Salome No Kutibiru (2012) -Owari

Artist: Salome No Kutibiru 
Albums: Owari
Release date: 2012
Quality: mp3 CBR 320
Size: 108 MB

The Routers (2012) -A-Ooga!!! Stamp & Shake With The Routers

Artist: The Routers 
Albums: A-Ooga!!! Stamp & Shake With The Routers
Release date: 2012
Quality: mp3 CBR 320
Size: 142 MB

“Remembered by Mr. and Ms. Average Listener solely for their 1962 Top 20 instrumental "Let's Go (Pony)," the Routers rode that hit to record a surprising wealth of material in the early to mid-'60s, including four albums and numerous singles. This 27-track compilation lives up to the promise of its subtitle "The Best, The Rarest & the Unreleased," including their chart hits (they did have a mild one after "Let's Go (Pony)", "Sting Ray"), some singles that make their CD debut, and four previously unreleased tracks. "Let's Go (Pony)" was a simple but memorable tune built around crackling surf-ish guitar, soaring sax, and cheerleader-friendly clapping, yet they never did manage anything else as catchy, despite the era's top Hollywood session men playing on their records. While you've got to love liner notes that start off by declaring "it's fair to say that the Routers were never about high-minded cerebral matters," these largely instrumental tracks -- singing and chanting are periodically heard -- are mostly hasty if energetic throwaways, often sounding like a cross between a sports marching band and a rock & roll combo with one foot in R&B and the other in surf. They're kind of fun to party to if you're not demanding much, and capture the innocence of the Los Angeles rock scene at a time when few aspired to do anything more than enjoy themselves and sell records, but they're not very interesting. More interesting, to be blunt, are the extensive liner notes, which explain the Routers' tangled evolution and connections to key Hollywood session rockers, who were so tight that only one member of the band touring under the Routers' name actually played on the records. Oddly, however, they don't mention that two tracks, "Snap, Crackle, and Pop" and "Amoeba" were written by future Redbone leaders Pat and Lolly Vegas, or that one of the touring Routers, Scott Engel (who's seen in one of the photos), became star singer Scott Walker of the Walker Brothers. ~ by Richie Unterberger @ allmusic.com

Various Artists (2005) -Girl Group Sounds Lost & Found: One Kiss Can Lead To Another [4 CD]

Artist: various
Albums: Girl Group Sounds Lost & Found: One Kiss Can Lead To Another [4 CD]
Released: 2005
Quality: mp3 CBR 320
Size: 172+168+166+167 MB

TRACK OF THE DAY - Elvis Presley

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The Sufis - two albums

 

Artist:  The Sufis

Albums: The Sufis / Inventions

Release date:  2012 / 2013

Quality:  mp3 CBR 320

Size:  120 MB

“Imagine you have just popped round to mum and dad’s to help them clear some stuff from the attic. You stumble across a very old looking cardboard box marked; ‘dads trip kit’ and you have a peek inside. You find he has a bag of questionable looking vitamins, a strange picture book, a marathon bar (to keep the party going) and a record called the Sufis.

 This may puzzle you considering this album is not out until June 2012, but that’s where it was born in the past. It’s a brilliant album that needs to be praised all over."

READ FULL REVIEW

  

TRACK OF THE DAY - Secret Service

Jacco Gardner (2013) -Cabinet of Curiosities

Artist: Jacco Gardner

Albums: Cabinet of Curiosities

Release date:  2013

Quality: mp3 CBR 320

Size:  110 MB

”Jacco Gardner's debut album, Cabinet of Curiosities, is an impressive re-creation of late-'60s pop psych, especially coming from someone who's only in his mid-twenties. The Dutch studio wiz plays everything but the drums, and his music is full of harpsichords, organs, flutes, and Mellotron, taking in elements of the Left Banke, Sagittarius, the Zombies, and a thousand oddly named bands with at least one guy sporting a frilly mustache. The first track alone is like an encyclopedia entry for the sound -- "Clear the Air" is a frilly trifle with swooning Mellotrons, twinkling harpsichords, lyrics that take in ecological distress, war, and trippy dislocation, swirling background vocals, and minor-key melancholy. For extra psych points, Gardner uses the trick of singing in a deep, stilted voice in the chorus just like the Strawberry Alarm Clock might. The rest of the album follows suit with Gardner crafting pristine versions of gently pastoral psych that lend themselves to a healthy round of "spot the influence," but have enough of his own vision involved to turn out to be more than just pale imitations of a bygone era. The songs are more like Left Banke album tracks or cuts buried deep on a later volume of Rubble: they have the sound down perfectly and are mysteriously intriguing, but lack the hooks necessary to make the them stand out the way "Pretty Ballerina" or "She's Not There" do. That's a pretty tall order, though, and it's no mark of failure to say that Gardner isn't writing hits that will linger in brains and ring up sales. It's enough that he's made an album that sounds so good and authentically psych-like, and one that wraps the listener up in a warm embrace of misty melodies and cobwebbed arrangements. Play Cabinet of Curiosities back to back with a Nirvana (the paisley-clad U.K. version, of course) album and it will sound just right. That seems to be what Gardner is aiming for, and he succeeds. All he needs now is a mustache to go with the top hat he sports in the fuzzy photo that adorns the inside of the album." ~ by Tim Sendra @ allmusic.com

                                                                          

TRACK OF THE DAY - Foxygen

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Various Artists (2009) -Femmes De Paris & Gentlemen De Paris (4CD set)

 

Artist:  various

Albums: Femmes De Paris & Gentlemen De Paris (4CD set)

Released:  2009

Quality: mp3 CBR 192

Size: 199 + 106 MB

”A treasure trove of female French pop from the 60s – packaged in a special case with a bonus male disc too! The 4CD package is a tremendous introduction to the hippest French pop sounds of the 60s – and goes way past the obvious stars of the time to include some cool girl singers who never got full exposure here on this side of the Atlantic. Some of the tracks on the set are versions of English-language hits, and others are original French numbers with a really hip, mod, go-go approach – very romping and groovy, with the sort of styles that are becoming the best-remembered from the time. The overall sound here is similar to some of France Gall's best work from the mid 60s – touched with traces of some of the Brit girl singers, but handled with some great instrumental touches that really make the tunes come alive. 4CD package features all 3 volumes of the Femmes De Paris series, plus a bonus disc of the Gentlemen De Paris set.”

~ ©

  

TRACK OF THE DAY - Orca Team

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Bobby "Boris" Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers (1962) -The Original Monster Mash

Artist:   Bobby Pickett
Album: The Original Monster Mash
Released: 1962
Quality: mp3 CBR 320
Size: 82 MB


”Pickett co-wrote "Monster Mash" with Leonard Capizzi in May 1962. The song was a spoof on the dance crazes popular at the time, including the Twist and the Mashed Potato, which inspired the title. The song featured Pickett's impersonations of veteran horror stars Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi (the latter with the line "Whatever happened to my Transylvania Twist?"). It was passed on by every major record label, but after hearing the song, Gary S. Paxton agreed to produce and engineer it; among the musicians who played on it was pianist Leon Russell. Issued on Paxton's Garpax Records, the single became a million seller, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks before Halloween in 1962.[3] It was styled as being by "Bobby 'Boris' Pickett & the Crypt-Kickers". The track re-entered the U.S. charts twice, in August 1970, and again in May 1973, when it reached the #10 spot. In Britain it took until October 1973 for the tune to become popular, peaking at #3 in the UK Singles Chart.[4] For the second time, the record sold over one million copies.[5] The tune remains a Halloween perennial on radio and on iTunes. A Christmas-themed follow-up, "Monster's Holiday," was also released in 1962 and reached #30 in December that year. This was followed by further monster-themed recordings such as the album The Original Monster Mash and such singles as "Werewolf Watusi" and "The Monster Swim". Another of Pickett's songs, "Graduation Day", made #80 in June 1963. WIKI

Bruno Nicolai (1973) -L'onorata Famiglia Uccidere E' Cosa Nostra [OST]

Artist: Bruno Nicolai
Album: L'Onorata Famiglia Uccidere E' Cosa Nostra [OST]
Released: 1973
Quality: mp3 CBR 320
Size: 70 MB

”Bruno Nicolai was born in Italy in 1926, and the first film he scored was 1963's "Head of the Family". Bruno's big break came in 1965, when he was the musical supervisor for the Sergio Leone film, "A Few Dollars More". In 1966 he reprised this role for "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly". Bruno worked along side composing master Ennio Morricone, learning much from him. Bruno Nicolai studied piano, organ and composition at the Conservatory Of Santa Cecilia. His teacher for piano was Aldo Mantia, and for composition was Goffredo Petrassi. While at the Conservatory he met Ennio Morricone who also was studying with Petrassi. A friendship began that would last many years. He has composed for theatre, TV and movies. Between scoring movies he also conducted scores by Carlo Rustichelli, Luis E. Bacalov and Nino Rota. He conducted many of Morricone's scores, and played the organ on some of them and also co-scored some with him. Many of his scores have and are still being released on his Edi-Pan label. In 1975 Bruno was the musical director for Tinto Brass' movie, "Saloon Kitty", and this is here the two got to know each other. About 1977 Bruno was approaching by the Caligula Production (probably through Tinto Brass) team to write original music for the movie. As well, Bruno picked out the Classical music that was featured through-out the movie, he must have been a big fan of Aram Il'Ych Khachaturian (1903-1978) and Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953), who were both great Soviet Union composers. Bruno's last film was 1987's "Buckeye and Blue", which he wrote the score. Bruno died in 1991 in Italy. © Discogs

TRACK OF THE DAY - Владимир Макаров

Los Angeles Negros (1996) -20 Grandes Exitos

Artist: Los Angeles Negros
Album: 20 Grandes Exitos
Released: 1996
Quality: mp3 CBR 320
Size: 157 MB

”Los Ángeles Negros (English translation: The Black Angels) is a Chilean music band that recorded primarily during the mid and late 1970s. Formed in 1967, the band released several albums after coming together through a local radio competition.
Their music was a blend of Latin Bolero and 1970s psychedelic funk.
The group had a number of hits in Latin America in the 1970s, such as "Y Volveré," "Pasión y Vida," and "Mi Niña".
The Beastie Boys sampled their song "El Rey Y yo" on the album Hello Nasty. Their song "Tu y Tu Mirar...Yo y Mi Canción" was sampled by producer 9th Wonder on a Jay-Z song off of The Black Album called "My 1st Song".” Los Angeles Negros

Paul McCartney (2012) -Kisses On The Bottom (Deluxe Edition)

Artist: Paul McCartney
Album: Kisses On The Bottom (Deluxe Edition)
Released: 2012
Quality: mp3 CBR 320
Size: 143 MB

”John Lennon famously disdained Paul McCartney’s music hall tendencies as “nice little folk songs for the grannies to dig”. But the Beatles’ appeal owed as much to solid roots in Tin Pan Alley tunemanship as rock bite and experimentalism, lessons in classic song structure embedded in them from their parent’s generation.

For his 35th post-Beatles album (counting Wings, classical, soundtrack and electronic works), McCartney pays homage to songs he first heard his father play on the family piano. The mood is of warm and cosy nostalgia, laced with the qualities of magic and emotion familiar from McCartney’s own works of whimsy. He loves this material, and it shows.

The apparently risqué title is cheekily lifted from the opening track, the Fats Waller classic I’m Going To Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter, rolled out as a loose, light jazz flight with a rippling piano solo from Diana Krall. Surrounding himself with a band of stellar jazz players, for the first time in his career the multi-instrumentalist opts only for the role of vocalist.

We rarely think of McCartney as a singer, because he is obviously so much more. The focus on interpretation exposes the ageing in his voice as it thins out in his high register but he performs with delicacy and nuance: understated, acoustic-flavoured arrangements allow him the space to sing with soft precision. The lower register of Irving Berlin’s Always suits him, and he delivers this dedication to a long-awaited love with the smoky conviction of a besotted and bedazzled old roué. When he sighs “my heart is forever yearning,” on Home (When Shadows Fall) it is impossible not to believe him.” ~READ FULL REVIEW @ http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Caro Emerald (2010) -Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor

Artist: Caro Emerald
Album: Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor
Released: 2010
Quality: FLAC (tracks)
Size: 288 MB

'Deleted Scenes From The Cutting Room Floor' is the sound of swapped glances across a crowded dancefloor. It's the sound of a party that begins late and carries on until the sun rises. It's an album full of songs about dancing, flirting and declarations of independence. Caro's smouldering vocals update the classic Americano sound with a contemporary sheen and suggestive lyrics over a melting pot of sounds and influences - yet the sound is entirely, inimitably that of an exciting new artist capturing hearts and minds across the continent. ~ © Caro’s Website

Salome No Kutibiru (2010) -Koi To Ai Torenai Ni Tsuite

Artist: Salome No Kutibiru
Album: Koi To Ai Torenai Ni Tsuite
Released: 2010
Quality: mp3 CBR 320
Size: 112 MB

”…As we inch towards the 50th anniversary (yep, that's one half century) of the Beatles' appearing on Ed Sullivan, the moment when (musically, anyway) the 60s well and truly kicked into high gear, there's still a profound fascination with hippies, psychedelic music, pop art, etc. that far surpasses nostalgia for any other time period. I suppose you could blame the demographic bulge of the Baby Boomers, and their neverending appetite for reissues, reassessments, and general nostalgia for a time when people might actually have wanted to see them run naked through a field. Still doesn't explain the fixation the Japanese underground has on the period, though: Group Sounds (i.e. GS) has what amounts to a minor religion going in the clubs and record stores of Tokyoland.

GS wasn't just a Merseybeat rip, though. It quickly flowered into a strong scene that took clear inspiration from the West, but wasted no time in creating its own distinct personality in terms of scene culture (even if seemingly every record from the time period had a Beatles cover.) Enter Salome No Kuchibiru (i.e. Salome's Lips,) a 60s "copy band" if there ever was one. Led by multi instrumentalist Satoshi Mizuno and the unsettlingly flawless vocalist Kyoko Tachibana (seriously, the picture on the band's site doesn't convey…live, she looks like an animated doll,) they're simultaneously pure pastiche and weirdly original, much like GS itself. They even have go go dancers.” ~FULL REVIEW

Various Artists -The Ace Story Vol.1-Vol.3

Artist: various
Album: The Ace Story Vol.1 – Vol.3
Released: 2010 / 2011
Quality: mp3 CBR 320 / 192
Size: 145 / 125 / 73 MB


”A little over 30 years ago, the R&B and rock’n’roll loving directorate of Chiswick Records decided that it might be fun to start a sister label, which did for the recordings of what was then a mere 20 years previously what Chiswick was doing for the more current stuff. Chiswick itself had sprung from small beginnings involving two men with a market stall full of golden oldies both common and rare, so this was not something that surprised too many people who witnessed the birth of this new reissue label – which shared the name of one of the most famous imprints in rock’n’roll/R&B history and which, in 2010, still goes by the name of Ace Records.

The American Ace label, run out of Jackson Mississippi by shrewd record man Johnny Vincent, was a veritable sweet shop of great 50s and early 60s music. Ted Carroll and Roger Armstrong had been selling vast quantities of original Ace 45s on the Rock On stall, and when Ted broached the prospect of licensing some Ace masters for UK issue/reissue with Johnny Vincent, he not only said yes but gave Ted his blessing to use the Ace name as an outlet for these, and other, reissues. Thus it was that UK Ace was able to successfully mine Vincent’s trove of musical treasures and that Ted, Roger and expert Ray Topping were able to compile – among other things – five fabulous volumes of “The Ace Story”.

These original albums stayed in catalogue for years, until the deal ran out and Vincent decided to take his catalogue elsewhere. Of all the old vinyl UK Ace albums, they are among the most asked-for on CD by those who bought them decades ago and want to indulge themselves in a newly digitised version.

Over the course of the next year-and-a-bit, we’ll be reissuing all five volumes of “The Ace (Ms) Story” using the original covers. Each volume will be augmented with additional classics that wouldn’t fit the finite running time of a long player, Some tracks will have been reissued many times since we first compiled them in the late 1970s and early 1980s, while others have barely been heard in public since the aspiring hopefuls in question stood before the mic in, usually, Cosimo’s Recording Studio in downtown New Orleans and did their bit to let the good times roll. Each set offers a fabulous overview of New Orleans R&B, and some of the greatest music of their time. We’re sure we don’t need to reintroduce you to Huey Smith, Frankie Ford, Earl King, Jimmy Clanton, Bobby Marchan, Frankie Lee Sims and other members of our company. And we’re sure you’ll greet them with warm appreciation, no matter how many times you might have heard some of the biggest hits that we obviously couldn’t leave out…

…Ace is back on Ace. And this is the story, morning glory…” ~ By Tony Rounce

Various Artists (2007) -The Answer to Everything: Girl Answer Songs of the 60's

Artist: various
Album: The Answer to Everything: Girl Answer Songs of the 60's
Released: 2007
Quality: mp3 CBR 192
Size: 103 MB

”An astounding number of "answer" songs have been recorded in response to big hits in the history of the recording industry, though the phenomenon is more popular at some points than at others. This CD collects no less than 28 such items from 1959-1966, most of them from the early '60s, and all but one (Bertell Dache's "Not Just Tomorrow, But Always") sung by a woman vocalist or female group. As you'd expect, virtually all of these are novelties of sorts, and virtually none of them are in the same class as the songs they're answering. Nor were many of them successful in the marketplace, though a few of them (especially Jody Miller's "Queen of the House," fired off in response to Roger Miller's "King of the Road," and Jeanne Black's "He'll Have to Stay") were actually big hits in their own right, and a few others managed to reach the lower regions of the national charts. All that considered, this is actually more listenable than many skeptics might expect. The production is usually good, the rewrites usually reasonably witty, and the performances usually enthusiastic, even if in their heart of hearts everyone involved knew it was a long shot that these things were going to be smashes.” ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi

Bryan Ferry (1999) -As Time Goes By

Artist: Bryan Ferry
Album: As Time Goes By
Released: 1999
Quality: mp3 CBR 320
Size: 105 MB

Bryan Ferry invests considerable time and energy in cover albums (he should, considering that they compose a good portion of his solo catalog), treating them with as much care as a record of original material. He's always found ways to radically reinvent the songs he sings, so it's easy to expect that his collection of pop standards, As Time Goes By, would re-imagine the familiar. Instead, As Time Goes By is his first classicist album, containing non-ironic, neo-traditionalist arrangements of songs associated with the '30s. That doesn't mean it's a lavish affair, dripping with lush orchestras -- it's considerably more intimate than that. Even when strings surface, they're understated, part of a small live combo that supports Ferry throughout the record. He's made the music as faithful to its era as possible, yet instead of rigidly replicating the sounds of the '30s, he's blended Billie Holiday, cabaret pop, and movie musicals into an evocative pastiche. Ferry is at his best when he's exploring the possibilities within a specific theory or concept; with As Time Goes By, he eases into these standards and old-fashioned settings like an actor adopting a new persona. Since Ferry has always been a crooner, the transition is smooth and suave. He makes no attempt to alter his tremulous style, yet it rarely sounds incongruous -- he may sound a little vampirish on "You Do Something to Me," but that's the rare case where he doesn't seamlessly mesh with his romantic, sepia-toned surroundings. On the surface, it may seem like a departure for Ferry, but in the end, it's entirely of a piece with his body of work. True, it may not be a major album in the scheme of things, but it's easy to be seduced by its casual elegance.~ by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, allmusic.com