The Boys In The Band

Ben Harper's history with the Blind Boys of Alabama has been an evolving one that has moved from being a guest on their landmark Higher Ground offering and touring with them in Europe, to the Blind Boys joining Ben and the Innocent Criminals on-stage at the front and back of the show. This album began as a series of rehearsals for collaboration on a Blind Boys of Alabama record. Recorded in two sessions, the vibe in the room was loose and creative enough that the two acts ended up with an album of collaborative material for joint release. And this is a collaboration in the truest sense of the word. It's not just Ben playing gospel, or the Blind Boys of Alabama singing on a Ben Harper record…..

In 1972 Bruce Johnston left The Beach Boys and two new members were added - Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar. Their time in the band was short-lived, enough for these two albums plus the live album released in 1973, but their presence was felt. The "Carl and The Passions" name is simply to make The Beach Boys into a "new" band for this record. Sort of the way The Beatles "became" Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1967 for that landmark album. But in this case all it did was confuse a mostly disinterested public. And that's too bad because there are some great songs on this little-heard album. “Holland,” on the other hand, remains one of the jewels of the Beach Boys’ post-Capitol Records catalog. There are lots of highlights here. "Sail On, Sailor" is the lead-off track and the most recognizable song on the album, but dig deeper and you'll be amazed at what the band members could accomplish when they put their minds to it. This CD reissue includes the six-song E.P. ("Mt. Vernon and Fairway") that was included with the album.

Beastie Boys fans should prepare for a feast with this two-DVD collection from the Criterion collection (Capitol Records had planned a regular collection, but seem to have abandoned it along the way.) The collection is not by any means completely comprehensive (there are 18 videos included), but it does manage to be exhaustive in terms of what it does cover (and offer.) Each disc includes nine videos, with each group presented twice – the first is a sequential presentation that offers a choice of Dolby 2.0, Dolby 5.1, band commentary track, or directors commentary track.

Maybe it was youthful exuberance or perhaps it was the fact that the band itself was not pulling all the strings, Three Imaginary Boys is not only a very strong debut, but a near oddity (it's an admittedly "catchy" record) in the Cure catalog. More poppy and representative of the times than any other album during their long career, Three Imaginary Boys is a semi-detached bit of late-'70s English pop-punk. Angular and lyrically abstract, it's strong points are in its utter simplicity. There are no dirges here, no long suites, just short bursts of energy and a rather strange cover of Hendrix's "Foxy Lady." For some, this is the last good Cure record, many fans of this album being in no way prepared for the sparse emptiness and gloom that would be the cornerstone of future releases…

As the first album the band recorded after guitarist Henry Garza suffered a serious spinal injury when he fell off-stage during a concert, 2014's Revelation finds Los Lonely Boys revitalized. The Texan trio has never been constrained by genre, but here they let their imagination wild, dabbling in every sound or style that's ever tickled their fancy, easing into proceedings with a teasing bit of traditional Tex-Mex – "Blame It on Love" opens with little more than guitar, accordion, and voice – before diving into every roots or rock style they've ever hinted at in the past.

The Fast - For Sale
FLAC | Artwork | 24Bit: 788 MB | 16Bit: 260 MB | FS + HF
Cat#: Recca RR 2000 | Country/Year: US 1980 | Genre: Punk, Glam

Brothers Paul Zone, Miki Zone & Armand Zone formed The Fast in the mid 70s somewhere between glam & punk and soon became an integral part of the Max's/CBGB scene along side Blondie & The Ramones with their blend of power pop & garage punk.

On Wednesday September 29, 2021 - the year of the band's 20th Anniversary - Kentucky's favorite sons, Black Stone Cherry, realized their childhood dream of playing at the legendary Royal Albert Hall, London…