Author Archive: dereksmusicblog
SYL JOHNSON-BACK FOR A TASTE OF YOUR LOVE.
SYL JOHNSON-BACK FOR A TASTE OF YOUR LOVE. During the early to mid-seventies, Hi Records were producing some of the best Southern Soul of that time. With Willie Mitchell producing, The Memphis Rhythm Section, Memphis Horns and legendary backing vocalists Rhodes, Chalmers and Rhodes, one great record after another was recorded at the famous Royal …
ANN PEEBLES-I CAN’T STAND THE RAIN.
ANN PEEBLES-I CAN’T STAND THE RAIN. During the first half of the seventies, Al Green enjoyed unmatched critical acclaim and commercial success. There’s no doubt about it, Al was the King of Hi Records. While Al was King, Ann Peebles was Queen of Hi Records. Ann Peebles released seven albums on Hi Records and nearly twenty singles. She …
PUNK 45-KILL THE HIPPIES! KILL YOURSELF! THE AMERICAN NATION DESTROYS ITS YOUTH-UNDERGROUND PUNK 1973-1980 VOLUME 1.
PUNK 45-KILL THE HIPPIES! KILL YOURSELF! THE AMERICAN NATION DESTROYS ITS YOUTH-UNDERGROUND PUNK 1973-1980 VOLUME 1. Some musical historians regard 1976 as ground zero. That was the year punk exploded. A supposed game changer, it divided, and continues to, divide opinion. Depending upon who you ask, punk was either a musical revolution or a musical …
HARTLEY AND WOLFE-BESPOKE FUTURE.
HARTLEY AND WOLFE-BESPOKE FUTURE. Last year, DJ Vadim released his tenth solo album, the critically acclaimed Don’t Be Scared. One of the singles from Don’t Be Scared was I’m Feelin’ U, which featured Essex’s finest purveyor of all things soulful, Greg Blackman. Now a year later, DJ Vadim and Greg Blackman are about to release …
BRENDA HOLLOWAY-THE ARTISTRY OF BRENDA HOLLOWAY.
BRENDA HOLLOWAY-THE ARTISTRY OF BRENDA HOLLOWAY. It was in 1962 that Brenda Holloway released her debut single, Hey Fool on the Donna record label. She was just sixteen years old. Later that year, Brenda first released a cover of Ed Cobb’s Every Little Bit Hurts for Del-Fi Records, a subsidiary of Donna Records. Two years …
CLARENCE CARTER-THE FAME SINGLES VOLUME 2 1970-73.
CLARENCE CARTER-THE FAME SINGLES VOLUME 2 1970-73. It was in 1966, that Clarence Carter released his first single for Rick Hall’s Fame Records, Tell Daddy. Clarence was already thirty when he released Tell Daddy, his debut solo single. His life had taken a few twists and turns before that. Born in January 1936, when Clarence …
BOPPIN’ BY THE BAYOU-MORE DYNAMITE.
BOPPIN’ BY THE BAYOU-MORE DYNAMITE. Back in May 2013, Ace Records released Bluesin’ By The Bayou, a compilation of “low down, dirty and greasy blues from Louisiana.” With some zydeco thrown in for good measure by compiler Ian Saddler, Bluesin’ By The Bayou was a potent musical cocktail. The music on Bluesin’ By The Bayou …
AMERICANA 2.
AMERICANA 2. Two years after the release of their first compilation of blue-eyed soul, Americana, Zaf Chowdry and Mark Taylor return with the followup, Americana 2. It will be released by BBE Music on 11th November 2013. Americana 2, which features sixteen tracks from the seventies and eighties, is described on the album cover as …
ERA RECORDS NORTHERN SOUL.
ERA RECORDS NORTHERN SOUL. Back in 1955, two cousins decided to decided to form a record label in their hometown, Los Angeles. They called this new label Era Records. The two cousins were Lew Bedell and Herb Newman. Lew Bedell was a comedian, whose career seemed to have come to a halt. So he was …
LONG-LOST HONKERS AND TWANGERS.
LONG-LOST HONKERS AND TWANGERS. For their latest compilation, Long-Lost Honkers and Twangers, Ace Records return to the golden age of the instrumental. Featuring twenty-six tracks, Long-Lost Honkers and Twangers is a return to an era when instrumentals were King. This “golden age” began around 1956 and exploded when Duane Eddy released his debut single Movin’ …
THE SPINNERS-COULD IT BE I’M FALLING IN LOVE.
THE SPINNERS-COULD IT BE I’M FALLING IN LOVE. Forty years ago, on the 9th November 1973, Could It Be I’m Falling In Love, the third single from The Spinners’ third album Spinners, reached number one in the US R&B Charts and number four in the US Billboard 200. It sold over one million copies and …
NEW YORK DOLLS-NEW YORK DOLLS.
NEW YORK DOLLS-NEW YORK DOLLS. No other group epitomises the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle like the New York Dolls. Drink, drugs and death touched the New York Dolls. Despite this, the Dolls continued to court controversy, with a disaster always just a heartbeat away. Just like a game of daring do, the egged each other to …
ASTRO SONIC-COME CLOSER AND I’LL TELL YOU.
ASTRO SONIC-COME CLOSER AND I’LL TELL YOU. The sonic landscape that is Astro Sonic’s debut album Come Closer and I’ll Tell You, isn’t like most other albums. Far from it. Recorded during these three days at the Svenska Grammofon Studios in Gothenburg, Sweden, Astro Sonic use their musical palette to push musical boundaries. Seamlessly, musical …
COUNTRY JOE AND THE FISH-ELECTRIC MUSIC FOR THE MIND AND BODY.
COUNTRY JOE AND THE FISH-ELECTRIC MUSIC FOR THE MIND AND BODY. Classic is one of the most overused words in the English language. However, classic is the perfect way to describe Country Joe and The Fish’s 1967 debut album, Electric Music For The Mind and Body. Quite simply, Electric Music For The Mind and Body …
CHVRCHES-LIES.
CHVRCHES-LIES. One of the biggest success stories in Scottish music during 2013, is Chvrches, who will soon release their fifth single Lies, on Virgin Records. This sees Chvrches go full circle to where their career started. After all, Lies was their debut single. It was released in an unusual way, through the blog of the Neon Gold label. …
MIKE OLDFIELD-CRISES.
MIKE OLDFIELD-CRISES. Nine years after releasing his debut album, Mike Oldfield decided his music had to change. His albums were no longer selling as many copies. Success in America seemed to elude Mike. If it hadn’t been for excerpts from Tubular Bells being played in The Shining, his debut album might never have reached the …
BRAZILIAN BEATS 7.
BRAZILIAN BEATS 7. For lovers of Latin music, one of the most eagerly awaited compilation series is Mr. Bongo Records’ Brazilian Beats. The first installment of this critically acclaimed compilation series was released thirteen years ago, back in 2000, just as the new millennia dawned. Little did Mr. Bongo Records realize that they’d launched one of …
CALL TO MIND-A FAMILY SKETCH.
CALL TO MIND-A FAMILY SKETCH. Glasgow’s Olive Grove Records look like they’ve hit the jackpot with their latest signing Call To Mind. Why? Well, this is a band with a big future. One listen to their latest single A Family Sketch, which was released on Olive Grove Records on 28th October 2013, and you’ll realize …
dereksmusicblog
dereksmusicblog 