Missionaria Protectiva

        When it comes to groove, especially on bass, it’s all about feel. It’s a quality that perhaps can be taught, but oftentimes you’ve simply either got it or you don’t. And Bolt Thrower’s Jo Bench seems to have been born with it as the grind-turned-death-metal group helped spawn and popularize some of metal’s most enduring styles. Arguably the greatest groove-based band in death metal history, the now defunct Bolt Thrower never made even a remotely lukewarm album, much less an outright bad one. There for the whole ride was Bench, keeping the treads of the war machine moving forward with devastating effectiveness. BOLT THROWER The Peel Sessions Strange Fruit,1988 https://www.sendspace.com/file/akb7yo

        Johnny Winter was born in Beaumont, Texas, in 1944, and grew up with music all around him. He started cutting records age 15, and got his big break in 1968 when Mike Bloomfield invited him to play in New York, Columbia Records paid attention and gave him a record advance. His debut album, 1968’s  The Progressive Blues Experiment , showed which way the wind was blowing.       Winter would enjoy a prolific career, making the angular silhouette of the Gibson Firebird his calling card – most notably his 1964 Polaris White Firebird V – but so too his  slide chops and fierce attack, the flurry of triplets and double-stops . Like many blues players of his age the influence of Muddy Waters was writ large in his style. Winter would repay the favor, jamming with Waters and producing three studio albums for him. Captured Live! Blue Sky,1976 https://www.sendspace.com/file/vgh1rb

        Neal Allan Doughty  is an American keyboardist, best known as a founding member of the rock band  REO Speedwagon  and the only member to have played on every album. He formed the band in the fall of 1966, with original drummer Alan Gratzer (who left REO in 1988).       Although he has never been one of REO Speedwagon's primary songwriters, Doughty has written or co-written several of the band's songs ( Sky Blues , One Lonely Night , Variety Tonight ).       His most notable playing includes the  Hammond organ  solo on "Roll with the Changes" and the  honky-tonk  piano work on " 157 Riverside Avenue ".         He was an early adopter of the  Moog synthesizer , which can be heard on the opening swoop of "Ridin' the Storm Out". REO Speedwagon REO Speedwagon Epic,1971 https://www.sendspace.com/file/2wwp0r

        It wasn’t just the yodeling or the heavy riff that made Focus’ “Hocus Pocus” a classic – it was the eight (count ‘em) short drum solos, every one electric and different. And that’s not even Pierre van der Linden’s best moment– that would be “Anonymous II,” where his propulsive ride-cymbal work keeps the track zooming along for a full 26 minutes. FOCUS Making Waves Imperial,1971 https://www.sendspace.com/file/jhzvez

        Daughter of Detroit’s acclaimed Baptist preacher, the Reverend C L Franklin, Aretha Louise Franklin was just into her twenties when she signed to  Atlantic  in November 1966, but had already experienced more than a dozen years in the music biz.       When Aretha arrived at  Atlantic Records  she immediately began recording at a heady pace. In 1967 and 1968 she released four albums –  I’ve Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You) ,  Aretha Arrives ,  Lady Soul  and  Aretha Now  – a fierce prolificacy aided by the groups of studio musicians who accompanied her – the Alabama boys at Fame in Muscle Shoals, the Dixie Flyers at Criteria in Miami, the crack New York players and a super-hot Los Angeles team. Each added a fresh spice to Aretha’s stew.       By 1969 Aretha was recording material for her two 1970 albums,  This Girl’s In Love With You  and  Spirit In The Dark , a...

        Joey Vera is best known for holding down the spot in Armored Saint since 1982. His talents help give the band their anthemic style with powerful creativity and at other times, the perfect restraint with his rumbling tone being one of the best in the biz. He’s also served as Fates Warning’s bassist since 1997, showing off his progressive side with artful fills and complex rhythms and, since 2019, he's a part of legendary metal outfit Mercyful Fate. ARMORED SAINT Armored Saint (EP) Metal Blade,1983 https://www.sendspace.com/file/gqq2o4

        Six-time Grammy winner McKinley Morganfield ruled the Chicago blues scene from the mid 1940s on. Moving from Clarksdale, Mississippi in 1941 and switching from acoustic to  electric guitar  two years later, Morganfield (now Muddy Waters) assembled a band of the finest players in town, including Little Walter (harmonica), Otis Spann (piano) and Jimmy Rogers (guitar).        Muddy was rarely seen without his red  Fender Telecaster , on which he mostly played slide and the occasional riff, but his legend and musical influence remain almost unequalled. As B.B. King put it, “It’s going to be years before people realise how great his contribution was to American music.” The London Muddy Waters Sessions Chess,1972 https://www.sendspace.com/file/6yubwh

        Fritz is best known as a member of the West German band Triumvirat. Triumvirat were a progressive, keyboard-driven band which existed in the 1970s. Fritz was the only consistent member in the band’s history, appearing on all seven of the band’s studio albums.       Fritz also served as a composer for two films,  Es ist nicht leicht ein Gott zu sein  (in English:  Hard to Be a God ) and  Eine Frau für gewisse Stunden . The latter is credited to Triumvirat, though they had since been disbanded. Fritz won an award for Best Original Soundtrack at the Sitges International Film Festival. TRIUMVIRAT Pompeii  ( Capitol,1977 ) https://www.sendspace.com/file/jsfpnr

        Jethro Tull never had a bad drummer, but its founding member Clive Bunker stands out for his sense of swing and imaginative use of incidental percussion when the band was still out to play mainly jazz and blues. Listen to the Aqualung track “Up to Me,” and be impressed by the array of sounds he adds to an acoustic number.   JETHRO TULL Aqualung Chrysalis,1971 https://www.sendspace.com/file/7mvkdf

        One of the greatest female singers of Southern soul music, Ann Peebles grew up singing gospel in her father’s Baptist choir, idolising and occasionally backing the legendary Mahalia Jackson.       Her secular music career began with an impromptu performance at the Rosewood club in Memphis in 1969, which caught the attention of famed producer Willie Mitchell of Hi Records ( Al Green ‘s label).       Alongside  Green  it was Ann who shaped the Hi soul sound with her hits;  I Can’t Stand The Rain  (1973), and  I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down  (1974) – but it is her lesser-known tracks like  Trouble, Heartaches and Sadness  from her second album –  Straight From The Heart   (1971) – that best exemplify her forthright gospel-inflected country soul.       While her vocal style is similar to  Tina Turner ‘s, Ann brought with it a subtl...

        Hamilton took up the guitar at age twelve and switched to electric bass two years later. He found himself on the East Coast and joined a band with Joe Perry named “The Jam Band.” While playing in New Hampshire, Perry and Hamilton met Steven Tyler at a show and decided to combine their respective musical projects and move to Boston in 1970. After a few personnel changes, the group officially formed the band “Aerosmith” and signed a record deal with Columbia Records in 1972.       Hamilton, a consistent member of the group, hadn’t missed an Aerosmith performance until 2006 when he was diagnosed with throat and tongue cancer. He has since undergone treatment and was able to rejoin the band for various tours and recording endeavors. Currently, he continues to deal with health issues and has taken a break from touring with the group. AEROSMITH Night In The Ruts CBS,1979 https://www.sendspace.com/file/qtkp9n

         You kind of get the impression from Joe Bonamassa that his position as the highest-grossing blues artist of all time is a little embarrassing – thrilling, sure, but it’s quite the affirmation. Perhaps this is why he has made it his life’s mission to widen the blues’ appeal.        Bonamassa leads with his fingers when it comes to advocacy, toting a muscular, pyrotechnic style that not only references the '60s British blues scene, and the pantheon of electric blues greats, and classic rock and prog when the song requires it. A New Day Yesterday Live Premier Artists,2002 https://www.sendspace.com/file/z5xy3b

        Payne is best known to rock & roll fans as the longtime keyboardist with the roots rock and rockin' blues band  Little Feat . Partly because he's been such a sought-after studio musician all these years, it wasn't until 2005 that he finally cut a record under his own name. Payne co-founded the band with  Roy Estrada ,  Richie Hayward , and the late  Lowell George  in 1969. He had a role in writing or singing most of the band's major, now classic tunes, including "Oh Atlanta," "Day or Night," "Time Loves a Hero," and "Gringo." He's also got a sessionography as a keyboardist that amounts to literally hundreds of recordings.  LITTLE FEAT Hoy-Hoy ! WB.1981 https://www.sendspace.com/file/nmhf6g

        To put it bluntly,  Rick Wakeman ’s solo bands tended to feature players who were in no danger of upstaging him. Flashy drummer Tony Fernandez was one of the few who made his presence felt, especially when he was the only other player. On “Montezuma’s Revenge” (from the  White Rock  soundtrack) he adds some wild touches to an already wild piece. He’s currently in Wakeman’s former band Strawbs, whose recent  Settlement  album marks them as one of the few classic-era prog bands still doing A-level work. RICK WAKEMAN 1984  (Charisma,1981) https://www.sendspace.com/file/96oi2n

        Alma Angela Cohen Cogan   was an English singer of  traditional pop  in the 1950s and early 1960s. Dubbed the "Girl with the Giggle in Her Voice", she was the highest paid British female entertainer of her era. Alma Cogan Columbia,1965 https://www.sendspace.com/file/0nmcc3

        Dunn was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee and is best known for his session work at Stax studios. Working alongside Steve Cropper, Al Jackson and Booker T. Jones, he was the bass player in the band Booker T and the MGs and had hits with instrumentals such as “Hang em High” and “Time is Tight.”       The group functioned as the house band at Stax, backing up many blues and soul artists including Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Sam and Dave, Eddie Floyd, Albert King, Isaac Hayes and The Staple Singers. Throughout his career, he also laid down the groove for Freddie King, Jerry Lee Lewis, John Prine, Rod Stewart, Eric Clapton and many others. BILL WITHERS Just As I Am Sussex,1971 https://www.sendspace.com/file/2ff6z4

        King fashioned his first guitar from a cigar box, with a tree branch neck and strung it with a strand of broom wire. When he finally got a guitar, being left-handed he simply turned the right-hander upside down and played with the strings reversed.         This down-stringing made his action very pliable. Albert could play a whole lick by bending his top string by a 4th and letting it down to create other intervals.        After various attempts at a record deal he moved to Memphis and was signed by soul label Stax, with superb house band Booker T & The MG’s. The MG’s backed King on his legendary 1967 album  Born Under a Bad Sign  which contained the brilliant  Crosscut Saw ,  The Hunter  (covered by Free),  Oh Pretty Woman  (covered by Gary Moore) and the title track (covered by Cream).       Nicknamed The Velvet Bulldozer due to his huge size but swe...

        Being the last guy to leave a band before they settle into their consensus “classic” lineup is a rough lot for any musician. This was also the case with one Tony Kaye , the founding keyboardist of a little prog rock band from London called Yes. Kaye, who turns 76 today, recorded three albums with Yes. Then he got shitcanned for being reluctant to play any more of these newfangled synthesizers. Kaye was not nearly as flashy as his eventual replacement, and Yes was all about pomp and flash as the 70s soldiered on. Kaye preferred a relatively small set-up of piano and Hammond organ, with some splashes of Moog for colour. Kaye bounced around in the 70s, recording with a couple of prog supergroups, including Flash (co-founded by another ex-Yes member, Peter Banks) and Badger (a prog band with a strong boogie-rock streak) . He'd then join Badfinger, of all bands, before returning to Yes just as they were becoming bona fide pop stars. He's still busy, play...