Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice - Jesus Christ Superstar [original cast, 1970/2012]

 

Jesus Christ Superstar started life as a most improbable concept album from an equally unlikely label, Decca Records, which had not, until then, been widely known for groundbreaking musical efforts. It was all devised by then 21-year-old composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and 25-year-old lyricist Tim Rice.

Jesus Christ Superstar had been conceived as a stage work, but lacking the funds to get it produced, the two collaborators instead decided to use an album as the vehicle for introducing the piece, a fairly radical rock/theater hybrid about the final days in the life of Jesus as seen from the point of view of Judas.

Serving as their own producers, the two creators got together more than 60 top-flight singers and musicians (including Chris Spedding, John Gustafson, Mike Vickers, P.P. Arnold, and members of Joe Cocker's Grease Band, not to mention Murray Head, Ian Gillan, and Yvonne Elliman in key singing roles), and managed to pull the whole production together into a more than coherent whole that contained a pair of hit singles (the title track and "I Don't Know How to Love Him") to help drive AM radio exposure. What's more, the whole album sounded like the real article as far as its rock music credibility was concerned.

Stanley Clarke - The Complete 1970s Epic Albums Collection [6 albums/7 CDs, 2012]

 

 

The Complete 1970s Epic Albums Collection collecting Stanley Clarke‘s five recordings from 1974-78 (some out of print for years) plus a live recording that was not released until 1991 (Live 1976-1977).

VA- Excello Blues Rarities - Blues Hangover [2 CD, 1995]

 

This two disc, 43 track collection collects up a treasure trove of rare and unissued performances from the vaults of Excello Records. All but one of the 17 tracks collected on the first disc were produced by Jay Miller in his Crowley, Louisiana studio, home of Excello's unmistakable 'swamp blues' sound. The first 10 tracks are by Jimmy Anderson, who impersonates the vocal and harmonica style of Jimmy Reed so pervasively, it's downright eerie. Three tracks from Whispering Smith, a stray Lightnin' Slim cut and both sides of the mysterious Blue Charlie single are aboard, as well as rare singles from the equally mysterious Ole Sonny Boy, Little Al (Gunter) and Little Sonny. But the true find here are the first time release of 15 tracks from a 1966 audition tape by one Early Drane. For all intents and purposes, this appears to be the same 'Earl Draines' that recorded for the label as part of The Blues Rockers ("Calling All Cows") in the mid 50s. But these remarkable tapes are the man alone in his living room, singing and playing a quirky collection of original material, blues and gospel covers that careen from brilliant to downright loony. Add to this lineup four tracks by Detroit bluesman Baby Boy Warren (featuring Sonny Boy Williamson on harmonica) and two early 60s stereo swingers by the little known James Stewart and you've got an Excello rarities packages that's pretty hard to beat.

Disc: 1

1. I'm A King Bee - Jimmy Anderson
2. Going Through The Park - Jimmy Anderson
3. Naggin' - Jimmy Anderson
4. Nothing In This World - Jimmy Anderson
5. Franki & Johnny - Jimmy Anderson
6. Love Me Baby - Jimmy Anderson
7. Goin' Crazy Over TV - Jimmy Anderson
8. Ain't Gonna Let Her Go - Jimmy Anderson
9. Rats & Roaches On Your Mind - Jimmy Anderson
10. Going Through The Park (Alternate Take) - Jimmy Anderson
11. Don't Bring No Friend (Breakdown Take) - Blue Charlie
12. I'm Gonna Kill That Hen - Blue Charlie
13. Harmonica Twist - Whispering Smith
14. Please Give Me One More Chance - Whispering Smith
15. Wake Up Old Maid - Whispering Smith
16. Death Valley Blues - Lightin Slim
17. Love Shock - Little Sonny
18. I'll Love You Baby - Little Sonny
19. No Jive - Little Al
20. Little Lean Woman - Little Al
21. You Better Change - Ole Sonny Boy
22. Blues And Misery - Ole Sonny Boy

Disc: 2

1. I'm Leaving This Morning - Early Drane
2. I Hate To See You Leave - Early Drane
3. My New Chevrolet - Early Drane
4. Evil Ways Blues - Early Drane
5. Find My Little Darling - Early Drane
6. Look On Yanders Wall - Early Drane
7. Nobody Prayin' - Early Drane
8. Were You There (When They Crucified My Lord) - Early Drane
9. My Little Banty - Early Drane
10. Take A Walk With Me - Early Drane
11. Hillbilly Serenade - Early Drane
12. I'm Gonna Scratch Your Back Pt. 1 - Early Drane
13. Honey Bee Lonely - Early Drane
14. I'm Gonna Scratch Your Back Pt. 2 - Early Drane
15. Late In The Evening - Early Drane
16. Not Welcome Anymore - Baby Boy
17. Bring My Machine Gun - Baby Boy
18. Chuck-A-Luck - Baby Boy
19. Hello Stranger - Baby Boy
20. When I Met Your Baby - James Stewart
21. She's Got Me - James Stewart 

Ernest Tubb - Waltz Across Texas (1961-1966) (6 CD, 1998)

Bear Family's six-CD Waltz Across Texas continues the label's comprehensive release of Ernest Tubb's complete recordings. The highlights for most fans will be the dozen 1964-65 duets with Loretta Lynn, which are considered essential listening, but there's a lot more here worth owning. Tubb's vocal range had narrowed considerably in the ten years or so leading up to the 1960s, but he and producer Owen Bradley had worked out recordings that made his range sound greater than it was. For a lot of real fans, the highlights on Disc One will be the raw studio performances of cuts that were later mixed with applause for release as the fake "live" On Tour album, which might have been a cheat but did present Tubb and the band playing loose and freewheeling. Disc Three has a generally jauntier selection of material, including a dozen songs by the Texas Troubadors; its last two songs mark the beginning of the Ernest Tubb-Loretta Lynn collaborations. The quality of Tubb's music held steady even coming up on his 30th year in the recording business, mostly by virtue of his continuing to find good songs and Owen Bradley's way of recording him to the best advantage -- his voice on much of his mid-'60s output sounds like a finely aging instrument, and far more comfortable and pleasing than some of his late '50s material. Disc Five presents the balance of the early Lynn duets, as well as the title track, Tubb's last major hit. The sound throughout is state-of-the-art, and the annotated booklet is worth owning by itself, for what it tells us about the man and the band. 

Jerry Lee Lewis - The Ultimate: The Sun Years [12 CD, 1993]

Is there an early rock & roller who has a crazier reputation than the Killer, Jerry Lee Lewis? His exploits as a piano-thumping, egocentric wild man with an unquenchable thirst for living have become the fodder for numerous biographies, film documentaries, and a full-length Hollywood movie. Certainly few other artists came to the party with more ego and talent than he and lived to tell the tale. And certainly even fewer could successfully channel that energy into their music and prosper doing it as well as Jerry Lee.