Listening to this album was one weird experience back in 1973, and it hasn't gotten much less so since – but weird in the best, most glorious possible way. Where the 1968 Frank Zappa/Mothers of Invention album Cruising with Ruben & the Jets was as much a satire of as a tribute to rock & roll and doo wop music, laced with several layers of humor and musical sophistication piled on top of its basic material, the For Real! album – produced by Zappa for a real-life Ruben & the Jets – is a stunningly beautiful, utterly delightful and straightforward musical creation; it's all different from the tone of the album that helped inspire it, yet it seems the perfect follow-up to that album.
Have you heard The News? The sweet pop/rock/soul sound of San Francisco's Huey Lewis & The News has sadly gone silent in recent years, thanks to its one-of-a-kind frontman's battle with Ménière's disease, which causes intermittent hearing loss. But a surprise new reissue campaign courtesy of Universal Music Group's Japanese division promises the most comprehensive look at the band's blockbuster catalogue of the '80s and early '90s.
This set continues tracing the musical career of the multi talented Henry Glover. Up through 1959 Henry continued his association with King Records writing and producing for King and its Federal and Bethlehem subsidiaries and the first disc and half the second are devoted to these recordings featuring classic performances by Wynonie Harris, Sonny Thompson, Moon Mullican, Lulu Reed, Tiny Bradshaw, The Five Royales, The Checkers, Linda Hopkins, Bill Doggett and others. It also features covers of Glover's King songs including Ray Charles spectacular version of Drown In My Tears, Teresa Brewer's improbable cover of Wynonie Harris's Lovin' Machine, Johnny Burnette's version of The Delmore Brothers' Blues Stay Away From Me and others.
First of two double CDs exploring the substantial contributions to American music by the amazingly talented Henry Glover who was one of the first African-American executives and producers in a white owned record company. Glover did it all - he was a producer, arranger, songwriter, publisher, talent scout, trumpet player and label owner. He started off playing with the Lucky Millinder band in the early 40s and quickly became arranger for the band and songwriter for the band's many great vocalists. Soon he was writing and producing for Syd Nathan's King label and in 1948 was put on staff by Nathan and the majority of the recordings here are from King along with some covers of King hits by artists on other labels.
A great collection of songs that stays true to the title of the CD. Generous helpings on great rock and roll, don't have to be a Beatles fan to appreciate all the great material here…