Spotlight on Liberation Hall
We don't try to hide it! We have some favorite labels at Rock Pile and one of them is Liberation Hall where they specialize in reissuing great albums that have gone out of print but not out of fashion. Here we listen to some recent Liberation Hall releases featuring rock, blues and jazz artists.
Pearl Harbour - Don't Follow Me, I'm Lost Too (Expanded Version)
Before she took the stage name Pearl Harbor and formed the successful band Pearl Harbor and the Explosions in 1978, Patricia Gilbert was already a veteran of the San Francisco rock scene where she performed as a dancer with the Tubes and was a member of Leila and the Snakes.
Don't Follow Me, I'm Lost Too was released in 1980 with little fanfare as her record label at the time didn't do much to promote the album. Now fans have another chance with this reissue to hear the great music that the album contained, like album opener "Alone in the Dark," a strutting rockabilly number that will appeal to fans of bands like the Stray Cats. Pearl goes full-on rockabilly with a cover of Wanda Jackson's "Fujiyama Mama" and sings soulfully on the girl group pop of "Everybody's Boring But My Baby" where Gary Barnacle plays greasy sax parts; Barnacle also adds horn to several other cuts here, notably the advisement to a boyfriend that is "Do Your Homework." A bit of a Country & Western sound permeates "Cowboys & Indians" where Geraint Watkins rocks on piano Jerry Lee Lewis style; Mick Jones of the Clash plays lead guitar on the catchy "Heaven is Gonna Be Empty." Jones is not the only member of the Clash who appears, so do Topper Headon and Paul Simonon who Pearl would marry a couple of years after this album's release. Other players include Wilko Johnson (Dr. Feelgood, Ian Dury & the Blockheads) and Steve Goulding (Graham Parker & the Rumour). This expanded version of the album includes six bonus cuts made up of demos, B-sides and an outrageous cover of LaVern Baker's "Voodoo Voodoo."
The Blasters - Mandatory: The Best of the Blasters
Liberation Hall is in the midst of a reissue campaign of albums by the Blasters as well as solo albums from members of the group.
Mandatory lives up to its name as it contains the songs that most folks think of when they think of the Blasters, whose sound is probably best summed-up in the music and lyrics of album opener "American Music" where the band name checks Louisiana boogie, country, swing, rockabilly and other American genres as they twang-ily rock through the joyous cut about overseas audiences craving American music. Other Blasters faves included are "Marie Marie," the funky strut of "I'm Shakin'," the gospel-tinged rockabilly of "Samson and Delilah," the fiddle-driven "Little Honey" and of course the spooky "Dark Night" which got a lot of exposure in the horror film "From Dusk Till Dawn." Containing 21 cuts overall, Mandatory provides a great overview of what the Blasters were all about. Also available from Liberation Hall are two albums from the Blasters lead singer Phil Alvin,
County Fair 2000 and
Un Sung Stories.
The Contractions - 1980
Sometimes Liberation Hall comes up with a real gem that is previously unknown to most, and such is the case here with this album from the Contractions, a group that flourished briefly on the San Francisco underground scene during the early days of punk and New Wave. The band was a trio made up of Mary Kelley, Kathy Peck and Debbie Hopkins and the music found here comes from two live performances at the infamous Mabuhay Gardens nightclub. As such the sound is a bit primitive, but that fits perfectly with the era and the band's sound, which on opening track "Shut the Door (Slam It)" recalls something that Patti Smith might have done in her earliest days. Other comparisons that can be made here are to Romeo Void on "Breaking Up is Not Hard to Do," maybe Bow Wow Wow on "Shadow Boy" and hints of a fondness for the Stooges here and there. Whatever familiar sounds that may be heard, the Contractions were nobody's clones; they were original, accomplished players displaying an unstoppable energy. Several bonus (studio) tracks append the effort's 11 live tracks, most notably the more fully-formed punk-tinged rock of "You Touched Me." Fans of the '80s underground sound will love discovering the Contractions.
Dizzy Gillespie - Soul & Salvation
Here's a fabulous reissue from the legendary jazz great that hasn't been available in any format for more than 15 years. The great trumpeter, joined here by the likes of Joe Newman, Garnett Brown, James Moody, Cornell Dupree and Ray Lucas romps through 10 tunes including "Stomped and Wasted," a funky strut that sounds very much of the era in which it was recorded (1969). "Pot Licka" is a vocal number, sort of; the cut features (uncredited) female singers oohing and aahing in a gospel-esque manner while Dizzy's horn blasts and teases. Clearly this album was an effort to give Gillespie a wider audience, meant to appeal to pop fans, and the airy "Blue Cuchifrito," the soulful "Turnip Tops" where the singers reprise their role, and the exceptionally funky "Chicken Giblets" all work towards that end. Dizzy might have been hungry during these sessions as many songs besides "Chicken Giblets" have food-oriented titles, including the juicy groove "Casabah Melon," the sax-led "Clabber Biscuits" and "Rutabaga Pie" where the singers actually sing lyrics with the repetition of the song title, and a final course of "Turkey Fan" where Dizzy's playing is nothing short of sublime.
Cannonball Adderley Quintet - Live in Montreal May 1975
Cannonball's quintet here consists of himself on alto and soprano saxophones, his brother Nat Adderley on cornet, Michael Wolff on piano, Walter Booker on bass and Roy McCurdy on drums and percussion. Adderley would pass away shortly after this live recording was made in May of 1975 at the Concert Room in Montreal, making the music here all the more precious. Having progressed from his hard bop days, Adderley was now more interested in infusing his jazz with soul. You can't really hear that on opening track "Five of a Kind," a Nat Adderley-penned song, but the eight minute track features Adderley going nuts on sax with incredible frenetic flourishes and there's a piano solo from Wolff and a great drum segment from McCurdy too. That's an awesome way to start the set which also includes a take on Ron Carter's "First Trip" which is indeed funky and soulful. The music of Joe Zawinul gets lots of love here as Adderley turns in a take on the earthy groove "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," the swinging "The Scene" and the bluesy "Country Preacher." Also in the set is Wolff's "Waban," for which Adderley gives a two minute spoken intro.
Lightnin' Hopkins - Live from the Ash Grove ... Plus!
Here's a real treat for Lightnin' Hopkins fans as the material found in this live recording has never been released before. To make it even more special, most of the cuts where Lightnin' performs alone with just acoustic guitar are Hopkins originals. Hopkins' voice and his acoustic guitar playing capture the very essence of the blues as he comments on a love life gone bad on "Couldn't Be Satisfied," bemoans getting a letter about military service during "Questionnaire Blues," rocks his guitar pretty good on the brief "Ain't it Crazy" which appropriately enough has amusing lyrics, and does some fancy picking on "Don't the Moon Look Pretty." More picking finesse is on display on "Black and Evil," where Hopkins' expressive voice proclaims "You know I'm Black and I'm evil, evil as a man can be." "Lightnin's Boogie," with the exception of some spoken word commentary, is a short instrumental; a cover of Ray Charles' classic "What'd I Say" finds Lightnin' playing the song's intro at several speeds, intentionally playing it too slow and then too fast before he settles on the appropriate tempo. Six bonus cuts are appended to the CD version of this release, notably the vibrant "Black Cadillac" and, playing electric guitar and backed by a band, the swinging instrumental "Lightnin' Can Do It."
Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee - Live from the Ash Grove
Here's a live set from harmonica player Sonny Terry and guitarist Brownie McGhee from 1973 that has never before been released in any format until now. Both men were singers and McGhee takes lead on opening track "Trouble in Mind," a lamentation about not being able to be open about a relationship because the woman is married; the cut is also a showcase for Terry's harp playing and the pair whoop it up pretty good on the song. Terry tells a brief story about how he appeared in the Broadway show "Finian's Rainbow" for two years as an introduction to "Hootin' the Blues," a song he wrote for the play. Amusingly, Terry says he was worried about performing the song the exact same way every night until he found out how much money he was going to get to do so; here the duo perform a rip-roaring take on the instrumental. Also included in the set are the slow country blues of "Blowin' the Fuses" which is another showcase for Terry's harp playing, McGhee's self-penned "Life's a Gamble" and "(I Gotta Look) Up Under Your Hood" which is, as you would expect, full of double entendre. The traditional "Midnight Special" sounds great here as do two bonus cuts from 1965, also recorded at the Ash Grove, "Baby, I Got My Mind Off You" and a jaunty reading of "C'mon If You're Comin'."
