VA - Klezmer Pioneers - European & American Recordings, 1905-1952

This album features remastered recordings from American and European Klezmer greats such as Art Shryer, Abe Elenkring, Sam Musiker, Mishka Tsiganoff, Abe Schwartz, Joseph Cherniavsky, Josef Solinski, Naftule Brandwein, Joseph Moskowitz, Dave Tarras, and more.

A nice collection of very early recordings of klezmer, roughly half from Bucharest and half from New York. These ones cover the span from 1905 to 1952, essentially starting with the advent of the flat-disc format in Eastern Europe (actual cylinder recordings aren't represented here). There's a decent breadth of sound here, ranging from the familiar orchestral sound of New York klezmer bands catering primarily to non-Jewish audiences to the solo tsimbl (hammered dulcimer) of Eastern Europe. 

The main item to note here is the way that the album catalogs the semi-gradual shift from the importance of the violin as the primary instrument to the reign of the clarinet. There's some beautiful music on this album, but if you're a klezmer fan who's been self-fed the modern klezmer of groups like the Klezmatics and the Klezmonauts, be forewarned that this is a heavily different sound.

Tracklist:

1. The Rabbi's Dance - Art Shryer's Orchestra
2. Revery Dream-Jewish Fantasy - Art Shryer's Yiddish Orchestra
3. From The Wedding - Abe Elenkrig's Yidishe Orchestra
4. A Homey Bulgar - Sam Musiker And His Orchestra
5. How Beautiful - Belf's Rumanian Orchestra
6. Greek Dance - Mishka Tsiganoff
7. Liebes Tanz - Orchestra Romaneasca (Abe Schwartz's Orchestra)
8. A Dance For Everyone - Abe Schwartz's Orchestra
9. The Bridal Serenade And Congradulations - Joseph Cherniavsky And His Yiddish-American Jazz Band
10. The Chasidium Visit The Rabbi - Kandel's Orchestra
11. Doina Un Sirba - Mihal Viteazul
12. One Glance At You - Alexander Olshanetsky Und Zein Orkestrer
13. Dance A Freilachs - Abe Schwartz's Orchestra
14. Orientalishe Motive II - Josef Solinski
15. A Lively Honga - Kandel's Orchestra
16. Odessa-Burlgar - Mishka Ziganoff
17. The Hot One-Tater Dance - Naftule Brandwein's Orchestrer
18. The Hassid From Bessarabia - Isreal J. Hochman's Jewish Orchestra
19. Doina - Joseph Moskowitz
20. Bessarabian Hora - Belf's Rumanian Orchestra
21. Dancing With The Bride - Art Shryer's Modern Jewish Orchestra
22. The Disciple Of The Rabbi From Trisk - Dave Terras
23. Memories Of Kirshenev - Abe Katzman's Bessarabian Orchestra
24. Uncle Max's Bulgar - Sam Musiker And His Orchestra

VA - Klezmer Pioneers - European & American Recordings, 1905-1952

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Klaus Nomi - Klaus Nomi (1981)

One of the first prominent persons to die of AIDS, Klaus Nomi mixed rock and disco stylings with a classical and operatic repertoire. He was born Klaus Sperber in Immenstadt, Bavaria, Germany in 1944, but moved to New York in the mid-'70s, working as a pastry chef and nightclub singer. One of his sets impressed David Bowie, and Nomi soon found himself backing the star on Saturday Night Live. He began touring Europe and the U.S. as a cabaret act and signed to RCA in 1980. His first single was a cover of Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love," and his 1982 debut album included compositions from Chubby Checker alongside Charles Camille Saint-Saëns. Nomi later worked with famed electro producer Man Parrish, but covered baroque composer Henry Purcell as well as Donna Summer. He died on August 6, 1983, after which several compilations were released plus a live date in America.

It only takes a quick look at the cover to get a reasonably decent idea that this isn't your typical pop album: Decked out in a grossly oversized suit and heavy theatrical makeup, Klaus Nomi is not your typical pop singer, either. Both the cover and the music within lean heavily to the dramatic -- Nomi's delivery is all in a very operatic falsetto, though most of the music itself is more of the early-'80s European dance school (indeed, one of his collaborators here was Man Parrish, probably best-known for his later work with Man 2 Man). Only one of the tracks here was self-penned; rather, Nomi gets down to work here as an interpreter, turning in suitably skewed versions of "Lightning Strikes" and Chubby Checker's "The Twist." The real highlights here are his take on Kristian Hoffman's song "Total Eclipse," and a rather straight (ahem) reading of the aria from Saint-Saens' classical work "Samson and Delilah". It's pretty hard to imagine your typical classical music buff embracing this song, let alone the entire album, but fans of off-kilter pop music will certainly find a lot to love about this album.


Tracklist:
Keys Of Life 2:26
Lightning Strikes 2:59
The Twist 3:10
Nomi Song 2:47
You Don't Own Me 3:39
The Cold Song 4:03
Wasting My Time 4:16
Total Eclipse 3:29
Nomi Chant 1:53
Samson And Delilah (Aria) 3:43

Klaus Nomi - Klaus Nomi (1981)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

VA -Kings Of Calypso

Calypso is more than a dance rhythm in its native Trinidad, where it functions as a storytellers medium, a sort of community newspaper of social and political happenings, many of which are skewered in the best tradition of satire - news you can dance to, essentially, and laugh at in the bargain.

"Kings of Calypso" collects several big band calypso tracks recorded in the 1950s in Britain for the large resident West Indies population there. Among the highlights are Mighty Terror's amusing but deadly serious treatise on racial relations, "Heading North," the folk mento of Noel Anthony's "Down the Line," and Ben Bowers' languid vocal on "Lazy Moon."

Lord Invader, who wrote the immortal "Rum and Coca Cola," a hit for the Andrews Sisters in the late '40s, tells his story of getting lost in the New York subway system in the shaggy dog tale entitled "New York Subway."
Recommended as an introduction to a fascinating genre.     

VA - Kings Of Calypso
(256 kbps, cover art included)   

Geisterfahrer - Fest der vielen Sinne (1981) - Rest In Peace, Michael Ruff!

Geisterfahrer was a German New Wave / Post Punk band from Hamburg, formed in 1979. Michael Ruff, the singer of Geisterfahrer, died in September 2023 - rest in peace!

"Fest der vielen Sinne" was their second album, a perfect marriage of the gloomy and poppish tendencies of post-punk with just the right amount of looseness. Really hits the spot. It was released on the "Konkurrenz" label.

"Fest der Sinne" was recorded at Geisterfahrer & Tageslicht Studios, September 1981.


Tracklist:

1 Geisterfahrer– Fest 3:34
2 Geisterfahrer– Nacht der Löwen 2:27
3 Geisterfahrer– Mein Kind 3:38
4 Geisterfahrer– Angriff 4:02
5 Geisterfahrer– Zeit der Chancen 2:05
6 Geisterfahrer– Himmel auf Erden 1:59
7 Geisterfahrer– Madish Ahb'el 4:30
8 Geisterfahrer– Schnee Blind 3:32
9 Geisterfahrer– Blumen 2:35
10 Geisterfahrer– Leiser Tod 2:29
11 Geisterfahrer– Möchte bei dir sein 2:30
12 Geisterfahrer– Die Stimme der Erde 4:21
13 Geisterfahrer– Mein Kind (Demo) 3:32
14 Geisterfahrer– Wasser (Demo) 2:33
15 Geisterfahrer– Es tut nicht mehr weh (Demo) 3:33
16 Geisterfahrer– Schlechte Tage 1:22
17 Geisterfahrer– Drittes Programm 1:39
18 Die Schönsten– Linientreu 7:23
19 Die Schönsten– Spätkapitalismus I 3:24
20.1 Die Schönsten– Spätkapitalismus II 2:25
20.2 No Artist– (Silence) 0:30
20.3 Unknown Artist– Untitled 2:01

Tracks 1 to 12 previously released on vinyl LP in 1981 on Konkurrenz / Phonogram.
Tracks 13 to 17 are previously unreleased bonus tracks.
Tracks 18 to 20.1 were previously published on the 12" vinyl "Die Schönsten - Linientreu" on Konkurrenz in 1981. (Die Schönsten were Michael Ruff and Jürgen Weiß.)

Geisterfahrer - Fest der vielen Sinne (1981)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Cpt. Kirk &. – Stand Rotes Madrid (1986)

"Cpt. Kirk &." was an indie band from Hamburg. It was one of those both political and cultural informed bands in the 80ies & 90ies of the last century, when leftist activists and cultural protagonists tried to find a mutual way in opposition to the growing nationalism and racism in Germany.

The band was formed in 1984, Pinneberg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. as "Cpt. Kirk & his incredible Lovers" .Members were Tobias Levin (vocals, piano), Matthias Geisler (drums), Christoph Meier (bass) and Wiebke Linneweber (keyboards, guitar). They toured with Jesus And Mary Chain and The Gun Club.

"Stand Rotes Madrid" was their debut album, released in 1986.

"Very intriguing mishmash, this. Parts sound like The Birthday Party, parts sound like Gang of Four, parts are vaguely surf/garage-y, parts seem to anticipate grunge, the B-side's got a slight power pop vibe, and there's feedback everywhere. I like their guitar player a lot. He sounds exactly like Jim Reid on A5 and exactly like Paul Leary on B4.

But the variety's a bit... much. Still, so much of the A-side is awesome that I'd recommend you find this pronto. It's one of those albums with a handful of tracks you could put on the radio and a handful you'd be immediately fired for putting on the radio."

Tracklist:
A1 House Haus 2:39
A2 Catholic Theories 2:10
A3 I Told You And You Know What I Said 4:34
A4 Just For A While 2:46
A5 Heavenly Kick For Paradise 2:55
A6 Letztes Biest (Am Himmel)  3:10

B1 How Fat You Are 4:13
B2 My Chair (In Der Republik) 4:24
B3 In For It Too Long Now 3:34
B4 Baumond (1969) 3:07
B5 Government's Head 3:50

Bonus tracks:
Neclegt
Windfall

Cpt. Kirk &. – Stand Rotes Madrid (1986)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Hugh Masekela & the Union of South Africa - Same (1971)

Hugh Masekela & the Union of South Africa is an inspired mix of soul, highlife, and even New Orleans jazz. This works excellently on the old-fashioned "Goin' Back to New Orleans" and the fast-moving "Ade" and "Dyambo" where horn lines, call-and-response singing, and funky guitars, together with African rhythms, create furious dance music. 

But some of the slower numbers seem to be left without direction, a fact that is only partly covered by Masekela's trumpet playing. The closing "Hush (Somebody's Calling My Name)," though, is a great exception to that, with simple basslines and chorus, and slow-building energy. But if the mix of cultural influences is the strength of Hugh Masekela & the Union of South Africa, it may also be the weakness of the album; the difference between the groove-based "Ade," jazzier numbers like "Caution," and African highlife songs like "Shebeen" and "Johannesburg Hi-Lite Jive" is so big you'd think they belong on separate albums, and they may not appeal to the same audience. Hugh Masekela & the Union of South Africa was originally released on Masekela's own label, Chisa, and was re-released in 1994 on Motown.  (- allmusic.com)


Tracklist:

01 - Goin' Back to New Orleans (5:07)
02 - Ade (3:47)
03 - To Get Ourselves Together (2:52)
04 - Johannesburg Hi-Lite Jive (3:57)
05 - Mamani (5:23)
06 - Shebeen (4:02)
07 - Dyambo (3:49)
08 - Caution! (5:41)
09 - Hush (Somebody's Calling My Name) (3:34)

Hugh Masekela & the Union of South Africa - Same (1971)

(ca. 256 kbps, cover art included)

Grubenklangorchester - Hanns Eisler - Komm ins offe-ne Freund! (AufRuhr!, 1984)

"Through the collaboration with the theatre-ensemble in Bochum arouse a unique adaption of the „Mutter-Musiken“ by Hanns Eisler. The Grubenklangorchester set a milestone, which connects tradition with new ideas of jazz." (label info)

The album was recorded and mixed at Cornet Studios, Cologne, Germany, by Thomas Kern. It features compositions (exc. A1) by Hanns Eisler and lyrics by Bert Brecht. The arrangements were done by Georg Gräwe.


Musicians:

Franz Koglmann: trumpet, flugelhorn
Horst Grabosch: trumpet, flugelhorn
Willem van Manen: trombone
Melvyn Poore: tuba
Theo Jörgensmann: clarinet
Roberto Ottaviano: soprano + alto saxophones, alto clarinet, clarinet
Harald Dau: tenor + soprano saxophones
Eckard Koltermann: baritone saxophone, bass clarinet
Georg Gräwe: piano
Kai Kanthak: double bass
Achim Krämer: drums
Otto Kukla: vocals (B1)
Manfred Karge: vocals (B6-9)


Tracklist:

Side A:

1. Introduktion (2'45)
2. Wie die Krähe (2'10)
3. Lied von der Suppe (5'37)
4. Der zerrissene Rock (4'01)
5. Gedanken über die rote Fahne (1'33)
6. Lob des Kommunismus (4'21)
7. Lob des Lernens (1'27)

Side B:

1. Im Gefängnis zu singen (2'51)
2. Lob des Wlassowas (2'39)
3. Lob der 3. Sache (4'06)
4. Grabrede (3'48)
5. Lob der Dialektik (1'29)
6. Bal sur Seine (1'21)
7. Perle Josephe (2'00)
8. Margot (1'30)
9. Resolution (2'01)


Grubenklangorchester - Hanns Eisler: Komm ins offe-ne Freund! (AufRuhr!, 1984)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Kastrierte Philosophen - Souldier

Kastrierte Philosophen (Castrated Philosophers) from Hamburg was one of the most important German avantgarde/independent rock bands in the 1980s and 90s. The band formed in 1983 by Matthias Arfman and Katrin Achinger, both of whom worked together with other artists on their releases and concerts. Their musical style ranges from psychedelic rock, hip-hop, dub and electronic music.

Starting with a dark sound inspired by Velvet Underground and Nico (to who they dedicated their 1989 album "Nerves") as well as chanson, later on they worked on african and oriental influenced music. In their last phase in the mid-90s, they began to work with several young dub mixers, one of which was Jan Eißfeldt. Philosopher Arfmann (Knochenhaus studio) then produced all albums of Eißfeldt's German hip hop band Absolute Beginner and his Jan Delay reaggae albums.

The album "Souldier" was released in 1994. The lyrics on tracks 1 to 10 are taken from the novel "The Process" by Brion Gysin, 1969. The band later released a remix of this album with the title "Souldier Nonstop".


Tracklist:

1 Souldier 4:15
2 Rub Out The Word 4:09
3 Radioactive 4:05
4 Illusion5:37
5 No Love / No Brothers 3:26
6 Jussun 6:58
7 Bou Jeloud (The Father Of Skins) 7:03
8 All Truth Is ATale 3:59
9 Home 3:46
10 Khadisha 1:45
11 Mama 5:38
12 The Process (Commercial) 1:29


Kastrierte Philosophen - Souldier
(320 kbps, cover art included)

"Entartete Musik" - Meisterwerke einer verlorenen Epoche

"I have at last learned the lesson that has been forced upon me during this year, and I shall not ever forget it. It is that I am not a German, not a European, indeed perhaps scarcely a human being (at least the Europeans prefer the worst of their race to me) but I am a Jew."--Arnold Schoenberg

After the horrors of World War I, most Europeans expressed their sense of freedom by embracing the roaring twenties. An open-minded lifestyle was emerging from the nightlife of jazz clubs and cabarets. Berlin was at the heart of the bold and innovative music trends of the 1920s and 1930s. Musicians experimented with their art by pushing away from accepted musical forms and finding new ones.

While many Europeans were celebrating new-found freedom in the arts, Germany was already beginning to fall under the shadow of the swastika. For almost 100 years, an atmosphere of antisemitism had been growing in Europe. Richard Wagner, the well-known composer, had spoken publicly against the Jewish people in his booklet, "Das Judenthum in der Musik" (Judaism in Music). The Nazi Party played upon these historic prejudices in their rise to power.

Nineteenth-century psychologists introduced the term degenerate or entartete to describe any deviance or clinical mental illness. Later a broader definition was applied to include scientific literature (medical, biology and anthropology). By 1933 Hitler's Third Reich referred to the mentally ill, communists, Gypsies, homosexuals and Jews as subspecies of the human race. The words "Jewish," "Degenerate," and "Bolshevik" were commonly used to describe any art or music not acceptable to the Third Reich. The Nazi propaganda poster at left is a crude exaggeration of the original poster for the opera Jonny spielt auf. This grotesque figure became the Nazi symbol for all they considered "degenerate" in the arts. Hitler envisioned the day when German culture would be free of "morbid excrescencies of insane and degenerate men."

After the race laws of 1933, the Reichsmusikkammer (Reich Music Chamber) required a registry of all German musicians. As a result, hundreds of talented composers had their work deliberately suppressed and careers ended simply because their race or style of music offended the Third Reich. By 1938, examples of degenerate music were on display at the Entarte Musik Exhibit for the public to view. Famous works by Mendelssohn, Mahler, and Schoenberg were used as examples of unacceptable music. A generation of incredibly innovative and promising musicians was virtually excluded from its place in music history.

From the mid-1990s the Decca Record Company released a series of recordings under the title "`Entartete Musik´: music suppressed by the third reich" covering works by several of the excluded and suppressed artists. Here´s a two CD set giving a good summary of this series.

Tracklist:
Disc 1
1.Ich bin ein Vamp!
2.Wir wollen alle Kinder sein
3.An den kleinen Radioapparat
4.Der Kirschdieb
5.Panzerschlacht
6.Vom Sprengen des Gartens
7.Tante Sues Geschichten - Zwischenspiel 4
8.Das Mäuschen
9.Der Garten
10.Finale: Die Furcht
11.Das waren Kriege (1. Bild)
12.Schau, die Wolken (3. Bild)
13.Komm Tod, du unser werter Gast (4. Bild)
14.Pane, prinásejí tezk² prípad! (1. Szene)
15.Casta diva (3. Bild)
16.VII. Molto Adagio äußerst langsam und seelenvoll "Friede, mein Herz"
17.Vorspiel (DRITTER AKT)
18.Liebwerte Freunde (Vorspiel und Prolog)
19.Ich ging zu ihm (ZWEITER AKT)
20.Einleitung (Teil 1)
21.Oh, das ist mein Jonny! (Teil 1)
22.So hat uns Jonny aufgespielt zum Tanz (Teil 2)
23.Charleston, Charleston tanzt die Welt
24.Ein kleiner Slowfox mit Mary

Disc 2
1.Shimmy
2.Die Marionetten
3.Erster Akt
4.Ouvertüre
5.Commedy Of Errors - Ouverture
6.Vorspiel (DRITTER AKT)
7.3. Gigue
8.Zwischenspiel
9.3. Alla singaresca - Tempo 1 Allegro molto
10.3. Largo e misterioso - Der Mond und ich
11.II. Lento
12.Intermezzo: Totentanz (2. Bild)
13.Blues
14.Marsch

.
"Entartete Musik" - Meisterwerke einer verlorenen Epoche

(256 kbps, cover art included)

Emanuel Feuermann - The 1939 Victor Recordings (1991)

Emanuel Feuermann was born in 1902 in Kolomyja, Galicia, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Kolomyia, Ukraine) to Jewish parents. Both of his parents were amateur musicians. His father, who played the violin and cello, was his first teacher. His older brother Sigmund was also musically talented, and their little sister, Sophie (born January 1908) was the piano prodigy in the family.

Their father decided to move the family to Vienna in 1907 for Sigmund to start his professional career there. At the age of nine, Emanuel received lessons from Friedrich Buxbaum, principal cello of the Vienna Philharmonic, and then studied with Anton Walter at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. In February 1914, the eleven-year-old prodigy made his concert debut, playing Joseph Haydn's Cello Concerto in D major with the Vienna Philharmonic under Felix Weingartner.

The ascension to power of the Nazi Party in 1933 left him looking for a place to settle. He took a world tour in 1934 and 1935, with a pair of memorable New York concerts in January 1935. He and his wife settled in Zurich, where he gave master classes and based his touring career. He traveled to Austria, where he was trapped when Hitler's forces poured in to take the country. Violinist Bronislaw Huberman managed to get Feuermann out and into Palestine.

A month later Feuermann, his wife, and his daughter arrived in New York and applied for citizenship. He taught at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and in summers settled in Los Angeles, where he gave master classes. There, he could be close to Jascha Heifetz and Artur Rubinstein, making up one of the greatest of trio ensembles.



Tracklist :

George Frederick Handel
Dank sei dir, Herr 

Franz Schubert
Litanei auf das Fest Aller Seelen ("Ruh'n in Frieden alle Seelen"), song for voice & piano, D. 343

George Frederick Handel
Organ Concerto in G minor, Op.4/3, HWV 291

Ludwig van Beethoven
Variations for cello & piano in F major on Mozart's "Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen," Op. 66 1939

Felix Mendelssohn
Sonata for cello & piano No. 2 in D major, Op. 58

Johann Sebastian Bach
Adagio

Gabriel Fauré
Après un rêve ("Dans un sommeil"), song for voice & piano, Op. 7/1

Joseph Canteloube
Deux Bourrées, folksongs for voice & orchestra (Chants d'Auvergne, Series 2, No. 5) : Bourée Auvergnate

Stepan Ivanovich Davïdov
At the Fountain

Frédéric Chopin
Introduction and Polonaise brillante for cello & piano in C major, Op. 3, CT. 148

Emanuel Feuermann - The 1939 Victor Recordings (1991)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Betty Carter - Inside Betty Carter (1964)

Arguably the most adventurous female jazz singer of all time, Betty Carter was an idiosyncratic stylist and a restless improviser who pushed the limits of melody and harmony as much as any bebop horn player. The husky-voiced Carter was capable of radical, off-the-cuff reworkings of whatever she sang, abruptly changing tempos and dynamics, or rearranging the lyrics into distinctive, off-the-beat rhythmic patterns. She could solo for 20 minutes, scat at lightning speed, or drive home an emotion with wordless, bluesy moans and sighs. She wasn't quite avant-garde, but she was definitely "out." Yet as much as Carter was fascinated by pure, abstract sound, she was also a sensitive lyric interpreter when she chose, a tender and sensual ballad singer sometimes given to suggestive asides. Her wild unpredictability kept her marginalized for much of her career, and she never achieved the renown of peers like Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, or Carmen McRae. What was more, her exacting musical standards and assertive independence limited her recorded output somewhat. But Carter stuck around long enough to receive her proper due; her unwillingness to compromise eventually earned her the respect of the wider jazz audience, and many critics regarded her as perhaps the purest jazz singer active in the '80s and '90s. Additionally, Carter took an active role in developing new talent, and was a tireless advocate for the music and the freedom she found in it, right up to her death in 1998.

These recordings can be considered the final ones of Betty Carter's early period for, by the time she next appeared on record (in 1969), the singer was much more adventurous in her improvisations. This CD reissues eight selections from Carter's rather brief 1964 Roulette LP (under 26 minutes), plus it adds seven previously unissued numbers from 1965. On the former date Carter (who is quite memorable on "This Is Always," "Some Other Time," and "Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most") is accompanied by pianist Harold Mabern, bassist Bob Cranshaw, and drummer Roy McCurdy, while the "new" session ("There Is No Greater Love" and "You're a Sweetheart" are the standouts) features guitarist Kenny Burrell plus an unknown rhythm section in the backup band. Highly recommended to Betty Carter fans and to those listeners who find her later work somewhat forbidding.

Tracklist:
"This Is Always" (Mack Gordon, Harry Warren) – 3:10
"Look No Further" (Richard Rodgers) – 1:55
"Beware My Heart" (Sam Coslow) – 5:07
"My Favorite Things" (Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II) – 1:35
"Some Other Time" (Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne) – 3:46
"Open the Door" (Betty Carter) – 3:11
"Spring Can Really Hang You up the Most" (Fran Landesman, Tommy Wolff) – 5:15
"Something Big" (Richard Adler) – 1:58
"New England" (unknown) – 2:55
"The Moon is Low" (Arthur Freed, Nacio Herb Brown) – 2:00
"Once in Your Life" (unknown) – 2:54
"It's a Big Wide Wonderful World" (John Rox) – 1:48
"There Is No Greater Love" (Marty Symes, Isham Jones) – 3:46
"You're a Sweetheart" (Jimmy McHugh, Harold Adamson) – 4:02
"Isn't it Romantic?" (Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) – 1:44

(Tracks 9-15 not included on the original LP issue)

Betty Carter - Inside Betty Carter (1964)

(320 kbsp, cover art included)

The Fugs - Refused To Be Burnt Out (Live In The 80s)

This release chronicles the return of the Fugs to the performance stage, which ironically began in 1984 at the height of Ronald Reganmania.

However, if "Refuse To Be Burnt-Out" proves anything, the lesson is that it might be possible to take a freak out of the ‘60s … but you can never take the ‘60s out of a freak.
The ‘80s Fugs features original members Tuli Kupferberg and Ed Saunders -- who have updated their sound without ever compromising their message. Compiled from several performances, "Refuse To Be Burnt-Out" is fairly evenly split between classics - such as "CIA Man", "How Sweet I Roamed" and the sing-a-long favourite "Wide, Wide River" - as well as material penned especially for this reunion.

Of particular note is a sublime "Fingers Of The Sun" -- a no nukes anthem originally located on the 1968 "Tenderness Junction" release. The newer compositions remain ever loyal to the ‘idealistic realities' that became running motifs throughout the Fugs history.
Primary among these is the Kupferberg title "If You Want To Be President" which takes a poke at Regan's popular success with particular emphasis on the '82 fiasco in the Falkland Islands.

The albums title track is a new composition which author Ed Saunders dedicates to the memory of Fugs who are no longer with us. As only he can, the words manifest indelible images effortlessly telling the tale on multiple levels.

Tracklist:

A1 The Five Feet 2:51
A2 If You Want To Be President 2:25
A3 Nova Slum Goddess 2:29
A4 Nicaragua 2:23
A5 Fingers Of The Sun 2:56
A6 Wide, Wide River 3:05
A7 How Sweet I Roamed From Field To Field 2:50
B1 Refuse To Be Burnt-Out 3:43
B2 Country Punk 2:49
B3 CIA Man 3:11
B4 Ban The Bomb 3:30
B5 Keeping The Issues Alive 6:10

The Fugs - Refused To Be Burnt Out (Live In The 80s)
(192 kbps, cover art included)

Martin Carthy – Sweet Wivelsfield (1974)

If the English folk revival of the 1960s had a single "father" and guiding spirit, then Martin Carthy was it. Carthy's influence transcends his abilities, formidable though those are -- apart from being one of the most talented acoustic guitarists, mandolinists, and general multi-instrumentalists working the folk clubs in the 1960s, he was also a powerful singer with no pretensions or affectations, and was an even more prodigious arranger and editor, with an excellent ear for traditional compositions. In particular, he was as much a scholar as a performer, and frequently went back to the notes and notebooks of folk song collectors such as Percy Grainger, scouring them for fragments that could be made whole in performance -- no "second hander," he used the earliest known transcriptions and recordings of many of the oldest folk songs known in England as his source, and worked from there.

By 1966, at the time he was cutting his first two albums, Carthy was already an influence on Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, and by the end of the 1960s was de facto mentor to virtually every serious aspiring folk musician in England. At least three major English folk-rock bands, Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span, and the Albion Band, were formed either directly or indirectly with his help and influence.

First released in 1974 and produced by Ashley Hutchings, "Sweet Wivelsfield" is a classic Martin Carthy album and served as a benchmark recording for many other artists. The ominously chiming guitar chords of Trimdon Grange and the ingeniously borrowed melody of King Henry exemplify Carthy’s unceasing search for new ways to present old songs, a thread that runs all through this impressive recording.

Martin Carthy: vocals, guitar

Tracklist:

1 Shepherd o Shepherd
2 Billy Boy
3 Three Jolly Sneaksmen
4 Trimdon Grange
5 All of a Row
6 Skewbald
7 Mary Neal
8 King Henry
9 John Barleycorn
10 The Cottage in the Wood

Martin Carthy – Sweet Wivelsfield (1974)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

The Ex - Pokkeherrie (1985)

"Pokkeherrie" (Dutch for "terrible noise") is a 1985 album by The Ex, originally released on vinyl only on the Pokabilly label. 

The original release included an eleven-page booklet containing lyrics & artwork and a double sided poster. It was reissued on compact disc in 1995 on Ex Records. The album comprises a collection of songs the group had performed on an anti-military tour.

The title of the album is a Dutch word that means something like "so much noise" or "awful noise". It is the first of the Ex's albums to feature Katrin on drums, cementing the band's core lineup that would last for nearly two decades.

After releasing a record in support of Britain's coalminers' strike, The Ex wrote a collection of new songs for an anti-military tour that would form the basis for Pokkeherrie. Their drummer Sabien had just left the band to move to France and was replaced by German-born Katerina, previously of the Stuttgart trio 3Musketiere. The group recorded nine songs in the newly built Koeienverhuur Studio in the basement of a newly squatted building in Amsterdam where The Ex also rehearsed and gigged at the volunteer-run Emma venue. 

John Dougan's short review of the album for Allmusic reads: "Primal leftist politics meet primal mega-loud guitar. Stunning." An unattributed review on the band's official website calls the album "a masterful killer weapon of raw power that rattles up the spine into numbed pink brain cells and fills the vacuum with social issue."


Tracklist:

"Nurse!" - 6:09
"Soviet Threat" - 7:08
"Mmm Crisis" - 3:29
"1,000,000 Ashtrays" - 9:15
"Pokk" - 0:15
"White Liberals" - 5:42
"Everything We Never Wanted" 4:28
"Friendly Neighbours" - 4:20
"Hit the Headlines" - 5:47
"Rumours of Music (The Original Soundcrack)" - 6:29

The Ex - Pokkeherrie (1985)

(192 kbps, cover art included)

Neil Young & The Mynah Byrds - Studio Outtakes (1966)

The Mynah Birds were a short lived Canadian band in the sixties and featured Neil Young and Rick James as well as Bruce Palmer (Buffalo Springfield). These recordings were thought to be lost but resurfaced a few years ago. This recordings were also released on a bootleg called "The Lost Recordings".

The songs were recorded at Goldstar Studio, Detroit, January or February 1966.

Tracklist:
01 - It's My Time
02 - I'll Wait Forever
03 - Masquerade
04 - Masquerade
05 - Fantasy
06 - I've Got You In My Soul
07 - Go On And Cry


For more information just click on this picture:

Neil Young & The Mynah Byrds - Studio Outtakes (1966)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Cass Elliot – The Road Is No Place For A Lady (1972)

"The Road Is No Place for a Lady" is the fifth and final studio album released by Cass Elliot. It was the second album she recorded after signing with RCA Records. The album was recorded over a period of two months during the summer of 1972 at London's Trident Studios, produced by Lewis Merenstein and arranged and conducted by Larry Fallon and Del Newman.

"There was a reason the Mamas & the Papas were such a popular band, racking up ten Top 40 hits in two and a half years, "The Road Is No Place For a Lady" is evidence of just how important Mama Cass was to the hit mix. This album is an exquisite high, from the opening piano of the Albert Hammond classic that almost made it twice -- "(If You're Gonna) Break Another Heart" to the slick adult pop of Webb's "Saturday Suit." With legendary session guitarist Cris Spedding providing little touches of wah-wah on "Walk Beside Me" to Elton John percussion guy Ray Cooper adding his magic, this album is a work of art. Just play it next to David Cassidy's failed The Higher They Climb to feel the difference. Cass exudes real power from within, and the superb arrangements by Larry Fallon and Del Newman are what give Lewis Merenstein's production real depth. 

This is Elliot going deeper into her Judy Garland phase. Great album cover by photographer Ave Pildas has Elliot's living room spread out on railroad tracks, an owl in a glass case reflected in the mirror, Elliot's only company for afternoon tea. The final track on side one, "All My Life" contains all the loneliness depicted on the front and back cover photos. 

The tragedy of this album is that "(If You're Gonna) Break Another Heart" didn't destroy the charts upon release. It is total pop sophistication, Mama Cass' voice soaring over the strings, piano, and backing that is a Phil Spector hit without the wall of sound. Really brilliant pop to be studied and cherished. Her solo hits coming in 1969, this 1972 recording is the singer just two years before her passing. Say Hello has real pop magic that Bette Midler fully understood on her 1972 debut. This album is almost like the passing of the torch. "Who in the World is exquisite, a real departure from the rest of the album; beautiful Larry Fallon strings help Elliot convey the sentiment. Fallon hit with "Brandy" by Looking Glass that same year, and Rolling Stones producer Jimmy Miller had Fallon add strings to an unreleased version of "Wild Horses." 

That so many talents in their prime help Mama Cass deliver on each song, the sweeping chorus of "Love Was Not a Word," the tremendous early version of Pink Floyd producer Hurricane Smith's "Oh Babe, What Would You Say" who would hit with it just a few months later, to the title track, emphasizes what a musical time the early '70s were, and how respected Mama Cass was in musical circles. An uplifting album by an underrated star."
(allmusic.com)


Tracklist:

(If You're Gonna) Break Another Heart 2:20
Saturday Suit 2:55
Does Anybody Love You 2:50
Walk Beside Me 2:55
All My Life 2:41
Say Hello 3:09
Who In The World 2:40
Love Was Not A Word 2:57
Oh Babe, What Would You Say 3:03
The Road Is No Place For A Lady 3:09

Cass Elliot – The Road Is No Place For A Lady (1972)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Ramblin´ Jack Elliott - Young Brigham (1969)

Folksinger Ramblin' Jack Elliott is a fascinating and eccentric figure, and Young Brigham from 1968 finds him in his element. The arrangements are busier than on his previous recordings, but they never get in the way of his off-the-cuff style. His vocals are perhaps more eccentric here than usual, delivering out of the ordinary versions of If I Were a Carpenter and Tennessee Stud. 

The difference between Elliott's versions and those of your average folksinger is that he sounds as though he's having a good time. This renders over-familiar material, like the above-mentioned songs, fresh. There are great versions of Danville Girl and Don't Think Twice, It's Alright, and a nice original titled, 912 Greens. Elliott usually stuck to singing other people's songs and held onto his folk roots even when singer-songwriters began to take over the ‘60s folk scene. 

Even the Rolling Stone's Connection, comes across as country-folk, not rock-and-roll. Elliott also includes a couple of Woody Guthrie songs to let everyone know where his roots lay. Richie Unterberger's liner notes do a great job of placing this album in context. It would be the first of two albums Elliott would record for Reprise in an unsuccessful attempt to bring him to a larger audience. Larger audience or not, the music stands for itself. Young Brigham is a nice snapshot of Elliott in the late ‘60s and shows him leaving the confines of a large studio with his folk heritage intact. 

(- allmusic.com)

Tracklist:

A1 - If I Were A Carpenter
A2 - Talking Fisherman
A3 - Tennessee Stud
A4 - Night Herding Song
A5 - Rock Island Line
B1 - Danville Girl
B2 - 912 Greens
B3 - Don't Think Twice It's Alright
B4 - Connection
B5 - Goodnight Little Arlo

Ramblin´ Jack Elliott - Young Brigham (1969)

(192 kbps, cover art included)

Gal Costa - Cantar (1974)

"Cantar" is the fifth solo album by the Brazilian singer Gal Costa, released in 1974. It was ranked the 91st best Brazilian album of all time by the Brazilian Rolling Stone magazine.

"Overshadowed by the exceedingly sought after India that came before it, along with the more experimental records that came into fruition during the Tropicália explosion of the late 60’s, Gal Costa’s Cantar exists as an outlier among the string of records that would define her career. 

Released in 1974, the album sees Costa return from the radical to the intimate, and is perhaps the most personal and sentimental release from the Brazilian icon. Although her politicized lyrics are still on display, the musical approach is stripped down and calmer, creating space for Costa’s silky mezzo soprano to breathe and deliver peak emotional devastation. Costa is joined by a Tropicália supergroup of musicians who perform delicate renditions of their past hits. Gilberto Gil makes a guest appearance and guitars the opening cut / single “Barato Total” followed by João Donato keying a more lounge version of his own “A Rã” with additional lyrics by Caetano Veloso. Some funkier and more typical Costa fashioned Brazilian rock bits are sprinkled throughout but it’s the mellower tunes like Veloso’s “Lua,Lua,Lua,Lua”, the orchestral “Canção Que Morre No Ar”, the raga “Joia”, and the moony guitar jazz of “Lágrimas Negras” that make this one so singular in a catalogue of undeniable classics. Cantar also houses the track “Até Quem Sabe”, another Donato cover, but with an intimate arrangement for solo piano and vocals. The song feels incredibly cinematic in this context, like one of those devastating Fellini finales, helpless and heartbroken, with a minute-long outro that is one of the most hauntingly beautiful moments Costa ever recorded.

– DM"  (https://insheepsclothinghifi.com/album/gal-costa-cantar/)

Tracklist:

A1 Barato Total
A2 A Rã
A3 Lua, Lua, Lua, Lua
A4 Canção Que Morre No Ar
A5 Flor De Maracujá
B1 Flor Do Cerrado
B2 Jóia
B3 Até Quem Sabe
B4 O Céu E O Som
B5 Lágrimas Negras
B6 Chululu

Gal Costa - Cantar (1974)

(~256 kbps, cover art included)

Chambers Brothers - People Get Ready (1965)

Like their West Coast contemporaries Sly and the Family Stone, the Chambers Brothers shattered racial and musical divides to forge an incendiary fusion of funk, gospel, blues, and psychedelia which reached its apex with the perennial 1968 song "Time Has Come Today." The Chambers siblings - bassist George, guitarist Willie, harpist Lester, and guitarist Joe, all of whom contributed vocals - were born and raised in Lee County, MS; the products of an impoverished sharecropping family, the brothers first polished their vocal harmonies in the choir of their Baptist church, a collaboration which ended after George was drafted into the army in 1952. Following his discharge he relocated to Los Angeles, where the other Chambers brothers soon settled as well; the foursome began performing gospel and folk throughout Southern California in 1954, but remained virtually unknown until appearing in New York City in 1965. The addition of white drummer Brian Keenan not only made the Chambers Brothers an interracial group, but pushed their music closer to rock & roll; a well-received appearance at the Newport Folk Festival further enhanced their growing reputation, and they soon recorded their debut LP, "People Get Ready".                

"People Get Ready" is the first of a handful of early live albums by the group, recorded in concert at the Ash Grove in Los Angeles and the Unicorn in Boston in 1965. The Chambers Brothers were purely an R&B outfit at the time (their psychedelic stylings being a couple of years in the future), and a good one, although they're a little bit surer on the more basic blues than on some of the R&B that they cover - their renditions of Jimmy Reed's material seem more inspired than their performance of the Valentinos' old hit "It's All Over Now," although to their credit their rendition of the latter sounds nothing like the Rolling Stones' then-current cover of the same song. The group also does a beautiful job of harmonizing on Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready," and shows a command of the poppier side of rock & roll on "Call Me," a group original with a catchy "Hang on Sloopy"-style central riff. This album is a good introduction to The Chambers Brothers, who show that, even at this early date in their history, they were a commanding and exciting presence on-stage.                


Tracklist:

	Yes Yes Yes	3:20
	Tore Up	3:00
	Reconsider Baby	4:45
	You'Ve Got Me Running	3:05
	People Get Ready	2:30
	Money (That's What I Want)	2:53
	You Can Run	3:35
	Hooka Tooka	2:50
	Call Me	3:15
	Summertime	4:10
	Your Old Lady	2:50
	It's All Over Now	4:41

Chamber Brothers - People Get Ready (1965)
(256 kbps, cover art included)

Prince Far I - Dubwise (1991)

One of the many voices of the roots era, Prince Far I was absolutely unique. He certainly cannot be categorized as a singer, although at times -- especially during chanted passages -- there was definitely a singsong quality to his vocals, and in that respect the closest comparison was to Winston Rodney of Burning Spear. However, that group actually wrote lyrics, while Prince Far I vocals were a stream of consciousness that belongs in the DJ realm. But to call him a toaster is equally inaccurate. His delivery was reminiscent of an Old Testament prophet, railing at the wicked, a seething outpouring of religiously inspired righteousness.

The second Prince Far I collection in Front Line's reissue series brings to light four obscure singles along with their dub versions, as well as the entirety of the all-instrumental "Cry Tuff Dub Encounter Part 2". The instrumental dub tracks are pretty much like those that make up the other volumes in the Cry Tuff series -- perfectly fine, but not particularly distinctive, examples of the genre. But the singles show Prince Far I at his best. In his inimitable gravel-pit of a voice, he exhorts the ghetto youth to "fling away your gun and mek we have some fun," and implores his listeners in stentorian tones to remember Jah and to renounce war. Though not as consistently compelling as "Black Man Land", this is a thoroughly worthwhile collection.


Tracklist:

1 Throw Away Your Gun 4:23
2 Throw Away Your Gun (Dub) 4:30
3 Love Divine Dub 3:46
4 If You Want To Do Ya Dub 3:41
5 Jah Do That Dub 3:22
6 Jah Do That 3:56
7 No More War 4:36
8 No More War Dub 3:58
9 Suru–Lere Dub 2:57
10 Anambra Dub 3:05
11 Kaduna Dub 4:06
12 Oyo Dub 3:17
13 Borno Dub 3:05
14 Bendel Dub 3:22
15 Ondo Dub 2:39
16 Ogun Dub 2:39

Prince Far I - Dubwise (1991)

(192 kbps, cover art included)

Chambers Brothers - Love, Peace and Happiness / Live At Bill Graham's Fillmore East (1969)

Love, Peace and Happiness is a double album by The Chambers Brothers, which was released in December 1969.
This album was released as a double-LP, which was composed of some live material recorded at Bill Graham's Fillmore East and some studio recordings.

The brothers seemed to really believe in the title track's message, and they earned style points by including white drummer Brian Keenan, making them one of the few racially mixed American bands. This album, originally released as a double LP, is half studio and half live. The studio sides reflect the message with titles such as "Have a Little Faith" and "To Love Somebody." But the brothers lose their way in covers of songs by the Bee Gees and Marvin Hamlisch, and the epic title track never coheres like "Time Has Come Today." The live sides are better, with stronger material, including "I Can't Turn You Loose" and "People Get Ready." The boys have some fun with the encore, a barbershop medley.

 

Tracklist:

A1 Have A Little Faith
A2 Let's Do It
A3 To Love Somebody
A4 If You Want Me To
A5 Wake Up
B1 Love Peace And Happiness (L + P = H In Three Movements)
C1 Wade In The Water
C2 Everybody Needs Somebody
C3 I Can't Turn You Loose
D1 People Get Ready
D2 Bang Bang
D3 You're So Fine
D4 Medley - Undecided/Love,Love,Love


Chambers Brothers - Love, Peace and Happiness / Live At Bill Graham's Fillmore East (1969)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

The Chambers Brothers - Shout! (1968)

By the time "The Chambers Brothers - Shout!" hit the racks, in 1968, siblings George Chambers (bass/vocals), Willie Chambers (guitar/vocals), Lester Chambers (harmonica/vocals), and Joe Chambers (guitar/vocals) were on the verge of international success with the full-out psychedelic side "Time Has Come Today."

However, the material used on this - and the rest of the Chambers' Vault Records titles - dates back several years, circa 1965-1966. This inevitably left some consumers confused, if not somewhat nonplussed, as the styles weren't exactly analogous. What listeners are treated to on this long-player is primarily the transitioning of an old-school R&B and gospel combo into a hipper and decidedly more secular soul band. While no precise date is known, it is presumed that the live material comes from the same cache of nightclub performances that yielded 1967's "People Get Ready" and 1968's "Now!" - suggested for listening are the heavily Echoplexed remake of "Johnny B. Goode" and the ten-plus-minute medley connecting the sacred "I Got It" with a show-stopping cover of the Isley Brothers' party anthem "Shout." By contrast, the dark and brooding interpretation of Bobby Parker' s "Blues Get Off My Shoulder" reveals a rare intimacy that is missing from the significantly shorter version of the song that would be featured on 1969's "Feelin' the Blues", their subsequent (and final) stash from Vault Records. The second half of "The Chambers Brothers Shout!", recorded in the studio, is highlighted by Joe Chambers' own slow and ominous love song "Seventeen," which is punctuated by Lester Chambers' piercing mouth harp interjections. Another of Joe's compositions, "Rained the Day You Left," leans toward folk-rock with all the jingle-jangle guitars and tambourine tappin' that the genre became known for. The affective closing ballad, "Love Me Like the Rain," was an original penned by their drummer, Brian Keegan. Here, the Chambers transplant their rural Mississippi harmonies for a sun-drenched California blend that owes as much to the likes of the Beach Boys as to their typical influences.

Tracklist:

A1	Johnny B.Good
A2	Blues Get Off My Shoulder
A3	I Got It
A4	Shout
B1	There She Goes
B2	Seventeen
B3	Pretty Girls
B4	Rained The Day You Left
B5	So Fine
B6	Love Me Like The Rain

The Chambers Brothers - Shout! (1968)
(320 kbps, cover art included)           

Uli Hundt & Der Wahnsinn - Placebo (1986, Trikont)

The political rock clown band "Schröder Roadshow" originated with members of the music projects Hoffmann and Zarah Zylinder. Die Jeilen Träumer came much later, in 1980. The band first appeared in 1976 under the name "Uli Hundt und Schroeder", and was renamed shortly afterwards as "Schroeder Roadshow". They offered biting ironic and political lyrics as well as an eclectic musical style. The band attacked more or less everything, including themselves.

Musically their main focus was 2-guitars- and saxophone-heavy rock, but with elements from many other styles. Political messages were ambiguous, though the band were on the political left [see »Anarchy in Germoney«, 1978]. They also wrote ballads, such as »Asche in den Wind« and »Die Brüder der romantischen Verlierer«. They worked with Wolf Maahn as co-producer for the »Wir lieben das Land« album in 1982, and Rockpalast director Christian Wagner, who produced bass player Rich Schwab’s two solo albums in 1980 and 1982. Schwab produced Uli Hundt und die Betablocker’s »Schweinehundt« solo album in 1982, recorded and presented live with members of the Zeltinger Band and Dunkelziffer.

Uli Hundt left the band in 1983 and published the »Placebo« solo album in 1986


Tracklist:

A1 Alles o.k. Herr Bundestagsvizepräsident 4:35
A2 Jaguarbahn 4:30
A3 Ich knall mich voll mit Rock'N'Roll 3:23
A4 Im Herzen des Sturms 4:44
A5 Kamelhaarsutra 4:31
B1 Pacman 3:28
B2 Das Gold am Ende des Regenbogens 6:02
B3 Sag ihr ich komme wenn es Frühling ist 4:23
B4 Voyeur 5:02
B5 King vun dr Stroß 3:31


Uli Hundt & Der Wahnsinn - Placebo (1986, Trikont)
(256 kbps, cover art included)