So, tonight is the big moment for England vs. Brazil. I’ve really no idea what will happen. The same goes for the USA vs. Germany game. It should be interesting.

Willie Bobo: 'New Dimension' (CD; Verve; 1968)
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I'm delighted with this item, which is a US domestic release, but packaged like those nice Japanese limited issue CDs, in a 5" record style sleeve, complete with spine print. There's also a foldout reproduction of the back of the original record cover. Very tasty - why don't they just make all CDs like this?

On to the album. Psychedelic Blues is a nice long latin instrumental with brass, percussion and piano. What surprised me about the album is how much I enjoyed the vocal tracks - the look of love, this guy's in love with you and Yellow Days are all great. 'Quieres volver' is also nice, although a little shmalzier to my ears. His vocal performance is improved from earlier Verve albums. There are some great string backgrounds on the slower numbers. Other catchy upbeat numbers are 'Grazin' in the Grass', 'Lisa' and, 'Sham Time', all with some great jazz-boogaloo beats. Overall, a very nice album with a great mix of songs on it.