Joseph Kyle
-
Imagine, if you will, a heady blend of funk, disco, jazz, and soul music that is then processed through a New Wave scrambler, and you come up with the basic formula for Blue Rondo a la Turk, a brief but exciting British group that formed in 1981. A notoriously frantic and powerful orchestra, they… Read more
-
In college, one of my professors referred to the Vietnam conflict as “the first rock and roll war.” While the onomatopoeic nature of the phrase is appropriate, the point was one of considerable debate. Certainly, the war’s effect on popular culture is undeniable; many examples exist that show how Vietnam and the culture of the… Read more
-
Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys: Riding Your Way: The Lost Transcrpitions for Tiffany Music 1946-1947
The postwar development and proliferation of radio stations across the United States proved to be a boon for musicians; regional acts now had the ability to break from their geographic locations and make an impact on the rest of the country. Both artists and businesses recognized the benefits of teaming up; companies realized a… Read more
-
The Hues Corporation, a Las Vegas-based R&B group, first came to prominence as the band in the film Blacula, which provided the band with the break they had been seeking, and which resulted in a record deal. Though success was long in coming, when it did come, it was well-deserved. Freedom For The Stallion,… Read more
-
I recently wrote about the excellent and essential documentary, Jobriath AD, and was chuffed to learn that a collection of archival recordings was to be released. Entitled As The River Flows, this ten-song collection gathers up a handful of recordings from 1971, before his solo career began in earnest. What amazes is these recordings, made… Read more
-
Considering how well documented his life has been for the past fifty years, it’s still somewhat rare to get Sir Paul McCartney to sit down and talk about Wings and his career during the Seventies. He’s always been a little wiggly, but fortunately, journalist Tom Doyle has had the rare fortune to get him… Read more
-
Birthday Party and Bad Seeds guitarist Mick Harvey had been involved in a handful of soundtrack productions, but it wasn’t until 1995 that he released his proper solo debut album, Intoxicated Man. For this project, he decided to indulge himself in the music of Serge Gainsbourg, and the results were fantastic. Both Intoxicated Man and… Read more
-
You just gotta love a guy who buys back his album and then walks across the street to a competing record label, and when it is released, the once-rejected record is a massive success. That’s the case of Jimmy Castor, who signed to Columbia, and when he turned in his debut album, It’s Just Begun,… Read more
-
From the outside, Belly should have been enjoying life. Their debut album, Star, was a surprise success. Leader Tanya Donelly was finally blossoming into a fine musician and songwriter, her years in Throwing Muses a stepping-stone to greater things. Alas, looks can be deceiving. “Going into the studio to make King,” Donelly says, with a… Read more
-
Over the past year, reissue label El has released a handful of compilations that explore different scenes and aspects of 1960s culture (with some 1950s thrown in for good measure). In this week’s 555 installment, we will investigate these compilations Bower Hats & Leather Boots: Personalities Go Pop Art is an interesting compilation of… Read more
The Recoup 