Digital and Physical - Distribution Worldwide -Promotions
This Double Album will include only the music that was indeed on the 1st voting ballot with no exceptions.
These artists are a part of History of Independent Music and Musicians® by being featured on this album.
This is Double Album that captures the moment in History that Talented Independent Artists' music was accepted on The 1st Voting Ballot.
Each year Bongo Boy Records releases a volume to feature these talents.
Bongo Boy Records is continuing to capture the moment that Talented Independent artists' music was accepted on the 1st GRAMMY Awards® Voting ballot.
The 66th FYC Album(cds) by Various Artists (Double Cd Album)
This Double Album release date: February, 4th, 2024, and is made available worldwide as a Digital and Physical album(cds) release on Bongo Boy Records.
Double CDs Package Shipped in The USA $18.40USD
DISC ONE (42:07)
FEATURED AWARD WINNING RECORDING ARTISTS
DISC ONE (47:07)
1.KICK THE WICKED - Paradise by the Dashboard Light 8:18 (Rock Performance)
2.The NEW Bardōts - Wasted Blind 3:58 (Rock)
3.Frank Piombo - Luca’s Groove (Radio Edit) 3:36 (R&B Performance)
4.Angie Wells - Where the Livin’ Is Good 4:55 (Jazz Vocal)
5.Clark Ford - I Believe in You feat. Underground Treehouse 2:55
6.Simonne Draper - ECLIPSE (Jon Kennedy Remix) 4:38 (Remixed Recording, Non-Classical)
7.Maryann Stefanik - Sharpen Your Knives 3:13 (Rock)
8.Ban Brothers - Nothin’ Gets Lost 2:47 (Alternative Music)
9.Gar Francis - Blue Cadillac 4:23 (Children’s Music)
10.Mercy Alu - JERUSALEMA 3:22 (Global Music)
DISC TWO (43:28)
1.The NEW Bardōts - In The Year 2525 (Extended Version) 5:04 (Rock)
2.KICK THE WICKED - FireFly 5:08 (Rock)
3.OBLIVEA - DEEP INSIDE 4:25 (Rock Performance)
4.Angie Wells - Talkin’ All Under My Clothes 5:02 (Jazz Vocal)
5.Clark Ford - Written in The Stars feat. Underground Treehouse 3:13 (Traditional Pop)
6.Ban Brothers - Phire Elaam 4:04 (Global Music Performance)
7.Grayhawk - To Ask A Blessing 4:51 (Music Video)
8.Mercy Alu - African Queen 4:09 (Global Music)
9.STUDEO - Find Your Destiny 4:27 (Pop Duo/Group Performance)
10.Inga McDaniel - Ain’t That It! 3:03 (Global Music)
If Route 66 is an iconic route through the American landscape, offering a procession of changing vistas and extraordinary experiences where memories are made and new adventures await, then this, the 66th FYC album from Bongo Boy Records, is undoubtedly its sonic equivalent. For those wondering about the title, this compilation series features only artists who made it through to the first voting ballot For Your Consideration (FYC), which eventually made it to the nominees of the Grammy Awards®. How much more iconic can you get?
As this release is a double album, I approach each disc separately. To do justice to all of the great music on this twin album set, rather than presenting the reader with something erring towards the length of War and Peace, two reviews seemed the way to go. So, welcome to part one.
Talking of iconic experiences, what better way to kick things off than with Kick The Wicked covering Meatloaf’s timeless Paradise By The Dashboard Light? And as covers go, you would be hard-pressed to tell it apart from the original, and that is about the best thing you can say about a cover: it shows that the band “gets it.” Again, perhaps the finest accolade possible. And when it comes to kick-ass rock and roll, it is only natural that The NEW Bardots come along hot on its heels. Their ability to take all the fun and familiarity of rocks past and apply it to new, of-the-moment, fresh sonic experiences is the template other rock bands should use to plan their careers.
Luca’s Groove, courtesy of Frank Piombo, is a sassy and sultry Latin groover. This instrumental piece sways and sashays, moves, and, as the title suggests, grooves with effortless sass and sun-kissed sophistication. Sophistication is also the watch world for the next offering. Where the Livin’s is Good sees Angie Wells blending balmy blues with soulfulness, a song that could have been plucked right out of the Great American songbook: old school deftness and musical dexterity, old vibes for a new age.
Clark Ford and Underground Treehouse continue the vibe with a sultry, jazz-soul torch song, one that not only features a vocal delivery that is hard to better but which is in turn draped with loose and lovely drums, shimmering piano cascades and a saxophone that almost feels like a second vocal, ebbing and flowing throughout the song as if in response to the lead vocal. Gorgeous.
The Jon Kennedy Remix of Simonne Draper’s Eclipse takes us on a musical journey through blends of arabesque progressions and Middle Eastern spice. It is a slow sonic meander through exotic landscapes captured through equally mystical soundscapes, reminiscent of the sort of magic the likes of Loreena McKennitt weaves through her music.
A neat turn is made with the arrival of Maryann Stefanik’s Sharpen Your Knives, a growling and raw slice of rock and roll filled with all the menace and majesty that the likes of Siouxsie and the Banshees were the masters of, a blend of rock and roll growl and gothic malevolence. And from the naughty to the nice, Ban Brothers brings us something optimistic, lovely, and full of life in the form of Nothin’ Gets Lost, a neat slice of rootsy rock understatement, and Gar Francis brings us Blue Cadillac, a grooving piece of horn-infused, old-school bluesy, rock and roll as only he can.
This first half is put to bed with the beauty and bouncy Jerualema, a blend of digital beats and dancy vibes, courtesy of Mercy Alu, a beguiling piece of futuristic, left-field, alt-pop that seems to make more sense and become more addictive with each subsequent spin.
Ten fantastic songs in, ten incredible artists are experienced, and we are still only halfway through. See you on the other side.
The second disc of this fab and groovy waxing, as we might have called it if it were the sixties, and this was on vinyl, features a mix of some of the artists we heard on the first disc, plus some new names. However, if you follow the fantastic collections and compilations, videos, and music shows that Bongo Boy is responsible for, you will recognize many names.
As with the previous disc, we kick off with a cover, this time the Zager and Evans’ classic In The Year 2525, given a suitable injection of stacatto, rock and roll energy courtesy of The NEW Bardots. There was always an ominous sense to this prediction of the future, but here it is taken into some darker and more delicious realms than ever, thanks to a band that injects everything they do with a sense of heightened theatrics and drama. That’s how you do rock and roll.
Firefly, from Kick The Wicked, is also full of rock groove, operatic vocals, and wide-screen sonics. It’s another slice of classic rock that meets proggy ornateness with no small hint of the genre’s 80s heyday- music that is both big and clever, and it is not often that you get that.
Rock is still on the menu with ObLiveA’s Deep Inside. This song is built of squalling guitars and dark design, intriguing and intelligent. It doesn’t just throw away its sense of presence but builds and beguiles, drawing the listener into it as it spirals upwards in intensity.
Phew! That’s a lot of rock and roll, so now Angie Wells is ushered back in for a scintillating slice of bar-room jazz with Talkin’ All Under My Clothes. Once again, she is captivating and understated and leaves plenty of room for the players to also have their moment in the spotlight, as is the jazz way. Trumpets serenade, basses boogie, pianos promenade. It’s a genre that is nothing if not democratic.
As we found on the first disc, putting Angie Wells back to back with Clark Ford and Underground Treehouse works a treat. Again, those old-school jazz vibes are followed by some tender balladry, a love-lorn and lingering lullaby, tender and tantalizing.
Ban Brothers offer us something that can be regarded as world music—the sounds of Mediterranean guitar mixed with Indian vocals set to waltz time with Phire Elaam. If world music is music not from one place but the authentic sound of global collaboration and cross-pollenation, then this is the real deal.
Grayhawk is known for music that seems to tap into primordial feelings. This music feels to have been passed down through the eons to be reimagined and reawakened for a modern audience. Here, To Ask A Blessing feels like a combination of opera and spiritual ritual, choral chants, drifting elemental sounds, and ethereal voices from across the years.
African Queen, as the name might imply, is a buoyant blast of Afro-beat Groove and dance moves, the sound of the traditions of that continent complete with gorgeous vocal harmonies and liquid guitar runs, all running on that lilting off-beat bounce that is so prevalent and brilliantly employed in such music.
Studio helps take things home with their signature grand pop-rock soundscaping in the form of Find Your Destiny, music that is built from recognizable musical elements but which sounds like sky-searing anthems in their own right. The full stop comes with the funky grooves of Inga McDaniels, Ain’t That It, a shuffling, bustling blast of understated and relaxed dancefloor swagger. And sadly, to respond to her statement…yes, that is it!
Bongo Boy Records, the unrelenting promotional champions for independent artists, present their latest double album/2-CD set featuring music appearing on the “For Your Consideration” voting ballot – the very first ballot considered for the very prestigious Grammy Awards®.
Taking a listen to each disc, we’ll chat about the artists’ offerings, and describe what makes them especially award-worthy. “And the award goes to…..”
Folks, this is the cream of the crop. It’s a collection of award-worthy songs that should absolutely put these artists on the map. Or, put them on the map…again. If you want to hear the best independent artists in any and all genres – the secret underground movement that sounds better than normally labeled “great” artists achieving awards, perhaps undeservedly – this is the musically dynamic collection to get. Recommended.
