VA - Sophisticated Boom Boom! The Shadow Morton Story

Best known for his role as the Shangri-Las' svengali, Sophisticated Boom Boom! serves to shine a light on the rest of the reclusive producer's behind-the-scenes career.

"George 'Shadow' Morton was an instinctive musical genius who, despite never really playing an instrument, somehow wrote and produced several milestone works, most notably the great sequence of Shangri-Las pop-operettas which established him as the 'East Coast Spector.' But he was no one-trick pony: he would go on to produce 16-year-old Janis Ian's controversial breakthrough hit about interracial love, 'Society's Child,' discover The Young Rascals, and help invent heavy metal." - The Independent

"This collection covers Shadow’s career from his debut as lead vocalist with the Markeys and the Lonely Ones through to the New York Dolls' Too Much Too Soon album. Also included are tracks by the Beattle-ettes, Shangri-Las, Goodies, Ellie Greenwich, Shaggy Boys, Nu-Luvs, Janis Ian, Blues Project, Vanilla Fudge, Vagrants, Iron Butterfly and Mott The Hoople—everything from 1950s doo wop to 1970s glam-punk via girl group melodramas and Long Island psychedelia. In other words, a very varied listening experience." - Ace Records

HAILU MERGIA - Hailu Mergia & His Classical Instrument: Shemonmuanaye

Gently spaced-out and thoroughly out of time, this CD remaster of a cassette recorded in 1985 and now reissued by Brian Shimkovitz's Awesome Tapes From Africa label (once a blog, ATFA now selectively officially licenses their finds for release) is quite a find indeed, unfurling at a leisurely pace while its pattering drum machine, insistent accordion runs and digital handclaps entrance and invigorate.

"In Ethiopia, Mergia found fame as an organist and keyboardist in the soul and jazz ensemble Walias Band. Four years later, while playing in the ex-Walias Band ensemble Zula Band, he released Hailu Mergia & His Classical Instrument, an instrumental record dominated by a sound that hadn’t been heard in much popular Ethiopian music for decades: the accordion. Amplified instruments had come along and usurped the squeezebox, which had been de rigueur in the 1950s. But it wasn’t a total throwback: Mergia recorded it with a Moog synthesizer, a Rhodes electric piano, and a drum machine, piecing together a drifting, meditative, and thoroughly psychedelic interpretation of traditional acoustic Ethiopian music." - Washington City Paper

VA - Très Chic: More French Girl Singers Of The 1960s

Just months after the release of a vinyl issue of 2010's C'est Chic! CD compilation (one of Ace's bestselling titles in our shop these past few years) hit our shelves, the follow-up comp is upon us, and as expected, it's a fun, frug-friendly mix of name artists (such as France Gall, Françoise Hardy, Brigitte Bardot and Anna Karina) and equally strong cuts from a cast of lesser-known yé-yé singers.

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yé-yé

"Pretty much completely free of filler, Très Chic is a thoughtfully researched and curated cache of French pop, digging deeper below the surface than most collections by looking beyond just the biggest names to reveal some deeper cuts."- Allmusic

JERRY MOORE - Life Is A Constant Journey Home

A near-dead ringer for the late Terry Callier in his early New Folk Sound days, Life Is A Constant Journey Home is another predominantly guitar-and-vocal/song-based surprise from the ESP-Disk archives to perhaps enjoy alongside the likewise-underheard Michael Gregory Jackson album Clarity.

"This 1967 reissue is definitely of its time. Recorded shortly before his ordination as a preacher, Jerry Moore's Life Is A Constant Journey Home is a meditative plea for peace and faith, delivered in a smooth plaintive voice and utilizing many of the familiar folk, country, soul and light blues styles of the era. Moore’s message is subtly Christian, but its overtly compassionate and fiery defense of love is certainly all-inclusive. With its light, soulful blues and gently chiding lyrics, the title song opens things up with a mellow but edgy tone. This is a call to wake up, a search for a fast track to insight and redemption." - Music Emissions

RODION G.A. - The Lost Tapes

Crackling with distorted organ, synth, guitar, drum machine and live kit, this archival set from Strut reveals a persecution-skirting hybrid made between 1978 and 1984 by Romania's Rodion Rosça, one that in hindsight can be slotted somewhere between Kosmische prog and the punky sci-fi defiance of Heldon's Richard Pinhas, all while maintaining a degree of regional tradition in its scales and melodic lines, aligning Rosça and band with the psych-rock of their Turkish neighbours just across the Black Sea.

"In the late '70s and early '80s in communist Romania, Rodion Ladislau Roșca and his band Rodion G.A. created a hybrid of electronic music, psychedelics, and progressive rock that, decades later, has revealed itself to be remarkably ahead of its time. After years of obscurity, and only a handful of singles ever released officially, Rodion’s music is finally getting the recognition it deserves" - Wax Poetics

"This is some of the raddest music you’re likely to hear this year: rad in its overall excellence, and radical in its forward-thinking nature, sounding so even today, though recorded at the height of Ceausescu’s suppression and censorship." - The Quietus

VA - Enjoy The Experience: Homemade Records 1958-1992

Running the gamut from oddball entertainers attempting to capture/recreate their live act for posterity to home-recording outsiders hoping to create an LP-sized business card of sorts, this 2CD set documents the US private-press phenomenon in all its strange, colourful, varied and unvarnished wonder!

"[W]hile now one can upload content to platforms where it can be found with little effort by millions for free, from the late 1950s to the early '90s, aspiring stars paid out of their own pockets to press their music on vinyl. And then, without distribution, radio play, buzz or press coverage, their music languished in basements or crawlspaces, accruing dust and mold. It is the spirit of the latter that inspired the art book Enjoy the Experience: Homemade Records 1958-1992, released this month by Sinecure Books in conjunction with New York's Boo-Hooray art gallery, with a companion 2-CD set of some of the choicest bits." - NPR

"Take note: this is not a novelty freak show. Contained in this anthology are examples of some of the most highly regarded rock, soul, jazz, funk and singer/songwriter albums from the '60s through to the early '80s. From the awkward-yet-talented to the genius-yet-bizarre, one thing unites all musicians presented here: they sincerely hoped to become stars, they committed themselves to record, and they left themselves vulnerable to an industry not understanding of nuance, not appreciative of character." - Now-Again

MICHAEL HURLEY - Armchair Boogie/Hi Fi Snock Uptown

Following limited-edition vinyl pressings of both these albums by Mississippi Records, Light In The Attic's new Future Days imprint has now remastered these second and third records in Michael Hurley's storied but long-unavailable discography, originally respectively released in 1971/72 on The Youngbloods' Warner Bros.-distributed Raccoon label. Snock on [mouth trumpet solo]!

"The semi-reclusive Hurley is best known these days for high-profile reissues from Light In The Attic and Mississippi, as well as his association with Devendra Banhart and Vetiver. But he rose to a strange sort of fame in the '60s via his association with outsider folk acts The Holy Modal Rounders and The Youngbloods. He then struck out on his own and released Armchair Boogie and Hi Fi Snock Uptown, masterpieces of left-field Americana characterized by Hurley's brilliant, offbeat guitar playing and creeping insanity. This is the first time either album has been reissued on CD, and in typical Light In The Attic fashion, they come remastered with thoughtful accoutrements. For example, a Hurley-helmed comic book accompanies Armchair Boogie. Hurley's drawings—which also grace the album covers—are good indicators of his music: nonsensical, non-linear, funny, warm, and somehow familiar." - Ad Hoc

PETER JEFFERIES - The Last Great Challenge in a Dull World

A punky, piano-led solo debut placing proper emphasis on Jefferies' weathered baritone and world-weary yet outwardly-engaged lyrics, this is a crucial document of the '90s New Zealand cassette underground thankfully brought back to life by ever-discerning, primarily archival left-field label De Stijl.

"Last Great Challenge... is a claustrophobic, private-sounding collection that ranges from homegrown, tinny post-punk to melancholic piano ballads to fucked up tape manipulations to the sound of a man singing calmly (and resignedly) while he does the dishes." - Pitchfork

"Though no one’s gotten around to writing a book on it yet, The Last Great Challenge in a Dull World nonetheless stands as one of the singular singer-songwriter albums of all time, existing on a sparsely populated plane with Pink Moon, I Often Dream of Trains, Blues Run the Game, Our Mother the Mountain and not many others. In a sandy voice that soothes and slashes, Jefferies offers a compassionate, piercingly lucid view of the endeavor of life, all our pain and small glories rendered in tones both harrowing and tender. On piano, drums and percussion, he pounds out melodies that roar, sweep and lilt, accompanied on many songs by the serrated guitars of a variety of players." - De Stijl

RUTHANN FRIEDMAN - Windy: A Ruthann Friedman songbook

Water's 2006 reissue of Friedman's only proper album, Constant Companion, was a store fave as far as that year's batch of rediscoveries went, so we're very excited that Now Sounds has found even more breezily cerebral, well-arranged soft-pop/folk from someone who should have been as well-known as the likes of Laura Nyro and Carly Simon.  

"Having written The Association’s 'Windy' while living in David Crosby’s basement, Ruthann Friedman remained an intriguing and mysterious figure of '60s pop for decades. Until recently, her released output consisted of a lone folk album issued in 1970. Unbelievably, many fascinating recordings she created with some of the most revered names in West Coast pop have remained locked away in the vaults…until now!" - Cherry Red

STEVE TILSTON - An Acoustic Confusion

We're really looking forward to further acquainting ourselves with this 1971 debut, an album that's grabbed the ears of many a staffer here ever since we cracked open a copy out of curiosity. Hopefully you'll be as excited as us upon hearing An Acoustic Confusion, a set stacked with equally arresting vocals and solo guitar accompaniment that honestly rival the likes of Bert Jansch and Davey Graham!

"An Acoustic Confusion was recorded in the early winter of 1971. Tilston tells of how the heat in the house where the album was recorded broke down from time to time, so he was forced to record with a fur coat and freezing fingers. Not the best conditions for the 20-year-old Tilston, but he managed to make magic there, assembling an album of ten beautiful, personal, catchy and haunting songs with fantastic lyrics, and a terrific level of composition.

All the songs have a big cloud of inspiration from Jansch/Renbourn/Jones/Graham, but it's also a very solid and strong personal statement for the young musician. He avoids the Drake melancholy, the Jones humor, and the Jansch darkness. He’s closer to Paul Simon and Al Stewart in his songwriting than the fathers of his inspiration." - Sunday's Child

IRMA THOMAS - In Between Tears

The out-there graphics on the cover are a little misleading—this is not Irma Thomas' stab at psychedelic soul, rather it's another stunning set of classic deep soul from one of the greatest of all soul vocalists. Still, the cover concept of 'tears' does make sense, given that most of these tracks are about heartbreak. No less an authority than Dave Godin selected "These Four Walls" from this set for his Deep Soul Treasures Volume 2. The undisputed highlight, though, is the extended "Coming From Behind" monologue that leads into a re-recording of "Wish Someone Would Care," capturing all the desperation of what it feels like "sitting home alone" wanting someone, anyone, to love you.

"In the wake of 1969's devastating Hurricane Camille, New Orleans soul queen Irma Thomas abandoned the Gulf Coast in favor of the West Coast, settling in Los Angeles and largely forsaking her singing career in favor of the relative stability of retail work. Thomas finally resurfaced in 1973 with a series of little-noticed singles on the Fungus label that teamed her with producer Jerry 'Swamp Dogg' Williams and guitarist Duane Allman—the resulting LP In Between Tears remains a lost classic that captures deep soul at its most poignant and resonant, couching Thomas' deeply affecting vocals in earthy arrangements that emphasize the singer's gospel roots." - Allmusic

ORCHESTRE POLY-RYTHMO DE COTONOU - Volume 3: The Skeletal Essences of Afro Funk 1969-1980 / VA - Kenya Special: Selected East African Recordings from the 1970s & '80s

Two ever-reliable reissue labels continue their respective African funk campaigns—Volume 3 from Analog Africa's Poly-Rythmo archives displays the diversity of the group's output, due to both the length of the band's career as well as the sheer number of singers and musicians who went through its ranks over a decade of activity; Kenya Special, meanwhile, sees Soundway's Special series drift east from Nigeria and Ghana over to Kenya.

"This album smokes, and does so in a way different from most of what’s out there these days, including the current Afro-pop and Afro-funk. With Fela Kuti receiving quite appropriate recognition for his contributions to African music, it’s a shame that pioneering bands like Orchestre Poly-Rythmo have yet to reach an equally wide audience. That should change. With any luck, this will be the record to change it." - Spectrum Culture

"Kenya Special is a collection of 32 recordings (most of which were only ever released on small-run 45rpm 7" singles) that stand out as being different or unique as well as some classic genre standards. From Kikuyu language 'liquid soul,' Luo benga and Swahili afrobeat to genre-bending Congolese and Tanzanian tracks recorded in Nairobi, Kenya Special sees Soundway yet again taking the less trodden path. Many of the tracks featured here are peppered with innovation and experimentation highlighting how diverse the music scene in Kenya was at the time." - Soundway

VA - Hall Of Fame Volume 2: More Rare & Unissued Gems From The FAME Vaults

With all three screenings now accessible only if you wait in the rush line, one of the hottest tickets at this year's Hot Docs has to be Muscle Shoals, the story of Rick Hall and FAME Studios. Well, if you can't see the story of the music, why not listen to the music itself?

The recently released Volume 2 in the excavation of the archives of FAME Studios contains more examples of the classic Muscle Shoals sound. This time around, they've dug so deep that the first song is billed to an "Unknown Female" and the fifth song to an "Unknown Male"! Not to be missed is an alternate take of Clarence Carter's interpretation of "At The Dark End Of The Street." We also stock Volume 1, as well as 2008's Reissue Of The Year according to both MOJO and Record Collector, the 3CD boxset The Fame Studios Story 1961-1973. A bounty of great soul music awaits!

VA - London Is The Place For Me 5 & 6: Afro-Cubism, Calypso, Highlife, Mento, Jazz

Honest Jon's' longest-standing compilation series delves deeper still into the sounds of London's Afro-Caribbean diaspora during the '50s and '60s.

"At last, a fresh delivery of open-hearted, bitter-sweet, mash-up postcards to the here and now, from young black London. As then, calypso carries the swing. There are four more Lord Kitchener songs—in consideration of his wife leaving him for a GI, cricket umpires, a fling onboard an ocean-liner and West Indian poultry—besides a hot mambo cash-in, cross-bred under his supervision, and an uproarious, teasing Ghanaian tribute to him in Fanti by London visitors The Quavers. Other calypsos range compellingly from the devaluation of the pound through jiujitsu, big rubbery instruments, football fans, heavyweight champ Joe Louis and the sexual allure of English women police.

Expert jazz idioms course sophisticatedly through all the selections, which include a straight-up, South London version of Duke Jordan's 'Jordhu,' something from Dizzy Reece's soundtrack—brokered by Kenneth Tynan—to the British crime film Nowhere To Go, and a trio of magnificently hybrid, hard-swinging instrumentals led in turn by master-guitarist Fitzroy Coleman, Kitch's innovative arranger Rupert Nurse, and trumpeter Shake Keane—named after Shakespeare because of his love of poetry." - Honest Jon's

NATHAN ABSHIRE - Master of the Cajun Accordion: The Classic Swallow Recordings

Chronicling this legendary Louisianan's work with both the Pine Grove Boys and Balfa Brothers, Master of the Cajun Accordion is an irresistibly swinging slice of '60s and '70s roots revivalism that's lost none of its joyful vitality over the intervening years.

"After some 20 years, Ace Records' Nathan Abshire 2 LPs-on-1 CD has been totally revamped by John Broven. With stunning new mastering, the track sequencing better reflects the recording chronology in the distinct periods with the Pine Grove Boys and then the Balfa Brothers, with the addition of ‘French Blues’ to complete the Swallow output. The now-sumptuous booklet features an essay by Lyle Ferbrache based on his original research with members and families of Abshire’s Pine Grove Boys; a comprehensive song analysis with sterling contributions from Ann Savoy and Neal Pomea; a first-ever attempt at a discography with personnel; many vintage photographs; and LP and label scans. The end result is one of the most listenable and enjoyable Cajun CD releases ever, by one of the music’s most revered musicians." - Ace Records

VA South Texas Rhythm 'n' Soul Revue

Ace/Kent soul compilations never fail to deliver the goods, but this new release showcasing Huey Meaux's productions is one party-platter extraordinaire—all killer, no filler!

"Huey Meaux recorded more soul music in the '60s and '70s than any other producer in Texas, leasing some of it to nationally distributed labels such as Jamie and Scepter and issuing even more of it on the dozens of labels he ran in conjunction with various business partners. He wasn’t the only producer in South Texas, but the number of singles that bear the legend 'Produced by Huey P. Meaux' could fool anyone into thinking he was.

Many of soul’s greatest names got their break with the Crazy Cajun. Some worked with him for only a short time; others such as Barbara Lynn stayed with him for virtually all of their active careers. If Don Robey’s Duke and Peacock labels shaped the template for '50s R&B in Houston, then the hundreds of 45s that Huey put out between 1960 and 1980 provided the same service for those decades." - Ace Records

TANDYN ALMER - Along Comes Tandyn

Pssst! You, yeah, you! Lookin' for some slightly-delic sunshine pop? Well, has songwriter Tandyn Almer ever got a good strong dose for you! That’s right, Tandyn Almer… Name don't ring a bell, eh? Hmm, maybe you’ve heard one or two of his tunes like "Sail On, Sailor" by The Beach Boys or "Along Comes Mary," a Top 10 smash hit by The Association. Yeah, now you’re gettin' the picture, right?

But if that still ain't the case, it'll come through loud and clear upon listening to this new collection of fifteen previously unreleased mid-'60s demos Almer's publisher sent to potential clients. And yet it's hard to believe that the songs on Along Comes Tandyn (recorded with a number of different musicians and vocalists) are demos, since they don’t quite have the rawness typically found on demo tracks. Coming off somewhat more like a finished product, the album kicks off with the Association-like "Find Yourself." Tougher-sounding pop-rock tunes such as "You Turn Me Around" and its infectious refrain will stick to you like glue from the very first spin, while "Alice Designs" is a not-so-veiled ode to LSD. Dylan-esque folk-rock also makes a welcome appearance on "About Where Love Is," and, speaking of protest songs rockin' the folk, the album wraps up with some social commentary on the Hollywood teen riots of late '66, "Sunset Strip Soliloquy."

While some of the demos here were indeed recorded by various groups, Almer's compositions hardly struck gold. His career was sadly hampered by mental disorders and he passed away this January. This Sundazed release, with its detailed liner notes telling the full tale of Tandyn Almer, fittingly provides a testimonial to his considerable melodic talents. Available on CD and vinyl, it should appeal both to fans of Californian '60s pop and, for that matter, anyone who loves well-crafted tunes from any era.

SWAMP DOGG - Total Destruction To Your Mind / Rat On!

Previously available on a cheaply packaged two-fer, it's great to see Swamp Dogg's first two albums getting the reissue treatment they deserve courtesy of Alive Records. This is top-notch funky soul that pulls no punches in lyrical content. Worth the purchase for one of the most unique record covers you'll ever see...Rat On!

"Industry veteran Jerry Williams, Jr. unleashed his alter ego on his 1970 masterpiece Total Destruction To Your Mind, spelling out his unconventional views in groove-heavy soul music. He makes good on the title’s brag with catchy, original songs that touch on environmental decay, social isolation, dystopian visions, racism and questions of paternity. Williams' lyrics are often Zappa-like in their surface absurdity, but there’s a gripping observation or lament at each song's heart. Recorded at Capricorn Studios in Macon, GA, his band is soaked in the horns, low bass and guitar riffs of Southern soul, and touched by the propulsion of West Coast funk. It’s hard to imagine how this record (as well as follow-up Rat On!, an album better known for its cover than its content) has remained so obscure and hard to find.

Listened to in passing, Rat On! offers top-flight '70s southern soul, with deep bass and punchy horns. But listened to more carefully, the album reveals a daring songwriter who wasn’t afraid to tell it as he saw it, challenging society's icons of freedom with 'God Bless America For What?' and landing himself on Nixon’s enemies list. The album features soulful reworkings of the Bee Gees' 'Got to Get a Message to You' and Mickey Newbury's 'She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye,' and though the original tunes aren't nearly as absurd as those on Total Destruction To Your Mind, their messages are just as powerful, and their grooves are just as deep." - No Depression

VA - Pied Piper Presents A New Concept In Detroit Soul

Any fans of the Motown era and 'four-on-top'/uptempo '60s soul are urged to lend their ears to this compilation of newly-unearthed material from the archives of Motor City producers Shelley Haims, Jack Ashford and Mike Terry, full of fantastic arrangements, moving vocal performances, and tastefully-placed tambourines galore! 

"This CD heralds the biggest unearthing of Detroit and Northern Soul masters in decades. It is as important and thrilling as the Scepter, Wand and Musicor cache, the Dave Hamilton tapes, or the unissued RCA treasure of the '80s and '90s.

On this volume, there are previously unheard gems from the Cavaliers, September Jones, Lorraine Chandler, Nancy Wilcox and Willie Kendrick (not forgetting two great instrumentals from the Pied Piper musicians). There are also the original Giant label releases issued in 1966 on Tony Hester, The Sandpipers and Mike & Ray, and the first Pied Piper productions for indie labels.

Working with the master tapes was a pleasure, and to hear these wonderfully produced Detroit masterpieces as they were laid down has been a revelation." - Ady Croasdell, Ace Records

VA - Change The Beat: The Celluloid Records Story 1980-1987

As recounted in this promotional short video, it could be argued that Celluloid's unique cross-Atlantic aesthetic was born the moment that French impresario/BYG Actuel co-founder Jean Karakos chanced upon NYC bassist/producer/multi-scene Zelig figure Bill Laswell; Change The Beat is a long-overdue look at one of the few early-'80s labels able to successfully unite the then-burgeoning B-boy movement with both the U.S./Euro no/new waves as well as that era's African diaspora. 

"With a selection that jumped from early hip-hop to deconstructed European disco, and from downtown NYC experimental head-trips to early fusions of world music with funk, jazz and art-damaged punk, Celluloid was truly a harbinger of things to come.

Winding your way through so much unbridled creativity is like stumbling into an avant-garde toy box filled with outrageous oddities, many of them sprouting dangerous, sharp edges. Having bought every Celluloid record I found for decades, I thought I had a pretty good grasp on the label's catalogue, but there's an impressive amount of stuff here I've never heard or heard of.

Blessed by being in the right place(s) at the right time, and having the smarts to take advantage of the considerable opportunities that came their way, Celluloid Records sits comfortably in the file of independent labels that got it right from start to finish." - Blurt