Lee Perry may have grabbed all the glory and Niney Holness all the accolades, but what did they ever do for singers...bar burying their vocals in clever production? Which is why the sadly neglected Sonia Pottinger was often the artists' preferred choice. Culture first entered the studio with the producer for their third album, Cumbolo, and this successful partnership continued over another three full-length records and a clutch of singles. A fourth album, Black Rose, was planned, but neve...   [ read more ]

CD $16.13

Occasionally, on the Kelly Richey Band's all-instrumental album Speechless (get it? So have Albert Lee, Bruce Cockburn, and many other artists making vocal-free recordings.), sparks fly and you want to believe. This happens on "The Longest Road," on which blues-rock guitarist Richey's soaring, melodic lead lines escalate, change course, fly off someplace else and rise yet again. And it happens on "Only the Bird Knows," on which Richey takes to her acoustic guitar and deftly balan...   [ read more ]

CD $17.08

This straight pairing of the second and third album's from Dando Shaft does at least make them available at a two-fer price, although, with no bonus cuts, it's debatable who the audience might be -- Anthology remains the best buy, with all three studio albums and some bonuses. Perhaps not surprisingly, there was little development between the two discs, although vocalist Polly Bolton sounds more confident on Lantaloon than on Dando Shaft, her debut with the group. They trod the acoustic line...   [ read more ]

CD $20.88