Eddie Martin Band - Live In The USA: Play The Blues Damn It!

Album: Live In The USA: Play The Blues Damn It!
Size: 120,3 MB
Time: 52:09
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2000
Styles: Blues
Art: Full

1. Answerphone Blues (7:46)
2. Hideaway (12:15)
3. See Red Blues (7:14)
4. Blue To The Bone (7:00)
5. Red Lights (3:36)
6. G-String Fling (4:01)
7. Cleanhead Blues (5:27)
8. Birds And The Bees (4:47)

b. c. 1965, London, England. Martin played acoustic guitar from his mid-teens and was deeply influenced by early and middle period American folk musicians such as Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan. Later influences included contemporary bluesmen such as Joe Hill Louis and Dr. Ross. He later took up the electric guitar and fell under the spell of Freddie King’s Texas blues playing. Despite these many influences, Martin very soon brought them under the wing of his own distinctive styling. He quickly built a reputation not only for his skill but also for the authority of his playing. In addition to working as a solo act, playing guitar, harmonica and singing, Martin has worked in trio with Marion Dolton (bass) and Michael Wiedrich (drums). He has also headed larger bands, usually using Dolton and Wiedrich, plus Jason Smith (trumpet), Dominic Norcross (saxophone) and Paddy Milner (keyboards).

In addition to playing and singing, Martin writes some of the material that he plays, bringing a contemporary British edge to the style and content of his lyrics while never losing an aural connection with the country blues and folk masters of the American past. Martin toured the USA in 1999, heading a trio, the Texas Blues Kings, with Guthrie Kennard (bass) and Jimmie ‘Blue Shoes’ Pendleton (drums). Based in Bristol, where he plays regularly at the Hard Rock Bar, Martin continues to tour in the 00s and regularly draws enthusiastic and appreciative crowds at blues venues throughout the UK.

He has also played in Europe, notably in France and Germany. Among his successes in Germany was his being named as an important innovator on harmonica at the 2006 World Harmonica Festival. In addition to playing clubs and concerts, Martin has also performed and composed for the soundtracks of films and television shows. Despite his success, Martin did not become a full-time musician until the late 90s. His 2006 trio featured Dolton and Wiedrich. In addition to his playing, while on tour Martin also conducts workshops in different aspects of guitar playing. /Biography by AllMusic

(For personnel details, see artwork included.)

Live In The USA: Play The Blues Damn It! mc
Live In The USA: Play The Blues Damn It! zippy

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Eddie Martin - The Birdcage Sessions

Size: 123.5 MB
Time: 52:38
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2021
Styles: Acoustic/Electric Blues
Art: Front

01. Before We Wake Up (4:10)
02. Home (4:34)
03. Breakeven Blues (4:20)
04. Happy Broke And Free (3:21)
05. Skylight (4:09)
06. I Long For A Sail (3:50)
07. Bridcage Blues (3:33)
08. River Song (3:52)
09. Falling (2:14)
10. Kitchen Boogie (2:32)
11. Lazy Sunday (4:16)
12. Amazing Grace (4:44)
13. Too Much Choice Blues (4:36)
14. Country Walk (2:20)

Eddie Martin. For blues fans in the UK, he probably needs no introduction. But this cool dude deserves global attention for his prolific roots songwriting, vocal chops and sublime guitar skills – electric and acoustic.

Mr Martin’s latest album – his 17th – is a cut well above most UK-produced blues releases, and worthy of praise for its simplicity and less-is-more approach to the instrumentation, performances and arrangements.

But the material here is King and very classy. One cover, and 13 originals penned by Eddie. If raw and stripped-down, mostly acoustic blues and gospel are your bag, please step inside. (There’s one electric track here).

When the pandemic hit, like most pro’ musicians with no work and no band members to call upon for more than a year, Eddie learned how to sound engineer and how to play a few more instruments.

But above all else, he wrote, wrote and wrote new songs. “The Birdcage Sessions” idea was about new songs being set free like little birds, reminding, embodying and promising the feeling of freedom again.

The songs were inspired by the events of 2020-21. The murder of George Floyd and the BLM awakening had a big impact. Some songs began as tributes to guitar stylists from the Afro-American legacy whom Eddie has long studied.

The Birdcage Sessions MP3
The Birdcage Sessions FLAC

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Eddie Martin - Thirst

Year: 2019
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 57:00
Size: 131,5 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Scans: Front

1. One Man Band (3:20)
2. Sewn Up (5:09)
3. Free Man Blues (5:44)
4. Searching (4:51)
5. Like Water (8:02)
6. Run River Run (5:15)
7. Louisiana Woman (3:52)
8. Imagine Us From The Sky (5:37)
9. Silver Spoon (3:46)
10. Fix It (4:21)
11. Frozen Lake (6:57)

With a batch of new songs (many with a water theme – which partly explains the title) Eddie has returned to the hifi, smooth, classic, layered sounds of his debut album “Blue to the Bone”, with still a rough edge here and there where searing and soaring slide solos take you skyward. On Thirst you will hear top Hammond B3 Fender Rhodes, New Orleans boogie piano and even grand piano – supplementing Eddie’s slide and straight-guitar playing and harp-blowing.

An exciting rich multi-layered studio album with heart-felt ballads and exciting rocking slide-workouts. In fact Eddie’s slide guitar skills are all over this album. And as for lyrics, well, don’t expect any foolish songs. The trio has been supplemented by keyboards for this album and the bigger launch shows will feature the second guitar parts and backing vocals on the recording.

Personnel: Eddie Martin (guitar, harmonica, vocals); Tom Gilkes (drums); Jerry Soffe (bass); Jonny Henderson (Hammond B3); Dan Moore (Fender Rhodes piano); Yuki Yoshizu (grand piano); Audra Nishita, Nadine Gingell (backing vocals).

Thirst mc
Thirst zippy

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Eddie Martin With His Big Blues Band - Looking Forward Looking Back

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:15
Size: 128.8 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[3:03] 1. Frog In The Long Grass
[3:25] 2. Sorry For The Rain
[4:00] 3. Wannabe Me
[5:02] 4. Let It Slide
[3:52] 5. Tough Times
[3:44] 6. Supermodel
[5:36] 7. Looking Forward Looking Back
[3:28] 8. Jumpy Legs
[3:16] 9. Zombie Attack
[3:23] 10. Headspace
[3:58] 11. She's A He
[3:42] 12. I Want That Girl
[3:39] 13. Funky One Too
[6:00] 14. Second Chance Romance

“Since the mid 1990s, Eddie Martin is the most important blues musician to come out of the UK. Whether as a one-man band or with his popular Big Band, he commands respect both among guitarists and blues harp players and also for his knowledge of his blues history and his gift for songwriting. His new album “Looking Forward Looking Back” is, in a sense a homage to early blues guitarists, as diverse as T-Bone Walker, Elmore James and Johnny “Guitar” Watson. The album shifts easily from boogie tunes to rock and roll through to Funkblues with “Funky One Too,” where Pee Wee Ellis wrote the arrangement. What makes up a major part of the energy of the album – and the fun that it evokes as a listener and as an inspiration to dance! – is the fact that this big band were recorded completely live in the studio. Here are real experts at work, and they have presented a wonderful blues album. This is recommended for fans of classic and contemporary Blues”.

“The classic periods of 2oth Century Blues are affectionately echoed in lightning solos, strong melodies and arrangements, filtered through a recognizably British aesthetic.. Imagination, humour, attention to detail: Eddie Martin has all the credentials to maintain a high artistic and commercial profile in the entire “English-speaking” blues world, where he remains one of its strongest voices.” ~Il Blues

Looking Forward Looking Back mc
Looking Forward Looking Back zippy

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Eddie Martin - Black White And Blue

Size: 114,2 MB
Time: 49:13
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2016
Styles: Blues Rock
Art: Front

01. Mississippi Sound (4:54)
02. Angry (5:25)
03. Black White And Blue (5:10)
04. I Choose You (5:28)
05. Too Much Choice (4:25)
06. Graceful Ways (4:39)
07. I've Lost My Phone (3:24)
08. How (4:44)
09. Song Of Five Things (4:01)
10. It All Depends (6:59)

Explosive and exciting: That’s how a blues rock album should start, and Eddie Martin’s 10th studio album “Black White and Blue” begins like it means to take no prisoners. But if you are expecting endless guitar soloing and a generic list of grooves instead of proper songs – so often the case with blues-rock releases – you are soon enlightened. Martin’s songs may ROCK but they are well-crafted and sophisticated.

After 2 rave-reviewed big band projects, the blues-man Eddie Martin is back with 10 original songs and a punchy trio for his 16th release. “Black White and Blue” marks a career pinnacle for this prolific musician and his 30-year mission to explore, study and update blues traditions. His humble respect to the Afro-American legacy goes deep and he is not shy to acknowledge the racism that gave birth to the blues. But here he is also cool about the contribution of his white-boy contemporaries since the era of Classic Rock. A verse in the album title song puts it like this “The African legacy shines like a jewel..We’re now in a blend, but the history is bruised: It’s all black, white and blue.”

Martin can strut a blues-rock guitar solo with the best of them (Hendrix and SRV influences resonate on “Angry” and the title track “Black, White and Blue” for example), but Martin is all about pushing the genre forward. Alongside his fluid slide playing and pyrotechnic Strat-wielding he also showcases his extraordinary simultaneous harp and guitar soloing skills. In fact, for all the simplicity of the line-up here, this album is like a lesson in how many different textures and sounds you can treat a bunch of strong songs to in a trio.

Martin is full of surprises and, running his own record label, he relishes the creative freedom this allows to do something fresh and different each release. If it means his work is sometimes difficult to pigeon-hole then don’t worry. As Willie Dixon said “Blues is the roots: the rest is the fruits”. Eddie comes out rocking on this one. But its nothing if not a juicy new fruit to savour from the blues stall of the “Ambassador of British Blues”.

Black White And Blue

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Eddie Martin's Big Red Radio - Live In Tuscany

Size: 165,0 MB
Time: 71:17
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Blues Rock
Art: Front

01. Blues Took Me By The Hand (Live) (4:16)
02. Throw Me A Line (Live) (8:32)
03. How Can This Be (Live) (4:46)
04. Five Things (Live) (6:59)
05. Ingolstadt (Live) (6:30)
06. Something About You Baby (Live) (6:29)
07. Watching The Weather (Live) (7:34)
08. Intermezzo (1:09)
09. Month Of Mondays (Live) (7:58)
10. Flowers To The Desert (Live) (4:44)
11. Love And Understanding (Live) (5:40)
12. Steam Train (Live) (6:34)

Formed from top names in the Blues/Jazz/Pop/Rock worlds of the UK and Italy, BIG RED RADIO's first show was a sell-out and rave-reviewed in the Barga region of Italy. "Eddie Martin and his Big Red Radio band have now staked their claim as simply the best bluesman (and women) ever to grace the stage here in Barga" Keane, Barga News 05/02/2015

Front man Eddie Martin - already known both sides of the Atlantic as a top Blues Artist - scoured Europe searching for the right players to create a BIG new sounding fusion band for his blues/rock/soul/pop songs.

After a month of rehearsals, it was clear something special had been born. A high-energy emotional roller-coaster of a show was the result with these top-drawer musicians forming a perfect meeting of minds and spirits with Eddie. The resultant album "Live in Tuscany", on world release from October 2015, sees them now pitching out to top music festivals across all genres!

The Band:
Eddie Martin - Singer/songwriter/guitarist/harmonica, Nominated for countless Blues Awards, 25 years international touring, 14 rave-reviewed albums "Eddie Martin has for twenty five years been one of Britain’s finest blues artists, plus one of the best guitarists.a master of the genre, who should by rights be filling arenas" Blues in Britain Feb, 2015. His "Best of" album was No 1 in the Download chart for Blues/Jazz/Reggae for over 1 month last December
Marco Bachi - Bass. Founder member of top Pop Rock Italian band Bandabardò with 9 successful albums recorded. He has also played with Daniele Silvestri, Paola Turci, and many more
Luca Giovaccini - Guitar,Mandolin Banjo. Currently touring with Emma Morton (X-Factor Pop Finalist)
Alberto Gurisi - keyboards.Ranked No 5 Organist in Italy in Jazz Italy Magazine April 2015 Toured internationally with Sugar Blue
Matteo Sodini - drums. Played with Eddie Floyd, Ben E King, Martha Reeves, Percy Sledge, Mick Abrahams, John Noyce, Mason Casey, Robben Ford etc)
Michela Lombardi - backing vocals. One of Italy's top Jazz Singers she studied under teachers from Berklee College of Music Boston (Donna McElroy) and at the Milan Conservatory before a successful career including recording albums with Phil Woods and Renato Sellani
Special Guests on the album were The Jubilee Gospel Choir and Olalekan Babalola (David Byrne/Damon Allbarn/Cassandra Wilson) on percussion.

Live In Tuscany

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Eddie Martin - Play The Blues With Feeling

Size: 112,3 MB
Time: 47:57
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2004
Styles: Blues Rock, Modern Electric Blues
Art: Full

01. Someone's Making Money (4:30)
02. Selfish Guy (6:42)
03. My Black Mama (3:18)
04. Bubble Blues (5:11)
05. Bristol Shakedown (3:00)
06. Play The Blues With Feeling (5:30)
07. Tell Me Why (4:21)
08. One Man Band Rag (2:56)
09. Barbed Wire (7:42)
10. Bone Shaker (4:44)

Martin's command of blues guitar styles, acoustic and electric, is unparalleled in this country – and he will give anyone round the world a good run for their money. As confident and eloquent with intricate finger-style national steel playing as he is with incendiary electric soloing, the most amazing thing is that he is also one of our top harmonica players. These instrumental skills sprinkle this album like gold dust and are all the more amazing for the fact that guitar and harmonica are played simultaneously on this live-to-tape album with no overdubs. Of the 10 tracks, 9 are original – including the International Songwriting Competition finalist "Someone's Making Money", 2 solo acoustic, 7 raw electric trio arrangements with slide guitar to the fore, and a big band ska-like swing tune "Bubble Blues". With nine albums almost in as many years, Eddie Martin is one of the most prolific blues performers on the international circuit. With this cd he has come up with another winner which is bound to consolidate his position at the top of the blues hierarchy.

What's great about Eddie's CDs is that he doesn't just stick to one type of blues - he gives you a taste of everything - you want Elmore James style slide? you want soulful unaccompanied Taj Mahal style acoustic? you want big band BB King style blues? you want blistering harmonica playing (try Bristol Shakedown)? it's all here - thoroughly recommended.

Play The Blues With Feeling

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Eddie Martin - Solo In Soho / Keep On Working

Album: Solo In Soho
Size: 109,4 MB
Time: 46:53
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1995
Styles: Acoustic/Electric Blues
Art: Full

01. Bourgeois Blues (3:34)
02. Somethin' 'bout You Baby I Like (5:48)
03. Separation Boogie (2:45)
04. You Thrill Me (4:31)
05. Edge Of The Line (3:51)
06. Closer To You (3:55)
07. Lonely World (4:07)
08. Sure Feel Good (4:13)
09. Revolution Of Love (3:47)
10. Key To The Highway (3:41)
11. Bristol Breakdown (2:20)
12. Love House (4:17)

His first album. Solo. A pleasing release. EDDIE MARTIN: acoustic gtr/hca/piano/vocals.

"Easily one of the top 10 roots albums of the year..excellent" -- Time Out

"Very,very good..original songs and a serious multi-instrumental talent" -- Hogtown News

Bio:
b. c. 1965, London, England. Martin played acoustic guitar from his mid-teens and was deeply influenced by early and middle period American folk musicians such as Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan. Later influences included contemporary bluesmen such as Joe Hill Louis and Dr. Ross. He later took up the electric guitar and fell under the spell of Freddie King’s Texas blues playing. Despite these many influences, Martin very soon brought them under the wing of his own distinctive styling. He quickly built a reputation not only for his skill but also for the authority of his playing. In addition to working as a solo act, playing guitar, harmonica and singing, Martin has worked in trio with Marion Dolton (bass) and Michael Wiedrich (drums). He has also headed larger bands, usually using Dolton and Wiedrich, plus Jason Smith (trumpet), Dominic Norcross (saxophone) and Paddy Milner (keyboards). In addition to playing and singing, Martin writes some of the material that he plays, bringing a contemporary British edge to the style and content of his lyrics while never losing an aural connection with the country blues and folk masters of the American past.

Martin toured the USA in 1999, heading a trio, the Texas Blues Kings, with Guthrie Kennard (bass) and Jimmie ‘Blue Shoes’ Pendleton (drums). Based in Bristol, where he plays regularly at the Hard Rock Bar, Martin continues to tour in the 00s and regularly draws enthusiastic and appreciative crowds at blues venues throughout the UK. He has also played in Europe, notably in France and Germany. Among his successes in Germany was his being named as an important innovator on harmonica at the 2006 World Harmonica Festival. In addition to playing clubs and concerts, Martin has also performed and composed for the soundtracks of films and television shows. Despite his success, Martin did not become a full-time musician until the late 90s. His 2006 trio featured Dolton and Wiedrich. In addition to his playing, while on tour Martin also conducts workshops in different aspects of guitar playing.

Solo In Soho

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Album: Keep On Working
Size: 114,3 MB
Time: 48:45
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2000
Styles: Acoustic Blues
Art: Full

01. The Devil's Joker (5:26)
02. Bundle Up And Go (3:05)
03. Barbecue Bop (2:52)
04. It's A Mystery To Me (3:00)
05. Queen Of Spades (2:52)
06. Jumping Beans (2:10)
07. Keep On Working (3:44)
08. It Hurts Me Too (3:43)
09. Toy Ballerina (2:16)
10. Mean Ole Frisco (4:10)
11. Delta Moon (3:03)
12. Henry Ford (2:36)
13. Funny Bone Blues (3:35)
14. Too Many Red Lights (3:39)
15. Fox Chase No. 3 (2:28)

A head-turning disc - national guitar playing with rhythmic drive and terrific flourishes -- Blues Revue USA

Definitely the album to beat for Blues Album of the Year -- Venue

Original compositions and..the blend of Piedmont,Delta and Flamenco finger picking styles makes this a worthwile addition to any subscriber -- Blues Matters

Keep On Working

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Eddie Martin - 3 albums: Ice Cream / Contrary Mary / Pillowcase Blues

Album: Eddie Martin Band - Ice Cream
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 53:07
Size: 121.6 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Year: 2003
Art: Front

[ 4:51] 1. Let's Move It On
[ 5:28] 2. Ice Cream
[ 7:23] 3. Put The Brakes On
[ 3:29] 4. Elmore's Stomp
[ 4:18] 5. Love Is Like A River
[ 5:04] 6. Keep It Natural
[ 4:57] 7. Cherry Red
[ 3:41] 8. Blues Took Me By The Hand
[10:18] 9. Tough But Tender
[ 3:33] 10. Lazy Monday

Possibly the strongest yet from British Blues guitar supremo Eddie Martin, featuring Britian's #1 jazz saxophonist Andy Sheppard.

Eddie Martin (vocals, guitar, slide guitar, National guitar, harmonica); Andy Sheppard (soprano saxophone); Paddy Milner (piano, Fender Rhodes piano). Recording information: Christchurch Studios; White house Studios.

Ice Cream mc
Ice Cream zippy

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Album: Eddie Martin - Contrary Mary
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 48:38
Size: 111.3 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Year: 2007
Art: Front

[5:49] 1. Contrary Mary
[5:01] 2. Something About You Baby (I Like)
[4:55] 3. Watching The Weather
[3:43] 4. Month Of Mondays
[5:38] 5. Beautiful Miracles
[4:09] 6. Give It Time
[5:23] 7. Better The Devil You Know
[4:13] 8. Strong For You
[4:25] 9. Living For The Weekend
[5:18] 10. Ingolstadt

The readership poll of the UK’s biggest circulation blues magazine, “Blues Matters”, has voted “Contrary Mary” to position 17 of World Blues CD releases and position 7 of UK Blues cd releases in 2007. Coming in at position 17 of the world charts placed it above the releases of many major label artists like the White Stripes and John Mayall.

The magazine also contains an interview and picture feature which introduces Eddie as follows ““Since turning professional in the mid 90’s, Eddie has become one of the British Blues scene’s most prolific performers. A rare British act capable of headlining any major UK Blues event, Eddie has gained industry recognition for his song writing and accolades for his guitar and harmonica work. Nine releases in twelve years would suggest an artist enjoying the fruits of his creative talents, but 2007’s “Contrary Mary” not only found Eddie exploring broader musical influences, but hoping to gain the widespread appreciation that would pay him his dues…”

Contrary Mary mc
Contrary Mary zippy

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Album: Eddie Martin & The Texas Blues Kings - Pillowcase Blues
Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 43:08
Size: 98.7 MB
Styles: Electric blues
Year: 2002
Art: Front

[6:44] 1. Down The Road
[2:46] 2. Pillowcase Blues
[3:47] 3. Underwater Woman
[4:58] 4. Natural Thing
[3:24] 5. Cool And Lonesome
[4:27] 6. I Done, Done It
[3:26] 7. Please Stop
[3:45] 8. The Hatfields And The Mccoys
[2:59] 9. Let's Get Together
[4:00] 10. I Wanna Groove With You
[2:47] 11. Long Ride Home

"But this guitar-singing harp-blowing songwriter has a lot more going on than that. After putting 5 albums out on Blueblood records, reviews both sides of the Atlantic agree.'A blues man in his prime....as hot and satisfying as a Tex-Mex barbecue' said Blues in Britain. Meanwhile in the U.S. 'A live act not to be missed' said Blues Revue.

But what you hear on these tracks is a lot more than just a bluesman in his prime. Sure he can play great electric and acoustic blues on guitar or harmonica and that is hardly surprising considering he has shared stages, played with, and recorded alongside some of the greats, the late Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Taj Mahal, John Mayall to name but a few. And he can write a lyric that Willie Dixon himself would be proud of. Just check out 'Natural thing'. But then 'Underwater Woman' or the 'hatfields and the McCoys' shows this guy has grooves and licks way beyond good rocking blues....

Sideman and other guests appearances on this album are noteworthy too - first the Texas Blues Kings - like Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eddie's groove-centered rhythm section of Guthrie Kennard and Jimmy 'Blue Shoes' pendleton, are Texas Tornado awards winners for services to the blues in the lone star state. Dick Heckstall-Smith, (baritone sax on pillowcase Blues) was a founder member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated, and rates Eddie "as the hottest blues musician to come out of Britain since the 1960's". The Little Big Horns provide vintage brass sounds too! Belgian blues meister Mark T (and sideman for Rusty Zinn and Marc Hummel) deserves a production credit.

So if you like good rocking blues you have it a-plenty here - but Eddie adds another colour or two to the usual palette. He takes his blues to the country and back to the town and has many a telling thing to say about life, love and the human condition along the way" ~JIM HALL

Eddie Martin (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Pat Gamble (tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Jimmy "Blue Shoes" Pendleton (drums); Mike Hoddinott (congas); Marc T (tambourine).

Pillowcase Blues mc
Pillowcase Blues zippy

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