It's truly a marvel the impact that travel, locale, and hallucinogenic drugs can have on talented young musicians. The Navarros were a band from the sleepy town of Medford, Oregon, specializing in R&B and surf material, who decided to pay a visit to San Francisco in the summer of 1967. While they only planned to hang out for a few days, they ended up diving head first into the local hippie scene, and leader Rick Bolz started a new band with a handful of local players who shared his new taste for psychedelia. He called the band Neighb'rhood Childr'n, and their sole album, released in 1968, suggests a mid-point between classic San Francisco psychedelic rock and the poppier constructs of acts like the Turtles and the Beau Brummels…
Taking listeners on a journey through Rush's seminal, prog-heavy early period, Sector 1 is the first in a series of three box sets released by the band in 2011. Collecting the band's first five albums, Rush, Fly by Night, Caress of Steel, 2112, and the live album All the World’s a Stage, the set shows Rush finding their feet artistically as they grow from a Led Zeppelin-inspired blues-rock band on their debut to the wildly ambitious band that released 2112, an album with a 20-minute title track…
Jim McCarty is a legendary Rock 'N Roll guitarist who has a deep passion for the Blues. This album captures McCarty playing "live" impromptu jams with Blues greats Duke Robillard, Jimmy Thackery, Johnny A, John Nemeth, Jason Ricci, John Badanjek, and The Millionaires. Besides his signature Les Paul Gibson, McCarty, plays SG's and Telecasters. Styles range from jump-to back alley-to slide blues. He's plays in duo, band, and big band formats. This CD shows sides of McCarty not previously captured. It's a showcase for his passion, skill, and depth as a Blues guitarist! James William McCarty is an American blues rock guitarist from Detroit, Michigan. He has performed with Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels, the Buddy Miles Express, Cactus, The Rockets, the Detroit Blues Band, and more recently, Mystery Train. Since about 2014 Jim McCarty has joined forces with Detroit blues guitarist/songwriter Kenny Parker in The Kenny Parker Band along with several other veteran Detroit blues/rock musicians.
The year was 1947: World War II was over and there was music in the air, with Frank Sinatra making teenagers swoon. On other airways, primarily black radio stations, another, earthier music was being played which would become the foundation for what is now called rock & roll. Back then it was called the blues and rhythm & blues, and its voices had names like Wynonie Harris, Willie Dixon, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Among its musicians were Big Bill Broonzy, Hosea Sapp, and Thunder Smith. This CD is part of a series that chronicles the history of this music that was to have such an impact on rock & roll. This volume collects some of the great hits of 1947, when many baby boomers were born, who would go on to become the major supporters of the idiom…
After a very successful period in the 60's with the pop group named after him and a much less successful intermezzo in Jazz with Chapter Three, the South-African born keyboardist Manfred Mann turned towards Rock music. In 1971 he formed Manf
The Deluxe Edition of the album released in 2011 features a nicely crisp remastering job plus a fascinating bonus disc of demos. Before recording the album proper, the band hit a cheap studio in Hollywood and laid down rough versions of nine of the ten songs that ended up on the album (only "Out of Season" is missing). After attempting to recapture the magic they found in the crummy studio in fancy studios, and failing, the band ended up using about half the original demo performances on the final album and added overdubs to the rest. While it might have been fun to hear some of the failed attempts as well, hearing the entirety of the Crystal Demos is a powerful experience and makes this new edition of the album (even more) absolutely essential.
The 2011 London Palladium production was probably the most impressive stage production I have ever seen. This CD provides an excellent memory of the show with all the musical items. For those who haven't seen the show it is a welcome change from the Judy Garland soundtrack from the iconic film and it includes the new songs written for the stage show by Andrew Lloyd Webber…