Far Out label digs up the early Azymüth demos

Fans of 70s Brazilian jazz funk will delight in the release of these unheard recordings cut at Jose Roberto Bertrami's home studio.

Here's the scoop from Far Out...
Since their debut album release in 1975, Azymuth have risen to rank alongside the world’s greatest jazz, funk and fusion artists. As young men in Rio de Janeiro, they stood out for both their exceptional talent as musicians, and their wild rock ‘n’ roll antics in the predominantly middle-class worlds of bossa nova and jazz. Their signature ‘Samba Doido’ (crazy samba) sound ruptured the tried and tested musical structures of the day, resulting in what can only be described as an electric, psychedelic, samba jazz-funk hybrid.

But before they became Azymuth, Jose Roberto Bertrami (keyboards), Ivan ‘Mamão’ Conti (drums), Alex Malheiros (bass) and Ariovaldo Contesini (percussion) played backing band to just about every major artist in Brazil. Bertrami was also contracted as an arranger and songwriter at some the biggest labels of the era: Polydor, Philips, Som Livre, and EMI being just a few. Azymuth’s name can be found on record sleeves by the likes of Jorge Ben, Elis Regina, Marcos Valle, Ana Mazzotti and countless others. But at the dawn of the seventies, fascinated by developments in improvisational music - from jazz in the US, to progressive rock in the UK and of course samba, bossa and tropicália on home turf - the energetic young group were inspired and ready to move forward.

Any spare moment in which they weren’t in sessions and writing music for other artists, they would be carving out their own sound.

These previously unheard recordings took place between 1973-75 at Bertrami’s home studio in the Laranjeiras district of Rio de Janeiro. At the time of recording, there was nothing in Brazil, less the world that sounded anything like them, so perhaps it’s unsurprising that when Bertrami presented his demos to the record companies he had been working for, he was turned away, and told in effect that the music was ‘wrong’.

One of the demos ‘Manhã’ would be picked up by Som Livre and Azymuth released their seminal debut album in 1975. Throughout the late seventies and eighties, the group released a series of now classic albums for Milestone Records, before taking an indefinite hiatus to pursue their individual careers.

When English producers Joe Davis and Roc Hunter arrived in Brazil in 1994 to record the first Azymuth album in over a decade, Bertrami dug out the demos which had sat virtually untouched for over twenty years. Joe recalls how he was “blown away by the freedom and intensity of the music, as well as the genius of the ideas musically.” Beginning a long and fruitful relationship, ‘Prefacio’ would be the first track Azymuth recorded for Far Out Recordings and was released on the Carnival album (1996).

Along with ‘Manhã’ and ‘Prefacio’, only a handful of these demos were ever professionally recorded and released, making this the first opportunity to hear many of these early Azymuth compositions in their raw, original form.

On every track the frenetic energy in the studio is palpable, giving the recordings a beautifully personal feel and a sense of the phenomenally creative vision Bertrami, Malheiros and Conti were realising at the time. Fifty years on, Azymuth’s earliest recorded music retains an ineffable, futuristic quality, standing amongst their most captivating and moving work.

Check out "Castelo" (Version 1) followed by the complete tracklist below. You can order both volumes of Azymuth Demos (1973-75) directly from Far Out right here.



Azymuth Demos (1973-75) Vol 1 & Vol 2 tracklist: 
01. Prefacio*
02. Castelo (Version 1)*
03. Melô Da Cuica*
04. Xingó (Version 1)*
05. Laranjeiras*
06. Equipe 68*
07. Unknown Jam*
08. Unknown Song for Mario Telles*
09. Duro De Roer**
10. Manhã**
11. Tempos Do Paraná**
12. Bateria Do Mamão**
13. Quem Tem Medo**
14. Xingó (Version 2)**
15. Juntos Mais Uma Vez**
16. Castelo (Version 2)**
*Tracks on Vol.1
**Tracks on Vol.2

Pat Todd & the RankOutsiders' The Past Came Callin' album out today!

Germany's Hound Gawd! label shows excellent taste in releasing the latest from Pat Todd, the former Lazy Cowgirls mainman. 

Pat Todd & The RankOutsiders – The Past Came Callin'

Side 1
1. If I Only Could Fly Backwards In Time – 3:38
2. The Ballad Of Crystal Valladares – 3:22
3. Call You On Sunday Night – 4:04
4. Run – 2:59
5. Down In Old Boerne – 2:52
6. The Ring, The Bottle & The Gun – 2:29
7. Going’ Nowhere - 3:57

Side 2
1. A New Pair Of Eyes – 2:57
2. Yeah, Ya Had A Bad Night - 3:48
3. Any Other Way - 3:09
4. Idle Time - 3:19
5. Somewhere Down The Line - 3:14
6. The Future Callin’ - 3:30
7. Just Between You & Me - 4:21



Credits
Pat Todd - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar & Harmonica
Nick Alexander - Electric & Acoustic Guitar & Vocals
Kevin Keller - Electric & Acoustic Guitar & Vocals & Lead Vocal on The Ring, The Bottle & The Gun
Steven Vigh - Bass Guitar & Vocals
Walter Phelan - Drums, Percussion & Editing
Produced & Mixed by Earle Mankey & Pat Todd
All Arrangements by the Rankoutsiders / Mastered by Earle Mankey
Recorded at Earle’s Rankoutsider Wreckroom Thousand Oaks, CA

Release Date: May 31, 2019

R.I.P. Leon Redbone, 1949-2019

Wth typical humour, Leon's death notice read: "early this morning, May 30th, Leon Redbone crossed the delta for that beautiful shore at the age of 127”

Happy Birthday Shake Keane!

Remembering St. Vincent-born musician and poet Ellsworth McGranahan "Shake" Keane with a couple of stellar performances. 

Toronto MC Don Cash aka Rulez stays two steps ahead with "Kawhi Version"

"Kawhi Version" is off the new Rulez album Deluxe: "Next June Imma see that Jurassic world title parade – I predict it"  

Check out Deluxe, the new prescient new album from Rulez on iTunes here or Spotify there.

Midweek Mixdown: Sweet Sounds From The Congo

Here's an enjoyable selection of some vintage Congolese rumba 7" singles assembled by Hive Mind Records.

Happy Birthday Gary Stewart!

Remembering the late great Gary Stewart with his countrified cover of "Baby I Need Your Loving" and an old classic.

Candy Snatchers' "lost" album Moronic Pleasures gets released

After the Candy Snatchers issued their debut in '96 and before recording '98's Human Zoo, they made Moronic Pleasures which was shelved until now.

Candy Snatchers – Moronic Pleasures (Hound Gawd!)
Side 1
1. No Time To Waste – 2:19
2. Color Me Blood Red – 1:09
3. Pissed Off, Ripped Off, Screwed – 1:07
4. If You Can’t Have Fun, You Ain’t Fun – 1:49
5. Burn It To The Ground – 2:32
6. You Make It Hard – 1:31
7. Hard Up - 1:27
8. Hooligan - 1:25
9. Real Thick Head - 1:44
10. Gone For Good - 2:06
Side 2
1. Killin' My Buzz – 1:01
2. Run You Down - 1:35
3. Fresh Rag - 2:26
4. She Sure Can Blow - 1:35
5. Such A Fool - 2:02
6. Moronic Pleasures - 1:47
7. Ass Casserole - 2:41
8. Bum - 1:17
9. You Want What - 2:04

Credits:
Larry May – vocals
Matthew Odietus – guitar
Willy Johns – bass
Sergio Ponce – drums
Paul Johnson: recording engineer
Dan-O Deckelman: analog-to-digital transfer
Dennis Kane: mixing and mastering
Jake Starr: super-fan and producer
Andrea Rizzo: Cover photos

The Candy Snatchers' Moronic Pleasures album is available directly from Hound Gawd! Records. There's a Moronic Pleasures release party planned for June 28th with The Candy Snatchers joined by Zodiac Panthers and Sick Bags at The Camel (1621 W. Broad St) in Richmond, Virginia. Check this link for more info.

LINKS
50ThirdAndThird: Get A Candy Snatchers Cavity – Lost Gem Hits The Sweet Spot

Greg Foat, Paul Armfield & Ken Black have Gone To The Dogs

Sound library fans will enjoy Brit jazz keyboardist Greg Foats' trio set for JazzAggression. 

Here's the scoop...
A dedication to man’s best friend, GONE TO THE DOGS is the result of a surprise collaboration between renowned UK pianist Greg Foat, bassist Paul Armfield and drummer Ken Black. Greg had initially booked Red Squirrel studios for another project but was left alone in the last minute, luckily Paul and Ken came to the rescue and this is the result, 4 original tracks – completely improvised with a strong groove backbone and Greg on the Rhodes spicing it up with additional Roland Juno 106 interplay. A surprisingly fresh listen! Limited to 500 copies, UK type sleeve and laminated front, out May 31st on JazzAggression. Listen to snippets below.

The Chromatics w/ Desire, In Mirrors, Tess Roby play Danforth Music Hall, Monday

Johnny Jewel's Chromatics crew, his side project Desire, Jesse Taylor's In Mirrors and Tess Roby hit Toronto tonight. Watch the Time Rider clip below.

In "Time Rider," Johnny Jewel's Chromatics employ the metaphor of a motorcycle as an inter-dimensional bridge between the future and the past. In this dream, the motorcyclist mirrors myths of the grim reaper as Ruth Radelet eerily asks "Can I take your hand? I want to ride with you into the storm."

Chromatics will play their first public concerts in over five years. The last time Chromatics was on stage was for the filming of their Roadhouse appearances in David Lynch's Twin Peaks. This six-week North American tour will be the first time the band performs live with vocalist Ruth Radelet in many of the cities. Onstage, the group will be playing their favorite moments from Night Drive, Kill For Love, Cherry, and Dear Tommy.

Montreal's Desire will be performing in direct support of Chromatics. Frontwoman Megan Louise sings in French and English over Italo disco laced dream pop. Their single "Under Your Spell" made a splash on the silver screen in Nicolas Winding Refn's cult classic Drive alongside label mates Chromatics, Electric Youth, & Kavinsky.

From Vancouver, B.C., Italians Do It Better labelmates In Mirrors open the nights with their hypnotic brand of minimal wave, krautrock, and post punk.

Visually, the entire night features films directed by Johnny Jewel mixed live by video artist Danny Perez (Antibirth, Panda Bear). Bringing a cinematic experience to the concerts, the bands will be blurring the line between stage and screen.

Watch the videos for Chromatics' "Time Rider," Desire's "Tears From Heaven," followed by In Mirrors' "Take Your Movement Away" and Tess Roby's "Given Signs" below.

Happy Birthday Dee Dee Bridgewater!

Celebrating the birthday of the amazing Dee Dee Bridgewater with a selection of songs from Memphis... Yes, I'm Ready.

Andy Votel unleashes second volume of synth curios on Plastic Dance 2

Plastic Dance 2 features tracks from Stabat Stable, Beach Surgeons, Ti-Tho, Cosmic Overdose and pragVEC

Here's the scoop from Andrew Weatherall...

Greetings sisters and brothers. Let’s talk about reductionist revolution and the kicking in of doors. Let’s talk of iconoclasts and culture bombs. Let’s talk about moral panic and censorship. Let’s talk about punk rock.

On second thought, let’s not bother. The white noise is already deafening and actually, thinking about it, the Sex Pistols were really a heavy metal band with a funny singer and the whole shebang eventually, as all revolutions do, succumbed to conservative dogma and self parody. And anyway, as Dr Cooper Clarke said, “punks were just hippies with zips”.

Instead, sisters and brothers, let’s talk about the dangerous counterrevolutionaries who went out and bought a cheap synth and a rudimentary drum machine. The ones that got what ‘punk’ was really about. The democratization of art. A democratization unhindered by rules concerning the means of production. A democratization forged in the blazing fire of unrestricted influence. A democratization free of perceived notions of “talent”. Sniffing Glue said learn three chords and form a band, Throbbing Gristle said why learn any chords at all… I am an artist because I say I am. More Marcel Duchamp than Malcolm McLaren.

So, sisters and brothers, who do you think led the counter-revolution? Well I’ll tell you. It was the man who stormed the Bastille and kicked the door down in the first place and he did it on the 16th July 1977. With the help of Tommy Vance. John Lydon’s playlist that night on Vance’s show included Tim Buckley, The Creation, Augustus Pablo, Bobby Byrd, Neil Young, Lou Reed, Peter Hammill and Can and put paid to any punk rock “year zero” claims. Meanwhile, locked out of the studio, Malcolm had to listen to the counterrevolutionary manifesto being broadcast across the metropolis. Mark that date in your diaries, sisters and brothers: 16th July, the anniversary of the birth of “post punk”. Just over a year later in October, Lydon rammed the point home with the release of Public Image, a personal and musical manifesto in 7” form.

The music on Plastic Dance 2 is the strangely coloured, distorted and frighteningly beautiful fruit of the seeds planted on that fateful day. Lessons learned and inspiration taken from the sonic aesthetics of dub, knowing that not all disco sucked and that even jazz was allowed. Music shaped by wonky approximation and appropriation. The artists on Plastic Dance 2 were artists because they said they were. Listen to their work and you’ll know they were. Listen in transcendent wonderment as George Attwell creates alchemical space funk in his home studio… as a future Mock Turtle and members of The Manchester Music Collective channel Robert Calvert and Bill Nelson… as Korzynski comes on like a Jeff Mills remix of Terry Riley. Listen in the wide-eyed joy of being as Stabat Stable’s drum machine runs amok to the accompaniment of discordant organ stabs… as a future founder of 808 State channels Albert Ayler alongside a galloping synth arpeggio.

I’ll stop right there, brothers and sisters, as crass comparison does this art no justice.

Andrew Weatherall

Plastic Dance 2: Domestic Synth Pop & Patchbay Punk Compiled by Andy Votel & Doug Shipton
01. George Atwell - Meat Grinder
02. Vibrant Thigh - Walking Away
03. Stabat Stable - IIO
04. Cos - Einstein
05. Beach Surgeons - Chicken Skin Planet (Edit)
06. Cosmic Overdose - Råttan
07. Andrzej Korzynski - Zombie House
08. Ti-Tho - Die Liebe Ist Ein Abenteuer
09. Gerry And The Holograms - Jeep (Version)
10. pragVEC - Welcome Home

Happy Birthday Neil Ardley!

Remembering composer/pianist Neil Ardley on his day with his 1972  epic A Symphony of Amaranths. 

Chano Pozo's classic 40s recordings reissued on "Rumbero Mayor" in June

Grosso! is releasing Rumbero Mayor – a 2 LP overview of legendary Afro-Cuban conguero Chano Pozo's bangin' latin jazz recordings – on June 19.    

“Chano was a showman. He was a creator. You could never predict what the guy was going to do next. He’s one of those kinds of people with a million ideas. Same thing applies with his playing, he never played congas like these guys… he always find something to fit in different, this is why his value is so big. Sometimes you gotta die and rest in peace for
20 years before the people start evaluating what you’re doing. Now they want to know because so much has happened with the conga, that they want to know where that comes from, and they got to go to the roots.” – Mario Bauzá

 “It was similar to a nuclear weapon when it burst on the scene. They'd never seen a marriage of Cuban music and American music like that before.” – Dizzy Gillespie

Since much of Chano Pozo's greatest work exists only on tough-to-find 78s or long out-of-print LPs and European CDs, Grosso!'s has done us all a great service with Rumbero Mayor – collecting the legendary conguero's important 40s recordings with Cuarteto Caney, Arsenio Rodríguez, Orquesta Casino de la Playa, Dizzy Gillespie, Machito, Miguelito Valdes, James Moody, Orquesta Hermanos Palau, Xavier Cugat in one explosive 28-track double vinyl package. Pressed on 140 gram vinyl and issued in limited edition of 500 copies with liner notes contributed by DJ/collector Pablo "Bongohead" Yglesias, you'd better plan on grabbing Rumbero Mayor soon after it's release on June 19th. You can pre-order a copy from Forced Exposure at the link below.

The story of Luciano “Chano” Pozo González (born January 7, 1915 in Havana, died December 3, 1948 in New York City), is the stuff of myth and legend, of triumph and tragedy, and like that of several similar seminal figures in the history of the music of the Americas (Robert Johnson comes to mind), someone born of African ancestry and humble economic origin ends up influencing global popular culture and changing the course of music as we know it but then dies all too young to realize their full potential or enjoy the fruits of their labor. But who was Chano and what makes him so important?
He was a multi-talented percussionist, composer and dancer who demanded satisfaction in life and lived it to the hilt. More importantly, he was well aware of his African roots and figured out how to blend the ancient and the modern in Latin music such a way as had never been done before.

Pablo “Bongohead” Yglesias

New York City, May 2019

You can mailorder a copy of Chano Pozo – Rumbero Mayor (Grosso!) from Forced Exposure right here. Check the complete track list following the clips below.







Chano Pozo – Rumbero Mayor (Grosso!)
SIDE A
A1. Blen, Blen, Blen
A2. Ariñañara
A3. Paran Pan Pin
A4. Guagüina Yerabo
A5. Anana Boroco Tinde
A6. Muna Sanganfimba
A7. Conga De Los Dandys
SIDE B
B1. Nagüe
B2. Zarabanda
B3. Ampárame
B4. El Vendedor de Aves
5B. Tumbando Caña
B6. Tu Gallo Maria
B7. Seven Seven
SIDE C
C1. El Pin Pin
C2. No Sé Que Tienes
C3. Llora (No Puedo Más)
C4. Porqué Tu Sufres
C5. Cómetelo To'
C6. Pasó En Tampa (Wha' You Say)
C7. Ya No Se Puede Rumbear
SIDE D
D1. Rumba En Swing
D2. Cubana-Be
D3. Cubana-Bop
D4. Manteca
D5. Tin Tin Deo
D6. Guarachi Güaro
D7. Boco Boco

Les Sultans vs. The MC5

Montreal's Les Sultans' tune "Tu Es Impossible" is actually the garage classic "I Can Only Give You Everything" also covered by The MC5. 

Massive Peter Laughner 5 LP box due from Smog Veil in August

The 56-song Peter Laughner retrospective is available for pre-order as a 5 LP or 5 CD box set with a 100-page book. Check the details below.  

Here's the scoop from Smog Veil Records...
UPDATE MAY 22, 2019:  Smog Veil Records have been working for the last 10 years to create the definitive Peter Laughner retrospective. The five LP box set is in the final stages of production. Test pressings have been approved; all art and layouts have been completed by the team of Johnny Dromette and Ron Kretsch.  All art and book proofs have been approved.

Peter Laughner was a singer songwriter from Cleveland like no other.  Before his untimely death in 1977, he played in numerous bands, most notably Rocket From The Tombs and Pere Ubu, and also as a solo performer.  He wrote for a variety of weekly newspapers and Creem, where he was a contemporary of Lester Bangs.  He famously told Jane Scott of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that he wanted to do for Cleveland what “...Brian Wilson did for California and Lou Reed did for New York.” In many ways, Peter did in fact put the Cleveland underground on the map.

In cooperation with Peter's estate and his many collaborators, the box set will contain the definitive statement of Peter's musical talents and additionally showcase his writings and the many works he created with a variety of talented friends.  Smog Veil's research team has looked in every basement, attic, and corner to uncover numerous gems and we are pleased to be able to place Peter's work on display.

Many of the 56 songs contained in the release are seeing the light of day for the very first time.  All songs have been carefully mastered and sonically upgraded from the best possible sources by the Grammy-nominated team of Jeff Lipton and Maria Rice at Peerless Mastering.  The box set also contains a 100 page hardbound book of photos and writings.  Two box set formats will be available: 5 LPs or 5 CDs, and both formats contain an identical box, book, and track listing.

Pre-order a copy of the 5 LP or 5 CD set here. Note: Pre-sale ends June 16. In stores August 2.





Peter Laughner (Smog Veil SVLP150)

Record One: 1972 (Fat City Jive)
Side One:
01. Hesitation Blues (Billy Smythe)
02. The Sidewalks of New York (Blake/Lawler arr: Laughner)
03. Willin' (Lowell George)
04. Solomon’s Mines (Peter Laughner)
05. Please Mrs. Henry (Bob Dylan)
06. Mean Ol’ Frisco (Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup)
07. Drunkard’s Lament (Terry Hartman)
08. T For Texas (Jimmie Rodgers)
Side Two:
09. Good Time Music (John Sebastian)
10. Love Minus Zero (No Limit) (Bob Dylan)
11. I’m Waiting For The Man (Lou Reed)
12. Eyes Eyes (Michael Hurley)
13. The Eyes of A New York Woman (Ogden/Pynchon)
14. It’s Saturday Night (Dance The Night Away) (Peter Laughner)
15. These Days (Jackson Brown)
16. Fat City Jive (Terry Hartman)
17. That’s The Story of My Life (Lou Reed)
From:
1 – 8, 16: The Original Wolverines (Peter Laughner, Mike Sands, Pete Sinks), WMMS “Coffeebreak Concert”, Cleveland, September 20, 1972 Host: Shauna Zurbrugg
9 – 15, 17: Peter Laughner and Mike Sands, WMMS “Coffeebreak Concert”, Cleveland, November 15, 1972 Host: Kid Leo

Record Two: 1973 – 1974 (One of The Boys)
Side One:
01. Rock & Roll (Lou Reed)
02. One of The Boys (Hunter/Ralphs)
03. All Along The Watchtower (Bob Dylan)
Side Two: 
04. Heroin (Lou Reed)
05. I’m So Fucked Up (Peter Laughner)
06. White Light White Heat (Lou Reed) / Call The Ambulances (Cynthia Black)
From:
1, 3, 4, 6: Cinderella Backstreet, The Cellar, Sandusky, June 24, 1973
2: Cinderella Backstreet, JB’s, Kent, March 23, 1973
5: Cinderella’s Revenge, Viking Saloon, Cleveland, May 11, 1974
Cinderella Backstreet: Cynthia Black, Albert Dennis, Rick Kalister, Scott Krauss, Peter Laughner.
Cinderella’s Revenge: Peter Laughner, Lachlan McIntosh, Eric Ritz, Susan Schmidt, Deborah Smith.

Record Three: 1973 – 1977 (Pledging My Time)
Side One:
01. Cinderella Backstreet (Peter Laughner)
02. Down At The Bar (Peter Laughner)
03. Baudelaire (Peter Laughner)
04. 32-20 Blues (Robert Johnson)
05. Rain On The City (Peter Laughner)
Side Two
06. “I Must Have Been Out Of My Mind” (Peter Laughner)
07. Pledging My Time (Bob Dylan)
08. (My Sister Sold Her Heart To) The Junk Man (Peter Laughner - Adele Bertei)
09. First Taste of Heartache (Peter Laughner)
10. Sylvia Plath (Peter Laughner)
11. Lullaby (Peter Laughner)
From:
1: Peter Laughner, solo home recording, circa 1975
2: Peter Laughner and Deborah Smith, WMMS "Coffeebreak Concert", Cleveland, October 11, 1974
3, 10, 11: Peter Laughner and Albert Dennis, 4-track recording, East Cleveland, 1976 (circa August/September)
4: Peter Laughner, solo home recording, Cleveland Heights, 1976 (September or October)
5: Peter Laughner and Wally Wefel, home recording, 1973 (circa November/December)
6, 11: Peter Laughner, solo home 4-track recordings, circa 1976
7: Peter Laughner, solo home 4-track recording, Cleveland Heights, December 15, 1976
8, 9: Peter Laughner, from the “New Songs” tape, solo home recording, Cleveland Heights, 1977 (circa January/February)

Record Four: 1974 – 1977 (Rock It Down)
Side One:
01. What Goes On (Lou Reed)
02. Ain’t It Fun (Laughner/O’Connor)
03. Amphetamine (Peter Laughner)
Side Two:
04. Prove It (Tom Verlaine)
05. Dear Richard (Peter Laughner)
06. Hideaway (Peter Laughner)
07. It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry (Bob Dylan)
08. Pablo Picasso (Jonathan Richman)
09. Rock It Down (Peter Laughner)
From
1: Fins, block party, Coventry, Cleveland Heights, July 27, 1974
2: Rocket From Tombs, The Agora, Cleveland, February 10, 1975
3: Peter Laughner and Don Harvey, from “The Ann Arbor Tapes”, Ann Arbor, February 1976
4, 8: Friction, rehearsal, Cleveland, October 31, 1976
5 – 7: Friction, The Pirate’s Cove, Cleveland, November 2, 1976
9: Peter Laughner and Adele Bertei, from the “Secret Session” tape, 4-track home recording, Cleveland Heights, 1977 (circa March)
Fins: Robert Bensick, Scott Krauss, Peter Laughner, Lachlan McIntosh, Deborah Smith.
Rocket From The Tombs: David “Crocus Behemoth” Thomas, Peter Laughner, Cheetah Chrome, Craig “Darwin Layne” Bell, Johnny “Madman” Madansky.
Friction: Anton Fier, Peter Laughner, Susan Schmidt, Deborah Smith.

Record Five: 1977 (Nocturnal Digressions)
Side One:
01. See No Evil (Tom Verlaine)
02. Come On In (Whatcha’ Doin’ On Them Stairs?) (Tom Verlaine)
03. Everything I Say Just Goes Right Through Her Heart (Peter Laughner - Adele Bertei)
04. The Next Room Of The Dream (Peter Laughner)
05. Do It (Jesse Winchester)
06. Slim Slow Slider (Van Morrison)
Side Two:
07. Blank Generation (Richard Hell)
08. Wild Horses (Jagger/Richards)
09. Isn’t That So? (Jesse Winchester)
10. Me And The Devil Blues (Robert Johnson)
11. Pale Blue Eyes (Lou Reed)
12. (Going To) China (Peter Laughner)
13. Summertime Blues (Eddie Cochran)
From:
"Nocturnal Digressions", solo home recording, Bay Village, June 21, 1977

Special pre-order bonus EP will be included and will not be sold separately or in stores.

Bonus 45: 1973 – 1976 (Easily Excited)
Side A:
01. Drugstore Cowboy/I’m So Bored (Bangs/Laughner)
02. Venus De Milo (Tom Verlaine)
Side B:
03. Heart (Section 2) (Michael Hronek)
04. Who’s Been Here? (Bo Carter)
05. Instrumental (fragment) (Peter Laughner)
From: 
01:  Peter Laughner and Lester Bangs, from “Critic’s Choice”, Creem offices, Walled Lake, MI 1975 (circa February/March)
02: Peter Laughner and Don Harvey, from “The Ann Arbor Tapes”, Ann Arbor, MI, February 1976
03: Michael Hronek, Peter Laughner, Robert Bensick, Albert Dennis, and Scott Krauss, from “Fall 1974” tape, Cleveland 1974 (circa October) (NB: Laughner’s guitar work here is the origin of “Ain’t It Fun”)
04: Peter Laughner, David Krauss, Alan Echtler, Spa John, and Carl Woideck, Hillel House, CWRU, Cleveland February 10, 1973. Soundperson unknown.
05: Peter Laughner, solo home recording (mystery 4-track session), circa 1976

The Chats return for a "Pub Feed"

After a lengthy Smoko break, Eamon Sandwith and his pub-rockin' Sunshine Coasters are naturally up for a good "Pub Feed"

One For The Weekend: Nicola Conte & Gianluca Petrella

Check out Nicola Conte's new collaboration with Gianluca Petrella feat. Bridgette Amofah on "Imani River"

Happy Birthday Archie Shepp!

Celebrating Archie Shepp's birthday with the classic "Attica Blues" recorded in 1972. 

Sonny Sharrock's Ask The Ages gets way overdue vinyl release

Guitar great Sonny Sharrock's stellar 1991 album Ask The Ages was pressed as a double 45rpm 12" set by Hive Mind.

Here's the scoop from Brighton's Hive Mind...
Prepare yourself for the first ever vinyl pressing of legendary free jazz guitarist Sonny Sharrock's seminal final album Ask The Ages, in a strictly limited edition 45rpm double 12” edition.
Sonny's classic final album swings between deep, lyrical melodicism and passages of pure fire music and features jazz legends Pharoah Sanders on tenor saxophone and Elvin Jones, member of the John Coltrane Quartet, on drums. The album was produced by Bill Laswell and originally released in 1991 on his Axiom label. The crystal clear production sounds amazing on 45 and this release is a must for fans of John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, Ornette Coleman and Sun Ra.

Daptone selects soul gems from Helsinki's Timmion label on Bad Education

Bad Education Vol. 1 includes tracks by Nicole Willis, Willie West, Ernie Hawks, Pratt & Moody, Bobby Oroza and others. 

For the better part of 15 years, Helsinki's own Timmion Records has released some of the most exciting soul sides happening today. To help spread the Timmion love, Daptone staffers and brass made a list of their favorite Timmion tracks from the past couple years. Presented here is Bad Education, Vol. I, the culmination of weeks of deliberation and infighting – 10 tracks that best represent the eclectic wealth of soulful riches Timmion Records has to offer. We can only hope that Bad Education Vol 2 will focus on the label's fantastic instrumental backing tracks from the Soul Investigators and Cold Diamond & Mink.
Check the complete tracklisting following a few song clips below and pre-order a copy right here.




Various Artists - Bad Education, Vol 1 – "Soul Hits" of Timmion
1. This Is What Love Looks Like! (Carlton Jumel Smith and Cold Diamond & Mink)
2. Tell Me That You Love Me (Jonny Benavidez and Cold Diamond & Mink)
3. Lost Lost Lost (Pratt & Moody)
4. Paint Me In A Corner (Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators)
5. Scorpio Walk (Ernie Hawks & The Soul Investigators)
6. Until You’re Mine (Wanda Felicia and Cold Diamond & Mink)
7. This Love (Bobby Oroza)
8. Bad Education (Bardo Martinez & The Soul Investigators)
9. Don’t Believe You Like That (Emilia Sisco and Cold Diamond & Mink)
10. I’m Still A Man (Willie West)

Sacred Lamp record release @ Grasshopper Records, Thursday

Don't miss Doc Dunn and Ayal Senior perform the songs from their new Sacred Lamp album tonight at 7pm. 

Happy Birthday Daniel Humair!

Celebrating the 81st birthday of jazz drummer Daniel Humair with an interview and a few performance clips. 

Happy Birthday Sun Ra!

Celebrating Sun Ra's birthday with a stellar collection assembled by longtime Arkestra member Marshall Allen. 

Zeca do Trombone & Roberto Sax's Brazilian rare groove gem finally reissued

Portugal's Mad About Records have reissued Zeca do Trombone & Roberto Sax's stellar 1976 album in a limited edition – out now. 

Chip Taylor previews his new album Whiskey Salesman

Here's Chip Taylor and pals playing the title track off his new Whiskey Salesman album out now on Train Wreck Records. 

Here's the scoop from Train Wreck Records...
Songwriters Hall of Fame 2016 inductee Chip Taylor has been writing and performing for nearly 60 years and shows no sign of slowing down. The New York Times says it best, “If you only know him as the as the guy who wrote ‘Wild Thing’ and ‘Angel of the Morning” — you don’t know him! Chip Taylor is making some of the most distinctive acoustic music around today.”

You can mailorder a copy of Chip's Whiskey Salesman right here

Whiskey Salesman, his latest in a remarkable string of recent albums, is at once both personal and universal.  It is an album filled with timeless, intimate love songs - poignant, meditative odes to life.  And drinking (in moderation) songs.  Their spirit is perhaps best captured by the videos Taylor has created for each and every song (included on a DVD).  Filmed at hisown apartment and local bar, and starring his wife and friends, Taylor welcomes everyone in to his warm, heartfelt world.

"Chip Taylor could've rested on his laurels years ago and still been way ahead of everybody else today.  Lucky for us he didn't and he's making some of the most relevant music out there," said Buddy Miller just last year. Since returning to music in 1996 he has enjoyed elder statesman stature within the Americana, contemporary folk and singer-songwriter scenes as an artist in his own right as well as in collaboration on albums and in performance with John Prine, Carrie Rodriguez, Kendel Carson and John Platania.  In a remarkable and prolific run, Taylor has released nearly an album a year since his return, each rising high on the Americana chart.  As England’s The Guardian notes, “Chip Taylor, like Johnny Cash, is well worth rediscovering by a new generation.”

Whiskey Salesman follows closely after his acclaimed Fix Your Words and A Song I Can Live, which Sweden's foremost music site, Rootsy.nu called "so powerful and packed with emotions. Joy, sadness, melancholy, a sense of humor. And an abundance of compassion and humanity. It's an album I will treasure forever. It will have a special place in my record collection, next to Bob Dylan's "Time Out Of Mind" and Leonard Cohen's "You Want It Darker". 2015's The Little Prayers Trilogy, was among the best-reviewed album of his long career.   Mojo called it "a masterpiece while Uncut said it was the ”Crowning glory of a storied career” and placed it on its Best of 2015 list. Country Music People gave it ”Five stars .. nothing comes close.”

Taylor has been involved in a series of amazing projects in the last several years. Norway’s premier folk singer, Paal Flaata, recorded a full album of Taylor songs, Wait By The Fire, and rode it to the Top 10 and a Norwegian Grammy nomination.  He joined with Carrie Rodriguez for a reunion tour in the fall behind the 10th Anniversary deluxe reissue of their Red Dog Tracks album.  The Grammy-nominated Yonkers NY (2009) shows his facility with storytelling within songs.  Last year, a lavish reissue of his three 1970s Warner Bros albums (including Last Chance) was released to great fanfare. 2019 may also bring a new book/CD, Son Of A Golf Pro, which combines Taylor's story of growing up on the golf course with often hilarious songs about the sport.

“If names like Willie Nelson, Guy Clark, Kris Kristofferson and Townes Van Zandt mean anything to you, you should make a point of discovering Chip Taylor,” urges critic Anthony DeCurtis. “Whether you know it or not, he’s earned his way into that exalted company.”

Happy Birthday Billy Wright!

Remembering the influential Billy Wright with "Live The Life" and "Blues For My Baby"

Sonic Cathedral issuing Luna 7" as part of Singles Club series

Luna's cover of Thunderclap Newman's "Something In The Air" is due June 20th – find out more about Sonic Cathedral's Singles Club right here.

R.I.P. Dave "Bookie" Bookman, 1960-2019

Sadly, Dave Bookman, a passionate supporter of Canuck indie music, has passed away. He'll be greatly missed. 

That time Bob Neuwirth sang "Rock Salt & Nails" at the Gaslight Café

Here's singer/songwriter Bob Neuwirth singing the Utah Phillips classic in Greenwhich Village back in 1967. 

Happy Birthday Rufus Harley!

Remembering jazz bagpiper Rufus Harley on his day with clips from "To Tell The Truth" and "I've Got A Secret". 

X, Skating Polly @ Detroit's El Club, Tuesday

X are celebrating their 40th anniversary with a show at Detroit's El Club on Tuesday night – no Canadian dates are scheduled.  

Happy Birthday Susan Cowsill

Celebrating Susan's birthday with a vintage Continental Drifters clip. 

Watch Marc Moulin's Placebo rock a Brussels club in 1973

Watch Placebo in action at their peak from the Belgian jazz documentary "Three Days In April"

Happy Birthday Cecil McBee!

Celebrating the birthday of bass boss Cecil McBee with Alice Coltrane's "Journey In Satchidananda" and his own "Tulsa Black"

Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets vs. Sammy Turner

Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets – playing the Horseshoe in September – boldly take on Sammy Turner's popcorn gem "Raincoat In The River."

Catl, Volk @ The Dakota Tavern, Saturday

Don't miss Nashville ne'er-do-wells Volk joining T.O.'s gruesome twosome Catl for a hell raisin' bash at The Dakota tonight.

METZ previews rarities collection with animated clip for "Pure Auto"

Here's Scopion Dagger's view of METZ jamming in their rehearsal space. Their new rarities comp Automat is out July 12th on Sub Pop.

Renaldo Domino teams up with Lone Ranger for "Never Thought"

Chicago soul great Renaldo Domino is comfortable in a rocksteady groove on the new single for Happy As A Lark. 

Here's the scoop from Happy As A Lark...
When Poland-based reggae producer xROB BLACK reached out to Happy As A Lark wondering about a collaboration, we immediately fell in love with an instrumental track he sent ominously titled 'Majestic 12 Underground'. The song has a distinctive soulfulness that resonated strongly with our musical tastes, and it wasn't long before a lush vocal melody began to reveal itself – but who to sing it? In our musical escapades we've been fortunate enough to meet and work with many legendary artists - and it wasn't long before the obvious choice came to mind in the form of Chicago soul legend Renaldo Domino (who we've been trying to fit into the right project for quite some time).

And while falsetto vocals over a reggae track are nothing new (i.e. Junior Soul aka Junior Murvin amongst many others), the distinctive sweet-soul style of Renaldo's voice (check "Not Too Cool To Cry" on the Twinight label) tilts this track definitively into a bubbly summertime, topdown, cruising kind-of-jam.

But why stop there? What if the track also featured a top-shelf veteran deejay toasting in fine style? As Lone Ranger would say... "riiiiiiight!" Check out the video below. Get a copy of the limited-run single right here.

Al Tuck @ Duggan's Brewery, Friday

Well camouflaged PEI songster Al Tuck takes a break from recording to play a few tunes with some pals starting at 9 pm.