VA - Alan Lomax : Sounds of the South (4 CD, 1993) [FLAC]


 The music on this anthology has been derived from several notable albums of field recordings by ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax gathered in the South during the early 20th century. The primary components include the long-players Sounds of the South (1960), Blue Ridge Mountain Music (1960), Roots of the Blues (1960), Blues Roll On (1960), Negro Church Music (1960), White Spirituals (1960), and American Folk Songs for Children (1960). In Lomax's 1993 written introduction, he reveals that the four and a half hours housed in the package were "culled out of eight hours of field tapes" documented during a two-month tour in the summer of 1959 that began in Virginia and progressed into the Ozarks, the Mississippi Delta, and then the Georgia Sea Islands. While he goes on to explain the significance of his research, the authenticity of the living aural history really speaks for itself. Artists and songs of possible familiarity to enthusiasts of folk and blues are scattered throughout. Mississippi Fred McDowell's "Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning," "Shake 'Em on Down," and "Drop Down Mama," the Mountain Ramblers' "Cotton-Eyed Joe" and "Shady Grove," and Estil C. Ball & Orna Ball's "Jenny Jenkins" are taken from the Sounds of the South and Blue Ridge Mountain Music entries. The trio of Boy Blue (vocal/harmonica), Willie Jones (guitar), and Joe Lee (drums) provides a seminal reading of "Boogie Children," while Lonnie Young (vocal/bass drum), Ed Young (cane fife), and Lonnie Young, Jr. (snare drum) unleash a variation of "Sittin' on Top of the World" from Roots of the Blues and Blues Roll On. Negro Church Music and White Spirituals' sacred selections are highlighted by a "Sermon Fragment" from the Reverend G.I. Townsel as well as a "Sermon and Lining Hymn" featuring Reverend I.D. Back with his congregation and a stirring solo rendition of "Poor Wayfaring Stranger" by the previously mentioned Estil C. Ball. Perhaps most fascinating are the American Folk Songs for Children, as they transcend race or religious creed. Almeda Riddle's "Froggie Went A-Courtin'," Bessie Jones' "Hambone," Hobart Smith's "The Arkansas Traveler," the Mountain Ramblers' "Liza Jane," Mississippi Fred McDowell's "Freight Train Blues," James Shorty/Viola James & Congregation's inspired "This Little Light of Mine," and a rare confab between Felix Dukes and Mississippi Fred McDowell on "Motherless Children" all surpassed their era.

 

 

U2 discography [1980-2017]

 
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono (vocals and rhythm guitar), the Edge (lead guitar, keyboards, and vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen, Jr. (drums and percussion). U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music. Throughout the group's musical pursuits, they have maintained a sound built on melodic instrumentals. Their lyrics, often embellished with spiritual imagery, focus on personal themes and sociopolitical concerns.

The band formed at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency. Within four years, they signed with Island Records and released their debut album Boy. By the mid-1980s, U2 had become a top international act. They were more successful as a touring act than they were at selling records until their 1987 album The Joshua Tree which, according to Rolling Stone, elevated the band's stature "from heroes to superstars". Reacting to musical stagnation and criticism of their earnest image and musical direction in the late 1980s, U2 reinvented themselves with their 1991 album, Achtung Baby, and the accompanying Zoo TV Tour; they integrated dance, industrial, and alternative rock influences into their sound, and embraced a more ironic and self-deprecating image. They embraced similar experimentation for the remainder of the 1990s with varying levels of success. U2 regained critical and commercial favour in the 2000s with the records All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000) and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004), which established a more conventional, mainstream sound for the group. Their U2 360° Tour of 2009–2011 is the highest-attended and highest-grossing concert tour in history.






basic discography

U2-(1980)-Boy
U2-(1981)-October
U2-(1983)-Under A Blood Red Sky
U2-(1983)-War
U2-(1984)-The Unforgettable Fire
U2-(1987)-The Joshua Tree
U2-(1988)-Rattle and Hum
U2-(1991)-Achtung Baby
U2-(1993)-Zooropa
U2-(1997)-Pop
U2-(1998)-The Best Of 1980-1990
U2-(2000)-All That You Can't Leave Behind
U2-(2002)-The Best Of 1990-2000
U2-(2004)-How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
U2-(2006)-U2-18 Singles
U2-(2009)-No Line On The Horizon
U2-(2014)-Songs of Innocence [2 CD, Deluxe Edition]
U2-(2017)-Songs Of Experience

remasters,extended & live

U2-(1980)-Boy [2 CD, 2008 Remaster, Deluxe Edition]
U2-(1981)-October [2 CD, 2008 Remaster, Deluxe Edition]
U2-(1983)-War [2 CD, 2008 Remaster, Deluxe Edition]
U2-(1984)-The Unforgettable Fire [2 CD, 2009 Remaster]
U2-(1987)-The Joshua Tree (4 CD Super Deluxe, 2017)
U2-(1987)-The Joshua Tree [2 CD, 2007 Remaster]
U2-(1991)-Achtung Baby [6 CD, 2011 Remaster]
U2-(2004)-Rare & Unreleased
U2-(2004)-The Complete U2 - Hasta La Vista Baby!
U2-(2009)-Medium, Rare & Remastered (2 CD)
U2-(2010)-Artificial Horizon
U2-(2011)-U2 Duals
U2-(2012)-From The Ground Up Edge's Picks From U2360ø
U2-(2012)-U22

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