Leon Russell - Leon Russell (1970)

“Leon Russell” by Leon Russell (1970)

Release Date: March 23, 1970
Produced by Leon Russell
Genre: Pop, Rock, Country, Folk, Blues Rock
Label: Shelter Records (US), A&M (UK), Phillips (Europe)

Chart Positions: #60 (US), #62 (Japan)
Certifications: N/A

Singles: “Roll Away With The Stone” #109 (US), “A Song For You”
Other Charting Tracks: N/A
Best Tracks: “A Song For You,” “Hummingbird,” “ Delta Lady,” “Roll Away The Stone”

“Leon Russell” by Leon Russell (Click Here)

“Leon Russell” is the debut solo album by the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Leon Russell. It followed his debut with the Midnight String Quartet and a production by Russell and Marc Benno billed as the Asylum Choir. The album was released during the “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” Tour. Many of the musicians that were part of the tour were also featured on Russell’s debut solo album and many more. The album almost reads like a who’s who of music including George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Mick Jagger, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker, Steve Winwood and other all-stars.

Previous to this album Russell was known as a producer, arranger and backup musician for several other artists such as Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra, Ike & Tina Turner, Rolling Stones, George Harrison, Doris Day, Eric Clapton, Ray Charles, Ringo Starr, Barbra Streisand, Glen Campbell, Willie Nelson, The Ventures, BB King and a host of others. By the time he released his debut album Russell was a very well known name in the industry.

Despite the polish and detail put into this album, it still retains a down home, good time, late night jam sort of feel. That was the magic of Leon Russell, he always managed to make his music feel like as if he recorded it all right there at home ins own living room. When in truth the album was recorded in various studios in London, England, Memphis, Tennessee and Los Angeles, California.

The album is filled with songs that have been covered by countless musicians such as “Hummingibrd” covered by the likes of BB King, Bob Seger, Jimmy Page as well as others. Joe Cocker covered “Give Peace A Chance.” Clint Black and Bruce Hornsby collaborated on a great cover of “Dixie Lullaby.” “Delta Lady,” which became an early signature song for Russell has been covered by Joe Cocker, Bobby Gentry, Gary Puckett, David Cassidy and several others. The album’s most widely known song is Leon Russell’s classic “A Song For You” which has reached meteoric heights as recorded by Carpenters. Ray Charles’ version of the song made it to #9 on the US Adult Contemporary charts in 1993. Amy Winehouse did an effecting rendition of “A Song For You” as did the Temptations. Russell wrote the song with a female singer in mind, specifically Bonnie Bramlett, the fact that the song become such a huge hit for Karen Carpenter in 1972 is not such a far stretch from Russell's initial imaging the song.

"Delta Lady" (1970)

“Roll Away With The Stone” received the most attention at the release of the album making it to #109 on the US Billboard singles chart. It wasn’t a hit but it did garner attention and airplay for Leon Russell. The Gospel inflected “Give Peace A Chance” (not to be confused with the John Lennon song) is heralded by critics as an album highlight. “Hummingbird” features George Harrison on guitar and Ringo Starr on drums.

Other than "Give Peace A Chance," Russell borrows another famous song title for his composition "I Put A spell On You," a song not to be confused with Screaming' Jay Hawkins' blue fest. Russell's "Spell," features the Rolling Stones' rhythm section of Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman along with Russell's own lively piano parts gives the song a funky rhythm and blues southern rock style that is irresistible. The chorus is just as hooky and catchy as Hawkins' song. The laughing and false starts at the beginning of the song make it feel real when they finally get going.

Rita Coolidge inspired both “A Song For You” and “Delta Lady”, Leon Russell wrote these songs for and about her. Coolidge was known as the “Delta Lady” because of the song.

Billboard Magazine featured a short review of the album upon it's release:
"Another newcomer exponent of contemporary blues at its best is American performer/ writer Leon Russell debuts on the Blue Thumb distributed Shelter label. Russell has written for some of today's top record stars and his own virile and gravely voice is well suited to his songs. Highlights include "A Song For You" and "Delta Lady."

Leon Russell (1970)

Amazon link to “Leon Russell”: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000002TYM/ref=nosim/populasongsmu-20

Kraftwerk - Autobahn (1974)

“Autobahn” by Kraftwerk (1974)

Release Date: November 1, 1974

Produced by Ralf Hütter, Conny Plank, Florian Schneider

Genre: Electronic, Avant-Garde,  Krautrock

Label: Phillips, Vertigo

Chart Positions: #4 (UK), #5 (US, Canada), #7 (Germany, New Zealand), #9 (Australia), #11 (Netherlands), #27 (Sweden)

Certifications: Gold (France), Silver (UK)

Singles: “Mitternacht,” “Kometenmelodie 2,” “Autobahn” #3 (France), #4 (New Zealand), #9 (Germany), #11 (UK), #12 (Holland, Canada), #15 (South Africa), #16 (Netherlands), #20 (Ireland), #22 (Belgium), #25 (US), #27 (Belgium), #30 (Australia)

Autobahn is the fourth studio album by German electronic band Kraftwerk, released in November 1974. The 22-minute title track "Autobahn" was edited to 3:27 for single release and reached number 25 in the US, number 9 in Australia and performed even higher around Europe, reaching number 4 in the UK and number 7 in Germany. This commercial success came after the band had released three experimental and purely instrumental albums.

The album possesses many ironies in it music. The arrangements are precise to the point of suggesting mechanism yet able to showcase the group's gift for simple, wistful melodies. Kraftwerk is able to capture and make beautiful the sensations of everyday activity - such as going for a drive along the highway (or autobahn if you may).  The album is based on the very first road opened in Germany in 1932, a year before Hitler's ascension to Chancellorship. The album however has nothing to do with Hitler and everything to do with an enjoyable trip on the autobahn.

“Autobahn” by Kraftwerk (Click Here)

Autobahn is an electronic album that includes violin, flute, piano and guitar used along with synthesizers. Autobahn is where the group's hypnotic electronic pulse genuinely came into its own. The main difference between Autobahn and its predecessors is how it develops an insistent, propulsive pulse that makes the repeated rhythms and riffs of the shimmering electronic keyboards and trance-like guitars all the more hypnotizing. Within Autobahn, the roots of electro-funk, ambient, and synth pop are all evident -- it's a pioneering album. The album brought Kraftwerk into the spotlight charting in high positions throughout the world with its highest peak positions in the UK (#4) and US (#5). he album cover, which features a colorful drawing of a motorway on a summer day, was painted by Emil Schult, who also co-wrote the lyrics to the title song.

Autobahn (Single Edit 1974)

There were three singles released from the album the first “Mitternacht” (Midnight) went almost unnoticed and failed to chart. The second single, an instrumental track, “Kometenmelodie” (Comet Melody 2) also failed to chart. Finally it was the third single “Autobahn” that burned up the charts around the world. “Autobahn” is a 22 minute long that was crafted to reproduce a journey on the German motorway. Band member Ralf Hutter recorded the passing cars in the background by dangling a microphone out of the window of his old grey Volkswagen, as it traveled down the autobahn. However, these recordings were not suitable for the song, so they recreated the car sounds using synthesizers. The song was was edited to a more modest 3 minute and 28 seconds running time and was released to the US market while a differently edited version of 3 minutes and 8 seconds was released in the UK. There has been confusion as to what Kraftwerk sings in the vocals. Some people have thought they were saying “fun, fun, fun on the autobahn,” but they were actually singing, "wir fahren, fahren, fahren auf der Autobahn" which means "we drive, drive, drive on the Autobahn.” The song was a huge hit reaching the Top 30 in more than a dozen countries around the world including its highest peak positions in France (#3), New Zealand (#4) and Germany (#9).

The influence of "Autobahn" only continued to grow with influence as each year has gone by. Hints of the Kraftwerk sound began to show up in the music of the artists such as David Bowie, Africa Bambaataa and Depeche Mode. 

Kraftwerk (1974)

Link to “Autobahn” (Click Here)

KRAFTWERK