​The American pianist and singer Poison Gardner belongs to the group of artists who, although they recorded sublime blues and piano boogies, could not achieve star status and international fame. Unbelievable, when you hear the 27 boogies and blues tracks on this album. Recordings that were made in three different settings, namely as the Poison Gardner Trio, Poison Gardner & His All Stars and The Gardner Trio.

A good thirteen minutes, neatly divided over four songs, that is our first encounter with the band Feverseed. Feverseed is a New York rock quartet founded in 2019 by singer-songwriter George Panagakos and bassist Chris Crosby. Both are multi-instrumentalists, have been writing and recording quite a few songs together for years. They have explored many musical genres, but the common thread of their melodic compositions is that exciting blues rock.

​When releasing a single, a record company naturally chooses to put that song on the A side that contains the most hit potential and will therefore generate generous income. Usually that is the case and the B side is filled with a discard. And yet, if you listen to this compilation, there are quite a few singles with hits on both sides.
The Jasmine label bundles on this compilation 32 of those B sides of hit singles that came out from the mid-1950s to the early 1960s. As it concerns hit singles, this album contains only well-known artists, who stormed the charts with pop, rock and roll and instrumental songs. Nice compilation!

Amazing americana (folk)songs from The Netherlands: beautiful melancholic melodies and clever catchy lyrics.  Surprising!

​This is the second album from a session back in 2018, when Cinema Paradiso recorded songs in the style of the legendary trio Lovano/Frissell/Motian. This is interesting for those who love Belgian jazz!

​In 2021 there is now the long-awaited "Let's Talk About It", on the Brazilian label BlueCrawFish Records, from label owner Netto Rockfeller. Luca continues in this project elegantly through the blues, R&B and soul sound. And this with a lot of sentimentary interpretations. The album was produced, recorded and mixed in the Italian Sahsha Records studio by Fabio Colella.
Giordano wrote no fewer than eight original songs together. We also find cover songs by Mighty Mo Rodgers, Eric "Guitar" Davis and Sean Costello. Luca opens the album in style with a soulful instrumental title track. Chicago blues is its trademark. Add to this that impressive horn section, a captivating organ part and Luca's smooth fingerings on guitar. The closing and emotional song "Days Of My Life", is colored with mood-changing funky guitar riffs and those invigorating horn section. It is also the first time that Luca records that song. It was emotionally too hard to interpret Eric's "Guitar" Davis "song, but Luca felt the time was right. Luca Giordano is perfecting his Chicago blues sound to a higher level, although he diverges with a lot of soul, R&B  and funky guitar riffs. Great stuff, highly recommended..!

​Mel Tormé, also known as The Velvet Fog, was an extremely talented person who, in addition to a career as a singer, was also active as a composer, arranger, drummer and actor. He was also successful as a writer, with no fewer than five books. This versatility is also reflected in his music. That turns out to the 28 tracks on this album, which span the period between 1956 and 1962. Moreover, it contains all the singles that are released in the U.S.A. and in the U.K.. Recordings made in London, Los Angeles and New York in a big band setting, including the one by Ted Heath, in which he shines as a jazzy crooner.

​That reggae is still very much alive, proves Annicia Banks with this debut EP. Annicia signs as writer or co-writer for 5 of the 7 songs. Not only does she keep the reggae fire burning, she also tries to give the genre a contemporary twist. She does this in an original way by linking reggae with rap and soul. To discover!

​This is a swinging and sometimes soulful album by guitarist Dave Stryker with 4 other musicians. Dave’s guitar flows smoothly with the other instruments. Rather nice!

​With the exception of one song, the album consists of a whole series of exciting cover versions. Fortunately Endrick & The Sandwiches give their own twist to the many covers. They don't just play the song indiscriminately, but they still understand the art of preserving the identity of the songs. Not bad at all folks…!

​Henry Robinett has released the second album with songs he recorded 20 years ago. The band plays the songs effortlessly, with some improvisations. Excellent for those who love swinging guitar in a quartet. 

​The Canadian power trio goes back to their beginnings more than ever on their seventh album. After all 20 years ago, singer / guitarist Paul Pigat already proved not to extinguish the fire of roots music.
Buckle up those seat belts, start the engine and enjoy the hellish ride these hillbilly rockers take you on. Recommended!

​The melodic jazz by this duo creates a set of light-toned but hard-swinging music. Fans will love this. 

​Steve Mednick grew up with a lot of excellent folk music. Dylan, Mitchell, Richard Thompson and other great songwriters bulge for many years in his record collection. From the opening track "Riding On A River Of Tears" over the cheerful "Reunion" and "Empty In My Soul" to the closing "Yearning For The Silent Places". A languishing musical note is never to be found here.

​What the title already suggests, is confirmed by the additional statement ‘Music For Strippers, From Burlesque To Strip Clubs’. 28 tracks that formed the soundtrack for the performances of, among others, Gypsy Rose Lee, Blaze Starr, Lili St Cyr and Ann Corio, strippers and burlesque dancers in America in the middle of the last century.
‘Get ‘Em Off’ contains 28 formidable, mostly orchestral tracks, which are extremely enjoyable even without accompanying strippers.

​Dave Keller has written beautiful soul and blues songs, plus successful collaborations. That’s why this album deserves our appreciation! 

​By interpreting original songs and accompanying them with instruments such as the West African kora, guitar, drums and percussion, Robby Rothschild draws on the source of tradition and personal expression. Music has called him in many directions, including Mali and West Africa.
The fine songs are a revelation due to the many instrumentations and Bobby's more than pleasant and crystal clear voice. Handsome, but above all extraordinarily!

​The American Jimmy Rushing was highly regarded in the period when big bands were extremely popular. He can certainly be counted among the greatest blues and swing jazz singers of his time. He gained his greatest fame as a vocalist with Count Basie. He was a member of his band from 1935 to 1948. Most of the attention on this collector therefore goes to the recordings that Rushing made with Count Basie's orchestra. You get 20 tracks, which are supplemented with 2 songs that he recorded with the orchestra of Johnny Otis and that of Jimmy Mundy.
Besides Rushing’s strong musical personality, this album is also an ode to the time when big bands hit the ballrooms.

Paul King was in Mungo Jerry till 1972, but felt the urge to release his own songs as a stand-alone unit (the old busker!) and to collaborate with other musicians early on, releasing both a solo album and one with The King Earl Boogie Band in 1972. Paul King is first and foremost a wonderful craftsman of folky pop, pop C&W, refined jug and many more basic mixtures that are always melodious and never out of control. And he has this soft, pleasing, romantic voice to match it all. The 15 tracks gathered here by Angel Air are but a tiny, but most impressive choice from his comprehensive oeuvre, including five new songs recorded last year with local band Skeleton Crew. I’ve listened to this cd several times and I’m surely going to unearth more Paul King very soon.  Meanwhile, choice tracks can be heard on Monday 22 Feb. on Radio 68’s ‘Keepers Of The Blues Flame’ show here. 

​Every musician wants to show his own skills.  Josh Piché will convince a lot of women as a true ‘charm’ singer.  May I prefer his work with Irene Torres?

​You can describe this album with 4 long tracks, as a bridge between rock, blues and classical. But it stays strange!

​Rock and roll and rockabilly from the most famous Canadian artist in these genres. This compilation contains all 24 songs he recorded for Capitol. As this shows, he was not only a great songwriter, but also an excellent performer of this material.
If you don't have anything by Jack Scott in your collection yet, you should buy this compilation as well as the previously released ‘Touch Me Baby, I Go Hog Wild (JASCD178)’. You won’t regret it!

​Ferlin Husky, born in 1925 and deceased in 2011, had no fewer than 3 musical careers. A first as country-pop performer Ferlin Husky, where he landed in the Country & Western Charts with ‘A Dear John Letter’ together with Jean Shepard. It wasn't the only song with which Ferlin hit the charts. His second and third career were as the more Honky Tonk-leaning Terry Preston and the hillbilly minded Simon Crum. Often his songs, as this compilation shows, were interwoven with parlando pieces, which gave the songs an enormous intimate and intense atmosphere.
Via 31 tracks we get a nice picture of the early recordings and hits of Ferlin Husky, Terry Preston and Simon Crum, three artists in one and the same person.

​This very nice album contains 11 covers of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s classic bossa nova’s. Albare’s guitar is always up front and the atmosphere stays gentle. Very nice for those who love bossa nova, or simply easy listening music. 

It’s never too late to bring beautiful songs to the public.  A landscape of american folkrock made early this century but musically rooted in the seventies.