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viewing 1 To 19 of 19 items
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LP
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FDR 631LP
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LP version. "In 1967, the face of rock was changing. In that year alone there were debut albums from The Velvet Underground, The Doors, and Pink Floyd, to name a few. The Beatles had combined orchestration with their music -- the result was Sgt. Peppers in June, the same month that Tim Buckley recorded Goodbye And Hello. Buckley was no longer just another singer-songwriter with an acoustic guitar; he was drenched in acid-folk tinges of harpsichord and harmonium. Lyricist Larry Beckett embellished Tim's songs with introspective lyrics at times, worldly views at others. It was the first major triumph for Tim as an album artist, partially because there were a remarkable amount of pre-production demos that led to it. Available here for the first time are these newly discovered master tapes, recorded by Goodbye And Hello's producer Jerry Yester, along with an ultra-rare acetate, found to be in co-songwriter (and best friend) Beckett's possession. Of the 13 previously unreleased solo acoustic songs contained here, six of them did eventually appear with more expansive instrumentation on Goodbye And Hello (along with another four not included here). However, the crown jewel of this package is seven never-before-heard compositions. These will be new to even the most devoted Buckley fan. Arguably, two of them crept out decades after Tim's death (albeit, much different recordings than what you have here) but with little fanfare. So much has been written about Tim Buckley but so little of it by people who actually knew him. This booklet, however, includes a detailed interview with both Larry Beckett and Jerry Yester, providing real insight on how these recordings came to be and attempting to uncover the man behind all the myths, the real Tim Buckley. Several rarities releases in the 1980s and '90s shed light on his talent, especially the live recordings, but all of the studio material has generally been alternative versions of songs that fans already knew -- until now. This is the first-ever posthumous release that reveals a wealth of previously unreleased and unheard tracks from Tim at the peak of his career. In short, you need this! 13 previously unissued solo acoustic demos. Remastered from the original analog tapes and acetate. Book includes in-depth interview with Buckley's lyricist Larry Beckett."
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2LP
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FDR 623LP
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Double LP version. Comes in gatefold Stoughton "tip-on" jacket. " 'People like Stan Phillips thought I was scary, that I was over the top - but I could play rock n'roll.' -- Jim Dickinson. The late Jim Dickinson is one of the most eclectic personages rock n'roll has ever thrown up: a musical maverick. From Sun Records and Ardent Studios in the 1960s, to sessions with the Rolling Stones, Ry Cooder and Bob Dylan, significant productions of Big Star and the Replacements, and the twisted roots rock of his own Mud Boy & The Neutrons, the man was never, ever predictable. A solo album had not been at the forefront of Jim Dickinson's mind then, but once the idea was put in place by Jerry Wexler at Atlantic, he reacted conceptually, and with gusto. Dickinson always shot from the hip. He could be coarse on a rocker like 'Wine,' or dignified and joyous when celebrating 'The Strength of Love.' Inebriated laments like 'Wild Bill Jones' contrast sharply with the carny talk of 'O How She Dances,' and a shifting, indignant anti-war recitation entitled 'John Brown.' As a music maker who could relate equally to both the intellectual and the visceral aspects of popular culture, anything Dickinson lent his hand to was at least interesting and frequently rewarding. Such is the case with Dixie Fried, his solo debut from 1972. Unsuccessful upon release, the record now is now a cult item that, for many, mirrors the deliciously unexpected twists and turns of Dickinson's subsequent career. Remastered from the original tapes. Features seven unreleased tracks. Liner notes include excerpts from unpublished memoirs. Rare ephemera from Dickinson archives. Expanded 2xLP housed in a deluxe gatefold Stoughton 'tip-on' jacket."
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CD
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FDR 630CD
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"Lee Moses was a huge talent and if he'd had the big hit album he richly deserved, Time And Place would've been it. A self-taught multi-instrumentalist, Moses cut his teeth in the clubs of Atlanta, the 'Motown of the South', where he frequently performed alongside his contemporary Gladys Knight (who reportedly wanted him for the Pips, but couldn't pin him down). It was, however, in New York in the '60s that Moses made his greatest bid to find the solo fame he desired. Moses began working there as a session player, even playing frequently with a pre-fame Jimi Hendrix, but his close relationship with producer and Atlanta native Johnny Brantley eventually saw him getting his own break via a series of 45s in 1967 - most notably with covers of Joe Simon's 'My Adorable One', The Four Tops' 'Reach Out, I'll Be There' and The Beatles' 'Day Tripper'. It was 1971 before Moses' dream of being at stage front was realized, when he released his Brantley-produced LP Time And Place for Maple Records. Recorded with a band including members of The Ohio Players and Moses' own backing group The Deciples, it was, nonetheless, Moses himself whose star quality shone through, via his scratchy guitar riffs, his throat-ripping vocals and the stirring mood that permeates the LP's heady mix of funk, soul and R&B. The LP did no business, and Moses' dream quickly crumbled. Though details on his life are scarce, it's believed he fled New York disenchanted with the music industry, feeling he'd been double-crossed by Brantley both in credit and remuneration for the countless records he'd played on. Back in Atlanta, Moses returned to playing the clubs, married twice, and fell into depression and drug dependency. He died in 1997 at the age of 56. Time And Place soon became a much-sought-after item for collectors, and its cult has continued to grow over the years. Here, we re-present it on deluxe vinyl, with brand new liner notes from Sarah Sweeney including interviews with Moses' sister and his closest collaborator, the singer and guitarist Hermon Hitson. Through them, Moses becomes a little -- but just a little -- less of an enigma."
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CD
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FDR 621CD
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"Officially licensed reissue. Includes 'N'Doheeno' as featured on Native North America (Vol. 1): Aboriginal Folk, Rock, and Country 1966-1985 . Expanded gatefold edition featuring Cree language lyrics and translation and unseen photos. Remastered from the original analogue master tapes Northland, My Land is the full-length vinyl debut from Cree singer-songwriter, actor, and force of nature, Morley Loon (1948?1986). Born in Mistissini, Quebec, Loon became active in music at an early age. Drawing from his Cree culture, language, and environment, Loon developed an organic style that inspired many Indigenous musicians. News of his talent even reached producers at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in the late 1970s. Two 7" EPs of original Cree language compositions were laid down first and later compiled into the Northland, My Land album, which was released to the public in 1981. Accompanied by percussion and flute, Loon taps into a spiritual place with this material, achieving a transcendent quality rarely heard in music. 'N'Doheeno,' which translates to 'The Hunter' reflects the hunting and gathering traditions of Loon's people and region. If you close your eyes and absorb the music's pulse (even without knowledge of Cree), it's easy to visualize the subject of this mesmerizing song. In this quote from the original Northland, My Land liner notes, we learn more: The call of the loon--haunting, evocative, across northern lakes and rivers, has been chosen as a signature effect by Morley Loon in his first recorded appearance. Morley and his people are close to the land and to the wildlife as part of the dominant theme of nature itself. The people have great respect for the wild creatures which they hunt, but on which they also depend. This closeness to the natural world is reflected in sentiments expressed in Cree about the traditional pursuits of the Indian. Though a strict traditionalist who wore his hair and clothes in accordant fashion, Loon was also a seasoned road warrior, performing across Canada, the United States, and Europe. He approached things with a special joy, celebrating and promoting his Cree culture to all. Loon was active as a musician until his untimely cancer-related death in 1986. We are honored to help share Morley's music with the world."
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LP
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FDR 621LP
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Gatefold LP version. "Officially licensed reissue. Includes 'N'Doheeno' as featured on Native North America (Vol. 1): Aboriginal Folk, Rock, and Country 1966-1985 . Expanded gatefold edition featuring Cree language lyrics and translation and unseen photos. Remastered from the original analogue master tapes Northland, My Land is the full-length vinyl debut from Cree singer-songwriter, actor, and force of nature, Morley Loon (1948?1986). Born in Mistissini, Quebec, Loon became active in music at an early age. Drawing from his Cree culture, language, and environment, Loon developed an organic style that inspired many Indigenous musicians. News of his talent even reached producers at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in the late 1970s. Two 7" EPs of original Cree language compositions were laid down first and later compiled into the Northland, My Land album, which was released to the public in 1981. Accompanied by percussion and flute, Loon taps into a spiritual place with this material, achieving a transcendent quality rarely heard in music. 'N'Doheeno,' which translates to 'The Hunter' reflects the hunting and gathering traditions of Loon's people and region. If you close your eyes and absorb the music's pulse (even without knowledge of Cree), it's easy to visualize the subject of this mesmerizing song. In this quote from the original Northland, My Land liner notes, we learn more: The call of the loon--haunting, evocative, across northern lakes and rivers, has been chosen as a signature effect by Morley Loon in his first recorded appearance. Morley and his people are close to the land and to the wildlife as part of the dominant theme of nature itself. The people have great respect for the wild creatures which they hunt, but on which they also depend. This closeness to the natural world is reflected in sentiments expressed in Cree about the traditional pursuits of the Indian. Though a strict traditionalist who wore his hair and clothes in accordant fashion, Loon was also a seasoned road warrior, performing across Canada, the United States, and Europe. He approached things with a special joy, celebrating and promoting his Cree culture to all. Loon was active as a musician until his untimely cancer-related death in 1986. We are honored to help share Morley's music with the world."
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CD
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FDR 620CD
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"Officially licensed reissue. Featured on Native North America (Vol. 1): Aboriginal Folk, Rock, and Country 1966-1985. Remastered from the original analogue master tapes. Expanded gatefold edition with John Angaiak painting. I'm Lost in the City (1971) is the sole vinyl LP offering from Yup'ik singer-songwriter, John Angaiak. Born in Nightmute, Alaska, in 1941, Angaiak began playing guitar at a young age, quickly learning the basics before serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. Stationed in Vietnam and far away from home, Angaiak forged an astute outlook on his region, his country, and the world itself. Upon his return, Angaiak enrolled in the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, where he became active in the preservation of his native language as part of the school's Eskimo Language Workshop. Inspired by the program's work and a friendship with music student Stephen Halbern, Angaiak recorded I'm Lost in the City, a project that helped to document and promote the previously oral Yup'ik language into a written one through a series of songs. Each side of the album, which showcases John's intimate vocal and guitar style, shares a part of Angaiak's culture and history: Side One is sung in Yup'ik, while the material on Side Two is delivered in English. Both are equally emotional, deeply personal and extremely affecting. Over 13 songs, Angaiak speaks to his community and also to the world. 'Ak'a Tamaani,' for one, became a regional hit in Alaska and reached as far as Greenland where Angaiak later performed in concert. Though I'm Lost in the City garnered a small mention in industry bible Billboard, regardless of the album's cultural value, it sold poorly outside of Alaska and other northern communities, never finding a broader audience. In addition to his work as a painter and author, Angaiak is a proud family man and a source of great knowledge of his people and the changes they have faced over the years, shifting from a subsistence hunting, fishing, and sharing lifestyle to an increasingly urban influenced cash-based existence. An important statement on indigenous life and the human condition, I'm Lost in the City showcases Angaiak's first hand perspective on this challenging transition, something that we can all learn a great deal from."
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LP
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FDR 620LP
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LP version. "Officially licensed reissue. Featured on Native North America (Vol. 1): Aboriginal Folk, Rock, and Country 1966-1985. Remastered from the original analogue master tapes. Expanded gatefold edition with John Angaiak painting. I'm Lost in the City (1971) is the sole vinyl LP offering from Yup'ik singer-songwriter, John Angaiak. Born in Nightmute, Alaska, in 1941, Angaiak began playing guitar at a young age, quickly learning the basics before serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. Stationed in Vietnam and far away from home, Angaiak forged an astute outlook on his region, his country, and the world itself. Upon his return, Angaiak enrolled in the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, where he became active in the preservation of his native language as part of the school's Eskimo Language Workshop. Inspired by the program's work and a friendship with music student Stephen Halbern, Angaiak recorded I'm Lost in the City, a project that helped to document and promote the previously oral Yup'ik language into a written one through a series of songs. Each side of the album, which showcases John's intimate vocal and guitar style, shares a part of Angaiak's culture and history: Side One is sung in Yup'ik, while the material on Side Two is delivered in English. Both are equally emotional, deeply personal and extremely affecting. Over 13 songs, Angaiak speaks to his community and also to the world. 'Ak'a Tamaani,' for one, became a regional hit in Alaska and reached as far as Greenland where Angaiak later performed in concert. Though I'm Lost in the City garnered a small mention in industry bible Billboard, regardless of the album's cultural value, it sold poorly outside of Alaska and other northern communities, never finding a broader audience. In addition to his work as a painter and author, Angaiak is a proud family man and a source of great knowledge of his people and the changes they have faced over the years, shifting from a subsistence hunting, fishing, and sharing lifestyle to an increasingly urban influenced cash-based existence. An important statement on indigenous life and the human condition, I'm Lost in the City showcases Angaiak's first hand perspective on this challenging transition, something that we can all learn a great deal from."
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LP
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FDR 627LP
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"Last but not least, our unprecedented dig into the Loma Record vaults has thrown up a surfeit of soulful goodies for the final volume, many of which are previously unreleased. Northern soul fans will marvel at the dancefloor potential of The Marvellos' 'I Need You' or The Invincibles' 'Heartstrings.' Aficionados of the Ragovoy-supervised uptown sound will groove on Carl Hall's 'Like I Told You' and Ben Aiken's 'That's All You Gotta Do.' The tracklist also shines light on many unfairly overlooked entries in the Loma listings by the likes of Linda Jones, Billy Storm, The Implements, and The Realistics, and yet more compelling cuts from The Apollas, Teen Turbans, and The Mighty Hannibal remind us just why we love Loma. With full historical notes on artist and label history and many rare illustrations, Loma: A Soul Music Love Affairis a fresh and invigorating celebration of one of 60s soul's most storied imprints."
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LP
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FDR 626LP
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"Several years of in-depth research into the Loma vault provide the content of our third volume. It celebrates the many sophisticated uptown productions on the label, mostly cut in New York under the auspices of Ragovoy, Van McCoy, George Kerr, Richard Tee, and other soul notables. Loma goddess -- and Aretha's favorite singer -- Linda Jones gets us 'Hypnotized' while Bobby Freeman spooks with 'Shadow Of Your Love.' Rarities include soulful items from The Realistics, Bobby Reed, Mary Lee Whitney, and Tommy Starr, along with several unreleased titles, including heart wrenching nuggets by The Enchanters and Carl Hall, and the never-before-heard Bob & Earl gem 'Just One Look In Your Eyes'. With full historical notes on artist and label history and many rare illustrations, Loma: A Soul Music Love Affair is a fresh and invigorating celebration of one of 60s soul's most storied imprints."
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2LP
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FDR 613LP
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Double LP version housed in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket and limited to 1000 copies. "Apostolic was many things: a label, a collective, a state of mind even. But before all of that, it was a recording studio set up by New Yorker John Townley. As a member of the Magicians, (you recognize that name from the Nuggets albums), Townley worked in some of the finest studios in the USA, but he felt he was on a conveyor belt. 'You had to do the creation ahead of time, which is not my idea of a good time,' he says now. 'You had all this stuff to play with, and you weren't allowed to play with it.' When Townley came into an $85,000 inheritance he immediately invested in a loft building on 10th Street, New York, against the advice of, well, 'everybody'. But there were fellow believers. Friends Matt Hoffman and Michael and Danny Weiss, heirs to the Weiss jewelry fortune, helped assemble the studio, which was built to bleeding-edge specifications and even had a 12-track recorder. Soon, it was attracting likeminded souls such as Frank Zappa, whose Mothers Of Invention recorded several landmark LPs at Apostolic. But the greatest example of the output of this artistic community is the sprawling double LP The Family of Apostolic. A utopian album inspired by global cultures ranging from Pakistani folk songs to Scottish traditional music and Chinese opera, it was made by a cast of 19, bonded by a desire to create 'primitive performance art' from surrealist happenings. 'The idea of Apostolic was that the whole operation was a family,' says Townley. 'Anybody could do anything if they participated.' Despite the possibilities opened up by the studio and the chance to treat the desk as an instrument, The Family Of Apostolic is nonetheless a folk record at heart, and sounds downright spare in places. The experimentation was there in subtle ways, per Townley's desire for each song to be 'like just a natural happening. We were trying to get a very close, upfront, live feeling.' Released under a deal with Vanguard, the rambling album proved too difficult to market. Singles were released under different artist names, serving only to confuse the public more. Soon the studio was heading down the tubes, thanks in part to Jimi Hendrix's multi-track studio Electric Lady opening two blocks away. And before long, the Apostolic dream was over. The album remains a curate's egg, but one filled with delights. Opening track Redeemer asks, 'O say, are you a true believer?' By the time you've listened to our deluxe reissue, you will be."
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CD
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FDR 613CD
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"Apostolic was many things: a label, a collective, a state of mind even. But before all of that, it was a recording studio set up by New Yorker John Townley. As a member of the Magicians, (you recognize that name from the Nuggets albums), Townley worked in some of the finest studios in the USA, but he felt he was on a conveyor belt. 'You had to do the creation ahead of time, which is not my idea of a good time,' he says now. 'You had all this stuff to play with, and you weren't allowed to play with it.' When Townley came into an $85,000 inheritance he immediately invested in a loft building on 10th Street, New York, against the advice of, well, 'everybody'. But there were fellow believers. Friends Matt Hoffman and Michael and Danny Weiss, heirs to the Weiss jewelry fortune, helped assemble the studio, which was built to bleeding-edge specifications and even had a 12-track recorder. Soon, it was attracting likeminded souls such as Frank Zappa, whose Mothers Of Invention recorded several landmark LPs at Apostolic. But the greatest example of the output of this artistic community is the sprawling double LP The Family of Apostolic. A utopian album inspired by global cultures ranging from Pakistani folk songs to Scottish traditional music and Chinese opera, it was made by a cast of 19, bonded by a desire to create 'primitive performance art' from surrealist happenings. 'The idea of Apostolic was that the whole operation was a family,' says Townley. 'Anybody could do anything if they participated.' Despite the possibilities opened up by the studio and the chance to treat the desk as an instrument, The Family Of Apostolic is nonetheless a folk record at heart, and sounds downright spare in places. The experimentation was there in subtle ways, per Townley's desire for each song to be 'like just a natural happening. We were trying to get a very close, upfront, live feeling.' Released under a deal with Vanguard, the rambling album proved too difficult to market. Singles were released under different artist names, serving only to confuse the public more. Soon the studio was heading down the tubes, thanks in part to Jimi Hendrix's multi-track studio Electric Lady opening two blocks away. And before long, the Apostolic dream was over. The album remains a curate's egg, but one filled with delights. Opening track Redeemer asks, 'O say, are you a true believer?' By the time you've listened to our deluxe reissue, you will be."
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LP
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FDR 625LP
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"Volume two of Loma: A Soul Music Love Affairfocuses on the funkier, earthier side of the Loma catalog and is once again the result of several years of in-depth research into the vault. JJ Jackson and The Mighty Hannibal bring the boogaloo, Baby Lloyd and Lukas Lollipop offer up some deep soul, and the stratospheric pipes of Carl Hall make us wanna holler. There's the grooving original of 'Try (Just A Little Bit Harder)' by diva Lorraine Ellison, little-heard rarities from Larry Laster and Roy Redmond, obscure productions by James Brown and Solomon Burke, and a heartbreaking unissued cut by one-time Hendrix sideman Lonnie Youngblood. With full historical notes on artist and label history and rare pieces of ephemera, Loma: A Soul Music Love Affair is a fresh and invigorating celebration of one of 60s soul's most storied imprints."
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CD
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FDR 617CD
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"By 1965, Françoise Hardy was truly international. She'd hung out with The Beatles and The Stones, played high-profile shows in London, established a working relationship with British producer Charles Blackwell, and appeared in the film What's New Pussycat? She was also a fashion icon seen in the pages of Marie Claire and Vogue and on the cover of Elle, and her first US album was issued that year. In France, Hardy was to release album number four, the second album to be recorded in London, where her celebrity was rapidly growing -- at odds with her natural shyness. 'In London, it was the first time I'd been made to think I had a certain charm or charisma,' she says now. 'Thanks to the time in England, I became aware I could be seductive.' L'Amitié, with its evocative, close-up album cover and late-night sound, is the result. Produced by Jacques Wolfsohn alongside arranger Charles Blackwell, the sessions were notable for some distracting visitors. 'Mick Jagger was there a few times with various entourages of his at Pye [Studios],' recalls Blackwell. 'There was a long seat in front of the mixing desk where they used to sit.' Hardy was, however, not the epitome of the swinging '60s idyll; she was an intellectual, into yoga and Buddhism and astrology, and she still noted French chanson singers George Brassens and Jacques Brel as favorites alongside Elvis, Dionne Warwick, and The Rolling Stones. Despite her new links to the world of fashion, the tentative steps into film, the growing international awareness, and the attention she brought sheerly through her presence, music remained Françoise's focus, and her fourth album more than demonstrated this. A mix of Hardy's own songs, Blackwell's songs, and tracks from writers including Jean-Max Rivière and Gérard Bourgeois (who wrote the title track), the sound focused on stirring, heavy pop, not least in the yearning 'L'Amitié.' 'I'm still very proud of "L'Amitié,"' says Françoise, who's wont to undervalue her own work. 'The French lyrics are so very moving.' Includes exclusive interview with Françoise Hardy and liner notes by Kieron Tyler."
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CD
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FDR 618CD
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"Includes exclusive interview with Françoise Hardy and liner notes by Kieron Tyler. Hardy's fifth album was a collection of English-language recordings. For her next, released in October 1966, the focus was back on her home market in France, where things were changing quickly. Writing much of her own material was no longer a novelty -- her future partner, Jacques Dutronc, was doing the same, and artists like Antoine were following Dylan's lead. 1966 was the year Hardy met Dylan, who demanded an audience with her at his Paris gig and later performed for her at a party. 'It was only later that it occurred to me that he was singing "I Want You" because he actually wanted me,' she says. Françoise said Dylan was not part of her world. As La Maison Ou J'Ai Grandi proved, Hardy's world was perfect and fleshed out and set -- five albums in, she had a sound, mood, and feel all her own. Recorded in London, the hit 'La Maison Ou J'Ai Grandi' solidified what Hardy did best: marrying French chanson songs to epic production influenced by Phil Spector, Dusty Springfield, and George Martin; the toweringly powerful 'Je Changerais D'avis,' which opens the LP, is a prime example. Though Hardy had formed a strong working relationship with producer Chris Blackwell, nine of the twelve tracks were arranged by Johnny Harris, known for his work with Petula Clark and Tom Jones. Although the artist and language were French, the album drew from an internationalist, polyglot world -- six tracks were penned by Hardy, the remainder cherry-picked from French, British, and Italian songwriters. And despite its varied sources, the album was a cogent artistic statement. Françoise had returned to acoustic sounds like with her earliest songs, accompanying herself on a Spanish guitar, and was reasserting her own vision of her music. These were yearning songs delivered with an intimate authority, at odds with the perception of Hardy in Britain and beyond, where she was seen as an ultra-fashionable, ultra-hip Parisian sophisticate, but totally in line with everything she'd ever striven for musically."
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CD
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FDR 615CD
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"Like her 1962 debut, the cover of the following year's Le Premier Bonheur Du Jour had Hardy staring enigmatically at the listener. On the album itself, the sound had changed in line with Hardy's solidifying vision and voice; where Tous Les Garçons Et Les Filles was produced by a series of collaborators who struggled to understand her style, Le Premier Bonheur Du Jour gave fans the most significant insight so far into the identity of Françoise Hardy. In 1963, at a time when Serge Gainsbourg was tentatively dipping a toe into pop and the term yé-yé was only just being coined, Hardy was a rare thing: a singer-songwriter with heaps of her own material but not a folk singer in any sense. Hers was pop music that took the weight of chanson on its shoulders. Here, 'Comme Tant D'Autres' says, 'I know well that life is short, and I've been around' -- hardly 'She loves you, yeah yeah yeah.' For the tracks on Le Premier Bonheur Du Jour, Hardy was produced by arranger Marcel Hendrix. As well as her own compositions, 'L'Amour D'Un Garçon' saw Hardy adapt Burt Bacharach and Hal David's 'The Love Of A Boy.' In a contemporary interview, she said she would not perform songs where there was no sense of the words touching her intimately. 'A song -- it is your own story, or it is nothing,' she said. It was another year before Hardy's records were issued in Britain and another year before she started to brush up against the likes of Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and The Stones, but life was changing for the 19-year-old. Her unique sound would take her far, despite admitting now that she 'had no ambition. At the beginning, my ambition was to record something. I thought anything outside France was an impossible dream, but I did what I could to make it come true. It was like a current that carried me.' Includes exclusive interview with Françoise Hardy and liner notes by Kieron Tyler."
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FDR 616CD
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"Includes exclusive interview with Françoise Hardy and liner notes by Kieron Tyler. Following the French success of 1962's Tous Les Garçons Et Les Filles and 1963's Le Premier Bonheur Du Jour, 1964 was the year Hardy went truly international. Having competed in the Eurovision Song Contest and acted in a Roger Vadim film, this was the year Dylan dedicated a poem to her on the sleeve of Another Side and the year she ventured to Britain to record English language songs for the first time. Hardy's first three French EPs of the year, from which just 'Pourtant Tu M'aimes' appears on Mon Amie La Rose, were largely recorded on home soil with Paris-based arranger Mickey Baker. After the third, Françoise changed tack, abandoned French studios and arrangers, and headed to London's Pye Studios. She would not record again in France until 1968, instead employing a series of British producers and musicians that even included then-studio guitarist Jimmy Page. 'It was very difficult for me to convince my record company to go to London for the production because my artistic director was having lots of success with very bad arrangements,' she says dryly. 'Since they were having success with bad arrangements, they could continue like that.' Hardy got her way and, working with arranger Charles Blackwell, a former protégé of Joe Meek, set about creating a new interpretation of her glacial, existentially yearning music: part pop, part chanson, part soul music. On one hand, she was marrying yearning melodies with lyrics examining feelings of otherness. On the other, she was interpreting the music coming from Britain and America -- both that of Phil Spector and country, too. Blackwell was the first arranger with whom Hardy was happy, and Mon Amie La Rose was the first album she thought of as more than an afterthought. 'She chose her own songs and was very in control,' says Blackwell. 'She was very much a perfectionist.' As Hardy's sound was changing, so was her life; the British were enchanted by her Parisian style and sophistication and didn't see her as the shy, sad soul that those at home painted her as. A new era was beginning, and Hardy's music was traveling further than ever."
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FDR 612CD
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"Barry Thomas Goldberg was 23 in 1974, the year his Minneapolis power pop group, The Batch, split up. Rudderless, he set about recording solo album Misty Flats, and though few would hear it in its day, he hit on something very special indeed. 'In 1974, the world was weary, the Vietnam War was ending, America was at this place where it didn't know where it was heading, it was the fumes of Watergate days,' says Goldberg now. 'I'd just left my band, and I didn't know where I was heading either. And that's what Misty Flats represents: neither high road nor low, but somewhere in between.' Where The Batch were a harmony-drenched power pop band in the mold of Big Star and The Rubinoos, Misty Flats was an album of ecstatic desolation, an unhinged loner-folk gem that came from a unique place: 'I wanted to make the first punk rock album, and if I'd recorded those songs with a band, maybe that's what it would've been,' Goldberg says. The album was, instead, recorded in mono in a two-day recording binge on a two-track Ampex tape machine. It features just Goldberg and his friend Michael Yonkers, author of the cult 1968 LP Microminiature Love, playing guitar, bass, harmonica, and vocals between them. In it, we hear echoes of Goldberg's childhood in Las Vegas, where trips to the movies were surrogate babysitters for his single mother. 'Hollywood' and 'Stars In The Sand' dream of LA life, where 'Pop And Ice' has a narrative straight from hard-edged '70s cinema about a drummer who's drafted into the army. 'Never Came To Stay' details his return to Minneapolis, where he remains to this day, working as an administrator for the Minnesota Twins baseball team. Back in '74, Yonkers had crushed several vertebrae at work and used his payoff to fund five albums: four of his own and Goldberg's Misty Flats, which was pressed in a run of just 500. 'We were into art, not commerce,' notes Goldberg now, but at the time he was frustrated his album was allowed to drift off into obscurity. Goldberg forged ahead to record a 24-track rock album called Winter Summer which languishes in the vault to this day; Misty Flats, however, is finally widely available in this first-ever reissue."
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LP
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FDR 612LP
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LP version. Pressed on 180-gram vinyl and housed in deluxe tip-on gatefold jacket. Includes download code.
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FDR 610LP
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"Thin Lizzy's second album is a nod to the past: Shades of Blue and Orphanage were former outfits of two of the band's members, their names combined to create an oddly evocative image -- especially when combined with a sepia-tinted image cover of three small, shoeless children intended to represent vocalist Phil Lynott, guitarist Eric Bell, and drummer Brian Downey. Looking back is a common theme of the LP. The soft, sensitive 'Sarah' was written for Phil Lynott's grandmother who raised him in lieu of his absent mother. It's an album that challenges your perceptions about a group you think you have nailed down through future singles 'Jailbreak,' 'The Boys Are Back in Town,' and 'Whisky in the Jar.' Here, 'I Don't Want to Forget How to Jive' sees the band try their hand at rockabilly, and 'Chatting Today' evokes the emotive performances of Richie Havens. As a whole, Shades of a Blue Orphanage presents a version of the band that places its foundations beyond the hard rock for which the group is famous. The preposterously titled 'The Rise and Dear Demise of the Funky Nomadic Tribes,' which opens the LP, epitomizes this, including tribal beats, funky guitars, and Lynott singing in full soul-power mode. It's begging to be sampled, like the group's contemporary -- but incognito -- work as Funky Junction, under which name they released Funky Junction Play A Tribute To Deep Purple the same year. Those who prefer Thin Lizzy in more recognizable form will find things to love, too: 'Buffalo Gal' is as restrained as a song with an insistent, descending riff could ever be, and 'Call the Police' is a bluesy swagger that shows off Lynott's talent for describing life on the gritty streets of the Republic of Ireland's much-romanticized capital city. The record culminates in the world-weary title track with a chorus that cuts straight to the bone: 'It's true blue, Irish blue.' Released in 1972, just three years after the band formed in Dublin, it's fair to say that Shades of a Blue Orphanage represents a group on the move, still finding their feet, and possibly bending to the will of a record label who didn't quite know what to do with a multiracial, multi-faith rock band from a sectarian country. Sales of their debut album, Thin Lizzy, had been poor, and Shades of a Blue Orphanage wasn't the one to turn their fortunes around. Still, it's fascinating listening for even those with a passing interest in their history." Pressed on 180-gram vinyl.
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