Edsel release The CBS Singles Collection, a new Paul Young box set which includes every UK single issued on the CBS label as a CD single, packed with mixes, B-sides, instrumentals and even the odd unreleased demo.
All 19 of Young’s UK CBS singles (originally issued between 1982-1994) are featured on individual CDs that replicate original artwork and include almost every variant available from the archive, including original seven-inch mixes, 12-inch mixes, alternate mixes, rare instrumentals, B-sides, extra tracks on so on.
CD 2 alone – which is ‘Love of the Common People’ – provides almost an hour of music, including as it does the original version of the song from 1982, the 1983 re-release, the 12-inch version…

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…various live tracks, the instrumental (unreleased outside of Japan) and the demo of B-side ‘Tender Trap’. The box journeys through the singles from five albums No Parlez (1983), The Secret Of Association (1985), Between Two Fires (1986), Other Voices (1990) and the last long-player issued on CBS, 1993’s The Crossing. While the early period can broadly be defined at the ‘hit years’ there’s some fine treasures in the later era, including the brilliant lead single from The Crossing ‘Now I Know What Made Otis Blue’ (with two high quality non-album tracks on the CD single), Paul’s cover of Crowded House‘s ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ (which in this set includes Dutch single ‘I’m Only Foolin’ Myself’, and Japanese duet ‘Come On In’) and ‘Heaven Can Wait’ a 45 from Other Voices, a song which features a fine vocal contribution from Chaka Khan and David Gilmour on guitar!
The physical box set has an inner ‘drawer’ (not shown on the visual above) which contains the 20 discs and a 36-page booklet with notes from yours truly and single cover art from across this era. That drawer then slides into the outer box which features a young Paul from the No Parlez era and the all important Paul Young ‘crest’ which I dusted down and revived for the Tomb of Memories set and is your badge of quality for this new CBS Singles Collection… [superdeluxeedition]

CD 1 – Iron Out The Rough Spots

1. Iron Out The Rough Spots (7” Mix)
2. Behind Your Smile
3. Iron Out The Rough Spots (12″ Mix)
4. Behind Your Smile (1982 Demo)

CD 2 – Love of the Common People

1. Love Of The Common People (1982 7” Mix)
2. Tender Trap
3. Love Of The Common People (1983 7″ Mix)
4. Behind Your Smile (Live at the Royal Court, Liverpool)
5. Love Of The Common People (Extended Club Mix)
6. Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home) (Live)
7. It’s Better To Have (And Don’t Need) (Live)
8. Oh Women (Live at the Royal Court Theatre, 1983)
9. Tender Trap (Demo)
10. Love Of The Common People (Instrumental)

CD 3 – Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home)

1. Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home) (7″ Version)
2. Broken Man
3. Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home) (Extended Club Mix Version)
4. Sex (Extended Club Mix Version)
5. Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home) (Edit)
6. Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home) (Instrumental)

CD 4 – Come Back and Stay

1. Come Back And Stay (Single Remix Version)
2. Yours (7″ Version)
3. Come Back And Stay (Extended Club Mix)
4. Yours (Extended Club Mix Version)
5. Come Back And Stay (Scratch Mix)
6. Come Back And Stay (Original LP Mix)
7. Come Back And Stay (US Single Version)
8. Come Back And Stay (Instrumental)

CD 5 – I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down

1. I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down (7″ Mix)
2. One Step Forward (B-side Mix)
3. I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down (Special Extended Mix)
4. I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down (Remixed U.S. Dance Floor Smash)
5. Hot Fun (Extended Mix)
6. I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down (Alternate Mix)
7. I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down (Instrumental)

CD 6 – Everything Must Change

1. Everything Must Change
2. Give Me My Freedom
3. Everything Must Change (Extended Mix)
4. Everything Must Change (US Single Version)
5. Soldier’s Things
6. Everything Must Change (Alternate Mix)
7. Everything Must Change (Instrumental)

CD 7 – Every Time You Go Away

1. Every Time You Go Away (Single Version)
2. This Means Anything (B-Side Mix)
3. Every Time You Go Away (Extended Version)
4. Every Time You Go Away (US Single Version)
4. Every Time You Go Away (Instrumental)

CD 8 – Tomb Of Memories

1. Tomb Of Memories
2. Man In The Iron Mask
3. Bite The Hand That Feeds (Live)
4. No Parlez (Live)
5. Love Will Tear Us Apart (Live)
6. Tomb Of Memories (12″ Mix)
7. Tomb Of Memories (Alternate Mix)

CD 9 –Wonderland

1. Wonderland (Single Mix)
2. Between Two Fires (B-side Mix)
3. Wonderland (12″ “Milan” Mix)
4. Wonderland (Instrumental)

CD 10 – Some People

1. Some People (Single Version)
2. A Matter Of Fact
3. Some People (New York Mix)
4. Some People (Dub)

CD 11 – Why Does A Man Have To Be Strong

1 Why Does A Man Have To Be Strong (Single Version)
2. Trying to Guess the Rest
3. Why Does A Man Have To Be Strong (Extended Remix)

CD 12 – Softly Whispering I Love You

1. Softly Whispering I Love You (Single Version)
2. Leaving Home
3. Softly Whispering I Love You (Extended Version)
4. Dolcemente Mormoro Ti Amo
5. Lovers Cross
6. Softly Whispering I Love You (Alternate Mix)
7. Softly Whispering I Love You (Instrumental)

CD 13 – Oh Girl

1. Oh Girl (7″ Mix)
2. You’re The One
3. ‘Till I Gain Control Again
4. Oh Girl (alternate mix)
5. Oh Girl (Instrumental)

CD 14 – Heaven Can Wait

1. Heaven Can Wait (7″ Remix)
2. Back Where I Started
3. Heaven Can Wait (12″ Remix)
4. Heaven Can Wait (Instrumental)

CD 15 – Calling You

1. Calling You
2. That’s How It Is
3. Everything Must Change (Live)
4. Calling You (Long Version)

CD 16 – Don’t Dream It’s Over

1. Don’t Dream It’s Over (7″ Version)
2. I Need Somebody
3. A Little Bit Of Love (Part II)
4. Don’t Dream It’s Over (Solo Version)
5. I’m Only Foolin’ Myself
6. Thinking About You
7. Come On In
8. Come On In (Instrumental)

CD 17 – Now I Know What Made Otis Blue

1. Now I Know What Made Otis Blue
2. Only Game In Town
3. Man Of Steel
4. Cold Sweat

CD 18 – Hope In A Hopeless World

1. Hope In A Hopeless World
2. Half A Step Away
3. What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted
4. Right About Now

CD 19 – It Will Be You

1. It Will Be You
2. Long Distance Love (Acoustic)
3. Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight (Acoustic)
4. Wherever I Lay My Hat (That’s My Home) (Acoustic)
5. Everything Must Change (Acoustic)
6. Follow On (Acoustic)
7. Love Has No Pride (Acoustic)

Friday Music is traveling The Road to Utopia with an 7-CD box set from Todd Rundgren’s progressive band. The Road to Utopia: The Complete Recordings 1974-1982 coincide with the long-awaited reunion tour of Rundgren, Kasim Sulton, Willie Wilcox, and Ralph Schuckett.
The new box set trace Utopia’s evolution from its 1974 debut album – featuring the Mark II line-up of Kevin Ellman (drums), Moogy Klingman (keyboards), Jean-Yves “M. Frog” Labat (synthesizers), Ralph Schuckett (keyboards) and John Siegler (bass/cello) – through 1982’s Swing to the Right, the fifth and final Bearsville album from the “classic” line-up of Rundgren, Roger Powell, Wilcox, and Sulton. Across seven albums, all of which have been expanded with bonus tracks, the band synthesized…

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…influences as disparate as prog rock, jazz fusion, pop, new wave, and even The British Invasion. From the 30-minute opus “The Ikon” to the pop classic “Love is the Answer” and the spot-on, slightly naughty Beatles pastiche “I Just Want to Touch You,” Rundgren’s Utopia refused to be musically pigeonholed.
Friday’s box set has all six of the band’s studio and live albums as originally released between 1974 and 1982 as newly remastered by the label’s Joe Reagoso from the Warner/Bearsville tapes. Each album is housed in an individual gatefold digipak with original art elements from each LP including inner sleeves and inserts. Rundgren, Sulton, Wilcox, and Powell have all made written contributions to this set, as well. Fifteen bonus tracks are spread across the seven albums, including live performances, promotional single versions, and more.
Following the period chronicled in the new box, the band recorded three more albums for the Network and Passport labels between 1982 and 1985. Numerous compilations and archival releases have celebrated Utopia in recent years (including a “lost” album, 1976’s Disco Jets) but The Road to Utopia has all of the band’s music as originally released during the period covered.

CD 1: Todd Rundgren’s Utopia (Bearsville BR 6954, 1974)

Utopia
Freak Parade
Freedom Fighters
The Ikon
Do Ya (Live at St. Louis, MI 11/9/74) (*)

CD 2: Another Live (Bearsville BR 6961, 1975)

Another Life
The Wheel
The Seven Rays
Intro / Mister Triscuits
Something’s Coming
Heavy Metal Kids
Do Ya
Just One Victory
Open My Eyes (Live in Cape Cod, MA 8/23/75) (*)

CD 3: Ra (Bearsville 6965, 1977)

Overture (Instrumental)
Communion With The Sun
Magic Dragon Theatre
Jealousy
Eternal Love
Sunburst Finish
Hiroshima
Singring And The Glass Guitar (An Electrified Fairytale)
Communion With The Sun (promo single mix) (Bearsville BSS 0317, 1977) (*)

CD 4: Oops! Wrong Planet (Bearsville BR 6970, 1977)

Trapped
Windows
Love In Action
Crazy Lady Blue
Back On The Street
The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell
The Martyr
Abandon City
Gangrene
My Angel
Rape Of The Young
Love Is The Answer
Love Is The Answer (promo single mix) (Bearsville BSS 0321, 1977) (*)

CD 5: Adventures in Utopia (Bearsville BRK 6991, 1980)

The Road To Utopia
You Make Me Crazy
Second Nature
Set Me Free
Caravan
The Last Of The New Wave Riders
Shot In The Dark
The Very Last Time
Love Alone
Rock Love
Umbrella Man (B-side of “Set Me Free”) (Bearsville BSS 49180, 1980) (*)
Set Me Free (promo single mix) (Bearsville BSS 49180, 1980) (*)
Second Nature (promo single mix) (Bearsville BSS 49545, 1980) (*)
The Very Last Time (promo single mix) (Bearsville BSS 49247, 1980) (*)
Anyhow Anyway Anywhere (Live in Syracuse, NY 11/16/79) (*)
96 Tears (Live in Syracuse, NY 11/16/79) (*)
Just One Victory (Live in Syracuse, NY 11/16/79) (*)

CD 6: Deface the Music (Bearsville BRK 3487, 1980)

I Just Want To Touch You
Crystal Ball
Where Does The World Go To Hide
Silly Boy
Alone
That’s Not Right
Take It Home
Hoi Poloi
Life Goes On
Feel Too Good
Always Late
All Smiles
Everybody Else Is Wrong
I Just Want To Touch You (promo single mix) (Bearsville BSS 49579, 1980) (*)

CD 7: Swing to the Right (Bearsville BRK 3666, 1982)

Swing To The Right
Lysistrata
The Up
Junk Rock (Million Monkeys)
Shinola
For The Love Of Money
Last Dollar On Earth
Fahrenheit 451
Only Human
One World
Special Interest (B-side of” One World”) (Bearsville BSS 50062, 1982) (*)
Lysistrata (promo single mix) (Bearsville 7-29947, 1982) (*)
One World (promo single mix) (Bearsville BSS 50062, 1982) (*)

(*) bonus tracks

The Action are one of the great “lost” bands of mid-’60s England. Though they filled mod clubs with happy patrons and managed to score George Martin as a benefactor, they only released a handful of unsuccessful singles during their brief existence. Most of their music remained in the vaults for years, only to be discovered later and celebrated. After years of reissues that only told part of the band’s story, Grapefruit’s 2018 Shadows and Reflections: The Complete Recordings 1964-1968 collects everything: their five officially released singles, BBC sessions, their legendary demos from 1967, backing tracks, alternate takes, different mixes, and songs they recorded just before the band broke up in 1968. It’s an impressive haul made even better by the excellent liner notes, session information, and crisp sound.
The first two discs detail the band’s years as Motown-loving mods guided by Reg King’s insistent vocals, the group’s snappy backing vocals, and Martin’s clean production style. The band- members were able to nail Motown covers (like “I’ll Keep Holding On” and “Since I Lost My Baby”)…

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…thanks to the tautness of the playing and their vocal prowess. The Action didn’t write many originals at the time, though the horn-filled rocker “Twentyfourth Hour” shows they had the skills. The set presents their singles and unreleased songs from 1965 to 1967 in both mono and in excellent new stereo mixes done by Alec Palao (who recently did the same thing for another “lost” band, the Creation). There are also some nice bonuses like backing tracks and a BBC session where they cover the Byrds’ “I See You.”

Disc three has the album they recorded in 1967 to shop around to labels, none of whom were interested. It’s hard to see why, since the band’s textured and subtly heavy take on psychedelia is so impressive — certainly not far from what the Pretty Things were doing. All the songs are originals, Reg King comes into his own as an interpreter of lyrics, and the band really stretches out in interesting ways. Plus some of the songs, like “Strange Roads” and “Something to Say,” are irresistibly catchy. The sessions came out later in various forms, but too late to do the band any good. Their sessions from 1968 (minus Reg King) also didn’t garner any label interest, but they are a fascinating piece of the puzzle all the same. Disc four is a treasure trove for fans. It includes their early beat singles done under the name the Boys, a three-song audition done for Decca, Ready Steady Go! and BBC appearances (one where they cover John Coltrane’s “India”), and eight songs remixed by George Martin for 1990’s The Ultimate Action.

Shadows and Reflections: The Complete Recordings 1964-1968 isn’t a collection for the casual fan; it’s for diehards who want everything, and Grapefruit provides exactly what these people need. It’s thrilling, timeless music from a no-longer-lost band, preserved and presented with care and attention to detail.

Following on from the success of first 999 box – The Albums 1977-80 Cherry Red present a further four albums from one of the founding fathers of the whole Punk Rock movement. Concentrating on the years 1987-2007 this 4 disc clam shell box contains 61 tracks.
Disc 1 is the band’s first official full length live album “Lust Power And Money”. Recorded at the legendary Klub Foot in London it has a track listing that reads like a “Greatest Hits Live”, with classics such as ‘Nasty Nasty’, ‘Emergency’ and ‘Homicide’.
The second disc features 1993’s ‘comeback’ album “You Us It!” which saw the addition of new member Arturo Bassick, formerly of The Lurkers.
Disc 3 is the “Takeover” album which was originally released in 1997 by seminal Indie label…

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…Abstract Records. The final disc is 2007’s “Death In Soho” LP which features the single ‘Gimme The World’ and is – at present – the last studio album issued by the band.

– LUST POWER AND MONEY
– YOU US IT!
– TAKEOVER
– DEATH IN SOHO

During the first wave of U.K. punk rock, plenty of bands sang about a world full of violence and chaos, but Stiff Little Fingers didn’t have to imagine a dystopian world – living in Belfast, Northern Ireland at the height of “The Troubles,” police brutality and terrorist violence were simply a part of daily life, and the band’s music was a powerful response to what they saw, raw-boned rock & roll that balanced rage at a world gone mad against hope for a better day.
Stiff Little Fingers were formed in 1977 by singer and guitarist Jake Burns, guitarist Henry Cluney, bassist Ali McMordie, and drummer Brian Faloon. Burns, Cluney, and Faloon had previously been in a cover band called Highway Star, but when Cluney became a convert to punk rock, Burns…

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…and Faloon followed suit, and after recruiting McMordie, they took the name Stiff Little Fingers from a song by the Vibrators. -allmusic-

This 4 CD 64 track clamshell box set covers the albums issued by Punk legends Stiff Little Fingers between 1991 and 1997.
Disc 1 is the band’s ‘comeback’ studio album “Flags And Emblems”. It was the first to feature ex-Jam bassist Bruce Foxton. Includes the single ‘Beirut Moon’.
The band’s yearly St. Patrick’s Day show at Glasgow’s Barrowlands is always sold out and Disc 2 features one of the first they ever did. This is the last release to feature original guitarist Henry Cluney.
1994’s “Get A Life” album is Disc 3 and saw the band down to a trio of Jake Burns, Bruce Foxton and Dolphin Taylor. Includes the singles ‘Harp’ and ‘Can’t Believe In You’ and now comes with three ‘unplugged’ versions of well-known tracks from their early days.
The final disc is 1997’s “Tinderbox” album, now restored to its original sleeve.

Disc One: Flags & Emblems

1. (It’s A) Long Way To Paradise (From Here)
2. Stand Up And Shout
3. Each Dollar A Bullet
4. The ‘cosh’
5. Beirut Moon
6. The Game Of Life
7. Human Shield
8. Johnny 7
9. Die And Burn
10. No Surrender
Bonus Tracks
11. The ‘cosh’ (Remix)
12. (It’s A) Long Way To Paradise (From Here) (Demo)
13. Stand Up And Shout (Demo)

Disc Two: Pure Fingers Live: St Patrix 1993

1. Go For It
2. Nobody’s Hero
3. At The Edge
4. No Surrender
5. Love Of The Common People
6. What If I Want More
7. Fly The Flag
8. Piccadilly Circus
9. Wasted Life
10. When The Stars Fall From The Sky
11. Road To Kingdom Come
12. Stand Up And Shout
13.smithers Jones
14. Barbed Wire Love
15. (It’s A) Long Way To Paradise
16. Gotta Gettaway
17. Suspect Device
18. Walk Tall
19. Tin Soldiers
20. Alternative Ulster
Bonus Track
21. Johnny Was

Disc Three: Get A Life

1. Get A Life
2. Can’t Believe In You
3. The Road To Kingdom Come
4. Walk Away
5. No Laughing Matter
6. Harp
7. Forensic Evidence
8. Baby Blue (What Have They Been Telling You?)
9. I Want You
10. The Night That The Wall Came Down
11. Cold
12. When The Stars Fall From The Sky
13. What If I Want More?
Bonus Tracks
14. Silver Lining (Unplugged)
15. Listen (Unplugged)
16. Wasted Life (Unplugged)

Disc Four: Tinderbox

1. You Never Hear The One That Hits You
2. (I Could Be) Happy Yesterday
3. Tinderbox
4. Dead Of Night
5. The Message
6. My Ever Changing Moral Stance
7. Hurricane
8. You Can Move Mountains
9. A River Flowing
10. You Don’t Believe In Me
11. In Your Hand
12. Dust In My Eye
13. No Barriers
14. Roaring Boys (Parts 1 & 2)

…Although the prolific composer/conceptualist, Michael Pisaro, has some three dozen plus releases on labels: Erstwhile, Gravity Wave (his own) and Wandelweiser, this 5 CD box set seems to be his most ambitious project so far. Besides selecting six special musicians/composers (Antoine Beuger on flute, Jurg Frey on clarinet, Marcus Kaiser on cello, Radu Malfatti on trombone, Andre Moller on electric guitar and Kathryn Gleasman Pisaro on English horn & oboe), most associated with the Wandelweiser collective, Pisaro also utilized six outdoor listening stations to record each musician, as well as recording the outdoor environments, in an area known as Neufelden somewhere near the Grosse Muhl River in Austria. Wandelweiser artists have been utilizing the set ups at…

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…The Station since the summer of 2007 with installations, exhibitions and concerts. Each musicians reacts to the environmental sounds in their own way. Over a five day period the musicians would try difference activities: Day 1: listening to the environment; Day 2: playback of the previous day’s recording into the same environment; Day 3: solo performance of selections from Antoine Beuger’s “Auch Da”; Day 4: playback of sine tones and Day 5: a musician plays “sleeping scales” (written by Pisaro) while a recording from Day 3 is played back. Each of the five discs was taken from a different year, the fourth disc is just sine waves and field recordings without the musicians being involved.

…It sounds like Mr. Pisaro is magnifying the environmental sounds: wind, fire, birds, crackling, rain, humming, distant drone(s)… from calm to a near violent eruption (popcorn or a storm?). There are four sections, the first just manipulated field recordings, the other three feature from one to three musicians recorded in one of the stations. The environmental sounds are often fascinating if you listen closely. Pisaro does a fine job of taking these sounds, expanding and manipulating them, like twisting taffy with our hands and molding them into something new and marvelous. — downtownmusicgallery.com

When ad hoc studio group Plastic Penny scored a surprise Top Ten hit in early 1968 with an orch-pop cover of Box Tops B-side ‘Everything I Am’, a band of that name was quickly put together by session singer Brian Keith.
Although Keith quickly dropped out to pursue a solo career, Plastic Penny stayed together for around eighteen months, with future Chicken Shack/Savoy Brown/UFO stalwart Paul Raymond sharing lead vocal duties with subsequent Elton John Band drummer Nigel Olsson.
Completed by future Procol Harum guitarist Mick Grabham and Troggs-bound bassist Tony Murray, Plastic Penny recorded two fine albums – including such bona fide UK psych-pop masterpieces as ‘Mrs Grundy’ and ‘Your Way to Tell Me Go’…

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…– before the final line-up morphed into country-rockers Cochise in the second half of 1969.

Everything I Am: The Complete Plastic Penny does exactly what it says on the tin, assembling everything the band recorded during their brief lifespan under one roof: mono and stereo versions of debut album “Two Sides Of A Penny”, the stereo-only follow-up “Currency”, non-album singles, alternative versions and mixes, foreign language recordings, the studio outtake ‘Celebrity Ball’ and, most intriguingly of all, forty-five minutes of BBC recordings in pristine sound quality. — cherryred.co.uk

On March 15, a 6-CD set featuring the Jerry Garcia Band’s famed performances at French’s Camp On The Eel River in Piercy, California will be issued via Round Records. Electric On the Eel contains three full electric sets from the JGB’s visits to Eel River in 1987, 1989 and 1991.
Jerry Garcia first performed at semi-secluded venue on August 29, 1987 at the request of old friend and counter-culture icon Wavy Gravy. The concert was a fundraiser for Wavy’s Hog Farm and was co-produced and promoted by Bill Graham. The 1987 concert featured performances by both the Jerry Garcia Band and the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band.
…Garcia brought the JGB back to the scenic venue on June 10, 1989 and on August 10, 1991. His band for all of the electric sets found…

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…the Grateful Dead guitarist joined by keyboardist Melvin Seals, bassist John Kahn, drummer David Kemper and vocalists Gloria Jones and Jacklyn LaBranch. Highlights from the 1987 show include stellar renditions of “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)”, Van Morrison’s “And It Stoned Me” and Jimmy Cliff’s “The Harder They Come”. The 1989 performance features standout versions of Garcia/Hunter originals “Deal” and “They Love Each Other” as well as two Allen Toussaint gems (“I’ll Take a Melody” and “Get Out My Life Woman”) and a rare take on the gospel standard “I Hope It Won’t Be This Way Always,” which gets its first release in this box set.

The 1991 set is described as “the jewel of the collection showcasing the group at the height of their powers.” Here’s more info on that portion of the box set: “The show features inspired versions of the gospel-infused “My Sisters And Brothers“, “Lay Down Sally”, Chuck Berry’s “You Never Can Tell”, and an epic, heart-melting interpretation of The Manhattans’ “Shining Star”. The 1991 set also includes The Jerry Garcia Band’s take on Mercer/Carmichael’s “Lazy Bones”, The Band’s “Twilight” and Eric Clapton’s “See What Love Can Do” (written by Jerry Lynn Williams), released for the first time.”

Disc 1, Set 1

1. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) (Lamont Dozier/Brian Holland/Eddie Holland)
2. Forever Young (Bob Dylan)
3. Get Out of My Life Woman (Allen Toussaint)
4. Run for the Roses (Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter)
5. And It Stoned Me (Van Morrison)
6. My Sisters and Brothers (Charles Johnson)
7. Deal (Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter)

Disc 2, Set 2

1. The Harder They Come (Jimmy Cliff)
2. I Shall Be Released (Bob Dylan)
3. Think (Jimmy McCracklin/Deadric Malone)
4. Evangeline (David Hidalgo/Louie Perez)
5. Gomorrah (Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter)
6. Let It Rock (Chuck Berry)
7. That Lucky Old Sun (Haven Gillespie/Beasley Smith)
8. Tangled Up in Blue (Bob Dylan)

June 10, 1989

Disc 3, Set 1

1. I’ll Take A Melody (Allen Toussaint)
2. They Love Each Other (Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter)
3. Get Out Of My Life Woman (Allen Toussaint)
4. Run For The Roses (Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter)
5. Stop That Train (Peter Tosh)
6. Mission In The Rain (Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter)
7. My Sisters And Brothers (Charles Johnson)
8. Deal (Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter)

Disc 4, Set 2

1. The Harder They Come (Jimmy Cliff)
2. Waiting For A Miracle (Bruce Cockburn)
3. I Shall Be Released (Bob Dylan)
4. Think (Jimmy McCracklin/Deadric Malone)
5. I Hope It Won’t Be This Way Always (Barbara Allison)
6. Don’t Let Go (Jesse Stone)
7. Evangeline (David Hidalgo/Louie Perez)
8. That Lucky Old Sun (Haven Gillespie/Beasley Smith)
9. Tangled Up In Blue (Bob Dylan)

August 10, 1991

Disc 5, Set 1

1. The Way You Do The Things You Do (William Robinson Jr./Robert Rogers)
2. And It Stoned Me (Van Morrison)
3. You Never Can Tell (C’est La Vie) (Chuck Berry)
4. Waiting For A Miracle (Bruce Cockburn)
5. Struggling Man (Jimmy Cliff)
6. My Sisters And Brothers (Charles Johnson)
7. Deal (Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter)

Disc 6, Set 2

1. Shining Star (Paul Richmond/Leo Graham)
2. Think (Jimmy McCracklin/Deadric Malone)
3. Lay Down Sally (Eric Clapton/Marcy Levy/George Terry)
4. Twilight (Robbie Robertson)
5. See What Love Can Do (Jerry Lynn Williams)
6. Lazy Bones (Hoagy Carmichael/Johnny Mercer)
7. Everybody Needs Somebody To Love (Jerry Wexler/Bert Berns/Solomon Burke)

Momus’ first three classic albums for Creation Records, digitally remastered with a selection of fantastic bonus tracks selected by Momus himself.
After the success of Pubic Intellectual: An Anthology 1986-2016, Cherry Red pursue their excavation of the treasure trove that is the Momus back catalogue with the first three LP’s of the six that the globe trotting Scotsman delivered for Alan McGee’s legendary label. These albums recorded over the course of three years show an artist burning with creativity constantly offering songs with challenging lyrics and intricate melodies. The first album The Poison Boyfriend is surprisingly free of the sonic trappings of the times (1986) with the songs remaining largely driven by acoustic guitars throughout. The album whether in its themes…

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…or in its instrumentation  is open to influences from all over the world, the snippet in Italian at the end of “Violets” or the reference to Francois Truffault’s “400 coups” in “The Gatecrasher” being prime examples. As Anthony Reynolds puts it in the liner notes: “There were Mediterranean horizons in Momus’ music, and if the sky above was tin grey then it was a Parisian tin grey.”

Tender Pervert sees Momus pursue much of the themes of its predecessor, again the production avoids most eighties pitfalls, even if the synths are more present than on “The Poison Boyfriend”. Momus’ songwriting remains oblique (“Love On Ice”) but on a whim he manages to combine the tuneful and challenging (“I Was A Maoist Intellectual”). “Bishonen” with its harpsichord must have been studied by Neil Hannon while the intro to “A Complete History of Sexual Jealousy (Part 17-24)” sounds uncannily like Blur’s “Girls and Boys”, Momus the melodic reservoir of Britpop…  Our host still displays his influences on his sleeve (“Eleven Executioners”, one of the bonus tracks, sounds like a Brel original sung by Scott Walker) but you can feel that he is ramping up for world domination.

And world domination it is on Don’t Stop the Night, Momus goes full eighties and with success as proven by the chart placing of “The Hairstyle of the Devil”. Momus’ singing is at is most accessible and on tracks like “Don’t Stop The Night”, he sounds positively funky. The claustrophobic “Trust Me I’m a Doctor” with its blasts of guitar is followed by the Clavinet fest of “Righthand Heart” which could have fitted nicely on a Donald Fagen solo LP with its catchy tune and oppressive atmosphere. “Shaftesbury Avenue” sees our host use his sharp sense of observation to chronicle a night out in London while the atmospheric “Cabriolet” belies its frankly morbid lyrics with a rather great melody. — louderthanwar.com

When Duster was recording their space rock mini-epics on wobbly 4-track in a makeshift San Jose home studio in the late ’90s, it’s likely they weren’t imagining that their records would someday be fetching exorbitant prices and that a classy reissue label would someday issue a box set. No doubt they were just having fun making music, expressing themselves and exploring sound for its own sake, but history has a way of taking strange turns and in 2019 the Numero Group’s Capsule Losing Contact was released. The lavishly packaged set gathers the two albums (1998’s Stratosphere and 2000’s Contemporary Movement) and one EP (1999’s 1975) they released for Up Records and adds the Transmissions, Flux EP, the Apex, Trance-Like single and a handful of rare and…

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…previously unreleased tracks. The collection finally restores the music of Duster to people who can now afford to own it and every fan of slowcore, lo-fi, space rock and unassumingly brilliant indie rock should plunk down their money and get this set. The band (initially the duo of Clay Parton and Canaan Dove Amber, which became a trio when Jason Albertini joined) were making music inspired by all those sounds but somehow separate from them all, or at least they combine them in a way that still sounds unique decades later. The recording techniques are mostly primitive, the sounds unpolished and the vocals often mumbled, but every song thrums with buried passion and grasps for great ideas just beyond their reach.

The early singles are raw expressions of their sound, scratchy and noisy with some shoegaze elements (especially on the song “Orbitron”) and their obsession with space travel already established. Stratosphere is a stunning debut album made up of seventeen tracks of lo-fidelity gems that are melancholy and muddy, the songs seemingly rescued from under a couch and haphazardly reconstructed on cheap guitars at half speed. It’s a perfect opening shot that served to define their sound in wonderfully understated fashion. The 1975 EP was the first time Albertini joined Parton and Dove and the trio moved on from the bare esthetics of the album. They addied new sounds to the mix like keyboards, drum machines and more tape effects, while still sounding warped and recorded on a whim. Contemporary Movements was made by the trio as a cohesive unit and it’s their most realized and expansive album. Albertini’s drumming adds a new power to the sound and the songs sound also polished in comparison to previous works. Still scruffy and weird, but with sharper hooks and more impressive presentation; like a real band instead of a studio project. It’s less magical that Stratosphere — which is nearly perfect in an imperfect way — but it’s still some masterful indie rock.

Capsule Losing Contact sounds great, looks amazing and totally justifies the prices people are asking for the original records. Duster may not have mattered much at the time, but in 2019 they are close to essential.

Following on the heels of the documentary film of the same name that covered the lively post-punk era in Scotland, Big Gold Dreams widens the scope and digs deeper than the film did. The five-disc set covers the years 1977 to 1989 and charts the winners, losers, oddballs, and geniuses who helped shape one of the more intriguing and rewarding music scenes of its age.
The first disc mostly shows how the Scots reacted to the punk explosion and gathers up all sorts of rough-hewn gems that blend manic energy and huge pop hooks. Tracks like the Rezillos’ “I Can’t Stand My Baby,” the Freeze’s “Paranoia,” and Bee Bee Cee’s “You Gotta Know Girl” proved that there were plenty of bands around the country making first-rate punk-pop. Once that groundwork was laid, bands started shooting off in all sorts of interesting directions. Disc two captures a wide range of sounds that stretch from the goth goofiness of Altered Images to the bombastic art pop of the Associates, and the arch artiness of Josef K to the stuttering lo-fi synth pop of Thomas Leer.

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There’s a nice mix of well-known artists and obscurities here and through the rest of the set; half the joy of working through the tracks is finding gems like the Delmontes’ “Tous Les Soir” or APB’s immense dance-punk floor-filler “Palace Filled with Love.”

The next three discs follow a similarly diverse course, but a couple strands start to come into focus with the jangly introspective pop of Creation Records bands like Jasmine Minks and Biff Bang Pow, the noisy clatter of post-C86 bands like Shop Assistants and the Vaselines, and the sophisticated sound of post-Postcard artists like Paul Quinn and the Orchids helping to shape much of what people think of when they think of the country’s music. Of course, there is still a lot of ground to cover outside those areas, and the compilation does a really fine job sorting and presenting lesser-known songs by big bands like the Cocteau Twins, Aztec Camera, and the Waterboys; left-field gold like the High Bees’ lilting ballad “Some Indulgence” or the Church Grims’ chiming chamber pop miniature “Think Like a Girl”; and forgotten classics like Edwyn Collins’ brilliant slice of big pop “Don’t Shilly Shally” or Jesse Garon & the Desperadoes’ great “The Adam Faith Experience.”

Even without any tracks by Orange Juice, Big Gold Dreams paints a picture of Scotland as an underground pop music paradise. Listeners could drop in anywhere on any of the discs and find a string of songs guaranteed to bring a smile to their face, a lump to the throat, or a swelling heart. It’s a well-chosen, carefully annotated collection made both for people who were there and want a trip down memory lane and for a newcomer looking to do some serious exploring. Either one will come away glad they took the time to take this deep dive into some of the best music ever made.

The newly relaunched Chrysalis Records presents a new 4-disc box set that includes Fun Lovin’ Criminals’ first four albums: 100% Colombian, Come Find Yourself, Loco, and Mimosa,
Much like G. Love & Special Sauce, the New York trio known as Fun Lovin’ Criminals hit the alternative airwaves with a blend of hip-hop beats, alternative style, and bluesy rhythms. The group was formed in 1993 by bassist Brian Leiser (Fast) and drummer Steve Borgovini, who had met in Syracuse while going to school; the pair formed a techno group but later moved back to New York City, where they hooked up with vocalist/guitarist Huey Morgan. FLC played around the area, and released their self-titled debut album in 1995 on the Silver Spotlight label.

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Signed to Capitol the following year, the group gained an alternative radio hit with the single “Scooby Snacks,” from Come Find Yourself.

FLC returned 18 months later with 100% Colombian, their first for Virgin. “Love Unlimited” and “Korean Bodega” were red-hot hits across Europe and moderate favorites at college radio in the States, but FLC failed to gain critical acclaim in their native country. Trouble was brewing, for 1999 was a year of major changes for the Fun Lovin’ Criminals. Founding drummer Borgovini left the band in February and was replaced by ex-Bad Brains/Cro-Mags Mackie Jayson. The B-side collection Mimosa appeared, and the Loco LP, but FLC parted ways with EMI soon after. — AMG

…Stand Back draws on all eight of Stevie Nicks’ solo studio albums from 1981’s Bella Donna (which included such hits as “Edge of Seventeen,” “After the Glitter Fades,” the Don Henley duet “Leather and Lace,” and “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers) through 2014’s 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault (with its all-new recordings of songs Nicks had penned over the decades but never recorded properly). Rarities and one-offs are also an integral part of the package.
The first disc of the 3-CD edition concentrates on her major solo hits including the aforementioned “Edge of Seventeen” and “After the Glitter Fades” plus “Stand Back,” “If Anyone Falls,” “Rooms on Fire,” “Talk to Me,” “I Can’t Wait,” and many more. The second disc spotlights her…

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…collaborations with other artists including Henley, Petty (not just “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” but also “I Will Run to You”), Walter Egan (his 1978 top ten hit “Magnet and Steel”), Kenny Loggins (“Whenever I Call You Friend”), John Stewart (“Gold”), Lady Antebellum (“Golden,” “Blue Water”), and many others.  The third CD explores Nicks in concert, with selections from the Bella Donna tour and 2009’s The Soundstage Sessions. (Her Fleetwood Mac classics “Dreams,” “Sara,” “Gold Dust Woman,” “Rhiannon” and “Landslide” are heard in solo versions.) It’s rounded out with a helping of soundtrack performances from such films as Heavy Metal, Practical Magic, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and Book of Henry.

1. Edge of Seventeen (Remaster)
2. Rooms on Fire (Remaster)
3. Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around (with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) (Remaster)
4. Leather and Lace (with Don Henley) (Remaster)
5. Stand Back (Remaster)
6. If Anyone Falls (Remaster)
7. Talk to Me (Remaster)
8. I Can’t Wait (Remaster)
9. Has Anyone Ever Written Anything for You (Remaster)
10. Long Way to Go (Remaster)
11. Maybe Love Will Change Your Mind (Remaster)
12. Blue Denim (Remaster)
13. Every Day (Remaster)
14. Planets of the Universe (Remaster)
15. Secret Love (Remaster)
16. For What It’s Worth (Remaster)
17. The Dealer (Remaster)
18. Lady (Remaster)
19. Gold Dust Woman (Live) (Remaster)
20. Dreams (Live) (Remaster)
21. Angel (Live) (Remaster)
22. Rhiannon (Live) (Remaster)
23. Landslide (with The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra) [Live 2006] (Remaster)
24. Sara (Live From Soundstage) (Remaster)
25. Nightbird (Remaster)
26. I Will Run to You (with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) (Remaster)
27. Two Kinds of Love (Remaster)
28. Too Far From Texas (with Natalie Maines) (Remaster)
29. Sorcerer (Remaster)
30. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (Remaster)
31. Cheaper Than Free (feat. Dave Stewart) (Remaster)
32. Blue Water (feat. Lady Antebellum) (Remaster)
33. Borrowed (Remaster)
34. Crash Into Me (Live) (Remaster)
35. Circle Dance (Live) (Remaster)
36. Rock and Roll (Live) (Remaster)
37. Blue Lamp (Remaster)
38. Sleeping Angel (Remaster)
39. If You Ever Did Believe (Remaster)
40. Crystal (Remaster)

John Coltrane’s Prestige recordings have been repackaged many times, beginning with a series of LPs released in the 1960s, long after he left the label. As far as the calendar goes, Coltrane wasn’t with the label long, playing as a sideman in 1957, then spending 1958 as a leader. Only Soultrane came out during ’58, with Standard Coltrane, Stardust, Bahia, and Dakar appearing much later, after Coltrane became a reliable star.
Back in 1991, Fantasy packaged up everything in the 16-CD box The Prestige Recordings, and that hefty set became the standard bearer for Coltrane’s Prestige sessions, but Craft’s 2019 set Coltrane ’58: The Prestige Recordings benefits from its narrow focus. Concentrating entirely on Coltrane’s sessions as a leader during 1958,…

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…this box — available either as a five-CD or eight-LP set — marches through the year, presenting each session in chronological order. Even if this music is firmly anchored in swinging hard bop, this sequencing highlights Coltrane’s rapid evolution. By the end of the set, he is well on his way to developing his signature sheets of sound, a modernist mode that found full flower on his records for Atlantic, but these sessions recorded at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio crackle because the process of discovery is happening within the confines of loose, lively hard bop, supported by such stalwarts as pianist Red Garland, trumpeters Freddie Hubbard and Donald Byrd, bassist Paul Chambers, guitarist Kenny Burrell, and drummer Jimmy Cobb.

While it’s true that all this music is easy to find elsewhere, it’s also true that Coltrane ’58: The Prestige Recordings sounds sterling and is presented with thought and care, so anybody looking to dive into these classic recordings will find this a fine intro.

DISC ONE

1. Lush Life
2. Come Rain or Come Shine
3. The Believer
4. Nakatini Serenade
5. Lover
6. Russian Lullaby
7. Theme for Ernie
8. You Say You Care

DISC TWO

1. Good Bait
2. I Want to Talk About You
3. Lyresto
4. Why Was I Born
5. Freight Trane
6. I Never Knew
7. Big Paul
8. I See Your Face Before Me

DISC THREE

1. Rise and Shine
2. Little Melonae
3. If There Is Someone Lovelier Than You
4. By the Numbers
5. Black Pearls
6. Lover Come Back to Me

DISC FOUR

1. Sweet Sapphire Blues
2. Spring Is Here
3. Invitation
4. I’m a Dreamer (Aren’t We All)
5. Love Thy Neighbor
6. Don’t Take Your Love From Me
7. Stardust

DISC FIVE

1. My Ideal
2. I’ll Get By (As Long as I Have You)
3. Do I Love You Because You Are Beautiful
4. Then I’ll Be Tired of You
5. Something I Dreamed Last Night
6. Bahia
7. Goldsboro Express
8. Time After Time

With his long mane of white hair, Edgar Winter has long cut one of the most striking profiles in rock. Like his older brother Johnny, Texas-born Edgar was steeped in the blues. Emerging onto the scene with the 1970 Epic album Entrance, Winter fused blues with many of the styles with which he would become known, including rock, pop, soul, and jazz. Funk and even disco would come later, but one thing remained constant in whatever genre Edgar Winter was recording: virtuosic musicianship. A talented multi-instrumentalist, Winter wielded his alto saxophone and keyboards on a number of albums as both a solo artist and a bandleader. Cherry Red’s Hear No Evil imprint has collected his classic 1970s output on Tell Me in a Whisper: The Solo Albums 1970-1981.

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As a solo artist, Winter was truly free to follow his muse.  Entrance (primarily composed by Edgar and Johnny) introduced his catholic approach to music; its opening track alone combined rock with orchestrated pop, blue-eyed soul, and straight jazz passages.  Every track on the first side segued into the next with no interruption, as if to underscore his progressive ambitions.  Entrance, on which Edgar played sax, piano, and organ in addition to handling all lead vocals, also touched on gospel and boogie.  It introduced his scorching rendition of John D. Loudermilk’s “Tobacco Road” (which he would revisit with White Trash) as performed with Johnny.  It would become a Winter staple.

Tell Me in a Whisper continues with Jasmine Nightdreams, Edgar’s 1975 sophomore solo album “co-created” per the credits with his frequent collaborator, Dan Hartman.  In addition to singer-songwriter-musician Hartman, the album also featured Johnny as well as the brothers’ Blue Sky Records labelmate Rick Derringer.  (Hear No Evil has also recently collected Derringer’s Blue Sky albums in a similar box set.)  The soaring Hartman/Winter title co-write epitomized smooth mid-’70s pop-rock, but strains of danceable funk, gospel, and blues rock weren’t far beneath the surface.

1979’s The Edgar Winter Album took the artist to the hallowed grounds of Philadelphia’s Sigma Sound Studios for a vibrant album of soulful R&B and disco inspired by the sounds of the city.  Dance music pioneer Tom Moulton co-produced with Winter, and a small group of Philly and MFSB veterans formed the band, including Larry Washington on congas, Keith Benson on drums, James Williams on guitar, and Craig Snyder on guitar.  In addition to catchy uptempo, disco-flecked numbers like “It’s Your Life to Live” and “Above and Beyond,” Winter revisited his anti-war ballad “Dying to Live.”  The box is rounded out with 1981’s Standing on Rock, which turned up the guitars as well as the in-vogue synthesizers for a set of vaguely science fiction-influenced songs such as “Martians” and “Tomorrowland.”  All four albums in HNE’s box feature bonus singles, with a total of fourteen tracks appended to the four discs.

CD 1: Entrance (Epic BN 26503, 1970)

1. Winter’s Dream: Entrance
2. Where Have You Gone
3. Rise to Fall
4. Fire and Ice
5. Hung Up
6. Back in the Blues
7. Re-Entrance
8. Tobacco Road
9. Jump Right Out
10. Peace Pipe
11. A Different Game
12. Jimmy’s Gospel
13. Now is the Time (B-side) (Epic single 5-10618, 1970)
14. Tobacco Road (Mono edit) (Epic single 5-10618, 1970)

CD 2: Jasmine Nightdreams (Blue Sky PZ 33483, 1975)

1. One Day Tomorrow
2. Little Brother
3. Hello Mellow Feelin’
4. Tell Me in a Whisper
5. Shuffle-Low
6. Keep on Burnin’
7. How Do You Like Your Love
8. I Always Wanted You
9. Out of Control
10. All Out
11. Sky Train
12. Solar Strut
13. Little Brother (Mono Edit) (Blue Sky single AS 136, 1975)
14. Little Brother (Single Edit) (Blue Sky single AS 136, 1975)
15. One Day Tomorrow (Mono Edit) (Blue Sky single ZS8-2758, 1975)
16. One Day Tomorrow (Single Edit) (Blue Sky single ZS8-2758, 1975)
17. Jasmine Nightdream (B-side) (Blue Sky single ZS8-2758, 1975)
18. I Always Wanted You (Mono Edit) (Blue Sky single ZS8-2761, 1975)
19. I Always Wanted You (Single Edit) (Blue Sky single ZS8-2761, 1975)

CD 3: The Edgar Winter Album (Blue Sky JZ 35989, 1979)

1. It’s Your Life to Live
2. Above and Beyond
3. Take It the Way It Is
4. Dying to Live
5. Please Don’t Stop
6. Make It Last
7. Do What
8. It Took Your Love to Bring Me Out
9. Forever in Love
10. Above and Beyond (Extended Instrumental) (Blue Sky 12-inch single 4Z8 2785, 1979)
11. Above and Beyond (Extended) (Blue Sky 12-inch single 4Z8 2785, 1979)
12. Above and Beyond (Single Edit) (Blue Sky single ZS9 2876, 1979)
13. It’s Your Life to Live (Single Edit) (Blue sky single ZS9 2780, 1979)

CD 4: Standing on Rock (Blue Sky JZ 36494, 1981)

1. Star Garbage
2. Standing on Rock
3. Love is Everywhere
4. Martians
5. Rock and Roll Revival
6. In Love
7. Everyday Man
8. Tomorrowland
9. Love is Everywhere (Single Edit) (Blue Sky single ZS6 70068, 1981)

Barry White‘s Love Unlimited Orchestra‘s seven albums have been remastered and reissued as The 20th Century Records Albums 1973-1979, a new seven-CD box set.
…White sumptuous arrangements for the orchestra were readily apparent on his own solo smashes, but it was with the Love Unlimited Orchestra that he earned his first pop success, when the swirling “Love’s Theme” (like all the Orchestra’s output, an instrumental) topped the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1974.
For the next five years, the orchestral romance continued at an even pace with White’s own solo albums, with additional classics like “Satin Soul” and “My Sweet Summer Suite” impacting the pop and dance charts.

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The Love Unlimted Orchestra’s last release for 20th Century Records (before White moved his whole operation to the CBS-distributed Unlimited Gold imprint) was the delightfully-titled Super Movie Themes…Just a Little Bit Different, which tackled score cues from Superman, Grease, the 1976 remake of King Kong and others.

Disc 1: Rhapsody in White (originally released as 20th Century Records T-433, 1973)
Disc 2: Together Brothers: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (originally released as 20th Century Records ST-101, 1974)
Disc 3: White Gold (originally released as 20th Century Records T-458, 1974)
Disc 4: Music Maestro Please (originally released as 20th Century Records T-480, 1975)
Disc 5: My Sweet Summer Suite (originally released as 20th Century Records T-517, 1976)
Disc 6: My Musical Bouquet (originally released as 20th Century Records T-554, 1978)
Disc 7: Super Movie Themes…Just a Little Bit Different (originally released as 20th Century Records T-582, 1979)

5 album box set: two regular studio albums, two collections of outtakes, leftovers and rarities (one of them renamed, edited and updated by The 39 Clocks exclusively for this box set) plus a previously unreleased live LP from 1981 ‘Furthermore’.
The 39 Clocks are one of the most magnificent bands ever to have emerged from Germany; Diedrich Diederichsen, German pop boffin, considers them to be the nation’s best band of the ’80s. The legendary duo from Hanover broke every rule in the music business, without exception. And – above all – with attitude. The very appearance of the Clocks was beyond compare: the odd grainy black and white photograph reveals two wiry figures in Beatnik attire and sunglasses. They are elusive, incapable of being…

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…categorized, unless the category is a little bit weird. Their real names have been eradicated (“never had one” – Clocks), replaced by cryptic initials (CH-39, JG-39), less than randomly reminiscent of molecular chains like LSD-25. The weirdness is reflected in their music: sizzling irradiated, repetitive.

The outrageous rumours surrounding the duo are the stuff of legend: strung out live performances with vacuum cleaners instead of guitars, frequently facing a throng of concertgoers with a tendency to boo, flee the venue or threaten them with physical violence. Sometimes exasperated promoters simply pulled the plug (literally). So many stories.

The Clocks project really began to take shape in 1979 when they turned away from punk and created “psycho beat”, positioning themselves as the antithesis of the emerging NDW/German New Wave movement. Their music is a futuristic, definitively urban, evolution of American garage punk from the 1960s. Their stylistic modus operandi: expressionless voice, English lyrics with an intentionally heavy German accent, dirty sound, cool monochrome image.

Those lacking in imagination might identify touches of the Velvet Underground and stop right there, but many other influences were also at work: from Salvador Dali via the Troggs, Suicide, Peter Handke’s Offending The Audience, Antoine to Tiny Tim, Kurt Schwitters, Can and NEU! The Clocks themselves spoke of “at least 123” sources of inspiration. In early 1980s Germany, the 39 Clocks were, at one and the same time, a panoply of discernible influences and a singular phenomenon with a clear, inimitable sonic identity. Time and again, the 39 Clocks succeeded in pushing back the borders of experimentation a little further: barely tolerable, protracted live improvisations, atonal passages, background noises, extreme lo-fi and a tinny beatbox test the listener’s receptivity to the limit.

And yet: the Clocks’ radicalism earned them worldwide acclaim. Their records were sought after in such far- flung countries as England, Greece and the USA. And their sonic experiments popped up in various film soundtracks, including “Nightfall”, “23 – Nichts ist so, wie es scheint” and television series like “Halt and Catch Fire” in the US. — tapeterecords.de

CD 1 „Pain It Dark“
1 Shake the Hippie
2 DNS
3 78 Soldier Dead
4 Out of Sight
5 Stupid Art
6 Test the Beat
7 Psycho Beat
8 Twisted & Shouts
9 Radical Student in Satin Boots
10 39 Explosion Heats
11 A Look Into You

CD 2 „Subnarcotic“
1 Heat of Violence
2 DOM (Electricity Elects the Rain)
3 Psychotic Louie Louie
4 Past Tense Hopes & Insant Fears On 42nd Street
5 Virtuous Girl
6 Three Floors Down
7 Rainy Night Insanities
8 A Touch of Rot
9 Aspettando Godot

CD 3 „A 39 Clocks Performance“
1 DNS (live)
2 Past Tense Hopes & Instant Fears On 42nd Street (live)
3 Shake the Hippie (live)
4 Three Floors Down (live)
5 A Look Into You (live)

CD 4 „Reality Is a State of Mind“
1 Realities Are A State Of Mind
2 39 Progress Of A Psychotic
3 New Crime Appeal
4 The Great Chomeini
5 DNS (45 version)
6 Twisted & Shouts (45 version)
7 Fast Cars
8 Your Prick Makes Me Sick
9 Art Minus Idiots
10 I Love A Girl
11 Signs & Toys
12 Psycho Beat
13 Beat Your Brain Out

CD 5 “13 More Protest Songs”
1 Eternal Yesterdays
2 What Never Happened
3 Eve Of Destruction
4 You Can’t Count The Bombs (It’s zero)
5 But You Know
6 Mr. Diamond
7 My Tears Will Drown The World
8 Il Ne Porte Pas Ses Nylons Négligés
9 Shake Gaddafi’s Blues
10 I’m Not Alone With You (ce n’est pas pervers)
11 (they don’t dance much) The Violet Ones

Eddie And The Hot Rods, ‘The Island Years’, is a comprehensive six-cd boxed set covering the bands time on Island Records – 1975 to 1979. With 98 tracks over six cds, it brings together their first three albums – ‘Teenage Depression’, ‘Life On The Line’ and ‘Thriller’ as well as bonus tracks and BBC session recordings.
One of the most influential and important British rock bands of their generation, Eddie And The Hot Rods are often categorised as one of the founding fathers of the punk era, but they themselves claim they were simply interested in playing loud, fast, in your face Rock ‘n’ Roll. The energy and attitude certainly endeared them to the punks, but the hard and fast style that made Eddie And The Hot Rods one of the most exciting bands of the era…

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…has never really dated or gone out of style.
Disc one is the seminal ‘Teenage Depression’ album which hit number 43 in the UK National Chart in December 1976. Included is the number 35 hit single version of the title track plus, amongst the thirteen bonus tracks, all of the No.43 charting ‘Live At The Marquee’ EP.
The second disc is the number 27 charting ‘Life On The Line’ album which includes the Top Ten New Wave anthem ‘Do Anything You Wanna Do’ and the No.36 ‘Quit This Town’. Amongst the twelve bonus tracks is the No.44 hit ‘I Might Be Lying’ plus the band’s collaboration with the MC5’s Rob Tyner.
Disc three is the band’s ‘Thriller’ album which reached number 50 in the summer of 1979 and now comes with two b-sides previously not on the original album.
The fourth disc contains twelve tracks recorded over three different sessions for the legendary John Peel show on BBC Radio One, none of which have been given a commercial release before now.
A prolific gigging band, the Hot Rods have two rare BBC In Concerts – from 1977 and 1978 – featured on Disc Five.
Disc six contains something of a New Wave Punk collectors ‘Holy Grail’ in the shape of a twelve track Fan Club LP. It has never before issued on CD and only 100 copies were previously pressed back in 1977.

Part of the pREServed Residents reissue series, this 6CD box set includes the albums Mark Of The Mole, The Tunes Of Two Cities and The Big Bubble, plus many extras including two discs of full live performances of The Mole Show from 1982/83…
Between 1981 and 1985 The Residents embarked on what would become the infamous, ultimately incomplete ‘Mole Trilogy’. Intended to tell the story of two colliding cultures – the Moles and the Chubs – via the mediums of narrative storytelling and recreations of the music of those societies, the project took the band into unchartered musical territory, into the concert halls of the USA and Europe for the first time and, legend has it, to the brink of collapse. Produced with The Cryptic Corporation using archival tapes…

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…supplied by The Residents themselves, this set presents, for the first time, all known recordings related to the ‘Mole’ saga – namely the albums “Mark Of The Mole”, “The Tunes Of Two Cities” and “The Big Bubble”, as well as live recordings, unreleased material, rehearsal room recordings, alternate mixes, demos and a selection of recordings which may or may not comprise part of the legendary, unreleased Part Three of the trilogy.

A significant leap, both sonically and conceptually, from their 1970s work, the “Mole Trilogy” proves to be the link between the freewheeling, avant-garde leanings of The Residents’ early material and the concept-driven, electronically produced music they would explore in the latter half of the 1980s and beyond. Packed with almost three hours (by our count) of previously unreleased music, this set is a must- hear for fans of San Francisco’s most infamous and increasingly unfathomable quartet.

Remastered, expanded, and pREServed for future generations – this is the latest in a series of archival Residents reissues.

Disc One: Mark Of The Mole

1. Voices Of The Air
2. The Ultimate Disaster
3. Migration
4. Another Land
5. The New Machine
6. Final Confrontation
Bonus Moles
7. Voices Of The Air (Live In The Studio)
8. The Ultimate Disaster (Live In The Studio)
9. Migration (Live In The Studio)
10. Another Land (Live In The Studio)
11. The New Machine (Live In The Studio)
12. Final Confrontation (Live In The Studio)

Disc Two: The Tunes Of Two Cities

1. Serenade For Missy
2. A Maze Of Jigsaws
3. Mousetrap
4. God Of Darkness
5. Smack Your Lips (Clap Your Teeth)
6. Praise For The Curse
7. The Secret Seed
8. Smokebeams
9. Mourning The Undead
10.song Of The Wild
11.the Evil Disposer
12.happy Home
Bonus Tunes
13.open Up
14.anvil Forest
15.scent Of Mint
16.smack Your Lips (1982 Rehearsal)
17.song Of The Wild (1982 Rehearsal)
18.happy Home (1982 Rehearsal)
19.god Of Darkness (Live In The Studio)
20.smack Your Lips (Live In The Studio)
21.the Secret Seed (Live In The Studio)
22.happy Home (Live In The Studio)

Disc Three: The Big Bubble

1. Sorry
2. Hop A Little
3. Go Where Ya Wanna Go
4. Gotta Gotta Get
5. Cry For The Fire
6. Die-stay-go
7. Vinegar
8. Firefly
9. The Big Bubble
10. Fear For The Future
11. Kula Bocca Says So Bonus Bubbles
12. Jingle Bell
13. Untitled
14. Kula Bocca (2-track Demo)
15. Die-stay-go (2-track Demo)
16. Cry For The Fire Sketch
17. The Big Bubble (Live, 1986)
18. Hop A Little (Live, 1986)
19. Cry For The Fire (Live On Norge Tv Nrk)
20. Die-stay-go (Live In San Francisco, 2011)

Disc Four: The Mole Show Live At The Roxy

1. Voices Of The Air
2. The Secret Seed
3. “welcome…”
4. The Ultimate Disaster
5. “rather Flashy…”
6. God Of Darkness
7. “mole Style…”
8. Migration
9. Another Land
10. “that’s All We Need…”
11. The New Machine
12. “a Real Complicated Ending…”
13. The Song Of The Wild
14. Final Confrontation
15. “we Had To Borrow Money From Our Parents…”
16. Satisfaction
17. Happy Home

Disc Five: The Uncle Sam Mole Show – Live In Washington, Dc Entire Recording Previously Unreleased

1. Voices Of The Air
2. The Secret Seed
3. “good Evening…”
4. The Ultimate Disaster
5. “those Were Four Songs…”
6. God Of Darkness
7. “more Religion…”
8. Migration
9. Shorty’s Lament (Intermission)
10. Smack Your Lips
11. “we’re In Chub Land…”
12. Another Land
13. “things Are Going Fairly Well…”
14. The New Machine
15. “a Giorgio Moroder Scene…”
16. The Song Of The Wild
17. The Final Confrontation
18. The Singing Resident Needs Something
19. Satisfaction
20. Happy Homea
21. The Star Spangled Banner

Disc Six: Miscellaneous Mole Materials

1. Motm Mix One Concentrate
2. Lights Out (Prelude)
3. Shorty’s Lament
4. The Moles Are Coming
5. Would We Be Alive?
6. The New Hymn
7. Another Another Land
8. Now It Is Too Late
9. Going Nowhere
10. From Mom1
11. Satisfaction (Live In The Studio)
12. Marching To The We
13. Would We Be Alive (Live 2005)
14. Marching To The Sea/intermission (Live 2013)

After last year’s excellent Punk and New Wave box set, broadcaster and DJ Gary Crowley has turned his attention to the 1980s, by curating a new four-CD and 3LP package called Gary Crowley’s Lost 80s.
As you might expect, this package isn’t the normal 80s compilation with images of Rubik’s Cube and Pac Man on the front, and the oh so familiar big hits, rather this is a trip through the decade via some lesser-known songs. Alongside quirky selections from the catalogue of Wham!, Depeche Mode, Prefab Sprout, Spandau Ballet, Culture Club and Bananarama, sit artists like The Suede Crocodiles, Friends Again, Bush Tetras, Strawberry Switchblade and poignantly, given yesterday’s news, Lost 80s also includes the dance mix of Pete Shelley‘s Homosapien.

672 MB  320 ** FLAC

CD1:

1. Vic Godard – Stop That Girl (02:55)
2. The Pale Fountains – (There’s Always) Something On My Mind (02:42)
3. Haircut 100 – Milk Film (02:57)
4. Aztec Camera – Pillar To Post (04:02)
5. The Bluebells – Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool (02:28)
6. Johnny Britton – Happy-Go-Lucky Girls (02:47)
7. Prefab Sprout – Lions In My Own Garden (Exit Someone) (02:35)
8. Fantastic Something – If She Doesn’t Smile (It’ll Rain) (03:13)
9. The Suede Crocodiles – Stop The Rain (03:25)
10. Friends Again – Honey At The Core (03:56)
11. Strawberry Switchblade – Trees And Flowers (03:46)
12. April Showers – Abandon Ship (03:40)
13. A Craze – Wearing Your Jumper (04:34)
14. Paul Quinn – Ain’t That Always The Way (03:10)
15. Hurrah! – Sweet Sanity (04:15)
16. The Dream Academy – Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want (03:08)

CD2:

1. Bush Tetras – Too Many Creeps (04:01)
2. Bow Wow Wow – Mickey Put It Down (03:02)
3. Theatre Of Hate – Do You Believe In The West World? (05:17)
4. The Apollinaires – The Feeling’s Gone (03:47)
5. The Redskins – Keep On Keeping On (03:52)
6. Carmel – More More More (03:16)
7. JoBoxers – Is This Really The First Time (You’ve Been In Love) (03:46)
8. Makin’ Time – Feels Like It’s Love (05:47)
9. Hey! Elastica – This Town (03:09)
10. Fashion – Streetplayer (Mechanik) (03:51)
11. The Main T Posse – Fickle Public Speakin’ (03:52)
12. The Associates – 18 Carat Love Affair (03:40)
13. Spandau Ballet – Confused (04:38)
14. Matt Fretton – It’s So High (03:16)
15. Depeche Mode – Shake The Disease (04:49)
16. Paul Haig – Running Away (02:44)
17. The Questions – Tuesday Sunshine (Jock Mix) (04:04)
18. The Kane Gang – Brother Brother (03:58)
19. Sunset Gun – Be Thankful For What You’ve Got (03:44)
20. Altered Images – Love To Stay (03:21)

CD3:

1. Wham! – A Ray Of Sunshine (04:48)
2. Grandmaster Flash – The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel (07:08)
3. Tom Tom Club – Genius Of Love (05:35)
4. The Jellies – Jive Baby On A Saturday Night (04:41)
5. I-Level – Give Me (U.S. Remix) (07:51)
6. Jimmy Young – Times Are Tight (03:59)
7. Whodini – Magic’s Wand (05:38)
8. Blue Rondo À La Turk – Klacto Vee Sedstein (03:48)
9. Culture Club – I’m Afraid Of Me (Extended Dance Mix) (07:20)
10. Pigbag – The Big Bean (03:31)
11. Monyaka – Go Deh Yaka (03:56)
12. 23 Skidoo – Coup (04:15)
13. Funkapolitan – If Only (04:50)
14. The Staple Singers – Slippery People (Club Version) (06:30)
15. Matt Bianco – Matt’s Mood (05:18)

CD4:

1. Bananarama – Aie A Mwana (U.S. Extended Version) (06:52)
2. Intaferon – GetoutofLondon (Intacontinentalballisticmix) (08:00)
3. Pete Shelley – Homosapien (04:34)
4. Quando Quango – Genius (06:25)
5. Was (Not Was) – (Return To The Valley Of) Out Come The Freaks (Extended Remix) (08:45)
6. Defunkt – The Razor’s Edge (09:23)
7. Chic – Hangin’ (12 Inch) (05:13)
8. Gang Of Four – I Love A Man In A Uniform (Extended) (04:08)
9. Animal Magnet – Welcome To The Monkey House (05:35)
10. Fun Boy Three – The Alibi (Extended Mix) (05:57)
11. Brilliant – It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World (Extended) (06:04)
12. Morgan & McVey – Looking Good Diving With The Wild Bunch (04:12)