Julie Wilson - Sings The Kurt Weill Songbook

The day after Julie Wilson recorded her Stephen Sondheim songbook album for DRG Records, she went back into the recording studio and recorded her Kurt Weill songbook album. That may seem like rushing things, but when you're 63 years old and you get your first recording contract in 26 years, why wait?

Certainly, Wilson is at least as familiar with Weill's repertoire as she is with Sondheim's, and certainly Weill (with his lyric collaborators) wrote as many songs well suited to her world-weary, seen-it-all nightclub persona as Sondheim has. From her choices, Wilson clearly is more comfortable with the Broadway Weill than the Berlin Weill, particularly with two of his shows of the '40s, "Lady in the Dark" (lyrics by Ira Gershwin) and "One Touch of Venus" (lyrics by Ogden Nash).

Of the 18 songs in 14 tracks on the disc (three tracks are medleys of two or three songs), seven come from those two shows, among them standards like "Speak Low," "That's Him," and "The Saga of Jenny," but also relative obscurities such as "Foolish Heart" and "This Is New." (It is surprising that Wilson passes over another "One Touch of Venus" evergreen, "I'm a Stranger Here Myself.") Elsewhere, she plucks lesser-known songs from lesser-known Broadway shows like "Street Scene", "Love Life", and "The Firebrand of Florence", giving a sense of Weill as largely a ballad-writing romantic. But she also delves into those songs about age and experience, presenting a female-oriented version of "September Song" from "Knickerbocker Holiday", and the bitter torch song "Surabaya Johnny" from "Happy End". The latter is one of the relatively few songs Weill wrote early in his career in Berlin with Bertolt Brecht that Wilson takes on; there are only four such tunes here. (Another surprising omission is "Pirate Jenny.").

As ever, Wilson renders the lyrics knowingly in her half-spoken singing voice, while William Roy provides simple, lively piano accompaniment and occasionally jumps in to sing with her. She succeeds at presenting Weill in the guise of a nightclub sophisticate, but only by making a narrow selection of his catalog.   

Julie Wilson - Sings The Kurt Weill Songbook
(256 kbps, small front cover included)          

Kalyi Jag - Lungoj O Drom Angla Mande - Gipsy Folk Songs From Hungary

Kalyi Jag (Black Fire) is a group formed in Budapest in 1978 by young Gypsies from Szatmár county. They play authentic Gypsy music, sung in Romany and Hungarian. Kalyi Jag consists of: Gusztáv Varga - voice, guitar Ágnes Künstler - voice József Balogh - voice, tambura, guitar, spoon József Nagy - water can, oral bass.

They are recognised as one of the foremost Gypsy folk ensembles in Eastern Europe today.

This is one of their early LPs released on Hungaroton Records in 1989 and features guitar, jug, whistle, oral bass, water can etc..


Tracklist:

1. Parne gada szi pe late (2:07)
2. Lungoj o drom angla mande (2:42)
3. Muri klaca kocsakenca (2:14)
4. Lina (5:09)
5. Aj, Dévale Koj Odi (3:53)
6. Pánzs kolompiri ande tigalya (2:26)
7. Ustyen Opre, Romále (3:05)
8. Le csurara mol na pena (3:26)
9. Kerkoj aba muro jilo (2:50)
10. Anta, romnyej, mure roulya (3:07)
11. Szájbőgő improvizáció (2:04)
12. Szar Csiriklyi (4:37)
13. Beng hhuklyasz ande roulyi (1:38)
14. Sápä szärátä ás mänká (3:01)
15. Kutyka téle, ko lahhikao kopácsi (2:13)
16. Csorro Joka (2:43)
17. Könyörgés (3:10)

01 She has a white dress on
02 I have still a long way to go
03 My trousers are buttoned all along
04 Lina
05 Oh, my God, who is there
06 There are five potatoes in the pot
07 Get up, Gypsies
08 Shieve-makers do not drink wine
09 My Heart Is Heavy
10 Give, woman, my stick to me
11 Oral bass improvisations
12 Like birds
13 The devil has hidden in my stick
14 I would eat salten onions
15 Over there under a little tree
16 Poor Joska
17 Song for Mercy

Kalyi Jag - Lungoj O Drom Angla Mande
(192 kbps, front cover included)

Tom Rush - The Circle Game (1968)

A candid and charming collection of songs that glisten as beautifully as a clear mountain stream. Singer/songwriter/poet Tom Rush had a wonderful idea in mind for a concept album, working with music business greats Arthur Gorson and Paul Harris to blend the best of the time period's songwriters. The effort results in a splendid achievement of emotionally and lyrically gripping material.

Taking advantage of his resonant tenor voice and the majestic talents of a stirring crew of musicians, Rush performs wistful and ethereal versions of some of his favorite songs. Material selected includes deeply lyrical tunes such as Joni Mitchell's "Tin Angel" and "Urge for Going," and romantic songs like James Taylor's "Something in the Way She Moves." The album, titled "The Circle Game", features Mitchell's radio hit single of the same name.

Certainly during the '70s this album was marketed well and fared with great success among the listening public, inviting Rush into an elite group of solo singer/songwriters of the decade. Just to prove to the world that he is no fluke himself when it comes to arranging and composing, Rush succeeds with two beautifully crafted works of his own, masterfully woven and spun on the acoustic guitar, along with an endearing work of lush production featuring the brilliant efforts of conductor Paul Harris and orchestra. A must-listen for those who are sincerely curious and are seeking a good singer/songwriter talent from this period.                

Tom Rush - The Circle Game (1968)
(192 kbps, cover art included)

On-U Sound Disco Plate Collection Part II

A disproportionate amount of the best modern reggae has emerged from the strange, dark depths of the Berry Street studio in London, home base of Adrian Sherwood's On-U Sound label. On-U material has always been notoriously difficult to get in any format, but most elusive of all are the legendary 10" "disco plate" singles Sherwood produced in the early 1980s and 1990s.

This disc is the second volume in an attempt to remedy that situation by reissuing the best of the disco plates on CD. Though fans of the label will already own alternate versions of a number of these tracks (such as "93 Struggle" and Bim Sherman's "Keep You Dancing") and even the exact same versions of a couple of others ("Autobiography" and "Breaking Down the Pressure" have been credited elsewhere to Singers & Players), this disc is more than worth the investment if only for the brilliant obscurities: Undivided Roots deliver a charming lament titled "England Cold," which is followed by a typically over-the-top Sherwood dub mix; "Can't Stop Jumping" is a dub version of "Keep You Dancing" featuring Dr. Pablo on keys.

This is pure reggae & dub gold, and devotees are well advised to snap it up while they can...

VA - On-U Sound Disco Plate Collection Part II
(192 kbps, small front cover included)

Mississippi John Hurt - Friends Of Old Time Music Concert, December 13, 1963

No blues singer ever presented a more gentle, genial image than Mississippi John Hurt.

A guitarist with an extraordinarily lyrical and refined fingerpicking style, he also sang with a warmth unique in the field of blues, and the gospel influence in his music gave it a depth and reflective quality unusual in the field. Coupled with the sheer gratitude and amazement that he felt over having found a mass audience so late in life, and playing concerts in front of thousands of people -- for fees that seemed astronomical to a man who had always made music a sideline to his life as a farm laborer -- these qualities make Hurt's recordings into a very special listening experience.
Here´s the soundboard recording of the "friends of old time music concert", School of Medicine, Alumni Hall
New York, N.Y., December 13, 1963.

Tracklist:
1.Do Lord intro
2.Do Lord Remember Me
3.Since Ive Laid My Burden Down
4.C.C. Rider
5.Casey Jones
6.Nobody's Dirty Business
7.Richmond Woman Intro
8.Richmond Woman Blues
9.Let The Mermaids Flirt W Me
10.Spike drivers Blues
11.Stagger Lee
12.Pallet On Your Floor
13.Coffee Blues Intro
14.Coffee Blues
15.My Creole Blues
16.Franky and Jonnie
17.Talking Casey

Filler tracks from 1964:
18.Monday Morning Blues
19.Pallet on Your Floor

Thanks to http://arizjones.blogspot.com/!

Mississippi John Hurt - December 13, 1963
(320 kbps, no cover art included)

Mombasa - African Rhythm & Blues 2 (1976) [224kbps]

The second album from Mombasa – and possibly even better than the first! The group have really come into their own by the time of this date – mixing together jazz and African roots with a sound that's unlike anyone else we can think of – quite unique in its approach to rhythms, sounds, and solos! The grooves aren't really the Afro Funk you might expect – and instead, they're based on a headier brew of basslines and percussion, one that's somewhere in a space between Boscoe, The Pharoahs, and Demon Fuzz – but with a sound that's ultimately different than both. The trombone of Lou Blackburn carries the lead on most tracks – snaking out wonderfully over the grooves, with a quality that's amazingly soulful, and which almost has him standing head to head with Fred Wesley as a 70s innovator on his instrument. Other members of the group include Doug Lucas on trumpet, Bob Reed on percussion, Alan Tatham on drums, and Don Ridgeway on electric bass – the last of whom really does a great job shaping the sound of the tunes.
.
Tracklist:
1. Yenyeri
2. Holz II
3. Shango II
4. Nomoli
5. African Hustle
6. Al Rahman

Mombasa - African Rhythm & Blues 2 (1976)
(224 kbps, front cover included)

Mombasa - African Rhythms & Blues (1975)

Original first LP release by legendary Mombasa band: Deep Afro Funk & Jazz by Lou Blackburn and his group recorded 1975 in Germany original release on the rare german Spiegelei label, contains the most wanted DJ-spins "Nairobi", "Kenia" and "Shango". This is a classic and sought after afro funk LP. One of the best recordings in the genre: Pulsating african rhythms with funk bass and heavy brass sounds: Essential and ultra hard to find album with tons of true killer afro funk breaks. Some also call it a stripped down Fela Kuti sound ...

From the original liner notes, 1975:

"In describing the music of Mombasa which is a mixture of rhythm, jazz, folklore, blues, spirituals and worksongs, Lou Blackburn would prefer not to use the word jazz. Many people ask us, he says, how one describes our type of music. To this I can only answer that I leave it to the audience because i don`t want to give it a label, for me it is simply ours, Mombasa`s music."

Mombasa - African Rhythms & Blues (1975)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Ernst Busch - Solidarität mit Chile (Eterna, 1975)

This single was released in 1975 in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) as a special production to support the chilean communist leader Luis Corvalán.

Luis Alberto Corvalán Lepe (September 14, 1916, – July 21, 2010) was a Chilean politician. He served as the general secretary of the Communist Party of Chile (PCCh).
Corvalán joined the Communist Party of Chile at the age of fifteen in the city of Chillán shortly after the fall of the repressive dictatorship of Carlos Ibáñez del Campo in 1932. Trained as a teacher, after 1952 he became an elected member of the PCCh's Central Committee, and after 1958 served as the Secretary-General. The party was outlawed from 1948 until 1958. In this period Corvalán was interned in the concentration camps of Pitrufquén and later in Pisagua.

On September 11, 1973, General Augusto Pinochet lead a military coup and Corvalán was among the many arrested. After the murder of Victor Jara, he was the most prominent political prisoner in Chile. While in prison, Luis Corvalán was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize (for 1973-74). The Soviet Union launched an international campaign for his release and on December 18, 1976 Corvalán was exchanged for a notable Soviet political prisoner, dissident Vladimir Bukovsky, and received asylum in the USSR.

Corvalán headed the Communist Party of Chile - both within Chile and whilst in exile - for over three decades, which covered the whole period of the Pinochet military dictatorship. Corvalán returned to Chile in 1988.

Tracklist:
A1. Rettet Luis Corvalán 1:54 
A2. Gegen Die Objektiven 1:23 
B1. Bandiera Rossa 1:42 

 
Ernst Busch - Solidarität mit Chile (Eterna, 1960)
(160 kbps, cover art included, vinyl rip) 

Gegen die Objektiven

Wenn die Bekämpfer des Unrechts
Ihre verwundeten Gesichter zeigen
Ist die Ungeduld derer, die in Sicherheit waren
Groß.


Warum beschwert ihr euch, fragen sie
Ihr habt das Unrecht bekämpft! Jetzt
Hat es euch besiegt: schweigt also!


Wer kämpft, sagen sie, muß verlieren können
Wer Streit sucht, begibt sich in Gefahr
Wer mit Gewalt vorgeht
Darf die Gewalt nicht beschuldigen.


Ach, Freunde, die ihr gesichert seid
Warum so feindlich? Sind wir
Eure Feinde, die wir Feinde des Unrechts sind?
Wenn die Kämpfer gegen das Unrecht besiegt sind
Hat das Unrecht doch nicht recht!


Unsere Niederlagen nämlich
Beweisen nichts, als daß wir zu
Wenige sind
Die gegen die Gemeinheit kämpfen
Und von den Zuschauern erwarten wir
Daß sie wenigstens beschämt sind!

(Bertolt Brecht)

Alice Coltrane - Universal Consciousness (1971)

Recorded between April and June of 1971, Alice Coltrane's "Universal Consciousness" stands as her classic work. As a testament to the articulation of her spiritual principles, "Universal Consciousness" stands even above "World Galaxy" as a recording where the medium of music, both composed and improvised, perfectly united the realms of body (in performance), speech (in the utterance of individual instrumentalists and group interplay), and mind (absolute focus) for the listener to take into her or his own experience. While many regard "Universal Consciousness" as a "jazz" album, it transcends even free jazz by its reliance on deeply thematic harmonic material and the closely controlled sonic dynamics in its richly hued chromatic palette.

The set opens with the title track, where strings engage large washes of Coltrane's harp as Jack DeJohnette's drums careen in a spirit dance around the outer edge of the maelstrom. On first listen, the string section and the harp are in counter-dictum, moving against each other in a modal cascade of sounds, but this soon proves erroneous as Coltrane's harp actually embellishes the timbral glissandos pouring forth. Likewise, Jimmy Garrison's bass seeks to ground the proceedings to DeJohnette's singing rhythms, and finally Coltrane moves the entire engagement to another dimension with her organ. Leroy Jenkins' violin and Garrison's bottom two strings entwine one another in Ornette Coleman's transcription as Coltrane and the other strings offer a middling bridge for exploration. It's breathtaking. On "Battle at Armageddon," the violence depicted is internal; contrapuntal rhythmic impulses whirl around each other as Coltrane's organ and harp go head to head with Rashied Ali's drums. "Oh Allah" rounds out side one with a gorgeously droning, awe-inspiring modal approach to whole-tone music that enfolds itself into the lines of organic polyphony as the strings color each present theme intervalically. DeJohnette's brushwork lisps the edges and Garrison's bass underscores each chord and key change in Coltrane's constant flow of thought.

On side two, "Hare Krishna" is a chant-like piece that is birthed from minor-key ascendancy with a loping string figure transcribed by Coleman from Coltrane's composition on the organ. She lays deep in the cut, offering large shimmering chords that twirl - eventually - around high-register ostinatos and pedal work. It's easily the most beautiful and accessible track in the set, in that it sings with a devotion that has at its base the full complement of Coltrane's compositional palette. "Sita Ram" is a piece that echoes "Hare Krishna" in that it employs Garrison and drummer Clifford Jarvis, but replaces the strings with a tamboura player. Everything here moves very slowly, harp and organ drift into and out of one another like breath, and the rhythm section - informed by the tamboura's drone - lilts on Coltrane's every line. As the single-fingered lines engage the rhythm section more fully toward the end of the tune, it feels like a soloist improvising over a chanting choir. Finally, the album ends with another duet between Ali and Coltrane. Ali uses wind chimes as well as his trap kit, and what transpires between the two is an organically erected modal architecture, where texture and timbre offer the faces of varying intervals: Dynamic, improvisational logic and tonal exploration become elemental figures in an intimate yet universal conversation that has the search itself and the uncertain nature of arrival, either musically or spiritually, at its root. This ambiguity is the only way a recording like this could possibly end, with spiritual questioning and yearning in such a musically sophisticated and unpretentious way. The answers to those questions can perhaps be found in the heart of the music itself, but more than likely they can, just as they are articulated here, only be found in the recesses of the human heart. This is art of the highest order, conceived by a brilliant mind, poetically presented in exquisite collaboration by divinely inspired musicians and humbly offered as a gift to listeners. It is a true masterpiece.

Alice Coltrane - Universal Consciousness (1971)
(192 kbps, no cover art included)

Walter Benjamin - Aufklärung für Kinder

Walter Benjamin prepared and delivered some 30 broadcasts for German Radio between 1929-1932 specifically for children, maybe 7-14 or so, each consisting of a 20 minute talk or monologue.

A main emphasis was on introducing the youth to various, some of them classical, natural catastrophes, for instance the Lisbon earthquake of the 1750's that so shook the optimism of Voltaire and the century, a flood of the Mississippi of 1927, the Pompeii disaster as came through the famous letter of Pliny the Younger; another subject was various episodes of lawlessness fraud and deceit, much of it recent, for instance bootlegger's boats that were bringing rum or whatever to America through the prohibition blockade. "Aufklärung für Kinder" ("Enlightenment for Children") was the name of the series.

This release collects some of these broadcasts, read in german language by Harald Wiesner.

Walter Benjamin - Aufklärung für Kinder
(128 kbps, front cover included)

Count Ossie & The Mystic Revelation Of Rastafari - Tales Of Mozambique

"Tales of Mozambique" was released a couple of years after the ground-breaking "Grounation" triple-album, the first album to give nyahbingi music the studio time it deserves.
It goes along similar musical lines: a mixture of rasta chants, nyahbingi drumming and jazz-based horn work.

The album takes account of and analyses the displacement of African blacks to the West Indians coasts. It is a journey which takes in the Maroons, Pan-Africanism and all the international struggles for independence in a musical structure encompassing Burru, Mento, Reggae and Jazz rhythms.

This is music marked with integrity that should be herad by anyone interested in Jamaican culture, percussion or the roots of roots music.

Tracklist:

A1	Sam's Intro	3:35
A2	Mozambique - Tales Of Mozambique	5:45
A3	Ah Ji Wah Wah - Selam Nna Wadada (Peace & Love)	3:20
A4	No Night In Zion	4:00
A5	I Am A Warrior	5:02
B6	Wicked Babylon	5:20
B7	Let Freedom Reign	3:43
B8	Lock, Stock & Barrel - Soon Start Quarrel	3:42
B9	Nigerian Reggae	3:40
B10	Run One Mile	5:30

Count Ossie & The Mystic Revelation Of Rastafari - Tales Of Mozambique
(192 kbps, ca. 60 MB)

Count Ossie and The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari - The Original Complete Grounation (1973)

The foundations of reggae and its association with Rastafarianism were established by drummer, percussionist and vocalist Count Ossie (born: Oswald Williams). Together with his band, the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari, Count Ossie combined African-influenced music with the European hymnal tradition to create a unique sound that inspired everyone from Ras Michael and the Sons of Negus and the Skatalites to Bob Marley & the Wailers and Toots & the Maytals.

Count Ossie's earliest inspiration came from rasta elder Brother Job, who introduced him to the philosophies of Rastafarianism. A Nyabinghi drummer from the hills of Jamaica, Count Ossie cut his first singles, including "O'Carolina" and "Chubby," for Prince Buster at the studios of RJR radio. Beginning in 1959, Count Ossie recorded for Sir Coxsone Dodd at Studio One.

Together with music director, tenor saxophone, flute and clarinet player Cedric "I-m" Brooks, Count Ossie formed the Mystic Revelation Of Rastafari. Heavily percussive, the group featured philosopher orator Samuel Clayton, double bass player, poet and vocalist Ras Jose, Ras Jose, Little Bop and Count Ossie's son, Time, on fundae drum, bass drummer and percussionist King Rayo, percussionist and vocalist Bunny, percussionist Moses, baritone saxophone and clarinet player Ras Sam II and trombonist Nambo.

There has been some debate as to the cause of Count Ossie's death in 1976. While some sources claim that he was in an auto accident, others say that he was trampled to death when a crowd panicked at the National Arena.

These recordings were originally released as triple LP set in 1973. Incredible music featuring the true roots of Rastafari in Jamaican music.

Track listing:
CD 1:

1. Bongo Man
2. Narration
3. Malorat
4. Poem
5. Four Hundred Years
6. Poem
7. Song
8. Lumba
9. Four Hundred Years

CD 2:

1. Ethiopian Serenade
2. Oh Carolina
3. So Long
4. Grounation

Count Ossie & The Mystic Revelation Of Rastafari - The Original Complete Grounation (1973)
(256 kbps, front cover included)

Paul Robeson – Ol´ Man River

Paul Robeson (April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an African-American actor of film and stage, professional athlete, writer, multi-lingual orator, lawyer, and basso profondo concert singer who was also noted for his wide-ranging social justice activism.

A forerunner of the civil rights movement, Robeson was a trades union activist, peace activist, Phi Beta Kappa Society laureate, and a recipient of the Spingarn Medal and Stalin Peace Prize. Robeson achieved worldwide fame and recognition during his life for his artistic accomplishments, and his outspoken, radical beliefs which largely clashed with the colonial powers of Western Europe and the Jim Crow climate of pre-civil rights America.

Paul Robeson was the first major concert star to popularize the performance of spirituals and was the first black actor of the 20th century to portray William Shakespeare’s Othello on Broadway. His run in the 1943-45 Othello production still holds the record for the longest running Shakespeare play on Broadway. In line with Robeson’s vocal dissatisfaction with movie stereotypes, his roles in both the American and British film industry were some of the first parts ever created that displayed dignity and respect for the African American film actor, paving the way for the likes of Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte.

Here´s the compilation “Ol´ Man River”, released in 1987 on Conifer Records.

Paul Robeson – Ol´ Man River
(192 kbps, front cover included)

Prince Buster - Judge Dread - Rocksteady - Jamaica´s Pride (1967)

This album bundles up a dozen cuts, hits, instrumentals, and groundbreaking numbers from the rocksteady era. Most fans' point of entry will be the "Judge Dread" trilogy, and this album is the only place to find all three numbers.

With "Judge Dread", the rude boys meet their nemesis, as the magistrate establishes his fearsome reputation. On "The Appeal," the Judge reaches new draconian heights, while "Judge Dread Dance" (aka "Judge Dread Dance the Pardon") brings the saga to a close, as the rude boys are set free.

Inevitably, the rest of the album pales in comparison, an unfair situation, considering the high quality of most of the songs. The haunting letter to the dead of "Ghost Dance," an homage to sound systemstars of old, is certainly "Dread"s equal. "Sweet Beat" (aka "Rocksteady") is as sweet as its title, an enticement to get up and rocksteady that couldn't be ignored. Both songs were successful British singles, as was the moody "Dark Street" (aka "Dark End of the Street") and "Sharing You," an equally luscious love song, a side of Buster later compilations would ignore.

"Judge Dread" boasts a clutch of songs that showcase the passionate Prince at his best, counterpointing the brouhaha of the Judge himself. Thus, this extremely well-rounded set provides a truer picture of Buster's output during this period: dance numbers, smoking soulful pieces, and a pair of sparkling instrumentals from his studio band, the Buster's All Stars.

Tracklist:

Judge Dread
Shearing You
Nothing Takes The Place Of You
Ghost Dance
Rock With A Feeling
Sweet Beat
The Appeal
Dark Street
Judge Dread Dance
Show It Now
Raise Your Hands
A Change Is Going To Come

Prince Buster - Judge Dread - Rocksteady - Jamaica´s Pride (1967)

(192 kbps, cover art included)

Dreadzone - Fight The Power

Dreadzone is a british dub dance band relying heavily on sampling and other elements of electronica. They debuted in 1993 with the LP “360 Degrees“, an hour long orbit around a world of sound in a dub satellite. Included on this trip was their first single "The Warning", deep dub-charged techno with an ever relevant message - blood will run unless justice come.

Here´s another Dreadzone 12 inch single, called "Fight the Power". This dub-rave track was also part of a CD to raise awareness of the impending Criminal Justice Act that was being brought in to kill off raves.

A1 - Fight The Power (Original Mix)
A2 - Fight The Power (Drum Club Mix)
B1 - Fight The Power (DJ Evolution Mix)
B2 - Fight The Power (Dreadzone Dub)

Dreadzone - Fight The Power
(192 kbps, front cover included)

Prince Buster - Sister Big Stuff (Melodisc, 1976)

You've heard many a ska artist proclaim himself the King of Ska. Perhaps none has more right to do so than the unforgettable Prince Buster, especially since he won so many of those sound system battles against Dodd and the other greats of the early sixties.

By the late 1970s, Prince Buster was in serious financial trouble. Fortunately for him, ska was experiencing a revival in the United Kingdom. In 1979, the band Madness released its first record, a tribute to Buster called "The Prince", which urged ska fans to remember "the man who set the beat", stating "So I'll leave it up to you out there/To get him back on his feet". Interest in Buster soared during this time; he received royalties when his songs were covered by bands like The Specials, The Beat and Madness and his old records were reissued and sold well. Buster is similarly mentioned in The Toasters song "Shebeen": "And there was an old man/Who used to bring up the sounds/And he kept those beats, he kept those beats/From when Prince Buster was around".

Tracklist:

South of the Border
Protection
Sata Masa Gana
Still
Wish Your Picture
Stick By Me
Why Not Tonight
Sister Big Stuff
Stand Accused
Bride Over Troubled Water
Young Gifted and Black
Cool Operator

Prince Buster - Sister Big Stuff (Melodisc, 1976)
(192 kbps)

Harry Belafonte & Nana Mouskouri‎– An Evening With Belafonte / Mouskouri (1965)

Following the pattern of his album duet with Lena Horne on songs from Porgy and Bess, Harry Belafonte teamed up this time with Greek chanteuse Nana Mouskouri.

Belafonte first performed with Mouskouri in Burlington, VT in 1964 during his first college tour. As with Lena Horne, Belafonte sings only two duets with Mouskouri; the remaining tunes may as well have been featured on solo albums, because the two singers didn't even share instrumentalists - Belafonte used his usual stable of musicians, including guitarist Ernie Calabria, bassist John Cartwright, and percussionist Ralph MacDonald, while Mouskouri was accompanied by bouzouki player George Petsilas. The songs are sung in Greek with Mouskouri's naturally coming off as more authentic. Most of the tunes were written by the prolific Greek songwriter Manos Hadjidakis, writer of "Never on Sunday."         

Tracklist

A1	–Harry Belafonte	My Moon (Fengari Moo)	2:57
A2	–Nana Mouskouri	Dream (Oneero)	2:33
A3	–Harry Belafonte / Nana Mouskouri	If You Are Thirsty (Kean Tha Depsasees)	3:22
A4	–Nana Mouskouri	The Train (To Traino)	3:10
A5	–Harry Belafonte	In The Small Boat (Mes Tin Varka)	3:10
B1	–Nana Mouskouri	The Town Crier (Telalees)	2:08
B2	–Harry Belafonte	Walking On The Moon (Pame Mia Volta)	3:30
B3	–Nana Mouskouri	The Baby Snake (Feedakee)	3:12
B4	–Harry Belafonte	The Wide Sea (Thalassa Platia)	2:38
B5	–Harry Belafonte / Nana Mouskouri	Irene (Erene)	2:33

Harry Belafonte & Nana Mouskouri‎– An Evening With Belafonte / Mouskouri (1965)
(256 kbps, cover art included)     

John Coltrane - Coltrane (First Trane) (1957)

On his first session as a bandleader, tenor saxophonist John Coltrane is joined by Johnny Splawn on trumpet, Sahib Shihab on baritone sax, and a rhythm section of bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Albert "Tootie" Heath with piano duties split between Mal Waldron and Red Garland.

Right out of the gate, the propulsive syncopated beat that drives through the heart of Coltrane's fellow Philly denizen Calvin Massey's "Bakai" indicates that Coltrane and company are playing for keeps. Shihab's emphatic and repetitive drone provides a manic urgency that fuels the participants as they weave in and out of the trance-like chorus. Coltrane grabs hold with bright and aggressive lines, turning the minor-chord progressions around into a spirited and soulful outing. While the refined and elegant "Violets for Your Furs" as well as the slinky and surreptitious "While My Lady Sleeps" are undeniably ballads, they aren't redundant. Rather, each complements the other with somewhat alternate approaches. "Violets for Your Furs" develops the role of the more traditional pop standard, whereas the somnolence is disrupted by the tension and release coursing just below the surface of "While My Lady Sleeps." The Coltrane-supplied "Straight Street" is replete with the angular progressions that would become his stock-in-trade. In fact, the short clusters of notes that Coltrane unleashes are unmistakable beacons pointing toward his singular harmonics and impeccably timed phrasing on 1960's G"iant Steps" and beyond. The closer, "Chronic Blues," demonstrates Coltrane's increasing capacity for writing and arranging for an ensemble.

The thick unified sound of Coltrane, Splawn, and Shihab presents a formidable presence as they blow the minor-chord blues chorus together before dissolving into respective solos. The trio's divergent styles prominently rise, pitting Shihab's down-and-dirty growl against Coltrane's comparatively sweet tones and Splawn's vacillating cool and fiery fingering. Regardless of the listener's expertise, "Coltrane" is as enjoyable as it is thoroughly accessible.       

Tracklist:

A1	Bakai	8:45
A2	Violets For Your Furs	6:10
A3	Time Was	7:25
B1	Straight Street	6:15
B2	While My Lady Sleeps	4:36
B3	Chronic Blues	8:00

John Coltrane - Coltrane (First Trane) (1957)
(256 kbps, cover art included)        

Hazel O´Connor - Alive And Kicking In L.A. (1994)

"Alive and Kicking in L.A." is Hazel O'Connor's live album, released in 1990 and then re-released under other names such as "L.A. Confidential". This live album includes hits like "Will You! and "D-Days" plus other rare tracks.

Tracklisting:

1	D-Days	4:29
2	Reach	4:55
3	Driftwood	5:20
4	Black Man	5:09
5	Summertime	4:19
6	Tell Me Why	3:53
7	Just Like A Woman	5:32
8	Time After Time	4:50
9	Will You	5:17
10	Sing Out Sister	4:33

Hazel O´Connor - Alive And Kicking In L.A. (1994)
(256 kbps, front cover included)

The Voices of the Civil Rights Movement - Black American Freedom Songs 1960-1966

This double-CD reissue documents a central aspect of the cultural environment of the Civil Rights Movement, acknowledging songs as the language that focused people's energy. These 43 tracks are a series of musical images, of a people in coversation about their determination to be free. Many of the songs were recorded live in mass meetings held in churches, where people from different life experiences, predominantly black, with a few white supporters, came together in a common struggle. These freedom songs draw from spirituals, gospel, rhythm and blues, football chants, blues and calypso forms.

"The Voices of the Civil Rights Movement: Black American Freedom Songs 1960-1966" documents the importance of songs in the Civil Rights Movement. The first disc features songs from mass meetings, where a singer or core of singers leads the people in the singing of the songs, while the second focuses on ensemble works by the SNCC Freedom Singers and other groups.

Chances are that unless you were involved in the Civil Rights Movement you will not especially recognize many of these songs, with "This Little Light of Mine," "Go Tell It On the Mountain," and "We Shall Overcome" being the obvious exceptions. But you will be surprised at some of the popular songs that were appropriate for the cause, such as "Calypso Freedom," based on Harry Belafonte's "The Banana Boat Song," and "Get Your Rights, Jack," based on the Ray Charles hit "Hit the Road, Jack." For me the song that stood out was "In the Mississippi River," written by Marshall Jones after the disappearance of three Civil Rights workers in Mississippi during the summer of 1964. As local rivers were dragged in search of the men, many other bodies were discovered, a chilling fact that certainly needs to be more than a historic footnote to that tragic event. There is also a lengthy segment from a sermon by Rev. Lawrence Campbell, which illustrates the song-sermons that were an integral part of the movement and its traditions. The result is a historical document of immense value.

Folkways Records was founded by Moses Asch and Marian Distler in 1948 to document music and spoken word from around the world. The Smithsonian Institution acquired Folkways from the Asch estate and has succeeded in preserving the best of the label's 2,200 albums. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings has continued this grand tradition. Their releases are superb, especially in terms of providing the historical context by which we can best appreciate these songs from another place and another time.
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The Voices Of The Civil Rights Movement pt.1

The Voices Of The Civil Rights Movement pt. 2