Sunday, July 5, 2020

KANSAS - MIRACLES OUT OF NOWHERE

The story of one band’s rise from small town obscurity to touring the world with Queen and taking over the charts with some of rock’s most legendary hits, in the 2015 documentary Kansas: Miracles Out Of Nowhere.


In this preview, members Kerry LivgrenDave HopeRich Williams, and Phil Ehart reflect on the recording process behind their celebrated 1976 album Leftoverture. After a string of early releases failed to reach a large audience, the band looked to Leftoverture as their last chance at success. Things got off to a rocky start when frontman Steve Walsh failed to produce any new songs in time for the band’s opening rehearsals, forcing Livgren to step in and pick up the slack. “I call Leftoverture the ‘pressure album’, and that pressure fell on me, it didn’t fall on the band,” Livgren explains. Having already written two songs for the new album, the guitarist went home that night and put his nose to the grindstone coming back with the blueprint for what would become “The Wall.”
The pressure Livgren felt ultimately produced several diamonds, and earned the respect of his fellow bandmates who marveled at the new songs coming into the studio each day. Drummer Phil Ehart recalls, “It was so exciting, because we would just go… ‘Here comes Kerry, what’s he got today?’ ‘Oh, it’s this song I have called ‘The Wall’! We’re just goin’, ‘When did you write this?’ ‘Well, I kind of threw it together last night.’ We’re like, ‘Seriously?’” By the time all was said and done, Livgren would write or co-write every song on Leftoverture—including the band’s first hit, “Carry On Wayward Son.” Leftoverture went on to become certified platinum four times, and one of Kansas’ bestselling works to date.
Preview HERE

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

THE SILENT STRANGERS - IT'S ALL OVER NOW 1965

"It's All Over Now" by The Silent Strangers on LP. Very hard to find, Private Press Garage Rock style LP. Somewhat recently discovered obscure Rock n Roll LP. Mix of Garage, Frat, Good ol Rock n Roll, Cool Instrumentals & maybe a touch of British Invasion. 5 tracks are Instros. It is on Brs label #391 from 1965.

Tracklist : 

Let's Go!
Splish Splash
Bluer Than Blue
Kansas City
Long Tall Texan
Jaguar
Yah!Yah!
Scepter Theme Song
Boni Maroni
It's All Over Now
Bunderbluss

Long Tall Sally

Album Preview HERE

tape on seams. Tough One!

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

CALVIN RUSSELL - SOUNDS FROM THE FOURTH WORLD 1991

Typical for the music of Calvin Russell was the abrupt change between no-frills, punchy, from the Electric blues -influenced roots rock and guitar -dominated, but equally expressive songs in singer-songwriter and folk style - a style that sometimes with the the US band Steppenwolf was compared. As an important intention of his musical creation Russell called the struggle for dignity, respect and acceptance. About the way to relieve the pain associated with success, he spoke against the Neue Zürcher Zeitung pessimistic: "I went through hell on earth, and this pain (...) one can never get by so great nor success." [3] Skeptical he commented in the late 1990s and the prospects of roots music in the USA: "Our sound is not applicable in the United States just as cool. Funny is that young rock groups like the Smashing Pumpkins live on the roots and we Americana -Musikern give much attention. Your CDs are not overproduced, wild and lyrical, I like that, " 

European media certified Calvin Russell especially an exceptionally high degree of authenticity. Another unique feature of Russell applies the straightforwardness and dot precision of his music. Heinz-Jürgen Rippert wrote in an obituary on the website Suite101.com : "Calvin Russell impressed itself on a fast with his face marked by life. His voice was hard, rough and his songs seemed authentic. The songs are about life away from the established strata in the United States, beyond the glossy pages that are so happy paraded in the media. They tell of life on the streets, in prisons and the longing for dignity and a little luck. It is no accident called to the singer-songwriter as Charles Bukowski of music. " The music website musik-base.de wrote on the occasion of the release of the album In Spite Of It All: "Calvin Russell is one of the most authentic songwriters America. He wears his heart on his tongue, every angle of his great soul can be clearly seen for music fans. Russell's bluesy songs tell of freedom and adventure, of longing and vulnerability, of the undying love and deep disappointments, from the prairie, of never their goal reaching overland trains and the rugged beauty of the Wild West as it also today still existent is. " 






Tracklist:

01. You're My Baby 03:46
02. Last Night 04:44
03. One Meat Ball 03:54
04. Crossroads 07:32
05. May Be Someday 05:35
06. Rockin' The Republicans 04:40
07. Baby I Love You 02:21
08. Love Stealer 04:12
09. You Don't Know 05:08
10. Down Down Down 03:41
11. One Meat Ball (Acoustic) 03:58

00:49:31


Recorded At – Arlyn Studios
Phonographic Copyright (p) – New Rose Records
Credits
Backing Vocals – Kimmie Rhodes
Bass – David Waddell
Design [Sleeve] – Huart / Cholley*
Drums – Leland Waddell
Guitar – Gary Craft
Photography By – Alain Duplantier
Photography By [Treatments] – Renaud Marot
Producer – Joe Gracey*
Saxophone – Tomas Ramirez*
Vocals, Guitar – Calvin Russell
Notes
Recorded at Arlyn Studios, Austin, TX. 

This album is dedicated to Austin, Angie and Red with all my love. 

(P) New Rose Records 1991 / Made in France

CALVIN RUSSELL - SOLDIER 1992

Once heard, usually on one of the BBC radio programmes presented by Bob Harris, Calvin Russell's gravelly voice, his tales of love and loss and his protest songs, stayed with you. An ex-convict and one-time associate of Townes Van Zandt, a Texan singer-songwriter he had much in common with, Russell never rose above cult status in the US or the UK, but found success throughout continental Europe in the 1990s. Already 40 when he signed to the French independent label New Rose in 1989, he seemed determined to make up for lost time, releasing 15 albums in 20 years, and maintaining a busy touring schedule. Last seen in Europe in November 2009, he still wore one of his trademark cowboy hats cut around the brim that made him look like an undertaker straight out of a Lucky Luke cartoon, but he was the real outlaw deal.


Calvert Russell Kosler was the fourth of nine children born to a short-order cook and a waitress at the Sho'Nuff Café in Austin, Texas. His parents struggled to make ends meet and the family often did a midnight flit when they fell behind with the rent. He was a troubled teenager, keener to listen to Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry and imitate his elder sister's guitar-playing boyfriend than to study. In the early 1960s he formed The Cavemen and began playing the Chicago and Delta blues he heard Wolfman Jack play on the radio.



At the age of 15 he ran away to San Francisco but soon drifted back to his native state, where he sold marijuana and LSD. In 1968, he was arrested after trying to use someone else's credit card while high on drugs and sent to the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville. "I didn't think I was going to make it," he said. "The guards were a sorry, sadistic bunch and they'd look for any excuse to whale on you."



Encouraged by a cellmate with the colourful name Shotgun McAdams, he began writing poems and songs. However, he spent the next 15 years in and out of jail for small-time drug dealing, including 18 months in a Mexican prison. Back in Austin, he fell in with Van Zandt, another reprobate and a gifted songwriter: "He had this magical use of words. I remember he played 'Pancho and Lefty', that's when I realised just what a song could do. I shut up around Townes and listened. All my intelligence just went right to him."



Now calling himself Calvin Russell, since no one ever seemed to be able to say or spell Calvert, he honed his songwriting skills and recorded a tape containing 22 of his compositions. He intended to present the cassette to Charlie Sexton, a Texan guitar prodigy with a hit album who he heard was paying a return visit to Austin. Instead, he gave it to Patrick Mathé, the co-founder of the New Rose label, who had complimented him on his singing and guitar-playing at a party they both attended at Austin's Continent Club. "I took the tape out of my pocket, like a cowboy drawing a pistol in a Western. Patrick said, 'I want to put a record out,' and I thought, well, Warner Brothers ain't knocking my door down, so, yeah, go ahead. I didn't expect anything to happen."



Russell joined New Rose's roster of garage and psychedelic rock legends – Alex Chilton, Sky Saxon, Roky Erickson, Arthur Lee – as well as British and French alternative artists, and became one of its best acts. His critically acclaimed 1990 debut, A Crack In Time, sold 100,000 copies, and he became a fixture on television and on the touring circuit throughout continental Europe, where his blend of blues, country and rock appealed to Hell's Angels as much as to fans of what was just starting to be called Americana.



Russell made the most of the redemptive opportunities that finally came his way. He recorded two albums produced by the legendary Jim Dickinson, Soldier in 1992 and Calvin Russell in 1997, the latter featuring the Green On Red guitarist Chuck Prophet and the Muscle Shoals session stalwarts David Hood on bass and Roger Hawkins on drums. In 1993, he played 178 concerts in Europe, as documented on the Le Voyageur live album. In 1994, he appeared in a TV commercial for Motorex Oil of Switzerland, performing the evocative "Crossroads", his best-known composition. After another drugs bust back in Texas in the mid-'90s, he lived in France, Amsterdam and Switzerland, and was put on probation when he eventually returned to the States with his fourth wife, Cynthia, a Swiss citizen who was 27 years his junior.



A rootsy singer-songwriter in the vein of JJ Cale, Steve Earle and Lucinda Williams, Russell was never a prophet in his own country. "I'm not easy to pigeonhole," he said. "I don't just play the blues, or rock or country music. And my life in the US is so wrapped up with all my past misdemeanours. I blew it there, that's all."



Despite undergoing a liver transplant last year, he died of liver cancer.



info by Pierre Perrone



Tracklist:



-Soldier calvin russell 

-Strangers 
-Characters 
-I dreamed I saw 
-Rats & roaches 
-Down in Texas 
-Shackles and chains 
-This could be the day 
-This is your world (Memphis mix) 
-White rails (bonus track)





Phonographic Copyright (p) – New Rose Records

Copyright (c) – New Rose Records
Licensed From – New Rose Records
Record Company – SPV GmbH
Distributed By – SPV GmbH – 084-92652
Pressed By – BOD Berlin Optical Disc
Recorded At – Arlyn Studios
Mixed At – Three Alarm Studios
Credits
Backing Vocals – J. Dickinson*
Bass – David Waddell
Design [Sleeve] – Cloe*
Drums – Leland Waddell
Engineer – Stewart Sullivan*
Lead Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Gary Craft
Mandolin – Luther Dickinson
Mixed By – Bob (Cruiser) Krusen* (tracks: 1 to 8), Jim Dickinson (tracks: 9)
Organ, Piano – Jim Dickinson
Photography By [Landscapes] – Huart/Cholley
Photography By [Portrait] – Alain Duplantier
Producer – Jim Dickinson
Songwriter [Songs By] – Calvin Russell (tracks: 1 to 5, 7 to 9)
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – Calvin Russell
Notes
Recorded at Arlyn Studios, Austin Texas, mixed at Three Alarm Studios, Memphis Tenn. Track 9 mixed in Memphis Tenn. 


℗1992 New Rose Records ©1992 New Rose Records 

Under license from New Rose Records 
1992 SPV Records a Division of SPV GmbH. 
Made in Germany

Thursday, March 21, 2013

TONY JOE WHITE - TONY JOE 1970


Tony Joe White has accomplished much in the years since he emerged from his home in Louisiana’s swamp country and the hardscrabble circuit of Texas honky-tonks. His music is part of America’s soundtrack – sparse and elegant, filled with shadows, sadness and beauty. Nobody else writes songs like these – songs that evoke both the mysteries of the place were he was raised and the spirits that haunt us all in our most private, lonely moments.
Nobody sings them like White either. That dark baritone, scarred and sweet, brings these songs to life like none other. Even so, others have memorably interpreted his songs, from Brook Benton’s unforgettable take on “Rainy Night in Georgia” in 1970 to Tina Turner’s intensely soulful rendition of “Steamy Windows.” Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Roy Orbison, Dusty Springfield, Etta James – iconic artists in their own right have honored “the Swamp Fox” by cutting his tunes. Others have joined White, with Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Michael McDonald, Waylon Jennings, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams and Shelby Lynne among those who have paid tribute as guests on recent, theme-oriented projects such as The Heroines and Uncovered.
But with The Shine, released September 28 on White’s Swamp Records imprint, this long road circles and comes back toward where it began. Before exploding onto the Top 10 with “Polk Salad Annie” in 1969, before beginning his ongoing commitment to perform regularly for fans in markets as distant as Europe and Australia, White built his vision on a bedrock of blues, backwoods country, and sounds too much his own to categorize. This foundation is simple yet seductive and strong: Within its fabric of raw guitar, hypnotic rhythm and spellbinding lyrical imagery, White’s soul pulls from its roots and reasserts itself with deep conviction.
There are no all-star cameos on The Shine – only White on guitar, harmonica and vocals, bassist George Hawkins, drummer “Swamp Man” Jack Bruno, Tyson Rogers on keyboards, John Catchings on cello, and a selection of songs that had sprouted in White’s imagination over the previous few months. “They just started stacking up on me and my wife Leann over the wintertime,” White says. “They hit me every day and every night. When I’d go to bed, they were going through my mind. It was really cool stuff, and I was like, ‘Man, I’ve got to put these down, just to see what they sound like.’”
Each one told a different story, but taken together they seemed to call White back to the well that had first nourished him. From the feverish, dreamlike images that course through “Season Man” to the heartbreak that colors the romantic nostalgia of “All,” these tracks live on their own yet exist together as memories and premonitions of a single story.
“They’re all about truth and life and daily or nightly happenings,” White says. “They all came to me, the guitar parts and the words, maybe at a campfire down by the river with a few cold beers. I’ll sit there, strum a little bit, and all of a sudden a lick will come – except for the ones I wrote with Leann. She’s a real word person, so she’ll say ‘what do you think about this,’ and all of a sudden a little light goes off in my head, a guitar chord will pop up and here we go.”
“Paintings on a Mountain” is one example of this collaboration between Tony Joe and Leann White. “We have a place up in Taos, New Mexico,” he says. “Our house sits on land that backs up to an Indian village. It’s a magic spot. In the late afternoon, the sun makes so many paintings on the mountainside; they change as the sun moves on. A lot of that was written by Leann.”
The guiding principle for The Shine can be heard in one of its details, from “Tell Me Why,” which preaches “it’s all about the song, keeping it simple. Got to have passion. Got to have soul.” That was the mission when White and his musicians began cutting these tracks in the living room of his home south of Nashville. Beneath high ceilings, on original hardwood floors in a building old enough to have been used as a battlefield hospital during the Civil War, they played with minimal direction, trusting in the moment as they brought these songs to life. “Sometimes I would say ‘simplify,’ but that’s all,” White remembers. “It was almost like I was a bystander. I had this weird feeling of looking at everybody as we played, watching the song happen without really trying very hard to make it happen.”
Most songs were captured in one take. The emotions and connections were so strong that even without any rehearsal, with only the barest indication of which chord followed the next, each one seemed to draw deeper from somewhere within White. He sensed this himself, sometimes not even singing where he was supposed to because the music they were laying down was so compelling. “All of a sudden I’d remember, ‘Hey, you should have been singing right there,’” White says, chuckling. “So I’d go back later and punch it in. But we were all very aware that something was happening in the air between us. Maybe there were some spirits walking about.”
They roamed especially free on the one track where White recorded solo, “Roll Train Roll.” “I think that one was a matter of being taken back,” he reflects. “That’s what made it sound like I was going back to listening to Lightnin’ Hopkins, when I lived on the Boeuf River in Goodwill, Louisiana, first learning the guitar. That’s the kind of stuff I’d play out on the porch at night.”
One doesn’t have to have been a Tony Joe White fan to appreciate that there is something elusive and hard to define in this music. But these depths surface in The Shine. More than a return to an artist’s seminal references, this project seeks the seed from which his work took form. White finds it on The Shine; from here, all that he produced before and all that will follow come into a revealing and enduring light.

Tracks :
01 - Tony Joe White - Stud Spider
02 - Tony Joe White - High Sheriff of Calhoun Parrish
03 - Tony Joe White - Widow Wimberly
04 - Tony Joe White - Groupy Girl
05 - Tony Joe White - Conjure Woman
06 - Tony Joe White - Save Your Sugar For Me
07 - Tony Joe White - Hard To Handle
08 - Tony Joe White - What Does It Take
09 - Tony Joe White - My Friend
10 - Tony Joe White - Stockholm Blues
11 - Tony Joe White - Boom Boom
12 - Tony Joe White - I protest

Artwork Included


Tuesday, July 10, 2012

EAGLES - HELL FREEZES OVER 1994 (concert)

Hell Freezes Over is a live album by the Eagles, released in 1994. It contains four new studio tracks and eleven tracks recorded live for an MTV special. The album went to #1 on the Billboard album chart upon its release where it stayed for two weeks. It is the band's second live album behind their live album in 1980. The Eagles had reformed after a fourteen-year-long break up. Their resumption tour would be given that title after the statement Don Henley once gave when asked when the band would get back together. The album proved to be as successful as the tour, selling over six million copies and releasing two Top 40 singles in "Get Over It" and "Love Will Keep Us Alive". The band's lineup consisted of the Long Run era: Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, Don Felder, and Timothy B. Schmit. The tour would last from 1994-96 and became one of the most successful tours in music history. The album also features an acoustic version of "Hotel California". Hell Freezes Over was also released in video form on VHS, LaserDisc and DVD.

    "Get Over It"* (Don Henley, Glenn Frey) - 3:31
    "Love Will Keep Us Alive"* (Pete Vale, Jim Capaldi, Paul Carrack) - 4:03
    "The Girl from Yesterday"* (Frey, Jack Tempchin) - 3:23
    "Learn to Be Still"* (Henley, Stan Lynch) - 4:28
    "Tequila Sunrise" (Henley, Frey) - 3:28
    "Hotel California" (Don Felder, Henley, Frey) - 7:12
    "Wasted Time" (Henley, Frey) - 5:19
    "Pretty Maids All in a Row" (Joe Walsh, Joe Vitale) - 4:26
    "I Can't Tell You Why" (Henley, Frey, Timothy B. Schmit) - 5:11
    "New York Minute" (Henley, Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar, Jai Winding) - 6:37
    "The Last Resort" (Henley, Frey) - 7:24
    "Take It Easy" (Jackson Browne, Frey) - 4:36
    "In the City" (Walsh, Barry De Vorzon) - 4:07
    "Life in the Fast Lane" (Henley, Frey, Walsh) - 6:01
    "Desperado" (Henley, Frey) - 4:17


Thursday, July 5, 2012

DENNY GERRARD - SINISTER MORNING 1970

It wasn't long after arriving in the U.K. that South African student Denny Gerrard began making his mark on the music scene. In 1965, Jimmy Page picked him to become one half of the duo the Fifth Avenue, while Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham brought him in as arranger for his projectthe VariationsGerrard then linked up with Barry Younghusband, and as Warm Sounds they promptly unleashed the Top 30 hit "Birds and Bees." Swiftly bored with pop the duo soon split, and Gerrard moved into production, overseeing High Tide's critically acclaimed 1969 debut album, Sea Shanties. No surprise then, that when the South African began work on his own debut, self-produced, full-length, High Tidewere by his side. However, the resulting album, Sinister Morning, was far more a reflection of Gerrard's vision than Tide's sound. Much of the set has a folkie feel, accentuated by the prolific use of Gerrard's acoustic guitar and harmonica. Only on "Native Sun" is the band given a real chance to rock out, with the rest of the set given over to more midtempo numbers. These gave Gerrard the opportunity to explore his roots and showcase his arrangement skills. His epiphany is found on the final track, a haunting, seven-plus minute instrumental, whose rich "Atmosphere" is conjured up by his acoustic guitar andSimon House's delicate organ and rich violin. J.J. Mackey provides the spoken word segments that, sadly, are virtually buried in the mix. The album's other epic track, "True Believer" takes folk to church, withHouse's hymnal organ juxtaposed against a rich, Americana tapestry. "Autumn Blewn," in contrast, counterpoints '60s R&B with C&W, with Gerrard's harmonica adding a folkie feel to the intricate piece. "Rough Stuff" also has an R&B bend, but a down-home, Southern rock tinge, while "Stop or Drop It" is even more rousing, as Gerrard plays his pusillanimous acoustic guitar off against Tony Hill's electric leads. Although kept on a tight leash, High Tide still bring an energy to the set, turning up the heat on virtually all the songs, particularly the poppy "Hole in My Shadow," which was probably intended for singledom. The production gives the entire album a warm sound, although on CD it comes across as a tad too pristine. The only flaw within is Gerrard's decision to overutilize layered vocals instead of true harmonies, and paying far less attention to his vocals than he did to the rest of the album's sound. Released on Decca's mid-price imprint Nova, the album surprisingly sank without a track, but swiftly became a much sought-after collector's item. Finally after all these years, Esoteric has now lovingly remastered and reissued this splendid album on CD. 
~ Jo-Ann Greene

Tracks : 


Native Sun
True Believer
Hole In My Shadow
Last But One
Rough Stuff
Stop Or Drop It
Autum Blewn
Eye For Eye
Atmosphere



Artwork Included


SAVOY BROWN - LION'S SHARE 1972


Lion's Share CD music "Shot in the Head," the slide guitar showcase that opens this solid set, became a staple of this veteran English band's live act. Lion's Share music CDs In his only full-time stint as singer for demanding bandleader Kim Simmonds, Dave Walker proves a serviceable, if unremarkable, successor to Chris Youlden. Besides their own tunes, the lads cover Howlin' Wolf and Little Walter. ~ Mark Allan









Tracks : 

Shot In The Head
Second Try
The Saddest Feeling
I Can't Find You
Howling For My Darling
So Tired
Denim Demon
Love Me Please
I Hate To See You Go



Artwork Included

CHARLIE DANIELS BAND - UNEASY RIDER 1973

Originally titled HONEY IN THE ROCK and later renamed for its hit song (Daniels's first chart entry), UNEASY RIDER is the third Charlie Daniels album, but the first to put his name on the map. In addition to his previous southern-rock-meets-Western-swing sound, the album includes a significant R&B influence, making for an intriguing country-funk style. The title track's talking blues is particularly significant for espousing a hippie/counterculture perspective on the part of a man who'd later become known for championing more conservative values.

Tracks : 

01. Funky Junky (03:14)
02. Big Man (06:16)
03. Why Can't People (05:47)
04. Revelations (07:34)
05. Uneasy Rider (05:18)
06. Midnight Lady (04:39)
07. Somebody Love You (03:44)
08. No Place To Go (10:08)





Thursday, May 17, 2012

BIG HOUSE - BIG HOUSE 1997

Big House is a self-labeled "blues" band from Nashville via Bakersfield, California.
Lead vocalist/guitarist Monty Byron and keyboardist/slide guitarist Dave Neuhauser comprise the core of Big House; they've been writing and playing music together for fifteen years. Bassist Steve Vines and drummer Bernie Rappa complete the current manifestation of the band. Together they form a tight ensemble, at times reminiscent of a fine jazz quartet. There are no "stars" here, no ego-tripping showmanship. These musicians clearly respect the part each contributes to the whole.
Byron's voice is, to my ear, more country than bluesy, although I suspect such distinctions are more useful to marketers and promoters than to listeners. I find his strong voice warm and soulful, even a bit raspy where the music requires.

CDBaby's definition:
Big House is somewhere between the west coast country of the Eagles and the Memphis Stax /Volt sound of Otis Redding and the M.G.'s Soul Country.

Tracks :

01. You Ain't Lonely Yet
02. Cold Outside
03. Amarillo
04. Love Ain't Easy
05. Walkin' On Me
06. Sunday In Memphis
07. Blue Train
08. Soul Country
09. Cryin' Town
10. Whose Baby Will You Be Tonight
11. Road Man


 
tracker tracker