VA - (2013) The Rise & Fall of Paramount Records, Volume 1 (1917-1927) 6xLP

 Third Man Records ‎– 203

Part One & Part Two

How did a Wisconsin chair company, producing records on the cheap and run by men with little knowledge of their audience or the music business, build one of the greatest musical rosters ever assembled under one roof? The answer lies in ‘The Rise and Fall of Paramount Records 1917-1932,’ an epic, two-volume omnibus of art, words and music housed in a limited-edition, hand-sculpted cabinet-of-wonder, to be jointly released by Jack White’s Third Man Records and John Fahey’s Revenant Records.
‘Volume One,’ which covers the label’s improbable rise from 1917-1927, will be released exclusively through Third Man on October 29, and worldwide on November 19. The project is co-produced by leading Paramount authority Alex van der Tuuk, and ‘Volume 2’ will be released in November 2014.
Paramount Records was founded on a modest proposition: produce records as cheaply as possible, recording whatever talent was available. Over its lifetime, the label would become a “race records” powerhouse, its sound and fortunes directly linked to the Great Migration.
By the time Paramount ceased operations in 1932, it had compiled a dizzying array of performers still unrivaled to this day, spanning early jazz titans (Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Waller), blues masters (Charley Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Son House, Skip James), American divas (Ma Rainey, Alberta Hunter, Ethel Waters), gospel (Norfolk Jubilee Quartette), vaudeville (Papa Charlie Jackson), and the indefinable “other” (Geeshie Wiley, Elvie Thomas). Paramount would also directly influence the style of Robert Crumb and countless other 20th century artists and illustrators, through a series of hand-drawn ads promoting its releases in the pages of the Chicago Defender.
The ‘Rise and Fall’ wonder-cabinet gives equal status to page-turning narrative and new scholarship; original and newly created graphic art; industrial design; and a compelling analog to digital download music experience. ‘Volume One’ contains the following:


 Tracklist
A1     –Sister Cunningham And T.C.I. Sacred Singers     Sign Of Judgement   
A2     –Blind Blake     Dry Bone Shuffle   
A3     –Jimmy O'Bryant's Famous Original Washboard Band  My Man Rocks Me  

A4     –Danny Small And Ukelele Mays     Sweet Georgia Brown   
A5     –Handy's Memphis Blues Band     St. Louis Blues   
A6     –Bo Weavil Jackson     Pistol Blues   
A7     –Harkreader And Moore     Old Joe Clark   
B1     –Papa Charlie Jackson     Coffee Pot Blues   
B2     –Jones' Paramount Charleston Four     Old Steady Roll   
B3     –Famous Jubilee Singers     Wait 'Till I Put On My Robe   
B4     –Jimmy Blythe And His Ragamuffins     Messin' Around   
B5     –Banjo Joe     Madison Street Rag   
B6     –Lottie Beaman     Mama's Can't Lose   
B7     –Sunset Four     Barnum's Steam Calliope   
C1     –O'Bryant's Washboard Band     Skoodlum Blues   
C2     –Norfolk Jazz Quartette     Jelly Roll's First Cousin   
C3     –Alberta Hunter     Come On Home   
C4     –Lone Star Fiddlers     Drunk Man's Blues   
C5     –The Washingtonians     Rainy Nights   
C6     –Ida Cox     How Long Daddy, How Long   
C7     –Jelly Roll Morton's Steamboat Four     Mr. Jelly Lord   
D1     –Viola Bartlette     Anna Mina Forty And St. Louis Shorty   
D2     –Ida Cox     Coffin Blues   
D3     –Blythe's Sinful Five     Pump Tillie   
D4     –Beale Street Sheiks     You Shall   
D5     –C.H. Gatewood     Well Of Salvation   
D6     –John Williams' Synco Jazzers     Goose Grease   
D7     –Ethel Waters And The Jazz Masters     Brown Baby   
E1     –Leola B. Wilson     Dying Blues   
E2     –Lovie Austin And Her Blues Serenaders     Charleston Mad   
E3     –Pace Jubilee Singers     Certainly Lord   
E4     –Blanche Johnson     216 Blues   
E5     –Junie Cobb's Home Town Band     Chicago Buzz   
E6     –Ed Bell     Mamlish Blues   
E7     –North Carolina Ramblers And Roy Harvey     I'm Glad I'm Married   
E8     –Jelly Roll Morton's Stomp Kings     Steady Roll   
F1     –Nelson's Paramount Serenaders     Nelson Blues   
F2     –T.C.I. Section Crew     Track Linin'   
F3     –Ma Rainey     Bessemer Bound Blues   
F4     –William And Versey Smith     Everybody Help The Blues Come Home   
F5     –Dixon's Jazz Maniacs     Crazy Quilt   
F6     –Buddy Boy Hawkins     Shaggy Dog Blues   
F7     –Trixie Smith     My Man Rocks Me With One Steady Roll   
F8     –Ollie Powers     Jazzbo Jenkins   
G1     –J. Churchill     Sleep Baby Sleep   
G2     –Freddie Keppard's Jazz Cardinals     Salty Dog   
G3     –Rev. James Beard     Memory Of Departed Friends   
G4     –Big Bill And Thomps     House Rent Stomp   
G5     –Ukulele “Bob” Williams     West Indies Blues   
G6     –Sodarisa Miller     Nobody Knows   
G7     –Lovie Austin And Her Blues Serenaders     Steppin' On The Blues   
G8     –Watts And Wilson     Walk Right In Belmont   
H1     –Norfolk Jubilee Quartette     When I Was A Moaner   
H2     –Wilson's T.O.B.A. Band     Steady Roll   
H3     –Rev. W.M. Clark And Sisters     Satan At Church   
H4     –Ethel Waters' Jazz Masters     Pacific Coast Blues   
H5     –Papa Charlie Jackson     Look Out Papa Don't Tear Your Pants   
H6     –Marion Harrison     Baby Can't You Understand   
H7     –Wood's Famous Blind Jubilee Singers     Seek And Ye Shall Find   
I1     –Blind Connie Rosemond     Will My Mother Know Me There   
I2     –Jimmy O'Bryant's Washboard Band     Hot Hot Hottentot   
I3     –Four Harmony Kings     Ain't It A Shame   
I4     –Lena Wilson     The Wicked Fives' Blues   
I5     –James Blythe     Armour Ave. Struggle   
I6     –Elzadie Robinson     Houston Bound   
I7     –D.C. Nelson's Serenaders     Coo Coo Stomp   
J1     –Bo Weavil Jackson     You Can't Keep No Brown   
J2     –Jasper Taylor And His State Street Boys     Stomp Time Blues   
J3     –Rev. T.T. Rose And Gospel Singers     I've Got A Hiding Place   
J4     –Osey Helton     Cacklin' Hen   
J5     –Perry Bradford's Jazz Phools     Fade Away Blues   
J6     –Sweet Papa Stovepipe     Mama's Angel Child   
J7     –Edmonia Henderson     Black Man Blues   
K1     –Jack Penewell     Hen House Blues   
K2     –Pickett-Parham Apollo Syncopators     Mojo Strut   
K3     –Rev. M.L. Gipson And Various     Sympathetic Christ   
K4     –Ethel Waters And Her Jazz Masters     That Da Da Strain   
K5     –Blind Lemon Jefferson     Wartime Blues   
K6     –Dixie-Land Thumpers     There'll Come A Day   
K7     –Wiseman Sextette With Various     Oh Calvary   
L1     –Chicago De Lux Orchestra     St. Louis Blues   
L2     –Johnnie Blakey     On This Rock I Will Build My Church   
L3     –Alberta Hunter     Don't Pan Me   
L4     –Ollie Powers' Orchestra     Play That Thing   
L5     –Homer Quincy Smith     I Want Jesus To Talk With Me   
L6     –Lovie Austin And Her Blues Serenaders     Peepin' Blues   
L7     –Danny Small And Ukelele Mays     Cecilia

VA - 2014 - The Rise & Fall of Paramount Records: Volume 2 (1928-1932) 6xLP

 Third Man Records ‎– 204

Part One & Part Two

 

The first volume in this collection was called "spectacular" (New York Times), "unprecedented" (Rolling Stone), "breathtaking" (Boing Boing), and "a cabinet of wonder, indeed" (Pitchfork).

On November 18, Third Man and Revenant proudly bring you The Rise & Fall of Paramount, Volume Two - already being hailed by Wired as "the ultimate box set of iconic American music."

Volume One (1917-27) chronicled Paramount's improbable rise from also-ran to jazz-blues juggernaut, launching the recording careers of giants like King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Alberta Hunter, Blind Blake, Ethel Waters, Ma Rainey, Papa Charlie Jackson, Big Bill Broonzy, and Fats Waller. Order Volume One here.

But just as it seemed Paramount might be losing steam, it began a second act that threatened to dwarf its first. This astonishing second act is the subject of The Rise & Fall of Paramount, Volume Two (1928-32), the final chapter in our commemoration of America's greatest record label.

In its final 5 year push from 1928-32, Paramount embarked on a furious run for the ages, birthing the entire genre of Mississippi Delta blues recordings and issuing some of the most coveted records in the history of wax - a staggering playlist including Skip James, Charley Patton, Son House, Tommy Johnson, Willie Brown, King Solomon Hill, Tampa Red, Lottie Kimbrough, Rube Lacy, Meade Lux Lewis, Buddy Boy Hawkins, Jaydee Short, George "Bullet" Williams, Cow Cow Davenport, Clifford Gibson, Ishman Bracey, Louise Johnson, Geeshie Wiley & Elvie Thomas, The Mississippi Sheiks. and hundreds of other artists.

Paramount simply killed. But more than that, it changed how this country thought of itself. It was the first enterprise of any kind to capture what America really sounded like in the 1920s and '30s - on its street corners, at its fish fries and country suppers, in its nightclubs and dance halls and showtents. In the process, it was profit-minded Paramount - not a preservationist body like the Library of Congress - that inadvertently created the most significant repository of this young nation's greatest art form.

Six LPs, housed in a polished aluminum case evoking the era's high art deco stylings and America's own Machine Age take on modernist design.

A joint release by Third Man and Revenant, co-produced by leading Paramount scholar Alex van der Tuuk, with all Paramount masters issued under license agreement with GHB Jazz Foundation.  

 -----------------------------------------------

For a decade, Paramount Records was one the most influential labels in the country. Now, a two box set collection tracks its rise and fall in the early 20th century...
ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
This music is part of the legacy of Paramount Records. The label was an offshoot of the Wisconsin Chair Company created in 1917 to help sell the phonographs the furniture company built. As one music expert put it, it was like Apple creating iTunes in order to sell iPods. Paramount was incredibly influential in its 15-year run. And now its classic recordings are available in a pair of limited edition box sets called "The Rise And Fall Of Paramount Records." Meredith Ochs has been delving into that history.
MEREDITH OCHS, BYLINE: In the late 1920s, Paramount Records was struggling. As the Great Depression set in, their cash flow dried up. New technology began to make their scratchy-sounding, cheaply-made records less desirable. And the public's taste in music was evolving. Paramount scrambled to keep up, their talent scouts searching the American South and West for the next big thing. But even as it was slowly failing, the label discovered some of the most influential figures in American music, like Delta bluesman Charley Patton. A top seller for Paramount, Patton was famous for flashy moves like playing guitar behind his head.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PONY BLUES")
CHARLEY PATTON: (Singing) Tell you when I get out, yeah, I don't want to marry - just want to be your man.
OCHS: Paramount folded in 1933, shutting down so abruptly that employees were offered master recordings in lieu of payment - or so the story goes. The workers supposedly responded by tossing these priceless artifacts into the Milwaukee River. But every now and then, a lost treasure resurfaces.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SUN TO SUN")
BLIND BLAKE: (Singing) A man can worry from sun to sun.
OCHS: Like this 1931 Blind Blake recording, found just eight years ago at a mobile home park in North Carolina.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SUN TO SUN")
BLIND BLAKE: (Singing) But a woman's worries have just begun.
OCHS: After Paramount shut down, some of its artists quit music for decades. Virginia banjo virtuoso Dock Boggs was one of them.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FALSEHEARTED LOVER'S BLUES")
DOCK BOGGS: (Singing) I'm sure my falsehearted lover will drive me to my lonesome grave.
OCHS: With alternate tunings and finger-pick melodies, his style was innovative and haunting. But he had to earn a living. So he went back to what he knew, working as a coal miner for many years, before he was rediscovered during the 1960s folk revival.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FALSEHEARTED LOVER'S BLUES")
BOGGS: (Singing) From your heartstrings weave silk garters. Build their dog house on your grave.
OCHS: This second volume of the Paramount Records story is a painstakingly-assembled scholarly project that never loses its magic in the details. The sheer number of songs is remarkable - 800 of them, by 175 artists, ghostly voices that tell the stories of sharecroppers, women who hadn't yet won the right to vote when the label was founded and even bootleggers. This collection effectively shows how these artists laid the groundwork for so much contemporary roots and rock music. And the history of Paramount itself is just as fascinating, a tale of race, region, economics and our evolving culture in the early 20th century.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TERRIBLE MURDER BLUES")
BERTHA HENDERSON: (Singing) I can't take it no more.
SIEGEL: Meredith Ochs is a talk show host and DJ at SiriusXM Radio. She reviewed the double box set "The Rise And Fall Of Paramount Records."

 Tracklist
A1     –Skip James     I'm So Glad (Pm 13098, L-759-1)     2:50
A2     –Wilmer Watts And The Lonely Eagles     Knocking Down Casey Jones (Bwy 8248, 2455--)     3:12
A3     –Mississippi Sheiks     Please Baby (Pm 13153, L-1562-2)     3:35
A4     –The Famous Blue Jay Singers Of Birmingham Alabama     Clanka A Lanka (Sleep On Mother) (Pm 13119, L-1230-1)     3:08
A5     –Charley Patton     I'm Goin' Home (Pm 12883, 15227--)     3:15
A6     –Dixie Four     Five O'Clock Stomp (Pm 12674, 20657-1)     2:35
A7     –Clifford Gibson     Tired Of Being Mistreated Part 1 (QRS R7079, 484 - A)     3:10
B1     –Carver Boys     Tim Brook (Pm 3199, 15546--)     2:11
B2     –Jabo Williams     Jab Blues (Pm 13141, L-1404-2)     3:23
B3     –Elvie Thomas     Motherless Child Blues (Pm 12977, L-264-2)     3:22
B4     –Bob Coleman     Tear It Down (Pm 12731, 21102-1)     2:50
B5     –Soileau & Robin     Easy Rider Blues (Pm 12808, 15344--)     2:56
B6     –The Tub Jug Washboard Band     San (Pm 12671, 20671-2)     3:04
B7     –Bessie Mae Smith And Wesley Wallace     St. Louis Daddy (Pm 12922, L-78-1)     3:05
C1     –Lottie Kimbrough     Rolling Log Blues (Pm 12850, 14162--)     3:18
C2     –Cow Cow Davenport     Chimes Blues (Ch 15726, 14978--)     3:19
C3     –Edward Thompson     West Virginia Blues (Pm 13018, 2416-A)     3:10
C4     –Biddleville Quintette     Wasn't That A Mighty Day (Pm 12845, 422-A)     2:52
C5     –Blind Blake - Charlie Spand     Hastings St. (Pm 12863, 15457--)     3:15
C6     –Emry Arthur     Reuben Oh Reuben (Pm 3237, L-107-1)     3:00
C7     –Skip James     Special Rider Blues (Pm 13098, L-760-2)     3:03
D1     –Ollie Hess     Mammy's Lullaby (Bwy 8322, L-1369-1)     4:03
D2     –King Solomon Hill     The Gone Dead Train (Ch 50022, L-1254-2     3:21
D3     –Blind Arthur Groom And Bro., Blind Roosevelt Graves     Take Your Burdens To The Lord (Pm 12874, 15645-A)     3:12
D4     –Blind Leroy Garnett     Louisiana Glide (Pm 12879, 15767--)     3:11
D5     –Winston Holmes And Charlie Turner     Rounders Lament (Pm 12798, 15259--)     3:07
D6     –Willie Brown     M & O Blues (Ch 50023, L-413-2)     3:05
D7     –Norfolk Jazz Quartette     Oh What Is The Matter Now (Pm 12844, 6112-1)3:18     3:06
E1     –The Hokum Boys     Gamblers Blues (St. James Infirmary Blues) (Pm 12897, 21463-1)     2:49
E2     –Charley Patton     High Water Everywhere - Part I (Pm 12909, L-59-1     3:05
E3     –Windy Rhythm Kings     South African Blues (Pm 12770, 21255-1)     3:15
E4     –Emry Arthur And Della Hatfield     A Railroad Lover For Me (Bwy 8266, L-132-2)     2:52
E5     –Jaydee Short     Lonesome Swamp Rattlesnake (Pm 13043, L-468-1)     2:52
E6     –James Wiggins     Frisco Bound (Pm 12860, 15769-A)     3:20
E7     –Tommy Settlers & His Blues Moaner     Big Bed Bug (Pm 13056, L-603-1)     2:38
E8     –King Solomon Hill     Down On My Bended Knee (Cr 3325, L-1253-2)     2:56
F1     –Bogus Ben Covington     Adam And Eve In The Garden (Pm 12693, 20863-1)     2:42
F2     –Son House     Walkin' Blues (Pm Unissued, 9/2#1)     2:57
F3     –Dobby Bragg     Fire Detective Blues (Pm 12827, 15557--)     3:09
F4     –Skip James     Hard Time Killin' Floor Blues (Pm 13065, L-752-2)     2:51
F5     –Walter And Byrd     Wasn't It Sad About Lemon (Pm 12945, L-276-3)     3:03
F6     –Blind Joe Reynolds     Cold Woman Blues (Pm 12983, L-147-3)     2:57
F7     –Wilmer Watts And The Lonely Eagles     Sleepy Desert (Pm 3282, 2463--)     3:06
F8     –Geeshie Wiley     Last Kind Words Blues (Pm 12951, L-257-4)     3:01
G1     –Johnnie Head     Fare Thee Well - Part II (Pm 12628, 20275-2)     2:38
G2     –Slim Barton & Eddie Mapp     Wicked Treatin' Blues (QRS R7089, 471-A)     2:58
G3     –B.L. Pritchard Acc. By Scottdale String Band     Stone Mountain Wobble (Pm 3320, L-1503-2)     3:22
G4     –Ma Rainey     Black Eye Blues (Pm Unissued, 20898-1)     3:21
G5     –Teddy Darby     Lawdy Lawdy Worried Blues (Pm 12828, 15566--)     3:07
G6     –Little Brother Montgomery     Vicksburg Blues (Pm 13006, L-502-1)     3:00
G7     –Charley Patton     Jim Lee Blues - Part I (Pm 13080, L-57-2)     3:05
H1     –Blind Willie Davis     When The Saints Go Marching In (Pm 12658, 20298--)     1:58
H2     –Clarence Williams And His Orchestra     Long, Deep And Wide (QRS R7004, 151-)     2:29
H3     –Rube Lacy     Mississippi Jail House Groan (Pm 12629, 20419-2)     3:26
H4     –'Boodle It' Wiggins     Keep A Knockin' An You Can't Get In (Pm 12662, 20378-1)     2:44
H5     –Son House     Dry Spell Blues - Part I (Pm 12990, L-425-4)     3:12
H6     –Skip James     If You Haven't Any Hay Get On Down The Road (Pm 13066, L-766-1)     2:56
H7     –The Mississippi Sheiks     Tell Me To Do Right (Pm 13156, L-1550-2)     3:33
H8     –Elder J.J. Hadley     Prayer Of Death - Part 2 (Pm 12799, 15225-A)1:58     2:48
I1     –The Famous Blue Jay Singers Of Birmingham Alabama     I Declare My Mother Ought To Live Right (Ch 50026, L-1245-2)     3:03
I2     –Ishman Bracey     Woman Woman Blues (Pm 12970, L-239-2)     3:26
I3     –Clarence Black And His Savoy Trio     'Cause I Feel Low Down (Pm 12683, 20776-2)     2:38
I4     –Blind Blake     Diddie Wa Diddie (Pm 12888, 15459-A)     2:58
I5     –Frank Palmes     Troubled 'Bout My Soul (Pm 12893, 21413-2)     2:53
I6     –Charley Patton     Rattlesnake Blues (Pm 12924, L-63-2)     2:47
I7     –The Hokum Boys    Only The Blues (Pm Unissued, 21073-2U     2:54
I8     –Blind Joe Taggart     He Done What The World Couldn't Do (Pm Unissued, L-699-2)     3:01
J1     –The Mississippi Sheiks     The New Stop And Listen (Pm 13134, L-1551-3)     3:50
J2     –Brother Fullbosom     A Sermon On A Silver Dollar (Pm 13078, L-866-1)     3:03
J3     –Blind Joe Reynolds     Nehi Blues (Pm 12927, L-146-2)     3:14
J4     –Bill Moore     One Way Gal (Pm 12648, 20309-1)     3:18
J5     –Skip James     Devil Got My Woman (Pm 13088, L-746-1)     3:01
J6     –Louise Johnson     By The Moon And Stars (Pm 13008, L-420-2)     2:53
J7     –Mr. Freddie Spruell     Tom Cat Blues (Pm 12665, 20727-2)     3:07
K1     –Son House     My Black Mama - Part II (Pm 13042, L-409-2)     3:16
K2     –Virginia Dandies     God’s Getting Worried (Cr 3145, 1221-1)     2:42
K3     –Jesse Johnson And His Singers     I Wish I Had Died In Egyptland - Pt. I (Pm 12829, 15570--)     3:24
K4     –Geeshie Wiley     Pick Poor Robin Clean (Pm 13074, L-824-1)     3:14
K5     –Blind Lemon Jefferson     See That My Grave Is Kept Clean (Pm 12608, 20374-1)     2:54
K6     –George "Bullet" Williams     The Escaped Convict (Pm 12651, 20593-2)     2:59
K7     –Tommy Johnson     Lonesome Home Blues (Pm 13000, L-230-2)     3:08
L1     –Mandel Terry And Orchestra     Black And Tan Fantasy (Bwy 1498, L-1199-2)     3:37
L2     –Kentucky Ramblers     Good Cocaine (Mama Don't Allow It) (Bwy 8271, L-552-2)     3:18
L3     –Blind Joe Taggart     In That Pearly White City Above (Pm 13059, L-703-2)     3:08
L4     –Walter Hawkins     A Rag Blues (Pm 12814, 15212--)     3:00
L5     –Bessie Mae Smith     Farewell Baby Blues (Pm 12922, L-90-2)     2:56
L6     –Blind Willie Davis     I Believe I'll Go Back Home (Pm 12979, L-113-1)e (Pm 12979, L-113-1)     3:06
L7     –Lottie Kimbrough     Going Away Blues (Pm 12850, 14163-A)     2:41

VA - 2017 - Roll Columbia: Woody Guthrie's 26 Northwest Songs 2xCD

 Smithsonian Folkways Recordings ‎– 40226

Woody Guthrie’s 26 Northwest Songs is a trove of new discoveries, and a celebration of Guthrie’s genius and lasting contributions to both the history and musical traditions of the Pacific Northwest. In 1941, the Bonneville Power Administration commissioned Guthrie to write songs to help promote to the public the construction of dams along the Columbia River. 75 years later, present-day artists with ties to the Pacific Northwest who have been influenced by this fruitful time in Guthrie’s career have gathered together to record their own interpretations. Roll Columbia is the first and only complete collection of these 26 songs, including nine that had never before been recorded, such as “Eleckatricity and All” and “Portland Town to Klamath Falls,” as well as classic Guthrie tunes “Pastures of Plenty” and “Hard Travelin’.” 2 discs, 104 minutes.

VA - 2006 - Good For What Ails You (Music Of The Medicine Shows 1926 - 1937) 2xCD

Old Hat Records ‎– 1005

Before motion pictures... before radio... before television... the traveling medicine shows brought entertainment to America. Flamboyant pitch doctors roamed the land, hawking their tonics, elixirs, and miracle cures, and with them came a host of singers, dancers, comedians, banjo pickers, blues shouters, jug blowers, string ticklers, and minstrel men. The shows died out by mid-20th century, but not before a handful of seasoned veterans left their musical legacy on phonograph records. Here are 48 classic performances by such colorful names as Pink Anderson, Daddy Stovepipe, Shorty Godwin, Gid Tanner, Banjo Joe, the Three Tobacco Tags, and many more—well over two hours of this extraordinary music. A 72-page color booklet details the fascinating history of the medicine shows with a profusion of rare photographs, artifacts, illustrations, full discography, and song descriptions. Three years in the making, the new release from Old Hat Records is a groundbreaking survey of music from the American medicine show, that peculiar form of theater that merged entertainment with merchandising. Good For What Ails You is a two-CD set that delivers a generous mix of 48 songs, many available nowhere else, first recorded nearly 80 years ago and now remastered with digital clarity.

1-1     Daddy Stovepipe & Mississippi Sarah –     The Spasm        
1-2     Gid Tanner & Riley Pucket –     Tanner's Boarding House        
1-3     Lil McClintock –     Don't Think I'm Santa Claus        
1-4     Dallas String Band with Coley Jones –     Hokum Blues        
1-5     Shorty Godwin –     Jimbo Jambo Land        
1-6     Fiddlin' John Carson & His Virginia Reelers –     Gonna Swing On The Golden Gate        
1-7     Pink Anderson & Simmie Dooley –     Papa's 'Bout To Get Mad        
1-8     Charlie Parker & Mack Woolbright –     The Man Who Wrote Home Sweet Home Never Was A Married Man        
1-9     Jim Jackson  –     Bye, Bye, Policeman        
1-10     Walter Smith –     The Bald-Headed End Of A Broom        
1-11     Allen Brothers –     Bow Wow Blues        
1-12     Beans Hambone & El Morrow –     Beans        
1-13     Stovepipe # 1 And David Crockett –     A Chicken Can Waltz The Gravy Around        
1-14     Grant Brothers & Their Music –     Tell It To Me        
1-15     Carolina Tar Heels –     Ain't No Use Working So Hard        
1-16     Walter Cole –     Mama Keep Your Yes Ma'am Clean        
1-17     Kirk McGee & Blythe Poteet –     C-H-I-C-K-E-N Spells Chicken        
1-18     Banjo Joe –     My Money Never Runs Out        
1-19     Henry Thomas “Ragtime Texas” –     Railroadin' Some        
1-20     Prince Albert Hunt’s Texas Ramblers –     Traveling Man        
1-21     Johnson-Nelson-Porkchop –     G. Burns Is Gonna Rise Again        
1-22     Blue Ridge Mountain Entertainers –     Baby All Night Long        
1-23     Chris Bouchillon –     Born In Hard Luck        
1-24     Memphis Sheiks –     He's In The Jailhouse Now        

2-1     Pink Anderson & Simmie Dooley –     Gonna Tip Out Tonight        
2-2     Sam McGee –     Chevrolet Car        
2-3     Gid Tanner & His Skillet-Lickers –     It Ain't Gonna Rain No Mo'        
2-4     Cannon's Jug Stompers –     Bring It With You When You Come        
2-5     Blind Sammie –     Atlanta Strut        
2-6     Uncle Dave Macon & His Fruit Jar Drinkers –     Go Along Mule        
2-7     Earl McDonald's Original Louisville Jug Band –     Casey Bill        
2-8     Frank Stokes –     I Got Mine        
2-9     Chris Bouchillon –     Hannah        
2-10     Bogus Ben Covington –     Adam & Eve In The Garden        
2-11     Alec Johnson & His Band –     Mysterious Coon        
2-12     Carolina Tar Heels –     Her Name Was Hula Lou        
2-13     Three Tobacco Tags –     Reno Blues        
2-14     Papa Charlie Jackson –     Scoodle Um Skoo        
2-15     Frank Hutchison –     Stackalee        
2-16     Walter Smith –     The Cat's Got The Measles, The Dog's Got The        Whooping Cough        
2-17     Hezekiah Jenkins –     Shout You Cats        
2-18     Tommie Bradley –     Nobody's Business If I Do        
2-19     Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers –     Sweet Sixteen        
2-20     Charlie Parker & Mack Woolbright –     Ticklish Reuben        
2-21     Jim Jackson –     I Heard The Voice Of A Porkchop        
2-22     Dallas String Band with Coley Jones –     Shine        
2-23     Emmett Miller & His Georgia Crackers –     The Gypsy        
2-24     J.E. Mainer's Mountaineers –     Kiss Me Cindy

VA - 2017 - Vanity of Vanities - A Tribute to Connie Converse

  Tzadik ‎– 4019

Connie Converse was a remarkable composer who worked in the 1950s and 1960s. By 1974, depressed over her lack of recognition and success, she packed up her belongings and drove off never to be heard of again. Little known in her lifetime, she is now viewed as a pioneer of the modern singer/songwriter genre. This exciting compilation collects fifteen of her most unique and soulful songs performed by an all-star group of contemporary singer/songwriters. Featuring an informative essay by musician and Converse scholar David Garland, Vanity of Vanities is a heartfelt tribute to one of the unsung heroes of contemporary songwriting.

VA - 2003 - The Invisible Pyramid 2xCD

Last Visible Dog ‎– 045/46 

In particular regarding my overworked flippancy last ish, I'd like to make some amends for the review of the Last Visible Dog label's The Invisible Pyramid 2CD compilation. Not only was my track-by-track for the first CD half-assed and rushed, I didn't even mention the second disc at all! What can I say, sometimes my beloved off-the-cuff-ness takes over my common sense (like when I coin a phrase like "beloved off-the-cuff-ness").
For example, I couldn't even remember disc one's tracks 7 and 8 right after listening to them, and now they're two of the most memorable on the whole album. Track 7 is by Thuja (the sound of dark blue smoke finding it's way into the fissures in a football field made of ice at 4AM in the morning) and Track 8 is by that (I think I can spell this right) Kemialliset Ystävät band from Finland (some kind of crafty cinematic mind / loop-fuck, WTF??).
As for disc two highlights: The track by The Birdtree is just gauzed-out GREAT. Sounds like someone just put on a scratchy obscure singer-songwriter record from the 70s except that it's obviously from the 90s and BEYOND. What else? Subarachnoid Space hit hard with a heavy boom-box jam. Kind of imitation Bardo Pond, but in this case it's a good thing. One of the few tracks on here that really moves; a lot of this stuff is drony and static . . . . . Miminokoto contribute "Dokonimo" -- say it three times fast! This was the first place I heard this band, which I highly recommend -- Fushitsusha meets Curtis Mayfield back to Crazy Horse at their rawest and slowest. I was just talking about them today to local psychedelic superhero Plastic Crimewave, he's opening for them this Tuesday on their first US tour. We hope people go see this band. I won't, I'll be at home with babe-o, but I'll be there in spirit. Hell, I'm ALREADY there in spirit. This song is GREAT, I think it's better than any song on their excellent Live CD, also on Last Visible Dog . . . . . . Avarus are big in the news these days, and with good reason -- their track on here is a little freaky too. Manic low cello saw, sure, but as Tony Rettman said about some completely different record in the last issue, "it's the shit clipping in the air around it that's so dangerous" . . . . . Charalambides contribute an excellent track, one of the quieter ones on here, but if you listen close there's a lot of their distinctively thorny beauty and quiet desperation in there . . . . . Bardo Pond's track is actually kind of a letdown for me, I wanted to hear them in full huge heaven-band mode, but it's a no-rhythm-section 'ethnic forgery' kind of track . . . . . Omit's track is GREAT and reminded me that he's one of the very best soundmakers to ever have the two words "New Zealand" somewhere in his return address. Why have I not listened to this guy once for the last four years again? . . . . . Karl Precoda and Mike Gangloff (are they in Pelt?) do an excellent soft piano meets softly shaken sheet metal kind of 'contempo classical' whatsis . . . . . Black Forest/Black Sea's track reminds me of both "Drifters of the Grand Trunk" by SCG and, gosh, I think Sandy Bull . . . . . really good, too short . . . . . and Peter Wright closes the disc with a nicely short and slightly odd piece. And that's not everybody, but that's the end of this review -- obviously, you should check out this comp if you're looking for a fully stuffed introduction to today's various strains of New Millenium Psych.

Disc 1

Karma – "1st.sex"
Flies Inside the Sun – "La Maga"
Fursaxa – "Chartreuse My Green"
Birchville Cat Motel – "Queen Flat Sheet"
Pelt – "The Signal Tower at Murrysville, Pennsylvania"
The Iditarod – "Where The Cold Winds Blow"
Thuja – "Ice Caves"
Kemialliset Ystävät – "Unohdan Kaiken"
Reynols – "Alclorse Mentalimo Camarion Maysa – Part I: Yomulido Doble Pechuas"
"Part II: Sojos Abriero 1956"
"Part III: Melates Sopirar"
"Part IV: Minecxio Doles Pechod"

Disc 2

SubArachnoid Space – "Honarable Mention"
Avarus – "Röllien Planeetta"
MCMS – "The Good Life"
Karl Precoda and Mike Gangloff – "John Dee's Dream"
Charalambides – "Water Falls Through Air to Earth"
drona parva – "Lost Island"
Miminokoto – "Dokonimo"
Omit – "Dip"
Pylon – "Bass is the Bass, Bass is the Bass"
Sandoz Lab Technicians – "Liquid Constant"
drona parva – "Pink Cloud"
Bardo Pond – "Thirsty Sect"
Black Forest/Black Sea – "Stones and the Curling Smoke"
The Birdtree – "She is the Swallow"
Peter Wright – "The Lightbox"

VA - 2011 - Tennesthesia 2xCD

Memetic Society – none

Mark Rothko swore that he wasn't painting color fields, but jazz. Vladimir Nabokov was a renowned Lepidopterist because he loved the way that butterflies tasted when he looked at them. For French pianist Helene Grimaud, C minor is the color black, while D minor is a poignant blue. These people have the neurological condition known as Synesthesia.
Imagine sound taking form. Its physical presence commands shapes that defy your own. Its aromas lift you. Its hues are kaleidoscopic, with colors so brilliant that you must squint and strain your vision. Synesthesia is a condition in which the neural pathways in the brain cross where they shouldn't, involuntarily stimulating multiple senses to correspond to a singular perceptual experience, triggering other unrelated sensations. This phenomenon can occur in any combination of senses, and varies from person to person. Numbers and letters can have corresponding colors. Words can have taste and texture. An individual sense is imbued with a unique personality, where something as simple as the sound of a single note conjures rich, full fields of projected color, or a robust aroma.
This compilation is inspired by Synesthesia, and powered by musicians from the great state of Tennessee. This fantastic state is itself home to the most bizarre cross-section of absurdly talented, divinely curious, and melodiously inspired new artists. What we're driving at is a new approach to music. We want to experience music as an innate, preternatural reflex to its own reticulating nervous system, where Tennessee's own topography is transmuted waveform. Our hope is that Tennesthesia is catching, that the sounds of our fair state continue to invigorate the minds of those they reach, and that eventually metaphor will be moot next to the transformative sound of this fair state.
Tennessee shapes the sound, and the sound shapes Tennessee.

Disc A:

1. Majestico (Nashville) - Atropa Belladonna Blues
2. The Distribution (Chattanooga) - Trouble
3. Faux Ferocious (Knoxville) - 5 no 2 no 3 no None
4. Square People (Knoxville) - I'm Not Lazy
5. Fly Golden Eagle (Nashville) - Moira
6. Forest Magic (Chattanooga) - Terrible Creatures
7. Scandaliz Vandalistz (Memphis) - Fireworks
8. Moonlight Bride (Chattanooga) - Lemonade
9. Burning Itch (Knoxville) - Skrewin' Up My Mind
10. Nite Nite (Nashville) - Black Noise
11. The Oscars (Memphis) - Apocalypse


Disc B:

1. Scandaliz Vandalistz (Memphis) - Cinnamon Spice
2. Forest Magic (Chattanooga) - Explorin' Explorin'
3. Burning Itch (Knoxville) - Wasted Again
4. Moonlight Bride (Chattanooga) - Diego
5. Square People (Nashville) - I'm Not Nervous
6. The Distribution (Chattanooga) - The Get Down
7. Nite Nite (Nashville) - Bury Me
8. Faux Ferocious (Knoxville) - Boys Like Creatures
9. The Oscars (Memphis) - Putain
10. Majestico (Nashville) - Terrify
11. Fly Golden Eagle (Nashville) - Windjammers

VA - 2011 - Sonig Boxset Thing 2xCD

 Sonig ‎– 083

For the last 14 years the label Sonig, located down a quiet neighbourhood street in the back office of the a-Musik record store in K?ln, has stood for uncompromising artistic freedom, absurd humour, hallowed seriousness and irreplaceable individuality. The Sonig aesthetic has come to be an institution, a synonym for nonconformist stoicism in the pop business. Founded by pop-experimentalist Frank Dommert and Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner of Mouse on Mars, the label soon became the home to internationally revered artists such as Workshop, Microstoria, Mouse on Mars, F.X.Randomiz, Kevin Blechdom, Usk? Orchestra, Schlammpeitziger, Vert and Candie Hank - all of which are featured prominently on the two-disc compilation, lovingly and painstakingly curated by label head Frank Dommert.
    

In 2012 Sonig will celebrate its 15th birthday and this box sets the party mood. Besides the music, which hasn't grown old a bit, what really makes this compilation special is its picture-book DVD. Sandwiched nicely in between the two slices of sonig music, the disc contains 31 video artifacts unearthed and collected over the course of the label's history. They are a veritable treasure trove of esoteric high-tech clips, elaborate animations and abstract experimental films. Morbid holiday footage from the 60s, art clips by Mouse On Mars, classics by Schlammpeitziger, and trashy no-budget crime stories by Candie Hank all stand side-by-side like a vaudeville freak show.

Disc 1: Sonig Exp (01:18:02)
1. Nathan Michel – A to B (04:28)
2. Workshop – Für wen? (05:54)
3. Schlammpeitziger – Behäbige Alarmschwarmlage (05:47)
4. Microstoria – Me-Too-Modula (04:43)
5. Wevie de Crepon – The Wobbler (02:52)
6. Lithops – Uni Umit (Track 5) (04:31)
7. Uské Orchestra – Pal-Pel (05:16)
8. Scratch Pet Land – Baudoux Baba (06:31)
9. Mouse on Mars – Chromantic (05:57)
10. C-Schulz & Hajsch – Untitled #5 (04:33)
11. Dogr – Man on Earth (04:26)
12. Kevin Blechdom – It's All Been Done Before (03:05)
13. C-Schulz & F.X. Randomiz – H Null (04:29)
14. Vert – The Köln Konzert Part One (15:30)

Disc 2: Sonig Hop (01:16:47)
1. Audiogarde – Something's Wrong (04:11)
2. Baleine 3000 – Fa Nal (04:02)
3. Mouse on Mars – Untitled States Of (05:41)
4. The Allophons – Bow (06:50)
5. Schlammpeitziger – Von Dubtisten (03:26)
6. DJ Elephant Power – 999 Chances (04:18)
7. Candie Hank – The Booty Bank (feat. Angie Reed) (04:29)
8. Xberg Dhirty6 Cru – Die Reime der Anderen (04:37)
9. Jason Forrest – Nightclothes and Headphones (feat. Laura Cantrell) (04:32)
10. Sun OK Papi K.O. – Koyesyes №. 2 (05:42)
11. Fanal – Zwischen den Landstrassen (05:09)
12. Vert – Step Under the Bulbshine (04:18)
13. A&E – Gauche (03:51)
14. Workshop – Piper (03:51)
15. Fan Club Orchestra – Katmandoux (04:39)
16. Lithops – Rosa in a Light Speed Vessel (07:11)

VA - 2009 - Pomegranates: Persian Pop, Funk, Folk, and Psych of the 60s & 70s CD

Finders Keepers Records ‎– 029

It’s no accident that the phoenix is an exalted moral, mythical, and figurative symbol in Iran. Like the phoenix, Iranian culture is in constant flux and, at times, elusive, with its existential wavering and blurred panoramas. Most of contemporary Iran’s artistic and creative leanings, its grapples with history and identity, are loosely and mystically conjoined and contested in memory. Iran is marked by the complex interplay of diverse constituencies, philosophies, and influences: ethnic, religious, political, geopolitical and historical. The glorification of pre-Islamic antiquity (in search of authentication) marked the socio-cultural attitude of a bygone era and is witnessing revival in the present day. The discordant reality of eastern traditions complicated by the rampant confusions of modernity has become a norm in Persian dialogue, not to mention revolution, exile, and diaspora. Like many other countries, the Sixties and Seventies were a time of tumult in Iran, bringing growth (via petrodollars) and freedom (under the banner of socioeconomic development) while exacerbating inequalities within the country.
The music and voices that blossomed during those decades exemplify the turbulence and excitement of the age. It is worth recognizing these ‘left out’ and ‘lost’ artists individually and as a group in the global happenings of 60s/70s psych, rock and folk, while exploring their influence and relevance to the present day. Is it possible that there is a genus of delectable sounds and fetching images that almost exclusively reside in the elbowroom of memory and nostalgic ‘yesteryear’ storytelling? Little consideration has been given to the correlation of these sounds and stories within the universal psychedelic phenomena: parallel to the shared stylistics of British and American players, and the radical politicking of their Turkish and Korean counterparts.
This collection endeavors to re-contextualize these songs from the realm of reminiscence, nostalgia, and memory into a specific and accessible narrative to share and relate within the universal musical gamut. It is for aficionados, the curious, and collectors alike. We hope that Iranians around the world will rediscover these songs. This collection is, in some sense, dedicated to a generation in self-imposed mental exile, due to years of war and catastrophe; decades of lies and bombs; a fundamentalist theocracy of reformist shams; addiction; isolation and alienation; unemployment, and inflation. These are voices and stories that may again prove relevant to a psychologically damaged and spiritually corrupt society, a society whose discontents recall the latter years of the Shah’s rule.
The recordings excavated here are highly sexual musings, voluble love songs, and simple folk tunes. In many of these songs, there are subtle voices of political protest. Here is a personal best, a handful of artists and diversely stylized songs, presented on Finders Keepers.

Tracklisting -

01 Helelyos (4:35)
02 Biya Bar-e Safar Bandim (3:52)
03 Soul Raga (4:06)
04 Talagh (4:45)
05 Gol-e Yakh (5:14)
06 Mosem-e Gol (4:32)
07 Gol-e Aftab Gardoon (3:23)
08 Miravi (3:23)
09 Kavir-e Del (4:26)
10 Naz Kardanet Vaveyla (3:12)
11 Negar (4:04)
12 Bemoun Ta Bemounam (2:53)
13 Kofriam (4:58)
14 Sharm-e Boos-e (4:01)
15 Cheshm-e Man (4:56)
16 Gol Bi Goldoon (4:24)

VA - 2009 - Hiram and Huddie 2xCD

Hillgrass Bluebilly Records ‎– 000 

I’m not really too into tribute albums. I mean, they usually have their high points but when you take them as a whole they tend to feel mailed in or uninspired.

Such is not the case with this particular tribute album, and while I am sure there have been no shortage of tribute albums to Hank Sr. or Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter, I am sure there hasn’t ever been one quite like this. For one, check out the take no prisoner’s, my way or fuck you contributing artists. With acts like Scott H. Biram, Possessed By Paul James, Bob Log III, Jawbone, Wayne “The Train” Hancock and Soda taking part you know these aren’t just gonna be mere remakes of classics. For another thing, take the folks putting it out- Hillgrass Bluebilly Entertainment. In what dealings I have had with these guys two things are for sure. They have as much passion about the whole punkass/deep blues scene as anyone, and if they are gonna do something they are gonna do it 100% all out. Taking all of that into account I had a hard time imagining how this particular tribute album couldn’t be awesome.

I was right.

Hiram and Huddie is a double cd tribute album, one disc being a tribute to Hank Sr. while the other is a tribute to Huddie Ledbetter. Both discs feature the same lineup of artists for the most part with each artist seeming to have been given complete freedom to do whatever they wanted with their tracks, and the bands used that freedom to make the tracks their own. Really, there isn’t a track to be skipped across either disc, but as with any compilation some tracks just stand out from the others.

Soda’s cover of Hank’s “Ramblin’ Man” is one such case. Sounding like it would have come from a drunken 1920′s New Orleans speakeasy, this track just begs for you hit repeat until the ink wears off the button. Scott Biram just seems like he was born to sing Sr.’s songs, and the soul of William Elliot Whitmore’s voice adds a richness to his songs that recording techniques in the original version’s time couldn’t capture. As good as all of these tracks are though, it’s Possessed By Paul James’ contributions that totally steal the show and his version of Lead Belly’s “The Bourgeois Blues” wears the “best song” crown.

“The Bourgeois Blues” was originally recorded by Ledbetter after he went to Washington, D.C. at the request of Alan Lomax to record a number of songs for the Library of Congress. After they had finished, they decided to go out with their wives to celebrate but were thrown out of numerous establishments for being an interracial party. The song rails against racism, classism, and discrimination in general.

It would be a shame for this album to get lost in the cracks only be rediscovered years later as a lost gem. Do yourself, Hillgrass Bluebilly, me and every single artist on this album a favor and buy it. Buy two. It’s that good. It’s easily gonna be the best compilation of the year

  Tracklist
1-1     –Possessed By Paul James     On The Banks Of The Old Ponchartrain     4:09
1-2     –Scott H. Biram     Lost Highway     2:59
1-3     –Sodaa     Ramblin' Man     3:42
1-4     –William Elliott Whitmore     Mother Is Gone     3:25
1-5     –C.W. Stoneking     I'll Never Get Out Of This World     2:43
1-6     –Truckstop Honeymoon     Howlin' At The Moon     2:55
1-7     –Jawbone     My Bucket's Got A Hole In It     2:24
1-8     –Wayne "The Train" Hancock     Lovesick Blues     3:21
1-9     –Tom VandenAvond     I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)     2:29
1-10     –Bob Log III     Settin' The Woods On Fire     1:52
2-1     –Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band     Rock Island Line     2:00
2-2     –William Elliott Whitmore     The Gallis (Gallows) Pole     2:28
2-3     –C.W. Stoneking     In New Orleans     3:06
2-4     –Scott H. Biram     Go Down Old Hannah     1:18
2-5     –Possessed By Paul James     Bourgeois Blues 5:03     5:03
2-6     –Tom VandenAvond     Ha Ha, This Way     3:11
2-7     –Wayne "The Train" Hancock     Goodnight Irene     3:07
2-8     –Jawbone     Bottle Up And Go     2:51
2-9     –Soda      Old Riley     3:34
2-10     –Flathead     Pick A Bale Of Cotton     12:43

VA - 2009 - I Can't Get It Out Of My Turn To Stone Head - Unearthed Expansive Sounds 1968-Present CD

 Drag City ‎– 402

Plastic Crimewave's Galactic Zoo Dossier creates its own magical, psychedelic universe with every issue. In addition to all the usual articles, essays and musings on uber-obscure psych bands you've never heard of, this volume includes great interviews with Vashti Bunyan, MV & EE, guitar hero Peter Walker and Bill Ham, plus there's a CD featuring exclusive tracks by (a whole bunch of little known garage acts plus) the aforementioned Ms. Bunyan, Samara Lubelski, Christina Carter, Monster Magnet and Peter Walker...

 Tracklist
1     –TJ Hooks     RAP     0:17
2     –Petrus Featuring Ruthann Friedman     There Isn't Time     2:34
3     –Mushroom     Where I Belong     3:03
4     –Mom's Boys     Yellow Pill     2:22
5     –The George Edwards Group     Nevada     3:57
6     –Ya Ho Wa 13     Whistling Winds     5:04
7     –Rudy & The Love Slaves     Tormentors Theme     4:53
8     –Simply Saucer     Baby Nova     4:00
9     –Monster Magnet     Black Wawa     3:09
10     –Puffy Areolas     Hold It Back     4:23
11     –C.I.G.S.     Down On The Street     4:00
12     –Mondo Drag     Light As A Feather     2:35
13     –La Otracina     White Energy     4:53
14     –Creeping Nobodies     Beltane     5:33
15     –Plastic Crimewave Sound     Shifting Sands     2:13
16     –Naked Death     Sex Circus Theme     5:34
17     –Samara Lubelski     Snow Meadows II (Live)     4:59
18     –Vashti Bunyan     I'd Like To Walk Around In Your Mind (Live)     2:23
19     –Christina Carter     Laugh At A Book     3:53
20     –Peter Walker      Tune On Karen Dalton's Guitar     3:52
21     –The Joy Poppers     Chewy Galoshes     0:58
22     –Leslie Anne Mackenzie Stein     End Titles     0:55

VA - 2016 - Doing It in Lagos (Boogie, Pop & Disco in 1980's Nigeria) 2xCD

 Soundway ‎– 087

    

Unprecedented, 21-track survey of ‘80s dancefloor juice from the Nigerian capital; the latest in a long line of invaluable and expertly-curated Soundway compilations. Whilst Nigeria’s ‘70s music has been covered in some depth thru various reissues, compilations and the enduring legacy of Afrobeat, it’s fair to say that the focus of Doing It In Lagos: Boogie, Pop & Disco in 1980’s Nigeria covers a much less well-known sound that’s no less effective on the right ‘floors.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that much of the set was American productions as there’s hardly a trace of the psychedelia or politics of the ‘70s to these 21 songs. It’s all super slick and trim, tucked and cut at sharp angles rather than sprawling out over 10 minute+ jams, and tending to sing about going out, getting laid and showing off your money rather than the afrocentric politics which had previously dominated.

In line with the influx of oil money and the phase shift from in-house disco bands to DJs playing at clubs, the sound of these tunes had to be up to par with American imports, and clearly sounds like they achieved it.

Quite honestly there’s far too many highlights to mention them all, but we insist you clock the lissom glyde of Steve Monte’s Only You, and submit yourself to the cosmic boogie sensuality of Too Hot by Rick Asikpo & Afro Fusion, or the debonaire touch of Toby Foyeh’s Ore Mi, and definitely get on the rugged electro budges of Lexy Mella and Nkono Teles!!!


Disc 1 (54:59)
1. Hotline – Fellas Doing It In Lagos (05:37)
2. Peter Abdul – Don't You Know (03:23)
3. Steve Monite – Only You (06:28)
4. Oby Onyioha – Enjoy Your Life (06:15)
5. Kio Amachree – Ivory (05:11)
6. Livy Ekemezie – Holiday Action (05:15)
7. Willy Roy – Don't Give Up (06:40)
8. Danny Offia & The Friks – Funk With Me (05:23)
9. Rick Asikpo & Afro Fusion – Too Hot (05:15)
10. Terry Mackson – Distant Lover (05:32)

Disc 2 (01:01:18)
1. Ofege – Burning Jungle (03:40)
2. Odion Iruoje – Identify With Your Root (06:45)
3. Mike Umoh – Shake Your Body (06:15)
4. Burnis Moleme – Where Is The Answer (07:02)
5. Sony Enang – Don't Stop That Music (05:10)
6. Veno – Groove I Like (03:39)
7. Godfrey Odili – Let's Do More Music (07:39)
8. Toby Foyeh – Ore Mi (05:44)
9. Gboyega Adelaja – Colourful Environment (05:25)
10. Lexy Mella – On The Air (Rap Mix) (05:30)
11. Nkono Teles – Be My Lady (Mix) (04:29)

Total length: 01:56:17

VA - 2015 - Black Plastic Singing Flats Volume IV - Korean and Other Asian Songs

Little Axe Records ‎– 035

VA - 2014 - Black Plastic Singing Flats Vol. 3

 Little Axe Records ‎– 032

A selection of mostly Chinese 45s from Singapore that were imported to Indonesia.

Tracklist
1. 姚蘇蓉 – Blustring (03:11)
2. Wang Zaoh – Dark Night (02:29)
3. 林白 – Caruatien (02:19)
4. 姚蘇蓉 – Kiss Your Tears Away (02:10)
5. Lin Ling – Lovely Live (02:19)
6. Lin Ling – Dream of Plums (03:09)
7. 姚蘇蓉 – Secrets of Lovers (02:43)
8. Lin Ling – Won't See Each Other Again (02:31)
9. Naomi & The Boys – Old Photographs (02:43)
10. 陳芬蘭 – The Night Wore On (02:46)
11. Heartbreaker Soundtrack – The Tears of Mother & Son (02:57)
12. P. Ramlee – Dewi Ilham Ku (02:54)
13. Hong Ming – Falling in Love With You (03:04)
14. You Li – Endless Longing and Sorrow (03:47)
15. Double Bliss Soundtrack – The Song of Hippies (02:00)
16. You Gin – The Song of Hometown (03:34)
17. Qing Yuan – Manli (02:40)
18. Violet Tong – Hesitated (02:39)
19. Chen Sing – In Love Under the Blue Sky (03:27)
20. Huang Shou Feng – Don't You Look Back (03:00)
21. Maurice Pattons & The Melodians – Sakura (Cherry Blossom) (03:38)

Total length: 01:00:00

VA - 2014 - African Gems

SWP Records ‎– none

There was a time when the best place to discover otherworldly musical sound avenues was a well-stocked public or University Library. Filed away by number, musty with disuse, were records that promised an antidote to the radio and whatever indie band was being hyped from magazine racks and record store new arrivals bins. The great ethnic labels- Folkways, Lyrichord, Nonesuch, Ocora- occupied these shelves, their covers often depicting rural peoples from West Africa to SE Asia plucking what appeared to be string and gourd instruments heretofore unknown, their titles promising ritual, guaranteeing inclusion.
    For those of us who dug deep and used our library cards as a means of rescuing these sounds, if only temporarily, from neglect, the world got larger. Notions of what constituted modern, primitive, Avant, poly-rhythmic, psychedelic, or dissonant got tangled and ultimately discarded. For there was no question that a trumpet ensemble from Southern Sudan had a sense of groove as deep as anything Elvin Jones could play or Pete Rock could concoct from a stack of vinyl, a turntable and a mixer. They could ring variety from harmonizing various pitches to a degree no conservatory training could have bested. For anyone in the West with more than a passing interest in music, the recordings these labels housed dared us to hear the familiar as the odd, the seemingly strange as music your neighbor might have made. It changed everything. But who were these people? And who managed to find them, much less get them to agree to perform for the outsider with the microphone? African Gems, a compilation sourced from some of the most prolific ethno-musicological work this side of Hugh Tracey, is one answer to that question.
    Percussionist and SWP label owner Michael Baird, who has not only reissued over 20 CDs of Tracey's mid-20th century recordings, but also released some of his own fantastic work along the Zambia/Zimbabwe border, Lesotho and elsewhere, has curated 73 minutes of rural Central African musical hypnosis. From ensembles to duets to one solo piece, this collection is as varied as it is stellar, and it does a fantastic job of reminding listeners of the work Duvelle, Gansemans, Quersin and Fanshawe did.
    In fact, Fanshawe, whose name adorned a number of Nonesuch LPs, as well as many film scores, is represented here by a single amazing track, featuring an Alur horn ensemble from Uganda. Similar to the ensemble mentioned above from Sudan, this track is 6 plus minutes of intense, festive trance, with players positioned in a particular order to achieve harmony on single-note instruments.
    "Alur horns"
    And then there is Charles Duvelle's work in the Central African Republic and Chad. Duvelle, who founded Ocora's ethnic music series of LPs, managed to record sounds unlike anything ever heard before. “Sirlehe” recorded in Daoua, Chad circa 1966, is a harvest ritual tune performed by a 10-piece horn ensemble. To anyone whose ears have been attuned to the purposeful oddities found on the Ultra Eczema label or from members of the LA Free Music Society, one could be fooled into believing this was intentional experimentation by Westerners making a social statement. Yet, its hardcore, forever modern call and response, and slightly warped execution are nothing of the sort. This may be among the most unusual tracks to come from the African continent.
    "Sirlehe"
    Finally, we get “Eshidi,” recorded in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1975 by Benoit Quersin. For 14 minutes Okonda Olonge accompanies himself on a homemade guitar while his accompanist plays a soda bottle and provides call and response vocals, as they weave a tale of a man who was ostracized from a community for murdering his wife. It is at once playful, nimble and deeply hypnotic.
    "Eshidi"
    Elsewhere, there are further horn ensembles, xylophone players and drummers, making this collection a belated gateway into modern, stereo recordings of what is easily some of the best traditional sub-Saharan African music ever put on tape. While it alone doesn't replace the riches once found in library vinyl bins, it's a fantastically distilled aural glimpse of why categories, hype or concerns with what may be hip at any given time are truly useless. It's the love of music itself that ultimately matters.


Tracklist
1. [unknown] – Obama Ondoua Ebini [Cameroun] (05:19)
2. [unknown] – Horn Ensemble [Congo] (02:22)
3. [unknown] – Kutomboka Dance [DR Congo] (07:13)
4. [unknown] – Madimba Xylophone Duet [DR Congo] (03:31)
5. [unknown] – Mbilé [Chad] (07:11)
6. [unknown] – Massikoulou Orchestra [Congo] (05:07)
7. [unknown] – Alur Horns [Uganda] (06:40)
8. [unknown] – Tshisani [DR Congo] (07:20)
9. [unknown] – Teka Dya Kingudi [Angola] (03:05)
10. [unknown] – Sirhélé [Chad] (05:01)
11. [unknown] – Gandja [Central African Republic] (05:47)
12. [unknown] – Eshidi [DR Congo] (14:54)

Total length: 01:13:30

VA - 2016 - Why The Mountains Are Black: Primeval Greek Village Music 1907-1960 2xLP

Third Man Records ‎– 334

Third Man Records is proud to present a truly rare musical oddity a two disc collection of primal and unhinged Greek village music that at times sounds more like free jazz or doom folk, feral and trance-like as it is. After years of research, fieldwork and collecting, Christopher King-Grammy-winning producer, sound-engineer, curator and writer- has gathered together from his private 78 rpm archive the most mind expanding and libido inducing song and dance music from the rural hinterlands of mainland Greece and its islands. Recorded between 1907 and 1960, this collection contains the first and the last-the alpha and the omega-of Greek demotika- or folk music. And it is not what you would expect.
Remastered from the original 78 rpm discs, this set contains 28 previously unissued recordings made in the cramped, primitive studios of Athens, Greece, New York, NY, and Chicago, IL. Crazed Macedonian bagpipes, keening violins, shiver-inducing zournas and shepherd-pipes are found throughout the two discs. Cover artwork is by legendary underground artist R. Crumb and designed by Grammy winning Susan Archie. A beautifully thought-provoking if not radical essay on this music by King accompanies the lavish package. Not simply for historians or collectors of long gone sounds, this compilation is intended to push the limits of what we have come to expect of music, its purpose and indeed its origin. You will experience a profound musical transformation immediately upon listening.

 Tracklist
A1     –K. Bournelis, F. Tsilikos, Christos Kantilas     Kalamatianos (Dance Of Kalamata)    
A2     –G. Canteris & G. Gombakis     Sousta Rethymniotiki (Sousta Dance Of Rethymno)    
A3     –J. Lengas, J. Patsios, G. Kokotis     Giati Ine Mavra Ta Vouna (Why The Mountains Are Black)    
A4     –Athanasios Lavidas     Ousak Tsiftelli (Tsiftelli Rhythm Dance In Ousak Mode)    
A5     –Diamadidis     Enas Aetos (An Eagle)    
A6     –Elias Karathimos     Mirologi-Epirotiko Makedoniko (An Epirotic-Macedonian Lament)    
A7     –Efthimios Christou     Makedoniko Hasapiko (Hasapikos Dance Of Macedonia)    
B1     –Demitrios Halkias     Selfos (Nightingale)    
B2     –Tchous, Damalas & Company     Enas Aetos-Tsamiko (An Eagle - Dance)    
B3     –Alexis Zoubas, C. Papagikas     E Triantafylllia (The Rose Tree)    
B4     –Christos Daralas & Nikos Karakostas     Pera Ston Pera Maxala (Over To The Other Neighborhood)    
B5     –Nikos Harhalis & Μαυροδημήτρης     Syrtos Haniotikos (Syrtos Dance From Hania)    
B6     –Kyr. Keravnos & Michalis Giasemidis     Syrtos Politikos (Dance From Constantinople)    
B7     –S. Zembillas & I. Mailles     Kalymnikos Issos (Dance From Kalymnos)    
C1     –K. Bournelis, F. Tsilikos, Christos Kantilas     Arvanitiko O Aetos (An Eagle, Arvanitiko Style)    
C2     –Christos Daralas & Nikos Karakostas     Svarniara (Reckless Woman)    
C3     –Panagiotis Kokontinis, Harabalos Kavakos     Kalamatianos (Dance Of Kalamata)    
C4     –Athanasios Lavidas     Platanos (Plane Tree)    
C5     –Unknown Artist     Golfo (A Ballad)    
C6     –Georgios Zisis & Athanasios Kolisaras     Patinada Tis Nifis (Wedding Dance)    
C7     –Efthimios Christou     Pousteno, Boufiou (Loose Dance)    
D1     –Vasilis Vasiliou With Demotic Orchestra     Karagouna, Gianniotiko (Karagouna Dance, Ioannina-style)    
D2     –Antonios Sakelarou     Kotta Mou (My Chicken)    
D3     –Christos Baniakas     Syrtos Politikos (Dance From Constantinople)    
D4     –Christos Baniakas     Eseis Padia Vlahopoila (You Young Vlach Children)    
D5     –A. Karavitis & G. Marianos     Kritiki Sousta (Fast Dance From Crete)    
D6     –Nikos Karakostas & M. Kallergis     Tzarama (Shepherd Flute Song)    
D7     –S. Zeimbillas & I. Mailles     Kalymniki Sousta (Dance From Kalymnos)

VA - 2011 - Turkish Freakout 2 (Psych Folk 1970-1978) CD

Bouzouki Joe Records ‎– 7502 

"Follow-up to Bouzouki Joe's brilliant collection of sought-after Turkish Psyche-folk recorded in the prime period 1970-1978. Volume 2 spans another seventeen exquisitely evocative gems with numbers by the revered Baris Manco alongside lesser known album tracks and a slew of cherry-picked rarities. We're not overly familiar with the sound, but every time our mate Sean Canty plays one of these nuggets, or something similar in his various DJ slots, we're always compelled to find out what it is, and then choke at how much it cost him! This time we encounter some Moog-fuelled killers on Kerem Guney's 'Aglayi Aglayi' and Gokben's sumptuous 'Eninde Sonunda' (check that Moog wail!), next to the epic intro and dynamite funk breaks of Baris Manco's 'Estergon Kalesi' or the deadly 'Mozart'. Further into the vibe, you'll find another driving, funky Manco production on Irgat's 'Sevil and Ayla', a magical cover of Selda's 'Afet Serenay' from Maden Dagi, and the fiery Psyche rock thrust of Cem Karaca + Mogollar's 'Obur Dunya'. If you don't know, get to know!

Tracklisting
---------------------------------------------------------------------

1. (00:02:21) Afet Serenay - Yarim Gitti Cesmeye
2. (00:04:17) Kerem Guney - Aglayi Aglayi
3. (00:02:48) Gokben - Eninde Sonunda
4. (00:04:09) Baris Manco - Estergon Kalesi
5. (00:03:58) Gulcan Opel - Bari Bari
6. (00:03:35) Sevis & Ayla - Irgat
7. (00:02:49) Kamuran Akkor - Kim Ne Derse Desin
8. (00:04:45) Afet Serenay - Maden Dagi
9. (00:05:00) Edip Akbayram - Mehmet Emmi
10. (00:02:37) Baris Manco - Mozart
11. (00:02:48) Cem Karaca + Mogollar - Obur Dunya
12. (00:03:56) Ozel Turkbas - Ozel's Dance Routine
13. (00:03:26) Perihan - Nerden Nereye
14. (00:03:17) Sakir Oner Gunham - Ben Bu Yaralara Nerden Dus Oldum
15. (00:03:53) Sirin - Sevgili Golgem
16. (00:04:26) Gulcan Opel - Tamammi
17. (00:03:39) Kenan - Viens Dans Ma Vie

Playing Time.........: 01:01:41
Total Size...........: 142.96 MB

VA - 2010 - Turkish Freakout (Psych-Folk Singles 1969-1980) CD

Bouzouki Joe Records ‎– 7501

01. Dokuz Sekiz.mp3 | 7.55M | MP3 | 224 C
02. Cokertme.mp3 | 7.29M | MP3 | 224 C
03. Uryan Geldim.mp3 | 6.80M | MP3 | 224 C
04. Gilgamis.mp3 | 5.63M | MP3 | 224 C
05. Esmerim.mp3 | 5.35M | MP3 | 224 C
06. Seni Dilenyorum.mp3 | 6.61M | MP3 | 224 C
07. Sev Digim.mp3 | 7.02M | MP3 | 224 C
08. Kaderimin Oyunu.mp3 | 6.18M | MP3 | 224 C
09. Bebek.mp3 | 6.81M | MP3 | 224 C
10. Hal Hal.mp3 | 5.84M | MP3 | 224 C
11. Dosta Bizden Selam Olsun.mp3 | 4.57M | MP3 | 224 C
12. Cakmagicak.mp3 | 5.63M | MP3 | 224 C
13. Karni Buyuk Koca Dunya.mp3 | 3.86M | MP3 | 224 C
14. Ah Berelim.mp3 | 4.84M | MP3 | 224 C
15. Estarabim.mp3 | 8.64M | MP3 | 224 C
16. Iciyorum.mp3 | 5.65M | MP3 | 224 C
17. Osman Ehlivan.mp3 | 6.23M | MP3 | 224 C
18. Gunese Don Cicegim.mp3 | 6.02M | MP3 | 224 C

VA - 2016 - This is Kologo Power LP

Sahel Sounds ‎– 037

A BOLGATANGA GHANA COMPILATION'. This compilation is an African initiative. King Ayisoba once told Makkum Records: "I want to make the world love kologo music like Bob Marley made the world love reggae music." Most of the tracks on this album were recorded in studios in Ghana. Some are sung in Frafra, others in pidgin English. Some are with a live band and some feature just solo kologo and voice. But all the songs represent a force and unveil a very strong musical power. The connection between kologo music and (delta) blues has been made more than once and that resemblance is not written on ice; the personal and the social messages, the strong rhythms, the push that this instrument -with only two strings spanned over a goatskin on a calabash- can give to people to make sure they don't ignore the dance floor, all that makes it worth the effort of putting together at least one kologo compilation.

Tracklist
A1     –King Ayisoba     Africa    
A2     –Ayuune Sule     Who Knows Tomorrow    
A3     –Agongo     I Am Suffering    
A4     –Prince Buju     Afashee    
A5     –Atimbila     I Have Something To Say    
B1     –Atamina Feat. King Ayisoba     Africa Problem    
B2     –Amoru     Yabaa    
B3     –Barnasko     Nsoh Yaaba    
B4     –Asaa Naho     Home Witches    
B5     –King Ayisoba     Nerba

VA - 2017 - Outro Tempo: Electronic And Contemporary Music From Brazil 1978-1992

Music From Memory ‎– 016

For their first multi-artist compilation, Music From Memory take us on a trip to the heart of the Amazon rainforest. Outro Tempo: Electronic and Contemporary Music From Brazil, 1978-1992 is a double LP that explores the outer reaches of Brazilian music, where indigenous rhythms mix with synthesizers and where MPB mingles with drum computers. As Brazil faced the last years of its military dictatorship and transition to democracy, a generation of forward-thinking musicians developed an alternative vision of Brazilian music and culture. They embraced traditionally shunned electronic production methods and infused their music with elements of ambient, jazz-fusion, and minimalism. At the same time they referenced the musical forms and spirituality of indigenous tribes from the Amazon. The music they produced was a complex and mesmerising tapestry that vividly evoked Brazilian landscapes and simultaneously reached out to the world beyond its borders.
The product of extensive research, this compilation is a unique introduction to this visionary music and features many fresh discoveries in a country well trodden by record diggers. It gathers tracks from obscure albums that have for too long been neglected by even the most avid collectors of Brazilian music. It includes now highly sought after music by Andréa Daltro, Maria Rita, and Fernando Falcão, as well as unknown gems like those of Cinema, Carlinhos Santos, and Anno Luz. This is an essential release that reveals a broader spectrum of Brazilian music, striking a unique sonic signature that is full of innovation, experimentation, and beauty.