oktober 29, 2020

Doug Ashdown ‎- Winter In America (1977) - €5,99

No comments  
Douglas "Doug" Wesley Ashdown (born 29 July 1942) is an Australian singer-songwriter who had a minor hit with "Winter in America", also known as "Leave Love Enough Alone", which reached No. 13 on the Dutch Singles Chart in 1978.

Doug Ashdown's album "Career Collection 1965-2000", this guy's talent for the moving, heartfelt song deserves a much higher profile. Especially the tracks about lost/unrequited love,"Leave Love Enough Alone", "They Always Seem To Look Like Marianne" and "The Flowers And The Wine", are among the finest examples of the genre, delivered with that amazing voice. 
There are occasional likenesses to James Taylor, Glenn Campbell & Gordon Lightfoot, even Chris de Burgh in his quieter moments, but Doug's renditions are softer, more poetic, and capture a genuine essence of sadness/loss. His two standout albums are "Winter In America" and "No Cheap Grace". 

In 1988 the song was covered by Dutch singer René Froger, and in 1994 by Australian group The Robertson Brothers.


Side A
A1. Winter In America - 4:08
A2. Willie's Shades - 4:14
A3. (I Know You) You're The Song - 2:40
A4. Love Ain't Worth The Livin' When It Dies - 2:45
A5. The Flowers And The Wine - 2:10
A6. Skid Row - 2:29

Side B
B1. Sally Broome - 3:36
B2. You Are All I Need To Know Of Love - 2:54
B3. Jeannie - 3:10
B4. They Allways Seem To Look Like Marianne - 2:28
B5. Tomorrow Is The Last Time - 4:13
B6. No Other Words - 2:41
B7. Winter In America Reprise - 2:00


Credits

Notes
Release: 1977
Format:  LP
Genre:  Soft Rock
Label:  Decca Records
Catalog#  6376 124
Prijs:  €5,99

Vinyl:  VG
Hoes:  VG

oktober 28, 2020

Gloria Gaynor - Experience Gloria Gaynor (1975) - €7,99

No comments  
Experience Gloria Gaynor is the second album by Gloria Gaynor, released in 1975 on MGM Records.

Gloria Gaynor's excellent sophomore effort Experience found the influential disco diva embracing the same format she had favored on her first album, Never Can Say Goodbye; side one is a nonstop three-song dance mix that clocks in at almost 19 minutes, whereas on side two, there are breaks between songs. 
Not surprisingly, dance club DJs tended to favor side one, which opens with the dreamy "Casanova Brown" and keeps the momentum going with the hit "If You Want It (Do It Yourself)" and Gaynor's glossy interpretation of the standard "How High the Moon." 
Jazz lovers will tell you that in the 1940s and 1950s, countless bebop tunes were based on "How High the Moon"; a great song, to be sure, but one that was overdone in its day. To her credit, Gaynor breaths new life into the standard and demonstrates that it can work remarkably well in a disco-soul setting. 
Side two isn't nearly as danceable as side one; the tempos are generally slower, and solid Northern soul items like the melancholy "What'll I Do" and the ballad "I'm Still Yours" are clearly for listening rather than dancing. 
Side two ends on an impressive note with an inspired cover of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David favorite "Walk on By," which had been previously recorded by Dionne Warwick and Isaac Hayes, among others. Whether or not Gaynor is catering to dancefloors, the singer shows no signs of a sophomore slump on Experience. 


Side A
A1. Casanova Brown - 6:23  
A2. (If You Want It) Do It Yourself - 5:58  
A3. How High The Moon - 6:35  

Side B
B1. The Prettiest Face I've Ever Seen - 3:00  
B2. What'll I Do - 4:33  
B3. Tell Me How - 3:11  
B4. I'm Still Yours - 3:28  
B5. Walk On By - 5:42 


Companies, etc.

Credits

Notes
Release:  1975
Format:  LP
Genre:  Disco / Soul
Label:  MGM
Catalog#  2315 344
Prijs:  €7,99

Vinyl:  VG
Cover:  VG

oktober 24, 2020

Various - Concerts For The People Of Kampuchea (2LP) (1981) - €12,99

No comments  
Concerts for the People of Kampuchea is a double album by Wings, the Who, Queen, Elvis Costello, Pretenders, the Clash, the Specials, and other artists featuring highlights from the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea held at the Hammersmith Odeon in London to raise money for the victims of war-torn Cambodia.

The album starts with four songs from the Who (culled from a 3-hour set list) and finishes with three songs from Wings and three from the all-star line-up called Rockestra. The best of the concerts was released as a film, Concert for Kampuchea.

Rockestra was a Paul McCartney-led supergroup of at least thirty English rockers. The credited list appears at the bottom of the back cover of the LP. The name was first given to an assemblage of famous rock stars that were brought together by McCartney for the final Wings album, 1979's Back to the Egg. The supergroup – which consisted of Wings, John Paul Jones and John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, David Gilmour from Pink Floyd, Ronnie Lane of the Faces, Kenney Jones and Pete Townshend of the Who, and Hank Marvin of the Shadows – recorded two McCartney compositions, the instrumental "Rockestra Theme" and "So Glad to See You Here".

Then, McCartney and Kurt Waldheim re-assembled Rockestra for a series of benefit concerts for the people of Cambodia (also known as Kampuchea), suffering from the reign of Pol Pot. This time, Rockestra consisted of, among others, Wings, John Paul Jones, Bonham, Robert Plant, Rockpile, James Honeyman-Scott and Townshend. Hank Marvin was not available and Gilmour for tax reasons had to decline, as he was with the rest of Pink Floyd in Los Angeles, California, where they were in the midst of rehearsing for an upcoming concert tour for the just released Pink Floyd album The Wall.


Side A
A1.  The Who - Baba O'Riley - 5:12   
A2.  The Who - Sister Disco - 5:16  
A3.  The Who - Behind Blue Eyes - 3:36  
A4.  The Who - See Me,Feel Me - 5:49  

Side B
B1.  Pretenders - The Wait - 3:28  
B2.  Pretenders - Precious - 3:23  
B3.  Pretenders - Tattooed Love Boys - 3:18   
B4.  Elvis Costello & The Attractions - The Imposter - 2:10   
B5.  Rockpile - Crawling From The Wreckage - 3:02  
B6.  Rockpile With Robert Plant - Little Sister - 3:33  

Side C
C1.  Queen - Now I'm Here - 6:49  
C2.  The Clash - Armagideon Time - 4:15   
C3.  Ian Dury & The Blockheads - Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick - 4:30  
C4.  The Specials - Monkey Man - 2:26  

Side D
D1.  Paul McCartney & Wings - Got To Get You Into My Life - 2:57   
D2.  Paul McCartney & Wings - Every Night - 4:17  
D3.  Paul McCartney & Wings - Coming Up - 4:08  
D4.  Rockestra - Lucille - 3:03  
D5.  Rockestra - Let It Be - 4:12  
D6.  Rockestra - Rockestra Theme - 2:30


Rockestra's personnel

Companies, etc.

Credits

Notes
Release:  1981
Format:  2LP (Gatefold)
Genre:  Pop, Rock, Ska
Label:  Atlantic Records
Catalog#  ATL 60.153
Prijs:  €12,99

Vinyl:  VG
Cover:  G (Gatefold)

oktober 22, 2020

Narada Michael Walden - Divine Emotion (1988) - €7,99

No comments  
Divine Emotion is the ninth studio album by American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer Narada Michael Walden (credited as Narada). 
It was released in 1988. The album includes the single "Divine Emotions". 
Two other singles were released from the album: "Can't Get You Outta My Head" and "Wild Thing".

During the mid to late 80's Narada Michael Walden had spent the years between his previous album  The Nature of Things  getting huge hits with Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin. 
He was spinning so much pop chart gold as a producer for other artists that his own musical career had become almost forgotton before it seemed to reach it's apex. 
This album made a concerted attempt at remedying that situation. Rather than focus on simply up and down tempo pop/R&B here however there is more forward thinking approch here as the music,no matter what the pace has the more diverse tones of his late 70's/early 80's solo albums but with the more modern production. 

The title song and "Can't Get You Out of My Head" are excellent pop/funk single-type songs that have a peppy 80's flavor but manage with their phatter bottom to avoid being at all corny."That's The Way That I Feel About Cha'" avoids that completely with a darker,more sensual arrangement and revealing that Narada had not forgotton the art of fasioning the rhythmic midtempo jam that,with the decades heavy concentration on either dance or love songs,seems to have deserted so many others. 
On "Wild Thing","Explosion" and the early proto new jack swing (on the edgier side that is) of "But What Up Doh?" veer into the long untapped catagory of the funk-rock thing and survive with all cylinders running on full throttle. 
"How Can I Make You Stay","I Belong" and "Certain Kind Of Lover" are part of Narada's production stock and trade of poppy soul ballads. 

But it's very important to note that (thankfully) none of these songs have the same kind of melodramatic,insincere and very bourguise "sad super model" type arrangements given to the vocally gifted but musically neglected Whitney Houston by him during this same period. 
There is a tougher edge to the tunes that,if Whitney had chosen these tunes then as she indeed try to later might've gotton her at least as much critical as commercial acclaim. 
In any case they work best for Narada's soulful vocal inflections. 
"Jam The Night" has to the the toughest funk jam on the album and certainly a high point in terms of it's concentration on the kind of locked tight jamming that Narada is truly capable of as a highly rhythmic drummer. 
It is that talent that is the focus of the fusion flavored instrumental "We Still Have A Dream" which after a sampling of MLK speaking really finds Narada letting loose on skins as  American Idol 's own Randy Jackson holds the bottom down with some firey bass. 
 

Side A
A1. Divine Emotions - 5:13  
A2. Can't Get You Outta My Head - 4:35  
A3. That's The Way I Feel About Cha - 4:26  
A4. Wild Thing - 5:02  
A5. How Can I Make You Stay - 4:30  

Side B
B1. Explosion - 5:20  
B2. I Belong - 4:43  
B3. But What Up Doh? - 4:00  
B4. Certain Kind Of Lover - 4:35  
B5. Jam The Night - 5:05  
B6. We Still Have A Dream - 3:27  


Companies, etc.

Credits

Notes
Release: 1988
Format:  LP
Genre:  Soul / Funk
Label:  Reprise Records
Catalog#  9 25694-1
Prijs:  €7,99

Vinyl:  VG
Cover:  VG

oktober 20, 2020

Bourgeois Tagg - Yoyo (1987) - €7,99

No comments  
Brent Thomas Bourgeois (born June 16, 1958) is an American rock musician, songwriter, and producer. He was co-leader of the band Bourgeois Tagg with Larry Tagg, and has released several solo albums. His later work has been classified in the genres pop and contemporary Christian music. 

In 1987, Bourgeois Tagg recorded Yoyo with producer Todd Rundgren. 
It was released in autumn, and the band had what would prove to be their biggest hit with its first single "I Don't Mind at All",This is a fun little record -- and unfortunately the last for this group with hot, catchy songwriting not too over the top with '80s cliché. Clever wordplay is a strong point in their songwriting -- akin to Elvis Costello without all the sarcasm. 
Not a weak song here -- every song is loaded with smart pop hooks and intelligent lyrics -- the only weak point coming with the use of the name "Frankie" as the character in an otherwise fantastic song "15 Minutes in the Sun." Single "I Don't Mind at All" is very pretty, with syncopated rhythms, string arrangements, and great acoustic guitar work by Lyle Workman. Great closing number -- "Coma" -- has an unexpected, almost transcendental ending. The listener also finds nice percussion work on "What's Wrong With This Picture" -- a sad song about infidelity. One of the finest examples of '80s power pop one is likely to find.



Side A
A1. Best Of All Possible Worlds - 3:58  
A2. Cry Like A Baby - 3:25  
A3. Pencil & Paper - 4:03  
A4. Out Of My Mind - 4:02  
A5. 15 Minutes In The Sun - 3:46  

Side B
B1. Waiting For The Worm To Turn - 4:02  
B2. I Don't Mind At All - 2:33  
B3. What's Wrong With This Picture - 4:23  
B4. Stress - 4:13  
B5. Coma - 4:14 


Companies, etc.

Credits

Notes
Release: 1987
Format:  LP
Genre:  Pop
Label:  Island Records
Catalog#  208606
Prijs:  €7,99

Vinyl:  VG
Cover:  VG

oktober 18, 2020

Soundtrack - FM (2LP)

No comments  
FM is the original soundtrack to the 1978 film FM. In the United States, the album reached the Top Five of Billboard's album chart and quickly earned a Platinum-certified disc. It reached 37 in the UK charts. 
Roger Nichols also won the 1979 Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical for his work on the soundtrack.

FM is a 1978 film about internal conflicts at an FM radio station directed by John A. Alonzo and starring Michael Brandon, Eileen Brennan, Alex Karras, Cleavon Little, Martin Mull and Cassie Yates. The screenplay was written by Ezra Sacks.The film was produced by Universal Pictures and originally released to theaters in the spring of 1978. 

Appropriately, the soundtrack for the 1978 movie FM feels like a radio play list of the era, collecting songs from Joe Walsh, Randy Meisner, Boz Scaggs, and other '70s radio staples. Steely Dan's title track, Queen's "We Will Rock You," Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band's "Night Moves," Billy Joel's "Just The Way You Are," and Boston's "More Than a Feeling" are some of the highlights from this double-disc set, which also includes tracks from Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Foreigner, and Linda Ronstadt, all of whom also appeared in the film. 
Though FM itself wasn't exactly a box-office smash, its soundtrack is a surprisingly durable and entertaining collection of classic rock that is arguably better than many of the '70s rock compilations available today. 


Side A
A1. Steely Dan - FM - 4:50  
A2. Bob Seger And The Silver Bullet Band - Night Moves - 3:23  
A3. Steve Miller - Fly Like An Eagle - 3:00  
A4. Foreigner - Cold As Ice - 3:15  
A5. Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - Breakdown - 2:42  
A6. Randy Meisner - Bad Man - 2:34  

Side B
B1. Eagles - Life In The Fast Lane - 4:43  
B2. Steely Dan - Do It Again - 5:50  
B3. Boz Scaggs - Lido Shuffle - 3:38  
B4. Boston More - Than A Feeling - 4:40  

Side C
C1. Linda Ronstadt - Tumbling Dice - 4:42  
C2. Linda Ronstadt - Poor Poor Pitiful Me - 4:16  
C3. Jimmy Buffett - Livingston Saturday Night - 3:06  
C4. Dan Fogelberg - There's A Place In The World For A Gambler - 5:41  
C5. Billy Joel - Just The Way You Are - 4:42  

Side D
D1. The Doobie Brothers - It Keeps You Runnin' - 4:12  
D2. James Taylor - Your Smiling Face - 2:41  
D3. Joe Walsh - Life's Been Good - 8:00  
D4. Queen - We Will Rock You - 2:01  
D5. Steely Dan - FM (Reprise) - 2:53  


Companies, etc.

Credits

Notes
Release:  1978
Format:  2LP (Gatefold)
Genre:  Classic Rock, Country Rock
Label:  MCA
Catalog#  MCA2-12000
Prijs:  €7,99

Vinyl:  Gebruikerssporen
Cover:  Gebruikerssporen

oktober 17, 2020

Charlie - Lines (1978) - €4,99

No comments  
Charlie was a British rock band that was formed in 1971 by the singer/songwriter Terry Thomas. 
The group was most active as a recording unit from the mid-1970s to 1986. Charlie never charted in the UK but had four minor hits in the US.
The band was briefly called "Charlie Cuckoo" (after a racehorse), but soon became known simply as "Charlie". 

Even though it didn't stray far from the band's now-patented AOR formula, as good as 1977's "No Second Chance" was, 1978's "Lines" was even better.  Self-produced, singer/guitarist Terry Thomas was again responsible for the majority of material, though this time out keyboardist Julian Colbeck and drummer Steve Gadd co-wrote several numbers.  
Powered by Thomas' instantly recognizable snarling vocals and the band's mesmerizing harmonies, every one of these nine tracks had commercial potential.  
The album also introduced new lead guitarist Eugene Organ, whose country-flavored fills gave the band a somewhat fuller sound.  Mind you there's nothing particularly original on the album, but to my ears the album's always filled the gap in my collection and tastes that existed between mindless heavy metal and vapid throwaway pop.  
Certainly won't be to everyone's liking, but some three decades after I first heard it, I still like it and the sultry model with an amazing pair of legs (whoever she was) remains a stunner.  Can't say the same things about many things in life !

A fantastic release from a very underrated band. From the provocative opening track, "She Loves To Be In Love" (which the listener immediatley associates with the cover girl of the album), to the hilarious "Watching T.V." (wittily namechecking many a 1970's t.v. show) this album neatly encapsulates the oh so slightly off kilter and musically mannered sensibilities of this engaging band. 
Charlie mainstay, Terry Thomas, has a somewhat nasal vocal delivery which is instantly recognizable and brings an idiosyncratic edge to the laid back 70's vibe of the downbeat "L.A. Dreamer" and the impossibly catchy "Life So Cruel." Like I said this band is slightly off kilter and I mean that in a good way. 
Terry Thomas has a sharp sense of humor and fun and it works well on stuff like the already mentioned "Watching T.V." Equally though, he brings a somewhat obscure sense of class, for lack of a better word, to the proceedings on stylish excursions like "No More Heartache" and "No Strangers In Paradise." Both songs which kind of come across as a bit of a less pretentious Steely Dan. "Keep Me In Mind" is a nice slow piece that just captures the late 70's ballad perfectly--that prerequisite Fender Rhodes keyboard, sweeping group back up vocal stylings and the must have sax solo.


Side A
A1. She Loves To Be In Love - 4:23  
A2. No More Heartache - 3:44  
A3. Life So Cruel - 4:38  
A4. Watching TV - 3:30  
A5. Out Of Control - 4:33  

Side B
B1. L.A. Dreamer - 4:38  
B2. No Strangers In Paradise - 4:38  
B3. Keep Me In Mind - 5:31  
B4. I Like To Rock And Roll - 6:20 


Companies, etc.

Credits

Notes
Release:  1978
Format:  LP
Genre:  Rock
Label:  Janus Records
Catalog#  JXS-7036
Prijs:  €4,99

Vinyl:  VG
Cover:  G

oktober 15, 2020

Valérie Lagrange - Valérie Lagrange (1980) - €7,99

No comments  
Valérie Lagrange was born as Danielle Charaudeau in Paris. Her parents ran a hardware business at the Porte de la Chapelle. Having more artistic ambitions she started to frequent castings and auditions in search of an acting role. She scored her first job at the age of 17 when Claude Autant-Lara picked her out to play Bourvil's daughter in the film 'La jument verte'. It was then when she took up the pseudonym Valérie Lagrange. She starred in more movies in this period of which the one as Jean-Paul Belmondo’s fiancée in Philippe de Broca’s film 'Les tribulations d’un chinois en Chine' is the most memorable.

After her marriage to photographer Serge Beauvarlet in 1962 she broadened her perspective by taking up singing after she met songwriters Francis Lai and Pierre Barouh. She released a first single in 1964. In 1965 Serge Gainsbourg wrote her ‘La guérilla’ and participated on her debut album. The success of the album was secured with a sold out performance at the Bobino in 1966. That year also saw her return to cinema screens in Claude Lelouch's French film classic 'Un homme et une femme'. Following the student revolts of '68 she wrote to her record company to inform them she was cutting her showbiz ties and "leaving civilisation" for an undetermined period. Fleeing Paris to seek her own Utopia, Valérie teamed up with a group of like-minded friends from the arts (including Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Pierre Clémenti, Tina Aumont and Bulle Ogier) and they set up their own commune on an island off the coast of Italy. Valérie's Utopia turned sour, however. Her husband committed suicide and she decided to continue her search for the ideal lifestyle elsewhere, taking her nine-year-old son off to Bombay where one of her friends was living at the time.

Returning to France at the start of the seventies she met English songwriter and composer Ian Jelfs (how was a former member of the sympho band Alice). Their relationship developed into a passionate love story and creative working partnership. They started performing sometimes accompanied by Jean-Louis Aubert and Louis Bertignac (long before their Téléphone days).

After countless demo’s finally a first single was released in 1977. With it Valérie became the first artist to record a reggae song in French, scoring a minor hit ‘Si ma chanson pouvait’. That same year Valérie also provided guest vocals on Alain Bashung's Roman-photo. Finally in 1980 Lagrange hit the jackpot with ‘Faut plus me la faire’, an album featuring a vibrant fusion of rock and reggae. With this album she also became the first French artist signing to the Virgin label. A string of three more albums followed with the biggest international hit being ‘La folie’. 


Side A
A1. Faut Plus Me La Faire - 5:20  
A2. Sauve Moi - 3:18
A3. C'Est En Divisant - 5:15  
A4. I Want You - 4:20  

Side B
B1. A Quoi Tu Sers - 3:20  
B2. Le Feu - 5:05  
B3. Une Autre Vie - 4:45  
B4. Haïr Est Si Facile - 4:15  


Companies, etc.

Credits

Notes
Release:  1980
Format:  LP
Genre:  Pop / Frantalig
Label:  Virgin ‎Records
Catalog#  202199 
Prijs:  €7,99

Vinyl:  VG
Hoes:  voorkant kleine stickerschade

oktober 13, 2020

The Marc Tanner Band - No Escape (1979) - €5,99

No comments  
The Marc Tanner Band was a west coast rock band fronted by Marc Tanner, that released two albums on the Elektra label. They had a small hit with the song "Elena" in 1979. 

By February 1979, the group's debut album No Escape was released on Elektra, supported by the single "Elena". Among the musicians that appeared on the album were William "Smitty" Smith, formerly of the group Motherlode and Vanetta Fields.

Also in April that year with a line up that had been together for two months, the band appeared at the Golden Bear in Huntington Beach, playing a 51-minute set. Billboard reviewer Eliot Tiegel commented on the intensity of the band with the bass, 2 guitars and drums drowning out the other instruments, with a suggesting that this promising band should respect the beauty of its instruments rather than concentrate on the wattage output. In May 1979, Billboard had recommended "She's So High" as a top single pick. Towards the end of May their record label was wrapping up a promo for the band's album No Escape. The marketing ploy had given out ten thousand tie clips in the form of handcuffs. There were also requests for the items from the nontraditional outlets, usually retail stores and radio. These were restaurants and night clubs. There was also an agenda to promote "Never Again" as a single.

In the fashion of bands like Boz Scaggs, this album runs the gamut from soft rock to rockers to the etherial. With great musicians behind him (especially the very underrated Richie Zito) Marc Tanner has put out a classic album that hardly anybody has ever heard or even heard of. My favorites are the poppy "Lady In Blue" and the etherial "She's So High". If you're into AOR rock give this album a try. I'm pretty sure you'll find some or all of the songs to your liking. 

The band was managed by Lewis Kaplan who also managed Carole King's daughter Louise Goffin.


Side A
A1. Never Again - 3:12  
A2. Crawlin' - 2:54  
A3. She's So High - 4:30  
A4. Elena - 3:27  
A5. Edge Of Love - 3:25  

Side B
B1. Getaway - 3:35  
B2. Lady In Blue - 3:51  
B3. In A Spotlight - 4:15  
B4. Lost At Love - 3:42  
B5. Your Tears Don't Lie - 3:33  


Members
  • Marc Tanner - vocals
  • Linda Stanley - vocals
  • Steve Mann - flute, saxophone
  • Stephen Lyle - keyboards
  • Michael Stevens - lead guitar
  • Irvin Kramer - guitar
  • Ronny Edwards - bass
  • Joe Romersa - drums

Companies, etc.

Credits

Notes
Release:  1979
Format:  LP
Genre:  AOR, Rock
Label:  Elektra Records
Catalog#  6E-168 
Prijs:  €5,99

Vinyl:  VG
Hoes:  Gebruikerssporen / linksonder inkeeping