The Missing Records Blues Collection Haul continues with Drifting Blues by Charles Brown which is number 71 in the series.
Not to be confused with Snoopy's pal Tony Russell "Charles" Brown (September 13, 1922 – January 21, 1999) was an American singer and pianist whose soft-toned, slow-paced nightclub style influenced West Coast Blues in the 1940s and 1950s. Between 1949 and 1952, Brown had seven Top 10 hits in the U.S. Billboard R& B chart
The blurb on Drifting Blues reads Charles Brown has always remained consistent in his commitment to restrained classy Blues.His music has never fluctuated widely to suit fashion and has never failed to retain a basic dignity
This is borne out by these tracks which were recorded either side of his 70th birthday (1990-1994). Whether a fresh composition or an imaginative reworking of one of his old-time hits, he brings a degree of relish ti his work that few others could imagine after a lifetime in music.
I anticipated that Afghanistan would be tricky and so it proved. Kudos goes to the individual or individuals who managed to defy the Taliban and visit my humble blog.
It appears that in addition to having no time for human rights, women and education that the Taliban have no time for music. It just goes to prove that they are a dodgy lot.
To my surprise I was able to find a lot of Afghan music on You Tube. I was unable to convert the videos to MP3's which is my usual method for this series but fortunately I am able to share the videos.
Unfortunately, but perhaps understandably, I was unable to find any female singers
Farhad Darya is an Afghan singer, composer, music producer, and philanthropist. Active since the 1980s, Darya has been one of the most renowned and influential Afghan pop musicians of the modern era, contributing to establishing new wave in Afghanistan and blending urban and rural styles. Probably sensibly he left the country in 1990 and now lives in Hamburg, Germany.
Here he is with Hamesha Tanhaa
Ahmad Wali is an Afghan Ghazal singer. He began his career in the 1970s, becoming popular in his native country before he was forced to flee by political upheaval in Afghanistan. He continued his work after resettling in Germany, performing throughout Europe and North America.
Dr. Mohammad Sadiq Fitrat, born Sadiq Fitrat Habibi, known professionally as Nashenas, is one of the oldest surviving musicians from Afghanistan. His fame began in the late 1950s, and since then he has produced many albums consisting of Pashto, Persian, and Urdu songs. He is known as "the Afghan Saigal".
Jawad Ghaziyar is a popular Afghan singer. He is one of the 1980s era singers who took refuge in United States after the fall of Afghanistan government in 1992. Jawad was also a special judge in Season 8 of Afghan Star.
Again - apologies for the slightly different format and the lack of information and MP3s. I blame the Taliban.
We are off to the North Atlantic Ocean next time round.
James Edwyn & the Borrowed Band were an act which first came to my attention with the release of their album Highlights of Low Nights on Last Night From Glasgow in 2022. It wasn't on my allocated bunch of albums but it was one that I took a punt on.
It seems that this was their third album. I was suitably impressed enought to track down their secend album High Fences released by Dead Records Collective from 2017. This label also released their debut album The Tower back in 2014
Americana UK describe Highlights as a record that single handedly destroys the myth of the difficult third album;possibly forever and the blog Blabber'n' Smoke also waxes lyrical about this album.
Sadly I can find nothing new about the band since 2022 so I suspect the they may have faded into the ether which is a shame.
I would be delighted if anyone could tell me differently.
I once wrote to Bloodshot Records proclaiming that they were the best label in the world. They replied thanking me and saying that Tamla Motown, Chess and Stiff Records were better
By way of proof here are the next four tracks on the compilation album If It Ain't Stiff...
We start with the Welsh legend that is Dave Edmunds. At 82 years of age he has now retired from the songwriting , guitar playing and record producing game. His contribution to the compilation(try saying that without you teeth in) is a cover of the Chuck Berry song Jo Jo Gunne.
Next up is actress cum comedian cum singer Tracey Ullman with the song My Guy a cover of the Madness song My Girl with suitably altered lyrics.
Who will you always find in the kitchen at paries? Yup Jona Lewie is up next!
The final contribution this week comes from Theatre of Hate with the brilliant Do You Believe In The Westworld?
Welcome to the 35th Sunday Americana compilation. We shall easily achieve 40 but 50 may prove to be a bit of a stretch.We shall see.
As you can see from the picture above this compilation came courtesy of Uncut magazine from August 2004.
The tracklist gives you details of the 15 tracks and if they float your boat you can probably pick it up for just over a quid should you be so inclined.
For me Americana was beginning to peak around then.There are still plenty of songs and artists on it that I like but there is a sense that the guards are changing.
Jim White had long been a favourite of mine with Static On The Radio being taken from his 2004 album Drill a Hole in the Substrate and Tell Me What You See a title that trips lightly off the tongue!
Richmond Fontaine were another favourite but I don't have the album Winnemucca from where the song Western Skyline is taken .
I do however have the 2004 album Oh ,My Girl by Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter on the Fargo label from which the haunting The Dreaming Dead is taken
I'm afraid that you are too late to receive a fantastic CD by The Cure which was on offer to anyone subscribing to the magazine for £9.99 every 3 months. A single monthly magazine would now set you back 11 quid!
A cornucopia of genres for you today to ease you into the weekend
We start with some Glam Rock with Coz I Luv You courtesy of Wolverhampton's finest Slade.There music may be good which is more than you can say about their spelling. I only ever saw them once at the Glasgow Apollo but sadly that was during their later rock phase.
Gregg Allman's entire career could probably be described as rock although Wiki lists Blues/Rock/Southern Rock/Gospel/Country to name but 6. All bases covered there I think, He was married 7 times, one being to Cher ,and had 5 kids. Midnight Rider seems an accurate descriptor.
To conclude we have the great Billie Holiday who effortlessly straddled the Jazz/Blues divide with songs such as Lover Man
More Glam Lovermen and Midnight Riders next Saturday.
