St. Vincent

St. Vincent - Marry Me - 2007 - Beggars Banquet

Annie Clark / St. Vincent. is potentially a huge talent, and a force to be reckoned with. The album is full of varied musical styles, from classical, cabaret-pop, lounge music, blues, and even electronica, soft-rock and R&B, and the songs are gorgeous and solid. Marry Me is an exceptional debut album, from a very talented lady who is going places ! HR by A.O.O.F.C. Watch out for future releases from St. Vincent or Annie Clark.

TRACKS

"Now, Now" – 4:25
"Jesus Saves, I Spend" – 3:56
"Your Lips Are Red" (Annie Clark, Daniel Hart) – 4:41
"Marry Me" – 4:41
"Paris Is Burning" – 4:20
"All My Stars Aligned" – 3:47
"The Apocalypse Song" – 3:47
"We Put a Pearl in the Ground" (Mike Garson) – 1:10
"Landmines" – 5:07
"Human Racing" – 3:48
"What Me Worry?" – 3:56

All tracks were written by Annie Clark, except where noted.

CREDITS

Mark Pirro Bass
Brian Teasley Percussion, Producer, Drums, Engineer
Heather Macintosh Cello
Daniel Hart Violin
Rick Nelson Violin, Viola, Bass (Upright), Cello
Louis Schwadron French Horn
Lester Nuby Vibraphone
Daniel Farris Synthesizer, Producer, Engineer, Percussion, Choir, Chorus
Annie Clark Organ, Clavietta, Drum Programming, Vibraphone,
Engineer, Producer, Moog Synthesizer, Xylophone, Vocals, Triangle, Bass, Piano, Percussion, Guitar, Dulcimer, Synthesizer
Nathan Blaz Cello
Merrilee Challis Choir, Chorus
Jessica Grant Choir, Chorus
Andrea Paschal Choir, Chorus
Aynsley Powell Drum Programming
John Golden Mastering
Mike Garson Engineer, Piano (Grand)

REVIEWS

The most powerful weapon to conquer the devil is humility. For, as he does not know at all how to employ it, neither does he know how to defend himself from it." - Saint Vincent de Paul (b. 1581 - d. 1660). Maybe that explains it. Maybe that quote from the real Saint Vincent, namesake of multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark's nom du rock, explains why, rather than step right into the spotlight, Clark instead chose to spend so much of her time as an oft-befrocked member of both Sufjan Stevens and the Polyphonic Spree's flock. One might have assumed that, hey, maybe she was just more comfortable as a group utility player, but like most assumptions it's simply not borne out by the imposing reality of her various talents. As her St. Vincent debut immediately asserts, Clark's more than ready to be out front. In fact, it's amazing she didn't step into the spotlight sooner, considering the countless ideas swirling about Marry Me, an art-rock album at times redolent of prime Kate Bush and Lodger-era David Bowie. Maybe "humility" isn't the first word that springs to mind when you read the liners crediting Clark with "voices, guitars, bass, piano, organ, Moog, synthesizers, clavieta, xylophone, vibraphone, dulcimer, drum programming, triangle, percussion." Triangle? Is that really something to boast about? Then again, with its brilliant production flourishes and impeccably left-field arrangements, false modesty does not behoove the disc. In the case of music like this, the devil to conquer is preciousness and indulgence. No doubt, in lesser hands Clark's quirks and eccentricities would mark the St. Vincent project a no-go from the start. But at every turn Marry Me takes the more challenging route of twisting already twisted structures and unusual instrumentation to make them sound perfectly natural and, most importantly, easy to listen to as she overdubs her thrillingly sui generis vision into vibrant life. Clark's hardly alone in the endeavor. Not to be out-Spreed, Marry Me features, among other helpers, a chorus (used mostly as melodic and rhythmic counterpoint), Bowie pianist Mike Garson, and Polyphonic Spree/Man Or Astro-Man? drummer Brian Teasley, a wiz at picking the right beats for all the perfectly wrong places. But from the frenetic first half of the disc, where the ideas are coming fast and furious and Clark lets her inner prog run wild, to the mellow second, Marry Me is clearly the product of one person's fertile-- and clearly very well organized-- subconscious. "Now, Now" dances around a tricky little guitar pattern and Clark's sweet vocal melodies-- her big-girl voice a welcome respite from indie rock's lame habit of faux naivety-- as bass and drums push and pull the song taut then loose again. The grace of the track suddenly gives way to explosive guitar, the previous precision dissolved into distorted passion. "Jesus Saves, I Spend" bounds along in 6/8, with the chorus and sped-up vocals countering Clark's own coo. "Your Lips Are Red" mutates from throb to tribal freakout, a croaking, scraping guitar and sinewy lead hinting at the chaos that never quite comes. "Apocalypse Song" features a polyrhythmic voice, drum and handclap breakdown that vies with strings and more skronking noise. The war-is-not-over "Paris is Burning" is a woozy Weimar-esque waltz filled out by phased effects, a martial groove and sneaking, cynical lines like the Shakespeare allusion "Come sit right here and sleep while I slip poison in your ear." Elsewhere Clark slips in a few other memorable lyrics as well. In "Your Lips Are Red" she complains, "Your skin so fair it's not fair." In the title track, Clark gets off the lasciviously blasphemous come-on "we'll do what Mary and Joseph did...without the kid." The slower vibe of the last few tracks isn't as immediate as what came before it, but that doesn't make it any less impressive. "Landmines" is like "Subterranean Homesick Alien" redone as a torch song. "All the Stars Aligned" plods along like a pleasant Beatles outtake, at least until Clark's mini-orchestra briefly (and curiously) quotes John Barry's "James Bond Theme". "Human Racing" begins as a gentle bossa nova before blossoming into a hypnotic pulse for its fade-out. The jazzy final song, "What Me Worry?" is as traditional as the disc gets, except for the fact that Clark picked it to end an album that spends most of its previous minutes exploring the unconventional. "Love is just a bloodmatch to see who endures lash after lash with panache," Clark sings, without coming across nearly as precociously as she could have. "Have I fooled you, dear? The time is coming near when I'll give you my hand and I'll say, 'It's been grand, but...I'm out of here.'" And then she's gone. Oh, and the final sound you hear before you inevitably press play and listen to the whole beguiling thing again? A triangle. Guess those lessons paid off after all. © Joshua Klein, July 27, 2007, © 2008 Pitchfork Media Inc. All rights reserved

St. Vincent is the moniker of singer/multi-instrumentalist/composer Annie Clark and this is her debut full-length. She's opened for such diverse acts as Television, Jose Gonzalez, and Sufjan Stevens, and she's an inventive and versatile guitarist who has also performed with avant-garde composer Glenn Branca. On this record, she writes cinematic pop epics that feel at times like Paris in the 20s before all the fun ended. Or, conversely, an orchestra of pure modernity - a new American music, informed by jazz, gospel blues, Southern folk music, and classical composition but, in the end, an animal original unto itself. She's been compared to everyone from Bjork to Kate Bush to Jeff Buckley, and her beautiful voice melds perfectly with her intricate guitar work. [Editorial Review, © 1996-2008, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates ]
Dotmusic deems Clark’s first release a "dense, dizzying, dazzling album," while Cokemachineglow finds it an "excellent debut" with the prospects of even greater albums in the future. All Music Guide confirms Marry Me as "one of the better indie pop albums that’s come around for a long time." The Onion AV Club enjoys that the disc "seduces with one hand and stabs with the other," and Magnet calls it "elegantly crafted and darkly mischievous," while No Ripcord likes the "gorgeous and solid" songs. Slant notes similarities to Fiona Apple and Bjork (as do others), and Harp is impressed that "despite all the musical shifts, the album hangs together remarkably well." Pitchfork also finds that her quirkiness is not a dealbreaker, thanks to Clark’s talent, noting that "Marry Me takes the more challenging route of twisting already twisted structures and unusual instrumentation to make them sound perfectly natural and, most importantly, easy to listen to." It’s not completely without fault, however. Junkmedia states, "Whilst Marry Me is largely an intriguing listen, it’s largely the music, rather than attentive lyrics, that is the focal point, always a combination which struggles to engage the listener." Exclaim! notes that her "flair for the dramatic… becomes a little tiring over a whole album," but the publication still salutes an artist "brimming with ideas." The New York Times’ Kelefa Sanneh notes that while it sounds like Clark is still trying to figure some things out, it is "a thrill to hear her trying things most young singers wouldn’t (and shouldn’t) dare." Similarly, Stylus notes that "what Marry Me may lack in innovation, it makes up for in attitude and execution." However, the Boston Globe feels that she lacks focus, Prefix finds that her voice gets lost in the big sound, and Dusted prefers live St. Vincent to studio St. Vincent, saying that on record, "Clark is playing against her strengths." [The critical consensus, Copyright 2007 Criticulture, http://criticulture.com/musicreviews/stvincent-marryme]

With experience playing with the Polyphonic Spree, Sufjan Stevens, and Glenn Branca, Annie Clark is more than qualified enough to start writing her own loosely ornate, lush pop songs. But while Clark, who chooses to use the name St. Vincent here, does incorporate the frilly strings and horns, background choirs, and various keyboards (most of which she plays) of her past employers in Marry Me, her solo debut, she also has an edge to her — something that shows up in the distorted electric guitar solos of "Jesus Saves, I Spend" or "Now, Now," the drums in the ominous "The Apocalypse Song" or "Your Lips Are Red," the growing intensity of the vocals "Landmines," the funereal waltz of the fantastic "Paris Is Burning" ("I write to give the war is over/Send my cinders home to mother," Clark sings sadly over electronic drumbeats and acoustic guitars) — that pushes her away from the overly sentimental and quaint. Not that Marry Me doesn't have its fair share of happy love songs ("All My Stars Aligned," "What Me Worry?"), but the album isn't seeped in that kind of joyfulness that sings blind and insincere. It's an mix of good and bad, of light and dark, of the woman who purposefully sets up the obstacles she must get through to find her lover ("I'm crawling through landmines/I know 'cause I planted them," she sings disarmingly), of sweet self-deprecation ("Marry me, John, I'll be so good to you/You won't realize I'm gone"), honest and quirky and totally enticing. Clark is young enough that she's still able to retain that sense of wonder about the world without seeming naïve, and old enough that she can say things like "My hands are red from sealing your red lips" and you believe her. It's an orchestral record for those who prefer the simplistic, a darker one for those who prefer theirs twee, love songs for the scorned and sad songs for the content, an engaging and alluring combination that makes Marry Me nearly irresistible, and one of the better indie pop albums that's come around for a long time. © Marisa Brown, allmusic.com

Judging by her debut's title, St. Vincent, or Annie Clark as her family knows her, has a simple request: she wants you to marry her. And in the titular song, she convincingly sings with her coy, childlike delivery, "I'll be so good to you / I'll be so sweet to you" while piano, horns, violins and handclaps create a beguiling atmosphere. If she's asking for our hand in marriage like this, we may just have to oblige. Clark's debut marks the arrival of an enchanting songwriter who successfully brings an element of true eccentricity to conventional pop music. The opening track, "Now Now," finds Clark channeling a contemporary Kate Bush as ethereal backing vocals and tumbling drums play over her harp-esque guitar plucks. Further on, the deceivingly sweet "Apocalypse Song" would pacify even the most vociferous of doomsday prophets. Here's to the end of the world. © Arye Dworken, 07.03.07, © 1997 - 2008 ARTISTdirect, Inc. All Rights Reserved

BIO (Wikipedia)

Annie Clark, born in 1982 in multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter who performs under the moniker St. Vincent. She was a member of The Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens' touring band. Clark has opened shows for such acts as The National, Television, Arcade Fire, Briertone, Jolie Holland, John Vanderslice, Midlake, Tracy + the Plastics, Tuck & Patti and Xiu Xiu. She nded the Berklee College of Music and released an EP with fellow students in 2003, entitled Ratsliveonnoevilstar. She joined Paris Is Burning, it contains three tracks, including a cover version of Nico's "These Days". She became the guitar player for tThe Fragile Army. She released her debut album, July 10, 2007 on Beggars Banquet Records. The LP features appearances from drummer Brian Teasley (Man or Astro-man?, The Polyphonic Spree), Mike Garson (David Bowie's longtime pianist), and horn player Louis Schwadron (The Polyphonic Spree). In 2008 she was nominated for three PLUG Independent Music Awards: New Artist of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, and Music Video of the Year, and on 6 March 2008, she won the Female Artist of the Year award.

Groundhogs

Groundhogs - Extremely Live - 1988 - Spm Germany

This is a brilliant German-only 11-trk CD. The album was originally entitled "Hogs on the Road," and issued as a double 17 track CD in 1988 on the Demi Monde label. It had six more tracks than this CD reissue, (Garden , Split Part One, Light My Light, Me And The Devil, Split II, & Mistreated). It was also issued in 1993 with a Bonus DVD. Any info on these recordings would be very welcome. It is one of the best live recordings from the Groundhogs. The Groundhogs began in 1964, when Tony McPhee and Pete Cruikshank formed John Lee's Groundhogs to back John Lee Hooker on a British tour. They released the great blues album, Blues Obituary, in 1969. After that, they became more heavy prog rock orientated, and, starting with 1970's Thank Christ For The Bomb, they had three Top Ten albums during the early Seventies. The Groundhogs never achieved the status of many far less talented bands, but they are a very important part of psychedelic / blues / progressive rock. Check out Tony McPhee's 1973 "Two Sides of Tony McPhee " album, and The Groundhog's great 1972 album, "Who Will Save the World? The Mighty Groundhogs." There is more info on The Groundhogs, & Tony McPhee's "Foolish Pride" album @ MCP/FP/GH/INFO

TRACKS

01. Express Man.
02. Stange Town.
03. Eccentric Man.
04. 3744 James Road.
05. I Want You To Love Me.
06. Spilt Part Four.
07. Back Against The Wall.
08. Soldier.
09. Waiting In Shadows.
10. Groundhog Blues.
11. Cherry Red.

BAND

Dave Anderson - Bass
Mick Jones - Drums
Tony McPhee - Guitar, Vocals

This 1988 live album by the Hogs was recorded "somewhere" in Germany in December 1987

Tetragon

Tetragon - Nature - 1971 - Soma

The group from Northern Germany was previously known as the Trikolon, who had once released an album of organ led garage rock. For the Tetragon album they also added a guitar player. The album is an extreme mix of instrumental progressive rock, (only title song has vocals), with elements of blues, Miles Davis type jazz, and even classical music. (First track is a fugue by BACH). It is very reminiscent of the early ELP, and The Nice sound. The album is very good, and is quite listenable. The tracks are well played by very talented musicians. An unusual album from the seventies, but full of quality, and very accessable. A.O.O.F.C would appreciate more info on this group and album.

TRACKS

01. Fugue 15:59
02. Jokus 0:19
03. Irgendetwas 5:58
04. A Short Story 13:38
05. Nature 7:41
06. Doors In Between 14:16 [ Bonus track on 2001 CD release on Musea label ]

BAND

Hendrik Schaper – Organ,clavinet,Cembalet,piano,vocals
Jürgen Jaehner – Electric and acoustic guitar
Rolf Rettberg – Bass
Joachim Luhrmann – Drums.

Steve Cropper, Pop Staples, & Albert King

Steve Cropper, Pop Staples, & Albert King - Jammed Together - 1969 - Stax

Not a very well known album from these great Blues and R&B singer/guitarists Pop Staples, Albert King, and Steve Cropper, but it's a good one. Great guitar, piano and horns, and a genuine soulful blues sound throughout. Not a groundbreaking album, but a very enjoyable one from these three very talented artists. Without he late Albert King, there might never have been phenomenal blues guitarists in the style of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, or Rory Gallagher, who were all influenced by Albert King. That is probably a very general statement, but Albert King's legacy can never be measured. It is worthwhile listening to the marvellous Albert King 1967 Stax album, "Born Under a Bad Sign," or the classic 1999 album, "Albert King In Session, with Stevie Ray Vaughan." The latter album is a testament to the everlasting sound of the blues. Steve Cropper, and the late Pop Staples may not be familiar names to the general music listener, but their influences are huge in both the blues, and the R&B world. Read their bios, and you may be surprised at their list of achievements. Pop Staples was the leader of The Staple Singers, and Steve Cropper, among many other achievements, played guitar with the great R&B band, Booker T. & the MGs. Give "Jammed Together" a listen. You will enjoy it.

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

What'd I Say - Ray Charles
Tupelo - John Lee Hooker
Opus de Soul - Carl Thomas, Alvertis Isbell
Baby, What You Want Me to Do - Jimmy Reed
Big Bird - Eddie Floyd, Booker T. Jones
Homer's Theme - Homer Banks, Raymond Jackson
Trashy Dog - Terry Manning
Don't Turn Your Heater Down - Steve Cropper
Water - Steve Cropper, Eddie Floyd
Knock on Wood - Steve Cropper, Eddie Floyd

CREDITS

Steve Cropper (Guitar), Steve Cropper (Vocals), Steve Cropper (Producer), Steve Cropper (Performer), Terry Manning (Producer), Terry Manning (Engineer), Roebuck "Pops" Staples (Guitar), Roebuck "Pops" Staples (Vocals), Roebuck "Pops" Staples (Performer), Homer Banks (Producer), Al Bell (Producer), Mickey Buckins (Engineer), Ron Capone (Remixing), Phil DeLancie (Digital Remastering), Isaac Hayes (Producer), Booker T. Jones (Producer), Albert King (Guitar), Albert King (Vocals), Albert King (Producer), Albert King (Main Performer), Albert King (Performer), Bobby Manuel (Engineer), David Porter (Producer), M. Thomas (Producer), Al Jackson (Producer), Al Jackson, Jr. (Producer), Raymond Jackson (Producer), Honeya Thompson (Remixing), Raymond Jackson (Producer)

SHORT BIO (Steve Cropper)

There are not enough words to describe the multi-talents of modest and serious Steve Cropper. He was there quite at the beginning of Satellite/Stax and was the protégé of Jim Stewart. He was one of the first to get the keys of the studio and to be allowed to sit at the control board instead of Jim Stewart. Born in Dora, Missouri, in 1941 he came to Memphis at 10. Grown up in Memphis with school fellow Donald Dunn, he was already playing with the Mar-Keys when Last Night was recorded. He did quite everything at Stax from selling records at the Satellite Record Shop, developping his skills about recording techniques, playing the guitar and sometimes piano on most Stax records and composing the music for innumerable hits such as In The Midnight Hour, Knock On Wood, The Dock Of The Bay, Soul Man and so on. After his departure from Stax in the early 70s, he created various independant studios and production companies. Today, he manages Insomnia Studios in Nashville, is also well known as a part of the Blues Brothers Band and can be seen in the cult film Blues Brothers and its recent sequel. Curiously enough, Steve did only one album under his own name and another along with Albert King and Pop Staples. Of course, he had a great part in all Booker T. & The MG's records. © http://staxrecords.free.fr/cropper.htm

PRESS EXCERPTS (Steve Cropper)

Born in Dora, Missouri, in 1941, Steve Cropper had a rural white upbringing. He moved to Memphis in 1951 where, exposed to black R&B music, he soon adopted the music of the Memphis area. After years of associating his guitar style with the core black culture of the Stax sound, many are amazed to find that he is caucasian. Of his work in the sixties, Steve says: "If there was anything about the Stax sound it was really music with licks in it. We liked to call them money licks. " Making something simple sound identifiable on record was one of Cropper's specialities. And it wasn't only the guitar licks. He wrote the Memphis Horns introduction on Wilson Pickett's "In The Midnight Hour" on guitar using his characteristic parallel chord approach. As he himself says, referring to the fretboard markers on the fingerboard of his Telecaster: "Just follow the dots and you can't get into trouble. " When arranged for horns the part is instantly identifiable. When he was sitting with Eddie Floyd, writing "Knock On Wood," Cropper came up with the idea of simply playing the introduction he had written for "In The Midnight Hour" in reverse. He did, it worked, and another million-seller was born. Steve Cropper executed simple ideas with consummate good taste, originality, and feel. Jimi Hendrix, Syd Barrett and countless other important players have quoted Cropper as a major influence. He can be heard on any good Otis Redding compilation playing classics - co-written with Redding - like " (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" or "Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa (Sad Song)." If the term "getting your chops together" was not coined in reference to Steve Cropper then it should have been. For over four decades now, Steve Cropper has literally defined the art of R&B guitar. Booker T. and the MGs, the Memphis-based band consisting of Cropper, Booker T. Jones on organ, Al Jackson on drums and Donald "Duck" Dunn on bass was the rhythm section for almost every hit to come out of the Memphis Stax/Volt Records era. Sam and Dave, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding and many others had hits that were driven by the heavy groove of this band. Cropper also had his hand in producing and writing many of these great hits such as "Dock of the Bay" which he penned with Otis Redding. I had the pleasure of working with him in 1975 when I was playing lead guitar with John Prine, and he was producing Prine's "Common Sense" album. He was also an important part of Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi's "Blues Brothers" takeoff, and continues to be a driving force in the music scene today, producing and playing with almost every kind of major act conceivable. Cropper's tone has a metallic ferocity, yet his playing is always sparse and pervaded with a feeling of suspense. Steve Cropper's studio work may be the highest embodiment of play-for-the-song minimalism. This least virtuosic of guitar heroes is almost universally admired for devising the archetypal riffs and pithy fills that helped define soul music. As house guitarist for Memphis's Stax Records, he backed Otis Redding, Sam & Dave and many other soul greats, contributing immortal grooves and hooks to some of the era's best music. As one quarter of Booker T & The MGs, he helped devise some of the finest R&B instrumentals ever (including "Green Onions," the 1962 smash that slammed his career into overdrive). He also produced many important soul sessions and co-wrote such gems as "Knock on Wood," "In the Midnight Hour" and "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay." You tend to incorporate single-note lines into double-stop and tritone riffs? It was bestowed upon me. When I started out doing sessions in the early '60s, they couldnt afford another guitar player. So almost every session we did was one guitar, if that. I hear some of the Stax stuff today that doesn't have guitars, and I love it, but I was right there wishing I could play guitar on those cuts rather than producing and doing everything else. Even my own record with the Mar-Keys, "Last Night," didn't have a guitar on it. In those days we only had one keyboard player, so we switched off on piano and organ. I played guitar on those songs onstage, and nobody ever knew the difference-I just doubled the bass line. I developed that style of throwing in a little single-note fill every now and then to weave in and out of the vocal to make it feel more lyrical with the vocal line. But I always jumped right back into the rhythm. I never liked to get away from the rhythm too much. The whole bottom falls out. © http://staxrecords.free.fr/cropper.htm

Albert King (Bio)

Albert King (born Albert Nelson). April 25th, 1923 - December 21st, 1992. Birthplace: Indianola, Mississippi. Bluesman Albert King was one of the premier electric guitar stylists of the post-World War II period. By playing left-handed and holding his guitar upside-down (with the strings set for a right-handed player), and by concentrating on tone and intensity more than flash, King fashioned over his long career, a sound that was both distinctive and highly influential. He was a master of the single-string solo and could bend strings to produce a particularly tormented blues sound that set his style apart from his contemporaries. A number of prominent artists,from Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix to Mike Bloomfield and Stevie Ray Vaughan, borrowed heavily from King's guitar style. King was also the first major blues guitarist to cross over into modem soul;his mid- and late 1960s recordings for the Stax label, cut with the same great session musicians who played on the recordings of Otis Redding, Sam & Dave,Eddie Floyd, and others, appealed to his established black audience while broadening his appeal with rock fans. Along with B.B. King (no relation, though at times Albert suggested otherwise) and Muddy Waters, King helped nurture a white interest in blues when the music needed it most to survive. King was born in Mississippi and taught himself how to play on a homemade guitar. Inspired by Blind Lemon Jefferson, King quit singing in a family gospel group and took up the blues. He worked around Osceola, Arkansas, with a group called the In the Groove Boys before migrating north and ending up in Gary,Indiana, in the early 1950s. For a while, King played drums behind bluesman Jimmy Reed. In 1953, King convinced Parrot label owner Al Benson to record him as a blues singer and guitarist. That year King cut "Bad Luck Blues" and "Be On Your Merry Way" for Parrot. Because King received little in the way of financial remuneration for the record, he left Parrot and eventually moved to St. Louis, where he recorded for the Bobbin and the King labels. In 1959 he had a minor hit on Bobbin with "I'm a Lonely Man." King's biggest release, "Don't Throw Your Love on Me So Strong," made it to number 14 on the R&B charts in 1961. King didn't become a major blues figure until after he signed with Stax Records in 1966. Working with producer-drummer Al Jackson, Jr., guitarist Steve Cropper, keyboards ace Booker T. Jones, and bass player Donald "Duck"Dunn-aka Booker T. and the MG's, King created a blues sound that was laced with Memphis soul strains. Although the blues were dominant on songs such as"Laundromat Blues" and the classic "Born Under A Bad Sign", the tunes had Memphis soul underpinnings that gave King his crossover appeal. Not only was he the first blues artist to play the legendary San Francisco rock venue the Fillmore West, but he was also on the debut bill, sharing the stage opening night in1968 with Jimi Hendrix and John Mayall. King went on to become a regular at the Fillmore; his album Live Wire/Blues Power was recorded there in 1968.King was also one of the first bluesman to record with a symphony orchestra: in1969 he performed with the St. Louis Symphony, triumphantly bringing together the blues and classical music, if only for a fleeting moment. During the 1970s King toured extensively, often playing to rock and soul crowds. He left Stax in 1974 to record for independent labels like Tomato and Fantasy. King was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame in 1983.He continued touring throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, playing festivals and concerts, often with B.B. King. He died of a heart attack in 1992, just prior to starting a major European tour. © http://staxrecords.free.fr/king.htm

BIO (Pop Staples )

The patriarch of one of music's most successful families, Pop Staples worked with everyone from Robert Johnson to Curtis Mayfield. Roebuck Staples was born December 2, 1915, in Winona, MS; a close friend of Charley Patton, he also played not only with Johnson but also such legends as Son House and Robert Jr. Lockwood, becoming a top-notch blues guitarist in the process. Increasingly drawn to the church, he joined the gospel group the Golden Trumpets in 1937, and upon relocating to Chicago in 1941, he signed on with the Windy City's Trumpet Jubilees; by the following decade, Staples was regularly performing at services in the company of his daughters Mavis and Cleotha and son Pervis, and soon they began appearing professionally as the Staple Singers. While originally a gospel group, the family achieved their first commercial success with a more contemporary soul sound honed during the late '60s while signed to the Stax label; by the early '70s, the Staples even moved into funk, scoring a major pop hit with "I'll Take You There." After signing with Mayfield's Curtom label, they also found success with "Let's Do It Again." Pop Staples did not pursue a solo career prior to releasing 1992's Peace to the Neighborhood, which returned him to his blues and gospel roots. Its follow-up, 1994's Father Father, earned a Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album. Staples also appeared in several films, including 1998's Wag the Dog. Late in 2000, Staples suffered a concussion after a fall in his home; shortly thereafter, on December 19, he passed away at the age of 85. © Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

Mott The Hoople

Mott The Hoople - Mott - 1973 - Columbia

Remembered by many for their great version of Bowie's "All The Young Dudes," Mott The Hoople have been described as "one of the seminal "glam rock" bands of the 1970's." They had a cult following in the U.S. and U.K. before disbanding in 1976. Although many "glam rock" bands of the mid seventies were very popular, most of them didn't last long as their music was purely a cleverly manipulated type of "pop rock" that sold well, but was quickly forgotten afterwards. T.Rex, Bowie, and Mott The Hoople were notable exceptions, as they had real talent, and were already established since the mid and late sixties, and just happened to be thrown into the "Glam Rock" scene. Bowie, Bolan, Ian Hunter and bands like Cockney Rebel, were more than just artists wearing glitzy make-up ad high platform boots. They could really play and many of them were superb songwriters, and have strongly influenced some of the major rock bands of today. Mott The Hoople had their roots firmly embedded in Rock/R&B and produced some exceptional music. "Mott" is a great rock 'n'roll album which hit the U.S Top 10. Tracks like "All the Way from Memphis," "Honaloochie Boogie" are great rock 'n'roll tunes. This album is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Their debut 1969 "Mott the Hoople" album is also worth checking out.

TRACKS

"All the Way from Memphis" – 5:02
"Whizz Kid" – 3:25
"Hymn for the Dudes" (Verden Allen, Hunter) – 5:24
"Honaloochie Boogie" (Hunter, Mick Ralphs) – 2:43
"Violence" (Hunter, Ralphs) – 4:48
"Drivin’ Sister" – 3:53
"Ballad of Mott the Hoople (26th March 1972, Zürich)" (Hunter, Dale "Buffin" Griffin, Peter Watts, Ralphs, Allen) – 5:24
"I’m a Cadillac/El Camino Dolo Roso" (Ralphs) – 7:51
"I Wish I Was Your Mother" – 4:52

All songs written by Ian Hunter, except where indicated.

BAND

Mick Ralphs - vocals, guitar
Ian Hunter - vocals, guitar, keyboards
Overend Watts - vocals, bass
Verden Allen - keyboards
Dale Griffin - drums

EXTRA MUSICIANS ON ALBUM

Paul Buckmaster – electric cello on track 4
Mick Hince – bells on track 9
Andy Mackay – saxophone on track 1, 4
Graham Preskett – violin on track 5
Thunder Thighs (Karen Friedman, Dari Lalou, Casey Synge) – backing vocals on track 3

BIO (Wikipedia)

Mott the Hoople were a 1970s English rock band with strong R&B roots. They are best known for the song "All the Young Dudes", which was written for them by their fan David Bowie and which appeared on the 1972 album of the same name. In 1968, Mick Ralphs, Verden Allen, Robert Fisher, Pete "Overend" Watts and Dale "Buffin" Griffin formed a band called Silence, playing near Hereford, England. Adding then lead singer Stan Tippens in 1969, the band recorded early tracks at Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales, later dominated by Love Sculpture and Dave Edmunds. Tippens was injured soon after joining the band and was unable to continue singing, and Fisher moved to the U.S., but the band rallied and eventually signed with Island Records, moving to London to record with Guy Stevens as producer. Stevens changed the band's name to "Mott the Hoople" from a novel of the same name by Willard Manus; the book is about an eccentric who works in a circus freak show. The band also recruited a new singer and boogie piano player, Ian Hunter. Hunter had replied to a music magazine advertisement which read "Singer wanted, must be image-minded and hungry." Tippens became the road manager for the band. Their debut album, Mott the Hoople (1969), was a cult success, and their repertoire included cover versions of "Laugh at Me" (Sonny Bono), and an instrumental cover of "You Really Got Me" (The Kinks). The second album, Mad Shadows (1970), sold poorly and received generally negative reviews; as did Wildlife (1971). Even though the group was building a decent following, the hard-rocking Brain Capers (1971) failed to sell well, and when combined with an aborted UK tour with The Lothringers, the band was close to breaking up. David Bowie had long been a fan of the band, and heard that they were about to split. Bowie persuaded them to stay together, and offered them "Suffragette City" from his then yet-to-be-released Ziggy Stardust album. They refused the song so Bowie wrote "All the Young Dudes" for them instead. Released as a single in July 1972, it was a major success in the UK, with the band using Tippens - who by this time was the band's tour manager - to sing backing vocals during live gigs. A Bowie-produced album, also called All the Young Dudes, sold well. Late in 1972 the band was going to record another Bowie song, "Drive-In Saturday", but their intended arrangement dissatisfied the composer, and their professional relationship effectively ended. Another casualty in the wake of All the Young Dudes was Verden Allen, who departed before the release of their next album, Mott. Mott climbed into the Top Ten of the UK album charts, and became the band's best seller to date in the US. It yielded two UK hits, "Honaloochie Boogie", and "All the Way from Memphis", both featuring Andy Mackay of Roxy Music on saxophone. "All the Way From Memphis" is also featured in the movie Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. Mott the Hoople's new-found popularity ultimately helped lead to the band's break-up, perhaps helped along by an exposé in New Musical Express of Tippens' role in singing the chorus of "All the Young Dudes", from a hidden microphone backstage.[citation needed] Ralphs left in 1973 to form Bad Company and was replaced by former Spooky Tooth guitarist Luther Grosvenor. For contractual reasons, he changed his name to Ariel Bender at the suggestion of singer-songwriter Lynsey De Paul for his stint with the band. At the same time, former Love Affair and Morgan member Morgan Fisher joined as keyboardist. In the afterglow of The Hoople (1974), a live album was quickly released, after which Mick Ronson replaced Bender. The end was nigh when both Ronson and Hunter left the group to form a duo. Ray Major and Nigel Benjamin were added to continue the group, which abbreviated its name to "Mott". In 1974, for their tour of America, Mott the Hoople were supported by the band Queen. This tour later provided the inspiration for Queen's 1975 single "Now I'm Here," which contains the lyrics "Down in the city, just Hoople and me."The song became a live favourite of Queen fans and reached #11 in the UK Singles Chart. The tour resulted in a lifelong friendship between the two bands, with Ian Hunter, Mick Ronson and David Bowie performing "All the Young Dudes" at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992. Morgan Fisher went on to play piano on Queen's "Hot Space" tour in 1982, and Brian May, Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor performed backing vocals on the Ian Hunter solo song "You Nearly Did Me In". May would later cover Mott's "All the Way from Memphis" on his solo album, Another World, with Hunter making a guest appearance. Hunter wrote the book Diary of a Rock'n'Roll Star. It covered the day-to-day life on the band's 1972 winter tour of the USA, covering the ups and downs of life on the road, including tales of David Bowie introducing them onto the stage and joining them to sing backing vocals on "All the Young Dudes", and Hunter's meeting with Keith Moon of The Who who took him in a battered Volkswagen beetle to visit Frank Zappa. It was published 18 months later in June 1974. This lineup released two more albums, Drive On (1975) and Shouting and Pointing (1976), offering a heavy, less Dylanesque taste on the Mott sound, and both of which sold poorly.After Nigel Benjamin quit in 1976, Mott added John Fiddler and became British Lions in 1978, but they soon split as well, similarly without any chart success. Hunter and Ronson worked and toured together sporadically until Ronson's death in 1993. Hunter has continued his solo career. No Mott the Hoople reunion has ever occurred, though negotiations for one were attempted in 1985; all parties have shown some interest at various times in the idea over the last 25 years or so, though recently Hunter has ruled out a full Mott reunion. A full reunion currently seems unlikely, although in 2002 and 2004, Mick Ralphs toured with Ian Hunter, as part of Hunter's backing band. In 1996 K-tel records released a CD called The Best of Mott the Hoople purporting to be re-recordings of the bands hits and new songs by Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson. In actuality, the recording was by a Danny McCulloch and Gerry Chapman (usually going under the band name of The Trybe), consisted of heavy rock versions of Mott's hits and poor original songs, and had nothing at all to do with the original Mott the Hoople. K-tel were subsequently fined for supplying goods with a false description, but the tracks and album continued to circulate under the name Mott the Hoople, often appearing on compilation albums. In 2002, the tracks were released again as "I can't believe it's not Mott the Hoople!", though this time it was credited to The Trybe. In 2005 it was reported in the publication Classic Rock, that Hunter had received the offer of a seven-figure number to re-form the band. In October 2007 at Ian Hunter's concert at the Shepherds Bush Empire, he was joined by Mick Ralphs and Verden Allen for the encore.

Delta Moon

Delta Moon - Delta Moon Live - 2003 - Delta Moon
Delta Moon beat over 50 competitors to win the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in January 2003, and in June, the same year they released this great live album recorded at Tree Sound Studios in Atlanta. The abum features the Southern blues swamp sound at it's best. Great vocals from Gina Leigh and brilliant guitar work from Tom Gray and Mark Johnson add to the great sound of this album, and the bass and drums by Jon Schwenke and Johnny McKnight respectively, really deliver some knockout punches. Delta Moon have been winners of the Best Overall Music Act in Atlanta by Creative Loafing Readers, and deservedly so. The band have toured N.America and Europe but could still do with more exposure. In 2004 Gina Leigh left the band, and was replaced by Kristin Markiton as Delta Moon's female vocalist. Check out their 2004 album, "Goin' Down South," and there's info on their great debut album, "Delta Moon" @ DELTAMOON

TRACKS

1- Look Way Down That Lonesome Road
2- Raeline
3- Put Your Arms Around Me
4- Baby, Please Don't Go
5- Any-Kind-A-Man
6- Tilt-A-Whirl
7- Like My Baby Can
8- Somebody's Been Using That Thing
9- Do The Do
10- Edna Mae
11- Mean Town Blues

BAND

Tom Gray - vocals, steel guitar, piano, main composer
Mark Johnson - guitar, slide guitar
Gina Leigh - vocals & percussion
Johnny McKnight - drums
Jon Schwenke - bass

ABOUT THE BAND

Delta Moon -- winner of the Blues Foundation's International Blues Challenge held in Memphis, February 1, 2003 -- formed in the late 1990s when Gina Leigh, Mark Johnson, and Tom Gray all lived within a few blocks of each other in Atlanta's Inman Park neighborhood. The three got together regularly in Mark's livingroom to work up arrangements of classic blues and original songs for two slide guitars and voices. Soon, joined by a rotating cast of percussionists, drummers, and bassists, the band was playing in rib joints, nightclubs, and festivals around Atlanta and neighboring cities. Following the March 2002 release of their debut CD, imaginatively entitled "Delta Moon," the band started ranging farther from home, taking their energetic stage show across the US, Canada and Europe. As one audience member said, "Thanks for inviting us to your party!" © 1999 - 2008 Kweevak.com

Moby Grape

Moby Grape - Moby Grape '69 - 1969 - Columbia Records

This 1969 album was a commercial failure for Moby Grape. It has received many more poor, than favourable reviews. Arguably, one of the album's best songs is "Seeing," a Skip Spence composition. Spence, the original Jefferson Airplane's drummer, was not involved in the recording of the album as he was under psychiatric care at the time, and the recording definitely lacked his touch. Even though MG always had slight folk/country rock influences, the country rock vibe throughout this album was somewhat overpowering to many MG fans at the time. Much of the album is reminiscent of the early Eagles, or Poco. It is slightly ironic that if you like the two aforementioned bands, then you will probably like this album! It's a very good album. There is no faulting the great playing, and most of the songs are well written, but it definitely needed a bigger injection of rock 'n' roll. Listen to their 1967 self titled album. For what it's worth, this 1967 debut album, "Moby Grape," was given a 5 Star rating by.David Fricke in a 1999 edition of Rolling Stone magazine. He called it the perfect album in his Rs Library Review. A.O.O.F.C would welcome your comments on this great band.

ORIGINAL TRACKS (COLUMBIA 1969 RELEASE)

SIDE 1

"Ooh Mama Ooh" (Jerry Miller, Don Stevenson) – 2:26
"Ain't That a Shame" (Jerry Miller, Don Stevenson, Peter Lewis) – 2:28
"I Am Not Willing" (Peter Lewis) – 2:58
"It's a Beautiful Day Today" (Bob Mosley) – 3:06
"Hoochie" (Bob Mosley) – 4:21

SIDE 2

Trucking Man" (Bob Mosley) – 2:00
"If You Can't Learn from My Mistakes" (Peter Lewis) – 2:33
"Captain Nemo" (Jerry Miller, Don Stevenson) – 1:43 "
What's to Choose" (Peter Lewis) – 1:57
"Going Nowhere" (Jerry Miller, Don Stevenson) – 2:01
"Seeing" (Skip Spence) – 3:44

BONUS TRACKS ON SUNDAZED 2007 CD RELEASE

"Soul Stew" (Bob Mosley) – 2:16
"If You Can't Learn from My Mistakes" [Demo] (Peter Lewis) – 1:23
"You Can Do Anything" [Demo] (Skip Spence) – 3:35
"It's a Beautiful Day Today" [Demo] (Bob Mosley) – 4:12 [Previously unreleased ]
"What's to Choose" [Demo] (Peter Lewis) – 3:19 [Previously unreleased ]
"Big" [Demo] (Jerry Miller, Don Stevenson) – 2:19
"Hoochie" [Demo] (Bob Mosley) – 3:18 [Previously unreleased ]

BAND

Peter Lewis – rhythm guitar, vocals
Bob Mosley – bass, vocals
Jerry Miller – lead guitar, vocals
Don Stevenson – drums, vocals

REVIEW

After the top-heavy overproduction of Wow and the meandering, aimless improvisations on Grape Jam, Moby Grape seemed to be getting back into the groove with their fourth album, simply titled Moby Grape '69. The liner notes by producer David Rubinson refer to the promotional hype that soured many fans to the virtues of Moby Grape and the excesses that had dogged the group since, and while his mea culpa goes a great deal further than it needs to, it does accompany an album that clearly found Moby Grape eager to get back to the business of playing straightforward, heartfelt rock & roll. Moby Grape '69 is concise enough — most of the songs are under three minutes and the whole thing clocks in at a shade under a half-hour — and the high points come close to recapturing the electric magic of the group's nearly flawless debut, especially the gritty groove of "Hoochie," the doo wop influenced boogie of "Ooh Mama Ooh," the beatific joy of "It's a Beautiful Day Today," the raucous celebration of one "Trucking Man," and the folk-tinged wisdom of "If You Can't Learn from My Mistakes." However, even though these sessions found guitarists Peter Lewis and Jerry Miller, bassist Bob Mosley and drummer Don Stevenson playing and singing at the top of their game and writing fine songs, the absence of Skip Spence, who left the band after Wow, robs Moby Grape '69 of a significant share of the energy and drive that was the hallmark of their finest studio work. It's significant that the album's most striking cut, the closer "Seeing," was written by Spence during the Wow sessions; it's a harrowing meditation of madness that may well be Spence's greatest song. Despite the obstacles presented by Spence's absence, Moby Grape '69 was a genuine step in the right direction for the band, and it's a shame they didn't get the chance to take greater advantage of their new clarity. Moby Grape '69 made its debut on compact disc in 2007 with a newly remastered and expanded edition from Sundazed Music. The original album sounds superb on disc thanks to Bob Irwin's new mastering, and seven bonus tracks fill out the disc. Three are demos from the pre-production on Moby Grape '69 that previously appeared on the out-of-print Grape anthology Vintage — "Soul Stew," "You Can Do Anything," and the goofy campfire singalong "Big." The remainder are early versions of four tunes that later appeared on the LP. The packaging beautifully re-creates Moby Grape '69's original artwork, and Gene Sculatti contributes an intelligent, well-written new liner essay. In short, Moby Grape fans who've been wondering when this album would finally get a digital upgrade will find this disc was well worth the wait. © Mark Deming, www.allmusic.com

BIO (Wikipedia)

Moby Grape was an American rock group of the 1960s that was known for having all five members contribute to singing and songwriting and that collectively merged elements of folk music, blues, country, and jazz together with rock. Due to the strength of their debut album, several critics consider Moby Grape to be the best rock band to emerge from the San Francisco music scene in the late sixties. The group was formed in late 1966 in San Francisco. (Although the origin of the name is uncertain, it is likely from the punch line of the joke "What's big and purple and lives in the ocean?") Frontman and rhythm guitarist Skip Spence (the original drummer for Jefferson Airplane), lead guitarist Jerry Miller and drummer Don Stevenson (both formerly of the Frantics), rhythm guitarist (and son of actress Loretta Young) Peter Lewis (of The Cornells), and bassist Bob Mosley all wrote songs for their debut album Moby Grape (1967). Moby Grape has today achieved the status of a highly respected rock album. In a marketing stunt, Columbia Records immediately released five singles at once, and the band was perceived as being over-hyped. This was during a period in which mainstream record labels were giving unheard of levels of promotion to what was then considered counter-cultural music genres. Nonetheless, the record was critically acclaimed, and fairly successful commercially, with The Move covering its sardonic ode to hippiedom, "Hey Grandma." Spence's "Omaha" reached the lower rungs of the American singles charts in 1967, and Miller-Stevenson's "8:05" became a country rock standard (covered by Robert Plant, Guy Burlage, and others). During the summer of 1967 the group appeared at the now legendary Monterey Pop Festival. Due to legal and managerial disputes the group was not included in the D.A. Pennebaker produced film of the event, Monterey Pop. Moby Grape's Monterey recordings and film remain unreleased. In addition to the marketing backlash, band members found themselves in legal trouble for charges (later dropped) of consorting with underage females, and the band's relationship with their manager rapidly deteriorated. The second album, Wow/Grape Jam, was generally viewed as a critical and commercial disappointment even though the album charted at #20 in the Billboard Pop Albums charts, partially due to the unusual 2 albums for the price of 1 double-album packaging. Though Wow added strings and horns to some songs, their basic sound remained consistent from the debut album, featuring tight harmonies, multiple guitars, imaginative songwriting, and a strong level of musicianship. The Grape Jam LP was one of loose improvised studio jams; this detracted from the stronger tunes on Wow such as the room-shaking shuffle "Can't Be So Bad." Spence was supposedly never the same after ingesting large quantities of LSD (see also the biographies of Peter Green, Syd Barrett, and Roky Erickson). In the words of Miller: "Skippy changed radically when we were in New York. There were some people there that were into harder drugs and a harder lifestyle, and some very weird shit. And so he kind of flew off with those people. Skippy kind of disappeared for a little while. Next time we saw him he had cut off his beard, and he had a black leather jacket on, with his chest hanging out, with some chains and just sweating like a son of a gun. I don't know what the hell he got a hold of, man, but it just whacked him. And the next thing I know, he axed my door down in the Albert Hotel. They said at the reception area that this crazy guy had held an ax to the doorman's head." Spence was committed to New York's Bellevue Hospital; on the day of his release, he drove a motorcycle dressed in only his pajamas directly to Nashville to record his only solo album, Oar. After the departure of Spence, the remaining 4 members released Moby Grape '69 in early 1969. Bob Mosley then left the group and the remaining 3 released their final album for Columbia in late 1969 Truly Fine Citizen. The original 5 members re-united in 1971 and released 20 Granite Creek for Reprise Records. With Spence gone again the remainder soldiered on for a few years, but save for a reunion or two, essentially joining Miller's band in Santa Cruz, the group never returned to the level of excellence and popularity they enjoyed in the early Avalon Ballroom/Fillmore Auditorium days. The debut album and Wow/Grape Jam were first released on CD during the late 1980's by the San Francisco Sound label, a company owned by their former manager Matthew Katz. These releases suffer from mediocre sound and poor quality packaging. As the group has never been properly compensated for recordings released by this label these releases should be avoided. The 2 CD 1993 Legacy Recordings compilation Vintage: The Very Best of Moby Grape includes their entire first album and most of Moby Grape '69, selected tracks from Wow and Truly Fine Citizen, as well as studio outtakes and alternate versions. This compilation attracted new attention to the band and helped to re-introduce their music to a new audience. In 2005 the group was successful in a lawsuit against the former manager and won back the legal ownership of their name, which they had lost in 1967. Miller carries on today (2007) as the Jerry Miller Band, playing rockin' blues and the occasional Grape song. Homeless for years and suffering from long-term mental illness and a multitude of health ailments, the mercurial and brilliant Spence died in Santa Cruz, California, in 1999. In 2006, after three decades of court battles, the band finally won back its name from its much-hated (in the music industry) former manager Matthew Katz and in celebration announced a reunion show with all of its living members, bolstered by drummer Aynsley Dunbar (John Mayall, Frank Zappa, Journey) and keyboardist Pete Sears (Jefferson Starship), to be performed in January 2007 at San Francisco's Fillmore. However, the reunion show did not take place due to scheduling conflicts. The Jerry Miller Band performed in Monterey for the 40th Anniversary of Monterey Pop in July of 2007. Finally, the reunited Moby Grape converged to perform a twenty-five minute set for over 40,000 fans at the Summer of Love 40th Anniversary Celebration in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park in September of 2007. In October 2007, Sundazed Records reissued the Grape's first five albums (with bonus tracks) on CD and vinyl . The following month, the label was forced withdraw and recall Moby Grape, Wow and Grape Jam from print on both vinyl and CD because of a new lawsuit by former manager Matthew Katz. Sundazed stated on their site that they were directed to withdraw the three titles by Sony BMG (inheritors of the band's original label, Columbia), from whom Sundazed had licensed the recordings. Moby Grape was an example of a talented band that, through a combination of mismanagement and inexperience, never fully realized its potential. Along with the Flamin' Groovies, they were somewhat of an anomaly in the San Francisco rock scene; their concision and their strong roots in country music and early rock and roll seemed to work against them. In addition, perhaps because they were so versatile, their image was somewhat nebulous; as writer Robert Christgau put it, "All they really lacked was a boss, and what could be more American than that?"

Dudley Moore Trio

Dudley Moore Trio - Dudley Moore Trio - 1969 - Decca

There are many, many people who are totally ignorant of the fact that the late Dudley Moore, who as well as being a great actor, was also an extremely talented jazz composer and pianist. Dudley's approach to music, especially jazz was seriously important to him. He liked his music to have a swinging and happy feel. He was strongly influenced by the playing of Erroll Garner and Oscar Peterson, who he idolized, and this album, at times is similar to the conceptual styles of these great artists .Dudley Moore's compositions have a lovely romantic and beautiful feel to them. This 1969 "self titled" album are all Dudley Moore compositions and was the first album by the Trio that did not feature any cover versions. It is a lovely album and deserves to be heard by a bigger audience. There was an outstanding album "Jazz Jubilee" released in 2004 which featured concerts by The Dudley Moore Trio recorded in Australia and England during the seventies. The revenue from this record's sale was, at the time, going to charities supported by Dudley Moore. I don't know if the album is still available, but if you see it, check that the charity rules still apply, and if so, think about buying the album.

TRACKS

1 Fanfare
2 120 Plus Optional Magic Exploding Cadence
3 Chimes
4 Love Song from an Imaginary Musical
5 Bags of Chris
6 Pop and Circumstance
7 Romantic Notion
8 Folk Song
9 Amalgam
10 Nursery Tune
11 Hymn

All compositions by Dudley Moore

ABOUT THE TRIO

Dudley Moore - Piano, born on 19 April, 1935, Dagenham, England. Died on 27 March, 2002. A hugely talented comedian, actor, composer and jazz pianist.

Chris Karan - Drums, born October 14, 1939], is a jazz percussionist, primarily a drummer, of Greek descent from Melbourne. He played in Mike Nock's trio. He also worked with Roy Budd and Katie Melua, along with putting out CDs of his own. Other than drums he has an interest in various percussion styles of the world and plays the tabla on some albums.

Jeff Clyne - Bass, born 29 January 1937, in London is a British jazz bassist (playing both bass guitar and double bass). Some of the great artists he has played with include Isotope, Nucleus, Julie Driscoll, Kevin Ayers, Georgie Fame, John McLaughlin, and Zoot Sims.

BIO [DUDLEY MOORE]

Dudley Stuart John Moore was born on 19 April, 1935. Coming from a working class background, this Dagenham lad was to struggle through his early childhood with a clubfoot and a mildly deformed left leg. Even after many corrective operations, he still had to run the gauntlet of name-calling and bullying. It is little wonder that he hid behind his musical talents. As a six-year-old, Dudley sang in the church choir and from the age of eight was taught the piano - he really wanted to learn the violin, but his parents persuaded him to try the piano first. He did learn the violin when he was about eleven years old. Each Saturday morning he attended the Guildhall School of Music, where he was given aural training and lessons on the violin. It was at this time he learned the history and appreciation of music. From about the age of 14, Dudley played the church organ at weddings. At about the age of 17, Dudley was advised by his headmistress to apply for a scholarship for Oxford or Cambridge. He was immensely proud to gain the scholarship for Magdalen College, Oxford. This three-year course gave him his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music. He was also a member of their jazz club and would often be found in the Student's Union cellars. Remaining at Oxford for a further year, Dudley obtained his Bachelor of Music degree in composition before leaving Oxford at the age of 22. At first, Dudley thought he would become a music tutor. Yet, by chance, he was to wander further down the road of jazz when a friend put on a record of Erroll Garner's The Way You Look Tonight. I was just bowled off my feet by it. I'd never heard anything like it before. There's something so complete and rounded in his playing that it struck me immediately I heard it. In fact, he is, and will probably continue to be, one of the most complete of all pianists. During the late 1950s Dudley joined the Vic Lewis Band, and then the Johnny Dankworth Jazz Orchestra, with whom he toured the States for a year. Upon his return, Dudley formed his own trio with Pete McGurk on bass and Chris Karan on drums. They recorded a number of times for Decca Records. Dudley joined Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller and Alan Bennett in the comedy revue Beyond the Fringe at the Edinburgh Festival in 1959. The revue then played for two years in London before going to Broadway for a further two years. It was thought to be one of the greatest group comedy talents to emerge from Britain. It was during the Edinburgh Festival that Dudley practised for hours on the piano, trying to emulate Garner's interpretation and style. I remember the first time I got a glimpse of the style, how it felt to play it. The action of the right hand dragging behind the left, then the left dragging behind the right had sort of evaded me...suddenly it seemed to come. And it was almost as if I could see both hands doing separate things at the same time, which I hadn't been able to until then...I gained a lot from his approach to the piano, which is very earthy and outgoing as well as being very rich and full of contrasts. Dudley's friendship with Peter Cook continued and when Cook bought out a Soho strip club in 1961, he turned it into The Establishment Club, which featured among its regular guest stars Frankie Howerd, Lenny Bruce and Barry Humphries. The Dudley Moore Trio played jazz for their audience in the cellar. Peter Cook and Dudley Moore continued to work together throughout the 1960s. In 1965 the BBC booked them for several shows called Not Only....But Also, which showed their comic genius. It also gave Dudley a regular spot playing the piano. The cloth-capped idiots were to become icons. Peter Cook used to ad lib in some of their sketches, in an effort to make Dudley giggle or lose his lines - in theatrical terms this is known as corpsing. Dudley would often be seen struggling not to smile or laugh, and just as often, he corpsed! Their signature song 'Goodbye' was to become a national favourite. The duo's popularity ensured this series made an annual return to the television screens for the next five years. Off screen, the duo created Derek and Clive; a pair of foul-mouthed bigots. Using 'adult' language and material, their recordings were only meant as a private joke. Soon the recordings were being circulated among the public. Seeing another business outlet, Peter Cook wanted to do more recordings. Dudley was reluctant as it could have damaged his career in the States. The comedy duo teamed up again for Behind the Fringe in 1971. It was a resounding success in London, and went on to become a smash hit on Broadway during the 1973 - 74 season. They were given a special Tony award for their 'unique contribution to the theatre of comedy'. Dudley went on to make a number of films with Cook during the late 1960s. With his musical talents he was called upon to compose film scores and so, during the mid-1970s, this became his full-time career. Cook returned home to Britain, as Dudley settled into his new life in Southern California. Their comedy partnership ended in 1977, except for their charity concerts for Amnesty International which was eventually immortalised on film in 1979 as The Secret Policeman's Ball. While attending a therapy group for stress, Dudley met the film director Blake Edwards, who persuaded Dudley to take over the lead role in the 1979 movie, 10, opposite Bo Derek. George Segal had walked out on the production. Dudley made it a hit. Just two years later, he had another big film hit with Arthur, co-starring with Liza Minnelli, with Sir John Gielgud playing the role of his butler. Dudley was to receive an Oscar nomination for his role of Arthur. During the 1980s Dudley released several albums of piano-based jazz between his film and stage work. It was during the early 1990s that his musical career was put on hold, while he concentrated on films. Unfortunately, Dudley would never quite manage to achieve the promise and success shown in his first big films. In 1995 he was fired from The Mirror Has Two Faces, produced by Barbra Streisand, because he couldn't remember his lines. During 1990, Dudley achieved further recognition of his musical talents, co-starring with Sir George Solti in a Channel 4 series about the orchestra. His musical interests didn't lie entirely in jazz; Dudley was also a recognised classical pianist and composer. In 1993, he performed his Concerto with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting. It was about this time that Dudley experienced a number of minor heart attacks. He was found to have a hole in the heart, which surgery was able to correct. During his concert tour with pianist Rena Fruchter, she noticed that when they played their duets, Dudley was beginning to play erratically. In May, 1999, he was to receive his diagnosis. Rumours began to circulate that Dudley had a drink problem as his speech was slurred. Then, that he was on drugs, because he appeared to be stumbling and erratic when he was seen outside of his home. Eventually in September, 1999, Dudley told the public of his debilitating illness. He had developed Progressive Supranuclear Palsy - an extremely rare, incurable condition affecting the function of the brain. Whenever he was beset by depression or other illness, Dudley always returned to his music. He would find solace at such times in composing, or playing music. Tragically, his illness was to take away the joy of playing as his fingers stiffened and his eyesight weakened and blurred. He began to lose his balance and had difficulty speaking. Dudley threw himself into raising funds for research into the disease and raising awareness of its symptoms. The Dudley Moore Research Fund for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy was the charity he formed. Dudley released Live From The Aircraft Hangar, which is a collection of his previously recorded concerts. In April, 2001, Dudley held a gala concert in Carnegie Hall, New York, on his 66th birthday, which raised funds for PSP research. In June, 2001, Dudley was proud to be named in the Queen's Birthday Honours list; he headed the 'Arts and Entertainment' list. Despite his illness, in November he travelled to Britain and received his medal from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace. This well loved entertainer died at his New Jersey home on 27 March, 2002. Having four failed marriages, Dudley Moore is survived by two sons. © h2g2 www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A24145814 [Most of the content on h2g2 is created by h2g2's Researchers, who are members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of the BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of any external sites referenced. In the event that you consider anything on this page to be in breach of the site's House Rules, please click here. For any other comments, please click on the Feedback button above. www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/

Bacon Fat

Bacon Fat - Tough Dude - 1971 - Blue Horizon

Rod Piazza is a blues harmonica icon who was part of the same musical generation as Paul Butterfield which is to say the first generation of white blues fans and players who in the early 1960s were embracing the driving urban blues sounds of post-war Chicago, Memphis, Texas and California. While still in his teens at the time, he was seeking out many of the blues greats who were still active and vital on Los Angeles’s fabled Central Avenue blues scene. By 1967 Rod was a bona fide blues recording artist with an album on a major label, ABC/Bluesway, with his own group The Dirty Blues Band. After a second well-received and now highly prized LP the following year Piazza took a bold step and formed the LA blues/rock band, Bacon Fat. This was unique at the time, in that it was led by two harp players, Piazza and his mentor George “Harmonica” Smith. Bacon Fat made an immediate impact particularly in England where they soon signed with legendary record producer Mike Vernon’s Blue Horizon label. This is the band's second album and is pure "killer" blues rock. It's a "no messin'" example of good early seventies blues rock, and is especially recommended to anybody who would like to hear one of the west-coasts greatest harmonica players, Rod "Gingerman" Piazza. After Bacon Fat disbanded Rod continued to work with Smith and other artists such as Pee Wee Crayton, Big Joe Turner and Big Mama Thornton on both live performances and recording projects. Check out the great "Ground Hog Blues" album by Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers.

TRACKS

1. Wait On It
2. Down The Road
3. Betty
4. Leaving On Your Mind
5. Jivin' The Business
6. Shake Dancer
7. Travelling South
8. Evil
9. Blues Feeling
10. Pool Hall Sam
11. Transatlantic Blues
12. Hurricane

BAND

Rod "Gingerman" Piazza - Harmonica, Vocals
Buddy Reed - Guitar, Vocals
Gregg Schaefer - Guitar
J.D. Nicholson - Vocals, Piano
Jerry Smith - Bass
Dick Innes, Jr - Drums
George "Harmonica" Smith - Vocals, Harmonica

British Blues Quintet (Featuring Maggie Bell)

British Blues Quintet (Featuring Maggie Bell) - Live In Glasgow - 2007 - Angel Air

Maggie Bell, from Scotland, is one of the world's greatest soul and blues singers. Maggie and drummer Colin Allen were both members of the legendary Stone The Crows. Zoot Money is one of the best 'good time' performers in the business. He not only plays great keyboards but also sings with guts and emotion. The other members of the quintet are Miller Anderson, who has played guitar with many top bands since the 1960s including the Keef Hartley Band, Savoy Brown, Chicken Shack, Mountain, T-Rex and Donovan's band, and Colin Hodgkinson who was in Alexis Corner's band for almost 20 years, and has played with Whitesnake. These musicians are among the best in their field. They've been "around the block" a few times and performed with some of the greatest names in music over the last 40 years. This tterrific quintet covers a great part of the British blues territory. The band go for the throat with a great collection of blues standards and their own songs, and here, not knowing their engineer is recording the concert, the BBQ are as natural as it gets. The rollicking shuffle of "What You Got Is So Good" is a perfect starter. All the tracks are great, but "Penicillin Blues," "Tamp 'Em Up Solid," "San Francisco Bay Blues," "It Never Rains But It Pours" and "Wishing Well" are knockout tracks. This great album has all the inherent features of the best of British blues, and keeps the great tradition alive. Check out Maggie Bell's albums, "Queen Of The Night" and "Suicide Sal." You should also listen to Stone the Crows superb 1970 album, "Ode To John Law."

TRACKS

1. What You Got Is So Good
2. As The Years Go Passing By
3. San Francisco Bay Blues
4. Tamp Em Up Solid
5. It Never Rains But It Pours
6. Wishing Well
7. That’s The Way I Feel
8. Penicillin Blues
9. Walkin’ Blues
10. I Wanna Thank You Baby
11. Fog On The Highway
12. Houston
13. I Just Wanna Make Love To You
14. Respect Yourself

Recorded at The Ferry, Glasgow, Scotland on October 12th, 2007

BAND

Zoot Money - vocals, keyboards
Colin Allen - drums, cymbals
Colin Hodgkinson - vocals, bass guitar
Maggie Bell - vocals
Miller Anderson - vocals, guitar


ABOUT THE BRITISH BLUES QUINTET [ © www.zootmoney.org/bbq-bios.htm ]

ZOOT MONEY - One of the best “good time performers” in the business. Zoot not only plays great keyboards but also sings with guts & emotion. He’s been a formidable contributor to the British music scene for four decades! Playing with Alexis Korner, as well as his own Big Roll Band he became a permanent fixture at the Flamingo in Wardour Street – known for his somewhat outrageous antics on stage. Influenced in his early days by Jerry Lee Lewis & Ray Charles (gives you some idea of his inspiration). In addition to his live music & acting, Zoot is no mean songwriter – his song “It Never Rains But It Pours” (lyrics by Colin Allen), was recorded by Jimmy Witherspoon, for example, & has written for such artistes as Lulu, Maggie Bell & the late Long John Baldry. His prodigious musical knowledge is also called on from time to time as a radio-programming consultant, & Zoot turned producer for two very different artists; soul diva Ruby Turner & up-and-coming indie singer-songwriter Woodstock Taylor. He’s been a writer, musical director, producer & actor. He tours, not only as a solo artist, but with his own Big Roll Band, & performs regularly with Alan Price. This man is not only hugely talented but great fun too!

MILLER ANDERSON - The guitarist who’s played with many of the top bands since the 60’s. Miller came to London in 1965 from Scotland. He joined the Keef Hartley Band in 1968 as vocalist & guitarist & recorded five albums on which he was also the main songwriter. The band appeared at the legendary Woodstock Festival. He has been a member of Savoy Brown, Chicken Shack, Mountain, T-Rex & Donovan’s band. Miller has toured as a guest musician with Deep Purple, appearing on their live CD/DVD recorded at the Albert Hall in 1999, & of course Miller has been a member of The Spencer Davis Group for the past 15 years & has recorded & appeared live on Jon Lord’s (Deep Purple) solo projects.

COLIN HODGKINSON - Colin began his career opening for the Beatles in 1963. Developing his talent as a formidable bass guitarist, he joined Alexis Korner in the late 60’s & stayed with him for almost 20 years. He’s toured extensively – spending a year with Whitesnake before joining various R&B all-star line-ups, featuring artists such as Brian Auger, Chris Farlowe, Spencer Davis, Tony Ashton & other names from the 60’s. In 1999 he was invited by Bill Wyman to open on his Rhythm Kings tour with a 30 minute solo set & in 2001, Gary Moore asked Colin to open on his successful UK tour. During his career, Colin has recorded with many renowned rock artists including Mick Jagger, Jeff Beck, Jan Hammer (Miami Vice), James Young, Neal Schon (ex-Santana), Alexis Korner & Whitesnake, plus hundreds of recording sessions. 2004 saw Colin touring extensively in Europe & the UK with The Spencer Davis Group celebrating 20 years together.

COLIN ALLEN - Played drums with Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Stone the Crows, Focus, Donovan & Bob Dylan. Began playing the drums aged 18 years, playing with local jazz musicians. One of them would later become famous as the guitarist with “The Police” - Andy Summers. Colin moved to London in 1964 as a founder member of the legendary Big Roll Band. He’s also played with many US blues artists including – John Lee Hooker, Sonny Boy Williamson, Memphis Slim & soul singer Solomon Burke. Colin went on to tour with Georgie Fame, before joining John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers in 1968, the first thing he did with Mayall was to record the acclaimed “Blues from Laurel Canyon” album. Colin then became a founder member of the very popular band “Stone the Crows”. He then went on to play & record with the classical influenced Dutch band “Focus”. He then became a member of Donovan’s band, touring Europe & the US, as opening act for Yes. In the early 80’s whist living in Los Angeles, he played on Rod Stewart’s gold & platinum album “Foolish Behaviour”. Then he became a member of the Bluesbreakers once more & toured the US, Australia & Europe. In 1984 he toured Europe with Bob Dylan. Overall he’s played on 50 plus albums & co-written over 60 songs that have been recorded by a variety of artists, including Paul McCartney’s “Wings”, Fleetwood Mac, Mick Taylor & the late Mick Ronson. He lives in Sweden & over the years has played with many of Sweden’s top artists. Lately Colin has been appearing at various UK & European blues festivals as a member of the “British All-Star Blues Band.

MAGGIE BELL



- Maggie, the Scots Queen of the Blues, once the star of Stone The Crows, the hard rock band from the early seventies, is one of the greatest blues and soul singers her time, blessed with a powerhouse voice that makes fans go weak at the knees. Maggie Bell was born in Glasgow into a musical family who, as a teenager, sang with local dance bands. In the sixties she toured German US Airforce bases before returning to Scotland to form ‘Power’ with guitarist Leslie Harvey which later became Stone The Crows. Managed by Mark London and Peter Grant, the man behind Led Zeppelin, some of Maggie’s happiest memories are when she was jetting across America in luxury alongside her mates in Led Zeppelin. All was going well, but in 1972 due to a tragic accident, Leslie Harvey was electrocuted on stage, just as they were about to start playing. Jimmy McCulloch joined the band & they continued to tour & record, but eventually the management decided that Maggie should continue as a solo artist. Jerry Wexler wanted to team up with Maggie and together they sat down and listened to hundreds of songs, searching for the very best. After doing their homework and Maggie having learned the lyrics, they put a band of top class musicians together. The result was 'Queen Of the Night' which earned rave reviews. "It was wonderful," recalls Maggie. “Bette Midler said it was the best solo album from a female artist she'd ever heard, and it got great notices in the American magazines. There was even an article about me in Time Magazine! The record got to Number Ten in the charts and it did really well." Maggie went on the road and remembers some nerve-wracking dates with Earth, Wind & Fire in the Deep South, when the group were at the height of their fame. "I had to open the show and the audiences were all sitting there with their mouths hanging open and doing nuthin'." She hit on the idea of asking her road manager to make a wooden screen. "I told him that I wanted to sing the first song behind the screen and then appear on stage just to see what the response was like. Well the response was unbelievable! You see, at first they couldn't accept a white woman from Scotland singing the blues. Scotland? Where's Scotland - is that near Alaska? But we used the screen and then it was OK - ha, ha!“ Maggie toured Germany in 1975 to promote 'Queen Of The Night' and the response was so good she was encouraged to record her second excellent album, ‘Suicide Sal’ "We recorded it at Ringo Starr's studio, they were wonderful people." Maggie enjoyed mixing songs by her favourite artists and fellow musicians - creating an appealing blend of moods. Paul Rodgers' 'Wishing Well', certainly got the album off to a flying start. "I've always loved Free and that song in particular, so I was keen to do my own version.” The next track was 'I Was In Chains', written by the Sutherland Brothers. Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin chipped in on 'If You Don't Know.’ Next came the hard rocking 'What You Got' and the Leo Sayer and Dave Courtney’s ballad ‘In My I.ife.' 'Comin' On Strong' was supplied by her ex-drummer Colin Allen and Zoot Money and Maggie covered another Free song, 'Hold On', by Simon Kirke and Paul Kossoff. Then Maggie recorded her own special interpretation of Lennon & McCartney's 'I Saw I Her Standing There', suitably re-titled. “I used to do a great version of that on stage with Pete Wingfield. I thought it was just as good as Joe Cocker's 'With A Little Help From My Friends'.” ‘It's Been So Long', was contributed by Phil May of The Pretty Things. “Phil changed a few of the lyrics for me, and I did my version with him doing some of the vocal backings.” The album sold well, particularly in the US and Europe, where audiences could accept her as more than just the lead singer of Stone The Crows. “No matter who you are, if you split away from a band, people have divided loyalties. Some fans don't like you to do solo albums. But it did okay and I did a lot of tours to promote 'Suicide Sal.' so I can’t complain!” For many years Maggie Bell has lived in Holland where she continued singing and touring in Europe. Now she’s back home in the UK with some of her favourite musicians. She’s teaming up with Zoot Money, Colin Allen, Colin Hodgkinson and Miller Anderson to go on the road once more. She’s strong, she’s dynamic, she still has that great powerhouse voice. Maggie’s back !

Patto

Patto - Patto - 1970 - Vertigo

This is a forgotten classic progressive jazz rock album by the great British jazz rockers Patto. The band were formed from the ashes of Timebox and were named after the wild man of UK rock, the late Mike Patto, (born Michael Thomas McCarthy on September 22, 1942 in Cirencester, Gloucestershire: died on 4th March 1979, from lymphatic leukaemia). Lucky enough to be signed to Vertigo, the label of many progressive rock classics, Patto went into the studio with Muff Winwood as producer. Winwood had left the Spencer Davis Group in 1967, in order to take up the job a the head of A&R at Chris Blackwell's Island Records. Winwood decided to record Patto with a 'live-in-the studio' feel. "Patto" was released in November, 1970, and it is a brilliant album. The album is remarkable, not only for Ollie Halsall's extraordinary guitar work , who was capable of amazing jazz inspired runs and unimaginable peaks of distortion on both the electric guitar and vibraphone, but also for the bands expert handling of complex time signatures and jazz changes. Mike Patto himself, was a great vocalist who could handle smooth ballads, screaming rock and roll, and the middle ground as well. The album received great critical acclaim by both the music press and fellow musicians. But this great album was a commercial failure, and reportedly only sold about 5,000 copies. This may sound incredible, but it was certainly not unusual in the early seventies, as there were so many great bands around, and the competition was intense. This album is VHR by A.O.O.F.C as one of the best progressive prog. jazz rock albums of the seventies. If you can track it down, buy it. Their 1971 "Hold Your Fire" album is another excellent album from Patto, and is worth buying, (again, if you can find it!).

TRACKS

1. The Man 6:10
2. Hold Me Back 4:40
3. Time To Die 3:00
4. Red Glow 5:15
5. San Antone 3:10
6. Government Man 4:20
7. Money Bag 10:10
8. Sittin' Back Easy 3:30
9.Hanging Rope (Bonus Track - On the Repertoire 2004 CD release)


BAND

Clive Griffiths - Bass
Ollie Halsall - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
John Halsey - Drums
Mike Patto - Vocals


BIO (Wikipedia)


Patto was a progressive jazz-rock band formed in England in 1970 consisting of Mike Patto (born Michael Thomas Sean Patrick McCarthy, 22 September 1942, in Cirencester,Gloucestershire died 4 March 1979) on vocals, John Halsey (born 23 February 1945, in Highgate, North London died in 1979) (ex Barry Reed and the Avengers, Felder's Orioles) on drums, Ollie Halsall (born Peter John Halsall, 14 March 1949, in Southport Lancashire died 29 May 1992, in Madrid, Spain) on guitars and vibes, and Clive Griffiths (born 16 May 1945, in Middlewich, Cheshire) on bass. All ex Timebox. Timebox was a '60's outfit that developed from a complicaded ancestry that included The Bo Street Runners, Patto's People, and the Chicago Blue Line. This soul/psych-pop combo made two singles for Pye's Piccadilly, before signing to Decca's Deram label in 1967. They also recorded five singles for Deram between '67 and '69 and appeared on BBC shows such as Noise at Nine, Stuart Henry on Sunday and Jimmy Young. After their last single failed in '69, keyboard player Chris Holmes (born Christopher Noel Holmes, 12 September 1945, in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire) left and they decided that their future lay in the burgeoning progressive rock movement. In 1970 Patto was formed out of the remaining ex-members of Timebox and was signed to the newly formed Vertigo label. With Muff Winwood as producer they recorded their first album live in studio. This was because Winwood felt this best way to capture the raw virtuosity of Halsall's guitar playing and Mike Patto's soulful voice. The album "Patto" sold poorly and is still considered an underrated classic today. In December 1971 Patto entered the studio again to record their second album "Hold Your Fire". Again the sales were poor and they were dropped from Vertigo. This did not hinder the fact that they were becoming known as one of the most exciting live acts of their time. Through his connections in England Muff Winwood was able to get the band signed to Island Records where they recorded the album "Roll 'em Smoke 'em Put Another Line Out". To their dismay this album also sold poorly. In 1973 the band began to record their next album. For this album Mike Patto wanted to use more of his material which was less cynical than the usual Patto songs and much more commercial. For whatever reason Halsall failed to put much effort into his playing on tracks that he didn't take part in writing and when asked about this he left the band. The album that was called Monkey's Bum was also rejected by Island Records. Without their virtuoso guitarist Patto chose to call it quits with each member moving on to other projects.

MORE ABOUT PATTO [Source: The Tapestry of Delights - The Comprehensive Guide to British Music of the Beat, R&B, Psychedelic and Progressive Eras 1963-1976, Vernon Joynson ISBN 1 899855 04 1 ]

Mike Patto (real name Michael Patrick McGarth) first came to light as the vocalist in a Norwich R&B outfit called Mike Patto and The Breakaways. After several line-up changes, The Breakaways became The Bluebottles, but soon after Patto headed for London to join The National Youth Jazz Orchestra. At the same time he had a spell with The Bo Street Runners and the Chicago Line Blues Band in 1966 before forming Timebox, which eventually evolved into Patto. These three albums were heavier in style than what he'd done to date but failed to capture a wider interest. Nonetheless, "Patto" (1970), was a good jazz-rock fusion featuring some fine vibraphone and guitar playing from Ollie Halsall. "Hold Your Fire", which is now hard to find on vinyl, was reputedly better, although their album for Island was rather disappointing. When the project disintegrated in 1973, Patto embarked on a brief solo career and also had spells in Spooky Tooth and Boxer (the latter venture reuniting him with Ollie Halsall). His final solo 45, "Sitting In The Park" was a ballad done by Billy Stewart and Georgie Fame. Sadly, he died on 3 March 1979 of throat cancer. The flip side to his first 45, "Love", which was actually a Bo Street Runners track, left over from their earlier sessions, later appeared on the "Pop-Sike Pipe-Dream" compilation.

Hoops McCann Band

Hoops McCann Band - Plays The Music Of Steely Dan - 1988 - MCA

A GRADE A tribute album from The Hoops McCann Band, unusual in that the band members all played with Becker & Fagen at one time or another on original Steely Dan albums, tracks, or at live concerts. This album got the "go ahead" from Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The Hoops McCann Band was comprised of some of the greatest L.A. session musicians. Originally, the band formed to play a live concert at a jazz festival in Oregon. They did a whole set of Dan tunes with the big band sound treatment. And what a sound! Victor Feldman, the amazing percussionist and veteran of many Steely Dan sessions arranged one of the songs on this album (Babylon Sisters), and was a charter member of Hoops McCann, but sadly passed away, and didn't play on the album. There have been quite a few Dan tribute albums, but only three capture the essence of Becker & Fagens unique chord changes and time signatures, and give a satisfactory interpretation of their music. Along with this album, it is the opinion of A.O.O.F.C, that the other two albums are - 1. Justin Morell Quintet - The Music of Steely Dan @ JMQ/PTMOSD and 2. Sara Isaksson & Rebecka Törnqvist - Fire In The Hole @ Isaksson/Törnqvist/FITH A.O.O.F.C would especially welcome views on this opinion.

N.B: My eternal thanks to Bennett, who went to the trouble of sending me this rare album. Sorry I forgot to credit you Bennett as I did on original post. The original link expired, and when I reposted album, I forgot to credit you again. My apologies (A.O.O.F.C)

TRACKS

1 Black Cow Horn section comes rumbling out of the gate. The guitar lines are plucked carefully to accentuate the sounds. The brass handles the melody through the first chorus. And then the piano takes over on the bridge. The horns keep rocking back and forth and that furious guitar line keeps striking through it all. Then we flip to a strong alto sax solo. This really is a clearly cut big band arrangement of this song. It has a Stan Kenton feel to it. And then we have the Tenor taking charge. And then Chuck Findley taking a ride on the trumpet, with all of these great soloists it isn t surprising that this music has been so well received. And then the master himself, Paul Humphries applies his gentle touch to this song he takes a very energetic drum solo. He played drums on the original on Aja.

2 Babylon Sisters A beginning of simple muted trumpet and piano, played like in a smoky back room. And then the horn section comes in with some sort of avant-garde jazz chords for the end of the intro. Then the band comes in, and they are playing it as a swing. The horns are working up and down against one another. Michael Lang is soloing hard over the top of it all. The Saxes are using some of the horn lines from the original song, but varied, delightful. Then the guitar solos over the top of all of that. This is followed by a series of solos.

3 Rapunzel Here we have a song written by Donald and Walter for another original jazz project that they had produced. It was written for the Pete Christlieb Warne Marsh Quintet album Apogee. This was a 1978 Warner Brothers release, and yet another very hard to find bit of music. There is an absolutely lovely baritone solo from Bill Perk Perkins. This is followed closely by a tenor solo from Jim Coile. And then Michael Lang takes it out in a very difficult role of playing piano on a sort of Steely Dan record date.

4 Glamour Profession This is a lovely big band arrangement of the Hoops McCann signature song. Duke Ellington would have been proud, the sax section battles back and forth with the brass. And then there is a nice break where Perkins picks up the flute and plays in unison with the piano on the bridge. The trombones play a more prominent role in this song. This is the one from the Gaucho album with the line about Hoops McCann, where this band took their name. Really nice arrangement and there are some great solos on this song as well.

5 Throw Back The Little Ones One of Steely Dan s dirtier songs, with their innuendo and their naughty ways. Throw back the little ones, and pan fry the big ones, use tack, poise and reason, and gently squeeze them. Oh yeah.

Mitch Holder takes the lead on guitar and guides the song along. The horn section works around him. And then there is a break for Chuck Berghofer to solo on electric bass, with well-timed Rhodes dropped in around it and subtle guitar licks. The bass solo is one of the highlights of the album. Chuck plays hard and melodic, and he does his share of be-bop lines, and then the horns come storming back in to take it home.

6 Deacon Blues This song starts out with the most gentle piano of the album. This is really Michael Lang s chance to shine. He plays much of the song solo. He starts out with a little Art Tatum thing, solo, all alone and all over the keys. And then he begins to explore Donald s lovely chords. This is a song that is built around blues chords and makes room for a lot of very deep playing.

The band comes in and plays trio for a while, Humphries on brushes, and Berghofer on the upright. This is the smoky bar, old days in Paris kind of jazz. The soloing is brilliant and lapses at a point into a Claude Bolling kind of feel. The upright takes a chorus of solo and then the song is back. This is the prettiest song on the record by far.

7 Green Earrings This starts with the full band sound, and back to electric. The trumpet section is playing this high and wailing. The band is playing a fast swing with heavy work on the ride symbol. Then we go to a very Parkeresque alto solo from Jerome Richardson. There is no doubt that be-bop lives. Chuck Findley, one of the best in the business, follows this closely on the heels and he follows the bird ideas with his best diz ideas. The band comes back in with Findley again screaming over the top of a complex rhythm, and the band takes it home big band style.

8 Three By Wally And Donald The band finishes with a medley of three, beginning with Black Cow. The beginning is the same basic arrangement as the tune itself heard earlier. The horn section writing on this part of the song is stunning. Then they transition into that lovely solo piano business of Deacon Blues. Michael Lang playing tasty and gentle. And finally the band comes full circle by sliding lovingly into the vagina of Babylon Sisters. And this song is where we fade into the night. They recreate that amazing horn section part at the end of Babylon Sisters, and move with it as gracefully as section could. They finish with a flourish.

Track reviews are © deaser26 -- a member of Epinions and Top Reviewer in Music, epinions.com, from http://search.reviews.ebay.ca/Plays-The-Music-Of-Steely-Dan_UPC_076742220228_W0QQfvcsZ1294QQsoprZ3055715QQucptZ1QQupvrZ4QQuvidZ10000000000207092, [© 1995-2008 eBay Inc. All Rights Reserved.]

BAND

Chuck Berghofer - Bass
Jim Coile - Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor)
Chuck Findley - Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Mitch Holder - Guitar
Paul Humphrey - Drums
Slyde Hyde - Trombone, Tuba, Trombone (Bass)
Michael Lang - Piano
Bill Perkins - Sax (Baritone), Sax (Soprano)
Jerome Richardson - Flute, Sax (Alto), Sax (Soprano)
Joe Roccisano - Conductor, Producer
The late Victor Feldman arranged "Babylon Sisters."

Johnnie Bassett & Blues Insurgents - Cadillac Blues - 1997 - Cannonball

Living Blues - Bassett's immaculate hollow-body guitar phrasing and elegantly burnished vocal delivery testify to the timeless beauty and power of 1950s-style urban blues.... "Raise the Roof, Raise the Rent" is one of the happiest houserockers to come along in many a moon.... [Certain songs] showcase Bassett's confident vocals and supple fretwork in upbeat settings.... [This is] a wonderful album. [Editorial review, © 1996-2008, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates ] Johnnie Bassett & The Blues Insurgents are an exceptional blues and jazz band based in Detroit, Michigan USA. This is a truly impressive blues/funk album, and HR by A.O.O.F.C. Check out his great "I Gave My Life to the Blues" album.

TRACKS

1. I'm Gonna Do, What I'm Gonna Do
2. Cadillac Blues
3. Broke In Pieces
4. I Can't Get It Together
5. That's Fair Play
6. Get Over Here Baby
7. Raise The Roof, Raise The Rent
8. Walk On Baby
9. Memories Of Your Perfume
10. Cadillac Baby
11. Dog House Is My Home
12. Dresser Drawers

CREDITS

Willie Mitchell (Engineer), Willie Mitchell (Production Assistant), Willie Mitchell (Mixing), Willie Mitchell (Assistant Producer), Dwight Adams (Trumpet), Dwight Adams (Flugelhorn), Dwight Adams (Horn Arrangements), William Brown (Engineer), William Brown (Production Assistant), William Brown (Mixing), William Brown (Assistant Producer), Ron Levy (Engineer), Ron Levy (Horn Arrangements), Ron Levy (Mixing), R.J. Spangler (Drums), R.J. Spangler (Bandleader), R.J. Spangler (Production Assistant), R.J. Spangler (Assistant Producer), Phil Klum (Engineer), Phil Klum (Mastering), Keith Kaminski (Sax (Alto)), Keith Kaminski (Sax (Tenor)), Keith Kaminski (Horn Arrangements), Robert Barclay (Photography), Johnnie Bassett (Guitar), Johnnie Bassett (Vocals), Johnnie Bassett (Main Performer), Bob Bell (Liner Notes), Chris Codish (Organ), Chris Codish (Bass), Chris Codish (Organ (Hammond)), Chris Codish (Horn Arrangements), Chris Codish (Production Assistant), Chris Codish (Assistant Producer), Johnnie Bassett & The Blues Insurgents (Performer), Papa Willie (Horn Arrangements)

REVIEW

Two in a row for Johnny Bassett and his fine band, the Blues Insurgents. They are the keepers of the flame of straight-ahead, postwar blues. Bassett, musically, is a direct descendant of B.B. King circa 1965, with his pure, clean tone and long, flowing guitar lines uncluttered by electronic devices. Vocally, he sounds like Mose Allison and Johnny Adams in an untrained way. His band is very tight and unusual because, along with trumpet, tenor sax and drums, it includes organ, which also plays the bass parts. If this disc has any faults, it may be that Bassett delivers a couple of the hurting songs with too much positive emotion, which seems at odds with his lyrics. A very satisfying disc of shuffles, down-in-the-alley slow blues and funk. © Sigmund Finman, All Music Guide

BIO

Guitarist, singer and songwriter Johnnie Bassett grew up with blues music all around him in his native Florida. His unique ability to combine jump blues and Delta stylings gives his playing a distinctive sound. The self-taught guitarist recalls seeing Tampa Red, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup and other classic blues artists at fish fries in his grandmother's backyard. Bassett cites Aaron "T-Bone" Walker as a major influence, as well as B.B. and Albert King, Tiny Grimes and Billy Butler. After Bassett\'s family moved to Detroit in 1944, he made his debut as a guitarist with Joe Weaver and the Bluenotes, a teenage R&B band. The group won local talent contests and were hired to back up Big Joe Turner, Ruth Brown and others on their tour stops in Detroit. Bassett went into the Army in 1958 and played in a country & western group while stationed in Washington state. After returning to Detroit, he found work as a session guitarist for Fortune Records by day and in nightclubs at night. In the studios, he played backup to musicians and groups like Nolan Strong and the Diablos, Andre Williams and the Don Juans and the Five Dollars. He also played guitar on the first recording by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles while traveling to Chicago to record as a session man for the Chess Records label. During his Detroit days, he also accompanied John Lee Hooker, Eddie Burns, Alberta Adams, Lowell Fulson and the T.J. Fowler Band at their live shows, as well as Dinah Washington. In the 1960s, Bassett moved to Seattle, where he backed up Tina Turner, Little Willie John and others. Jimi Hendrix was a frequent guest at the bluesman's club gigs around Seattle. Before the decade ended, he moved back to Detroit, where he's been based ever since. In 1994, Bassett received a lifetime achievement award from the Detroit Blues Society. He later recorded an album for the Dutch Black Magic label, I Gave My Life to the Blues (1996). Bassett and his band, the Blues Insurgents -- which he's been fronting since the early 1990s -- have made several U.S., Canadian and European tours in support of LPs including 1997's Bassett Hound and 1998's Cadillac Blues. © Richard Skelly, All Music Guide