The Other Side 2015

Life sounds fête champêtre for New Orleans resident Rickie Lee Jones on her most spirited album since 1989's Flying Cowboys. Just listen to her soar on the deliriously joyful "I Wasn't There", and the gorgeous R&B-inflected chorus of "Feet On The Ground"…

'The Other Side’, is a 4 CD collection of b sides, 12” mixes, rare tracks and cover versions – with one CD being devoted to covers including Kate’s versions of Elton John’s ‘Rocket Man’ and ‘Candle In The Wind’, and George and Ira Gershwin’s ‘The Man I Love’. Rare tracks such as ‘Brazil’, from the film soundtrack, ‘Lyra’ from the film ‘The Golden Compass’, ‘Be Kind to My Mistakes’ from Nic Roeg’s film ‘Castaway’ and ‘Humming’, an early demo never released before, are also featured in the special set.

E.C. Scott is a superior blues and soul singer who is in prime form throughout this set. She is also a talented and witty lyricist, as can be heard on her tribute to "Money" (which should become a standard), "He Ate the Apple," and a song called "This Ain't Yo Daddy's Kind of Blues." Scott's band, Smoke, supports her perfectly, with Bill Ireton contributing some blazing guitar solos. Little Milton makes guest appearances on "Just One of Those Days" and "If I Can Borrow Some of Your Love," but E.C. Scott is certainly strong enough to carry this set by herself. The Other Side of Me is one of her finest and most stirring recordings to date.

Matt Monro was a regular feature of the British singles charts between 1960 and 1965, after which he had only one other UK hit (And you smiled, a top thirty entry in 1973, not released on an original album, only on compilations). Despite the lack of hits, Matt's music remained popular with adult audiences. So there are none of Matt's own hits on the two albums presented here, but you'll find plenty of familiar (and not-so-familiar) songs via Matt's covers of pop songs from the sixties and early seventies, as well as older songs from the Great American Songbook.

Various Artists - The Other Side Of The Trax: Stax-Volt 45rpm Rarities 1964-1968 (2016) {Kent-Ace Records CDTOP 442}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 250 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 144 Mb
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© 2016 Kent / Ace Records / Stax | CDTOP 442
Soul / Rhythm & Blues

Ace has long been associated with the Stax catalogue and we are continually looking for new ways to keep the connection going via packages of exciting vault discoveries. Many of our recent Stax compilations have concentrated on the company’s later era – the yellow period, as it’s known in collector circles – but we’re starting our 2016 schedule with a project that draws on releases from their earlier blue period.

After a lengthy tenure, Germany’s Gothminister have returned with a new recording. Having been smitten with their last album and stageplay Utopia nearly half a decade ago, The Other Side seems to follow perfectly with the mixture of weighty industrial and melodic Goth rock that the band have been pursuing for several years now…

Bernie Worrell - Pieces of Woo: The Other Side (1993) {CMP Records CMPCD65}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 242 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 118 Mb
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© 1993 CMP Records | CMP CD 65
Jazz / Funk / Jazz Funk / Heavy Funk / Experimental / Organ

The enigmatic Worrell continues to amaze. Like the first Dark album, Worrell's THE OTHER SIDE is absolutely uncategorizable. That he was once affiliated with the likes of George Clinton and the whole P-Funk gang is a mere footnote in the career of this iconoclastic keyboardist. Modal strains of jazz, perverted avant-noise, and organ-drenched experimental atmospheres are only a minute fraction of the chaotic and paradoxical styles etched onto this disc. In short, there's something for everyone here, but everyone should take heed–Worrell's attitudes go way beyond the expected boundaries flanking jazz and funk. His free-form personalities take hold on THE OTHER SIDE and transform it into a jaw-dropping, delightful adventure of unexplored and unexpected sonic realms.