Jon Mark/Johnny Almond - Tuesday in New York 1980

British session musicians Jon Mark (vocals, guitar, drums) and John Almond (vocals, woodwinds, vibes, percussion) met while playing together inJohn Mayall's Bluesbreakers and left in 1970 to form Mark-Almond, sometimes referred to as the Mark-Almond Band. Prior to his career withMayall, Mark and Mick Jagger co-produced Marianne Faithfull's early albums, with Mark later writing material for her and touring with her. He also toured with folksinger Alun Davies, and the two formed an ill-fated band called Sweet Thursday. Almond, meanwhile, had played in Zoot Money's Big Roll Band, the Alan Price Set, and Johnny Almond's Music Machine. Both joined the Bluesbreakers in 1969 and appeared on the albums Turning Point and Empty Rooms; they left in 1970 and recruited bassist Rodger Sutton and keyboardist Tommy Eyre. Mark-Almond built something of a following through touring, with their live shows often featuring lengthy instrumental jams. Their roster grew to seven members by 1973 before they disbanded that year. Mark, despite losing a finger in an accident, recorded the solo album Songs for a Friend in 1975. He andAlmond reunited that year and released To the Heart in 1976; they got a deal with A&M in 1978 and released Other People's Rooms, but neither LP was successful and the duo broke up for good. AMG.

listen here

Buy @ Amazon: USA - FR - UK

Peter Green with Mick Green - Two Greens Make a Blues 1998

Peter Green is regarded by some fans as the greatest white blues guitarist ever, Eric Clapton notwithstanding. Born Peter Greenbaum but calling himself Peter Green by age 15, he grew up in London's working-class East End. Green's early musical influences were Hank Marvin of the Shadows, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Freddie King, and traditional Jewish music. He originally played bass before being invited in 1966 by keyboardist Peter Bardens to play lead in the Peter B's, whose drummer was a lanky chap named Mick Fleetwood. The 19-year-old Green was with Bardens just three months before joining John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, whose rapidly shifting personnel included bassist John McVie and drummer Aynsley Dunbar. A keen fan of Clapton, Green badgered Mayall to give him a chance when theBluesbreakers guitarist split for an indefinite vacation in Greece. Green sounded great and, as Mayall recalls, was not amused when Clapton returned after a handful of gigs, and Green was out.

After a bitter, rambling solo album called The End of the Game, Greensaddened fans when he hung up his guitar, except for helping the Maccomplete a tour when Spencer suddenly joined the Children of God in Los Angeles and quit the band. Green's chaotic odyssey of almost a decade included rumors that he was a gravedigger, a bartender in Cornwall, a hospital orderly, and a member of an Israeli commune. When an accountant sent him an unwanted royalty check, Green confronted his tormentor with a gun, although it was unloaded. Green went to jail briefly before being transferred to an asylum.When Green left Mayall in 1967, he took McVie and Fleetwood to foundPeter Green's Fleetwood Mac. Jeremy Spencer and Danny Kirwan shortly afterward gave Fleetwood Mac an unusual three-guitar front line. Green was at his peak for the albums Mr. Wonderful, English Rose, Then Play On, and a live Boston Tea Party recording. His instrumental "Albatross" was the band's first British number one single and "Black Magic Woman" was later a huge hit for Carlos Santana. But Green had been experimenting with acid and his behavior became increasingly irrational, especially after he disappeared for three days of rampant drug use in Munich. He became very religious, appearing on-stage wearing crucifixes and flowing robes. His bandmates resisted Green's suggestion to donate most of their money to charity, and he left in mid-1970 after writing a harrowing biographical tune called "The Green Manalishi."When Clapton left the band for good six months later to form Cream, Mayallcajoled Green back. Fans were openly hostile because Green was not God, although they appreciated Clapton's replacement in time. Producer Mike Vernon was aghast when the Bluesbreakers showed up without Clapton to record the album A Hard Road in late 1966, but was won over by Green's playing. On many tracks you'd be hard-pressed to tell it wasn't Claptonplaying. With an eerie Green instrumental called "The Supernatural," he demonstrated the beginning of his trademark fluid, haunting style so reminiscent of B.B. King.

Green emerged in the late '70s and early '80s with albums In the Skies,Little Dreamer, White Sky, and Kolors, featuring at times Bardens, Robin Trower drummer Reg Isidore, and Fairport Convention drummer Dave Mattacks. He reprised the Then Play On Mac standard "Rattlesnake Shake" on Fleetwood's solo 1981 album, The Visitor. British author Martin Celmins wrote Green's biography in 1995. Psychologically troubled, on medication, and hardly playing the guitar for most of the '90s, the reclusive Greenresumed sporadic recording in the second half of the decade. He surfaces unexpectedly from time to time, most prominently January 12, 1998, whenFleetwood Mac was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In a rare, perfect moment, Green jammed with fellow inductee Santana on "Black Magic Woman."

Mick Green is one of the most self-effacing guitar legends in rock & roll. Since the early '60s, as a member of Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, his guitar style -- mixing lead and rhythm parts in one -- has been an inspiration to three generations of musicians, including the Who's Pete Townshend and Dr. Feelgood's Wilko Johnson. Yet he remains amazingly elusive as a subject, preferring to stay in the background except when he's playing.

Green's first steady gig was as a member of the Red Caps, a group (named in honor of Gene Vincent's band the Blue Caps) that backed late-'50s pop-rocker Cuddly Dudley. The Red Caps' membership also included guitarist Johnny Patto, bassist Johnny Spence, and drummer Frank Farley, all of whom had joined Johnny Kidd in 1961 as the new lineup of his backing band the Pirates. By March of 1962, however, Patto had tired of touring and quit, and he was replaced by Green.

It was a song called "I'll Never Get Over You," which rose to number four, that established Green, his searing lead guitar being one of the most aggressive sounds heard on record in England during this period. Though it would take a few years for anyone to find it out, the song became practically an anthem for a generation of garage rock and punk enthusiasts.

As a member of the Pirates, Mick Green became one of a tiny handful of young guitar heroes of the pre-Beatles era in English rock & roll. Generating a loud, slashing sound from his Fender Telecaster Deluxe that combined the lead and rhythm guitar parts in one, Green's playing ran completely counter to the more open two-guitar sound that dominated English rock & roll. Among those who picked up on the lean, muscular sound Green created was Tony Hicks, future member of the Hollies. Ironically, even though session guitarist Joe Moretti (subbing for Alan Caddy) and not Green, had played on the original "Shakin' All Over," Green, as the most visible guitarist in the Pirates' history, became permanently associated with that song, and vice versa.

Although he wasn't widely recognized in the press at the time, or by the world outside of the music community, Green was as influential a musician during this period as any of England's early rock guitar heroes, including Hank Marvin of the Shadows, Joe Brown, and Big Jim Sullivan. Moreover, he exerted as much or more impact on rock & roll in England from 1962 onward as George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, or Jimmy Page would later be credited with.

Johnny Kidd & the Pirates were popular among other musicians and made a living playing clubs and smaller concert venues, but they were unable to sustain their recording success past the early '60s. From 1963 onward, with money being thrust in ever-larger amounts into the hands of the Beatles and other Liverpool acts, the Pirates began falling behind the wave of new acts, unable to rate better than support act status at major venues (though the early Who also played in support of them). This was an instance of the parts being bigger than the whole and by 1964, Green's reputation had outstripped that of the Pirates. He was lured away from the band by an offer to join the Dakotas, who were then placing records very high on the charts and playing around the world as the backing band for Billy J. Kramer, but needed more muscle in their live sound.

Green shored up that band, which, with his arrival, became one of the few groups of the period to boast a double lead guitar lineup. He made them one of the most respected backing groups in England, although the only hit Green ever played on was the distinctly pop-oriented "Trains and Boats and Planes." He was later joined in the Dakotas by ex-Pirate/Red Cap Frank Farley on drums, and the two worked together up through 1967, when the Dakotas broke up. (Kidd re-formed the Pirates and was attempting a comeback that ended with his death in a car crash in 1966, though the newer Pirates kept playing together until 1967).

Green hooked up for a short time with Cliff Bennett before he and Farley became part of Engelbert Humperdinck's backing band, spending seven years in that well-remunerated but musically low-visibility position, playing Las Vegas and related venues. Green later played in the group Shanghai, which included John "Speedy" Keen in the lineup, which lasted for two years. During the mid-'70s, however, the admiration that Green evoked within the music community began to emerge in the press. Wilko Johnson of Dr. Feelgood, in particular, was highly outspoken in his praise for Green. Additionally, several histories of the Who, appearing at a time when the latter band was at the peak of its popularity, credited Johnny Kidd & the Pirates and particularly Mick Green with their role in shaping the group's sound. It was only a short jump for the English music press to draw the connection to Green as one of the progenitors of the then-burgeoning punk sound.

During this same period, Spence and Farley had begun playing together again and a one-off Pirates reunion gig was arranged. That 1976 gig proved so successful that it resulted in a recording contract and a semi-permanent reunion.the Pirates became a going concern as a performing band and even managed to release albums, cut live and in the studio, that were distrubuted internationally. Green cut a striking figure on guitar during the second Pirates incarnation, a heavy athlete's build topped by an intense yet clear-eyed expression, coaxing explosive solos out of his instrument.the Pirates trio became a cult band with a wide reputation, their sound during the 1970s and beyond embraced punk, rockabilly, blues, and classic rock & roll.

In more recent years, Green has been recognized as one of British rock & roll's elder statesmen, but remains a busy working musician playing with figures as different as Paul McCartney and Peter Green in the 1980s and 1990s. TheMcCartney gigs, in particular, on the so-called "Russian album" and several of the former Beatle's subsequent rock & roll ventures, have given Green more mass exposure than at any time in his career and introduced his name to at least a portion of the Beatles' following. Along with reissues of Johnny Kidd & the Pirates' early-'60s work and the Pirates' latter-day recordings, and his music with the Dakotas, the McCartney rock & roll sides comprise Green's most visible music.

listen here

Buy @ Amazon: USA - FR - UK

Prince - Sign O' The Times 1987

Fearless, eclectic, and defiantly messy, Prince's Sign 'O' the Times falls into the tradition of tremendous, chaotic double albums like The Beatles, Exile on Main St., and London Calling -- albums that are fantastic because of their overreach, their great sprawl. Prince shows nearly all of his cards here, from bare-bones electro-funk and smooth soul to pseudo-psychedelic pop and crunching hard rock, touching on gospel, blues, and folk along the way. This was the first album Prince recorded without the Revolution since 1982's 1999 (the band does appear on the in-concert rave-up, "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night"), and he sounds liberated, diving into territory merely suggested on Around the World in a Day and Parade. While the music overflows with generous spirit, these are among the most cryptic, insular songs he's ever written. Many songs are left over from the aborted triple album Crystal Ball and the abandonedCamille project, a Prince alter ego personified by scarily sped-up tapes on "If I Was Your Girlfriend," the most disarming and bleak psycho-sexual song Prince ever wrote, as well as the equally chilling "Strange Relationship." These fraying relationships echo in the social chaos Prince writes about throughout the album. Apocalyptic imagery of drugs, bombs, empty sex, abandoned babies and mothers, and AIDS pop up again and again, yet he balances the despair with hope, whether it's God, love, or just having a good time. In its own roundabout way, Sign 'O' the Times is the sound of the late '80s -- it's the sound of the good times collapsing and how all that doubt and fear can be ignored if you just dance those problems away. AMG.

listen here

Buy @ Amazon: USA - FR - UK

Lila Downs - Lila Downs y La Misteriosa En Paris - Live a Fip 2010

Given the experience of seeing Lila Downs y la Misteriosa in concert, it’s a wonder it took almost a decade for Anglos to hear her that way on record (thanks to World Village). This offering, recorded at Radio France’s FIP station, features her full international octet: Paul Cohen (her husband) on clarinet and saxophone; drummer Yayo Serka from Chile; Venezuelan guitarist Juancho Herrera; Paraguayan harpist, violinist, and charango player Celso Duarte; bassistCarlos Henderson from St. Louis; Colombian percussionist Samuel Torres; and New Yorkers Rob Curto on accordion and Dana Leong on trombone (the latter is also an accomplished cellist and producer). The essence of Downs' wondrously diverse, mind-blowing show is captured here in brilliant audio. Though she was touring in support of 2008’s Ojo de Culebra -- four of these tracks appeared there -- she performs music from six different albums reaching back to 1999's Sandunga. Whether it’s the conjunto/norteño-infused “El Relampago” or the Spanish-flavored dub of “La Linea” or “La Cumbia del Mole," the energy is the same: focused, spontaneous, and explosive. The lilting traditional ballad “La Llorna” is a standout, as is Chuy Rasgado's ranchera “Naila.” While Downs is a versatile vocalist and a true stylist as well as a dynamic performer, la Misteriosa cannot be overlooked for the sheer force and flow they provide in her live show; they are a sophisticated, forward-thinking ensemble of seasoned players who have been together for years, and now play instinctively with one another, adding an unmistakable dynamic. This one is all killer, no filler. AMG.

listen here

Buy @ Amazon: USA - FR - UK

Luscious Jackson - Natural Ingredients 1994

Luscious Jackson's debut EP, In Search of Manny, was a hipster favorite, setting the band up perfectly for a breakthrough to a larger audience with its first full-length album, 1994's Natural Ingredients. Given the richness ofManny, it seemed like the group could go any number of ways. The road the band chose, unfortunately, was the least adventurous. Instead of exploring the debut's darker recesses, the band smoothed the surfaces and turned on the sunshine, resulting in a record significantly brighter than the debut, but also considerably less compelling. AlthoughManny never quite deviated from its homemade rap-rock template, it always felt unpredictable; here, the music starts with the sunny, bustling "Citysong" and stays in a similar funky alt-rock groove for the remainder of the album. It's an appealing sound, particularly for the summer, but it's also a little monotonous, particularly because the songwriting isn't nearly as strong as it was on the EP. There are a few exceptions to the rule -- "Citysong" and "Deep Shag" both exploit this brighter sound well -- but they're all pushed to the front of the record, and they're overshadowed by the rest of the record, which is all rather formless (even the sociopolitical posturing feels directionless, never resonating as strongly as the sketches of urban life from Manny). So, this is a groove record, where the feel and the rhythms matter more than the individual songs, which wouldn't be bad if the grooves had variety or grit. As it stands, it's a nice, listenable record, but ultimately a little forgettable, which is a considerable disappointment after the rich In Search of Manny, which had feel, varied grooves, imagination, and songs. AMG.

listen here

Buy @ Amazon: USA - FR - UK

Foamfoot - Crows from the Closet 1994

Foamfoot is a cover band that did a one-off show at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. They played mostly seventies classics (from Free, The Kinks, Blind Faith, Derek and the Dominos, etc) and were formed by Black Crowes members Chris Robinson and Marc Ford that had with them Jimmy Ashurst, Eric Bobo, Gary Louris and Andy Sturmer.
This improvised band also had the guest appearances of Gary Lewis and David Crosby.

listen here

Buy @ Amazon: USA

Jim White - Drill a Hole in That Substrate and Tell Me What You See 2004

Jim White writes like a Southern gentlemen. When he released his cryptic debut, Wrong-Eyed Jesus, in 1997, he was approaching 40, and with each record his civil invective and genuine yearning for redemption have become more focused, culminating in an eccentric -- yet fully realized -- body of work that requires no aging to prove itself worthy. Drill a Hole in That Substrate and Tell Me What You See preens like an alley cat with a bellyful of chicken scraps. The thick veil of gloss that co-producers Joe Henry and Tucker Martine use to coat each of the 11 hypnotic tracks is entirely transparent, resulting in a glass-bottom boat ride that's both cathartic and uncomfortably voyeuristic. White's characters are always teetering on the edge of a bridge, faces cast skyward, wondering if whatever it is that's left them might swoop down just seconds before the first shoe drops. He meets his subjects on level ground, allowing them to speak through him as well as serve as their master's mouthpiece. On the spooky Tom Waits-style dirge "Borrowed Wings," the ghosts of doomed Bonnie and Clyde-cursed lovers weep "For in the fallow field where what's reaped is what's sown/There lies a road to ruin and it's paved with our tombstones." It's not all hellfire and brimstone, though, as evidenced by the goofy Barenaked Ladies collaboration "Alabama Chrome" and the bright -- almost hopeful -- hidden track, "Land Called Home." There's a deep Southern gothic vibe at work here that brings to mind the Spanish moss meanderings of Daniel Lanois' For the Beauty of Wynona, but it's the shadow of Waits that always gets the last word; "If Jesus Drove a Motor Home" sounds like a cross between something off of The Black Rider and the theme to The Sopranos, but it's interesting that despite all of the celebrity guests (Aimee Mann, Bill Frisell, M. Ward), it's White's self-produced tracks that mirror their creator's sewn up -- but still bleeding a little -- heart. AMG.

listen here

Buy @ Amazon: USA - FR - UK