Up All Night CD

Open All Night had the unwieldy pressure of being the follow-up album to a surprise hit. The Georgia Satellites' self-titled offering, issued in 1986, yielded the smash single "Keep Your Hands to Yourself," which was also an MTV staple for six months. The track and its accompanying video were viewed as novelties by radio and MTV, so when Open All Night appeared, the "joke" was over. Too bad. If ever a band was miscast as class clown, it was these guys. Songwriter and frontman Dan Baird wrote another slew of tough rootsy rockers that evoked everyone from Chuck Berry to AC/DC. Boogie, biker bluesy rock, Faces-style garagey rawness, and the swagger of the Rolling Stones along with the overdriven razored guitar of Rick Richards powered Baird's songs.

If truth be told, the Allman Brothers Band have always been the quintessential American rock band, shaping a rootsy mix of blues, jazz, country, and rock into an elegant, nuanced sound that single-handedly created what became known as Southern rock. Full of beautiful dual guitar leads and driven by double drummers, and possessing a lead singer who, when he was on his game, had as much soul as anyone around, the Allman Brothers Band were also an improvisational band who found all kinds of new corners in their classic catalog when they played live, no matter what the configuration of the band was at the time.

Arista was poised to take Taylor Dayne beyond the dance tracks and drum beats which established her as a force to be reckoned with on her smash debut Tell It to My Heart. Can't Fight Fate, her sophomore outing, featured much more straight-ahead rock & roll, lush production, and top-notch songwriters (including Diane Warren, who penned her biggest hit "Love Will Lead You Back"). The album proved an even bigger success than her debut, scoring two Top Ten hits, one number one hit, and one Top 20 hit. Unfortunately, however, the momentum was lost after this album, and Taylor Dayne never again reached the commercial stratosphere she scaled with this set. The album's dance songs, such as the lead-off Top Five hit "With Every Beat of My Heart," feature more organic instrumentation, although there are a few straight-ahead dance tracks, such as "Up All Night." The ballads are lush and dramatic, and one of them, "Love Will Lead You Back," soared all the way to number one. The real killers, however, are the rock songs, and Taylor delivers like a true, seasoned rock star.

Walked All Night Long marked the first recorded pairing of blues guitarists Louisiana Red and Lefty Dizz in 1976. Most of the tracks are originals, with the exception of the traditional "Ever Heard a Churchbell Sound" and Slim Harpo's "King Bee." The intensity here is not for the faint of heart, evident on tracks like "Bring Me My Machine Gun," "Stole From Me" (featuring blazing harmonica from Red), "Too Poor to Die," and "Cold White Sheet." The later features piano backup from Kyril Bromley who also appears on two other tracks. If you're a fan of hard-hitting gritty slide guitar with raw emotion, Walked All Night Long is a treasure you should search for from the Blues Alliance label.

Sergey Rachmaninov's All-Night Vigil, also known as the Vespers, is among his most admired works, and it was one of the composer's own favorites, along with The Bells. This 2015 Chandos release by Charles Bruffy and the combined voices of the Phoenix Chorale and the Kansas City Chorale presents the music in the super audio format, so the richness of the divisi choral parts and the depth of the basso profundo come across fully in the multichannel reproduction. Bruffy is the musical director of both groups, so his special rapport with them creates an even ensemble blend that balances the largely homophonic textures, and brings a consistency of approach to the three styles of chant Rachmaninov imitated, Kievan, Greek, and Znamenny. The beauty of the a cappella voices and the surprisingly lush harmonies make this setting immediately appealing and ultimately moving, and listeners who enjoy sacred choral music for inspiration or meditation will find the All-Night Vigil's smooth flow and expressive warmth well-suited to those purposes.

With John Scofield, a big part of the fun is never knowing what the guitarist will do from one album to the next. He might provide an album that is abstract and cerebral, or he might come up with something funky and groove-oriented; That's What I Say: John Scofield Plays the Music of Ray Charles is a perfect example of the latter. Featuring well-known guest vocalists who include Dr. John, Mavis Staples (as in the Staple Sisters), Aaron Neville and John Mayer, this tribute to the late Ray Charles is definitely one of Scofield's more commercial projects - which isn't to say that he shouldn't be proud of the album. Commercialism isn't necessarily a bad thing as long as it is tastefully done, and That's What I Say is a tasteful effort that finds Scofield fluctuating between instrumental soul-jazz and vocal-oriented soul…

All Night Long is Junior Kimbrough's first album, recorded live in the converted church that replaced Kimbrough's original wooden shack juke joint. The lineup is Kimbrough on vocals and guitar, Garry Burnside on bass, and Kenny Malone on drums (it's a family business around this area, and you'll find Burnsides and Malones all over Fat Possum's releases). All Night Long is a big, scruffy racket of an electric blues album, and it's fantastic material, a mix of charging, biting rhythms, intense slow blues, hollerin', stompin' and moanin'. The lack of studio polish is a big plus here - producer Robert Palmer was absolutely right to give this to us flubs and all - and the energy is wonderful. A great electric blues portrait that's getting widespread attention at last - and deserves it all.

Dayna Stephens is a contemporary jazz tenor saxophonist whose sound is roundly hailed as warm, effusive, and sophisticated, much like his admitted influences Joe Henderson and Wayne Shorter. As a performer in the neo-bop post-Michael Brecker tradition, he'll also be compared in blindfold tests alongside Joe Lovano, Bob Mintzer, Chris Potter, and Seamus Blake. Nonetheless, Stephens has come out of the gate with a collection of original modern mainstream compositions backed by some established heavyweights of American music to support him. "Contagious" is the best track on the date to feature the young and brilliant pianist Taylor Eigsti, a chip off the ol' Chick Corea block. His complex, probing intricate rhythm changes spur the band on to a high level, while in a modal and beautifully spiritual area during the standard "But Beautiful," Eigsti coaxes Stephens to a cozier radiance tempered by restraint…

Cardboard sleeve (mini LP) reissue from Kiss. This is an encore pressing of the product released on September 24, 2008. Part of a 21-album Kiss cardboard sleeve reissue series featuring "Kiss," "Hotter Than Hell," "Dressed To Kill," "Alive!," "Destroyer," "Rock And Roll Over," "Love Gun," "Alive II," "Double Platinum," "Dynasty," "Kiss Unmasked," "Music From The Elder," "Creatures Of The Night," "Lick It Up," "Animalize," "Asylum," "Crazy Nights," "Paul Stanley," "Gene Simmons," "Ace Frehley," and "Peter Criss."