Presented by the UK’s National Jazz Federation, this is a live recording of three sets by some of the UK’s up & coming jazz modernists. Recorded in concert on October 30, 1954 at the Royal Festival Hall in London, the night was unprecendented in holding a festival of jazz in one of London’s Royal Festival [...]
Here’s an under the radar femme folk lp worth tracking down. This was released in 1977 on Rotary records. At the time of the recording, Muriel was only 16 years old. Which is hard to believe since the guitar playing on this is just top notch. About half of the record features sublime instrumental cuts, [...]
Another Crown atrocity that plays like total rubbish. This would actually be not a bad album of flamenco guitar. The guitarist Jose Barroso is really quite good although he only took up the guitar aged 39 & this album of Laurindo Almeida tunes is quite appealing if you are into that sort of thing. Everyone [...]
Bing Crosby drops acid and wakes up in a ditch outside an ashram with a long unkept beard and a clear plastic bag holding his personal belongings. Confused, blinking against the desert sun, he senses that he must keep on seeking. Walking down the empty road, he comes upon a Stranger. The Stranger speaks of [...]
OK, I was just telling a friend that I was going to stop reviewing crappy records on the site… and I genuinely mean it… so help me god I do. Then I log in tonight and see all the dumb shit I have cued up. They’ve been sitting here for months – a small voice [...]
 This album would be a perfectly OK record of mambos & cha chas but for one thing. It was released on Crown, yuck. As is reasonably common knowledge, most of Crown’s records sounded G+ to VG- even before they had been played, their pressings are that low quality. This album is no different unfortunately, looks [...]
You see this cover and it screams private psychedelic folk grail. Look at the naked man playing the guitar, sitting on top of the world and holding a dove. Beautiful. And that is exactly what this album is. However, it is not psychedelic folk. It does have a few CSNY moves, and even a really [...]
This LP was released in the late 1960s as a promotional album for Fanta soft drink here in New Zealand. I picked it up for a few cents at a thrift store a couple of years ago because one of the guys I work with (Wayne Senior) is listed as having produced/arranged/sang on it. I [...]
I found this record in a vault at a very old brewery where I used to work. The jacket appears to be handmade – a plain white gatefold with decals applied. Dig this crazy copy: “Throughout 1968, think COLD… Nothing has been spared to provide you with the advertising muscle needed to carry the fight [...]
One of those frustrating LPs where the music can never live up to the awesome cover art. The Simple Image were a band from Wellington, New Zealand that formed in the mid 60s. This album is their debut from ’68 and the title track was a local number one single. There were a couple other [...]
Better known for chasing semi-nude women around on speeded-up film, and slapping the little bald fella on the head, much-maligned Brit comedian Benny Hill did this LP of comedy songs for Pye in 1965. Thrill * at his extraordinary takes on The Rolling Stones, Sonny & Cher, and Bob Dylan …
The Avengers were a local New Zealand pop band of the late 60s. This was their first LP & was released in 1967. They came from Wellington & had the good fortune to hook up with US hippie hitch-hiker Chris Malcolm who went on to write over half of the songs on this record, playing [...]
Probably the best known Folkways box sets around. These are really an outstanding overview of all genres of american folk music. It goes without saying that as usual with Folkways you get a highly informative booklet to accompany each volume. If you don’t have these you just aren’t folk music and could be a poser.
Another Folkways box along the lines of the excellent “Anthologies” LPs. This double LP box dates from 1959 and focuses on field recordings from all genres of american folk music. The comprehensive liner note booklet (including lyrics) is written by Charles Edward Smith and the songs were compiled by Harold Courlander. One of several Folkways [...]
A live recording on Vanguard of a night of performances from the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. It sounds as though it is from the early-mid 50s. I don’t remember where I got this LP from, but it is a UK press. Liner notes are by Langston Hughes. The artists featured are the Apollo Band Of [...]
This was another one of those book fair “the records are only 10 cents & this looks interesting even though I have never heard of it before, so why not” purchases (actually the same fair as the Pete Seeger instructional LP I posted here previously). I assume it is a local white label promo or [...]
What side you on?
It is very hard to know where to begin trying to explain Konrad, so I’ll start from the very beginning. He was pointing at me as I opened a package of records I received via a Waxidermy holiday swap about two days before this last Christmas. I recall thinking at first glance that this looked [...]