Mike Baggetta, Jim Keltner & Mike Watt - Wall of Flowers - 2019
New York guitarist Mike Baggetta’s new album, Wall of Flowers, features bassist Mike Watt (Minutemen, Firehose, Iggy Pop and the Stooges) and drummer Jim Keltner (John Lennon, George Harrison, Gábor Szabó, etc.). (Stephen Hodges—who’s worked with Mavis Staples, Tom Waits, and David Lynch—sits in for the latter at this live gig.) That’s mucho firepower for a musician many probably haven’t heard of. The thing is, Wall of Flowers doesn’t really sound like any of the artists with whom Watt and company have played. Rather, the album’s eight tracks spangle, clang, and shimmer in the noirish-jazz/no-wave nexus where Joe Morris, Robert Quine, and Robert Fripp at his mellowest and most minimal dwell. What I mean is, there’s no way this won’t be great.
01. Hospital Song (Intro)
02. Hospital Song
03. Blue Velvet (Solo)
04. I Am Not a Data Point
05. Of Breads and Rivers
06. Dirty Smell of Dying
07. Blue Velvet
08. Wall of Flowers
Guitarist/vocalist JD Simo has received a lot of well-deserved glory as of late for his soulful and energetic take on Second Generation blues/rock. Simo’s sound is based in the spirit of the late 60s but infused with the intensity of a rising star of today. His first solo album, Off At 11, out March 1, 2019, skillfully blends classic blues, rock, and psychedelic influences into songs and performances that are the equal of his inspirations. JD Simo stands on the shoulders of giants and takes his art to a whole new level. He has the grit and groove of Stevie Ray Vaughn at his best but folds in the improvisational spaciousness of the Dead, Allmans, and Butterfield’s East-West. The end result feels like a new giant walking the Earth in our present moment.
Off At 11 is only eight songs total but JD Simo demonstrates a masterful command of tone and phrasing on each one. His solos are duets with the open air and he never goes over the edge into the getting-paid-by-the-note power wanking that often occurs when blues and rock guitar collide. Instead, Simo has that Miles-type thing where the only notes he plays are the right ones and the silence between them matters more than the pitches themselves. This is still rock music but it’s the kind that hypnotizes, not the kind that attacks.
The set opens with a slow and heavy trip through Little Walter’s “Boom Boom Out Go The Lights.” Simo’s tone and vocals reveal the true threat of the lyrics in a dramatic way that’s much more pent-up than the party-down Pat Travers’ version most people are used to hearing. It’s evident from the first bar that this isn’t the typical power trio record. The title track, “Off At 11,” is up next and immediately launches into a full-on space jam situation that leaves the pentatonic boundaries of the blues behind, crashes through the Allman Brothers, and winds up hanging out in a bar somewhere with Jerry Garcia, John McLaughlin, and early Zeppelin. It’s the kind of cut that can only go down live and JD Simo, drummer Adam Abrashoff, and bassist Andraleia Buch delver it like flowing water. The three players make an able, flexible improvisational unit that’s a pleasure to behold.
01. Boom, Boom, Out Go The Lights
02. Off At 11
03. You Need Love
04. I Got Love If You Want It
05. Temptation
06. Mind Trouble
07. Sweet Little Angel
08. Accept
Simo - Lead Vocals, Guitar, Piano, Percussion, Bass (6)
Luke Easterling - Bass
Adam Abrashoff - Drums
Jorma Kaukonen & Jack Casady - Bear's Sonic Journals - Before We Were Them - 2019
This live concert recording features recently discovered and previously unreleased music from Jefferson Airplane s fabled guitar and bass players before they became known as Hot Tuna. Jorma and Jack are joined by Joey Covington on drums, and this intense, hard-driving muscle trio creates a ssonic landscape to rival Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience. This is essential listening for fans of Hot Tuna and Jefferson Airplane, with more than 70 minutes of music, including versions of the classic blues songs Rock Me Baby and Come Back Baby, as well as the familiar Airplane tune Star Track.
Additionally, the set list includes 4 fully-formed, rare songs that were named by Jorma and Jack for the first time for this release.
01. Rock Me Baby (B.B. King)
02. Turnaround (Casady, Kaukonen)
03. Star Track (Kaukonen)
04. Through The Golden Gate (Casady, Kaukonen)
05. Come Back Baby (Walter Davis)
06. Through The Grove (Casady, Kaukonen)
07. Inspiration In The Hall Of Arrivals (Bonus Track June 27) (Casady, Kaukonen)
Jorma Kaukonen - Guitar, Vocals
Jack Casady - Bass
Joey Covington - Drums
from wikipedia
Gayle McCormick was born in St. Louis on the 26th of November 1948 (Died March, 1, 2016). Gayle attended Pattonville High in St. Louis and sang high soprano with the Suburb Choir, a 150-voice unit that performed annually with the St. Louis Symphony. Her recording and performing career stretched from 1965 to 1976. McCormick had started her career singing songs by Tina Turner and Etta James.
In 1969 Smith was formed in Los Angeles, California, their first album entitled "A Group Called Smith," featured Gayle McCormick as the primary vocalist. Smith mainly played and recorded covers of pop and soul songs and made the top ten with a remake of "Baby It's You", a previous hit for The Shirelles, was also featured in Quentin Tarantino's Grindhouse film Death Proof.
After the group disbanded, McCormick went on to record three solo albums. In the fall of 1971, her performance of "It's A Cryin' Shame" charted at #44.
01. It's A Cryin' Shame
02. Superstar
03. C'est La Vie
04. Natural Woman
05. You Really Got A Hold On Me
06. Rescue Me
07. If Only You Believe
08. Save Me
09. Everyting Has Got To Be Free
10. Gonna Be Alright Now
