Friday, September 23, 2016

NEW RELEASES: JOHN SCOFIELD – COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN; TOM TOM CLUB – TOM TOM CLUB (LIMITED TRANSLUCENT GREEN VINLYL EDITION) LP; LADY WRAY – QUEEN ALONE

JOHN SCOFIELD – COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

An amazing slice of sound from guitarist John Scofield – a record we might not have expected years ago, but one that comes across beautifully overall – thanks to Scofield's ever-increasing diversity as a musician! The title hints at the contents – as the tracks here showcase John's longtime love of country music – something that's barely hinted at on his other recordings, and which here gets completely re-shaped with the Scofield sound – that boldly chromatic style of guitar that's a million miles from Nashville or Bakersfield, but which turns out some beautiful reworkings of older classics. The group here features Larry Goldings on organ and piano, Steve Swallow on bass, and Bill Stewart on drums – and titles include "Mama Tried", "Wildwood Flower", "Wayfaring Stranger", "Bartenders Blues", "Mr Fool", "Jolene", "You're Still The One", and "Faded Flower". ~ Dusty Groove

TOM TOM CLUB – TOM TOM CLUB (LIMITED TRANSLUCENT GREEN VINLYL EDITION) LP

The Talking Heads spawned a number of worthy side projects and spinoffs—David Byrne & Brian Eno’s My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, Jerry Harrison’s The Red and the Black—but none were as funky, danceable, and flat-out fun as Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth’s Tom Tom Club. Conceived as something of a larkish break from the grandly realized intellectual and artistic pretensions of the Heads’ Remain in Light record, the duo’s self-titled 1981 debut was recorded in Barbados with Weymouth’s sisters and Adrian Belew and Steven Stanley from the Remain in Light band, and not only spawned a couple of hit singles in “Genius of Love” and “Wordy Rappinghood” but also became, in its own way, enormously influential. This was the sound of downtown New York talking, listening, and rapping to the burgeoning hip hop movement, a hybrid heard in a whole host of acts in the ‘80s and ‘90s, from Madonna to Mariah Carey to the Beastie Boys and beyond. Weymouth and Frantz went on to record several more albums under the Tom Tom Club moniker, but this remains the classic; Real Gone Music is proud to offer Tom Tom Club in a translucent green vinyl edition limited to 800 copies. Fun, natural fun! Trackslisting: As Above, So Below; Wordy Rappinghood; Genius of Love; Lorelei; On, On, On, On...; Tom Tom Theme; Booming and Zooming;and L' Éléphant.

LADY WRAY – QUEEN ALONE

A stunning full length debut from Lady Wray – a voice you might know from her previous collaboration in the duo Lady – but one that's even more amazing out front here on her own! The album's got a rock-solid, totally classic vibe – thanks to Leon "El" Michels – who produced, and provided most of the music with his group – a completely funky ensemble, but one that's also right up to the sense of majesty that Wray brings to her vocals – a soaring, righteous spirit that's way beyond the easy cliches or retro modes of so many other funky singers. Instead, the lady has a way of doing things that's all her own – a knowledge of all the places that R&B-influenced vocals have gone in recent decades, but packed into a simple, straightforward sound that's a perfect fit with Michels' music. Better than we could have hoped – with titles that include "Smiling", "Do It Again", "They Won't Hang Around", "Bad Girl", "Let It Go", "Cut Me Loose", and "Make Me Over". ~ Dusty Groove


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