Joe Concra is a painter, a builder, and the CO+ founder of the O+ Festival, based in Kingston, New York.

O+ is a community-rooted organization that connects artists and musicians with health and wellness care through a radical exchange model that started with an annual music and healthcare exchange festival and has expanded into year-round care.

In this episode, we talk about how it all began, what it takes to create systems of care outside of the system, and the deep link between art, service, and place. Joe’s perspective is thoughtful, kind, and rooted in lived experience.

This is a conversation about action, belief, building something meaningful from the ground up, and creating real positive change in communities.

Radar features discussions with artists and industry leaders who are creators and devotees of music and is produced by Dylan Hundley and The Vinyl District. Dylan Hundley is an artist and performer, and the co-creator and lead singer of Lulu Lewis and all things at Darling Black. She co-curates and hosts Salon Lulu which is a New York based multidisciplinary performance series. She is also a cast member of the iconic New York film Metropolitan.

Celebrating Kenny Burrell in advance of his 94th birthday tomorrow. —Ed.

In March of 1958 producer and Prestige Records owner Bob Weinstock organized a session with two up-and-comers in a very fertile scene. Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane was the result, pairing one of the most consistent guitarists in Modern Jazz with the now long renowned tenor saxophonist. It took over five years for those recordings to hit the retail racks via the Prestige subsidiary New Jazz, but the contents have been reissued numerous times since, reinforcing the high level of play. 

Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane is certainly a notable album. While Coltrane had played with guitarists before, this set is the only studio album to feature him leading (in this instance, co-leading) a band with that instrument (Wes Montgomery did join Coltrane’s sextet featuring Eric Dolphy for some West Coat live dates in 1961, even playing the Monterey Jazz Festival, but any tapes of those performances have yet to surface).

That this album sat in the vaults for half a decade will understandably lead some to assume it’s a lesser recording, but Weinstock had amassed quite a bit of Coltrane studio material while he had him under contract, sessions methodically issued as the saxophonist’s star continued to rise, often with Coltrane posthumously designated as leader.

To expand a bit, Coltrane and Burrell do play together in a sextet for three tracks on The Cats, a 1957 recording released in ’59. Issued as a leaderless date (sometimes credited to the Prestige All Stars), it sure sounds like it was conceived as a Tommy Flanagan session; the other two tracks feature the pianist in trio with bassist Doug Watkins and drummer Louis Hayes (trumpeter Idrees Sulieman completes the sextet).

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | In celebration of the 40th anniversary of their US breakout album Crush, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark have announced an expanded reissue of the LP, which is out October 10 via UMR/Virgin. Today’s announcement also follows the recent 40th anniversary of their acclaimed album Junk Culture.

Originally released on June 17, 1985, the band’s sixth album Crush took OMD across the pond and became their breakthrough record Stateside. Spearheaded by the irresistible single “So In Love,” which entered the Billboard Top 40, and the radio smash “Secret,” the album received acclaim across the board and also saw success in the UK and Europe, peaking at #13 on the UK Official Album Chart. It remains a firm favorite with the band and their fans.

Working from a batch of demos, Andy and Paul, plus multi-instrumentalist Martin Cooper and drummer Malcolm Holmes, began recording Crush in Liverpool’s Amazon Studios in the late winter of 1984. Having laid down what they could in Amazon, they then relocated to the more secluded facilities of The Manor, in the heart of Oxfordshire, where they enlisted US-born producer Stephen Hague to help pull the record together.

“We felt for the first time like we needed somebody to help us focus on the production,” McCluskey says. “We were too close to these half-written songs and needed someone who could be a little bit more objective. Stephen had a very slick production sound. Maybe unconsciously, we were also thinking, ‘If we’re going to break America, we need to be a bit more polished’.”

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Craft Latino is pleased to announce a 180-gram vinyl reissue of 1981’s Canciónes del Solar de Los Aburridos, the GRAMMY®-nominated album from bandleader, producer, and trumpet player Willie Colón and singer-songwriter Rubén Blades.

Marking the legendary duo’s third collaborative album, Canciónes del Solar de Los Aburridos carried on Blades’ pioneering tradition of “conscious salsa” through politically charged songs like “Tiburón,” plus such fan favorites as “Te están buscando” and “Ligia Elena.” Now freshly mastered with (AAA) lacquers cut from the original master tapes, the long-out-of-print title returns to its original format on September 19th, while fans can also stream the album in high-resolution audio—available now on select platforms. In addition, a limited-edition (only 300) “Azul Ahumado” (Blue Smoke) color vinyl variant is available exclusively at Fania’s online store, bundled with a collectible T-shirt. Both vinyl options are available for pre-order starting today.

The story of Canciónes del Solar de Los Aburridos begins more than a decade earlier with Willie Colón (b. 1950). A pioneering force in salsa music, the bandleader and trumpet player was just 15 years old when he signed to Fania Records, where he became a sensation alongside singer Héctor “El Cantante” Lavoe.

Together, the pair released 11 genre-defining albums, including 1967’s El Malo, 1970’s Cosa Nuestra, and the 1971 Christmas classic Asalto Navideño, before amicably parting ways. While Colón pursued a variety of behind-the-scenes projects as a producer, composer, arranger, and musical director, he soon found himself eager to return to the studio for his own projects—when a rising Panamanian singer-songwriter caught his ear.

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Celebrating Geddy Lee on his 72nd birthday. —Ed.

I’m here in the Jade Suite of Vancouver’s Pan Pacific Hotel, where Rush’s Geddy Lee has been conducting interviews to promote the 2020 40th Anniversary Edition of Permanent Waves. Geddy’s looking quite relaxed in his 2112-era white kimono, an Alexandrite pendant of the Egyptian God Ra around his neck. He’s sipping a cup of Da Hong Pao tea, attention riveted on some fishing show on what looks to be 900-inch television, and the first words he utters are, “Professional fishing. Who knew that was even a thing?” He pauses for a spoonful of Beluga caviar, then adds, “Fellow in the funny cap just pulled in a muskellunge. I’m no expert, but it looks to be a 59-pounder.” This is as good a place as any to begin the interview.

Do you fish?

Gave it a try once. Caught a walleye, and the damn thing attacked me. I meant to release him, but he had no intention of returning the favor.

You sound nothing like you do on stage. I might as well be talking to Barry White. How do you sing the way you do?

It’s quite simple, really. We toured with this gargantuan roadie whose only job it was to kick me in the balls before I went on stage.

Didn’t it hurt?

You can’t imagine. It was all I can do not to play the show doubled over in pain. I basically owe the man my career. But I had to let him go when he started nutting me as I was coming off stage as well. Overjealous, he was,

1980’s Permanent Waves marked a great departure from its predecessors. The songs are shorter, for instance.

They are, and I can tell you why. Someone handed me a copy of Never Mind the Bollocks, and I knew immediately this was the direction we needed to take.

So Permanent Waves was your punk rock statement.

Sure. We wanted the songs to be quick punches to the throat of uptight society. We originally intended to call the album Anarchy in the Great White North.

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Celebrating Jimmy Cliff in advance of his 81st birthday tomorrow.
—Ed.

The phenomenon of the Comeback Album used to be a cringe inducing occurrence, largely because the results would succeed far too frequently in simply getting it wrong. However, as a testament to human development the last few decades have seen a gradual increase in actually getting it right. Happily, Jimmy Cliff’s Rebirth falls onto the successful side of the comeback street, mainly because it picks a smart strategy and then sticks with it. Modestly scaled, it would be hyperbole to call it a true return to form, but it does prove that Mr. Cliff still has the goods.

Yes, the road to a wickedly hot musical eternity is paved with good intentions. No musician deliberately sets out to make a record that’s truly, non-ironically bad, after all. And nobody that loves The Shaggs’ Philosophy of the World, a record often cited by journalists scribing for list-happy magazines or websites as one of the Worst of All Time (a musical cousin to Ed Wood’s film Plan 9 From Outer Space essentially), I mean sincerely values it as a musical document and not as the aural equivalent to a velvet painting, would describe it as a “bad” record. And the Wiggins’ Sisters sure as hell weren’t trying to make music that would fall under the (admittedly ambiguous) definition of “bad”.

Again, back in the day comeback records were often just filthy with benevolent intentions. Somebody with contacts in the industry couldn’t shake the nagging insistence that it would be a great idea if a certain artist or band got back into the studio with the aim of recapturing the special magic that for numerous reasons had been lost; maybe the act was a huge commercial entity that somehow lost their way, perhaps a cult musician or group getting a belated push after being afflicted with indifference, or possibly just a name that was around for so long that total disfavor befell them on the road to inevitable rediscovery.

Whatever the circumstance, everything usually moves along rather sweetly until someone has the bright idea to bring in that dude who played bass for a week with Paul Shaffer in The World’s Most Dangerous Band. Things quickly deteriorate from there, and then it’s all over except for the hell and the hand baskets.

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TERRE HAUTE, IN | On one of the stickiest, sweatiest nights of the summer—complete with a full-blown heat advisory—The Mill in Terre Haute brought the fire in more ways than one. Nestled along the Wabash River, this massive outdoor venue played host to a night of country swagger, songwriting chops, and pure crowd energy that didn’t let the heat win.

Kicking things off was Redferrin, who came in hot—literally and figuratively. A songwriter with grit and edge, he got the crowd moving early, laying down a high-energy set that made it clear he’s not just a name in the liner notes. Next up was Ernest, another songwriter-turned-performer who’s written hits for just about everybody in country music. He brought smooth vocals, humor, and a laid-back cool that somehow made the 90-degree swamp air feel bearable.

As the sun finally started to dip below the horizon (thank God), Old Dominion took the stage and brought the kind of polished, radio-hit-fueled set that reminded everyone why they’re headlining amphitheaters. They cruised through fan favorites, had the crowd singing every word, and genuinely looked like they were having just as much fun as the audience. The breeze off the Wabash finally kicked in, and it turned into one of those perfect summer concert moments—sweaty, loud, and unforgettable.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Daniel Johnston, a singular voice in American songwriting, became a cult icon in the 1990s indie music scene through an extraordinary body of deeply personal, lo-fi recordings. Over the course of his life, he released more than thirty albums and built a devoted international following. Praised by critics and revered by artists from Kurt Cobain to Tom Waits, Johnston’s songs have been compared to the raw emotive force of Robert Johnson and the timeless storytelling of Hank Williams.

His influence can be traced to a series of homemade cassette tapes he began circulating in the early 1980s. These tapes—unfiltered, intimate, and hauntingly sincere—were the foundation of his mythos. Recognizing their importance, Jeff Tartakov began managing and signed Daniel to Stress Records in the mid-eighties to not only help distribute, manufacture, and preserve its handmade spirit but to help the music reach the broader world. Tartakov’s stewardship was instrumental in building Johnston’s legacy, and in defining the cassette as a vital medium for outsider music.

Much like the collapsible paint tube that sparked the Impressionist movement, the cassette tape democratized music-making, enabling untrained voices to share uncensored emotional truths. As a label founded on cassette releases, Joyful Noise is proud to present Daniel Johnston In the 20th Century, a definitive collection of 16 remastered cassette albums, lovingly restored by longtime collaborator Kramer (Shimmy-Disc).

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Let’s start with this fact: this 1973 record is one of the most sought-after collector’s items of its era. Why? Well, first of all, Lyn Christopher’s self-titled release on the Paramount label is a really fine album, a beguiling blend of pop and R&B sounds featuring the artist’s winsome vocals backed by some of New York’s finest studio cats, like guitarist Hugh McCracken, Blood Sweat & Tears multi-instrumentalist Lou Marini Jr., and future Back Street Crawler keyboardist Mike Montgomery.

And “Take Me with You,” the penultimate song on the album, has been sampled by Mobb Deep’s Havoc, LL Cool J, 50 Cent, The Game, and, memorably, by the Smut Peddlers on their 2001 underground classic “One by One.” But there is another very big reason why original copies of Lyn Christopher command a king’s ransom (and no, it’s not because it’s never been reissued in any format). If you know who Chaim Witz and Stanley Eisen are, then you probably already know the answer. That’s right…this album marks the first appearance on record of Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS! They sing background vocals on two tracks, “Celebrate II” and “Weddin’”; and supposedly that’s Peter Criss doing handclaps.

What’s more, this album introduced legendary engineer Eddie Kramer—who, though unbilled, was engineering the sessions—to Simmons and Stanley, who were still calling their band Wicked Lester. Kramer then produced the four-song demo that got KISS signed to Casablanca, and the rest, as they say, is history! We at Real Gone are thrilled to FINALLY be reissuing this fabled album on CD and light blue vinyl, remastered by Mike Milchner at Sonic Vision and complete with liner notes by Bill Kopp that set the stage. A real slice of pop music history that you gotta hear!

Celebrating Simon Kirke on his 76th birthday. —Ed.

Bad Company played meat and potatoes hard rock for the masses—they stripped things down to the fundamentals in a way that few other rock bands ever have, and the kids in the arenas loved them for it.

Austerity was their calling card; they made America’s Lynyrd Skynyrd—whose Ronnie Van Zant cited Rodgers as his biggest influence—sound like progressive rockers. They were a math problem every bit as simple as the Ramones, but without the zip. Bad Company steamrolled their way to the big time. They were every bit as remorseless as Killdozer, who paid them homage with their cover of “Good Lovin’ Gone Bad.”

Bad Company were formed in 1973 by former members of Free (vocalist Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke), Mott the Hoople (guitarist Mick Ralphs), and King Crimson (bassist Boz Burrell), which made them a supergroup I suppose, albeit a low-rent one. Or perhaps I say that simply because Bad Company never scored very high in the charisma department—they weren’t flamboyant, had zero flash, wit or lyrical ideas, and weren’t the types you’d find at Rodney Bingenheimer’s English Disco in Los Angeles. They may have called themselves Bad Company—and I could be dead wrong about this—but in my mind’s eye I see them going back to their hotel rooms after a show and brushing their teeth. Vigorously.

Their debut LP, 1974’s Bad Company, was their strongest. It boasted five classic cuts, and only one dead carp. Their next one, 1975’s Straight Shooter, had a killer A Side but a B side that kills the album’s forward momentum stone dead—the steamroller runs out of gas. It’s a primo example of the sophomore album curse, and also, I suspect, of a common guarantor of debut album follow-up failure—rushing into the studio too soon after recording the first one. Rodgers and Ralphs, the band’s primary songwriters, obviously lacked sufficient material to fill out the album, leaving them to serve up a clunker or two. Worse, they handed the ball off to Kirke—nobody’s idea of a songwriter—who contributed two tracks. They’re tepid tap water at best.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | “I never wanted to be famous, I only wanted to be great.” —Ray Charles

Founded by Ray Charles in the 1960s, Tangerine Records is proud to celebrate the 17x GRAMMY® Award-winning singer, songwriter, and pianist’s singular legacy with the Tangerine Master Series, a new slate of reissues highlighting Charles’ best-known music alongside classic records long out of print, and ready for rediscovery. Each album in the series has been restored and remastered under the direct supervision of The Ray Charles Foundation, painting a vivid new portrait of an artist and icon whose impact continues to expand and inspire. Beginning Friday, August 22, with Come Live With Me, a blend of pop and gospel-infused soul that sees Charles demonstrating his unmatched versatility.

Remastered by 5x GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer Michael Graves and acclaimed vinyl mastering engineer Jeff Powell, this long-overdue reissue marks the album’s first appearance on vinyl in over 50 years. Vinyl and streaming arrive August 22, with CDs available September 26. Pre-orders and pre-saves are available now.

Come Live With Me showcases Ray Charles in full ’70s crossover mode, embracing string-laden arrangements, country-tinged ballads, and soulful soft rock. The album plays like Two Sides of a Saturday Night—elegant and introspective at the start, loose and electrifying by the end. Side A, arranged by longtime collaborator and conductor Sid Feller, highlights Charles’s emotive vocal delivery on lush, orchestrated ballads such as “Till There Was You” and the title track, the latter of which proved a Top 20 AC and Top 30 R&B favorite.

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Who better than John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats to sing a final hymn to the recently deceased Ozzy Osbourne? All kinds of people are writing all kinds of wonderful things about the marvelously complex Osbourne, who proclaimed himself the “Prince of Darkness” while writing songs condemning the real article, but I’ve heard nothing better or more moving about Ozzy the man than the Mountain Goats’ 2019 song, “Passaic 1975.”

You might think the hyper-articulate and all-around nice guy Darnielle would be the last person to write the best all-time song about a guy who bit the head off a dead bat during a concert in 1982 and snorted ants a few years later to awe and appall the members of Mötley Crüe. Darnielle is not a metal guy. He’s as far from a metal guy as you can get and still be on the same planet.

And yet. Darnielle has always been a metal FAN, and a superfan of Black Sabbath; why, he actually sat down and wrote one of those little and normally quite dry (they’re published by Bloomsbury Academic, after all) 33 1/3 books about Black Sabbath’s 1971 tour de force Master of Reality.

But Darnielle’s little book is anything but dry, because being the novelist and consummate short-story-in-song kind of guy he is Darnielle wrote a goddamn NOVELLA about a kid who gets locked up for anti-social behavior and writes a journal addressed to his counselor Gary about how unfair it is he’s not allowed to listen to his Master of Reality tape, and who in the end is sent to another and far harsher institution after stealing the tape from safe-keeping and more or less daring Gary to report him, which Gary does. And in the course of this journal, he asks Gary to LISTEN to Master of Reality while explaining just WHY he loves Master of Reality so much, and it’s mighty fine as you can judge from his description of the opening of Master of Reality’s “Sweet Leaf”:

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