Author Archive: dereksmusicblog
CULT CLASSIC: TIM MAIA 1970.
Cult Classic: Tim Maia 1970. For many musicians, choosing the title for an album can prove problematic. Especially, for a debut album. As a result, many of new artists and bands have released eponymous albums.This includes everyone from Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and The Allman Brothers Band to Art In America and Ash Ra Tempel. Then there’s Cluster, Dire …
CULT CLASSIC: ALICE CLARK-ALICE CLARK.
Alice Clark-Alice Clark. Sadly, all too often, hype and image has triumphed over talent, while commercial success and critical acclaim eludes truly talented artists. Chastened by the experience, many of these artists turn their back on the music industry. They’re content to return to civvy street, free from a world populated by A&R executives, PR …
CULT CLASSIC: ZACH AND GEEBAH-FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY.
Cult Classic: Zack and Geebah– For The Love Of Money. Tabansi Records was founded in Nigeria in 1950, and filled a void when major labels like Decca and then Philips closed the doors on their Nigerian operations. Chief (Dr) G.A.D. Tabansi who lent his name to what would become Nigeria’s most important label, recorded artists …
TERJE RYPDAL-CONSPIRACY.
Terje Rypdal-Conspiracy. Label: ECM. Format: CD. Norwegian guitarist Terje Rypdal was twenty-one when he released his debut album Bleak House on Polydor in 1968. This was the start of a recording career that has spanned six decades and saw the him become one of Norway’s most successful musical exports. Three years later, in 1971, Terje …
ODED TZUR-HERE BE DRAGONS.
Oded Tzur-Here Be Dragons. Label: ECM. Format: CD. In 2015, thirty-one year old Israeli tenor saxophonist Oded Tzur released his much-anticipated debut solo album Like A Great River on Enja Records. It was released to plaudits and praise with critics heaping praise on a pioneering musician who had developed his own saxophone technique which he …
ART BLAKEY AND THE JAZZ MESSENGERS-ROOTS AND HERBS.
Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers-Roots and Herbs. Label: Blue Note Records (Tone Poet Series). Format: LP. Nowadays, many music historians believe that The Jazz Messengers made their live debut in 1954 and a year later recorded At the Cafe Bohemia, Volumes 1 and 2 on November the ‘23rd’ 1955. It featured the original lineup …
OCEAN MOON-CRYSTAL HARMONICS.
Ocean Moon-Crystal Harmonics. Label: Be With. Format: LP. 2020 has been a busy year for Jon Tye of Seahawks. Earlier this year, Seahawks released a new album Island Visions, which featured a collection of library music they had recorded for KPM. The music on the album focused on the deeper, more spatial side of music. …
NEIL YOUNG AFTER THE GOLD RUSH (50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION).
Neil Young-After The Gold Rush (50th Anniversary Edition). Label: Warner. Format: CD. During the winter of 1970, Neil Young and his backing band Crazy Horse embarked upon a short winter tour that included a concert at Filmore East, New York, where the twenty-four year old Canadian folk rocker shared a bill with Steve Miller and …
THE BRIEF RECORDING CAREER OF AMARA TOURE: 1973-1980.
The Brief Recording Career Of Amara Touré: 1973-1980. Amara Touré’s recording career spanned just seven years and saw him record just ten tracks. His recording career began in 1973 and was over by 1980. By then, he had recorded three singles and the four tracks that featured his 1980 album Accompagné Par L’Orchestre Massako. These ten tracks comprise Amara Touré’s discography. …
THE KINKS-LOLA VERSUS POWERMAN AND THE MONEYGOROUND AND PERCY (50th ABBIVERSARY EDITION).
The Kinks-Lola Versus The Powerman and The Moneygoround (50th Anniversary Edition). Label: Sanctuary. Format: CD. By 1970, The Kinks had been through the ringer and everything that could’ve gone wrong had gone wrong. They had lost of bassist Pete Quaife in 1969 after they released their sixth album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation …
AL STEWART-24 CARROTS (40TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION).
Al Stewart-24 Carrots (40th Anniversary Edition). Label: Esoteric Recordings. Format: 3 CD Box Set. In May 1980, thirty-four year old Glasgow-born folk rocker Al Stewart entered Davlen Studios in Los Angeles to begin work on his ninth album 24 Carrots. It was the first album to feature his new band Shot In The Dark. They …
HUNTSVILLE AND YUKA HONDA, NELS CLINE, DARIN GRAY, GLENN KOTCHE-BOW SHOULDER.
Huntsville and Yuka Honda, Nels Cline, Darin Gray, Glenn Kotche-Bow Shoulder. Label: Hubro Music. Format: CD. In the spring of 2006, Chicago alternative rock band Wilco and Huntsville were booked to play at the Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville in Quebec, Canada. Wilco played first and their guitarist Nels Cline decided to watch …
FORTY YEARS AGO JOHN MARTYN RELEASED GRACE AND DANGER.
Forty Years Ago John Martyn Released Grace and Danger. In November 1977, John Martyn released what’s was undoubtably one the finest albums of his career, One World. It was an atmospheric, experimental and genre-defying album where everything from folk, jazz, reggae and rock melted together during eight tracks. When it was released, it was to overwhelming critical acclaim, …
THE BETA BAND: A CASE OF WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN?
The Beta Band: A Case Of What Might Have Been? The Beta Band was formed in Edinburgh in 1996, and a year later, in July 1997 released their Champion Versions EP, which was the first of a trio of innovative EP’s the folktronica pioneers released. In March 1998 The Beta Band released their sophomore EP The Patty Patty …
CULT CLASSIC: MICHAEL NAURA QUARTETT-CALL.
Cult Classic: Michael Naura Quartett-Call. Michael Naura was just six years old when he first travelled to Berlin with his mother, and began a new life in the city that became his home. It was where he studied journalism, philosophy and sociology. and played piano in a number of swing bands. However, by 1953 the …
CULT CLASSIC: SVEN GRUNBERG-HINGUS.
Cult Classic: Sven Grunberg-Hingus. From the sixties, right through until the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, Eastern Europe was a musical hotbed. The problem was very few record buyers in the West heard that music that was being released during this period. Sadly, that to some extent, is still the case today. Most music lovers have yet …
SUN RA ARKESTRA-SWIRLING.
Sun Ra Arkestra-Swirling. Label: Strut. Format: CD. On May the ’30th’ 1993, Sun Ra passed away aged seventy-nine and that day, music was in mourning at the loss a musical pioneer who had played his part in rewriting the history of jazz. From the late-fifties, Sun Ra was one of the pioneers of free jazz …
THE AWAKENING-HEAR, SENSE AND FEEL.
The Awakening-Hear, Sense and Feel. Label: Real Gone Music. Format: CD. Of the twenty albums that Black Jazz Records released between 1971 and 1975, The Awakening’s Hear, Sense and Feel is a much prized rarity amongst collectors. Copies of the album change hands for hundreds of dollars. That is no surprise given the quality of …
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