Wild Rockers!

I've got an assortment of compilations culled by Scottish DJ Keb Darge, and as far as I'm concerned they're all top shelf stuff. I've written about a couple of them last year (Keb Darge & Little Edith's Legendary Rockin' R'n'B and Lost & Found: Real R'n'B & Soul), and when I first scoped Keb Darge & Little Edith's Legendary Wild Rockers, I didn't even think twice about expecting the same deep, high quality cuts that I've come to love from Darge.

While known as a purveyor of northern soul, Darge's knowledge don't rest there; he also takes a keen interest in rare rockabilly (he's previously released Keb Darge And Cut Chemist Present - Lost And Found: Rockabillly), and this latest release gathers together 20 rare rockabilly, surf and exotica tunes that would be good enough to tickle Martin Denny's fancy and are just as sharp as his soul finds. Indeed, one of my favorite rockabilly tracks of all time, The Jiants' song Tornado, is here, along with nineteen others that I probably would not have laid ears on if it weren't for Darge.

You'll hear a lot of parallels to early R&R as well as country (think Elvis and Johnny Cash rocking out in Sun Studios) in this collection there will be sure to get your pelvis moving. Like I said above, it's a solid collection of deep cuts that you probably would never be privy to unless you dug for 45's in some deep dark crates. It comes out next month, check out a preview below with Buzz Saw and one from another of Darge's comps.

The Gee Cee's - Buzz Saw : Keb Darge & Little Edith's Legendary Wild Rockers

Lou Millet - Shorty The Barber : Keb Darge And Cut Chemist Present - Lost And Found: Rockabillly & Jump Blues

Become his friend on MySpace, and visit the BBE Records site.

Legendary Rockin’ R&B!

At the turn of this year I wrote about Lost & Found: Real R'n'B & Soul, a compilation that BBE Records out out with the curative skills of Keb Darge and Paul Weller. That release wasn't the first time Darge had been called upon to do some diggin' for the label though, and it won't be the last either, especially with the release of Legendary Rockin’ R&B, which is set to come out at the end of this month.

For those of you unfamiliar with Keb Darge, he's a Scot who's a master DJ that specializes in 60's and 70's northern soul and deep funk. And you don't need to check out one of his sets to figure that out, simply listen to any of the superb compilations that he's assembled and you'll know that the man knows his music and has got a knack for picking out songs that deserve to see the light of day again.

Much like his last work with Paul Weller, this comp pulls together twenty R&B tracks from the 50's and 60's, songs that reveal the roots of a genre that would later widen and spawn soul and funk. Discerning listeners will also note a few tracks that bear a resemblance to rockabilly, another genre that was finding it's way in the south at the same time R&B and soul was developing in the deep south (which is why it should come as no surprise that Darge has also previously released a compilation devoted to rockabilly: Lost & Found: Rockabilly & Jump Blues). Listening to the songs here, it's amazing how wide a spectrum there is, even in the early days of the genre. The album opens with the Civil Rights inspired The Freedom Riders. It's not long before you hear the rockabilly connection though on cut four, Junior Wells' Lovey Dovey Lovey One. You'll find the kitschy Love Blood Hound, complete with someone making vaguely hound-like sounds! Then there is Zindy Lou, a song that sounds like it was influenced by Martin Denny and the Exotica craze of the 50's.

Of course much of the material here will sound like rock & roll to many listeners for good reason. Elvis was listening to this stuff when he started out on his journey to being the King of Rock and Roll (and some might say "borrowing" from it as well). This album does a great job in taking you back to a time when so much music was growing parallel from similar sources, and is proof that the offspring have more in common then most people assume.

Teddy (Mr Bear) McRae - Hi Fi Baby : Keb Darge & Little Edith's Legendary Rockin' R'n'B

Junior Dean And The Avalons - Chick Chick : Lost & Found: Rockabilly & Jump Blues

Become his friend on MySpace, and visit the BBE Records site.

Sunday Soul (part 2) - Lost & Found

So lately the tumbleweed have been about the only things shakin' in these parts. What can i say? It's a mixture of being busy with the real non-musical world and the labor of love of writing about music has felt more like a labor than a love. Don't get me wrong, I've been listening to some great stuff lately, and I'm going to start sharing more of it with you this coming week as I work my way out of this funk. That being said, I'm serving up a second helping of Sunday Soul this week to make up for the famine of last week, and oh what a meaty helping it is.

It comes from the always solid BBE Music and is titled Lost & Found: Real R'n'B & Soul. It's the second volume in the Lost & Found series, the first being Lost and Found: Rockabilly and Jump Blues, which came out back in 2007, and like the first was compiled by the dynamic duo of Keb Darge and Paul Weller. Not familiar with the names? Darge is a staple in the BBE diet, having compiled more albums than any other DJ for them. When not assembling masterful collections of gems he spins records in clubs all over the world. Weller started out playing with the English punk band The Jam, then moved on to The Style Council, then a solo career, and still holds a prominent position in the music scene in England. While coming from different floors of the musical spectrum, the two hold a passion for music of all forms as is evinced in the fact they hold enough weight to put together comps of Rockabilly and R&B.

This particular comp is an especially satisfying collection of 28 tracks! The first fifteen were dug up and dusted up by Darge, the last thirteen by Weller. The name of the album gives good indication of what you'll be listening to: nuggets of R&B and soul goodness brought forth from the 50's and 60's. These numbers are examples of the genres in their infancy, and hold an early grittiness and style which reveal the roots of the soul and funk that would later develop in the late 60's and 70's. While a very few of these names might be familiar to an avid collector or listener (Tammi Terrell, Bobby Bland, Jimmy Witherspoon, and The Dells jump out at first glance), the songs offered here are some great tracks that sound just as good as their better remembered counterparts. Although the album's name doesn't hint at it, you'll also find some bluesy numbers snuck in on the second part of the disc in Weller's collection, which you might have guessed when you saw Albert King's name listed.

So without further ado, here are a couple of tasters to get you hooked. The first, They Call Me Big Mama, comes from Big Mama Thornton and Darge's choices in the first half of the album. While her name might not ring any bells, one of her songs just might. It was a little number called Hound Dog. Yeah, that's right, the song that Elvis took for a ride not too much after. This track, They Call Me Big Mama, completely reminds me of Big Joe Turner's Shake, Rattle And Roll. The second, from the second half of the comp and actually closes it out, is bluesman Slim Harpo playing I Got Love If You Want It.

Big Mama Thornton - They Call Me Big Mama : Lost & Found: Real R'n'B & Soul

Slim Harpo - I Got Love If You Want It : Lost & Found: Real R'n'B & Soul

and one from volume 1:

Corky Jones (Buck Owens) - Hot Dog : Lost and Found: Rockabilly and Jump Blues

Visit Keb Darge's website, Paul Weller's website, and BBE Music's website.