Category Archives: Rock
BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS-CATCH A FIRE (75TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION).
Bob Marley and The Wailers-Catch A Fire (75th Anniversary Edition. Label: Island Records. Format: LP. Having signed to Chris Blackwell’s Island Records, The Wailers released their fifth studio Catch A Fire on April the ‘13th’ 1973. The first 20,000 copies came encased in Rob Dyer and Bob Weiner’s now famous Zippo lighter’ hinged album sleeve. However, Island Records had underestimated demand for what was a landmark …
CULT CLASSIC KABASA-AFRICAN SUNSET.
Cult Classic: Kabasa-African Sunset. Kabasa was formed in Soweto by vocalist and bassist Tata “TNT” Sibeko and percussionist Oupa Segwa and guitarist Robert “Doc” Mthalane who previously, had been members of the iconic Afro-rock band Harari. The group had started life as The Beaters, but during a tour of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1976, changed their name …
CULT CLASSIC: AZTECA-AZTECA.
Cult Classic: Azteca-Azteca. When brothers Coke and Pete Escovedo were growing up in Oakland in the sixties, they were surrounded by Latin music which influenced them when they decided to form their own group, Azteca. Just like Santana, Azteca’s music was a fusion of musical genres and influences, including Latin and funk. They were also a group …
CLASSIC ALBUM: THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND AT FILLMORE EAST.
Classic Album: The Allman Brothers Band At Fillmore East. Nowadays, there aren’t many bands who make a commercial breakthrough with a live album. That, however, is what happened to The Allman Brothers Band in 1971 when they released their third album At Fillmore East. It was a gamechanger reaching number thirteen in the US Billboard 200 …
CULT CLASSIC: MOTORHEAD-WHAT’S WORTH WORDS.
Cult Classic: Motörhead-What’s Worth Words. When Wilko Johnson of Dr. Feelgood heard of a project to preserve William Wordsworth’s manuscripts, he decided to put on a fundraising concert on the ’18th’ February 1978. The lineup to the fundraiser featured Wilko Johnson and some of the bands from Chiswick Records’ label which he was signed to. …
CLASSIC ALBUM: LED ZEPPELIN-PHYSICAL GRAFFITI.
Classic Album: Led Zeppelin-Physical Graffiti. When Led Zeppelin released Physical Graffiti in on the ‘24th’ February 1975 it was the sixth album of their career. It was also the most ambitious and eclectic album that they had released since rereleasing their eponymous debut on the ’12th’ of January 1969. By then, Led Zeppelin had sold over sixteen million albums in America alone. Despite that, Physical …
STEVE POTTS-MUSIQUE POUR LE FILM D’UN AMI.
Steve Potts-Musique Pour Le Film D’Un Ami. Label: Souffle Continu. Format: CD. Sadly, musical history is littered with artists whose music never received the recognition that it deserved. Often, it’s only much later that their albums start to find the audience that they so richly deserve. That was the case with Alice Clark, Gram Parsons, …
CLASSIC ALBUM: BAD COMPANY-STRAIGHT SHOOTER.
Classic Album Bad Company-Straight Shooter. Just a year after supergroup Bad Company was formed, they were already one of the biggest bands in Britain, and their eponymous debut album was well on its way to selling five million copies in America alone. Bad Company reached number one in the US Billboard 200 and was certified platinum five …
CULT CLASSIC: DEUTSCH AMERIKANISCHE FREUNDSCHAFT-FUR IMMER.
Cult Classic: Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft-Für Immer. History treats groups very differently and that was the case with Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft a.k.a. DAF, who released five albums between 1978 and 1982. They’ve been described variously as the “godfathers of techno,” the pioneers of EBM and the forefathers of electropunk. DAF were an influential and innovative group and …
ALAIN BELLAICHE-SEA FLUORESCENT/KIRLIAN EFFECT.
Alain Bellaïche-Sea Fluorescent/Kirlian Effect. Label: Souffle Continu. Format: CD. Alain Bellaïche was born in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, but spent his childhood in Cannes, on the French Riviera which was where he discovered music and played his first concerts. Initially, he played in friends’ houses where he was guaranteed a captive and appreciative audience. …
ROLAND HAYNES-2ND WAVE.
Roland Haynes-2nd Wave. Label: Real Gone Music. Format: CD. Forty-five years ago in 1975, Roland Haynes released his debut album 2nd Wave on the Detroit-based Black Jazz Records. The label was founded by Gene Russell and Dick Schory and released twenty albums between 1971 and 1975. 2nd Wave was the label’s penultimate release and it …
CLASSIC ALBUM: DEEP PURPLE-DEEP PURPLE IN ROCK.
Classic Album: Deep Purple-Deep Purple In Rock. Nowadays, the seventies are regarded as the golden era for rock music. It was when rock music came of age. It’s certainly when commercial success and critical acclaim came the way of Deep Purple. Between 1970 and 1975 they enjoyed were on of the most successful British rock …
CLASSIC ALBUM: EMERSON. LAKE AND PALMER-TRILOGY.
Classic Album: Emerson, Lake and Palmer-Trilogy. By the time Emerson, Lake and Palmer set about recording their third studio album Trilogy, it seemed everything they touched turned gold. Their first two studio albums had been certified gold in America and so had their live albums Pictures At An Exhibition and Welcome Back My Friends to …
THE BATHERS-KELVINGROVE BABY.
The Bathers-Kelvingrove Baby. Label: Marina Records. Format: CD. The Bathers were formed in Glasgow, in 1985, by singer, songwriter and troubled troubadour Chris Thomson and released six albums between 1987 and 1999. Their fifth album was Kelvingrove Baby, which which was recently reissued by Marina Records is a a minor classic that’s one of the finest Scottish …
HAPPY TIMES-THE SONGS OF DAN PENN AND SPOONER OLDHAM VOL 2.
Happy Times-The Songs Of Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham Vol. 2. Label: Ace Records. Format: CD. Release Date: ‘30th’ October 2020. One of the greatest songwriting partnerships of the past sixty years is without doubt Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham. The pair met at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals in the mid-sixties and went on …
TIM BOWNESS-LATE NIGHT LAMENTS.
Tim Bowness-Late Night Laments. Label: Inside Out Music. Format: LP with CD. When English singer, songwriter and producer Tim Bowness released his debut album My Hotel Year in 2004, he was already forty and was best known for his work the art pop duo No-Man which he had cofounded with Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson. The …
QUICKSAND-HOME IS WHERE I BELONG.
Quicksand-Home Is Where I Belong. Label: Magic Box. Format: LP. Musical history is littered with examples of groups who only ever released one album during their what proves to be a short-lived career. Especially, during the late-sixties and early seventies when many record companies had unrealistic expectations. All too often, when a band’s debut album …
CULT CLASSIC: RAMSEY LEWIS- SOLAR WIND.
Cult Classic: Ramey Lewis-Solar Wind. Nowadays, very few recording artists spend sixteen years signed to the same label, but bandleader, composer and pianist Ramsey Lewis signed to Chess Records in 1956, and his band Ramsey Lewis and The Gentlemen Of Swing their debut album later on the Argo Records imprint later that year. This was …
CULT CLASSIC : DAVID JOHANSEN-HERE COMES THE NIGHT.
Cult Classic: David Johansen-Here Comes The Night. Singer, songwriter and actor David Johansen first came to prominence as the lead singer of the seminal proto punk band the New York Dolls, in the early seventies. This was the start of a long and varied career for David Johansen, who after the demise of the New …
CULT CLASSIC: TERRY REID-RIVER.
Cult Classic: Terry Reid-River. Music is all Terry Reid has ever known. It’s been his life since he left St Ivo School, in St.Ives Cambridgeshire, in 1965 . By then, it was is if he was destined to become a musician and his breakthrough came when he joined Peter Jay’s Jaywalkers. By then, Terry Reid …
dereksmusicblog
dereksmusicblog 