1977 was a whirlwind year for Melissa Manchester. The singer-songwriter toured North America's arenas and amphitheaters that summer with Leo Sayer before launching a fall solo tour that attracted the attention of none other than Bob Dylan, who attended the Minneapolis date. Melissa played Carnegie Hall, appeared on network television specials, taped a memorable commercial with Ella Fitzgerald, and released her sixth album, Singin'. But that wasn't all. On October 30, 1977 at Gainesville, Florida's Great Southern Music Hall, Melissa recorded her first live album. The electrifying double record captured her in front of an appreciative college audience, leading a smoking-hot, seven-piece band of rock, R&B, and jazz veterans including two KISS collaborators' saxophonist and keyboardist Tom Saviano (Dolly Parton, Earth Wind & Fire) and bassist Bill Bodine (Van Morrison, Cher)'plus drummer Art Rodriguez (Rickie Lee Jones, Manhattan Transfer) and Melissa's discovery Lenny Castro, now one of the most-recorded percussionists of all time. Yet Arista Records shockingly consigned the album to the shelf, where it's remained unheard'until now. Melissa Manchester's Live '77 makes its long-overdue debut from Real Gone Music and Second Disc Records as a deluxe 2-CD set. Its 21 songs'joyful, sensual, romantic, optimistic, soulful, spellbinding, and ultimately empowering'spoke directly to the thoughts and emotions of the young audience and have proven timeless over the ensuing decades. These include her hits 'Midnight Blue,' 'Better Days,' and the song Bob Dylan admired, 'Just You and I,' as well as the now-standard 'Come in from the Rain,' fan favorites 'We've Got Time,' 'Happy Endings,' and 'Caravan,' and spirited covers of such beloved tunes as 'I Wanna Be Where You Are,' 'Rescue Me,' and 'Monkey See, Monkey Do.' Live '77 also premieres Melissa's only recording anywhere of the blues classic 'Hi-Heel Sneakers.' This landmark release has been mastered from the original tapes by Mike Milchner at Sonic Vision, and boasts a deluxe booklet with rare photos and new liner notes by Joe Marchese based on a fresh interview with the artist and including exclusive quotes from the legendary Clive Davis. Appropriately, Melissa closed this concert of pop, rock, and soul sounds with 'No One's Ever Seen This Side of Me.' Now, in time for its 45th anniversary, you too can finally hear this thrilling side of Melissa Manchester.
A really great set from one of our favorite groups on the Colemine label – just a trio, but a group who manage to deliver with the same raw funky power as a much larger group! Delvon Lamarr handles the Hammond in the group – and he's a wizard on the keys, able to move between rhythmic vamping and these incredibly deft solos – at a level that matches some of our old school favorites, like Jack McDuff or Lonnie Smith! The rest of the group features Jimmy James on guitar – a player who can bring a nice edge to his sound – plus Daniel Weiss, who handles some mighty heavy drums – the rock-solid core of the trio, and always keeping things funky throughout. Titles include "Keep On Keepin On", "Pull Your Pants Up", "Don't Worry Bout What I Do", "I Wanna Be Where You Are", "Get Da Steppin", and "Uncertainty". ~ Dusty Groove
Fantastic work from Diego Rivera – a real rising star on the tenor, and a player who seems to really be able to pack a lot into a very small space! The tunes here are never super-long, but they're overflowing with meaning and color – not just from Rivera's well-crafted solos, but also the trumpet work of Alex Sipiagin and piano of Art Hirihara – both musicians who really do a lot with their space on the record too! The rest of the combo features Boris Kozlov on bass and Rudy Royston – and all members of the group work together as if they've been thinking the same thoughts for weeks before going into the studio – effortlessly making magic on Rivera's original tunes that include "Battle Fatigue", "Braceru", "Cancion De Cuna", "Most From The Least", "Mestizo", "Rasquache", and "La Raza Cosmica". ~ Dusty Groove
'Soul Queen of New Orleans' Irma Thomas enjoyed a run of national success in the U.S. in the mid-'60s with classics like 'Wish Someone Would Care,' 'Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)' along with the original vocal version of 'Time Is on My Side' (later a massive hit for the Rolling Stones), recorded for Imperial Records. Following a short stint at Chess Records, Irma recorded for Canyon before being signed to Atlantic Records by the label's much renowned executive, Jerry Wexler. A first session in 1971 yielded one single, 'Full Time Woman' (produced by noted New Orleans music legend Wardell Quezergue), which failed to chart but was singled out by Wexler in a 2007 interview as one of his all-time favorite recordings. Undaunted, Atlantic arranged further sessions for Irma in Detroit, Miami and Philadelphia throughout 1972 ' yet none of the material was ever issued until a 2014 CD collection. Now, some 50 years after they were originally recorded, Full Time Woman: The Lost Cotillion Album brings all of Irma's recordings for Atlantic (under its Cotillion imprint) to LP for the first time! Irma puts her own distinctive, ever-soulful stamp on such tunes as the standard 'Time After Time,' Bobbie Gentry's 1969 hit, 'Fancy,' and Billy Walker's country hit, 'Tell Me Again,' alongside the funky 'She's Taken My Part,' (the flipside of 'Full Time Woman'), and R&B-flavored original material including the highlights 'Waiting For Someone,' 'Our Love Don't Come Easy,' and two early '70s Philly soul cuts, 'No Name' and 'Adam And Eve.' All told, 13 of the 15 tracks on Irma Thomas: Full Time Woman'The Lost Cotillion Album make their vinyl debut (on light blue vinyl, to be exact); it goes without saying that this release represents a major addition to the Irma Thomas discography!
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