Pressearbeit / Media Deutschland:
Shack Media Promotion Agency
Tom Redecker - Postfach 1627 - 27706 Osterholz-Scharmbeck
Tel.: 04791-980642 - Fax: 04791-980643 [email protected]  www.shackmedia.de

Automatically scanned from the original press reviews by an OCR software, the text files in our Press Archive may contain errors and mutilations. We will eliminate these errors whenever time allows. We apologize for any inconvenience. 

Pressearbeit / Media Deutschland: Shack Media Promotion Agency Tom Redecker - Postfach 1627 - 27706 Osterholz-Scharmbeck Tel.: 04791-980642 -  Fax:... read more »
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Bear Family Records Press Archive

Pressearbeit / Media Deutschland:
Shack Media Promotion Agency
Tom Redecker - Postfach 1627 - 27706 Osterholz-Scharmbeck
Tel.: 04791-980642 - Fax: 04791-980643 [email protected]  www.shackmedia.de

Automatically scanned from the original press reviews by an OCR software, the text files in our Press Archive may contain errors and mutilations. We will eliminate these errors whenever time allows. We apologize for any inconvenience. 

Press Archive - Billy Walker Whirlpool - Gonna Shake This Shack Tonight - Keys and Chords
Press Archive - Billy Walker Whirlpool - Gonna Shake This Shack Tonight - Keys and Chords
Billy Walker, born on 14 January 1929, managed to build a musical career that would span no less than 6 decades. As a teenager he already belonged to the legendary Big D. Jamboree in Dallas. He got his first record deal with Capitol Records in 1949. Two years later, however, he left the label because he was accommodated at Columbia. From 1952 he was part of the Louisiana Hayride and even later he was especially appreciated for his performances in the Grand Ole Opry. On this album, which is part of the series 'Gonna Shake This Shack Tonight', Bear Family focuses on the first years of Walker's career, from 1949 to 1962. It soon turns out that Billy was enormously versatile. The 30 songs bundled here include catchy Texas honky tonk, handsome shuffles, rockabilly, compelling country and ennobled upbeat pop. Also impressive is Walker's version of the Roy Baham composition 'Charlie's Shoes'. By the way, it was the only song with which Billy Walker took first place in the Country Charts in 1962.
Press Archive - King Size Taylor Dr. Feelgood - The Brits Are Rocking Vol.3 - Rocktimes
Press Archive - King Size Taylor Dr. Feelgood - The Brits Are Rocking Vol.3 - Rocktimes
Nicht nur von den Dominoes, sondern auch von The Shakers wird der Musiker begleitet und wir hören die typisch britische Variante des Rock’n’Rolls jener Tage, mit einem Hauch R&B, wie man dem Opener "Heebie Jeebies" gleich entnehmen kann. Hier brilliert vor Allem der Saxofonist Howie Casey mit einem quirligen Solo, aber auch von John Frankland hören wir ein wildes Gitarrensolo. Dieses ist übrigens eine der Liveaufnahmen aus 1964. Insgesamt gehen die Kompositionen ganz locker über die Bühne, Rock’n’Roll mit der Ausrichtung zur Beatmusik, das ist gute Party-Musik, mit Enthusiasmus und Leidenschaft gespielt.


Und so haben wir einen tollen Überblick über das Schaffen eines Künstlers, der sich 1967 aus dem Showgeschäft zurückzog. Seit 2006 lebt er wieder in Hamburg und tritt hier regelmäßig als Sänger und Gitarrist auf.

Press Archive - Dinah Washington A Rockin' Good Way - Juke Box Pearls - Keys and Chords
Press Archive - Dinah Washington A Rockin' Good Way - Juke Box Pearls - Keys and Chords
In her short life, she was born on 29 August 1924 and already died on 14 December 1963, Dinah Washington became 'The Queen' as she was often called. In the late forties and early fifties she was one of many jazz-inspired rhythm & blues singers, then she later turned out to be a top singer. With her powerful and flexible voice she sang jazz standards and pop songs with sublime arrangements into eternity. Her 'A Rockin' Good Way' in the 'Juke Box Pearls' series is a hit. All her great successes are on this. From the start she has been a hit with the title track, which she canned together with Brook Benton. Also 'Baby, You've Got What It Takes' that the duo recorded, is on this album. By the way, 'A Rockin' Good Way' was covered in the 60's by Shakin' Stevens together with Bonnie Tyler. Also 'Mad About The Boy' that was used in a TV commercial for Levi's jeans can be found on this collector, as well as all the great successes of this monumental artist. What A Diff'rence A Day Makes', 'September In The Rain', 'Smoke Gets In Your Eyes', 'Such A Night' and 'Unforgettable' are all part of this album. You will also find some extremely rare and hard to find recordings of Dinah. This certainly applies to her Mercury single 'Honky Tonky' from 1959, which she recorded as The Queen.
Press Archive - Dinah Washington A Rockin' Good Way - Juke Box Pearls - Keys and Chords
Press Archive - Dinah Washington A Rockin' Good Way - Juke Box Pearls - Keys and Chords
In ihrem kurzen Leben, sie wurde am 29. August 1924 geboren und starb bereits am 14. Dezember 1963, wurde Dinah Washington "The Queen", wie sie oft genannt wurde. In den späten vierziger und frühen fünfziger Jahren war sie eine von vielen jazz-inspirierten Rhythm & Blues-Sängerinnen, später entpuppte sie sich dann als Top-Sängerin. Mit ihrer kraftvollen und flexiblen Stimme sang sie Jazz-Standards und Popsongs mit sublimen Arrangements bis in die Ewigkeit. Ihr 'A Rockin' Good Way' in der Serie 'Juke Box Pearls' ist ein Hit. Alle ihre großen Erfolge sind darauf zurückzuführen. Von Anfang an war sie ein Hit mit dem Titeltrack, den sie zusammen mit Brook Benton einfing. Auch "Baby, You've Got What It Takes", das das Duo aufgenommen hat, ist auf diesem Album zu hören. Übrigens wurde 'A Rockin' Good Way' in den 60er Jahren von Shakin' Stevens zusammen mit Bonnie Tyler behandelt. Auch 'Mad About The Boy', das in einem TV-Spot für Levi's Jeans verwendet wurde, ist auf diesem Sammler zu finden, ebenso wie alle großen Erfolge dieses monumentalen Künstlers. What A Diff'rence A Day Makes", "September In The Rain", "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", "Such A Night" und "Unforgettable" sind alle Teil dieses Albums. Sie werden auch einige äußerst seltene und schwer zu findende Aufnahmen von Dinah finden. Dies gilt sicherlich für ihre Mercury-Single "Honky Tonky" von 1959, die sie als "The Queen" aufnahm.
Presse Archiv - Destination Health - Dr. Feelgood's Rock Therapy - keys and chords
Presse Archiv - Destination Health - Dr. Feelgood's Rock Therapy - medien-info
Covid-19 is spreading wildly around the world and is causing a pandemic with a huge number of victims. Staying in Our Room' was the message, something we could hardly imagine a while back. Fortunately, we have often experienced that music has a healing effect. Even in the past, illnesses have made masses of victims, just think of tuberculosis, cholera, the Spanish or Asian flu. In those days too, artists were inspired by this and composed songs that had a therapeutic effect, as it were, to ward off the crises. That's what brought the brilliant Bear Family label to the idea to bring this 'Destination Health, Doc Feelgood's Rock Therapy' on the market. Next to the vitamin boost this album undoubtedly gives you, we also make a musical trip.

This compilation contains next to 'good old rock 'n' roll' by top artists like Johnny Burnette & The Rock 'n' Roll Trio's 'Rock Therapy' or Carl Perkins' 'Boppin' The Blues', also a number of formidable blues and rhythm & blues tracks by a.o. Floyd Dixon, Little Willie Littlefield and Doctor Ross, here with the legendary 'The Boogie Disease'. It's also interesting that there's a lot to discover here. Lesser-known artists like Dennis Bell with the cheerful 'Quarantine', or Joey Nepote begging for a 'Doctor, Doctor, Doctor' while rocking. Beautiful and compelling is the instrumental 'Medic', the theme of the T.V. series of the same name, by Les Baxter & his Orchestra. Another nice instrumental language is certainly the mambo-tinted 'Vitamina' by Noro Morales.
And as it has become a tradition with Bear Family, this album contains another 28 colour illustrated booklet, compiled by Bill Dahl, with not only a lot of information about the artists and the songs, but also beautiful retro looking drawings.
30 Bop Pills For Your Recovery' is the subtitle of this album and confirms once again that 'Destination Health, Doc Feelgood's Rock Therapy' is the ideal medicine to help you through the coronacrisis. Highly recommended!
Press Archive- Big Joe Turner - The Complete Boss Of The Blues (2-CD) - Back to the Roots, Holland
Press Archive- Big Joe Turner - The Complete Boss Of The Blues (2-CD) - Back to the Roots, Holland
The post-rocker I am still has mixed feelings about (Big) Joe Turner on Atlantic Records. He's often identified as the archetype of the 'shouter' and a transition artist between rhythm and blues and rock 'n' roll ('Shake, Rattle And Roll', 'TV Mama' and other 'Flip Flop And Fly's'). This beautiful re-release rattle and roll/TV mama and other Flip, flop and fly), this beautiful re-release of New York sessions from 1956 (two versions: stereo and mono + an unpublished one) pretends him as he is: a beautiful Kansas City jazz-swinging stylist - the title is explicit - surrounded by musicians from Count Basie and Duke Ellington, loved by the Ertegun family. Pete Johnson masterfully plays the boogie blues piano. An accompanying guitar, the lecterns, the brass section in white tuxedos that one can easily imagine leaning against the stage, the white dancers and the champagne...
Presse Archiv - Various Artists Blues Kings Of Baton Rouge (2-CD) - Back to the Roots, Holland
Presse Archiv - Various Artists Blues Kings Of Baton Rouge (2-CD) - Rhythm & Blues
It's quite remarkable that the first blues recordings from Baton Rouge, a renowned city and not so far from New Orleans, date back to 1954, when song smith and label owner of Feature Records first recorded J.D. `Jay' Miller as Lightnin' Slim. This double focuses on blues and root music from then until 1971, when these styles fused with more contemporary ones.

"Approximately in chronological order" is a first indication of the messy composition. Moreover, you'll be misled by the photo of the cover of the acclaimed Excello collector Swamp Blues', with which this double CD barely over-laps a song. The fact that Slim Harpo is the performer of nine of the 57 songs and is almost a `best or on its own with a.o. 'I'm A King Bee' and 'Baby, Scratch My Back' doesn't help either. There was also room for magic versions of 'Boogie Chillun' (The Nitehawks) and 'I'm Evil' (Lightnin' Slim) which never look like the original.

At the same time, the although numerous biographical information is only marginally released through the different trackcom-mentars. These are just a few formalities that make these discs more suitable for those who want to discover the blues of Baton Rouge or don't take the time to make a compilation themselves. It's a shame because of the treasure trove of gems in it. The acoustic version of 'Smokestack Lightning' by Clarence Edwards is delightful, Moses Smith (aka Whispering Smith) knows how to captivate solo on harmonica in 'Baton Rouge Breakdown', Robert Pete Williams moves in his ode `Goodbye Slim Harpo' and in `Who Broke The Lock' we hear a rare time Butch Cage on fiddle. Names like Lonesome Sundown, Raful Neal (Kenny's father), Henry Gray, Silas Hogan or Sally Dotson (lonesome girl power) & Smoky Babe may not be forgotten, but it's all served up more attractively. Olivier Verhelst
Presse Archive - Destination Lust - Songs of Love, Sex And Violence (CD) - Music Street Journal
Presse Archive - Destination Lust - Songs of Love, Sex And Violence (CD) - Music Street Journal
Destination Lust: Songs Of Love, Sex And Violence

Review by Gary Hill
This is an interesting collection. The tie that binds all of this together is the undercurrent of sex that was sort of hidden with a wink in the post World War II, pre-sexual revolution days. This set features a booklet that is really "adults only" and plenty of music that also is. I think that main strength here is from a historical perspective. That said, there are quite a few songs on the set that I really like, while there are others that don't stand up as well to the test of time.

This review is available in book format in Music Street Journal: 2020 Volume 3 at
lulu.com/spotlight/strangesound.




Track by Track Review

Jayne Mansfield - That Makes It
A ringing phone with Mansfield answering it starts this cut. The tune is a bouncy, over the top kind of number. The horns bring some jazz to the table. This is fun. The lyrics are pretty risqué for the time.

The Playboys - Charge It
The sexual tension as the "hi"s are exchanged at the start of this is thick. The cut has a cool jazzy groove to it. There aren't really lyrics, as such, but just a few moments of spoken question and answer. The horns really sing it like crazy on this number.
Press Archive- Big Joe Turner - The Complete Boss Of The Blues (2-CD) - Goldmine
Press Archive- Big Joe Turner - The Complete Boss Of The Blues (2-CD) - Goldmine

Big Joe Turner The Complete Bass Of The Blues ***** Das 1956er-Album des Blues-Shouters, erweitert
Es waren die famosen Boswell Sis-ters, die 1934 zum Soundtrack der frivolen Komödie „Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round" den Song „Rock And Roll" beisteuerten. Die Gelehr-ten werden sich dennoch immer dar-über streiten, ob „Good Rocking To-night" von Wynonie Harris, Goree Carters „Rock Awhile" oder „Ro-cket 88" von Ike Turner den Urknall für allen Rock'n'Roll auslöste. Gesi-chert ist in jedem Fall, dass Jazz- und Blues-Veteran Joseph Vernon „Big Joe" Turner Jr. mit dem von Jesse Stone komponierten „Shake, Rattle And Roll" einen so nie erwarteten Erfolg hatte.

An den knüpften Bill Haley und Elvis Presley mit eigenen Aufnahmen des Songs umgehend an. Songwriter-Legende Doc Pomus spä-ter über diese Phase im Schaffen des Sängers: „Rock and roll would have never happened without him." Aber der Jahre zuvor von Ahmet Ertegun entdeckte und unter Vertrag genommene Blues-Shouter mit der mächtigen Stimme blieb auch da-nach seiner ersten Liebe treu. Seit 1951 Stammgast in den Top Ten der Rhythm-&-Blues-Hitparade, sah er keinen Grund, seine Fan-Gemeinde zu verprellen. Als er sich 1956 mit Jerry Wexler, Nesuhi Ertegun und Musikern von Count Basies Orchester an die Aufnahmen zu seiner neuen LP machte, war das auch eine „senti-mental journey" zurück zu seinen musikalischen Anfängen, waren Songs wie „Roll 'Em Pete" und „How Long Blues" lange in seinem Reper-toire, der „St. Louis Blues" in der DNA des Musikers aus Kansas City.

Der von Basie ausgeliehene Arrangeur war verantwortlich dafür, dass die für die Sessions verpflichteten Jazzmusiker sich auch mit Soli profi-lieren durften - und das auch bei Popsongs der frühen 30er Jahre wie „You're Driving Me Crazy", „I Want A Little Girl" und „Pennies From Hea-ven". Die damals eingespielte Cover-version des Bing-Crosby-Hits (ur-sprünglich nicht auf dem Album) findet man hier neben diversen an-deren Outtakes, die Aufnahmen im Ping-Pong-Stereo- und auch im Mono-Mix exzellent überspielt. (Bear Family)

Press Archive - The Elvis Presley Connection Vol.2 (CD) - Routledge
Press Archive - The Elvis Presley Connection Vol.2 (CD) - Routledge
The Elvis Presley Connection: 33 Roots and Covers of Elvis Presley, 2019, Various Artists, CD, Bear Family BCD 17561 The Bill Haley Connection: 29 Roots and Covers of Bill Haley and His Comets, 2018, Various Artists, CD, Bear Family BCD 17531
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau were a perfectly imperfect pair. They portrayed The Odd Couple in the 1968 motion picture version of Neil Simon's hit Broadway play. To many fans of rock and roll music, Elvis Presley and Bill Haley seem as mismatched as Lemmon and Matthau. In what ways were they opposites? Although Elvis was supported on stage and in the recording studio by guitarist Scotty Moore, bassist Bill Black, and drummer D. J. Fontana, he was always a singular performing sensation.
Presse Archiv - Various - The Bill Haley Connection (CD) - Routledge
Presse Archiv - Various - The Bill Haley Connection (CD) - Routledge
Bill's chart-topping career ended abruptly in 1960, although re-issues of "Rock Around the Clock" resurfaced among the Billboard ranks in 1968 and again in 1974. Elvis launched a successful television comeback in 1968, became a legendary concert performer and Las Vegas attraction, and continued to chart hits until his death. As recently as December 2018 his 1957 version of "Blue Christmas" attained the #40 position on the Billboard charts. Elvis lives on today through his music. Haley, not so much. Despite significant differences in hit production, regional upbringing, vocal styles, fan reception, military involvement, and feature film success, Elvis Presley and Bill Haley shared several similarities. First, they both adored country music. They particularly appreciated the recordings of Bob Wills, Bill Monroe, Eddy Arnold, Hank Snow, Red Foley, and Hank Williams. Second, Elvis and Bill freely adopted
Press Review - Das Bilderlexikon der deutschen Schellack-Schallplatten - names & numbers
Press Review - Das Bilderlexikon der deutschen Schellack-Schallplatten - names & numbers
This massive picture book of German shel-lac records is hardly susceptible to a conven-tional review. Quite apart from the impossibil-ity of reading every page on a reasonable time scale, who other than the authors themselves is qualified to judge the contents? Band 1 starts with a brief history of the German record in-dustry up to the mid-fifties, followed by a tech-nical section defining terms and including an il-lustrated section on `Lisenzmarken' (copyright stamps). This section also includes some pic-tures of `Sprechpuppe' (talking dolls). The text proper begins on page 31 with 59 pages de-voted to anonymous discs, fifteen of which are indeed devoted to discs for Sprechpuppen. The format of the main text is label photo-graphs accompanied by a tabulation of Series-Owner-Manufacturer-Distribution-Repertoire-Dates of Issue, and a description of the label. Longer notes are also provided for many labels to elucidate histories too complicated for tab-ulation. Coverage extends to phantom labels (advertised or trade-marks registered but no issues made; there are a lot of the latter) and I have noted a few labels known only from liter-ature and therefore not illustrated.
Presse Archiv - KRAUT! - Die innovativen Jahre des Krautrock 1968-1979 - Eclipsed
Presse Archiv - KRAUT! - Die innovativen Jahre des Krautrock 1968-1979 - Eclipsed

Krautrock VARIOUS ARTISTS „Kraut: Die innovativen Jahre des Krautrock 1968-1979" (2CD) (Bear Family)
Der erste, höchst empfehlenswerte Teil der Kraut-Retrospektive dokumentierte den Norden von Krautland. Nun geht es in die
Mitte. Hier wird der Genre-Begriff nicht so eng gefasst, denn mit den Lilac Angels hat man eine eher untypische Band im Pro-gramm, und Sweet Smoke kamen aus den USA (obwohl sie fast jeder für eine deutsche Truppe hält). Doch das stört sicherlich nie-manden, denn es ist auch ein Zeichen, sich von der britischen Definition zu lösen, bei der ständig CAN, Tangerine Dream oder Amon Düül II im Fokus stehen. Ansonsten ist so-wohl die Auswahl der Interpreten als auch der Songs bestens gelungen. Neben den be-kannteren Acts wie Hoelderlin, Bröselma-schine, Passport, Wallenstein, Streetmark oder Xhol Caravan finden sich viele weniger bekannte Bands. Electric Sandwich („China" — fantastisch), Sperrmüll („No Freak Out" —noch fantastischer), Witthüser & Westrupp (schräg-verschmitzt) und dann die an Franz K. erinnernden Necronomicon (ihr Album „Tips zum Selbstmord" hatte ein Klapp-Klapp-Klapp-Klapp-Cover) zeigen die Band-breite und die verschiedenen Entwicklungs-stränge, bei denen immer der individuelle Ausdruck im Vordergrund stand. Höchste Empfehlungsstufe, da auch das 100-seitige Booklet mit ausführlichsten und kompeten-ten Liner Notes von Burghard Rausch rein gar nichts zu wünschen übrig lässt. •* *Alan Tepper
Presse Archiv - Scotty McKay Scotty McKay Rocks (CD) - UK Rock and Roll
Presse Archiv - Scotty Mckay Scotty McKay Rocks (CD) - UK Rock and Roll
Bear Family ( At first glance Scotty McKay a would be one of the more obscure artists to join the burgeoning 'Rocks' series. is You've probably heard him at several times though, he was th briefly a member of Gene fa Vincent's Blue Caps, briefly, SI but long enough to record ea with him, including 'Baby ar Blue' and appear on the Ed sc Sullivan show in 1957. Bear 4,\ Family have dug deep in the vaults for this compilation spanning 1956 to the 1966 hi including some acetates. It's cfi fascinating to follow Scotty's ri career from the early youthful ti rockers through to the 1960's.
Presse Archiv - Scotty McKay Scotty McKay Rocks (CD) - Music Street Journal
Presse Archiv - Scotty McKay Scotty McKay Rocks (CD) - Music Street Journal
Review by Gary Hill
This new compilation CD captures some solid rock and roll music. This is very much old school music. There is a decent range here, though. It's all pretty solid, and there are some highlights. The disc comes with a large booklet, making for quite a nice package.

This review is available in book format in Music Street Journal: 2020 Volume 3 at
lulu.com/spotlight/strangesound.




Track by Track Review

Rollin' Dynamite
This is a high energy old-school rock and roller. I dig the retro rock and roll guitar solo.

Tommy & The Tom Toms: Baby Let's Play House
Feeling very much like Elvis Presley, this rocker is fun stuff.