Modern Rock: From The 1960s On

Sam Hopkins was a Texas country bluesman of the highest caliber whose career began in the 1920s and stretched all the way into the 1980s. Along the way, Hopkins watched the genre change remarkably, but he never appreciably altered his mournful Lone Star sound, which translated onto both acoustic and electric guitar. Hopkins' nimble dexterity made intricate boogie riffs seem easy, and his fascinating penchant for improvising lyrics to fit whatever situation might arise made him a beloved blues troubadour.

Ace Records’4-CD box set Make It Your Sound, Make It Your Scene: Vanguard Records and the 1960s Musical Revolution is a comprehensive chronicle of the Vanguard sound and style, taking in not only folk, but blues, gospel, country and even rock. (The label’s jazz and classical forays, alas, shall have to wait until another day.) As such, it’s a hugely impressive monument to a decade-plus of recordings that influenced a generation of blues-rock and psychedelic performers as the 1960s made way for the 1970s. But it’s even more of a revelation, for good or ill, that the universal themes reflected in these artists’ works still resonate today. This set isn’t for casual, background listening, but instead offers a serious (and seriously entertaining) glimpse back at a heady time for American culture…

During the mid to late 1960s the Modern Music Centre in London welcomed hundreds of aspirant hopefuls through it's doors at 86 Turnham Green Terrace in Chiswick. Over seventy acetates at least on the studio's own label are known to exist but the fact that few have ever been released has ensured the studio remains a largely forgotten venture. It's relatively prolific output of discs however has enabled a most entertaining expedition with Faces From The Dark, from singular beat to unhinged psychedelia, amidst a good measure of fuzzed our frazzles. Faces From The Dark is a CD only compilation featuring 28 tracks (of which only 3 have been previously released)

During the mid to late 1960s the Modern Music Centre in London welcomed hundreds of aspirant hopefuls through it's doors at 86 Turnham Green Terrace in Chiswick. Over seventy acetates at least on the studio's own label are known to exist but the fact that few have ever been released has ensured the studio remains a largely forgotten venture. It's relatively prolific output of discs however has enabled a most entertaining expedition with Faces From The Dark, from singular beat to unhinged psychedelia, amidst a good measure of fuzzed our frazzles. Faces From The Dark is a CD only compilation featuring 28 tracks (of which only 3 have been previously released)

Blues, Rock‘n’Roll and all that Jazz: a musical autobiography that represents a fascinating cross-section from the glittering career and from the passionate life of producer Siggi Loch - for his 75th birthday. Right at the start of his career, he had the dream of running his own jazz label, and he has now fulfilled that dream. ACT has been voted label of the year four times in a row at the German ECHO awards, and in 2015 alone, its artists and releases garnered eight ECHOs: the label has achieved international renown. However this CD collection is a snapshot of where things are, a provisional taking of stock to mark and to celebrate Siggi Loch's 75th birthday.

The Beatnik Termites are a Cleveland, Ohio power pop band with a heavy surf rock influence. Their sound and vocals are similar in style to the Beach Boys and early 1960s girl groups. While often lumped under the category pop punk, what sets them apart from other bands in this genre is their more complicated melodies, vocal arrangements, and mid-tempo beats. They are seen as the progenitors of subgenre of punk dubbed oldies-core, which is characterized by sugary doo-wop/oldies-influenced harmonies coupled with aggressive buzzsaw guitars and surf punk drumbeats.

This is a seven-CD box set that repackages all 11 LPs that Lightnin' Hopkins recorded for Bluesville and Prestige during the first half of the 1960s: Last Night Blues, Lightnin', Blues in My Bottle, Walkin' This Road By Myself, Lightnin' and Co., Smokes Like Lightning, Hootin' the Blues, Goin' Away, Down Home Blues, Soul Blues and My Life in the Blues. The very prolific Hopkins (who was never loyal to any one label) also recorded for Candid, Arhoolie, Fire and Vee Jay during the period! The bulk of My Life in the Blues is actually a lengthy and rather historic interview that Samuel Charters conducted with Hopkins. A special bonus of the set is 13 often exciting tracks from a previously unissued concert at the Swarthmore College Folk Festival. The music throughout the box covers quite a variety of moods and subject matter (with Hopkins being unaccompanied on 34 of the tracks) and definitively sums up the veteran bluesman's later period.

Still untouched by human settlement barely 500 years ago, the islands of the Southwest Indian Ocean, Mauritius, Reunion Island, Rodrigues and the Seychelles were colonized by Europeans (French, English and Dutch) from the end of the 16th century on and operated as trading posts on the Indian route. Slaves were deported from Africa and Madagascar to cultivate coffee, spices and sugar cane. On the margins of the plantations, during clandestine gatherings, they exorcised their daily lives through percussion, singing and dancing. It is the tschiéga, chéga or sega, from Mozambique and Malagasy influence.