Month: March 2017

Weekly Recommended Listens: March 2017, Week 4: Sixties Rock: Blues Rock Concluded

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, we’re concluding our cliff notes look at Blues Rock music of the 1960s with this posting.

Next week we’ll kick off a month long look at another category of 1960s Rock – Early Sixties Soul.

And we’ll jump into our last Sixties Blues Rock posting by noting each week’s posting features the following sections:

I. Brief Artist Bios

II. Freegal Music Recommendations Of The Week (streaming music)

III. CD Music Recommendations Of The Week

IV. Videos Of This Weeks’ Artists/Groups

V. Wild Card Print Book Recommendation Of The Week (a print book that focuses on a musician, musicians, songwriters or other musical genres, styles etc. from any musical era)

VI. References (for those who’d like to know a bit more about the artists of the week).

For our final week of listening to Sixties Blues Rock, we’re going to take a closer look at two British Blues artists and a group that were better known in the U.K. than the U.S. but that nevertheless played some great music! The two artists and one group are: Alexis Korner, Cyril Davis & The Graham Bond Organization.

Beginning Terminology Note:

To those of us who grew up after the 1960s it is helpful to note that 1960s Jazz was more closely related to Big Band music and to Rhythm and Blues music than jazz music of the seventies, eights or nineties.

Also of note, and again just for those of us who came of age after the sixties, you may have an impression of the term “R&B” as describing music with soft soulful vocals; however, in the early sixties Rhythm & Blues, R&B for short, was a term used to describe music that had strong blues roots, music that might be described as traditional rhythm and blues – today most of us would simply refer to this style of music as Blues. And I thought I should point that out, as the music of Alexis Korner, Cyril Davies, Blues Incorporated and The Graham Bond Organisation is on a different musical path than R&B music made since the 1970s. Their music really is blues with a mixture of jazz and traditional rock influences thrown to add musical color.

I. Brief Artist Bios:

Alexis Korner: Alexis Korner was born in Paris in 1928, and moved with his family to the U. K. in 1940. As a teenager he became a huge fan of American R&B. Korner learned to play piano and guitar and began playing professionally in the 1940s. It was in the mid-fifties that he ran into a guitarist and harmonica player named Cyril Davis and found that they shared a love of American Blues music.

In 1962, Korner and Davies formed the renowned Blues Incorporated band which really was the first British Blues band to break their music to a large audience. Korner and Davies not only played the blues, they encouraged others to play the blues too and, also, brought in American Blues players to play for British audiences. And thus the duo and the group they founded – Blues Incorporated, had a huge impact on British rock and blues players of the era.

Some of the musicians that played in the ever revolving line-up of Blues Incorporated included future Rolling Stones Brian Jones, Charlie Watts, Mick Jagger & Keith Richards, early Rolling Stone member and the man subsequently known as the “Sixth Stone” Ian Stewart, future Graham Bond Orgaisation members and Cream co-founders Ginger Baker & Jack Bruce, Long John Baldry who went on to sing with Cyril Davies’s All Stars, Dick Heckstall-Smith who later played with The Graham Bond Organization & John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Paul Jones later lead singer of Manfred Mann (he sang lead vocals on their biggest U.S. hit Do Wah Diddy Diddy), Steve Marriott who went on to play with Humble Pie & The Small Faces and many others.

The great British Bluesman John Mayall has even noted of Korner, Davis and their band Blues Incorporated, that their success influenced him to form his renowned Bluesbreakers band.

If you want to know more about Alexis Korner YouTube offers a BBC documentary which you can access here:

https://goo.gl/1dmu7B

Here’s a list of Korner’s sixties albums: R&B from the Marquee, Red Hot from Alex, At the Cavern, Sky High, I Wonder Who, A New Generation of Blues & Blues Inc./Alex Korner All Stars.

Korner continued to play and record through the 1970s and into the 1980s. Unfortunately, Korner died of lung cancer in 1984 at the relatively young age of 56.

Cyril Davies: Here’s the AllMusic biography of Cyril Davies: “The Cyril Davies R&B All-Stars were, after the Rolling Stones, the best British blues band of the early ’60s — and if they’d gotten to stay together a little longer under Davies, they might even have given Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, and company a real run for their money. This regrettably short-lived blues band was assembled by harpist/singer Cyril Davies (1932-1964) in 1963, following his exit from Blues Incorporated. The group’s original lineup, featuring Davies on harp and vocals, had Bernie Watson on guitar, Nicky Hopkins on piano, Ricky Brown playing bass, and Carlo Little on the drums — all four had been recruited from the ranks of Screaming Lord Sutch’s Savages. This quintet recorded an initial single, “Country Line Special,” driven by Davies’ wailing harp and vocals, that was sufficiently authentic to get it placed alongside the British releases of songs by Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and the rest of the Chess Record luminaries in England’s Pye Records catalog,” and “The Cyril Davies R&B All-Stars remain an impressive footnote in the history of British blues, however, for their handful of recordings, including “Country Line Special,” “Preachin’ the Blues,” and a hard-rocking rendition of Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away.” They never recorded an album, but their songs appear on numerous anthologies including: A Shot of Rhythm and Blues (Sequel Records), Stroll On (Sony Music), and Dealing With the Devil (Sony Music).”

And I think that review nicely sums up Davies’s importance in the history of British Blues!

Cyril Davies, who had been diagnosed with Endocarditis, died suddenly after collapsing during a concert in 1964. Had he lived longer Davies might be better known today, as it is he left behind a handful of great songs and influenced numerous other British Blues musicians.

The Graham Bond Organisation: And yes indeed, the spelling is correct! They were called The Graham Bond Organisation with an “s” instead of a “z” – it is the British spelling and as they were a British band – we’ll go with the British spelling! Even though you will sometimes see the band referred to in print as The Graham Bond Organization.

Graham Bond is not well known in the U.S. However, he was an important figure in the British Blues movement of the early 1960s. R&B fan Bond played the saxophone and keyboards and was a member of Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated.

And it was while he was playing with Blues Incorporated that Bond met future Cream members Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker and saxophonist Dick Heckstall-Smith. In 1963 Bond, Bruce, Baker & Heckstall-Smith exited Korner’s band to form The Graham Bond Organisation.

The GBO played a mixture of blues based rock with strong R&B and jazz influences mixed in. Bond, who had a gruff voice, played keyboards and sang lead vocals on most songs, while Bruce played bass, wrote a few songs for the group and occasionally sang lead vocals with a smoother voice, Baker played drums and ran the band and Heckstall-Smith played the sax. This classic line-up of the band recorded three albums together: Live at Klooks Kleek (1964), The Sound of ’65 (1965) and There’s a Bond Between Us (1965).

After their third album was recorded, Bond moved to American where he continued to perform and record, Baker and Bruce who had, to say the least an acrimonious relationship, found themselves forming Cream with Eric Clapton and Dick Heckstall-Smith continued playing R&B and jazz music with John Mayall and many other musicians over the years – he even published two biographies which offer a solid look at the British Blues scene of the early sixties: The Safest Place in the World: Personal History of British Rhythm and Blues and Blowing the Blues: Fifty Years Playing the British Blues. Bond died in 1974, Heckstall-Smith in 2004 and Bruce in 2014.

Ginger Baker continues to record and even has his own website found at:

http://www.gingerbaker.com/

Freegal Notes:

To access Freegal Music from a desktop or laptop simply click on the following link:

http://stlsny.freegalmusic.com/

The Freegal Music Catalog homepage will display — it looks like this:

The Freegal Music app can be found in your app store and it looks like this:

II. Freegal Music Recommendations Of The Week:

1. Alexis Korner – Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated…Plus

This album features mellow saxophone, jolly piano playing and rave-upish guitar playing! Songs on the album include: Taboo Man, Rainy Tuesday, Preachin’ the Blues, A Little Bit Groovy and more – check it out!

Here’s a link to stream the album Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated…Plus

https://goo.gl/X9K3U4

2. Cyril Davies – The Blues Anthology CD2 by various artists

This album, really is digital despite the CD2 in the title! And it and features the songs Someday Baby and Not Fade Away by Cyril Davies and the Rhythm and Blues All Stars. This set also includes songs by a number of other British Blues artists of the sixties including: Albert Lee, Jo-Ann Kelley, Earl Vince, Rod Stewart, Nicky Hopkins, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and more.

This is a fun collection!

Here’s a link to stream The Blues Anthology album:

https://goo.gl/0YoZP7

3. The Graham Bond Organisation – Live At Klooks Kleek:

This album is the first GBO album and was recorded live in London in 1964. It features the songs: Wade in The Water, Early in The Morning, Person to Person Blues, What I’d Say, Spanish Blues, First Time I Met The Blues, Stormy Monday and Train Time. And despite the sound quality, which by modern standard is rough, this album give you an excellent idea of how well the band played together – the music really does swing!

Here’s a link to stream the album Live At Klooks Kleek:

https://goo.gl/x0IQ8X

Freegal Wild Card Streaming Pick Of The Week:

The Aaron Copland Collection: Orchestral Music And Music For Solo Piano:

This week’s Freegal Wild Card Pick is a long ways away from the Blues! It is a cool Aaron Copland album!

And If you’re not really into classical music you might not be aware of how important Aaron Copland’s music is in the history of American music…

Before Copland came along if someone said “Classical Music” they were apt to be referring to music composed by a European composer. The cliff notes version of the story is that when Copland first came to the public’s attention in the 1940s – he changed all that – here was an American composer who could create fantastic, majestic music! And for that reason alone, if you aren’t a classical music fan you should check him out – at least listen to Fanfare for the Common Man.

And for anyone else who is game, give a listen to the entire album The Aaron Copland Collection: Orchestral Music And Music For Solo Piano album. The album features the songs Fanfare for the Common Man, An Outdoor Adventures, Our Town, John Henry, songs from Rodeo, Billy The Kid, Appalachian Spring, Lincoln Portrait and much more!

Here’s a link to stream the Copland album:

https://goo.gl/7zNzJX

III. Compact Discs Recommendations:

This week I’m only going to recommend two CDs as Cyril Davies didn’t record any full-length albums and the two songs of his I recommended from the Freegal Catalog give you a good idea of what his music sounded like. (If we get a request for a CD that features Cyril Davies’s music – we’ll get one!)

Alexis Korner – R&B from the Marquee:

Despite the title the album was not recorded live in concert, although it was recorded live in the studio during one long session. This album features the multi-instrumentalist Alexis Korner on vocals, Cyril Davies on harmonica and vocals, Dick Heckstall-Smith on sax, Keith Scott on piano, Graham Burbridge on drums, Spike Heatley on bass and Long John Baldry singing on a few songs. This is a great collection of music. Standout songs in the collection include: Spooky But Nice, Gotta Move, Got My Mojo Working, I Though You Heard That Train Whistle blow, I Want’ To Put A Tiger In Your Tank, and, honestly, the whole album is swinging fun!

Here’s a link to request the R&B from the Marquee album via StarCat:

https://goo.gl/HHio72

The Graham Bond Organisation – The Sound of ’65 and There’s A Bond Between Us

The AllMusic site has a great review of this double album set, written by Bruce Eder, and here it is:“This two-LPs-on-one-CD package is essential listening for anyone who is seriously interested in either British blues, the Rolling Stones’ early sound, or the history of popular music, in England or America, during the late ’50s and early ’60s. In England during the years 1957-1962, jazz and blues used to intermix freely, especially among younger blues enthusiasts and more open-minded jazzmen — by 1963, most of the former had gone off to form bands like the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, the Pretty Things, etc., with guitars a the forefront of their sound, while the latter (most notably British blues godfather Alexis Korner) kept some jazz elements in their work. The Graham Bond Organization (along with Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band and other, similar outfits) represented the jazzier side of the British blues boom, less charismatic and sexually provocative than blues-rock bands like the Stones or the Yardbirds, but no less potent a product of the same inspiration, sax and organ being much more prominent in their sound. Indeed, Bond’s playing on the organ as represented on this CD is the distant antecedent to Keith Emerson’s more ambitious keyboard excursions of 3-4 years later, without the incessant copping of classical riffs. The playing and singing (by Graham Bond and a young Jack Bruce) are curiously soulful, and when Ginger Baker takes a solo on “Oh Baby,” it’s a beautiful, powerful, even lyrical experience (as drum solos go), and one of those bold, transcendant, virtuoso moments, akin to Brian Jones’ harmonica solo on the Stones’ version of “Hi Heel Sneakers.” The band was more exciting on stage, as the evidence of their one surviving early live performance indicates, but they were worth hearing on record as well.”

Here’s a link to request the CD set The Sound of ’65 and There’s A Bond Between Us through StarCat:

https://goo.gl/JYs8kl

Wild Card DVD Pick Of The Week:

Our Wild Card DVD recommendation of the week is a new addition to the library’s collection put out by  from The Criterion Collection:

 In a Lonely Place (1950)

Here’s a description of this classic film: When a gifted but washed-up screenwriter with a hair-trigger temper Humphrey Bogart (Casablanca), in a revelatory, vulnerable performance becomes the prime suspect in a brutal Tinseltown murder, the only person who can supply an alibi for him is a seductive neighbor (The Big Heat s Gloria Grahame) with her own troubled past. The emotionally charged In a Lonely Place, freely adapted from a Dorothy B. Hughes thriller, is a brilliant, turbulent mix of suspenseful noir and devastating melodrama, fueled by powerhouse performances. An uncompromising tale of two people desperate to love yet struggling with their demons and each other, this is one of the greatest films of the 1950s, and a benchmark in the career of the classic Hollywood auteur Nicholas Ray (Rebel Without a Cause).

Here’s a link to StarCat to request In A Lonely Place:

https://goo.gl/w2tIiw

IV: Videos Of This Weeks’ Artists/Groups:

Alexis Korner – Angel Band 1978

https://goo.gl/qu2TOF

Alexis Korner – Spoonful

https://goo.gl/SvC2kU

Cyril Davies All Stars featuring Long John Baldry from 1963 – I’ve Got My Mojo Working –  Davies covers vocals and Long John is the one with the tambourine:

https://goo.gl/r3zOI7

The Graham Bond Organization – Hoochie Coochie Man: 

I suspect this video was recorded from the TV and it is fuzzy but it does open a window into the 1960s and lets us watch The Graham Bond Organization play live — and wow, how young Jack Bruce looks!

Here’s the link to the video:

https://goo.gl/3yLzuA

The Graham Bond Organization – Green Onions – 1964: This video isn’t a concert clip but it does feature a neat & clear photo of the band. The GBO band members are, from left to right, Graham Bond, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Jack Bruce & Ginger Baker.

Here’s a link to the clip Green Onions:

https://goo.gl/j8oTyX

V. Wild Card Print Book Recommendation Of The Week:

25 Folksong Solos for Children: with Recorded Accompaniments
(Vocal Collection). Folksongs especially arranged for a child’s solo voice (including a unchanged boy’s treble voice), with a limited range, designed to encourage lyric singing, and easy piano accompaniments. Contents: All the Pretty Little Horses * Animal Fair * Annabel Lee * The Ash Grove * Bill Grogan’s Goat * Cradle Song * Every Night When the Sun Goes In *Father’s Whiskers * The Generous Fiddler * How Can I Keep from Singing * Hush, Little Baby * The Lark in the Morn * Little Brown Dog * The Mermaid * My White Horse * On Mondays I Never Go to Work * Poor Lonesome Cowboy * The Red River Valley * Scarborough Fair * Shenandoah * Simple Gifts * The Streets of Laredo * Sweet the Evening Air of May * Tell Me Why * The Water Is Wide.

Here’s a link to StarCat to request the book 25 Folksong Solos for Children:

https://goo.gl/OYCV86

VI. General References & Artist Specific References:

General References:

The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn (Billboard Books. New York. 2009.)

Blues: The British Connection by Bob Brunning, London: Blandford Press. 1986

Sixties Rock: A Listener’s Guide by Robert Santelli (Contemporary Books. Chicago. 1985.)

Winwood’s life after Traffic By MIKE ZWERIN and INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNEFEB. 25, 2004. https://goo.gl/q3xthS

Artist Specific References:

Alexis Korner Biography
https://goo.gl/V8c3yE

Alexis Korner, Father of Us All: The man who has influenced a universe of British musicians and movements

https://goo.gl/YNVeqD

Alexis Korner The Biography – Amazon Review:

https://goo.gl/1DYHRl

Cyril Davies AllMusic Biography by Bruce Eder

https://goo.gl/uqlbKV

Graham Bond Biography by Richie Unterberger

https://goo.gl/kzhM2O

Graham Bond Live at Klooks Kleek – AllMusic Review by Bruce Eder

https://goo.gl/zZ60ab

Graham Bond Organisation: The Sound of 65 AllMusic Review by Richie Unterberger

https://goo.gl/I3anKT

Graham Bond Organisation: There’s a Bond Between Us AllMusic Review by Richie Unterberger

https://goo.gl/XTiQAv

Alexis Korner AllMusic Discography

https://goo.gl/vL1aVo

Graham Bond Organization AllMusic Discography

https://goo.gl/EgFW45

R&B: From The Roundhouse, To The Ealing Club, To The Marquee – Amazon Description

https://goo.gl/fRjK6A

Have a great day!

Linda, SSCL

P.S. If you have any questions about how to download or stream free music through the Freegal Music service to a desktop or laptop computer or how to download and use the Freegal Music app let us know! Drop by the library or give us a call at: 607-936-3713

*You must have a library card at a Southern Tier Library System member library to enjoy the Freegal Music Service. Your card can be from any library in the system, and the system includes all public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler and Allegheny Counties and including our own Southeast Steuben Count Library in Corning, New York. Library cards are free and at our library you can obtain one by visiting the Circulation Desk and presenting staff with a form of ID that features both your name and your current address.

Daily Print & Digital Suggested Reads: Friday, March 31, 2017

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our suggested daily recommended titles in print or media and digital formats.

Our digital suggestion for today is the e-book:

Women of Straw by Carole Llewellyn:

In 1865, Luton in Bedfordshire is famous for manufacturing straw boaters worn everywhere, although times and fashions are changing. Kate Devlin, the eldest of three children, helps her mother, Rose, run the Devlin plait-school at 10 Plaiters Way. The plait produced there is sold to the Stratton Hat Company, and Kate’s ambition is to become a hat-maker. Kate is befriended by her brother’s employer who has recently purchased Heaven Scent lavender farm. She likes this hardworking young man, and he in turn admires her and it is not long before he declares his love – a love Kate does not return. A family tragedy changes Kate’s life, and with the help of the Stratton Hat Company she sets to achieve her ambi­tion, but her journey finds her confused, infatuated and ultimately frightened for her sister’s life. Ambition to be the best hat-maker in Luton and the chance of true love are pitted against each other – which will succeed and will Kate achieve both?

Here’s a link to the checkout page in the Digital Catalog:

https://stls.overdrive.com/media/3022300

And our physical format suggestion for today is the print book:

One Toss of the Dice: The Incredible Story of How a Poem Made Us Modern

by R. Howard Bloch:

In the tradition of The Swerve comes this thrilling, detective-like work of literary history that reveals how a poem created the world we live in today.

It was, improbably, the forerunner of our digital age: a French poem about a shipwreck published in 1897 that, with its mind-bending possibilities of being read up and down, backward and forward, even sideways, launched modernism. Stéphane Mallarmé’s “One Toss of the Dice,” a daring, twenty-page epic of ruin and recovery, provided an epochal “tipping point,” defining the spirit of the age and anticipating radical thinkers of the twentieth century, from Albert Einstein to T. S. Eliot.

Celebrating its intrinsic influence on our culture, renowned scholar R. Howard Bloch masterfully decodes the poem still considered among the most enigmatic ever written. In Bloch’s shimmering portrait of Belle Époque Paris, Mallarmé stands as the spiritual giant of the era, gathering around him every Tuesday a luminous cast of characters including Émile Zola, Victor Hugo, Claude Monet, André Gide, Claude Debussy, Oscar Wilde, and even the future French prime minister Georges Clemenceau. A simple schoolteacher whose salons and prodigious literary talent won him the adoration of Paris’s elite, Mallarmé achieved the reputation of France’s greatest living poet. He was so beloved that mourners crowded along the Seine for his funeral in 1898, many refusing to depart until late into the night, leaving Auguste Renoir to ponder, “How long will it take for nature to make another such a mind?”

Over a century later, the allure of Mallarmé’s linguistic feat continues to ignite the imaginations of the world’s greatest thinkers. Featuring a new, authoritative translation of the French poem by J. D. McClatchy, One Toss of the Dice reveals how a literary masterpiece launched the modernist movement, contributed to the rise of pop art, influenced modern Web design, and shaped the perceptual world we now inhabit. And as Alex Ross remarks in The New Yorker, “If you can crack [Mallarmé’s] poems, it seems, you can crack the riddles of existence.” In One Toss of the Dice, Bloch finally, and brilliantly, dissects one of literary history’s greatest mysteries to reveal how a poem made us modern.

You can request the book by clicking on the following link to StarCat:

https://goo.gl/f3mdSv

Or by calling the library at: 607-936-3713 x 502.

Have a great day!
Linda, SSCL

Online Catalog Links:

StarCat: The catalog of physical materials, i.e. print books, DVDs, audiobooks on CD etc. http://starcat.stls.org/

The Digital Catalog: The catalog of e-books, downloadable audiobooks and a handful of streaming videos: https://stls.overdrive.com/

Freegal Music Service: This music service is free to library card holders and offers the option to download, and keep, three free songs per week and to stream three hours of commercial free music each day: http://stlsny.freegalmusic.com/

Zinio: Digital magazines on demand and for free! Back issues are available and you can even choose to be notified by email when the new issue of your favorite magazine is available: https://www.rbdigital.com/stlschemungcony

About Library Mobile Apps:

You can access digital library content on PCs, Macs and mobile devices. For mobile devices simply download the OverDrive, Freegal or Zinio app from your app store to get started. If you have questions call the library at: 607-936-3713 and one of our Digital Literacy Specialists will be happy to assist you.

Daily Print & Digital Suggested Reads: Thursday, March 30, 2017

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our suggested daily recommended titles in print or media and digital formats.

Our digital suggestion for today is the e-book:

Science Experiments You Can Eat by Vicki Cobb:

With revised and updated material, a brand-new look, and hours of innovative, educational experiments, this science classic by award-winning author Vicki Cobb will be devoured by a whole new generation of readers!

Kids take the reins in the kitchen with this hands-on book of edible science experiments! With contemporary information that reflects changes in the world of processing and preserving foods, this cookbook demonstrates the scientific principles that underpin the chemical reactions we witness every day—just by cooking. And once readers have tested their theories and completed their experiments, they can feast on the results! From salad dressing to mayonnaise, celery to popcorn, and muffins to meringues, this book uses food to make science accessible to a range of tastes. Also included is essential information on eating healthfully, plus additional resources for further exploration.

Here’s a link to the checkout page in the Digital Catalog:

https://stls.overdrive.com/media/2420418

And our physical format suggestion for today is the book:

With Blood Upon The Sand by Bradley Beaulieu:

Çeda, now a Blade Maiden in service to the kings of Sharakhai, trains as one of their elite warriors, gleaning secrets even as they send her on covert missions to further their rule. She knows the dark history of the asirim—that hundreds of years ago they were enslaved to the kings against their will—but when she bonds with them as a Maiden, chaining them to her, she feels their pain as if her own. They hunger for release, they demand it, but with the power of the gods compelling them, they find their chains unbreakable.

Çeda could become the champion they’ve been waiting for, but the need to tread carefully has never been greater. After their recent defeat at the hands of the rebel Moonless Host, the kings are hungry for blood, scouring the city in their ruthless quest for revenge. Çeda’s friend Emre and his new allies in the Moonless Host hope to take advantage of the unrest in Sharakhai, despite the danger of opposing the kings and their god-given powers, and the Maidens and their deadly ebon blades.

When Çeda and Emre are drawn into a plot of the blood mage Hamzakiir, they learn a devastating secret that may very well shatter the power of the hated kings. But it may all be undone if Çeda cannot learn to navigate the shifting tides of power in Sharakhai and control the growing anger of the asirim that threatens to overwhelm her…

With Blood Upon the Sand is the second book in the Song of Shattered Sands epic fantasy trilogy.

Note: The first book in the Song of Shattered Sands series, if you haven’t read it or you want to start at the beginning, is titled Twelve Kings in Sharakhai.

Here’s a link to StarCat to request the book With Blood Upon The Sand:

https://goo.gl/WXizuD

Or by calling the library at: 607-936-3713 x 502.

Have a great day!
Linda, SSCL

Online Catalog Links:

StarCat: The catalog of physical materials, i.e. print books, DVDs, audiobooks on CD etc. http://starcat.stls.org/

The Digital Catalog: The catalog of e-books, downloadable audiobooks and a handful of streaming videos: https://stls.overdrive.com/

Freegal Music Service: This music service is free to library card holders and offers the option to download, and keep, three free songs per week and to stream three hours of commercial free music each day: http://stlsny.freegalmusic.com/

Zinio: Digital magazines on demand and for free! Back issues are available and you can even choose to be notified by email when the new issue of your favorite magazine is available: https://www.rbdigital.com/stlschemungcony

About Library Mobile Apps:

You can access digital library content on PCs, Macs and mobile devices. For mobile devices simply download the OverDrive, Freegal or Zinio app from your app store to get started. If you have questions call the library at: 607-936-3713 and one of our Digital Literacy Specialists will be happy to assist you.

Daily Print & Digital Suggested Reads: Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our suggested daily recommended titles in print or media and digital formats.

Our digital suggestion for today is the e-book:

A Word for Love: A Novel by Emily Robbins:

A mesmerizing debut set in Syria on the cusp of the unrest, A Word for Love is the spare and exquisitely told story of a young American woman transformed by language, risk, war, and a startling new understanding of love.

It is said there are ninety-nine Arabic words for love. Bea, an American exchange student, has learned them all: in search of deep feeling, she travels to a Middle Eastern country known to hold the “The Astonishing Text,” an ancient, original manuscript of a famous Arabic love story that is said to move its best readers to tears. But once in this foreign country, Bea finds that instead of intensely reading Arabic she is entwined in her host family’s complicated lives—as they lock the doors, and whisper anxiously about impending revolution. And suddenly, instead of the ancient love story she sought, it is her daily witness of a contemporary Romeo and Juliet-like romance—between a housemaid and policeman of different cultural and political backgrounds—that astonishes her, changes her, and makes her weep. But as the country drifts toward explosive unrest, Bea wonders how many secrets she can keep, and how long she can fight for a romance that does not belong to her. Ultimately, in a striking twist, Bea’s own story begins to mirror that of “The Astonishing Text” that drew her there in the first place—not in the role of one of the lovers, as she might once have imagined, but as the character who lives to tell the story long after the lovers have gone.

With melodic meditation on culture, language, and familial devotion. Robbins delivers a powerful novel that questions what it means to love from afar, to be an outsider within a love story, and to take someone else’s passion and cradle it until it becomes your own.

Here’s a link to the checkout page in the Digital Catalog:

https://stls.overdrive.com/media/2699746

And the physical item for today is the print book:

Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World by Barrington Moore:

In this classic work of comparative history and government, Barrington Moore Jr., explores why some countries have developed in the modern ear as democracies and others as fascists or communists dictatorships. He examines the political roles played by the landed upper classes and by the peasantry as essentially agrarian society evolved into modern industrial ones.

“A landmark in comparative history and a challenge to scholars of all lands who are trying to learn how we arrived at where we are now.” -New York Times Book Review

Here’s a link to the StarCat request page for the book:

https://goo.gl/xBhbQv

You can also requests books simply by calling the library at: 607-936-3713 x 502.

Have a great day!
Linda, SSCL

Online Catalog Links:

StarCat: The catalog of physical materials, i.e. print books, DVDs, audiobooks on CD etc. http://starcat.stls.org/

The Digital Catalog: The catalog of e-books, downloadable audiobooks and a handful of streaming videos: https://stls.overdrive.com/

Freegal Music Service: This music service is free to library card holders and offers the option to download, and keep, three free songs per week and to stream three hours of commercial free music each day: http://stlsny.freegalmusic.com/

Zinio: Digital magazines on demand and for free! Back issues are available and you can even choose to be notified by email when the new issue of your favorite magazine is available: https://www.rbdigital.com/stlschemungcony

About Library Mobile Apps:

You can access digital library content on PCs, Macs and mobile devices. For mobile devices simply download the OverDrive, Freegal or Zinio app from your app store to get started. If you have questions call the library at: 607-936-3713 and one of our Digital Literacy Specialists will be happy to assist you.

Online Catalog Links:

StarCat: The catalog of physical materials, i.e. print books, DVDs, audiobooks on CD etc. http://starcat.stls.org/

The Digital Catalog: The catalog of e-books, downloadable audiobooks and a handful of streaming videos: https://stls.overdrive.com/

Freegal Music Service: This music service is free to library card holders and offers the option to download, and keep, three free songs per week and to stream three hours of commercial free music each day: http://stlsny.freegalmusic.com/

Zinio: Digital magazines on demand and for free! Back issues are available and you can even choose to be notified by email when the new issue of your favorite magazine is available: https://www.rbdigital.com/stlschemungcony

About Library Mobile Apps:

You can access digital library content on PCs, Macs and mobile devices. For mobile devices simply download the OverDrive, Freegal or Zinio app from your app store to get started. If you have questions call the library at: 607-936-3713 and one of our Digital Literacy Specialists will be happy to assist you.

Daily Print & Digital Suggested Reads: Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our suggested daily recommended reads in print or media and digital formats.

Our digital suggestion for today is the downloadable audiobook:

Another Brooklyn: A Novel by Jacqueline Woodson:

The acclaimed New York Times bestselling and National Book Award—winning author of Brown Girl Dreaming delivers her first adult novel in twenty years.

Running into a long-ago friend sets memory from the 1970s in motion for August, transporting her to a time and a place where friendship was everything—until it wasn’t. For August and her girls, sharing confidences as they ambled through neighborhood streets, Brooklyn was a place where they believed that they were beautiful, talented, brilliant—a part of a future that belonged to them.

But beneath the hopeful veneer, there was another Brooklyn, a dangerous place where grown men reached for innocent girls in dark hallways, where ghosts haunted the night, where mothers disappeared. A world where madness was just a sunset away and fathers found hope in religion.

Like Louise Meriwether’s Daddy Was a Number Runner and Dorothy Allison’s Bastard Out of Carolina, Jacqueline Woodson’s Another Brooklyn heartbreakingly illuminates the formative time when childhood gives way to adulthood—the promise and peril of growing up—and exquisitely renders a powerful, indelible, and fleeting friendship that united four young lives.

Here’s a link to the checkout page in the Digital Catalog:

https://stls.overdrive.com/media/2483861

And the physical item for today the print book:

Without Warning: A Novel by Joel C. Rosenberg:

As he prepares to deliver the State of the Union address, the president of the United States is convinced the Islamic State is on the run, about to be crushed by American forces once and for all. But New York Times foreign correspondent J. B. Collins tells the president he’s dead wrong. With the Middle East on fire, the Israeli prime minister dead, and Amman in ruins, Collins fears a catastrophic attack inside the American homeland is imminent. He argues that only an all-out manhunt to capture or kill Abu Kahlif―the leader of ISIS―can stop the attack and save American lives. But will the president listen and take decisive action before it’s too late?

Here’s a link to the request page in StarCat:

https://goo.gl/1dozVq

Or by calling the library at: 607-936-3713 x 502.

Have a great day!
Linda, SSCL

Online Catalog Links:

StarCat: The catalog of physical materials, i.e. print books, DVDs, audiobooks on CD etc. http://starcat.stls.org/

The Digital Catalog: The catalog of e-books, downloadable audiobooks and a handful of streaming videos: https://stls.overdrive.com/

Freegal Music Service: This music service is free to library card holders and offers the option to download, and keep, three free songs per week and to stream three hours of commercial free music each day: http://stlsny.freegalmusic.com/

Zinio: Digital magazines on demand and for free! Back issues are available and you can even choose to be notified by email when the new issue of your favorite magazine is available: https://www.rbdigital.com/stlschemungcony

About Library Mobile Apps:

You can access digital library content on PCs, Macs and mobile devices. For mobile devices simply download the OverDrive, Freegal or Zinio app from your app store to get started. If you have questions call the library at: 607-936-3713 and one of our Digital Literacy Specialists will be happy to assist you.

Daily Print & Digital Suggested Reads: Monday, March 27, 2017

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our suggested daily recommended reads in print or media and digital formats.

Our digital suggestion for today is the cozy downloadable audiobook:

Muffin but Murder by Victoria Hamilton:

Muffin maker Merry Wynter hopes to find a buyer for the castle she’s recently inherited. But when she throws a party to draw interest, she finds someone who’s bought the farm instead…

Merry’s career as a New York City stylist has crumbled, but her passion for muffins has helped her rise upstate in Autumn Vale. Everyone in town loves the tasty treats. Still, she would like to return to her glamorous life. Besides, the upkeep of Wynter Castle is expensive, and Merry’s cup isn’t exactly overflowing.

So in order to bring some prospective buyers into the mix, Merry whisks together a spooky soiree and decorates the castle with dashes of fabric and a sprinkling of spider webs. Friends new and old are invited, and everyone has a blast. But as the revelers empty out, Merry notices one partygoer who isn’t leaving—or breathing. Now Merry must hurry to unmask a killer before her perfect plans turn into a recipe for disaster…

Here’s a link to the checkout page for Muffin but Murder in The Digital Catalog:

https://stls.overdrive.com/media/3026572

And the physical item for today is the print book:

The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel:

After her mother’s suicide, fifteen year-old Lane Roanoke came to live with her grandparents and fireball cousin, Allegra, on their vast estate in rural Kansas. Lane knew little of her mother’s mysterious family, but she quickly embraced life as one of the rich and beautiful Roanoke girls. But when she discovered the dark truth at the heart of the family, she ran…fast and far away.

Eleven years later, Lane is adrift in Los Angeles when her grandfather calls to tell her Allegra has gone missing. Did she run too? Or something worse? Unable to resist his pleas, Lane returns to help search, and to ease her guilt at having left Allegra behind. Her homecoming may mean a second chance with the boyfriend whose heart she broke that long ago summer. But it also means facing the devastating secret that made her flee, one she may not be strong enough to run from again.

As it weaves between Lane’s first Roanoke summer and her return, The Roanoke Girls shocks and tantalizes, twisting its way through revelation after mesmerizing revelation, exploring the secrets families keep and the fierce and terrible love that both binds them together and rips them apart.

Here’s a link to the request page in StarCat:

https://goo.gl/B2FCwX

Or by calling the library at: 607-936-3713 x 502.

Have a great day!
Linda, SSCL

Online Catalog Links:

StarCat: The catalog of physical materials, i.e. print books, DVDs, audiobooks on CD etc. http://starcat.stls.org/

The Digital Catalog: The catalog of e-books, downloadable audiobooks and a handful of streaming videos: https://stls.overdrive.com/

Freegal Music Service: This music service is free to library card holders and offers the option to download, and keep, three free songs per week and to stream three hours of commercial free music each day: http://stlsny.freegalmusic.com/

Zinio: Digital magazines on demand and for free! Back issues are available and you can even choose to be notified by email when the new issue of your favorite magazine is available: https://www.rbdigital.com/stlschemungcony

About Library Mobile Apps:

You can access digital library content on PCs, Macs and mobile devices. For mobile devices simply download the OverDrive, Freegal or Zinio app from your app store to get started. If you have questions call the library at: 607-936-3713 and one of our Digital Literacy Specialists will be happy to assist you.

Weekly Recommended Listens: March 2017, Week 3: Sixties Rock: Blues Rock Continued!

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, we’re moving right along with our look at Blues Rock music of the 1960s!

Our bands for the third week of March are: Canned Heat, The Blues Project & Savoy Brown.

And before we dig into our music of the week we should all take our hats off to the late, great Rock N’ Roll pioneer Chuck Berry who died this past weekend week at age 90.

Here’s a link to Berry’s New York Times obituary:
https://goo.gl/rA7yTj

And his Bio page on the AllMusic site which also features a discography, should you wish to peruse it:
https://goo.gl/I5mjjI

And on to our music posting on Blues Rock!

This week, as usual, we’ll be offering suggestions of music you can listen to both by streaming it through the library’s digital Freegal Music Service* and by checking out albums available in the library’s compact disc collection.

Our weekly music postings have the following sections:

I. Brief Artist Bios

II. Freegal Music Recommendations Of The Week (streaming music)

III. CD Music Recommendations Of The Week

IV. Videos Of This Weeks’ Artists/Groups

V. Wild Card Print Book Recommendation Of The Week (a print book that focuses on a musician, musicians, songwriters or other musical genres, styles etc. from any musical era)

VI. References (for those who’d like to know a bit more about the artists of the week).

I. Brief Artist Bios:

Canned Heat: Canned Heat was formed, in the California in the mid-sixties, by two huge blues fans Bob “The Bear” Hite and Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson. Hite sang and played harmonica and Wilson sang and played harmonica and guitar. Hite and Wilson were joined in the band’s original line-up by Henry Vestine on guitar, Larry Taylor on bass and Fred Cook on drums.

The band played great boogie blues rock and even played at two of the largest and most influential rock festivals of the 1960s – The Monterey Pop Festival and Woodstock. Despite playing some great music and getting huge exposure at the Monterey and Woodstock Festivals, the group never did break through to the main stream American audience, although they remain popular with classic rock and blues rock fans and are worthy of a listen!

Canned Heat’s best known songs are: On The Road Again, Going Up Country and Let’s Work Together. Canned Heat released the following albums in the sixties: Canned Heat, Boogie with Canned Heat, Living The Blues and Hallelujah.

Unfortunately, both Wilson and Hite died at young; Wilson in 1970 at age 27 and Hite in 1981 at age 37.

The Blues Project: The Blues Project was formed in Greenwich Village, New York in the mid-sixties, and its premier line up of that era included: Steve Katz and Danny Kalb on guitars, Andy Kulberg on bass and flute, Roy Blumenfeld on drums and singer songwriter Al Kooper on vocals and keyboards.

The Blues Project played blues based rock which sounds sort of like a cross between the blues and popular British Invasion music of the era.

After their tenure with The Blues Project, its two best known players, Kooper and Katz, went on to co-found the band Blood, Sweat and Tears. Although Kooper didn’t stay with BS&T long and was succeeded by David Clayton Thomas on vocals. After hanging out with BS&T for couple of years, Katz moved behind the musical scenes working first at A&R records and later becoming the managing director of the folk label Green Linnet Records – he has since retired and lives in New York City. The multi-talented singer/songwriter Kooper continues to record and perform.

Savoy Brown: The band Savoy Brown was one of the great British Blues bands of the 1960s. The group was formed by guitarist Kim Simmonds and really was his baby. The original band consisted of Simmonds on guitar, Bryce Portius on vocals, Martin Stone on guitar, Ray Chappell on bass, Bob Hall on keyboards and Leo Manning on drums. Simmonds was known for being both the leader and the dominant personality in the band and this lead to a great overturning of band members through the years. However, Simmonds plays great blues guitar music and has continued to record and preform concerts with Savoy Brown from its inception in the late sixties to the present day.

Savoy Brown’s sixties albums are: Shakedown, Getting to the Point, Blue Matter and A Step Further. Savoy Brown features what I would describe as heavier blues than either Canned Heat or The Blues Project – to my ears their music leans more towards 1970s blues than 1960s blues as is the case with the other two groups.

Freegal Notes:

To access Freegal Music from a desktop or laptop simply click on the following link:

http://stlsny.freegalmusic.com/

The Freegal Music Catalog homepage will display — it looks like this:

The Freegal Music app can be found in your app store and it looks like this:

II. Freegal Music Recommendations Of The Week:

Canned Heat – Vintage:
This album features studio recordings that were done by the group just prior to recording their first album. The Vintage album was produced by the great musician and record producer Johnny Otis and includes the songs Rollin’ And Tumblin’ (Part 1), Big Road Blues, Spoonful, Got My Mojo Working, Pretty Thing, Louise, Dimples and more.

Here’s a link to stream the Vintage album:
https://goo.gl/tUVBRO

The Blues Project – Al Kooper’s Soul of a Man:

The Freegal Music Catalog doesn’t feature any of the albums by the Blues Project. However, they do offer a great collection by singer/songwriter and musician Al Kooper. The album is a live one titled Soul of a Man and features Kooper backed by a solid band that included members from both Blood, Sweat & Tears & The Blues Project.

Here’s a description of the album from the record company, which gives you an even better idea of what a great, but under-sung, player Al Kooper is: “If Al Kooper isn’t a living American musical legend, no one is. Who else has performed with Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Jimmy Hendrix and countless others? And not just performed but been an important component of legendary songs (how about the Hammond organ on both Dylans’ Like a Rolling Stone and The Stones’ You Can’t Always Get What You Want)? As a solo artist he is best known for his work as a founding member of both the Blues Project and Blood Sweat and Tears. Many more famous recordings have followed and lead us to this great selection – a CD that is, in my opinion, a classic: a two-CD Al-fest. Recorded live at NYC’s Bottom Line, Al performs his great tunes from the Blues Project and Blood Sweat and Tears, as well as his solo recordings such as I Stand Alone. The excitement from the packed audience is only rivaled by the intensity Al and the band bring to such classics as I Can’t Quit Her, Somethin’ Goin’ On and New York City (You’re a Woman). It’s Blues, Jazz, Rock and Roll and a great time, as only Al Kooper can bring.”

This is a wonderful collection of music that flows smoothly on and on through all 19 songs – check it out!

Here’s the link to stream Soul of a Man:
https://goo.gl/yWMCSz

Savoy Brown – Songs From The Road:

The Freegal Music Catalog features several Savoy Brown albums although none of their sixties albums. However, this live collection, from 2013, features a number of classic songs including: 24/7, Natural Man, Time Does Tell, Voodoo Moon, Hellbound Train, Little Red Rooster, Louisiana Blues and more.

And just as one can describe The Al Kooper album Soul of a Man as sounding like smooth whiskey – Kim Simmonds playing, if you’re not familiar with it, might be described a newly made raw whiskey as his style is a rougher one.

Here’s a link to stream the album Songs From The Road:
https://goo.gl/zOz8hU

Bonus Freegal Streaming Suggestion: Blues Anytime – Vol.1 An Anthology Of British Blues by various artists:

While I was researching which albums from our trio of bands this week are available in the Freegal Music Catalog, I came across a gem titled Blues Anytime – Vol.1 An Anthology Of British Blues. This album digs a little bit deeper into The British Blues artists of the 1960s then we have time for this month. Major league disclaimer – I am a huge fan of the blues in general and The British Blues in particular. So I recognized the collection at once for containing some great British Blues players that aren’t well known on this side of the Atlantic, as well as some that are! The artists on this collection include, T.S. Mcphee, Jo Anne Kelly (she has a great earthy type voice), Stone’s Masonry, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton and even a jam session featuring Clapton and Jimmy Page.

This is a fun album!

Here’s a link to stream the album Blues Anytime – Vol.1 An Anthology Of British Blues:
https://goo.gl/9XTLyO

One of These Days by Pink Floyd:

This song is one of several Pink Floyd tunes, available in the Freegal catalog, that was recorded at the B.B.C. and released under the banner of Pink Floyd: The Early Years. One of These Days was recorded in September of 1971. And the other songs in the series found in the Freegal Catalog are: Fat Old Sun, More Blues, Song 1 and Vegetable Man. Additionally, you’ll find many other Pink Floyd albums in the Freegal Catalog including Piper At The Gates of Dawn, Saucer Full of Secrets, Dark Side of the Moon etc.

Here’s the link to stream the song One of These Days:
https://goo.gl/TrKugf

III. Compact Discs Recommendations:

1. Canned Heat – Boogie With Canned Heat:
This is Canned Heat’s second album released in 1968. The AllMusic review of this album describes it by saying “ Canned Heat’s second long-player, Boogie with Canned Heat (1968), pretty well sums up the bona fide blend of amplified late-’60s electric rhythm and blues, with an expressed emphasis on loose and limber boogie-woogie.”

And I agree with that description! This album really is full of fun up-tempo boogie blues rock tunes including the band’s signature song On The Road Again. Other songs in this set that were included on the original album are: Evil Woman, My Crime, World In A Jug, Turpentine Moan (with Sunnyland Slim on piano), Whisky Headed Woman No. 2, Amphetamine Annie, An Owl Song, Marie Laveau, and Fried Hockey Boogie. Additionally, the album features six bonus tracks including an alternate version of On The Road Again.

Here’s a link to request the Boogie With Canned Heat CD:

https://goo.gl/wB0ZSk

2. The Blues Project – Projections:

This is considered by many to be the best album by The Blues Project. As with Canned Heat, this is their second album and it sounds to me like they needed to record their first album to get warmed up and when they went into the studio to record this one they were relaxed and ready and the songs just flowed out onto the vinyl. The songs on the album are: I Can’t Help From Crying, Steve’s Song, You Can’t Catch Me (written by the late, great Chuck Berry), Two Trains Running, Wake Me, Shake Me, Cherry’s Going Home, Flute Thing, Caress Me Baby and Fly Away.

Here’s a link to request the Projections CD:

https://goo.gl/8Bvg2n

3. Savoy Brown – Blue Matter:

I’m breaking with the pattern here and recommending you give Savoy Brown’s third album a listen! Blue Matter was released in 1969 and features the classic 1960s version of the band including Simmonds, Chris Youlden on vocals with “Lonesome” Dave Peverett, Roger Earl & Tony “Tone” Stevens. Songs on the album include: Train To Nowhere, Tolling Bells, She’s Got A Ring In His Nose And A Ring On Her Hand, Vicksburg Blues, Don’t Turn Me From Your Door, Grits Ain’t Groceries, May be Wrong, Louisianan Blues and It Hurts Me Too.

Here’s the link to request Blue Matter via StarCat:

https://goo.gl/3yyH3y

Wild Card CD or DVD Pick Of The Week:

Woodstock 40th Anniversary Concert DVD:

Inspired by the mention of The Blues Project playing at The Monterey International Pop Festival earlier in this posting, this week I’m going to stay in the 1960s and, as the Wild Card Pick of the Week, recommend the 40th Anniversary Edition of the Woodstock Concert – the official title of which is: Woodstock: Three Days of Peace & Music (Two-Disc 40th Anniversary Director’s Cut).

The concert features music by Jimmy Hendrix, Joan Baez, Joe Cocker, The Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Country Joe and the Fish, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Arlo Guthrie, Sly And The Family Stone, Richie Havens and more. The Director’s Cut edition features 40 extra minutes of footage not include in the original release.

Here’s a link to request the Woodstock 40th Anniversary Concert DVD:

https://goo.gl/HfMS7X

IV: Videos Of This Weeks’ Artists/Groups:

Canned Heat – On The Road Again

This video was recorded in front of a studio audience for the show BeatClub, which I believe was German TV show.

Here’s the link:

The Blues Project – Flute Thing 

This video was recorded at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival:

Savoy Brown – Kim Simmonds / Savoy Brown

Street Corner Talking

This song was recorded in 2014 at The Franke Center in Marshall Michigan and is the title track from Savoy Brown’s 1971 album of the same name:

https://goo.gl/qy4XDW

The 100 Greatest Bands of All Time: A Guide to the Legends Who Rocked the World [2 volumes]:

A Guide to the Legends Who Rocked the World edited by David Moskowitz. The is a great two book collection which is remincant of the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll which was a great book but is dated now – the last edition having been published in 2001. This two volume set features biographies, discorpahies and references regarding, as the title says, The 100 Greatest Bands Of All Time – rock bands

This one-of-a-kind reference investigates the music and the musicians that set the popular trends of the last half century in America.
• Contains an alphabetical collection of entries that each profile a major group and band from the past 60 years
• Provides a selected discography and bibliography for further listening and reading for each entry
• Covers a wide variety of styles from classic rock to surf rock to hip hop
• Features sidebar entries which tie together larger popular music concepts such as the rise and influence of MTV and the phenomenon of girl bands

Here’s the link to request the book in StarCat:
https://goo.gl/zn2BWS

VI. General References & Artist Specific References:

General References:

Al Kooper Biography by Bruce Eder
https://goo.gl/FJkGAZ

The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn (Billboard Books. New York. 2009.)

Kim Simmonds – Artist Biography by Charlotte Dillon
https://goo.gl/ggmGrS

Robert Hite – Obituaries – New York Times
https://goo.gl/bxpfK0

Sixties Rock: A Listener’s Guide by Robert Santelli (Contemporary Books. Chicago. 1985.)

Soul Of A Man AllMusic Review by Bruce Eder
https://goo.gl/I0coH7

Steve Katz Biography by Bruce Eder
https://goo.gl/fzYFJ5

Band Specific References:

The Blues Project Biography by Richie Unterberger
https://goo.gl/ugzpX1

The Blues Project – Projections – AllMusic Review by Dan Forte
https://goo.gl/jxQfHo

Canned Heat Biography by Bruce Eder
https://goo.gl/G4ZQeN

Canned Heat – Boogie with Canned Heat AllMusic Review by Lindsay Planer https://goo.gl/1S5q5g

Savoy Brown Biography by Steve Huey
https://goo.gl/VVVOZw

Savoy Brown – Blue Matter AllMusic Review by Peter Kurtz
https://goo.gl/srsFwm

Vintage – Canned Heathttps://goo.gl/7qfjTh

Have a great day!
Linda, SSCL

P.S. If you have any questions about how to download or stream free music through the Freegal Music service to a desktop or laptop computer or how to download and use the Freegal Music app let us know! Drop by the library or give us a call at: 607-936-3713

*You must have a library card at a Southern Tier Library System member library to enjoy the Freegal Music Service. Your card can be from any library in the system, and the system includes all public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler and Allegheny Counties and including our own Southeast Steuben Count Library in Corning, New York. Library cards are free and at our library you can obtain one by visiting the Circulation Desk and presenting staff with a form of ID that features both your name and your current address.

Daily Print & Digital Suggested Reads: Friday, March 24, 2017

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our suggested daily recommended titles in print or media and digital formats.

Our digital suggestion for today is the downloadable audiobook:

God Help the Child, A Novel by Toni Morrison:

Spare and unsparing, God Help the Child—the first novel by Toni Morrison to be set in our current moment—weaves a tale about the way the sufferings of childhood can shape, and misshape, the life of the adult.

At the center: a young woman who calls herself Bride, whose stunning blue-black skin is only one element of her beauty, her boldness and confidence, her success in life, but which caused her light-skinned mother to deny her even the simplest forms of love. There is Booker, the man Bride loves, and loses to anger. Rain, the mysterious white child with whom she crosses paths. And finally, Bride’s mother herself, Sweetness, who takes a lifetime to come to understand that “what you do to children matters. And they might never forget.”

A fierce and provocative novel that adds a new dimension to the matchless oeuvre of Toni Morrison.

Here’s a link to the checkout page in the Digital Catalog:

https://stls.overdrive.com/media/2032156

And our physical format suggestion for today is the print book:

The Complete Short Stories Of Robert Louis Stevenson: With A Selection Of The Best Short Novels by Robert Louis Stevenson:

Scottish novelist, poet, and essayist Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) was a writer of power and originality, who penned such classics as Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and The Weir of Hermiston. The editor has collected in convenient form Stevenson’s short fiction, including the complete New Arabian Nights and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, as well as ghost stories, medieval romances, farces, horror stories, and the South Sea Tales. This volume amply illustrates Stephenson’s wide range and enduring appeal

The introduction to The Complete Short Stories of Robert Louis Stevenson (by Ian Bell) quotes the great 20th-century prose master Jorge Luis Borges: “I like hourglasses, maps, eighteenth- century typography, the roots of words, the taste of coffee and the prose of Stevenson.” These volumes contain all that there is of Stevenson’s short fiction (including “The Enchantress”–reprinted for the first time in 1990 after having disappeared for 70 years) in a clean, clear typeface and handsome cloth bindings. Booknews Review.

You can request the title by clicking on the following link to StarCat:

https://goo.gl/RHtZ1R

Or by calling the library at: 607-936-3713 x 502.

Have a great day!
Linda, SSCL

Online Catalog Links:

StarCat: The catalog of physical materials, i.e. print books, DVDs, audiobooks on CD etc. http://starcat.stls.org/

The Digital Catalog: The catalog of e-books, downloadable audiobooks and a handful of streaming videos: https://stls.overdrive.com/

Freegal Music Service: This music service is free to library card holders and offers the option to download, and keep, three free songs per week and to stream three hours of commercial free music each day: http://stlsny.freegalmusic.com/

Zinio: Digital magazines on demand and for free! Back issues are available and you can even choose to be notified by email when the new issue of your favorite magazine is available: https://www.rbdigital.com/stlschemungcony

About Library Mobile Apps:

You can access digital library content on PCs, Macs and mobile devices. For mobile devices simply download the OverDrive, Freegal or Zinio app from your app store to get started. If you have questions call the library at: 607-936-3713 and one of our Digital Literacy Specialists will be happy to assist you.

Daily Print & Digital Suggested Reads: Thursday, March 23, 2017

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our suggested daily recommended titles in print or media and digital formats.

Our digital suggestion for today is the downloadable audiobook:

Dark Money, The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right by Jane Mayer:

A NATIONAL BESTSELLER

A NEW YORK TIMES TOP 10 BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

From the bestselling author of The Dark Side, an electrifying work of investigative journalism that uncovers the powerful group of immensely wealthy ideologues who are shaping the fate of America.

In her new preface, Jane Mayer discusses the results of the most recent election and Donald Trump’s victory, and how, despite much discussion to the contrary, this was a huge victory for the billionaires who have been pouring money in the American political system.

Why is America living in an age of profound and widening economic inequality? Why have even modest attempts to address climate change been defeated again and again? Why do hedge-fund billionaires pay a far lower tax rate than middle-class workers? In a riveting and indelible feat of reporting, Jane Mayer illuminates the history of an elite cadre of plutocrats—headed by the Kochs, the Scaifes, the Olins, and the Bradleys—who have bankrolled a systematic plan to fundamentally alter the American political system. Mayer traces a byzantine trail of billions of dollars spent by the network, revealing a staggering conglomeration of think tanks, academic institutions, media groups, courthouses, and government allies that have fallen under their sphere of influence. Drawing from hundreds of exclusive interviews, as well as extensive scrutiny of public records, private papers, and court proceedings, Mayer provides vivid portraits of the secretive figures behind the new American oligarchy and a searing look at the carefully concealed agendas steering the nation. Dark Money is an essential book for anyone who cares about the future of American democracy.

Here’s a link to the checkout page in the Digital Catalog:

https://stls.overdrive.com/media/2483730

And our physical format suggestion for today is the book:

The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir: A Novel by Jennifer Ryan:

For readers of Lilac Girls and The Nightingale, The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir unfolds the struggles, affairs, deceptions, and triumphs of a village choir during World War II

As England becomes enmeshed in the early days of World War II and the men are away fighting, the women of Chilbury village forge an uncommon bond. They defy the Vicar’s stuffy edict to close the choir and instead “carry on singing,” resurrecting themselves as the Chilbury Ladies’ Choir. We come to know the home-front struggles of five unforgettable choir members: a timid widow devastated when her only son goes to fight; the older daughter of a local scion drawn to a mysterious artist; her younger sister pining over an impossible crush; a Jewish refugee from Czechoslovakia hiding a family secret; and a conniving midwife plotting to outrun her seedy past.

An enchanting ensemble story that shuttles from village intrigue to romance to the heartbreaking matters of life and death, Jennifer Ryan’s debut novel thrillingly illuminates the true strength of the women on the home front in a village of indomitable spirit.

You can request the title by clicking on the following link to StarCat:

https://goo.gl/zrBnBK

Or by calling the library at: 607-936-3713 x 502.

Have a great day!
Linda, SSCL

Online Catalog Links:

StarCat: The catalog of physical materials, i.e. print books, DVDs, audiobooks on CD etc. http://starcat.stls.org/

The Digital Catalog: The catalog of e-books, downloadable audiobooks and a handful of streaming videos: https://stls.overdrive.com/

Freegal Music Service: This music service is free to library card holders and offers the option to download, and keep, three free songs per week and to stream three hours of commercial free music each day: http://stlsny.freegalmusic.com/

Zinio: Digital magazines on demand and for free! Back issues are available and you can even choose to be notified by email when the new issue of your favorite magazine is available: https://www.rbdigital.com/stlschemungcony

About Library Mobile Apps:

You can access digital library content on PCs, Macs and mobile devices. For mobile devices simply download the OverDrive, Freegal or Zinio app from your app store to get started. If you have questions call the library at: 607-936-3713 and one of our Digital Literacy Specialists will be happy to assist you.

Daily Print & Digital Suggested Reads: Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Linda Reimer

Hi everyone, here are our suggested daily recommended titles in print or media and digital formats.

Our digital suggestion for today is the downloadable audiobook:

Lady Midnight, Dark Artifices Series, Book 1

by Cassandra Clare:

The Shadowhunters of Los Angeles star in the first novel in Cassandra Clare’s newest series, The Dark Artifices, a sequel to the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series. Lady Midnight is a Shadowhunters novel.

It’s been five years since the events of City of Heavenly Fire that brought the Shadowhunters to the brink of oblivion. Emma Carstairs is no longer a child in mourning, but a young woman bent on discovering what killed her parents and avenging her losses. Together with her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches across Los Angeles, from the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica. If only her heart didn’t lead her in treacherous directions…Making things even more complicated, Julian’s brother Mark-who was captured by the faeries five years ago-has been returned as a bargaining chip. The faeries are desperate to find out who is murdering their kind-and they need the Shadowhunters’ help to do it. But time works differently in faerie, so Mark has barely aged and doesn’t recognize his family. Can he ever truly return to them? Will the faeries really allow it? Glitz, glamours, and Shadowhunters abound in this heartrending opening to Cassandra Clare’s Dark Artifices series.

Here’s a link to the checkout page in the Digital Catalog:

https://stls.overdrive.com/media/2259753

And the physical item for today is the print book:

Malice by John Gwynne:

The world is broken…

Corban wants nothing more than to be a warrior under King Brenin’s rule – to protect and serve. But that day will come all too soon. And the price he pays will be in blood.

Evnis has sacrificed – too much it seems. But what he wants – the power to rule — will soon be in his grasp. And nothing will stop him once he has started on his path.

Veradis is the newest member of the warband for the High Prince, Nathair. He is one of the most skilled swordsman to come out of his homeland, yet he is always under the shadow of his older brother.

Nathair has ideas – and a lot of plans. Many of them don’t involve his father, the High King Aquilus. Nor does he agree with his father’s idea to summon his fellow kings to council.

The Banished Lands has a violent past where armies of men and giants clashed in battle, but now giants are seen, the stones weep blood and giant wyrms are stirring. Those who can still read the signs see a threat far greater than the ancient wars. For if the Black Sun gains ascendancy, mankind’s hopes and dreams will fall to dust…

…and it can never be made whole again.

MALICE is a dark epic fantasy tale of blind greed, ambition, and betrayal.

Malice is Book 1 of The Faithful and the Fallen series.

Here’s a link to the StarCat request page for the book:

https://goo.gl/UVtl7P

You can also requests books simply by calling the library at:

607-936-3713 x 502.

Have a great day!
Linda, SSCL

Online Catalog Links:

StarCat: The catalog of physical materials, i.e. print books, DVDs, audiobooks on CD etc. http://starcat.stls.org/

The Digital Catalog: The catalog of e-books, downloadable audiobooks and a handful of streaming videos: https://stls.overdrive.com/

Freegal Music Service: This music service is free to library card holders and offers the option to download, and keep, three free songs per week and to stream three hours of commercial free music each day: http://stlsny.freegalmusic.com/

Zinio: Digital magazines on demand and for free! Back issues are available and you can even choose to be notified by email when the new issue of your favorite magazine is available: https://www.rbdigital.com/stlschemungcony

About Library Mobile Apps:

You can access digital library content on PCs, Macs and mobile devices. For mobile devices simply download the OverDrive, Freegal or Zinio app from your app store to get started. If you have questions call the library at: 607-936-3713 and one of our Digital Literacy Specialists will be happy to assist you.