VIA PRESS RELEASE | Craft Recordings and Jazz Dispensary proudly present The Round Robin Monopoly’s Alpha: a rare psychedelic-funk nugget from Stax Records’ hallowed vaults.

Featuring the frequently sampled track “Life Is Funky” (as heard in tracks by The Chemical Brothers, LL Cool J, Ice-T, and Public Enemy), the 1974 album will return to vinyl for the first time in 50 years on June 28th, while it will make its digital debut in both standard and HD audio. The latest title in Jazz Dispensary’s album-centric Top Shelf series—which reissues the highest-quality, hand-picked rarities—Alpha was cut from the original analog tapes (AAA) by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI. Rounding out the package is a tip-on jacket, replicating the album’s original art. Very special bundles pairing the album with merchandise and other funky gems are available exclusively on the Jazz Dispensary store.

Led by the Los Angeles-based singer and keyboardist “Round” Robin Lloyd (who gained a following in the ’60s with regional hits like “Do The Slauson” and the mod-era “Kick That Little Foot Sally Ann”), The Round Robin Monopoly was one of a handful of bands that Lloyd assembled during his career. 1974’s Alpha (released on Stax’s short-lived Truth imprint) marked the group’s sole full-length. Despite the album’s deliciously inspired blend of funk, psychedelic pop, and R&B, Alpha never received the fanfare that it so deserved—perhaps due in part to the fact that Stax shuttered its doors less than a year after its release.

In the decades that followed, however, the album gained an underground following, coveted by crate-diggers and DJs around the globe. Single “Life Is Funky” (released as a 45 in 1974 and previously featured on Jazz Dispensary’s Cosmic Stash compilation), in particular, became the album’s stand-out track—sampled over the decades by such tastemakers as LL Cool J (1989’s “It Gets No Rougher”), Ice-T (1993’s “It’s On”), Public Enemy (1994’s “Whole Lotta Love Goin on in the Middle of Hell”), and The Chemical Brothers (2002’s “Come With Us”).

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Celebrating Doug Clifford, born on this day in 1945. —Ed.

During a recent crawl down Bourbon Street in New Orleans I heard a lot of mangy cover bands manhandle a lot of my favorite songs. Was I outraged? Hell no. I enjoyed every minute of it. There’s nothing I love more than listening to a band of barely competent rock ‘n’ roll discards–I’m a rock ‘n’ roll discard myself–butcher the classics. My only regret is I didn’t hear a single one of them do their honorable worst to Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Because I loves me some Creedence. During the psychedelic era, when just about everybody else was jamming away ad infinitum to songs about peace, love, and sundry other species of Aquarian bullshit, CCR’s John Fogerty was writing unfashionably short songs as tightly wound as Swiss clocks about dread and menace. He saw bad moons rising, wondered who was going to stop the rain, and warned that when you’re running through the jungle, it’s best not to look back. And unlike, say, the Velvet Underground, his songs were immensely radio friendly–they might as well have come equipped with payola. J. Fogerty is that rarest of all creatures, a natural-born hitmaker, and a hitmaker of such prolixity that Creedence fell into the habit of releasing double A Sides. You have to write a lot of damn good songs to be that cocky.

Creedence Clearwater Revival was, with the arguable exception of the Velvet Underground and the Grateful Dead, the premier American band of their era, and on 1970’s Cosmo’s Factory–the band’s fifth album in two years, amazingly enough–CCR hit their creative zenith. On it Fogerty makes writing great songs look dizzyingly simple; only 2 of its 11 songs fall short of indispensable, and they’re both covers. The rest of ‘em are stone cold classics, and they range from monumental covers (the 11-minute “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” which is less a jam than a carefully structured exercise in locking down a groove) to a foray into friendly lysergic-country pastoralism (“Lookin’ Out My Back Door”) to a note-perfect Little Richard tribute (“Travelin’ Band”). And I could go on.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | The wait is over: With the June 14 release of One Hand Clapping, one of the most bootlegged live albums in musical history will finally receive a proper release. In August 1974, when Band on the Run was enjoying a seven-week consecutive #1 stint at the top of the UK album charts, Paul McCartney and Wings headed to Abbey Road Studios for the filming of a video documentary and possible live studio album—One Hand Clapping. Despite overwhelming demand for newly recorded material from the biggest band in the world at that time, One Hand Clapping was never officially released.

Filmed and recorded over four days and directed by David Litchfield, the release of One Hand Clapping is a historic moment for Paul McCartney fans. Over the years, various parts of One Hand Clapping have been bootlegged with varying degrees of success. Some of the material has also appeared on official McCartney releases. However, the June 14 release of One Hand Clapping, which features the original artwork designed for the project, including a TV sales brochure for the unreleased film at the time, is the first time the audio for the film—plus several additional songs recorded off-camera—have been officially issued.

One Hand Clapping showcased Wings’ new line-up, fresh off their return from Nashville, where they recorded the classic single “Junior’s Farm.” Following the sudden departure of Denny Seiwell and Henry McCullough the previous year on the eve of recording the Wings masterpiece Band on the Run, Paul, Linda, and Denny Laine were now joined by guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and drummer Geoff Britton. Additionally joining the band in the studio were orchestral arranger Del Newman and saxophonist Howie Casey, who had previously played with Paul in Hamburg and would go on to join the Wings touring band.

Opening with an instrumental jam that would become the One Hand Clapping theme song, the album features live-in-studio renditions of Wings mega-hits “Live and Let Die,” “Band on the Run,” “Jet,” “My Love,” “Hi, Hi, Hi,” “Junior’s Farm,” Paul’s much loved solo song “Maybe I’m Amazed,” reworked extracts of Beatles’ classics “Let It Be,” “The Long and Winding Road,” and “Lady Madonna,” the Moody Blues hit “Go Now” with Denny Laine singing, and a Paul solo piano version of the Harry Akst/Benny Davis Tin Pan Alley classic “Baby Face.”

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The Cool Cloud of Okayness is Tara Jane O’Neil’s latest record and her first in seven years, available April 26 on limited vinyl and digital through Ordinal Records. The diverse sonic landscapes that comprise this new album expand on O’Neil’s growth from her post-hardcore and post-rock roots in the Louisville, KY scene of the early 1990s. At times atmospheric, at other moments rhythmically pulsating, and with O’Neil’s vocal and instrumental presence lending cohesiveness to the whole, the set can be described as retro-futuristic but in an invigorating way, avoiding retread. There is also a reinforcement of O’Neil’s strengths as a songwriter and some exploratory guitar that’s classically Californian.

Yes, it’s been seven years since her last full-length album, an eponymous effort in the singer-songwriter style (a first for O’Neil), but she’s been busy collaborating and experimenting all the while, so that The Cool Cloud of Okayness shows no signs of rust. Impacted by and developed during the pandemic and after the Thomas Fire destroyed the Upper Ojai, California home O’Neil and her partner, the dancer and choreographer Jmy James Kidd, shared with their dog, the record was recorded in the home studio built at the site of their loss.

Unsurprisingly, The Cool Cloud of Okayness is a powerful LP, but it’s not overly heavy in emotional terms. The opening title track features a return to the singer-songwriter zone, the mood in this case jazzy-folky, with O’Neil’s singing and strumming, pretty but sturdy, given an injection of hovering slide guitar (described as “guitar ghost notes”) courtesy of Marisa Anderson. Other guest contributors include Meg Duffy of Hand Habits and Duffy x Uhlmann, Sheridan Riley of Alvvays and multi-instrumentalist Walt McClements.

“Seeing Glass” is an immediate shift in gears, tapping into that retro-futuristic vibe mentioned up top. Evoking but not derivative of Stereolab, it’s just as fair to say the track cultivates a vaguely ’70s Germanic vintage analog feel in its use of keyboards. Ambience swells up and dissipates in the gliding transition into “Two Stones,” which begins with a lone looped vocal and a gradual rise of processed guitar from Duffy before the layered rhythm kicks in and O’Neil’s voice reemerges in lyrical mode.

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BOSTON, MA | Bringing their “Might as Well Be Us” tour to the MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston, Brothers Osborne’s performance was electrifying from start to finish.

Newcomer Jackson Dean opened the show with a powerful set, commanding the stage with his gritty, outlaw drawl, and a skilled band supporting him. The Maryland native’s single, “Don’t Come Lookin’” was the fastest debut to reach No. 1 in 2022 and cemented Dean as the youngest solo male Country artist to reach the top of the charts with a debut.

With the stage warmed up, The Brothers Osborne kicked off their set with “Might As Well Be Me,” followed by “Nobody’s Nobody” and “Shoot Me Straight.” The boys traversed the stage with high energy, treating fans to songs they have been recently longing for, said TJ Osborne, giving lovers of the Brothers a memorable evening they will not soon forget.

“It was a phenomenal show! Acoustics were perfect! Love this place and love this band,” said Jean V. Lisa W. shared that it was a “Fabulous show that rocked from start to finish. “’It Ain’t my Fault’ blew the roof off the house. I want to see them every weekend.” Playing a great selection from their catalog of hits, The Brothers Osborne’s skilled solo shredding and harmonies connected them with the audience and had people on their feet throughout the entire show.

In March, the GRAMMY-Award winning duo released their “Break Mine” EP via EMI Records Nashville. The new, four song EP includes two new tracks, “Break Mine” and “Get To Movin’ Again,” as well as two songs included on their GRAMMY-nominated 2023 self-titled album.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | The true test of originality for any musician comes when you hear an instrument being played and you instantly know who’s playing it. For electric guitarists, certainly Hendrix qualifies; Page and Clapton, too. Maybe Eddie Van Halen before the legion of imitators. You probably have your own list, but to us, standing toe-to-toe (or pick-to-pick) with those legends is Television guitarist and solo artist Tom Verlaine.

Songs and Other Things was the last record he released, in the same year as the all-instrumental Around. As the title indicates, this was indeed a return to lyrics and vocals, the first record with “songs” since 1990’s The Wonder (although the first track, “A Parade in Littleton”—one of the “Other Things”—is a low-key, funky instrumental that would have been home on a late Talking Heads album). The time off clearly allowed Verlaine to build up a strong cache of compositions, with “Nice Actress” and “The Earth Is in the Sky” among the highlights.

The record also marks a welcome return of Verlaine’s enigmatic lyrics, which as always prompt head scratching while somehow making intuitive sense. But in the end, it’s the amazing guitar work—ably supported by Fred Smith of Television fame and Jay Dee Daugherty of The Patti Smith Group among others—that elevates Songs and Other Things to essential status, worthy of its exalted position as the final release of Tom Verlaine’s career.

Bassist and original engineer Patrick Derivaz has mastered the album for its vinyl debut; Verlaine’s long-time partner Jutta Koether contributes notes. Teal vinyl pressing.

Remembering Steve Clark, born on this day in 1960. —Ed.

Hello music fans! You’re joining me here live from lovely Pyongyang, North Korea, where I’m about to sit down with Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un, who is about to make a big musical announcement!

And here comes Kim now, ready to verbally spar in a glittering WWE wrestling jacket and tights, a baby tiger cradled in his arms! What chubby charisma! What a dazzling smile! It’s hard to believe this is the same guy who had a mid-sized city executed for sneezing during one of his 5-1/2-hour speeches! A palace lackey seats us in two very uncomfortable solid-gold chairs, another palace lackey brings Kim his jade bong and baggy filled with primo Godfather OG, and after we both take a couple of hits and I get very, very paranoid, it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty.

You don’t plan to have me killed, do you?

Ha, ha. Never. You are my favorite Western Rock Critic. Your extremely positive review of Christopher Cross echoed many of my own insights on the genius who brought us “Sailing.” We Christopher Cross fans must stick together.

So what’s the big announcement?

For many years I have banned Western Music. It is decadent, serves no propaganda purpose, and makes people dance. North Korea is like the town of Bomont, and I will not put up with any Kevin Bacon-like footlooseness. Such counter-revolutionary hijinks could undermine my very cool Cult of Personality.

That said, I have given my personal okay to certain types of Western Music over the years. My all-female military ensemble The Morenbong Band has been known to play the theme from my favorite movie Rocky, for example. I cannot watch Sylvester Stallone triumph against adversity without crying, and then killing anyone who has witnessed me crying. I’ve tragically lost many beloved family members in this manner.

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The smart choices continue in Craft Recordings’ Original Jazz Classics reissue series. The latest entry, out April 26, is Groovy by the Red Garland Trio. Originally released by the Prestige label in 1957, it finds pianist Garland in the stalwart company of bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Art Taylor. This new remastered edition on 180-gram vinyl with a tip-on jacket brings truth to its title.

Going by the title alone might lead to the assumption that Groovy is Red Garland’s attempt to get hip with the R&R generation, knocking out versions of (for instance) “Windy,” a Lennon-McCartney, a Dylan, and with maybe a couple contempo movie themes sprinkled in. Or perhaps the record captures the pianist dabbling in soul-jazz a la Ramsey Lewis or Les McCann or later Horace Silver. Possibly it’s a boogaloo crossover.

But no, no and no; by 1963, Red Garland was essentially retired, at least as a recording artist, at some point returning to his native Texas, reportedly to care for his mother. A few more records with Garland as a leader were released as the ’60s progressed, but they were all collected material from ’62 or before. There was a successful if not especially celebrated ’70s comeback, but the music on which Garland’s reputation rests was cut between 1955-’62 and is primarily focused upon his work in the quintet of trumpeter Miles Davis and sessions with tenor saxophonist John Coltrane.

Garland frequently teamed with bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Philly Joe Jones, with the three designated as “The Rhythm Section.” The praise was specifically bestowed due to their work with Davis, but they also added value to Sonny Rollins’ Tenor Madness and were spotlighted in the title of Art Pepper’s Meets the Rhythm Section.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | The true test of originality for any musician comes when you hear an instrument being played and you instantly know who’s playing it. For electric guitarists, certainly Hendrix qualifies; Page and Clapton, too. Maybe Eddie Van Halen before the legion of imitators. You probably have your own list, but to us, standing toe-to-toe (or pick-to-pick) with those legends is Television guitarist and solo artist Tom Verlaine.

2006’s Around picks up the lofty mantle of the Warm and Cool album that was released 14 years prior with another set of utterly mesmerizing instrumentals, ranging from solo, almost raga-esque explorations (“Flame”) to post-rock vamps (“Balcony”) to abstract sketches (“A Burned Letter”) to the kind of indescribable, utterly gorgeous beauty that only this man and his guitar could pull off (“Eighty-Eights”).

That’s old Television band-mate Billy Ficca on drums; bassist and original engineer Patrick Derivaz’s new mastering for vinyl will make this record sing and breathe along with you (and vice versa). Tom’s long-time partner, artist Jutta Koether, again supplies notes in the enclosed insert. Sunglasses brown pressing for this album’s vinyl debut.

Remembering Charles Mingus, born on this day in 1922. —Ed.

Bassist-bandleader-composer Charles Mingus remains one of the most important figures in the history of recorded sound. A jazzman of uncommon versatility, his extensive achievement is deeply linked to a voluminous personality and an occasionally volatile temper. In 1963, as part of a brief, fertile association with Impulse! Records, he waxed The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady; it’s widely rated as the apex of his career, which in turn awards it placement amongst the great moments in 20th century music. A vinyl reissue is out now courtesy of Superior Viaduct.

Please forgive me if I’ve fallen egregiously behind the times, but I continue to perceive the goal of education as more than a factory churning out highly efficient producers brandishing economically useful skills, a mass of graduates left to dodge underemployment in hopes of spending decades in the modern workplace’s existential ditch. But maybe I’m just frightfully naive in considering higher learning as the valiant endeavoring to intellectually engage with generations of individuals, hopefully leaving them at least somewhat prepared for the ups and downs of existence, and potentially armed in adulthood with the knowledge to utilize portions of history’s immense landscape to their advantage.

And not only history but art, which is easily the most disrespected component in contemporary academe. This may come as a shock to anyone aware of the number of art schools, conservatories, and Liberal Arts institutions taking up residence from sea to shining sea, but my observation concerns quality rather than quantity; to get down to the matter at hand, while Charles Mingus’ life and music are far from absent in the educational curriculum, I know of no school offering an extended, intensive course in Mingus Studies.

That’s a shame, for it’s a program of vast possibilities, and though discerning jazz fans might think it contrary to his legacy, the objective wouldn’t be the tailoring of copycat instrumentalists (bluntly, an impossible task) but instead an immersion into reading, writing, discussing, creating, and of course a whole lot of listening.

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