Matthews Southern Comfort - Matthews Southern Comfort (1969) / Second Spring (1970) [2 CD/FLAC]

 This UK band was formed by former Fairport Convention singer/guitarist Iain Matthews (b. Ian Matthew McDonald, 16 June 1946, Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England), and was named after his 1969 debut for MCA Records. 

Comprising Matthews, Mark Griffiths (guitar), Carl Barnwell (guitar), Gordon Huntley (pedal steel guitar), Andy Leigh (bass) and Ray Duffy (drums), the newly formed band signed to EMI Records. The unit’s country-tinged sound proved to be an excellent forum for Matthews’ songwriting talents. In the summer of 1970, their second album, Second Spring reached the UK Top 40 and was followed by a winter chart-topper, ‘Woodstock’. Joni Mitchell wrote the single as a tribute to the famous festival that she had been unable to attend. Already issued as a single in a hard rocking vein by Crosby, Stills, Nash And Young, it was a surprise UK number 1 for Matthews Southern Comfort. Unfortunately, success was followed by friction within the band and, two months later, Matthews announced his intention to pursue a solo career. One more album followed after which the band truncated their name to Southern Comfort. After two further albums, they disbanded in the summer of 1972. 

 

1. Colorado Springs Eternal

2. A Commercial Proposition

3. The Castle Far

4. Please Be My Friend

5. What We Say

6. Dream Song

7. Fly Pigeon Fly

8. The Watch

9. Sweet Bread

10. Thoughts For A Friend

11. I’ve Lost You

12. Once Upon A Lifetime

Tracks 1 to 12 are their debut vinyl album "Matthews' Southern Comfort" - released January 1970 in the UK on Uni Records UNLS 108 and Decca DL 75191 in the USA

13. The Ballad Of Obray Ramsey

14. Moses In The Sunshine

15. Jinkson Johnson

16. Tale Of The Trial

17. Blood Red Roses

18. Even As

19. D’arcy Farrow

20. Something In The Way She Moves

21. Southern Comfort

Tracks 13 to 21 are their 2nd LP "Second Spring" - released June 1970 in the UK on Uni Records UNLS 112 and Decca DL 75242 in the USA 

Louis Jordan - Jivin' with Jordan (1938-1951) (4 CD, 2002/FLAC)

 

This whopping 81-cut, four-disc box collects the vast majority of master takes Louis Jordan & His Tympani Five recorded for Decca in the 1940s. While it's true that Germany's Bear Family label did a better job by putting together a seven-disc box with alternates and a number of unreleased masters along with an LP of his duets with Ella Fitzgerald, this collection cannot be faulted, especially for the price especially since it also represents Jordan's music from the late '30s to the early '50s. One can hear the grand lyric phrasing and rhythmic influence Jordan had on Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Johnny Otis, and Otis Blackwell. From "Five Guys Named Moe," "That Chick's Too Young to Fry," and "Somebody Done Changed the Lock on My Door" to "If You're So Smart How Come You Ain't Rich," "Fast Sam from Birmingham," "Baby It's Cold Outside" (with Ella), and many many more, there isn't a weak take on this set. 

 

 

Elvin Bishop collection [1988-2020/FLAC]

Elvin Bishop (born October 21, 1942) is an American blues and rock and roll musician and guitarist.

Bishop was born in Glendale, California, and grew up on a farm near Elliott, Iowa. His family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, when he was ten years old. There he attended Will Rogers High School, winning a full scholarship to the University of Chicago as a National Merit Scholar finalist. Upon graduation from high school, he moved to Chicago in 1960 to attend the University, where he majored in physics. In 1963, he met harmonica player Paul Butterfield in the neighborhood of Hyde Park and joined Butterfield's blues band, with whom he remained for five years. Their third album, The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw, takes its name from Bishop's nickname. In 1968 he went solo and formed the Elvin Bishop Group, also performing with Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper on their album titled The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper. The group signed with Fillmore Records, which was owned by Bill Graham, who also owned the Fillmore music venues.

 

 

Bob Dylan - Biograph (3 CD, 1985)

 

Historically, Biograph is significant not for what it did for Dylan's career, but for establishing the box set, complete with hits and rarities, as a viable part of rock history. Following Biograph, multi-disc box sets for veteran rockers became accepted and almost the norm, but that doesn't discount this set's strengths as a summary of Dylan's career, using the familiar and the rare to draw a fully rounded portrait of his strengths as a songwriter, musician, and record-maker in a way that conventional choices alone couldn't achieve. Certainly, the chief attraction of this set, even years after its initial release, is its smattering of rarities that aren't just rare, but revealing -- ranging from forgotten rock B-sides and singles to demos, alternate takes, and unreleased songs that rival official releases. But Biograph is really remarkable for weaving these songs into a fabric that reveals the true trajectory of Dylan's career, offering as much to the curious as it does to the dedicated. That sets a standard for box sets that has rarely been matched, making Biograph all the more impressive in retrospect.

 

 

VA - Greatest Ever Decade 60's (4 CD, 2021/FLAC)

 

 

CD1

01.The Foundations - Build Me Up Buttercup - 00:02:58

02.The Monkees - Last Train To Clarksville - 00:02:44

03.The Searchers - Needles And Pins - 00:02:12

04.Johnny Kidd & The Pirates - Shakin' All Over - 00:02:19

05.The Hollies - Look Through Any Window - 00:02:16

06.Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers - Got To Get You Into My Life - 00:02:34

07.Love Affair - Rainbow Valley - 00:03:50

08.The Drifters - Up On The Roof - 00:02:36

09.Trini Lopez - If I Had A Hammer - 00:03:00

10.Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons - Working My Way Back To You - 00:03:03

11.Sonny & Cher - Little Man - 00:03:17

12.Honeybus - I Can't Let Maggie Go - 00:02:56

13.The Beau Brummels - Hang On Sloppy - 00:02:49

14.The Easybeats - Friday On My Mind - 00:02:43

15.Gerry & The Pacemakers - I Like It - 00:02:14

16.Billy J Kramer & The Dakotas - Bad To Me - 00:02:19

17.The Overlanders - Michelle - 00:02:21

18.Marmalade - Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da - 00:03:01

19.The Tornados - Telstar - 00:03:15

20.Peter Sarstedt - Where Do You Go To My (Lovely) - 00:04:43

CD2

01.Petula Clark - Downtown - 00:03:04

02.Cilla Black - Step Inside Love - 00:02:21

03.Helen Shapiro - Fever - 00:02:25

04.Cliff Richard & The Shadows - On The Beach - 00:02:31

05.Freddie & The Dreamers - If Your Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody - 00:01:57

06.Herman's Hermits - A Must To Avoid - 00:01:54

07.The Ivy League - Tossing & Turning - 00:02:26

08.Chad & Jeremy - A Summer Song - 00:02:37

09.The Shadows - Wonderful Land - 00:02:05

10.The Everly Brothers - Temptation - 00:02:12

11.Mike Berry With The Outlaws - My Little Baby - 00:01:57

12.Jimmy Justice - When My Little Girl Is Smiling - 00:02:26

13.Jackie Trent - Where Are You Now (My Love) - 00:02:44

14.Frank Ifield - The Wayward Wind - 00:02:42

15.Matt Monro - Walk Away - 00:03:06

16.The Seekers - Morningtown Ride - 00:02:40

17.The Caravelles - You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry - 00:01:59

18.Twinkle - Golden Lights - 00:02:31

19.Shirley Bassey - As Long As He Needs Me - 00:02:59

20.Lonnie Donegan - The Party's Over - 00:02:42

CD3

01.The Animals - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - 00:02:27

02.Buffalo Springfield - Mr Soul - 00:02:49

03.Love - Alone Again Or - 00:03:14

04.The Association - Along Comes Mary - 00:02:48

05.David McWilliams - The Days Of Pearly Spencer - 00:02:33

06.The Flowerpot Men - Let's Go To San Francisco - 00:03:36

07.The Searchers - Sweets For My Sweet - 00:02:27

08.The Tremeloes - My Little Lady - 00:02:43

09.The Sorrows - Take A Heart - 00:03:14

10.Jethro Tull - Sweet Dream - 00:04:01

11.Status Quo - Ice In The Sun - 00:02:10

12.Eclection - In Her Mind - 00:03:55

13.Moody Blues - I Don't Want To Go On Without You - 00:02:43

14.Barry Booth - He's Very Good With His Hands - 00:02:28

15.Sounds Orchestral - Cast Your Fate To The Wind - 00:03:10

16.Donovan - Colours - 00:02:44

17.Ian Campbell Folk Group - The Times They Are A-Changin' - 00:03:06

18.Jackson C. Frank - Milk & Honey - 00:03:37

19.Pentangle - Springtime Promises - 00:04:05

20.Judy Collins - Who Knows Where The Time Goes - 00:04:44

CD4

01.Aretha Franklin - Respect - 00:02:24

02.Arthur Conley - Sweet Soul Music - 00:02:20

03.Otis Redding - (Sittin' On The) Dock Of A Bay - 00:02:42

04.Solomon Burke - Everybody Needs Somebody To Love - 00:02:44

05.The Bar-Kays - Soul Finger - 00:02:20

06.Sam & Dave - Soul Man - 00:02:35

07.Wilson Pickett - Land Of 1000 Dances - 00:02:24

08.The Mar-Keys - Last Night - 00:02:38

09.Bob & Earl - Harlem Shuffle - 00:02:44

10.Percy Sledge - My Special Prayer - 00:03:02

11.Ben E. King - First Taste Of Love - 00:02:18

12.Booker T & The MG's - Hip Hug Her - 00:02:23

13.Carla Thomas - You Don't Have To Say You Love Me - 00:03:30

14.Dionne Warwick - Do You Know The Way To San Jose - 00:02:55

15.Archie Bell The Drells - (There's Gonna Be A) Showdown - 00:02:40

16.Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band - Michael (The Lover) - 00:02:24

17.The Foundations - In The Bad Bad Old Days (Before You Loved Me) - 00:03:22

18.Emile Ford & The Checkmates - Counting Teardrops - 00:02:16

19.Tommy James & The Shondells - Hanky Panky - 00:02:52

20.The Bobby Fuller Four - I Fought The Law - 00:02:17