August, 2008
And God created Bardot
Brigitte Bardot “B.B.” Philips (1964) Featuring “Moi Je Joue”, the Brazilian song “Maria Ninguem” (as recorded by Cliff Richard) and the instrumental “St. Tropez”. Three delightful and highly collectable EPs were pulled from the album, as well as another trio of jukebox singles. FYI: When John Lennon met Brigitte Bardot.
Hurt’s so good
Mississippi John Hurt “Today!” Vanguard One of the most famous “rediscoveries” of the Folk Blues Revival of the 1960s was that of Mississippi John Hurt, who before this 1966 release (shortly before his death that year) had not recorded since 1928. This is an essential blues album of standards and originals (that have become standards) including my favorite, “Candy Man”. And the cover photo by Ed Freeman! What a simple, beautiful, honest portrait of the man.
Side 1
- Payday
- I’m satisfied
- Candy man
- Make me a pallet on the floor
- Talkin’ Casey Jones
- Corrina, Corrina
Side 2
- Coffee blues
- Louis Collins
- Hot time in the old town tonight
- If you don’t want me. Baby
- Spike driver blues
- Beulah land
Heartbreaker
Bobby “Blue” Bland “Ain’t Nothing You Can Do” Duke Records [1964] Cover illustration by Rene Original label was orange. Reissued in 1974 as ABC/Duke DLPX-78. Ain’t Nothing You Can Do/If I Hadn’t Called You Back/Today/Steal Away/After It’s Too Late/ I’m Gonna Cry //Loneliness Hurts/When You Put Me Down/If You Could Read My Mind/Reconsider/Black Night/Blind Man
Beeeeeep Beeeeeep
“Road Runner” Jr. Walker & The All Stars On Motown’s Soul subsidiary label. (1966) A stone cooker from Jr. Walker — the kind of hard-driving soul that made his 60s Motown work a key link between the Detroit sound of the time, and R&B sounds of earlier years! Jr‘s soulful sax is right up in the mix on most numbers — and the overall sound is nicely freewheeling and almost spontaneous — almost a Motown studio jam at times, with vocals and instruments dancing together in joyous formation! Most tracks are instrumentals, but many also have some sort of vocal chorus — and titles include “Anyway You Wanta”, “Pucker Up Buttercup”, “Twist Lackawanna”, “San Ho Zay”, “Money”, “Last Call”, “Ame Cherie”, “Mutiny”, and “Road Runner”. – Dusty Grooves
Shell shocked
“Peanuts – Friends – Music” At the National Peanuts Festival in Dothan, Alabama. Check out “Little Miss Peanut”! (I was thinking it was odd that the cover features 1968’s “Alternate Queen” — maybe the winning Peanut Queen was found to have posed in the raw.) Features the anthem “Here’s to the Peanut,” a rollicking sing-a-long ode to the glorious goober!