Blind Gary Davis - Harlem Street Singer (1960)

Recorded during a three hour session at the Jersey Jazz Studio of the legendary engineer Rudy Van Gelder on August 24, 1960, Gary Davis laid down 12 of his most impassioned spirituals for "Harlem Street Singer".

You get 44 minutes of soul survival stuff here, and any blues buff ought to own it. The more casual fan may have to listen a few times to really like Gary's vocals, but his guitar work is fun from the first chord. The recording quality is excellent.

Starting off the session with a version of Blind Willie Johnson's "If I Had My Way I'd Tear That Building Down," here renamed "Samson and Delilah," Davis is in fine form. His vocals are as expressive as Ray Charles' while similar in richness to Richie Havens' work.

"Harlem Street Singer" features his inspired country blues fingerpicking as well. Many moods color the selections, from the gentle "I Belong to the Band" to the mournful "Death Don't Have No Mercy," only to be followed by the joyous shouting of "Goin' to Sit Down on the Banks of the River." Overall, the collection should be considered essential listening for fans of country blues or gospel.

Tracklist:

1. Samson And Delilah (If I Had My Way)
2. Let Us Get Together Right Down Here
3. I Belong To The Band
4. Pure Religion
5. Great Change Since I Been Born
6. Death Don't Have No Mercy
7. Twelve Gates To The City
8. Goin' To Sit Down On The Banks Of T
9. Tryin' To Get Home -traditional-
10. Lo, I Be With You Always
11. I Am The Light Of This World
12. Lord, I Feel Just Like Goin' On

Blind Gary Davis - Harlem Street Singer
(192 kbps, cover art included)

Richie Havens - Electric Havens (1968)

This was one of two albums (the other being "The Richie Havens Record") comprised of overdubbed solo demos, probably from sometime between 1963-1965, that Havens had done prior to recording for Verve and making his official recording debut.

In the late '60s, as Havens rose to stardom, producer Alan Douglas took the original solo demos and overdubbed them with electric instruments. The albums were pulled from circulation and are hard to find today. One would understand why Havens might have disapproved of their release, but "Electric Havens" really isn't bad.

The eight-song set is oriented toward the kind of traditional material that he was likely doing in clubs around that time, such as "Oxford Town," "C.C. Rider," and "900 Miles From Home," as well as an early Dylan cover, "Boots & Spanish Leather." Havens sings with his usual spontaneous conviction, and although the electric backing sounds a bit awkward - and, unsurprisingly considering the circumstances, wavering in time keeping - it's not overdone, or completed in such a fashion that it's difficult to enjoy the performances. Different years of release have appeared in discographies for both this and "The Richie Havens Record", incidentally; it's almost certain that both came out in the late '60s, with 1968 serving as the best-guess year in both cases.

Tracklis:

A1: Oxford Town
A2: 9000 Miles
A3: I´m A Stranger Here
A4: My Own Way

B1: Boots And Spanish Leather
B2: C. C. Rider
B3: 3´10 To Yuma
B4: Shadown Town

Richie Havens - Eectric Havens (1968)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Gil Scott-Heron - 1970 – Small Talk at 125th & Lenox Ave

One of the most important progenitors of rap music, Gil Scott-Heron's aggressive, no-nonsense street poetry inspired a legion of intelligent rappers while his engaging songwriting skills placed him square in the R&B charts later in his career, backed by increasingly contemporary production courtesy of Malcolm Cecil and Nile Rodgers (of Chic).

Disregard the understated title, "Small Talk at 125th and Lenox" was a volcanic upheaval of intellectualism and social critique, recorded live in a New York nightclub with only bongos and conga to back the street poet. Here Scott-Heron introduced some of his most biting material, including the landmark "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" as well as his single most polemical moment: the angry race warning "Enough."

Still, he balances the tone and mood well, ranging from direct broadsides to clever satire. He introduces "Whitey on the Moon" with a bemused air ("wanting to give credit where credit is due"), then launches into a diatribe concerning living conditions for the neglected on earth while those racing to the moon receive millions of taxpayer dollars. On "Evolution (And Flashback)," Scott-Heron laments the setbacks of the civil rights movement and provides a capsule history of his race, ending sharply with these words: "In 1960, I was a negro, and then Malcolm came along/Yes, but some nigger shot Malcolm down, though the bitter truth lives on/Well, now I am a black man, and though I still go second class/Whereas once I wanted the white man's love, now he can kiss my ass." The only sour note comes on a brush with homophobia, "The Subject Was Faggots."

Tracklist:
01. Intro
02. The Revolution will not be televised
03. Omen
04. Brother
05. Comment #1
06. Small Talk At 125th And Lenox
07. The Subject Was Faggots
08. Evolution (And Flashback)
09. Plastic Pattern People
10. Whitey On The Moon
11. The Vulture
12. Enough
13. Paint It Black
14. Everyday

Gil Scott-Heron - Small Talk At 125th & Lenox Ave
(192 kbps, front cover included)

Dave Van Ronk - Dave Van Ronk, Folksinger (Prestige, 1962)

Many die-hard folkys consider Dave Van Ronk in a class apart from his contemporaries — such as Bob Dylan, Eric Von Schmidt, or Jean Ritchie.

Likewise, when asked to pick their favorite of his recordings, "Dave Van Ronk, Folksinger" is likely among the first mentioned. The original LP features a baker's dozen of Van Ronk's most memorable performances, presented in the intimate context of his own solo guitar accompaniment.
This unadorned musical approach seemingly raised the bar for many Washington Square folk devotees. His deceptively simplistic delivery acts as both a gateway to, as well as an archetypal interpreter of, a roots-based folk music that is steeped in the American experience. "Dave Van Ronk, Folksinger" is the first in a series of sides that Van Ronk would cut for Prestige and features a selection of traditional material, most of which hadn't been included on his earlier Folkways albums.

What is most immediately striking about Van Ronk's approach is the overwhelming solitude inherent within his delivery. The unadorned humanity is expressed practically by default. Examples can be found throughout the disc, be it in the soul-rendering visage of a junkie in "Cocaine Blues" or the lamentations of "Hang Me, Oh Hang Me." As well as forging a unique style, Van Ronk also reflects the enormous inspiration of his varied influences. The rambunctious "Samson and Delilah" certainly takes a page from the talkin' blues delivery of Rev. Gary Davis. The mournful and despondent "He Was a Friend of Mine" comes from the same mold that forged Bob Dylan's original. Van Ronk was a vocal supporter of Dylan in that he was one of, if not the first artist to have covered one of his tunes. The version heard here can be likened to Dylan's paternal twin, as the song's essence remains true to form. However, not all of Van Ronk's material is so somber. John Henry's bawdy blues "You've Been a Good Old Wagon" and the traditional "Chicken Is Nice" are charming in their unaffected, almost accidental whimsy. As there is nothing new about the material, once again the impassive delivery and subtle intonations are at the core of making these readings so amusing. In the case of the former, Van Ronk's assertion to keep the narrative voice either feminine - or possibly gay - allows tremendous insight into the type of humor Van Ronk successfully asserts. This is a vital touchstone of Americana and likewise is highly recommended as a key component of any serious collection of 20th century folk music.

Tracklist:

A1 Samson & Delilah 3:35
A2 Cocaine Blues 4:13
A3 You've Been A Good Old Wagon 2:16
A4 Fixin' To Die 2:50
A5 Hang Me, Oh Hang Me 3:07
A6 Long John 2:10
A7 Chicken Is Nice 2:29
B1 He Was A Friend Of Mine 3:29
B2 Motherless Children 3:45
B3 Stackalee 3:32
B4 Mr. Noah 1:28
B5 Come Back Baby 3:48
B6 Poor Lazarus 5:06


Dave Van Ronk - Dave Van Ronk, Folksinger (Prestige, 1962)

(ca. 192 kbps, cover art included)

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Studio Archives (1969)

This is a very nice little bootleg, which spans the period between the release of CSN's debut album together, and "Deja Vu", the first CSN&Y album. The songs are taken from a few sources, including Stephen Stills home studio and the Wally Heider's Studio. Many unreleased songs, a couple of cover versions (many takes of the Beatles one), and more vasic, stripped down versions of released tracks. Enjoy!

Highlights include beautiful alternate recordings of “Triad”, “The Lee Shore” and “Almost Cut My Hair”, four gorgeous in-studio takes of “Blackbird”, some hysterical in-studio dialogue, and a lovely renditionof the Fred Neil track “Everybody’s Talkin’” which Harry Nilsson made popular on the “Midnight Cowboy” soundtrack.



Tracklist:

1. Everybody's Talkin' (Fred Neil cover)
2. How Have You Been (John Sebastian cover)
3. Black Queen Riff / Dialogue
4. Triad (acoustic studio take)
5. Almost Cut My Hair (acoustic studio take)
6. Every Day We Live (Stephen Stills unreleased song)
7. Sea of Madness (Studio Take)
8. The Lee Shore (different vocal take)
9. Everybody I Love You (unedited basic track)
10. I'll Be There (Stephen Stills unreleased song)
11. Blackbird (Beatles cover, Takes 1-4)
12. Ivory Tower (Stills' unreleased song)
13. 30 Dollar Fine (Stills' unreleased song
14. Everybody's Been Burned (Nash version)
15. You're Wrong, Baby (Nash's unreleased song)
16. Everybody's Alone (Young's unreleased song)

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Studio Archives (1969)
(192 kbps, cover art included)

VA - Brain Festival Essen (1977)

 "Brain" was the pioneer German label in electronic music and krautrock, established by A&R men Bruno Wendel and Günter Körber in late-1971 as a co-release label in partnership with Metronome. In 1974 Körber left to set up his own Sky Records.

This is a rip of a 2 record set, featuring artists on the Brain label, performing at a festival in Essen, Germany in 1977. The gigs were recorded by the great Conny Plank.

Thanks a lot for the original posting at http://toterallee.blogspot.de some nine years ago...

Tracklist:
 

LP 1:
1.	Gate - Friedrichstraße 18		7:05
2.	Novalis - Wer Schmetterlinge lachen hört		9:14
3.	Release Music Orchestra - Rico		6:50
4.	Jane - Expectation		5:40
5.	Jane - Out In The Rain		6:06
LP 2:
1.	Message - River Field		5:46
2.	Guru Guru - I'm Really Into Rock 'N' Roll, Man		5:58
3.	Guru Guru - All We Need		4:40
4.	Ruphus - Second Corner		6:34
5.	Ruphus - No Deal		7:45

VA - Brain Festival Essen (1977)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Prince Buster - The Message Dubwise (Melodisc, 1972)

On an island overflowing with exceptional talent on both sides of the mixing board, to suggest that just one man was the most influential is perhaps absurd, but if you took a poll, Prince Buster would inevitably win by a wide margin. He remains synonymous with ska, while being equally important to rocksteady. From Judge Dread to rude reggae, Prince Buster has left his imprint across Jamaica's musical landscape, both as a singer and a producer. 2-Tone wouldn't have existed without him, and by extension, neither would the third wave. And over 45 years after he first appeared on the music scene, Prince Buster was still making an impact.



If anything could be said to have assured the future of dub, it was the decision to release full-length albums dedicated exclusively to the nascent genre. The first began appearing in 1972, with Prince Buster's "Message Dubwise" among these originating sets.

Mixed down by Carlton Lee, the highly innovative ten-track strong album highlights Buster's strengths as a producer, as well as his distinctive style. And although some of the dubs are invariably bass led, including the title track and the bouncy "Jet Black," Buster was drum mad, and so the percussion is often pulled to the fore, notably on the crash, bang, wallop of "Why Am I Treated So Bad" and the nyahbinghi-fied "Sata a Miss Gana," one of the most evocative numbers on the set.

Surprisingly, Lee rarely employed any effects or reverb on the drums or bass, preferring to utilize them on the instruments, drawing out notes and chords instead. And most of the tracks featured plenty of instrumentation, from the melodica led "Java Plus" across the smooth organ passages of "Saladin," and even on the heavy, heavy dub of the moody proto-roots of "Swing Low." "Mississippi" is the exception, a fabulous version of the "Full Up" riddim that pulls the percussion, drum and bass to the front of the mix, than splatters slivers of instrumentation on top. The rather unimaginatively titled "Big Youth" closes the set, with the DJ plugging Prince Buster and preaching peace over a medley of recent Buster productions. The perfect closing for a groundbreaking set.


Tracklist:

01. Swing Low
02. Sata A Miss Gana
03. Java Plus
04. The Message
05. Mississipi
06. Saladin
07. Why Am I Treated So Bad
08. Jet Black
09. Black Harlem
10. Big Youth

Prince Buster - The Message Dubwise (1972)
(192 kbps, cover art incuded)

Derrick Morgan - People Decision

A member of the classic first wave of Jamaican ska artists, Derrick Morgan was among the genre's founding fathers, emerging alongside pioneers including the Skatalites, Laurel Aitken, Prince Buster, and Desmond Dekker. Born in March, 1940, Morgan was raised in the Kingston area, exposed to a variety of musical sources spanning from New Orleans R&B to the choral music of the nearby church where his father served as deacon. At the age of 17, he took top honors at the annual Vere John's Opportunity talent show, delivering blistering renditions of Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally" and "Jenny Jenny," and in 1959 teamed with producer Duke Reid to record his debut single "Lover Boy." Morgan's follow-up, "Fat Man," was a smash throughout Jamaica, and he later scored with recordings of "Leave Earth" and "Wigger Wee Shuffle," both cut with the legendary Clement "Coxsone" Dodd.

By 1960, Morgan was the unrivaled King of Ska — at the peak of his popularity, he was the first and only Jamaican artist to date to hold down the top seven slots on the national pop singles chart during the same week, generating a string of smashes including "Be Still," "In My Heart," "Don't Call Me Daddy," "Moon Hop," and "Meekly Wait and Murmur Not." In 1961, he recorded his biggest hit ever, "Housewives' Choice," and a year later — in celebration of Jamaica's emancipation — he recorded the first independence song, "Forward March." Morgan and Prince Buster, arguably the two biggest ska performers of the era, became embroiled in a fierce musical feud which quickly spilled over among their respective fans, and as of 1963, disputes between the two camps became so heated that leaders of the newly formed Jamaican government were forced to intervene, calling a cease-fire and bringing the two performers together for publicity photos to bury the hatchet.

In 1966, Morgan issued "Tougher Than Tough," widely credited as the first record in the rocksteady genre. He continued to innovate in the years to follow — among his most enduring contributions were "Went to the Hop" (the first Jamaican song with an electric bass guitar), "Blazing Fire" (the first song to employ an electric piano), "Love Not to Brag" (the first duet with a female artist, Millicent Patsy Todd) and "Seven Letters" (the first reggae song, produced in collaboration with brother-in-law Bunny Lee). Morgan also produced many of the era's most notable up-and-comers, among them Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, and Garnet Silk. Although he lived in Britain from 1963 onward, Morgan remained a towering figure in Jamaica throughout the remainder of the decade; even after his fame began to slip in the '70s, he continued recording regularly in the years to follow.

"People Decision" was released on Third World in 1977, produced by Bunny Lee, mixed by King Tubby. Apart from some sexual themes, this is also an album to promote socialism.

Tracks:
People's Decision
Racing At Ballistic Park
Let's Build A Better Jamaica
Judge Heavy Manners
Natty Dread Forward Out Of Babylon
Let Me Go Girl

My Dickie
Ride Mammy Fanny
Rough Grinder
Wreck A Fanny
Ital Man
In The Public's Interest

Derrick Morgan - People Decision (1977, Third World)
(192 kbps, cover art included)

Art Bears - The World As It Is Today (1981)

Art Bears were a warm and wonderful avant-garde band consisting of Fred Frith, Chris Cutler, and vocalist extraordinaire Dagmar Krause. Frith and Cutler were longtime members of the seminal English radical political avant-garde art rock band Henry Cow, while Krause sang primarily with the fine German band Slapp Happy and in Henry Cow's latter years. The Art Bears were intended as a short-term project, but, even so, their three-year existence resulted in three excellent albums that relied more on shorter, more traditional, almost pop-oriented song forms than huge, complex musical and lyrical extrapolations. The political tinge of the Henry Cow years never went away, and it was unsurprising that Marxist rhetoric and anti-capitalist diatribes formed much of band's lyrical firmament.

If you thought Henry Cow was a pretty political band to start with, you may be even more taken aback by the Art Bears, which was put together following Henry Cow's demise by former Cows Chris Cutler (percussion), Fred Frith (guitar, violin), and Dagmar Krause (voice).

On "The World As It Is Today" and its predecessor, "Winter Songs", the Art Bears move away from the long-form art rock of Henry Cow and get much, much more politically explicit: song titles like "The Song of the Dignity of Labour Under Capital" and "The Song of Investment Capital Overseas" almost soundlike Monty Python gags today, but if any humor was intended it was clearly meant to be mordant.

Frankly, the lyrics are so overwrought and portentous that it's hard to take them seriously. But the music is something else again. Cutler and Frith are natural collaborators; Cutler's drumming always rides a very fine line between the scattershot and the funky, while Frith bounces his horror-show guitar noise and carnival piano off of Cutler's grooves with manic abandon and fearsome inventiveness. And Krause's singing is just as inventive; she whoops, croons and screams her way through the density of Cutler's lyrics without a hesitation or misstep. Easy listening it isn't, but it's sure worth hearing. Frith fans, in particular, should consider this album a must-own.

Tracklist

A1	The Song Of Investment Capital Overseas	2:37
A2	Truth	2:56
A3	Freedom	3:24
A4	(Armed) Peace	2:30
A5	Civilisation	4:39
B1	Democracy	2:22
B2	The Song Of The Martyrs	4:08
B3	Law	0:50
B4	The Song Of The Monopolists	1:48
B5	The Song Of The Dignity Of Labour Under Capital	2:27
B6	Albion, Awake!	4:02

Art Bears - The World As It Is Today (1981)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Atahualpa Yupanqui - Lo Mejor De

The roots of nueva canción trace to the late 1950s and early ’60s, a notably restive era in Latin American history. Many countries were saddled with ineffective or authoritarian governments, and the gap between the wealthy and the impoverished was widening. Moreover, European and North American cultural influence was becoming increasingly palpable, with musical tastes in particular molded to a significant degree by the commercial-music industry of North America. In that milieu two notable singer-songwriters in neighbouring countries embarked on crusades to reclaim what they perceived as the crumbling social and cultural integrity of their homelands: Violeta Parra in Chile and Atahualpa Yupanqui in Argentina.

Much of the work of Parra and Yupanqui involved collecting old songs from the countryside and reworking - or rejuvenating - them to become “new songs” in a more contemporary, broadly accessible format. Parra commonly cast her song in well-established local poetic forms, and, perhaps most significant, she introduced Andean instruments into the accompanying ensemble. Meanwhile, Yupanqui’s semisung lyrics, intoned atop expressive guitar playing, vividly evoked the hardships of life in the Andes. By developing and promoting a body of popular songs that were grounded in local traditions and that addressed the experiences and concerns of ordinary people, both Parra and Yupanqui helped democratize music in their countries; their songs spoke both to and for the populace.

Tracklist:

1	Los Ejes De Mi Carreta	3:00
2	La Copla	4:55
3	La Olvidada	2:10
4	La Tarde	4:00
5	El Poeta	3:00
6	Malambo	3:25
7	A La Noche La Hizo Dios	3:30
8	El Pampino	4:10
9	Paisaje Con Nieve	4:50
10	El Aromo	4:00
11	El Alazán	3:19
12	El Promesante	3:20
13	Le Tengo Rabia Al Silencio	3:02
14	Guitarra Dímelo Tú	2:54
15	Camino Del Indio	3:02
16	Trabajo, Quiero Trabajo	2:54

Atahualpa Yupanqui - Lo Mejor De
(256 kbps, cover art included)

Alice Coltrane - Journey In Satchidananda (1970)

Alice Coltrane's landmark "Journey to Satchidananda" reveals just how far the pianist and widow of John Coltrane had come in the three years after his death. The compositions here are wildly open and droning figures built on whole tones and minor modes. And while it's true that one can definitely hear her late husband's influence on this music, she wouldn't have had it any other way.

Pharoah Sanders' playing on the title cut, "Shiva-Loka," and "Isis and Osiris" (which also features the Vishnu Wood on oud and Charlie Haden on bass) is gloriously restrained and melodic. Coltrane's harp playing, too, is an element of tonal expansion as much as it is a modal and melodic device. With a tamboura player, Cecil McBee on bass, Rashied Ali on drums, and Majid Shabazz on bells and tambourine, tracks such as "Stopover Bombay" and the D-minor, modally drenched "Something About John Coltrane" become an exercise in truly Eastern blues improvisation. Sanders plays soprano exclusively, and the interplay between it and Coltrane's piano and harp is mesmerizing.

With the drone factor supplied either by the tamboura or the oud, the elongation of line and extended duration of intervallic exploration is wondrous. The depths to which these blues are played reveal their roots in African antiquity more fully than any jazz or blues music on record, a tenet that exists today, decades after the fact. One last note, the "Isis and Osiris" track, which was recorded live at the Village Gate, features some of the most intense bass and drum interplay - as it exists between Haden and Ali - in the history of vanguard jazz. Truly, this is a remarkable album, and necessary for anyone interested in the development of modal and experimental jazz. It's also remarkably accessible.

Alice Coltrane - Journey In Satchidananda (1970)
(320 kbps, cover art included)


Tracklist:


A1 Journey In Satchidananda 6:33
A2 Shiva-Loka 6:33
A3 Stopover Bombay 2:50

B1 Something About John Coltrane 10:40
B2 Isis And Osiris 11:32

Atahualpa Yupanqui - Camino Del Indio (1942-1944)

Argentinean folk icon Atahualpa Yupanqui became one of the most valuable treasures for the local culture. As a child living in the small town of Roca, province of Buenos Aires, Héctor Roberto Chavero was seduced by traditional music, especially by the touching sound of the acoustic guitar.

After taking violin lessons, the young man began learning how to play guitar, having musician Bautista Almirón as his teacher. For many years, Atahualpa Yupanqui traveled around his native country, singing folk tunes and working as muleteer, delivering telegrams, and even working as a journalist for a Rosario newspaper.

 

In the late '30s, the artist started recording songs, making his debut as a writer in 1941 with Piedra Sola, later writing a famous novel called Cerro Bajo. In 1949, the singer/songwriter went on tour around Europe for the first time, including performances with France's Edith Piaf. During the following decades Atahualpa Yupanqui achieved an impressive amount of national and international recognition, becoming an essential artist, a distinguished Latin American troubadour, and influencing many prominent musicians and Argentinean folk groups. Atahualpa Yupanqui passed away in France in May, 1992.                

Atahualpa Yupanqui - Camino Del Indio (1942-1944)
(192 kbps, cover art included)

Tracklist:

1.: Camino Del Indio 2.: Malambo 3.: Viento Viento 4.: Una Cancion En La Montana 5.: Camino En Los Valles 6.: El Kachorro 7.: Piedra Y Camino 8.: Vidala Del Silencio 9.: Me Voy 10.: Huajra 11.: Carguita De Tola 12.: La Viajerita

Inti-Illimani - Chile Resistencia (1977)

The power and resiliency of artists committed to profound social change resound over time and across natural and human-created borders. The music of the Nueva Canción is a testament to how the musical expressions of that commitment can bridge decades and span a hemisphere.

"Chile Resistencia" is the sixths album by Inti-Illimani. It was recorded at Sciascia Sound Studios in December 1976 - January 1977.        

Tracklist:

A1	Chile Resistencia	2:17
A2	Luchin	3:00
A3	Creemos El Hombre Nuevo	2:35
A4	Naciste De Los Leñadores	5:23
A5	Todas Las Lluvias	2:49
B1	America Novia Mia	3:25
B2	A Luis Emilio Recabarren	2:32
B3	No Nos Someteran	2:28
B4	Juanito Laguna Remonta El Barrilete	4:55
B5	Alborada Vendrà	2:42

Inti-Illimani - Chile Resistencia (1977)
(192 kbps, cover art included)

Rebel Soca - When The Time Comes

Soca? Isn´t that the ultimate party music? If you close your eyes, you may see a dancefloor teeming with revelers who, hands in the air, gyrate ecstatically to the liquid pulse generated by a throbbing, hypnotic bass and on-the-four bass drum countered with off-center percussion accents. Racheting rhythm guitar and stabbing horns supercharge the beat even further, making hip-shaking, belly-rolling, waist-winding almost an involuntary act. But there is even more...

Literally, the term "soca" abbreviates "soul calypso" and came into currency during the 1970´s when calypso was streamlined in response to the disco-dance juggernaut spreading over the world. Calypso, of course, has had a long and venerable history in the Caribbean, with variants in nearly all English-speaking and some French-speaking islands. One can easily trace its origins to the 18th century but its roots stretch back to Africa. In many West African societies singers and poets have traditionaly been not only historians but also mouthpieces for the people. They speak, obliquely, through satire and parables and commentary on everyday events, to the leaders, who ignore such criticism and advice at their peril. In contrast to the smiling, tourist-pleasing image propaged during the 50s and 60s, the business of being a calypsonian was serious business. Although soca lyrics tend to be "party-hearty" celebrations of love and life, a significant percentage deal with more serious issues; calypso´s tradition of social commentary remains vital with today´s "Rebel Soca". A minority of culturally-conscious soca artist have adopted a pan-african perspecitve, incorporating elements of reggae, african music and other caribbean styles into their soca. "Rebel Soca" brings together some of the finest conscious soca tracks of the 70s and 80s which combine unbeatable dance rhythms and some of the sharpest political lyrics in world pop. Often their lyrics are confrontatinal, politically-oriented commentary - a focus for the concerns of oppressed people.


Tracklist:

Side One

Afrika is Burning – Safi Abdullah
Spring Garden in Fire – Ras Iley
What About – Baron
Ring De Bell – Bro Resistance

Side Two

Hard Hard Hard – Black Stalin
When De Time Comes – Nelson
Can’t Find Me Brother – Red Plastic Bag
War Mongers – Johnny King

Rebel Soca - When The Time Comes
(mp3, 192 kbps, ca. 69 MB)

Rolando Alarcón - Canciones de la Resistencia y de la Guerra Civil Española

La Nueva Canción Chilena (New Chilean Song) is the musical voice of a social/political movement that lived in Chile in the 1960s and early 70s. The movement championed labor organization, land reform, anti-racism, and anti-imperialism. It supported the North Vietnamese in their struggle against the U.S.

Pinochet and the Fascist military junta seized power in Chile on Sept. 11, 1973. The New Chilean Song movement (along with most leftist political and social organizations) was destroyed, and its leaders murdered. The CIA and other U.S. agencies were heavily involved in installing Pinochet and keeping him in power. His thugs learned torture techniques at the U.S.-sponsored School of Americas.

Rolando Alarcón was a Chilean singer/songwriter of the 60s and early 70s, being a part of La Nueva Canción Chilena.
Alarcón's lyrics are romantic, humanist, patriotic, profound and beautiful. His music blends a strummed-guitar folk sound with the drums and panpipes of indigenous Andean music, and the harmony is fresh and creative. The overall sound is unique.

Alarcón died in 1973. In an interview, Patricio Manns says that Alarcón suffered an internal hemorrhage and was taken to a first-aid station instead of a hospital, that the doctors there refused to operate on him because they were enemies of Allende, and that he died after five days. This was about 6 months before the Pinochet coup. (A relative of Alarcón says this story is apocryphal: that Alarcón was in Chañarall and had a bleeding ulcer, that he travelled to Santiago, was admitted to a hospital, and died on the operating table.)

This is a compilation of songs referring to the spanish civil war and the anti-fascist resistance.


Tracklisting:

1. El Ejercito del Ebro
2. Si Me Quieres Escribir
3. Puente de los Franceses
4. Yo Me Subí a un Pino Verde
5. No Hay Quien Pueda
6. Cancion de Bourg Madame
7. Ya se fue el Verano
8. Nubes de Esperanza
9. En España las Flores
10. Muerte en la Catedral
11. Que Culpa Tiene el Tomate

Rolando Alarcon - Canciones de la Resistencia y de la Guerra Civil Espanola
(128 kbps, front cover included)

Thanks to http://setiweb.ssl.berkeley.edu/~davea/index.php for the background information.

Art Bears - Winter Songs

Finding distribution on the Residents' Ralph Records label, the Art Bears' second album consists of 12 songs of various tensions: rest vs. speed, improv vs. pulse, space vs. density, Dagmar Kraus's vocals vs. everyone else.

As usual, Chris Cutler's lyrics tell political allegories through medieval-tinged stories: slaves, castles, and wheels of fortune (and industry) dominate. Fred Frith explores discordance through his guitar, and European folk figures through his always enjoyable violin.

Though not as confrontational as their other work, the centerpiece has to be the frantic "Rats and Monkeys" with three minutes of teeth-gritting, out-of-control insanity as all three players are plugged into a wall outlet and let rip. A guaranteed lease breaker if played often enough.


Tracklist:

A1	The Bath Of Stars
A2	First Things First
A3	Gold
A4	The Summer Wheel
A5	The Slave
A6	The Hermit
A7	Rats And Monkeys
B1	The Skeleton
B2	The Winter Wheel
B3	Man And Boy
B4	Winter / War
B5	Force
B6	3 Figures
B7	3 Wheels

Art Bears - Winter Songs
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Sun Ra - Space Is The Place (1973)

"Space Is the Place" provides an excellent introduction to Sun Ra's vast and free-form jazz catalog. It is a wonderful 1972 recording with the 'definitive' version of the title track, and some very nice shorter pieces too.

Typical of many Sun Ra recordings, the program is varied; earthbound songs, like the swing number "Images" and Egyptian exotica piece "Discipline," fit right in with more space-age cuts, like the tumultuous "Sea of Sounds" and the humorous "Rocket Number Nine." Sun Ra fuses many of these styles on the sprawling title cut, as interlocking harmonies, African percussion, manic synthesizer lines, and joyous ensemble blowing all jell into some sort of church revival of the cosmos.

Throughout the recording, Sun Ra displays his typically wide-ranging talents on space organ and piano, reed players John Gilmore and Marshall Allen contribute incisive and intense solos, and June Tyson masterfully leads the Space Ethnic Voices on dreamy vocal flights. This is a fine recording and a must for Sun Ra fans. 

It is impossible, given the breadth and depth of Ra's work, as well as the fact that most of the albums which he recorded are out-of-print and owned only by a select few collectors, to attempt to trace Ra's career with any thoroughness in less than a hundred pages or so. You find some overview to Sun Ra's life and music on http://www.furious.com/perfect/sunra.html and an interview with John F. Szwed about his superb Sun Ra biography "Space Is The Place" on http://www.furious.com/Perfect/sunra2.html.

Tracklist:

A	Space Is The Place Baritone Saxophone – Danny Thompson* Bass – Pat Patrick Bass Clarinet – Eloe Omoe Organ [Space] – Sun Ra Vocals [Space Ethnic] – Akh Tal Ebah, Cheryl Banks, John Gilmore, Judith Holton, June Tyson, Ruth Wright	21:14
B1	Images Bass – Pat Patrick Piano – Sun Ra Tenor Saxophone – John Gilmore Trumpet – Akh Tal Ebah, Lamont McClamb	6:15
B2	Discipline 33 Flute – Danny Davis, Danny Thompson*, Eloe Omoe, Marshall Allen Organ [Space] – Sun Ra Tenor Saxophone – John Gilmore Trumpet – Lamont McClamb	4:50
B3	Sea Of Sound Alto Saxophone – Danny Davis, Marshall Allen Baritone Saxophone – Pat Patrick Drums – Lex Humphries Flugelhorn [Fugelhorn] – Akh Tal Ebah Organ [Space] – Sun Ra Percussion – Russell Branch, Stanley Morgan Tenor Saxophone – John Gilmore Trumpet – Lamont McClamb	7:42
B4	Rocket Number Nine Bass Clarinet – Eloe Omoe Organ [Space] – Sun Ra Vocals [Space Ethnic] – Cheryl Banks, Danny Thompson*, John Gilmore, Judith Holton, June Tyson, Pat Patrick, Ruth Wright	2:50

Sun Ra - Space Is The Place (1973)
(256 kbps, front cover included)

Anouar Brahem Trio ‎– Astrakan Café

The Tunisian oud genius has done it again. Anouar Brahem has issued only five records under his own name over the past decade, each more adventurous than the last, without compromising his original vision: for the music of his region to meet with the other music of Africa and Asia and create a delirious sound that is equal thirds past, present, and future, along the precipice of historical lineage. For Brahem there is no attempt to synthesize the globe, or even the sounds of the East with those of the West. He is content in his knowledge that sound is infinite, and that his tradition, as it evolves and expands into a deeper pan-African/trans-Asian whole, is more than large enough for a master musician to rummage through in one lifetime. "Astrakan Café", the follow-up to his brilliant "Thimar", is a smaller-sounding recording that reaches farther into the deep crags of the Balkans.

With Barbaros Erköse on clarinet and the Indian and Turkish percussion stylings of the professor of somber precision, Lassad Hosni, Brahem's oud enters into a dialogue, musically, that has never before existed (though he has collaborated with both players previously). Erköse is a Turkish clarinetist of gypsy origin. His low, warm, rounded tones are consonant with the oud. Erköse plays equal parts music of the Balkan and Arab worlds with a tinge of the ancient klezmorim whispering their secrets through his horn. Despite the journeying these musicians do here, they never stray far from the takht, a small ensemble capable of improvising to the point of drunken ecstasy. Listening through "Astrakan Café", you can hear the gypsy flamenco tied deeply to Indian ragas and even a kind of Eastern jazz. But there is no hyperactivity in it, no need to cram as many traditions as possible into one putridly excessive mix that expresses nothing but the novelty of the moment.

"Astrakan Café" has many highlights: its two title tracks that have their roots in Russian and Azerbaijan music; "Ashkabad," which is an improvisation on a melody from the folk music of Turkmenistan; "Astara," a modal improvisation based on love songs from Azerbaijan; "Halfounie," a segment from a Brahem-composed soundtrack inspired by the medina or marketplace in Tunis; and "Parfum de Gitanie," which takes a fragment from Ethiopian sacred music, slows it to the point of stillness, and waxes lazily and jazzily over the top, with the oud and the clarinet trading syncopated eights. This is deeply personal, profound music. It is also highly iconographic, with timelessness woven through every measure. The only "exotica" on "Astrakan Café" is its "otherness" out of space and any discernable era. The tempos are languid and full of purpose, the dynamics clean and clearly demarcated, the tones and modes warm, rich, and linear. This would be traditional music if a tradition such as this -- which is original, though adapted from many sources on inspiration -- actually existed. Highly recommended. - allmusic.com

Anouar Brahem's oud playing is expressive, entrancing and beautiful. It's so moving and anthemic it's hard to believe any listener wouldn't be frequently overwhelmed by Brahem's brilliance. While one can debate whether Brahem's music should be considered jazz or world or some hybrid of the two, there's no denying the songs on Astrakan Cafe rank among the most lyrical and elegant in any genre. Brahem blends elements of traditional Arab and Islamic religious and popular music with just a slight nod to the American improvising tradition. His spiraling passages and energetic forays reflect some jazz influence, but the overall tone and sound of the work is more North African and Eastern than Western.

Barbaros Erkose, on clarinet, and Lassad Hosni, on percussive instruments bendir and darbouka, prove equally exciting players. The usual splendid ECM engineering and production ensure a rich, rippling trio sound that fully accents the quality of Brahem's oud flights, Erkose's clarinet answers and Hosni's delicate alternating between challenging and exemplifying the duo's statements. The song menu shifts from serious recountings of vintage compositions to film soundtrack pieces, joyous exchanges and somber, probing exchanges. This is Anouar Brahem's sixth date for ECM; here's wishing that he'll get many more chances to display his amazing abilities for international audiences. - jazztimes.com               

Tracklist:

1. "Aube Rouge à Grozny" (Barbaros Erköse) - 4:22
2. "Astrakan Café Part 1" - 3:18
3. "The Mozdok's Train" - 4:46
4. "Blue Jewels" - 8:31
5. "Nihawend Lunga" (Jamil Bey) - 3:32
6. "Ashkabad" (Anouar Brahem, Barbaros Erköse, Lassad Hosni) - 5:38
7. "Halfaouine" - 5:57
8. "Parfumo de Gitane" - 7:03
9. "Khotan" - 3:31
10. "Karakoum" - 5:08
11. "Astara" - 10:46
12. "Dar Es Salam" - 3:47
13. "Hijaz Pechref" (Brahem, Osman Bey Fragment) - 6:24
14. "Astrakan Café Part 2" - 4:49

Recorded at Monastery of St Gerold in Austria in June 1999

Anouar Brahem Trio ‎– Astrakan Café
(256 kbps, cover art included)