The title track of the Switchblade Sister EP, one of the band's greatest compositions and a staple of its live set for many years to follow, contained the lyric "swinging like a new phaseshifter." The sounds on the Switchblade Sister EP would bridge the gap from the fuzzy bubblegum of its major-label debut Third Eye, and the hyper-confident after school power pop of its next album Phaseshifter; the title most likely lifted from the aforementioned lyric…
Redd Kross is an American alternative rock/punk rock band from Hawthorne, California, who had their roots in 1978 in a punk rock band called the Tourists, which was started by brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald while Steve was still in middle school…
Redd Kross is an American alternative rock/punk rock band from Hawthorne, California, who had their roots in 1978 in a punk rock band called the Tourists, which was started by brothers Jeff and Steve McDonald while Steve was still in middle school…
In 1979, two school-kids all hopped-up on punk-rock started their own group in their hometown of Hawthorne, Los Angeles (birthplace of the Beach Boys) and soon found themselves opening shows for notorious scene pioneers Black Flag. Jeff McDonald was fifteen, his brother Steven McDonald only eleven. But that didn’t stop their group from becoming one of the most remarkable, enduring and unique outfits punk-rock ever belched up.
In 1979, two school-kids all hopped-up on punk-rock started their own group in their hometown of Hawthorne, Los Angeles (birthplace of the Beach Boys) and soon found themselves opening shows for notorious scene pioneers Black Flag. Jeff McDonald was fifteen, his brother Steven McDonald only eleven. But that didn’t stop their group from becoming one of the most remarkable, enduring and unique outfits punk-rock ever belched up.
It seems hard to imagine that a band inspired as much by breakfast cereal and Saturday morning cartoons as rock & roll could have created the album that spawned an entire movement – grunge. When Neurotica was released in 1987, it inspired hordes of punk/hardcore kids to put down the safety pins and pick up the guitar…
"Tristes Noticias del Imperio" is a good quality effort through and through, a production that has stood the test of time very well indeed. And while perhaps not exploring the most advanced fiels of the progressive rock universe it is an effort that merits a listen by those who have a general fondness for art rock, with followers of artists like Pink Floyd and King Crimson as a likely key audience.
Argentinian trio Redd was formed in 1977, and "Tristes Noticias del Imperio" was to be the first of two albums this band issued before disbanding. While they were a highly talented act, a disease affecting the hearing of drummer and keyboardist Escalante diagnosed a few weeks after the completion of this debut effort caused an abrupt stop to the further development of this band…
These excellent, rare 1956 Stockholm studio sessions feature pianist Freddie Redd in a trio setting with bassist Tommy Potter and Joe Harris, drums. They had been chosen by Swedish trumpeter Rolf Ericson, who was commissioned to find US jazz musicians for a tour. This release includes the complete LP Freddie Redd in Sweden plus, as bonus tracks, the pianists first US trio session in 1955 with John Ore and Ron Jefferson; and the only two recorded live tracks from this Swedish tour.
In an all too small discography, Freddie Redd's Shades of Redd is without a doubt his crowning achievement. Completed after a successful stint composing music for the stage play The Connection, Redd wrote music specifically geared for his two formidable front line saxophonists – emerging alto giant Jackie McLean and the unsung hero of the tenor, Tina Brooks. Redd, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Louis Hayes, fresh out of the Detroit scene, took New York City by storm playing clubs and working with Redd when he was not doing production music.
Features material from The Connection, Shades Of Redd, and an Unissued Session! Available in a box set as either three LPs or two CDs, this limited-edition release has all of the music recorded at pianist Freddie Redd's three Blue Note sessions. In addition to the selections originally included on the LPs Music From the Connection and Shades of Redd, there is a completely unissued date that adds to the fairly slim Freddie Redd discography. Altoist Jackie McLean (who is on all three sets) and tenor saxophonist Tina Brooks (a key soloist on two) co-star with the pianist; trumpeter Benny Bailey is also heard from the later date. The music is comprised mostly of Redd's originals (including seven songs written for the stage play The Connection) and fits into the style of the mainstream hard bop of the day, although with a few personal touches. Straight-ahead fans and Blue Note collectors can consider this set to be essential.