Eight Bold Souls

Field Mob

Joe Harriott

As wave after wave of tracks and albums wash over our cyber-eyes and into our cyber-ears, I become more and more committed to exploring the past, to seeking out releases I learn about from my reading and conversations that sometimes end up barely available on Amazon or Discogs or eBay. Honestly, I find this pursuit more exciting—at least at present—than I do hearing new music, which I do continue to enjoy thoroughly. Though it does make me smack myself upside the head quite frequently: how did I miss 8 Bold Souls, Joe Harriott, and Field Mob—easily my favorite “excavations” of the year, and clearly significant innovators in their fields?

So, continuing to strive to counteract the pull of the dustbin of time, here are my 50 favorite purchases of old stuff from 2015 (the links don’t necessarily take you to tracks from the album, because, contrary to popular belief, “Everything is[n’t] on YouTube!”):

1. 8 Bold Souls: Last Option/Ant Farm/Sideshow/8 Bold Souls
2. Animals: We’re Gonna Howl Tonight
3. Bang, Billy: Bang On!
4. Barbieri, Gato: Chapter One – Latin America
5. Barker, Thurman: Strike Force
6. Beausoleil: Hot Chili Mama
7. Brotzmann, Peter: Tentet–Stone/Water
8. Chappelear, Leon: Western Swing Chronicles, Vol. 2
9. Cook, Elizabeth: Gospel Plow
10. Curtis, King, and Champion Jack Dupree: Blues at Montreux
11. Dexateens: Lost and Found
12. Dunn, Bob: Master of the Steel Guitar
13. Field Mob: From Tha Roota To Tha Toota/613—Ashy but Classy
14. Garner, Erroll: Afternoon of an Elf
15. Geller, Herb: Plays the Songs of Arthur Schwartz
16. Gordon, Roscoe: Let’s Get High–The Man-About-Memphis!
17. Hamilton, Chico: Man from Two Worlds
18. Harriott, Joe: The Joe Harriott Story
19. Horribly Wrong: C’Mon and Bleed with…The Horribly Wrong
20. Hayes, Clifford, and the Louisville Jug Bands: Volume 1 (1924-1926)
21. Ice Cube: The Essentials
22. J-Wonn: I Got This Record
23. Katey Red: Melpomene Block Party
24. Keith, Tyler: Tyler Keith is The Apostle
25. Lane, Ronnie: Ooh La La–An Island Harvest
26. Lewis, Furry: 4th and Beale
27. Lonesome Sundown: I’m a Mojo Man–The Excello Singles
28. McIntyre, Makanda Ken: In the Wind
29. Memphis Slim: The Come Back
30. Murray, Sunny (with Sabir Mateen): We Are Not at The Opera
31. Newborn, Phineas: Here is Phineas/Fabulous Phineas
32. No Speed Limit: Sweet Virginia
33. Pickett, Charlie, and The Eggs: Live at The Button
34. Prince Buster: Jamiaca’s Pride / Rocksteady
35. Raw Spitt: Raw Spitt
36. Sani, Mammane et son Orgue: La Musique Electronique du Niger
37. Schlippenbach, Andrew Von: Monk’s Casino
38. Selvidge, Sid: Waiting for a Train
39. Smart, Leroy: The Don Tells It Like It Is
40. Soulja Slim: The Streets Made Me
41. Super Chikan: Shoot That Thang/ Blues Come Home to Roost
42. Townsend, Henry: Mule
43. Twilley, Dwight: I’m on Fire! 1974-1984
44. Various Artists: The Last Soul Company—Malaco, A Thirty Year Retrospective
45. Various Artists: Rare Electric Blues—’60s Era
46. Various Artists: Wrestling Rocks!
47. Vinson, Eddie “Cleanhead”: The Original Mr. Cleanhead
48. Waldron, Mal, and Steve Lacy: Live at Dreher Paris 1981
49. White, Bukka: Sky Songs
50. X_X: x_StickyFingers_x