VA- The Progressive Rock Box Set [6 CD, 2015]

 

Steve Hackett, Ian Anderson, Keith Emerson, Dweezil Zappa, Rick Wakeman, Family, Soft Machine, Caravan, Fairport Convention and many more

VA - Hear Me Howling! Blues, Ballads, & Beyond: The Arhoolie 50th Anniversary Boxset [4 CD, 2011]

 

The 1960s were a tumultuous time in the US, and the San Francisco Bay Area holds a special place in that history. There to capture the music was Chris Strachwitz and his fledgling label Arhoolie Records. But Chris' idea of what was worth documenting is not what normally comes to mind when we think of 60s San Francisco. Chris' passion was and is down home roots music. This collection is the beginning of Chris' plunge into documenting a world, part traditional, part contemporary, that no longer exists but forms the basis for one of the great record labels of American music, Arhoolie Records.

Hear Me Howlin' comes with 4 Compact Discs with 72 tracks of over 4 hours & 40 minutes of music, including 38 previously unissued tracks and some artists who have never before appeared on Arhoolie Records.


Disc: 1
1. Hump in My Back - Jesse Fuller (Unreleased)
2. Brother Low Down - Jesse Fuller (Unreleased)
3. Berkeley's Junko Partner - Skid Band (Unreleased)
4. Tight Like That - Skid Band (Unreleased)
5. Moose March - Bob Mielke's Bearcats (1st Time on CD)
6. Highway 49 - Big Joe Williams (Unreleased)
7. Oakland Blues - Big Joe Williams with Mary Williams (Unreleased)
8. Greystone (Alameda County Jail) Blues - Big Joe Williams
9. I Know You Didn't Want Me - K.C. Douglas and band (1st Time on CD)
10. Night Shirt Blues - K.C. Douglas and band
11. Stop Time - K.C. Douglas and band (Unreleased)
12. Hear Me Howling - K.C. Douglas and band
13. Stand Alone Blues - Lonnie Johnson (Unreleased)
14. Brenda - Lonnie Johnson (Unreleased)
15. Changed the Lock on my Door - Sonny Terry (Unreleased)
16. Bald Eagle Train (take 1) - Bukka White (Unreleased)
17. Tom Moore's Farm - Lightning Hopkins (Unreleased)
18. Up on Telegraph (Avenue) - Lightning Hopkins
19. Lady Luck - Mercy Dee

Disc: 2
1. I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag - Country Joe and the Fish (Unreleased)
2. You Turned Your Back - Toni Brown (1st Time on CD)
3. How Could I Stand It - Toni Brown (1st Time on CD)
4. Don't Forget Me, Love - Toni Brown (1st Time on CD)
5. Charles Giteau - Crabgrass (1st Time on CD)
6. Midnight Blues - the Joy of Cooking (Unreleased)
7. Depression Gone from Me - T.A. Talbott (1st Time on CD)
8. Mr. Brakeman - T.A. Talbott (Unreleased)
9. Who's Going to Be My Man? - Debbie Green (Unreleased)
10. Come See - Bob Neuwirth (Unreleased)
11. Lady Gay - Janet Smith (1st Time on CD)
12. Talking Protest Blues - Merritt Herring (1st Time on CD)
13. Black Jack David - Alice Stuart
14. Eventually - Perry Lederman (1st Time on CD)
15. Impressions of John Henry - Perry Lederman (1st Time on CD)
16. Deportees - Barbara Dane
17. Grand Texas - Hackberry Ramblers (Unreleased)
18. Jolie Blonde - Hackberry Ramblers (Unreleased)
19. Turtle Tail - Hackberrry Ramblers (Unreleased)
20. The Beatles are in Town - the Fondettes (1st Time on CD)

Disc: 3
1. Willie Poor Boy - Mance Lipscomb
2. The Titanic - Mance Lipscomb
3. Mean Boss Man - Mance Lipscomb
4. Sugar Babe - Mance Lipscomb
5. Working on a Building - Rev. Louis Overstreet (Unreleased)
6. The Old Ship of Zion - Rev. Louis Overstreet (Unreleased)
7. I'm a Soldier - Rev. Gary Davis (Unreleased)
8. Floor Sweepin' Boy - Rev. Gary Davis (Unreleased)
9. Courtin' Boy - Rev. Gary Davis (Unreleased)
10. Shake 'Em on Down - Fred McDowell
11. Louise - Fred McDowell
12. Write Me a Few of Your Lines - Fred McDowell (Unreleased)
13. Low Down Dirty Things - Skip James (Unreleased)
14. 22-20 Blues (Mr. Kress) - Skip James (Unreleased)
15. Sea Walking Jesus - Skip James (Unreleased)
16. No Special Lover - Skip James (Unreleased)
17. Peace in the Valley - Skip James (Unreleased)

Disc: 4
1. Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong - Vern & Ray (Unreleased)
2. The Touch of God's Hand - Vern & Ray (Unreleased)
3. 'Fore Day in the Mornin' - Big Mama Thornton (Unreleased)
4. Ball and Chain - Big Mama Thornton (Unreleased)
5. Hound Dog - Big Mama Thornton (Unreleased)
6. Monsieur Leonard - John Semien & the Opelousas Playboys (Unreleased)
7. Chi Ca Nai - John Semien & the Opelousas Playboys (1st Time on CD)
8. Bye Bye Rosa - John Semien & the Opelousas Playboys (Unreleased)
9. Mr. Charlie - Clifton Chenier (Unreleased)
10. Louisiana Rock - Clifton Chenier
11. What Am I Doing Here? - Notes from the Underground (1st Time on CD)
12. To Be a Thief - Stanley Willis (Unreleased)
13. Pretty Good - NOW Creative Arts Ensemble (1st Time on CD)
14. In the Breeze - Jerry Hahn
15. To 'Trane (aka: Two Trains) - Smiley Winters
16. The Beauty of Isis - Sonny Simmons

VA - Classic Country Music: A Smithsonian Collection [4 CD, 1990]

 

Classic Country Music: A Smithsonian Collection was a multi-volume set of recordings released by the Smithsonian Institution. Released in 1990, the collection contains 100 tracks deemed to be significantly important to the history of country music.

Classic Country Music was issued on either four compact discs, four cassette tapes or six vinyl albums. It also contained an illustrated 84-page book by Bill C. Malone, a country music historian. Malone's extensively annotated essay details country music's history era by era, from its beginnings in the 1920s and commercialization during the 1930s through its growing popularity during the 1980s.

Climax Blues Band - Live, Rare & Raw 1973-1979 [4 CD, 2014]

 

Led by Colin Cooper, the former frontman of the R&B unit the Hipster Image, the Stafford, England-based Climax Chicago Blues Band were one of the leading lights of the late-'60s blues boom. A sextet also comprised of guitarists Derek Holt and Peter Haycock, keyboardist Arthur Wood, bassist Richard Jones, and drummer George Newsome, the group debuted in 1969 with a self-titled effort recalling the work of John Mayall. Prior to the release of 1969's Plays On, Jones left the group, prompting Holt to move to bass. In 1970 the Climax Chicago Blues Band moved to the Harvest label, at the same time shifting toward a more rock-oriented sound on the LP A Lot of Bottle. Around the release of 1971's Tightly Knit, Newsome was replaced by drummer John Holt; upon Wood's exit in the wake of 1972's Rich Man, the unit decided to continue on as a quartet, also dropping the "Chicago" portion of its moniker to avoid confusion with the American band of the same name. In 1974 the Climax Blues Band issued FM Live, a document of a New York radio concert. Released in 1975, Stamp was their commercial breakthrough, and 1976's Gold Plated fared even better, spurred on by the success of the hit "Couldn't Get It Right." However, the rise of punk effectively stopped the Climax Blues Band in their tracks, although they continued recording prolifically well into the 1980s; after 1988's Drastic Steps, the group was silent for a number of years, but resurfaced in 1994 with Blues from the Attic.

CD 1:
01. All the Time in the World (Live at the Marquee Club London 1973) ( 6:32)
02. I Am Constant (Live at the Marquee Club London 1973) ( 4:50)
03. Seventh Son (Live at the Marquee Club London 1973) ( 5:45)
04. Mesopopmania (Live at the Marquee Club London 1973) (10:21)
05. So Many Roads (Live at the Marquee Club London 1973) (16:05)
06. Shake Your Love /That's All (Live at the Marquee Club London 1973) ( 7:03)

CD 2:
01. All The Time In The World (Live In New Jersey 1974) ( 7:22)
02. Seventh Son (Live In New Jersey 1974) ( 5:02)
03. Flight (Live In New Jersey 1974) (15:50)
04. So Many Roads (Live In New Jersey 1974) (13:45)
05. Country Hat (Live In New Jersey 1974) ( 9:06)
06. Shake Your Love (Live In New Jersey 1974) ( 4:03)
07. Going To New York (Live In New Jersey 1974) (10:45)
08. Let's Work Together (Live In New Jersey 1974) ( 7:45)
09. One More Time/Stormy Monday (Live In New Jersey 1974) ( 7:02)

CD 3:
01. Together And Free (Live In Guildford 1976) (3:02)
02. Amerita Sense Of Direction (Live In Guildford 1976) (6:22)
03. Chasing Change (Live In Guildford 1976) (4:58)
04. Using The Power (Live In Guildford 1976) (4:22)
05. Couldn't Get It Right (Live In Guildford 1976) (3:16)
06. Going To New York (Live In Guildford 1976) (7:48)
07. All The Time In The World (Live In Guildford 1976) (2:29)
08. Get Back (Live In Guildford 1976) (2:44)

CD 4:
01. Money In Your Pocket (Live From Miami 1979) (4:39)
02. Summer Rain (Live From Miami 1979) (5:44)
03. Amerita Sense Of Direction (Live From Miami 1979) (7:40)
04. Evil (Live From Miami 1979) (5:09)
05. Fallen In Love (For The Very Last Time) [Live From Miami 1979] (4:45)
06. Seventh Son Got My Mojo Workin' (Live From Miami 1979) (9:22)
07. Whatcha Feel (Live From Miami 1979) (9:42)
08. All The Time In The World Get Back (Live From Miami 1979) (6:01)

Spirit- The Complete Potatoland (4 CD, 2019)

 

Esoteric Recordings is pleased to announce the release of a 4 CD clamshell boxed set that gathers together all the recordings made for the classic "Potatoland" album by SPIRIT. The album was born in 1973 following the release of guitarist Randy California's "Kaptain Kopter and the Fabulous Twirlybirds" album (made shortly after his departure from Spirit). To promote his solo album California assembled a band to tour featuring original Spirit drummer Ed Cassidy and bass guitarist Larry "Fuzzy" Knight. Initially playing concerts in the Los Angeles area, the trio recorded two live performances at the studios of KPFK-FM in September 1972. Soon after the trio reverted to the name Spirit to undertake live work in Europe. Following these concerts Randy California and Ed Cassidy began work on the album "The Adventures of Kapt. Kopter and Commander Cody in Potatoland".