Common Holly - When I Say To You Black Lightning - CASSETTES

Nigel North - Lute Suites 4 [COMPACT DISCS] date 02/17/1998

Late in 2002, after Dave left for California, that's when the short-lived but now infamous 'Lester Sessions' were happening. It was on one of those cold, rainy, Clifton tuesday nights that the missing piece finally fell into place...  That same night we wrote  our first two songs, 'Dead Again' and 'Three Bags'. We were hitting it hot, right out of the box... So we locked ourselves away and descended into an intense, year-long songwriting binge, that we chased with a weekend recording session with friend and former Robert Randolph & The Family Band, etc keyboardist John Ginty. The result was our self-titled, three-song EP; stripped down and raw, but keeping in the spirit of a highly-charged live rock 'n roll band... Then, like everything else, things started to change... In April 2004, original drummer Dan Scardino exited to the left, and from the right stepped in old friend and local drum hero John Hummel. Six months and a few 'fired-up' New York City shows later, we were back at The Shark, laying down tracks for our full-length debut CD, Deep Field South. With Ginty (who also performs on three tracks) back at the helm, Deep Field South was recorded and mixed in less than a month, and captures an even purer version of this 'tight as hell' rock band. Released in January of 2005 it features ten brand new, original songs, including live favorites 'Nicotine Machine', 'Line In The Sand' and 'The Rising Storm'. Bob Makin of The Daily Record referred to us as 'retro-minded modern rock'. Alan Tecchio of Steppin' Out writes, '(they've got) soulful riffs and singing, and a tight-as-hell rhythm section...' It's like the sound that takes you back to the early, primal moments of rock and roll; the days of one guitar, one bass, one drummer and a singer with a straight stand. Please check out our website for more info.

Things were changing in the late 1960's and when the 70's swept on in, a rock and roll renaissance followed (Elton John, Leon Russell and Joe Cocker to name a few). Keen to ride the wave, budding producer Fred Packham and his band 'Raw' felt that Buddy Holly had a collection of lesser known rock & roll gems that they wanted to put a fresh, new spin on (hence creating Raw Holly). Only including a few token tracks such as best-seller InchMaybe-BabyInch and InchRaining in my HeartInch they mostly took Holly album oldies (many of which without a previous single ), reimagined, reinvigorated and delivered them in this magical blend of strong vocals and beautiful instrumentation. Capturing all the excitement and expert musicianship of their live shows in a crisp studio setting, this album was originally laid down in London's Tin Pan Alley and then released on Coral Records in 1971 and showcases Ian Campbell's impressive vocal range and Zed Jenkins' mastery of the guitar (and also of the sitar on InchWhat to Do?Inch).