This one was a bit trickier to put together than i'd anticipated.

I don't have a huge collection of funky stuff from Australia and New Zealand. It's never been something i've focussed too much on.

While there is certainly enough out there to fill a few compilations, there isn't that much, and of what there is isn't usually to my taste - often coming a bit later in the 70s than I prefer - or so rare that i've never come across an affordable copy (such as the amazing Brute Force and His Drum '45).

Generally I feel like Australia and New Zealand were much better, and certainly more prolific, at rock and pop, especially in the '60s and '70s. But If you are interested in diving further into the funky side of Oz, DJ Kinetic's 'Aussie Funk' Blog is the place to go. By this point, Mark must have found everything even remotely funky that this side of the world ever produced.

It's safe to say, what I did end up choosing is a bit of a mixed bag.

From the Manson-murder-exploito-rock of 'Satan' by Freshwater , and the slinky cosmic funk of Count Copernicus' 'Painted Ego', all the way to (the king of Hayman Island) Sergio Paradise's cheesy take on 'Evil Ways', and the goofy kid-funk of 'Batfish Boogie' from the ABC's Earth Watch album.

I included two tracks from the Daly-Wilson Big Band as I couldn't narrow it down to one: The greatest cover of 'Ode To Billie Joe' you'll ever likely to hear as well as a track from their best album, 'The Exciting...' with Kerrie Biddell.

While the selection is primarily Australian, New Zealand is very well-represented by a couple of excellent tracks from Quincy Conserve.