Doo-Wop Ballads 3: Moments Like This [1954-64]

Lots of rare doo-wop this time around. The Hide-A-Ways, The Originals, The Charmers, Arthur Lee Maye, The Baltineers, Gene and Wendell, The Bel-Larks, The Relations (aka The Kac-Ties) and many more. Also a bonus track - I've included two versions of the unreleased '62 track "I Feel So Blue" aka "So Blue" by The Italics. The one version has the usual reverb in the vocals, and the other dry as a bone, as if the mic (vocals) was recorded directly into the mixing desk. It's possible that one or the either is fan made, or a label did a scrub remaster for the dry mix. Regardless, I kinda prefer the latter. Enjoy!

Doo-Wop Ballads 2: Love Is True [1951-62]

20 tracks including The Crickets' (not Buddy's old band) "You're Mine," Miriam Grate and The Dovers' "My Angel," Dimples' "My Sister's Beau," The Five Stars' "We Danced in the Moonlight" and The Four Fellows' "Soldier Boy." Enjoy!

Get Down on the Funk! 16 Down Home '70s Gems

Gotta get back to seventies funk. A mix of vocals and instrumentals. Big favs O'Donel Levy's "Bad, Bad, Simba," The Nite-Liters' "Cowboy," Jack McDuff's "Moon Rappin'," Niagara's "Kikiriti," Sir Joe Quarterman & Free Soul's "Give Me Back My Freedom" and Charles Kynard's "Greeze." They're all good. Enjoy!

That's What She Said! Volume Seven ('70s & '80s)

Originally not intended for the series, but I had several tracks drawing data dust still awaiting for eons and noticed many with female vocals. I wouldn't necessarily call the tunes the cream of the crop, but most are deeper album cuts. A bit of folk, soft rock, soft prog, pop and funky soul. Standouts include the alternate version of "Hold a Candle to This" by The Pretenders, Melissa Manchester's "Pretty Girls," Fanny's "Soul Child" and Gloria Jones' "Baby Don'tcha Know (I'm Bleeding for You)." Also, Frumpy's "Keep on Going," Mother Superior's "Mood Merchant" and one of the best versions of the Fab Four's, albeit aptly titled, "I Saw Him Standing There" by Maggie Bell. Enjoy!

SpookySeptober VI

Back to the oldies ('51 to '67). Carlos Casal, Jr.'s "Don't Meet Mr. Frankenstein" from '58; Lord Luther with The Kingsmen's "(I Was A) Teenage Creature" also from '58; The Cherry Slush's "The Wicked Old Witch" from '67; The Fabulous Five's "Janie Made a Monster" from '59 and Boots Walker's "They're Here" from '67 to name just a few. Also, the main title theme to 1966's "Island of Terror," a film that scared the crap out of us back in our youth. 20 chilling tracks. Enjoy!

Sunshine, Rainbows & Popsicle Farts 4: The Unsung Gems of the '60s

20 tracks from '66 to '69 and all super, especially The Sundowners' "Always You," Brian Hyland's "Rainy April Morning," The Berkeley Kites' "Alice in Wonderland," Plastic Penny's "Your Way to Tell Me Go," Paul Jones' "Free" and Bubble Puppy's "Lonely." Enjoy!

SpookySeptober 5!

Once again, Halloween in September here at the Groovy Library. And starting off this year, gems from the noughties/aughts. A mixed bag of experimental rock, indie rock, electronics, a dub or two, etc, and nothing harsh. Jason Beers' "Sasquatch Beatnik Poetry" is hilarious. I laugh at the title alone. 8-Bit Ninja's "Thriller" is a really good goodie. I used to listen to Chiptune a lot many years back (some call it Bitpop, 8-bit, Nintendocore, etc). The Thriller track is obviously that tune, and I love the 8-bit version, especially that funky groove.

Skunky Beaumont's dnb-tinged "Voodoo Train (Crispy)" is great but unfortunately, only a minute long. Mad Scientist Dorn's "I Know a Serial Killer" is another goodie, mind you the r-rated lyrics. The awesome and somewhat cute instrumental "Halloween Crab Dance" by The Swingsberry Clams is another goodie but too short in time duration. Fans of Tom Waits should enjoy Skeletons Out of the Closet's "They're Coming to Get You." The Holophonics do a good ska take on the popular "The Monster Mash." HEX's "Ghosts & Pumpkins" should appease the hip-hop fans.

20 tracks and all goodies. Enjoy!

Sweet Love! The Best & Breast of 70s Heavy Psych II

The fifth volume in the series. As usual, a mix of heavy, regular and unleaded psych, prog, hard but not too hard, etc. 16 unsung tracks and all great; Stark Naked's "Iceberg," Haystacks Balboa's "Spoiler," Charlies' "Tuesday Song" and Life's "Headhunter Blues" to name a few. Enjoy!

Smashing! The Best & Breast of 70s Heavy Psych

A mix of heavy, regular and unleaded psych, prog, hard but not too hard, etc. 16 unsung tracks and all great; Socrates Drank the Conium's "Something in the Air," Rockressio's "She Looks Like a Good Girl," Xarhanga's "Smashing Life (In a City)," Kris Kringle's "Sarabande" and Tangerine's percussion-epic "My Main Woman" to name just a few. Enjoy!

Rockin' Rollin' Doo-Wop 4: Ka-Ding-Dong-Zing!

20 rare rockin' doo-wop tracks from 1953 to 64. Great tracks including The Du Mauriers' "All Night Long" (probably my top fav of the mix), The Cadets' "Do You Wanna Rock" and The Penguins' "Ookey Ook." More goodies in The Quills' "Going to the Moon," The Crescendos' "Ding a Ling," The Magic-Tones' "Good Googa Mooga" and The Cadillacs' "Zoom-Boom-Zing." This mix is soooo good, a number five may just be in the works. Enjoy!

A Modern Motorik Kinda Night

And more yet of the good stuff. Verstärker's "Mit Glück" is a big fav. And so is Kosmischer Läufer's "Die lange Gerade." Sunplus' "RE" should appeal for the progressive electronic fan. The last track, Tausend Augen's "Blühende Landschaften" has vocals, and it smokes. It's also a big fav. Enjoy!

Popcorn Mania 15: The Instrumentals

All instrumentals, mostly sixties, a few fifties, and one from the early seventies (Michel Legrand's "Di-gue-ding-ding" - utilizes vocalizations/voice effects). Also, Werner Müller's "Bodybuilding" has spoken lines but no singing. All great stuff including Jack Eubanks, Jack Costanzo, Sonny Scott, a couple from Earl Bostic, and more. Enjoy!

A Modern Motorik Kinda Day

Some more of the good stuff. Suralin's "Empathy" is the best of the bunch and unfortunately, the shortest in length. Dechirico's "Kumaso" is another goodie. And so is Vilddjur's "Motorik." They're all good, all 10 of 'em. And how come only 10 tracks? The last track (Rocade's "Cour du château des ducs") is half an hour long, and it's a doozy. Recorded live in a castle, it takes a bit to get going. Around the 9:30 mark, the beat stays steady and around the 10:30, it's all on out. Enjoy!

Awesome Downtime 22: Explored Reflections

For such a beautiful summer so far this year, why not another chillout for the beach, backyard, couch, or wherever. Shortwave Sounds' "Why Don't You?" is a big, big fav. I still play the crap out of it. Digby Jones' "151 Lexington (album mix)" is the same deal. Marga Sol's "Reflections of You (Summervibe mix)" is one of my newer additions. It's sometimes listed as Marga Sol & Michael E as the artist. You can't fully trust the info for a lot of those (web) chill mixes floating around the netosphere.

Kaxamalka's "Unconventionality" is another big fav. And so is Towerz's "Tomorrow Never Came." Also, Smote's "Summertime" should appease the drum & bass aficionados. All the tracks in the downtime series are great to super great. Enjoy!

Rockin' Heavy, Hard & Steady 6: It's Those Unsung 70s Hard Rock Scorchers Again

Unsung and (mostly) rare, 16 in all. Baby's (from Texas) "Long Legged Woman" is one of my big favs. Light of Darkness' (from Germany) "Soul Francisco" another biggie. UK's Tempest with the awesome cover of "Paperback Writer" is (probably) my favorite of them all. Lots of bands to check out including Switzerland's "Tea," Japan's "The Mops," etc. Enjoy!

And It's Whispered That Soon, If We All Call For Some Nineties Tunes III

Another collection of good to great nineties tracks that I haven't heard over the airwaves in years or in some cases, not at all. The majority of tracks are not rare, with a few exceptions. First things first, I've completely forgot about Apollo 440's "Stop the Rock" and strangely enough, I thought it was released post-90s. Lid's "The Dream Is Over" is one of my top favs and like aforementioned, thought another post-90s track. The track is similar to what was released around the early 00s (Trapt, Creed, etc).

The rarest track, and I'll be surprised if anyone has heard it, is Soul Tattoo's "Stutter." I heard it one night from a local college radio, and as the norm, I just had to get the CD. Another possible rare track is Paw's "Couldn't Know." And the other (possible) rare track would be Inclined's "How Deep Is This Well?" Inclined had that Spin Doctors feel/sound going for them. Urge Overkill's "(Today Is) Blackie's Birthday" off  '91's The Supersonic Storybook, their (imo) best album.

Spacehog's "Cruel to Be Kind" was the reason why I needed the CD. And, how come you rarely/never hear Dionne Farris' "I Know" - the track is still solid. Anyway, the whole mix is solid. Enjoy!

Tread Softly! The Best & Breast of 60s-70s Psychedelic Rock III

Another mix of the usual - rare (to me) gems of psych and progressive rock, from '67 to '74. Birth Control's "Flesh and Blood" is (probably) my fav. Blackwater Park's "Roundabout" is another standout track. Raw Meat's "Stand-by Girl" and Blue Effect's "Návštěva u tety Markéty, vypití šálku čaje" are a couple of more favs. Brian Davison's Every Which Way's "All in Time" is another to note. As usual, they're all good. Enjoy!

Got No Bushy Bushy Blonde Hairdo: Modern Surfin' Rock

I've mentioned before that I've always loved surf music, but wasn't all that keen for the more modern style. That changed once I heard the Surfaholics' '95 album, Tiki-A-Go-Go and that was that. In this mix, 18 instrumental (maybe a couple of talkin' lines, or shouts, farts, etc) modern surfer rockers, and they're oh so good. The highlight, and a must to be heard, is the 20 minute epic (you read that right - a 20 minute surf track!?!) "Broadcast" by Tsunami Experiment. It doesn't drag, no droning, no filler, it's just good. Real good.

Johnny & The Waves' "Tidal Wave" and Indy Tumbita's "Linda" are big favs. Retrofoguetes' "O Avanço da Robótica" and Frankie and the Pool Boys' "Cat Fight" biggies too. Intóxicos' "Miagui Beach" is another worthy track. They're all good. Enjoy!

Popcorn Mania 14: Just a Little Bit More

Popcorn music/style seems to be so well loved, why not another! 18 tracks (I'd say mostly rare), from '56's  - "Sing On, Baby" by Jane Baker, to '68's "I Feel the Pain" by Linda Queen. As usual, all good tracks. I don't have any particular favs but if pressed to mention a few, I'll go with Jimmy Ruffin's "Lucky Lucky Me," Johnny Wyatt's "I Wouldn't Change a Thing About You," Gene McDaniels' "A Tear," and Eileen Rodgers' "Crazy Dream." Enjoy!

A Little dnb'll Do Ya!

Yes, my Mom would dabble a bit of that Brylcreem in our hair. I have no recollection if it bothered or not. Huh?!? Anyway, I'm a fan of dnb but not some of the sub-genres and sounds, in particular the low-frequency harsh sub-bass, harsh-wobble, harsh-wub, and harsh-reese effects (I think it's labelled as Neurofunk, but not sure). You've heard the dnb I generally love in some of the 'Downtime' mixes.

I think it was Roni Size's "Brown Paper Bag" that opened my doors to further explore dnb, breakbeat, atmospheric dnb, etc. It's also in this mix. Jrumhand's "Something a Little..." is fairly new to my ears and bound to be another big fav. Simplification's "How Many Ways" (samples Billy Paul's 73's hit "Me and Mrs. Jones") is a big fav. And so is Bachelors of Science's "Hold On." A dozen tracks and all good, of course. Enjoy!

Drive Baby Drive, Vol. 11: Motor Skills for Everyone!

More modern motorik, mostly rare. A dozen tracks in all. Favorite is probably Stan Und Hilda's "Motorik für alle." They use a sample of Stardust's Music Sounds Better with You, and in turn, samples Chaka Khan's Fate. It's a repeated loop, and probably won't sit well for those who prefer a little more variety. I happen to love it - sometimes those grooves just suck you in, while time feels like an afterthought. C.A.R.'s "Große Trommel" is another goodie, and so is Fujiya & Miyagi's "Ankle Injuries." Frankensteins Ballet's "Club der Geißterfahrer" rounds out my top favs. Enjoy!

For the curious: According to translator, Motorik für alle in English = Motor Skills for Everyone

Doo-Wop Ballads: Love Is Love [1955-64]

Plenty of rare tracks. Aside from all good to great tracks, personal favs are Joey & The Ovations' "I Still Love You," Chicago based The Orchids with "Newly Wed," The Chromatics (feat. Augie Austin) with "My Heart Let Me Be Free," New York's The Inspirations with "The Feeling of Her Kiss," and Bertha Tillman's "Oh My Angel." The latter a big, big fav.

And then there's New York's The Starlites with their awesome (and probably my favorite) "Valarie." My first introduction to this classic was Frank Zappa's version.

20 tracks in all, from 1955 to 64. I hope you enjoy this mix, and possibly more to come.

And It's Whispered That Soon, If We All Call For Some Nineties Tunes II

Another round with many rare tracks, yet several familiar names. A little more diverse too including New York's own Bright, and their motorik-styled "Pannonica." It's also one of my top favs from this mix. Hair metal's L.A. Guns and their awesome ballad, "It's Over Now" is also a big fav.

I wasn't all that keen over EMF but I do like their one track, "Admit It." Canada's The Weakerthans are a pretty good group, and their "Diagnosis" is (imo) one of their best. Remember Bowie's Tin Machine? "You Belong in Rock N' Roll" is one of the best tracks off their second release. Helmet's "Vaccination" is one of their best unsung gems. New Bad Things' "Caravan" and Spin Doctors' "How Could You Want Him" are a couple of more favs.

And, let's not forget Pee's "ihop," sometimes written as IHOP or I Hop, from other sites. Their CD has it as "ihop" and that supersedes the aforementioned guesswork. It's also a great track. Lots of goodies. 18 tracks in all. Enjoy!

And It's Whispered That Soon, If We All Call For Some Nineties Tunes!

Another original title! 🙄  Ahhh, the nineties. It's mind boggling to think a few tracks are more than thirty years old! As the usual, some deeper cuts along with the few "Wow, I haven't heard that tune in ages!" All great tracks. Let's see...

Remember Imperial Drag? An US band that released just one album back in '96. You probably recall their singles, "Boy or a Girl" or "Spyder" but imo, their best track is "Breakfast by Tiger (Kiss It All Goodbye)" included in the mix.

Live's "Lakini's Juice" is another big fav. And so is Goo Goo Dolls' "Ain't That Unusual." That band used to be soooo good. Talk Show's "Peeling an Orange" is another big fav, and imo the best track off their only release. Talk Show is Stone Temple Pilots sans Scott. And speaking of STP, "Ride the Cliché" is included and also one of their best unsung gems. Imani Coppola's "Legend of a Cowgirl" is not only a great tune, but impressive with the sample and/or interpolation of Donovan's Sunshine Superman. As of today, I've never met anyone who recalls the tune.

Eighteen tracks in all. And yes, a Canadian band named Pure released a track called "Pure." And it's good too. Enjoy!

Popcorn Mania 13: What a Feeling!

A baker's dozen of popcorn comps. Cleo Jons' "Why Don't You Do Right (Get Me Some Money, Too!)" is a goodie. Wanda Jackson's "Whirlpool" is another fav. Johnny Appalachian's "Up in Smoke" is another goodie. I really like Ginny Arnell's "Dumb Head" but I can see the controversy if released today. Apparently, Ginny herself was reluctant about the track, but after hearing the final product, she liked what she heard.

Nella Dodds' "Come See About Me" is another fav with a story. From what I've read/heard, Berry Gordy heard it in the studio and immediately had the Supremes record and release their version before Nella's. I've read inconsistent release dates between the two, but I'm sure the exact info for what went down is out there. 20 tracks in all. Enjoy!