Archive for the ‘CLASSIC ALBUMS’ Category

DAVID BOWIE – ” Loving The Alien ” Box Set 1983-1988

Posted: July 23, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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For David Bowie, the 1980s were years of tremendous ch-ch-changes, in which the stylistic chameleon went mainstream to great success, experienced some artistic disappointments, and solidified his place in the pantheon as a legend of rock.  Now, this era is being looked back upon in the fourth annual volume of Parlophone’s ongoing series of box sets dedicated to the late superstar. Loving the Alien (1983-1988) will arrive on October 12th in 11CD and 15LP vinyl configurations.

This lavish set is filled with more exclusive material than any of its predecessors, as only three studio albums are included, all in newly remastered editions: Let’s Dance (1983), Tonight (1984), and Never Let Me Down (1987). Loving the Alien also premieres a new version of the latter album, for which Bowie’s friend and producer Mario McNulty has completely re-recorded the instrumentation with the artist’s collaborators Reeves Gabrels (guitar), David Torn (guitar), Sterling Campbell (drums), Tim Lefebvre (bass), and a string quartet with arrangements by Nico Mulhy plus an appearance by Laurie Anderson on “Shining Star (Makin’ My Love).”  This new version of Never Let Me Down is rooted in McNulty’s 2008 re-production of “Time Will Crawl” which featured new drums and strings.  Its success prompted Bowie to comment, “Oh, to redo the rest of that album.” McNulty has now made good on Bowie’s wish.  (Note that “Too Dizzy,” which Bowie requested be removed from Never Let Me Down following the original LP pressing, remains missing in action.

Additionally, the box includes the remastered live set Glass Spider: Live Montreal ’87, the previously unreleased Serious Moonlight live album recorded in Vancouver in 1983, a new collection of period remixes entitled Dance, and the fourth volume of odds-and-ends series RE:CALL.  Dance (titled after an abortive remix album once slated for release in November 1985) collects a dozen original remixes of songs from the era.  The new installment of RE:CALL has a whopping 30 tracks: original single versions, the non-LP side “Julie,” film songs from The Falcon and the Snowman, Absolute Beginners, and Labyrinth, plus duets with Tina Turner (“Tonight” and “Let’s Dance”) and Mick Jagger (what else, “Dancing in the Street”) and more.  The extended edit of B-side “Girls” is on this disc, though not the shorter version or the Japanese re-recording.

The generous book will run to 128 pages in the CD version and 84 in the LP box, with copious illustrations, original press clippings, and historical notes from producers and engineers Nile Rodgers, Hugh Padgham, Mario McNulty, and Justin Shirley-Smith.  The CDs will be packaged in the expected deluxe mini-LP replica sleeves, but in a special touch, they will be pressed in gold rather than standard silver. The vinyl release will be pressed on 180-gram vinyl.

Loving the Alien looks to be a great opportunity to revisit one of David Bowie’s most overlooked – yet most mainstream – periods.  Look for this set on CD and vinyl on October 12th

MANDANCING – ” Not My Thoughts “

Posted: July 22, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Given the winter the East Coast has just survived, it’s appropriate to emerge from the bleakness with a record that eases out of its own icy shell. ManDancing’s “Everyone Else” emerged in winter 2016, prior to political shifts at home and abroad, but carries no less weight than it did when quietly released online. In fact, this record from five New Jersey residents seems more potent than ever with its 2018 reissue. It’s at once intimate and ferocious, a windswept combination of hushed pronouncements and gasped confessions.

On their upcoming EP Hands On 3, ManDancing’s emotional compass magnetizes to vocalist and rhythm guitarist Stephen G Kelly, whose voice wavers between confidence and catharsis. The spectral nature of his delivery is a genre in itself. It waxes elegiac on the alt-country sway as percussion spikes and splinters behind it, before breaking free into a desperate wail. It’s this upward curve that carries the arrangements forward, a force that could explode any moment into something unpredictable, warped, yet altogether fitting of such visceral songwriting.

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Above all, ManDancing promises a narrative that finds its characters trying to define their own independence. Is it more isolating than liberating? Amidst the haze of young adulthood, the beer cans, and the skipped house shows, ManDancing navigates what it’s like to feel positively undone and unlimited at the same time. It’s hard and it’s an impossible thing, but it’s always part of growing older.

Hands On 3 is out July 13th via Take This To Heart Records.

HATCHIE – ” Sugar & Spice ” EP

Posted: July 22, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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The five songs on the debut EP from Brisbane musician Hatchie radiate sunshine. That’s not as easy a feat as it sounds: tip too far in the direction of sunny pop music and the results end up saccharine and cloying; if you try to overcorrect, you end up with the kind of half-hearted songs that feint toward hookiness without ever truly connecting. But Hatchie walks the tightrope, and every minute of Sugar & Spice is fully engaging and almost impossibly heartwarming. The big, sun-bleeding-over-the-horizon guitar chords that open “Sure” give way to a vocal melody that bobs as lazily and gracefully as a beach ball on the surface of a swimming pool. The title track leavens its rush of Fun Dip synths with a heartsick chorus that somersaults up and down the octave. Throughout the EP, Hatchie demonstrates masterful control of her voice, gliding into a cotton-candy-cloud falsetto and then back down into a warm caramel alto, giving the songs a kind of weightlessness and buoyancy—the running start she takes into the bridge of “Sugar & Spice” gives the finale a multicolor, firework-style rush. There are precedents here if you want to spot them—The Cranberries, Cocteau Twins—but Sugar & Spice wriggles off those simple touchstones the more you listen to it to become something entirely its own. Even the regret that powers the tumbling closer “Bad Guy,” in Hatchie’s hands, sounds like optimism.

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With more than a hint of early Depeche Mode and The Cocteau Twins) – shoegazy guitars alongside Bunnymen riffs, as Harriette Pilbeam effortlessly layers knock-out hooks alongside dreamy vocals and radio-friendly tunes.

DUDE YORK – ” What Would You Do If You Had Some Money Now? “

Posted: July 19, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Recently, Seattle trio Dude York surprised fans with a new digital single, “Moon.” Today, we are sharing another track from their Springtime recording session at Different Fur Studios in San Francisco. Guitarist Peter Richards handles vocal duties on “What Would You Do If You Had Some Money Now?”

Dude York’s next performance is Friday, July 20th on the main stage at the Capitol Hill Block Party.

WAXAHATCHEE – ” Great Thunder EP “

Posted: July 19, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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On September 7th, Katie Crutchfield’s ever-shifting musical project Waxahatchee returns with the Great Thunder EP. Featuring a collection of songs written with now-dormant experimental recording group Great Thunder while Crutchfield was also writing the Waxahatchee albums Cerulean Salt and Ivy Tripp, the original recordings have mostly faded into obscurity. Unearthing and reimagining them with producer Brad Cook at Justin Vernon’s April Base studio in Wisconsin was a cathartic experience, she says.

Crutchfield shares Great Thunder’s release details as well as a music video for the solemn “Chapel of Pines,” directed by Christopher Good and starring Crutchfield and Kevin Morby. Watch and share, then pre-order Great Thunder on CD, 12-inch EP, and limited-edition opaque yellow Peak Vinyl in the Merge Records store .

On the heels of last year’s critically acclaimed Out in the Storm, Crutchfield found herself looking to take a sharp turn away from the more rock-oriented influences of her recent records towards her more folk and country roots. “I would say that it is a complete 180 from the last record: super stripped-down, quiet, and with me performing solo, it’s a throwback to how I started,” writes Crutchfield. “Overall, the EP is a warm, kind of vibey recording.”

Crutchfield will take Waxahatchee out on the road solo for the remainder of the year, first at headlining shows in September before linking up with Courtney Barnett through October.

FLASHER – ” Constant Image “

Posted: July 19, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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One of two standout Washington D.C. post-punk records released this year, Flasher’s Constant Image is the group’s big-time debut LP; the tight group of friends found themselves a step beyond their DIY roots upon signing to Domino Recordings. They’ve taken full advantage of their access to studio resources here; Constant Image is a sly, smart, fun record that never sounds too slick or overproduced and really shows off the trio’s ability to wind dry, oblique observations about commercial culture around killer pop hooks. Standout tracks like “Pressure,” “Material,” and “Skim Milk” elegantly balance space and tension, elastic bass and minimal yet melodic guitar, and a rhythmic sense of urgency and discomfort with blase vocal delivery. There are clear ‘80s sonic referents here, but this is no indistinguishable pastiche too backwards-facing to sound contemporary; instead, Flasher’s deft work highlights that we’re still dealing with the legacies of the Reagan/Thatcher era in many, many ways.

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Flasher has such an 80’s goth post punk kinda style. remind me of The Lords of the New Church. quirky tempo changes and really cool vocal harmonies. great live. a must see.

ECHO LADIES – ” Pink Noise “

Posted: July 19, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Echo Ladies make expert use of ghostly vocals, a style employed by everyone from Ian Curtis to CHVRCHES, where the words feel far away—like they’re coming through a radio in another room. Echo Ladies, like Makthaverskan and Agent blå are part of a flurry of post-punk-leaning pop to flood out of Sweden. New on the scene and released by the excellent U.K. label Sonic Cathedral, “Pink Noise”, could be the soundtrack to a dark high school comedy (called Pink Noise, of course) that follows an all-girl post-punk band trying to make it. It’s their liberal use of synths, classic pop song arrangements, and simplistic drum machine beats that set this album apart.

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Released June 8th, 2018

All songs by Echo Ladies

BAMBARA – ” Live on Audiotree “

Posted: July 19, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Bambara is a grimy noise-rock band whose recent release “Shadow on Everything” is a cinematic achievement. The loose concept record mashes cowboy jangle with aggressive post-punk to form a scummy, empty landscape for characters to inhabit. Laced throughout is a winding, poetic tale of relationship strife and vignettes from the character’s hometown.

These guys are killing it and are unmatched in their intensity when it comes to live performances.

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Band Members:
Reid Bateh – Vocals
Blaze Bateh – Drums
William Brookshire – Bass
Bryan Keller Jr. – Guitar
Sammy Zalta – Guitar
Released July 19th, 2018

COWBOY JUNKIES – ” All That Reckoning (Part 1) “

Posted: July 19, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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The Canadian Cowboy Junkies made slowcore before the term was invented. They have now existed for more than twenty years and their music still sounds as provocative as titillating. Cowboy Junkies was founded in 1985. The big breakthrough followed in 1988 and was mainly due to the great success of their debut album ‘ The Trinity Sessions ‘, in which especially their covers by Lou Reed and Hank Williams were praised.

Cowboy Junkies have revealed that their new album “All That Reckoning” it will be their first release in six years released on July 13th. All That Reckoning, have just released a second video and song entitled “The Things We Do To Each Other”. Take a look and let us know what you think.

“Fear is not so far from hate, so if you get the folks to fear, it only takes one small twist to kick it up a gear.”…know what I mean? You should also check out brother Pete’s video for the title track of the album while you are in the watching mood.There is lots more music to come, so please stay tuned. We hope to see a lot of you on the road in the coming months. “Welcome to the age of disillusion,” sings Margo Timmins toward the beginning of All That Reckoning, 

“The Things We Do To Each Other” is from the Cowboy Junkies new album All That Reckoning releasing on July 13, 2018.

The Junkies’ stock in trade is the ease with which they navigate the mysterious terrain of human intimacy and longing, yet here they are, bearing witness to our collective anxieties with their usual solemn gravitas. It might be a slight stretch to say that this is their take-it-to-the-streets punk rock record—they’re too regal, too elegant for anything so mercenary, preferring instead to comment from a vantage point of weary and hard-won wisdom—and yet, it may be the most aggressive Cowboy Junkies album yet, as visceral and emotionally direct as anything they’ve ever done.

All That Reckoning pulses with rock and roll energy: “Sing Me a Song” pushes into the red with brawny riffs and a thunderous backbeat, Margo’s distorted vocals fighting to be heard amidst the din. “All That Reckoning Part 1” and “When We Arrive” both nod toward early-’90s alt-rock with woozy bass pushing through electric guitar strumming. And even when the songs are slow, as they often are, they still tend to sound oceanic: “The Things We Do to Each Other” starts folksy but roars in the end, while “Wooden Stairs” updates the Trinity Session quietude with a swirl of dissonance and minimal piano plunking. By the time the spare, acoustic “The Possessed” shows up to close the album—the most featherweight song here, and the most in-character for the Junkies—it feels like a massive sea change.

ERIC BURDON and The ANIMALS – ” Winds Of Change ” Classic Albums Released in September, 1967.

Posted: July 18, 2018 in CLASSIC ALBUMS
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The original band of the Animals, broke up in 1966 and this band was entirely new except for lead singer Eric Burdonand drummer Barry Jenkins, who joined the original lineup when John Steel left in February 1966. With the new band, featuring guitarist Vic Briggs, bassist Danny McCulloch and electric violinist John Weider, Burdon began to move from the gritty blues sound of the original mid-1960s group into psychedelic music.

The album is the first to feature nearly entirely original material, written by Eric Burdon and band members, and involving equal songwriting credit. This practice would continue with the following album, The Twain Shall Meet,

The album opens with the sound of waves washing over the title track, “Winds of Change”. “Poem by the Sea” is a spoken-word piece by Burdon with a swirl of echo-drenched instruments. “Good Times” and “San Franciscan Nights”

Burdon dedicated the album to George Harrison of the Beatles, whose espousal of Hindu philosophy following a visit to India the previous year Burdon cited as an inspiration. Burdon was also a fan and friend of Jimi Hendrix and wrote the fifth track as an answer song to Hendrix’s “Are You Experienced” Burdon was so inspired by Jimi Hendrix’s music that he wrote one of the psychedelic era’s rare “answer” songs, “Yes I Am Experienced,” as an homage to the guitarist; the latter’s influence could also be heard in “It’s All Meat,” the LP’s closing track,

Winds of Change was the band’s first real psychedelic rock album. They praised the closing track “It’s All Meat” and the hard rocking cover of the Rolling Stones “Paint It, Black” as rare examples of psychedelic rock songs by the Animals that are strong and convincing one of the group’s handful of memorable covers from this period, “Paint It Black” — driven by John Weider’s electric violin and Vic Briggs’ guitar, and featuring an extended vocal improvisation by Burdon, their approach to the song was good enough to make it part of the group’s set at the Monterey International Pop Festival that June, and also to get a spot in the documentary movie that followed.

“The Black Plague” opens with a Gregorian chant structure that recalls “Still I’m Sad” by the Yardbirds, and was another vehicle for Burdon’s surreal spoken contributions.

“Hotel Hell”, is an obscure but very fine (and quite moody) track on Eric &The New Animals’ first album, “Winds Of Change” The album was released in 1967, which peaked at a halfway point on the US charts. With a brand new band of New Animals, “Winds Of Change” introduced a “kinder and gentler” Eric, ready to take up the cause of peace and flower power on “warm San Franciscan Nights”…and all that… It was a surprise to many, and the LP was termed a “psychedelic album” (a sign of the times, of course). It was quite experimental really, with a variety of styles and song types, some working exceptionally, some not as well. “Hotel Hell” works great – it is an understated bluesy ballad, recounting a singer’s lonely life on the road .”and I’m so very far…. from my home…” I recall reading that Eric wrote the song, inspired (or perhaps depressed) by his stay in a Northern Californian Central Valley town when touring back in those days – and no, he wasn’t “stuck in Lodi again…” It was somewhere else. “Hotel Hell” is perhaps the best track on the album, with Eric’s voice and phrasing perfectly on target for the subject matter. It ain’t the original Animals….but it is “Something Else”, in more ways than one. And how about that horn in the background! Whoever is playing it was not credited, but what a great touch, giving the song kind of a Spanish feel as well. Great performance! Excellent song!

The Animals :

  • Eric Burdon – vocals 
  • Vic Briggs – guitar, piano, arrangements 
  • John Weider – guitar, violin 
  • Danny McCulloch – bass 
  • Barry Jenkins – drums 
Additional Personnel
  • Keith Olsen – “stepped in on some tracks to deputise on bass after Danny McCulloch broke his wrist
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