Lady Blackbird- Black Acid Soul Lady Blackbird’s Black Acid Soul does not fit neatly into any one genre. Yes, the artist (real name: Marley Munroe out of Los Angeles) chose a famous Nina Simone song as her professional moniker, title of a single and the opening track of her album, Black Acid Soul. Munroe is not posing as a modern-day incarnation of the great songstress and civil rights activist; instead, her influences are wider and deeper and even more far ranging—she even covers a James Gang tune from Yer Album! (Man, I loved the early James Gang stuff for the pure funk of it,... Read More
Milt Ward Reissue-release date May 6, 2022
Milt Ward Reissue-release date May 6, 2022 Andreas Vingaard, of Frederiksberg Records, dropped me a note that the Milt Ward & Virgo Spectrum record about which much has been written here will be available on vinyl beginning on May 9, 2022. However, several promo emails today, Friday, May 6, 2022 say the record is available NOW via Bandcamp (see link below). The reissue was done with the participation of Milt Ward’s family and includes comprehensive notes in a booklet. Given the price of original pressings, this should be worthwhile even if not taken from the master tape. I plan to... Read More
GEARBOX RECORDS- The Future of Analog? INTERVIEW with Darrel Sheinman
Those of us who have been spinning records for a while have had an interesting ride in the last few decades: first was the Death of Vinyl™ as record stores cleared out LP inventory to be replaced with racks of CDs. Many of us learned more about older records at that point, including pressings, plants and source material. Although a few labels kept the candle lit, more and more records were being sourced from digital files; in the reissue market, a lot of those, to the extent they were even marketed in the US, sounded markedly different than their analog predecessors. With the resurgence... Read More
Listening- A Longer (and Wider) View
Listening- A Longer (and Wider) View This site does not attempt to capture the latest LP releases and reissues; I think the legacy press and audiophile sites do a more than adequate job on those fronts. Although we have sifted through some labels of historic significance (Island “Pink”; Vertigo “Swirl” and Warner “Green”), most of the music-related pieces here are more random and driven largely by my own interests—from early “heavy” rock (now recategorized as “proto-metal”) to spiritual and soul jazz. Yes, there have been a few deep dives into things like blues... Read More
Precision Aqueous Cleaning of Vinyl Records-3rd Edition
The first edition of Precision Aqueous Cleaning of Vinyl Records appeared in The Vinyl Press in May 2020. It was subsequently revised by its author, Neil Antin, in March 2021 to reflect Neil’s experience in working with a range of users all over the world, who were applying his methodologies and formulas to particular situations. Apart from the fact that some of the basic chemistry available in the States was not readily available in other countries, there were myriad challenges presented by users who employed manual cleaning or the use of record cleaning machines, both vacuum and... Read More
Roots- (Barney Rachabane)
Roots- (Barney Rachabane) Roots self-titled album, featuring Barney Rachabane, is somewhat obscure here in the States despite the international recognition accorded Mr. Rachabane for his work with Paul Simon and his legendary status in South Africa as a horn player of the first order. Roots was a group formed by Rachabane and treated as a one and done, although the group did issue one other album under the Roots moniker. Rachabane is probably best known for his touring in support of the Graceland album for two decades. Yet his musical roots extend far deeper, as one of the living... Read More
Clifford Jordan- Glass Bead Games Shoot-Out
Clifford Jordan- Glass Bead Games Shoot-Out By Ken Golden I’ve been asked by Fearless Leader to do a “shoot out” comparison between an original Strata-East pressing of Clifford Jordan Quartet “Glass Bead Games” (SES 19737/8) and the recent reissue from Pure Pleasure Records out of the UK. Some brief background – Strata-East Records was co-founded by Charles Tolliver and Stanley Cowell. The name was taken in tribute to the Detroit based Strata Records label. The exclusive focus of the label was black jazz musicians. The range of music touched on post-bop, hard bop,... Read More
Lou Bond- self-titled
Lou Bond- self-titled Lou Bond is an under the radar soul man whose self- titled album is a mixture of deep period soul with tinges of pop, folk and more than a few surprise covers—not exactly a mainstream soul sound. The Lou Bond album apparently got lost in the house of Stax, overshadowed by the bigger name crooners who fit more into the mold. But with the passage of time, and a sample from the album on an Outkast record, among others who tapped into the soul of this album, Lou Bond can now be appreciated for what it is. Reissued by Light in the Attic (LITA) in 2010, I found a sealed... Read More
Precision Aqueous Cleaning of Vinyl Records-2nd Edition
Neil Antin’s Precision Aqueous Cleaning of Vinyl Records-2nd Edition (Now superseded by Third Edition which can be downloaded below) Neil Antin’s Precision Aqueous Cleaning of Vinyl Records received considerable attention on the web when it was first published in May, 2020. Now, less than a year after its first publication, Precision Aqueous Cleaning of Vinyl Records has undergone a substantial revision. This, the Second Edition, is not merely a “fluff and buff” update but a serious, extensive reexamination of the premises with which Mr. Antin started: that record cleaning is not a... Read More
DRIFTGLASS by Seed Ensemble
DRIFTGLASS by Seed Ensemble There is something very special about Driftglass by Seed Ensemble. For starters, it’s a hell of a lot of fun to listen to; when did you last experience that? The album and ensemble are the brainchild of Cassie Kinoshi, a gifted performer, composer and arranger who leads a big band with a big sound and an eclectic, and sometimes unexpected, array of influences. What starts as a thrumming bass solo soon morphs into a stage full of instruments that mixes the avant-garde with something that resembles a James Bond film theme from the ‘60s—it’s cool stuff,... Read More
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