Jim Reeves - Welcome To My World [16 CD, 1994]

  

This massive collection by the German Bear Family label is the most intimidatingly thorough collection of Jim Reeves' work. Basically, it's virtually everything from his recording sessions, and there are two separate boxes of his radio transcriptions besides! But this one is unwieldy enough -- it's 16 CDs covering all of Reeves' recordings from his earliest in 1949 for the Macy label to his move to Abbott in 1952, including ten unissued alternate takes and rejected masters, a single side issued by Fabor, and then back to Abbott. These sides make up the first two discs of the collection and offer what most folks have never heard in Reeves -- his hillbilly records that reflect a beautiful fusion of the Western swing, honky tonk and cowboy traditions; Reeves' songwriting was also in full flower at this early period in Texas. The early crooning style that hinted at his later pop recordings came in the latter period of his association with Abbott. These songs are all revelatory in that they reveal without doubt what it was RCA heard in Reeves and why he stood out: His relaxed, smooth full-throated baritone delivery transcended country & western music. Beginning with disc three and going all the way though disc 13 are Reeves' complete recordings for RCA. The earliest of them are still very much in the country and Western swing tradition, but in the production the sound is a bit more lush, where the instruments begin to balance with Reeves' honeyed delivery. The fiddles play more like strings and so does the pedal steel. "I'm Hurtin' Inside" slips along without seam or stitch, and is a perfect example of where Reeves would go with his style.

And it didn't take him long to get there. By the time Reeves recorded "Am I Losing You" in 1956, the mature ballad style was already in his voice, and producer Chet Atkins was aware of where it could go; still, it would be the recording of "Four Walls" in 1957 that the real transition was in full swing. And 1957 was a big year. The Jordanaires and Floyd Cramer became integral to the Reeves sound and the roots of countrypolitan were dug. They would begin to sprout on "Everywhere You Go," from that same year, which was as much Nat King Cole as it was Reeves: a brushed jazzy four on the drums, Cramer comping with beautiful -- if a tad rigid -- jazz chords, and the Jordanaires singing a near scat chorus behind Reeves. By December, with "I Love to Say I Love You" with the Anita Kerr Singers backing him, the transition was complete. The story is well-known from here beginning on the fifth disc; Reeves' prolific output as the king of country crooners was already evidenced by his chart success internationally. Even after the Beatles changed everything in 1963, Reeves was charting in England. From "He'll Have to Go" to "Welcome to My World" to "Missing You" and "Maureen," his last two sides before dying in a plane crash, it's all here. There's an entire disc dedicated to the (in)famous charted overdub recordings from 1966 and 1967, as well as two discs of demo recordings -- 59 tracks in all -- that make this set not only a definitive document, but a testament to a legacy of genius, both Reeves and Atkins.

The Jam - Direction Reaction Creation (5 CD, 1997/FLAC)

 Direction Reaction Creation is an anthology issued in 1997 by the British band The Jam. It includes 117 tracks over 5 discs, including all of the songs from their singles (although, where applicable, the A sides are present in their album versions only) and six studio albums.

 

Deep Purple - Bootleg Series 1984-2000 (12 CD)

 A Deep Purple concert. There's always that special atmosphere. You're waiting for the show to begin and the venue is packed with anticipation. The floor is already damp with spilt beer, and watching the stage crew prepare the equipment, you wonder just how exciting the show is going to be tonight. Countless Deep Purple shows have come and gone. They have all had something going for them, whether it was the blinding drum solo from Ian Paice, Jon Lord rocking his Hammond back and forth with such fervour you thought it was going to break down, the intricate and stunningly quiet guitar solo from Ritchie Blackmore which seemed to hold the entire audience in awe - or perhaps Ian Gillan's weird and wonderful stream-of-consciousness between-song banter which never stops baffling, with its unexpected twists and hilarious observations. Roger Glover was always there, steady as a rock, bobbing back and forth and never straying from that very neat place right in the pocket, as musicians put it. Steve Morse has lead the band from strength to strength for the past seven years (hey, Mark 2 spent only four years together from 69 to 73) and the live shows have had a somewhat different taste to them, but the excitement has always been there.

HIGHWAY STARS Adelaide, Victoria, Australia. November 30th 1984

THIRD NIGHT Stockholm JohannesHov Isstadion, June 16th 1985

HUNGARY DAYS Budapest, Hungary, January 26/27/28th 1987

IN YOUR TROUSERS Stockholm, November 13th 1993

PURPLE SUNSHINE Fort Lauderdale, March 4th1995.

MADE IN JAPAN 2000 Osaka, January 4th 2000

 

VA - The Many Faces of Motorhead (3 CD, 2015/FLAC)

 Another volume in the successful and fascinating series The Many Faces, which digs into the inner world of Motorhead, highlighting their roots, their side projects, his rarest recordings and his legacy.Intertwined amongst punk, hard rock, heavy metal or, as Lemmy himself has claimed, in the most classic rock n'roll, Motorhead has created a unique and recognizable sound right from the start. Motorhead is a true innovative band. And just as Ramones or AC / DC, they have created a unique sub culture surrounding their own unique sound.Packaged in a 3cd gatefold set, THE MANY FACES OF MOTORHEAD is a wild ride through the musical legacy of one of the most significant bands in the history of rock & roll.

 

Lonnie Johnson - The Original Guitar Wizard (4 CD, 2006/FLAC)

 Lonnie Johnson was best known for his tonally beautiful guitar playing, but he was also a fine singer and songwriter, and pretty adept on violin, piano, banjo, mandolin, harmonium, and bass as well. Equally at home in the blues or the jazz world (he worked with artists as raw as Texas Alexander and as polished as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington), Johnson's life as a professional musician began in the mid-'20s and stretched all the way into the 1960s, when his career was given an autumnal boost during the folk/blues revival. This four-disc 95-track box from Proper moves chronologically through Johnson's peak years with commercial labels, beginning with his prolific OKeh years, which are covered on the first two discs (highlights include several elegant instrumentals, a particularly fine solo version of W.C. Handy's "Careless Love," and some amazing duets with jazz guitarist Eddie Lang) and conclude on the third disc, the first part of which covers Johnson's last years with the label (he was released from his contract in 1932). After moving to Chicago, Johnson signed with Decca in 1937, and his amazing solo guitar performance called "Swing Out Rhythm" is included here from the Decca stay. In 1939 Johnson moved to RCA Victor's Bluebird imprint, and those sides round out the third disc and begin the fourth. In 1947, having switched from acoustic to electric guitar, Johnson left Bluebird, and after tracking some sides for Moe Asch's Disc label, followed by a brief stay at Aladdin, he began a long association with King. One of his first cuts for the label, "Tomorrow Night," included here, topped the R&B charts for several weeks in 1948 and touched off Johnson's R&B years, which saw the guitarist moving more toward ballads and working increasingly with large horn sections. His association with King ended in 1951, and his final commercial tracks for the label conclude disc four of this set. There are several single-disc releases of Lonnie Johnson's work on the market and casual listeners may well want to start with one of those, since there is a lot of repetition here (none of the musicians from the 1920s and 1930s could have anticipated having multi-disc box sets), but as an extensive overview of Johnson's peak years, The Original Guitar Wizard is a steal at a budget price.