Thomas Dolby - Salsa Picante (1989)

Thomas Morgan Robertson (known professionally as Thomas Dolby) was born in in London on 14 October 1958, and at school in London he was good friends with Shane MacGowan of The Pogues, and used to sit with him in the back row of the English Literature class. The stage name Thomas Dolby originated from a nickname "Dolby" that he picked up in the early 1970's, when he was "always messing around with keyboards and tapes", and he adopted the stage name "Thomas Dolby" to avoid confusion with British singer Tom Robinson, who was popular when he began his career. In the late 1970's Dolby formed the Camera Club with Bruce Woolley, and after leaving them he joined Lene Lovich's band as keyboardist, and wrote her hit song 'New Toy'. In 1981 he launched his solo career with the release of the single 'Europa And The Pirate Twins, followed in 1982 by 'Airwaves' and 'Radio Silence'. His debut album, 'The Golden Age Of Wireless', appeared in 1982, but didn't include the signature hit 'She Blinded Me with Science', although after that track hit the charts the album was re-released with the single included. While much of the album's instrumentation is synthesisers and samplers, it does credit a long list of guest musicians as well, with instruments ranging from harmonica and violin to guitar and percussion. Beginning in 1983, Dolby collaborated with a number of artists in an occasional studio-bound project called Dolby's Cube, which was essentially a forum for him to release material that was more dance-oriented. In 1984 he released his second LP, 'The Flat Earth', which peaked at No. 14 on the UK Albums Chart and at No. 35 on the Billboard album chart in the US. 

With a wide range of influences including nostalgic jazz, funk-tinged Motown R&B, and world music, and including guest vocals from Robyn Hitchcock, Bruce Woolley, and others, 'The Flat Earth' further established Dolby's wide range of talents as musician, songwriter, and producer. In 1988 he released his third album, 'Aliens Ate My Buick', which was strongly funk and dance influenced, and included the single 'Hot Sauce', which was a cover of the George Clinton song. For 'Astronauts & Heretics' in 1992, Dolby expanded even further stylistically, starting the song-writing process at the piano, then again collaborating with a variety of guest musicians. Both Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia played guitar on 'The Beauty Of A Dream', and Eddie Van Halen plays on 'Eastern Bloc' and 'Close but No Cigar'. Following the release of this album Dolby took a lengthy hiatus away from recording, founding the Silicon Valley interactive audio technology company Beatnik, which took up his time until 2006, when he returned to his musical career. During his first dozen years of making music he kept extremely busy, releasing music under aliases, and collaborating with other musicians, and so it is relatively easy to collect a good selection of non-album tracks, including both side of the 'Field Work' single by Ryuichi Sakamoto, on which he is featured, as well as his 1981 cover of Joni Mitchell's 'The Jungle Line' as Low Noise. We also have one of his earliest singles, in 'Urges'/'Leipzig', some demos from the '...Wireless' era, and an exclusive mix of both sides of the 'Dissidents (The Search For Truth)' 12" single.   

Track listing

01 Therapy/Growth (b-side of 'Europa And The Pirate Twins' 1981)
02 Urges (single 1981)
03 Leipzig (b-side of 'Urges')
04 Sale Of The Century (demo 1982)
05 Pedestrian Walkway (demo 1982)
06 Jungle Line (single as Low Noise 1981)
07 Urban Tribal (b-side of 'Jungle Line')
08 Puppet Theatre (bonus track on the 2009 reissue of 'The Flat Earth' 1984)
09 Dissidents (The Search For Truth, Parts I & II) (single 1984)
10 Field Work (London Mix) (single by Ryuichi Sakamoto featuring Thomas Dolby 1986)
11 Field Work (Tokyo Mix) (b-side of 'Field Work (London Mix)')
12 Fantasmagoria (from the soundtrack to the film 'Gothic' 1987)
13 Salso Picante (b-side of 'Hot Sauce' 1988)
14 Ravivar Fiore (b-side of 'My Brain Is Like A Sieve' 1989)

Dolby's Cube - May The Cube Be With You (1986)

Thomas Dolby (born Thomas Morgan Robertson on 14 October 1958), came to prominence in the 1980's, releasing hit singles including 'She Blinded Me with Science' in 1982 and 'Hyperactive!' in 1984. He started his music career in the late 1970's, forming the Camera Club with Bruce Woolley, and after leaving them he joined Lene Lovich's band as keyboardist, and wrote her hit song 'New Toy'. In 1983, Dolby started collaborating with a number of artists in an occasional studio-based project called Dolby's Cube, which had no set line-up, and was essentially a forum for him to release material that was more dance-oriented. The first single released by Dolby's Cube was 1983's 'Get Out Of My Mix', followed by 'May The Cube Be With You', featuring George Clinton, in 1985, and work on the soundtrack to the film 'Howard The Duck' in 1986. For the soundtrack, Dolby wrote the film's songs, and chose the members of the on-screen rock band Cherry Bomb, with actress Lea Thompson performing her own vocals for the role of lead singer in the group, although she states that the filmmakers were unsure as to whether they would keep her vocals in the final film. Thompson was required to learn choreography with the band and record the songs so they could be synchronized during filming, and the final sequence, in which Cherry Bomb perform the film's title song, was shot in front of a live audience at The Warfield in San Francisco. Collaborators in Dolby's Cube at various junctures included former band-mate Lene Lovich, George Clinton of Parliament-Funkadelic, Francois Kevorkian, and Lea Thompson, with Joe Walsh, Stevie Wonder and The Brecker Brothers also making an appearance on some of the recordings. 

Track listing

01 Get Out Of My Mix>
02 Get On Out Of My Mix
03 Hunger City
04 May The Cube Be With You (3D Mix)
05 Howard The Duck
06 Googooplexus - Club Creature Caviar
07 Don't Turn Away
08 It Don't Come Cheap
09 I'm On My Way

Featuring:
03 Lea Thompson
04 George Clinton, Lene Lovich, The Brecker Brothers
05 Lea Thompson, Joe Walsh
06 George Clinton, Lene Lovich, The Brecker Brothers
07 Stevie Wonder
08 Lea Thompson, Joe Walsh
09 Tata Vega

Eddie Van Halen - ...and on guitar (2013)

As a tribute to Eddie Van Halen, who passed away on 6th October 2020, at the age of 65, here is a special '...and on guitar' which was put together by correspondent Zach. I didn't realise that he'd guested on quite as many albums as he did, so had passed him by, but this actually makes a really good listen, and also showcases just what a great guitarist he was.

The Van Halen brothers were born in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Edward Lodewijk van Halen on 26 January 1955, and Alexander Arthur van Halen on 8 May 1953, and their father Jan was a Dutch jazz pianist, clarinetist and saxophonist. In 1962, the Van Halen family moved from the Netherlands to the United States, settling in Pasadena, California, and both brothers learned to play the piano as children starting at the age of six. From 1964 through to 1967, Eddie won first place in the annual piano competition held at Long Beach City College, and his parents wanted the boys to be classical pianists, but Eddie liked rock music much better, and so when Alex began playing the guitar, Eddie bought a drum kit, but after hearing Alex's performance of the Surfaris' drum solo in the song 'Wipe Out', he gave Alex the drums and began learning how to play the electric guitar. The brothers formed their first band with three other boys, calling themselves The Broken Combs, and it was while playing in the band that he first felt the desire to become a professional musician. In 1972 Eddie and his brother Alex formed another band, and a couple of years later they changed its name to Van Halen, playing at well-known clubs like the Whisky a Go Go. In 1977, Warner Records offered Van Halen a recording contract, and their debut album of the same year reached number 19 on the Billboard pop music charts, becoming one of rock's most commercially successful debuts. By the early 1980's, Van Halen was one of the most successful rock acts of the time, and the album '1984' went five-times Platinum a year after its release. More hit albums followed over the next twenty years, and in the down-time between recording them, Eddie engaged in several projects outside of the band, including solo work and partnerships with his brother on film soundtracks, such as 'Twister', as well as musical collaborations with Kiss bassist Gene Simmons, Nicolette Larson, Michael Jackson, Brian May, Sammy Hagar, Thomas Dolby, LL Cool J, and a film soundtrack with Roger Waters. Eddie famously played the solo on Jackson's 'Beat It', but as the rest of the guitar on the song was played by Steve Lukather (and also for reasons of space) I've left it off this album, although tracks by all the other artists are represented.  

Perhaps surprisingly, Eddie was also an inventor on three patents related to guitars: a folding prop to support a guitar in a flat position, a tension-adjusting tailpiece, and an ornamental design for a headstock.

Track listing

01 Tunnel Of Love (from 'Gene Simmons Vault' by Gene Simmons 2017, recorded 1977)

02 Can't Get Away From You (from 'Nicolette' by Nicolette Larson 1978)

03 Blues Breaker (from 'Star Fleet Project EP' by Brian May + Friends 1983)

04 Eagles Fly (from 'I Never Said Goodbye' by Sammy Hagar 1987)

05 Eastern Bloc (from 'Astronauts And Heretics' by Thomas Dolby 1991)

06 Respect The Wind (from the soundtrack of the film 'Twister' 1996)

07 If Six Was Nine (from 'Tribute To Jeff' by David Garfield 1997)

08 The Water Sings (from 'Fatherless Child' by Rich Wyman 1996) 

09 Lost Boys Calling (from the soundtrack of the film 'The Legend of 1900' 1998)

10 We're The Greatest (from 'Authentic' by LL Cool J 2013)