Hello Joe

Known throughout his career as 'The Tall Texan' Billy Walker was an ever present in country music from the mid 1940s up to the 21st century. His biggest sustained success came through the mid 1960s onwards, but prior to that Billy had recorded prolifically for some of the biggest record labels in the world, scoring enough hits to keep those record labels invested in promoting his records. 'Well, Hello There' is a potent overview of Billy's 1950s and early 1960s sides.

An honest memoir about life, family, and baseball from the longtime, legendary Toronto Blue Jays radio broadcaster

Hello, Love is a 1960 studio album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, recorded over two sessions in 1957 and 1959. The album focuses on well known songs not included in Ella's epic Songbooks project, and several of the songs are tunes that she had recently recorded in duet with Louis Armstrong. Recorded early in her long tenure with Verve, this is vintage Ella Fitzgerald: a dozen classic love songs, skillfully arranged by Frank DeVol, and caressed with the unmistakable touch of the First Lady of Song.

In the summer of 1971 Johnny records in the USA where he has not done studio sessions since 1963.

More a Legend Than a Band Review by Stewart Mason
In any other circumstance, that title would be hyperbole, but in the case of the Flatlanders, it's the simple truth. Although their only commercial release during their nearly four-year existence was an eight track on the tacky Plantation label, bandleaders Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely, and Butch Hancock went on to become pioneers in alternative country, directly influencing bands ranging from Uncle Tupelo to Ely disciples the Clash. This 1990 reissue gives that eight track a proper digital release for the first time ever (minus two weaker tracks, covers of the country standards "Hello Stranger" and "Waiting for a Train"), plus four previously unreleased tracks recorded during the same March 1972 sessions.

At first glance this may seem like a thrown-together all-star session. It’s actually an inspired collaboration between four heavyweights who have all worked together in various projects over the years. The pairing of Jim Hall and Joe Lovano is propitious from the very first notes of Hall’s "Slam," one of the wildest blues heads you’ll ever hear. Hall’s solos on this and several other tracks are processed with a harmonizer, allowing him to articulate his ideas in fourths, fifths, and octaves. On his distinctly Rollins-esque "Say Hello to Calypso," the device is set to mirror the played note up two octaves, producing an effect that sounds uncannily like a steel pan. On Lovano’s "Blackwell’s Message," Hall’s minimalistic, phase-shifted solo sounds almost like something John Scofield might play. Dedicated to the late drummer Ed Blackwell, this track is a superb example of Lovano’s "outside" writing, the kind heard on disc one of 1995’s Quartets, for instance: abstract yet with a subtle, infectious groove at its very core. Lovano’s alto clarinet provides an additional, intriguing layer.

Classic roots LP new to CD. With over 20 tracks new to CD. ncludes many roots classics from the late 70s. As the 70s drew to a close, Joel Augustus Gibbs had precious few serious challengers to his status as Jamaica’s premier record producer. Over the preceding decade, he had released a succession of best-selling 7” singles, with almost every performer of note on the island having worked for him during this time. The willingness of top performers to record for Gibbs is evidenced by the selection on the ‘United Reggae’ album, which first saw issue in 1979 and finally receives its CD debut more than 40 years later. In traditional Doctor Bird style, the original track-listing has been significantly bolstered by additional Joe Gibbs-produced recordings from the period, with the bonus material offering the very best of his pre-Dancehall output from 1978 and ’79.