go into the living room, calling incredulously as I went, �What are you listening to?�

That my friends, is all Big Mami wrote on the matter�

A fantastic song from Plastic Beach album by Gorillaz. It's funny electro-hip hop performed with grandmaster De La Soul, irresistible.

Weirdly wonderful electro-folk-rock number.
It reminds me of "space oddity" by Bowie but in a K-Hole.

This song and CD actually just plain suck, but it's one of those that sucks so bad, I actually like it. It's quite funny...

Mourning the death of the show more than the doublecrossing character's body being taken to his family, this song was beautiful, no other words. Another great song was also at a funeral scene (for a much more admirable character), a unique and memorable version of 'Amazing Grace'. Other notable music from Firefly is 'Inside The Tam House' and 'Early Takes Serenity'.

It seems unlikely to be able to pick one song from the threepenny opera that stands out above the rest since the thing in itself is so honed to perfection (and never moreso than in the very early recordings). But as a microcosm of the whole this track (track 8) encapsulates perfectly the balance between the borrowed idiom of the popular musical style and the squalor of the lyrics. there is a jaunty middle section in which Mac recalls how he would slip out of bed to let one of the whore Jenny's clients in, mix them a drink and treat them well. Then comes a duet and they sing together of how they long to return to that whorehouse and to those happy times. At the end the music lingers with added, disconnected percussive sounds, in which time the ambivilance and ironies all resonate, creating a moment of perfection for the work as a whole, where all meaning vanishes and mere rhythm persuades.

A chunky, funky open drum breakbeat opens this supremely catchy song. It sticks in my head and at times I wake up simply having to hear it.

Hawksley Workman is pretty quirky and kind of sounds different in every song I've heard by him. This one is just kinda fun and catchy.

"I'm jealous of your cigarette...and how you want to suck on it..."

Heatwave's first two albums can almost be seen as prototypes for Michael Jackson's breakthrough album "Off the Wall." With Rod Temperton, future Quincy Jones and MJ collaborator, driving this album the sound is both funky and catchy, sophisticated and accessible. "Lay It On Me" is an overlooked album track that bubbles and gurgles under the surface of the groove until the chorus arrives with strings soaring for the ectasy of Johnnie Wilder's sweet vocals, "lay it on me, lay your sweet love on me!" Beautifully arranged and excellently executed and just one of many classics of their debut album.

A nicely groovy easy listening instrumental from an album which is a very common item in British charity shops. It's nicely percussive from the start, with some nicely strummed guitar and Helmut's bizarre sounding low solo violin. It builds up to a full and funky orchestral sound - a real stomper...

A great track hiding out on a later Mancini LP. Soulful brass, funky bass, and theremin-like sounds coming out of the Arp Sythesizer -- the Arp programmed here by Chris Mancini (Hank's son?).

9 min., 40 sec.- Improvised!!! Herbie came up with basic riff, followed by brilliant improvisation by Bennie Maupin on Saxes and Bill Summers Percussion, Bassist Paul Jackson and Drummer Mike Clark. They only recorded one take! This song is at first very difficult to pick apart, but once you focus on any one instrument you will have a new perscective on the talent of these virtuoso players. Pure genious.

This 1974, 12-minute electric-jazz masterpiece starts with an attractively sexy, slinky soprano melody and sneakily mutates into blistering solo sections played at a blinding tempo. Recorded before the word "fusion" became a tag for a tired genre this track comes from the seminal album, Headhunters. If you have ears for Hancock's cool Fender-Rhodes shadings and the Headhunter's blazing rhythmic kinetics this could be the very strongest music of this period. Harvey Mason drums brilliantly, forging new rhythms that are peculiarly unique to this recording. I don't know where he comes up with this shit; brilliantly inventive, his energy is unflagging set amidst ascending levels of white hot, mercurial tempo. Paul Jackson plays electric bass with concentrate funk phrasing, his coolly repeated ostinato line is a satisfying compliment to the hyperactivity of the chattering drums and clavinet. The track builds and as it sheds its skins each level is slightly more intense. This is a great record, ignore all the amateur web critics and get this track now!
Note: Many people seem to prefer the sequel album THRUST with the decent Mike Clark on drums. I wish it was as good or better than HEADHUNTERS but it is not.

It starts with a funny intro taken from a movie (I think). It's ultra speed hc. Very good, clever lyrics (antiwar). THE BEST CONTEMPORARY FINNISH OLD SCHOOL HC.

guitar reminds me (perhaps a sample from) of the smith's "last night at the fair" (I don't think that's actually the title, but track 1 on meat is murder). kind of lo-fi sounding. a lot of fun, but with a serious note- "we're gonna take off of us the 500kilo weight of our soul"

From the same album which spawned the mindblowing 'Im 80 Stockwerk' comes this superb track. It opens slowly, with a moody guitar/vocal introduction. Soon the heavy Burt Bacharach influence of 'Stockwerk' returns, as the strings come in and the song develops. The beat is funky in a gentle late-sixties pop kind of way. I have no idea what Hildegard is singing, but it sounds rather positive and uplifting, and I’m a big fan of her smoky voice.

She was the sun, shining upon,
The tomb of your hopes and dreams so frail

Gothic, dark, etc.

I think Marvin would be proud of this version, though quite unlike the original. A typical brass band sound introduces the song for a couple of verses which then drop out as drums and hand-claps accompany a group singing vocals over the top. Raw yet fun. I've edited this audio clip to try get as much as possible a feel of the song into it.

I just heard this for the first time and was completely bowled over. Summer Samba, which in its famous Walter Wanderley organ version sounds like a not-particularly-hip roller-rink tune, is here given a funky treatment with organ and guitar. The guitar gets a little noodley, but in a cool way. Most of Howard Roberts's capitol albums have just been re-released as 2-on-1 CDs; I hope they are all as good as this one.

I can't believe how great this is! Really part of Hugo's best period, when he was using some of his best players, and best ideas! The track starts out with this plunky Carol Kaye like bass line, alongside funky harpsichord, and the vocal begins in his typical "choral" style. Really faithful to the turtles original, with all the twists and turns of his crazy arrangements. Check out the vocal effect on the chorus, where he runs the tracks through a Leslie speaker! Crazy stuff.

Indie Pop feel. More than one singer (big group of people singing this song) fun and upbeat!
- I like this because its good to dance to when your with your friends and the lyrics are quick to learn.
- Electric guitar, keyboards,

Japanese recluse Ip rarely leaves the confines of his room-cum-studio - and it's usually to attend a naff 1980s-stylee disco. The shy, clumsy student takes on the persona of a mentalist when news of a party spreads.

To celebrate his love of all things crazee, Ip recorded a series of bizarre poptastic tracks in the early 1990s. The songs suffer from dreadful production values and annoying lyrics, much of which is spoken in broken Engrish. But hey, that only adds to the fun.

Ip's debut album 'Floor 15: Room 17' is his best. Two stand out tracks include: 'Knocking on door while Mr Room Mate is away now', and 'Why are all new friends arrive for special event not on?'.

But his best song is 'Have you got ticket to the Dome?', a slice of Human League-esque rom-pop, bolted on to a 130 bpm, glam rock rhythm.

I used to know his acquaintance, this bloke that used to wear a plastic suit and fake glasses. He would hang around with a can of cheap lager. But I haven't seen him in months. I think he lost his mobile phone, or something. He'd probably say: 'Oh yeah, Gonza, Genzo. I remember. The good old days. Hanging out in the Lounge.'

Whatever. But Ip. Far out.

this is a funky song. it makes you wanna dance and have fun. great great great song

Oldrer but with an upbeat fun pace. A personel friend of mine is Gennine Jackson...an great singer and performer!!! Love her!!

Bizarre Cut. What's This "Country Funk"? Strange little record. Beautiful Production. Both have very nice voices. And love the 12 string Guitar. Flows Nicely.

The epitome of deep Memphis soul. The hurt evident in Carr's voice is absolutely unimaginable. Carr's story is a strange one. He is best known for recording the original version of the Penn-Moman composition "At the Dark End of the Street", a song which comes as close as possible to being considered a soul "standard", and of course, his version is the one by which all others are measured. His vocal range and intensity is comparable only to Otis Redding and Percy Sledge, and in my opinion, completely surpasses both of them. He suffered from a mental illness that on one hand allowed him to channel pain like few others have ever been able to. On the other, it led to serious instability and crippling stage fright which buried his career before it ever really started. He was also functionally illiterate, but you'd never know it based on the raw emotion he put forth in his recordings. On this song, he pleads with a lover to stay with him so that he won't have to try and forget her. Absolutely heartwrenching stuff. "I've done you wrong/now you are gone/but what can I do?/Don't make me live/the rest of my life/forgetting you."

A simple and groovy, mid-tempo easy pop tune with a nice wah-wah guitar riff and Jane B.'s trademark teen fox vocal. Everything apart from the words "Lolita go home" is sung in French. Jane B. didn't really know French and it sounds quite funny. Gainsbourg and Birkin must've had a hell of a relationship! Another classic in my dj set which again shows Gainsbourg's tremendous ability to write sunny bubblegum pop as well as arrange it deliciously.

Janko Nilovic deserves attention. He composed a huge volume of library music in the 1960s and 70s, and what I've heard of his work has all been excellent. Some of it has recently been made available on CD by the Cosmic Sounds label, who are also releasing new work by him. It's hard to sum up his work, because it was quite diverse. From what I've heard, Nilovic was like a jazzier, more wild version of other contemporary library composers like Roger Roger and Nino Nardini.

This is a wonderful instrumental that opens with a bare breakbeat. This is soon joined by bass and electric guitar, which then give way to a Morricone-style harpsichord, which riffs over a descending minor chord sequence. The whole thing remains funky and slightly menacing as different parts drop in and out. The whole piece is really just a simple jam, but the impeccable arrangement takes it to a higher level.

The band does a wonderfully eccentric, glam, new wavish take on the song Barbra Streisand sang in "Funny Girl".

Great funk/soul track by Bernhoft.

It has very funny/interesting lyrics. It flows very well and is fun to sing along to :)

If you're looking for a feelgood song, this is it. Off of Jason Mraz's newest album, We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things, the whole album is a pretty good listen. Less funkier than Mr. A-Z but groovier than Waiting for My Rocket to Come.

Wow, never heard of him until recently.
He plays popmusic on Moog-synthesizers, and was one of the early pioneers.
Another fun thing about him, was that he made songs about different IanFleming bondbooks, before the Bond movies were even made. This is probably of later date still very fun sound.

Its sounds like 60ies popmusic with Commodore64 mixed into it.

Goldsmith's score to this (supposedly forgettable) action film is mainly in a Lalo Schifrin/John Barry bag. This track even recalls Les Baxter's best work of the era. It begins with the main theme reminiscent of Barry's "Ipcress File." I think they even use the same instrument, the cymbalum. The main them then breaks out into this beautiful, lush orchestration topped with electric organ, a funky electric bass, and a very nice backbeat. It totally sounds like "Que Mango"-era Baxter. Anyway, this track and really the entire score are very cool in their own right.

The psychedelic sound of modern day Manchester , a nursery rhyme slice of beatlesque fun with the humour of a Happy Monday,reminiscent of the Lightening Seeds ,a great tune with a great summer feel .

One of the finest songs to come from o'rourke's bacharachisation. Lovely changes, brilliant lyrics and an epic ending which is as depressing as it is funny.

It has been argued that Joéo Donato was the first to play a bossa nova rhythm on a recording (playing the accordian on "Eu Quero Um Samba" with Os Namorados), but whilst his contemporaries from the early years of bossa, such as Gilberto and Jobim, were happy to expand on the traditional bossa sound in later years, Donato went a number of steps further. The first track "Chorou, Chorou", from a fabulous album titled "Quem é Quem" is not even the best track off the album, but the opening bars give an idea of what the whole album is about. It's playful in melody, often subtly funky in rhythm and over all, a great album. This particular album also contains my favourite interpretation of "A Rã" by Donato. I'll have to recommend more songs from this album at a later time, because it really is great.

This track is so beatiful, and i find it popping up in a lot of degradingly funny places; its one of those tracks you hear in situations that are extremely sexy, though if you watched Nacho Libre, you might have noticed a more ironic use of the track.

A spoken word splurge of bile and vitriol over a deceptive soft funk backing,Calrke,s menacing sardonic tone berates the effects of Thatcherism on the very bottom of the pile ,the picture painted is grim and at times horrific but always compelling ,it would be misleading to give a taste of it here it needs to be heard mainly for entertainment but secondly as a concise social document of the UK at this bleak time .

very first Dutch latin funk song on great latin album with haunting melodies...recorded in november 1972

An incredible, hard-to-describe classic from Jorge Ben. It opens with a funky, feverishly strummed chord sequence, and builds up beautifully. Warm strings come in, while the vocals become more and more manic (in a good way). I really can't do this song justice in words, but I urge you to check it out. Jorge Ben really is a genius songwriter, and his backing group, 'trio mocoto' really rock.