Ann Peebles - Brand New Classics

 

Ann Peebles - Brand New Classics - 2006

By Mike Atherton for Britains' Echoes Magazine

The return of two legendary names from the past: Track Records, the label which gave us Jimi Hendrix and The Who, not to mention fine Detroit soul sides by The Parliaments and Al Kent, and Ann Peebles, the diminutive dynamo of a diva who scored hit after hit on Memphis-based Hi Records in the Seventies.

At first glance this looks as if it could be one of those faded-star-does-her-hits-live sets, as Peebles faves like I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down, You Keep Me Hanging On and I Can't Stand The Rain feature amongst the 16 tracks. But, though much of it was recorded in front of a live studio audience, this is no cheap cash-in, and there's nothing the least bit faded about Miss Peebles - or Mrs. Bryant, as she has been for many years. Hubby Don, no mean recording artist himself, has a guest spot on the gospel tune Spread and shows that his voice is still fully intact, too.

Backed by her aptly-named Dream Team band, drums, acoustic and electric guitars and a juicy but controlled Hammond organ, Ann brings maturity and a sense of warm intimacy to those old songs, without losing an ounce of their soul content. She is adept at bringing out the shades and nuances of a lyric, as demonstrated on the bluesy Walk Away and the beautiful, anthemic and autobiographical I'm So Thankful. Amongst the newer numbers are her version of Foreigner's I Wanna Know What Love Is and the Stones' Miss You, two songs which fit seamlessly into her repertoire. On the latter she's backed by her old Memphis homeboys Hodges, Hodges and Grimes, veterans of innumerable Hi sessions.

Of course, I Can't Stand The Rain is here, sassier and funkier than we remember it, a pleasing contrast to the mellow vibes of most of the set. Ann Peebles may have been quiet for a while, but she still has the star quality which this writer witnessed when he saw her at the 100 Club nearly 30 years ago. That star shines from every track of this warm, uplifting and lovely album.


01. I'll Get Along
02. (You Keep Me) Hanging On
03. I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down
04. I Want To Know Love Is
05. Walk Away
06. Steal Away - I Still Love You
07. The Handwriting Is On The Wall
08. Love Vibration
09. I'm So Thankful
10. Feel Like Breaking Up Some
Bonus:
11. Chase These Blues Away
12. Miss You
13. Tears In Heaven
14. I Can't Stand The Rain
15. Spread



+@192

Stevie Wright - Hard Road

Stevie Wright - Hard Road - 1974

from Wikipedia

Stephen Carlton "Stevie" Wright (20 December 1947 – 27 December 2015), formerly billed as Little Stevie, was an Australian musician and songwriter who has been called Australia's first international pop star. During 1964–69 he was lead singer of Sydney-based rock and roll band the Easybeats, widely regarded as the greatest Australian pop band of the 1960s.

Early hits for the Easybeats were co-written by Wright with bandmate George Young, including, "She's So Fine" (No. 3, 1965), "Wedding Ring" (No. 7, 1965), "Women (Make You Feel Alright)" (No. 4, 1966), "Come and See Her" (No. 3, 1966), "I'll Make You Happy" (track on Easyfever EP, No. 1, 1966), and "Sorry" (No. 1, 1966). He was lead vocalist on their only international hit, "Friday on My Mind", which peaked at No. 1 in Australia in 1966. It also made No. 6 in the United Kingdom, the Top 10 in France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, No.13 in Canada, and the Top 20 in the United States in 1967.

After the Easybeats disbanded in 1969, Wright fronted numerous groups including Stevie Wright Band and Stevie Wright & the Allstars; his solo career included the 1974 single, "Evie (Parts 1, 2 & 3)", which peaked at No. 1 on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart.

Wright's life was detailed in two biographies, Sorry: The Wretched Tale of Little Stevie Wright by Jack Marx (1999) and Hard Road: The Life and Times of Stevie Wright by Glenn Goldsmith (2004). On 14 July 2005, the Easybeats, with Wright as a member, were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.

01. Hard Road
02. Life Gets Better
03. The Other Side
04. I Got You Good
05. Dancing in the Limelight
06. Didn't I Take You Higher
07. Evie
08. Movin' On Up
09. Command Line

Stevie Wright - Vocals
Malcolm Young - Guitar
Harry Vanda - Guitar
George Young - Bass
John Proud - Drums
Warren Morgan - Piano

+@320

Tim Christensen - Pure McCartney

Tim Christensen - Pure McCartney - 2013

from wikipedia

Pure McCartney is a live DVD/CD and DVD/2-LP album by singer-songwriters Tim Christensen, Mike Viola, and Tracy Bonham, with the band The Damn Crystals, released in 2013.

Pure McCartney contains a recording of a one-off tribute concert at Vega in Copenhagen in celebration of Sir Paul McCartney's 70th birthday that day.[1]

Bassist Søren Koch of Dizzy Mizz Lizzy once saw Viola play in New York, and thought that he had a strong musical match with Christensen, so he introduced them. Christensen and Viola found out that the 1971 McCartney album Ram is their mutual favorite album, so that it became the heart of the set list alongside several other post-Beatles songs.Vega's large concert hall, with a capacity of 1500, was sold out. The artwork was inspired by Ram.

Noel Gallagher was planned to become a surprised guest. Christensen and Gallagher appeared on Danish television, where they were competing in a small quiz about The Beatles. They got along well with each other backstage and also talked about the McCartney concert, but they never heard back from Gallagher's manager since

01. Too Many People
02. 3 Legs
03. Ram On
04. Dear Boy
05. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
06. Smile Away
07. Heart of the Country
08. Monkberry Moon Delight
09. Eat at Home
10. Long Haired Lady
11. The Back Seat of My Car
12. Venus & Mars/Rock Show
13. Coming Up
14. Live and Let Die
15. Maybe I'm Amazed
16. Junk
17. Band on the Run

Tim Christensen – Lead Vocals, Guitars
Mike Viola – Lead vocals, Piano, Acoustic Guitar
Tracy Bonham – Lead Vocals, Violin, Percussion

+ The Damn Crystals
Lars Skjærbæk – Guitars, Backing Vocals, Lead Vocal (6)
Søren Koch – Bass, Backing Vocals
Christoffer Møller – Keyboards, Backing vocals, Percussion, Tenor Horn
Jesper Lind – Drums





+@320

Stepson - Stepson

Stepson - Stepson - 1974

Stepson was a high energy heavy Detroit style bluesy hard rock band formed by ex-members of the group Touch, known for their innovative 1969 progressive rock album featuring Don Gallucci. Stepson released their sole fuzzed out, hammond laced, attitude filled album in 1974 on the ABC label before disbanding and moving on to studio work

Jeff Hawks - Lead Vocals
Joey Newman - Guitar, Vocals
Len Fagan - Drums
Bruce Hauser - Bass, Vocals




+@320

Spencer Davis & Band - 24 hours - Live in Germany (re-re-re-post)

Spencer Davis & Band - 24 hours - Live in Germany - 1988

from wikipedia

Spencer David Nelson Davis is a British musician and multi-instrumentalist, and the founder of the 1960s rock band, the Spencer Davis Group.

In 1963, Davis went to a Birmingham public house to see Muff Woody, a traditional jazz band featuring Muff and Steve Winwood. Steve, only fifteen at the time, was already gaining notice for his musical abilities. Muff, five years older than his brother, was an accomplished jazz musician. When Davis saw the brothers' musical versatility, he knew he had found his band. He soon persuaded them to join him and drummer Pete York as the Rhythm and Blues Quartet. Davis performed on guitar, vocals and harmonica, Steve Winwood on guitar, organ and vocals, Muff Winwood on bass, and Pete York on drums. Playing mainly R&B covers, the band performed first at the Golden Eagle pub on Hill Street, but within a year they had landed a regular gig at The Marquee, and by 1964 had adopted the name The Spencer Davis Group. The group had No 1 hits in the UK with consecutive single releases in 1966 (Keep on Running and Somebody Help Me). Steve Winwood sang lead vocals on all the Spencer Davis Group's hits up to "I'm A Man" in 1967.

The Spencer Davis Group continued after Winwood left, to form Traffic in April 1967, and split in 1969. Another version of the group with Davis and York appeared in 1973 and disbanded in late 1974. Various incarnations of the band have toured in recent years, under Davis' direction.

READ ALL HERE


Spencer Davis - Guitar, Vocals
Bob Metzger - Guitar
David Wintour - Bass
Billy Ruff - Drums
Bobby Crew - Keyboards

01. 24 Hours
02. Lady Cop
03. Sensitive Kind
04. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress
05. On The Green Line
06. Pockey Way
07. I'll Take Your Love
08. Don't Want You No More
09. Easy Rider
10. Route 66
11. Strong Love
12. Knock On Your Door
13. Spiral Times



+@192

Stackridge - A Victory For Common Sense

Stackridge - A Victory For Common Sense - 2009

from powerpopaholic.com

So you’ve never heard of Stackridge? Well if you’re not from the UK you are forgiven. The Anglophilic progressive pop band began to great fanfare in 1971, were predicted to be bigger than Genesis and even had an very well reviewed LP produced by George Martin right after his Beatles tenure ended (Man In A Bowler Hat). Then by 1975, they fell off the public’s radar. I never heard about them till recently, and after listening to the back catalog, it’s like the discovering a missing link between 10cc, Klaatu and Protocol Harem. Needless to say, if you like any of those bands, you can dig deep here. For those power pop fans who question the inclusion of a progressive band here just give a listen to “Dangerous Bacon,” and I guarantee you’ll be hooked. But, today these old codgers have a brand new album for you to hear. A Victory For Common Sense has most of the what fans expect. Well orchestrated rock and pop, starts off with “Boots and Shoes” a standard melodic rock tune that’s crafted with an ear towards contemporary audiences, that then bathes itself in anglo-slice-of-life nostalgia on “The Old Country.” A real gem here is “Red Squirrel” with it’s Badfinger-like guitar riffs and steady bass rhythm. The folk ballad “North St. Grand” slows the albums pacing a bit, but a few other tracks poke through some of the serious prog noodling, like the wonderful “Lost and Found” and the ethereal gem “Cheese and Ham.” It ends on a ponderous unwieldy jam with “The Day The World Stopped Turning.” While it doesn’t touch the glory of the early 70’s albums, it comes pretty darn close in spots. For most long time UK fans this more than enough to celebrate.

01. Boots And Shoes
02. The Old Country
03. (Waiting For You And) England To Return
04. Red Squirrel
05. North St Grande
06. Long Dark River
07. Lost And Found
08. Cheese And Ham
09. The Day The World Stopped Turning

Andy Davis - Guitars, Vocals, Keyboards
James Warren - Guitars, Vocals, Bass
Mike "Mutter" Slater - Flute, Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Jim "Crun" Walter - Bass, Acoustic Guitar

With
Glenn Tommey - Keyboards, Trombone, Backing Vocals
Rachel Hall - Violin
Sarah Mitchell - Violin, Backing Vocals
Eddie John - Drums
Andy "Codge" Marsden - Drums
Chris Hughes - Percussion




+@320

MORE STACKRIDGE? CLICK HERE

Dave Waggoner - Songs Unknown to Ears

Dave Waggoner - Songs Unknown to Ears - 1989

from minniepaulmusic.com

Dave Waggoner  began  his musical career in 1963 on bass guitar with The Aardvarks, then moved on to a new role as lead singer with  Jokers  Wild at the end of 1965.  In March, 1967, Dave joined The South 40, at the request of David Anthony, a local booking agent, who put the new band together.  The band released a live album, “Live at Someplace Else” on the local Metrobeat  label in 1968.  Also, in 1968, The South Forty traveled to Des Moines, Iowa to participate in a band contest that resulted in a name change to Crow and a recording contract with Amaret Records.  With Dave Waggoner’s distinctive vocals and the highly talented band members, Crow had three songs on the charts with Amaret in 1969 and 1970, starting with Evil Woman and followed up with Cottage Cheese and Don’t Try To Lay No Boogie Woogie on the King of Rock’n’Roll.   During this time period, the band traveled the country (and Canada) and played numerous popular venues and concerts, sharing the bill with national recording stars including Janis Joplin, Iron Butterfly, Jefferson Starship, the Steve Miller Band and Eric Burdon and the Animals. 

Dave left Crow at the end of 1971 and recorded a solo album for Amaret, Dave Wagner d/b/a Crow.  The album was recorded in Los Angeles using top local studio musicians.

In November, 1979, David Anthony asked Dave Wagner to put a new version of Crow together.  This version of Crow played locally and throughout the Midwest during 1980 through the end of 1981 and recorded an album in 1981. The album was not finished and the band had broken up, however, David Anthony convinced the band to finish the album in October, 1982.  The album, Crow “on the Run”, was released on the Peak label on vinyl, LP and cassette tape.  A 45 was also released, “Someone” backed with “All For the Love of Money”.  After this version of Crow, Dave continued on with Whiskey River for a few  years and Crosscut for awhile , followed by various versions of Crow.

 In 1989, a CD was put together called  Dave Waggoner, “Songs Unkown to Ears”, a collection of studio songs written by Denny Johnson and recorded over a five year time period at Sunrise Sound Recording Studios, using top local musicians including Cynthia Johnson and friends, David Island , John Vezner,  John Sims Jr., Ira Ferguson,  John Richardson and Jeff Christensen.   In 2005, a new Crow album was released, “Before the Storm”.  Currently, a new version of Crow continues to play, marking 45 years in the music business for Dave Waggoner, a Minnesota rock’n’roll legend, now a resident of Arizona.  Now, for the first time ever, the CD, “Songs Unknown to Ears” (on Peak Records), is finally made available to the public.

 01. Never Before
02. Eye to Eye
03. Little Lovemaker
04. I Wanna Heart
05. Magic Boy
06. Pieve of My Heart
07. Trouble in Paradise
08. Rockin' the Night Away
09. All I Can Do
10. User



+@192