Pt. 2 of http://uzine.posterous.com/im-etta-james … I.M. Etta James (1938-01-25 > 2012-01-20). Hey and do check Esther Phillips' 1976 version of "All the way down" here: http://uzine.posterous.com/esthers-version

Some of the rare & sparse releases of Kool and Together (from Victoria, Texas, aka My Children +2, but not at all related to Kool and the Gang) have been recorded in the Sugar Hill studios in Houston, Texas. Kool and Together's output has just been compiled by Heavy Light (HLR-001, 2011-10). Amazingly, there's no info yet on this untitled release via http://heavylightrecords.com/ but see here instead: http://lightintheattic.net/news/?p=4292 + http://lightintheattic.net/artists/365-kool-together

While Jeanette Leech was writing her fab folk book … Rob Young was working on another excellent volume - not just about folk: "Electric Eden - unearthing Britain's visionary music" (Faber && Faber 2010-08-05, ISBN 9780571237524). I haven't finished reading it yet but it's a real treasure trove of information, making it an impossible task to list the acts he brings into view. (Kevin Ayers, David Bowie, Joe Boyd, Anne Briggs, Vashti Bunyan, Shirley Collins, Donovan, Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, Bill Fay, Forest, Fotheringay, Roy Harper, (Mike) Heron, the Incredible String Band, Bert Jansch, Kaleidoscope [UK], John Martyn, Mellow Candle, Mighty Baby, Mr Fox, Parchment, Pentangle, Pink Floyd, John Renbourn, Soft Machine, Steeleye Span, Traffic, Trees  ànd Talk Talk have been dealt with, of course. Surprisingly, Michael Chapman, Fresh Maggots, Mushroom and Tractor hardly get a mention.) On pages 512 & 513, for instance, Mr. Young describes the (three album) legacy of UK folk act Spirogyra (mainly Martin Cockerham & Barbara Gaskin) … Don't confuse them with the US fusion jazzers Spyro Gyra who debuted in 1978!
http://www.electriceden.net/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Young
http://www.psychedelicfolk.com/Spirogyra.html
http://www.thewire.co.uk/details/contributors/?contributor=10
http://www.faber.co.uk/work/electric-eden/9780571237524/
http://www.readysteadybook.com/Article.aspx?page=robyoung
http://www.tinymixtapes.com/features/book-review-electric-eden
http://sidsmith.blogspot.com/2010/07/podcasts-from-yellow-room-xxix.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/07/electric-eden-folk-rob-young
http://growlikeweeds.com/2011/05/10/rob-young-reading-from-electric-eden/
http://www.newstatesman.com/books/2010/07/electric-eden-music-young-folk
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jun/07/entertainment/la-et-robyoung-20110607
http://fionnchu.blogspot.com/2011/04/rob-youngs-electric-eden-book-review.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/13/books/electric-eden-by-rob-young-book-review.html
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/brieflynoted/2011/07/11/110711crbn_brieflynoted4
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/electric-eden-by-rob-young-2331733.html
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/wildhunt/2011/10/interview-with-rob-young-author-of-electric-eden-unearthing-britains-visionary-music.html
http://www.artrick-playground.com/article/Interview-with-Rob-Young-author-of-aElectric-Eden-Unearthing-Britainas-Visionary-Musica/619/510396

Almost rappin' … and bringing tribute to dr. Martin Luther King, the rev. Jesse Jackson and Malcolm X. Gary Byrd's lp was originally released on RCA in 1972; Get on Down have recently reissued it (2011) with a 1973 single as a bonus. Oh and don't confuse Gary Byrd with the reverend Gary Davis, will ya?

Madeline Bell, Alan Parker c.s. in 1976, for Parker's Themes International library label … just reissued on (Dutton) Vocalion (CDSML 8473, 2011). The sleeve's nicked off Millie Jackson's "It Hurts So Good" (Spring 1973), actually.

Off the "Song From The Hill" 2lp by the Wind Harp - a giant (9,1 meter) Aeolian harp designed and built by (then) 22 year old Thomas Ward McCain on a hilltop in Chelsea, Vermont (USA) - as recorded by Chuck Hancock and Harry Bee for United Artists in 1972. (Vermont is not California, bloggers!) The 2lp's opening track "Beginnings" was used on the soundtrack to William Friedkin's "The exorcist" (1973).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeolian_harp#Aeolian_harps_in_literature_and_music
http://stereosanctity.blogspot.com/2008/01/wind-harp-corrections-and-further.html
http://chelsealibrary.blogspot.com/2010/08/wednesday-wind-harp.html
http://www.deeratdawn.com/deeratdawn.com/_Music_Page.html
http://www.appalachianheritagealliance.org/mon-harp.html
http://nfo.edu/family/harp/harpold.htm

Mark Landsman's 83' "Thunder Soul" documentary on Houston's Kashmere Stage Band (as produced by Jamie Foxx, 2010) isn't featured on Now-Again's 2cd + 1dvd package (NA-5085, 2011). But it does feature there's a 12' making of, footage of a 3' live version of "Makin' whoopee" (1972) and a 27' documentary by Charles Porter (1973 - check the KSB on holiday in Paris, Brussels, Louvain, Waterloo, Breda and Bonn). It's a mighty package with a 40 page booklet to boot … but it has only one flaw: there's no song author credits, making it difficult to find out which tracks are KSB originals and which are cover versions. Speaking of which: expect more "Shaft" covers in a future post + find a free download of Egon's extended edit of James Brown's "Super bad" (as featured on the 2005 US - but not Jazzman's 2002 UK - edition of "Texas Funk: Black Gold From The Lone Star State 1968-1975" v/a cd) via the Now-Again site:
http://www.nowagainrecords.com/tag/kashmere-stage-band/  [5 pages!]
http://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/2010-03-12/977581/
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5599377
http://www.npr.org/2011/09/23/140539483/thunder-soul-70s-sensation-dusts-off-its-groove
http://www.npr.org/2011/09/28/140891879/summer-school-funk-five-tracks-out-of-1970s-houston
http://www.filmindependent.org/news-and-blog/mark-landsman-on-his-influences-and-thunder-soul/
http://edendale.typepad.com/weblog/2010/03/sxsw-2010-mark-landsmans-thunder-soul.html
http://stonesthrow.com/news/2011/06/kashmere-stage-band-thunder-soul-official-movie-trailer
http://www.indiewire.com/article/toolkit-case-study-the-long-road-of-thunder-soul
http://www.indiewire.com/article/interview_thunder_soul
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashmere_Stage_Band
http://funky16corners.lunarpages.net/?p=2009
http://stonesthrow.com/funky16/kash.html
http://thundersoulmovie.com/
http://kashmere.org/

… off the 7th SuperFunk v/a comp on BGP (CDBGPD234) rel. 2011-07 …
http://www.acerecords.co.uk/content.php?page_id=59&release=8715

Stomu Yamash'ta's East Wind in 1973! Saul Bass sleeve!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Is_Frightening
http://www.cherryred.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=1634
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_Bass