The Butt Aka Fimpen (1974) Bo Widerberg, Johan Bergman, Monica Zetterlund, Magnus Härenstam

Ultra-rare 1995 oversized (12-1/2" x 12-1/2") 6-CD Swedish box set, an exhaustive overview of the first 20 years (1957-1976) of the career of this internationally acclaimed Swedish jazz singer. Comes with gorgeous oversized softcover 54-page book featuring dozens of rare photos, in black & white and color, and extensive text (in Swedish). 130 songs, including many classic tunes from the Great American Songbook, sung in Swedish and English.

In its matching up of Andy Williams titles for a two-fer release, Collectables Records has opted to combine Williams' spring 1972 album Love Theme From "The Godfather" with his spring 1974 album The Way We Were, skipping over his fall 1972 album Alone Again (Naturally) and his fall 1973 album Solitaire. (Those two are together on another disc.) The theory may have been that these two both had something to do with the movies while the two in between did not, but in fact all of these albums take the same approach, more or less. That approach is to have Williams present his interpretations of songs from the pop charts of the period. As it happens, these two albums mark significant milestones for the singer, albeit of opposite sorts.

Natty Dread is the seventh album by Bob Marley and the Wailers, released in 1974. Previously Marley had recorded with Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer as the Wailers, and this was his first record without them.

Rounding up the greatest grooves from the band's first five albums, right up until it left for United Artists in 1975, The Best of Mandrill is a top compilation for one of the most freewheeling bands of the early '70s. Unsurprisingly for a funk group, Mandrill excelled at recording catchy, well-played material with deep grooves, though unlike many bands, all of it was tempered by an experimentalist bent and a restless desire to explore many different avenues (occasionally in the same song). The compilation opens perfectly with "Ape Is High," "Fencewalk," "Git It All," and "Hang Loose" – the band's four biggest hits, and (not a coincidence) its four greatest songs. The other seven tracks aren't always the best available: "Mango Meat" and its self-titled debut single are solid choices, but substituting a pair of album tracks ("House of Wood," "I Refuse to Smile") for the R&B hits "Positive Thing" and "The Road to Love" doesn't make much sense. Most importantly, though, The Best of Mandrill includes every song Mandrill's known for, in a punchy sequencing that does justice to the band's uncommon style.