Albums That Hold Up

Howling Wolf

2011-05-15T12:23:00.000-07:00

Album: Sings the Blues
Format: LP
Label/Info: Crown CLP-5240. Later released as the Custom LP "Big City Blues" (CM 2055) and from United Superior, also as "Big City Blues" (7717). Also remastered on CD by Ace with bonus material. Original 10-song Crown LP includes Wolf's first 1951-52 recordings for the Modern label and its subsidiary RPM records. Features Willie Johnson on guitar as well as a very young Ike Turner on piano (same lineup as tracks on the Sam Phillips Memphis sessions included earlier on this blog).

Christian Scott

2011-05-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

Album: Yesterday You Said Tomorrow
Format: CD
Label/Info: Concord CJA 31412-02.
You open the jewel case to reveal the image of a 1960s Westrex 3D stereo disc cutter and you just know this is going to something special. It's warm and trip-hoppy with hints of Tony Williams' Lifetime and Miles meets McLaughlin, and you're hooked. Not just a retro project: a hip and timely response to all that post-Katrina birtherism.

Abner Jay

2011-05-15T12:19:00.001-07:00

Album: Folk Song Stylist
Format: LP
Label/Info: Mississippi Records MR-068. There must be an Abner Jay album on this blog. Thanks to Mississippi Records for making that possible. More great music from rural Georgia.

Wire

2011-05-15T12:14:00.001-07:00

Album: Pink Flag
Format: CD or LP
Label/Info: Originally Harvest ST-11757 (1977). A perennial favorite. Includes "Ex Lion Tamer" which is about fish sticks, or so I am told.

Frank Sinatra

2011-05-11T18:22:00.000-07:00

Album: In the Wee Small Hours
Format: LP (and only vinyl will do)
Label/Info: Capital W 581 (1955)
Mine's a 180-gram audiophile remaster "from the Capital vaults." A big-sounding and emotional record. Nelson Riddle's finest arrangements and quite possibly Sinatra's finest period.

The Crickets

2011-05-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

Album: The "Chirping" Crickets
Format: LP
Label/Info: DOY609 180-gram reissue. Originally Brunswick LB 54038 (1957). Finally got the DOXY disc for a good price.
Indispensable American music: teenage cold war angst, hiccups, drive-ins, and crushes and crashes on the prairie.

V/A - Gospel

2011-05-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

Album: In the Storm So Long
Format: LP
Label/Info: Mississippi Records MR-066.
One of many gospel collections that hold up. This time it's selections from the Pitch/Gusman Label of Savannah from 1961-1978. Electrified ring shouts from from rural Georgia and the South Carolina lowcountry. Soul-stirring, toe-tapping, smile-producing.

Nathan Abshire

2011-05-11T18:11:00.000-07:00

Album: Pine Grove Blues
Format: LP
Label/Info: Swallow 6014.
There was time when I was digging on a regular basis and purchasing Cajun records that nobody seemed to want. (Many thanks to Jonathan at Voltage Records in Asheville, NC, for hooking me up.) Many were duds, but then I hit this one from my man backed by the Balfa brothers. Ce disque est formidable (I gar-on-tee).

Kenny Burrell & Jimmy Raney

2011-01-20T17:25:00.000-08:00

Album: 2 Guitars
Format: LP
Label/Info: OJC-216. Originally Prestige 7119 (1957). I've got a number of OJC/Fantasy reissues on LP. They were cheap (still are) back in the '80s when I frequented Charlemagne and Wuxtry in Birmingham, AL, and they still sound great. I return to this 1957 session fairly often. Cool vibe, nice originals, great sidemen. But it's Jimmy Raney that brings me back. A complex and subtle player. Joining the guitar duo are Donald Byrd (t), Jackie McLean (as), Mal Waldron (p), Doug Watkins (b), and Art Taylor (d).

Pastor T. L. Barrett and the Youth for Christ Choir

2010-12-29T18:57:00.000-08:00

Album: Like A Ship... (Without A Sail)
Format: LP
Label/Info: Light in the Attic LITA 056 (2010) reissue. Originally released as M.Z.G.P. 8126. 1971 soul gospel under the direction of Barrett, community leader and pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Chicago, IL. I was blown away the first time I put this record on and couldn't believe its obscureness. The original pressing was limited to a few thousand copies and distributed at church socials and choir concerts. The sound and songwriting are outstanding for a home-grown recording, albeit one supervised by Chess/Cadet producer Gene Barge and backed by some of the best players in town. Not surprising that Donny Hathaway and members of Earth, Wind & Fire could be found in pews each Sunday drawn to Pastor Barrett's brand of theology and jamming for the Lord.

V/A - Jamaica

2010-12-29T17:26:00.001-08:00

Albums: Studio One: Roots - The Original; Vol. 2 and Vol. 3
Format: CD (also on LP)
Soul Jazz SJR CD56, CD114, CD168

While reggae and dub fans may eat this stuff up, there is much more going on here than reverb and riddims. It's certainly Rasta to the core -- representing some of the earliest recordings from Studio One, Jamaica's influential studio led by the purveyor of the Rastafarian sound, Coxsone Dodd -- but this is much more than reggae. These diverse grooves could easily be found on one of those excellent comps of West African highlife from Analog Africa or Soundway. There's even some American R&B and soul thrown in this rundown (Jamaican stew).

The Kinks

2010-03-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

Album: Arthur, Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire
Format: LP
Label/Info: Sanctuary UK (forthcoming May 2010?)

Got word that Sanctuary is planning a 2-LP reissue of this essential album. Important because the Earmark reissue from a few years back is so shallow and muddy -- clearly mastered from digital sources. Same mistreatment with Something Else. The greatest rock band of all time deserves better.

Rolling Stones

2009-10-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

Album: 12X5
Format: CD or LP
Label/Info: ABKCO Hybrid SACD Reissue, 2002. Original U.S. release in 1964 as London LL 3402 (mono) and PS 402 (reprocessed for stereo).

Picking just one Stones album to blog about is like choosing just one Kinks album. Too many indispensable records. But I've been listening to this 2002 remaster of 12X5, and it's better than I ever remembered. 12X5 was their second American release, some of which was recorded at Chess Studios in Chicago (note Side B's opener "2120 South Michigan Avenue") while on their first U.S. tour. This was their pilgrimage to Mecca. All the bluesmen and rock'n'rollers the lads idolized were regular fixtures there, and their influence is palpable. (The recording engineer, Ron Malo, had worked with Bo Diddley, Etta James, and Sonny Boy Williamson, among others.) The set kicks off with a classic Chess side by Chuck Berry, but ultimately it's Dale Hawkins' "Susie Q" that steals the show.

The Feelies / Joseph Spence

2009-10-12T07:30:00.001-07:00

Format: LP
Update on two essential albums mentioned earlier. It's been a good month. First, The Feelies' Crazy Rhythms (Stiff Records, 1980) is reissued by Bar/None on vinyl and the sound is incredible. (Nice work, Andreas Meyer at Tangerine Mastering in Weehawken.) And then, if that weren't enough, devoted philanthropists Eric Isaacson, Warren Hill, and Tim Stollenwerk at Mississippi Records reissue Joseph Spence's otherworldly classic, Good Morning Mr. Walker (Arhoolie, 1972). This album also holds up (or will hold up) as an artifact: thick cardboard jacket with pasted-on cover in Folkways fashion.

Sam "Mr. Soul" Cooke

2009-10-04T17:23:00.000-07:00

Album: Night Beat
Format: LP
Label/Info: RCA/Victor "Dynagroove" LPM-2709 (mono) or LSP-2709 (stereo), 1963.

This is one of those LPs made for those big sounding hi-fi consoles from the Mad Men era that put the singer smack-dab in your living room. A pleasant divergence for Cooke at the time, it's quiet, understated, and perhaps even a little risque in a couple of places ("Little Red Rooster," "Shake, Rattle and Roll"). There's a definite after-hours thing going on, with vocals so close you can practically hear each inhalation and just enough accompaniment -- piano, bass, brushes, guitar, and a little Hammond B3 -- to encourage the mood along. Good luck in finding an affordable copy in VG or better condition, and it's a shame it has not been reissued on vinyl.

V/A - Moroccan

2009-08-30T07:48:00.000-07:00

Album: Gnawa Music of Marrakesh: Night Spirit Masters
Format: CD
Label/Info: AXIOM (Island Records) 314-510 147-2

I recently attended a talk with Nathan Salsburg of the Alan Lomax Archive and Twos & Fews Records who shared some incredible documentary footage of Gnawa musicians in Marrakesh made by filmmaker Caitlin McNally. (Salsburg and Twos & Fews plan to release a CD/DVD set of Gnawa performances later this year. More info here.) His presentation inspired me to track down this 1990 AXIOM disc produced by Bill Laswell, which was supposedly given 4 stars by Rolling Stone. It's all I listen to in the car right now, that is, until the Twos & Fews set comes out.

The Modern Lovers

2009-08-30T06:54:00.000-07:00

Album: The Modern Lovers
Format: LP
Label/Info: 2004 red vinyl Get Back reissue (Get 90066). Originally released 1976 as Beserkley LP BZ-0050

Compiled from 1973 sessions with John Cale. This essential record should have been included earlier in this blog, especially since I already mentioned The Stooges' first record, its proto-protopunk sister also produced by Cale. In many ways this album holds up more. Certainly the mood is lighter and more playful. (If Iggy represented leather, drugs, and debauchery, then Jonathan Richman was more comfy sweaters, health food, and holding hands -- although "She Cracked" has a certain snarky snarl.) Subsequent CD reissues contain unnecessary bonus tracks that take away from the freshness and immediacy of the original 9-song playlist.

Julius Hemphill

2009-07-21T08:36:00.001-07:00

Albums: 'Coon Bid'ness and Dogon A.D.
Format: LP
Label/Info: Arista Freedom AL 1012 (1975) and AL 1028 (1977)

Both albums contain material recorded February 1972 in St. Louis, Missouri, with 'Coon Bid'ness containing additional selections from January 1975 in NYC. 'Coon Bid'ness appears earlier on this blog as the Reflections CD, but since I just picked it up on vinyl along with Dogon (for five bucks each!) at Princeton Record Exchange during a recent record hunting trip, I had to revisit it. Mystical and challenging music you can get down with -- West African juju meets East Texas hambone. Check out the alto ping-pong match with fellow griot Black Arthur Blythe on "Hard Blues" ('Coon Bid'ness) And no, that's not a bass you hear, but the superbad Abdul Wadud on cello. (P.S. - Why can't anyone write liner notes like Robert Palmer anymore?)

Gabor Szabo

2009-07-21T08:01:00.000-07:00

Album: The Sorcerer
Format: LP
Label/Info: Impulse AS-9146 (1967)

The hypnotist Hungarian. Szabo recorded some wild stuff in the '60s, bouncing from raga to psychedelia to cheeseball. This is his most satisfying set, although he still manages to throw in one pop movie song. Recorded live at the Jazz Workshop in Boston, April 14-15, 1967. Interesting interplay between Jimmy Stewart and Szabo, especially on Side 2.

Howlin' Wolf

2009-07-01T14:04:00.000-07:00

Album: The Legendary Sun Performers
Format: LP
Label/Info: Oxford 3214 (Charly Records, London)

1951 and 1952 Memphis sessions recorded by Sam Phillips. Is this the blues, rock 'n' roll, R&B, or something new altogether? Well, whatever it is, it's some of the most raucous material to come out of the Memphis Recording Service at 706 Union Avenue. [Wolf (Chester Burnett) would soon leave for Chicago and sign with Chess Records, while Phillips would go on to found Sun Records shortly thereafter.] Holy smokes, what a voice. Enough to melt a Shure 55. Also features some wild guitar work by Willie Johnson. If this LP is unavailable, the Bear Family CDs are ok substitutes. See Memphis Days: Definitive Edition, Vol. 1 (Bear Family 15460) and Vol. 2 (Bear Family 15500).

Big Star

2009-07-01T10:32:00.000-07:00

Album: Radio City
Format LP

Label/Info: Ardent/Stax reissue (2009)

Power pop from Memphis. Like most people I know, I've had that #1 Record/Radio City twofer CD since the early 1990s. Great stuff, but the sound quality wasn't all there. This new vinyl reissue breathes new life into this music.

Blind Willie McTell

2009-06-17T08:53:00.000-07:00

Album: The Classic Years 1927-1940

Format: CD

Label/Info: JSP7711A-D (4-disc set)

Indispensable American music. Surprisingly, the overall sound quality on this JSP collection is better than the more expensive Document set (DOCD-5677) covering much of the same material with the added bonus of the 1940 John Lomax recordings. Disc 3, with its bawdy hokum ("Let Me Play With Yo' Yo-Yo") and heartfelt spirituals ("Ain't It Grand to Be a Christian") contains some of my favorite sing-a-longs of all time, particularly the gospel duets with wife Kate McTell recorded in Chicago in 1935 for Decca. It so happens that I do a fairly decent Kate McTell impersonation which adds to the fun.

John Lee Hooker

2009-06-08T12:04:00.000-07:00

Album: It Serve You Right To Suffer
Format: LP
Label/Info: Impulse AS-9103 (1966). There is also a 180 Gram Speakers Corner reissue available new for around 35 bucks. Too pricey for me, but I bet it sounds great. A perfectly recorded laid-back set with jazz musicians who know how to hold back and let the star of the session shine. John Lee Hooker (voc, g); Dickie Wells (tb); Milt Hinton (b); Barry Galbraith (g); Panama Francis (dr)

(Why did MCA feel the need to change "Serve" to "Serves" on the CD reissue? Leave Mr. Hooker's grammar alone. )

V/A from VA

2009-06-05T11:38:00.000-07:00

Grammy-nominated Virginia Traditions series from the Blue Ridge Institute, Ferrum College

Format: LP or CD

While all the BRI releases are worth your while, I'm particularly partial to their blues and African American offerings:

Non-Blues Secular Black Music. BRI LP 001/Global Village CD 1001

Western Piedmont Blues. BRI LP 003/Global Village CD 1003

Tidewater Blues. BRI LP 006/Global Village CD 1006

Southwest Virginia Blues. BRI LP 008/Global Village CD 1008

Granted, this is a highly idiosyncratic blog -- jumping from Q-Tip to Virginia blues -- which I do primarily for my own benefit. I own a lot of blues comps, but these are some of the best regional music collections ever put together. Included are some rare and interesting 78s from the 1920s and '30s, but it is the later stuff -- like the 1970s sessions by Kip Lornell -- that really show off that raggy Piedmont/East Coast style. Contact the good folks at the Blue Ridge Institute & Museum about availability.

Q-Tip

2009-06-05T11:26:00.001-07:00

Album: The Renaissance
Format: LP or CD
Label/Info: Universal/Motown

I rarely listen to much new music anymore. Seems like I start to lose interest around 1970. But I really dig this record, which has been in heavy rotation in my car. My kids really like it too. Perhaps I'm just reminiscing about a more naive time when Low End Theory provided my summer soundtrack the year I finished college. Fresh summer beats for an Obama nation on the mend.

The Spiritualaires of Hurtsboro, Alabama

2009-04-23T11:31:00.000-07:00

Album: Singing Songs of Praise
Format: CD
Label/Info: CaseQuarter 103

Holy-roller soul from East Central Alabama. While the lineup has changed over six decades, The Spiritualaires of Hurtsboro remain one of the last working vocal groups originating during gospel's golden years of the late 1940s and 50s. Assembled from recent studio recordings and live radio broadcasts at WBIL in Tuskegee, the disc contains a good cross section of performances that borrow from the blues and soul as well as sacred influences. Check out other CaseQuarter releases for more of the real deal.

Mississippi Fred McDowell

2009-01-28T13:53:00.000-08:00

Album: Live at the Gaslight
Format: CD
Label/Info: Grapeshot/Live Archive GRR 1001

Recorded live November 5, 1971, at The Gaslight Cafe, MacDougal Street, Greenwich Village, New York City; also featuring Tom Pomposello on 2nd guitar. The Mississippi Delta legend's last recording featuring his signature bottleneck style on electric guitar.

V/A

2009-01-14T13:48:00.000-08:00

Album: Oh Graveyard, You Can't Hold Me Always
Format: LP
Label/Info: Mississippi Records MR-030/SM-01

Mono. Compilation of rare gospel recordings from the 1960s and early 1970s. Artists include Mosby Family Singers, Straight Street Holiness Group, Laura Rivers, Rev. Lonnie Farris, Radio Four, Joe Townsend, White Family, Silver Quintette, James Carter & The Mighty Stars, Farris & Williams, Brother Willie Eason, Traveling Echoes, and Sensational Happy Travelers.

Washington Phillips

2009-01-13T14:23:00.000-08:00

Album: What Are They Doing in Heaven Today?
Format: LP
Label/Info: Mississippi Records MR-006

Album: The Key To The Kingdom
Format: CD
Label/Info: Yazoo 2073

Phillips was a pioneering gospel performer in the 1920s. Born in Texas in 1880, his entire musical catalogue consists of 18 or so unique performances. Recorded between 1927 and 1929, these tracks feature Phillips self-accompanied by an instrument that sounds like a fretless zither. This instrument, which has been variously identified as a Dolceola, a Celestophone, and a Phonoharp (and also is considered by some to be an instrument entirely home-made by Phillips) creates a unique sound that is immediately charming and intriguing. For Phillips' complete recordings consult the Yazoo CD.

Otis Redding

2009-01-07T09:08:00.001-08:00

"The Posthumous Releases" - 1967 recordings completed just before his death.
Format: LP (Otis was made for vinyl.)

Album: The Dock of the Bay (1968) - Volt S-419; ATCO SD 33-288; Sundazed Reissue LP 5172 (2003)

Album: The Immortal Otis Redding (1968) - ATCO SD 33-252

Album: Love Man (1969) - ATCO SD 33-289

Album: Tell the Truth (1970) - ATCO SD 33-333

Archie Shepp

2008-11-21T14:36:00.000-08:00

Album: Blasé
Format: LP
Label/Info: BYG Actuel 529.318 - 180 Gram

18th volume in the BYG Actuel series originally recorded at Studio Davout in Paris on August 16th, 1969. Features Lester Bowie and Malachi Flavors (from the Art Ensemble of Chicago), Dave Burrell, Philly Joe Jones, and Jeanne Lee on vocals. Check out Lee on "There Is A Balm In Gilead." Sublime.

Bettye LaVette

2008-11-10T08:22:00.000-08:00

Album: Do Your Duty
Format: LP
Label/Info: Reissue. Sundazed LP 5208

Love

2008-10-27T09:31:00.001-07:00

Album: Love
Format: LP
Label/Info: Reissue. Sundazed LP 5100

Originally released May 1966 on Elektra. This, the first release from this influential L.A.-based group, is still my favorite, although their third release, Forever Changes, usually gets all the attention. Includes their edgy cover of Hal David/Burt Bacharach’s “My Little Red Book” and Arthur Lee’s moody “Signed D.C.”

Archie Shepp

2008-10-14T11:03:00.000-07:00

Album: The Way Ahead
Format: CD
Label/Info: Impulse IMPD-272 (1998 20-bit remastering). Tracks 1-4 originally issued as 1968 LP The Way Ahead (AS-9170). Bonus tracks 5 and 6 originally issued on the 1969 LP Kwanza (AS-9262).

Archie Shepp. There are so many contrasts in his playing. Bluesy. Intense. Concerned. Exuberant. Who else can play so far out while staying so grounded and earthy? This is Shepp's first Impulse session with piano, which provides the harmonic anchor for me. Fire Music, Four for Trane, and Mama Too Tight are very fine recordings, but they don't have the feeling this one does. Check out Walter Davis, Jr. (piano) and Ron Carter on "Damn If I Know." Personnel: Archie Shepp (tenor saxophone); Charles Davis (baritone saxophone); Jimmy Owens (trumpet); Grachan Moncur III (trombone); Walter Davis Jr., Dave Burrell (piano); Ron Carter, Walter Booker (bass); Beaver Harris, Roy Haynes (drums).

Album: Live in San Francisco
Format: LP
Label/Info: Impulse! AS-9118

A great live recording. My second favorite Shepp on Impulse. Personnel: Archie Shepp (tenor saxophone, piano); Roswell Rudd (trombone); Donald Garrett, Lewis Worrell (bass); Beaver Harris (drums). Recorded at the Both/And Club, San Francisco, California on February 19, 1966.

Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers

2008-08-22T13:02:00.000-07:00

Album: Peace in the Valley
Format: LP
Label/Info: Get Back 180 Gram Reissue (8063).

Sam Cooke joined the Soul Stirrers in 1951, replacing lead singer R. H. Harris after the Stirrers signed with Specialty records. Guided by the former teen wonder who would go on to be the superstar of early R&B, the Soul Stirrers are captured here at their best with 14 tunes of pure a cappella gospel feeling.

V/A - Nigerian

2008-08-22T11:04:00.000-07:00

Compilations of Nigerian Afro-Beat, Afro-Funk, and Highlife from the 1970s.

Album: Nigeria70: Lagos Jump
Format: CD
Label/Info: Strut 035, 2008
***

Album: Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds & Nigerian Blues, 1970-76
Format: CD
Label/Info: Soundway SNDWCD009, 2007

***

Album: Afro Baby: The Evolution of the Afro-Sound in Nigeria, 1970-79

Format: CD

Label/Info: Soundway SNDWCD002, 2004

V/A - Ethiopian

2008-08-22T09:06:00.001-07:00

Album: Ethiopiques Series
Format: CD
Label/Info: Buda Musique, 1998-

Compilations of Ethiopian music from the 1960s and 1970s culled from singles and albums for Amha Records, Kaifa Records, and Philips-Ethiopia. Prominent singers and musicians from this era include Alemayehu Eshete, Asnaketch Worku, Mahmoud Ahmed, Mulatu Astatke, and Tilahun Gessesse. The series editor is Francis Falceto. All 23 discs are excellent, but the following stand out:

Ethiopiques 1: the Golden Years of Modern Ethiopian Music (1998)
Ethiopiques 3: Golden Years Of Modern Ethiopian Music (1998)
Ethiopiques 4: Ethio Jazz & Musique Instrumentale, 1969-1974 (featuring Mulatu Astatke) (1998)
Ethiopiques 7: Ere Mela Mela (featuring Mahmoud Ahmed) (1999)
Ethiopiques 14: Negus of Ethiopian Sax (featuring Getachew Mekurya) (2003)
Ethiopiques 21: Ethiopia Song (featuring Emahoy Tsegue-Mariam Gebrou) (2006)

Junior Wells

2008-07-28T09:36:00.000-07:00

Album: "It's My Life, Baby!"

Format: LP

Label/Info: Vanguard VRS-9231 (mono)

Mr. Wells' amazing first solo record for Vanguard features some live performances from Pepper's Lounge on the South Side of Chicago in order "to get the feeling of a blues band working with its blues audience." The studio tracks are amazing as well. Buddy Guy on guitar throughout. Produced by Samuel Charters. Favorite cut: "Stormy Monday"

Bo Diddley

2008-06-26T14:57:00.000-07:00

Album: Bo Diddley (his first album on Chess, c. 1957)
Format: LP or CD (whatever you can find)

Label/Info: I own the 1986 Original Chess Masters vinyl reissue. It's a crime and a shame that this album is no longer available in its original form. It was at one time available on a "Two on One" CD with Go Bo Diddley (MCA/Original Chess Masters CHD-509).

The Zombies

2008-05-18T11:40:00.000-07:00

Album: Odessey and Oracle
Format: LP
Label/Info: Big Beat WIKD 181 - "30th Anniversary Edition" vinyl reissue

While I can only handle so much psychedelic pop, this is beautifully-crafted music and quite simply one of the finest albums ever made. The CD sounds tinny, so avoid it, and contains a lot of unnecessary bonus tracks.

James Brown

2008-05-08T11:50:00.000-07:00

Album: Live at the Apollo (Volume II - 1967)
Format: CD
Label/Info: Universal/Polydor Deluxe Edition. Originally released in 1968 as King LP 1022.

Junior Kimbrough and the Soul Blues Boys

2008-04-21T14:08:00.000-07:00

Album: Sad Days, Lonely Nights
Format: LP
Label/Info: Fat Possum (also available on CD).

Talk about some hypnotic hill-country groove. Recorded live at Kimbrough's juke joint in Chulahoma, MS, in 1993. Produced by writer/music critic Robert Palmer.

Wilson Pickett

2008-04-07T11:58:00.001-07:00

Album: The Exciting Wilson Pickett
Format: LP
Label/Info: 4 Men With Beards - 180 Gram Reissue; originally released in 1966 as Atlantic 8129 (SD 8129, stereo).

The Stooges

2008-04-07T11:48:00.000-07:00

Album: The Stooges
Format: LP
Label/Info: Sundazed Vinyl Reissue (5149). This is their first album for Elektra - produced by John Cale. Released in 1969.

Alice Coltrane

2008-04-04T11:09:00.001-07:00

Album: Ptah, the El Daoud
Format: CD
Label/Info: 1996 Impulse Remaster
(20 Bit). Vinyl copies are out there, but can be quite expensive.

Muddy Waters

2008-04-04T08:39:00.000-07:00

Album: The Best of Muddy Waters
Format: LP
Label/Info: MCA/Chess Vinyl Reissue; also 180 Gram Speakers Corner Reissue. (I don't normally recommend "Best of"s, but this is an essential collection of early singles.) Recorded between 1948-1954.

Chuck Berry

2008-04-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

Album: After School Session
Format: CD
Label/Info: 2004 Geffen Remaster; originally released in 1957 as Chess LP 1426.

Favorite cut: "Drifting Heart"

Sun Ra and the Arkestra

2008-04-04T07:59:00.000-07:00

Album: Super-Sonic Jazz
Format: LP or CD
Label/Info: 180 Gram Saturn Vinyl Reissue (left) and Evidence CD 22015 (bottom left). Also released in 1973 as Super-Sonic Sounds, Impulse AS-9271 (bottom right). Originally recorded in 1956.
Favorite cut: "Kingdom of Not"

Mahalia Jackson

2008-03-29T17:02:00.000-07:00

Album: The World's Greatest Gospel Singer
Format: LP
Label/Info: 1955 Columbia CL 644 ("6-eye" LP, her first for the label. Inexpensive copies can be found at GEMM.)

Ms. Jackson says in the liner notes that she doesn't do blues records. Somebody should have told the session's guitarist.

Pete La Roca

2008-03-25T19:01:00.000-07:00

Album: Basra
Format: LP
Label/Info: Blue Note Vinyl Reissue

Favorite cut: "Basra" - A one-chord ride up the Tigris and back down the Euphrates.

Andrew Hill

2008-03-25T17:06:00.000-07:00

Album: Grass Roots
Format: CD
Label/Info: Blue Note Connoisseur Series

There are more critically-acclaimed Hill records, but I come back to these 1968 sessions again and again.

Otis Redding

2008-03-25T07:40:00.001-07:00

Album: The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads
Format: LP
Label/Info: 4 Men With Beards - 180 Gram Reissue

Favorite cut: "Nothing Can Change This Love"

John Cale

2008-03-25T07:38:00.001-07:00

Album: Paris 1919
Format: LP
Label/Info: 4 Men With Beards - 180 Gram Reissue

Favorite cut: "Paris 1919" - In the aftermath of the war to end all wars, a pop song about chasing illusions.

George Jones

2008-03-25T07:28:00.001-07:00

Album: Trouble in Mind
Format: LP
Label/Info: 1965 United Artists
UA-3408/UAS-6408 (stereo)
Never released on CD, but turns up in thift stores and flea markets from time to time.

The Feelies

2008-03-25T07:15:00.001-07:00

Album: Crazy Rhythms
This album holds up in memory only, since I no longer own this record and haven't heard it in 20 years. It's currently unavailable (a shame), and used copies can be expensive.

Al Green

2008-03-21T13:50:00.000-07:00

Album: Gets Next To You
Format: LP
Label/Info: Get Back Reissue

Joseph Spence

2008-03-21T07:48:00.000-07:00

Album: Good Morning Mr. Walker
Format: CD or LP
Label/Info: Arhoolie CD contains bonus tracks. Originally released as Arhoolie LP in 1972.

Gang of Four

2008-03-20T15:27:00.000-07:00

Album: Entertainment!
Format: LP
Label/Info: Rhino 180 Gram Reissue

Buddy Holly

2008-03-20T15:26:00.000-07:00

Album: Buddy Holly
Format: LP
Label/Info: MCA Heavy Vinyl remastered from original analog tapes

Tina Brooks

2008-03-20T15:25:00.000-07:00

Album: True Blue
Format: LP
Label/Info: Blue Note Vinyl Reissue

Thelonious Monk

2008-03-20T15:22:00.000-07:00

Album: Monk's Music
Format: CD
Label/Info: Riverside 2004 Hybrid SACD

Blind Willie McTell

2008-03-20T14:16:00.001-07:00

Album: Pig 'n Whistle Red
Format: CD
Label/Info: Biograph 2003 Remaster.
1950 recordings featuring Curley Weaver

Skip James

2008-03-20T14:15:00.000-07:00

Album: Complete Early Recordings of
( -1930)
Format: CD
Label/Info: Yazoo Compilation

Sandy Bull (with Billy Higgins)

2008-03-20T14:14:00.000-07:00

Album: Fantasias for Guitar and Banjo
Format: LP
Label/Info: Vanguard

Julius Hemphill

2008-03-20T14:13:00.000-07:00

Album: Reflections (released on LP as 'Coon Bid'ness - Arista/Freedom 1012)
Format: CD
Label/Info: Freedom

Favorite cut: "Hard Blues"

Alexander "Skip" Spence

2008-03-20T13:54:00.002-07:00

Album: Oar
Format: LP
Label/Info: Sundazed Vinyl Reissue

Favorite cut: "War In Peace"

Bob Dylan

2008-03-20T13:54:00.001-07:00

Album: New Morning
Format: LP
(Note: the "Nice Price" CD sounds terrible)
Label/Info: 1970 Columbia; also 2001 Simply Vinyl Reissue

The Kinks

2008-03-20T13:53:00.002-07:00

Album: Muswell Hillbillies
Format: CD
Label/Info: Konk/KOCH SACD Hybrid

Television

2008-03-20T13:53:00.001-07:00

Album: Marquee Moon
Format: LP
Label/Info: Elektra (also 4 Men With Beards 180 Gram Reissue)

Probably my favorite rock album of all time. Never grows old.

Tony Williams

2008-03-20T13:52:00.001-07:00

Album: Life Time
Format: CD
Label/Info: Blue Note 1999 Remaster - Rudy Van Gelder Edition

Jackie McLean

2008-03-20T13:51:00.004-07:00

Album: Jacknife
Format: CD
Label/Info: Blue Note

Donny Hathaway

2008-03-20T13:51:00.003-07:00

Album: Live
Format: LP
Label/Info: 1972 Atlantic/Atco

Ornette Coleman Trio

2008-03-20T13:51:00.001-07:00

Album: At the "Golden Circle" Stockholm, Volume One
Format: CD
Label/Info: Blue Note 2002 Remaster - Rudy Van Gelder Edition

Sly and the Family Stone

2008-03-20T13:50:00.001-07:00

Album: Fresh
Format: CD
Label/Info: 2007 Sony Remaster w/Bonus Tracks

John Fahey

2008-03-20T13:48:00.002-07:00

Album: The Dance of Death & Other Plantation Favorites
Format: CD
Label/Info: Takoma

Blind Willie Johnson

2008-03-20T13:48:00.001-07:00

Title: Dark Was the Night
Format: CD
Label/Info: Sony Compilation

Various Artists

2008-03-20T13:43:00.000-07:00

Title: American Primitive II
Format: CD
Label: Revenant

Ray Bryant Trio

2008-03-20T12:57:00.000-07:00

Album: All Blues
Format: LP
Label/Info: Pablo 2310-820

Al Green

2008-03-19T08:07:00.000-07:00

Album: Call Me
Format: LP
Label/Info: Hi 1973 (original); also 2005 Get Back Vinyl Reissue

Bob Dylan

2008-03-16T15:23:00.000-07:00

Album: Highway 61 Revisited
Format: CD
Label/Info: Sony 2003 Hybrid SACD

Lee Morgan

2008-03-16T13:51:00.000-07:00

Album: Sidewinder
Format: LP
Label/Info: Blue Note Vinyl Reissue - 180 Gram Audiophile Pressing
(1999 Rudy Van Gelder Edition on CD is a fine substitution.)

Favorite cut: Totem Pole