Author Archive: dereksmusicblog
GINA CAREY-LOVE LETTERS TWO.
GINA CAREY-LOVE LETTERS TWO. Just three months after releasing her sixth solo album Love Letters, Gina Carey returns with another album Love Letters Two. This is a combination of old and new songs. There are four songs apiece from Gina’s two previous albums, 2011s Melodic and 2012s Love Letters. The three new songs, You, Being …
THE DUALERS-PRINCE BUSTER SHAKEDOWN.
THE DUALERS-PRINCE BUSTER SHAKEDOWN. One of the things I love about music, is it’s ability to transport you back in time, a bit like Dr. Who’s Tardis. This is what happened when I first played The Dualers third album Prince Buster Shakedown. Suddenly, I was transported back over thirty years to the late seventies, and …
DEE DEE WARWICK-FOOLISH FOOL.
DEE DEE WARWICK-FOOLISH FOOL. Although Dee Dee Warwick’s career started in 1963 when she recorded You’re No Good for Jubilee Records, produced by Leiber and Stoller, it wasn’t until she signed for Mercury Records and began working with producer Ed Townsend that her career took-off. Before that, Dee Dee had recorded for a variety of …
THE DYNAMIC SUPERIORS-YOU NAME IT.
THE DYNAMIC SUPERIORS-YOU NAME IT. Although The Dynamic Superiors were formed in 1963, it wasn’t until 1975 that they signed to Motown Records. It was for Motown, that The Dynamic Superiors released four of their five albums. For their first two 1975 albums The Dynamic Superiors and Rare Pleasure, Ashford and Simpson produced these albums. …
ODYSSEY-HANG TOGETHER.
ODYSSEY-HANG TOGETHER. Not only was Odyssey’s 1977 eponymous debut album Odyssey, the group’s most successful album, it featured their biggest hit single, Native New Yorker. This was a song that would forever become synonymous with Odyssey, reaching number twelve in the US Billboard 100 and number six in the US R&B Charts. Spurred on by …
CISSY HOUSTON-PRESENTING CISSY HOUSTON.
CISSY HOUSTON-PRESENTING CISSY HOUSTON. During Cissy Houston’s long musical career, she’s worked with some of the biggest artists in music, singing backing vocals on some of the biggest most successful albums. This includes Aretha Franklin’s Lady Soul, Van Morrison’s Moondance, Donny Hathaway’s Donny Hathaway and David Bowie’s Young Americans. That’s not forgetting albums by Roberta …
ENCHANTMENT-ENCHANTMENT.
ENCHANTMENT-ENCHANTMENT. After being formed in 1966 at Detroit’s Pershing High School, Enchantment signed their recording contract in 1969. This came about when the group won a local talent contest sponsored by the local Detroit radio station WCHB. However, it would be another eight years before the group would release their debut album Enchantment, which will …
BILLY PAUL-GOING EAST.
BILLY PAUL-GOING EAST. After releasing Feelin’ Good At the Cadillac Club on Gamble Records in 1968 and Ebony Woman on Neptune in 1970, Billy Paul signed to a newly formed label in Philadelphia, founded by two songwriters, musicians and producers. The label was Philadelphia International Records and the two founders were Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff. …
AUNTIE AUBREY’S EXCURSIONS BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY PART 2-THE ORB REMIX PROJECT.
AUNTIE AUBREY’S EXCURSIONS BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY PART 2-THE ORB REMIX PROJECT. Sometimes, unless you dig deep, trawling the internet to discover what albums are about to be released, albums can pass you by. The reason for this is quite simple, purely because they’re released without fanfare, or much in the way of promotion. …
LEROY BURGESS-ANTHOLOGY VOLUME 1: THE VOICE.
LEROY BURGESS-ANTHOLOGY VOLUME 1: THE VOICE. Starting as the lead vocalist in Black Ivory during the early seventies, Leroy Burgess would go on to become one of the most successful men in music. Leroy wasn’t just a singer, he was a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, arranger and producer. His career started as lead vocalist of Black Ivory, …
LEROY BURGESS-ANTHOLOGY VOLUME 2: THE PRODUCER.
LEROY BURGESS-ANTHOLOGY VOLUME 2: THE PRODUCER. Having reviewed Leroy Burgess-Anthology Volume 1: The Voice, I decided that I’d review the follow-up or companion compilation Leroy Burgess-Anthology Volume 2: The Producer. Given the title, you’d expect this compilation to feature some of the many artists who’ve benefited from Leroy Burgess’ production skills. Not quite. Instead, the compilation …
THE MANHATTANS-THE MANHATTANS.
THE MANHATTANS-THE MANHATTANS. By the time The Manhattans were about to release their seventh album The Manhattans, success had eluded the group. The most successful of their six previous albums had been their previous album 1974s There’s No Me Without You, which reached number 150 in the US Billboard 200 and number nineteen in the …
BILL WITHERS-JUST AS I AM.
BILL WITHERS-JUST AS I AM. How Bill Withers came to become one of the biggest artists of the seventies and eighties, is a fascinating story. Born in 1938, in Slab Fork, West Virginia, Bill’s father died when he was twelve years old. Aged eighteen, Bill joined the US Navy, where he spent nine years. It …
CEU-CARAVANA SEREIA BLOOM.
CEU-CARAVANA SEREIA BLOOM. Back in 2005, when Céu released her eponymous titled debut album Céu on Opius Music I’ve been following her career with interest. Since then, she’s released two further albums, 2009s Vagarosa and 2012s Caravana Sereia Bloom. Given just how talented a singer, songwriter and musician Céu is, I’ve always felt that she …
DISCO DISCHARGE-EUROPA.
DISCO DISCHARGE-EUROPA. Disco Discharge-Europa released on 23rd April 2012, sees Harmless Records’ Disco Discharge compilation series celebrate its fifteenth birthday. This is the fifteenth Disco Discharge compilation since the series started in 2009, and following in the footsteps of Disco Discharge-American Hot and Disco Discharge-Disco Exotica, is the third compilation of 2012. It’s also the …
TOM BROWNE-MAGIC.
TOM BROWNE-MAGIC. The story of jazz trumpeter Tom Browne’s career is a quite remarkable one. Born in Queens, New York in 1954, Tom’s first choice of instrument wasn’t the trumpet. Aged eleven he’d originally started learning the piano, before being inspired to switch to the trumpet by his collection of jazz albums. By 1975, Tom …
PATRICE RUSHEN-PATRICE.
PATRICE RUSHEN-PATRICE. By the time Patrice Rushen signed to Elektra Records after releasing three jazz albums for Prestige she decided to change her style and sound. Previously, the three albums she’d recorded for Prestige, 1974s Prelusion, 1975s Before the Dawn and 1976s Shout It Out had been traditional jazz albums. Now signed to Elektra, Patrice …
THE POINTER SISTERS-SERIOUS SLAMMIN.’
THE POINTER SISTERS-SERIOUS SLAMMIN.’ When The Pointer Sisters released their fourteenth album Serious Slammin,’ it was their ninth and final album to be produced by Richard Perry and their final album for RCA. Serious Slammin’ marked a change in their sound, with Richard Perry giving The Pointer Sisters a harder electronic, funky sound. This meant …
dereksmusicblog
dereksmusicblog 