Vintage Groundhogs live recordings unearthed

Road Hogs: Live From Richmond to Pocono 3LP reveals The Groundhogs in top form in 1969 and '72.

Here's the scoop...

Like some lost treasure that Indiana Jones’ cooler roommate just happened upon, this triple vinyl release tracks the mighty Groundhogs on a 3941-mile journey from Richmond Athletic Ground to the Pocono Raceway in the mountains of Pennsylvania.

It takes them from blues revivalists to head-friendly prog icons and power rock innovators; bridging the gap between their first two bluesy albums and the nirvana and nadir of the band’s most lauded line up of Tony McPhee (guitar and vocals), Pete Cruikshank (bass) and Ken Pustelnik (drums) at their final show on that big American tour that broke up the original trio.

Along the way they were heralded by Mick Jagger and Robert Plant, became embroiled in student riots in Germany and were acclaimed in the weeklies as the hardest working band around, while guitarist Tony McPhee guffawed at comparisons to Hendrix, Clapton and Peter Green.

Sitting in the Warner Brothers’ vault for 50 years, four reels of tape lay wedged between the masters of the groundbreaking albums ‘Thank Christ For The Bomb’, ‘Split’ and ‘Who Will Save The World… The Mighty Groundhogs’.

The first two boxes had a handwritten scrawl acclaiming them as ‘Groundhogs live at Richmond Athletic Ground, November 7, 1969’. Originally it had been thought that they were recorded at the Ninth National Jazz And Blues Festival – a nomadic event that had previously rocked up in Richmond.

In fact, they turned out to be a one-off support slot to Free, a break from their Marquee residency; the mood is intimate, jokey between-song banter punctuates a monumental set that debuts an un-named “new song” which came to be known as their classic "Cherry Red."

The second two boxes – marked 'Pocono’ were recorded at what would turn out to be the final show for this seminal line up when their truncated hurricane-threatened US tour ended abruptly when Tony broke his arm in a freak horse riding accident.

Over 976 days and with 250-plus live shows under their belt, The Groundhogs had sealed their legendary status.

You can pre-order the limited triple vinyl  edition of Road Hogs: Live From Richmond to Pocono (out November 5th via Fire Records) which includes Includes liner notes with rare photos from The Groundhogs archive, bumper sticker and poster right here. 

The Groundhogs – Road Hogs: Live From Richmond to Pocono

A1. Cherry Red (Richmond Athletic Ground, London - 1969)

A2. Mistreated (Richmond Athletic Ground, London - 1969)

A3. Natchez Burning (Richmond Athletic Ground, London - 1969)

B1. B.D.D. (Richmond Athletic Ground, London - 1969)

B2. Times (Richmond Athletic Ground, London - 1969)

C1. Still a Fool (Richmond Athletic Ground, London - 1969)

D1. Group Intro (Richmond Athletic Ground, London - 1969)

D2. No More Doggin' (Richmond Athletic Ground, London - 1969)

E1. Eccentric Man (Pocono Raceway, Pennsylvania - 1972)

E2. Music is the Food of Thought  (Pocono Raceway, Pennsylvania - 1972)

E3. Cherry Red, Split Part 2 (Pocono Raceway, Pennsylvania - 1972)

F1. Still a Fool, Amazing Grace (Pocono Raceway, Pennsylvania - 1972)

Whaddya mean you don't know Bob Lackman

The mysterious Bob Lackman cut one ace EP for the Riviera label with Mike "Emperor Rosko" Pasternak in '66 then vanished. 

Watch the trailer for Todd Haynes' Velvet Underground doc

Here's the two-minute trailer for the new documentary, cleverly titled The Velvet Underground, coming October 15th.

Happy Birthday John Peel!

Remembering influential BBC radio personality John Peel with a list of the 142 singles found in his record box.   Artwork: Olaf Jens

Here's a list of the 142 seven-inch singles found in John Peel's record box of his most-prized tunes which included five singles by Memphis rockabilly great Charlie Feathers, three by Phoenix soul duo Eddie & Ernie and only one by The Beatles.  Listen to a sampling of tracks following the list. 

1. Al Casey – Surfin’ Hootenanny + Easy Pickin (PIE) 1963 – Jivin Around

2. Al Ferrier – I’m Not Drinking More + Don’t Play Blue Eyes’ (MASTER TRAK) 1980

3. Alan Price Set – I Put a Spell on You (DECCA) 1966 – Alan Price Set

4. Andy Capp – Popatop + Reco – The Lion Speaks (TREASURE ISLAND) 1969

5. Anemic Boyfriends – Guys Are Not Proud + Bad Girls in Love (RED SWEATER) 1980

6. Ann Peebles – I Can’t Stand The Rain + I’ve Been There Before (LONDON) 

7. Anti-Social – Traffic Lights + Teacher, Teacher (DYNAMITE) 1977

8. Arthur K Adams – Wildwood Flower + It’s a Wild, Wild, Wild, Wild Wildwood Flower (JETSTAR)

9. Big Stick – Drag Racing + Hell on Earth (RECESS) 1985 

10. Bill Oddie – Harry Krishna + On Ilkla Moor Baht’at (DANDELION) 1970

11. Boards of Canada – Aquarius + Chinook (SKAM) 

12. Bobby Lee Trammell – If You Ever Get It Once + Don’t You Know I Love You (ALLEY)

13. Cat Power – Headlights + Darling Said Sir (THE MAKING OF AMERICANS) 

14. Charlie Feathers – Deep Elm Blues + Nobody’s Darlin’ (HOLIDAY INN) 

15. Charlie Feathers – Nobody’s Woman + When You Decide (KING) 2x copies 

17. Charlie Feathers – Today and Tomorrow + Wild Wild Party (MEMPHIS) 1961

18. Charlie Feathers – Tongue-Tied Jill + Get With It (METEOR) 

19. Charlie Feathers – When You Come Around + Too Much Alike (KING) 

The Bevis Frond previews Little Eden with "My Own Hollywood"

"My Own Hollywood" is off The Bevis Frond's forthcoming double album, Little Eden, out Sept 10 via Fire Records.  Photo: Anete Lapsa

Here's the scoop...

“Sometimes you might feel like you’re starring in a blockbuster, everything’s going perfectly, you’re attractive, heroic and smart. Then you open your eyes, and guess what? You’re an extra in your own little movie. You haven’t even cast yourself in a starring role. You’re not heroic, you’re not tragic, you’re just the fifth drunk on the left in a bar scene. That’s what the song’s about.” – Nick Saloman

 

'My Own Hollywood' is the new single from hotly anticipated Little Eden double album from legendary band The Bevis Frond, released on September 10th, the band's 35th anniversary.

Set against the austerity of post-modernism, The Bevis Frond’s Little Eden glows with vintage McCartney-esque couplets; new single 'My Own Hollywood' is a stand-out melodic pop gem that perfectly captures the record.

Little Eden is a psychedelically-hewn panoramic take on modern Britain punctuated with pure pop melodies and beautifully-observed English melancholy that rekindles your love of music – from the harmonies that are oh-so Teenage Fanclub to the grunge and awe of Dinosaur Jr. 

This is an album that yearns for better days signposted by the brutalism of the housing estates that main man Nick Saloman photographed for the cover.

There’s perspective and retrospective tale-spinning where we wait “for the wonderful world to come” (©‘Start Burning’), an imaginary future soundtracked by the spirit of Arthur Lee, brought into focus with witty wordplay (who else could dot in “sarcophagus” but a former Countdown champion?) on songs that are littered with spine tingling guitar breaks.

Pre-order a copy of The Bevis Frond's Little Eden via Bandcamp right here. Listen to "My Own Hollywood" and "Little Eden" below or via your favourite streaming service right here.  

R.I.P. Lee "Scratch" Perry, 1936-2021

Sadly, composer, arranger and studio magician Lee "Scratch" Perry has died at the age of 85. The Upsetter's music will live on.

LINKS

The Guardian Lee 'Scratch' Perry, visionary master of reggae, dies aged 85

Variety Reggae legend Lee 'Scratch' Perry dies at 85

UNCUT Magazine "People think I'm mad..." An Encounter with Lee 'Scratch' Perry

BBC 6 Music Lee 'Scratch' Perry upsets BBC Radio

Sonos Sound System Archive Radio Hour with Lee 'Scratch' Perry

Happy Birthday Melvin Davis!

Cheers to Detroit's Soul Ambassador Melvin Davis on his birthday! Here are a few of his classics. 

Kazdoura swing by Leslieville for Sunday Soul Sessions

Toronto's Kazdoura – feat. Syrian singer/violinist Leen Hamo offer a modern take on Arabic classics from 2 to 6 pm today. 

That time Plastic Crimewave Sound saluted Hawkwind live

Steven Krakow's crew was joined by Chris Connelly, Bruce Lamont and Traci Trouble for their Hawkwind tribute in 2012.  

Martha Wainwright shares "Middle of the Lake" video

"Middle of the Lake" is off Martha's latest album, Love Will Be Reborn which she'll be presenting in Toronto November 30.  

Here's the scoop...

Last week saw the long-awaited release of Martha Wainwright’s stunning 5th studio album Love Will Be Reborn. Today she shares the video for the moody opening track “Middle of the Lake” (watch it below).

 

The video for “Middle of the Lake” was filmed just outside of Montreal in Esterel, Quebec. The opening track sets the stage for a record full of revelations – both light and dark - and chronicles Wainwright’s personal journey over the last few years as she finds a way to move forward after a painful divorce. About the track, Martha explains, “Inspired by a strange covid summer morning at a surreal lake house in the Laurentians when I was stuck in a canoe in the reeds alone and happy. I knew that I would be back on stage again singing at some point and that that was the thing that would save my life. On this song me and the band are dancing, moving and flying through the uncertainty, but then landing together safe and sound.”

 

Like most records this year, Love Will Be Reborn was made during the pandemic and recorded in Wainwright’s hometown of Montreal, in the basement of her brand-new cafe, Ursa, which also served as a studio. Enlisting the help of Toronto musicians Thom Gill, Phil Melanson, Morgan Moore and Josh Cole and producer Pierre Marchand, best-known for his collaborations with Sarah McLachlan producing some of her iconic 90s songs. 

Marchand also has a familial connection to Wainwright, having produced her brother Rufus’s second album Poses as well as Wainwright’s mother and aunt’s record, Heartbeats Accelerating. It was a record made after some time, much like Wainwright’s gap since 2016’s Goodnight City, and McGarrigle was the same age that Wainwright is now. It seems like a musical synergy only the late McGarrigle and Wainwright could have.

Watch the video for "Middle of the Lake" followed by a list of Martha's upcoming tour dates. 

 

Martha Wainwright on tour:

09/03 - Vaudreuil-Dorion, QC - Festival Artefact 2021

09/04 -  Lévis, QC - Catholic Church of Saint-Joseph-de-la-Pointe-Lévy,

09/19 – Nashville, TN – Nashville International Songwriter Festival

09/20 – London, UK - Union Chapel

09/23 – Frome, UK- Cheese and Grain

09/24- Sheffield, UK - Leadmill

09/25 - Bridport, UK - The Electric Palace

09/26 - Cardiff - Tramshed Cardiff

09/28 – Cambridge, UK - Cambridge Junction

09/29 - Birmingham, UK - Birmingham Town Hall’

09/30 - Bexhill On Sea UK - De La Warr Pavilion,

10/01 - Liverpool, UK - Liverpool Philharmonic Hall,

10/09 - Knowlton, QC - Theatre Lac-Brome (Gala Fundraiser)

10/10 - Tadoussac, QC - Festival de la chanson de Tadoussac 2021,

10/21 - Ste. Therese, QC - Cabaret BMO

10/24 - Trois-Rivieres, QC - Theatre du Cegep

10/30 - Quebec City, QC - Palais Montcalm

11/04 - Montreal, QC - Theatre Outermont

11/05 - Joliette, QC Carrefour Culturel Notre-Dame Des Prairies

11/06 - Shawinigan, QC - Maison De la Culture Francis-Brisson

11/10 - San Juan Capistrano, CA - Coach House Concert Hall,

11/15 - Sidney, BC - Mary Winspear Centre

11/16 - New Westminster, BC - Massey Theatre

11.18 – Calgary, AB – Calgary Folk Music Festival

11/19 - Sherwood Park, AB - Festival Place

11/20 - Saskatoon, SK - Broadway Theatre

11/21 - Regina, SK - Artesian

11/23 - Winnipeg, MB - Park Theatre

11/27 - Ottawa, ON - NAC Babs Asper Theatre

11/30 - Toronto, ON - The Great Hall

12/01 – London, ON – Aeolian Hall

One For The Weekend: Marcos Valle

Here's Marcos Valle's 1969 classic "Mustang cor de Sangue" and a suitably blood red Mustang convertible. 

Portland's MØTRIK previews new MØØN album with "Silver Twin"

"Silver Twin" is the lead track off MØØN ∞ The Cosmic Electrics of MØTRIK out October 8th via Jealous Butcher. 

Here's the scoop from MØTRIK HQ...

MØØN ∞ The Cosmic Electrics of MØTRIK is the latest long-playing sound exploration from the twenty-first century’s premiere purveyors of propulsive polyphonic riffatronic sonics!

Soar through inner space cloistered in the cozy cacophony confined and cosigned by the quarantined quartet of Cord (∆), Dave (¤), Erik (◊) and Lee (Ω). 

Respectively, these four brave men operate angular and adventurous guitars, program burbling bygone quasar synths, deliver a payload of crisp indefatigable escape velocity percussion, deposit abundant amounts of marine trench bass and broadcast buoyant magical mystery vocal guidance.

MØØN: Journey to our closest satellite stress-free! Let Møtrik’s musical cosmonauts be your designated pilots from craters of eternal darkness to peaks of eternal light. With a wink and a promise, these aces will float you safely back to your home base under a drogue parachute – no matter how eccentric your orbit!

You can pre-order MØØN ∞ The Cosmic Electrics of MØTRIK right  here. Watch MØTRIK's video for  "Silver Twin" below. 

MØØN ∞ The Cosmic Electrics of MØTRIK

SILVER TWIN(2069)  

PARTICLE MAZE(2105)  

STREAMLINE(3112 to -4.5 Billion Bc)  

SPACE ELEVATOR(11321) 

STABILIZE(∞)  

RED EYE(--69)  

YELLOW MØØN(???)  

SONIK RUG(∞)

MØTRIK are:

Erik Golts (◊)  – Lee Ritter (Ω)  – Dave Fulton (¤)  – Cord Amato (∆)

◊ G&L SB-1 Bass Guitar, Gibson 335 Guitar, Korg Minilogue, Korg Mono/Poly, Hohner Clavinet C, Roland VP-03, Baldwin Hamilton Piano, Nino wood-a-go-go, Vocals

Ω Ludwig Drums, Toca Congas, Møtrik Shaker

¤ DSI OB6, DSI Pro-2, Mellotron, Ensoniq EPS16+, Akai S612, Moog Voyager, The Synthesis Technology MOTM System with E950, E520, E370 Eurorack Expansion, Waldorf Microwave 1, Roland VSynthXT, Moogerfoogers

∆ Fender Telecaster Guitar, Hagstrom II Guitar, Sequential Circuits Pro-One, Fender Rhodes, MicoKorg, Hologram Microcosm, Catalinbread Belle Epoch, Maestro Phaser

Happy Birthday Sonny Sharrock!

Remembering guitar great Sonny Sharrock, who died in '94, with a couple of vintage performance clips.

Unheard live recording of John Coltrane's A Love Supreme due October 8th

John Coltrane's 1965 performance at The Penthouse in Seattle was recorded on reel-to-reel with two mics by pal Joe Brazil.  

Here's how Joe Brazil's 'Supreme' tape resurfaced...

George Klabin and Zev Feldman have been involved in some major tape discoveries over the years at Resonance, but this one probably takes the cake over them all. Several years back, Zev's good friend at the Coltrane House of Osaka, Japan, Yasuhiro Fujioka, introduced him to the film producer Kiku Lani Iwata who was working on the 2017 "Chasing Trane" documentary. Kiku put Zev in touch with saxophonist Steve Griggs, who introduced them to Virginia Brazil, widow of saxophonist Joe Brazil - who was a friend of Coltrane's and recorded him at the Penthouse. After a number of meetings, Resonance was able to strike a deal to acquire tapes of John Coltrane performing the entire "A Love Supreme" suite live at the Penthouse jazz club in Seattle, WA on October 2, 1965. George and Zev were fortunate to have been able to acquire these important tapes to make sure they stayed out of the wrong hands, and safely into the hands of the good folks at Verve Label Group/Impulse! George and Zev want to thank Ken Druker, Jamie Krents and everyone at the label for allowing us to be co-producers on this incredible journey. Thanks also to Ashley Kahn, Steve Griggs, Lewis Porter, Charlie Puzzo Jr., Yasuhiro Fujioka, Kiku Lani Iwata and everyone else who helped make this project happen. 

You can pre-order John Coltrane – A Love Supreme: Live In Seattle right here. Listen to "A Love Supreme Part IV: Psalm" from the album below. 
 

LINKS
NPR John Coltrane's masterpiece breathes new life with 'A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle'

It's all about the bass for ONETWOTHREE feat. LiLiPuT's Klaudia Schifferle

ONETWOTHREE are bass bosses Klaudia Schifferle, Madlaina Peer & Sara Schär. Check out "Perfect Illusions" below.

Here's the scoop...

ONETWOTHREE is comprised of three bassists, all women who played in bands in the late 70s and 80s Swiss punk scene. Klaudia Schifferle of Kleenex (later LiLiPuT), Madlaina Peer of the Noknows and Sara Schär, the singer for the bands TNT and Souldawn and also bassist for The Kick.

ONETWOTHREE's first album – slated for release by Kill Rock Stars on October 15 – doesn't have a name but that's just as it should be for a band that's deceptively simple, mysterious and yet somehow familiar. Three women bassists/singers from classic Swiss post-punk bands dot their insistent, minimal music with drum patters, synths, chants, commands and joyous wordplay with their sometimes cynical, sometimes sensual take on leisure and consumer culture. The group is appropriately DIY, self-contained and self-produced - their debut was written and played almost entirely by themselves. ONETWOTHREE's songs blend into a whole, creating a momentum and their own kinetic, strange reality which fun-house mirrors our own.

ONETWOTHREE – S/T

Pre-order ONETWOTHREE's forthcoming album on limited edition white vinyl directly from Kill Rock Stars right here. 

Watch the video for the lead track "Perfect Illusions" below. 

LINKS

ONETWOTHREE site https://www.onetwothree.ch

Hypnotic early 60s gems of Tanzania's Kiko Kids Jazz reissued

Mississippi Records have collected the rare Mzuri label singles by Tabora's Kiko Kids Jazz for an entrancing 12-track comp.

Here's the scoop from Mississippi Records...

Formed in the mid-1950s, Kiko Kids Jazz created a stunningly unique sound amidst an explosion of Tanzanian guitar bands in the years leading up to the country’s independence. Defined by Salim Zahoro’s warm voice and the heavy tremolo of his electric mandolin, Kiko Kids Jazz incorporated their love of early acoustic Cuban Son, rhythms from their home town of Tabora, the exciting and competitive scene of acoustic/electric dance bands in Dar Es Salaam and Nairobi, the poetic strains of Taarab and Arabic music, and the tranquility of Tanzania. 

The results are both comforting and intriguing: expressive, strung out melodies on Salim’s mandolin and subtly complex percussion lock into deep grooves of thumping acoustic bass, jerky rhythm guitars, and Cuban-style trumpet breaks. The kind of sounds that can be approached from several rhythmic angles, until it all gels in the mind and soul. 

Despite being one of the most beloved and innovative bands of their time, the 12-track Tanganyika Na Uhuru compilation is the first Kiko Kids Jazz LP ever released, consisting of our favourite songs from 1962 and 1965, all beautifully remastered from original tapes and pressings. We were fortunate to work with bandleader Salim Zahoro before his passing at age 85, shortly before the completion of this record. 

Recommended for fans of Cuban Marimba Band, the Zanzibara and Ethiopiques series, Lipa Kodi Ya City Council, Original Music, etc. 

Produced in collaboration with Salim Zahoro (1936-2021), Werner Graebner (Jahazi Media) and Hamisi Delgado. Licensed from Mzuri Records. Restoration and Mastering by Michael Kieffer. 

Get a copy of Kiko Kids Jazz compilation Tanganyika Na Uhuru via Bandcamp right here. Listen to "Sili Sishbi" below. 

That time Joe Henderson played the Molde Jazz Fest in 1968

Watch tenor titan Joe Henderson knock out "Chelsea Bridge" & "Isotope" with Kenny Drew, NHØP and Tootie Heath in Norway. 

Midweek Mixdown: Flying Nun founder Roger Shepherd

To celebrate 40 years of Flying Nun, Roger plays a selection of NZ classics by The Verlaines, The Chills, The Bats, etc. 

Flying Nun's Roger Shepherd on The Mixtape

Our guest on The Mixtape this week is Flying Nun Records founder Roger Shepherd.

A music fan who decided that someone should be recording the bands he loved to watch each weekend - Roger decided to begin Flying nun Records in Christchurch City in 1981.

Armed with this idea and a mere $50, Flying Nun Records went on to document one of the most diverse and interesting bodies of music in New Zealand - and, some would say, the world.

Flying Nun is one of the great rock 'n' roll stories, full of big personalities, high ideals, opportunities both seized and lost, and so much amazing music. 

Rodger opens up about the early Flying Nun years, his thoughts on the label now, and chooses a great selection of Flying Nun tunes. Listen to Roger on The Mixtape right here. 

Check out the video clips for The Verlaines' "Death and the Maiden" and The Bats' "In The Subway" below. 

R.I.P. Charlie Watts, 1941-2021

Sadly, Stones drummer Charlie Watts has passed away at the age of 80. He'll be greatly missed.

Check out the 5 hour, 80-song Spotify playlist of Charlie's finest recorded moments below. 

LINKS

Spotify A Celebration of Charlie Watts

The Guardian 'Not just a drummer, a genre': Stewart Copeland & Max Weinberg on Charlie Watts

Rare Buena Vista Social Club session footage from 1996 released

The in-studio footage shot by Susan Titelman shows the crucial Buena Vista role played by Barbarito Torres and Eliades Ochoa. 

Here's the scoop...

As part of Buena Vista Social Club's 25th anniversary celebrations, which includes the release of special editions of the 1996 recording – comprising remastered 2LP + 2CD Deluxe Book Pack, 2CD Casebook, and digital formats which contain the original recording plus unheard tracks – World Circuit is also sharing some accompanying videos. This new clip for "El Cuarto De Tula" features footage of the legendary 1996 Havana recording sessions, captured by Susan Titelman. This footage notably showcases celebrated laud player Barbarito Torres’ one-take solo from the album, note for note, in real time.

Pre-order a copy of the 25th Anniversary edition of Buena Vista Social Club's debut album right here. Watch the video below.

 

Jane Weaver curates Fire Records comp Heaven On Fire

Jane Weaver focuses on female artists for the limited-run Heaven On Fire compilation out September 4.

Here's the scoop...

Love Record Stores takes place on September 4th and Fire Records is releasing a special vinyl LP for the occasion entitled ‘Heaven On Fire’ compiled by Jane Weaver.

In the age of the playlist, in times where the recommender is royalty, Jane Weaver threads together the spookily hauntological strains of recent Fire releases; sub-navigating styles and genres to create a soundtrack of neo-folk futurism that nods to psychedelia, dream-pop and electronica.

‘Heaven On Fire’ is a chilled-out coming of age, made by a new set of visionaries, lovingly assembled by Jane Weaver; a state-of-the-label address that gathers Vanishing Twin's 'Big Moonlight (Ookii Gekkou)' from their third opus ‘Ookii Gekkou’; the gorgeous ‘Ophelia’ from Marina Allen’s debut ‘Candlepower’; Mega Bog’s ‘Station To Station’ from her recently released ‘Life, and Another’; ‘St Francis Fountain’ from Virginia Wing’s new album; Gwenno’s remix of Islet’s ‘Geese’; Lucy Gooch’s ‘Rain’s Break’ from her first Fire release; ‘Reve Riviere’ from Faten Kanaan’s exotic ‘A Mythology of Circles’; Brigid Mae Power’s ‘We Weren’t Sure’ from her celebrated Fire debut of last year ‘Head Above The Water’; and US based Korean musician Okkyung Lee’s ambient gem ‘Here We Are (Once Again)’.

This exclusive compilation, limited to just 500 copies, will be pressed on deep red vinyl and features specially commissioned artwork by Emily Evans. Check out "Big Moonlight (Ookii Gekkou)" by Vanishing Twin, an impromptu side-of-the-road performance of "We Weren't Sure" by Brigid Mae Power and crew followed by Mega Bog's "Station To Station" after the track listing below. 

Various Artists - Heaven On Fire 

A1 Jane Weaver - Flock

A2 Vanishing Twin – Big Moonlight (Ookii Gekkou)

A3 Marina Allen – Ophelia

A4 Mega Bog – Station to Station

A5 Virginia Wing – St. Francis Fountain

B1 Islet – Geese (Gwenno Remix)

B2 Lucy Gooch – Rain’s Break

B3 Faten Kanaan – Rêve-Rivière

B4 Brigid Mae Power – We Weren’t Sure

B5 Okkyung Lee – Here We Are (Once Again)

R.I.P. Specimen's Olli Wisdom, aka Space Tribe

Sadly, Batcave scene mainman Olli Wisdom of Specimen and later Space Tribe has passed away at the age of 63. 

Happy Birthday Wynona Carr

Remembering the great Wynona Carr with a few of her amazing gospel and R&B recordings. 

Orquesta Akokán share blazing new track "Mi Conga Es De Akokán"

"Mi Conga Es De Akokán" is off the forthcoming Orquesta Akokán album 16 Rayos out via Daptone on October 22. 

Here's the scoop from Daptone HQ...

Following their critically acclaimed Daptone debut, Orquesta Akokán is ready to unleash 16 Rayos on the world's dance floors. Recorded in Havanaʼs famed Egrem Studios, the group displays a cohesion forged by an intense performing and touring cycle. The musical conversation that began in the Areito studios three years earlier blossomed into an easy, intimate dialogue between good friends - allowing full, fearless musical expression and risk-taking outside of their comfort zones. Building upon Perez Pradoʼs dissonant, near avant-garde vision of the mambo, and highlighting the Lucumí subtext of Cuban rhythms and styles, the band continues to explore, develop and expand the islandʼs rich rhythmic palette and repertoire - pushing the conventions of what is considered “mambo” - and drawing deeply from folkloric and religious traditions seldom heard in popular music. 16 Rayos is here to shine its musical rays on us, warm our hearts, and irresistibly move our bodies.

Pre-order a red vinyl copy (while supplies last) of Oquesta Akokán's 16 Rayos album directly from Daptone Records right here. Listen to "Mi Conga Es De Akokán" below followed by a nicely shot 2019 Kennedy Center performance. 

R.I.P. Don Everly, 1937-2021

Remembering Don Everly with Burton Cummings and Domenic Troiano at CHCH-TV in Hamilton from 1983. 

Terry Staunton remembers Don Everly

Don Everly died on Saturday, seven years after kid brother Phil, but one of their bitterest feuds almost outlived both of them. A decades-long dispute over authorship of the million-selling smash Cathy’s Clown was finally settled by a Tennessee court in May 2021, the judge ruling in favour of the elder man, whose sole name has appeared in brackets after the title since it was first released in 1960.

The animosity between them was legendary. On their initial 1980s reunion concerts, stories persist of them stepping into the spotlight from different sides of the stage each night, having not exchanged a single word in the preceding 22-and-a-half hours. During the recording of their ’84 comeback album, producer Dave Edmunds claims he stepped in to break up a fist fight triggered by muddied memories of “something one of them said to the other in 1973.”

But when they were (literally) in tune with each other, such sweet and wonderful music was made. At the ages of eight and six respectively, Isaac Donald and Philip Everly made their professional debut on the KMA radio station out of Shenandoah, Iowa, singing traditional, country and novelty songs on a weekly show hosted by their parents, Ike and Margaret. 

Ten years later, in 1956, the brothers (no longer billed as “Little Donnie and Baby Boy Phil”) were based in Nashville, where their crisp country harmonies found favour in the soon to be seismic world of rock ’n’ roll. Bye Bye Love, Wake Up Little Susie, All I Have To Do Is Dream, Bird Dog, Take A Message To Mary and ‘Til I Kissed You all hit big before the decade’s end, while covers of This Little Girl Of Mine and Lucille helped introduce Ray Charles and Little Richard to wider, whiter audiences.

It was perhaps inevitable that once rock ’n’ roll was no longer the genre making the most impact, like Louisiana-born Jerry Lee Lewis, they would pivot to the indigenous music of the Southern states. They’d never fully abandoned country music (their most notable early LP was the traditional treasure trove Songs Our Daddy Taught Us); it was in their blood, but so was rock, although the music biz had yet to hit on the umbrella term that would confidently bring the two worlds together.

The very roots of country rock can be found in a triptych of albums the Everlys made in ’68 and ’69 (compiled into one box set entitled Down In The Bottom in 2020), recordings that became touchstones for future generations of performers like Gram Parsons, Steve Earle, Ryan Adams and Jason Isbell. It wasn’t an especially lengthy rebirth, though, and the ‘70s saw them raise estrangement to an art form. But when the dust had partially settled a few years on, the likes of Paul McCartney and Jeff Lynne were at the head of the queue to offer them new material.

Yet, for millions of fans it’s the blend of those beautiful voices on their first few years as stars that keeps them alive. The comic teenage high-jinx of Poor Jenny, the desolate heartbreak of The Ferris Wheel, the airport-set doom ballad Ebony Eyes, the yearning Walk Right Back, the gimme-something-good stomp of When Will I Be Loved?, the solitary sorrow of Crying In The Rain. 

I never got to meet either of them, but on assignment for NME in Nashville in 1988 I ended a particularly lubricated evening in the apartment of one of the city’s most in-demand studio engineers, the two of us playing guitars and howling in what we drunkenly thought was to-die-for harmony. Halfway through a heroically shoddy rendition of Let It Be Me, a pounding on the door by the guy resident one storey up pointedly suggested we call it a night; it wasn’t until the following afternoon that I learned the angry neighbor was none other than Don Everly, rudely awoken by the beer-soaked murder of one of his biggest hits.

While it might have been cool to come face-to-face with a man whose music I’d love since a little kid, perhaps it’s just as well we sauced-up carousers were too chicken-shit to actually open the door that night. By all accounts, Don relished a good row. – Terry Staunton

More rare Stax grooves uncovered for Can I Be A Witness comp

Can I Be A Witness boasts previously unreleased tracks by The Soul Children, Little Milton, Nightingales & Sweet Inspirations. 

Here's the scoop...

A brand-new collection gathered from the Stax catalogue of southern-flavoured dancers, from soul to funk and in between, Can I Be A Witness: Stax Southern Groove (due September 24) features 11 previously unreleased tracks from such illustrious names as The Soul Children, Little Milton, The Emotions, The Sweet Inspirations, The Nightingales and Frederick Knight, amongst others. The other nine tracks from artists such as Eddie Floyd, R.B. Hudmon, Rance Allen Group and Eric Mercury delve deep into the archive, bringing you B-sides, obscure album cuts, dancefloor favourites and originally unissued tracks. The booklet is well illustrated and comes with an in-depth essay from compiler Dean Rudland.

Check out a few of the tunes following the track listing below.

Various Artists – Can I Be A Witness: Stax Southern Groove (Kent/Ace) 

1. BAD WATER - LITTLE MILTON Previously unissued (2021) 3.02 

2. CAN WE TALK THIS OVER - EDDIE FLOYD Originally unissued. Stax CDSXD 116 (1998) 3.02 

3. HOW CAN I BE A WITNESS - RB HUDMON Truth 3230 (1975) 3.03 

4. LOVE IS TAKING OVER - ERIC MERCURY Enterprise 9080 (1973) 3.48 

5. BURNING ON BOTH ENDS - THE NIGHTINGALES Previously unissued (2021) 3.13 

6. FOREVER AND A DAY - MEL & TIM Stax 0224 / Stax LP STS 5501 (1973) 4.39 

7. I WANNA MAKE UP (BEFORE WE BREAK UP) - MAJOR LANCE Volt 4079 (1972) 3.59* 

8. YOU AIN’T PLAYING WITH NO TOY - THE SOUL CHILDREN Previously unissued (2021) 3.24 

9. I GOT TO BE MYSELF - THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP Gospel Truth 1208 / Gospel Truth LP GTS-3502 (1973) 2.50 

10. PASSING THRU/WORLD KEEPS TURNING - FREDERICK KNIGHT Previously unissued extended version of Truth 3202 (2021) 10.54 

11. AIN’T ENOUGH HOURS - THE EMOTIONS Previously unissued (2021) 3.02 

12. CHANGES - JEANNE & THE DARLINGS Originally unissued. Stax CDSXD 116 (1998) 3.20 

13. SLOW DOWN - THE NIGHTINGALES Previously unissued (2021) 3.42 

14. SOUL GROOVE - ART JERRY MILLER Previously unissued (2021) 2.15* 

15. DON’T FIGHT THE FEELING - THE SWEET INSPIRATIONS Previously unissued (2021) 3.53 

16. THREE’S A CROWD - THE TEMPREES Previously unissued (2021) 3.08 

17. HELPING MAN - JEAN KNIGHT Stax 0136 (1972) 2.52* 

18. TRUE LOVE DON’T GROW ON TREES (Demo) - VEDA BROWN Originally unissued. Kent CDKEND 302 (2008) 2.28 

19. THE NATURAL YOU - OLLIE & THE NIGHTINGALES Previously unissued (2021) 2.47* 

20. LEANING ON YOUR UNDYING LOVE - SHACK Previously unissued (2021) 2.52* 

Stereo except * Mono

Before They Were Famous: Dieter Meier & Klaudia Schifferle

Prior to hitting big with Yello, Dieter Meier knocked out "Cry For Fame" in '78. Klaudia from Kleenex makes a cameo at 1:02. 

Happy Birthday Jackie DeShannon!

Cheers to fab singer/songwriter Jackie DeShannon on her 80th birthday. Here's 'When You Walk In The Room' from 2012. 

Angel Olsen tries slowing down 80s hits for Aisles EP

Beyond the music, Angel Olsen was very committed to the 80s throwback concept of Aisles.  

Here's the scoop from Angel Olsen...

"While spending time trying to conquer the audio of live-stream at-home performances, I got better acquainted with my friend Adam McDaniel, a local engineer and producer in Asheville, NC. Adam and I had known each other for years. When the band was a bit smaller I would often rent his studio, Drop of Sun, for pre-recording / pre tour rehearsals.

"Summer 2020 was tough for many reasons. But Adam and his wife Emily opened their home to me and made it a safe space to create and let go. I told Adam I had an idea to record some covers and bring some of the band into the mix, or add other players. I wanted to record 80’s songs that I’d overheard walking the aisles at the grocery store, and I needed to laugh and have fun and be a little less serious about the recording process in general. I thought about completely changing some of the songs and turning them inside out. 

"One that came to mind was 'Gloria' by Laura Branigan. I’d heard Gloria for the first time at a family Christmas gathering and I was amazed at all the aunts who got up to dance. I imagined them all dancing and laughing in slow motion, and that’s when I got the idea to slow the entire song down and try it out in this way.

"'Safety Dance' by Men Without Hats was a song that I was trying to do something similar with. I felt that it could be reinterpreted to be about this time of quarantine and the fear of being around anyone or having too much fun. It made me wonder, is it safe to laugh or dance or be free of it all for just a moment?

"Right after we recorded these two, we were commissioned to cover 'Eyes Without A Face' by Billy Idol for a film due to come out later this year. I didn’t really connect to the rap part in the middle so we went for more of a tripped out instrumental instead.

"'Forever Young' by Alphaville and 'If You Leave' by O.M.D. were the two outliers. I really wanted to keep these close to the originals, but with a slightly different spin.

"Most of these covers were tracked in the winter of last year. I’d come over to find Adam had set up 5 or so synthesizers, and we’d get lost on a part for a while messing with some obscure pedal I knew nothing about. We’d spend a good amount of time going through sounds before finding one or two, sometimes we’d get real weird and decide to just go with it. 

"I know it’s not really in my history to do something unintentional or just for the hell of it but my connection to these songs is pretty straightforward, I just wanted to have a little fun and be a little more spontaneous, and I think I needed to remember that I could!" – Angel Olsen

Get a copy of Angel Olsen's Aisles EP from your favourite streaming platform or Angel's official online store right here. Listen to Angel's slow-mo update of 'Safety Dance' below. 

R.I.P. Country music's storyteller Tom T. Hall, 1936-2021

Sadly, songwriter Tom T. Hall – who penned many more classic tunes than Harper Valley P.T.A. – has passed away. He'll be missed.

Sharon Ely remembers Tom T. Hall

Tom T. Hall having a cold one at Stubb's BBQ in Lubbock, Texas.

Tom was a great friend to STUBB’S and Joe Ely and Paul Milosevich 

STUBB’S had nailed the curtains down in all the booths so people would quit wiping there greasy bbq hands on the curtains. 

Tom T Hall never told STUBB’S as long as they were friends that he was a vegetarian.  

One night At STUBB’S, Joe and Tom played a pool tournament with an onion as cue ball in STUBB’S back room where he kept all the food to cook with . The pool table was back there and sometimes served as a bed for STUBB’S when he couldn’t make it home. 

I secretly stole the cue ball that night when tom and joe were in the back playing pool continuously –thinking they would come out front and play music for all the people waiting to hear them since there was no cue ball. It was in my back pocket. 

Instead Joe found a bag of onions and pulled one out and grabbed a broom for a cue stick. They continued to play pool. 

Tom T. won because Joe scratched the cue ball/onion.

Then Tom wrote “The Great East Broadway Onion Championship of 1978”

R.I.P. Tom T. Hall

More Tubby Hayes archival recordings being excavated

Previously unheard tapes from three sessions recorded in 1965 promise to present other sides of British jazz great Tubby Hayes.  

Here's the scoop from Simon Spillett...

As part of this autumn's concerted campaign to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Tubby Hayes pioneering New York debut (a series of quartet and big band gigs, a screening of Mark Baxter and Lee Cogswell's documentary 'Tubby Hayes: A Man In A Hurry', two new archive CD releases on the Jazz in Britain label and a cover feature in 'Jazzwise') I'm currently working on a further issue of previously unheard Hayes recordings, this time from slightly later in his career, the year 1965.

This was a pivotal time for Tubby, both professionally and personally, one in which much of his 'old' world began to crumble while paradoxically he set in place the foundations of the next phase of his eventful existence. It was a story of suicide attempts and sackings as well as international bookings and globally acclaimed saxophone artistry. Indeed no year in Hayes' short life quite matches its balance of triumph and tragedy.

One critic writing of Hayes that year observed that he was 'capable of coming to terms with aspects of the "new thing"', the fashionable term for the avant garde.

Another conversely believed he had 'reached his peak some years ago.'

Singer Joy Marshall makes an appearance

These newly unearthed recordings from 1965 tell a somewhat more nuanced tale, one in which the saxophonist's appetite for new challenges resulted in music at once vivid, energised and ambitious. 

These tapes offer live versions of several Hayes set-pieces of the day, as well as the notable first appearance of his soon-to-be-legendary self-penned big band and tenor concerto '100% Proof' but what is perhaps even more impressive is how they reveal Hayes to have remained, a decade into his career as a bandleader in his own right, a central catalyst, one around whom all manner of British jazzmen, both established and neophyte, would gather.

Those featuring on this forthcoming release include the expected (Terry Shannon, Jeff Clyne, Ronnie Stephenson), the enigmatic (drummer Benny Goodman) and the iconic (Bobby Wellins, Kenny Wheeler). There is even room for players who are rarely thought of as Hayes associates, such as West Indian trumpeter Shake Keane. Hayes' then girlfriend, the American vocalist Joy Marshall is also showcased.

Across three separate sessions, heard on tenor, flute and vibraphone, Hayes once again carves his legend, offering music as passionately driven as anything familiar from his studio-taped albums. And, as was always the case with this most engaging of live performers, the presence of an enthusiastic audience further fuels his fire.

Once again, I'm thrilled to be working on a project aimed at bringing still more of the work of this singular genius to new listeners. Although there have been plenty of archive British jazz issues of late, all of them valuable and worthy of deeper study, this new Hayes one promises to be something very special indeed.   – Simon Spillett, author of The Long Shadow of the Little Giant: The Life, Work and Legacy of Tubby Hayes (Equinox)

NOTE: Simon Spillett's newly-formed Big Band will be performing recently-rediscovered arrangements of classics by UK jazz legend Tubby Hayes on Sunday, October 17 as part of the Herts Jazz Festival 2021. This 17-piece band features many of the top UK jazz players and makes this an unmissable experience. https://southmillarts.ticketsolve.com/shows/873624814

Watch Tubby Hayes and crew blast through "The Killers of W1" on the BBC in 1965 below.