Something 甄楚倩

This fine album was sadly lost in the shuffle when it was released the same year as another Nancy Wilson album, The Swingin's Mutual!, her highly successful collaboration with the George Shearing Quintet. This is a shame, because Something Wonderful is one of Wilson's best albums, and her tastiest, with famed big-band arranger Billy May. Only 23 years old at the time, Wilson had a commanding blues- and soul-drenched jazz voice that was fully formed at the time of this recording, and unlike so many young singers, she was already committed to communicating lyrics rather than just showing off her vocal chops. This is beautifully illustrated in the narrative gem "Guess Who I Saw Today," which justly went on to become one of Wilson's signature tunes…

This fine album was sadly lost in the shuffle when it was released the same year as another Nancy Wilson album, The Swingin's Mutual!, her highly successful collaboration with the George Shearing Quintet. This is a shame, because Something Wonderful is one of Wilson's best albums, and her tastiest, with famed big-band arranger Billy May. Only 23 years old at the time, Wilson had a commanding blues- and soul-drenched jazz voice that was fully formed at the time of this recording, and unlike so many young singers, she was already committed to communicating lyrics rather than just showing off her vocal chops. This is beautifully illustrated in the narrative gem "Guess Who I Saw Today," which justly went on to become one of Wilson's signature tunes…

Jimmy Hughes - Something Extra Special: The Complete Volt Recordings 1968-1971 (2010) {Kent Records CDKEND341}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 415 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 188 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 29 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1968-71, 2010 Stax/Volt / Kent / Concord Music / Ace | CDKEND 341
Soul / Southern Soul / Rhythm and Blues

In the early and mid-'60s, Jimmy Hughes made a substantial, if rather subtle and underrated, contribution to the evolution of Southern soul with bluesy soul recordings for several labels. In 1968, he signed with Stax, then eagerly looking to bolster its roster after the death of Otis Redding and the loss of Sam & Dave. Something Extra Special has all 11 tracks from his sole Stax LP, 1969's Something Special (most of which also appeared on singles), augmented by no less than 16 bonus tracks, including both tracks from a 1971 non-LP single and 14 previously unreleased cuts from the late '60s and early '70s.

This 2009 Blues Bureau International release rounds up highlights from Chris Duarte’s previous albums for the label (hence, the “something old”) and adds the previously unreleased “Outside Man” and three live cuts (“something new”). The new cuts are as reliable slices of modern blues-rock as the previously released tracks, so this winds up being a solid sampler of a sturdy group of records.

Coming in way above their previous effort, 1990’s Smooth Noodle Maps, Something for Everybody is the album Devo's fans had craved for 28 long years, or maybe 29, if you fall on the sour side of the iffy Oh, No! It's Devo. The synthetic, compressed, and punchy production – courtesy of producer and Bird & the Bee member Greg Kurstin – is a modern take on the sound of 1981’s New Traditionalists, and if you judge by hooks, this is right in line with their 1980 breakthrough, Freedom of Choice, although there’s certainly no “Whip It”-sized megahit here. Instead, there’s the opening “Fresh!” a herky-jerky, infectious number with lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh stuttering as if he just created New Wave’s “My Generation.” The wicked highlight “Don’t Shoot (I’m a Man)” (“They’ll hunt you down/And tase you bro/For playing with the rules”) is the album’s other key track, thanks to Mothersbaugh’s perfect framing of de-evolution’s give (hybrid cars) and take, take, take (Beltway snipers, overzealous cops, etc.).

Stanley Turrentine - Always Something There (1968) {Blue Note Japan SHM-CD TYCJ-81085 rel 2014} (24-192 remaster)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 243 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 87 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 319 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit 192 kHz remaster
© 1968, 2014 Universal Japan / Blue Note | BN 75th The Masterworks | TYCJ-81085
Jazz / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Jazz Blues / Saxophone

Features the high-fidelity SHM-CD format (compatible with standard CD player) and the latest 24bit 192kHz remastering. This LP was the very obvious follow-up to the moderately commercially successful "The Look of Love." Both took their titles from their opening Burt Bacharach tunes; and both included other contemporary pop hits, including by the Beatles. This one added a second Paul McCartney Beatles song, with the last two tracks being "Hey Jude" and "Fool on the Hill." The arranger on both "The Look of Love" and "Always Something There" was the great Thad Jones, who contributed one excellent original blues-jazz composition for each - here, one called "Home Town," which outstrips everything else due to its creative jazz content.