Old Melodies

noreply@blogger.com (Dmitrich) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:20:00 +0000

Sorry, but the links only tomorrow...

The Merseybeats - Merseybeats (UK 1964) Jap remastering

noreply@blogger.com (Dmitrich) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:18:00 +0000

The Merseybeats - Merseybeats (UK 1964) Jap remastering + 18 bonus

The Merseybeats were one of the better quartets to come out of the British Invasion without ever making a dent on the charts in the United States -- along with the Roulettes, the Chants, and the Undertakers, they represent an undeservedly lost chapter in early-'60s British rock & roll. Although they enjoyed a little less than a year of serious chart success, the Merseybeats were unable to pull together the various facets of their sound into a cohesive, coherent whole in the manner of the Beatles or the Hollies, and into something lasting, in part because of a lack of original songwriting ability in their ranks. The group's roots go back to the early '60s in Liverpool, and a band originally known as "the Mavericks," comprised of Tony Crane (lead guitar, vocals), Billy Kinsley (bass, vocals), David Elias (rhythm guitar, vocals), and Frank Sloane (drums). They were doing well but soon found the name to be a drag on their success, making people think that they were a country & western band. They briefly used the name "the Pacifics," and then became the Merseybeats -- evidently their timing was such that they grabbed the name, previously a local music reference, ahead of anyone else in a city boiling over with musical activity.

By the end of 1962, the Merseybeats lineup had solidified around Crane and Kinsley, with Aaron Williams joining on rhythm guitar in place of Elias and John Banks succeeding Sloane. The group made their recording debut around this time as part of the Oriole label's Liverpool showcase, This Is Merseybeat. With the help of the manager of the Cavern Club, they were formally signed to Fontana Records in mid-1963, and made their debut in August of that year with a single of "It's Love That Really Counts" b/w "Fortune Teller" -- the A-side, a Bacharach/David tune, was a solid piece of British Invasion pop/rock in the best Beatles/Hollies/Searchers mode, with memorable guitar hooks and a memorable chorus, and it reached number 24 on the U.K. charts. They were later signed up by the Beatles' legendary manager, Brian Epstein, but the fit was an awkward one, owing to differences in musical sensibility -- the group was a fairly hard rock & roll outfit, but their singles tended much more to the pop side of rock & roll, and the A-sides never represented their real sound very well. In early 1964, the Merseybeats released a second single, "I Think of You" backed with the pop/rock standard "Mister Moonlight," which reached number five in England. In both of these instances, the B-side was closer to the band's sound than the A-side and, in both instances, the band had latched onto the material first -- but was eclipsed by rival versions by the Rolling Stones and the Beatles.

Though it had come along a little late, "It's Love That Really Counts" turned the group into a major pop/rock act, and the future looked good for them. But there were problems on the horizon, starting with the fact that neither of those singles had made even the slightest impact in the United States, which was where the real fortunes were to be made; and, much more seriously, the decision by Billy Kinsley to leave the band in 1964 in order to form his own group, the Kinsleys. In his place, they got John Gustafson on bass and vocals. formerly of Liverpool's Big Three trio, who also contributed some songwriting. In April of 1963, they released "Don't Turn Around" b/w "Really Mystified," which -- despite a beautifully catchy, harmony-and-hook-laden A-side that was heavily influenced by the work of Roy Orbison, and an original B-side co-authored by Crane and Gustafson -- didn't do quite as well, peaking at number 13. A third single in July, "Wishin' and Hopin'" b/w "Milkman" (the latter another Crane/Gustafson original), also reached number 13. The band released a pair of extended-play singles, including "I Think of You" and "Merseybeats on Stage," the latter capturing their real sound in concert and included "Long Tall Sally" and "You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover" in early 1964. They also worked their way into two rock & roll featurettes, Swinging UK and UK Swings Again -- one of their clips, "Don't Turn Around," was nicely staged, the band miming to the single on a platform that, on the chorus of the title, starts to rotate.

The Merseybeats were successful enough to get an LP release, and the resulting self-titled album showcased their limitations as well as their virtues. Amid a few inspired moments, mostly on the single-sides (such as "Milkman") picked up for the LP, there were some "originals" that were highly derivative of Bo Diddley and Little Richard, interspersed with some decent Liverpool-style adaptations of American R&B ("Bring It on Home to Me," "He Will Break Your Heart,") and a strange choice of show tunes, one ("Hello Young Lovers") partly successful and the other not. Apart from a lack of originality in their sound, the album pointed to the group's very thin in-house songwriting -- they were almost wholly dependent on Peter Lee Stirling, who had written their three biggest, single A-sides, for success. And to judge from the weak diversity on their album, one couldn't tell if the Merseybeats wanted to sound like the Beatles, the Fortunes, or the Pretty Things, and as a consequence gained very few fans from the release.

Their fall 1964 single "Last Night I Made a Little Girl Cry" b/w "Send Me Back," barely made the British Top 40, peaking at number 40, and it wasn't long after this that Gustafson left the band and was replaced by Kinsley, whose return to the lineup coincided with their last round of success as the Merseybeats. By 1965, the Liverpool sound synonymous with the term "Merseybeat" was considered old-hat, and the name that had helped gain the group some vital recognition was now weighing them down. Following "I Love You, Yes I Do" b/w "Good, Good Lovin'," and "I Stand Accused" (later covered by Elvis Costello) backed with "All My Life," which peaked at numbers 22 and 38, respectively, the group seemed to have run its course for commercial success by early 1966. They were rescued by the interest of the members of the Who, whose members knew Crane and Kinsley, and got them under the management of Chris Stamp and Kit Lambert.

In mid-1966, Crane and Kinsley became the Merseys and scored a huge hit with "Sorrow" later that year, reaching number four in England. They'd still never charted a record in America, however, and their next single, a fine rendition of the Who song "So Sad About Us," never charted. The duo called it quits after the release of their single "Lovely" b/w "Loretta Drifting." Kinsley went on to form Rockin' Horse, while Crane later re-fomed the old band -- after a fashion -- as Tony Crane & the Merseybeats during the '70s and '80s, with Bob Packham on bass and vocals, Alan Cosgrove on drums and vocals, and Colin Drummond on keyboards and vocals. The original group was fondly remembered and the band did well embracing its own past; in the meantime, David Bowie covered "Sorrow" on Pin Ups in 1973, an acknowledgment of the lingering appeal of their best work. By the '90s, Kinsley was working with them again as the Merseybeats, built around that same core lineup except for Dave Goldberg on keyboards. In 2000, Crane's son Adrian joined on keyboards and guitar, and Lou Rosenthal took over on drums.

Merseybeat - The Frank Bacon EP's 1963-1964 (John Carter Presents)

noreply@blogger.com (Dmitrich) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:12:00 +0000

[02:34] 11/24. - 11Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying

[02:11] 12/24. - 12 She Loves You

[02:15] 13/24. - 13 You're No Good

[02:07] 14/24. - 14 I Like It

[02:33] 15/24. - 15 You'll Never Walk Alone

[02:49] 16/24. - 16 Mockingbird Hill

[02:20] 17/24. - 17 She's Not There

[02:40] 18/24. - 18 The Crying Game

[01:55] 19/24. - 19 If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody

[02:20] 20/24. - 20 Juliet

[02:07] 21/24. - 21 Together

[02:03] 22/24. - 22 Sheila

[02:02] 23/24. - 23 I'm Telling You Now

[01:54] 24/24. - 24 Nobody I Know

[01:38] 01/24. - 01 Hippy Hippy Shake

[02:22] 02/24. - 02 Everything's Alright

[01:48] 04/24. - 04 How Do You Do It

[02:43] 05/24. - 05 Little Children

[02:06] 06/24. - 06 Good Golly Miss Molly

[01:55] 03/24. - 06 Please Please Me

[02:04] 07/24. - 07 Do You Love Me

[02:17] 08/24. - 08 I'm The One

[02:08] 09/24. - 09 Can't Buy Me Love

[01:59] 10/24. - 10 It's Gonna Be Alright

The Team-Beats - It's Liverpool Time (1964)

noreply@blogger.com (Dmitrich) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:03:00 +0000

VA - Rare And Raw Beat From The Sixties - CD 1

noreply@blogger.com (Dmitrich) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:50:00 +0000

[01:49] 01. The Marks - Greensleeves

[01:54] 02. The Hounds - She's Gone Now

[02:52] 03. The Marks - High Heel Sneakers

[01:52] 04. The Snappers - Please Be Mine

[02:11] 05. The Tonics - That's How

[02:17] 06. The Tonics - It's Love Baby

[03:09] 07. The Eyes - Baby Baby

[02:16] 08. The Eyes - Another Saturday Night

[02:03] 09. The Golfs - Bread And Butter

[02:53] 10. The Liverpool Beats - Walking The Dog

[02:16] 11. The Progressives - She Said Yeah

[02:32] 12. The Progressives - Matchbox

[01:51] 13. The Progressives - Hurtin' Inside

[02:07] 14. The Rollicks - I Can't Go On (Rosalie)

[02:16] 15. The Leanjeans - A Hard Day's Night

[03:03] 16. The Rollers - Jack The Ripper

[02:54] 17. The Rollicks - You Better Move On

[02:27] 18. The Leanjeans - Runaway

[02:48] 19. The Rollicks - Sweet Little Rock & Roller

[02:04] 20. The Progressives - I Ain't Got You

[03:13] 21. The Hit Nuts - Reach Out,i'll Be There

[02:28] 22. The Hit Nuts - Land Of The 1000 Dances

[01:49] 23. The Chancellor - Jenny Jenny

[02:33] 24. The Chancellor - My Girl

Beat In Germany - The Odd Persons (SMASH BOOM BANG)

noreply@blogger.com (Dmitrich) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:38:00 +0000

Aqui en mi nube (Get Off Of My Cloud) - Ojos negros (Dark Eyes) - Que familia más original (Shame And Scandal In The Family) - Odd's Boogie - Watcha Gonna Do 'Bout It - Little Red Rooster - Hand Jive - I'm Crying - Somebody Help Me - Zing Went The Strings Of My Heart - Spanish Harlem - I'll Go Crazy - Girl - Land Of 1000 Dances - Sha-La La-La Lee - Daydream - Here Comes The Night - Hey Girl - You've Got To Hide Your Love Away - Lucille

***

Beat In Germany - The Rocking Stars (SMASH BOOM BANG)

noreply@blogger.com (Dmitrich) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:35:00 +0000

Tina Darling (Shake Rattle And Roll) - Jailhouse Rock - Flames Of Love - Sealed With A Kiss - Tell The Truth - Walking The Dog - In My Room - Shake Dance - Peter Gunn - Mean Woman Blues - Don't Ask Me To Be Friends - Blues Stay Away From Me - Temptation - It's The End - Lonely Girl - Ol' Homer Sermon - Java Guitar - Monday, Monday - You've Got Something - Lonely Girl - Lucky Guitar - Tiger - Hey Baby - Kiss Me / Kuess mich - Lonely Blue Boy

****

Beat In Germany - Die Frankfurt Szene (Smash Boom Bang)

noreply@blogger.com (Dmitrich) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:29:00 +0000

http://www.shakin-all-over.de/4.html

WANTED !!!

Heimatliche Klaenge - vol.97

noreply@blogger.com (Dmitrich) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:03:00 +0000

Heimatliche Klaenge - Schweizer Beat

Native Sounds - Swiss Beat

vol.97

Dorados - The Big Team (HECO) 1967

01 - The Big Team

02 - The End Of The World

03 - Spooky

04 - She's Looking Good

05 - Lovers Concerto

06 - Blue Lady

07 - Marizza

08 - Philly Dog

09 - Hig Hug Her

10 - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

11 - Tomorrow

12 - Make Me Belong To You

13 - Wallflower

14 - Love Is Blue

15 - Whisky And Soda

16 - Hard To Handle

BEAT MOVIE & VIDEO RARITY - Frederik&The Rangers

noreply@blogger.com (Dmitrich) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:13:00 +0000

http://www.shakin-all-over.de/20.html

Frederic & The Rangers, German Beat Band (1966),

reissued on the Bear Family CD Ruhrgebeat

VA -Merseybeat Nostalgia

noreply@blogger.com (Dmitrich) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:26:00 +0000

Information and many of interesting things on the site.

http://www.merseybeatnostalgia.co.uk/

Don't forget to visit this wonderful site!

****

Давно,хотел отдать дань замечательному сайту.

Если,кто не был,зайдите - не пожалеете...

Очень много полезной информации .

Dicky Loader And The Blue Jeans - Sea Of Heartbreak

noreply@blogger.com (Dmitrich) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 10:38:00 +0000

http://allmusic-wingsofdream.blogspot.com/2012/01/dickie-loader-blue-jeans-my.html

http://allmusic-wingsofdream.blogspot.com/2011/12/dickie-loader-blue-jeans-shake-shake.html

http://allmusic-wingsofdream.blogspot.com/2011/12/dicky-loader-blue-jeans-groovy-kinda.html

http://allmusic-wingsofdream.blogspot.com/2010/03/dickie-loader-blue-jeans-come-go-with.html

Gene Rockwell and The Falcons - Not For Squares

noreply@blogger.com (Dmitrich) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 10:22:00 +0000

Gene Rockwell was born Gert Smit in Krugersdorp, South Africa, on the 27th December 1944 and sadly passed away on the 3rd July 1998. He won his first talent competition at the age of 15, in Durban’s “Little Top”. Still in his teens, Gene formed The Blue Angels, later to become The Falcons, in 1963, with whom he played guitar and sang his famous gritty-blues-style songs.

The year 1965 saw the birth of one of the biggest ever South African pop hits. “Heart” made it straight to the top of the LM Radio Top 20. Backed by The Dan Hill Orchestra, the single has sold over two-and-a-half million copies. He has continued to score hits in SA ever since, though no subsequent single of his has equalled the success of “Heart”.

In 1973 Gene Rockwell was invited to sing at the Sir Walter Raleigh Club in Vancouver, his month-long stint proving so successful, he stayed on for another two. Meanwhile, his style had changed to country music, with songs like “Rosie”, “Busted” or “Torture”.

Gene Rockwell’s contribution to the SA Music Industry was honoured in 1976 when he was awarded The Shure Golden Microphone Award. He is now a legend in South African pop and country music. But personally I prefer the pop years from which this album is picked up.

http://allmusic-wingsofdream.blogspot.com/2010/03/gene-rockwell-falcons-many-faces-of.html

Beat In Germany- Beat In Hamburg (Smash! Boom! Bang!)

noreply@blogger.com (Dmitrich) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 18:23:00 +0000

The Beatles Story - Capitol (USA)

noreply@blogger.com (Dmitrich) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:36:00 +0000

The Beatles Story - Capitol USA

VA - Beat-Hits des Jahres

noreply@blogger.com (Dmitrich) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:32:00 +0000

VA Beat-Hits des Jahres - eine Star-Club Produktion (Fontana)

VA- Beat und Prosa (beat and prose) - Hubert Fichte im Star-Club

noreply@blogger.com (Dmitrich) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:28:00 +0000

Beat und Prosa (beat and prose) - Hubert Fichte im Star-Club

recordet live at the Star-Club October 2nd 1966

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUvJxLgBeJg&feature=related

Thanks Jancy !!!

Beat In Germany - Beat Im Ruhrgebiet ( Smash Boom Bang)

noreply@blogger.com (Dmitrich) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:40:00 +0000

Playlist files:

1. The Rickets - Rickets Special (2:00)

2. Gerry & Comets - Shakin' All Over (2:11)

3. Sir John & Starfighters - Lost John (2:32)

4. Jailbirds - Jenny Jenny (2:44)

5. The Starlets - If You Need Me (2:58)

6. Frederic And The Rangers - Take This Hammer (3:19)

7. German Blue Flames - That´s What I Want 1 (2:18)

8. Gisela And The Spirits - The Summer Is Over (3:31)

9. The Crew - It Ain´t Necessarily So (2:44)

10. Andy Nevison - Indiano (3:10)

11. German Outlaws - I Can't Control Myself (2:45)

12. The Newcomers - Nowhere Man (2:27)

13. The Crew - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (3:11)

14. German Outlaws - Paint It Black (2:31)

15. German Blue Flames - From Home (2:49)

16. Die 4 Musketiere - I'm Waiting For You (2:02)

17. Dakotas - In The Midnight Hour (2:29)

18. The Jokes - Land Of Thousand Dancers (2:27)

19. Andy Nevison - What´s Your Name (2:29)

20. Frederic And The Rangers - I'm On The Outside (2:18)

21. Frederic And The Rangers - All I Want (3:11)

22. The Newcomers - Have You Seen My Baby Comin' (1:22)

23. Dukes - The Dentist (2:46)

24. Crash - Familiar Trip (2:19)

25. Dukes - That´s My Life (2:03)

26. The Kents - Morgen Kann Die Welt Schon Vernichtet Sein (3:25)

27. Lionel & The Tireds - Fairy Boy (3:05)

28. Starfighters - I Like Trouble (2:37)

29. Rag Dolls - Yakety Yak (1:37)

30. John Mohr & The Yellow Stones - Gelbe Steine (1:46)

The King Beats - (Smash Boom Bang )

noreply@blogger.com (Dmitrich) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:32:00 +0000

VA. - Beat Im Star Club

noreply@blogger.com (Dmitrich) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:27:00 +0000

V.A.- The Beat Years (SHAKIN 'ALL OVERRRR!) StarrClubRecords

noreply@blogger.com (Dmitrich) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Rock Shop - Mr. Lee's Swing 'N Affair Presents(1968)

noreply@blogger.com (Dmitrich) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:55:00 +0000

source - http://musicmp3.spb.ru/album/mr_lees_swing_n_affair_presents.html

Hailing from Monterey in northern California, Rock Shop became one of the most popular bands in the area, playing regularly at Mr Lee's Swingin' Affair nightclub in West Covina to packed houses. The band's one and only album, released on the Lee-Mo label, took it's name from the nightclub, and featured 12 self-penned tracks of fuzz-led blues and psych, as well as boasting a spoof cover depicting the band as the next Beatles and hairdresser-cum-rock promoter Mr Lee as God! Despite enjoying a minor level of success including supporting both the Shirelles and Big Joe Turner, the band decided to call it a day in 1969, leaving this lone recording as their epitaph. Although most of the band members departed the music scene, leader Alan Clark went on to work with the likes of Mary Wells, Bobby Day, Al Wilson and Big Joe Turner, as well as enjoying a lengthy stint in Gene Vincent's Blue Caps. This extremely rare album has a strong mix of late '60s sounds that, given the high musical standard and excellent recording quality, still stand up amazingly well today

Don Covay - See-Saw (1966)

noreply@blogger.com (Dmitrich) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 06:03:00 +0000

The career of singer Don Covay spanned virtually the entirety of the R&B spectrum, from the electrifying rock & roll of his earliest records to the gritty, swaggering deep soul of his most enduring efforts -- the scope and diversity of his catalog no doubt contributed to his failure to enjoy consistent commercial success, however, and the general public is probably better acquainted with his songs than with his own renditions of them. Born Donald Randolph in Orangeburg, South Carolina on March 24, 1938, Covay was the son of a Baptist preacher who died when his son was eight. The family soon after relocated to Washington, D.C., where he and his siblings formed a gospel group dubbed the Cherry Keys; while in middle school, however, some of Covay's classmates convinced him to make the leap to secular music, and in 1953 he joined the Rainbows, a local doo wop group that previously enjoyed a national smash with "Mary Lee." By the time Covay joined the Rainbows the original lineup had long since splintered, and his recorded debut with the group, 1956's "Shirley," was not a hit. He stuck around for one more single, "Minnie," before exiting; contrary to legend, this iteration of the Rainbows did not include either a young Marvin Gaye or Billy Stewart, although both fledgling singers did occasionally fill in for absent personnel during live performances.

In the meantime Covay landed a job chauffeuring his idol, Little Richard, doing double-duty as the hitmaker's opening act; Richard soon produced Covay's 1957 solo debut "Bip Bip Bip," a blistering single credited to Pretty Boy. Issued on Atlantic, the record went nowhere and he next landed at Sue. During the remaining years of the decade Covay released four more singles for as many labels -- "Switchin' in the Kitchen" on Big, "Standing in the Doorway" on Blaze, "If You See Mary Lee" on Firefly and "'Cause I Love You" on Big Top -- none of them hits. He then signed to major label Columbia, issuing three 1961 singles -- "Shake Wid the Snake," the Ben E. King-soundalike "See About Me," and "Now That I Need You" -- that showcased the vast eclecticism of his approach, from retro-doo wop to uptown soul to smoldering R&B. As his recording career refused to catch fire, Covay increasingly focused on songwriting, partnering with fellow Rainbows alum John Berry to pen a dance tune called "Pony Time" -- recorded by Covay for the Arnold label with backing band the Goodtimers, the resulting 1961 single proved to be his first chart hit, inching to the number 60 spot on the Billboard pop countdown. Equally significant, Chubby Checker soon after recorded his own version, topping the pop and R&B charts in early 1962.

Covay resumed his solo career with 1962's "I'm Your Soldier Boy," his lone effort for Scepter; he then signed to Cameo, scoring another minor chart hit with "The Popeye Waddle," a novelty record inspired by New Orleans' "popeye" dance craze. Its 1963 follow-up "Wiggle Wobble" went nowhere, however, as did "Ain't That Silly" and "The Froog," both cut for Cameo's Parkway subsidiary. At the same time, however, Covay continued an impressive string of songwriting hits, including Jerry Butler's "You Can Run (But You Can't Hide)," Gladys Knight & the Pips' "Letter Full of Tears" and Connie Francis' "Mr. Twister." He also authored "I'm Gonna Cry," Wilson Pickett's debut single for Atlantic. Covay next landed at the tiny Rosemart label, where he entered perhaps the most creatively rewarding period of his career -- his first single for the label, 1964's "Mercy Mercy," was cut with a then-unknown Jimi Hendrix on guitar, and went on to crack the Billboard Top 40 after Atlantic picked it up for distribution. The song remains an R&B classic, and earned even greater notoriety a year later when the Rolling Stones recorded their own rendition for the Out of Our Heads LP; even upon cursory listens, it's impossible not to hear the massive impact of Covay's brash style and bluesy phrasing on Mick Jagger's own frontman persona.

In the meantime, Covay squeaked back into the Hot 100 with "Take This Hurt Off Me," graduating to Atlantic on a full-time basis with 1965's "The Boomerang." The latter didn't chart at all, but the move to Atlantic gave him access to collaborators including Memphis legends like keyboardist Booker T. Jones and guitarist Steve Cropper, and his music achieved an even more powerfully soulful edge. "Please Do Something" fell just shy of the R&B Top 20, and its follow-up "See Saw" proved Covay's biggest hit to date, reaching the R&B Top Five and coming in at number 44 on the pop charts. By now the likes of Etta James ("Watch Dog" and "I'm Gonna Take What He's Got") and Otis Redding ("Think About It" and "Demonstration") were recording his material, but he could never quite maintain the same momentum as a performer, in 1966 releasing three brilliant Atlantic singles -- "Sookie Sookie," "You Put Something on Me" and "Somebody's Got to Love You" -- that all failed to chart. The relatively minor "Shingaling '67" at least made it as far as the R&B Top 50, but both "'40 Days-40 Nights"" and "You've Got Me on Your Critical List" sank without a trace. And even though Aretha Franklin scored one of her biggest and most enduring hits in 1968 with "Chain of Fools," written by Covay some 15 years earlier, his own recording that same year went nowhere.

Covay attempted to reignite his flagging career by organizing the Soul Clan, a Murderers' Row of R&B greats that also included Solomon Burke, Joe Tex, Ben E. King and Arthur Conley. The supergroup's lone Atlantic effort "Soul Meeting" was a minor pop it, reaching the R&B Top 40 in late 1968. After two more failed solo singles, "I Stole Some Love" and "Sweet Pea," Covay teamed with former Shirelles guitarist Joe Richardson and folkie John Hammond in the Jefferson Lemon Blues Band, an odd stab at underground blues-rock that yielded a 1969 LP, The House of Blue Lights and hit number 43 on the R&B chart with the single "Black Woman." He left Atlantic for Janus in 1970, releasing a second Jefferson Lemon Blues Band LP, Different Strokes for Different Folks, before signing to Mercury in 1972 as an A&R exec. There he also began work on Superdude, the blistering 1973 album that many groove-heads regard as his masterpiece -- the album yielded a pair of hits, the pop smash "I Was Checkin' Out While She Was Checkin' In" and "Somebody's Been Enjoying My Home."

The gospel-inspired non-LP single "It's Better to Have (And Don't Need)" returned Covay to the charts in 1974, followed a year later by "Rumble in the Jungle," a novelty effort inspired by the now-legendary heavyweight bout pairing Muhammad Ali against George Foreman. He then migrated to Philadelphia International, teaming with famed producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff for 1976's Travelin' in Heavy Traffic -- neither "Right Time for Love" nor the title track charted, and apart from two indie records, 1977's U-Von effort "Back to the Roots" and 1980s Newman release "Badd Boy," it seemed Covay's recording career was over. He didn't resurface until 1986, contributing backing vocals to the Rolling Stones' Dirty Work -- in 1993, the Stones' Ron Wood repaid the favor, joining the likes of Iggy Pop and Todd Rundgren for the tribute LP Back to the Streets: Celebrating the Music of Don Covay. That same year, Covay was honored by the Rhythm & Blues Foundation with one of its prestigious Pioneer Awards, but he was unable to attend the awards ceremony due to the lingering effects of a stroke he suffered in 1992. He gradually regained his health, however, and in 2000 issued Ad Lib, his first new studio album in nearly a quarter century.

Don Covay rides his most creative crest as a solo artist with this hearty collection of songs. The settings are simplistic for Atlantic Records, which recorded similar artists in lusher settings. But rawness is what makes these recordings arresting. A guitarist as well as a singer, Covay's pickings aren't buried in the mix, and you don't need a Geiger counter to detect the grooves. Most impressive are "See Saw," "Mercy Mercy," "Sookie, Sookie," and "Boomerang," a call to dance with the feeling of Major Lance singing a Curtis Mayfield song. On "Fat Man," you wonder if he's singing about his old Washington, D.C., buddy Billy Stewart. The two began their careers with the Rainbows.

Van Morrison-Blowing Your Mind (1967)

noreply@blogger.com (Dmitrich) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:43:00 +0000

В творчестве этого музыканта нашли отражение такие стили как ритм-энд-блюз, джаз, соул, кельтские мотивы, кантри, а сам он стал вдохновителем для многих рок-музыкантов, от Джима Моррисона и Брюса Спрингстина до "Thin Lizzy" и "U-2". Вэн Моррисон (настоящее имя Джордж Айвэн Моррисон) родился в Белфасте 31 августа 1945 года. Его мать была певицей, а отец владел неплохой коллекцией джазовых и блюзовых пластинок, поэтому интерес к музыке у парня проявился довольно рано. В 12 лет Вэн обзавелся гитарой, а вскоре стал лидером школьной скиффл-группы "Sputniks". В четырнадцать Моррисон освоил саксофон и в новом качестве вошел в состав "Thunderbolts". Затем Вэн сменил еще несколько команд, но первый успех пришел к нему с группой "Them", которую он основал в 1964 году. Самым лучшим достижением того периода стала его песня "Gloria", на которую впоследствии делали каверы такие артисты как "Doors", Джими Хендрикс и Патти Смит.

***

Equal parts blue-eyed soul shouter and wild-eyed poet-sorcerer, Van Morrison is among popular music's true innovators, a restless seeker whose incantatory vocals and alchemical fusion of R&B, jazz, blues, and Celtic folk produced perhaps the most spiritually transcendent body of work in the rock & roll canon. Subject only to the whims of his own muse, his recordings cover extraordinary stylistic ground yet retain a consistency and purity virtually unmatched among his contemporaries, connected by the mythic power of his singular musical vision and his incendiary vocal delivery: spiraling repetitions of wails and whispers that bypass the confines of language to articulate emotional truths far beyond the scope of literal meaning.

George Ivan Morrison was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on August 31, 1945; his mother was a singer, while his father ardently collected classic American jazz and blues recordings. At 15, he quit school to join the local R&B band the Monarchs, touring military bases throughout Europe before returning home to form his own group, Them. Boasting a fiery, gritty sound heavily influenced by Morrison heroes like Howlin' Wolf, Brownie McGhee, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Little Walter, Them quickly earned a devout local following and in late 1964 recorded their debut single, "Don't Start Crying Now." The follow-up, an electrifying reading of Big Joe Williams' "Baby Please Don't Go," cracked the U.K. Top Ten in early 1965. Though not a major hit upon its original release, Them's Morrison-penned "Gloria" endures among the true classics of the rock pantheon, covered by everyone from the Doors to Patti Smith. Lineup changes plagued the band throughout its lifespan, however, and at the insistence of producer Bert Berns, over time session musicians increasingly assumed the lion's share of recording duties. A frustrated Morrison finally left Them following a 1966 tour of the U.S., quitting the music business and returning to Belfast.

After Berns relocated to New York City to form Bang Records, he convinced Morrison to travel stateside and record as a solo artist; the sessions produced arguably his most familiar hit, the jubilant "Brown-Eyed Girl" (originally titled "Brown-Skinned Girl"), a Top Ten smash in the summer of 1967. By contrast, however, the resulting album, Blowin' Your Mind, was a bleak, bluesy effort highlighted by the harrowing "T.B. Sheets"; when Berns released the LP against Morrison's wishes, he again retreated home to Ireland. After Berns suffered a fatal heart attack in late 1967, the singer was freed of his contractual obligations and began working on new material. His first album for new label Warner Bros., 1968's Astral Weeks, remains not only Morrison's masterpiece, but one of the greatest records ever made. A haunting, deeply personal collection of impressionistic folk-styled epics recorded by an all-star jazz backing unit including bassist Richard Davis and drummer Connie Kay, its poetic complexity earned critical raves but made only a minimal commercial impact. The follow-up, 1970's Moondance, was every bit as brilliant; buoyant and optimistic where Astral Weeks had been dark and anguished, it cracked the Top 40, generating the perennials "Caravan" and "Into the Mystic."

The first half of the 1970s was the most fertile creative period of Morrison's career. From Moondance onward, his records reflected an increasingly celebratory and profoundly mystical outlook spurred on in large part by his marriage to wife Janet Planet and the couple's relocation to California. After His Band and the Street Choir yielded his biggest chart hit, "Domino," Morrison released 1971's Tupelo Honey, a lovely, pastoral meditation on wedded bliss highlighted by the single "Wild Night." In the wake of the following year's stirring Saint Dominic's Preview, he formed the Caledonia Soul Orchestra, featured both on the studio effort Hard Nose the Highway and on the excellent live set It's Too Late to Stop Now. However, in 1973 he not only dissolved the group but also divorced Planet and moved back to Belfast. The stunning 1974 LP Veedon Fleece chronicled Morrison's emotional turmoil; he then remained silent for three years, reportedly working on a number of aborted projects but releasing nothing until 1977's aptly titled A Period of Transition.

Plagued for some time by chronic stage fright, Morrison mounted his first tour in close to five years in support of 1978's Wavelength; his performances became more and more erratic, however, and during a 1979 date at New York's Palladium, he even stalked off-stage in mid-set and did not return. Into the Music, released later that year, evoked a more conventionally spiritual perspective than before, a pattern continued on successive outings for years to come. Albums like 1983's Inarticulate Speech of the Heart, 1985's A Sense of Wonder, and 1986's No Guru, No Method, No Teacher are all largely cut from the same cloth, employing serenely beautiful musical backdrops to explore themes of faith and healing. For 1988's Irish Heartbeat, however, Morrison teamed with another of his homeland's musical institutions, the famed Chieftains, for a collection of traditional folk songs.

Meanwhile, Avalon Sunset heralded a commercial rebirth of sorts in 1989. While "Whenever God Shines His Light," a duet with Cliff Richard, became Morrison's first U.K. Top 20 hit in over two decades, the gorgeous "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You" emerged as something of a contemporary standard, with a Rod Stewart cover cracking the U.S. Top Five in 1993. Further proof of Morrison's renewed popularity arrived with the 1990 release of Mercury's best-of package; far and away the best-selling album of his career, it introduced the singer to a new generation of fans. A new studio record, Enlightenment, appeared that same year, followed in 1991 by the ambitious double set Hymns to the Silence, widely hailed as his most impressive outing in years.

Following the uniformity of his 1980s work, the remainder of the decade proved impressively eclectic: 1993's Too Long in Exile returned Morrison to his musical roots with covers of blues and R&B classics, while on 1995's Days Like This he teamed with daughter Shana for a duet on "You Don't Know Me." For the Verve label, he cut 1996's How Long Has This Been Going On, a traditional jazz record co-credited to longtime pianist Georgie Fame, while for the follow-up Tell Me Something: The Songs of Mose Allison, he worked with guest of honor Allison himself. Morrison continued balancing the past and the future in the years to follow, alternating between new studio albums (1997's The Healing Game, 1999's Back on Top) and collections of rare and live material (1998's The Philosopher's Stone and 2000's The Skiffle Sessions and You Win Again). It wasn't until 2002 that an album of new material surfaced, but in May his long-anticipated Down the Road was released. Three years later, Morrison issued Magic Time. Pay the Devil, a country-tinged set, appeared in 2006 on Lost Highway Records. In 2008, Morrison released Keep It Simple, his first album of all-original material since 1999's Back on Top.

Them - Time Out Time In For Them (1969)

noreply@blogger.com (Dmitrich) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:21:00 +0000

Them forged their hard-nosed R&B sound in Belfast, Northern Ireland, moving to England in 1964 after landing a deal with Decca Records. The band's simmering sound was dominated by boiling organ riffs, lean guitars, and the tough vocals of lead singer Van Morrison, whose recordings with Them rank among the very best performances of the British Invasion. Morrison also wrote top-notch original material for the outfit, whose lineup changed numerous times over the course of their brief existence. As a hit-making act, their résumé was brief -- "Here Comes the Night" and "Baby Please Don't Go" were Top Ten hits in England, "Mystic Eyes" and "Here Comes the Night" made the Top 40 in the U.S. -- but their influence was considerable, reaching bands like the Doors, whom Them played with during a residency in Los Angeles just before Van Morrison quit the band in 1966. Their most influential song of all, the classic three-chord stormer "Gloria," was actually a B-side, although the Shadows of Knight had a hit in the U.S. with a faithful, tamer cover version.

Morrison recalled his days with Them with some bitterness, noting that the heart of the original group was torn out by image-conscious record company politics, and that sessionmen (including Jimmy Page) often played on recordings. In addition to hits, Them released a couple of fine albums and several flop singles that mixed Morrison compositions with R&B and soul covers, as well as a few songs written for them by producers like Bert Berns (who penned "Here Comes the Night"). After Morrison left the group, Them splintered into the Belfast Gypsies, who released an album that (except for the vocals) approximated Them's early records, and a psychedelic outfit that kept the name Them, releasing four LPs with little resemblance to the tough sounds of their mid-'60s heyday.

Them's second post-Van Morrison album, even more than their first such effort (Now & Them), grew further away from their mid-'60s style, to the point where there were few audible links to how Them sounded in the British Invasion era. And like Now & Them, it was an intermittently worthwhile but somewhat characterless record, reflecting late-'60s trends in album-oriented rock without adding much to them or innovating paths of their own. It was even more Los Angeles-psychedelia-influenced than their prior LP, taking the lead of Now & Them's strongest cut ("Square Room") to explore sitar-laden raga-rock on several songs. "Time Out for Time In" adds a nice waltz overlay to the raga-rock sound, but "Black Widow Spider" and "Just on Conception" frankly live up to the stereotypes of "oh wow!" hippie-trippy word soups from the era. So does "The Moth," but at least there some Roger McGuinn-like vocals and dreamy orchestration add spice. Other songs are competently done but nonstandout heavy soul rock, with "She Put a Hex on You" sounding right off the cutting room floor of a 1968 psychedelic dance rock club movie scene; you can just see the bandana-swathed babe from central casting gyrating as the strobe lights flash. "Waltz of the Flies," the best song, is indeed a beguiling psychedelic waltz, and Jim Armstrong's guitar work throughout is far more instrumentally accomplished than what you'll hear on many similar albums. Yet the record's not in the same league as either the Van Morrison-era Them or the better psychedelic/raga-rock endeavors of the late '60s. The 2003 Rev-Ola CD reissue adds eight bonus cuts (all taken from 45s) of value to anyone interested in the post-Van Morrison Them, including the non-LP single "Corinna"/"Dark Are the Shadows," the rare original single version of the punky "Dirty Old Man" (which is superior to the one on Now and Them), and the rare original 45 version of "Square Room" (which isn't as good as, and is much shorter than, the one on Now and Them).