Lightnin´ Hopkins - Same (Smithsonian / Folkways 1959)

Originally released as "The Roots of Lightnin' Hopkins", Smithsonian/Folkways' "Lightnin' Hopkins" was recorded in 1959. Upon its initial release, it was a pivotal part of the blues revival and helped re-spark interest in Hopkins. Before it was recorded, the bluesman had disappeared from sight; after a great deal of searching, Sam Charters found Hopkins in a rented one-room apartment in Houston. 

Persuading Lightnin' with a bottle of gin, Charters convinced Hopkins to record ten songs in that room, using only one microphone. The resulting record was one of the greatest albums in Hopkins' catalog, a skeletal record that is absolutely naked in its loneliness and haunting in its despair. These unvarnished performances arguably capture the essence of Lightnin' Hopkins better than any of his other recordings, and it is certainly one of the landmarks of the late-'50s/early-'60s blues revival.                 

Tracklist:

01. Penitentiary Blues       

02. Bad Luck and Trouble       

03. Come Go Home With Me       

04. Trouble Stay 'Way from My Door    

05. See That My Grave Is Kept Clean      

06. Going Back to Florida      

07. Reminiscenses of Blind Lemon      

08. Fan It      

09. Tell Me, Baby      

10. She's Mine 

Lightnin´ Hopkins - Same (Smithsonian / Folkways 1959)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

VA - Rhythm And Blues - No. 1 Chart Hits 1949-1955

During the first half of the 1950’s, before the children of the white middle class began to question the musical tastes and listening habits of their parents, before the Haleys and the Presleys got a chance to upset established rules, Black artists were busy opening doors.

Nothing reflects this transitional moment better than the charts of the African-American community, where the seeds of this insurgency were planted. The best-sellers of that time, and more particularly the Number One rhythm & blues hits, clearly depict a movement that took the swing-infused rhythms of the immediate postwar era right up to the threshold of rock and soul.

Tracklist:

	Part I - Swing & Ballads
01	–Percy Mayfield	Please Send Me Someone To Love	2:53
02	–Joe Liggins	Pink Champagne	3:01
03	–Ruth Brown	Teardrops From My Eyes	2:53
04	–Ivory Joe Hunter	I Almost Lost My Mind	3:11
05	–The Four Blazes	Mary Jo	2:34
06	–The Platters	Only You (And You Alone)	2:38
07	–Little Esther & Mel Walker	Cupid's Boogie	2:34
08	–Peppermint Harris	I Got Loaded	2:27
09	–Roy Brown	Hard Luck Blues	3:00
10	–Joe Morris	Any Time, Any Place, Anywhere	3:04
11	–Louis Jordan	Blue Light Boogie - Parts 1 & 2	5:09
12	–Johnny Ace	Pledging My Love	2:45
		Part II - Blues & Rock
13	–The Dominoes	Have Mercy Baby	2:22
14	–B.B. King	You Upset Me Baby	3:00
15	–Lowell Fulson	Blue Shadows	2:48
16	–Little Walter	My Babe	2:39
17	–Hank Ballard	Work With Me Annie	2:48
18	–The Drifters	Honey Love	2:24
19	–Eddie Boyd	Five Long Years	2:40
20	–The "5" Royales	Baby Don't Do It	2:44
21	–Joe Turner	Honey Hush	2:41
22	–Jimmy Nelson	"T" 99 Blues	3:06
23	–Willie Mabon	I Don't Know	3:08
24	–Etta James	The Wallflower	2:48

VA - Rhythm And Blues - No. 1 Chart Hits 1949-1955

(192 kbps, cover art included)

VA - Madchester - The Manchester Story '88 - '91

Madchester is a music and cultural scene that developed in the Manchester area of the United Kingdom in the late 1980s, in which artists merged alternative rock with acid house culture and other sources, including psychedelia and 1960s pop. The label was popularised by the British music press in the early 1990s, and included groups such as Happy Mondays, the Stone Roses, the Inspiral Carpets, Northside, 808 State, James and The Charlatans, amongst others.
The rave-influenced scene is widely seen as heavily influenced by drugs, especially ecstasy (MDMA). At that time, the Haçienda nightclub, co-owned by members of New Order, was a major catalyst for the distinctive musical ethos in the city that was called the Second Summer of Love.

The Beechwood label's 16-track "Manchester Story '88-'91: Madchester" presents a pretty faithful re-telling of the Factory-led Brit-pop explosion that consumed college radio in the late '80s early '90s.

Usually relegated to late-night appearances on MTV's 120 Minutes, bands like New Fast Automatic Daffodils, Happy Mondays, Stone Roses, Charlatans UK, 808 State, and New Order nevertheless found a way to break out internationally, influencing the myriad of shapes that alternative rock would assume in the coming years.

Though there are many holes in the story (where are Blur, Ride, Primal Scream or the Manic Street Preachers?) presented here, the inclusion of various remixes, original 12" versions, and extended mixes keeps things interesting, and the songs themselves are all top-notch, resulting in a formidable gateway drug for anybody looking to immerse themselves in genre.        
 

   

Fear won't prevail. We will continue to enjoy our love for life, freedom & joy.

Tracklist:

1	–Happy Mondays	W.F.L. (The Vince Clark Mix)	6:10
2	–The Stone Roses	Elephant Stone	4:47
3	–The Charlatans	Indian Rope	4:30
4	–Northside	Shall We Take A Trip	4:20
5	–Inspiral Carpets	Joe	3:21
6	–New Fast Automatic Daffodils	Big	6:04
7	–New Order	True Faith (Original 12" Mix)	5:13
8	–Paris Angels	Perfume (Loved Up)	4:10
9	–MC Tunes Versus 808 State	Tunes Splits The Atom (Original Rap)	3:09
10	–Happy Mondays	Step On (Stuff It In Mix)	5:45
11	–James	Come Home (Extended Flood Mix)	6:07
12	–The Mock Turtles	Can You Dig It?	4:08
13	–The Charlatans	Then	4:10
14	–New Order	Bizarre Love Triangle (Original 12" Mix)	6:42
15	–808 State	Pacific State (Origin)	4:27
16	–The Stone Roses	Fools Gold	4:15

VA - Madchester - The Manchester Story '88 - '91  
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Ijahman Levi‎ – Are We A Warrior (1979)

"A We a Warrior" is truly an overlooked gem for the waning years of roots reggae's Golden Era. With only five tracks on the entire album, Ijahman takes the opportunity to languidly suss out each tune to the fullest. Every song is at least five minutes long. Several of the cuts are nearly 8 minutes long and not a moment is wasted. The result is a mystical, lush, yearning, spiritual (The Church), and, yes, sexy (check Ms. Beverly) soundscape that is still prophetic and futuristic sounding nearly three decades after is original release. 

Ijahman sings as though he is truly possessed by a mystical muse. The backing band on this album could easily be an allstar list of Jamaica's finest studio musicians of the era: They are nothing less than precise as they construct deep grooves that build upon and transcend the classic one-drop sound that was so (rightfully) pervasive at the time. There is a dark edge to Ijahman's spirituality and that's what makes this record exceptional. This is not tourist Jamaican music, nor is it poppy or hippy-dippy reggae and there are no touchy, feelly, "everything is irie" (although the grooves are indeed deep) anthems here. The style, rhythm and lyrics are unapologetically revolutionary, African and Rastafarian. This not to say that those who simply enjoy great music will be put off: Above all else, the music here is sublime and richly melodic. This ones for those who seek a deeper roots sound. "Are We a Warrior" is simply rare find, a unique record that takes the willing listener on a sonic quest in search of mystic revelations.

- Coalhouse Walker Junior

The title track and "Moulding" are two of reggae's most haunting meditations ever.

Tracklist:

A1	Are We A Warrior
A2	Moulding
A3	The Church
B1	Miss Beverly
B2	Two Sides Of Love

Ijahman Levi‎ – Are We A Warrior (1979)
(192 kbps, cover art included)        

Roosevelt Sykes - The Honey Dripper, Vol. 2 - 1944 - 1950

Next time someone voices the goofball opinion that blues is simply too depressing to embrace, sit 'em down and expose 'em to a heady dose of Roosevelt Sykes. If he doesn't change their minds, nothing will. There was absolutely nothing downbeat about this roly-poly, effervescent pianist (nicknamed "Honeydripper" for his youthful prowess around the girls), whose lengthy career spanned the pre-war and postwar eras with no interruption whatsoever. Sykes' romping boogies and hilariously risqué lyrics (his double-entendre gems included "Dirty Mother for You," "Ice Cream Freezer," and "Peeping Tom") characterize his monumental contributions to the blues idiom. He was a pioneering piano pounder responsible for the seminal pieces "44 Blues," "Driving Wheel," and "Night Time Is the Right Time."

Sykes began playing while growing up in Helena. At age 15, he hit the road, developing his rowdy barrelhouse style around the blues-fertile St. Louis area. Sykes began recording in 1929 for OKeh and was signed to four different labels the next year under four different names (he was variously billed as Dobby Bragg, Willie Kelly, and Easy Papa Johnson)! Sykes joined Decca Records in 1935, where his popularity blossomed. After relocating to Chicago, Sykes inked a pact with Bluebird in 1943 and recorded prolifically for the RCA subsidiary with his combo, the Honeydrippers, scoring a pair of R&B hits in 1945 (covers of Cecil Gant's "I Wonder" and Joe Liggins' "The Honeydripper"). The following year, he scored one more national chart item for the parent Victor logo, the lowdown blues "Sunny Road." He also often toured and recorded with singer St. Louis Jimmy Oden, the originator of the classic "Going Down Slow."

In 1951, Sykes joined Chicago's United Records, cutting more fine sides over the next couple of years. A pair of Dave Bartholomew-produced 1955 dates for Imperial in New Orleans included a rollicking version of "Sweet Home Chicago" that presaged all the covers that would surface later on. A slew of albums for Bluesville, Folkways, Crown, and Delmark kept Sykes on the shelves during the '60s (a time when European tours began to take up quite a bit of the pianist's itinerary). He settled in New Orleans during the late '60s, where he remained a local treasure until his death.
Precious few pianists could boast the thundering boogie prowess of Roosevelt Sykes, and even fewer could chase away the blues with his blues as the rotund cigar-chomping 88s ace did.    


Roosevelt Sykes - The Honey Dripper, Vol. 2 - 1944 - 1950
(192 kbps, cover art included)
          

Melanie - Born To Be (1968)

"Born to Be", Melanie Safka's 1968 debut, is an intriguing curate's egg. Neither Melanie, nor her producer-husband Peter Schekeryk, seem sure exactly where her strengths lie, so she is cast in a number of roles: Piaf-imitating chanteuse ("In the Hour"), soul-searching, angst-heavy troubadour ("Momma Momma"), giggling novelty figure ("Animal Crackers") and children's entertainer ("Christopher Robin Is Saying His Prayers").

Stranger still, half the time the experiment works; the small ensemble, led by her own enthusiastic (if thoroughly inexpert) guitar playing creates an arty, coffeehouse ambience in which Melanie's idiot-savant act flourishes. But the less said about her attack at "Merry Christmas" the better.    

"Born to Be" was  Melanie's debut album, released on Buddah Records in 1968.
Following Melanie's success at the Woodstock Festival in 1969 Buddha repackaged and reissued the album as "My First Album."

Tracklist:

A1	In The Hour	3:04
A2	I'm Back In Town	2:17
A3	Bo Bo's Party	3:58
A4	Mr. Tambourine Man	4:20
A5	Momma Momma	4:00
B1	I Really Loved Harold	4:05
B2	Animal Crackers	2:12
B3	Cristopher Robin (Is Saying His Prayer)	2:35
B4	Close To It All	3:22
B5	Merry Christmas	2:50

Melanie - Born To Be (1968)
(320 kbps, cover art included)          

Pete Seeger - Wimoweh and other songs of freedom and protest (1968)

In 1961, Pete Seeger, long the flagship artist of the tiny independent Folkways Records label, signed to the major label Columbia Records. This did not, as it turned out, mean that he actually left Folkways, which retained the right to issue not only previously unreleased recordings dating from before the Columbia deal, but also new recordings if Columbia didn't deem them sufficiently commercial to constitute competition.

Nevertheless, Moses Asch, head of Folkways, couldn't have been very pleased at the development, and when Columbia issued its first Seeger album, a live LP called "Story Songs" in August 1961, Folkways countered the same month with its own live album, "Sing Out with Pete!", which turned out to be a cobbled-together set of tracks that had been left off earlier Seeger live collections.

In 1968, Folkways was in a flurry of releasing Seeger compilations (the others were "Pete Seeger Sings Woody Guthrie", "Pete Seeger Sings Leadbelly", and "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"), and this one takes eight of the 12 tracks from the "Sing Out with Pete!" album, re-sequences them, and adds a few other stray tracks ("Wasn't That a Time," "What a Friend We Have in Congress," and "Hymn to Nations"). The recordings also seem to have been re-edited and remixed, with some extra waves of applause overdubbed. Although it contains a couple of Seeger's greatest hits, "Wimoweh" and "If I Had a Hammer (Hammer Song)," as well as some interesting performances of spirituals, with such collaborators as Big Bill Broonzy, Memphis Slim, and Willie Dixon thrown in, the album is still a hodgepodge. In fact, it's even more of a hodgepodge than the original version was seven years previously. 

The album features protest songs as well as old spirituals sung by legendary folk singer Pete Seeger. With Seeger's modern interpretations the folk process is truly at work, "making past experience meaningful for present-day life." Liner notes include background information on each of the tracks.
  

Tracklist:
101 I'm On My Way to Canaan's Land       4:20
102 Wimoweh      2:48
103 Wasn't That a Time           2:59
104 Freiheit           3:06
105 Study War No More (Down By the Riverside) - Pete Seeger and Big Bill Broonzy 5:28
201 Hold On - Pete Seeger, Memphis Slim, and Willie Dixon 3:27
202 If I Had a Hammer (Hammer Song)           2:21
203 We are Soldiers in the Army           4:05
204 Mrs. McGrath           4:19
205 What a Friend We Have in Congress           1:58
206 Hymn to Nations (Beethoven, Ludwig v.: 9th Symphony)           2:06    


Pete Seeger - Wimoweh and other songs of freedom and protest (1968)
(192 kbps, cover art included)     

Tyrannosaurus Rex‎ - For The Lion And The Unicorn In The Oak Forests Of Faun

Its abysmal sound quality notwithstanding, "For the Lion and the Unicorn" is one of the earliest known live recordings of Tyrannosaurus Rex and, as such, stands among the most precious artifacts in the entire Marc Bolan catalog. One of the first shows to feature Bolan stepping out with an electric guitar, it sees the group already poised for the transition that would, a couple of years later, take the entire country by surprise. But still it captures precisely the same mystic magic that the duo was already renowned for, a world of elves and unicorns, Afghan women and Abyssinian seas, and Bolan's inimitable grasp of life through lyrics set to a churning sea of half-electric rumination.

Certainly the live appeal of the duo is not hard to see, even if it is a little difficult to discern - the sound quality is akin to standing outside the hall with a tin can pressed to the fire escape, and some of the subtler nuances of the music are certainly lost in the translation. But a powerful set drawing from all three Tyrannosaurus Rex LPs to date highlights the glory that was theirs for the taking, and if a better quality tape ever turns up, it would be the rival of any other live Bolan out there.      


Tracklist:

1-1	Unicorn / Hot Rod Mama	3:32
1-2	Afghan Woman	1:49
1-3	Debora	3:30
1-4	Mustang Ford	3:01
1-5	Stacey Grove	2:04
1-6	Salamanda Palaganda	2:16
1-7	Wind Quartets	2:59
1-8	One Inch Rock	2:18
1-9	Chariots Of Silk	2:43
1-10	Seal Of Seasons	1:57
1-11	Consuela	2:35
1-12	Nijinsky Hind	2:21
1-13	Once Upon The Seas Of Abyssinia	2:21
1-14	Interstellar Overdrive	0:28
1-15	Do You Remember	3:35
1-16	The Wizard	4:02
1-17	Eastern Spell	1:58
1-18	Strange Orchestras	2:12
1-19	Misty Coast Of Albany	2:45
1-20	Evenings Of Damask	2:27
1-21	Pewter Suitor	3:16
1-22	Travelling Tragition	1:49

Tracks 1 to 16 recorded at The Lyceum, London on 11.4.69; 17 & 18 at Broendby Club, Copenhagen in 1969; 19 at Café Au Gogo, New York on 16.8.69; and 20-22 at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London on 13.1.69.          

Tyrannosaurus Rex‎ - For The Lion And The Unicorn In The Oak Forests Of Faun 
(192 kbps, cover art included)