Sally Timms: It Says Here and To the Land of Milk and Honey

I've been extremely dismayed about the Dobbs Supreme Court decision allowing states to ban abortion

without any exceptions.  And since I don't know of any charity albums centered around the issue of abortion that have come out in wake of the Dobbs decision, I thought it necessary to post Sally  Timms' out of print ep "It Says Here" as it features a great live cover of Dolly Parton's Down from Dover.  And while I was it, I also though I might as well also post her out of print album To the Land of Milk and Honey.  Enjoy!

Download

It Says Here

It Says Here

US Foreign Policy

Welsh Girl

Down From Dover

Reason To Believe

To the Land of Milk & Honey

Round Up

Half Past France

Everytime She Walks In the Room

It Says Here

Junk Barge

King Ludwig

No More Rides

Homburg

Painted Girl

Longing, Madness And Lust

Deep

Good Music to Chill out to: Steve Gunn and Kurt Vile

     I've always loved the scene in 24 Hour Party People where Tony Wilson gets very high and imagines that he meets God (who looks exactly like Tony Wilson).  God reassures him about the choices he's made and also tells him that he should release a Vini Reilly greatest hits compilation as it's "good music to chill out to".  Well, this isn't a Vini Reilly compilation, but I've increasingly found both Kurt Vile and Steve Gunn (who was/sometimes still is Kurt Vile's guitarist) excellent music to, well, chill out to.  For those wanting more Vile or Gunn, I'd recommend Kurt Vile's Childish Prodigy and Steve Gunn's The Unseen in Between.

Download

Clay Pigeons	Shannon Lay & Steve Gunn
Red Apples	Kurt Vile
New Moon	Steve Gunn
It's Alright	Kurt Vile
Goodbye, Freaks	Kurt Vile
Conditions Wild	Steve Gunn
I'm an Outlaw	Kurt Vile
Trailways Ramble	Steve Gunn
Over Everything	Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile
Way Out Weather	Steve Gunn
Dive for the Pearl	Steve Gunn
Speed of the Sound of Loneliness	Kurt Vile
Other You	Steve Gunn
Wakin' on a Pretty Day	Kurt Vile

 

Isaac Hayes: A Tribute and a Retrospective

Isaac Hayes would have turned 80 on 

August 20 (and died on August 10, 2008) so I thought I though it appropriate to post both a 

retrospective of his solo work as well as a set of covers of Isaac Hayes' songs.  In addition to being a truly iconic figure in American popular culture, he really had one of the greatest ten year runs in pop music - from the mid to late 1960s, he was an incredibly prolific songwriter (though one must give ample credit as well to his songwriting partner, David Porter) and then he released a string of great solo albums from 1969 to 1974.   

Doing His Thing: An Isaac Hayes Retrospective

I'll Never Fall In Love Again
It's Too Late (She's Gone)
(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right
Bumpy's Lament
You Never Cross My Mind
The Feeling Keeps On Coming
Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic
Theme From "The Men"
You're In My Arms Again
Blue Groove
Soulsville
Your Loving Is Much Too Strong
I Stand Accused
Runnin' Out Of Fools
Songs from the Book of Isaac
I Had A Dream	Johnnie Taylor
As Long As I've Got You	The Charmels
Let Me Be Good To You	Carla Thomas
Sister's Got A Boyfriend	Rufus Thomas
In The Twilight Zone	The Astors
I Take What I Want	Aretha Franklin
You Got Me Hummin'	Reigning Sound
You Don’t Know Like I Know	Sam & Dave
Weak Spot	The Detroit Cobras
I'm A Big Girl Now	Mable John
Soul Girl	Jeanne & The Darlings
Boot-Leg	Booker T. & The MG's
It's Happening All Over	William Bell
Do Your Thing	Lyn Collins
B-A-B-Y	Rachel Sweet
Shaft	El Michels Affair
Make It Me	The Premiers
The Sweeter He Is (Pt. 1 & 2)	The Soul Children
I'll Run Your Heart Away	Lisa Miller
If I Ever Needed Love (I Sure Do Need It Now)	Ruby Johnson

The Texas Legends Series: Volume Six - Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Butch Hancock

 I know this was a rather obvious choice for the Texas Legends series, but that doesn't mean it isn't sorely needed (especially when I discovered that most of Butch Hancock's solo stuff is out of print).  I also like to do homages to artists that are still making music, so it's worth mentioning that the Flatlanders 2021 release, Treasure of Love, was very good, albeit a little inconsistent.  Hope everyone likes it.  I also re-upped the previous five Texas Legends series compilations. 

Download

Hello, Stranger (live)	Butch Hancock & Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Way Downtown	Jimmie Dale Gilmore with The Wronglers
Row Of Dominoes	Joe Ely
Queen Of Heaven	Joe Ely
Perfection In The Mud	Butch Hancock
Chase the Wind	Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Going Away	The Flatlanders
Just a Wave, Not the Water	Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Roll Around	Butch Hancock
Goodbye Old Missoula	Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Ranches and Rivers	Joe Ely
Braver Newer World	Jimmie Dale Gilmore
West Texas Waltz	Joe Ely
Mobile Blue	The Flatlanders
South Wind Of Summer	The Flatlanders
Pumpkineater	Butch Hancock
Keeper Of The Mountain	The Flatlanders
Another Colorado	Jimmie Dale Gilmore

Thirty Odes to Los Angeles

       In putting together this Los Angeles themed compilation, I decided to exclude songs that were really songs about California or were primarily focused on Hollywood related themes.  Instead, I tried to only use songs that were about Los Angeles or a particular landmark or street in Los Angeles.  It's nowhere as noirish as I though it would turn out to be, but maybe it's partly about the fact that a lot of of folks who are singing about Los Angeles aren't from there.  Anyway, hope both Angelenos and non-Angelenos enjoy it.  (I also re-upped the compilation "L.A. is the Place For Me" which features mid and late 1960s acts that recorded in Los Angeles.)

  Download

  Disc 1

A Night in LA	Ry Cooder
East L.A.	War
Ode to L.A.	The Raveonettes
Drinking in L.A.	Bran Van 3000
Los Angeles	HAIM
This Town	The Go-Go's
Los Angeles	X
Hello L.A., Bye Bye Birmingham	Bobby Whitlock
Coming into Los Angeles	Arlo Guthrie
Old L.A.	New Multitudes
Electrolite	R.E.M.
Whittier Blvd.	Thee Midniters
Funky L.A.	Paul Hemphrey & His Cool Aid Chemists
The Recipe	Kendrick Lamar
Leaving LA	Father John Misty
Disc 2
Let Me Back In	Rilo Kiley
Come A Long Way	Michelle Shocked
Went Looking for Warren Zevon's Los Angeles	Lucero
L.A. Blues	Tom T. Hall
Los Angeles	Margot & The Nuclear So & So's
Screenwriter's Blues	Soul Coughing
Back In L.A.	B.B. King
I Left My Wallet in El Segundo	A Tribe Called Quest
Blues for Los Angeles	Bill Frisell
Angeles	Elliott Smith
Los Angeles	Phosphorescent
Los Angeles Mood (Chromium Descensions)	Tom Waits
Los Angeles Blues	Johnny Moore's Three Blazers
Angeles Crest	Chelsea Williams
Los Angeles	Joe Williams

Sucking in the '70s - Volume 9

I've made a point of not repeating any artists in the Sucking in the '70s series, but this latest volume does include Valerie Carter's version of Ooh Child despite my inclusion of The Five Stairsteps much more well-known version of the song in Volume 5.  In my defense, I actually prefer Carter's version.  I know it's fairly heretical, given the popularity of The Five Stairsteps version (and I do like their version, too), but Carter really nails it and, well, it really is the sort of song an adult should be singing. :)  Anyway, I hope folks like it and I've also re-upped all the  previous volumes as well as the Saluting the 70's compilations.

Download

Just my imagination	The Temptations
She's Gone	Hall and Oates
Do Your Thing	Isaac Hayes
Soul Makossa	Manu Dibango
If You Want Me To Stay	Sly & The Family Stone
It's Hard to Live in This Old World	Rev Harvey Gates
Struggling Man	Jimmy Cliff
Who'll Stop The Rain	Creedence Clearwater Revival
Don't Let It Throw You	Jim Sullivan
Cannock Chase	Labi Siffre
(I'm) Just Being Myself	Dionne Warwick
Oh Happy Day	Edwin Hawkins Singers
Let 'Em In	Paul McCartney And Wings
Here I Am (Come and Take Me)	Marcia Griffiths
Float On	The Floaters
Want Ads	Honey Cone
Groovy Situation	Gene Chandler
You're The Reason Why	The Ebonys
Oh Me Oh My	Lulu
Ooh Child	Valerie Carter

Ain't That Fine: A Ray Charles Collection - Volume 3

As promised, here is the third Volume of my Ray Charles compilation.  As I noted last month, I tried to focus solely on his lesser known material, but I couldn't resist starting this volume with It Had to Be You, even though I kind of always assumed that it was one of his bigger hits.  I haven't seen the movie in more than 30 years, but I thought that his version of the song was in When Harry Met Sally (it's Frank Sinatra's).  It's also not on any of his many Greatest Hits collections.  So I feel a little better about including it in this volume, but now I'm a little dismayed that Ray's version isn't more well-known as it's just a perfect interpretation, imho.  Anyway, hope folks enjoy this third volume.

Download

It Had to Be You

Blue Genius

Let Me Hear You Call My Name (St. Pete Blues)

What Would I Do Without You?

The Cincinnati Kid

Oh, Lonesome Me

Ol' Man Time

Smack Dab in the Middle

Somebody Ought To Write A Book About It

Here We Go Again

Ruby

Down In The Valley

Zig Zag

Who You Gonna Love

Mary Ann

Sidewinder

Ain't That Fine

That's Enough

Ain't That Fine: A Ray Charles Collection - Volumes 1 and 2

I'm a little embarrassed that I spent an inordinate

amount of time thinking about what I should call this compilation and was only able to come up with the nondescript "Ain't That Fine".   Basically, I was hoping for something just a little bit clever and original while paying respect to Ray's genius talent.  And yet I achieved neither.  I hope that does not deter from people's enjoyment of this collection (you can always change the name on the mp3s) - I tried to focus mostly on album cuts and out of print material.  In doing so, I discovered just how much of his output is now out of print - like most of his 60's and 70's recording.  It's been almost 20 years since the biopic movie so another Ray revival is sorely overdue.  I'll post Volume 3 next month.

      I also wanted to give a little homage to the great Dallas Good of the Sadies who died at the far too young age of 48 a week ago.  The Toronto Star has a really nice obituary and I've also re-upped my two Sadies compilations. 

Download

Volume 1

Makin' Whoopee

I Want to Know

Bags of Blues

Side By Side

Don't Tell Me Your Troubles

Mister C

Tell Me, How Do You Feel?

You're Just About to Lose Your Clown

Senor Blues

I Wake Up Cryin'

You'll Never Miss The Water Until The Well's Gone Dry

All to Myself Alone

Blackjack

She's On the Ball, Jack

Scotia Blues (Blues For Big Scotia)

You Are My Sunshine

 My Baby (I Love Her Yes I Do)

Cry

Volume 2

Swing A Little Taste

Mississippi Mud

The Ray

I'm Movin' On

Alabamy Bound

Th' Ego Song (They're Crazy About Me)

Soul Meeting

Laughin' and Clownin'

 Worried Life Blues

She's Lonesome Again

I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now?

Doodlin'

But On the Other Hand, Baby

Guitar Blues

Walkin' and Talkin' (to Myself)

X-Ray Blues

Baby, Don't You Cry

Sweet Georgia Brown