Here’s a tune from the early days of reggae by Nora Dean, who earned herself a place in the niche genre of “naughty” reggae, best known for her saucy hit Barbwire (In His Underpants).

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I think it’s that gorgeous melody played on a harpsichord – or is it a hammered dulcimer? – that makes this Four Tet track so special. It lends the tune, from his 2017 album New Energy, a kind of medieval madrigal vibe that chimes so well with the sleepy beats.

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I have to confess I’ve been a bit late getting into Michael Kiwanuka. Which is strange, because I saw one of his very first shows.

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Ringo Starr releases the first track from a new album of country songs written and produced with T Bone Burnett at the age of 84.

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Garnet Mimms is the guy who sang the original version of Cry Baby, better known (to me, at least) for Janis Joplin’s overwrought version, back in 1963.

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Happy Hallowe’en folks! And nothing says Hallowe’en like a Northern Soul banger with a spooky title.

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The growling blues-boogie of La Grange gave ZZ Top their big breakthrough in 1973, though they were already on to their third album by then – and would go on to enjoy a second lease of life in the ’80s.

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Mississippi bluesman Junior Kimbrough did not come to fame until he was in his sixties – but made a lasting impression with his Hill Country Blues.

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“You got to have a J-O-B if you wanna be with me… No romance without finance.” This is one of the finest funk and soul singles of all time – despite its far-from-feminist materialistic message; it was the ’80s after all. (more…)

Leroy Van Dyke’s first job as a livestock auctioneer inspired the song that brought him to fame back in 1956.

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