Author Archive: dereksmusicblog
LAU-THE BELL THAT NEVER RANG.
LAU-THE BELL THAT NEVER RANG. Ever since the release of their 2007 debut album. Lightweights and Gentlemen, Lau have been variously described as “adventurous,” and “modern folk’s most innovative band.” That’s no exaggeration. Lau are, without doubt, one of the most exciting and ambitious folk bands of their generation. That’s why Kris Drever, Martin Green …
DON’T BE BAD! 60S PUNK RECORDED IN TEXAS.
DON’T BE BAD! 60S PUNK RECORDED IN TEXAS. Not everyone can spot a hit record. Especially over a variety of musical genres. That takes a very special person. It also takes “good ears.” Not many people are blessed with good ears. However, Huey Purvis Meaux was. Good ears are what Huey credits his success to. …
WOW, WOW, BABY! VOLUME 3-1950S R&B, BLUES AND GOSPEL FROM DOLPHIN’S OF HOLLYWOOD.
WOW, WOW, BABY! VOLUME 3-1950S R&B, BLUES AND GOSPEL FROM DOLPHIN’S OF HOLLYWOOD. By 1958, Fred Grayton Dolphin was living the American dream. The Toast of The Coast was a successful businessman, who owned a record shop and independent record label. Fred was also a record producer and political activist. He was well respected within …
ERRORS-LEASE OF LIFE.
ERRORS-LEASE OF LIFE. After weeks of speculation, the long-list for the Scottish Album Of The Year Award 2015 was recently announced. Most of the albums that made the final twenty got there on merit. Belle and Sebastian, Mogwai, Phantom Band, Withered Hand, King Creosote,Twihlight Sad and Kathryn Joseph all deserve their place on the long-list. …
PSYCHEMAGIK PRESENTS MAGIK SUNSET-PART ONE.
PSYCHEMAGIK PRESENTS MAGIK SUNSET-PART ONE. Most people have no idea the time and effort it takes to compile a compilation. Done properly, it can be a frustrating and time consuming. The Psychemagik team realised that last year, when they started to compile Psychemagik Presents Magik Sunset-Part One, which was released on Leng Records on 27th …
LABFIELD-BUCKET OF SONGS.
LABFIELD-BUCKET OF SONGS. Five years after the release of their sophomore album Collab, LabField, one of the leading lights of the European improv scene make a welcome return. Their genre-melting third album Bucket of Songs, was recently released on Hubro Music. Bucket Of Songs marks the start of a new era for LabField. Not only …
TOUCHING THE VOID-LOVE, LONGING AND LOSS.
TOUCHING THE VOID-LOVE, LONGING AND LOSS. Andy Oppenheimer and Mark Warner formed Touching The Void back in 2010. Two years later, Touching The Void released their debut single Parallel Lives, in 2012. It was well received by critics. Great things were forecast for Touching The Void. So, a year later, in 2013, Touching The Void …
HUNTSVILLE-POND.
HUNTSVILLE-POND. Ever since 2006, Huntsville have established a reputation as one of the most innovative, inventive and imaginative bands in Europe. For the past nine years, Huntsville have been seamlessly been combining musical genres and influences. In doing so, musical boundaries are pushed to their limits, and sometimes, way beyond. Never do Huntsville play things …
JOHNNY AND THE HURRICANES-HURRICANE FORCE-RARE AND UNISSUED.
JOHNNY AND THE HURRICANES-HURRICANE FORCE-RARE AND UNISSUED. There aren’t many bands that have featured three hundred musicians. That was the case with Johnny and The Hurricanes. They were formed by Johnny Paris in 1958, and were together forty-eight years. It was only after Johnny Paris’ death on 1st May 2006 that the Johnny and The Hurricanes’ …
GILLAN-THE ALBUM COLLECTION.
GILLAN-THE ALBUM COLLECTION. From the late sixties, right through to the seventies, fusion was one of the most popular musical genres. Fusion was popular on both sides of the Atlantic. However, by the late seventies were tiring of the fusion of jazz and rock. This included former Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan. In July 1978, …
EMERSON. LAKE AND PALMER-TRILOGY (DELUXE EDITION).
EMERSON. LAKE AND PALMER-TRILOGY (DELUXE EDITION). By the time Emerson, Lake and Palmer set about recording their third studio album Trilogy, it seemed everything they touched turned gold. Their first two studio albums had been certified gold in America. So had their live albums Pictures At An Exhibition and Welcome Back My Friends to the …
JOHN WETTON-ANTHOLOGY-THE STUDIO RECORDINGS VOLUME 1.
JOHN WETTON-ANTHOLOGY-THE STUDIO RECORDINGS VOLUME 1. Most musicians are lucky to be in one successful band. A few become members of two successful bands. John Wetton has been a member of numerous successful bands. His career started with Mogul Thrash, before moving onto Family, King Crimson and Uriah Heep. He then joined prog rock supergroup UK, …
JACKIE WILSON-NYC 1961-1966.
JACKIE WILSON-NYC 1961-1966. 1957 was a landmark year in Jackie Wilson’s career. That’s when Jackie Wilson left Billy Ward and His Dominoes, to embark upon a solo career. Previously, Jackie Wilson had spent four years with Billy Ward and His Dominoes. He was only nineteen when he joined Billy Ward and His Dominoes in 1953. Already Jackie …
BAD COMPANY-STRAIGHT SHOOTER (DELUXE EDITION).
BAD COMPANY-STRAIGHT SHOOTER (DELUXE EDITION). Just a year after supergroup, Bad Company were formed, they were one of the biggest bands in Britain. Their eponymous debut album, Bad Company was well on its way to selling five million copies in America alone. Bad Company reached number one in the US Billboard 200, and was certified …
BELLE AND SEBASTIAN-GIRLS IN PEACETIME WANT TO DANCE.
BELLE AND SEBASTIAN-GIRLS IN PEACETIME WANT TO DANCE. Over four years have passed since Belle and Sebastian released their eighth studio album, Belle and Sebastian Write About Love. Since then, Belle and Sebastian’s only release was The Third Eye Centre, a nineteen track retrospective released in August 2013. It featured rarities, remixes, B-Sides, non-album tracks …
VASHTI BUNYAN-HEARTLEAP.
VASHTI BUNYAN-HEARTLEAP. It was fifty years ago, in 1965, that Vashti Bunyan’s musical career began. She looked destined for great things. Sadly, that proved not to be the case. Five years after her career began, Vashti Bunyan released her debut album Just Another Day in 1970. It failed to chart. This lead to Vashti Bunyan retiring from music. Nothing was heard …
THE PHANTOM BAND-STRANGE FRIEND.
THE PHANTOM BAND-STRANGE FRIEND. Over the last year, The Phantom Band have been one of the hardest working bands in Scottish music. They’ve released two albums, Strange Friend and Fears Trending. Strange Friend was released in June 2014, and Fears Trending in January 2015. Both albums were released to widespread critical acclaim, and are among the …
dereksmusicblog
dereksmusicblog 