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Betty had just entered an L.A. studio to record her fifth and final album but was reeling from a series of setbacks. Looking for a fresh start, Davis relocated to Hollywood to focus on songwriting. Before long, she found funding for her next project, and with renewed vigor, Davis reunited with former Funk House guitarist Carlos Morales and industry veterans, fusion drummer Alphonse Mouzon and session bassist Chuck Rainey. Old friends Anita and Bonnie Pointer (The Pointer Sisters) and Patryce “Choc’let” Banks joined Davis on vocals as did Motown legend Martha Reeves. 

The resulting album, Crashin' From Passion, was Betty's most musically diverse, blending elements of reggae and calypso, jazz, dark synth-pop, and even disco. Equally exploratory are Davis’ vocals as she trades in her signature sass and snarls for more nuanced stylings. Among the album’s few funk tracks is “Quintessence of Hip,” in which Davis hails musicians like Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday, Stevie Wonder, and John Coltrane, while deftly integrating elements of their work. The song also offers a moment of stark vulnerability, as she sings, “Isn’t rich? Isn’t it queer? Losing my timing so late in my career.” It would prove to be a prophetic line in the months to follow.

More on Crashin' From Passion at lightintheattic.net

Liner Notes is a co-production of Light in the Attic and Ruinous Media. Edited and Mixed by Chris Duryee and Joe Plummer.

2xLP, CD, & Digital available at lightintheattic.net

Pacific Northwest isolation mixed with wide-eyed ambition, a strong sense of family, and the gift of music proved to be quite the combination for teenage brothers Donnie and Joe Emerson. Originally released in 1979, Dreamin’ Wild is the sonic vision of the talented Emerson boys, recorded in a family-built home studio in rural Washington State. Situated in the unlikely blink-and-you-missed-it town of Fruitland and far removed from the late 1970s punk movement and the larger disco boom, Donnie and Joe tilled their own musical soil, channeling bedroom pop jams, raw funk, and yacht rock.

Spurred on by their high school’s music program, Donnie and Joe received a further push from their lifelong farmer father, who drew up a contract stating that he’d support his sons lofty ambitions with their very own recording studio as long as they focused on original material, sage advice for a man with zero experience in the music business. After taking out a second mortgage to help cover costs, Don Sr. also built his children a 300-capacity concert hall (dubbed Camp Jammin’) replete with ticket booth, stage, and fully functioning snack bar. The only problem was that the projected audience never quite materialized, despite a prime time TV profile entitled “The Rock And Roll Farmers” from nearby Spokane, Washington. Even the Emerson brothers' school pals were nonplussed at their privately pressed long player, hand-distributed to local music stores but not quite so far as Seattle, five hours away from their rural home. Somewhat dejected by the muted response but never surrendering, both Donnie and Joe continued down a musical path and are still active as performers today.

Be sure to also check out the short documentary, The Rock-n-Roll Farmers: Donnie & Joe Emerson.

The Power of the Heart: A Tribute to Lou Reed (RSD 2024 World Exclusive)

It goes without saying that the legendary Lou Reed was a true rock ’n’ roll pioneer. From The Velvet Underground’s debut in 1967 all the way through the end of his days, Reed sang truth from his heart. He lived life to the limit—and then some. On this episode of Light in the Attic's Liner Notes, we sit down with album producer Bill Bentley to talk about our new release, The Power of the Heart: A Tribute to Lou Reed. Bentley, who was Reed's publicist and friend, shares his personal stories and insights into the making of this compilation. The album is a tribute to Reed’s freedom of expression with new covers spanning his ground-breaking years with the Velvets into his majestic solo career. Featuring newly recorded covers from Keith Richards, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Rufus Wainwright, Lucinda Williams, Maxim Ludwig & Angel Olsen, Rickie Lee Jones, Mary Gauthier, Bobby Rush, Automatic, The Afghan Whigs, Rosanne Cash, and Brogan Bentley, The Power of the Heart: A Tribute to Lou Reed (Light in the Attic Records) is available at fine independent record shops worldwide on Record Store Day (4/20/24) and streaming everywhere you get your digital music.

Tracklist:

Keith Richards - I'm Waiting for the Man

Maxim Ludwig & Angel Olsen - I Can't Stand It

Rufus Wainwright - Perfect Day

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - I'm So Free

Bobby Rush - Sally Can't Dance

Rickie Lee Jones - Walk on the Wild Side

The Afghan Whigs - I Love You, Suzanne

Mary Gauthier - Coney Island Baby

Lucinda Williams - Legendary Hearts

Automatic - New Sensations

Rosanne Cash - Magician

Brogan Bentley - The Power of the Heart (Bonus track CD/Digital Only)

Hudson River Wind Meditations combines Reed's love of creating drone music with his passion for Tai Chi, yoga, and meditation. The album's ambient soundscapes have been described as a counterpoint to his intense Metal Machine Music album—but they are similar outliers in Reed's 40+ year exploration of drone music and feedback harmonics, music created specifically for a certain time and place of mind.

Liner Notes is a co-production of Light in the Attic and Ruinous Media. 

Edited and Mixed by Chris Duryee and Joe Plummer.

Explore our Lou Reed Archive Series & stay tuned for more to come in 2024!

This companion piece to the first-time vinyl releases of the albums Like Swimming and The Night from the band MORPHINE features host Ryan H. Walsh, whose  insightful liner notes were included in the recent reissues.  Walsh is a Boston-based journalist, musician, visual artist, and author of the acclaimed 2018 book Astral Weeks: A Secret History of 1968.  

Liner Notes is a co-production of Light in the Attic and Ruinous Media. 

Edited and Mixed by Chris Duryee and Joe Plummer.

Explore the Morphine archival releases - 

The Night

Like Swimming

This Light in the Attic podcast episode is a companion piece to Pacific Breeze, the acclaimed series of Japanese City Pop compilations.
Mark “Frosty” McNeil and Yosuke Kitazawa, co-producers of the Pacific Breeze series, delve into the origins of City Pop as well as breaking down specific tracks throughout the history of the genre. To learn more about Pacific Breeze and to pick up a copy of the record, visit the Light in the Attic site
Liner Notes is a co-production of LITA and Ruinous Media. Edited and Mixed by Chris Duryee and Joe Plummer

This Light in the Attic podcast is a companion piece to Words and Music, May 1965, an album of previously unreleased songs recorded by a young Lou Reed with future Velvet Underground bandmate, John Cale. It includes first known recordings of such iconic songs as "I'm Waiting for the Man" and "Heroin." These recordings will be released to the public for the first time on Light in the Attic Records.
Our host, Tunde Adebimpe sits down with Matt Sullivan (co-owner and founder of Light in the Attic Records) and Lou Reed archivists Jason Stern and Don Fleming to get their insights into how the tape was discovered and how the songs were recorded by Cale and Reed in the spring of 1965.

Listen along with Matt, Don and Jason as they share their appreciation and knowledge of these extraordinary recordings. Produced by Light in the Attic, Ruinous Media and Dann Gallucci.

Explore Light in the Attic's Lou Reed archive.

Listen to more podcasts at Ruinous Media.