Solomon Burke - Electronic Magnetism 1971

While Solomon Burke never made a major impact upon the pop audience -- he never, in fact, had a Top 20 hit -- he was an important early soul pioneer. On his '60s singles for Atlantic, he brought a country influence into R&B, with emotional phrasing and intricately constructed, melodic ballads and midtempo songs. At the same time, he was surrounded with sophisticated "uptown" arrangements and was provided with much of his material by his producers, particularly Bert Berns. The combination of gospel, pop, country, and production polish was basic to the recipe of early soul. While Burke wasn't the only one pursuing this path, not many others did so as successfully. And he, like Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett, was an important influence upon the Rolling Stones, who covered Burke's "Cry to Me" and "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" on their early albums.

Burke came by his gospel roots even more deeply than most soul stars. He was preaching at his family's Philadelphia church and hosting his own gospel radio show even before he'd reached his teens. He began recording gospel and R&B sides for Apollo in the mid- to late '50s. Like several former gospel singers (Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett), he was molded into a more secular direction when he signed with Atlantic in the '60s. Burke had a wealth of high-charting R&B hits in the early half of the '60s, which crossed over to the pop listings in a mild fashion as well. "Just Out of Reach," "Cry to Me," "If You Need Me," "Got to Get You Off My Mind," "Tonight's the Night," and "Goodbye Baby (Baby Goodbye)" were the most successful of these, although, unlike Franklin or Pickett, he wasn't able to expand his R&B base into a huge pop following as well. He left Atlantic in the late '60s and spent the next decade hopping between various labels, getting his biggest hit with a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary" in 1969, and recording an album in the late '70s with cult soulster Swamp Dogg as producer.

From the '80s through the first decade of the new millennium, Burke became one of the most visible living exponents of classic soul music, continuing to tour and record albums in a rootsy, at times gospel-ish style. Although these were critically well-received, their stylistic purity also ensured that their market was primarily confined to roots music enthusiasts, rather than a pop audience. His live and later recorded work, however, is a favorite of those who want to experience a soul legend with his talents and stylistic purity relatively intact. Burke's 2002 release Don't Give Up on Me was hailed as a major comeback for the legendary soul man. Great songwriters like Elvis Costello, Dan Penn, Nick Lowe, and Tom Waits contributed songs, and Joe Henry produced the album, which has been compared to Johnny Cash's landmark American Recordings.

After the critical success of Don't Give Up on Me reaffirmed Burke's status as one of the greatest living exponents of classic soul, the singer teamed up with producer Don Was for Make Do with What You Got, an updated variation on his classic style that was released in spring 2005. A year later, Burkereleased an interesting country and soul hybrid, Nashville, on Shout! Factory. A second album on the label, Like a Fire, followed in 2008. Burke next reunited with producer Willie Mitchell for Nothing’s Impossible, which was released shortly after Mitchell’s death in 2010 by Koch Records’ E1 Music. In October of 2009, Burke teamed up with Dutch Soul band De Dijk for recording sessions that would become his final album: Hold on Tight. Sadly,Burke died on October 10, 2010 upon arrival at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, The Netherlands where the soul legend was scheduled to perform at a sold-out show at the city's Paradiso concert hall with De Dijk. Hold on Tight was eventually released in March 2011. AMG.

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Quarteto 1111 - Onde Quando Como Porque Cantamos Pessoas Vivas 1975

Quarteto 1111 was founded in 1967 in Estoril and is one of the most influential progressive rock and psychedelic rock bands in Portugal. Originally formed by Miguel Artur da Silveira (Drums), José Cid (Vocals and Keyboard), António Moniz Pereira (Guitar) and Jorge Moniz Pereira (Bass). Latter members included Tozé Brito, Mike Seargeant and Mário Rui Terra.
It was one of the many musical groups inspired in The Shadows. Originally called the Mystery Group (Conjunto Mistério), the name later changed to 1111 Quartet (Quarteto 1111). The name was inspired by phone number of the band's rehearsal place, at the drummer's house.
José Cid was the band leader, composer, keyboard player and lead singer. The rest of the band had a classic formation influenced by the usual Beatles line-up, but with a sound and song structure that reminds the early Moody Blues.

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Peter French - Ducks In Flight 1978

Early bands of Peter French, Switch, Erotic Eel, Joe Poe, the Brunning Sunflower Blues Band (first recording as vocalist on "Bullenstreet").
Black Cat Bones which later evolved into Leafhound,
69:In October of this year, Pete French was the singer in Big Bertha band, fronted by Cozy Powell (with Denny Ball and Dave Ball).
71:Featured in a Status Quo tribute single, "Status Rock" credited to the Headbangers.
Pete was recruited into Atomic Rooster during the second quarter of '71 as vocalist to record Rooster's 3rd LP, "In Hearing Of" which was released July '71. Alongside Vincent, John and Paul, Pete sang on this record and undertook the ensueing tours.
72: Joins Cactus with the Vanilla Fudge rhythm section of Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice.Appears on their 4th album album 'Ot 'N' Sweaty.
Pete also appeared in "De Fehrer", a German Rock Opera.
76/77 recruited into German band Randy Pie.Appears on '77 album Fast Forward. By end of '77 Randy Pie has disbanded.

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Michael Chapman - Fully Qualified Survivor 1970

After the critical acclaim Michael Chapman received for Rainmaker in 1969, he followed up quickly in early 1970 withFully Qualified Survivor, a record more adventurous and haunting than its predecessor, with added production flourishes and equally strong songs. Fully Qualified Survivor is the album that established Chapman as a folk troubadour. Leaving the guitar pyrotechnics largely locked in a shed, Chapman concentrated instead on his songwriting skills, and the sacrifice -- for this record anyway -- paid off. Leaving the lead guitar credits to a fellow Hull-man, Mick Ronson (who got his gig with David Bowie as a result of his playing on this album), with Rick Kemp making a return as bassist and Barry Morgan on drums, Chapman relied on no less than Paul Buckmaster -- then beginning to work with Elton John, among others -- to employ and arrange a small string section to fill out the songs. It paid off, netting him his only chart hit, "Postcards of Scarborough." However, the disc's opener, "Aviator," is the song that best embodies the spirit of the songwriter and album better than anything else on it. Aviator begins with a lilting violin entwined around a cello and a strummed guitar. Chapman intones his lyrics as a world-weary traveler who has come to the end of his days and looks back on the things he has seen, loved, and lost. The song has no refrain, and is sung like a poem, with stunning violin fills swooping and sweeping all over the place, and with the cello and Kemp's bass playing counterpoint to one another in a melancholic melody full of pathos and verve. Some of Chapman's finger-wild guitar shine is displayed in the laid-back rag "Naked Ladies & Electric Ragtime." Ronson, for the very first time on a recording, got to showcase his lead-guitar skills on the sweeping "Stranger in the Room," a meld of folk and rock that holds one of the best crescendos in the history of either music. Chapman's material is dark, unrelenting, and as seasoned as a seaman in its distance from the object of his distaste and affection. But it's the next track that held the magic for tens of thousands in the U.K. and has become Chapman's albatross. "Postcards of Scarborough," with its languid, acoustic guitars strummed and fingerpicked for a full minute before the strings and vocal kick in. It's a song that evokes the memory with all its bittersweet power. The lyrics are so picaresque the listener can "see" the scene unfold in the singer's mind. The stunningly long refrain is punctuated by a swell of strings and Rono's leads and gets carries into emotional-overload territory. Once you hear this song, with its notion of the protagonist having "Postcards from Scarborough to keep in my mind/To hide from where I've been/To help remind/Of time passed and time passing," you'll not be able to get its brokenness from your mind, nor will you know the how and the why of all that's transpired. There's regret and resignation, and perhaps the scant trace of bitterness, but no longing or yearning. It's Zen-like in its acceptance. The rest of the disc is solid as well, from the rocking, crackling "Fishbeard Sunset" to the poetic and opaque "March Rain" to the darkly hunted "Kodak Ghosts." It digs deep into emotional territory by way of tight, almost suffocating songwriting and killer arrangements, making this one of the defining Brit folk-rock albums of the period. It holds up well in the 21st century as a true testament to the excellence of Chapman's craft. AMG.

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Donald Byrd - Ethiopian Knights 1971

Right from the stop-start bass groove that opens "The Emperor," it's immediately clear that Ethiopian Knights is more indebted to funk -- not just funky jazz, but the straight-up James Brown/Sly Stone variety -- than any previous Donald Byrd project. And, like a true funk band, Byrd and his group work the same driving, polyrhythmic grooves over and over, making rhythm the focal point of the music. Although the musicians do improvise, their main objective is to keep the grooves pumping, using their solos more to create texture than harmonic complexity. That's why jazz purists began to detest Byrd with this album (though the follow-ups certainly cinched it); in truth, even though Ethiopian Knights did move Byrd closer to R&B, it's still more jazz than funk, and didn't completely foreshadow his crossover. The dense arrangements and lo-o-o-ng workouts (two of the three tracks are over 15 minutes) are indicative of Byrd's continued debt to Miles Davis, in particular the bevy of live double LPs Davis issued in the early '70s. Byrd again leads a large ensemble, but with mostly different players than on his recent sessions; some come from the group assembled forBobby Hutcherson's Head On album, others from the Jazz Crusaders. That's part of the reason there are fewer traces of hard bop here, but it's also clear from the title that Byrd's emerging Afrocentric consciousness was leading him -- like Davis -- to seek ways of renewing jazz's connection to the people who created it. Even if it isn't quite as consistent as Kofi and Electric Byrd, Ethiopian Knights is another intriguing transitional effort that deepens the portrait of Byrd the acid jazz legend. AMG.

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David Oliver - Jamerican Man 1977

Sweet singing David Oliver, the son of Jamaican parents, grew up in Florida. He scored on Mercury Records with "MS," which became a staple on quiet storm radio stations, but never scored another significant hit. Oliver started taking singing seriously when he was a high school student of 15; he sung in the school choir with the sopranos because of his naturally high register. Though born and raised in Florida, Oliver made regular trips to Jamaica to keep in touch with his heritage. He sung with vocal groups throughout high school and college and was inspired by major artists likethe Temptations and Smokey Robinson.

After college, he joined the Air Force to keep from being drafted by the Army. He stayed five years and was a regular at the service's talent shows. After his tour of duty he moved to Los Angeles in 1967 and joined a racially mixed group called Five Days & Three Nights whose members consisted of other migrants to California; they had a big brassy sound like Chicago, Tower of Power, and Blood, Sweat & Tears; however, contract negotiations with Motown fell through and they disbanded.

After an eight-month association with Redbone ended in 1972 (he recorded Already Here with the band), Oliver went solo and worked clubs from L.A. to San Francisco. Five years later, he got discouraged and took a regular office gig in San Francisco. The office venture didn't last long, and he hooked with another big-band-type group, then joined the Mighty Joe Hicks Band as a singer and stayed until 1975. Mighty Joe recorded the self-titled Mighty Joe Hicks on Stax's Enterprise label in 1973. Oliver moved to Jamaica for a year, then renewed an association with Forest Hamilton, who got him the Mighty Joe Hicks gig and recorded David Oliver in 1978 with Wayne Henderson at the helm. (Oliverwanted to call the LP "Jamaican Man," but Mercury Records preferred the simpler David Oliver.) The single "MS" became a large urban soul hit, and Oliver toured with the R&B major stars. Everything was going well until Oliverunceremoniously died in 1981, a mere three years from the date of his first solo release, silencing a vastly underrated voice. AMG.

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Danny McCulloch - Wings Of Man 1969

London-born bassist Danny McCulloch got his first big break while still in his teens, as a member of Screaming Lord Sutch's backup band. In late 1965, after Eric Burdon had disbanded what was left of the original group the Animals, McCulloch was taken aboard as the first new member of what became Eric Burdon & the Animals. He was also responsible for bringing lead guitarist John Weider into the group, having crossed paths with him before Burdon had begun auditioning people for the spot, and Weider, in turn, was responsible for the recruitment of fellow guitarist Vic Briggs.McCulloch was a singer as well as a bassist, and extended the group's range with his ability to backup Burdon's lead vocals. In the summer of 1968,McCulloch and Briggs were both fired from the group;McCulloch turned right around and embarked on a solo career, cutting an album, Wings of a Man, produced by Briggs, for Capitol Records. In the decades since, McCulloch has only turned up intermittently, playing bass on Reg King's 1971 solo LP and releasing a second album of his own, entitled Beowulf and featuring an all-star array of talent (including guitarist Chris Spedding), in 1995. AMG.

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Charles Mingus - Mysterious Blues 1960

Although a Mosaic box set claims to have all of Charles Mingus's Candid recordings, this CD, in addition to four duplications from the box, contains three alternate takes not included elsewhere: "Body and Soul" (featuring trumpeterRoy Eldridge and altoist Eric Dolphy), the Dannie Richmond drum solo "Melody from the Drums" and a septet runthrough on "Reincarnation of a Love Bird." A fine introduction into the music of Charles Mingus, this set still cannot compare to the Mosaic box which has the Mingus's pianoless quartet with Dolphy, Richmond and trumpeter Ted Curson, but completists will have to acquire both releases. AMG.

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John Coltrane - Sun Ship 1965

Recorded on August 26, 1965 (and not released until after his death in heavily edited form), Sun Ship was the final recording by John Coltrane's quartet with drummer Elvin Jones, pianist McCoy Tyner, and bassist Jimmy Garrison. After nearly four years together, this band had achieved a vital collective identity. When Coltrane moved toward metrically free styles of rhythm and melody (with tunes often based on one chord or a short series of notes as themes), the quartet's rhythmic pulse and collective interplay evolved accordingly. The title track opens with a splintered theme.Garrison and Jones group dramatically around the leader's call, then rhythmically abstract the pulse; they imply a central rhythm more than state one. Tyner crafts a monumental solo full of crashing modulations and heated single lines. Coltrane reenters at full tilt, alternating throttled upper-register cries with crunching bass declamations, using multiphonics and altissimo as the levitating rhythm boils around him. Garrison and Jones are featured on "Ascent" and "Attaining," where they unveil bold new solutions for coming in and out of tempo, and manipulating dynamics while maintaining an amorphous yet authoritative ebb and flow. The gyrating, oceanic waves of "Dearly Beloved" suggest earlier balladic explorations such as "Alabama," with Coltrane's keening tenor providing a taut melodic focus for the multi-layered, nearly ritualistic rhythms surrounding him. Tyner's great chordal waves and contrapuntal motion build to a surging climax before the saxophonist reenters to bring them all home. On "Amen," the saxophonist announces a spare modal theme that evokes swing, but refracts it through free jazz. While a summation for this quartet, Sun Ship is also an exciting if unfinished prelude to Coltrane's final period of transformation. AMG.

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José Mário Branco - Mudam-se os tempos, mudam-se as vontades 1971

"Mudam-se os tempos, mudam-se as vontades" is an album of José Mário Branco recorded in 1971 in Paris, where the singer was in exile due to the Estado Novo dictatorship. Among the Portuguese musicians who collaborate on the disc, is Sérgio Godinho, author of The Survivors this year, with several points of contact with the work of José Mário Branco, as the song O Charlatão.

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Andy Bey - Experience and Judgment 1974

Criminally overlooked by academics, critics and purists who refuse to listening to anything outside of conventional jazz vernacular, Andy Bey's delivery on Experience and Judgment goes beyond anything he previously committed to tape, revealing a spiritual side that's punched up and supported by a jazz-funk ensemble. The album's opener "Celestial Blues" finds Bey delivering lines that wouldn't be out of place on Bill Withers records from this era, and the remainder of the album sounds similar to the works of such contemporaries as Roy Ayers and Gil Scott-Heron. It's soul soothing music that's been played with great reverence by the rare soul and funk community for years and rightly so, as Beycaptures the essence of the soul world brilliantly, and fuses it into something that is uniquely his own. AMG.

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The Cate Brothers - The Cate Brothers 1975

The Cate Brothers' formal 1975 debut album opens with "Time for Us," an ebullient soul workout that is also (along with "Standin' on a Mountaintop" and "Always Waiting") among the more stripped-down pieces on the record: it shows off Ernie Cate's lead singing and Earl Cate's harmonies (supported with some exquisitely restrained help from Julia Tillman, Brooks Hunnicut, and Maxine Willard), as well as the latter's clean, crisp lead playing in so genial and upbeat an introduction that it seems like the rest of the album might be hard-put to match it. But amazingly, the rest of the record does equal that opening and then some, alternately bursting out with some amazingly funky white soul and haunting balladry in equal measures. The duo's songbag was full to overflowing here, and with Steve Cropperproducing and a coterie of players that included old friend Levon Helm and Beatles alumnus Klaus Voorman, the album pretty well soars from beginning to end. There's not a weak point on the record, but the highlights are three songs that the Cates previously cut for Huey P. Meaux: "Can't Change My Heart" (which charted briefly as a single in 1976), "Always Waiting," and "When Love Comes," the latter benefitting from a gorgeous Earl Cate guitar solo on the break. The rest of the record isn't far behind, and the harmonies on "Easy Way Out" are almost worth the price of admission; and the augmentation by Terry Cagle plus Hunnicut, Willard, and Tillman puts the latter track and "Lady Luck" over the top in the vocal department. [The CD reissue is a special treat -- sad to say, the master tapes on the Cates' library were never exactly overused, but the plus side is that they translate nicely to digital on Wounded Bird's 2009 reissue. But however one hears it, this record is still great listening 30-plus years later.] AMG.

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