Monday, January 29, 2007

Music I Liked And Didn't - 1/29/07


Adds -

VANDERMARK 5: Four Sides To The Story: Recorded At Alchemia Nov. 23, 2005 DLP (Not Two) - This is a deluxe, limited edition, double LP boxset (with a 16 page 12” x 12” book of color photos and a Ken Vandermark interview), which documents the V5's 2005 gigs in Poland. It features eight live versions of material from the "Color Of Memory" and "A Discontinuous Line" releases. This set captures the quintet in the early days of its current incarnation, featuring Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello. As is always the case with the great Vandermark 5, this is compelling music of a wide scope, informed by the best Jazz traditions, as well as Free Music, even incorporating elements of rock and funk to create their own unique, modern take on the Jazz idiom. Overall, an outstanding package that documents solid performances from one of the best, most innovative groups on the scene today - excellent!


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Running Count For The Year

Adds 17/85%

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Other Notes -

Thanks to the fine folks at the Italian imprint, Qbico, not only for their ongoing series of excellent and "envelope pushing" releases, but, also, for using text from the Sonictroubadour's recent review of the latest release by Faruq Z. Bey on their website. One slight correction, however, Sonictroubadour did not, as they claim, name "Infa 'A" as one of the Top Ten Jazz Albums for 2006. Not that I didn't enjoy it quite a bit nor that it wasn't "officially" released in 2006, but I didn't get my copy until 12/30/06 and did not post my review of it until 1/1/07, so, at least for my purposes, it will be considered for 2007 honors, not 2006.

Also, I should note for the record that Sonictroubadour does not receive advance promotional copies of anything! I purchase all releases reviewed here with my own money once they hit the stores. Therefore, reviews of new releases may not be quite as timely as those in print mags or bigger, better established music sites (who often get releases a couple of weeks before their "street date", so the item can get hyped before it goes on sale!), but I do try to do my best to keep things as up to date as possible. For example, I did post my review of the latest album from Ghost on its 1/23/07 release date.

The lack of freebies does have some benefits, too. Because Sonictroubadour is not beholden to any industry operatives, readers can feel confident that, for better or worse, they're getting my honest, unadulterated opinions in all reviews. I don't have to fear being cut off from the promo gravy train if I publish an unflattering review of a particular release. And I'm old enough and confident enough that I'm not susceptible to "peer pressure" and, therefore, I'll never publish a positive, but untrue, review just to maintain "cool points". That all being stated, I do not want to give the wrong impression that I feel my opinions, as expresssed in my published reviews, are necessarily better or more correct than other (possibly divergent) views, as they are still, in the end, only my personal opinions. I'm just trying to provide some perspective on factors that potentially impact the formation of both my reviews and reviews readers may see on other sites.

Sonictroubadour - independence you can trust for information on the latest in rare and cutting-edge sounds!

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Music I Liked And Didn't - 1/26/07 - 1/28/07



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ARBOURETUM: Rites of Uncovering CD (Thrill Jockey) - Arbouretum is a project led by Dave Heumann (Anomoanon, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, and so on) and “Rites Of Uncovering” is their second full-length release. The material on this release incorporates a diverse range of influences to create eight interesting, but complex, tracks that are not open to quick and easy assimilation nor description. The material is pretty evenly divided between dark, folkish rock and slow, dense rockers. Highlights include the album’s two heaviest pieces, “Pale Rider Blues” and “The Rise” (which both feature excellent and lengthy twin guitar workouts), “Sleep Of Shiloam” (on which Heumann almost sounds like he’s channelling Tom Verlaine during the solo), and my favorite of the quieter tracks, “Mohammed's Hex And Bounty”. Not immediately accessible nor uniformly excellent, but after taking the time to fully absorb the sounds contained within, I found this to be a pretty interesting and solid effort.

BAD TRIPS: S/T LP (Rocketship) - Debut LP (limited to 500 copies on vinyl only!) from the Bad Trips, a new SoCal-based project led by psychedelic guitarist extraordinaire, Grady Runyon, of Monoshock and Liquorball fame. 5 tracks of lo-fi, instrumental kraut-psych jamming. Like most live to cassette basement recordings, this tends to lose focus at times, but scorchers like “War On Drugs” and “First Priority” make this a clear winner!


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Adds 16/84%

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On The Horizon:

New Releases -

LOW: Drums And Guns to be released on Sub Pop on 3/20/07!

ST-37: And Then What (vinyl LP only!) on Noiseville, apparently out now. Haven’t seen it in stores and who knew Noiseville was still active?! Don’t think that I’ve thought much about Noiseville since the early-90’s.

TRANS AM: Sex Change to be released on Thrill Jockey on 2/20/07. By the way, can anybody explain to me why Trans Am will not be appearing in the Bay Area on their upcoming US tour?!? They have an open date on Saturday, April 21, right between shows in LA and Portland - uh, hello!?!

There are also two new releases on the fine Sublime Frequencies imprint, GROUP DOUEH, “Guitar Music From The Western Sahara” (once again, on vinyl only!) and OMAR SOULEYMAN, “Highway To Hassake - Folk And Pop Sounds Of Syria” CD, that several local college radio stations (KFJC, KDVS) seem to have been promo’d on, but are not to be found in any store nor are they listed as being available on Sublime Frequencies’ website. What gives? I want them - NOW!

Also, in related news, there’s a new Sir Richard Bishop LP, “Fingering The Devil” out on the Southern Records side-label, Latitudes, that I’ve yet to see/hear.

Glad to see that now that the holiday lull has passed, there’s more intriguing releases upcoming than I can possibly purchase and review! It will be fun to try and keep up.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Music I Liked And Didn't - 1/25/07


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EXPLODING STAR ORCHESTRA: We Are All From Somewhere Else CD (Thrill Jockey) - I’ll readily admit to being an aficionado of modern, Big Band Jazz projects, so I was intrigued by this debut from the Exploding Star Orchestra, a new project led by Chicago Underground’s, Rob Mazurek, which features an all-star cast of some of the Windy City’s finest improvisers.

While Jazz is certainly the point of departure for the group, other influences are also incorporated into the music on this CD. This album contains two suites, which are separated by the short piano interlude, “Black Sun”.

The first suite, “Sting Ray And The Beginning Of Time”, covers the album’s first 26 minutes in four parts. “Part 1”, which, at nearly 12 minutes, is the lengthiest segment of this piece, kicks things off with driving Jazz groove that features excellent solos by Jeb Bishop (Vandermark 5) on trombone and Jeff Parker (Tortoise) on guitar. “Part 3 (Psycho-Tropic Electric Eel Dream)”, is a fairly minimal (and lackluster) experimental electronics piece, which consumes nearly 8 minutes before making way for the smooth, spacey jazz of “Part 4”, that concludes this suite.

The second suite, “Cosmic Tomes For Sleepwalking Lovers”, covers the album’s final 5 tracks. It opens with a transcendant segment of the composed, but chaotic sounding, group improvisations that were so common on many of the recordings made by large Free Jazz ensembles in the 60’s. “Part 2” is repetitive piece that seems influenced by minimalist, modern composers, such as Steve Reich. “Part 5” closes out the CD with a pleasing, atmospheric piece (featuring Jason Adasiewicz on vibes!) that sounds like it could be from one of John Zorn’s Filmworks releases.

Like many projects with such an ambitious scope, this release does suffer from some inconsistency at times, but, overall, this is a pretty satisfying dose of contemporary large ensemble Jazz.


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Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Music I Liked And Didn't - 1/24/07

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None


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KAISER/CHARLES K. NOYES/SANG WON PARK, HENRY: Invite The Spirit 2006 CD (Tzadik) - I've never been that impressed with much of Kaiser's work, so I'm not sure what possessed me to purchase this release. I'll assume the fact that it was on the usually dependable Tzadik imprint and featured an intriguing lineup of traditional Eastern instruments, gave me hope that some kind of transcendant improvisational experience would be contained within the music of this disc. Unfortunately, the material on this release focuses on mainly on disjointed improv racket and outre vocalisms which failed to satisfy.


Running Count For The Year

Adds 13/81%

Did Not Add 3/19%

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Music I Liked And Didn't - 1/23/07

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None


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GHOST: In Stormy Nights DLP (Drag City) - By now the music cognoscenti are probably falling all over themselves in slave-like fashion to extoll the virtues of the great new album from Ghost. Well, let me be the first to raise a voice of dissent!

I’ll be kind enough to assume that during the development of this material the band actually thought the bombastic, percussion-focused final product would be an outstanding artistic statement. To these ears, however, the majority of the tribal jamming on, “In Stormy Nights”, is just an obnoxious and boring, rather than being trance-inducing and inspirational. Furthermore, the lengthy and wide-ranging mega-jam, “Hemicyclic Anthelion” (which sounds like one of the stupid, academic titles Eric Arn used for our jams when I was in Primordial Undermind!), is shambolic waste of nearly half (28 minutes) of the entire album. And no, I’m not even going to countenance any punters trying to claim that I just am not down with noisy, free jamming freak-outs, so that’s why I can’t relate. Bullshit, utter, bullshit, dear readers, as I’ll bet I’ve got more recordings of Post Music, Free Jazz, and so on, than most anyone. I can discern the difference between good free jamming freak-outs and wank, and I’m not afraid to call’em like I see’em and, sorry, but in my opinion, “Hemicyclic Anthelion”, with the exception of a couple of short segments, is a waste of time. On the positive side, “Grisaille” is a great track, featuring an excellent acid lead guitar by Kurihara, and the martial-prog of “Water Door Yellow Gate” also has its appeal. That being stated, I'm sorry, but 15 minutes of excellent material (which I can still put on my hard drive for future enjoyment, anyway!) can’t overcome 45 minutes of mediocrity and justify adding this album to my collection.

There's still another 342 days left in this year, but I suspect that, "In Stormy Nights" will be my biggest disappointment of the year (which, I should note, is not the same thing as predicting that it will be the worst release that I purchase and review this year). Let the games (and flames) begin!


Running Count For The Year

Adds 13/87%

Did Not Add 2/13%

Monday, January 22, 2007

Music I Liked And Didn't - 1/22/07


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No Adds Of New Releases


Archival Additions -

SOUND IN ACTION TRIO: Design In Time CD (Delmark) - I was quite impressed with last year’s release by the Sound in Action Trio, “Gate” (one of my Top Ten Jazz releases of 2006), so I decided that I needed to investigate their 1999 debut, “Design In Time”. This release features a slightly different lineup, with percussionist, Tim Mulvenna, joining reed master, Ken Vandermark, and percussionist, Richard Berry, to form this incarnation of the trio. This release is a lot more subdued than “Gate” (which I remember as being a somewhat more full-throttled affair), with lots of space being left to focus on the complex polyrhythms and interplay of Berry and Mulvenna. For the most part, Vandermark plays it cool, only really going for the outer limits on, naturally, Ayler's, "Angels". Still, Vandermark’s snaky clarinet on Sun Ra’s, “Sounds And Something Else”, is sublime, as is his tasteful work on Ornette Coleman’s, “Feet Music”, Monk’s, “Green Chimneys”, and his own,”Cut To Fit”. While I can't say that I find this release to be as compelling as, "Gate", there are certainly enough performances that require repeated listening to merit an addition into the Sonictroubadour's library.


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Sunday, January 21, 2007

Music I Liked And Didn't - 1/20/07 - 1/21/07


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No Adds Of New Releases


Archival Additions -

RODGERS, JIMMIE: Famous Country Music Makers DLP (RCA) - Of course, I’ve heard some of Rodgers’ recordings and was well aware of his legendary status as an important influence on the development of Country music and, to a lesser extent, Rock and Roll, but I didn’t actually have any of his material in my collection. So, I was quite pleased to find a fine UK pressing of this 1972 double LP compilation of his work at Amoeba in San Francisco. I don’t know where in the pantheon of Rodgers’ reissues this compilation stands, but the sound quality is very good; certainly way better than the sound of transcriptions I own containing recordings by other artists from the late-20’s and early-30’s. Many of his best recordings are represented in this set, including a number of his famous, “Blue Yodels”.

While considered to be one of the cornerstones of Country music, Rodgers’ actual work is really much more in the “Country Blues” vein that was so popular in the rural American South (and West) during that era. The song structures are, generally, twelve bar blues, with Rodgers accompanying himself on solo acoustic guitar. His voice is powerful and haunting as he delivers his sentimental tales of home, families, sweethearts, life on the road, and, yes, trains, always trains, as Rodgers’ loved those rails!

This retrospective of Rodgers' work captures an essential piece of American culture and is a welcome addition to my personal music library!


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Adds 12/92%

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Friday, January 19, 2007

Music I Liked And Didn't - 1/13/07 - 1/19/07

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V/A: Love Is Love LP (No Label) - This is an unauthorized collection of modern (in other words, western-influenced) African music. According to the minimal information that accompanied this release, these tracks are from individuals and groups based in several different countries and were recorded in a time span ranging from the mid-50’s to the early-70’s. The majority of the tracks on this album fall into the “Dry Guitar” category. “Dry Guitar” was a musical style that first developed in Eastern Africa. It is an acoustic guitar based, troubadour (ya gotta like that!) style that seems, at least to me, to have some sort of spiritual connection to the primitive American solo “Country Blues”, popularized in the 20’s and 30’s. Different styles, such as Juju, Highlife, and even, an Ethio-Jazz track (that sounds like it almost could be some lost Mulatu Astatke track!), are also represented. Despite the bootleg nature (including the compromised pressing of the actual LP!) of this release, this is still an interesting and enjoyable sampler of obscure, but worthy, artists and forms of music.


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Adds 11/92%

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Monday, January 15, 2007

The Song (Unfortunately) Remains The Same

As readers of this blog will already know, I've been reexamining some of the psychedelic soul of my childhood days. In the course of doing so, I've been struck by how many of the lyrics from these Vietnam era songs seem to be completely relevant to the current situation in Iraq. Just a couple of striking examples:

WAR - Written By Eddie Holland and Norman Whitfield; recorded by many artists, the hit version was by Edwin Starr.

War! huh-yeah
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing
Uh-huh
   
War! huh-yeah
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing
Say it again y'all
   
War! huh good God
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing
Listen to me?
   
Ohhh? War! I despise
Because it means destruction?
Of innocent lives
   
War means tears
to thousands of mothers eyes
When their sons go to fight
and lose their lives
   
I said - War! Huh Good God y'all
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing
Say it again
   
War! Whoa, Lord ...
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Listen to me?
   
War! It ain't nothing but a heartbreaker
War! Friend only to the undertaker
War! It's an enemy to all mankind
The thought of war blows my mind
   
War has caused unrest in the younger generation
Induction then destruction-
Who wants to die?
   
Ohhh? War Good God y'all
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing
Say it, Say it, Say it
   
War! Uh-huh Yeah - Huh!
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing
Listen to me?
   
War! It ain't nothing but a heartbreaker
War! It's got one friend, that's the undertaker
War has shattered many a young mans dreams
Made him disabled bitter and mean
Life is much to precious to spend fighting wars these days
War can't give life, it can only take it away
   
War! Huh Good God y'all
What is it good for?
Absolutely nothing
Say it again
   
War! Whoa, Lord ...
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Listen to me?
   
War! It ain't nothing but a heartbreaker
War! Friend only to the undertaker
Peace Love and Understanding;
tell me, is there no place for them today?
They say we must fight to keep our freedom
But Lord knows there's got to be a better way
   
War! Huh Good God y'all
What is it good for?
You tell me
Say it, Say it, Say it
   
War! Huh Good God y'all
What is it good for?
Stand up and shout it.
Nothing!

And...

WHAT'S GOING ON - Written by Renaldo Benso, Al Cleveland, and Marvin Gaye; recorded by many artists, the hit version was by Marvin Gaye.

Mother, mother
There's too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There's far too many of you dying
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today

Father, father
We don't need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today

Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me, so you can see
Oh, what's going on
What's going on
Ya, what's going on
Ah, what's going on

In the mean time
Right on, baby
Right on
Right on

Father, father, everybody thinks we're wrong
Oh, but who are they to judge us
Simply because our hair is long
Oh, you know we've got to find a way
To bring some understanding here today
Oh

Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me
So you can see
What's going on
Ya, what's going on
Tell me what's going on
I'll tell you what's going on

40 years down the road and, seemingly, we, as a country, haven't learned anything. Yes, sadly, The Song Remains The Same!

Friday, January 12, 2007

Music I Liked And Didn't - 1/12/07


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No Adds Of New Releases


Archival Additions -

LUNCH, LYDIA: Smoke In the Shadows CD (Atavistic) - Just catching up on this 2004 release from the always challenging, Lydia Lunch. On, “Smoke In the Shadows”, Lunch is backed up by an all-star cast, including Nels and Alex Cline, Carla Bozulich, and Vinny Golia, among others. They lay down a solid musical foundation informed by jazz, lounge, and film noir over which Lunch delivers her trademark dark tales and sexually charged lyrics in her half spoken, half sung vocal style. A voyeuristic listening pleasure!


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Thursday, January 11, 2007

Music I Liked And Didn't - 1/11/07


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BORIS (WITH MICHIO KURIHARA): Rainbow CD (Pedal) - Japan’s heaviest are back (and, man, am I relieved, as it’s been at least six weeks since, “Vein”, was released and I was starting to get “sick” waiting for another Boris fix!), this time collaborating with guitarist extraordinaire, Michio Kurihara, whose numerous credits include stints with Japanese underground legends White Heaven and Ghost. As one might suspect, given this pairing, the material on this release focuses on the psych spectrum of Boris’ diverse sonic pallette, rather than the hard core punk/metal or experimental/noise aspects of their sound. So, there’s a couple of lazy, vaguely lounge-influenced psych tracks (my favorite being, “You Laughed Like A Water Mark”), that, in fact, sound very similar to material released by the Stars, Kurihara’s current project with former White Heaven leader, You Ishihara. There’s also a couple of excellent heavy psych scorchers (the best of which is, “Sweet Number 1”), a cool
kraut-drone-raga, “Fuzzy Reactor”, and the stoned acid folk of, "Shine". Perhaps, not quite as mind blowing, overall, as what one might have hoped for given the assembled powers, but still an enjoyable and worthy addition.


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Running Count For The Year

Adds 8/89%

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On The Horizon:

New Releases -

VANDERMARK 5: Four Sides To The Story: Recorded At Alchemia Nov. 23, 2005 2LP (Not Two) - Limited edition, double LP boxset (with 16 page, 12” x 12” book of color photos and a Ken Vandermark interview), which documents the V5's 2005 gigs in Poland, on their "Color Of Memory" European Tour. Yow!

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Music I Liked And Didn't - 1/10/07


Adds -

HOLY SONS: My Only Warm Coals 10" (Morc Records) - I was impressed enough by the “Decline Of The West” LP that I scored and reviewed last week, that I tracked down this earlier 10" release from Emil Amos', Holy Sons. The material on this release is very similar to that on the “Decline Of The West” LP, containing another 12 tracks of murky (perhaps, even made more so by being cut direct to disc on the King Records Worldwide lathe!), lo-fi, bedroom pop and rock. In fact, I'd have to say that I actually like this 10" a little better than the LP, as it seems to be a little more conceptually focused, with darker lyrical content and more fucked-up samples of Evangelists. Very cool!


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Adds 7/88%

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On The Horizon:

Live -

Neurosis, Red Sparowes, and Grails live at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco on Sunday, January 14.

Wooden Shjips, among many others, live at the Cafe Du Nord in San Francisco on Monday, January 15.

New Releases -

In the next few days, Ghost: "In Stormy Nights" 2LP on Drag City.

February 27, Jesu: "Conqueror" 2LP on Conspiracy. The CD version, on Hydra Head, will be released on 2/20. Even fucking more cool, however, is the fact that Jesu will be playing live in San Francisco at Bimbo’s 365 Club on April 6, 2007!!!!! I can't wait! I'll be there for sure!

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Music I Liked And Didn't - 1/9/07

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Did Not Add -

SPOERRI, BRUNO: Gluckskugel CD (Finders Keepers) - Spoerri has been a jazz musician and electronic experimentalist for since the mid-50’s. This release, from the usually dependable Finders Keepers imprint, features some of his electronic-based works from the 70’s and 80’s. Admittedly, a couple of the tracks (especially, “Les Electroniciens”!) on this CD score a direct hit in the psychedelic vein, but, unfortunately, those tracks are in the distinct minority. Maybe this will be more appealing to afficianados of vintage electronic exotica, such as Dick Hyman and so on, or collectors of present day electronica with an interest in the historical roots of the genre, but it failed to make the grade with me.


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Monday, January 08, 2007

Music I Liked And Didn't - 1/7/07 - 1/8/07


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FENNESZ: Endless Summer CD (Editions Mego) - While I have checked out Fennesz before, I’ve never been that impressed with his (nor others’, for that matter) glitchy electronica. A friend of mine, however, told me that this reissue (with bonus tracks) of 2001’s, “Endless Summer”, was the title in the Fennesz discography that would be the most listener-friendly to people, like me, who have a limited interest in electronica. I’ll have to admit that he was correct. Sure, there’s plenty of the skips, blips, drones, and damaged noises, you’d expect from avant laptop music. The majority of the tracks on this CD , however, also have fragments of melodies (via guitars, synths, and so on) that drift in and out like a pleasing, distant radio station signal, giving this release enough momentum and focus to make the grade.


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Saturday, January 06, 2007

Music I Liked And Didn't - 1/5/07 - 1/6/07


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HOLY SONS: Decline Of The West LP (ABC Group Documentation) - Since the early 90’s, the Holy Sons has been the solo project of Grails’ member, Emil Amos. “Decline Of The West”, is his latest release, containing 12 tracks of lo-fi, bedroom pop and rock recordings that, indeed, sound reminiscent of those halcyon days of the late-80’s - early-90’s when indie 7”s were all the rage. In fact, he even covers Sebadoh (“Level Anything”) and Daniel Johnston/Jad Fair (“Nothing Left”). Certainly nothing groundbreaking and, at times, a bit uneven, as such homemade releases tend to be, but, nevertheless an enjoyable listen and worthy trip down memory lane.


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Thursday, January 04, 2007

Music I Liked And Didn't - 1/4/07


Adds -

The Annual Record Label Xmas Lull Means No Adds Of New Releases This Time!


Archival Additions -

TEMPTATIONS: Psychedelic Soul DCD (Motown) - Given my age, I was obviously already aware of (and casually enjoyed) much of the material on this compilation, as many of these tracks were big hits in the days of my youth. Despite that fact, however, during the insuing years I never really thought about groups such as the Temptations, Sly and The Family Stone, and so on, as being anything more than the soundtrack to childhood Summer days spent at Lake Michigan. Certainly these weren’t groups that merited serious reconsideration under the harsh light of adulthood, especially to an adult mainly interested in experimental and free music, folk, psych, punk, and rock. In addition, I’m sure that the fact that these groups were so commercially successful also incorrectly undermined my interest in and respect for them, being, as I am, an aficionado of mainly underground music. In retrospect, these were obviously short-sighted attitudes, as the critical influence of soul and R n’ B (and, of course, the Blues, too!) on the development of rock and psych has been well-documented. Another case in point, the 24 the tracks on this compilation. Yeah, of course, the Funk Brothers lay down some amazing funky grooves that provide the foundation for conscious lyrics and some incredible vocal harmonies, but these tracks also contain psychedelic wah wah guitar leads and cruching fuzz bass that rivals much of what you might hear on many of the holy grail private press psych LPs. Good to know that no matter how old you get, no matter how much music you know about and own, the education continues on and on; at least, if you’re a Sonictroubadour, like me. Righteous!

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Wednesday, January 03, 2007

2006 - My Personal Music Year In Review - Part Five


Top Ten Reissues Of 2006

(Listed Alphabetically, Not By Ranking)

Note - I am only including here reissues of rare, underground recordings, not remastered versions of gold and platinum sellers like the recent spate of (admittedly,very cool) AC/DC vinyl reissues, for example. I also do not include collections containing reissued tracks, such as the Prae-Kraut Pandemonium series, for example.

BUNALIM: Bunalim LP (Shadoks)

CHATHAM, RHYS: An Angel Moves Too Fast to See LP (Table Of The Elements)

D’SILVA, AMANCIO: Konkan Dance LP (Qbico)

ERSEN: Dünden Bugüne CD (Underground Masters)

MAYPOLE: The Real LP (Anopheles)

PERERIN: Teithgan LP (Guersson)

SAN UL LIM: 3 CD (World Psychedelia)

SELDA: S/T LP (Finders Keepers)

SOTHEAR, SREI AND SIN SISAMOUTH: Cambodian Psych-Out LP (El Suprimo / Defective Records)

3/3: Sanbun No San LP (Shadoks)

Music I Liked And Didn't - 1/2/07 - 1/3/07



Adds -

DJ Krush: Stepping Stones: The Self-Remixed Best - Soundscapes DLP (Red Ink) - This is one of two sets collecting remixes of Krush’s personal favorites released under the, “Stepping Stones: The Self-Remixed Best”, title. One, subtitled, “Lyricism”, features collaborations with various MCs. This one, the somewhat misleadingly subtitled, “Soundscapes”, features instrumentals. While these are instrumentals and they do incorporate a degree of sonic ambience, I’d hardly characterize these tracks as being, “soundscapes”, as most also feature elements of hip-hop (turntable scratching, old school beats, and dub-like bass lines) and jazz (keyboards and horn phrases), as well as (to a lesser extent) electronica and, even, pop. Highlights include the trip hoppin’, “Elapse”, the driving, “Trihedron”, “Duality” (featuring DJ Shadow), and, “Kemuri”. Sweet!


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Adds 3/100%

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Monday, January 01, 2007

2006 - My Personal Music Year In Review - Part Four


Top Ten New Modern Music Releases Of 2006

(Listed Alphabetically, Not By Ranking)


BORIS: Pink DLP (Diwphalanx)

ESPERS: II LP (Drag City)

GRAILS: Black Tar Prophecies Vol's 1,2, & 3 CD (Important)

MAMMATUS: Mammatus CD (Holy Mountain)

ODAWAS: Aether Eater LP (Birds And Rockets)

RASHANIM: Shalosh CD (Tzadik)

SUISHOU NO FUNE: Where The Spirits Are CD (Holy Mountain)

TALL FIRS: S/T CD (Ecstatic Peace)

WHITE MAGIC: Dat Rosa Mel Apibus DLP (Drag City)

WOODEN SHJIPS: Dance, California (Radio Edit)/Clouds Over Earthquake 7” (Sick Thirst)


ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Grails

Who just happen to be playing at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, on Jan. 14, with Neurosis and Red Sparowes!!!!!

Also, the next Grails' record, called, "Burning Off Impurities", will be coming out on the Temporary Residence label in March 2007.

Kicking The New Year Off Right With New Music!!!!! Music I Liked And Didn't - 1/1/07



Adds -

BEY, FARUQ Z. (With Northwoods Improvisers): Infa’A LP (Qbico) - Italian imprint, Qbico, brings us the latest installment from dependable Detroit veteran, Faruq Z. Bey, and his group, Northwoods Improvisers. Four pleasant jammers in a late 60’s, celestial Afro-Jazz inspired mode, featuring Bey and others on a variety of horns and, Mike Gilmore, on vibes. Cool.

Archival Additions -

V/A: Move To Riot - A New Zealand Punk Compilation 1978-86 DLP (Umsturz Records/Raw Power Records) - My man Karl at Anopheles Records (check out his site at: www.anophelesrecords.com for more info) hooked me up with this very cool and very limited (only 300 copies!) collection from ‘02. As the title suggests, this collection contains 25 rare or previously unreleased NZ Punk gems. Highlights include tracks by the Dum Dum Boys, Nocturnal Projections, Proud Scum, Shoes This High, The Enemy, and the Hentchmen, among others.


Did Not Add -

None


Running Count For The Year

Adds 2/100%

Did Not Add 0/0%