Rating: NNNNN
1 CHARLEY PATTON SCREAMIN’ & HOLLERIN’ THE BLUES — THE WORLDS OF
CHARLEY PATTON (Revenant) Perhaps the most exhaustive box-set analysis of a
single artist, Revenant’s awesome seven-disc study of pre-war blues great
Charley Patton doesn’t stop at comprehensively documenting his influential
work, but also covers the music of those in his sphere and tops it off with
John Fahey’s insightful 112-page biography. Very impressive.
2 EERO KOIVISTOINEN WAHOO! (Whatmusic.com)
Two drummers, two bassists, two guitarists and one flame-throwing Finnish
saxophone fiend — you do the math.
3 AFRO-ROCK VOLUME 1 (Kona) Rarely heard Afro funk, pop and rock gems
dug out of obscurity and extinction by obsessive archivist Duncan Brooker. Volume
2, please.
4 THE FUNKY 16 CORNERS (Stones Throw) A deep-diggin’, ass-kickin’
funk compilation that uses master tapes, includes band photos and bios and pays
royalties to the artists. Revolutionary!
5 BETWEEN OR BEYOND THE IRON CURTAIN (Crippled Dick Hot Wax) A
dazzling assortment of Eastern European jazz from the 70s that’s a revelation
from top to bottom.
6 JAMES CARR THE COMPLETE GOLDWAX SINGLES (Kent/Ace) These 28 tracks
confirm that the late James Carr, even when singing throwaways for B-sides, was
the greatest deep soul singer who ever lived.
7 SERGE GAINSBOURG GAINSBOURG PERCUSSIONS (Polygram) Funky Afro and
Latin exotica by the French sultan of sleaze. Part of a comprehensive and
overdue set of Serge reissues.
8 STUDIO ONE ROOTS (Soul Jazz) So how did Coxsone Dodd manage to
attract so much great rasta talent to his Kingston studio? He alone allowed
artists to smoke herb during sessions. Genius.
9 THE MIGHTY HANNIBAL HANNIBALISM! (Norton) Turbaned Atlanta R&B
playa King Hannibal finally gets the career-spanning retrospective he deserves,
complete with sidesplitting blow-by-blow liner note commentary.
10 SHUT IT! (Cinephile)What may appear to be a cheap
soundtrack for a Brit cop-show knock-off of Starsky And Hutch is actually a
stomping set of sound library joints from the masters Jack Arel, Johnny
Hawksworth and Brian Bennett. Top!
