On July 25, 2025, Stef Paglia played at the Open Air Festival in Brezoi, Romania. Stef's band consisted of Tom Eylenbosch on Hammond and backing vocals, Carlo Van Belleghem on bass and Sven Bloemen on drums and backing vocals. The band had such a great time that it turned into a fantastic performance. Stef and his bandmates immediately decided to immortalize this performance on a CD. The album contains eight songs, six of which are originals from the EP ‘Light & Darkness’ and the album ‘Never Forget’. The other two tracks are The Meters' ‘Cissy Strut’ and Neil Young's ’Old Man’.
Opener ‘Stand Up!’ immediately reveals a well-oiled band, where the musical pieces fit together seamlessly. Stef is a master at coming up with catchy riffs, as can be heard on ‘The Unknown’, after which the accelerator is pressed a little less with ‘Take Away’ and ‘Warmth Instead Of Cold’. Things get funky when Sven’s drums put the instrumental ‘Cissy Strut’ on the rails, featuring a superb performance from Tom on Hammond. Stef then gets to showcase his impressive guitar playing on the inspiring, eight-minute instrumental ‘Mystery Heaven’, reminiscent of the first formation of Fleetwood Mac. The album closes in crescendo with the beautifully constructed ‘Old Man’.
‘Live’ is an album that offers plenty of variety. Alongside solid blues rockers are instrumental highlights that fully showcase Paglia's talent and craftsmanship.

Something between dreampop, jazz and folk; call it nordic charm!

​On the Continent, Welsh proggers Man hand a minor hit with their debut single ‘Erotica’, a four-minute fake female orgasm. Well done though a bit cheesy, but the rest of their first album sounds completely different. Opener ‘In the Beginning’ is a sound line with a narrative, followed by raw blues, nice harmonies with underlying organ [Empty Room], ting-a-ling folk [Love], boogie woogie, etcetera.
Second album ‘2 Ozs of Plastic with a Hole in It’,  is of a similarly varied nature, but with just six songs. In fact, it opens with 12 minutes of symphonic rock, followed by 8 minutes of raw blues. If you are wondering where this goes, be ready for a nice chunk of Americana-folk in ‘My Name Is Jesus Smith’.
Though prog is sometimes entirely absent, most songs are trenched in a variety of prog, rock, psych and symphonic sounds.
If you like this wide range of first row prog, this band is, eh, your Man.
Man’s first two albums, both from 1969, are remastered by BGO Records as a 2-in-1, and come with an informative booklet.
Radio 68 ​ plays choice tracks on Wednesday 14 January, from 11 a.m. GMT onwards. 

One of many UK prog bands to appear on record at the onset of the 1970s and, regretfully so, one of many failing to make it commercially, Gravy Train fully deserve this remastered and extended release of their third and fourth albums ‘Second Birth’ and ‘Staircase to the Day’ [originally Dawn, 1973 and 1974]. Why? Led by singer, guitar-player and songsmith Norman Barratt, Gravy Train infuses their prog with funk, jazz, rock and harmonies! Adding pop influences from the sixties, attention to hooks & tunes and committed lyrics about ecology, hypocrisy, repression, and the hope for a better world [e.g. Second Birth’, ‘Strength of a Dream’, ‘Tolpuddle Episode’ of ‘Fields and Factories’], Gravy Train deserves its own spot under the Prog Sun.
This 2-in-1 release comes with a booklet that draws a clear and in-depth picture of the band. Radio 68  plays choice tracks on Wednesday 14 January, from 11 a.m. GMT onwards. 

Cross-border music as inspiration for the world.  So, music lover, break the walls!

Fantastic (neo-)soul music that makes you happy!

Jackie Lee Cochran was born one of two twins on February 5, 1934. However, Jackie's twin brother died at the age of two, resulting in a grief-stricken, unstable relationship between Jackie Lee's parents. When Jackie Lee was six, his father gave him an acoustic guitar. Because his father was serving a lengthy prison sentence, Jackie Lee was raised by his grandmother. Jackie was fascinated by roots music and in the 1950s, he recorded explosive rock songs for the Decca, Viv, Sims, and Jaguar labels.
It's no surprise, then, that Bear Family Records has dedicated a volume to him in its ‘Rocks’ series. This volume contains songs spanning Jackie's career that peaked in the mid-1950s and experienced a resurgence during the rockabilly revival of the 1970s and 1980s.
Many of his songs have since become true classics of the genre. Just think of ‘Riverside Jump’, ‘Hip Shakin' Mama’, ‘Mama Don't You Think I Know’, and ‘Georgia Lee Brown’.
During the rockabilly revival, he recorded for Ronny Weiser's Rollin' Rock label. As can be heard on this compilation, Cochran still possessed that passion, rhythmic feel, rawness, and emotionality that also characterized his recordings from the 1950s. These qualities are the common thread running through all the tracks. Not only was Jackie Lee Cochran incredibly strong vocally, but he also perfectly captured the spirit of the rockabilly era in his compositions. Jackie Lee Cochran and Merle Travis clearly knew each other, although Merle was already an established name in country music and Cochran had made his mark in rockabilly, Travis backs Jackie Lee on some tracks. Ray Campi, also active in rockabilly, also does so on a few tracks. The 31 tracks offer a sublime glimpse into a charismatic rockabilly artist from the mid-20th century. Four of the 31 tracks are appearing on CD for the first time. To top it all off, ‘For You Baby’ is a previously unreleased rockabilly song that Cochran recorded for Decca in 1956 during the legendary ‘Ruby Pearl’ session. Incidentally, ‘Ruby Pearl’ features excellent guitar work by Merle Travis, as well as a beautiful piano solo by Jimmy Pruett.
The cover of this compilation depicts Cochran standing in front of a life-size black cat, which served as his stage decoration during his early shows at the ‘Big D Jamboree’.
As is tradition, Bear Family Records also accompanies this album with a beautifully produced, 31-page booklet, illustrated with rare photos, containing all the information about Jackie Lee Cochran and the tracks. If you're a fan of authentic, emotional, raw, and dynamic rockabilly, then you can't miss this passionately and expertly remastered release. Highly recommended!

Flamenco like you’ve never heard it before: richer and more sensitive than ever before.  So beautiful!

​Powerful vocals on raw storytelling, really enjoyable album.