The Everly Brothers -
The Complete Cadence Recordings
1957-1960
On Varese Vintage
APPLESEED RECORDS -
The
voice of Roger McGuinn filled the AM radio waves when The Byrds took
flight with their huge 1965 hit "Mr. Tambourine Man". Throughout
the ‘60s and much of the ‘70s Byrds’ albums and the group’s
overall influence on a whole generation of musicians and music fans was
huge and, while the group broke up in the early ‘70s, their legacy
remains as strong as ever. McGuinn went on to various solo projects in the
ensuing years including his incredible ‘91 solo album classic Back
From Rio and Live From Mars, released
in ‘96. With the advent of the internet, McGuinn began recording a
number of traditional folk gems for his online site www.folkden.com. It’s
taken a while, but Roger has finally released his first official solo
album in quite some time appropriately entitled Treasures From The
Folk Den on PA.-based Appleseed Records. A veritable
treasure chest of newly interpreted folk music classics by McGuinn, Treasures
From The Folk Den features the music icon singing up a storm assisted
here by folk music greats like Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Odetta
and Judy Collins. While long time Byrds fans may still be
longing for that long overdue (and eagerly awaited) rock album from
McGuinn, Treasures From The Folk Den offers a most penetrating
return to form from the rock legend. McGuinn’s reverence for these
traditional folk gems is quite profound while the CD booklet is filled
with a wealth of information, lyrics, photos and lengthy liner notes by
the man himself. Another recent release on Appleseed worth checking out is
If I Had A Hammer: The Songs Of Pete Seeger Vol. 2. The
living embodiment of folk music for much of the 20th Century, Pete Seeger
is given the ultimate tribute by his peers on the 16 track If I Had A
Hammer. Numerous artists lend their support including Jackson
Browne, Joan Baez, Billy Bragg, Arlo Guthrie and Eric
Anderson to name just a few. Seeger himself joins in with many of
these artists on various tracks here, making the CD a living, breathing
tribute to the distinguished king of American Folk music. www.appleseedrec.com
BIG OAK RECORDS - Following
up his 1999 solo album Tulsa, Oklahoma-based rocker Dwight
Twilley recently released his 2001 CD, The Luck on his newly
established Big Oak label. Produced by long-time Twilley cohort Richie
Podolor, songs on The Luck actually date back to the mid
‘90s, although the album was never released. Now in the middle of 2001,
Twilley has finally reconditioned The Luck and has released the
album with a whole new lineup of tracks. For those unfamiliar with Twilley,
a close sound comparison would be Tom Petty, and in fact Petty
himself appears here (on backing vocals) along with other top players like
guitarists John Duva, Danny Johnson, Paul Frank and
drummer Bernie Pershey. Filled with 16 tracks of pure power pop and
American roots-rock energy, The Luck is a true windfall for Twilley’s
many fans. www.dwighttwilley.com
BUDDHA RECORDS - NYC-based
Buddha Records continues to be a most effective reissue arm of the
mighty BMG Music. In addition to reissuing a variety of CDs from
the back catalog of the original Buddah Records from the ‘60s and
‘70s, Buddha has also been busy reviving a variety of CDs from RCA
Records artists such as The Guess Who. The most recent Guess
Who reissue CDs on Buddha include the group’s early CD Canned
Wheat (from 1969 - with "Undun" and
"Laughing") and Share The Land (1970).
A very popular folk-pop group from the original Buddah Records days
(before the name was officially changed to Buddha), Brewer &
Shipley are paid tribute with their first ever Stateside retrospective
entitled One Toke Over The Line - The Best Of Brewer & Shipley.
In addition to featuring their all time classic "One Toke Over
The Line (Sweet Jesus)", the 2001 B&S Best Of compiles 13
other tracks taken off the group’s four albums on the original Buddah’s
sister label Kama Sutra Records. A noteworthy act from the heyday
of early ‘70s FM radio, Brewer & Shipley always spotlighted a number
of fine players on their albums and featured on One Toke are
erstwhile legends like Jerry Garcia, Mike Bloomfield and
keyboardist Nicky Hopkins. In addition to a fine selection of radio
friendly classics, Brewer & Shipley’s Best Of is rounded out
by revealing liner notes from Mitch Jayne (former member of The
Dillards). Another new line of CDs on Buddha Records that should be of
interest to ‘60s pop music collectors is their new Entertainment
Weekly - The Greatest Hits series. The series spans the years
1965-1993 with each CD featuring a dozen chart toppers. The first five
titles 1965-1969 were recently issued and highlights include tracks by Sam
The Sham & The Pharaohs, James Brown, The Lovin Spoonful
and The Temptations (on the best of 1965 CD) with The Beach
Boys, The Monkees, The Hollies and others featured
on the Best Of 1966 disc. Other artists appearing on the first five
releases include The Jefferson Airplane, The Buckinghams, Tommy
James & The Shondells, Harry Nilsson, Dusty Springfield,
The Guess Who along with numerous other chart-topping artists from
the heyday of the mid to late ‘60s. Each CD features that unmistakable
Entertainment Weekly logo while the CD booklets add in key facts relating
to each artist. www.BuddhaRecords.com
/ www.ew.com
DREN RECORDS - Back
in the mid ‘60s he co-founded The Monkees, wrote the hit single
"Different Drum" for Linda Ronstadt and also recorded an array
of critically acclaimed country-rock solo albums. Despite these history
making achievements, singer-songwriter and pop music visionary Mike
Nesmith has never really gotten his just recognition. Now, Washington,
DC-based Dren Records attempts to set that record straight with the
release of Papa Nez: A Loose Salute To The Work Of Michael Nesmith.
The 20 track Papa Nez tribute CD features a assortment of
relatively unknown pop artists and groups who clearly have a high regard
for Nesmith’s songs within and without the Monkees. Among the many
highpoints are the lead off "You Told Me" (from Buddy
Woodward), "Sweet Young Thing" from the enormously talented Western
Electric featuring Sid Griffin and "You Just May Be The
One" by guitar wiz John Jorgenson. The brilliance of Nesmith’s
music provides the perfect incentive for these aspiring artists to really
rise to the occasion. The eye-catching CD booklet, which delves deep into
the Nesmith resume, offers detailed track data along with informative
liner notes by Western Electric singer-guitarist Sid Griffin. www.drenrecords.com
LEON RUSSELL RECORDS - Singer-songwriter
and multi-instrumentalist Leon Russell remains of the most
significant musicians of the past fifty years. Russell’s work as a crack
studio musician during most of the ‘60s as well as his early ‘70s work
with Joe Cocker and George Harrison is legendary. Russell recently kicked
off the Fall 2001 release schedule of his own Leon Russell Records.
Among the first CD titles is Leon ‘s latest album Signature Songs
which features new Russell versions of his most popular songs. In Russell’s
own words, "Signature Songs is an answer to the many requests
from fans for an unplugged release of some of my hits, and I thought it
would be interesting to change some of the arrangements slightly so they
could hear the songs a bit differently. I really enjoyed making this
CD." Featuring revived versions of classics like "A Song For
You", "Back To The Island" and "Delta Lady", Signature
Songs will be released at the same time as two out of print Russell
classics, Guitar Blues (from ‘95 featuring Leon’s son Teddy
Jack Bridges) and 1999’s Face In The Crowd.
Also just out on Leon Russell Records is the new self-titled album
from jazz vocalist Connye Florance and a new all instrumental disc
from jazz guitarist Mike Gallaher entitled Blue Paradise.
Gallaher’s been compared to guitar greats like Eric Johnson and
Johnny Winter and on Blue Paradise he’s joined by fine players
like Dennis Chambers (drums) and Vic Wooten (bass). Russell
admits to having signed both Florance and Gallaher "because of their
immense talent" adding, "we have many other acts on the label
that are very talented and will be given the opportunity to bring their
talent to the surface shortly." With the label ready to roll out many
more new and reissue titles, the future looks bright for Leon’s many
fans. www.LeonRussellRecords.com
LION RECORDS - Finland-based
Lion Music made quite a few people happy with their 2001 double
disc tribute to fallen guitar hero Jason Becker entitled Warmth
In The Wilderness. High on the list of other recent titles
on Lion is the latest CD from guitarist Chris Steberl and his
group, Project: Alcazar entitled Reasons For A Decade.
Joined by John Homan on drums, Steberl cuts loose with a
scintillating set of instrumental rockers that merge the spirit of heavy
metal and classical music. Steberl give the metal edge treatment to
classical favorites from symphonic masters like Mussorgsky, Mozart and
Vivaldi. Tracks like "Night On Bald Mountain" and Mozart’s
"25th Symphony In G minor" absolutely smoke and lay to rest any
notions that classical and hard rock can’t be synchronized. Relief from
the (at times) overwhelming sonic onslaught arrives with the CD closer
"Silk ‘n Honey", a frisky instro displaying Steberl’s
approach to melodic guitar invention. Other highlights include the
tastefully atmospheric "Sahara Skies" and "Neptune
Island", a track on which Steberl echoes the spirit of Steve Howe’s
work in Yes. Steberl’s been compared to Yngwie Malmsteen, Eddie Van
Halen, Eric Johnson, Jason Becker and Al DiMeola, yet after hearing
Project: Alcazar’s Reasons For A Decade it’s clear he’s well
on the way to carving out a unique niche for himself. www.lionmusic.com
MUSIC VIDEO DISTRIBUTORS
- The authorized
video biography of two authentic American music heroes, The Outlaws
examines the life and times of both Willie Nelson and Waylon
Jennings. The first half of this superbly filmed and produced two hour
DVD on Music Video Distributors features Willie Nelson speaking
about his colorful life in song and words layered with praiseworthy
interview footage from country music icons like Chet Atkins, Ray Charles,
Johnny Cash and others. Related through archival performance footage,
photos, TV shows and film clips, The Outlaws provides an
eye-opening history lesson about one of America’s underrated country
music heroes. The same could be said about the second half of The
Outlaws DVD, which goes on to probe the history of Waylon
Jennings. From his early years performing with rock legend Buddy Holly, The
Outlaws moves on to feature Waylon performing various songs meshed
with associated archival interviews with Kris Kristofferson, Hank Williams
Jr. and Herb Alpert. Released by the DVD specialists at Pennsylvania-based
Music Video Distributors, The Outlaws is a superb sounding,
entertaining musical biography of two of America’s greatest country
music superstars.
Devotees of classic ‘70s
prog-rock and hard rock should check out several new DVDs from Music Video
Distributors. The Oaks, PA.-based distribution company has a pair of new
DVDs from on again off again Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman. Recorded
live on February 4, ‘75 in Australia is the DVD recreation spectacular
of Wakeman’s fabled solo album Journey To The Center Of The Earth.
Out on tour promoting his highly successful Journey Lp back
then, Wakeman and company, including the Melbourne Philharmonic
Orchestra, perform the entire Journey magnum opus topped off by
other Wakeman favorites from his all time classic The Six Wives Of
Henry VIII and King Arthur And The Knights Of The
Round Table. Interestingly, MVD’s Journey To
The Center Of The Earth DVD is actually two disc set, one half being
the video DVD and another a dolby digital audio CD of the entire show. A
new Rick Wakeman DVD/CD combo package on MVD is Rick Wakeman - The
Legend Live In Concert 2000. Like Journey To The Center
Of The Earth, Wakeman’s Live In Concert 2000 features a DVD
and a matching audio CD of the entire show. Wakeman’s superbly recorded Live
In Concert finds the pianist in a rather wistful mood, serving up
splendid solo keyboard instrumental versions of his many great tunes.
Leading off with his magnificent version of "Pacobel...Canon In
D", the enchanting double disc set samples other Wakeman classics
like Rick’s cover of The Beatles’ "Help/Eleanor
Rigby". The overall sound and vision is impeccable and offers more
proof of Wakeman’s status as one of the great classical rock
keyboardists of the modern rock era. Another recent DVD on MVD sure to
create interest with rock fans is Deep Purple - New, Live & Rare
- The Video Collection: 1984-2000. The 24 track DVD
features key Deep Purple tracks like "Hush",
"Fireball" and "Smoke On The Water" as performed by
the most recent incarnation of the band with guitarist Steve Morse.
Clocking at over 3 hours, Deep Purple’s New, Live & Rare is
topped off by studio footage of the group from 1990. www.musicvideodistributors.com
REPRISE RECORDS - In
the words of Air Supply founder/guitarist Graham Russell,
"It wasn’t always fashionable to sing our kind of music, but we’ve
always stuck to our guns, and, I think, maintained our integrity." In
the spirit of classic U.S. pop groups like Chicago, Bread and even later
period Beach Boys, Utah-based Air Supply have crafted a pop album of
polished beauty and grace with Yours Truly. The group’s new album
on Reprise Records features a stack of moving torch songs, most
obviously the album starter "Who Am I", a song layered with
dramatic string arrangements, complex harmonies and intimate lyrics.
Graham Russell and Air Supply co-founder, vocalist Russell Hitchcock,
are joined by number of seasoned players on their latest pop extravaganza.
Certain to enchant long time Air Supply fans and bring in new admirers, Yours
Truly is overflowing with musical compassion for these trying times. www.airsupplymusic.com
RHINO RECORDS - It’s
often been touted just how important the guitar work of Eric Clapton,
Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page were to The Yardbirds during
their brief tenure as one the ‘60s most prominent U.K. rock groups. As
wonderful as Eric, Jeff and Jimmy were in the group, the key to The
Yardbirds greatness was always the band’s catchy songs and the unique
musical chemistry created by the band’s lynchpin members - singer Keith
Relf, bassist Paul Samwell-Smith, rhythm guitarist Chris
Dreja and drummer Jim McCarty. From their early years with
Clapper as a trendsetting blues-rock band to their extensive forays into
Top 40 pop and soulful psychedelia, The Yardbirds were often one step
ahead of everyone else. That fact in itself was sadly to become
significant in the eventual demise of the group. While Clapton, Page and
Beck all went on to become way too trendy for their own good, sadly Keith
Relf, who after forming the art-rock legend Renaissance, died in
the mid ‘70s under some quite clouded circumstances. All things
considered, The Yardbirds left us a legacy of immense proportions. The
group’s new 52 track, double disc The Yardbirds Ultimate! collection
on Rhino Records takes the entire Yardbirds’ history into
account, and with it’s very impressive 54 page color booklet, yields
some penetrating results. www.rhino.com
SANCTUARY RECORDS - Since
U.K.-based Sanctuary Records joined forces with Carolina-based CMC
Records they’ve been coordinating a number of new and reissue
releases. Reissuing well layed out versions of all those great early
albums from The Kinks CDs here in the U.S. is a great idea. One
Sanctuary title released over there in London town that might never see a
U.S. release is the the double disc compilation spotlight on the 1980’s
group The Jetset entitled Jetsetmania - The Ultimate
Collection. The 49 tracks here are taken from a number of
The Jetset’s U.K. albums including tracks from their art-pop classic Vaudeville
Park. On the group’s more developed, later-period songs,
as witnessed upon repeat playings of disc 2, the group sounds like Ray
Davies meets The Monkees meets The Cowsills. Very ‘60s pop sounding even
though the songs were made in the mid to late ‘80s! The good old ‘80s...
For collectors of vintage ‘60s music, Jetsetmania will be a real
treat. It comes with an amazing packaging complete with rare photos and
incredibly well layed out multi-panel four color CD booklet. For
collectors of this sort of stuff (attention fans of The Rutles and various
‘60s pop-lite) it doesn’t get any better than Jetsetmania. www.sanctuaryrecordsgroup.com
VARESE VINTAGE - Few
labels can match the quality and overall sheer amount of reissues coming
from California-based Varese Vintage and their parent company Varese
Sarabande. Some recent CD titles on Varese include three CDs that more
or less defined the psychedelic pop sound of Boston during the the late
‘60s. Included are Orpheus - Very Best Of Orpheus, Ultimate
Spinach - Very Best Of Ultimate Spinach (first ever U.S. CD
reissue filled with Baroque pop, sitars and hard rock) and the Various
Artists collection Best Of The Boston Sound with tracks
by Orpheus, Ultimate Spinach, Beacon Street Union, Puff, Eden’s
Children and more. Another ‘60s pop hero given the Varese reissue
treatment is Norman Greenbaum with a reissue of his Reprise
album Spirit In The Sky. The 17 track disc features
the single version of the classic 1970 title track (with an unreleased
demo version of "Spirit In The Sky") along with a number of Norm’s
follow-up Reprise singles. Varese also recently reissued a comprehensive
double disc set from The Everly Brothers entitled The Everly
Brothers - The Complete Cadence Recordings 1957-1960.
The double disc Everly’s set features all their huge Cadence Records
hits like "Bye Bye Love", "Wake Up Little Susie" along
with 45 others. An essential release for Beatles fans on Varese is Beatles
Classics by ‘60s easy listening band leader Enoch Light.
This Varese collection features 15 Beatles covers culled from four
different Enoch Light albums including his ‘74 Beatles Classics
Lp. Also recent on Varese is the latest release CD from pop pundit Kyle
Vincent entitled Wow & Flutter. The follow up
to his last self-titled CD, Vincent’s latest should hit the spot with
fans of power-pop and pop-rock worldwide. More on the many fine reissues
from Varese soon. www.varesesarabande.com
STEEL GUITAR NEWS - The
Steel Guitar is to American music what Bagpipes are to Scottish music or
what the Koto is to Japanese music. It’s been used by Country Music
artists for years to season their sound and it’s also a favorite among
Hawaiian musicians and progressive U.K. guitar greats like Steve Howe and
B.J. Cole. Many of America’s leading steel guitarists continue to go
unheralded, yet they also continue to release excellent new and reissue
albums. Among the finest instrumental pedal steel CDs released in the past
year is Finally Here (on Steel Guitar Forum Records)
from PA.-based Jim Cohen. A long time pedal steel
enthusiast and the leader of Philadelphia’s premier Western Swing band, Beats
Walkin’, Cohen has arranged a number of jazz and pop standards for
his debut solo CD including new covers of the A.C. Jobim classic
"Desifinado", the Max Steiner classic "Tara’s
Theme" (a/k/a "Gone With The Wind") and a sterling cover of
"Our Day Will Come", the early ‘60s Top 40 hit from Ruby
& The Romantics. Superbly produced by Dan Kleiman and
featuring Cohen supported by a solid crew, Finally Here is
certainly one of the best new steel guitar albums of 2000. www.jimcohen.com
Also among the best of
the latest round of steel guitar CDs is In Time from
Missouri-based Tom Brumley. One of the top steel players still on
the scene, Brumley secured his reputation playing on numerous recordings
with Buck Owens and Rick Nelson (he was on Nelson’s big country rock
smash "Garden Party"). Brumley’s approach to instrumental
steel guitar-based sounds is, in a word, impeccable. Self produced and
mostly composed by Brumley, In Time is high on melody and also
features classic Brumley versions of the Santo & Johnny
favorite "Sleepwalk" topped off by a rousing cover of
"Hawaiian Wedding Song". Recorded and mixed in Nashville, In
Time spotlights a number of fine players including guitarists Steve
Wariner and Ray Flacke. contact: brumshow@msn.com
Recorded in Brooklyn,
N.Y. The Word is a project inspired by bluesy style
of Gospel influenced Church music played on the pedal steel guitar. The
Word (on Ropeadope / Atlantic) is an all instrumental
effort featuring noted instrumentalists John Medeski, the North
Mississippi All Stars (featuring guitarist Luther Dickinson)
and N.J.-based pedal steel prodigy Robert Randolph. Between them,
the group merge Southern country roots music, Gospel and even Booker T.
style blusey R&B. The guitar work of Randolph and Dickinson really
gets the sound hot and heavy, all topped off by some fine playing from Chris
Chew (bass) and Cody Dickinson (drums, while pedal steel fans
will be mighty impressed with the performance of young Randolph. Anyone
seeking out sublime country style pedal twang pickings will be quite
surprised by the melting pot of rockin’ sounds stirred up here. www.whatistheword.com
/ www.ropeadope.com
Up there on the list of
fabulous new instrumental steel guitar albums is the latest from steel
guitar great Doug Jernigan entitled Jazz By Jernigan.
Long a favorite among pedal steel fans in the know, Doug’s
new album swings out with instro covers of jazz classics like "Lime
House Blues", Charlie Parker’s "Dexterity" and George
Shearing’s "Lullaby Of Birdland". Also featuring top
players like Greg Cole (drums/engineer) and guitarists Van
Manacas and Gary Adams, Jazz By Jernigan is a breezy
delight from start to finish. www.digndoug.com
A Steel Guitar Hall Of
Fame member still ridin’ the range is Tennessee-based Hal Rugg who
recently released two instrumental albums Finally! and Slidin’
For Scale. Breaking onto the steel guitar scene back in
Arizona during the ‘50s, Rugg got his first big break in ‘63 as the
steel guitarist with George Jones, later going on to work with guitar
great Roy Clark and even pop singer Gene Pitney. Both Finally! and Slidin’
For Scale are splendid instrumental steel guitar-based efforts,
layered with just the right amount of country twang and easy listening
grooves. Both also feature top players including Ray VonRotz (drums)
and guitarist Roddy Smith. www.halrugg.com
Burnin’ Ernie Hagar
is back in the limelight with a fine steel guitar reissue CD. Man Of
Steel (on Ambiance Records) feature 20 steel
guitar-based tracks Hagar recorded back in the ‘60s and ‘70s including
his ‘70s album Steel Guitar Odyssey along with various 45’s
and album cuts released in the ‘60s on Sage & Sand Records. The
twenty track Man Of Steel is proof of Hagar’s legacy and finds
the ‘man of steel' supported by various musicians including guitarist Jimmy
Wright, to whom Hagar dedicates this Man Of Steel collection.
In addition to period piece photos of Hagar, Man Of Steel features
extensive liner notes including new liner notes from Hagar. www.ambiancerecords.com
/ or contact Ernie at: ehhww@hotmail.com
Finally for steel guitar
purists there’s 50 Years Of Legendary Steel Guitar (on CPR
Records) from Don Helms. An audio documentary of
Helms’ long career as a steel guitar hero, 50 Years goes back to
tracks that Helms composed and recorded in 1953 with guitar great Chet
Atkins. Don made his name performing and recording with greats like
Hank Williams, Ray Price and Patsy Cline and 50 Years Of Legendary
Steel Guitar provides a vital introduction to the Helms legend.
Also included are new 1999 renditions of several songs Helms recorded with
the late great Hank Williams including "I’m So
Lonesome" and "Mansion On The Hill". Track 12, "Don
Helms The Man", finds Helms reminiscing about his life and his golden
years with Williams and the rest as they say...is history. contact: Mbpmusicly@aol.com
For an amazing cross-section of steel guitar albums, from yesterday and
today check out: www.scottysmusic.com
and www.steelguitarforum.com
or call 888-355-4103
