One of my favorite youtube channels was shut down, but relocated.

WABC77's 45 collection can now be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/user/WABCRADIO77.

David Bowie's BERLIN TRILOGY (RCA FOR GERMANY CD PRESSING)

Here's Bowie's Berlin Trilogy represented in FLAC from the old RCA German CD pressings, with masterings that hardcore fans tend to think (and I agree) are superior to the Rykodisc and particularly the EMI/Virgin remasters. This is kind of an anomaly, as I'm used to reissues from the early days of CDs having been created with primitive DACs that would lend the product a brittle sound. In fact these have a thicker bottom end than the subsequent remasterings. These pressings are long out of print and physical copies can fetch hundreds of dollars secondhand.

But if you grew up on the Rykodisc CDs from the early 1990s like I did, don't expect a drastic difference. It's still subtle. I just haven't seen these pressings explicitly represented in the blog world. So here they are. They are the best these albums sound in digital form, until PBTHAL makes some rips that lay these to waste.

I don't really need to get into the biographical information on these, do I? Just get 'em. I threw in the corresponding bonus tracks from the Ryko au20 Gold counterparts, just because.

DOWNLOAD:
LOW (1977)
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"HEROES" (1977)
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LODGER (1979)
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FLAC


LOW (1977)
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"HEROES" (1977)
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LODGER (1979)
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320kbps

YOU SCARED ME THE MOST: A Mix from Ian! for Early Spring 2010

Click for big stuff!

Got bored and made a mix. I think it swings from placid calm to underlying threats of Revelations-style apocalypses, and death cults on dune buggies. A sunshine pop holocaust for late night burnouts. Enjoy.

I recommend Replay Gain if the changing volumes are distracting. It shouldn't be too drastic though, I think there was like a 10db difference overall.

DOWNLOAD:
YOU SCARED ME THE MOST: A Mix from Ian! for Early Spring 2010
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v0-320kbps

Colin Blunstone-ONE YEAR (1971)

It took 3 years after the break-up of the Zombies for lead singer Colin Blunstone to release his first solo album, 1971’s One Year . In the meantime, Blunstone recorded a few singles under the pseudonym Neil MacArthur, while his former bandmates Rod Argent and Chris White (as producer) begin recording as Argent. One Year reunites the three, with Argent and White producing and contributing several tracks. Its gentle, melancholic tone, however, contrasts with that of Argent, and at least on the surface, feels more like a Zombies album than anything else the former Zombies recorded (including 2004’s Blunstone-Argent reunion As Far As I Can See).

The production and recording of One Year was sporadic, and the earlier three tracks (with Argent as backing band) clash with the coherence of the remaining seven. The former (two of which sport Tony Visconti arrangements) play against Blunstone’s strengths, aiming for sleek R&B-inflected pop, while the latter use them to their fullest potential. The non-Argent tracks, a mixed bag ranging from Tim Hardin’s “Misty Roses” to Denny Laine’s “Say You Don’t Mind” depend almost exclusively on string quartet arrangements by Chris Gunning. Chamber-pop would indeed seem to be the world for these stripped-down, intimate arrangements, occasionally augmented by a lone harp. Blunstone’s voice blends beautifully with the strings; never overpowered or overpowering, he feels like a fifth member of the quartet.

While Blunstone’s performances are excellent throughout, its clearly arranger Gunning who is the real star of One Year. This becomes clear as early as the album’s second track, when Blunstone’s vocal is interrupted by a lengthy instrumental break that introduces the ubiquitous string quartet. Gunning’s touch raises the album’s best material (Argent/White’s “Smokey Day”) to a par with the Zombies finest moments, while preventing the weaker tracks (Blunstone’s “Though You Are Far Away,” Argent/White’s “Her Song”) from descending into orchestral sappiness. The final three tracks, structured like a suite, are particularly impressive: the upbeat Blunstone original “I Can’t Live Without You” (an improbable, but fortuitous candidate for a string quartet arrangement) segues into the brass and wind ensemble-backed “Let Me Come Closer To You,” which resolves beautifully into “Say You Don’t Mind” (the album’s only charting single).

One Year offers tempting hints of a Zombies reunion, but finds Argent and White wisely deferring to Chris Gunning’s arrangements. The album never attains or even aspires to the heights of Odessey and Oracle (and what album does?), but remains an elegant and satisfying achievement in its own right.

-Michael Cramer, dustedmagazine.com

DOWNLOAD:
Colin Blunstone-ONE YEAR (1971)
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320kbps

CHRIS CONNELLY

I always dug this guy more than most of his Wax Trax peers. In retrospect it's easy to see why. Anyway, check him out if you've never heard of him. I recommend the first and last albums I uploaded, then work inward. -Ian!

While his contributions to Ministry, the Revolting Cocks, and Pigface have earned him a reputation as a ferocious industrial rocker, singer/songwriter Chris Connelly's solo career has explored softer music that's more in line with Nick Cave, David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, and the later work of Scott Walker. Born and raised in Edinbourough, Scotland, Connelly listened to the glam sounds of David Bowie, Roxy Music, and T. Rex up to the point punk exploded on the scene. When he was only 14 he joined Rigor Mortis, a punky outfit that would morph into the experimental industrial band Fini Tribe. As Fini Tribe evolved, their use of spoken word samples and raw-sounding synthesizers brought them in line with the output of the Chicago-based Wax Trax! records, original home to Front 242, Meat Beat Manifesto, and Ministry. Hoping they would be interested in releasing a single, Connelly brought Fini Tribe's music to Wax Trax!'s London office. It was there he ran into Al Jourgensen, Paul Barker, and Bill Rieflin -- all Ministry members or friends who were now working on the over-the-top side project the Revolting Cocks. By the end of the day he'd recorded a demo with the three, and it wasn't long before he was leaving Fini Tribe to join the Revolting Cocks and make contributions to Ministry along with other Wax Trax! projects like the Cabaret Voltaire/Jourgensen project Acid Horse.

In 1991, the label released his solo debut, Whiplash Boychild. The ambitious effort was unlike anything Connelly or Wax Trax! had issued before, recalling Bowie and Bolan at times and experimenting with avant-garde song structures here and there. Also that year he hooked up with another Chicago-based industrial label, Invisible, and became involved in their Pigface, Murder Inc., and Damage Manual projects, which meant he was now rubbing shoulders with Geordie Walker of Killing Joke and former Public Image Ltd. drummer Martin Atkins. Atkins would then become involved in 1992's Phenobarb Bambalam, Connelly's dark and introspective sophomore solo effort. Shipwreck from 1994 was much more uplifting and referenced the singer's early love of glam rock with sharp guitars and Bowie-esque vocals. As the Wax Trax! label began to implode, Connelly spent 1996 working with industrial giants KMFDM for their album XTORT and recorded an a cappella version of the Wire song "A Mutual Friend" for Whore: Tribute to Wire. With Wax Trax! out of the picture, 1997's The Ultimate Seaside Companion (Revisited) appeared on Invisible. The album was more acoustic, more folk, and featured multi-instrumentalists Chris Bruce and Jim O'Rourke as members of the loosely knit backing band the Bells. Bruce would return for a second effort with the Bells, Blonde Exodus, which landed in 2001 with a much more muscular sound. Also appearing in 2001 was Largo, an album with Bill Rieflin that the two first imagined in 1990.



In 2002, Connelly was back on his own with Private Education, an album released by the Invisible-related label Underground Inc. That same year the label also released the two-CD Initials C.C., which collected "out-takes, rarities & personal favourites" from all the various projects Connelly had been involved with, save Ministry. He was back on Invisible proper for the 2004 release Night of Your Life, which received rave reviews across the board. In 2006 the six-CD set simply titled Box Set appeared on Invisible. The box collected all of Connelly's work for Invisible and Underground Inc. along with the new live disc "Lounge Ax, Bottle, and Elsewhere." Members of Joan of Arc, U.S. Maple, and Town and Country appeared on his improv-minded 2007 effort The Episodes. The album was released by Durtro/Jnana -- home to eccentrics like Current 93, Nurse with Wound, and Antony and the Johnsons -- and was recorded partially outdoors.

-David Jeffries, allmusic.com

DOWNLOAD:
WHIPLASH BOYCHILD (1991)
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PHENOBARB BAMBALAM (1992)
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SHIPWRECK (1994)
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THE ULTIMATE SEASIDE COMPANION (1997)
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256kbps

Lee Hazlewood-13 (1972)

Best image I could find for the cover. This album is fucking great. -Ian!

One of the rarest of Lee Hazlewood's original LPs, 13 is a surprisingly swinging album completely indicative of the year of its recording, 1972. But though it's undeniably a period piece, in many ways it's dated in all the right ways. The opener, "You Look Like a Lady," is a gem, complete with soaring horn section, a roving bassline, and scads of wah-wah guitar. Oddly, over-production never hurt Hazlewood's gravelly, off-key delivery, and though the arrangements here aren't always sympathetic to the songwriting ("Tulsa Sunday" is particularly jarring), they're usually entertaining. "She Comes Running," a song originally recorded for 1968's Love and Other Crimes, makes another appearance, though with a much more commercial production. The lyrics are vintage Hazlewood, and "Ten or 11 Towns Ago" is a highlight: "Met a girl in Baltimore / Nothing less and nothing more / She was rich and I was poor / So I let her take me on a small vacation" and "One week in San Francisco, existing on Nabisco / Cookies and bad dreams / Sad scenes and dodging paranoia." Not all of the songs are up to Hazlewood's level; "Toocie and the River" and "Rosacoke Street" are both, relatively speaking, duds. But Hazlewood fans will love to hear these songs, especially since none have been collected on the quasi-legal compilations available at the nation's better record stores. Out of print for decades, 13 returned in early 2000 thanks to a reissue campaign by Smells Like Records.

-John Bush, allmusic.com

DOWNLOAD:
Lee Hazlewood-13 (1972)
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320kbps

ANTÔNIO CARLOS JOBIM

Consolidating, updating, and adding some Jobim albums into a new post. Better rips/bitrates for the reruns. ELIS & TOM is highly recommended.

DOWNLOAD:
WAVE (1967)
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STONE FLOWER (1970)
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ELIS & TOM (1974)
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URUBU (1976)
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320kbps

Throbbing Gristle-TG24/TG+ BRIGHTON POLYTECHNIC 26 MARCH 1977 / SO36 CLUB BERLIN 8 NOV 1980

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IRCD05
Brighton Polytechnic. 26th March 1977.
Stereo. TG rating 3/10 (Fanatics only).

'Last Exit' - TG's answer to the Sex Pistols 'God Save the Queen'. Opens with a sampled American commentary on nuclear survival and a conversation over a two-way radio.

"Fuck off / Fuck off cunt... / And then he hit me with a brick... / Right under the poster / And I fell in the mud / I said 'Don't kill me' / Then he hit me with a brick / Then he hit me with a brick again / Then the blood went out of my cheeks / Then the blood hit the ground and it mingled with the mud / The blood and the mud mingling under the poster / And I looked up at the poster / I looked up and saw the poster / It was a picture of Prince Philip / Prince Philip was fucking the Queen / Prince Philip was fucking the Queen / And the Queen was going 'Again, do it again, Philip, please Philip, fuck me Philip'... / Got on the Central Line / Came up to these two kids / And the two kids kicked me in the teeth / I spat out three teeth / And I looked up / And I looked up at the poster... / And I looked at Prince Philip / And he was kicking me in the teeth / And the Queen was saying 'Fuck me again Philip'... / And he said 'Don't hit me with that brick. Don't suck my prick / Poster / Fuck off / Fuck off."

The voice used on Slug Bait is that of a young Canadian killer, who was serving life for murdering a young girl whilst he was still only a teenager.

"The final track is thee voice of thee DJ yelling at thee AUDIENCE, part of whom had attached thee PA and other audience members to try and stop TG playing anymore. A minor riot. Thee DJ liked TG and is abusing thee drunks. After a couple of minutes he put an Iggy Pop record on to try and pacify everyone." [Genesis P-Orridge, Nanavesh 3, February 1982]

Track One (47'23")

00'00" Zyklon B Zombie
07'38" Last Exit
16'17" Slug Bait
23'10" Maggot Life
32'09" Mary Jane/Record Contract "Just like the Bay City Rollers, The Rolling Stones and Johnny Rotten, all our songs sound the same"
41'47" 'Tesco Disco' "If my amplifier was loud enough, I'd make sure it killed everyone in the room including me"
42'31" One Note One Life One Purpose "I just want to fuck you all up the bum - anything to wake you up"

Track Two (12'36")

00'00" One Note One Life One Purpose (cont.)"Oh fuck I've gone out of tune"
04'30" 'A Load of Fucking Wankers'
09'12" (Recording ends)

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IRCD37
SO36 Club, Berlin, Germany, 8th November 1980.
Stereo.

"A short high frequency 'buzz like' sound can sometimes be heard during these performances. This sound is present on the original tapes and was most likely caused by [the] presence of a nearby digital PCM machine during the recordings." "There were technical problems during the taping of this performance which resulted in a shorter than usual 48 minute recording." [Chris Carter, TG+ notes, August 2003]

Track titles from Funeral in Berlin. Some instrumentals on IRCD36/37 may have one of the following titles: Stained by Dead Horses / Zero's Death / Nomon / Raudive Bunker Experiment / Denial of Death / Funeral in Berlin / Trade Deficit. Any help on this appreciated.

Track One (20'29")

00'00" Introduction
00'40" Cornets
04'16" Instrumental
13'04" An Old Man Smiled
20'28" (Recording ends)

Track Two (27'35")

00'00" Instrumental
02'39" Instrumental
05'48" Instrumental
13'32" Something Came Over Me (cuts out 14'56" to 15'30")
19'00" Discipline
27'20" (Performance ends)

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More info on TG Live:
http://nonplus.desensitised.net/tg24/tg24guide.html
Wikipedia: TG Live

DOWNLOAD:
BRIGHTON POLYTECHNIC 26 MARCH 1977
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SO36 CLUB BERLIN 8 NOV 1980
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320kbps

The Mamas & the Papas!

Was it really just little more than a week? Felt longer.

Ok, so the treatment of The Mamas & the Papas masters and their catalogue over the past decades seems pretty abysmal. Until Sundazed I don't think anybody was doing anything decent with this material in the CD era and beyond aside from lame comps.

Steve Hoffman tried his hand at remastering some of the singles for a compilation, and while he got it extraordinarily clean sounding, he turned once mono radio singles into hard-panned severe stereo mixes. That move perplexed me and renders the songs pretty unlistenable to boot. I dunno, it's out there if you want to compare. All the other CDs I've heard have similarly abysmal stereo mixes. Yes, I love their voices and harmonies, but I don't really appreciate the great stomping beat of "Creeque Alley" relegated to somewhere far off in my right ear.

Anyway, by the time Sundazed got their hands on the masters, they were deteriorated to the point where... well, you can hear it for yourself on their reissues. I don't knock them for it, they did the best they could. There's some Byrds stuff they put out that suffered a similar fate.

SO, the conclusion I have come to is that there is really no satisfying reissue of The Mamas & the Papas' albums. You're stuck with original Dunhill vinyls from the 1960s to hear how this stuff was meant to sound. So that's what the three M&P albums here are ripped from. I'm totally up for suggestions of what OOP releases sound better... the MCA discs from the 1980s?

Oh, for the record my favorite single LP by them is DELIVER, if you wanted a starting point.

I'm throwing in the excellent Cass Elliot comp for good measure, because I'm obsessed with her lately. "California Earthquake" is one of the best songs ever written. Her cover of The Beach Boys' "Disney Girls" is pretty stellar also.



Hey, you know that band Tool? How they're so "edgy" for writing that post-apocalyptic misanthropic nightmare song about how Los Angeles will be swallowed by the ocean? Yeah, Mama Cass wrote that shit in 1968 and shoved it down Middle America's throat on The Fucking Smothers Brothers. Take your ball and go home, Tool.

DOWNLOAD:
The Mamas & the Papas-IF YOU CAN BELIEVE YOUR EYES AND EARS (1966)
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The Mamas & the Papas-THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS (1966)
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The Mamas & the Papas-DELIVER (1967)
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Cass Elliot-DREAM A LITTLE DREAM (1997 compilation)
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320kbps