Voodoo Sector

Looked at in the cold light of day and from some years' distance, Gene Loves Jezebel would seem like the last band whose work would stand the test of time. Weird thing, though – in all their "everything goes" exuberance, from abstract goth wailing to balls-out Sunset Strip rock, the Aston brothers, much like their labelmates in the Cult, made everything work somehow. Not all the time, certainly, but Voodoo Dollies wisely draws on the best and biggest hits of the group, not to mention a couple of rarer items for the hardcore fanbase, to make an enjoyable career overview (certainly better than Some of the Best of Gene Loves Jezebel). Following a straight chronological order and enjoying the usual high quality of Beggars Banquet remastering, the 18-track collection is a fine treat. Besides the obvious numbers like "Desire (Come and Get It)," "The Motion of Love" (appearing here in a single mix), and "Jealous," the less well-known songs help to really flesh out the band's freaked-out, glammed-up appeal.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is the self-titled debut album by contemporary swing band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy released on the bands-own record label Big Bad Records. The band re-recorded the songs "Jumpin' Jack" and "King of Swing" for their following full-length album Americana Deluxe. Also, "So Long, Good Bye" appears on Americana Deluxe in a re-recorded version having the title slightly modified to "So Long, Farewell, Goodbye". "Machine Gun" was re-recorded for their third full-length album This Beautiful Life and appears under the title "2000 Volts" with modified lyrics. "13 Women" is a cover version of the song originally performed by Bill Haley & His Comets. "Fire" is originally performed by Louis Jordan.

When Sammy Hagar's 11 years with Van Halen came to an end, he delivered some of the best solo albums of his career. The rocker's post-Van Halen albums weren't much different from his pre-Van Halen albums of the late '70s and early to mid-'80s – Hagar was still playing the type of commercial hard rock and arena rock that put him on the map, and he was doing so with a lot of conviction…

This had possibilities of being a rather good hard rock album, but got overpacked with cliches at the start (opening vocal howl, speed leads that go nowhere, some Led Zep swipes), with the good qualities (strong rhythm playing, great energy) being lost in the mix…

Three years after the release of his critically acclaimed album Salone, Bai Kamara Jr returns with Traveling Medicine Man, a 13 track collection of afro-blues songs portrayed in Bai’s unique style. In a descriptive, provocative and sometimes suggestive way, the tales of love, life, relationships and politics are meticulously explored by the raconteur.

Although still largely associated with the '90s neo-swing movement, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy have long outrun that moment's MTV zeitgeist and spent the 2010s deepening their jazz roots. The past decade-and-a-half have found them branching out, exploring New Orleans blues, Cajun, and second-line traditions on 2003's Save My Soul, and paying tribute to legendary Harlem bandleader Cab Calloway on 2009's How Big Can You Get? In this spirit of reinvestigating their influences, the band's 11th studio album, 2017's urbane and upbeat Louie Louie Louie, finds them celebrating three of their biggest musical heroes: Louis Armstrong, Louis Prima. and Louis Jordan.

Considering his 45 and counting years doggedly playing blues and blues-rock with a mind-numbing assortment of backing musicians in Savoy Brown, it's unfortunate and unfair that U.K. guitarist Kim Simmonds isn't given more respect in the music world. That is partially due to bad choices and an array of ordinary, sometimes subpar albums that have cropped up on a variety of small or difficult-to-find imprints throughout the decades. Simmonds has trudged on, beaten but undeterred in the understanding that he will likely never regain the theater-headlining status his group achieved in its late-'60s/early-'70s prime.

Considering his 45 and counting years doggedly playing blues and blues-rock with a mind-numbing assortment of backing musicians in Savoy Brown, it's unfortunate and unfair that U.K. guitarist Kim Simmonds isn't given more respect in the music world. That is partially due to bad choices and an array of ordinary, sometimes subpar albums that have cropped up on a variety of small or difficult-to-find imprints throughout the decades. Simmonds has trudged on, beaten but undeterred in the understanding that he will likely never regain the theater-headlining status his group achieved in its late-'60s/early-'70s prime.