Rice, Rice, Hillman & Pedersen

The "5" Royales - Monkey Hips & Rice (1994) {2CD Set Rhino R2 71546 rec 1952-1962}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 567 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 255 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 41 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1952-62, 1994 King/Gusto Records / Rhino Records | R2 71546
Rhythm & Blues / Rock & Roll / Early R&B / Doo Wop / Jump Blues

The 5 Royales are legendary, primarily in the sense that their legend grew over the years, as the status of what they achieved began to be realized. Like many trailblazing groups, the 5 Royales made music that wasn't fully appreciated at the time and is pigeonholed into the influential but not heard category. This makes their list of accomplishments seem academic – they pushed through gospel and doo wop, incorporating jump and urban blues and, eventually, rock & roll, paving the way toward the soul of the '60s. Led by guitarist/songwriter Lowman Pauling, the group was remarkably versatile, stretching the accepted limits of what a vocal group could do, particularly because Pauling's guitar and earthy, soulful songwriting ignored boundaries and let the group follow suit.

Magnificently packaged in a CD-sized hardcover book filled with personal artwork, lyrics, and photos, Damien Rice's debut full-length, O, is nothing less than a work of genius, a perfect cross between Ryan Adams and David Gray and a true contender for one of the best albums of 2003. This Irish singer/songwriter works with impassioned folk songs that move from stripped-down to grandly orchestrated in a heartbeat. The production is reminiscent of Songs of Leonard Cohen – simple guitars, vocals, and then those swelling strings, all of which sound like they were recorded right in the same room. Rice is master of what critic/ranter Richard Meltzer called "the unknown tongue" – basically the musical equivalent of the "punctum" in photos, it's that thing that grabs a hold of you, the detail that makes it happen. After wooing critics in 2003 with his stunning debut album, O, Damien Rice built upon his growing success with this quaint B-sides collection. This EP features seven previously unreleased songs that are soul-stirringly classic of the Irish singer/songwriter.