Watersons - For Pence and Spicy Ale (1975) (@256)

It could be a tricky question in a music quiz: "Which is Britain's oldest indie label that is still active?" Answers such as "Beggars Banquet", "Rough Trade", "4AD", "Cherry Red " etc. are all wrong! The correct answer is Topic, a legendary label that was founded in 1939. For a company that it's stated mission is "Music should be used as a tool of revolution, in a cultural and educational sense" one shouldn't be surprised that Topic had always a strong sense in social issues. But a sense that was only seldomly presented in a form of dry rhetoric and largely by observing and commenting the daily life of ordinary people. Topic is (thus) responsible for reserving and spreading British folk throughout the years (one could argue that it is the equivalent to Smithsonian or Folkways), while its contribution to the British folk revival of the late 60's is immense. Recently, in order to celebrate the label's 70th birthday, they released a solid compilation of seven (!) cds, named "Three Score and Ten: A Voice to the People" that travels us from pre-WWII recordings up to recent ones. If you bother to spend your quids on it, it's for sure that you'll not regret it. And if you think that releasing a 7-cd compilation is not a business-wise decision, you'll have to know that they celebrated their 60-th birthday by releasing a series of 20-cds!

So, here is a cornerstone of Topic's catalogue, from a "royal family" of British folk, backed by Martin Carthy. As Richard Meyer notes in allmusic: "For Pence and Spicy Ale sounds like the back room of an old pub in its charming immediacy; listeners really get a sense of the fun it is to sing these old songs with affection and respect. "

Further reading:
Topic's selective discography
Guardian for Topic's anniversary
topicrecords.co.uk

review link: here

download link: here

P.S. For those interested, another briliant Topic release has been posted earlier in this blog and can be found here.

Lou Reed - Berlin (1973) (@256)

For the city of Berlin obviously, which celebrates its 20th reunification anniversary today. Lou Reed explained (to Ed Pilkingon from Guardian while interviewed on his 2007 tour that brought Berlin on stage) that his idea was to use the divided city of Berlin - which he had then never visited - as a metaphor for human discord. Or as prefixmag puts it: "Berlin (...) is a rock opera about a strung out couple who are divided, much like Berlin was by the wall. Reed uses the city as a narrative device on the album, placing his central character, Caroline, in the city as she indulges in various addictions and love affairs. Berlin itself doesn’t figure much in Reed’s lyrics, but the druggy words and occasional mentions of the Wall help conjure up images of the city."

review link: here

download link: here


Wings of Desire

Various - Closed on Account of Rabies - Poems and Tales of Edgar Allan Poe (1997) (@256)

Well, try the following (for those not afraid of the dark). Lay down on your beds, switch off the lights, close your eyes and put your headphones on to listen to The Black Cat as read by Diamanda Galas. Shivers down your spine will definitely attack you during this totally evocative recording.
The tribute to Edgar Allan Poe continues. Hal Willner gathers a tour-de-force of artists to read works of Poe. It is as attractive as it sounds.

Tracklisting:
A1-Marrianne Faithfull - Alone
A2-Christopher Walken - The Raven
A3-Iggy Pop - The Tell-Tale Heart
A4-Ken Nordine - The Conqueror Worm
A5-Diamanda Galas - The Black Cat
A6-Gavin Friday - For Annie
A7-Ed Sanders - To Helen
B1-Ed Sanders - The Haunted Palace
B2-Jeff Buckley - Ulalume
B3-Dr. John - Berenice
B4-Deborah Harry & the Jazz Passengers -The City An The Sea
B5-Marianne Faithfull - Annabel Lee
B6-Gabriel Byrne - The Masque of the Red Death
B7-Abel Ferrara - The Raven

review link: here

download link (cd1): here
download link (cd2+liner notes, credits etc.): here

Tell-Tale Hearts - The Tell-Tale Hearts (1984) (@256)

We read from Guardian (October, 8): "By the standards of any age, it was a miserable way to go. Edgar Allan Poe, dark romantic writer and poet credited with inventing the genre of detective fiction, enjoyed a death far more Gothic and gloomy than any of his stories.
It began badly when he was found, aged 40, wandering the streets of Baltimore, penniless, raving unintelligibly, dressed in someone else's clothes, possibly having been beaten up. He died four days later, on October 7 1849, in hospital, having uttered the final words: "Lord, help my poor soul."
From there it only got worse. Although he was at the time probably the most famous writer in America, his cousin Neilson Poe omitted to tell anyone he had died, and so fewer than 10 people turned up for the funeral. The priest couldn't be bothered to give a sermon, and the entire ceremony lasted three minutes.
This Sunday, 160 years almost to the day since his sorry passing, Poe will finally be given the send off that his multitude of fans passionately believe he deserved. At 11.30am, a life-size recreation of his body will be carried in a horse-drawn carriage from his Baltimore home in Amity Street, to the Westminster Burying Ground where not one, but two full-length ceremonies will be held in front of up to 700 admirers, some of whom will have travelled from as far away as Vietnam.
The ceremony is being held as part of a year-long series of events to mark the 200th year of Poe's birth. To the amusement of Poe experts, the double anniversary of the start and end of his life has led to an unseemly scramble between several US cities - notably Baltimore, Richmond, Philadelphia, New York and Boston - to claim ownership of the writer."

Celebrating the aforementioned event as well as the 200th year from his birth, I'll start a series of uploads that will, with one way or another, deal with Poe. After all, as you'll realise/ have already realised, far too many musicians have been heavy influenced by him.
The first related upload is an 80's garage group, which seems to have taken its name from Poe's short story. Their album is easily whithin the top-5 of its genre. Do not miss it!

download link: here

Various - A Manchester Collection: Bands of the Manchester Musicians Collective (1979) (@256)

I've promised some time ago that I'll have an upload about Band on the Wall. The reason is the Manchester legendary venue's reopening on September, 25, after a serious renovation that lasted four years.
This upload features bands of the Manchester Musicians Collective. The members of these bands are posing for the cover art of the album in front of the Band on the Wall, which hosted them for quite a while on Sunday nights. Although these bands are unknown, the overall result of this release is pretty good, giving a nice glimpse of how post-punk was perceived by local musicians. It should be also stressed out that members of the Collective were, for short or long, the Fall, Warsaw/Joy Division, Spherical Objects and A Certain Ratio.
Finally, the trivia here is that the label Object Music who is responsible for this release was founded by Steve Solamar, founding member of the Spherical Objects and deejay in the Electric Circus.

Band on the Wall website

download link: here

Booker T. & the M.G.'s - McLemore Avenue (1970) (@256)

I couldn't miss to have a post about the recent reissues of fourteen Beatles albums. Although I avoid buying cds from albums that were released prior to 1985 (or even later), I think that I'll make an exception with these. The reason is that the current editions have been remastered by expert studio engineers at the Abbey Road studios to offer the recordings of the band that has raised the bar to unreachable levels, in its highest fidelity ever.
The related upload is an album that was recorded as a tribute to Abbey Road. All the songs of McLemore Avenue are covers of Abbey Road tracks; the track order was rearranged to form long medleys, while other tracks (Maxwell's Silver Hammer, Oh! Darling and Octopus's Garden) are absent. Finally, as you can see, the cover art is reminiscent of the famous Beatles album, while McLemore Avenue is the location of the equally legendary Stax studios in Memphis, where Booker T. & the M.G.'s triumphed as it's main house band.

review link: here

download link: here

P.S. For those interested a cover version of Sgt. Pepper's can be found, in an older post, here

Various - Ellie Greenwich songs (@256)

(1) Ellie circa 1968 (2)The Raindrops (Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich along with Ellie's sister Laura who did not participate in the couple's recordings!)

Another major loss... Ellie Greenwich, one of the most prominent composers of the Brill Building left us on August 26. This upload reminds us some of the songs that Ellie Greenwich co-written; most of them are of course with Jeff Barry. It is amazing how outrageously infectious these songs are.

Tracklisting:
01-Bob B. Soxx and The Blue Jeans - Why Do Lovers Break Each Others Hearts (Spector-Powers-Greenwich) (1962)
02-Crystals - Da Doo Ron Ron (Spector-Barry-Greenwich) (1963)
03-Darlene Love - (Today I Met) The Boy I'm Gonna Marry (Spector-Powers-Greenwich) (1963)
04-Exciters - He's Got The Power (Powers-Greenwich) (1963)
05-Crystals - Then He Kissed Me (Spector-Barry-Greenwich) (1963)
06-Ronettes - Be My Baby (Spector-Barry-Greenwich) (1963)
07-Raindrops - The Kind Of Boy You Can't Forget (Barry-Greenwich) (1963)
08-Darlene Love - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) (Spector-Barry-Greenwich) (1963)
09-Ronettes - Baby, I Love You (Spector-Barry-Greenwich) (1963)
10-Tommy James & the Shondells - Hanky Panky (Barry-Greenwich) (1964)
11-Dixie Cups - Chapel Of Love (Barry-Greenwich-Spector) (1964)
12-Manfred Mann - Do Wah Diddy Diddy (original single version) (Barry-Greenwich) (1964)
13-Dixie Cups - People Say (Barry-Greenwich) (1964)
14-Jelly Beans - I Wanna Love Him So Bad (Barry-Greenwich) (1964)
15-Shangri-Las - Leader Of The Pack (Morton-Barry-Greenwich) (1964)
16-Ellie Greenwich - You Don't Know (Barry-Greenwich-Morton) (1965)
17-Ike & Tina Turner - River Deep - Mountain High (Spector-Barry-Greenwich) (1966)

check also:
elliegreenwich.com
Ellie Greenwich interviewed

download link: here

Various Artists - Live At CBGB's (1976) (@256)

Every September I strive to be present to the maximum possible number of movies shown at the Athens International Film Festival of Cinema magazine. Of all its sections, Music & Films is my favourite one. Although I missed the movie that was awarded (Until The Light Takes Us), my personal award went to the movie Burning Down the House: The Story of CBGB.


The trailer

I guess there is no meaning in trying to explain what CBGB means for music. Its closure is just another major loss in NY's cultural heritage. As we've seen in the film, many musicians rallied to prevent the club's closure, but once more some financial aspects and some paperwork proved to be much stronger. Apart from that, as Jonathan Demme correctly stated in the film, CBGB was a venue where many unsigned bands could play; now that it doesn't exist, it'll be far more difficult for them to find a place to present their music. It was more or less the same situation with the Ramones, Talking Heads, Patti Smith, Television, Suicide, Blonde, Heartbreakers and Richard Hell to name just a few. It's for sure that without CBGB all these outcasts would have faced much more difficulties to find their way. The result would be that music would be totally different, and definitely much poorer from what it is now. Finally, I felt a little bit uneasy when I saw CBGB's original facade in a sterilised art gallery. I could propose this gallery to take the notoriously dirty toilets of the club as well.













This upload is a compilation of live recordings from CBGB during June 4, 5, 6, 1976. As Joe Viglione explains in allmusic: "This is it, the classic double LP from CBGB's that was instrumental in putting national focus on the "new wave," a brilliant handle comparing the next generation of garage and underground rockers to French cinema (...) It was a historic moment in rock & roll, and this document is a time capsule treasure of the musical movement as it was evolving."
Tracklisting:
A1-Tuff Darts - All For The Love Of Rock 'N' Roll
A2-Shirts - Operetico
A3-Mink DeVille - Cadillac Moon
A4-Laughing Dogs - I Need A Million
B1-Shirts - Poe
B2-Mink DeVille - Let Me Dream If I Want To
B3-Tuff Darts - Head Over Heels
B4-Manster - Over, Under, Sideways, Down
C1-Manster - I'm Really Not This Way
C2-Sun - Romance
C3-Stuart's Hammer - Everybody's Depraved
C4-Miamis - We Deliver
D1-Mink DeVille - Change It Comes
D2-Shirts - A.V.M.
D3-Laughing Dogs - It Feels Alright Tonight
D4-Tuff Darts - Slash



The Ramones - Blitzkrieg Bop Live at CBGB 1977


The last song ever played at CBGB - Patti Smith "Elegie" October 15, 2006

See also:
Sonic Youth's video clip of Do You Believe In Rapture which is filmed inside the CBGB
CBGB virtual tour
The History of CBGB written by Hilly Kristal, the man that ran the club for all these years
Richard Hell's article about CBGB in the NY Times

review link: here

download link: here

OST - The Wizard of Oz - The Deluxe Edition (1939/1995) (@256)

I was thinking to have an upload about the 40th anniversary of Woodstock, but there isn't much to upload after the recent glorious 6-cd release from Rhino. And although Woodstock's anniversary had all the tributes it deserved, I think that the 70th anniversary (on August 12) of the first screening of the Wizard of Oz has somehow been neglected. Someone could argue that both the movie and the soundtrack are a little bit dated, but then I don't think that there are many movies with such enormous impact on pop culture. The same applies to the soundtrack. The music of Harold Arlen (a mysteriously underrated composer as compared to Gershwin, Berlin, Rodgers/Hammerstein-Hart or Hoagy Carmichael) and the lyrics of E.Y. Harburg, offered not only the legendary Over The Rainbow for which they won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, but also a bunch of great songs such as Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead, You're Off To See The Wizard, If I Only Had A Brain, among others.
The merits of (again) Rhino's deluxe edition of 1995, which is uploaded here, are explained by Bruce Eder in allmusic: "There were at least two versions of The Wizard of Oz on compact disc before Rhino issued this double-CD deluxe version. Those earlier CDs had been mastered, respectively, from the original LP master created by MGM Records in the mid-'50s, or used a restored version of the finished film as the source for most of its content. But this set represents the first occasion on which the original unedited studio recordings of the score — derived from the "angles" captured by various microphones used in the recording process — have been assembled for commercial release; and, indeed, the first time these uncut recordings, of the music as it was conceived and written, before being edited to fit the final release cut of the movie, have been heard since 1939. The results are astounding, to say the least — in addition to giving us a full account of the underscore for the movie in all of its finest nuances so that one can appreciate the action on the instruments and the fine details of the orchestration, it also reveals a wealth of subliminal detail in the music writing, a match in its depth and range for the finest operas of Verdi and Puccini. In fact, hearing the complete first disc and the first half of the second, which together comprise the soundtrack of the movie, is the equivalent of finding a new way to absorb the movie, regardless of how well one has known it up to this point: on that basis alone, fans of the movie will find this set essential. Additionally, the second CD contains alternate versions of portions of the score, and unused portions of the score that will be a revelation to anyone who enjoys the movie."

download link (part1 - the soundtrack): here
download link (part2 - supplemental material): here

P.S. For those seeking for more Judy Garland, an older post with her legendary 1961 performance at Carnegie Hall can be found here.

Ravi Shankar & Ali Akbar Khan - In Concert 1972 (1972) (@256)

Ali Akbar Khan sadly passed away recently. He was a true master in sarod (a smaller relative of the sitar) and one of the musicians that introduced Indian classical music to western audiences. He first played in the US in 1955, while he was the first Indian musician to appear on an American TV broadcast.
This upload finds him performing live along with his brother-in-law Ravi Shankar at the Philarmonic Hall of New York, on 8 October 1972. The result is absolutely mesmerising.

download link: here

London Sinfonietta - Warp Works (2006) (@256)

Let's put another one in the series of the Warp tribute. This time, a very interesting project: Between 2003 and 2005, the London Sinfonietta gave a number of performances where they presented their own version on a number of compositions of Warp label artists (Aphex Twin and Squarepusher) and of some of the most important avant-garde artists of the 20th century. Their aim was to explore the connection between these two sides since the former are considered the developers of what the latter had started. Here, since the tribute is for Warp, I've chosen to separate the two sides and to upload only the Warp related part of this release. Even under this case, the classical perspective on top-rated electronic music is definitely intriguing.

Tracklisting:
Clive Williamson - Jynweythek (Prepared Piano Piece 1) (Aphex Twin)
Clive Williamson - Hy A Scullyas Lyf Adhagrow (Prepared Piano Piece 2) (Aphex Twin)
London Sinfonietta (arr. David Horne) - The Tide (Squarepusher)
London Sinfonietta (arr. Fraser Trainer & Sound Intermedia) - Conc 2 Symmetriac (Squarepusher)
London Sinfonietta (arr. David Horne) - AFX237 V7 (Aphex Twin)
London Sinfonietta (arr. Kenneth Hesketh) - Polygon Window (Aphex Twin)

album info link: here

download link: here

Baaba Maal & Mansour Seck - Djam Leelii (1989) (@256)

This is the second upload about the various/uncategorised genres part of the Island records tribute; it was released by Mango, a subsidiary of Island.
Djam Leelii was recorded while Maal and Seck were living in Paris. The result of the accompaniment of their voices with a super session team of musicians from West Africa is simply staggering. It is, as John Peel said, "like hearing Muddy Waters for the first time".

review link: here

download link: here

Taksim Trio - Taksim Trio (2007) (@256)

There are some albums I liked very much recently and since it's been some time from my latest reference to recent releases, some of the posts to follow will be dedicated to them.
The first one is Richmond Fontaine's "We Used To Think The Freeway Sounded Like A River", an album that is the last dot in the music line that has been drawn from Neil Young, Springsteen, R.E.M. and the likes. Apart from the quality of the music, this album proves once more that Vlautin is among the best, if not the best, lyricist of his era.











Although there were many albums that could be used as a reference to Richmond Fontaine's album, I chose to upload an album which is some light years away from its sound, but amazingly their covers are based on the same concept.
Taksim Trio comprise of three Turkish virtuoso instrumentalists: Husnu Senlendirici on the clarinet, Ismail Tuncbilek on the baglama and Aytac Dogan on the quanun. The group decided to enter the studio after their triumphant appearance in Womex festival and this album, apart from its huge success in their homeland, entered the World Music Chart Europe. They offer a magical journey that travels us from their country's music tradition to... jazz and Latin through a number of amazing compositions that are based heavily on improvisations (or taksims...) and are presented with great subtlety and without excessive use of self-assertive pompous solos.

download link: here

Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy - Hypocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury (1992) (@256)

Today, we enter to the "various/ uncategorised genres" part of the Island records tribute. Although the folk, rock and pop parts had four uploads each, it was impossible to limit down this part to four albums, so we'll end up with six.
The first one is a milestone hip-hop release, where the spiritual children of Gil Scott-Heron and younger brothers of Public Enemy unleash this time bomb of social awareness.

review link: here

download link: here

LFO - Frequencies (1991) (@256)

This is the group that granted Warp its first UK top twenty chart entry with the single LFO, back in 1990. As for the album Frequencies, Sean Cooper (allmusic) describes: "Definitive collection of the new style electro-techno, with composition and dynamics taking equal play with groove and DJ-friendliness. (...)The hip-hop connection was apparent in the few breakbeat tracks, but for the most part the record leans more toward acid house and techno for its cues."

download link: here

Cat Stevens - Teaser and the Firecat (1971) (@256)

Now, this is real masterful pop music. It is pop music like it should be and unlike the contemporary crap pop that comes through a production line. Once more, hats off to Island records for this release and of course to the artist himself. Ah, and a short comment that goes to Greeks only. Έχει πλάκα να βλέπεις lyrics σε ξένους δίσκους με δασείες, ψιλές και περισπωμένες








review link: here

download link: here

Various Artists - Artificial Intelligence: Electronic Listening Music from Warp (1992) (@256)

Let's start with this blog's tribute to Warp records, which I had promised sometime ago. It's been 20 years since Warp was established, so some uploads of some of their releases is on the way. Warp has a major share on our consideration of electronic music not only as a dancefloor device but also for living room listening. This compilation is indeed building this perspective. As Warp's co-founder Steve Beckett notes: "You could sit down and listen to it like you would a Kraftwerk or Pink Floyd album. That's why we put those sleeves on the cover of Artificial Intelligence - to get it into people's minds that you weren't supposed to dance to it!" So first of all have a look on the records that are depicted on the front cover of this compilation, and then sit back on your armchair and enjoy, (just like the cover's android) this spectacular release.

Tracklisting:
1. The Dice Man - Polygon Window
2. Musicology - Telefone 529
3. Autechre - Crystel
4. I.A.O - The Clan
5. Speedy J - De-Orbit
6. Musicology - Preminition
7. UP! - Spiritual High
8. Autechre - The Egg
9. Speedy J - Fill 3
10. Dr Alex Paterson - Loving You Live

review link: here

download link (with info): here

B-52's - The B-52's (1979) (@256)

The second Island pop upload. I know, I know. Many of you, will say that this is a new wave or a post-punk album rather than a pop one. But hang on guys and gals. I'll use Stephen Thomas Erlewine as my advocate, who pleads: "Unabashed kitsch mavens at a time when their peers were either vulgar or stylish, the Athens quintet celebrated all the silliest aspects of pre-Beatles pop culture — bad hairdos, sci-fi nightmares, dance crazes, pastels, and anything else that sprung into their minds — to a skewed fusion of pop, surf, avant-garde, amateurish punk, and white funk. On paper, it sounds like a cerebral exercise, but it played like a party. The jerky, angular funk was irresistibly danceable, winning over listeners dubious of Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson's high-pitched, shrill close harmonies and Fred Schneider's campy, flamboyant vocalizing, pitched halfway between singing and speaking. It's all great fun, but it wouldn't have resonated throughout the years if the group hadn't written such incredibly infectious, memorable tunes as "Planet Claire," "Dance This Mess Around," and, of course, their signature tune, "Rock Lobster." These songs illustrated that the B-52's' adoration of camp culture wasn't simply affectation — it was a world view capable of turning out brilliant pop singles and, in turn, influencing mainstream pop culture. It's difficult to imagine the endless kitschy retro fads of the '80s and '90s without the B-52's pointing the way." Well, thank you Stephen Thomas.

download link: here

Grace Jones - Warm Leatherette (1980) (@256)

This one is the first in the series of uploads that'll deal with the pop side of Island records. Through all four upcoming uploads, you'll easily realise what pop meant for the masterminds of Island. In this first one, Grace Jones finds her way with a litle help from her friends Chris Blackwell (as the producer) and Sly (Dunbar) & Robbie (Shakespeare) who largely contributed in that dub-meets-pop juicy outcome.

album review link: here

album info link: here

download link: here

Ozzy Osbourne - Randy Rhoads Tribute (1987) (@256)

I recently read about a documentary about Randy Rhoads, which is to be released on September 2009. One of the most talented guitarists of his generation, who established his own trademark guitar-playing style influenced almost equally by hard rock and classical music, was sadly killed in a plane crash in 1982. Rhoads was a member of Quiet Riot during their first two albums and the guitarist of the Ozzy Osbourne group in the first two glorious studio releases, "Blizzard of Ozz" and "Diary of a Madman". As for this tribute, it showcases Rhoads's abilities and it is for sure and enjoyable live album even for those of you that are not into heavy metal.

Randy Rhoads's documentary trailer

album review link: here

album info link: here

download link (with booklet etc.): here

Chicago Transit Authority - Chicago Transit Authority (1969) (@256)

Read the previous post for the reason of this upload.

review link: here

download link: here

Earth, Wind & Fire - That's The Way Of The World (1975) (@256)

We read from flyergroup: "Music legends Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire have announced they will raise money for local food banks nationwide on their 30-city national co-headlining summer concert tour beginning June 5 in Orange Beach, Ala. In exchange for cans of food or a donation, fans will be able to download three new songs recorded earlier this year. Although the fans will recognize two of the songs, the recordings will catch them by surprise, as Chicago recorded Earth, Wind & Fire’s “I Can’t Let You Go,” and Earth, Wind & Fire recorded Chicago’s “Wishing You Were Here.” Together the bands created a new original song written by Earth, Wind & Fire entitled, “You.” These newly recorded songs will be available during the summer tour with a donation by the concert goers. The donation promotion of “Three songs for Three cans or Three dollars” will benefit specific food banks in each city. Coordinating the effort will be World Hunger Year, Inc. (WHY). WHY is dedicated to fighting the root causes of hunger and poverty by supporting grassroots organizations that create self-reliance, economic justice, and equal access to nutritious and affordable food. The organization will collect the cans and/or donations, and in exchange, the fans will be given a download card to access the three songs. For those fans interested in participating, but unable to make it to the shows, they can go online to www.EWFandChicago.com to make a donation and download the songs. Earth, Wind & Fire’s founding member and singer Philip Bailey originally conceived the program; “This is a dream come true. We are honored to align with the WHY organization and help the local communities with their important work.”
As always the news were presented too late here but what the heck... Such ideas/ activities should indeed find their place. ...And of course next upload will be about Chicago.

review link: here

download link: here

Various Artists - Short Circuit: Live at the Electric Circus (1978) (10'') (@256)

I've just finished reading John Robb's "The North Will Rise Again - Manchester Music City 1976-1996". After a short introduction which deals with the local music scene during the 60's and 70's, I was sunk into its pages which run two decades full of music, idealism and arrogance, mouldy venues and big stadiums, (not always) packed clubs, drugs and guns and a suicide through quotes of nearly all important music figures of the city.













The Electric Circus
So, given the opportunity, rather than compiling just another mancunian compilation, I preferred to upload this one. Electric Circus was a live venue in Manchester which hosted many of the city's groups during the early days of punk. But it wasn't only that. As we read on the record's liner notes "Out of four or five dates throughout the country, the Anarchy tour visited the Circus twice", while the Clash's White Riot tour passed also from there. Consequently, someone could argue that the Circus was one of the cornerstone places where the then new music inspired local young musicians to create whatever enjoyable has been unleashed from inside the city's borders. The record's live performances were recorded on October, 2, 1977, during the venue's last days before it was closed down; with the exception of Steel Pulse, all the other groups (and ehm... poets) were from Manchester.

Tracklisting:
A1-Fall - Stepping Out
A2-John Cooper Clarke - (You Never See A Nipple In The) Daily Express
A3-Joy Division - At A Later Date
A4-Drones - Persecution Complex
B1-Steel Pulse - Makka Splaff
B2-John Cooper Clarke - I Married A Monster From Outer Space
B3-Fall - Last Orders
B4-Buzzcocks - Time's Up

Check also here for some very interesting Electric Circus artefacts.

download link: here

P.S. For those interested, I'm preparing an upload about Band On The Wall (another historic venue of my beloved Manchester) to celebrate its reopening in September, while there is also an older post about the Hacienda.

U2 - Wide Awake In America (EP) (1985) (@256)

Well, after a break from the Island tribute this is the 4th and last rock upload. Next quartet of Island uploads will deal with pop.
This is an EP that U2 released after the Unforgettable Fire lp and just before Joshua Tree. It contains two good songs that had been left out of the former, and another two live recordings of songs that were in their album.

album review info: here

download link: here

Seeds - The Seeds (1966) (@256)

This upload will pay tribute to one of my personal heroes, Sky Saxon, who sadly left us on June 25. I remember that his group, the Seeds, was the first one that helped me realise that UK punk groups of the late 70's had strongly based their sound on 60's garage. Most of all, it was both the music and the lyrics of Pushin' Too Hard that was indeed a basic blueprint; just give a listen to Sex Pistols' No Feelings to realise that both tracks have exactly the same context (with the latter having the "essential" addition of nihilism). Of course, the Seeds were a valuable spark for me, since after them I furiously started digging in the countless groups that saw the light through the various compilations of Pebbles, Nuggets etc. Although I found numerous rough diamonds in there, it was the Seeds that constantly remained a steady reference throughout the years. As for this upload, do not make the mistake to surpass all tracks to go to Pushin' Too Hard, since it is an enjoyable album full of sparkling singles.

Sky Saxon remembered

album review link: here

download link: here

John Fahey - The Transfiguration Of Blind Joe Death (1965) (@256)

Although someone should strive to find a weak release in Sonic Youth's discography (ok, some of their avant-garde "SYR" releases sound unbearable, but then Jim O'Rourke could be the easy target to blame) it's been some (many) years since their last real glorious release. So, I'm in the pleasant position to declare that I have already placed their latest "The Eternal" next to Daydream Nation, Dirty and Goo; their first release for Matador surely marks a cornerstone in their career.
The (essential) trivia here is that the Eternal's front cover is a painting of the (voluntarily) obscure musician John Fahey whose "american primitive" innovative acoustic guitar style that combined blues and folk with bits of Indian ragas and classical was very influential on a whole generation of artists such as Tortoise and (yes) Jim O' Rourke. And if someone points out the obvious influence that Sonic Youth had on Tortoise, an endless circular music route has just begun...

check also this brilliant Fahey's interview to Wire magazine

album review link: here

download link: here

Various - War Child Heroes (The Originals) (@256)

Today I'll urge you to buy a compilation released recently by the War Child International foundation. As they explain in their webpage: "War Child International is a network of independent organisations, working across the world to help children affected by war.
War Child was founded upon a fundamental goal: to advance the cause of peace through investing hope in the lives of children caught up in the horrors of war. War Child works in many different conflict areas around the world, helping hundreds of thousands of children every year."








War Child Heroes is their latest in the series of very interesting cds they have released; check their older Help from 1995 (which includes a unique collaboration between Paul McCartney, Paul Weller and Noel Gallagher under the name Smokin' Mojo Filters) and Help!: A Day in the Life from 2005. War Child Heroes is equally (if not more) interesting since artists such as Beck, Scissor Sisters, Lily Allen, Duffy, Elbow, TV on the Radio, Hot Chip, Kooks, Estelle, Rufus Wainwright, Peaches, Hold Steady, the Like, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Franz Ferdinand cover songs Bob Dylan, Roxy Music, Clash, Paul McCartney, U2, David Bowie, Joy Division, Kinks, Stevie Wonder, Brian Wilson, Iggy and the Stooges, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Ramones and Blondie respectively. Since most of the covers are well above the average and since part of the proceeds are spent for a good reason, it is easily understood that this cd is very good way to spend your money. So, in order to give you an appetite, I've uploaded the originals.

Tracklisting:
01-Bob Dylan - Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
02-Roxy Music - Do The Strand
03-Clash - Straight To Hell
04-Paul McCartney & Wings - Live And Let Die
05-U2 - Running To Stand Still
06-David Bowie - Heroes
07-Joy Division - Transmission
08-Kinks - Victoria
09-Stevie Wonder - Superstition
10-Brian Wilson - Wonderful/ Song For Children
11-Iggy and the Stooges - Search and Destroy
12-Bruce Springsteen - Atlantic City
13-Elvis Costello - You Belong To Me
14-Ramones - Sheena Is A Punk Rocker
15-Blondie - Call Me

download link: here

Slits - Cut (1979) (@256)

Another Island records release. This time, a post-punk album by an all-girl group that lived from the inside the UK punk explosion, but they released their debut when it had already deteriorated. So much the better, I reckon. Within these few years they evolved their sound from the typical UK punk, to a jagged, dub-orientated, discordant hybrid, which came along with the unique squealing vocals of Ari Up.
Amazingly, I read that the Slits are about to release a new album titled "Trapped Animal", their first since 1981's "Return Of The Giant Slits"!

album review link: here

download link: here

Various - Sympathetic Sounds Of Detroit (2001) (@256)

It's the third time that I post something related to the recent credit crunch and its aftermath. The reason is the recent bankruptcy of General Motors, US's largest automaker. Another company failure which was largely caused by the CEOs wrong decisions over the years. Again, the executives will hold their jobs unlike some tens of thousands of Detroit's workers that will enter the unemployment status; "Motor City" the location of the headquarters of the "Big Three" automotive companies (Ford, GM, Chrysler) will see many of its families suffer under the consequences of the recession.
There were plenty of choices about a related Detroit upload. One of the birthplaces of US punk with MC5 (short for "Motor City Five") and Stooges, the city where George Clinton applied his P-funk, the city where Berry Gordy established Motown (again, an abbreviation for "Motor Town"), the birthplace of Detroit techno, to name the most important of them. It is this compilation though, with the impressive industrial complexes photos and the fumes that can be smelled throughout its hearing that comes to my mind whenever I try to get the picture of a city which I have never visited.

Tracklisting:
01-The Paybacks - Black Girl
02-The Paybacks - Payback Blues
03-The Dirtbombs - Dirtbomb Blues
04-The Dirtbombs - I'm Through With White Girls
05-The Henchmen - Accusatory
06-Ko & the Knockouts - Black and Blue
07-The Come Ons - Come On Blues
08-The Come Ons - Sunday Drive
09-The Soledad Brothers - Soledad Blues
10-The Soledad Brothers - Shaky Puddin'
11-Von Bondies - Sound Of Terror
12-The Buzzards - High Class
13-Detroit Cobras - Shout Bamalama
14-Bantam Rooster - Banty Rooster Blues
15-Bantam Rooster - Run Rabbit Run
16-The Clone Defects - Whiskey 'n' Women
17-Whirlwind Heat - Decal On My Sticker
18-White Stripes - Red Death at 6.14
19-Buzzards - Buzzard Blues

album review link: here

download link: here

Roxy Music - For Your Pleasure (1973) (@256)

The second, and final, Roxy Music album with Brian Eno as a member showcases the collision of two colossal personalities which resulted in a unique equilibrium between Eno's experimental texture and Ferry's pop art manifesto. Moreover, another masterful release of Island records. Enjoy.

album review link: here

download link: here

Dizzee Rascal - Showtime (2004) (@256)

Since the Island records tribute will take some time to be completed in the way I have planned it, I feel obliged to put a number of posts inside it, in order not to ignore current social and music events. One of those is that Dizzee Rascal, one of my favourite 00's artists that emerged from the UK, hit the top of the UK single chart on May, 24, and remains there the week that ends today, with his brilliant new single "Bonkers".
I bought the uploaded album, the second one in Rascal's discography, enchanted by his first effort "Boy in da Corner", a landmark for grime and for the whole decade as well. Trust me, I was not dissapointed at all.

album review link: here

download link: here

Traffic - Mr. Fantasy (1967 - US stereo edition) (@256)

I'll confuse you a little bit with this one. It's the first in the series of rock albums released by Island. But, as you'll probably notice on the uploaded covers, the company that released the album is United Artists and not Island. Moreover you'll notice that the front cover is not the one you have used to see over the years; you'll also notice that Dave Mason is missing from both covers' band photos (even if two of the compositions, among which the band's second single in the UK "Hole In My Shoe", are his). Unfortunately this is the copy I own, which is the US (stereo) release by United Artists and especially the album's second edition there (released in 1968), after the album's title was changed from the initial (for the US audience) "Heaven Is In Your Mind" to "Mr. Fantasy". Even for this copy, Island is mentioned on the back cover as the licenser and the producer of this release. You can read the whole story with the different album versions here. And finally, apart from the trivia, it is an album that fully showcased the genius of Steve Winwood. Away from the restraints of Spencer Davis Group, Traffic's first lp release, an archetype in the British psychedelia, was in its most part his plot.

album review link: here

download link: here

Nick Drake - Bryter Layter (1970) (@256)

This masterpiece is the final upload in the series of folk albums released by Island records.

album review link: here

download link: here

Fairport Convention - What We Did On Our Holidays (1969) (@256)

I'm sure many of you guessed that the next upload would be a Fairport Convention record. A dream team of musicians including, among others, Richard Thompson, Sandy Denny and Ashley Hutchings.

album review link: here

download link: here

Richard and Linda Thompson - I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight (1974) (@256)

This is the second album of the tribute to Island records. Linda's vocals sparkle, Richard's music ranks this among the masterpieces of British folk, while the lyrics are simply devastating. Enjoy.

album review link: here

download link: here

John Martyn - Solid Air (1973) (@256)

OK, let's jump on the bandwagon of all decent rock mags this season, which contain tributes for the 50th anniversary of Island records. I'm thinking to divide my tribute to folk, reggae and pop/rock, but we'll see how it'll go. At first the best release of John Martyn who, sadly, left us recently. Normally, this should've been posted back then. More about the Island story on the posts to come. I'll try to post more often, since similar tributes are on the way for Motown, Warp and Definitive Jux. Oh, and your recommendations/contributions on all aforementioned upcoming tributes are welcome.

John Martyn was the first white solo act to join the roster of the, then, reggae-based Island records. The title track was written for Martyn's close friend Nick Drake.

album review link: here

download link: here

Bob Dylan - Interviews (@256)

It's the first time since 1970 (with New Morning lp) that Dylan reaches no1 in the hit parade of albums in the UK. For those that haven't bought his new album yet, I strongly propose the deluxe edition, which includes a whole broadcast of his Theme Time Radio Hour under the subject "Friends and Neighbors", as well as a dvd with Roy Silver, Dylan's manager during the Village years, interviewed. The album itself is simply a must-have.

This upload contains Dylan's interviews and is taken from the highly recommended book "The Bob Dylan Scrapbook: An American Journey, 1956-1966".

01-First radio interview, with Oscar Brand on "Folk Song Festival", WNYC, October 29, 1961
02-Interview with Cynthia Gooding on "Folksinger's Choice" for WBAI, January 13, 1962
03-Interview with Allen Stone for WDTM, October 24, 1965
04-Interview with Martin Bronstein for CBC, February 20, 1966
05-Interview from No Direction Home - On his first introduction to music
06-Interview from No Direction Home - On entertainment in Hibbing, Minnesota
07-Interview from No Direction Home - On meeting Woody Guthrie
08-Interview from No Direction Home - On understanding folk music
09-Interview from No Direction Home - On performing and the Village clubs
10-Interview from No Direction Home - On other performers
11-Interview from No Direction Home - On recording and songwriting
12-Interview from No Direction Home - On the response to the electric sound
13-Interview from No Direction Home - On playing with a band
14-Interview from No Direction Home - On fame

download link: here

Pete Seeger - Birds Beasts Bugs and Fishes (@256)

I'm really happy that I'm posting something about the 90th birthday (on May, 3) of Pete Seeger. His birthday was celebrated last Sunday at Madison Square Garden, and musicians such as Springsteen, Tom Morello, John Mellencamp, Ani DiFranco, Arlo Guthrie, Ben Harper, Billy Bragg, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Martha Wainwright, Emmylou Harris, Joan Baez, Kris Kristofferson, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Tom Paxton, Richie Havens, Roger McGuinn, Steve Earle and Taj Mahal (among many others) paid tribute to a musician whose contribution in the US culture is enormous. Quoting Tom Morello: "Pete Seeger is a tremendous inspiration, not just for activist musicians, but I believe for all Americans, and a shining example of someone who combines uncompromising activism with heart and soul and a generous spirit. And his enormous catalog of fantastic songs, mixed with his bravery throughout his ninety years of life in standing up for social justice, is unparalleled in American history. (...) I think that Pete is one of the first links in a chain of musicians—before him, maybe Joe Hill, and after him, not just folk musicians like Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, you know, Bruce Springsteen and, you know, those of us who—many on the bill today, including my own Nightwatchman, who try to follow—put our small feet in his big footsteps, but I also think he’s a link in the chain of groups like Rage Against the Machine and System of a Down and the Clash and Public Enemy, music that serves the purpose of social justice, but also music the stands on its own. (...) His antiwar stance, I think—you know, if one four-minute performance of a song could be credited with ending the Vietnam War, it was Pete Seeger on The Smothers Brothers Show, when he sang “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy” in defiance of the censors and in defiance of the blacklist. And I think that was a really heroic moment in the antiwar crusade."

Now, about this upload, since the last post was again overtly political, I chose not to post a protest album of Pete Seeger, but to urge you to discover a not well-known part of his discography. In his long career he has recorded some children's albums; this upload is a compilation from two of those ("Birds, Beasts, Bugs and Little Fishes" and "Birds, Beasts, Bugs and Bigger Fishes") recorded in 1955. I hope your children will enjoy this.

album review link: here

download link: here

Various Artists - Rebel Voices: Songs of the Industrial Workers of the World (@256)

Although I don't consider myself as a radical lefty I can't pass by the message of May Day. Especially this year, where it seems that workers worldwide are paying the greediness of some foolish executives. Check also this relevant post, from 2007.

album review link: here

download link: here

Various - Original Seeds Vol.2: Songs That Inspired Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds (@256)

I'm not used in satisfying requests, but this time there were many that asked for this one, so here it is. The older post with Vol.1 can be found here

Tracklisting:
01-Harry Belafonte - Did You Hear About Jerry
02-Tom Waits - Way Down In The Hole
03-Fred Neil - A Little Bit Of Rain
04-Gang Of Four - Love Like Anthrax
05-Bob Dylan - Sara
06-Tim Rose - Hey Joe
07-The First Edition - Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Is In)
08-Elvis Presley - In The Ghetto
09-Nina Simone - Plain Gold Ring
10-The Stooges - Loose
11-Leadbelly - Looky Looky Yonder..Black Betty..Yellow Women's Door Bells
12-Hoyt Axton - Double Dare
13-Lou Reed - Perfect Day
14-Alice Cooper - Street Fight

download link: here (includes scans where the link between each track and works by Cave is explained)

Tuatara - Trading With The Enemy (1998) (@256)

Henry the Brave

Kudos to Henry, the grumpy old tuatara, aged... 111, that became a father recently (I've named him Henry the Brave for obvious reasons), while in captivity, in New Zealand. We read from National Geographic: "The centenarian tuatara, was thought well past the mating game until he was caught canoodling with a female named Mildred last March—a consummation that resulted in 11 tuatara babies. Henry was at least 70 years old when he arrived at the museum, "a grumpy old man" who attacked other tuataras—including females—until a cancerous tumor was removed from his genitals in 2002, said Lindsay Hazley, tuatara curator for the Southland Museum and Art Gallery. Tuatara are indigenous New Zealand reptiles that resemble lizards but descend from a distinct lineage of reptile that walked the earth with the dinosaurs 225 million years ago, zoologists say."













The story of "Henry the Brave" reminded me of the supergroup (well, sort of) that took its name from Brave Henry's species. With members comprising, among others, Peter Buck from R.E.M., Barrett Martin from the Screaming Trees and Justin Harwood from Luna, one wouldn't imagine that the outcome would be a cerebral blend of worldbeat with free jazz. The uploaded album is their second one, and my personal favourite from their discography.

album review link: here

download link: here

Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland (1968) (@256)

There are two (bad) reasons for uploading an Experience album. The first one is the news I read about the demolition of the house where Jimi Hendrix spent some of the years of his youth (from the age of 10 to13) and where he first discovered music. The house is across the street from the site where Hendrix is buried. I strongly believe that such places of high cultural importance should be preserved, regardless the contractual implications or their condition. It seems that the city body didn't bother enough to save this landmark site.
The second reason is the death of the drummer of Jimi Hendrix Experience, Mitch Mitchell on November 2008. No further comments could be done for one of the most important drummers of the 60's other than the following (by Richie Unterberger in allmusic). "Mitchell was not a mere sideman to Hendrix, but an important collaborator. Always changing rhythms, never predictable, he was also flexible enough to bounce off and respond to Hendrix's own original solo lines. (...) Ultimately, Mitchell was the musician with whom Hendrix had the most important and sustained creative relationship out of the many people he led or supported, both onstage and on record."

album review link: here

download link: here

Anvil - Metal On Metal (1982) (@256)

Anvil was an early 80's speed metal band who paved the way for groups such as Anthrax, Megadeth, Slayer and Metallica. While all the latter (more or less) burst into stardom, Anvil sunk to obscurity. So, it was quite a surprise to read about a documentary for Anvil. Its title is (obviously) "Anvil!: The Story of Anvil", and its first screening took place at Sundance Film Festival in 2008. Many viewers, even if not heavy metal fans, talked about one of the best music documentaries for years. The film will eventually get a distribution in the US this spring.
So, get ready for a film about the good ole 80's heavy metal. You know that with the long curly hair (that became sparse over the years, but they are still long and curly...), the s&m black leather stripes on bare chests, the arrow-shaped guitars, the beer-belly headbanging audiences, the classic metal sound. Most of all, get ready for the story of two guys that remained devoted to what they'd loved, no matter the difficulties of any kind. Aaah, I tend to get sentimental sometimes.

Read here about the whole story, as explained by the film's director Sacha Gervasi, a former Anvil roadie-turned screenwriter (for The Big Tease and The Terminal).
Read here for a (rhapsodic) review by James Rocchi.

The trailer...


album review link: here
Update: When I was writing this post I didn't find a review of this album in allmusic, from where I usually take the review links. Some weeks later though (on May, 14), I noticed that Metal on Metal was hailed as album of the day there, hence a relevant review had been written. Not bad... not bad at all for Anvil.

download link: here

Miriam Makeba - Her Essential Recordings: The Empress of African Song (@256)

Makeba remains the most important female vocalist to emerge out of South Africa although she was exiled and banned from her country for more than 30 years. Mama Africa, as she is often called, helped bring African music to a global audience in the 1960s.
She made her debut with the, already famous in her country, Manhattan Brothers in 1953, a group that blended ragtime, swing and doo-wop with African choral and Zulu harmonies.
By 1956, at the suggestion of her record company and along with her career as a singer for the Manhattan Brothers, she formed the all-female vocal group, the Skylarks. The group's influence was drawn from groups such as the Boswell Sisters and the Andrews Sisters but also from traditional melodies of South Africa. Ragtime, gospel and traditional jazz were fused with local rhythms and vocal harmonies to end up in a series of irresistible recordings.
Her appearance in the American documentary film "Come Back Africa", which had been shot covertly about conditions under apartheid, played a key role in her life. Miriam was invited to attend its premier at the Venice Film Festival in 1959, and she didn't return to South Africa for the next 31 years. The turbulence that her decisions caused to her relationship with the apartheid regime forced her to remain abroad, which resulted in the revocation of her passport, forcing her into exile. The devastating "Miriam's Goodbye to Africa", her last recording with the Skylarks, proved to be prophetic.
Her first solo recordings effortlessly combined folk, pop, and jazz idioms with her South African roots. Her collaboration with Harry Belafonte during the first half of the 60's was a very fruitful period of her career. Their duet (in Swahili) for "My Angel", about a Kenyan man too poor to marry his sweetheart, is a song that really stands out from that period. It is worth pointing out that Belafonte based his famous Banana Boat Song to the traditional song Kutheni Sithandwa, which she had sang while in the Skylarks. Major hits followed with "Click Song" and "Pata Pata". The latter, Makeba's signature tune, entered the top 10 of the US pop charts in 1967; it was the first time an African artist achieved that.
After her marriage with the Black Panther member Stokely Carmichael in 1968, she was evidently blacklisted by promoters in the USA and many of her concerts were cancelled, while her recording contract with RCA was dropped. After the couple's "escape" to Guinea, Miriam's career became more low-key with only sporadic releases throughout the years.
Following Nelson Mandela's release from prison, he, as a personal admirer, asked her to return. Her return in December 1990 followed a triumphant concert in April 1991, her first in her homeland for more than thirty years.
Miriam Makeba passed away on 9 November 2008.

As for the upload, although this collection is considered as one of the most consistent someone can find about her, one has to shuffle a lot to follow the chronological order of the songs. Thus, I have rearranged the sequence of the tracks, based on the year of release of each song.

Tracklisting:
part1: Makeba as a member of the Manhattan Brothers and the Skylarks
01-Tula Ndivile (with the Manhattan Brothers)
02-Baby Ntsoare (with the Manhattan Brothers)
03-Live Humble (with the Skylarks)
04-Mitshakasi (with the Skylarks)
05-Makoti (with the Skylarks)
06-Sophiatown Is Gone (with the Skylarks)
07-Orlando (with the Skylarks)
08-Uyadela (with the Skylarks)
09-Intandane (with the Skylarks)
10-Kutheni Sithandwa (with the Skylarks)
11-Holilili (with the Skylarks)
12-Uthando Luyaphela (with the Skylarks)
13-Hush (with the Skylarks)
14-Inkomo Zodwa (with the Skylarks)
15-Miriam & Spokes Phata Phata (with the Skylarks)
16-Miriam's Goodbye To Africa (with the Skylarks)
part2: Makeba in her solo career
17-Kilimanjaro (1960)
18-Zenizenabo (1960)
19-Ntyilo Ntyilo (with Hugh Masekela) (1960)
20-Umqokozo (1960)
21-Ngola Kurila (1960)
22-Thanayi (a.k.a. Nomalungelo) (1960)
23-Liwa Wechi (1960)
24-Nagula (1960)
25-Carnival (1960)
26-Love Tastes Like Strawberries (1960)
27-In The Land Of The Zulus (Kwazulu) (1965)
28-My Angel (Malaika) (with Harry Belafonte) (1965)
29-Click Song No.1 (1966)
30-Mas Que Nada (1967) (2003 version)
31-Amampondo (1967)
32-Pata Pata (1967)
33-Samba (1974)
34-Mama Ndiyalila (1974)
35-Talking & Dialoging (1974)
36-Teya, Teya
37-Jolinkomo (live in Paris, 1977)
38-Isangoma (Witch Doctor) (1978)
39-Mbube (The Lion Cries) (1978)
40-Chicken (Kikirikiki) (a.k.a. Sekusile) (1979)

album review link: here

download link (part1 - Makeba as a member of the Manhattan Brothers and the Skylarks): here
download link (part2 - Makeba in her solo career & covers, info etc): here

Closed Zone - Salt of this Sea

Two essential additions to this post.

Closed Zone (2009)


Salt of this Sea (2008)

Various - Original Seeds Vol.1: Songs That Inspired Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds (@256)

Mojo's past issue (n.184/ March 2009) had Nick Cave on the front cover. Is this because Cave has entered the vintage category of artists from which Mojo and Uncut select their front covers, or is this a transition for the magazine to artists that emerged after the late 70's? Anyway, the article about Cave was nothing less than brilliant, and came along with a premium cd with Cave's roots and collaborations. It reminded me of an older release (which is uploaded here) with the same concept; Johnny Cash and Scott Walker are included in both compilations, which is also the case for Tupelo Blues by John Lee Hooker, Katie Cruel by Karen Dalton, and Long Time Man by Tim Rose. Most of the songs of this release have been covered by Cave, while the rest inspired him to form new songs. For those that will find this interesting, there is also a vol.2 of the same series.

see also here for a very informative list of the songs that Nick Cave has released/ performed throughout his career up to 2001.

Tracklisting:
01-Tim Rose - Long Time Man
02-Gene Vincent & the Blue Caps - Cat Man
03-Leonard Cohen - Avalanche
04-Karen Dalton - Katie Cruel
05-Sensational Alex Harvey Band - Hammer Song
06-Tom Jones - Weeping Annaleah
07-The Loved Ones - Sad Dark Eyes
08-Scott Walker - The Big Hurt
09-John Lee Hooker - Tupelo Blues
10-Lefty Frizzell - The Long Black Veil
11-Johnny Cash - The Folk Singer
12-Odetta - Another Man Done Gone
13-Blind Willie Johnson - I'm Gonna Run To The City Of Refuge
14-The Edwin Hawkins Singers - Oh Happy Day
15-Gerge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin - Je T'aime... Moi Non Plus
16-Isaac Hayes - By The Time I Get To Phoenix

download link: here (includes liner notes where the link between each track and works by Cave is described)

If I Could Fly or Viva La Vida?

If I Could Fly was released in 2004...

Μετά απ' αυτό ο τίτλος αυτού του παλιού post αποδεικνύεται προφητικός.

Cramps - Live in Athens, Greece, Rodon club, Nov., 29, 1991 (@256)

Although the Cramps were not the best band in the world, they were unique in their own bizarre way. Their love for 50's rockabilly, 60's garage and 70's US punk all of which hold a significant part in their music, their obsession with horror b-movies, their trashy fetishist outfit and a large dose of explicit sexuality, summed up to give us a group that will hold a very special chapter in the history of rock'n'roll. But as for all the great bands of r'n'r era, their legend was largely drawn from their live performances. Lux as an demented Elvis, Poison Ivy as a b-movie femme fatale, with the other two members always selected from the large reservoir of semi-famous underground session musicians, were giving every night a document of their raw, psychotic, dirty, primitive, nihilist, sexual version of rock'n'roll. One of those performances is uploaded here. Farewell, Lux Interior.

Pitchforkmedia for Lux







Setlist:
01-Intro
02-Dames, Booze, Chains and Boot
03-Muleskinner Blues
04-Aloha From Hell
05-Bop Pills
06-Everything Goes
07-Jelly Roll Rock
08-Creature From The Black Leather Lagoon (Fill in this title on the track's file when you finish downloading)
09-Hipsville 29 B.C. (Fill in this title on the track's file when you finish downloading)
10-I Wanna Get In Your Pants
11-Hard Workin' Man
12-Goo Goo Muck
13-Human Fly
14-Cornfed Dames
15-(cut song)
16-Miniskirt Blues
17-Sunglasses After Dark
18-Bend Over I'll Drive
19-Two Headed Sex Change
20-Blow Up Your Mind
21-Eyeballs In My Martini
22-Alligator Stomp
23-Shortnin' Bread
24-The Crusher
25-Surfin' Bird

download link: here

P.S.1: For those that will wonder what are these strange sounds during Blow Up Your Mind, it is Lux destroying the hardboard floor of Rodon, and swallowing his microphone. During the same track I remember very vividly that Lux climbed near the club's roof through the side steel columns.
P.S.2: I'm waiting for your contribution on the two songs for which I wasn't able to find the title.
P.S.3 (update on June, 7): Dimitris, a reader of this blog, not only contributed on the two songs (see PS2), but he also sent me the blood-stained playlist of that night, which I uploaded. That's Lux's blood from when he was cut by the mic, Dimitris explains. Incredible, (sentimentally) valuable memorabilia. Thanks.

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Zack de la Rocha - His works outside Rage Against the Machine (@256)

Artists such as Zack de la Rocha are needed in today's music environment. His political activism, his militant "Hard Stance" (to use the name of his first band), and not less importantly his great talent as a composer, singer and live performer have created a big gap during his years of absence. Thus, it was a great pleasure to grab a new release that came out from his collaboration with Jon Theodore, under the name "One Day as a Lion". Their debut ep was released in 2008, and although nothing has been said about their first album, I hope that this year we'll have the pleasure to hear more. I was also very happy about the reunion of RATM for live shows in Reading and Leeds festival last year.
Zack's comeback is celebrated from this blog by compiling songs that have been released outside his former group. Two songs are offered from the bands he was a member before RATM (Hard Stance, Inside Out), while the rest of the tracks have been taken from compilations, soundtracks or albums of artists where Zack is participating as a guest.

Tracklisting:
01-Hard Stance - Face Reality (1988 - Zack plays guitar)
02-Inside Out - No Spiritual Surrender (1990)
03-KRS-One, Zack de la Rocha & the Last Emperor - C.I.A. (Criminals in Action) (1998) (from the comp. "Lyricist Lounge Vol. 1")
04-The Unbound Allstars - Mumia 911 (2000) (from the comp. "The Unbound Project, Vol.1)
05-Chuck D., the Roots feat. Zack de la Rocha - Burned Hollywood Burned (2000) (from "Bamboozled" OST)
06-Roni Size Reprazent feat. Zack de la Rocha - Centre Of The Storm (2000) (from Roni Size & Reprazent "In the Mode" lp)
07-Blackalicious feat. Saul Williams, Lyrics Born & Zack de la Rocha- Release (2002) (from Blackalicious lp "Blazing Arrow")
08-DJ Shadow & Zack de la Rocha - March Of Death (@160 as offered online in marchofdeath.com) (2003)
09-Saul Williams feat. Zack de la Rocha- Act III Scene 2 (Shakespeare) (2004) (from Saul Williams's s/t lp)
10-Zack de la Rocha-We Want It All (2004) (from the comp. "Songs and Artists That Inspired Fahrenheit 9/11)

download link: here

Various - The soundtrack of Tom Stoppard's "Rock 'n' Roll" (@256)

I recently enjoyed Tom Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll. A play that goes from 1968 and the invasion of the Soviet tanks in Prague, to the fall of the Berlin Wall. The communist utopia for those who lived it from the outside and the harsh face of it for those who lived it from the inside, rock'n'roll as a rebellious declaration against oppressive regimes, as well as a paganist device, and last but not least, the significance of idealism and passion in people's lives, all these are part of this magnificent play.

This upload offers all songs, in the exact order they are heard during the play.
see also:
official site (Broadway)
NY Times review

Tracklisting:
part 1
01-Internationale
02-Vera Lynn - We'll Meet Again
03-Jimi Hendrix - The Star-Spangled Banner (live)
04-Country Joe Mc Donald - I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die-Rag (live)
05-Who - Won't Get Fooled Again
06-Pink Floyd - Interstellar Overdrive
07-Bob Dylan - I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
08-Rolling Stones - The Last Time
09-Plastic People Of The Universe - The Universe Symphony And Melody About Plastic Doctor (Part 1)
10-Velvet Underground - Venus In Furs
11-Doors - Break On Through
12-Velvet Underground - I'm Waiting For The Man
13-Syd Barrett - Golden Hair
14-Pink Floyd - Astronomy Domine
part 2
15-Syd Barrett - Terrapin
16-Pink Floyd - Jugband Blues
17-Rolling Stones - It's Only Rock'n'Roll (But I Like It)
18-Grateful Dead - Chinatown Shuffle (live)
19-Pink Floyd - Welcome To The Machine
20-Beach Boys - Wouldn't It Be Nice
21-U2 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
22-Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
23-John Lennon - Give Peace A Chance
24-John Lennon - Bring It On Home To Me/ Send Me Some Lovin' (medley)
25-Guns 'n' Roses - Don't Cry
26-Pink Floyd - Vera
27-Beatles - Rock And Roll Music
28-Plastic People Of The Universe - Apocalyptic Bird
29-Rolling Stones - You Got Me Rocking (live)

download link: (part 1) here
download link: (part 2) here

Various - Doob Doob O' Rama: Filmsongs from Bollywood (@256)

After the triumphant soundtrack of Slumdog Millionaire, A. R. Rahman stands next to R. D. Burman as the most important composer of Bollywood. His addictive melodies that combine Indian elements and western pop, as well as the subscription of M.I.A. gained him three Academy Award nominations, one for Best Original Score and two for Best Original Song.

Today's upload (a release of Russ Meyer's QDK) compiles songs from the vast Bollywood discography. Seminal artists of the genre such as Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle, Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar appear in this overly representative compilation, often accused for its lack of information (films/ years of release) and for the low recording quality of some of the songs.

album review link: here

download link: here

Buddy Holly - A selection of songs (@256)

The first song Lennon and McCartney ever recorded was "That'll Be The Day" while the Rolling Stones' first top 10 hit in the UK was "Not Fade Away". I don't think that someone should go any further to seek for additional credits for Buddy Holly. An artist whose recording career lasted for less than two years and transfused rock'n'roll to its second level that would eventually inspire and shape the sound of the British Invasion. On Feb. 3 it was the 50th anniversary of "The Day the Music Died".

Tracklisting:
01-Heartbeat
02-That'll Be The Day
03-Peggy Sue
04-Oh Boy
05-I'm Looking For Someone To Love
06-Rave On
07-Think It Over
08-Tell Me How
09-True Love Ways
10-Raining In My Heart (single version)
11-Everyday
12-Wishing
13-It's So Easy
14-Listen To Me
15-It Doesn't Matter Anymore
16-Words Of Love
17-I'm Gonna Love You Too
18-Well... All Right
19-Peggy Sue Got Married (single version)
20-Maybe Baby (1957 album version)
21-Baby I Don't Care
22-Reminiscing
23-Take Your Time
24-Not Fade Away

download link: here

Eartha Kitt - Purr-fect Greatest Hits (@256)

Orson Welles dubbed her "The most exciting woman in the world." Critic Brooks Atkinson wrote: "Eartha Kitt not only looks incendiary, but she can make a song burst into flame." Just compare Eartha Kitt with what most contemporary female pop artists represent and you will realise how much adventurous, risky and ultimately sexy she was, and how rule followers, label-manipulated and ultimately fake the latter are. Eartha, when label executives tried to encourage her to fol­low more standard pop formulas, made it perfectly clear that, "I don't want to be an artist who has to live on his latest record. This does not prove that I'm an artist, only that I am being adver­tised, like Coca-Cola. What happens to me when I don't have a hit? I explained that I must be the artist I thought I was capable of being. If I happened to have a hit record in this process, so much the better." Like many of her contempo­raries, Eartha's recording career was stymied by the advent of rock and roll, and it certainly didn't help matters that Kitt and Elvis were both in RCA, with Elvis receiving all promotional attention. She remained though a constant pres­ence in films, the theatre, and on television, where she gained an entirely new following for her campy portray­al of the Cat Woman on the Batman series. In 1968, during a luncheon at the White House, she had the guts to criticise the US involvement in Vietnam and its impact on poor minorities. Unfortunately, the consequence was a dramatic career downfall since she was blacklisted and could not book throughout her country. RIP

album review link: here

download link: here

Julian 'Cannonball' Adderley - Somethin' Else (1958) (@256)

I started to build up a Blue Note compilation, to celebrate the company's 70th birthday. I soon found out that I was working in vain! First of all, I realised that it would be wrong to pick up tracks from Blue Note albums, since the latter work as entities rather than sums of separate tracks. Then, we are talking about a vast discography. Even if someone chooses only the essentials (from which I do not own many of them), he will end up with an unsolved dilemma of which one to pick and which one to leave.I know that for those that own more than ten jazz albums, Somehtin' Else is one of them. But let's give the chance to many music fans that are reluctant to approach jazz, to give it a try with one of the strongest jazz albums ever and one of the seminal recordings of the 20th century.

album info link: here

download link: here

Davy Graham - Folk, Blues & Beyond (1964) (@256)

For those who follow this blog, it must be notorious for (a) picking each post's subject from recent musical and social events and (b) for its long reaction time for some of these posts. But, you know how it goes. I only have time for 1-2 uploads per week, so sometimes I tend to skip something in favour of something else. So, I am in a position where I have planned at least fifteen posts based on recent events but I can't find the time to upload them.
One of the many events that took me too long to react is the death of one of my favourite guitarists, Davy Graham. Graham is cited as a major influence for artists such as Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, John Martyn, Paul Simon and Jimmy Page. His influence is also apparent in the sound of Fairport Convention and Pentangle. Graham can be also considered as the first western artist that introduced Middle Eastern forms to his music.
Ray Horricks writes in the album's liner notes: "Certainly he is one of the more extraordinary artists that the world of folk has produced: the most original young guitarist in Europe, a gifted, natural arranger and a singer who sings as he feels. Moreover, he is too large a personality for the folk scene to entirely contain, although he is one of its favourite sons. By this I mean that Davy is constantly drawing other musical forms into his own orbit: blues, modern jazz, Indian or Arabic forms, and so on. All have joined the basic folk repertoire he began with, colouring his overall output in a quite remarkable way." And Colin Harper writes in the Mojo's booklet about the 100 Greatest Guitar Albums: "Before Elvis, said Lennon, there was nothing. Well, before Davy Graham - six-stringed alchemist of Indian, Arabic, Elizabethan, Celtic, modern jazz, country blues, Broadway and pretty much everything else - the world of acoustic virtuosity (Julian Bream notwithstanding) was similarly void. Having already notified the post-Lonnie cognoscenti of where it was at with Angi - as if 1962 was the first year of contrapuntal bass lines since Bach - this era- and career- defining album, with muscular bass and drums off-setting the maestro's almost incongruously mannered vocal, arrived at precisely the moment to set the bar for Britain's young, vibrant, Soho-centred 'folk-baroque' movement of Jansch, Renbourn, Harper, Drake et al. And these were high times".
PS. The uploaded version of Folk, Blues & Beyond comes with the famous instrumental Anji as a bonus track.

read also:
Times obituary
Graham's official website
Graham's interview
Check also the fellow blogger Standin' at the Crossroads, who, based on the same sad occasion, has posted some clips from the Servant and from Folk Britannia (here), and uploaded two of Graham's personal albums (Fire in the Soul and After Hours at Hull University) as well as his famous collaboration with Shirley Collins

album review link: here

download link: here

Rev. Martin Luther King - The Great March To Freedom (1963) (@256)

Some days ago, on Jan. 15th, it was the 80th anniversary of Martin Luther King's birthday. Traditionally, it is celebrated in the US every 3rd Monday of January. This year, one day later it is Obama's inauguration; I guess there couldn't be a better match. It is for sure that without King's dignity and courage, without his achievements (which, incredibly, came non-violently although he was continuously provoked) without his vision for a "colour-blind" society, Obama wouldn't have been in the position he is today.
Today's upload is the speech that King gave in Detroit in June 23, 1963; it was during that speech that he first delivered "I Have a Dream". Many parts of this speech were also used during his Lincoln Memorial speech in Washington, some two months later, simply providing a masterpiece of rhetoric.

download link: here

PS. Since The Great March To Freedom was released by "Gordy Records", a subsidiary of Motown, this post could be also considered as a preamble of a post that will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Motown records.

Palestinians III

... or as nuzz explicitly quotes: "So Israel’s incursion into Gaza is “defensive not offensive.” Bollocks!; it’s a Fucking Offensive display of disproportional force."

Max Richter - Blue Notebooks (2004) (@256)

Waltz With Bashir, (watch the uploaded youtube video in the "Palestinias I" post), is not only a tragically up-to-date movie, but also within the best films of 2008. It is a splendid animation which documents the massacre of the Palestinian refugees in Sabra and Shatila in 1982. The plot is slowly built up through the attempt of director Ari Folman, who was among the Israeli soldiers that witnessed the massacre, to recollect the events of that period.
The soundtrack of the film is equally exceptional. It has been composed by Max Richter who with each new album establishes his position among the pioneer composers of his generation. Richter has "simply" distorted the rules of classical music by fusing modern elements in it, making him a favourite artist for many indie fans.

This new upload, Richter's best album up to now, showcases his characteristic "post-Classical" (as he defines it) style, which combines his classical, electronic and rock influences. It features readings from Franz Kafka's The Blue Octavo Notebooks and Czesław Miłosz's Hymn of the Pearl and Unattainable Earth. Both readings are carried out by the British actress Tilda Swinton.

album review link: here

download link: here

Palestinians II (reality)

1) The war in Gaza through the diary/blog of a 23-year old Palestinian: gazatoday.

2) The article of William Sieghart, chairman of Forward Thinking (an independent conflict resolution agency), in Times.

"We must adjust our distorted image of Hamas
Gaza is a secular society where people listen to pop music, watch TV and many women walk the streets unveiled"

Last week I was in Gaza. While I was there I met a group of 20 or so police officers who were undergoing a course in conflict management. They were eager to know whether foreigners felt safer since Hamas had taken over the Government? Indeed we did, we told them. Without doubt the past 18 months had seen a comparative calm on the streets of Gaza; no gunmen on the streets, no more kidnappings. They smiled with great pride and waved us goodbye.
Less than a week later all of these men were dead, killed by an Israeli rocket at a graduation ceremony. Were they “dangerous Hamas militant gunmen”? No, they were unarmed police officers, public servants killed not in a “militant training camp” but in the same police station in the middle of Gaza City that had been used by the British, the Israelis and Fatah during their periods of rule there.
This distinction is crucial because while the horrific scenes in Gaza and Israel play themselves out on our television screens, a war of words is being fought that is clouding our understanding of the realities on the ground.
Who or what is Hamas, the movement that Ehud Barak, the Israeli Defence Minister, would like to wipe out as though it were a virus? Why did it win the Palestinian elections and why does it allow rockets to be fired into Israel? The story of Hamas over the past three years reveals how the Israeli, US and UK governments' misunderstanding of this Islamist movement has led us to the brutal and desperate situation that we are in now.
The story begins nearly three years ago when Change and Reform - Hamas's political party - unexpectedly won the first free and fair elections in the Arab world, on a platform of ending endemic corruption and improving the almost non-existent public services in Gaza and the West Bank. Against a divided opposition this ostensibly religious party impressed the predominantly secular community to win with 42 per cent of the vote.
Palestinians did not vote for Hamas because it was dedicated to the destruction of the state of Israel or because it had been responsible for waves of suicide bombings that had killed Israeli citizens. They voted for Hamas because they thought that Fatah, the party of the rejected Government, had failed them. Despite renouncing violence and recognising the state of Israel Fatah had not achieved a Palestinian state. It is crucial to know this to understand the supposed rejectionist position of Hamas. It won't recognise Israel or renounce the right to resist until it is sure of the world's commitment to a just solution to the Palestinian issue.
In the five years that I have been visiting Gaza and the West Bank, I have met hundreds of Hamas politicians and supporters. None of them has professed the goal of Islamising Palestinian society, Taleban-style. Hamas relies on secular voters too much to do that. People still listen to pop music, watch television and women still choose whether to wear the veil or not.
The political leadership of Hamas is probably the most highly qualified in the world. Boasting more than 500 PhDs in its ranks, the majority are middle-class professionals - doctors, dentists, scientists and engineers. Most of its leadership have been educated in our universities and harbour no ideological hatred towards the West. It is a grievance-based movement, dedicated to addressing the injustice done to its people. It has consistently offered a ten-year ceasefire to give breathing space to resolve a conflict that has continued for more than 60 years.
The Bush-Blair response to the Hamas victory in 2006 is the key to today's horror. Instead of accepting the democratically elected Government, they funded an attempt to remove it by force; training and arming groups of Fatah fighters to unseat Hamas militarily and impose a new, unelected government on the Palestinians. Further, 45 Hamas MPs are still being held in Israeli jails.
Six months ago the Israeli Government agreed to an Egyptian- brokered ceasefire with Hamas. In return for a ceasefire, Israel agreed to open the crossing points and allow a free flow of essential supplies in and out of Gaza. The rocket barrages ended but the crossings never fully opened, and the people of Gaza began to starve. This crippling embargo was no reward for peace.
When Westerners ask what is in the mind of Hamas leaders when they order or allow rockets to be fired at Israel they fail to understand the Palestinian position. Two months ago the Israeli Defence Forces broke the ceasefire by entering Gaza and beginning the cycle of killing again. In the Palestinian narrative each round of rocket attacks is a response to Israeli attacks. In the Israeli narrative it is the other way round.
But what does it mean when Mr Barak talks of destroying Hamas? Does it mean killing the 42 per cent of Palestinians who voted for it? Does it mean reoccupying the Gaza strip that Israel withdrew from so painfully three years ago? Or does it mean permanently separating the Palestinians of Gaza and the West Bank, politically and geographically? And for those whose mantra is Israeli security, what sort of threat do the three quarters of a million young people growing up in Gaza with an implacable hatred of those who starve and bomb them pose?
It is said that this conflict is impossible to solve. In fact, it is very simple. The top 1,000 people who run Israel - the politicians, generals and security staff - and the top Palestinian Islamists have never met. Genuine peace will require that these two groups sit down together without preconditions. But the events of the past few days seem to have made this more unlikely than ever. That is the challenge for the new administration in Washington and for its European allies.

The original article here

Palestinians I (fiction based on reality)

Divine Intervention (2002)



Paradise Now (2005)



Waltz With Bashir



Highly recommended further reading: Sharon And My Mother-in-law

Lift To Experience - The Texas Jerusalem Crossroads (2001) (@256)

The Texas JerUSAlem Crossroads...























Well, apart from the semeiotics of the album's title, do not miss the chance to listen to this obscure classic, a concept album were the biblical/apocalyptic lyrics are combined with Spiritualized-meet-Jeff-Buckley soundscapes.

album review link: here

download link: here

Beth Gibbons & Rustin Man - Out Of Season (2002) (@256)

Portishead's Third was at the top of my favourite albums for 2008. It was difficult to imagine that a group that remained practically inactive for more than ten years would evolve their sound to release a jaw-dropping modern masterpiece. They indeed gave us an album that although it could be filed under "experimental" through its bleak, dark, perfectionist music, it also sounds so direct, humanised and warm. Very few albums have ever achieved that.

This current upload is the collaboration of Portishead's singer Beth Gibbons with Paul Webb (the bassist of Talk Talk under the pseudonym Rustin Man) which proved that Gibbons could perfectly function under a totally different texture than that of Portishead's. Far away from trip hop, Gibbons and Webb penned a series of songs which drew their heritage mainly from folk, and which let Gibbons's devastating vocals sparkle.

album review link: here

download link: here

Earthbound - The Valley/ Tercera Cancion/ Riverside Song (7'') (1999) (@256)

The new Sonik issue comes with a premium 7'' Earthbound single. It comes as a preview for their new album La Guerra Final, but for a vinylholic like me, it was also a great Christmas present as well.
Their debut release was, again, a premium 7'', given with the Fractal Press mag, back in 1999, which revealed their trademark Calexico-meet-Kyuss sound.

download link: here

Birthday Party - Live in Athens, Sporting, Sep. 17,1982

Harold Pinter passed away on Dec. 24, 2008. He had written twenty-nine plays among which The Birthday Party, The Caretaker, The Homecoming, and Betrayal marked the second half of the 20th century. His works comprise an anatomy of the contemporary British society. Pinter's influence as a playwright is enormous; very important figures such as Sam Shepard and David Mamet have been strongly influenced by him. He has also worked as a screenwriter for movies such as The Servant, The Go-Between, The French Lieutenant's Woman, The Trial (1993), and Sleuth (2007), while he is also responsible for adapting his aforementioned plays. He had also been an actor, director and poet.
Pinter was also a vigorous political activist; an artist that was living, breathing, realising and outspeaking the problems of the society of which his was a member. In 2005, in his acceptance speech, given from a wheelchair, for the Nobel price award for literature, he strongly attacked the US foreign policy arguing that "the United States supported and in many cases engendered every rightwing military dictatorship in the world after the end of the Second World War" and continued his speech giving examples. Later on, for the same subject, in a phrase full of irony regarding the respective policy of the media, he said: "It never happened. Nothing ever happened. Even while it was happening, it wasn't happening. It didn't matter. It was of no interest." Of course, his Nobel speech was only a tiny part of his overall attitude.
During the 80's, his was constantly criticizing Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, while in 1999 he strongly opposed the involvement of the United Nations in the war in Kosovo. As for the invasion in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq, he cited Tony Blair and George W. Bush as mass murderers and war criminals.

Check also:
haroldpinter.org
Harold Pinter (wiki)
Guardian's obituary
Guardian's pictures

Pinter's Nobel speech



Today's upload offers a bootleg recording of Nick Cave's group before the Bad Seeds, the Birthday Party, the name of which many claim that pays homage to Pinter's famous play. Their sound, a disturbing blend of post-punk and industrial, is, of course, some thousand miles away from what a contemporary fan of the Bad Seeds expects to listen to. This concert documents a group with a primitive, dirty sound, equally violent and poetic with a self-destructive frontman howling to conjure his demons, provoking the audience to follow him. It is interesting to note that this was one of the very first concerts given in Greece by western rock artists; from what we can hear, the audience that attended were a little bit "unprepared" for such a sonic and visual assault...
That night, the Birthday Party were: Nick Cave (vocals), Rowland S. Howard (guitar), Tracy Pew (bass), Mick Harvey (drums), Jim Thirlwell (aka Foetus) (saxophone)

Tracklisting:
01-Hamlet Pow Pow Pow
02-Sonny's Burning
03-6'' Gold Blade
04-Deep In The Woods
05-Dim Locator
06-Fears Of Gun
07-Still Burning
08-Release The Bats
09-She's Hit
10-Funhouse
11-Junkyard
12-Loose

download link: here

Yma Sumac - Voice Of The Xtabay (1950) (@256)

Yma Sumac was a Peruvian singer with tremendous vocal abilities ranging four octaves. We read from the cd's booklet:
"It is no exaggeration to say that Yma Sumac possesses the most extraordinary voice of our times. If it were but a vocal instrument it would still be exciting, but this beautiful Incan princess plays her fabulous four-octave range with such a variety of emotional attitudes and tonal color that the result is a unique and spellbinding experience."
Glen Dillard Bunn of the Washington Times-Herald has written for her: "There is no voice like it in the world of music today. It has a greater range than any female voice of concert or opera. It soars into the acoustic stratosphere, or it plumbs sub-contralto depths of pitch with equal ease. Such voices happen only one in a generation."
Sumac passed away on Nov 1, 2008.

album review link: here

download link: here

Odetta - At Carnegie Hall (1960) (@256)

One of the most characteristic voices of the folk revival, a major inspiration for Bob Dylan and an active figure of the civil rights movement left us on Dec. 2. Odetta was to perform in Obama's inauguration on January 20, 2009.

BBC for Odetta

album review link: here

download link: here

Real gone

Many important artists passed away lately. We will remember them in the uploads to come.

Brian Eno/ David Byrne - My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts (1981) (@256)

As Joe Tangari writes in his review for "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today" in pitchforkmedia: "In 1981, Talking Heads frontman David Byrne and producer Brian Eno united for one of the most fruitful partnerships of the post-punk era to release My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, a groundbreaking record that made prominent use of sampled soundbytes and disembodied voices in place of singing. The album, recorded between sessions for the Talking Heads' essential Remain in Light LP, was released with surprisingly little fanfare, yet pioneered and popularized methods that have since become part of our musical lexicon."
This year's collaboration between these two artists does not reach the great hights of their first time, but it is a decent release worth listening to it.

album review link: here

download link: here

Gasmask cherub

source: whatstreetparty

Για τα 2 χρόνια του musictraveler δίνω το live cd ("Live at Shea Stadium") των Clash που το έχω διπλό

OK. Μόνο για τους εν Ελλάδι (μη μας πάνε και ο κούκος αϊδόνι τα ταχυδρομικά...). Στείλτε comment, email ή ταχυδρομικό περιστέρι απαντώντας στην εξής ερώτηση (τα χρόνια σας πολλά για τα δύο κεράκια αυτού του blog επίσης δεκτά). Με πόσα αυγά κάνεις ομελέτα έναν ΜΑΤατζή; Όλες οι απαντήσεις θα θεωρηθούν σωστές. Απαντήσεις δεκτές μέχρι 31/12, 23.59. Η σωστή απάντηση είναι κατατεθειμένη στο συμβολαιογραφικό γραφείο της συμβολαιογράφου που συνέταξε τα συμβόλαια για τη Μονή Βατοπεδίου. Η κλήρωση, αφού ζεσταθούν και χρωματιστούν τα μπαλάκια θα πραγματοποιηθεί στο σπίτι μου, παρουσία της παραπάνω. Ο νικητής θα ειδοποιηθεί με comment σ'αυτό το post την 1/1/09.
Υ.Γ. το cd (προφανώς) δεν είναι copy

No Christmas this year

See the video

Spread the struggle. France and Sweden are next

RESISTANCE

STOP WATCHING, GET OUT ONTO THE STREETS

Greece protestors interrupted the TV news bulletin of the state TV studio to call for continuation of the struggle against the governors' corruption and the police brutality by raising a banner saying "Stop watching, get out onto the streets".

Modern greek pottery

source: studiohajo

Genoa, Paris, Athens... What's Next?

La Haine (Hatred)

Sometimes life imitates art in the most chilling way... The "only" difference is that the 16-year old Greek is dead rather than 'severely beaten'.

P.S. I did not find any "real life" videos that focus on the murder rather than on the riots that followed.

Police murder 16 year old in cold blood!

One more victim of police brutality yesterday night in Athens. The 16 year old victim was shot dead. Read here.

Diamanda Galas - You Must Be Certain Of The Devil (1988) (@256)

Today is the World AIDS Day. Awareness and preventive education is the best weapon against the further spreading of the disease. As for the treatment, while in the western world the medication has developed to offer sustainable living conditions to the victims, the third world and most notably Africa is deliberately kept away from the available elsewhere drugs. We read from Time: "The pharmaceutical firms see local manufacture and so-called parallel imports--where other countries buy the copycat generics instead of the brand name--as a threat they are battling to wipe out. They feel that they alone should not have to pick up the tab for Africa. They want to stanch drug pirates who might make worthless fakes or flood drugs onto the black market. And they fear that making AIDS therapies cheaper for Africans will prompt lucrative Western markets to demand lower prices as well."

This upload offers the third (and most 'accessible') part of Diamanda Galas' "Masque of the Red Death", a trilogy dedicated to the victims of the AIDS/HIV epidemic. We read from the back cover: "I dedicate this album to my brothers and sisters, Persons With Aids, who now live and die in fear". This album is a shocking evidence of an artist so intense, that someone has to be totally impassive not to feel at least uneasy when exposed to it.

Lyrics of "Let's Not Chat About Despair"
You who speak of crowd control, of karma, or the punishment of god
Let's not chat about despair.
Do you fear the cages they are building in
Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas
while they're giving ten to forty years to find a cure?
Let's not chat about despair.
Do you pray each evening out of horror or of fear to the savage God whose bloody hand commands you now to die alone?
Let's not chat about despair.
Do you taste the presence of the living death while the skeleton beneath your open window waits with arms outstretched?
Let's not chat about despair.
Do you spend each night in waiting for the devil's little angels' cries to burn you in your sleep?
Let's not chat about despair.
Do you wait for miracles in small hotels
with Seconal and Compazine
or for a ticket to the house of death in Amsterdam?
Let's not chat about despair.
Do you wait in prison for the dreadful day
the office of the butcher comes to carry you away?
Let's not chat about despair
Do you wait for saviors or the paradise to come in laundry rooms, in toilets, or in Cadillacs?
Let's not chat about despair.
Are you crucified beneath the life machines
with a shank inside your neck
and a head which blossoms like a basketball?
Let's not chat about despair.
Do you tremble at the timid steps
of crying, smiling faces who, in mourning,
now have come to pay their last respects?
Let's not chat about despair.
In Kentucky Harry buys a round of beer
to celebrate the death of Billy Smith, the queer,
whose mother still must hide her face in fear.
Let's not chat about despair.
You who mix the words of torture, suicide, and death with scotch and soda at the bar,
we're all real decent people, aren't we, but there's no time left for talk.
Let's not chat about despair.
PLEASE DON'T TALK AB0UT DESPAIR

album review link: here

download link: here

Various Artists - No More Prisons (1999) (@256)

Relevant to the subject of the last two posts is the US criminal justice policy and the privatisation trend of the US prisons. The latter was first applied in 1984 (another neo-liberal Reaganism), and allowed corporations to build and/or manage prisons. From that point, corrections facilities were not any more institutions aiming to rehabilitate, but branches aiming for profit. Moreover, the B.O.T. contracts between the state and these corrections corporations are such that the latter are paid by the "head" of each prisoner they are housing. Since it is on the state to provide each private prison with "clients" in order their viability to be retainable, the justice policy started to convict less serious offenders, (e.g. for misdemeanor offences). The constant increase of inmates resulted the US to have the highest documented prison population in the world (China ranks second despite having over four times the population of the US). As of 2006, a record 7 million people were behind bars. More than 1 in 100 American adults were incarcerated at the start of 2008; the social implications of such rates are apparent. It should be stressed out that the respective rate for 2006 in Australia was 0.163/100 and in England and Wales 0.139/100.

Check also:
US: America's Private Gulag
Comparative International Rates of Incarceration: An Examination of Causes and Trends Presented to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
Incarceration in the United States

Further reading: Capitalist Punishment: Prison Privatization and Human Rights by Elizabeth Alexander (read an excerpt here)

In this current upload the hip-hop community raises its voice against the ill-fated US criminal justice policy. Emilie Litzell writes for allmusic: "If hip-hop is supposed to be a voice of the urban masses bringing awareness to the injustices of everyday life, too many albums are released devoid of political messages. With that sentiment in mind, Raptivism Records' 1999 release No More Prisons is a gorgeous answer to a full-blown crisis. Uniting underground MCs from coast to coast, No More Prisons comes complete with 23 tracks of personal insight, reflection, and socio-political commentary on the national prison system and the hypocritical foundation those prisons stand on. (...) Rarely does an album come complete with an actual message, conscious content, above-the-board production values, and mad skills behind the mic. When all of those elements are seamlessly blended into a complete expression of unity, watch out. The bar's been raised."

Tracklisting:
01-DJ Shame (Vinyl Reanimators) - Infomercial (Meet The Press)
02-B.K.N.Y. - Where Ya At
03-Sister Asia feat. Steele & Top Dog - Dedicated
04-Danny Hoch - Criminal
05-Vinia Mojica with add. vocals by The Last Emperor - Evolution
06-Apani B-Fly Emcee feat. L.I.F.E. - Outa Site
07-Hurricane G. - No More Prisons
08-Hedrush, Dead Prez & People's Army - Murda Box
09-Daddy-O - Voices
10-Rubberoom - M.O.V.E.
11-The Coup - Drug Warz
12-Helixx C. Armaggedon & Pri the Honey Dark - Lunchbreak
13-Prof. Cornel West - Inspiration
14-The Reepz - The Plan
15-Dead Prez - Behind Enemy Lines
16-Kool DJ EQ feat. The Last Poets - More Prisons
17-Akbar - Battle Cry
18-El Battalion - Siege
19-Scientifik El-D, God Wize, L Da Headtoucha, K-Slaughta - Hold The Key
20-Chubb Rock, Lil' Dap, Edo G., Paw Duke - Rich Get Rich
21-Grandmaster Caz - Too Much
22-Lyric & Mike Ladd - Let Us Go
23-Yazeed - Underground Railroad

album review link: here

download link (with booklet info etc.): here

Not In Our Name

The greek text in the previous post is about the massive protest taking place in the form of hunger strike by thousands of prisoners in the Greek jails (1, 2). It is their only mean, a voiceless scream, asking for guaranteed basic human rights for all prisoners. They are protesting for the unreasonably high death rates among them, for the overpopulated prisons (there are cases where the ratio is 1 m2/prisoner) with 'medieval' infrastructure, for the totally inadequate health care service, for the terrible meals. A relevant report carried out by the European Committee in 2007, revealed (once more) severe cases of ill- treatment of detained persons by law enforcement officials. Based on similar reports the European Court of Human Right has found in many cases Greece guilty for human right violations of prisoners by law enforcement officials.
The prisoners have started a petition named 'Not In Our Name', that will be handled to the Greek Parliament and to a number of Greek & International Media (you can read the english translation of the greek supporting text here). They are asking for our support by signing the petition.

Όχι στο όνομά μας

Με αφορμή το πρωτόγνωρο κύμα απεργιών πείνας από τους κρατούμενους στις Ελληνικές φυλακές αλλά και την εγκληματική αποσιώπησή του από τα κυρίαρχα ΜΜΕ, για τη Δημοκρατία και την προάσπιση των βασικών ανθρώπινων δικαιωμάτων καλούμε όλους όσους διατηρούν μπλογκς, διαδικτυακά φόρα και όχι μόνο να δημοσιεύσουν ταυτόχρονα και συντονισμένα στις 20 Νοεμβρίου 2008, ημέρα Πέμπτη, το παρακάτω κείμενο και όλους του χρήστες του διαδικτύου να το υπογράψουν.
Όχι στο Όνομά μας
“Είναι απαράδεκτη η κατάσταση στις ελληνικές φυλακές. Είναι κύριο θέμα η ριζική αλλαγή του σωφρονιστικού συστήματος”.
–Κάρολος Παπούλιας, 6/11/08
“Είμαστε άνθρωποι – κρατούμενοι. Άνθρωποι, λέω”
- Βαγγέλης Πάλλης, Κρατούμενος, 9/11/08
Από τις τρεις Νοεμβρίου μία εκκωφαντική κραυγή συνταράσσει τα θεμέλια της Δημοκρατίας μας. Από τις τρεις Νοεμβρίου σύσσωμοι οι κρατούμενοι όλης της χώρας κατεβαίνουν σε απεργία πείνας διεκδικώντας το αυτονόητο : τη χαμένη τους αξιοπρέπεια. Απέναντί τους αντιμετωπίζουν την εκκωφαντική σιωπή των κραταιών ΜΜΕ και την παντελή αδιαφορία της πολιτικής ηγεσίας. Σε αυτές τις πρακτικές όσοι υπογράφουμε αυτό το κείμενο ΔΕ ΣΥΝΑΙΝΟΥΜΕ.
Η κατάσταση στις Ελληνικές φυλακές είναι απερίγραπτη και μπορεί να γίνει κατανοητή μόνο με τη σκληρή γλώσσα των μαθηματικών. Στα κατ’ επίφαση “σωφρονιστικά” ιδρύματα της χώρας έχουν καταγραφεί συνολικά 417 θάνατοι την τελευταία δεκαετία, ενώ ο ρυθμός τους έχει απογειωθεί σε τέτοιο σημείο, ώστε σήμερα να σβήνουν στα χέρια του κράτους τέσσερις άνθρωποι το μήνα. Η πληρότητα αγγίζει το 168% (10.113 κρατούμενοι για 6.019 θέσεις) με την αναλογία χώρου για κάθε άνθρωπο να φτάνει σε περιπτώσεις το 1τμ. Με ημερήσιο κρατικό έξοδο ανά κρατούμενο τα 3,60 Ευρώ τα συσσίτια που παρέχονται είναι άθλια, οι υποδομές θυμίζουν μεσαίωνα και η ιατροφαρμακευτική περίθαλψη είναι ελλιπέστατη. Συγχρόνως, το Ελληνικό δικαστικό σύστημα στέλνει στη φυλακή έναν στους χίλιους κατοίκους της χώρας με τους έγκλειστους χωρίς δίκη (υπό προσωρινή κράτηση) να αγγίζουν το 30% του συνολικού αριθμού των κρατουμένων. Αν η ποιότητα μίας Δημοκρατίας κρίνεται από τις φυλακές της, τότε η Δημοκρατία μας ασθμαίνει. Αν η τιμώρηση παραβατικών συμπεριφορών με εγκλεισμό γίνεται από το κράτος στο όνομα της κοινωνίας, τότε για την κατάσταση στις Ελληνικές φυλακές είμαστε όλοι υπόλογοι, με συντριπτικές όμως ευθύνες να αναλογούν στην κρατική μηχανή. Σε αυτή την πραγματικότητα όσοι υπογράφουμε αυτό το κείμενο απαντούμε ΟΧΙ ΣΤΟ ΟΝΟΜΑ ΜΑΣ.
Τα στοιχεία που αποκαλύπτονται από επίσημους φορείς για τις Ελληνικές φυλακές σκιαγραφούν εικόνα κολαστηρίων. Έκθεση της Ευρωπαϊκής Επιτροπής για την Πρόληψη των Βασανιστηρίων (2007) διαπιστώνει βασανιστήρια, απάνθρωπη μεταχείριση και απειλές κατά της ζωής κρατουμένων, σειρά παραβιάσεων αναφορικά με τις συνθήκες κράτησης, ελλείμματα στη διερεύνηση και τιμωρία των ενόχων, αποσιώπηση περιστατικών βίας με την συμπαιγνία ιατρών και φυλάκων, απαράδεκτες συνθήκες ιατρικής περίθαλψης και ιατρικού ελέγχου στους κρατούμενους κλπ. Το Ευρωπαϊκό Δικαστήριο Δικαιωμάτων του Ανθρώπου έχει εκδώσει σειρά καταδικαστικών για την Ελλάδα αποφάσεων που αφορούν κακομεταχείριση ή/και παραβιάσεις άλλων δικαιωμάτων κρατουμένων από σωφρονιστικές αρχές. Η Εθνική Επιτροπή για τα Δικαιώματα του Ανθρώπου έχει πάρει απόφαση - καταπέλτη για τα κακώς κείμενα στις φυλακές, προτείνοντας άμεσες δράσεις για την επίλυση τους. Ο Συνήγορος του Πολίτη διαμαρτύρεται για την παντελή έλλειψη συνεργασίας των αρμόδιων κρατικών φορεών μαζί του, λόγω της οποίας έχει ουσιαστικά απαγορευτεί η είσοδός του στις φυλακές της χώρας τα τελευταία δύο χρόνια. Οι δικηγορικοί σύλλογοι όλης της χώρας, μη κυβερνητικές οργανώσεις, όπως η Διεθνής Αμνηστία, και πολλοί πολιτικοί/κοινωνικοί φορείς καταγγέλλουν την απαράδεκτη κατάσταση και ζητούν ευρύτερη συνεργασία για το ξεπέρασμα του προβλήματος. Αν ανθρώπινα είναι τα δικαιώματα που πρέπει να απολαμβάνει κάθε ανθρώπινο ον, κάθε στέρησή τους στις Ελληνικές φυλακές αποτελεί ανοιχτή πληγή για την κοινωνία μας. Σε αυτή την κατάσταση όσοι υπογράφουμε αυτό το κείμενο απαντούμε ΝΑ ΣΠΑΣΕΙ ΕΠΙΤΕΛΟΥΣ ΤΟ ΑΒΑΤΟ ΤΩΝ ΦΥΛΑΚΩΝ.
Με την απεργία πείνας οι κρατούμενοι καταφεύγουν στο τελευταίο οχυρό αντίστασης, που τους έχει απομείνει, το σώμα τους. Είχε προηγηθεί έσχατη έκκλησή τους προ μηνός προς τους ιθύνοντες να ενσκήψουν στο πρόβλημα, καθώς δεν πήγαινε άλλο. Για να λύσουν την απεργία πείνας ζητούν την ικανοποίηση αιτημάτων, που αποκαθιστούν την χαμένη τους αξιοπρέπεια και επανακτούν τα βασικά ανθρώπινα δικαιώματά τους, αιτημάτων συγκεκριμένων, αξιοπρεπών και άμεσα υλοποιήσιμων. Απέναντι στις κινητοποιήσεις των κρατουμένων η πολιτική ηγεσία εξαντλεί τη δράση της σε αδιαφορία, υποσχέσεις και καταστολή των κινημάτων τους. Τυχόν αδιαφορία και αναλγησία της πολιτικής ηγεσίας όμως και σε αυτή τη φάση θα σημαίνει νεκρούς απεργούς πείνας. Στη μετωπική λοιπόν σύγκρουση που επιλέγουν οι κρατούμενοι της χώρας για τη διεκδίκηση των ανθρωπίνως αυτονόητων δε μπορούμε να μένουμε απαθείς σταυρώνοντας τα χέρια και περιμένοντας τις ειδήσεις των θανάτων από τις απεργίες πείνας αλλά θα σταθούμε αλληλέγγυοι. Αν η περιφρούρηση της δημοκρατίας και των ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων επιβάλλουν την επαγρύπνιση όλων μας, τώρα είναι λοιπόν η στιγμή να πάρουμε θέση όλοι απέναντι στο πρόβλημα χωρίς αδιαφορίες και υπεκφυγές.
Απέναντι στην τεταμένη κατάσταση στις φυλακές όλης της χώρας όσοι υπογράφουμε αυτό το κείμενο καθιστούμε την πολιτική ηγεσία απολύτως υπεύθυνη για ό,τι συμβεί και απαιτούμε άμεσα την τόσο θεσμική όσο και στην πράξη ΕΓΓΥΗΣΗ ΤΩΝ ΒΑΣΙΚΩΝ ΑΝΘΡΩΠΙΝΩΝ ΔΙΚΑΙΩΜΑΤΩΝ ΤΩΝ ΚΡΑΤΟΥΜΕΝΩΝ ΟΛΗΣ ΤΗΣ ΧΩΡΑΣ.Την 21η Νοεμβρίου το κείμενο αυτό θα σταλεί σε όλα τα μέλη του κοινοβουλίου και σε όσο το δυνατόν περισσότερους φορείς μέσων μαζικής ενημέρωσης με την προτροπή της αναδημοσίευσής του. Το κείμενο προς αποστολή θα φέρει τους υπερσυνδέσμους (URL) από όλες τις ιστοσελίδες, που το υιοθέτησαν.

The Clash - Live in Guildford, UK, 1-5-77

We had a bunch of Clash releases recently; although the dvd and the book do not offer something really new, the cd ("Live at Shea Stadium") is really enjoyable. It was a concert given in 1982, with the Clash being the support act to the Who. As Pat Gilbert writes for Mojo "Musically, the Clash sound impressively and unexpectedly tight and funky, with Joe's reverb-drenched vocals and Mick's echoey guitar effects giving the songs a lively, 3D feel. Throughout, the band plays at such a gallop you get a palpable sense of how terrifying it must have been for them to step out in front of 70,000 potentially hostile fans in a baseball stadium made famous by the Beatles. Yet the undercurrent of fear and derring-do only serves to render the likes of Police On My Back, Guns Of Brixton, Rock The Casbah, Train In Vain and a super-quick The Magnificent Seven (segueing into Armagideon Time) even more electrifying than their studio originals."
On the contrary, today's upload offers a Clash bootleg from their early days. Although the sound quality is not very good, it showcases a vibrant group full of anger and energy. For those interested, mondo-de-muebles and nuzzprowlinwolf, offer many Clash bootlegs; nuzz also offers the Subway Sect's support act of that night in Guildford.

Tracklisting:
01-London's Burning
02-1977
03-I'm So Bored With The U.S.A.
04-Pressure Drop
05-Hate And War
06-Cheat
07-Police And Thieves
08-48 Hours
09-Capital Radio
10-Deny
11-Remote Control
12-Career Opportunities
13-White Riot
14-Janie Jones
15-Garageland

download link: here

A Change Is Gonna Come

Jeff Wayne - Musical Version Of The War Of The Worlds (1978) (@256)

Reading from the book The Complete War of the Worlds - Mars' Invasion of Earth from H.G. Wells to Orson Welles (Brian Holmsten & Alex Lubartozzi): "Perhaps the most terrifying version of The War of the Worlds was Jeff Wayne's London stage musical. Frighteningly representative of 1978, this deadly serious rock opera featured Richard Burton in the role of narra­tor with music written by Jeff Wayne and Gary Osborne. The Moody Blues' Justin Hayward, Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy, and David Essex, among others, performed songs that sounded like an unholy union of Pink Floyd and ABBA. Wayne, who somehow convinced the likes of Burton and Hayward to take part in this questionable production, remained faithful to the text by Wells. The original cast double album inspired some imaginative Roger Dean-style artwork. Despite its overwhelming campiness, Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds entered the UK album charts and remained there for six years, achieving multi-platinum status with sales in excess of six million double albums. (...) Hearing Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, as Pastor Nathaniel, rant and sing about the Martian "devils" makes sitting through the rest of it nearly worthwhile."

album review link: here

download link: here

Radio Broadcast - The H. G. Wells' War Of The Worlds by Mercury Theatre feat. Orson Welles, October 30, 1938 (@256)

It's been 70 years from the notorious radio broadcast that dramatised the H. G. Wells' novel "The War Of The Worlds". The broadcast was directed by Orson Welles who he also played the role of professor Pierson. Since most of the part of the broadcast was in the form of news bulletins of developing events that were reporting an invasion of aliens from Mars, many listeners actually believed it to be true.
While the broadcast certainly fulfilled its entertainment intentions, it is also sure that it's been used many times since as a framework for social manipulation through the mass media.

Images scanned from the highly recommended book The Complete War of the Worlds - Mars' Invasion of Earth from H.G. Wells to Orson Welles (Brian Holmsten & Alex Lubartozzi).

download link: here

Various Artists - Brother Can You Spare A Dime: Songs Of The Depression (@256)

It's always the same plot isn't it? The deadly combination of greed with the lack of control by the state always leads to situations similar to what we experience today. The reasons that caused the Great Depression these days back in 1929 are more or less the same with those of the Crisis today. Easy credit, (in 1929 for stocks, in 2008 for houses) led us to the same result. The reasons and the conditions which created our Crisis (or should we better name it "the Great Depression of 2008") were described by a single statement of Nicholas Lazares, a former manager of Lehman Brothers, who had resigned before the Crisis started: "Greed trumped everything (...). They were willing to make a loan to an orangutan." So, for some scumbags' bonuses it's the whole world now that is seriously affected. It seems that we have entered into a downward spiral with no visible end.
It is self-evident that today's (or should we say yesterday's) form of capitalism faces severe function problems. The 'funny' thing is of course that the 'experts' who were asserting that the market always balances by itself and were repulsing any state control, are now in the queue begging the state to finance (with the tax-payers' money) their failure.
History also teaches us that the US finally got over the Great Depression through the war economy of WWII, and also that fascist regimes in Germany and Italy found a very fertile ground through promises of "law and order" to the, horrified by the Depression effects, citizens...

Today's upload is a compilation of some of the songs written during and for the Great Depression. Unfortunately, it looks like we might be hearing a lot of songs like these soon. Some (if not all) of the lyrics depict today's Crisis perfectly; take a look at the lyrics of 1931's song "Cheer Up! Smile! Nertz! (Ballyhoo)".

Sure, business is bunk,
And Wall Street is sunk,
We're all of us broke, and ready to croak.
We've nothing to dunk,
Can't even get drunk,
And all the while, they tell us to smile:

Cheer up, gentle citizens, though you have no shirts,
Happy days are here again. Cheer up, smile, nertz!
All aboard prosperity, giggle 'till it hurts!
No more bread-line charity. Cheer up, smile, nertz!

Cheer up, cheer up, cheer up, cheer up, cheer,
Up, cheer up, cheer up, cheer, better times are here.
Sunny smilers we must be, the optimist asserts,
Let's hang the fat-head to a tree! Cheer up, smile, nertz!

The world's in the red,
We're better off dead,
Depression, they say's in session to stay.
Our judges are queer,
Our banks disappear,
And all the while, they tell us to smile:

Cheer up, gentle citizens, though you have no shirts,
Happy days are here again. Cheer up, smile, nertz!
All aboard prosperity, giggle 'till it hurts,
No more bread-line charity. Cheer up, smile, nertz!

Cheer up, cheer up, cheer up, cheer up, cheer,
Up, cheer up, cheer up, cheer, better times are here.
Sunny smilers we must be, the optimist asserts,
Let's hang the fat-head to a tree! Cheer up, smile, nertz!

Nertz!

The following video gathers some of the staggering Great Depression photos of Dorothea Lange.


download link (with booklet info etc.): here

OST - Mame (1974) (@256)

We read from NME.com: "David Bowie's 1972 album 'The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars' has been voted the gayest album of all time by a panel of "gay experts".
Out.com polled a panel including Boy George, Rufus Wainwright and Cyndi Lauper to determine the 100 most homosexual albums of all time, with Bowie's effort emerging as Number One.
According to the compilers, albums included were "not only records by queer musicians but also any records that have had relevance to those voting".
The Smiths have two albums in the top ten and a total of four in the top40 (while Morrissey has another one in the top100), Madonna has five albums in the top100, Queen and Bowie have from three albums each. To read the whole story go here.
Well, this poll reminded me of a similar list that was compiled by Sirius satellite radio DJ Frank DeCaro in order to determine the gayest song ever. The title went to Jerry Herman 's "Bosom Buddies" as sung by Lucille Ball and Beatrice Arthur for the soundtrack for the 1974 movie version of Mame.

Again, Smiths and Bowie are present, sharing number 10 of the list. To see the respective list go here. As for "Bosom Buddies", I think that the homosexual references are not so apparent, apart from the lyric "I'll always be Alice Toklas, If you'll be Gertrude Stein".

album review link: here

download link: here

Various Artists - Stand Up And Be Counted (@256)

It's been exactly 40 years from possibly the bravest political statement in sports. Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 200m medal-award ceremony of the Mexican Olympics in 1968, raised their clenched fists in a black power salute as a stand against racial discrimination. As Tommie Smith later explained: "If I win, I am American, not a black American. But if I did something bad, then they would say I am a Negro. We are black and we are proud of being black. Black America will understand what we did tonight". Shouldn't we also forget, that, in support of Smith and Carlos, the second place finisher, the Australian Peter Norman, wore the Human Rights badge. For all three, the consequences of their gesture for their carriers and lives were enduring and devastating. Unfortunately, in today's society athletes are considered entertainers who are not "allowed" to express their beliefs on social matters. It is their popularity and influence they have on young people that make them "dangerous". But, as Smith himself recently said: "Athletes have a responsibility to speak because they are in a position to make a difference and they have a responsibility to make that difference".

Today's upload pays tribute to that historical gesture. "Stand Up And Be Counted" is a fine compilation with its front cover commemorating the salute and packed with powerful gems of the late 60's-early 70's which focus on social and racial issues.

Tracklisting:
A1-The Flames - Stand Up And Be Counted
A2-Gil Scott-Heron - The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
A3-The Impressions - Mighty Mighty (Spade And Whitey)
A4-Billy Paul - East
B1-Mike James Kirkland - Hang On In There
B2-Esther Marrow - Things Ain't Right
B3-James Brown - Say It Loud - I'm Black And I'm Proud ( Parts 1&2)
C1-The Last Poets - When The Revolution Comes
C2-Pace-Setters - Push On Jessie Jackson
C3-Archie Shepp - Blues For Brother George Jackson
C4-Eddie Kendricks - My People... Hold On
D1-The Pharaohs - Freedom Road
D2-Kain - Loose Here
D3-Nina Simone - I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free

album review link: here

download link: here

R.E.M. - Murmur (1983) (@256)

It's been a quarter of a century (sounds more impressive to refer to centuries rather than to years doesn't it) from the release of R.E.M.'s first lp. I guess they could never imagine that from a rather obscure band from Athens, Georgia, they would become at first (during their IRS years) one of the top alternative bands of the 80's, then they would dominate the charts with a rather weak album (Out Of Time) with sparkling singles, they would subsequently release one of the best 90's album (Automatic For The People) and, after 25 years from their first lp release, they would still remain in the limelight with decent albums and massive stadium concerts. One of these concerts we Greeks had the chance to enjoy for free in Kalimarmaro stadium (where the 1896 Olympic games took place) last Sunday; it will be uploaded upon request.

album review link: here

download link: here

Jacques Brel - Quand On N'a Que L'amour (@256)

Just to give you an idea, we are talking here about a composer and lyricist (but also an actor and director) who is often compared with Bob Dylan as for the power of his songs. He has also been a major influence for David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, Scott Walker, Marc Almond, Momus, Divine Comedy, the Tindersticks and for most of the singer-songwriters of this world. Many of his songs have been "translated" in English and performed by Joan Baez, Judy Collins, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band (my favourite pick with "Next"), Dusty Springfield, the Kingston Trio, Shirley Bassey, Dionne Warwick, Nina Simone, Gavin Friday, Nirvana, Walkabouts, Pearls Before Swine and Mitch Ryder to name just a few from the relevant extensive list. Finally, the off-Broadway act "Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris" which was based on his songs translated by Mort Shuman and Eric Blau, resulted in one of the most successful off-Broadway shows ever. Jacques Brel passed away exactly 30 years ago but his music continues to inspire.

This current upload is a brilliant compilation covering in chronological order his carrier up to 1972.

Jacques Brel info: here and here

album review link: here

download link (part 1): here (re-up)
download link (part 2 with covers, info, credits etc.): here (re-up)

All work and no play makes alan f a dull boy

Dr. John - Dr. John's Gumbo (1972) (@256)

This is the final upload dedicated to Jerry Wexler. To end the story, if you just sum the diversity of the genres and the quality of the recordings of the uploaded Wexler's productions then you'll have a very good hint of his genius.
As for Gumbo, it's simply a delightful New Orleans r&b (with drops of r'n'r, blues and funk) orgy.




Tracklisting:
A1-Iko Iko
A2-Blow Wind Blow
A3-Big Chief
A4-Somebody Changed The Lock
A5-Mess Around
A6-Let The Good Times Roll
B1-Junko Partner
B2-Stack-A-Lee
B3-Tipitina
B4-Those Lonely Lonely Nights
B5-Huey Smith Medley: High Blood Pressure/ Don't You Just Know It/ Well I'll Be John Brown
B6-Little Liza Jane

album tracks info: here

album review link: here

download link: here

Doug Sahm - Doug Sahm And Band (1973) (@256)

Another flawless production by Jerry Wexler (and Arif Mardin). An irresistible 'session' band which includes Bob Dylan and Dr. John. A superb selection of tracks that flow gently like brook's water. Well, what else can you ask for?

album review link (allmusic): here

download link: here

Original Cast - The Wiz (1975) (@256)

This is Jerry Wexler's marvellous production for The Wiz, an original cast recording with an all-black cast who retold L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The musical opened on January 1975, it ran for over 1600 performances and won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score for the music and lyrics of Charlie Smalls.

Tracklisting:
A1-Prologue - (Company)
A2-The Feeling We Once Had - Aunt Em (Tasha Thomas)
A3-Tornado - Instrumental
A4-He's The Wizard - Addaperle (Clarice Taylor) & Company
A5-Soon As I Get Home - Dorothy (Stephanie Mills)
A6-I Was Born On The Day Before Yesterday - Scarecrow (Hinton Battle)
A7-Ease On Down The Road - Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tinman (Tiger Haynes), Lion (Ted Ross)
A8-Slide Some Oil To Me - Tinman
A9-I'm A Mean Ole Lion - Lion
B1-Be A Lion - Dorothy, Lion
B2-So You Wanted To See The Wizard - The Wiz (Andre De Shields)
B3-What Would I Do If I Could Feel - Tinman
B4-Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News - Evillene (Mabel King)
B5-Everybody Rejoice - Dorothy & Company
B6-Y'All Got It! - The Wiz & Company
B7-If You Believe - Glinda (Dee Dee Bridgewater)
B8-Home (Finale) - Dorothy

album review link (allmusic): here

download link (with inlet & lyric insert): here

Various - Songs produced by Jerry Wexler (@256)

Jerry Wexler, the man who is responsible for a huge part of the evolution of the music in the 20th century left us full of days in August.
His first involvement with the music industry was as a journalist in Billboard, were he coined the term 'rhythm and blues' to replace the narrowed "race music". It was while working for Billboard, when he first met Ahmet Ertegun, co-owner of Atlantic records.After leaving Billboard Wexler went on to work for Atlantic; soon enough he became co-owner replacing Herb Abramson. There, through his totally distinctive production techniques, he managed to transform Ray Charles from a good imitator of Nat 'King' Cole to a leading artist of soul music. Equally, he was the force behind the transformation of Aretha Franklin from the all-around singer of Columbia to the soul icon she deserved to be. Apart from these two giant figures who found their way in the magic hands of Wexler someone should not forget that he is also responsible for names such as Big Joe Turner, Ruth Brown, Professor Longhair, LaVerne Baker, Ivory Joe Hunter, Drifters, Solomon Burke and Wilson Pickett, while the strong relationship of Atlantic with Stax was also his idea. On the verge of the 60's he found himself being producer of the legendary lp "Dusty In Memphis". By then Atlantic had already become the company for which Led Zeppelin would release their music.
Seminal albums produced by Wexler followed during the 70's: The original (entirely black) cast of "The Wiz" (an adaptation of the Wizard of Oz), Dr John's "Gumbo", Willie Nelson's "Shotgun Willie", Doug Sahm's "Doug Sahm and Band" (where among the members of 'The Band' were Bob Dylan and Dr. John), Dire Straits's "Communique" and Bob Dylan's "Slow Train Coming" (the latter two for Warner).

read also:
Jerry Wexler: The Man Who Invented Rhythm & Blues (Rolling Stone)
Twenty tracks for which Jerry Wexler is most proud of (Rolling Stone)
Mojo for Jerry Wexler
Allmusic for Jerry Wexler
An interview of Jerry Wexler to John Petridis for the greek mag Pop & Rock (back to mono)

For those interested, you can also dig in his autobiography "The Rhythm And The Blues: A Life In American Music”.

This blog's tribute to Wexler will be divided to this present compilation of tracks he produced or co-produced in the 50's and 60's for Atlantic and (in posts to follow) to some of the albums he produced during the 70's.

Tracklisting:
01-Drifters with Clyde McPhatter - Money Honey
02-Ray Charles - I Got A Woman
03-LaVern Baker - Tweedle Dee
04-Chords - Sh-Boom
05-Drifters - Ruby Baby
06-Ruth Brown - Lucky Lips
07-Chuck Willis - It's Too Late
08-Ray Charles - (Night Time Is) The Right Time
09-Clyde McPhatter - A Lover's Question
10-Solomon Burke - If You Need Me
11-Ray Charles - What'd I Say (Parts I & II)
12-Wilson Pickett - Land Of 1000 Dances
13-Solomon Burke - Everybody Needs Somebody To Love
14-Wilson Pickett - In The Midnight Hour
15-Aretha Franklin - (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman
16-Wilson Pickett - Mustang Sally
17-Aretha Franklin - Chain Of Fools
18-Aretha Franklin - Respect
19-Dusty Springfield - The Windmills Of Your Mind

download link: here

Steve Wynn & Linda Pitmon with Silver & the Hidden Cash

Ok, I'm biased. But how can someone resist to such delightful "hybrid of the Pogues and a Pete Seeger hootenanny" as Steve Wynn defined his one-off (?) backing band Silver & the Hidden Cash at his recent gig in Ioannina, Greece.
But let's better read the whole thing from Mr. Wynn himself.
"I was told that they would be happy to learn some of my songs and back me up for part of my set. I chose some songs that were easy to learn-Carolyn, Kerosene Man and Manhattan Fault Line-and decided to give it a shot. When the band got a hold of The Baseball Project they asked to do a couple of songs off that as well so I tossed in Past Time and Fernando.
Well, the band learned every part and every note and every harmony from each of those songs. It was quite impressive. They even gave me and Linda Greek nicknames for the night to offset their own English nicknames (check out their website - http://www.shc.gr/ -- and you'll see what I'm talking about, although it might be all Greek to you-sorry, couldn't resist). It was a festive night. 1000 people in the Ioannina town square, a bright moon shining down and the show followed by an endless array of squid, tzatziki, grilled meats, wine, beer and other delights, a bacchanalian orgy that went until about 3:30am."

To my biggest regret I couldn't attend (I had to change diapers etc. at the same time while in my holidays) but I feel that most probably I'll have a second chance in the near future.


P.S. @Shc: You are destined to stardom. Κονγκρατσουλέισονς.

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Déjà Vu (1970) (@256)

Although the attempt to define Fleet Foxes' sound is impossible just by naming one or two older groups with a similar sound, after listening to their s/t debut lp I was spontaneously led to remove the dust from my Deja Vu copy and to spin it on my turntable. That was it! I had forgotten the vibes this album can create. I owe one big 'thank you' to the Fleet Foxes who 'forced' me to remember it and another one for releasing such a masterpiece.

album review link (allmusic): here

download link: here

Update: Another two good reasons for uploading this album have emerged. The first one is of course that Deja Vu is among the best lp releases of Atlantic records. The four uploads dedicated to Jerry Wexler that follow this post are all Atlantic's releases. So Deja Vu, although not a Wexler production, could (indirectly) be also part of the posts dedicated to him.
The second one is the release of the movie "CSNY / Déjà Vu" which documents the quartet's 2006 Freedom of Speech tour. The film includes a wealth of information about the Iraq War, and the film's anti-war stance gets as much attention as the group's musical performances.

Back from holidays. What a relief!

Hi. I'm back, carrying my burnt skin, one deaf ear and a heavy cold. I need to go back to work asap. Looking forward for autumn rain, sweat shirts, weekend football (Man. City rules) and non-festival gigs followed by booze.