Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley (1986, Chess)

"I was the first son-of-a-gun out there. Me and Chuck Berry. And I'm very sick of the lie. You know, we're over that black-and-white crap, and that was all the reason Elvis got the appreciation that he did. I'm the dude that he copied, and I'm not even mentioned."
- Bo Diddley, 2005

"Bo Diddley" is the debut album by rock and roll pioneer and blues icon Bo Diddley. It is a compilation of his singles since 1955 and collects several of his most influential and enduring songs. An innovative guitarist, prolific songwriter, and sensational vocalist (check out "Dearest Darling"), Diddley had an influence on rock music from Buddy Holly to U2 that was all pervasive.

For anyone who wants to play rock & roll, real rock & roll, this is one of the few records that you really need. Along with Chuck Berry, Elvis, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, and a few select others, Bo Diddley was one of the founders of the form & he did it like no other. Diddley had only one real style, that being the Bo Diddley beat: a syncopated, rhythmic drive, loaded with tremolo. There are many examples of it on this record, and that is about all you need. It's one of those records that, after listening to just a few cuts, will find you tapping the beats on every available surface. Diddley's guitar and vocals have a gruff feeling that recalls bluesmen such as Waters, yet he has his own style. Buttressed by drums, funky piano, and usually maracas, it's absolutely infectious.

Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley (1986)
(256 kbps, cover art included)

B.B. King, Big Mama Thornton, Muddy Waters - Live At Newport

Universally hailed as the reigning king of the blues, the legendary B.B. King is without a doubt the single most important electric guitarist of the last half century. His bent notes and staccato picking style have influenced legions of contemporary bluesmen, while his gritty and confident voice - capable of wringing every nuance from any lyric - provides a worthy match for his passionate playing.

A postwar Chicago blues scene without the magnificent contributions of Muddy Waters is absolutely unimaginable. From the late '40s on, he eloquently defined the city's aggressive, swaggering, Delta-rooted sound with his declamatory vocals and piercing slide guitar attack. When he passed away in 1983, the Windy City would never quite recover.

Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton only notched one national hit in her lifetime, but it was a true monster. "Hound Dog" held down the top slot on Billboard's R&B charts for seven long weeks in 1953. Alas, Elvis Presley's rocking 1956 cover was even bigger, effectively obscuring Thornton's chief claim to immortality.
That's a damned shame, because Thornton's menacing growl was indeed something special.
Released on the "Golden Legend Series" this album collects 7 tracks recorded at the Newport festival:

01. Little Red Rooster - Thorton
02. Ball And Chain - Thorton
03. Outside Help - B.B.King
04. Long Distance Call - Waters
05. Where's My Woman Benn - Waters
06. Got My Mojo Workin'- Waters
07. You Done Lost Your Good Thing Now - B.B.King

Fresh link:
B. B. King, Big Mama Thornton, Muddy Waters - Live At Newport
(192 kbps, cover art included)

The Kingston Trio - The Kingston Trio (1958)

"The Kingston Trio" is The Kingston Trio's debut album, released in 1958. It entered the album charts in late October 1958, where it resided for nearly four years, spending one week at #1 in early 1959.

Dave Guard, Nick Reynolds, and Bob Shane formed the Kingston Trio in Palo Alto, California in June 1957. By 1958 they had a recording contract with Capitol Records and were in the studio by February. From their first recording sessions, the single "Tom Dooley" was released and became a number one hit in the US. The single's success helped propel their debut album to the number one spot of the Billboard Pop chart.


It's easy to rate the group's debut album too low, since its two best-known songs ("Tom Dooley," "Scotch and Soda") have had no shortage of appearances elsewhere in the decades since, and the group went on to cut more than 20 additional albums in their prime years. A little less polished and accomplished than, say, the music that Terry Gilkyson and the Easy Riders were cutting at Columbia around this time, it makes up for those shortcomings with youthful spring, exuberance, freshness, and a number of song choices that spoke of a new generation of folk singing -- not only their hits but the first version of the comedic piece "Coplas" and "Sloop John B," which would become a rock standard in the hands of the trio's fellow stripe-shirted labelmates the Beach Boys. Dave Guard was the most influential member of the group here, in terms of song selections and arrangements, but the entire trio is well represented.

Additionally, producer Voyle Gilmore made their singing on "Bay of Mexico" and "Fast Freight" into something slightly larger than life. "Sara Jane," which the group learned from Louis Gottlieb of the Gateway Singers and, later, the Limeliters, who also arranged it, isn't far behind, a potential hit single in the same league with "Wimoweh." Listening to this album, one also gets a sense of just how strong the trio was musically right out of the starting gate - "The Kingston Trio" was essentially an idealized version of the group's stage show of the era, recorded over three days in the studio, and a fine, bracing body of music.  

The Kingston Trio - Same (1958)
(192 kbps, cover art included)

Sun Ra - The Magic City (1965)

The boundaries of Sun Ra's self-proclaimed "space jazz" underwent a transformation in the mid-'60s. "The Magic City" is an aural snapshot of that metamorphic process. Many enthusiasts and scholars consider this to be among Ra's most definitive studio recordings.

Although the "city" in the album's title was thought to have been New York - where the disc was recorded - it is actually Ra's earthly birthplace of Birmingham, AL. "The Magic City" consists of four free jazz compositions: the album side-length title track, "The Shadow World," "Abstract Eye," and "Abstract I" - two variants of a common work. These pieces are essentially ensemble improvisations recorded live. Any direction from Ra, indicating the order of soloists for instance, would be given either through his playing or with hand signals.

Sun Ra & His Solar Myth Arkestra took up residency in Manhattan's East Village in the early to mid-'60s. Their neighbors included Pharaoh Sanders as well as Babatunde Olatunji. In fact, "The Shadow World," "Abstract Eye," and "Abstract I" were actually recorded in Olatunji's loft. The title track begins with weaving distant and frenetic lines from Ronnie Boykins (bass) and Ra (piano, clavoline), connected by intermittent eruptions from Roger Blank (drums). All the while, Marshall Allen's dreamlike piccolo randomly maneuvers through the sonic haze. The piece also contains an ensemble onslaught that abruptly contrasts with everything experienced up through that point. In the wake of the innately earthbound "Magic City" are three comparatively shorter pieces with subtle undercurrents that return Ra to space motifs. For example, the importance of sonic contrast defines "The Shadow World" by juxtaposing the lightly churning bass and cymbal into some surreal keyboard interjections from Ra. The Magic City also comes with an insightful liner notes essay from Ra scholar John F. Szwed, aiding in understanding the circumstances surrounding this piece of free jazz genius.

John F. Szwed explains in the Village Voice:

"[Birmingham was] the earthly birthplace he steadfastly denied, and in the recording he reimagines the city without its grim, racist, smoke-choked past. By simply pointing to musicians when he wanted them to play, he proved it possible to collectively improvise an entire album on the strength of nothing more than a shared belief. 

Tracklist:

A	The Magic City	27:24
B1	The Shadow World	10:59
B2	Abstract Eye	2:45
B3	Abstract "I"	4:01

Sun Ra - The Magic City (1965)
(320 kbps, cover art included)     

Eulenspygel - Eulenspygel 2

"Eulenspygel 2" is a killer 70's underground recording. Released in 1971 and called "2" because the same band had already released an album under the name Royal Servants. 

When they decided to write the lyrics in German instead of English they thought they better change their band name to a German one as well. Some critics say that the album cover is one of the most tasteless ones .They actually pulled it off of the market after selling about 7,000 copies and put it back out minus the dead chick. 

The lyrics are very left wing and anti-war but also very "out there" at times. An excellent album!


Tracklist:

1. Till	3:45
2. Son My (My Lay)	11:14
3. Konsumgewäsche	4:03
4. Staub Auf Deinem Haar	7:58
5. Die Wunde Bleibt	1:58
6. Das Lied Vom Ende	(10:15)
- Erstens
- Alt
- Jung Sein
- Hastig Und Kaputt
- Das Ende Vom Lied

Eulenspygel - Eulenspygel 2
(ca. 192 kbps, cover art included)

Lightnin´ Hopkins - Goin´ Away (1963)

Sam “Lightnin’” Hopkins was a true poet who invented most of his lyrics on the spot and never seemed to run out of new ideas. He was a blues giant of post-war blues whose style was rooted in pre-war Texas traditions. While he cranked up his amp to fierce proportions when performing for his friends at Houston juke joints, producers who recorded him for the so-called folk-blues market usually insisted that he use an acoustic guitar for more “authentic” results.

Either way, Lightnin’ seldom made a bad record, and this June 4, 1963, session on which he played acoustic was among his finest, thanks much to the sensitive support of bassist Leonard Gaskin and drummer Herbie Lovelle, who did a remarkable job of following his irregular bar patterns and abrupt song endings.  They managed to follow his ramshackle, instinctual sense of rhythm quite dexterously, giving Hopkins' skeletal guitar playing some muscle. Still, the spotlight remains Hopkins, who is in fine form here. There are no real classics here, but everything is solid, particularly "Stranger Here" and "You Better Stop Her," making it worth investigation by serious fans of Hopkins' classic material.   

Tracklist:

A1 Wake Up Old Lady 4:24
A2 Don't Embarrass Me, Baby 3:20
A3 Stranger Here 5:49
A4 Little Sister's Boogie 3:30
B1 Goin' Away 5:45
B2 You Better Stop Her 4:39
B3 Business You're Doin' 3:18
B4 I'm Wit' It 3:58

Lightnin´ Hopkins - Goin´ Away (1963)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

VA - The Gospel Sound (2 CDs)

"This recording documents the changes in Afro-American religious music over a forty-year period. This collection is powerful, filled with vitality, integrity and direct personal communcation.

The best in gospel music from the mid-forties to the late fifties contained moving spirituals by Mahalia Jackson, Marion Williams, The Staple Singers and many other great gospel artists.

Gospel is one of the dominant sounds of our times. In one form or another, gospel has reformed our listening expectations.

The tension between beats, the almost subliminally anticipated climac are straight out of the church. The dance steps that ushered in a new physical freedom were copied form the church dance, the shout. The sit-ins soothed by hymns, the freedom marches powered by shouts, the "brother and sister" fraternity of revolution: the black gospel church gave us all these." - From the liner notes

VA - The Gospel Sound pt 1
VA - The Gospel Sound pt 2
(192 kpbs, front cover included)

Nina Simone - The Amazing Nina Simone (1959)

There is a remarkable amount of variety on this disc, Nina Simone's second recording. Her repertoire ranges from a swinging "Stompin' at the Savoy" and an emotional "It Might as Well Be Spring" to an English folk ballad ("Tomorrow"), spirituals, an R&B song ("You've Been Gone Too Long") and the theme song from the movie "Middle of the Night".

Somehow Simone brings credibility to each of these very different songs. She does not play much piano (just cameos on two songs) and is backed by a subtle orchestra arranged by Bob Mersey that is effective accompanying her vocals. This session finds Nina Simone's voice in top form and with a few exceptions is generally jazz-oriented.                

Tracklist:

01 - Blue Prelude

02 - Children Go Where I Send You
03 - Tomorrow (We Will Meet Once More)
04 - Stompin' at the Savoy
05 - It Might as Well Be Spring
06 - You've Been Gone Too Long
07 - That's Him over There
08 - Chilly Winds Don't Blow
09 - Theme from Middle of the Night
10 - Can't Get Out of This Mood
11 - Willow Weep for Me
12 - Solitaire

Nina Simone - The Amazing Nina Simone (1959)
320 kbps, front cover included)

Leroy Smart - Let Everyman Survive (1979)

Leroy Smart (born 1952, Kingston, Jamaica) is a reggae singer and producer. He was orphaned at the age of two. He was raised at Maxfield Park Children's Home and educated at Alpha Boys School, where he studied singing, drums and dancing.

Smart recorded his first single, "It Pains Me" in 1969 for a producer called Mr. Caribbean. In 1970 he recorded "Ethiopia" for Joe Gibbs, and the first version of one of his most famous songs, "Pride & Ambition", with producer Gussie Clarke. His breakthrough would come in 1973 with "Mother Liza", produced by Jimmy Radway, which topped the local singles chart, and led to "Pride & Ambition" also becoming a big local hit. After working with Bunny Lee for several years, he recorded another of his best-known songs, "Ballistic Affair" at Channel One, in 1976, and began producing himself in 1977. Smart has continued recording and remains popular, with over 35 albums to his name. He is regarded as one of Jamaica's most outrageous and colourful characters.
Smart appeared in the film Rockers along with contemporaries such as Gregory Isaacs and Jacob Miller.

In 1979, Leroy Smar joined up with producer Alvin "GG" Ranglin to bring out two albums, "Showcase Rub A Dub" and "Let Everyman Survive". It becomes abundantly clear from the ten numbers on this album that besides singing talent, Leroy also possesses original ideas and the ability to convert them into flowing texts.

Tracklist

1	Sugar In My Coffee
2	Jah Is At Hand
3	I Still Pray
4	If You Want My Love
5	Live Up Right
6	Let Everyman Survive
7	Collie Give Me Wisdom
8	You Are Mine
9	Black And White
10	You Never Need Me

Leroy Smart - Let Everyman Survive
(192 kbps, front cover included)

Luis Mariano - Le Chanteur de Mexico

Mariano Eusebio González y García (13 August 1914 – 14 July 1970), also known as Luis Mariano, was a popular tenor of Spanish Basque origin who achieved celebrity in 1946 with « La belle de Cadix » (« The Beautiful Lady of Cadix ») an operetta by Francis Lopez. He appeared in the 1954 film Adventures of the Barber of Seville and Le Chanteur de Mexico (1957) and became popular in France as well as his native Spain.

Luis Mariano was born in Irun, Spain on 13 August 1914, the son of a garagiste and taxi-driver and showed interest in singing as a child. His family moved to France at the start of the Spanish Civil War and settled in Bordeaux where he studied at the Conservatoire, and also sang in cabarets.
Jeanne Lagiscarde, who was in charge of the classical department of a record store in Bordeaux, took Mariano under her wing, and gave up her job to nurture his talent in Paris. To earn a living, he sang in stage shows and appeared in films, starting with 'L'escalier sans fin' in 1943. That year he auditioned for the role of Ernesto in Don Pasquale, and sang in the opera at the Palais de Chaillot and later at the Théâtre des Variétés, with Vina Bovy, recording excerpts from the opera. He also left many recordings of popular song and operetta.

He continued to appear in other films from 1946, including a singing role in Napoléon and a film adaptation of Lehar's Der Zarewitsch.
In his encyclopedia Gänzl describes Mariano as a "svelte singing idol of French operetta of the post-war stage and screen". Mariano died in Paris in 1970.
His music is featured prominently in the 1996 Belgian film Le huitième jour in which he is played by Laszlo Harmati during scenes employing magical realism.

Luis Mariano - Le Chanteur de Mexico
(256 kbps, front cover included)

Woody Guthrie - Struggle (1941)

This album was originally released by Moses Asch, founder of the Folkways label, on Asch Records in 1941 as "Struggle: Documentary No. 1".

It was re-released by him in 1976 to commemorate the bicentennial of the American Revolution with a special series of liner notes by Asch explaining the importance of Woody Guthrie's history of the working class through song.

Both Guthrie's songs and the liner notes are stuff of supreme cultural importance. In the notes, Asch lays out a theory that the American Revolution has not yet been completed and there is a need for a "continuing struggle for human rights and equality."

As a collection of songs, this is surely one of the best Guthrie collections, especially once it's known how important it was to him personally. In many ways, it seems as if this album was the fulfillment of a very personal vision, which starts with the songs but is only realized in their collectivity.

Included here are such excellent songs as the unsettling "Hang Knot," the elliptic "Union Burying Ground," and the finely spun "Pretty Boy Floyd." These songs define Guthrie at his best, never didactic in tone but supreme in import. The album also features the Cisco Houston (Guthrie's sometime tramping companion) number "Get Along Little Doggies," as well as his vocal accompaniment on several tracks. Sonny Terry guests on "Lost John," lending his harmonica to Guthrie's tale of a chain gang escapee. Both as a historical artifact and as an amazing Guthrie album, this is required listening.

Woody Guthrie - Struggle (1941)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

King Size Ska - Original Jamaican Instrumental Ska Sounds 1964-1966 (Trojan)

This album is a collection of original Jamaican instrumental ska sounds, recorded from 1964 to 1966.
This compilation collects some excellent ska tunes, in particular "El Torro" and "The Cat" by Roland Alphonso. Baba Brooks trumpet never sounded better as it does on "First Session", check it out. Well done, Trojan!

Trojan Records was founded in 1967 by Chris Blackwell and Lee Gopthal, as an Island Records subsidiary. The first releases were licensed from Duke Reid's Treasure Isle label, and the company took its name from Reid's sound system - The Trojan. In the 60s and 70s Trojan did a major effort in spreading Reggae over the UK, licensing Jamaican releases as well as pushing their own UK acts.

Tracks:
1 Roland Alphonso -El Torro
2 Baba Brooks & His Recording Band -King Size
3 Granville Williams Orchestra -Hi Life
4 Roland Alphonso -On The Move
5 Sammy Ismay & Baba Brooks Band- Cocktails For Two
6 Raymond Harper & Carib Beats- No Other Love
7 Roland Alphonso -Women Of The World
8 Baba Brooks & His Recording Band- Faberge
9 Granville Williams Orchestra -Old McDonald
10 Roland Alphonso -Nothing For Nothing
11 Tommy McCook & The Supersonics- Riverton City
12 Val Bennett & His Selected Group -Atlas
13 Roland Alphonso -Jungle Bit
14 Baba Brooks & His Recording Band -First Session
15 Granville Williams Orchestra-Popeye Ska
16 Roland Alphonso The Cat
17 Roy Richards & Baba Brooks Band, The Contact
18 Raymond Harper & Carib Beats, The Amour
19 Roland Alphonso Guantanamera
20 Carib Beats, The J.J. Special
21 Granville Williams Orchestra-Honky Tonk (Ska)
22 Roland Alphonso -Song For My Father
23 Baba Brooks & His Recording Orchestra -The Scratch
24 Granville Williams Orchestra -Tear Up
25 Cluett Johnson Orchestra Hot Nosh

King Size Ska - Original Jamaican Instrumental Ska Sounds 1964-1966  (Trojan)
(192 kbps, front cover included)

Bessie Smith - Empress Of The Blues 1923 - 1933

Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer.

Nicknamed The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s. She is often regarded as one of the greatest singers of her era and, along with Louis Armstrong, a major influence on other jazz vocalists.


"Empress of the Blues: 1923-1933" is a respectable, budget-priced collection of Bessie Smith's best material from her most potent period. It contains 21 tracks of piano-based blues from an era when the music was just coming out of brothels and saloons and on to the American (and European) stages. Notable tracks on this set include "Tain't Nobody's Business If I Do" and  "St. Louis Blues".

Bessie Smith - Empress Of The Blues 1923 - 1933
(256 kbps, front cover included)

              

Robert Wyatt - Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard (1975)

An enduring figure who came to prominence in the early days of the English art rock scene, Robert Wyatt has produced a significant body of work, both as the original drummer for art rockers Soft Machine and as a radical political singer/songwriter.

There was no way that Wyatt's follow-up to "Rock Bottom" could be as personal and searching, but this album that came barely a year later instead collects some earlier material to be revamped for this release. "Soup Song," for instance, is a rewrite of "Slow Walkin' Talk," written before the forming of Soft Machine. "Team Spirit," written with Phil Manzanera and Bill MacCormick of Quiet Sun, would turn up the same year as "Frontera" on Manzanera's "Diamond Head".

While some of the songs tend to plod along, the dirge-like "Five Black Notes and One White Notes," a lethargic cover of Offenbach's "Baccarole," Charlie Haden's "Song for Che," and Fred Frith's piano team-up with Wyatt on "Muddy Mouth" are magical. As usual, the assembled band, including the underrated Gary Windo on sax and Mongezi Feza on trumpet, never dissapoint.

Tracklist:

1. Muddy Mouse (0:50)
2. Solar Flares (5:35)
3. Muddy Mouse (0:50)
4. 5 Black Notes and 1 White Note (4:58)
5. Muddy Mouse (6:11)
6. Soup Song (5:00)
7. Sonia (4:12)
8. Team Spirit (8:26)
9. Song for Ché (3:36)

Robert Wyatt - Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard 1975)
(256 kbps, cover art included)

The Revolutionaries - 1976 - Revival Dub Roots "Now"

Starting with the Skatalites, Jamaican recordings largely revolved around a select floating pool of the island's best musicians; top producers began calling on the Revolutionaries in the mid-'70s.

But the group's importance extends far beyond providing the music to many roots classics; Revolutionaries backing tracks dominated Jamaican music when dub, the foundation of the mix culture, became a widespread reggae phenomenon. The rise of the Revolutionaries also marked the arrival of Robbie Shakespeare and Sly Dunbar as the next great bass and drums team in Jamaican music.

With Carleton Barrett and Aston "Family Man" Barrett on the road with Bob Marley & the Wailers, Sly & Robbie were the rhythm section of choice when reggae emerged as an international force.               

Tracklist:

Side 1:
1. Luger 9m/m Auto
2. Browning 9m/m Auto
3. Mauser 9m/m Auto
4. No.44 Magnum
5. No 41 Magnum

Side 2:
1. 357 Magnum
2. Arms MK III Carbine
3. AR - 180 - 223 CAL
4. AR - 47 Auto
5.Valmet M - 62


The Revolutionaries - 1976 - Revival Dub Roots "Now"
(320 kbsp, cover art included)

Blind Gary Davis - Harlem Street Singer (1960)

Recorded during a three hour session at the Jersey Jazz Studio of the legendary engineer Rudy Van Gelder on August 24, 1960, Gary Davis laid down 12 of his most impassioned spirituals for "Harlem Street Singer".

You get 44 minutes of soul survival stuff here, and any blues buff ought to own it. The more casual fan may have to listen a few times to really like Gary's vocals, but his guitar work is fun from the first chord. The recording quality is excellent.

Starting off the session with a version of Blind Willie Johnson's "If I Had My Way I'd Tear That Building Down," here renamed "Samson and Delilah," Davis is in fine form. His vocals are as expressive as Ray Charles' while similar in richness to Richie Havens' work.

"Harlem Street Singer" features his inspired country blues fingerpicking as well. Many moods color the selections, from the gentle "I Belong to the Band" to the mournful "Death Don't Have No Mercy," only to be followed by the joyous shouting of "Goin' to Sit Down on the Banks of the River." Overall, the collection should be considered essential listening for fans of country blues or gospel.

Tracklist:

1. Samson And Delilah (If I Had My Way)
2. Let Us Get Together Right Down Here
3. I Belong To The Band
4. Pure Religion
5. Great Change Since I Been Born
6. Death Don't Have No Mercy
7. Twelve Gates To The City
8. Goin' To Sit Down On The Banks Of T
9. Tryin' To Get Home -traditional-
10. Lo, I Be With You Always
11. I Am The Light Of This World
12. Lord, I Feel Just Like Goin' On

Blind Gary Davis - Harlem Street Singer
(192 kbps, cover art included)

Fela Kuti & Africa 70 - Shakara (1972)

Fela Kuti was often
described as
"the James Brown of Africa," but one could also argue that he was Africa's equivalent of Miles Davis or John Coltrane. Truth be told, either description is valid. Kuti was highly eclectic, and his innovative, visionary music contained elements of funk/soul, jazz, and blues, as well as African music.

That eclectic spirit proves to be a major asset on Shakara, which consists of two 13-minute performances by Kuti's Africa 70 band: "Lady" and "Shakara (Oloie)."

Performed in English, "Lady" finds Kuti criticizing modern African women in a humorous way for becoming what he sees as overly westernized and embracing a western view of feminism. You might agree or disagree with the song's viewpoint, but the groove and the beat are irresistible. Equally addictive - and equally sarcastic - is "Shakara (Oloje)," which is sung in both Yoruba and English and makes fun of the type of pompous, loud-mouthed braggarts who can never make good on their empty boasts.

Fela Kuti & Africa 70 - Shakara (1972)
(320 kbps, front cover included)

B. B. Seaton - Gun Court Dub

"Gun Court Dub" is the first of a series of three wonderful "Gun Court"-dub albums produced by B. B. Seaton

The great producer was backed on this albums by The Revolutionaries, The Conscious Minds and by Skin, Flesh & Bones.

Tracklist:

A1	Gun Court
A2	Babylon Out Former
A3	No Escape
A4	Dread Rehabilitation
A5	Sweet Callie
A6	Sam Sharp Rebellion
B1	Folly Dolly
B2	Forward To Mount Zion
B3	Beat Down Sentence
B4	Dub Of Justice
B5	House Of Jah Dread
B6	Tribute To Selassie

.
B. B. Seaton - Gun Court Dub (1975)
(ca. 192 kbps, cover art included)

Billie Holiday - Songs For Distingué Lovers (1957)

"Songs for Distingué Lovers" forms part of the last series of extensive small-group recordings that Lady Day would make in the studio.

Although her voice was largely shot at this point, she puts so much feeling into the lyrics that it's easy to overlook her dark sound. The band is a major asset, and made up of all-stars: trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison, tenor saxophonist Ben Webster, pianist Jimmie Rowles, guitarist Barney Kessel, bassist Red Mitchell, and Alvin Stoller or Larry Bunker on drums.

There are plenty of short solos for Edison, Webster, and Kessel. Holiday does her best on such numbers as "A Foggy Day," "One for My Baby," "Just One of Those Things," and "I Didn't Know What Time It Was," and there are plenty of haunting moments, even if one could tell (even at the time) that the end was probably drawing near for the singer.

Tracklist:

A1	Day In, Day Out
A2	A Foggy Day
A3	Stars Fell On Alabama
B1	One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)
B2	Just One Of Those Things
B3	I Didn't Know What Time It Was

Billie Holiday - Songs For Distingué Lovers (1957)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

VA -Tiger Goes Calypso (Esso, 1966)

This is a fine LP from 1966 put out by Esso gas for promotional work. It is a collection of Calypso, Reggae, and Ska songs. Two of the tracks have to do with Esso gas. A rare little promo item with pretty good songs. It features Young Killer with "Tiger in your tank" and some big names of the calypso scene, like Mighty Sparrow and The Merrymen. Enjoy it!

Tracklist:
1 Young Killer - Tiger in your tank
2 Carlos Malcolm Orchestra - Tribute to Don Drummond
3 The Merrymen - Never on a sunday
4 Westside Symphony Orchestra - Jamaica ska
5 Clarence Curvan Orchestra - Mama dis is mas
6 The Mighty Sparrow - She's been gone too long
7 André Tanker Flamingoes - Linstead market
8 The Mighty Dougla - Leave me


VA - Tiger Goes Calypso (1966)
(192 kbps, back & front cover included)

African Renaissance - Music From The South African Broadcasting Corporation Archives - Volume 9

The segregation of indigenous music by the South African Broadcasting Corporation under the National Party's policy of "separate development" has had an unintentional after-effect - apartheid has bequeathed the world a glorious legacy of recorded music. A rich archive of SABC acetates, never intended to be heard outside the townships and provinces, has at last made its way onto CD. Music listeners now get their first chance to sample this cornucopia as Eagle Records has released a bunch of double CDs under the title "African Renaissance". The set spans 30 years of recording and covers everything from Western-influenced doo-wop to gumboot, historic ceremonial to traditional dance; a capella chorus to mine and sugar mill bands.



The music in these recordings is accessible, rich and uplifting and sound quality is very good. The selection also has a historic significance; it catches traditional forms that are fast being subsumed by new influences. With the opening of South Africa, modern western forms such as hip- hop are increasingly being incorporated into the music of the young; kwaiko, for example, borrowing heavily from house music and American rappers. Many of the tracks on these compilations are immensely physical, their catchiness forcing you to your feet. Others are more spiritual, with soaring, heart-stopping moments of beauty and poignancy. Such a wide and eclectic selection gives the lie to the impression of "sameness" which resulted from willy-nilly incorporation of African elements in the early 1980s world music fad. To borrow a phrase from the jazz world, this music is the sound of surprise. On these discs you will find the polyrhythmic vocal complexity of traditional Zulu music (recently popularised by star turns like Ladysmith Black Mambazo); the reggae- ish heal of Venda artists; shimmering harmonies, epitomised by the South Soto Bohlokong Choral or the Tswana Mmabatho police choir; the stomping rhythms and exuberance of Xhosa outfits such as the Harmony Baca Gumboot Dancers; and the gentle melodic fluency of Ndebele artists such as Love Inspirations.

It would take a hard heart or leaden soul not to find something in "African Renaissance's" treasure-trove to lift the spirit or get the feet tapping. Some of the royalties from the series will go to surviving artists; the rest to a development project to help disadvantaged young musicians in South Africa.

Here´s volume 9 with Nguni choral music on the first cd and Mbhaqanga, which has been hailed as Africa´s hardest and most upbeat sound, on the second.

African Renaissance - Volume 9 pt.1

African Renaissance - Volume 9 pt. 2
(192 kbps)

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René Bardet´s Poesie & Musik: Pablo Neruda 2 - Tiersammlung (Mood, 1980)

Here´s the second "Poesie & Musik" album with interpretations of works by Pablo Neruda. "Tiersammlung" was recorded live at the famous club "Manufaktur" in Schorndorf in the southern part of Germany in 1980.

Members of the band were at this time René Bardet (bouzouki, guitar, voice), Tini Hägler (marimba, percussion), Ruedi Häusermann (flute, sopranino), Martin Schütz (cello, mandoline) and Orlandon Valentini (bass, drums, guitar, percussion).

Tracks:
1 Wo mag Guillermina sein
2 Wie lange lebt man
3. Gewisser Überdruss
4. Tiersammlung


René Bardet´s Poesie & Musik - Pablo Neruda 2 - Tiersammlung

(192 kbps, cover art included)