Joseph Kyle
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In many ways, the short-lived Belgian band Surprize was one of the first Factory-influenced bands. In their brief career, this quintet released only two four-track EPs and one 12″ single, but there’s nothing on here that doesn’t sound un-Factory like. Their first single, released in 1981, comes last in the collection’s lineup, and… Read more
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Bebu Silvetti was an Argentinean-born pianist who caught the ear of American label Salsoul, who signed the budding musician and arranger. His second album for the label, Spring Rain, is a record of incomparable style and flavor, that blends disco, jazz, and easy listening music into an interesting, unique amalgam. The title track was a… Read more
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This late 1960s psych-rock band Kaleidoscope is not to be confused with the English Kaleidoscope of the late 1960s…or the American Kaleidoscope of the late 1960s. No, what we have here is a much more potent little band. Hailing from Puerto Rico, this band’s sole album was released in Mexico in a limited edition… Read more
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1979’s Hold Your Horses was a major sonic departure for R&B trio First Choice. Up until the release of this, their fifth album, the band specialized in a pleasant, albeit atypical Soul sound. For this album, producer Tom Moulton and label Salsoul sent the three ladies to Germany to record. If one instantly thinks… Read more
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On some level, one might think of Special Beat as an elaborately designed package act; after all, the Portmanteau name belies the band’s relatively simple DNA: members of The Specials and The English Beat, combined to perform hits from both bands. Not surprisingly, then, that live albums are the only documents of this compelling collaborative… Read more
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Yesterday afternoon, I was devastated by the news of the death of the husband and wife duo known as Nowhere Man and A Whiskey Girl. Amy and Derrick Ross were a loving couple, two unique individuals, and, to me, the epitome of what a loving relationship should be. I first met them in 2004, when I… Read more
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Remix and rarities collections often offer a unique portrait of a pop star’s career. Such is the case with the workmanlike Remixes and Rarities, a two-disc collection that offers two and a half hours’ worth of alternate history for 80s pop crooner Paul Young. Best known in America for his 1986 Adult Contemporary smash “Every… Read more
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T-Coy was the brief Manchester-based dance trio of Hacienda DJ Mike Pickering, A Certain Ratio‘s Simon Topping, and keyboardist Ritchie Close. After the split of Topping and Pickering’s group Quando Quango, the two hooked up with Close and set out to make sounds inspired by their shared love of House music. What happened, though, was… Read more
The Recoup 