Bill Fay is a name that has crept back into the underground consciousness in recent years due to some unexpected word-of-mouth publicity culminating in a series of commendable reissues of the artist's work. Going into Time of the Last Persecution, however, I was unaware of such recent windfalls. Initially I was a bit uncertain as [...]
The recent release of The SMiLE Sessions must mark the ebb tide of the steady stream of retrospective issues of mythical "lost" albums from the sixties. One other such offering that crept out with much less fanfare in the same month as SMiLE is the "lost" solo album by Dave Davies, purveyor of revolutionary guitar [...]
During the post-production of Dennis Hopper's surreal and unjustly-forgotten South American anti-imperialist western, The Last Movie (which would prove disastrous for his career upon release, yet go on to become a cult classic and one of Hopper's own proudest achievements), the actor and director was the subject of a sort of loose, biographical documentary, filmed [...]
This record is like a river, ebbing and flowing. That may sound vague, but it's probably the best way I can think to describe the music contained on the 1964 recordings that make up Terry Callier's debut record The New Folk Sound of Terry Callier. Every time I put this music on I drift away, [...]
One of the most unique, unheralded albums of the 60s, the C.A. Quintet's Trip Thru Hell was a small indie pressing of under 500 from the Candy Floss label, making it a very rare 1968/1969 release. Originals will set you back a pretty penny, but for the die hard may be worth it considering the [...]
It's a matter of record that the British Blues Boom of the sixties - as discrete from British Rhythm'n'Blues, a similar but different beast - was originally created not by former rock'n'roll or Beat musicians but principally by ex-jazz players searching for a new "authentic" sound. Its earliest practitioners came to the blues via skiffle, [...]
One of their very best, The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands was released in 1968 off the White Whale label. The concept is pretty clear for once, with the Turtles presenting a different band on each track (greasers, a country band, surf rock group, indian tribe, psychedelicists, and so forth). This makes for [...]
Dion DiMucci may not be a name often associated with underground rock and roll. As the New York teen behind such inner city oldies as "The Wanderer" and "Runaround Sue," Dion is usually branded as representative of the slick, early-1960s pop sound that came to replace teenagers' grittier rock and roll heroes like Elvis Presley [...]
Maffitt/Davies was a short lived duo who released one album via Capitol Records in 1968. Judging by the cover you'd expect psychedelic fireworks but The Rise and Fall of Honesty is really an Ameriana folk-rock record. This is another good one that never saw release in the CD era. I found a vinyl copy in [...]
Rising Storm was compiled to commemorate the second birthday of Rising Sun Crew, an organization dedicated to uniting talented, creative, and positive people to uphold psychedelic culture in Lithuania. Here you will find Lithuanian artists together with Italian underground groove makers showcasing a variety of approaches to darkpsy, forest music, and twilight-style full-on. The aim with this release is to capture the special feeling of the Rising Sun Crew events with contributions by the artists on stage for the anniversary party in March of 2011. Mastered by DoHm. 01 - Assioma - Out Of Control (148 BPM) [...]
In the wake of pop's rediscovery of itself, prompted by the blitzkrieg success of punk, 1977 proved to be a banner year for debut albums. Most of the artists concerned were promising newcomers, but a fair number were veterans in new guises. In the UK, musicians who had cut their teeth in the back-to-basics pub-rock [...]
Beginning with 19672s Fire & Fleet & Candlelight, the music of Cree folksinger Buffy Sainte-Marie began to take on a decidedly schizophrenic nature. Traditionally celebrated for her biting political songs, as well as her stark approach to folksong, the late sixties saw her take her distinctive sound in a series of surprising directions. Candlelight experimented [...]
With its picture of the gorgeous Bobbie Gentry superimposed in monochrome over a fallen-down shack, The Delta Sweete promises the peculiarly Southern music that Gentry is known for. Released in 1968, it was Gentry's second album, coming on the heels of the tremendous success of one of the most memorable, if bizarre, hits of the [...]
For reasons unexplained, officially-sanctioned outtakes from the Rolling Stones' Decca Records (a.k.a. London) period remain as rare as rocking-horse manure. Although to date no fewer than 23 compilations of their '63-'70 material have been issued worldwide, the number of cuts on these which were not used on the scheduled studio releases can be approximately counted [...]
Daniel Moore is one of countless songwriters in the history of early rock and roll music that, despite attaining a measure of financial success through their material, never quite made a name for themselves as artists in their own right. It's a rather old and tired tale, but what makes Moore's story so much more [...]
Roy Wood, one of the architects of ELO and The Move, possessed some of the most eclectic tastes and interesting ideas of any pop artist of his time. Boulders, his self-produced 1969 (though released 1973) solo outing combines the hard rock swagger of The Move with Wood's own classical tastes, pop composition skills, and general [...]
There are enough good vanity pressings from the late 60s - mid 70s that make record collecting a rewarding interest. The really good ones (the Bachs, the Rising Storm, Wilson McKinley, Relatively Clean Rivers et al) are far and few between. Most of these records, while musically very good, are overpriced because so few quantities [...]
Tony Joe White's The Train I'm On is one of those records that are just too damn good to be kept a secret. Keeping it oh so real and raw on what may be his finest moment, the LP is a sweet and languid roots rock triumph. Give me acoustic guitar and the bass drum, [...]
Shortly after the release of the million-selling Nancy & Lee, Lee Hazlewood exercised his newfound clout with Reprise and headed to Paris to record a new solo album. Along for the ride were rhythm guitarist extraordinaire Donnie Owens and Wrecking Crew members James Burton, Hal Blaine, Chuck Berghofer, and Don Randi. If Hazlewood's stream of [...]
By Taylor K. Long While record browsing with a friend at Greenpoint's Permanent Records last week, I found a copy of the Long Winters album, When I Pretend To Fall in the .99 section and realized that though I love it, I don't own it in any physical form. The kind clerk informed me that .99 CDs were three for $1, so essentially I could pick out two more CDs for free. When deciding which CDs to get, I wondered, Should I pick something random and hope it's good? What are the odds of something in the .99 section being [...]
An Aquarium Drunkard
DEEPGOA's Electronic Sessions
T-Sides
Sleigh Bells - Demons (Official Music Video)
The Rains of Castamere by The National
A-Trak & Dillon Francis - "Money Makin'" (Official Video)
DIIV "How Long Have You Known?" (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
Nas - Daughters
Beat Culture
MOKB Premiere : Hacienda : Don’t Keep Me Waiting
Monday Music – 28 May 2012
Andre 3000 As Jimi Hendrix: Foxey
Listen: The Vaccines – No Hope
