The Bintangs "Genuine Bull" 1975****

I had read about this being one of the best rock LP's that came out of the Netherlands in the 70's but I still hadn't gotten around to listening to it when I found a copy in my neighborhood record store for a very reasonable €5. Of course the price might have something to do with the fact that the previous owners had written their names with big letters on the cover - "Julio" must have been the original owner but his name was stricken off and "George" wrote his name both on the front and back cover as well as both sides of the record labels. As for the vinyl itself, there were many signs of use but at least George hadn't carved his name on it, so I decided to give it a try and was justified: slight noise in the quiet part between songs but otherwise fine sound. Or at least as fine a sound as possible for a collection of songs that could have sprung out of The Rolling Stones' notoriously murky sounding Exile On Main Street. The sound of that album was attributed to the excess consumption of various substances during its recording, but there's no indication of something similar happening here. Here they seem to keep it deliberately raw and loose in order to emulate the rockier 70's Stones moments, making the most of Gus Pleines' Jagger-like vocals. Interestingly they take the opposite approach to The Stones' Exile... which had seen them decamping to a French mansion to record: The Bintangs traveled to the UK to record in the famous Rockfield Studios in Wales with Link Wray producer Steve Verroca, who also wrote some of the songs. The music is blues based rock, featuring some nice bottleneck guitar, rolling piano and occasional sax. Opening Southern rocker "Hobo Man" is one of the highlights, followed by raucous garage rocker "Insight Inside Out" and the bluesier "Agnes Grey" - the latter reminded me of The Animals with its House-of-the-rising-sun guitar intro. "Open and Busted" (which was also chosen for a 7' single release) is another slice of hard rock, while Side A closes with the swampy mid-tempo beat of "Biyou Woman" with vocals this time reminiscent of Dr. John or Captain Beefheart. "New Orleans, New Orleans" is a singalong R&B tune, a bit too loose and simple for my taste. "Handmade High-Heeled Fleshcoloured Boots" is another re-hash of the Stones' Exile... sound but garage/blues "Traveling Mood" offers more variation with its Jerry Lee-like piano and Troggs-style vocal. "Do John" sports a Bo Diddley beat, nice harp and fast guitar solos that reminded me of Ten Years After's Alvin Lee. Incidentally, around the same time Lee was a potential candidate for Mick Taylor's position in The Rolling Stones. He was rejected, some say because Jagger didn't want any guitarists who could sing - I know that Richards does sing sometimes, but don't tell me he can sing, have you heard him? The closer, and one of the LP's most popular tunes, "Cold War Generation Kids" combines the swagger of The Stones' "It's Only Rock'n'Roll" with the glam-punk energy of The New York Dolls. All in all a great blues rock record. Had the Rolling Stones followed Exile In Main Street with something like this, few would complain - other than Mick Jagger that is, who was bent on bringing the group back to more commercial paths. For some reason Genuine Bull didn't succeed to break The Bintangs internationally, and they only retain the status of local heroes (as well as of the longest-running Dutch rock band, soon to celebrate their 60th[!] anniversary). If you already haven't, it's time you discovered them, too! 

**** for Hobo Man, Insight Inside Out, Agnes Grey, Open and Busted, Biyou Woman, Traveling Mood, Do John, Cold War Generation Kids

*** for Handmade High-Heeled Fleshcoloured Boots

** for New Orleans New Orleans 

Gregg Allman Band "Playin' Up A Storm" 1977***

Playin' Up A Storm seems like the wrong title for this album, especially when compared to the marathon blues rock workouts the Allman Brothers Band had gotten us used to. No denying that Gregg Allman is joined here by great musicians, but they never let loose: the arrangements are tight, while most of the songs are timed around 3:30', just the right timing for mainstream radio play. A lot had changed since GA's solo debut Laid Back: that album was recorded at the same time with the Allman Brothers' masterpiece Brothers And Sisters, featuring many of the same players. In the following years, the band became a huge draw on the festival circuit, but their albums lacked inspiration while the band members were overworked from the constant touring and experiencing drug-related problems. Gregg had distanced himself from the rest by spending most of his time in LA with celebrity wife Cher and her circle - during this period of his life he'd feature in gossip magazines much more often than music ones. The final blow came when he testified against a band "security guard"/drug dealer in exchange for a reduced sentence, something his hippie bandmates wouldn't forgive. Hence the move to Hollywood, combined with a different, more "sophisticated" style. No long-winding solos and jams for stoned hippie audiences, this is soul pop with funky grooves, late-night jazz and blues with a professional mainstream production by studio big-shot Lenny Waronker. It works well for jazz ballads "Brightest Smile in Town" and "Bring It on Back" where the lush strings and horns complement GA's impassioned vocal performance perfectly. "Cryin' Shame" seems tailored for black radio: funky grooves, nice backing vocals and a jazzy break on clavinet or some sort of synth. Another upbeat funky piece is "Let This Be a Lesson to Ya'", co-written with Dr. John. It's reminiscent of the good doctor's Right Place Wrong Time period and also features some great electric guitar. Dr. John and Little Feat's Bill Payne also play various keyboards in this record, although I think we should attribute most of the piano playing to Allman himself. "Sweet Feelin'" is a throwback to 60's rock'n'roll and R&B, "Matthew's Arrival" a jazz-funk instrumental and "It Ain't No Use" a slow blues with an emotive vocal. Opener "Come And Go Blues" is and old ABB favorite. This version has a relaxed and funky vibe, but misses the fire of the ABB original. Another Gregg Allman composition called "One More Try" closes the album, and it's a cross between his older blues rock style and the West Coast (think Eagles) sound. All in all a pretty good album, although it didn't meet with a lot of success. I guess it proved to be too smooth for ABB fans, but not commercial enough for those who knew Allman as one half of a celebrity couple. His next move (to make an album together with wife Cher under the moniker Allman And Woman) was universally panned and put an end to his L.A. adventure. Pretty soon he was divorced and back to the Allman Brothers fold, playing Southern Rock for those who knew him and respected him for who he was. This album, while not typical of his usual style, is a good display for his singing and keyboard playing, and a welcome diversion for those who want to focus on his more sensitive and understated side.

**** for Brightest Smile In Town, Cryin' Shame, Sweet Feelin', It Ain't No Use

*** for Come And Go Blues, Let This Be A Lesson To Ya', Bring It On Back, Matthew's Arrival, One More Try

Michael Kiwanuka "Kiwanuka" 2019****

My initial impression of Michael Kiwanuka was that he's a wonderfully retro folk soul artist in the vein of Terry Callier. That was certainly good enough for me as I'm not a fan of modern R&B or electronica, but with the help of producers Danger Mouse and Inflo, he evolved into a ubiquitous ultra-modern hipster retro soul pop star - I swear it seems as if every Netflix producer is under contractual obligation to use one of his songs as background to his most heartrending scene - in short he's as massive as one can get without losing his coolness credentials. By rights I should be crying sellout but damn it he's too good for that. I mean, there's already been a Terry Callier, a Marvin Gaye etc. Good as their were, we don't need another. Thankfully the modernizing touches do not distract from the core of the music, which is Kiwanuka's songwriting and, especially, his emotive singing. Danger Mouse's production reminds me of his collaboration with Daniele Luppi Rome: subtle electronic beats and samples, sweeping strings and atmospheric backing vocals with touches of Morricone and Burt Bacharach. Opener "You Ain't the Problem" starts off with some nice African style percussion and upbeat rhythm to go with the affirmatory message of the lyrics. Africa is present in the album, from subtle music influences to the "Black Power" messages in lyrics to the album cover presenting Kinawuka as some kind of African prince. Not forgetting of course the singer's Ugandan heritage with which he seems to be very much in touch with. "Rolling" is a modern R&B/electronica piece reminiscent of Danger Mouse's Gnarls Barkley project. It's one of the few songs where the producer seems to get the upper hand. "I've Been Dazed" is a beautiful slow tune. The gospel choir gives me a sense of deja vu with Moby's use of blues samples on the megaselling Play CD some 20 years ago. But I'm not supposed to say that, since Moby made the mistake of becoming too massive to be cool as well as of being white. Apparently a white artist using century-old blues is "misappropriating" it, while black artists' skin color gives them legitimate ownership over this music. The intro to "Piano Joint" features some Barry White-ish vocals that don't do it for me, but the main song is an excellent piano-and-strings-led ballad. "Another Human Being" is a piano and spoken word bridge to "Living in Denial" combining warm vocals with a big cinematic Bacharach-style production. "Hero" consists of an acoustic guitar intro and a jazz-funk main song reminiscent of the more orchestrated Gil Scot-Heron songs. The poignant subject matter refers to a young Black Panther member shot dead by police in the 60's, drawing a direct line to recent police shootings and the "Black Lives Matter" movement. "Hard to Say Goodbye" and "Solid Ground" are two more atmospheric the-blues-meet-Portishead tunes, while "Final Days" speeds those trip-hop beats slightly, covering everything with Morriconesque strings and ethereal backing vocals. "Interlude" is another bridge - these short pieces help with the album flow, which is something less and less attention is given to since physical sales gave way to streaming services. The long and cinematic "Light" closes the album with a note of sweet surrender and lightness "Shine your light over me (shine on me)/All of my fears are gone, baby, gone, gone/(And it don't bother me) It don't bother me, don't bother me, now/ If it's not meant to be". All in all one of last year's more interesting albums. It could gain an extra star by shortening the duration to an ideal 42-45 minutes for a single LP. Not that 52 minutes don't easily fit into a single vinyl. I have many old LP's that exceed 50 minutes without any discernible loss in quality. Some (mostly from the early 90's) even run for 60 or more minutes, e.g. Neil Young's Ragged Glory and Unplugged, Pink Floyd's Division Bell, The Cure's Disintegration, etc. These are a bit too quiet, i.e. you need to turn the volume dial way up to listen to them correctly. They've all been recenlty re-released as double albums. For some reason, though, it's not only 60+min. LP's that get re-released as double ones. They do the same with 45-50 minute LP's, which is simply ri-di-cu-lous! Even more so because any quality upgrade would be so small as to go unnoticed by most people, given that they listen to their vinyls on cheap turntables with rudimentary speakers and amplifiers - if they ever listen to them. I'd bet that most people are bored of changing sides every 12 minutes and end up streaming them anyway. Plus these LP's were carefully structured with a certain running order, each side a 20-25-minute trip intended to be listened to in one sitting. Splitting them into more vinyls destroys the balance between the sides and messes with the way you are supposed to listen to the album. Sound quality my ass! It's all a scheme to sell you a "luxe" product (thick double 180 gram vinyl, perceived "higher" sound quality, gatefold cover etc) for an inflated price. Another explanation I've read in specialist forums is that cutting a long LP without loss of quality requires a level of skill which new cutting engineers simply lack. I tend to believe there's some truth in that, as I've often heard brand new deluxe 180-gram vinyl with inferior sound quality to thinner and cheaper old records.

***** for I've Been Dazed, Hero

**** for You Ain't the Problem, Rolling, Piano Joint (This Kind of Love), Living in Denial, Final Days, Solid Ground

*** for Piano Joint (This Kind of Love) (Intro), Hero (Intro), Hard to Say Goodbye, Interlude (Loving the People), Light

** for Another Human Being

New Order "Movement" 1981****

So you're a rock band at the musical vanguard. You've already blazed a trail from the underground to popular acceptance, worship even in some circles. And then, out of the blue, your young and charismatic frontman/singer/lyricist dies. What do you do? The Doors faced that question in 1971, Joy Division a decade later. Their answer was similar: you go on, and you make another album within a few months. The difference is that The Doors chose to keep the name, which didn't serve them well. It was an opportunistic move which may have helped the sales of the two albums they made without Morrison, but hurt their reputation in the long run. Otherwise, the two bands had a similar reaction on one crucial point: unable to find a satisfactory substitute for Jim Morrison or for Ian Curtis, they elevated one of the instrumentalists among them to the singer position. For The Doors that meant mostly Ray, sometimes Robbie. For Joy Division, it was guitarist Bernard Sumner. I can't imagine how nervous they must have been, being thrust into the spotlight like that. Sumner certainly sounds awkward on his singing debut here, but this doesn't stop Movement from being a remarkable record: in contrast to The Doors' directionless Other Voices, Movement has one foot in the past while displaying signs of moving towards a completely new direction. Opener "Dreams Never End" is exactly what you'd expect from a Joy Division single: it has an upbeat rhythm and bright guitar lines, while Peter Hook (who sings lead here) manages a rather uncertain Ian Curtis imitation. "Truth" is a morose tune with a ghostly vocal by Sumner and atmospheric synths by new member Gillian Gilbert. Drummer (and Gilberts' boyfriend) Stephen Morris dominates the next number "Senses" whose electronic funk sounds point to New Order's dancefloor-friendly future. "Chosen Time" is another dance number, while "ICB" brings back the darkness, albeit with the addition of weird electronic sounds. The vocals are once more timid and semi-buried in the mix. "The Him" is a slow song reprising the depressive Closer sound. "Doubts Even Here" (the second and last Hook-sung piece) is another track that strongly reminds us of Joy Division, not surprising when it features 3/4 of that band plus their permanent producer, Martin Hannett. Apparently though, the personal and professional relations between Hannett and the band went bad during the recording of this album, and their collaboration stopped soon after that. "Denial" closes the album with what I call the werewolf disco sound: dark and gothic, yet danceable. The minimalist cover is designed by Factory mainstay designer Peter Saville, based on a poster by Italian Futurist Fortunato Depero. Movement would remain an exception in their catalogue, as it sounds more like a Curtis-less Joy Division than like the New Order that produced the well-known hits in the 80's and 90's. Together with the 3 singles recorded with Martin Hannett around the same time ("Ceremony", "Procession" and "Everything's Gone Green") it presents a window to an alternate universe where New Order went on to be the biggest goth band of the 80's. What they gave us instead was pop hits and football hymns. Can't have it both ways...

***** for Dreams Never End

****for Truth, Senses, Doubts Even Here, Denial

*** for Chosen Time, ICB, The Him

Various ‎Artists "A Life Less Lived (The Gothic Box)" 💀💀💀💀💀

This is one of the most "luxe" pieces in my record collection. Some labels add a couple of demo or live recordings, maybe a CD-ROM containing a video or a booklet with a few photos and call it a "Deluxe Edition". Rhino really knows how to do it right, though. I have a number of box sets by them: Nuggets, of course, Los Angeles Nuggets, Left Of The Dial, and the Forever Changing Elektra Records anthology, to name a few. All impeccably curated and beautifully presented, with booklets containing cool photos and a multitude of interesting information. A Life Less Lived (The Gothic Box) is probably the most visually impressive of all, bound as it is in a laced leather "corset" sleeve. The contents include 3 compilation CD's and one DVD with videoclips, plus a beautiful 60-page book with interviews, illustrations, track-by-track commentary, essays on Goth and tongue-in-cheek instructions on how to run a Goth club, how to dance Gothic etc. The compilers include a very wide selection of music, most of which can hardly be considered Goth. Indeed there are bands that can better be categorized as belonging to other genres such as punk, post punk, new wave, industrial, alternative, shoegazing, emo etc. Curiously there are no bands from the metal end of the spectrum.

One wonders how bands like Type O Negative, Paradise Lost, Anathema or Tiamat have been left out. I suspect they would readily own up to the Gothic character of their music, while most of the artists included here vehemently reject it, as "Goth" has come to be identified with a superficial musical fad, and goth fans as posers and fashion victims of little substance. Well, Goth or not, we can agree that most of the important 80's post punk bands are present, especially the ones espousing a "darker" aesthetic. These include, for example, Nick Cave (both with the more lyrical Bad Seeds and nihilistic sound terrorists Birthday Party), pop bands like  The Cure and Echo & The Bunnymen, Siousxie & The Banshees (and Siouxsie's more electronic side project The Creatures) etc. Joy Division, of course, predate Goth but they have doubtlessly influenced many of the bands here - Red Lorry Yellow Lorry being one of the most obvious examples. The Cult were hardly ever typical Goths, their psychedelic and hard rock roots evident right from their begining as Southern Death Cult to later incarnations as Death Cult and plain Cult. All incarnations of the band are included in the compilation. The same is true for Bauhaus side projects (of course they also reject the Goth label, even though they are often considered to be the quintessential band of the genre): we get the wonderful "She's In Parties" by the main band, the semi-acoustic (with shades of Bowie and Ferry) "Cuts You Up" by singer Peter Murphy and the more experimental/kraut-rock "His Box" by Dali's Car (a Peter Murphy/Mick Karn collaboration). The rest of the band chose a more dance-friendly, but still rather dark,-sound for "Christian Says" (as Tones On Tail) and "Mirror People" (as Love And Rockets). "Coming Down Fast" from Daniel Ash's solo album is similar to Love and Rockets, and rounds up the Bauhaus-related tracks here (5 in total). The Sisters Of Mercy's "Temple Of Love" is another example of what I call the "werewolf disco" sound, while spinoff band Mission has a Cure-like alternative rock style. A string of songs on CD2 (Cranes->Miranda Sex Garden->Cocteau Twins->Dead Can Dance) takes us through atmospheric dream pop territory, while bands like Lords Of The New Church, Flesh For Lulu and Jesus and Mary Chain play various kinds of guitar rock that can hardly be considered "goth". The Misfits, 45 Grave, Damned and early Christian Death are closer to punk than Goth, while a lot of bands on disc 3 (Einstürzende Neubauten, Throbbing Gristle, Skinny Puppy, Ministry) are more industrial. The inclusion of a contemporary group (AFI, covering The Cure's "Hanging Garden") provides a link to the emo generation but is otherwise irrelevant. No matter, it all still makes for a nice overview of the glamorous/gloomy side of 80's alternative rock (Left Of The Dial had already presented the more straight-ahead alternative guitar rock styles). Maybe the best move by the compilers was mixing the more famous bands of the time with the semi-forgotten ones which nevertheless perfectly personified the times: it's certainly nice to listen to The March Violets, Chameleons, Clan Of Xymox, Gene Loves Jezebel etc. again. Whether you call it goth, post punk, indie or new wave, the 80's produced some excellent music that shouldn't be forgotten. Probably even more than the music, though, it is the videos on the DVD that best showcase the Goth aesthetic: the clothes, haircuts, band posing, half-lit photography etc. It's also notable that many bands (e.g. Bauhaus, Fields Of The Nephilim, Mission, Jesus And Mary Chain, Echo & The Bunnymen) are represented by their most well-known songs on the DVD rather than the CD's. It'd be nice to include videos by some of the lesser-known bands as well (only 12 video-clips are included, when the DVD could fit more than twice that amount), but what is here is definitely among the era's best. There's no denying that, if you're at all interested in that era and sound, this is a box set worth buying. Music**** DVD*****, Overall package: A strong 💀💀💀💀💀!

***** for Joy Division-Dead Souls, The Cure-Charlotte Sometimes, Bauhaus-She's In Parties, The Sisters Of Mercy-Temple Of Love, Siouxsie & The Banshees-Spellbound, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds-The Weeping Song, Peter Murphy -Cuts You Up, The Cult -Rain, Christian Death-Romeo's Distress

**** for Tones On Tail-Christian Says, The Birthday Party-Mutiny In Heaven, The Southern Death Cult-Fatman, Love And Rockets-Mirror People, The March Violets-Snake Dance, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry-Walking On Your Hands, The Mission-Wasteland, Ghost Dance-The Grip Of Love, The Creatures-Exterminating Angel, Death Cult-God's Zoo, Gene Loves Jezebel-Heartache, Flesh For Lulu-I Go Crazy, The Lords Of The New Church-Open Your Eyes, Echo & The Bunnymen-All My Colours, The Chameleons-Don't Fall, The Jesus And Mary Chain-Fall, Daniel Ash-Coming Down Fast, Clan Of Xymox-Muscoviet Mosquito, Xmal Deutschland-Incubus Succubus II, Miranda Sex Garden-Ardera Sempre, Cocteau Twins-Blood Bitch, The Bolshoi-Away, Rubicon-Watch Without Pain, Virgin Prunes-Pagan Lovesong, 45 Grave-Party Time, Sex Gang Children-Dieche, Skinny Puppy-Assimilate, Misfits-Halloween, Ministry -So What, Killing Joke-Tomorrow's World, AFI-The Hanging Garden

*** for Fields Of The Nephilim-Power, Alien Sex Fiend-Now I'm Feeling Zombified, Specimen-Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Dali's Car -His Box, The Danse Society -Heaven Is Waiting, The Rose Of Avalanche-Dreamland, Cranes-Starblood, Dead Can Dance-The Arcane, Einstürzende Neubauten-Morning Dew, Throbbing Gristle-Hamburger Lady, Kommunity FK-To Blame, The Damned-Melody Lee, London After Midnight-Kiss
DVD (*****) The Cure-Lullaby, Bauhaus-Bela Lugosi's Dead, The Sisters Of Mercy-Lucretia My Reflection, Fields Of The Nephilim-Moonchild, The Mission-Deliverance, Love And Rockets-Ball Of Confusion, The Jesus And Mary Chain-Head On, Echo & The Bunnymen-The Killing Moon, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds-Where The Wild Roses Grow, Ministry-Stigmata, The Cult-Spiritwalker (Live), Siouxsie & The Banshees-Cities In Dust