T-Bone Walker 'Hypin' Woman Blues'

T-Bone Walker 'Hypin' Woman Blues'

 T-Bone Walker was one of the most innovative and boundary pushing jump blues guitarists of all time, believed by some biographers to be the first musician ever to perform with an electric guitar. This is a boogie blues off his "The Blues Of T-Bone Walker' compilation, as sampled by Mr Scruff for 'Get A Move On'.

Muddy Waters 'Tom Cat'

Muddy Waters 'Tom Cat'

It's about time this psychedelic blues experiment from Muddy Waters and members of Rotary Connection got re-issued.

Buffalo Springfield 'Special Care'

Buffalo Springfield 'Special Care'

Rasping guitar and organ duel taken from Buffalo Springfield's last album released in 1968. Stephen Stills was doing most of the work at this point after numerous line-up changes and itchy feet amongst the ranks. The album cover sort of says it all really, with Neil Young collaged on to the photo and looking in completely the opposite direction. They all look bloody miserable, but the songs carry some weight as a result.

Michael Hurley 'Werewolf'

Michael Hurley 'Werewolf'

Full moon special an evening late and obscured by fog. This is the opener to Hurley's second LP Armchair Boogie from 1971, lovingly re-issued by the mighty Mississippi Records out of Seattle. The album name gives away the kind of unhurried, benign and wistful material to be heard inside.

Darondo 'Let My People Go'

Darondo 'Let My People Go'

It only takes a cursory glance at Darondo's knuckles to see that he means business. Coming on like the musically gifted sibling of B.A. Baracus, this title track off his re-issued album 'Let My People Go' is a taught, muscular, downtempo serving of heavy funk and soul. Get to it sucker!

Del Shannon 'Gemini' (Pilooski edit)

Del Shannon 'Gemini' (Pilooski edit)

One of the standout cuts from Del Shannon's 'lost' psychedelic album 'The Further Adventures Of Charles Westover' goes under the quivering scalpel of Gallic edit maestro Pilooski. This tune comes from one of the limited run Dark & Lovely releases, sharing vinyl space with re-rubs of the Pointer Sisters and Danny Gold. The original is given extra ballast in the form of added kick drum, enhanced handclaps and other dancefloor-friendly sprinkles of magic. Gemini sounds like a total babe.

The Nite-Liters 'I've Got Dreams To Remember'

The Nite-Liters 'I've Got Dreams To Remember'

It's a good thing we don't recall most of the disjointed nonsense that gets dreamt at night.

The Country Soul Revue 'Super Soul Beat Pt.1 & Pt.2'

The Country Soul Revue 'Super Soul Beat Pt.1'

The Country Soul Revue 'Super Soul Beat Pt.2'

A little soul-tinged, country blues groover from the eclectic and wide-eyed Casual Records label, whose 'Country Got Soul' compilations are worth tracking down. Also check out The Gourds covering Snoop Dogg's hood anthem 'Gin And Juice' in a redneck banjo stylee, perfect for turning the average house party into a ghetto barn dance at the drop of a straw hat.

Dave Mason 'World In Changes' (Live)

Dave Mason 'World In Changes' (Live)

A staple of Mason's solo performances recorded live at The Troubadour in 1972, post-Traffic days. Dave is something of an un-credited gun for hire having featured on the Stones' 'Beggars Banquet' album and George Harrison's 'All Things Must Pass' solo set. He also briefly joined Derek And The Dominoes before they recorded, and much later had a spell with Fleetwood Mac in the 1990s. Check out his unfettered style in an earlier post here too on 'Welcome To The Canteen'.

Yardbirds 'Train Kept A Rollin' (BBC Session)

Yardbirds 'Train Kept A Rollin' (BBC Session)

The Yardbirds were responsible for launching the careers of three of the greatest rock guitarists ever in the shape of Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. This track comes from the December 1965 BBC sessions during Jeff Beck's tenure as resident axe man. The juxtaposition of the suit from the BBC's rod-up-his-arse introduction and that knuckle-whitening fuzz and distortion is an entertaining bonus. Like a local parish priest introducing a chainsaw sculpting competition.

Fritz The Cat 'House Rock'

Fritz The Cat 'House Rock'

An instrumental hammond funk-rock tune from the Fritz The Cat soundtrack. Fritz The Cat was and in all likeliness will remain the only cat on the face of the planet to have demonstrated a sense of humour. There's an interesting piece on the sociobiology of humour in cats and dogs by James Gorman, that's worth a read if you have a moment.

Parlour No. 2 'Sark Powers'

Parlour No. 2 'Sark Powers'

Taken from one of the best vinyl releases of 2010, this edit of Sunderland Brothers & Quiver's 'Dark Powers' lops out the distinctly cheesey bridge and chorus parts of the original to leave this brooding disco-rock gem. An edit that has skillfully breathed new life into unlikely source material.

Giorgio Moroder & David Bowie 'Cat People (Putting Out Fire)'

Giorgio Moroder & David Bowie 'Cat People (Putting Out Fire)'

...with gasoline!" One for the bonfire starters here. This track was recently employed by Tarantino to soundtrack the nazi cinema blaze-up in Inglorious Basterds. The film 'Cat People' is an erotic horror flick that verges on soft porn on a number of occasions, which is no bad thing when Nastassja Kinski is involved.   

Ten Years After 'Help Me' (Live)

Ten Years After 'Help Me' (Live)

Anyone who has seen the Woodstock film (and if you haven't, why not?) will have the musical gymnastics of Ten Years After firmly lodged in their brain's musical highlights file. Their explosive version of I'm Going Home put them firmly on the white blues revival map and Alvin Lee is to many people right up there with the best guitarists of all time. This is a slow, building blues that lurches like a rabid, slavering hound, with Alvin scowling and baying for attention, needing love so bad because otherwise he might have to COOK and perform other domestic duties that seem so alien its comical.

A Mountain Of One 'Bones' (Thomas Bullock's Way Of The Ancients mix)

A Mountain Of One 'Bones' (Thomas Bullock's Way Of The Ancients mix)

The insistent pounding of ancient feet underpin this meandering re-rub from Thomas Bullock, the man involved with variously excellent projects such as Rub 'n Tug, Map Of Africa and Laughing Light Of Plenty. A Mountain Of One are Mo Morris, Leo Elstob and Zeb Jameson who together produce cosmically inclined, dubbed-out rock and pop. Basically its a remix project made in heaven and a modern psychedelic bundle of joy, with a well judged dose of cod mysticism thrown in for good measure.