​The British jazz funk formation Shakatak released in 2003 the album ‘Blue Savannah’ and in 2005 ‘Beautiful Day’. The label Secret Records Ltd. has re-released them together on this double album, and if you haven’t bought them already, now is the time! Don’t doubt!

The fourth rock and roll commandment ‘Show Affection, Come On And Love Me’ is plain and simple. Put on your best clothes, step out into the world and meet your true love. The thirty flaming rock and roll tracks put you on the right track but also warn you of the pitfalls.
‘Commandment Four’, is without a doubt the perfect companion for a successful romance. And as always, the golden Atomicat rule ‘killers, no fillers’ applies to this release. Enjoy love!

​I already miss the melancholic voice.  Apparently  ‘Whispers And Sighs’ appears to be his swan song unintentionally.  After all, a nice ending of a long and rich career.  Thank you David!

​Jesper Theis was once a teacher in Aalborg, until he followed his heart, quit his job and started a musically professionally career. Inspired by blues, folk, gospel and the track ‘Coco Blues’.
A blues traditional by Reverend Gary Davis, which drove him straight to the Delta and which he also recorded on his debut album "Narrow Line", on the Straight Shooter Line label. Now Jesper Theis is promoting his new record "The Tide Will Turn Again". Jesper retains his love for that pre-war blues style, which he sometimes mixed with that handsome roots and country blues structure. What a wonderfully rough voice Jesper has. Steeped in Old Smokey and White Dog Moonshine, he squeezes through his original song material. Country blues, some ballads, and even a Cajun song... ‘The Tide Will Turn Again’, well that is a release that every true blues lover should have in his record collection…!

​The musical career of Ray Vernon, Link Wray's eldest brother, the guitarist who gained fame through the use of power chords and distortion, was also far from wrong. The success of Links records can certainly be linked to Ray. After all, Ray was not only a gifted singer, who in the 1950s made a bid for the status of teen idol via recordings on the Cameo label, as a producer he was linked to Link's most successful instrumentals. He also successfully performed this task for rockabilly star Marvin Rainwater, The Dial Tones, The British Walkers, The Moon Men, The Wray Brothers, The Ray Men and rhythm & blues artist Bunker Hill, later also known as gospel artist David Walker. You can enjoy all this here.
The title of this album ‘All Wrays Lead To Rock’ couldn't have been better chosen. This is what rock and roll should sound like. Fair, raw and mean! Super disc!

​A bizarre piece of work that needs time to understand.  Exciting and inspiring for the guitar players among us.

Volume 9 ‘Crackerjack’ is already on the penultimate part of the ‘Boss Black Rockers’ series. A series that sheds light on the black rockers. That they knew the clapping of the rock and roll whip, that's what we learned from the previous releases. Long story short, ‘Crackerjack’ effortlessly continues the quality of the previously released volumes, resulting in 28 impressive danceable songs. Can not be missed!

​The release 'One Eye Open' builds on her decades of communication with the blues and is also a testament to the lasting emotional power and relevance of this art form. In addition to guitarist and producer Steve Dawson, the release includes an ensemble of North America's best roots musicians.

​In Riverside, California, local R&B band The Misunderstood were making a name for themselves, so much so they came highly commended by one John Ravenscroft, an English DJ working in the US and later to become famous as John Peel. The Misunderstood played the rough, uncouth type of R&B that had become a huge success this side of the ocean, think Them, Spencer Davis, The Yardbirds and other Stones. Following Peel’s advice, The Misunderstood relocated to the UK in 1966, signed to Fontana, and released a single that went nowhere: ‘I Can Take You To the Sun’ is a nice mixture of pop and light psych that was surely ahead of its time. Flip-side is a trippy version of ‘Who Do You Love’, equally unheard of in December 1966. The band broke up soon afterwards. A second single was released in 1969, but to no avail: ‘Children Of the Sun’ is a great psych tune, but failed to impress at a time when the entire music industry had turned psychedelic – if only for the money.
How come Cherry Red can fill two cds of Misunderstood material?
On the one hand, the band released some singles during their Californian period, mostly in the tough R&B vein as mentioned. On the other hand, a batch of songs were recorded for Fontana, not to mention the discovery of a few This is all nice stuff by a band that was a  little ahead of its time but failed to make any impact. They surely deserved at least one top twenty entry, but will forever have to settle for cult status. 

​The Finish composer, pianist & Moog player Kari Ikonen divides on his new album his tracks into 3 categories: Impressions, improvisations and compositions. He also incorporates influences and melodies from the Middle East. A very special album!

​They have no shortage of inspiration for new series at the Atomicat label. A series around instrumental songs is something else they will have thought, and they are right. How often are instrumentals treated like a stepmotherly thing? But that they are full songs is certainly clear from this first volume, which contains a mix of recordings from American local and well-known labels, sporadically supplemented with British and Slovenian recordings, all recorded in the period 1952-1963.
Whether you're looking for guitar-dominated rousing rock and roll or rockabilly, swinging tunes or surf rock, they go hand in hand on this album. ’Whip Masters Instrumentals’ promises to be an exciting series, as you can already hear at this first volume.

​What a impressieve voice, what a préséance, what a sound! In short, that is what Joyann Parker presents with her new release "Out Of The Dark". These blues, R&B and soul singers are from Minneapolis, MN. What a heavenly divergent release. Joyann Parker confirms all the good things we already knew about this blues diva. Who will bring this lady to our region! Album of the year 2021 .... it is already a real contender. Here is only one word: wonderful album..!

​General public will not recognize Michel Banabila, but he is one of the most important soundartists of the century.  The cinematic ‘Wah-Wah Whispers’ compilation  can convince every man/woman on the street.  It did to me!

​Black Patti is a German duo consisting of Peter Crow C. on guitar and harmonica and Ferdinand ‘Mr. Jelly Roll’ Kraemer on guitar, mandolin and mandola. Both gentlemen sing. For their repertoire, Black Patti goes back to the 1920s and 1930s. It was not uncommon at the time for musicians to have both blues and gospel songs on their playlists. Many of the songs made the listeners feel good. A nice melody, hopeful messages that symbolized the much-needed good news were parts of it. Topics that people crave in the currently odd time as well and where we would most like to banish the bad news, so does Black Patti.
And be sure to pay attention to the artwork of the famous Robert Crumb on the cover.
‘Satan’s Funeral’ radiates positivity, which is more than necessary in these times. Recommended!

​Cliffie Stone made a career in the country, was one of the founders of rockabilly, was a talented songwriter, in-demand session musician and respected A&R man at Capitol Records. In the latter capacity he was the discoverer of Hank Thompson and Tennessee Ernie Ford. Cliffie also made recordings under his own name for the same label.
On this compilation released by Bear Family you get 31 tracks, all recorded between 1947 and 1955. In addition to songs he recorded with Bob Roubian, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Les Gotcher and Jeanne Gayle, this album contains a lot of songs that Cliffie recorded under his own name. Expect Western Swing, hillbilly boogie and rock and roll at the highest level. Naturally, an extensive booklet with information about the artist and the recordings is included.

​Skylar Rogers is on fire in this album. She is a new blues diva in the Chicago blues firmament. Rogers was born in one of the roughest neighborhoods in Chicago and music has always been central. But in her life, she has lived like the old blues masters at the time. But she fought back and is now where she belongs. Welcome Skylar! It is this power and this spirit that brought her to where she is now. All of this has also had an impact on her musicality. Channeled by her voice and her music, this record is far above average. Her new album "Firebreather" is embraced with ten original soul "rocking songs. 

​Nattefrost is an electronic musician from Denmark. This album that he released for his 25th birthday as an artist is a welcome introduction to his music. Nice for those who like electronic music, like Kraftwerk. But I would have liked more spacy sounds. 

​Blues recorded by Detroit guitarist, harmonica player and singer / songwriter Eddie Burns from 1949 to 1961.

​Desert Trip probably is one of the finest albums of Steve Hill.  You can feel in your bones  the wild places he visited with his camper and accompanying guitar.  Pick the sand out of your ears and enjoy Steve Hill’s wild nature trip.

​Piano player Jean-Marie Machado formed a quartet for this project, on which he brings tracks together, with links to Brazilian music and the Spanish impressionists. His music builds bridges and suggest images. Jazz with different cultural influences.

​In their early recordings in the 1960s, both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones often reverted to hits from others. The club of hitmakers who supplied them was small, but this Larry Williams was invariably one of them. For example, The Beatles covered ‘Dizzy Miss Lizzy’ and ‘Bad Boy’, while The Rolling Stones recorded the B side of ‘Bad Boy’, ‘She Said ‘Yeah’’. The Animals also recorded this last-mentioned number.
‘Rock, Soul and Roll’ that brings together Larry Williams’ songs that he recorded for both Specialty and Chess during the period 1957 and 1961, is therefore a wonderful release. A publication that also shows that American artists and their repertoires were hugely important to the development of British rock and pop.

​Now, after five years with, Sivert has a new record to promote with "Roses Of Neurosis".
For these songs he went to a studio in Oslo. You can place the songs in a diverse zeitgeist. And that is exactly what makes this record so interesting. Sivert Høyem is coming out of the corner after a five-year break. The roses or neurosis shine in the music sky...!

​Canadian Rob Tardik has delivered a nice compilation, and I hope I get to hear the next ones. He is a talented guitarist, who brings beautiful contemporary jazz. Highly recommended!

​As a production manager, Jamie found none other than Phil Andrews. The company went to the NAM Studio in Holt, Wilshire and recorded ten imperfect blues rock songs. It has become an exciting mixture of instrumentals and vocal numbers. But luckily, guitar wizard Jamie doesn't get into that, all too often narrow-minded and one-sided blues rock corner. No, this album is so much more. Variation is one of the strong points of culmination. The blues rocker "Aces And Eights" may open the dance. It would immediately guide the release. Handsome…!

​With his recordings Jimmie Rodgers, not to be confused with the country artist of the same name, managed to hit the American and English charts more than twenty times between 1957 and 1962. Although he was previously portrated as a folk or pop artist, he was still allowed to assume the status of a teen idol. The teenagers saw in him more of a rock and roll artist. That is certainly not surprising, because a number of his songs flirt with rock and roll and have a groove that the young folks of the time certainly found a connection with. In addition, his sweet pop songs will certainly have contributed to this.This compilation contains Rodgers recordings made for the labels Roulette and Dot and in addition to his hits you also get some rare recordings.