The hillbilly shuffle and the honky tonk song are still the cornerstones of real country music. Some pioneers, like Ray Price, are getting their due these days, but others, like Charlie Walker, tend to be overlooked.
The facts are these: Charlie Walker's early hits, like Who Will Buy The Wine, Pick Me Up On Your Way Down, Wild As A Wildcat, and Little Ol' Winedrinker Me are simply as good as it gets when it comes to heartbreakin', cheatin', beerhall country music and state-of-the-art hillbilly shuffles. The 154 sides represented in this five-CD collection chronicle the development of Charlie Walker's style from his earliest recordings in 1952 for Imperial Records to his classic sides for Columbia and Epic Records.
Record collectors into Nordic rock are well aware of this band that recorded one album that is very much sought after, with its highly rated Hammond-driven hard rock rather typical of that era. They do have their own sound but can be compared to a rough Jethro Tull (Aqualung-style) or Atomic Rooster, playing tight music, but also leaving some space for instrumental interplay on some tracks. "1972-75" is a collection of songs that should have been the second album plus a few archive gems. Sadly in 1975 The Old Man & the Sea was dropped by CBS even before releasing anything on that label and it meant the end of the band as they couldn't get another deal.
The Old Man & the Sea split up back in 1975. Yet the band still kept in contact, and frequently met up to do jam sessions. One of these occasions were taking place on the 5th. of April 1978. At that time Tommy Hansen had established a studio facility called “HT Studio”. In these humble surroundings, the magic of “Witches Brew” ascended. Some dedicated friends of ours joined in for this particular jam session.
Apart from John Lundvig (drums) Erik Dolle Halager (bass) Ole Wedel (guitar) and Tommy Hansen (keyboards) Harry Jokumsen played the guitar, Poul Aage Hersland played the flute - oboe and saxophone, Torben Fingal Frederiksen did percussion, mainly congas, and finally Preben Lundvig did some guitar…
On Paint This Town, Old Crow Medicine Show offer a riveting glimpse into American mythology and the wildly colourful characters who populate it. Co-produced by Old Crow Medicine Show and Matt Ross-Spang the album pays homage to everyone from Elvis Presley to Eudora Welty while shedding a bright light on the darker aspects of the country’s legacy. Fueled by Old Crow's freewheeling collision of Americana, old-time music, folk, and rock & roll, Paint This Town turns razor-sharp commentary into rapturous sing-alongs.
Reissue of wild 1972 Danish hard prog with Yes-like vocals, wild, frantic guitar soloing, organ roars, lengthy tracks.
The Old Man & The Sea offers a heavy prog type of music quite typical for that era, organ laden with similarities towards british school of that time like Uriah Heep, Purple or Atomic Rooster. The sound is accesible and melodic but also are some more hard rock parts that is well integrated in the overall prog atmosphere. The opening Living Dead or the ending Going Blind are quite more then ok, hammong melted with bluesy guitars but under prog flag. Nice vocal arrangements, Ole Wedel has a very good tone for such music.