BEEHIVE CANDY

Reloaded 05/May/2015  King Crimson made their live debut on April 9th, 1969. They became widely known three months later, by playing at the free concert in Hyde Park, London, staged by The Rolling Stones in July 1969, before 650,000 people. The first King Crimson album, In the Court of the Crimson King was released in October 1969 . Among those impressed by the album was Pete Townshend from The Who, who described the album "as an uncanny masterpiece." King Crimson (along with quite a few other bands) have been credited as the founders of progressive rock - I am never really sure if that is a good thing! This is King Crimson live at The Fillmore West, San Francisco, on the 14th of December 1969. King Crimson were the opening act at the Fillmore West on this particular night, providing support for The Chambers Brothers and The Nice. Not only was this the final night of King Crimson's first U.S. tour, it was also the last concert played by the original lineup. Se

Reloaded 03/May/2015.  This is Louis Armstrong performing at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA, way back on the 4th May 1954. During the 1950's Louis Armstrong and His All Stars undertook a considerable amount of touring. Also his recordings 'Satch Plays Fats, all Fats Waller tunes', and 'Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy' both released in the 1950s were perhaps among the last of his great creative recordings. Following a highly successful small-group jazz concert at New York Town Hall on May 17th, 1947, featuring Armstrong with trombonist/singer Jack Teagarden, Armstrong's manager Joe Glaser dissolved the Armstrong big band (August 1947) and established a six-piece small group featuring Armstrong with (initially) Teagarden, Earl Hines and other top swing and dixieland musicians, most of them ex-big band leaders. The new group was announced at the opening of Billy Berg's Supper Club. This group was called Louis Armstrong and his

The rules are simple, anything we like, no particular order, as and when we can, so here's our first 2015 round up, of new or very recent material received. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chanel Samson . Chanel Samson's 'The Beginning' EP is inspired by this Californian girl's time in Liverpool, the men in her life, her friends, and one particular doomed relationship with Matthew. The track 'F U Matthew' documents the doomed love affair but it's as cheerfully upbeat and irreverent as Chanel herself. Her lyrics are biting yet playful, and her delivery is tongue in cheek and knowing, allowing her to explore the darker aspects of relationships without ever losing that Californian sunshine smile. 'The Beginning' EP was recorded and produced by Felix Hagan, lead singer and songwriter of Felix Hagan and the Family. Chanel met Felix last year and was initially dr

Some more recent new music that I wanted to share, again in no particular order and genre hopping, however I was reliably told many years ago that 'variety is the spice of life', shame I had such a misspent youth as all that 'variety' seems to have come back with a sting in the tale. Anyway down to business... Alborosie Meets King Jammy is a historic pairing of one of Jamaica’s most pivotal dub legends King Jammy with the modern day Italian-born dubmaster Alborosie. Last month they released 'Dub Of Thrones' a mostly instrumental collection of material and very fine music we think. If you like Dub or reggae or anything remotely in that direction this is for you! Mixed by Alborosie at his Shengen studio and King Jammy at his studio in the Waterhouse district of Kingston, this old-school meets new-school clash delivers an authentic dub reggae listening experience. With speaker-shaking, neighbor-waking and no-prisoner taking bass, this is designed to be pla

This is a fascinating selection of Gram Parsons rehearsal tapes from 1972, and I will quote a little from the liner notes that accompanied this CD version which surfaced on 'Golden Eagle Records' in the USA in 2003. I have included a separate file with the artwork and notes as these are well worth a read. The record companies holding Gram Parson's material have more or less exhausted what material there is from his sadly short life and as Chris who provided these recordings to me pointed out (by the way, thanks Chris) a lot of the bootleg material for Gram Parsons is of fairly average audio quality. The five audio tapes that this CD was compiled from, were included in an auction lot at Christies that was bought by one of Gram Parsons biggest fans and were part of a selection of Gram's personal belongings that went to auction. The five cassettes dated from 1972 and include Emmylou Harris and others on some of the tracks that were most likely recorded through a

Playing catch up here on Beehive Candy does have it's upside. Today I was going through getting on for 100 artists and their music, playing a little piece from each and deciding whether to feature them, delete & move on, or play again and see if my mood just didn't fit the music at the time. Well I must have been in a pretty good place because as I have around thirty artists I have short listed to feature and that's in addition to the many that deserve a mention still, whilst we were 'sleeping'. Joni Fatora was a real stand out artist amongst the many I listened to today, taking nothing away from the rest, she just grabbed my attention the most. I remember the first time I heard First Aid Kit singing Cross Oceans a good few years ago, I am certain I was not the only person who thought they would reach greater heights back then. Well I'm not directly comparing the music, rather the freshness and distinct charm of Joni Fatora's music, and that feeli

Get in there quick folks, here's a chance to download a free copy of a really great song from Dioni Sydney’s Sweet, Soulful, Sassy Chanteuse - Australian Pop Singer! (someone else's words after 'Sydney's' - but hey they work).  You only have a few days and I have to say if you love Dusty Springfield or Sandie Shaw, this is a must. Quoting elsewhere - "Blessed with a heavenly voice and showing her masterful use of a huge range while incorporating warm beautiful lows and powerful honey dipped highs." -O Kosmos Her promo tells us that -  Dioni has traveled extensively throughout Greece, performing in ancient theatres and stadiums in support of bands such as Faithless, Soft Cell, and The Chemical Brothers. She has also collaborated with many other respected European electronic artists. Dioni has performed as a solo artist in Australia, France, Germany, Greece, and Qatar. Dioni is an extraordinarily versatile artist who has a multilingual repertoire