THE SHADOWS: EP "Dance On ! With"

Original released on EP Columbia ESDF 1457

(FRANCE, 1962)

DORIVAL CAYMMI: "Canções Praieiras" + "Caymmi e Seu Violão" + 5 Bonus

Edição original em LP Odeon LDS 3.004

(BRASIL, 1954)

Edição original em LP Odeon MOFB 3.093

(BRASIL, 1959)

THE BEATLES: EP "She Loves You"

Original released on EP Parlophone LMEP 1162
(PORTUGAL 1963, November 22)

Este é o primeiro Extended-Play dos Beatles a ser editado em Portugal. A discografia portuguesa de EPs e de singles dos Beatles é única no Mundo. Entre 1963 e 1982, a Valentim de Carvalho, representante em Portugal da Parlophone, etiqueta para onde os Beatles originalmente gravaram no Reino Unido, editou 27 EPs e 13 singles, na sua esmagadora maioria com capas e alinhamentos diferentes de qualquer outra parte do Globo. A discografia desde sempre é cobiçada a preços elevadissimos nos vários centros de coleccionadores de todo o mundo onde se vende, troca e compra material relacionado com os Beatles. Nos anos de 1960, não se fabricavam em Portugal LPs ou álbuns, motivo por que esse formato era importado directamente da Grã-Bretanha, não havendo por isso discografia portuguesa específica. Pela mesma razão, o duplo EP "Magical Mystery Tour", de 1967, não teve também edição portuguesa. (in "Beatles em Portugal", de Luís Pinheiro de Almeida e Teresa Lage, Assírio & Alvim, Novembro de 2002)

SONNY & CHER: "Mama Was a Rock and Roll Singer, Papa Used to Write All Her Songs"

Original released on LP MCA 2102

(US, February 1973)

At their best, Sonny and Cher were about having good, semi-clean, campy fun.  Cher would wear her outfits and insult Sonny, they'd sing their songs to cheesy arrangements and occasionally you'd hear something that might make you sit up a little and say to yourself "Hey, that's ain't half bad." "Mama Was A Rock and Roll Singer, Papa Used to Write All Her Songs" is a little different, there are no fun parts. It's not for lack of effort, mind you, but they just can't get things moving in the right direction. Everything that came naturally in the records and shows before this album now sounds forced. The arrangements are corny, but who cares? The life has left their relationship, and you can hear it on the tracks of this album. (in RateYourMusic)

GAL Canta Caymmi

Edição original em LP Philips 6349 174

(BRASIL, 1976)

STEALERS WHEEL Debut Album

Original released on LP A&M AMLS 68121

(UK 1972, November 17)

Encased in a classy sleeve painted by Scottish playwright John "Patrick" Byrne, the first LP from the tumultuous Stealers Wheel is a debonair affair comprised of the kind of accomplished and polished pub pop for which impetus Gerry Rafferty would become known as he subsequently rode out the decade on the sublime radio single "Baker Street ." Rafferty released his first solo slab, "Can I Have My Money Back?" (the title already showing signs of unrest) in 1971, and brought amigo Joe Egan from those sessions to the princely proceeding here. Worthy musical moments abound, all forever overshadowed by the clever corporate-snub "Stuck in the Middle With You" which branded the duo a one-hit wonder when the track took on a life of its own. Sadly, the song also foreshadowed the premature end of Stealers Wheel, and Rafferty and Egan continued to document the personal and professional turmoil of their short time together throughout their respective solo careers, even re-recording some of these early jewels. And though only Rafferty's star continued to rise, Egan harbors considerable talent as well, shining brightly on his Rubber Soul-influenced tapestry "Another Meaning"; however, he keeps bland company with Bad Company with the dumb thud of "I Get By." Meanwhile, Rafferty creates one of those oh-so-cosmic '70s grooves for "Outside Looking In," before being unfortunately caught in one of those oh-so-abrupt '70s fades at the end of side one. This vibe wouldn't be broken so drastically on CD, but for now, and seemingly forever, the platter must be flipped for the unique "Johnny's Song" wherein mountain-rock breaks surround Rafferty's wry life observations. Hidden nugget "Next to Me" extols mellow melancholy meditations exclusive to the West Coast and the Have a Nice Day Decade. Closing pastorale "You Put Something Better Inside of Me" inspired renditions by Ted Neeley and Raphael Ravenscroft. Ultimately, this very solid outing casts a somber shadow because of unfulfilled expectations. And any record this carefully crafted doesn't deserve to languish in the bins of obscurity, but such seems to be the fate of Stealers Wheel. At least the band will always be remembered through the cinematic revival of that supreme FM staple "Stuck in the Middle With You." (Whitney Z. Gomes in AllMusic)

CSNY: "4 Way Street" (Live)

Original released on Double LP Atlantic SD 2-902

(US 1971, April 7)

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young had come out of Woodstock as the hottest new music act on the planet, and followed it up with "Deja Vu", recorded across almost six months in the second half of 1969 and released in March of 1970, supported by a tour in the summer of that year. As it happened, despite some phenomenal music-making on-stage that summer, the tour was fraught with personal conflicts, and the quartet split up upon its completion. And as it happened, even "Deja Vu" was something of an illusion created by the foursome - Neil Young was only on five of the album's ten tracks - which meant that an actual, tangible legacy for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young was as elusive and ephemeral to listeners as Ahab's Moby Dick. But then came "4 Way Street", released in April of 1971: a live double-LP set, chock-full of superb music distilled down from a bunch of nights on that tour that more than fulfilled the promise of the group. Indeed, contained on those original four LP sides was the embodiment of everything great that the unique ethos behind this group - which was not a "group" but four individuals working together - might have yielded. Each of the participants got to show off a significant chunk of his best work, whether presented alone or in tandem with the others, and the shared repertory - "Long Time Gone," "Ohio" etc. - binding it all together as more than a documentary of some joint appearances. 

Conceptually, it was all as diffuse as the concept behind the group, but musically, "4 Way Street" was one of the great live rock documents of its time, a status that the original vinyl retains along with such touchstones as the Allman Brothers' "At Fillmore East", the live half of the Cream's "Wheels of Fire", and the Grateful Dead's "Live/Dead"; some of the extended guitar jams between Stills and Young ("Southern Man") go on longer than strict musical sense would dictate, but it seemed right at the time, and they capture a form that was far more abused in other hands after this group broke up. Although Neil Young and Stephen Stills had the advantage of the highest wattage on their songs and their jams together, David Crosby and Graham Nash more than manage to hold their own, not only with some strong and distinctive songs, but also with a strong case that less could be more: they reached the more introspective members of their audience, mostly individually, while Stills and Young wowed the crowds collectively. In many respects, this was the greatest part of the legacy that the foursome left behind, though it is also a bit unfair to stack it up next to, say, "Deja Vu", as "4 Way Street" had the advantage of all four participants ranging freely across a combined 20 years of repertory. (Bruce Eder in AllMusic)

CSNY: "Déjà Vu" & More 8 Bonus Tracks

Original Released on LP Atlantic SD 7200

(US 1970, March 11)

This is a special expanded edition from CSN&Y’s “Déjà Vu”. You’ll find eight bonus tracks which came out for the first time in 1991, inside a 4 CD Box intitled “CSN”. I think that the right place for them is here, following the ten original songs of this classic album. For their sophomore release, David Crosby (ex-Byrds), Stephen Stills (ex-Buffalo Springfield) and Graham Nash (ex-Hollies) called on the help of fellow Buffalo Springfield alumnus Neil Young, who had just released "After The Gold Rush", one of his best loved works. His voice adds a not unwelcome sourness to the choirboy harmonies of CS&N’s debut, his cranky guitar work pushes the band squarely into the rock half of the folk-rock movement. And yet Neil Young isn’t the story here, just an interesting chapter in it.

As brilliant as it is, "Déjà Vu" is a balancing act. CSN&Y wasn’t a band so much as an open market where each member could shop their finest wares. Competitive natures may have spurred them on, and they clearly benefited from bartered skills, but we should have seen the planets slowly slipping from alignment. They wouldn’t approach this level of artistry again as a unit, instead splintering off into solo ventures and earlier couplings. But the serendipitous moment was captured for eternity, and "Déjà Vu" won’t let us forget.

The album took nearly 800 hours to record, and circumstances were less then auspicious. Crosby’s girlfriend Christine Hinton had died in a car accodent in September 1969 – he remained grief-stricken and took solace in heroin; cocaine and booze abounded during recording; the four musicians squabbled – the moody Young was often absent – and Nash was forced to play peacemaker. Somehow they created a masterpiece, one that encapsulates the spirit of American West Coast culture in the early Seventies. With peerless vocals, dynamic musicianship, and topnotch songwriting, little wonder the album catapulted to Nº 1 in the United States.

Most of the music, apart from the quartet's version of Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock," was done as individual sessions by each of the members when they turned up, contributing whatever was needed that could be agreed upon. "Carry On" worked as the album's opener when Stills "sacrificed" another copyright, "Questions," which comprised the second half of the track and made it more substantial. "Woodstock" and "Carry On" represented the group as a whole, while the rest of the record was a showcase for the individual members.

David Crosby's "Almost Cut My Hair" was a piece of high-energy hippie-era paranoia not too far removed in subject from the Byrds' "Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man," only angrier in mood and texture (especially amid the pumping organ and slashing guitars); the title track, also by Crosby, took 100 hours to work out and was a better-received successor to such experimental works as "Mind Gardens," out of his earlier career with the Byrds, showing his occasional abandonment of a rock beat, or any fixed rhythm at all, in favor of washing over the listener with tones and moods.

"Teach Your Children," the major hit off the album, was a reflection of the hippie-era idealism that still filled Graham Nash's life, while "Our House" was his stylistic paean to the late-era Beatles and "4+20" was a gorgeous Stephen Stills blues excursion that was a precursor to the material he would explore on the solo album that followed. And then there were Neil Young's pieces, the exquisitely harmonized "Helpless" (which took many hours to get to the slow version finally used) and the roaring country-ish rockers that ended side two, which underwent a lot of tinkering by Young — even his seeming throwaway finale, "Everybody I Love You," was a bone thrown to longtime fans as perhaps the greatest Buffalo Springfield song that they didn't record. All of this variety made "Déjà Vu" a rich musical banquet for the most serious and personal listeners, while mass audiences reveled in the glorious harmonies and the thundering electric guitars, which were presented in even more dramatic and expansive fashion on the tour that followed.

CSN Debut Album (+ 4 Bonus Tracks)

Original released as LP Atlantic 
SD8229 (US); 588189 (UK)
1969, May 29

CREDITS:
David Crosby - rhythm guitar, vocals
Graham Nash - vocals
Stephen Stills - lead guitar, organ, bass, vocals
Dallas Taylor - drums
Bill Halverson - engineer
Gary Burden - art direction/design
Henry Diltz - cover photo
David Geffen - direction
Ahmet Ertegun - spiritual guidance
Produced by Stephen Stills, David Crosby, Graham Nash
Recorded at Wally Heider's Studio III, Los Angeles

THE BONUS TRACKS:

1. Do For the Others (by Stephen Stills)
2. Song With No Words (by David Crosby)
3. Everybody's Talkin' (by Fred Neil)
4. Teach Your Children (by Graham Nash)

Through the 1960s, power in the music industry gradually moved from managers, promoters, producers, and songwriters, to the performers themselves. Many followed The Beatles’ example and wrote their own material, and by 1968 a small number of musicians were venerated as rock equivalents of the virtuosos of classical music. If one rock superstar made a band great, the logic ran, surely four superstars would make a group four times greater. Stephen Stills had an early taste of the supergroup when he played on “Super Session”, a project arranged by keyboard player Al Kooper, where Stills shared guitar duties with Mike Bloomfield of The Paul Butterfield Blues Band. In 1969, David Crosby (ex-Byrds) and Graham Nash (ex-Hollies) sang together with Stills at a party in Los Angeles. Genuinely surprised by how well their voices blended, they got together and recorded this album, which made the US Top 30 and UK Top Ten.

As well as the hit single “Marrakesh Express”, the album includes the multisectioned “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”, written for Judy Collins, and Crosby’s “Long Time Gone”, inspired by the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy and used by Michael Wadleigh as one of the tracks which introduced his Woodstock movie. “Lady of The Island” was about Joni Mitchell, and “Guinevere” was written for Crosby’s girlfriend Christine. The album’s textured production perfectly suits the simmering vocal harmonies, and is to this day one of the more convincing arguments for old-fashioned vinyl and the analog mixing desk. It would all go downhill from here, unfortunately. Despite their often-inspired work with Neil Young in the following decade, they would never quite shake off the “disillusioned hippies with too much money and drug problems” aura. But this first, excellent three-quarters of an hour of wistful exuberance remains a landmark. (Joel McIver in “1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die”)

ROXY MUSIC: "Country Life"

Original released on LP Island ILPS 9303

(UK, 1974, November 15)

Continuing with the stylistic developments of "Stranded", "Country Life" finds Roxy Music at the peak of their powers, alternating between majestic, unsettling art rock and glamorous, elegant pop/rock. At their best, Roxy combine these two extremes, like on the exhilarating opener "The Thrill of It All," but "Country Life" benefits considerably from the ebb and flow of the group's two extremes, since it showcases their deft instrumental execution and their textured, enthralling songwriting. And, in many ways, "Country Life" offers the greatest and most consistent set of Roxy Music songs, illustrating their startling depth. From the sleek rock of "All I Want Is You" and "Prairie Rose" to the elegant, string-laced pop of "A Really Good Time," "Country Life" is filled with thrilling songs, and Roxy Music rarely sounded as invigorating as they do here. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)

B.B. KING: "My Kind Of Blues"

Original released on LP Crown 5188 (mono)

(US, 1961)

According to his biographer, Charles Sawyer, this is King's personal favorite among his recordings. Unlike most of his albums from this period (which are mostly collections of singles), this was recorded in one session and takes him out of his usual big-band setting, using only bass, drums, and piano for accompaniment. The result is a masterpiece: a sparse, uncluttered sound with nothing to mask King's beautiful guitar and voice. "You Done Lost Your Good Thing Now" (its unaccompanied guitar intro is a pure distillation of his style), "Mr. Pawn Broker," "Someday Baby" (R&B Top Ten, 1961), "Walkin' Dr. Bill," and a great version of "Drivin' Wheel" are highlights. (George Bedard in AllMusic)