Tears of Joy

Recorded in 1971, Tears of Joy is a Don Ellis classic. The sheer musical strength of this ensemble is pretty much unparalleled in his career. The trumpeter/leader had backed off - a bit - from some of his outlandish and beautifully excessive use of strange and unconventional time signatures, though there is no lack of pioneering experimentalism in tone, color, arrangement, or style. This double LP/CD features a string quartet, a brass octet (four trumpets, tuba, bass trombone, trombone, and French horn), four winds, and a rhythm section boasting two drummers, a percussionist, a bassist, and the Bulgarian jazz piano wizard Milcho Leviev…

Guitarist Tuck Andress and vocalist Patti Cathcart created a bit of a stir with this set, their debut recording. Patti's powerful folk singing and Tuck's self-sufficient guitar make for a very appealing duet on such numbers as Bob Dorough's "I've Got Just About Everything," Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time," "Better Than Anything," "My Romance" and "Takes My Breath Away." Although they would record other worthwhile albums, this is still their definitive release, jazz-oriented but also crossing over toward folk and new acoustic music.

Various Artists - The Bakersfield Sound - Country Music Capital Of The West 1940-1974 (2019) {10CD Set Bear Family BCD16036}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 3.90 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 1.68 Gb
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© 1940-74, 2019 Bear Family Records | BCD 16036
Country / Traditional Country / Bakersfield Sound / Honky Tonk

Buck Owens turned Bakersfield, California into the epicenter of hip country music in the mid-'60s. All it took was a remarkable streak of number one singles that steam rolled right through Nashville with their electrified twang, forever changing the notion of what constituted country music and codifying the Bakersfield sound as hard-driving rhythms, trebly Telecasters, and lean arrangements suited for honky tonks, beer joints, and jukeboxes all across America. Half-a-century later, these remain sonic signifiers of Bakersfield, so the term no longer conveys a specific sound, place, and era, a situation the weighty Bear Family box The Bakersfield Sound: Country Music Capital of the West 1940-1974 intends to rectify.

Carmen Cuesta - Loeb set the pace for her album "Peace Of Mind" by working together with such top studio musicians as Chuck Loeb, Will Lee, Wolfgang Haffner and Bob James. Icing on the cake for her brand of "sophisticated pop" are the solos delivered by such jazz stars as Toots Thielemans, Bill Evans and Till Bronner. Alongside a number of her own compositions in a relaxed, atmospheric vein, jewels like the heart-rendering title song "Peace Of Mind", the catchy "Paralelo" or the romantic ballad "Bells", there are two cover versions in particular that stand out on the list of tracks.

Ritual of Love is the second album by American singer Karyn White, released in 1991. It contains her biggest hit "Romantic", as well as her other R&B hit "The Way I Feel About You". Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis' production is the real star of White's sophomore album. And while the results aren't nearly as stunning as similar work they did with Janet Jackson around the same time (many of these songs sound like Rhythm Nation leftovers), there is a uniformity to the tracks that makes Ritual a more consistent and enjoyable listen than it should be.

Hibiscus Biscuit’s brand of psychedelic rock cavorts about between driving syncopated breakdowns, Melancholic lullabies and tight upbeat groove sections. Coupled with an immersive live experience headed by frontman Ricardo Moreira, their music is most likely to induce tears of joy from your third eye. Hailing from Portugal, Australia and Canada, members Ricardo, Sy, Jason and Aidan can usually be found lurking in back alleys after their shows.
A few years after the bands chance conception in Newtown’s Camperdown Park, 'Reflection of Mine' was conceived in the band's new home studio in the Blue Mountains. Cue a depraved 6 months avoiding the sunlight, and they emerge with their debut record and a brand new caffeine addiction…