Rockin'XXL

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Texas Tornados (USA)

The ultimate Tex-Mex supergroup, Texas Tornados were composed of some of the genre's most legendary figures: Doug Sahm, Augie Meyers (Sahm's bandmate in the groundbreaking Sir Douglas Quintet), Hispanic country star Freddy Fender, and accordion virtuoso Flaco Jimenez. The group's infectious, party-ready sound blended country, early rock & roll, Mexican folk music, R&B, blues, and whatever other roots musics crossed their paths. The Tornados first assembled in 1989 at a concert in San Francisco, billing themselves as the Tex-Mex Revue. They enjoyed the collaboration so much they decided to stick with it and generated far more publicity together than they would have solo; Jimenez had released several acclaimed albums by that point, but Sahm had recorded only sporadically during the '80s, and Fenderhardly at all. Their self-titled debut album was released on Reprise in 1990 -- in both English and Spanish versions -- to rapturous reviews and also sold pretty well, reaching number 25 on the country charts. The group toured extensively behind it and issued the Grammy-nominated follow-up album Zone of Our Own in 1991, again to hugely positive reviews. By the time of 1992's Hangin' on by a Thread, the group's primary audience was Latino, and Jimenez accordingly took more and more of the spotlight. After more touring, the group went their separate ways to concentrate on other projects and work on new material; most notably, Sahm and Meyers formed a new version of the Sir Douglas Quintet. In the meantime, Reprise issued a compilation, The Best of Texas Tornados. The Tornados reconvened in 1996 for the album 4 Aces, which didn't attract quite as much attention or acclaim as their previous work. The group's late-1998 concert at Antone's in Austin was recorded and released the following summer as Live From the Limo, Vol. 1; unfortunately, it would prove to be the only volume, as Sahm died of a heart attack in late 1999.

1990

Reprise 26251/ 10 tr./ 31:34 min.

1991

Reprise 26683/ 10 tr./ 31:23 min.

1992

Reprise 45058/ 10 tr./ 36:47 min.

1993

Reprise 45511/ 11 tr./ 33:21 min.

1996

Reprise 46197/ 12 tr./ 42:48 min.

1999

Virgin 47751/ 14 tr./ 55:46 min.

2010

Bismeaux 1290/ 13 tr./ 41:12 min.

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Eddie C. Campbell (USA)

Eddie C. Campbell (born May 6, 1939, Duncan, Mississippi) is an American blues guitarist and singer active in the Chicago blues scene.
Campbell moved to Chicago at the age of ten, and by age 12 was learning from the blues musicians Muddy Waters, Magic Sam, and Otis Rush. In his early years as a professional musician, he played as a sideman with Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Little Johnny Taylor, and Jimmy Reed. In 1976, Willie Dixon hired him to play in the Chicago Blues All-Stars. Campbell's debut album, King of the Jungle, featuring Carey Bell on harmonica and Lafayette Leake on piano, was released the next year. In 1984, Campbell left Chicago for Europe, living first in the Netherlands and later in Duisburg, Germany, where he remained for ten years before returning to Chicago. Campbell's latest album is Spider Eating Preacher (Delmark, 2012). It was nominated for a Blues Music Award in 2013 in the category Traditional Blues Album. In February 2013, Campbell suffered a stroke and a heart attack while on tour in Germany, leaving him paralyzed on the right side of his body. His wife, Barbara Basu, started the Eddie C. Campbell Assistance Fund to raise money to fly him back to Chicago for further medical treatment. Two years later Eddie had recovered from his stroke and performs in and around Chicago.

1977

Rooster 2602/ 12 tr./ 44:57 min.

1984

Black Magic 9007/ 12 tr./ 45:23 min.

1985

JSP 2143/ 15 tr./ 58:38 min.

1986

Double Trouble 3011/ 16 tr./ 62:06 min.

1994

Blind Pig 5014/ 11 tr./ 43:30 min.

1998

Icehouse 9423/ 16 tr./ 61:49 min.

2000

Rooster 2638/ 11 tr./ 45:16 min.

2009

Delmark 799/ 14 tr./ 61:03 min.

2012

Delmark 819/ 15 tr./ 61:52 min.

John Campbell (USA)

John Allen Campbell (January 20, 1952 – June 13, 1993). Campbell was born and grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana.
His first group was the Texas-based electric power trio, Junction. Formed in 1973 in Corpus Christi, Texas, the band consisted of John on guitar and vocals, Tim Delaney on bass and vocals, and Jack "Satch" Haupt on drums and vocals. The trio disbanded two years later. Campbell cut his first album titled Street Suite around this same time.
At the eve of the 1980s he spent a time at the Robin Hood Studios in Tyler, Texas and taped a demo with his acoustic versions of blues standards. In 2000 these twelve tracks were issued as the compilation album, Tyler, Texas Session.
As a solo artist, Campbell continued to play in clubs of East Texas and he also appeared in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1985, he moved to New York City and joined the local blues scene.
His album, A Man And His Blues, featured Ronnie Earl as producer and guest guitarist, was recorded during two days in April 1988, and was released on a small German record label. Its follow-up releases were on Elektra, One Believer (1991) and Howlin Mercy (1993). The latter included the single cover version of Led Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks".
Campbell's favored instruments were a 1952 Gibson Southern Jumbo acoustic, a 1934 National Steel and a 1940s National resophonic guitar. On June 13, 1993, Campbell died from heart failure as he slept at his Manhattan home in New York City.

1985

JC bootleg/ 15 tr./ 59:19 min.

1988

Crosscut Rec. 11019/ 9 tr./ 41:24 min.

1991

Elektra 610862/ 10 tr./ 50:20 min.

1993

Elektra 614402/ 10 tr./ 55:33 min.

1999

Sphere 102/ 12 tr./ 56:20 min.

2000

bootleg / 14 tracks/ 61:22 min.

John Campbelljohn (CAN)

Working with a trio that harnesses his exciting guitar work and powerful songwriting, Canadian blues-rocker John Campbelljohn first arrived at the age of 14. Growing up in a household that often had jamborees and parties that celebrated music, Campbelljohn was enamored with the guitar from an early age. He was not into the Celtic music that his community enjoyed, so he took up the guitar and studied artists like Son House and Muddy Waters. Sonny Landrethbecame a huge influence, and it led him to put together a combo that combined bassist Bruce Moore and drummer Steve Preeper. The three released How Does It Feel? in 1993, and critics in Canada and the U.S. alike caught onto his sound. His next record, Hook Slide + Sinker, saw Campbelljohn get his first European release, while the next album, Nerves of Steel, even got notice from Rolling Stone magazine.

1993

debut album, re-released 2016

PepperCake 2106/ 10 tr./ 40:59 min.

1999

Herman's HE018/ 16 tr./ 56:30 min.

2000

Herman's HE023/ 14 tr./ 54:25 min.

2006

Hermn's HE032/ 13 tracks/ 56:52 min.

2008

PepperCake 2025/ 15 tr./ 73:21 min.

2009

PepperCake 2053/ 12 tr./ 50:18 min.

2011

PepperCake 2068/ 16 tr./ 69:40 min.

2016

PepperCake 2102/ 12 tr./ 42:37 min.

Glen Campbell (USA)

Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, television host, and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting a music and comedy variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television, from January 1969 through June 1972. He released over 70 albums in a career that spanned five decades, accumulating over 45 million record sales worldwide, including 12 gold albums, four platinum albums, and one double-platinum album.

1987

Capitol 546483/ 15 tracks/ 42:25 min.

CAN (Germany)

Can was a German experimental rock band formed in Cologne, Germany, in 1968 by the core quartet of Holger Czukay (bass), Irmin Schmidt (keyboards), Michael Karoli (guitar), and Jaki Liebezeit (drums). The group cycled through several vocalists, including Malcolm Mooney (1968–70) and Damo Suzuki (1970–73), as well as various temporary members. Drawing from backgrounds in the avant-garde and jazz, Can incorporated minimalist, electronic, and world music elements into their often psychedelicand funk-inflected music.They have been widely hailed as pioneers of the German krautrock scene.
Can had occasional commercial success, with singles such as "Spoon" and "I Want More" reaching national singles charts. Through albums such as Monster Movie (1969), Tago Mago (1971), Ege Bamyasi (1972) and Future Days (1973), the band exerted a considerable influence on avant-garde, experimental, post-punk, ambient, new wave and electronic music.

1969

Spoon 4/ 4 tracks/ 37:37 min.

1970

Spoon 5/ 7 tracks/ 35:09 min.

1971

Spoon 6/7 / 7 tracks/ 73:30 min.

1972

Spoon 8/ 7 tracks/ 40 min.

1973

Spoon 9/ 4 tracks/ 41:04 min.

1989

Spoon 12/ 7 tracks/ 35:50 min.

Jerry McCain (USA)

Jerry McCain was born 18th June 1930 and died 28.March 2012. Born near Gadsden, Alabama, he was one of five children of a poor family. Many of his siblings also became involved in music, most notably his brother, Walter, who played drums on some early recordings. McCain picked up the harmonica from itinerant musicians "Chick" and "Shorty" who played at the local bars (and street corners) when he was young.
McCain was a fan of the music of Little Walter and met the artist when, in 1953, he traveled to Gadsden for a show. McCain's recording debut came via Trumpet Records the same year under the name "Boogie McCain", with his brother Walter on drums. The two tracks were "East of the Sun" and "Wine-O-Wine". After recruiting Christopher Collins, who would be with him throughout most of his career, he went on to the Excello label. During his years with the Excello (1955–57) he developed his amplified harmonica style, and unusual blues lyrics. The Excello Label period saw the release of such noted songs as "The Jig's Up", and "My Next Door Neighbor". His later recording for Rex Records "She's Tough" / "Steady" was an inspiration to The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and Kim Wilson duplicated McCain's harp work on their version.
McCain also released singles and albums for Columbia, under their Okeh Records label (1962), and for the Shreveport-based Jewel (1965–68) record label. The complete collection of his Jewel label records are available on a compilation album and, in recent years, several of his early recordings have been released on "retrospective" and compilation CDs, including the Verose Vintage album, Good Stuff. His longest partner, Ichiban Records, also released several retrospectives in the 1990s, including ICH1516-2: Jerry McCain.
In 1989, after a period spent performing and touring with lesser known bands, McCain signed with Ichiban Records, and released the albums: Blues and Stuff, Struttin' My Stuff, and Love Desperado. During his time with Ichiban, McCain also released one record on the Jericho label, This Stuff Just Kills Me, which featured Jimmie Vaughan and Johnnie Johnson. His 1977 release, This Stuff Just Kills Me eventually appeared on the Music Maker label.
In 2002, Ichiban released an album called American Roots: Blues featuring McCain. McCain's abridged work was featured on track 8 of the Rhino Records Blues Masters Volume Four: Harmonica Classics, with an almost lost recording of "Steady". McCain's inclusion in the Blues Master series, was alongside Little Walter, Jimmy Reed, Junior Wells, Howlin' Wolf, Snooky Pryor, and George "Harmonica" Smith.

1978

Zeus 1021/ 10 tr/ 28:39 min.