After Robert Johnson, John Lee Hooker is arguably the world’s most influential blues icon. This year celebrates the legend’s 100th birthday and Craft Records are marking the occasion with an expansive 5CD box set which includes many of Hooker’s landmark recordings as well as unearthing previously heard material.
‘King of The Boogie’ is released on October 6th. The full press release follows…
On 13th October 2017, Rhino will release ‘Tim Buckley: The Complete Album Collection’, an 8CD set spanning 1966-1972.
Although only a recording unit for just under six years, The Jam left behind a musical legacy that influenced the generations to come; from the whole of the Britpop movement, through to The Libertines, Kaiser Chiefs and so many others, The Jam had, in turn, become as influential as the bands which had influenced them. The songs penned by the young Paul Weller – whether capturing heartfelt political statements, the anger of youth or an occasional melancholy ballad – set him on the road to being one of Britain’s finest songwriters, a man whose lyrics have really stood the test of time.
With their brand of blues inflected hard rock, In the late 80s and early 90s, Great White gained strongly favourable press on a regular basis. On the back of albums like ‘Twice Shy’ and ‘Hooked’ (1989 and 1991 respectively) providing a more sophisticated slant on the big hair sounds that were popular at the time, supported by a tough live show, their fan base was more than solid. Over the years, however, the Great White legacy has been a little sullied. An extremely unfortunate falling out between band members and a long drawn out legal battle over the band name meant that internal politics somewhat interfered with their music. Furthermore, the market has been flooded with various budget compilation packages and a fair amount of recycling material with re-recorded and inferior versions of GW classics.
In the twenty-first century, Anathema have often been mentioned in the same breath as Opeth and Porcupine Tree due to their increased movement towards thoughtful progressive rock structures. It hasn’t always been that way, of course. Like Opeth, the band began life as a totally different musical beast, playing in a melodic death metal style. Shifting line-ups naturally resulted in shifting sounds, and by the time the band signed with the legendary Music For Nations label for their fifth album ‘Judgement’ in 1999, they’d settled on a rather tough but accessible blend of gothy and alternative rock.