MICHAEL FENNELY - STRANGER'S BED 1975

Michael Fennelly was born in 1949, in New Jersey, but moved to L.A. where he became involved in California's pop/protest movement. By 1967, Fennelly had secured a publishing deal with songwriter/producer Curt Boettcher's Mee Moo Music and became a member of Boettcher's studio-based collective of musicians, including the two main groups, Sagittarius, and the Millennium. Fennelly -- one of five singer/guitarist/songwriters in the latter group, who were actually intended to be a proper live act -- provided fabulous falsetto vocals in addition to co-writing much of the group's material, often with guitarist/vocalist Joey Stec, another member of the Sagittarius/Millennium collective. In 1969, Fennelly was looking to form a group of his own to showcase his lead vocal talents and songwriting when met the members of a band called Stonehenge, a blues-oriented group who were being scouted by Elektra's David Anderle, a friend of their manager's. The band -- with Fennelly now taking over lead vocals and songwriting duties -- changed their name to Crabby Appleton and signed to Elektra Records. Their first album, Crabby Appleton, was produced by Don Gallucci (from Don & the Good Times) and released in 1970. It enjoyed reasonable success with a catchy Top 40 hit, "Go Back," which peaked at number 36 in July 1970 after five weeks on the charts. Crabby Appleton's second album, Rotten to the Core, was released in October 1971. Despite complimentary reviews, the group's two albums proved ultimately unsuccessful and the band broke up. Fennelly later traveled to England, where he began focusing on a solo career, recording two solo albums. The first, Lane Changer, was recorded in London with the support of ex-Zombies bassist/producer Chris White and Rod Argent on synthesizer. A second solo album, Stranger's Bed, was recorded in L.A., produced by Denny Bruce and engineered by Keith Olsen (incidentally, Fennelly's album was Olsen's last as a engineer -- he was, at the same time, producing Fleetwood Mac's first album with two new members, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks). Released by Mercury in 1975, Stranger's Bed failed to chart. Fennelly is still involved in the music business.. ~ Bryan Thomas, Rovi

Tracks : 

Pretty Face / Hard Bargin Driver
Tomorrow's Star
Only A Child
Stranger's Bed
Dreamer
Turn To Me
Sweet Pain
Sad Dream Of Louise
The Day Of The Fire

RICHARD AND LINDA THOMPSON - I WANT TO SEE THE BRIGHT LIGHTS TONIGHT 1974

In 1974, Richard Thompson and the former Linda Peters released their first album together, and I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight was nothing short of a masterpiece, the starkly beautiful refinement of the promise of Thompson's solo debut, Henry the Human Fly. In Linda Thompson, Richard found a superb collaborator and a world-class vocalist; Linda possessed a voice as clear and rich as Sandy Denny's, but with a strength that could easily support Richard's often weighty material, and she proved capable of tackling anything presented to her, from the delicately mournful "Has He Got a Friend for Me" to the gleeful cynicism of "The Little Beggar Girl." And while Richard had already made clear that he was a songwriter to be reckoned with, on I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight he went from strength to strength. While the album's mood is decidedly darker than anything he'd recorded before, the sorrow of "Withered and Died," "The End of the Rainbow," and "The Great Valerio" spoke not of self-pity but of the contemplation of life's cruelties by a man who, at 25, had already been witness to more than his share. And though Thompson didn't give himself a guitar showcase quite like "Roll Over Vaughn Williams" on Henry the Human Fly, the brilliant solos that punctuated many of the songs were manna from heaven for any guitar enthusiast. While I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight may be the darkest music of Richard & Linda Thompson's career, in this chronicle of pain and longing they were able to forge music of striking and unmistakable beauty; if the lyrics often ponder the high stakes of our fate in this life, the music offered a glimpse of the joys that make the struggle worthwhile. 

Tracks : 

1. "When I Get To The Border"
2. "The Calvary Cross"
3. "Withered and Died"
4. "I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight"
5. "Down Where the Drunkards Roll"
6. "We Sing Hallelujah"
7. "Has He Got A Friend For Me"
8. "The Little Beggar Girl"
9. "The End of the Rainbow"
10. "The Great Valerio"

STING - ON A WINTER'S NIGHT 2009

If on a Winter's Night presents an arc of songs that conjure the season of spirits, the eerie silences of the snow; days of solitude and reflection for some, a time of re-birth and celebration for many. With traditional music of the British Isles as their starting point, Sting and his guest musicians draw the listener in through a collection of songs, carols, and lullabies spanning the centuries - such as The Snow it Melts the Soonest (traditional Newcastle ballad), Soul Cake (traditional English "begging" song) Gabriel's Message (14th century carol), as well as two of Sting's own compositions - Lullaby for an Anxious Child and The Hounds of Winter. Also featured on the album is Hurdy Gurdy Man - a musical reworking and English translation (by Sting) of Der Leiermann from Schubert's classic winter song-cycle Winterreise. For this exploration of the themes and emotions of winter Sting is joined by friend and long time colleague, guitarist Dominic Miller - and an ensemble of three remarkable musicians from Northern England and Scotland: Kathryn Tickell (fiddle and Northumbrian pipes) Julian Sutton (melodian) and Mary MacMaster (metal string Scottish harp). Additional guest artists include Vincent Ségal (cello), Daniel Hope (violin), Chris Botti (trumpet), Ibrahim Maalouf (trumpet), Stile Antico (vocal ensemble), Cyro Baptista (percussion), Bijan Chemirani (percussion) and the Webb Sisters (vocals). Together they've created an album with a wonderful, warm, and unique ensemble sound - an acoustic meditation on winter.

Tracks :

"Gabriel's Message" (2:34)

"Soul Cake" (3:29)

"There is No Rose of Such Virtue" (4:04)

"The Snow It Melts the Soonest" (3:44)

"Christmas at Sea" (4:38)

"Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming" (2:42)

"Cold Song" (3:16)

"The Burning Babe" (2:45)

"Now Winter Comes Slowly" (3:06)

"The Hounds of Winter" (5:51)

"Balulalow" (3:10)

"Cherry Tree Carol" (3:12)

"Lullaby for an Anxious Child" (2:50)

"The Hurdy-Gurdy Man" (2:51)

"You Only Cross My Mind in Winter" (2:36)

HOLDERLINS TRAUM - HOLDERLINS TRAUM 1971

And what a dream it is! Here's a challenge: how do you describe a great album when you can't understand the lyrics? The album's name is `Traum', which is the German word for dream. Dream-like is as perfect a description as any for this surreal folk. The music is acoustic and often accompanied by flute and dark organ/mellotron. "Waren wir" and the title track, which open and close the album respectively are the most complete songs; they feature the entire band: drum, bass, organ, flute, acoustic guitar. The drummer, whose listed name is simply Michael, is essential to these tracks. His rock-jazz style lends these two tracks an ominous urgency that carries them (and the album as a whole) far above and beyond the rest of the folk-rock that was whizzing about at that time. My favorite is the title track for its funky undertone-some great conga and violin playing on it also. In between the first and last track are some of the dreamiest, acoustic songs you will ever hear. The lead singer, Nanny, is downright haunting as she is accompanied by flute on most of these songs. "peter" sounds like a traditional minstrel song you'd hear in a tavern on a dark night. "strohhalm", which means straw, is an Indian influenced bit complete with tablas and flute. "requiem fur einen wicht", or a requiem for a dwarf or miserable person, shifts moods spectacularly in its middle going from acoustic narrative to full-fledged bass and drum workout and yet still somehow remains grounded in its folky theme. "erwachen", or awaken, is a more medieval song and probably the most fairy-tale like. "wetterbericht", or weather report, is a quiet song with a nice guitar solo. On a side note, this album was crafted in 1970. Another German band at that time, Broselmaschine, was to make their own fantastic splash a year later. That album, like Traum, featured amazing, stream-of-consciousness acoustic folk. Two of Broselmaschine's musicians were guest artists on `strohhalm' providing the tables and sitar.

Info by

Robert Cossaboon

Tracks :

1. Waren wir (4:53)
2. "Peter" (2:52)
3. Strohhalm (2:20)
4. Reqiem für einen Wicht (6:32)
5. Erwachen (4:20)
6. Wetterbericht (6:34)
7. Traum (7:20)

THE BEST OF TUCK & PATTI 1996

Over a career of jazz, R&B, and crossover recordings, husband-and-wife duo Tuck & Patti have produced a remarkable amount of music, especially considering that they rely on the textures of only guitar and voice. Tuck Andress was born in Oklahoma and studied classical guitar at Stanford University before traveling to Las Vegas to audition for a show band in 1980; also there was Patti Cathcart, a San Francisco native who was classically trained in the Bay Area. The two hit it off immediately, and began to perform as a duo around California beginning in 1981. They were married in 1983, but resisted recording contracts so they could cement their unique sound. Finally, in 1987, Tuck & Patti signed to Windham Hill Jazz, recording albums for the label in 1988 (Tears of Joy), 1989 (Love Warriors), and 1991 (Dream). Tuck Andress also released several solo albums for Windham Hill, and the duo signed to Epic in 1995.Tuck & Patti's first album for Epic, Learning How to Fly, alternatedCathcart originals with several covers of contemporary standards.Paradise Found followed in 1998. Taking the Long Way Homeappeared two years later. In 2002 Chocolate Moment, only their second album of original songs, and the first on their own label, was released, followed the next year with A Gift of Love, a collection of romantic covers originally intended solely for the Asian market, though the success it found there prompted Tuck & Patti to also issue it in Europe and the U.S. In 2006, the third Windham Hill compilation, Pure Tuck & Patti, was released.

Tracks :

Tears Of Joy
Time After Time
Castles Made of Sand/Little Wing
Better Than Anything
Takes My Breath Away
Europa
Dream
Love is the Key
Sitting in Limbo
Sweet P
Love Warriors
As Time Goes By

JAN AKKERMAN - PROFILE 1972

What can a man do with a guitar?

Being referred to as one of the best guitarist on the globe this moment had to come: the ultimate guitar solo record. To be more specific: the ultimate guitar side of a record.

Side one is filled with the Fresh Air piece, roughly based on some strange concept I don't understand really well. The sub-parts itself however correlate with their titles. The song opens with psychedelic keys played by Akkerman himself on Fender piano, a great atmospheric start. Soon the Wrestling to get out part begins and a non-melodic jazz extravaganza is about to unfold. The title being the best way to discribe Akkerman's guitarplaying: it's like a mad rage to do the extreme. You will hear sound you've never heard before and speed beyond the imaginable. The basslines by Bert Ruiter (Focus) and drums by the masterfull Pierre van der Linden guide us to the best of hard jazz/rock or heavy fusion (which do you prefer?). I love the groovin' bassplaying. Fresh air - blue notes for listening is again a track with a title that doesn't need no explanation when you've heard it. One of the few relaxing tracks of the album. Jan Akkerman drops the speed for atmospheric guitar play, reminding me a bit of Robert Fripp. This is a welcome piece of music between two storms. For after this we'll get to hear some more Akkerman solo's of mad musicianship. This is the best track Jan Akkerman ever recorded in my opinion.

Side two. I don't listen to it very often but it is a midiocre collection of lute and blues songs which don't mach at all. I'm not even goin to tell something about it.

Conclusion. Now.. can a one side record make a masterpiece. I think in this case it does. The Fresh Air suite is a progressive masterpiece, a Fusion end point (this is fusion in the extreme) and a guitar axeman track of the highest skill. One of my most important records in my collection. Five stars! (but just for side one).

Tracks :

01. "Fresh Air" 19:55
a. Must be my land
b. Wrestling to get out
c. Back again
d. The fight
e. Fresh air - blue notes for listening
f. Water and skies are telling me
g. Happy Gabriel ?
02. "Kemps Jig" 1:34
03. "Etude" 1:33
04. "Blue Boy" 2:26
05. "Andante Sostenuto" 4:09
06. "Maybe Just a Dream" 2:35
07. "Minstrel/Farmers Dance" 1:46
08. "Stick" 3:39

FOGHAT - FOGHAT 1972

Breaking away from Savoy Brown to form this band, the members of Foghat knew from the start what sort of record they wanted to make. With heavy emphasis on the hard boogie, Foghat got down to work with the help of Dave Edmunds and crafted a hard rock gem. Covering Chuck Berry's "Maybellene," they goosed the beat up until it was almost a precursor of the heavy metal yet to come. Interspersing covers with original material, they immediately found a place for themselves in the rock world. ~ James Chrispell, All Music Guide
















Tracks :


1. "I Just Want to Make Love to You" (Willie Dixon) - 4:21
2. "Trouble Trouble" (Dave Peverett) - 3:20
3. "Leavin' Again (Again!)" (Peverett, Tony Stevens) - 3:36
4. "Fool's Hall of Fame" (Peverett) - 2:58
5. "Sara Lee" (Peverett, Rod Price) - 4:36
6. "Highway (Killing Me)" (Peverett, Price) - 3:51
7. "Maybellene" - 3:33 (Chuck Berry)
8. "A Hole to Hide In" (Peverett, Price, Roger Earl) - 4:06
9. "Gotta Get to Know You" (Deadric Malone, Andre Williams) - 7:44

ROLLING STONES - NOW! 1965

Although their third American album was patched together (in the usual British Invasion tradition) from a variety of sources, it's their best early R&B-oriented effort. Most of the Stones' early albums suffer from three or four very weak cuts; Now! is almost uniformly strong start-to-finish, the emphasis on some of their blackest material. The covers of "Down Home Girl," Bo Diddley's vibrating "Mona," Otis Redding's "Pain in My Heart," and Barbara Lynn's "Oh Baby" are all among the group's best R&B interpretations. The best gem is "Little Red Rooster," a pure blues with wonderful slide guitar from Brian Jones (and a number one single in Britain, although it was only an album track in the U.S.). As songwriters, Jagger and Richards are still struggling, but they come up with one of their first winners (and an American Top 20 hit) with the yearning, soulful "Heart of Stone." ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide


Tracks :

Side one

1. "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" (Solomon Burke/Bert Berns/Jerry Wexler) 5:05
2. "Down Home Girl" (Jerry Leiber/Arthur Butler) 4:11
3. "You Can't Catch Me" (Chuck Berry) 3:38
4. "Heart of Stone" 2:58
5. "What a Shame" 3:03
6. "Mona (I Need You Baby)" (Ellas McDaniel) 3:35
Side two

7. "Down the Road Apiece" (Don Raye) 2:55
8. "Off the Hook" 2:36
9. "Pain in My Heart" (Allen Toussaint) 2:12
10. "Oh Baby (We Got a Good Thing Goin')" (Barbara Lynn Ozen) 2:06
11. "Little Red Rooster" (Willie Dixon) 3:04
12. "Surprise, Surprise"

FOGHAT - ROCK AND ROLL 1973

Foghat essentially was a reversal of a band that didn’t include Kim Simmonds. Simmonds, the mainstay of Savoy Brown, had “Lonesome Dave” Peverett (who was in Savoy Brown for multiple albums), Tony Stevens, and Roger Earl in a configuration of Savoy Brown that produced the fine Looking In album before the three slipped the confines of the band in 1971 and formed Foghat. They brought in Rod Price, whose blues guitar and slide methods matched what the other three were feeling and the rest was history.

They produced the first album that yielded the classic interpretation of Willie Dixon’s “I Just Want to Make Love to You” as well as Chuck Berry’s “Maybellene.” But the real winner in Foghat’s career was the unsung Rock and Roll album, so named because of the cover shot of a rock and a roll. The album otherwise did not sport a title past the band’s name.

Rock and Roll was released in 1973 and contained a bluesy mix of rock found on 9 excellent songs. The album’s only cover tune, “Feel So Bad,” allowed Foghat to further define their sound, a trait that they took even further on Energized with a fiery version of Buddy Holly’s “That’ll Be the Day” and Big Joe Turner’s “Honey Hush.” While “Feel So Bad” doesn’t really show off Foghat’s capabilities to their fullest, it still is a welcome and enjoyable song. Price’s slide is all over on this song.

Other standouts in an already excellent album, perhaps their best, are “What a Shame,” a song that was already recorded and on the charts prior to this album’s release but remixed for inclusion here; the superb “It’s Too Late,” a cooker of a road song in “Road Fever,” and the untouchable “She’s Gone.”

All of Foghat’s albums should be revisited with Definitive Editions, especially replacing the meager releases that we have today with pumped up booklets and digipak casing.

Foghat would go on to bigger things – bigger stadiums, more album sales, and flashier lifestyles – but before they got there with songs like “Fool for the City,” “Slow Ride,” and other hits, they cut their teeth with albums that were never revisited in style. Rock and Roll is one of those. I call it their best achievement.

If you became a Foghat fan during their Fool for the City years and after, excellent. I encourage you to dig deeper and give Rock and Roll a try. If you were there from the beginning, following the boys from Savoy Brown to a new incarnation, dig the album out and enjoy some of the old days. But if you are younger than all of this, and need a “new” sound, let me suggest Foghat’s first three albums, Foghat, Rock and Roll, and Energized. Where you go from there is up to you.

(http://www.musictap.net/Reviews/FoghatRockAndRollCD.html - Reviewed by - Matt Rowe)

Tracks :

1. "Ride, Ride, Ride" - 4:24
2. "Feel So Bad" - 5:09
3. "Long Way to Go" - 5:07
4. "It's Too Late" - 3:52
5. "What a Shame" - 3:57
6. "Helpin' Hand" - 4:41
7. "Road Fever" - 4:22
8. "She's Gone" - 3:12
9. "Couldn't Make Her Stay" - 1:57

NED DOHENY - HARD CANDY 1976

Ned Doheny's music really defies categorisation - West Coast, but very funky; sometimes disco-flavoured; with jazz undertones; and his voice is superb. This album exudes sheer class.

'Hard Candy' is his second album, originally released as an LP in 1977 but latterly released twice on CD in Japan, first as a conventional CD and latterly as a card-sleeved LP replica CD. His subsequent albums - including the outstanding 'Prone' and the excellent 'Life After Romance (+5 Bonus Tracks)' - were also released in Japan.

Tracks :

A1 Get It Up For Love

A2 If You Should Fall

A3 Each Time You Pray

A4 When Love Hangs In The Balance

B1 A Love Of Your Own

B2 I've Got Your Number

B3 On The Swingshift

B4 Sing To Me

B5 Valentine (I Was Wrong About You)