VARIOUS ARTISTS – Shake That Thing: The Blues In Britain 1963-1973

The British blues boom was arguably one of the most important movements in musical history. Not only did it launch the careers of various guitar heroes – players much loved for decades afterwards – but the guitar driven sounds also paved the way for a whole universe of rock music. With that in mind, it’s interesting how few compilations have celebrated the British blues scene. Aside from Grapefruit Records’ excellent ‘Crawling Up A Hill’ box set, any other releases have been label specific, leaving a huge gap in the market for a set to explore some of the more niche sounds from the era.

‘Shake That Thing: The Blues In Britain 1963-1973’ is perfect in that regard. This three CD set from Grapefruit casts a much wider net than their earlier box set, but never loses site of its core objective. Bluesy sounds are out there, front and centre, at all times, but it also looks beyond the usual suspects to celebrate blues laden tunes shared by other singer songwriters, folkies and rock bands during a hugely transitional period.

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THE KILLING FLOOR – Tongue Tied EP

kfep2016In June 2016 the UK had a referendum on their position within the European Union. The campaign attracted the attention of many people with narrow right wing views, from aggressive groups of thugs, to pensioners with very myopic and rose tinted remembrances of the past. More people in the UK voted on the referendum than the previous general election, so it’s almost impossible to see how the “leave the EU” outcome wasn’t racist in some way. More people seemed to have an opinion on whom they’d want living and working in the country than whom they’d like to see running it.

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