5 complete LPs presented on 2 companion volumes! Featuring Carl Perkins, Jimmy Rowles, Barney Kessel and Don Fagerquist! Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw were among the most famous and beloved figures in swing music both as clarinet soloists and orchestra conductors. Th ey were still very active musically in 1957, when Buddy De Franco decided to record a series of sessions paying homage to them. Thirty-five performances were recorded (including four medleys containing three songs each) in four extended sessions made on four consecutive days and with two different groups (guitarist Barney Kessel, however, is present on most of the tracks). The first two sessions included trumpeter Don Fagerquist, tenor saxophonist Georgie Auld and pianist Carl Perkins. The second group includes trumpeter Ray Linn and another modern jazz pianist: Jimmy Rowles…
"We're the only band around that's playing rooted American music," Better Days vocalist and former folkie Geoff Muldaur told an interviewer when this album was first released in 1973, and with perhaps just a handful of exceptions he was right. The band's mix of various styles of blues, from rural (Robert Johnson), to cosmopolitan (Percy Mayfield), along with hints of New Orleans R&B, boogie woogie, and early rock and country, was tremendously out of step with the pop trends of its time.
These days, of course, there are many bands doing more or less the same thing (although rarely as well), but the fact that these guys couldn't have cared less about appearing trendy is one of the reasons why Better Days sounds timeless…
"We're the only band around that's playing rooted American music," Better Days vocalist and former folkie Geoff Muldaur told an interviewer when this album was first released in 1973, and with perhaps just a handful of exceptions he was right. The band's mix of various styles of blues, from rural (Robert Johnson), to cosmopolitan (Percy Mayfield), along with hints of New Orleans R&B, boogie woogie, and early rock and country, was tremendously out of step with the pop trends of its time.
These days, of course, there are many bands doing more or less the same thing (although rarely as well), but the fact that these guys couldn't have cared less about appearing trendy is one of the reasons why Better Days sounds timeless…
If the heady days of soulful blues soaked 60’s and 70’s rock ignite your heart and the likes of Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Bad Company, and Free send your emotions and pulse rate soaring then a new and equally impactful treat is just waiting for your adoration. The Brimstone Days is a band from Malmö, Sweden, a trio who live and breathe those inspirational days whilst their creativity sows those old seeds within its own unique imagination to bloom impressive and powerful songs as within their new album On A Monday Too Early To Tell…
With their first six studio albums not containing a single dud track, trying to neatly assemble a Led Zeppelin 'best of' must have been quite a daunting task. All in all, the folks at Atlantic did an admirable job when the first-ever, single-disc Zeppelin 'best of's' were issued in 1999 (Early Days) and 2000 (Latter Days), covering most of the essentials. For fans that wanted to buy both discs in one shot, both were packaged together in 2002, under the title of Early Days and Latter Days…
Acid Jazz Records continue their exclusive licensing agreement with Albarika Store, the legendary record label that defined the sound of Benin and influenced the entire region of West Africa and beyond.
Heady work from Paul Butterfield's second great group – his mighty Better Days ensemble, heard here in a nicely unbridled live set from the early 70s! Paul himself is mighty great on vocals and harmonica - but the group's a very cohesive unit, too - with additional vocals and guitar from Amos Garrett and Geoff Muldaur, organ and piano from Ronnie Barron, and some mighty heavy drums from Billy Rich! The music seems to have even more punch than on some of Butterfield's studio sessions - blues rock, but with a little something extra, too.
Three Days Grace's self-titled debut showcases the simplicity of their music, which is both the band's biggest strength and biggest weakness. The album's taut arrangements and grinding but melodic sound are quintessential alt-metal, suggesting a much poppier, less cerebral Helmet (or among Three Days Grace's contemporaries, Chevelle), and while the production is mostly simple and crunchy, it occasionally delves into Linkin Park-like atmospheres. At its best, the band's focus and adherence to alt-metal's formulas – coupled with tight songwriting and some unexpectedly pretty choruses – results in a strong tracks that are more memorable than the work of many of their peers. "I Hate Everything About You" was Three Days Grace's big single and remains the band's best song, gaining most of its power from its directness and bluntness in examining a dysfunctional relationship.