Schroeder Roadshow - Anarchie in Germoney (1979)

„Die deutschen Stones - nur klüger …“

"The German Rolling Stones - but smarter..."

                                                         - Rainer B. Jogschies in Sounds, 1981

Schroeder Roadshow, the wonderful German oddball political cabaret and rock group, was formed in 1976, taking on ideas from Floh De Cologne, Checkpoint Charlie and Ton Steine Scherben.
Like many such bands, many of the musicians had served apprenticeships in earlier Krautrock acts, most notably Rich Schwab, who spent time in Eiliff and Brainstorm.

The album "Anarchie in Germoney" was recorded and mixed in 1978/1979 at Sound Experience Studio, Köln (Cologne).   

Tracklist:

1	Anarchie in Germoney	5:00
2	Oh Mama (Laß mich rein)	4:10
3	Reise an den Arsch der Welt	5:13
4	Der Untergang der 6. Flotte oder Wer hat meine Leprapuppe so blutig geschlagen?	5:55
5	Blues für Deformierte	6:05
6	Wir sind die Brüder der romantischen Verlierer	5:53
7	Ulla - La - La	0:55
8	Wieder unterwegs	6:50

Schroeder Roadshow - Anarchie in Germoney (1979)  
(256 kbps, cover art included)

Goissahannes - Liadrige Liadr... von dr Alb raa (1981)

In the Nazi regime, dialect artists and "Mundarten" (dialects) were deemed abjectly uncultivated or questionable and often fell foul of officialdom. In the 1970/80s there was a rediscovery of people singing in their regional dialects.

Swabian dialect had a long tradition in german folk music, but was the poor relation of High German. Thomas Felder said: "I wanted to make serious poetry. There wasn´t any model in Swabian."

On the album "Liadrige Liadr..." the singer-songwriter Johannes Christ, called Goissahannes, presents songs "...von dr Alb raa" (from the Swabian Alps). On this album he was accompanied by Alfred Biebl, Hans Schneider, Sepp Winkler and Arno Randlshofer. The album was recorded in 1981 at the "Tonstudio BRUTKASTEN" in Nürnberg. It contains the still remarkable swabian classic "Mooschdd aus´m Kruag". Maybe you want to have a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV7L9OW5SIw.

Tracklist:

1.	Mooschdd aus'm Krug	3:58
2.	Schuah-Liad	4:25
3.	Bäsa-Tanz	3:00
4.	Talking - I mecht so gern dr Hansi Müller sae - Blues	3:25
5.	Weil du mae Liabschda bischdd	2:17
6.	Hoffentlich	5:36
7.	Enn handert Joar semmer hee	5:10
8.	S' neie Deiddschland-Liad	3:00
9.	Kater-Blues	2:56

Goissahannes - Liadrige Liadr... von dr Alb raa (1981)
(256 kbps, front cover included)

Ernst Busch - Verehrt und angespien (Villon, Lenz, Goethe)

"Busch didn´t languish, like the tenors did in the older days; Busch was aggressive, conscious and bright ... he learnt this from Brecht. More people should learn from Brecht." - Stuttgarter Nachrichten

On this album Ernst Busch (1900 - 1980) performs lyrics by Villon, Lenz and Goethe.
The theatre critic Herbert Ihering wrote in the year 1965 about the actor Busch: "Ernst Busch is a new type of actor: a radical popular actor, both in an artistic and political sense."

The ballads by Villon are the heart of these recordings. They are accompanied by some works of Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz and Johann Wolfang von Goethe. Classic music by Jean Philipp Rameau supports the impression of Buschs performance.

Tracks:
Premier et deuxième air vif 3:41
Die Ballade von den Vogelfreien 2:16
Eine kleine Räuberballade von den drei Coquillards 2:40
Air gai 2:51
Die Ballade von den schönen Frauen von Paris 2:15
Eine nette Ballade, die Villon dem König aus der Verbannung sandte 2:40
Premier et deuxième tambourin 2:36
Eine kleine Ballade von der Mäusefrau die in Villons Zelle Junge bekam 3:10
Eine Ballade vom Apell Villons an den Reichstag 2:15
Eine Ballade, mit der Meister Villon seine lieben Mitmenschen um Verzeihung bittet 3:15
Premier et deuxième gavotte 2:31
Ballade in der Villon jedermann Abbitte leistet 1:45
Notwendige Nachschrift mein Begräbnis betreffend 2:35
Pantomime très gaye 3:41
Die Liebe auf dem Lande 4:30
Baccanales 2:22
Paktszene ("Faust I") 4:44
Monolog im Kerker ("Egmont") 6:01

Ernst Busch - Verehrt und angespien
(192 kbps, ca. 76 MB)

Schroeder - Live beim Rennen

"The german Rolling Stones - but a lot more clever." - Bernhard Jogschies in "Sounds", 1981

Schroeder Roadshow was - besides Ton Steine Scherben - the german political rock band in the seventies and eighties of the last century. They supported the squatter movement and became a subculture cult band with their anarchistic slogans and subversiv statements.

In difference to most of the other bands of this political rock scene - Ton Steine Scherben, Floh De Cologne, Checkpoint Charlie and many more - they had a more ironical and sassy approach. Their trade mark was a subversiv and anachistic humour, solid life gigs and absolutly no respect to nobody.

Here´s their last release, a live recording from the "Werner - das Rennen"-festival on the Hartenholm airport, where the band played nearly with all original members in front of 200.000 people. This cd re-relaese includes three bonus tracks.


Tracks:
1) Eintritt
2) Menschen
3) Bonn bei Nacht
4) Dach der Welt
5) P6
6) Städte
7) Helja
8) Herzas
9) Schrei dich frei
10) Fette Ratten
11) Hurra
12) Nimm meine Hand

Schröder - Live beim Rennen (192 kbps)

Schroeder´s lead singer Gerd Köster is still active in the music scene, maybe you want to check out his website.

Hanns Eisler - Deutsche Symphonie (Guhl, 1974)

Hanns Eisler is an anomaly among 20th-century composers in that he managed to merge strident political content with gorgeous music without sounding didactic or preachy. His early worker's anthems, far from being mere propaganda, stand on their own as sophisticated compositions; they're pocket symphonies that you can sing along with. Eisler cut his teeth studying with Schoenberg in the early 1920s, but soon thereafter broke with his teacher, feeling that his high-minded dodecaphony alienated the working man. The irony, however, was that Eisler never totally abandoned these high-art tendencies, instead subtly incorporating them into everything he did. Like Kurt Weill, Eisler's political proclivities brought him into contact with Bertolt Brecht and the two became close collaborators for many years.

Deutsche Sinfonie, written in the mid-30s, finds them paired in one of Eisler's more conservative orchestral settings, blatantly tipping its hat to the 12-tone crew. In this group of vocal pieces, Brecht's lyrics remain scathing, once again slyly subverting the concert hall tradition in true Eisler style. Eisler uses Brcht´s poetic image of Germany as a "besmirched, pale mother" in the prelude (which cites the "Internatinale" and "Unsterbliche Opfer", a song dedicated to the memory of concentration camp victims) to describe the suffering inflicted by German hands. In the passacaglia of the second part, the lament takes on more concrete form to become a condemnation of Nazi terror in the concentration camps (the work´s original title was "Konzentrationslagersymphonie"). The fourth part with Brecht´s "Zu Potsdam unter den Eichen" dras attention to facism´s extremist roots, while the orchestral funeral procession in the fith part, based on Brecht´s poem "Sonnenburg" addresses the idescribable suffering of the victims. The seventh part (after Brecht´s "Begräbnis des Hetzers im Zinksarg") exposes fascist propaganda in its truel colours. A "peasant cantata" with the rousing "Bauer steh auf" is folowed by the "worker´s cantata" based on the "Lied vom Klassenfeind", which Brecht wrote in exile. The following orchestral movement gives musical expression to the dialectics of pain and confidence, whereupon the eleven-movement opus ends with an epilogue after a four-line verse from Brecht´s "Kriegsfiebel".

This album features the recordings with Elisabeth Breul, Hermann Hähnel and Fred Teschler accompanied by the  Rundfunkchor Leipzig and the Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester Leipzig, conducted by Adolf Fritz Guhl. The speaking voices were done by Ekkehard Schall and Hilmar Thate. This album was released in 1974 by ETERNA and later by NOVA and was replaced in 1987 with a newer recording conducted by Max Pommer.

Hanns Eisler - Deutsche Symphonie (Guhl, 1974)
(192 kbps, front cover included)

Schroeder Roadshow - Live in Tokio

.
Of course they never played live in Tokio, so this is another album by the german polit-rock-band Schröder Roadshow.

With their anarchistic slogans and subversiv statements, their great live shows and their sarcastic humor the were a very important part of the german polit rock subculture.

Enjoy it!

Tracklisting:
1. Fette Ratten
2. So ein Tag so wunderschön wie heute
3. Die Verfolgung und Ermordung des Rockundroll, dargestellt durch die Musikertruppe des Hospizes zu Vicht unter Anleitung des Herrn von Schroeder, Teil 1
4. Die Verfolgung und Ermordung des Rockundroll, Teil 2
5. Asche im Wind
6. Wer sich nicht wehrt, lebt verkehrt
7. Barbara
8. Annemie
9. In toten Einbahnstraßen
10. Schrei dich frei

Schröder Roadshow - Live in Tokyo (192 kbps)

VA - Rote Lieder - 10. Festival des politischen Liedes (1980, Amiga)

From 1970 to 1990 the main focal point of the GDR political song movement was the annual "Festival des politischen Liedes". This became the biggest fstival of its ind in the world.

With enormous FDJ funding it was able to invite top interntinal acts like Mikis Theodorakis, Maria Farantouri, Mercedes Sosa, Dick Gaughan or Billy Bragg. The "Festival des politischen Liedes" was in essence the first "world music" fetival, long before the term was even coined.

This album features orignal recordings form the "10. Festival des politischen Liedes" (09-17. 2. 1980) in East Berlin, organized by the FDJ. 86 bands and solo artists from 29 countries participated in the festival.


Tracklist:
A1 –Maria Farandouri, Rundfunkchor Berlin - Algunas Bestias
A2 –Agit-Prop - Die Schwalbe, Der Tagesvogel
A3 –Franz Josef Degenhardt - Drumherumgerede
A4 –Singegruppe der SWAPO - Die Tage und Jahre vergessen wir nicht
A5 –Rotes Lachen - Liedchen für Genossen Iwanov
A6 –Singegruppe der Neuen Jugend - Kampuchea lebt wieder
A7 –Brigada Victor Jara - Saias
B1 –Los Parra - Marinero Der Rückkehr
B2 –The Sands Family - Blood Upon The Gras
B3 –Strube Band - Ikke Sidde Stille
B4 –Larissa Kandalowa - Meine Erde blühe
B5 –Grupo Victor Jara -  Für die Dichter Amerikas
B6 –Oktoberklub - Genossen, hoch die Gläser


VA - Rote Lieder - 10. Festival des politischen Liedes (1980, Amiga)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Barbara Dane - Trouble In Mind (1957)

Barbara Dane (born May 12, 1927) is an American folk, blues, and jazz singer.

"Bessie Smith in stereo," wrote jazz critic Leonard Feather in the late 1950s. Time said of Dane: "The voice is pure, rich ... rare as a 20 karat diamond" and quoted Louis Armstrong's exclamation upon hearing her at the Pasadena jazz festival: "Did you get that chick? She's a gasser!"

This is Barbara Dane's very first recording, a collector's item since its issue in 1957 when it was said of her: "A voice like this hasn't been heard in 30 years." Jazz critic Philip Elwood says, "an immense voice, remarkably well turned...As a gut-level blues singer she is without compare." Classic blues accompanied by jazz masters Don Ewell, piano, Bob Mielke, trombone, P.T. Stanton, trumpet, Darnell Howard, clarinet and Pops Foster, bass.



Tracklist:
01 - Good Mornin' Blues
02 - Trouble In Mind
03 - Mighty Rumbling Blues
04 - Special Delivery Blues
05 - Ain't Nobody Got the Blues Like Me
06 - Misery Blues
07 - See, See Rider
08 - Oh, Papa
09 - Prescription for the Blues
10 - Muddy Water

Barbara Dane - Trouble In Mind (1957)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Uli Hundt & Die Betablocker‎ – Schweinehundt

"Wir schlucken schon zu viel Scheiße / für unser Gefühl / drum Schluß mit der guten Miene / zum bösen Spiel / lieber zehn Chefs zu wenig als einer zu viel ( ... ) Leute, der Kampf geht weiter / mal blutig ernst, mal heiter ..." - that sounds like the german polit rock legend Ton Steine Scherben, with a little more ironic touch. 

It comes from the 1984 album by Uli Hundt & Die Betablocker, called "Schweinehundt". Uli Hundt was the singer of the Schroeder Roadshow and left the band in 1984. Together with the "Betablocker" - Rich Schwab, Manni Hollaender, Mathias Keul, Uli P. Lask and Eddie Liebert - he does some fine german polit rock.

The album was recorded at Zuckerfabrik Studio in Stuttgart and released on the Trikont label.

Tracklist:                                                   

A1	Schweinehundt (Sodomie in Germoney?)	5:36
A2	St. Pauli Blues	2:04
A3	Johnny Stilett	5:55
A4	Einfach abhauen	4:09
A5	Der Schlagbaum von Wendland	4:05
B1	Am Arsch	5:25
B2	Meine neue BMW	3:35
B3	Heute Nacht haben sie die Engel umgebracht	5:04
B4	Katastrophenschlümpfe	6:37

Uli Hundt & Die Betablocker ‎– Schweinehundt
(256 kbps, front cover included)

Kernbeisser – Brokdorfer Kantate (Eigelstein, 1979)

"Brokdorf Kantate" is an interesting avantgarde-polit rock concept album supporting the movment against the nuclear plant in Brokdorf. "Kernbeisser" was basically the same band as "HerrGottSax", known for just this album, a curious 1979 Polit-rock conceptual oddity which is largely the project of Büdi Siebert using lyrics by the German anarchist writer Peter Paul Zahl.                   

"Brokdorf Kantate" was recorded in 1979 at "Tonstudio Zuckerfabrik" in Stuttgart and released on the label Eigelstein Musicproduktion, which was a part of the West German alternative culture. The album was produced by Büdi Siebert, memeber of the "Poesie und Musik"-project. He is a German multi-instumentalist, composer and producer, he plays reeds, flutes, percussion, keyboards and guitar. He has been active since the early 1970s, was a producer for Eigelstein Musikproduktion, and from 1998 to 2003 he was teacher for film music at the Filmakademie in Ludwigsburg. Büdi Siebert is responsible for some of the most beautiful advanced German fusion that can be heard with his two records "Hmm" in 1983 and HerrGottSax's "Seibold Seiergesichts Sündige Saxofone" from 1981.

The folks of http://progressreview.blogspot.de wrote about this album:
"What I love the most about this record is that flows from beginning to end as a seamless whole, like an oratorio conceived all in one bout with the same feeling and tone throughout.  Really quite a masterpiece, so why so forgotten?"

Tracklist:

A1	Introduktion
A2	Diese Gesichter unter dem Helm
A3	Die Angst allein zu sein
A4	Sie sprechen die Sprache des Krieges
A5	Seht in ihr Gesicht
A6	Wer von uns wäre nicht gegen Gewalt
A7	Lied vom Bauern und der alten Dame
B1	Über den Marschen
B2	Hier Kkmpfen Frauen
B3	Weil wir die Zukunft wollen
B4	Empor steigen wir aus den Kellern
B5	Hierher gehört Leben - Alle Türen offen

Kernbeisser - Brokdorf Ka ntate (1979)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

VA - Rote Lieder 70-76 (AMIGA, 1977)

The Festival of Political Song took place in East Berlin from 1970 to 1990, held annually in February (except during the Tenth World Festival in the summer of 1973). It was one of the biggest music events in the DDR (GDR) and an "international institution" (Mikis Theodorakis, 1983).

The album "Rote Lieder `70 - `76" features original recordings from the first to the 6th "Festival of Political Song" in East Berlin and the Festival PLX 1973 (Political Songs of the 10^th World Festival, East Berlin). Artists from Ireland, Chile, Italy, Russia, India, France, Uruguay, South Africa, Greece, Cuba and the GDR represent the internatinal communist movement.

Tracklist:

A1: The winds are singing freedom - The Sands Family

A2: Comienza la vida nueva (Das neue Leben beginnt) - Quilapayun

A3: Alla mattina con la luna - Canzoniere Internationale und Duo Di Piadena

A4: Konzertierte Aktion - Dieter Süverkrüp

A5: Optimistisches Lied - Gruppe Schicht

A6: Baikal-Amur-Magistrale - Gruppe Lingua

A7: Lang lebe Bangladesh - Dr. Bhupen Hazarika

A8: Cancion del poder popular - Inti Illimani

B1: Kenen joukoissa seisot - Gruppe Agitprop

B2: Grandola, vila morena - José Afonso

B3: Les Communistes - Pia Colombo

B4: A desalambrar - Daniel Viglietti

B5: Afrika - Miriam Makeba

B6: Das Meer braust weiter - Muszty & Dobay

B7: Eviva Liberta - Gruppe Xasteria

B8: Guantanamera - Manguaré

B9: Wir sind überall - Oktoberklub

VA - Rote Lieder `70 - `76 (Amiga, 1977)
(320 kbps, front cover included)

Lora Logic - Pedigree Charm (1982)

London, England-based art student Susan Whitby originally adopted the pseudonym Lora Logic during her stint as saxophonist in X-Ray Spex. After leaving that group following their debut single, she soon re-emerged in 1978 with her own outfit, Essential Logic, who quickly recorded a couple of hard-edged EPs, Aerosol Burns and Wake Up. One album was recorded, Beat Rhythm News (1979), before Lora commenced on a series of solo recordings in 1981. Her quirky, occasionally arresting, vocals were in evidence on her sole album, Pedigree Charm, and she can be heard on a number of recordings by other artists including the Raincoats, Stranglers, Swell Maps and Red Crayola. Logic later joined the Hare Krishna cult, just like X-Ray Spex’s Poly Styrene before her. She returned to music in the mid-90s to play with the re-formed X-Ray Spex. She revived the Essential Logic moniker in the new millennium, teaming up with Gary Valentine (guitar), Dave Jones (bass) and Nick Pretzell (drums) to record a four-track mini-album.

After passing on "Beat Rhythm News", it was no surprise that nearly three years later, no American release of Pedigree Charm was in the offing. And, like its predecessor, it remains a great forgotten album of the era. A little more controlled than her debut, "Pedigree Charm" never disappoints. If your ears have been opened wide by "Beat Rhythm News", than denying yourself the many pleasures of this recording is senseless.

It is like a weird and funky disco version of Gang Of Four/Talking Heads new wave. Really cool, actually. And it sounds like it's been recorded yesterday.
A1 Brute Fury 4:00
A2 Horrible Party 3:50
A3 Stop Halt 5:00
A4 Wonderful Offer 4:30
A5 Martian Man 4:20
B1 Hiss And Shake 5:30
B2 Pedigree Charm 4:00
B3 Rat Allé 3:45
B4 Crystal Gazing 4:55

Lora Logic - Pedigree Charm (1982)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Malaria! - Revisited (Roir Sessions)

In the depths of January 1981, Bettina Köster and Gudrun Gut stepped from the smoldering ashes of their previous band Mania D shouldering the yoke of a feverish new project they called Malaria!. And with the release of the maxi EP "Malaria!" in April that year, the fever spread.

The band filled out to include Manon P. Suursma, NL ("O.U.T." an early Nina Hagen project), Christine Hahn, USA (Static, Glen Branca) and Susanne Kuhnke, BRD (Die Haut) absorbing their diverse backgrounds and personalities and grew.

A first European tour followed during which they appeared on a John Peel session for the BBC and later recorded the single "How do you like my new dog?" for the Belgium label Les Disques du Crepuscule.

Malaria toured the US next appearing with The Birthday Party, John Cale, and one unforgettable gig together with Nina Hagen in New York`s infamous Studio 54 night club. This tour was the first that promoted New German Music in the United States. Meanwhile Malaria recorded the 12" "New York Passage (Your turn to run)" for Cachalot records which went on to reach the independent top 10 in the U.S. as well as in Europe.

During another tour of Europe the band gave birth to "White Water" a 12" long player including "Kaltes Klares Wasser" which went on to become an Indi-classic.

In 1982 Malaria released to critical acclaim their first album, "Emotion". It was licensed to Nippon Columbia in Japan and the video "Geld/Money" (directed by B. Bühler and D. Hormel) won prizes for its innovative editing style. Tours of England, France, Benelux, Italy and Scandinavia followed.

In 1983 three new titles were released, produced by M. Hönig at the Hansa Studio in the shadow of the Berlin Wall. Another US tour brought with it the live edition "...Revisited"(ROIR), recorded live at Dancetaria, N.Y.C. and the 9:30 Club, Washington D.C. on May 27/28, 1983. These recordings essentially captures the soul to the group Malaria! My favorites was "Kaltes Klares Wasser" with the harmonica intro, that wasn't on the studio version,"You",and of course "Meeting Place". Bettina Köster's vocal style blends well with how the instruments are being played, is like a vision of extreme apocalyptic righteousness. Anyway, I enjoyed every track with my only regret that they did not include the cut "Geld" from the first album.

Malaria! - Revisited (Roir Sessions)
(192 kbps, front cover included)

Ofra Haza - Yemenite Songs (1984)

This was the break-through album for World Music and for Ofra Haza: when the Diva met the Diwan and the beat box bumped into 400-year-old Yemenite songs. Songs of joy, yearning and devotion all delivered with that voice of pure gold, taken away from us by her tragic early death.

Ofra Haza's death on February 23, 2000, at the age of 41 deprived the world of a lovely woman, a great vocalist, and a fearless cultural advocate. Her 1984 album of boldly reimagined traditional Yemenite songs, brought her international fame, and decades later, it retains its ability to delight and inspire. The set list consists of secular tunes plus examples of a festive devotional style called diwan, which is common to all Oriental Jewish communities and can be sung in Hebrew, Aramaic, or Arabic. Each group has specific traditions, but the Yemeni variant is especially remarkable for its poetry, much of which was written by rabbis as far back as the 17th century. Most diwan consist of three separate sections: the a cappella nashid (prelude), the shira (singing), during which celebrants bang on copper trays, empty gasoline cans, or whatever else is handy, and a postlude called the hallel, or song of praise. The unusual percussion accompaniment came into use following the destruction of the Temple, when Jews were forbidden to play conventional musical instruments, and also as a result of periodic oppression by Muslim fundamentalists.

In Haza's hands, these sinuous tunes are further spiced up by drum machines and synthesizers, pumping out the hypnotic dance beats that catapulted the album onto dancefloors throughout the world. It is important to remember that this recording long predated the flood of world/techno fusions that have since overwhelmed the marketplace. Transglobal Underground, Afro-Celt Sound System, and Scandinavian groups like Garmarna all owe Haza a debt of gratitude. But despite the historic electronic flourishes, it is the siren-like charm of the singer's voice that creates the most indelible impression.          

Tracklist:

Im Nin' Alu	5:16
Yachilvi Veyachali	3:24
A'Salk	4:42
Medley:	5:44
Tzur Menati
Se'i Yona
Sapri Tama
-
Galbi	4:14
Ode Le'Eli	3:29
Lefelach Harimon	5:06
Ayelet Chen	6:29

Ofra Haza - Yemenite Songs (1984)
(256 kbps, cover art included)  

Malaria! - Cheerio (1992)

Malaria! was an all-female experimental electronic band from Berlin formed in 1981 by Gudrun Gut & Bettina Köster following the dissolution of Mania D. They enlisted the help of Karin Luner, Eva Gossling (later in Die Krupps), & Beate Bartel (from the band Liaisons Dangereuses). At various times other members included Manon P. Duursma, Christine Hahn, & Susanne Kuhnke (a member of Die Haut). They are most often associated with Neue Deutsche Welle style post-punk.

Cheerio is a melodic meandering artistic adventure seemingly designed to occupy the actual air that you breath … ethereal yes, but not light and breezy, more of a barometrically humid atmosphere, awash in warmth, almost dripping with moisture, where the band are intent on not so much laying waste to your ears, but turning you into a wobbling sleepy-head, shoes filled with sand, causing you to shuffle along at best, though you’ll be more content if you find a chair and collapse into it.


Tracklist:

Keep Me in Love
Lay Lady Lay
Cheerio
Von Hinten
Doesn’t Matter
Elation
Prophet
North
Another Place
Cheerio Instrumental

Malaria! - Cheerio (1992)

(320 kbps, front cover included)

VA - Fall Of Man - Calypsos On The Human Condition 1935-1941

"The human condition is a popular component in Trinidad calypsos.  Philosophy, superstition, life, death, money, status, and male female relations all receive attention in their lyrics."
- from the back cover.

If your conception of calypso is rooted in the sanitized version of "The Banana Boat Song" that hit the charts back in the ’50s, then this album is bound to be a wake-up call. Calypso music, as in any music of the underclass — be it blues, rebetica or rai — originally dealt with gut-level human interactions.

Behind a seemingly happy-go-lucky beat, calypso kings such as Attila the Hun, Lord Beginner and King Radio told tales that their Trinidadian audience could relate to. There were man-woman stories about sex, love and cheating, mixed in with standard paeans to mother, unhappy riffs on politics, complaints about taxes and colorful gossip about murderers and thieves. In short, nothing that ain’t been talked about in other cultures and times.

What makes this all different, however, are the same things that make all forms of popular music vary from the highbrow arts: culture and its incestuous relationship with language. Slang and its cousin, patois, enrich the possibilities of commentary, but they only do it for people aware of code phrases and how they relate to a shared vision of everyday life.

"Fall Of Man" is a compilation of classic Trinidadian calypso, from the point at which it began to achieve international popularity. Indeed, most of these 25 tracks were actually recorded in New York City, although a few actually were cut in Trinidad. Atilla the Hun (aka Raymond Quevedo) is featured especially heavily, performing or co-performing on ten selections; other notable figures including Neville Marcano (aka the Tiger) and the Lion. The sound, remastered for compact disc, is very good considering the age of the source material.


Tracklist:

1 –The Tiger  Sadu Man 3:02
2 –Lord Beginner, Atilla The Hun Young Girl's Touch 3:03
3 –Atilla The Hun Women Will Rule The World 2:58
4 –Atilla The Hun Vagaries Of Women 3:17
5 –King Radio Ribs 3:01
6 –Lord Beginner, Atilla The Hun Women Are Good And Women Are Bad 2:57
7 –The Lion Fall Of Man 2:53

8 –King Radio, The Lion (2), The Tiger Monkey 2:51
9 –King Radio Radio Fifty Wives 3:05
10 –King Radio Warning The Children Towards Mother 2:49
11 –The Executor Hold Up Black Bird Hold Up 2:52
12 –Atilla The Hun Friends 2:34
13 –Atilla The Hun Martiniquen 2:39
14 –The Lion , Atilla The Hun I Will String Along With You 2:59
15 –The Caresser Exploring 2:51
16 –The Growler Calypso Behind The Wall 2:53
17 –Atilla The Hun Not Me With Matrimony 3:07
18 –The Growler Only Foreigners 2:52
19 –The Lion  Malicious Neighbors 2:29
20 –Atilla The Hun Woman Is Not The Weaker Sex 2:53
21 –The Lion  Death 2:52
22 –The Growler Don't Hide Him Behind The Door 2:41
23 –Atilla The Hun If I Won A Sweepstake 3:03
24 –Mighty Destroyer Mother's Love 3:05
25 –King Radio Man Smart, Woman Smarter 3:03

VA - Fall Of Man - Calypsos On The Human Condition 1935-1941

(320 kbps, front cover included)

Karsten Troyke - Grüne Blätter

Karsten Troyke (born Karsten Bertolt Sellhorn on 14 August 1960 in Berlin) is a German singer of Jewish songs, as well as an actor and speaker.

Troyke was born to a non-Jewish mother and a Jewish father. He worked in various jobs: as a gardener and with cognitively challenged children. He studied singing (with Leonore Gendries) as well as drama and speaking, performing on stage since 1982.

In 1990 he gave up work to dedicate himself full-time to musical performance and theater. Troyke participated in radio plays, worked as a voice actor (dubbing), and appeared in various stage plays.
As a singer, his album Yiddish Anders (1992) received the praise of German record critics. Jidische vergessene Lieder (1997) contained previously unpublished songs of Sara Bialas Tenenberg, who became his mentor for the Yiddish language.

In his performances, Troyke worked with Bettina Wegner, Suzanna and the Trio Scho. His interpretations of the songs of Georg Kreisler received mention in the writer-musician's 2005 biography. In 2006, two documentaries, Yiddish Soul and Concert Yiddish Soul, featured Troyke, Shura Lipovsky, Myriam Fuks, and The KlezRoym.


Troyke holds workshops on interpretating Yiddish songs and teaches rare songs from his collection. He was a guest professor at the Jewish Music Institute of School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London, at Carleton College Northfield (Minnesota) and at the summer school of Centre Medem, Paris.


Tracklist:

1	Furn Furt Men		2:05
2	Dus Kelbl		2:18
3	Unter Grattes		3:35
4	Grine Bletter		4:02
5	Shir Hanoded		3:46
6	Yiddisher Tango		4:15
7	Di Kurt		3:28
8	Hora Für Franka		4:42
9	La Casuta Dintre Gârle		3:03
10	Di Mesinke Oysgegebn		2:36
11	Gehat Hob Ich A Heym		3:53
12	Separacíon		2:07
13	I'm Crazy Far She		3:13
14	Abi Gesint		3:38
15	Di Necht Fîn Amul		2:08
16	A Retenish		3:57

Karsten Troyke - Grüne Blätter

(320 kbps, front cover included)

Malaria! - Emotion (1982, vinyl rip)

Malaria was a great postwave band from berlin, founded by five German women, making music together from 1981-1983.

"In the depths of January 1981, BETTINA KOESTER and GUDRUN GUT stepped from the smoldering ashes of their previous band MANIA D shouldering the yoke of a feverish new project they called MALARIA!. And with the release of the maxi EP "Malaria!" in April that year, the fever spread. The band filled out to include MANON P. DUURSMA, NL ("O.U.T." an early Nina Hagen project), CHRISTINE HAHN, USA (Static, Glen Branca) and SUSANNE KUHNKE, BRD (Die Haut) absorbing their diverse backgrounds and personalities and grew. A first European tour followed during which they appeared on a John Peel session for the BBC and later recorded the single "How do you like my new dog?" for the Belgium label Les Disques du Crepuscule. Malaria toured the US next appearing with The Birthday Party, John Cale, and one unforgettable gig together with Nina Hagen in New York's infamous Studio 54 night club. This tour was the first that promoted New German Music in the United States. Meanwhile Malaria recorded the 12" "New York Passage (Your turn to run)" for Cachalot records which went on to reach the independent top 10 in the U.S. as well as in Europe. During another tour of Europe the band gave birth to "White Water" a 12" long player including "Kaltes Klares Wasser" which went on to become an Indi-classic. In 1982 Malaria released to critical acclaim their first album, "Emotion". It was licensed to Nippon Columbia in Japan and the video "Geld/Money" (directed by B.Buehler and D.Hormel) won prizes for its innovative editing style. Tours of England, France, Benelux, Italy and Scandinavia followed." (from: http://www.myspace.com/malariaberlin)


Tracklisting:

A1. Geld - Money (4:00)
A2. Leidenschaft - Passion (3:55)
A3. Eifersucht - Jealousy (3:09)
A4. Einsam - Lonesome (2:55)
A5. Macht - Power (3:30)

B1. Tod - Death (3:55)
B2. Mensch (2:40)
B3. Slave (3:33)
B4. Traum - Dream (3:55)
B5. Gewissen (3:10)

Malaria - Emotion (1982)
(192 kbps, cover art included)

John Prine - Sweet Revenge (1973)

John Prine's third album is louder and more jaded than his first efforts, a set of rowdy country-rockers that tear along at a reckless speed. Sympathy takes a back seat to cynicism here, and while that strips the record of some depth, Prine's irreverence is consistently thrilling, making this one of his best. 

It's not as uniformly brilliant as the debut, but it did steer his music in a new direction -- where that record is often hallmarked for its rich sensitivity, "Sweet Revenge" established cynicism as Prine's dominant voice once and for all. Although he could still crank out a great ballad when he felt like it, from now on his records largely followed a more conventional rock & roll muse, a choice that eventually gained him more mainstream attention. "Please Don't Bury Me," "Christmas in Prison," "Blue Umbrella," and "A Good Time" are a few of the jewels on this one.

The album cover is a far cry from the somewhat naive portraits of the singer on his first two LPs: a bearded, denim-clad Prine - wearing sunglasses and pointy-toed cowboy boots, a cigarette jutting from his lips - sprawls across the leather front seats of a 1959 Porsche convertible, the "first toy" the singer purchased with his record company money.

Tracklist:

Sweet Revenge 2:58

Please Don't Bury Me 2:47

Christmas In Prison 3:09

Dear Abby 4:10

Blue Umbrella 3:01

Often Is A Word I Seldom Use

Onomatopoeia 2:18

Grandpa Was A Carpenter 2:11

The Accident (Things Could Be Worse) 3:22

Mexican Home 4:39

A  Good Time 3:30

Nine Pound Hammer 3:07

John Prine - Sweet Revenge (1973)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Joni Mitchell - Philadelphia Folk Festival 1968 (Bootleg)

On August 1968 Joni Mitchell played at the Philadelphia Folk Festival at Old Pool Farm, Upper Salford Township.

"PHILADELPHIA - Folk artists Odetta, Phil Ochs, Oscar Brand, Bonnie Dobson, Doc Watson, Joni Mitchell, the Beers Family, Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys will appear with more than 25 other acts at the seventh annual Philadelphia Folk Festival, Aug. 23 to 25.

The festival is held out-of-doors at Old Pool Farm, Upper Salford Township, Montgomery County, PA. There major concerts, one each evening, highlight the festival which also includes daytime workshops, seminars, contests, dance sessions and a children's concert.

The festival, staged annually by the Philadelphia Folksong Society, also lists such attractions as Henry Crowdog, and American Indian dancer; Son House, one of the last of the authentic Mississippi Delta singers; Irish balladeer Joe Heaney; Norman Kennedy, a Scots balladeer and one of the weavers in colonial Williamsburg; Hedge and Donna, an inter-racial singing duet; the Young Adult Choir of the First Baptist Church in Darby, PA; and the Young Tradition, a mod English group singing updated traditional music." - from Camden Courier-Post, July 20, 1968    

Tracklist:

01. That Song About The Midway
02. Cactus Tree
03. Chelsea Morning
04. Both Sides Now
05. Circle Game / Little Green

Joni Mitchell - Philadelphia Folk Festival 1968 (Bootleg)
(320 kbps, front cover included)