Fanny Live on Beat-Club '71-'72 2024

Fanny was the first all female rock and roll band to produce a major label LP, writing most of their songs and playing all of the instruments. Before Bangles, Runaways, Vixen, Go-Go's, and everybody else. They released five records between 1970-1974, and while those records aren't perfect, they are darn good, especially Charity Ball 1971, Fanny Hill 1972 and Mother's Pride 1973.

While never chart toppers, they had a few charting singles. The real surprise was what a great live band they were. June Millington was a hot lead guitarist, Nicki Barclay was an outstanding rock keyboard player, and June Millington (bass) and Alice de Buhr (drums) laid down a solid foundation. They could all sing. I didn't know they existed until I saw them live (twice) in Cleveland, and I was blown away. They were better live than any of their records.

Beat-Club was the premier German rock and roll TV show, and featured live music by a who's who list of artists of the day. It is a pretty good recording, and shows just how good they were live. An excellent addition to their studio records. It's out on CD or vinyl or streaming and much of it can be watched and listened to on YouTube.

 

Don Letts Presents The Mighty Trojan Sound 2024

I know there may not be a ton of reggae fans out there, and especially in the small number of visitors to this blog. But this is a fine way to explore the genre, and if you're a fan generally, this one brings together a bunch of great songs. 

There is no Bob Marley, Third World, Steel Pulse, or Black Uhuru, but there are early songs by the Heptones and the Maytals, and there are many other familiar and unfamiliar names. Importantly, the set is curated by Don Letts, famous as the DJ that brought reggae to the punks of the UK and later formed Big Audio Dynamite with Mick Jones of the Clash. Don knows his stuff and he has an excellent ear. The set is the bomb.

The 2 CD set includes one CD of songs with vocals and one CD of dub-style instrumentals (with occasional vocals). I didn't think I was going to like the Dub CD, but it is almost as killer as the vocal songs.

I can't really go into song by song detail because I'd repeat myself a lot. Reggae is a somewhat self-limiting genre, and it tends to sound "all the same" even though lovers of the genre realize that isn't really true. Sorta.

Anyway, if you love reggae, or if you have liked some reggae in the past, this set is hard not to love. If you have most of these songs, you've got one amazing collection. But even then you probably don't have all this stuff. It reminds me of the Dave Godin series of soul music in that there's a ton a great songs, and I don't think I've heard more than two or three of them.

Trust me. Or go stream it. If you don't love it, then I guess you don't love reggae (which, of course, is OK too).