When singer-songwriter-poet Rod McKuen teamed with composer-arranger-conductor Anita Kerr for the 1967 album The Sea, neither had any inkling that the record's success would lead to an entire series of albums under the San Sebastian Strings moniker through 1975. The oft-imitated, never-duplicated, platinum-selling The Sea epitomized the now-moribund genre of "mood music," offering spoken word and music in a relaxing, spellbinding mélange. Cherry Red's él imprint has recently reissued the box