Arthur Lee

Even in the increasingly crowded field of electronic music, Kelly Lee Owens’ debut album arrives as a wonderful surprise. An album that bridges the gaps between cavernous techno, spectral pop, and krautrock’s mechanical pulse, 'Kelly Lee Owens' brims with exploratory wonder, establishing a personal aesthetic that is as beguiling as it is thrillingly familiar.

Costumes Are Mandatory is very collegially advertised as a collaborative album featuring Ethan Iverson, Lee Konitz, Larry Grenadier, and Jorge Rossy. And while the music may indeed be collaborative, even multi-improvisational at times, it's Iverson's date and he's very clearly the leader.

Originally conceived as a play with musical accompaniment, Henry Purcell's 1691 King Arthur endures on the strength of its adventurous harmonies and appealing orchestration. Laying aside the Camelot legends, poet John Dryden framed the tale as the Christian King Arthur defending England against the pagan Saxons, and added colorful visitations by Greek and Norse deities to the plot.

Arthur Crudup may well have been Elvis Presley's favorite bluesman. The swivel-hipped rock god recorded no less than three of "Big Boy's" Victor classics during his seminal rockabilly heyday: "That's All Right Mama" (Elvis' Sun debut in 1954), "So Glad You're Mine," and "My Baby Left Me." Often lost in all the hubbub surrounding Presley's classic covers are Crudup's own contributions to the blues lexicon. He didn't sound much like anyone else, and that makes him an innovator, albeit a rather rudimentary guitarist (he didn't even pick up the instrument until he was 30 years old).

New Orleans bluesman Bryan Lee, a longtime fixture on Bourbon Street, indulges in a pyrotechnic guitar summit on Live At The Old Absinthe House Bar…Friday Night. Backed by his good rockin', hard shufflin' band, the blind guitarist cranks on his exuberant theme song "Braille Blues Daddy," Albert King's "Crosscut Saw" and Elmore James' "The Sky Is Crying." Harmonica legend James Cotton joins him on rousing renditions of "Ain't Doin' Too Bad" and "Five Long Years," then Lee goes toe-to-toe with guest guitarists Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Frank Marino. Originally released on CD in 1997.

On June 1, Astralwerks released About You, the debut album by Albin Lee Meldau. The album marks the arrival of a remarkable new voice and an emerging artist to watch in 2018. About You will also include the standout songs “The Weight Is Gone,” “Same Boat,” and “Lou Lou.”

Love's Forever Changes made only a minor dent on the charts when it was first released in 1967, but years later it became recognized as one of the finest and most haunting albums to come out of the Summer of Love, which doubtless has as much to do with the disc's themes and tone as the music, beautiful as it is…

Love was an American rock group of the late 1960s and early 1970s. They were led by singer, songwriter and guitarist Arthur Lee and the group's second songwriter, guitarist Bryan MacLean. One of the first racially diverse American pop bands, their music reflected different influences, combining elements of rock and roll, garage rock, folk and psychedelia. While finding only modest success on the music charts, Love would come to be praised by critics as one of the finest and most important American rock groups of all time. Their third album, Forever Changes (1967), is generally regarded as their masterpiece, included in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry in 2011. Double-CD box contains most of their classic first three albums (including the entirety of Forever Changes), all three non-LP tracks from their 1966-1968 prime, and highlights of the post-Bryan MacLean albums from the late '60s and early '70s.