Stranger BY The River

Produced by T Bone Burnett, "Lost On The River: The New Basement Tapes" was written and performed in creative collaboration by Elvis Costello, Rhiannon Giddens, Taylor Goldsmith, Jim James and Marcus Mumford. The artists, under the moniker The New Basement Tapes, and Burnett gathered in Capitol Studios in March to write and create music for a treasure trove of recently discovered lyrics handwritten by Bob Dylan in 1967 during the period that generated the recording of the legendary "Basement Tapes".

The Cookies were an American R&B girl group active in two distinct lineups, the first from 1954 to 1958 which later became The Raelettes, and the second from 1961 to 1967. Several of the members of both lineups were members of the same family. Both lineups were most prominent as session singers and backing vocalists.

Mike Scott had been pursuing his grandiose "big music" since he founded the Waterboys, so it came as a shock when he scaled back the group's sound for the Irish and English folk of Fisherman's Blues. Although the arena-rock influences have been toned down, Scott's vision is no less sweeping or romantic, making even the simplest songs on Fisherman's Blues feel like epics. Nevertheless, the album is the Waterboys' warmest and most rewarding record, boasting a handful of fine songs ("And a Bang on the Ear," the ominous "We Will Not Be Lovers," "Has Anybody Here Seen Hank?," and the title track), as well as a surprisingly successful cover of Van Morrison's breathtaking "Sweet Thing."[Fisherman's Blues was reissued in 2006 with a bonus disc containing 14 outtakes, alternate versions, and late-night studio jams. It was reissued again in 2013 as a seven-disc box set featuring 121 tracks from the album sessions, 85 of which had been previously unavailable.]

At the start of the 1970s a select group of up-and-coming record company bosses who had first made their mark during the late ‘60s were seriously challenging the supremacy of Jamaica’s established musical elite. This soon-to-be reggae royalty included such influential figures as Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Harry Johnson, Bunny Lee, Winston Riley and the man whose output provides the focus for this 2CD set, Joe Gibbs. Having already enjoyed numerous rock steady and boss reggae hits, Gibbs expanded an already impressive roster of artists to include some of the island’s most popular acts, notably The Heptones, Judy Mowatt and Dennis Alcapone. ‘Freedom To The People’ includes the very best of the producer’s output from 1971 to 1972, a period during which he further cemented his reputation as one of the most creative and successful forces on the Jamaican music scene.
Packed with an array of reggae hits alongside an equally impressive number of long-lost gems that have remained unavailable on any format for half a century, the collection is an essential addition to the collections of all self-respecting fans of vintage Jamaican sounds.

The Carter Family were pioneers of Country music but their influence was far reaching and impacted future performers of other genres such as folk, pop/rock and even Southern gospel. This 2CD set celebrates their early material (1927-1941) and includes Keep On The Sunnyside', 'Wabash Cannonball', 'Are You Lonesome Tonight?' title track 'Wildwood Flower' plus many more classic tracks.

Bangarang: The Best Of Stranger Cole 1962-1972 is a 2003 compilation album by reggae singer Stranger Cole. This was released by Trojan.

Connoisseurs of coffin nails will no doubt delight at the name of Ben Caplan’s backing band. In these days of anti-smoking hysteria their title and the music behind it belies a cheeky form of rebellion, conjuring up late night bars, too much booze and a crafty hit of nicotine in the rain outside while a fight breaks out on the dance floor. Caplan’s album is a mish-mash of many styles, all of which would find their home in roadhouses and smoking dens. The album’s predominate vibe is bluesy shanties, with Caplan’s deep growl reverberating like a hybrid of Eddie Vedder and the throaty rasp of Tom Waits. The Casual Smokers themselves accompany on a variety of traditional instruments veering between jugband and gypsy punk. The odd flash of far-eastern exoticism can be heard in the likes of the stomping Conduit, but the overall effect is like a group of hillbillies have infiltrated a Brechtian cabaret.