​In 1938, Gary Williams was born in Spokane, Washington in the Pacific Northwest region. As a child he became fascinated by the music of Jimmie Rodgers, the 'Blue Yodeler'. By the age of 16, he was already playing the guitar quite well and appeared on TV shows on local channel KXOI. At that age, he also attended the second edition of the ‘Jimmie Rodgers Memorial Celebration’ in Meridan, Mississippi. At that memorial he would later perform himself together with the then unknown Elvis Presley. In 1957 Gary Williams made his first recording for Verve with the single ‘Travelin' Blues Boy / I'm Gonna Return’, which included Merle Travis on guitar. Both songs are on this album and you also get the 1960 version of 'Travelin' Blues Boy'. In 1957 the Verve label also released the successful album 'Teen Time', which also featured Ricky Nelson. This gave Gary's career such a boost that he was touring practically constantly until the summer of 1960. He also got his nickname 'Travelin' Blues Boy' from that. During his musical career that spanned more than four decades, Gary wrote more than 600 songs in genres such as country, folk and rockabilly. He recorded with no less than 14 record labels and his songs were covered by Webb Pierce, Freddy Hart and Bobby Wayne, among others. In the late 1960s, he left rockabilly, country and folk behind and recorded Christian-inspired music and gospels. On this compilation you get 34 tracks that are among the very best recordings of Williams. Tracks he recorded between 1957 and 1966, his most creative period. These songs ended up on Verve, Panorama, Manito, WA, Connie Sue and Gary's own label Empire. From his LP 'Gary Williams', released in 1960, this compilation contains 7 excellent songs, including 'Walla Walla State Prison', a fantastic rockabilly song. But there is more to enjoy. So we start with 'Travellin' Blues Boy', which immediately puts the qualities of Williams' songwriter talent in the spotlight. After this, you immediately get a taste of his versatility with the folksy 'Manhunt'. And also 'In This Prison Cell', 'Dueling Green' and 'Buckskin' fit in that genre.
Country forms the basis for, among others, 'Heart Break Special', 'The Great Northwest', 'Fields Of Rolling Green', 'Big City Blues', 'Branded An Outlaw', 'You And Your True Love', while 'Such A Good Good Girl' leans towards good pop.
‘Alaska’ has an accompaniment reminiscent of that other great artist, Johnny Cash, after which ‘Step Into My Heart’, ‘Rule Number One’ and ‘Country Jail Blues’ are examples of what an emotional ballad should sound like.
Gary Williams had all the qualities an artist needs to make it. Songwriting talent, a beautiful voice and providing the songs with arrangements that are not only excellent but also timeless, Gary possessed it all. The formidable accompaniment of excellent musicians completes the picture.
Just before Gary Williams passed away on November 23, 2018, well-known country and rockabilly artist Deke Dickerson interviewed him. Deke was also the person to write the very extensive and well-documented liner notes.
It's just a shame Gary Williams couldn't step out of the shadows of the big names of his time. If one thing is certain after listening to this compilation, it is that Gary Williams should have been among the legendary artists of his time.
'The Travelin' Blues Boy' is definitely worth buying!

​Ed Snodderly is a songwriter, singer and guitar picker,  following in the footsteps of songsters as varied as A. P. Carter to Riley Puckett to Ray Davies.  His songs beat with a strong sense of place and the heart of them is a fresh, creative twist to the listener’s ear.  Combining outstanding musicianship with storytelling, the performances feel familiar, yet enlightening;  like old ropes that pull the bells to ring.  “The charts call it Folk/Americana. I feel it as American Southern music; could be New Hillbilly.”. 
‘Chimney Smoke’ had its origins in Snodderly’s desire not only to make the best record possible but in the concept of creating a quintessential “Southern” album, a chronicle of both his Appalachian roots and his own personal upbringing. The title track “Chimney Smoke” offers a vivid depiction of Appalachian life, and is one of the prime examples of Snodderly’s gift for bringing memories and a deep sense of place to life with his intimate lyrics.

​African rhytms and chants with electronic futuristic sounds gives a splendid blend of dance music.  

​For the title of the second volume in the ‘It's A Hillbilly Booze Party’, compiler Mark Armstrong consulted Hank Thompson. Hank and his Brazos Valley Boys put on a wonderful western swing song with 'Hangover Tavern'. By the way guitarist for the Brazos Valley Boys was Merle Travis. Hank and his boys are coming back with 'A Six Pack To Go'. But before we get to Hank, a lot of beautiful things have passed. For example, Jim Atkins and The Pinetoppers kick off the drinking party with the appropriately swinging 'Juke Joint Johnny'. A swinging fiddle introduces ‘Oh My Aching Head’ by Harry Peppel and His Shenandoah Rangers. Song that clearly also carries traces of bluegrass. After the title track we are immediately treated to 'Honky Tonk Baby' a beautiful song, recorded in 1948 by Sam Nichols with The Melody Rangers. From that period also dates 'Hadacol Boogie' by Jesse Rogers and his 45's. By the way, Jesse was a cousin of the famous Jimmie Rodgers. Songs that also boast sublime guitar performances. Moreover, the songs bathe in a great contemporary sound so many decades later. Handsomely country rocking, Merrill Moore then works his way through 'Bartender's Blues'. Lattie Moore's ‘Too Hot To Handle’ is still one of my all-time favorite songs. No 'Too Hot To Handle' on this compilation, but the equally inspiring 'Drunk Again'. Another personal favorite artist is Hardrock Gunter. He plays a fiery 'Honky Tonk Baby', with possibly Chet Atkins on guitar. More famous people will come later with Johnny Horton and 'Red Lips And A Warm Red Wine'. Johnny died barely 35 years old from injuries sustained in a car accident. Another celebrity, the country artist George Jones is present with 'Bubbles In My Beer'. Leon Payne was known as 'The Blind Balladeer'. 'Brothers Of A Bottle' shows how he could perform ballads and that was not wrong. Leon Payne returns as Pat Patterson with the more swinging 'First You Buy The Beer'. The Oklahoma Wranglers with vocalist Guy Willis also show momentum. Their 'Warm Beer And A Cold, Cold Woman' has a great sing-along chorus. Rather in a storytelling way later Jimmy Swan, Cowboy Jim and His Range Riders bring the convincing 'Juke Joint Mama' that contains some blues influences in addition to country. Storytelling performance is also right up the street of Ramblin' Jimmie Dolan, as you can hear on 'Wine Women And Pink Elephants'. Eugene Scruggs, better known as Earl Scruggs, was a gifted banjo player. He shows that again here on 'Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (And Loud, Loud Music)' that he recorded for Columbia in 1952 with Lester Flatt and The Foggy Mountain Boys. Song that is also known in the version of the Buckboard Boogie Boys and composed by that other guitar legend Joe Maphis. A song that has been covered many times is 'Drinkin' Wine Spodee-O-Dee'. Song originally recorded by its composer Stick McGhee, younger brother of Brownie McGhee who formed a famous blues duo with Sonny Terry. Here you get a handsome rocking country version of Malcolm Yelvington. A cheerful instrumental country jiver comes with 'Beer Parlour Jive' by The Hi-Flyers, including a formidable performance on steel guitar, guitar and accordion.
Mark Armstrong's quote this time is ‘I Cannot Say No To An Offer To Drink, It's Better To Have A Little, Than Not Have Drunk At All’. Sure it is! Fantastic album!

​Volume 1 with the title 'Rhythm & Blues' has only just been released when the second volume is already approaching us. This volume was again compiled by Ronni Boysen. For this album, this talented guitarist focused on the period '1960 -63', from which he distilled 28 tracks. We start with the vocal ladies trio The Ru-Bee-Els and 'Evil'. Rhythm & blues with a dash of gospel comes with 'Love You Baby' by Eddie King. King also recorded with Sonny Boy Williamson II and Detroit Jr. In addition, he was a guitarist in Koko Taylor's band for more than 20 years. You undoubtedly know Brenton Wood from 'Gimme Little Sign'. Here Brenton is part of The Newports, who released an extremely commercial song with 'Dixie Women'. You can expect a steamy rhythm & blues from Bill Parker & His Showboat Band. Jesse Parker, also known as Blues Boy Palmer, is the singer on 'All Day, All Night'. Parker is followed by the rocking rhythm & blues 'Granpas' Gully Rock' by Floyd Smith with The Montclairs. With 'Louie Louie', Richard Berry had a song that has been covered countless times. That the man had songwriter talent, he shows here, as Jasper Woods, with the equally catchy 'Hully Gully Papa'. Another 'earcatcher' is definitely 'Tired Of Walkin'' by Little Joe Hinton. A scorching rhythm & blues! Beautiful harmony vocals present the Fabulous Playboys in 'Honky Tonk Woman'. Later, Arlando King and The Earthquakes do just as well in ‘Baby Only You’, as well as The Majestics in ‘Treat Me Like You Want To Be Treated’. A beautiful blues song comes with 'Made It Up In Your Mind' by singer and harmonica player Big Jack Reynolds. By the way, he gives a brilliant performance here on that instrument. Rosco Gordon shows how to mix rhythm & blues with a good portion of soul in 'I Want Revenge'. You get even more soul with Fred Bridges and 'Baby Don't You Weep', song that Wilson Pickett once covered. Little or nothing is known about Oscar Boyd, but 'She's My Baby' is a song that immediately nestles between your ears. Johnnie Mae Matthews was one of the first women to own her record label. You can experience that she also scores well vocally in 'Help Me', including a thunderous guitar solo. The Price family was not short of musical talent. Leo Price, who you hear here on ‘Hey Now Baby’, was Lloyd Price's younger brother. In addition to songs he wrote and recorded himself, he also composed hits such as ‘Send Me Some Lovin'’ and ‘I Can't Believe You Wanna Leave’ for Little Richard. Jean Trevor became known as the 'First Lady Of St. Louis Jazz'. Here she has a great popcorn song with 'Get Outta My Heart'. You will find a somewhat jazzy rhythm & blues with 'Feelin' Kind A Lonesome' by Willie J. Charles. On the vibraphone solo you can hear none other than Lionel Hampton.
This second volume in the 'Black Pearls' series more than lives up to its title. So look forward to the third volume entitled 'Voodoo Moon'.

​Phil Manca offers us nine original songs from heavy rock, about hard rock and metal. The album is composed very talentedly, the level is chronically quite high and the synthesis of this style fits perfectly with Phil Manca’s style.
Phil Manca's new album “Layers of Pain”, recorded in Canada, is a pure heavy metal album that draws a picture of multiple dark sides of humanity in our society. After the release of 2 albums ‘Signs & Dancing Spirits’, which both mix blues and hard-rock, Phil Manca is back in 2023 with a new pure heavy-metal album ‘Layers Of Pain’.

​‘Fever’, first recorded in 1956 by Little Willie John, was covered by Peggy Lee 2 years later and immediately brought her international fame. The song is also featured twice on this compilation. A first time you get the recording from 1958 and a second version is a rare live recording from 1961 made during a concert in New York City. Peggy Lee was one of the greatest voices of her period. Her versatility is formidable on this compilation released by Bear Family in the series 'The Velvet Lounge'. The recordings were made in the period 1948 - 1962 and show Lee in genres such as swinging rhythm & blues, rock 'n' roll, light jazz and pop in both uptempo and ballad forms. Peggy Lee was also accompanied by highly professional orchestras, such as those of Dave Barbour, Gordon Jenkins, Nelson Riddle, Jack Marshall, Ralph Carmichael, Joe Hamell, Quincy Jones and Louis Prima. The 30 carefully selected songs are an anthology from the American Songbook. Songs like 'Alright, Okay, You Win', 'Lover', 'Heart (Corazon)', 'Jump For Joy' and 'Kansas City' speak for themselves. By the way, Lee knows how to leave her mark on all tracks. Even the often covered '(Ghost) Riders In The Sky (A Cowboy Legend)' is given extra shine by Peggy. Handsome is definitely an early version of 'Everybody Loves Somebody'. Peggy Lee already recorded it in 1948. Later in 1964, the song would give Dean a mega hit. The songs by Ray Charles that Peggy Lee covered also bear witness to a rare beauty. That applies to 'Hallelujah, I Love Him So' and certainly to the live performed 'I Got A Man (I Got A Woman)'. She presents a nice example of a compelling ballad with 'Uninvited Dream'. Cliff Richard recorded the ballad ‘I'm Lookin' Out The Window’ in 1962. The original version belongs to Peggy Lee, who recorded it for Capitol in 1959. Along with the aforementioned live versions of 'Fever' and 'I Got A Man (I Got A Woman)', the album closes with 'Yes, Indeed'.
Peggy Lee passed away on January 21, 2002 at the age of 81. The 38-page booklet contains Peggy Lee's biography as well as all the info about the tracks.
This compilation puts the impressive versatility of the legendary Peggy Lee in the spotlights in a fantastic way on the basis of 30 tracks. Recommended!

​Dave Crokaerts (vocals, guitar), Maarten Michielsen (bass, vocals), Gerrit Hüppertz (vocals, guitar), Dirk Peeraer (dobro, vocals) and Jan Michielsen on mandolin formed the basis for the band Paris Texas. The debut album 'When You're Gone' was immediately the showpiece for this formation. Paris Texas, from Antwerp, combines smoothly country, folk with bluegrass and Americana. Polyphonic vocals and a rich instrumentation also form the basis for that intended sound here. Highly recommended! 

Great album with sacred and profane songs that not only has the intention to heal like in earlier times, but also to take you into another spiritual world.  Especially the drive and energy in voice and play will convince. So take a look at the video of ‘Maletimbe’;

​With this album about Augie Meyers and his Texas Re-Cord Co. we go back to the seventies of the last century when country, blues and redneck rock penetrated the West Coast hippie culture and country rock was born. Musician, cult figure and label owner Augie Meyers played a pioneering role in this. After all, through his Texas Re-Cord Co. he released a number of records between 1975 and 1980, which could be classified under the headings 'Tex-Mex Dance Hall Music' and 'Western Swing Polkas'. Of the 26 tracks on this album, more than 15 are appearing on CD for the first time. 26 tracks that the British music historian Martin Hawkins selected from the 30 singles and 7 albums that Meyers released.
- 17 tracks come from rare 45 rpm records and 9 were taken from albums.
- 12 tracks are by Augie, featuring the country tradition of the Texas honky-tonks and early Western swing bands, including Mexican and polka influences. You can hear Augie here either as a singer, guitarist, pianist, accordionist or on his Vox organ. The latter instrument was characteristic of sixties hits such as 'She's About A Mover' and 'Mendocino'.
- 3 tracks come from that other Texan legend Doug Sahm. Before the formation of the Texas Re-Cord Co., Doug formed the Sir Douglas Quintet with Augie. In the 1990s, Doug Sahm formed the Grammy Award winning Tex-Mex supergroup, The Texas Tornados, which featured Sahm, Meyers, Freddy Fender and Flaco Jimenez.
- 3 tracks are reserved for the vocals of Carol Myer, who ran the label with Augie and helped coordinate the bus trips along the honky tonk highways of San Antone.
- the other performers are the chaotic Mexican rockers of El Molino with singer Joe Carrasco, Ray Liberto, who was none other than Johnny Cash's brother-in-law, Mexican super accordionist Domingo Saldivar, Western Swing piano legend Al Stricklin, Augie's friend Publio Casillas and vocalist Denny Ezba .
The album is full of beautiful music that in a fantastic way portrays the phenomenal work that Augie Meyers delivered, with which he created a music genre that still remains enormously attractive today. The music is very catchy and uplifting. In addition, the 'Tex-Mex Dance Hall Music' and 'Western Swing Polkas' are the ideal soundtrack for parties.
We could define songs like 'Deed To Texas', 'Dynamite Woman', 'Baby Baby', 'Mezcal Road', 'Just Because', 'Meet Me In Seguin' and 'Down In Mexico' as ultimate hits, but actually then we do the other songs an injustice.
The songs have been carefully remastered from the best possible sources, so that you can enjoy excellent sound quality. In the 38-page booklet, you get an introduction to the history of Texan music history, all info about the tracks and of course a number of illustrations and photos.
All 26 tracks are without a doubt TOPPERS and don't tell afterwards that you didn't know that this album definitely deserves a place in your collection.
Great album!
 

​Reinventing the album ‘Nursery Crime’ from Genesis is a real challenge.  Rob Gould and friends however manages to arouse our curiosity with some unexpected twists on this iconic album. 

Volume 42 in the Bear Family series 'That'll Flat...Git It!' is the first of two CDs to feature the King label. Syd Nathan founded the label in 1943. King soon established a unique place in the post-war music industry, bringing successful rhythm & blues and country & western to market. When rockabilly broke through in the mid-1950s, King immediately jumped on the bandwagon. It absorbed so much successful rock 'n' roll and rockabilly, making the genre as important as rhythm & blues and country & western. It is therefore logical that all this beauty had to be spread over two CDs. The artists initially came from Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana with names such as the now legendary Charlie Feathers, Trini Lopez, Bruce Channel, Rusty York, Wes Voight, Fuller Tood, Moon Mullican and Dave Dudley. A lot of well-known names can already be found on this first volume.
For example, Charlie Feathers is present twice. A first time with 'One Hand Loose' and then with 'Nobody's Woman'. Mac Curtis is even featured three times. We immediately start rocking hard with 'Clock Tickin' Rhythm' by Cecil McNabb Jr.. Perhaps less known, but certainly not less good was Donnie White. He convinces without a doubt with the handsome 'Your Kind Of Lovin'. Another classic is 'Jungle Rock' by Hank Mizell. If the song did not do so well at first, that would change when collectors threw themselves into it in the sixties and seventies and 'Jungle Rock' even ended up in the charts. Someone who later also managed to gain worldwide fame is Trini Lopez. Here you get the famous 'Rock On'. Later he comes back with 'Yes You Do'. You can find some country in Bob Newman's 'Haulin' Freight'. When an artist was successful, labels looked for someone of equal value. The King label found Boyd Bennett and His Rockets in response to Bill Haley and His Comets. Not a bad choice when you hear 'You Upset Me Baby' and 'Put The Chain On The Door'. Joe Penny could also rock contagiously in his 'Bip A Little, Bop A Lot'. Hardrock Gunter certainly had a very own style. Just listen to the sublime 'I'll Give 'Em Rhythm'. Rocking no-nonsense is Ken McDonald's talent in 'Good, Good, Good'. Mac Curtis’ ‘Don't You Love Me’ contains some blues influences. The Voight family had some members who achieved success in the entertainment business. Jon Voight became a well-known movie actor who appeared in ‘Midnight Cowboy' and ‘Coming Home'. His younger brother Wes sought it in rock 'n' roll, as you can hear in 'Midnight Blues' that he recorded together with The Town Three for the DeLuxe label in 1958. Bruce Channel also gained international fame. A few years before this would happen, he recorded 'Slow Down Baby'. In quiet beauty, Luke McDaniel closes this first volume on King's legacy with 'One More Heart'.
That'll Flat...Git It!, Vol. 42' tastes like more releases from the King Label. We are curiously looking forward to volume 2.

​Start your day with JoosTVD’s funky extravanganzas and instant happiness will put a smile on your face!

Detroit quartet Frijid Pink will forever be remembered for their freaky and distorted take on ‘House of the Rising Sun’, even though they put out two albums and several singles on Decca-Deram (Parrot in the USA) within the year following their success. Both albums and the four singles are here presented in re-mastered format by Esoteric Records.
Their mix of blues and heavy rock didn’t really stand out, but that freaky, distorted guitar on their worldwide hit did the trick. A first album soon followed and heavily (!) relied on that gimmick, adding some hard-sounding blues for good measure.  
Most songs were written by the band, with guitarist Gary Thompson and singer Kelly Green (real name Tom Beaudry) delivering tunes worthy of more attention. Custom-made for Green’s powerful soul voice, they could probably have secured the band an original place in the barely untrodden path of heavy soul, soul-rock or whatever noun you prefer. Instead, their second album betted on heavy rock, where competition was fierce and original sounds abundant, think Led Zep, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and the entire scene of American hard rock – with MC5, The Stooges and The Amboy Dukes in Frijid Pink’s hometown alone.
A hybrid collection of sub-toppers, but a most welcome re-release anyhow!
Radio 68  plays a selection on Wednesdays 18 July and 01 August, from 11 a.m. till 11 p.m. GMT (12 till 24 hours CET)

​Mick Kolassa is a prolific blues artist, known for what he calls his "Free Range Blues". IIn doing this album Mick Kolassa wanted to really craft the songs, not just play them. We knew from the beginning that this would be another totally acoustic album, by choosing to restrict ourselves to just acoustic instruments it drove a cool creativity. We wanted to really show that an acoustic album can sound as big and full as one using the typical electric instruments – being acoustic doesn’t mean that it has to be sparse (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Mick is blessed with amazing musical friends, and many joined him on this album.

​This new album turns the spotlight on Sover as a true triple-threat – already known for his world-class guitar work, he is now blossoming as both a soul/R&B singer and a songwriter with 8 of the 10 self-produced tracks original compositions. Greg Sover is not just a blues performer but a true purveyor of rock n’ roll/Americana music, ready to both accept the torch from those who came before and pass it on to those following him.

A reviewer’s life can be easy, for instance when the title of a box set tells you precisely what to expect. Like this set of 3 discs with more than 60 songs expressing the change of heart in music that followed the change of heart in American society.  As the USA lost itself in the Vietnam War, couldn’t cope with hard drugs, lost control of racial (read: social) riots when army tanks patrolled the streets of Detroit or when its leaders were shot like stray dogs, rock music reflected this aggression and violence by becoming louder, wilder and ‘heavier’. This double evolution is first of all illustrated by the bands that became icons of what was to be called ‘heavy’ or ‘hard’ rock, e.g. Iron Butterfly, Cactus, Steppenwolf and Vanilla Fudge. Of course, the more interesting part of this box is formed by artists who never made it, at times got no further than a locally pressed 45 – but nevertheless reflected this societal change by producing honest and very often great music.
Yes, this is a journey as suggested by the title, but I daresay a true adventure too. This Cherry Red box is accompanied by a most informative and illustrated booklet.
Radio 68  plays a selection on Wednesdays 19 July and 02 August 2023, from 11 a.m. till 11 p.m. GMT / 12 noon till 12 midnight CET. 

​In this new series launched by KokoMojo with well-known, lesser-known and completely unknown rhythm & blues, the label focuses on the stimulants in this first volume. Alcohol and mind-altering drugs not only give an instant happy feeling, but often also put the user in unpleasant situations, such as addiction, relationship problems, conflicts with authorities or even worse. Compiler Mark Armstrong gathered 30 songs, all of which are linked to this. Rhythm & blues from the period from 1947 to 1960. A time when a lot was still possible, but also a time that was therefore problematic.
We start with a well-known person, who is often present on good compilations. That is Wynonie Harris, who can immediately start with the title track 'Quiet Whiskey'. He immediately sets the tone for excessive alcohol consumption and debauchery with a penetrating rhythm & blues. Jimmy Witherspoon, on the other hand, prefers 'Drinkin' Beer', a song with a raw sax solo by Buddy Floyd. Herb Fisher indicates later on the album, in 'Wine, Wine, Wine', which also contains some jazz elements, that he chooses this stuff. Unfortunately, whatever excessive drinking can lead to, The Hi-Fidelities showcase in 'Help Murder Police', a song from 1957. It's still fun on 'Rock Me Daddy' by Laurie Tate and The Joe Morris Blues Cavalcade , of which guitarist Roy Gaines was a part. Another famous one is Johnny Otis. Together with his band he is responsible for the backing of Marylyn Scott on 'Beer Bottle Boogie'. Admitting that one is drunk is often quite difficult. Jimmy Liggins confirms this once again in the well-known 'Ain't Drunk'. A really obscure recording is this 'Big Fat Joe The Wino' by Allen Henry & his Band. Song that dates from 1947, but nevertheless sounds quite current. And then we approach a group of extremely well-known artists. The first is Louis Jordan, with the danceable 'Whiskey Do Your Stuff'. He is followed by Roy Brown & His Mighty-Mighty Men. Roy was also in the front row when rhythm & blues turned into rock and roll. 'Bar Room Blues' is still close to rhythm & blues. Smiley Lewis shows that repentance often only comes after sin in the classic 'Shame, Shame, Shame'. Also familiar to the ears is 'You Drink Too Much Booze' by Jimmie Rainey & Slim Slaughter, who recorded the song in 1960 for the Jo-Dee label. A not unknown rhythm & blues pianist was Jack Dupree. On 'Drinkin' Little Woman' he can be heard on the piano, while Danny 'Little Boy Blues' Taylor takes care of the vocals. For Thurston Harris, the excessive consumption of stimulants was also the cause of his death at the age of 58. Here he still enjoys ' (I Got Loaded At) Smokey Joe's'. Within the blues and rhythm & blues, Lowell Fulson belongs to the top. Not unjustified if you listen to 'Don't Be So Evil'. Kansas City gives Jimmy a nice example of jump blues later on 'Cheatin' Women'.
For rhythm & blues with a great combination of the voices of the group members, you can go to The Five Keys and their 'Come Go My Bail'. Impressive are also The Falcons in the slightly more blues tinted 'Sent Up'. Even more on the blues side, The '5' Royales go into 'Laundromat Blues'.
The last song, like the first track, is reserved for Wynonie Harris who closes the bar with 'She Just Won't Sell No More'.
Rhythm & Blues Hell Raisers is definitely a series to keep an eye on. The first volume offers 30 tracks of the highest quality for lovers of rock-solid authentic rhythm & blues. Looking forward to volume 2 is therefore the message!

​‘Get Your Back Into It!’, and it’s jammed with fourteen fresh, original songs inspired by the spirit of classic blues of the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s. Master guitarist/vocalist Nick Moss and harmonica giant/vocalist Dennis Gruenling have created new melodic concepts and contemporary lyrics that perfectly fit their vintage sound. In every song, you can hear the near-telepathic communication within the band, and feel the pure pleasure everyone had making this music. The release was co-produced by Nick and another vital member of the band, Brazilian bassman Rodrigo Mantovani, and recorded at Nick’s own studio. Throughout the album, the musicians joyfully create the classic Chicago “conversational” ensemble sound. ‘Get Your Back Into It!’ is the real stuff! 

​There is also an abundance of inspiration at the Atomicat label. This is again evident from the new series 'It's A Hillbilly Booze Party', of which the first volume entitled 'Pink Elephants' has now been released. The album contains 28 hillbilly and country tracks, released between 1940 and 1960, that inevitably get you moving. Don't expect polished songs, however, but songs that will slap you in the face. Johnny Tyler And The Riders Of The Rio Grande make no bones about it. You will have known, 'It Ain't Far To The Bar'. Song that can count on a lot of enthusiasm once on site. The title track 'Pink Elephants', a cool rockabilly song, comes from Wally Willette And His Globe Rockers. A little more country then King Sterling And His Blue Grass Melody Boys move in 'Too Many Taverns'. Lattie Moore serves even more country at the top level in 'Driving Nails'. 'Honky Tonk Down Town' by Joe Maphis and Rose Lee is not only a formidable duet, but you can also enjoy the sublime strings of Joe Maphis. Another song with wonderful harmony vocals comes later with 'Home Made Wine' by Bob And Wanda Wolfe. Saturday night and time to party. But first, ‘Shine, Shave, Shower’ by Guy Willis And His Oklahoma Wranglers. Willis was also featured on Hank Williams' Sterling recordings. Sterling was also the first label to sign Williams. A little later, fiddle and banjo spice up 'Honky Tonk Blues' by The Lonesome Pine Fiddlers. Beautiful number! You undoubtedly know 'Bloodshot Eyes' in several versions. Here you get the original version by Hank Penny who recorded the song for King in 1949. You will undoubtedly know 'You've Got The Money, I've Got The Time' from Lefty Frizzell or Willie Nelson. The version you find here was recorded in 1950 by Ernie Lee And His Southerners. Jay Haggard took the blues as the basis for his 'Bartender Blues'. For an emotional ballad you can go to Billy Jack Willis And His Western Swing Band with 'Four Beers And Forty Tears'. More country rocking sounds like 'Firewater Luke' by Eddie Noack.
Also worth mentioning are Montie Jones And The Revin Robbin's rousing 'Moonshine', 'Give Me A Red Hot Mama And An Ice Cold Beer', a dast of honky-tonk by Smiley Maxedon, Georgia Crackers' 'Hangover Boogie' and ‘Honky Tonk Queen’ by Larry Thornton.
This first volume in the It's A Hillbilly Booze Party is extremely promising. The genre is the ideal soundtrack to throw all the brakes loose for an evening. Compiler Mark Armstrong is certainly already in the right mood for it. With 'If we ever meet, let's have a beer together, you can buy it for me and I will happily drink it', he personally addresses the hillbilly fans.

​Summer time is here and therefore high time for a new release in the 'Summertime Scorchers' series and it is here now. Get that summer outfit out of the closet, treat yourself to a cocktail, so that Mark and Henrique can serve the ideal soundtrack for your sweltering beach party. Both gentlemen are already raring to go with 30 songs from the period 1957 – 1963. Rocking hard to the tones of 'School's Out' by Bill James, we take our first steps in the warm sand. The pace remains high. Chuck Tharp and The Fireballs take care of that with 'Long Pony Tail', including a fantastic clean guitar solo. As if it isn’t warm enough already, Joe Jones treats you to some 'California Sun'. Joe Jones was an artist from New Orleans and you can hear that in the song. You may have known the song before from The Rivieras cover version. Holidays, sea, sun and beach can be the locations for many things. Flirting is definitely one of them. Ted Forbes and The Kisses highlight it musically via 'The Flirt'. You can certainly also twist to the tunes of Jimmy Simm's Thunderbirds and the appropriate 'Twistin' On The Beach'. Prefer rock and roll? No problem, Mark and Henrique already have the very special 'Hawaiian Rock 'n' Roll' by The Hulawai'ns on the turntable. You undoubtedly know 'You Excite Me' from Franke Avalon. Here you get an extremely handsome cover version of Johnny O'Keefe. The result of such a beach party is a lot of 'Footprints In The Sand'. The well-known The Marcels even made a song about it in their well-known style. With Darryl Vincent through the speakers it will certainly be a 'Wild Wild Party'. Well-known people are also present at the party. Ricky Nelson is there and he brings 'Good Rockin' Tonight'. Also known is Carla Thomas, daughter of that other legend, Rufus Thomas. She puts down a soulful 'Dance With Me'. Less is known about Jan Moore. She didn't record much, but she did record this wonderfully rocking 'Head Over Heels In Love'. You don't hear Nappy Brown on this compilation, but one of his songs, namely 'Little By Little' in a cover by Micki Marlo, who also recorded duets with Paul Anka. With razor-sharp guitar skills, The Sportesmen will take you in from the very first notes during 'Sand Storm'.
Lovers of vocal groups will get their money's worth. A first time with '45 R.P.M' from The Mark IV. A good portion of doo-wop awaits you with 'From The Bottom Of My Heart' by The Fantastic Five Keys. Brilliant harmony vocals also include ‘Red Hot Love (Oo This Love)’. It is provided by The Charms who back Otis Williams. The Pageants then provide the vocal impressive backings on Tony Dee's 'Make You My Queen'. And 'Rickety Rock' by The Jewels is also a good example of what vocal groups were capable of.
When you hear The Arqyles' 'Vacation Days Are Over', you know it. Time to get rid of the sand between your toes, because the beach party is coming to an end. But not before David Hill sings Cliff Richard's 'Living Doll' over the beach.
It is a fact that Mark and Henrique have the talent to musically support a real beach party. Just this one more. You can enjoy this album with just as much pleasure from the comfort of your couch. I’m sure you really will get that summer feeling.

​Music For Shepherds And Sultans closes the gap between classical and folk music based on the Ottoman Empire, Cyprus included. 

​On the second volume, which is a sequel to 'Boy, You Got More Blues Here' (BAF14031), about the early recordings of Chester Burnett aka Howlin' Wolf, we get 10 songs that the Wolf recorded in 1951 and 1952. The recordings were made by Sam Phillips at the famous SUN studios. Recordings that were not released at the time. The reason why they are only now seeing the light of day is because the masters and alternate versions were not discovered until several decades later. Undeniably, Howlin 'Wolf is one of the greatest of the Chicago blues. Not only literally because of his impressive stature, but especially because of his extremely powerful voice and ditto harmonica playing, which went together fantastically with the raw and hard sound of Willie Johnson's electric guitar.
These first recordings of Howlin' Wolf were made when he was already over forty years old. Sam Phillips was not afraid to take risks and was the first to see the potential in Wolf. Never before had he had someone in the studio with such a powerful and dynamic voice. Phillips sold the recordings to Chicago-based Chess Records, which achieved a national rhythm & blues hit with the first single ‘How Many More Years’. The song reached number four on the charts. Howlin' Wolf stayed with Sam Phillips for 2 years. As you can hear on the album, he took the time to evolve and perfect his singing style. Howlin' Wolf takes care of the vocals and the harmonica. On 'Decoration Blues', 'Well That's All Right', 'Dorothy Mae' and 'Color And Kind', he leaves the instrument to James Cotton, who later also built a successful solo career. He is accompanied on guitar, drums, piano and occasionally on sax and trombone. In addition to the Wolf's sublime performance, the accompanying musicians also deserve a heartfelt round of applause, in particular guitarist Willie Johnson and pianists Albert Williams, L C Hubert and Bill Johnson.
By digitizing the original sources and remastering them, using state of the art studio technology for the vinyl release, these 2 volumes sound fantastic. Moreover, both releases form the cornerstones of the development of post-war electric blues
British blues expert Martin Hawkins provides all the information about the recordings on the beautifully executed 7-page booklet. Booklet that also contains a number of beautiful photos.
‘Boy, You Got More Blues Here, Originally Unreleased Tracks, Vol. 2' definitely belongs in the collection of every blues lover. Recommended!

Tracy Nelson, one of the most powerful voices in American music, has emerged from a lengthy recording hiatus with the album of a lifetime, a musical self-portrait spanning her entire career. Life Don’t Miss Nobody  (BMG; release date June 9th) is a 13 track collection that stretches back to her start as a guitar-picking Wisconsin teen playing coffeehouses through an unparalleled career, now in it’s sixth decade, singing blues, country, New Orleans R&B and gospel, and performing in such storied music meccas as 1960s San Francisco and 1970s Austin in her epic, genre-busting musical journey.But this is no nostalgia trip. The title song is a brand-new composition from the woman whose “Down So Low” has become a modern standard. She’s kept busy performing and recording with long-time musical friends in projects like Corky Siegel’s Chamber Blues and with the freewheeling all-star Blues Broads – Angela Strehli, Annie Sampson and Dorothy Morrison. Even so, roots lovers have waited a long time for a new Tracy Nelson album, and no one’s more excited than Tracy. Highly recommended!