The Best Of Chess Rock´n´Roll (1989)

"The Best of Chess Rock & Roll" gives a good portrait of the seminal record label's massive contributions to rock & roll.

Not only are landmarks like Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" and Bo Diddley's "Bo Diddley" covered, but cult favorites like the Moonglows and the Students are also featured. With "Johnny B. Goode," "Maybelline," "Who Do You Love," "Ain't Got No Home," "Rocket 88," and "Susie Q", it is one of the most essential single-disc rock collections ever assembled.
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The Best Of Chess Rock´n´Roll (1989)

(192 kbps, full cover art included)

Greetings!

We will be back in some days.

Greetings!

RIP Pete Seeger

Legendary folk singer, activist and icon to those that believe and fight for peace, justice, and good music, Pete Seeger passed away today at the age of 94. It's difficult to sum up a career that encompassed the better part of a century, guided some of the greatest songwriters of the 60s and 70s, and, until his death, continued to join in marches and other non-violent resistance working toward the utopian world that he dreamed of. Seeger's contributions to folk music include the seminal "Turn, Turn, Turn" and "Where Have all the Flowers Gone?" But beyond on that, it was through Seeger's voice and banjo that he kept alive centuries of folk. Seeger's father was an ethnomusicologist and Seeger was a living embodiment of the commitment to the music and the people of the United States. Because, it's through music that our despair, heartbreak, joy, resistance, languished cries, and cries of freedom are given voice and heard.

 

Seeger's path wasn't easy, though. In the 1960s, he was being persecuted by the House Un-American Activities for his politics. But, Seeger carried on, performing for communities and at schools.

 

The world just got one step further away from utopia today. Rest in peace, Pete.

 

(Thanks to http://welistenforyou.blogspot.de/ for these wonderful words.)


LaserGuidedWhiteHouse wrote in the comment section:

"Off topic, bit it's already later than yesterday (it always is)....I wanted to say here some kind of thank you to Peter Seeger, who passed away yesterday in New York. He was a great man, and I'll remember him always as a most uncommon sort of person, a person who believed in the power of every single person to change the world, to make it a better place, a more humane place where every man, woman, and child would have enough. A single voice singing some meaningful and passionate words can become 20 voices, a thousand voices, 100 million voices, and he was one of the very first people to show that to everybody in this age of mass-communication. Sometimes just knowing that a person will bravely stand up to speak for you, when you don't think you have a voice, can really change your mind. You know you're not alone, that there are others; and you realize as your voices are borne aloft that no matter how much someone may be trying to squash you from above, you have the power to fight back, and win. It's just as much your world as theirs, and kindness and caring and the union of humanity are what it's all about in the end, as long as everyone speaks up, as long as everyone sings out. So let us always remember his message, especially in this new age of what appears to be some sort of quietly creeping global crypto-fascism. Lift your voices. Rest in Peace Pete."

VA - The Beat Generation And The Angry Young Men (1984)

A fine Mod compilation, originally released in 1984 on Eddie Piller´s "Well Suspect" label.

From the liner notes:

"What you are now holding is the net result of five weeks hard slog in a dingy Soho basement. A compilation of some 15 demos and unreleased singles, which if it wasn't for a handful of dedicated, young believers, would have remained buried amongst piles of nameless studio out-takes for time immemorial. Names like The Merton Parkas, Purple Hearts and Long Tall Shorty will instantly bring back memories of that hot and sweaty summer of '79, when mod had not yet received its death sentence from the music press and you could still catch any of a dozen young mod bands live in a given week."

Tracklist:

01. Long Tall Shorty - That's What I Want
02. Small Hours - Underground
03. Purple Hearts - I'll Make You Mine
04. Les Elite - Frustration
05. Long Tall Shorty - I Do
06. Merton Parkas - Dangerous Man
07. Les Elite - Get A Job
08. Directions - Weekend Dancers
09. Purple Hearts - Concrete Mixer
10. Les Elite - Career Girl
11. Long Tall Shorty - All By Myself
12. Directions - It May Be Too Late
13. Merton Parkas - You Say You Will
14. Small Hours - The Kid
15. Purple Hearts - Hazy Darkness...

VA - The Beat Generation And The Angry Young Men (1984)
(192 kbps, cover art inlcuded)

Chad Mitchell Trio - Reflecting (1964)

The first Chad Mitchell Trio release of 1964 was self-consciously political and somewhat downbeat. The album opens with "Barry's Boys," a now-dated political piece that was controversial when it was released. This piece, along with a cute throwaway song by Shel Silverstein, and the wonderful version of Tom Paxton's "What Did You Learn in School Today" are the only humorous pieces on the album.

The rest of "Reflections" is highly varied and includes a sweet Caribbean religious song, an Elizabethan ballad, and a pair of songs from the Second World War.

 

The highlight of the album, and a clue regarding why the rest of the release might have a somewhat somber mood, is the closing medley of "In the Summer of His Years" and "Rally 'Round the Flag."

 

This album was recorded just after the assassination of President Kennedy, and the combination of the song commemorating his life and death with one written just after the assassination of President Lincoln was an inspired decision. It is no wonder that several songs on this album are expressions of grief, as the Chad Mitchell Trio reflected their times in song, and those times had just been marred by tragedy.

 

Modern listeners experiencing this album for the first time will find much to respect in the expressive vocals and good song selections throughout the album, but may find that other albums by the group are more enjoyable. Note: This was the group's last release as the Chad Mitchell Trio. Subsequent releases were under the name the Mitchell Trio.              

  

Chad Mitchell Trio - Reflecting (1964)
(256 kbps, cover art included)

Lou Reed - Rest In Peace!

“When you think the night has seen your mind
That inside your twisted and unkind
Let me stand to show that you are blind.
Please put down you hands cause I see you.
I'll be you mirror.” 

“Rock & roll is so great, people should start dying for it. You don't understand. The music gave you back your beat so you could dream...The people just have to die for the music. People are dying for everything else, so why not for music? Die for it. Isn't it pretty? Wouldn't you die for something pretty? ” 

"Nur die Musik verhindert, daß wir wahnsinnig werden. Du solltest dir zwei Radios anschaffen. Falls eines kaputtgeht."

(L. Reed)


Rest in peace!

Erich Wolfgang Korngold - Between Two Worlds (Entartete Musik)

"Between Two Worlds" is another album with music suppressed by the third reich. It is part of the invaluable "Entartete Musik" series that focused on composers and music banned by the Nazis. The title to this album comes from the music Korngold wrote for a film of the same name but it also poignantly refers to Korngold who had to seek exile in the United States because he was Jewish. A mixture of film work and concert repertoire make for a fascinating album.

The term "Entartete Musik" refers to a large exhibition mounted by the third reich propaganda ministry against "degenerate" art and music.

Tracklist:

01. The World at War - the Next World
02. The Blitz in London
03. The Pianist at the Piano
04. The Pianist at the Piano
05. Fear - Entrance of the Examiner
06. The Minister
07. The Nazi-collaborator

08. The Young Actress and Her Boyfriend

09. The Journalists Mother

10. The Fate of the Pianist and His Wife

11. The Sound of Breaking Glass

12. The Second Sound of Breaking Glass

13. The Pianist's Wife Begs to be Reunited with Him

14. Return to the London Flat

15. Theme and Variations, op.42

Erich Wolfgang Korngold - Between Two Worlds

(192 kbps, front cover included)

VA - Tercer Festival de Oposición (1979)

The connection between music and politics, particularly political expression in music, has been seen in many cultures. This album features recordigs from the "Tercer Festival de Oposicion", organized in 1979 by the Mexican communist party and with guests from Angola, Cuba, Nicaagua, El Salvador and Guatemala.

Óscar Chávez (born 1935) is a Mexican singer, songwriter and actor. He was the main exponent of the Nueva Trova in Mexico in the sixties and seventies. He is also noted for his strong social commitment as well as for the left wing ideas expressed in his lyrics. His impressive discography spans four decades.

María Amparo Ochoa Castaños, (1946-1994) better known as Amparo Ochoa, was a Mexican singer-songwriter. She was one of several other Mexican artists who emerged in the 1960s belonging to a genre known as "Nueva canción". Ochoa was born in 1946 in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. Before becoming involved in music, Ochoa served as an elementary school teacher. She became heavily involved in songwriting beginning in 1962, and her career took off when she won a contest in her native state with the song "Hermosísimo Lucero". In 1969, she moved to Mexico City to attend a music school. Shortly after, she released her first album "De la mano del viento".
Ochoa is best known for writing songs with strong messages against social injustice as well songs about Mexican history and culture. Most of her lyrics focus on poverty, indigenous rights, and women's rights.

Besides the Latin American artists, this album contains also a version of the "Lied der Moorsoldaten", sung in German language by Hermann and Inge. Does anybody know more about these artists?


Tracklist:
01. Corrido a Nicaragua – Oscar Chávez
02. Cueca larga – Sanampay
03. La banda – Chava Flores
04. Palma sola – Eva de Marczyc
05. Irán Elías Criserio – Grupo Taoné
06. Casitas de cartón – Los Guaraguao
07. Cipriano Hernández Martínez – Gabino Palomares
08. Los angelitos – Amparo Ochoa
09. Los soldados de la ciénaga – Herman e Inge

VA - Tercer Festival de Oposición (1979)
(256 kbps, front & back cover included)

Juan Capra - Cile canta e lotta 1 (1973)

Juan Capra was a Chilean painter, singer and poet. He was active mainly in the 60s and 70s and

recorded in 1967 the album "Los chilenos - Juan Capra" with Quilapayún. Their album "Por Vietnam" featured a song by Juan Capra that mourns the death of Che Guevara.

His home was a sort of informal academy of singing, arts and crafts, and became one of the founding places for the Nueva Cancion Chilena. Here the famous "Peña de los Parra" was established,  a platform for songwriters as Isabel, Angel and Violeta Parra, Patricio Manns, Rolando Alarcón, Victor Jara, Payo Grondona, Patricio Castillo, Paco Ibáñez or Atahualpa Yupanqui.
Juan Capra died in 1996, at the age of 58, in poverty.

This album contains recordings made ​​by John Capra in Italy and was published as the first volume devoted to the Chilean resistance.


Tracklist:
Side 1:
1. Dicen que no caben- Resfaloza
2. Blanca Flor y Filumena- Romance
3. Dicen que los monos - Polka
4. Versos por padecimiento - Canto a lo divino
5. El hundimiento del Transporte Angamos- Vals
6. San Pedro se puso guapo - Cueca
7. Desen las manos - Pericona

Side 2:
1. Bajando de Los Andes - Resfaloza
2. Viva Balmaceda - Cueca
3. Tengo una pena - Vals
4. Sirilla - Sirilla (Según el favor del viento- Por qué los pobres no tienen)
5. Contrapunto entre el águila américana y el cóndor chileno
6. Yo me vuelvo para Chile - Sirilla

Juan Capra - Cile canta e lotta 1 (1973)
(192 kbps, cover art included)

Violeta Parra - Las Últimas Composiciones (1966)

Daughter of a music teacher and a singer/guitarist, Violeta Parra was influenced by her parents since being a child. At the age of nine, the young girl started singing and playing guitar, soon composing traditional Chilean music. After getting married to Luis Cereceda in 1952, the singer/songwriter began touring the country, assimilating the natural charm of her native land, which mostly inspired her work. In 1954, Violeta Parra moved to Europe, deciding to settle down in France, where the artist started recording her poetic songs.

When returning to Chile in 1958, Violeta Parra got involved in painting and sculpture, extending her artistic skills even more. In 1961, the singer returned to Europe, this time singing along with her daughter Isabel Parra and her son Angel Parra being responsible for keeping their mother's legacy alive.   

 

She was involved in the progressive movement and the Communist Party of Chile. She revived the Peña (now known as La Peña de Los Parra), a community center for the arts and for political activism. Some think she established the first 'peña' but according to the records of the Royal Academy of Spanish Language, places such as these had been called that since 1936.

Violeta Parra was a member of the prolific Parra family. Among her brothers were the notable modern poet, better known as the "anti-poet", Nicanor Parra and fellow folklorist Roberto Parra. Her son, Ángel Parra, and her daughter, Isabel Parra, are also important figures in the development of the Nueva Canción Chilena. Their children have also mostly maintained the family's artistic traditions.

In 1967 Violeta Parra committed suicide by a gunshot to her head. She had previously been romantically involved with Swiss flautist Gilbert Favre.

 

Violeta Parra was an amazing woman who nearly single-handedly launched a revolution in music, art and culture in Chile... and went on to inspire a political revolution as well. She set the basis for "Chilean' New Song", the "Nueva canción chilena", a renewal and a reinvention of Chilean folk music which would absorb and extend its influence far beyond Chile.

 

"Las Ultimas Composiciones" is an excellent collection of 14 songs ranging from sweet lyricism to driving resistance. It is the last recording issued in her lifetime and many of the songs include accompaniment by Alberto Zapican and Violeta's children, Isabel and Angel Parra. The most renowned song of this album, Gracias a la Vida (Thanks to Life), was popularized throughout Latin America by Mercedes Sosa and later in the US by Joan Baez. It remains one of the most covered Latin American songs in history.

 

"Gracias a la vida" was written and recorded following Parra's separation with her long-time partner and shortly before she took her own life. Parra's lyricism is ambiguous; at face value, Parra's lyricism may be read as a romantic celebration of life and individual experience, however the circumstances surrounding the song suggest that Parra also intended the song as a sort of suicide note, thanking life for all it has given her. It may even be read as sarcastic or ironic, pointing out that a life full of good health, opportunity and worldly experience may not offer any consolation to grief and the contradictory nature of the human condition.

     

Tracklist:

1.Gracias a la vida (Violeta Parra)
2.El «albertío» (Violeta Parra)
3.Cantores que reflexionan (Violeta Parra)
4.Pupila de águila (Violeta Parra) with Alberto Zapicán
5.Run-Run se fue pa’l norte (Violeta Parra)
6.Maldigo del alto cielo (Violeta Parra) with Alberto Zapicán
7.La cueca de los poetas (Nicanor Parra - Violeta Parra) with Alberto Zapicán
8.Mazúrquica modérnica (Violeta Parra)
9.Volver a los diecisiete (Violeta Parra)
10.Rin del angelito (Violeta Parra)
11.Una copla me ha cantado (Violeta Parra) with Alberto Zapicán
12.El guillatún (Violeta Parra)
13.Pastelero, a tus pasteles (Violeta Parra)
14.De cuerpo entero (Violeta Parra)

Violeta Parra - Las Ultimas Composiciones (1966)
(192 kbps, front cover included)

Victor Jara ‎– Canto Por Travesura - Die Betschwester und andere frivole Gesänge (Pläne,1980)

"Canto Por Travesura" was originally prepared to release  in Chile in September 1973. The military coup stopped the release and only a few copies of the original release reached the audience. In 1976 and 1978 several labels published this album in Spain and Italy.

The german Pläne label published a re-release as "Betschwestern und andere frivole Gesänge" in the year 1980, even translating the song titels.

The album is a collection of southern Chilean folk songs with a consistent thematic style popular in Chilean folklore - the mocking of social norms with mischievous jokes, riddles and dark humor.
True to the title ("travesura" translates roughly as "prank") and the cover drawing of a cat pulling up the curtain on an old hag in déshabillé, "Canto Por Travesura" is largely comprised of light material from Victor Jara. Every selection but one is a traditional song given a new arrangement by Jara. Songs like "La Palmatoria," "Iba Yo Para una Fiesta," and "La Diuca" aren't powerhouses, but they have the simple grace that pervades all of Jara's recordings.     

Tracklist:

A1 Brindis / Trinkspruch
A2 La Palmatoria / Der Kerzenhalter
A3 Vengan A Mi Casamiento / Kommt Zu Meiner Hochzeit
A4 La Fonda / Die Kneipe
A5 La Edad De La Mujer / Das Alter Der Frau
A6 La Cafetera / Die Kaffeekanne

B1 La Diuca / Das Vögelchen                                                                 
B2 Iba Yo Para Una Fiesta / Ich Ging Zu Einem Fest
B3 Por Un Pito Ruin / Egen Einer Schäbigen Trillerpfeife
B4 La Beata / Die Betschwester
B5 Adivinanzas / Rätsel
B6 El Chincolito / Der Kleine Spatz

Victor Jara - Canto Por Travesura - Die Betschwestern und andere frivole Gesänge (Pläne) (192 kbps, cover art included)

Victor Jara - Canciones Póstumas - Chile Septiembre 1973 (1975)

The brief "Canciones Postumas" collection gathers six late songs of Victor Jara, whose tragic death in 1973, following the overthrow of Salvador Allende's government in Chile, robbed the world of a remarkable and humane voice for freedom.

One of Jara's most striking songs, "Manisfesto," recorded just days before his death, and obviously intended to be a summing up of his work, is included here, along with homages to the singer by M.A. Cherubito and J.A. Labordeta.

Tracklist: A1 Victor Jara – Manifiesto A2 Victor Jara – Caicaivilú A3 Victor Jara – Cuando Voy Al Trabajo A4 Eulogio Dávalos And Miguel Angel Cherubito – Homenaje A Víctor Jara B1 Victor Jara – Aquí Me Quedo B2 Victor Jara – Doncella Encantada B3 Victor Jara – Pimiento B4 José Antonio Labordeta – Homenaje A Víctor Jara Victor Jara - Canciones Postumas - Chile Septiembre 1973 (1975) (192 kbps, front cover included)

La Palabra Más Nuestra

A month ago Carlos began a new blog dedicated to folk, singer-song writers and musical poetry from Spain, the blog is called: "La Palabra Más Nuestra".

Carlos writes:
"In that blog i will upload my podcast programs which can be heared or downloaded in mp3 from the blog, as well as the original albums from i took the music. In the programs i'm introducing the songs with the proper information, and in the blog describing the program content."

Carlos first postings refer to music form the Spanish Civil War - very well done and informative postings. So we invite you to check out this very interesting blog: http://lapalabramasnuestra.blogspot.de/

Best wishes to Carlos!

Meditations - Reggae Crazy - Anthology 1971 - 1979

Even by Jamaican standards, the Meditations' early career is convoluted, and both Ansel Cridland and Danny Clarke's careers were already well underway before the pair linked up.

The Meditations were one of the earliest vocal trios to follow reggae's trend towards a darker, "dreader" sound in the early '70s; although their first album was released in 1977, they had recorded numerous singles up to that point, and some of the best of those songs are compiled on this album (along with some tracks recorded later). The piercing falsetto singing on "Must Be a First" is reminiscent of the Congos at their best (perhaps owing in part to the distinctive sound of Lee Perry's Black Ark studio, where this song was recorded), and there's an echo of the Mighty Diamonds in the sophisticated harmonies on "Get Left." But "Woman Piabba" draws on calypso traditions to a degree unusual in reggae, while "Play I" employs a drum arrangement (courtesy of Sly Dunbar) that prefigures some of the innovations that would later be heard in U.K. reggae. The album's title track, a tiresome one-chord vamp, is the only clunker on this album. Everything else is strictly killer

 "Reggae Crazy" collects 11 tracks form the albums "Wake Up", "Guidance" and "Message From The Meditations" plus 2 tracks previously unreleased and 2 tracks available on single only.

The Meditations - Reggae Crazy - Anthology 1971 - 1979
(192 kbps, small front cover included)

High Tone - Live

High Tone is a dub band from Lyon, France. Formed in 1997, the band came with an emergence of the French dub music Scene, with bands like Brain Damage Sound System, Kaly Live Dub, Le Peuple de l'Herbe, Improvisators Dub or Meï Teï Shô.

Formed by five members, High Tone feeds their music with various influences, such as Drum'n'bass, Ambient, Trance, Vintage Dub with artists like King Tubby or Lee "Scratch" Perry. After a few self produced vinyl EPs, the band signed at the label "Jarring Effects". High Tone members are now considered major actors in the French dub scene, and are known for numerous collaborations with other artists.

Tracks:
1. The Orientalist
2. Mother Dubber
3. 112 Dub
4. Hard Working
5. Bad Weather
6. Short Visit
7. Enter The Dragon
8. Onew Dub
9. Dehli-Katmandou
10. Taniotoshi
11. Echo-Logik


High Tone - Live (160 kbps, front cover included)

Viktor Ullmann - Der Kaiser von Atlantis

Ullmann's opera has got to be one of the most terrifying and moving works in the history of the form. It was composed in 1943 in the Theresienstadt concentration camp, though never performed there. That the music survived at all is something of a miracle, as Ullmann himself was later taken to Auschwitz and gassed. The story is an allegory: the emperor (a thinly disguised parody of Hitler) decides to wage total war, and so offends Death by seeming to take over his job that Death goes on strike, and people everywhere stop dying. Death only agrees to go back to work when the emperor permits himself to be the first victim. Although only about three quarters of an hour long, the music makes a terrific impact, and this gutsy performance pulls noRead more punches. - David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

"I have written quite a lot of new music in Theresienstadt: it must be underlined … that we do not merely sit on the banks of the waters of Babylon, and that our endeavour with respect for arts was commensurate with our will to live." (Viktor Ullmann)

Viktor Ullmann was born in Teschen (Cieszyn) on 1 January 1898. He moved with his mother to Vienna in 1909 where he received his first lessons in music theory with Josef Polnauer in 1914. In 1916, he was called up to perform his military service. After the end of the war, he initially enrolled to study law at the University of Vienna, but also participated in Arnold Schoenberg’s composition seminars in Mödling from October 1918. He additionally received further piano tuition from Eduard Steuermann. Following Schoenberg’s recommendation, he was admitted into the foundation committee of the "Verein für musikalische Privataufführungen” [Society for Private Musical Performance] on 6 December 1918, but relocated to Prague a year later. Following further tuition in composition with Heinrich Jalowetz, he took over Anton Webern’s position as choir director and répétiteur at the New German Theatre in 1920 where, two years later, he was promoted to the position of Kapellmeister by Alexander von Zemlinsky. In 1927, Ullmann became head of opera for one season in Aussig and subsequently undertook an engagement as Kapellmeister and composer of incidental music from 1929 to 1931 at the Schauspielhaus in Zurich. Influenced by Rudolf Steiner’s anthroposophy, Ullmann later managed an anthroposophic bookshop for two years in Stuttgart (1931/32) before returning to Prague as a freelance musician, teacher, composer and journalist. He attended Alois Hába’s courses in quartertone composition between 1935 and 1937. Following the establishment of the “German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia” in 1939, all public performances of composers of Jewish origin were prohibited. Ullmann was incarcerated in the concentration camp Theresienstadt on 8 September 1942 where he undertook the organisation of the so-called "Freizeitgestaltung" [leisure time administration] together with Hans Krása, Gideon Klein and Rafael Schächter. On 16 October 1944, Ullmann was deported to Auschwitz where he was killed only a few days later.

The rediscovery of Ullmann’s works has a direct connection with the success story of the Kaiser von Atlantis. Ullmann composed this one-act opera in 1943/44 against the background of his impressions of the Theresienstadt ghetto. The libretto was written by one of his fellow inmates Peter Kien: as a result of war and mass slaughter, death refuses to carry out its services. The dictator who has thereby lost his greatest weapon – deterrence – loses all his powers. Death only regains its real purpose at the end and becomes the comforter of humans. Unlike the melodrama Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornet Christoph Rilke for narrator and piano or orchestra based on a text by Rilke (1944), the opera was not performed in Theresienstadt and the posthumous première did not take place until 1975 in Amsterdam.

Ullmann did however achieve consummate success during his lifetime with his Schoenberg Variations: the Variationen und Doppelfuge über ein Thema von Arnold Schönberg have survived in two versions for piano (1929 and 1933/34) in addition to versions for string quartet (1939) and orchestra (1934) and among Ullmann’s entire output display the greatest affinity to the Second Viennese School. A large proportion of Ullmann’s compositions from the 1920s and 1930s must be considered as having been lost, but surviving works include the Concerto for piano and orchestra (1939) and the seven Piano Sonatas, of which Nos. 5 and 7 also exist as a reconstructed symphony. The broad spectrum of Ullmann’s compositional development can be observed in the Lieder for voice and piano: from Wendla im Garten based on Wedekind’s “Frühlings Erwachen” (1918/1943) and the Liederbuch des Hafis based on Bethge (1940) to the Hölderlin Lieder composed in Theresienstadt, Late Romantic influences can be discerned alongside echoes of Zemlinsky’s tonal language and the Neue Sachlichkeit [New Objectivity] of Kurt Weill.

Ullmann was awarded the Hertzka Prize for his compositions on two occasions: 1934 for the orchestral version of the Schoenberg Variations and 1936 for the opera Der Sturz des Antichrist composed a year previously on a libretto by Albert Steffens.
Tracks:
 

1. Der Kaiser von Atlantis by Viktor Ullmann

Performer: Iris Vermillion (Mezzo Soprano), Herbert Lippert (Tenor), Walter Berry (Bass Baritone),
Christiane Oelze (Soprano), Martin Petzold (Tenor), Franz Mazura (Baritone),
Michael Kraus (Baritone)
Conductor: Lothar Zagrosek
Orchestra/Ensemble: Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1943; Theresienstadt, Czec Date of Recording: 02/1993
Venue: Paul-Gerhardt Kirche, Leipzig
Length: 57 Minutes 36 Secs.
Language: German

2. Hölderlin Lieder: Abendphantasie by Viktor Ullmann

Performer: Iris Vermillion (Mezzo Soprano), Jonathan Alder (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1943; Theresienstadt, Czec Date of Recording: 02/1993
Venue: Paul-Gerhardt Kirche, Leipzig
Length: 6 Minutes 14 Secs.
Language: German

3. Hölderlin Lieder: Der Frühling by Viktor Ullmann

Performer: Iris Vermillion (Mezzo Soprano), Jonathan Alder (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1943; Theresienstadt, Czec Date of Recording: 02/1993
Venue: Paul-Gerhardt Kirche, Leipzig
Length: 2 Minutes 15 Secs.
Language: German

4. Hölderlin Lieder: Wo bist du by Viktor Ullmann

Performer: Iris Vermillion (Mezzo Soprano), Jonathan Alder (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1943; Theresienstadt, Czec Date of Recording: 02/1993
Venue: Paul-Gerhardt Kirche, Leipzig
Length: 1 Minutes 50 Secs.
Language: German

Viktor Ullmann - Der Kaiser von Atlantis
(182 kbps, front cover included)

Blind Willie McTell - Library Of Congress 1940

Blind Willie McTell (born William Samuel McTier May 5, 1898 – August 19, 1959), was an influential Piedmont and ragtime blues singer and guitarist. He played with a fluid, syncopated fingerstyle guitar technique, common among many exponents of Piedmont blues, although, unlike his contemporaries, he came to exclusively use twelve-string guitars. McTell was also an adept slide guitarist, unusual among ragtime bluesmen. His vocal style, a smooth and often laid-back tenor, differed greatly from many of the harsher voice types employed by Delta bluesmen, such as Charlie Patton. McTell embodied a variety of musical styles, including blues, ragtime, religious music, and hokum.

By the time Georgia native William Samuel "Blind Willie" McTell earned ten dollars by sitting down in a hotel room in Atlanta on November 5, 1940, to preserve his artistry on 15 transcription platters for the Library of Congress, he had achieved a degree of fame by having recorded some 85 sides for multiple labels during the years 1927-1936.

McTell was a skilled 12-string guitarist, an expressive vocalist, and a well-versed interpreter of ragtime, spirituals, blues, and a wide range of rural folk forms. He performed well for the Library of Congress, sometimes narrating and explaining the social background for his music while fielding John Lomax's rather careless and insensitive questions. What you get here is an excellent spectrum of McTell's stylistic range and repertoire. His slide maneuvers on "Amazing Grace" are strikingly reminiscent of Blind Willie Johnson's technique. The overall content of this hotel room recital points directly to McTell's Atlantic session of November 1949.

Blind Willie McTell - Library Of Congress 1940
(256 kbps, cover art included)

In Memoriam Käthe Reichel

Käthe Reichel, born March 3, 1926, in Berlin, attended commercial training and became a draper before she turned to acting rather by accident after the end of World War II. Without ever attending drama school, she became a cast member at the theatre in Greiz. In 1950, Bert Brecht who recognized her acting talent, brought her to Berliner Ensemble. There, she worked hard for her reputation as a born Brecht actress with highly-praised performances in "Die Dreigroschenoper" ("The Threepenny-Opera") and in "Der kaukasische Kreidekreis" ("The Caucasian Chalk Circle"), among others.

From 1961 on, Käthe Reichel continued her theatre career at a new place of activity – as a cast member of Deutsches Theater Berlin. With unabated success, she performed, for instance, in Lessing’s "Minna von Barnhelm" or in Sean O'Caseys "Juno and the Paycock ".
Käthe Reichel made her movie debut in 1951 in a small role in Arthur Pohl’s "Corinna Schmidt" but did not continue her movie career for several years. Instead, she perpetuated her theatre career. 18 years later, after her role in the fairy tale movie "Wie heiratet man einen König" (1969), Reichel finally started to work regularly for movie productions. She was mainly seen in key supporting roles, for instance in Roland Gräf’s "Mein lieber Robinson" ("My Friend Robinson", 1971), in the classic DEFA movie "Die Legende von Paul und Paula" ("The Legend of Paul and Paula", 1973), where she played the eccentric wife of the shooting gallery owner, or in the drama "Die Verlobte" ("The Fiancée", 1980), where Reichel played an emotionally torn prison warden.

Besides her acting career, Käthe Reichel became known for her political activities. In 1976, she collected signatures against the expatriation of Wolf Biermann, and during the turnaround in the GDR, she was a strong advocate for alternative political perspectives, to state only two examples.
She was a nonconformist activist, unafraid to publicly express her opinion. She criticised the market-economy pressures of the post-wall period and played a central role in the tribunal against NATO intervention in Yugoslavia. Whether showing her solidarity with the Bischofferode miners during their hunger strike or collecting donations for the construction of 100 houses in Vietnam, Käthe Reichelt has made the human rights struggle her own without pretensions and with a voice that cannot be overheard.
In 2000, Reichel was awarded the human rights awards by the "Gesellschaft zum Schutz der Bürgerrechte und Menschenwürde" ("Society for the protection of civil rights and human dignity").

Käthe Reichel was living in Berlin and Buckow and died 19 October 2012 in Buckow.

You can find recordings by Käthe Reichel via http://zerogsounds.blogspot.de/2012/03/bertolt-brecht-tondokumente-litera-1977.html and http://zerogsounds.blogspot.de/2011/01/hanns-eisler-bertolt-brecht-die-mutter.html.

Nils Koppruch is dead - "Ich wein´ einen Fluss"

"Ich singe vor deinem Fesnter, und der Regen lässt nicht nach /

Und eine Stimme ruft von oben: Falsches Fenster, falscher Tag." - Nils Koppruch

The singer-songwriter Nils Koppruch, who lived and worked in Hamburg, is dead. The musician, born in 1965, who became famous with the indie band Fink, died unexpectedly in the night to Wednesday.

From 1996 to 2006, Nils Koppruch was the singer and frontman of the band Fink. He wrote the music and lyrics and played the guitar, banjo and harmonica. In the following years he worked as a solo artist and did interesting collaborations with other artist like Gisbert zu Knyphausen. In Hamburg-St. Pauli he operated the small gallery "NEW".

German texts, funny, melancholic and always original, plus a banjo - somehow Nils Koppruch and Fink invented a special kind of "German-Americana" sound: German indie pop with strong influences of folk, americana, blues and bluegrass.

Thanks a lot for all the great music - and rest in peace!

21st Century Dub (Roir, 1980)

This is a combination rerelease of Pecker Power and Instant Rasta, two albums recorded by Japanese percussionist Pecker in conjunction with Jamaican musicians. It's an interesting effort, combining a certain Jamaican rawness with a sophisticated Japanese surface, and it certainly comes equipped with the reggae muscle to kick it along - Sly & Robbie on the one hand, and the Wailers band on the other, and both Channel One and Tuff Gong studios (if only they'd managed Federal as well, but that might have meant the Dragonaires as a backing band).

I'm not sure exactly how much of Pecker's work is really being heard on this album, but that really isn't the point - the point is more that it's a good reggae and dub set. ROIR is the home of some killer reggae, and this album is no exception to Neil Cooper's rule. I'd consider "21st Century Dub" a must-have for any dub fan, great or small.

"Some of the best dub of all time. This complete reissue of two Japanese LP's ('Pecker Power' and 'Instant Rasta') combines the best of classic mid-70's dub (Joe Gibbs 'African Series', Pablo, Tubby styles) with the best in technological advances. Quite simply, classic." - Peter Wright (now GM of Rykodisc) 1987
From ROIR site:
"An amazing but true story about an experimental dub session organized by BOB MARLEY in Jamaica in 1979!!!

In 1979 during a visit to Japan, Bob Marley met the acclaimed Japanese percussionist Pecker. Pecker, a big fan of reggae, convinced Marley to bring top Japanese musicians (mostly members of The Yellow Magic Orchestra) to Jamaica to mix it up with the cream of Jamaican reggae artists, to jam and play out in informal dub sessions at both Channel One and Tuff Gong Studios. The astounding results were released only in Japan on two separate LP's in 1980."

Tracklist:
1. Pecker - Mystical Cosmic Vibrations (5:24)
2. Pecker - International Orchitis (4:10)
3. Pecker - Pecker Power Part Two (1:25)
4. Pecker - Pecker Power Part One (5:07)
5. Pecker - Concrete Jungle (5:11)
6. Pecker - Militant Sniff (4:27)
7. Pecker - Jamming (4:11)
8. Pecker - Mystical Electro Harakiri (5:02)
9. Pecker - Beggar Suite Part 1 (4:54)
10. Pecker - Beggar Suite Part 2 (3:32)
11. Pecker - Beggar Suite Part 3 (2:49)
12. Pecker - Dub Jam Rock (4:50)
13. Pecker - Kylyn (6:42)
14. Pecker - Dr. Dr. Humanity (1:18)
21st Century Dub (Roir, 1980)
(192 kbps, small front cover included)