WELCOME TO BLITZ MAGAZINE'S WEB SITE!

INDOOR SAFARI: True to form, the faithful were mesmerized, placated and enthralled exponentially by the great NICK LOWE (pictured) and LOS STRAITJACKETS during the 26 October 2024 stop of their current tour at the Magic Bag in Ferndale, Michigan in support of their all new Indoor Safari album for Yep Roc. Michael McDowell has the story in the New Releases column under the Previous Posts heading at right. Photo by Jim Johnson. C&P 2024 Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People. All rights reserved.  (Click on above image to enlarger).

WELCOME TO THE INTERET HOME

FOR BLITZ MAGAZINE
SINCE 1975 -
THE ROCK AND ROLL MAGAZINE
FOR THINKING PEOPLE

Welcome to the official web site for Blitz, The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People. Since 1975, Blitz has been the leading voice for the discerning music enthusiast. Blitz Magazine was also one of the first magazines of its kind to embrace the internet, having also been online since January 1996.

Here you will find news and updates about all of the key artists essential to the growth and development of rock and roll music and related genres, including rhythm and blues, country and western, jazz and easy listening. For highlights from recent past editions of the Bits And Pieces and Shape Of Things To Come columns, click on the archival postings on the right hand side of this page. Be sure and check back frequently for regular updates.

If you have any questions, please e-mail us at BlitzMcD@aol.com.

Michael McDowell
Editor/Publisher
Blitz Magazine
Since 1975 - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People
E-Mail us at BlitzMcD@aol.com for a list of available back issues.

Be sure to follow Blitz on Twitter:

@BlitzMagazine

and

on Facebook at:

Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People

AUDREY'S MUSICAL JOURNEY:

Follow the fascinating and unfolding tale (through her favorite music) of the life and times of Blitz Magazine's late and beloved Photo Editor, Audrey McDowell, as told by her husband, Blitz Editor/Publisher Michael McDowell. A Facebook exclusive! "Like" us on Facebook at Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People, and watch for further installments.

IN THE BITS AND PIECES COLUMN:

In a free standing article under the Previous Posts heading at right, Editor/Publisher Michael McDowell takes a behind the scenes look at the final stops of DEBBIE GIBSON's Acoustic Youth tour.

The outpouring of grief among the faithful was immediate in the wake of the sudden passing of ONE DIRECTION co-founder LIAM PAYNE from injuries sustained in a fall on 16 October. Editor / Publisher Michael McDowell shares the highlights of Payne's prolific yet tragic brief career.

In a free standing article under the Previous Posts heading at right, Editor / Publisher Michael McDowell recalls the phenomenal career of composer and producer HANS VAN HEMERT, who succumbed to his protracted battle against prostate cancer in October.

BABE lead vocalist MARGA BULT had much for which to be thankful in the wake of her recovery from injuries sustained in a fall at home earlier this year, as she and her family celebrated her 02 July birthday with a family holiday in Spain. Editor / Pubisher Michael McDowell joins in the celebration.

IN THE REISSUES / ANTHOLOGIES SECTION OF

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME COLUMN:

Pioneering rocker, Gospel witness extraordinare and virtuoso guitarist SISTER ROSETTA THARPE is the subject of a magnificent collection of heretofore unavailable live recordings from 1966, which are now available on the Deep Digs label.

Roger Maglio's Gear Fab label has once again struck gold with their re-release of Kings, Queens And Jokers, the third (and first deluxe) incarnation of the 1971 debut album by the New Jersey-based VICTORIA.

Cherry Red's affiliate Cherry Pop label has added to their already impressive catalog of BUCKS FIZZ releases with The Land Of Make Believe, a most impressive five CD career overview.

Once available via the prolific UK-based Cherry Red Records, the 1975 Harvest label third album, Too Many Crooks by veteran country rock band UNICORN is now also available in a deluxe CD reissue on the Texas - based Think Like A Key label.

IN THE NEW RELEASES SECTION OF

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME COLUMN:

Indoor Safari, the all new NICK LOWE album with LOS STRAITJACKETS is rapidly proving to be one of the best new albums of the year. Michael McDowell covers both album and tour support. 

Following a few personnel changes, the Northern California - based MONOGROOVE is back with a vengeance with their all new Tje Flip Side album for Tap Tunes Records. 

The tour de force New Jersey nartive known as DEVON MARIE is creating quite a sensation among aficionados of high drama with her brand new Steve Brown-produced single, Miss You Blue.

The CYRKLE is back with a vengeance with their all new, ambitious Big Stir label album, Revival. 

Composer and vocalist AMANDA FISH brings the world to its knees before presenting it  with the ultimate solution in her third and latest Vizztone label release, Kingdom.

With its cerebral approach to the subject of unrequited love, it became an instant classic upon its release on the nineteenth of April. Editor/Publisher Michael McDowell takes a look at the creative process behind The Tortured Poets Departtment, the all new album by TAYLOR SWIFT. 

Guitar virtuoso SUE FOLEY brings the proceedings full circle with One Guitar Woman, her Stony Plain label salute to such pioneering giants as Elizabeth Cotten, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Memphis Minnie and Maybelle Carter. 

HANS VAN HEMERT MEMORIAL TRIBUTE

DREAM, DREAM: He went from a sales career for  the Phonogram label to become one of the most remarkable visioaries in all of music, as well as the mastermind behid the beloved vocal supergroup LUV'. We salute the beloved composer and producer HANS VAN HEMERT, who lost his protracted battle aganst prostate cancer in October. Editor/Publisher Michael McDowell has the story below (Click on above image to enlarge).

YOU'RE THE GREATEST:

REMEMBERING PRODUCER / COMPOSER

HANS VAN HEMERT

(1945 - 2024)

By Michael McDowell

In the team approach to recording, there is often a primarily behind the scenes figure whose vision is largely responsible for seeing the project at hand through to fruition.

In short, the team approach involves bringing together the cream of the crop of the respective participants: vocalists, instrumentalists, composers, producers and engineers for optimum results. Such methodology worked particularly well among solo artists in the early days of the recording industry, as exemplified by such giants as Perry Como, Buddy Clark, Doris Day,, Dean Martin, Patti Page and Russ Columbo.

As rock and roll began to assert itself, the behind the scenes figures took on more visible profiles when it became apparent how crucial their input was to the overall process. Among the early leading lights in that capacity were such remarkably gifted visionaries as Alan Freed, Morris Levy, Phil Spector, Berry Gordy, Jeff Barry and the legendary Bert Berns. 

With the advent of the so-called British Invasion and first generation garage rock by the mid-1960s, the focus gradually began to turn towards self-contained bands that were capable of creative autonomy. Ironically, by decade's end, the need for a guiding light along the lines of the aforementioned individals became increasingly apparent as a number of those bands took creative autonomy to excessive levels, disenfranchising some of the faithful in the process.

By the mid-1970s, it was apparent that the resultant excesses had put at least the mainstream contingent into a protracted aesthetic slump. Thankfully, help was on its way in full force via the so-called indie movement and its back to basics front runners. They included Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, the Clash, Joe Jackson, Black Flag, the Flamin' Groovies and Eddie And The Hot Rods, to name but a few. 

For the most part, those artists made their greatest impact across North America and the UK. In the process, they did much to rescue rock and roll from what the late Monkees lead guitarist Michael Nesmith once termed the Grand Ennui. However, unknown to many within those circles was the fact that concurrently, a substantial like minded movement was sweeping across the European continent. 

With it came a singularity of purpose that differered primarily only in its return to the team approach. But the results were the same, in that the artists in question took the aesthetic level of the art to its greatest heights to date. 

Perhaps no other such visionary made such a widespread and enduring impact in that respect than did the beloved composer, producer, arranger and Voorburg, South Holland native, Hans Van Hemert. 

The son of television director Willy Van Hemert, Hans Christian Willem Van Hemert was by 1965 well entrenched in a career in the sales and promotions division of the Phonogram label. However, his ongoing fascination with the recording studio led him by year's end to a new role as a composer and producer. Among the many artists with whom he worked were first generation garage rock greats Q65, as well as the Motions and psych rock forerunners Group 1850. Van Hemert also recorded five solo singles for Philips and Decca, including 1973's memorable Because Of The Cats.

In 1972, Van Hemert composed the much loved Land Of Milk And Honey for the highly prolific and magnificent duo of Willem Duyn and Sjoukje Lucie van 't Spijker, better known as Mouth And MacNeal. He also produced their superb and endearingly tongue in cheek Hello-a single that same year.

But it was during the late 1970s that Van Hemert achieved his greatest artistic triumph as the founder and primary visionary behind the beloved vocal supergroup Luv'. Like Dave Edmunds, Luv' drew their inspiration from the pioneers that inspired them and took those inspirations to unprecedented heights. In the process, Luv' irrefutably cemented their reputation as one of the premier vocal trios of the twentieth century. 

To be certain, Van Hemert's vision for Luv' could not have been realized without strong vocalists with a keen eye for the vision. Indeed, the founding Luv' line up of Josina "Jose Hoebee" van de Wijdeven, Margareth "Marga" Scheide and Petula Louise "Patty" Brard was nothing short of answered prayer. The results are borne out in abundance throughout the first three Luv' albums, With Luv', Lots Of Luv' and True Luv'. 

Arranged and conducted by Piet Souer and produced by Van Hemert, those first three Luv' albums are nothing short a vocal harmony euphoria enthusiast's dream. Throughout the proceedings, Luv' absolutely soars in such monster classics as My Man, Oh Get Ready, Dream Dream, U.O. Me, You're The Greatest Lover, I Like Candy Kisses, Ooh Yes I Do, Boys Goodnight, the sublime Casanova, their signature single Trojan Horse and the utterly stupendous Saint Tropez.

Ironically and somewhat disconcertingly, the Trojan Horse single remains to date the sole Luv' release in the United States (in 1978 on Polydor, with Life Is On My Side from With Luv' on the flip). Backed majestically by the Hilversum, North Holland-based Beatrix Pipe Band, Trojan Horse finds Luv' retelling the tale from Greek mythology with their trademark impeccable vocal harmonies. That single was augmented by a somewhat surrealistic video in the vein of early Pink Floyd that finds them skipping merrily through such seemingly unlikely settings as a game room and a petting zoo; augmented by an endearing and good natured "hat fight" between Brard, Hoebee and Scheide. Although Trojan Horse met with instant critical acclaim in the United States (including a rave from Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People), the lack of availability here of any of their follow up releases has led to no small amount of ongoing disconsternation among the faithful. 

Also somewhat ironically, Van Hemert's brief affiliation with another vocal trio in its formative stages led to the restructuring of that other vocal trio to the point that they ultimately went on to rank solidly alongside Luv' as one of the greatest vocal trios of the twentieth century. That group, Babe (who in turn were the vision of the duly inspired Peter Koelewijn) came into the forefront in the immediate aftermath of Van Hemert's work with the group. Comprised of group founder Rita van Rooy, Margot van de Ven and Marga Bult, the so-called Mach II version of Babe went on to set the absolute standard of excellence in the genre via such essential and game changing singles as Dolly The Doll, Explosive, (Don't You Ever) Shop Around, Boomerang, Hot Shot, Tommy Is A Winner, Indian Habits and their larger than life signature single, Together In Love Again. 

Meanwhile, Van Hemert pressed ahead prolifically in the studio well into the twenty-first century. Among his more noteworthy later career moments were Patty Brard's spin off group Patty Cash in 1997, and the inspired De Allerliefste Mama En Papa single by his daughter, Hannah and his granddaughter, Britt in 2008. 

Sadly, Van Hermert was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2010. Thankfully, he went into remission for a protracted season. However, in July 2023, the disease returned and metastasized throughout his body. 

Despite those formidable challenges, Van Hemert recently gave an extensive interview to Entertainment Business. Therein, in spite of his circumstances, he weighed in with his trademark relentless optimism.

"I'm still in the studio, composing every day", he said.

"I'm still trying to see through what makes today's hits in this completely changed industry. That process continues to fascinate me. I'm not done yet!"

Sadly, Van Hemert's optimism proved to be short lived. He succumbed to his illness in Hilversum on 07 October. The outpouring of grief among his colleagues was both immediate and overwhelming.

"Such sad news", said Babe's Marga Bult.

"A really nice and special person is unfortunately no more". 

Ironically, at the time of Van Hemert's passing, Patty Brard had been in rehearsals with a supergroup that she had put together for live performances in tandem with her birthday celebration in March 2025. The Mega Girls Group is comprised of the absolute cream of the crop of vocal harmony royalty, including Brard, Bult and veterans of such beloved groups as the Dolly Dots, Mai Tai and Frizzle Sizzle.

"I am grateful for the opportunities that (Hans) provided for me at the beginning of my career", said Brard.

"I wish his dear wife, the children and grandchildren a lot of strength and all love".

Hans Van Hemert was 79. 

DEBBIE GIBSON ON TOUR

IT'S ACOUSTIC: Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People Editor / Publisher Michael McDowell shares a warm moment with DEBBIE GIBSON at the Wabash, Indiana stop of her Acoustic Youth tour on 23 October. Michael McDowell has the story below. Photo by Tim Chang. C&P 2024 Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People. All rights reserved.  (Click on above image to enlarger).

IT'S ACOUSTIC:

DEBBIE GIBSON

WRAPS EY35 TOUR

IN WARMTH

By Michael McDowell

To paraphrase a track that was integral to the proceedings at hand, kindness speaks a thousand words. 

The road to Wabash, Indiana was no doubt paved with good intentions. But for a few of the faithful who were making their way there for the Eagles Theater stop of Debbie Gibson's Acoustic Youth tour on the twenty-third of October, it also came with a bit of excess baggage.

To wit, among the faithful (affectionately known as Deb Heads and Diamonds), trials and tribulations availed themselves to the degree that it nearly derailed the momentum among a few of their number. To wit, some spoke of various concerns, from personal health challenges to the recent loss of loved ones.

True to form, the various Deb Heads who gathered outside of the theater that afternoon rallied to the cause, offering support, prayers and words of encouragement amongst one another as needed. Such altruism proved to be a microcosm of the greater environment, with many among the venue's personnel availing themselves in kind.  

Perhaps not so ironically, Gibson also experienced her own set of challenges en route to Wabash. While on the road, her entourage's main mode of transportation suddenly found itself in need of a bit of fine tuning.

"It's in the R.V. hospital", she said. 

Nonetheless, kindness and camaraderie remained the order of the day when Gibson and the faithful gathered inside of the theater prior to showtime for a town hall meeting of sorts. True to the relentless optimism component of her mission statement, Gibson even provided a bit of diversion with an ad hoc Q&A session. Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People kicked off that segment by deferring to the musicologist contingent with a question about her earliest record purchases.

"(Elton John's) Crocodile Rock, Billy Joel's 52nd Street and Marie Osmond's version of (Anita Bryant's) Paper Roses", she said. 

When Gibson took to the stage that evening, the capacity crowd greeted her with a thunderous ovation. She responded in kind with an electrifying performance that belied the acoustic setting. 

While the primary focus was a bare bones (keyboards, saxophone and percussion) celebration of the thirty-fifth anniversary of her 1989 monster classic second album, Electric Youth (which included a Mambo-like arrangement of the title track), Gibson sweetened the set list exponentially with a combination of other Atlantic Records - era highlights (including the obligatory and utterly stupendous Shake Your Love and Only In My Dreams) and selections from the soundtrack of her UK stage production of Grease. Gibson augmented the proceedings with a generous helping of story telling that did much to fuel the overall atmosphere of relentless optimism.

However, it was an out of the blue moment of inspiration that brought about a protracted standing ovation at the evening's midpoint. 

"My next album will find me doing a bit more of my singer / songwriter thing", Gibson said.

With that, she premiered a rough draft of a cut to the heart ballad slated for that forthcoming release. To suggest that there was not a dry eye in the house would not be mere hyperbole. 

Later that evening, Blitz Magazine reiterated as much to Gibson outside of the theater:

"That new ballad is a hit". 

The look of uncertainty on her face in response was most assuredly understandable, given that the material in question remains an unproven commodity for the moment. However, seconds later, a paserby inadvertently did much to underscore the unintentionally prophetic elements at play.

"I really enjoyed your show", he said.

"And your new song was beautiful. I think it's a hit".

"Told ya!", Blitz Magazine added, offering a benediction as Gibson and her entourage boarded the RV for their forthcoming shows in Wisconsin and Illinois. 

Not surprisingly, on the tour's final stop in Chicago, Illinois on the twenty-eighth of October, history from Wabash the previous week repeated itself, with standing ovations for both her rendition of I Honestly Love You and the new material. 

"This is like my highwire act", Gibson said.

"I'm so honored".

Indeed, while the Doors once sang of being on a Tightrope Ride, Debbie Gibson has lived it four nearly four decades. And during this phase of that ride, while it may have been showcased in an acoustic setting, one constant remains:

It's still electric.

BITS AND PIECES - NEWS ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE ARTISTS By Michael McDowell

THROUGH THE DARK: His untimely passing from injuries sustained in a fall from his hotel room balcony on 16 October in many ways parallel the untimely deaths of Rod Lauren and Donnie Hathaway. Editor / Pubisher Michael McDowell takes a look at the productive yet brief and tragic career of ONE DIRECTION co-founder LIAM PAYNE below  (Click on above image to enlarge).

LIVE WHILE YOU'RE YOUNG:

REMEMBERING ONE DIRECTION'S

LIAM PAYNE

(1993 - 2024)

In the world of music, pursuing one's art as both a thinker and a doer often makes a given musician a thinking people's artist.

In that respect, those who came through the ranks as part of the sub-genre whose participants were often referred to as boy bands were nontheless subjected to being part of a two-edge misnomer. In one respect, a misnomer in that by definition, the word "band" refers to an aggregation that plays instruments. In reality, the various artists in question would more accurately be referred to as vocal groups. 

Concurrently, among the more discerning musicologists, record collectors and music historians, those vocal groups often did not (in their estimation) deliver on a level that met their preconceived expectations.

However, in the first decade and a half of the twenty-first century, a group of ambitious artists who envisioned taking their art to the next level in that respect asserted themselves to the degree that they confounded expectations. In the process, they began to draw praise from the aforementioned discerning academics. Among the more noteworthy within those circles were Miley Cyrus, Rihanna, the Jonas Brothers, the Cheetah Girls, Colbie Caillat, the Plain White Ts and the ambitious sibling duo, Aly And AJ. 

Leading the charge within that movement among the vocal group contingent was the UK-based quintet, One Direction. The group was initially comprised of Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Liam James Payne and Niall Horan. 

One Direction came together in 2010. Their first widespread exposure came on The X Factor television series that same year. 

One Direction then signed with Simon Cowell's Syco Music (not to be confused with the Syco label that released the Northern Soul monster classic Sugar Baby by Jimmy Holland in 1965). Over the next six years, the quintet turned out an above the herd series of singles, including The Story Of My Life, Perfect, Live While We're Young and their signature track, What Makes You Beautiful. 

Although One Direction embarked upon a protracted sabbatical in 2016, the group members remained close. In recent years, Harry Styles has enjoyed a prolific solo career via his acclaimed solo albums. In turn, Liam Payne (who composed much of One Direction's material) continued to record and perform as a solo artist on a regular basis.

Sadly, on the afternoon of 16 October, Payne fell to his death from the balcony of his third floor hotel room in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Autopsy reports confirm that Payne succumbed to multiple internal injuries sustained in the fall.

Ironically, the Wolverhampton native's premature passing parallels that of musicians Rod Lauren and Donny Hathaway, both of whom died under like circumstances. Survivors include his seven year old son, Bear. Liam Payne was 31.

THIS ONE'S FROM THE HEART:

REMEMBERING

JAMES DARREN

(1936 - 2024)

"Let's stop by the record store. I want to get the new James Darren album".

Those words were spoken not in 1959. Nor in 1963 or 1966. They were said in 1999 by my late wife Audrey, in reference to Darren's album This One's From The Heart on the Concord Jazz label. 

Indeed the nineteen years of married bliss that Audrey and I shared felt in some ways  as though we were living out our own Camelot experience. To that effect, I have often said that it felt like we were married from 1948 to 1967, rather than the reality of 1995 until her sudden passing in 2014.

That thought had also crossed my mind when we returned to the car, as Audrey clutched her purchase with considerable delight. While of course not oblivious to the world in which we lived, the fact remained that an artist such as James Darren was as much a contributor to the current cultural landscape as anyone benefitting from the mainstream media spotlight at the moment.

That is as much of a testimony to the timelessness of Darren's art as it was our own preferences in the world of entertainment. Born James William Ercolani in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in June 1936, Darren was by virtue of geography in a position of considerable advantage, given that city's formidable contributions to rock and roll during its formative years. 

Indeed, after completing his studies in New York City with an eye towards a career in acting, Darren found himself co-starring in the motion picture, Rumble On The Docks in 1956. By 1959, he was in the spotlight for his portrayal of Moondoggie in the motion picture Gidget, as well as two sequels.

Darren's rendition of the film's title track for Colpix (his second 45 for the label) provided a tremendous kick start for his recording career. Numerous triumphs for Colpix followed, including I Ain't Sharin' Sharon, They Should Have Given You The Oscar, Goodbye Cruel World and the utterly stupendous Her Royal Majesty. Various collaborations with Colpix label mates Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen were also well received.

For much of the 1960s and 1970s, Darren continued to flourish in a variety of disciplines. They included a starring role in The Time Tunnel television series, an acclaimed album (All) for Warner Brothers and an appearance in the 1963 motion picture, The Lively Set. 

His various recordings for Kirshner and Private Stock during the 1970s were also well received, as was his work on the T.J. Hooker crime drama television series in the 1980s. By the 1990s, he was also working as a director, with episodes of the iconic Melrose Place and Beverly Hills 90210 series to his credit.

By the turn of the century, Darren had turned much of his musical attention towards the jazz that inspired the aforementioned This One's From The Heart album. Throughout much of the twenty-first century, he also weighed in frequently on his social media sites, concurrently keeping his profile high via the occasional live appearance, as well as a role in the 2017 motion picture, Lucky.

Sadly, Darren's This One's From The Heart album now comes full circle. He was recently admitted to Cedar Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for aortic valve surgery. Tragically, he passed away there in his sleep during the morning of 02 September. Survivors include his wife Evy, and several children. Darren was 88.

HOT SHOT:

BABE'S MARGA BULT'S

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

OF GRATITUDE

Birthdays can be a mixed blessing.

On one hand, a birthday can signify accomplishment and joy. Conversely, birthdays can also serve as a reminder of everything from loss to the aging process. 

In general, Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People does not chronicle birthday and / or anniversary celebrations, primarily because of the high volume of celebrants involved. Nonetheless, exceptions are made upon occasion when the event occurs in tandem with other developments in the career of a given artist. 

Such is definitely the case this year with Babe lead vocalist Marga Bult, whose recovery from injuries sustained in a fall at home several weeks ago has been chronicled extensively in Blitz Magazine. Thankfully, Bult's recovery has progressed to the degree that she has pretty much been able to resume her normal day to day routine.

Since succeeding outgoing lead vocalist Gemma Van Eck (who opted for a solo career) in the closing weeks of 1981, Bult and her Babe colleagues Rita van Rooy and Margot van de Ven spent the next half decade establishing the beloved Dutch trio as one of the premier vocal groups of the twentieth century. 

In the process, Babe also tirelessly championed the most essential attribute of relentless optimism in their mission statement. Not surprisingly, that virtue (along with her trademark sense of humor) continued to serve Bult well as she made plans for her 02 July birthday celebration in the wake of her recent challenges. 

"I notice now that I'm getting older that I'm getting much stronger", Bult said with tongue in cheek.

"I can lift 150 Euros' worth of groceries now! That didn't work before".

On a slightly more serious note, Bult opted to trransform her 02 July birthday observance into a combination celebration with her son (whose celebrated his own birthday on 01 July) and a family holiday.

"I turned a year older, but for the first time, I'm celebrating it in Altea", she said.

"You have to experience everything in life at least once, right? (My family and I) are making it a very sunny and cozy party together".

Meanwhile, Babe's legions of devotees continue to hold out hope that one of Bult, van Rooy and van der Ven's frequent reunion meetings will result in the most welcome news of  a return to the recording studio, to live performance or both. Babe has been on a professional sabbatical since 1986, although they remain in close contact with one another. 

"Sweet, thank you", said Bult, who is also a registered nurse.

And a reciprocal thank you to Marga Bult from Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People, with a benediction for birthday blessings in abundance.

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME (REISSUES AND ANTHOLOGIES) By Michael McDowell

 CD AND LP REISSUES / ANTHOLOGIES (PLUS BOOKS)

(REVIEWS ARE POSTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER BY ARTIST)

WHEN MY LIFE WORK IS ENDED: Widely regarded as one of the foudnig visionaries of rock and roll, virtuoso guuitarist and composer SISTER ROSETTA THARPE is the subject of a highly acclaimed collection on the Deep Digs label of heretofore unavailable live performances recorded in France in November 1966. Editor/Publisher Michael McDowell takes a closer look at this landmark release below (Click on above imaege to enlarge). 

THE LAND OF MAKE BELIEVE:

THE DEFINITIVE COLLECION - 

Bucks Fizz (Cherry Pop)

Letting the mainstream media dictate your musical taste for you can be limiting in a variety of ways.

Consider the prolific and pioneering Baton Rouge, Louisiana group, John Fred And The Playboy Band. Led by the late John Fred Gourrier, the ambitious ensemble recorded a dozen albums and more than thirty singles for such labels as Montel, Jewel, Paula, Uni and Bell. Their 1964 Boogie Children 45 for Jewel is widely considered one of first generation garage rock's definitive masterpieces. In turn, their 1967 Agnes English album for Paula is treasured as a pioneering example of the garage rock / rhythm and blues hybrid. 

But from the mainstream media perspective, John Fred And The Playboy Band's lone moment worthy of widespread consideration was their very atypical late 1967 single for Paula, Judy In Disguise (With Glasses). A good natured spoof of the Beatles' Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, the disproporionately high amount of exposure afforded Fred's disc by the mainstream media ultimately left the band with the very misleading legacy of being a novelty group bereft of the potential for longevity. Paula Records tried to right the situation in early 1968 with the band's back to the mission statement 45, Hey Bunny, to minimal avail.

In turn, over the past half century, the veteran London quartet, Status Quo has amassed a most impressive legacy as purveyors of the straight ahead, intelligent, no nonsense brand of rock and roll championed by such fellow visionaries as the Blasters and Dave Edmunds. Yet (at least in the United States), the mainstream media in 1968 latched on to one of the band's last attempts at psychedlia, Pictures Of Matchstick Men (which was basically a holdover in terms of the creative process from their earlier incarnations as the Spectres and Traffic Jam). So much so, that despite numerous aesthetic triumphs in the ensuing years (from their utterly stupendous 1974 On The Level album for Capitol to their magnificent 2013 motion picture comedy, Bula Quo), the band is nonetheless widely presumed in the United States to have called it a day in the wake of that 1968 Cadet Concept label 45. 

A byproduct in both cases of having risen to prominence during the feast part of the feast or famine equation, some may assert. But then consider the saga of a UK vocal quartet that hit the ground running during rock and roll's last collective gasp of consequence. 

Comprised of 1978 Eurovision contender (as part of the group CoCo) Rita Maria "Cheryl Baker" Crudgington, along with Michael "Mike" Nolan, Jay Hilda Aston and Robert Alan "Bobby G" Gubby, Bucks Fizz was recruited by composers Nichola Martin and Andy Hill to showcase their promising original, Making Your Mind Up at Eurovision. The group's definitive line up came together in January 1981 and ultimately took top honors at Eurovision in Dublin that year with their euphoric performance of that single. 

A sublime showcase of relentless optimism, Making Your Mind Up became an instant classic and a sterling example of the rich musical diversity that continued to assert itself in that triumphant era. Bucks Fizz signed with RCA Victor at home and in the States, where they turned out a wealth of impressive singles and albums. 

And this is where (in some respects) the group found itself at odds with the mainstream media.

As Bucks Fizz rapidly transitioned from Eurovision triumph to the studio setting, their timing was initially fortuitous from a creative standpoint. Music videos were becoming the order of the day, and the group's memorable performance at Eurovision also made them an ideal fit for the newly celebrated medium.

Music videos in and of themselves were an integral part of the creative process from the onset. Blues giant Bessie Smith was among the first to make a decisive step in that direction in 1929 via Saint Louis Blues, with such absolute masters as Rick Nelson, the Big Bopper, Jesse Belvin and the Johnny Burnette Trio having made the concept a key component of their respective mission statements during the growth and development period of rock and roll. However, the notion of a single track serving as the soundtrack to a visual serial of sorts began in earnest in 1967 with the Four Tops' extraordinary video clip for their Seven Rooms Of Gloom single.

With their intense on stage charisma and seemingly natural abilities in front of a camera, Bucks Fizz took the logical step of meshing well written and superbly executed material with Broadway / Hollywood - worthy visuals that made for some of the most captivating and memorable such excursions of the era. 

However, the relatively modest attention that Making Your Mind Up received in the U.S. mainstream media (combined with the still healthy and prolific level of musical output in general) meant that Bucks Fizz found themselves in the same "feast" quandry that John Fred And The Playboy Band did a decade and a half earlier. RCA Victor continued to promote the group dutifully, if not enthusiastically; a situation not unlike that which the beloved and visionary quartet Sailor found itself in during their affilation with the Epic label in the States in the mid-1970s.

As such, Bucks Fizz's considerable momentum subsided in the States in short order. But at home, the group continued to tour and record prolifically. It is some of the best of those moments that the Cherry Pop label has collected and released in this highly anticipated five CD box set.

"Some of the best", simply because the group's finest moments overall cannot be contained in a five CD box set. To wit, absent is their original 1984 version of What's Love Got To Do With It, which went on to tremendous acclaim via a cover by Tina Turner on Capitol. Likewise such utterly stupendous album cuts as 20th Century Hero and the tech heavy yet personable 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, each of which showcase the group's prowess in the studio admirably. 

What Cherry Pop's Land Of Make Believe collection does offer is a weath of Bucks Fizz's singles, along with B-sides, extended mixes and unreleased tracks. The title track makes an ideal calling card for the uninitiated, being as it is one of the group's great triumphs within the audio / video hybrid. In turn, their sublime rendition of the Romantics' Talking In Your Sleep makes a solid case for being the definitive version. The group soars unwaveringly on both fronts here via such career highlights as Piece Of The Action, My Camera Never Lies, Now Those Days Are Gone, If You Can't Stand The Heat, Run For Your Life, Here's Lookin' At You, Shot Me Through The Heart, Rules Of The Game and I Hear Talk.

Thankfully, Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and Jay Aston continue to record prolifically to the present day as the Fizz. Their Everything Under The Sun album for the MPG label was celebrated by Blitz Magazine - The Rock And Roll Magazine For Thinking People as one of the best new albums of 2022. The vaunted trio's live appearances at home found wildly appreciative audiences welcoming both their new material, as well as the foundations of their legacy that are represented in this essential collection.

"We're thrilled that (parent company) Cherry Red have released this five CD album", said Baker, who concurrently hosts a program on Great British Radio. 

Indeed, with such periphery as geography and mainstream media's parameters out of the picture as the result of the widespread availability of this collection, both Bucks Fizz and the Fizz are sure to find their ongoing acclaim somewhat akin to (in the words of one of their classic tracks included here) a New Beginning.

LIVE IN FRANCE -

Sister Rosetta Tharpe

(Deep Digs)

Much of which was taken for granted in the second half of the twentieth century was in reality the result of the foundational work of visionary artists in the first half.

To wit, the Heidelberg Quintet, the Mills Brothers and the Ink Spots set the standard for vocal group harmony and interplay. In the process, they raised the bar to the degree that it has yet to be surpassed. 

In turn, giants such as Charly Patton, Robert Johnson, Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly and Hank Williams immeasurably enriched the musical landscape with their formidable acumen as composers and vocalists. Moreover, game changing bands such as the Almanac Singers and the Weavers brought into the mix an emphasis on the cerebral approach within their art, paving the way in the process for everything from the folk boom to first generation garage rock.

One such visionary who elevated the state of the art and made an enormous impact in the process was composer, guitarist, vocalist and Cotton Plant, Arkansas native Rosetta "Sister Rosetta Tharpe" Nubin. Profoundly impacted by Gospel music, Tharpe began playing guitar at the age of six at the Church Of God In Christ, where her mother Katie (who was also a gifted vocalist and mandolin player) served as both a deaconess and missionary.

By 1938, Tharpe had signed with Brunswick Records, where she made her debut with the monster classic Rock Me / Lonesome Road single. Over the next several years, she cut a string of game changing singles for Brunswick and Decca, including God Don't Like It, This Train and Bring Back Those Happy Days. Tharpe joined forces with Lucky Millinder and his Orchestra in 1941, which elevated her profile among the rank and file exponentially. 

Tharpe spent a signigicant amount of time touring both North America and Europe during the 1950s and 1960s. Thankfully, a number of those performances were preserved on film. However, it was only in the late 2010s that this remarkable collection (recorded on 11 November 1966 at the Grand Theater in the city of Limoges in the Haute-Vienne department of west central France) was discovered by historian Zev Feldman in the Institut National de L'audiovisuel archives. It now makes its offical debut here in both the vinyl and CD configurations. 

By the time of this recording, Tharpe had long been acknowledged as one of the founders of rock and roll. Artists from Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley to Little Richard and long time Herman's Hermits rhythm guitarist Frank Renshaw (who had attended a Therpe live performance in the mid-1960s) have sung her praises, while guitarists from Eric Clapton to Keith Richards have hailed her influence in their own work. 

In this release, Tharpe sings the praises of God as few could, with a fervor that continues to motivate and inspire. Herein, she revisits a number of classics that also found a home in the repertoires of her musical peers and disciples, including Didn't It Rain (Evelyn Freeman and the Exciting Voices; Mahalia Jackson), Down By The Riverside (the Weavers) and When The Saints Go Marching In (the Kingston Trio), as well as a few of her own signature tracks (This Train, Bring Back Those Happy Days, Moonshine) and a closing number that had also graced the repertoires of Blind Willie Johnson, the Five Blind Boys Of Alabama and Nina Simone, Nobody's Fault But Mine.

Sadly, Tharpe suffered a stroke in 1970, which led to a diabetes-related amputation of a leg. Despite her valiant attempts to rebound, Tharpe suffered a second and fatal stroke on the eve of a planned recording session in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in October 1973. She was 58.

With a wealth of archival material and rare photos, as well as a comprehensive essay by Tharpe biographer Gayle Wald and insights from Bonnie Raitt, Moving Sidewalks / ZZ Top co-founder Billy Gibbons and actor / former Black Flag lead vocalist, Henry Rollins, Live In France is indeed nothing short of answered prayer.

TOO MANY CROOKS -

Unicorn (Think Like A Key)

By the mid-1970s, pretty much everyone with a desire for the betterment of music had had enough.

With the mainstream having fostered and languished in a protracted aesthetic slump since the close of the previous decade, the faithful began searching for ways to sustain their creative momentum throughout those lean times. The answer would of course ultimately come in the form of the so-called indie movement, which was about to give rise to such inspired and inspiring sub genres as punk and the all encompassing new wave. 

For the many who saw the self indulgence that preceded it as anathema to the art itself, one viable option was the hybrid that ultimately became known as country rock. Pioneered largely by rock and roll giant Rick Nelson via a pair of acclaimed country-themed LPs for Decca, country rock quicky found its way into the mission statements of such like minded visionaries as Brian Hyland. By decade's end, such greats as the Byrds, the International Submarine Band, Michael Nesmith And The First National Band and the Buffalo Springfield had made their marks decisively in that respect.

As the early 1970s progressed, their ranks soared exponentially via such acclaimed bands as Commander Cody And His Lost Planet Airmen, the Amazing Rhythm Aces, Pure Prairie League, the Flying Burrito Brothers, the Band, Little Feat, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, the Charlie Daniels Band and Poco. A number of like minded solo artists stood in solidariy with them, most notably Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris. Ronstadt and Harris eventually joined forces with Dolly Parton as the formidable Trio for Warner Brothers.

Seemingly content to make their own mark in that respect without the resultant fanfare was the Send, Surrey - based Unicorn. Not so ironically once known as the Late, Unicorn was founded by composer Ken Baker, in tandem with guitarist and Tony Rivers And The Castaways alumnus Trevor McKee (who was replaced in 1972 by Kevin Smith).

Among the band's early highlights was working with such acclaimed greats as Billy J. Kramer. But in 1969, the debut Atlantic LP by Crosby, Stills And Nash peaked their curiosity in terms of rock and roll veterans successfully embracing the country and rock hybrid. The band ultimately signed with the Big T label, where their duly inspired debut 45, P.F. Sloan was released in 1971.

By 1975, Unicorn had signed with the Harvest label, where their third album, Too Many Crooks (somewhat ironically titled Unicorn 2 in the United States) saw release in the early days of 1976. The band had found a staunch supporter in Pink Floyd lead guitarist David Gilmour, who offered Unicorn his services as producer and also sat in for part of the sessions.

While that unexpected perk was certainly a boon to the band in a number of respects, it had minimal bearing on the creative autonomy that was long in place among their ranks. Herein, Unicorn (rounded out by bassist Pat Martin and drummer/co-lead vocalist Pete Perryer) pressed ahead on their own terms, with encouraging results.

Composed by Baker, the eleven selections in Too Many Crooks are nearly unique in their seeming lack of profession of solidarity with any particular ideology or theme. While many of their colleagues often sang of adventures on the road, idyllic scenarios and the like, Unicorn herein followed suit only with the bonus track traveler's tale So Far Away. 

However, the bulk of Baker's material herein commemorates and celebrates a variety of scenarios. They run the gamut from the despondency of No Way Out Of Here and the vague cynicism of the title track to the hard fought for independent spirit of He's Got Pride and the urgency borne of the familiarity breeds contempt pespective of Weekend.

Through it all, Unicorn stayed with the matter of fact, sparsely arranged, mid-tempo approach that also served Little Feat and the Amazing Rhythm Aces well, leaving any sort of variations in professions of solidarity and / or affinity to the listener. An astute move that assured the ultimate timelessness of the material, despite the fact that the aforementioned indie movement ultimately derailed the band's foreward momentum by decade's end.

Rights to this landmark work were eventually acquired by the vaunted U.K. - based Cherry Red family of labels, long one of the world's leading lights in terms of state of the art reissues, anthologies and compilations. In the hopes of sustaining their momentum for both the faithful and aspiring enthusiast, the Texas - based Think Like A Key's Roger Houdaille has in turn leased Too Many Crooks for U.S. release. With a wealth of band photos and a comprehensive essay by David DiSanzo, this reissue proves to be more than a bonus for the completist. In the words of one of Unicorn's earlier triumphs, Too Many Crooks is proof positive that their Uphill All The Way struggle was not in vain.

KINGS, QUEENS AND JOKERS  -

Victoria (Gear Fab)

Remarkable is the reissue project that enjoys deluxe treatment in its third incarnation.

Such is the case with the 1971 debut album by the New Jersey band, Victoria. Recorded between 1969 and 1971, the original album featured eight original compositions by band co-founder Greg Ruban.

In reality, the album was a joint venture between Victoria (Ruban, along with Sharon Barton, Maureen Deidelbaum and Cheryl Simpson), in tandem with the Dirty Martha Band. Logistics prevented the band from performing live, but they did manage to capture this lone extraordinary effort in the studio. 

As a composer, Ruban (who also served as producer for this project) demonstrated remarkable vision and depth during that deceptively fallow creative period. To wit, the original album featured ambitious psychedelic workouts such as Village Of Etaf, which would have been right at home within the fertile boom period that produced the likes of Tintern Abbey, Grapefruit and the Soft Machine a scant few years earlier. 

In turn, the curious Cumberland takes its cue in parts from the Velvet Underground's Sunday Morning, while Gevaro avails itself as a latter day reimagination of Frankie Laine's Jezebel. Moreover, Ride A Rainbow serves as an extension and/or answer of sorts to the Jimi Hendrix Experience's Purple Haze, while the opener, Peace sports some refreshing acoustic guitar in its intro that falls in solidarity with the like minded overtures found in Lighthouse's One Fine Morning. The rare profession of candor that is the aptly named Never Knew Blues brings it all full circle; paradoxically drawing as it does from the tension that graced the template of Billy Roberts' often covered 1962 standard, Hey Joe.

Curiously, Kings, Queens And Jokers did not make it past the demo stage at the time of its recording. Nonetheless, it did finally see a limited release of two hundred copies in the early years of the twenty-first century. Out of print since 2005, it now enjoys a deluxe CD reissue on the Gear Fab label. For this deluxe third appearance, label president Roger Maglio has included seven heretofore unreleased Ruban compositions that were drawn from master tape and acetate sources, highlighted by the Gospel-tinged Mister Let Me Go, Child Of A Princess and an alternate take of Cumberland.

Sadly, Greg Ruban passed away in 2008. Nonetheless, his unique vision brings a most welcome addition to Gear Fab's extensive catalog of reissues of the rarest independent releases. Incentive to Ride A Rainbow indeed.