Angel Scott

If poet-cum-prophet Gil Scott-Heron taught us anything, it was to find your own truth. Which is precisely what Giacomo Gates does on this 10-track foray into the vast and fertile jungle of Scott-Heron songs, sermons and soliloquies. Gates could have covered pieces like “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” “Johannesburg,” “We Almost Lost Detroit,” “Angel Dust” and “B-Movie,” all among Scott-Heron’s best works, none of which have lost their sting.

Gil Scott-Heron - Live At The Town & Country 1988 (2008) {2CD Acadia ACAD 8198}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 577 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 267 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 163 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1988, 2008 Acadia / Evangeline Records / One Media | ACAD 8198
Jazz / Neo Soul / Spoken Word / Spiritual Jazz / Jazz Funk / Poetry

A previously unreleased live set recorded at London’s legendary Town and Country club and available for the first time on this two CD set. By the late 80s years of substance abuse had left Gil Scott-Heron rotten-toothed and out of it a lot of the time. In 1987 he missed a gig at London's Town & Country Club completely, turning up long after the venue had shut. The T&CC stuck with him though, booking him again in 1988 and hoping for the best. By then he'd gained a new manager, Freddie Cousaert, who had been responsible for turning the career of Marvin Gaye round in the early 80s, getting him off cocaine and back into the studio.

Jeff Beck - Performing This Week… Live at Ronnie Scott's (2008) {Eagle Rock EAGCD396}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 508 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 168 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 44 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2008 Deuce Music / Eagle Rock | EAGCD396
Rock / Blues Rock / Fusion / Hard Rock / Guitar Virtuoso

Anyone who caught Jeff Beck's set at Eric Clapton's 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival (or even the two-song DVD excerpt) was probably salivating at the hope that an entire performance with the same band would appear on CD and DVD. This is it, 72 minutes and 16 tracks compiled from a week of shows at the U.K.'s famed Ronnie Scott's, and it's as impressive as any Beck fan would expect. The guitarist's last official U.S.-released live disc was from his 1976 Wired tour (an authorized "bootleg" of his 2006 tour with bassist Pino Palladino is available at gigs and online; others pop up as expensive imports), making the appearance of this music from just over three decades later a long-awaited, much-anticipated event.

Yusef Lateef - Live at Ronnie Scott's: January 15th 1966 (2016) {Gearbox Records RSGB1008CD}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 177 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 103 Mb | Artwork | 5% repair rar
© 1966, 2016 Ronnie Scott / Gearbox Records | RSGB1008CD
Jazz / Post Bop / Modern Creative

I love the idea of Gearbox records, especially the Tubby Hayes & Don Rendell items, but have been put off in the past by the high vinyl retail price for what is often cassette sourced material (but do ensure you check out the Binker and Moses issue, they are sublime). This one, Lateef with Stan Tracey, Laird & Eyden, effectively the house rhythm section for Ronnie's, is a reel to reel tape made by Les Tomkins with the nod from Ronnie, but not the band. We are still nowhere near audiophile territory, but it is good enough to enjoy. Generally a laid back affair, it is nevertheless musically satisfying, with Stan Tracey a little receded in the mix, if you can apply the term, as this is pretty much a raw transfer by the sound of it. Lateef being front and centre though, on a combination of Flute, Shehnai, Xun and Tenor Sax, definitely helps.