Ken Brown

6CD Box Set celebrating the late, great Ken Hensley. A name synonymous with Uriah Heep, Ken Hensley was a founder member of the British prog legends and, during the 1970s, was the keyboard player, occasional guitarist and principle song writer. Right up to his passing in 2020, he was a prolific performer and writer. This fine fine box, up to the usual high Cherry Red standards and covers a breadth of material well. For fans of Uriah Heep.

On their first stand-alone record as a duo, Ken Vandermark and Hamid Drake celebrate their 30+ year playing relationship with an electrifying live set of pieces, all featuring music composed by legendary free jazz musician Don Cherry. Restricting himself here to tenor saxophone, Vandermark has developed an almost telepathic understanding with Drake, whose masterful work on the drum kit has rarely been more focused and relaxed.

Proud Words On A Dusty Shelf (1973). This is the solo debut of Uriah Heep's resident keyboardist and top songwriter, but it isn't the heavy metal epic one might expect. In fact, Proud Words On A Dusty Shelf uses electric guitar sparingly and instead goes for a moody soundscape built on acoustic guitar and piano. Songs like "Black Hearted Lady" and "The Last Time" even evoke a bit of a country and western feel, thanks to their use of mellow-sounding slide guitar. This subtle sonic style puts Hensley's songwriting in the spotlight and that is a good thing because each of the songs is well-crafted and tuneful: a subtle combination of acoustic guitar and synthesizer brings out the haunting, delicately crafted melody of "From Time To Time" and "Black Hearted Lady" effectively evokes its mood of heartbreak with a descending acoustic guitar riff…

James Brown - Say It Loud, I'm Black And I'm Proud (1969) {Universal Music Japan Mini LP UICY-9292 rel 2003}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 236 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 87 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 9 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1969, 2003 Polydor / Universal Music Japan | UICY-9292 | Cardboard Sleeve | 24bit remastering
Funk / R'n'B / Soul / Funky Jam

Limited to 5000 copies. Paper sleeve. SAY IT LOUD - I'M BLACK AND I'M PROUD was James Brown's initial album release for 1969, as KING 5-1047 in stereo within a gatefold jacket. It was preceded by A SOULFUL CHRISTMAS and followed by GETTIN' DOWN TO IT, his great jazzy album backed by The Dee Felice Trio. It was also released simultaneously in England, France, Germany and Spain. In 1990 it was available for the first time on CD from Japan, and later had a US release in 1996. That's the version I would recommend, I'm not sure that the Japanese imports have the track info and liner notes in English.