Truck Repair

Frank Zappa - Road Tapes, Venue #1 (2012) {2CD Vaulternative Records VR 20122 rec 1968}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 298 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 183 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 243 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1968, 2012 Vaulternative Records / ZFT | VR 20122
Rock / Experimental Rock / Avant-Garde / Art Rock / Jazz Rock

Official Release #92. Road Tapes, Venue #1 is a double live album by Frank Zappa, released posthumously on 31 October 2012, by the Zappa Family Trust on Vaulternative Records. It was recorded at Kerrisdale Arena, Vancouver, on August 25, 1968. Fantastic audio artifact of the Mothers of Invention in their live prime, in my opinion. A total must for Zappa fans, and the whole conceptual continuity thing. Even my wife, who generally loathes Frank's music, particularly when he sings, found the whole record compelling, except for Help I'm a Rock, which can rub even the most jaded musical obscurist the wrong way. I liked it just fine. Loved the Orange County Lumber Truck medley. Pick this one up, Zappa fans, you will not be disappointed.

Marc Bolan & T.Rex - Zinc Alloy And The Hidden Riders Of Tomorrow (1974) {2CD Set Rhino Deluxe Edition R2 73219 rel 2002}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 863 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 286 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 198 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1974, 2002 Demon / Edsel / Rhino | R2 73219
Rock / Glam Rock

By 1974, the phenomenon known as T. Rextacy was on the wane. The group had always been Bolan's vehicle, but the departure of some original members, the addition of three backup vocalists, and the name change, to Marc Bolan And T. Rex, signaled a significant new direction for the band.

Various Artists - Wizards of Country Guitar: Selected Sides 1935-1955 (2011) {4CD Set, JSP Records JSP77144D}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 608 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 559 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 87 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1935-55, 2011 JSP Records | JSP77144D
Country Boogie / Jazz / Early Country / Instrumental Country / Western Swing / Guitar

The invention and introduction of electrically amplified instruments – most notably the guitar and steel guitar – began slowly transforming every branch of pop music beginning in the mid- to late '30s, shifting emphasis in bands from an ensemble approach to one that allowed for sharper sound definition and easily heard instrumental solos, all of which made the world, at least the recorded version of it, more defined and, well, louder. For the Western swing, honky tonk, and country genres, the change came when steel player Bob Dunn went electric with his group Musical Brownies in 1935.

Taj Mahal - Sing A Happy Song: The Warner Bros. Recordings (1976-1978) {2CD Set, Rhino Handmade rel 2014}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 998 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 370 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 39 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1976-1978, 2014 Rhino Handmade / Warner | 603497 774920
Blues / Folk Blues / Electric Country Blues / World / Contemporary Blues / Modern Acoustic Blues

Mahal's stint with Warner Bros. was not among his most artistically productive, documenting an era in which he become preoccupied with fusing his brand of blues with Caribbean rhythms and steel drums. This double-CD set contains the entirety of three 1976-1978 LPs for the label, in addition to some unreleased material. Those three LPs – 1976's Music Fuh Ya (Musica Para Tu), 1978's Evolution (The Most Recent), and the 1977 soundtrack to the little-known film Brothers – form most of what's on this compilation. There's a sameness to Mahal's easygoing blues-on-the-beach approach, and a sometimes irritating reliance on Caribbean steel drums for color, that wears down the listener's attention span in such a large dose.

Charlie Walker - Pick Me Up On Your Way Down (1999) {5CD Set, Bear Family BCD15852EI rec 1952-1971}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 2.00 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 897 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 483 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1952-71, 1999 Bear Family Records | BCD 15852 EI
Honky-Tonk / Hillbilly /Country / Country-Pop / Nashville Sound

The hillbilly shuffle and the honky tonk song are still the cornerstones of real country music. Some pioneers, like Ray Price, are getting their due these days, but others, like Charlie Walker, tend to be overlooked.
The facts are these: Charlie Walker's early hits, like Who Will Buy The Wine, Pick Me Up On Your Way Down, Wild As A Wildcat, and Little Ol' Winedrinker Me are simply as good as it gets when it comes to heartbreakin', cheatin', beerhall country music and state-of-the-art hillbilly shuffles. The 154 sides represented in this five-CD collection chronicle the development of Charlie Walker's style from his earliest recordings in 1952 for Imperial Records to his classic sides for Columbia and Epic Records.