Morse Code "Les Grands Succès de Morse Code" 1978(orig.comp) 1997(reissue)***

Rush may be the only Canadian progressive rockers to win international fame but, just a few kilometers to their east in Quebec, Morse Code were an equally impressive band that just happened to sing in French -they actually started in English as Morse Code Transmission but, failing to get international success, shortened their name to Morse Code and reverted to their native language. Maybe they actually preferred being a "big fish in a small pond" and were apparently very successful in Quebec. Like most prog rockers, they were swept away by the avalanche of Punk and New Wave and virtually forgotten while their albums remained out of print. Meanwhile, the success of bands like Porcupine Tree and Dream Theater in the 90's created a new generation of prog music fans and rekindled interest in classic prog. The buzz on sites like progarchives.com is that the 3 albums they released between 1975-77 fall under the "Hidden treasure" category. (But isn't that what they always say about rare records, just to pique those who cannot afford them?) Capitol Records responded to the demand for the albums' re-release in a way that showed complete lack of faith in the band: Instead of re-releasing the original albums, they re-hashed a 1978 compilation "Les Grands Succès de Morse Code" and released it with the same (lame) cover and different tracklisting. The good reviews and my curiosity about rock from the non-English speaking world motivated me to order this cd from amazon. After listening to it my impression is that they were indeed an unfairly marginalised band. Their compositions and musicianship are on a par with their more famous contemporaries. Their sound is rich, almost symphonic, rather than heavy and reminds of Genesis, Yes, Camel -you get the picture. Opener "La marche des hommes" is an 11-minute mini-epic featuring a lot of piano, mellotron and neo-classical organ ala ELP/ Eloy. "Le pays d'or" is a beautiful ballad on the same style and of excellent quality, same as the next two songs- all from their debut (La Marche des Hommes,1975). The next three come from "Procréation" (1976) and are slightly inferior, although to be fair the supposed highlight of the album, 26-minute "Procréation parts 1-3" is missing. Tracks 8-11 from "Je Suis le Temps" are more AOR than prog. I quite like "Chevaliers d'Un Règne' which creatively steals a small phrase from (Eric Burdon and War's) "Spill The Wine" to incorporate it in an entirely different style -It shouldn't work, but it does. All in all a very good record if you're interested in prog or the 70's, a bit outdated for everyone else...

**** for La marche des hommes, Le pays d'or, Qu'est-ce que t'as compris ?

*** for La cérémonie de minuit, Qu'est-ce t'es v'nu faire ici, De tous les pays du monde, Chevaliers d'un règne, Je suis le temps, Magie de musique, Cocktail (instrumental) 

** for L'eau tonne, Sommeil

Georgia Satellites "Let It Rock" 1993 (comp)***

The 80's were not a great time for rock'n'roll. Punk had long ran out of steam. MTV dictated musical tastes, and it was full of rap and hair metal. Rockers like The Rolling Stones & AC/DC reached their nadir by releasing discs best forgotten. ZZ Top finally hit the big time by diluting their southern boogie with plastic synths and posing for MTV among supercars and "hot chicks". The Georgia Satellites went against the trends and managed to have some success by playing some good ole rock'n'roll (although they are still guilty of bad hair). In 1987 they reached No.2 with "Keep your hands to yourself" and the next year they had another hit with their version of "Hippy hippy shake" from the movie "Cocktail", carefully timed in synchronisation with Tom Cruise's moves at the bar. "Let It Rock" compiles their best moments between 1985-1993, their cover of Ringo's "Don't Pass Me By" being a particular delight. Southern boogie, Country and R&B are all part of the mix.

**** for Don't Pass Me By, Keep Your Hands To Yourself, Battleship Chains, Open All Night,  Down And Down, Hippy Hippy Shake

*** for Let It Rock (Live), Sheila, Mon Cheri, Saddle Up, I Dunno, All Over But The Cryin', Six Years Gone, Hard Luck Boy, Almost Saturday Night / Rockin' All Over The World, Dan Takes Five

** for The Myth Of Love, Can't Stand The Pain, Nights Of Mystery, Another Chance

The Growing Concern "The Growing Concern" 1968****

Mainstream Records was a small independent label that specialised in jazz and soundtrack music. Sensing in 1967 that the real money was in rock (until recently restricted to 7' singles rather than albums), they began looking for exciting new and unknown bands to sign. Among others, they signed two bands playing psychedelic rock and alternating male and female lead vocals. The first one was Big Brother and The Holding Company with Janis Joplin. The second one was The Growing Concern with Bonnie MacDonald and Mary Garstski. Their respective fates would take them to opposite directions. Growing Concern only recorded one album and finally disintegrated with various members shipped off to Vietnam to "make the world safe for democracy". Ironically they lived longer than Big Brother's star, Janis Joplin, who was destined to join the cursed "27 Club" along with Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain. Their music is variously described as West Coast psychedelia (i.e. Jefferson Airplane) or Sunshine pop (i.e. Mamas and Papas). The former comparison would be accurate if it wasn't for the vocal harmonies that remind of the latter group. The band had one male and two female vocalists that could harmonise very successfully. Bonnie MacDonald in particular had a sweet, melodic style better suited to folk rather than rock. The first track "Hard Hard Year" is a strong start, showcasing the beautiful female vocals and Dan Passaglia's talent on the keyboard (some great Doors/Iron Butterfly style organ). Guitarist Ralph Toms shines on the second track "Edge of Time", which has apparently been sampled by electronic music wizard DJ Shadow. Toms often skillfully combines the heavier style of The Yardbirds with the oriental scales that Roger McGuinn introduced in "8 Miles High". Another group composition follows, with the melancholic message "Due to lack of interest, tomorrow has been cancelled". Rather prophetic when you think about the future of the "flower power" generation which was then still on the rise. Melancholic "A Boy I Once Knew" and garagey "What Kind Of Life" are two more original compositions that are at least equal to the contemporary hits covered here -songs by Buffalo Springfield, Fred Neil/Jefferson Airplane and The Yardbirds ("Mister You're A Better Man Than I" is, incidentally, a cry for tolerance that remains relevant today).

**** for Hard Hard Year, Edge of Time, Tomorrow Has Been Cancelled, A Boy I Once Knew, What Kind of Life

*** for All I Really Want, Mister You're a Better Man Than , Other Side of Life

** for I Know a Girl, Sit Down I Think I Love You

Humble Pie "Smokin'" 1972 ****

This was Humble Pie's first album without guitarist/co-founder Peter Frampton. Supposedly the band never recovered from that loss. What nonsense! His replacement Clem Clempson is an unsung hero who, as this album proves, deserved a place next to guitar giants like Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck. Deep Purple knew what they were doing when they approached him in 1975 for the recently vacated position of Ritchie Blackmore. According to legend the resultant jams went very well until they asked him to play something "Blackmore-style", at which point he wisely refused, stating that he can't copy a player with such a different style from his. The job went to Tommy Bolin who, despite being a great guitarist, almost went crazy trying to imitate Blackmore night after night and getting booed off the stage every other time. But enough about Clem, lest we forget that the real star of the band always was Steve Marriott. As a member of The Small Faces, Marriott was a superstar in the Sixties. He possessed the most soulful voice in the UK at that time and put it to good use in this album. The style of the music can be described as Hard Rocking R&B, very close to the sound of Led Zeppelin (Interesting note: compare the Small Faces "You Need Loving" to Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love", which came out 3 years later). Single "30 Days in the Hole" was a big hit and "Smokin'" eventually went on to become The Pie's biggest selling album. The rock'n'roll covers of "C'mon Everybody" and "Roadrunner" are also great, the latter featuring some fine Hammond organ courtesy of Stephen Stills. Opener "Hot 'n' Nasty" is another great hard rocker and "I Wonder" a 9-minute blues workout. Country-blues "Old Time Feeling" features lead vocals from Greg Ridley and guest guitar from Alexis Korner. Due to the absence of both Marriott & Clempson it is the weakest song in the album.

***** for 30 Days in the Hole, Hot 'n' Nasty

**** for The Fixer, C'mon Everybody, Road Runner/Road Runner's 'G' Jam

*** for You're So Good for Me, I Wonder, Sweet Peace and Time

** for Old Time Feelin'

The Flaming Lips "Clouds Taste Metallic", 1995 ***

The Flaming Lips gave a magical concert in Athens in 2003. They played music from their then current cd "Yoshimi battles the pink robots" and I will never forget the euphoric state leader Wayne Coyne was in (no doubt the result of some very good drugs), singing with glee while showering the audience with multi-coloured confetti -not to mention members of the band,playing dressed in Halloween animal suits... This album was far less memorable, with the exception of the song titles. A song with the title "Psychiatric Explorations of the Foetus With Needles" is worthy of an "Ummagumma" and the problem of this album is also reminiscent of "Ummagumma": An early experimental album of a band that would go on to make better music. I bought it on the strength of their previous indie hit "She don't use jelly" and was disappointed with the lack of accessible songs. Re-listening the cd after many years, the elements that won me over some years later already existed: big melodies, psychedelic/prog elements and even the weird fascination with animals. But it sounds like the band sabotaged itself, as if afraid that the "cool kids" will accuse them of selling out. Kim's Watermelon is the closest the album gets to the garage sound of "Jelly", but nowhere as good. The best tracks are the ones anticipating the road taken with the "Soft Bulletin" cd, a sort of Neil Young/Beatles/Pink Floyd/Coldplay hybrid: Abandoned Hospital Ship,  This Here Giraffe, Brainville and the highlight of the album "Christmas at the Zoo" (Never heard the word "orangutan" in a song before, although admittedly I haven't heard the "Lion King" yet). I doubt I'll be listening to this album again soon, but don't let that discourage you. After all, allmusic.com gave it 4,5* so maybe you'd like to check it out anyway.

**** for Christmas at the Zoo, This Here Giraffe

*** for The Abandoned Hospital Ship, Psychiatric Explorations of the Foetus With Needles,  Brainville, Evil Will Prevail, Bad Days

** for Placebo Headwound, Guy Who Got a Headache and Accidentally Saves the World,  When You Smile, Kim's Watermelon, They Punctured My Yolk,  Lightning Strikes the Postman

Mekons "Heaven & Hell" 1978-2004(rec) 2004 (comp) ****

Heaven and Hell is collection of songs by the Mekons, a British punk collective started in 1977 by a bunch of Leeds University students. Over the years a lot has changed: the band has moved to the U.S. and embraced different kinds of music, to the point that they are now considered as one of the pioneers of the alternative country scene. The 1985 album "Fear and Whiskey" is a particular landmark in that direction. Importantly, whatever else changed, they have stayed true to their punk ethos and left wing politics. This 2CD compilation features tracks from about 20 albums released between 1978-2004 and is one of the more diverse collections by a single band you'll ever get to hear. Early singles "Never Been in A Riot" and "Where Were You" are pure punk, but you also get reggae-folk (Work All Week), garage-rock (Memphis Egypt), alt.country ballads ("Ghost of American Astronauts" sounds like the Cowboy Junkies),  cajun-punk (Big Zombie) etc. The "Old Trip to Jerusalem" sounds like Sandinista-era Clash trying their hand at Gospel, "The Curse" like The Pogues and "One Horse Dub" merges blues and electronica years before Moby did. When Sally Timms takes the lead vocal, she sings so sweetly you'll be fooled into thinking you're listening to a love song when she's really singing about something like the drug trade as an imperialist control method from the days of the East India company to the CIA (in "Brutal'). Anarcho-popsters Chumbawamba must have been paying attention, because they have had a lot of success with the same mix of radical politics and honey-voiced pop. This compilation acts like a sampler of different periods and styles and is therefore rather uneven. It's a good point to start but you also can't go wrong with any Mekons album from the late 80's - early 90's.

**** for Hard to Be Human, Ghosts of American Astronauts, Where Were You, Millionaire, Memphis Egypt, The Olde Trip to Jerusalem, Curse, Poxy Lips

*** for Hello Cruel World, Chivalry, Oblivion. Work All Week, (Sometimes I Feel Like) Fletcher Christian, Last Dance, Empire of the Senseless, Big Zombie, One Horse Dub, Brutal, Prince of Darkness, Dancing in the Head, Insignificance, Never Been in a Riot

** for Hate Is the New Love, Neglect, My Song at Night, He Beat Up His Boyfriend, Snow, The Building, (A Dancing Master Such As) Mr. Confess, Out in the Night, Johnny Miner, This Sporting Life

The Sound "Jeopardy" 1980 *****

As promised, cd1 of the new Sound boxset.

When it comes to discussing the greatest post-punk bands, The Sound are rarely considered as contenders. They didn't had any real hits and their albums have remained out of print for long periods of time. This, their debut album, although hastily and cheaply recorded, won 5* reviews. But, despite the reviews and obvious quality of the songwriting, it failed to find an audience. To me the reason why is unfathomable. On hearing the opening song of this album, I was immediately hooked. As long as I can remember, no Rock DJ has failed to get a good reaction with it. And, in Greece, in the 80's and 90's, everybody played it! It starts off slowly and keeps building up to the desperate chorus "I...Can't...Escape Myself!". For those who have never heard the band, points of reference would be early U2 and Echo & the Bunnymen, Bauhaus and, above all, Joy Division. Imagine a rockier Joy Division, with louder guitars. Lyrically there are also similarities - maybe the frontmen of both groups projected in their music the mental health problems which eventually led them to suicide, although The Sound's Adrian Borland displays a fighting spirit despite the gloominess. Second track "Heartland" should also have been a hit, it's fast and punky with loud keyboards and a rousing chorus. "Hour Of Need" and "Unwritten Law" are dark and atmospheric, reminiscent of The Cure circa Faith and Pornography. First single "Heyday" is a blazing (post) punk rocker, while further highlights include the punk angst of "Words Fail Me", social commentary of the anthemic "Missiles" and aggressive call for Resistance in the same-named song: "Caught in the comfort of my trap/Where it's easier to die than to fight back/Half-dead, but I hope it's not too late/To take some action and change my fate/Hold on, Hold out/Resistance!". This edition of the album adds formerly single-only tracks "Physical World" and "Brute Force" plus 8 live songs that sometimes surpass their studio counterparts. These hail from the Dutch promo-only Live Instinct EP and a 1980 BBC session. A classic album that I keep getting back to and never seizes to amaze...

***** for I Can't Escape Myself, Heartland, Heyday, Missiles, Resistance

**** for Hour of Need, Words Fail Me, Jeopardy, Unwritten Law and BBC Live versions of Heartland, Unwritten Law & I Can't Escape Myself

*** for  Night Versus Day, Physical World, Brute Force, Desire, the Live Instinct versions of Heartland, Brute Force, Jeopardy, Coldbeat and BBC Live version of Jeopardy

Sam the Sham & The Pharaohs "Greatest Hits" 1990(comp) *****

They got a yoko-maka, huba bakwa ju ju hand

I'm not saying I'm objective here, but I can't help but give 5 stars to Mexican-American Sam Samudio. I know that "perfect" normally is a word reserved for God and The Beatles, but he's such a likable guy. Just look at him and his band at the cover of that old LP. And if you're still not convinced, try to listen to the whole 2 minutes 19 seconds of Wooly Bully without moving with the rhythm. I know I've already made my point, but I'll be quoting some of the lyrics as further proof. Anyway, here is the tracklisting:   

A1)Woolly Bully***** "Uno, dos, one, two, tres, quatro/Matty told Hatty about a thing she saw/Had two big horns and a wooly jaw/Wooly bully, wooly bully...."  

A2)Little Red Riding Hood***** Mid-paced number with genious lyrics "Hey there Little Red Ridin' Hood, you sure are lookin' good/You're every thing that a big bad wolf would want....Wooooof...ehm...I mean Beeeehh".    

A3)The Hair Of My Chinny Chin Chin**** Another fairytale-inspired song, in similar rhythm "I'll huff and puff and blow your little house down".
A4)Red Hot**** "My gal is red hot/Your gal ain't doodly-squat" Great rockabilly. 

A5)El Toro De Goro*** A story about a peace-loving bull ramming his horns in an arrogant bullfighter's ass. Accompanied by mariachi trumpets.    

A6)(I'm in with) the Out Crowd ** OK, you got me. This one sucks. I think it comes from some 60's soundtrack.    

B1)Ju Ju Hand**** Basically, a shameless recycling of Wooly Bully. But try to resist it and you'll see it's pointless."I got a lock o your hair and a bullfrogs eye/And if you break my heart, you better say goodbye"    

B2)Standing Ovation*** Typical Tex-Mex organ sound. Reminds me of Doug Sahm (no relation).     

B3)Mystery Train*** Nice version of this Elvis hit.     

B4)Ready Or Not** "Apple peaches pumpkin pie". OK, it's a comparatively lame song.     

B5)Ring Dang Doo*** "Said I can't stay though my love is true/I've got to keep a lookin' for a ring dang doo". A nice mid-60's garage rocker.

B6)I Wish it Were Me** nothing special. OK, that wraps it up: 8 in 12 genius songs, although half of them are actually recycling the Wooly Bully riff. But Wooly Bully alone is enough to secure a place in rock paradise. Plus one more for the sax player of the Pharaoh's, I hadn't heard such rocking sax since I played the Sonics' debut.

Le Orme "Studio Collection 1970-1980" ****

LE ORME (The Footsteps) is, probably together with PFM, the best known Italian progressive group. They started their career in 1966 playing Beat and Psychedelic Pop music and in 1971  they switched to Progressive Rock with classical overtones. Some influences would be Pink Floyd, Emerson Lake & Palmer and maybe Barcley James Harvest, but the fact that they sing in Italian sets them apart. They say that English is a natural fit for Rock'n'Roll and that may be true. I wonder if Italian is likewise a natural language for ballads. Le Orme certainly make a good case for it. This compilation CD covers their best years (1970-1980) and comes in single and double CD editions. The 2CD edition contains 37 tracks, virtually everything you'll ever need from them. CD1 starts off with popsike 1970 single "Il profumo delle viole" and proceeds with covering the period from Collage (1971) to Contrapunti (1974), mostly symphonic prog in the ELP-vein. "Gioco Di Bimba" from 1972's Uomo Di Pezza was their biggest hit of the period, a gorgeous baroque-pop ballad reminiscent of Aphrodite's Child's "Rain And Tears" and Procol Harum's "Whiter Shade Of Pale". CD2 covers the years from 1975's Smogmagica (containing their hit ballad "Amico Di Ieri") to 1980's Piccola Rapsodia Dell' Ape. It is a more varied collection, containing forays into new wave and acoustic baroque-inspired numbers. Although most prefer their earlier more bombastic symphonic prog, I find the soft and melodic neo-classical sound best exemplified in 1979's Florian more to my liking. For a complete discography and individual album reviews I'd suggest trying their page at progarchives. Progheads should definitely check them out - they will discover a group at the least equal to the English prog giants from that era like Genesis, Yes, ELP etc.

 **** for Sguardo verso il cielo, Una dolcezza nuova, Gioco di bimba, Figure di cartone, Felona felona, All'infuori del tempo, Frutto acerbo, Amico di ieri, Verità nascoste, Se io lavoro, Calipso.
*** for Il profumo delle viole, I ricordi più belli, Collage, Era inverno, Cemento armato, Morte di un fiore, La porta chiusa, Aspettando l'alba, La solitudine di chi protegge il mondo, Ritratto di un mattino, India, La fabbricante d'angeli, Sera, Primi passi, Immensa distesa, Canzone d'amore, E' finita una stagione, In ottobre, Regina al Troubadour, Storia o leggenda, Un angelo, Florian Fine di un viaggio, La mia sposa bianca, Il treno, Buona notte

Dengue Fever "Cannibal Courtship" 2011 ***

According to Wikipedia "dengue fever (UK /ˈdɛŋɡeɪ/ or US /ˈdɛŋɡiː/), also known as breakbone fever, is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles". This particular Dengue Fever, however, is of a much more pleasant variety. It's a band formed in 2001 by a bunch of L.A. hipsters with a strange fascination for a genre almost no-one knew existed: 60's Cambodian psychedelic/surf rock. In a stroke of luck they met and recruited Chhom Nimol, a Cambodian singer who had recently emigrated to the U.S. Their first 2 albums remained firmly in that genre and were sung by Nimol in the Khmer language. The third one contained breakthrough semi-hit "Tiger Phone Card", a duet sung in English. This is their 4th album and sees them moving further from their roots, with a majority of songs in English while Nimol often shares vocals with guitarist Zac Holtzman. The music is by now a melange of  indie pop, exotica, garage-surf and new wave. Lead track "Cement Slippers" for example sounds like early B52's while "Family Business" and  "A Friend" often remind me of David Byrne. "Thank You Goodbye" is delightfully poppish ala ABBA and has the singer nonchalantly disposing of a lover with lines like "Kiss me goodbye-You're just another stamp in my passport" and "Bonjour-Merci-AuRevoir" (Ouch!) "Uku" is another highlight, the most exotic track of the album and sung exclusively in Khmer, while "Cannibal Courtship" has a more psychedelic 60's vibe. Overall it's an original, fun and exciting record and a good introduction to the band, though I am personally more attracted to their more idiosyncratic beginnings...  

**** for Cannibal Courtship, Uku and Thank You Goodbye

*** for Cement Slippers, Family Business, Only a Friend, Sister in the Radio, Mr. Bubbles and Durian Dowry

** for 2012 (Bury Our Heads) and Kiss of the Bufo Alvarius

AC/DC "LIVE" 1992 ****

This one just came with mail order from the fair city of Leipzig (I've never actually been there but I like to imagine it as a beautiful medieval town). There is a single and a double CD edition, this (2CD) supposedly being a "special collector's edition" but very easy to find and cheap (especially second hand, as this one was). Most AC/DC fans swear by the first live album (with Bon Scott) but this one reads like a greatest hits set, so I thought I'd try it. Well, I didn't regret it: the band is super tight and the performances are both professional and enthusiastic (but then, they always are-check them on youtube). If there ever was doubt whether Brian Johnson could fill Bon Scott's shoes, this album should have dispersed it, as he handles older material extremely well. Despite releasing some below-par records in the 80's, it's obvious that at that point in their career the band were on top of their game live. Having recently seen their latest dvd from (the fair city of -as I imagine it, that is) Buenos Aires, the band is still great but, when you compare the 2 albums, it's obvious that Brian Johnson's voice isn't what it used to be back then. I won't do a track-by-track presentation, as I'll be presenting their studio counterparts in the future. Three songs are notably different from the studio versions, as they're presented in the form of elongated jams ("Jailbreak", "High Voltage", "Highway to Hell") but otherwise the performances are tight and never let up. Overall, the album is a fun, hit-packed collection that flows extremely well, except for these small nuisances: A) the 2CD edition includes some relatively weaker songs from their then-current albums, creating a lull in quality somewhere in the middle of the first CD and B) the songs fade in and out instead of running consecutively, thus ruining the illusion of a "live" concert. Nevertheless, given the absence of a Best-Of, this could be a good place for the novice to start, as it contains all the hits... 

**** for Thunderstruck, Back In Black, Moneytalks, Whole Lotta Rosie, Let There Be Rock, Highway To Hell, T.N.T.

*** for Shoot To Thrill, Who Made Who, The Jack, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, Hells Bells, Are You Ready, Thats The Way I Wanna Rock N Roll, High Voltage, You Shook Me All Night Long, For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)

** for Sin City, Heatseeker, Fire Your Guns, Jailbreak, The Razors Edge, Bonny

THE SOUND "Box Set" 2014

Just came in with the mail. 4CD's by The Sound, one of the great unsung heroes of 80's New Wave. Individual reviews will follow, suffice to say that I already own the first two albums on vinyl and they are awesome!

Jack White "Blunderbuss" 2012 ****

This was Jack White's first "solo" album (as if The White Stripes were not a solo project -not to dis Meg's drumming skills, but her creative input was not that important). On this album, he's left urban hard rockin' Detroit behind to record in capital-of-country-music Nashville with a group of -mostly female- local musicians. It was a huge success, gathering good reviews and hitting #1 on both sides of the Atlantic. Lyric-wise it is supposed to be a "divorce album" a la Blood on the Tracks but don't expect to get depressed - this is still Rock'n'Roll. As far as I'm concerned, the guy has never set a foot wrong, and this is no exception. The sound is fuller than what we're used to with The Stripes, but the voice and guitar unmistakably the same. First single "Love Interruption" was a rather atypical countyish ditty but follow-up "Sixteen Saltines" served up anthemic heavy blues-rock ala "7 Nation Army" or "Blue Orchid". Another 2 perfect singles followed: "Freedom at 21" and the sole cover (by R&B legend Little Willie John) "I'm Shakin'", the second employing some very old-school R&B female backup singing. I won't dwell on the rest of the songs except only to state that this is really one of those all killer no filler albums.

***** for Sixteen Saltines

**** for Missing Pieces, Freedom at 21, Love Interruption, I'm Shakin,Trash Tongue Talker

*** for Blunderbuss, Hypocritical Kiss, Weep Themselves to Sleep, Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy, On and On and On. Take Me with You When You Go

** for  I Guess I Should Go to Sleep

 P.S. Jack, your new release "Lazaretto" is also very good, but can we have a new Raconteurs album, please?

THE CURE "MIXED UP" 1990 ***

The pocket version of THE ROUGH TO ROCK - 100 ESSENTIAL CD's lists this as THE Cure album to have, which struck me as odd, so I had to get it out and re-listen. These are remixes/extended versions of Cure classics, with an emphasis on the, then current, Disintegration album. Two tracks were apparently recreated from scratch as the master tapes were lost (The Walk, A Forest). The sound is generally more electronic/dance-floor friendly but, more often than not, does not depart too much from the originals. I'd say that the album is, on the whole, enjoyable but far from essential.

**** for Close To Me (probably the only song benefiting from the remix), A Forest and Lovesong

*** for Lullaby (long intro), Hot Hot Hot!!! (nice dance version), Fascination Street, The Caterpillar, Never Enough, Pictures Of You

** for The Walk, Inbetween Days

Hello

I'm in the process of re-listening and re-evaluating my record collection, for the moment with no particular order. It's going to be a long task, since it concerns a considerable and ever-increasing collection (3000 albums? 2500? 4000? - I admit my archiving skills are rather pathetic) and my free time is limited. I'll be sharing the results of this process and my thoughts on the music, on this blog. My aim is to publish one post daily, let's see if I can keep up. Record cover photos are taken with my old mobile phone and thus not of great quality. For music samples I'm using videos from youtube, following instructions from google blogger. It's not my job to research the legitimacy of such videos, so anyone with legal/licensing issues may address youtube...