p !– @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } A:link { color: #0000ff } — /p pThe album covers featured primitive graphics. The titles were often cheesy. The songs lacked great sound quality and sometimes were sloppily edited. Yet K-Tel albums introduced me to a number of great artists and ultimately helped form my musical tastes. /p pK-Tel albums compiled the hits of the day into one album, offering convenience for the consumer who lacked time or money to purchase individual singles. These compilations were organized by thememdash;rock, Ramp;B, new wave, country, or dancemdash;and ranged from well-known artists to one-hit wonders. Today, Now Thatrsquo;s What I Call Music CDs fill this role, but in the 70s and 80s K-Tel dominated the American market. /p pFounded by Canadian entrepreneur Philip Kives, the company sold items such as nonstick fry pans, the Veg-O-Matic, and the Feather-Touch Knife (similar to Ron Propeilrsquo;s Ronco). In early 1966 Kives decided to branch out into the music business, releasing his first compilation album, Twenty-Five Country Hits, that same year. He named his company K-Tel in the late sixties, and went on to sell half a billion albums worldwide by the eighties, according to uK-Telrsquo;s website/u. Like his products, Kives also created splashy TV ads to announce the latest record releases (such as the below example). /p pAs a child, I loved receiving the latest K-Tel collections for Christmas or birthday gifts, and would play the LPs until the grooves wore down. Many years later I realized that my first introductions to rap and various seminal rock artists came from K-Tel. /p pThe first two albums I remember receiving were Wings of Sound (1980) and Dancer (1981). The formerrsquo;s cover featured, appropriately enough, multicolored wings and offered a selection of top 40 hits. Most notably, this album introduced me to Nick Lowe and Bob Dylan, along with the still-catchy one-hit wonder ldquo;Driverrsquo;s Seatrdquo; by Sniff lsquo;n The Tears. Lowersquo;s ldquo;Cruel to be Kindrdquo; remains one of the most clever rock songs of the early 80s, and Dylanrsquo;s ldquo;Gotta Serve Somebodyrdquo; marks his overtly religious phase. As a kid I couldnrsquo;t quite grasp Dylanrsquo;s sound, but of course later learned of his tremendous influence on rock and folk. /p pDancer focused, not surprisingly, on what turned out to be the dying days of disco. While it may have marked discorsquo;s last gasp, it also signaled the gradual rise of hip hop. Frankie Smithrsquo;s ldquo;Double Dutch Busrdquo; and Lakesidersquo;s ldquo;Fantastic Voyagerdquo; have since become old-school (and heavily sampled) classics, but back then I heard nothing like them on the radio. In addition, the album introduced me to the gritty funk of the Gap Band, with ldquo;Burn Rubber (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)rdquo; remaining one of my favorite funk hits. /p br

pThe Annual UMiss Blues Symposiumnbsp;is the ldquo;must attendrdquo; event for all serious blues fans, particularly those who appreciate the early blues musicians, aka country blues, or pre-war blues. These guys, mostly from the early 1900s on up through World War II, are the bedrock upon which blues is based. People such as Charley Patton, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Ma Rainey, Johnnie Shines, Tommy Johnson, and of course the most famous of all, Robert Johnson./p pAlthough Robert Johnson is certainly the man best known as bringing country blues to the masses in the 20th and 21st centuries, yoursquo;re doing yourself a great disservice if you donrsquo;t expand and catch some of the other great musicians from this era. Everybody knows the story of how RJ, as he was known, made a pact with Satan at a certain crossroads in Mississippi one black, black midnight. But most people donrsquo;t know that this particular story is bullshit./p pThe story itself has been around since long before RJ could count himself among the living, and itrsquo;s been applied to several others since, although not with the notoriety attributed to RJ. The way the story goes is that in exchange for learning how to play the catchiest, meanest, bluesiest licks possible on the guitar, RJ gave his soul to the Devil. Although it was mostly likely hard work and practice that made him great, the fact remains that he went from a bumbling, not even amateur-rank player to the one everybody knows in the span of about a year. His contemporaries were known to tell him in no uncertain terms, ldquo;No, you cannot sit in!rdquo; when he made the rounds of the juke joints. And the fans stayed away in droves during his pre-pact with the Devil days. But itrsquo;s still a max-cool story./p pRJ is also the guy who ultimately brings people today and many of those from the recent past into the country blues world, including the British Invasion from the 1960s. Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones, John Mayall, Alexis Korner, Long John Baldry, Led Zeppelin, and many other equally famous rockers and blues rockers still famous today were hypnotized by this country blues music, and were the British beginnings of being brought into the blues fold. /p pThe Newport Folk Blues Festivals of the mid-1960s brought men like Son House, Skip James, and Howlinrsquo; Wolf from the original country blues pioneers, and modern musicians such as Paul Butterfield, Mike Bloomfield, Jimi Hendrix, the Jim Kweskin Jug Band, and many others, to the attention of the mostly college kids from that era who were the pioneers of that particular American roots music wave of interest. And itrsquo;s these musicians who brought many of us who are blues fans today into the fold. /p br

plsquo;Terrorizersquo; opens with a set of snorted declarations ndash; notes about the self, notes for the self ndash; Max Cavalera spitting bile-drenched epitaphs to the body:/p plsquo;I am the poison and cure, br/ I am the fire of doom,br/ I am the ghost and dust,br/ I am death from above.rsquo;/p pUttered in venomous rapture, the lyrics subside and in strides a gargantuan riff. A chunky power groove, heaving with each beat blasted behind it. A simple, no-frills quake of guitars fills the lyric-less void before Cavalerarsquo;s noisome bark returns:/p plsquo;I am the jungle rot,br/ I am the sufferer,br/ I am the juggernaut,br/ I am death from below.rsquo;/p pA repeat of the former groove appears and then gives way to a melodic burst of shred-guitar backed by a rapidly firing rhythm sound. Song structures are cut up by quick alternation between growled syllables and thick eruptions of blistering guitars. The style is laid out on the first track, a mission statement written in an onslaught of metal. The remit is unambiguous: Your face will be torn in two, clawed off by a furious sonic attack. There is no resting place, there is no slowdown, forward motion is the only option, death to mediocrity, death to tranquillity ndash; this is Inflikted./p pItrsquo;s the big reunion of the Cavalera brothers, sibling gods brought together once more under the auspices of metal. The founders of Sepultura, having not spoken to each other in 10 years, have finally seen fit to end their long dispute. Conversation killed at last the terrible familial rift that had separated them for such a time. The cure was talk, the aftermath is Cavalera Conspiracy. Joined by Marc Rizzo on lead guitar and Joe Duplantier on bass, the brothers got down to writing and recording new material, their first collaborative body of work since Roots in 1996./p pDespite the happy melodrama that underpins the creation of Inflikted, the music here is angry. The mood powers forward in black, infuriation spilling out relentlessly from each song. Pissed off, enraged, an atmosphere drenched in anger acts as a foreground and a background. /ppage 1 | 2br
br

pFormed in New York in 2002, The Randy Bandits began their adventures with a casual collection of gigs at folk clubs and parties. They would leave the crowd bowled over with their liveliness and audacity, often ducking out the back door with jackets full of fine china after the show./p pFast forward to 2009 and The Randy Bandits have gone through a few line-up changes to become a succinct little six-piece outfit. And along with a bold new year comes a bold new record to follow up 2006rsquo;s Redbeard. /p pBouncy and brave, Golden Arrow finds the Bandits in all their awesome glory. /p pWith songs written by vocalist/guitarist/saxophonist Jim Knable and arranged by the rest of the crew, this is a record that is boundlessly fun to listen to and impossible not to clap along with. The arrangements are a stew of genres, cooking up mouth-watering folk along with blues, gospel, funk, Americana, musical theatre, and country. Every now and then therersquo;s even a dash of jazz for good measure./p pIn approaching Golden Arrow, The Randy Bandits decided to create a sort of ldquo;liverdquo; vibe and called upon engineer and mixer Bryce Goggin to help them create something unique. The whole record was recorded over the course of Memorial Day weekend in Brooklyn and used live recordings with the whole band present (for the most part) instead of the typical layering of performance tracks./p pAs a result, the record sounds and feels as natural as an enchanting gust through a small town. /p pAmusingly, ldquo;Modern Man,rdquo; the albumrsquo;s first track, sounds like the music of a feisty gospel revival just after an elderly lady has experienced ldquo;healingrdquo; from a toothless preacher. Hand-claps, piano, and guitar accompany the vocals in full Hallelujah mode. /p pOther tracks dig deep with soul and blues influences, like the old-fashioned ldquo;Loraine.rdquo; Bassist Jay Buchanan handles the singing duties here, pouring his guts out over a horn section, trickling guitar, and Russ Kaplan#39;s keys. quot;The world is made of gold,quot; Buchanan tells us urgently. Listen to his shade on the notes, too, as he walks the line between tacky and affecting with courage./p pldquo;Romeordquo; is funky and the background vocals swell to create a spiritual experience. And ldquo;5 Women Maskedrdquo; sounds like perfect music for a Wild West train robbery. /p pGolden Arrow is a terrifically enjoyable record. The Randy Bandits have created something special here and have explored various genres with marvelous triumph. This is cool, spirited music that never pulls punches, never backs down, and never ceases to thrill. /p pJust keep an eye on your fine chinahellip;/p pYou can purchase Golden Arrow from CD Baby and check out Redbeard at Amazon. br/ /p br

Normally when you think of steel guitar, especially pedal steel guitar, the last thing in the world that’s going to come to mind is African American gospel music. A country gospel tune like “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” sure, but you don’t ever expect to hear one playing in one of those earth shaking, hip swinging gospel choirs that inspired today’s funk, soul, and blues musicians. Yet if you were a congregation member of The House Of God, Keith Dominion churches, steel guitar in shape or another is exactly what you’d have been hearing since the 1930’s. Sacred steel music was born out of the popularity of the Hawaiian Steel guitar in the early part of the twentieth century. Two brothers, Troman and Willie Eason were responsible for bringing the steel guitar to the House of God services in the 1930’s. While Troman had learned how to play in the Hawaiian style, Willie had not had any formal training and simply played the music he was familiar with on this guitar. From such humble beginnings a genre was born. The Lee Boys are a family group consisting of three brothers; Alvin (guitar), Derrick, and Keith (vocals) and three nephews; Roosevelt Collier (pedal steel guitar), Alvin Cordy Jr. (7 string bass), and Earl Walker (drums). They each grew up making music in a House of God congregation in Perrine Fl. where the brother’s father was pastor and steel player. Having been playing together, or individually, in the church since they were seven they’ve not only developed into proficient musicians but have also learned the key elements for staging a successful show. You don’t need to look any further than their new DVD release Live At Bonnaroo for evidence of just how impressive they are. Sunday mornings at folk festivals were reserved for gospel groups from all over, and I guess Bonnaroo is keeping up that tradition as this recording is of a Sunday morning performance The Lee Boys gave at last year’s festival. Now I can’t think of a tougher time, or a harder audience to play for, than the Sunday morning of a festival. Half the crowd is either recovering from the night before, if they’ve even gone to bed yet, and the other half are just wandering onto the site and getting their bearings. A band has to be pretty special and be able to deliver a red hot performance in order to first grab, and then hold, this type of audience’s attention for the length of the concert.

Lovable French robots Daft Punk have triumphed at the American music industry’s most important night the Grammys, taking how two awards for their live album Alive, which proved to be essential listening before and after their NeverEverLand tour of Australia in late 2007. Nominated in the Best Electronic/Dance Album and Best Dance Recording categories they beat off stiff competition from a selection of cool/credible and commercial/questionable names including Hot Chip, Sam Sparro, Rihanna, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Moby, Robyn, and… errr… Cyndi Lauper. Not to be outdone, fellow Frenchmen Justice also triumphed in their field, winning the gong for Best Remixed Recording for their rework of MGMT’s Electric Feel. We’re eagerly awaiting YouTube footage to surface so we can see whether Daft Punk accepted their awards in full robot regalia. Surely they wouldn’t have dropped the faГ§ade, especially in front of a TV audience of millions?

First off this week I want to apologize to you, my loyal readers. Things are patchy right now due to the fact that my father is at his end and things are a bit unpredictable round the place. (Not that unpredictable is abnormal for me, but at times it's minute to minute.) However that does not mean I haven’t had the chance to listen to the latest batch of releases of all types. In fact some of the output for the land of the Norse has been perfectly suited to the current mood. Ted Nugent: Nugent, Spirit of the Wild & If You Can’t Lick em’, Lick Em” The last of the current crop of Nugent re-issues like the first lot is a bit of a mixed bag. There is something for everyone here however and “mixed” for Ted is a pretty good standard. The man is always in the shadow of his 70s hits because they were so good and so huge. Probably realizing that with the album Nugent, Ted reunited with his ole’ sparing partner Derek St. Holmes who does most of the lead singing on the CD. He also has the drumming power-house of Carmine Appice along for the ride. This is a very strong album that could have been supported by the track “Bound & Gagged” alone. The track is another one of Ted’s observational rants about the state of the U.S. and its governance. Listening to the words, it's as poignant today as it was then. One thing you got to say about Uncle Ted is that he is consistent in his views and beliefs. “Good & Ready” is another strong track as is the final statement of “Tailgunner”. This is a good album that shows what he is capable of when firing on all cylinders. Spirit of the Wild sees Ted teaming up again with Derek with Denny Carmassi on drums another journeyman sticksman who played with Ted in Damn Yankees, probably Ted’s great post-70s collection of music. You gotta love tracks like “I shoot back” and “Tooth, fang & claw”. It's always amusing to note that Ted, who just got inducted into the bow hunters hall of fame, thanks his ammo suppliers on his albums. His 13th solo effort If you Can’t Like Em’…Lick Em is a testament to all that was naff about the 80s from the cover to the daft as a brush name of the album. He even teamed up with Bon Jovi and Sambora for the track “That’s the Story of Love.” This album summed everything good and bad about the 80s as Ted headed off into a new decade. It was his last CD before hooking up with Tommy Shaw and Jack Blades in the uber-successful hard rock supergroup Damn Yankees. page 1 | 2

I am a vinyl collector and thus my Byrds collection is comprised of records and not CD's. I do not have the inclination nor the money to replace the vinyl even though the CD’s contain extra tracks and have a better sound (although, at times, that is debatable). I do, however, tend to purchase box sets as they fill in the blanks and provide a modern listening experience. The box set in my collection that is relevant for this retrospective is the four disc set, The Byrds, issued in 1990. There is now a second box set by The Byrds, There is a Season, issued in 2006, which in many ways has supplanted the one in my collection. The Byrds can now be found fairly cheaply and well is worth seeking out. The ninety tracks span the career of the group. It includes all of their well-known material and hit songs, a number of unappreciated gems, some unreleased tracks, a re-working of some classic songs, and four new recordings by Roger McGuinn, Chris Hillman, and David Crosby. The enclosed booklet is informative and contains a nice biography of the group. The sound has also been cleaned up and, in most cases, is superior to that of the original releases. Box sets present the music but many times the intent of the original albums are lost by the shuffling of songs and additional tracks. Therefore, this box set should be considered to be complimentary to their fine catalog of studio albums. The first disc sets the tone by presenting some of the finest music of not only The Byrds but in the history of Sixties rock ‘n’ roll. “Mr Tambourine Man,” “I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better,” “Chimes Of Freedom,” “She Has A Way,” and “All I Really Want To Do” just blast out of the speakers and serve as a reminder of the quality material that The Byrds produced during their career. page 1 | 2

Clark Westfield aka The Aristocrat of Crime and Puppy Mills aka The Snitch comprise the magically delicious The Gay Blades. Anyone who’s anyone knows that duos are hot these days. From matinees at the strip club to funky fresh outfits like Eagles of Death Metal and The White Stripes, the fine art of the musical pair has come up with more than a few sweaty and sticky hot moments. The Gay Blades are no different. Probably inspired by Zorro and his homosexual brother, these guys leave it all out in the open with their brand of spastic, expressive pop rock. A flip through the sleeve of Ghosts, the band’s full-length debut, unveils a band with good humor and a strapping sense of storytelling. Song titles like “Bob Dylan’s 115th Nightmare,” “Robots Can Fuck Your Shit Up,” and “Why Can’t I Grow a Beard?” illuminate this duo as a plucky, smart-alecky invention. While the humor expressed in the album notes and on the band’s MySpace page discloses what appears to be a couple of jokers, the music of The Gay Blades uncorks a different set of possibilities. The raw emotion and agile soul of this duo is incontestable, even if the pop punk stylings are a little too formulaic at times. Shit starts with the “O Shot.” A funky little guitar-and-drum split given some extra flavor thanks to Jeff Plate’s bass, this ditty rocks with chunky chords and vibrant percussion. Mills slaps the snare hard, crashing through the rest of his kit with sweltering glee. The storming rock epic blast of “Bob Dylan’s 115th Nightmare” continues the trend, as Westfield lets loose a barrage of hard lines. “You never captivate, you just capitulate,” he says. “And you follow all the trends.” Elsewhere, The Gay Blades pry the emo box open and pinch out a startling amount of emotion. “Dog Day Afternoon” is a miserable, bloated bit of music-making. Punctuated by the Aristocrat’s bawling vocals and a wall of sniveling, depressing guitar, this is the theme for the prom of rejected kids everywhere. Westfield also channels teen-girl vulnerability on “Prologue for the Pure of Heart.” Here he tearfully rips his guts out to a narrative that is equally intriguing and annoying. In a classic case of overdoing it, Westfield unpacks his heart with lines like “It’s too fucking early for you to be in songs that I write.” It’s idyllic shit for the MySpace set. The most interesting thing about Ghosts is how Westfield and Mills walk the line between touchy teardrops and mucky cigarette stains. There is a sense of wakefulness with the music, which gives the songs lines of incongruity without deconstructing the band into a comedy act. ‘Course, the addition of a cheesy disco remix of “O Shot” to close things out almost solidifies the real soul of this band. And in the end, that’s all that matters. The untreated energy and real soul of Puppy Mills and Clark Westfield makes Ghosts a very interesting record to take in, with or without the wrist-cutting anthems.

Welcome to the Daily Gossip: your daily stop-off to find out who in the world of music has been up to what. Today’s top gossip: Courtney Love is reportedly going out with Mickey Rourke. The two old friends are said to have “hooked up” shortly after Rourke won a Golden Globe for ‘The Wrestler’, and were due to share a hotel suite together after the Elle Style Awards. However, Rourke apparently felt Love’s wrath on the night, after flirting his way through the awards with a host of other women (Daily Mirror). From the papers: Rihanna has gone into hiding as press speculation about her recent altercation with Chris Brown reaches fever pitch (Various). Jon Fratelli said he would “bin” Oasis in a game of ‘call, text or bin’ featuring the Manchester band, Supergrass and Blur (Daily Record). Sophie Ellis-Bextor has given birth to her second child - nine weeks early (Daily Star). Alex Turner carried six bags of girlfriend Alexa Chung’s clothes around for her (Daily Mirror). From NME.COM users: “Kate Nash and Kate Jackson doubled the ‘Kate’ count at The Cribs’ Heaven show last night” (From Barney “The Drunk” in London). Check back tomorrow for the next Daily Gossip.