Creation Rebel - Historic Moments, Vol. 1 (1994)

Long out of print, nearly all the crucial recordings of Creation Rebel are now readily available thanks to CD technology. 

Both volumes are absolutely essential dub records, seductive and compelling play after play after play. Sherwood's avant-garde tendencies were in the early stages of development here, and he adds a daring bravado to the insistent, undeniable groove that Creation Rebel lays down.

Volume 1 is a little more song-oriented; Volume 2 is a bit more adventurous (and slightly better). Both of these are essential for any reggae fan's library. However, those interested in experimentation will walk away from this experience with their lives changed for the better.


Tracklist:

1 Dub From Creation 4:18
2 Basic Princples 4:06
3 Rebel Rouser 3:11
4 Creation In A Iration 2:53
5 Mirage 3:35
6 Liberation 3:00
7 Rising Star 4:24
8 Vision Of Creation 4:55
9 Rebel Vibrations 5:30
10 Jungle Affair 4:26
11 Hunger And Strife 5:03
12 Ian Smith Rock (Dub) 3:48
13 Diverse Doctor 4:41
14 Mountain Melody 5:15
15 Black Lion 2:15
16 Doctors Remedy 3:23

Creation Rebel - Historic Moments, Vol. 1 (1994)

(192 kbps, cover art included)

Donny Hathaway - Everything Is Everything (1970)

Already a respected arranger and pianist who'd contributed to dozens of records (by artists ranging from the Impressions to Carla Thomas to Woody Herman), with this debut LP Donny Hathaway revealed yet another facet of his genius - his smoky, pleading voice, one of the best to ever grace a soul record.

"Everything Is Everything" sounded like nothing before it, based in smooth uptown soul but boasting a set of excellent, open-ended arrangements gained from Hathaway's background in classical and gospel music. (Before going to Howard University in 1964, his knowledge of popular music was practically non-existent.) After gaining a contract with Atco through King Curtis, Hathaway wrote and recorded during 1969 and 1970 with friends including drummer Ric Powell and guitarist Phil Upchurch, both of whom lent a grooving feel to the album that Hathaway may not have been able to summon on his own (check out Upchurch's unforgettable bassline on the opener, "Voices Inside (Everything Is Everything)").

All of the musical brilliance on display, though, is merely the framework for Hathaway's rich, emotive voice, testifying to the power of love and religion with few, if any, concessions to pop music. Like none other, he gets to the raw, churchy emotion underlying Ray Charles' "I Believe to My Soul" and Nina Simone's "To Be Young, Gifted and Black," the former with a call-and-response horn chart and his own glorious vocal, the latter with his own organ lines. "Thank You Master (For My Soul)" brings the Stax horns onto sanctified ground, while Hathaway praises God and sneaks in an excellent piano solo. Everything Is Everything was one of the first soul records to comment directly on an unstable period; "Tryin' Times" speaks to the importance of peace and community with an earthy groove, while the most familiar track here, a swinging jam known as "The Ghetto," places listeners right in the middle of urban America. Donny Hathaway's debut introduced a brilliant talent into the world of soul, one who promised to take R&B farther than it had been taken since Ray Charles debuted on Atlantic.

Tracklist:

Voices Inside (Everything Is Everything)	3:28
Je Vous Aime (I Love You)	3:31
I Believe To My Soul	3:51
Misty	3:37
Sugar Lee	4:03
Tryin' Times	3:13
Thank You Master (For My Soul)	5:50
The Ghetto	6:57
To Be Young, Gifted And Black	6:45

A Dream (bonus track)                              4:14

Donny Hathaway - Everything Is Everything (1970)
(256 kbps, cover art included)

VA - Where Will You Be Christmas Day?

The compilation "Where Will You Be Christmas Day?" shows many sides of Christmas - from Jesus born in the manger to Leroy Carr spending the holiday in jail - and provides a compelling contrast to the commercialized Christmas we know today.

A holiday compilation with a difference, this assembles a couple dozen Christmas-themed recordings from 1917-1959 that represent roots music of all stripes - blues, gospel, early jazz, early country, Appalachian folk, and even some ethnic sounds of Trinidad, Puerto Rico, Italy, and Ukraine. There are some pretty famous names here, like Leadbelly, Bessie Smith, and Lightnin' Hopkins, as well as some artists who are not as famous but still pretty renowned, like Rev. J.M. Gates, Buell Kazee, and the Maddox Brothers & Rose. Yet as was the case on the Dust-to-Digital label's extraordinary six-CD box set of 1902-1960 spirituals, "Goodbye, Babylon", there are a host of names here that will be known almost exclusively to serious old-time music collectors. That in itself makes this a pretty interesting and offbeat Christmas anthology. But even if you care nothing for rare record values, it's certainly rawer, more heartfelt, and just more musically interesting than the vast majority of what you'll find in the holiday bin. It's also a reminder of a time when Christmas discs could be relatively joyful and sincere expressions of religion and merrymaking, rather than just excuses to make a quick buck by cashing in on the time of the season. It makes for superior roots music listening whether you're in the holiday spirit or not, but some of the better tracks to keep an ear out for include the Cotton Top Mountain Sanctified Singers' jovial Dixieland jazz-style "Christ Was Born on Christmas Morn," with its thrilling high female background vocal swoops; Leadbelly's highly rhythmic, infectiously joyous "Christmas Is A-Coming"; the exuberant early calypso of Lord Executor's "Christmas Is a Joyful Day"; the shuffling flamenco-like verve of Los Jibaros' "Décimas de Nacimiento"; and the electric blues of Lightnin' Hopkins' "Happy New Year," which verges on rock & roll.

Note, also, how the tracks are sequenced almost like a chronological celebration of holiday themes, starting with Vera Hall Ward's "The Last Month of the Year," moving on through Leadbelly's "Christmas Is A-Coming" and Kansas City Kitty's "Christmas Morning Blues," and wrapping up with Hopkins' "Happy New Year."

This album deserves a four-star rating for its general musical value; judged by the standards of Christmas/holiday releases, it easily rates a full five stars.       


VA - Where Will You Be Christmas Day?
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Happy X-Mas!      

The Fun Boy Three With Bananarama – It Aint What You Do.... /Just Do It (1982, 12")

Terry Hall, the lead singer of the Specials and a former member of Fun Boy Three and the Colourfield, has died aged 63, his bandmates in the Specials have confirmed.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing, following a brief illness, of Terry, our beautiful friend, brother and one of the most brilliant singers, songwriters and lyricists this country has ever produced,” the band tweeted.

“Terry was a wonderful husband and father and one of the kindest, funniest, and most genuine of souls. His music and his performances encapsulated the very essence of life… the joy, the pain, the humour, the fight for justice, but mostly the love.” Rest in peace!

"'Tain't What You Do (It's the Way That You Do It)" is a song written by jazz musicians Melvin "Sy" Oliver and James "Trummy" Young. It was first recorded in 1939 by Jimmie Lunceford, Harry James, and Ella Fitzgerald, and again the same year by Nat Gonella and His Georgians. The "shim sham" is often danced to the Lunceford recording of this song.

The jazz tune was transformed into a pop/new wave song with ska elements in 1982. With the title slightly altered to "It Ain't What You Do....", it was recorded by Fun Boy Three and Bananarama, and was included on the former's self-titled debut album, but it was not available on a Bananarama album until 1988's Greatest Hits Collection.

Terry Hall of Fun Boy Three owned a copy of Bananarama's previous single "Aie a Mwana", and after seeing an article about the trio in The Face, he decided he wanted them to sing background vocals on the song, solely based on the fact that he liked their look. "It Ain't What You Do...." became a big hit in the UK, climbing to number four in the UK Singles Chart, and achieving a Silver certification from the British Phonographic Industry. The success of the single also prompted Bananarama to return the favour and have Fun Boy Three sing on their next single, "Really Saying Something".


Tracklist:

A It Ain't What You Do.... / Just Do It 5:55
B The "Funrama" Theme 5:55

The Fun Boy Three With Bananarama – It Aint What You Do.... /Just Do It (1982, 12")

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Grethe Weiser – Das Lottchen (Grethe Weiser Spricht Kurt Tucholsky) (1961)

“This small tough person does not need a monument. It already stands,” wrote the critic Friedrich Luft after her death in 1970. Grethe Weiser was a highly talented comedian, whose greatest genius was her verbal eloquence. With her sassy, offhanded quick-wittedness, she was able to elicit thunderous applause from her audiences. Her film and stage partners praised her great discipline in the craft and her helpfulness in general. It was also very important to her personally not to steal anyone else’s show.

Mathilde Ella Dorothea Nowka, the daughter of well-to-do entrepreneurs, was born in Hanover and raised in Dresden, where she attended secondary school for young ladies. At the age of eighteen she engaged in a hunger strike to win her parents' permission to marry the Jewish-Austrian sugar producer Josef Weiser. He was a wealthy man and was able to rent a mansion for his wife in Dresden, where she gave birth to their son Günther in 1922. In the course of the depression, however, Josef lost his fortune. He then tried to establish a new livelihood in Berlin through various projects, among them the management of the Cabaret Charlott, where Grethe rehearsed for her first performances.

By the time her marriage had deteriorated on account of Josef’s many affairs, she had already found her calling as an actress and cabaret artist. From 1929 on, she played important supporting roles in movies, portraying cooks and other household personnel, and dazzled her fans with her cunningly sharp tongue. She experienced her greatest movie successes in 1937 with her roles in Die Göttliche Jette (The Divine Jette) and Mädchen für Alles (Maid-of-All-Work).

During the second world war, Weiser was not only commissioned for theater duty at the front, but also acted in over thirty movies. For more favorable career opportunities membership in the Theater Guild of the German Reich was required, and for this Grethe Weiser would have had to join the Nazi Party (NSDAP), which, in turn, would have meant renouncing her husband and child. She refused to do this, however, sent her son to boarding school in England (Josef had already fled to the Netherlands), and was miraculously left in peace. Her comedy, evidently, was indispensable in time of war.

In 1948 Grethe met Ida Ehre, proprietor of Hamburg’s Studio Theatre Kammerspiele, who offered her the leading role in Das Kuckucksei (The Cuckoo’s Egg). The premiere brought Weiser tremendous ovations, and she frequently went on tour with this piece. Cooperation with Ida Ehre on Hauptmann’s Der Biberpelz (The Beaver Coat)where she played Mother Wolffen, deepened their contact, which eventually developed into a close friendship.

In the movies made during the era of the “economic miracle” following the war, Grethe embodied the type of the Berlinwoman, known for her big heart and even bigger mouth, who was nobody’s fool and nobody's victim. In 1968 she was given the Medal of Honour of the Federal Republic of Germany. An Inter-City Express train on the route between Frankfurt and Hanover has also been named after her, as well as a 100-Pfennig postage stamp from the permanent series “Women in German History”, which was dedicated to her in the year 2000.

When Weiser was killed in a car accident together with her second husband, the movie producer Hermann Schwerin, Ida Ehre wrote in an obituary, “You were one of steadfast loyalty. Whomever you locked in your heart was anchored there firmly … you will always be within me, dear Grethe."

- from: https://www.fembio.org/


Tracklist:
01. Lottchen beichtet 1 Geliebten 

02. Es reut das Lottchen 

03. Lottchen besucht einen tragischen Film


Grethe Weiser – Das Lottchen (Grethe Weiser Spricht Kurt Tucholsky) (1961)
(ca. 192 kbps, cover art included)

Silvio Rodríguez – Memorias (1987)

The tender balladry offsets the hard-edged, politically slanted lyrics of Silvio Rodriguez. 

A spearhead from the nueva trova  design of nueva cancion, Rodriguez masterfully mixes romantic music with protest materials condemning colonization as well as the tyranny that swept through Latin America in the past due ’60s and early ’70s.

Inspired by French chanson, Rodriguez recorded his debut album in 1976. Although his early albums showcased his single classical guitar playing and silken vocals, Rodriguez progressively integrated the accompaniment of electrical instrumentation. 


Tracklist:

Madre [Silvio Rodríguez] (1:55)
El papalote [Silvio Rodríguez] (5:22)
Canción de la nueva escuela [Silvio Rodríguez] (3:34)
Fusil contra fusil [Silvio Rodríguez] (3:12)
El viejo obrero [Silvio Rodríguez] (3:26)
Preludio de Girón [Silvio Rodríguez] (4:26)
Si tengo un hermano [Silvio Rodríguez] (2:43)
Supón [Silvio Rodríguez] (5:04)
Para llegar al cielo [Silvio Rodríguez] (5:31)
La oveja negra [Silvio Rodríguez] (2:18)
El día en que voy a partir [Silvio Rodríguez] (3:04)
Discurso fúnebre [Silvio Rodríguez] (4:05)
El hombre de Maisinicú [Silvio Rodríguez] (5:48)
Ríe y bosteza [Silvio Rodríguez] (1:24)

Silvio Rodríguez – Memorias (1987)
(192 kbps, cover art included)

Nico - In Tokyo (1982)

There are more live records of Nico performing in the 1980s than there should be, with inevitable over-repetition of some of the same songs from concert to concert. Should "Live in Tokyo" be one of the one or two such discs Nico fans want in their collection, though, it's not a bad one to have. 

According to the liner notes by Nico biographer Dick Witts, it could be the last Nico concert to have been issued on CD, recorded in Tokyo on April 11, 1986, just a couple of years before her death. The sound quality is reasonable (though not outstanding), and despite her well-founded reputation as a heavy substance abuser, her voice and performance are pretty reasonable as well. At times the songs are over-arranged, as on the thudding near-disco drumbeat of "My Heart Is Empty" and the cold synth-goth ambience of "Purple Lips." On some other tracks, though, a sparse backup (sometimes dominated by Nico's own harmonium) suits the mood better. Some of her old standbys are here, of course -- "Janitor of Lunacy," "My Funny Valentine," a cover of the Doors' "The End," and the Velvet Underground warhorses "All Tomorrow's Parties" (done entirely a cappella) and "Femme Fatale." There are a good number of less familiar items too, including a few from her final albums, like "Das Lied vom einsamen Mädchen."

Tracklist:

1 My Heart Is Empty 5:21

2 Purple Lips 4:22

3 Tananore 4:19

4 Janitor Of Lunacy 4:05

5 You Forget To Answer 3:08

6 60/40 6:36

7 My Funny Valentine 4:01

8 All Tomorrow's Parties 2:55

9 Das Lied vom einsamen Mädchen 6:28

10 Femme Fatale 4:02

11 The End 9:27

Nico - In Tokyo (1982)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Eric Andersen - Blue River (1972)

With mid-'60s gems like Violets of Dawn, Thirsty Boots, and Close the Door Lightly, Eric Andersen became the archetypal, literate romantic before the likes of James Taylor and Jackson Browne had even cut their first records, but at the same time seemed to lack direction from album to album. With his eighth album, Blue River, recorded in Nashville in 1972, he found the perfect setting for his gentle, poetic songs. After nearly seven years of dabbling in folk, folk-rock, pop, and country, Andersen found a smart, sympathetic ear in producer Norbert Putnam. Putnam, whose production here is rarely extraneous, utilizes subtle touches of bass, drums, accordion, and organ along with Andersen's own guitar, piano, and harmonica to frame the material. The record, Andersen's first effort for Columbia, also featured his best collection of tunes to date.

Blue River, with its themes of uncertainty and struggle, is by no means a casual record, although songs such as the bittersweet "Is It Really Love at All" and the title track, featuring Joni Mitchell's ethereal supporting vocal, will draw the listener in with their sheer beauty. Andersen, then in his late twenties, was dealing with questions of love, life, and desire with a maturity matched only by a handful of songwriters at the time. Never overly precious or maudlin, nearly every cut resonates with eloquence and grace. Although continuing to grow as a writer in the years to come, Blue River remains Eric Andersen's masterwork and one of the true classics of the genre.


Tracklist:


"Is It Really Love at All" (Andersen) – 5:21
"Pearl's Goodtime Blues" (Andersen) – 2:21
"Wind and Sand" (Andersen) – 4:30
"Faithful" (Andersen) – 3:15
"Blue River" (Andersen) – 4:46
"Florentine" (Andersen) – 3:31
"Sheila" (Andersen) – 4:37
"More Often Than Not" (David Wiffen) – 4:52
"Round the Bend" (Andersen) – 5:38
"Come To My Bedside, My Darlin'" (Andersen) - 4:58 ~*
"Why Don't You Love Me" (Hank Williams) - 2:54 ~*

~* = Bonus Track on CD Release (recorded during album sessions)

Eric Andersen - Blue River (1972)

(320 kbps, 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)

Nina Simone - It Is Finished (1974)

"It Is Finished" is Nina’s farewell to militancy, to her record label and to America. Fittingly, there are backward glances; an affectionate homage to Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, an earlier black hero, and a dedication to Bessie Smith, with the sexy "Sugar In My Bowl". "The Pusher", an unsparing account of the devastation wreaked by drugs, makes clear why escape was necessary.

Having spent fifteen years running, it was time for Nina to relax and take stock. She moved to Barbados in 1974, and subsequently lived in Liberia. The role of freedom fighter had broken down in the face of social and personal problems. Nothing daunted, Simone reinvented herself as the Obeah Woman.

The African-rooted, classically trained pianist freely moved between ‘civilization’ and ‘savagery’ (both are tricky concepts and need those inverted commas). The dark and fearful "Dambala" visits a place beyond death and reveals the secrets that only the "Obeah Woman" knows.

"It Is Finished" is a good live recording of Nina in 1974 and definitively recommended to any Nina Simone fan (and everybody should be IMO), as pretty much every live album I've heard from her.


Tracklist:
The Pusher 5:12

Com' By H'Yere - Good Lord 2:55

Funkier Than A Mosquito's Tweeter 5:21

Mr. Bojangles 5:21

I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl 5:54

Dambala 6:53

Let It Be Me 3:35

Obeah Woman 6:17

Nina Simone - It Is Finished (1974)

(192 kbps, cover art included)

Leadbelly - Alabama Bound

Huddie Ledbetter, known as Leadbelly, was a unique figure in the American popular music of the 20th century.

Ultimately, he was best remembered for a body of songs that he discovered, adapted, or wrote, including "Goodnight, Irene," "Rock Island Line," "The Midnight Special," and "Cotton Fields."

But he was also an early example of a folksinger whose background had brought him into direct contact with the oral tradition by which folk music was handed down, a tradition that, by the early years of the century, already included elements of commercial popular music.

Because he was an African-American, he is sometimes viewed as a blues singer, but blues (a musical form he actually predated) was only one of the styles that informed his music. He was a profound influence on folk performers of the 1940s such as Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, who in turn influenced the folk revival and the development of rock music from the 1960s onward, which makes his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, early in the hall's existence, wholly appropriate.

Here´s a compilation of recordings from 1940, digitally re-mastered from the original monaural metal masters in 1988.

Leadbelly - Alabama Bound
(192 kbps, mp3)

Pablo Milanés‎ – Versos José Marti Cantados Por Pablo Milanés

On this 1973 record, Pablo Milanés sings selections by 19th century Cuban poet and revolutionary José Martí, drawing primarily on Versos Sencillos (1891) and the posthumously published Versos Libres (1913).

Although this was Milanés' first album, by the time of its release he was already an accomplished artist. Following early-'60s stints with El Cuarteto del Rey and los Bucaneros, Milanés pursued a solo career; by the end of the decade he was collaborating with Silvio Rodríguez and others, first at El Centro de la Canción Protesta de la Casa de las Américas and then as a member of El Grupo de Experimentación Sonora. Milanés began developing these arrangements for Martí's work while he was in El Grupo de Experimentación Sonora and the resulting solo debut remains a foundational recording of the nueva trova Cubana.

Milanés' simple acoustic guitar accompaniment offers an evocative setting for Martí's words, but his voice is the crucial instrument; his smooth tenor captures the cadences, tone, and emotional power of Martí's writing, from its quiet, contemplative passages to its spirited, passionate flourishes. Milanés' adaptation of section one of Versos Sencillos and his stirring versions of "Amor de Ciudad Grande" and "Banquete de Tiranos" are breathtaking. Particularly noteworthy is the brief "Eramos," a rendering of a passage from Martí's famous essay "Nuestra América" which masterfully conveys the musicality of his prose.

It's impossible to divorce the nueva trova from its ideological context and to separate Milanés' art from his role in Castro's Cuba. But while that political backdrop is divisive, Cubans on opposite sides of the debate, at home and in exile, embrace José Martí as a hero; likewise, whatever your allegiances, it's hard not to concede that this album is a stunning musical achievement. Pop music lyrics seldom qualify as poetry, but Milanés shows how poetry can inspire phenomenally powerful popular music.                


Tracklist:

Yo Soy Un Hombre Sincero
Mi Verso Es Como Un Puñal
Banquete De Tiranos
Al Buen Pedro
Si Ves Un Monte De Espumas
Vierte, Corazón, Tu Pena
Eramos... De Nuestra America
Amor De Ciudad Grande
Poetica
El Principe Enano
El Enemigo Brutal
Es Rubia: El Cabello Suelto


Pablo Milanés ‎– Versos José Marti Cantados Por Pablo Milanés            
(320 kbps, cover art included)                       

Pablo Milanes - A Vivo No Brasil (1984)

Sad news: Pablo Milanes died on Tuesday in Madrid. He was 79. Thanks a lot for the wonderful music!

The important Caribbean musical tradition has in Pablo Milanés one of its noted composers/performers. The natural bonds of musical identification and fraternity with Brazil are celebrated in this intense album recorded live in this country with the participation of Chico Buarque.

"Yo Pisare las Calles Nuevamente" (in a voice/violão rendition), the nostalgic "Años" (with his band), the energetic "Creeme" and "Yo No Te Pido," the lyrical "Para Vivir" (backed only by the piano of Jorge Aragón), and "Acto de Fé" opened the show, which in the second part began with Chico Buarque's dramatic "Pedaço de Mim" (together with Buarque). Buarque also joins Milanes in the lachrymose "Yolanda" and in "Homenaje." The highly emotional impact of meeting, enhanced by Buarque and Milanes's natural sound affinity, can be verified by the audience's response and in the thrilled address by Elba Ramalho and Caetano Veloso. The musical aspect is subordinated to the lyrical content, with no improvisation or other signals of instrumental independence.       

Tracklist:

01. Apresentação (0:50)
02. Yo pisaré las calles nuevamente (2:41)
03. Años (5:13)
04. Créeme (4:49)
05. Yo no te pido (5:25)
06. Para vivir (3:38)
07. Acto de fe (4:51)
08. Apresentação (0:44)
09. Pedaço de mim (2:34)
10. Yolanda (4:35)
11. Amo esta isla (6:57)
12. Canción por la unidad latinoamericana (7:05)
13. Homenaje (5:43)

Pablo Milanes - A Vivo No Brasil (1984)
(128 kbps, cover art included)

        

Ramblin´ Jack Elliott - The Essential (1976)

"The Essential Ramblin' Jack Elliott" is a compilation album by American folk musician Ramblin' Jack Elliott, released in 1976. It was originally issued as a double LP including Elliot's only Vanguard release "Jack Elliott" and other live tracks. The album was reissued on CD in 1998.

Elliott was the complete folksinger of the 60s, singing and yodeling traditional material derived from folk, country, and blues sources and (especially) carrying on the tradition of Woody Guthrie. This two-pocket set, some of which is taken from a 1965 concert at New York Town Hall, provides a representative sampling of his repertoire and style.


Tracklist:

"Roving Gambler" – 3:36
"Will the Circle Be Unbroken" – 2:38
"Diamond Joe" – 2:58
"Guabi Guabi" (Traditional, Jack Elliott) – 4:43
"Sowing on the Mountain" – 2:15
"Roll on Buddy" – 2:03
"1913 Massacre" (Woody Guthrie) – 3:51
"House of the Rising Sun" – 3:28
"Shade of the Old Apple Tree" – 2:41
"Black Snake Moan" – 3:26
"Portland Town" (Derroll Adams) – 1:59
"More Pretty Girls Than One" – 2:14
"San Francisco Bay Blues" (Jesse Fuller) – 2:15
"Buffalo Skinners" – 4:51
"Sadie Brown" – 3:30
"Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" (Bob Dylan) – 4:13
"Blind Lemon Jefferson" (Lead Belly) – 3:55
"Ramblin' Round Your City" (Guthrie) – 3:50
"Tennessee Stud" (Jimmy Driftwood) – 4:14
"Night Herding Song" – 3:20
"Lovesick Blues" (Cliff Friend, Irving Mills) – 3:17
"I Belong to Glasgow" (William Fyffe) – 5:31

Ramblin´ Jack Elliott - The Essential (1976)

(new link, 320 kbps, cover art included)

The Voices Of East Harlem - Right On Be Free (1970)

An often stirring 20-member ensemble whose music was better suited for devotional and inspirational material than commercial R&B or soul, the Voices of East Harlem included lead vocalists Gerri Griffin and Monica Burress. Producers Leroy Hutson and Curtis Mayfield worked with the group, whose ages ranged from 12 to 21, and cut some material on the Just Sunshine label that didn't generate any chart action. But their 1973 LP, The Voices of East Harlem, was a superbly performed release nonetheless, and the single "Cashing In" was a cult favorite. The single "Wanted Dead or Alive" was later reissued as a 12" remixed cut and got some international dance attention.

"Right On Be Free" is the lone album by "The Voices Of East Harlem" released in late 1970 on Elektra Records. It's a sort of gospel/funk/righteous soul miss-mash. If you appreciate raw, unreserved, funky, heartlifting passionate soul and gospel, this will certainly appeal to you. Fantastic examples of the call and response-style in gospel, powerful anthems for justice, peace and equality.



Tracklist:

Right On Be Free 3:40
Simple Song Of Freedom 3:58
Proud Mary 2:47
Music In The Air 3:14
Oh Yeah 1:30
For What It's Worth 3:27
Let It Be Me 3:21
No No No 3:55
Gotta Be A Change 2:35
Shaker Life 6:45

The Voices Of East Harlem - Right On Be Free (1970)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Conflict - The Battle Continues (1985, Single)

Conflict is an anarcho-punk band formed in 1980, originally based around Eltham in South London. In 1983 Conflict set up their own Mortarhate Records and Fight Back Records labels. Steve Ignorant, at the time a member of the band Crass, guested on the band's pro-animal rights single "To A Nation of Animal Lovers". After the dissolution of Crass, Ignorant later became second vocalist for Conflict on a semi-permanent basis. This followed a 1986 gig in Brixton, London wherein he had joined the band on stage for a few numbers.

"The Battle Continues" is one of of the stand out records by Conflict, the introductory bassline to Mighty and Superior preceded the rather similar "Seven Nation Army" by White Stripes by nearly 20 years. The crisp, haunting guitar really builds this song, in much the same way "Whichever Way You Want It" did a few years before. The vocal attack is full on as expected. B Side "To Whom It May Concern" is another blast of high octane punk rock anger littered with swearing and attack on the powers that be, with its rallying cry “If it’s a Fight They Want they’ve got it”. It is a clue to the direction the band were heading in for "The Ungovernable Force".


Tracklist:
Mighty And Superior
To Whom It May Concern

Conflict - The Battle Continues (1985, Single)

(192 kbps, cover art included)

Jalda Rebling - An Alter Nign - Jewish Songs From Eastern Europe

Today is the  84th anniversary of the anti-Jewish pogrom in Nazi Germany and Austria on 9 to 10 November 1938, also known as "Novemberpogrome",
"Reichskristallnacht", "Reichspogromnacht" or "Pogromnacht" in German.

In the 1920s, most German Jews were fully integrated into German society as German citizens. They served in the German army and navy and contributed to every field of German science, business and culture. Conditions began to change after the election of the Nazi party on January 30, 1933 and the assumption of power by Adolf Hitler after the Reichstag fire. From its inception, Hitler's regime moved quickly to introduce anti-Jewish policies. The 500,000 Jews in Germany, who accounted for only 0.76% of the overall population, were singled out by the Nazi propaganda machine as an enemy within who were responsible for Germany's defeat in the First World War, and for her subsequent economic difficulties, such as the 1920s hyperinflation and Great Depression. Beginning in 1933, the German government enacted a series of anti-Jewish laws restricting the rights of German Jews to earn a living, to enjoy full citizenship and to educate themselves, including the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service, which forbade Jews from working in the civil service. The subsequent 1935 Nuremberg Laws stripped German Jews of their citizenship and forbade Jews from marrying non-Jewish Germans.

The result of these laws was the exclusion of Jews from German social and political life. Many sought asylum abroad; thousands did manage to leave, but as Chaim Weizmann wrote in 1936, "The world seemed to be divided into two parts — those places where the Jews could not live and those where they could not enter." In an attempt to provide help an international conference was held on July 6, 1938 to address the issue of Jewish and Gypsy immigration to other countries. By the time the conference was held, more than 250,000 Jews had fled Germany and Austria, which had been annexed by Germany in March 1938. However, more than 300,000 German and Austrian Jews were still seeking shelter from oppression. As the number of Jews and Gypsies wanting to leave grew, the restrictions against them also grew with many countries tightening their rules for admission.

By 1938, Germany had entered a new radical phase in anti-Semitic activity. Some historians believe that the Nazi government had been contemplating a planned outbreak of violence against the Jews and were waiting for an appropriate provocation; there is evidence of this planning dating to 1937. The Zionist leadership in Palestine wrote in February 1938 that according to "a very reliable private source – one which can be traced back to the highest echelons of the SS leadership" there was "an intention to carry out a genuine and dramatic pogrom in Germany on a large scale in the near future."

During the "Progromnacht" on 9 to 10 November 1938, in a coordinated attack on Jewish people and their property, 99 Jews were murdered and 25,000 to 30,000 were arrested and placed in concentration camps. 267 synagogues were destroyed and thousands of homes and businesses were ransacked. This was done by the Hitler Youth, Gestapo, SS and SA.


About the album:

Jalda Rebling is the daughter of Lin Jaldati and Eberhard Rebling. Lin Jaldati survived the concentration camp inAuschwitz; being a communist, she came to East Germany to help establish a socialist German state. She married Eberhard Rebling, a German communist who later became a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, and started to perform Yiddish songs for a German audience with Rebling accompanying her on piano.

Later they were joined by their daughters Katinka and Jalda. Lin Jaldati dedicated her art and her life to communist East Germany. This didn't prevent her from being banned from performing in the late sixties; the hysteria had gone so far that even performing Yiddish songs was interpreted as a pro-Israel statement. For a long time Lin Jaldati, who was highly accepted by what later became the East German Yiddish and klezmer scene, was the only Yiddish performer in East Germany.

"An Alter Nign" is an album by Jalda Rebling, the daughter of Lin Jaldati, with music from the jews in Eastern Europe. The songs are excellent performed by the famous jewish vocalist Jalda Rebling and the well known musicians Hans-Werner Apel, Helmut Elsel and Stefan Maass. It is really a very special kind of music, excellent and very impressive.


Tracks:
Schpilt a frejlechs
Amol is gewesen a majsse
An alter nign
Sol schojn kumen di ge'uleh
Hej zigelech Ejnsam
Libinke zarte un ejdele - Farkojfn di saposhkelech
Kinderjorn
A Dudele
Simchu na
Jakobslied aus Rumanien
Berjoskele
Wilna
Friling
Mit farmachte ojgn
Dos lid fun scholem

Jalda Rebling - An Alter Nign
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Leipziger Synagogalchor - Jewish Chants And Songs - Jüdische Gesänge

Tomorrow will be the  84th anniversary of the anti-Jewish pogrom in Nazi Germany and Austria on 9 to 10 November 1938, also known as "Novemberpogrome",
"Reichskristallnacht", "Reichspogromnacht" or "Pogromnacht" in German.

Within living memory music always played a key role as mediator between the nations.
The Synagogue Choir of Leipzig sees its goal in the preservation of synagogue music as well as of Yiddish and Hebrew folk songs by performing the compositions in free arrangements.
The ensemble, which consists of singers of non-Jewish origin, is unique in Europe. It celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2002.
Today as well as in the future the dedication of the Synagogue Choir will be the support of peace, tolerance, and cultural communication between the nations by giving converts all over the world.

The Leipziger Synagogalchor was founded in 1962. Its aim is to cultivate the Jewish music tradition, in particular that of synagogal music of the 19th and 20th centuries as well as Yiddish and Hebrew folklore. Its extensive repertoire of historical literature preserves a cultural heritage which is performed by no other European ensemble in this form. Thus the choir is often called upon to present this part of the cultural and musical history of the Jewish folk to audiences not only in Germany but also world-wide. Increasingly, concert programs also include contemporary compositions of composers such as Joseph Dorfman, Bonia Shur and Siegfried Thiele.
Four records produced by ETERNA, two by MDR and a CD recorded by Berlin Classics offer a representative cross-section of repertoire and demonstrate the professional format of the ensemble.
The combination of artistic and political expression, both weighted equally, in the works interpreted by the Leipziger Synagogalchor under the direction of Kammersänger Helmut Klotz has established the ensemble as a concert-choir which is celebrated world-wide and which serves as a politico-cultural embassador of considerable importance for the city of Leipzig and the state of Saxony.
The Leipziger Synagogalchor has received the golden award “Stern der Völkerfreundschaft“ and the “Kunstpreis“ of the city of Leipzig.
The choir became a registered association in 1991 and receives subsidies from the city of Leipzig and the state of Saxony.
The ensemble has approximately 30 members who are not professional singers but who for the most part have received some professional training. They have diverse occupations and dedicate a large part of their free time to choral music. The personal commitment and idealism of every single member contribute in large part to the success of the ensemble.
In the 30 years Helmut Klotz has been artistic director, he has succeeded in forming the choir into a semi-professional ensemble with a professional artistic scope. This is evident when one sees where the ensemble performs internationally and which acclaimed soloists and orchestras it works with. This choir has the special privilege to perform with solists of the Leipzig, Berlin and Zurich Operas and with members of the Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Radio Orchestra of Middlegermany (MDR) in concert halls such as that of the Berlin Philharmonic, the Berlin “Schauspielhaus“, the “Gasteig“ in Munich, the Leipzig “Gewandhaus“ and the “Alte Oper“ in Frankfurt. Furthermore, the choir has been on concert tours to Israel, South Africa, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Brazil, Slovakia and several times in Poland and the U.S.A. The choir has performed at international festivals for Jewish culkture and music in Odessa, Leverkusen and Munich. A special occasion for the choir was the performance of the international opera production “Der Weg der Verheißung“ of Kurt Weill in Chemnitz, New York and Tel Aviv.
In its hometown Leipzig the ensemble performs twice a year in the series “Leipziger Ware“. Here it is presented through the Ephraim Carlebach Foundation in the “Alte Handelsbörse“. For 25 years it has also taken part in the annual ecumenical service in the Leipzig Church of St. Thomas in memory of the victims of the “Reichsprogromnacht“ November 9, 1938.

This album features recordings from 1983.
Tracklist:

01. Tauraß adaunoj 3:54
02. Ham'chabe eß hamer 6:27
03. Lochen ßomach libi 2:54
04. Ez chajim 2:52
05. Schir hamaalauß 2:26
06. Towau l'fonecho 2:39
07. Naariz'cho 7:36
08. Lomir sich iberbetn 1:52
09. Scha, still 4:10
10. Nigun g-moll 0:56
11. Du sollst nischt gehn 3:20
12. Her nor, du schejn Mejdele 3:43
13. Hages 1:14
14. Itzik hat schojn Chaßene gehot 3:32
15. Wie trinkt der Keßer Tee 5:17

Leipziger Synagogalchor - Jewish Chants And Songs - Jüdische Gesänge
(256 kbps, front cover included)

The Ragga Twins - Rinsin Lyrics (1995)

Crucial cogs in the development of U.K. dance music, the Destouche brothers - Trevor, aka Flinty Badman, and David, aka Deman Rocker - became known as MCs as part of North London's Unity sound system and began operating as the Ragga Twins in 1989. 

Through 1992, they issued a pile of 12" singles through the self-named label run by Shut Up & Dance (who also did the production work), along with the album "Reggae Owes Me Money" (1991); these releases, containing tracks like "Illegal Gunshot," "Spliffhead," and an early featured role on Shut Up & Dance's "Lamborghini," were bold steps forward, fiercely energetic mutations of dancehall, hip-hop, and jungle. 

Resurfacing in 1995 on EMI with relatively conservative Us3-produced releases like "Freedom Train" and "Money," they also put together a second album, "Rinsin Lyrics" (1995). Scattered singles appeared during the early 2000s, and in 2008 the Soul Jazz label compiled "Ragga Twins Step Out", which focused on the Shut Up & Dance era.

The "Rinsin Lyrics" album is - according to it´s subtitle - "a reggae, jazz & hip hop soundclash". 

Tracklist:

A1 Money 3:35
A2 Zodiac 5:12
A3 The Return 4:08
A4 Street Life 4:56
A5 One Thing 5:33
B1 Love And Marriage 3:51
B2 Lock Up 4:54
B3 Freedom Train 5:42
B4 L.i.f.e. 4:08
B5 Gun 3:56
B6 Mash It Up 3:18

The Ragga Twins - Rinsin Lyrics (1995)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Ton Steine Scherben - Wenn die Nacht am tiefsten... (1975)

"Wenn die Nacht am tiefsten…" ("When the night is at its darkest…") is the third album released by Ton Steine Scherben, and is the last one released before their six-year break from recording. It shows the first signs of a change in genre: moving away from "Macht kaputt was euch kaputt macht" ("Destroy what destroys you") towards "Halt dich an deiner Liebe fest" ("Hang on to your love").

From 1973-1974, the band's interest steadily declined in being the "political musicbox" of the leftist scene. This was compounded by the problem that one could at most request an entrance fee as "contribution of solidarity" from the audience, which was difficult to live on. As such, the band slowly distanced itself from the slogans of the leftist squatting scene, even if they remained faithful to the ideology. Financial problems led to a breakup of the band in 1973. The band soon reunited, but without the bassist Kai Sichtermann. He was replaced by Gino Götz, who had already collaborated with the band on the children's radio play Teufel hast du Wind. Aside from that, the band still lacked a steady percussionist. (On the album Keine Macht für Niemand, the percussion was primarily played by Olaf Lietzau. He would have been suitable, but was still underaged and could not go on tour with the band.) The drummer that the band decided on - Funky K. Götzner - remained with the group from that point onwards. With this lineup, the decision was made to produce a new LP.

Tracklist:

First LP:

Heut Nacht (Ralph Möbius, R.P.S. Lanrue) - 6:15
Samstag Nachmittag (Möbius, Lanrue) - 5:01
Guten Morgen (Nikel Pallat, Möbius) - 4:16
Durch die Wüste (Möbius, Lanrue) - 4:59
Nimm den Hammer (Möbius, Lanrue) - 5:22
Ich geh weg (Möbius, Lanrue) - 3:23
Halt dich an deiner Liebe fest (Möbius, Lanrue) - 6:58
Wir sind im Licht (Pallat, Lanrue) - 5:31

Second LP:

Wenn die Nacht am tiefsten… (Möbius, Lanrue) - 3:31
Land in Sicht (Möbius, Lanrue) - 7:11
Komm an Bord (Möbius, Lanrue) - 9:14
Steig ein (Möbius, Lanrue) - 20:50


Ton Steine Scherben - Wenn die Nacht am tiefsten... (1975)
(192 kbps, cover art included)

Herbie Mann - Live At Newport (1963)

Most of Herbie Mann's Atlantic sessions of the 1960s are among the flutist's best and most popular work. Mann and his regular group of 1963 (which includes vibraphonist Dave Pike, pianist Don Friedman, guitarist Attila Zoller, bassist Ben Tucker and drummer Bob Thomas with added percussionists Willie Bobo and Potato Valdez) are heard in spirited form on this set from the 1963 Newport Jazz Festival. There are two surprises, both having to do with Antonio Carlos Jobim tunes.

The bossa nova hit "Desafinado" is taken in straight 4/4 time without the percussionists, which makes it sound like a new song. And three months after Stan Getz, Jobim and the Gilbertos recorded "The Girl From Ipanema" (but before it was even released), Mann can be heard playing an instrumental version of the song, here listed as "Garota De Ipanema." A catchy rendition of "Soft Winds," the bossa nova "Samba De Orfeu," and Ben Tucker's "Don't You Know" round out the well-played program.       

Tracklist:

Soft Winds	7:35
Desafinado	7:32
Samba De Orfeu	6:01
Don't You Know	10:44
Garota De Ipanema	8:04

Herbie Mann - Live At Newport (1963)
(320 kbps, cover art included)
       

Alice Coltrane - Huntington Ashram Monastery (1969)

Music obviously ran in Alice Coltrane´s family; her older brother was bassist Ernie Farrow, who in the '50s and '60s played in the bands of Barry Harris, Stan Getz, Terry Gibbs, and especially Yusef Lateef.

Alice McLeod began studying classical music at the age of seven. She attended Detroit's Cass Technical High School with pianist Hugh Lawson and drummer Earl Williams. As a young woman she played in church and was a fine bebop pianist in the bands of such local musicians as Lateef and Kenny Burrell. McLeod traveled to Paris in 1959 to study with Bud Powell. She met John Coltrane while touring and recording with Gibbs around 1962-1963; she married the saxophonist in 1965, and joined his band - replacing McCoy Tyner - one year later.
Alice stayed with John's band until his death in 1967; on his albums "Live at the Village Vanguard Again!" and "Concert in Japan", her playing is characterized by rhythmically ambiguous arpeggios and a pulsing thickness of texture.

Subsequently, she formed her own bands with players such as Pharoah Sanders, Joe Henderson, Frank Lowe, Carlos Ward, Rashied Ali, Archie Shepp, and Jimmy Garrison. In addition to the piano, Alice also played harp and Wurlitzer organ. She led a series of groups and recorded fairly often for Impulse, including the celebrated albums Monastic Trio, Journey in Satchidananda, Universal Consciousness, and World Galaxy. She then moved to Warner Brothers, where she released albums such as Transcendence, Eternity, and her double live opus Transfiguration in 1978.

Long concerned with spiritual matters, Coltrane founded a center for Eastern spiritual study called the Vedanta Center in 1975. Also, she began a long hiatus from public or recorded performance, though her 1981 appearance on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz radio series was released by Jazz Alliance. In 1987, she led a quartet that included her sons Ravi and Oran in a John Coltrane tribute concert at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. Coltrane returned to public performance in 1998 at a Town Hall Concert with Ravi and again at Joe's Pub in Manhattan in 2002.

She began recording again in 2000 and eventually issued the stellar Translinear Light on the Verve label in 2004. Produced by Ravi, it featured Coltrane on piano, organ, and synthesizer, in a host of playing situations with luminary collaborators that included not only her sons, but also Charlie Haden, Jack DeJohnette, Jeff "Tain" Watts, and James Genus. After the release of Translinear Light, she began playing live more frequently, including a date in Paris shortly after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and a brief tour in fall 2006 with Ravi. Coltrane died on January 12, 2007, of respiratory failure at Los Angeles' West Hills Hospital and Medical Center.

"Huntington Ashram Monastery" is the second solo album by Alice Coltrane. Here, the High Priestess is joined by Ron Carter and Rashied Ali for this kind of cosmic jazz.

Tracklist:

A1	Huntington Ashram Monastery	5:30
A2	Turiya	4:16
A3	Paramahansa Lake	4:29
B1	Via Sivanandagar	6:03
B2	IHS	8:44
B3	Jaya Jaya Rama	6:25

Alice Coltrane - Huntington Ashram Monastery (1969)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

VA - Harlem Swings - Black Big Band Swing

Jazz reached the height of its popularity with the American public during the Swing era, beginning in the dark days of the Depression and continuing through the victorious end of World War II. Also known as the Big Band sound, Swing jazz was characterized by its strong rhythmic drive and by an orchestral ‘call and response’ between different sections of the ensemble. The rhythm section – piano, bass, drums and guitar – maintained the swinging dance beat, while trumpets, trombones and woodwinds, and later, vocals, were often scored to play together and provide the emotional focus of the piece. This arrangement resulted in a ‘conversational’ style among sections that arrangers exploited to maximum affect. By performing their music with increasingly complex arrangements for ever larger orchestras, Swing musicians helped erode the wall between our definitions of popular music and the art music generally labeled “classical.” 

The first great artists of Swing were African American. By the early 1930s, Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, and Jimmy Lunceford had begun to blend the “hot” rhythms of New Orleans into the dance music of urban America in the black jazz clubs of Kansas City and Harlem. Although white jazz musicians had been taking inspiration from African American artists for at least three decades, by the 1940s a new generation of white musicians and dancers were deeply invested in the music that Duke Ellington christened “Swing” with his 1932 hit record, “It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing.” In 1935 white bandleader and clarinetist Benny Goodman led swing into the popular mainstream, but only after he began playing the arrangements he purchased from Fletcher Henderson. Goodman would go on to gather an extraordinary group of performers into his high-profile band, including Henderson, Gene Krupa, Lionel Hampton, Peggy Lee and Stan Getz. His decision to integrate his group with black musicians helped begin the slow process of integrating the music industry.

At its height in the years before World War II, Swing jazz was America’s most pervasive and popular musical genre. If Ken Burns’ documentary series Jazz, is correct in its interpretation of the story of Swing as a music that helped America remake the world during and after World War II, then the history of Swing must also be seen as preparing the way for the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s. Knowing that a wider and increasingly diverse population of Americans was taking African American musicians seriously fueled a growing conviction that equality was a real possibility. As black soldiers shipping off to Europe and the Pacific during World War II were demanding greater respect and tolerance in the armed forces, black Americans at home called for a “Double V” – Victory abroad for America over Germany and Japan and Victory over racism for black Americans at home.



CD 01:
01. Count Basie - One O Clock Jump (1942)
02. Duke Ellington - Harlem Air-Shaft (1940)
03. Lionel Hampton - Slide, Hamp, Slide (1945)
04. Earl Hines - Xyz (1939)
05. Erskine Hawkins - Tippin In (1945)
06. Red Norvo - A-Tisket A-Tasket (1938)
07. Cab Calloway - Minnie The Moocher (1942)
08. Louis Armstrong - You Rascal, You (1941)
09. Chick Webb - Go Harlem (1936)
10. Fletcher Henderson - Stampede (1937)
11. Andy Kirk - Moten Swing (1936)
12. Chick Webb - Facts And Figures (1935)
13. Fletcher Henderson - Moten Stomp (1938)
14. Lionel Hampton - Playboy (1946)
15. Count Basie - It's Sand Man (1942)
16. Earl Hines - Father Steps In (1939)
17. Duke Ellington - Jump For Joy (1941)
18. Benny Carter - Just You, Just Me (1945)

CD 02:
01. Erskine Hawkins - Good Dip (1945)
02. Earl Hines - Number 19 (1940)
03. Count Basie - Seventh Avenue Express (1947)
04. Duke Ellington - Main Stem (1942)
05. Lionel Hampton - Flying Home (1942)
06. Chick Webb - Liza (1938)
07. Fletcher Henderson - Hotter Than Ell (1934)
08. Andy Kirk - Lotta Sax Appeal (1936)
09. Red Norvo - Daydreaming (1938)
10. Count Basie - Love Jumped Out (1940)
11. Duke Ellington - Squaty Roo (1941)
12. Chick Webb - Spinnin The Web (1938)
13. Cab Calloway - Pluckin' The Bass (1939)
14. Louis Armstrong - Leap Frog (1941)
15. Earl Hines - Comin' Home (1940)
16. Benny Carter - Forever Blue (1945)
17. Lionel Hampton - Air Mail Special (1946)
18. Erskine Hawkins - Holiday For Swing (1945)

VA - Harlem Swings - Black Big Band Swing CD 1
VA - Harlem Swings - Black Big Band Swing CD 2
(192 kbps, cover art included)

Sparifankal - Bayern-Rock (1976, vinyl rip)

"Sparifankal" was a very unique rock group from Bavaria. In 1972 the Bavarian anarchist rock band "Sparifankal" developed and practised the so-called "ruebel-music", together with musical laymen, children and "patients", as a kind of harmonic/disharmonic therapy. "Sparifankal" utilized genuine Bavarian lyrics which differ drastically from higher German. With this approach, the band developed a new concept: political rock music sung in Bavarian language.

During 1976 the band recorded their first vinyl "Bayern Rock" (Bavarian Rock). It was released under Trikont/Schneeball/April, the first German independent label founded by several German underground bands such as Embryo, Missus Beastly, Ton Steine Scherben and Checkpoint Charlie to be independent from the record industry.

"Sparifankal" toured mainly in southern Germany, but also found time to perform at several large festivals all over the country. The band released two more albums, the acoustic "Huraxdax Drudnhax", which set new standards in traditional German music, and the 2LP-album "Negamusi", which helped to bring the band international exposure. But during 1981 SPARIFANKAL played their final concert... In 1999 the members of SPARIFANKAL came together again to do a punk-benefit-concert for a former member of the group. The band found that this reunion concert was too much fun not to reunite.

After very successful concerts at some larger festivals in southern Germany the band found it necessary to record an album with the new songs. During the hot summer of 2003 "Dahoam Is Wo Andas" (Home is Somewhere Else) was recorded on an analog machine without any "frickelfrackel" by William Faendrich in Huglfing. It is still real "Bayern Rock", and totally different and opposed to all that polished global-touristic Alpinyodelrock.

Carl-Ludwig Reichert, Bavarian lyricist extra-ordinaire, who rocked the cradle of Bavarian poetry (under the alias "Benno Hoellteufel") and was a memeber of Sparifankal, remembers: "Das war im Kafe Kult und da haben wir dann halt gespielt, es waren schon ein paar Leute da und die haben sich köstlich amüsiert und gleich den Pogo getanzt und ich hab gedacht, die verarschen uns jetzt, die haben da die größte Gaudi. Und dann spiel ich das zweite Stück, der 'braune baaz', und das war schon irgendwie ein Erlebnis, wenn da so zehn Irokesen vor dir stehen und das mitsingen. Die kannten das auswendig, ich hab‘ gedacht, ich werd nicht mehr! Witzigerweise hat uns ja schon Anfang der 70er Jahre der Roman Bunka von Embryo als Punks bezeichnet. Das ist im Englischen einfach ein Schimpfwort, so eben wie Sparifankal "ungezogenes Kind" oder "Teufel" auf Bayerisch heißt. Punk heißt "ungezogener Typ", "Penner", und so weiter."

Sparifankal disbanded in summer 2005. but somehow it comes back now resurrected as
"Sparifankal 2", a spontaneous freak group starting in september 2009 - louder and heavier than ever!

For more info on them see "The crack in the cosmic egg".

Tracklist:

Bis zum nexdn Weidgriag... 4:24
Dees Land is koid... 6:23
Da braune Baaz 3:25
I mechd di gean amoi nackad seng 3:04
De Groskopfadn 4:10
Bluus fo da peamanentn Razzia 7:00
Wans ums farecka nimma ged 7:28
Aus is & goar is 6:10


Sparifankal - Bayern-Rock (1976, vinyl rip)
(224 kbps, cover art included)

Billie Holiday - Same (1954)

"Billie Holiday" is an album by jazz singer Billie Holiday, released on Clef Records in 1954, despite the fact that her last album also had the same name prior to it being changed to "Last Recordings" instead. The recordings took place in 1952 and 1954. Holiday never entered the recording studio in 1953.

In a 1954 review, Down Beat magazine praises the album, saying:

"The set is an experience in mounting pleasure that can do anything but increase still further no matter how often the LP is replayed. As for comparing it with earlier Teddy Wilson-Billie sessions, what's the point? Count your blessings in having both. Speaking of time, Billie's beat and variations thereon never cease to be among the seven wonders of jazz."

Two recordings, "What a Little Moonlight Can Do" and "I Cried for You" were also recorded by Holiday in the 1930s with Teddy Wilson's Orchestra, at the beginning of her career.

This unconspicuously titled album from 1954 is mainly notable for containing tracks from two recording sessions that were quite distant chronologically. The first five songs were recorded in April 1952 (the same one that yielded much of the material for "An Evening With Billie Holiday"); the last three — ex­actly two years later. The backing band is very much the same: Oscar Peterson mans the piano in both cases, Ray Brown is on bass and Charlie Shavers on trumpet. (Herb Ellis replaces Barney Kessel on guitar, but neither is particularly noticeable).

What is, however, unmistakably different is Billie herself. The 1952 sessions have already been talked about before; here, of particular note is the exquisite lonesome-melancholic rendition of 'Autumn In New York' (comparing this to the syrupy lounge version of Sarah Vaughan, among others, reveals the utter triumph of simple intelligence and humane vulnerability over gloss and operatic technique), al­though, as usual, all the other performances are first-rate as well.

The last three songs, however, feature Billie's voice in the initial phases of decline – losing some of her frequencies (never all that abundant to begin with) and beginning to acquire that unmista­kable «old lady rasp» that she managed to be saddled with without actually turning into an old la­dy, due to substance abuse. It is only the beginning, though; here, the main effect is simply that the singing gets lower and «deeper». It is unclear if they put Shavers' trumpet on top of every­thing in order to «mask» that weakness — probably just a coincidence. But that's how it is.

In any case, the fast, playful versions of 'What A Little Moonlight Can Do' and 'I Cried For You' are still excellent, and the album as a whole has no lowlights, despite the incoherence of its two parts. Recommendable, if only for the beautiful 'Autumn In New York'.

(Thanks to http://only-solitaire.blogspot.de/ for the review.)

Tracklist:

1) Love For Sale
2) Moonglow
3) Everything I Have Is Yours
4) If The Moon Turns Green
5) Autumn In New York
6) How Deep Is The Ocean
7) What A Little Moonlight Can Do
8) I Cried For You

Billie Holiday - Same (1954)

(256 kbps, front cover included)

Shut Up & Dance – Save It 'Til The Mourning After (1995)

Ragga-techno hit-makers and sampling pirates without equal on Britain's early hardcore breakbeat scene, Shut Up & Dance were an early influence on the development of jump-up breakbeats and b-bwoy attitude into the streamlined version of drum'n'bass which emerged later in the '90s. The duo of PJ & Smiley, both residents of East End stronghold Stoke Newington, formed both the label and group Shut Up & Dance out of their bedroom in 1988. 

The imprint first released records by the Ragga Twins and Nicolette during 1989 before Shut Up & Dance the group debuted later that year. Early singles like "£10 to Get In" and "Derek Went Mad" displayed the pair's approach to hardcore techno -- sampling well-known pop groups with little fear of retribution, piling chunky breakbeats over the top, evincing plenty of ragga attitude and displaying an unflinching criticism of the emerging rave scene's dark side.

Their 1995 single "Save It 'Till The Mourning After reached no.25 in the UK and samples Duran Duran's song "Save A Prayer", whilst retaining its original chorus.

The band's success brought copyright lawyers from at least six major labels, responding to obvious transgressions against their artists, which resulted with Shut Up & Dance spending two years involved in legal wrangling. In similar fashion to their American hip hop contemporaries like Biz Markie and De La Soul, these problems eventually bankrupted their record label.

A1 Save It 'Til The Mourning After (Club Mix) 5:14
A2 Save It 'Til The Mourning After (Instrumental) 4:52
B1 Save It 'Til The Mourning After (Extended Original Mix) 4:52
B2 Rush Coming On 3:27

Shut Up & Dance – Save It 'Til The Mourning After (1995)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Cisco Houston - Sings The Songs Of Woody Guthrie (1963)

Cisco Houston is sometimes more remembered for his association with Woody Guthrie than for his gift as a folksinger. His smooth, deep baritone was interpreted by many folk purists as "commercial," thus inauthentic, and unlike Guthrie, he preferred interpreting other writer's songs as opposed to writing his own.

Released two years after Houston's death, "Cisco Houston Sings the Songs of Woody Guthrie" finds the singer once again stepping out of the limelight to pay deference to his famous friend. The surprising thing to anyone unfamiliar with traditional folk music, however, is how enjoyable and accessible this collection is. Indeed, Houston's vocals on classics like "Deportees" and "Buffalo Skinners" are much more pleasing musically than Guthrie's dry, Oklahoma rasp. If one compares Houston's take on "Pastures of Plenty" with Guthrie's version on "The Asch Recordings", for instance, Houston's version comes across as more inspired and more respectful of the lyrics. While this comparison would not hold true on Houston's versions of "Pretty Boy Floyd" and "Do Re Me," his interpretations are more than proficient. Perhaps the best way to understand his contributions to folk music is to understand him as a prophet of sorts, a John the Baptist spreading the word about another great folksinger who - because of Huntington's chorea - could no longer sing his own songs.

"Cisco Houston Sings the Songs of Woody Guthrie" is a lovely tribute to a friend by someone who understood the significance of his music.

Review by Bill Adams:
"What can I say? If you love Cisco, you must own this. If you like Woody, you must own this. If you enjoy folk music, you must own this. One can quibble as to whether some of these performances were "over-produced" or not, but the bottom line is that Cisco is in fine voice, his guitar rings out true, the songs are some of Woody's best, Cisco was in on the creation (uncredited) of several of them. Some people just can't warm up to Woody's own voice and pickin', and for them, these versions by Cisco were essential to forming an appreciation of Woody's genius."


Tracklist:

(THIS LAND)
Pastures Of Plenty
(My daddy flies a) Ship in the Sky
Deportees (Plural, not singular)
Grand Coulee Dam
Sinking of the Reuben James

(CURLEY HEADED BABIES)
Curly Headed Baby
Ladies Auxiliary
Taking It Easy
Hard, Ain't It Hard

(BIG MEN)
Jesus Christ
Buffalo Skinners
Pretty Boy Floyd
Philadelphia Lawyer

(LONE WOLVES)
Old Lone Wolf
Talking Fishing Blues
Ranger's Command
Do Re Mi
Blowing Down That Old Dusty Road

Cisco Houston - Sings The Songs Of Woody Guthrie (1963)
(224 kbps, cover included)