Author Archive: dereksmusicblog
JON SAVAGES’S 1977-1979-SYMBOLS CLASHING EVERYWHERE.
Jon Savage’s 1977-1979-Symbols Clashing Everywhere. Label: Ace Records. Format: 2CD Set. Jon Savage’s 1977-1979-Symbols Clashing Everywhere is the seventh instalment in the compliant series he has curated for Ace Records. This long-running series has been released to critical acclaim, and like previous volumes features a truly eclectic collection of tracks. They reflect just what music journalist Jon Savage was listening to …
SAMMI SMITH-IT LOOKS LIKE STORMY WEATHER 1969-1975.
Sammi Smith-It Looks Like Stormy Weather 1969-1975. Label: Ace Records. Format: CD. Without doubt, country singer singer-songwriter Sammi Smith had a voice, the talent and potential to crossover and become a huge, mainstream star. Her records were cinematic, soul-baring confessionals where her inimitable husky voice veered between melancholy and full of hurt and heartache to …
THE STUDIO WIZARDRY OF TODD RUNDGREN.
The Studio Wizardry Of Todd Rundgren. Label: Ace Records. Format: CD. The first time critics and music fans heard the name Todd Rundgren was when psychedelic rockers Nazz released their critically acclaimed eponymous debut album in 1968. This was just a year after the group was founded in Philly in 1967 by bassist Carson Van …
LENNY KAYE PRESENTS LIGHTNING STRIKING.
Lenny Kaye Presents Lightning Striking. Label: Ace Records. Format: 2CD. Versatile describes musician, composer and producer Lenny Kaye. Many music fans remember him as the guitarist in the Patti Smith Group. Lenny Kaye also worked with everyone from REM and James to Suzanne Vega and Kristin Hersh right through to Soul Asylum and even poet …
THIS LOVE WAS REAL-LA VOCAL GROUPS 1959-1964.
This Love Was Real-LA Vocal Groups 1959-1964. Label: Ace Records. Format: CD. During the forties and fifties, doo wop groups were formed in towns and cities across America. From Baltimore to Chicago and Detroit to New York new groups were founded. This was also the case in Los Angeles during the golden age of doo …
GUS DUDGEON-PRODUCTION GEMS.
Gus Dudgeon-Production Gems. Label: Ace Records. Format: CD. The late, great Gus Dudgeon never set out to become a producer. It was something he had never considered after leaving school and being fired from eleven jobs over a four year period. Working in a toy shop, advertising agency and even a clip joint wasn’t for …
SOUL CLASSIC: MILLIE JACKSON-CAUGHT UP.
Soul Classic: Millie Jackson-Caught Up. It didn’t look like life was going to be easy for Millie Jackson who was born in the city of Thomson, in Georgia, on July the ’15th’ 1944. Her father was a sharecropper and worked long hours for little reward. Life was tough for the Jackson family, and got tougher …
BLOW MY MIND! THE DORE-ERA MIRA PUNK AND PSYCH LEGACY.
Blow My Mind! The Doré-Era-Mira Punk and Psych Legacy. Label: Big Beat Records. Format: CD. During the fifties and sixtes many small record companies sprung up across America. Especially, in cities like New York and Los Angeles which were two of America’s musical cities. One of these new labels was Era Records which was founded …
CAN I GET A WITNESS-STAX SOUTHERN GROOVE.
Can I Get A Witness-Stax Southern Groove. Label: Kent Soul. Format: CD. Satellite Records was founded in 1957 by Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton and four years later, in 1961, the label changed its name to Stax Records. The newly named label was then joined by Volt Records which was its sister label. This was …
PSYCHEDELIC SOUL PRODUCED BY NORMAN WHITFIELD.
Psychedelic Soul Produced By Norman Whitfield. Label: Kent Soul. Format: CD. In 1968, producer Norman Whitfield began to pioneer the groundbreaking psychedelic soul sound at Motown. This was a stylistic departure for the label and the start of a new and exciting chapter for Motown. By then, Norman Whitfield had been at Motown for nine …
CULT CLASSIC: HENRY FRANKLIN-THE SKIPPER.
Cult Classic: Henry Franklin-The Skipper. When pianist Gene Russell and percussionist Dick Schory founded Black Jazz Records in Oakland, California, in 1969, the nascent label’s raison d’être was “to promote the talents of young African American jazz musicians and singers.” This was only part of their vision for their new label. They were determined that …
CULT CLASSIC: CHESTER THOMPSON-POWERHOUSE.
Cult Classic: Chester Thompson-Powerhouse. During the late-sixties and early seventies, many small independent jazz labels were founded in towns and cities across America. Sadly, many were short-lived affairs with some releasing just one album and others closing their doors having released just a couple of albums. However, Black Jazz Records released twenty albums 1971 and …
CULT CLASSIC: RYO FUKUI-SCENERY.
Cult Classic: Ryo Fukui-Scenery. 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 child. …
CULT CLASSIC: DOUG CARN-INFANT EYES.
Cult Classic: Doug Carn-Infant Eyes. Although Gene Russell and Dick Schory founded Black Jazz Records in 1969, two years passed before the nascent label released its first album. This was Gene Russell’s sophomore album New Direction which was released in 1971. It was the first of twenty albums by a label that was very different …
HARD BOP CLASSIC: ART BLAKEY AND THE JAZZ MESSENGERS-THE WITCH DOCTOR.
Hard Bop Classic: Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers-The Witch Doctor. When The Jazz Messengers were formed in 1954, the collective was led by Horace Silver and Art Blakey when they played live. However, it wasn’t until November the ‘23rd’ 1955 when they recorded At the Cafe Bohemia, Volumes 1 and 2. That night, the …
dereksmusicblog
dereksmusicblog 