[RE-UP] NINO FERRER

NINO FERRER
METRONOMIE (1971) / VERITABLES VARIETES VERDATRES (1977)
320 KBPS

In 1970 Ferrer returned to France, where he started working on what he perceived as his first "real" album. Serving brooding prog rock accompanied by more personal lyrics, Métronomie was co-created with long time friend Bernard Estardy.
Though the album went nowhere commercially, its not-so-representative leadoff track, "La Maison Près de la Fontaine," proved a huge mainstream success in France. This apparently irritated Ferrer, whose growing contempt for show business led him to view it as the umpteenth misconception of his artistic vision.
With time, Métronomie became a cult album whose progressive/psychedelic sweetness is still as fresh as it was when it was first released.
Véritable Variétés Verdâtres is not of the same caliber. Though it's not a bad album it certainly isn't as ambitious as Métronomie. Still, Nino's worst is better than what most other 70s mainstream French artists could produce and since VVV is not Nino's worst it has enough good moments to content the music lover.
May this double set serve as an intriduction to an artist too often seen as "the funny guy" because of his 60s hits "Mirza" and "Le Téléfon". A dire misconception of Nino Ferrer's work.

Métronomie
1. Métronomie
2. Les Enfants De La Patrie
3. Métronomie 2
4. Cannabis
5. La Maison Près De La Fontaine
6. Isabelle
7. Freak
8. Pour Oublier Qu'On S'Est Aimé

Véritables Variétés Verdâtres
1. Ouessant
2. Il Pleut Bergère
3. Joseph Joseph
4. Ah Les Americains
5. On Passe Trop De Temps
6. Mashed Potatoes
7. L'Inexpressible
8. Sud Express
9. Valentin

GHINZU

GHINZU
MIRROR MIRROR (2009)
320 KBPS

A Belgian rock band, Ghinzu (if it sounds a bit familiar, it's because they were named from a popular brand of TV infomercial knives that could cut through cans) formed in 1999. Sticking with their own label (Dragoon), Ghinzu avoided signing issues when the need came to release their debut, Electronic Jacuzzi, in 2000. (The album would get a reissue with an altered track listing in 2004.) After a pair of highly successful live shows, and a new album out (2004's Blow) in countries outside of La Belgique, Ghinzu began making waves in the central European pop world, eventually landing a gig opening for the reunited Stooges in 2005. In 2008, Ghinzu was to be found in the studio, working on full-length number three, and plotting further domination of Belgian rock.
It was a big challenge for Ghinzu to make this 3rd album; first because it took them 4-5 years to make it...and second, 'Blow' is an instant classic - how can you do something better?
But we're talking about gifted musicians who know where they want to go and what they want to do, they were audacious enough to look at themselves in a MIRROR and to produce an album that sums up everything Ghinzu are: powerful, magic, talented and funny.

1. Cold Love
2. Take It Easy
3. Mother Allegra
4. Mirror Mirror
5. The Dream Maker
6. The End of the World
7. This Light
8. This War Is Silent
9. Je T'Attendrai
10. Birds in My Head
11. Kill the Surfer
12. Interstellar Orgy

LORDS OF ACID

LORDS OF ACID
OUR LITTLE SECRET (1997)
320 KBPS

Lords of Acid's 1997 release, Our Little Secret is an open book. Never daring to depart from lyrics that read like the stage directions of a porno flick, fans need only focus their attention on Lords of Acid's musical agenda. The songs still maintain the basic acid house recipe of fat, buzzy bass lines and disorienting rhythms. This album adds a little of all current dance music trends, from trip hop to drum & bass to keep the formula current. "LSD=Truth" rattles with amped organic drum sounds reminiscent of Meat Beat Manifesto. The first couple of tracks are drilled with speed metal guitars. Stylistically, this album is merely a tangent to Lords of Acid's debut album Lust. If this is your first Lords of Acid purchase, go with Lust--it's a better album. If you are collecting, the lyrical shock value will have worn thin on you by now, but the music is twisted enough to keep you engaged.

1. Rubber Doll (Opus)
2. Lover (Cantata)
3. Fingerlickin' Good
4. LSD = Truth (Solo)
5. Man's Best Friend
6. Cybersex (Sherzo)
7. Pussy (Round)
8. Deep Sexy Space (Chorale)
9. Doggie Tom (Overture)
10. (Concerto For) Me and Myself
11. Spank My Booty (Reprise)
12. Power Is Mine (Coda)
13. You Belong to Me (Theme)

[RE-UP] PEARL JAM

PEARL JAM
LIVE ON TWO LEGS (1998)
320 KBPS

Not long after Ten unexpectedly topped the charts, Pearl Jam became notorious for their intense live performances. Even more notable than the group's unbridled energy was their willingness to stretch out their songs or throw in covers, reminding jaded audiences that rock concerts could be electric and energetic. Their Seattle peers were equally (sometimes more) compelling, but Pearl Jam skillfully made arena rock feel as intimate as a punk club show — something that no other band of their time could do. Instead of building this reputation throughout the course of the '90s, the quintet let it fade away as they became embroiled in a vicious battle with Ticketmaster that ultimately proved unfruitful. Not only did the court cases tie up several years of touring, they also refused to play any venue with contracts with Ticketmaster once it was finished — which meant they played off-market venues that were difficult to reach, thereby decreasing their potential audience substantially. Once 1998's Yield didn't move as much as anyone expected, the band released Live on Two Legs a few short months later. It was culled from Yield's supporting tour, and the difference is substantial — Pearl Jam still sounds good, but they lack the wild energy that distinguished their early years. Professionalism has its good points, however, and it's true that Live on Two Legs is eminently listenable, thanks in no small part to a fine track selection illustrating that the best moments of No Code and Yield rank with Ten, Vs., and Vitalogy. For all the good points — the tight interaction, the occasional nifty solo, Eddie Vedder's powerful performance — the album never quite catches fire. Instead, Live on Two Legs is a souvenir, a thank you to fans who have stood by throughout the years, and on those terms, it's successful.

1. Corduroy
2. Given to Fly
3. Hail Hail
4. Daughter
5. Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town
6. Untitled
7. MFC
8. Go
9. Red Mosquito
10. Even Flow
11. Off He Goes
12. Nothingman
13. Do the Evolution
14. Betterman
15. Black
16. Fuckin' Up

JIMMY BARNES

JIMMY BARNES
FLESH AND WOOD/HEAT (1993)
320 KBPS

Disc 1:
HEAT

Heat is the sixth album by Australian rock singer Jimmy Barnes. It reached number 2 on the ARIA album charts in 1993, and features the singles Sweat It Out, Stand Up, Stone Cold and Right By Your Side. Those who love classic rock will appreciate this album and Jimmy's raspy, rocky voice.

1. Sweat it Out
2. Wheels in Motion
3. Stand Up
4. Burn Baby Burn
5. Something's Got a Hold
6. Love Thing
7. Talking to You
8. Stone Cold
9. Wait for Me
10. Tears We Cry
11. Right by Your Side
12. A Little Bit of Love
13. I'd Rather be Blind
14. Not the Loving Kind
15. Knock Me Down
16. Catch Your Shadow

Disc Two:
FLESH AND WOOD

Legendary Australian singer/rocker Jimmy Barnes, formerly the lead singer of Cold Chisel, asked the band Badloves to collaberate with him on his Australian top 5 double platinum album Flesh and Wood. In partnership they recorded a cover version of The Band's classic "The Weight" at Barnes' home studio in Bowral, just south of Sydney. "The Weight" was the first single lifted from the album and became a top 5 single hit on the Australian charts in 1993.

1. It Will Be Alright
2. The Weight (with The Badloves)
3. Ride The Night Away
4. Guilty (with Joe Cocker)
5. You Cant Make Love Without A Soul
6. Hell Of A Time (with Ross Wilson)
7. Brother Of Mine (with Tommy Emmanuel)
8. Fade To Black
9. Flame Trees
10. Still Got A Long Way To Go (with Diesel)
11. Still On Your Side
12. Stone Cold (with Don Walker)
13. Let It Go (with Deborah Conway)
14. We Could Be Gone (with Archie Roach)
15. Love Me Tender

SHELTER

SHELTER
MANTRA (1995)
320 KBPS

Straight edge has been a popular philosophy within portions of the hardcore community almost from day one, but New Yorkers Shelter arguably took it to its ultimate extreme with their incrementally strict interpretation of the concept, motivated by their Hare Krishna faith. If only their stylistic choices had walked as straight a path or showed as much creative integrity, because Shelter seemed to have an uncontrollable habit of switching musical gears with almost every new release, and 1995's Mantra was certainly no exception. The band's first album for Roadrunner Records, it countered the surprisingly mellow direction pursued by 1993's Attaining the Supreme with a partial return to their pure hardcore roots via welcome energy blasts like "Appreciation" and "Chance," yet also made plenty of room for surprisingly "establishment-friendly" melodic hard rock in "Here We Go Again" and "Letter to a Friend," as well as pop-punk like "Empathy," "Surrender to Your T.V.," and the title cut (which may or may not have been inspired by the mid-'90s successes of Green Day and the Offspring). Surprisingly, additional hardcore hybrids such as "Message of the Bhagavat," "Civilized Man" and "Not the Flesh" also contain serious attempts at honest-to-goodness rapping (!), and an inspired but confusing amalgam of all of the above crowds inside tellingly named album closer "Metamorphosis." This last song wasn't quite capable of elucidating (or justifying) the whys behind Shelter's head-spinning eclecticism to most conservative hardcore fans, but at least the quality of the material at hand — like the band's Krishna-driven message — was comparatively consistent (if at times tiresomely preachy) enough to make Mantra one of the band's strongest, most popular efforts.

1. Message of the Bhagavat
2. Civilized Man
3. Here We Go
4. Appreciation
5. Empathy
6. Not the Flesh
7. Chance
8. Mantra
9. Surrender to Your T.V.
10. Letter to a Friend
11. Metamorphosis

KRAFTWERK

KRAFTWERK
THE MAN-MACHINE (1978)
REMASTER
320 KBPS

The Man-Machine is closer to the sound and style that would define early new wave electro-pop — less minimalistic in its arrangements and more complex and danceable in its underlying rhythms. Like its predecessor, Trans-Europe Express, there is the feel of a divided concept album, with some songs devoted to science fiction-esque links between humans and technology, often with electronically processed vocals ("The Robots," "Spacelab," and the title track); others take the glamour of urbanization as their subject ("Neon Lights" and "Metropolis"). Plus, there's "The Model," a character sketch that falls under the latter category but takes a more cynical view of the title character's glamorous lifestyle. More pop-oriented than any of their previous work, the sound of The Man-Machine — in particular among Kraftwerk's oeuvre — had a tremendous impact on the cold, robotic synth pop of artists like Gary Numan, as well as Britain's later new romantic movement.

1. The Robots
2. Spacelab
3. Metropolis
4. The Model
5. Neon Lights
6. The Man Machine

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
GREETINGS FROM ASBURY PARK, N.J. (1973)
REMASTER
320 KBPS

Bruce Springsteen's debut album found him squarely in the tradition of Bob Dylan: folk-based tunes arranged for an electric band featuring piano and organ (plus, in Springsteen's case, 1950s-style rock & roll tenor saxophone breaks), topped by acoustic guitar and a husky voice singing lyrics full of elaborate, even exaggerated imagery. But where Dylan had taken a world-weary, cynical tone, Springsteen was exuberant. His street scenes could be haunted and tragic, as they were in "Lost in the Flood," but they were still imbued with romanticism and a youthful energy. Asbury Park painted a portrait of teenagers cocksure of themselves, yet bowled over by their discovery of the world. It was saved from pretentiousness (if not preciousness) by its sense of humor and by the careful eye for detail that kept even the most high-flown language rooted. Like the lyrics, the arrangements were busy, but the melodies were well developed and the rhythms, pushed by drummer Vincent Lopez, were breakneck.

1 Blinded By the Light
2 Growin' Up
3 Mary Queen of Arkansas
4 Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?
5 Lost in the Flood
6 The Angel
7 For You
8 Spirit in the Night
9 It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City

DAVILD SYLVIAN

DAVILD SYLVIAN
GONE TO EARTH (1986)
320 KBPS

Haunting, romantic, and ultimately self-indulgent, David Sylvian's Gone To Earth is two albums in one. The first is a collection of gossamer adult pop with jazz, world beat, and atonal influences. Sylvian's world-weary voice quavers with emotion, and the tone of the disc's first half suggests Bryan Ferry doing some serious dream-journaling. Standouts are the brief but lulling "Laughter and Forgetting," the ethereal "Before the Bullfight," and "Silver Moon."
After that, things get a bit murkier with a set of nondescript instrumentals that seem ill-placed after 25 minutes of Sylvian's urbane vocal mysticism. If you're a fan of Eno's "Music for Airports," this section should appeal to you greatly. Otherwise, it will put you to sleep. If ambience is your thing, however (and, really, why would you be considering buying a David Sylvian CD if it wasn't?), this is a true classic.

1. Taking The Veil
2. Laughter And Forgetting
3. Before The Bullfight
4. Gone To Earth
5. Wave
6. River Man
7. Silver Moon
8. The Healing Place
9. Answered Prayers
10. Where The Railroad Meets The Sea
11. The Wooden Cross
12. Home
13. Upon This Earth

STARLIGHT MINTS

STARLIGHT MINTS
THE DREAM THAT STUFF WAS MADE OF (2000)
320 KBPS

Even had they never set foot in the Sooner State, the Starlight Mints would still face an endless stream of comparisons to fellow Oklahoma freaks of nature the Flaming Lips; when it comes to hallucinatory pop complete with sweeping string arrangements, poignantly strangled vocals, and lyrical references to giant centipede attacks, the comparisons pretty much come with the territory. Much to the credit of The Dream That Stuff Was Made Of, however, it took the Lips three or four records to get this good; embracing everything from rapturously Bowie-esque melodrama to odd Middle Eastern textures to pure noise cacophony, the Starlight Mints' debut maintains the element of surprise from track to track, as each song's journey from point A to point B proves as interesting for its ultimate destination as for the sonic detours it takes along the way.

1. Submarine #3
2. The Bandit
3. Sir Prize
4. Blinded by You
5. Valerie Flames
6. Sugar Blaster
7. Cracker Jack
8. Matador
9. The Twilight Showdown
10. Margarita
11. Pulling Out My Hair