Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells A Story (1971)

“Every Picture Tells a Story” is the third album by Rod Stewart, released in the middle of 1971.

It incorporates hard rock, folk, and blues styles. It went to number one on both the UK and U.S. charts and finished third in the Pazz & Jop critics' poll for best album of 1971.

Without greatly altering his approach, Rod Stewart perfected his blend of hard rock, folk, and blues on his masterpiece, "Every Picture Tells a Story".

Marginally a harder-rocking album than Gasoline Alley the Faces blister on the Temptations cover "(I Know I'm) Losing You," and the acoustic title track goes into hyper-drive with Mick Waller's primitive drumming the great triumph of "Every Picture Tells a Story" lies in its content.

Every song on the album, whether it's a cover or original, is a gem, combining to form a romantic, earthy portrait of a young man joyously celebrating his young life. Of course, "Maggie May" the ornate, ringing ode about a seduction from an older woman is the centerpiece, but each song, whether it's the devilishly witty title track or the unbearably poignant "Mandolin Wind," has the same appeal.

And the covers, including definitive readings of Bob Dylan's "Tomorrow Is Such a Long Time" and Tim Hardin's "Reason to Believe," as well as a rollicking "That's All Right," are equally terrific, bringing new dimension to the songs.

It's a beautiful album, one that has the timeless qualities of the best folk, yet one that rocks harder than most pop music few rock albums are quite this powerful or this rich.

It has been an enduring critical success, including a number 172 ranking on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time

Side A
A1.  Every Picture Tells A Story  (5:58) 
A2.  Seems Like A Long Time  (4:00) 
A3.  That's Alright (4:00)  
A4.  Amazing Grace  (2:00) 
A5.  Tomorrow Is Such A Long Time  (3:44) 

Side B
B1.  Henry  (0:31)
B2.  Maggie May  (5:15)  
B3.  Mandolin Wind  (5:34) 
B4.  (I Know) I'm Losing You  (5:20)   
B5.  Reason To Believe  (4:07)

Artist:  Rod Stewart
Title:  Every Picture Tells A Story
Release: 1971
Format:  LP
Label:  Mercury Records
Catalog#   6338063

Albert Hammond - 99 Miles From L.A. (1975)

Albert Louis Hammond OBE (born 18 May 1944) is an English singer, songwriter, and record producer who grew up in the British Mediterranean territory of Gibraltar.

“99 Miles from L.A.” doesn't have the problem of shifting tones the way its eponymous predecessor did: Hammond abandons the flirtation with Caribbean rhythms as well as the darker introspection and makes a lush, easy rolling Californian soft rock album that screams 1975 in its warm, gentle pastel tones created with strings, harmonies, fuzztones, saxophones and the mild disco rhythms that drive "Lay the Music Down."

Which isn't to say that Hammond has abandoned serious subjects, as the title "A Job Is a Home to a Homeless Man" suggests, or even the friendly hippie good vibes of "Love Isn't Love Till You Give It Away" proves he's just united it under the warm umbrella of soft rock.

This makes for a more consistent album sonically, and his writing is more consistent as well; it may not be as ambitious as "I Don't Wanna Die in an Air Disaster" but it's more successful, capturing his melodic gifts and talent for winding, folk-inspired tales. The single "99 Miles From L.A." is written by Albert Hammond and Hal David and performed by Hammond.
The song was Hammond's only number one on the Easy Listening chart as well as his most successful release on the chart.

The best-known tune here is "To All the Girls I've Loved Before," which was popularized several years later by Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson, and its blend of sweet melody and slightly sappy sentiment is typical and atypical of  “99 Miles from LA”: that sense of melodic craft is evident throughout the album, but it's the only tune here that courts commerciality quite so clearly.

The rest of the record is very good, very '70s soft rock: lush and easy, melodic and breezy, something that may not always be memorable but it always sounds good while it's playing and it's best appreciated as an artifact of its time, a record that's mid-'70s to its very core and all the more appealing because of it.

Side A
A1.  99 Miles From L.A.  (2:55)  
A2.  Down By The River (Newly Recorded Version)  (3:10)  
A3.   One Life  (2:20)  
A4. Love Isn't Love Till You Give It Away  (2:52)  
A5.  The Face Not The Image  (3:10) 

Side B
B1.  Good Old Days  (3:26)  
B2.  Lay The Music Down  (3:00)  
B3.  Rivers Are For Boats  (2:34)  
B4.  Somebody's Happiness  (3:01)  
B5.  A Job Is A Home To A Homeless Man  (2:35)  
B6.  To All The Girls I've Loved Before  (3:08)

Artist:  Albert Hammond
Title:  99 Miles From L.A.
Release:  1975
Format:  LP
Label:  Epic Records
Catalog#  EPC 80961

John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton - Blues Breakers (1968)

John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers are a pioneering English blues band, led by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist John Mayall, OBE. Mayall used the band name between 1963 and 1967, but then dropped it for some fifteen years.

“Blues Breakers” is a blues LP recorded in 1966, the first studio album and the second overall credited to John Mayall, who teamed up for the first time in a studio release with ex-Yardbird Eric Clapton

Originally, John Mayall intended for his second album to be also a live one in order to capture the guitar solos performed by Eric Clapton. A set was recorded at the Flamingo Club, with Jack Bruce (with whom Clapton would subsequently work in Cream) on bass. The recordings of the concert, however, were of bad quality and were scrapped.

With the original plan of a live album now discarded, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers recorded "Blues Breakers" at Decca Studios, West Hampstead, London in March 1966.

The guitar that Eric Clapton used during these sessions was a sunburst 1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard with two PAF humbucking pickups. This guitar (whose current whereabouts remains unknown since being stolen in 1966) is also called the "Blues Breaker" or "Beano"

The band on this album includes Mayall on piano, Hammond organ, harmonica and most vocals; bassist John McVie; drummer Hughie Flint; and Clapton. Augmenting the band on this album was a horn section added during post-production, with Alan Skidmore, Johnny Almond, and Derek Healey (misrepresented on the sleeve as 'Dennis Healey').

The album consists of blues standards by long-established artists such as Otis Rush, Freddie King and Robert Johnson, as well as a few originals penned by Mayall and Clapton. Most tracks serve as a showcase for the young Clapton's playing. Although he sang on several Yardbirds' recordings, "Ramblin' on My Mind" was Clapton's first recorded solo lead vocal performance, which Eric had been reluctant to record.

Side A
A1. All Your Love"  (Otis Rush)  - 3:38
A2. Hideaway"  (Freddie King/Sonny Thompson; interpolating "The Walk" by Jimmy McCracklin)  - 3:17
A3. Little Girl"  (Mayall)  - 2:36
A4. Another Man"  (Mayall)  - 1:47
A5. Double Crossing Time"  (Clapton/Mayall)  - 3:04
A6. What'd I Say"  (Ray Charles; interpolating "Day Tripper" by John Lennon/Paul McCartney)  - 4:28

Side B
B1. Key to Love"  (Mayall)  - 2:08
B2. Parchman Farm"  (Mose Allison)  - 2:22
B3. Have You Heard"  (Mayall)  - 5:56
B4. Ramblin' on My Mind"  (Robert Johnson/Traditional)  - 3:08
B5. Steppin' Out"  (L. C. Frazier)  - 2:30
B6. It Ain't Right"  (Little Walter)  - 2:45

Artist:  John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton
Title:  Blues Breakers
Release: 1968
Format:  LP
Label:  Decca Records
Catalog#  9286911

Astrid Nijgh - De Razende Bol (1979)

Astrid Maria Nijgh-de Backer (Amsterdam, 16 april 1949) is een Nederlands zangeres. Ze is contra-alt en ex-echtgenote van tekstschrijver Lennaert Nijgh.

Astrid Nijgh (meisjesnaam De Backer) volgde vanaf haar dertiende een zangopleiding bij de bekende zangpedagoge Bep Ogterop. In folkclub de Waag in Haarlem ontmoette zij Lennaert Nijgh, met wie zij trouwde. Toen Boudewijn de Groot en Lennaert uit elkaar groeiden, ging Astrid muziek schrijven bij de teksten van Lennaert.

Veel artiesten vertolkten nummers van het echtpaar Nijgh, onder wie Rob de Nijs, Adèle Bloemendaal, Gerard Cox, Leen Jongewaard en Jenny Arean.

Na twee en half jaar huwelijk ging het echtpaar uit elkaar, maar zij bleven samen songs schrijven.

In 1973 bracht Astrid Nijgh zelf het nummer “Ik doe wat ik doe” op single uit. Vanwege duidelijke verwijzingen naar de prostitutie wekte dit nummer veel commotie. Het nummer bereikte de zesde plaats in de Nederlandse Top 40.

Haar zangcarrière nam vanaf dat moment een hoge vlucht en ze bracht een album uit “Mensen zijn je beste vrienden”.

Er volgden nog drie hitnoteringen. In 1979 nam Astrid, weer in samenwerking met Lennaert, het album “De Razende Bol” op.
Op de plaat “De Razende Bol” vertolkt Nijgh Nederlandstalige zeemansliederen (shanty), begeleid door de groep Crackerhash. Teksten zijn wederom van de hand van Lennaert Nijgh. Op deze plaat is De Zuiderzeeballade omgedoopt in Markerwaardballade om te protesteren tegen het Nederlandse milieubeleid.

Side A
A1.  De Batavia / Wilhelmusdans  (4:20)  
A2.  Het Fransche Gaatje  (2:53)  
A3.  Vaarwel Mijn Zoete Lief  (4:22)  
A4.  Het Maatje Van De Schipper  (2:46)  
A5.  Jan Bot / Het Hoorns Hop  (3:28)  
A6.  De Beerenburg / De Weduwe Joustra  (3:56) 

Side B
B1.  De Gulden Hoorn  (4:04)  
B2.  De Scholen Haring (The Shoals Of Hering)  (4:00)  
B3.  Markerwaardballade (Zuiderzeeballade)  (3:20)  
B4.  De Razende Bol (Gezang 172)  (3:53)  
B5.  Jan Cupido  (3:27)  
B6.  Welterusten Goeienacht (A Very Cellular Song) De Drommedaris  (3:30)

Artist:  Astrid Nijgh
Title:   De Razende Bol
Release:  1979
Format:  LP
Label:  WEA Records
Catalog#  WEAN 58035

Julio Iglesias - En El Olympia 2º Parte (Live) (1979)

Julio Iglesias (born Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva; September 23, 1943) is a Spanish singer and songwriter who has sold 120–300 million records worldwide in 14 languages and released more than 80 albums, and more than 2,600 gold and platinum records certified, making him one of the best selling artists of all time.

In 1968 he won the Benidorm International Song Festival, a songwriter's event in Spain, with the song "La vida sigue igual" (meaning "Life Goes On The Same") which was used in the film La vida sigue igual, about his own life.

After this event he signed a deal with Discos Columbia, the Spanish branch of the Columbia Records company. He represented Spain in the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing in fourth place,behind Ireland's winning entry performed by Dana.

His entry was the song "Gwendolyne." Shortly after he had a number one hit in many European countries with "Un Canto A Galicia", sung in Galician, in honour of his father, who hailed from Galicia. That single sold 1 million copies in Germany.

In 1979 he moved to Miami, Florida, in the United States, signed a deal with CBS International, and started singing in different languages such as English, French, Portuguese, German and other languages to his music.

In 1979 he released in French the album  “En El Olympia 2º Parte”, Recorded live in Olympia theatre of Paris in 1976.

Side A
A1. Manuela  (3:15)
A2. Asi Nacemos  (6:30)
A3. Feelings  (3:10)
A4. Quiero  (3:05)

Side B
B1. Candilejas  (4:10)
B2. Quien  (4:05)
B3. La Mer (El Mar)  (3:37
B4. Minueto  (5:48)

Artist:  Julio Iglesias
Title:  En El Olympia 2º Parte (Live)
Release: 1979
Format:  LP
Label:  Oxford Records
Catalog#  OX/3153

Daniel Sahuleka - Sahuleka 2 (1978)

Daniel Sahuleka (Semarang, 6 december 1950) is een Nederlandse tekstschrijver en zanger. Met een kenmerkende stijl van gitaar en zang, waarbij zijn voet-beat een belangrijke rol speelt, heeft Sahuleka een oeuvre opgebouwd van ruim 110 composities.

Sahuleka wordt ontdekt door Rudy Bennett (ex-Motions, ex-Galaxy'Lin), draait om op te vallen de e in zijn voornaam om, en debuteert in 1976 met twee uitstekende singles voor Polydor die het echter niet verder schoppen dan de tipparade.

In Nederland vooral succesvol in de jaren zeventig en tachtig (onder de naam Daniel, zonder achternaam), bleven zijn liefdesliederen vaak kleine verhalen op zich onverminderd populair in Indonesië. Van Ambonese afkomst met een Soendanees-Chinese moeder, koestert hij een warme band met zijn vaderland en tijdens zijn zesde tournee in 2006 werd hij door gouverneur Sutyoso tot ereburger van Jakarta benoemd, en enkele maanden later tot toeristisch ambassadeur.

In hetzelfde jaar ontving Daniel de hoogste muziekonderscheiding van de PAPPRI, de Indonesische associatie van artiesten, componisten en arrangeurs.

In 1978 komt het album “Sahuleka 2” uit en is commercieel een groter succes dan zijn voorganger.

Het singlesucces blijft vooralsnog uit in Nederland, maar in Indonesië staat “Don't Sleep Away The Night” zeven weken op de eerste plaats van de hitparade.


Side A
1. Airport  (4:39)  
2. Gran Canaria  (4:02)  
3. Finally Home Again  (3:40)  
4. No Chance, No Place, No Home  (5:48)  
5. Little Henry's First Shot  (5:13) 

Side B
1. Love Is Energy  (3:33)  
2. Changes And Memories  (4:30)  
3. Long Distance Highway  (2:59)  
4. The Art Of Staying Together  (4:42)

Artist:  Daniel Sahuleka
Title:  Sahuleka 2
Release:  1978
Format:  LP
Label:  Polydor Records
Catalog#  2925075