Various Artists - Jack Jill & All Their Friends / Various - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Under the moniker of Night Beats, Texas native Danny Lee Blackwell has spent the last fifteen years exploring a nexus of vintage rhythm & blues, after-midnight soul, and sun-scorched psychedelia. On Night Beats' latest offering, Blackwell presents two markedly different renditions of his song InchBehind the Green Door.Inch On side A, we're treated to a down-tempo, minor key track drenched in the haze of vice, as if some aspiring Motor City outfit had traveled down to Austin and snuck into the studio to cut a song while The 13th Floor Elevators were on a smoke break. Or perhaps it's more akin to a meeting between Ray Charles, Skip Pence, and Link Wray. Or maybe it's Joe Tex grappling with Gram Parsons. Or Duane Eddy pairing up with Cedric Bixler-Zavala. Or maybe it's just years of Blackwell distilling and translating the sounds around him into his own concoction. Ultimately, InchBehind the Green DoorInch is an invitation to enter the kingdom and dwell in the garden while the shadow of doubt looms nearby, a subconscious journey into the delights and pitfalls of unknown territories made manifest in the music of Night Beats. Side B features the Rah John version of InchBehind the Green Door.Inch According to the Night Beats camp, Rah John was discovered by Blackwell on his recent expedition to the island Koh Khram Yai, located off the coast of Pattaya in the Gulf of Thailand. Not much is known about the young artist besides his love for 70's Thai disco and dancehall tapes received from local sailors. Hearing a streak of revelry buried in the Night Beats' tune, Rah John summoned a sunnier, breezier, and more exotic side to the Rhythm and Blues sway of the original.

Various Artists - Classical Evergreens / Various [COMPACT DISCS] date 11/24/2008

Various Artists - Their Stories & Music [COMPACT DISCS] date 04/16/1995