Saturday, November 25, 2006
Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus
Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus - 1994 - The Gift Of Tears_Mirror
This is a double CD collection of the LPs "The Gift Of Tears" (1987) and "Mirror" (1991). The last two tracks on the second disc are grouped together as "La Liturgie Pour La Fin Du Temps".
Tracklisting:
The Gift Of Tears
1-01 Come Holy Spirit (9:28)
1-02 Tales From Europe (4:07)
1-03 The Miller (4:09)
1-04 De Profundis (3:37)
1-05 The Singing Ringing Tree (2:06)
1-06 Beauty After The Fall (9:17)
1-07 Dreams (Awakening Of A Child's Mind) (4:46)
1-08 Lament (Ashes In The Water) (3:11)
1-09 Transfiguration (5:31)
1-10 Communion (3:11)
Mirror
2-01 Shadowlands (4:24)
2-02 Immaculado (8:19)
2-03 Joy Of The Cross (1:44)
2-04 Hymn To Dionysus (2:53)
2-05 Nostalgia (6:07)
2-06 Theme De "L'Homme Qui Ne Croyait Pas En Lui-Meme" (3:53)
2-07 Psalm (4:32)
2-08 Nativity (5:17)
2-09 Man Of Sorrows (6:03)
2-10 Theme Reprise (2:05)
La Liturgie Pour La Fin Du Temps
2-11 Le Monde Du Silence (5:04)
2-12 Dies Irae (8:13)
This record is easily one of my favorite albums of all time. It's proof of an unjust world that this album has scarcely been available over the past ten years. Except those rare copies offered at prices of an arm and a leg.
Eschewing economics, the beautiful music of RAIJ has bucketloads of passion, mystery, innocence, and is rife with an adventurous spirit of experimentation. You can literally hear the joy in their musical discoveries, from track to track. In it, you'll hear a valid attempt invoking the spirit of Europe: From otherworldly Gregorian-style chants to madrigal acoustic guitars/flutes to echo-chamber percussion and floating electronic soundscapes, even excerpts from Cocteau's movie ORPHEE. That is, a musical journey from medieval times to our electronic era. And it's breathtaking to hear such imaginal leaps through their sound.
It wouldn't be too off the mark to consider their music in the "apocalyptic folk" tradition of, say, Current 93, Death In June, etc. And like this style, it takes acoustic instruments and collides them with electronic manipulations. But this collison is done in a way that is totally singular and without peer.
Only an anarcho-Christian collective like them could have brought all of these elements together: Acoustic-electronic, innocence-wisdom, lucidity-confusion, Christian-pagan.
Reviewer:Michael Thomas Jones (Huntington, WV)
The RAIJ Double CD Collection
part I
part II
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus - The RAIJ Double CD Collection / Paradis
(2CD / CD, Apocalyptic Vision, 1994 / 1995)
C.S. Lewis once wrote "Holy places are dark places." If his sentiment could be expressed physically, it would undoubtedly find embodiment in the music of the Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus. These English musicians appear well-versed in the western liturgical music tradition which seems to be the basis of their beautifully reverent and dark compositions. In addition to simple chant-like vocals sometimes haunted with an ethereal, childlike female voice, RAIJ incorporates such an array of musical elements it's impossible to name them all. They combine folk, celtic, world beat, tribal percussion, Eastern European, and some Middle Eastern influences into a truly original sound. RAIJ's first album, The Gift of Tears, explores some of these components in notable pieces such as "Come Holy Spirit" and "Beauty after the Fall". The first one begins with a lone classical guitar, soon accompanied by bass and tribal percussion while a simple, chant-like melody and a floating female vocal carry the piece. "Beauty" is just that--a harmony of classical guitar, woodwind melody, and spoken word. The Gift of Tears is very much organic and acoustic, but there is also quite a bit of experimentation in all of RAIJ's music. You'll hear the clanging of cathedral bells, echoing percussion, and spoken word in foreign languages, including samples from the films of Andrei Tarkovsky and Jean Cocteau. "De Profundis" is full of reverberating metallic clanks, layers of feedback, and a swirl of wind instruments. Overall, the second album, "Mirror," is more experimental than the first. Although there is less use of acoustic instruments, the earthy element is still present but is saturated with processed sounds and samples. "Nostalgia" is a beautifully somber and captivating piece composed of a dark orchestral arrangement and a piano interlude while a man's voice drones in the background. Another composition meshing samples and noise with instruments is "Psalm". Unidentifiable whooshes and echoes soar across the clear solemnity of a child-like voice singing the words of Psalm 51. In the new EP Paradis, RAIJ continues to blend organic instruments and experimental sounds into lush masterpieces. "The Parable (of the Singing Ringing Tree)" is an 8-minute rendering of the original found on Gift of Tears, this time made fuller with an accordion-like instrument and guitar. "Mouvement" is a simple but well-crafted piece consisting only of congas. The focus of "Paradis" is the ethereal female voice which swoops and echoes with a semi-operatic quality. Perhaps the highlight of the EP is "She Moved Through the Fair", an atmospheric piece slowly building in percussive speed and intensity reminiscent of the final movement of Ravel's "Bolero".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus - 1995 - Paradis
Tracklisting:
01 Paradis (10:45)
02 The Parable (Of The Singing Ringing Tree) (7:34)
03 She Moved Through The Fair (6:03)
04 Mouvement (3:02)
Paradis
part I
This is a double CD collection of the LPs "The Gift Of Tears" (1987) and "Mirror" (1991). The last two tracks on the second disc are grouped together as "La Liturgie Pour La Fin Du Temps".
Tracklisting:
The Gift Of Tears
1-01 Come Holy Spirit (9:28)
1-02 Tales From Europe (4:07)
1-03 The Miller (4:09)
1-04 De Profundis (3:37)
1-05 The Singing Ringing Tree (2:06)
1-06 Beauty After The Fall (9:17)
1-07 Dreams (Awakening Of A Child's Mind) (4:46)
1-08 Lament (Ashes In The Water) (3:11)
1-09 Transfiguration (5:31)
1-10 Communion (3:11)
Mirror
2-01 Shadowlands (4:24)
2-02 Immaculado (8:19)
2-03 Joy Of The Cross (1:44)
2-04 Hymn To Dionysus (2:53)
2-05 Nostalgia (6:07)
2-06 Theme De "L'Homme Qui Ne Croyait Pas En Lui-Meme" (3:53)
2-07 Psalm (4:32)
2-08 Nativity (5:17)
2-09 Man Of Sorrows (6:03)
2-10 Theme Reprise (2:05)
La Liturgie Pour La Fin Du Temps
2-11 Le Monde Du Silence (5:04)
2-12 Dies Irae (8:13)
This record is easily one of my favorite albums of all time. It's proof of an unjust world that this album has scarcely been available over the past ten years. Except those rare copies offered at prices of an arm and a leg.
Eschewing economics, the beautiful music of RAIJ has bucketloads of passion, mystery, innocence, and is rife with an adventurous spirit of experimentation. You can literally hear the joy in their musical discoveries, from track to track. In it, you'll hear a valid attempt invoking the spirit of Europe: From otherworldly Gregorian-style chants to madrigal acoustic guitars/flutes to echo-chamber percussion and floating electronic soundscapes, even excerpts from Cocteau's movie ORPHEE. That is, a musical journey from medieval times to our electronic era. And it's breathtaking to hear such imaginal leaps through their sound.
It wouldn't be too off the mark to consider their music in the "apocalyptic folk" tradition of, say, Current 93, Death In June, etc. And like this style, it takes acoustic instruments and collides them with electronic manipulations. But this collison is done in a way that is totally singular and without peer.
Only an anarcho-Christian collective like them could have brought all of these elements together: Acoustic-electronic, innocence-wisdom, lucidity-confusion, Christian-pagan.
Reviewer:Michael Thomas Jones (Huntington, WV)
The RAIJ Double CD Collection
part I
part II
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus - The RAIJ Double CD Collection / Paradis
(2CD / CD, Apocalyptic Vision, 1994 / 1995)
C.S. Lewis once wrote "Holy places are dark places." If his sentiment could be expressed physically, it would undoubtedly find embodiment in the music of the Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus. These English musicians appear well-versed in the western liturgical music tradition which seems to be the basis of their beautifully reverent and dark compositions. In addition to simple chant-like vocals sometimes haunted with an ethereal, childlike female voice, RAIJ incorporates such an array of musical elements it's impossible to name them all. They combine folk, celtic, world beat, tribal percussion, Eastern European, and some Middle Eastern influences into a truly original sound. RAIJ's first album, The Gift of Tears, explores some of these components in notable pieces such as "Come Holy Spirit" and "Beauty after the Fall". The first one begins with a lone classical guitar, soon accompanied by bass and tribal percussion while a simple, chant-like melody and a floating female vocal carry the piece. "Beauty" is just that--a harmony of classical guitar, woodwind melody, and spoken word. The Gift of Tears is very much organic and acoustic, but there is also quite a bit of experimentation in all of RAIJ's music. You'll hear the clanging of cathedral bells, echoing percussion, and spoken word in foreign languages, including samples from the films of Andrei Tarkovsky and Jean Cocteau. "De Profundis" is full of reverberating metallic clanks, layers of feedback, and a swirl of wind instruments. Overall, the second album, "Mirror," is more experimental than the first. Although there is less use of acoustic instruments, the earthy element is still present but is saturated with processed sounds and samples. "Nostalgia" is a beautifully somber and captivating piece composed of a dark orchestral arrangement and a piano interlude while a man's voice drones in the background. Another composition meshing samples and noise with instruments is "Psalm". Unidentifiable whooshes and echoes soar across the clear solemnity of a child-like voice singing the words of Psalm 51. In the new EP Paradis, RAIJ continues to blend organic instruments and experimental sounds into lush masterpieces. "The Parable (of the Singing Ringing Tree)" is an 8-minute rendering of the original found on Gift of Tears, this time made fuller with an accordion-like instrument and guitar. "Mouvement" is a simple but well-crafted piece consisting only of congas. The focus of "Paradis" is the ethereal female voice which swoops and echoes with a semi-operatic quality. Perhaps the highlight of the EP is "She Moved Through the Fair", an atmospheric piece slowly building in percussive speed and intensity reminiscent of the final movement of Ravel's "Bolero".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus - 1995 - Paradis
Tracklisting:
01 Paradis (10:45)
02 The Parable (Of The Singing Ringing Tree) (7:34)
03 She Moved Through The Fair (6:03)
04 Mouvement (3:02)
Paradis
part I
Labels: Opa-Loka, R Links to this post 
Skeletal Family - 1985 - Futile Combat
Track Listing :
1. Hands On The Clock
2. Move
3. This Time
4. Don't Be Denied
5. Far & Near
6. No Chance
7. Streetlight
8. She Cries Alone
9. What Happened?
10. Promised Land
The Skeletal Family history ::
Formed from the ashes of The Elements (Keighley, West Yorkshire, England). The Skeletal Family began life in December 1982.
The initial line-up consisted of: -
Anne-Marie Hurst (Vocals)
Stan Greenwood (Guitars)
Roger "Trotwood" Nowell (Bass)
Steve Crane (Drums)
Ian "Karl Heinz" Taylor (Keyboards)
Taking their name from a David Bowie track off the Diamond Dogs album, the band quickly gained a sizeable local following, encouraged by this produced a self funded single "Trees"/"Just A Friend" released through the Leeds based Luggage label.
The single quickly gained the attention ofRadio One's John Peel which through regular airings on his late show, saw the single breach the lower regions of the National independent charts.
Due to this radio airplay the band by-passed the usual route of playing the small pub circuit and made their London debut at the Fulham Greyhound to an enthusiastic audience, no doubt bolstered due to the current radio airplay. The gig also received an encouraging reaction from the now defunct national music paper "Sounds", which secured the band other prestigious support slots with Sex Gang Children and Play Dead.
By now with a Radio One session booked for March, the band recorded a second single "The Night"/"Waiting Here". For this release drummer Steve Crane was replaced by Manchester based Howard Daniels. Karl Heinz also departed (occasionally resurfacing on various future projects). Due to disappointing sales the single the single fails to make the impression expected, and the band set about recording their third single "She Cries Alone". Enlisting the services of the recently defunct Southern Death Cult guitarist Ian "Buzz" Burrows as co-producer and roadie, now turned drummer Martin Henderson replacing the increasingly unreliable Howard, "She Cries Alone" gave the band their first major mark in the independent charts, and armed with this success recorded the debut album "Burning Oil".
Around this period the band came close to extinction, whilst returning from a Belgium appearance, the tour van rolled over, and after crawling from the van it was discovered to be teetering on the edge of a 10 ft fall over the canal. Miraculously no one was hurt apart from one passenger who lost half his lower ear!!! Whilst recording the album the band learnt that Sisters Of Mercy front man Andrew Eldridge had specifically asked the band to support the Sisters on their Autumn Black October tour.
Now playing to much larger receptive audiences, the reaction ensured that when released "Burning Oil" reached the top of the UK indie charts, beating The Smiths & New Order in the process. With a now much larger profile and two more Radio One sessions the band played numerous dates around Britain and Europe and proved popular enough to sell out London's then prestigious Marquee club.
Despite previously enduring limited recording budgets, the bands success now enabled them to enlist the services of Cult/Gene Loves Jezebel producer John Brand, relocating to Highland studios Inverness and recording the bands second album "Futile Combat". Aided by Waterboys saxophonist Anthony Thistlewaite and Graham Pleeth on synths, the band achieved a more polished sound, a marked improvement on the previous offering.
Live favourite "Promised Land" was chosen as the first single off the album and on release reached the top three of the National Indie charts. The band topped the year with special guest appearances with Siouxsie & The Banshees at Brixton Academy plus Spear of Destiny London's Lyceum.
By this time tensions within the band were high which culminated in both Anne-Marie and Martin (who joined March Violets vocalist Simon to form The Batfish Boys) leaving.
With a nationwide tour still booked, Anne-Marie rejoined and the band enlisted ex Gene Loves Jezebel drummer Dik on drums. Relationships in the band were still strained and although then tour was a success, Anne-Marie once again departed to form Ghost Dance with Sisters Of Mercy founder Gary Marx, forcing the band to cancel what would have been the band's seventh Radio One session for John Peel.
At this point the band, who were at the height of their success decided to carry on. Additional musicians were drafted in, Kevin Hunter from Hull based band Cold Dance and local Keighley guitarist John Clarke joined the ranks while Trotwood and Stan sifted through numerous replies from a Melody Maker advert, intent on finding a replacement vocalist.
An initial rehearsal with Look Back In Anger vocalist Mitch Ebbling didn't work out, So the band plumped for ex Colourfield, Manchester vocalist Katrina Phillips.
Katrina, who had sang and appeared with Terry Hall (ex Specials lead singer) on The Colourfield single "Thinking Of You" had a different voice and character to Anne-Marie, but had the added advantage of writing her own tunes and lyrics.
A new manager was found in the form of Tony Perrin and the band set about recording the next single "Restless" at Bradford's newly formed Flexible Response studios. The single was originally intended for release on the Red Rhino label, but after shooting a video with Pulp's Jarvis Cocker and Russell Senior directing decided, with the aid of the band's publishing company DJM to try for a major label release.
1. Hands On The Clock
2. Move
3. This Time
4. Don't Be Denied
5. Far & Near
6. No Chance
7. Streetlight
8. She Cries Alone
9. What Happened?
10. Promised Land
The Skeletal Family history ::
Formed from the ashes of The Elements (Keighley, West Yorkshire, England). The Skeletal Family began life in December 1982.
The initial line-up consisted of: -
Anne-Marie Hurst (Vocals)
Stan Greenwood (Guitars)
Roger "Trotwood" Nowell (Bass)
Steve Crane (Drums)
Ian "Karl Heinz" Taylor (Keyboards)
Taking their name from a David Bowie track off the Diamond Dogs album, the band quickly gained a sizeable local following, encouraged by this produced a self funded single "Trees"/"Just A Friend" released through the Leeds based Luggage label.
The single quickly gained the attention ofRadio One's John Peel which through regular airings on his late show, saw the single breach the lower regions of the National independent charts.
Due to this radio airplay the band by-passed the usual route of playing the small pub circuit and made their London debut at the Fulham Greyhound to an enthusiastic audience, no doubt bolstered due to the current radio airplay. The gig also received an encouraging reaction from the now defunct national music paper "Sounds", which secured the band other prestigious support slots with Sex Gang Children and Play Dead.
By now with a Radio One session booked for March, the band recorded a second single "The Night"/"Waiting Here". For this release drummer Steve Crane was replaced by Manchester based Howard Daniels. Karl Heinz also departed (occasionally resurfacing on various future projects). Due to disappointing sales the single the single fails to make the impression expected, and the band set about recording their third single "She Cries Alone". Enlisting the services of the recently defunct Southern Death Cult guitarist Ian "Buzz" Burrows as co-producer and roadie, now turned drummer Martin Henderson replacing the increasingly unreliable Howard, "She Cries Alone" gave the band their first major mark in the independent charts, and armed with this success recorded the debut album "Burning Oil".
Around this period the band came close to extinction, whilst returning from a Belgium appearance, the tour van rolled over, and after crawling from the van it was discovered to be teetering on the edge of a 10 ft fall over the canal. Miraculously no one was hurt apart from one passenger who lost half his lower ear!!! Whilst recording the album the band learnt that Sisters Of Mercy front man Andrew Eldridge had specifically asked the band to support the Sisters on their Autumn Black October tour.
Now playing to much larger receptive audiences, the reaction ensured that when released "Burning Oil" reached the top of the UK indie charts, beating The Smiths & New Order in the process. With a now much larger profile and two more Radio One sessions the band played numerous dates around Britain and Europe and proved popular enough to sell out London's then prestigious Marquee club.
Despite previously enduring limited recording budgets, the bands success now enabled them to enlist the services of Cult/Gene Loves Jezebel producer John Brand, relocating to Highland studios Inverness and recording the bands second album "Futile Combat". Aided by Waterboys saxophonist Anthony Thistlewaite and Graham Pleeth on synths, the band achieved a more polished sound, a marked improvement on the previous offering.
Live favourite "Promised Land" was chosen as the first single off the album and on release reached the top three of the National Indie charts. The band topped the year with special guest appearances with Siouxsie & The Banshees at Brixton Academy plus Spear of Destiny London's Lyceum.
By this time tensions within the band were high which culminated in both Anne-Marie and Martin (who joined March Violets vocalist Simon to form The Batfish Boys) leaving.
With a nationwide tour still booked, Anne-Marie rejoined and the band enlisted ex Gene Loves Jezebel drummer Dik on drums. Relationships in the band were still strained and although then tour was a success, Anne-Marie once again departed to form Ghost Dance with Sisters Of Mercy founder Gary Marx, forcing the band to cancel what would have been the band's seventh Radio One session for John Peel.
At this point the band, who were at the height of their success decided to carry on. Additional musicians were drafted in, Kevin Hunter from Hull based band Cold Dance and local Keighley guitarist John Clarke joined the ranks while Trotwood and Stan sifted through numerous replies from a Melody Maker advert, intent on finding a replacement vocalist.
An initial rehearsal with Look Back In Anger vocalist Mitch Ebbling didn't work out, So the band plumped for ex Colourfield, Manchester vocalist Katrina Phillips.
Katrina, who had sang and appeared with Terry Hall (ex Specials lead singer) on The Colourfield single "Thinking Of You" had a different voice and character to Anne-Marie, but had the added advantage of writing her own tunes and lyrics.
A new manager was found in the form of Tony Perrin and the band set about recording the next single "Restless" at Bradford's newly formed Flexible Response studios. The single was originally intended for release on the Red Rhino label, but after shooting a video with Pulp's Jarvis Cocker and Russell Senior directing decided, with the aid of the band's publishing company DJM to try for a major label release.
After offers from various companies the band decided to sign with Chrysalis Records, as they seemed to be the most enthusiastic regarding promoting the band. "Restless" was remixed and partially rerecorded in Island Studios London with Smiths producer Steven Street, who whilst giving a more professional mix, deviated it so much from the original master tapes that it was almost unrecognisable as the Skeletal Family sound.
Nonetheless the single was released in 7" & 12" format gaining plenty of airplay on Radio One's Janice Long's Evening show which resulted in a further two sessions for the station plus a double page feature in Melody Maker.
The second single for Chrysalis "Just a Minute" recaptured the classic Skeletal Family sound and gave the band their highest success in the National charts at the time.
The band completed a highly successful German tour before retuning to Britain to record demo's for their forthcoming album with seventies glam rock Sweet' guitarist Andy Scott at the helm. Again disruptions occurred within the ranks causing the band to split the day before the bands first pre recorded TV performance was aired.
Following a successful gig at the Cockpit Leeds on 5.12.02 the Skels have reformed . And have played several more sucsessful UK gigs with new dates steadily appearing
Following a successful gig at the Cockpit Leeds on 5.12.02 the Skels have reformed . And have played several more sucsessful UK gigs with new dates steadily appearing
The Skeletal Family Story continues..................
By association::
By association::
John Brand who produced Futile Combat now manages The STEREOPHONICS. The engineer on that session was Brendan Lynch of Paul Weller and OCS fame.
Tony Perrin who managed the band briefly went on to success with The MISSION, and then RIGHT SAID FRED.
Spike who did the early Ghost Dance singles now produces for OASIS.
Tony Perrin who managed the band briefly went on to success with The MISSION, and then RIGHT SAID FRED.
Spike who did the early Ghost Dance singles now produces for OASIS.
Shaun from MANIC STREET PREACHERS fame's first single was Promised Land.
Resources :
skeletalfamily.com
Highly Recommended for all dark wave fans and not only...
skeletalfamily.com
Highly Recommended for all dark wave fans and not only...
Watch "Promised Land"
Labels: innocent76, S Links to this post
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Romeo Void - Instincts
Track Listing
1 Out on My Own
2 Just Too Easy
3 Billy's Birthday
4 Going to Neon
5 Six Days and One
6 Girl in Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing)
7 Say No
8 Your Life Is a Lie
9 Instincts
Romeo Void was a New Wave band in San Francisco, California from 1979 to 1985.
They are best known for the songs "Never Say Never" (1982) and "A Girl in Trouble (Is A Temporary Thing)" (1984), which were minor hits, with the latter becoming a Top 40 pop single. Their popularity was primarily in alternative and college radio, and as a dynamic performing act. They recorded for 415/Columbia Records.
The original band members met at the San Francisco Art Institute. Most of the band members were also visual artists and did their own album art. Perhaps in reaction against the more commercial sound of Benefactor, Romeo Void returned to producer David Kahne and the sound of their first album, It's a Condition, on their third, Instincts. Nevertheless, it proved to be their bestselling album. The group's instrumental attack continued to be spearheaded by saxophonist Benjamin Bossi, whose floating lines contrasted with the drive of the rhythm section and guitarist Peter Woods' Morse code leads. And Iyall continued to pour out disappointed reflections on the romantic condition in songs with titles like "Your Life Is a Lie" and "Say No." One of them, "A Girl in Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing)," managed to be both provocative and vague enough to inch into the Top 40, such that the album gained greater exposure and sales. But instead of marking a breakthrough for Romeo Void, Instincts marked their breakup, with Iyall going solo.
After the demise of Romeo Void, Debora Iyall, the lead singer and lyricist, put together and sang in the groups Knife in Water and Lower East Venus. John Haines played drums for Pearl Harbour and the Explosions.
The band was reunited briefly in 2003 for a one-off concert by VH-1's Bands Reunited, although Benjamin Bossi was unable to perform due to hearing loss. The band wrote and recorded four demo tracks in October 1993 (If I Was Your Cat, Stormy Eyes, Two Rivers, and Safe Place), which were sent to Sony Music but never released.
Personnel
Debora Iyall: vocals
Benjamin Bossi: saxophone
Peter Woods: guitar
Frank Zincavage: bass
John Haines: drums (It's a Condition)
Larry Carter: drums (Never Say Never (EP) and Benefactor)
Aaron Smith: drums (Instincts)
Watch "Say No" :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeYQA1k_7Kw&mode=related&search=
Download Link :
http://rapidshare.com/files/4839854/romeo.rar
Labels: innocent76, R Links to this post
Tripod Jimmie - 1982 - Long Walk Off A Short Pier
Tripod Jimmie - 1982 - Long Walk Off A Short Pier
01 Autumn Leaves
02 Thank You Very Much Next Week
03 Mirror On The Wall
04 Empty Seed
05 Bowl Of Cherries
06 Nu Spartans
07 Joe Granville
08 Jimmie Sings
09 Women In Uniform
10 Spike The Dike
11 Franco-America
Tripod Jimmie "Long Walk Off a Short Pier" Do Speak do3, 1982.
*** Terrific debut from the band led by ex- Pere Ubu guitarist, Tom Hermann. Great post-punk/funk stuff: agile drumming, meaty basslines, Hermann's lacerating guitar and his Byrne-like voice. Not dissimilar in places to early Talking Heads, but not as mannered. Excellent live-in-studio recording made "on the shore of Lake Erie." I became aware of this fantastic lp when avid fan, Steve Albini played it on a local radio show. References: Come On, The Fall, Styrenes, Electric Eels, Mirrors, Couch Flambeau. ***
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tom Herman is a guitarist and composer.
He was a founding member of Pere Ubu, performing and recording with them from 1975 to 1979. He quit the group, then rejoined in 1995. One of his main reasons for leaving Pere Ubu (one among many) was that the band wasn't as interested in spending time on the road as he was. He left and, ironically, never got back on the road with a band until rejoining Pere Ubu in the nineties.
After leaving Ubu, Tom spent some time working on an oil rig in the south as well as playing bass in a hotel band. Eventually he started working as a mechanical technician, repairing equipment in hospitals and occasionally restaurants.
In 1980 or 1981 he moved to Erie, PA, where he started Tripod Jimmie with bassist Lenny Bove and drummer Roger Prehoda. The band was named after photographer friend Mick Mellen's three-legged dog and/or the tape deck mounted on a tripod that functioned as the fourth member of the band. The tape deck was used to play tape loops which the band would then play "with" rhythmically or "against" (where the loop served more as a textural element) depending upon the demands of a particular song.
While notably different from Pere Ubu, the two bands do have similarities. The band's music bore a relation to R&B, but in a unique sense. "... one of the things I was thinking about at the time was what it would be like if some alien was exposed to all relevant information about R&B except actually hearing it," as Tom put it. This thoughtful and conscious approach to the band as a project shows a similar sensibility to Ubu's.
Some time after recording the album Long Walk Off a Short Pier (which was in fact recorded on a pier), Tripod Jimmie moved from Erie, PA to Oakland, CA in the mid-eighties, swapping Roger Prehoda for Glenn Reynolds on drums. This lineup released the album A Warning to All Strangers. The band broke up in 1988 and Tom dropped out of actively playing music for a few years.
In 2003, Tom recorded an album called "Wait For It", which was issued by Return-to-Sender Records in 2004. Highlights include a cover of Blind Lemon Jefferson's "Jesus" and "Red Haired Girl".
In early 2005, Tom left Pere Ubu again. In August of 2006 he played on stage with Oakland rock band Ovipositor.
One critic has praised Herman's playing, describing it as "postmodern Chuck Berry riffing."
01 Autumn Leaves
02 Thank You Very Much Next Week
03 Mirror On The Wall
04 Empty Seed
05 Bowl Of Cherries
06 Nu Spartans
07 Joe Granville
08 Jimmie Sings
09 Women In Uniform
10 Spike The Dike
11 Franco-America
Tripod Jimmie "Long Walk Off a Short Pier" Do Speak do3, 1982.
*** Terrific debut from the band led by ex- Pere Ubu guitarist, Tom Hermann. Great post-punk/funk stuff: agile drumming, meaty basslines, Hermann's lacerating guitar and his Byrne-like voice. Not dissimilar in places to early Talking Heads, but not as mannered. Excellent live-in-studio recording made "on the shore of Lake Erie." I became aware of this fantastic lp when avid fan, Steve Albini played it on a local radio show. References: Come On, The Fall, Styrenes, Electric Eels, Mirrors, Couch Flambeau. ***
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tom Herman is a guitarist and composer.
He was a founding member of Pere Ubu, performing and recording with them from 1975 to 1979. He quit the group, then rejoined in 1995. One of his main reasons for leaving Pere Ubu (one among many) was that the band wasn't as interested in spending time on the road as he was. He left and, ironically, never got back on the road with a band until rejoining Pere Ubu in the nineties.
After leaving Ubu, Tom spent some time working on an oil rig in the south as well as playing bass in a hotel band. Eventually he started working as a mechanical technician, repairing equipment in hospitals and occasionally restaurants.
In 1980 or 1981 he moved to Erie, PA, where he started Tripod Jimmie with bassist Lenny Bove and drummer Roger Prehoda. The band was named after photographer friend Mick Mellen's three-legged dog and/or the tape deck mounted on a tripod that functioned as the fourth member of the band. The tape deck was used to play tape loops which the band would then play "with" rhythmically or "against" (where the loop served more as a textural element) depending upon the demands of a particular song.
While notably different from Pere Ubu, the two bands do have similarities. The band's music bore a relation to R&B, but in a unique sense. "... one of the things I was thinking about at the time was what it would be like if some alien was exposed to all relevant information about R&B except actually hearing it," as Tom put it. This thoughtful and conscious approach to the band as a project shows a similar sensibility to Ubu's.
Some time after recording the album Long Walk Off a Short Pier (which was in fact recorded on a pier), Tripod Jimmie moved from Erie, PA to Oakland, CA in the mid-eighties, swapping Roger Prehoda for Glenn Reynolds on drums. This lineup released the album A Warning to All Strangers. The band broke up in 1988 and Tom dropped out of actively playing music for a few years.
In 2003, Tom recorded an album called "Wait For It", which was issued by Return-to-Sender Records in 2004. Highlights include a cover of Blind Lemon Jefferson's "Jesus" and "Red Haired Girl".
In early 2005, Tom left Pere Ubu again. In August of 2006 he played on stage with Oakland rock band Ovipositor.
One critic has praised Herman's playing, describing it as "postmodern Chuck Berry riffing."
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Wednesday, November 15, 2006
The Jazz Butcher Conspiracy - Waiting For The Love Bus
The Jazz Butcher Conspiracy - Waiting For The Love Bus
Creation Records
Tracks
Rosemary Davis' World Of Sound
Bakersfield
Kids In The Mall/Kaliningrad
Whaddya?
Sweetwater
Ghosts
Baltic
Killed Out
Ben
Penguins
President Chang
Angel Station
Rosemary Davis' World Of Sound
Everybody's Talking
Do You Wanna Dance
the band
Pat Fish (Fender Telecaster, Fender Jaguar, Yamaha sf-800, 6 & 12 String Acoustic Guitars, Keyboards, Percussion, Programming, Vocals)
Richard Formby (Fender Jaguar, Gibson Firebird, Burns Electric
X11 String, Programming, Tapes)
Dooj Wilkinson (Wal Bass Guitar, Voice)
Nick Burson (Drums)
Peter Crouch (Fender Stratocaster, Fender Jaguar, Yamaha sf-800)
The Jazz Butcher was the vehicle of prolific singer/songwriter Pat Fish, an archetypal British eccentric whose sharp observational wit and melodic gifts navigated the group through over a decade of constant line-up shifts, stylistic mutations and even a series of name changes which found the band performing variously -- and apparently randomly -- under such titles as the Jazz Butcher Conspiracy and the Jazz Butcher & His Sikkorskis From Hell. Fish was born Patrick Huntrods in London in 1957, and raised primarily in Northampton. He first began performing while studying philosophy at Oxford in the late 1970s, fronting the short-lived Nightshift; a subsequent band dubbed the Institution later joined forces with their rivals the Sonic Tonix, establishing the nucleus of players who later formed the core of the Jazz Butcher sphere.
Fish first concocted his Butcher persona in 1982, quickly enlisting his Oxford mates to join him in a band of the same name; even from the outset, the group's roster changed seemingly on a daily basis, although Fish found an early mainstay in guitarist Max Eider. The Jazz Butcher's eclectic 1982 debut A Bath in Bacon -- including early skewed pop gems such as "Love Zombie" and "Sex Engine Thing" -- was essentially a Fish solo record, but by 1984's folky A Scandal in Bohemia the roster had stabilized to include ex-Bauhaus bassist David J. Following The Gift of Music, a 1984 compilation of single sides, the Jazz Butcher resurfaced the following year with Sex and Travel, a marvelously odd set ranging in sound from punk ("Red Pets") to cabaret ("Holiday").
After David J left the band to join Love and Rockets, the remaining quartet -- Fish, Eider, bassist Felix Ray and drummer Mr. O.P. Jones -- rechristened themselves the Jazz Butcher and His Sikkorskis from Hell and recorded the 1985 live set Hamburg, followed the next year by an EP, Hard. Leaving the rhythm section behind, Fish and Eider then recorded 1986's Conspiracy EP, credited to the "Jazz Butcher vs. Max Eider" and foreshadowing the subsequent shift to the Jazz Butcher Conspiracy aegis for Distressed Gentlefolk. Eider soon exited to mount a solo career, leaving Fish to team with guitarist Kizzy O'Callaghan for 1988's Fishcoteque, their first release for the Creation label.
By the time of 1989's Big Planet Scarey Planet, the line-up also included the superb bassist Laurence O'Keefe, saxophonist Alex Green and drummer Paul Mulreany; 1990's Cult of the Basement was recorded with the same roster, but the usual disruptions soon left Fish essentially to his own devices for 1991's Condition Blue and 1993's Waiting for the Love Bus. Upon reuniting with David J, who produced 1995's low-key Illuminate, Fish decided to lay the Jazz Butcher name to rest, and performed a farewell performance in London at the end of the year. He subsequently signed on to play drums with the Stranger Tractors, but in 1999 reunited with Eider for a Jazz Butcher Conspiracy tour of the U.S. The live Glorious and Idiotic appeared the following year and Rotten Soul was issued in fall 2000.
by Jason Ankeny, all music guide.
your download links:
http://rapidshare.com/Jazz_Butcher_Conspiracy.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/Jazz_Butcher_Conspiracy.part2.rar
Enjoy!
the band
Pat Fish (Fender Telecaster, Fender Jaguar, Yamaha sf-800, 6 & 12 String Acoustic Guitars, Keyboards, Percussion, Programming, Vocals)
Richard Formby (Fender Jaguar, Gibson Firebird, Burns Electric
X11 String, Programming, Tapes)
Dooj Wilkinson (Wal Bass Guitar, Voice)
Nick Burson (Drums)
Peter Crouch (Fender Stratocaster, Fender Jaguar, Yamaha sf-800)
The Jazz Butcher was the vehicle of prolific singer/songwriter Pat Fish, an archetypal British eccentric whose sharp observational wit and melodic gifts navigated the group through over a decade of constant line-up shifts, stylistic mutations and even a series of name changes which found the band performing variously -- and apparently randomly -- under such titles as the Jazz Butcher Conspiracy and the Jazz Butcher & His Sikkorskis From Hell. Fish was born Patrick Huntrods in London in 1957, and raised primarily in Northampton. He first began performing while studying philosophy at Oxford in the late 1970s, fronting the short-lived Nightshift; a subsequent band dubbed the Institution later joined forces with their rivals the Sonic Tonix, establishing the nucleus of players who later formed the core of the Jazz Butcher sphere.
Fish first concocted his Butcher persona in 1982, quickly enlisting his Oxford mates to join him in a band of the same name; even from the outset, the group's roster changed seemingly on a daily basis, although Fish found an early mainstay in guitarist Max Eider. The Jazz Butcher's eclectic 1982 debut A Bath in Bacon -- including early skewed pop gems such as "Love Zombie" and "Sex Engine Thing" -- was essentially a Fish solo record, but by 1984's folky A Scandal in Bohemia the roster had stabilized to include ex-Bauhaus bassist David J. Following The Gift of Music, a 1984 compilation of single sides, the Jazz Butcher resurfaced the following year with Sex and Travel, a marvelously odd set ranging in sound from punk ("Red Pets") to cabaret ("Holiday").
After David J left the band to join Love and Rockets, the remaining quartet -- Fish, Eider, bassist Felix Ray and drummer Mr. O.P. Jones -- rechristened themselves the Jazz Butcher and His Sikkorskis from Hell and recorded the 1985 live set Hamburg, followed the next year by an EP, Hard. Leaving the rhythm section behind, Fish and Eider then recorded 1986's Conspiracy EP, credited to the "Jazz Butcher vs. Max Eider" and foreshadowing the subsequent shift to the Jazz Butcher Conspiracy aegis for Distressed Gentlefolk. Eider soon exited to mount a solo career, leaving Fish to team with guitarist Kizzy O'Callaghan for 1988's Fishcoteque, their first release for the Creation label.
By the time of 1989's Big Planet Scarey Planet, the line-up also included the superb bassist Laurence O'Keefe, saxophonist Alex Green and drummer Paul Mulreany; 1990's Cult of the Basement was recorded with the same roster, but the usual disruptions soon left Fish essentially to his own devices for 1991's Condition Blue and 1993's Waiting for the Love Bus. Upon reuniting with David J, who produced 1995's low-key Illuminate, Fish decided to lay the Jazz Butcher name to rest, and performed a farewell performance in London at the end of the year. He subsequently signed on to play drums with the Stranger Tractors, but in 1999 reunited with Eider for a Jazz Butcher Conspiracy tour of the U.S. The live Glorious and Idiotic appeared the following year and Rotten Soul was issued in fall 2000.
by Jason Ankeny, all music guide.
http://rapidshare.com/Jazz_Butcher_Conspiracy.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/Jazz_Butcher_Conspiracy.part2.rar
Enjoy!
Labels: 00i00, J Links to this post
Prolapse - The Italian Flag
Track List
01 Slash/Oblique 4:56
02 Deanshanger 3:51
03 Cacophony No. A 5:06
04 Killing The Bland 2:29
05 I Hate the Clicking Man 5:15
06 Autocade 3:34
07 Tunguska 4:04
08 Flat Velocity Curve 7:17
09 Return of Shoes 5:42
10 A Day at Death Seaside 3:34
11 Bruxelles 5:54
12 Visa for Violet and Van 5:56
13 Three Wooden Heads 10:36
Prolapse were formed fifteen years ago in the summer of 1991 under a table at Leicester Polytechnic's friday night disco with the aim of being the most depressing band ever. The first recording as a four-piece of Mick Derrick (vocals), Mick Harrison (bass), Tim Pattison (drums) and Pat Marsden (guitar) -still on a cassette somewhere - was an improvised session with a strong Joy Division feel-Ian Curtis sitting next to Scottish Mick doing backing vocals. Vocalist Linda Steelyard and David Jeffreys on guitar soon joined the line-up and early live shows featured flying televisions and puppets being mutilated. The band released singles, including the Crate E.P., and their first album Pointless Walks to Dismal Places on Cherry Red Records in 1994. U.K., European and U.S. touring soon followed aswell as Peel and various other radio sessions. backsaturday was the next album in 1995 - this consists of mostly improvised songs written in Northwich, Cheshire over a weekend. It features a long version of the Krautrock inspired 'Flex'-a song to crop up near the end of many a live set.
The Italian Flag (1997) was produced by former Julian Cope guitarist Donald Ross Skinner, who was now also involved as a keyboard player. This contained more 'finished songs' than backsaturday, including those that had been part of the live set for a while. Singles Killing the Bland, Deanshanger and Autocade were released around the time. Prolapse were receiving favourable reviews in the music press for their live shows and releases and were attracting a cult following. People came to gigs with potatoes for them to sign saying they wanted to be reincarnated as a patch of lichen. In Norwich, Oxford and London gigs would be packed, although in Hanover, Stevenage and Wolverhampton only a couple of ferrets and Elvis impersonators would turn up. Still there were appearances for Slash/Oblique and Autocade in John Peel's Festive 31 (not 50 that year!). The last album Ghosts of Dead Aeroplanes (1999) was based around lots of improvised stuff at Foel Studio in Wales. This has more of a sparse feel than much of the band's earlier music. Metal Box era Public Image Limited was one influence at the time.
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Monday, November 13, 2006
Louis Tillett - 1987 - Ego Tripping At The Gates Of Hell
TRACK LIST
1.Trip To Kalu-Ki-Bar
2.Duet In Blue Minor
3.Swimming In The Mirror
4.Dream Well
5.Voluntary Slavery
6.On Your Way Down
7.Persephone's Dance
8.Dead End Street In The Lu
By IAN McFARLANE(Author of ‘The Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop’)
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s LOUIS TILLETT provided a commanding and distinctive presence on the Australian alternative music scene. He was a softly spoken individual, yet it was his rich baritone singing voice (once described as “burning like a deep wound… like it’s oozing from the cracks of a tomb”), characteristic keyboard technique and exceptional song writing skills that earned him a reputation as an artist of considerable imagination, authority and conviction, and as a sideman of redoubtable stature. In addition to leading groups like the Wet Taxis, Paris Green and the Aspersion Caste, his work as a backing musician with Catfish, Ed Kuepper, the New Christs and Tex Perkins kept him firmly in the public eye.Louis’s first band, the Wet Taxis, commenced life as an experimental outfit in the manner of fellow Sydneysiders Severed Heads and Scattered Order before taking on a tougher 1960s-influenced direction. Their classic debut single on the Hot label, ‘C’mon’ (1984), boasted an authentic garage/R&B sound heavily influenced by such American garage/punk bands as the Moving Sidewalks, We the People and the Chocolate Watchband plus legendary Australian group the Atlantics (who originally issued the song as ‘Come On’ in 1967). Alongside the likes of Died Pretty, the Celibate Rifles, the Lime Spiders, the New Christs, the Hoodoo Gurus and the Eastern Dark, the Wet Taxis came to epitomise the Australian garage rock sound and aesthetic of the 1980s. The band’s only album was the appropriately named From the Archives (Hot, 1984). The 1960s garage rock sound served the Wet Taxis well, yet Louis was constantly in search of new musical terrain to explore. This led him to the acoustic-based No Dance side project with Died Pretty’s Brett Myers and Celibate Rifles’ Damien Lovelock (one EP, ‘Carnival of Souls’ in 1984) and the improvisational jazz/blues-influenced Paris Green ensemble which covered material ranging from Mose Allison and John Coltrane to Ray Charles. Following the release of the Wet Taxis single ‘Sailor’s Dream’ on the Citadel label (1987), Louis folded the band and immediately recorded his debut solo album Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell with support from a stellar array of local musicians including guitarist Charlie Owen and drummer Louis Burdett. The album relied upon a brooding intensity for its emotional effect, yet there was always a lighter more positive side as displayed on tracks like ‘Trip to Kalu-Ki-Bar’.His next band the Aspersion Caste included Owen, Burdett, ex-Wet Taxis guitarist Penny Ikinger and a powerful horn section and was heard on A Cast of Aspersions (1990) and its astonishing single ‘Condemned to Live’. A Cast of Aspersions was an eclectic and potent exploration of mood and emotions driven by Louis’s booming baritone voice and smouldering organ, jagged guitar lines and the swinging brass arrangements. Louis kept the Aspersion Caste on the road (including performances in Europe and New York) until 1992 when he recorded his next solo album Letters to a Dream. In 1995, he collaborated with Owen on the album Midnight Rain before they joined Ken Gormly and Jim Elliot (from the Cruel Sea) as backing musicians for Tex Perkins, on tour to promote his 1996 solo album Far be it From Me. Louis released his last album, Cry against the Faith, in 1999. As well as travelling overseas and succumbing to bouts of ill-health due to his well-publicised battle with alcoholism, he continued to put in occasional live performances around Sydney (often with help from Gormly and Elliot). An ABC-TV documentary produced a few years ago on the man, A Night at Sea, provided rare insight into his role as a performer and his struggles with personal demons. He has now emerged in 2005 with renewed vigour. All of which brings us to his new album, The Hanged Man, an exemplary return to form and a solo release in the truest sense. Louis recorded The Hanged Man in Bangkok, Thailand in July 2004 with a local engineer called O, and it focuses squarely on his skills as a song writer, producer, singer and multi-instrumentalist par excellence – a remarkable achievement from a remarkable musician. The deep connection to the blues/jazz/swamp rock feel essential to his sound has remained, yet there is so much more. One only has to listen to the nine brilliant tracks to hear the emotional outpouring on offer here. Louis has opened his heart and soul, faced down his demons and overcome his fears in the most cathartic way – song writing and recording as personal therapy. With lyric lines throughout the album as compelling and insightful as the following: “… shows me the journey I must make” (‘Ocean Bound’)“… I now have some hope, this will keep me afloat” (‘Four Walls’)“… the main thing I want is these voices to stop” (‘Through the Dream’)“… I pray for redemption and hope for a sign” (‘Prayer Before Dawn’)“… it all seems to go away with the start of a brand new day” (‘Around You’)“… I’m looking high I’m looking low, now it’s clear what I must do” (‘It’s Alright Now’)and “… a dream fulfilled, a love rebuilt… I’ve returned to a perfect friend, the journey’s end” (‘Teary Eyes’)…this is Louis embracing the very joyousness of a bright future. The Hanged Man features music as vital, beautiful, emotional and uncompromising as any in the history of Australian rock. Take the time to accept this incredible musician and his art.
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Saturday, November 11, 2006
Dream City Film Club - 1997 - Dream City Film Club
Tracks :
01. Night of Nights
02. Shit Tinted Shades
02. Shit Tinted Shades
03. Pissboy
04. Because You Wanted It
04. Because You Wanted It
05. Filth Dealer
06. Mama
06. Mama
07. Porno Paradiso
08. Situation Desperate
08. Situation Desperate
09. Perfect Piece of Trash
10. Vague
10. Vague
11. If I Die I Die
12. 'Til The End of The World
12. 'Til The End of The World
13. Teenage Wife (hidden track)
Michael J. Sheehy: Vocals, guitars, keyboards
Andrew Park: Bass guitar, keyboards, guitars
Laurence Ash: Drums, percussion
Alex Vald, guitar (until 1997)
Info for the band:
Dream City Film Club was one of England's most under-rated bands of the 1990s. Propelled by the bombastic assault of bassist Andrew Park and drummer Laurence Ash, and the sonic intensity of guitarist Alex Vald, guitarist/vocalist Michael John Sheehy, radiated darkness with songs about murder, sex, drugs and violence.A veteran of the singer-songwriter circuit in Northern England, Sheehy formed Dream City Film Club with Vald and Ash, two musicians who supplemented their income by producing shows at Kentish Town nightspot, the Bull & Gate. When Ash's group disbanded, a few months later, Sheehy, Ash and Vald began playing together informally. The group soon became a quartet with the addition of bassist, Andrew Park.Making their debut, at the Bull & Gate, in July 1995, Dream City Film Club continued to perform throughout northern London. Although a recording of several tunes was financed by Epic, in late 1995, the label refused to release it. The group had to settle for sharing a single with Dublin-born and London-based vocalist, Suzanne Rhatigan, on a label affiliated with Sean Worrell's fanzine, The Organ. They later released an EP on Organ.Signing with the slightly larger, Beggars Banquet, label, Dream City Film Club released a single, Perfect Piece Of Trash". Although they began work on their debut album in October 1996, Vald became ill during recording sessions and the project was delayed. With the release of their self-titled debut album, in 1997, Dream City Film Club reached out to a wider audience. Following a recording session for BBC disc jockey/producer, John Peel, in December 1996, they embarked on two years of performances in France, Belgium and nearly every corner of England. They recorded subsequent sessions for Peel in April 1998 and February 1999.Vald's departure, during the pre-production stage of their second album, In The Cold Light Of Morning, resulted in Dream City Film Club recording the album as a trio. Although they went on to release another, EP, Stranger Blues, in early-2000, the group disbanded. Sheehy released a solo album, As If And Also, shortly afterwards.
Info for this particular album:
The band's first album, the one major release featuring the original four-piece lineup, works in the same effective, compelling vein as the later In the Cold Light of Morning. If anything, the presence of Alex Vald here doesn't seem to show any difference in performance or general atmosphere — things for the band, and especially Michael John Sheehy, again inhabit the later, familiar vein of haunted country and blues-tinged music mixing with glam/goth styles. Certainly anyone who prefers life as black as possible will find something to love in the piercing guitar abuse and chilling slow crunch of "Fifth Dealer," which makes as good a claim to be the band's highlight track as anything else. "Perfect Piece of Trash" is another on-the-edge winner, much quicker but no less screwed up, lyrics detailing an already questionable relationship going even worse wedded to a rave-up explosion. A number of efforts suggest a more strung-out but still nervous Gallon Drunk, like the creepy lounge touches on "Shit Tinged Shades," Sheehy's distorted voice sounding as out there as the deep-in-the-background feedback whine. Sheehy himself sticks to a fairly well-worn lyrical vein that won't totally surprise listeners who knows their Birthday Party and related bands, but he doesn't try to specifically sound like any of that crew so much as a side-of-the-mouth talking poet of filth with occasional tendencies to stay perfectly calm. "Porno Paradiso," in particular, lets him demonstrate both his not-bad falsetto and a generally softer approach. The musical balance between noise and dark, twangy restraint holds true pretty much for the whole release, and in the latter mode the foursome is often at its best. Consider the soft chimes and buried semi-Morricone feedback on "Because You Wanted It" or the accordion and minimal keyboard melody on "Mama," a little slice of cabaret in hell.
[Note: Dream City Film Club dispersed in 1999.
'til the end of the world ...]
[info:allmusic.com]
Labels: D, Roxanne Links to this post
Wednesday, November 8, 2006
Wire - 1979 - 154
Completing the transformation from abstract punks to art-rockers, 154 is Wire's most impressive album. The virulance still remains, but with more depth and style than elsewhere. Ever-changing writing partnerships create a new level of tension, pulling the release in often-disparate directions. On the surface this creates a rather disjointed album, but the sheer quality of writing and performance soon banishes such thoughts for good.
Experimentation is still evident—most notably in the harrowing The Other Window that tells the story of a man travelling on a foreign train. From his window, he notices a dying horse fataly trapped in a barbed wire fence. The stressed instrumentation of the backing and out-of-time metronome drumbeat enhance the atmosphere building to the simple finale: 'He turned away/What could he do/The other window had a nicer view'.
Wire's keen sense of observation also appears within the amusing On Returning, emphasising the way British people sometimes travel overseas with a level of nonchalance and arrogance: 'You'll be sorry when the sun has roasted you to lobster red'; 'On arriving with the third language tucked into your briefcase next to your toothbrush'.
The musical high-point arrives halfway through the album in the shape of A Mutual Friend. The arrangement is rather less contemporary than any of the other tracks, combining various guitars with cor anglais passage and evolving drum beats that range from delicate cymbal play to rampaging tom rolls.
The reissue also adds a four track EP with one piece from each member of Wire, and the cutting B-side Go Ahead, which probably says more about the situation with the band's record label at the time than any other piece of prose. If you like Wire then you'll adore 154 and although this is sometimes one of the most painfully disjointed albums you're ever likely to hear it's also one of the best.
Craig Grannell (1998)
uploaded by Mystery Poster and Friends
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Wire_-_1979_-_154.rar
Wire_-_1979_-_154_-Bonus.rar
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Wire_-_1979_-_154.rar
Wire_-_1979_-_154_-Bonus.rar
Sunday, November 5, 2006
The Bolshoi - Friends
Extracts from press releases Autumn 1984 - singer / guitarist Trevor Tanner and drummer Jan Kalicki emerged from deepest Wiltshire to form the Bolshoi. Having hitch-hiked to the darkest wastelands of Woolwich to seek their fame and fortune, the boys recruited bassist Nick Chown and within 3 months had guested live with The Cult, Lords Of The New Church, Wall Of Voodoo, The Redskins, March Violets, culminating with a headline show at Londons famous Marquee club in January 1985, selling it out on word-of-mouth alone.Their first single,’Sob Story’, was released that spring, followed by a mini-album ‘Giants’ which included the irresistably anthemic ‘Happy Boy’. “I don’t think we sound like anyone else” concedes the charismatic Trevor. “That’s not a conscious thing - we simply do what we do. We’re like a ‘real’ band... we’re real people who actually enjoy what we’re doing, work well together and are unaffected by what’s going on musically outside. I’m not saying we’re different, but people have diverse impressions of us. I don’t know what we sound like, and I don’t think anybody else knows what we sound like either!”.Growing to a four piece with the addition of Paul Clark on keyboards, the band continued to build on their live following and finally released a full length album ‘Friends’, in September 1986 which included singles ‘AWay’ (“an understated mini-epic which easily overruns the chronically abbreviated runway of charts ‘80’s style” - Sounds) and ‘Books On The Bonfire’. Sounds again applauded “the musical artistry of this album... this flowing stream of vinyl perfection... if you’ve seen this group you’re already hopelessly addicted”.“So who are these four young men and what makes them so special? Firstly, let us introduce Trevor Tanner, the groups self appointed visionary and lyricist. Outwardly extrovert and with a mesmerising stage presence, The Bolshoi’s lead singer and guitarist belies a dark and pensive nature. He is acutely observant of society’s shortcomings and is not scared to draw attention to them in his songs. Next, Jan Kalicki, the polish connection, on drums - a sensitive and artistic soul. Nick Chown is the affable bass player and last, but not least, is Paul Clark who is a northerner with an appalling sense of humour - something which the whole band share.”“Adventurously entertaining at the best of times, with live performances that dramatically demand attention and equally powerful vinyl workings, The Bolshoi’s subtly humerous melodies, effective dance beat rhythms and memorable choruses easily entice the listener. Sagaciously confident performers, The Bolshoi produce clear, charismatic pop that’s effervescent, bold and ultimately longlasting. They are a very special band”.In January 1987 The Bolshoi released a remix of their finest single so far, AWay, entitled AWay II, which also featured in the soundtrack of Jonathan Demme’s ‘Something Wild’. A hectic touring schedule took them to the USA, across Europe from Norway to Italy, the UK supporting Peter Murphy and Spear Of Destiny as well as headline London dates (in fact the band became very well travelled, with a South American tour and even shows behind the iron curtain in Poland, East Germany Hungary and Russia.)Apart from touring, 1987 saw the band recording new singles, ‘Please’ and ‘T.V. Man’ and their second full length album, ‘Lindy’s Party’ which was released that September. Despite favourable reviews and further international touring it was all over and the band drifted apart. The final postscript is left to Trevor Tanner in his sleeve notes for The Bolshoi’s long overdue ‘Best of’...“Furtive, backward glances from a speeding car, intense apathy followed by spontaneous combustion. Long international flights with visits to the cockpit to discuss philosophy with the Brazilian pilots. Sad, introspective binges in various ‘old mens’ pubs in South London. Ridiculous outbursts, followed by reconstructive surgery. These are some of my immediate recollections of life with The Bolshoi, never the easiest band to be in. From the humble beginnings of a broken face (making too much noise) in the darkest regions of the west country, to the dizzy heights of malaria shot madness, on a ‘chart topping’ tour of South America. It was never, ever dull. I suppose the main thing that kept us together was our friendship, we were all great mates, honest. When we weren’t ‘working’, we spent a lot of time in those aforementioned pub, arguing about anything we could disagree about. I honestly do not know another band who spent as much time together. We were best friends with our management too, like a big, dysfunctional family, always, well nearly always, fun. The question I am most often asked is, “what went wrong?” Well nothing really, it just wasn’t fun anymore. We didn’t want to go into a stuka like spiral of decline (like so many others) so we just ..stopped.
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And Also The Trees - the evening of the 24th
From a rural village in Worcestershire, England, brothers Simon (vocals) and Justin Jones (guitar) formed And Also the Trees in 1979 with bassist Steven Burrows and drummer Nick Havas. In response to an ad by the Cure looking for support bands on their English tour, the Jones brothers sent a tape and ended up doing several dates and later an entire tour with Robert Smith and co. in 1981. And Also the Trees still hadn't released any material at that point, so the Cure's Lol Tolhurst produced a single ("Shantell") and the band's eponymous debut album, released in February of 1984. Tolhurst's work made the Cure an easy pointer for And Also the Trees' sound, though the fragile beauty of Joy Division and the Chameleons also lend comparisons. The band contributed a session to John Peel's BBC radio show, and Continental critics lavished praise on subsequent albums Virus Meadow (1986), The Millpond Years (1988) and the live LP The Evening of the 24th (released 1987). The notoriously fickle U.K. music press, however, deserted the waning Goth fad and the group was left drifting. Farewell to the Shade, released in 1989, was And Also the Trees' final British release, as well as the only album available in America (on Troy Records). The group moved to the German label Normal for 1992's Green Is the Sea and The Klaxon, released the following year. The Evening Of The 24th Recorded at a Swiss gig for the Virus Meadow tour, Evening captures the Trees in their early prime, with their theatrical/Romantic with a capital R art goth style running at full blast. Simon Jones sings at points like his breath is being ripped from his body, as the band demonstrates solid abilities at being able to create lush musical tapestries as much as full-bodied but elegant thrashers. Justin Jones' ability to flesh out the live sound on his guitar proves especially compelling, using what must have been a fair amount of effects pedals to reproduce the Trees' trademark sonic touches, often sounding like a mandolin producing amped-up folk for a electric post-punk world. Opener "A Room Lives in Lucy" sets the initial tone perfectly, with an especially impassioned vocal from Simon Jones, and the band never lets up throughout, to the cheers of an understandably enthralled crowd. Songs like "Wallpaper Dying" and an especially intense take on "Slow Pulse Boy" sound just fantastic, practically miniature Grand Guignol dramas; early tunes like the debut single "Shantell" have an even more concentrated power live than the sometimes murky studio production allowed. Wrapping up with frazzled, live-wire versions of "So This is Silence" and an thoroughly ominous take on "The Renegade," Evening is that rare live album worth its salt !
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