Volume She

It’s hard to be ambivalent about Zooey Deschanel. She’s a polarizing personality, one whose deadpan movie roles and big Bambi eyes are either charming or too cute for their own good. The same can be said for She & Him, a soft rock duo that features Deschanel doing what she does best as a film star: acting utterly adorable alongside a quiet, talented male character. Her co-star in this case is M. Ward, who produces the band's second album and frames Deschanel’s voice with a Spector-sized pile of instruments. Those who already take issue with Zooey’s acting will almost surely pick this record apart – it’s too reminiscent of her cutesy turns in movies like (500) Days of Summer to change many minds – but for fans of retro pop (and Deschanel in general), Volume 2 is a gem. Whether they’re copping the Brill Building sound or resurrecting ‘70s beach-pop, She & Him always seem to have nostalgia on the mind.

She & Him - Volume 3 (2013) {UNSPK URA426 - featuring M. Ward}
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© 2013 UNSPK / She & Him | URA426
Indie Pop / Alternative Country / Alternative Singer-Songwriter / Adult Alternative Pop

Always looking backward to the sunny sounds of the '60s, She & Him often feel like a band out of time, a pair of pop dreamers born too late to be a part of the musical scene they've painstakingly crafted a pastiche of with their third album, Volume 3. Like the previous two volumes, the album finds collaborators Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward diving headfirst into the sunny, lovestruck sounds of Brill Building pop with a splash of country twang for good measure. While this means the album doesn't do a lot to distinguish itself from the pair's early efforts, it certainly doesn't diminish its effortlessly enjoyable sound.

Who says the ladies can’t rock? Favored Nations Entertainment announces the release of the all-female compilation, She Rocks, Vol.1. This collection of kick-ass guitar goddesses is produced by author and former Guitar World editor, Brad Tolinski with iconic guitarist Steve Vai as executive producer, and showcases eleven female guitarists, each a virtuoso in her own right. From the legendary Lita Ford to Sarah Longfield’s jazzy riffin’,to Orianthi’s melodic stylings and the all-out shredding of Nita Strauss, these players each contribute their own voice to this carefully curated collection.

Forming in Minneapolis in 1979, the Phones released their first single "I'm so neat" b/w "She said Goodbye in February of 1980 on their own label, Phone-O-Graph Records. A second single, "Suspended Animation" b/w "Kids Today" was released a year later.

Do you ever feel like those standard hits-of-the-70s compilations don’t quite capture the 1970s that you remember? Do you feel like many of your personal favorites, even when they were big hits, are rarely if ever included? That’s why we created Hard To Find 45s On CD, Volume 18: 70s Essentials – to bring back all those seldom-heard classics that other collections seem to have forgotten. And we make them sound better than ever!

Covering the singles released from September of 1985 to June of 1987, the third five-disc installment of the Themes boxes covers the Once Upon a Time era and stretches out to include the live-version single of "Promised You a Miracle" that was issued in support of 1987's Live in the City of Light…

Zez Confrey - Keyboard Wizards Of The Gershwin Era - Volume IV (1921-1943) {Pearl GEMM CD 9204 rel 1998}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 213 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 165 Mb
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© 1921-43, 1998 Pearl | GEMM CD 9204
Jazz / Vocal / Traditional Jazz / Pop / Piano

This fourth volume in Pearl's series Keyboard Wizards of the Gershwin Era includes 26 tracks of piano-roll recordings by Zez Confrey, a gifted pianist with nimble fingers and a light touch. Barring the four versions of "Kitten on the Keys," the selections here – "Coaxin' the Piano," "Poor Buttermilk," "You Tell 'Em Ivories," "Mississippi Shivers," and "Charleston Chuckles" – will be unfamiliar to most. It's an enjoyable collection nevertheless, and a fascinating document from nearly a century ago.

This is the first of two CDs issued by Concord Jazz compiling some of the best tracks from Emily Remler's sessions for that label. Cut short at a far too early age by a heart condition while touring in Australia, Remler had all the talent necessary to carve herself a niche in the jazz world as a premier jazz guitar interpreter and performer. Retrospective, Vol. 1 is probably the superior of the two volumes, as it includes, among other gems, an enticing unaccompanied rendition of "Afro Blue." Remler had the ability to be expressively warm with a romantic ballad, as on "In a Sentimental Mood," but she excelled on tunes that allowed her to bring out her hard bop credentials, especially in the company of similarly tough-minded rhythm sections. She displays those credentials on several tracks, such as "Hot House" and "Daahoud," where she is joined by the inestimable Hank Jones on piano and Marvin "Smitty" Smith on drums. "Del Sasser" is the sole representative from that intriguing album she made with trumpet player John D'earth.