Django Reinhhardt (with ‘le Quintette du Hot Club de France’) - "le Disque d’Or de Django Reinhardt" (1965)

Jean "Django" Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953) was a Belgium-born French guitarist and composer of Romani ethnicity.

Reinhardt is often regarded as one of the greatest guitar players of all time; he was the first important European jazz musician who made major contributions to the development of the guitar genre. After his third and fourth fingers were paralysed when he suffered burns in a fire, Reinhardt used only the index and middle fingers of his left hand on his solos. He created an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique (sometimes called 'hot' jazz guitar), which has since become a living musical tradition within French Gypsy culture. With violinist Stéphane Grappelli, Reinhardt co-founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France, described by critic Thom Jurek as "one of the most original bands in the history of recorded jazz". Reinhardt's most popular compositions have become jazz standards, including "Minor Swing", "Daphne", "Belleville", "Djangology", "Swing '42", and "Nuages".

If you’ve got nothing to do on your lazy Sunday afternoon, you could do a hell of a lot worse than to put on ‘Django Reinhardt’ and dream away your day from your window.


Tracklist:


1 Melodie au crepuscule
2 Place de Broukere
3 Nuages
4 Belleville
5 Viper’s dream
6 Les yeux noirs
7 Minor swing
8 Porto cabello
9 Swing de Paris
10 Sweet chorus
11 Dinette
12 Crepuscule


Download Link - Mediafire

Various Artists - Explosivos: Deep Soul From The Latin Heart (Vampisoul) (2005)

A Latin Soul jukebox -- overflowing with great singles from the glory days of the Spanish Harlem scene! The vibe here is definitely on the dirtier end of late 60s Latin -- that groove that picked up plenty of funk and soul from other strands of the New York scene, and took it way way uptown where it was cooked up with a nice dash of salsa! And while there was certainly some work of the time that tried to cash in on the boogaloo groove and never really made the cut, the tunes on this set are all the real deal -- the hard-hitting numbers that stood out as some of the best cuts coming out from labels like Tico, Fania, Cotique, and Alegre. 

CD features a total of 20 great tracks, all of them cookers -- with titles that include "Soul Gritty" by Ralph Robles, "You Need Help" by Monguito Santamaria, "Deep" by Quetcy Alma, "Chicarrones" by The Latin Gents, "Fat Papa" by Charlie Palmieri, "Mama's Girl" by King Nando, "Chacon Pata Pata" by Chacon, "Get It Right" by Alfredito, "Apewalk" by Al Escobar, "Stand" by Harvey Averne, "King Of Latin Soul" by Joey Pastrana, "Kool It Here Comes The Fuzz" by Jimmy Sabater, and "African Twist" by Eddie Palmieri.

Tracklist:

01. Latin Soul Drive Is Here - Chollo Rivera & The Latin Soul Drives
02. King Of Latin Soul - Joey Pastrana
03. Psychedelic Baby - Joe Cuba Sextet
04. Stand - The Harvey Averne Band
05. I'm Gonna Leave You - Russel Cohen Y La New Yorkers
06. Soul Gritty - Ralph Robles
07. You Need Help - Monguito Santamaria
08. Kool It (Here Comes The Fuzz) - Jimmy Sabater
09. Use It Before You Lose It - Bobby Valentín
10. Fat Papa - Charlie Palmieri
11. Deep - Quetcy Alma
12. Electric Latin Soul - Flash & The Dynamics
13. Apewalk - Al Escobar
14. Get It Right - Alfredito And His Orchestra
15. Chacon Pata Pata - Chacon
16. African Twist - Eddie Palmieri
17. Lazy Boogaloo - George Guzman
18. Mama's Girl - King Nando
19. Hit De Bongo - Tito Puente & His Orchestra
20. Chicarrones - The Latin Gents

Download Link - Mediafire

Various Artists - Bossa Nova & The Rise Of Brazillian Music In The 1960's (Soul Jazz Records)

Another great release from UK record label Soul Jazz Records. Forget the cocktail-sipping tropical image that bossa nova became, bossa nova’s origins in Brazil are that of a stunning modernist and revolutionary music that reflected the radical and exciting idealism of the country at the start of the 1960s. This music is the real deal!

This two disc compilation charts the rise of the events that led to the arrival of this new musical movement and what happened next. João Gilberto, Tom Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes, Elis Regina, Gilberto Gil and Baden Powell all feature alongside many other Brazilian artists who launched their careers during this amazing period.

Tracklist:

1. Elis Regina — Roda

2. Roberto Menescal — Inverno

3. Joao Gilberto — O Sapo

4. Ginga Trio — Yemanja

5. Jorge Ben — Lalari-Olala

6. Dorival Caymmi — Berimbau

7. Sergio Mendes & Bossa Rio — Primitivo

8. Nara Leao — Birimbau

9. Tamba Trio — Mas Que Nada

10. Baden Powell & Vinicius Moraes — Canto De Ossanha

11. Zimbo Trio — Zimbo Samba

12. Gilberto Gil — Viramundo

13. Elis Regina — Menino Das Laranjas

14. Edu Lobo — Jogo De Roda

15. Elizete Cardoso — Vida Bela

16. Dom Um Romao — Jangal

17. Wanda Sa — Adriana

18. Elizete Cardoso — E De Lei

19. Antonio Carlos Jobim — O Morro Nao Tem Vez

20. Edu Lobo — Ponteio

21. Tamba 4 — Samba Blim

22. Pery Ribeiro — Canto Negro

23. Maria Bethania — Ye-Mele

24. Miltinho — Faca Como Eu

25. Jorge Ben — Rosa, Menina Rosa

26. Milton Nascimento — Tres Pontas

27. Baden Powell & Vinicius De Moraes — Canto De Xango

28. Zelia Barbosa — Carcara

29. Tamba Trio — Boranda

30. Geraldo Vandre — Hora De Lutar

31. Elis Regina — Tereza Sabe Sambar

32. Edu Lobo — Aguaverde

33. Jorge Ben — Carnaval Triste

34. Marilia Medalha — Maria Moita

Download Link - Mediafire

Various Artists - New Orleans Funk: The Original Sound Of Funk Vol. 2 (Soul Jazz Records)

This is Soul Jazz Records’ new journey into the heart of New Orleans and a guide to the city’s finest Funk music produced in the late 1960s and early 1970s.’ Featuring everyone from The Meters to Eddie Bo, Lee Dorsey to Betty Harris, this is a who’s who of the Crescent City’s most famous and most funky! The city of New Orleans has deep musical roots that stretch back to Africa. New Orleans first gave birth to Jazz music, a Black musical form centred on rhythm, improvisation, freedom and collectivity at the turn of the century. Similarly in the late 1960s New Orleans Funk came to define a unique sound, mixing Caribbean rhythms, New Orleans second-line syncopation and rhythm and blues, all played by the Big Easy’s finest musicians. 

Whilst Jazz and Funk music spread throughout the world, many African-American musical traditions remained within the city limits such as Mardi Gras and Carnival, Saturday Night Fish Fries, Funeral Marching bands and much more which partly explains why New Orleans music is so unique. The album comes with extensive sleeve-notes, exclusive photography and more, and is an essential guide to the musical landscape of New Orleans and - together with Soul Jazz Records’ earlier New Orleans’ releases - presents the definitive story of New Orleans Funk.

Although on the mainland coast, New Orleans is also surrounded by lakes giving the city an island feel. Similarly its proximity to Puerto Rico, Cuba, Haiti and the other West Indian Isles means that Latin and Caribbean musical influences are in its veins as much as American musical traditions. The upside of this city’s isolation is that New Orleans musical traditions flourished away from those of the rest of America. A thriving city full of artists, musicians, singers, producers, record companies, studios (well one studio actually) led to a 24-hour, 7-day a week musical life, playing in clubs, bars, brothels, carnivals and parades. The downside of the cities isolation from the rest of the US was that the city never developed a solid music industry to back up the creative over-supply. Whilst New York had Atlantic, Detroit had Motown, Memphis had Stax, Chicago had Chess, Los Angeles had Modern, New Orleans had a multitude of small businesses fighting for space - and often each other. Without the marketing, promotional weight, business nouse and financial clout, New Orleans labels found it hard to get the nationwide distribution necessary to fill the million-odd jukeboxes throughout the country. So whilst every family in America knows the music of Gladys Knight or Smokey Robinson few could tell you about – let alone hum a tune from - Benny Spellman, Inell Young, Warren Lee….

This is far from being a reflection of the artists creativity or musicality - as anyone can tell you New Orleans melodies are the catchiest of all - more it is a reflection of the limitations of the local music industry. Some New Orleans artists became successful throughout the US such as Fats Domino in the 1950s and in the late 1960s The Meters and Lee Dorsey, but many artists remained within the city limits. This makes for a fascinating goldmine of music released by a complex myriad of small labels run mainly by New Orleans producers, promoters and artists themselves. New Orleans Funk 2 brings together many of these artists along with text, sleeve-notes and photographs that gives social and historical context to the incredibly funky music of New Orleans.

----- www.souljazzrecords.co.uk

Tracklist:

1. Cyril Neville — Gossip

2. Eddie Bo — If It's Good To You (It's Good For You)

3. Ray J — Right Place Wrong Time

4. The Meters — Chicken Strut

5. Allen Toussaint — Tequila

6. The Prime Mates — Hot Tamales

7. Betty Harris — Show It

8. Lee Dorsey — Four Corners

9. Bonnie And Sheila — You Keep Me Hanging On

10. The Gaturs — Yeah You're Right, You Know You're Right

11. Danny White — The Twitch

12. Inell Young — What Do You See In Her

13. Earl King — Street Parade

14. Eddie Bo & The Soul Finders — The Rubber Band

15. Benny Spellman — Fortune Teller

16. Warren Lee — Mama Said We Can't Get Married

17. Betty Harris — 12 Red Roses

18. Joe Chopper & The Swinging 7 Soul Band — Soul Pusher

19. Eddie Bo — Hey Bo

20. Johnny Moore — Haven't I Been Good To You

21. Jimmy Hicks — I'm Mr Big Stuff

22. Warren Lee — Funky Belly

23. G. Davis And R. Tyler — Hold On Help Is On The Way

24. Art Neville — Bo Diddley

25. Porgy Jones — Dap

Download Link - Mediafire

Various Artists - Alan Lomax: Blues Songbook (1934 - 1978)

Lots has been written at great length about Alan Lomax elsewhere on this blog, and I'm sure eventually I will write plenty more about the man and his important influence of modern music. However in the interest of not repeating oneself..... 

This 2CD collection is reproduced here in lossless (.flac) quality and is comprised of field recordings made by John and Alan Lomax from 1935-’78, the scope alone of this album is formidable. Many of the acts are obscure even to blues aficionados, yet icons like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Blind Willie McTell, Son House, Leadbelly, and Mississippi Fred McDowell are peppered throughout the nearly 2 1/2 hour playing time. 

Although the audio quality varies from excellent to primitive, the astounding remastering makes it all able. This is raw, pure, spine-tingling music played with the intense nothing-left-to-lose passion of ordinary people whose impossibly difficult lives are exposed in their voices and performances.

"Alan Lomax is a lifelong fan of blues music, and his efforts to document and promote it have made a profound impact on popular culture. From his earliest audio documentation in 1933 of blues and pre-blues with his father, John A. Lomax, for the library of Congress through his 1985 documentary film, The Land Where the Blues Began, Lomax gathered some of the finest evidence of blues, work songs, hollers, fife and drum music, and other African-American song forms that survived the nineteenth century and prospered in the twentieth. His efforts went far beyond those of the typical musicologist. Lomax not only collected the music for research, but through his radio programs, album releases, books, and concert promotions he presented it to a popular audience. While living in England in the early 1950s he introduced many blues songs to the performers of the skiffle movement, who in quick turn ignited the British rock scene. Lead Belly and other blues artists, interpreted by Lonnie Donegan and Van Morrison, preceded the rock & roll tradition of covering and rewriting blues songs. The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, the Animals, Cream, Jimi Hendrix—all found inspiration from the blues. 

And this is how I came to the blues, as many people have: by way of rock & roll. In the very structure of rock music—and, in fact, -much of popular music—the source is undeniable. My personal journey of exploring the history of blues music is connected by the work of Alan Lomax. I vividly remember the first time I heard Lead Belly's voice on the radio in 1958-I immediately ran up to Sam Goody's to buy the 10" Folkways LP featuring his "C. C. Rider." When I filmed Muddy Waters in 1976 performing "Mannish Boy- for The Last Waltz, I witnessed the success and power of a man who had first been recorded in Stovall, Mississippi, in 1941 by Lomax and John W. Work, III. And when I saw Otha Rimer leading his fife and drum band in The Land Where the Blues Began, I was so struck by its hypnotic force that it became one of the primary musical inspirations for Gangs of New York. 

Alan Lomax: Blues Songbook is the first collection of Lomax blues recordings to encompass his career. I'm sure that his work will continue to inspire and illuminate the minds of future generations. The deep well from which he drew these essential voices of human culture is a treasure for all." 

— Martin Scorsese, York. NE July 2003

"Chilling, mysterious, and even playful--sometimes simultaneously--this collection with 40 pages of detailed history, informative track-by-track notes, and forays into Cajun and spiritual side roads is most recommended to established blues fans wishing to further explore the roots of the genre."

— Hal Horowitz  

Tracklist:

Disc 1:

1. Going Down to the River - Mississippi Fred McDowell, Miles Pratcher
2. Rolled and Tumbled
3. Cherry Ball Blues - Jack Owens,
4. Dust My Broom - Howlin' Wolf, , Hubert Sumlin
5. Boogie Children - Boy Blue, Joe Lee,
6. Stagolee - Lucious Curtis, Willie Ford
7. Stop All the Buses - Cecil Augusta
8. Worried Life Blues - David Honeyboy Edwards
9. Pony Blues - Son House
10. Tangle Eye Blues
11. Trouble So Hard - Vera Hall-Ward, Dock Reed
12. Worried Blues - Sonny Terry
13. Beggin' the Blues - Bessie Jones
14. John Henry - Gabriel Brown
15. Country Blues - Dock Boggs
16. Cherry Ball Blues - Skip James
17. I Hate a Man Like You - Jelly Roll Morton
18. Roll 'Em Pete - Pete Johnson
19. Kokomo - Memphis Jug Band
20. Life Is Like That - Big Bill Broonzy, Memphis Slim, Sonny Boy Williamson

Disc: 2

1. I Could Hear My Name A-Ringin' - Big Bill Broonzy, Memphis Slim, Sonny Boy Williamson
2. Dimples in Your Jaws - Boy Blue, Joe Lee,
3. Catfish Blues - Jack Owens,
4. Kill-It-Kid Bag - Blind Willie McTell
5. You're Gonna Need My Help - Elinor Boyer
6. Army Blues - David Honeyboy Edwards
7. Blues de la Prison - Alphonse "Bois Sec" Ardoin, Canray Fontenot
8. I Been Drinking - Vera Hall-Ward
9. I Been a Bad, Bad Girl (Prisoner Blues) - Ozella Jones
10. I Be's Troubled - Muddy Waters
11. Boogie Instrumental - R.L. Burnside
12. Blind Lemon Blues - Leadbelly
13. Sweet Patootie Blues - Albert Ammons
14. Last Time - Sam Chatmon
15. Shorty George - Smith Casey
16. Desert Blues - Hattie Ellis,
17. Joe Turner - Hobart Smith, Ed Young
18. Joe Turner - Bob Pratcher, Miles Pratcher
19. Joe Turner
20. See That My Grave Is Kept Clean - Hobart Smith
21. How Long Blues - Leadbelly, Brownie McGhee, Sonny Terry

Download Link - Mediafire - CD1

Download Link - Mediafire - CD2

Various Artists - Zeppelin Took My Blues Away (2014)

I cannot take credit for putting in any of the time and effort (and passion) that it took to create this compilation. All this research and this fantastic collection were made possible by “Willard’s Wormholes” http://www.willardswormholes.com . On his website he has a cool interface where you can click on cards and it produces links to the original tracks and then alternative streams so you can compare the tracks for similarities. Excellent project and really well researched. Check it out before downloading!

I didn’t include any of the original Led Zeppelin tunes in this, and took the liberty of splitting all the ‘source tracks’ into 2 CD format just cause the whole playlist was about 90 minutes and I still like CD’s. I’ve reproduced faithfully below all the content from the original web based interface, it makes for extremely interesting reading. And have included in each sub folder the original images from the website (which are awesome by the way).

Anyway excellent compilation, enjoy, thanks to Willard’s Wormholes again for the dedication and research necessary to produce something like this!

From Willard's Wormholes:

They’re one of rock’s greatest bands. They’re also one of rock’s worst… when it comes to properly crediting their sources of inspiration. Led Zeppelin’s many incidents of copyright infringement are legendary. There are those who have called it outright theft, and have sworn in a court of law that Led Zeppelin (primarily Jimmy Page and Robert Plant) have repeatedly taken credit for writing music that wasn’t their’s to take credit for. And, many of those cases have been vindicated. Of course… this is not to take away from Led Zeppelin’s greatness; the amazing arrangements, renditions, covers, interpretations, performances and history they’ve created and been a part of. But, the truth is they’ve become rich partly from royalties they were never entitled to. Jimmy Page was uncharacteristically candid on the subject when he spoke to Guitar Player Magazine in 1993, downplaying his own culpability while simultaneously throwing his partner, Robert Plant, under the bus. “I always tried to bring something fresh to anything that I used. I always made sure to come up with some variation. In fact, I think in most cases, you would never know what the original source could be. Maybe not in every case – but in most cases. So most of the comparisons rest on the lyrics. And Robert was supposed to change the lyrics, and he didn’t always do that – which is what brought on most of the grief. They couldn’t get us on the guitar parts of the music, but they nailed us on the lyrics. We did, however, take some liberties (laughs), I must say.” Note that Page says, “Robert was supposed to change the lyrics…” which might accidentally say a lot more about their process than Page intended.

Many of these tracks, which form the basis for quite a number of Led Zeppelin’s earlier recordings, have found their way onto “Roots Of” Zep collections before, so this gathering is nothing new. Many already know this story, and these songs, but for those that haven’t stayed abreast of the decades of abuse Zep has endured for their costly “borrowing” from others just might be shocked at what they hear on this collection. Of course, musicians borrow from each other all the time. Zeppelin were just way too blatant about it, and way too often took the credit (and royalties) for themselves. And, depending on how you slice it, this is only the half of it. On its own, this is a fun, mostly old blues collection made up of all the original songs heard on these pages… with a strangely familiar twist.

Tracklist:

JAKE HOLMES Dazed And Confused (3:48)
BERT JANSCH Blackwaterside (3:45)
HOWLIN’ WOLF No Place To Go (a.k.a. How Many More Years) (2:53)
ALBERT KING The Hunter (2:46)
ALES KORNER BLUES INC. Rosie (2:13)
ALEXIS KORNER & ROBERT PLANT Steal Away (4:45)
JOAN BAEZ Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You (2:39)
MUDDY WATERS You Need Love (2:43)
SMALL FACES You Need Loving (4:00)
HOWLIN’ WOLF Killing Floor (2:49)
ROBERT JOHNSON Travelling Riverside Blues (2:39)
SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON Bring It On Home (2:38)
BUKKA WHITE Shake ‘Em On Down (3:02)
MOBY GRAPE Never (6:15)
BERT JANSCH The Waggoner’s Lad (3:26)
KANSAS JOE McCOY & MEMPHIS MINNIE When The Levee Breaks (3:11)
SPIRIT Taurus (2:37)
SLEEPY JOHN ESTES Drop Down Mama (3:12)
BLIND BOY FULLER I Want Some Of Your Pie (2:45)
JOSH WHITE Jesus Gonna Make Up My Dying Bed (a.k.a. In My Time Of Dying) (3:06)
RITCHIE VALENS Ooh, My Head (1:47)
BLIND WILLIE JOHNSON It’s Nobody’s Fault But Mine (3:11)
THE THAMESIDERS AND DAVY GRAHAM She Moved Thro’ The Fair (3:10)
SLEEPY JOHN ESTES The Girl I Love, She Got Long Curly Hair (2:58)
BOBBY PARKER Watch Your Step (2:44)

(plus a few bonus tracks.......)

Download Link - Mediafire

The Growling Tiger - Alan Lomax Recordings (1962) / Knockdown Calypsos (1979)

After about a year of searching I finally located a Calypso tune I had heard last June. It has been seriously bothering me all year that I couldn't find it again! I was shocked that I had very little in my collection of The Growling Tiger and so am happy to share these albums with you all!

Neville Marcano, aka The Growling Tiger (1915-1993) was a calypsonian from Trinidad. A former boxer - he became a star in the 1930s, when calypsonians started exporting their music overseas, and big names emerged like Lord Kitchener, Lord Invader or Roaring Lion (I don't know which one of Roaring Lion or Growling Tiger acquired his nickname first).

He was recorded in 1962 by Alan Lomax in Trinidad. (whose field recordings are priceless in the fact that they preserved many fantastic folk tunes from a wide variety of cultures) these recordings were reissued in 1998 under the name "The Growling Tiger of Calypso". Marcano played a variety of calypso and even older styles of music. His music is a sum of various influences from French, Spanish, English and African traditions, and ranges from old-school minor-key calypso ("Money Is King") to derivations from more ancient styles like kalinda (a stick-fighting dance popular in Trinidad carnivals) or songs with a strong African heritage like "Youruba Shango".

Tiger had become famous for his deep baritone voice, and his socio-political lyrics. As with a lot of calypsonians the lyrics and identity of the singer are extremely important to the song (and the singers success!) The above song is an example of his thinking, it's both funny and serious, and Tiger had a reputation for questioning social normas and mocking the establishment in true carnival fashion.

By 1977, Tiger had long since retired and was presumed to be dead by most people. An American calypso enthusiast named Steve Shapiro travelled to Trinidad and sought out Tiger. Shapiro prevailed upon Tiger to do a modern recording of some of his finest works in their original style. He also recorded some songs with a "modern" band featuring horns. 

At sixty-four years of age, Tiger had lost none of his prowess and the resultant 1979 album "Knockdown Calypsos" on the Rounder Records label later was nominated for a Grammy! 

Robert Leaver says of the man: "A master of improvisation (extempo) and the competitive Calypsonian duel, Tiger could rhyme on diverse subjects with intelligence and wit. Rappers take heed -- Growling Tiger could school you"

Tracklist:

Alan Lomax Portrait:

01. War (3.17)
02. Senorita Panchita (3.05)
03. The Parrot (3.22)
04. Money Is King (3.32)
05. Bury Boula For Me (4.48)
06. War (4.30)
07. The Train Blow (3.28)
08. When I Dead Bury Me (4.43)
09. Rose Of Caracas (3.02)
10. Getting Along With The Calypso Music (1.49)
11. Atomic Energy Calypso (5.59)
12. Senorita Panchita (3.39)

Knockdown Calypsos

01. When I Dead Bury Me Clothes, Five Five Five In Morning, Going Home To Africa Tonight
02. The Train Below
03. Go Back To Coal
04. Bandandee-A
05. Yoruba Shango
06. Medley: Heles Enfants/Salvatorie Fire/Rama I Rama Lo Kine/I Wheel & I Wheel San Fernando...
07. Money Is King
08. Motor Car Horn
09. San Fernando The Ark/Gentiles Fille
10. War

Download Link - Mediafire - "Alan Lomax Portrait"

Download Link - Mediafire - "Knockdown Calypsos"

The Complete Blue Note Recordings Of Art Blakey's 1960 Jazz Messengers (1992)

Drummer Art Blakey goes down in jazz annals in several ways, including for artistry and energy on his instrument. But perhaps more lasting is the influence his group has had not only on the development of the hard bop idiom but also for his influence on the generations of young players who have gotten their on-the-job training with Blakey. The list includes such figures as Wynton Marsalis, Keith Jarrett, Jackie McLean, Benny Golson, John Hicks, Woody Shaw, Joanne Brackeen, Curtis Fuller and Steve Turre.

Each successive group had different qualities, which kept the Messengers growing all the time. While arguments rage regards which was his “best”, no doubt the 1960-1961 unit figures in the debate. To my own tastes the group in 1960 (and a little later, when Curtis Fuller joined on trombone), was the finest. Lee Morgan on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor sax, Bobby Timmons on piano, these musicians were extraordinary. It was a dream band almost as luminous as Miles Davis`s group with John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley Paul Chambers and Bill Evans.

This six-disc set covers studio and live sessions from March 6, 1960, to May 27, 1961, with the same personnel on all but two songs that were recorded on February 18, 1961, when Walter Davis had replaced Timmons.

Michael Cuscuna (Producer) uses only first-issue dates and while he includes some alternate takes, he does not litter the discs with second-rate vault material. They smoothly detail the band’s evolution, cohesion and maturation. Shorter is at his fiery best on tenor sax, while Morgan is either a furious note-bending acrobatic or a mellow, dynamic ballad stylist. Timmons excels at soul/gospel voicings and accompaniment but also demonstrates a flexibility and melodic and harmonic variety sometimes overshadowed by the popularity of such compositions as “Dat dere” and “Moanin’”. Merritt brings a rock-solid pulse and consistent edge to the group on bass, and Blakey himself offers his patent “bombs” on drums, driving and pacing the band without dominating it.

The Jazz Messengers as always are effective playing in either a surging or soothing manner on waltzes, standards or originals, personifying the mix of emotion and skills that are the essence of great jazz.

This set goes beyond essential. Get it post haste.

(It has been pointed out to me that I should start putting up a video link so as people who maybe unfamiliar with some of this music can get an idea before downloading specific things.)

Tracklist:

1.1 It's Only A Paper Moon (Alternate)
1.2 It's Only A Paper Moon
1.3 Dat Dere
1.4 The Chess Players
1.5 Lester Left Town
1.6 Sakeena's Vision
1.7 Politely
1.8 When Your Lover Has Gone
1.9 Noise In The Attic
1.10 Sleeping Dancer Sleep On (Alternate)

2.1 Sleeping Dancer Sleep On
2.2 Sincerely Diana
2.3 Sincerely Diana (Alternate)
2.4 Yama
2.5 Kozo's Waltz
2.6 Giantis
2.7 Johnny's Blue
2.8 So Tired
2.9 Like Someone In Love

3.1 A Night In Tunisia
3.2 United
3.3 Ping Pong
3.4 Blue Ching
3.5 Pisces
3.6 Look At The Birdie
3.7 Master Mind
3.8 Ping Pong
3.9 Petty Larceny
3.10 Roots And Herbs

4.1 United
4.2 The Witch Doctor (Alternate)
4.3 Those Who Sit And Wait
4.4 A Little Busy
4.5 Joelle
4.6 Afrique
4.7 Lost And Found
4.8 The Witch Doctor
4.9 The Back Sliders (Alternate)

5.1 The Back Sliders
5.2 The Freedom Rider
5.3 Tell It Like It Is
5.4 El Toro
5.5 Blue Lace
5.6 Uptight
5.7 Announcement By Pee Wee Marquette
5.8 The Opener
5.9 What Know
5.10 Theme And Announcement By Pee Wee Marquette

6.1 Announcement By Art Blakey
6.2 'Round About Midnight
6.3 The Breeze And I
6.4 Announcement By Pee Wee Marquette And Art Blakey
6.5 High Modes
6.6 Night Watch
6.7 Announcement By Art Blakey
6.8 The Things I Love
6.9 The Summit
6.10 Theme And Announcement

Download Link - Mediafire (Disc 1)
Download Link - Mediafire (Disc 2)
Download Link - Mediafire (Disc 3)
Download Link - Mediafire (Disc 4)
Download Link - Mediafire (Disc 5)
Download Link - Mediafire (Disc 6)

Marvellous Boy - Calypso From West Africa (1950's - 1960's)

Another compilation from the Honest Jon's record label, this calypso compilation is interesting insofar as it incorporates numerous aspects of different styles of West African music be they highlife legends such as Rex Lawson, or various gems in the Afro-Cuban jazz style. It's definitely worth checking out for anyone interested the origins, emergence and popularisation of African rooted genres in Western culture as they exist today.

From the Honest Jon's website:

The inter-war dance bands of British West Africa are often strikingly similar in sound to Trinidadian orchestras like Lovey's String Band (credited with the first calypso recordings, in 1912). However, the first West African calypso recordings in the modern style are from Freetown, Sierra Leone in the early 1950s, by Ebenezer Calendar and Famous Scrubbs. In arrangements blending African and European instruments, the brass plays out the legacy of colonial military bands, albeit hair-down and a little ramshackle now; and the beautiful creole lyrics are as upful, quick, current, musical and intimate as any classic calypsonian's.

Decca also organized the first calypso recording session in Ghana, down the coast, where a sound interchangeably designated 'calypso' or 'highlife' ruled urban dancefloors, courtesy of The Tempos — fronted here by Julie Okine — and its spin-offs The Black Beats, The Red Spots, and finally The Rhythm Aces.
The invasion of King Mensah of Ghana, and The Tempos' money-spinning tour of Nigeria at the start of the 1950s sparked a decade of musical innovation. Bobby Benson’s new highlife eleven-piece included the great trumpeters Victor Olaiya and Roy Chicago — both leaving to lead the bands featured here, the Cool Cats and Rhythm Dandies — and his calypso Taxi Driver was their first, huge, signature hit. (By contrast, little is known about the Nigerian Rolling Stone, whose real name was Roland Onaghise, singing here in the Bini dialect with such rootical frankness.) 

The Mayor's Dance Band was the second lineup run by the celebrated Erekosima 'Rex' Lawson, after the Nigeraphone Studio Orchestra Of Onitsha, and highly successful throughout the 1960s. With Lawson's trademark blend of Igbo lyrics over a Calabari rhythm, reflecting his mixed parentage, and his superb, Caribbean-flavoured trumpet-playing, Bere Bote is the latest of the recordings here.
Like Lawson, Steven Amechi was from eastern Nigeria — the guitar solo on Nylon Dress is by the king of Igbo highlife, Stephen Osita Osadebe. 

The Tempos' drummer Guy Warren once recalled a trip to London, where he'd played in Kenny Graham's pioneering Afro Cubists: 'When I was in London I went to the Caribbean Club somewhere near Piccadilly, the haunt of a lot of West Indians. It was all calypso every night... When I came back I brought some of these records and we learnt to play them as I knew straightaway that these musical inflections were so highlifish.' And most likely he would have thrown in some of Ambrose Campbell's London recordings of calypso highlife with the West African Rhythm Brothers, including horn players from the Caribbean — at that time making an epochal impact back home in Nigeria. 

And saxophonist Chris Ajilo was likewise deeply impressed by the Afro Cubists, forming his band The Cubanos on his return to Lagos in 1955, after studying at the London School Of Music. (Baba Ani, aka Lekan Animashaun — stalwart of Fela Kuti's music, from the Koola Lobitos to Egypt 80 — was in later lineups.) A tribal 'woro', 'fire dance', from Egun country, obviously Ariwo isn't highlife-calypso, it's cooking afro-cuban jazz with traditional roots; but it exemplifies the open hybridity of all these forms, and the receptivity of their West African milieu to inspiration abroad, as throughout the 1950s West African musicians like King Bruce of The Rhythm Aces, the Sierra Leonean calypsonian Ali Ganda, E.T. Mensah and Zeal Onyia all checked out London's burgeoning West Indian and West African scenes.

 
By the early 1960s, calypso was fading in West Africa. US soul and rhythm and blues were poised to replace Caribbean influences, even as there was also a turn towards more traditional, local, African musical material. Still, the dying embers would produce its most classical exponent, Godwin Omabuwa, Nigeria's own Lord Kitchener, ebulliently singing here about a famous victory of the middleweight Dick Tiger. Another graduate of Bobby Benson's orchestras, his band the Casanova Dandies at this time included the jazz modernist Mike Falana, on the eve of his departure for London, where he would join Peter King's African Jazz Messengers. In the face of changing tastes, Omabuwa cut only a few records, and his live audience was steeply reduced to prostitutes and their customers in a Lagos Island dive, but his mastery of the genre was a fitting end to the heyday of calypso in British West Africa.

'endlessly satisfying' (Boston Phoenix)

'Blending cheeky calypso with rocking highlife — and by turns breezy, wistful and downright uproarious' (Daily Telegraph) 

'gems at every turn... weaving highlife, swing, military brass bands, Afro-Cuban jazz, into a hell of a compilation... Honest Jon's have added to the highest order of this simple music of heartbreaking celebration' (Brainwashed)

Tracklist:

01. Famous Scrubbs - Poor Freetown Boy
02. Bobby Benson And His Combo - Taxi Driver (I Don't Care)
03. Chris Ajilo And His Cubanos - Ariwo
04. Roy Chicago - Olubunmi
05. Mayor's Dance Band - Bere Bote
06. Steven Amechi And His Empire Rhythm Skies - Nylon Dress
07. Ebenezer Calender And His Maringer Band - Fire Fire Fire
08. Famous Scrubbbs - Scrubbs Na Marvellous Boy
09. Godwin Omabuwa And His Sound Makers - Dick Tiger's Victory
10. Rolling Stone And His Traditional Aces - Igha Suo Gamwen
11. E.T. Mensah And His Tempos Band - The Tree And The Monkey
12. Bobby Benson And His Jam Session Orchestra - Calypso Minor One
13. Ebenezer Calender And His Maringer Band - Cost Of Living Nar Freetown
14. Ebenezer Calender And His Maringer Band - Me Nar Poor Old Man Nor Do Me So
15. Bobby Benson And His Combo - Gentleman Bobby
16. Victor Olaiya - Yabomisa Sawale
17. The Rhythm Aces - Mami
18. Ebenezer Calender And His Maringer Band - Arria Baby

Download Link - Mediafire

Obray Ramsey - Blue Ridge Banjo (1957)

Another Bleeding Panda discovery, reposted here due to the mediafire account on that blog being cancelled. Interesting album in it's own right.

Obray Ramsey is the banjo-picking cousin of old-time music instrumentalist Byard Ray, and the two worked regularly as a duo until they were "discovered" playing at an Asheville folk festival during the folk music revival of the '60s. From that point on, the two men's musical career took a strangely twisted path. Late-night television mongers who may have made it all the way through the strange psychedelic rock western Zachariah, may wonder who the two old-time musicians are that show up in one of this epic's many strange musical wonders, and the answer would be Ray and Ramsey.

Read the rest of the biography...

From the back cover of Obray Ramsey’s 1957 LP Blue Ridge Banjo, notes by Kenneth S. Goldstein:

In recent years, we have heard all to often about the ‘dying’ of folkculture in the Southern mountains. Many of the collectors who ventured into this area to record the songlore of the region in the 1930s and ’40s, shed sorry tears for the passing of a beautiful and rich tradition, each proclaiming his own collection to be the “last leaves” of this once-proud heritage. So, fewer and fewer adventuresome souls have involved themselves in recording the still-living tradition of the area. Those who have, however, have been amply rewarded by finding that, even though mountain life has been completely revolutionized in the past few decades, tradition dies hard, and numerous singers may still be heard and recorded.

To be sure, there are new sounds and new songs, but this material is, in many ways, as vibrant and vital as it was in the days of Cecil Sharp’s pioneering collecting forays.Obray Ramsey, whose sprightly banjo songs and instrumentals make up this LP, is living proof that this tradition still exists. And there are many more young, middle-aged and old folksingers like him, who have retained the best songs of their hardy mountain ancestors, perhaps changing some of them to suit their own artistic and performing abilities, but still retaining the best elements of old-style singing and playing. Ramsey was born on the banks of the three Laurels at the edge of the Smokey Mountains in western North Carolina. His father’s people came from the highlands of Scotland, and his mother’s ancestors were Cherokee Indians. Most of his songs were learned from his mother and grandmother, both fine singers with extensive repertoires.

For most of his life he has sung his songs unaccompanied, though he had learned to play the guitar when still a young boy. After he married and settled down as a successful farmer near Marshall, North Carolina, he met Bascom Lamar Lunsford, folksinger, collector, and organizer of the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival held annually in Asheville, North Carolina. Lunsford recognized his fine singing talents and encouraged him to take up the 5-string banjo, which he believed would be perfectly suited to Obray’s style of singing. To show his faith in this belief, Lunsford gave Ramsey his first banjo in 1953. Now, Obray Ramsey is one of the finest banjo-pickers in the Southern Mountains. His style is a perfect compromise between old picking styles and currently popular modern styles.

Download Link - Mediafire

Takeshi Terauchi & The Bunnys - The Singles Vol. 1 & 2 (2001)

Takeshi Terauchi (also known as Terry), is a Japanese instrumental rock guitarist. Terauchi started his career playing rhythm guitar for a country and Western act "Jimmy Tokita and The Mountain Playboys", which had bassist Chosuke Ikariya. In 1962 he formed his first group, The Blue Jeans. However, in 1966 he left the group and formed The Bunnys with whom he played. The band consisted of:

Takeshi Terauchi - lead guitar

Hiroshi Kurosawa – guitar, harmonica, vocals

Yoshiyuki Suzuki – guitar, vocals

Tatsuya Ogino – organ, vibraphone

Hajime Ono - bass

Tadashi Inoue – drums, shakuhachi

 

He won the "arrangement award" with the song "Let's Go Unmei" at the 9th Japan Record Awards in 1967. He left the Bunnys in 1968 and reformed the Blue Jeans in 1969 and the band has been active until today.

With The Bunnys he covered many popular genres, from garage, fratrock and surf guitar instrumentals, through sentimental ballads, via his own inimitable take on the popular classics. After pursuing his early rhythm guitar country style music Terry swapped to the hip new ‘eleki’ style in 1962, with the formation of The Bluejeans. The band’s 1964 LP KOREZO SURFING (‘This Is Surfing’) was a huge hit, enabling Terauchi and his wild whammy-bar stylings to support both The Ventures and The Astronauts on their Japanese tours. However, the coming of The British Invasion saw Terauchi jump ship to the vocal sounds, and he formed The Bunnys in early 1966. 

His self-referential songs included the December single ‘Terry’s Theme’ and the LP LET’S GO TERRY, which featured wild performances including their legendary mind death riffothon ‘Test Driver’. Then came Terauchi’s commercial masterstroke, an eleki version of traditional Japanese songs for the LP SEICHO TERA UCHI BUSHI, which included the hit single ‘Kanjincho/Genroku Hanami Odiri". Sales topped over 100,000 copies and made the LP the all-time best-selling Group Sounds album. With their street credibility less important now than sustaining a high level of commercial success, Terauchi unleashed the pitiable album LET’S GO CLASSICS, featuring eleki versions of popular classics. 

In 1968, when Terauchi quit his own band, he left them to record an instrumental version of the then popular HAIR soundtrack(!). And, as the Group Sounds wavered, 1970 saw the guitarist dressing as a WW2 Japanese commander and singing Japanese war songs in an ironic style on the LP ELEKI IPPON GUNKA DE SHOBU TOTSUGEKI. However, Terauchi had by now squeezed the last remaining drops of patience from his fans, and thereafter was forced to call it a day.

The following two albums are mostly surf guitar sounding and feature a collection of his singles from over the years. They are an interesting gem in the wide repertoire of musical sounds that constituted the sounds of the late 60's

Both albums are bundled into the same archive as each other for convenience sake. Enjoy.

Tracklist:

Bunnys' Singles Vol.1 - Little Devil (Akuma no Baby)

01. Terry's Theme
02. Test Driver
03. Irrevocable Vow
04. Dream In The Ocean
05. Kanjincho
06. Genroku Hanami Odort
07. Let's Go Dance
08. Shake No. 1
09. Rising Guitar
10. South Pier
11. Little Devil
12. Hey? You Stop !
13. Symphony No. 5
14. Unfinished Symphony
15. Al No Remember
16. Futari No Izumi
17. Taugaru Jaongarabushi
18. Dark Eyes
19. Czardas I

Bunnys' Singles Vol.2 - Taiyo No Hana

01. Taiyo Yaro
02. World Boy
03. Feedback Guitar
04. Omoide No Hoshizora
05. Taiyo No Hana
06. Seishun Wo Kakete
07. Let's Go Bugalu
08. Summer Bugalu
09. Tokyo No Sunset
10. Hono No Koi
11. Tasogare
12. Samishisona Shojo
13. Usukudara
14. Dark Eyes
15. Blue Star
16. Unchainned Melody
17. Jingle Bell

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New Orleans Funk: The Original Sound of Funk 1960-75 (Soul Jazz Records)

This collection of New Orleans Funk features acknowledged masters next to some of the earlier artists who shaped the meaning of funk. The album is also filled with many rare, sought after and undiscovered funk tracks. It covers the period from the emergence of New Orleans Funk in the early 1960's through to the mid-seventies. The record is a great addition to the music collection of anyone in any way interested in Funk. It has some vital ingredients in it that you can't find elsewhere.

With the sound of the New Orleans Funeral March Bands, Mardi Gras Indian Tribes and Saturday Night Fish Fries all as inspiration New Orleans Funk developed into a unique sound. New Orleans is a port town. Originally owned by the French, this was where many slaves were brought from the West Indies. Many of these slaves came from Haiti and brought with them the religion of Voodoo and its drums and music. It became one of the first parts of America to develop a strong African-American culture leading to the invention of Jazz in the early 1900s. 

A main feature of Jazz in New Orleans were the Jazz Funeral Marching bands. Solemn Brass bands accompanying a coffin would, on burial, be joined by a second line of drummers and dancers which would turn the event into a celebration of the spirit cutting free from earth. This African tradition is strong in New Orleans and still goes on to this day. The backline drums play a syncopated style that is neither on the beat nor the off-beat. These rhythms are what forms the basis of New Orleans Funk.

Tracklist:

1. The Meters - Handclapping Song
2. The Explosions - Hip Drop
3. Lee Dorsey - Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further
4. Gentleman June Gardner - It's Gonna Rain
5. Eddie Bo - Check your Bucket
6. Professor Longhair - Big Chief
7. Huey 'Piano' Smith & His Clowns - Free, Single and Disengaged
8. Chuck Carbo - Can I Be your Squeeze
9. Aaron Neville - Hercules
10. Mary Jane Hooper - I've Got Reasons
11. The Gaturs - Gator Bait
12. Allen Toussaint - Get Out of my Life Woman
13. Cyril Neville - Tell Me What's On Your Mind
14. Bo Dollis & The Wild Magnolia Mardi Gras Indian Band - Handa Wanda
15. Lee Dorsey and Betty Harris - Love Lots of Lovin
16. The Explosions - Garden of Four Trees
17. Ernie & The Top Notes - Dap Walk
18. The Meters - Just Kissed my Baby
19. Marilyn Barbarin - Reborn
20. Dr John - Mama Roux
21. Danny White - Natural Soul Brother
22. Eddie Bo - Hook 'n' Sling (Part II)
23. Ernie K. Doe - Here Come the Girls
24. Robert Parker - Hip-Huggin

Download Link - Mediafire

Orchestre T.P. Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou - 0+0=Zero (Zero + Zero = Zero) (1980)

Unfortunately political realities in Benin had left the Tout Puissant Orchestre Poly Rythmo bereft of international recognition, while big bands like Super Rail Band or Orchestra Baobab enjoyed a rebirth… But Poly Rythmo has always been recognised as one of the best orchestras in Africa, so much that the former leader of Super Rail Band in Bamako, Tidiani Kone, left his job in Mali to join the fabulous Poly Rythmo in the seventies.

Their repertoire draws inspiration from the regional poly-rhythmic blend called Sato or Sakpata, original Voodoo beats, which are married with the funk left behind by James Brown’s African tours. Their voices, brass section, guitar and percussion weaved together to crystallise a golden age in this musically-fertile nation. Most of their 500 songs were recorded live with a couple of microphones and a Swiss-made Nagra reel-to-reel tape machine. The studio was a living room in the noisy neighbourhood near Cotonou’s airport.

Tracklist:

01. Belle Belle (8.07)

02. Semassa (Zero + Zero) (8.07)

03. Adin Gbanzon (8.32)

04. Ne te faches pas (10.15)

Download Link - Mediafire

Ethiopiqués Vol. 4 - Ethio-Jazz & Musique Instrumentale, 1969 - 1974, Mulatu Astatke

Mulatu Astatke (born on December 19, 1943) is an Ethiopian musician and arranger best known as the father of Ethio-jazz.

Born in the western Ethiopian city of Jimma, Mulatu was musically trained in London, New York City, and Boston where he combined his jazz and Latin music interests with traditional Ethiopian music. Astatke led his band while playing vibraphone and conga drums—instruments that he introduced into Ethiopian popular music—as well as other percussion instruments, keyboards and organ. His albums focus primarily on instrumental music, and Astatke appears on all three known albums of instrumentals that were released during Ethiopia's Golden ’70s.

The Paris-based world music record label Buda Musique began the Éthiopiques series in 1997 and initially compiled Ethiopian popular music releases from the 1960s and 1970s. Some of the subsequent CDs focus on traditional music, while others highlight individual musicians or specific styles. Francis Falceto is the producer of the series.

In a 2012 interview, Getachew Mekurya noted that Falceto is largely responsible for the international popularization of Ethiopian music, and that Ethiopiques had directly led to more opportunities and international success for Mekurya. At the same time, Mekurya claimed that Falceto underpaid him and other Ethiopian musicians, and that Buda Musique retained the copyrights to most of the music. He further alleged that these business practices had infuriated Mulatu Astatke.

In defense Francis Falceto stated that "...most sad and embarrassing remains the maliciousness of a couple of unfair people who have been benefiting incredibly from éthiopiques, in terms of fame but also of royalties and concerts booking, but who give forth endless and sick accusations and ignominious lies – almost nothing, so to say, with regard to their dishonor".

Tracklist:

01. Yèkèrmo sèw - A Man Of Experience And Wisdom

02. .Mètché dershé - When Am I Going To Reach There

03. Kasalèfkut hulu -From All The Time I Have Passed

04. Tezeta - Nostalgia

05. Yègellé tezeta - My Own Memory

06. Munayé - My Muna

07. Gubèlyé - My Gubel

08. Asmarina - My Asmara

09. Yèkatit - February

10. Nètsanèt - Liberty

11. Tezetayé antchi lidj - Baby, my unforgettable remembrance

12. Sabyé - My Saba

13. Ené alantchi alnorem - I Can't Live Without You

14. Dèwèl - Bell

Download Link - Mediafire

Various Artists - Ultimate 50's And 60's Rockin' Horror Disc (2003)

Another reupload of a Bleeding Panda compilation. It's re-uploaded here since the links on Bleeding Panda blog have all stopped working. Enjoy.



ARTIST`````````````VARIOUS
ALBUM`````````````ROCKIN' HORROR DISC
GENRE`````````````EARLY ROCK n' ROLL
YEAR```````````````2003

This is definitely not the "Ultimate" compilation on this subject but it still carries a lot of fun, romance and most importantly - underground sounds from forgotten artists of that age. Werevolves, zombies, vampires and all sorts of dangerous places and situations are here to scare and entertain your bored ass.

Is Ultimate 50's and 60's Rockin' Horror Disc really the ultimate '50s and '60s rockin' horror disc? No, considering it's missing well-known classics of the genre, like Bobby "Boris" Pickett's "Monster Mash," Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You," and Jumpin' Gene Simmons' "Haunted House." But for a compilation of obscure mid-'50s-to-mid-'60s songs that mixed rock & roll with horror novelty lyrics and sounds, it does a pretty good job. And these 20 items are indeed obscure -- LaVern Baker (with "Voodoo Voodoo") is the only famous artist, though avid rock & roll fans will recognize a few of the others, like Bunker Hill and Kip Tyler. As tunes go, they're usually nothing to shout about, often confining themselves to stock basic early rock & roll progressions and arrangements, though sometimes with the ominous minor-key patterns common to monster-movie soundtracks.

Most of the time, though, it's rather wholesomely giddy romps through the lands of monsters, cemeteries, and ghosts, about as scary as a Halloween costume, but about as fun to put on.

Download Link - Mediafire

Howlin Wolf - Howlin Wolf (or the The Rockin' Chair Album) (1962)

This was originally discovered through Bleeding Panda however unfortunately most of the links on that blog are deactivated or dead so it's been reposted here for purposes of making it available again!

How the hell didn't I hear this guy's records before is beyond me. He is a formidable cult figure in blues history and one of it's most original and powerful singers. When I heard just a first few screams from his huge mouth I immediately though - shit: Tom Waits had lots of fun listening to this... I am really not blues-oriented or informed so this is quit a find for me especially because I was into Tom Waits for 10 long years (!?). I heard a few Howlin' Wolf later hit songs but I never listened to a full album. It took me just a few clicks to find out that Tom Waits was directly influenced by this passionate loud-mouth killer.

This record was released 10 years before 1973 Tom Waits debut light-hearted but beautiful album "Closing Time" and 20 years before his revolutionary Swordfishtrombones (1983) where he fully released his gravelly voice. Wolf has been singing since the 1930's and played on one of the first electric guitars anyone had ever seen (that's how old his music is). Even the themes and some phrases are identical. The thing that struck me the most was that while listening Wolf's mostly 2,50 mins long songs I constantly had a feeling of purity, power and strength that Waits lost over time in his often over-done cabaret aesthetic. If you listen to the sharp guitar stabs and vocal beat of Spoonful, or the backing instrumentation and the shuffled beat of Who's Been Talkin'? you will simply hear Tom Waits cooking the same soup all over again.

I found a comment here that even as a dedicated Waits listener I have to agree with:

J. P. Spencer
I happen to love Tom Waits' music, "The Black Rider" in particular, but I have one big beef about him. Why is he always suing people for sounding like him when he himself sounds like Howlin' Wolf? I think it's safe to say that Waits has made more money suing people for musical plagiarism than he has from his truly impressive catalog of songs. You would think that The Continuum of Universal Fairness would dictate that this should be the other way around.
One of my favorite tracks from this album is The Red Rooster - a moronically simple song about a measly farm problem with a missing lazy rooster. This brilliant line - "If you see my little red rooster, please drag him home (like he's a wasted drunkard)" is something we could easily hear in Tom's live or recorded ramblings. People can easily get lost in the huge universe of Tom Waits discography (I did) and never look beyond it (or before it). This reminds me of a documentary on rock music of 1970's (can't remember the name) where Keith Richards said that pretty much every cult rock song or guitar solo was either a direct remake or was heavily based on a 50 year old blues song hahaha.

Anyways, this album is really a must-listen. Repost the damn thing.

WHO IS HE?

In the history of the blues, there has never been anyone quite like the Howlin' Wolf. Six foot three and close to 300 pounds in his salad days, the Wolf was the primal force of the music spun out to its ultimate conclusion. A Robert Johnson may have possessed more lyrical insight, a Muddy Waters more dignity, and a B.B. King certainly more technical expertise, but no one could match him for the singular ability to rock the house down to the foundation while simultaneously scaring its patrons out of its wits.

Download Link - Mediafire

Trojan Calypso Box Set

This collection of music is some of my favourite tunes going. Calypso music originated in Trinidad. It's roots lay in the arrival of African slaves who were not allowed to communicate with speech and instead used song. With the change in colonial masters, the music evolved, influenced by French, Spanish and British music. The music became popular worldwide in the late 30's with the emergence of calypsonians such as Roaring Lion, Lord Invader and followed by others such as Lord Kitchener (who continued to release music up until his death in 2000).

Calypso became extremely popular in the 1950's despite some of the most popular songs being harshly critical of emerging social problems in a similar fashion to how in it's earlier incarnations it had  articulated itself as a form of protest against the colonial culture which had existed at the time.

This collection comes under criticism because it includes so much Jamaican calypso. However it does highlight even with this said how much Jamaican calypso was around at the time. This Jamaican calypso itself forms the basis for the contention whether reggae music is itself rooted in Trinidadian calypso. That said however there are a number of major Trinidadian calypsonians included such as Kitchener, The Mighty Sparrow, Invader. And it is a brilliant collection, very enjoyable to listen to whether as background music or at a party or even to be enjoyed in it's own right.

The question of 'authentic' sound aside. I have yet to meet a person who likes reggae in any way that didn't wholeheartedly enjoy this collection. It is definitive sunny day music.

Tracklist:

CD1

1. The Weed (AKA Man Pyabba) - Count Lasher
2. Love In The Cemetery - Lord Kitchener
3. Big Bamboo - Lord Creator
4. Jamaica Is The Place To Go - Charlie Binger & His Quartet
5. Get Me To The Church On Time - Tommy McCook
6. The Valet - Nora Dean
7. Woman A Love In The Night Time - Lord Spoon & David
8. Do Re Mi - The Mighty Vikings
9. Skillamy - Aston & Yen
10. Nice Time - Phyllis Dillon
11. In The Park - Count Alert
12. Our Time Fe Celebrate - Derrick Harriott
13. Great '68 - Marva Moore & The Gaysters
14. Bam Bam - The Maytals
15. Bam Bam - Count Lasher
16. Jamaica Woman - Lord Kitchener
17. Savito - The Undergrounds

CD2

1. Neighbour, Neighbour - Lord Kitchener
2. Must Get A Man - Nora Dean
3. 'Mufridite - Count Lasher
4. Country Gal - Charlie Binger & His Quartet
5. Paint Up, Clean Up Time - Lord Creator
6. The World On A Wheel - Lord Spoon & David
7. Happy Times - Derrick Harriott
8. Hard Time - Count Alert
9. Reggae Merengue - Tommy McCook
10. Dumb Boy & The Parrot - Lord Cristo
11. Village Ram - Mighty Sparrow
12. Teacher Teacher - Mighty Dougla
13. The Sausage - Baldhead Growler
14. Muhammad Ali - Mister Calypson
15. Undemocratic Rhodesia - Sampson The Lark
16. Kitch You're So Sweet - Lord Kitchener
17. A Dash Of The Sunshine - Lord Tanamo

CD3

1. Calypso War - The Mighty Terror & His Calypsonians
2. Me One Alone - Lord Invader & His Calypso Rhythm Boys
3. The Water Gobbler - Lord Ivanhoe & His Caribbean Knights
4. Not Me (aka Man Woman, Woman Smarter) - Ben Bowers
5. Brownskin Girl - The Mighty Terror & His Calypsonians
6. You Don't Need Glasses To See - Lord Invader & His Calypso Rhythm Boys
7. Belinda - Lord Ivanhoe & His Caribbean Knights
8. Heading North - The Mighty Terror & His Calypsonians
9. I'm Going Back To Africa - Lord Invader & His Calypso Rhythm Boys
10. Africa, Here I Come - Lord Ivanhoe & His Caribbean Knights
11. Little Jeannie - The Mighty Terror & His Calypsonians
12. Naughty Little Flea - Ben Bowers
13. Mahalia, I Want Back My Dollar - Lord Invader & His Calypso Rhythm Boys
14. Lift The Iron Curtain - Lord Ivanhoe & His Caribbean Knights
15. T.V. Calypso - The Mighty Terror & His Calypsonians
16. Teddy Boy Calypso (Bring Back The Cat-o-Nine) - Lord Invader & His Calypso Rhythm Boys





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