The 20th volume of our flagship Eccentric Soul series has all the boxes checked: Gun-toting, skip-tracing record producers, child stars, rip-offs, the “World’s Greatest Bail Bondsman,” swindles, soaring falsettos, and a dwindling rust-belt cityscape offering mere glimpses of hope before the record industry escaped for the coasts. Helmed by the O’Jays Bobby Massey, Saru was a creative vortex that pulled Cuyahoga County’s greatest talent in, making a strong case for Cleveland to contend with Detroit, Philly, and Memphis as America’s soul music’s capital. Deluxe compact disc or double album includes 25 obscure and unknown sides from the Out of Sights, the Elements, Pandella Kelly, David Peoples, Sir Stanley, the Ponderosa Twins + 1, Ba-Roz, Bobby Dukes, and of course, the O’Jays.
Earth, Wind & Fire were one of the most musically accomplished, critically acclaimed, and commercially popular funk bands of the '70s. Conceived by drummer, bandleader, songwriter, kalimba player, and occasional vocalist Maurice White, EWF's all-encompassing musical vision used funk as its foundation, but also incorporated jazz, smooth soul, gospel, pop, rock & roll, psychedelia, blues, folk, African music, and, later on, disco. Cardboard sleeve (mini LP) reissue from Earth Wind & Fire featuring the high-fidelity Blu-spec CD format (compatible with standard CD players) and DSD mastering (subject to change). Comes with a reprint of the Japanese edition LP obi, a new description, and lyrics. Part of a 15-album Earth Wind & Fire Blu-spec CD cardboard sleeve reissue series featuring albums "Last Days And Time," "Head To The Sky," "Open Our Eyes," "That's The Way Of The World," "Gratitude," "Spirit," "All 'N All," "The Best Of Earth, Wind & Fire Vol.1," "I Am," "Faces," "Raise!," "Powerlight," "Electric Universe," "Touch The World," and "Heritage."
Jazz bagpipes? The one master is Rufus Harley, who does about all that can be done with that unpromising instrument. After all, once one blows a note, the sound is sustained until the air empties out. This well-conceived sampler draws its music from Harley's Atlantic albums (Scotch & Soul, Bagpipe Blues, and Deuces Wild), plus his guest spot on a Herbie Mann album. Harley, who also is heard playing a bit of soprano, tenor, and flute, performs such numbers as "Feeling Good" and "Pipin' the Blues," the latter teaming him with altoist Sonny Stitt. This sampler is worth exploring.
I Tell a Fly is the forthcoming second album by English artist and poet Benjamin Clementine. It follows his Mercury Prize-winning debut album, At Least for Now. According to a press release, the album was written and produced by Clementine, recorded at RAK Studios. It is due to be released on 29 September 2017 in Europe and 2 October in the United States.
One of the towering figures of 20th century's music, Alabama-born pianist and organist Herman "Sun Ra" Blount (1914) became the cosmic musician par excellence. Despite dressing in extraterrestrial costumes (but inspired by the pharaohs of ancient Egypt) and despite living inside a self-crafted sci-fi mythology (he always maintained that he was from Saturn, and no biographer conclusively proved his birth date) and despite littering his music with lyrics inspired to a self-penned spiritual philosophy (he never engaged in sexual relationships apparently because he considered himself an angel), Sun Ra created one of the most original styles of music thanks to a chronic disrespect for both established dogmas and trendy movements.