Listen to a test pressing of Robert Johnson's "Cross Road Blues" (Take 2)

ROBERT JOHNSON

Vocals accompanied by own guitar

Recorded at the Gunter Hotel, San Antonio, Texas, on November 27, 1936.

 SA 2629-2 "Cross Road Blues" (Take 2) shellac test pressing

Writes Nick Dellow, sound restorer:

"Here is an extremely rare shellac master "test pressing" of the unissued (on 78) take 2 of "Cross Road Blues" (a.k.a. "Crossroad Blues") by delta blues singer and guitarist Robert Johnson, recorded in 1936. The issued take is take 1.

"This test was pressed in the 1940s from the original ARC (American Record Corporation) metal parts by George Avakian, a young producer at Columbia Records (Columbia had bought ARC in 1938). Avakian was an avid jazz and blues fan who had discovered numerous unreleased master recordings held by Columbia, including those by Robert Johnson, in the company's Bridgeport factory in 1940.

"Avakian planned to release the masters as part of his comprehensive "Hot Jazz Classics" series of 78 rpm albums, but he prioritized other reissues. The masters were eventually released in 1961, when they were dubbed to microgroove for the Columbia LP "Robert Johnson - King of the Delta Blues Singers", with a follow-up volume two issued in 1970. As far as I know, all the unissued takes were reissued on these LPs.

Singer/songwriter Gary Louris @ Hugh's Room, April 17

Jayhawks mainman Gary Louris plays a solo acoustic show at Hugh's Room on Friday, April 17 and tickets are going fast. 

Gary Louris Live!

at Hugh's Room (296 Broadview Ave)

$35 in advance, $42 at the door.  

$15 Arts Worker/ Underemployed/ Student

Get tickets here: https://bit.ly/4kOPjP2

Coming to Hugh’s Room on Friday, April 17 is singer/songwriter, guitarist and producer Gary Louris.  He has built a deeply compelling body of music whose artistry and integrity has won the loyalty of an international audience and the respect of both critics and peers. Best known for his seminal work with The Jayhawks and Minneapolis rockabilly group

Safety Last, he has also worked with alt-rock supergroup Golden Smog. Gary's most recent recording, the largely autobiographical Dark Country, was released by Sham/Thirty Tigers in February 2025 and includes the song "Listening To Bobby Charles" which he performs following revealing interviews for WMOT-FM and The Current below.  

First glimpse of John Coltrane's "Tiberi Tapes" on the way for RSD

The first release of Frank Tiberi's long-rumoured private recordings of John Coltrane in action are due out Saturday. 

Here's the scoop...

“THE TIBERI TAPES: A PREVIEW OF THE MYTHICAL RECORDINGS” is a special single-LP release, available exclusively at participating Record Store Day stores and offering an early glimpse ahead of the full release arriving September 2026 via Impulse! as part of Coltrane’s centennial celebration.

For decades, the private recordings of John Coltrane’s group, captured by musician Frank Tiberi in the early 1960s, have lived in legend, surrounded by rumour and deep intrigue. Following Coltrane through clubs in New York and Philadelphia, Tiberi documented the boundary-pushing, otherworldly performances unfolding night after night on his portable tape recorder.

For the first time ever, these recordings will be made available in September 2026 as part of John Coltrane’s centennial celebration. “THE TIBERI TAPES: A PREVIEW OF THE MYTHICAL RECORDINGS” offers a single-LP preview of these historic recordings with liner notes by Ashley Kahn and will be available April 18th at participating Record Store Day stores. Thanks to producer Ken Drucker for making it happen. 

Todd Rundgren's first-ever RUNT live performance due for Record Store Day

Rhino is releasing a limited vinyl pressing of a Todd Rundgen 1971 performance at Philadephia's famed Sigma Sound Studios.

Here's the scoop...

The first ever solo Todd Rundgren performance captured at Philadelphia’s legendary Sigma Sound Studios on June 30th, 1971 and broadcast live over WMMR. Featuring future Utopia keyboardist Mark “Moogy” Klingman, Brethren singer/guitarist Tom Cosgrove and bassist Stu Woods along with drummer Norman “N.D.” Smart II (The Remains, Bo Grumpus, Great Speckled Bird, Kangaroo, Gram Parsons' Fallen Angels). Rhino's exclusive RSD (4/18) pressing of 3000 copies will be issued on transparent light blue vinyl. Check the tracklisting followed by most of the WMMR broadcast below. 

RUNT 

Live: The Necessary Cosmic Frenzy

Side A

1. Lady On The Terrace (Tom Cosgrove/Brethren)

2. I Got My Pipe

3. We Gonna Rock

4. Hold Me Tight (excerpt of Beatles cover)

5. Everybody In The Congregation (Tom Cosgrove/Brethren)

6. Lady On The Terrace (alternate mix)

Side B

1. Broke Down And Busted

2. Before I Grow Too Old (Fats Domino cover)

3. Ooh Baby Baby (Smokey Robinson & The Miracles cover)

4. Tonight I Want To Love Me A Stranger

5. Provided For

One For The Weekend: Massive Attack with Tom Waits

Watch the video for the new Massive Attack and Tom Waits collaboration "Boots On The Ground" about the currently unravelling U.S. democracy.

Here's the scoop from Tom Waits HQ...

Today Massive Attack is sharing their collaboration with Tom Waits, "Boots on the Ground." And sadly for all, their song is never more urgent and timely. The song chronicles the madness and rabid abandonment of mankind to the commands of "The Masters of War” as Dylan put it. It marks Massive Attack's first new music since 2020 and Waits’s first new recording since the 2011 album, Bad As Me.

The song is available today on streaming platforms, and will be followed by a 12" vinyl release. The 12” edition features "Boots on the Ground" on Side A, with an exclusively Waits B-side titled "The Fly” - a track featuring Waits’s trademark droll and sardonic spoken word.

Watch the video for "Boots On The Ground" below. Get it right here. 

Remembering blues great Johnny Littlejohn on his birthday

Raising a glass to slide guitar slasher deluxe Johnny Littlejohn with a few recordings and a 1968 interview with Chris Strachwitz.

LINKS
Arhoolie Foundation John Littlejohn talks with Chris Strachwitz in 1968

Watch Johnny's 1985 performance with Eddie Taylor, Taildragger & Honeyboy Edwards right here

 

R.I.P. Canadian stage and screen star Dinah Christie, 1942-2026

Sadly, Dinah Christie – co-star of CHCH-TV's Party Game, who recorded a song for Justin Trudeau in '72 – has passed away at 83. She'll be greatly missed.

Dinah Christie on CBC-TV's This Hour Has Seven Days