(Rock, Folk/Country) LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A later effort from Tim Buckley with a bigger sound and more of a straight ahead approach – with a big nod in the groove direction and some R&B creeping in! In lesser hands, Greetings From LA could be considered more of a "commercial" album than the unpredictable stylistic variances of Tim's earlier records, but his vocals and depth of passion keeps it a riveting experience. Rolling boogie piano, some vamping organ, groovy strings, and even some female chorus backing vocals bring elements of 70s soul and juke joint sounds into the mix – while Buckley's emoting is on par with earlier work – even if some of the lyrics are kind of on the bawdy side. Includes "Move With Me", "Get On Top", "Sweet Surrender", "Night Hawkin'", "Devil Eyes", "Hong Kong Bar" and "Make It Right". (Rock, Folk/Country) LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Includes "Too Far Gone", "Sleepless Nights", "Coat of Many Colors", "Boulder To Birmingham", "Bottle Let Me Down", and "Queen Of The Silver Dollar". LP, Vinyl record album

Pretty great later work from Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks – not the immediately-retro style of their earlier albums, but instead this wonderful blend of so many different jazz and acoustic elements – set forward with a style that's wonderfully groovy overall! There's a hip, scatting vibe to the music that almost puts Hicks in the same 70s territory as Ben Sidran – although maybe a few notches earlier in terms of his inspirations – yet coming across with a breezy warmth that's really beautiful, almost like the shift that Maria Muldaur had made from her trad styles of the 60s to the groove of "Midnight At The Oasis". Fender Rhodes warms the record up at all the right moments – and titles include "Boogaloo Jones", "Cruzin", "Garden In The Rain", "Dizzy Dogs", "Vinnie's Lookin Good", "Lovers For Life", and "Collared Blues". Great CD issue features the full material originally recorded for release as a soundtrack – the tracks on the album, plus 9 more unreleased bonus tracks – including "Gone With The Wind", "Hummin To Myself", "Lulu's Back In Town", "You Belong To Me", and "Walkin My Baby Back Home". (Rock, Folk/Country) CD

A really great acoustic combo on the hip Racoon imprint – a group who clearly have roots in old time music, but who are also a bunch of hippies too – which makes for great sounds in a set that includes a fair bit of Bill Monroe tunes, plus other well-chosen gems! LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Warner Brothers magic from Doug Kershaw – two early 70s albums that really show him opening up his groove! Swamp Grass is a very groovy record from the mighty Doug Kershaw – maybe his entry into the swamp rock genre that so many other southern artists were trying in the early 70s – a mode that might not have been possible without Doug's earlier experiments with his brother Randy! Kershaw's definitely got some of his cajun roots in the mix here – but his vocals and fiddle are also set up alongside some trippier guitar and keyboards, as you might guess from the slightly psychedelic image on the cover – all handled with nicely understated production from Buddy Killen, who helps keep the whole thing moving along, and focused on the best sides of Doug's charms. Titles include a very unusual remake of "Louisiana Man" – plus "Swamp Grass", "Can't Wait Till Tomorrow", "Cajun Funk", "Till I Hit The Ground", "Can't Wait Till Tomorrow", "Isn't That About The Same", and "From A Little Flirt Comes A Big Hurt". Douglas James Kershaw is a strong little record that has Doug Kershaw nicely stretching past the sound of his cajun roots – maybe in an attempt to grab some of the southern rock glory that his earlier work helped encourage! Doug's a great singer, with a nicely deep range – and he gets great production here from Chips Moman and Buddy Killen, two southern studio giants who sweeten the sound with just the right touch of larger arrangements from time to time – but mostly let Kershaw revel in the strong instrumental help he gets from giants like Bobby Emmons, Reggie Young, and Moman himself. Titles include "Willie's Shades", "The Best Years Of My Life", "Louisiana Love Song", "I Had A Good Woman But She Married Lawrence", "Tricks", and "You're Gonna Be Impressed". CD

(Rock, Folk/Country) CD

A really unusual album from actor Jack Palance – unusual in that it may well be his only vocal performance on record, and even more unusual in that it came out during a very hip stretch of Warner Brothers at the start of the 70s! Yet the pairing of Palance and the budding genius of Warner maybe makes perfect sense – as the aging actor is a great fit here for the sorts of moods that you'd find in the bluer songs of Van Dyke Parks, or the subtle drama of Neon Philharmonic – even though the whole thing is less of a Los Angeles affair overall – as it was produced by Buddy Killen in Nashville, with some arrangements by Bergen White. You could call the record a country album, and there's definitely some country elements here – but Jack kind of sing/speaks, and maybe presents the whole thing as a meaner, more mature take on modes that some of the other cowboys on the screen were recording a decade before. Palance also wrote some of the songs – including "The Meanest Guy That Ever Lived" – and other titles include "Goodbye Lucy", "Blackjack County Chains", "A Little Bitty Tear", "Love Can Only Mean You", "Dancing Like Children", and "Brother River". CD

A really unusual album from actor Jack Palance – unusual in that it may well be his only vocal performance on record, and even more unusual in that it came out during a very hip stretch of Warner Brothers at the start of the 70s! Yet the pairing of Palance and the budding genius of Warner maybe makes perfect sense – as the aging actor is a great fit here for the sorts of moods that you'd find in the bluer songs of Van Dyke Parks, or the subtle drama of Neon Philharmonic – even though the whole thing is less of a Los Angeles affair overall – as it was produced by Buddy Killen in Nashville, with some arrangements by Bergen White. You could call the record a country album, and there's definitely some country elements here – but Jack kind of sing/speaks, and maybe presents the whole thing as a meaner, more mature take on modes that some of the other cowboys on the screen were recording a decade before. Palance also wrote some of the songs – including "The Meanest Guy That Ever Lived" – and other titles include "Goodbye Lucy", "Blackjack County Chains", "A Little Bitty Tear", "Love Can Only Mean You", "Dancing Like Children", and "Brother River". CD

A really unusual album from actor Jack Palance – unusual in that it may well be his only vocal performance on record, and even more unusual in that it came out during a very hip stretch of Warner Brothers at the start of the 70s! Yet the pairing of Palance and the budding genius of Warner maybe makes perfect sense – as the aging actor is a great fit here for the sorts of moods that you'd find in the bluer songs of Van Dyke Parks, or the subtle drama of Neon Philharmonic – even though the whole thing is less of a Los Angeles affair overall – as it was produced by Buddy Killen in Nashville, with some arrangements by Bergen White. You could call the record a country album, and there's definitely some country elements here – but Jack kind of sing/speaks, and maybe presents the whole thing as a meaner, more mature take on modes that some of the other cowboys on the screen were recording a decade before. Palance also wrote some of the songs – including "The Meanest Guy That Ever Lived" – and other titles include "Goodbye Lucy", "Blackjack County Chains", "A Little Bitty Tear", "Love Can Only Mean You", "Dancing Like Children", and "Brother River". LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Singer/songwriter Chip Taylor at the height of his powers – finding a very comfortable space in the realm of mid 70s country rock – a genre he helped inspire with his own well-written songs for others in the 60s! The set's got a vibe that's maybe a bit more adult than some of Chip's other work – maybe an undercurrent of sadness that colors these tunes in a mode that's similar to some of Mickey Newbury's material from the time, although possibly a bit more put-together overall. And the record was done in Massachusetts, away from some of the more cliched crossover sounds of Nashville – which helps preserve Taylor's intent nicely. Songs include "Early Sunday Morning", "If You're Ever In Warsaw", "Comin From Behind", "If I Can't Be In Austin", and "Me As I Am". (Rock, Folk/Country) LP, Vinyl record album

Maybe worth it alone for the cover of the sad clown on the front – and Hank getting into clown makeup on the back! LP, Vinyl record album

The lasting legacy of the enigmatic Ted Lucas – a somewhat mysterious figure who moved between Detroit and Los Angeles in the late 60s – but who works here with a sound that's completely his own! Part of the record was created as demo tracks for Warner Brothers – who'd issued some of Ted's earlier singles with other bands – but the material never got released on the bigger label, but has the kind of completely individual vibe that really captures the spirit of the best underground work Warner was handling at the time. Lucas sings shorter tracks on side one – but often with this weird sort of overlapping production style – creating his own vocal harmonies that resonate with slightly jagged guitar lines – flowing out in modes that partly illustrate his experience studying sitar with Ravi Shankar on the west coast, partly just show a love of unusual tunings that would have made Lucas great even as a solo instrumentalist. Side two definitely moves more into those modes – territory that resonates nicely with Sandy Bull or Robbie Basho – and titles include "Plain & Sane & Simple Melody", "Now That I Know", "Baby Where You Are", Robins Ride", "Sonny Boy Blues", and "Love & Peace Raga". (Rock, Folk/Country) LP, Vinyl record album

The first album John Martyn cut with wife Beverly – a nicely laidback effort that has the two of them sharing vocal chores, trading off from tune to tune in a really great way! We like John's work so much we're surprised how much we welcome Beverly here – but she really keeps the spirit of the set up well, and offset's John's more traditional folk approach with a slightly raspier, gravelier approach to her lyrics. Instrumentation is relatively light, with spare arrangements from Paul Harris and production from Joe Boyd – and tunes are all originals by the pair, with titles that include "Go Out & Get It", "Sweet Honesty", "Woodstock", "Traffic Light Lady", "The Ocean", "Tomorrow Time", and "Would You Believe Me". CD features 4 bonus demos of tracks from the album! (Rock, Folk/Country) LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album