News: Wounded Bird releases second Eleventh House album!

Following on the announcement of Lighthouse, I think most of you will be even more excited that the second Eleventh House album is finally coming out on CD. This album has alluded the digital treatment so far, whereas the first album has been released at least twice.

Review added to UMR

Label advertises: "Larry Coryell is best known as one of the original jazz-fusion guitarists of the 1970s. He is still making excellent albums to this day. He has issued solo albums, along with collaborations with John McLaughlin and other fusion-jazz luminaries. He also headed up the highly praised fusion group The Eleventh House. This group featured drummer Alphonse Mouzon and keyboardist Mike Mandel. One of the most requested fusion albums for CD reissue has been Level One. This album is now making its worldwide CD debut!" 

Again we call on Dusty Groove to give their imitable review: "A really heavily-jamming album from Larry Coryell's Eleventh House group – certainly to be expected, given that the lineup includes John Lee on bass, Mike Mandel on keyboards, and Alphonse Mouzon on drums! The sound has plenty of rock-fusion touches – and Coryell's guitar is searing, but a bit more mainstream than before – certainly not slick, but just jamming like a range of other similar players from the same time. Titles include "Nyctaphobia", "That's The Joint", "Struttin With Sunshine", "The Other Side", and "Some Greasy Stuff"."

News: Wounded Bird releases first Lighthouse album

And today we have three more interesting CD announcements that warrant mention.

Wounded Bird is always a label worth watching. Even though their releases tend to be old school early 90's styled bare bones jewel cases (like One Way from the days of yore), they are at least legit and usually straight from the master tapes.

About two years ago we announced that the first 3 Lighthouse albums were coming out on a label called Bandiera. I never saw anything further on that. Not sure if they didn't get issued, or if the label wasn't legit. No matter now, as this release is for certain worth tracking down.

The label says: "Lighthouse was a rock group from Toronto, Canada that issued a number of fine albums in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The group was headed up by drummer Skip Prokop. Their music was in the style of the horn bands of that era. Their most popular album was their self-titled very first album, Lighthouse, which was issued on RCA Records in 1969. Our CD reissue features two bonus tracks." 

Dusty Groove adds: "The first record by Lighthouse – a strange band that's always incredibly hard to peg, but who have a sound that we always end up liking a lot! The group mix together folk rock styles with a touch of soul and funk – going for some nice grooves that build up from lots of drum work and airy vocal production, touched here by lots of horns, in a style that's a bit like Blood Sweat & Tears, but a lot lot cooler! This first album is something of a landmark in the jazz/rock vein – and titles include "Never Say Goodbye", "Follow The Stars", "Mountain Man", "Whatever Forever", "Marsha, Marsha", and a great cover of "Eight Miles High". This CD version from Wounded Bird has 2 bonus tracks: "If There Was A Time (Single Version)" and "Eight Miles High (Single Version)".

News: Wounded Bird reissues Macondo album

Here's one I've had in the collection for years, but forgot to add to the CD Reissue Wish List. I don't have to worry about that now! Macondo is a fine example of the Latin rock craze of the early 70s, spearheaded by the success of Santana. It's not quite at that level (or even Chango or Dakila for that matter), but still a fine representation of the style.

News: Wounded Bird to reissue Stardrive soon

Stradrive's 1974 self-titled album, sometimes known as "Stardrive featuring Robert Mason" will be coming out soon on the Wounded Bird label.