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VA – Street Corner Symphonies: The Complete Story of Doo Wop vol. 11-15 (2013)
If the tenth volume of Bear Family’s Street Corner Symphonies captured doo wop at perhaps its commercial peak, the moment when dreamy ballads and swinging novelties vied for the top of the charts,...
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VA – I Heard the Angels Singing: Electrifying Black Gospel from the Nashboro...
Ernest L. Young learned the music business from the ground up, starting in the jukebox operating field, and soon became one of the largest suppliers in the Nashville area. He opened Ernie’s Record Mart...
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VA – Angola Soundtrack 2: Hypnosis, Distorsions & Other Sonic Innovations...
It’s almost difficult to understand as we sit in relative comfort with all manner of musical devices at our fingertips, listening to what we want, when we want, that some music out there has been made...
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VA – I Need You Bad (2013)
Sonny Smith is a guy who wears many musical hats. Folk singer, garage folk revivalist, conceptual artist, the guy can do anything he puts his mind to and the records he’s made in the 2000s, both solo...
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VA – Remembering Little Walter (2013)
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Little Walter Jacobs receives a fitting tribute on this sparkling live recording, bringing together five of the greatest harmonica players currently on the blues scene –...
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VA – Sorrow Come Pass Me Around: A Survey of Rural Black Religious Music...
Sometimes it’s not about the belief so much as the believing. That’s the primary takeaway regarding Sorrow Come Pass Me Around: A Survey of Rural Black Religious Music. Originally issued in 1975 on...
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VA – All American Rock ‘n’ Roll: The Fraternity Story Vol. 2 (2013)
Compilations that dig into the vaults of relatively minor rock & roll independent labels are like digging your fist into a Halloween trick-or-treat bag. Whatever you come up with, you know that...
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VA – Killed by Deathrock: Vol. 1 (2014)
Though the title hints at on the obscure horror-obsessed subgenre of punk, the new compilation series on the ever-savvy Sacred Bones takes after the Killed By Death series of compilations. Those...
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VA – Music from Drinking Buddies (2013)
Jagjaguwar release a soundtrack album for the indie comedy Drinking Buddies. Written and directed by Joe Swanberg (Hannah Takes the Stairs, Alexander the Last, V/H/S), the film stars Olivia Wilde, Jake...
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VA – Putumayo Presents: Acoustic America (2013)
At the heart of Acoustic America are songs steeped in folk, blues, jazz, country and bluegrass traditions performed by both well-known and up-and-coming artists. From American roots legend Doc Watson...
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VA – Africa Express Presents: Maison Des Jeunes (2013)
In October, Damon Albarn spearheaded a week- long trip to Mali by a group of musicians including Brian Eno, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Nick Zinner, members of Metronomy and Django Django, Holy Other, Lil Silva,...
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VA – Mojo Presents: Small Faces & Friends (2014)
Small Faces – Here Come the Nice (French EP Version) [02:48] 2. Billy Nicholls – Girl from New York [03:12] 3. Nico – I’m Not Sayin’ [02:43] 4. Chris Farlowe – My Way of Giving [02:27] 5. The Nice –...
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VA – Americana: Rock Your Soul, Vol. 2 (2013)
The second volume of BBE’s Americana: Rock Your Soul series suffers a little from the “been there, done that” syndrome, but ends up delivering nearly the same amount of wonderfully cheesy, undiscovered...
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VA – Choubi Choubi! Folk & Pop Songs from Iraq vol. 2 (2013)
Choubi Choubi! Folk & Pop Songs from Iraq vol. 2 is a follow up to the original Choubi Choubi album that Mark Gergis put together in 2005 for Sublime Frequencies. It features a wealth of Iraqi...
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VA – The Big E: A Salute to Steel Guitarist Buddy Emmons (2013)
Country music stars such as Vince Gill, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, and others acknowledge Buddy Emmons as one of the “World’s Foremost Steel Guitarist”, as he used to be billed....
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VA – The Rough Guide to the Music of the Mediterranean (2013)
This Rough Guide treads ashore to the hilly outposts of Mediterranean life where music is still the lifeblood of the old, opulent cultures that hail from the region. Spaniard Benjamin Escoriza features...
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VA – The Rough Guide to Flamenco: 3rd Edition (2013)
There’s a story which says flamenco music has its origins in the 1500s when the Iberian Peninsula was being reclaimed by the armies of Spain from the Ottoman Empire. Muslims weren’t the only ones...
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VA – Let No One Judge You: Early Recordings from Iran, 1906-1933 (2014)
Ravishingly beautiful, achingly precious songs and instrumentals, ranging from two performances by the Royal Court Orchestra in 1906 – with futuristic, overlapping trumpets and exquisite clarinet...
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VA – Soul Jazz Records Presents: Studio One Rocksteady (2014)
Digging deeper into the vaults of Studio One — rightfully and often referred to as “the Jamaican Motown” — this Soul Jazz compilation focuses on the label/studio’s rocksteady output, rocksteady being...
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VA – Putumayo Presents: Café Latino (2013)
Putumayo returns to its Latin American roots to begin its 20th anniversary celebrations with the release of Café Latino, which features leading singer-songwriters from Latin America and Spain. The...
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