Painter of The Night

Leila Beaumont is a gorgeous and talented portrait painter trapped in a loveless marriage with her profligate husband, Francis. Though long ago, Francis very much played the hero, rescuing and wedding the orphaned 17-year-old Leila - Francis' more recent hedonistic lifestyle of drinking, drugging and womanizing has not only earned him quite a few enemies in London, but lost him the love of his wife.

The British Invasion: History Of British Rock, a Various Artists Compilation. Released between 1988-1991 on Rhino records.

Back In The World of Adventures Swedish progressive rock legends The Flower Kings, and longtime label-partners InsideOutMusic, will begin an extensive reissue campaign in 2022, which will see the entire catalogue of the band reissued on CD & Vinyl in remastered editions, with it being the first time many of the albums have been available on wax. First up are 1995’s Back In The World of Adventures & 1996’s Retropolis, which both featured the line-up of Roine Stolt, Tomas Bodin, Michael Stolt, Jaime Salazar, Hasse Fröberg, Ulf Wallander and Hasse Bruniusson.

Often credited as early architects of the San Francisco sound, the Beau Brummels found success right out of the gate with their 1964 debut single, "Laugh, Laugh." With its autumnal folk-pop jangle and moody melodic hooks, the song bore enough resemblance to the burgeoning British Invasion that many fans mistook these young Americans for invading Brits. Defined by the partnership of Sal Valentino (vocals, tambourine) and Ron Elliott (guitar, vocals, songwriter), the influential group went on to notch a small clutch of mid-'60s hits like "Just a Little" and "You Tell Me Why," while anticipating both the folk-rock and country-rock genres ahead of better-known bands, especially the Byrds. By the late '60s, the Brummels' mainstream popularity had all but died, and yet they went on to release their two best albums in 1967's enchanting Triangle and its 1968 follow-up, the eclectic, countrified Bradley's Barn. A pair of reunion albums were made in 1975 and 2013, but they failed to match the exceptional quality of the group's original 1960s run. That is the period covered here on the exhaustive eight-disc set Turn Around: Complete Recordings 1964-1970, from archival deep-divers Cherry Red Records. Generously padding their five Autumn/Warner Bros. records is an absolute banquet of singles, demos, alternate mixes, and assorted rarities that reveal every facet of the band, from their Baroque and psych-pop leanings to the tight beat-folk of their early days. As the label boasts, this truly is the last word on the Brummels. More often than not, the music is excellent and it's easy to see why the band is still held in such esteem after all these years. ~ Timothy Monger

John Mellencamp is an American rock singer-songwriter, musician, painter and occasional actor known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock which emphasizes traditional instrumentation. He has sold over 40 million albums worldwide and has amassed 22 Top 40 hits in the United States. In addition, he holds the record for the most tracks by a solo artist to hit number-one on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, with seven, and has been nominated for 13 Grammy Awards, winning one. His biggest musical influences are Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Buddy Holly and The Rolling Stones. Mellencamp was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 10, 2008.

As a four-CD, 113-track collection of 1960s Beau Brummels recordings (nothing is included from their post-'60s reunions), Magic Hollow is an excellent overview of the career of one of the finest and most underrated American bands.