Saw Doctors

The Saw Doctors' co-leader, singer/guitarist Leo Moran, writes in his liner notes to the band's first live album that, while fans consistently prefer their concerts to their albums, he had opposed releasing a live disc, which he felt couldn't hope to match the experience of being at one of their shows. Giving in, he offers "Apologies for some of the imperfections….There's Davey [Carton] laughing in the middle of singing a good few songs, the backing vocals aren't what they should be a lot of the time and all that kind of stuff."

The Further Adventures of the Saw Doctors, the seventh studio record from the Veteran Irish rockers of the same name, was recorded in Grouse Lodge Studios and produced by Philip Tennant. Boasting a glossier, more contemporary sheen than previous outings, the album cracked the Top 100 in the U.K. album charts in its first week.

Recorded in the venerable Irish veterans’ favorite Cape Cod venue circa August 2008, LIVE AT THE MELODY TENT is a boisterous, often moving distillation of the band’s Celtic folk-cum-pub rock legacy. The 14 songs were hand-selected by the group, leaving it no wonder that virtually every track, be it the ska-inspired hopefulness of “Will It Ever Stop Raining?” or romantic drive and handclap/sing-along chorus of “That’s What She Said Last Night,” enthusiastically encapsulates the group’s restless spirit. They may not be as debauched as the Pogues or as righteously stripped-down as Billy Bragg, but MELODY TENT is an awesome testament to their status as fierce songwriters and proud countrymen.

This two-CD reissue of Ducks Deluxe's first two albums differs from the previous Edsel two-on-one release, as no tracks were omitted due to space constraints. In retrospect, these recordings seem more relevant after the passage of time, as they provide a clearer linkage between British blues-based album rock and late-'70s punk and post-punk new wave. In fact, the influences of British pub rock span back to '50s rock & roll and R&B. Their take on Eddie Cochran's "Nervous Breakdown" bears an uncanny resemblance to perhaps his biggest hit, "Summertime Blues." But it's Ducks Deluxe's original pieces that evoke echoes of artists like the Rolling Stones, Them, and Mott the Hoople. "Fireball" sounds like a direct outtake from All the Young Dudes or Mott, while the R&B-rich "Falling for That Woman" suggests Van Morrison at his soulful best. "Rio Grande," from Taxi to the Terminal Zone, wouldn't sound out of place on Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks.

What's in a name? If you love mid-'60s folk-rockers the Mamas & the Papas, this four-volume U.K. Complete Anthology (2004) speaks for itself. The 101 selections run in excess of five hours centering on the vintage long-players If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears (1966), The Mamas & the Papas (1966), The Mamas & the Papas Deliver (1967), The Papas & the Mamas (1968), People Like Us (1971), and The Monterey International Pop Festival (1971)…

Despite being renowned in certain parts of the world (especially in Italy and their hometown of Paris), the space-age outfit Rockets remains largely obscure – even though they arrived on the scene at almost he same exact time as Kraftwerk and prefaced Devo by several years. The multi-membered outfit originally formed in 1972, under the name Crystal, performing on-stage in their regular street clothes. But by 1974, Crystal had evolved into Rocket Men, issuing a debut self-titled single, while its members began to assume the identities of aliens; complete with silver makeup covering their skin, grey contact lenses, space suits, and bald heads. It was also around this time that the group hooked up with producer Claude Lemoine, who would remain behind the studio boards until the early '80s. Over the next year, the group went through another name (Rocketters), before finally settling on Rockets, and issuing further singles, including such titles as "Rocket Man," "Future Woman," and "Samurai."

Despite being renowned in certain parts of the world (especially in Italy and their hometown of Paris), the space-age outfit Rockets remains largely obscure – even though they arrived on the scene at almost he same exact time as Kraftwerk and prefaced Devo by several years. The multi-membered outfit originally formed in 1972, under the name Crystal, performing on-stage in their regular street clothes. But by 1974, Crystal had evolved into Rocket Men, issuing a debut self-titled single, while its members began to assume the identities of aliens; complete with silver makeup covering their skin, grey contact lenses, space suits, and bald heads.

Dallas-based guitarist, singer, and songwriter Bob Kirkpatrick may not be a household name, but he's been quietly building an audience for the last 30 years in clubs around Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana. Although he hadn't recorded in 23 years prior to 1996's Going Back to Texas, Kirkpatrick has long been a regional star in the Texas triangle, but since he has always made family his first priority, his recording/blues career fell somewhere down the ladder. Kirkpatrick, born in 1934 in Haynesville, LA, became interested in music at age six, starting out on piano and switching to guitar. Kirkpatrick worked with Ivory Joe Hunter while attending school at Grambling, doing some road dates, but it wasn't until he saw B.B. King in 1958 that he became a true convert to the blues.