LIVE

LIVE
SECRET SAMADHI (1997)
320 KBPS

You've probably heard a lot of mixed reviews about this one. Critics bash it for being slow and unorganized, but fans love it for its dark tones and eerie singing. If you are expecting Throwing Copper out of this record, you will be very disappointed. It's a whole other beast.
The album is very slow, sometimes unbearably slow. However, the slowness of many of the songs are what makes them so effective. The guitar effects may seem excessive at first, but they are what really makes this album great. Chad Taylor is one of the most underrated guitar players of the 1990's, and he really shines on this record. His solos may not be prolific, but the notes are perfectly chosen and sound incredible. Patrick Dahlheimer's bass playing is often subtle but is equally brilliant. Like Taylor on the guitar, Chad Gracey is easily the most underrated drummer of the 90's. His snare drum sound is so recognizable and there is not a drummer around who can do so much with the snare drum alone. Ed Kowalczyk is great as the lead singer, but on some songs, his lyrics fall flat. On the song Century, you may find yourself amazed to hear words like "I can smell your armpits" and "Puke stinks like Beer."
The album highlights are Rattlesnake, Lakini's Juice, Ghost, Insomnia and the Hole in the Universe, Turn My Head, Heropsychodreamer, Freaks, and Gas Hed Goes West. Overall, this is a great 90's record and I think you will be satisfied if you get it.

1. Rattlesnake
2. Lakini's Juice
3. Graze
4. Century
5. Ghost
6. Unsheathed
7. Insomnia And The Hole In The Universe
8. Turn My Head
9. Heropsychodreamer
10. Freaks
11. Merica
12. Gas Hed Goes West

MAGAZINE

MAGAZINE
THE CORRECT USE OF SOAP (1980)
REMASTER
320 KBPS

This is something of a return to standard operational form for Magazine, who thawed after recording Secondhand Daylight to throw together an energetic batch of colorful and rhythmically intricate songs. It's an unexpected move considering that they enlisted Martin Hannett (Joy Division, A Certain Ratio, Crispy Ambulance), master of the gray hues, as the producer. A looser, poppier album than its predecessors — somewhat ironically, a cover of Sly & the Family Stone's "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" is the most subdued song — it features the rhythm section of John Doyle and Barry Adamson at their taut, flexible best and guitarist John McGeoch at his most cunningly percussive. Save for the called-for razzle-dazzle on "Sweetheart Contract," keyboardist Dave Formula takes more of a back seat, using piano more frequently and no longer driving the songs to the point of detracting from the greatness of his mates, as the most frequent complaint of Secondhand Daylight goes. Howard Devoto's lyrics are also a little less depressive, though they're no less biting. The closing "A Song from Under the Floorboards" — another near-anthem, an unofficial sequel to "The Light Pours Out of Me" — includes sticking Devoto-isms like "My irritability keeps me alive and kicking" and "I know the meaning of life, it doesn't help me a bit." His themes of distrust and romantic turbulence remain focal, evident in "You Never Knew Me" ("Do you want the truth or do you want your sanity?") and "I Want to Burn Again" ("I met your lover yesterday, wearing some things I left at your place, singing a song that means a lot to me"). "Because You're Frightened" is the closest they came to making a new wave hit, zipping along with as much unstoppable buoyancy as Lene Lovich's "New Toy" or the Teardrop Explodes' "Reward," yet it's all fraught nerves and paranoia: "Look what fear's done to my body!" Song for song, the album isn't quite on the level of Real Life, but it is more effective as a point of entry.

1. Because You're Frightened
2. Model Worker
3. I'm a Party
4. You Never Knew Me
5. Philadelphia
6. I Want to Burn Again
7. Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)
8. Sweetheart Contract
9. Stuck
10. Song from Under the Floorboards
Bonus Tracks
11. Twenty Years Ago
12. Book [B-Side]
13. Upside Down
14. Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) [A-Side]
15. Light Pours out of Me [Version]

DEPECHE MODE

DEPECHE MODE
SPEAK & SPELL (1981)
REMASTER
320 KBPS

Though probably nobody fully appreciated it at the time — perhaps least of all the band! — Depeche Mode's debut is at once both a conservative, functional pop record and a groundbreaking release. While various synth pioneers had come before — Gary Numan, early Human League, late-'70s Euro-disco, and above all Kraftwerk all had clear influence on Speak & Spell — Depeche became the undisputed founder of straight-up synth pop with the album's 11 songs, light, hooky, and danceable numbers about love, life, and clubs. For all the claims about "dated" '80s sounds from rock purists, it should be noted that the basic guitar/bass/drums lineup of rock is almost 25 years older than the catchy keyboard lines and electronic drums making the music here. That such a sound would eventually become ubiquitous during the Reagan years, spawning lots of crud along the way, means the band should no more be held to blame for that than Motown and the Beatles for inspiring lots of bad stuff in the '60s. Credit for the album's success has to go to main songwriter Vince Clarke, who would extend and arguably perfect the synth pop formula with Yazoo and Erasure; the classic early singles "New Life," "Dreaming of Me," and "Just Can't Get Enough," along with numbers ranging from the slyly homoerotic "Pretty Boy" to the moody thumper "Photographic," keep everything moving throughout. David Gahan undersings about half the album, and Martin Gore's two numbers lack the distinctiveness of his later work, but Speak & Spell remains an undiluted joy.

1. New Life
2. I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead
3. Puppets
4. Boys Say Go!
5. Nodisco
6. What's Your Name
7. Photographic
8. Tora! Tora! Tora!
9. Big Muff
10. Any Second Now (Voices)
11. Just Can't Get Enough
12. Dreaming Of Me

GARY MOORE

GARY MOORE
RUN FOR COVER (1985)
REMASTER
320 KBPS

Run For Cover took the hard rock ingredients of Gary Moore's previous two albums and added a little pop refinement to the mix. Thankfully, this did not compromise the overall heaviness of the record, and Moore even achieves a successful remake of his classic ballad "Empty Rooms." Calling on his many friends to help in the studio, Moore obtains fantastic vocal performances from former Deep Purple bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes on "Reach for the Sky" and "All Messed Up"; and former Thin Lizzy leader and childhood friend Philip Lynott on the dramatic "Military Man." The latter also trades vocals with Moore on the album's biggest single "Out in the Fields." Written about the religious turmoil in their native Ireland, it was actually Lynott's final recorded performance before his tragic death. It also presaged the musical and lyrical Irish themes which would dominate Moore's future work.

1. Run for Cover
2. Reach for the Sky
3. Military Man
4. Empty Rooms
5. Out of My System
6. Out in the Fields
7. Nothing to Lose
8. Once in a Lifetime
9. All Messed Up
10. Listen to Your Heartbeat
Bonus Tracks
11. Still in Love With You
12. Stop Messin' Around (Live)
13. Murder in the Skies (Live)

TRANS-GLOBLAL UNDERGROUND

TRANS-GLOBAL UNDERGROUND
DREAM OF 100 NATIONS (1993)
320 KBPS

Dream of 100 Nations was released in the year when everything seemed to be coming together for UK electronic dance music. Born out of the post-rave dance festival and live techno club scene, Transglobal Underground managed to draw all the threads together in an album that was at once genre-defining and genre busting. It sounds as fresh today as it did 10 years ago: breakbeat, rap and house are still going strong, but you might easily have missed the "world beat" sound that Transglobal Underground built on the foundation of these more mainstream sub-genres.
African, middle-eastern and asian sounds are fused in a truly global groove, with hints of the KLF, Primal Scream (Screamadelica), Meatbeat Manifesto, System 7, The Orb, Banco de Gaia, Faithless and The Shamen. Add to this the unique vocal talents of Natacha Atlas (her vocals on the intensly moving "I Voyager" make this album worth the price for this tune alone) and you have nothing less then an absolute treasure from the golden age of British dance music.

1. Temple Head
2. Shimmer
3. Slowfinger
4. I, Voyager
5. La Voix Du Sang
6. El Hedudd
7. This Is The Army Of Forgotten Souls
8. Sirius B
9. Earth Tribe
10. Zombie'ites
11. Tutto Grande Discordia
12. Hymn To Us

JACQUES HIGELIN

JACQUES HIGELIN
COUP DE FOUDRE (2010)
320 KBPS

Cigarette in mouth, banjo in hand, grey hair in the wind, here's Jacques Higelin again. We had to wait four long years to finally hear the returning adventures of the last great poet of French chanson, four long years well spent with "Amor Doloroso" and the live album which followed.
Higelin will be 70 this fall and it doesn't show. Sure, his voice has aged but like a good wine benefits from the passing of time, Jacques' voice has found new depths to move or entertain us.
Coup de Foudre, his new album, is as fresh as can be, joyous too. It's not as rock as his 70s album were but, then, who cares. With instruments such as a banjo, a piano, a trumpet (etc.) and melodies that immediately catch your ear, Higelin has managed, once again, to prove he still is one of the strongest forces of a French scene that owes him so much.
And then, there's the lyrics, never forced, little moments of lives Master Jacques seems to have collected and put on paper with wit and grace.
May Mister Higelin live a long life and give us many other albums, we so need him.

1. Coup De Foudre
2. J'Ai Jamais Su
3. Qu'Est-Ce Qui Se Passe?
4. New Orleans
5. Egéries, Muses Et Modèles
6. Kyrie Eleison
7. Hotel Terminus
8. Output
9. Valse Mf
10. Bye Bye Bye
11. Aujourd'Hui La Crise
12. Expo Photos

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
TUNNEL OF LOVE (1987)
REMASTER
320 KBPS

Just as he had followed his 1980 commercial breakthrough The River with the challenging Nebraska, Bruce Springsteen followed the most popular album of his career, Born in the U.S.A., with another low-key, anguished effort, Tunnel of Love. Especially in their sound, several of the songs, "Cautious Man" and "Two Faces," for example, could have fit seamlessly onto Nebraska, though the arrangements overall were not as stripped-down and acoustic as on the earlier album. While Nebraska was filled with songs of economic desperation, however, Tunnel of Love, as its title suggested, was an album of romantic exploration. But the lovers were just as desperate in their way as Nebraska's small-time criminals. In song after song, Springsteen questioned the trust and honesty on both sides in a romantic relationship, specifically a married relationship. Since Springsteen sounded more autobiographical than ever before ("Ain't Got You" referred to his popular success, while "Walk Like a Man" seemed another explicit message to his father), it was hard not to wonder about the state of his own two-and-a-half-year marriage, and it wasn't surprising when that marriage collapsed the following year. Tunnel of Love was not the album that the ten million fans who had bought Born in the U.S.A. as of 1987 were waiting for, and though it topped the charts, sold three million copies, and spawned three Top 40 hits, much of this was on career momentum. Springsteen was as much at a crossroads with his audience as he seemed to be in his work and in his personal life, though this was not immediately apparent.

1. Ain't Got You
2. Tougher Than the Rest
3. All That Heaven Will Allow
4. Spare Parts
5. Cautious Man
6. Walk Like a Man
7. Tunnel of Love
8. Two Faces
9. Brilliant Disguise
10. One Step Up
11. When You're Alone
12. Valentine's Day

MORCHEEBA

MORCHEEBA
THE ANTIDOTE (2005)
320 KBPS

Caressing the listener's cheek with a pleasant, somewhat psychedelic smile, Morcheeba's The Antidote finds the band reborn as a cross between Burt Bacharach and the Jefferson Airplane. There's still that Morcheeba slyness, but the overall sweetness and comfort-giving attitude in these new songs — plus the band's fresh attitude toward bold, acoustic orchestration — bring them closer to the world of Swing Out Sister. In other words, the formerly trip-hoppy group is going to lose as many fans as they gain with this one. "Electronica" doesn't apply much anymore and departed vocalist Skye Edwards is replaced by former Noonday Underground member Daisey Martey, a powerfully voiced singer who can still emphasize the subtle playfulness in the hip lyrics (best of the lot: "Vacations in Europe, sensational scents/We made the most of your inheritance" from the excellent "Ten Men"). Funk is forgotten but there's still some soul in Morcheeba's sound, along with that adventurous attitude they've always had. Just when the album threatens to become an Austin Powers soundtrack, "Like a Military Coup" dissolves into "Living Hell," Dark Side of the Moon-style. Despite their ominous titles, both tracks are breezy but brainy "feel-good" pop. This balancing of hippie psychedelia and brassy pop would be a disaster in less crafty hands, but the group pulls it off with sparkle and wit. Conjuring the spirits of Bill Withers, Shirley Bassey, and Grace Slick while retaining that Morcheeba cleverness, The Antidote is both a total curveball and pleasant surprise.

1. Wonders Never Cease
2. Ten Men
3. Everybody Loves A Loser
4. A Military Coup
5. Living Hell
6. People Carrier
7. Lighten Up
8. Daylight Robbery
9. Antidote
10. God Bless And Goodbye

SAIGON KICK

SAIGON KICK
DEVIL IN THE DETAILS (1995)
320 KBPS

It is a very difficult choice to make, but this just might be the best album they ever did. This band has created one sonic masterpiece after another and really shows what they're capable of on 'Devil'. It is more like Water than the first two albums in it's diversity. It is more like the first two than Water in it's heavier edge. So it's really the best of everything that was, and is Saigon Kick. There is no acceptable excuse for not owning this incredible cd. Make it part of your collection as soon as possible. You'll be glad you did.

1. Intro
2. Russian Girl
3. Killing Ground
4. Eden
5. Going On
6. Everybody
7. Spanish Rain
8. Flesh and Bone
9. Sunshine
10. Victoria
11. Afraid
12. So Painfully
13. Edgar
14. All Around

PUBLIC IMAGE LTD.

PUBLIC IMAGE LTD.
PLASTIC BOX (1999)
REMASTER
320 KBPS

Most who own Plastic Box probably use the second half as coasters. Those who don't probably get headaches when listening to the first two, and a select few find much to love about the whole thing. As if conceding to the consensus that PiL's early years were their best, the first half is devoted to the band's first three studio LPs cut over four years, while the second half covers the remainder. Listeners get the entirety of Public Image/First Edition sans "Fodderstompf." The majority of Metal Box (issued as Second Edition in the U.S.) is included, with three of the original versions sacrificed for Peel Session counterparts that really take the cake. "Careering" is especially wonderful and harrowing, arguably the collective's finest recorded moment. Keith Levene goes bonkers with the keyboards, perhaps fostering the increased intensity amongst the remaining members. The 12" mix of "Swan Lake" ("Death Disco") gets the box set upgrade too, as well as a couple other worthwhile Metal Box outtakes. Closing out the second disc is the entirety of The Flowers of Romance, sequentially shuffled with an additional non-album track. The second half of Plastic Box hits upon each of the remaining studio LPs, with the odd rarity, single mix and Peel Session thrown in for completist bait. For those who want improved sound over their early CD issues, the money spent is a smart investment. A quick comparison of the first 20 seconds of "Annalisa" to the version found on an old copy of Public Image should be evidence enough; the bassline of "Chant" makes the gut feel as if it's being endlessly pummelled by a bouncing battering ram. Plastic Box is an excellent introduction, if only for the adventurous.

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Disc 1
1. Public Image
2. The Cowboy Song
3. Theme
4. Religion 1
5. Religion 2
6. Annalisa
7. Low Life
8. Attack
9. Poptones (Bbc Session)
10. Careering (Bbc Session)
11. Chant (Bbc Session)
12. Death Disco (12" Remix)
13. 1/2 Mix Megamix
14. No Birds Do Sing
15. Memories

Disc 2
1. Another
2. Albatross
3. Socialist
4. The Suit
5. Bad Baby
6. Radio 4
7. Pied Piper
8. Flowers Of Romance
9. Four Enclosed Walls
10. Phenagen
11. Track 8
12. Hymie' S Him
13. Under The House
14. Banging The Door
15. Go Back
16. Francis Massacre
17. Home Is Where The Heart Is

Disc 3
1. This Is Not A Love Song
2. Blue Water
3. Bad Life
4. Question Mark
5. Solitaire
6. Tie Me To The Lenght Of That
7. Where Are You ?
8. The Pardon
9. 1981
10. The Order Of Death
11. F.F.F.
12. Rise
13. Fishing
14. Round
15. Home
16. Ease

Disc 4
1. Seattle
2. Angry
3. The Body
4. Selfish Rubbish
5. Disappointed
6. Happy
7. Warrior (12" Extended Version)
8. Usls 1
9. Don' T Ask Me
10. Criminal
11. Luck' S Up
12. God
13. Cruel (Bbc Session)
14. Acid Drops (Bbc Session)
15. Love Hope(Bbc Session)
16. Think Tank (Bbc Session)

METAL BOX (1979)
REMASTER
320 KBPS

PiL managed to avoid boundaries for the first four years of their existence, and Metal Box is undoubtedly the apex. It's a hallmark of uncompromising, challenging post-punk, hardly sounding like anything of the past, present, or future. Sure, there were touchstones that got their imaginations running — the bizarreness of Captain Beefheart, the open and rhythmic spaces of Can, and the dense pulses of Lee Perry's productions fueled their creative fires — but what they achieved with their second record is a completely unique hour of avant-garde noise. Originally packaged in a film canister as a trio of 12" records played at 45 rpm, the bass and treble are pegged at 11 throughout, with nary a tinge of midrange to be found. It's all scrapes and throbs (dubscrapes?), supplanted by John Lydon's caterwauling about such subjects as his dying mother, resentment, and murder. Guitarist Keith Levene splatters silvery, violent, percussive shards of metallic scrapes onto the canvas, much like a one-armed Jackson Pollock. Jah Wobble and Richard Dudanski lay down a molasses-thick rhythmic foundation throughout that's just as funky as Can's Czukay/Leibezeit and Chic's Edwards/Rodgers. It's alien dance music. Metal Box might not be recognized as a groundbreaking record with the same reverence as Never Mind the Bollocks, and you certainly can't trace numerous waves of bands who wouldn't have existed without it like the Sex Pistols record. But like a virus, its tones have sent miasmic reverberations through a much broader scope of artists and genres.
Note: This rip comes from the new CD edition, reproducing the original package of the first U.K. vinyl edition, is also the first CD edition on which the sound pays justice to the original vinyl release.

Disc 1
1. Albatross
2. Memories
3. Swanlake

Disc 2
1. Poptones
2. Careering
3. No Birds
4. Graveyard

Disc 3
1. The Suit
2. Bad Baby
3. Socialist
4. Chant
5. Radio 4