Who Is That Man? In Search of The Real Bob Dylan

The title of The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert is a nod to the fact that the famous bootleg known as The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert was actually recorded at the Manchester Free Trade Hall on May 17, 1966. The historical record was corrected when the concert was released as the second installment in Bob Dylan's Bootleg Series in 1998 (it's labeled the fourth volume, but the first three editions were all rounded up in a 1991 box), so when it came to release a sampler album from the mammoth 36-disc set The 1966 Live Recordings, the only option was to release The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert, a show given on May 26, 1996. This double-disc set follows the same contours of the Manchester Free Trade Hall show, offering the acoustic set on the first disc and the electric on the second.

Sandy Denny - The Notes and the Words: A Collection of Demos and Rarities (2012) {4CD Set Island 371 246-9 rec 1966-1978}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.29 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 700 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 383 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1966-78, 2012 Universal Island | 371 246-9
Folk / Acoustic / British Folk / Folk Rock

2010's mammoth, highly collectible and very limited, 19-disc Sandy Denny box set was truly a thing to behold, presenting the entirety of her career from studio to stage to front porch. It was a completist's dream, but it came with an exceptionally high price tag, which makes the appearance of 2011's Notes and the Words: A Collection of Demos and Rarities a real gift for fans, especially those who already own the complete studio recordings, whether solo or with Fotheringay, Strawbs, or Fairport Convention. The handsome, limited-edition four-disc box skims the cream from the top of the myriad rarities, BBC sessions, demos, and outtakes that made the previous collection so remarkable (an intimate bedroom recording of Jackson C. Frank's "Blues Run the Game"; an early demo of Like an Old Fashioned Waltz's "Carnival" with previously unheard melodies and lyrics; a blistering alternate studio take of a Dave Swarbrick-less "Sailor's Life," and alternate versions of Fairport classics like "Matty Groves," "Come All Ye," and "Fotheringay"), resulting in a wonderful window into one of English folk music's most magnificent voices.

A Texas singer/songwriter once said of Jimmy LaFave early in his career: "He's got a ton of talent and a vision, now all he needs is a personality." This was as complimentary and positive a criticism as can be made of an artist early on, when they are still honing their vision, figuring out what works, live and in the studio, and what doesn't. LaFave has been on as restless a journey as a songwriter can embark upon. He's a person who doesn't like to be produced; he likes the raw bar band stuff and demands he be true to himself both on record and on the road./quote]

While many considered Car Wheels on a Gravel Road and Essence as definitive statements of arrival for Lucinda Williams as a pop star, she "arrived" creatively with her self-titled album in 1988 and opened up a further world of possibilities with Sweet Old World. The latter two records merely cemented a reputation that was well-deserved from the outset, though they admittedly confused some of her earliest fans. World Without Tears is the most immediate, unpolished album she's done since Sweet Old World…

The Grass Roots had a series of major hits – most notably "Let's Live for Today," "Midnight Confessions," "Temptation Eyes," and "Two Divided by Love" – that help define the essence of the era's best AM radio. Although the group's members weren't even close to being recognizable, and their in-house songwriting was next to irrelevant, the Grass Roots managed to chart 14 Top 40 hits, including seven gold singles and one platinum single, and two had hits collections that effortlessly went gold…

You won’t be seeing Mark Knopfler in melodramatic newspaper headlines or on talent show panels. The much-travelled craftsman prefers to reside wherever the song takes him, from writing room to rehearsal space, recording studio to concert hall. He is, as tirelessly and inquisitively as ever, on the trail of some musical truth, just as he has been since the 45s of Ricky Nelson and Lonnie Donegan, or the playing of Hank Marvin and Duane Eddy, sent him down a path that led to 125 million record sales.