*** Only Good Song ***

terça-feira, 28 de fevereiro de 2012

The Bureau - ...And Another Thing (repost)

The Bureau - ...And Another Thing - 2008

The Bureau were a New Wave soul group formed in late 1980 in Birmingham, England, when the original lineup of Dexys Midnight Runners split-up.

Ex-Dexy's members Pete Williams, Geoff Blythe, Steve Spooner, Stoker and Mick Talbot were joined by Paul Taylo, Rob Jones and Archie Brown from a group called The Upset, which had supported Dexy's on tour. The Bureau retained their Dexy's roots and played powerful brass driven sounds.

The debut single, "Only For Sheep", was a hit in Australia, reaching #6], but failed to reach the UK Singles Chart - as did the follow up single "Let Him Have It", inspired by the Derek Bentley / Christopher Craig case. An eponymously titled album was released in 1981, but only in Canada and Australia, and the band members went their separate ways soon afterwards. The album was finally released in the UK in 2005, and the band reunited to play two launch gigs in London and Birmingham in February that year.

READ MORE HERE

Archie Brown - Vocal, Guitar, Sax
Pete Williams - Bass, Ukulele, Clarinet, Guitar, Vocals
Crispin Taylor - Drums, Guitar, Percurssion
Mick Talbot - Keyboards, Vocals
Paul Taylor - Trombone
Geoff Blythe - Saxophone

01. Run Rabbit Run
02. Save Me
03. Chance In a Million
04. A Fine Mess Rag
05. Freedom March
06. Just a Word
07. Falling

08. Mad
09. Divided In Two
10. Flying Lessons
11. Nothing's Going To Stand In Our Way
12. Keaton's Walk (Bonus Track)

+@320

segunda-feira, 27 de fevereiro de 2012

Leon Russel - Angel in Disguise (repost)

Leon Russel - Angel in Disguise - 2007

By James Calemine, from swampland.com

Angel In Disguise contains 11 new Leon Russell songs. Russell's prodigious discography proves his influence and talent since he left Lawton, Oklahoma, in his teens.

"Sweet Mimi", a rollicking opener, employs many of the same musical elements--mercurial guitar, cosmic keyboards and a strong beat--Russell mastered over the last 40 years. "How Can This Be Love" contends as a hybrid R & B song bred with synthesized keyboards. The title track, a swinging R & B number, calls to mind Tony Joe White.

These songs - such as "Lovin' On My Mind" - begin to take on a psychedelic-swamp sound with gospel back up vocalists. These compositions represent The Master of Space and Time in 2007.

"Come For You" could easily pass for a Stevie Wonder funk song until you hear Russell's inimitable voice. "Black N Blue" operates with unrestrained R & B, funk and Russell's signature rock and roll piano.

"All Through The Night", a ballad, calls to mind a sonic landscape of Russell's fine album Will O the Wisp. "Honky Tonk Eyes" proves there's still a spring in Russell's 65-year-old step in an up-tempo ditty that revisits Jerry Lee Lewis' incandescent piano work. "Dyess Colony" sounds like cowboy swing mixed with the blues and a galloping keyboard to birth a toe-tapping tale.

01. Sweet Mimi
02. How Can This Be Love
03. Angel In Disguise
04. Lovin’ On My Mind
05. Come For You
06. Honey & Eli
07. Black N’ Blue
08. All Through The Night
09. Honky Tonk Eyes
10. Dyess Colony
11. Desire Inside Your Eyes

+@320

John Lennon - Madison Square Garden (repost)

John Lennon - Madison Square Garden - 30-Aug-1972

In September of 1971, John Lennon and Yoko Ono relocated to Greenwich Village in New York City and found themselves at the epicenter of political activism. They soon became friends with high profile activists Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman and began making public appearances protesting the Vietnam War and the imprisonment of Angela Davis and John Sinclair. Fearing Lennon's influence and more specifically, that he had the ability to humiliate President Richard Nixon, the FBI began investigating, documenting John and Yoko's every move in an effort to find grounds on which to deport him. It was against this highly charged political backdrop that John and Yoko began recording their album, Sometime In New York City, with an agenda to protest against the social injustices they observed in the United States. With Phil Spector producing and accompanied by members of the Plastic Ono Band and Elephant's Memory, the album was completed in March of 1972 and remains the most overtly political recordings Lennon ever recorded.

At the request of their friend Geraldo Rivera, shortly after the album was released, Lennon agreed to headline two charity concerts to benefit the Willowbrook Home, a facility for learning disabled children. Also featuring Sha Na Na, Roberta Flack, and Stevie Wonder, the event was called "One To One," and New York mayor John Lindsay declared the date, "One To One Day." Both concerts were filmed and recorded, with excerpts of the evening show broadcast on ABC Television and performances from the afternoon show eventually compiled for release in 1986 as the live album and home video releases Live In New York City. Not only would these performances go down in history as one of the few times John and Yoko ever performed material from the Sometimes In New York City album, but they would unfortunately prove to be John Lennon's last and only full-length public concerts following the breakup of The Beatles.

Buddy Miles Regiment - Sneak Attack (repost)

Buddy Miles Regiment - Sneak Attack - 1981

01. Latin Rock Fusion
02. Can You Hold Me
03. Sunshine Of Your Love
04. I've Made Up My Mind
05. Working Hard Every Day
06. Colossus
07. Let's Make It Together
08. Jazz Fusion
09. Hold Her Tight
10. Dust In The Wind

11. For Your Precious Love

read a bit about this here

+@192

domingo, 26 de fevereiro de 2012

Ian McLagan - Rise & Shine (repost)

Ian McLagan - Rise & Shine - 2004

By Matt Fink, Paste Magazine

Over three decades since Ian McLagan joined Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane to form the best mod band this side of The Who, The Faces remain one of the most brilliant overlooked bands of their generation. Given the rock ’n’ roll muse’s tendency to abandon musicians who ply their trade in the genre for more than 20 years, there was plenty of opportunity for this album (only McLagan’s second solo outing in the last 24 years) to end up a nostalgia piece for a man few currently recognize as more than a session keyboardist for the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. To that extent, Rise and Shine is an unmitigated success, better than just about any release from his reasonable British rock facsimiles. Having set down roots in Texas, more than a little heartland twang creeps into the tracks such as the effervescent power-pop of “Rubies in Her Hair” and the quasi-choir sing-along in the clever “The Wrong Direction.” Even better are the delicately soulful ballads, evoking Exile on Main Street-era Stones on the earnest “Anytime” and the bluesy dobro and gospel piano of “Lying.” He even channels a bit of Faces swagger in the rollicking “Been A Long Time,” one of the greatest blasts of mod rock since the band’s run ended. Sure, they aren’t all winners here, and the point can be reasonably argued that the sentiments once befitting him as a young man seem more than a little awkward springing from the mouth of a rock veteran nearing his 60th birthday, but the personality and distinction invigorating his work is truly stunning.

01. You're My Girl
02. Been a Long Time
03. Date With an Angel
04. Anytime 05. Price of Love
06. She Ain't My Girl
07. Your Secret 08. Lying
09. The Wrong Direction
10. Rubies in Her Hair
11. Wishing Hoping Dreaming

Ian McLagan - Vocals, Pianos, Harmond, Organ, Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Bass, Percussion
Gurf Morlix - Electric Guitars
"Scrappy" Jud Newcomb - Electric and Acoustic Guitars
George Reiff - Bass
Don Harvey: Drums

Patty Griffin - Vocals (4, 8, 9, 11)
Brian Standefer - Cellos (4, 8)
John Bush - Congas, Percussion (6, 11)
Joe Sublett - Tenor Sax (5)
Darrell Leonard - Trumpet (5)

+@192