Smith & Co

It's unlikely that many Brits of the 1950s ever picked a bale of cotton, lay their burden down by the riverside or rode a train that was 24 coaches long.  Nonetheless, when a motley crew of renegade UK jazzers began celebrating that imagery of Americana with a mix of respectful and playful gusto, soon inspiring a younger generation of would-be rockers to strum along, a rowdy revolution swept the country.  They called it Skiffle.

Commercially the Skiffle phenomenon was dominated by Lonnie Donegan (SCCD1123 & 1190) who'd bounced off his mentors, Ken Colyer and Chris Barber.  Other hitmakers included Wally Whyton's Vipers and Chas McDevitt with Nancy Whiskey.  But as Smith & Co's four previous volumes in this series have vibrantly showcased, across the nation there was a whole lotta skifflin' going on.  This fifth volume concludes the most authoritative, comprehensive and joyous guide to a remarkable period in British music history.  When the old country learned a lick & trick from across the pond, swirled it around the palate for awhile, added the zest of R&R and R&B and some unfamiliar accents, then shipped it back across the Atlantic with knobs on.  Without Skiffle, no Beatles, no Stones, no dice.

The fourth volume in this series is as fresh and fun filled as the previous 3 volumes of British Skiffle released on Smith & Co. The young enthusiastic musicians who discovered American R&B and Blues and gave it what was to become a uniquely British music style were unbelievably productive during the latter half of the fifties. All the great names featured on the previous releases are on show again with yet more skiffle of their hits as well as many hidden gems which have been discovered with the help of feedback from many of the fans who have bought the albums.With all three volumes released to date still selling on a weekly basis, this album, once again packed to the limit with 59 tracks, will be a sure fire addition for all collectors of the "Just about as good as it gets!" series.

Volume 3 of “Skiffle - Just about as good as it gets!” is a superb third chapter in a unique collection covering the finest recordings in this uniquely British genre! To quote Dave Travis, the compiler, “I think I can safely say that it has been so very enjoyable to be able to put together another fine collection of British Skiffle, the like of which we surely will never hear again. A prominent British Rock ‘n’ Roll magazine recently pondered the question as to how was it possible that the standard of Volume 2 was every bit as good as Volume 1? The answer, of course, is that despite the panning skiffle often received in the 1950’s press, an extraordinary quantity of fine music was laid down at the time and thankfully has survived. So rest assured this Volume 3 of British Skiffle is bang up to standard. Sit back, remember and enjoy…”

It will almost certainly never be possible to estimate the importance of the set of recordings made at the Decca Studios on July 13th. 1954 by the Chris Barber Jazz Band for a projected 10” L.P. ‘New Orleans Joys’. After completing the band’s section of the album, Barber joined up on bass with Lonnie Donegan on guitar and Beryl Bryden on washboard to record a couple of old Leadbelly songs as the Lonnie Donegan skiffle group. The LP was released to enormous acclaim and tremendous sales, resulting in singles being culled from the LP, until finally, after huge listener reaction to a play on BBC Radio, ‘Rock Island Line/John Henry’ were issued on the Decca Jazz Label in November 1955.
Lonnie was the catalyst, the man, who gave young people of that time, the feeling that they could make music. Hundreds of skiffle groups emerged all over the UK, most being amateur and simply having fun, whilst a select few rose above the rank of amateur and became extremely proficient, signing record deals and touring. A very small number had Hit records & achieved star status including Chas McDevitt & Nancy Whisky, the Vipers, Johnny Duncan and Bob Cort.
This collection follows on from the skiffle trail started in volume one, with an even stronger tracklisting as the music approached it’s zenith. Sadly those wonderful Skiffling days are long gone, but the musical memories will always be sweet. Skiffle took many a knock in it’s heyday from critics, who slammed it’s inherent simplicity, but, listening today, it is so gratifying to realise that actually those pundits were wrong, and to hear again just how good so many of the original Skiffle records actually were.

A lively, informal interpretation of early American roots music, Skiffle was initially performed in the UK in the late 1940s and early '50s by the rhythm sections of traditionalist jazz bands as a sort of novelty interlude during the bands' principal set. The 'novelty' became a constantly requested attraction and with the rise to fame of Lonnie Donegan (ref. SCCD1123) Skiffle changed forever a lot of young Britons perceptions of music. Given the starchy, repressive, post-war austerity in Britain at the time, it's not too far fetched to say that Skiffle was equivalent to punk rock of its era. This mid-price, 55 track double rounds up all the important Skiffle recordings of the period, there is no better compilation on the market.

The first four releases in Smith&Co's 'Just About As Good As It Gets!' series have been compiled and annotated by Dave Travis, a musician, label owner and publisher with a longstanding knowledge of his subject. They are being promoted to all relevant press and radio outlets by Go-For-It Promotions and will be advertised in relevant publications.

This isn't perhaps the most original of concepts, in fact we've previously released a similar compilation that sold extremely well.  And we expect this to do the same.  Here we re-present three of the past masters in the art of taking the seasonal opportunity to add a bit of tinsel to their careers by singing some of the most mellifluous (or in the case of Dean Martin, occasionally wacky) homages to 'that special time of year'.

It's almost inevitable that Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody" and Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" will be booming in your shopping malls and supermarkets this coming sell-in period.  But many a citizen, young and old, prefer it a tad more traditional and easier on the ear.  This 24-tracker fits those emotions and sentiments admirably.  Even if you're a dispassionate cynic you'd be hard-boiled not to acknowledge the vocal artistry of these three Kings Of Christmas.  Whether they ever eventually found their way to a lowly stable bearing gifts of frankincense and myrrh is another matter entirely.

Following up the success of the "Kings of Swing" what better than to release a "Kings of Christmas" CD to celebrate the Christmas period. The United States have produced many great artists and a great many of them have recorded Christmas repertoire, but few of them have enjoyed the success in this area of music than Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra. On this value for money CD both Elvis and Frank give us 12 unforgettable Christmas classics which we never tire of hearing. A must for Christmas!!!!!

101 of the most successful Country Hits from the last decades perfectly suited to Line Dancing, still a major recreation for hundreds of thousands  of fervent line dance fans. Whether you are a fan or not, Country Line Dancing is a major past time for millions of people throughout Europe. Check out the number of Line Dance Clubs with a website if you need confirmation! There haven't been many products released in the last few years catering for the Line Dance market, so this 5 CD pack, covering all the most popular Country Hits of the last 20 years and suited to the many different line dances should be a firm favourite.

All tracks performed by the Country Dance Kings

Whatever anyone might say, Country music has always been known for it's strong melody lines, never more so than when the subject matter was about being in love or cheated on or just plain dumped! This attractively priced 2CD 40 song set, packaged in a slip case, sees Nashville’s finest artists compiled together to sing about the loves of their lives or the heartbreak they have had to suffer. Every song featured on the package has been a Number 1 on the U.S. country charts and many have been cross-over successes either for the artist themselves or through covers by others. Don Gibson, Eddie Rabbit, Exile, Merle Haggard, Mel McDaniel, Eddie Raven, Hank Williams, Conway Twitty, Lee Greenwood, Juice Newton, Lynn Anderson, The Gatlin Brothers, Janie Frickie and the Statler Brothers amongst several others are featured on this double CD. The majority of the material featured has been re-recorded by the artists involved specifically for this project.

5CD's and 100 of the very best Dance hits from the last two decades. Includes over 20 UK Top 40 chart successes and vastly more UK Dance Chart Hits! An absolute 'Best of' Dance music encapsulating almost every major dance act to have emerged from Italy over the last 20 years. Gala, Robert Miles, Change, BB&Q Band, Spiller, Whigfield, Corona, Double You and Ice MC are just some of the major names included in this incredibly hot dance pack.

The BB&Q Band , which stands for the Brooklyn, Bronx and Queens Band, were a U.S. Soul/R&B formed in 1981 by the extremely successful production partnership of Jacques Fred Petrus and Mauro Malavesi. The Band were extremely successful particularly in dance clubs throughout Europe and the States. Their first album delivered the hit single “On the Beat” which charted internationally and reached the No. 8 spot on the U.S. Black charts. The second album, released in 1982, "All Night Long" delivered the single, "All night long (she's got the moves I like) and "Imagination" Their third album "Six Million Times" was not a major success and lead to the band being dropped by Capitol Records.

By 1985 Petrus had fixed a contract with Elektra Records and B. B. & Q. Band was back on track with their last album "Genie", including hits like the title track "Genie" and "Dreamer". The album sold very well, especially in Europe, but in 1986 the B. B. & Q. Band disappeared forever when Petrus was murdered!

This 2CD reflects the very best of BB&Q including all their Great Hits as well as the tracks and Re-mixes considered Essential by the aficionados of this 80's dance act. The digipak also includes a 24 page booklet detailing the bands career.

Change was an Italian-American Disco/R&B group formed in Bologna, Italy in 1979 by the creative genius of businessman and executive producer Jacques Fred Petrus (1949-1986) and Mauro Malavasi. The band had massive success throughout Europe in the 80's and this double CD contains every major hit from the band as well as those mixes and tracks that are considered essential to the serious collector, including 2 previously unreleased tracks. The digipak also includes a 32 page booklet covering the bands history.

The band's debut album, The Glow Of Love, was released in 1980 and featured the million seller "A Lover's Holiday". The follow-up hits from the album, "Searching" and the title song feature lead vocals by the then unknown Luther Vandross. The three songs combined spent 9 weeks at #1 on Billboard's Disco charts, enough to make it the #1 Disco album of the year and a million seller in the U.S.

The follow-up album, Miracles, featured the hits "Paradise", "Hold Tight," and "Heaven Of My Life," which, combined, spent 6 weeks at the number one spot in 1981 on Billboard's Disco chart.
With the help of up and rising producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis the group re-established itself having their first top ten R&B hit in three years with the title song from their Change Of Heart album in 1984. The following year the band released their final album, Turn On Your Radio, which featured the minor hit "Let's Go Together."

100 Glitter Ball Disco classics. 5 CD's of non-stop dance nostalgia for anyone who survived the 70's, 80's and 90's! This is a tremendous collection of the major names of Disco over the last 3 decades of the 20th. Century. Imagination, KC & the Sunshine Band, Gloria Gaynor, Phyllis Nelson, Mai Tai, Anita Ward, Taffy, Viola Wills and on and on, this is a disco fan's dream! From kitsch Euro hits like "Fly Robin Fly", to Italo classics such as "I Like Chopin" through to UK pop songs like "Just an illusion"  and on to US masterpieces such as "Ring my Bell", they're all here on this timeless collection

If ever a song title was prophetic in terms of an artist's career, then surely "I Will Survive" is a prime example of a title becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy when one discusses the career of Gloria Gaynor. Whilst many artists would consider such an iconic song to be a millstone around their necks, Gloria Gaynor has never felt that way at all and in recent interviews has actually gone out of her way to dispel any such notions.However, let's not forget that the hit which kicked it all off for Gloria and effectively started the Disco boom was her dance-floor friendly version of the Jackson Five's "Never Can Say Goodbye"

Both the above tracks were re-recorded by Yves Dessca in 1982, following her first two albums for MGM and her subsequent seven album releases for Polydor. Gloria switched labels and recorded an album of brand new material (apart from the 2 hits) for French label Ecstasy which signaled a change in direction with Gloria moving from the more Disco orientated material towards a more Pop and R'n'B sensibility. This is that album with a couple of additions in the form of 2 bonus re-mixes of her unforgettable hit "I will survive".

Phyllis Nelson was something of an anomaly in terms of the usual career paths followed by Black American female vocalists in that she performed for years in her native Philadelphia without any notable success before moving to France, writing her own songs and then scored a massive European hit in the process "Move Closer" – no doubt a daunting process as she had two sons to bring up at the same time! What is forgotten is that she was primarily a Disco artist and scored two hits that tend to be overlooked in favour of her slower number 1 UK hit, but "I Like you " was a U.S. dance chart number 1 and "Don't stop the Train" was also a very successful dance hit, especially on the New York gay scene.

This album highlights her great voice including a duet with Alain Delon on "I don't know" from the French film "Parole". Sadly, at the relatively young age of 47, Phyllis Nelson passed away on 12th January 1998 after a long-standing battle with breast cancer. Her music is her legacy. Enjoy!