Billy Bragg & Joe Henry – ‘Shine A Light’ Great Americana!

Posted on September 18, 2016 by Tony

Out this coming week! Billy Bragg and Joe Henry have recorded what you can expect to be an award winning Americana album ‘Shine A Light’.

Here’s the poop! In March 2016 Billy and Henry, (who produced Billy’s last album ‘Tooth & Nail’ and who has produced Solomon Burke, Aaron Neville, Bonnie Rait and others) guitars in hand, boarded a Los Angeles bound train at Chicago’s Union Station looking to reconnect with the culture of American railroad travel and the music it inspired.

Winding along 2,728 miles of track over four days, the latter day Woody Guthrie’s recorded classic American railroad songs such as Lead Belly’s ‘Midnight Special’, the Memphis Jug Band’s ‘KC Moan’,Hank Williams’ ‘Lonesome Whistle’ and Woody’s ‘Hobo’s Lullaby’ in waiting rooms and at trackside while the train paused to pick up passengers in stops such as El Paso, Fort Worth, Pine Bluff, St. Louis and onto Chicago Grand Union Station.

These are great field recordings and the set is well worth checking out.

Read the review in The Guardian by clicking here.

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Led Zeppelin – Complete BBC Sessions Out In September

Posted on July 20, 2016 by Tony

Cnvhj3_XEAAQJ4JAlmost two decades on from the release of Led Zeppelin’s acclaimed ‘BBC Sessions’ album, a new expanded and remastered version has been announced.

An update on the original album – which collated live BBC recordings from 1969 to 1971 – the new collection has been remastered with supervision by Jimmy Page and boasts eight unreleased BBC recordings on a third disc including three rescued tracks from a much-fabled “lost” 1969 session.

Set for release via Atlantic/Swan Song on 16th September, the album also comes complete with extensive session-by-session liner notes penned by Led Zeppelin authority and editor of the Zeppelin magazine Tight But Loose –  Dave Lewis.

The album will be available in four different formats – Deluxe Edition 3CD, Deluxe Edition 5 vinyl, Digital Download and a Super Deluxe Box Set.

The box set will come with the following:

– Remastered album. 2 CDs, each in a replica sleeve.
– Unreleased audio on CD in a separate card sleeve.
– Remastered album on 180-gram vinyl.
– Unreleased audio on 180-gram vinyl.
– High-def audio download card of all content at 96kHz/24 bit.
– 48-page book filled with photos of the band, the recording locations, BBC memorabilia, and session information.
– High-quality print of the original album cover, the first 20,000 of which will be individually numbered.

The “lost” session dates b781799ack to March 1969 and features three songs: ‘You Shook Me’, ‘I Can’t Quit You Baby’ and the only recorded performance of ‘Sunshine Woman’. After the BBC lost or erased the master tapes, the version of the session included comes from a fan’s radio recording.

Also on the third disc are two unreleased versions of ‘Communication Breakdown’ and ‘What Is And What Should Never Be’ that showcase the band’s astounding musical development over a two-year period.

The CD track listing is as follows:

Disc One
1. You Shook Me
2. I Can’t Quit You Baby
3. Communication Breakdown
4. Dazed And Confused
5. The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair
6. What Is And What Should Never Be
7. Communication Breakdown
8. Travelling Riverside Blues
9. Whole Lotta Love
10. Somethin’ Else
11. Communication Breakdown
12. I Can’t Quit You Baby
13. You Shook Me
14. How Many More Times

Disc Two
1. Immigrant Song
2. Heartbreaker
3. Since I’ve Been Loving You
4. Black Dog
5. Dazed And Confused
6. Stairway To Heaven
7. Going To California
8. That’s The Way
9. Whole Lotta Love (Medley: Boogie Chillun/Fixin’ To Die/That’s Alright Mama/A Mess of Blues)
10. Thank You

Disc Three
1. Communication Breakdown *
2. What Is And What Should Never Be *
3. Dazed And Confused *
4. White Summer
5. What Is And What Should Never Be *
6. Communication Breakdown *
7. I Can’t Quit You Baby *
8. You Shook Me *
9. Sunshine Woman *

*previously unreleased

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Trailer For Eat That Question – Frank Zappa In His Own Words

Posted on June 24, 2016 by Tony

Thorsten Schütte’s film is a sharply edited and energetic celebration of Frank Zappa through his public persona, allowing us to witness his shifting relationship with audiences.

Utilising potent TV interviews and many forgotten performances from his 30-year career, we are immersed into the musician’s world while experiencing two distinct facets of his complex character.

At once Zappa was both a charismatic composer who reveled in the joy of performing and, in the next moment, a fiercely intelligent and brutally honest interviewee whose convictions only got stronger as his career ascended.

Zappa was uncompromising as he led the charge against music censorship in the ’90s and even went on to embrace the role of quasi-cultural ambassador in the Czech Republic.

His music and ideas are vital, and they cut across generations, while his goal of freeing the listener from conformity still resonates today.

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Coming soon: Down Home Blues Detroit Box Set

Posted on May 30, 2016 by Tony

45257000Due for release in July this year ‘Down Home Blues Detroit’ (Wienerworld WNRCD5095) is arguably the definitive collection of blues music from Detroit-based musicians from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Detroit although a smaller city, was akin to Chicago in the history of the blues.

Like Chicago southern blacks migrated to find work and found themselves in new urban surroundings. Amongst the many migrants were blues musicians who took with them their delta blues sounds – which developed into a more aggressive feel influenced by their new urban surroundings.

The set will feature  21 artists who were influential in developing the Detroit blues scene, including John Lee Hooker, Bobo Jenkins, Sam Kelly, Eddie Kirkland, Little Sonny, Detroit Count, Eddie Burns, Baby Boy Warren and many more – see track list below.

The set will be packaged in a ‘deluxe digipak’ with an outer slip case and features 82 rare tracks, all digitally remastered, with unissued recordings and others which have not been available for decades

The set includes a 48 page book featuring an essay on the origins of Detroit music by renowned blues researcher and historian Mike Rowe, complete with rare photos, track listing and full sessionography

Among the artists featured are blues artists who encompassed small combo group recordings and solo artists. Some artists made many commercial recordings and others who cut just one session. And there also unissued recordings – from unearthed rare acetate discs. See track list below.

TRACKLISTING
CD One
1. Miss Lorraine
John Lee Hooker
2. Talkin’ Boogie
John Lee Hooker
3. Come Back Sugar Mama
L C Green
4. Little Machine
L C Green
5. Papa’s Boogie
Eddie Burns
6. My Special Friend Blues
Baby Boy Warren
7. Nervy Woman Blues
Baby Boy Warren
8. Making A Fool Out Of Me
Eddie Burns
9. Squeeze Me Baby
Eddie Burns
10. Democrat Blues (Democrat Man)
Bobo Jenkins
11. Bad Luck And Trouble
Bobo Jenkins
12. Lillie Mae (Version 1)
Calvin Frazier
13. Rockhouse
Calvin Frazier
14. Bus Driver
John Brim
15. When The Sun Is Shining
L C Green
16. Hold Me In Your Arms
L C Green
17. Rockin‘ Chair Boogie
Clarence Posey
18. Nelly Mae
Detroit Slim
19. Lonesome Cabin Blues
Baby Boy Warren
20. Don’t Want No Skinny Woman
Baby Boy Warren
21. Gangster Blues
Eddie Burns
22. Grievin’ Blues
Eddie Burns
23. Ramblin’ Around Blues
Sam Kelly
24. Now I’ll Have To Sing The Blues
Martee Bradley
25. Winter Time Is Comin‘
Martee Bradley
26. Taxi Driver Blues
Baby Boy Warren
27. Bad Lover Blues
Baby Boy Warren

CD Two
1. Graveyard Blues
John Lee Hooker
2. I Love To Boogie
John Lee Hooker
3. Little School Girl
L C Green
4. Remember Way Back
L C Green
5. Superstition
Eddie Burns
6. Biscuit Baking Woman
Eddie Burns
7. Forgive Me Darling
Baby Boy Warren
8. Please Don’t Think I’m Nosey
Baby Boy Warren
9. She Fool Me
Harvey Hill Jr
10. Boogie Woogie Woman
Harvey Hill Jr
11. Lilly Mae (Version 2)
Calvin Frazier
12. Dog Me Blues
Henry Smith
13. Baby Don’t You Want To Go
Bobo Jenkins
14. Ten Below Zero
Bobo Jenkins
15. I Got Lucky
Baby Boy Warren
16. Let’s Renew Our Love
Baby Boy Warren
17. Papa Doo
James Walton
18. Loving You Baby
Earl Chatman
19. Parrot Lounge
Detroit Count
20. Detroit Boogie
Detroit Count
21. Seasick And Waterbound
Bobo Jenkins
22. Pitch A Boogie Woogie
Big Jack Reynolds
23. Lilly Mae (Version 3)
Calvin Frazier
24. Mattie Mae
Baby Boy Warren
25. Santa Fe
Baby Boy Warren
26. Hastings Street After Hours
Little Sonny
27. Love You Pretty Baby
Little Sonny
28. Have Mercy On Me
John Lee Hooker

CD Three
1. Somebody Put Bad Luck On Me
Baby Boy Warren
2. Stop Breaking Down
Baby Boy Warren
3. Love Shock
Little Sonny
4. I’ll Love You Baby Until The Day I Die
Little Sonny
5. I’ll Move You Baby
Eddie Kirkland
6. Mercy Mercy
Eddie Kirkland
7. Miss Sadie Mae
John Lee Hooker
8. 609 Boogie
John Lee Hooker
9. Cat Squirrel
Doctor Ross
10. The Sunnyland
Doctor Ross
11. Nothing But Love
Bobo Jenkins
12. Tell Me Who
Bobo Jenkins
13. Orange Driver
Eddie Burns
14. Hard Hearted Woman
Eddie Burns
15. I Gotta Find My Baby
Little Sonny
16. Hear My Woman Calling
Little Sonny
17. Chuck-A-Luck (or Chicken)
Baby Boy Warren
18. Baby Boy Blues
Baby Boy Warren
19. Done Somebody Wrong
Eddie Kirkland
20. I Need You Baby
Eddie Kirkland
21. She’s My Baby
Bob Kelly
22. The Thing To Do
Eddie Burns
23. I Hear My Woman Callin‘ – Alternate
Little Sonny
24. Industrial Boogie
Doctor Ross
25. Thirty Two Twenty
Doctor Ross
26. Baby Don’t You Want Me To Go – Alternate
Bobo Jenkins
27. Ten Below Zero – Alternate
Bobo Jenkins

Posted in 78rpm, Blues, Compact Disc, Rare Records, Rhythm & Blues, Roots, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Trailer: How They Got Over – Gospel Quartets

Posted on May 29, 2016 by Tony

HOW THEY GOT OVER

A new feature length documentary about the African-American quartets who traveled the back roads of the Deep South in the 1930s and 40s creating a hard gospel sound and vigorous performing style that foreshadowed doo-wop, rhythm and blues, soul and Motown. With the Dixie Hummingbirds, Blinds Boys of Alabama and Mississippi, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Soul Stirrers, Fairfield Four, Sensational Nightingales, Mighty Clouds of Joy, Highway QCs and more.

HOW THEY GOT OVER Trailer from Robert Clem on Vimeo.

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Eastside Kings Festival, Austin, Texas : September 11th & 12th: Plus Great Free Fundraiser.

Posted on May 29, 2016 by Tony

13087203_878796488895993_1886156735808756039_oThe line up for this years Eastside Kings Festival produced by Eddie Stout will take place on September 11th & 12th in Austin, Texas. The festival has some fantastic blues and R&B artists including Bobby ‘How Do You Spell Love’ Patterson; Barbara Lynn, Jewel Brown (check out her new album ‘Roller Coaster Boogie) in Dynaflow Records; Blues Boy Hubbard; Major Burkes; Ray Reed, Orange Jefferson; Birdlegg; (all featured in Blues & Rhythm Magazine) Carl Weathersby; R&B legends Curley Mays & Classie Ballou plus many more.

You can see these great artists as follows: (Wristbands  $10)

BAD LANDS
D Soul Review: House Band: Disciples with Hash Brown
8:00-8:45 Greg Smith
9:00-9:45 ‘Da Captain’ Watson
10:00-10:45 Ernie Johnson
11:00-12:00 Bobby Patterson

MISSION POSSIBLE PARKING LOT
House Band: The Texas Horns
5:30-6:15 Barbara Lynn
6:25-7:10 Diunna Greenleaf
7:30-8:30 Jewel Brown

KING BEE LOUNGE
House band: Bill Campbell bass, PeeWee Stephens piano, Charles, ‘W.C.’ Clark,
and Blues Boy Hubbard.
8:00-9:00 Keith Dunn
9:30-10:30 Big Pete Pearson Duck and Blocker
11:00-12:15 Major Burkes with the Texas Horns

FULL CIRCLE BAR
House Band: Ray Reed
7:00-7:30 Orange Jefferson
7:30-8:00 TT Brown
8:30- 9:30 Birdlegg
10:00-10:30 Brown Sugar
10:30-11:00 Jabo

DOZEN STREET BAR
House Band, Mike Keller, Nico Leophonte, Jason bass
8:00-9:00  Carl Weathersby
9:30-10:30 Bobby Gilmore
11:00-12:00 Curly Mays & Classic Ballou

BIG EASY BAR & GRILL
7:30-8:30 Trinity Newby with Hot Attacks
9:00-10:00 Hot Attacks
10:30-11:30 E. J. Mathews band

URBAN CO-LAB
6:30-7:30 Darius Jackson
8:00-9:10 Jackie Venson band

JTS BODY SHOP
House Band: Port Arthur Blues Kings
5:30-6:30 Mrs. Candy
6:45-7:45 Ginger Barber

There is also a fundraiser at Moontower Saloon, 10212 Manchaca Road Austin, Texas – June 25th, from 1:00pm to  ­ 11:00pm. Free to the public. Line up is as follows:

1:00 ­ 2:00   Hot Attacks
2:20 ­ 3:20   Jai Malano
3:40 ­ 4:40   E.J. Mathews
5:00 ­ 6:00   Andrea Dawson
6:20 ­ 8:40   Soul Supporters
9:00 ­ 11:00  Eastside Kings with
Bobby Gilmore, Da Captain, Soul Man Sam, Birdlegg
Orange Jefferson, Jabo, Mac MacItosh

There will be $2.00 Raffle tickets for a Fender Stratocaster signed by Jimmie Vaughan.

Drawing to be held June 25th at Moontower, you do not need to be present to win.

Buy tickets at Moontower 10212 Manchaca Rd, Austin, Texas or mail $2.per ticket to Eastside King Foundation, P.O.Box 684822, Austin, Texas. 78768, Eddie Stout will mail you back your tickets. Winning number will be posted on: facebook.com/EastsideKingsFestival/

All proceeds to be donated to the Eastside Kings Foundation, a Nonprofit
organization to preserve African American Blues, Jazz and Gospel.
Tel: Eddie Stout on 512 228 8434

Thanks to: Moontower Saloon and Austin Vintage Guitars

Posted in Blues, Rhythm & Blues, Rock & Roll, Roots, Soul, Uncategorized, Website | 2 Comments

Arhoolie Records Go’s To Smithsonian

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Tony

Since 1960  Arhoolie Records boss Chris Strachwitz has been one of the music world’s best known collectors and record producers of US music styles including blues, country, cajun music, Tex-Mex and and other music styles.

Since 1960, Arhoolie has released hundreds of albums and nowm aged 84, Chris has found a new home for Arhoolie Records – Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, which has acquired the Arhoolie catalogue and will be adding more than 350 Arhoolie albums to its collection. In keeping with the longstanding policy at Smithsonian Folkways, the nonprofit label associated with the Smithsonian Institution, the catalogue is to be kept accessible in a variety of formats.

“Arhoolie changed American culture,” said Daniel Sheehy, the curator and director of Smithsonian Folkways. “The fact that we can play some role in keeping that legacy alive in the future is a dream scenario.”

The acquisition was made as a result of a donation from Laura and Ed Littlefield of the Sage Foundation; terms of the deal were not announced, but Strachwitz said that the Littlefields essentially bought the label and donated it to Smithsonian Folkways. A 40 percent share of the label was held by Tom Diamant, Chris’ longtime business partner.

Chris Strachwitz, born in Germany and arrived in the USA cafter World War II. In the 1950s, he joined the loose network of collectors and sleuths who tracked down and recorded blues musicians who had made their first recordings decades before.

Arhoolie’s first release was by Mance Lipscomb, a blues singer and guitarist, whom Chris and his fellow researcher Mack McCormick located in Texas.

Partly inspired by Folkways Records the label run by Mo Asch that released records by Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie and the landmark 1952 “Anthology of American Folk Music,” Strachwitz took a scholarly approach to releasing records. Beside contemporary recordings Arhoolie released albums of rare blues discs, mostly from 78’s.

The Smithsonian acquired Folkways in 1987, a year after Asch’s death, and in an interview this week Strachwitz said that it was Asch who once gave him advice about setting up his legacy.

“It was the late Moe Asch of Folkways Records who told me, ‘Chris, when you kick the bucket you’ve got to think about what you’re going to with all your stuff,’” Mr. Strachwitz recalled.

Over the years, Chris has also built a voluminous collection of old records and other memorabilia like ethnic record label catalogues, pieces of which can be viewed on the website for the Arhoolie Foundation, a separate organization whose advisory board includes figures like Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt and T Bone Burnett.

That material is not included in the acquisition, nor, Chris said, are the music publishing rights that he controls.

Posted in 45 rpm, 78rpm, Americana, Blues, Compact Disc, Country/Hillbilly, Gospel, Jazz, Rare Records, Rhythm & Blues, Roots, Vinyl, Website, World Music, You Tube | Leave a comment

I Am The Blues – Trailer

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Tony

I AM THE BLUES Trailer from EyeSteelFilm Distribution on Vimeo.

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Help Fund New Frank Zappa Documentary

Posted on March 25, 2016 by Tony

Earlier this month, British actor and filmmaker Alex Winter took to crowdfunding platform Kickstarter with a mission to raise $500,000 for the new documentary, ‘Who The Fuck Is Frank Zappa”.

Winters stated: “Frank Zappa is one of the strangest, most amazing and influential figures of our era, but his definitive story has never been told. Now, for the first time ever, the Zappas have given us complete, unrestricted access o the contents of Frank’s private vault and their full blessing and support to tell his story.

“But before we can finish telling Frank’s story, we have to catalog, save, digitize and preserve a vast archive of unreleased audio, video, images, documents and more. Together, we can save Frank’s vault. And when we do, we’ll have everything we need to finally answer the question: Who the fuck is Frank Zappa?”

“Others remember Zappa as a political thought leader who founded the Rock The Vote campaign, testified before congress against censorship regulations, helped reconstruct the cultural identity of Czechoslovakia after a civil revolution, and, rumor has it, entered presidential race in 1993, shortly before his life was taken by prostate cancer.”

Frank-Zappa-1The film will be the first ever all-access, fully-authorized documentary. Although the campaign is looking to raise $500,000, the true amount needed to finish the campaign is $3 million.

Winters commented:

“I’m not sure what we’ll find in the Vault, but for every $500K we raise – up to our full goal of $3MM – I promise to share, ideally, as much as an hour of new material, be that clips of interviews, concert audio, unreleased music, scraps of video… We have no idea what we’ll find in there, but we’re excited to share our journey of finding out!”

The crowd funding is set to close on April 8th.

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Blind Alfred Reed : Appalacian Visionary

Posted on February 20, 2016 by Tony

DTD-48_630“Alfred Reed’s story is that of a man looking within to find a light by which to navigate the darkness within and without.” – Ted Olson

Dust-to-Digital are soon to release a compilation of recordings by the legendary Blind Alfred Reed. Born blind on June 15th, 1880, in Floyd County, Virginia, Alfred Reed grew up on a West Virginia farm. In the 1920s, when radio became available in his area, Alfred listened to and enjoyed performances by several of the era’s popular singers. Alfred would purchase songbooks and hymnbooks, and his wife Nettie would read the lyrics to him.

Because the songs he learned from others did not always express aspects of what he was thinking, feeling, and experiencing, Alfred felt compelled to compose his own songs, and he was exceptionally talented in this endeavor — a craftsman with many things to say.

Relying upon his talent to generate money for supporting his family, he played music on the streets of nearby towns, gave music lessons, performed at dances and various social and church gatherings, sold printed copies of his own lyrics, and, in 1927 and 1929, made the commercial recordings included on this set.

‘Appalacian Visionary’ CD in hardcover, with an 84-page book featuring extensive liner notes by Ted Olson.

Watch YouTube clip of Blind Alfred Reed’s ‘How Can A Poor Man Statnd Such Times And Live?’

Read about Ry Cooder covering Blind Alfred Reed’s ‘You Must Unload’ at a show in New York on November 15th, 2015:

Watch Bruce Springsteen perform Blind Alfred Reed’s ‘How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live’ in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Posted in 78rpm, Americana, Compact Disc, Country/Hillbilly, Rare Records, Roots, Website, You Tube | Leave a comment