Reet Hendrikson-Reet. Label: Moved-By-Sound. Format: CD. Sadly, Estonian folksinger Reet Hendrikson only ever released one album during her carer. This was ‘Reet,’ which was released in 1969, on the Estonian-Canadian label Reindeer Records. However, this stunning album of folk and psych-folk failed to find the wider audience it deserved.  Nowadays, though, Hendrikson’s music is starting to reach a new generation of music fans. However, the problem they had was finding a copy of the album. Copies of ‘Reet’ are now much-prized rarities. Fortunately, British-based label Moved-By-Sound has re ..read more

Bob Stanley Presents London A To Z 1962 To 1973. Label: Ace Records. Format: CD. Release Date: ‘29th’ September 2023. During a discussion on the ‘20th’ September, 1777, Samuel Johnson said: “Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” Since then, countless artists, poets, writers and musicians have headed to London in search of fame and fortune. They arrived from all over Britain, and the lucky few went on to become household names. Others despite t ..read more

A Way To Make A Living-The Dolly Parton Songbook. Label: Ace Records. Format: CD. Release Date: “31st” March 2023. On September the ‘18th’ 1967, Monument Records released Hello, I’m Dolly, the debut album twenty-one year old country singer Dolly Parton. The album reached number eleven in the US Country charts, and featured two hit singles, Dumb Blonde and Something Fishy. However, the singer from Pittman Center, Tennessee was no overnight success story. Eight years previously, in 1959, thirteen year old Dolly Parton had released her debut single Puppy Love. After it failed to chart, it was thr ..read more

We Are The Children Of The Sun. Label: BBE Music. Format: CD. Recently, BBE  released the compilation We Are The Children Of The Sun, which was compiled by DJ and renowned crate digger Paul Hillery, who is one of leading lights of folk-funk scene. This new compilation offers a tantalising taste of a genre that many music lovers will be unfamiliar with. That’s a great shame as there’s a veritable feast of hidden gems awaiting discovery. Just like origins of many genres, much debate sounds when the term folk-funk was coined. Musical historians continue to debate this, but it may be as long ..read more

Lenny Kaye Presents Lightning Striking.  Label: Ace Records. Format: 2CD. Versatile describes musician, composer and producer Lenny Kaye. Many music fans remember him as the guitarist in the Patti Smith Group. Lenny Kaye also worked with everyone from REM and James to Suzanne Vega and Kristin Hersh right through to Soul Asylum and even poet and writer Allen Ginsberg. This is just part of the story of a career that began in 1964. Lenny Kaye has also enjoyed a successful career as a music journalist, and has written for a variety of magazines. This includes Rolling Stone, Crawdaddy, Creem a ..read more

Blow My Mind! The Doré-Era-Mira Punk and Psych Legacy. Label: Big Beat Records. Format: CD. During the fifties and sixtes many small record companies sprung up across America. Especially, in cities like New York and Los Angeles which were two of America’s musical cities.  One of these new labels was Era Records which was founded in 1955 by two cousins, Lew Bedell and Herb Newman. The two cousins came from very different backgrounds. Lew Bedell had been a comedian but his career was at a crossroads. So he was on the lookout for a new career. Herb Newman was a music industry veteran who had ..read more

Hurdy Gurdy Songs-Words and Music By Donovan 1965-1971. Label: Ace Records. Format: CD. Having signed to Pye Records in 1965, nineteen year old singer-songwriter Donovan began working with the producers Terry Kennedy, Peter Eden and Geoff Stephens on his debut single Catch The Wind. When the single was released on the ‘12th’ of March 1965, it reached number four in the UK and twenty-three in the US Billboard 100. This was the start of the rise and rise of one most influential singer-songwriters of his generation.  Donovan’s music played an important part in the soundtrack to the second ha ..read more

Warren Hampshire-Language Of The Birds. Label: Athens Of The North. Format: LP Many people will remember Warren Hampshire as the guitarist in The Bees, who were formed in Ventnor on the Isle of Wight in 2001 and went on to release four albums between 2002 and 2010. However, he wasn’t an original lineup of the band and joined in time to their sophomore album Free the Bees which was released in 2002. Just a year after The Bees’ were founded they released their debut album Sunshine Hit Me on the ‘25th’ March 2002. The four piece band had produced an eclectic and summery sounding album which was w ..read more

Warren Hampshire-Language Of The Birds. Label: Athens Of The North. Format: CD. Many people will remember Warren Hampshire as the guitarist in The Bees, who were formed in Ventnor on the Isle of Wight in 2001 and went on to release four albums between 2002 and 2010. However, he wasn’t an original lineup of the band and joined in time to their sophomore album Free the Bees which was released in 2002. Just a year after The Bees’ were founded they released their debut album Sunshine Hit Me on the ‘25th’ March 2002. The four piece band had produced an eclectic and summery sounding album which was ..read more

Cult Classic: Quicksand-Home Is Where I Belong. Musical history is littered with examples of groups who only ever released one album during their what proves to be a short-lived career. Especially, during the late-sixties and early seventies when many record companies had unrealistic expectations. All too often, when a band’s debut album failed to find an audience they were unceremoniously dropped by their record label. This was yet another example of short-term thinking in the music industry.  There could’ve been any number of reasons for an album to fail, and often the blame lay fairly ..read more