“Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Okeh Club. We’re featuring here tonight the king of rock n’ roll and when I say the king of rock n’ roll I mean his majesty! A big round of applause for the one and only Little Richard!” Whether you agree with the emcee’s exalted claim in the intro for this album or not there’s no doubting Little Richard’s phenomenal … [Read more...]
Bringing It All Back Home – Bob Dylan
Discovering Dylan is like being handed the keys to the universe. Once that light goes on suddenly the world seems vastly different than it did before. I have friends who’ll recite Dylan in any situation given half a chance, so it’s not unusual to hear one of them break into Shelter From The Storm at a dinner party for instance. For all the justifiable attention the … [Read more...]
Revolver – The Beatles
In a few days time this landmark album will notch up its 50th birthday and while that milestone might be seen by some as “old” this extraordinary record still sounds fresh to these (ageing) ears. Whether it’s the best album the Fab 4 ever released as many believe is too close to call for me when The Beatles (white album) and Abbey Road are also taken into account. But without a … [Read more...]
Ray Charles – Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music
Ray Charles doing country and western? Surely this was the most improbable of album titles or subject matter for a man who was referred to as the ‘High Priest of Soul’. Yes, Ray Charles was doing both kinds of music, but not as we’d ever heard it before. This was an album of country and western standards backed by a full orchestra, choir and brass infused with rhythm and blues. … [Read more...]
Cosmo’s Factory – Creedence Clearwater Revival
Let me preface this new series on Sound Distractions with a little background. A week after my recent turntable purchase my brother Greg donated his vinyl collection to me after it had sat in a box without being played for many years. There was 1 album in particular in that box that held a significant place for me in my musical education – it was a no brainer as the most … [Read more...]