Author Archive: dereksmusicblog
CULT CLASSIC: STYX-CAUGHT IN THE ACT LIVE.
Cult Classic: Styx-Caught In The Act Live. By April 1984, the members of Styx should’ve been preparing for the release of the twelfth album of the band’s career Caught In The Act Live. Sadly, Styx had split-up citing musical differences which had divided the band over the last couple of years. It was the end of an era for a …
CULT CLASSIC: THE LIGHTMEN-FREE AS YOU WANNA BE.
Cult Classic: The Lightmen-Free As You Wanna Be. Before founding The Lightmen, drummer, bandleader and political activist Bubbha Thomas had toured the length and breadth of America playing in R&B revues. The rest of his career had been spent working alongside the legends of jazz and playing on sessions for Peacock and Back Beat Records. However, …
TIM MAIA-RACIONAL VOLUME 2.
Tim Maia-Racional Volume 2. Label: Seroma. Format: LP. By 1975, Tim Maia was a changed man and had turned his back on the rock ’n’ roll lifestyle that he had embraced and enjoyed since releasing his eponymous debut album in 1970. Back then, the charismatic Brazilian singer realised that he was only here for a visit and decided to live life to the fullest. He …
LOLEATTA HOLLOWAY-CRY TO ME.
Loleatta Holloway-Cry To Me. Label: Tidal Waves Music. Format: LP. Before being transformed into a disco diva by arranger, guitarist and producer Norman Harris at Salsoul imprint Gold Mind Records, Loleatta Holloway released two albums of Southern Soul for Michael Thevis’ Aware Records. This includes her sophomore album Cry To Me, which was released in …
CULT CLASSIC: CAN-SOON OVER BABALUMA.
Cult Classic: Can-Soon Over Babaluma. When Can released their fifth studio album Soon Over Babaluma in In November 1974, it was another ambitious album of innovative music that saw the Cologne-based band continue to push musical boundaries to their limits. This is what they had been doing since they Can was founded in 1968. Although they would release six more albums, what …
CULT CLASSIC: SHINA WILLIAMS AND HIS AFRICAN PERCUSSIONISTS-AFRICAN DANCES.
Cult Classic: Shina Willians and His African Percussionists-African Dances. By 1979, Afrobeat had grown in popularity in Nigeria, and was influencing and inspiring a number of Western musicians including the legendary vibes player Roy Ayers. He was just one of many musicians who had started to incorporate elements of Afrobeat into his unique and inimitable …
CULT CLASSIC: RYO FUKUI-MELLOW DREAM.
Cult Classic: Ryo Fukui- Mellow Dream. Ryo Fukui, who was born in Biratori, Hokkaido, in Japan, on the ‘1st’ of June 1948, was a late starter when it came to the piano and unlike most of the musicians he encountered during a career that spanned five decades, had never learnt to play the instrument as a …
BOBBIE GENTRY-THE DELTA SWEETE.
Bobbie Gentry-The Delta Sweete. Label: UMC. Format: CD. Less than three weeks after Bobbie Gentry released Ode To Billie Joe as a single on the ‘10th’ of July 1967 the song topped the US Billboard 100 and US Country charts. The song was penned by Bobbie Gentry and was the twenty-five year old’s debut single …
CULT CLASSIC: CARL PERKINS-ON TOP.
Cult Classic: Carl Perkins-On Top. By the time Carl Perkins signed to Sam Phillips’ Sun Records in 1954, he had already been a professional musician for eight years. His career began in 1946, when he was fourteen and still living in Tiptonville, Tennessee, where his parents worked as sharecroppers. Life was tough for Buck and …
CULT CLASSIC: GUITAR SLIM GREEN’S “STONE DOWN BLUES” WITH JOHNNY AND SHUGGIE OTIS.
Cult Classic: Guitar Slim Green’s “Stone Down Blues” With Johnny and Shuggie Otis. Guitar Slim Green was never the most prolific of musicians despite his career lasting four decades. However, during that period, he only released a handful of recordings. This included his one and only album, Stone Down Blues, which was released in 1970 and …
CULT CLASSIC: DAVID AXELROD-SONGS OF INNOCENCE.
Cult Classic: David Axelrod-Songs Of Innocence. By the time David Axelrod began work on his debut album Songs Of Innocence in 1968, the thirty-seven year arranger, composer, drummer and producer old had enjoyed a chequered career. He had started off as a boxer, before changing direction and finding work in film and television. However, in …
CULT CLASSIC: BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE-MANY A MILE.
Cult Classic-Buffy Sainte-Marie-Many A Mile. Although Buffy Sainte-Marie started out as folk singer in the early-sixties, her career was transformed when she cowrote Up Where We Belong with Jack Nitzsche for the 1982 film An Officer and A Gentleman. The million selling single topped the charts in America, Australia, Canada and South Africa and went on to win Buffy Sainte-Marie an Academy …
CULT CLASSIC: SANDRA PHILLIPS-TOO MANY PEOPLE IN ONE BED.
Cult Classic: Sandra Phillips-Too Many People In One Bed, Maverick producer Swamp Dogg, hadn’t known Sandra Phillips long before he signed her to Wally Roker’s Canyon Records where he had a production contract. Swamp Dogg was introduced to the singer by her ex-husband who let him hear a single she had cut for Epic. This was kismet. …
CULT CLASSIC: THE MANHATTANS-THERE’S NO ME WITHOUT YOU.
Cult Classic: The Manhattans-There’s No Me Without You. Like so many other soul groups, success took time to come The Manhattans’ way. The Manhattans had already released seven albums before making a commercial breakthrough with 1976s The Manhattans. It was certified gold, and 1977s It Feels So Good and 1980s After Midnight repeated the feat. However, …
SUN RA-CELESTIAL LOVE.
Sun Ra-Celestial Love. Label: Modern Harmonic. Format: LP. Nowadays, maybe music journalists are guilty of using the words innovator and musical pioneer all too freely, but that is the perfect description of the inimitable Sun Ra. He’s quite rightly regarded as one of the true pioneers of free jazz and a truly innovative and influential musician who …
CATAPILLA-CATAPILLA AND CHANGES.
Catapilla-Catapilla and Changes. Label: Trading Places. Format: LP. The story of Catapilla is another case of what might have been. They were formed in West London around Christmas 1970, and signed to Vertigo Records and released two ambitious and innovative albums where they combined progressive rock with experimental fusion. Sadly, neither their 1971 debut album …
THE OHIO PLAYERS-PAIN.
The Ohio Players-Pain. Label: Westbound. Format LP. It wasn’t until The Ohio Players signed with Westbound, and released their sophomore album Pain in 1972, that commercial success came the way of a group that was founded in 1959. Originally, they were known as The Ohio Untouchables, and had a chequered history. Initially, The Ohio Untouchables …
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