Two years have passed since STATUS QUO issued the “The Early Years 1966-69” collection that, as fans assumed, was a standalone dive into the British ensemble’s psychedelic era, yet they were wrong, because July 3rd will see the release of another five-disc box set that picks up where the old one left off and moves the narrative into the band’s boogie period.
This year marks 55 years since Claire Hamill released her first album, the star-studded “One House Left Standing” that demonstrated the English artist’s strengths as both singer and songwriter, and could there be a better way to celebrate the anniversary of her debut than picking up where it left off by offering a new record with a more mature view of the same perennial themes. Titled “A House Among The Trees” and scheduled to arrive on April 25th, it also continues the path of 2022’s "A Pocket Full Of Love Songs" and “Troubadour” from 2025.
The great Dave Mason died on April 19th, one month short of hitting 80, and hitting various marks and hurdles has always been his thing. Back in 2015, the veteran told this scribe, when asked about his career arc, “Hopefully, I haven’t hit the highest point. And lowest? There really hasn’t been one. You just go and do what you’re doing”: and that’s as fine a summary of what the English artist used to do as it gets.
It never feels good when an artist re-records their classic album from scratch, as such an approach speaks volumes of creative stagnation at play, yet this rule doesn’t apply when the blues come calling. Kenny Wayne Shepherd‘s first platter “Ledbetter Heights” felt like a breath of fresh air back in 1995, because the 18-year-old musician demonstrated a great depth of vision in his chosen genre, but the genre in question requires a real maturity, which is tied to a person age. That’s why, perhaps, Shepherd decided to mark the three-decade anniversary of his debut with a new version of the same set.
He recorded with Tim Hardin and produced Long John Baldry, he arranged strings for THIN LIZZY and RENAISSANCE and conducted orchestras onstage with FACES, he worked with such different artists as AIR SUPPLY and BAD COMPANY, he credited on the records by Steve Harley and Rodriguez – and yet the fame and fortune he deserves somehow escaped Jimmy Horowitz. However, staying in the shadows was never Jimmy’s intent either, so it’s about time we shine a light on the great things he’s done since the ’60s.
