Savoy Brown

Savoy Brown - Raw Live 'N' Blue - 2001 - Akarma Italy

Most if not all of the tracks on "Raw Live 'N' Blue" have been already released on other Savoy Brown albums and compilations. The first disc contains live material recorded on June 27th, 1981 at the Rainbow Music Hall, Denver, Colorado. The second disc features studio sessions from 1980 plus the bonus track 'Run To Me'. CD 1 is a great album which shows this legendary band at their blues boogiein' best. CD 2 contains mostly studio versions and do not necessarily represent SB's best '80's work. However, the music is still top notch, and anything by Kim Simmonds and/or Savoy Brown is worth a listen. Listen to SB's "Blue Matter", "Raw Sienna", "Live at the Record Plant", and "Looking In" albums. Search this blog for more Savoy Brown info.

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

CD 1

1 Street Corner Talkin' - Simmonds 4:38
2 I'm Tired - Youlden 2:47
3 Hellbound Train - Simmonds 9:18
4 Train to Nowhere - Simmonds, Youlden 4:04
5 I Can't Get Next to You - Strong, Whitfield 4:43
6 All I Can Do Is Cry - Simmonds 7:43
7 Needle and Spoon - Youlden 2:58
8 Tell Mama - Raymond, Simmonds 13:22
9 Wang Dang Doodle - Dixon 5:30
10 Louisiana Blues - Morganfield 4:25
11 The Boogie - Simmonds 6:34

CD 2

12 Cold Hearted Woman - Chatman 2:39
13 Georgie - Simmonds 2:52
14 Bad Breaks - Simmonds 5:43
15 Don't Tell Me I Told You - Simmonds 2:44
16 This Could Be the Night - Simmonds 4:02
17 Lay Back in the Arms of Someone - Simmonds 4:19
18 Shot Down by Love - Simmonds 3:04
19 Bad Girls (Make Me Feel Good) - Blackmore, Glover 3:37
20 Got Love If You Want It - Simmonds 3:16
21 Nobody's Perfect - Blacker, Simmonds 3:36
22 Run to Me - Norman, Spencer 3:45

MUSICIANS

Kim Simmonds - Guitar, Vocals, Slide Guitar
Barry Paul - Guitar, Guitar (Rhythm), Vocals
Tom Boxwell - Guitar
John Humphrey - Bass, Vocals
Peter Schless, John Sinclair - Keyboards
Keith Boyce - Drums
Andrea Robinson, Sue Richman, Ralph Mormon, Linda Lawley, Riba Gleich - Vocals

BIO

Part of the late-'60s blues-rock movement, Britain's Savoy Brown never achieved as much success in their homeland as they did in America, where they promoted their albums with nonstop touring. The band was formed and led by guitarist Kim Simmonds, whose dominating personality has led to myriad personnel changes; the original lineup included singer Bryce Portius, keyboardist Bob Hall, guitarist Martin Stone, bassist Ray Chappell, and drummer Leo Manning. This lineup appeared on the band's 1967 debut, Shake Down, a collection of blues covers. Seeking a different approach, Simmonds dissolved the group and brought in guitarist Dave Peverett, bassist Rivers Jobe, drummer Roger Earl, and singer Chris Youlden, who gave them a distinctive frontman with his vocal abilities, bowler hat, and monocle. With perhaps its strongest lineup, Savoy Brown quickly made a name for itself, now recording originals like "Train to Nowhere" as well. However, Youlden left the band in 1970 following Raw Sienna, and shortly thereafter, Peverett, Earl, and new bassist Tony Stevens departed to form Foghat, continuing the pattern of consistent membership turnover. Simmonds collected yet another lineup and began a hectic tour of America, showcasing the group's now-refined bluesy boogie rock style, which dominated the rest of their albums. The group briefly broke up in 1973, but re-formed the following year. Throughout the '80s and '90s Simmonds remained undeterred by a revolving door membership and continued to tour and record. Their first album for the Blind Pig label, Strange Dreams, was released in 2003. Steel followed in 2007 from Panache Records. © Steve Huey © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3vfexq95ldhe~T1

Kyla Brox

Kyla Brox - Paul Jones Radio Show BBC Radio 2 on 7/4/08 - 2008 - BBC Promo

Three track BBC Radio CD featuring the magnificent Kyla Brox and her band. Search this blog for more info on the great British vocalist and her band

Led by the daughter of the legendary bluesman Victor Brox (Aynsley Dunbar's Retaliation), The Kyla Brox Band started in 2002 and has recorded five great albums and impressed global audiences. She has toured Australia twice. The main band is composed of Kyla (vocals & flute), Danny Blomeley (bass guitar); Marshall Gill (electric guitar); Tony Marshall (saxophones) and Phil Considine (drums). Whether playing their stunning brand of funky or sultry soul blues, and R&B, this brilliant band always play with emotion, passion and are totally dedicated to their music. Kyla's vocal style has been compared to Connie Lush, and Dana Gillespie, and that's a huge compliment to her singing. Kyla's music includes classic soul blues, and R&B songs, as well as some great original material. A.O.O.F.C often refers to artists like Rory Block, Bonnie Raitt, and Maria Muldaur who are some of the worlds greatest blues revivalists, and conservationists. Well, Kyla Brox can be added to that list. The blues is ingrained in all her music, and she has used some of the traditional soul and blues styles to create her own unique sound. Great credit must be given to her and guitarists like Danny Blomeley who are preserving the real blues fundamentals. Lionel Ross stated that "Kyla Brox is without doubt the finest young female blues singer in the UK today. Her voice is magnificent, combining effortless power with exquisite control." Kyla is now nicknamed "The Voice", (How about that, Paul Rodgers?!), and she is undoubtedly an incredible vocalist, and Danny Blomeley is an amazing guitarist with a fabulous playing style. Although Kyla has had reasonable media exposure, mainly in the U.K, and has gone down well in Australia, more international promotion would most likely ensure Kyla Brox's future as one of the all time great soul/blues singers. A.O.O.F.C is trying hard to promote Kyla Brox, but her albums are often difficult to buy. It's a shame that her albums are not more widely available in record stores. They are all outstanding. If you do come across any of her merchandise and records, PLEASE PLEASE buy the stuff!! And if she's playing in your area, go and see this truly great artist and her band. You will hear something really special. Please promote and support Kyla Brox, and her music. Try and listen to her "Grey Sky Blue", "Window", "Gone", "Coming Home", and "Beware" and "Live at Matt & Phred's". Search this blog for more on Kyla

TRACKS

1 I Can't Wait
2 Coming Home
3 Too Young To Care

BIOGRAPHY [ © 2003-2009 MySpace. All Rights Reserved ]

Kyla was born to sing. She grew up in Manchester, England, listening to her dad singing the blues and her mum singing opera, not to mention the soul and rock exploits of her four older siblings, so it seems inevitable that she would be bitten by the music bug. By the age of 3 she had her heart set firmly on becoming a singer (even asking for Chaka Khan's clothes, hair and voice for Christmas!) and by 1993, at 12 years old, she had already begun to sing in her father's band, the Victor Brox Blues Train (which he originally formed way back in the 60s with Kyla's mother, Annette). It's little wonder that Victor, multiinstrumentalist and singer (who fronted the Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation, and has played/recorded with the likes of Alexis Korner, Little Walter, Graham Bond, Muddy Waters, Champion Jack Dupree, Jimi Hendrix, Doctor John, Peter Green and Sonny Boy Williamson II...) has been a huge influence on Kyla's musical career, encouraging her to learn to play the flute and guitar, as well as sing. Tours, numerous gigs and festivals, and a handful of cds with the Victor Brox Blues Train, have ensured that Kyla has had the proper schooling in her craft. Fate played it's hand in 1993, when Kyla met the equally precocious, 13 year old multi-instrumentalist, Danny Blomeley, when he began to play bass in her dad's band. Danny was a seasoned musician even then, having formed the first of his own band aged 10 (in which he played electric guitar). The pair spent their teenage years honing their skills together in the Victor Brox Blues Train (then affectionately known as the "Child Slavery Band" due to the extreme youth of the musicians!), until 1998 when Danny left the UK to travel the world with guitar in hand. His musical expertise was soon in demand from a diverse range of bands, playing jazz, blues, salsa and rock, on guitar, bass, mandolin and piano. When Danny arrived back in the UK in the spring of 2001, he and Kyla formed a duo. Danny's sensationally unique style on the acoustic guitar is the perfect complement to Kyla's incredible voice, and often leaves the audience wondering where the rest of the band are hiding! Their vibrant performances quickly made them a favourite in the clubs and venues around North West England, and the rest of the UK was soon to follow. With media interest, including Kyla featuring on the front covers of the UKs two biggest Blues dedicated magazines, Blues In Britain and Blues Matters! (who coined her nickname, "The Voice") and radio play, including a live session for BBC Radio 2 (the UKs most listened to radio station), their reputation has grown and grown. The pair make a strong song-writing partnership and recorded their first album, ‘Window’, in 2003, a mixture of original and classic numbers. Kyla and Danny put together an electric band in 2002, with Danny on bass, Marshall Gill on electric guitar, Tony Marshall on saxophones and Phil Considine on drums. The Kyla Brox Band have recorded three studio albums, ‘Beware’, ‘Coming Home’ and most recently 'Gone', and also a powerful live album, ‘Live at Matt & Phred’s’. With their own special mix of funky, jazz-tinged blues, and armed with the two different touring outfits, they have caused a stir all over the world, performing concerts, and often headlining at festivals though out the UK, Europe, Australia and Asia, such as, The Great British Rhythm n Blues Festival (Europe's largest blues festival), Copenhagen Blues Festival, Blues autour du Zinc, (Paris), The Great Southern Blues and Rockabilly Festival (Australia), Phuket International Blues Festival (Thailand), Edinburgh Festival (Scotland) and Limavady Jazz & Blues Festival (Ireland), to mention a few. “...acoustic, intimate and powerfully emotive” Alan Pierce, Editor, Blues Matters Magazine. “Excellent!” Paul Jones, BBC. Kyla and the band have recorded five albums to date, with a repetoire drawn from classic R&B songs and their own compositions. The Blues runs deep through their original material, but they build on that to create their own sound. They are anything but your average Blues band, yet they keep the fundamentals of the Blues alive; they play with a feeling that is infectious. "I haven't honestly seen a better British Blues band for quite some time." - Jenny Lyndsey, Blues in Britian Magazine. "Destined to be Britians number one female singer." - Pete Evans, Dragon Blues Festival. "What a voice, what a talent, what performances!!!" - Darren Howells, Blues Matters! Magazine. "Kyla's voice is up there with the greats." - Chris Cordingley, Blues Matters! Magazine. "...an authentic Soul diva!..." - Mike Butler, City Life Magazine. "Kyla Brox Rocks!" - Northern Territory News, Australia.

Thijs Van Leer

Thijs Van Leer - Introspection - 1972 - CBS

It seems unfair that some people are so much more talented than others. THIJS VAN LEER is one of those more-than-usually gifted musicians. He could have been a concert pianist for instance. Born the last day of March 1948, he caressed the keys when still in the tiniest of toddlers, started up studying seriously when he was all of three years old and became the often praised pupil of locally famous pianists like Maria Stroo and Gerard Hengeveld. When he was thirteen, he became interested in jazz and pretty soon played fine harmonic variations on "Stella by Starlight" and other beautiful ballads. Van Leer Senior, however, was not very happy to see a possible Mozart gradually becoming a probable Bill Evans. Being an extraordinary flute player himself, he started to teach young Thijs the intricacies of this old and difficult instrument. Meanwhile, the musical prodigy did very well in school. His finished his Gymnasium-studies in record time and even proved to have more arrows to his cultural bow than people had expected: during an inter-scholar match, he proved himself an exciting actor in Shakespeare, did some declamation of his own poetry, played and flute and finally sang a song he had just composed in true Richard Rogers-style: music and lyrics. It was then that I had the fortune to discover Thijs van Leer and I took him to his recording session in 1967. This resulted in a single nobody took notice of. I also introduced Van Leer to Ramses Shaffy, who was just forming a new cabaret group and soon young Thijs made his professional debut on stages all over the country. Meanwhile he studied the History of Art, took lessons in harmony and counterpoint at the Amsterdam Conservatory and painted many pictures. Success had to come one way or another. It came when he formed his own group with equally talented Jan Akkerman, a guitar player of great virtuosity and his group called FOCUS, has now won prizes in Festivals all over Europe, as well as the 1971 Edison Award, apart from being a top-selling bunch of record makers. This is the first solo LP Thijs van Leer has made. It goes back to Bach in some numbers, it shows his classical training, it proves his ability as a flute player. It also shows his remarkable sense of style and form. Whether you hear Fauré's lovely Pavane or Van Leer's own FOCUS I and II, you will be thrilled by the whole conception and realisation of his music. A word of praise should be printed for Rogier van Otterloo, who wrote so many fine arrangements for Rita Reys and others and who came up this time (being a pianist and flute player himself) with truly lush orchestral backgrounds, in which a prominent part is played, or rather sung, by young soprano Letty de Jong. So there it is: an LP featuring a still very young but unusually gifted performer named Thijs van Leer, whose name you're bound to hear many times in the future and whose kind of music should appeal to anyone with good ears and taste. © Willem Duys 1996 / 2010 © FOCUS TRIBUTE HOMEPAGE http://www.mpq.com.br/focus/solos/leer01.htm

In 1972 FOCUS had already obtained world success and its musicians' talent was deservedly recognized. Was in this same year that Thijs van Leer began his solo career, parallelly to the work in FOCUS. The debuts was the album Instrospection, that would be the first of a series with the same name. This series sold very much, mainly in Belgium and Netherlands. Sincerely the series Introspection probably doesn't please the most traditional rocker, because its not rock albums. In Introspection Thijs show us many versions of classic music and include new versions of his compositions in FOCUS. This confirm my thesis that if Thijs van Leer or Jan Akkerman had been born in the middle-ages, today they would be considered so important for the music like Bach, Handel, Albinoni, etc. © Rodrigo Mantovani 1996 / 2010 © FOCUS TRIBUTE HOMEPAGE http://www.mpq.com.br/focus/introspe.htm

Beautifully played classical pieces including two self-penned tracks from the great ex-Focus member. Even if you prefer rock or jazz music, this album is a worthwhile listen. It shows the other side of this great musician, and is an album that should appeal to all good music lovers. Listen to Thijs' "I Hate Myself (For Loving You)" album and Focus' marvellous live "At the Rainbow" album

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

SIDE 1

1."Pavanne" (Fauré Op. 50) - Gabriel Fauré
2."Rondo" - Rogier van Otterloo
3."Agnus Dei" (from Mass in B minor JS Bach) - Johann Sebastian Bach
4."Focus I"- Thijs van Leer

SIDE 2

1."Erbarme Dich" (from St. Matthew Passion JS Bach) - Johann Sebastian Bach
2."Focus II"-Thijs van Leer
3."Introspection"- Rogier van Otterloo

MUSICIANS

Letty DeJong – Vocals
Thijs Van Leer – Synthesizer, flute, keyboards, vocals

SHORT BIO (WIKIPEDIA)

Thijs van Leer, (born 31 March 1948, Amsterdam) is a Dutch musician, singer and composer, best known for heading the Dutch progressive rock band, Focus, as primary vocalist, Hammond organ player, and flautist. He also sings, yodels and whistles. In his later years, Van Leer went on to release many solo albums which were also classical music and jazz-based. Van Leer received his first flute at the age of eleven from his father, a classical flautist. He studied History of Art at Amsterdam University; after when he began studying flute and composition at the Amsterdam Conservatorium. He received a degree for flute from Geneva Conservatoire and also studied piano, orchestration (with Rogier van Otterloo) and organ (with Anthon van der Horst). While still at school, van Leer led a jazz group on piano. He went on to play the flute and sing with the Shaffy cabaret group. In 1969 he joined Martijn Dresden (bass) and Hans Cleuver (drums) to form a trio that covered songs by Traffic and backed other Dutch musicians, as well as playing their own material. Later in the year guitarist Jan Akkerman joined, completing the initial line-up of Focus. They released several albums in the early 1970s. Van Leer headed Focus through several line-up changes, and by 1977 he was the only remaining original member. The group disbanded in 1978. In 1985, van Leer briefly reunited with Akkerman to make Focus 1985. In 2002, van Leer created a new Focus line-up, which has since released the albums Focus 8 and Focus 9 / New Skin. A British tour was undertaken in spring 2006. He also appeared as a guest musician on the album, Into the Electric Castle, by Arjen Anthony Lucassen's musical project Ayreon. In 2008 Explore Multimedia released van Leer's first solo album in nearly a decade, The Home Concert. The album featured recordings made in his living room as he played material for Focus 9. The album is exclusively available via the internet, and at concerts.

Little Feat

Little Feat - Let It Roll - 1988 - Warner Bros.

When Little Feat reunited in 1988, they were embraced by some dedicated fans, but were spurned by nearly an equal number of cultists. That's because to certain diehards, Little Feat belonged to Lowell George and, without him, the group doesn't exist. While it is true that George was the main songwriter and visionary during the early years of the group, he had pulled away from the group in the last half of the '70s and only had a marginal impact on their final three albums of the '70s. Also, throughout their career, the band contributed significantly, co-writing songs with George, writing their own tunes and, of course, shaping the band's sound with their musicianship. Although George was gone, they still had the desire to perform, so it was understandable that they wanted to reunite, with Craig Fuller taking George's place. What's surprising about Let It Roll is not just that it works, but that it works smashingly. It sounds as if the group picked up after The Last Record Album, deciding to return to the sound of Feats Don't Fail Me Now. True, the songwriting might not have the idiosyncratic genius of George, but it's strong, catchy and memorable, from the fine singles "Hate to Lose Your Lovin'" and "Let it Roll" to album tracks. More importantly, the band sounds lively and playful - Little Feat hasn't sounded this good in the studio since Feats, so it's easy to see why the members wanted to regroup. Yes, George is missed - it's hard not to miss such a gifted songwriter and musician - but Let It Roll isn't disrespectful of his memory, it keeps his music alive, which is the greatest compliment it can be paid. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:h9ftxql5ldde~T1

Great album from LF. Many reviewers and LF fans will always maintain that Lowell George was the core sound of Little Feat. A pity as many of the band's later albums, even through numerous personnel changes still contain that great Southern Rock sound, including "Let It Roll". Listen to Little Feat's stupendous "The Last Record Album" which, in musical terms encompasses everything that this great band was all about. The band's "Sailin' Shoes" and "Dixie Chicken" albums arguably come a close second

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

Hate to Lose Your Lovin' - Barrere, Fuller
One Clear Moment - Barrere, Fuller, Payne
Cajun Girl - Kibbee, Payne
Hangin' on to the Good Times - Barrere, Fuller, Payne, Tackett
Listen to Your Heart - Fuller, Payne
Let It Roll - Barrere, Kibbee, Payne
Long Time Till I Get over You - Barrere, Fuller
Business as Usual - Barrere, Fuller, Payne
Changin' Luck - Fuller, Payne, Tackett
Voices on the Wind - Barrere, Fuller, Payne, Tackett

BAND

Paul Barrére - Guitar, Vocals
Kenny Gradney - Bass
Craig Fuller - Guitar, Accordion, Vocals
Fred Tackett - Guitar, Mandolin, Trumpet
Bill Payne - Keyboards, Percussion, Vocals
Richard Hayward - Drums, Vocals
Sam Clayton - Percussion, Vocals
Shaun Murphy, Marilyn Martin, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Bob Seger, Renee Armand - Vocals

BIO

Though they had all the trappings of a Southern-fried blues band, Little Feat were hardly conventional. Led by songwriter/guitarist Lowell George, Little Feat were a wildly eclectic band, bringing together strains of blues, R&B, country, and rock & roll. The bandmembers were exceptionally gifted technically and their polished professionalism sat well with the slick sounds coming out of southern California during the '70s. However, Little Feat were hardly slick — they had a surreal sensibility, as evidenced by George's idiosyncratic songwriting, which helped the band earn a cult following among critics and musicians. Though the band earned some success on album-oriented radio, the group was derailed after George's death in 1979. Little Feat re-formed in the late '80s, and while they were playing as well as ever, they lacked the skewed sensibility that made them cult favorites. Nevertheless, their albums and tours were successful, especially among American blues-rock fans. However, Little Feat weren't conceived as a straight-ahead blues-rock group. Their founding members, Lowell George (vocals, guitar, slide guitar) and Roy Estrada (bass), were veterans of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention. George had a long musical career before joining the Mothers. As a child, he and his brother Hampton performed a harmonica duet on television's Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour. During high school, he learned how to play flute, which led to him appearing as an oboist and baritone saxophonist on several Frank Sinatra recording sessions. He formed the folk-rock group the Factory with drummer Richard Hayward in 1965. Before disbanding, the Factory made some recordings for Uni Records, but the tapes sat unreleased until the 1990s. Following the group's demise, George joined the Mothers of Invention, where he met Estrada. Zappa convinced George to form his own band after hearing "Willin'," but the guitarist was reluctant to begin a band until he participated in a brief Standells reunion. George and Estrada formed Little Feat in 1969 with Hayward and keyboardist Billy Payne. Neither their eponymous first album in 1971 nor 1972's Sailin' Shoes were commercial successes, despite strong reviews. As a result, the group temporarily disbanded, with Estrada leaving music to become a computer programmer. When the group reconvened later in 1972, he was replaced by New Orleans musician Kenny Gradney. In its second incarnation, Little Feat also featured guitarist Paul Barrére and percussionist Sam Clayton, who gave the music a funkier feeling, as demonstrated by 1973's Dixie Chicken. The band toured heavily behind the record, building a strong following in the South and on the East Coast. Nevertheless, the group remained centered in Los Angeles, since the members did a lot of session work on the side. Though the band was earning a cult following, several members of the group were growing frustrated by George's erratic behavior and increasing drug use. Following 1974's Feats Don't Fail Me Now, Barrére and Payne became the band's primary songwriters and they were primarily responsible for the jazzy fusions of 1975's The Last Record Album. Little Feat continued in that direction on Time Loves a Hero (1977), the double-live album Waiting for Columbus (1978), and Down on the Farm (1979). Frustrated with the band's increasingly improvisational and jazzy nature, George recorded a solo album, Thanks I'll Eat It Here, which was released in 1979. Following its release, George announced that Little Feat had broken up, and he embarked on a solo tour. Partway through the tour, he died of an apparent heart attack. Down on the Farm was released after his death, as was the rarities collection Hoy-Hoy! (1981). After spending seven years as sidemen, Payne, Barrére, Hayward, Gradney, and Clayton re-formed Little Feat in 1988, adding vocalist/guitarist Craig Fuller and guitarist Fred Tackett. The heavily anticipated Let It Roll was released in 1988 to mixed reviews, but it went gold. Each of the group's subsequent reunion albums — Representing the Mambo (1989), Shake Me Up (1991), and Ain't Had Enough Fun (1995) — sold progressively less, but the band remained a popular concert attraction. On the latter album, the band traded the strongly Lowell George-esque voice of Fuller for female singer Shaun Murphy; this lineup went on to release Under the Radar in 1998 and Chinese Work Songs in 2000. Numerous compilations and live recordings peppered the next few years, followed by 2003's Kickin' It at the Barn, the group's first album for their own indie label, Hot Tomato Records. Rocky Mountain Jam arrived in early 2007. Join the Band followed in 2008 on Proper Records. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:hifyxqe5ldde~T1

Beverly "Guitar" Watkins

Beverly "Guitar" Watkins - Back in Business - 1999 - Music Maker

Beverly "Guitar" Watkins, best known for performing with Piano Red in his outfit Doctor Feelgood and the Interns during the early '60s, returns to active recording with Back in Business, a collection of tracks that finds her comfortably covering electric blues, R&B, and old-fashioned rock & roll. Subtle gospel and jazz shadings appear from time to time, but Watkins generally concentrates on rocking the house, revisiting Piano Red-era classics (including "Right String but the Wrong Yo-Yo"), and introducing some eminently likable new compositions. All in all, a successful return. © Steve Huey © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:0xfrxqwkld0e

Beverly "Guitar" Watkins describes her style as "real Lightnin' Hopkins lowdown blues... I would call that hard classic blues, hard stompin' blues, you know... railroad smokin' blues!" (quoted from Wikipedia.org). "Back in Business" is a 12-track showcase of Watkins' adept blend of roadhouse blues, rockabilly, and boogie, and earned her a W. C. Handy Award nomination in 2000. Check out her "Don't Mess with Miss Watkins" album

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 Miz Dr. Feelgood - Watkins 4:21
2 I'm Gonna Rock Some More - Biggs/Thomas 2:55
3 Tell Me Daddy - Ross/Vernon/Watkins 3:46
4 My Baby Left Town - Watkins 3:22
5 The Right String But the Wrong Yo-Yo - Finnell 2:30
6 Impeach Me Baby - Brown 4:09
7 Red Mama Blues - Vernon/Watkins 6:31
8 You Make Me Feel So Good - Ross/Vernon/Watkins 3:51
9 Too Many Times - Vernon 3:37
10 Blue in the Night - Leyland/Vernon/Watkins 4:13
11 What About Me - Vernon/Wingfield 3:36
12 Back in Business - Vernon/Watkins 4:49

MUSICIANS

Beverly "Guitar" Watkins - guitar, vocals
Danny "Mudcat" Dudeck - guitar [1,2,3,8,11,12]
Sammy Blue - guitar [6,7,12]
Doug Jones - guitar [9]
Albert White - guitar [5,6,10,12], vocals [2,10]
Curtis Smith - guitar [5,12], vocals [2,6,7]
John Schwenke - bass
Carl Sonny Layland - piano
Ardie Dean - drums
Jason Reichert - drums [1,4]
Chris Uhler - percussion [1,4]
Mike Vernon - tambourine [6,10,11], shaker [6]
Eddie Boyd - tenor sax [2,3,8,11,12]
Sam Anderson - tenor sax [8]

BIO (WIKIPEDIA)

Beverly "Guitar" Watkins (born c. 1940, Atlanta, Georgia) is an American is an American black female blues guitarist. Sandra Pointer-Jones writes, "Beverly Watkins is a pyrotechnic guitar maven whose searing, ballistic attacks on the guitar have become allegorical tales within the blues community."George Varga, reviewing her debut CD, observed that Watkins “sings and plays with enough poise and verve to make musicians half her age or younger consider alternative means of employment.” When Watkins was approximately 12, her family moved to Commerce, Georgia. She began playing music as a schoolchild, and then in high school played bass for a band called Billy West Stone and the Down Beats. In approximately 1959, her junior year of high school, she was introduced to Piano Red, who had a daily radio show on WAOK, and she subsequently joined Piano Red and the Meter-tones, who played in a number of towns in the Atlanta area, and then Atlanta clubs such as the Magnolia Ballroom and the Casino, before starting to tour throughout the southeast, primarily at colleges. About the time the group renamed itself Piano Red and the Houserockers, they started touring nationally. The group had two successful singles: "Dr. Feelgood" and "Right String But The Wrong Yo-Yo". After recording "Dr. Feelgood" the group was known variously as Piano Red & The Interns, Dr. Feelgood & The Interns, and Dr. Feelgood, The Interns, and The Nurse. The group also included Roy Lee Johnson (composer of "Mr. Moonlight", later recorded by The Beatles). After the breakup of the band in approximately 1965, Watkins played with Eddie Tigner and the Ink Spots, Joseph Smith and the Fendales, and then with Leroy Redding and the Houserockers until the late 1980s. Subsequently she has been based in Atlanta, a well-known fixture at the Underground Atlanta. Watkins, who not only had a long and continuous musical career, but worked with artists like James Brown, B.B. King and Ray Charles, was well-known for years within the blues community. However, like many roots musicians both black and white, she found it difficult to crack the airwaves, and achieved renown late in her career, after the advent of the Internet made it possible for musicians not backed by major labels to be heard by a wider audience. She was re-discovered by Music Maker Relief Foundation founder Tim Duffy, who started booking her in package shows, and in 1998, with Koko Taylor and Rory Block, was part of the all-star Women of the Blues “Hot Mamas” tour. Her 1999 CD debut, Back in Business, earned a W. C. Handy Award nomination in 2000. Watkins was playing internationally (e.g., the Main Stage at the Ottawa Blues Fest in 2004) as well as in her hometown Atlanta until temporarily sidelined by surgery in 2005, but is recovered and taking bookings. She performed a set at the 2008 Cognac Blue Festival.

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Georgia-based guitarist, singer, and songwriter Beverly "Guitar" Watkins is one part soul singer, one part rockin' roadhouse mama, and one part gifted songwriter. She's also been chronically under-recorded for a woman with her résumé: she spent the early '60s playing rhythm guitar with Piano Red & the Interns. She recorded with Piano Red from 1959 until the mid-'60s, and can be heard on his popular singles "Doctor Feelgood" and "Right String But the Wrong Yo Yo." Watkins learned guitar and got her earliest musical sensibilities from several of her aunts, who had a quartet named the Hayes Family. She also had a banjo playing grandfather, Luke Hayes. On holidays and at family get-togethers, these musicians would assemble and the blues and gospel were passed on in a true folk process to the young Watkins. Her earliest influences included Rosetta Tharpe, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and Memphis Minnie, and she was exposed to the music because of her grandmother, who would play their recordings on the family Gramophone. She began playing guitar as an eight-year-old, learning by listening to the records her mother would play for her. Later, she was exposed to the records of touring bands, including Louis Jordan's and Count Basie's. She began to model her playing after Charlie Byrd and Basie's rhythm guitarist, Freddie Green. Throughout high school, she participated in a variety of talent shows and played trumpet in the school band. Her high school band master helped broaden her knowledge of jazz and blues guitar, and piano. After a succession of bands in high school, she settled in with playing with Piano Red, who later changed their name and found their widest appeal, as Piano Red & the Houserockers, which led to bookings outside Atlanta and northern Florida in cities like Chicago, Detroit, and Washington, D.C. In 1965, the band broke up, but not before going through several more name changes. Watkins then hooked up with Eddie Tigner and the Ink Spots and toured extensively with that group, playing for nearly a year with him before he was felled by a stroke. Watkins came off the road and took a break from the brutal touring she had done for much of the '60s. She worked a procession of day jobs as a domestic and in car washes before joining Leroy Redding & the Houserockers. Watkins worked on and off with Redding until the late '80s before striking out on her own and creating a residency for herself at Underground Atlanta, an Atlanta nightclub, often accompanied by a drummer and her son on bass. Here she developed her singing and harmonica-playing skills. Back in Business, her solo debut album, was released in 2001 as part of the Music Maker Series distributed by Sire Records Group/ Warner Bros. The album showcases Watkins' flexibility and prowess in a wide range of styles: roadhouse blues, jazz-inflected blues, and rockabilly-blues. Now in her sixties, Watkins continues to perform in Atlanta-area blues clubs and at major festivals around the U.S.. She put in a particularly compelling, energetic performance at the 2000 Chicago Blues Festival. © Richard Skelly © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:hvfyxqegldhe~T1

Denny Laine

Denny Laine - Lonely Road - 1988 - President

Another ignored album from Denny Laine, who lived in Paul McCartney's shadow for far too long. It is often forgotten just how talented an artist Denny is in his own right. "Lonely Road" is not Denny's best album, but there are no throwaway tracks here either. Good songwriting, and some excellent guitar work make this a very good album. It would be great to see all of Denny Laine's albums as remastered CD's. The demand is there. Denny Laine's "All I Want is Freedom" is @ http://newmelodymaker.blogspot.com/2009/10/denny-laine-all-i-want-is-freedom.html His "Aah...Laine" album is @ http://newmelodymaker.blogspot.com/2009/10/denny-laine-ahhlaine.html His "Holly Days" album is @ http://rapidshare.com/files/372088575/Dlaine_-_HD.rar His "Anyone Can Fly" release is @ http://rapidshare.com/files/363879675/Anyone_Can_Fly.rar Search this blog for other Denny Laine releases.

SIDE 1

"Land of Peace"
"Eyes of a Child"
"Success"
"First Day in London"
"Lonely Road"
"True to Me"
"Without Your Love"

SIDE 2

"If I Tried"
"Burnin' Bridges"
"Money Talks"
"What Can I Do Without You"
"Fly With the Dove"
"Black Sheep"
"Peace Must Come Again"

All tracks composed by Denny Laine except "Peace Must Come Again" by Eddie Hardin

MUSICIANS

Denny Laine - Guitar, Vocals, Backing Vocals
Ray Fenwick - Guitar
Eddie Hardin - Piano, Keyboards, Vocals
Pete York - Drums
Zak Starkey - Drums on "Without Your Love", & "Peace Must Come Again"

BIO (WIKI)

Denny Laine (born Brian Frederick Arthur Hines, 29 October 1944, Holcombe Road, Tyseley, Birmingham) is an English songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his roles as former guitarist and lead singer of The Moody Blues and, later, co-founder (with Paul McCartney) of Wings. Laine was the only musician in Wings, along with Paul and Linda McCartney, who did not quit. Laine joined Wings in 1971 for their album Wild Life and stayed until 1980, when Wings broke up. Denny Laine is of Romani descent, was educated at Yardley Grammar School in Birmingham, and took up the guitar as a boy under the influence of Gypsy jazz (Jazz manouche) legend Django Reinhardt; he had his first solo performance as a musician at the age of twelve and began his career as a professional musician fronting Denny & The Diplomats, which also included future The Move and Electric Light Orchestra drummer Bev Bevan. In 1964, Laine left The Diplomats to join Mike Pinder in The Moody Blues and sang their first big hit, "Go Now"; other early highlights included "From The Bottom Of My Heart", "Can't Nobody Love You" and the harmonica-ripping "Bye Bye Bird". However, Denny's tenure with the MB's was short-lived and, after a number of comparative failures, Laine quit the band in August 1966 (the last record issued by The Moody Blues that featured Laine was "Life's Not Life"/"He Can Win" in January 1967, but the October 1966 "Boulevard De La Madeleine" single looked ahead to the fancier sounds for which The Moody Blues would later become famous). After leaving The Moody Blues, he formed The Electric String Band, which featured Denny (guitar, vocals), Trevor Burton (guitar, another former member of The Move) and Viv Prince (drums), also featuring electrified strings in a format not dissimilar to what Electric Light Orchestra would later attempt. They made two singles, "Say You Don't Mind / Ask The People" (Apr 1967, Deram) and "Too Much In Love / Catherine's Wheel" (Jan 1968, Deram); and, in June 1967, they shared a bill with The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Procol Harum at the Saville Theatre in London. However, national attention was not to be, and the pioneering Electric String Band broke up. (There was apparently a third single recorded called "Why Did You Come?". Why it never released is unknown, but there have been rumours that the finished track - and probably the B side as well - was sent by post to Decca and was lost.) Laine and Burton then went on to the band Balls from 1969 until the band's breakup in 1971, with both also taking time to play in Ginger Baker's Air Force in 1970. (Only one single was issued by Balls; "Fight For My Country" / "Janie, Slow Down" on UK Wizard Records. Strangely, the top side was re-edited and reissued on UK Wizard and issued in the US on Epic under the name of Trevor Burton, which was odd since Laine and Burton shared lead vocals on the B side. The single was reissued again as B.L.W. as "Live In The Mountains" for a small Pye distributed label. There was supposed to have been a Balls album recorded, but it has never seen the light of day). Laine's 1967 song "Say You Don't Mind" was a hit when recorded in 1972 by ex-Zombie, Colin Blunstone. In 1971, Denny joined Paul McCartney to found the group known as Wings, and would stay with them for a full ten years until they officially disbanded in 1981; Denny provided lead & rhythm guitars, backing vocals, keyboards, bass, writing and co-writing skills, as well as being a solid solo performer. Together with Paul and his wife, Linda, they formed the nucleus of the band, being called that "strange, 3-winged beast". It was with Wings that Denny enjoyed the biggest commercial and critical successes of his career, including co-writing the smash hit "Mull of Kintyre". In January 1980, McCartney was arrested for possession of marijuana upon arrival at an airport for a tour in Japan. The tour was cancelled. Wings recorded through the year on new tracks as well as tracks still in the vaults, but a press release by Paul in early 1981 officially announced that Wings had broken up. The new tracks ended up on Paul's next two solo albums, and Laine's relationship with McCartney soured (speculation also has it that financial matters were close to the heart of this dissolution, similar to the McCartney/Jackson partnership). The title track of Denny's first solo album after Wings, called "Japanese Tears", appeared to be a visible attack on McCartney much like John Lennon's "How Do You Sleep?" in 1971; however, closer inspection to the lyrics shows that it more likely tells the tongue-in-cheek story of a Japanese fan's disappointment after Wings' tour got cancelled (or possibly even tears of excitement at Wings' arrival in Japan in the first place). In 1986 Denny played at the Birmingham Heart Beat Charity Concert 1986 which was a very special day,raising money for the Birmingham Children`s Hospital. Denny filed for bankruptcy in the mid-80s after selling his lucrative co-publishing rights to "Mull of Kintyre" to co-author McCartney. However, he has continued to record music at a prolific rate and has appeared at Beatles conventions and on tributes to both The Beatles and Wings. He is currently working on an autobiography. He was briefly married to Jo Jo Laine (13 July 1953 — 29 October 2006), with whom he had a son, Laine Hines, and a daughter, Heidi Hines. He has three other children from other relationships: Lucianne Grant, Damian James, and Ainsley Laine-Adams. His current wife is Rosha.

MORE ABOUT DENNY LAINE

For a few months at the height of the British invasion, Denny Laine was one of the most recognizable voices on the entire British music scene. As the lead singer on the Moody Blues' recording of "Go Now" -- a worldwide multi-million seller -- he stood out in a large pack, and did so splendidly. His soulful, agonized lead vocal performance, coupled with Mike Pinder's chiming piano, proved irresistable on the radio. Within a year, however, the band fell by the wayside. Denny Laine was born Brian Hines and grew up in Birmingham, England. As a boy he took up the guitar, not under the influence of Chuck Berry or Buddy Holly, or even Scotty Moore, but rather jazz legend Django Reinhardt. His first band of any significance was Denny and the Diplomats, formed in Birmingham in the early '60s. The group's line-up also included future Move and Electric Light Orchestra drummer Bev Bevan and guitarist-singer Roy Wood. By 1964, Laine had abandoned Denny & the Diplomats and -- with four members of the city's other top bands -- formed the group that became the Moody Blues. Laine's tenure with the band was highlighted by one monster hit ("Go Now"), a brace of superb R&B-styled sides ("From The Bottom of My Heart," "Lose Your Money," etc.), and a string of commercial failures that left the band languishing by the end of 1965. Laine exited the group, to be replaced by Justin Hayward, whereupon the reconstituted Moody Blues adopted an increasingly adventurous sound that ended up making them the premiere progressive rock band of the late '60s. Ironically, Laine himself went in a similar direction with his next major project, the Denny Laine String Band, an electric psychedelic outfit that featured an amplified violin and cello, remarkably similar in many ways to the configuration that the Electric Light Orchestra would adopt more successfully three years later. The Electric String Band failed to attract serious public attention, despite a lot of good press and enthusiastic concert reviews. Laine's next major gig was as a member of Ginger Baker's Air Force, a big-band rock outfit that was a partial offshoot of Blind Faith. The group attracted enormous amounts of press attention on both sides of the Atlantic, played some good shows in England, and then embarked on an American tour that collapsed almost immediately through lack of ticket sales. Laine was the band's lead guitarist and principal vocalist and even had a featured blues spot in their sets. Laine was next heard from in 1971, when Paul McCartney announced that he was forming his first permanent band since exiting the Beatles. The group, christened Wings, was McCartney (joined by his wife Linda McCartney) on bass, guitar, piano, and vocals, with Laine at the core on guitar, bass, and vocals. In a 1980s interview, Laine indicated that he and McCartney got along well, not only because they came out of similar music backgrounds but also because each of them had lost control of bands they'd helped to found. Wings got off to a rocky start with an album called Wild Life, which wasn't really that bad but was mercilessly criticized by reviewers, who pounced on anything that didn't meet their expectations of Beatles-like perfection and importance. Beginning with Red Rose Speedway, however, they began winning the hearts of listeners and the minds of critics. By 1976, with Wings At The Speed of Sound, they'd become one of the top-selling acts of the decade, and the tour that followed was a success of monumental proportions, at least as far as ticket sales were concerned. Wings was, along with ABBA and Led Zeppelin, one of those money acts that seemed to generate tens of millions of ticket sales around the world and reams of press copy with every note they played and utterance that they pronounced. Laine wasn't quite an ex-Beatle, but as the member closest to McCartney (other than his wife), he was the most recognizable member of the band who wasn't a former Beatle. He even got a solo spot during concerts on their "Wings Over America" tour on which he sang and played several of the songs with which he was associated (most notably "Go Now") and a few covers that showcased his talents. Laine had a falling out with the McCartneys at the close of the 1970s, as Wings itself collapsed, amid myriad personal and personnel problems. He recorded several solo albums and was a featured guest at some Beatles conventions, but retained only a fraction of his visibility. He re-emerged in the late '90s with a tribute album to McCartney, and has been the subject of many CD reissues spotlighting odd solo cuts from his post-Wings and pre-Ginger Baker's Air Force period. Laine will likely never achieve the stardom that his career seemed to point toward when he cut "Go Now" in the mid-'60s. On the other hand though, he has played enough interesting and inspired music to make him a recognizable name to two generations of rock & roll fans, and one of the more deservedly enduring alumni from the original British invasion. © Bruce Eder, All Music Guide

Mahogany Frog

Mahogany Frog - Do5 - 2008 - Moonjune Records

This 2008 effort marks the Canadian quartet’s fifth release and inaugural album for this estimable New York City-based progressive-rock and jazz record label. And after being afforded a chance to check out the band’s pre-release demo, I quickly realized that this prog-rock ensemble places great emphasis on composition. In addition, the analog engineering and strategic mic placement adds a broad sound stage to complement a hybrid, retro-modernist type muse. Thankfully, the band doesn’t place more importance on technical gymnastics yet the musicians are no slouches by any stretch. With streaming crunch chords and knotty time signatures, the ensemble looms as a moveable wall-of-sound. But the key ingredient is centered within it’s shrewd arrangements and memorably melodic hooks. In effect, the album spawns a great deal of interest amid the instrumentalists’ occasional jaunts into jazz-rock territory, to coincide with a few interstellar meltdowns. They also communicate a tender side where guitarists/keyboardists Graham Epp and Jessie Warkentin employ their old time, but still loveable moogs and Farfisa organ to induce quaint melodies that shade the perimeter of several works. The songs often project similarities to a rock-opera, where various movements interweave and spawn variable motifs that convey an interconnecting vibe. As they occasionally summon up notions of early ‘70s hard rock via distortion and feedback techniques while treating certain passages with majestic synth-horns choruses. Moreover, they touch upon the psychedelic element, partly due to church organ progressions and phased guitar passages as the latter, reminds me of the old days when guitarists would plug-in to a Hammond B3 organ Leslie speaker. One of the many highlights pertains to the piece titled “Lady XOC & Shield Jaguar,” where the band generates an endearing hook atop a carefree but forward-moving vibe. Here, the group instills a sense of endearment, nicely contrasted by the guitarists’ diminutive phrasings and wah-wah EFX. Sure enough, this album signifies a wonderful entry into the modern day progressive-rock arena. Unlike many of its peers, this outfit truly makes a difference. Again, the compositions stick! And the overall program beckons repeated listens as I’ll go out on a short limb, asserting that many advocates of this genre will not be disappointed. © Glenn Astarita © 2008 JazzReview.com®. All Rights Reserved. http://www.jazzreview.com/cd/print-19929.html

Mahogany Frog is a raucous jazz-rock fusion ensemble that holds several influences from the fertile '70s when that music was enthusiastically new. Electric guitars and keyboards dominate their sound, as does a 4/4 beat occasionally dipping into different time signatures. Recorded in Winnipeg and mixed in Montreal, this assumedly Canadian outfit take cues from icons of the bygone era, attempt to re-fuse this music into a contemporary mold, and are not far off from the original precept. While their name bears resemblance to Canadian Jimi Hendrix devotee electric guitarist Frank Marino and his group Mahogany Rush, the parallel inference is coincidental. The front cover art, with keyboards springing like golden browned bread from a souped-up, plugged-in, vacuum tubed toaster might give some idea of where the band's old but new heart lies. Hard rock heavy metal prelude "G.M.F.T.P.O." is only an opening salvo of guts and glory, for the following track, "T-Tigers & Toasters," is an extended, complex, and evolving treatise on low level voices, space sounds, prog and underground rock, synths and pretty piano, Farfisa organ, stomp out rhythms, and Soft Machine overtones all in a row. The combo tunes "You're Meshugah!" and "I Am Not Your Sugar!" have a garage rock feel with long tones, a drum workout and lockstep, deliberate, guitar oriented flash. "Last Standing at Fisher Farm" is dense, thrashy, and regal à la Emerson, Lake & Palmer, while a minimalist line not unlike something Terry Riley would conjure identifies "Demon Jigging Spoon," accented by jungle drums and a Frank Zappa-type angularity. The most definitive fusion piece "Lady X O.C. & Shield Jaguar" is the most melodic, unison leaning, playful, and multi-instrumental track, a delightful mix of impish qualities stemming from the '70s Canterbury sound, American jazz, and ethnic sources. The album concludes with a more introspective harbor/lighthouse motif on "Loveset," with buzzsaw underpinnings, bird sounds, repeat keyboard lines, and clarion trumpet. Hopefully the many comparative descriptors and similarities are not off-putting for a listener who might be interested in Mahogany Frog. As ungainly, unwieldy, and chameleonic as their name, they also aspire to a much higher level of art rock than many current contemporary ensembles. © Michael G. Nastos © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:fifexzykld6e

An All About Jazz review made a great observation saying that "DO5 demonstrates what might happen if Radiohead and Sigur Rós were put into a blender with Pink Floyd, Yes and Genesis, then dropping the vocals" This is really original progressive rock/jazz/fusion and a breath of fresh air in the progressive rock scene. If you like King Crimson, Soft Machine, and Canterbury Rock in general, you may like this album. Try and hear the band's "On Blue" album

TRACKS

1. G.M.F.T.P.O.
2. T-Tigers & Toasters
3. Last Stand At Fisher Farm
4. You're Meshugah!
5. I Am Not Your Sugar
6. Demon Jigging Spoon
7. Medicine Missile
8. Lady Xoc & Shield Jaguar
9. Loveset

All songs composed by Mahogany Frog except "Loveset" by Andy Rudolph

MUSICIANS

Jesse Warkentin - Guitars, Piano, Piano (Electric), Mini Moog, Farfisa Organ
Graham Epp - Guitars, Organ, Piano, Trumpet, Piano (Electric), Mini Moog
Scott Ellenberger - Bass (Electric), Bass (Acoustic), Organ, Percussion, Trumpet
J.P. Perron - Drums, Electronics, Conch Shell

SHORT BIO

Canadian act MAHOGANY FROG was founded in 1998, when self-described high school noise-makers Graham Epp and Jesse Warkentin met flamboyant bass-player Nathan Loewen. A joint interest in loud, psychedelic and experimental music lead them together, and with various drummers participating they became a busy live act. In 1999 they managed to land a regular drummer as well, in the shape of Jean-Paul Perron. In addition to his skills with his main instrument, his expertise in the use of samplers and loops added an additional electronic edge to the music the band was playing. At this time the band also started collaborating with other artists, and put on shows where ethnic food, visual art and performance art became integrated with the music in a total setting; and these event proved to be highly popular. In short, the band started growing a regular fan base. Mahogany Frog started appearing with more and more notable Canadian acts at this time, even doing the odd stints as headliners, and in between their various live performances they found the time to create an albnum as well, Mahogany Frog Plays the Blues, which was issued in 2001. At this time the made some line-up changes as well. Come 2002 and Shaun Mason (bass), Jordan Perry (keyboards, synths) and Mike Spindloe (sax) was added to the line-up, while forming member Loewen left. This expanded line-up recorded one album, The Living Sounds, eventually issued in 2003. In 2003 Mahogany Frog also deciuded to change locations, moving from Saskatoon to Winnipeg. Bassist Mason stayed behind though, and was shortly after replaced by Scott Ellenberger (bass, trumpet). This revamped line-up hit the studio in the summer of 2003, and created their most complex excursion so far, VS Mabus, issued in early 2004. On this album the band really started expanding their use of keyboards and synths; and to some extent reinvented their sound with this production. The band's fourth production, the 2005 disc On Blue, continued evolving this reinvented musical expression; now in shorter, more compact musical excursions. By the time the band release their fifth album Do5 in 2008, their complex and eclectic approach to music reaches new heights; widely regarded as the most eclectic production in a discography already consisting of material largely impossible to pin down in any given genre of music. Mohagony Frog is still a highly popular live act as well; touring with more or less regular intervals and still attracting a crowd attention many prog acts might envy them.

Pierre Moerlen's Gong

Pierre Moerlen's Gong - Breakthrough - 1986 - Eulenspiegel

Pierre Moerlen's band released very few albums in the '80s. Breakthrough, recorded in 1986, is a disappointing, bland project that bears little resemblance to any previous incarnation of Gong. Aside from bassist Hansford Rowe, who struggles to be heard on this recording, the group is comprised of entirely new personnel, including Dag Westling, who is credited for acoustic guitar, although such an instrument fails to surface in the mix. A mostly instrumental affair, Breakthrough breaks no new ground. Like his compositions, Moerlen's performance is adequate but lacks innovation (for once). His best efforts are exhibited in the appropriately titled "Far East," and the CD's most flavorful composition, on which Moerlen and Zieden (on electric guitar) create an Eastern sound, a glorified, romantic journey through the incensed back alleys and city streets of Thailand. Most of the music on Breakthrough, though, seems unnatural and, at times, devoid of life; this is due in part to Moerlen's frequent and cursory use of synthesizers. Zieden's generic guitar solos, especially on the boring "Spaceship Disco," and Moerlen's spewing of L. Ron Hubbard's philosophies on the mundane "Road Out" lack much-needed inspiration. The pedestrian "Romantic Punk" sounds more like "New Age Disco," and Moerlen's robotic vocal delivery on "Children's Dreams" mars this otherwise blood-flowing tune. The latter piece and the following "Portrait" are solid, rhythmic tunes revealing, albeit briefly, the capabilities of Rowe and Moerlen. Diehard fans of Gong are relegated to savoring the title cut for its strains of Time Is the Key; however, the lukewarm, uneventful Breatkthrough ultimately leaves the listener with but one question: "Breakthrough to what?" © David Ross Smith © 2010 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:fzftxq85ldhe

The late Pierre Moerlen created some wonderful progressive jazz rock/fusion. "Breakthrough" is regarded by many as his weakest album. Here is one review of the album which gives little praise; "Breakthrough" is, with the exception of one excellent track, an absolute disaster. It's commercial trash and Pierre Moerlen seems determined to determined to prove to the world that he can't sing". A.O.O.F.C would be very interested in your opinion of this album. Pierre Moerlen was a musical genius, and his expertise in the percussive field was unequalled. His music was innovative and futuristic, and as a member of the great Franco-British progressive/psychedelic rock band, Gong, he created some of the greatest prog. rock of the last forty years. Gong has many offshoots in the Rock tree, and it would take far too much details to elaborate on some of the great progressive rock work of Pierre Moerlen, Daevid Allen, and Gong on this blog. Listen to Pierre Moerlen's Gong's "Downwind", and "Gazeuse!" albums, and search this blog for other Pierre Moerlen/Gong related releases.

TRACKS

1 Breakthrough 6:00
2 Spaceship Disco 3:22
3 Rock In Seven 3:10
4 Six 8 4:05
5 Poitou 3:50
6 Children's Dreams 3:20
7 Portrait 4:18
8 Road Out 3:25
9 Romantic Punk 2:17
10 Far East 6:57

All songs composed by Pierre Moerlen, except Track 7 (Lyrics by Joëlle Kopf0, & Track 8 (Lyrics by L. Ron Hubbard)

MUSICIANS

Pierre Moerlen - Drums, Vibraphone, Timpani, Marimba [Xylo-marimba], Gong, Synthesizer, Vocals
Ake Zieden - Guitar
Dag Westling - Acoustic Guitar
Hansford Rowe - Bass
Chris Rhedin - Keyboards
Michaël Zilka - Chapman Stick
Sax, Vocals - Nina Andersson
Vocals - Lena Andersson

PIERRE MOERLEN'S GONG BIO (WIKIPEDIA)

Pierre Moerlen's Gong is a jazz fusion outfit which is very different from the first incarnation of Gong, the psychedelic space-rock act led by Daevid Allen. It is notable for the prominent use of mallet percussion, such as marimba, xylophone, and vibraphone featured in a rock/jazz context, making for a very distinctive and unusual sound that could have been classified as warmer and more melodic than most typical fusion could be, and is comparable to the sort of fusion-influenced output many bands on the Canterbury scene were producing at around this time. Amid a flurry of lineup changes in the mid-1970s, including the departure of founding members Daevid Allen and Gilli Smyth, Gong drummer Pierre Moerlen found himself in charge of the band and with two albums remaining on their Virgin recording contract. Moerlen formed a new Gong lineup featuring his brother Benoit on mallet percussion, US-born bassist Hansford Rowe and a rotating cast of session guitarists, notably Allan Holdsworth, Mike Oldfield, ex-Rolling Stone Mick Taylor, and Bon Lozaga. They released two albums under the Gong moniker, Gazeuse! (called Expresso in North America) in 1977 and then Expresso II in 1978. Following the completion of the Virgin contract, Moerlen changed the name of the group to Pierre Moerlen's Gong, presumably to distance itself from its very different previous incarnation. In early 1979, the group released Downwind, which was a more rock/pop flavoured album that featured occasional lead vocals by Moerlen himself and a cameo by Steve Winwood. Later in 1979 they released another album, Time is the Key, that took the band further into pop/rock territory. The live album "PM's Gong Live" was released in 1980, followed later that year by another studio album Leave It Open. By this point, Pierre Moerlen's incarnation of Gong scaled back its activity greatly, not releasing another record until 1986's Scientology-inspired Breakthrough, featuring members of the Swedish band Tribute. The group quietly disbanded soon after. Lozaga, Rowe, and Benoit Moerlen went on to form Gongzilla in the early 1990s, releasing four albums to date which are very much an extension of the percussive fusion that the original group brought to the fold, and they perform a mix of new and old live material going back to the Gazeuse/Expresso II period. Moerlen joined them for their 2002 European tour. Pierre Moerlen died unexpectedly on May 3, 2005 of natural causes, while rehearsals for yet another line-up of PM's Gong were underway.

PIERRE MOERLEN'S BIO

Born : October 23rd, 1952 - Colmar (France). Died : May 3rd, 2005. Past Bands : Asthme Congélateur (1970-71), Gong (1973-78, 1997-99), Pierre Moerlen's Gong (1978-89), Mike Oldfield Band (1979-83), Magma (1981), Faton Bloom (1983-84), Tribute (1985-87), Biréli Lagrène Trio (1988), various musicals (1990-), Brand X (1997), Gongzilla (2002). One of the most accomplished musicians of the whole Canterbury scene, Pierre Moerlen, who died on May 3rd 2005 aged only 52, was certainly a world-class drummer, whose work with Gong and Mike Oldfield, not to mention his 'solo' albums as Pierre Moerlen's Gong, has attracted wide critical praise. Pierre Moerlen was born in Colmar into a very musical family, his father being the resident organist of the Strasbourg cathedral as well as a piano and organ teacher, and his mother a school piano teacher. His three sisters and his brother Benoît are also musicians, although not all play music professionally. Moerlen started playing piano until he turned to percussion while a teenager. In 1967, he entered the Conservatoire Régional in Strasbourg to learn classical percussion under the guidance of Jean Batigne, founder of the famed Percussions de Strasbourg. While studying strictly classical music at the Conservatoire, Moerlen also developed an interest for more contemporary musical genres, and soon found himself involved in rock and fusion groups. The most notable was called Asthme Congélateur and featured future Magma guitarist Gabriel Fédérow, and its main claim to fame was appearing on a regional television programme alongside Belfort progressive rockers Ange and an even more obscure band featuring the Lemoine brothers, Jean-Sébastien and Patrice. The latter joined Moerlen in Gong around the time of Shamal. Around that time, Moerlen began to feel the urge to write and perform his own music, based on the use of the various tuned and untuned percussion instruments at his disposal. He rehearsed his pieces with Mireille Bauer, a fellow Conservatoire student and his girlfriend at the time (and coincidentally a cousin of Jean Batigne). One interesting anecdote on this period is that sometime in 1972, Moerlen and Bauer both attended a Gong concert in Strasbourg, and neither was too enthused about the gig. Certainly not the shape of things to come! As a matter of fact, while on a visit to Paris to try and find work in classical music, an idea he was not too keen on, he met Patrice Lemoine on the station platform where he was waiting for his train back to Strasbourg. Lemoine told him that Gong were looking for a drummer after the band had broken up during the tumultuous sessions for Flying Teapot. Although reluctant at the start, one listen to the just completed record convinced him that there was potential in the band and Daevid Allen's musical concept. He joined the band in its Voisines headquarters. In the Spring of 1973, with Allen and Gilli Smyth resting in Mallorca, the rest of Gong toured under the name of Paragong in French youth centres, and when the pair came back, the new consolidated line-up went into the studio to record the second volume of Allen's Radio Gnome trilogy, Angels Egg. In the meantime, Moerlen had been recruited by Mike Oldfield to appear, alongside an impressive cast of Canterbury scene musicians like Steve Hillage, Mike Ratledge, Fred Frith, Kevin Ayers, John Greaves and David Bedford, at a live performance of Oldfield's just-released Tubular Bells at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Moerlen's time in Gong was one of constantly leaving the band, then joining in again, which led to using a lot of replacement drummers. But he was unsure whether this was the right place for him to be, and he kept returning to Strasbourg to work and tour with the Percussions de Strasbourg, as well as continuing work on his own percussion music. He came back to the Gong fold during the Summer of 1974 to work on the You album, but left again once it was completed. It was in the subsequent period that he wrote pieces like "Mandrake" and "Expresso". Then in July 1975, Moerlen received a phonecall from Virgin, asking him if he would agree to rejoin Gong and lead the band with Didier Malherbe : Allen, Smyth and Tim Blake had all left the previous Spring. This offer came as a replacement for the solo project that Virgin had accepted to release, so it was a tough decision to take, but finally Moerlen agreed and brought with him both Mireille Bauer (who in the meantime had guested on both Angels Egg and You) and Patrice Lemoine (who had sat in with Gong at a gig in Strasbourg in 1973). At first, the new Gong tried to maintain a continuity with the concepts created by Daevid Allen, with Hillage and his girlfriend Miquette Giraudy taking on Allen and Smyth's roles, but this approach proved a failure. By the time work started on Shamal in late 1975, after an extensive British tour with Clearlight opening, a new direction had been defined, and Steve Hillage was not too enthusiastic about it. Having enjoyed reasonable success with his first solo album, Fish Rising, he decided to concentrate on a solo career. Recruiting Clearlight violinist Jorge Pinchevsky as replacement, Gong finished the album and embarked on a long European tour. But the line-up didn't last long, and by the Summer of 1976 only Moerlen, Bauer and Malherbe were left. The latter recruited guitarist Allan Holdsworth, while Moerlen decided to further increase the percussive dimension of Gong, adding his brother Benoît to the line-up. Bassist Francis Moze, late of the Flying Teapot line-up, came back to the fold, alongside his friend Mino Cinélu, a promising young conga player. This new team toured Europe in the Summer of 1976, then headed to the studio, recording Gazeuse! before splitting up again soon after its completion. Following the split, Pierre Moerlen went to live in New York for a few months and met bass player Hansford Rowe, aged 22. 'Hanny' was involved in a band whose drummer had to leave to join the army, so Pierre replaced him for a few weeks and the pair forged a very special musical relationship. Back in his hometown of Strasbourg, France, in the late winter of 1976/77, Moerlen decided to form a new line-up of Gong with Rowe, and recruited former members Mireille Bauer (vibes and percussion), Jorge Pinchevsky (violin) and Benoit Moerlen (vibes), his younger brother, along with a youthful newcomer, François Causse (on percussion also). During the following months, this line-up often toured under the name Gong-Expresso, making its debut performance at the Gong family gathering of Paris, Porte de Pantin, May 1977, which witness the reformation of the 'classic' Gong line-up. Following Pinchevsky's departure (he subsequently vanished from the surface of the earth), several lead players guested on album and gigs (although at times only the basic percussion-led quintet performed), including Didier Malherbe, Darryl Way (violin player of Curved Air), Bon Lozaga, Allan Holdsworth and Mick Taylor. The latter four guested on the Expresso II album which, although recorded in the summer of 1977, only came out the following spring. This was the band's final release for Virgin and its release coincided with the name change to Pierre Moerlen's Gong. This period saw the departure of Mireille Bauer to the jazz-rock band Edition Speciale. Her relationship with Moerlen had by then become a purely musical one (she now lived with ex-Gong bass player Francis Moze while Moerlen was married with a child) and she felt she needed a bit of fresh air. She was not replaced, although a permanent guitarist, Ross Record, was recruited to fill the gap, and appeared on the subsequent album Downwind, which again was graced with superb guest appearances by Didier Lockwood (of the French bands Magma, Zao and Clearlight, not to mention his own Surya), Mike Oldfield (who co-produced the title-track), Steve Winwood and Didier Malherbe. After a few gigs with the new line-up, it became apparent that Ross Record was suffering from severe stagefright, so Moerlen summoned back Bon Lozaga, who in the meantime had gone back to live in the States. The trio of Lozaga, Rowe and Moerlen would be the mainstay of PMG until its demise in 1981. The band kept touring, but it had to be put on hold for a couple of months while the Moerlen brothers were touring Europe with Mike Oldfield. This marked the end of Benoït's involvement in the band, and for subsequent tours François Causse came back. Exhausted from incessant touring, Moerlen rented a house in Ireland with his wife and son, and wrote a complete album there, which would surface as Time Is The Key, considered by Pierre to be his best. It was recorded by Moerlen, Bon and Hanny with help from Peter Lemer on keyboards and various guests (Allan Holdsworth, Darryl Way, Nico Ramsden). This effort highlighted Moerlen's talents on a variety of tuned percussion instruments, making good use of overdubbing facilities. Of particular note was the superb introduction, "Ard Na Greine", with its intertwined vibraphone, glockenspiel, marimba and tympani over layers of synthesizers. During the following months, both Moerlen and Hansford were employed by Mike Oldfield for session work and touring, so there was no new album from Pierre Moerlen's Gong until 1981's Leave It Open. This final effort carried on in a similar vein to its predecessor, albeit a more inconsistent one. Following a change in the management of the band's label, Arista, PMG were dropped and forced to split up. There followed a period of uncertainty for Moerlen. After failing auditions for a couple of French pop singers, he briefly joined Magma but didn't get on well with Christian Vander (who does?) and preferred to turn to drum teaching in his native Strasbourg. In 1982 and 1983, he also worked again with Mike Oldfield, mainly in a live setting (although he does appear in the video of "Moonlight Shadow", miming to Simon Phillips' drum parts!). Then in the spring of 1985, Moerlen received a call from Tribute, a Swedish band he'd already been in touch with three years previously. At the time, the band wanted to hire him to play drums on an album but had to give up the idea. Now Tribute was a well-established gigging band and had both a Swedish and European tour in sight. This sounded good to Moerlen who joined Tribute, ultimately staying for two years and playing on two albums : the studio effort Breaking Barriers (1986), to which he contributed the beautiful closing piece "I Felt Like It"; and the live album Live - The Melody, The Beat, The Heart (1987). While in Sweden, he also recorded an album of his own compositions (one of which, "Far East", was played live at Tribute gigs) with the help of Tribute musicians. However, he asked Hansford Rowe to add bass parts to the tapes, and thus released the album under the Pierre Moerlen's Gong name. In 1987, Tribute ground to a halt (it later reformed under Gideon Andersson's sole guidance) and Moerlen formed a new PMG line-up back in France, with Hansford Rowe, Benoît Moerlen, ex-Tribute guitarist Ake Zieden and new members Frank Fischer (keyboards) and Stefan Traub (vibraphone). That line-up would tour Germany twice between 1987-89 (as documented on a forthcoming live CD), and record yet another album, Second Wind (1989), the band's most democratic effort to date, and one of their best. Unfortunately, things weren't as great from a financial point of view, and PMG broke up for good during 1989. Both Moerlen and his brother Benoît returned to teaching, while Rowe crossed the Atlantic again to settle in Montreal. Eventually, Moerlen began to work as resident drummer in several big musicals (Evita, Les Misérables etc.) and toured in Europe and the US with them, while Rowe formed Bon with Bon Lozaga, who in the meantime had quit the music scene to run a restaurant. There was talking of reviving PMG in 1994, but eventually the project became Gongzilla, a band featuring Lozaga, Rowe and Benoit Moerlen, but not Pierre, who did however join the band on a temporary basis in 2002 for a European tour. In March 1997 it was announced that Moerlen was joining Brand X for a tour of Japan, which regular drummer Frank Katz had declined to do. This series of gigs proved successful and he stayed for a further tour of Europe in May and June. In the meantime, he had also agreed to rejoin Gong following Pip Pyle's departure, in August 1997. He stayed on for a further French tour in 1998, but left two dates into the spring 1999 European tour under controversial circumstances. After leaving Gong, Moerlen resumed teaching and worked on compositions for a new album and a new incarnation of PMG. Spring 2000 saw a couple of live appearances which proved unsatisfactory. He had just begun rehearsing a new group, when the tragic news of Pierre's sudden death was released. © http://calyx.perso.neuf.fr/mus/moerlen_pierre.html

Matt Powell

Matt Powell - The Money And The Grass - 1998 - MIA Records

A very impressive album with songs and guitar styles influenced by greats like Hendrix, Clapton, SRV, and players of that genre. Matt Powell himself said that "Living in Austin really opened my ears to the stuff THEY learned from (or really, where everything good comes from), the pure and natural blues. This was a blossoming period for me as well as far as songwriting was concerned. So I wrote some tunes combining both aspects and, yep, "The Money And The Grass" was born. I had a real good band back then (Matt Powell, Chris Gilson, Nate Rowe) and we made that record ourselves. It was later picked up, and dropped, by a little label out of Houston. It received no critical acclaim but is still my favorite of my old stuff. Lots of guitars and nice tones around young, but interesting songs".
"Thank you for taking the time to find the music you want to listen to instead of listening to what you think you’re supposed to. Don’t be fooled by mainstream radio and, as always, thanks for supporting the little guys" Love, MP © 2008 OurTracks, LLC. All rights reserved http://www.ourtracks.com/artistpage.php?id=154

Matt has said in his autobio, "I have just finished my fifth independent studio project. It’s called “New Kind of Something”. If you’ve heard my previous work, this record draws a little bit from all the styles I’ve touched on in the past. If you haven’t, then this cd is a perfect place for us to become acquainted. It is the best record I’ve ever made across the board; writing, playing, singing and producing. I played nearly everything (even some drums and piano) on this one. Of this effort I am proudest of all. I produced NKS with a dear friend of mine, Britton Beisenherz, at his studio called Ramble Creek in Austin, Texas. I feel this record aptly represents me as an artist and definitely reflects my growth on the crazy journey that is this life. I hope you will buy a copy for yourself, and if you enjoy it tell everybody you know. I hope you'll go back and pick up my other cds as well. On behalf of myself and artists like me, thank you for taking the time to find the music you want to listen to instead of listening to what you think you’re supposed to. Don’t be fooled by mainstream radio and, as always, thanks for supporting the little guys. Love, MP © 2008 OurTracks, LLC. All rights reserved http://www.ourtracks.com/artistpage.php?id=154

"The Money And The Grass" is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Buy Matt's "New Kind Of Something" album, and promote real music.

TRACKS

The Money & The Grass
Rich Man
Turtles & Rabbits
Daisy Chain
You Never Know
Striped Sunshine
What You Do To Me
Jet Black Dreams
Lover Man
Ride
Crow
Turn The Page

All songs composed by Matt Powell except "Ride" by Seth Walker

BAND

Matt Powell - Guitar, Vocals, Percussion
Nate Rowe - Bass
Chris Gilson - Drums

ABOUT MATT POWELL

Hmmm. What do you say about yourself to the world? Let me hit the basics quickly for the newcomers. I’m a singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, left-handed Taurus born and raised in Rocky Mount, Virginia. Gasp! That’s right I’m not from Texas. And chances are you’re not from Virginia. So what. I hate labels. I’m from Earth and I live in Austin. I live to make music and I love almost all styles. I’ve let every kind I listen to influence my sound at some point or another over the 18 years I’ve been playing. I play alone. I play with my bands. I play with other peoples' bands. The tough Austin music scene has helped me to shine in many different situations. I pride myself on that, but right now…I’m working on my own situation. I could bore you with a long bio about my life but this is really about the music, isn’t it? So let me give you a rundown of my catalog. Let’s start with: “The Money and the Grass” - When I first moved to Austin I was heavy into blues. I’m a guitar player firstly and I’ve always loved Hendrix, Clapton, Stevie, and players of that genre. Living in Austin really opened my ears to the stuff THEY learned from (or really, where everything good comes from), the pure and natural blues. This was a blossoming period for me as well as far as songwriting was concerned. So I wrote some tunes combining both aspects and, yep, “The Money and the Grass” was born. I had a real good band back then (Matt Powell, Chris Gilson, Nate Rowe) and we made that record ourselves. It was later picked up, and dropped, by a little label out of Houston. It received no critical acclaim but is still my favorite of my old stuff. Lots of guitars and nice tones around young, but interesting songs. That was ‘98ish. My next two records I actually did at the same time: “Dragonfly” and “Ten Gallon Heart” - While I was waiting out the aforementioned record deal I wrote a ton of songs; more than enough for one album. So I decided to make two: one that I knew I would like, and one that I thought everyone would like. I always wanted to do something that I played all the instruments on so I made “Dragonfly”. This was the one I thought only I would like, but as it turns out it seems to be everyone’s favorite. I like to call it “porch music”. I don’t think I played all the instruments on it that well back then but I guess I got my point across. I do love most of those songs though. I did it in my bedroom on an Otari MX20-20 with a couple of AKG-414s (for you gearheads) for about $800 bucks. It’s a great “sit by the water” record. “Ten Gallon Heart” consists mostly of songs that my band was playing at the time. Texas had rubbed off on me so there’s definitely some country on it. It’s still me though so it’s more like twangy rock. I made this record with some airplay in mind so it’s got its hooks and big choruses. The first track is my version of the song that just won’t die, “$50 and a Flask of Crown” (yes, I wrote it). Chris Gilson played drums, Ricky Davis played pedal steel, and I did the rest on TGH. “Fluke Luck and Jesus” - Being from Virginia I grew up around bluegrass music. I never played it a lot back home but I guess it kind of imbedded itself in my subconscious. The whole “Down From the Mountain” trend a few years back made it okay to be a hillbilly so I let my true colors shine for a while. I wasn’t traveling and the Austin scene had taken a nose dive. Honestly, I had been taking a much needed rest from bars and crappy gigs. I was bored with playing until bluegrass flatpicking became my new hobby. It made me fall in love with guitar again. Then I saw Alison Krauss and Union Station for the first time and it literally changed my life. I’ve only had a handful of religious experiences in my day and that was definitely one of them. Pretty soon I had written the songs that would become “Fluke Luck and Jesus”. This record sounds like “Dragonfly” after a LOT of practice. My friend Nate Rowe played upright bass and I played everything else on this one. “New Kind of Something” - This brings us up to date. I have just finished my fifth independent studio project. It’s called “New Kind of Something”. If you’ve heard my previous work, this record draws a little bit from all the styles I’ve touched on in the past. If you haven’t, then this cd is a perfect place for us to become acquainted. It is the best record I’ve ever made across the board; writing, playing, singing and producing. I played nearly everything (even some drums and piano) on this one. Of this effort I am proudest of all. I produced NKS with a dear friend of mine, Britton Beisenherz, at his studio called Ramble Creek in Austin, Texas. I feel this record aptly represents me as an artist and definitely reflects my growth on the crazy journey that is this life. I hope you will buy a copy for yourself, and if you enjoy it tell everybody you know. I hope you'll go back and pick up my other cds as well. On behalf of myself and artists like me, thank you for taking the time to find the music you want to listen to instead of listening to what you think you’re supposed to. Don’t be fooled by mainstream radio and, as always, thanks for supporting the little guys. Love, MP © 2008 OurTracks, LLC. All rights reserved http://www.ourtracks.com/artistpage.php?id=154

Zola Moon

Zola Moon - Tales of Love and Desperation - 2003 - Postmodern Music

Brilliant postmodern blues from the great Californian blues vocalist, Zola Moon. The album has strong elements of soul, blues rock, folk, and roots music. Among her influences are Janis Joplin & Big Mama Thornton. She provides electrifying vocals and music, and has performed with Albert Collins, Etta James, Elvin Bishop, Albert King, Big Mama Thornton, Al Kooper, and Junior Wells among others. "Tales of Love and Desperation" is VHR by A.O.O.F.C. Buy her great "Earthquakes, Thunder and Smiling Lightning" album, and promote this great music. Zola's "Lost in the Blues" album is @ ZOLMO/LITB

TRACKS

1 Never Give Up on Ya 4:06
2 Hard Liquor 3:19
3 How Long 4:31
4 Bluesville 3:40
5 Steel Bars 5:06
6 Talkin' 'Bout You 3:53
7 Snake Eyes 7:32
8 Don't Blame It on God 4:19
9 Sweet Pea 2:44
10 House of the Rising Sun 4:16
11 Mechanical Beast 4:11

All words and music by Zola Moon except Track 10 (Trad.)

BAND

Zola Moon - Vocals, Harmonica
Vince "the Silver Fox" Joy - Guitar
Ron Battle - Bass
Jerry Olson - Drums

ZOLA MOON IS THE MOST CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED BLUES ARTIST ON CDBABY. THE QUOTES BELOW ARE FROM MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERS, WRITERS, REVIEWERS, AND DJs FROM AROUND THE WORLD : -

"A charismatic singer with a restless, blues-wailing sound, Zola Moon's literate original tunes exude a Charles Bukowski wit and a lyrical immediacy missing from most current blues revivalists. This longtime blues-rocking vet remains one of the Southland's best-kept musical secrets."--LOS ANGELES WEEKLY

"Zola Moon's pretty damn scary; she can belt 'em out like nobody's business, and she plays a wicked-ass harp. When she croons, she grabs you by your throat, knocks you out flat, sits on your chest, and makes sure you know how much she's hurtin';."--ORANGE COUNTY WEEKLY

"Not only does Zola sing her heart out, but she plays the harmonica, writes all the songs, and generally just shines."--SOUTHLAND BLUES

"Willie Dixon once said to Koko Taylor 'That's what what the world needs, a woman with a voice like yours that sings the blues;. If Willie were alive today you can bet he'd be saying the same thing to Zola Moon. Zola serves up some wild rocking blues complete with gut wrenching vocals, hot guitar licks and some pretty mean harp-and shows that the blues don't have to be the same old thing, they can be fresh, original and very, very HOT!"--BLUEZ4U.COM

"When Zola sings, you can just FEEL the blues drip down, like wax on a candle."--THE ONCE AND FUTURE BLUES

"I am more excited about Zola Moon than any female blues singer that has ever passed my way in 47 years. She is the best female blues singer I have ever heard. She is SPELLBINDING."--BIG DADDY BLUZHARP'S Guide To The Best Of Blues Harmonica And Beyond

"Zola Moon should make any blues fan jump for joy."--BLUESBOYMUSIC.COM

"It's very refreshing to hear something new, yet still in a great blues tradition. Zola Moon will be heard on my show over & over & over."--Brett Parker: THE BLUES BOX, Logan 101.1FM, AUSTRALIA

"Zola Moon has a voice that places her on the same level with the legends of the blues. It is hard to find any accolades that haven't already been used to describe her talent."--DELTA SNAKE DAILY BLUES

"Zola Moon has been picking up hot reviews from several quarters."--BLUES ON STAGE

"Zola writes original songs that swing and rock, plays the harp, and is a full-voiced blues singer who can hold a note with power forever and still get soft and sultry."--BLUES ACCESS

"Wow! This gal has a great set of powerful pipes. Zola Moon pulls no punches. There is a real echo of Big Mama Thornton and Janis Joplin and I'd be the last to complain about that. Zola is a truly honest talent and fills a very bright spot on the blues scene today. This is refreshing as hell blues."--JAZZREVIEWS.COM

"It's 105 degrees in Texas, but Zola Moon makes that seem cool by comparison. This woman and her music are HOT!!!"--Dave Johnson: Host of the nationally-syndicated BLUES DELUXE radio program

"South Bay blues legend Zola Moon plays a wicked harp and belts the blues like she grew up on the Mississippi Delta."--LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS

"Zola Moon is one of the most exciting blues singers in the United States."--THE-MP3-WAY.COM

"If talent is truly in the equation, this Moon should rise, indeed."--MUSIC CONNECTION

"The blues would not be the blues without the timeless songs of people like John Lee Hooker, Robert Johnson, Willie Dixon, Mississippi John Hurt, and Muddy Waters. Zola Moon's songwriting and singing put her in very good company."--EASY READER

"You get 200 percent when she's on stage. She must lose at least 5 pounds a night when she performs. Zola Moon is marked for greatness."--CULTURE WARS

"Her name is Zola Moon and she is a triple-threat talent. Not only does she write the songs and sing the hell out of them, she plays a mean harmonica."--WHAT'S UP

"Zola Moon delivers blues the way blues were meant to be delivered, with passion and soul. No doubt about it, Zola Moon is the REAL DEAL."--Karen E. Reynolds: WDVX

"Steamy, raw, wailing songs; she is completely original. Miss seeing Zola Moon at your own risk."--ROCK CITY NEWS

"Zola Moon is making a name for herself in the blues like there's no tomorrow."--4 FRONT

"Zola Moon's incredible voice, smoldering presence, and powerful charisma have captivated everyone from legendary blues players to brain-fried club patrons."--BUZZ

"Zola Moon is one of the great blues singers."--EDGE

"Zola Moon is a riveting stage presence. With her flair for improvisation, each performance has its own unique flavor. Her powerful style and charisma are undeniable. Don't miss her act."--NEW MILLENNIUM

"Zola Moon can rip through a song with the ferocity of a caged lion that's finally been freed."--STEREOPLAY

"It's not often that we get a blues singer that has the ballsy style of Zola Moon. TOTALLY original. If you love hot & heavy blues with GUTS, you'll agree with me when I declare her to be one of the BEST OF THE BEST!" --IMPROVIJAZZATION NATION

"It has been a long time since I have had the pleasure of listening to such a spectacular voice. Zola Moon is the Goddess of the Blues. Zola draws you in and makes you feel the blues like you've never felt them before. I grew up on the blues, and can tell you that it just doesn't get any better than this. If it does, I've yet to hear it."--THE GLOBAL MUSE.COM

"Zola Moon is a blues icon."--Left Coast Carl: KSPC

"Real blues fans, the ones with B.B. King and John Lee Hooker in their CD collections, will love Zola Moon."--INDIE-MUSIC.COM

"Zola Moon will be on our playlists for as long as forever is."--Larry Lowe: CYBRORADIO

"***** Zola Moon recordings are must-haves for any blues lover."--BEACH NEWS

"Zola Moon is the hardest working blues singer in Southern California."--RAVE

"Zola Moon sings some powerful original blues with a powerful voice that is not really like any other we have heard in quite a while.--GRITZ.COM

"Zola Moon is one of the TOP TEN artists of the year."--FEMMUSIC.COM

"Zola Moon has energy and style-an unbeatable combination where the blues are concerned."--Dave Butler: WHBN

"Zola Moon serves up fiery original blues songs, powerfully versatile vocals, and great harmonica prowess."--PLAYBACK

"As both a singer and a songwriter, Zola Moon continues to add luster to her well deserved renown her with wild, rocking blues. Yet her music is, at the same time, very sophisticated, and when she wants to, in spite of her force-of-nature power, she can draw you in and create an intimate atmosphere."--HALLANDSPOSTEN

"South Bay legend Zola Moon's CDs are packed with the kind of blues that makes you laugh, cry, sing along and tap your foot."--SOUTH BAY WEEKLY/LA TIMES

"Zola Moon is a powerhouse. She reminds me of Etta James and Koko Taylor at their peaks."--Erica Reed: KUOR

"Zola Moon is the best blues artist I have heard in many years."--Kjell Andreassen: RADIO HOLSTEBRO

"Zola Moon is a challenging talent and a master of the blues. Her incredible power and stunning vocals clearly prove that she is, indeed, a force to be reckoned with."--GOGIRLSMUSIC.COM

"Zola Moon is unique, insightful, passionate and genuine. My only disappointment is that I live in Australia and can't experience her music live all the time."--Stewart Dorman: WALKING THE BLUES, 4DDB FM 102.7, AUSTRALIA

"Zola Moon's lyrics are totally clich-less and, with only slight inflections in her phrasing, her voice can convey irony, menace, or sadness."--BLUES BYTES

"Zola Moon is one of the finest blues singers I've ever heard."--Curtis Tillman (bass player for Big Mama Thornton, Lowell Fulson, Albert Collins, Bobby Blue Bland, Freddie King, Johnny Ace, etc., etc., etc.)

"Zola Moon can blow you away one minute, then take you to another place the next, still leaving you with the blues. She can sing, play harp, and write a bloody good song. If you have got the blues, you need Zola. Recommended? You better believe it."--Terry Iredale: HOT-FM 106.7

"Zola Moon sounds like no other blueswoman in the business. She scratches and bites with a vocal aggression seldom heard today. Nevertheless shes no rock singer, but is deeply rooted in the blues. This is also evident in her songwriting. Her blues seem to come out of deep soul even when she swings. Her voice reminds me of Koko Taylor and Janis Joplin. Live, Zola Moon must be a phenomenon of nature."--CONCERTO, GERMANY

"From the first time of the many times I have seen Zola perform, I have always considered her incredible voice and power to be true forces of nature."--Vince Daniels: WPMD

"Zola Moon delivers tons of passion with an incredible voice. Great original songs, great backing band, great production. Wow! Wow! Wow!"--Uncle Vasja: MOJO BLUES 103 FM

"Zola Moon concentrates on good songs (hers) and is a welcome different take on the blues, doing away with the cheesy, self-indulgent, fake-Stevie Ray noodlings many bands mistake as blues. She is enrapturing. One of our picks of the year."--SHADOWWORLD

"Great musicianship and an incredible voice make Zola Moon a definite winner. For those of you who look at the Blues as an old man style of music, all I have to say is, listen to Zola!Those who have heard her, understand what I'm talking about. Those who are interested, are going to be shown the way.This is just simply fantastic blues!!! Highest rating-A++."--LIVE MUSIC

"Zola Moon plays a deadly harp, has a tight hard-assed band, and belts the blues like the early shouters. The fact that she writes all her material is a bonus. When is she coming to Australia?"--Stephen Hall: RED HOUSE BLUES, Radio 2NSB, Sydney, AUSTRALIA

"Does Zola Moon know how to sing the blues?-Damn right she does!!! Does Zola Moon know how to play harp?-Damn right she does!!! Does Zola look GOOOOOD?-Oh, Mama, she sure does!!!"--Kruno: VFM BLUES RADIO, CROATIA

"Man, if Zola Moon doesn't grab you by the soul, then you must be dead!"--DJ Smilestir: BLUE ICEWATER RADIO, blueicewater.cjb.net

"Zola Moon is a staple of our radio show. Her vocals and songwriting are stellar. Plus, Zola's band is top-flight and keeps the party rockin."--Joe Kelly: THE UPPER ROOM WITH JOE KELLY, WVOF 88.5 FM, CONNECTICUT

"I was too young for Billie Holiday; I never got to see Janis Joplin perform, but I can tell the world that I've seen Zola Moon and, friends, she was something to see. Zola Moon is an artist you can tell your grandchildren about."--SOUTHBOUND BEAT

"Zola Moon is one of the few contemporary American blues artists who manages to say some new things in a truly original way."--Gustavo Rozenberg: GOODTIME BLUES, VIERNES 91.3 FM, Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA

"Zola Moon and her music are hot as Hell."--Johnny Timewarp, WFCS 107.7 FM, CONNECTICUT

"As ever, Zola Moon is a cool artist full of vitality who shows what she is able to do, which is more than one can really imagine."--Vicente Zumel: THE BLUES HOUR, 96.6 FM, Barcelona, SPAIN

"Zola Moon has a powerhouse voice. These are original songs sung by a woman who puts emotion and feeling into her song stylings."--Doug Lewis: The Doug Lewis Show, WGVN, 107.3 FM, St. Thomas, US VIRGIN ISLANDS

"An amazing Blues harmonica player as well as an incredible singer."--BELLY UP 4 BLUES

"Zola Moon not only sings, but writes from the heart, always with honesty, power and beauty."--LIVELY ARTS

"As Zola Moon sings, you can feel the hairs on your arms and the back of your neck standing on end. She grabs you by the throat and comes up fighting."--SOCAL BLUES

SHORT BIO

Female blues singer and songwriter Zola Moon was born in San Jose, CA, but her powerful song stylings might mislead listeners to guess that she was raised in the Deep South of Louisiana or Mississippi on grounds better known for producing great blues artists. She is self-taught, though she does mention numerous musical influences, ranging from B. B. King and Muddy Waters to Hank Williams and Tina Turner. Even with all of those wonderful influences, Zola Moon has worked hard to keep her sound all her own. Zola Moon began her career in blues about 1983, in the San Francisco area. After seven years of performing, which helped her grow a large fan base, she finally released a debut album in 1990. It was titled Dangerous Love and recorded under the BareMoon Records label. Five years later, and with a new label, she finished work on an enjoyable sophomore offering, Lost in the Blues. It was followed in 1998 by Almost Crazy and then in 2000 by Earthquakes, Thunder, and Smiling Lighting. Some of the original blues tunes fans can sample on Zola Moon's albums are "Doll House," "Lucky Me," "I Look at the Fool," "Imagination," "Alley Cat," "Hollywood to the Hood," and "I Don't Think So." Over the years Zola Moon has performed at concerts, festivals, and nightclubs, appearing with many artists, including Etta James, Junior Wells, Al Kooper, Albert Collins, and Elvin Bishop. Her band consists of longtime drummer Jerry Olson, guitarist Vince "the Silver Fox" Joy, and bassist Ron Battle. © Charlotte Dillon, allmusic.com

MORE ABOUT ZOLA MOON

“For me, It’s always about the music,” says Zola Moon. “It’s like a painter who just has to paint that painting. I do it because I can, because I’m lucky enough to be able to do it, and because I have to. It’s an unstoppable drive. Artists do it because something makes them do it. Not the money,” she laughs. “Although, sometimes that helps.” Blues singer Zola Moon has been a consistent presence in Los Angeles for more years than we have fingers and toes, going back to the early and mid-1980s. When I first interviewed her, she had just released “Lost in the Blues” on the prestigious Kent Records label. That was early in 1995. The deal with Kent soured. “When I wanted to start writing my own material and controlling what I sang more, that became a problem for my guitar player and then musical director. So I fired him and the whole band. But we had had a long successful run. Because of my insistence on original material, we were selling original blues shows for 13 years, hammering out an identity, which can be very hard to do. We opened up a lot of doors for a lot of blues acts. We proved to the owners and bookers of a lot of venues, at a time when there were pretty well no blues venues, that the blues was viable.” That was ten years ago, and a year after that Zola released her first record of her own original material, “Almost Crazy.” Her fifth and latest CD of original songs (her seventh overall) “Wildcats under My Skin” is about to be released. When it comes to what she looks for and expects from her band, Zola is one savvy character. The ability to play well is not enough; her players have to have their chops, but they need to be fearless, too, and must be able to extemporize and turn on a dime like the alert, well-seasoned musicians they are. Zola calls her group The Pretty Boys, and the lineup consists of bassist Eric Williams, drummer Jerry Olson, guitarist Michael Carter. “Michael is a sensitive, exciting guitar player,” she says. He’s also got a jazz attitude, like me. There’s plenty of room for him to move, and he really delivers for me.” Williams is described as a solid, old school bass player, like Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones. “Eric plays the bottom, you know, and he is rock steady.” And Olson? “Jerry is the engine of the band. He will put on a show for you. I have had him in every kind of circumstance or show. Jazz clubs where they want a lower volume show, not a boring show, but lower, which is hard for some drummers to do, to huge outside concerts in front of thousands of people where I need a real fire drummer with lots of power and energy. Jerry always delivers what I need. My group always delivers what I need; I love them.” This is the band that recorded “Wildcats under My Skin” on an analog 2-inch tape machine at Dino M4 Studio in Torrance, CA. In this digital age, analog tape is going the way of the dinosaur, but for some musicians it is still the only way to go for its wide sonic range and big sound. The album contains eleven tracks, all of them penned by Zola, with the exception of a little help from Cynthia Manley and Jessica Williams on “Boat Man.” The record also has guest appearances by Ricky Stelma on piano and accordion, Elizabeth Hangan on back-up vocals, and Jimmy Z on saxophone and harmonica. Zola says she can be nervous about a new release at first, but that she’s already sold on her latest, “which I liked immediately. I think it’s because of ‘Tequila Dreams.’ ” At eight and a half minutes, “Tequila Dreams” is by far the longest track, but it stands out in a good way, in part because of its surreal narrative, Zola’s mesmerizing vocals, and Jimmy Z’s sinuous and slithering sax work that plays well against the solid foundation set down by the bass and drums. “ ‘Tequila Dreams’ is a combination of -- yes, I confess – drinking mescal and eating the worms in Tijuana,” Zola says with a loud laugh. “It’s kind of a mescal hallucination. But it’s also the story of the rise of the Insect Queen who dominates the world at the end of Earth’s life-cycle in the solar system.” She then additionally describes the contents of the song which don’t get any less surreal and ends by saying, “So that’s the story of the Dowager Empress Worm Commissioner of the World.” We agree that it’s very Jim Morrison-like, and for me reminiscent of “Beggars Banquet”- era Stones without being derivative of either Mick Jagger or Jim Morrison. Not surprisingly, a list of Zola’s influences puts her own work into perspective, and conveys something of the standards she sets for herself when composing and performing. When asked who has impressed her, she mentions Patti Smith, both as a lyricist and for her Jim Morrison-like spirit. She quickly adds others: Charles Bukowski, Buddy Guy, Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin, Etta James, Linda Hopkins, Big Mama Thornton. Some of these artists, those still with us, have been slogging away at their art – at times without due recognition – for year after year. So how does Zola keep herself going, particularly after – and I assume that all artists have some – a show not up to her exacting standards? “Me and my band are what you would call the last of the roadhouse warriors,” she replies, “and you only feel as good as your last show. So even if it’s a night that there’s not a lot of people there, you still have to make it happen. If those people are excited after the show, you can walk out with your head high. It’s what you have to do. Every show matters. And that is hard to do – but some of us long-distance runners learn how to do that.” As strenuous as they sometimes can be, the live shows inevitably fuel the recordings. “You know, I still believe in the work ethic. To get out there and work the band in front of a real audience tells you more about where you are and the legitimacy of what you’re doing than any kind of record company executive – they live in a different, artificial world. But when you’re out there with people watching your show, and they love you, and you’re doing original material, you know you’re on the right track. That’s why my CDs come out of my live shows. I learned a hard lesson in the past, where you go in and let a producer do what they think the record company wants, and then your fans go, ‘What’s this? This isn’t you.’ Now I take my boys into the studio, no studio players, and I do what I want. “ Often the kernel of a new song evolves while Zola is singing onstage. “A lot of the time it’s the hook and the melody line, it’s all there. Other times it’s the melody line and the story. If the story’s there, the rest will come later.” On occasion, when she’s writing the lyrics, she’ll solicit suggestions from her producer, Richard Vidan, who has overseen her recordings and shows for several years. Although there is a certain autobiographical element in many of Zola’s songs, one can’t fail to notice that her music is billed as postmodern blues, and to a large extent, that is due to her wide range of subject matter, which often parts company with the usual laments of desire and despair that pervade most songs, whether pop, country, or blues. “I think this why postmodern is a good explanation for what I do,” she says, and this is referring to her political and social commentary. But there’s another aspect as well. “I’ve come to realize in the past year that we’re a blues-based band with what I would Americana-roots rock influences. Although it’s all blues-based, some of the blues purists probably don’t think it’s not blues or not blues enough. They’re the same people that don’t like Janis Joplin or Stevie Ray Vaughn or Buddy Guy’s recent work.” Zola acknowledges their viewpoint, but doesn’t seem overly concerned about not fitting neatly into someone’s narrow definition of what they think the genre should be. “We are different, this is true. I’m in love with the blues, always have been. But we are different. I’m doing my blues.” © Bondo Wyszpolski, © 1998-2008 Postmodern Music