After nearly three years, *Can You Feel It Vol. 5* marks the release of a brand-new installment in Tramp Records’ Disco/Boogie series. Like all four previous volumes, Vol. 5 offers a colorful mix of songs from the late 1970s and early 1980s. From extremely rare tracks to easily accessible ones and even unreleased material—this release has everything to make a collector’s heart race. Once again, these songs will get you on your feet, inspire you to dance, and transport you back to the glittering world of the late 1970s. CAN YOU FEEL IT?

Let's take a closer look at a few of the songs on this album. Kicking things off are Bill Deal & The Rhondels, a band that needs no introduction. The same cannot be said for Tom Balistreri and Ryjel. The latter presents “Heart’s On Fire,” a seven-minute journey into previously unreleased deep disco. "Old Mother Winter" may not be a typical disco song, but it’s undoubtedly a fantastic composition. The Stone Mill Band is relatively unknown even among hardcore collectors. The most recent track on this album is by singer Tory Wynter who already contributed a song for Can You Feel It Vol.4. “Oh Let The Rain Fall Down” was released in 1988.

The second record opens with “Been Thinkin' About You” by Avatar—an amazing song and probably the rarest gem on this album, in stark contrast to Piz-Zazz - a record you can find easily for a few dollars. Saxophonist King Perkoff was born in Santa Monica, California, but now resides in Berlin, and with “When You Live In Marin” he delivers a real disco-funk banger! Glenn “Shake & Bake” Doughty played professional football as a wide receiver for the Baltimore Colts from 1972 to 1979. Together with some of his teammates, he founded the Shake & Bake Band in 1975. We probably aren’t telling Tramp fans anything new here. Anyway, a little over two years ago, we reissued the first of their two extremely hard to find 45-RPM singles (“Shake & Bake Pt. 1 & 2”). We also included a DJ-friendly edit of the song on “Movements Vol. 12.” It is a must for us here at Tramp that we also reissue their second single, “Starflight Disco Pt. 1 & 2,” soon!

So there you have it, 13 obscure but brilliant MODERN SOUL, DISCO and BOOGIE tunes of which all have not been compiled anywhere else. We sincerely hope you enjoy our guided tour back into the late 1970s and 80s Disco era.

TRACK LISTING

Bill Deal & The Rhondels - "Freak 'n' Freeze" (LP)
Ryjel - "Heart's On Fire"
Tom Balistreri & Nightstream - "Started Out Dancing"
Ron Moore - "Old Mother Winter"
Stone Mill Band - "Livin' For A Lie"
Tony Vitale - "Get Up & Get Down"
Tory Wynter - "Oh Let The Rain Fall Down"
Avatar - "Been Thinkin' About You" (vocal)
Willie King Juan Dickey - "Hot On Your Spot"
Piz-Zazz - "Rock (Rock Your Body)"
King Perkoff Band - "When You Live In Marin"
The Shake & Bake Band - "Starflight Disco" (feat S-Sence)
Bionic Funk - "Keep On Pullin'"

The term "private" is used quite liberally in the promotion of rare groove compilations these days. The team at Tramp Records tends to be rather defensive when it comes to such terms. Although, and this should not be misunderstood as arrogance, label boss Tobias Kirmayer & his crew have been doing nothing else for 22 years, strictly speaking. Every compilation series from the Upper Bavarian label, be it the "Movements," "Feeling Nice," "Praise Poems," or "Can You Feel It" series, specializes in independently produced music from the 1960s, 70s, and 80s released on small private labels. This means extremely time-consuming work to track down the musicians, write down their stories, and, last but not least, invest a high four-digit amount to release such compilation projects as deluxe (double) LPs and CDs.

The industrious creators of the label have already released seven volumes in the Peace Chant series. Parts 1 to 6 were single LPs with predominantly American tracks. Part 7 was the first to be dedicated to purely German productions. Furthermore, the decision was made to release a double LP with a gatefold cover, not least to accommodate the extremely comprehensive accompanying text and images.

The 8th edition once again focuses on German productions. It includes rare (Fences), unreleased (Music Community), but also the odd €10 record. The mere fact that a record is rare/expensive doesn't make it interesting for Tobias Kirmayer and his team. They are primarily interested in the music. And if a song convinces them, it makes it onto the shortlist. In fact, many established reissue labels too often ignore records or individual songs and don't re-release them simply because they are not sought after by collectors. Kirmayer and his fellow campaigners have made it their mission to combat this injustice. A good example of this would be Sabanone, a title by Büdi Siebert's formation with the wonderful name HerrGottSax. The original LP costs around €15.

TRACK LISTING

1. Jazz Workshop Ensemble - Aya Tolla
2. Music Liberation Unit - Monday Morning
3. Music Community - Groove Rock
4. Ad Libitum - Take Five
5. HerrGottSax - Sabanone (Schlachtruf Der Affen)
6. Fences - Mein Alter Hut
7. Spirit - Work Song
8. BZN-Big Band - Nr. 6
9. Ulmer Jazz Quintet - Grandfathers Waltz
10. Brainstream - B27
11. Trio Wolf-Sperl-Bräuer - Bulgarian Flirt

This is the second 45 by The Villagers which we are going to present to you. The first one contained a true deepfunk bomb (Dyke & The Blazers' classic "Funky Broadway") backed with an original composition titled "You're My Baby (Don't You Forget It)", a fantastic garage rock track.

The second 45 also contain two never released titles. On Side A we have a beautiful lowrider soul track ("Yes I'm Ready") while Side B contains "The Mirror", another great garage rock track.

TRACK LISTING

1. Yes I'm Ready (feat. Jeanne Lavoie)
2. The Mirror (feat. Wayne West)

Every compilation series has an end. After 10 outstanding issues, we are saying goodbye to the Praise Poems series, which is highly appreciated by collectors and music lovers, with this 11th installment. With this final installment, we are deliberately venturing into a genre that we have only included in exceptional cases to date: Power Pop of the late 1970s and early 80s.

We start with "Real Proof", an unreleased song by the band The Nails, originally from Boulder, Colorado, who were even signed to a major label a few years later. Although the Fingerprints recorded an entire album, it took over 45 years before it was finally released in 2022. "Wasted On You" comes from one of the three singles released between 1978 and 1980. In contrast to the Fingerprints, the original singles by Naked Rush are extremely rare. This is probably one of the reasons why none of their songs can be found on a compilation to date. It's great that we are now changing this. Incidentally, this applies to the majority of the songs on this album and to all our compilation albums in general. Fritz, Blue Rain and Holidaye are no exception.

We would like to mention two songs in particular. Firstly, "Don't Quit" by The Scam, which was produced by William Garrett. Garrett was responsible for the launch of Spotify Singles as Senior Music Producer at Spotify from 2016 to 2023 and has worked with artists such as Elton John, Ed Sheeran, John Legend and many more during this time. Secondly, there's a great story about Animal Logic. In 1989, the band found out that Stuart Copeland from The Police was forming a new band. The name? Animal Logic! After pleas not to use the name were ignored, the Animal Logic guys were forced to take the matter to court and eventually sold the name to Copeland. There are many more exciting stories about the bands in the booklet accompanying the CD and the LP insert.

With "A journey into raw, energetic power pop from the 1980s", we now conclude our 10-year journey of discovery through music history under the "Praise Poems" umbrella. We very much hope that you have enjoyed our meticulous work. When one door closes, another opens. It will be the same here. There is still so much to discover and we are already looking forward to many more releases!

TRACK LISTING

1. The Nails - Real Proof
2. Fingerprints - Wasted On You
3. Naked Rush - Top 40
4. Spektr'm - What Do I Do (What Do I Say)
5. Fritz - Number Nine
6. Blue Rain - New Morning
7. Merrell Fankhauser - Calling From A Star
8. Nick Coluccio - Awaken (feat. Dream Illusions)
9. The Scam - Don't Quit
10. Angry Young Bees - Tell Me TV
11. Ted Paugh - Headin' Down The Highway
12. Animal Logic - The Meaning Of Life
13. Holidaye - Times
14. Hangnail Phillips - Let Me In
15. Sly Dog - Cryin' For Love

Watch out! You are holding the 125th (one-hundred-and-twenty fifth!) album on Tramp Records in your hands! We are honored to celebrate this impressive anniversary with the tenth volume in the Praise Poems series. This time, too, we go on a journey to discover previously unheard regions of jazz, folk and AOR from the 1970s and 80s.


Praise Poems Vol.10 presents sixteen (almost) forgotten rare groove gems, all released between the years 1970 and 1984. One of the many highlights is the opening track: "Fields of Laughter" by Color Me Blu - originally released on an acetate only of which two copies exist worldwide. But there is much, much more to discover. This brandnew volume features a wide range of genres, from AOR (Whiz Kids, Ross Miller, and another previously unreleased track by Harve & Charee) to Latin-Rock a'la Santana (Color Me Blue, Tribal Sinfonia, and Apple) to Soul-Jazz (Ernie Lewis Trio, Joe Bozzi Quintet or Dutch saxophonist Frits Kaatee). Right at the end, one track in particular stands out: the wonderful "It's Good Not To Forget" by George Melvin and his quintet - a fabulously dreamy, thoughtful instrumental piece in the style of Ramsey Lewis with catchy tune potential.


Not many compilation series make it to a tenth edition. And if they do, then you often notice that the quality of the songs goes in the opposite direction to the increasing number of series: namely decreasing. Not so with Praise Poems Vol. 10, which the creators prove in an impressive new way. They have found tracks that were originally either a) pressed by the musicians themselves in very small editions or b) released by small, regional labels. It is understandable that neither the musicians nor these small labels had the necessary knowledge or budget to market their albums or singles professionally. The majority of the bands therefore did not manage to reach a large audience - although they certainly had the potential for the big stage

TRACK LISTING

1. Color Me Blu - Fields Of Laughter
2. Apple - Love Melody In E Minor
3. Tribal Sinfonia - Do You Want Me
4. Harve And Charee - New Me
5. Kwartet Frits Kaatee - Easy Evil
6. Ernie Scott Trio - Souled Out
7. Bunker Hill - Dionysis
8. San Diego - Sands Of Malibu (Pt.1 & 2)
9. Synod - Sheryl Song Is Gonna Do My Dancing
10. Whiz Kids - Long Time Gone
11. Ross Miller - I Can Love Her Anyway
12. Thunderbolt The Wondercolt - Ragged Edge
13. Eyrle Oliver - Lovely Lady
14. Lisa Richards - A Day In The Life Of A Fool
15. Joe Bozzi Quintet - Masquerade
16. George Melvin Quintet - It's Good Not To Forget

"This landmark compilation continues the unfoldment of diabolically obscure yet culturally and artistically essential recordings that have been hidden and precariously balanced on the precipice of obsolescence."

For German musicians the mid-70s to mid-80s were an extremely fertile and fruitful time. Though The Peace Chant series is focused mainly on amateur bands, private pressings, and long lost acetates, many of the artists included here nevertheless made their mark upon the German and world music scene and even played with many of the giants of the movement.

As the 60s were coming to a close, many German musicians began experimenting with fusing jazz, rock, pop, electronic, and world music with a harder, more aggressive sound. The resulting movement, originally called "kosmische music" or "cosmic music" would give way to the kaleidoscope of sounds now known as Krautrock.

Many labels and compilations, not to mention reissues have been focused on this moment and in many ways, today, there could be said to be a global revival in the art form by younger, modern bands. But this is where Tramp Records, always peeking behind the curtain, has decided to take "the road less traveled" as we trust them to do. This edition of the Peace Chant series explores the artists that, instead of going full steam ahead in the rock and world music direction, decided to play the role of 'spiritual advisor' to the movement and continue building a legacy of jazz and pop infusions to their more rock-oriented counterparts. Of course, there may not have been much commercial appeal of these recordings and many of them fell into obscurity. But it is thanks to the tireless efforts of Tramp Records that we are able to catch a glimpse of what undoubtedly the Giants of the genre at the time were already well aware of and likely being influenced by. As you will see, many of the artists in this compilation went on to become music teachers and mentors in their own right and surely influenced the course of music history in Germany. Now their stories are finally being told. And though the music is amazing on its own, it is truly astounding when cast in its historical context. This landmark compilation continues the unfoldment of diabolically obscure yet culturally and artistically essential recordings that have been hidden and precariously balanced on the precipice of obsolescence.

For the first time ever, Tramp Records is proud to present an "all German" artists version of the Peace Chant series, including liner notes printed in German exclusively with an English translation downloadable.

TRACK LISTING

1. Vier - Count-A-Round
2. Secret Tip Corner Band - Scarabäus
3. Jaro - Song For My Father
4. Baobab - Keine Nummer
5. Sounds - Sound Spirit
6. Big Band Der Otto-Hahn-Schule Hamburg - Regenwetter
7. Jazz Oder Nie Big Band - Work Song
8. Big Band Blechschaden - Limestone Knave
9. Stuttgarter Jazz Workshop - A Night In Stuttgart
10. Seelow & Mayer Formation - Soul-In
11. Bernd Reichow Jazz Formation - Bolero In Jazz

Fans and supporters of our label already know that almost any of our compilation series are focused on privately produced recordings, whether it is Funk, Jazz, AOR or Yacht Rock. We always try to dig as deep as possible, and sometimes even further. "Sounds" are one of those combos which have been overlooked since the start of the so called Rare-Groove movement in the early 1990s. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Sound Spirit (7)
2. Sweet Emma

Fabulous double-sider combining deep funk and lowrider soul on one 45! Be quick, limited pressing.

TRACK LISTING

1. Hanging In
2. When Is She Coming

Phenomenal soul/funk 2-sider which has deserved a repress so badly. "Bi-Centennial - 1976" has been comped on the fourth volume in the "Can You Feel It" compilation series. The flip side, "Love One Another", was featured on "Countdown To... Soul 2". Now available on a good old 45 RPM single re-issue.

TRACK LISTING

1. Bi-Centennial - 1976 (feat. Speckled Rainbow)
2. Love One Another (feat. Speckled Rainbow)

"Steps On A Cloud" was featured on the fourth volume in the "Can You Feel It" compilation series. "Whispering" has not been re-issued so far and is exclusively available on this sweet 45 RPM single.

TRACK LISTING

1. Steps On A Cloud
2. Whispering

Two superrare & heavy funk cuts from Donnie Sanders. "Shing A Ling Baby" can be found on the incredible "Feeling Nice Vol.4" compilation album. "Naptown USA" is completely unknown and waits to be discovered.

TRACK LISTING

1. Shing-a-Ling Baby (feat. Don Juans)
2. Naptown USA (feat. Don Juans)

"Matter of Taste" released their debut album on the small german Flame label in 1979. "Step By Step" is a monstrous Disco track while the flip side ("Haselief") is completely different and certainly surprises the listener. First time on 7"!

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Two classics by Matter Of Taste that have been painfully, unavailable on 7" until now.. a no brainer for funk and soul fans.

TRACK LISTING

1. Step By Step
2. Haselief

"Without Your Love" is a wonderful, uplifting modern soul tune which was recently comped on "Praise Poems Vol. 9". The original 45 RPM single is ultra-rare and extremely hard to find, so this reissue is here to please a lot of music lovers.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Tramp continue to deliver the goods this week, offering up rare-as-hen's-teeth tracks on tasty 7". An original of this smoochy and fiery double header would set you back a cool two ton.

TRACK LISTING

1. Without Your Love
2. The Real Deal

The story of the invention of the term, 'deepfunk' is probably only known among fans and practitioners of this niche-genre. In short, it all started in the 1990s when DJs like Keb Darge, Mark 'Snowboy' Cotgrove and others began spinning obscure and feral Funk 45 RPM singles from local American bands, ostensibly generating another sub-category branch off of the mighty Northern Soul tree. The dance-club phenomenon inevitably spilled over to contemporary groups on the funk scene which immediately tried to record their music the way their idols did. The 'rare groove' and 'acid jazz' movements had run their course and there was a concerted effort to reinstate primitive idiomatic styles and techniques into the music, most notably by 90s funk collective The Poets of Rhythm. As more years passed by the number of bands steadily increased (although in tiny numbers, compared to the mainstream market). Almost every country had a representative with the majority of them coming from the United Kingdom. The deepfunk sound was still a niche, however a very few bands made it onto the mainstream charts, most notably Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings.

At the height of the retro-soul movement a questionable development took place. As more bands arrived on the scene, the production became more and more polished and pop-ish. Some of that squeaky-clean tidiness began to creep into the recordings, encouraged in part by the signature sounds of the digital recording technology available at that time. Some bands even tried to jump onto the possibility of promoting their music as 'deepfunk' although they were actually playing slick, funky pop music. This way some people who thought they were listening to raw, energetic funk actually felt quite ambushed when hit with real deepfunk. In fact, a certain percentage of funk music produced within the past 20 years does not deserve to be described as 'deepfunk' at all. Fortunately there were (and are) some pleasant exceptions which did not just imitate but actually rendered amazing funk music just like some of the finest funk combos of the 1960s and 70s.

One of those creative minds is without a doubt Joel Ricci aka Lucky Brown. Originally from Seattle, Washington, USA, he has enriched the deepfunk community since the mid-2000s with his stellar abilities. He is not only an amazing musician playing multiple instruments, but also a brilliant composer, arranger, and producer too. But for us here at Tramp he is much more, a close friend and remarkable human being. Whenever we were struggling, whether with the label or in private life, Joel and his musical work helped us to overcome everything and to keep going our path.

So here we are in 2023. The songs you are listening to right now are the complete Space Dream collection, split into two parts, representing the two living-room recording sessions from which his 2011 Tramp Records debut was compiled. Each fully remastered album contains unreleased material and comes with brand new, beautifully reimagined artwork by Ricci himself, housed in an authentic 1960s tip-on cover. A first class product from a first class musician for the discerning funk enthusiast.

TRACK LISTING

1. Jesse's Party (feat. Lucky Brown)
2. Redbeard (feat. Lucky Brown)
3. Fireball (feat. Lucky Brown)
4. Steamed Greens (feat. Lucky Brown)
5. She's A Hard Workin' Woman (feat. Lucky Brown)
6. Space Dream (feat. Lucky Brown)
7. Scarlet Runner (feat. Lucky Brown)
8. Forever (feat. Lucky Brown)

After 8 years and 8 volumes, the Tramp Records crew invites you to join them on yet another enlightening journey into soulful Jazz, Folk and AOR from the 1970s and 80s.

This 9th volume contains sixteen (almost) forgotton Soul, Jazz and AOR/yacht rock nuggets from between the mid 1970s and early 1980s. One of the many highlights is the opening track by Ronnie Miler, balearic soul at its very best. But that's just the beginning. Praise Poems Vol.9 covers a wide selection of genres, from AOR (Leaves of Autumn, Mirage and Germany's own People) to pop-soul-rock (Stroke, Tom Miles and Jan Lewis Group), from Terry Callier-type folk-soul (Danish-Swedish singer & guitarist Mikael Neumann, Babe and the previously unreleased "Love Is Not For Real"), to jazz (Dianne Elliott and Phil Palumbo), completing the set with a couple of melancholic soul and psych beauties, most notably AOH's mind-blowing "The Answer Lies In Love".

Very few compilation series' release as many as nine volumes and those that get that far often start to run out of quality music or meander too far from their original artistic direction. That certainly is not the case with the "Praise Poems" series which leaps from strength-to-strength as our team of compilers and researchers continue to unearth lost and often overlooked music from an era long gone. Many of these records were released in small quantities as private pressings or by small regional labels. Obviously, those labels neither had the budget, expertise, nor options to promote their releases in a sweeping way. Therefore the majority of these artists failed to find the wider audience their music so richly deserved.

TRACK LISTING

1. Ronnie Miller - I Got The Hots For You
2. Leaves Of Autumn - Slip Back Into The Magic
3. Mirage - Bend A Little
4. People - Misty Mood
5. Stroke - Without Your Love
6. Tom Miles - Old Home Movies
7. Jan Lewis Group - Oh Senor
8. Synod - Future Shock
9. Mikael Neumann - Hey Flicka
10. 5-3-74 - Love Is Not For Real
11. Babe - It's A Long Road
12. Jeff Elliott - Magic Sands
13. Charles Vickers - Mister Jones
14. AOH - The Answer Lies In Love
15. Dianne Elliott - The Ring
16. Phil Palumbo & Pals - It Was A Very Good Year

Representing Seattle Funk. The Oscillators' debut 45 RPM single is deep, raw and energetic. Led by drummer oLLi kLoMp, the line up features members of the polyrhythmics, Rippin' Chicken, the Pulsations, Lucky Brown, the Trueloves, 45th Street Brass, The S.G.'s, and more...

This 45 RPM single is limited to 300 copies and contains two non-album tracks.

TRACK LISTING

1. Cosmonaut
2. Off The Clock

Representing Seattle Funk. The Oscillators' debut album is deep, raw and energetic. Led by drummer oLLi kLoMp, the line up features members of the polyrhythmics, Rippin' Chicken, the Pulsations, Lucky Brown, the Trueloves, 45th Street Brass, The S.G.'s, and more...

As of yet, as these words were written, the Oscillators is not a band. the Oscillators is an experimental recording collaboration that turned out swimmingly.

Our gauge was this: "Do we like it?" No agenda or goal. The main mode being simply; create what we like out of thin air. Yet the air was heavy therefore create what we like out of thick air. Magical, gravy-thick air. Molecules, olli'cules. Alchemically thick. Apparently, we needed to sample something out-of-the-ordinary… the process is called, "stackin- phat". Minimal gear, maximum vibe. In fact, this process and this gear would make most educated sound engineers cringe but the players know.

Pushing the tape…yes, tape! 4 track to be exact, pushing the tape to it's edge. First, stack two drum tracks. bounce them to one primal track. Sometimes one drummer, sometimes two; "a great drumbeat already contains melody." This is your first layer of phat. Generally, unless the muse says otherwise, you wanna bring in your bass player next, gently caress guidance and encouragement (maybe a beer or a hit a grass), then he or she can stack the next layer of phat. The next few layers are where things really take off. Maybe it's guitar then horns, maybe keys. Maybe just horns. Whatever the tune calls for. Whatever the muse "calls" for. Everyone stacking is simultaneously inspired, while hindered, by the previous layer; "constricted genius" works of magic from thin/thick air.

Most of the time the players weren't in the same room at the same time, and in some cases, haven't seen each other in years, but it sounds like a family and feels like a band. Create what we like.

The natural unfolding of this creation was affirming, in that the process of creation proved most relevant. An expression of faith and appreciation of the experiMENTAL process with no preparation for something else. Beyond fortunate for the allowance of time. "never underestimate the power of positive thought"

TRACK LISTING

1. Track Suit
2. Packet O' Cheese
3. Good News
4. Let's Get There
5. Spanish Monster
6. Intersextion
7. Spinning Species
8. Emulsify
9. Flip Flap
10. Pull One Down
11. Filterface
12. Elaborate
13. Trees In Space

The Peace Chant compilation series is a Temple, a reliquary of sacred harmonious statements made by enlightened artists throughout time. With Tramp Records' latest offerings, "Peace Chant, Raw Deep and Spiritual Jazz volumes 5 & 6, deeper, darker, and even more remote chambers of this already exalted temple are brought to light. The team at Tramp, with their torch of love and with reverence for those builders who came before, have returned from their quest with musical treasures unfathomable. Indeed, some of these tracks sound as if they may have literally been plucked from the ancient hands of some towering golden idol. But this quest was no looting effort, no. The Gods, as well as the artists and their families were fairly compensated through Tramp Records' rigorous and historically conscious licensing efforts.

Some of the treasures herein include, from Volume 5, a German gospel/modal jazz hybrid replete with flutes and vibes (and even a surprise gospel choir) reminding us not to 'speak when we should be silent' called "Ich Rede Wenn Ich Schweigen Sollte"; Indian jazz/rock fusion outfit Jazz Yatra Sextette's literal peace chant, "Shanti" led by Louis Banks (real name Dambar Bahadur Budaprithi), who worked with Embryo and John Maclaughlin; and Ron Wilson Trio's walking meditation and study on the beauty and rhythm of "Zimbabwe" in 3/4.

TRACK LISTING

1. Wolfgang Lauth Combo - Ich Rede Wenn Ich Schweigen Sollte
2. Beaver College Modern Jazz Orchestra - No Outlet
3. Federico Cervantes - Little Boogum
4 Ron Wilson Trio - Zimbabwe
5. Cleveland Jazz All Stars - Night Eagle
6. Rex Davis - Downey Sunset
7. Dahle Scott - One More For The Road
8. Jazz Yatra Sextett - Shanti

The Peace Chant compilation series is a Temple, a reliquary of sacred harmonious statements made by enlightened artists throughout time. With Tramp Records' latest offerings, "Peace Chant, Raw Deep and Spiritual Jazz volumes 5 & 6, deeper, darker, and even more remote chambers of this already exalted temple are brought to light. The team at Tramp, with their torch of love and with reverence for those builders who came before, have returned from their quest with musical treasures unfathomable. Indeed, some of these tracks sound as if they may have literally been plucked from the ancient hands of some towering golden idol. But this quest was no looting effort, no. The Gods, as well as the artists and their families were fairly compensated through Tramp Records' rigorous and historically conscious licensing efforts.

Volume 6 ululates with a rich flute and Fender Rhodes-rich microtonal fusion called "Cataracts" by Musica Orbis that even comes with some sparkling Afro-harping moments ala Dorothy Ashby; a 5/4 dreamscape conjured by the Fredric Rabold Crew called "Januschka" with enraptured wailing soprano; and a very interesting and likely heretofore unheard version of a tune that, in Dizzy's words, "... has withstood the vicissitudes of the contingent world and rocketed in an odyssey into the realm of the metaphysical...", A Night in Tunisia, with rich vocals and scatting.

TRACK LISTING

1. Musica Orbis - Cataracts
2. Charles Lamont - History
3. Jimmy McGary Quartet - Algunas
4. Lucky Brown & The S.G.'s - Bless Your Soul
5. A La Ala - A Night In Tunesia
6. Frey-Tiepold-Thierfelder-Lang - Colibry
7. New Day - Savior's Waltz
8. Frederic Rabold Crew - Januschka

After 6 years and 7 volumes, the Tramp Records crew invites you to join them on yet another enlightening journey into soulful Jazz, Folk and Funk from the 1970s.

This 8th volume contains nineteen Jazz, Soul and Folk nuggets from between the late 1960s and the late 1970s. One of the many highlights is the opening track by Bobby Cole which is most likely one of the finest independently produced vocal jazz recordings ever put on wax. So true. Oscar Brown Jr. and Mark Murphy sends its regards. But that's just the beginning. Praise Poems Vol.8 covers a wide selection of genres, from big band jazz (Helmut Pistor's Big Rock Jazz Band and Germany's own Ladykiller) to psych-pop (Portraits in Sound, Harve and Charee and Allison & Shaffer), from folk-rock (Flash, Garndarf and the incredible Fang Buzbee) to AOR (The Menagerie and Penn Central), completing the set with a handful of melancholic folk beauties, most notably Hans Hass Jr.'s mind-blowing "Welche Farbe hat der Wind".

Very few compilation series' release as many as eight volumes and those that get that far often start to run out of quality music or meander too far from their original artistic direction. That certainly is not the case with the "Praise Poems" series which leaps from strength-to-strength as our team of compilers and researchers continue to unearth lost and often overlooked music from an era long gone. Many of these records were released in small quantities as private pressings or by small regional labels. Obviously, those labels neither had the budget, expertise, nor options to promote their releases in a sweeping way. Therefore the majority of these artists failed to find the wider audience their music so richly deserved.

TRACK LISTING

LP Tracklist:

1. Bobby Cole - A Perfect Day
2. Helmut Pistor & Big Rock Jazz Band - There's A Promise For The Future
3. Ladykiller - Mercy Mercy Mercy
4. Portraits In Sound - It's Time For Music
5. Sebastian - Good Time City Nights
6. Harve And Charee - Got To Turn Away
7. Allison & Shaffer - Moon Madness
8. Klaas Craats Six - Water Gardens Of The Moon
9. Gemini - If You So Smart
10. Flash - Around This Time
11. Garndarf - Song For A Girl
12. Fang Buzbee & Sutton - Frozen Love
13. Penn Central - Make It Happen
14.The Menagerie - They All Seem To Know
15. Hans Hass - Welche Farbe Hat Der Wind
16. Ron & Sally Price - California Feeling
17. Kris & Dale - Memory Shelf
18. David White - I Want To Have You A Long Time
19. Vision - Girl We Really Done It This Time


CD Tracklist:

01: Bobby Cole - A Perfect Day
02: Helmut Pistor's Big Rock Jazz Band - There's A Promise For The Future
03: Ladykiller - Mercy Mercy Mercy
04: Portraits In Sound - It's Time For Music
05: Harve And Charee - Got To Turn Away
06: Allison & Shaffer - Moon Madness
07: Klaas Craats Six - Water Gardens Of The Moon
08: Gemini - If You're So Smart
09: Flash - Around This Time
10: Garndarf - Song For A Girl
11: Fang Buzbee & Sutton - Frozen Love
12: Penn Central - Make It Happen
13: The Menagerie - They All Seem To Know
14: Hans Hass - Welche Farbe Hat Der Wind
15: Ron & Sally Price - California Feeling
16: Kris & Dale - Memory Shelf
17: David White - I Want To Have You A Long Time
18: Vision - Girl We Really Done It This Time