The Fat Angel Sings

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Often described as the first Southern rock album, the Allman Brothers Band‘s self-titled debut album was first released on November 4th, 1969. The album features a number of the band’s most well-known songs, like “Dreams”, “It’s Not My Cross To Bear”, and “Whipping Post”. It still looms large as the defining moment that the Allman Brothers were born.

From 1965 through 1969, brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman went through a number of band lineups—both separate and together. It took four years for the siblings to travel the country and get back to the basics in Jacksonville, FL, putting together a jam session featuring all of the band’s original players: Berry Oakley, Jaimoe, Butch Trucks, and Dickey Betts. This would be the lineup for two and a half years until Duane’s untimely death in October 1971.

In August 1969, the Allman Brothers Band was just cutting its teeth in the band’s new home of Macon, GA, when record executives enticed them to make the album. With a few reworked blues numbers and some originals penned by Gregg Allman, the band made its way to Atlantic Records in New York City to record. The Allman Brothers Band was recorded in just two weeks and quickly turned around for a release a few months later.

The album initially flopped on a national level, as the band’s Southern-influenced rock sound failed to take hold, but it helped turn Macon from a sleepy town into a vibrant musical community. That’s when the Allmans knew they were onto something. “They wanted us to act ‘like a rock band’ and we just told them to f–k themselves,” remembered Trucks.

Now, we can look back at this album to see a wildly talented band in its earliest days. The Allman Brothers Band may have had a lot of drama over the years, but at the heart of it all is its undeniable mission for authentic Southern rock and roll. That’s what you hear on “The Allman Brothers Band”, musicians who take their craft seriously but also know how to let loose and rock out.

Rocket, our latest CoSign, emerged in late 2023 with a supremely confident debut EP, featuring massive hooks and a whole lot of volume. Now, after cutting their teeth on tour opening for a variety of seasoned rock bands, the Los Angeles quartet have offered their official debut album, and it’s a blast. It can be hard to classify their sound, but in my humble opinion, Rocket are a straight-up rock and roll band. They play music with a visceral amount of energy and a restless, communal sonic language.

When they go for the outright rippers, like “One Million,” they sound enormous — but it’s the dreamier cuts, like “Another Second Chance,” that demonstrate their dynamism and willingness to muddy up the waters. As far as debut albums go, very few are as confident and sticky as “R Is for Rocket”.

Ian Shelton has been going through it. The Militarie Gun frontman has written honestly about his vices and mental struggles before, but as the album artwork and title for “God Save the Gun” suggests, this new album was really his “come to Jesus” moment. Now, that’s not to say it’s about belief in organized religion or even the transcendental power of a spiritual community — instead, Shelton tracks his experience getting sober and the way it’s changed his outlook on life, cramming hook-filled power pop cuts with full-throated meditations on aging, fucking up, and rising above. It’s certainly the band at their most mature, though the excellent, haywire lead single “B A D I D E A” suggests that they’re still happy to turn up the volume and get a little reckless.

Miltarie Gun are gearing up for the release of their anticipated new album “God Save the Gun” and they’ve just shared its third single, “Throw Me Away.” It’s a catchy, anthemic, ’90s-style alt-rock song that Ian Shelton says is “about the feeling of only being valued when you’re visible or useful and the desperate need to hold onto that. What someone loves about you one day might be cited as a reason they hate you now. It’s the desire for external validation and also the deep resentment of it.”

Militarie Gun have lots of tour dates coming up, including a tiny Brooklyn show at Alphaville next week That show is one day before they play Chicago’s Riot Fest, and that will be followed by one leg of tour dates with Death Lens and Milly and then another with Liquid Mike and Public Opinion.

“God Save the Gun” drops 17th October via Loma Vista,

Villanelle introduced themselves in the biggest way imaginable, receiving big receptions every night as the opening band on Liam Gallagher’s huge ‘Definitely Maybe: 30 Years’ tour.

Gene has been writing songs for as long as he can remember but only formed Villanelle earlier this year with Ben Taylor (guitar), Jack Schiavo (bass) and Andrew Richmond (drums). They made such an instant impact following early gigs such as at London rock ‘n’ roll pub The Marquis that Liam offered them the opening slot on his current tour.

Opening for one of music’s most iconic frontman playing one of the all-time most influential albums, in front of huge crowds on a bill completed by another indie great in the shape of Cast or The View was a sink-or-swim moment, but Villanelle naturally made the most of the opportunity. As Maximum Volume’s review of the Sheffield show enthused, “Gene has a neat line in cool insouciance, an even better line in lead guitar and some very decent songs. The surname might have got Villanelle on this bill, but it’s their talent that will keep them appearing on others.”

Villanelle have also already caused a wave of excitement following shows as guests to the likes of Seb Lowe, Overpass and Pastel.

Remembering Bert Jansch, born on this date in 1943. There might be no better time than the present to be a record collecting fan of Bert Jansch. Vinyl reissues from all stages of the Brit-folk guitar linchpin’s career have been flowing into the racks for a while now, and we’re currently experiencing a crescendo of material from the late singer-songwriter.

The 1960s was flush with fingerpickers, and Bert Jansch was amongst the very best. Adding to his appeal, the Scottish troubadour was also a capable vocalist, solid songwriter, and a deft collaborator, first teaming with fellow guitarist John Renbourn; in short order the duo co-founded the progressive folk combo Pentangle.

Jansch’s eponymous debut and its follow-up “It Don’t Bother Me”, both issued in 1965, have endured as classics, and for those wishing to become conversant with the man’s work, they are the place to begin; last year Superior Viaduct issued the LPs singly, and both will be part of Earth Recordings’ upcoming box set of Jansch’s output for the Transatlantic label.

This period remains the most lauded stretch in the guitarist’s oeuvre, in part due to its consistency and sharpness of focus. 1966 brought third album  “Jack Orion”, which both extends from and contrasts with its predecessor, the opening strains of banjo in “The Waggoner’s Lad” picking up where “It Don’t Bother Me’ finale “900 Miles” left off. The instrumental switch intertwines productively with Renbourn’s guitar, as his role, having commenced on the prior disc’s “Lucky Thirteen,” is deepened across four “Jack Orion” cuts to positive effect.

The most significant development is the preponderance of traditional material. Up to that point Jansch had mostly served up original songs to an occasionally outstanding result (e.g. “Needle of Death,” which will likely continue to be his most celebrated tune), but “Jack Orion” has none. Instead, he unveils “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” in a fresh, concise arrangement and then expands the title-track to over eight minutes, though many will recognize it from its lengthier side-long version on Pentangle’s 1970 effort “Cruel Sister”.

Culminating with an abrupt jump-cut into “The Gardener,” Jansch and Renbourn’s first stab at the Child Ballad still satisfies, with the traditional sources heightening the emotional impact throughout and nowhere more so than during “Nottamun Town.” From there “Jack Orion’s” second side just rolls, with the oft-recorded folk ballad “Blackwater Side” a highlight.

The fortuitous interweaving of the album’s trim running-time continued into the full-on co-billing of “Bert and John“, also from ’66, but Superior Viaduct’s reissues vault over that LP and ’67’s “Nicola” to arrive at ’69’s decidedly different “Birthday Blues“. Often breezy and consistently less intense than “Jack Orion“, the contents employ the Pentangle rhythm section of upright bassist Danny Thompson and drummer Terry Cox to appealing ends.

Appealing, but not breathtaking, though folks having discovered Pentangle without dipping into solo Jansch will likely find it a welcoming point of entry. As its title suggests, the disc leans toward blues structures, but the atmosphere is folky rather than heavy (with occasional harmonica injections by Duffy Power), even during the darker-tinted standouts like “Poison” and “Promised Land.” Filled out entirely with originals, the generically named closer “Blues” is anything but in aural terms, blending the ambiances of the coffeehouse and the jazz joint courtesy of Thompson’s bass.

Finding Jansch under the spell of “Birthday Blues’ sleeve designer, noted sculptor, future wife and inspiration for “Miss Heather Rosemary Sewell,” the disc is spiked with moments of uplift without ever coming on too strong in the positivity department. The overall heft might be lighter in comparison to his more acclaimed sessions, but it broadens the terrain of the Transatlantic years, and it’s still a keeper.

1971’s “Rosemary Lane” concluded Jansch’s run for the British indie as it took him back to the rudiments of guitar and voice with returning producer Bill Leader, whose hand guided all of the Transatlantic LPs except for the Shel Talmy-helmed “Birthday Blues“. Blending his own compositions with a few freshly arranged traditional sources, there’s also “Alman,” which is credited to 16th-17th century English composer Robert Johnson, and “Sarabanda” by Baroque-era Italian violinist-composer Arcangelo Corelli.

It all comes together with aplomb while resisting easy encapsulation as a career reset. Although a purely solo affair, the results are sonically bolder than “Bert Jansch” (which was recorded via reel-to-reel in Leader’s house), and the trad numbers (the title track, “Reynardine” and “Sylvie”) aren’t as severe in mood as what’s found on “Jack Orion“. Still, the general temperament is attractively pensive, even when slipping into bluesy mode.

Most prominently expressed in “Nobody’s Bar,” the folk-blues gestures occur less often than some might wish. Perhaps it’s this low ratio coupled with the lack of Renbourn or any other collaborative support that contributes to “Rosemary Lane” rep in some quarters as a likeably modest affair sandwiched between the full-band maneuvers of “Birthday Blues” and ’73’s “Moonshine” (which was reissued by Earth in 2015 on compact disc, standard vinyl, and later as a picture disc).

The reality is that “Rosemary Lane”, “Birthday Blues”, and “Jack Orion” are all important entries in the early work of a Brit-folk cornerstone. That all three are soon to be easily obtainable is cause for a little good cheer in a tumultuous time.

Remembering Bert Jansch on what would have been his 82nd birthday. In 2010, Jansch spoke about his career as one of Britain’s greatest guitarists, folk, blues, Led Zeppelin and being a “26-pints-a-night man”.

“Bert At the BBC” is a comprehensive collection of Jansch’s appearances at the BBC, featuring over eight hours of rare and unreleased recordings, including live-on-air spots, studio sessions and full concerts straight from the BBC vaults, delving further into this legendary performer’s canon. Bert Jansch was the very essence of folk music, providing inspiration for everyone from Paul Simon and Neil Young to Led Zeppelin and countless folk revivalists.

This unparalleled limited-edition compendium is available as a 4xLP and 8xCD set, housed in a coffee-table book set with a lavish 40-page book tracing the recordings from Bert’s earliest moments at the BBC. It includes interviews and insights from Lauren Laverne, Jools Holland, Johnny Marr, Jacqui McShee, Bob Harris, Bernard Butler, Mark Radcliffe and many more. Twenty broadcasters, producers and collaborators contribute at length to the booklet, with great affection for this gentle, maverick genius. Bert’s BBC legacy remains the most significant and exciting untapped reservoir of his music. The undeniable advantage of recordings made for broadcast is that they were, by their nature, created for public consumption and, barring live-on-air appearances – which might go well or go badly, but were going out either way – were explicitly signed-off by the artist as representations of his art that were good enough to be heard.

The set is compiled by Colin Harper, author of Dazzling Stranger: Bert Jansch and the British folk and blues revival (Bloomsbury, 2000), who contributes detailed liner notes to the package. The release is mastered by IFTA award-winning engineer Cormac O’Kane.

The vinyl release features 48 tracks on LP and is accompanied by a download card with over six hours of extras spanning 1966–2009, including BBC4’s St Luke’s concert (2003), and a complete Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh concert (2004) for BBC Radio Scotland. It is also available as a special 8xCD set containing all 147 tracks and encased within a coffee-table book.

“Bert Jansch At The BBC” is an epic and enduring trail, 45 years in the making. “He was that rarity, a musician who really did deserve to be regarded as a legend.” The Guardian // “As a guitar player there was no one like him. He was jazz and blues and folk but there was a whole world in there that was just him, esoteric” Johnny Marr.

Limited edition 4 LP “Coffee table” sized Bookback package, with 40 pages of liner notes, featuring unseen photos & exclusive interviews. DL card holds an additional 6 hours of tracks from the BBC Archives.

Pains Of Being Pure At Heart’s Perfect Right Now: A Slumberland Collection 2008-2010, blue clear and yellow version.

The Pains of Being Pure At Heart exploded out of the late 00s Brooklyn indie scene with a bright, distinctive sound that paid tribute to everything from C86 to early Slumberland, Sarah and Creation label pop, but with a distinct American flavour drawn from groups like Smashing Pumpkins and The Exploding Hearts. Their 2009 self-titled debut is rightly considered a classic, and with “Perfect Right Now” we’re thrilled to round out the story of The Pains‘ early years.

The ten tracks here compile the much-loved (and LONG out of print!) b-sides from the 7″s that accompanied that first album, the follow-up “Higher Than The Stars” EP, a couple of scarce tunes from split singles, and finally “Say No To Love,” a spectacular song that points the way forward to the band’s next chapter. There are some proper lost classics here, songs like “Kurt Cobain’s Cardigan” and “The Pains of Being Pure at Heart” that still pack the dancefloors at indie discos from Göteborg to Glasgow and we couldn’t be more excited to make them available again.

We’ll let Kip from the band have the last word: “Many of these songs, like those that comprised our debut record, were written in that *now* – making up in wild pop fantasy what we couldn’t quite yet achieve through musical ability.

Take early steps back to 1960s London with the Faces who were Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, Kenney Jones, Ronnie Lane and Ian McLagan to Faces’ first and previously unheard recording session at Olympic Studios in Barnes. Walk by the River Thames to Bermondsey to hear rehearsals in The Rolling Stones’ warehouse, the earliest recordings of Faces captured in all their raucous glory on the band’s own cassette tapes.”

Cactus’ version is a very similar arrangement but that album came out 2 years later Also Led Zeppelin’s first concert in USA they play the opening riff But that riff isn’t present like that in the source material

Take a step back to the late 1960s, when London was buzzing, Carnaby Street was swinging, and five young musicians were about to create one of the greatest British rock bands of their generation. Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, Kenney Jones, Ronnie Lane and Ian McLagan had just come together as Faces and now, for the very first time, fans will be able to hear their earliest recordings.

On 24th October 2025, The Faces Before “The First Step” will be released, featuring the band’s previously unheard 1969 sessions, recorded at Olympic Studios in Barnes and captured on their own cassette tapes at The Rolling Stones’ Bermondsey warehouse.

The Faces were formed in 1969 when members of Small Faces – Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Ian McLagan – joined forces with Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, both fresh from The Jeff Beck Group. With Stewart’s raspy voice and Wood’s rough-edged guitar, the chemistry was instant. The band became one of the UK’s most electrifying live acts, known for their unpolished, beer-soaked energy that influenced everyone from The Black Crowes to Oasis.

In reflecting on those early days, Ronnie Wood once said, “It was parties and rock ‘n’ roll, everything you could think of a rock star should be doing… And we did it to the fullest and beyond.”

Kenney Jones adds, “It was a real trip down memory lane … I just had a tear in my eye because it just seems like yesterday, and it wasn’t.”

Rod Stewart has also described how he first met Ronnie Wood, recalling the instant connection:
“We’re brothers.” – American Songwriter

Their debut album “First Step” landed in 1970, a bluesy, ragged but promising set that introduced their swagger to the world. They followed quickly with 1971’s “Long Player”, solidifying their reputation as one of Britain’s most vital live bands. Later that same year came their finest moment – “A Nod Is As Good As a Wink… to a Blind Horse” – featuring the worldwide hit “Stay With Me”, which gave them international recognition.

By 1973, with Stewart’s solo career on a rapid rise, the band delivered their swansong, “Ooh La La”. While the title track would go on to become one of their most beloved songs, the album’s release was marred by internal tensions. Bassist Ronnie Lane departed soon after, replaced briefly by Tetsu Yamauchi of Free.

The group carried on until 1975, but with Ronnie Wood sliding into The Rolling Stones and Stewart focusing on his solo superstardom, The Faces quietly dissolved. Though their time together was short, their music captured the spirit of the era – loose, raw, and full of heart.

Now, with The Faces Before “The First Step“, fans can finally hear the band’s beginnings with rough rehearsal tapes and raw studio takes that laid the foundation for their storied career.

Tracklist – The Faces Before The First Step
Shake, Shudder, Shiver (Take 1 Rough Mix)
Devotion (Take 1 Rough Mix)
Train (Take 4 Rough Mix)
Flying (Take 1 Rough Mix)
I Feel So Good (Rehearsal)
Evil (Rehearsal)
Shake, Shudder, Shiver (Rehearsal)
Pineapple and The Monkey (Rehearsal)

Blondie’s 1999 album “No Exit” The album was their first for 17 years at the time and features what was, frankly, a surprise UK number one single in ‘Maria’ along with its less successful follow-up, ‘Nothing Is Real But The Girl’.

The new 2CD deluxe edition features a remastered version of the standard 14-track album on the first disc while CD 2 offers Japan-only bonus track ‘Hot Shot’ (with additional production and mix by David Wrench) along with a selection of seven remixes (from the many that were issued back in the day).

The 2LP edition is actually the first time the album has appeared on vinyl. The album is spread over three sides with the fourth side reserved for ‘Hot Shot’ and three remixes. Both formats feature new sleeve notes and “mastering and sound restoration” is by Jessica Thompson. These expanded formats find no place for tracks recorded at the Lyceum Theatre in November 1998 which appeared on CD 2 of a European deluxe edition of the album and on various CD singles. The radio edit of ‘Maria’ is another notable omission.

For over four decades, Blondie has remained a true global icon—an enduring force whose influence has shaped and continues to inspire the worlds of music, fashion, and art. From their start as an irreverent Lower East Side punk outfit to their rise as international ambassadors of New York cool, Blondie embodies the punk spirit that still resonates across generations. Their fearless vision, chart-topping success, and rare longevity earned them an induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 and over 40 million albums sold worldwide to date. From the groundbreaking rock-disco hybrid “Heart of Glass” to the genre-blurring innovation of “Rapture,” the raw power of “One Way or Another,” and the breezy charm of “The Tide Is High,” Blondie helped reshape the musical landscape—bringing punk to the dance floor, introducing a wider audience to hip-hop sounds, and building a catalog of enduring, era-defining hits.

Blondie’s 1999 album ‘No Exit’ has been remastered and expanded for reissue and will be available on vinyl for the first time. Blondie’s No Exit marked their first studio album in 17 years upon its release in February 1999, following The Hunter (1982). The album features the UK number one hit Maria, alongside Nothing Is Real But The Girl and No Exit.

Recorded at Electric Lady Studios, Red Night Recording, and Chung King House of Metal in New York, the original release included 14 tracks. Later CD and cassette versions featured bonus material from Blondie’s 1998 Lyceum performance and an additional track, “Hot Shot”.

“No Exit” will be reissued by BMG on 31st October 2025.

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