Author Archive: dereksmusicblog

CULT CLASSIC: ANTONIO CARLOS JOBIM-STONE FLOWER. 

Cult Classic: Antonio Carlos Jobim-Stone Flower. Nowadays, Brazilian pianist, singer and songwriter Antonio Carlos Jobim is regarded as one of the founding fathers of the Bossa Nova in fifties, which he internationalised in the sixties with the help of some American jazz musicians. They fused Bossa Nova and jazz to create a new and successful …

Continue reading

SPRING NYC SOUL.

Spring NYC Soul. Label: Kent Soul. Spring Records was founded in New York by Bill Spitalsky, Roy Rifkind and Julie Rifkind and based at 161 West ‘54th’ Street. This was also home to two new imprints, Event and Posse Records which became part of the city’s thriving and vibrant music scene. The three labels released …

Continue reading

RAINER TRUEBY PRESENTS SOULGLIDING.

Rainer Trueby Presents Soulgliding. Label: BBE Music. For the past three decades,  Rainer Trueby has enjoyed a successful DJ-ing career, and has been a familiar face in the DJ box at top clubs and festivals all over the world. Still this globetrotting DJ has managed to find the time to run his own long-running and …

Continue reading

CULT CLASSIC: ADELBERT VON DEYEN-ATMOSPHERE.

Cult Classic: Adelbert Von Deyen-Atmosphere. After Adelbert Von Deyen released his debut album Sternzeit on Günter Körber’s Sky Records in 1978, the label became his home for the next nine years. This was the most productive period of Adelbert Von Deyen’s career. His creativity blossomed and he released eight studio albums and one live album. This …

Continue reading

THE CLARK SISTERS-YOU BROUGHT THE SUNSHINE-THE SOUND OF GOSPEL RECORDINGS 1976-1981.

The Clark Sisters-You Brought The Sunshine-The Sound Of Gospel Recordings 1976-1981. Label: Ace Records. By the late-sixties, both jazz and blues were no longer as popular as they once had been.  That was when it dawned on some mucicians that unless the music they loved evolved,  is risked becoming irrelevant. Both jazz and blues evolved …

Continue reading

CULT CLASSIC: DR JOHN-DESITIVELY BONAROO.

Cult Classic: Dr John-Desitively Bonnaroo. When a copy of Dr John’s debut album Gris Gris was sent to Atlantic Records’ founder Ahmet Ertegun he disliked the album so much, that he was reluctant to even release the album and said: “how can we market this boogaloo crap?” This wasn’t the response that Dr John had …

Continue reading

CULT CLASSIC: T-BONE WALKER, JOE TURNER, OTIS SPANN-SUPER BLACK BLUES.

Cult Classic: . T-Bone Walker, Joe Turner and Otis Spann-Super Black Blues. By the late sixties, blues music was no longer as popular. Psychedelia and rock music were the most popular genres. Groups like The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Cream, Led Zeppelin, The Band, Canned Heat and Fleetwood Mac were some of the …

Continue reading

CULT CLASSIC: DIETER MOEBIUS-DING.

Cult Classic: Dieter Moebius-Ding. Ten years after Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius formed Cluster in 1971, the first chapter in the Cluster story drew to a close 1981, after the release of their seventh studio album, Curiosum. Hans-Joachim Roedelius said: “Cluster had run its course. We decided to concentrate on other projects. There was no …

Continue reading

CULT CLASSIC: ARTHUR-DREAMS AND IMAGES.

Cult Classic: Arthur-Dreams and Images. The story of Arthur Lee Harper is a familiar one. He was a talented singer-songwriter who looked as if he was destined for great things. Sadly, that proved not to be the case. Arthur only ever released one album, Dreams and Images which was released on Lee Hazelwood’s LHI Records …

Continue reading

DISCO DEMANDS PART SIX-BY AL KENT.

Disco Demands Part Six-By Al Kent. Label: BBE Music. Release Date: ‘7th’ February 2020. After a ten year wait, Scotland’s disco King Al Kent makes a welcome return on the ‘7th’ of February 2020 with Disco Demands Part Six, which will be released by BBE Music as a 2CD or 3LP set. For fans of …

Continue reading

ROY AYERS-VIRGIN UBIQUITY: UNRELEASED RECORDINGS 1976-1981 AND VIRGIN UBIQUITY II: UNRELEASED RECORDINGS 1976-1981.

Roy Ayers-Virgin Ubiquity: Unreleased Recordings 1976-1981 and Virgin Ubiquity II: Unreleased Recordings 1976-1981 Label: BBE Music. For Roy Ayers, the late-seventies through to the early eighties was one of the most productive periods of his long and illustrious careers. He was signed to Polydor Records, and between 1976 and 1981, the legendary vibes man was on …

Continue reading

CULT CLASSIC: NON BAND-NON BAND.

Cult Classic: Non Band-Non Band . In the summer of 1978, a musical revolution took place in Japan, which changed music forevermore,..punk. The Japanese punk rockers were christened Tokyo Rockers, and initially were disregarded by the mainstream music industry. Record company executives made the mistake of thinking that the Japanese punk movement was just a …

Continue reading

CULT CLASSIC: HARMONIA-MUSIK VON HARMONIA.

Cult Classic: Harmonia-Musik Von Harmonia. Having spent five months between June and November  1973 recording their debut album, a new German supergroup Harmonia, released Musik Von Harmonia in January 1974. This groundbreaking album should have been the dawn of a new and successful era for the Harmonia, but sadly it failed to find the audience it deserved and and failed commercially.  So did the followup Deluxe, which …

Continue reading

CULT CLASSIC: BOBBY WHITLOCK-BOBBY WHITLOCK.

Cult Classic: Bobby Whitlock-Bobby Whitlock Before embarking upon a solo career in 1971, Memphis born Bobby Whitlock, had worked with some of the biggest names in music. His career started when he was just seventeen and signed to Stax Records. He went on to work with Albert King, Booker T. and The MGs, Sam and …

Continue reading

CULT CLASSIC: CIRCLES-MORE CIRCLES.

Cult Classic: Circles-More Circles. Between 1969 and 1977, German music was thriving. In towns and cities, new groups were being formed. Many of these bands eschewed the Anglo-American, jazz-blues tradition, and decided to plough their own musical furrow. What followed, was a musical revolution…Krautrock.  The Krautrock era lasted for eight years, and nowadays, is regarded …

Continue reading

SCOTT WALKER MEETS JACQUES BREL.

Scott Walker Meets Jacques Brel. Label: Ace Records. Release Date: “31st” January 2020.  It’s no exaggeration to say that Scott Walker and Jacques Brel were two of the most influential singer-songwriters of their generation. However, if it wasn’t for Scott Walker covering nine of Jacques Brel’s songs on his first three solo albums, the Belgian …

Continue reading

EZE-NRI ROYAL DRUMMERS VOL. 1

Eze-Nri Royal Drummers Vol. 1. Label: BBE Africa. One of the most important labels in the history of African music is Tabansi  Records, which  was founded in Onitsha, a trading centre in the Igbo southeast of Nigeria, in 1952. Chief (Dr) G.A.D. Tabansi had watched as  Decca, and then  Philips, closed the doors on their …

Continue reading

CULT CLASSIC: AGITATION FREE-2ND.

Cult Classic: Agitation Free-2nd. Berlin, in 1967  was where the Agitation Free story began. That was when Lutz ‘Lüül’ Ulrich, Michael ‘Fame’ Günther, Lutz ‘Ludwig’ Kramer and Christoph Franke formed Agitation. This new band quickly established a reputation as one of the pioneers of Berlin’s underground music scene. When Agitation played live, their sets were …

Continue reading

TEA AND SYMPHONY: THE ENGLISH BAROQUE SOUND 1968-1974. 

Tea and Symphony: The English Baroque Sound 1968-1974. Label: Ace Records. Release Date: ‘31st’ January 2020. As the sixties gave way to the seventies, music in Britain was changing, with rock becoming and harder and heavier as groups like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath emerged and went on to become three of the …

Continue reading

CULT CLASSIC: CAN-FUTURE DAYS.

Cult Classic: Can-Future Days. In the history of modern German music, Can were undoubtably one of the most ambitious and innovative  groups of the past fifty years. Their music was constantly evolving and was always groundbreaking. So much so, that it was always way ahead of the musical curve. Ca’s music is also  timeless and has influenced several generation of musicians. …

Continue reading