New Orleans Soul 2014

One of the most celebrated singer/songwriters of her generation, Lucinda Williams was also a fiercely independent artist who had to fight for the creative freedom that allowed her to do her best work. The daughter of a well-respected poet, Williams brought a literacy and sense of detail to her work that was unpretentious but powerfully evocative and emotional, which led to a number of major artists covering her tunes while she was still establishing herself as a performer. As a vocalist, Williams used the rough edges of her instrument to her advantage, allowing the grit of her voice to heighten the authenticity of her performance.

Though no one talked about it at the time of its release, this album reflected a growing split within the group. Originally, the trio's members, tired of sublimating their musical identities within the context of ELP, each intended to do a solo album of his own…

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.

Popular Problems is Leonard Cohen's thrilling new studio album, where he takes us down into the avenues of our dreams and sets a new tone and speed of hope and despair, grief and joy. Cohen here is an astonished lover rocking to the human condition as "the soul unfolds in the chambers of its longing." His legendary basso resonates as never before with a presence and urgency that arises from the very the depths of the heart. The clarity and strength of these nine hypnotic songs will have us singing them over and over.

The singer in her precocious formative years, headed by her 1955 R&B smash "Roll With Me Henry" (aka "The Wallflower"). James' follow-ups included the driving "Good Rockin' Daddy," a bluesy "W-O-M-A-N," and the New Orleans raveup "Tough Lover," which found her backed by the gang at Cosimo's (notably saxman Lee Allen). Even though her tenure at Modern Records only produced a handful of hits, these 22 cuts are delightful artifacts of the belter's earliest days. The music and liner notes are identical to the previous R&B Dynamite reissue, except that the tracks have been slightly resequenced, and a couple of songs bear different titles ("Number One" has been changed to "My One and Only," "How Big a Fool" to "Call Me a Fool").