Thursday, June 30, 2011

Sagram (1972) -Pop Explosion Sitar Style



Artist: Sagram
Album: Pop Explosion Sitar Style
Released: 1972
Quality: mp3 CBR 256
Size: 84 MB

As a member of Magic Carpet and Magic Carpet II, and on his solo recordings, British sitarist Alford has explored the fusion of Indian music with folk, jazz, and rock. Although he initially studied bagpipes, Alford began playing the sitar in the mid-'60s, inspired by Ali Akbar Khan and Ravi Shankar. He went to India in 1968 to study classical sitar with Pandit Sachindranath Saha, and in 1969 recorded an album with guitarist Jim Moyes and tabla player Keshav Sathe for Windmill. Unfortunately, this was issued under the name Sagram, although the actual name of the band was Sargam. ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi



Thursday, June 23, 2011

Various Artists (2008) -Obsession



Artist: various
Album: Obsession
Released: 2008
Quality: mp3 vbr ~200
Size: 94 MB

Really rare psych joints from the 60's compiled by Mike Davis, owner of Academy Records in NY. Some of his rarest acquisitions over decades of record collecting, 1967 to 1973, from places as far-ranging as Turkey, Uruguay & Peru. more info







Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Ben Prestage (2011) -One Crow Murder



Artist: Ben Prestage
Album: One Crow Murder
Released: 1997
Quality: Mp3 CBR 320
Size: 139 MB

Born the grandson of a Mississippi sharecropper, Ben Prestage has been soaked in Blues tradition and Mississippi culture since birth. Growing up in the swamps of south central Florida, Prestage began to mix Mississippi Country Blues with his own brand of Florida Swamp Blues. This muddy- water- meets- black- water stew has led him to perform from California to the Carolinas to the Florida Keys, in large festivals, every kind of bar, and sometimes on downtown sidewalks. Ben Prestage spent some time as a street performer on historic Beale Street, while living in Memphis, TN. He used to share a spot in front of the New Daisy Theatre with modern blues legends Robert Belfour (Fat Possum Records) and Richard Johnston (2001 International Blues Competition winner). Being a street musician in the “Blues capital of the South” threw Prestage’s music in a new direction. To his show, he added a cigarbox guitar (made by Memphian an one-man-band John Lowe) which has stereo guitar and bass strings that can be played independently, at the same time. Then Ben added a series of four foot pedals that can be manipulated by the heels and toes of both feet to play a drumkit. The final result is Ben playing guitar, bass, and drums while singing his own brand of Blues which leaves bottles empty and dance floors full wherever his music takes him. bluesboys.com



Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Les Séquelles (2001) -Et Tant Pis Si Cela Vous Deplait



Artist: Les Séquelles
Album: Et Tant Pis Si Cela Vous Deplait
Released: 2001
Quality: mp3 CBR 320
Size: 94 MB

Les Séquelles have been playing their French 60s cocktail rock & roll since 1995, first as a three-piece when the band played Montreal's legendary Monstre-A-Go-Go garage showcase.
Les Séquelles then went on to play a slew of shows in very intimate quarters of the provinces' major centres. In early 1999, the band took some time off when logistics made it hard for the band to practice and play shows.
This gave the members a chance to experiment and play in side-projects including Les Macchabées & the all-girl garage group, The Slot Machines.
Later in the year would prove to be a new and different time for Les Séquelles. Stéphane and Jean, moved to Montreal near Stéphanie and greeted their fourth member and new guitarist, Daniel Fiocco (formerly of Les Incapables & Platon et Les Caves).




Monday, June 20, 2011

Charlie Haden & Pat Metheny (1997) -Beyond The Missouri Sky



Artist: Charlie Haden & Pat Metheny
Album: Beyond the Missouri Sky (Short Stories)
Released: 1997
Quality: lossless (FLAC tracks)
Size: 353 MB (with scans)

Charlie Haden and Pat Metheny have been good friends since the 1970s, so it comes as a bit of a surprise that Beyond the Missouri Sky should be their first duet album together. Both musicians are from small towns in Missouri, which leads Metheny to speculate in the liner notes if this similarity of childhood ambience might have something to do with the two players' obvious love and affinity for each other. Whatever the answer, the result of this logical pairing is a rather somber and moody one. Metheny has a dark tone on his electric guitar, and on Beyond the Missouri Sky, where he plays acoustic, his sound is similarly deep and rounded. Metheny has called Haden one of the greatest improvisers of all time, and although this may be hyperbolic exaggeration from a longtime friend, Haden has at least earned the right to defend the claim. On Beyond the Missouri Sky, his playing is as sensitive and beautiful as always. Although one can understand the vibe that Haden and Metheny were going for, the preponderance of slow and mid-tempo material can wear on the listener. When they eschew the dirge-like tempos, as on the fantastic "The Precious Jewel," the results are just as atmospheric and are, in fact, even more evocative of the Midwestern landscapes that are featured so prominently in the album art. With Metheny setting up a strummy rhythm, Haden plays the stately melody with impeccable tone. This track, one of many, also showcases Metheny overdubbing different guitars to thicken out the sound of the performance. The results are similar, at least in spirit, to Bill Frisell's recordings in the latter half of the 1990s. Although many Metheny and Haden compositions that are featured on this record, it is their readings of older material that are most effective. The Jimmy Webb classic "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" is wonderfully nostalgic, as Metheny uses subtle guitar and synth washes to pad a beautiful duet performance, and the traditional "He's Gone Away" is the greatest lullaby that never was. Overall, Beyond the Missouri Sky is a fine record when the material is happening, but a bit of a chore when it is not. If Haden and Metheny had gone with the more Americana theme throughout, instead of interspersing that rootsy feel with post-bop, it would have been a much stronger record. ~ Daniel Gioffre






Friday, June 17, 2011

Various Artist (2011) -Kosher Nostra Jewish Gangsters Greatest Hits



Artist: various
Album: Kosher Nostra Jewish Gangsters Greatest Hits
Released: 2011
Quality: CBR 320
Size: 140 MB

…This incredibly strange, exceptionally deep and exceedingly broad compilation of songs related to Jewish American mobsters offers a series of fractured takes about the situation. The music covers a wide time period, from the ‘20s to the ‘60s, and seems sequenced in random order, but the juxtapositions of the different material force the listener to make connections. Further complicating the issue is that many of the songs and artists are not Jewish. While one may appreciate the three titles by Italian-American teenage heartthrob Connie Francis (nee Concetta Rosa Maria Franconera) emotionally sung in Yiddish, or even Welshman Tom Jones’ torch song take on “My Yiddishe Mamme”, you have to ask why Chubby Checker’s rendition of “Misirlou” that ends with the line “Heave will guide us\Allah will bless our love” is here at all. The only clue provided in the liner notes is that the original was a popular folk song in the Jewish communities of Asia Minor. Well, maybe that and it sounds Middle Eastern (re: Semitic) and has found its way into Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction as done by Dick Dale… ~ read full review by Steven Horowitz




TRACK OF THE DAY - Richard Cheese




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Richard Cheese on ICE-10

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Various Artists (2007) -Colombia! The Golden Age of Discos Fuentes. The Powerhouse of Colombian Music 1960-76



Artist: various
Album: Colombia! The Golden Age of Discos Fuentes. The Powerhouse of Colombian Music 1960-76
Released: 2007
Quality: mp3 CBR 320
Size: 210 MB with scans

The Powerhouse of Columbian Music 1960-76. Soundway Records presents the tropical sound of Colombia. From the salsas and descargas of Cali, Medellin and Bogota to the Afro sounds and raw cumbias of Cartagena and Barranquilla, this is the sound of Colombian dancehalls and clubs in the ’60s and ’70s, when the legendary Discos Fuentes record label led the way. The sounds emanating from the barrios and beaches of Colombia are a unique mixture of Latin sounds and Afro rhythms, drawing influences from the New York and Puerto Rican Latin scenes, the highlife and rumba of West Africa and the calypso of the Caribbean, as well as the tropical rhythms of the Colombian cumbia, gaita, fandango and porro. Driving percussion, swinging horns, hot pianos and jumping bass lines — this music was made for dancing. ©



Tuesday, June 14, 2011

The Lunatics (2004) -Tour Du Monde



Artist: The Lunatics
Albums: Tour Du Monde
Release date: 2004
Quality: mp3 CBR 320
Size: 91 MB

This is the third album from this Finnish instrumental rock group. Their sound has plenty of surf influence, but they also have some with more of an exotic flavor, some that are slower atmospheric pieces, some that are rock out, and several of them have funk and ska rhythms. “Ripe Oat” has a western/country feel to it, “Cramps” features saxophone, and they cover Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.” Their guitars have a clean sound in most parts, and are played exceptionally well. The production is clean too, so if you are looking for some lo-fi, fuzzed-out surf rock, this isn’t it. But it is quite good. ~ BL, Rock'n'Roll Purgatory



Saturday, June 11, 2011

Various Artists (2008 / 2009) -Thai Funk, ZudRangMa Vol. 1 & Vol. 2



Artist: various
Albums: Thai Funk, ZudRangMa Vol. 1 & Vol. 2
Released: 2008 / 2009
Quality: mp3 CBR 320
Size: 139 / 164 MB

As with a lot of music culled from the bins of little shops and markets of Southeast Asia, where original master recordings are virtually impossible to track down, the recordings were transferred from their old vinyl source, giving each song a slight crackling quality, as though you just dropped the needle down on a record that no one in the western world has ever heard of before (and likely hasn t). From Meesak Makaratch s Luk Ron to the superbly funky Kun Rod Fai, Pai Rod Bus, Kee Chang, Kang Tent by The Hot Pepper, the albums get sprayed with horns, wah wah riffs, bass-y hip-swaggers, and pre-disco funk numbers like Royal Sprite s Yang Hai Mun Hong. There are no details about the artists themselves or when the song was recorded, which gives a sense of mystery to the whole CDs. But there is some familiarity: Kana TNT s Kod Hang Kam borrows completely from Pink Floyd s Another Brick In the Wall Part 2, and Pranee Thanasri s Chown Thur Ten Rum (Ask You For a Dance) is the Funkytown you d hear at some seedy Bangkok discotheque in 1979. Very diverse and weird. Impress your cultured friends with this, a no doubt about it ethnomusicologist's wet dream! ©





Thursday, June 9, 2011

Angelo Michajlov (2010) -Saxana: The Girl On A Broomstick



Artist: Angelo Michajlov & Karel Vlach Orchestra
Albums: Saxana: The Girl On A Broomstick
Release date: 2010
Quality: mp3 VBR
Size: 37 MB

The previously unreleased spooked-out psychedelic-jazz score to 70s Czech's 'other' favourite teenage witch flick. Directed by Vacalav Vorlicek (3 Nuts For Cinderella / Who Killed Jessie?) from the studios that brought you 'Valerie and Her Week of Wonders', 'Daisies' and 'The Cremator'. Finders Keepers presents the entire studio sessions, plus psychedelic effects by Angelo Michajlov (Marta Kubisova's arranger) performed by the Karel Vlach Orchestra. First screened in Czech cinemas in 1972, almost 30 years before the ongoing series of the 'Harry Potter' films began in 1992, 'Dívka na kosteti' (The Girl On The Broomstick) occupies a special place in the hearts of many Czechs who grew up in the 1970s and 80s. But how do you score a 76 minute feature about... deep breath... a girl at a black magic university who, in order to escape a 300 year detention, steals a spell book which allows her, and her vampire guardian, to spend 44 hours, in various animalistic guises, in 1970s Prague, where, while being manipulated into casting spells for the malediction of a gang of three tear aways, she learns about love, life and morality leading to a quest to recover the witches lexicon and the bizarre formula that will free her of her ancient curse and turn her into a human teenager...!?!?!?! These aren't pop songs, we're talking about instrumental and incidental music here (of the spooky variety) only to be found in European cinemas, and as soon as Karel Vlach puts down the brass and pulls out the electric bass and mid-tempo score sheets then Angelo Mikhailov's demands for backwards percussion samples and eerie manmade Hex F.X. begin to add extra colour to our screens and stereos. We even get the sitars on one track! But let's not forget that this is a kid's film for a teenage audience with a soundtrack made by chief technician at the Czech pop factory. You can almost hear the pulsating influence of Western pop music with chord progressions that teeter on the copyright friendly side of 'Light My Fire'. Could that bass line be a reference to a top ten Spanish hit by Christian rockers Lone Star? Perhaps it's unlikely but if a well traveled (by Czech standards) composer like Mikhailov was infusing the teenage market with messages from the wicked witch of the West then maybe 'Dívka na kosteti' is more subversive than we think. After years of being trapped in a small cold room by an evil wizard she finds that all she needs is the right documents before she can join the rest of the world. Like I say it's a kid's film, but many say that the Czechs made the best fantasies. ~ ©



Wednesday, June 8, 2011

TRACK OF THE DAY - Jefferson Airplane



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Weyes Blood And The Dark Juices (2011) -The Outside Room



Artist: Weyes Blood And The Dark Juices
Albums: The Outside Room
Release date: 2011
Quality: mp3 VBR ~224
Size: 71 MB

The record has shadows of The Shadow Ring in the oddly creaking ambient sounds and stark, nuanced production, which lend the eerily beautiful neo-Nico death-folk laments a more modern, art-skewed sheen. There’s still echoes of her old drone/tape-ghost-clouds moods on tracks like “In The Isle Of Agnitio” and the long, bells-laden outro to “Romneydale,” but the bulk of the LP is swooning and sweeping, with Natalie’s gorgeous, quasi-Teutonic vox leading the way. A subtly mesmerizing long-player, very “out of time,” and strangely untouched by contempo influences. MORE INFO



Monday, June 6, 2011

Various Artists (2008) -African Scream Contest



Artist: various
Albums: African Scream Contest: Raw & Psychedelic Afro Sounds from Benin & Togo 70s
Release date: 2008
Quality: mp3 CBR 320
Size: 169 MB

African Scream Contest easily joins the ranks of the most essential African funk compilations, partly by covering ground no one else has walked on, but mostly just for relentlessly kicking ass for over an hour. This is some of the best funk ever recorded anywhere, and it ranges from quick blasts of hyperspeed groove like Le Super Borgou de Parakou's "Congolaise Benin Ye" to the ruminative Fela-style Afrobeat of Vincent Ahehehinnou and Les Volcans' spicy Afro-Cuban workout. Whether you've been hunting down El Rego 45s on eBay for years or just heard and loved your first Fela reissue, this disc is emphatically for you. ~ Joe Tangari, June 17, 2008
MORE INFO






Asleep At The Wheel (2007) -Reinventing The Wheel



Artist: Asleep At The Wheel
Albums: Reinventing The Wheel
Release date: 2007
Quality: mp3 CBR 320
Size: 94 MB

What are you gonna say about Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel? Everything they've recorded is inspired. It's true that for the last 12-15 years they've been making lots of live and tribute kinds of records, but even when they record a "new" one as Benson boasts on the back sleeve, they still sound like a rollicking, reeling, good-time swaggering Texas-style Western swing band. The lineup changes, and changes, and changes to be sure, but because of Benson's stubborn reliance on the form, the group keeps a very definite sound. This new set underscores that case in spades and all one has to do is listen to the cover of Mose Allison's great jump tune "Your Mind Is on Vacation." Allison, being a son of the Deep South himself (Mississippi) may never have imagined his tune this way, but it's easy to imagine him smiling and swinging along to it, or thinking up a smoking little piano solo, when he hears it. The same goes for Louis Jordan's "Saturday Night Fish Fry." There is one anomaly here, though, and it's the album's closer, a beautiful straight honky tonk version of Guy Clark's "The Cape." Benson pours real emotion into it while keeping Clark's phrasing nearly identical. There are also a couple of Tommy Duncan numbers here, and Fred Rose's stomper "The Devil Ain't Lazy," which could have been covered by Louis Jordan with a saxophone playing the steel solo, plus a couple of originals by Benson. It all adds up to a fine effort by Asleep at the Wheel. This band may be an institution, but they still have inspiration, chops, and hardcore swing in spades to dish out to listeners. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide (USA)



Saturday, June 4, 2011

The Wildebeests (1997) -Go Wilde In The Countrye



Artist: The Wildebeests
Album: Go Wilde in the Countrye
Released: 1997
Quality: m4a CBR 320
Size: 114 MB

Ah, The bloody Wildebeests, true purveyors of the 'Dimbo beat' and all round Din meisters... These three lairds have been polluting the worlds ears for what seems like an eternity now what with each members previous bands and with the sheer volume of recordings, records and gigs that they've seen fit to unleash upon an unsuspecting public. The band consists of these three gits John Gibbs (The Kaisers, Holly Golightly The Masonics), Lenny Helsing (Thanes, Green Telescope) and last but not least Russ Wilkins (Pop Rivets, Milkshakes and Delmonas) who all cut their teeth playing raw beat music and generally causing a rumpus aurally, when their paths crossed they found that they had the same old cranky, rusty equipment plus some new(ish) shiny tunes that had accumulated along the way, the Wildebeests were born! fueled by enthusiasm, dunce caps and other ingredients, like finding out that they all shared the same attitudes and ideas when it came to what 'making a right old honest bloody racket' was all about...and thusly the Wildebeests did verily go forth and bang , scrape, thump and twang. Utilising the sheer sonic force of their 50 Watt P.A, 50 Watt Treble 'n' Bass and the blistering power of the 15 Watt guitar 'knee trembler' the 'Beests have stumbled through the shady underbellies of the popular music scene building a large following of like-minded 'dimbos' and 'dimbettes' both in Britain and the rest of Europe...releasing platters on some of the worlds finest record labels including Sympathy for the record Industry, Norton and Screaming Apple. Could the world be their oyster? nope, but this doesn't deter them from jabbing a knife in it's side and trying to prise it open... ©



Thursday, June 2, 2011

The Norvins (2011) -Yoga With Mona



Artist: The Norvins
Albums: Yoga With Mona
Release date: 2011
Quality: mp3 CBR 320
Size: 94 MB

Two years after their nice debut with time Machine, parisian band The Norvins are finally back. Yoga With Mona features the same garage soul-punk ingredients than the previous album with the addition of special psychedelic flavor (a sithar intro on Better Of Dead), enhanced by the fantastic Kiryk Drewinski’s artcover. Track after track the energy flows through and never weakens. This poisonous Shiva-Mona is bloody efficient and catchy : a dirty organ, some haunted harmonica and the voice of the singer — which sounds like a hoarsely Paul Weller — makes this album a must-have in every garage fan music library. ©



Wednesday, June 1, 2011

The Sadies (2006) -Tales of the Rat Fink OST



Artist: The Sadies
Albums: Tales of the Rat Fink
Release date: 2006
Quality: FLAC (tracks)
Size: 187 MB

Famous for representing American Hotrod counter-culture with his intricate yet bizarre creations, Ed Roth and his monsters have been followed by fans ever since and Ron Mann, director of Comic Book Confidential and Grass has now given the man a film with Tales of the Ratfink, burrowing the name of his most famous creation. A largely animated affair voiced by John Goodman, Brian Wilson and others, the film is scored by American surf/western-rock band The Sadies.

Sounding exactly like it should, Tales of the Ratfink OST is a great deal of guitar and little else; largely instrumental with the exception of The Corktown featuring the man himself Ed Roth, the score works in the best possible way and could easily provide backing to all manner of social events from BBQ.
~ Ross Breadmore