VA - New Breed Blues With Black Popcorn

If you loved the Vampisoul label's R&B Hipshakers series, you'll also get a real charge off this spankin' new Kent comp filled with rough-edged late-'50s/mid-'60s r'n'b. Funkified dancefloor action guaranteed!

"Make way for a brand new selection of collectables, curios and rug-cutters for R&B fans who feel the beat and need new sounds to scratch their itch...Inevitably it’s the debutantes that will steal the show and attract the more traditional R&B fan. There is a pounding blues by Freddie North from Bob Holmes' tapes, when he was working with Freddie along with Slim Harpo in Nashville in the late '60s. From Los Angeles there is Adolph Jacobs' unreleased Class recording 'Cannibal Stew' that sounds like the Coasters and might even have them singing behind him (he was their guitarist at the time). Then we have a taster for the forthcoming Ace CD of Richard Stamz's Chicago blues productions, with a fine mover from Tony Gideon called 'So Strange.'" - Ace Records

NATHAN ABSHIRE - Master of the Cajun Accordion: The Classic Swallow Recordings

Chronicling this legendary Louisianan's work with both the Pine Grove Boys and Balfa Brothers, Master of the Cajun Accordion is an irresistibly swinging slice of '60s and '70s roots revivalism that's lost none of its joyful vitality over the intervening years.

"After some 20 years, Ace Records' Nathan Abshire 2 LPs-on-1 CD has been totally revamped by John Broven. With stunning new mastering, the track sequencing better reflects the recording chronology in the distinct periods with the Pine Grove Boys and then the Balfa Brothers, with the addition of ‘French Blues’ to complete the Swallow output. The now-sumptuous booklet features an essay by Lyle Ferbrache based on his original research with members and families of Abshire’s Pine Grove Boys; a comprehensive song analysis with sterling contributions from Ann Savoy and Neal Pomea; a first-ever attempt at a discography with personnel; many vintage photographs; and LP and label scans. The end result is one of the most listenable and enjoyable Cajun CD releases ever, by one of the music’s most revered musicians." - Ace Records

VA South Texas Rhythm 'n' Soul Revue

Ace/Kent soul compilations never fail to deliver the goods, but this new release showcasing Huey Meaux's productions is one party-platter extraordinaire—all killer, no filler!

"Huey Meaux recorded more soul music in the '60s and '70s than any other producer in Texas, leasing some of it to nationally distributed labels such as Jamie and Scepter and issuing even more of it on the dozens of labels he ran in conjunction with various business partners. He wasn’t the only producer in South Texas, but the number of singles that bear the legend 'Produced by Huey P. Meaux' could fool anyone into thinking he was.

Many of soul’s greatest names got their break with the Crazy Cajun. Some worked with him for only a short time; others such as Barbara Lynn stayed with him for virtually all of their active careers. If Don Robey’s Duke and Peacock labels shaped the template for '50s R&B in Houston, then the hundreds of 45s that Huey put out between 1960 and 1980 provided the same service for those decades." - Ace Records

DEL SHANNON - Home & Away

Del Shannon was the hardest-rocking teen idol of the early '60s, but had no trouble updating his style as the decade wore on. By 1967, he found himself in England recording this orchestrated pop-rock gem, produced by Andrew Loog Oldham.

"[D]espite its lofty ambitions of being a British answer to Pet Sounds, this LP didn't see release as scheduled in 1967. It took more than a decade for Home & Away to surface, and it’s recently been reissued as a remastered CD from Now Sounds.

Though the new Home & Away is a most welcome release, the oft-quoted Pet Sounds analogy isn’t quite appropriate.  Though Home & Away and the Beach Boys' classic are both orchestrated pop albums, Pet Sounds was an intensely personal vision both musically and lyrically–that of Brian Wilson and his chief lyrical collaborator, Tony Asher. Home & Away was the work of numerous pop songwriting teams from Oldham’s Immediate Records stable. Not that there’s anything shameful about an immaculately crafted collection of largely original pop songs, which is what Home & Away is; the high quality of these tracks, sung passionately by Shannon and arranged pristinely by Arthur Greenslade, will make you wah-wah-wonder why the album was initially shelved in the first place." - The Second Disc

VA - Mad Daddy's Maddest Spins

Pete "Mad Daddy" Myers was an Akron, Ohio-based radio DJ whose wild persona was matched by the unhinged, raucous records he played. This compilation features a number of these, and serves as a fine primer for anyone interested in what later became the basis of inspiration for bands like The Cramps.

"Vintage late-'50s rock and swing, featuring classic cuts from his playlists at WJW Cleveland...Includes blistering R'n'R, madcap sax-drenched raunch, and some of the strangest tunes ever. All tracks remastered from the original sound sources with sleevenotes by MOJO magazine's Dave Henderson." - Cherry Red

"His show was groundbreaking, featuring the high-energy music of his day, made by blacks, whites and Hispanics, the stuff universally reviled by older folks; this was pure gold for The Mad Daddy and his following, all of those impressionable, horned-out, delinquent ears waiting in the darkness of a Cleveland night, including one Erick Lee Purkhiser, later Lux Interior...The show was littered with continuous sound effects, maniacal laughter, and tons of runaway repeat-echo, all to the accompaniment of some of the most wigged-out tunes ever captured on vinyl." - Louder Than War

MOE TUCKER - I Feel So Far Away: Anthology 1974-1998

Lovingly packaged and compiled by Sundazed, I Feel So Far Away is a must-listen for Velvet Underground fans—this set's opening tracks, taken from Tucker's debut solo LP Playin' Possum, are particularly brilliantly ramshackle.

"While her bandmates would go down many different roads with widely variant results, Tucker's sounds retained the ragged beauty and youthful sense of possibility that were at the heart of the VU, and rock & roll in general." - Allmusic

"Following her tenure with VU, Moe emerged as a solo artist, building a body of work that stretched over three decades. Ranging from home recordings to collaborations with members of Sonic Youth, Violent Femmes, Half Japanese and her former band, the songs cover a gamut of styles but all bear the unmistakable thumbprint of their creator. Released by various independent labels on LPs, EPs, singles and compact discs, collecting her catalog has been a daunting task. This compilation finally gathers those far-flung tracks in one place." - Sundazed

THE CARAVELLES - You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry

This quite comprehensive RPM collection compiles everything you need to hear from eerily innocent vocal duo The Caravelles (who clearly took a page from their pre-teen predecessors Patience and Prudence), with the added bonus of their (slightly) more folk-rockin' late-'60s material.

"Lois Wilkinson (later professionally known as Lois Lane) and Andrea Simpson got together to record a few demos in 1963. A re-cut of 'You Don't Have To Be Baby To Cry' made by Ritz Productions impresario Bunny Lewis was leased to Decca—a No. 6 UK & No. 3 US smash hit resulted, and a pop career was born. Included here are their one LP, also released in 1963, plus their subsequent eight singles and one EP leased to different labels up to 1968, all properly reissued for the first time." - Cherry Red

VA - Ike Turner Studio Productions: New Orleans and Los Angeles 1963-1965

Besides recording with Tina Turner and The Ikettes, big bad Ike was constantly busy in the early to mid-Sixties, producing and writing scorching soul for an impressive cross-section of acts.

"During 1963 to 1965 (the timeframe of this collection), Ike's wheeling and dealing went into overdrive. He signed the Ike & Tina Revue to his old cohorts the Bihari Brothers at Modern, where he immediately hit paydirt with the Ikettes. But hit sides for the main act were unforthcoming, and Ike hedged his bets by recording sides with a gamut of raw R&B talent. Some sides were issued on Modern, some on a plethora of indie imprints started by Ike himself, and then leased out if not released...Altogether one of Ike Turner’s lesser-known but most prolific time periods." - Ace Records

VA - Something Good From The Goffin & King Songbook

The Brill Building hits (and more obscure gems) just keep comin' with Ace Records' third compilation of tunes by the legendary songwriting team of Gerry Goffin and Carole King. Pure pop for now—and then—people!

"No songwriters of the era articulated the emotions of adolescence and the pains of teen-dom with quite the same mix of innocence and sophistication of Goffin and King; they were, after all, still teenagers themselves when they were crafting much of this material, experiencing the same emotions as their audience. Even so, you might think that, this being Ace’s third collection of their compositions, the well of hits might have run dry. But then Something Good opens with The Drifters' joyous 'At The Club' (the superior and rarely heard single version), and you know that once again Mick Patrick and Tony Rounce have served up another peerless compilation of classics, near misses and lost obscurities." - Ace Records

BO DIDDLEY - The Black Gladiator

With Get On Down having recently reissued both The Howlin' Wolf Album and Muddy Waters' After The Rain, now is the perfect time for Light In The Attic affiliate Future Days to bring The Black Gladiator back into the psych-tinged funky-blues arena. All comeback competition best beware, because Bo is ready to battle! 

"When he entered Chicago's Ter-Mar Studios in January 1970, the mighty Bo was faced with a daunting task—recording a follow-up to his last solo album, 1965's 500% More Man. Much as had been done with Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf in attempting to re-mold the old-school bluesmen as psychedelic-blues artists, The Black Gladiator saw Bo Diddley staking his claim as a funkateer in the new decade." - About.com

"This 1970 LP isn't easy to find, but it's the record where Bo lets it all hang out, leading a blazing distorto-soul band and indulging all his most eccentric qualities. Released on Chess Records subsidiary Checker, The Black Gladiator remakes Diddley as a funk artist, and to these ears, it works like crazy." - The Stranger

VA - Smash Boom Bang! The Songs and Productions of Feldman, Goldstein & Gottehrer

Running the gamut from raucous garage rock to girl-group pop, Smash Boom Bang! showcases the infectious songs and productions of New York City tunesmiths Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein and Richard Gottehrer.

"Feldman, Goldstein and Gottehrer made loud, drum-and-handclap-infused pop in the first half of the '60s. Not known for subtlety, they took much from the likes of Bo Diddley and Gary 'US' Bonds and pushed the power up to 11, as evidenced on The Sheep's 'Hide And Seek,' arguably the loudest, most in-your-face two minutes in pop." - Record Collector

"If you don’t know the names of Messrs. Feldman, Goldstein and Gotteher, you’ll undoubtedly know 'My Boyfriend’s Back,' 'Hang On, Sloopy' and 'I Want Candy,' and you just might be surprised to find that all three songs were the work (either in songwriting, production or both) of the same team. Smash Boom Bang!  takes its name from three prominent labels, the last of which was founded by Bert Berns.  As Berns’ tragically short-lived career has already been anthologized by Ace, this collection makes the perfect companion to those earlier two volumes." - The Second Disc

VA - On With The Show: The Johnny Otis Story, Volume 2 (1957-1974)

As much as we urge those who have yet to hear Midnight At The Barrelhouse to also give that first volume a listen, some of the most irresistible moments on this second set might be when Otis and band tackle R&B rhythms popularized by other outfits, putting their own hep and savvy spin on them, whether the Bo Diddley beats of "Mumblin' Mosie," "Crazy Country Hop," "Hand Jive One More Time" and, well, "The New Bo Diddley," or the "Tramp"-ed up, lip-smacking "Country Girl."

"On With The Show lives up to its title by picking up Johnny’s story from just before where the first volume left off, and carrying it through to the mid-'70s – the point at which he stopped releasing new music and began diversifying his talents into cultural, spiritual and political areas.

Johnny found that he was fighting a losing battle as R&B began to get pushed off the charts by early '60s pop and, subsequently, Mersey Beat. But he still made great music whether the public bought it or not, and On With The Show contains many of the most enduring Otis classics in Johnny's massive catalogue, such as "Castin' My Spell," "Crazy Country Hop" and "Mumblin' Mosie."

The second half of the CD chronicles Johnny's creative renaissance via the 1969 Cold Shot album and its chart single "Country Girl." It also features early groundbreaking performances by his teenage son and nascent guitar hero Shuggie, and several cuts that have latterly become much played rarities on the funk and jazz scenes." - Ace Records

OXFORD AMERICAN - 13th Annual Southern Music Issue

Whether the holiday season takes you out of town or lets you do your running around at home this year, Oxford American's music issue is a trustworthy travel companion, stuffed with approachably academic takes on the artists and cultures of the Southern states by a star-studded cast of critics (focusing this year on the Magnolia state, Mississippi). A must-read and a fantastic gift idea, complete with an equally informative and entertaining 27-track companion CD compilation.

VA - Midnight At The Barrelhouse: The Johnny Otis Story, Volume 1 (1945-57)

We can't stop playing this in the shop—with the wide variety of '40s/'50s styles covered (from R&B to jump blues to fuller, big-band arrangements) and such standout tracks as "The Turkey Hop", "Oopy-Doo" and "Hound Dog", customers' ears pretty much always perk up, and we're invariably asked what we've thrown on. A real grabs-you-from-the-get-go crowdpleaser from an orchestral revue that clearly put on one heck of a show.

"Although universally recognized as an important figure in mid-20th century rhythm & blues, Johnny Otis did not make the most consistent records, whether he was the featured artist/singer or involved in more of a production capacity. This first volume of a two-part career overview compiles some of the more significant entries in his discography (a massive one if you count his productions)." - Allmusic

"The spectacular career of Johnny Otis was a microcosm of the entire Los Angeles postwar R&B and subsequent rock ‘n’ roll scene. He wore every hat imaginable during those rollicking years: bandleader, musician (drummer, vibist, and pianist), dynamic singer, prolific songwriter, hitmaking producer, label owner (Dig Records), deejay, and TV host, excelling at all[...] Ace’s 25-song overview of Otis’ dauntingly voluminous early catalog does a splendid job of examining the first dozen years of Johnny’s recording career, its songlist spanning no less than eight labels." - Blues Revue

VA - The World Is A Monster: Lonesome, Blue And Jump Jivin' Hillbillies From The Columbia Vault 1948-1958

The last time a comp of country nuggets knocked me off my feet like this one was when RPM put out the stunning Double Up & Catch Up: Hillbilly Bop’n’Boogie 1950-1958, back in 2004. That disc showcased insanely catchy tunes from the powerhouse country wing of Capitol Records, and made a convincing claim that rockabilly was more a punked-up form of hillbilly music with an rhythm and blues influence than a fusion of the two.

Omni’s similar turn scopes the Colombia catalogue for the hidden gems they have unearthed in their ongoing quest to dig up the best of vintage country music.  There are few tinkling pianos, and absolutely no lush strings and smooth crooning backing vocals here in this pre-Nashville Sound set. This is the time when fiddles, pedal steel and stand-up bass still formed that backbone of any hillbilly or honkytonk band, and this expertly selected collection generously puts forth one jaw-dropper after another.

Rockin’ dance numbers abound from The Country Boy’s instrumental “Bud’s Bounce” to The Maddox Brothers’ reliably belligerent party chug-a-lug “Ugly and Slouchy”. Baby sister Rose Maddox delivers a weepy waltz with “When the Sun Goes Down”, as does Freddie Hart on the gorgeous “Blue”. Elsewhere, we find deep twang and dissonance on the great Johnny Bond’s “All I Can Do Is Cry” and the cautionary anti-rambling ditty by Rocky Porter that provides this set with its name.

The esteemed Bear Family’s single-artist series Gonna Shake This Shack Tonight mines similar territory, while their ongoing Dim Lights, Thick Smoke And Hillbilly Music, a by-the-year history of country music from 1945 on (their just-released last 5 volumes bring us to 1960), is an invaluable resource for newcomers and collectors alike. But at 32 tracks—all remastered from the orginal tapes, many of which are making their digital debut—The World Is a Monster is a perfect one-stop shit-kicking country bonanza!

VA - Califia: The Songs Of Lee Hazlewood

The late great Lee Hazlewood was one hell of an ornery contrarian. And, bless his soul, he also happened to be one multi-talented musical tour-de-force: eccentric singer, songwriter, record label owner, and producer. We’ve seen several sterling Hazlewood reissues crop up over the years, but Califia is a compilation with a twist, amassing twenty-five tantalizing tracks he wrote and produced for himself and others between 1956 and ’70.

And those “others” in question? Irrefutable talents like Duane Eddy (whose twangy instrumental hits initially made Hazelwood a record producer to be reckoned with), legendary session guitarist Al Casey, drummer extraordinaire Hal Blaine, blue-eyed soul belter Dusty Springfield, cinematic sex symbol Ann-Margret, and, of course, Nancy Sinatra, who hit the big-time when Hazlewood recommended that she ‘sing like a gal who goes out with 45-year old truckers’ on her immortal 1966 smash, “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’”.

Califia, the latest volume in Ace Records’ unbeatable songwriters and producers series, provides a fascinating sonic portrait of the early years of Hazlewood’s career. Bouncing back and forth chronologically, the disc’s many treasures include Sanford Clark’s bluesy 1956 rockabilly hit, “The Fool”, rhythm ‘n’ blues vocal group The Sharps’ raucous number, “Have Love, Will Travel”, Suzi Jane Hokom’s irresistibly infectious go-go groover, “Need All the Help I Can Get”, Dusty Springfield’s swingin’ “Sweet Ride”, and Lee’s own vocal turn on the creepy oddity, “The Girl on Death Row”, originally written for an obscure film.

In fact, by the late Sixties, Hazlewood had acquired quite a knack for giving his songs a dramatic and panoramic Technicolor big-screen feel. Listen to Ann-Margret’s “You Turned My Head Around” and its ferocious fuzz pedal-powered wall of sound (the teen-aged Phil Spector picked up many a production tip from Hazlewood, by the way), Duane and Miriam Eddy’s twang-a-delic “Guitar on My Mind”, and the album’s smokin’ title track, an undeservedly obscure 1969 duet between Lee and his then-girlfriend, Suzi Jane Hokum, that has all the epic qualities of the hits on which he and Nancy Sinatra shared vocal duties. 

Rockabilly, r‘n’b, country, novelty tunes, garage, stripped-down instrumentals, and orchestrated pop productions: Hazlewood wrote, recorded, and sang (with his inimitable baritone) ‘em all. Nearly everything he touched was imbued with his dry self-deprecating wit, and even if you already have one or more of his solo albums, Califia’s worth getting for the way it sums up his genius. Yes, genius, a word I generally don’t toss around very lightly, but one that pretty much describes up good ol’ ornery Lee to a “t”.

PETE MOLINARI - A Train Bound For Glory

Now, I'm not exactly sure if Pete Molinari is indeed bound for glory à la Woody Guthrie, but hopefully he'll get as close to it as possible. Yes, this British troubadour's that talented, as his new album abundantly proves. From the moment my ears caught the strains of his 2008 release A Virtual Landslide, it was apparent that Molinari was successfully putting his own twist on the '60s singer-songwriters (Dylan, Phil Ochs, Tim Hardin, for starters) who had deeply inspired him, all the while sticking close to his chosen template.

But if Molinari's a traditionalist, he's a damned good one, as A Train Bound For Glory makes for an excellent follow-up to his previous recordings. Recorded in Nashville instead of the U.K. this time out, he and his bassist and drummer are accompanied by a large assortment of country and folk-rock musicians, including Elvis' backup singers, The Jordanaires. The end result is an irresistable batch of ballads and up-tempo tunes which evoke the restless life of a lonesome drifter, without resorting to timeworn clichés. Quite the opposite; Molinari's melodies, soul-searching lyrics, and somewhat androgynous tenor voice all add up to a pretty timeless disc.

My personal fave cut here is "New York City", and fittingly enough, this album's as close to capturing and updating that vintage Greenwich Village countryfied-folkie vibe as anything you're likely to hear these days.

THE DING-DONGS - S/T

Meet The Ding-Dongs, who sound like they hail from somewhere deep in the wilds of Arkansas...No, that ain't quite right; how's about some neglected one-horse town off a two-lane highway in Tennessee? Hmmm, nope, scratch that. How does the lovely and liberated, sophisticated cultural hotbed of Montreal grab you? Yippers, these here Ding-Dongs do indeed come from a punkabilly place found in the innards of that city's rock'n'roll underground. More importantly, their debut disc represents the raunchily raucous collaboration between charismatic rockabilly powerhouse Bloodshot Bill and great garage-punker Mark "BBQ" Sultan.

On this release on the fantastic Brooklyn-based Norton label ("Where the loud sound abounds" is their appropriate motto), The Ding-Dongs deliver the crude deep-fried rootsy goods in an unrelenting barrage of yelped vocals, twangy gi-tar, and pounded backbeat. The result is a breathlessly exciting romp that recalls the buzz put out by '80s/'90s Montreal rockabilly gods Ray Condo and his Hard Rock Goners, but utterly stripped-down AND souped-up. In other words, no musty revivalism here, just a ding-dong daddy of a damned good time!

VA - Bo Diddley Is A Songwriter

A reference to the album Bo Diddley Is A Gunslinger, this collection is a cracking tribute to the man who brought a cooler style and exoticism to black rock’n’roll as compared to the volcanic Little Richard and the country-influenced riffage of Chuck Berry. Bo Diddley’s patented clave-derived groove (he actually tried to copyright that beat!), augmented by the ever-faithful Jerome on shakers, became one of the primordial ingredients of rock and continues to influence new generations of musicians. Since the Originator, as he is also known, was not a songwriter in the traditional sense of selling songs for a living, this is more of a covers collection, which is just fine considering the talent that’s been assembled by the always-reliable folks at Ace as part of their ongoing series spotlighting the great songwriters of the rock era. 

Buddy Holly was the first key figure to pay homage to the man born Ellas Otha Bates, and sings “Bo Diddley” here, but check his famous “Not Fade Away” (not included), which also showed such a strong influence that the song became a rare cover of another white artist by the Rolling Stones. Casual fans of the sophisticated Zombies may not know they did a raucous take on “Roadrunner”. Similarly, others will swoon over The Everly Brothers' Byrds-y cover of the soda-fountain classic “Love is Strange”. Let us not forget that The Pretty Things named themselves after one of the late master’s songs, and that tune turns up here. You might have already heard Captain Beefheart’s “Diddy Wah Diddy” and the New York Dolls' lascivious ode to a rock’n’roll nurse in “Pills”, but add in The Downliners Sect, Ian & Sylvia, Los Lobos, and The Animals and you’re beginning to get an idea of the sheer magnitude of Bo Diddley’s influence. This is a virtual history of rock music all in one snappy package. Doot doola doot-doo, doot-doo!

VA - Keb Darge & Paul Weller Present Lost & Found: Real R'n'B & Soul

The first eye-opening Lost & Found set, from Keb Darge and Cut Chemist, surprised everyone by ignoring the funk in favour of rockabilly (!) and jump blues, and helped forge the way for the micro-'50s revival niche. Darge, a former disco dance champ way back in the day known to collectors for being the supreme chief of deep funk 45s (his DJ sets are legendary), teams up this time with the Modfather, Paul Weller (whose unceasing recording career eclipses the fact that he has been a soul connoisseur for nearly 40 years) on Lost & Found take two. Both are expert selectors, and have been responsible for some seriously deep comps over the last decade. While both are in a relative comfort zone, you can imagine the smiles they shared when they agreed to the challenge of keeping things pre-1970.  

Darge takes the first slot, straying from the funk while not losing the feel for hard-driving numbers, whether they be Northern jumpers or '50s big-band blues. His choice to open with Big Mama Thornton’s “They Call Me Big Mama,” hardly a deep cut, shows that he is going for a vibe more than he is trying to display his cache of rare gems. He still wins on the rarities front, though, especially with the only A-side recorded by Big “T” Tyler, the rocking “King Kong.”

Paul Weller goes for the sweeter, skittering sounds of hidden sides from better-known singers like Tammi Terrell, Bobby Bland, and the Dells, and takes a chance on a couple of straight blues shakers from Albert King (the classic “Crosscut Saw”) and Slim Harpo. The end result of this matchup is a collection better suited for a party than for the dancefloor, but don’t be surprised if you hear a cut or two in the clubs played by a DJ clearly taking a cue from this excellent matchup.