Jim Abrahams

Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection.
Not quite a "masterpiece," but almost. Titus Groan were an early (they formed sometime in 1969 and released their only album and single in 1970)…

The companion release to the quiet-moments compilation TENDER, Wishbone Ash collection TOUGH represents the more hard-rocking side of this stalwart British band. Wishbone Ash made their name in the 1970s with their dueling guitars and epic tunes, but TOUGH features a number of latter-day selections from the long-lived band, proving that as the decades went on, they managed to retain that hard-rock bite that had always endeared them to their legions of fans.

British rockers Wishbone Ash gained fame in the 1970s for their twin-guitar attack and captivating blend of hard rock and progressive stylings. TENDER is a collection of tunes that showcase the softer side of the band's musical personality, including a number of latter-day tracks. Acoustic-tinged balladry and dynamics that veer towards the low end of the spectrum are the order of the day here, but if you want the harder stuff, check out this disc's companion release, entitled (what else?) TOUGH.

With her debut solo album Ya Nass (2013), Yasmine Hamdan introduced her personal, modern take on Arabic pop. In Al Jamilat (‘The Beautiful Ones’), she pursues her musical exploration, while taking a look at the mutations at work within the Arab world. While Yasmine’s vocals are definitely connected to traditions of Arabic music (to which she takes an unconventional and fresh approach), the structures and arrangements of the songs are very remote from its codes, and take in elements from contemporary Western electronic, pop and folk music.

Still trying to recover from the effects of a devastating 1995 stroke, Les McCann relaxed and put out a playful jazz/funk album with a cast of dozens that in some ways harkens back to some of his Atlantic sides from the 1970s. Unlike his other post-stroke albums, he doesn't play any keyboards here, leaving them in the hands of Ricky Peterson, with an emphasis on the Hammond B3. Rather, McCann is content just to sing and rap – again, a throwback and fallback to records made a quarter-century before. At 66, McCann sounds considerably different – older and a little shakier on the ballads, but still sly and willing. The grooves are OK in a minimally updated '70s funk manner, but the material, coming from a variety of sources, is rather ordinary as a whole.

The This Is the Blues series from Eagle Records (there are four volumes thus far) features players from the late-'60s/early-'70s golden age of classic British blues-rock covering, for the most part, songs by Willie Dixon and John Lee Hooker, all drawn from a series of tribute albums originally produced by Peter Brown. The fact that everything on these volumes was overseen by the same producer means that there’s an unusual unity of sound throughout the series, and listening to these collections feels a bit like listening to concert recordings at some super all-star British blues festival. The lineup is impressive, including the likes of Jeff Beck, Mick Jagger, Rory Gallagher, Jack Bruce, former members of Foghat (Lonesome Dave Peverett, Rod Price), and Peter Green, who has several of his own songs also covered in the series…