Author Archive: dereksmusicblog
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 …
KING CREOSOTE-FROM SCOTLAND FROM LOVE.
KING CREOSOTE-FROM SCOTLAND FROM LOVE. At this time of the year, Scottish artists start to think of the Scottish Album Of The Year Award. It’s the most prestigious Scottish musical award. So the great and good of Scottish music wait with baited breath the announcement of the long-list of twenty. It’s then narrowed down to just ten albums. …
SOUL EMISSARIES-SUPERFUNK.
SOUL EMISSARIES-SUPERFUNK. Over the last ten years, I’ve watched as many record companies, especially small, independent labels, release a compilation that catches the record buying public’s imagination. For these record companies, they’ve hit the jackpot. Sometimes, they even hit the jackpot twice, when another compilation series proves popular. So, every year, as they’re working out …
DANIELE CIULINI-DOMESTIC EXILE (COLLECTED WORKS 82-86).
DANIELE CIULINI-DOMESTIC EXILE (COLLECTED WORKS 82-86). Nowadays, the word innovator is used far too often. However, in Daniele Ciullini’s case, it’s a fitting description of a groundbreaking musician. The music on his forthcoming compilation, Domestic Exile is proof of that. Domestic Exile is the first reissue to be released on the Ecstatic label on sixth …
THE ELECTRIC PEANUT BUTTER CO.-TRANS-ATLANTIC PSYCH CLASSICS VOLUME 1.
THE ELECTRIC PEANUT BUTTER CO.-TRANS-ATLANTIC PSYCH CLASSICS VOLUME 1. From the mid sixties, right through the early seventies was the golden age of psychedelic music. During that period, psychedelic music was King. Originally, folk rock and blues rock bands were influenced by psychedelia. Soon, psychedelia’s influence could be heard throughout music. Everything from folk, funk, …
FAIRPORT CONVENTION-MYTHS AND HEROES.
FAIRPORT CONVENTION-MYTHS AND HEROES. There aren’t many groups that enjoy the longevity that Fairport Convention have. They were formed in 1967, and are widely recognised as the founding fathers of English folk rock. Since then, Fairport Convention have influenced several generations of folk musicians. However, it’s not all been smooth sailing for Fairport Convention. The …
HENRY AND FLEETWOOD-ON THE FOREST FLOOR E.P.
HENRY AND FLEETWOOD-ON THE FOREST FLOOR E.P. Recently, I’ve noticed that there’s been a shortage of quality new music. At one point, it looked like the well had almost run dry. While the first couple of months of the year are always quiet, this year was worst than most. That’s apart from a few European …
dereksmusicblog
dereksmusicblog 