PETER THORUP WITH FRIENDS - WAKE UP YOUR MIND 1970

In the very long and cold winter of 1969/ 1970 the three members of the danish supergroup, "Young Flowers", decided to close down their trio. Peer Frost, Peter Ingemann and Ken Gudman were all exhausted from three years of never ending concert-tours.They also needed new inspiration and challenges. But, the band was booked for another 5 months, including 3 major tours in Denmark. So, Max Nutzhorn, congas/vocal, Peter Thorup, guitar/vocal and Bent Hesselmann, saxes/flute, were invited to join the band until 1. of june, where the bookinglist stopped. The tours were highly succesful and had an ever growing audience as the three guests added new energy and colours to the stage-show. The spring of 1970 brought a lot of transformations, not only in mother nature, but also in the world of music. The bands seemed to have grasped the idea of taking new elements into their performances. A wave based on friendship and optimism spread among the musicians and a lot of new bands were formed. Some of these new bands were mixing jazz and rock, while others added classical musicians to their group.

Another new thing was, that all these new bands wrote their own music! At this time the danish rockscene was blooming in all colours, except for black, as dead- and punkrock had to wait for another 10 years. In march "Young Flowers and Friends" played a concert in the concerthall of the danish radiohouse. However, the technicians had very little experience in recording amplified gear, and that was clearly heard! After this disappointing result, Peter Thorup contacted Ivar Rosenberg, the owner of a very estimated recording studio in a cinema in Vanløse, "Vanløse Bio". In the summertime there were very few clients to record, so Peter got a lot of days, where we could record in the daytime from 9.am until 6.pm and in the evenings from 11.30 pm, when the late filmshow was over! Ivar, a very clever, traditional technician, added a new face for our sessions, Freddy Hansson, who had just emerged from the sound department of the danish filmscool. The studio had an 8- track taperecorder, plate reverb, echomachine and a mellotrone! Thus we were equipped, and we started the sessions. The repertoire was a mix of traditional rock and blues, plus a few original songs by Ole Fick, There were almost no time for rehearsal. The lead vocalist would instruct us, we tried the song a few times, and then 1-2-3-4.
Off we went!

Bent Hesselmann, June 2008

Tracks :

01 WORRIED BLUES
02 COMING HOME BABY
03 KEEP IT UP
04 RUNNING WILD
05 I'M COMING HOME
06 GRANDMOTHER WATCH YOUR SON
07 WAKE UP YOUR MIND

VAN ZANT - FOUR ALBUMS

As a band name, Van Zant first appeared in 1985, when Johnny Van Zant (brother of .38 Special's Donnie and Lynyrd Skynyrd's late Ronnie) headed an AOR-styled quintet on an album also titled Van Zant. The group disbanded, however, when Van Zant joined Lynyrd Skynyrd two years later. The Van Zant group name was revived in 1998, when Johnny and Donnie joined forces on what was slated to be a one-off collaboration, titled Brother to Brother and released on CMC International. However, reaction to the record was positive enough to convince the duo to continue pursuing the project; hence, a follow-up, Van Zant II, was issued in early 2001. The duo's first country album, Get Right with the Man, arrived in May 2005, followed by My Kind of Country in 2007. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide

VAN ZANT - VAN ZANT 1985

01 - Midnight Sensation
02 - Shes Out With A Gun
03 - Im A Fighter
04 - Youve Got To Believe In Love
05 - Two Strangers
06 - 2 + 2
07 - Heart To The Flame
08 - Does A Fool Ever Learn
09 - Right On Time
10 - Lonely Girls



Artwork Included

VAN ZANT - VAN ZANT II 2001

1.Oklahoma
2.Get What You Got Comin'
3.Heart of an Angel
4.Is It For Real
5.Imagination
6.At Least I'm Free
7.Baby Get Blue
8.What's the World Coming To
9.Wild Side
10.Alive



Artwork Included

VAN ZANT - GET RIGHT WITH THE MAN 2005

1. Takin' Up Space
2. Nobody Gonna Tell Me What To Do
3. Sweet Mama
4. Help Somebody
5. Things I Miss The Most
6. I Know My History
7. I Can't Help Myself
8. I'm Doin' Alright
9. Lovin' You
10. Plain Jane
11. Been There Done That


Artwork Included

VAN ZANT - MY KIND OF COUNTRY 2007


1.Train
2.These Colors Don't Run
3.Goes Down Easy
4.That Scares Me
5.My Kind of Country
6.Hardest Thing, The
7.It's Only Money
8.We Can't Do It Alone
9.Friend
10.It's All About You
11.Headed South



Artwork Included

BREAKOUT - KAMIENIE 1974

1. Czy zgadniesz
2. Czulosc niose tobie
3. Spiekota
4. Modlitwa
5. Badz sloncem
6. Pojde prosto
7. Kolo mego okna
8. Kamienie
9. Tobie ta piesn

BREAKOUT - KARATE 1972

After a few years of playing as Blackout, the first performance of Breakout took place on Musicorama festival, in February 1968. In April the new bass player - Michał Muzolf, joined the group. In June the band toured in the countries of Benelux. After the band had returned to Poland, they became one of the most famous Polish rock band, owing much to a new sound-kit brought from the western Europe, but also to the fact that they were arguably the first to play blues rock in Poland.

In November Breakout played a few concerts all around Poland. In January and February 1969 their song "Gdybyś kochał, hej!" topped the radio chart list.

In 1969 they realised their first album Na drugim brzegu tęczy, which they had recorded without K. Dłutowski, but with Włodzimierz Nahorny, who played the saxophone and flute. In August Breakout took the new bass-player Piotr Nowak, but just at the beginning of 1970, he was replaced by Józef Skrzek. The same year Franciszek Walicki (manager) left the band.

In 1970 the band was more and more criticised by Polish mass media for pro-West lifestyle and long hair. As a result, the radio and TV stopped broadcasting their songs.

In 1971 Breakout accomplished arguably their best album: Blues. It was recorded by: Tadeusz Nalepa (vocal , lead guitar), Dariusz Kozakiewicz (guitar), Tadeusz Trzciński (harmonica), Jerzy Goleniewski (bass), Józef Hajdasz (drums).

Next year they recorded their fourth album Karate. After the recording was finished Jan Izbiński (vocal) joined for a short time. Karate turned out to be their best selling work to date. In 1973 year Włodzimierz Nahorny left Breakout, and the musicians helped to record the solo album of Mira Kubasińska Ogień.

Between 1973 and 1975 the band went on concerts to USSR, England and Holland.

Already in 1974 Breakout recorded the next, fifth already, album Kamienie, which was recorded by: Tadeusz Nalepa (lead guitar, harmonica, vocal), Winicjusz Chróst (guitar), Zdzisław Zawadzki (bass), Wojciech Morawski (drums). 21 November 1974 year the band received the Golden Plate for Karate. Throughout 1975 there were many personal changes within the band, and at the beginning of the next year the personnel was established as: Mira Kubasińska (vocal), Tadeusz Nalepa (guitar), Zbigniew Wypych (bass), Bogdan Lewandowski (keyboards), Andrzej Tylec (drums). With these members Breakout recorded an album called NOL.

Fans had to wait till 1979 for the new album. Żagiel ziemi, recorded with Roman "Pazur" Wojciechowski, was a part of the Olympian Triptych prepared for the Olympics 1980 in Moscow, and simultaneously they recorded next album called ZOL.

The band ceased to exist in 1982 when the band leader Tadeusz Nalepa began the solo career.

Till present day the band has been often reactivated for various events and concerts.

19 June 2007 in Rzeszów the Breakout Festival was organized in memory of Mira Kubasińska and Tadeusz Nalepa.

1. Daję ci próg
2. Takie moje miasto jest
3. Nocą puka ktoś
4. Powiedzmy to
5. Rzeka dzieciństwa
6. Jest gdzieś taki dom
7. Śliska dzisiaj droga
8. Zaprowadzić ciebie muszę tam
9. Karate

BREAKOUT - BLUES 1971

In early 1970s's anybody in Poland who have ever tried play music had to study this album. Everybody. Some of them admit to that, some of them don't but the fact is: this generation got its first blues lessons not from Clapton but by studding this album, especially Darek Kozakiewicz's guitar solos. What even more amazing this album single-handed created modern rock music in Hungary. Practically all first release of this LP was sold out to Hungarians who have visited Poland those days, the albums was moving from the shelves as quickly as freshly baked bread... Since that Hungarian rock music got really good and interesting, they have so many great bands, very popular in Poland as well... ( Tadeusz Nalepa )

This artist, Tadeusz Nalepa, hails from Poland, and his band, Breakout, was considered on of the best and most influential rock bands in Poland and it really shows when you begin to listen to this album. Breakout was a band formed in 1969 by Tadeusz Nalepa. Originally, all the singing was done by Mira Kubasinska, but he was later replaced by Nalepa who was also the guitarist and harmonica player. This album, Blues, was Breakout's third album and finally became the sound that they followed.

Tracks :

1. Ona poszla inną drogą
2. Kiedy bylem malym chlopcem
3. Oni zaraz przyjda tu
4. Przyszla do mnie bieda
5. Pomaluj moje sny
6. Usta me ogrzej
7. Gdybym byl wichrem
8. Co się stalo kwiatom
9. Dzisiejszej nocy

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Artwork Included

CHICAGO BLUES ALLSTARS - LOADED WITH THE BLUES 1969

Recorded: July 1, 1969 Cologne, Germany

feat: Willie Dixon (bass,vocals), Sunnyland Slim (piano,vocals), Big Walter Shakey Horton (harmonica,vocals), Johnny Shines (guitar,vocals), Clifton James (drums,vocals)
01 - Fat Mama
02 - German Babies
03 - Baby I Need Your Love
04 - Little Boy Blue
05 - 29 Ways
06 - See See Rider
07 - I Love The World
08 - Put It All In There
09 - Chicago Is Loaded With The
10 - She Gotta Thing Goin' On
11 - Everytime I Get To Drink

KATHY McCORD - KATHY McCORD 1970

One of the strangest records on CTI -- recorded early in the label's history, and kind of a mixture of folk rock and tripped-out jazz, with that Folk Funk Experience sound that really sends us! Kathy's not much in the vocal department, but she's got a dreamy quality that works well over the album's jazzy arrangements by Don Sebesky -- well-crafted with kind of a San Francisco hippy groove, and featuring flute by Hubert Laws and organ by Paul Harris. : ~ Dusty Groove America

Kathy McCord's lone 1969 for CTI Records has long been a cult folk-psych classic, rated highly by all those who enjoy artists such as Nick Drake, Vashti Bunyan and their ilk.

Its cult status has been boosted by its incredible scarcity a true holy grail in collector circles, if ever there was one.

Aside from its original vinyl issue, the only other time its been available in 40 years was via an almost impossible to find, limited Japanese CD that is, if anything, harder to find than the original album now.


Self-titled LP from a woman I know zip all about apart from the fact that she made this one LP and it's the first LP on the CTI label. It goes against everything about CTI - I mean it's not a jazz LP, it's more of a folky thing, with a jazz backing. I think it was a flop for Mr Creed Taylor and he decided to stick to what he knew after it. But it is quite beautiful and she has an almost folky voice which does grow on you very quickly. This is a pain in the *rse to track down. Looking at the cover, it's Kathy in intense close up, and with all things like this you never know whether she is just amazingly beautiful or if this is just a way of possibly disguising the fact she is boss-eyed or something like that. Bloody good record though. : ~ Trunk Records


Kathy McCord's lone 1969 for CTI Records has long been a cult folk-psych classic, rated highly by all those who enjoy artists such as Nick Drake, Vashti Bunyan and their ilk. Its cult status has been boosted by its incredible scarcity - a true holy grail in collector circles, if ever there was one. Aside from its original vinyl issue, the only other time it's been available in 40 years was via an almost impossible to find, limited Japanese CD that is, if anything, harder to find than the original album now


Hubert Laws (Flute), Ed Shaughnessy (Drums), Ed Shaughnessy (Tabla), John Hall (Guitar (Acoustic)), John Hall (Guitar (Electric)), Harvey Brooks (Bass (Electric)), Don Sebesky (Arranger), Don Sebesky (Conductor), Rudy Van Gelder (Engineer), Paul Harris (Organ), Paul Harris (Piano), Wells Kelly (Drums), Creed Taylor (Producer), Tony Lane (Design), Price Givens (Cover Photo), Kathy McCord (Vocals), Kathy McCord (Liner Notes)

Tracks :

a. Rainbow Ride (Kathy McCord) - 5:05
b. I'm Leaving Home (John Lennon/Paul McCartney) - 4:20
c. Candle Waxing (Kathy McCord) - 4:10
d. Baby James (Kathy McCord) - 3:10
e. The Love Flow (Kathy McCord) - 3:00
f. New York Good Sugar/Love Lyric #7 (Kathy McCord) - 3:55
g. For You, Child (Kathy McCord) - 3:07
h. Jennipher (Kathy McCord) - 4:36
i. Take Away This Pain (Kathy McCord) - 5:47
j. Velvet Smile (Kathy McCord/Billy Vera) - 3:15

ALVIN LEE & TEN YEARS AFTER - PURE BLUES 1995

This album is an example of how the blues should be heard. From the opening track to the end, this album is a classic. There are a few really stand out cuts on this one, such the second track; The Bluest Blues, which is a very excellent slow sit back and groove cut. The next two cuts are also really nice, but my favorite one on this album is Slow Blues in "C". This track I can play over and over and have done so on numerous occasions. For some down right jamming, I recommend I Woke Up This Morning. It has all of the elements of an excellent party song. All in all, a really fantastic album which showcase the guitar playing skills of Alvin Lee. Yes, I would recommend this album to my friends.
By stan25 (Riverton Wyoming)








Tracks :

01. Don't Want You Woman
02. The Bluest Blues
03. I Woke up This Morning
04. Real Life Blues
05. The Stomp
06. Slow Blues in C
07. Wake up Moma
08. Talk Don't Bother Me
09. Every Blues You've Ever Heard
10. I Get All Shook Up
11. Lost in Love
12. Help Me - Alvin Lee, Dixon, Willie
13. Outside My Window

OTIS TAYLOR - RECAPTURING THE BANJO 2008

Recapturing the Banjo takes on the challenge of placing the banjo back in rootsier contexts. Taj Mahal did something like this many years ago, in fact. Check out Taj's Recyclin' the Blues album, for instance. Taylor says that "the banjo has become so closely associated with folk singers and bluegrass players. Over the years, the instrument just lost touch with its roots, and I'm just trying to re-establish that connection." Does it work?

Indeed it does. From the first clawhammer notes of "Ran So Hard the Sun Went Down" which features Alvin Youngblood Hart, Corey Harris and Don Vappie joining Otis Taylor on banjos, and Otis hooting the vocals, through "A Prophet's Mission" (Hart taking the lead on a tale about Tecumseh) right to death songs ("Simple Mind") to the Keb' Mo' tune that closes the album ("The Way It Goes") this is an album of moods and melody. The banjo becomes more than simply that percussive, harsh thing in the background. It's more than the flashy solo bluegrass instrument. It takes on an identity of its own. And you begin to hear subtleties you never thought possible.

Of course the presence of such a fine group of banjo sympathisers helps. Along with Hart, Harris, Keb' Mo' and Vappie, there's Guy Davis on mandolin, guitar and harmonica, Cassie Taylor on bass and Ron Miles on cornet. Add a touch of lap steel here and an electric banjo there, and you have a classic album celebrating a classic instrument. With Otis Taylor's fine songwriting and leadership this makes for a remarkable listening experience.

Tracks :

1. Ran So Hard the Sun Went Down
2. Prophets Mission
3. Absinthe
4. Live Your Life
5. Walk Right In
6. Bow-Legged Charlie
7. Hey Joe
8. Little Liza Jane
9. Five Hundred Roses
10. Les Ognons
11. Deep Blue Sea
12. Simple Mind
13. Ten Million Slaves
14. Way It Goes, The

HOWARD WALES & JERRY GARCIA - HOOTEROLL 1971

The Grateful Dead's legendary leader Jerry Garcia has always been considered a very good guitarist with versatility to match. And on Hooteroll? (Evolver), a 1971 collaboration with keyboardist Howard Wales, Garcia has plenty of moments to demonstrate that he was more than just a rock 'n' roller. Wales, who played with the Dead on their 1970 album American Beauty, is not to be undervalued either. His organ work is especially notable wherever it is showcased on Hooteroll? The classic Grateful Dead sound can be detected on the margins, but for the most part this record is Garcia and Wales' more-than-able stab at improvisational music. And they do well, despite the album's occasionally sparse sound.

Beginning with "Morning in Marin," a rocking number with feverish drum patterns, it's clear right away that the music here is about time and place, and it drives home the point that this album is about something different, something more experimental and challenging. The spacey and soft "Da Birg Song" follows, and Deadheads will likely take to this track. It suggests that common theme found in the music of the late '60s and early '70s: escape. Wales' keyboards carry the tune well while Garcia plays behind his partner with mandolin-like guitar work. However, best of all is the work of flutist and saxophonist Martin Fierro. Time and again, Fierro's solos are pure and honest.

At the end of this transitory musical experience, Garcia and Wales offer an appropriate finality to their tale with "Evening in Marin." The day is over, the band is tired, and the slowing-down sounds of Garcia and Wales are etched into your memory like a well-earned road trip.

By Brian Gilmore
Tracks :

1. Morning in Marin

2. Birg Song

3. South Side Strut

4. Up from the Desert

5. DC-502

6. One A.M. Approach

7. Uncle Martini's

8. Evening in Marin