Simply the Best Classical Passion: Music for Classic Lovers Review by James Manheim
The Shacking Up CD series is apparently doing well, for other discs purporting to double your pleasure have begun to appear. Warner UK's Classical Passion: Simply the Best Music for Classic Lovers doesn't give you detailed step-by-step instructions like some of the other releases in this category; the album just compiles, on two discs, a group of classical favorites, many of which have been considered sexy for a long time. Disc one, "Stimulate Your Senses," includes pieces in a variety of tempos and moods, while disc two, "For Those Tender Moments," stays on the mellow side. To be sure, there are some problems. Those who, to quote the Pointer Sisters, "come and go in a heated rush" won't be helped by the truncated (five minutes!!) version of Ravel's Boléro included here. And that flower vase on the cover would seem to be in some danger (except in the release's home country, of course). Despite these minor faux pas de coit, buyers of Classical Passion should make out just fine. And the music is well enough made that it might inspire some to rub up against these compositions once more for a more extended session.

Music Brokers presents a new volume in the series that has revolutionized the music industry: The Many Faces. A collection of albums that delve into the depths of many of the most important artists in pop music’s history. This time it’s The Beatles’ turn, the greatest band of all time. CD 1 is dedicated completely to the years were Pete Best was The Beatles drummer (before Ringo Starr). CD 2 is a tribute to their songs, and includes versions by stars such as Ike & Tina Turner, John Denver and Marmalade (who reached at # 1 in the UK with their version of Ob-La-Di, Ob -La-Da and that is included in The Many Faces). CD 3 is a fascinating tour through the originals versions of songs that The Beatles covered on their early Eps and the albums Please Please Me, With The Beatles, For Sale. Includes songs like Anna, Twist And Shout and Money (That’s What I Want). The Many Faces Of The Beatles is a wonderful trip through the world of The Beatles, an album to collect and to treasure.

"Ride Daddy Ride: Vintage Songs About Sex 1927-1953" is a compilation album that features a selection of early 20th-century songs with suggestive and risqué themes, dating from 1927 to 1953. The tracks on this album capture the humor, innuendo, and open references to sexuality that were part of the blues, jazz, and swing scenes of the time.

NOW Music proudly presents the next chapter in the ‘NOW 12” 80s’ series – NOW 12” 80s: 1983 – Part Two - out 18th October 2024.
With 49 extended, full-length, or remixed versions, this collection spans the dynamic spectrum of the year, and is part of the vibrant journey through multiple genres of music the 12” single made during the 1980s, with this second instalment of 1983 featuring synth-pop and new-wave hits alongside the catchy grooves of pop-dance and disco. This essential compilation is perfect for both dancefloors and collectors.

Sdban Records, the renowned independent groove & jazz label behind Funky Chicken, Hip Holland Hip, and Discophilia Belgica, is thrilled to announce the upcoming release of its latest compilation album, "The Belgian Soundtrack: A Musical Connection of Belgium with Cinema." Packed with the finest soundtracks boasting an unmistakable Belgian connection, this compilation takes listeners on a captivating journey through a collection of cinematic hidden gems from the early sixties to the late seventies. Curated by the passionate duo Robin Broos and Tom ‘Pélé’ Peeters, known for their profound appreciation of obscure soundtracks, "The Belgian Soundtrack" showcases the exceptional talents of both local and internationally acclaimed composers and musicians. From obscure finds composed by lesser-known artists to Hollywood scores performed by world-renowned musicians, this compilation offers a vibrant blend of tracks, including the occasional contribution from renowned international artists who have lent their musical prowess to Belgian films.

Four-hour, 3CD, 91 track anthology of late 60s American bubblegum pop. Hit singles, cult collectables and obscure album tracks. Featuring The Archies, The Monkees, Ohio Express, 1910 Fruitgum Co., The Lemon Pipers and Crazy Elephant. In the late summer of 1966, manufactured pop quartet The Monkees – a Beatles-inspired concept inevitably nicknamed the Prefab Four – made their TV and vinyl debut. Overseen by industry veteran Don Kirshner, whose Brill Building-honed team supplied most of the songs, The Monkees were aimed at the pre-teen market effectively disenfranchised by the increasingly sophisticated nature of mid-60s pop.

20 CD Box Set. All Original Recordings from the 60s, 70s, 80s. Released by BMG in 1995.

Jackie DeShannon’s status as a singer is assured. Her vocal range, diversity and skill, as exemplified by her original and stunning performances of ‘Needles And Pins’, ‘When You Walk In The Room’, Bacharach and David’s ‘What The World Needs Now Is Love’ and the generational anthem ‘Put A Little Love In Your Heart’, will be well known to readers of this article. But her status as a songwriter also deserves to be celebrated – something that Ace have done for us with this 27-track cracker, “Break-A-Way”.

Three-disc, 64-track collection. The folk revival that took place at club level during the Sixties introduced a whole new audience to traditional folksong, while also bringing to the fore the concept of the earnest young singer/songwriter. When, by the end of the decade, centuries-old songs were being given a sonic makeover by the new breed of electric folkies (headed by the likes of Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span, both of whom are represented on this collection), folk music had long since escaped out of the clubs and into the charts. This companion piece to similar 3CD sets concentrating on the Irish and Scottish folk scenes focuses on the astonishing depth of talent emanating from the English folk scene during this most tumultuous of decades. Every facet of the English folk genre is encompassed, ranging from club singers and trad folksong revivalists like Isla Cameron and Shirley Collins, the post-Dylan singer/songwriter (Donovan, Ralph McTell), folk-based fusion act Pentangle, and even such turn-of-the-decade acid folk iconoclasts as Synathesia and the mighty Comus.

Brand new collection of Studio One killer tunes, focussing on the late 70s, 80s and beyond. Since the early 1960s Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd had established Studio One as the unparalleled leader in reggae music in the world. In the years that followed he established the careers of countless reggae legends – Bob Marley & The Wailers, Marcia Griffiths, The Skatalites, Horace Andy, Dennis Brown, Burning Spear and many more. From its inception Studio One had been at the forefront of every major development in reggae music – ska, rocksteady, roots, DJ, dub and, starting in the second half of the 1970s, dancehall.

A 76 track celebration of all things Manchester from 1977 to 1981.
A comprehensive look at the city’s sounds featuring Buzzcocks, Joy Division, New Order, The Fall, John Cooper Clark, Durutti Column, A Certain Ratio, The Freshies, Slaughter & The Dogs, Magazine and many more. Includes tracks featuring many future stars of the Manchester music scene, such as Mick Hucknall (Simply Red), Martin Coogan (The Mock Turtles), Graham Massey (808 State), Mike Joyce (The Smiths) and Chris Sievey (Frank Sidebottom). Back in 2017, Cherry Red unveiled a mammoth 7-CD compendium entitled ‘Manchester North Of England’, which attempted to document the city’s vibrant music scene from punk to Britpop. Six years on, ‘Keeping Control’ is the sequel, a modest triple-disc retrospective concentrating on music from the punk and post-punk years.

Blues Hall of Fame inductee Walter Davis was a prolific and innovative artist who played an influential role in the creation of the pre-war Blues scene. On The Walter Davis Project a diverse collection of Blues Legends pay tribute to the man and his music, including Billy Boy Arnold, Jimmy McCracklin, Charlie Musselwhite, Christian Rannenberg and Keith Dunn, and Henry Townsend with Bob Corritore. The 17 track collection of Walter Davis' compositions include R&B Legend Jimmy McCracklin's final recordings as well as an interview with Mr. McCracklin, who was taught piano as a child by Walter Davis, by producer Christian Rannenberg, plus 2 tracks from Charlie Musselwhite and an unreleased track from 2002 by Henry Townsend with Living Blues Award winner Bob Corritore. 2012 Blues Hall of Fame member Billy Boy Arnold contributes 9 tracks. The Walter Davis Project album will be treasured by both Blues music lovers and collectors. "To me, Walter Davis's singing, piano playing and lyrics are really deep blues…about as deep as you can get. His lyrics are true blues poetry. His sound has such a deep deep feeling to it. It does what only deep blues can do: it touches your heart and comforts you in a poignant way." – Charlie Musselwhite

100 Eurosong Klassiekers is a various artist compilation album. Released in 2010 on Universal.

During the latter half of the '80s a new breed of guitar-orientated bands began to emerge in the UK - armed with an overt pop song craft sensibility, and enamoured with a conflicting post-punk spirit and adoration of the '60s, many of these unlikely acts - all anoraks, Dr Martens and charity shop chic - would go on to become Top 40 regulars and set the tone for music beyond these shores, culminating in 'The Stone Roses', an album that defined a generation. 'Cut Me Deep' - named for a Jasmine Minks track which captured that spirit - presents a snapshot of that time and place, via essential independent labels such as Creation, Sarah Records and 4AD, and their major backed counterparts in Blanco Y Negro et al, alongside distribution via Rough Trade and other like-minded outlets. With an electric guitar in hand (no Stratocasters here please), and resplendent in clothes as immaculately and cheaply curated as their record collections, a new generation of British musicians kickstarted what would become the only credible challenge to the increasingly dominant synthesiser pop scene of the late 1980's.

In 2019, a year before the onset of the pandemic and three years before the full-scale war in Ukraine broke out, we released Illuminated Silence. This was the first album of a new trio consisting of the young Japanese-born, Irish-based pianist and composer Izumi Kimura and the greats of the improvised music world Barry Guy and Gerry Hemingway. The album was very much liked by listeners and I heard from many of them the question whether there is a chance that this formation will survive, because if the band debuts with such a great album, what will happen when it becomes a working band? Today, five years later we know well that the trio Kimura / Guy / Hemingway is working and bringing a new recording, this time a studio recording made in mid-December of 2023. It is with great pride that we place it in your hands - Six Hands Open As One.