RED VOLKAERT "Telewacker" (1998)

Redd Volkaret's mastery of the telecaster puts him in a rarified company that includes only a handful of players who combine taste, touch and tone in such a way that they both define and break open the boundries of their genre. Redd's playing touches on Bakersfield country music, western swing, Django, chicken pickin', 60's rock, Roy Lanham and more. The late steel guitarist, Big Jim Murphy played fabulous, rich C6th chord solos in the Curly Chalker mold as well as great E9th country. He and Redd were truly simpatico. If you dig Country music with a touch of swing you won't regret buying this one. (Amazon)trax:

01 Telewacker 02 You're Still On My Mind 03 Reed My Tele 04 She Loves Everything That Swings 05 Tube'n 06 I Hate You 07 It's A Minor Thing 08 Stumbling 09 Strangers 10 Breakneck 11 Home In San Antone 12 The Buck Stops Here 13 That Girl Who Waits On Tables 14 Redd, White & Blue

...served by Gyro1966...

THE TWANGBANGERS "26 Days on the Road" (2002)

The next time some pessimistic fan of traditional country tries to tell you that the genre has been taken over by "hat acts," point that sourpuss in the direction of the Twangbangers. This mighty honky-tonk collective represents not just a great band, but the coming together of some of the finest performers in modern (that's not to say commercial) country music. Bill Kirchen got his start many moons ago as guitar hotshot for boogie-woogie hippies Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen. He and Merle Haggard guitarist Redd Volkaert can do more with a pair of Telecasters than is dreamed of in your philosophy. Dallas Wayne is the closest thing to a second-generation Moe Bandy as you're likely to hear. Joe Goldmark is the kind of pedal steel guitar hotshot who could give Emmons and Mooney a run for their money.The combined sonic heft of these artists is awe-inspiring, as captured on this document of the group's short but memorable tour. From Wayne's stone-cold classic barroom weeper "The Stuff Inside" to Volkaert's humbling, self-explanatory instrumental "Telewacker," this is the kind of stuff roadhouses were built for. (Allmusic)

Personnel:

Dallas Wayne (vocals, acoustic guitar); Bill Kirchen (vocals, electric guitar); Joe Goldmark (vocals, steel guitar); Jack O'Dell (vocals, drums, background vocals); Johnny Castle (background vocals)

trax:

01 Truck Drivin' Man 02 I Got a Rocket in My Pocket 03 The Stuff Inside 04 Wacky Walk 05 She Loves Anything That Swings 06 How Mountain Girls Can Love 07 Rockabilly Funeral 08 In Memory of a Memory 09 Rock Bottom 10 Telewacker 11 I Gotta Get Drunk 12 Hot Rod Lincoln

...served by Gyro1966...

"Monterey International Pop Festival" Otis Redding - The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1967)

Hi Everybody, can you imagine Jimi Hendrix and Otis Redding on the same record? Yes? so you know already these incredible performance in Monterey (1967). These two shows entered the legend, with Jimi sacrifying his guitar, and Otis for his fabulous version of "I've been loving you too long". This disc should be reimbursed by mutual health (not sure of the traduction, you can correct it please...) Enjoy that viny rip!!! - Magic Kaic's MusicHistorically, what's happening is two radically different black artists showboating at the nativity of the new white rock audience. Both have performed more subtly and more brilliantly, even on live albums (Live in Europe, the first side of Band of Gypsys), and maybe I'm nostalgic. But while at the time I admired Redding ("the love crowd" pegged that audience perfectly) and was appalled by Hendrix ("a psychedelic Uncle Tom," I called him, and that's one of the dozens of things he was), in retrospect they seem equally audacious and equally wonderful. As evocative a distillation of the hippie moment in all its hope and contradiction as you'll ever hear. - Robert ChristgauLine-up / Musicians

The Jimi Hendrix Experience:

Jimi Hendrix / guitar, vocals - Noel Redding / bass - Mitch Mitchell / drums

Otis Redding:

Otis Redding / vocals - Booker T. Jones / organ - Steve Cropper / guitar - Donald "Duck" Dunn / bass guitar - Al Jackson, Jr. / drums - Wayne Jackson / trumpet - Andrew Love / tenor saxophone

trax:

The Jimi Hendrix Experience

01 Like A Rolling Stone 02 Rock Me Baby 03 Can You See Me 04 Wild Thing

Otis Redding

05 Shake 06 Respect 07 I've Been Loving You Too Long 08 (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction 09 Try A Little Tenderness

...served by Magic Kaic's Music...

DON WALSER & THE PURE TEXAS BAND - The Archive Series, Vol. 2

Who is the best country music vocalist working today? Well now there’s a question to spur endless debate. But of course, it’s fairly predictable which names will immediately surface — Johnny Cash, George Jones, Dwight Yoakam, Don Walser …. wait. Don who?Unfortunately, there are still too many country fans who aren’t yet in the know about the wonderful talents of Mr. Walser, who’s been playing Texas dancehalls since the late 1940s. But one listen to his music and you’ll pretty quickly figure out why fellow Austinite Mark Rubin, bassist for the Bad Livers, refers to him as “God’s Own Yodeler.” Or why Playboy called him the “Pavarotti of the plains.” Myself, I just go for the more simplistic description of “Greatest Country Singer in the World.”
Austin’s Watermelon Records has been trying to spread the gospel of Walser as well. The label got off to a fair start last year with Rolling Stone from Texas, which was produced by Asleep at the Wheel’s Ray Benson and featured session work by numerous current and former Wheelers (it was this album that drew the rave Playboy review). However, Watermelon and Walser endured no small amount of grumbling (including from this critic) for reducing his Pure Texas Band to almost bit parts. While the album might have sounded great to Walser first-timers, many preferred him with the excellent musicians who normally back him up every night and make his sound so distinctive.
Perhaps in response to this, or just to preserve some classic country music, Watermelon has now released The Archive Series. This pair of discs reissues and remixes, in their entirety, three cassette-only albums Walser made for the tiny Sight & Sound Southwest label a few years ago. Here, in all its glory, is Walser’s crack band: twin fiddlers Howard Kalish and Jason Roberts, bassist Don Keeling, and, alternately, legendary steel players Jimmy Day and Bert Rivera.
These recordings show what has drawn Walser such a rabid cult following, ranging from Stetson-sporting rednecks to black-clad punks: Walser is a masterful singer, with a smooth, gliding-across-the-dance-floor voice that frequently rises into a pristine yodel that will raise the hair on the back of your neck and give you goosebumps. If you’re one of us ornery types that insists country music was infinitely better decades ago, Walser will take you back there with tunes like “Casting My Lasso,” “Bouquet of Roses,” “Chime Bells,” “Big Ball in Cowtown” and on and on. As Walser says, “We play Top 40 — all the top songs from 40 years ago.”
When he’s not covering the likes of Ray Price, Bob Wills et al, Walser can be pretty formidable with a pen as well. Although he hasn’t written much, his sparse output is of pretty high quality. “The John Deere Tractor Song” is especially powerful, raising the common dirt farmer to the status of folk hero in much the same way as Butch Hancock’s “Dry Land Farm.”
While much of the “alternative country” featured in this magazine is unquestionably more in touch with the traditions of country music than anything coming out of Nashville today, fans may still yet yearn for something a little more genuine than the many punks-cum-Buck Owens-fans that heavily populate the scene. If that’s the case, Don Walser and the Pure Texas Band are for you. They’re playing country like it used to be played — because he never quit playing it that way. (No Depression)trax:

01 Yodel Polka 02 Awaiting For A Train 03 Side Men 04 Two Stepping Lady 05 Love Me 06 Hill Country Waltz 07 One More Drink 08 Take Me Back To Tulsa 09 All Around Cowboy 10 Shelley's Winter Love 11 Cowpoke 12 Long Black Veil 13 Begging To You 14 Rolling Stone From Texas 15 Austin Waltz 16 Fraulein 17 Red Skin Gal

...served by Gyro1966...

Fishbone "Truth And Soul" 1988

Hi Everybody, this one is a Sister Z request, and she did well, because this album is one of the best of the 80's. Enjoy that vinyl rip!!! - Magic Kaic's MusicBy 1988, alternative/college rock was becoming a recognizable force in the mainstream. Several bands were big enough to play arenas, and many even earned gold and platinum albums. The tide was clearly changing for such previously misunderstood bands such as Fishbone. Their second full-length release Truth and Soul was issued that year, and remains one of the band's (and the '80s) very best. On past albums, Fishbone's sound was a melting pot of ska, punk, and funk. This time, hard rock has been added to the mix -- especially evident in guitarist Kendall Jones' six-string work, with often-spectacular results. Also, the songwriting has improved tremendously and has become much more focused here. The party anthem "Bonin' in the Boneyard" is one of the band's finest (with superhuman bass work by Norwood Fisher), as is the ska-based "Ma and Pa," and a cover of Curtis Mayfield's early-'70s hit "Freddie's Dead." Also featured are several musically varied tracks that deal with the same topic: racism, past and present ("Deep Inside," "One Day," "Subliminal Fascism," "Slow Bus Movin'," "Ghetto Soundwave"). Truth and Soul remains Fishbone's most consistent album. by Greg Prato (AllMusic.com)

trax:

01 Freddie's Dead 02 Ma And Pa 03 Question Of Life 04 Pouring Rain 05 Deep Inside 06 Mighty Long Way 07 Bonin' In The Boneyard 08 One Day 09 Subliminal Fascism 10 Slow Bus Movin' (Howard Beach Party) 11 Ghetto Soundwave 12 Change

...served by Magic Kaic's Music...

Rudi Protrudi with Lana Loveland featuring The Sextress "In Sex We Fuzz"

A tribute CD to The Fuzztones produced by Sin Records of Rudi Protrudi. ... the birth of “IN SEX WE FUZZ”, a live CD including 14 tracks from all the dates.The Live CD  IN SEX WE FUZZ is officially sold out. The 250 copies were very much appreciated amongst numerous Fuzztones fans and, other than in Italy, they were sold in many other European countries and not only. We proudly cite three copies in Japan and one in Brasil. We thank Snaps Music for the production, Blitz Studio for the tour and Rudi Protrudi and Lana Loveland for granting. - The Sextresstrax:

01 1-2-5 02 Bad News Travels Fast 03 Johnson In Headlock 04 Gotta Get Some 05 Ward 81 06 Jack The Ripper 07 Action Speaks Louder Than Words 08 Highway 69 09 13 Women 10 Be A Caveman 11 In Heat 12 Brand New Man 13 She's Wicked 14 Strychnine

DON WALSER & THE PURE TEXAS BAND - The Archive Series, Vol. 1

Who is the best country music vocalist working today? Well now there’s a question to spur endless debate. But of course, it’s fairly predictable which names will immediately surface — Johnny Cash, George Jones, Dwight Yoakam, Don Walser …. wait. Don who?Unfortunately, there are still too many country fans who aren’t yet in the know about the wonderful talents of Mr. Walser, who’s been playing Texas dancehalls since the late 1940s. But one listen to his music and you’ll pretty quickly figure out why fellow Austinite Mark Rubin, bassist for the Bad Livers, refers to him as “God’s Own Yodeler.” Or why Playboy called him the “Pavarotti of the plains.” Myself, I just go for the more simplistic description of “Greatest Country Singer in the World.”
Austin’s Watermelon Records has been trying to spread the gospel of Walser as well. The label got off to a fair start last year with Rolling Stone from Texas, which was produced by Asleep at the Wheel’s Ray Benson and featured session work by numerous current and former Wheelers (it was this album that drew the rave Playboy review). However, Watermelon and Walser endured no small amount of grumbling (including from this critic) for reducing his Pure Texas Band to almost bit parts. While the album might have sounded great to Walser first-timers, many preferred him with the excellent musicians who normally back him up every night and make his sound so distinctive.
Perhaps in response to this, or just to preserve some classic country music, Watermelon has now released The Archive Series. This pair of discs reissues and remixes, in their entirety, three cassette-only albums Walser made for the tiny Sight & Sound Southwest label a few years ago. Here, in all its glory, is Walser’s crack band: twin fiddlers Howard Kalish and Jason Roberts, bassist Don Keeling, and, alternately, legendary steel players Jimmy Day and Bert Rivera.
These recordings show what has drawn Walser such a rabid cult following, ranging from Stetson-sporting rednecks to black-clad punks: Walser is a masterful singer, with a smooth, gliding-across-the-dance-floor voice that frequently rises into a pristine yodel that will raise the hair on the back of your neck and give you goosebumps. If you’re one of us ornery types that insists country music was infinitely better decades ago, Walser will take you back there with tunes like “Casting My Lasso,” “Bouquet of Roses,” “Chime Bells,” “Big Ball in Cowtown” and on and on. As Walser says, “We play Top 40 — all the top songs from 40 years ago.”
When he’s not covering the likes of Ray Price, Bob Wills et al, Walser can be pretty formidable with a pen as well. Although he hasn’t written much, his sparse output is of pretty high quality. “The John Deere Tractor Song” is especially powerful, raising the common dirt farmer to the status of folk hero in much the same way as Butch Hancock’s “Dry Land Farm.”
While much of the “alternative country” featured in this magazine is unquestionably more in touch with the traditions of country music than anything coming out of Nashville today, fans may still yet yearn for something a little more genuine than the many punks-cum-Buck Owens-fans that heavily populate the scene. If that’s the case, Don Walser and the Pure Texas Band are for you. They’re playing country like it used to be played — because he never quit playing it that way.(No Depression)trax:

01 Casting My Lasso 02 Bouquet Of Roses 03 Tomorrow Is A Million Miles Away 04 Chime Bells 05 Big Ball In Cowtown 06 New Patches 07 September In The Rain 08 The John Deere Tractor Song 09 Cattle Call 10 She's Got Everything But Me 11 Fuzz Dixon 12 Lonesome 77203 13 You 14 Dixie Blues 15 Cowboy Ramsey 16 Curtain In The Window 17 Jersey Bounce

...served by Gyro1966...

THE BULLET RECORDS STORY - The First Americana Label

Bullet Records of Nashville, Tennessee was the first, and initially the most successful, of what would come to be known as the post war indies The Bullet Recording and Transcription Company was launched in late 1945 by former Grand Old Opry booking agent Jim Bulliet, along with businessman C.V. Hitchcock and musician / songwriter Wally Fowler. This is the first comprehensive overview of the Bullet label. The first disc concentrates on Rhythm and Blues (both urban and down home), the second on Country & Western and Hillbilly Boogie, and the third on the jazzier Jump and Jive recordings (with a touch of gospel thrown in for good measure)   This compilation is a complete cross section of the type of music you would have heard as you spun the dial on your radio in 1950 - (Blue Beat Music)Bullet Records of Nashville doesn’t turn up often in discussions of significant postwar independent labels. But it should. Co-founded in 1946 by former radio announcer Jim Bulliet, it was the first indie of consequence to emerge from what would eventually be known as Music City USA, and its catalog was diverse; in fact, its only two national hits were pop: Francis Craig’s 1947 “Near You,” which topped the charts for 17 weeks on the way to becoming the biggest seller of the year for any label, and the local pianist/orchestra leader’s follow-up “Beg Your Pardon,” which reached No. 3. Given Nashville’s current status, Bullet is remembered today mainly as a country label, recognized for releasing the first sides by Ray Price (as well as Chet Atkins, Minnie Pearl and others known mainly to country fans) and writer Leon Payne’s original version of “Lost Highway,” which became a Hank Williams signature song.
The reason Bullet is so often overlooked is that when the label was shut down in 1952 – Bulliet himself had been forced out by his partners three years earlier – the masters were destroyed. Or so it was always said. And because Bullet was thus left out of the initial reissue rampage when CDs replaced vinyl, the label grew obscure. Until now. Some of the tracks on the Bullet reissues that have become available are clearly taken off the original vinyl 78s, suggesting the masters were not available; but others sound so clean that they could easily come from the masters. Perhaps it’s enough to note that such albums as The Bullet Records Story: The First Americana Label, Bullet Records: Jump, Blues and Ballads, Bullet Records Blues and The Bullet and Sur-Speed Records Story now exist, and that’s what really matters.
Where there were recording studios there were blues and R&B scenes, and Nashville was no exception. Bullet also released B.B. King’s first four sides, early efforts by Guitar Slim (recording under his real name of Eddie Jones) before he made history with “The Things That I Used to Do” and by Wynonie Harris before he made his name as Mr. Blues, some first-rate Cecil Gant, and random sides by big names like Roosevelt Sykes and Willie Dixon’s Big Three Trio, cult figures like Rudy Greene and obscurities like the Red Miller Trio (whose 1948 “Bewildered” briefly reached No. 1 R&B).
The Gant material is especially noteworthy, since he was one of the most popular R&B pianists and singers in postwar America thanks to his original “I Wonder,” a massive 1946 hit for Gilt-Edge that he re-recorded in a more exotic-sounding version for Bullet. Sung from the point of view of a soldier overseas thinking dark thoughts of his girlfriend back home, it’s a dire, slow tune, not unlike one of Charles Brown’s heart-tugging cocktail blues, and it provided the template for his future hits. But the oft-ignored truth is that Cecil Gant was one breakneck boogie woogie pianist with more than a little stride mixed in, and uptempo romps like “Nashville Jumps” (an ode to his hometown’s drinking culture) are every bit as strong as his best ballads; so are the less frantic “Anna Mae” and “Boogie Woogie Baby.”
The B.B. King material shades more towards boogie than the subsequent hits (“Three O’Clock in the Morning”) that highlighted his early career; his voice here bears no resemblance to the pipes he would display just a few short years later, and he takes no guitar solos. But “When Your Baby Packs Up and Goes” and “Take a Swing with Me,” respectively walk and swing with real force and, as always, King knows how to assemble and lead a tight band. The two Wynonie Harris sides available are hardly poor, but certainly pale next to the exhilarating, barrel-chested jump sound he would later develop; perhaps the most interesting thing about them is the slightly unorthodox accompaniment from his pianist, one Sonny Blount, making his recording debut. Blount would soon move to Chicago, change his name to Sun Ra, and show fans what unorthodox could really mean while exploring outer space and beyond in his own music. As for rocking Rudy Greene, the only one of his five tracks here that even approaches the craziness that would win him his cult following is “Buzzard Pie,” and it’s a long long ways from “My Mumblin’ Baby” or “Juicy Fruit.”
Blues fans will find other small pleasures scattered across these compilations. Nashville homeboy St. Louis Jimmy’s version of his standard “Goin’ Down Slow” is a remake that doesn’t embarrass itself. Big Joe Williams is as prickly as ever on “Jivin’ Woman” and “She’s a Married Woman.” Memphis favorites Tuff Green and His Orchestra step out with the always-timely “Let’s Go to the Liquor Store.” The Big Three Trio, Willie Dixon’s first group, manages a non-risque version of “Signifying Monkey.” Max Bailey’s “Rockin’ the Blues” verges tantalizingly on rock ‘n’ roll. “Candy Man Blues” and “Why Should I Cry” are typically two-fisted piano blues from Roosevelt Sykes.
Bulliet’s original partners ultimately ran the label into the ground by signing pop stars like Milton Berle and Bob Crosby instead of exploiting the local omnipresence of country and blues/R&B. Bullet was briefly revived in the ’60s, along with the subsidiaries Sur and Speed, for about a dozen single releases (Shy Guy Douglas’s novel instrumentals “Midnight Soul” and “Shy” and the Burton Majors Band’s pop-soul “Cry, Cry” stand out). Jim Bullet kicked around a few more labels and other music companies – an early backer of Sun Records, he got out before the gettin’ at that breakout Memphis label got good – before winding up in…the candy business. His legacy is rather a modest one, but that’s okay; he was in the right place at the right time, and he delivered. (John Morthland, Allmusic)trax CD 1:

1. Dig This Boogie - Wynonie Harris 2. Drinkin' By Myself - Wynonie Harris 3. Nashville Jumps - Cecil Gant 4. Anna Mae - Cecil Gant 5. No Good Woman Blues - Rudy Greene Trio 6. You Sure Look Good To Me - Big Three Trio 7. Goin' Down Slow - St. Louis Jimmy 8. I Ain't Done Nothin Wrong - St. Louis Jimmy 9. Jivin' Woman -  Williams 10. She's A Married Woman - Joe Williams 11. Sherman's Boogie - Sherman Williams Orchestra 12. Baby Don't Want You To Go - Sherman Williams Orchestra 13. Hard Times - Smoky Hogg 14. Goin' Back Home - Smoky Hogg 15. Move Back To The Woods - Walter Davis 16. You've Got To Reap What You Sow - Walter Davis 17. Deliquency Blues - Max (Blues) Bailey 18. Sting-A-Ree - Max (Blues) Bailey 19. Miss Martha King - B.B. King 20. Take A Swing With Me - B.B. King

trax CD 2:

1. That's All She Wrote - The Texas Troubadours 2. Guitar Reel - The Turner Brothers 3. Guitar Reel (Instrumental) - Chester Atkins & His All Star Hillbillies 4. Hamatramk Mama - The York Brothers 5. Doin' The Boogie Woogie - Johnnie Barfield 6. High Falutin' Mama - Bill Nettles 7. Brown's Ferry Boogie - Zeke Clements 8. Swamp Woman Blues - Smiley Burnette 9. I Worship You - Clyde Moody

10. Lost Highway - Leon Payne 11. They'll Never Take Her Love From Me - Leon Payne 12. Double Cross - Autry Inman 13. I'm Too Old To Boogie Anymore - Butterball Paige 14. Hospitality - Jimmy Work 15. Jealous Lies - Ray Price 16. Heart Don't Complain - Calvin Tubb 17. Rag Mop - Johnnie Lee Wills 18. My Bucket's Been Fixed - Hardrock Gunter 19. Mr. & Mrs. Cloud - Jimmy Work 20. Wild Man Boogie - Ray Batts

trax CD 3:

1. Hawaiian War Chant (Instrumental) - Danny Cassalla 2. I'm All Dressed Up With A Broken Heart - The 5 Bars 3. Bye Bye Blackbird - Bob Troup 4. Heidi - Bob Troup 5. Avalon (Instrumental) - Madge Slutee & Her Swing Trio 6. Everything Reminds Me of You - Pepper Neely 7. Raggin' The Blues (Instrumental) - John Gordy 8. Frankie & Johnnie - John Gordy 9. I Wonder - Cecil Gant 10. Boogie Woogie Baby - Cecil Gant 11. Nobility Boogie (Instrumental) - Red Miller Trio 12. Bewildered - Red Miller Trio 13. Signifying Monkey - The Big Three Trio 14. Deep In My Heart - Rudy Greene Trio 15. Take Another Guess - Vicki Zimmer 16. He's A Bad Man But He Treats Me Good - Vicki Zimmer 17. Rag Mop - Chuck Merrill 18. Let's Go To The Liquor Store - Tuff Green & His Orchestra 19. Amazing Grace - The Fairfield Four 20. Dig A Little Deeper - The Speer Family

...served by Gyro1966...

THE STOMACH MOUTHS "Something Weird" 1986

"THE ORIGINAL WYLD AND UNTAMED GARAGE PUNK FROM SWEDEN!"A wild trip with the original Swedish garage punks. The Swedish garage punk rock boom really began back in the 1980s. One of the pioneering bands were the Stomachmouths who road the crest of the 80s garage wave between the years 1984 - 1987 becoming one of the leading Swedish exponent of the genre at the time.
They toured Europe several times with their wailing fuzz guitars, screeching Farfisa organ , caveman drums, thumping bass and ultra snotty vocals on full throttle, performing some of the wildest shows ever witnessed. But after three years of endless travels and partying the hectic lifestyle had taken it's toll on the band and they all scattered in different directions. But their musical influence lived on and is now strongly felt in current Swedish bands although none of the Stomachmouths records have ever been reissued on CD before.The Stomach Mouth:

Stefan Kery, vocals/guitar / Martin Skeppholm, drums / Lars Kjellen, guitar / Par Stavborg, bass / Anna Nystrom, organ

traxfromwax:

1 Valley Surf Stomp/ 2 I Don’t Need Your Love/ 3 Dr. Syn/ 4 Teenage Caveman/ 5 Don’t Mess With My Mind/ 6 I Leave/ 7 The Cat Came Back/ 8 R & B No. 65/ 9 Coming Back Alive/ 10 Cry/ 11 Waiting/ 12 Nightmares/ 13 Down/ 14 Born Loser

"THE CREOLE REGGAE BOX SET"

THE CREOLE REGGAE BOX SET (TJETD161) - It wasn't just rude Reggae by Judge Dread or dodgy disco discs by The Chequers. There was far more to the Creole Records group of labels than that, but how many of us noticed? Efficiently and with a minimum of fuss, they gave artist after artist hit after hit, not just in the specialist listings but on the pop charts: four by soul singer Ruby Winters, five by the learned Judge, three by Boris Gardiner, plus successes for Desmond Dekker, Sophia George, those dodgy Chequers and more. They obviously had an eye and an ear for talent - but who were they?

Well, in the beginning they weren't a record label at all. Bruce White and Tony Cousins founded Commercial Entertainments as a management and booking agency in the mis-sixties. With the astuteness which would later garner all those hits for them, they not only booked Pop acts like Status Quo and Average White Band, but also entered specialist territory by acting for blue beat (as it was known then in Britain) acts like Byron Lee & The Dragonaires, the Maytals and the Melodonians. But it was the huge success of one of their artists, Desmond Dekker, with 'Israelites' in 1969 that prompted Bruce and Tony to change direction, as Bruce explained in a recent interview.

"It was this record that acquainted the ordinary British record buyer with the Reggae sound. This led us to acquire a defunct music publishing company and a record company, Creole Music Ltd. and Creole Records Ltd. to handle product from our Commercial Entertainments artists."

The first few Creole releases, by artists such as the Pyramids and Floyd Lloyd Seivwright, enjoyed only modest success - though they include one disc which has intrigued collectors, '405', credited to Augustus Pablo. However, this wasn't a rare track by the wispy melodica maestro: it actually featured saxophonist Tommy McCook. Then, forming a partnership with Island and Trojan Records, Creole placed Bruce Ruffin's 'Rain', recorded in Jamaica, but overdubbed in Britain, with the latter label and saw it reach the Top20 Pop charts. In October 1971, Bruce and Tony decided to go it alone again, issuing music on their own Creole imprint. Early issues, such as 'Don't Stroke My Pussy' by Katrina, were not big sellers, but helped by their burgeoning booking agency, they continued to expand.

The following year, at the music industry's annual MIDEM festival on the Cote d'Azur, the pair struck a deal with EMI that would see the major label distribute their releases. Once again, Bruce Ruffin came up trumps: his 'Mad About You', on the new Rhino subsidiary, was an even bigger hit for him. Its production credits, as with several other Creole group releases, was to 'Bruce Anthony'; this was in fact 'Bruce & Tony'!

In 1974, they launched the Cactus label, which was originally intended for 'ethnic' Reggae. Indeed, Bruce and Tony's magic touch propelled Rupie Edwards' 'Irie Feelings', a dubbed-up version of Johnny Clarke's 'Everyday Wondering', and about as cutting-edge as Reggae came at that time, into the Top Ten - one of the most unlikely hits of the year. Other rootsy Reggae sides, like Lloyd Parks' 'Mafia' saw issue too, but ultimately a lighter side of Reggae would make Cactus one of the most successful Jamaican music labels of all time, as Bruce recalls...

"In 1975 we decided to release Desmond Dekker on the Cactus label, as Creole had now acquired the rights to his previously recorded material. We re-released 'Israelites', which became a Top Ten hit for the second time... This we followed up with a Bruce Anthony production, 'Sing A Little Song', which went Top 30." This was Desmond doing what he did best: singing a catchy tune over an infectious, bouncy rhythm. Talking of bouncing, Cactus' other major signing that year was the formidable ex-nightclub doorman, Judge Dread, whose idiosyncratic, lewd and oddly charming waxings gave him and the label a run of hits.

Creole was all the while issuing non-reggae music on its main label. UK disco band, the Chequers had two hits in 1975 and 1976, and Ruby Winters' 1977 Top Tenner, 'I Will' was the start of a run of four hits for the long-serving soulstress. Other releases were maybe ahead of their time: Creole released the first Boney M single in the UK in 1975, only to see it stall at no.52 in the charts. The following year the group would begin a three-year run of monster disco hits. The company also hooked up with the up-and-coming soul and R&B label, Malaco to issue (male artist) Ona Watson's splendidly funkified take on David Alan Coe's Country hit, 'Take This Job And Shove It', which, despite sentiments which expressed the dream of many ordinary people, didn't catch on.

In 1976, though, Bruce and Tony cut an enduring and mutually profitable deal with one of Jamaica's longest-established producers, Byron Lee, to represent his Dynamic label, which they gave its own identity in Britain. Before you could say "Dragonaires", sweet Reggae singer (and Dandy Livingstone's boyhood mate), Barry Biggs had launched into a run of six chart hits, the biggest of which, a cover of Blue Magic's Philly soul smash 'Sideshow', reached no.2. Creole represented Mr. Lee's labels right into the new millenium, and picked up his vintage Ska productions retrospectively as well, as you'll see from the opening tracks on our first two discs.

Into the Eighties, Creole leased in hot biscuits from producers such as Jah Thomas, Dennis Brown and Dennis Starr, as you'll discover on disc three, but perhaps their most important link-up was with the more conservative Willie Lindo, who in 1986 was working with skinhead-era hitmaker turned MOR singer Boris Gardiner. True to Creole form, the seasoned crooner brought them the unexpected smash of the year: his 'I Want To Wake Up With You', on the Revue offshoot, reached no.1 and became the best-selling pop single of the year.

Indeed, the mid-Eighties saw a plethora of new Creole labels. Some, like Glitter, made little commercial impact - though there's a Lulu of a Thelma Houston single hidden away on there, and this writer hopes that Trojan will bring it to you on CD real soon. But the Winner label lived up to its name with a big hit for Sophia George, 'Girlie Girlie'.

By the time Creole joined Trojan in the Sanctuary family of labels late in 2003, it had been an independent company for over 30 years and had racked up well over 20 UK chart hits. In a business where few indies make it to their fifth birthday, that kind of track record doesn't happen by accident. The Creole story is a tribute to the astute judgement and hard work of Bruce White and Tony Cousins. It's a story filled with good music, as you'll hear on this set - and as you''l discover on forthcoming Sanctuary releases from this rich and varied catalogue. - Mike Atherton

trax CD 1:

1. Jamaica Ska - Keith & Ken 2. Only A Fool Breaks His Own Heart - Mighty Sparrow 3. Time Is The Master - John Holt 4. Mad About You - Bruce Ruffin 5. Ire Feelings (Leggo Skank) - Rupie Edwards 6. Sing A Little Song - Desmond Dekker 7. Je T'Aime... Moi Non Plus - Judge Dread 8. Big Ten - Judge Dread 9. Midnight Rider - Paul Davidson 10. Dat - Pluto Shervington 11. Work All Day - Barry Biggs 12. Sideshow - Barry Biggs 13. Three Ring Circus - Barry Biggs 14. O.K. Fred - Errol Dunkley 15. Just When I Needed You Most - Barbara Jones 16. Girlie Girlie - Sophia George 17. I Want To Wake Up With You - Boris Gardiner

trax CD 2:

1. Behold! [Ska Version] - The Blues Busters 2. Oil In My Lamp - Eric 'Monty' Morris 3. You Make Me Feel The Way I Do - Toots & The Maytals 4. Frankenstein Ska - Byron Lee & The Dragonaires 5. Rock Steady - The Fugitives 6. The Drifter - Dennis Walks 7. Leaving Rome - Jo Jo Bennett 8. Grooving Out On Life - Hopeton Lewis 9. Cloak & Dagger - The Upsetters 10. Delilah - Horace Andy 11. Titian - Junior Delgado 12. Sam's Intro - Cedric Brooks 13. Freedom Street - Eric Donaldson 14. His Majesty Is Coming - The In Crowd 15. Looking My Love - Barrington Levy 16. Golden Locks - Bim Sherman 17. Love & Devotion - Jimmy Riley

trax CD 3:

1. Gunshot - Anthony Johnson 2. Sweetie Come Brush Me - John Holt 3. As If I Didn't Know - Cynthia Schloss 4. Revolution - Dennis Brown 5. Shoulder Move - Jah Thomas 6. What One Dance Can Do - Beres Hammond 7. Tiney Winey - Byron Lee & The Dragonaires 8. Sunday Dish - Early B 9. Miserable Woman - Freddie McGregor 10. One More Chance - Wayne Wonder 11. People Make The World Go 'Round - Ruddy Thomas 12. Hortical Don - Ninjaman 13. Gal Wine - Chaka Demus & Pliers 14. We Don't Pet Sound Boy - Gregory Isaacs 15. Green Line - Garnett Silk 16. No Mama No Cry - Beenie Man

...served by Gyro1966...

The Stomach Mouths "Wild Trip" 1987

The Garage Revival - or what ever you want to call it - of the 1980s was a mixed bag of nuts.Actually, let's be honest, with some exceptions most of it sucked pretty badly. There was a distinct lack of imagination in the movement, and a lot of the music just seemed like a weak dilution - or a bad pollution - of the genuine article. Before to long the already milky waters of' 80s Garage were clouded shit-brown as the poseurs and opportunists dived in with their weak hybrids: New Wave bands gone Garage, Punk bands gone Garage, Psychobillybands gone Garage, Mod and Power Pop bands gone Garage, Heavy Metal bands gone Garage, Goths and even New Romantics gone Garage - they were easy to spot and they invaribly missed the point completely. It was the 80s after all. But it wasn't all bad. In Sweden, for example, there were a handfull loosely connected bands - the Crimson Shadows, the Stomach Mouths, the Backdoor Men and the Creeps - that not only captured the raw spirit of the Garage sound but also executed it with a degree of style and panache, elements many other bands seemed oblivious to at the time. Active from 1984-87, the Stomach Mouths, with their crazed interpretation of the American '60s teen garage sound, were probably the wildest of this bunch. Fronted by lead screamer/guitarist Stefan Kery, they generated plenty of noise both onstage and in the studio, leaving behind a pile of vinyl releases, now difficult or near impossible to find. - Mike Stax/Ugly Thingsmembers:

Bass – Per Stalburg / Drums – Martin Skeppholm / Guitar – Lars Kjellen / Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica – Stefan Kery / Organ [Farfisa] – Anna Nystrom

trax:

01 dr. syn 02 i don't need your love 03 speed freak 04 born loser 05 out of the question 06 teenage caveman 07 don't mess with my mind 08 down 09 cry 10 hey hey comin' back alive 11 i'm going away 12 don't put me down 13 valley surf stomp (live) 14 i leave (live) 15 dr. syn (live) 16 i got no name (live) 17 my new woman (live) 18 wild trip (live)

"TRIBUTE TO BOB MARLEY BOX SET"

The words and music of Bob Marley have had a truly profound influence on the sound and style of Reggae. During his recording career, he wrote and performed some of the most enduring songs in the history of Jamaican music - a fact borne out by the music on this 3 CD set which features interpretations of his recordings by some of the most respected artists in Reggae music...PRINCE FAR I opens the collection with the aptly titles "TRIBUTE TO BOB MARLEY", recorded shortly after Marley's death in 1981. Tragically, Far I (real name Michael Williams), who first began deejaying in the early sixties, was killed a few years later, a victim of a senseless murder.

After fronting female vocal trio, The Gaylettes, JUDY MOWATT embarked on a solo career around 1970, with her version of The Wailers' "MELLOW MOOD" for Sonia Pottinger among her earliest solo singles - THE GAYTONES' instrumental of the song which follows originally appeared on the flip-side of the record.Mowatt later joined Marcia Griffiths and the singer's wife, Rita to form The I Threes, who became an integral part of The Wailers' sound.

"MR CHATTERBOX" by MAX ROMEO utilises the same rhythm as Bob Marley & The Wailers' original version, cut for Bunny Lee around 1969. Romeo, who sang with The Emotions and The Hippy Boys before finding solo success with his ribald hit "Wet Dream", later recorded a number of seminal roots sides for Lee 'Scratch' Perry.

KEN BOOTHE was not only a great admirer of Marley, but also a good friend, the two having first met while both were signed to Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd's Studio One label in the early sixties. Boothe's considerable vocal talents are illustrated on three recordings featured on this set; "I SHOT THE SHERIFF", "AFRICAN LADY" and "NO WOMAN NO CRY", all of which were cut in the seventies.

Veteran singer, OWEN GRAY, who recorded his uplifting version of "GUAVA JELLY" in the mid-seventies began his recording career some 40 years ago, when DERRICK MORGAN was also first making his mark as a singer. Morgan had in fact been instrumental in launching Marley's musical career in the early sixties, auditioning the singer/songwriter while working as talent scout for producer Leslie Kong and subsequently recommended to his employer the young man be given the opportunity to record his debut release "Judge Not". Dating from the mid-seventies, Morgan's slightly adapted rendering of "SOME WOMEN MUST CRY" was produced by Bunny Lee, who further used the rhythm on a version by on THE AGGROVATORS, a sax-led instrumental by legendary hornsman TOMMY McCOOK entitled "THE MEDUCIA" and a further vocal rendering of the song by TAPPER ZUKIE, retitled "NATTY DREAD DON'T CRY". Bunny Lee also produced "TIME WILL TELL", "SIMMER DOWN" and "EASY SKANKING" by respected singer JOHNNY CLARKE.

Widely acclaimed as the Godfather of all Jamaican DJs, Daddy U ROY began spinning discs in the early sixties for a number of Kingston-based sound systems, before making his first record around the close of the decade. His hugely popular toasting style immediately had a dramatic impact on Reggae, with it's influence still evident in the music of today. "DREAMLAND" uses the Lee Perry-produced rhythm track of Bunny Livingstone's original, recorded some months before. The rhythm is again used on the instrumental cut by THE UPSETTERS, the producer's ubiquitous session group, who again feature on "MY SYMPATHY" (aka "400 Years Version").

THE GROOVERS enjoyed moderate success in the late sixties before cutting their revival of Marley's Rocksteady favourite "BEND DOWN LOW" for singer/producer Derrick Morgan in 1971. Shortly after the release of the recording, the group faded from the music scene, with lead vocalist, Lloyd Jackson later appearing on a number of sides by The Scorpions.

Besides his obvious vocal talents, JACKIE EDWARDS was one of the most influential and commercially successful Jamaican songwriters of his generation, with his credits including The Spencer Davis Group's 1965 international hit "Keep On Running". His admiration for Marley's work is reflected in his admirable rendering of "I'M STILL WAITING", a song first performed by The Wailers in the early sixties.

Although THE INNER CIRCLE have been one of the most internationally successful Jamaican acts in recent years, back in the mid-seventies, they were just another Reggae group trying to make a name for themselves. Their renderings of "NATTY DREAD", "THREE O'CLOCK ROADBLOCK" (aka "REBEL MUSIC") and "BURIAL" were all produced by Tommy Cowan who used the rhythm tracks of the two former recordings on "MR BIG" and "THREE O'CLOCK ROADBLOCK (VERSION)" by melodica maestro AUGUSTUS PABLO.

Disc 2 opens with the vocal and Dub versions of C. LICINGSTONE's "TRIBUTE TO BOBBY", before to moving on to "GET UP, STAND UP" by the legendary BIG YOUTH, who like his fellow deejay WINSTON SCOTLAND, first made his mark on the Jamaican music scene in the early seventies. Scotland's "SKANKY DOG" features the rhythm of Peter Tosh's solo hit "Maga Dog", which was again put to use by producer, Joe Gibbs on "MAINGY DOG" by BUNNY FLIP and "FAT DOG" by THE LOVE GENERATION.

Probably the most popular female singer of the Rocksteady era was PHYLLIS DILLON who recorded her mento interpretation of "NICE TIME" for Duke Reid shortly after the release of the Wailers' original in 1967. In contrast, RONNIE DAVIS and AL CAMPBELL, who feature on "KAYA" and "HYPOCRITES" respectively, were both major figures on the Reggae scene in the late seventies and early eighties. Davis, who had previously led The Tennors before going solo, later formed the influential Roots group, The Itals, while Campbell enjoyed considerable success as one of the most popular singers of the Dancehall era.

After performing with Byron Lee & The dragonaires, KEN LAZARUS jouned Tomorrow's Children, a group that also included the multi-talented PLUTO SHERVINGTON. Both singers later embarked on solo careers, with Lazarus cutting "DUPPY CONQUEROR" for Federal around 1970 and Shervington recording his version of "NATTY DREAD" some five years later. Two of the most obscure artists to feature on this collection are R.ZEE JACKSON, who in 1971 put together two of Marley's Rocksteady hits, "BEND DOWN LOW" and "PUT IT ON", and the unlikely named SAMBO JIM, whose whimsical working of "NATTY DREAD" dates from a few years later. If anyone out there has any further information pertaining to either recording, we would love to hear it.

The third and final disc fittingly opens with a third song paying tribute to Marley, "(MARLEY'S GONE) HIS SONGS LIVE ON", performed live by Jamaican legend TOOTS HIBBERT at Reggae Sunsplash and remixed at Tuff Gong studios.

The early careers of DENNIS BROWN and DELROY WILSON followed similar paths, with both singers making their recording debuts with Coxsone Dodd, while still only on their teens. But while Brown (whose 1993 rendering of "CONCRETE JUNGLE" is one of the most recent recordings on this collection) went on to become one of the world's most popular Jamaican performers, Wilson never truly fulfilled his potential. Despite many superb records, including his fine mid-seventies rendering of "NICE TIME", the singer's career fell into decline in the eighties and when he tragically passed away in 1995, his death went by largely unnoticed by those outside the Reggae circles.

"WAR", a song Marley based on the words of a speech given to the United Nations by Emperor Haile Selassie was later revived to great effect by former Righteous Flames front man, WINSTON 'KILLERMAN' JARRETT, while "TALKING BLUES" by THE MAROONS (aka The Cimarons), must rank alongside the best of their work.

THE FABULOUS FIVE INC. are one of the most enduring Reggae groups and are still actively making music, after almost 30 years in the business. Their upbeat version of "GUAVA JELLY" dates from the mid-seventies - around the same time talented singer/songwriter/producer, ERNIE SMITH revived "BEND DOWN LOW".

After over 35 years of making music, JOHN HOLT remains one of the world's most popular Reggae performers, having sung on scores of hits, both as solo artist and lead vocalist with The Paragons. He can be heard giving a typically impressive performance on his working of the Curtis Mayfield-inspired "KEEP ON MOVING", which first saw release in 1975.

The two remaining titles are both instrumental pieces, the first being "(I'M GONNA) PUT IT ON" by the hugely influential JACKIE MITTOO, who has been a founding member of the legendary Skatalites. Mittoo played keyboards on most of The Wailers' Studio One material in the early sixties and remained one of the most revered figures in Jamaican music until his untimely death in 1990. The track which brings this collection to a close is JOE GIBBS ALL STARS' re-working of "Duppy Conqueror", entitled, "GHOST CAPTURER", which was first issued shortly after the Wailers' original version in 1970.

trax CD 1:

1. Tribute To Bob Marley (Intro) - Prince Far I 2. Tribute To Bob Marley (Pt. 2) - Prince Far I 3. Mellow Mood - Judy Mowatt 4. Mellow Mood (Version) - The Gaytones 5. Mr. Chatterbox - Max Romeo 6. I Shot The Sheriff - Ken Boothe 7. Some Woman Must Cry - Derrick Morgan 8. Some Woman Must Cry (Version) - The Aggravators 9. The Meducia - Tommy McCook 10. Time Will Tell - Johnny Clarke 11. Guava Jelly - Owen Gray 12. Dreamland - U-Roy 13. Dreamland (Version) - The Upsetters 14. Bend Down Low - The Groovers 15. I'm Still Waiting - Jackie Edwards 16. Natty Dread - Inner Circle 17. Mr. Big - Augustus Pablo

trax CD 2:

1. Tribute To Bobby - C. Livingstone 2. Dub To Bobby - C. Livingstone 3. Get Up Stand Up - Big Youth 4. Skanky Dog - Winston Scotland 5. Maingy Dog - Bunny Flip 6. Fat Dog - Joe Gibbs & The Love Generation 7. Simmer Down - Johnny Clarke 8. Long Time No Nice Time - Phyllis Dillon 9. Kaya - Ronnie Davis 10. Hypocrites - Al Campbell 11. Duppy Conqueror - Ken Lazarus 12. African Lady - Ken Boothe 13. Three O'Clock Roadblock - The Inner Circle 14. Three O'Clock Roadblock (Version) - Augustus Pablo 15. Natty Dread - Pluto Shervington 16. A. Bend Down Low B. Put It Up - Zee Jackson

trax CD 3:

1. (Marley's Gone) His Songs Live On (Intro) - Toots Hibbert 2. (Marley's Gone) His Songs Live On (Outro) - Toots Hibbert 3. Concrete Jungle - Dennis Brown 4. Burial - Inner Circle 5. My Sympathy - The Upsetters 6. Nice Time - Delroy Wilson 7. Natty Dread - Sambo Jim 8. War - Killerman Jarrett 9. Talking Blues - Maroons 10. Guava Jelly - The Fab Five Inc. 11. Natty Dread Don't Cry - Tappa Zukie 12. No Woman No Cry - Ken Boothe 13. Bend Down Low - Ernie Smith 14. Keep On Moving - John Holt 15. Put It On - Jackie Mittoo 16. Easy Skankin' - Johnny Clarke 17. Ghost Capturer (Duppy Conqueror) - Joe Gibbs All Stars

...served by Gyro1966...

BLUE IN HEAVEN "Explicit Material" 1985

Blue In Heaven is a rock quartet from Ireland led by singer Shane O'Neill. - William RuhlmannAs you can see there not much about this band on AllMusic.com, I just know that their first LP was produced by Martin Hannett, and for me it sounds like a poor Joy Division... With "Explicit Material" they radicaly change direction, for something more punchy. This album was the record of my summer 85, nobody cares for sure, but it had to be said... Enjoy that vinyl rip!!! - Magic Kaic's Musictrax:

01 Change Your Mind 02 Tell Me 03 Just Another Day 04 Sister 05 Be Your man 06 I Just Wanna 07 Close Your Eyes 08 Rolling in The Crowd 09 Hope To God

...served by Magic Kaic's Music...

The Stomach Mouths "Psychomania Festival, Bochum (Germany), 02/87"

The Stomachmouths were a garage punk band from Stockholm, Sweden active in the 1980s. Formed in 1984, they were one of the earliest 'pure' garage bands in the European garage revival of the 1980s. Along with local colleagues the Crimson Shadows they pioneered the notion of a garage punk band that strove for authenticity in replicating the sound and the look of the original '60s inspirators, primarily from the US. The Stomachmouths received immediate international attention with their self-released debut 45, which raised interest on the independent music scenes in England and the USA. The band toured extensively in Europe, appearing on German television and receiving major newspaper coverage in Italy.

Originally a quartet, Anna Nystrom joined the band in 1986. In 1987 Kjellen and Stavborg left to form the Livingstones. Jens Lindberg, formerly of the Crimson Shadows and High-Speed V joined as a replacement bass player for the last recordings and European tours. Band leader Stefan Kéry later went on to form the successful independent Xotic Mind/Subliminal Sounds record label. - wiki

trax:

01 Take One Look At Me 02 Don't Mess With My Mind 03 That's Cool, That's Trash 04 Ode To Rhythm And Blues 05 Ugly Things 06 Don't You Know 07 You Better Run Now 08 That Girl Of Mine 09 Crowd 10 Hold Me Now 11 Crowd 2 12 RnB No. 65

RARE 1960'S COUNTRY ROCK FROM NASHVILLE

Classic 1960's Country music from the Nashville based SPAR Records Label. Contains the ultra rare 'Wanted One Mother', written by Willie Nelson & Hank Cochran!, recorded by Hal Kennedy.The Spar Record Company of Nashville, Tennessee was founded in 1961 by veteran record men William Beasley, Alan Bubis and Reynold Bubis. Spar initially concentrated on middle of the road rhythm & blues and pop records, twist and other dance records. But with their incredible distribution network, they soon realized that they could also move their premier imprint (Spar) into rural areas where the majors couldn't compete with them. Rural areas meant country music in the sixties and they soon expanded into that genre. This imprint was wildly successful, and by the mid 1960s Spar and its various other subsidiaries were selling well over a million records every month. An impressive figure then or now. Spar moved into the LP market fairly quickly, releasing both sound alike (at budget price) and individual artist releases on their various album imprints (Spar, Spar Premier, Sterling, Modern Sound, Hit, Nashville Sound, Plantation House). Some of the artists they recorded were country singers Urel Albert, Chase Webster, Moon Mullican, Ricky Page and Carl Story, and instrumentalists Bill Pursell, Jack Eubanks, Jimmy Wilkerson and William Beasley's various orchestral recordings. Spar was an amazing operation. They had their own offices, recording studio, publishing company and even their own pressing plant. They employed musicians, songwriters, arrangers, engineers and producers. The list of musicians alone is quite staggering, the absolute cream of the crop. These people played on every thing from Roy Orbison to Elvis Presley to Bob Dylan and Charlie Rich records. This collection is a fascinating window into a time when musical walls were being torn down and the rules were being broken, so enjoy some of the best music you never heard.trax:

1. It's Been A Long Long Time - Steve Bess 2. Sugar Creek Bottom - Joe Pain 3. I Don't Care, Just As Long As You Love Me - Tom Bell 4. The Heartaches That You Gave Me - Chase Webster 5. From The Cup To The Lip - John Reeves 6. Headlines In My Heart - Rink Hardin 7. I'm Free From Your Love - Gene Snipes 8. Love's Gonna Live Here - Don Branch 9. You've Got To Love Her A Lot - Jay Dee Pepper 10. Mary And Jane - Ken Kennedy 11. Wanted One Mother - Hal Kennedy 12. Such A Short Time - Carl Phillips 13. The Welfare Check - Ken Kennedy 14. Ride Buddy Ride - Urel Albert 15. The Way You've Treated Me For Years - Bob Adams 16. The Swingingest Thing In Town - Urel Albert 17. I Walk Alone - Jack Bond 18. She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye - Nashville Country Jamboree 19. I'm A Country Boy - Joe Cash 20. I Haven't Got The Heart - Charlie Jones 21. Me And Bobby McGee - Nashville Country Jamboree 22. Promised Land - The Country Music Five

...served by Gyro1966...

Billy Lee & The Rugbeaters "Early Rockin` The Real Stuff" + Jim & The Invictas "Memphis" 7"/45rpm

Moin, hier etwas Mucke für das WE. - DooWopDaddyOtrax Billy Lee & The Rugbeaters "Early Rockin` The Real Stuff":
01 Back Door Love Affair 02 Midnight Rockin` 03 Gonna Meet A Woman 04 Gonna Meet A Woman 05 Razzle Dazzle (Twinkle In Your Eyes) 06 Razzle Dazzle (Twinkle In Your Eyes) 07 Down And Broke 08 My Baby _ Chicken Shack 09 My Baby / Chicken Shack 10 Gonna Boogie Tonight 11 Play To Play (Take 4) 12 You're My Superstar 13 You're My Superstar 14 Gimme Your Sweet Sweet Love 15 Gimme Your Sweet Sweet Love 16 If I 17 Look At The Moon 18 Ride With Me 19 Midnight Rockin' 20 Don't Make Me Blue 21 Anytime You Need Me 22 A Cadillac Ride 23 Baby Baby 24 Everbody Loves Girls 25 Won't You Take Me Back 26 Hey Now Baby
...served by DooWopDaddyO...trax Jim & The Invictas "Memphis" 7"/45rpm:

01 Memphis 02 Cottonpickin' 03 Trippin'

...served by DooWopDaddyO...

THE METERS "Here Comes The Meter Man" The Complete Josie Recordings 1968-1970

Organist Art Neville formed a band in 1966 in New Orleans with his brothers Aaron and Charles on vocals, Leo Nocentelli on guitar, George Porter on bass, and Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste on drums. Billing themselves as Art Neville & the Sounds, they signed to Sansu Enterprises, a label founded by Marshall Sehorn and writer, producer, arranger, and recording artist Allen Toussaint, and minus the vocalists, and now called the Meters, they became the house band for the label, providing backing tracks for releases by Lee Dorsey, Earl King, Betty Harris, and many others, including many cuts by Toussaint himself. the Meters would also track instrumentals that were used as filler tracks on LP releases by Sansu artists, and in time, there were enough of these instrumentals to release an LP in 1969 called the Meters, which Sehorn shrewdly placed with Josie Records because of that label’s connection to its parent company, Cosnat Distributors, at that time the largest East Coast music distributor. the Meters were something special, and their swampy precision practically defined the meaning and template of funk. Two more LPs, Look-Ka Py Py and Struttin’, appeared a year later in 1970 on the Josie imprint. When Josie went bankrupt in 1971, the Meters moved on to sign with Reprise Records and continued to release thundering funk records through the decade before gradually morphing into the more vocal-oriented group the Neville Brothers. This two-disc set collects the Meters' entire Josie catalog, including all three LPs, the A- and B-sides of four singles, four tracks billed to Art Neville & the Meters, and two tracks attributed to Cyril Neville & the Meters. The end result is a joyous and impressively funky survey of this stellar and professional band’s earliest recordings. (Steve Leggett, Allmusic)trax CD 1:

01 Cissy Strut 02 Here Comes The Meter Man 03 Cardova 04 Live Wire 05 Art 06 Sophisticated Cissy 07 Ease Back 08 6V6 La 09 Sehorn's Farm 10 Ann 11 Stormy 12 Simple Song 13 Look-Ka Py Py 14 Rigor Mortis 15 Pungee 16 Thinking 17 This Is My Last Affair 18 Funky Miracle 19 Yeah You're Right 20 Little Old Money Maker 21 Oh Calcutta! 22 The Mob 23 9 'Til 5 24 Dry Spell

trax CD 2:

01 Chicken Strut 02 Britches 03 Darlin' Darlin' 04 Go For Yourself 05 Hand Clapping Song 06 Hey Last Minute 07 Joog 08 Liver Splash 09 Same Old Thing 10 Tippi-Toes 11 Wichita Lineman 12 Ride Your Pony 13 Message From The Meters 14 Zony Mash 15 Stretch Your Rubber Band 16 Groovy Lady 17 (The World Is A Little Bit Under The Weather) 18 I Need More Time 19 Good Old Funky Music 20 Sassy Lady 21 Bo Diddley Pt 1 22 Bo Diddley Pt 2 23 Heartaches 24 I'm Gonna Put Some Hurt On You 25 Gossip 26 Tell Me What's On Your Mind

...served by Gyro1966...

TROC "Troc" 1973

Hi, I have taken nothing today, but I would like to thank you very much for the pleasure and the magic that brings this blog. Still one ' vinyl rip ', without knowing if this music style is the type of the Home, but it is the only place where I can share my ' vinyl rips ' easily. up to you to choose ... For the biography, I found no article on ' AllMusic ' concerning TROC, it is therefore from wikipédia and in French that comes information. Enjoy!!! - Magic Kaic's MusicTroc est un groupe de Jazz Fusion FranÁais, crÈÈ en 1971 par le batteur AndrÈ Ceccarelli. La premiËre formation comprend aussi Alex Ligertwood au chant, Henri Giordano au piano Èlectrique, Claude Engel ‡ la guitare Èlectrique et Francis Moze ‡ la basse (tous deux en provenance de Magma). Cette formation sortira un seul 45 tours avec les titres Old Man River et May Be Tomorrow Not Today (rÈf. CY Records CY 4501). Francis Moze est bientÙt remplacÈ par Jannick Top et Claude Engel par Jacky Giraudo et le groupe sort un album du mÍme nom en 1973 (rÈf. CY Records CY 30-02).

La musique de Troc est un mÈlange savant de jazz, de soul, de rock et de blues avec parfois des passes de piano classique. Le tout est accompagnÈ par la voix d'Alex Ligertwood que l'on retrouvera par la suite au sein de Santana.

Le groupe se reforme 40 ans aprËs sa crÈation et sort en octobre 2011 chez Universal l'album Troc 2011, bien accueilli. - Wiki

trax:

01 Kali Lo 02 Truth Vérité 03 Old Man River 04 Did You Ever 05 Plum 06 Stick Time

...served by Magic Kaic's Music...

The Sorrows "Teenage Heartbreak" 1980 (nothing to do with the Soorrows from Coventry)

The mid-'70s New York club scene had a large population of Anglo-pop bands, playing Merseybeat root music as accurately as possible. The Sorrows were formed in 1977 from the remains of the Poppees, a minor member of the skinny tie brigade; two years later the Sorrows had a major-league record deal. - Ira RobbinsOver the course of their short two-album career, Sorrows did absolutely nothing that was startlingly new or original. But what they did, they did really well, especially on their 1980 debut, Teenage Heartbreak. More than just another entry in the post-Knack skinny-tie brigade, Teenage Heartbreak is a first-class power pop album of its era, up there with the debuts by the Rubinoos and the Plimsouls. The title track sets the tone immediately, with a killer stuttering hook and appropriately rough-edged harmonies. All four members write, but most of the best songs belong to guitarist Arthur Alexander (not the '60s R&B guy who sang "Anna [Go to Him]" and "Soldier of Love," obviously), whose Roy Loney-style voice adds a nice garage rock element to songs that might otherwise be a little too bubblegummy. The best of the non-Alexander songs is "Can't Go Back," a winsome little sweet 'n' jangly rocker written and sung by Joey Cola, Alexander's former bandmate in the short-lived but much admired Poppees. Bassist Ricky Street's "I Don't Like It Like That" is pretty terrific too, with a stomping break that makes it sound like a classic early Sweet single. Not every song is up to those standards, but even the two or three weaker tracks are performed with enough infectious enthusiasm to get by on attitude. Teenage Heartbreak is probably for power pop fans only, but those fans will find themselves richly rewarded. - by Stewart Masontrax:

01 Teenage Heartbreak 02 I Don't Like It Like That 03 Bad Times 04 I Want You Tonight 05 Lonely Girl 06 She Comes And Goes 07 Can't Go Back 08 All You Gotta Say 09 I Want You So Bad 10 Can't You Tell A Lie 11 Second Chance 12 Televison

"THE ESSENTIAL BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS"

There are countless Bob Marley collections on the market, most of them drawing from his pre-Island Records Jamaican releases. These are usually poorly annotated, tossed-together affairs of dubious legality, and since Marley & the Wailers often re-recorded songs at various stages of their career, it can be nearly impossible to tell which versions you're getting without actually playing the disc. All of this confusion is a shame, since some of Marley's best work was done before the group signed its Island contract, and many casual Marley fans have no idea this stuff even exists, which is why this two-disc set from Trojan/Sanctuary is so welcome. It does a decent job of cherry-picking key Wailers tracks from several Jamaican producers, and makes a nice entry into the mare's nest of pre-Island releases. Included are tracks produced by Bunny Lee ("Mr. Chatterbox"), Leslie Kong ("Caution," "Soul Shakedown Party," "Stop the Train," "Back Out," "Cheer Up," "Soul Captives"), Ted Powder ("Adam and Eve"), a handful of Wailers self-productions ("Concrete Jungle," "Lively Up Yourself," "Satisfy My Soul"), and a generous selection of Lee "Scratch" Perry's 1970 and 1971 work with the group ("Mr. Brown," "Small Axe," "Kaya," "Soul Rebel," "Sun Is Shining," "Brand New Second Hand," "Duppy Conqueror," "Stand Alone"). Perry also worked with Marley for brief periods in 1976 and 1977, and "Who Colt the Game," "I Know a Place," "Natural Mystic," and "Keep on Skanking" are included from those sessions. The end result isn't the essential Bob Marley & the Wailers, as the title proclaims, but it certainly contains tracks that are essential, particularly the Perry material. Serious fans of the Wailers will already have everything here, but for casual listeners looking for a well-sequenced set of the earlier years to augment the Island releases, this one fills the bill nicely. (Allmusic)trax CD 1:

01 Soul Shakedown Party 02 Caution 03 Soul Rebel 04 Stop The Train 05 Sun Is Shining 06 Adam And Eve 07 Back Out 08 Corner Stone 09 Mr. Chatterbox 10 Brand New Second Hand 11 Duppy Conqueror 12 Soul Captives 13 Try Me 14 Cheer Up 15 Soul Almighty 16 Four Hundred Years 17 Mr. Brown 18 All In One

trax CD 2:

01 Lively Up Yourself 02 Keep On Moving 03 Small Axe 04 Don't Rock The Boat 05 Trenchtown Rock 06 Kaya 07 African Herbsman 08 Down Presser 09 Concrete Jungle 10 Stand Alone 11 Satisfy My Soul 12 Fussing & Fighting 13 Dreamland 14 Keep On Skanking 15 Natural Mystic 16 Who Colt The Game 17 I Know A Place

...served by Gyro1966...

Die Barracudas "Ich will Rock'n'Roll"

Moin RYP, nach den geilen Champions-League Hinspielen hier etwas Rock'n'Roll aus deutschen Gefilden. Die Burschen machen ganz gut Alarm. rockige Grüße aus BÄRlin sendet good ole DooWopDaddyOtrax:

01 Wartburg Cabriolet 02 Oh Du 03 Rocken & Rollen 04 Die Tänzerin 05 Mondscheintwist 06 Bob Cat 07 Rock'n'Roll Daddy 08 Motorroller 09 Käfer Cabriolet 10 Black Jeans 11 Take It Easy 12 Du 13 Girl 14 Wartburg Cabriolet (Version 2) 15 A Teenager In Love 16 Medley

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NASHVILLE COUNTRY JAMBOREE "Nashville's First Country-Rock Group"

The Spar Record Company of Nashville, Tennessee was founded in 1961 by veteran record men William Beasley, Alan Bubis and Reynold Bubis. They launched the Spar imprint as a standard independent label that would be serviced to radio stations and would strive to have hit records. Texan native Johnny Elgin was brought in to run the Country sessions, soon became a songwriter along with A&R man Jerry Foster and formed the prolific Nasville Country Jamboree in the mid-sixties. The Nashville Country Jamboree featured the cream of the crop of Nashville's studio musicians of the day (many would go on to become country-rock legends with the Area Code 615 Band and Barefoot Jerry) and the singers, songs and performances were all top notch. This was the best that Nashville had to offer, and it's high time that The Nashville Country Jamboree was recognized for their contribution to the musical genre that would come to be known as Country-Rock.
Read all about this album here:
http://jeffersonross.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/JeffRossReview.pdftrax:

01 Shove It Up Your Heart 02 Lovin' My Way Through Life 03 The Heart That I Gave You 04 Bring Me Sunshine 05 One Thing 06 My Home Town 07 When I hear A Sad Song 08 Young and Foolish 09 We Must Have Been Out of Our Minds 10 The Heartaches You Gave Me 11 The Best Years of Your Life 12 To See An Angel Cry 13 You Don't Deserve the Pain 14 New City Limits 15 I Knew Her When 16 Tear Drops in a Rainstorm 17 Night Sounds 18 A Fifth Wheel 19 With Your Hand in Mine 20 How Long Is a Memory

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"GLITTERBEST" 20 Pre Punk 'n' Glam Terrace Stompers

There isn't a single redeeming quality to Glitterbest: 20 Pre Punk 'n' Glam Terrace Stompers. Nothing but good old dumb fun. From the mindless cover of the Kinks' "You Really Got Me" by the Hammersmith Gorillas that kicks things off with a resounding thud all the way to the end of the disc, it is nothing but loud guitars, shouted vocals, stomping beats, and ridiculous lyrics. It covers the years 1971-1976, and if you recognize any of the bands here you were probably a member. Lost gems? There are a few: the tough power pop of the Jook's "Aggravation Place," the '50s-inspired outer-space boogie of Flintlock's "Sooner or Later," the tough Modern Lovers in a wind tunnel sound of Despair's "Sweet Sweet Heart," Streak's "Bang Bang Bullet" (which apes the New York Dolls right down to Johnny Thunders' trademark guitar swoops), and the primitive thunk of Crushed Butler's very very stupid "High School Dropout." (Is Crushed Butler the greatest name for a band ever? Maybe.) Best of all is the extremely nasty "Sick on You" by the Hollywood Brats, which includes tender lyrics like "I'm sick to death of everything you do/And if I'm gonna puke/Oh babe I'm gonna puke on you." Otherwise, the disc serves up a wide range of forgotten music that never made a dent in any chart but sounds damn fine in 2004. You get glitter with Bowie as alien vocals on Jet's "Nothing to Do With Us," weird Roxy Music by way of Taco cabaret glam from Tiger Lily on "Ain't Misbehavin'," an early primitive version of "City of Fun" by England's Glory (later the Only Ones), hyped-up pub rock from Ducks Deluxe on the rockin' "Coast to Coast," and wonderfully silly stuff like American Jam Band's "Jam Jam" and Spunky Spider's "You Won't Come." You won't find any of this stuff in the history books and no one would ever call any of these bands innovators or visionaries. So what. Crank it up next time you want to bug your neighbors, blast it out of your car speakers, embrace it as the offspring of the ridiculous novelty singles of the '50s that you always turn up when they get played by accident on oldies radio. Have fun! That is what rock & roll is truly about and Glitterbest is 100 percent rock & roll. (Allmusic)

trax:

1. You Really Got Me - The Hammersmith Gorillas 2. Bang Bang Bullet - Streak 3. Aggravation Place - Jook 4. Nothing With Do With Us - Jet 5. Good Friends - Milk 'N' Cookies 6. Sooner Or Later - Flintlock 7. Crazy Kids - Trevor White 8. Jam Jam - American Jam Band 9. You Won't Come - Spunky Spider 10. Goodbye - One Hit Wonders 11. All For The Love Of City Lights - Dog Rose 12. I Need You - Helter Skelter 13. Coast To Coast - Ducks Deluxe 14. Ain't Misbehavin' - Tiger Lily 15. Pogo Dancing - Chris Spedding & The Vibrators 16. Sweet Sweet Heart - Despair 17. Fat Judy - The Farm 18. High School Dropout - Crushed Butler 19. City Of Fun - England's Glory 20. Sick On You - The Hollywood Brats

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"April March Sings Along With The Makers"

A departure from April March's previous solo albums, April March Sings Along With the Makers is much more along the lines of the shambolic punk rock of her records as lead singer of the Shitbirds. The album is a true collaboration with Spokane, WA's the Makers, who ignore the grunge explosion entirely, preferring to focus on the snotty garage rocking style of earlier Pacific Northwest heavies like the Kingsmen, the Wailers, and the Sonics. The songs are as stagey as March's previous explorations of French pop and Lesley Gore-style bubblegum, only this time the chameleonic March is affecting the persona of a black-eyeliner- and sunglasses-clad rocker chick, singing with her usual adorableness but with an extra hint of punky aggression. (Most songs include at least one ear-splitting yowl, but March even screams cutely.) The tunes are shamelessly derivative, but the Makers know this style so intimately that even the most obvious rip-offs somehow sound fresh and inventive. Above all, everyone concerned sounds like they're having a blast, which is all that matters in this style of music. Be warned if you're expecting more French pop, but this is a gem. - by Stewart Masontrax:

01 Dreams Don't Come True 02 I Just Might Crack 03 Try to Cry 04 Sometimes Sometimes 05 Sad Little Bug 06 Explosion 07 I'm Alone 08 Let Him Try 09 Bust Out

DOWNTOWN SOUL FROM THE NASHVILLE INDIES

According to the title, this is a collection of 20 downtown soul tracks released by various independent Nashville labels, and it is that, but it’s really more uptown soul, because there’s a lot of Nashville sweetening going on in these cuts, from strings to horns and choirs, and there’s some jazz and country DNA tossed in there, too. The end result is pretty smooth and it isn’t much like Memphis soul at all, and sounds more East Coast in temperament. Highlights include Rufus Hunter's elegant “Caught Up,” Roscoe Shelton's sincere “What Is It Baby,” and a cool instrumental version of Bobbie Gentry's “Ode to Billie Joe” that was arranged and recorded by Bob Holmes, one of Nashville’s greatest arrangers.(Allmusic)Ref-O-Ree Records was founded by legendary songwriter/record producer Ted Jarrett in 1968, and its Tee-Jay subsidiary was launched a few years later. Ted had begun his career as an A&R man at Tennessee and Republic Records in the early 1950s, producing gospel music and R&B. When that company folded in 1955, Ted went with Alan Bubis´ Champion/Calvert/Cherokee/Kit group of labels from 1956 to 1959. He produced nearly every record that the company released. By 1960 Ted was one of the best known songwriters in rhythm & blues, having penned million sellers like "It´s Love Baby-24 Hours A Day" (Louis Brooks and the Hi-Toppers 1955) and "You Can Make It If You Try" (Gene Allison 1958). When Alan Bubis founded the Spar label in 1961, he again enlisted the services of Ted Jarrett. Ted produced most of the R&B recordings for the company and the two Herbert Hunter tracks featured here are from the Spar catalog, whereas all of the others on this collection are from the Ref-O-Ree years. (Blues Unlimited)

trax:

1. Caught Up - Rufus Hunter 2. Girl Watching On Broadway - Little Rock Brotherhood 3. Do Love You - Rufus Hunter 4. Morning After - Little Rock Brotherhood 5. Wonderful World Of Love - The Precious Three 6. Monterey Goodbye - The Avalon Strings 7. What Is It Baby - Roscoe Shelton 8. Winter I Remember - The Avalon Strings 9. Reality - Freddie Waters 10. The People's Choice - Little Rock Brotherhood 11. The Funky Preacher (Alternate Unreleased Version) - Don Whitehead 12. Too Much For Words - Little Rock Brotherhood 13. Three For Sundown - Bob Holmes 14. Will You Be Staying After Sunday - Wendell Watts 15. Ode To Billie Joe - Bob Holmes 16. I'll Hold You In My Heart - Herbert Hunter 17. And I Love Her - Bob Holmes 18. Make Me Know - Herbert Hunter 19. Popa Nickel (Alternate Unreleased Version) - The Tempo Rhythms 20. Little Green Apples - Bob Holmes

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NASHVILLE ROCKABILLY 1957-1987

Very few of the sides on this 22-track collection are technically rockabilly, being instead a mixture of countrified R&B, horn-led jump bands, and other odds and ends that approximate rockabilly in tone and approach, which is fine, because it means this set list rocks right along from start to finish no matter what label one throws on it. Drawn from tracks recorded in Nashville between 1957 and 1987, this lively compilation shows there’s been more than just mainstream country going on in Nashville and that’s been true for a very long time. Highlights include Baker Knight's big-band and horn-driven “Bring My Cadillac Back,” a little bit of honky tonk Western swing from Whitey Pullen on “Broke Waitin’ for a Break,” a sleek rockabilly take on “Tear It Up” from Andy Arrow & the Twangtown Mavericks (complete with a guitar break that literally takes over the song midway through), and Jimmy Ellis & the Rockabilly All Stars' “Back on the Street,” among others. It might not add up to a rockabilly collection exactly, but it rocks along pretty well just the same. (Steve Leggett, Allmusic)trax:

1. Bring My Cadillac Back - Baker Knight 2. I Cried - Baker Knight 3. They Wanna Fight - Chuck Harrod & The Anteaters 4. Sandy - Chuck Harrod & The Anteaters 5. Crawdad Song - Chuck Harrod & The Anteaters 6. Broke Waitin' For A Break - Whitey Pullen 7. Jinglin' Janglin' Pockets - Tommy Jay 8. Sandy Jane - Tommy Jay 9. It'd Surprise You - Jan Smith 10. Then You'll Know - Big C & The Galaxies 11. Raid On Cedar Street - Big C & The Galaxies 12. Pipeliner Blues - Moon Mullican 13. That's All Right Mama - Jerry Foster 14. Johnny B. Goode - Nashville Country Jamboree 15. Old Pipeliner - Jimmy Ellis & The Rockabilly All Stars 16. Restless - Jimmy Ellis & The Rockabilly All Stars 17. Back On The Street - Jimmy Ellis & The Rockabilly All Stars 18. You're Never Too Old To Rock & Roll - Jimmy Ellis & The Rockabilly All Stars 19. Get Rhythm - Billy C. & The Sunshine 20. Dixie Fried - Billy C. & The Sunshine 21. Tear It Up - Andy Arrow & The Twangtown Mavericks 22. Big Black Cadillac - Freddie & The Screamers

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"VELVET TINMINE" 20 Junk Shop Glam Ravers

Subtitled - 20 Junk Shop Glam Ravers. Obscure yet high quality singles from the glam era - roughly 1973-75. This compilation really is a Glam Rock 'Nuggets'trax:

1. Rebels Rule - Iron Virgin 2. Another School Day - Hello 3. Let's Get The Party Going - Warwick 4. Morning Bird - The Damned 5. Kick Your Boots Off - Sisters 6. Big Wheel Turning - Flame 7. Toughen Up - Arrows 8. Let's Do It Again - Crunch 9. Rock Star - Bearded Lady 10. (Baby) I Gotta Go - Simon Turner 11. VaVaVa Voom - Brett Smiley 12. Love Machine - Shakane 13. The Comets Are Coming - Washington Flyers 14. Slippery Rock '70s - Stavely Makepeace 15. Neo City - The Plod 16. I Wanna Go To A Disco - Ricky Wilde 17. Bay City Rollers We Love You - Tartan Horde 18. Shake A Tail - Big Wheel 19. Wild Thing - Fancy 20. Kick Out The Jams - Tubthumper

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