Blog: Hyperbolium

Solid picks from Wes Montgomery’s years on Riverside Guitarist Wes Montgomery had an unusually long incubation as a supporting player, and a too-short time as a leader. Throughout the 1940s and ‘50s he toured and played sessions for others, finally breaking through as a leader with a series of late-50s and early-60s releases for Riverside. Montgomery’s run with the label, sampled here, continued throughRiverside’s demise in the wake of its co-founder’s death in 1963, at which point he moved to Verve, and subsequently to A&M. It was at the last stop where the guitarist’s [...]

A sampling of the trumpeter/vocalist’s classic ‘50s sides As a leading exponent of the West Coast sound, trumpeter Chet Baker was as well known for his introspective vocals as his cool horn style. Prestige’s fourteen-track collection pulls together selections from nine albums drawn from the years 1952 through 1965. The bulk of the set is taken from albums made forRiversideand Jazzland in ’58 and ’59, along with an earlier side on Fantasy and two later sides on Prestige. Baker’s intimate vocals are featured on four tracks (“Do it the Hard Way,” “My Heart Stood [...]

An organically grown set of new songs While Jon Dee Graham’s earlier albums haven’t exactly been super-shiny mainstream productions, his latest release takes organic to a deeper level. Recorded over several months of gifted studio time, the album pulled itself together without an up-front plan, and the lack of a clock ticking away budget dollars manifests itself in more loosely burnished productions. This isn’t a collection of leftovers; it’s a set of songs and performances that weren’t pre-conceived for release. It’s more finished than a sketchbook, but not as polished as a framed work [...]

The 1960s singles of a soul powerhouse Timi Yuro was an anomaly in the world of 1960s soul – a small girl of Italian descent with a gigantic, hugely emotional voice. The opening notes of her million-selling 1961 debut single, “Hurt,” suggest no less than Jackie Wilson with their power and vibrato, leaving listeners to momentarily wonder if they were hearing a man or a woman. She could sing more tenderly, but the biggest thrills in her catalog came from the sort of wrecking ball outbursts that Phil Spector helped capture on her subsequent [...]

The preeminent folk chorus of the ‘60s revival The New Christy Minstrels were a relentlessly upbeat folk revival group. The Minstrels generally hewed to the lighter side of the folk revival, often appearing in coordinated ensembles, and more likely to be seen on a mainstream television variety program, such as the Andy Williams show, than at a social demonstration or political rally. Aside from their musical roots in traditional material, their entertainment style had more in common with 1950s vocal choruses than with 1960s protest singers. Their hits were celebratory rather than confrontational, starting [...]

Mono mixes of the Electric Prunes’ singles 1966-69 For those who weren’t there in ’66 and ’67, the oldies radio shorthand for the Electric Prunes has been their one big hit, “I Had to Much to Dream (Last Night),” as anthologized (as the lead off track, no less) on Lenny Kaye’s legendary Nuggets compilation. The few strokes of shading inclues their chart follow-up, “Get Me to the World on Time,” and an oft-anthologized ad for Vox Wah-Wah pedals. It’s an abbreviation that shortchanges the band’s recorded legacy. Reissues [...]

Twenty-five years on, Marley’s Ghost is still digging up roots After twenty-five years together, there’s nothing tremendously surprising about this quintet’s tenth album, but the ease with which they craft country, soul, swing and bluegrass remains terrifically engaging. Recorded in Nashville with Cowboy Jack Clement in the producer’s chair, there’s plenty of tight harmonizing, some rapid finger work and guest appearances by Marty Stuart, Emmylou Harris and John Prine. The song list combines five originals with eight covers, including finely selected songs from Kris Kristofferson, Katy Moffatt & Tom Russell, Butch Hancock, Levon Helm [...]

Legendary country vocalist returns from retirement Luckily for his many fans, Don Williams’ 2006 retirement didn’t stick. His return to the stage is now followed by a return to the recording studio, and this first album in eight years. Even better than having a new Don Williams album, is having a new album on which his vocals still sound great. Not “great for a 73-year-old,” but great for a vocalist of Williams’ uncommon talent and vocal quality. Few are blessed with this sort of expressive tone, and while some may sustain their style, very [...]

An Irish singer-songwriter’s Americana Americanalong ago ceased to be an American phenomenon. The Irish singer-songwriter Bap Kennedy was tuned into American country music long before he discovered some of its roots in his own culture. Though his music traditional Celtic flutes, pipes and whistles, they’re easily merged into the music of an artist whose debut was produced by Steve Earle and whose album, Lonely Street , memorialized the influences of Hank Williams and Elvis Presley. His latest outing was produced by Mark Knopfler, and he’s supported by musicians drawn [...]

An older, wiser dB’s return to canny pop action Way back in the early 1980s, when only graduate students and industrial researchers had access to the Internet, information about bands spread much more slowly. And so the dB’s first two albums , originally released on the London-based Albion label and imported back to the group’s native U.S. shores, were difficult to learn about, harder to find, and even trickier to put into context. Bits and pieces of the group’s background eventually circulated, with Chris Stamey’s tenure as Alex Chilton’s bassist providing a tantalizingly [...]

• The dB's - That Time is Gone

Bill Evans meditates on the loss of Scott LaFaro After redefining the piano trio on a series of albums for Riverside, Bill Evans had his musical foil taken from him with the 1961 car accident that killed bassist LaFaro. Perhaps most difficult was that LaFaro’s death came less than two weeks after the trio made their tour de force stand at the Village Vanguard, as subsequently memorialized on the albums Sunday at the Village Vangaurd and Waltz for Debby . Evans withdrew from [...]

Legendary bluesman finds the funk at Stax King first developed his resume as a bluesman in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, recording singles for Parrot, Bobbin, King and Coun-Tree; but he really defined himself to the public with his move toMemphisand signing to Stax in 1966. Initially paired with Booker T. & the MGs, King recorded signature tunes that included “Crosscut Saw” and “Born Under a Bad Sign,” but starting in the early ‘70s, he latched onto the Stax soul groove with this 1972 release. Backed by the Bar-Kays and Isaac Hayes’ Movement, [...]

This up-and-coming Raleigh, NC alt.country band has put together a compelling B&W video for the lead track, "Break My Heart Tonight," from their first full-length release, One Damn Heart . Debonzo Brothers' Home Page

Terrific electropop from this Australian band, reaching back to the romantic, melodic synthpop of the late '70s and early '80s. Great vocals and guitar too.

Spectacular box set reissue of a landmark album Graceland wasn’t Paul Simon’s first brush with pan-cultural music, nor was it even his first commercial success with such. But unlike the Jamaican, Peruvian and Latin influences of earlier hits, the South African bedrock of Graceland was as much a political statement as it was a musical adventure. At the time of the album’s mid-80s recording, a cultural boycott of South Africa was winding down but still very much in effect, and Simon’s recording in South Africa split those in the [...]

Superb ‘60s garage rock throwback If a band’s name starts with “The Electric” – The Electric Prunes, Flag or Toilet, for example – they’re likely to fit somewhere in the continuum between 1965’s garage rock explosion and 1967’s ballroom acid tests.New York’s The Electric Mess, with their ear-piercing Farfisa, raucous guitars, driving rhythms and sneering vocals fit easily into the first half of that transitional period, echoing the surge of original punk that rocked a thousand suburban basements. The omnipresent organ riffs suggest earlier revivalists like the Lyres and Three O’Clock, period inspirations Question [...]

Career-spanning 3-CD/1-DVD box set with many previously unreleased treats There has been no shortage of hits packages for Heart, starting with 1980’s Heart’s Greatest Hits: Live , which at the time seemed to sum up a fading band’s run of commercial success. But with the release of 1985’s Heart , the Wilson sisters sparked a major comeback with their band, and by 1995, set off nearly annual production of anthologies and album reissues. In addition to single- and double-disc sets (including 1998’s [...]

Jerry Reed’s country and Nashville Sound beginnings Singer, songwriter and certified guitar player Jerry Reed found his musical calling as a child, and by the time he turned 18 in 1955, he was already making records. Sides cut for Capitol (catch the rockabilly “When I Found You” here ), NRC and Columbia failed to ignite a performing career, but his songwriting and session guitar work garnered traction in Nashville. By 1965 he’d come to the attention of Chet Atkins, and two years later he released his debut LP, The Unbelievable Guitar & [...]

The embryonic Radio Moscow Recorded in Parker Griggs’ basement in 2003, these twelve tracks prove to be parts that would be more smoothly assembled on the band’s official 2007 debut. The ‘60s punk vocals, blues riffs, fuzz guitars and psychedelic overlays are all here, but they feel disjointed – like ingredients that have yet to jell into a final dish. On the other hand, the ferocious first press of a musician’s discovery is something special, and even the lack of longer jams (nothing over 3’30) or actual band interplay (Griggs plays everything here, though [...]

Clever late-70s studio rock finally rescued from obscurity The Durocs 1979 debut (and, as it turns out, album swansong) was a singular combination of collaborators and the times in which they collaborated. The two principals, Ron Nagle and Scott Mathews, had already been working together for a few years when they signed a deal with Capitol in the late ‘70s. Nagle had co-founded San Francisco’s Mystery Trend in 1965, playing key venues and releasing a single on Verve. He went on to record a Jack Nitzsche-produced solo album, Bad Rice [...]