New Blog Page - El Enmascarado's 78 rpm Rips Plus Comps

The Masked One's record room - where vinyl and shellac rule

I've finally (!) finished constructing the new blog page dedicated to El Enmascarado's rips from original 78 rpm shellac discs. On the page you'll find links to every post featuring these rips. On these posts you'll find links to streaming audio of both sides of each disc. I've replaced all the audio links to the accursed Divshare with new links to Box.

At the bottom of the page you'll find download links and details of the compilation "LPs" in which the 78s have been gathered together. Some months ago I was amused to find some of these comps turning up for sale on some music download services. Get 'em for free here, on the site where they were created!

New page link: 

78 rpm rips by El Enmascarado

There is also a link on the Page List section at the top of the blog sidebar.

Check it out! I've taken the liberty of adding short, pithy summaries of each 78 rpm disc in the style of the old Norton Records mail order catalogues I used get sent from the States. Brief and to the point I hope! One reason for the delay in updating the blog recently is that I have rediscovered my old copies of the incredible "Kicks!" magazine, which was the precursor to the whole Norton Records shebang. Rereading that stuff has fried my brain again, just as it did about 15 years ago when one of my workmates turned me on to the words of wisdom penned by Billy Miller, Miriam Linna and their Kickster cohorts.

There was no option but to open up a new library (called "Kicks", of course) on my laptop music player of choice (MusicBee) and rip  and upload piles of CDs of rockabilly, surf instros, teenbeat instros, greasy rhythm 'n' blues, and general late 50s - early 60s mayhem. Then I turned on Auto DJ and 5 days later here I still am, slumped in the old homestead while the laptop blares out through the HiFi. Luke McDaniels is playing right now, to be followed by somebody called The Crazy Teens (off of "Sin Alley"!) and then Joe Hill Louis. Oh and Elvis is coming up soon with "Money Honey." This could go on forever ... Aw hell, now it's Gentleman Jim and The Horsemen with "Soul Searchin'" - Help! Somebody get me outta here!

Savin' Those Sounds - Blues On 78 (re-up)

Side One

1. Rockin' With Red - Piano Red

2. Possum Hunt - Smokey Hogg

3. Off The Wall - Little Walter

4. Don't Start Me Talking - Sonny Boy Williamson

5. Boogie Chillen' - John Lee Hooker

6. Honey Honey Blues - Lightnin' Hopkins

7. Walking The Blues - Willie Dixon

Side Two

1. If You're Mine - Willie Dixon

2. Tell Me Mama - Little Walter

3. Sally Mae - John Lee Hooker

4. Moonrise Blues - Lightnin' Hopkins

5. Red's Boogie - Piano Red

6. Let's Get Together And Drink Some Gin - Smokey Hogg

7. All My Love In Vain - Sonny Boy Williamson

Ripped from shellac at 128 kbps by El Enmascarado

New download link:

http://www84.zippyshare.com/v/tbde3l2o/file.html

password = greaseyspoon

NEW NEW download link with no password:

http://www12.zippyshare.com/v/thsW6mgP/file.html

Original post (November 2011):

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/blues-on-78-album.html

This re-up of the blues "LP" compiled from El Enmascarado's rips from shellac 78 rpm discs represents the last-but-one stage in the recovery of the posts featuring the "mp3s from 78s" sent in by The Masked One. At present the "latest news" section in the blog sidebar contains the complete list of posts of these 1940s/50s 10 inch shellac discs, all of which have had new streaming audio installed following the collapse of Divshare.

Of course this will soon no longer be "latest news" and therefore I am presently constructing a new page which will list links to all the 78 posts plus links to the downloadable compilations of these rare discs. It will be a "one stop shop" for this unforgettable series of glimpses into R&B history.

The demise of Divshare has been a heavy blow to the blog as its streaming audio widget was on many posts. I've prioritized El Enmascarado's rips for new streaming audio, just as I prioritized the Joan Selects series for re-ups following the final disintegration of Rapidshare. I feel that this is only fair as both Joan and The Masked One put in a tremendous amount of work to bring rare sounds to Be Bop Wino.

Re-ups have dominated the blog for months now, but I hope to post some new stuff soon. One thing I noticed while uploading the 78 rpm singles to Box, was that in general they had more audio presence than rips from 1980s reissue vinyl. This was especially noticeable when listening to Sonny Boy Williamson's "Don't Start Me Talking" / "All My Love In Vain". The 78 version just had so much more whomp than the mp3s I had of these tracks from a 1980s "Chess Masters" 2LP set. And this was the despite the fact that the vinyl rips were at a much higher bit rate.

There's much talk these days of a vinyl revival, but c'mon folks, let's get back to shellac! That's where the action is!

Skid Row - Roy Milton (King 5069)

Listen to "Skid Row"

Recorded in Los Angeles, February 27th 1957. B Side of Roy's cover of "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu". Released in mid-July 1957.

Personnel (probably): Walter Williams (trumpet); Harvey Braxton (alto sax); Cliff Solomon (tenor sax); Oscar Estelle (baritone sax); Emmanuel Kennebrew (piano); Johnny Rogers (guitar); Lawrence Kato (bass) Roy Milton (drums).

Billboard review, 22nd July 1957: "Fine blues instrumental with a lot of mood and feeling, and a modified Yancey bass in the arrangement. Satisfying wax for the savants."

Ask and ye shall be given ... I must thank Corky who answered a request on the blog for this rare Roy Milton B side. As he said in his email "the disc was pretty trashed" but he has done a stand up job in removing the scratches, plus he has also supplied a label scan. Many thanks, sir.

The Billboard review sums up the record quite nicely - a moody bluesy instro with nice solos on guitar and alto and tenor saxes. The writer credits are to Roy Milton, trumpeter Walter Williams, tenor sax man Cliff Solomon and baritone sax player Oscar Estelle, so this may well be a little something cooked up during the recording session. Only one other side resulted from this particular session - "I'm Grateful" (King 5035) which featured a vocal by Roy.

You can download "Skid Row" (320 kbps mp3) plus label scan from here:

http://www89.zippyshare.com/v/Any90yMo/file.html

Grab it and add it to your download of "The Later Roy Milton" which is doubtless featuring strongly on all your current playlists. Have fun, folks, and thanks again Corky.

Todd Rhodes - Dance Music That Hits the Spot!

Side One:

1. Blues For The Red Boy

2. Pot Likker

3. Teardrops

4. Beet Patch

5. Blue Autumn

6. Specks

7. Echoes

8. Chicken Strut

Side Two:

1. Bell Boy Boogie

2. Rocket 69

3. Feathers

4. Thunderbolt Boogie

5. Red Boy Is Back

6. Snuff Dipper

7. Silver Sunset

8. Gin Gin Gin

I guess this should count as a re-up as I originally posted this LP back in October 2007 in the very earliest days of Be Bop Wino. This time round I've included brand new cover and label scans, so you now get the complete front and back covers for the very first time. In my view that makes it a kind of new post!

This is a 1980s reissue of King LP 658, originally issued in August 1959. The music spans the entirety of Todd's recording career with "Bell Boy Boogie" originating from his very first session with Sensation in July 1947 and "Silver Sunset", "Specks" aka "Space", "Echoes" and "Chicken Strut" being the complete last session for King in July, 1954.

Todd Rhodes was a native of Kentucky (born 1900), a trained musician who attended the Springfield School of Music (Ohio) and a big band veteran who played piano with McKinney's Cotton Pickers in the 1920s and 1930s. In the 1940s he settled in Detroit and led small bands which played around the many clubs in that city.

His first recording contract was with local label Sensation and his records were simultaneously released on the Chicago label Vitacoustic for national distribution. Before 1947 was out, Vitacoustic had gone belly up and a new national distribution deal was arranged with King Records. Detroit issues were still put out on Sensation but tension between the two companies led to a legal dispute which was won by King in 1951. From then on, all Todd Rhodes releases were exclusively through King who also bought out all existing Sensation masters. The information on the back cover of this LP only lists King release numbers.

The full story of Todd's early career is told in the notes to the excellent Ace CD "Blues For The Red Boy - The Early Sensation Recordings" CDCHD 856.



This is a CD I can highly recommend. It has superb sound quality (being from original masters) and gives a marvelous insight into the versatility  of the Todd Rhodes band - capable of sounding equally good on boppers, lush jazzers, boogies, blues and even occasional reworkings of classical pieces! If ever a jump band lived up to the title of "little big band", it was the Todd Rhodes outfit.

The "Dance Music That Hits the Spot!" LP can't match the CD for sound quality. In fact this release sounds like echo has been added to most of the tracks. It's still a cracking jump collection. The boogies are especially powerful and let's not forget that "Blues For The Red Boy" was chosen by Alan Freed as the introductory theme to his first "rock 'n 'roll" radio show in Cleveland.

Todd was credited with starting the career of Lavern Baker and also being an important influence on the career of Johnnie Ray as he worked with them both at Detroit's Flame Show Bar. He also backed Wynonie Harris on two sessions for King in July 1951 and January 1952, including a couple of memorably raunchy releases in "Lovin' Machine" and "Keep On Churnin' (Till The Butter Comes)".

Download from here:

http://www13.zippyshare.com/v/c6kK6Jup/file.html