Frankie Reyes – Alma, Corazon y Vida
from Boleros, Valses y Mas (2016)
Lovely album. Akin to the feeling of being serenaded by a lone pianist in a barroom. A little more background, via Stones Throw:
Frankie Reyes is the alias of Gabriel Reyes-Whittaker who also records as GB (Gifted & Blessed). Boleros Valses y Mas, his Stones Throw debut, is an album comprised of popular Latin standards, reworked by Reyes with an Oberheim synthesizer.
The inspiration for Boleros Valses y Mas formed when Los Angeles radio collective Dublab invited Gabriel to participate in an event themed specifically around Latin American modernism.
A reminder that all good things come from Dublab.
Virna Lindt–Underwater Boy
from Shiver (1983)
Forgot all about Virna Lindt till she came up in my Discover Weekly the other day. A Swedish model and singer who tracked two wonderful and weird albums in the mid 80s.
Definitely worth listening to the whole album, there’s a ton of variety. Good for eclectic ears. Also see echoes of this tonal palette and singing style in Mr Twin Sister, another band I hold dear.
Been waiting a long time for it, and last night’s Cornelius show at the Orpheum didn’t disappoint–one of the best shows I’ve ever seen, musically and visually.
The band and the visual effects crew are so well rehearsed, you’ll be doing yourself a favor if you check out one of the few remaining dates:
08-08 Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theater
08-10 Denver, CO - Gothic Theater
08-12 Eau Claire, WI - Eaux Claires Festival
08-13 Chicago, IL - Park West
Bonus seeing the LA show was an onstage cameo by Beck, since Cornelius was once hailed as “the Japanese Beck.” A meeting of Becks!
The legendary Chris Foreman at The Green Mill in Chicago
Noveller at the Cloisters
NYC Guitar Festival
Little Richard–I Don’t Know What You’ve Got (But It’s Got Me) (1964/5)
Been listening to a lot of old rock and R&B lately, and a buddy just sent me this track from the Vee Jay recording sessions that produced the Little Richard is Back album, though this tune didn’t make the original release.
Beautiful gospel-worthy guitar work by Jimi Hendrix. And soft mournful vocal work from Little Richard. Just gorgeous.
Williamsburgh Savings Bank, Broadway
Dwight Twilley – Chance To Get Away (1977)
Saw Dwight Twilley tonight - what a fucking legend. No one wrote power pop like him… except Phil Seymour of course.
He told a lot of wonderful stories. Like how he and Phil couldn’t afford to shop their demo tape around NYC or LA (plane fare was too expensive). So they drove to Memphis and cruised up and down the avenue looking for a record label. *Looking for a record label.* Who does that? They ended up in Sun Studio, and before long they had a deal on their hands.
Monika @ Baby’s All Right
This photo of the Cocteau Twins is everything.
Bert Jansch – Avocet
from Avocet (1979, reissued 2016)
Very nice reissue of Bert Jansch’s instrumental 1979 album Avocet, by London’s Earth Recordings. The centerpiece is the title track, Avocet, heard here. Clocking in at 18 minutes, it’s a wonderful meditation of guitar, violin and upright bass, shifting and weaving through splendid compositional passages and others that sound more like the rollicking boys down at the pub.
Worth checking out the other reissues at Earth, which include other British, American and Australian folk acts like the esteemed Jackson C. Frank.
Invader NYC residency.
Orchard St and Ludlow St.
