Green On Red – The Killer Inside Me (1987)

Green on Red was an American rock band, formed in the Tucson, Arizona punk scene, but based for most of its career in Los Angeles, California, where it was loosely associated with the Paisley Underground. Earlier records have the wide-screen psychedelic sound of first-wave desert rock, while later releases tended more towards traditional country rock.

The band began in 1979 as The Serfers, a four-piece made up of Dan Stuart (vocals/guitar), Jack Waterson (bass), Van Christian (drums, later of Naked Prey) and Sean Nagore (organ), quickly replaced by Chris Cacavas. In the summer of 1980, the Serfers relocated to Los Angeles, where they changed their name to Green on Red (after the title of one of their songs) to avoid confusion with the local surf punk scene. Christian returned to Tucson and was replaced by Lydia Lunch sideman Alex MacNicol.

The band issued an overtly psychedelic, self-released red vinyl EP, sometimes called Two Bibles, though its first widely available record was an EP issued in 1982 by Dream Syndicate leader Steve Wynn on his own Down There label. Green on Red followed the Dream Syndicate onto Slash Records, which released the album Gravity Talks in the fall of 1983. San Francisco-based guitarist Chuck Prophet joined for the 1985 Gas Food Lodging (Enigma), after which MacNicol was replaced on drums by Keith Mitchell (later of Mazzy Star).[2] In 2006 ‘Gas’ was performed live in its entirety as part of the All Tomorrow’s Parties-curated Don’t Look Back series. Also in 1985, Stuart collaborated with Steve Wynn as “Danny & Dusty” on the album The Lost Weekend (A&M).

A major-label deal with Phonogram/Mercury followed, with the 7-song EP No Free Lunch released in summer 1986. A strong country music direction was evident, which music critic Ira Robbins remarked “should finally erase the group’s original misassociation with the dreaded paisley underground”. The album The Killer Inside Me appeared one year later, produced by Jim Dickinson at Ardent Studios in Memphis. The band split up afterwards; Cacavas began recording albums under his own name. When Stuart returned to recording he decided to use the Green on Red name. In 1989, the band—now consisting of Stuart and Prophet—released Here Come the Snakes. They hired backing musicians, including Christopher Holland on keyboards. In 1991 they released Scapegoats, but after the 1992 album Too Much Fun Stuart stopped using the name

Post Green on Red, Stuart recorded the album Retronuevo with Al Perry in 1993, and solo effort Can O’Worms in 1995, and then essentially quit the music business; Prophet maintains a career as a solo artist and semi-celebrity sideman.

However, in September 2005, the band reformed in its “golden era” line-up of Stuart, Cacavas, Prophet and Waterson, with Daren Hess filling in for Alex MacNicol (who had died in 2004) to play a one-off show as part of the celebrations for the 20th anniversary of Club Congress in Tucson. This was followed up by a show in London on 10 January 2006 (ostensibly to complete their aborted 1987 European tour).

In 2007, Stuart and Wynn released their second studio album as Danny & Dusty, Cast Iron Soul, which was released on Blue Rose Records. Danny & Dusty followed up in the same year with Here’s to You Max Morlock—Live in Nuremberg, a live double album and DVD.

Dan Stuart formed The Slummers in 2010, with JD Foster, Antonio Gramentieri, and Diego Sapignoli. They released their debut album Love of the Amateur and toured Europe a year later.

In 2012, Dan Stuart reemerged in Oaxaca de Juarez, Mexico, and released a new solo record, The Deliverance of Marlowe Billings. (wikipedia)

The Killer Inside Me is the third studio album by American rock band Green on Red, released in 1987 by record labels Mercury and Phonogram.

After the creative breakthrough of Gas Food Lodging and the surprising discovery that they responded well to a touch of production polish on No Free Lunch, Green on Red seemed poised to move on to new heights, both artistically and commercially, with their first full-length for a major label, The Killer Inside Me. Jim Dickinson, noted R&B pianist and studio helpmate to such expressive eccentrics as Alex Chilton and Paul Westerberg, was tapped to produce, but while the pairing looked great on paper, the results sounded just a bit muddy and cluttered, lacking the tense clarity of No Free Lunch and the more organic sloppiness of Gas Food Lodging.

While the musicians are a bit better focused here than on their earlier recordings, the overly boomy audio does little to flatter this band’s newfound precision. As a singer, Dan Stuart long had a tendency toward sloppy histrionics when he wasn’t held in check, and here Dickinson seemed content to let Stuart’s performances go wherever they will, and with a chorus of far more gifted soul singers offering backup, his craggy tone and faux-wino bellowing have rarely sounded more obvious or less effective. Most importantly of all, The Killer Inside Me lacks material on a par with the two released that preceded it, and while Dan Stuart is too gifted a tunesmith to not come up with a few songs worth hearing (most notably “Mighty Gun,” “We Ain’t Free,” and the title cut), many of these songs sounds like retreads of ideas Green on Red tackled more effectively in the past, and the album’s darker tone often feels forced, without the faint hope of redemption that made Gas Food Lodging so powerful. While The Killer Inside Me isn’t Green on Red’s weakest album, it didn’t live up to nearly anyone’s expectations, and suggested this band’s moment of glory might have been starting to fade away. (by Mark Deming)

Personnel:
Chris Cacavas (keyboards, harmonica)
Keith Mitchell (drums, percussion)
C.W. Prophet (guitar, vocals)
Dan Stuart (vocals, guitar)
Jack Waterson (bass)
+
Mid Town Slick (guitar on 07.)
East Memphis Slim (guitar on 06.)
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background vocals:
The Brown Brothers – The White Sisters

Tracklist:
01. Clarkesville 4.09
02. Mighty Gun 4.17
03. Jamie 3.34
04. Whispering Wind 1.58
05. Ghost Hand 2.43
06. Sorry Naomi 4.19
07. No Man’s Land 4.48
08. Track You Down (His Master’s Voice) 3.20
09. Born To Fight 3.38
10. We Ain’t Free 3.18
11. Killer Inside Of Me 5.39

All songs written by Dan Stuart – Chris Cacavas – C.W. Prophet – Jack Waterson – Keith Mitchell

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More from Green On Red in this blog:

The official website:

Val Wiseman & the Lady Sings the Blues Orchestra – Lady Sings The Blues (1990)

What a great lady:
“Val Wiseman as a genuine jazz singer has few peers – warmth, swing, blues sympathy, impeccable intonation and sincerity of delivery rarely encountered in such generous detail.” Ken Rattenbury – The Jazz Rag

Val Wiseman’s remarkable career began in the midlands and owes much to early influences in music and drama and the opportunity of working with some of Britain’s legendary bands. Alex Welsh, Humphrey Lyttelton, Monty Sunshine and Kenny Baker were quick to notice her potential and featured her on their tours and broadcasts. Her growing reputation led to a starring role in a new Billie Holiday tribute, Lady Sings The Blues with a team of top British players. The show and album won critical acclaim, with television and concert appearances worldwide and for Val, an army of new fans.

Her first solo album Just For A Thrill was released in 2003 to enthusiastic reviews and in 2008 Val’s work was rewarded when she was voted best British vocalist in the British Jazz Awards.

“Certainly one of the finest, if not the finest, jazz vocalists currently active in the UK”
Amazon Review Oct 2008
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“This British singer is in a class of her own – great feeling and vocal accomplishment.”
Music Review, Freiburg, Germany

Val still tours with Lady Sings The Blues, and also stars in a variety of musical shows: her tribute to favourite singers Divas Of Swing, the Duke Ellington songbook Sophisticated Lady with Martin Litton’s Ellingtonians, Jazz Goes To The Movies, a joyous review of film songs with Digby Fairweather’s Half Dozen, plus Gershwin tribute S’Wonderful and Swinging Down Memory Lane with John Petters Productions. Val also presents lively, illustrated talks: The Joys of Jazz Singing and The Brontë Legacy.

“The Joys of Jazz Singing” was a delightful journey in words and music –
a wonderful hour went by all too quickly.” (Sinatra Music Society Oct. 2009)

Returning to her interest in drama and love for musical theatre, Val has written and produced an album of songs dedicated to the world’s most famous literary family, the Brontës. Keeping The Flame Alive, with music by distinguished pianist and composer Brian Dee, is now being presented as a dramatic musical show. The reviews are positive!

“Her captivating stage presence and multi layered interpretations were pure joy.” (Buxton Festival Review June 2009)

“The singing was superb – dramatic and presented with a beautiful flourish…
she oozes presence.” Dewsbury Brontë Festival Review Sept 2009. (dscogs.com)

And here´s her tribute to der great Billie Holliday:

Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed “Lady Day” by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made a significant contribution to jazz music and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly influenced by jazz instrumentalists, inspired a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo. She was known for her vocal delivery and improvisational skills.

After a turbulent childhood, Holiday began singing in nightclubs in Harlem, where she was heard by producer John Hammond, who liked her voice. She signed a recording contract with Brunswick in 1935. Collaborations with Teddy Wilson produced the hit “What a Little Moonlight Can Do”, which became a jazz standard. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Holiday had mainstream success on labels such as Columbia and Decca. By the late 1940s, however, she was beset with legal troubles and drug abuse. After a short prison sentence, she performed at a sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall. She was a successful concert performer throughout the 1950s with two further sold-out shows at Carnegie Hall. Because of personal struggles and an altered voice, her final recordings were met with mixed reaction but were mild commercial successes. Her final album, Lady in Satin, was released in 1958. Holiday died of heart failure on July 17, 1959, at age 44.

Holiday won four Grammy Awards, all of them posthumously, for Best Historical Album. She was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. In 2000, she was also inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as an early influence; their website states that “Billie Holiday changed jazz forever”. She was named one of the 50 Great Voices by NPR; and was ranked fourth on the Rolling Stone list of “200 Greatest Singers of All Time” (2023). Several films about her life have been released, most recently The United States vs. Billie Holiday (wikipedia)

Together with the best musicians of British traditional jazz music, she interprets the songs of Billie Holiday in an outstanding way.
It is simply a pleasure ….

Personnel:
Jim Douglas (guitar)
Digby Fairweather (fluegelhorn, cornet)
Al Gay (saxophone, clarinet)
Brian Lemon (piano)
Len Skeat (bass)
Eddie Taylor (drums)
Roy Williams (trombone)
Val Wiseman (vocals)

Tracklist:
01. Eeny Meeny Miny Mo (Mercder/Maineck) 4.07
02. What Shall I Say? (Tinturin) 3.45
03. One, Two, Button Your Shoe (Burke/Johnston) 3.38
04. I’ll Never Be The Same (Malneck/Signorelli/Kahn) 2.55
05. How Could You? (Dubin/Warren) 2.13
06. Am I Blue? (Akst/Clarke) 2.56
07. What A Little Moonlight Can Do (Woods) 4.57
08. Miss Brown To You (Robin/Rainger/Whiting) 2.52
09. On The Sentimental Side (Burke(Monaco) 2.48
10. It’s Easy To Blame The Weather (Chaplin(Cahn) 3.12
11. He’s Funny That Way (Whiting/Moret) 4.24
12. If Dreams Come True (Sampson/Goodman/Mills) 3.46
13. Lover Man (Davis/Ramirez/Sheman) 4.51
14. Just One Of Those Things (Handy) 5.17
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15. Easy Living (Rainger/Robin) 3.06
16. You Can Depend On Me (Carpenter/Hines/Dunlop) 4.14
17. Don’t Explain (Holidy/Herzog) 4.32
18. Riffin’ The Scotch (McDonough/Goodman/Bucks) 2.27

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More from Billie Holiday in ths blog:

The official website:

Pic of the day: Going Up The Country …

 … hand written by Alan “The Blind Owl” Wilson:

Aerosmith – Rocks (1976)

Aerosmith is an American rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (vocals), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums), and Brad Whitford (guitar).

Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has also incorporated elements of pop rock, heavy metal, glam metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many subsequent rock artists.

Aerosmith is sometimes referred to as “the Bad Boys from Boston” and “America’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band”. The primary songwriting team of Tyler and Perry is sometimes referred to as the “Toxic Twins”.

Perry and Hamilton were originally in a band together, the Jam Band, where they met up with Tyler, Kramer, guitarist Ray Tabano, and formed Aerosmith; in 1971, Tabano was replaced by Whitford. They released a string of multi-platinum albums starting with their eponymous debut in 1973, followed by Get Your Wings in 1974. The band broke into the mainstream with Toys in the Attic (1975) and Rocks (1976). Draw the Line and Night in the Ruts followed in 1977 and 1979. Throughout the 1970s, the band toured extensively and charted a dozen Hot 100 singles, including their first Top 40 hit “Sweet Emotion” and the Top 10 hits “Dream On” and “Walk This Way”. By the end of the decade, they were among the most popular hard rock bands in the world and developed a following of fans, often referred to as the “Blue Army”. Drug addiction and internal conflict led to the departures of Perry and Whitford in 1979 and 1981. The band did not fare well and the album Rock in a Hard Place (1982) failed to match previous successes.

Perry and Whitford returned to Aerosmith in 1984. After a comeback tour, they recorded Done with Mirrors (1985), which did not meet commercial expectations. It was not until a 1986 collaboration with rap group Run–D.M.C. on a remake of “Walk This Way”, and the 1987 multi-platinum release, Permanent Vacation, that they regained their previous level of popularity. In the late 1980s and 1990s, the band won numerous awards for music from the multi-platinum albums Pump (1989), Get a Grip (1993), and Nine Lives (1997), while they embarked on their most extensive concert tours to date. Their biggest hits during this period included “Dude (Looks Like a Lady)”, “Angel”, “Rag Doll”, “Love in an Elevator”, “Janie’s Got a Gun”, “What it Takes”, “Livin’ on the Edge”, “Cryin'”, and “Crazy.” The band also filmed popular music videos and made notable appearances in television, film, and video games.

In 1998, they achieved their first number-one hit with “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” from Armageddon’s soundtrack and the following year, their roller coaster attraction opened at Walt Disney World. Their comeback has been described as one of the most remarkable and spectacular in rock history. Additional albums Just Push Play (which included the hit “Jaded”), Honkin’ on Bobo (a collection of blues covers), and Music from Another Dimension! followed in 2001, 2004, and 2012. In 2008, they released Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, which is considered to be the best-selling band-centric video game. After five decades, the band continues to tour and record music. From 2019 to 2022, the band had a concert residency in Las Vegas, which was interrupted from 2020 to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From 2023 to 2024, the band will embark on a farewell tour, called “Peace Out: The Farewell Tour”.

Aerosmith is the best-selling American hard rock band of all time, having sold more than 150 million records worldwide, including over 85 million records in the United States.[18][19] With 25 gold, 18 platinum, and 12 multi-platinum albums, they hold the record for the most total certifications by an American group and are tied for the most multi-platinum albums by an American group. They have achieved twenty-one Top 40 hits on the US Hot 100, nine number-one Mainstream Rock hits, four Grammy Awards, six American Music Awards, and ten MTV Video Music Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, and were ranked number 57 and 30, respectively, on Rolling Stone’s and VH1’s lists of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. In 2013, Tyler and Perry were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and in 2020, the band received the MusiCares Person of the Year award. (wikipedia)

Rocks is the fourth studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released on 3 May 1976. AllMusic described Rocks as having “captured Aerosmith at their most raw and rocking.” Rocks was ranked number 366 on the updated Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2020. It has greatly influenced many hard rock and heavy metal artists, including Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, and Nirvana. The album was a commercial success, charting three singles on the Billboard Hot 100, two of which reached the Top 40 (“Back in the Saddle” and “Last Child”). The album was one of the first to ship platinum when it was released, and has since gone quadruple platinum.

Previously, Aerosmith had recorded three albums: Aerosmith (1973), Get Your Wings (1974), and the breakthrough LP Toys in the Attic (1975), which produced Top Ten hit “Walk This Way” and the popular “Sweet Emotion”. Although often derided by critics, the band had amassed a loyal fanbase from relentless touring and their ferocious live shows. Producer Douglas explains, “The only thing we were talking about a few months before Rocks was that it was going to be a real hard-rock album.

And we might go back to the format of the first album, which was to rock out on every tune. And again, keep it real raw. And make it as live sounding as we possibly could.”[9] By the time of the album’s sessions, the group had already begun living the rock-and-roll lifestyle to the hilt, indulging their already considerable appetite for drugs. However, their hedonistic lifestyle did not appear to hamper them creatively; Rocks was considered by many fans, critics, and fellow musicians to be one of the highlights of their career. Guitarist Joe Perry later recalled, “There’s no doubt we were doing a lot of drugs by then, but whatever we were doing, it was still working for us.” (wikipedia)

Few albums have been so appropriately named as Aerosmith’s 1976 classic Rocks. Despite hard drug use escalating among bandmembers, Aerosmith produced a superb follow-up to their masterwork Toys in the Attic, nearly topping it in the process. Many Aero fans will point to Toys as the band’s quintessential album (it contained two radio/concert standards after all, “Walk This Way” and “Sweet Emotion”), but out of all their albums, Rocks did the best job of capturing Aerosmith at their most raw and rocking. Like its predecessor, a pair of songs have become their most renowned — the menacing, hard rock, cowboy-stomper “Back in the Saddle,” as well as the downright viscous funk groove of “Last Child.” Again, even the lesser-known tracks prove essential to the makeup of the album, such as the stimulated “Rats in the Cellar” (a response of sorts to “Toys in the Attic”), the Stonesy “Combination,” and the forgotten riff-rocker “Get the Lead Out.” Also included is the apocalyptic “Nobody’s Fault,” the up-and-coming rock star tale of “Lick and a Promise,” and the album-closing ballad “Home Tonight.” With Rocks, Aerosmith appeared to be indestructible. (by by Greg Prato)

Personnel:
Tom Hamilton (bass, guitar on 05.)
Joey Kramer (drums, percussion, background vocals on 09.)
Joe Perry (guitar, bass on 01. + 05., pedal steel guitar on 09., percussion 0n 05., background vocals on 04.)
Steven Tyler (vocals, keyboards, harmonica, bass on 05.)
Brad Whitford (guitar)
+
Paul Prestopino (banjo on 02.)

Tracklist:
01. Back In The Saddle (Tyler/Perry) 4.41
02. Last Child (Tyler/Whitford) 3.26
03. Rats In The Cellar (Tyler/Perry) 4.07
04. Combination (Perry) 3.41
05. Sick As A Dog (Tyler/Hamilton) 4.12
06. Nobody’s Fault (Tyler/Whitford) 4.26
07. Get The Lead Out (Tyler/Perry) 3.42
08. Lick And A Promise (Tyler/Perry) 3.05
09. Home Tonight (Tyler) 3.17

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More from Aerosmith in this blog:

The official website:

Titanic – The Best Of (1975)

Titanic was a rock band active from 1969 to 2014. Its members came from Norway and Britain.

The group formed in Norway in 1969. Its members were Kenny Aas (organ & bass guitar) (born Kjell Olav Aas, 1947), Kjell Asperud (percussion & vocal), John Lorck (drums), Janne Løseth (guitar & vocal) Roy Robinson (lead singer) and John Williamson (bass & guitar). Janne Løseth was the band’s primary songwriter and Roy Robinson its main lyricist.

In October 1971, Titanic reached Number 5 in the UK Singles Chart, with their instrumental track, “Sultana” in the style of Santana.

The band relocated to the south of France and released Macumba in 1973 with Helge Groslie on keyboards. It reached number one in Spain. Sliding Down Again was released in 1974 and Buckshee Woman the following year.

The band dissolved in 1979. Janne Løseth started a solo career, releasing singles including “Take Me Down” (bw. “Nobody’s Man”), and “I Wished I Was a Poet” (bw. “Dancing Girl”), which featured his operatic vocal, and then became the lead singer for the French electronic band Space, best known for its 1977 album and single Magic Fly.

In 1991, Løseth and Robinson reformed Titanic and recorded the album Lower the Atlantic. The album was re-released as Heart of Rock in 1993. This Titanic reunion was short lived.

In 2006, Løseth reformed Titanic with three additional members: Mick Walker, Phil Wilton, and Didier Blum. Roy Robinson later joined and this quintet released the single “I’m the Law” in the same year. Their album Ashes and Diamonds was released on 20 February 2009 in Europe.

In late 2009, Robinson sustained a stroke and left the band to recover. Løseth assumed the lead vocals. Robinson and Walker were replaced by new members Chris Kleiner and Jean-Pierre Sjoberg. They played live concerts until 2013. During their latter days the band was located in Switzerland. In September 2014, it was announced that the band was discontinued.

Original singer Roy B. Robinson (born 31 December 1945) died on 8 June 2015. The band’s founder Janne Løseth (born Janne Geir Løseth, July 8, 1947) died on 4 September 2019. (wikipedia)

And here’s a low budget sampler of many of their best songs, including of course “Sultana”, a pretty cheeky copy of the Santana sound.
So: a good way to discover this band with their typical 70s rock sound.

Personnel:
various Titanic line-ups

Tracklist:
01. Sultana (Robinson/Aas/Loseth/Lorck/Asperud) 4.11
02. Rock ‘N’ Roll Loser (Robinson) 3.21
03. Macumba (Williamson/Robinson) 3.49
04. Seawolf (Loseth/Lorck/Aas/Asperud/Robinson) 5.55
05. Rain 2000 (Loseth/Robinson) 3.48
06. Sing Fool Sing (Loseth/Aas/Robinson) 3.19
07. Hanging Over (live) (Loseth/Aas/Robinson) 3.14
08. Richmond Express (Loseth/Robinson) 3.34
09. Sliding Down Again (Loseth/Williamson) 4.59
10. Santa Fe (Loseth/Lorck/Aas/Asperud/Robinson) 2.55
11. One Night In Eagle Rock (Siggs/Loseth/Robinson) 7.39
12. I See No Reason (Aas/Robinson) 8.15

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The inlets:

Alternate front+backcover:

More from Titantic in this blog:
The official website (meanwhile deleted):

Available again: The Doors – L.A. Woman (1971)

By request:

The Doors – L.A. Woman (1971)

Let me know, if links are dead and I will make them available again … … Please write to:
post-fuer-sammelsurium@gmx.net

Rick Braun & Richard Elliot – R n R (2007)

Two great musicians:

Rick Braun (born July 6, 1955) is a smooth jazz trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone and keyboards player, vocalist, composer, and record producer.

Braun was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania and attended Dieruff High School. His mother was a self-taught pianist and banjoist. Braun played drums at Dieruff High School, and followed his brother in playing trumpet.

In the 1970s, while attending the Eastman School of Music, he became a member of a jazz-fusion band, Auracle, along with, amongst others, keyboards player John Serry, saxophone and flute player Steve Kujala and vibes player Steve Rehbein (later Steve Raybine). The band worked with producer Teo Macero and Braun co-produced the second album City Slickers (minus John Serry and Steve Kujala).

In the 1980s, Braun entered the pop music world, releasing an album in Japan as a singer. He then worked as a songwriter for Lorimar, writing the song “Here with Me” with REO Speedwagon which became a top twenty hit, and the theme for Lorimar’s NBC show Midnight Caller. When he returned to the trumpet, he worked as a studio musician and touring member with Crowded House, Natalie Cole, Glenn Frey, Jack Mack and the Heart Attack, Tom Petty, Sade, Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, and War.

In 1992, he released his debut solo album, Intimate Secrets (Mesa), followed in 1994 by two solo albums, Night Walk and Christmas Present. The former featured him playing just muted trumpet and flugelhorn. His popularity increased enough by 1995, when he released Beat Street, that he was persuaded to pursue a solo career.

He has cited as influences Miles Davis, Lee Morgan, Chet Baker, Clark Terry, Dizzy Gillespie, and Herb Alpert. He cites Herb Alpert with inspiring his album All It Takes, which includes the song “Tijuana Dance”, a play on Alpert’s band Tijuana Brass. One of his influences was Freddie Hubbard, and Braun composed a song, “Freddie Was Here” in 2008, which he recorded on his album, All it Takes, in tribute to Hubbard, who died that year.

He achieved several top chartings including Kisses in the Rain (as high as number 1), R n R (as high as number 1), All It Takes (as high as number 2), and Can You Feel It (as high as number 1) along with charting at the Traditional Jazz Albums for the first time in 2011 with the vocal album Sings with Strings (as high as number 9).

Braun performs in the band BWB, with saxophonist Kirk Whalum and guitarist Norman Brown. He has performed live with known musicians such as Candy Dulfer, Dave Koz, Jackiem Joyner, and Peter White.

In 2005, he and saxophonist Richard Elliot co-founded ARTizen Music Group, now known as Artistry Music, and once had Rykodisc as a distributor.

Braun has twice been named Gavin Report’s “Artist of the Year”. (wikipedia)

Richard Elliot (born January 16, 1960) is a Scottish-born American saxophonist. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards for Summer Horns.

Elliot started out as a member of the jazz-rock unit, KittyHawk, playing lyricon (a wind synthesizer) and saxophone, and recording several albums with them. He then became a member of the funk band Tower of Power, playing tenor sax for five years during the 1980s. He also did a stint as a member of the Yellowjackets. He also worked on Stacy Lattisaw’s 1986 album Take Me All the Way. His solo career took off when he remade the Percy Sledge classic “When a Man Loves a Woman”, which had also been remade by Michael Bolton. Other well-known songs include “In the Groove”, “Take Your Time”, “Crush”, “Chill Factor”, “Corner Pocket” and “Sly”, as well as remakes of classic pop songs such as “I’m Not in Love” and the Luther Vandross hits “Here and Now” and “Your Secret Love”.

Elliot participated with fellow saxophonists Paul Taylor and Gerald Albright, as well as keyboardist Jeff Lorber, in the “Grooving for Grover” concert series. The series honored the legacy of the late Grover Washington Jr.

Elliot was known for his zebra-striped tenor saxophone. In 2011, he switched from LA SAX Saxes to Dakota Saxophones, which the owner, Peter LaPlaca, sold for Dakota.

In 2005, Elliot joined trumpeter Rick Braun to co-found their own label, ARTizen Music Group (now known as Artistry Music). Among the first albums on that label is Elliot’s own Metro Blue.

Elliot played the lyricon on several songs on the album Mirage a Trois (1983) by the Yellowjackets. (wikipedia)

When Rick Braun and Richard Elliot formed their contemporary jazz record label, it was a sure bet that the sights and sounds heard from it would be designed to entertain and amaze the legions of fans who have followed their careers since Braun’s days with War and Elliot’s days with Tower of Power. This revelation is clearly emphasized on their first label collaboration, titled RnR.

The music here is stylistically different from the songs they played back in the ’70s, yet it flows from their collective musical minds like a natural extension with the same elements of spontaneity, soul, and sex appeal. Each tune is based on a particular rhythmical feel or texture: shuffle, boogaloo, Latin, funk, even 20th century cool and bebop colors. Opening with the title track, “RnR,” the ensemble delivers an energetic jam filled with potent beats and horn charts that smoke in unison. “Sweet Somethin'” is a cool jazz gem that features Braun’s refined trumpet talk in a conversation with Elliot’s sensual saxophone. Braun calls, Elliot responds, and they stylistically bow with more than a nod to the groove.

This song is sweet and hot. “The Stranger” is an exotic burner that features the vamp from “Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets.” With their smoldering riffs improvised around the potent melody, this song is both familiar and fresh. The smash hit “São Paulo” makes its physical debut on this disc, having been a bonus download for fans visiting the artist’s website. Breezy and romantic, its Brazilian jazz flavors spice up the act and will have you chillin’ in its tropical ambience. With great performances emanating from both Braun and Elliot, RnR is exciting and lively, yet warm, sexy, and mellow. It is in this experimental way that you begin to grasp the depth of their combined signature sounds and the impact it will have on their devoted and new fans alike. Highly recommended. (by Paula Edelstein)

Personnel:
Rick Braun (trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone, keyboards on 04. + 12.)
Lenny Castro (percussion)
Richard Elliot (saxophone)
Randy Jacobs (guitar)
Gregg Karukas (keyboards)
Nick Lane (trombone)
Ricky Lawson (drums)
Jeff Lorber (keyboards, guitar)
Nate Phillips (bass)
Ron Reinhardt (keyboards)
Rex Rideout (keyboards)
Philippe Saisse (keyboards)
Dwight Sills (guitar)
Chris Standring (guitar)
+
Sergio Gonzales (drums on 09.)
John Pondell (guitar on 12.)

Tracklist:
01. R n R (Standring/Elliot/Braun) 4.16
02. Sweet Somethin’ (Rideout/Elliot/ Braun) 4.38
03. Curve Ball (Lorber/Elliot/Braun) 4.59
04. The Stranger (Braun)
05. Da JR Funk (Lorber/Elliot/Braun) 4.38
06. Que Paso (Saisse) 5.06
07. Better Times (Braun) 5.21
08. Down And Dirty (Lorber/Elliot/Braun) 5.51
09. Two Heart Tango (Rideout/Elliot/ Braun) 4.33
10. Q It Up (Weimar/Elliot/Braun) 4.57
11. Sunday Night (Elliot/ Braun) 5.29
12. Sao Paulo (Elliot) 4.24
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The official Rick Braun website:

The official Richard Elliot website:

Pic of the day: Corky Laing is celebrating …

…  his 76th birthday today. Corky was the drummer for the legendary bands Mountain and West, Bruce and Laing.

His full name is Laurence Gordon Laing and is a native of Montreal, Quebec. He was the youngest in a family of five children. His eldest sister Carol was followed by triplet brothers, Jeffrey, Leslie, and Stephen, and then by Corky. According to Corky, his brothers called him “Gorky” because they could not pronounce his given name “Gordon”. “Gorky” eventually morphed into Corky, a moniker which has remained with him throughout his career.

Corky is still playing these days so if you ever get the chance to see him live, you will be seeing one of the great Rock and Roll drummers.

Happy Birthday Corky!!!

(The College of Rock and Roll Knowledge)

The Pretty Things – Attention! (1976)

The Pretty Things were an English rock band formed in September 1963 in Sidcup, Kent, taking their name from Bo Diddley’s 1955 song “Pretty Thing”, and active in their first incarnation until 1971. They released five studio albums, including the debut The Pretty Things (UK Albums Chart #6) and S. F. Sorrow (being one of the first rock operas), four EPs and 15 UK singles, including the Top 20 UK Singles Chart “Don’t Bring Me Down” and “Honey I Need”. They reformed later in 1971 and continued through to 1976 issuing three more studio albums, and reformed once again from 1979 to 2020 releasing another five studio albums finalising with Bare as Bone, Bright as Blood.

The group were formed by vocalist Phil May, who was an ever-present until his death in 2020, and guitarist Dick Taylor, who left before the end of their first incarnation but rejoined for the entirety of the third, with John Stax (bass), Brian Pendleton (guitar) and Pete Kitley who was replaced on drums by Viv Prince before any recording began. There have been many personnel changes with Peter Tolson (guitar), Jon Povey (keyboards) and Skip Alan (drums) being involved in all three incarnations, while bassist Wally Waller was involved in the first and third.

The group recorded stock music for film soundtracks which were issued as the Electric Banana series of albums, and collaborated with other artists and bands in the 1990s, such as Pretty Things & the Yardbird Blues Band, and Pretty Things ‘N Mates. (wikipedia)

Here is a compilation of their early songs (pressed in Germany). The album (with a great cover !) contains her well-known songs like “Road Runner” or “L.S.D.” but also lesser known recordings like “Oh, Baby Doll ” or “We’ll Be Together” … including probably the wildest Robert Johnson cover version (“Judgement Day “).
But I missed “Midnight To Six Men” … so there is this song as a bonus track.

Personnel:
various Pretty Things line-ups:

Tracklist:
01. Don’t Bring Me Down (Dee) 2.10
02. Road Runner (McDaniel) 2.58
03. We’ll Be Together (Taylor/Stax/May) 2.06
04. Mama, Keep Your Big Mouth Shut (McDaniel) 2.59
05. Judgement Day (Johnson) 2.41
06. Honey I Need (Taylor/Button/Smithling) 1.57
07. L.S.D. (Taylor/May) 2.22
08. I Can Never Say (May/Taylor/Pendleton/Stax/Prince) 2.33
09. Big Boss Man (Smith/Dixon) 2.34
10. Come See Me (Jackson/Tubbs/Barnes) 2.33
11. Big City (Klein/Duncan) 1.55
12. Oh, Baby Doll (Berry) 2.56

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More from The Pretty Things in this blog:

The official website:

Carol Of Harvest – Carol Of Harvest (1978)

Carol of Harvest is the debut album by the German Krautrock band of the same name from Fürth. The album was released on the Brutkasten label from Nuremberg

Despite the very small print run of only 200 copies and the band’s dissolution soon after the recording, the album was remarkably well received, even outside Germany.

The band existed from 1976 to 1978 and was named after the 1867 poem A carol of harvest by Walt Whitman. Role models were Camel, Pink Floyd, Gentle Giant, Renaissance and Clannad.

The photo of the record sleeve was taken in the park of Nymphenburg Palace in Munich. (wikipedia)

One of the many German bands to release a single album on a private label and watch it grow into a collector’s dream. Carol of Harvest played a dreamy blend of Progressive Rock and Folk with female vocals that might be compared with Mellow Candle and early Clannad mixed with Jane, Pentangle and Renaissance. The music has the added edge of long arrangements with Moog synth and acid guitar solos, and in reality has little to do with Krautrock.

Information on the band members is very hard to find, helping to shroud this hard to find album with an air of mystery. (progarchives.com)

Alternate frontcover:

A German band from a semi-rural town immediately west of Fürth and Nuremburg, the band’s members were right out of high school (except for late addition, singer Krause, who was only 16 years old when she joined the band–17 or 18 at the time of recording this album.) There are so many diverse influences in the psychedelic nuances to this prog folk music. With Beate’s crystalline Celia Humphries/Jacqui MacShee/Sandy Denny-like voice singing in perfect British English, one could easily mistaken this music for something coming from the Isle of the Britons.

1. “Put On Your Nightcap” (16:02) synthesized or filtered wave/wind sounds provide the background for some standard blues chord construction with electric guitar over its two minute introduction. When the haunting voice of Beate Krause enters it is with surprising confidence and maturity. Bass and drums eventually join in as do layers of background vocals (provided, no doubt, by Ms. Krause). Annie Haslam-like vocalise in the fifth minute precede a shift into a second motif in which an interesting synthesizer solos over the foundational two chord rhythm section. Beate’s confident, cleary British-accented English is also remarkable for its lack of German accent.

Very nice lead electric guitar solo in the tenth minute before the song fades into electronic waves in order to make way for a new, more pastoral movement founded upon arpeggiated guitar chords from multiple guitars. Beate’s vocal styling stolidly mimics that of Britain’s finest female folk singers of the previous decade–especially those of Jacqui MacShee and Sandy Denny. In the thirteenth minute the band ramps up the pace and volume with a kind of “Just a Singer in a Rock ‘n’ Roll Band” motif within which keyboardist Jürgen Kolb goes a bit wild. Beate makes a final appearance in the final minute to both bring the uptempo passage to a close and then to usher out the song with a dreamy, lullaby-like melody. Wonderful stuff! (27/30)

2. “You and Me” (2:31) in this more traditional folk song Beate’s voice sounds years older than her age would suggest–as if a wise woman singing about a long-time relationship. Remarkable. Two (or) more) acoustic guitars entwine their picking for the second half as Beate’s lyrics peter out. (8.6667/10)

3. “Somewhere at the End of the Rainbow” (6:26) electric guitar arpeggiates four chords before Beate joins in with a plaintive voice. Accordion-like synth joins in and then bass and drums kick in to support the chorus as Beate drops her pitch a full octave. Wow! That was unexpected. Can this singer be truly only 17-years old? The music is very warm and engaging though not very technically sophisticated, but the vocal performance is remarkable. (8.875/10)

4. “Treary Eye”s (4:17) the guitar opening of this one sounds so British Folk! Very nice. I kept expecting it to slide into a JETHRO TULL song or something from Fairport Convention. When Beate enters her ethereal vocal moves the music more into the realm of the hypnotic Jacqui MacShee. She is a force! An excellent folk song. (8.875/10)

5. “Try a Little Bit” (9:59) the music is perhaps a little simplistic and one-dimensional but the amazingly confident singing of young Beate Krause illustrates how polished and dedicated the band was to its craft and songs. (18.75/20)

Total Time 39:15

A style and sound of Prog Folk that resonates very deeply with me. Ms. Beate Krause (later Sampson) deserves the credit and recognition lauded upon the great British folk sirens of the era.

A minor masterpiece of Prog Folk and one of my favorite Classic Era Prog Folk albums. (by BrufordFreak)

Personnel:
Roger Högn (drums)
Jürgen Kolb (keyboards)
Beate Krause (vocals)
Heinz Reinschlüssel (bass)
Axel Schmierer (guitar)

Alternate backcover:

Tracklist:
01. Put On Your Nightcap 16.02
02. You and Me 2.31
03. Somewhere At The End Of The Rainbow 6.26
04. Treary Eyes 4.17
05. Try A Little Bit 9.59
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06. River (live) 2.36
07. Sweet Heroin (live) 7.04
08. Brickstone (live) 1.14

Music & lyrics: Axel Schmierer

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Beate Sampson (born Beate Krause in 1960) is a German music journalist, presenter and jazz singer.

Beate Krause grew up in Nuremberg. She became a singer in the band Carol of Harvest from Fürth at the age of 16, on whose album Carol of Harvest she sang in 1978.[2] She later sang in pop bands such as Joker (1983) or the Cosmic Dance Club, but also with the jazz musicians Thomas Fink (1985), Peter Fulda and Wolfgang Haffner.

From 1986, she formed the cabaret singing trio Trillergirls with Biggi Reyscher and Andrea Fleißner, which existed until 2002 and appeared on ZDF’s “Großer Preis” programme, among others. She also led her own quartet Straight Talk, sang with the Trevor Coleman Group and with Bettina Koziol’s vocal jazz project Nada. She has also performed with Lizzy Aumeier and Heinrich Hartl as well as with Joe Bawelino. In recent years, she has been part of the group Rosebud and has been on tour with a project featuring the songs of Joni Mitchell.

Since 1984, she has been working as a reporter and later presenter for Bayerischer Rundfunk, starting out at its Studio Franken, where she produced festival reports, among other things. Since 1997 she has been in charge of the programme Jazzstudio Nürnberg and its music productions; the following year she became one of the voices of the Bayern 2 cult programme Abenteuer des Alltags. In 2003, she joined Henning Sieverts and Roland Spiegel to follow Joe Kienemann in the jazz editorial department, where she also produces the series Bühne frei im Studio 2. Jazztime: Hören wir gutes und reden wir drüber – Volume 7, conceived and presented by Ulrich Habersetzer, Roland Spiegel and herself, was awarded the German Radio Prize for “Best Programme” in 2022, (wikipedia)

The now deleted official website: