Various Artists Suono Libero (Irma La Douce 806) Proving the U.S. does not have a lock on rare grooves, Irma La Douce (the label that brings you the Mo'plen series) presents Suono Libero. Culled from small (200 - 300) release albums by mostly Italian session musicians, this is the stuff of acid jazz dreams. While most of the musicians are Italian, this does not have the same feel as the other Irma La Douce releases. Instead, it's funky soul for the chin scratching crowd. Those who dislike the "J" word are warned to steer clear of this collection. However, if you like your grooves thick and your soul deep, you certainly can't go too wrong here. Various Artists Scoctopus (Schema 901) With the sudden abundance of Italian soundtracks, it was only a matter of time before someone started digging into Italian production libraries. Production libraries are warehouses for mostly anonymous music used in television, industrial films and commercials. The Sound Gallery, Sound Spectrum and Moodsong Project have been mining the British libraries, so it took Schema Records to give us a glimpse of the Italian sound. The result is Scoctopus, a collection originating from the Octopus production label. While not quite as satisfying as the British collections, Scoctopus nonetheless presents an ample dose of soul, funky, psychedelic, jazz and EZ sounds. Certainly recommended for the production music fan, others might want to give it a listen before buying.