The Recoup

SINCE 2013: Books and books and books and books and occasionally other things

Joseph Kyle

  • Walter Murphy was a young musical prodigy, making a name for himself as a talented preteen musician. His talent would lead him to a very brief gig on The Tonight Show, but he really made his name in 1976, when he hit upon the unique notion of blending the trendy contemporary sound of disco with… Read more

  • Finding new recordings from Hank Williams is a pretty daunting task, and with each passing year, the chances of finding anything new grows dim, yet his legend lives on. Dead at a young age, his career was brief, yet his songs helped build the foundation of country music. The discovery of recordings made for the… Read more

  •   I want to be a problem I want to cause a scene I want to get reactions And wake you from you dream I don’t care if you don’t like it Or you think that it’s the best As long as you remember Then we’re up with all the rest — “We Got Your… Read more

  •   Corky Hale is one of the world’s premiere harpists, a child prodigy turned teenage TV personality via her appearances on the Freddy Martin show, and then to a gig accompanying Liberace, which suddenly beget opportunities left and right, performing and recording with musicians of all stripes and genres. For the quality of her self-titled… Read more

  • Just because someone spends a fortune on publicity, and just because someone is a child prodigy with a natural talent, doesn’t mean that the world is going to pay attention. The entertainment industry is filled with such debacles, and perhaps one of the sadder stories is that of Jobriath. The recent release of documentary Jobriath… Read more

  •   Righteous Records’ latest compilation features over two dozen prime slabs of greasy, waxed-down vinyl, ranging from the well-known classics to some you’ve never heard before, and probably won’t hear anywhere else. Here are five of the best cuts from the collection: The Gamblers: “LSD-25” (Released 1960): Fun fact: not only is this song the… Read more

  • When Bill Last began student teaching at Hamden High in 1977, he quickly discovered that he was surrounded by talented young people, and his fomenting desire to form a band was soon realized. He put together his group rather quickly, bringing together four young women as vocalists to accompany him. The group would get together… Read more

  •   I always felt that Chris Leo’s band The Van Pelt ended too abruptly. Along with ex-Blonde Redhead guitarist Toko Yasuda, the duo released two superior albums and a handful of singles, ending abruptly in 1997, the duo reformed quickly as The Lapse, and continued on making similar-sounding music. In fact, I wondered why they… Read more

  • I first heard Vanilla Fudge some time in the mid 1980s, when I’d happened upon a copy of their debut album at Goodwill. I’d heard the name before, and had been told they were really trippy and psychedelic. When I put the record on the stereo, I wasn’t really prepared for what I heard. To… Read more

  •   In 1996, I bought a record by an Austin band called The American Analog Set. I was intrigued by the album cover’s clean, clinical looking imagery, and once I got home I realized they were a keeper. With long, mellow passages and chilled-out groove, any time a record appeared with their name on it,… Read more