Archive for the ‘CLASSIC ALBUMS’ Category

OLD BLOOD – ” Old Blood “

Posted: September 15, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Old Blood

This Southern California-based doom-psych quintet has been garnering major raves from the metal blogosphere thanks to their newly released self-titled debut. The primal punch and serpentine swirl of the band’s guitar-bass-organ-drum attack mesh beautifully with the commanding clean vocals of vocalist Feathers, whose jazz- and blues-influenced stylings soar above the crunch. And this is all before you attend their theatrical live show that includes smoke machines, psychedelic projections and a pair of corpse-painted dancers – the Rigormortettes – who perform ribbon and hula-hoop routines before ritually “killing” Feathers at the end of it.

They Say: “People have said our live shows are like being on a drug trip without any drugs actually being involved,” laughs bassist and co-founder Octopus. “Audiences don’t know what to expect, but they love it; we often leave them with their mouths hanging open. But it’s been kind of interesting trying to book the band, because we’re so different.

“We wanted to have that sense of a fourth wall, that sense of theater and mystery. There’s no mystery with so many doom and stoner bands; it’s like, ‘That dude looks like the guy who works on your car!’ Which is cool, and we respect that; but at the same time, we feel like some of the genre has become derivative, and we wanted to stake out some new territory. We absolutely are part of the stoner/doom world – but when you’re stoned, sometimes you see things differently!”

Hear for Yourself: A fuzzed-out journey to the center of the psyche, “Glowplug” – from the band’s self-titled debut – impressively showcases Old Blood’s power.

OLD BLOOD is:
Feathers – Vocals
Diesel – Drums
Gunner – Guitar
Octopus – Bass
Stone – Keyboards

And The Rigomortettes: Cutter and Hoops

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BON IVER – ” 22, A Million “

Posted: September 14, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Cover art for Bon Iver's 22, A Million.

On September 30th, Bon Iver will release its first album in five years. Titled 22, A Million, it’s full of drama, disturbances and thrills. We have two tracks for you here, “22 (OVER S∞∞N)” and “10 d E A T h b R E a s T ,” released only moments after the band performed the new music at Justin Vernon’s own Eaux Claires festival in his hometown of Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

The news arrived with lyric videos of two tracks, “22 (OVER S∞∞N)” and “10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⚄ ⚄” those are the actual titles.

We’re told in a press release that the number 22 “stands for Justin Vernon’s life. The number’s recurrence in his life has become a meaningful pattern through encounter and recognition,” it reads. “A mile marker, a jersey number, a bill total. The reflection of ‘2’ is his identity bound up in duality: the relationship he has with himself and the relationship he has with the rest of the world.“ As for the million, it represents “the rest of that world: the millions of people who we will never know, the infinite and the endless, everything outside one’s self that makes you who you are.”

The press release goes on to contrast it with their previous work. “If 2011’s Bon Iver, Bon Iver built a habitat rooted in physical spaces, then 22, A Million is the letting go of that attachment to a place.”

22, A Million can be ordered on Bon Iver’s website, where bundles that include merchandise and a 12” EP of “22 (OVER S∞∞N)” and “10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⚄ ⚄”are available. They will promote the record with a selection of live gigs in mid-October.

Bon Iver, ’22, A Million’ Tracklisting

1. “22 (OVER S∞∞N)”
2. “10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⚄ ⚄”
3. “715 – CR∑∑KS”
4. ”33 ‘GOD’”
5. “29 #Strafford APTS”
6. “666 ʇ”
7. “21 M◊◊N WATER”
8. “8 (circle)”
9. “____45_____”
10. “00000 Million”

This music represents another huge leap in Bon Iver’s music. Gone is the Silvertone guitar; in fact, it’s often tough to pick out more than a smattering of guitar in these songs. Gone, too, is the steady drum beat, and there’s barely a thread of folk music’s acoustic intimacy. It’s going on 10 years since For Emma, Forever Ago, and in that time, Bon Iver has filled the spaces in its sound with stimulation and surprise, as Vernon’s voice is digitized and distorted, sometimes beyond recognition — the effects often obscure the words, at least on first listen. This is “sit down and listen” music. A Report From Bon Iver’s Album .
A press release announcing the new album says that 22, A Million is “part love letter, part final resting place of two decades of searching for self-understanding like a religion. And the inner-resolution of maybe never finding that understanding.”

The last Bon Iver record hinted at what we hear in these new songs, both of which feel at once fragile and muscular. In one moment, an old reel of magnetic tape seems to flake and disintegrate, playing for its final spin. Then, everything sounds synthetic, as if Vernon and his band are creating the equivalent of a new element to the periodic table of music. I’m mostly fascinated these tunes radiate care and spontaneity.

 

The RAMONES – ” The Ramones ” 40th Anniversary Reissue

Posted: September 14, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Ramones; Reissue

The Ramones will celebrate the 40th anniversary of their self-titled punk masterpiece with a 3CD/1LP deluxe edition packed with unreleased demos, a pair of concerts and a new mono mix. The “Greatest Punk Album Of All Time” is brief – it only runs for 29 minutes – but its impact was enormous both in terms of the early punk scene on both sides of the Atlantic and in subsequent decades for countless other artists.

Ramones Ramones’ Debut LP: 10 Things You Didn’t Know »
Ramones:” 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition”, out July 29th via Rhino Records, houses the newly remastered original album on its first disc alongside the “40th Anniversary Mono Mix” overseen by the album’s original producer Craig Leon.

“The earliest mixes of the album were virtually mono,” Leon said in a statement. “We had an idea to record at Abbey Road and do both a mono and stereo version of the album, which was unheard of at the time. I’m thrilled that now, 40 years later, we followed through on that original idea.”

The second disc, dubbed “Single Mixes, Outtakes, and Demos,” boasts 18 tracks, including unreleased demo versions of Ramones classics like “Chain Saw,” “53rd & 3rd,” I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” and “Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World”; on the latter track, the second disc also features that a version of that song’s “Original Uncensored Vocals.”

Disc three contains a pair of concerts the Ramones performed at West Hollywood’s the Roxy on August 12th, 1976. Finally, the vinyl LP includes Ramones’ 40th anniversary mono mix.

The deluxe edition comes packaged inside a 12″ x 12″ hardcover book that includes Leon’s extensive production notes from the recording, a Mitchell Cohen essay about the Ramones‘ early days and additional photos by Roberta Bayley, the photographer behind the album’s iconic cover. Only 19,760 individually numbered copies of the deluxe edition will be produced.

Ramones40

Visit the Ramones‘ official site for pre-order information.

Ramones: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition Track List

Disc One: Original Album
Stereo Version

1. “Blitzkrieg Bop”
2. “Beat On The Brat”
3. “Judy Is A Punk”
4. “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend”
5. “Chain Saw”
6. “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue”
7. “I Don’t Wanna Go Down To The Basement”
8. “Loudmouth”
9. “Havana Affair”
10. “Listen To My Heart”
11. “53rd & 3rd”
12. “Let’s Dance”
13. “I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With You”
14. “Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World”

40th Anniversary Mono Mix

15. “Blitzkrieg Bop”*
16. “Beat On The Brat”*
17. “Judy Is A Punk”*
18. “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend”*
19. “Chain Saw”*
20. “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue”*
21. “I Don’t Wanna Go Down To The Basement”*
22. “Loudmouth”*
23. “Havana Affair”*
24. “Listen To My Heart”*
25. “53rd & 3rd”*
26. “Let’s Dance”*
27. “I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With You”*
28. “Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World”*

Disc Two: Single Mixes, Outtakes, and Demos

1. “Blitzkrieg Bop” (Original Stereo Single Version)
2. “Blitzkrieg Bop” (Original Mono Single Version)
3. “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” (Original Stereo Single Version)
4. “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” (Original Mono Single Version)
5. “Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World” (Original Uncensored Vocals)*
6. “I Don’t Care” (Demo)
7. “53rd & 3rd” (Demo)*
8. “Loudmouth” (Demo)*
9. “Chain Saw” (Demo)*
10. “You Never Should Have Opened That Door” (Demo)
11. “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” (Demo)*
12. “I Can’t Be” (Demo)
13. “Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World” (Demo)*
14. “I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With You” (Demo)*
15. “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue” (Demo)
16. “I Don’t Wanna Be Learned/I Don’t Wanna Be Tamed” (Demo)
17. “You’re Gonna Kill That Girl” (Demo)*
18. “What’s Your Name” (Demo)

Disc Three: Live at The Roxy (8/12/76)
Set One

1. “Loudmouth”
2. “Beat On The Brat”
3. “Blitzkrieg Bop”
4. “I Remember You”
5. “Glad To See You Go”
6. “Chain Saw”
7. “53rd & 3rd”
8. “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend”
9. “Havana Affair”
10. “Listen To My Heart”
11. “California Sun”
12. “Judy Is A Punk”
13. “I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With You”
14. “Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World”
15. “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue”
16. “Let’s Dance”

Set Two

17. “Loudmouth”*
18. “Beat On The Brat”*
19. “Blitzkrieg Bop”*
20. “I Remember You”*
21. “Glad To See You Go”*
22. “Chain Saw”*
23. “53rd & 3rd”*
24. “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend”*
25. “Havana Affair”*
26. “Listen To My Heart”*
27. “California Sun”*
28. “Judy Is A Punk”*
29. “I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With You”*
30. “Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World”*
31. “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue”*
32. “Let’s Dance”*

40th Anniversary Mono Mix LP

1. “Blitzkrieg Bop”*
2. “Beat On The Brat”*
3. “Judy Is A Punk”*
4. “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend”*
5. “Chain Saw”*
6. “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue”*
7. “I Don’t Wanna Go Down To The Basement”*
8. “Loudmouth”*
9. “Havana Affair”*
10. “Listen To My Heart”*
11. “53rd & 3rd”*
12. “Let’s Dance”*
13. “I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With You”*
14. “Today Your Love, Tomorrow The World”*

* Previously Unreleased

LOCAL NATIVES – ” Sunlit Youth “

Posted: September 13, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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After releasing two impressive yet very different albums, the boys of Local Natives faced a crossroads on Sunlit Youth. They could have reverted to the largely cloudless, year-round summer of Gorilla Manor or honed the somber sound of Hummingbird. Instead they chose a more difficult road, tiptoeing the line between their past works while incorporating shades of mainstream indie rock, doing so with minimal missteps.

The familiar Local Natives themes are present — nostalgia, darkness, summer, darkness in the summer — but because the presentation is different they don’t feel like retreads. Take “Dark Days”, a track that, had it been on Hummingbird, would have been an edgeless swirl of vocal harmonies and guitar. Here, plucky percussion, rich bass, and an honest-to-God guest vocalist in The Cardinal’s Nina Persson, support the track and it winds up being one of the record’s early highlights.

The stop-and-start pulse of “Coins” is another fresh twist on the Local Natives formula, with singer Taylor Rice going for broke, and a remarkable bridge that takes the band’s afrobeat percussive influence and bakes in elements of acid jazz and funk.

Because the songs are less amorphous the bass line plays a larger role, and bassist Nik Ewing rises to the occasion. In fact, Ewing, who joined the band in 2012, might just be the big winner of Sunlit Youth. On “Psycho Lover” he provides a thick rumble that is essential to the inherent drama, on “Fountain of Youth” he gives listeners something to cling to during the whirlpool. He also anchors “Sea of Years”, the album’s thoughtful closer.

Single “Past Lives” winds up feeling a bit like filler within the context of Sunlit Youth. It’s tense and urgent, and feels more chaotic than much of their previous work, but it doesn’t showcase any of the band members doing anything particularly well. The three-note melody stays with you, but the track as a whole feels workmanlike.

Elsewhere, the risks taken don’t entirely pay off. “Ellie Alice” is a pleasing, primarily acoustic jaunt, but percussion is what the band does better than their peers, and while it’s a perfectly pleasant listen it also would’ve benefitted from a stronger rhythmic presence.

“Everything All at Once” is a soaring crowd-pleaser, with cinematic strings and a heart-on-the-sleeve, slow motion chorus that harkens back to Hummingbird. It’s got as much studio polish as anything the band has released, but the fact that it still feels heartfelt is certainly a positive indicator for Local Natives.

Sunlit Youth does feel more indebted to contemporary indie bands like Young the Giant or Phoenix than their previous records, but it’s also a fascinating snapshot of the band during an inevitable transitional phase. There may not be anything that perfectly captures the Jump-into-river-baby carefree innocence of “Who Knows Who Cares” or the Every-day-is-life-or-death despondence of “Black Balloons”, but variety is key to longevity, and Local Natives prove here that they aren’t as polar as they seemed

thanks Pretty Much Amazing for the Words

LA HELL GANG – ” Thru Me Again “

Posted: September 13, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Imagine a still oasis on a man-made Martian desert, saturated with rust and red clay. Gravity has shifted slightly, though the atmosphere is warm and dense, and everything around you is moving more slowly than you are used to. You’re just waking up to this world, a realm not entirely beyond your comprehension, but all the same, part of a new reality to contend with and romanticize. Chilean rock trio La Hell Gang’s second album Thru Me Again is the soundtrack to this strange new land.

This Chilean gang of three clearly know their rock ‘n’ roll and have produced an album of meaty, psych/blues inspired tunes with deep, slow grooves. The guitar and bass combo deliver such a cool and intoxicating vibe that you’ll quickly be ‘in the zone’ – and loving it.

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Earning high praise from their debut, 2010’s Just What Is Real, La Hell Gang have traded in the cleaner, ’60s-indebted sonics which populated that record with something more complex, a murkier palate that instills these eight songs with languid mystery. Thru Me Again wades through these danger-infested waters with otherworldly grace, hanging back in the frame while their brand of laced blues wander fills the room with an unassailable vibe of concentrated lust. Providing a counterpart to the sounds of fellow travelers in their homebase of Santiago, such as Watchout! and Föllakzoid, Thru Me Again is the product of a band mastering its own language, and learning that the tender moments of their music can go as deep as their proverbial paint-peelers. You might be visiting this new world, but La Hell Gang lives there, knows every crater, all the flora and fauna, and have generously offered to take you on a journey of their architected existence. You would be wise to follow.

ALL THEM WITCHES – ” Live In Brussels “

Posted: September 13, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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All Them Witches are giving away their new live album, Live In Brussels, for free. The album has been issued as a thank you to loyal fans, many of whom helped raise $4800 inside 24 hours when the band’s money was stolen on their recent US tour supporting latest album “Dying Surfer Meets His Maker” . It was recorded at a sold-out show at Ancienne Belgique in Brussels.

“This was right in the middle of our first European tour,” recalls drummer Robby Staebler. “The AB club is seriously badass, great crew members and incredible hospitality. I remember we were late to the load in and soundcheck because we were driving ourselves around and tour managing everything on our own – which was stupidly stressful. We missed soundcheck totally and were unable to set up our gear.

“Also, I had a runner go and get me drumsticks, but they ended up being totally different than what I use. It was a stressful beginning to the show! Once the opening band were done we had to go set up everything and soundcheck for the crowd as fast as we could. That is never awesome. But the show felt great.

“Aside from the general exhaustion of being one of our drivers and not getting any regular sleep, the show felt great. You really feel it at the end of a performance, and I remember we were all pretty happy with the show – great stage sound and a great first time crowd. We stayed in a hostel that night and danced to the Spice Girls. I slept well that night.”

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The instruments and voices that you hear in All Them Witches:

Ben McLeod
Robby Staebler
Michael Parks, Jr.
Allan Van Cleave

Recorded live at AB – Ancienne Belgique, in Brussels, Belgium on 03.03.2016. Remastered from the original recordings, and presented here in separate tracks.

R.E.M – ” Out Of Time ” 25th Annivesary Reissue Due 18th November 2016

Posted: September 11, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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remoutoftimecover

If any album deserves a physical re-release to celebrate its 25th anniversary it’s R.E.M.’s “Out Of Time”. After all, the original release’s novel use of longbox packaging has led some to call it “the most politically significant album in U.S. history.”

Of course, that puts a lot of pressure on Concord Bicycle Records, the label reissuing the classic album. Luckily, they seem to be game. Available as a two-CD, three-LP, and “deluxe” four-disc box set, the 25th anniversary reissue boasts a remastered version of the album as well as demos, B-sides, and a previously unreleased song, plus new liner notes and interviews from all four band members.

The deluxe box set also includes recordings from R.E.M.’s performance at Mountain Stage in 1991 and a Blu-ray disc with hi-resolution audio and 5.1 Surround Sound versions of Out Of Time, all of the music videos from the album, and the 1991 electronic press kit featuring in-studio footage, exclusive performances and more.

Here are the contents for the various packages of the Out Of Time 25th Anniversary releases… all of which feature the remastered album, 19 previously unreleased demos, stunning Anton Corbijn photos and liner notes from Annie Zaleski with insight from all four band members.

The iconic yellow shield has been removed from these packages.  Michael had this to say about the change: “I wanted a dramatic change in the artwork to indicate the difference between this release and the original.  It will look beautiful on a shelf.”

radiosong_rem

Out of Time reissue is due in November, but to give to you a taster of the bonus material they have made available the demo version of the fourth and final single from the album, Radio Song. This will feature on the second disc of both the 2CD deluxe and the four-disc box set version and will be included on the 3LP vinyl set.

https://www.npr.org/player/embed/492759274/492795954

rem2

Check out the various tracklists below:

Out of Time – 25th Anniversary Edition (2-CD Set) Tracklist:

Disc 1
Out of Time
01. Radio Song
02. Losing My Religion
03. Low
04. Near Wild Heaven
05. Endgame
06. Shiny Happy People
07. Belong
08. Half A World Away
09. Texarkana
10. Country Feedback
11. Me In Honey

Disc 2
Out of Time Demos
01. Losing My Religion 1 (demo)
02. Near Wild Heaven 1 (demo)
03. Shiny Happy People 1 (demo)
04. Texarkana 1 (demo)
05. Untitled Demo 2
06. Radio – Acoustic (Radio Song 1 demo)
07. Near Wild Heaven 2 (demo)
08. Shiny Happy People 2 (demo)
09. Slow Sad Rocker (Endgame demo)
10. Radio – Band (Radio Song 3 demo)
11. Losing My Religion 2 (demo)
12. Belong (demo)
13. Blackbirds (Half A World Away demo)
14. Texarkana (demo)
15. Country Feedback (demo)
16. Me On Keyboard (Me In Honey demo)
17. Low (demo)
18. 40 Sec. (40 Second Song demo)
19. Fretless 1 (demo)

Out of Time – 25th Anniversary Edition (3-LP Set) Tracklist:

Disc 1
Out of TIme

Time Side:
01. Radio Song
02. Losing My Religion
03. Low
04. Near Wild Heaven
05. Endgame

Memory Side:
06. Shiny Happy People
07. Belong
08. Half A World Away
09. Texarkana
10. Country Feedback
11. Me In Honey

Disc 2

Side 1:
01. Losing My Religion 1 (demo)
02. Near Wild Heaven 1 (demo)
03. Shiny Happy People 1 (demo)
04. Texarkana 1 (demo)
05. Untitled Demo 2

Side 2:
06. Radio – Acoustic (Radio Song 1 demo)
07. Near Wild Heaven 2 (demo)
08. Shiny Happy People 2 (demo)
09. Slow Sad Rocker (Endgame demo)

Disc 3

Side 1:
01. Radio – Band (Radio Song 3 demo)
02. Losing My Religion 2 (demo)
03. Belong (demo)
04. Blackbirds (Half A World Away demo)
05. Texarkana (demo)

Side 2:
06. Country Feedback (demo)
07. Me On Keyboard (Me In Honey demo)
08. Low (demo)
09. 40 Sec. (40 Second Song demo)
10. Fretless 1 (demo)

Out of Time – 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (4 Disc Set) Tracklist:

Disc 1
Out of Time
01. Radio Song
02. Losing My Religion
03. Low
04. Near Wild Heaven
05. Endgame
06. Shiny Happy People
07. Belong
08. Half A World Away
09. Texarkana
10. Country Feedback
11. Me In Honey

Disc 2
Out of Time Demos
01. Losing My Religion 1 (demo)
02. Near Wild Heaven 1 (demo)
03. Shiny Happy People 1 (demo)
04. Texarkana 1 (demo)
05. Untitled Demo 2
06. Radio – Acoustic (Radio Song 1 demo)
07. Near Wild Heaven 2 (demo)
08. Shiny Happy People 2 (demo)
09. Slow Sad Rocker (Endgame demo)
10. Radio – Band (Radio Song 3 demo)
11. Losing My Religion 2 (demo)
12. Belong (demo)
13. Blackbirds (Half A World Away demo)
14. Texarkana (demo)
15. Country Feedback (demo)
16. Me On Keyboard (Me In Honey demo)
17. Low (demo)
18. 40 Sec. (40 Second Song demo)
19. Fretless 1 (demo)

Disc 3
Live at Mountain Stage
01. Introduction
02. World Leader Pretend
03. Radio Song
04. Fall On Me
05. It’s the End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
06. Half A World Away
07. Belong
08. Love Is All Around
09. Losing My Religion
10. Dallas
11. Radio Song
12. Disturbance At The Heron House
13. Low
14. Sawn Swan H
15. Pop Song 89

DISC 4
Out of Time – Blu-ray
01.Out Of Time – Hi-Resolution Audio
02. Out Of Time – 5.1 Surround Sound
03. Radio Song (music video)
04. Losing My Religion (music video)
05. Low (music video)
06. Near Wild Heaven (music video)
07. Shiny Happy People (music video)
08. Belong (music video)
09. Half A World Away (music video)
10. Country Feedback (music video)
11. Time Piece

LOU REED – ” Volume 1 Remastered Box 6LP vinyl set

Posted: September 11, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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lou-reed_vinyl

I am looking forward to the release of the 17CD Lou Reed RCA & Arista Album Collection box set which is due next month, but what wasn’t mentioned when this was announced is that there will also be a vinyl box set edition issued in November…

The RCA & Arista Vinyl Collection, Vol 1 is a six-LP set, which features the newly remastered audio (created under Reed’s supervision, shortly before his death) of the following albums: Transformer (1972); Berlin (1973); Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal (1974); Coney Island Baby (1976); Street Hassle (1978) and The Blue Mask from 1982.

These are apparently 150g pressings and the package comes with a 30-page book. “Vol 1″ clearly suggests that another Lou Reed vinyl box may be delivered in the future.

The RCA & Arista Vinyl Collection, Vol 1 will be released on 18th November 2016.

SLOAN – ” Commonwealth “

Posted: September 10, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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Sloan Commonwealth.jpg

If there were college courses for contemporary power pop, certain artists would inevitably appear on the syllabus. The Posies. Matthew Sweet. Teenage Fanclub. Weezer. Brendan Benson. And, most certainly, Sloan. To date, the Nova Scotians have released 11 albums over two decades with nary a dud in the mix.

“Commonwealth” maintains Sloan’s straight-A report card, and in a callback to a similar gambit by Gene, Paul, Ace and Peter, each band member claims a side on this double album. Fortunately, “Commonwealth” yields infinitely better results than the KISS solo albums. Ferguson and Murphy bring their usual guitar-pop goodness, dosing songs sweet as confectioner’s sugar with just the right amount of guitar squall, Pentland cranks the volume and dabbles in crunchy psychedelia, and drummer Scott closes with 18 minutes of sprawling weirdness, unwittingly creating the power-pop equivalent of Beastie Boys’ “B-Boy Bouillabaisse.” Which is to say, other than Scott’s contribution, Commonwealth sounds like a Sloan record. And really, isn’t that all you need to know

ADAM TORRES – ” Pearls to Swine “

Posted: September 8, 2016 in CLASSIC ALBUMS, MUSIC
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When I first heard the pure voice of Adam Torres, it felt fortifying. Torres’ album “Pearls To Swine” connected me with the human voice in ways that feel intimate instead of filtered or distant.

Torres is an Austin musician whose nine most recent songs were all recorded direct to tape in about a week — but it took a decade to get here. In 2006, he was 20 and living in Athens, Ohio, when he put out a debut called Rostra Nova. To the few who know it, it’s achieved a sort of cult status. Then Torres‘ life took a non-musical course, including volunteer work in South America, then graduate school in Austin, and then a job working on water quality in the Rio Grande River for the state of Texas. He kept writing, but other than a limited-edition cassette in 2012, none of his work had surfaced until now.

The songs on Pearls To Swine are often about landscapes, both physical and emotional. “Juniper Arms,” the song that hooked me on Torres‘ music, is a song about his birthplace of Albuquerque, N.M.
His collaborators on these songs include Thor Harris, a percussionist and instrument-maker from Swans and Shearwater. The gorgeous violin underpinning Adams‘ voice, played by Aisha Burns, is particularly striking in “Outlands.”

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We reside in a musical landscape where technology, songwriting and performance are all intertwined. These are creative and sometimes powerful musical times. But Pearls To Swine hearkens back to when songwriting and singing more often leapt from pen and guitar straight to the heart; from Simon & Garfunkel to Sandy Denny, Jeff Buckley to Judee Sill, Nick Drake to Joan Baez.

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