L'iniziazione (1999)

Nightlife is a loose concept album – more of a song cycle, really – about nightlife (naturally), a collection of moods and themes, from love to loneliness. In that sense, it's not that different from most Pet Shop Boys albums, and, musically, the album is very much of a piece with Very and Bilingual, which is to say that it relies more on craft than on innovation…

Cotton has played for many labels over his career, Vanguard being but one of those labels. This CD is basically a compilation of two excellent Vanguard recordings. Tracks 1 though 5 are from the album "Chicago/The Blues/Today Volume 2", which was recorded in 1966. Tracks 6 through 15 are from the album "Cut You Loose" which was recorded two years later in 1968. The bonus track, "Next Time You See Me" was previously unreleased. When listening to the CD you will notice two distinct styles. The first five tracks, Cotton performs with a stripped down band consisting only of James Madison on guitar, Otis Span on piano and S.P. Leary on drums.

Seattle-based Henry Cooper's second release is a continuation of his passion for blues tradition, but delivered in a fresh setting. As in Henry's first album Baby Please, Slide Man is framed in a similar lean-n-mean production. The classic four-piece ensemble of slide guitar, Hammond organ, bass & drums leaves plenty of room for the (all but one) self-penned songs to breathe. Henry is self-admittedly not a powerhouse vocalist, such as say, Screamin' Jay Hawkins (in whose band Henry used to play). However he's confident enough as a player to let the music do most of the talking, as six instrumentals prove. Harmonica was Henry's first instrument, and his dynamite harp work is often overshadowed by his stunning slide guitar playing.