Twenty Plus Two

One of Germany's heavy psych classics, an album in the Vanilla Vudge, Deep Purple, Atomic Rooster, Birth Control, ELP & Uriah Heep tradion with heavy keyboard, guitars and a blazing rhythmical section - perhaps even the wildest among this group of bands. Released in 1972, the album arrives two years to late to get a honest chance; by now experimental seventies rock had progressied in new directions and sixties sounds were complety dated. However, the thirty minutes of music of the first two tracks and the epic on the second side could easily be seen as top notch five star progressive rock.

One of Germany's heavy psych classics, an album in the Vanilla Vudge, Deep Purple, Atomic Rooster, Birth Control, ELP & Uriah Heep tradion with heavy keyboard, guitars and a blazing rhythmical section - perhaps even the wildest among this group of bands. Released in 1972, the album arrives two years to late to get a honest chance; by now experimental seventies rock had progressied in new directions and sixties sounds were complety dated. However, the thirty minutes of music of the first two tracks and the epic on the second side could easily be seen as top notch five star progressive rock.

One of Germany's heavy psych classics, an album in the Vanilla Vudge, Deep Purple, Atomic Rooster, Birth Control, ELP & Uriah Heep tradion with heavy keyboard, guitars and a blazing rhythmical section - perhaps even the wildest among this group of bands. Released in 1972, the album arrives two years to late to get a honest chance; by now experimental seventies rock had progressied in new directions and sixties sounds were complety dated. However, the thirty minutes of music of the first two tracks and the epic on the second side could easily be seen as top notch five star progressive rock.

With his chocolaty cool, soulful Memphis croon and sure sense of melody, Robert Cray has never been considered a straightahead bluesman. His often interchangeable albums have instead stayed closer to R&B, adding compact, stinging lead guitar to songs about matters of the heart. That formula remains, with minor variations, on Cray's 14th release, rather confusingly named Twenty. The title track, a gripping, emotional anti-war ballad of the experience of a GI in Iraq (that, incidentally, doesn't contain the word "twenty") shows the singer/songwriter shifting his emotionally charged storytelling lyrics to the political arena. It's a brief but confident detour from his usual M.O. of relationships on the brink of collapse or in general disrepair, typically related in the first person. Subtle yet effective forays into loungey jazz on "My Last Regret" and even reggae on the opening "Poor Johnny" indicate a healthy tendency to push his established envelope, if only gently, into other genres. But Cray sticks to his established bread and butter for the majority of this sturdy album, effortlessly churning out shoulder-swaying, foot-tapping R&B accompanied by a clean, clear tenor voice and a road-hardened band that finesses these songs with the perfect combination of fire and ice. Old fans won't be disappointed, and newcomers can start here and work backwards.

In New Orleans in 1977, the Original Sixth Ward Dirty Dozen band was born in the city's Treme neighborhood. Coming out of the 100-plus-year tradition of the local social club scene – in this case, the Dirty Dozen Social and Pleasure Club – they started rehearsing with no other goal than playing in the club. Eventually renaming themselves the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, they played for years before they began performing steady gigs at a Seventh Ward night spot and later at another uptown club. The DDBB built an enormous repertoire, and in the process innovated on the brass brand tradition, which was flagging very badly at the time. They incorporated funk, bebop, and more into their sound. The DDBB started a renaissance; they influenced every brass band that came after them. Twenty Dozen, produced by Scott Billington, is their twelfth album.