Booger Bear

Various Artists - The Hillbillies: They Tried To Rock, Vol. 1 (2014) {Bear Family BCD17350AH rec 1950-1958}
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© 1950-58, 2014 Bear Family Records | BCD 17350 AH
Hillbillies / Rock & Roll / Country / Country Boogie / Rockabilly

At times, the line between country and rock & roll was very thin indeed, but Bear Family's two-volume, 2014 set The Hillbillies: They Tried to Rock presents a familiar story from a different angle: it showcases country singers trying to combat the rising tide of rock & roll. Plenty of the early rock & rollers came up through some manner of country circuit – the Sun stable in particular was riddled with these types – but once Elvis Presley started a streak of monster hits in 1956, major country stars and upstart hillbillies alike tried to ride that wave.

Soulful and earthy bro, altoist Charles Williams' second mainstream album! A superb jazz-funk album interwoven with heavyweight soul-jazz warriors such as Cornell Dupree and Don Pullen! Recorded in 1971. [Musicians] Charles Williams (as), David "Bubba" Brooks (ts), Don Pullen (p, org), Cornell Dupree (g), Jimmy Lewis (b), William Curtis (ds), Montego Joe (per).

Dumpstaphunk's recording catalog is dominated by live albums. Where Do We Go From Here, only their third studio collection in nearly 20 years together, has solved the problem of finding intensity without an audience by updating their famous 2017 political statement song, "Justice" (now called "Justice 2020") and by putting their particular spin on three tunes that are part of the band's collective musical foundation.

Rick Lawson has the sweet Motown-inspired vocal style of one of the great soul groups of the late '60s and early '70s, not at all unlike Cuba Gooding of the Main Ingredient or General Johnson of the Chairmen of the Board. Unlike the comparatively chaste lyrical stance of those groups, however, Lawson is not at all above singing choruses like "I'm your freak cowboy" or delivering an R. Kelly-style wry psychodrama like "Baby Mama Drama." The tunes on Sexified don't have a bit of hip-hop influence other than the unabashedly frank (but never cheaply vulgar) lyrical topics, however. Although the arrangements feature modern synthesizers as much as they do vintage wah-wah guitar, this is proudly retro-soul, providing richly melodic settings as well as deep grooves. The closing "She Was Cheatin' Better Than Me" is a particularly choice near-classic of the style, but there's not a dud to be found on this album.