Soul Jewels Vol 1: Let's Do It Over

Deeper than deep, wider than wide...
Every beautiful song on this album shines like a diamond, refracting light into a spectrum consisting of varying shades of blue.
I am hugely grateful for my local boot sale which continues to introduce me to incredible lost sounds.  I hope you all find something special on this wonderful album.



Tracklist:

01     Bobby Powell     Our Love    
02     Ted Taylor     How Do You Walk Away From Fear    
03     Joe Valentine     I Can Stand To See You Go    
04     The Wallace Brothers     I Stayed Away Too Long    
05     Bobby Powell     In Time    
06     Fontella Bass     To Be Free    
07     Ted Taylor     Strangest Feeling    
08     Toussaint McCall     Nothing Takes The Place Of You    
09     Joe Valentine     A Woman's Love    
10     Toussaint McCall     I'll Do It For You    
11     Bobby Powell     I'm Not Going To Cry Over Spilt Milk    
12     Fontella Bass     I Want Everyone To Know    
13     Ted Taylor     Friendship Only Goes So Far    
14     Bobby Powell     Hold My Hand    
15     The Wallace Brothers     My Baby's Gone    
16     Toussaint McCall     Let's Do It Over

Get it HERE.

Authentic R&B - Various Artists (1963)

Here we have a fantastic compilation of swamp blues from Louisiana.  The album comprises songs originally released on the Baton Rouge label, Excello Records during the '50s and early '60s, and there are some real raw footstompers from some of Louisiana's best blues, soul and R&B artists.

Check out this 1958 classic from Lazy Lester:


Tracklist:

01     Lightnin' Slim –     I'm Evil       
02     Lazy Lester –     You're Gonna Ruin Me Baby       
03     Slim Harpo –     I Got Love If You Want It       
04     Jimmy Anderson  –     Going Through The Park       
05     Lightnin' Slim –     I'm Warning You Baby       
06     Lonesome Sundown –     Lonesome Lonely Blues       
07     Leroy Washington  –     Wild Cherry       
08     Silas Hogan –     You're Too Late Baby       
09     Lazy Lester –     I'm A Lover, Not A Fighter       
10     Slim Harpo –     I Love The Life I'm Living       
11     Jimmy Anderson  –     Naggin'       
12     Silas Hogan –     I'm Gonna Quit You Pretty Baby       
13     Lonesome Sundown –     I'm Glad She's Mine       
14     Slim Harpo –     I'm A King Bee       
15     Whispering Smith –     Mean Woman Blues       
16     Lightnin' Slim –     Loving Around The Clock

Get it HERE.

Rebby Sharp - In One Mouth and Out the Other (1989)

 

This is a fascinating release from New York's late eighties East Side art scene, the last gasp before the gentrification.  Rebby Sharp plays and sings a strange mix of folk and bluegrass, throwing in conscious lyrics with a fried sense of humour.  She is ably supported by guests such as the Shimmy Disc head honch, Kramer, and underground legends, Fred Frith and Tom Cora.  There's a lovely cover version of The Holy Modal Rounders' Hesitation Blues.



Tracklist:

01         Some Men        
02         Up Jumped Chair Legs        
03         Hard Acid Rain        
04         These Venetian Eyes        
05         Just In Time        
06         I'm So Hot        
07         Crater Creek        
08         Gimmee Back My 15¢        
09         Goin' To The Roof        
10         Sittin' On Top Of The John        
11         Let The Piper Call The Tune        
12         Hesitation Blues        
13         Tar Baskets        
14         Holding Forth        
15         He Leadeth Me        
16         Walk By The Fire

Get it HERE.

The Gun Club - Danse Kalinda Boom (Live in Pandora's Box)

I first bought this album in '85 or '86 having read something in NME about Jeffrey Lee Pierce and his self-destructive ways.  I made the purchase at the local record shop in Bishop Auckland, Brothertons Music, at the time an old fashioned place that also sold sheet music.  David, the shop assistant always wore a suit and the other assistant, Ruby, was good friends with my grandmother.  Strange that this dusty place should have held so many weird and wonderful records and played such a crucial part in my musical education.  I would regularly spend my paper round money in there and around the same time I bought Captain Beefheart's Safe as Milk on cassette and Fresh by Sly and the Family Stone.

In the mid '90s when I moved South, many of my records were sold and this was one of those that went, but its also long been one of the records that I regretted selling so I was very pleased to find it again recently, and you'll be pleased too as I'm now able to share it here.

The Gun Club were a seminal '80s blues-punk band who, despite a number of line-up changes, managed to channel the spirits of all the dead outlaw rock 'n' rollers through their primal rockabilly howl.  This is a stunning live recording of a band at the height of their powers.  This line-up sees The Cramps' Kid Congo Powers taking most of the lead guitar and Patricia Morrison (later of the Sisters of Mercy) on bass duty.  The performances are electric from start to finish.

Here's some live footage from 1984:


Tracklist:

01 Eternally Is Here        
02 Bad America        
03 Stranger In Town        
04 Gila Monster, New Mexico / Preaching Blues        
05 Sleeping In Blood City        
06 Goodbye Johnny        
07 Give Up The Sun

Get it HERE.

The World We Knew

Raw, bluesy, swamp rock from Tav Falco's Panther Burns, kind of like the Cramps or the Gun Club, but with this weird Lynchian sensibility. I'm loving it at the moment, especially the eerie title track.

Here he is performing some of the good stuff on a late night poker show, I posted this vid once before but its so good there's no harm in seeing it again:

Tracklist:

01 Dateless Night
02 Do The Robot
03 It's All Your Fault
04 Pass The Hatchet
05 She's My Witch
06 The World We Knew
07 Drop Your Mask
08 Mona Lisa
09 She's A Bad Motorcycle
10 Doubtful Of Your Love
11 Ditch Digging
12 Big Road Blues

Get it HERE.

An Evening with Snap Crackle & Pop Volume 1

It's strange how elastic time has become, or maybe has always been. I've been posting here at Snap, Crackle and Pop for just over three years now so I thought it was HIGH TIME for a little mix - around my musical world in 75 minutes or so.





Here is the tracklist, and you'll find that clicking on the artist's name will take you to the original post. Handy eh?

Tracklist:

01 Nico Pourvu & His Romanian Orchestra - Doina de la Titu (Romania)
02 Manitas de Plata - Maure Eglise (Spain)
03 Unknown Artist - Mahjoula (Morocco)
04 Sabah - Dakhlak Tell ou Hakina (Lebanon)
05 Archie Shepp - Blase (USA)
06 Stock, Hausen & Walkman - Gruel (UK)
07 Erkin Koray - Cemalim (Turkey)
08 Simon Jurad - Ambiance Nous (Martinique)
09 R.D. Burman - Dum Maro Dum (India)
10 M'Pongo Love - Ede (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
11 Tabu Ley - Dialogue (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
12 Ann Peebles - Do I Need You? (USA)
13 The Peddlers - On a Clear Day (UK)
14 King Sunny Ade - Akura Nile (Nigeria)
15 Tony Tuff - Jah Almighty (Jamaica)
16 Marehemu George Mukabi - Bibi Mama Ngani Mzuri (Kenya)
17 Los Guaraguao - Juventud Adelante (Mexico)
18 Conjunto Sol Del Peru - Paras Shayan (Peru)
19 Bongwater - One So Black (USA)
20 Maalem El Mansoum - Uled Bambara (Morocco)

Get it HERE.

Bukka White - Mississippi Blues (Sonet 1968)

This was a fantastic recent charity shop find. Bukka White was born in 1906 and recorded some 78s in the 1930s before spending a number of years in prison, apparently for shooting a man. This classic album of delta blues was recorded by the guitarist John Fahey in 1963 and if you haven't already, then you need to hear this. Great voice, great slide guitar as you can see:



Tracklist:

01		Aberdeen Mississippi Blues
02		Baby Please Don't Go
03		New Orleans Streamline
04		Parchman Farm Blues
05		Poor Boy Long Way From Home
06		Remembrance Of Charley Patton
07		Shake 'Em On Down
08		I Am In The Heavenly Way
09		The Atlanta Special
10		Drunk Man Blues (Piano)
11		Army Blues

Get it HERE.

Slim Gaillard - Cement Mixer Put-ti Put-ti (Folklyric Records 1984)

Slim Gaillard was a real oddball character from the classic age of American jazz, as anyone who ever saw the BBC's documentary, The World of Slim Gaillard can attest. This album collects some of his most popular tunes from the mid to late forties on one lovely chunk of vinyl. Here's a short biography of the oroonie man:

One of the most eccentric vocalists ever to hit the jazz scene, Slim Gaillard became a legendary cult figure thanks to his own privately invented jive dialect “vout," a variation on hipster slang composed of imaginary nonsense words (“oreenie" and “oroonie" being two other examples). Gaillard's comic performances, laid-back cool, and supremely silly songs made him a popular entertainer from the late ‘30s to the early ‘50s, especially on the West Coast, and several of his compositions became genuine hits, including "Flat Foot Floogie" and "Cement Mixer." Versatility was not Gaillard's stock in trade, but he was highly effective at what he did, and his musical ability as a singer, Charlie Christian-style guitarist, and boogie-woogie pianist was perhaps a bit overlooked in comparison to the novelty value of his music.

Slim was born Bulee Gaillard, most likely on January 4, 1916 in Detroit, MI.; some sources list his birthdate as January 1, and Gaillard sometimes claimed to have been born in Santa Clara, Cuba instead of Detroit. His father worked as a steward on a cruise liner, and sometimes brought young Slim along, once accidentally leaving him behind on the island of Crete. Gaillard was mostly raised in Detroit, though, where he tried his hand at professional boxing, worked as a mortician, and ran bootleg rum for the Purple Gang during the ‘30s. He also developed an act in which he played guitar and tap danced simultaneously, and eventually moved to New York to work the vaudeville circuit. In 1936, he teamed up with bassist Slam Stewart as Slim & Slam, and two years later they scored a substantial hit with "Flat Foot Floogie," which was quickly covered by the likes of Benny Goodman and Fats Waller in the wake of the original recording's success. Gaillard and Stewart kept cutting songs in a similar vein, including "Tutti Frutti" and "Laughin' in Rhythm," and eventually took their act to Hollywood, where they appeared in the 1941 film Hellzapoppin. Their partnership continued on through 1942, when World War II interrupted; both served in the military, Gaillard in the Air Force.

Upon exiting the service in 1944, Gaillard settled in Los Angeles and took up residency at Billy Berg's Hollywood Boulevard club, a hot spot for stars of the era. Now in tandem with bassist Bam Brown, Gaillard became a top draw and a hip name to drop; his 1945 hit "Cement Mixer" returned him to national prominence, and he recorded frequently that year, often with a quartet featuring Brown, pianist Dodo Marmarosa, and drummer Zutty Singleton. He also cut a session with bop greats Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie in late 1945, the most notable result of which was "Slim's Jam." The latter half of the ‘40s saw Gaillard's popularity at its peak; he appeared in several films and recorded for Verve up through 1951. He had further hits with 1948's "Down by the Station," which became a popular children's nursery rhyme, and 1951's "Yep Roc Heresay," a recitation of the menu from a Middle Eastern restaurant that one radio station banned for its "suggestiveness." He performed in New York frequently from 1951-53, and also participated in Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic in 1953; a few years later, he was name-checked in Jack Kerouac's On the Road.

By the mid-‘50s, Gaillard's popularity was on the wane. He spent much of the latter part of the decade on the road with Stan Kenton, and recorded for Dot in 1958. He took a hiatus from music in the ‘60s; he managed a motel in San Diego for a time, and bought an orchard near Tacoma, Washington. He also played clubs and spent time in Los Angeles, where he drifted into acting toward the end of the decade, appearing on TV shows like Marcus Welby, M.D., Charlie's Angels, Mission Impossible, Medical Center, and Along Came Bronson. He reunited with Slam Stewart at the 1970 Monterey Jazz Festival, and in 1979 he appeared in the miniseries Roots: The Next Generation. In 1982, Dizzy Gillespie talked Gaillard into returning to music. He traveled to the U.K. and made his first recordings since 1958 for Hep, which issued them as the album Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere; he also hit the festival circuit and toured Europe extensively, making London his new home base in 1983. He appeared in the cult film Absolute Beginners in 1986, and was the subject of a multi-part BBC special called The World of Slim Gaillard in 1989. Gaillard passed away on February 26, 1991 after a bout with cancer. — Steve Huey

Check out this piano man:



Tracklist:

01 Jam Man
02 Scotchin' With The soda
03 Cement Mixer
04 Cuban Rumbarini
05 Drei Six Cents
06 Three Handed Boogie
07 Groove Juice Jive
08 Laguna Oroonee
09 Tip Light
10 Arabian Boogie
11 The Hogan Song
12 Money Money Money
13 Organ Oreenee
14 Little Red Riding Wood
15 When Banana Skins Are Falling
16 Bongo Cito

Get it HERE.

Don Covay & The Jefferson Lemon Blues Band - Different Strokes for Different Folks (1970)

I was excited to find this in a fleamarket recently, mainly because I've been loving the Covay song that appears on this recent post. I initially thought that it must be a compilation of tracks from throughout his career, but then was intrigued to find that its actually a reissue of his 1970 album "Different Strokes for Different Folks". Check out the man in his finery on the original cover:
This is a great blend of deep soul, funk and blues sounds and its been keeping me entertained. Here's the excellent closing track:


Tracklist:

01		Sweet Thang
02		Daddy Please Don't Go Tonight
03		Why Did You Put Your Shoes Under My Bed
04		Stop By
05		Bad Luck
06		Hitching A Ride
07		Standing In The Grits Line
08		In The Sweet Bye And Bye
09		Ain't Nothing A Young Girl Can Do
10		If There's A Will There's A Way
11		What's In The Headlines

Get it HERE.

Another Chapter in the Lives and Times of Captain Beefheart (Archive Productions 1989)

What a treat! Here's a double album of rare Beefheart, outakes from 1966 and 1971, and a great Peel session from '67.

Here's a couple of tasters to get you in the mood:



Tracklist:

Side 1:

1. Somebody In My Home
   
2. Somebody's Leaving
   
3. Call On Me (alternate version)
   
4. Sure 'Nuff & Yes I Do (alternate version)
   
5. Yellow Brick Road (alternate version)
   
6. Plastic Factory (alternate version)
   

Side 2:

1. Yellow Brick Road
   
2. Abba Zabba
   
3. Sure 'Nuff & Yes I Do
   
4. Safe As Milk
   
5. Kandy Korn
   
6. Trust Us
   

Side 3:

1. Funeral Hill #1
   
2. Drink Paint Run Run
   
3. Can't Do This Unless I Can Do That
   
4. Dirty Blue Gene
   
5. Sun Zoom Spark
   
6. Kiss Me My Love (2 Lips in a Haystack) [note: not listed on cover or label]

Side 4:

1. Little Scratch
   
2. Sun Zoom Spark (jam version)
   
3. Little Scratch (instrumental)
   
4. Flaming Autograph (instrumental)
   
5. Best Batch Yet (instrumental)
   

Get record 1 HERE and record 2 HERE.

Soul...In the Beginning - Various Artists (Avco 1970)

Its been a while since I posted the Staple Singers album, so I thought it was high time for a bit more blues. This great compilation came out in 1970 and is excellent from start to finish. Lightning Hopkins rambles his way through a couple of great tunes...his banter is almost as entertaining as the songs themselves. Billy Biser's 'Tell Me Where You Stayed Last Night' is dark and hypnotic, laced with railroad harmonica and anger.

Here's Lightning Hopkins doing 'Mojo Hand' and looking hip in his shades and black shirt...


And here's a great bit of footage of T-Bone Walker playing his electrifying blues guitar...


This clip from a documentary about zydeco music has Clifton Chenier appearing throughout. And its worth a look for the evocative footage from zydeco dances in Louisiana...looks like a great time was had by all.


Tracklist:

01 Lightning Hopkins - December 7, 1941
02 Lightning Hopkins - Mojo Hand
03 Billy Biser - Tell Me Where You Stayed Last Night
04 Calvin Loudmouth Johnson & Johnny Winter - Down and Out
05 Calvin Loudmouth Johnson & Johnny Winter - Lein On Your Body (Mortgage on your Soul)
06 Clifton Chenier - Trouble in Mind
07 Clifton Chenier - Be My Chauffer
08 T-Bone Walker - Please Come Back To Me
09 T-Bone Walker - Treat Your Daddy Well

Get the album HERE.

The Staple Singers - Uncloudy Day

Hello boys and grrls, got some lovely music for you today. Everybody's heard something by this famous musical family, probably some of their fabulous Stax singles like I'll Take You There or If You're Ready (Come Go With Me). These are fantastic songs that showcase that big Memphis sound, but you won't find any of that on their first album, Uncloudy Day, which came out way back in 1959. This album gives us some real haunting rootsy Southern spirituals and it features some great, spare guitar work from Pops Staple and loads of heartfelt harmonising. All the songs are heavy on the old time religion, but musically, the songs here are influenced by Pops Staples Mississippi blues roots, his heavily reverbed guitar giving the whole thing a lowdown, swampy feel that I can't get enough of.


Tracklisting:

1. Uncloudy Day

2. Let Me Ride

3. God's Wonderful Love

4. Help Me Jesus

5. I'm Coming Home

6. If I Could Hear My Mother Pray

7. Love Is the Way

8. I Had a Dream

9. On My Way to Heaven

10. Going Away

11. I'm Leaving

12. I Know I Got Religion

Get the spirit over here, or over here.

Also, here's a taster: