One For The Weekend: The Art Bears

Wishing a happy new year to those staying in tonight – here's "The Hermit" sung by Dagmar Krause with Fred Frith & Chris Cutler.

Hank Williams Jr. chats about his Rich White Honky Blues album

 After playing "Georgia Women" with Dan Auerbach and pals, Hank Williams Jr. can't leave the Bobby Bones show quick enough.

Happy Birthday Frank Motley!

Remembering twin-trumpet blasting Frank Motley with some classics cut with his Hitch-Hikers, Jackie Shane and Mighty Pope.

Watch Tom Jones singing "Chills and Fever" in 1964

Here's a rare clip of Tom Jones performing "Chills and Fever" on BBC2's The Beat Room in 1964. 

R.I.P. Canadian singer/songwriter Ian Tyson, 1933-2022

Sadly, Canadian folk/country icon Ian Tyson has passed away at the age of 89. We're remembering Ian with a few clips.  

Happy Birthday Rick Danko!

Remembering Rick Danko with a Band reunion show in Vancouver with Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel and Levon Helm in '83. 

Watch some rare footage of The Modernettes live in 1982

Check out Vancouver's Modernettes performing "The Rebel Kind" on CKVU followed by a cable TV clip from 1980.

Midweek Mixdown: Version with Jim Lister 2022 Round-Up

Check out Jim Lister's 2022 year-end round-up on 1BTN's Version via Mixcloud right here. 

Here's the scoop from Jim Lister:

Here's my Best of 2022 show on 1BTN from yesterday. There's been so much great new music released this year... with a lot of soul! It was a joy to put together. Hope you enjoy it x.

HOUR 1

Binker and Moses - ‘Accelerometer Overdose’ (‘Feeding The Machine’ LP, Gearbox Records, 2022)

YaYa Bey  - ‘Pour Up’ (‘Remember Your North Star’ LP, Big Dada, 2022)

STR4TA - ‘When You Call Me’ (‘Str4tasfear’ LP, Brownswood Recordings, 2022)

Guinu - ‘Eletromandinga’ (‘Palago’ LP, Razor-N-Tape Reserve, 2022) 

Hiro Ama - ‘Free Soul’ (‘Animal Emotions’ EP, PRAH Recordings, 2022)

KOKOROKO - ‘Dide-O’ (‘Could We Be More’ LP, Brownswood Recordings, 2022) 

Braxe & Falcon - ‘Step By Step’ (‘Step By Step’ EP, Smugglers Way, 2022) 

Richard Spaven - ‘Spirit Beat’ (‘Spirit Beats’ EP, Fineline Records, 2022)

Bruno Berle - ‘So O Amor’ (‘No Reino Dos Afetos’ LP, Far Out Recordings, 2022) 

David Versace - ‘The More We Love’ (‘Okra’ LP, La Sape Records, 2022) 

Nduduzo Makhathini - ‘Senze’ Nina’ (‘In The Spirit Of Ntu’ LP, Blue Note Records, 2022) 

S.A.U.L.T - ‘Safe Within Your Hands’ (‘Untitled (God)’ LP, Forever Living Originals, 2022) 

HOUR 2

Nat Birchall - ‘Acknowledgement - A Love Supreme Pt 1’ (‘Afro Trane’ LP, Ancient Archive of Sound, 2022) 

The Smile - ‘The Smoke’ (Dennis Bovell Remix) (XL Recordings, 2022) 

Kutiman ft DEKEL - ‘Always Be Alone’ (‘Open’ LP, Siyal Music, 2022) 

Sefi Zisling - ‘The Sky Sings’ (Obas Nenor’s Extended Dub) (‘Welcome Sunset’ EP, Tru Thoughts, 2022) 

Kadhja Bonet- ‘Dear Gina’ (Ninja Tune, 2022) 

Rich Ruth - ‘Taken Back’ (‘I Survived, It’s Over’ LP, Third Man Records, 2022) 

Alabaster dePlume - ‘I’m Gonna Say Seven’ (‘GOLD - Go Forward In The Courage Of Your Love’ 2xLP, International Anthem, 2022) 

Mali-I - ‘Heaven Sent’ ft Ms Ray (Album Version) (‘In Session’ LP, None More Records, 2022) 

Vega Trails - ‘Love Your Grace’ (‘Tremors In The Static’ LP, Gondwana Records, 2022) 

Byron The Aquarius feat Brandon Banks - ‘Lunar Orgasm’ (‘Shroomz, Guns & Roses’ EP, Talknoise, 2022) 

Constantine Weir aka YAHYA - ‘Inner Wealth’ 7” (Hot Buttered Record, 2021) 

Chronixx - ‘Never Give Up’ (Dub) 10” (Forever Living Originals, 2022)

That time R.D. Burman dabbled with synths for the Joshila OST in 1973

The great Asha Bhosle voiced R.D. Burman's synth-enhanced track "Sona Rupa Laayo Re" for the 1973 Bollywood thriller Joshila.

Happy Birthday Johnny Frigo!

Remembering Chicago bassist/violinist Johnny Frigo with a documentary and Mark Murphy singing his tune "Detour Ahead"

Watch Can play The Bataclan in Paris, 1973

Here's some great footage of Can tearing up the legendary Bataclan in Paris back on March 22, 1973. 

R.I.P. Walter "Wolfman" Washington, 1943-2022

Remembering New Orleans blues great Walter "Wolfman" Washington with a couple of stellar performances and a classic single. 

Watch Horace Andy & pals perform in Adrian Sherwood's living room

Here's reggae great Horace Andy sharing some wisdom with "Today Is Right Here" from his Midnight Rocker album.  

R.I.P. Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson, 1939-2022

Sadly, blues gutiar ace Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson passed away yesterday at the age of 83. He'll be greatly missed.

Whaddya mean you don't know Julianna Riolino

The new All Blue album from Daniel Romano's Outfit member Julianna Riolino is a corker. Check out "Queen Of Spades" below.

Here's the scoop...

Julianna Riolino knows how to capture and highlight beauty before it fades. She spent her days running up to the release of her solo debut helping restore the stained glass windows at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Toronto. Surrounded by symbols configured in bits of 19th century French glass, Riolino couldn’t help but reflect on her own past and the memories of pains, healing, and love strewn through it. “It made me think about life as a balancing act, and we’re all just trying to do our best to navigate it,” she says. That focus on morality and the stretch of time seeped naturally into Riolino’s Americana-indebted songwriting, resulting in the golden, fluid All Blue (out now via You’ve Changed Records). “If I was a painter, this would be my blue period,” she says. “I’m looking at my life, all my decisions lined up, and either atoning for them or laughing them off.” 

Judee Sill fans will enjoy the nod to the Heart Food sleeve

The true religious fervor both in Riolino’s life and in the LP is directed towards icons like Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and The Band. Inspired by those artists, Riolino asked for a guitar as a child, and began teaching herself how to bring similar life to the melodies in her head. And while she honed her voice by participating in school musicals, songwriting remained a deeply personal venture. “I sang at every opportunity, but I didn’t share my songs with people until I was 18 or 19,” she says. The first song she decided to play for friends was “Lone Ranger”, a reimagining of which now acts as the lead single for her debut solo album ten years later. 

That track perfectly encapsulates Riolino’s ability to reenvision the warmest strands of musical sepia and put her own individualist stamp on them. “I’m a lone ranger in this lonely world,” she repeats, Thomas Hammerton’s honky-tonk piano romping over the rippling rhythm and buzzsaw guitar. The song’s urgent independence plays throughout the record, Riolino for better and worse taking sole ownership of her place. 

The stories are told with a hefty dose of wit and wordplay mixed into pitch-perfect representations of classic Americana tropes. Riolino has shown that same duality in her role as a member of cult favorite Daniel Romano’s backing band, The Outfit, here utilizing Romano as a guitarist and putting a tighter focus on her powerful vocals. The sway and twang of “Queen of Spades” veils references to the other three suits in a deck of cards, Riolino rewarding closer listens though even the surface level is downright Parton-esque. “And it breaks my heart in two/ Pieces of a portrait be/ Happiness and fragility,” she sings, pedal steel guitar gliding through her tight harmonies, the song a musical middle finger to an insincere lover. 

Second single “You” brings Roy Orbison tinges into the mix, charging headlong between girl group harmonies repeating the title and nimbly dense verses–as if Riolino is attempting to convince herself that she doesn’t need someone, even if she hates to see them leave. “Oh retroflex the feeling/ Of thoughtful micro-needing/ Of my mind and soul/ I don’t really need you,” she insists, her voice soaring majestically into the upper register. 

Recorded in August 2020 at the now-shuttered Baldwin Street Sound, All Blue was produced by Aaron Goldstein and largely features a cadre of musicians playing together in the room. “Recording live made for some long days, but it was a lot of fun and I had the benefit of working with some really talented people,” Riolino says. “It helped create this feeling of glimpsing a moment in time. It’s like therapy: I could just let out this period of life and then move forward.” 

Leaning more heavily on emotional reality than diary details, the kernel of truth and experience always shines through in Riolino’s songwriting. That duality rings like a lovesick bell on “Isn’t It A Pity”, a track lodged somewhere between AM radio breeze and the florid wash of Waxahatchee. Trilling organ and Roddy Carlyle’s rangy bass play the perfect complement to Riolino’s sweetly strummed acoustic. “Isn’t it a pity, isn’t it a shame/ The flowers in our garden have bloomed and shed their fray,” she bounces, before adding lines about astral projection, bringing a modernist edge to the vintage proceedings. 

Blending past and present musically represents Riolino’s own experience as well, the songs written over a period of years, their meanings picking beyond that stretch and pulling lessons forward. And in that process, her philosophical lyrics bring that complexity forward to the listener in surreally sweet melodies, pouring growth and healing directly through the ear and into the heart. “For me it was about looking into a reflection of who you once were, letting go of that idea of who you thought you needed to be, and being okay with who you are.” 

Get a copy of Julianna Riolino's All Blue album via Bandcamp right here. Check out "Queen Of Spades" which seems to draw on the inspiration of singer/songwriter Gary Stewart. 

Credits

Julianna Riolino - vocals, guitar 

Aaron Goldstein - producer, pedal steel, guitars, percussion 

David Nardi - guitar 

Roddy Carlyle - bass, twelve string guitar 

Ryan Gavel - bass 

Ian Romano - drums 

Thomas Hammerton - keys 

Anthony Ronaldi - baritone sax 

Jason Bhattacharya - drums, percussion 

Daniel Romano - guitar 

Kenneth Roy Meehan - engineer, mixing 

Kristian Montano - mastering 

Daniel Romano - art, design

Tav Falco has the Christmas Blues

Enjoy Tav Falco crooning the "Christmas Blues" and start celebrating the 12 Days Of Tav-mas right here. 

Merry Christmas from Terry Allen!

Here's the yuletide classic "Xmas on the Isthmus" off the fantastic Salivation album from Terry Allen cut back in 2006.  

Happy Holidays from The Surfrajettes!

Enjoy a few seasonal faves twanged up right by Toronto's fab Surfrajettes. Grab their "Marshmallow March" single while you can!

Remembering Nathaniel Mayer with a Christmas classic on Fortune

Here's Detroit R&B great Nathaniel Mayer – backed by Butch Vaden – making a special request from Mr. Santa Claus from 1962. 

Have yourself a soulful little Christmas with Kenny Burrell

Enjoy a couple of Kenny Burrell's typically tasteful revisions of yuletide classics originally released on Cadet back in 1966.

"Skip The Sugar" this Christmas with The Living Sisters

"Skip The Sugar" and "Neon Chinese Christmas Eve" are from the Living Sisters' Harmony Is Real: Songs For A Happy Holiday. 

Merry Christmas from The Monkees!

Here's The Monkees singing Ríu Chíu, a Spanish villancico song, from The Monkees Christmas Show. 

 

R.I.P. Freddie Roulette, 1939-2022

Sadly, steel guitar master Freddie Roulette passed away yesterday at the age of 83. He'll be greatly missed.  

Cool yule tidings from Lou Rawls, HB Barnum and David Axelrod

Check out Lou singing "Christmas Will Really Be Christmas" off his Merry Christmas Ho! Ho! Ho! album. 

Merry Christmas from Bettye LaVette and her Detroit friends!

Motor City soul great Bettye LaVette shares some holiday memories from '91 with The Contours, Norman Trasher and friends.  

Edd "Kookie" Byrnes wishes you a crazy Christmas

77 Sunset Strip star Edd "Kookie" Byrnes cut the beatnik Christmas curio "Yulesville" with Warren Barker's Orchestra in 1959.  

Celestial Christmas wishes from Sun Ra and The Qualities

Here's "It's Christmas Time" by The Qualities presented by Sun Ra on his Satur(n) label circa 1960, reissued by Norton Records. 

Merry Christmas from The Ronettes!

Here's Ronnie Spector and The Ronettes reprising Gene Autry's 1950 holiday fave "Frosty The Snowman." 

Happy Birthday Mohammed Rafi

Remembering Bollywood singer Mohammed Rafi who voiced "Jaan Pehechaan Ho" for Gumnaam, and used for Ghost World.

Happy Holidays from Catherine MacLellan!

Check out a couple of holiday heartwarmers from acclaimed PEI singer/songwriter Catherine MacLellan's Holiday EP. 

You can get a digital copy of Catherine MacLellan's 4-song Holiday EP via Bandcamp right here.

Enjoy your annual Festivus celebration with The Dictators

After airing your grievances, join Albert, Andy and Ross The Boss in singing The Dictators' new holiday classic, "Festivus"

R.I.P. composer/arranger and producer Thom Bell, 1943-2022

Sadly, Philly soul sound architect Thom Bell – behind the hits of The O' Jays, Stylistics, Delfonics, Spinners, etc. – has passed away.

That time John Prine and Ramblin' Jack had a chat with Bobby Bare

Watch Ramblin' Jack Elliott and John Prine talk songwriting with Bobby Bare and sing a few tunes back in 1985. 

Deep in "Winter Weather" with Diana Panton

Here's Hamilton's own fab Diana Panton singing "Winter Weather" off her Christmas Kiss album. 

Happy Birthday Chet Baker!

Chet Baker's early 60s Italian film sessions with Piero Umiliani – largely overlooked at the time – stand as some of his finest work.

Here's the scoop on Chet Baker's Italian Movies...

For the first time ever in their entirety, the beautifully packaged Italian Movies 3-CD set released by Jason Lee Lazell's UK-based Moochin' About label, brings together the complete recordings by legendary Italian composer Piero Umiliani featuring iconic West Coast trumpeter Chet Baker for the early 60s films Audace Colpo Dei Soliti Ignoti (Fiasco In Milan), I Soliti Ignoti (Big Deal On Madonna St), Urlatorialla Sbarra, Intrigo A Los Angeles, and Smog (check out the brilliant main theme from Franco Rossi's 1962 film Smog below).  

This, the first release on the critically acclaimed Jazz On Film series dedicated to jazz icons, includes one of the rarest Umiliani soundtracks, 'Intrigo A Los Angeles'... a marvellous jazz score with the maestro himself at the piano. In 1964, C.A.M released an album with 15 mono cues (38 minutes in length) that is now one of the rarest albums in their catalogue, coveted by fans of the Firenze composer and jazz lovers alike. 

For this CD package, the original mono master session tapes were used on which some unreleased material was discovered, bringing the total running time up to 43:12 minutes – everything that was recorded for the movie. Audio restoration has improved the sound immensely making for a great listening experience. 

Umiliani was the first to bring jazz to the big screen in Italy and experimented by using legendary trumpeter Chet Baker... a collaboration and friendship that gave life to a fine collection of recordings and brought out the very best of Baker during his troubled life. Get a copy of Italian Movies via Bandcamp right here. 

Listen to the cues 'Tensione' (From "Audace Colpo Dei Soliti Ignoti"), 'Motorizzazione' (From "I Soliti Ignoti"), 'Arrivederci' (From "Urlatori Alla Sbarra") followed by the main theme from "Smog."

Check out guitar great Sonny Sharrock tearing it up in 1993

Here's 3 minutes of Sonny Sharrock shredding with Paul Doty & Wayne Morris and some rare audio with Pharoah Sanders in 1993. 

Happy Birthday Jean-Michel Basquiat!

Remembering artist Jean-Michel Basquiat with the recollections of his sisters Lisane & Jeanine, Julian Schnabel & David Bowie.

Whaddya mean you don't know Anadol

Check out the engaging psych synth trip Uzun Havalar by Berlin-based photographer Gözen Atila who records as Anadol.

Here's the scoop...

Anadol is a psychedelic synth folk project by Gözen Atila, a Turkish sound artist and photographer based in Berlin. Her third album Uzun Havalar is based on collective improvisations of middle eastern folk songs called "uzun hava." They turn out as rich, atmospheric synth ballads. A diverse roster of improvising musicians creates their fascinating complexity. Anadol recorded them during extensive sessions in Istanbul. You can hear drummers laughing and playing guitars, composers howling, announcements in French and screams in no language, record collectors playing oscillators, and trumpets through spacious echoes. 

Anadol represents Gözen Atila’s liberation from a rather academic approach to electronic composition which she pursued during her music technology studies in Istanbul. She calls her education the "darkness of serious music" where she first tried to belong, then to break free with the help of lo-fi synth pop. As a producer of radio plays and an expert field recording artist she has developed a distinct sense of timing, editing and sound design. Her Anadol project walks in the footsteps of lone synth experimentalists like Bruce Haack and The Space Lady with their childlike curiosity for electronic sounds, pushing the boundaries of minimal equipment. On Uzun Havalar she translates her experimental background into these floating folk ballads. The album was originally released on tape via Kinship in 2018. 

Get a copy of Anadol's Uzun Havalar album via Bandcamp right here. Listen to the entrancing lead track "Görünmez Hava" below. 

Happy Birthday Albert Lee!

Cheers to guitar slinger deluxe Albert Lee! Watch him show Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe how it's done back in 1979.

Get tickets for Albert Lee's upcoming show at the El Mocambo in Toronto on Jan. 26 right here.

That time Albert King & Stevie Ray Vaughan jammed in Hamilton

Remembering guitar great Albert King with his 1983 "In Session" appearance with Stevie Ray Vaughan at Hamilton's CHCH-TV.

Watch 'Motorbike' Mel Tormé sing "Comin' Home Baby" in 1963

Mixing Mel Tormé and motorcycles sounds like a crazy idea for a musical number, but hey, anything goes for Judy Garland Show!     

R.I.P. Terry Hall, 1959-2022

Sadly, Terry Hall, singer/songwriter of The Specials, Fun Boy 3 and The Colourfield, has passed away at 63. He'll be greatly missed. 

Happy Birthday Ed Kuepper!

Cheers to singer/guitarist Ed Kuepper! Here's Ed ripping through The Saints' "This Perfect Day" followed by "The Ruins" 

Deli Teli vs. Aris San

Marseille-based laïko crew Deli Teli take on the Aris San club classic "Boumpam" on their Tsifteteli Club EP. 

Here's the scoop on Deli Teli...

Bongos, bouzouki and Farfisa organ galore! The explosive cocktail of rock'n'roll and traditional Tsifteteli hailing from 1960's Greece is still alive thanks to Deli Teli, the Marseille-based quartet performs a string of forgotten hits that once set Athens on fire, with a contagious energy and a subtle dose of Mediterranean drama. 

Half a century ago, while French seasiders would dance to yéyé sounds and dig The Beatles or Pink Floyd, a whole other scene was happening further along the coastline. Notably, Greek artists were a huge influence beyond the Mediterranean cradle; Aris San's version of "Boumpam," brilliantly interpreted by Deli Teli on this record, was a number one hit from Southern Europe to the tip of India! Far from being an exclusive Greek sound, Tsifteteli music has travelled through borders for centuries and means "double string" in Turkish. In the 1960's, it mixed with rock'n'roll, surf and Latin-American influences, and gave birth to the laïko sound. 

With their powerful electric bouzouki (Greek lute) and the distinctive sound of the Farfisa organ, Deli Teli have carved their style while digging through the incredible goldmine of the late 60's and early 70's Tsifteteli/Laïko singles. The four musicians Tassos Tsitsivakos (bouzouki), François Rossi (drums), Christos Karypidis (bass) and Arhur Bacon (keyboards) met in 2019 with a desire to dive into electric experimentation – Karypidis used to play oud and Bacon played accordion in their former projects – and made the most of 2020's lockdowns by building their repertoire and creating the Deli Teli sound. 

On this 6-track EP, they also interpret Koko's "Chily Chily," a groovy belly-dance mover ; "Ekso Dertia Kai Kaïmi,"a frenetic floor filler; « Tsiftetelli 1969 », a cool organ-led surf instrumental ; and two freer numbers,  the improvised "Taksim Deli" and "Bournelis," a creative reworking of two tracks by Leonardos Bournelis. 

Get a copy of Deli Teli's Tsifteteli Club EP from France's Catapulte Records via Bandcamp right here here. Check out their version of "Boumpam" followed by Aris San's original swinger below. 

That time Mickey Dolenz introduced the Moog to The Monkees

Watch The Monkees' clip for "Daily Nightly" with Mickey Dolenz miming adding "flying saucer sounds" in 1967.