Great Britain’s Beat Goes On Records (BGO) found a couple of nearly forgotten gems to compile in this grand two-fer from guitarist Joe Pass’ solo catalog. This set contains his amazing 12 String Guitar album (the first 12 tracks) issued in 1963, with bonus tracks from a 1964 session included. Pass played an acoustic 12-string, of course, and was accompanied by John Pisano on rhythm guitar, bassist Charlie Haden, and drummer Larry Bunker. Each cut is a beautiful modern jazz reading of popular movie themes of the day, from “Lawrence of Arabia” and “How the West Was Won” to the more delicate “Love Theme of Tom Jones” (not the singer) and the taut rhythmic intensity and ultimate beauty of “Carnaval” from the film Black Orpheus, offering listeners solid evidence of his bossa and samba chops. Every track here is a winner. The final 13 cuts here are another animal entirely. Recorded and released in 1966, they feature Pass playing Rolling Stones covers on electric guitar backed by a large West Coast jazz orchestra, arranged and conducted by Bob Florence, with the only other identified musician being tenor saxophonist Bill Perkins. Since jazz itself was in crisis at the time, lots of albums were made by established jazz players covering the hit songs of the day by pop/rock's biggest artists. Purists tend to dislike this material and its in-your-face arrangements, but they’re simply wrong. Pass’ performance is stellar (check his reading of “Paint It Black”), with his trademark taste and elegance and technique galore, while Florence’s arrangements combine everything from Latin to rock, pop, and progressive big-band sounds. The set’s final track is the title, and it simply takes a number of melodic ideas from Stones tunes and moves them into harmonic overdrive with some killer playing by the pianist, who sounds a lot like Vince Guaraldi. On top of everything else, the remastered sound is terrific and up to BGO standards. While it is true that hearing these albums paired together for the first time -- especially as they are so different from one another -- is startling, it ultimately makes fine aesthetic sense. They are innovative, accessible, full of great grooves and solos, and sound wonderful in the 21st century.