Remembering the great John Fahey with an hour-long performance in Hamburg, Germany on March 17, 1978. |
Sunday, February 28, 2021
Happy Birthday John Fahey!
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. |
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
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. |
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
Wednesday, February 24, 2021
Harvey Guillén discusses What We Do In The Shadows
R.I.P. Naomi Shelton, 1942-2021
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
R.I.P. Lawrence Ferlinghetti, 1919-2021
Sadly, literary icon Lawrence Ferlinghetti has died at 101. He reflects on six decades in SF here. |
Happy Birthday Florian Fricke!
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
Monday, February 22, 2021
Watch The Robinson'Sons' Hawaiian-style "Tropical Vacation" at home
Happy Birthday Ernie K-Doe!
Whaddya mean you don't know Amancio D'Silva
Sunday, February 21, 2021
R.I.P. Gene Taylor, 1952-2021
Happy Birthday Steve Wynn!
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
Happy Birthday David Murray!
The Robinson'Sons vs. Lenny Kravitz
Dr. Lonnie Smith previews new Breathe album with "Bright Eyes"
Thursday, February 18, 2021
Happy Birthday Yoko Ono!
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...
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. |
Wednesday, February 17, 2021
Exploring Tom Thomson at 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 |
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.
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
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
Monday, February 15, 2021
Happy Birthday Kirk Lightsey!
Les Sunlights vs. Stéphanie
Sunday, February 14, 2021
Happy Birthday Tim Buckley!
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