The Spoilers (1955) Jesse Hibbs, Anne Baxter, Jeff Chandler, Rory Calhoun, Western

Oh, My Girl, the second album by singer/songwriter Jesse Sykes and her band the Sweet Hereafter – led by Phil Wandscher – picks up where her debut, Reckless Burning, left off. Songs are played at cough-syrup tempo, production is sparse, instrumentation equally so, offering just enough of a frame for the melody and lyrics to hang themselves on, and everything, absolutely everything, is underplayed. There is plenty of dynamic tension, but little to no dynamic range. Yes, this is a good thing. Sykes' ghostly voice, which hovers about her words more than inhabits them, has enough old-world folkiness, raw – if intentionally muted – willingness, and lonesome country pain in it to carry off these tunes with authority. Produced, mixed and engineered by multi-instrumentalist Tucker Martine, Oh, My Girl is full of slow, dipping passion, moody expressionism and poetic smarts to make it stand out in a sensual, narcotic way from the rest of the gothic alterna-twang pack. And one more thing: Sykes has more emotion in the grain of her halting, cracking voice than a whole army of Margo Timmins'es – so let the comparisons stop now, please.

Silver Patron Saints: The Songs of Jesse Malin is a tribute and benefit album, with all proceeds to Jesse Malin’s Sweet Relief artist fund. It features Bruce Springsteen, Counting Crows, The Wallflowers, Lucinda Williams, Elvis Costello, Bleachers, Billie Joe Armstrong, Dinosaur Jr, Frank Turner, Tom Morello, Steve Van Zandt, Spoon, The Hold Steady, Low Cut Connie, Rancid and more. The full album tracklisting is a proper trawl through his career from the glorious D Generation days right up to the very recent past.

Most of the Sinatra recordings available during the 1950s consisted of his contemporary work for Capitol Records. But every so often his former label, Columbia Records, would get something together on LP from among his '40s and early-'50s sides. The Voice was one of a handful of '50s long-players showcasing the first phase of Sinatra's solo career, and at the time it wowed listeners – the focus is on the ballads, and the dozen represented here constitute a bumper crop of classics, all resplendent in the singer's richest, most overpowering intonation and most delicately nuanced work…

Herb Geller was a west-coast alto saxophone player that later settled down in Germany. But in the fifties he was all American and also had a professional relationship with his piano playing wife, Lorraine. It must have been the post bebop eras first husband-wife quartet with the solid Red Mitchell on bass and the young aspiring Mel Lewis on drums.
Over three days in 1955 they recorded this splendid album consisting of 12 sizzling tracks - amongst these five original tunes by Herb himself. The quartet plays together with ease, relaxation and dedication. Naturally with a focus on Herbs sax but Lorraine and Red also takes the solo space from time to time. Halfway through the album Lorraine Geller has a thoughtful piano solo piece that differs a lot from the rest album…

Tenor Stan Getz and valve-trombonist Bob Brookmeyer made a mutually beneficial team. Although they had not played together all that much in 1954 (Brookmeyer had left Getz's band earlier in the year to join the Gerry Mulligan Quartet), the strong musical communication between the two horns during this set is obvious. Eight of the ten selections are from a live concert (with pianist John Williams, bassist Bill Anthony, and drummer Art Mardigan) while the final two numbers (on what was originally a pair of LPs) were cut in the studio the following day with the same personnel except that Frank Isola was on drums. Highlights of this cool-toned bop music (which, in addition to the solos, has many exciting ensembles) include "Lover Man," "Pernod," "Tasty Pudding," and "It Don't Mean a Thing."