April Wine Classic Album Set

Think of Canadian rock bands and Rush probably spring to mind, as would Steppenwolf and Triumph. All fantastic bands. That's not to take anything away from April Wine, who in terms of output (if not success), must rank alongside the aforementioned. Classic hard rock that is really worth checking out….

The April Wine entry in Capitol Records' midline-priced Classic Masters series is a reasonable best-of culled from the group's tenure at Capitol from the late '70s to the mid-'80s…

Emmylou Harris - Original Album Series Vol. 1, 1975-1979 (2010) {5CD Box Set Rhino Vinyl Replica}
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© 1975-79, 2010 Reprise / Rhino / Warner | 8122 79835 1
Country / Country Rock / Progressive Country / Traditional Country

Emmylou Harris was a little-known singer and songwriter playing the folk circuit in Washington, D.C., when she was discovered by Gram Parsons, who invited her to sing on his solo albums and revealed to the world she had a voice of striking beauty and the talent to use it wisely. After Parsons' death, Harris embarked on a solo career that saw her creating a series of outstanding albums that combined the sound and style of classic country music with a progressive feel that made her one of the best respected artists of her generation. This specially priced box set includes Harris' first five albums for Reprise Records in full, featuring some of her most compelling studio recordings. Included in this set are 1975's Pieces of the Sky, 1975's Elite Hotel, 1977's Luxury Liner, 1978's Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town, and 1979's Blue Kentucky Girl.

Classic Hits 1938-52 is a five-disc, 123-track collection of Big Joe Turner's earliest recording sessions before finding stardom with his mid-'50s R&B sides. While this JSP set isn't extravagant, it's a luxury to have Turner's sides for National, Aladdin, Freedom, MGM, and Imperial remastered and together in one collection. The final disc also includes the Boss of the Blues' first recordings for Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun of Atlantic Records: "Chains of Love," "Sweet Sixteen," "Poor Lover's Blues," and "Still in Love (With You)." Turner tackles blues, swing, and fiery up-tempo jump blues, assisted by Pete Johnson, Wynonie Harris, Pee Wee Crayton, Budd Johnson, Dave Bartholomew, Fats Domino, Joe Houstin, Albert Ammons, Don Byas, Art Tatum, and Hot Lips Page. While this is a collector's dream, the casual listener would do better with Big, Bad & Blue: The Big Joe Turner Anthology on Rhino.

Bill Evans - The Sesjun Radio Shows (2011) {2CD Set, T2 Entertainment PRCD2011005 rec 1973-1979}
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© 1973-79, 2011 Out Of The Blue / Beeld en Geluid / T2 Entertainment | PRCD 2011005
Jazz / Post Bop / Modal Music / Piano

Bill Evans was frequently recorded for radio broadcast during his various European tours, many of which ended up as bootlegs with incorrect song and personnel listings, poor audio, and incomplete tracks. Fortunately, everything is done right in this two-CD set, which is compiled from three separate performances between 1973 and 1979. The first five tracks are from a duo tour with the phenomenal bassist Eddie Gomez, who spent over 11 years with the pianist. The absence of a drummer (Marty Morell was evidently not a part of this tour, though he played with Evans into 1974) gives Evans a more intimate sound; Evans seemed to achieve an incredible E.S.P. playing with the talented Gomez.

Bennett, whose recorded legacy has been gathered in a 76-disc boxed set titled The Compete Collection, has been doing that for over 60 years: saving our souls with the greatest songs ever written. The Complete box is an absolute necessity, first because it contains several previously unreleased albums, like On the Glory Road and From This Moment On, a live concert taped in Las Vegas that collectors have been salivating over since 1964.

Charlie Walker - Pick Me Up On Your Way Down (1999) {5CD Set, Bear Family BCD15852EI rec 1952-1971}
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© 1952-71, 1999 Bear Family Records | BCD 15852 EI
Honky-Tonk / Hillbilly /Country / Country-Pop / Nashville Sound

The hillbilly shuffle and the honky tonk song are still the cornerstones of real country music. Some pioneers, like Ray Price, are getting their due these days, but others, like Charlie Walker, tend to be overlooked.
The facts are these: Charlie Walker's early hits, like Who Will Buy The Wine, Pick Me Up On Your Way Down, Wild As A Wildcat, and Little Ol' Winedrinker Me are simply as good as it gets when it comes to heartbreakin', cheatin', beerhall country music and state-of-the-art hillbilly shuffles. The 154 sides represented in this five-CD collection chronicle the development of Charlie Walker's style from his earliest recordings in 1952 for Imperial Records to his classic sides for Columbia and Epic Records.