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

Various Artists - 22 Songs About Football (Global Groovers)

Well with world cup fever gripping people the world, seems appropriate that we get a few decent tunes to go along with it and moos over at Global Groovers has put together this deadly little compilation CD. I literally laughed my ass off when I found this compilation, then upon listening to it I laughed my ass off some more. In saying that however, IT WORKS REALLY WELL!! Mad funny at points but some great tunes on it to. Check it out! (He's Dutch by the way - moos - at least I think he's Dutch....) :-D

From the Global Groovers site:

"Speaking of football, or soccer, whatever you prefer, I decided to make a collector about it. It begins with a track from a cd full of 78's collected by John Peel's wife. Nice old song, in the middle we have two African songs, one Colombian and another oldie with the Marx Brothers. On no.13 we have a track sung by no one less than Pelé, with Sergio Mendes and on 20 a quite bad Dutch caranaval song by our own Johan Cruyff, you wont believe your ears. Most songs are Brazillian and about the famous Rio-club Flamengo or Pelé, get it & spread it..."

Tracklist:

01. Albert Whelan - Pass! shoot!! goal!!!
02. João Nogueira e Outros - Hino de flamengo
03. Gasolina - E o juíz apitou
04. João Nogueira - Samba rubro-negra
05. Bezerra da Silva - Flamengo e mangueira
06. Hélio Nascimento - Continuo a ser flamengo
07. Varias crianças - Falando sobre futbol
08. Luiz Wanderley - Rei pelé
09. Pepé Kallé - Roger mila
10. Johnny Bokelo - A.s. biliman
11. Los Teenagers - Pachanga del futbol
12. The Marx Brothers - Professor wagstaff presents the football game ( Groucho )
13. Sergio Mendes e Pelé - Meu mundo é uma bola
14. Wilson Simonal - Obrigado pelé
15. Jackson do Pandeiro - O rei pelé
16. Grupo Fundo de Quintal - Sou flamengo, cacique e mangueira
17. Tim Maia - Flamengo
18. Gilberto Gil e Germano Mathias - Samba rubro-negro
19. Lonnie Donegan - World cup willie
20. Johan Cruyff - Oei oei oei ( dat was me weer een loei )
21. Gringo da Parada - Mengoooo
22. Torcedores de flamengo – Mengoo

Download Link - Mediafire

Various Artists - The Art Of Chill (Platipus Records)

To what extent is it necessary to be entirely strung out before you can chill out? Does the concept of chill out exist solely within a dialectical relation to getting cranked up (thesis), and strung out (antithesis)? Is chill out a modem phenomenon? Or can it be seen as a timeless one? Can we speak meaningfully of chilling out as an art? Or is it an art only in the sense that love or war can also be viewed as arts? Are the sleeve notes for this compilation of the finest contemporary chill out going to consist entirely of questions? And if this is the case will they themselves require their own equivalent chill out, in the form of a lot of answers?

To this question let me say, emphatically, yes.

___________________________________

The melodic and atmospheric roots of club trance and progressive house lie in the layered sounds of 70's and early-80's psychedelic ambient ala Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze. So it's only fitting that iconic UK trance and progressive label Platipus Records launched the first volume of this downtempo series by focusing on ambient material and remixes from its own artists.

For those who care for electronic music history, the first of Platipus's Art Of Chill compilations is the sound of trance leaving the beats of clubland behind and returning to the source. For anyone else it's simply a terrific after-party or late night swim in a deep, multi-coloured ocean of sound. Its studded with downtempo gems that dip into the Platipus catalogue as far back as eight years. Melodic, ethereal tracks like Union Jack's "Water Drums" and Kansai's ambient mix of "Rococco" are both stunning in their own gentle way. The better known Sinead O'Conner and Binary Finary both shine via previously unheard remixes of their tunes "Troy" and the Binary Finary trance anthem "1998" as re-imagined in cold deep space by Neo & Farina. Although a handful of tracks here have appeared on many other comps, the quality of the Platipus content puts this album up there with the best ambient trance collections around.

The pleasant but non-essential Art Of Chill 2 (2005) is far more generic, throwing in just about every strain of downtempo across another two disc set. Thanks to screamingly obvious inclusions like FC Kahuna's "Hayling" and Bent's "Swollen" it simply doesn't distinguish itself enough from many other comps on the market.

Fortunately the series gets well and truly back on track with Art Of Chill 3, a rich, mind-altering mix complied by old hippie techno-ambient rockers System 7 aka Miquette Giraudy and Steve Hillage. It's a colourful, harmonious and at times surreal blend of warm dubby lounge, Hillage's own electronica (as System 7 and Mirror System), current psy-chill tracks from names like Shulman and Blutech, and folksy detours through India and the Far East. An undoubted highlight is System 7's own "Kupuri", a slow-building shamanic groove of rare hypnotic power with Hillage's famous gliss guitar soaring sweetly overhead.

Art Of Chill 4 from 2007 was complied by Alex Paterson of The Orb and was hands-down the best thing he'd put his name to since The Orb's glory days of the early 90's. Given his love of sampling and encyclopedic knowledge of all things ambient he proves the perfect choice to create a highly distinctive mix. It's nothing less than a two hour trip through Paterson's extraordinary personal music collection from the 70's onwards with an emphasis on atmospheric ambience, soundtracks, pretty landscapes and stoned, quirky downbeats. Several new Orb tracks are also effective. Given the chance to run amok with his record collection, Paterson shows a surprising lack of self-indulgence. The album gels beautifully and its the most ambitious entry in the series.

----- Reviewed by Mike G - ambientmusicguide.com

Volume 5 of the compilation (Mixed by Bent) is not included in the above review but definitely deserves a mention, this is nothing like previous Art of Chill releases. This mix offers up alternative, piano, instrumental and classical chill out. With Big guns such as Craig Armstrong and Kirsty Hawkshaw supporting nicely, its the likes of Ben Benjamin, Nonostar and Helios that do this mix justice. CD1 goes very classical, and CD2 opts for a more ‘Art of Chill’ sound. An essential mix for anybody wanting to chill the fuck out. Looking forward to the next compilation!

Download Link - Mediafire - Art of Chill Vol. 1
Download Link - Mediafire - Art of Chill Vol. 2
Download Link - Mediafire - Art of Chill Vol. 3
Download Link - Mediafire - Art of Chill Vol. 4
Download Link - Mediafire - Art of Chill Vol. 5

Tipsy - Trip Tease (1997)/Uh-Oh (2001)

Tipsy first appeared on the San Francisco music scene in 1996 with a cartoonish mix of cut-up charity shop vinyl, twangy guitar and weird spacerock electronics.

Dave Gardner was an obsessive record collector who had gotten involved in the mid-80s avant/industrial/noise crowd in the San Francisco bay area, using tapes, record players, cheap samplers & broken guitars. He recorded a couple of albums and played with a dozen or so bands; during this time (while living at an art/music collective space) he first met Hawaii-born Tim Digulla.

Tim eventually moved to San Francisco, worked with robot performance group Survival Research Labs and recorded with the psychedelic spacerockers Imajinary Friends (on Bomp) before ending up with Naut Humon's Sound Traffic Control studio/soundsystem.

After hearing some low-fi cassette tracks mixing easy listening with harsh electronics that Dave was working on, Naut offered to sponsor an album on the then-new Asphodel label his wife had, and suggested Tim and Dave record together.

After a couple years work, they released the retro-lounge-themed TRIP TEASE (1997) which mixed cut-up exotica & electronics with real instruments in a slickly surreal, obsessively detailed way. By a lucky coincidence, it was released at the height of the brief lounge fad and turned out to be a surprise pop success, showing up in the background everywhere; indie movie soundtracks, international ads for beer, TV (MTV's Real World, the Sopranos, Sex in the City), the corner bar.

Working with producer/engineer/guitarist Alex Oropeza (Broken Horse, Tarnation), they recorded their next album, the excessively eclectic, dreamily cinematic, almost unclassifiable UH-OH (2001) with a set of renowned guest musicians, including classical percussionist William Winant, and the late Vince Welnick (Grateful Dead) among many others.

After years of changing membership, the live version of Tipsy eventually stabilized. In person, they are a much noisier, more unrestrained thing.

Download Link - Mediafire - Trip Tease (1997)

Download Link - Mediafire - Uh-Oh! (2001)

Phronesis - Life To Everything (2014)

Scandinavian/British jazz trio "Phronesis" have the ability to excite, inspire and move people in a way that few bands are able to do. Formed by Danish double-bass player Jasper Høiby in 2005; the trio is made up of himself, a British pianist Ivo Niame and Swedish drummer Anton Eger. Their charismatic live performances have firmly embedded them in the minds of audiences worldwide and prompted Jon Newey (Editor of Jazzwise Magazine) to describe them as “the most exciting and imaginative piano trio since EST”.

"Life To Everything" is their latest album on independent label "Edition Records". It is well worth checking out, these guys have been getting very high critical acclaim over the last few years, their 2010 album "Alive" was named "Jazz Album Of The Year" in both Jazzwise and Mojo magazines. Along with a number of other nominations such as "Best Jazz Ensemble" and "Best Jazz Act" AT the Parliamentary Jazz Awards and the MOBO awards respectively. This live album sees another good strong release from a band who are gaining a lot of international recognition.





"Phronesis are a jazz trio built around Danish bassist Jasper Hoiby's sinewy phrasing and huge tone, and encircled by fluent British pianist Ivo Neame and Swedish drummer Anton Eger's eerie, birds'-wings sound. This edited live album features heated climaxes in which Eger's remarkable drumming is goaded by repeating hooks and bass vamps bring the house down on several tracks, but the buildups are just as absorbing – see Hoiby's downward- twisting bassline as Neame and Eger share percussive roles on the serpentine Urban Control, or the cello-like bowed intros and unhurried conversations on Phratenal and Wings 2 the Mind, the cat-and-mouse darts and feints of Nine Lives, the whirling dance of Herne Hill, and the transformation of Dr Black from a solemn folk melody to an ecstatic, audience-baiting thrash. A live album is exactly just the way to get the current Phronesis message across, and this is a powerful one."

                                                                             ------ Review By The Guardian

Tracklist:

01. Urban Control 

02. Phraternal 

03. Behind Bars 

04. Song For Lost Nomads

05. Wings 2 The Mind

06. Nine Lives 

07. Deep Space Dance

08. Herne Hill

09. Dr Black.

Download Link - Mediafire