12.23.05 (MusicPortal.com) Veteran Rock vocalist ERIC BURDON is set to reveal his latest solo effort, "Soul Of A Man," which will be released via SPV Recordings on January 10th. There are few musicians that a listener recognizes even with closed eyes and among thousands of other voices. Such charismatic voices are what make music able to reach listeners across the globe. For over forty years now, ERIC BURDON has been gracing the world with his emotive and powerful voice, his infallible feel for authentic Blues/Rock, as well as his talent and energy. The old motto "it's the singer not the song" applies to Burdon quite fittingly. "Soul Of A Man," a 14-track recording, is at the interface of Rock, Blues, Folk and Gospel. The credo still applies to the former ANIMALS frontman that he is a tour de force, as much now as any other time in his accomplished career. "Soul Of A Man sees ERIC BURDON devote himself to more than a dozen diverse classics from the history of Blues music. Some slow and heavy, like 'GTO' or 'Don't Ever Let Nobody Drag Your Spirit Down,' some rocking, driving and demanding like 'Soul Of A Man,' 'Red Cross Store' and 'Devil Run.' Others are breathtakingly funky ('Kingsize Jones') or venturing into the world of Boogie ('Circuit Rider'). "This music has its own philosophy for me," Burdon says. "I'd go even further and credit blues with a healing effect, if you study it deeply enough." Now ERIC BURDON has picked out a good dozen classic songs, put his muse to them, and reshaped them. The lyrics of Mississippi Fred McDowell's 'Red Cross Store,' for example, were expanded, as was Howlin' Wolf's 'Forty Four.' The John Rabbit Bundrick original 'Devil Run,' is complemented by a number of statements on political and social issues of this era. Burdon explains: "My music is always about events in world history." In this context, it is important to note that all of his alterations are made with great respect for the originals. By collecting different types of Blues and putting his muse to them, ERIC BURDON brings new life to great masters. Burdon has devoted his album to the effort of resurrecting New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. To the great city of New Orleans and the cradle of Blues music that lies in the Gulf Coast. To the great Blues singers who have influenced Burdon all his life, and the icon that New Orleans is to the world. "Soul Of A Man" is produced by Grammy award winner Tony Braunagel. The band for the recording consisted of Johnny Lee Schell (guitar), James "Hutch" Hutchinson (bass), Mike Finnigan (organ) and Tony Braunagel (drums). Burdon was also supported by renowned musicians such as Carl Carlton (guitar), John Cleary (piano), Ivan Neville (background vocals, organ) and Lenny Castro (percussion). Despite all the healthy instrumental support, ERIC BURDON's voice continues to be at the epicenter of Blues and Rock four decades on and generations after his initial success with THE ANIMALS on 'House Of The Rising Sun' in 1964.
[LISTEN]

12.22.05 (MusicPortal.com) BILL WYMAN was the first member of THE ROLLING STONES to actively pursue an extra-curricular, parallel solo career. During the 70s, 80s and 90s while still the bassist for the band, Wyman cut various albums, and tracks, of which the most significant feature on a career-spanning collection, "A Stone Alone: The Solo Anthology 1974-2002," which will be released as a deluxe, 2-disc CD set by Sanctuary Midline on March 20th. Frustrated by his lack of success in persuading his colleagues to record his songs, BILL WYMAN dabbled at management, production and songwriting. His albums "Monkey Grip" (1974) and "Stoned Alone" (1976) garnered favorable reviews with the press, but it was 1982's 'A New Fashion' single and the 1983 hit, '(Si, Si) Je Suis Un Rock A Star,' which pushed his solo career even further. His next major side project was the 1985 cover band WILLIE AND THE POOR BOYS, which also included Stones drummer Charlie Watts, Jimmy Page and Paul Rodgers. However, it was after he left THE ROLLING STONES in 1993 that BILL WYMAN formed THE RHYTHYM KINGS, which featured guitarists Peter Frampton and Albert Lee, as well as former PROCOL HARUM keyboardist Gary Brooker. THE RHYTHYM KINGS were an immediate success on every level, charting with a series of studio albums and establishing themselves as a major live draw. But hit albums or not, they remained essentially a live band, to which end they were billed as THE BOOTLEG KINGS - the hits from their live albums "Live In Europe" (1998), "Ride Again" (2000), "Travlin' Band" (2001) and "On The Road Again" (2002) providing the backbone of Disc 2 of "A Stone Alone: The Solo Anthology 1974-2002." Compiled and annotated by David Wells with input from BILL WYMAN himself, the inlay/booklet includes extensive interview material and many rare pictures and memorabilia, making this album a unique and definitive overview of his second-stage career. As a member of THE ROLLING STONES for three decades, BILL WYMAN established himself among the greatest bassists in Rock 'N' Roll history. In tandem with drummer Charlie Watts, he belonged to one of the most stalwart rhythm sections in popular music, perfectly complementing the theatrics of frontman Mick Jagger and the gritty guitar leads of Keith Richards. Born William Perks in London on October 24, 1936, BILL WYMAN was playing in a group called THE CLIFTONS when he was asked to join THE ROLLING STONES in mid-1962, replacing bassist and future PRETTY THINGS member Dick Taylor. Reportedly asked to join the group simply because he had his own amplifier, he was, at age 25, by several years the oldest member of the band. Regardless, his chemistry with the other band members was immediate, and with the subsequent arrival of Watts, the classic ROLLING STONES lineup was soon cemented. The rest of course is history, and before too long the Stones would be widely recognized as "The World's Greatest Rock And Roll Band."
[WATCH]

12.12.05 (MusicPortal.com) ROSANNE CASH's "Black Cadillac," set to be released January 24th via Capitol Records, may be the most compelling work of her distinguished career. She wrote the twelve-song musical memoir over roughly two years in which she lost her father Johnny Cash, her stepmother June Carter Cash, and her mother Vivian Liberto Cash Distin. Yet "Black Cadillac" is unique not just for the context in which it was created, but for the defining achievement it represents in the scope of ROSANNE CASH's own artistry and life. She describes the album as "a personal history and an overview of my ancestry," and also as "a fusion of songs, musicians, and producers that was a dream and a dream fulfilled at the same time." With "Black Cadillac," Cash confronts her family legacy as never before while simultaneously pursuing her own bold creative path with renewed commitment. Though she is heir to such a rich lineage, ROSANNE CASH has always been an artist of her own time, following a thoroughly independent vision from the outset of her career. She has earned continued critical praise, Grammy awards and nominations, and eleven #1 singles relying on her own singular voice and sound, songwriting style and life experience. On "Black Cadillac," Cash presents herself in her totality, seamlessly integrating all of this with echoes of her forebearers' music and an explicit acknowledgment of her place in the family line. This balance extends to the recording and innovative production of the album, which incorporates her signature approach to Folk/Rock and homegrown harmonies that recall her more distant family heritage. For half of the album's tracks, ROSANNE CASH traveled to her childhood hometown of Los Angeles and worked with a new producer, Bill Bottrell (Sheryl Crow, Shelby Lynne). She recorded the other half with her husband and long-time producer, John Leventhal (Shawn Colvin, Joan Osborne) in New York City, where they live. Keyboardist Benmont Tench (Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers), a long-time Cash collaborator, contributes throughout. Arguably, the strongest resemblance ROSANNE CASH bears to her father lies in her willingness to face complex emotional challenges head-on and her ability to translate them into universally accessible art - a talent tested in the extreme by the circumstances underpinning "Black Cadillac." Over the course of the album, Cash wrestles with the complexities of mortality, loss, reminiscence and redemption. The overall result is a well-rounded, life-affirming, and hopeful set of songs full of concrete narrative details and ROSANNE CASH's emotionally charged meditations on these topics. "I've always found that songs can be postcards from your future," says Cash of the album's opening and title track, which was written six weeks before her stepmother, June Carter Cash, fell ill. 'The Good Intent' takes its name from the ship that carried the first American Cash from Scotland to New England in 1653, while 'House On The Lake' is set in Johnny and June's Nashville home. Prior to the release of "Black Cadillac," Sony/Legacy Recordings is issuing expanded editions of ROSANNE CASH's landmark "Seven Year Ache" (1981), "King's Record Shop" (1987) and "Interiors" (1990). The reissues will also include a new collection, "The Very Best Of Rosanne Cash." "Black Cadillac" follows the Grammy-nominated "Rules Of Travel" (Capitol, 2003), which features Johnny Cash's final duet with her, 'September When It Comes.'
[LISTEN]

12.08.05 (AP) Saxophone player BRANFORD MARSALIS is working with Habitat For Humanity and singer Harry Connick Jr. and to create a "village" for New Orleans musicians who lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina. More than $2 million has been raised for the project dreamed up by Marsalis and Connick - a neighborhood built around a music center where musicians can teach and perform, said Jim Pate, executive director of New Orleans Area Habitat For Humanity. The first $1 million came from benefit concerts in New York three weeks after the storm, said Quint Davis, the New Orleans Jazz And Heritage Festival producer who helped arrange the concerts. "The money being used to build these homes for New Orleans musicians was raised by New Orleans musicians. Our pact with them was to help New Orleans' musical community," Davis said at a news conference Tuesday. In a telephone interview Monday, Connick said he and Marsalis - both honorary chairs for the national Habitat's hurricane rebuilding program - returned to their hometown several weeks after the storm and were trying to think of ways to help. "I had been kind of coming up blank. The problem is so massive, it's hard to know where to begin," Connick said. "As we talked, we both realized we should really stick to what we know, which is music." Connick said four or five of the 16 musicians in his own band lost their homes. "There's a ton of musicians who have no place to go," he said. Pate said Habitat For Humanity hasn't decided on a location for the village, but is looking at three older, predominantly black neighborhoods in New Orleans. He said $7.5 million to $15 million is needed for the project, which would include a music center named for Ellis Marsalis, the Jazz pianist, educator and patriarch of the musical family that includes Branford, Wynton, Delfeayo and Jason. "Ellis has been kind of a rock for music in this city," Mayor C. Ray Nagin said. Branford Marsalis said the project is a thank you to the musicians "who made it possible for people like me and my brother Wynton and Harry Connick Jr. to get out and spread the word." Habitat For Humanity cannot reserve houses for a specific group, and non-musicians would also live in the village, Pate said. However, musicians who lost their houses and have no or too little insurance - and will provide labor for a Habitat house - will be asked if they'd like to live there. "We'd hope some of our musician partner families could do some of their sweat equity by doing performances or concerts for some of our volunteers who are coming from all over the world," Pate said. It's a fantastic idea, said Banu Gibson, who sings '20s and '30s Jazz. "So many musicians have moved out of town, and a lot of the good ones, too, which is really depressing," she said. Gibson is back in her own house, but two of the seven musicians in her band lost homes they had bought in the last couple of years. "All the money they raised to put down as a house payment, $25,000 to $35,000, is gone," she said. Bassist Peter "Chuck" Badie, 80, would love to see the dream become reality, and to live in a Habitat For Humanity home. "I'd be tickled to death," said Badie, who's staying at a Jazz enthusiast's home after floods destroyed his house in the Lower Ninth Ward.

12.02.05 (MusicPortal.com) Castle Music have announced the February 27th 3-disc release of STEVE MARRIOTT's "Tin Soldier - Steve Marriott Anthology," the first ever cross-career collection of one of British Rock's finest songwriters and frontmen. From roots as a successful child actor -- Marriott played the coveted role of the Artful Dodger in the musical "Oliver!" -- he then met bassist Ronnie Lane and joined his band THE PIONEERS, which morphed into one of the greatest Mod bands of all time, THE SMALL FACES. Released with the full cooperation of the remaining members of that group, this 3-CD slipcased set includes of plethora of unreleased material, plus numerous obscure and unavailable tracks - making it a must-have purchase for the collector. As a joint venture with Universal Music Group, "Tin Soldier - Steve Marriott Anthology" includes all of STEVE MARRIOTT's biggest hits with both THE SMALL FACES and HUMBLE PIE. The set also includes a rare recording of 'Consider Yourself' from Oliver!, recorded at the start of Marriott's successful career, which was cut short by a fatal house fire in 1991. STEVE MARRIOTT was born on January 30th, 1947 in London. A successful child actor, by the mid-'60s he was working in a local music shop, where he first met Ronnie Lane. Though best known in the U.S. for their hit 'Itchycoo Park,' THE SMALL FACES enjoyed much greater success at home in the UK, reeling off a series of hits there in songs such as 'All or Nothing,' 'My Mind's Eye,' and 'Lazy Sunday,' as well as the classic 1968 album "Ogden's Nut Gone Flake." The chart popularity of 'Lazy Sunday' rankled STEVE MARRIOTT, however. He'd recorded the song as a joke and it was released despite his objections, and when the more thoughtful 'The Universal' failed to crack the Top 20, his dissatisfaction only increased. Marriott's tenure with THE SMALL FACES ended after he stalked offstage during a New Year's Day 1969 performance. He soon recruited ex-HERD guitarist Peter Frampton to form the Hard Rock combo HUMBLE PIE, and after months of woodshedding at Marriott's Essex cottage the group issued its debut single 'Natural Born Boogie,' cracking the UK Top Five. The album "As Safe As Yesterday Is" followed, but again American success eluded STEVE MARRIOTT until the release of the 1971 HUMBLE PIE live album "Performance - Rockin' The Fillmore," which went gold. Although Frampton left the band soon afterward, 1972's "Smokin'" was a relative triumph, reaching the U.S. Top Ten. Subsequent efforts failed to achieve the same heights, however, and HUMBLE PIE disbanded in 1975. After the release of the solo album "Marriott," in 1976 STEVE MARRIOTT joined in a SMALL FACES reunion, then four years later reformed HUMBLE PIE with original drummer Jerry Shirley. After two more albums, the group again dissolved. Marriott lived in the United States from 1979-1983, after which he moved back to London, and spent the better part of the 80s playing in various bands. STEVE MARRIOTT was planning to reunite with Peter Frampton again when he lost his life in a tragic house fire on April 20th, 1991.

12.01.05 (MusicPortal.com) Following up last year's highly acclaimed "Top Ska" album, legendary Ska Selector GAZ MAYALL returns January 16th via Trojan Records with "Gaz's Rockin Blues - Club Classics," a new collection in celebration of the 25th anniversary of his popular London club night of the same name. Having first made his mark on the London club scene in the early eighties playing a wild selection of vintage Jamaican and R&B sounds, his aptly named "Gaz's Rockin Blues" nights -- London's longest running one-nighter held every Thursday night at St Moritz Club on Wardour Street in Soho, where he occasionally plays live with his Ska band THE TROJANS -- continue to draw huge crowds. Comprised of celebrities, dreads, mods and skins, everyone is united by their desire to hear and dance to GAZ MAYALL's latest selection of killer tunes. Now, for the very first time, a wide selection of his club favorites stretching from early Blues and R&B from the 1950s through to classic Ska and Rocksteady from the 60s and 70s have been brought together on this deluxe 2-disc set, which includes tracks from the likes of THE KINKS, THE SPECIALS, GAZ'S REBEL BLUES ROCKERS (Mayall's first band), THE 101'ERS (featuring Joe Strummer from THE CLASH), Nina Simone, John Mayall (Gaz's father), and Desmond Dekker. GAZ MAYALL originally launched "Gaz's Rockin' Blues" nights on July 3rd, 1980, following a stint at the now-legendary Two-Tone club on Oxford Street (1979). The eldest son of British Blues legend John Mayall, Gaz was raised on a healthy diet of R&B, and frequented every Beat, Pop and Rock festival he could. As a child, he first discovered Reggae on the football terraces during the skinhead era (1968-1972). By the time he was 17, GAZ MAYALL regularly purchased entire Reggae and Ska record collections for dirt-cheap prices at street markets that included Portobello Road and Brick Lane. A passionate and devoted fan of Rock 'N' Roll, Boogie Woogie, traditional Irish music, World Music, Soul and Funk as well, Mayall was heavily influenced by family friend and mentor Alexis Korner, Radio One DJ and Blues musician. These days, GAZ MAYALL owns a world renowned collection of predominantly black dance music, ranging from tribal drum beats to the latest sounds in Drum 'N' Bass. For the past twenty years, Mayall has run his own record label, Gaz's Rockin' Records, producing Ska acts and recording artists around the world. The label launched in October of 1985 with the debut release of 7" and 12" singles from POTATO 5, which inevitably led to the imprint's first album release, "Floyd Lloyd & Potato 5 Meet Laurel Aitken" (1987). The record label was conceived alongside the promotion of the "Gaz's Rockin' Blues" club, and was based on the sound system style of 1960's Jamaican Ska labels that included artists such as Prince Buster, Coxsone Dodd, and Duke Reid.

[Blues News: November 2005]
[Top]