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The Staple Singers – This Little Light (1966/2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 34:08 minutes | 1,22 GB | Genre: Gospel, Soul
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Riverside Records
This 1966 release, one of four gospel-based albums the Staple Singers recorded for the Riverside label in the early 1960s, includes the powerful civil rights anthem and title track This Little Light Of Mine, a signature song for the group and Mavis Staples for years to follow. The album also contains two Bob Dylan covers.
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The Reds, Pinks and Purples – Uncommon Weather (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 35:23 minutes | 701 MB | Genre: Indie Pop, Dream Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Tough Love Records
From the many musical lives of artist Glenn Donaldson emerges The Reds, Pinks and Purples, a project that sifts out the purest elements of pop music and in the process chronicles the point of view of an assiduous San Francisco-based songwriter. The Reds, Pinks and Purples’ third album, called Uncommon Weather, is both an elusive portrait of San Francisco during one of its fluctuations as an untenable place for musicians and artists and also a self-portrait, however inverted, of a songwriter who has dispatched another treasured collection of timeless sounding DIY-pop songs. How The Reds, Pinks and Purples arrived here is a story with many roots, the most consequential of which is perhaps the musical aftermath of his earlier band, The Art Museums, whose brief tenure in the late ’00s coincided with an explosive period of the Bay Area rock scene and was followed by a hermetic musical period of Donaldson’s. Disenchanted with the dissolution of his band, Donaldson averted the DIY-pop sound with an instrumental, conceptual project called FWY! but meanwhile started a habitual songwriting practice, sharing nascent songs with friends in an email exchange. In 2013–2014, The Reds, Pinks and Purples took shape as the moniker for Glenn’s most direct expressions in the DIY-pop mode, enabled by this new disciplined output. Preceding the release of Uncommon Weather was the Reds, Pinks and Purples’ 2nd album, one of the record buying joys of 2020, You Might Be Happy Someday, and, earlier, their first proper full length Anxiety Art, a title that might nod to the classic Television Personalities song “Anxiety Block.” Donaldson’s music continuously reckons with the influence of Dan Treacy, whose own forays into drum-machines, echo, and reverb in the early 1990s is an important reference point for The Reds, Pinks and Purples’ musical template. Paul Weller, Robert Smith, and Sarah Records also come to mind. But, as important, Donaldson sees his projects as visual expressions too, often blurring the lines of records and physical art objects. Self-recorded and mostly self-performed, Uncommon Weather features pinnacle versions of songs Donaldson has honed since the beginning of the project. The album arrives with grateful timing, quick on the heels of You Might Be Happy Someday, and alleviating, for a brief window at least, whatever it is that keeps us coming back to this elemental music. Donaldson imagines his listeners are just like himself: fascinated and addicted to the spiritual power of uncomplicated pop classics. Anthony Atlas.
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The Staple Singers – This Land (1963/2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 32:49 minutes | 1,21 GB | Genre: Gospel
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Riverside Records
While the centrepiece of this 1963 release from the Staple Singers is a classic interpretation of Woody Guthrie’s This Land Is Your Land, another notable cover here is Blowin’ In The Wind, the first time an African-American group had ever recorded a Bob Dylan song. This Land is one of four gospel-based albums the Staple Singers issued on the Riverside label in the early 1960s.
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The Staple Singers – The Staple Swingers (Remastered) (1971/2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 45:08 minutes | 1,94 GB | Genre: R&B
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Craft Recordings
The best and most famous cuts from their glory years at Stax. Includes their massive hits “Respect Yourself” and “I’ll Take You There”; less famous but similar gospel-funk fusions like “Touch a Hand (Make a Friend)” and “Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom Boom)”; and less expected items like a cover of “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay.” It does not, however, have their 1975 number one single “Let’s Do It Again,” which they recorded just after cutting their ties to Stax. AllMusic Review by Richie Unterberger
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The Staple Singers – Soul Folk In Action (Remastered) (1968/2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 32:29 minutes | 1,42 GB | Genre: R&B
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Craft Recordings
Gospel-soul pioneers the Staple Singers will have their storied Stax years commemorated with the December release by Craft Recordings of six individual albums. Featuring: Soul Folk in Action, We’ll Get Over, The Staple Swingers, Be Altitude: Respect Yourself, Be What You Are and City in the Sky.
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The Staple Singers – For What It’s Worth (1967/2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 25:19 minutes | 557 MB | Genre: Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Epic – Legacy
The Staples’ story goes all the way back to 1915 in Winona, Mississippi, when patriarch Roebuck “Pops” Staples entered the world. A contemporary and familiar of Charley Patton’s, Roebuck quickly became adept as a solo blues guitarist, entertaining at local dances and picnics. He was also drawn to the church, and by 1937 he was singing and playing guitar with the Golden Trumpets, a spiritual group based out of Drew, Mississippi. Moving to Chicago four years later, he continued playing gospel music with the Windy City’s Trumpet Jubilees. A decade later Pops Staples (as he had become known) presented two of his daughters, Cleotha and Mavis, and his one son, Pervis, in front of a church audience, and the Staple Singers were born.
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The Staple Singers – City In The Sky (Remastered) (1974/2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 42:09 minutes | 1,76 GB | Genre: R&B
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Craft Recordings
City in the Sky, the final LP that the Staple Singers made with Stax Records, features the same socially conscious lyrics and powerful singing that had become their trademark before the album’s 1974 release. While the original recording didn’t have the kind of explosive singles like “Respect Yourself” and “I’ll Take You There” that helped them become legends of soul music, this is by no means a weak album. The opener “Back Road Into Town” seethes with energy and anger-tinged pride, while “Washington We’re Watching You” combines that same message of anger and pride with organ and horn-driven funk. The Staple Singers return to the gospel style that had begun their musical career nearly 20 years before with “Who Made the Man,” – perhaps the strongest song on the album, alternating between gentle invectives by Pop Staples and powerful harmonic blasts by Mavis, Cleotha, and Yvonne. Overall, the album combines a classic Stax-influenced soul sound with a strong message, making it an essential part of the Staple Singers’ catalog. AllMusic Review by Stacia Proefrock
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The Staple Singers – Be What You Are (Remastered) (1973/2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 52:20 minutes | 2,22 GB | Genre: Soul
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Craft Recordings
By the early ’70s, despite a roster that included the Dramatics and Isaac Hayes, Stax Records was winding down. The Staple Singers, signed to the label in the late ’60s, always provided hit singles and respected album efforts. Despite their gospel beginnings, the Staple Singers’ biggest draws became Pops Staples’ blues-based “devil’s music” guitar and Mavis Staples’ breathy and sexy vocals. Their 1972 album, Be Altitude: Respect Yourself, all but set the template for their subsequent work. Be What You Are in some respects is an often overly cautious follow-up. The first single, “If You’re Ready (Come Go With Me),” comes off as a softer take on “I’ll Take You There.” While the implications of having a narrow lyrical scope did impede the group somewhat, Be What You Are has the group mining familiar terrain with minimal wear. Tracks like “Love Comes in All Colors,” “Tellin’ Lies,” and the masterful “Touch a Hand, Make a Friend” are all strong and well-produced tracks in the group’s rural yet urbane style. The effort’s lone cover of Bill Withers’ “Grandma’s Hands,” despite Mavis Staples’ lead, comes up short due to the perfection of the Withers original. Mavis Staples also gets two solo efforts here, including Bettye Crutcher’s tough “Drown Yourself” and the spare “Heaven.” Be What You Are isn’t as strong or innovative as its predecessor, but it is a cohesive album and a must-have for fans. ~ Jason Elias
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The Staple Singers – Be Altitude: Respect Yourself (Remastered) (1971/2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 41:07 minutes | 1,73 GB | Genre: R&B
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Craft Recordings
The Staples’ finest single album, containing three Top Ten R&B hits, “Respect Yourself,” “I’ll Take You There,” and “This World.” The first two also were pop Top 20s, “I’ll Take You There” going all the way to number one. AllMusic Review by Rob Bowman
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The Specials – The Specials (1979/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 47:45 minutes | 1,03 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Chrysalis Records
True innovators of the punk era, the Specialsbegan the British ska revival craze, combining the highly danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk’s energy and attitude, and taking on a more focused and informed political and social stance than their predecessors and peers.
Their agenda of racial harmony and social inclusion was pursued through their music, and came to be described as the Two Tone movement. Identified also by their distinctive look, the band woremod-style 1960s period”rude boy”outfits (pork pie hats, tonic andmohairsuits, and loafers) that were adopted by fans and musical followers alike.
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The Specials – Protest Songs 1924 – 2012 (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 55:03 minutes | 1,05 GB | Genre: Reggae
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Universal-Island Records Ltd.
Waylaid by writers’ block and Covid, the Specials have been unable to make their planned Jamaican reggae follow-up to 2019’s Encore. So they’ve recorded some covers instead, shapeshifting through blues, folk, country and rock. It’s odd that most of the songs are American, when this band are so good at delineating a particularly British experience. And your definition of a protest song may be very different from theirs.
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The Specials – More Specials (1980/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 42:29 minutes | 946 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Chrysalis Records
More Specials is the second album by ska band The Specials, released in October 1980. The album expanded the 2 tone sound of their self-titled debut to include lounge music and other influences.
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The Raconteurs – Help Us Stranger (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 41:17 minutes | 690 MB | Genre: Alternative Rock, Indie Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Third Man Records
The Raconteurs’ third studio album, and their first since 2008’s ‘Consolers of the Lonely’. ‘Help Us Stranger’ sees the mighty combo reassembled, stronger and perhaps even more vital than ever before as they continue to push rock ‘n’ roll forward into its future, bonding prodigious riffs, blues power, sinewy psychedelia, Detroit funk, and Nashville soul.
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The Soft Cavalry – The Soft Cavalry (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 56:24 minutes | 654 MB | Genre: Dream Pop, Shoegaze
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Bella Union
The Soft Cavalry are Steve Clarke and wife, Slowdive’s Rachel Goswell. The band’s music is a particularly British brand of intense cinematic drama. Melodic and timeless, the album lands in the atmospheric dimensions between Pink Floyd, Talk Talk and Mansun. A record radiating midlife crisis but equally enormous elation; a helix of fear and hope, aching for resolution.
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The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead (2017 Master) (1986/2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 36:52 minutes | 851 MB | Genre: Indie Pop, Indie Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © WM UK
For their third album, The Smiths are at the top of their game: a tortured crooning voice, crystalline arpeggios seeping from a limpid guitar, romantic and cynical lyrics, everything’s gathered for some 100% British pop, like The Kinks, The Who and The Jam knew how to create in their day… The Queen Is Dead, Bigmouth Strikes Again, The Boy With The Thorn In His Side, There Is A Light That Never Goes Out and Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others are all introspective gems that the charismatic Morrissey transforms into pure poetry. Teenage worries, social paintings, subtle caricatures, Mozzer dips his pen here in the ink of perfection.
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