Tony Joe White – Black And White 1969 (Monument)

Label :  Monument

Value :

Damn soulful work from Tony Joe White – exactly the kind of set that shows why he was so great at skirting both the borders of rock and soul music at the end of the 60s! There's a really fresh, new groove going on here – a vibe that shows an artist who's spent a decade drawing in all the best elements of Memphis and Muscle Shoals, with a slight touch of Nashville country at times too (no surprise, given the Monuments Records release of the set) – but also a more biting singer/songwriter ethos that really pushes the whole thing out to a much bigger rockish vibe! Drums are amazing – played by Jerry Carrigan with an especially funky quality on side one – and the tunes are a mix of great originals by White – many of which would be covered by others in years to come – plus some well-chosen covers, too. Tracks include "Soul Francisco", "Willie & Laura Mae Jones", "Polk Salad Annie", "Aspen Colorado", "Who's Makin Love", and "Scratch My Back".

Taste :

Tony Joe White - Whompt Out On You

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By Electric Looser

Karen Dalton – In My Own Time 1971 (Paramount Records)

Label : Paramount Records

Value : 

The story of 60’s American cult folk singer Karen Dalton is riddled with salacious rumour and myth. A reclusive, difficult artist who never sang her own words, died a junkie, homeless and virtually unknown. The tragedy here is that in her time, her exquisitely masterful, achingly pained voice went largely unnoticed. It would take almost 30 years and the reminisces of an adoring Bob Dylan to bring her to our attention. Yet Karen’s intense, unvarnished voice was immortalised on two studio recordings, the final of which, In My Own Time, was released in 1971.

Taste :

Karen Dalton - Something On Your Mind

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By Electric Looser

Chicago ‎– Chicago III 1971 (Columbia)

Label : Columbia 

Value :

This thrilling 1971 album by Chicago is the last to feature the lengthy song-cycle suites that characterized their 1969-1971 output. Bringing together aspects of jazz rock, progressive rock (as it existed in 1971), acid rock, and avant-garde influences, this also may be their most experimental album - unlike the first two albums, there were no smash hits on Chicago III.
All of the guys in Chicago were excellent musicians and the ensemble work on the album is fantastic. Counterpoint, melodies, harmonies, and the use of sophisticated meters are all used very well and make this album an extremely interesting listening experience. The guys were great vocalists too and they used the differences in the texture of their voices very well - for example, Terry sang the heavier pieces, while Peter sang the "sweeter", more melodic songs etc. Then there is the use of instrumentation: great big-band type horn arrangements, searing electric guitar, Danny Seraphines great drumming, Peter's fantastic bass playing (he is criminally underrated)...whew, this is great stuff. Speaking of Peter, he is one of the few rock bassists that can play a convincing walking bass line and really drives each tune along. 

Taste :

Chicago ‎- Happy 'Cause I'm Going Home

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By Electric Looser

Maki Asakawa – Maki Asakawa 2015 (Honest Jon's Records)

Label : Honest Jon's Records

Value : 

‘A good place to start… Her basic sound and image were interior-life bohemian, and in some ways she was cagey with her talent. She didn’t belt or improvise broadly. She picked a limited range of notes and climbed into them, applying a pinch of vibrato, letting her voice fade and crackle. These tracks clearly demonstrate her guiding desire, which was to explore the possibilities of the slow blues in the late 20th century, whatever that might mean. Some of the most intense recordings she made were English-language covers or Japanese rewrites of American jazz standards, blues songs and spirituals, backed by only acoustic guitar and drums. She sang slowly, as if there were weights on her. And after a while of her working and your listening, you’ll hear it: the way she connects intimately with her task but keeps something private for herself’ (New York Times).

Taste :

Maki Asakawa - Blue Spirit Blues

Maki Asakawa - Chicchana Toki Kara

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By Electric Looser

Traffic ‎– Welcome To The Canteen 1971 (Island Records)

Label : Island records

Value :

Welcome to the Canteen is the first live album by English rock band Traffic. It was recorded live at Fairfield Halls, Croydon and the Oz Benefit Concert, London, July 1971 and released in September of that year. It was recorded during Dave Mason's third stint with the band, which lasted only six performances.

The track list includes one song each from the first three Traffic albums; two songs from Mason's first solo album, Alone Together; and "Gimme Some Lovin'" from Steve Winwood's former band, the Spencer Davis Group. (Winwood's organ and Mason's rhythm guitar are conspicuously out of sync for part of "Gimme Some Lovin'".)

In the band's native United Kingdom, the album was a surprise flop, the first in a series of albums by the group that would fail to make an appearance in the charts. In the USA, however, it was a solid success, hitting number 26 in the charts and yielding the single "Gimme Some Lovin' (live)", which reached number 68 in the Billboard Hot 100.

Although regarded as a Traffic album, it was originally released without the name "Traffic" anywhere on it; credited instead to the seven individual musicians. Nonetheless the Traffic logo appeared on the cover (on the back, in this case) as on all of their albums. Most later issues retain the original front cover with its individual crediting, but credit the album to Traffic on the spine.

In 1970, Traffic toured in support of their comeback album John Barleycorn Must Die, with a quartet line-up of Steve Winwood, Chris Wood, Jim Capaldi, and Ric Grech. In November, the group played a series of concerts at the Fillmore East, and recordings from these concerts were compiled into a live album consisting of "Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring", "Glad", "Pearly Queen", "40,000 Headmen", "Dear Mr. Fantasy", and "Can't Find My Way Home".This album was set for release in early 1971 but cancelled for unknown reasons, though Side A eventually appeared as bonus tracks on the 1999 reissue of John Barleycorn Must Die.

By the time of their next tour, Traffic had expanded with the additions of Dave Mason, Jim Gordon, and Reebop Kwaku Baah. The band only played six dates, two of which – their opening performance at Fairfield Hall, Croydon and a London benefit for Oz – were recorded and mixed to become Welcome to the Canteen. Mason was keen to take this version of Traffic to the United States, but Winwood was only interested in doing these six dates. Mason said, "It's Stevie's band, so it's up to him."

Welcome to the Canteen would be the last album Traffic would release under the band's North American distribution contract with United Artists Records their next album The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys would be issued by Island Records, who released Traffic's records in the U.K. and who (in late 1971) had recently established operations in North America.

Taste :

Traffic - 40,000 Headmen

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By Electric Looser

Free Action Inc. Plays Eddy Korsche ‎– Rock & Blues 1970 (Help!)

Label : Help!

Value :

Crazed German studio musicians from Hamburg doing exploito psych that has nothing to do with Italians or SUB. Members of Rattles & Wonderland that also did many records under different names: Moody Five, Blue Grass Champions, Hell Preachers Inc., The Ravers, Bokaj Retsiem, etc. This record was also released under the title "Beat Club Internaional" on the Perl Serie label with added vocals.

Songs on this record appear on 3 albums: Ten O'Clock Bubble Gum Train - High Bubble Gum, Free Action Inc. Plays Eddy Korsche - Rock & Blues and Unknown Artist - Beat Club International.  

Taste :

Free Action Inc. Plays Eddy Korsche ‎– Rock & Blues

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By Electric Looser

Tony Joe White ‎– The Heroines 2004 (Sanctuary Records)

Label : Sanctuary Records

Value :

Tony Joe White July 23, 1943 in Oak Grove, Louisiana and died October 24, 2018 in Leiper's Fork, Tennessee.

Tony Joe White, aka the Swamp Fox, has been on a roll these past few years, issuing album after self-released album of quality original material full of deep, dark, blues-flavored Florida vintage roots music.Heroines is no exception, but it is a record with a twist. First, it's on the Sanctuary label. Secondly, five of the record's 12 tracks are recorded with female vocalists in duet. They include the great Jessi Colter, Shelby Lynne, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, and Michelle White. The set opens with "Gabriella," a brief, jazzy flamenco-kissed instrumental, played on a pair of acoustic guitars. "Can't Go Back Home" stars Lynne. A true laid-back Tony Joe nocturnal swamp blues, it nonetheless carries within it that slightly menacing tension. Lynne's voice, which is well known for its power, showcases its other side here, one that is expressive, soulful and sensual even on slow burn. White's vocal whispers its edgy truth, underscored by his signature guitar sound. "Closing in the Fire," with Williams, is a steamy, R&B growler with horns. The riff is a mid-tempo take-off from her own "Hot Blood," and this tune feels as if it is an update of hers. "Playa del Carmen Night," with its Spanish folk overtones, is a duet between White and his daughter Michelle. It's a whispering love ballad, one that shimmers with acoustic guitars and hand percussion. Michelle White, a fine country and blues singer in her own right, brings the notion of memory inherent in the song's body full-force to the front line. It's bittersweet and beautiful. "Wild Wolf Calling Me" features Harris in fine voice at her country gospel best. White's baritone snakes around her plaintive wail and moan and brings a hint of the foreboding eternal to her testament. Colter is a country music legend, and this track's the evidence as to why. Her subdued, deeply expressive, reedy croon goes up against the fuzzed-up blues guitars, while White's ominous baritone adds depth, and an otherworldly dimension, to his song. The rest of the cuts here, with White taking the vocals on his own, are fine as well. They simmer, just below the boiling point, touching on everything from backwoods life, love, politics, and spirituality, to the chaos in a country where firearms do more talking than at any time since the Old West, as in "Chaos Boogie." Tony Joe's writing is flawless, his guitar playing is phenomenal; he gets more creative, funky expression from his minimal, fluid approach than many players who use a lot more notes. Heroines is another winner in the Swamp Fox catalog that once more proves not only is he a vital artist 35 years after his first big hit, but one whose consistency is remarkable and unsullied.

Taste :

Tony Joe White - The Heroines (Full Album)

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By Electric Looser

B.B King - Blues On Top Of Blues 1968 (Bluesway)

Label :  Bluesway

Value :

Ο B.B.King (πραγματικό όνομα Riley Β. King) γεννήθηκε στις 16 Σεπτεμβρίου 1925 στην Ιντιανόλα του Μισισίπι και απεβίωσε στις 14 Μαίου 2015 στο Λάς Βέγκας. Ηταν ένας ζωντανός θρύλος των blues, φιγούρα ιδιαίτερα επιδραστική περισσότερο απο πέντε δεκαετίες, που έχτισε γέφυρες ανάμεσα στους bar-band ήχους του '50, τη σοφιστικέ σχολή του Λος Αντζελες (T-Bone Walker) και το υβριδικό περιβάλλον του Μέμφις, από όπου ξεκίνησε και ο ίδιος την καριέρα του. Τόσο το δραματουργικά φορτισμένο τραγούδι του (που αντλούσε στοιχεία από πολύ διαφορετικά στιλ, όπως αυτά του Walker και του Roy Brown)

όσο και η εκλεκτική του ερμηνεία στην κιθάρα (με ρίζες και πάλι στον Walker αλλά και στον Lonnie Johnson) ουσιαστικά δημιούργησε μια δίκη τους blues παράδοση. Η χαρακτηριστική κιθάρα Gibson, που ο B.B.King έπαιζε από αμνημονεύτων χρόνων (η γνωστή Lucille), η επιβλητική σκηνική του παρουσία, το βαρύτονο γρύλισμα της φωνής του “όλα έμοιαζαν με πρωτογενείς” ανεξέλεγκτες δυνάμεις της φύσης και έχουν αφήσει ανεξίτηλη τη σφραγίδα της επιρροής τους σε αναρίθμητους κιθαρίστες του rock (Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfidd, David Gilmour) αλλά και σε νεότερους μπλουζίστες όπως ο Buddy Guy.

 Η ιδιαίτερη τεχνοτροπία του B.B.King πάντρευε  τα παραδοσιακά blues, την jazz, το swing και την pop του κύριου ρεύματος με ένα μοναδικό ήχο, ο οποίος στηριζόταν πότε στα φωνητικά του και πότε στη Lucille, χωρίς όμως αυτή να τραγουδά και να παίζει κιθάρα ταυτόχρονα, σύμφωνα και με τα δικά του λόγια: "Όποτε τραγουδώ, παίζω κιθάρα στο μυαλό μου και από τη στιγμή που σταματώ να τραγουδώ με το στόμα, αρχίζω να τραγουδώ παίζοντας τη Lucille".

Οι νεότερες προσθήκες στην αχανή δισκογραφία αυτού του μεγαλύτερου εκπροσώπου των blues περιλαμβάνουν το "Deuces Wild" του 1997 (με συμμετοχή ομάδας 17 καλλιτεχνών από την εμπροσθοφυλακή των δράσεων της pop, rock, r&b και country μουσικής, όπως είναι οι Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, Rolling Stones. Dr. John, Joe Cocker, Tracy Chapman, το βραβευμένο με Grammy και ιδιαίτερα επιτυχημένο εμπορικά "Blues On The Bayou" (1998), το φόρο τιμής στον Louis Jordan επιδραστικό τραγουδιστή και σαξοφωνίστα του swing “Let The Good Times Roll" (1999), το "Making Love is Good For You" (2000) με ακατέργαστα ηλεκτρικά blues και ειλικρινή σεβασμό στην παράδοση και, τέλος, το "Riding With The King", μια κεφάτη συνεργασία με τον Eric Clapton.
Εδω το Blues On Top Of Blues του 1968.

Taste :

B.B King - Heartbreaker

B.B King - Worried Dream

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By Electric Looser

Donnie & Joe Emerson ‎– Dreamin' Wild 1979 (Enterprise & Co.)

Label : Enterprise & Co.

Value :

Pacific Northwest isolation mixed with wide-eyed ambition, a strong sense of family and the gift of music proved to be quite the combination for teenage brothers Donnie and Joe Emerson. Originally released in 1979, Dreamin’ Wild is the sonic vision of the talented Emerson boys, recorded in a family built home studio in rural Washington State. Situated in the unlikely blink-and-you-missed-it town of Fruitland and far removed from the late 1970s punk movement and the larger disco boom, Donnie and Joe tilled their own musical soil, channeling bedroom pop jams, raw funk, and yacht rock.

Spurred on their high school’s music program, Donnie and Joe received a further push from their lifelong farmer father, who drew up a contract stating that he’d support his sons lofty ambitions with their very own recording studio as long as they focused on original material, sage advice for a man with zero experience in the music business. After taking out a second mortgage to help cover costs, Don Sr. also built his children a 300-capacity concert hall (dubbed Camp Jammin’) replete with ticket booth, stage, and fully functioning snack bar. The only problem was that the projected audience never quite materialized, despite a prime time TV profile entitled “The Rock And Roll Farmers” from nearby Spokane, Washington. Even the Emerson brother’s school pals were nonplussed at their privately pressed long player; hand distributed to local music stores, but not as far as Seattle, five hours away from their rural home. Somewhat rejected by the muted response, but never surrendering, both Donnie and Joe continued down a musical path and are still active as performers today.

This rare slice of bedroom-funk gets the usual Light In The Attic treatment with newly remastered audio, detailed liner notes, and expanded original album art with loads of photos from the Emerson’s collection. Be sure to also check out the short documentary (above), Rock and Roll Farmers.by lightintheattic

Taste :

Donnie & Joe Emerson - Give Me A Chance

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By Electric Looser

Oscar Brown Jr. ‎– Between Heaven And Hell 1962 (Columbia)

Label : Columbia

Value :

Of the four albums Oscar Brown Jr. recorded for Columbia in the early to mid-'60s, Between Heaven & Hell is perhaps the least celebrated, in part because it was the last to get onto CD (taking until 2010 to do so). Brown did his best work during this stint for Columbia, however, and this, the second of those LPs, fits comfortably into the flow of his peak as a recording artist. It's entirely characteristic of his sound of the period, Brown delivering sly lyrics with a hipster feel to bluesy jazz arrangements with big-band verve. The most famous, and best, of the songs is the first, "Mr. Kicks," with its up-for-anything devil-may-care vibe. But it's a pretty consistent album, benefiting from some arrangements by Quincy Jones, Brown maintaining an unflappably suave posture throughout. Sometimes that stay-on-the-sunny-side charm might verge on the smug and smarmy to some listeners, and there isn't as much of the more serious social commentary you find on some of his other efforts. The seamier side of life does surface sometimes, however, if in a rather lighthearted manner on tracks like "Opportunity, Please Knock." More satisfying outings in that regard are "World in Grey" and two poems to which Brown set music, "Elegy" (by Gwendolyn Brooks) and "When Malindy Sings" (by Paul Lawrence Dunbar).by Richie Unterberger

Taste :

Oscar Brown Jr. ‎- Mr. Kicks

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By Electric Looser

The Othar Turner & Afrossippi Allstars ‎

Γεννημένος το 1909 από γονείς κολίγους, στο Jackson του Mississippi  κυκλοφόρησε τον πρώτο του δίσκο μόλις το 1998(!), σε ηλικία 89 χρόνων! Ένα χρόνο αργότερα κυκλοφόρησε το άλμπουμ Othar Turner & The Afrossippi Allstars.

Ακτήμονας στο μεγαλύτερο μέρος της ζωής του, ο Othar το πέρασε τραγουδώντας και δουλεύοντας σε ξένα χωράφια, κάνοντας δηλαδή αυτό που έκαναν γενιές και γενιές  αφρικανών δούλων που σύρθηκαν αλυσοδεμένοι στα βαμβακοχωραφα του Νότου. Συνεχιστής μιας παράδοσης που ενώνει την Αφρική των σκλάβων με τη σημερινή Αμερική, ο Othar έπαιζε φλογέρα, την οποία έφτιαχνε μόνος του από καλάμια bamboo, καθώς και υποτυπώδη κρουστά που συνόδευαν το αργόσυρτο μουρμουρητό της σκλαβιάς. Ξεκίνησε την «καριέρα» του το 1923 και ηταν ο τελευταίος αυτοδίδακτος αφρο αμερικάνος που έπαιζε fife & drum music στην Αμερική. Πρόκειται για μια μουσική παράδοση τόσο παλιά, που από αυτήν εξελίχθηκαν η jazz και τα blues.Το ιδίωμα ηχογραφήθηκε για πρώτη φορά από τον μουσικολόγο Alan Lomax, που έμεινε έκθαμβος από τον πρωτογονισμό του, στις αρχές της δεκαετίας του '40.

 

Ο Othar, που στις 27 Φεβρουαρίου του 2003 πέρασε στην αιωνιότητα, ήταν ιδρυτής της Rising Star Fife & Drum Band στην οποία συμμετέχουν η κόρη του, τα εγγόνια του και τα ανίψια του. Την παραγωγή στο Othar Turner & The Afrossippi Allstars  έχει αναλάβει ο κιθαρίστας Luther Dickinson, μέλος των North Mississippi AllStars και γιος του θρυλικού πιανίστα και παραγωγού Jim Dickinson, ο οποίος έχει γράψει τις πολύ κατατοπιστικές σημειώσεις στο εξώφυλλο. Στο άλμπουμ, εκτός όλων των άλλων, συμμετέχουν επίσης τέσσερις Σενεγαλέζοι μουσικοί.

Η μουσική του Othar Turner έρχεται από πολύ μακριά και απευθύνεται πολύ βαθιά μέσα στον ακροατή της, σ' έναν ρυθμό αρχέγονο που οδηγεί κατευθείαν στην έκσταση. Φλογέρες, slide κιθάρες, kora, και διάφορα άλλα αφρικάνικα όργανα και κρουστά δημιουργούν μια  άλλου τύπου υπνωτική trance ατμόσφαιρα.

Αν σας αρέσει όλη η μαφία της Pat Possum......θα βρεθείτε μπροστά σε μια πραγματική αποκάλυψη.

Taste :

Otha Turner & the Afrossippi Allstars - Glory, Glory Hallelujah

Otha Turner & the Afrossippi Allstars - My Babe

By Electric Looser