320 kbps | 335 MB | LINKS
Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce the release of a new 5CD remastered clamshell box set by the legendary American band SPIRIT. Formed in Los Angeles in 1967 from the remnants of The Red Roosters, SPIRIT was one of the great bands to emerge on the US West Coast in the Psychedelic era. Featuring the talents of 16 year old guitarist Randy California (who had played guitar with Jimi Hendrix in New York the previous year), his step-father drummer Ed Cassidy along with Jay Ferguson (vocals, percussion), John Locke (keyboards) and Mark Andes (bass), Spirit signed to producer Lou Adler’s newly established Ode Records label in late 1967. Their self-titled debut album appeared some months later and demonstrated the breadth and diversity of the band covering psychedelic, rock and jazz influences. Newly re-mastered, this anthology features all of Spirit’s recordings for the Ode and Epic labels between 1968 and 1972 and notably includes the entire mono mix of the band’s self-titled debut album (appearing on CD for the first time), the complete soundtrack to the film The Model Shop, along with original 1968 stereo mix of The Family That Plays Together, associated out-takes, singles and alternate mixes undertaken in 1991 for the Time Circle compilation. It Shall Be also includes an illustrated booklet + essay and features archive interviews with Randy California and Ed Cassidy.
FLAC | 186 MB | LINKS
The jazz legend Chick Corea and world-renowned Italian guitarist Flavio Cucchi have known each other since the late 1980s. This recording features Corea’s only work written expressly for the guitar, ‘Six Ruminations,’ heard in a new version by Cucchi, as well as Cucchi’s arrangement for two guitars of the magical, haiku-like ’12 Children’s Songs.’ The album continues with Alfonso Borghese’s charming ‘Habanera d’Autunno,’ the famous Egberto Gismonti piece, ‘Agua e vinho,’ Giulio Clementi’s evocation of bygone dance hall days and the folk-infused ‘English Suite’ by John Duarte. Flavio Cucchi has given hundreds of recitals all over the world and participated in radio and TV broadcasts for the BBC, RAI, ZDF, Bayerischer Rundfunk, and Radio Prague, among others. Many composers have dedicated works to him, and he has held masterclasses all over the globe.
William Hooker
Pillars… at the Portal
(Mulatta Records, 2018)
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Mark Kozelek
Mark Kozelek
(Caldo Verde/Rough Trade, 2018)
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320 kbps | 88 MB | LINKS
Critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Mason Jennings has announced the release of new album, Songs From When We Met, out May 11.“The last few years have been a personal struggle for me. I decided I wanted to heal and took a hard look at a lot of things in my life. I made some important changes, got honest with myself, and got back to my music. I wrote and recorded an album of new songs with some help from my friends, The Pines. The album was made in a barn-studio in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It’s a love record, a record about healing, and I hope it brings hope and joy to those who listen,” says Jennings.
320 kbps | 219 MB | LINKS
Omnivore’s second installment of Buck Owens’ The Complete Capitol Singles opens up with “Sam’s Place,” the song Buck took to number one early in 1967, and closes with “I Wouldn’t Live in New York City (If They Gave Me the Whole Dang Town),” which peaked at nine in late 1970. In other words, this double-disc compilation traces the waning years of Buck’s imperial era, ending at a point when he’s still having hits but starting to have diminishing creative returns. While there are a couple of bum sides to be heard in these 36 tracks usually, they arrive in the form of duets with his son Buddy Alan or a half-baked B-side the consistency of these singles remains remarkable, as do the chances Owens takes. By 1969, he took “Johnny B. Goode” into overdrive, drenched “Who’s Gonna Mow Your Grass” with fuzz guitar, and didn’t resist heightened productions like the one that made “Tall Dark Stranger” nearly cinematic. “Tall Dark Stranger” arrived in the summer of 1969, when Owens transitioned to stereo from mono, but the first disc and a half of The Complete Capitol Singles: 1967-1970 are devoted to crisp mono mixes that give this collection a period appeal. Listening to these singles chronologically in the original mix illustrates how rapidly Buck Owens & His Buckaroos evolved in these four years, which means it’s not just an entertaining listen, it’s instructive as well.
320 kbps | 645 MB | LINKS
On their debut album, Bring It On, England’s Gomez introduce their original take on bluesy roots rock. Unlike Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, this isn’t amphetamine-fueled freak-out music but similar at times to Beck’s acoustic-based work (One Foot in the Grave), with more going on vocally. The band has a total of three strong vocalists, who can switch from pretty harmonies to gutsy blues outpourings in the blink of an eye. The band manages to cover a lot of ground convincingly on Bring It On, which is unusual, since it commonly takes bands the course of a few releases to hone their sound. The three British singles released from the album are definite highlights — “Get Myself Arrested,” “Whippin’ Piccadilly,” and “78 Stone Wobble,” the latter containing a beautifully haunting acoustic guitar riff similar to Nirvana’s unplugged version of the Meat Puppets’ “Plateau.” All the praise that Gomez’s debut received is definitely not hype. The album is consistently great, as proven by such tracks as “Tijuana Lady,” “Love Is Better Than a Warm Trombone,” and “Get Myself Arrested.”
320 kbps | 83 MB | LINKS
Tracks:
01. My Time Is Expensive
02. Depression Blues
03. Midnight Hour
04. Sad Hour
05. Ain’t That Dandy
06. That’s Your Daddy Yaddy Yo
07. Dirty Work At The Crossroad
08. Hurry Back Good News
09. Okie Dokie Stomp
10. Good Looking Woman
11. Gate’s Salty Blues
12. Just Before Dawn
13. For Now So Long
