Fred Penner It Ain’t Gonna Rain

The Turtles - It Ain't Me Babe (1965) {2017 2CD Edsel Deluxe Remastered Edition EDSK7117}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 334 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 134 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 447 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1965, 2017 Edsel Records / Flo & Eddie Inc. / Demon Music | EDSK 7117
Pop Rock / AM Pop / Folk-Rock / Sunshine Pop

The Turtles enjoyed eighteen US hit singles between 1965 and 1970, three of which (“Happy Together”, “She’d Rather Be With Me” and “Elenore”) were also huge hits in the UK. From their original incarnation as surf band The Crossfires, all the way to their final single, the Turtles traversed several different musical paths during their career. It is precisely this power through diversity that makes the Turtles’ body of work one of the most rewarding and enjoyable of the 1960’s – they never met a genre they didn’t like. Edsel Records is proud to present the band’s six albums, each as a 2 CD digipak set.

The Turtles' first album was recorded in a frantic hurry, in response to the hit status achieved by their debut single, "It Ain't Me Babe." At the time, the members were barely out of high school, a situation that might have caused a lot of other young musicians to fold up under the strain of the moment - there was no time to write (and barely time to find) the songs the members might have seemed worthy of so momentous an event (which it would have been) as a debut long-player. But the members were smart and they were also lucky - they reached out to more of Bob Dylan's songbag, and also back to their own high-school past in folk music as the Crosswind Singers. Thus, their debut album led with a chiming electric rendition of Howard Kaylan's 1963-vintage "Wanderin' Kind"…

Following two releases for Poppy Records in the early '70s, as well as a third recording that never saw the light of day, Chris Smither finally returned in 1984 with It Ain't Easy. Armed simply with guitar and voice, Smither delivers a dozen tunes (14 on the CD reissue) that embody the best tradition of blues and folk. Whether it's his originals, a standard like "Glory of Love," or material by the likes of Randy Newman, Chuck Berry, Mississippi John Hurt, and Howlin' Wolf, Smither infuses every track with the same timeless quality. Though he may, on occasion, choose rather standard folk, blues, and rock & roll fare ("Green Rocky Road," "Sittin' on Top of the World," "Maybelline") Smither never treats the songs as if they were museum pieces. In his hands, they're given a life and vitality they probably haven't seen in years. His masterful guitar work and dark, resonant baritone are ideally suited to the songs on It Ain't Easy. Like Mississippi John Hurt or Reverend Gary Davis, his playing is that perfect combination of simplicity and sophistication, discovering and filling harmonic voids without ever overstating or wasting a single note. There's not a false moment on the entire record. Highly recommended. (AMG)

Jimmy Burns - It Ain't Right (2015) {Delmark Records DE 841}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 401 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 137 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 21 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2015 Delmark Records | DE 841
Blues / Modern Electric Blues / Contemporary Blues / Soul Blues

It Ain't Right is Jimmy Burns' first studio set in a long time – 12 years, to be precise, a belated sequel to 2003's Back to the Delta. It Ain't Right doesn't make any pretenses about returning to Burns' Mississippi roots but rather settles into a wonderfully textured soulful groove, something relaxed and elastic, a sound that gives plenty of space to both his clean, hopping guitar and robust vocals.