Everybody Loves Touda

Roy Ayers's had long made his shift into R&B/soul by 1976's Everybody Loves the Sunshine. His recordings of this period can be very hit and miss, and in this particular record, you get both. The title track, "Everybody Loves the Sunshine," is a quintessential song from the mid-'70s. While it might not have slammed the charts like Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music," it's still a revered classic. It evokes that feeling of sweltering concrete in Brooklyn where the only relief is the local fire hydrant.

Freddie Redd - Everybody Loves A Winner (1991) {Milestone MCD-9187-2 rec 1990}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 348 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 145 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 9 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1990 Milestone / Fantasy | MCD-9187-2
Jazz / Hard Bop / Piano

Pianist Freddie Redd has not recorded all that much during his 45-year career, but most of his records have been special events. This particular set has eight of Redd's tightly arranged compositions being performed by a fine sextet that also features tenor-saxophonist Teddy Edwards, altoist Curtis Peagler and trombonist Phil Ranelin.

For more than four years, from 1949 to 1953, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis hosted a weekly half-hour network radio variety series called The Martin and Lewis Show, and on each episode Martin would get to sing. This compilation, despite its unfortunately deceptive title (although there is a rendition of "Everybody Loves Somebody," of course it isn't the 1964 studio recording that was a number one hit), collects some of those performances. Although it isn't acknowledged on the cover, the selection also mixes in eight early studio recordings by Martin made prior to 1949 and is thus newly available in the public domain in Europe.

Among the benefits of picking up the new Tears for Fears album–the band's first since 1989–maybe the least obvious is looking cool in front of friends. Flick it on over cocktails, say, and brows will furrow: Few would think to match the heaving, synth-heavy boys who lit up the '80s with "Head Over Heels" to this new material. Which is mostly a good thing…