PATTI SMITH

PATTI SMITH GROUP
EASTER (1978)
REMASTER
320 KBPS

Patti Smith came back from the year-and-a-half break caused by her fall from a stage in January 1977 without having resolved the art-versus-commerce argument that had marred her second album, Radio Ethiopia. In fact, that argument was in some ways the theme of her third. Easter, produced by Bruce Springsteen associate Jimmy Iovine, was Smith's most commercial-sounding effort yet and, due to the inclusion of Springsteen's "Because the Night" (with Smith's revised lyrics), a Top Ten hit, it became her biggest seller, staying in the charts more than five months and getting into the Top 20 LPs. But Smith hadn't so much sold out as she had learned to use her poetic gifts within an album rock context. Certainly, a song that proclaimed, "Love is an angel disguised as lust/Here in our bed until the morning comes," was pushing the limits of pop radio, and on "Babelogue," Smith returned to her days of declaiming poetry on New York's Lower East Side. That rant (significantly ending, "I have not sold my soul to God") led into the provocative "Rock n Roll Nigger," a charged rocker with a chorus that went, "Outside of society/Is where I want to be." Smith made the theme from the '60s British rock movie Privilege her own and even got into the U.K. charts with it. And on songs like "25th Floor," Iovine, Smith, and her group were able to accommodate both the urge to rock out and the need to expound. So, Easter turned out to be the best compromise Smith achieved between her artistic and commercial aspirations.

1. Till Victory
2. Space Monkey
3. Because The Night
4. Ghost Dance
5. Babelogue
6. Rock N Roll Nigger
7. Privilege (Set Me Free)
8. We Three
9. 25th Floor
10. High On Rebellion
11. Easter
Bonus Track
12. Godspeed

BILL DIXON

BILL DIXON
WITH EXPLODING STAR ORCHESTRA (2008)
224 KBPS

Coining a name with connotations both cosmic and catastrophic, Rob Mazurek’s orchestra promises much in the way of revelatory large scale organized sound. Whether or not the Chicago 12-piece ensemble lives up to the intentionally-aggrandizing mantle remains debatable, though We are All From Somewhere Else, the 2007 Thrill Jockey debut by the band, did find its way on to dozens of reviewers’ lists as one of the best of the year. What is less open to conjecture is the inspired fit that occurs with the addition of guest Bill Dixon on this self-titled follow-up.
Both Dixon and Mazurek have made careers pushing the parameters of brass instruments. Here, their musical affinity blurs the borders where one’s playing begins and the other’s ends, though Dixon occupies the majority of foreground space, his otherworldly vocabulary of slurs, smears, hiccups and belches sometimes delay-treated and other times reliant solely on the echo-chamber properties of his brass. Other members of the ensemble rise and recede in the frequently fleeting and nebulous sections of interplay with brief statements, but the overall dynamic remains that of principal soloist with active orchestral commentary.”
The set’s three pieces are massively slab-like in size with two distinct versions of Dixon’s “Entrances” framing the disc centerpiece, Mazurek’s “Constellations for Innerlight Projections.” Among the veritable constellation of musical referents, comparisons to Sun Ra’s Arkestra are fairly easy to posit, but the parallels are particularly prominent on the second third of Mazurek’s piece, when Nicole Mitchell’s mellifluous flute guides the group in conjunction with Jason Adasiewicz’s luminous tubular bells. A spoken introduction by Damon Locks of the Chicago dub rock group The Eternals also communicates a heady context of cosmic imagery.
Elsewhere, fanfare-like swells alternate with passages of free-ranging ensemble expression. Dixon caps the piece off with an uncompromising soliloquy of coarse eructations. In both of its incarnations, Dixon’s composition relies initially on the populous rhythm team of tandem drums, tympani, and both breeds of bass. Relentless forward momentum eventually leavens in favor of a more diffusive deployment of instruments that constitute and complement the murky merger of swirling brass with revolving acoustic and electronic elements. The stylistic similarities to some of Mazurek’s work with his Chicago Underground ensembles are striking and epitomize, again, the close artistic confluence between the two composers.
Dixon continues to attract criticism from certain segments of the jazz intelligentsia who ascribe him everything from a rampant ego to a charlatan’s desire to cover up lagging chops with gimmickry. This challenging set once again contravenes such claims, suggesting instead that the aging trumpeter is at the top of his game, particularly when blessed with the company of a contingent of like-minded artists.

1. Entrances/One
2. Constellations For Innerlight Projections (For Bill Dixon)
3. Entrances/Two

CROWDED HOUSE

CROWDED HOUSE
TEMPLE OF LOW MEN (1988)
320 KBPS

Following the success of Crowded House's debut and the band's grueling promotion schedule, Neil Finn was clearly showing signs that he was no longer happy being New Zealand's zany ambassador to the U.S. While the material on Temple of Low Men demonstrates great leaps in quality over its predecessor, it is a darkly difficult album, especially for those expecting Crowded House, Pt. 2 — in short, there are no immediately accessible singles. Instead, Finn digs into the depths of his emotional psyche with obsessive detail, crafting a set of intense, personal songs that range from the all-too-intimate look at infidelity of "Into Temptation" to the raucous exorcism of "Kill Eye." Through all of this introspective soul-searching, Finn reveals most of all his true mastery of melody.

1. I Feel Possessed
2. Kill Eye
3. Into Temptation
4. Mansion In The Slums
5. When You Come
6. Never Be The Same
7. Love This Life
8. Sister Madly
9. In The Lowlands
10. Better Be Home Soon

ROB

ROB

Two albums from Frenchman Rob. Coming from the Versailles scene - just like Phoenix, Daft Punk, Mellow, etc. - Rob gives us his own version of the French touch. It's pompous, over the top, richly orchestrated. In a way, it's a little bit as if Queen was doing a Serge Gainsbourg album. There are many other influences, most of them coming from the 70's: you have some Ten CC, Electric Light Orchestra, Burt Bacharach, Beach Boys, Ennio Morricone etc. It sometimes is a little clumsy but in a good way as it gives the music a little more charm.
As far as I know (but I might be wrong) these are Rob only two albums. A real shame as it showed many promises so, if you like music that doesn't take itself too seriously, that has lush arrangements and a sense of humour, you ought to yourself to try it.

DON'T KILL (2000)
320 KBPS
1. De la musique
2. Power glove
3. Amours
4. Sitar fight ego
5. Je t'aime
6. xx
7. Chanson pour mes enfants
8. Don't kill
9. Don't Kill dub
10. Running for the gold
11. Asnière au soleil
12. Sweet femke
13. Fourteen metal
14. Don't kill me

SATYRED LOVE (2002)
320 KBPS
1. Introducing a satyred love
2. Godspeed
3. You & I & my song
4. King lover
5. Never enough
6. The wedding day
7. Mermaid deluxe
8. Love bizarre
9. Do you mind if I keep on watching you
10. Unilarme
11. Godspeed reprise

TORI AMOS

TORI AMOS
AMERICAN DOLL POSSE (2007)
320 KBPS

I really didn't know what to expect from Tori Amos' new album "American Doll Posse." To be perfectly blunt, I didn't really care for her last album "The Beekeeper" (2005). While "The Beekeeper" wasn't a horrible album, I just couldn't get into it. There were some great ideas, and most of the songs had a great deal of potential, but the album just seemed kind of aimless and flat.
While I was hoping Tori Amos would rebound for her new album, I was really surprised by how much I love "American Doll Posse." Although the piano is still front and center, "American Doll Posse" is more guitar, rock oriented than much of her previous work. The album is much, much more cohesive than "The Beekeeper" and the songs are far tighter. It's amazing that an album of this length, nearly 80 minutes, has nearly no filler. While there are some songs like the ultra-catchy "Bouncing off the Clouds" and the dreamy, Beatle-esque "Mr. Bad Man" that stand-out as potential singles, every song really works.
While I enjoyed the equally long "Scarlet's Walk" (2002) as well as her later 90s work, "American Doll Posse" is Amos's first album since "Under the Pink" that I could thoroughly get into, from start to finish. That's not to say every album since "Under the Pink" wasn't good, as I think most of her work is great. Rather, I feel that with "American Doll Posse," Amos has created a great piece of work that lives up to the classic first two albums.

1. Yo George
2. Big Wheel
3. Bouncing off Clouds
4. Teenage Hustling
5. Digital Ghost
6. You Can Bring Your Dog
7. Mr. Bad Man
8. Fat Slut
9. Girl Disappearing
10. Secret Spell
11. Devils and Gods
12. Body and Soul
13. Father’s Son
14. Programmable Soda
15. Code Red
16. Roosterspur Bridge
17. Beauty of Speed
18. Almost Rosey
19. Velvet Revolution
20. Dark Side of the Sun
21. Posse Bonus
22. Smokey Joe
23. Dragon

COLETTE MAGNY

COLETTE MAGNY
BLUES (1991)
320 KBPS

A skilled pianist (listen to her Chopin in the opening of the Cd), powerful and emotional vocalist and, above all, a true rebel, Colette Magny died in 1997. Blues is her final album and what an album! A while back, I posted "Mélocoton", her debut, on which her unique talent to mix blues, jazz and chanson was not yet assured but still very promising. On Blues, she reminds us all that and a little more through originals and covers on which her powerful voice shines.
Colette never had the success she deserved, her bad temper and strong character, her political left-wing activism, unwillingness to conform to commercial standards and, let's face it, her rotund figure only lead her to a cult following but, not unlike her male counterpart Léo Ferré, she didn't need more and remains a well kept secret and a unique artist and Blues a terrific testament.

1. Etude, Opus 10 N°2 "Révolutionnaire" De Chopin
2. Strange Fruit
3. You Go To My Head
4. My Heart Belongs To Daddy
5. The Meeting
6. My Man
7. The House Of The Rising Sun
8. All Of Me
9. Young Woman's Blues
10. Melocoton
11. Prison

TREPONEM PAL [REQUEST]

TREPONEM PAL
EXCESS & OVERDRIVE (1993)
320 KBPS

Following their two first albums for Roadrunner Records, French band Treponem Pal keeps exploring the industrial realms on Excess & Overdrive. Everything in this album is an aggressive and frontal assault on the listener's ears and the production task, held by none other than Young Gods' leader Franz Treicher fits the bill perfectly.
Some might find this album a tad monotonous, I'd rather praise it as a monolithic work, a journey into sonic aggression and, tough I prefer the diversity later displayed on Higher, I won't dismiss the qualities of this one. Just keep in mind that Excess & Overdrive bears its name quite well and is, thus, not really something I'd call ear-friendly.
Embarck at your own risk but, if you like industrial rock and/or extreme metal, you might very well be up for a nice surprise.

1. Out of reach
2. Pushing you too far
3. Excess and overdrive
4. For progress
5. Crimson garden
6. Stoned
7. Nowhere land
8. Blow me out
9. Sometimes
10. Full moon
11. Excess (trance mix)

THE PHIL COLLINS BIG BAND

THE PHIL COLLINS BIG BAND
A HOT NIGHT IN PARIS (1999)
320 KBPS

Phil Collins is regularly thrashed in the press for playing it safe and churning out predictable dependable music for yuppies. He was once accused of being "a rich superstar whose music only sounded good in a BMW." On A Hot Night in Paris, Collins again jumps into the shallow end of the pool and comes up playing Le Jazz Hot, with a 20-member band including a Count Basie arranger and some old-timers he borrowed from Buddy Rich's band to augment his regular players. To his credit, Collins worked out to a video designed for jazz drummers to get in shape for the project, but his muscular timekeeping lacks the color and subtleties of players born to the art form. Also, there is very little of what he does best: singing. The only vocals on this album are a few grunts and moans during an almost-note-perfect rendering of the Average White Band's funk classic, "Pick up the Pieces," which almost rescues the album from banality. Thrown in for recognition value are instrumental renditions of some of his better known solo chart-toppers, such as "Sussudio," "I Don't Care Anymore," and "Against All Odds." But more surprising, the former Genesis skinbeater threw in four numbers from the rock band's extensive songbook, including a swing version of the eccentric "Los Endos Suite." The only thing missing from this CD, recorded live in Paris and Montreux, is the clinking of cocktail glasses.

1. Sussudio
2. That's All
3. Invisible Touch
4. Hold On My Heart
5. Chips & Salsa
6. I Don't Care Anymore
7. Milestones
8. Against All Odds
9. Pick Up The Pieces
10. The Los Endos Suite

YES

YES
9012: LIVE, THE SOLOS (1985)
REMASTER
320 KBPS

Definitely a Yes afficondio album...but well worth the listen! Jon Andersons solo of "Soon" is truly amazing. And Trevor Rabin's guitar solo is equally appealing...Too bad one cannot find more of Trevor's material in recorded format. The last tune "Whitefish" the band gets really rockin! I would still recommend this album even to the casual Yes fan and even more in the japanese remastered form displayed here.

1. Hold On
2. SI (Tony Kaye)
3. Solly's Beard (Trevor Rabin)
4. Soon (Jon Anderson)
5. Changes
6. Amazing Grace (Chris Squire)
7. Whitefish (Squire & White)

ZORN, BAILEY, LEWIS

ZORN, BAILEY & LEWIS
YANKEES (1983)
320 KBPS

Excellent collective improvisation by Derek Bailey,guitars, George Lewis, trombone, John Zorn, alto and soprano saxophones, clarinets, and game calls. Imagine a baseball team playing with no manager, but all of the players knowing what to do by a wonderful intuition and knowledge of the game, translate that into music (if you can) and you'll have this splendid music. The 3 musicians are masters and magicians in their field. Highly recomended for open minded and adventurous listeners.

1. City City City
2. Legend of Enos Slaughter
3. Who's on First?
4. On Golden Pond
5. Warning Track

BETTY DAVIS

BETTY DAVIS
BETTY DAVIS (1973)
REMASTER
320 KBPS

This is reissue of the first self-titled "Betty Davis" album, originally released in 1973 on the Just Sunshine label.
"Something like Madonna, something like Prince. She was the beginning of all that..." So wrote Miles Davis of the one-woman erotic Swat team whose amazing first two albums - the long-lost libidinal high-water marks of early Seventies funk - have just been reissued They Say I'm Different and Betty Davis.
And Miles should have known. He was (briefly) married to her, after all !!
Former Mrs. Miles Davis, the "Nasty Gal" of funk, Betty is an ex fashion model who started singing in the early 60s prior to her Miles Davis (and Jimi Hendrix) affiliations.
And even though she and Miles divorced before 1973, Betty Mabry kept her famous last name and released three fabulously funky discs from '73-'75.
..."After the break-up with Miles, she was linked with many other musicians, including Jimi Hendrix, Hugh Masekela, Eric Clapton, Robert Palmer, and Michael Carabello of Santana. A gifted songwriter, she continued to pen songs for herself and others, but her personal relationships with jazz & rock's elite no doubt opened other doors, and proved particularly useful when it came time to gather session musicians for her first album.
Betty headed out to San Francisco in 1972, where Carabello introduced her to Sly Stone's rhythm section. Funk bassist Larry Graham and drummer Greg Errico were tapped for Betty Davis, along with guitarists Neal Schon (Santana) and Doug Rodrigues (Mandrill), and organist Hershall Kennedy (Graham Central Station). Back-up vocalists included Sylvester, the Pointer Sisters, Patryce Banks (Graham Central Station), and Kathi McDonald (Insane Asylum), among others. As if that weren't enough, the horn section featured Tower of Power regulars Greg Adams, Mic Gillette, and Skip Mesquite. The result was a unique combination of heavy funk grooves underlying Davis' gritty, piercing vocals. The standout track on the album, said to be "the classic bad girl anthem and one of the funkiest recordings ever made" was "Anti Love Song", penned by Davis and possibly directed at Miles ("No I don't want to love you / 'Cause I know how you are / Sure you say you're right on and you're righteous / But with me I know you'd be right off / `Cause you know I could possess your body / You know I could make you crawl / And just as hard as I'd fall for you, boy / You know you'd fall for me harder / That's why I don't want to love you")...(Funkgrooves.org)
With her giant Afro and space-vixen wardrobe, Davis was the missing evolutionary link between Eartha Kitt and Kelis, but her marvellously feral vocal style falls tantalisingly between 'Nutbush City Limits'-era Tina Turner and AC/DC's Brian Johnson. And while her first album contains her best-known tune - the bittersweet seductress manifesto of "Anti Love Song" - it's 1974's self-produced follow-up that is undoubtedly her finest work.
Classic raw and heavy '70s soul funk rock with serious attitude.

1. If I'm In Luck I Might Get Picked Up
2. Walkin Up the Road
3. Anti Love Song
4. Your Man My Man
5. Ooh Yeah
6. Steppin In Her I. Miller Shoes
7. Game Is My Middle Name
8. In the Meantime
Bonus Tracks
9. Come Take Me (Previously Unreleased, 1974)
10. You Won't See Me In the Morning (Previously Unreleased, 1974)
11. I Will Take That Ride (Previously Unreleased, 1974)

THE CARDIGANS

THE CARDIGANS
EMMERDALE (1994)
320 KBPS

The Cardigans were not even twenty years old when " Emmerdale " was released in Sweden yet they were already able to write lushious, well-crafted pop gems. What was most striking about them was that sense that these kids were like...living in another time - maybe the 60's. Just remember the video-clip of " Sick And Tired ": the long-sleeve shirts , the flower mini skirts, them having a quiet pic-nic by the sea. It was full of images as far as possible from celebrity-like attutude and pop stardom.
What about the album now? Well ,lead singer Nina Persson looks and sings like an angel and combined with Peter Svensson's first class songwritting, the results are mostly exceptional. Already widely known hit singles "Rise And Shine" and "Sick And Tired" are pure pop perfection while "Over The Water" has this fearless carefreeness in it, it's almost magic."Cloudy Sky" 's daydreaming ("...i've wrote some poems for you") and "Our Space" with it's hypnotic, somehow psychedelic rythym also stand out. A must hear.

1. Sick and Tired
2. Black Letter Day
3. In the Afternoon
4. Over the Water
5. After All...
6. Cloudy Sky
7. Our Space
8. Rise and Shine
9. Celia Inside
10. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
11. Seems Hard
12. Last Song

MARTIN L. GORE

MARTIN L. GORE
COUNTERFEIT² (2003)
320 KBPS

Counterfeit² proves that Martin Gore has exemplary taste in music. The Depeche Mode songwriter's first full-length solo excursion is a covers album in the tradition of David Bowie's Pin-Ups. The 11 selections range from obviously classic works by rock lords Lou Reed, Nick Cave, Brian Eno, Iggy Pop, and John Lennon; to a pop-trash wildcard--a winsome version of David Essex's "Stardust." What’s more, most of the songs fit in with Depeche Mode’s fascination with masochism, drugs, decay, and disillusion. The problem lies in Gore's lack of emotional and musical range. Fans will take great comfort in the set's familiar moody minor chords, electronic touches, echoing darkness, and Gore's vocals. But the end result is uniform in texture and tempo, and songs as originally powerful as "In My Time of Dying" or Cave’s "Loverman" just seem to float into the background, deprived of edge and individuality. Still, Gore plays Weill’s "Lost in the Stars" piano-and-strings straight, and seekers of tasteful ambience may enjoy the idea of various cult rock, folk, and country songs being transformed into Mode-ish mood music.

1. In My Time Of Dying
2. Stardust
3. I Cast A Lonesome Shadow
4. In My Other World
5. Loverman
6. By This River
7. Lost In The Stars
8. Oh My Love
9. Das Lied Vom Einsamen Madchen
10. Tiny Girls
11. Candy Says

MILES DAVIS

MILES DAVIS
E.S.P. (1965)
REMASTER
320 KBPS

E.S.P. is an inventive post-bop treasure that finds Mr. Davis totally re-energized by the young guns of his second quintet. Davis's first album of new material in six years (most of it written by the band), E.S.P. is a brilliantly-executed treatise on the workings of tension and release. The songs are predominantly modal and the structures themselves are different, with a minimalist bent and more emphasis placed on melodies that are repeated, fractured, improvised upon, and released into the ether of total, free sound. The supple rhythm section--powerhouse drummer Tony Williams and bassist Ron Carter--provide ample room for Davis, Hancock, and Shorter to explore interlocking melodies, notably on the jaunty "Eighty-One" and the sweet lullaby "Iris." On "Agitation," Williams brings the noise, grafting the rhythmic freedom of the day's free-form music to the group's tuneful and "out" playing.

1. E.S.P.
2. Eighty-One
3. Little One
4. R.J.
5. Agitation
6. Iris
7. Mood

ERIC CHENAUX

ERIC CHENAUX
SLOPPY GROUND (2008)
320 KBPS

Eric Chenaux has been kicking around the Toronto music scene for nearing two decades now. He's released work and performed both as a solo artist, and alongside a huge stable of different artists and groups, including Sandro Perri, The Reveries, The Draperies, and Drumheller. After starting out in the punk rock scene, his style has morphed over the years, and Sloppy Ground finds him continuing the semi-fragmented, bluesy rock style that he worked out on Dull Lights, his debut for the Constellation Records label.
One big difference, though, is that this newest release is much more accessible than previous work, although it's still prone to long, sprawling guitar solo flights of fancy and other fits of experimentation. At times during past releases, though, these flights would often veer completely off path, where Sloppy Ground always manages to sound like it's heading somewhere with more of a purpose. The impressionistic "Am I Lovely" opens things, and wheezes of accordion, spare percussion, and some sketchy guitar loosely spool together as Chenaux adds reflective vocals that add another breathy layer. "Love Don't Change" lopes forward with a bit more of a rhythm, but even it feels drunk and woozy as multiple layers of guitar twang and hiccup along before launching into an amazing guitar solo section that lets off a few sparks without ever really getting too loud.
Along the way, a trio of tracks tap into the same sort of gassed-out summer feeling as the opener, and their titles all fittingly nod to the evening (with "Arms, Legs And Moonlight" even containing a field recording of crickets). Mixed in with these quieter songs are slightly more rocking tracks, but as mentioned above, nothing really blows out the amps. Musically, "Have I Lost My Eyes" is one of the most interesting, with sitar and strings blending with the guitars to give the track a touch of psych feel, while "Boon Harp" melds oddly catchy vocals to an odd time signature and a soft tension as rolling snares keep time under a wonky melody. Unconventional and enjoyable, Sloppy Ground is another nice step forward from Chenaux.

1. Am I Lovely
2. Love Don't Change
3. Rest Your Daylights
4. Have I Lost My Eyes
5. Arms, Legs and Moonlight
6. Boon Harp
7. Old Peculiar
8. Dreaming of Stars
9. Sloppy Ground

TREPONEM PAL

TREPONEM PAL
HIGHER (1997)
320 KBPS

The French industrial outfit Treponem Pal had been laboring for years in the underground, making hard-edged metal-infused records for a decade before they made their major-label debut with Higher. And that's quite a change of pace for them. Of course, the industrial influences are still here but there's also heavy hints of funk and dub that's been added to spice up their mix.
Producer Sascha Konietzko (of KMDFM) did a good job delivering the baby and from the groovy tornado "Cyberfreak" to the closing cover of "Funkytown" it's a heavy dance party you're embarcking on. Sure, this album is not as influential and essential as Treponem Pal first two albums (released in their time on Roadrunner records) but what it's lost in originality, it gained in efficiency making it one hell of an album and a must hear for those who like to dance 'til their neck breaks.

1. Cyberfreak
2. Renegade
3. Unchained
4. The Struggle
5. Lose Control
6. Panorama
7. Freetribe
8. Funk Me
9. Sick Train
10. Belief
11. Sweet Vibes
12. Psycho Rising
13. Funky Town

SIGUR ROS

SIGUR ROS
MED SUD I EYRUM VID SPILUM ENDALAUST (2008)
320 KBPS

The fifth studio album from Iceland's supremely inventive dreamscapists is their poppiest outing to date.
A happy album from Sigur Rós sounds like an unlikely concept.
The band specialise in music that is about as sunny as an Arctic winter - vast tundras of sound, dark with melancholy and loneliness. So their fifth album comes as a surprise.
The brisk opener, "Gobbledigook", all jumped-up drums and manic vocals, sets the tone: its poppy energy crackles on through much of this collection.
But then along comes a song that changes everything. From innocuous beginnings - Jónsi Birgisson's fragile voice, a lone piano - "Ára Bátur" swells into an epic, swallowing a whole choir and the London Sinfonietta.
It is so ambitious and successful a piece of music that it threatens to overwhelm the surrounding tracks, making what came before seem frivolous and what follows, almost inconsequential.
No matter: for this one uplifting, goosebump-raising moment, it is worth checking the whole album.

1. Gobbledigook
2. Inní mér syngur vitleysingur
3. Gódan daginn
4. Vid spilum endalaust
5. Festival
6. Med sud í eyrum
7. Ára bátur
8. Íllgresi
9. Fljótavík
10. Straumnes
11. All Alright

THE COMPLETE STAX-VOLT SOUL SINGLES (I)

THE COMPLETE STAX-VOLT SOUL SINGLES
VOLUME 1, 1959-1968 (1991)
320 KBPS

"Knock On Wood", "Soul Man", "Gee Whiz", "Green Onions," "Last Night", "Hold On I'm Comin'", "Walkin' The Dog" and "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay." What do all these songs have in common? Sure, they're great soul and rhythm & blues tunes, but something more. What do Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, Sam & Dave, Eddie Floyd, Otis Redding and Albert King have in common? Rhythm & blues and soul superstars, yes, but that same something is also true. These songs and these artists all recorded for the "little label that could": STAX. In the '60s, Stax became a local R&B music giant in Memphis. The company was founded and ran by Jim Stewart, a country fiddle player and former banker, who was first exposed to R&B when he recorded a local doo-wop group called the Veltones with their song, "Fool In Love." As Rufus Thomas a local disc jockey heard the song, he and daughter Carla cut "Cause I Love You", a great R&B gem for Jim. When the record got out, Atlantic Records heard this fresh new sound and got in on the distribution deal with Stax that would exist as a handshake deal to a documented deal up until May 1968. What also happened during that time? Musical history.

At nine CDs, this set offers the complete history of what made Stax absolutely phenomenal. As you listen all the way
through, hopefully not all in one sitting since it's quite exhaustive unless you end up loving it that much, you'll notice as you start from disc one the experimental stages at trying to find and develop a distinct sound and progressing towards it. Some of the songs on disc four display it and from there on all the way to disc nine, it's there and ever-driving as can be. This is the ultimate example at what a box set is all about: covering as much material as possible. That doesn't even begin to describe what's presented here; it's too good because it is what it is: complete. There are 244 tracks in all and each CD has 25+ tracks clocking in with 70+ minutes of music on each.
It's complete all right for it features every A-side released by Stax and the subsidiary Volt along with a few well-known B-sides. That means every Stax or Volt record released by the stars like Rufus Thomas, ("Walkin' The Dog", "Can Your Monkey Do The Dog", "Jump Back", "Sophisticated Sissy", etc.), Carla Thomas ("Gee Whiz", "B-A-B-Y", "Stop! Look What You're Doin'", "Pick Up The Pieces", etc.), Otis Redding ("These Arms of Mine", "Mr. Pitiful", "Respect", "Try a Little Tenderness", etc.), Booker T. & the MGs ("Green Onions", "Jelly Bread", "My Sweet Potato", "Hip-Hug Her", etc.), Sam & Dave ("You Don't Know Like I Know", "Hold On! I'm Comin', "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby", "Soul Man", etc.), Eddie Floyd ("Things Get Better", "Knock On Wood", "Raise Your Hand", "Big Bird", etc.), William Bell ("You Don't Miss Your Water", "Never Like This Before", "Share What You Got", "Eloise Hang On In There", etc.), Albert King ("Laundromat Blues", "Crosscut Saw", "Born Under A Bad Sign", "Cold Feet", etc.) plus so many, many more. So if you know that those artists who were very consistent at Stax, there's pratically a full CD's worth of their songs here spread throughout the nine discs. Whether they were hits or not, everything is here including some unusual numbers that seem to break the normal Stax scheme like Macy Skipper's "Goofin' Off" which is humorous dee-jay kind of track, Cheryl and Pam Johnson's "That's My Guy", which sounds like a show-bizzy, TV commercial kind of tune, Nick Charles' "Sunday Jealous" and "The Three Dogwoods" which sound like soft, dry pop songs of that era,
and the Del-Rays' "Don't Let Her Be Your Baby" which tries to emulate the Beatles or the Dave Clark Five. This has got everything, so calling all collectors! It comes with a little 80-page book that could be worth about $15 separately so getting this with music is a bargain. The book has liner notes about the artits, the music, some real nice photos of the stars plus a track by track listing including the original catalog number and chart position (for those applicable) for each song.

Is it worth it? Absoultely. Pricey, but worth it. Finding this kind of music is getting rarer and rarer. Especially considering that about less than of these tracks didn't chart at all. Sure, the well-known hits can be found on smaller collections. This is the only collection that I know that has all the other stuff with it. Don't worry about parting with that kind of money. Being a musician and music fan, I can't think of a better investment, and if it's something you really enjoy, that makes it even more worthwhile. Here they are preserved on CD forever.

It's more than music to listen to. It's music you can dance to and groove to. Just listen to the sizzlin' guitars, the deep, pumping bass, the tight drums, the soulfulness of the vocalists and just the whole formula of each song. The sound quality is not good...it's perfect! Though everything is in big fat mono, since these were from the master tapes used on the original 45s (hence "singles" in the name), the sound is crisp and crystal clear. It sounds amazing on a system with adjustable bass output. Just crank that bass up, baby; it's practically what makes R&B. Every song is worth listening to for they help tell the story of Stax. They are all little gems. If a record didn't chart at all or it charted very low, so what? These people made music at leisurely paces and were great improvisers and just wanted to get out there, jam and do their own thing. If it sold and it was a hit, fantastic. If not, well, it was worth a shot. There is a good balance of the fast songs as well as the slow ballads. These are practically the unsung heroes of soul music; absoultely raw, gritty, rock-solid, vital and energetic they were. It was the opposite of Motown, their seemingly unbeatable giant of a competitor that was more slick and stylized in soul music. What's important lies in the musicality of the musicians and singers. Truly, this is what soul music is all about; it tells a story and expresses every human being's innermost and outermost feelings. Musicians can learn so much from this, for everyone involved here shows true musicianship. The thing was to make people appreciate and, yes, make them move to it. You can laugh with it, cry with it, and feel absolutely "soulified." It could make everyone, young and old, black and white, get up and dance and throw their cares away. It didn't matter what they were singing like Rufus Thomas on songs that have silly-sounding titles or lyrics like "Somebody Stole My Dog", or "I Think I Made A Boo Boo", you can just get up and let the driving music move you. You can laugh, but you'll find that you're laughing because it makes you feel good. So, they weren't Dylan or Lennon & McCartney. One listen to this entire set is all it takes, and you're hooked. Give this to a six year old and he or she will be a fan for life. Really, you'll never get tired of this music. The '60s were a time of social change and civil rights awareness. If only this music could have been more well-known and all these songs could have been hits, this would have brought everyone together to dance the day and night away. There's nothing like soul music. What more is there to say except that if you would like to have just one box set for your music collection, you just found a gold mine. That being said, if American music was the equivalent of a jewelry collection, all these songs would be the rare, precious and priceless gems.
So, to quote from a Mar-Keys' song, "grab this thing" because you'll want to keep it forever. It is thee essential and complete relevance of why Stax was the "little label that could"...and did!

Disc 1
1.Fool in Love - The Veltones
2.'Cause I Love You - Carla & Rufus
3.Gee Whiz - Carla Thomas
4.You Make Me Feel So Good - The Chips
5.Love of My Own, A - Carla Thomas
6.Last Night - The Mar-Keys
7.I Didn't Believe - Rufus & Friend
8.I'm Going Home - Prince Conley
9.Wish Me Good Luck, (Mama, Mama) - Carla Thomas
10.Morning After - The Mar-Keys
11.Life I Live, The - Barbara Stephens
12.About Noon - The Mar-Keys
13.Burnt Biscuits - The Triumphs
14.I Kinda Think He Does - Carla Thomas
15.Foxy - The Mar-Keys
16.You Don't Miss Your Water - William Bell
17.Formula of Love - William Bell
18.Goofin Off - Macy Skipper
19.Wait a Minute - Barbara Stephens
20.Sunday Jealous - Nick Charles
21.That's the Way It Is With Me - Barbara Stephens
22.No Tears - The Tonettes
23.Pop-Eye Stroll - The Mar-Keys
24.Three Dogwoods, The - Nick Charles
25.Why Should I Suffer With the Blues - The Canes
26.Whot's Happenin'! - The Mar-Keys
27.Just Across the Street - The Del-Rios
28.There's a Love - The Del-Rios
29.Can't Ever Let You Go - Rufus Thomas

Disc 2
1. Green Onions - Booker T. & The MG's
2. Behave Yourself - Booker T. & The MG's
3. Any Other Way - William Bell
4. I'll Bring It Home to You - Carla Thomas
5. Sack-O-Woe - The Mar-Keys
6. These Arms of Mine - Otis Redding
7. Teardrop Sea - The Tonettes
8. Dog, The - Rufus Thomas
9. Jelly Bread - Booker T. & The MG's
10. I Told You So - William Bell
11. Bo-Time - The Mar-Keys
12. Home Grown - Booker T. & The MG's
13. My Imaginary Guy - Deanie Parker & The Valadors
14. Just as I Thought - William Bell
15. What a Fool I've Been - Carla Thomas
16. Hawg, The (Part 1) - Eddie Kirk
17. Don't Be Afraid of Love - Oscar Mack
18. That's My Guy - Cheryl & Pam Johnson
19. Chinese Checkers - Booker T. & The MG's
20. Somebody Mentioned Your Name - William Bell
21. What Can I Do - Bobby Marchan
22. That's What My Heart Needs - Otis Redding
23. What Can It Be - The Astors
24. Bango - Billy & The King Bees
25. Them Bones - Eddie Kirk
26. Walking the Dog - Rufus Thomas
27. I'll Show You - William Bell

Disc 3
1.Pain in My Heart - Otis Redding
2. Gee Whiz, It's Christmas - Carla Thomas
3. Mo'onions - Booker T. & The MG's
4. Frog Stomp - Floyd Newman
5. Can Your Monkey Do the Dog - Rufus Thomas
6. You Won't Do Right - Bobby Marchan
7. Wondering (When My Love Is Coming Home) - The Drapels
8. Each Step I Take - Deanie Parker
9. Honeydripper, The - The Van-Dells
10. Who Will It Be Tomorrow - William Bell
11. Come to Me - Otis Redding
12. Don't Leave Me This Way - Otis Redding
13. I Don't Want You Anymore - Eddie Jefferson
14. Restless - The Cobras
15. Somebody Stole My Dog - Rufus Thomas
16. Big Party - Barbara & The Browns
17. That's Really Some Good - Rufus & Carla
18. Night Time Is the Right Time - Rufus & Carla
19. Security - Otis Redding
20. Dream Girl - Oscar Mack
21. Closer to My Baby - Dorothy Williams
22. I've Got No Time to Lose - Carla Thomas
23. Young Man - The Drapels
24. Soul Dressing - Booker T. & The MG's
25. After Laughter (Comes Tears) - Wendy Rene
26. Can't Explain How It Happened - Ivory Joe Hunter
27. Bush Bash - The Mar-Keys
28. Please Return to Me - The Fleets

Disc 4
1. Jump Back - Rufus Thomas
2. Chained and Bound - Otis Redding
3. In My Heart - Barbara & The Browns
4. Spunky - Johnny Jenkins
5. Bar B-Q - Wendy Rene
6. Sidewalk Surf, The - The Mad Lads
7. Can't Be Still - Booker T. & The MG's
8. Woman's Love, A - Carla Thomas
9. Yank Me (Doodle) - Baracudas
10. That's How Strong My Love Is - Otis Redding
11. Mr Pitiful - Otis Redding
12. Don't Let Her Be Your Baby - The Del-Rays
13. Can't See You When I Want To - David Porter
14. My Lover - Barbara & The Browns
15. Got You on My Mind - The Admirals
16. How Do You Quit (Someone You Love) - Carla Thomas
17. Biggest Fool in Town - Gorgeous George
18. Banana Juice - The Mar-Keys
19. Little Sally Walker - Rufus Thomas
20. Place Nobody Can Find, A - Sam & Dave
21. Goodnight Baby - Sam & Dave
22. Boot Leg - Booker T. & The MG's
23. Outrage - Booker T. & The MG's
24. I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now) - Otis Redding
25. I'm Depending on You - Otis Redding
26. Candy - The Astors
27. Give You What I Got - Wendy Rene

Disc 5
1.Stop! Look What You're Doin' - Carla Thomas
2.Willy Nilly - Rufus Thomas
3.Don't Have to Shop Around - The Mad Lads
4. Crying All by Myself - William Bell
5. I Take What I Want - Sam & Dave
6. When You Move You Lose - Rufus & Carla
7. Respect - Otis Redding
8. Make It Me - The Premiers
9. World Is Round, The - Rufus Thomas
10. In the Twilight Zone - The Astors
11. Blue Groove - Sir Isaac & The Do-Dads
12. You Don't Know Like I Know - Sam & Dave
13. Grab This Thing (Part 1) - The Mar-Keys
14. Be My Lady - Booker T. & The MG's
15. Comfort Me - Carla Thomas
16. I Can't Turn You Loose - Otis Redding
17. Just One More Day - Otis Redding
18. I Want Someone - The Mad Lads
19. Birds & Bees - Rufus & Carla
20. Philly Dog - The Mar-Keys
21. I Had a Dream - Johnnie Taylor
22. Satisfaction - Otis Redding
23. Things Get Better - Eddie Floyd
24. I'll Run Your Hurt Away - Ruby Johnson
25. Hot Dog - The Four Shells
26. Let Me Be Good to You - Carla Thomas
27.Hold on I'm Comin' - Sam & Dave

Disc 6
1. Laudromat Blues - Albert King
2. Sugar Sugar - The Mad Lads
3. Share What You Got (But Keep What You Need) - William Bell
4. Marching Off to War - William Bell
5. My Lover's Prayer - Otis Redding
6. Your Good Thing (Is About to End) - Mable John
7. I Got to Love Somebody's Baby - Johnnie Taylor
8. I Want a Girl - The Mad Lads
9. Knock on Wood - Eddie Floyd
10. B-a-B-Y - Carla Thomas
11. My Sweet Potato - Booker T. & The MG's
12. Booker Loo - Booker T. & The MG's
13. Oh, Pretty Woman - Albert King
14. Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody - Sam & Dave
15. Never Like This Before - William Bell
16. Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-(Sad Song) - Otis Redding
17. Patch My Heart - The Mad Lads
18. Sister's Got a Boyfriend - Rufus Thomas
19. Come to Me My Darling - Ruby Johnson
20. When My Love Comes Down - Ruby Johnson
21. Try a Little Tenderness - Otis Redding
22. Crosscut Saw - Albert King
23. Little Bluebird - Johnnie Taylor
24. Toe Hold - Johnnie Taylor
25. Jingle Bells - Booker T. & The MG's

Disc 7
1. You Got Me Hummin' - Sam & Dave
2. You're Taking up Another Man's Place - Mable John
3. All I Want For Christmas Is You - Carla Thomas
4. Please Uncle Sam (Send Back My Man) - The Charmels
5. Something Good (Is Going to Happen to You) - Carla Thomas
6. Raise Your Hand - Eddie Floyd
7. Ain't That Loving You (For More Reasons Than One) - Johnnie Taylor
8. I Don't Want to Lose Your Love - The Mad Lads
9. When Something Is Wrong With My Baby - Sam & Dave
10. Let Me Down Slow - Bobby Wilson
11. Hip Hug-Her - Booker T. & The MG's
12. Everybody Loves a Winner - William Bell
13. Mini-Skirt Minnie - Sir Mack Rice
14. When Tomorrow Comes - Carla Thomas
15. Spoiler, The - Eddie Purrell
16. I Love You More Than Words Can Say - Otis Redding
17. If I Ever Needed Love (I Sure Do Need It Now) - Ruby Johnson
18. Same Time Same Place - Mable John
19. Tramp - Otis & Carla
20. Soul Finger - The Bar-Kays
21. Knucklehead - The Bar-Kays
22. Shake - Otis Redding
23. Born Under a Bad Sign - Albert King
24. Soothe Me - Sam & Dave
25. I Can't Stand Up - Sam & Dave
26. Don't Rock the Boat - Eddie Floyd

Disc 8
1. My Inspiration - The Mad Lads
2. Love Sickness - Sir Mack Rice
3. Sophisticated Sissy - Rufus Thomas
4. I'll Always Have Faith in You - Carla Thomas
5. How Can You Mistreat the One You Love - Jeannie & The Darlings
6. Love Is a Doggone Good Thing - Eddie Floyd
7. Groovin' - Booker T. & The MG's
8. Slim Jenkin's Place - Booker T. & The MG's
9. Glory of Love - Otis Redding
10. I'm a Big Girl Now - Mable John
11. Wait You Dog - Mable John
12. You Can't Get Away From It - Johnnie Taylor
13. Eloise (Hang on in There) - William Bell
14. Knock on Wood - Otis & Carla
15. I'm Glad to Do It - C.L. Blast
16. Double Up - C.L. Blast
17. You Can't Run Away From Your Heart - Judy Clay
18. I'll Gladly Take You Back - The Charmels
19. Soul Man - Sam & Dave
20. Daddy Didn't Tell Me - The Astors
21. Give Everybody Some - The Bar-Kays
22. On a Saturday Night - Eddie Floyd
23. Don't Hit Me No More - Mable John
24. Somebody's Sleeping in My Bed - William Bell
25. Winter Snow - Booker T. & The MG's
26. Everyday Will Be Like a Holiday - William Bell
27. What'll I Do For Satisfaction - Johnny Daye
28. Pick up the Pieces - Carla Thomas

Disc 9
1. Down Ta My House - Rufus Thomas
2. As Long as I've Got You - The Charmels
3. Soul Girl - Jeannie & The Darlings
4. Cold Feet - Albert King
5. I Thank You - Sam & Dave
6. Wrap It Up - Sam & Dave
7. Dock of the Bay, (Sittin' On) The - Otis Redding
8. Don't Pass Your Judgement - The Memphis Nomads
9. Lovey Dovey - Otis & Carla
10. I Got a Sure Thing - Ollie & The Nightingales
11. Big Bird - Eddie Floyd
12. Hard Day's Night, A - The Bar-Kays
13. Next Time - Johnnie Taylor
14. Tribute to a King, A - William Bell
15. Every Man Oughta Have a Woman - William Bell
16. Able Mable - Mable John
17. Memphis Train, The - Rufus Thomas
18. I Think I Made a Boo Boo - Rufus Thomas
19. What Will Later on Be Like - Jeannie & The Darlings
20. Hang Me Now - Jeanne & The Darlings
21. Soul Power - Derek Martin
22. Bring Your Love Back to Me - Linda Lyndell
23. Dime a Dozen, A - Carla Thomas
24. Whatever Hurts You - The Mad Lads
25.Happy Song, The (Dum Dum) - Otis Redding
26.Lucy, (I Love) - Albert King
27.I Ain't Particular - Johnnie Taylor

THE DIRTY DOZEN BRASS BAND

THE DIRTY DOZEN BRASS BAND
WHAT'S GOING ON (2006)
320 KBPS

Recasting Marvin Gaye's iconic 1971 album What's Going On for an America torn apart by the aftereffects of Hurricane Katrina, the ceaseless, bloody war in Iraq, a sense of intense paranoia about our nation's government, and skyrocketing gasoline prices might seem like a timely, if foolish errand on the surface. But The Dirty Dozen Brass Band would probably argue that not much has changed in the three decades since Gaye laid down these nine, now classic tracks. Like so many New Orleans residents, the six members of the band had their lives shattered by the events of Aug. 29, 2005 and, in an odd bit of serendipity, it just so happened that most of them had separately turned to Gaye's What's Going On for emotional comfort; it was decided that reinterpreting the seminal piece of R&B social commentary would be both a meaningful artistic sentiment and cathartic distraction from the hellish horrors of their hometown. (Appropriately, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of each copy is being earmarked for the Tipitina's Foundation, benefiting the music community of New Orleans.)
A band renowned for its forward-thinking fusion of R&B, gospel, soul, and jazz, What's Going On, stylistically, makes sense for this sextet. Perhaps even more surprising is that The Dirty Dozen Brass Band doesn't lock itself into literal updates of Gaye's masterpiece, instead choosing to honor the spirit of the work. Chuck D. lends a tense edge to the modern take on "What's Going On," name checking a laundry list of grievances that brings the song down from its falsetto roots to a more urgent place. Bettye LaVette's reading of "What's Happening Brother" is a weathered delight, while G. Love's crack at "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" slinks out of the speakers, dripping dirty funk. The most potent works of art are those which speak to each generation in their own, unique way; Marvin Gaye's What's Going On, a searing, relevant masterwork very much of its time is sadly, but unsurprisingly, as necessary now as it was some 35 years ago.

1. What's Going On - Featuring Chuck D
2. What's Happening Brother - Featuring Bettye LaVette
3. Flyin' High (In The Friendly Sky)
4. Save The Children
5. God Is Love - Featuring Ivan Neville
6. Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) - Featuring G. Love
7. Right On
8. Wholy Holy
9. Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) - Featuring Guru

DEPECHE MODE

DEPECHE MODE
MUSIC FOR THE MASSES (1987)
REMASTER
320 KBPS

Initially the title must have sounded like an incredibly pretentious boast, except that Depeche Mode then went on to do a monstrous world tour, score even more hits in America and elsewhere than ever before, and pick up a large number of name checks from emerging house and techno artists on top of all that. As for the music the masses got this time around, the opening cut, "Never Let Me Down Again," started things off wonderfully: a compressed guitar riff suddenly slamming into a huge-sounding percussion/keyboard/piano combination, anchored to a constantly repeated melodic hook, ever-building synth/orchestral parts at the song's end, and one of David Gahan's best vocals (though admittedly singing one of Martin Gore's more pedestrian lyrics). It feels huge throughout, like they taped Depeche recording at the world's largest arena show instead of in a studio. Other key singles "Strangelove" and the (literally) driving "Behind the Wheel" maintained the same blend of power and song skill, while some of the quieter numbers such as "The Things You Said" and "I Want You Now" showed musical and lyrical intimacy could easily co-exist with the big chart-busters. Add to that other winners like "To Have and to Hold," with its Russian radio broadcast start and dramatic, downward spiral of music accompanied by Gahan's subtly powerful take on a desperate Gore love lyric, and the weird, wonderful choral closer, "Pimpf," and Depeche's massive success becomes perfectly clear.

1. Never Let Me Down Again
2. The Things You Said
3. Strangelove
4. Sacred
5. Little 15
6. Behind The Wheel
7. I Want You Now
8. To Have And To Hold
9. Nothing
10. Pimpf