Pop & Rock News

Bandura from Basel/Switzerland's flying in the Duke from Trinidad straight into our clubs - Calypsobootie - their first mashup release ever. On the flip absolutely exclusive Resense's own brand Sono Rhizmo' is re-freshing the Voodoo-Jazz of the 50's.

The forgotten superheroes of 20th-century black music, the leather-lunged blues shouters dominated the US nightclub stages and R&B charts for half-a-dozen years or so following World War II before being sidelined by the gathering rock 'n' roll storm in the early 1950s. Still considered a force with which to be reckoned in the US music industry of the mid-fifties, and still at the height of their vocal prowess, many of the biggest stars were granted one or two final shots to save their flagging recording careers during rock 'n' roll's heyday - their 'Last Shout'. This 2LP set from Fantastic Voyage endeavours to document the twilight of that proud musical genre and resurrect the ultimate releases from some of the great voices of R&B.The international blues boom of the 1960s, informed by the white Europeans' predilection for the more unsophisticated rural country blues and urban down-home blues, coupled with a forward-looking black America's wholesale acceptance of gospel-steeped soul and funk, served to entomb the art of the jump blues shouter further and to remove the memory of an exciting musical form from general consciousness until it began to be exhumed decades later.Featuring singers famous and obscure, The Last Shout! serves the best of the final commercial recordings issued for the African-American R&B market. When they no longer sold to their market, some, were able to make a comfortable living on the jazz circuit, while others pursued alternative careers in comedy, preaching, composing or acting, while yet others tried to maintain an ever-dwindling touring schedule on the chittlin' circuit and drank themselves into an early grave. These 32 tracks offer a vivid snapshot of time in the history of black music, when the undiminished power of the classic blues shouters was married to the urgent rhythms of the rock 'n' roll era, resulting in some very special music indeed!

With hundreds and reportedly even thousands of songs to his name, Jimmy McCracklin is a true legend of Blues and R&B, beginning his career in the post war era and thriving through the 50s recording scores of Jump Blues and Rock & Roll classics.
'What's That' was recorded during McCracklin's relatively brief spell at Mercury records in the early 60s, the era when R&B was morphing into the newer soul sound. 'What's That', based around an infectious bass guitar and horn riff, with complimenting group backing vocals and a swaggering rhythm, sits on this cusp beautifully, and you can almost hear it echoing around highly charged big dance halls as McCracklin calls out a roll call of major states and the latest dances sweeping around them.
The single was originally released as 'Part One' on the A-side, with a different song altogether on the flip. Our release includes the new to vinyl 'Part Two' on the flip side, meaning the irresistible groove of 'What's That' now plays out longer, and how it should have done...

Picture Disc Limited Edition

"You snuff dippers, tobacco chewers - when you get to heaven you won't have nowhere to spit"

The Death Is Not The End label return after two reissues of penitentiary field recordings with a collection of late 1940s and early 1950s gospel by Sister Ola Mae Terrell. Issued here on a lovingly designed cassette, limited to 100 copies.

Jamaican Sound System Classics 1944-1960

Following the considerable success of the 3CD Jamaica Selects Jump Blues Strictly For You and ahead of a new set mining the same rich seam (scheduled for March 2014), Fantastic Voyage is pleased to announce the release of a vinyl edition. Limited to 500 copies, the 2LP vinyl edition of Jamaica Selects Jump Blues Strictly For You selects 28 highlights from the original 85-track selection. This is the music that provided the inspiration for ska and all that followed, and is sure to appeal to both Jamaican music fans and followers of hard-hitting Fifties R&B alike.

After the highly-successful Jumping The Shuffle Blues, Fantastic Voyage takes another dip into the bubbling cauldron of R&B which sowed the seeds for ska on Jamaica's sound systems in the 1940s and 50s, lashing together further sizzling biscuits from that formative, feet-finding era. It's well established that the US R&B which started bombarding the island through radio after World War II was picked up by sound systems such as Clement 'Coxsone' Dodd and Prince Buster, germinating into ska after mating with the Caribbean's own calypso and other local musical strains. The records being produced in America's Southern states and cities like New Orleans were loosely termed 'shuffle blues'; contagious, jumping and bulging with animated incitements to party, dance or get down and dirty, many boasting some of the most caterwaulingly volcanic saxophone solos known to man.

Jamaica Selects Jump Blues Strictly For You is compiled and annotated by leading reggae collector & authority Phil Etgart, and draws together some of the most popular of these influential sound system favourites. These discs should come with a warning: lethal rocking and leaping skank blueprints running amok, beautifully presented with knowledgeable, fact-packed annotation.

Odd ball You betcha......., driving 'drinkin' blues rocker with great guitar break and cool moving flip

Two absolute classics from Atlantic's first queen of R&B, the one and only Ruth Brown. 'Mambo Baby' rode the mambo craze like few other records could, hooking you right in from the shuffling bass and piano pattern of the opening bars. And when Miss Brown joins in with her typically self-assured, sassy and sexy squealed vocals, any resistance is truly futile - this is in the territory marked 'R&B perfection'. As indeed is '5-10-15' hours on the flip side, one of Brown's signature songs, and another of the finest recordings of the entire 1950s.

Limited 7" Pressing Of These In-Demand Rare Brazilian Jazz-Funk Tunes

Wiederauflage als 180 Gramm Vinyl-LP mit vier Studio-Titeln von The Christine Perfect Band aus dem Jahr 1969, die den original Yardbirds-Gitarristen Top Topham featuren, zzgl. fünf Titel aus dem Jahr 1970 von Post Peter Green, Fleetwood Mac mit Christine Perfect, Danny Kirwan und Jeremy Spencer neben Mick Fleetwood und John McVie.

ACT are three friends who have joined the common passion for rock and blues, a great professional and artistic experience consolidated in the years to establish a hard rock band that reinterprets and renews the musical history of the genre, from the '60s today. Andrea Cervetto (guitar and vocals) and Alex Polifrone (drums and vocals) are also two of the members of Il Mito New Trolls , both of which were chosen by Brian May and Roger Taylor for the musical We Will Rock You Max Zaccaro ( bass and vocals ) , who was also selected for We Will Rock You , has also partnered with Silverchair , Ron , Paola Turci and many others. TIO ! is their first entirely recorded live : CD1 contains 10 previously unpublished compounds by Andrea Cervetto , CD2 is a collection of 8 songs of worship revisited by the band ( Sunshine of Your Love and White Room by Cream , Do not let me down and While my guitar gently weeps the Beatles , Too much love will kill you Brian May are in the tracklist ) .
Hot items and biting , intense sounds , catchy , sometimes distorted , psychedelic , are the many facets of the music of the ACT , a modern blues-rock band quality .

'Sit back and let the ol' magic take hold. Those tiny legs sure take a lot o' burning blues around!'
Roland Van Campenhout

This single is a special release for Record Store Day 2014.

Tiny Legs Tim produces two brand new songs, pure and acoustic. Blues in its purest form, where one microphone is sufficient and where the performance of the moment is of great importance. Here, you find no overdubs or auto-tunes. The productions was deliberately kept to a minimum. The rain on the roof, the groaning chair, the string sounds of the old Martin,... If listened carefully one can hear every detail.
credits released 19 April 2014

Written and performed by Tiny Legs Tim. One take, no overdubs.
Recorded and mixed by Tiny Legs Tim, 10th of January 2014.
Mastered by Mathew Lane.

"Waiting For the One" is the third and brand new effort for Sugarpie and the Candymen. This album represents a further evolution in the sound and in the musical direction of the band. The 'Swing' trademark it's always there but the spectrum broadens with new colours,styles and inspirations : the marching bands of New Orleans, Cuban sound, Reggae, Nu Jazz, Rhythm and Blues of early 50's, all of these Sounds are here, and... why not Pop as well !. The Record is equally made up by originals Songs and covers , as we have seen in their previous work "Swing'n'Roll ," but here the tracking list is shuffled differently to show that there are two sides of the same coin. The original tracks range from the traditional swing of "Blue About Love " to the French flavors of "Madness in the Rain" from the Beatles pop sound of "Lil " to the battered and Waits (Tom) sounding "Dusty", from the progressive fairy tale of "QMV" to the country manouche of " Warchild " ... While amongst he covers we find a number of hits of the last decade ("Single Ladies" by Beyonce sounds like it's straight out of a Dr. John Album !, while "Toxic" by Britney Spears winks at Buena Vista Social Club. Catchy Hits of the '80s like "Bad" has kept the original dance beat with a bit of gypsy flavor, "Material Girl" arrangement is inspired by Louis Jordan and 50's Jump Blues", Hard Rock milestones like "Highway Star" by Deep Purple has received the "Count Basie" treatment, but the most remarkable accomplishments of the Album must go to the two Pop Symphonies, the evergreen and worlwide Hits, massively known that go by the names of : "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Good vibrations" . In most of the tracks the Band has had the pleasure to have special guests on them : a horn section with Gianni Satta on trumpet, Rudy Migliardi on trombone and tuba and Gregory Agid hailing New Orleans on clarinet and sax. Daniel Richiedei is on violin and Giovanni Colombo on the piano, the accordion played by Fausto Beccalossi and the percussions by Riccardo Marenghi. The same Candymen themselves, quite often switch instruments quite freely. these to follow were quite in use on this Recording (dobro, banjo, piano, organ, mandolin, glockenspiel, kazoo and various percussions ... ).

2LP vinyl limited collectors edition featuring 28 of the most sought-after tracks from the 3CD, 85-track set Jumping The Shuffle Blues, the first in a series exploring US R&B favourites from the early Jamaican sound system scene
Compilation and annotated insert by reggae collector and authority Phil Etgart
A fascinating insight into the sounds that shaped early reggae (many tracks were subsequently covered by Jamaican artists)
Will appeal to reggae and R&B collectors alike

1950s Rockabilly Blasters!

Two popcorn a-bombs from the undisputed queen of R&B sass herself - Miss Ruth Brown. 'Sweet Baby Of Mine' is a super infectious swinger with a snappy plodding riff and that classic, slick mid-50s Atlantic production sound. Not forgetting of course Ruth Brown's near unrivalled vocals.

Killer unissued rockin' blues cuts x2 here as we unleash the hot, hot alternate take of Little Walter's 'Mean Old Frisco' on 45 for the first time. Whilst the session dates back to 1959, Chess waited six years to release the song, and even then, we feel that they chose the wrong take as this groovier, more driving rendition is surely superior - certainly it seems to work the dance floor better if our recent experiments with the Test Pressing prove representative.

The year was 1959. The occasion was a 'Battle of the Blues' at the Blue Flame Club in Chicago. A young harmonica player Junior Wells - who got his start as Little Walter Jacobs' replacement in Muddy Waters' band back in '52 — probably didn't imagine he would come in second. After all, he had already put down both Otis Rush and Magic Sam. Still to come, though, was this fleet-fingered, skinny young Louisiana cat — Buddy Guy, who came first. As the climax to his blistering solo, Guy tossed his guitar in the air, then caught it by the neck ... one handed. As it slid through his fingers, Buddy created this high levee moan. Crowd gone wild. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

That chance meeting set in motion more than a relationship. This early, and profound, respect translated into a partnership that somehow superceded Wells' early work with one of the most important people in the blues. Wells and Guy would produce some of the most unabashed and deeply cool West Side blues recordings.

This album recorded for the French Isabel label, in 1979 is a companion piece to Guy's 'Blues Giant' recording of the same year.

There's the gentle blues shuffle of 'It Hurts Me Too,' made famous by Elmore James. There's the electric-blues muscle of the title tune. Finally, as a bonus track, there's the funky, clearly James Brown-influenced 'I Smell Something.'

This is a fine recording — and certainly one of Junior's best little-known releases.

by Nick DeRiso



Five stars are just not enough for this, great material, harp playing and that man Guy on guitar supported by his brother. Gems one and all. If you are a fan of either or both it is a must.

Recorded on Halloween night in 1979, this pairs up Wells and Guy in a fashion that hasn't been heard since Hoodoo Man Blues, their first, and best collaboration. Solid backing by The Philip Guy band (Buddy's brother) makes this album a rare treat.

Prior to his legendary tours with The Yardbirds and The Animals, even before the Checker singles that helped set off the British blues craze of the early '60s, Mississippi blues singer and harmonica player Sonny Boy Williamson (nee Alex Miller) cut his teeth recording these classic sides for the Jackson, MS based Trumpet Records. Originally released on 78 RPM, these recordings are some of the rawest and most powerful pieces in Williamson's discography and Doxy is pleased to present them again, to a new generation, on this wonderful 2LP set.

Side 1: 1 Crazy 'bout You, Baby - 3:03 2 Eyesight To The Blind - 3:02 3 Cool, Cool Blues - 2:45 4 Do It If You Wanna - 2:30 5 Come On Back Home - 2:47
Side 2: 1 Stop Crying - 2:56 2 I Cross My Heart - 2:45 3 West Memphis Blues - 2:50 4 Pontiac Blues - 2:42 5 Sonny Boy's Christmas Blues - 2:38
Side 3: 1 Mighty Long Time - 2:59 2 Nine Below Zero - 2:52 3 Mr. Down Child - 2:30 4 Stop Now Baby - 2:43 5 Cat Hop - 2:56 6 Too Close Together - 2:35
Side 4: 1 Gettin' Out Of Town - 2:22 2 She Brought Life Back To The Dead - 2:30 3 Going In Your Direction - 2:35 4 Red Hot Kisses - 2:36 5 Empty Bedroom - 2:39 6 From The Bottom - 2:39

Though Mississippi Delta blues guitarist and singer Tommy McClennan was only active for a brief three years, he left a powerful legacy on the world of blues and beyond, influencing the likes of John Fahey and Elmore James, with tracks being covered by everyone from Bob Dylan to Albert King, and Moon Mullican. Cutting sides for Bluebird between 1939-1942, McClennan's rough, slightly unhinged style made him one of the more unique voices in the Delta and he was the first to record the classic 'Cross Cut Saw Blues' along with the well known 'Shake 'Em On Down', 'Bottle It Up And Go', and dozens more. Doxy is pleased to present his complete recordings here in deluxe 3LP box set.



Tracklisting:
SideA: 1. You Can Mistreat Me Here 2. New "Shake' Em On Down 3. Bottle It Up And Go 4. Whiskey Head Woman 5. Brown Skin Woman 6. Cotton Patch Blues 7. Baby Don't You Want To Go



Side B: 1. Baby, Please Don't Tell On Me 2. I'm Going Don't You Know 3. New Highway 51 4. She's Just Good Huggin' Size 5. My Little Girl 6. My Baby's Gone 7. It's Hard To Be Lonesome



Side C: 1. My Baby's Doggin' Me 2. She's A Good Looking Mama 3. Whiskey Head Man 4. New Sugar Mama 5. Down To Skin And Bones Blues 6. Katy Mae Blues 7. Love With A Feeling



Side D: 1. Drop Down Mama 2. Black Minnie 3. Elsie Blues 4. Des'e My Blues 5. Cross Cut Saw Blues 6. Classy Mae Blues 7. You Can't Read My Mind



Side E: 1. Travelin' Higway Man 2. Deep Blue See Blues 3. I'm A Guitar King 4. It's A Crying Pity 5. Mozelle Blues 6. Blues Trip Me This Morning 7. Mr So And So Blues



Side F: 1. Roll Me, Baby 2. I Love My Baby 3. Shake It Up And Go 4. Blue As I Can Be 5. Bluebird Blues 6. Boogie Woogie Woman 7. Cross Cut Saw Blues [Alt Take]

The Rolling Stones are set to delight their millions of fans, and another generation of new admirers, as they unveil a treasure trove of vintage unreleased material from the 'Some Girls' era of 1978.

Comprising an entire album of fresh material, the songs form the second disc on the deluxe edition of the band's seminal, multi-million-selling 1978 album Some Girls, which is released on November 21. It follows the massive worldwide success and acclaim for Universal's 2010 reissue of the Stones' hallowed 1972 set 'Exile On Main St.'

The appearance of the unreleased tracks on the deluxe 'Some Girls' means that after listening to such gems from the original album as 'Miss You,' 'Far Away Eyes,' 'Before They Make Me Run' and 'Beast Of Burden,' fans can enjoy a whole new set of contemporaneous work by the Stones. A fresh and compelling collection in its own right, it's also the perfect complement to one of the band's best-ever albums.

The unreleased tracks mostly feature performances by the whole band - Mick Jagger on lead vocals, piano, guitars and harmonica; Keith Richards on guitars,piano, harmony vocals (and lead vocal on 'We Had It All'); Ronnie Wood on pedal steel, electric and slide guitar; and the vintage Stones engine room of Bill Wyman on bass and Charlie Watts on drums.

Produced by the Glimmer Twins, Chris Kimsey and Don Was, the material also includes guest appearances by Stones diehards Ian Stewart and Chuck Leavell on pianos, harmonica player Sugar Blue (who also provided the unforgettable motif on the 'Some Girls' smash 'Miss You'), and for trivia freaks even handclaps on one song by former Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman John Fogerty.

The collection includes a wealth of fine Jagger-Richards compositions along with some fascinating cover versions, collectively reflecting the stripped-down rock 'n' roll, blues and country flavours of the famed 1978 album. 'So Young,' 'When You're Gone' (co-written by Ronnie Wood), 'Keep Up Blues' and 'Petrol Blues' all evoke the band's enduring rhythm and blues roots. 'Don't Be A Stranger' is an infectious shuffle and 'Love You Too Much' an archetypal Stones rocker.

'Do You Think I Really Care,' with its lyrical imagery of New York City, and the mid-tempo road tale 'No Spare Parts' dovetail with 'Far Away Eyes' and the 'Some Girls' title track in reflecting the band's longtime love of country music. No Spare Parts will be released as a single.

As if all of that wasn't enough to keep the hungriest Stones fan happy, there are three exceptional interpretations to add to their long list of distinguished cover versions. Keith takes the lead vocals on 'We Had It All,' written by the great Southern songwriters Troy Seals and Donnie Fritts and recorded by such country greats as Waylon Jennings and Conway Twitty. There's a rocking take on Freddy Cannon's 1959 favourite 'Tallahassee Lassie' and an assured version of the Hank Williams standard 'You Win Again.'

'It's wonderful to see the quality of these tracks measuring up to the songs that came out on the original album,' says Ronnie Wood. 'It's an extension of what was going on then,' adds Keith Richards. 'Sometimes great stuff gets left behind and it's great to see it out there.'

'A History of Every One' by Bill Orcutt is an album of songs: minstrel songs, holiday songs, hymns, marches, cowboy songs, Disney songs, work songs, delta blues. The original tunes themselves are nothing special, well known, but not particularly well-regarded. Most would be filler on a mid-60's Doris Day or Burl Ives LP. What Orcutt does with them however is remarkable: expanding upon techniques developed on 2011's 'How the Thing Sings' and incorporating ideas forged since his recording of 'The Star Spangled Banner' last year, Orcutt interrogates the apparent banality of his material, subjecting it to discontinuity, disjuncture and a fractured repetition that is disturbing and revelatory. Titled after a line from Gertrude Stein's 'The Making of Americans' and inspired by the scholarship of Elijah Wald and Eric Lott, 'A History of Every One' is a bold re-writing of an important historical thread, an interpretation of a lost text and a bewildering extension upon Orcutt's already singular language.

'Perpetual Surrender' is a beautiful, basically flawless slice of soft-focus dance-pop and it comes backed by a remix by Four Tet. This is a grower, if ever there were one, building from its asphyxiating beginnings into blossoms of bass-twang heavy, sweet synths.

Two essentials from Ray Charles paired on one natty little 45. 'Mess Around' was one of Ray's first big hits, an irresistible piece of R&B that had floors messing around all over the US back when it was first released in 1953. 60 years on you will find that it has much the same effect - and the same can be said of the flip side 'I Got A Woman', another absolute classic, revived a few years back via Kanye West's usage of the song on his pop hit 'Gold Digger'. Nothing beats the original though!

As the title, Robert Zimmerman Plays Bob Dylan, implies, these recordings show the young man we all now know as Dylan finding his way in NYC after bumming a ride from Madison in the early months of 1961. Featuring songs that were left off of his first two Columbia LPs, Bob Dylan and The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, as well as other assorted demos and unreleased recordings, this essential LP of early recordings perfectly captures his growth from traditional folk music interpreter into what he would become: America's greatest living songwriter.