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Héctor Lavoe "Soy Vagabundo" (Fania Records) 1981 .... Héctor Lavoe in the early 80`s still a force ....

The Libertines "All Quiet on the Eastern Esplanade" (EMI Records)                           2024 ....

Indeed! But signs and part of the times. Remembered differently according to everyone's musical conditioning during that period. Their record contract with MPS made them a staple on a wide variety of German Music shows and broadcasts during the 70s. Usually in (Very 😁) "Easy Listening" formats - for people not quite sophisticated enough to really dig the Siwngle Singers, for example. Not my cuppa, neither then nor now, never miend their undoiubted craftsmanship. But I remember back then I came to sit them out as part of the intermission fillers you were often served, and today I take them as part of the "70s sound" for "adult teens". They probably were also part of the typical music served on a radio show on Sunday nights (taken over from Austrian radio, I think) called "Schlager für Fortgeschrittene" ("Pop music for avanced listeners") hosted by Gerhard Bronner (whom Gheorghe no doubt remembers WELL!). The few other artists I remember from these shows were the Swingle Singers and very similar acts as well as Brazilian latter-day Bossa Nova tunes (with what to my young'un's ears sounded like puzzling, deliberately lifeless singalong plodding). And among the non-vocal items there may well have been some production that would be filed under "sophisticated elevator music". To the ears of this 14-to-15 year-old just getting seriously into music (though not at all the then current hit parade or rock "in crowd" stuff) the fare served there came across as utterly bizarre sounds, making me wonder who on earth would ever buy this and what the point of producing such music was anyway ... Oh well ... BTW, seeing these clips now, I now remember that back in the day I never would have guessed they were made up of only 1 female but 3 males. To the average listener they must have sounded more like 3 females and 1 male. And I remember now this is how I visualized them back then too.    

be aware that the Frog reissue has some of the best sound I have heard on materials of this vintage.

The Fletcher Henderson disc (Vocalion & Pathe 1924-5) looks interesting but unfortunately 11 of the 25 tracks have been previously released on the Henderson/Armstrong Forte 3CD set, making it less appealing to me