Kayman Records

B.B. King - "Here's One You Didn't Know About": from the RPM & Kent Vaults (2015) {Ace Records CDTOP1457 rec 1954-1962}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 413 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 191 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 73 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1954-62, 2015 Modern Records / Ace Records | CDTOP 1457
Blues / Modern Electric Blues / Soul Blues / Early R&B / Memphis Blues

The great bluesman B.B. King, who died in 2015, was one of the few artists whose every note was of interest. This 25-track CD of mostly previously unissued recordings are drawn from his sessions for Modern Records between 1954 and 1962. Be Careful Baby is a rare thing a B.B. King song that has never been released before in any version, while two tracks appeared on Ace's 2014 RPM compilation Speak Easy. The version of Catfish Blues is from a completely different session to the familiar issued version and from B.B.'s commentary appears to be the version he played on the road. There are many comments from B.B. and the band which provide an insight into the recording process and B.B.'s relaxed and informal manner in the studio. The CD ends with a previous unheard interview, recorded backstage at the Fillmore Ballroom in San Francisco with radio station KSAY at the 10/10 spot on your dial. All tracks are from the original master tapes.

Johnny Adams - I Won't Cry: The Complete Ric & Ron Singles 1959-1964 (2015) {Ace Records CDCHD 1424}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 196 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 131 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 30 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1959-64, 2015 Ace Records | CDCHD 1424
Rhythm and Blues / Soul Blues / New Orleans R&B / New Orleans Blues

Ace's 2015 compilation I Won't Cry: The Complete Ric & Ron Singles 1959-1964 covers familiar territory but in an appealingly thorough fashion. Adams had only one nationally charting hit on Ric or Ron – "A Losing Battle," which went to 27 in 1962 – but they were popular in his native New Orleans and over the years remained favorites of fans of Crescent City soul. Adams tended to be a little smoother than a lot of his Big Easy contemporaries: there's a recognizable NO lilt to some of the songs, but he was more of a crooner, sounding equally comfortable on dramatic ballads and lusher pop crossovers.

Joe Tex - Bumps & Bruises (1977) {2013 Remastered & Expanded - Big Break Records CDBBR 0247}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 330 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 111 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 79 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1977, 2013 Epic / Big Break Records | CDBBR 0247
R&B / Soul / Funk / Disco / Southern Soul

Joe Tex (born Joseph Arrington, Jr. in Rogers, Texas) was one of Southern Soul’s most uncompromising performers blending gospel, country and rhythm & blues into his repertoire. After winning several revues at the famed Apollo Theatre Tex signed to King Records, in 1955 and recorded a succession of singles for the label from ballads to rockers. A session at Muscle Shoals in 1964, with the singer now signed to the Dial label, produced Tex’s first R&B #1 with the straight ahead R&B ballad ‘Hold What You’ve Got.’ Over the next 10 years Tex racked up numerous R&B and Pop hits including arguably his most well-known song ‘Skinny Legs And All’ in 1967 (R&B #2) and ‘I Gotcha,’ his fourth R&B #1 in 1972.

When blues fans Jerry Del Giudice and Edward Chmelewski started the Blind Pig label as an outgrowth of the live venue of the same name in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1977, there was no way they could have known the home they were creating for blues and Americana music would have over the next four decades. The number of legends who have recorded for the label is staggering, and their finest moments are collected on the brand new Blind Pig Records 40th Anniversary Collection. With 34 classic tracks on 2 CDs, the collection spans 40 years of blues history. This wide-ranging compilation, which boasts more than 2 hours of music, is a study in the genre, from current titans like Popa Chubby, Albert Cummings and Victor Wainwright & The WildRoots winners of Best Band at the 2016 Blues Musics to no fewer than 13 legends enshrined in the Blues Hall of Fame in Memphis, with James Cotton, Otis Rush, Elvin Bishop, Taj Mahal, Otis Clay and Magic Slim among them, not to mention a classic live recording by the one and only Muddy Waters.

Encapsulating tracks from 1975-1992, Country Music Heritage: The CMH Records Story tells a story about a little, independent country label tucked away in sunny Southern California.
Founded in 1975, CMH Records has put out albums from some of the most iconic artists and musicians in country, bluegrass, and roots music. This record is a collection of songs, many of which were early, important cuts for the label, while others have yet to see the light of day in the digital era.

Various Artists - The Ace Story, Volume 3 (2011) {Ace Records CDCHD1297 rec 1956-1965}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 232 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 130 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 21 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1956-65, 2011 Ace Records | CDCHD 1297
Rhythm & Blues / Rock & Roll / Early R&B / Soul / Funk / New Orleans R&B

In revisiting the strength and depth of Johnny Vincent’s original Ace imprint, and its subsidiaries Rex and Vin, what’s immediately obvious is the quality of the often freewheeling studio musicians who recorded for the label. With rampant saxes and rolling pianos, more than likely anchored by Earl Palmer’s tight drumming, the Ace ensembles hit the button every time with their rocky, earthy tracks.