Sunday, February 28, 2021

Happy Birthday John Fahey!

Remembering the great John Fahey with an hour-long performance in Hamburg, Germany on March 17, 1978. 



 

Saturday, February 27, 2021

Billy Childish sneaks out two new William Loveday Intention LPs

Billy Childish's new WLI albums, The Bearded Lady... and Blud Under The Bridge are available now with a 4CD box on the way. 


Now available from Damaged Goods are the last two in the set of 4 LP’s by The William Loveday Intention, ‘Blud Under The Bridge’ and ‘The Bearded Lady Also Sells The Candy Floss’, both on LP and will be joined later in the month by the 4-CD box set of all four albums, entitled ‘The Dept. Of Discontinued Lines’ Mailorder info right here

Here's the scoop...

The William Loveday Intention – Why the new band name?

Because it’s William Loveday’s group – they are a new band.

The new version of ‘My Love for you’ has a spaghetti western/Ennio Morricone feel. Were those classic western films and soundtracks an inspiration for you growing up?

The young William Loveday did see those movies on release as his father was a fan and took him along to see them. William himself was never a great fan, but it seems that something left a stain on his consciousness.

Julie does a great job with the vocal on this one. Are there any more unreleased Julie vocals in the vaults?

There are one or two other songs that J.W. Loveday has sung on – but she is hard a hard girl to nail down.

Who played the brass on the recording?

Tom Morley is the trumpet player for the William Loveday Intention.

‘A La Mort Surbite (sitting in Jacques Brel’s Seat)’ is the single’s other song, what inspired the lyrics for it?

William Loveday’s many visits to Belgium in the 1980s to see his love interest (who was flemish). This song is about the bar A La Mort Surbite (the Sudden Death) in Brussels were they would often go to drink.

Will there be any other releases by The William Loveday Intention or just this single?

The William Loveday Intention are currently recording 4 LPs.

The debut 7″ single by The William Loveday Intention was released in June 2020. ‘My Love For You’ was pressed on khaki green vinyl (150 copies) and light blue vinyl (350) copies.

There are plans to release four albums by The William Loveday Intention. The first was released in October and is titled People Think They Know Me But They Don’t Know Me.

The remaining three albums are all recorded and sound excellent. 

Check out a couple tracks from The William Loveday Intention below. 





Whaddya mean you don't know the Tee Holman Sextet

Check out "The Rudie" by the Tee Holman Sextet feat. trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah and "Summertime" voiced by Joe Lee Wilson.  




Friday, February 26, 2021

Pere Ubu shares Pirate's Cove show from 1977

Ubu Projecx have just made available a version of Pere Ubu's Pirate's Cove show from June 2, 1977 transferred from cassette. 


Here's the scoop...
Recorded by David Thomas on a cassette at the Pirate's Cove, Old River Road, Cleveland, Ohio, on June 2 1977.  Band: David Thomas, Tom Herman, Allen Ravenstine, Tony Maimone and Scott Krauss.
Some tracks previously released as 'Pirate's Cove 6/2/77.' 

Pere Ubu - In The Shadow Of The Aeronautical Shot Peening Co: Live at Pirate's Cove, June 2, 1977
1. Street Waves (incomplete) 02:30
2. Heaven 03:19
3. Laughing 05:32
4. Modern Dance 03:59
5. Nonalignment Pact 03:51
6. Over My Head 06:57
7. Real World 04:47
8. Sentimental Journey 07:02
9. Final Solution (incomplete) 03:32

Get a digital copy of the Pere Ubu show from 1977 via Bandcamp right here


One For The Weekend: Nick Cave & Warren Ellis

Check out "Hand Of God" off the new Carnage album from Nick Cave and Warren Ellis out now. 


Thursday, February 25, 2021

Travis Tritt returns to his outlaw country roots with Set In Stone

Travis Tritt's rootsy new Set In Stone album, produced by Dave Cobb, is due May 7th. 

Here's the scoop...

Multi-Platinum selling and award-winning artist Travis Tritt will release a new album, Set In Stone via Big Noise Music Group on May 7 with a new single, “Smoke In A Bar,” due out March 5th. Tritt revisits his traditional country roots on “Smoke In A Bar,” pining for humbler times when the world was not so fast-moving and simple things weren’t overlooked or taken for granted.

Released through Big Noise Music Group and produced by Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson), the new album features 11 new songs, 8 of which were co-written by Tritt. Set In Stone marks Tritt’s first original full-length studio album in over a decade.

On Set in Stone, the Grammy winner delivers the quintessential Travis Tritt album with a touch of Americana and Roots. He pays homage to all sides of his musical personality along with the trademarks of his originality.  Opening with the rowdy “Stand Your Ground” and mixing powerful love songs like “Leave This World” with searing country rockers like the first single “Ghost Town Nation,” the new album is described by Tritt as “getting back to a no-frills classic outlaw-country sound.”

Check out the audio clip for "Ghost Town Nation" followed by recent concert performance of "Smoke In A Bar" followed by the tracklist for Set In Stone album. 



Travis Tritt – Set In Stone

“Stand Your Ground” (Travis Tritt, Wayne B. Durrett III, Channing Wilson)

“Set In Stone” (Travis Tritt, Brent Cobb, Adam Hood)

“Ghost Town Nation”(Aaron Raitiere, JB Strauss)

“Smoke In A Bar” (Jeremy Bussey, Derek George, Tim Montana)

“Leave This World” (Travis Tritt, Ashley Monroe)

“They Don’t Make Em’ Like That No More (Travis Tritt, Matthew Dillon Carmichael)

“Better Off Dead” (Travis Tritt, Adam Hood)

“Southern Man” (Travis Tritt, Channing Wilson)

“Open Line” (Travis Tritt, Brent Cobb)

“Ain’t Who I Was” (Brent Cobb, Adam Hood)

“Way Down In Georgia” (Travis Tritt, Dennis Anthony Robbins, Troy Seals)



90s Nostalgia: The Knoxville Girls

Here's The Knoxville Girls' demo of "That's Alright With Me" recorded with Jerry Teel at the Funhouse.


Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Harvey Guillén discusses What We Do In The Shadows

Check out Harvey Guillén's chat with Seth Myers below. Season three of What We Do In The Shadows is now filming in Toronto.



R.I.P. Naomi Shelton, 1942-2021

Remembering the amazing Naomi Shelton who recently passed away at the age of 78. She'll be greatly missed.  




Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Happy Birthday Florian Fricke!

Remembering Popol Vuh ace Florian Fricke with a 1971 performance and a discussion with film collaborator Werner Herzog.



New album from Pat Todd & Rankoutsiders due March 26th

Pat Todd & The Rankoutsiders' new album "...there's pretty things in Palookaville" is due March 26 from HoundGawd Records. Get it here



Credits

Pat Todd – singer, guitarist, harmonica

Nick Alexander – electric/acoustic guitars

Kevin Keller – electric/acoustic guitars, backing vocals

Steven Vigh – bass, vocals

Walter Phelan – drums, percussion

Recorded by Richard Duguay at Into The Black studio in North Hollywood, CA



Pat Todd & The RankOutsiders - "...there's pretty things in Palookaville"

Side 1

1. All The Years #1 – 3:45

2. Cheap Nostalgia – 2:07

3. The World Don't Care & Neither Does She – 4:00

4. Read 'em & Weep – 4:55

5. To Get That Monkey Off My Back – 3:01

6. Turn Back The Hands Of Time – 2:48

7. Money - 3:32

8. Little Jael - 2:40


Side 2

1. True Romance – 3:22

2. I Will Lie To You - 2:42

3. Theda #2 - 3:41

4. Nothing But Excuses - 2:46

5. Hello To Mystery - 2:38

6. Get Up On It - 4:24

7. Way Deep Down In Your Heart - 3:07

8. They're Wrong/Dead Wrong - 3:26



Russ Wilkins and Saskia Holling go Bo Muddley!

Check out Big Russ Wilkins & Lightnin' Holling's swingin' cover of Mud's "Tiger Feet"


Monday, February 22, 2021

Watch The Robinson'Sons' Hawaiian-style "Tropical Vacation" at home

Nichol Robertson and his talented family are back with a new exotica gem, "Tropical Vacation, Pt. 2" and a Led Zep salute to boot!




Happy Birthday Ernie K-Doe!

Remembering New Orleans R&B star Ernie K-Doe with a Quintron & his Drum Buddy collaboration on "Fever" 




Whaddya mean you don't know Amancio D'Silva

Here are a few amazing recordings from Indian jazz guitar great Amancio D'Silva, a couple featuring saxophonist Joe Harriott. 

 




Sunday, February 21, 2021

R.I.P. Gene Taylor, 1952-2021

Tragically, keyboard king Gene Taylor died at home in Austin after being without water and electricity for five days. 


Happy Birthday Steve Wynn!

Raising a glass to Steve Wynn on his birthday with a couple of entertaining covers performed with Linda Pitmon. 





That time Chris Houston played a Lori Yates guitar pull

The one and only Chris Houston fondly recalls his Hamilton roots at a backyard soiree chez Lori Yates on August 4, 2013. 

Here's the scoop from Lori Yates...

I used to have these “guitar pulls” a’la Johnny Cash in my backyard on Queen St. Hamilton.

This one features the punk icon Chris Houston on his song “Fuckface City”.

Check out the late great Brian Griffith ripping up my little Harmony guitar - he is absolutely on fire!! with Nick Burson on snare & Mike Hickey on bass, Sue Leonard, Linda Duemo, on back-ups. Check out the end where Gavin comes in and Chris starts to flub the words...priceless! – Lori Yates



Saturday, February 20, 2021

Swedish Jazz Archive uncovers rare Don Cherry recordings from '68

Brooklyn's Blank Forms Editions is releasing an vinyl and 2CD versions of Don Cherry's Summer House Sessions on June 18. 


Here's the scoop from Blank Forms Edtions...

In 1968, Don Cherry had already established himself as one of the leading voices of the avant-garde. Having pioneered free jazz as a member of Ornette Coleman’s classic quartet, and with a high profile collaboration with John Coltrane under his belt, the globetrotting jazz trumpeter settled in Sweden with his partner Moki and her daughter Neneh. There, he assembled a group of Swedish musicians and led a series of weekly workshops at the ABF, or Workers’ Educational Association, from February to April of 1968, with lessons on extended forms of improvisation including breathing, drones, Turkish rhythms, overtones, silence, natural voices, and Indian scales. That summer, saxophonist and recording engineer Göran Freese—who later recorded Don’s classic Organic Music Society and Eternal Now LPs—invited Don, members of his two working bands, and a Turkish drummer to his summer house in Kummelnäs, just outside of Stockholm, for a series of rehearsals and jam sessions that put the prior months’ workshops into practice. Long relegated to the status of a mysterious footnote in Don’s sessionography, tapes from this session, as well as one professionally mixed tape intended for release, were recently found in the vaults of the Swedish Jazz Archive, and the lost Summer House Sessions are finally available over fifty years after they were recorded. 

On July 20, the musicians gathered at Freese’s summer house included Bernt Rosengren (tenor saxophone, flutes, clarinet), Tommy Koverhult (tenor saxophone, flutes), Leif Wennerström (drums), and Torbjörn Hultcrantz (bass) from Don’s Swedish group; Jacques Thollot (drums) and Kent Carter (bass) from his newly formed international band New York Total Music Company; Bülent Ateş (hand drum, drums), who was visiting from Turkey; and Don (pocket trumpet, flutes, percussion) himself. Lacking a common language, the players used music as their common means of communication. In this way, these frenetic and freewheeling sessions anticipate Don’s turn to more explicitly pan-ethnic expression, preceding his epochal Eternal Rhythm dates by four months. The octet, comprising musicians from America, France, Sweden, and Turkey, was a perfect vehicle for Don’s budding pursuit of “collage music,” a concept inspired in part by the shortwave radio on which Don listened to sounds from around the world. Using the collage metaphor, Don eliminated solos and the introduction of tunes, transforming a wealth of melodies, sounds, and rhythms into poetic suites of different moods and changing forms. The Summer House Sessions ensemble joyously layers manifold cultural idioms, traversing the airy peaks and serene valleys of Cherry’s earthly vision. 

In the Swedish Jazz Archive quite a few other recordings from the same day were to be found. Some of the highlights are heard as bonus material on the CD edition of this album. The octet is augmented by producer and saxophone player Gunnar Lindqvist, who led the Swedish free jazz orchestra G.L. Unit on the album Orangutang, and drummer Sune Spångberg, who recorded with Albert Ayler in 1962. The bonus CD also includes a track without Cherry featuring Jacques Thollot joined by five Swedes including Lindqvist, Tommy Koverhult, Sune Spångberg, and others. 

With liner notes by Magnus Nygren and album art featuring a cover painting by Moki Cherry: Untitled, ca. 1967–68. 

Preview and pre-order a copy of Don Cherry's Summer House Sessions right here


One For The Weekend: Bloodshot Bill

Here's Montreal's Bloodshot Bill performing "The Girl Who Dances Alone" on Belle et Burn. Get his music right here



 

Friday, February 19, 2021

R.I.P. U-Roy, 1942-2021

Sadly, hugely influential Jamaican dancehall don Ewart "U-Roy" Beckford has passed away at the age of 78. He'll be greatly missed. 



Canuck piano great Oscar Peterson gets overdue Heritage Minute

Check out the brief salute to Montreal-born jazz piano legend Oscar Peterson.  


Happy Birthday David Murray!

Celebrating saxophonist David Murray's birthday with a trio performance from Barcelona feat. Brad Jones & Hamid Drake. 


The Robinson'Sons vs. Lenny Kravitz

Today, we've got guitarist Nichol Robertson's talented kids tearing through "Are You Gonna Go My Way" by Lenny Kravitz.



Dr. Lonnie Smith previews new Breathe album with "Bright Eyes"

The swingin' "Bright Eyes" is off Dr. Lonnie Smith's new live set Breathe due March 26th. Listen below.  


Thursday, February 18, 2021

Happy Birthday Yoko Ono!

Hidden on Tribe's 1971 Beatles tribute for Pickwick is a smokin' version of Yoko Ono's "Why" off the Plastic Ono Band LP.  



Tony Joe White home recordings set for May release


Tony Joe White's Smoke From The Chimney will be issued by Easy Eye Sound on May 7. Watch the clip for "Boot Money" below.

Here's the scoop... 

On May 7, Smoke from the Chimney, a nine-song album of never-before-heard Tony Joe White tunes, will be released on Easy Eye Sound. Produced by Dan Auerbach and rounded out by Nashville’s most seasoned studio musicians, Smoke from the Chimney started out as a number of unadorned voice and guitar demos from White’s home studio before being transformed into full band arrangements harkening back to the albums he recorded in the late 60s and early 70s in Nashville and Muscle Shoals – just as he was emerging as an internationally recognized songwriter and recording artist. 

It takes a keen eye and a steady hand to restore something great from the past; to take the time to examine, catalog, and care for every last task without resorting to bolt-on mail-order parts and cheap paint. What was always great deserves that extra care and attention to detail, and when the time came for White’s son and manager, Jody White, to revisit his dad’s catalog of unreleased songs, he knew Auerbach was the one to make them shine once more. 

In the last 10 to 15 years of his life, White would preserve new compositions or revisit older tracks in his home studio with only a guitar – usually his Fender Stratocaster – and that inimitable voice. Most of that material would ultimately wind up on his late-career albums. But when an unproven song didn’t make the cut for a release, or if he couldn’t get another artist interested, the song stayed right where it was as Tony Joe moved on to other things. This dismissal was not a reflection of the song’s quality; in fact, it meant quite the opposite, as he would often reserve his best material for other artists. 

After his father’s death in 2018, Jody started transferring those multitrack home recordings to digital files. Looking back on the moment he unearthed the demo of Smoke from the Chimney, he recalls a mix of happiness, gratification, and shock. As he continued to find other songs that didn’t make an album, he moved the material into a separate folder. Within a year, those select recordings would evolve into Smoke from the Chimney. Jody says that even in those basic tracks, that definitive Tony Joe White groove instantly stood out. “He always finds a tempo and a pocket that is exactly right. and it’s a little bit different than anybody else would choose themselves,” he says. 

Ever since meeting Tony Joe backstage at an Australian music festival in 2009, Auerbach sought to make a record with him. For nearly a decade, Jody tried to line up session time for them but Tony Joe demurred. “For one reason or another, my Dad would never just want to go into a studio and write with somebody, or go work with somebody,” Jody says. “He liked to do it at his place, and his way, and it turned out how it turned out, you know what I mean? So, this album really all worked out perfectly. He was making these tracks for Dan all along, but we just didn’t know it.” 

Auerbach agrees. “Jody and I had been talking about this record for so long, and it didn’t happen for a reason,” he says. “It’s because it wasn’t supposed to happen. I was in a nervous cast of characters until the last few years, and if you’d given it to me any earlier, it wouldn’t have been right. I felt like all these people on the record were the right people and they laid in there behind Tony Joe. It felt really magical when we were making it happen.” 

“These songs feel like a collection to me and they all seem to work together, in a weird way, even though they’re so different,” says Auerbach, who is releasing the album on his Easy Eye Sound label. “There’s some heartbreaking ballads and some really raunchy carnal blues. But it all works together like scenes of a movie.” The cast of musical characters brought in by Auerbach to accompany White’s guitar and vocal recordings includes legendary keyboardist, Bobby Wood (Elvis Presley, Dusty Springfield, Wilson Pickett), Nashville pedal steel ace, Paul Franklin, next-generation guitar hero, Marcus King, and Grammy and ACM award-winning fiddler, Stuart Duncan, just to name a few. 

Jody believes that his father would love the way Smoke From the Chimney turned out. “I feel like it’s validation that Tony Joe was one of the greatest of all time,” he says. “That he could make something so potent, even so late in life, is something that not many people can do. I think it’s going to make people who loved him already love him even more.” 

Across five decades as a performer and storyteller, Tony Joe White (a.k.a. “The Swamp Fox”) left an indelible mark on American music. His catalog offers indisputable classics such as, Polk Salad Annie and Rainy Night in Georgia, and his songs have been recorded by Ray Charles, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Elvis Presley, Dusty Springfield, and Tina Turner.
 
 
Tony Joe White – Smoke From The Chimney 
1. Smoke from the Chimney
2. Boot Money
3. Del Rio, You’re Making Me Cry
4. Listen to Your Song 
5. Over You
6. Scary Stories 
7. Bubba Jones 
8. Someone Is Crying 
9. Billy

You can pre-order a copy of Smoke from the Chimney right here. Check out Robert Schober's animated clip for "Boot Money" below. 






Frank & The Hurricanes know ghosts when they see 'em

Check out "I Know I'll See A Ghost" off Frank & The Hurricanes' latest Love Ya Love Ya out now.    Cover art by Turner Williams Jr. 




LINKS
Frank & The Hurricanes Bandcamp site

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Exploring Tom Thomson at the McMichael Gallery

Watch the Exploring Tom Thomson presentation by Ian Dejardin, Executive Director of the McMichael Gallery. 


Ady Croasdell digs deep for new Ace/Kent Northern Soul comp

Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities, Vol. 7 – due February 26th – boasts loads of unheard and lesser known gems from the vaults.

Here's the scoop...

This latest episode of the high-quality end of the Northern Soul world is as varied as the scene has become, featuring manic funk, Detroit grooves, doo wop-inspired ballads, neo-Motown and pure soul stompers.

Los Angeles features strongly throughout. As a taster of the pleasures to come over the next couple of years, the opening tracks by ex-Motowners Carolyn Crawford and Kim Weston, along with the Joe Buckner & Major IV number, are from Mickey Stevenson’s late 60s Los Angeles operation; and the Lovers’ acetate-only ‘She’s Supreme’ and John Wesley & the Four Tees’ stomping version of the Williams & Watson LP track ‘Love Is Such A Funny Thing’ were recorded under the aegis of the city’s great arranger Arthur Wright.

Researching the tape vaults during lockdown has proved fruitful. The first version of Claude Huey’s ‘Why Would You Blow It’ by the unknown Isaiah Smith was discovered among the Galaxy tapes, as was the Brothers Of Soul’s ‘I Need Your Love’ – any previously unheard track by this redoubtable outfit is big soul news. I had originally thought that Buck Ram’s group Two Cats & A Mouse would be 50s sounding, like most of his acts, but ‘Love In My Heart’ proved to be a classy cover of the Oracles’ 1967 rarity on OM.

Harvey Scales & The Seven Sounds
From Milwaukee, the Badger State, we have two little-known 1963 recordings from the Cuca label. ‘You Don’t Care’ by the Esquires (aka Betty Moorer’s brothers’ group the Ambassadors) first appeared on “Badger A-Go-Go”, a compilation album issued on Cuca’s Night Owl subsidiary in 1968, while Harvey (Scales) & Seven Sounds’ beat ballad ‘It’s Midnight’ was finally made available as a download-only in 2020.

Jack Ashford’s influence is also strong. ‘Crazy Things’ by the unknown Joe Douglas, one of Jack’s earliest productions, was cut in Philly with a Motor City backing track. Jack’s Pied Piper set-up produced the Hesitations’ ‘Soul Kind Of Love’, the second 45 from their superlative “Soul Superman” LP, and his later work with Detroiters Lorraine Chandler and George Rountree is represented by Philly singer Ray Gant’s update of Eddie Parker’s ‘I Need A True Love’, and the Family Brick’s vocal group version of ‘I’ll Fly To Your Open Arms’, which Jack sang on his “Hotel Sheets” LP.

Other soul legends include Major Lance with ‘Girl, Come On Home’ (the original flip of ‘Since I Lost My Baby’s Love’) and the Exits’ ‘Under The Street Lamp’, which epitomised the aspirations of black street corner vocal groups. Joe Hicks’ ‘Don’t It Make You Feel Funky’ is adrenalin-driven soul, adored by the Northern Soul crowd. Rocky Gil’s ‘It’s Not The End’ and Little Nicky Soul’s ‘You Said’ are both mega-money items, but the rarest and most-desired track has to be ‘The Intruder’ by Melvin Hicks & the Versatiles, which was thought to exist only on acetate but is actually a missing number on a collectible soul label – all will be revealed.  – ADY CROASDELL

Pre-order a copy of the CD right here. Listen to the uptempo Joe Hicks banger "Don't It Make You Feel Funky" and Little Nicky Soul's "You Said" arranged by Richard Tee and the Jack Ashford & Mike Terry-penned "Crazy Things" by the little known Joe Douglas. 





Northern Soul's Classiest Rarities, Vol. 7

01  Ready Or Not Here Comes Love - Carolyn Crawford

02  It Takes A Lotta Teardrops - Kim Weston

03  The Intruder - Melvin Hicks & The Versatiles

04  She's Supreme - The Lovers

05  Why Would You Blow It - Isaiah Smith

06  It's Not The End - Rocky Gil & The Bishops

07  It's Midnight - Harvey Scales & The Seven Sounds

08  You Said - Little Nicky Soul

09  You Don't Care - The Esquires

10  I Need Your Love - Brothers Of Soul

11  I Wish I Knew - Joe Buckner & Major IV

12  I'll Fly To Your Open Arms - The Family Brick

13  I Need A True Love - Ray Gant & The Arabian Knights

14  Don't It Make You Feel Funky - Joe Hicks

15  Love Is Such A Funny Thing - John Wesley & The Four Tees

16  Soul Kind Of Love - The Hesitations

17  Crazy Things - Joe Douglas

18  Love In My Heart - Cats 'n' Mouse

19  Farewell Goodbye My Love (Edit) - The Performers

20  Girl, Come On Home - Major Lance

21  I've Got To Come In - Jean Battle

22  So Glad - The Lyrics

23  The Right To Cry - The Perfections

24  Under The Street Lamp - The Exits 

Tuesday, February 16, 2021

New video for Local H's "Winter Western" channels The Electric Company

Rachel Lichtman's colourfully crafty video treatment for Local H's "Winter Western" employs a 70s Electric Company aesthetic.




Happy Birthday Machito!

Remembering Afro-Cuban jazz great Francisco Grillo aka Machito with a couple of cookers.




Luli Lucinha's Flor Lilás EP getting reissued by Mr Bongo

Mr. Bongo are reissuing the much sought-after Flor Lilás EP by Brazilian duo Luli e Lucinha on April 16th. 


Here's the scoop from Mr. Bongo...

As longtime fans of this sublime four-track compacto 7" by the illustrious Brazilian duo Luli Lucinha e O Bando, we have floated the idea of reissuing this beauty for several years now. So finally, the time feels right to release this beloved gem back into the world.

Originally issued by Brazil's Som Livre label in 1972, this rarity has long been lost to only but the most hardened Brazilian record collectors and those lucky few who own an original copy. The four genre-defying compositions blend elements of psychedelic rock, MPB and folk, and are glued together by the synergy of Luli and Lucinha's vocals and the outstanding arrangements by Zé Rodrix. Whether it be the lost Brazilian - psych anthem of 'Flor Lilás’, or the tripped-out folk - funk of 'Dourado Da Manhã’, the EP oozes magic and brilliance. The record also features the Brazilian percussionist, Alyrio Lima, who later became a member of the iconic Weather Report.

The records of Luli aka Heloisa Orosco Borges da Fonseca and Lucinha aka Lucia Helen a Carvalho e Silva have become extremely sought-after in recent years. Their inclusion on John Gómez's superb 2017 'Outro Tempo' compilation helped spread the gospel about their beautiful folky, MPB, private press albums from the late '70s and '80s. Prior to their musical partnership back in 1965, Luli released a heavenly Bossa Nova 7" nugget entailed 'Baleiro' and a self - titled solo album on Philips Records, which are now also highly-prized by collectors.

Here at Mr Bongo, we feel Luli and Lucinha 's names should be more widely recognised and break out of their cult artist status. They should be rated up there amongst some of the progressive, left - field greats of Brazilian music of their era. Sadly Luli passed away in 2018 but left behind an inspiring musical legacy for us all to savour. Pre-order a copy from Mr. Bongo right here. Have a listen below. 

 


R.I.P. Johnny Pacheco, 1935-2021

Sadly, salsa kingin Johnny Pacheco, who co-founded the Fania label, has passed away at the age of 85. 




Monday, February 15, 2021

Happy Birthday Kirk Lightsey!

Raising a glass to jazz piano great Kirk Lightsey with a performance at Smalls and another with The Cookers in Viersen, Germany. 



Les Sunlights vs. Stéphanie

Stéphanie and Les Sunlights each come up with a swingin' version of Michel Legrand's "Avant Le Jazz" 



 

Sunday, February 14, 2021

Happy Birthday Tim Buckley!

Remembering Tim Buckley with a performance of "Song To The Siren" from the final episode of The Monkees TV series.



 

New collection of Stax soul rarities on the way from Ace/Kent

The 20-track collection Everybody Makes A Mistake – Stax Southern Soul Vol. 2 is due out March 26th. 


Here's the scoop from Ace/Kent...

Stax Records in Memphis was one of the centres of southern soul, yet due to its many hits and big city location, this often gets forgotten. We redressed that balance with the release of “Nobody Wins: Stax Southern Soul” but there was so much more to play that we’re back with 20 more tracks that capture the deep emotion and soulful feel of the Memphis behemoth.

First up we have found a bunch of previously unreleased tracks. There are two by Eddie Floyd, including his own version of ‘Everybody Makes A Mistake’, first released by Otis Redding on “The Soul Album”; a stormer called ‘Standing In The Safety Zone’ by the Soul Children; and another cut by Chuck Brooks. We also have alternate takes of originally unreleased track by Ollie & the Nightingales and William Bell, and have gathered up rare tracks that appeared as bonus tracks on CDs by Jimmy Hughes, Mavis Staples, Shirley Brown, the Newcomers, David Porter and Veda Brown.

Of those that saw release at the time, we have obscure B-sides by Eddie Giles, Israel Tolbert and Lee Sain. Singles from Randy Brown, Frederick Knight and the Nightingales are as good as anything the label released, and Isaac Hayes is present with his take on the Banks & Hampton single ‘I’m Gonna Have To Tell Her’, one of the great southern soul songs.

Packaged with in-depth sleeve notes and extensive illustrations. Pre-order a copy from Ace Records right here. Check out a couple of tracks followed by the tracklisting. 







Everybody Makes A Mistake – Stax Southern Soul, Vol. 2

01  I'll Do Anything For Your Love (Single edit) - William Bell

02  How Can I Win Your Love - Eddie Floyd

03  I'm Gonna Have To Tell Her - Isaac Hayes

04  A Smile Can't Hide A Broken Heart (Alt mix) - Ollie & The Nightingales

05  Let's Make A Deal - Frederick Knight

06  Standing In The Safety Zone - The Soul Children

07  Spare Me The Hurt Of Losing You (Demo) - The Newcomers

08  Guilty Of Loving You - Veda Brown

09  We've Got Love On Our Side - Bettye Crutcher

10  I'm Tired - Mavis Staples

11  Got To Get Away From You - Israel Tolbert

12  I'm Too Old To Play - Jimmy Hughes

13  Everybody Makes A Mistake - Eddie Floyd

14  Ain't Nobody Like My Baby - Lee Sain

15  Just A Little Overcome - The Nightingales

16  It Takes Me All Night - Eddie Giles

17  You Need Love - Chuck Brooks

18  Ain't No Way - Shirley Brown

19  Did You Hear Yourself Part 1 - Randy Brown & Company

20  Come Get From Me Parts 1 & 2 - David Porter



Saturday, February 13, 2021

Happy 100th Birthday Wardell Gray!

Here are a couple of stellar performances from saxophone great Wardell Gray who left us far too soon in 1955.




Nathaniel Rateliff shares video for "Redemption"

In advance performing "A Little Honey" on SNL, Nathaniel Rateliff released a video for "Redemption"






LINKS
Apple Music playlist Nathaniel Rateliff Essentials

 

Friday, February 12, 2021

R.I.P. Milford Graves, 1941-2021

Sadly, free jazz explorer and sound scientist Milford Graves has died of congestive heart failure. He'll be greatly missed. 





Listen to "Jumped In The Humber" by Jerry Leger

Check out "Jumped In The Humber" by Toronto's own Jerry Leger featuring James McKie on lap steel. Get it right here


Get exclusive versions of Jerry's latest, Time Out For Tomorrow, and his isolation recording Songs From The Apartment right here


Watch The White Stripes' first UK TV appearance from 2001

Watch Meg White and Jack tear through "Fell In Love With A Girl" and "Let's Shake Hands" on Later... with Jools Holland. 


Happy Birthday Bill Laswell

Raising a glass to bass boss Bill Laswell with a 2019 performance in France alongside trumpeter Dave Douglas.