Presse -Roots and Covers Of Elvis Presley Bear Family Records BCD17760 (74min)
Bear Family comes out with 28 songs that Elvis Presley recorded but were not his from the beginning. The recordings that already existed are good enough to be enjoyed by Elvis Presley fans too. Helmut Radermacher, editor of Golden Boy Elvis magazine, has written the well-illustrated, highly informative text (38 pages) of the CD cover. The songs were published by Elvis in 1967-1969, when he was at his best.
The booklet is very richly illustrated.

Presse -Watson started as a pianist, 17 years old, in saxophonist Chuck Higgins' band The Mellotones. A song from that time is included on the collection, “Motor head baby”, B-side of a 78 written and sung by Watson. His solo debut came on Federal in 1953 with “Highway 60”, still with Watson on piano and using the stage name Young John Watson. The guitar became his main instrument the following year, 1954, but it was another year before he became Johnny 'Guitar' Watson.

Presse -Here we are lured out on the dance floor by 31 finger-snap friendly numbers from 1948-
1963. It's a nice mix of well-known as well as lesser-known artists and tunes, mostly at medium tempo or slower, and no lush rock tunes to bend to. Perhaps mainly intended to be inviting to so-called printers (something I have not had the opportunity to test).
In any case, there is a lot of fun and swinging music on offer. In the blues/R&B area, Wynonie Harris does a good job in “Bring it back”, Dinah Washington sings well to a big band in “Is you is or is you ain't...” and Ruth Brown gives fine versions of “Why don't you do right” and the pleasant “I don't know”.

Presse -The world of love, serenity and violence is clearly unassailable (abilly).
Doowop, swing, blues and soul, at least according to the compilers of this series of compilations at Bear Family Records, started 8th roxde ee Borde dieal is in the collection Dresmasor Gaet with as extre undertiel Nave in Tihe Jungles The Miänighters, previously fihe foyale an later Hank Ballere de lezing with their Sony Wayt. Andiare sng gestieve thtels kamor The Motion) and The Genteels ('Take It Off').
Even Dr. Kinsey's famous report on sexual behavior in the 1950s is covered by Big Duke Henderson ('Hey Dr. Kinsey') and Stomp Gordon ('What's Her Wimsy Dr. Kinsey').

Presse -THAT'LL FLAT GIT IT! VOL. 49 Neben bekannten Künstlern, die vor allem das breite Publikum bedienten, versuchte das in New York ansässige Columbia-Label, auch in Sachen Country und Rockabilly einen Fuß in die Tür zu bringen. Versorgte Stars wie Carl Perkins, Johnny Horton und Rose Ma-ddox mit neuen Plattenverträgen, gab aber auch jungen Musikern wie Wally Hughes, David Frizzell, Bill Craddock und Ronnie Self die Chance, ihre Singles bei einem Major zu veröffentlichen.
Klasse Mischung, die auch Volume 49 der Bear-Family-Reihe THAT'LL FLAT GIT IT! zu einer hörenswerten und bestens dokumentierten Rückschau macht.

Press -Bear Family • bearfamily.com • Rarely has the African American Etta James received even half of the recognition she deserves as one of the most important singers of her era. As early as the mid-1950s, Etta ignited with her R&B hit “The Wallflower,” a response song to “Work with me, Annie” by the MID-NIGHTERS

Presse -The fact that the discussion about “the wolf” has been around for much longer than its reintroduction to our forests shows ON THE PROWL WITH THE WOLF, the jam-packed compilation that features such diverse musicians as Elvis Presley (”Wolf Call“), Leon Payne (”Im A Lone Wolf"), Sam The Sham & The.

Presse -Getting a song on an Elvis Presley album could have provided a comfortable living during the King of Rock'n'Roll's heyday. In addition to material for his regular records, Presley's team also needed songs for the numerous soundtrack albums, and it was important that the demos they received were already in the right direction. In the early 60s, songwriter Randy Starr specialized in recording his pieces with a full band and, if necessary, with an orchestra, and he also engaged singers like Kenny Karen, Malcolm Dodds and Bernie Knee, who would perform in a Presley-like manner, in order to present an authentic image.

Presse -Whether it was groovy R&B, laid-back Doowop or hard blues, Etta James showed her class in almost every style.
When she moved from sunny Los Angeles to Chess Records in Chicago in the early 60s, rock and soul were on the agenda, and the highlights from this period are now provided by the packed compilation ROCKS.
Perfectly documented in the thick booklet, it ranges from “Tough Lover” to hits like “I Just Want To Make Love To You”, “W.O.M.A.N.” and “Wallflower (Roll With Me Henry)” to “That's All”.

Presse - Together with his brother, he wrote more songs, unfortunately for other artists such as Ricky Nelson.
The recordings on two CDs show his solo career. These seven CDs present Dorsey's search, which unfortunately ended without a big hit, which was a must in those days. Adepts of the era and its fans will certainly be satisfied with this complete set of recordings by Dorsey Bunette.

Presse - The album opens with the oldest recording in the set, Bring It Back, by post-war R&B star Wynonie Harris, recorded in 1952. Listening to the following songs, you can't help but think of the famous song Fever, presented here by Little Caesar and The Romans from 1961. In such a set, of course, Elvis Presley could not be missing in the song Relax from the movie It Happened At The World's Fair. The closing track on the album, Help Me Sonny Boy Williamson II, will be music to the ears of every blues fan. It is attributed to Williamson, Willie Dixon and Ralph Bass, but according to some sources it is based on the composition Green Onions by Booker T. and the MG's.

Presse - The album is an excellent presentation of the region's diverse musical styles. Choé does not pretend to be a true overview of the music (which would certainly include more Latin and Native American music), but it is a surprisingly original mix. With the exception of Tom T. Hall's She Gave Her Heart to Jethro and the classic trucker's ballad Phantom 309, all songs are original songs by artists living in New Mexico, written between 1970 and 2022.

Presse - This album contains a wide range of Ike Turner's early recordings from before he started his life and career with Tina Turner. Born in Clarksdale in 1931, the musician was interested in the blues from a young age. He worked as a headhunter for Sun Records and Modern Records and it was mainly thanks to him that Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King and Bobby “Blue” Bland, among others, were able to start their careers. Pinetop Perkins taught him the piano and how to play boogie-woogie. Recorded in 1951, the song Rocket 88 is considered to be the first rock 'n' roll hit in which we hear an electric guitar in dialogue with a saxophone. The performers of this song were the group Ike Turner & The Kings of Rhythm. On the record, however, it was credited to one of the musicians of The Kin-gs of Rhythm - singer and saxophonist Jackie Brenston and the group Delta Cats. Ike Turner resorted to various tricks with false names to credit his recordings more than once.

Presse - However, the road from his beginnings in the 1950s and his fascination with T-Bone Walker's playing, through his collaborations with Frank Zappa, Albert Collins, Johnny Copeland, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Etta James, to becoming one of the symbols of funk was eventful.

Presse -The first years of Etta James' impressive recording career are characterized by the many styles she brought to the table: jump, rock 'n' roll, doo-wop, R&B, soul, interspersed with tearjerkers.

Press - Brother Ray's classic is given a belting version with her most raucous voice, the best I have ever heard after the original, and Jimmy Reed's mid-tempo biggie is treated to a slow bluesy bump and grind, with Etta using the dynamics of her voice, from roar to submissive sensuality, perfectly, even doing a superb wordless improvisation where the harmonica was.

I loved this CD. Etta James really does rock.
She is a genuine great.

Presse - A handful of fillers make up the numbers, including tracks by The Raindrops, The Davis Twins, Rudy Gaddis, Utah Carl and Ray & Lindy. As with the previous volume, Bill Dahl's copious notes offer autobiographical, background and release details. What's left to say? Like its predecessor, there's enough classy bop here to make a jackrabbit hug a hound.

Trevor Cajiao

Press - track by Ike Turner (She Made My Blood Run Cold, with a doo-woop choir and vocals by pianist Clayton Love), Nashville rockabilly by Dave Rich (Chicken House) and the stratospheric falsetto of Donnie Elbert with Wild Child on Deluxe. So roll out the carpet and once dinner is over, offer your guests a little session of dancing, bop, twist or blues, not forgetting to snap your fingers!

Presse -a tear-jerking semi-ballad sung passionately to a memorable string arrangement! In addition to his qualities as a guitarist (which did not escape the notice of Frank Zappa or Jimmie Vaughan), JGW was an excellent singer, influenced by Ray Charles (You better love, I say I love you), with a caustic sense of humor (Gangster of love is worthy of the Coasters). This compilation does justice to his blues period, another one devoted to the funk sides on DJM would be just as relevant!

Press -The icing on the cake includes obscure recordings by artists such as Merle Kilgore, Eddie Banks and Barbara McNair, while the socially critical country/folk song “Sixteen Tons” is represented twice: once in the 1955 hit version by Tennessee Ernie Ford and once by The Platters. Rock'n'roll, doo wop and ballads complete the excursion into the 1950s and early 1960s. The 38-page booklet, which contains a lot of discographic details, is also visually tastefully presented. The sound is, as usual with Bear Family, great.

Press -Once again, the top recommendation is a Bear Family CD, namely “Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson Rocks”.
Although the CD focuses on his uptempo songs, it still offers a good overview of his early years 1952-64 and scores with its long playing time, excellent sound and detailed booklet. For more details see Kilian's record corner in this issue of bluesnews. For blues guitar fans, Watson's “Hot Just Like TNT” 2-CD set is essential, as it contains his complete Modern/RPM recordings, plus his two Keen singles and a few previously unreleased tracks.

Presse - Teil 1 - HEAVY KRAUT! -Wie der Hardrock nach Deutschland kam 1970 - 1976 (2-CD)- Medien-info
Die zweiteilige CD-Dokumentation von Bear Family Records® auf insgesamt 4 CDs mit jeweils einem etwa 96-seitigen illustrierten Begleitbuch beschreibt tiefgründig die Anfänge des Hard Rock in unserem Land, die Versuche von Bands, Musikern, Produzenten und Plattenfirmen, einen eigenen Weg zu gehen, der schließlich mit den Scorpions oder Rammstein Rockmusik aus Deutschland auf die Weltkarte des Genres brachte.

VINCE MALOY
FLYING HIGH WITH
(Bear Family)
Never judge a rocker by his jumper.
7/10
This 10" vinyl 45pm release is sub headed, 'The Complete Recordings', and here there are, a real cool dozen, the entire output from Vince Maloy.
If ever there was a back-up to the ancient ode not to judge a book by the cover, it's with Vince. Surviving pictures of Vince make him look like a middle of the road cabaret bod. But no, his entire output was six singles, but they were six of the best. Mostly they are bouncing bopping slabs of rockabilly, all self-penned, though there are few that might sound somewhat familiar. 10 of the 12 were recorded between 1957 and 1959 the last two from a decade later but age well. The sound quality on all but the two insanely rare sides is impeccable as are the sleeve notes in the booklet.
Bear Family have preserved musical treasure which would surely have been lost for ever.
Simon Nott

VINCE MALOY
FLYING HIGH WITH
(Bear Family)
Never judge a rocker by his jumper.
7/10
This 10" vinyl 45pm release is sub headed, 'The Complete Recordings', and here there are, a real cool dozen, the entire output from Vince Maloy.
If ever there was a back-up to the ancient ode not to judge a book by the cover, it's with Vince. Surviving pictures of Vince make him look like a middle of the road cabaret bod. But no, his entire output was six singles, but they were six of the best. Mostly they are bouncing bopping slabs of rockabilly, all self-penned, though there are few that might sound somewhat familiar. 10 of the 12 were recorded between 1957 and 1959 the last two from a decade later but age well. The sound quality on all but the two insanely rare sides is impeccable as are the sleeve notes in the booklet.
Bear Family have preserved musical treasure which would surely have been lost for ever.
Simon Nott

V.A. / Jack Kerouac, 100 Years Of Beatitude
Jack Kerouac, der von 1922 bis 1969 lebende US-amerikanische Schriftsteller, wie bringt man ihn mit Musik in Verbindung? Nun, er gilt als Vertreter der sogenannten Beat Generation. Eigentlich ist das eine Richtung US-amerikanischer Literatur aus den fünfziger Jahren. Kerouac prägte diesen Begriff, neben ihm umfasste dieser außerdem Autoren wie Allen Ginsberg und William S. Burroughs.
Doch was hat das Alles mit dieser Musik-Kompilation auf zwei CDs zu tun? "Jack Kerouac, 100 Years Of Beatitude" heißt es hier. Nun, die Beatniks als Vertreter der Popliteratur hörten ganz bestimmte Musikstile. Und genau darum dreht sich diese Veröffentlichung von Bear Family Records als Hommage an Jack Kerouac anlässlich seines 100. Geburtstag im März 2022. Zweiundfünfzig Songs und historische Tondokumente aus den Jahren 1946 bis 1963, dem Kern der Beatnik-Zeit, bilden die Grundlage der beiden CDs.