Derby

various artists
label:: Siesta

Derby celebrates the 11 years of Siesta's existence. This label has brought some of the most memorable pop to my ears, and this compilation is even better than I may have hoped for.

I like listening to everything on these two discs. Many of the songs bring out pleasant feelings and memories.

Girls Go Zonk!!

various artists
label:: RPM

The RPM label from the UK has taken a break from the Dream Babes series which spotlighted British girl group and girl singers from the 1960s, and under the learned girl group collector hand of Mick Patrick has set their sites on these here shores of the USA.

Girls Go Zonk, according to the liner notes is "a fab collection of rare and hard to find US Beat Chicks and Harmony Honeys of the '60s" and it hopefully is also the first in a sister compilation series to the Dream Babes series.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

title:: Peel Sessions 1979 - 1983
label:: BBC

I was surprised by how good this CD is. I really like seven of the fifteen songs. The recordings are top notch, and the versions are different enough from the eventual album versions to make you really enjoy this disc.

The disc collects four BBC sessions in chronological order.

Radio Cramps - The Purple Knif Show

various artists
label:: Munster Records

The Radio Cramps - The Purple Knif Show is a 1984 recording of a radio broadcast The Cramps' Lux Interior did while DJing on a Hollywood radio show. This DJ mix runs the gamut from raw 60s punk garage and rockabilly, to Polynesian jungle rhythms and jazz themes.

Lux Interior did a wonderful job putting together this set of music which no doubt inspired The Cramps. He was certainly ahead of his time - a lot of what he played on radio back in 1984 went on to be compiled in our age of the compilation.