The Talkies,

In one great double CD package comes a pair of albums that capture the spirit of one of America’s most revered R&B pioneers. The singer, who led the Detroit Wheels to fame in the Sixties, is heard ‘live’ in the studio and ‘live’ in concert. Both these albums were recorded in Germany in the early Eighties and present Mitch delivering his own witty and passionate lyrics together with ‘covers’ of some of his favourite rock anthems. ‘Live Talkies’ is a 14 track rave up recorded direct ‘live’ in the studio in Hamburg in 1981 and includes a raunchy version of Bob Dylan’s ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ and the Bobby Womack classic ‘It’s All Over Now’. The previously unreleased ‘Easter In Berlin’ is a real ‘live’ concert from the Oper Halle, West Berlin, on Easter Sunday 1980, during which Ryder sings his own compositions, culled from his many solo albums such as ‘Naked But Not Dead’ and ‘How I Spent My Vacation’.

This double-CD set gave bassist Milt Hinton an opportunity to engage in reunions with many of his old friends from the 1930s. The seven sessions were compiled during a 12-month period and the results are often delightful. The opening "Old Man Time" is sung by Hinton himself, and it is both insightful and humorous. The other highlights include Joe Williams singing "Four or Five Times" (which features some very rare Flip Phillips clarinet), three bass guitar duets with Danny Barker, appearances by Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Clark Terry, Al Grey, Ralph Sutton, and the formation of a group called "The Survivors" that has guitarist Al Casey at age 75 being the youngest member; the latter band also includes 85-year-old trumpeter Doc Cheatham, Eddie Barefield, Buddy Tate and even Cab Calloway. A lot of storytelling takes place during the songs and, in addition to the 92½ minutes of music, there are two "Jazzspeaks." The 13-minute one features Hinton, Calloway, Cheatham and Barefield reminiscing about their experiences in the early days, while a marvelous 45-minute monologue by the bassist covers most of his long and productive life and is consistently fascinating. Highly recommended.

Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks has made several stabs at a solo career since 1978, writing and recording in various styles and occasionally under different group names. However, none of his attempts have been very commercially successful, a sore point for the man many deem responsible for a large portion of the Genesis sound…

The unsung heart and soul of the Motor City rock & roll scene, Mitch Ryder was simply one of the most powerful vocalists to rise to fame in the '60s, a full-bodied rock belter who was also one of the most credible blue-eyed soul men of his generation. He first made a nationwide impression fronting Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels, whose fiery R&B attack boasted a gritty passion and incendiary energy matched by few artists on either side of the color line.