The Recoup

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

Joseph Kyle

  • Paul Nelson: Vortex (Medical Records)

    Okay, so where has this record been hiding? Paul Nelson was a young man of musical ambition, a nerd-like love for computers, and, apparently, Tangerine Dream and other prog-rock records. He recorded this, his lone album, and it’s a shame he didn’t make more. First things first: skip over the first song, “Automated Man,” as… Read more

  • 3AM Eternal: “Little” Jimmy Dickens “Hey Ma! (Hide The Daughter)” (1959)

      A fun, slightly naughty rockabilly number for this otherwise blah Thursday… Read more

  • Tiny Tim: God Bless Tiny Tim (Deluxe Expanded Mono Edition) (Now Sounds)

    It would be extremely easy to call Tiny Tim a one-off, but that doesn’t begin to do justice to just exactly how unique Herbert Khaury was. A large, imposing man with a voice that seemed unsuited for a man of his stature, Tiny Tim would become a fixture on talk shows for his singing and… Read more

  • 3AM Eternal: Delays “Long Time Coming” (2004)

    British band Delays seemingly came out of nowhere, a heavenly blast of dreamy pop and superb falsetto singing from frontman Greg Gilbert. Faded Seaside Glamour, their debut album, was an impressive, promising album built around Gilbert’s amazing voice, and it seemed that big things were headed their way. Unfortunately that didn’t quite happen, and though still… Read more

  • Keith Emerson: Honky (1981)

    If one were feeling sarcastic, one might suggest that Honky, progressive keyboardist Keith Emerson‘s solo album from 1981, should have been titled Prog-Rockers in Paradise. While Honky is far from a Jimmy Buffett-style affair, it most certainly isn’t the austere, almost solemn affair of Emerson’s work with Emerson, Lake &  Palmer; if anything, the record… Read more

  • 3AM Eternal: The Toadies “Tyler” (1994)

    Reality check: Rubberneck, the debut album by Dallas rockers The Toadies, is twenty years old.  While the album contained their biggest hit, the scorching “Possum Kingdom,” it was later single “Tyler,” that really won this writer over–that, and their always incendiary live sets, where their mixture of hard rock, blues, and punk rock takes on a… Read more

  • 3AM Eternal: Pepperment Rainbow “Will You Be Staying After Sunday” (1968)

    A little sunshine pop is a great way to start off a new week! Let us then proceed to enjoy the first hit from Baltimore-based Peppermint Rainbow. This lovely little tune was a hit in 1968, and rightly so. You can’t resist the harmonies of sisters Bonnie and Pat Lamdin, and the catchy melody will… Read more

  • Alfred G. Karnes “I Am Bound For The Promised Land” (1927)

    Deuteronomy 1:8:  Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess that land which the Lord sware, unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and unto their seed after them. Read more

  • 3AM Eternal: The Five Stairsteps “You Waited Too Long” (1966)

    Though The Five Stairsteps will forever be associated with their wonderful song, “Ooh Child,” their career began several years before, and they produced quite a number of perfect soul ballads under the tutelage of Curtis Mayfield–who signed them to his label Windy C–this number, taken from their debut album, highlights their talents. The video is rough, but… Read more

  • Ian McNabb: Truth and Beauty (Cherry Red)

      Former Icicle Works frontman Ian McNabb entered the 1990s without his long-running band, without a record deal, and, as the liner notes seem to suggest, a lack of confidence in his ability–one that would be bolstered by the minor success of a self-released single, recorded for little money and little expectation. It’s understandable, this… Read more