Orchestra Baobab "Pirates Choice: The Legendary 1982 Session" 1989(released)*****

I listened to this album when it first came out even though -like most people in the late 80's- I wasn't hip to "world music". It didn't exist as a genre yet - hell it doesn't exist as a genre now, it's just as a label for everything that's not anglo pop. Anyway, it helps to at least have hip friends even if you're not, and my best friend (later a music journalist) taped it for me. I was blown away right from the start by the relaxed dance groove, mellow sax and -above all- by Barthelemy Attisso's fluid guitar arpeggios. Not having another frame of reference at the time, I thought of him as the African J.J. Cale. I think that was just because of the laid-back groove though, since I don't discern any country or blues influences, the music is purely a mix of African and Cuban elements. Orchestra Baobab came together in 1970 as the house band of Dakar's exclusive Baobab club, and have different ethnic backgrounds: Attisso comes from Togo, drummer Mountaga Koité and sax player Issa Cissokho are (East Senegalese and Malian, respectively) Mandinka hereditary griots. Of the singers, Ndiounga Dieng belongs to the main Senegalese ethnic group Wolof, while Rudy Gomis and Balla Sidibe (the latter also plays timbales) come from Casamance, a region near the Guinea Bissau border with a strong Portuguese influence. They were very popular in the mid-70's and in high demand as entertainers, although by the time of this recording their Cuban rhythms were starting to fall out of favor with Dakar's club crowd who preferred the funkier style of younger bands like (Youssou N'Dour's) Étoile de Dakar. These recordings come from a 1982 studio session, recorded live without overdubs, and were originally circulated in cassette and limited LP form. By the time they were discovered by World Circuit and re-released under the title "Pirates Choice" the band had disbanded. It took the second re-release (in 2001, when the "world music" fad had caught on for good) for the band to return to active duty, make more records and tour the world. I saw them soon after in Athens (on a double bill with Salif Keita) and they were still amazing. The CD starts with a couple of laid-back rumbas ("Utru Horas" and "Coumba") sung by Rudy Gomis in creole Portuguese and French, respectively. The next two tracks ("Ledi Ndieme M'bodj", "Werente Serigne") are sung by Dieng in Wolof, and are more upbeat. "Ray Mbele" features yet another lead singer in Medoune Diallo and sounds unmistakably Cuban - except for the language, of course. The original album closer was the slow, almost wistful, "Soldadi", apparently based on a traditional Casamance tune. This CD edition adds alternate versions of "Utru Horas" and "Coumba", while the 2001 re-release (with a different cover) added a whole CD with 6 more songs recorded during the same sessions. That latest edition is still in print and easy to find, not exactly a "buried treasure" even though it was awarded that status by Mojo Magazine. Well, "buried" or not, a musical treasure it certainly is. Highly recommended, whether you like African, Jazz, or Latin music - or even if you're an out-and-out rock fan as I was when I first heard it.

***** for Utru Horas, Coumba, Werente Serigne, Ray Mbele

**** for Ledi Ndieme M'bodjm, Soldadi, Utru Horas (Alternate Take), Coumba (Alternate Take)

Manu Dibango "the very best of African Soul" 1967-1994(rec) 1997(comp)****

Upon hearing of the demise of an artist I liked, I've often felt the need to play their records at home and write a short piece in my blog. But after a few times (I posted relevant album presentations for Lemmy, David Bowie and few others) I decided to stop because the deaths were happening too fast for me to keep up, and the blog was in danger of turning into a series of obituaries. I still play the deceased's music at home, and then add their names to my end-of-the-year R.I.P. list. I decided to make an exception this time for Manu Dibango, not because I'm such a big fan but because he's one of the more famous musicians who fell victims to the coronavirus COVID-19 which keeps us all quarantined at home, and which monopolizes the news. So here it is:

Emmanuel N’Djoké (Manu) Dibango was born in (then French) Cameroon in 1933 and picked up the saxophone in France where his family had sent him to study. He played in many clubs in France, and later Belgium where he fell in with the numerous Congolese community (Congo still being a Belgian colony at the time) and joined one of the most popular African bands of the time, African Jazz. Upon return to Paris in the 60's he started working for French pop star Nino Ferrer while perfecting his own style, moving from Congolese rumba towards a mix of jazz, soul, and African music. The oldest tracks here come from 1967 and include an instrumental version of Nino Ferrer's "Je Veux Etre Noir (I want to be black)". Other instrumentals from that year include "Hot Chicken", "Wouri" and the organ driven "From Congo". It's all more or less typical 60's jazz soul featuring Dibango not only on sax but also on Hammond organ. Opener "Dikalo" (also from 1967) is quite different, a heavy funk number similar to the dance hits that were to follow in the 70's. Of course this version is remixed, which could be one of the reasons it sounds much more modern than the other contemporary tunes here. From 1968 there's a soul tune combining his Jimmy Smith-style organ with Carolyn-Aretha's sister-Franklin's considerable vocal talent. 1969's "Soul Machine" is another groovy sax/organ instrumental and the last of the 60's tunes. Then, we enter the 70's with a bang: On 1972's "Soul Makossa" Dibango isn't imitating American Soul anymore. No more Hammond, he's inventing his own sound featuring super funky rhythms,  ad-libbed vocals in his native Duala language ("makossa" means "I dance") and hot sax. This time it was the Americans who appropriated his music: Kool & The Gang admittedly tried to copy his sound on "Jungle Boogie" and other hits, Micheal Jackson used the song's refrain in his Thriller LP, etc. The song was a huge hit in the US, and Dibango toured the States extensively but Africa was calling him back, so he relocated to the Ivory Coast for some time. There he recorded in 1977 two of these songs: "Big Blow" was another massive hit in discos around the world, while "Bayam Sellam" is jazzy and more laid-back but still danceable. The musical journey across the world continues with 2 tracks recorded in Jamaica in 1979 featuring the famous rhythm section of Sly and Robbie. It's a great piece of world fusion merging jazz, pop, African and Caribbean influences. His latest period (the CD booklet, neatly distinguishing the enclosed music in 5 periods, entitles it "The Hats Off Years") is represented here by 3 tracks: 1985's "Douala Serenade" is a cool jazz piece, while 1990's "Senga Abélé" mixes his typical makossa sound with acid jazz and rap and 1994's "Wakafrika" incorporates more African elements as he collaborates with French-African drummer Manu Katché and traditional musicians playing instruments like the kora, bellaphone and n'goni. All in all, this is a very good introduction to the artist: it covers many years and different styles (only his early soukous are missing, but this was before he developed his personal style), contains the greatest hits and has a nice, informative, booklet. 

***** for Soul Makossa, Big Blow, Wakafrika

**** for Dikalo, Hot Chicken, Douala Serenade, Bayam Sellam, Goro City, Choc 'N' Soul, Senga Abele (Lion Roar)

*** for Soul Machine, Je Veux Etre Noir, Sunday Morning, From Congo, Wouri

Steve Marriott's All Stars "Wham Bam" 1976(rec) 2007(comp)***

This is a posthumous Steve Marriott compilation of rare and unreleased recordings. It marks a strange turn in the singer/guitarist's life: after spending a decade as a superstar member of The Small Faces and Humble Pie, he embarked on a star-crossed solo career which yielded no hits and ended tragically with his accidental death aged 44, when his country cottage caught fire by a lit cigarette. I mean I know that smoking kills, it says so on the pack, but you have to be especially unlucky for cigarettes to kill you that way. And his post-Pie career had started so auspiciously... with an invitation to join The Stones who were looking for a substitution for lead guitarist Mick Taylor. Apparently Richards was very keen to get Marriott on board and arranged for him to jam with the band. Legend has it that he was doing well until he started singing, at which point Mick Jagger became afraid he'd get upstaged and vetoed him, opting for a guitarist that didn't sing. The job went thus to Ron Wood, who coincidentally had previously also replaced Marriott in The Small Faces when they had morphed into The Faces. In any case, he managed to put together a great band including guitarist Mickey Finn, drummer Ian Wallace and bassist Greg Ridley (also former Pie). At least these are the players that backed him in his solo debut Marriott. They also figure here, along with other good musicians, although it's not clear who plays in which tune. The songs gathered together in CD1 seem to be mostly outtakes from the recording sessions for Marriott. We get, for example, two versions of "Midnight Rollin'" from that album (one with vocals and one instrumental). It's a great rocker reminiscent of The Stones and Creedence - though Marriott's voice was arguably superior: a soulful mix of Rod Stewart and Robert Plant. The album opens with an instrumental version of "Wham Bam Thank You Mam" which also appeared on Marriott albeit with vocals. There are generally many instrumentals, most of which sound like unfinished songs waiting for a lyric that never came. Others are better realized e.g. "They Call It Love (But It Smells Like Pussy)" sounds like something by Booker T & The MG's. A  lot of songs feature guest vocalists, which seems strange when you have a singer like Marriott in the group. My guess is that these come from different sessions, probably for an aborted LP by Joe and Vicky Brown. They each take turns singing "Soldier", Joe's version is stark and folky and Vicky's is a big orchestral one - both really good. Vicky also sings "Ruthy", a nice Janis-Joplin-meets-Lou-Reed song written by Marriott, as well as a groovy cover of "Gimme Some Lovin'". "Hey Mama" is an R&B Joe Brown vocal while they all take turns on Dylan's "Times They Are A Changin'" in a version with a Basement Tapes homey feel. "Nobody But You" is an acoustic folk ditty, while "Things You Do To Me" sports a soulful Marriott vocal and cool sax and guitar solos. CD2 is entitled Be My Guest and presented as a "Bonus CD" of Marriott's Guest Appearances. We get two versions of the Stones' "Get Off My Cloud" with Alexis Korner. On the live one Marriott handles a portion of the vocals, while on the studio version we hear Korner and some female backing vocalists. Covers of Rock'n'Roll classics "Twist And Shout" (with The Blackberries) and "Good Times" (with The Easybeats) are fun but the blues tunes are better: "I Just Wanna Make Love To You" (with Monica Tornell) is heavy, and "Mind Your Own Business" (with Henry McCulloch) is in more traditional Chicago style. Lastly, "Green Circles" (performed with Twice As Much) is a mod-psych cover of an older Small Faces song. This hodgepodge compilation of unfinished tracks, covers, collaborations, and a few could-have-been hits may not be your recommended entry point into the world of Steve Marriott, but it's a treasure trove to the already dedicated fan.

**** for Midnight Rollin', Soldier (Vicky Brown voc), Ruthy (Vicky Brown voc)

*** for Wham Bam Thank You Mam(instr), Nobody But You, Barking Spiders(instr), They Call It Love(instr), Things You Do To Me, Times They Are A Changin', Soldier(Joe Brown voc), That'll Do (instr),  Run Rudolph Run, Hey Mama, Gimme Some Lovin', Midnight Rollin'(instr), Get Off My Cloud (Studio), Twist And Shout, Mind Your Own Business, Green Circles, I Just Wanna Make Love To You, Get Off My Cloud (Live), Good Times

** for Factory Girl(instr),  Round 4(instr), Scoffin' Crisps(instr), Pissed As Rats(instr)

MOJO Magazine's "Buried Treasure" List

So here we are, approaching the end of the first week of the (semi) quarantine due to the COVID-19. Still haven't gotten round to doing all the things I always said I'd' do "if I only had time". Haven't picked up my guitar - no, I don't play, never got further than "lesson 2" and by now I have forgotten everything. Haven't read all those books (damn Netflix!). But one thing I did get to do is sort out 10 years' worth of music magazines in my attic. I'm cutting out the most interesting articles and cataloging them according to subject, period etc. Among others, I'm assembling all of MOJO's "Buried Treasure" columns in one neat dossier. I realized that, although I had never before heard of most of them (I guess that's why they call them "buried") I do own some, and would love to present them to you. Most of them really are nice little gems that have fallen through the cracks, and well worth discovering whether you are a record collector trying to build an eclectic collection or just a music lover willing to broaden their horizons. So here's the list, below. Each time I present one of the albums, I'll add a link to the relevant review. As it is, a few of them have already been presented in this blog, check them out!

(Reworked & Reposted - List is up to date until the July 2024 issue)

1. Bo Diddley Bo Diddley 1958
2. Abyssinian Baptist Gospel Choir Shakin' the Rafters 1960
3. Blossom Dearie May I come in? 1964
4. Alan Klein Well at least it's British 1964
5. Sandy Bull Inventions 1965
6. New colony six Breakthrough 1966
7. Johnny Paycheck The Lovin’Machine 1966
8. Patty Waters Sings 1966
9. Pat Kilroy Light Of Day 1966
10. Rising sons Rising sons 1966
11. Blossom toes We are ever so clean 1967
12. Del Shannon Home and away 1967
13. Chris Clark Soul sounds 1967
14. Shivkumar Sharma, Brijbushan Kabra & Hariprasad Chaurasia Call of the valley 1967
15. Fifty Foot Hose Cauldron 1967
16. The Cake The Cake 1967
17. The Id The Inner Sounds Of The Id 1967
18. Millennium Begin 1968
19. Smoke The Smoke 1968
20. David Ackles David Ackles 1968
21. Taj Mahal Taj Mahal 1968
22. Them Time out! Time in for Them 1968
23. Margo Guryan Take a picture 1968
24. Spanky & our Gang Anything you choose/Without rhyme or reason 1968
25. Jake Holmes The above ground sound of 1968
26. Beau brummels Bradley's barn 1968
27. Terry Callier The new folk sound of Terry Callier 1968
28. Victims of chance Victims of chance 1968
29. Lothar and the Hand people Presenting ... Lothar and the Hand people 1968
30. Kiki Dee I'm Kiki Dee 1968
31. Dino Valente Dino Valente 1968
32. Alexander 'Skip' Spence Oar 1969
33. Eire apparent Sunrise 1969
34. Four seasons Genuine imitation life gazette 1969
35. Nina Simone Nina Simone and piano! 1969
36. Judy Henske & Jerry Yester Farewell Aldebaran 1969
37. Bent Wind Sussex 1969
38. Bee gees Odessa 1969
39. Touch This is Touch 1969
40. Richie Havens Ritchie P. Havens, 1983 1969
41. Holy modal rounders The moray eels eat the the Holy modal rounders 1969
42. Karen Dalton It's so hard to tell who's going to love you the best 1969
43. White noise An electric storm 1969
44. Spooky tooth Ceremony: an electronic mass 1969
45. Pete Brown & his Battered ornaments A meal you can shake hands with in the dark 1969
46. Al Kooper You never know who your friends are plus 1969
47. Buffy Sainte-Marie Illuminations 1969
48. Marsha Malamet Coney island winter 1969
49. Kusudo & Worth Of Sun And Rain 1969
50. Marty Wilde Diversions 1969
51. The Fabulous Counts Jan Jan 1969
52. The Open Mind The Open Mind 1969
53. Ram John Holder Black London Blues 1969
54. Dave Bixby Ode to Quetzalcoatl 1969
55. F.J. McMahon Spirit of the Golden Juice 1969
56. Reet Hendrikson Reet 1969
57. The Academy Pop-Lore According to The Academy 1969
58. The Mike Westbrook Concert Band Marching Song Vol. 1 1969
59. Tucker Zimmerman Ten Songs by Tucker Zimmerman 1969
60. Nitty gritty dirt band Uncle Charlie & his dog Teddy 1970
61. Trader horne Morning way 1970
62. Vashti Bunyan Just another diamond day 1970
63. Paul Williams Someday man 1970
64. Sixto Diaz Rodriguez Cold fact 1970
65. Ron Geesin and Roger Waters Music from the body 1970
66. Power of Zeus The gospel according to Zeus 1970
67. Harmony grass This is us 1970
68. Rationals The Rationals 1970
69. Paul Siebel Woodsmoke and oranges 1970
70. Edison electric band Bless you, dr. Woodward 1970
71. Grodeck whipperjenny The Grodeck whipperjenny 1970
72. Paul Kantner/Jefferson Starship Blows against the empire 1970
73. Jimmy Campbell Half baked 1970
74. Dave & Toni Arthur Hearken to the witches rune 1970
75. Black Widow Sacrifice 1970
76. Ugly Custard Ugly Custard 1970
77. Ron Davies Silent Song Through The Land 1970
78. Fresh Fresh Out of Borstal 1970
79. Randy Burns Song for an Uncertain Lady 1970
80. Richard Twice Richard Twice 1970
81. Ron Nagle Bad Rice 1970
82. Pete Brown & Piblokto! Things may come and things may go but the Art School dance goes on for ever 1970
83. Beaver & Krause Gandharva 1971
84. David Crosby If I could only remember my name 1971
85. Colin Blunstone One year 1971
86. Judee Sill Judee Sill 1971
87. Lou Christy Paint American love 1971
88. Michel Polnareff Polnareff's 1971
89. Eugene McDaniels Headless heroes of the apocalypse 1971
90. Brothers and Sisters Dylan's gospel 1971
91. Fuchsia Fuchsia 1971
92. Leaf hound Growers of mushroom 1971
93. Luv machine Luv machine 1971
94. Catherine Ribeiro + Alpes No 2 1971
95. Hookfoot Hookfoot 1971
96. Ramases Space hymns 1971
97. Third world war Third world war 1971
98. Ray Brooks Lend Me Some of Your Time 1971
99. Syrinx Long Lost Relatives 1971
100. Pentangle Solomon's seal 1972
101. American spring American spring 1972
102. Mellow candle Swaddling songs 1972
103. Arthur Lee Vindicator 1972
104. Alan Sorrenti Aria 1972
105. Murray Head Nigel lived 1972
106. C.O.B. Moyshe McStiff and the Tartan lancers of the sacred heart 1972
107. Willis Alan Ramsey Willis Alan Ramsey 1972
108. Stringtronics Mindbender 1972
109. Annette Peacock I'm the one 1972
110. Keith Cross & Peter Ross Bored civilians 1972
111. Third Ear Band Music from Macbeth 1972
112. Bobby Keys Bobby Keys 1972
113. Don Bradshaw-Leather Distance Between Us 1972
114. Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom From Jamestown, North Dakota 1972
115. The Peddlers Suite London 1972
116. Arlo Guthrie Last of the Brooklyn cowboys 1973
117. Hawkwind Space ritual 1973
118. Sensational Alex Harvey band Next 1973
119. Airto Fingers 1973
120. Gary Higgins Red hash 1973
121. Country Joe McDonald Paris sessions 1973
122. Home The alchemist 1973
123. Chris Barber Drat That Fratle Rat 1973
124. Chris Darrow Chris Darrow 1973
125. Scaffold Fresh Liver 1973
126. Tracy Nelson Tracy Nelson 1974
127. Glen Campbell Reunion : the songs of Jimmy Webb 1974
128. Steve Ashley Stroll on 1974
129. Shuggie Otis Inspiration information 1974
130. Harmonia Musik von Harmonia 1974
131. Bruce Henry with Ronnie Biggs Mailbay blues : the Ronnie Biggs story 1974
132. Hall & Oates War babies 1974
133. Sir John Betjeman Late flowering love 1974
134. Robert Calvert Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters 1974
135. Rodger Wilhoit The “Social World” Of Roger Wilhoit 1974
136. Barry Thomas Goldberg Misty Flats 1974
137. Alan Braufman Valley Of Search 1975
138. Clifford T. Ward Escalator 1975
139. Dion Born to be with you 1975
140. Guy Clark Old no. 1 1975
141. Kenny White Venusian summer 1975
142. Peter Hammill Nadir's Last Chance 1975
143. Various Artists Wilderness America, A Celebration Of The Land 1975
144. Terry Reid Seed of memory 1976
145. Pavlov's dog At the sound of the bell 1976
146. American flyer American flyer 1976
147. David Forman David Forman 1976
148. Mac Gayden Skyboat 1976
149. Penguin café orchestra Music from the Penguin cafe 1976
150. Lewis Furey The humours of 1976
151. Dwight Twilley band Sincerely 1976
152. Dennis Wilson Pacific ocean blue 1977
153. Beatles Live at the Hollywood bowl 1977
154. Daevid Allen Now is the happiest time of your life 1977
155. Shoes Black vinyl shoes 1977
156. Mink DeVille Cabretta 1977
157. England Garden Shed 1977
158. Handbag Snatchin' by Handbag 1977
159. Van Duren Are You Serious? 1977
160. Adverts Crossing the Red sea with the Adverts 1978
161. Herman Brood & His Wild Romance Shpritsz 1978
162. Captain Sky The Adventures Of Captain Sky 1978
163. R.D. Laing Life Before Death 1978
164. Lowell George Thanks I'll eat it here 1979
165. Magazine Secondhand daylight 1979
166. Holger Czukay Movies 1979
167. Alternative TV Vibing Up the Senile Man (Part One) 1979
168. Chelsea Chelsea 1979
169. Chrome Half Machine Lip Moves 1979
170. M New York-London-Paris-Munich 1979
171. Soft Boys Underwater Moonlight 1980
172. Warren Zevon Bad luck streak in dancing school 1980
173. Roky Erickson and the Aliens Roky Erickson and The Aliens 1980
174. Basement 5 1965-1980 1980
175. Pylon Gyrate 1980
176. Pragvec Spec records presents "No-cowboys" 1980
177. Daryl Hall Sacred songs 1980
178. Blackbeard I Wah Dub 1980
179. Laurie Spiegel The Expanding Universe 1980
180. Creation Rebel Starship Africa 1980
181. Nic Jones Penguin Eggs 1980
182. Sleepers Painless nights 1981
183. Roy Ayers Africa, center of the world 1981
184. Frank Sinatra She shot me down 1981
185. Modern eon Fiction tales 1981
186. Ruts DC Animal now 1981
187. Mass Labour of love 1981
188. Ellen Foley Spirit Of St. Louis 1981
189. Prince Far I & The Arabs Cry Tuff Dub Encounter Chapter IV 1981
190. Empire Expensive Sound 1981
191. Beat Special Beat service 1982
192. Romeo void Benefactor 1982
193. Names Swimming 1982
194. Monoton Monotonprodukt 07 1982
195. Wall of voodoo Call of the West 1982
196. Michael O’ Shea Michael O’ Shea 1982
197. Gist Embrace the herd 1983
198. NRBQ Grooves in orbit 1983
199. Undertones The sin of pride 1983
200. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Dazzle ships 1983
201. Diamond head Canterbury 1983
202. Lewis L'amour 1983
203. Jon Wayne Texas funeral 1984
204. Violent femmes Hallowed ground 1984
205. Subhumans From the cradle to the grave 1984
206. Nyam nyam Hope of heaven 1984
207. The Very Things The Bushes Scream While My Daddy Prunes 1984
208. Yeah yeah noh Cutting the heavenly lawn of greatness 1985
209. Shriekback Oil and gold 1985
210. Emptifish "The Branksmere Sessions" 1985
211. Let's active Big plans for everybody 1986
212. Lone justice Shelter 1986
213. Prisoners In from the cold 1986
214. Len Bright combo The Len Bright combo present the Len Bright combo 1986
215. Stan Ridgeway The Big Heat 1986
216. Triffids Born sandy devotional 1986
217. It's immaterial Life's hard and then you die 1986
218. Felt Forever breathes the lonely word 1986
219. Danny Gatton Unfinished business 1987
220. Pastels Up for a bit with the Pastels 1987
221. McCarthy I am a wallet 1987
222. Colourfield Deception 1987
223. Chorchazade Made to be devoured 1987
224. Thirteen moons Origins 1987
225. Thin white rope Moonhead 1987
226. Head A snog on the rocks 1987
227. Cosmic psychos Cosmic psychos 1987
228. The James Taylor Quartet The Money Spyder 1987
229. The Verlaines Bird Dog 1987
230. Keith Richards Talk is cheap 1988
231. 808 State New build 1988
232. Pursuit of happiness Love junk 1988
233. Mary Margaret O'Hara Miss America 1988
234. World domination enterprises Let's play domination 1988
235. Marden hill Cadaquéz 1988
236. The Godfathers Birth, School, Work, Death 1988
237. Jeanette Prefab in the Sun 1988
238. Stairway Moonstone 1988
239. Lilac time Paradise circus 1989
240. Orchestra Baobab Pirates choice : the legendary 1982 session 1989
241. Frogs It's only right and natural 1989
242. Grant Hart Intolerance 1989
243. Durutti column Vini Reilly 1989
244. Dub seks Splintered faith 1989
245. Black sun ensemble Lambent flame 1989
246. Miracle Legion Me and Mr. Ray 1989
247. A.C. Marias One of our girls (has gone missing) 1989
248. Sun dial Other way out 1990
249. London posse Gangster chronicle 1990
250. World of twist Quality street 1991
251. DC Basehead Play with toys 1991
252. Eg & Alice 24 years of hunger 1991
253. Pooh sticks The great white wonder 1991
254. Joe Meek & The Blue Men I Hear a New World: An Outer Space Music Fantasy 1991
255. Leatherface Mush 1991
256. LFO Frequencies 1991
257. Dead Moon Stranded In The Mystery Zone 1991
258. Denim Back in denim 1992
259. Barry Adamson Soul murder 1992
260. Steven Jesse Bernstein Prison 1992
261. The Stairs Mexican R'n'B 1992
262. Towering inferno Kaddish 1993
263. Walkabouts Satisfied mind 1993
264. Man Or Astro-Man? Is It… Man Or Astro-Man? 1993
265. One Dove Morning Dove White 1993
266. Cardinal Cardinal 1994
267. Astronettes People from bad homes 1994
268. Smoke Heaven on a popsickle stick 1994
269. Brainiac Bonsai superstar 1994
270. Animals That Swim Workshy 1994
271. Global Communication 76:14:00 1994
272. Shack Waterpistol 1995
273. Heads Relaxing with ... 1995
274. Nectarine no. 9 Saint Jack 1995
275. Aloof Sinking 1996
276. Monoshock Walk to the fire 1996
277. Matt Deighton Villager 1996
278. Family Of God Family Of God 1996
279. Jack Pioneer soundtracks 1996
280. 60 Ft Dolls The Big 3 1996
281. Earl Brutus Your Majesty... We Are Here 1996
282. Jock Scot & the Nectarine no. 9 My personal Culloden 1997
283. Wingless angels Wingless angels 1997
284. Simon Warner Waiting rooms 1997
285. The Gentle People Soundtracks For Living 1997
286. Earl Brutus Tonight you are the special one 1998
287. Pernice Brothers Overcome by Happiness 1998
288. Add N to (X)  Add Insult to Injury 2000
289. Dead meadow Dead meadow 2001
290. Soundtrack of our lives Behind the music 2001
291. Life Without Buildings Any Other City 2001
292. Bill Wells trio Also in white 2002
293. Richard Youngs May 2002
294. Delta Hard light 2002
295. Cornershop Handcream for a generation 2002
296. Teenage Fanclub & Jad Fair Words of Wisdom and Hope 2002
297. Rachel's Systems/Layers 2003
298. French Local information 2003
299. Patrick & Eugene Postcard from summerisle 2004
300. Charles Douglas Statecraft 2004
301. P.G. Six The Well of Memory 2004
302. Laibach Volk 2006
303. King Tubby King Tubby Meets Jacob Miller In a Tenement Yard 2006
304. Mark Murphy Love Is What Stays 2007
305. Patrick Cowley & Jorge Socarras Catholic 2009
306. Connie Converse How Sad, How Lovely (rec.1954) 2009
307. Lowland hundred Under Cambrian sky 2010
308. The Sand Band All Through The Night 2011
309. Carola Baer The Story of Valerie 2018

Various Artists "Virus 100: Dead Kennedy Covers" 1992****

Hi guys. I'm currently sitting home, since the country has been hit by virus COVID-19 and us dentists are advised to suspend activities and just be on call for emergencies. Great chance to pull out some records I hadn't listened to in a long time. One was this because, you know, virus this virus that... it's VIRUS 100 time!

...Virus 100 being this LP's catalog number on indie label Alternative Tentacles. Virus 1 was Dead Kennedys' iconic debut "Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables", so what would be more fitting than to celebrate the label's 10th anniversary and 100th release with a tribute to The Dead Kennedys? Does it matter that the label boss was also that bands' lead singer? Does it sound a bit too egotistical? Well, no one ever accused Biafra of having too small an ego, that's for sure. First of all, the man thinks he can actually make a difference! He's even run for office, first for mayor of San Francisco and then for the presidential candidacy of the Green Party - he named death row inmate and former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal as his vice presidential choice. And he failed, who could have guessed that? Well, I don't know how hands-on was his involvement in this project, but it turned out to be an exemplary tribute. Only a few of the bands belong to the DK's hardcore punk community, and they all try to put their own stamp on the songs, which is always the mark of a successful cover. Some pretty outlandish ones that nevertheless hit the mark are Faith No More's pseudo-Elvis lounge version of "Lets Lynch The Landlord", Mojo Nixon's hillbilly rock'n'roll "Winnebago Warrior" and an unbelievable acapella "Forward To Death" by Nomeansno. Arguably the best is the Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy's update of DK classic "California Uber Alles" turning the song into a polemic rap à la Public Enemy. Napalm Death and Sepultura bring their thrash metal attack to "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" and "Drug Me" but even they cannot surpass the bone-crunching speed of the originals. The Didjits, Neurosis, Alice Donut, Victims Family and Steel Pole Bath Tub provide hardcore/metal noise similar to the originals', Kramer's piece has a weird orchestral backing, and Les Thugs offer a relatively melodic garage punk "Moon Over Marin". Evan Johns' "Too Drunk To Fuck" is a punkabilly anthem with swirling sax, while The LP closes with two then-fashionable grunge bands, Sister Double Happiness and the all-female L7. All in all this album displays great variety, imaginative re-workings and (often, though not always) high quality. Add the gripping cover with the fantastic Alternative Tentacles logo with the religion/war smashing bat, and it makes for one virus you shouldn't be afraid of catching. 

**** for Too Drunk To Fuck (Evan Johns), Lets Lynch The Landlord (Faith No More), Nazi Punks Fuck Off (Napalm Death), Forward To Death (Nomeansno), Moon Over Marin (Les Thugs), California Uber Alles (Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy), Winnebago Warrior (Mojo Nixon & The Toadliquors), Drug Me (Sepultura), Lets Lynch The Landlord (L7)

*** for Police Truck (Didjits), Chemical Warfare (Steel Pole Bath Tub), Holiday In Cambodia (Sister Double Happiness)

** for Alice Donut (Halloween), Saturday Night Holocaust (Neurosis), Ill In The Head (Victims Family), Insight (Kramer)

Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush "Live" 1978***

No one talks about Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush anymore😞, but there was a time in the mid-70's when they were idolized by (young male) rock fans for their testosterone-filled guitar heroics. Some time during his early career Marino made some stupid comment about being the reincarnation of Jimi Hendrix, being possessed by his spirit, or some such bullshit that must have seemed as good publicity at the time. And it undoubtedly brought him the desired attention, as well as the ridicule of music critics and the eternal label of an imitator. Not that it's possible to overestimate Hendrix's influence: just listen to the faithful rendering of "Purple Haze" here. Even better are Marino's Hendrix-style original compositions: "The Answer", "Dragonfly" and "Talkin' 'Bout a Feelin'". The excellent rhythm section is really funky, guitar playing is great, and Marino's singing comes across like a cross between Hendrix and Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynnott. "A New Rock & Roll" is harder still, a fast and furious tune merging with a cover of "Johnny B. Goode". The guitar here reaches supersonic speed levels, more like Alvin-Lee-meets-Ritchie-Blackmore than like Jimi Hendrix. "Talkin' 'Bout A Feeling" starts off as a nice slice of funky hard rock, but as a medley with "Who Do Ya Love", "Electric Reflections of War" and "The World Anthem" it soon turns into a super-indulgent and tiresome showcase of guitar prowess. I prefer the blues medley "I'm A King Bee"/"Back door Man", which mixes the usual heavy rock solos with a bit of lighter swing. Granted, this album isn't very nuanced or "smart", lacks pop hooks, and threatens the listener with a guitar overdose in a way that was only cool in the 1970's. On the other hand, it's still a pretty intense live recording of a tight band on top of their game - so, if you love loud and energetic electric guitars, this is an album for you. File it next to Jimi Hendrix, Rory Gallagher and Led Zeppelin.

**** for Introduction/The Answer, Dragonfly, I'm a King Bee, A New Rock & Roll, Talkin' 'Bout a Feelin' 

*** for Excerpt from Back door Man, Johnny B. Goode, Excerpt from Who Do Ya Love, Purple Haze

** for Electric Reflections of War, The World Anthem

Barrabas "Barrabás Power / Abraxa" (1972-1994) 1995(comp)**

I remember Barrabas from the Crucifixion... sorry, I started this sentence to say "I remember Barrabas from the Monastiraki flea market" but I couldn't resist the pun. I always saw their LP's there at the disco section, and naturally ignored them. In Spain you can find them at the 60's/70's rock -sometimes even in prog and psychedelia- section, which would have caught my attention. As it is, I only got round to them after watching an episode of the flawed but occasionally great HBO series Vinyl. I heard "Wild Safari" playing over the closing scene and credits (see below) and rushed to Shazam it. So I found out that Barrabas were not at all what I expected from the band whose records sat between Boney M and Raffaella Carrà at the record stores, rather like a smoking hot Latin funk that belonged to the same family with War and Santana. Later I found out they also sang "On The Road Again" which I was familiar with from 80's discotheques. Chancing upon this CD in a used books/records store in Granada (Spain) I noticed it contained both songs and grabbed it. 

As compilations go it's something of a strange one: first of all, on the cover it seems as if the name of the band is Barrabás Power and the album's Abraxas. In some databases it's registered like that. In others, like discogs, the band is registered as Barrabas and the album as Power/Abraxas, which causes some confusion with a 1973 album from the same band called simply Power. Then, there's the issue of whether these are original recordings or re-recordings. The liner notes mention that this is a compilation of their greatest hits from the 70's and 80's with the addition of two "new" songs. On the other hand the album's production is credited to a Jose M. Mall, which implies they are all come from the same sessions. Also, the fact that only 9 previously released tracks are chosen from a 9-album discography doesn't make sense for a compilation. Re-recordings, right? But then, you'd expect more homogeneity in the sound. I really don't know. I'll treat it as a compilation and review it chronologically like I usually do with them. So: from 1972's eponymous debut we get "Wild Safari" and "Woman", both Latin funk numbers with a lot of percussion and jazz rock guitars reminiscent of Santana. From 1973's Power we get "Mr. Money" in similar style, while "Hi-Jack" from 1974's ¡Soltad A Barrabas! is already more disco-sounding with smoother vocals and keyboards including a cool jazzy break in the middle. The band's next 3 albums are inexplicably omitted to go straight to 1981's Piel De Barrabas. The disco transformation continues with "On The Road Again" and "Hard Line For A Dreamer" but, despite some new wave-y synths on the latter, there's still some Latin rock and old-school funk in there. "The Lion (Don't Kill The Lion)" and "(Be My) Rebel" from next years' Bestial have a pretty standard 80's production. Both are disco, though the latter features some rockier guitar riffs and solos. Their last album, 1983's Forbidden, is represented by the forgettable and borderline silly dance number "Saint Valentine". The two "new" songs are actually very mid-80's sounding, which makes me think they're outtakes rather than 90's recordings. They are rather sympathetic, if inessential: "Caribe" is a slow number with Latin rhythm, and "It's Better Late Than Never" has some horns (or synths mimicking the sound of horns) that remind me of the commercial white pseudo-soul of the time a la Robert Palmer. I guess this compilation is O.K. for someone like me who just wanted to have a couple of the band's most famous hits, there's only one or two songs that I regularly skip when I listen to it. But it's too short for a band that recorded 9 LP's and it probably includes re-recordings, so I can't in all honesty recommend it.

***** for Wild Safari

**** for On The Road Again

*** for Woman, Hi-Jack, Mr. Money, Hard Line For A Dreamer, The Lion (Don't Kill The Lion), (Be My) Rebel, Caribe, It's Better Late Than Never

** for Saint Valentine

The Snails "The Snails" 2012****

Strange, to find an LP by a Greek garage band on a Swedish label in a Dutch record shop. Stranger still the fact that these guys were around in Athens in 2009 (when I "jumped ship" to The Netherlands) and yet I had never heard of them despite being quite fond of the local garage scene. It turns out this album was initially released on CD by the Athenian (super-small, super-focused on garage rock) Action label, and picked up later (2014) by Swedish punk label Beluga Records for a vinyl release. Now, Greece has for some reason a pretty active garage scene. It started in the early 80's with Last Drive who -like most 80's garage rockers- were influenced by the Nuggets/Pebbles compilations as well as then-current bands like Dream Syndicate and The Cramps. But its full flowering came in the 90's and 00's with a bunch of bands that copied the particular Greek 60's garage sound which was more melodic and organ-based taking its cue from The Animals and Zombies. The Snails is one of the few bands taking a different approach: they have a more aggressive sound reminiscent of 80's garage revival bands (The Lyres, Cynics, and their self-confessed favorites, Dead Moon) rather than of the original 60's bands. And while they eschew the obligatory Farfisa they add (at least for this record) a full-time harmonica player, giving an R&B/Beat dimension to their sound. The only other band who did it that comes to mind is The Vietnam Veterans in their debut - songs like "Tramp", "Tide" and the more psychedelic "Dove" could easily have been lifted from that LP. Some of the best harmonica moments are the (initially) mid-tempo "Coffin" and the oriental intro to instrumental "Surfazat", while throughout the whole album it complements the guitar as a second lead instrument. The guitar is as fuzzy and distorted as you'd like it to be for a garage band with some oriental scales giving it a more psychedelic hue. The singer has a punkier, more menacing style than what is customary in 60's garage rock, while special mention must finally be made for the bass player whose nimble and propulsive playing is integral to the band's sound. Some of the more aggressive Cramps-like moments come towards the end of the album: The Mourning Reign cover "Satisfaction Guaranteed" and, especially, band originals "Universal Soldier" and "Pollution". Conversely there are some melodic harmonies on (Ricky Nelson cover) "Gypsy Woman" - with the help of (Athenian garage rockers) Cardinals' singer D. Beleniotis and female R&B singer Angel Lo Verde. The third (and last) cover is garage staple "I'm Five Years Ahead Of My Time" getting a muscular, if unspectacular, rendition. Other highlights include the aggressive opener "Sidewalks" and Arabian psychedelia of "Haifa Nights". And let's not forget the cool cover art. All in all it's one of the better (if atypical) efforts coming out of the rich Greek garage scene, fit to stand next to classics by The Last Drive and Sound Explosion. No wonder then that the Swedes picked it up for international release: Swedes know good garage rock when they see it.

**** for Sidewalks, Haifa Nights, Tide, Coffin, Gypsy Woman, Dancing With The Zombies, Satisfaction Guaranteed, Universal Soldier

*** for Dove, I'm Five Years Ahead Of My Time, Tramp, Wyld Child, Pollution, Surfazat