[mattcalf]

Parkway Drive - [Horizons #04] Carrion

 

[MoreCowbell]

TV on the Radio - Return To Cookie Mountain

 

[DLeeWebb]

"One Fine Day" - David Byrne + Brian Eno

 

[Calexico]

Le Fil - Camille

 

[dwong]

Mel Lewis and Friends

 

[Greymoor]

 

[dallan]

"The Squirming Coil" -Phish The Live One

 

[virometal]

The Bug

Pressure

 

[TimJo]

The Jimi Hendrix Experience (The 8 LP Purple Box)

 

[Quaddy]

michael jackson - P.Y.T

 

[melomaniac]

GWF Handel, Il Delirio Amoroso (Natalie Dessay)

 

[Hi-Finthen]

JOE STANLEY:
King Of The Honky-Tonk Sax

Mapleshade label, 1996


Joe's the godfather of the down-and-dirty R&B sax of the '50s and '60s. He led the great Bill Black Combo (Elvis' backup band), toured with Marvin Gaye, and mentored countless Maryland musicians including Danny Gatton and Roy Buchanan. Stanley's CD is chock full of organ grooves, soul ballads, deep sax-driven blues. The icing is Joe's bourbon-fortified Sinatra-style vocals on old honky-tonk gems like "Jambalaya" and "Please Release Me". It doesn't hurt that he's got an all-star band: two wailing electric guitars, soul-steeped Hammond organ, and hard-driving bari sax. All that's locked down tight by John Previti's razor-sharp bassline and Big Joe Maher's ultra-punchy cymbals, snare and kickdrum.

Joe Stanley, sax/vocals
Billy Hancock, vocals
Dave Chappell, guitar
Rudy Turner, guitar
Kevin McKendree, B-3 organ
John Previti, bass
Jay Miles, bass*
Joe Maher, drums



TRACK LISTING:

1. RAMBUNCTIOUS (W.Doggett)
2. PENNIES FROM HEAVEN (J.Burke & A.Johnston)
3. I NEED YOU (W.Hancock)
4. BLUES FOR DANNY* (J.Maher)
5. PACK YOUR SUITCASE (A.Domini)
6. JAMBALAYA (H.Williams & D.Batholomew)
7. EVENING (Mitchell, Parish, White & Mills)
8. CHICKEN-FRIED TENOR* (J.Maher)
9. THE LADY IS A TRAMP (Rogers & Hart)
10. I'M SO BLUE (J.Beasley & J.Josea)
11. PLEASE RELEASE ME* (R.Young, E.Miller, D.Williams)
12. I CAN'T STOP LOVING YOU* (D.Gibson)
13. RAINBOW RIDE* (W.Doggett)

REVIEWS:

The Washington Post:
reviewed by Mike Joyce

Stanley's Sax Stirs Up Memories...
In his liner notes to saxophonist Joe Stanley's King of the Honky-Tonk Sax, producer Pierre Sprey paints a less than pretty picture of the Maryland venues that helped shape Stanley's music in the '60s. "Sawdust was the preferred flooring," Sprey notes. "It made it much easier to sweep out the booze and blood every night."

However, if Stanley saw the worst of the club scene back then, he also saw the best, playing alongside Roy Clark, Roy Buchanan and Danny Gatton, and it finds Stanley playing tenor sax with a burry tone and a big heart. His schooling of hard knocks led him to develop a broad repertoire, which no doubt came in handy when taking requests from irritable patrons, so it's no surprise that he covers R&B, country and pop with ease and authority here. Echoes of Bill Doggett (Rainbow Ride), Fats Domino (I'm So Blue), Louis Prima (Pennies From Heaven) and even Frank Sinatra (The Lady Is A Tramp) resonate throughout the recording, but there's no pretense or lack of personal touches. That's because, in addition to Stanley's evocative horn and vocals, the music is bolstered by a fine cast that includes drummer Big Joe Maher, bassists John Previti and Jay Miles, guitarists Dave Chappell and Rudy Turner, baritone saxophonist Chris Watling and keyboardist Kevin McKendree. Another big plus are Billy Hancock's colorful and sometimes emotional vocal cameos, which help make the music sound all the more rooted and real.

November 29, 1996



Living Blues:
reviewed by DN

Pierre Sprey's liner notes evoke in lurid detail the boozy Eastern Maryland biker bars, strip clubs, and gambling joints where saxophonist Joe Stanley cut his R&B and rockabilly teeth in the late 1950s before joining the post-Elvis Bill Black Combo as bandleader in 1962. Stanley served as a mentor to guitarists Roy Buchanan and Danny Gatton; this disc is dedicated to Gatton's memory and includes contributions from Gatton associates Billy Hancock (whose vocals on " I Need You ", are a highlight) and drummer Big Joe Maher. But above all the album is a tribute to Stanley's talent and eclectic repertoire, which ranges from swing and standards to country and R&B.

King Of The Honky-Tonk Sax contains an agreeable mixture of jazzy sophistication and roadhouse raunch.

February 1997

GOOD STUFF...

~

~ ~

 

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Yo-Yo Ma - soledad

 

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Maysa - One More Chace

 

[mortonjl]

Andreas Vollenweider & Friends - 25 years live