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Jerry Lee Lewis - She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye (1970) & There Must Be More To Love Than This (1971) {BGOCD1083 rel 2013}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 348 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 130 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 26 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1970-71, 2013 Mercury / BGO Records | BGOCD1083
Country / Rock'n'Roll / Honky Tonk / Traditional Country

BGO's 2013 two-fer She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye/There Must Be More to Love Than This combines Jerry Lee Lewis' 1970 album with its 1971 sequel, both ranking among his finest country efforts. She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye slightly edges out its sequel in terms of consistency, partially because it's anchored on a couple of major hits ("Once More with Feeling," "She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye"), but There Must Be More to Love Than This is no slouch, containing a bunch of pure hard country, lots of barroom weepers and barrelhouse rockers.

Jerry Lee Lewis - Another Place Another Time (1968) & She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye (1970) {Raven RVCD-155 rel 2002}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 422 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 162 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 19 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1968, 1970, 2002 Mercury / Smash / Raven Records | RVCD-155
Country / Rock & Roll / Traditional Country / Honky Tonk

Raven's 2002 two-fer CD reissue of Jerry Lee Lewis' 1968 album Another Place Another Time and 1970's She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye contains the added bonus of six tracks – over half the album – from 1969's She Still Comes Around (To Love What's Left of Me). By doing this, the disc transcends typical two-fer status (which, frankly, would have been enough, since these two albums are so tremendous, their first CD release is something to celebrate) and becomes the best single-disc collection of Jerry Lee's country material. There have been other discs that tackle the same recordings for Smash (all unfortunately out of print as of this writing), but their scope was a little broader, including many of his '70s hits for Mercury as well as Smash sides unheard here.

We know Hendrix was influenced by Bob Dylan, as shown by his covers of "All Along the Watchtower" and "Like a Rolling Stone" (live at Monterey). On this star-studded live jam previously released as a bootleg called Sky High, it's obvious Jimi listened to other people, too. He opens "Red House" quoting from "Crossroads," the Cream take on a legendary Robert Johnson blues. Later, Hendrix plays a Beatles tune and further tips his hat to Eric Clapton by closing with the unmistakable "Sunshine of Your Love" riff. At times, Hendrix and Johnny Winter lock into an elemental force, although a seriously drunk Jim Morrison doesn't add much except obscenities. The drumming of Randy Z. for the first half and Buddy Miles the rest of the way produces renewed appreciation for Mitch Mitchell and the way his inventiveness meshed so well with Hendrix's brilliance…

The mystical figure On Ka'a Davis returns for his second CD on Tzadik, and his first in twenty-five years - Blending the psychedelia of Sun Ra with Miles Davis and Jimi Hendrix, this is an epic, direct from the ever-growing counterculture of Downtown New York - Performing on guitar, synth keyboard, programmed sounds, and percussion On is joined here by Don McKenzie on drums and Ali Ali on trumpet. Years in the making the music is wild, varied, and intensely felt. A New York Underground classic!

Containing all the Blegvad Trio and Quintet studio releases: Downtime, Just Woke Up, Hangman’s Hill and Go Figure – all re-mastered and repackaged - plus two additional CDs of unreleased studio recordings and live performances, mostly featuring songs not available on the studio CDs.

After pursuing a Rolling Stones-styled blend of rock and country elements on their first two albums, Nazareth segued into a harder rocking style with 1973's Razamanaz. The resulting album has a lot of energy and drive and much of this can be credited to Roger Glover's production, which tempers the group's tendency to experiment with different musical styles by imposing an overall sound that play's up the group's hard rock edge. The end result is an album that rocks consistently throughout but works in intriguing musical elements to keep things interesting.

Ben Webster was considered one of the "big three" of swing tenors along with Coleman Hawkins (his main influence) and Lester Young. He had a tough, raspy, and brutal tone on stomps (with his own distinctive growls) yet on ballads he would turn into a pussy cat and play with warmth and sentiment. After violin lessons as a child, Webster learned how to play rudimentary piano (his neighbor Pete Johnson taught him to play blues). But after Budd Johnson showed him some basics on the saxophone, Webster played sax in the Young Family Band (which at the time included Lester Young). He had stints with Jap Allen and Blanche Calloway (making his recording debut with the latter) before joining Bennie Moten's Orchestra in time to be one of the stars on a classic session in 1932…

Thanks in part to Robert Palmer's hand in the process of compiling Addictions, Vol. 1, this early best-of is a fine peek into the musical passions that made Palmer tick. The 13 songs that make up the collection are mostly first-rate, and at the very least they present to a newcomer the eclecticism and style that made Palmer so consistently interesting. Since its genesis was 1989, the highlighted albums are Palmer's Island releases from 1978 to 1988: Double Fun, Secrets, Clues, Maybe It's Live, Pride, Riptide, Heavy Nova, and the soundtrack to Sweet Lies. Appropriately, the thundering, menacing "Some Like It Hot" from the Power Station's debut is included, though it's somewhat of a mystery as to why the band's T. Rex cover, "Get It On (Bang a Gong)," doesn't make an appearance. Only that song and "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" seem like obvious omissions. The latter would appear on the remix-heavy Addictions, Vol. 2, but the former wouldn't appear on a career sampler until 1997's The Very Best of Robert Palmer. Otherwise, the collection is nearly perfect.