Original Album Classics contains five albums by Cypress Hill: Cypress Hill (1991), Black Sunday (1993), Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom (1995), Cypress Hill IV (1998), and Stoned Raiders (2001). That's the group's first four albums, plus its sixth – 2000's Skull & Bones was presumably left out because it's a two-disc album. For most casual fans, 2005's Greatest Hits from the Bong will be adequate, but this is a rather affordable way to obtain a major chunk of the group's catalog. The discs are presented as they were originally released, within standard jewel cases that slide inside a basic cardboard sleeve.
Hard core ZZ Top and Texas Blues fans know who Rocky Hill is. Very few others do, however, and that's a shame.
Rocky Hill was the brother of ZZ Top bass player and vocalist Dusty Hill, and in fact played in a psychedelic Blues band with Dusty in the late 60's. That band, a trio called American Blues, also included a certain drummer by the name of Frank Beard. Right there you had two-thirds of the future ZZ Top ready to go.
After the band broke up (with three albums to their credit) Beard joined a band being put together by a guitar player/singer named Billy Gibbons. When their bass player left Beard suggested his American Blues bandmate Dusty Hill, and the rest is history…
This recording has a huge advantage over most of its rivals for the attention of Tallis listeners: the wonderful acoustics of Winchester Cathedral. In this magnificent space, the soaring lines and resplendent harmonies of Tallis's greatest masterpieces find sympathetic resonance, resulting in a heightened dramatic presence that takes the music beyond earthly confines. Of course, beyond the exceptional quality of the writing, credit must go to the phenomenal men and boys of Winchester Cathedral Choir. Where, even in England, does one find trebles who sing with more assuredness, musicality, and beauty of tone? With a repertoire including "In ieiunio et fletu," "Salvator mundi," "In manus tuas," "The Lamentations of Jeremiah," "O nata lux," and the unbelievable 40-part motet "Spem in alium," this is the Tallis disc to own if you're buying only one.
Andrew Hill was one of the greatest pianists of the '60s, but he never quite received his due. Hill was a skillful, cerebral musician that consciously positioned his music between hard bop and free. He was at his peak in the mid-'60s, as his playing and composing continued to explore new territory. All of his seminal recordings for Blue Note between 1963 and 1966 are collected on the limited-edition, seven-disc box set The Complete Blue Note Andrew Hill Sessions (1963-66). During those three years, he recorded with an astonishing array of talents, including Eric Dolphy, Freddie Hubbard, Sam Rivers, Joe Henderson, Roy Haynes, Elvin Jones, Tony Williams, Richard Davis, Joe Chambers, John Gilmore, and Kenny Dorham. The box features 15 alternate takes, including ten previously unreleased cuts and a composition that has never been released…
Hard core ZZ Top and Texas Blues fans know who Rocky Hill is. Very few others do, however, and that's a shame.
Rocky Hill was the brother of ZZ Top bass player and vocalist Dusty Hill, and in fact played in a psychedelic Blues band with Dusty in the late 60's. That band, a trio called American Blues, also included a certain drummer by the name of Frank Beard. Right there you had two-thirds of the future ZZ Top ready to go.
After the band broke up (with three albums to their credit) Beard joined a band being put together by a guitar player/singer named Billy Gibbons. When their bass player left Beard suggested his American Blues bandmate Dusty Hill, and the rest is history…
Buck Hill recorded three sets for SteepleChase during 1978-81, one for a smaller European label and then nothing until 1989. Unlike most of his earlier dates, this Muse CD is mostly comprised of standards (six out of eight songs) and puts the emphasis on the boppish side of the tenor's style, greatly assisted by pianist Barry Harris, bassist Ray Drummond and drummer Freddie Waits. Hill romps throughout the program, particularly on such numbers as "Tenor Madness," "Stompin' at the Savoy" and "On the Trail."