Friday, March 13, 2020

New Music Releases: Jamaica All Stars Vols 1 & 2, Brunswick / Dakar Soul Stream Vol 1, Tim Berne's Snakeoil


Jamaica All Stars Vols 1 & 2

A heavy package of treasures from the vaults of Studio One – tracks from the early days of the label that really illustrate the special touch that Studio One had right from the start! The work here is some of the most soulful from the early years of reggae – Jamaican music that's clearly drawn strong inspiration from American work, but which is already really finding its own sort of special groove – mellow burning rocksteady, early reggae, and more – still sounding every bit as righteous and powerful as it did back in the day! This double-length set brings together both volumes of the original compilations – and titles include "Peeping Tom" by Brentford All Stars, "Honey Come Back" by Jerry James, "Get You Off My Mind" by Larry Marshall, "I'll Be Waiting" by Alton Ellis, "Got To Be Sure" by Horace Andy, "My Eyes" by John Holt, "He Don't Love You" by Larry Williams, "Psychedelic Rock" by Ernest Ranglin, "Life" by Hortense Ellis, "Always Something There To Remind Me" by Winston Francis, "Old Time Saying" by Burning Spear, "Riddle I This" by Dennis Alcapone, "Feel Good All Over" by King Sporty, "Zion Higher" by Burning Spear, and "Home Home Version" by Dennis Alcapone & Ken Boothe. ~ Dusty Groove

Brunswick / Dakar Soul Stream Vol 1 – The Sweetest Thing

An incredibly rich collection of work from the legendary Brunswick and Dakar Records labels – and one of the first to really get at the labels' rich legacy of 7" singles that were never issued on any sort of full length albums! The Brunswick sound was a powerhouse in the late 60s and early 70s – a force that saw big records from The Chi-Lites, Jackie Wilson, Artistics, and others – yet the company also recorded a heck of a lot more music too – all of which was every bit as great as the hits, from the grooves at the bottom, to the tight arrangements in the middle, and the fantastic range of vocals on the top! This series finally gets at digging into all the many artists who never issued full albums on Brunswick or Dakar Records – and this first volume features 24 tracks that include "One Two Three Hamilton Street" by The Equations, "The Sweetest Thing" by Channel 3, "Stay With Me Baby" by BW & The Next Edition, "Where Our Love Has Gone" by Ronnie LaShannon, "Soul Strut" by Floyd Smith, "Let's TCB" by Richard Parker, "Contract On Your Love" by Chuck Bernard, "Funky Fatso" by The Aqua Sonics, "Dynamite" by John Freeman, "Forever & A Day" by Wales Wallace, "Turn Me Loose" by Donnie Vann, "You're My Sweet" by The Realistics, and "Falling In Love" by The Complaments. ~ Dusty Groove

Tim Berne's Snakeoil - Fantastic Mrs 10

That's no snake oil in the bottle, it's fantastic music from this razor-sharp quintet – maybe one of the most fantastic projects that saxophonist Tim Berne has given us in many years, and a group that just seem to get better and better with each new record! There's a combination of reed and percussive elements here that's really wonderful – alto from the leader, bass clarinet from Oscar Noriega, piano and tack piano from Matt Mitchell, and drums, vibes, gongs, tanbou, and glockenspiel from Ches Smith – all then strung together by guitar work from Marc Ducret, whose range of sounds really matches those of the other players! Mitchell also adds in a bit of modular synth – and titles include "Surface Noise", "Rolo", "Dear Friend", "The Amazing Mr 7", "Third Option", "Rose Colored Assive", and "The Fantastic Mrs 10". ~ Dusty Groove



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