Big Brother & The Holding Company - Be A Brother (1970)

Big Brother and the Holding Company is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965 as part of the same psychedelic music scene that produced the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service and Jefferson Airplane. They are best known as the band that featured Janis Joplin as their lead singer.

Big Brother went on to become the house band at the Avalon Ballroom, playing a progressive style of instrumental rock. Feeling a need for a strong vocalist, Helms contacted Janis Joplin in Austin, Texas, who at the time was considering joining up with Roky Erickson of The 13th Floor Elevators. She sang for the first time with Big Brother in 1966. "Be A Brother" is an album by Big Brother and the Holding Company, released in 1970. It was their first album after Janis Joplin's departure. Whether Big Brother & the Holding Company would have made any waves at all in the late-'60s San Francisco music scene sans Janis Joplin could be argued. "Be A Brother" is a good indicator of what they would have sounded like without her amazing voice. Recorded in 1970, guitarist David Schallock and singer/songwriter/producer Nick Gravenites were added to help fill the space created with the absence of Joplin. These ten original compositions include "Home on the Strange," "Mr. Natural," "Funkie Jim," and "I'll Change Your Flat Tire, Merle" dedicated to Merle Haggard. This is a decent blues-based session similar to early Butterfield Blues Band records, which isn't a bad thing at all.
All tracks composed by Big Brother and the Holding Company; except where indicated.


01.  "Keep On"  - 4:21
02.  "Joseph's Coat"  (John Cipollina, Nick Gravenites)  - 3:10
03.  "Home on the Strange"  (Peter Albin, Sam Andrew)  - 2:15
04.  "Someday"  (Sam Andrew)  - 2:17
05.  "Heartache People"  (Nick Gravenites)  - 6:36
06.  "Sunshine Baby"  - 3:30
07.  "Mr. Natural"  (Sam Andrew)  - 3:31
08.  "Funkie Jim"  - 3:47
09.  "I'll Change Your Flat Tire, Merle"  (Nick Gravenites)  - 3:14
10.  "Be a Brother"  (Nick Gravenites)  - 3:04

Released: 1970
Genre:  Psychedelic rock
Length:  35:09
Label:  Columbia Records
Producer:  Nick Gravenites

Credits
Sam Andrew - vocals, guitar
Nick Gravenites - vocals
David Schallock - guitar, vocals
James Gurley - guitar, bass
Peter Albin - guitar
David Getz - drums, piano

Chip Taylor - This Side Of The Big River (1975)

James Wesley Voight (born March 21, 1940), better known by the stage name Chip Taylor, is an American songwriter, noted for writing "Angel of the Morning" and "Wild Thing." He is the brother of actor Jon Voight and geologist Barry Voight and the uncle of actress Angelina Jolie and actor James Haven.

After writing three standards of the '60s the garage rock classic "Wild Thing," made famous by the Troggs; the soft pop ballad "Angel of the Morning," originally cut by Merrilee Rush; and "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)," made famous by Big Brother & the Holding Company Chip Taylor began a solo recording career in the '70s, signing to Warner Bros. after releasing one rock-oriented album, "Gasoline", on Buddah in 1971. His first album, rather ironically (and quite funnily) named "Chip Taylor's Last Chance", appeared in 1973 but it wasn't a rock or a pop album: it was a country album, which signaled a return to his roots in a way, since he sang country music at the beginning of his career. Neither Last Chance nor the following year's Some of Us were hits, but the label stuck with him through one more record, 1975's "This Side Of The Big River". This is also a country album indeed, it was the only one of his records to sell well enough to appear on the country charts but it's not a conventional country record by any means. It's an appealingly sleepy, meandering record, drifting from languid ballads to laid-back country-rockers, but its sonic palette is broader than that suggests the Gram Parsons-styled "I've Been Tied" is punctuated with horns; the slow, slow "Holding Me Together" is built upon electric pianos and mournful steel guitar and the album recalls California singer/songwriters as often as it does Nashville. It could be pegged as progressive country, since there are some echoes of Kris Kristofferson and Mickey Newbury here, but Taylor isn't an outlaw; he's an outsider, crafting his own idiosyncratic music that doesn't quite fit into any real specific category which, of course, is its appeal. First and foremost, it's a subtle songwriter's record, but it's a songwriter's record where the most immediate tune is a cover a rather rowdy version of Johnny Cash's "Big River" that lends the LP its title. It's taken from a live radio session, as are "John Tucker's on the Wagon Again" and "You're Alright, Charlie," and all three feel different "Big River" has the kick of a concert, "John Tucker" is as conversational as a story, "You're Alright, Charlie" is hushed and intimate but boast a loose, human quality that presents a nice contrast to the studio cuts, which are professional in the best sense: accomplished without being polished, highlighting the skills of Taylor and his crew, since they make these reflective songs feel warm, comfortable, and lived-in. In fact, "This Side Of The Big River" may be a little bit too broken-in it rolls so slow and easy, his songs so subtle and solidly constructed, that it takes some effort on the part of the listener to get within its little details, whether it's in the lyrics or the texture. But give it a little time and "This Side of the Big River" is not only quite charming, it's rather moving.


01.  Same Ol' Story - 3:14  
02.  Holding Me Together  - 2:44  
03.  Gettin' Older, Lookin' Back  - 3:22  
04.  John Tucker's On The Wagon Again  - 5:27  
05.  Big River   - 3:15  
06.  May God Be With Me  - 4:04  
07.  Circle Of Tears  - 2:35  
08.  Sleepy Eyes  - 3:48  
09.  I've Been Tied  - 2:45  
10.  You're Alright, Charlie  - 4:27

Release:  1975
Label:  Warner Bros.
Genre:  Country
Length:  36:07
Producer:  Chip Taylor

Credits
Vocals, Guitar [Rhythm] - Chip Taylor
Backing Vocals - The Jordanaires
Bass - Dave Kapell
Drums - Charlie Powers
Fiddle - Buddy Spiker
Guitar [Electric] - John Platania
Guitar [Lead], Guitar [Acoustic] - George Kiriakis
Guitar [Pedal Steel] - Pete Drake
Piano [Electric] - Joe Renda

Kings Of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak (2004)

Kings of Leon is a Grammy winning American rock band that formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Anthony Caleb Followill (b. January 14, 1982, lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Ivan Nathan Followill (b. June 26, 1979, drums, percussion, backing vocals) and Michael Jared Followill (b. November 20, 1986, bass guitar, backing vocals), with their cousin Cameron Matthew Followill (b. September 10, 1984, lead guitar, backing vocals).

"Aha Shake Heartbreak" is the second studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon. It's the only album by Kings of Leon to have a Parental Advisory. The cover is reminiscent of Queen's A Night at the Opera. The mysterious Followill family returns to the front porch/garage on the Kings of Leon's engaging sophomore effort, "Aha Shake Heartbreak". On Youth & Young Manhood, the Kings gave Southern rock a swift kick in the rear, sounding like Lynyrd Skynyrd posing as a bunch of N.Y.U. film students (or vice versa). For their latest, the Nashville quartet raises a flag that's equal parts Confederate and Union Jack. Their success in the U.K. is understandable, as Caleb Followill's lazy drawl sounds like a cross between Bon Scott, Ray Davies, and Eddie Money with a slight Jamaican accent, but it's their seamless and agreeable blend of rock & roll, country, and Roky Erickson-style psychedelia, matched with a keen lyrical wit, that makes them fascinating to both sides of the pond. On the twenty-something barfly opener "Slow Night, So Long," Caleb laments/celebrates the soulless dance of the one-night stand ("She's opened up just like she really knows me/I hate her face, but enjoy the company") like a true student of outlaw country. It's a theme that runs rampant throughout Heartbreak, and whether it's set against a swamp-sick boogie ("Pistol of Fire") or emitted through a lonesome yodel ("Day Old Blues"), it resonates as clear and cool as the opening notes of a Creedence Clearwater Revival tune. The original UK/Ireland version of the album featured a black cover and an orchid, whereas the later US version featured a white background with a different kind of orchid. The album also contains the bonus track "Where Nobody Knows".


01.  "Slow Night, So Long"   - 3:54
02.  "King of the Rodeo "  - 2:25
03.  "Taper Jean Girl"  - 3:05
04.  "Pistol of Fire"  - 2:20
05.  "Milk"   - 4:00
06.  "The Bucket"   - 2:55
07.  "Soft"  - 2:59
08.  "Razz"    - 2:15
09.  "Day Old Blues"  - 3:33
10.  "Four Kicks"  - 2:09
11.  "Velvet Snow"    - 2:11
12.  "Rememo"   - 3:23
13.  "Where Nobody Knows [Bonus Track]   - 2:24

Released:  November 1, 2004 (UK, Ireland), February 22, 2005 (U.S.)
Recorded:  April–June 2004 at Three Crows Studio, Los Angeles, California
Genre:  Garage rock, Southern rock
Length:  37:36
Label:  RCA, HandMeDown Records
Producer:  Ethan Johns

Credits
Anthony Caleb - lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Ivan Nathan Followill - drums, percussion, backing vocals
Michael Jared Followill - bass guitar, backing vocals
Cameron Matthew Followill - lead guitar, backing vocals