Born April 30, 1933, the iconic Texas singer-songwriter Willie Nelson has earned a permanent position in pop music's pantheon with unforgettable songs that combine the sophistication of Tin Pan Alley with the rough-and-tumble grit and emotional honesty of country music. His six-decade-spanning catalog includes more than 60 studio albums in addition to live recordings, soundtracks,…
Decca was a fairly wide-ranging label whose trademark sound was a strain of commercially palpable hillbilly pop perfected by producer (and, beginning in 1958, label head) Owen Bradley. These three discs offer an assortment of stars (Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, Bill Monroe, Loretta Lynn), subordinates, and the uncelebrated. The latter, in fact, are what makes this box stand out. A great deal of the fun comes from antiquated time pieces like Johnny Wright's "Hello Vietnam" ("I hope theworld will come to learn/That fires we don't put out will bigger burn") or that master of the hayseed soliloquy Red Sovine's "If Jesus Came to Your House" ("Would you have to change your clothes before you let him in?/Or hide some magazines and put the Bible where they'd been?"). Overall, From The Vaults serves as an evocative sampler of what a rural jukebox was playing when Gunsmoke ruled the tube.
Bear Family, the venerable German label that does reissue boxes of U.S. artists better than any American label – with the possible exception of Mosaic – has taken the cream of Kitty Wells' career and issued one of the most historically important collections in the history of country music. The Queen of Country Music is a four-CD box, with exhaustive biographical and session notes by Charles Wolfe that document, in their entirety, nine years of Ms. Wells career, from its inception through to its turning point and superstardom, the years 1949 to 1958; there are 114 tracks in all. Along with every major hit and B-side from the eras, the set includes classic original versions of "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels," "Hey Joe!," "I Hear the Jukebox Playing," "Lonely Side of Town," "Making Believe," "Dust on the Bible," "The Place That Kills," "Right or Wrong," "Just When I Needed You," "The Great Speckled Bird," "Jealousy," and many others.
Popa Chubby, born Ted Horowitz, has been hard rocking the blues in his fierce and soulful way for more than 25 years. Over the course of a career that dates back to 1994, he has been a force of to be reckoned with on the guitar, and his tempestuous, soulful playing has never been more powerful. An imposing figure with a shaven head, tattooed arms, a goatee and a performance style he describes as “the Stooges meets Buddy Guy, Motörhead meets Muddy Waters, and Jimi Hendrix meets Robert Johnson," Popa Chubby is an endearing character who is one of the genre’s most popular figures.
Reissue with the latest remastering. Features original cover artwork. Comes with a descripton in Japanese. Out of hundreds of jazz CD's I own or have heard, this will always rank in my top ten. Recorded in 1981 with the awesome lineup of - Art Blakey (drums), Charles Fambrough (bass), Wynton Marsalis (trumpet), Bill Pierce (tenor sax), Bobby Watson (alto sax), and James Williams (piano). A little over 42 minutes long, this disc is as perfect as it gets and there is absolutely no filler! It's incredible to hear Blakey play… he is so good that he keeps a perfect rhythm going but then inserts offbeat syncopated and ghost beats on top of it. His style of playing always amazes me. Of course the rest of the band kick serious tail also and never miss a beat. Great tunes, outstanding arrangements, awesome solos, what else is there?