Category Archives: Blues
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: 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 …
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 …
CULT CLASSIC: JOHNNY RIVERS-NO THROUGH STREET.
Cult Classic: Johnny Rivers-No Through Street. As 1983 dawned, Louisiana born singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer Johnny Rivers had just turned forty, and had been a professional musicians since 1956. Back then, he was still known Johnny Ramistella when he formed his own band The Spades, who later that year, released their debut single. Less …
CREAM-DISRAELI GEARS.
Cream-Disraeli Gears. Label: UMC/Polydor. Format: Vinyl. Release Date: 10th July 2020. Nowadays, the British rock group Cream are regarded as the world’s first ever supergroup. They were founded in the summer of 1966, and split-up in November 1968, having released four albums that sold over fifteen million copies worldwide. This included their critically acclaimed sophomore album Disraeli Gears, which was released in November 1967 and hailed a classic by …
CULT CLASSIC: JOE HOUSTON-KICKIN’ BACK.
Cult Classic: Joe Houston-Kickin’ Back. Joe Houston’s career began in 1941 when he was just fifteen, and a saxophonist in a touring band never turned up. This presented the bandleader with a problem. However, he needn’t have worried as Joe Houston was in the audience and this was the breakthrough the young saxophonist had dreamy about. From an …
JOHN LEE HOOKER-DOCUMENTING THE SENSATION RECORDINGS 1948-52.
John Lee Hooker-Documenting The Sensation Recordings 1948-52. Label: Ace Records. In 1946, Detroit-based Bernard Besman joined forces with accountant John Kaplan and bought Pan American Record Distributing. Later that year, they also founded Sensation Records which they named after a local nightclub, the Sensation Lounge. The next step was to sign some of the best …
JIMI HENDRIX-BAND OF GYPSYS 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION.
Jimi Hendrix-Band Of Gypsys 50th Anniversary Edition. Label: Sony. When the Jimi Hendrix Experience took to the stage at the Denver Pop Festival in June 1969, bassist Noel Redding knew it was his swansong with the group. He had been told by a journalist before the show that he was going to be replaced by Billy …
DR JOHN-DR JOHN’S GUMBO.
Dr John-Dr John’s Gumbo. Label: Music On Vinyl. Release Date: ‘29th’ May 2020. Success didn’t come overnight for the late, great Dr John. His first three albums failed to chart and his fourth album The Sun, Moon and Herbs stalled at 184 in the US Billboard 200 in August 1971. This was progress for one of music’s great survivors. He was on his way and returned in …
CULT CLASSIC: DAVID KAUFFMAN AND ERIC CABOOR-GREETINGS FROM SUICIDE BRIDGE.
Cult Classic: David Kauffman and Eric Caboor-Greetings From Suicide Bridge. Often when recording an album, an artist thinks about an album cover only once they’ve finished recording. Not David Kauffman and Eric Caboor. They put the cart before the horse, in the spring of 1983, and came up with an album cover before they had …
DR JOHN-IN A SENTIMENTAL MOOD.
Dr John-In A Sentimental Mood. Label: Music On CD. There aren’t many musicians who enjoy the longevity that the late, great Dr John enjoyed. His career lasted the best part of sixty years and he released thirty studio albums and nine live albums. Dr John also won six Grammy Awards and was inducted into the …
JACKIE MCLEAN-A FICKLE SONANCE.
Jackie McLean-A Fickle Sonance. Label: Blue Note Records. On October the ’26th’ 1961, thirty year old alto-saxophonist Jackie McLean made the now familiar journey to the Van Gelder Studio, at 445 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, to record a new album with his quintet. The album became A Fickle Sonance, which was released in …
SUN RA-CELESTIAL LOVE.
Sun Ra-Celestial Love. Label: Modern Harmonic. 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 pushed musical …
CULT CLASSIC: BOB FRANK-BOB FRANK.
Cult Classic: Bob Frank-Bob Frank. In 2007, Jim Dickinson described Bob Frank as: “the best songwriter you never heard.” By then, he had known Bob Frank for forty-five years. Jim Dickinson first met Bob Frank way back in the summer of 1963. Back then, he was part of a group of singers and songwriters hanging out …
CULT CLASSIC: LONNIE MACK-THE WHAM OF THAT MEMPHIS MAN!
Cult Classic: Lonnie Mack-The Wham Of That Memphis Man! By 1963, twenty-two year old Lonnie Mack was already an experienced musician. He had been making a living as a musician since he was thirteen. That was when Lonnie Mack quit school, after getting involved in an argument with a teacher. For most thirteen year olds, this …
CULT CLASSIC: EL POLEN-FUERA DE LA CIUDAD.
Cult Classic: El Polen-Fuera De La Ciudad. Sadly, not every influential and innovative band enjoys a long and illustrious career, and instead, their career is short-lived. That was the case with the groundbreaking Peruvian rock band El Polen who released just two albums between 1972 and 1973. This includes their debut album Cholo (Música Original …
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