Ace レコード& CD

Review: Ace Records are she-pop experts who have kept a constant stream of high quality offerings from the 1960s coming. Featuring mostly British and American artists the label now widens its net to serve up a pair of high impact tunes from their well-received Ciao Bella! Italian Girl Singers Of The 1960s compilation CD. Brunetta's 'Baluba Shake' has big and cavernous drums, plucked guitar riffs and rollicking great chords next to lung-busting vocals. It's a real dancer. Things get more impassioned on the high speed funk chase that is Rita Pavone's 'Il Geghege.'

Review: The soundtrack to Jon Savage's monumental history of LGBTQ influence on popular culture is an essential double CD compilation that traverses the clandestine alongside the openly celebrated. Featuring artists from Joe Meek to Buzzcocks, Patrick Cowley, Tom Robinson Band, Lesley Gore, Billy Fury and Little Richard, it encapsulates the hidden and overt narratives of LGBTQ life in post-war music. Starting with the groundbreaking success of Little Richard in 1955, the compilation captures the coded expressions of the 50s and 60s, mirroring the societal secrecy and oppression faced by the gay community. As the music progresses into the early 70s, it reflects the era's burgeoning openness, marked by the influence of icons like David Bowie. The tracks span pop, Tamla, soul, glam rock, and the early funk and disco sounds that dominated underground New York clubs, ultimately leading to the disco explosion of the late 70s. This compilation is a tribute to freedom and the intertwined worlds of music and sexuality. Some artists identify as LGBTQ+, others are included for their impact on or by the gay aesthetic, making a heartfelt homage to the diverse and rich history of music shaped by the community. A vibrant and significant cultural journey.

Review: And the award for most apt compilation title of the year goes to... While on face value it may seem like the USA's Pacific North West and UK's English North West have very little in common, this collection of tracks confirm there are similarities. And they go further than the damp conditions both regions often have to endure. Cheshire-born Burgess and West Coast native Stanley have been friends for 30 years, and their respective homelands collide here. Tim Peaks Diner, established by the former as a festival pop up, apparently owes much of its stylings to "Twin Peaks", and that series-cum-movie-cum-legend has inspired much of the soundtrack to said eatery. New Wave (The Chills), opiate folk (Gwenno), psychedelic country (Blue Orchids) and plenty more help capture the mood of a fantastical waypoint on some fictional road trip.

Review: Since the release of Make Mine Mondo in 2018, fans have eagerly awaited a follow-up - and the second instalment is a thrilling collection of wild instrumentals, rockabilly, garage rock and energetic r&b. This compilation collects some rare music that helps the collection of obscure tracks be a blend of the quirky, the rebellious and the heartbroken. It's a fascinating mix of the mad, the bad and the dangerous, each song oozing raw energy and a sense of urgency. Volume 2 proves just as captivating as its predecessor, delivering an exhilarating ride through the fringe of musical history. Expect the unexpected.

Review: Paul Weller is perhaps one of the best non-soul musicians to ask to compile a rare soul compilation. Rather than documenting soul music as it proliferated in the 1960s, Ace Records' soul aim was to capture a genre, fashion and style as one man saw it in retrospect, in light of his involvement in the mod revival of the mid 1970s. Weller would later go onto form and front The Jam, but in late 1974, shortly before his involvement in the punk movement, he was about none of that business at all. Punk partly grew on febrile tissues of mod, which was in turn an offshoot of 60s soul; and it is true that we may hear a foetal form of the sound in the brasher cuts on this record, be it Billy Stewart's 'Summertime' or James Carr's 'Pouring Water'. Also clock Brother To Brother's 'In The Bottle', a super-early drum machine blues gem perfect for the house heads.