Black Magic

Deluxe two CD edition includes bonus live CD. 2017 release. What melodic power metal band Serious Black has achieved in less than three years of band history and with only two albums under their belts, is extraordinary. The band, consisting of musicians from bands such as Firewind, Rhapsody, Tad Morose, Edenbridge, Visions of Atlantis and Dreamscape, has positioned itself directly among the leading formations of their genre. Tours with HammerFall and Gamma Ray made the fanbase grow rapidly and with the first headlining tour in September 2016 Serious Black impressively demonstrated that they are a real live force! Inspired by the consistently euphoric reactions of fans and the media alike, the band release it's third studio album. Magic sees Serious Black reach the peak of their creativity and takes the listener on a journey through a world of fantasy.

Carmen McRae always had a nice voice (if not on the impossible level of an Ella Fitzgerald or Sarah Vaughan) but it was her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpretations of lyrics that made her most memorable. She studied piano early on and had her first important job singing with Benny Carter's big band (1944), but it would be another decade before her career had really gained much momentum…

This album's color cover photo is an action shot, showing Magic Sam in the process of choking and bending his strings, a good hike up the fretboard. It isn't clear exactly what he is playing from the picture, although that certainly didn't stop dozens of pimply hippie guitar players from trying to figure it out. In the meantime, the record goes on and the first soloist out of the gate is Eddie Shaw, playing tenor sax. He is blowing over the top of an R&B riff that, although not out of the syntax of Chicago blues, would also have been quite fitting on a Wilson Pickett record. It is unfortunate that Magic Sam's recording career came to such an abrupt end, as he was one of the best artists working in the musical area between the urban blues tradition and newly developing soul music forms. This fusion was on the minds of many blues artists during the late '60s, and not just because it was aesthetically conceivable…

During the late '60s and early '70s Maestro Percy Faith was churning out some of the best releases with top notch arrangements ~ thus enters the album at hand "Angel of the Morning/Black Magic Woman", featuring Faith's Orchestra and Chorus. Each song had an upbeat tone to it, with "DO YOU KNOW THE WAY TO SAN JOSE?" and the beautiful ballad "THIS GUY'S IN LOVE WITH YOU", both tunes from the composing team of Hal David and Burt Bacharach