BEEHIVE CANDY

This is Elvis Costello and the Rude Five during their tour rehearsals at the Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara, California, USA back in May, 1991. The notes that accompanied this recording state, 'this is said to be the last night of a week of tour rehearsals at the Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara, recorded just before the start of the "Mighty Like A Rose" tour in 1991 (which began May 25th in Santa Barbara)'. If 1990 proved to be a fairly low key year for Elvis Costello, he definately made up for it in 1991 by recording two albums: "Mighty Like A Rose" and "Kojak Variety", although the tapes for the latter were put away for a rainy day (and didn’t see the light of that rainy day until 1995). He then spent much of the rest of the year touring around the world with a combo dubbed "The Rude Five", even though only four of them (Marc Ribot, Jerry Scheff, Larry Knechtel and Pete Thomas) usually played live with Costello (the fifth mem...

This is the Blind Boys of Alabama recorded live at Congress, Salzburg, Austria back on October 30th, 2009. The source was Austrian Radio OE1 who subsequently broadcast the concert on December 21st, 2009. The Blind Boys of Alabama are a gospel and blues group from Alabama that first formed at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind at Talladega, Alabama in 1939. The three main vocalists of the group and their drummer and percussionist are all blind. As of 2011 (and checking their current schedule into 2012) , The Blind Boys of Alabama continue to tour nationally and internationally, with Jimmy Carter singing lead vocals. In 2006, Clarence Fountain, the group's former long-time lead vocalist and founding member limited his touring for health reasons. Founding member George Scott died on March 9th, 2005 at the age of 75. Another founding member, Johnny Fields, died on November 12th, 2009. Releases by the group in recent years have been favorites at the Grammy Awards—th...

Background : For those of you who follow folk on Twitter, you may well want to add Marissa Nadler to your selection. In recent weeks she has given away a number of songs from her 'Covers Volume II' album, in fact if you check over there now you may well still be in for a rather nice treat. Covers Volume II follows her critically acclaimed self titled full-length out now on her own Box of Cedar Records. After releasing several albums with Kemado (and having one of her songs inspire the name for vinyl start-up Mexican Summer), Marissa Nadler ventured out independently for her critically acclaimed self-titled album, which has been featured on NPR "World Cafe: Next," NPR First Listen, Vogue, KEXP, Pitchfork 'Overlooked Records of 2011' with an 8.1 album review, and as one of SPIN's "5 Best New Artists for June 2011," among others. Marissa Nadler released her first album, Ballads of Living and Dying, on Eclipse Records in 2004; her follow-up, The Sa...

This is Neil Young live in concert at  Le Theatre de Plein Air, Colmar, France, back on Friday. August 15th, 2008. This recording was circulated on a two silver disc CD bootleg entitled 'Big Moon Over Colmar' and released by bootleggers Crystal Cat Records (915-16). The sound quality is superb and would pass for soundboard however, the audience noise between songs does suggest that the recording includes audience based microphones. Whatever the case this captures a really incredible gig with the inclusion of some remarkable songs from Neil Young's musical career. In recent years Neil Young's work rate has not diminished as the following from All Music reminds us - In early 2005, Young was diagnosed with a potentially deadly brain aneurysm. Undergoing treatment didn't slow him down, however, as he continued to write and record his next project. The acoustically based Prairie Wind appeared in the fall, with the concert film Heart of Gold, based around the album...

This is Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings live on Morning Becomes Eclectic, at the KCRW Studios, Santa Monica, CA back on the 28th June 2010. We feature the video version just below (just click on the video play button, that seems to be only partially visible in some browsers) . Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are a funk/soul band. They are signed to Daptone Records, where the Dap-Kings are the house band. They are spearheads of a revivalist movement that aims to capture the essence of funk/soul music as it was at its height in the mid-1960s to mid-1970s. Part of the way this is achieved is to shun modern digital recording methods in favour of using traditional analogue recording equipment. The type of instruments used by the band may also be considered limited to those that would have been available up until the mid-'70s. Beyond working with Sharon Jones (who remains their key focus - just check out this recording and you will see why!) , The Dap-Kings have been hired as s...

This is The Ozark Mountain Daredevils , live at The Roxy, Los Angeles, California, back on December 11th, 1975. This was the final gig from a three night residency at the venue and was broadcast on FM radio. The Ozark Mountain Daredevils formed in 1972 in Springfield, Missouri, USA. They are most widely known for their singles "If You Wanna Get To Heaven" in 1974 and "Jackie Blue" in 1975. The group's demo tape eventually caught the attention of A&M Records staff producer David Anderle, who was looking for an Eagles country rock type of band to place on the label. Anderle and the Eagles' first producer, Glyn Johns, flew to Missouri to catch one of the band's performances. But the band, nervous about Johns and Anderle being in the audience, did not play their best. Later on, Peterson invited the two men back to his place to hear the band give an unplugged performance by candlelight. This time Anderle and Johns were blown away and they were signed ...

This is the Indigo Girls recorded live at Redrocks Amphitheater Morrison, CO in the USA, and broadcast on FM radio back on the 21st June 1994. The actual concert would appear to be from 1990 or 1991 in support of the Nomads Indians Saints which was their third studio album. The Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. They met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. They started performing with the name “Indigo Girls” as students at Emory University, performing weekly at The Dugout, a bar in the Emory Village. They released a self-produced, full-length record album in 1987 and contracted with a major record company in 1988. After releasing nine albums with major record labels from 1988 through 2007, they have now resumed self-producing albums with their own IG Recordings company. The Indigo Girls have toured as a duo and with a band. In...

Background: Marilyn Carino is a straight up Bensonhurst, Brooklyn Sicilian-American woman, born on the mean streets of The French Connection with a corner fish shop known as a killing floor for mafia hits. Her cousin was in the CIA, her grandmother split the scene to jet-set with the queen of Spain, and her father was a real life Mad Men-esque ad exec. Marilyn Carino’s undeniable talent and full-throttle attitude have moved her through headline performances at the iconic Blue Note jazz club in NYC, playing and recording with Mike Mills of R.E.M. and Billy Talbot of Crazy Horse, recording her first album at Neil Young’s studio, and being  hand-picked as a lyricist by legendary producers Sly and Robbie (Bob Dylan, Herbie Hancock, Grace Jones, Madonna). She has also gone beyond her records and live performances into the big bad world of television and film, with her songs “Hero of the World” and “Blown” prominently featured in the SyFy Channel series “Regenesis,” and other tracks ...