TheVinylPress.com

There's an Elmore James track, "Sunnyland" that I first heard around 1970 and have loved ever since. What I didn't realize until recently was that this was not the original version of the song Elmore recorded, but a late recording, done near the end of his life. (He died young, and never seemed to get the recognition he was due during his lifetime; he died shortly before the 'great blues revival' of the mid-'60s). I decided to research this a little, and that drove me to more questions, about the track, its origins and original release. Thankfully, I got some help from some real blues scholars, including one who has devoted much of his life to researching Elmore James. This left me very impressed by the efforts of real blues scholars, who unearth original documentation and oral histories. Here's the piece: http://thevinylpress.com/on-the-trail-of-elmore-james-sunnyland/

This recording has long been a favorite, both for the music and the sonics. Guy Van Duser, who teaches at the Berklee School, is a master guitarist with a bent for jazz and swing, and a talent for fingerpicking. Guy shares some of his insights into the recording, as well as his work with Chet Atkins, who was one of his early inspirations. http://thevinylpress.com/get-yourself-a-new-broom-chatting-with-guy-van-duser/

Prompted by my chat with the delightful Guy Van Duser, I dove into a pile of old Chet Atkins records that I hadn't listened to in years (along with a newly purchased copy of the "Sessions" album that Guy had mentioned as so influential). Here's the piece: http://thevinylpress.com/the-many-sides-of-chet-atkins/
There are also some additional new capsules on the great Garnet Mimms, a soul/gospel singer whose work may only now be starting to get the recognition it deserves. Also, a piece on '60s Michigan Rock, courtesy of a compilation on Seeds & Stems Records.
Enjoy.

I'm finishing a detailed and fairly exhaustive piece on Canned Heat, their ties to the blues "rediscovery" era with some album reviews and other goodies. I hope to have that posted soon. In the meantime, some capsules were just posted: a listen to Terry Reid's "Seed of Memory"; a "where to start" on vinyl of the great Curtis Mayfield and a piece entitled "A Tale of Two Masterings"- a quick listen to The Band's "brown album" and a comparison of two highly regarded masterings of Boston's first album. More soon. http://TheVinylPress.com

Bill---Unbelievably (considering my age, which should have made me part of it's target audience---I wasn't, by choice), I until recently had never seen Woodstock the movie. The Band's set was not included, and they were the only Woodstock performers I was interested in by the time the movie originally showed. But it was recently on TV in my area, so I watched it. During their set I realized I had never before seen footage of Canned Heat live, and was very surprised by how they sounded, having heard them only on studio recordings previously. Is that set representative of how they sounded live, or rather a result of the circumstances of the show (C, S, & N had to go into the studio and redo their vocals, they were so out-of-tune!)?