Wallace Somebody

During the early 1960s, rock and roll grew by leaps and bounds. The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, and Motown and Stax Records all entered the stage, and soon nothing would be the same. But, the more things change, the more they stay the same, and much of the Top 40 retained the classic ’50s sound – from teen idols like Jimmy Clanton (“Venus In Blue Jeans”) to nascent Tex-Mex by Sunny & The Sunglows (“Talk To Me”). Eric Records’ Hard To Find 45s On CD, Volume 10: 1960-1965 documents it all, from new sounds – like the Sir Douglas Quintet’s “She’s About A Mover” (in true stereo for the first time ever!) – to the loping rockabilly of Harold Dorman’s “Mountain Of Love.”

A unique strictly limited (500 only!) three CD set! This collection of pre-war Blues, Country, and Folk, expertly compiled illustrates the beginnings of what we now call AMERICANA. Disc one highlights Blues, disc 2 Country, and disc 3 Folk.

Giants of Jazz presents all of the music recorded in New Orleans, LA by 71-year-old Earl Hines on January 30 and 31, 1975. A consistently surprising pianist whose modernistic impulses began to revolutionize how jazz was played during the late '20s and (in solidarity with those of Duke Ellington) led directly to the innovations of Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk and Jaki Byard, Hines sounds entirely at home among friends performing material from the traditional jazz and Dixieland repertoire. The band is excellent, with a front line of trumpeter Wallace Davenport, trombonist Tom Ebert and clarinetist Orange Kellin. The pianist's rhythm section mates were banjoist/guitarist Emanuel Sayles, bassist Lloyd Lambert and drummer Louis Barbarin. Hines sings on "(I Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Have None Of My) Jelly Roll" and "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans."

Buddy & Ella Johnson - 1953-1964 (1992) {4CD Box Set, Bear Family Records BCD 15479 DH}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.42 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 658 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 42 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1953-64, 1992 Bear Family Records | BCD 15479 DH
Rhythm & Blues / Rock & Roll / Jazz / Swing / Blues / Early R&B / Jump Blues

Four discs (104 tracks in all) that exhaustively document the Mercury, Roulette, and Old Town output of big-band veteran Buddy Johnson, whose eternally swinging outfit was seductively fronted by his sister Ella (along with several interchangeable male crooners). Buddy's band wasn't as big as it once was during his Mercury tenure (tenor saxman Purvis Henson was at the core of the blazing horn section), but the tightly arranged New York-style sizzle remained.

In this magnificent collection presented melodies performed by these masters of jazz piano: Scott Joplin, James P. Johnson, Eubie Blake, Mandy Randolph, Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, Joe Sullivan, Teddy Wilson, Count Basie, Oscar Peterson, Thelonious Monk, Nat King Cole and many, many others …

Bonnie Raitt may have switched producers for her second album Give It Up, hiring Michael Cuscuna, but she hasn't switched her style, sticking with the thoroughly engaging blend of folk, blues, R&B, and Californian soft rock. If anything, she's strengthened her formula here, making the divisions between the genres nearly indistinguishable. Take the title track, for instance. It opens with a bluesy acoustic guitar before kicking into a New Orleans brass band about halfway through – and the great thing about it is that Raitt makes the switch sound natural, even inevitable, never forced. And that's just the tip of the iceberg here, since Give It Up is filled with great songs, delivered in familiar, yet always surprising, ways by Raitt and her skilled band. For those that want to pigeonhole her as a white blues singer, she delivers the lovely "Nothing Seems to Matter," a gentle mid-tempo number that's as mellow as Linda Ronstadt and far more seductive. That's the key to Give It Up: Yes, Raitt can be earthy and sexy, but she balances it with an inviting sensuality that makes the record glow.

A wonderful collector's edition of jazz pianists' records in almost all styles from the first ragtimes to modern jazz.