Monday, January 23, 2012

Salome No Kutibiru (2010) -Koi To Ai Torenai Ni Tsuite



Artist: Salome No Kutibiru
Album: Koi To Ai Torenai Ni Tsuite
Released: 2010
Quality: mp3 CBR 320
Size: 112 MB

”…As we inch towards the 50th anniversary (yep, that's one half century) of the Beatles' appearing on Ed Sullivan, the moment when (musically, anyway) the 60s well and truly kicked into high gear, there's still a profound fascination with hippies, psychedelic music, pop art, etc. that far surpasses nostalgia for any other time period. I suppose you could blame the demographic bulge of the Baby Boomers, and their neverending appetite for reissues, reassessments, and general nostalgia for a time when people might actually have wanted to see them run naked through a field. Still doesn't explain the fixation the Japanese underground has on the period, though: Group Sounds (i.e. GS) has what amounts to a minor religion going in the clubs and record stores of Tokyoland.

GS wasn't just a Merseybeat rip, though. It quickly flowered into a strong scene that took clear inspiration from the West, but wasted no time in creating its own distinct personality in terms of scene culture (even if seemingly every record from the time period had a Beatles cover.) Enter Salome No Kuchibiru (i.e. Salome's Lips,) a 60s "copy band" if there ever was one. Led by multi instrumentalist Satoshi Mizuno and the unsettlingly flawless vocalist Kyoko Tachibana (seriously, the picture on the band's site doesn't convey…live, she looks like an animated doll,) they're simultaneously pure pastiche and weirdly original, much like GS itself. They even have go go dancers.”
~FULL REVIEW









Sunday, January 22, 2012

Winifred Atwell (2005) -Double 7



Artist: Winifred Atwell
Album: Double 7
Released: 2005
Quality: mp3 CBR 320
Size: 140 MB

Winifred Atwell was an accomplished and versatile pianist who was idolised by the British public throughout the 1950s. She had studied the piano since she had been a small child although she later became trained as a dispenser in the expectation that she would be employed in her father's pharmacist shop. By the age of 30 she became aware that other local musicians had gained further musical training abroad and, encouraged by this, in 1945 she left for the USA.

By the late 1940s she had gained a place at London's Royal Academy of Music with ambitions of becoming a concert pianist. However, in order to finance this initiative she worked during the evenings at London's clubs playing piano rags. By 1950 her popularity had spread nationally and she began recording with Decca during 1951- before the advent of any record sales 'chart'.

Her music also worked well on TV where she made regular appearances. She would normally start her act by playing a classical piece on a grand before transferring herself to what she called 'my other piano' which was an old 'honky tonk' upright. It was on this that she recorded many of her most successful numbers including her two #1's and the now legendary 'Black And White Rag' which has been used as the signature tune of BBC's 'Pot Black' snooker programme for several decades.







Monday, January 16, 2012

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Various Artists -The Ace Story Vol.1-Vol.3



Artist: various
Album: The Ace Story Vol.1 – Vol.3
Released: 2010 / 2011
Quality: mp3 CBR 320 / 192
Size: 145 / 125 / 73 MB


”A little over 30 years ago, the R&B and rock’n’roll loving directorate of Chiswick Records decided that it might be fun to start a sister label, which did for the recordings of what was then a mere 20 years previously what Chiswick was doing for the more current stuff. Chiswick itself had sprung from small beginnings involving two men with a market stall full of golden oldies both common and rare, so this was not something that surprised too many people who witnessed the birth of this new reissue label – which shared the name of one of the most famous imprints in rock’n’roll/R&B history and which, in 2010, still goes by the name of Ace Records.

The American Ace label, run out of Jackson Mississippi by shrewd record man Johnny Vincent, was a veritable sweet shop of great 50s and early 60s music. Ted Carroll and Roger Armstrong had been selling vast quantities of original Ace 45s on the Rock On stall, and when Ted broached the prospect of licensing some Ace masters for UK issue/reissue with Johnny Vincent, he not only said yes but gave Ted his blessing to use the Ace name as an outlet for these, and other, reissues. Thus it was that UK Ace was able to successfully mine Vincent’s trove of musical treasures and that Ted, Roger and expert Ray Topping were able to compile – among other things – five fabulous volumes of “The Ace Story”.

These original albums stayed in catalogue for years, until the deal ran out and Vincent decided to take his catalogue elsewhere. Of all the old vinyl UK Ace albums, they are among the most asked-for on CD by those who bought them decades ago and want to indulge themselves in a newly digitised version.

Over the course of the next year-and-a-bit, we’ll be reissuing all five volumes of “The Ace (Ms) Story” using the original covers. Each volume will be augmented with additional classics that wouldn’t fit the finite running time of a long player, Some tracks will have been reissued many times since we first compiled them in the late 1970s and early 1980s, while others have barely been heard in public since the aspiring hopefuls in question stood before the mic in, usually, Cosimo’s Recording Studio in downtown New Orleans and did their bit to let the good times roll. Each set offers a fabulous overview of New Orleans R&B, and some of the greatest music of their time. We’re sure we don’t need to reintroduce you to Huey Smith, Frankie Ford, Earl King, Jimmy Clanton, Bobby Marchan, Frankie Lee Sims and other members of our company. And we’re sure you’ll greet them with warm appreciation, no matter how many times you might have heard some of the biggest hits that we obviously couldn’t leave out…

…Ace is back on Ace. And this is the story, morning glory…”
~ By Tony Rounce









Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Various Artists (1994) -Touch Me In The Morning



Artist: various
Album: Touch Me In The Morning (25 Soulful Classics, Reggae Style 1964-74)
Released: 1994
Quality: mp3 CBR 320
Size: 161 MB

“Aimed directly at lovers rock fans (everyone else wouldn't touch this in the morning or any other time of the day), this compilation features covers of 25 classic love songs performed by the cream of Jamaica's artists. Many of the originals were Motown hits, and you're sure to recognize every track here. Stylistically, the covers range from early reggae to soulful lovers rock, and even on to the American-style pop that was briefly all the rage on the island. The artists read like a who's who list of Jamaican talent -- Dennis Brown, John Holt, Delroy Wilson, and many, many more. Although the songs may be considered by some as little more than lightweight pop, the performances suggest otherwise, and virtually every one of these tracks rings with sincere emotion. Bob & Marcia (aka Bob Andy and Marcia Griffiths) reach profound depths on "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" and Slim Smith is aquiver with vulnerability on "Everybody Needs Love," while the Jay Boys out-soul the Temptations on "I Can't Get Next to You." Lloyd Charmers exudes disbelief at his own good fortune on "Just My Imagination," and when Horace Andy sings "Ain't No Sunshine," you can feel the whole world darken. Every song included is of this same remarkable quality. Turn down the lights, turn up the stereo, and feel the passion. ~ by Jo-Ann Greene, allmusic.com

Friday, January 6, 2012

Koko Taylor (2002) -Deluxe Edition



Artist: Koko Taylor
Album: Deluxe Edition
Released: 2002
Quality: mp3 CBR 320
Size: 150 MB

“US R&B singer, sometimes refered to as "The Queen of Chicago Blues". Born september 28, 1928, Bartlett, Tennessee. Dubbed "Koko" due to her love of chocolate. Discovered by Willie Dixon in 1962 leading to a contract with Chess. In close collaboration with Dixon she released several singles, including the 1965 "Wang Dang Doodle" previously recorded by Howlin' Wolf. Not coincidental. Taylor' had the most powerful vocal of the contemporary female Chess staplemates including Etta James, Mitty Collier and Irma Thomas and her shouting style had more in common with e.g. Big Mama Thornton and Howlin' Wolf. Her 1969 selftitled debut album is mostly a compilation of her Chess singles. From 1975 and for more than 30 years she recorded for Alligator Records. Her 1985 album "Queen of the blues" won her a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album that year. Performing till the end, she died after complications from surgery for gastrointestinal bleeding in 2009. Died June 03, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. ~ Discogs





Thursday, January 5, 2012

Marcin Wasilewski Trio - 3 albums



Artist: Marcin Wasilewski Trio
Album: Trio / January / Faithful
Released: 2005 / 2008 / 2011
Quality: FLAC
Size: 307 / 358 / 406 MB

“While there seems to be an unprecedented number of young jazz musicians releasing recordings under their own names these days, one of the long-held foundations of the jazz tradition seems to be taking a back seat; specifically, the nurturing of young talent through the tutelage of older, more established musicians seems to be turning into a thing of the past. And that's a shame, because while there are certainly a number of young artists who have managed to emerge as strong and independent players in their own right, the chance to learn on the bandstand from artists who have been at it for a lifetime is an irreplaceable opportunity to absorb the tradition while, at the same time, keeping an eye firmly focused on the future.
And so when Polish pianist Marcin Wasilewski, at the tender age of 16, got a call from trumpeter Tomasz Stanko, unquestionably Poland's most well-known jazz artist, and one who has been enjoying increasing international exposure since returning to the fold of the ECM label in the mid-'90s, little did he know that for himself, and the other members of his Simple Acoustic Trio, this would be the opportunity of a lifetime and the beginning of a relationship that continues to this day. At first Wasilewski and his band mates — bassist Slawomir Kurkiewicz and drummer Michal Miskiewicz — played smaller dates in Poland, while Stanko performed higher profile gigs with his international ensembles. But since '01, when the trio recorded their first album with Stanko, the remarkably sublime Soul of Things, they have emerged as Stanko's ensemble of choice and now perform on stages internationally.”
~ Read more at AllAboutJazz