Author Archive: dereksmusicblog
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 …
VAN HALEN-DELUXE.
VAN HALEN-DELUXE. Not many bands enjoyed the longevity that Van Halen enjoy. They were released their debut album Van Halen in 1978. It was hailed as one of the greatest debut albums in musical history. Soon, Van Halen was climbing the charts, reaching number nineteen. As Van Halen’s popularity grew, sales of their debut album …
STORNOWAY-BONXIE.
STORNOWAY-BONXIE. It was nine years ago that Brian Briggs first met Jon Quin, at a Freshers Week at Oxford University. Brian’s first words to Jon were that he looked like a member of Scottish indie rock band Teenage Fanclub. That broke the ice. Brian and Jon realised they both shared a love of music. So, …
EDDIE BO-BABY I’M WISE THE COMPLETE RIC SINGLES 1959-1962.
EDDIE BO-BABY I’M WISE THE COMPLETE RIC SINGLES 1959-1962. New Orleans is one of America’s great musical cities. It always has been. That’s been the case for the last hundred years. Back since the delta blues, and later Dixieland provided the soundtrack to New Orleans at play, the city has given the world some of …
GARNET MIMMS-LOOKING FOR YOU-THE COMPLETE UNITED ARTISTS AND VEEP SINGLES.
GARNET MIMMS-LOOKING FOR YOU-THE COMPLETE UNITED ARTISTS AND VEEP SINGLES. The Garnet Mimms story began in November 1933, in Ashton, West Virginia. That’s where he was born and spent his early years. It’s also where his love of music began. From an early age, Garnett’s mother took him to church. Like many future soul singers, …
DION RECORDED LIVE AT THE BITTER END AUGUST 1971.
DION RECORDED LIVE AT THE BITTER END AUGUST 1971. After being one of the biggest selling artists of the late fifties and early sixties, the hits started to dry up for Dion. He had been one of the most successful artists of the rock ’n’ roll era. For the last six years, it seemed Dion …
WITHERED HAND-NEW GODS.
WITHERED HAND-NEW GODS. It’s at this time of year, everyone within the Scottish music industry starts thinking of the Scottish Album Of The Year Award. It’s without doubt, the most prestigious award in Scottish music. There’s a lot of kudos attached to the Award. Then there’s the £20,ooo cheque the winner is handed. For many …
BAD COMPANY-BAD COMPANY (DELUXE EDITION).
BAD COMPANY-BAD COMPANY (DELUXE EDITION). When Free split-up in for the second and final time in 1973, vocalist Paul Rodger and drummer Simon Kirke joined the latest rock supergroup Bad Company. Completing Bad Company’s lineup, were Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs and bassist Boz Burrell. They would become part of the most successful supergroup …
GRITS AND GRAVY-THE BEST OF THE FAME GANG.
GRITS AND GRAVY-THE BEST OF THE FAME GANG. Back in the sixties, many soul and R&B labels had their own house band. One of the earliest examples in the sixties, were the Funk Brothers, Motown’s house band. They provided Motown’s trademark sound. Motown however, weren’t alone. As the seventies dawned, HI Records was about to …
JOHN MARTYN-LIVE AT LEEDS (DELUXE EDITION).
JOHN MARTYN-LIVE AT LEEDS (DELUXE EDITION). In January 1975, John Martyn released his eighth studio album, Sunday’s Child. John had been away from the studio for fifteen months. His previous album, Inside Out, was released in October 1973. Since then, John had been concentrating on touring. However, in August 1974, John headed to Island Studios, …
GUITAR SLIM GREEN’S “STONE DOWN BLUES” WITH JOHNNY AND SHUGGIE OTIS.
GUITAR SLIM GREEN’S “STONE DOWN BLUES” WITH JOHNNY AND SHUGGIE OTIS. Guitar Slim Green was never the most prolific of musicians. That’s despite his career lasting four decades. However, during that period, Guitar Slim Green only released a handful of recordings. This included his one and only album, Stone Down Blues, which features Johnny and …
GORAN KAJFES SUBTROPIC ARKESTRA-THE REASON WHY VOLUME 2.
GORAN KAJFES SUBTROPIC ARKESTRA-THE REASON WHY VOLUME 2. For the last three decades, Goran Kajfeš has been a key figure in the Swedish music scene. There’s a reason for this. Goran Kajfeš has constantly been releasing groundbreaking, genre-melting music. To do this, Goran has pushed musical boundaries to their limits, and sometimes, way beyond. That’s been …
NORTHERN SOUL’S CLASSIEST RARITIES VOLUME 5.
NORTHERN SOUL’S CLASSIEST RARITIES VOLUME 5. Let’s make no bones about it, nowadays, Northern Soul compilations are two a penny. Hardly a week goes by and yet another Northern Soul compilation is released. That’s been the case for the last few years. Nothing has changed in the first few months of 2015. Most of the …
dereksmusicblog
dereksmusicblog 