The Last Hurrah !! is the brainchild of Norwegian music connoisseur, producer and musician HP Gundersen. Or as Winter Lazerus (mastering) said: ‘Modern Nostalgia’. Has there ever been a more perfect title for a Concept Album? Listening to the newest evolution of ‘The Last Hurrah’ you’ll discover the musical roots and inspiration of its creators. 

120 years ago, on November 14, 1903, Hollywood became an independent community. The famous letters, a Hollywood landmark, were placed 100 years ago. Two anniversaries in one year, inspiring the Bear Family label to create a musical tribute to this legendary place. That tribute resulted in a double CD with no fewer than 61 tracks, spanning the period 1928 to 2011, covering both the period of the 'silent film' and more recent productions. The songs partly consist of recordings made by heroes of the silver screen. Other tracks are by artists from various music genres and there are also a number of fragments of film music that have never before been released on CD. On the first CD, the first songs emphasize Hollywood. Eddy Bell and The Bel-Aires, Gene Ray with Dusty Miller and His Colorado Wranglers, Carl Perkins, The Thunder Rocks and Ray Campi and His Rockabilly Rebels immediately gave Hollywood a rock 'n' roll and rockabilly jacket. Jazz is translated instrumentally here by Chet Baker & Bud Shank in the again appropriate 'Hollywood', after which the tracks that actors recorded on the silver screen follow. There is Johnny Weissmuller with the short but powerful 'Tarzan Call'. From the 'silent film' comes Dolores Del Rio, who later appeared on the silver screen with Presley, with 'Ramona'. Bing Crosby, Laurel & Hardy, Judy Garland, Gene Autry and The Andrew Sisters follow with songs from the first heyday of the 'talking film' of the 1930s and 1940s. When Hollywood in the middle of the last century, partly due to the rise of the rock 'n' roll is once again experiencing its heyday, new artists and actors are also emerging. Naturally, Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Landon, Fred Astaire, Kirk Douglas and Anthony Perkins are immortalized here, as well as Errol Flynn and Robert Mitchum who took their place behind the microphone.
On the second CD, Hollywood's success story continues with contributions from, among others, Robert Mitchum, Sophia Loren, John Wayne, Richard Chamberlain, Doris Day, Telly Savalas and Ann-Margret. The latter was also at Presley's side in the film 'Viva Las Vegas'. Great performances are also provided by Henry Mancini's orchestra with 'Moon River Cha Cha', 'Baby Elephant Walk' and 'The Sweetheart Tree' and by the Hugo Montenegro orchestra and 'The Good, The Bad And The Ugly'. We end just as we started with a line of rock 'n' roll by Val Kilmer, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard, after which the curtain finally falls with the instrumental 'Walk Don't Rango' by Los Lobos, feat . trumpeter Arturo Sandoval.
In the 38-page booklet, in addition to the history of Hollywood, you also get all possible information about the 61 tracks.
Initially, film fans in particular will enjoy this release immensely. However, that does not alter the fact that others with an 'open mind' will also more or less enjoy this release.

There is no doubt that this live recording should be missing in every right-minded Americana, roots, blues or Southern rockfans. This release is excellently recorded and mixed time document…

Bert Deivert is one of the few contemporary blues mandolin artists, drawing mainly from the traditions of Yank Rachell and Carl Martin. Bert's favorite instrument is already speaking on his new album. We position ourselves on a front porch in the deep south and enjoy Bert's virtuosity. The album 'Pony Blues' is authentic blues. Highly recommended! 

The Sunnysiders are a rockin’ blues band out of Croatia. This album sounds fresh and original. Rola's wonderful voice floats from blues to country, the songs diverge, and the guitar work sounds fantastic. Highly recommended! 

The pleasant thing about releases in the 'Spotlight Series', such as this album around Leroy Kirkland, is that despite their valuable contribution to the development of certain music genres, artists are not known to the general public. And Kirkland was certainly one of them. There is some confusion about his date of birth. Some sources mention 1904 while others keep it as 1906. His name as a composer and arranger is listed behind more than 700 songs. Leroy Kirkland, also known as Claude Cloud, was initially a guitarist in jazz and rhythm & blues. But he also worked behind the scenes as a composer, orchestra leader, session musician and arranger. In the media, Leroy is often mentioned as a footnote and his contribution is not always fully recognized. This compilation hopes to change that. The 28 tracks on this album focus on Kirkland's talent as an orchestra leader and arranger. The music genres are very diverse and range from recordings in rhythm & blues, doo-wop to rock 'n' roll. The first track on which Leroy is present as orchestra leader and arranger is opener 'I Feel So Bad' by Chuck Willis. Song that was redone by Elvis in 1961 with almost the same arrangement. What follows is an extremely tasteful mix of rhythm & blues and doo-wop in 'My Baby's Gone' by The Barons. Delicious doo-wop is discussed later with The Dreams and their 'My Little Honeybun', The Carnations and 'Night Time Is The Right Time', The Roamers in 'Chop Chop Ching A Ling' and The Keystones with 'The Magic Kiss '. Nice harmony vocals can also be found in 'No Other Love (Like Yours)' by The Fi-Dells. A more than beautiful recording is 'It Should Have Been Me', an early recording by George Benson. Benson was only 11 years old when he recorded this King Curtis song. You can expect straightforward rhythm & blues from Varetta Dillard who delivers a catchy 'Promise Mr. Thomas’. In 1964, Jamaican Millie Small had a hit with 'My Boy Lollipop'. You get the original here from Barbie Gaye who recorded it in 1956 and which clearly has much more body than Small's version. Jaycee Hill provides a dose of raw rock 'n' roll with 'Bump!'. Rock 'n' roll is also the foundation for Dave Burton's 'Rock 'n' Roll Ruby'. We have often seen that former members of The Drifters also scored solo. This includes David Baugham, who presents the beautiful rocker 'You'll Pay' here as Little David together with His Harps. Before he would make a worldwide name for himself in blues and rhythm and blues, Nappy Brown could already be found in the studio. He shows that he already delivered excellent work in 1956 in 'Pleasing You'. A personal manager who started recording himself was Lloyd 'Fatman', who took on this position for Louis Jordan. You can hear that he mastered the tricks of rhythm & blues down to the last detail in the formidable 'Miss Mushmouth' and the subsequent title track 'Good Gracious'. We are used to the raw and wild of Screamin' Jay Hawkins. These trademarks are once again reflected in 'Frenzy' from 1957. As Leroy Kirkland's Rock-Chas, Leroy recorded an instrumental cover of Jimmy McCracklin's 'The Walk'. Rose Marie McCoy can close the list with 'Joy and Jubilation', a title that perfectly describes Kirkland's work.
Leroy Kirkland died on April 6, 1988.
Earlier this year, an album about Leroy Kirkland was also released in the 'Koko Mojo Songwriter Series'. You can read the review again here . Together with the now marketed release in the 'Koko Mojo Sportlight Series' Both editions give you a beautiful image of the usually underrated musician, Leroy Kirkland.

A nice mix of compelling songs, from worldtunes to that typical North African sound. Great!

Second album from the respected Belgian folkband BRISK.  A few dance pieces and a few tearjerkers makes and ideal mix.

The tenth volume in 'The Brits Are Rocking' series rightly pays attention to Cliff Richard. After all, before John, Paul, George and Ringo shocked the music world with Beatlemania in 1963, Cliff Richard and The Shadows were the most successful rock 'n' roll band in England. With The Shadows featuring the brilliant guitarist Hank B. Marvin, Cliff had a very skilled and talented band, which perfectly propelled him to the top. His record debut 'Move It' was clearly one of the best but also one of the most important British pop singles of the last century. The song opened the door wide for other talented guys like Billy Fury and Johnny Kidd. 'Move It' also proved that the British were capable of producing stylish rock 'n' roll without having to resort to covers of their American colleagues. With successor 'High Class Baby', Cliff was immediately voted the best new artist in a readers pop poll by the music magazine New Musical Express.
In addition to 'Move It', this compilation contains 33 tracks that Cliff recorded in the period 1958-1962. We also find the aforementioned 'High Class Baby', 'Dynamite', 'Choppin' 'n' Changin'' and 'Livin' Lovin' Doll', supplemented with covers of songs that were huge hits in the USA. . The latter category includes 'Blue Suede Shoes', 'What'd I Say', Twenty Flight Rock' and 'Whole Lotta Shaking Goin' On'. The attached booklet contains extensive information from Ashley Wood, expert in British beat and rock 'n' roll, supplemented with nice photos and all information about the tracks.
Every Richard fan already owns a collector with Cliff's later hits such as 'Bachelor Boy', 'Summer Holiday', 'Lucky Lips' or 'On The Beach'. This compilation gives a nice impression of how it all started for the excellent rocking Cliff Richard. And honestly, shouldn't Cliff Richard and The Shadows have been inducted into 'The Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame' a long time ago?

The release 'Unheimlich' is released on the high-quality label W.E.R.F. Records. The music and sound of ODIL has a narrative character and the form of the compositions is unusual. 'Unheimlich' is a jazz album that is just as easy to listen as a pop rock album. Equally surprising and beautiful! 

As their 6th full length release over a 16-year history, Metaterranea affirms Old Californio as a band existing in a consistent state of musical evolution. Its line-up recurring yet flexible, its sound familiar yet unexpected, its roots in earth yet its head in the clouds. Metaterranea indeed marks a return to form for Old Californio.

Very exotic album that makes you dance and afterwards turns you in a lovely mood.

You could recently read the review of the album that Jesse Stone featured in the 'Koko Mojo Songwriter Series' on this site. In that review we also announced that Jesse Stone would soon be featured again, but in the 'Koko Mojo Spotlight Series'. Well that album is out now. For a short bio about Jesse Stone, we would like to refer you to the review in the 'Koko Mojo Songwriter Series' that you can find here https://www.keysandchords.com/album-review-blog/jesse-stone-crazy-crazy-party. Like Jesse Stone or Charles Calhoun, he shone as a musician, arranger, producer and songwriter. A number of the songs on which he contributed in one or more of these guises have now become 'all-time classics'. Consider, for example, 'Shake, Rattle And Roll', which he wrote for Big Joe Turner, but was sung into eternity by Bill Haley. As this compilation shows, Haley owes even more of his success songs to Stone, with 'Razzle Dazzle' and 'Flip, Flop And Fly' written by him. You get 'Shake, Rattle 'n' Roll' here in the catchy and pure Carl Perkins' version. But there's more. We immediately start with an 'Alarm Clock Boogie' by Odelle Turner, a rocking rhythm & blues where Jesse acted as bandleader. We hear Jesse Stone himself on guitar on the subsequent instrumental 'Runaway'. Behind the microphone he appears as Charles Calhoun on 'My Pidgeon's Gone'. Joe Turner may take office three times. First with 'Hide And Seek' and later with 'Well All Right' and 'Teen Age Letter'. On the first two you hear Jesse at the piano and for 'Teen Age Letter' he was the arranger. More fine instrumental work comes with 'Right Now, Right Now' by the Alan Freed Big Band, which provides a live atmosphere with handclaps. With 'Ward 13' by Frankie Brunson you witness a formidable jazzy soul blues. Janis Martin was one of the first female artists in rock 'n' roll and was regarded as the 'female Elvis'. She proves that this was not unjustified in 'Good Love', written by Stone. Jimmy Breedlove also continues with 'Oo-Whee, Good Gosh A-Mighty', fully rocking. The fact that Grady Martin was a top guitarist has been discussed here before. You can hear him again on 'Love Is A-Breakin' Out' by Roberta Sherwood. One of my personal favorites on the saxophone is King Curtis. Here he shines again on the instrumental 'Crawfish' by The Stone Crushers. Curtis is also present on 'Rack 'Em Back' by Walter Spriggs, who was once part of the doo-wop group The Five Echoes. The Clovers provide the necessary doo-wop in the sublime 'Old Black Magic'. There is also some great work with 'Don't Let Go' by the vocal group Frank Deaton and The Mad-Lads. Dale Hawkins is known for his 'Susie Q'. He is present here with the 'Money Honey', composed by Stone.
'The Stomp' once again makes it clear that Jesse Stone, as a singer, guitarist, songwriter, arranger and orchestra leader, left his mark with enormous craftsmanship on many songs in the fifties and early sixties. This album is the ideal addition to 'Crazy, Crazy Party', previously released in the 'Koko Mojo Songwriter Series'.

​On See The Big Man Cry Waller delivers covers of pop and rock from Bobby Rydell and the Walker Brothers to Bram Tchaikovsky and Bruce Springsteen. It also includes country and Americana songs from Charlie Louvin and Freddie Hart to Gene Clark and Rank & File. There’s even an original by Waller and Hawks bassist Paul Marshall penned to meld with the style of the covers. Highly recommended! 

Today, Keller is a more than just a torchbearer for the music he loves.  He is an award-winning recording artist, a powerful performer, and a top-notch songwriter, bringing his thrilling shows to stages around the world. 

​Second album from Czech  band Krajina Ró.  Forget the few popsongs, their progrock songs are far more interesting.  

Josh Gray’s sound is a mixture of the folk, blues, country, rock, and bluegrass that first inspired him to pick up a guitar. He’s a storyteller at heart, bridging both generations and genres to form his signature style of Americana. Highly recommended!

On August 18, 1939, Huelyn Duvall was born in rural Garner, Parker County, Texas. As a growing boy, Huelyn was only interested in sports. Because he had to wait a while before being accepted into the school's sports team, Huelyn looked for something to bridge the time. Like many of his contemporaries, he started listening to music, specifically country. When he was confronted with rhythm & blues for the first time on the radio and a little later the same radio also brought him into contact with rockabilly and rock 'n' roll, it changed his life. From then on, Huelyn shifted his interest from sports to music. While at school in 1956, he befriended guitarist Lonnie Thompson, with whom he soon formed a band. They recruited Lonnie's twin brother Johnnie on rhythm guitar and vocals and Ralph Clark on bass and became Huelyn Duvall and The Troublesome Three. In 1957 they joined forces with Danny Wolfe who ran a gardening company. As their manager, Danny arranged their first recording session. Danny was about ten years older than the guys, wrote songs and recorded them in his own recording studio. Wolfe teamed up with songwriter and producer Major Bill Smith and together they formed the Twinkle label, for which Duvall would later also record. Huelyn made his first recording in 1957. His second session took place at the Gold Star Recording Studios in Hollywood, where he could count on the instrumental group The Champs as studio musicians. After his marriage in 1961, Huelyn moved to Houston, Texas for nine years where he became vice president of Brazos Valley Computer Center. However, the blood ran deep and in 1985 he performed in the Netherlands during the Rockhouse Rock 'n' Roll Meeting. This was followed by shows throughout Europe. In 2002, Duvall recorded the album 'She's My Baby' with Wildfire Willie and The Ramblers. A year later he went back into the studio, this time with the reunited The Troublesome Three. Appropriately, the album was titled 'The Reunion'. Huelyn recorded the album 'Ramblin' + Boppin'' again with Wildfire Willie and The Ramblers in 2003 in Sweden for Rhythm Bomb Records. Five years later he returned to Sweden to record the album 'Get Carried Away' with the same band for Goofin' Records.
This compilation starts with 'Teen Queen', which immediately puts Huelyn's powerful voice in the spotlight. On this song, just like on other tracks, you can hear the sublime Grady Martin on guitar. It is certain that Huelyn could rock, but he also shines in the slower 'Little Boy Blue'. He shows once again that ballads suit him just as much as uptempo songs in 'Tear Stained Letters' and 'Across The Aisle'.
Together with the inimitable The Jordanaires he also performs a fantastic 'Boom Boom Baby'.
In addition to the songs from the fifties, this compilation also contains the recordings that Duvall made in Germany in 2014 with The Lightning Recordings Boys, better known as Cherry Casino and The Gamblers, and in Sweden with Wildfire Willie and The Ramblers. You also get the remake of 'Pucker Paint' made in 2017 with Berlin's Long John and The Ballroom Kings. And it soon turns out that although time may have had a little bit of a grip on Huelyn's voice, this certainly does not detract from his rock quality. Just listen to 'Stina Lee', after which Huelyn's voice sounds even more mature in 'Dizzy', 'Blue Eyed Sally', 'High-Class Baby' and certainly on 'Daddy's Little Baby'.
We end with a live recording from 1957 of '(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear'.
Huelyn Duvall passed away on May 15, 2019 at the age of 79 in Colleyville, Tarrant County, Texas.
'You Knock Me Out' is an album that showcases both rock 'n' roll and ballads at top levels. If you are unfamiliar with the work of Huelyn Duvall, this compilation will certainly open your ears to the remarkable rock 'n' roller that was Huelyn Duvall.

Miss Lowe has been the face of the Bobby Rush showcase for years... In addition to all of this, Mizz Lowe is a certified medical assistant and a certified nail technician. Now she is promoting her debut album 'Classy Woman', on her label Mizz Lowe Records. Ten songs, and in six of them Mizz Lowe receives vocal support from Bobby Rush. Sexy, unconventional, sultry en seductive. That's a big debut album. Mizz Lowe diverges from Chicago blues, gospel ballads, soul and many modern tunes embrace her rich sound. Highly recommended! 

Chad Rupp“Raw and authentic Portland style blues,” is the way Portland native, Chad Rupp describes his music. He has been in and out of the Portland Blues scene for almost 25 years. Semi-professionally for about the last ten years. But he says he has been a bluesman from the very start. 

The album is raw. I’ve visited raw before but not like we did on Starlight Tour. Most of that unvarnished quality comes from the songs themselves but there was also something unusual that happened in the actual recording. We hit on a rhythmic element I’ve rarely explored. It came naturally and instinctive.

Fascinating varied musical event with a literary approach.  

​In 2023 there is the instrumental 'Organic & Sutainable Sessions' Vol.2, an equally beautiful and divergent release. John F. Klaver on guitar finds his soulmates in drummer Niek van Wiggen and bassist Thomas Pol. The album 'Organic & Sutainable Sessions' Vol.2 contains eight original tracks and two cover songs, and is a tribute to John's father Joop Klaver. The songs diverge and the sound goes from blues to jazz and funk. Highly recommended! 

Now this beautiful lady is back in the spotlight with the release 'Get Me To A Nunnery'. The melodious 'After All This Time' opens the dance. And her wonderful voice also meanders in the pop-tinged 'I Don't Like Your Children' and the violin-toned ballads 'Ten Times' and 'Call A Spade A Spade'. From the acoustic and sad 'Beatrix' and 'Sunset Marigold' it goes to the pop ballad 'Six Foot'. Heather Lynne also likes to shoulder her acoustic guitar again for 'You Said So' and 'Take Off', before ending the release with the violin structured 'Lin's Never Ending Song'. Great..!

The name Jerry Byrd may not immediately sound familiar to you, but there is still a good chance that you have recordings on which he played as a studio musician in your record collection. Especially if Hank Williams' version of 'Lovesick Blues' is in your collection, because Jerry played on it.
Byrd was born on March 9, 1920 in Lima, Ohio. He mastered the 7-string Rickenbacker steel guitar at an early age and, as it turned out, became extremely adept at it. At the age of 15 he was already a professional musician. In 1947 he became a musician with the Grant Ole Opry. There his playing stood out among the headliners. In 1958 he traded his 7 string Rickenbacker for an 80 Rickenbacker. What is often not known is that Jerry also played bass and could often be heard singing harmoniously. He appeared on steel guitar on the Bobby Lord Show and also played rhythm guitar behind other steel guitarists. In 2001 he retired from the music scene. Jerry Byrd passed away on April 11, 2005 at the age of 85.
This compilation contains 32 tracks, 11 of which Jerry recorded under his own name. He contributed to the other 21 songs as a studio musician. You can immediately hear that Jerry is a master on the steel guitar in opener 'Rockin' Chair Money' by Red Foley. This is even better reflected in the songs that Jerry recorded under his own name. This happens for the first time in 'Steelin' The Blues' on which Rex Allen takes care of the vocals. When it becomes completely instrumental, such as in 'Texas Playboy Rag', Byrd's playing really shines. He repeats this again on the other instrumental tracks, such as 'Byrd's Expedition', 'Limehouse Blues', 'Kohalo March' songs on which Chet Atkins contributes the guitar part, 'This 'n' That', the sublime and fast 'Steel Guitar Rag' , 'Georgia Steel Guitar', 'Wang Wang Blues', 'Byrd's Boogie' and 'Turner's Turnpike'.
Jerry not only collaborated with Hank Williams on 'Lovesick Blues', but also on 'I'm A Long Gone Daddy' and 'Rootie Tootie', heard here. Just like he did with Hank, Jerry, as a studio musician, puts himself completely at the service of the artist to be accompanied. On none of the tracks where he was hired does he try to outdo the artist. A beautiful property! A great example of this is the country blues 'Surrounded By Water And Bars' by Jimmy Work and His Tennessee Border Boys, where Jerry gives the song a serious boost.
Without a doubt, Jerry Byrd elevated many country recordings to a higher level in the forties, fifties and sixties. Convince yourself of his immense talent on this beautiful compilation. Highly recommended!