Ras Michael & The Sons of Negus - Kibir-Am-Lak - Glory To God

Originally released in 1977, this album continues the tradition pioneered by The Sons of Negus, Count Ossie and The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari.

The album opens with the churchical hymn chant of "New Name", with its piano intro and eerie phased guitar. Robbie Shakespeare's bass is a huge underpinning boom, grounding the tune and merging with thudding Binghi drums.

"If You Only Knew" is a more calming chant, but again, is clearly derived from hymnal form and structure.

The heaviest, most aggressive track here is the aural purge of "Bablyon" AKA "Free up Jah People", with its lyric about Jah conspiring to bomb the world in vengeance for man's corruption - it's not a peacable, reflective lyric, but it does full justice to the hammer like bass drop in this tune. At times, Nyabinghi drumming can sound lethargic and soporific, but this work is energetic, inspired and inventive, a complex undertow of taut sound.

"Booma Yeah" is partially chanted in Amharic. The opening blessing from Ras Michael is a recital and a meditation, reminding the listener of the origin of the drum in Africa. That heartbeat he reminds, is echoed in The Sons of Negus. After the orthodox opening, this track veers into Hamilton Bohannon / Tony Allen afro funk - it works beautifully, with Shakespeare's agile bass and the taut Binghi percussion. It sounds similar to Hamilton Bohannon's long deleted 45 "South African Man" with it's hypnotic keyboard and drum structure.

"Over the Mountain" speaks of nature as a holy place of Jah spirit.

Tracklist:

1	New Name	5:02
2	Wicked Men	4:45
3	No-Hoppers	4:34
4	Zion Land	4:05
5	If You Only Knew	7:25
6	Babylon	3:38
7	Booma Yeah	5:39
8	Over The Mountain	4:41

Ras Michael & The Sons of Negus - Kibir-Am-Lak - Glory To God

(256 kbps, cover art included)

Ijahman Levi‎ – Are We A Warrior (1979)

"A We a Warrior" is truly an overlooked gem for the waning years of roots reggae's Golden Era. With only five tracks on the entire album, Ijahman takes the opportunity to languidly suss out each tune to the fullest. Every song is at least five minutes long. Several of the cuts are nearly 8 minutes long and not a moment is wasted. The result is a mystical, lush, yearning, spiritual (The Church), and, yes, sexy (check Ms. Beverly) soundscape that is still prophetic and futuristic sounding nearly three decades after is original release. 

Ijahman sings as though he is truly possessed by a mystical muse. The backing band on this album could easily be an allstar list of Jamaica's finest studio musicians of the era: They are nothing less than precise as they construct deep grooves that build upon and transcend the classic one-drop sound that was so (rightfully) pervasive at the time. There is a dark edge to Ijahman's spirituality and that's what makes this record exceptional. This is not tourist Jamaican music, nor is it poppy or hippy-dippy reggae and there are no touchy, feelly, "everything is irie" (although the grooves are indeed deep) anthems here. The style, rhythm and lyrics are unapologetically revolutionary, African and Rastafarian. This not to say that those who simply enjoy great music will be put off: Above all else, the music here is sublime and richly melodic. This ones for those who seek a deeper roots sound. "Are We a Warrior" is simply rare find, a unique record that takes the willing listener on a sonic quest in search of mystic revelations.

- Coalhouse Walker Junior

The title track and "Moulding" are two of reggae's most haunting meditations ever.

Tracklist:

A1	Are We A Warrior
A2	Moulding
A3	The Church
B1	Miss Beverly
B2	Two Sides Of Love

Ijahman Levi‎ – Are We A Warrior (1979)
(192 kbps, cover art included)        

Roosevelt Sykes - The Honey Dripper, Vol. 2 - 1944 - 1950

Next time someone voices the goofball opinion that blues is simply too depressing to embrace, sit 'em down and expose 'em to a heady dose of Roosevelt Sykes. If he doesn't change their minds, nothing will. There was absolutely nothing downbeat about this roly-poly, effervescent pianist (nicknamed "Honeydripper" for his youthful prowess around the girls), whose lengthy career spanned the pre-war and postwar eras with no interruption whatsoever. Sykes' romping boogies and hilariously risqué lyrics (his double-entendre gems included "Dirty Mother for You," "Ice Cream Freezer," and "Peeping Tom") characterize his monumental contributions to the blues idiom. He was a pioneering piano pounder responsible for the seminal pieces "44 Blues," "Driving Wheel," and "Night Time Is the Right Time."

Sykes began playing while growing up in Helena. At age 15, he hit the road, developing his rowdy barrelhouse style around the blues-fertile St. Louis area. Sykes began recording in 1929 for OKeh and was signed to four different labels the next year under four different names (he was variously billed as Dobby Bragg, Willie Kelly, and Easy Papa Johnson)! Sykes joined Decca Records in 1935, where his popularity blossomed. After relocating to Chicago, Sykes inked a pact with Bluebird in 1943 and recorded prolifically for the RCA subsidiary with his combo, the Honeydrippers, scoring a pair of R&B hits in 1945 (covers of Cecil Gant's "I Wonder" and Joe Liggins' "The Honeydripper"). The following year, he scored one more national chart item for the parent Victor logo, the lowdown blues "Sunny Road." He also often toured and recorded with singer St. Louis Jimmy Oden, the originator of the classic "Going Down Slow."

In 1951, Sykes joined Chicago's United Records, cutting more fine sides over the next couple of years. A pair of Dave Bartholomew-produced 1955 dates for Imperial in New Orleans included a rollicking version of "Sweet Home Chicago" that presaged all the covers that would surface later on. A slew of albums for Bluesville, Folkways, Crown, and Delmark kept Sykes on the shelves during the '60s (a time when European tours began to take up quite a bit of the pianist's itinerary). He settled in New Orleans during the late '60s, where he remained a local treasure until his death.
Precious few pianists could boast the thundering boogie prowess of Roosevelt Sykes, and even fewer could chase away the blues with his blues as the rotund cigar-chomping 88s ace did.    


Roosevelt Sykes - The Honey Dripper, Vol. 2 - 1944 - 1950
(192 kbps, cover art included)
          

Melanie - Born To Be (1968)

"Born to Be", Melanie Safka's 1968 debut, is an intriguing curate's egg. Neither Melanie, nor her producer-husband Peter Schekeryk, seem sure exactly where her strengths lie, so she is cast in a number of roles: Piaf-imitating chanteuse ("In the Hour"), soul-searching, angst-heavy troubadour ("Momma Momma"), giggling novelty figure ("Animal Crackers") and children's entertainer ("Christopher Robin Is Saying His Prayers").

Stranger still, half the time the experiment works; the small ensemble, led by her own enthusiastic (if thoroughly inexpert) guitar playing creates an arty, coffeehouse ambience in which Melanie's idiot-savant act flourishes. But the less said about her attack at "Merry Christmas" the better.    

"Born to Be" was  Melanie's debut album, released on Buddah Records in 1968.
Following Melanie's success at the Woodstock Festival in 1969 Buddha repackaged and reissued the album as "My First Album."

Tracklist:

A1	In The Hour	3:04
A2	I'm Back In Town	2:17
A3	Bo Bo's Party	3:58
A4	Mr. Tambourine Man	4:20
A5	Momma Momma	4:00
B1	I Really Loved Harold	4:05
B2	Animal Crackers	2:12
B3	Cristopher Robin (Is Saying His Prayer)	2:35
B4	Close To It All	3:22
B5	Merry Christmas	2:50

Melanie - Born To Be (1968)
(320 kbps, cover art included)          

Dagmar Manzel - Ich bin ein Wesen leichter Art

Born in 1958 in Berlin, Dagmar Manzel is one of Germany’s most noticed and successful actresses. Alongside of her career in theater, film and TV, her love pertains for music as well. Following her successful solo song recital "Ich bin ein Wesen leichter Art" at Deutsche Theater, Berlin, she performed the title role of Offenbach’s operetta "Die Großherzogin von Gerolstein". Further engagements in musical theater led her to the title role at Berliner Ensemble in "La Périchole" and to Hans-Otto-Theater Potsdam as "Rosalinde / Die Fledermaus". At Komische Oper Berlin, she has been celebrated not only for her debut as "Mrs. Lovett / Sweeny Todd", but also for her achievements as Lilli Vanessi in "Kiss me Kate". This successful show has also been transferred to the opera Cologne, where it has been running ever since. Dagmar Manzel can also be seen and heard in a new production of Ralph Benatzky’s "Im Weißen Rößl" at Komische Oper Berlin since the start of the season 2010/2011.

Dagmar Manzel is also familiar to the concert stage. She performed at La Cité de la Musique in Paris with the Ensemble Intercontemporain songs by Hanns Eisler under the direction of Peter Rundel; with whom she collaborated again in Zurich this year to perform Kassandra by Michael Jarell with the chamber orchestra of Collegium Novum Zurich. Twice already, she has been working with co-actor Robert Gallinowski in a song recital called Philharmonischer Salon. It is a recital evening, initiated by Götz Teusch, former cello player with the Berliner Philharmoniker, with songs from Berlin cultural life during the 1920s. On the occasion of opening the Jewish Culture Days in Berlin, Manzel gave a concert devoted to Richard Heymann accompanied by the pianist Tal Balshai and his ensemble in early spring of 2011. With the equal lineup she could be heard at Konzerthaus Berlin Gendarmenmarkt during Hanns Eisler Days 2012. A triumphant success has been the new production of Kurt Weill’s "Sieben Todsünden" with director Barrie Kosky at Komische Oper Berlin in spring of 2012 in which Dagmar Manzel sang the role of Anna. Furthermore, she performed at the opening of the Augsburg Brecht Festival in spring of 2013. In summer of 2013, Dagmar Manzel returned to Komische Oper Berlin to sing the role of Madeleine de Faublas in Paul Abraham’s "Ball im Savoy".

Here´s the album "Ich bin ein Wesen leichter Art" featuring here programm of stage songs performed at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin.

Dagmar Manzel - Ich bin ein Wesen leichter Art
(256 kbps, cover art included)

Pete Seeger - Wimoweh and other songs of freedom and protest (1968)

In 1961, Pete Seeger, long the flagship artist of the tiny independent Folkways Records label, signed to the major label Columbia Records. This did not, as it turned out, mean that he actually left Folkways, which retained the right to issue not only previously unreleased recordings dating from before the Columbia deal, but also new recordings if Columbia didn't deem them sufficiently commercial to constitute competition.

Nevertheless, Moses Asch, head of Folkways, couldn't have been very pleased at the development, and when Columbia issued its first Seeger album, a live LP called "Story Songs" in August 1961, Folkways countered the same month with its own live album, "Sing Out with Pete!", which turned out to be a cobbled-together set of tracks that had been left off earlier Seeger live collections.

In 1968, Folkways was in a flurry of releasing Seeger compilations (the others were "Pete Seeger Sings Woody Guthrie", "Pete Seeger Sings Leadbelly", and "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?"), and this one takes eight of the 12 tracks from the "Sing Out with Pete!" album, re-sequences them, and adds a few other stray tracks ("Wasn't That a Time," "What a Friend We Have in Congress," and "Hymn to Nations"). The recordings also seem to have been re-edited and remixed, with some extra waves of applause overdubbed. Although it contains a couple of Seeger's greatest hits, "Wimoweh" and "If I Had a Hammer (Hammer Song)," as well as some interesting performances of spirituals, with such collaborators as Big Bill Broonzy, Memphis Slim, and Willie Dixon thrown in, the album is still a hodgepodge. In fact, it's even more of a hodgepodge than the original version was seven years previously. 

The album features protest songs as well as old spirituals sung by legendary folk singer Pete Seeger. With Seeger's modern interpretations the folk process is truly at work, "making past experience meaningful for present-day life." Liner notes include background information on each of the tracks.
  

Tracklist:
101 I'm On My Way to Canaan's Land       4:20
102 Wimoweh      2:48
103 Wasn't That a Time           2:59
104 Freiheit           3:06
105 Study War No More (Down By the Riverside) - Pete Seeger and Big Bill Broonzy 5:28
201 Hold On - Pete Seeger, Memphis Slim, and Willie Dixon 3:27
202 If I Had a Hammer (Hammer Song)           2:21
203 We are Soldiers in the Army           4:05
204 Mrs. McGrath           4:19
205 What a Friend We Have in Congress           1:58
206 Hymn to Nations (Beethoven, Ludwig v.: 9th Symphony)           2:06    


Pete Seeger - Wimoweh and other songs of freedom and protest (1968)
(192 kbps, cover art included)     

Lucio Dalla - Come E' Profondo Il Mare (1977)

As the title of one of his most famous songs states, Lucio Dalla was born on March 4, 1943, and became one of the most important, as well as most popular, figures in Italian pop music of the second half of the 20th century. Dalla's career was a fascinating musical rollercoaster through several distinct periods. More than once he managed to enrapture and then enrage fans and critics with his sudden changes of musical direction, which were, as is often the case in Italy, invariably perceived as sheer ideological betrayals. Still, at the same time that he was alienating one audience, he was attracting a new and often bigger one. Typically unfazed by controversy, Dalla never let criticism get behind his perennial sad buffoon façade, and kept doing things his way, even at the risk of self-parody. By the early 21st century, Dalla had long become an untouchable icon of Italian pop culture as everybody's favorite mischievous uncle.            

His album Come è profondo il mare was released in 1977 by RCA Italiana. It was the first work in which Dalla wrote both the music and lyrics, after three albums in which the latter had been provided by poet Roberto Roversi.

Tracklist:

1. "Come è profondo il mare" - 5:24
2. "Treno a vela" - 3:27
3. "Il cucciolo Alfredo" - 5:22
4. "Corso Buenos Aires" - 4:38
5. "Disperato erotico stomp" - 5:52
6. "Quale allegria" - 4:30
7. "...E non andar più via" - 3:25
8. "Barcarola" - 3:50

Lucio Dalla - Come E' Profondo Il Mare (1977)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Tyrannosaurus Rex‎ - For The Lion And The Unicorn In The Oak Forests Of Faun

Its abysmal sound quality notwithstanding, "For the Lion and the Unicorn" is one of the earliest known live recordings of Tyrannosaurus Rex and, as such, stands among the most precious artifacts in the entire Marc Bolan catalog. One of the first shows to feature Bolan stepping out with an electric guitar, it sees the group already poised for the transition that would, a couple of years later, take the entire country by surprise. But still it captures precisely the same mystic magic that the duo was already renowned for, a world of elves and unicorns, Afghan women and Abyssinian seas, and Bolan's inimitable grasp of life through lyrics set to a churning sea of half-electric rumination.

Certainly the live appeal of the duo is not hard to see, even if it is a little difficult to discern - the sound quality is akin to standing outside the hall with a tin can pressed to the fire escape, and some of the subtler nuances of the music are certainly lost in the translation. But a powerful set drawing from all three Tyrannosaurus Rex LPs to date highlights the glory that was theirs for the taking, and if a better quality tape ever turns up, it would be the rival of any other live Bolan out there.      


Tracklist:

1-1	Unicorn / Hot Rod Mama	3:32
1-2	Afghan Woman	1:49
1-3	Debora	3:30
1-4	Mustang Ford	3:01
1-5	Stacey Grove	2:04
1-6	Salamanda Palaganda	2:16
1-7	Wind Quartets	2:59
1-8	One Inch Rock	2:18
1-9	Chariots Of Silk	2:43
1-10	Seal Of Seasons	1:57
1-11	Consuela	2:35
1-12	Nijinsky Hind	2:21
1-13	Once Upon The Seas Of Abyssinia	2:21
1-14	Interstellar Overdrive	0:28
1-15	Do You Remember	3:35
1-16	The Wizard	4:02
1-17	Eastern Spell	1:58
1-18	Strange Orchestras	2:12
1-19	Misty Coast Of Albany	2:45
1-20	Evenings Of Damask	2:27
1-21	Pewter Suitor	3:16
1-22	Travelling Tragition	1:49

Tracks 1 to 16 recorded at The Lyceum, London on 11.4.69; 17 & 18 at Broendby Club, Copenhagen in 1969; 19 at Café Au Gogo, New York on 16.8.69; and 20-22 at Queen Elizabeth Hall, London on 13.1.69.          

Tyrannosaurus Rex‎ - For The Lion And The Unicorn In The Oak Forests Of Faun 
(192 kbps, cover art included)

Ras Michael & The Sons Of Negus‎ - Love Thy Neighbour

You'll find Ras Michael albums in the reggae section, but what they really tend to be is Nyahbingi music - the kind that involves several different kinds of drums, call-and-response singing, and not necessarily any guitars or anything much resembling song structure. At its worst it sounds like spiritual self-indulgence, but at its best (such as the Rastafari Elders album on RAS) it can be deeply moving and uplifting.

"Love Thy Neighbour" is an interesting cross between pure Nyahbingi music and reggae; listen carefully and you'll hear those telltale guitar chops and bassline, and the production style is explicitly dubwise (guest producer Lee "Scratch" Perry's fingerprints are all over several tracks), but the most prominent instruments are the bass, funde, and repeater drums that characterize the Nyahbingi ensemble.

What's most interesting about the songs in this program are the frequency with which they refer to American country and gospel music - "Don't Sell Daddy No Whiskey" paraphrases an obscure country tearjerker from the 1940s, while bluegrass fans will recognize "Hear River Jordan" as an alternative version of the gospel classic "Walkin in Jerusalem Just Like John." The sound could be a bit better, but if you're looking for good trance music, you couldn't do much better than this.            

Tracklist:

Don't Sell Daddy No Whiskey
Times Is Drawing Nigh
Hear River Jordan Roll
Wicked Got To Go
Little David
Perfect Love
London Bridge Has Fallen

Ras Michael & The Sons Of Negus‎ - Love Thy Neighbour   
(192 kbps, cover art included)

The Mizell Brothers - Sky High

The sibling duo of Larry and Alphonso "Fonce" Mizell revolutionized the sound and shape of jazz-funk - fusing the commercial sensibilities of Motown with the virtuoso musicianship of the Blue Note stable, the brothers (collaborating under their Sky High Productions aegis) produced a series of now-classic LPs of uncommon beauty and elegance, characterized by soaring horns, cosmic synths, celestial string arrangements and sublime rhythms. While jazz purists reviled their efforts, time has conclusively proven the Mizells' singular genius, and their records remain some of the most sampled and celebrated within contemporary hip-hop culture.

Depending on your perspective, producers Larry and Fonce Mizell were either the best or the worst thing ever to happen to venerable jazz label Blue Note. Dispensing with the atonal abstractions of the free jazz era, during the 1970s the brothers steered the company's artists towards psychedelically funky grooves far closer to mainstream urban radio than anything Blue Note had ever dared try. Purists never recovered, but when successive generations far less concerned with tradition and the sanctity of jazz - a music that, it should be noted, for decades prided itself on its mutations and evolutions - rediscovered the Mizells' body of work years after the fact, they honored their cosmic and euphoric sound as the apotheosis of fusion. "Sky High" compiles a dozen of the Mizells' finest moments, 12 songs rivaling the best of funk's halcyon era - highlights include Donald Byrd's "Love's So Far Away," Bobbi Humphrey's "New York Times," Gary Bartz's "Music Is My Sanctuary," and Johnny Hammond's "Starborne."      

Tracklist:

1	–Rance Allen	Peace Of Mind
2	–Donald Byrd	Street Lady
3	–Johnny Hammond	Shifting Gear
4	–Donald Byrd	Think Twice
5	–Bobbi Humphrey	New York Times
6	–Johnny Hammond	Starborne
7	–Donald Byrd	Love's So Far Away
8	–Gary Bartz	Music Is My Sanctuary
9	–Bobbi Humphrey	Uno Esta
10	–Rance Allen	Truth Is Marching On
11	–Donald Byrd	Chages (Makes You Want To Hustle)
12	–A Taste Of Honey	Boogie, Oogie, Oogie

  
  
The Mizell Brothers - Sky High   
(192 kbps, cover art included)

In celebration of Victory Day: VA - Im Treptower Park (NOVA, 1975)

Victory Day or 9 May marks the capitulation of Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union in the Second World War (also known as the Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and most post-Soviet states).

It was first inaugurated in the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union, following the signing of the surrender document late in the evening on 8 May 1945 (after midnight, thus on 9 May, by Moscow Time). The Soviet government announced the victory early on 9 May after the signing ceremony in Berlin.

This day is still celebrated to commemorate the 28 000 000 (according to various estimates) children, parents, spouses and friends killed in Soviet Union during II World War for independence from Nazi Germany.

To celebrate todays "Victory Day" here´s "Im Treptower Park", a compilation released in 1975 on the NOVA label in memory of the 30th anniversary of the capitulation and the end of the fascist regime in Germany.

The album collects the Ernst Busch recordings of  "Der heilige Krieg" (original lyrics by Wassili Lebedew-Kumatsch) and "Wart auf mich" (original lyrics by Konstantin Simonow), an excerpt of Hanns Eislers "Winterschlacht-Suite", "Die Glocken von Buchenwald" and "Meinst du, die Russen wollen Krieg" with Helga de Wroblewsky and "Im Treptower Park" and "Vor dem Mausoleum" by the wonderful Reinhold Andert - a former member of the "Oktoberklub", which is represented by the song "Tatschanka" on this compilation.

Tracklist:

A1	–Ernst Busch	Der Heilige Krieg
A2	–Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin	Schluß-Melodram "Das War Die Division"
A3	–Oktoberklub	Tatschanka
A4	–Ernst Busch	Wart Auf Mich
A5	–Helga De Wroblewski	Die Glocken Von Buchenwald
A6	–Instrumentalgruppe Rainer Böhm	Das Lied Vom Lindenbaum
A7	–Reinhold Andert	Im Treptower Park
B1	–Gerhard Neef	Das Lied
B2	–Reinhold Andert	Vor Dem Mausoleum
B3	–Instrumentalgruppe Rainer Böhm	Im Mausoleum
B4	–Helga De Wroblewski	Meinst Du, Die Russen Wollen Krieg
B5	–Chor Der Staatsoper Dresden	Dank An Die Sowjetarmee

VA - Im Treptower Park (NOVA, 1975)
(256 kbps, cover art included)

Pietro Gori - Canti Anarchici Di Pietro Gori

"This was in the early dawn of socialism, or rather, the first years when there began to be talk of socialism in my country. One day a young law student arrived in the Ardenza to make propaganda on behalf of the new ideas and he spoke with colourful eloquence and persuasive reasoning. Crowds showed up for his speeches, drawn by his soft, soothing words, fired by his oratory, even if they could scarcely fully grasp the underlying ideas or had only the vaguest grasp of them. I was seduced by Pietro Gori's propaganda." (Amedeo Boschi).  

Pietro Gori (14 August 1865 - 8 January 1911) was an Italian lawyer, journalist, intellectual and anarchist poet.

He is known for his political activities, and as author of some of the most famous anarchist songs of the late 19th century, including "Addio a Lugano" ("Farewell to Lugano"), "Stornelli d'esilio" ("Exile Songs"), "Ballata per Sante Caserio" ("Ballad for Sante Geronimo Caserio"), "Inno del Primo Maggio" ("May, 1 Anthem").

This compilation was edited by A. Virgilio Savona (died just a few days ago) and played by Gigliola Negri, Margot, Michele L. Straniero, Gruppo Folk Internazionale

Tracklist:

1-Addio Lugano Bella
2-A Sante Caserio
3-Addio Compagni Addio
4-Canto Dei Lavoratori Del Mare
5-All'amor Tuo Fanciulla
6-O Profughi D'Italia
7-Inno Del Primo Maggio
8-Dimmelo, Pietro Gori
9-Dai Monti Di Sarzana
10-Inno Dei Lavoratori Siciliani

You find more infos about Pietro Gori via http://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/t76jd6.

Pietro Gori - Canti Anarchici Di Pietro Gori
(192 kbps, front & back cover included)

VA - Touch Me In The Morning (Trojan)

Aimed directly at lovers rock fans (everyone else wouldn't touch this in the morning or any other time of the day), this compilation features covers of 25 classic love songs performed by the cream of Jamaica's artists. Many of the originals were Motown hits, and you're sure to recognize every track here.

Stylistically, the covers range from early reggae to soulful lovers rock, and even on to the American-style pop that was briefly all the rage on the island. The artists read like a who's who list of Jamaican talent -- Dennis Brown, John Holt, Delroy Wilson, and many, many more. Although the songs may be considered by some as little more than lightweight pop, the performances suggest otherwise, and virtually every one of these tracks rings with sincere emotion. Bob & Marcia (aka Bob Andy and Marcia Griffiths) reach profound depths on "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" and Slim Smith is aquiver with vulnerability on "Everybody Needs Love," while the Jay Boys out-soul the Temptations on "I Can't Get Next to You." Lloyd Charmers exudes disbelief at his own good fortune on "Just My Imagination," and when Horace Andy sings "Ain't No Sunshine," you can feel the whole world darken. Every song included is of this same remarkable quality. Turn down the lights, turn up the stereo, and feel the passion.      

Tracklist:

1	–Dennis Brown	My Girl
2	–The Tamlins	Since I Lost My Baby
3	–Slim Smith	Everybody Needs Love
4	–Delroy Wilson	Put Yourself In My Place
5	–John Holt	Alfie
6	–Chosen Few	I Second That Emotion
7	–Bob & Marcia	Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing
8	–Slim Smith	Love And Affection (I'm Gonna Make You Love Me)
9	–Harry J All Stars	My Cherie Amour
10	–Delano Stewart	Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)
11	–Bobby Blue	Doggone Right
12	–Bob & Marcia	Onion Song
13	–John Holt	Yester Me, Yester You, Yesterday
14	–Audrey	Someday We'll Be Together
15	–The Jay Boys	I Can't Get Next To You
16	–Chosen Few	Tears Of A Clown
17	–Lloyd Charmers	Just My Imagination
18	–Joy White	My Guy
19	–Horace Andy	Ain't No Sunshine
20	–Now Generation	Ben
21	–John Holt	Help Me Make It Through The Night
22	–Lloyd Charmers	Sweet Harmony
23	–John Holt	Touch Me In The Morning
24	–Lloyd Charmers	Keep Getting It On
25	–Pat Rhoden	Living For The City

    

VA - Touch Me In The Morning (Trojan)
(192 kbps, cover art included)

Skin, Flesh & Bones - Fighting Dub (1975)

"Fighting Dub" is a collection issued on the Love label in 1975. The album's original mix was done by Errol "E.T." Thompson at Joe Gibbs' studio. Basically, these dubs were of Lloyd "Spiderman" Campbell's hits at the time, such as "Jacket" and "First Cut Is the Deepest."

This album was seen as the forerunner to the 'rockers' sound made famous by Sly Dunbar. Sly is in the band alongside Jackie Jackson, Hux Brown, Rad Bryan and Ansell Collins.


Tracklist:

Boxer Dub
Slavery Dub
Third Cut Dub
Jack Ruby Special
Scotch Dub
In Tone Rock
Spider Man Web
Run Run Dub
Baby Face Dub
Harbour View Rock Skin, Flesh & Bones - Fighting Dub (1975) (320 kbps, cover art included)

Bertolt Brecht – Tondokumente (LITERA, 1977)

This double album with audio documents by Bertolt Brecht was released in 1977.

On the first album Brecht sings two songs from "Die Dreigroschenoper" (1928/29) and recites the poem "An die Nachgeborenen" (1955). Then there are three explanations about his work and an excerpt of his examination before the Committee on Un-American Activities (1947).
The second album is a chance to experience the rehearsal for "Der kaukasische Kreidekreis" (1954) and "Das Leben des Galilei" (1955/56) at the Berliner Ensemble.


First album:

Zwei Songs aus "Die Dreigroschenoper"
An die Nachgeborenen
Aus einem Gespräch über das Buch "Theaterarbeit"
Aus einem Gespräch mit jungen Regisseuren und Dramaturgen
Rede und Diskussionsbeitrag auf dem Deutschen Schriftstellerkongreß
Verhör vor dem Ausschuß für unamerikanische Tätigkeit

Second album:

Probenarbeit an den Inszenierungen "Der kaukasische Kreidekreis" und "Leben des Galilei"

Bertolt Brecht – Tondokumente (LITERA, 1977) - first album
Bertolt Brecht – Tondokumente (LITERA, 1977) - second album
(192 kbps, front cover included)

VA - Taking Liberties (1994)

The complete title of this long deleted double CD is: "Unity - Be Aware - Fight Back - Taking Liberties - The Criminal Justice And Public Order Act 1994 Is The Death Of Democracy".

The album features exclusive tracks and mixes compiled in 1994 to aid the fight against the civil-liberty threating Criminal Justice Bill that was being passed in the UK back then. All proceeds went to Liberty, Squall, Advance Party & The Freedom Network.

It includes a rare Aphex Twin track, under the Caustic Window alias and a stunning unreleased 14 minutes mix of Blue Room by The Orb, in fact all of the 16 mixes are exclusive to this album. As with the 'Unity' compilation released on t´Totem Records, the cover artwork is by Jamie Reid, the famed artist who designed the "Never Mind The Bollocks" sleeve.

CD1
01. Dreadzone - Fight The Power
02. Orbital - Are We Here (Rabbit In The Moon Edit)
03. Test Dept - Critical Frame Of Mind (Criminal Edit)
04. System 7 - Depth Disco (Live)
05. Caustic Window - Phlaps
06. Loop Guru - The 3rd Chamber (Part 7 - Kalahari Dawn)
07. Tribal Drift - Land Rights And Birth Rights
08. Fun-Da-Mental - Mr Bubbleman

CD2
01. The Orb - Blue Room (Blue Lamp Mix)
02. Trans-Global Underground - Voyager (Trans Migration Mix)
03. Ultramarine - Trace Element
04. Galliano - Travels The Road (Junglist Dub Mix)
05. The Drum Club - Drums Are Dangerous(Stand and Fight Mix)
06. Zion Train - European Convention Dub
07. The Shamen - Persephone's Quest
08. The Prodigy - Their Law (Feat. P.W.E.I.)


VA - Taking Liberties (1994) CD 1
VA - Taking Liberties (1994) CD 2
(192 kbps, cover art included)

Le Chant Des Ouvriers - Ballades et Complaintes Syndicalistes

...and here´s this years tribute for tomorrow´s Worker´s Day.

"Le Chant des Ouvriers" is a dobule album by Marcel Mouloudji, Francesca Solleville, Les Octaves, Georges Coulonges, A.Wolfromm, Evelyne Gellert and the "Ensemble madrigal de l'ile de France". It was released in 1972 and collects french interpretations of political songs from different countries like France, Spain, USA, Great Britain, Soviet Union, Chile, Germany, Cuba, Italy and Poland.

Tracklist:

Album 1
Side A

* Frère... Entends-tu ?... (Trad. France) par Marcel Mouloudji.
* Sans pain et travailler (Trad. Espagne) par Les Octaves.
* Bella Ciao (Trad. Italie) par Francesca Solleville.
* Le curieux satisfait (J.F. Piron) par Marcel Mouloudji.
* Le train du syndicat (Trad. USA) par Les Octaves.
* Mineur sois solidaire (Trad. USA) par Francesca Solleville.

Side B

* Angleterre debout (Trad. Angleterre) par Marcel Mouloudji.
* La femme du mineur (P. Koulak Sezian) par Les Octaves.
* Nous ne bougerons pas (d'après "We Shall Not Be Moved") (1972) (trad. USA) par Les Octaves.
* Vous êtes tombés, camarades (Trad. soviétique) par A. Wolfromm.
* Casey Jones (Trad. USA) par Les Octaves.
* Bouffe-la (Trad. Espagne) par Francesca Solleville.


Album 2
Side A

* Le chant de la pampa (Trad. Chili) par Francesca Solleville.
* Nous tournerons (Trad. USA) par Les Octaves.
* La varsovienne (Trad. Pologne) par A. Wolfromm.
* Bandiera rossa (Trad. Italie) par Francesca Solleville.
* Appel du Komintern (Trad. Allemagne) par A. Wolfromm.
* La corvée d'eau (Paul Vaillant-Couturier/Georges Auric) par Marcel Mouloudji.

Side B

* Le chant des marais (Trad. Allemagne) par Marcel Mouloudji.
* L'armée de l'Ebre (Trad. Italie) par Francesca Solleville.
* Questions et réponses (Trad. Angleterre) par Les Octaves.
* Guantanamera (Trad. Cuba) par Marcel Mouloudji.
* Le chômage (G. Coulonges/Francis Lemarque) par Marcel Mouloudji.
* Le front des travailleurs (B. Bretch/H. Eisler) par Francesca Solleville.

Le Chant Des Ouvriers - Ballades et Complaintes Syndicalistes
(160 kbps - please post if anyone has got a higher bitrate! - , cover art included)

Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson – From South Africa To South Carolina (1976)

The collaboration between Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson was now a formal one, as they were issuing albums as a team.

This was their second duo project to make the pop charts, and it included anti-nuclear and anti-apartheid themes, plus less political, more autobiographical/reflective material like "Summer of '42," "Beginnings (The First Minute of a New Day)," and "Fell Together."

Scott-Heron was now a campus and movement hero, and Jackson's production and arranging savvy helped make his albums as arresting musically as they were lyrically.

Tracklist:

Johannesburg	4:47
A Toast To The People	5:45
The Summer Of '42	4:38
Beginnings (The First Minute Of A New Day)	5:36
South Carolina (Barnwell)	4:33
Essex	9:19
Fell Together	4:26
A Lovely Day	3:25

Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson - From South Africa To South Carolina
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Gang Of Four - Live At The Palace Theatre (1984)

Gang of Four are an English post-punk group, formed in 1977 in Leeds. The original members were singer Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bass guitarist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham. There have been many different line-ups including, among other notable musicians, Sara Lee and Gail Ann Dorsey. After a brief lull in the 1980s, different constellations of the band recorded two studio albums in the 1990s. Between 2004 and 2006 the original line-up was reunited; as of 2013, Gill is the sole original member.

The band plays a stripped-down mix of punk rock, funk and dub, with an emphasis on the social and political ills of society. Gang of Four are widely considered one of the leading bands of the late 1970s/early 1980s post-punk movement. Their debut album, Entertainment!, was ranked as fifth greatest punk album of all time and at Number 483 in "Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". The album was listed by Pitchfork Media as the 8th best album of the 1970s. Their early 80s albums (Songs of the Free and Hard) found them softening some of their more jarring qualities, and drifting towards dance-punk and disco. David Fricke of Rolling Stone described Gang of Four as "probably the best politically motivated band in rock & roll".

Recorded in Hollywood, "At the Palace" documents a live performance recorded during Gang of Four's 1984 farewell tour, with only Jon King and Andy Gill remaining from the group's original lineup. Among the tracks are "At Home He's a Tourist," "History Is Not Made by Great Men," "Paralysed" and "We Live as We Dream, Alone."                

Tracklist:

A1	We Live As We Dream Alone
A2	History Is Not Made By Great Men
A3	Silver Lining
A4	The History Of The World
A5	I Love A Man In A Uniform
B1	Paralysed
B2	Is It Love
B3	Damaged Goods
B4	At Home He's A Tourist
B5	To Hell With Poverty

Gang Of Four - Live At The Palace Theatre (1984)

(192 kbps, cover art included)