Fantastic Voyage recently released a terrific compilation called JUMPING THE SHUFFLE BLUES: JAMAICAN SOUND SYSTEM CLASSICS 1946-1960. It is no secret that the Jamaican Sound Systems played American R&B at the end of the 1940s-50s which ultimately lead to the birth of ska music. Some R&B songs like Jack McVea’s “Two Timin’ Baby” almost do sound like genuine ska. Next to excellent pre-ska R&B songs by well-known artists like Louis Jordan, T-Bone Walker, Jimmy McCracklin, Wynonie Harris, Rosco Gordon and Little Willie Littlefield, there are many wonderful boppers by obscure artists like Felix Gross, Gene Coy, The Ray-O-Vacts and Earl Curry. The booklet features informative liner notes and detailed song-by-song info. An essential purchase at a very affordable price!


Fans of Hex Dispensers, Wipers and New Christs take note as friends of mine have just released their debut album on the German Screaming Mimi label and it’s a scorcher of a record! BLACKUP’s recent live shows were very promising so I am glad the record doesn’t disappoint to say the least. Next to some ace songwriting, great vocals and a powerful production, you get 180g heavyweight vinyl in a thick cardboard sleeve and a free cd! Talkin’ about a great deal for 13,00 EUR! I am pretty sure that “Ease & Delight” is gonna end up high in my TOP 10 of 2011!


If you dig old-time music, you know by now that Dust-to-Digital, Tompkins Square and Old Hat Records deliver the goods. I keep on buying every Old Hat Records compilation because so far I have never been disappointed. Their latest gem is called BARBECUE ANY OLD TIME - Blues From The Pit 1927-1942 and it might be their greatest collection yet! If you like those fabulous Roots&Blues compilations that Columbia/Legacy used to issue during the 1990s, don’t hesitate to add BBQ ANY OLD TIME to your collection. Of course there’s lotsa risqué blues and double entendres; lyrics like “Pepper Sauce Mama, you make my meat red hot” surely aren't advertisements for BBQ sauce! A five star release!


Tompkins Square has issued some wonderful compilations too during the last couple of months. This May Be My Last Time Singing : Raw African-American Gospel on 45RPM 1957-1982, To What Strange Place : The Music Of The Ottoman-American Diaspora, 1916-1929, Mama, I'll Be Long Gone: The Complete Recordings of Amede Ardoin 1929-1934 and Bloody War : Songs 1924-1939 all deserve highest recommendations for old-time music lovers!


Dust-to-Digital in turn, releases the most overwhelming compilations. Both Baby, How Can It Be? Songs of Love, Lust and Contempt from the 1920s and 1930s and Never a Pal Like Mother: Vintage Songs & Photographs of the One Who’s Always True are precious gems that deserve your attention.


Mississippi Records has recently issued an obscure MAHMOUD AHMED record called ‘Jeguol Naw Betwa’. The sleeve is a great reproduction of the original release but features no extra info. For the record: “Marie Gela” is mentioned as the third song on Side two but is in fact the last song of Side one. Thank you for your attention. I don’t think all of these songs have been reissued before as I can’t find some on my Mahmoud Ahmed Ethiopiques cds but this is prime Mahmoud Ahmed on vinyl so fans should pick this one up as soon as possible before the record is sold out like most of Mississippi Records’ back catalogue. Timeless Ethiopean soul music!


Nascente has just released a great budget 2cd by KANDO BONGO MAN with tracks recorded during the golden age of Parisian soukous. This is heavy party music that should set any dance floor on fire! Browsing through Nascente’s online catalogue and subsequently ordering cds at PLAY.COM is one of my favorite wastes of time! Lotsa quality for little money!


Two great Cramps releases have seen the light of day recently. ‘Live At Club 57!! 1979 plus 9 Demos! 1977-79’ is a great gatefold 2lp released by what I think is a bootleg label called Moonshine Records. The sound may be rather thin but the vocals are clear and the show is awesome. The liner notes consist of 2 interviews with The Cramps from early & obscure fanzines ('Thrills' and 'Damage'). Like when Lux Interior cites Screaming Jay Hawkins: “I don’t care if you want me, I’m yours right now!”. Let’s hope this great bootleg album will be yours soon as it might be the best Cramps live performance on record!


The second Cramps bootleg that I highly recommend is called MEMPHIS POSEURS: THE 1977 DEMOS. These are the infamous Alex Chilton produced sessions recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis, TN that would end up in a less raw version on the band’s mighty 1980 debut album ‘Songs The Lord Taught Us’. Awesome!



Sometimes you pick an album out of your music collection that you forgot you once bought and then you start listening to it and can’t put it aside. Such recently happened to me with a cd from Italy’s THE RIPPERS that compiles their first album from 2005 on Screaming Apple Records with the band’s first 3 singles (2002/2003). It’s wonderful fucked up garage punk & roll, recorded live in their garage and the perfect antidote to a stressful day at the office!

I could tell you some more about other great music that I really enjoyed during the last couple of weeks but time turns out to be my enemy again so I leave you with a great music video by Nahawa Doumbia whose first album from 1982 has just been re-released on vinyl by the fine folks from the Awesome Tapes from Africa blog! Enjoy and don't forget: life is too short to listen to mediocre music!