The Best of The 60,s

The '60s pop outfit the Happenings enjoyed a three-year run of several hit singles late in the decade. Formed in 1961 in Patterson, NJ, the group has seen their lineup change from time to time, but founding member/lead singer Bob Miranda has been a constant member through it all…

Early Byrd: The Best of the Jazz Soul Years contains a selection of nine tracks from Donald Byrd's mid-'60s recordings, bypassing his funkier fusions of the late '60s and early '70s. These songs – including such numbers as "Slow Drag," "Jellyroll," "Mustang," "Blackjack" and "The Dude" – feature the trumpeter at his grittiest and funkiest. Fans of his early hard bop years will still find enough improvisation here to make it interesting, while latter-day fans will find enough grooves. It's a solid introduction to one of Byrd's most prolific periods.

Helen Shapiro is remembered today by younger pop culture buffs as the slightly awkward actress/singer in Richard Lester's 1962 debut feature film, It's Trad, Dad. From 1961 until 1963, however, Shapiro was England's teenage pop music queen, at one point selling 40,000 copies daily of her biggest single, "Walking Back to Happiness," during a 19-week chart run. A deceptively young 14 when she was discovered, Shapiro had a rich, expressive voice properly sounding like the property of someone twice as old, and she matured into a seasoned professional very quickly.

Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers - Roots & Herbs (1961) {Blue Note Japan SHM-CD TYCJ-81094 rel 2014} (24-192 remaster)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 471 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 147 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 247 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit 192 kHz remaster
© 1961, 2014 Universal Japan / Blue Note | BN 75th The Masterworks | TYCJ-81094
Jazz / Hard Bop

New Remaster. Features the high-fidelity SHM-CD format (compatible with standard CD player) and the latest 24bit 192kHz remastering. A blinding session by Blakey! Truly one of his all-time great ones, and a record we've been putting on the turntable for 20 years, still always with new delight! The session was recorded in 1961 – when Blakey was working with Bobby Timmons, Lee Morgan, and Wayne Shorter (who's especially fantastic here!) For some incredibly odd reason, the session was not issued at the time – and only came out briefly at the end of the 60s. It's amazing, though – and features 6 stunning tracks that will forever restore your faith in jazz, even at your darkest moments. Includes "Ping Pong", "Roots & Herbs", "Master Mind", "Look At the Birdie", and "United".

A late-'60s California quintet with a sound that falls somewhere between the Mamas & the Papas and the Jefferson Airplane – unfortunately without the elegance of the former or the edgy recklessness of the latter – the Peanut Butter Conspiracy's albums now seem like timepieces of the flower power era, and since the group never managed a big radio hit, they don't even generate the easy nostalgia that might bring them a fresh audience in the 21st century. Led by bassist Alan Brackett and guitarist John Merrill, both songwriters, and singer Sandi Robinson, who should have been the marketable centerpiece of the band, but curiously wasn't, the PBC certainly had potential.