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Toyah Willcox - London 1981

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This is Toyah Willcox live in London back in 1981. Toyah performed at the Rainbow Theatre on the 21st February 1981 and was filmed by BBC Television the show later being released by them on VHS video under licence. The Theatre Royal, Drury lane concert which provides the bulk of this recording was later in the year (24th December 1981). As far as I can ascertain the final two songs are from the Rainbow gig and tracks three and four are open to debate. In the UK, 1981 saw Toyah's strengthened presence in the charts with hits such as Four from Toyah EP (Number 4, February 1981, including "It's a Mystery"), the second album Anthem that went up to Number 2 in May 1981 to be later certified platinum, "I Want To Be Free" (Number 8, June 1981), "Thunder In The Mountains" (Number 4, October 1981) and Four More From Toyah EP (November 1981, Number 14). She became one of the first acts to score regularly in the UK Singles Chart with EPs, which were ...

Dave Matthews Band - Austin, Texas 2009

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This is the Dave Matthews Band , live on Austin City Limits, Austin, Texas, USA, back on August 10th, 2009 and subsequently broadcast on November 3rd, 2009. For those unfamiliar with the band Wikipedia tells the following - Dave Matthews Band, abbreviated DMB, are an American rock band that was formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was added to the band as a violinist soon after the band was formed. Moore died suddenly in August 2008 due to complications from an ATV accident. Grammy Award-winner Jeff Coffin, of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, has since filled Moore's spot as the band's saxophonist. Rashawn Ross and Tim Reynolds have also become full-time touring members of the band. As of 2010, Dave Matthews Band has approximate sales between 30 and 40 million copies worldwide. The band is...

The Yardbirds - New York USA 1968

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This is The Yardbirds in concert on the 30th March 1968 at the Anderson Theatre, New York, NY, USA and was a soundboard recording. The notes that accompanied this mp3 version sum up the reason this recording surfaced concisely - This show comes from a rather infamous LP. With the success of Led Zeppelin, Epic decided to cash in on Jimmy Page and so released this LP. The hardcore are familiar with the story - the drums were recorded with a single mic, crowd noise was added with the sound of clinking glasses, etc. The result? Jimmy immediately had the Lp pulled off shelves, but not before some got out. This set is taken directly from the original Epic vinyl. The set includes an early version of Dazed & Confused (here called "I'm Confused"), which includes Keith Relfs original lyrics . A CD version appeared in Italy in 1990 on a label called Golden Stars and distributed by Red Line, Srl via Trentacoste in Milan, this was probably taken from one of the vinyl recordi...

2012Candy May Edition One.

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Background: Portland, Oregon-based artist Leigh Marble celebrated the national release of Where The Knives Meet Between The Rows recently.  The album is a ten-track follow-up to Red Tornado, which Portland alternative weekly Willamette Week proclaimed "a burning, angst folk-rock masterpiece."  Further extending beyond the pop-rock and folk of Red Tornado, Where The Knives Meet Between The Rows delves deeper into an indie-fied spectrum of soundscapes and experimentation, without losing the lyrical depth or sonic power of Marble's previous work.  Willamette Week said of the album, "...the folk-tinged troubadour bends his signal genre well away from the self-styled punk Americana of his early efforts to embrace big-chorused indie pop and swaggering guitar rock, all of which meshes surprisingly well with his more introspective musings." The album features guest appearances by longtime friend Erin McKeown, and local Portland musicians Jesse Emerson (Amelia, The ...

Dr. Hook and The Medicine Show - San Francisco 1972

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This is short set from Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show recorded at Shel Silverstein’s Houseboat, Sausalito, San Francisco, CA and broadcast on Danish Television in 1972. Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show, shortened their name in 1975 to Dr. Hook, They formed around Union City, New Jersey in 1967 as The Chocolate Papers. They enjoyed considerable commercial success in the 1970s with hit singles including "Sylvia's Mother", "The Cover of the Rolling Stone", "A Little Bit More" and "When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman". In addition to their own material, Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show performed songs written by the poet Shel Silverstein. The band had eight years of regular chart hits, in both the U.S. and the UK, and greatest success with their later gentler material, as Dr. Hook. Their 1971 debut album Doctor Hook featured lead vocals, guitar, bass and harmonica by Locorriere, guitarist Cummings, singer Sawyer, drummer David,...

2012Candy - More April Music

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Background: ‘Se fosse per me’, is the new single by Italian ambient electronica artist Elisa Luu , taken from her forthcoming second album Un giorno sospeso (out 1st June). Blossoming into life like a field of neon flowers, ‘Se fosse per me’ is all eyes-wide and life-affirming. It imbues its wistful tones with light through buoyant beats and skittering horns, leading into a reflective textured coda. Elisa Luu’s trademark blend of digital manipulation with analogue warmth, chiming tones with immersive drones, is on virtuoso display, whetting the appetite for her upcoming second album Un Giorno Sospeso. Though digitally crafted, Elisa Luu’s music is warm, inviting and uniquely human, betraying a vulnerability and sensitivity that is rarely found in the male-dominated sphere of electronica. With its sighing, lilting qualities, Elisa Luu’s music reawakens a sense of childlike wonder and adventure with every sprawling and sparkling track. This alchemical touch is in full bloom on lon...

Sandy Denny and The Happy Blunderers - Lincoln 1971.

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This is Sandy Denny and The Happy Blunderers live at the Lincoln Folk Festival (England) back on the 24th July 1971. She's backed by the self named Happy Blunderers, consisting of Fairport members Richard Thompson, Dave Pegg and Jerry Conway. Richard plays guitar throughout and sings backing vocals on the third song (Crash On The Levee - a Dylan song). The first solo album by Sandy Denny 'The North Star Grassman and the Ravens' was also released in 1971 and is distinguished by its elusive lyrics and unexpected harmonies. Highlights included Late November, inspired by a dream and the death of Fairport band member Martin Lamble, and Next Time Around a cryptogram about Jackson C. Frank, one of her many portraits in song. Both songs were included in this short set. Also on the bill at the festival were The Byrds, Dion, Tim Hardin, the Incredible String Band, Ralph McTell, Pentangle, Tom Paxton, Steeleye Span, Dave Swarbrick & Martin Carthy, James Taylor, and Sonny T...

2012Candy April's Second Helping

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Background: Lila Rose has always stood out from the crowd - In substance, style and appearance she has never been average. Born with “ultra sound sensitivity”, Lila’s experience of the world around her has been quite out of the ordinary, and very much sonically based. Lila is both blessed and afflicted with sounds that most people cannot hear; while this is a gift when it comes to making music, it can also lead to great personal discomfort at times. Last fall, Lila released her debut, full-length album, HeartMachine, which she co-produced with David Earl (AKA LogicNinja.) Shaping up to be a masterpiece of sound, song craft and technology, HeartMachine bends the genres of Electronica, Indie pop, trip-hop and alternative rock around an emotional core, finding a critical musical mass that is explosive in its intensity and brilliant in its light. Lila writes from the well of her experiences, building on the pain of human existence to create songs that speak to the human heart. Out of...