Richard Thompson: Land Ahoy!

March 1, 2024

It’s a rare occurrence that an album’s cover artwork is revealed as part of an artist’s tour advertisement before the record’s release has been officially announced, yet this is what happened with Richard Thompson‘s “Ship To Shore” a couple of months ago, while the platter itself is about to arrive on May 31st. A successor to 2018’s “13 Rivers” which also dealt with waterways, the dozen cuts of the folk-rock legend’s fresh solo endeavor features the usual suspects in his touring band and his wife Zara Phillips on backing vocals, which warrants familial warmth applied to RT’s new musical adventures.

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SOFT MACHINE’s Classic Quartet Unveil Historical Two-Night Stand

February 29, 2024

There are musicians for whom “more of the same” is like a red rag to a bull, and SOFT MACHINE have always saw such a notion as a challenge, which is why, while they might perform the same pieces during any consecutive concerts, none of it ever sounded too similar to what was played before or will be played after. This is the reasoning behind the upcoming release of the Canterbury ensemble’s four-CD box set that captures the classic foursome of Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper, Mike Ratledge and Robert Wyatt in full flight on their final European tour.

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CANNED HEAT Plan Retirement With Joe Bonamassa In Tow

February 28, 2024

Despite their legendary status and uninterrupted, since 1965, existence, CANNED HEAT – still led by original drummer Adolfo de la Parra – have kept their profile low for almost two decades, not releasing a new record since “Christmas Album” which was issued back in 2007. Yet there’s going be one on the verge of the American ensemble’s 60th anniversary – one suggesting the end of their long career in both its title and choice of tracks. As far as farewells go, “Finyl Vinyl” that will see the light of day on March 29th as both LP and CD, should turn out fine.

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Eno, Czukay And Schwalm Issue Almost-Apocryphal Show

February 27, 2024

Once upon a time there was a one-off performance staged by such intrepid sonic adventurers as Brian Eno, Holger Czukay and J. Peter Schwalm – a show which, over the last quarter-century amassed a lot of rumors surrounding different aspects of its circumstance. Some people maintain it was streamed live back in the day, on August 27th, 1998, yet that’s quite unlikely, given the bandwidth of the half-forgotten era; others suggest the musicians, who played outside of the Art and Exhibition Hall in Bonn, were engrossed enough in their interaction to stop only when police shut off power. But there’s no doubt the three-hour concert sounded fantastic – and its highlights will be released on vinyl and CD on May 24th.

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Taj Mahal Haunts Leon Russel’s Studio

February 26, 2024

Taj Mahal would be forgiven if, at almost 82 years of age, he slowed down in terms of recording, yet the veteran bluesman remains faithful to his chosen genre that always dictated perpetual motion along the rails of live. That’s why, barely a year after issuing "Savoy" and embracing old-time swing, Henry St. Claire Fredericks Jr. brought his six-piece ensemble to The Church Studio, a Tulsa facility made famous in 1972 by Leon Russell, to lay down a few favorites for a future release.

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