Slim Harpo - Buzzin' The Blues: The Complete Slim Harpo (5 CD, 2015/FLAC)

 

Slim Harpo made his impressive entrance into the world of blues recordings in 1957. Here was a man with an unforgettable name, a strong song – I'm A King Bee - and a finely-crafted minimalist style, at once familiar and novel. In 1961 Slim Harpo made a crossover entry into the American Rhythm 'n' Blues and Popular Music charts when Rainin' In My Heart became one of those barely-categorisable hits that just couldn't be ignored. Then came Baby, Scratch My Back, a soulful rhythmic number that led to tours with the rock elite.

The story of Slim Harpo and his music is among the most fascinating in all blues and Rhythm 'n' Blues. Harpo's music had timeless and mellow qualities that made his sound both authentic and accessible. By many benchmarks he was a success, and for periods in his life he was in the spotlight, yet little, really, is known of him beyond his fading circle of musicians, friends, and family in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Born in 1924, he was among the last of the original down-home bluesmen, but also one of the first to register hits in the popular music charts.

 

 

Frankie Miller discography [1972-2016]

 Blue-eyed soul singer Frankie Miller made his name on the English pub rock circuit of the early '70s, and spent around a decade-and-a-half cutting albums of traditional R&B, rock & roll, and country-rock. In addition to his recorded legacy as an avatar of American roots music, his original material was covered by artists from the worlds of rock, blues, and country, from Bob Seger and Bonnie Tyler to Lou Ann Barton and the Bellamy Brothers. And Miller himself scored a surprise U.K. Top Ten smash in 1978 with "Darlin'," giving his likable, soulful style the popular airing many fans felt it deserved all along.

 

Allan Holdsworth - The Man Who Changed Guitar Forever ! [12 CD, 2017/FLAC-HD/320]

 

The Man Who Changed Guitar Forever! The Allan Holdsworth Album Collection is a box set by the English jazz fusion guitarist Allan Holdsworth. It was released by Manifesto Records on 7 April 2017.

The 12-CD collection contains remastered versions of 11 studio albums and a live album, along with a 40-page booklet by Christopher Hoard. In one of his last interviews, Holdsworth spoke to DownBeat magazine and explained that the title of the collection was not his idea, but also added that he was very pleased with the quality of the remastered tracks by Manifesto Records.

Holdsworth was able to promote these albums briefly, as he died only a week later from high blood pressure. According to The Guardian, he played his final gig in San Diego on 10 April 2017.

• I.O.U. (1982)
• Road Games (1983)
• Metal Fatigue (1985)
• Atavachron (1986)
• Sand (1987)
• Secrets (1989)
• Wardenclyffe Tower (1992)
• Hard Hat Area (1993)
• None Too Soon (1996)
• The Sixteen Men Of Tain (2000)
• Flat Tire (2001)
• Then! (Live) (2003)

 

Stomu Yamashta's GO - The Complete Go Sessions (2 CD, 2005/FLAC)

 Go was a rock supergroup formed in 1976 by Stomu Yamashta (percussion and keyboards), which included Steve Winwood (vocals and keyboards), Al Di Meola (lead guitar), Klaus Schulze (synthesizers) and Michael Shrieve (drums). Go is the Japanese word for "five".

Go recorded two studio albums, Go (1976) and Go Too (1977). The band also recorded June 12, 1976 concert they performed in France, which was released as the album Go Live From Paris (1976). 

Raven label has combined all three go albums for "The Complete Go Sessions": featuring three complete albums: "Go" (1976), the double LP "Go: Live from Paris" (1976) and "Go Too" (1977) on a double CD set, over 145 minutes of music with superb audio quality. Yamashta recorded these albums with a stellar cast of English, European and American musicians - a true east meets west collaboration of tremendous scope. Features prominent contributions from master musicians Steve Winwood, Al Dimeola, Michael Shrieve, Klaus Schulze, Paul Buckmaster, Pat Thrall, Soul Diva Linda Lewis.

 

Disc 01

01. Go (1976) Part 1 ... 21:19

02. Go (1976) Part 2 ... 20:16

03. Go - Live From Paris (1976) Part 1 ... 15:52

04. Go - Live From Paris (1976) Part 2 ... 14:38

Disc 02

01. Go - Live From Paris (1976) Part 3 ... 14:16

02. Go - Live From Paris (1976) Part 4 ... 18:59

03. Prelude ... 3:02

04. Seen You Before ... 6:15

05. Madness ... 5:59

06. Mysteries Of Love ... 6:42

07. Wheels Of Fortune ... 5:35

08. Beauty ... 5:09

09. You And Me ... 7:00

10. Ecliptic ... 2:27 

VA - Fab Gear: The British Beat Explosion And It’s Aftershocks 1963-1967 (6 CD, 2018/FLAC)

 BRITISH BEAT was the term adopted to describe the exciting new sounds out of Liverpool and other cities in the wake of The Beatles’ explosion onto the world stage in 1963/64.

Named after the slang term forever associated with The Beatles, this mammoth 6-CD box set offers around 180 tracks in chronological order from the mid-1960s, many of which are new to CD and some of which are previously unissued.

FAB GEAR draws heavily from the vaults of Pye Records and sister label Piccadilly, picking up where Castle Music’s Beat Beat Beat series left off many moons ago.

Instead of concentrating on Beat’s initial boom of 1963/64, Fab Gear is focussed instead on the scene’s later gems from 1965/66, which were often musically superior to those earlier works.

Other featured labels include independents such as Ember, President and Oak, as well as a smattering of choices from the majors (Decca, Parlophone, Columbia, Fontana, CBS et al).

FAB GEAR includes many of the era’s biggest names such as The Kinks, The Moody Blues, The Searchers and The Tremeloes and other hit acts such as The Marmalade, The Alan Price Set, The Rockin’ Berries, David & Jonathan, The Ivy League, Twinkle, Peter Jay & The Jaywalkers, Chad & Jeremy, The Tornados, Arthur Brown, Tony Jackson & The Vibrations, The Undertakers, Billie Davis, The Migil 5, The Truth, The Quiet Five and The Sorrows.

The hefty booklet boasts band-by-band histories and details of each recording, including early works by David Bowie, Status Quo, Clifford T. Ward, Manfred Mann’s Mike d’Abo, Lemmy and future members of Yes, The Move, Mott The Hoople, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Deep Purple, Fleetwood Mac, Traffic, Lindisfarne and Man.

The bonus disc 6 contains recordings which weren’t issued at the time, including many tracks which have never been heard before.