Alan Vega - Just A Million Dreams (1985)

"Just a Million Dreams" was Alan Vega's second shot at mainstream stardom on a major label, but whereas his previous album, "Saturn Strip", was an impressive distillation of his best ideas, Dreams is an unconvincing disappointment. The sleek production sounds dated rather than fresh and vibrant as it did before. The energetic playing and singing can't conceal the fundamental weakness of the material.

None of the songs are truly bad, but they are a deeply misguided attempt at mainstream stardom that, this time, sounds forced and contrived. Though Vega once again shed his experimental tendencies on Dreams, this time, it's to no end, since he replaced them with surprisingly drab lyrics and banal melodies. Worst of all, the material, lacking any compelling hooks, fails even as an attempt at mainstream synth pop. The result was the second commercial flop in a row for Vega, who parted ways with Elektra and returned to Suicide and experimental synth-noise. Dreams is not the best introduction to Vega's music, and will be of interest only to hardcore fanatics.

Tracklist:

On The Run 4:17

Shooting For You 5:07

Hot Fox 3:54

Too Late 4:21

Wild Heart 4:39

Creation 4:26

Cry Fire 5:00

Ra Ra Baby 4:31

Alan Vega - Just A Million Dreams (1985)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Thatcher On Acid / Wat Tyler - Squib / Margarine Walker

Thatcher on Acid were an English anarcho-punk band. They formed in Somerset during 1983. Their name is a satirical reference to former UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher. Ben Corrigan, Bob Butler and Andy Tuck also played in Schwartzeneggar with ex-Crass member, Steve Ignorant. The band opened the anarcho-punk band Conflict's "Gathering of the 5000" show at Brixton Academy, an event which resulted in many arrests and achieved a degree of infamy

In 1994, Thatcher on Acid released their 'Squib' album which was a split between them and another band named Wat Tyler, and released it on John Yate's Allied Recordings. A little known fact about it is that it featured Steve Ignorant from Crass on lead vocals in the song 'Our Gods are Falling Down'. Unfortunately, their bassist Matt had to leave the band to become a full-time doctor, and was replaced by Bob Butler from Yeovil. They decided to finish the bands course by playing their last tour from Scandinavia to Germany in September of that same year.

The band split afterwards to form Schwartzeneggar in 1993 with Steve Ignorant from Crass on vocals until they stopped in 1995. Since then, Thatcher on Acid has only reunited once, but only to play two reunion gigs in 1998 to help raise money for the Mclibel campaign. Guitarist/vocalist Ben now plays in a band called Hard Skin and also works as a tour manager for several bands such as The Kills, Black Keys, and 5678s. Bassist Matt still works as a doctor in Somerset, drummer Andi now works as an electrician and original drummer Martin teaches ceramics at Brixton College.

Wat Tyler - named for the leader of the English Peasants' Revolt of 1381 - has a bit more fun by traveling down the path of tongue-in-cheek lyrics - "Billy Bonds Claret and Blue Army," "The Resurrected Zombie Little People Kick Arse," "Rude Boy" - with music that covers a wide spectrum (folk, ska, punk and hardcore). But there is also a political consciousness - "Violent Precinct," "At the End of the M-1," "The Mindless Slaughter of the Little People" - that cannot be casually dismissed.

Tracklist:

Squib
A1 Thatcher On Acid– Chagrin
A2 Thatcher On Acid– Put It In
A3 Thatcher On Acid– I'll Probably Laugh At This One Day
A4 Thatcher On Acid– Our Gods Are Falling Down
A5 Thatcher On Acid– My Favourite Mess
A6 Thatcher On Acid– Skin Banjo
A7 Thatcher On Acid– Gob
A8 Thatcher On Acid– Shakey

Margarine Walker
B1 Wat Tyler– Billy Bond's Claret And Blue Army
B2 Wat Tyler– Even Great Men Talk Bollocks
B3 Wat Tyler– Terry Fenwick's Leg Takes Crack
B4 Wat Tyler– Violent Precinct
B5 Wat Tyler– The Tools Of Satan And The Glorious Army Of The Supreme Soviet (I'm Feeling Mellow, Man)
B6 Wat Tyler– At The End Of The M1
B7 Wat Tyler– The Mindless Slaughter Of The Little People
B8 Wat Tyler– Bat Out Of Surbiton
B9 Wat Tyler– Mr. Punch
B10 Wat Tyler– The Ressurected Zombie Little People Kick Arse
B11 Wat Tyler– It's Football, Not Fuckin' Soccer
B12 Wat Tyler– Rude Boy

Thatcher On Acid / Wat Tyler - Squib / Margarine Walker

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Alan Vega - Saturn Strip (1983)

By the time of his third solo album, Suicide frontman Alan Vega had decided he wanted to escape the art punk ghetto he had been confined to and seek the mainstream success that had eluded Suicide. So, for "Saturn Strip", Vega signed to a major (his first, Elektra) and pulled out all the stops to accomplish stardom. 

He utilized Suicide producer and fan Ric Ocasek to produce the album, but with as much polish and sheen as any album released by Ocasek's much more successful band, the Cars. He also brought on a then-unknown aspiring synth-pop musician named Alain Jourgensen (who would later earn infamy as the creative force behind Ministry) to add a sleek synthesizer sound. What's more, Vega condensed all of his song ideas into concise, straightforward four-minute pop songs instead of the extended art pieces that dominated his first two albums and his Suicide work (such as "Viet Vet" or "Frankie Teardrop"). 

There's even a straightforward disco cover, Hot Chocolate's "Every 1's a Winner." It may seem that such a move would be a gross betrayal of his previous artistic direction, but, in fact, it results in simply the best album of his career, one that even occasionally tops his Suicide oeuvre. By dropping his self-indulgent tendencies and focusing on simple song structures, Vega's talent for evocative lyrics and clever melodies comes across clearly, and his vocals, always charismatic and exciting, are at their best here. Unfortunately, the album was nowhere near the commercial success it was crafted to be, and Vega eventually returned to willful obscurity. Still, compared to most other synth-pop albums of the era, "Saturn Strip" is every bit as impressive as it was upon its release, and fans that want to dig deeper to appreciate a truly lost gem of the era, or are seeking an introduction to Vega's unique talents, should definitely seek it out.

Tracklist:

Saturn Drive 5:36
Video Babe 3:17
American Dreamer 5:04
Kid Congo 2:37
Goodbye Darling 2:38
Wipeout Beat 5:59
Je T'adore 3:40
Angel 5:06
Every 1's A Winner 4:10

Alan Vega - Saturn Strip (1983)

(192 kbps, cover art included)

VA - Shut Up And Dance - The Original Collection - The First 20 Singles in Full 12´´ Versions (1992)

Shut Up And Dance Records is a pioneering British breakbeat label, established by PJ and Smiley in London in 1989.

Ragga-techno hit-makers and sampling pirates without equal on Britain's early hardcore breakbeat scene, Shut Up & Dance were an early influence on the development of jump-up breakbeats and b-bwoy attitude into the streamlined version of drum'n'bass which emerged later in the '90s. The duo of PJ & Smiley, both residents of East End stronghold Stoke Newington, formed both the label and group Shut Up & Dance out of their bedroom in 1988. The imprint first released records by the Ragga Twins and Nicolette during 1989 before Shut Up & Dance the group debuted later that year. Early singles like "£10 to Get In" and "Derek Went Mad" displayed the pair's approach to hardcore techno -- sampling well-known pop groups with little fear of retribution, piling chunky breakbeats over the top, evincing plenty of ragga attitude and displaying an unflinching criticism of the emerging rave scene's dark side

Also included is an insert telling the story of Shut Up And Dance Records:"This double LP is only a sample of the material released so far from the label.
Stretching many barriers and frontiers, one thing is for sure, this is only the beginning"

Although the cover states "The first 20 Singles in full 12" Versions", several of the tracks here are edited versions to fit on a single CD.


Tracklist:

1 Shut Up & Dance–£10 To Get In 4:03

2 Shut Up & Dance–£20 To Get In 4:01

3 Shut Up & Dance–Lamborghini (Original) 3:06

4 Shut Up & Dance–Change Come Soon 3:27

5 Adé–Summer Breeze 3:32

6 Ragga Twins–Spliffhead (Original) 4:23

7 Ragga Twins–Juggling 3:14

8 Nicolette–Waking Up 4:29

9 Adé–Free The Soul 4:11

10 Rum & Black–Slaves 4:22

11 Shut Up & Dance–Derek Went Mad 3:54

12 Rum & Black–Fuck The Legal Stations 4:27

13 Codine–Prologue 4:21

14 Ragga Twins–The Killing 4:00

15 Shut Up & Dance–Raps My Occupation 4:21

16 Nicolette–School Of The World 3:57

17 Shut Up & Dance–This Town Needs A Sheriff 3:17

18 Ragga Twins–Wipe The Needle (Original) 4:49

19 Nicolette–Single Minded People 4:07

20 Ragga Twins–18" Speaker 3:44

VA - Shut Up And Dance - The Original Collection - The First 20 Singles in Full 12´´ Versions (1992)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Mercedes Sosa - Deja La Vida Volar - En Gira

The Argentine folk singer Mercedes Sosa was a world-class performer, whose influence went far beyond the borders of music. Nicknamed, “The Voice of the Voiceless”, Sosa used her voice to transmit the strength and fire needed for cultural and personal change. For decades, Sosa was a dynamic force in shaping Latin America.

The driving force behind the nueva canción movement, singer Mercedes Sosa was born and raised in Tucumán, Argentina, beginning her performing career at age 15 after taking top honors in a radio station amateur competition. A rich, expressive vocalist and a gifted interpreter, Sosa was dubbed "the voice of the silent majority" for her choice of overtly political material, and alongside artists including Violeta Parra and Atahualpa Yupanqui, she spearheaded the rise of the so-called "nueva canción" movement, which heralded the emergence of protest music across Argentina and Chile during the '60s.

This live album was recorded during the last tour of Mercedes Sosa in Europe and South America. A must for those of us who love Mercedes Sosa. A legacy for Latin American music collectors. Beautiful songs, quality recordings.

Tracklist:

Zamba Para No Morir
Como La Cigarra
Yo Vengo A Ofrecer Mi Corazón
Me Haces Bien
Piedra y Camino
Deja La Vida Volar
Guitarra Dímelo Tú
Gente Humilde
Alfonsina y el Mar
Agua, Fuego, Tierra y Viento
Zamba Para Olvidarte
Vuelvo Al Sur
Los Mareados
Aquellas Pequeñas Cosas
Gracias A La Vida
La Celedonia Batista
María María

Mercedes Sosa - Deja La Vida Volar - En Gira

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Bejarano & Microphone Mafia - Per La Vita

Esther Bejarano, a survivor of the Auschwitz death camp who devoted much of her life to the fight against antisemitism and racism, has died. She was 96.
Mereon Mendel, the director of the Anne Frank Educational Center in Frankfurt, Germany, said Saturday that Bejarano died overnight. 

Microphone Mafia is an early German-Turkish-Italian rap group that formed in Cologne in 1989. At the beginning, the main characteristic of the group was the simultaneous use of German , Italian , Neapolitan , Turkish and English. In 1992, under the impressions of the riots in Rostock-Lichtenhagen , the band, whose members mainly come from guest worker families, became increasingly politicized .

In 2007 Kutlu Yurtseven got in touch with Holocaust survivor Esther Bejarano to start a musical project together.  The first joint rehearsals are successful and Bejarano's children Edna Bejarano , former singer of the band Rattles and Joram Bejarano quickly decide to take part in the project. Both played anti-fascist songs with their mother in the band Coincidence. The five members took songs from both bands as well as songs from the labor movement such as Bella Ciao and Jewish folk songs and revised them with contemporary texts. 

In 2009 the album "Per la Vita" was released via Mad Butcher Records and Al-Dente Recordz, which contained eleven songs. Afterwards the band played more than 170 concerts with different line-ups. The performances are divided into two parts: first Esther Bejarano reads part of her biography, then the musicians enter the stage and the hip-hop part begins.

The crossover of modern hip-hop and traditional Jewish folklore turned out to be quite a hit. The rappers have mixed Jewish songs with stomping hip-hop beats and also created new lyrics for some of the songs that are more accessible for a younger audience.

“It’s a clash of everything: age, culture, style,” Bejarano, a petite lady with an amiable chuckle, told ahead of Auschwitz Liberation Day some years ago. “But we all love music and share a common goal: we’re fighting against racism and discrimination.”

The daughter of a Jewish cantor from Saarbruecken in western Germany, Bejarano grew up in a musical home studying piano until the Nazis came to power and tore her family apart. Bejarano was deported to Auschwitz, where she became a member of the girls’ orchestra, playing the accordion every time trains full of Jews from across Europe arrived at the death camp.

“We played with tears in our eyes,” Bejarano remembered. “The new arrivals came in waving and applauding us, but we knew they would be taken directly to the gas chambers.”

Bejarano survived, but her parents and sister Ruth were killed by the Nazis.

Tracklist:

1 Schalom
2 Avanti Popolo
3 Karli Kayin
4 Schlachthof
5 Zu Ejns, Zwej, Draj
6 Die Ballade Der Verhassten Liebe
7 Adama, Admati
8 Viva La Liberta
9 Deserteur
10 Adio Querida
11 Bella Ciao

Bejarano & Microphone Mafia - Per La Vita

(320 kbps, cover art included)

VA - The Prophet Speaks - Dedicated To Dr. Martin Luther King (1993)

This is a nice 90s street jazz compilation, dedicated to Dr. Martin Luther King.

"I Have a Dream" is a public speech that was delivered by American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963, in which he called for civil and economic rights and an end to racism in the United States. Delivered to over 250,000 civil rights supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the speech was a defining moment of the civil rights movement and among the most iconic speeches in American history.

Beginning with a reference to the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared millions of slaves free in 1863, King said "one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free". Toward the end of the speech, King departed from his prepared text for a partly improvised peroration on the theme "I have a dream", prompted by Mahalia Jackson's cry: "Tell them about the dream, Martin!" In this part of the speech, which most excited the listeners and has now become its most famous, King described his dreams of freedom and equality arising from a land of slavery and hatred. Jon Meacham writes that, "With a single phrase, Martin Luther King Jr. joined Jefferson and Lincoln in the ranks of men who've shaped modern America". The speech was ranked the top American speech of the 20th century in a 1999 poll of scholars of public address. The speech has also been described as having "a strong claim to be the greatest in the English language of all time".

Tracklist:

1. Rev. Martin Luther King "I have a Dream" 

2. Step Three feat James B. More "A Dream" 

3. Mr. Wayne "Integrity" 

4. Gamut of Crime "Concious" 

5. Marian "Summer Breeze" 

6. Quiet Achievers "Choices" 

7. Fanfan La Tulipe "Movin On" 

8. Childhood Sweetheart "Singing" 

9. Basis of Attraction "Spinning Wheel" 

10.Man in the Bottle "Hole in my Heart" 

11.Fanfan La Tulipe "I Know I don't Know" 

12. Addie Shadow "Soft & Wet" 

13. Craig Runyon & Bodhi Beat Poets "This Love"

VA - The Prophet Speaks - Dedicated To Dr. Martin Luther King (1993)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Conflict - The House That Man Built (EP, 1982)

Conflict is an English anarcho-punk band originally based in Eltham in South London. Formed in 1981, the band's original line up consisted of: Colin Jerwood (vocals), Francisco 'Paco' Carreno (drums), Big John (bass guitar), Steve (guitars), Pauline (vocals), Paul a.k.a. 'Nihilistic Nobody' (visuals). 

Anarchy in the U.K., indeed -- such was the ultimate goal for the fiercely political British punk band Conflict, a group fueled by its hatred of Thatcher's England, the media, the military, and the general status quo of late 20th century life.

Their first release was the EP "The House That Man Built" on Crass Records. By the time they released their first album, It's Time to See Who's Who, on Corpus Christi Records, Pauline and Paul had left the band. Conflict later set up its own Mortarhate Records label, which put out releases by other artists including Hagar the Womb, Icons of Filth, Lost Cherrees, The Apostles, and Stalag 17.

In 1983, Steve Ignorant, who was at the time a member of the band Crass, guested on the band's pro-animal rights single "To A Nation of Animal Lovers". After the dissolution of Crass, Ignorant later became second vocalist for Conflict on a semi-permanent basis. This followed a 1986 gig in Brixton, London, when he had joined the band on stage for a few numbers.

The band has always been outspoken regarding issues such as anarchism, animal rights, the anti-war movement and in their support for the organisation Class War, and a number of their gigs during the 1980s were followed by riots and disturbances.

Former band drummer, Francisco "Paco" Carreno, died on 20 February 2015, at the age of 49.

In September 2015, it was announced that vocalist Jeannie Ford had joined the band.


Tracklist:
A1 Conflict
A2 Blind Attack
B1 I've Had Enough
B2 Wargames

Conflict - The House That Man Built (EP, 1982)

(192 kbps, cover art included)

Thatcher On Acid - Curdled (1987)

Thatcher On Acid were an anarcho-postpunk band from the United Kingdom. They formed in Somerset during 1983. Their name is a satirical reference to former U.K. prime minister, Margaret Thatcher.

"Curdled" was released in 1987, using the occasional samples of media speech pasted into a variety of styles, from harsh, whirring amps and drums stuff to wistful acoustic rock.

It seems almost dead and buried now, sadly, but "agitpop" was once a genre, of bands (predominantly English) that combined post-punk rock in the spirit of Killing Joke, U.K. Decay, Theater of Hate, Banshees, and Gang of Four with scathing sociopolitical awareness. Maybe it went bye-bye with Thatcher's fall and Reagan's retirement, but to borrow a Dead Kennedys lyric, post-punk "kids today sit on their ass" (there are exceptions, of course).

Thatcher On Acid - Curdled (1987)
(192 kbps, front cover included)

Harry Belafonte & Miriam Makeba - An Evening With Belafonte & Makeba (1965)

Originally posted in Februar 2011:

Tomorrow the Berlinale film festival 2011 will begin. With a litte bit of luck i will have the chance to view screenings of documentarys about the life and work of Harry Belafonte and Miriam Makeba.

Fortyfive years have passed since Harry Belafonte and Miriam Makeba first educated their adoring fans about life in South Africa under apartheid, revealing through songs sung entirely in Xhosa, Zulu, Sotho, and Swahili what life was like for black South Africans. Much has changed since then, with South Africa now governed by the black majority, but the messages and the music from the sixties live on in this wonderful collaboration, which recognizes universal hopes and dreams and reflects the longings of all people for freedom. Passionate and controlled, Belafonte and Makeba transcend the "protest movement" of the sixties with an album which is as relevant today as it was when it was recorded and performed around the world a generation ago.
"An Evening wth Belafonte & Makeba" was released in 1965 on RCA Victor. Harry Belafonte and Miriam Makeba sing together on only two tracks here ("Train Song" and "Cannon"), splitting the vocals on the other tracks, often backed by a small choir.

While the title suggests a concert setting, this is actually a marvelous studio album of South African songs, and the bright melodies and careful arrangements are wonderfully recorded, with both Belafonte and Makeba at the top of their game.

Play this on a gray day and watch everything brighten up immediately.

Tracklist:
1. Train song - Harry Belafonte & Miriam Makeba
2. In the land of Zulus - Miriam Makeba
3. Hush, hush - Harry Belafonte
4. To those we love - Miriam Makeba
5. Give us our land - Harry Belafonte
6. Beware, verwoerd! - Miriam Makeba
7. Gone are my children - Harry Belafonte
8. Hurry, mama, hurry! - Miriam Makeba
9. My angel - Harry Belafonte & Miriam Makeba
10. Cannon - Miriam Makeba
11. Lullaby - Harry Belafonte
12. Show me the way, my brother - Harry Belafonte

Harry Belafonte & Miriam Makeba - An Evening With Belafonte & Makeba (1965)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Smith & Mighty - Remember Me (Single, 1994)

Long before Bristol had become a recognized stronghold for downtempo trip-hop and spy-soundtrack dubs, the duo of Rob Smith and Ray Mighty teamed in the late '80s for two early breakbeat tracks, "Walk on By" and "Anyone Who Had a Heart." The anachronistic fusion of sophisticated Burt Bacharach productions with laidback hip-hop prefigured trip-hop's later fascination with the more polished end of '60s adult-pop. The pair also produced the Top Ten hit "Wishing on a Star" for the Fresh Fours, then signed with ffrr Records (who were looking for a production team with crossover abilities similar to Soul II Soul).

The label later rejected both Smith & Mighty's debut album and several subsequent recordings -- claiming they were unsuitable for release -- so the duo formed their own label, More Rockers. Five years after their initial brush with major-label shenanigans, they released "Bass Is Maternal".

Tracklist:

1 Remember Me (Radio Edit) 3:58
2 Come Fly Away 4:26

Smith & Mighty - Remember Me (Single, 1994)

(320 kbps, front cover included)

VA - Soul Of Jamaica - Here Comes The Duke (Trojan, 1997)

This disc brings together two of producer Duke Reid's original rocksteady albums from the late '60s. In addition to several stellar soul-jazz instrumentals by Reid's house band, Tommy McCook & the Supersonics, the 24 tracks take in wealth of classic vocals by the Techniques ("Run Come Celebrate"), Alton Ellis ("Willow Weep for Me"), Phyliss Dillon ("Long Time No Nice Time"), the Paragons ("My Best Girl"), and the Termites ("Love Up Kiss Up"). 

There are also fine cuts by Joya Landis (a cover of the '60s pop hit "Angel of the Morning"), the Jamaicans, and the Soul Lads. And this is not to forget the tight grooves behind the vocals, compliments of tenor saxophonist McCook and such Supersonics notables as trumpeter Johnny Moore, alto saxophonist Lester Sterling, guitarist Lyn Tait, and organist Winston Wright. A welcome reissue in a sea of ska and rocksteady compilations.

Tracklist:

Soul Of Jamaica (TRL-3):
1 Joya Landis– Angel Of The Morning
2 Alton Ellis– My Willow Tree
3 Tommy McCook & The Supersonics– Heatwave
4 Joya Landis– (Mummy) Out The Light
5 The Paragons– My Best Girl
6 Tommy McCook & The Supersonics– What The World Needs Now
7 Alton Ellis– I Can't Stand It
8 Phyllis Dillon– Long Time No Nice Time
9 Tommy McCook– Ride Me Donkey
10 Alton Ellis & Phyllis Dillon– Love Letters
11 The Jamaicans– Woman Go Home
12 Tommy McCook & The Supersonics– Flying Home

Here Comes The Duke (TRL-6):
13 Tommy McCook & The Supersonics– Laba Laba Reggae (The Lonely Goat Herd)
14 Tommy McCook & The Supersonics– Second Fiddle
15 Danny Simpson & Tommy McCook & The Supersonics– Mary Poppins
16 Tommy McCook & The Supersonics– Soul Remedy
17 The Techniques– I'm In The Mood For Love
18 The Soul Lads– I'm Yours Forever
19 Ken Parker– True True True
20 The Techniques– Run Come Celebrate
21 The Gladiators– Sweet Soul Music
22 Joya Landis– Kansas City
23 The Termites– Love Up Kiss Up

VA - Soul Of Jamaica - Here Comes The Duke (Trojan, 1997)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Shut Up And Dance - The Weekend´s Here (12´´)

Shut Up and Dance are an English duo that fused hip hop, house and hardcore. They are acknowledged as one of the pioneers of breakbeat hardcore and jungle music.

Their 1995 album "Black Men United" encompassed jungle, downtempo, reggae and hip hop. A single from this album, "Save It 'Til the Mourning After", which sampled Duran Duran's hit "Save A Prayer", reached No. 25 on the UK chart.

"The Weekend´s Here" is another single from that album.


Tracklist:
A The Weekend's Here (Original Mix) 3:10
AA1 The Weekend's Here (Greed's Euphorik Club Mix) 6:14
AA2 The Weekend's Here (Greed's Dancin Dope Dub) 5:23

Shut Up And Dance - The Weekend´s Here (12´´)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Pete Seeger - Talking Union (2007)

Despite the title, this album is not to be confused with the Almanac Singers' 1941 debut album of the same name (nor with the expanded reissue of that album, Talking Union and Other Union Songs released in 1955 by Folkways Records), although it does contain a few of the tracks from that album.


From the liner notes:

"Seeger´s union songs are represented on this album, along with the anti-Nazi "Deliver The Goods", traditinal pieces like "Casey Jones" and Jimmy Rodgers´ "Muleskinner Blues", together with a selection of the childrens´ songs he enjoyed, a contrasting antidote to the serious material. Many of these show a good natured sense of humour, but we close with his typically definat performance of the rousing "We Shall Not Be Moved".


Tracklist:

1 Talking Union
2 Deliver The Goods
3 Union Maid
4 The Sinking Of The Reuben James
5 Casey Jones
6 Gambling Man
7 Liza Jane
8 All I Want
9 Train Is A-Coming
10 Jim Crack Corn
11 All Around The Kitchen
12 Frog Went A-Courting
13 She'll Be Coming 'Round The Mountain
14 Clap Your Hands
15 This Old Man
16 Bought Me A Cat
17 Jim Along Josie
18 Muleskinner Blues
19 Billy Barlow
20 There Was A Man And He Was Mad
21 Coast Of High Barbary
22 We Shall Not Be Moved

Pete Seeger - Talking Union (2007)
(320 kbps, front cover included)

The Flying Lizards - The Flying Lizards (1979)

The Flying Lizards are remembered by most listeners as new wave one-hit wonders thanks to their deliberately eccentric cover of Barrett Strong's "Money," which became a surprise chart success in 1979. But the Flying Lizards were in fact the brainchild of David Cunningham, a well-respected avant-garde composer, producer, and visual artist, and it became one of the first salvos in a long and fascinating career. Cunningham was born in Ireland in 1954, and once told a reporter he first took up music in school as a way of avoiding playing rugby with his schoolmates. Cunningham later developed a keen interest in both music and visual art, and he left Ireland when he was accepted at the Maidstone College of Art in Canterbury, Kent, where he studied film and video installation. While in school, Cunningham began doing live sound for rock bands playing on campus, which led to an interest in recording and music production.

In the late 1970s, composer and producer David Cunningham was savvy enough to cloak his experimental music in the disguise of a novelty record, at least for a while; his fractured deconstructions of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues" and Barrett Strong's "Money," released under the moniker the Flying Lizards, managed to inch into the pop charts because folks thought they were some sort of musical joke, even though Cunningham's wit didn't negate the seriousness of his musical ambitions. After the international success of "Money," Virgin Records wanted a Flying Lizards album to go along with it, and the resulting LP was where Cunningham's cred as an artist ran up against his instincts as a pop satirist. The principle reason "Money" became a left-field hit was that even though the song had been bent within an inch of its life, it still had a catchy hook and, if you wanted to, you could dance to it. That can't honestly be said for the new material Cunningham and his associates put together for the album; except for Bertold Brecht and Kurt Weill's "Der Song von Mandelay," which doesn't have an honestly memorable hook, the new tracks are all originals and they're informed by the space and anything-goes vibe of dub instead of radio-ready pop, and while they're intelligent and well-executed, they're not especially compelling. Through the soundscapes that dominate the second half of this album are more interesting to talk about than to hear, at least they're better than the vocal tracks closer to the beginning, which sound both pretentious and musically flawed. The Flying Lizards' first album unwittingly followed one of the greatest traditions of '50s and '60s pop -- take a hit single, surround it with a whole bunch of filler less interesting than the hit, and presto! You have an album. Too bad Cunningham didn't prove to have as much vision as, say, Count Five or the Royal Guardsmen, who did better with the quickie album concept than he did. - allmusic.com

Tracklist:

Mandelay Song 2:27

Her Story 4:37

TV 3:51

Russia 6:11

Summertime Blues 3:09

Money 5:52

The Flood 4:57

Trouble 2:46

Events During Flood 3:25

The Window 4:52

The Flying Lizards - The Flying Lizards (1979)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Peter Jacobi - I could could cry vor lauter Blues (1974)

Peter Jacobi (born 1951 in Meiningen, Thüringen) is a writer, bookseller and former blues musicer. In 1974 he found the rock band "blues & ballads", which toured later as "Zyankali". 

The same year he released "I could cry for lauter Blues", an album with blues and rock songs with lyrics sung and spoken in Bavarian dialect with a grounded strange voice. The album was first released on Pläne records.


Tracklist:

A1 Kini Faruk
A2 Giasing Giasing
A3 Westend
A4 Zyankalischorsch
A5 Holzhammerlied
A6 Niederwammerl
B1 Buchhalter´s Rache
B2 Müllmenschblues
B3 Krokodilos
B4 Konkurrenz
B5 Scheißhausblues
B6 Danz Da Burschoasy
B7 Vilshofener Waltz


Peter Jacobi - I could could cry vor lauter Blues (1974)
(ca, 256 kbps, cover art included)

Heiner Goebbels & Alfred 23 Harth - Goebbels Heart (1981-84)

Experimental composer and director Heiner Goebbels was born in Neustadt, Germany, on August 17, 1952, relocating to the Frankfurt area at age 20 to study music and sociology. He first achieved recognition in 1976 upon premiering a number of works, including Rote Sonne, Circa, and Improvisations on Themes by Hanns Eisler, most performed in conjunction with the Sogenanntes Linksradikales Blasorchester. Concurrently, Goebbels also collaborated with Alfred 23 Harth and, beginning in 1982, he served as a member of the longstanding art rock trio Cassiber. He further expanded his growing oeuvre with a series of theatrical, film, and ballet scores, and during the mid-'80s began writing and directing audio plays of his own, seeking his initial inspiration in the texts of Heiner Mueller. His theatrical and musical works have won numerous awards across Europe.

"Goebbels Heart is a kind of compilation disc, pulling together portions of early-'80s recordings by this duo originally released on the small German label Riskant. At this point in his career, Goebbels (who would later release more atmospheric and experimental albums on ECM) seems to be very much under the influence of composers such as Carla Bley, including the utilization of European workers' songs (Hanns Eisler here). Goebbels plays mostly keyboards, both acoustic and electric, while Harth (yes, the '23' is part of his taken name) wields various reeds. Though occasionally multi-tracked, there's an enticing spareness to the album, with Harth's soprano work sounding especially wistful.

In the second section (tracks six through 16), vocals are performed with alternating angst and bombast by Dagmar Krause and Ernst Stötzner, using texts by Bertolt Brecht. Two of the final three pieces, recorded three years after the others, are more abstract affairs with stuttering melodic material and found tapes. But the last composition, 'Peking-Oper', is the highlight of the disc, based on samples of 20th century Chinese revolutionary opera, which are lovingly abused, twisted, and augmented into a new beast entirely. Interestingly, the Goebbels/Harth piece itself was sampled a decade later by Otomo Yoshihide for his album Revolutionary Pekinese Opera.

Listeners who came to know Goebbels' work from his subsequent ECM discs will enjoy hearing his early roots on this hard to find recording."

(Brian Olewnick, allmusic)


Alfred 23 Harth: soprano, alto & tenor saxophones, clarinet, bass clarinet, trombone, trumpet, percussion, etc.
Heiner Goebbels: piano, synthesizer, cembalo, organ, harmonium, soprano saxophone, cello, chinese violin, guitar, bouzouki, electric bass, percussion, rhythm machine, etc.
with
Dagmar Krause: vocals (3,9,12,15)
Ernst Stötzner: voice (6-8,10,11,13-16)

Tracklist:

1. Berlin, Q-Damm 12.4.81 (5'09)
2. Indianer für morgen (2'23)
3. Dunkle Wolk (4'57)
4. Kein Kriegsspielzeug für Jonathan (4'15)
5. Über den Selbstmord (2'45)
6. Tagesanbruch (4'27)
7. Ich, Bertolt Brecht (1'19)
8. Abbau des Schiffes Oskawa durch die Mannschaft (6'26)
9. Es lebt eine Gräfin in schwedischem Land (2'04)
10. Die Vögel warten im Winter vor dem Fenster (2'57)
11. Apfelböck oder Die Lilie auf dem Felde (3'36)
12. Der Pflaumenbaum (1'39)
13. Liedchen aus alter Zeit (0'37)
14. Sonett (1'26)
15. Deutsches Lied (1'27)
16. 1940 (Ich befinde mich auf dem Inselchen Lidingö) (3'39)
17. Die Reise nach Aschenfeld (5'51)
18. Paradies und Hölle können eine Stadt sein (4'44)
19. Peking-Oper (15'56)


All music composed by Heiner Goebbels & Alfred 23 Harth, exc.
1 by Heiner Goebbels,
5 by Hanns Eisler,
lyrics to 4 by Johannes Werlin,
lyrics to 6-16 by Bertolt Brecht.


Compilation from the following LP's:

1-5: Der durchdrungene Mensch - Indianer für Morgen (Riskant, 1981). Recorded and mixed by Etienne Connod and Robert Vogel at Sunrise Studios, Kirchberg, Switzerland and by Heiner Goebbels (August 1981).

6-16: Bertolt Brecht: Zeit Wird Knapp (Tonstudio Zuckerfabrik, 1981). Produced by Joachim-Ernst Behrendt. Idea and text selection by J.E.B. Recorded and mixed August-October 1981 at Tonstudio Zuckerfabrik, Stuttgart by Gibbs Platen.

17-19: Frankfurt - Peking (Riskant, 1984). Recorded by Walter Brüssow and Bernhard Klein, mixed by Büdi Siebert, Heiner Goebbels and Walter Brüssow at Trion Sound Studio, Frankfurt (September 1984).

Heiner Goebbels & Alfred 23 Harth - Goebbels Heart (1981-84)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Thanks a lot to Mr. Lucky!

The Ex - Dignity Of Labour (1983)

The Ex are an underground band from the Netherlands that formed in 1979 at the height of the original punk explosion. Initially known as an anarcho-punk band, they have since released over 20 full-length albums exploring a wide variety of genres, blending punk rock with free jazz and folk music from all over the world - while still keeping a focus on anarchism, lyrically.

The Ex's music has undergone significant evolution over the years from their beginnings as a punk band. Founded by singer Jos Kley (better known as G.W. Sok), guitarist Terrie Hessels, drummer Geurt and bassist René, the band debuted with a song titled "Stupid Americans" on the Utreg-Punx vinyl 7" compilation released by Rock Against records in Rotterdam. The release of their first 7" All Corpses Smell the Same followed shortly after that, in 1980. Through the decades their music has gradually developed into its current form of highly intricate, experimental punk/post-punk/no wave-inspired work

"Dignity of Labour" is the third album by The Ex, originally released in 1983. The album was originally issued as a box set of four 7-inch records in solidarity with factory workers. The tracks were compiled onto a CD album a decade later.

After taking up residence in an abandoned villa in the Dutch city of Wormer, The Ex conceived of album to pay tribute to the nearby Van Gelder paper factory. The factory had been a site of workers' resistance to Nazi occupation during World War II, but decades later shut down due to unsafe working conditions, outdated machinery, and corporate exploitation.

Joined by new drummer Sabien, The Ex recorded the album's eight songs with producer Dolf Planteijdt in his Koeienverhuur "Cow Rental" Studio, adding in material recorded in the abandoned paper factory itself. The music incorporates machine-like industrial music rhythms that includes engines, printing presses, and pile drivers alongside guitar, double-bass, drums, saxophone, and marimba. The lyrics document the life and death of the factory, building from its establishment as a paper mill in the nineteenth century, its threat of being dismantled and relocated to Germany during the Second World War, its bounceback during a post-war economic boom, followed by a takeover by an American multinational corporation that eventually closed it down in 1980.

The Ex released "Dignity of Labour" as a box set of four 7" singles, simply titling each song "Sucked Out and Chucked Out" pressed into records that bore blank black labels. The album's cover photo shows workers from the factory in 1980, reacting to the news that they had just been fired. Originally slated for launch in December 1982, it was delayed due to a failure in the British Customs Service, eventually a seeing release in March on 1983. Inside its book were the four records, a 24-page booklet, and poster depicting a jammed paper machine from the factory with the lyrics printed on the back.

"Dignity of Labour" was first issued on CD, along with The Ex's entire back catalog, in 1993.

Tracklist:

1. "(Sucked Out Chucked Out) 1"
2. "(Sucked Out Chucked Out) 2"
3. "(Sucked Out Chucked Out) 3"
4. "(Sucked Out Chucked Out) 4"
5. "(Sucked Out Chucked Out) 5"
6. "(Sucked Out Chucked Out) 6"
7. "(Sucked Out Chucked Out) 7"
8. "(Sucked Out Chucked Out) 8"

The Ex - Dignity Of Labour (1983)

(ca. 224 kbps, cover art included)

Ugo Guizzardi & Angelo Palma - Cancion Nueva - Omaggio A Victor Jara

Victor Jara was a Chilean university professor, theater director, musician and songwriter. He founded together with Violeta Parra and the groups Quilapayún and Inti-illimani the musical, cultural and artistic movement Nueva Canción Chilena. Politically engaged, Jara supported the coalition Unidad Popular whose leader, Salvador Allende, won the national elections in 1970 and was elected president of Chile. Allende applied his electoral program: nationalized factories and enterprises of monopoly, banks, the production of saltpeter , steel, coal and copper, till that moment still in the hands of Corporation, mainly North American. Víctor Jara died at age 41 years, was assassinated five days after the military coup of 11 September 1973, coup backed by the CIA and the U.S. government of Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger. It was one of thousands of victims, including the president Allende, of the repression implemented by the military junta of General Augusto Pinochet.

Since 1974 UGO GUIZZARDI and ANGELO PALMA began to learn and play some of the songs of Víctor Jara and Nueva Canción Chilena through contact with the group Inti-Illimani, in political exile in Italy from 1973 to 1988. Years later, these early musical experiences were incorporated in the work of the group Umami (which they co-founded), active in the first revival of folk Andean music then, more in general, of Latin American songs and today they now present original compositions of the group. In 2013, exactly forty years after the coup, UGO GUIZZARDI and ANGELO PALMA propose this CD with some of the songs of Víctor Jara. With the help of old and new friends it is for the two leaders a way to return at least a part of what they learned and got from this forty years. This work is intended as a small testimony, reworked in a personal way, of how UGO GUIZZARDI and ANGELO PALMA have lived from far away and at the same very close the experiment of the socio-cultural, democratic and peaceful revolution that occurred in Chile in the 70s with its tragic and violent epilogue and its consequences in later years.

The message of Víctor Jara is more relevant today than ever. Of course, the era in which he lived the political, economic and social situation in the world has changed a lot but has not improved. The rise of neo-liberalism in recent decades (as already realized by Salvador Allende and expressed in a speech to the UN in 1972) has led to the expansion of global corporations, major banks, financial institutions and rating agencies without control by governments and sovereign states, which indeed, are submissive or accomplices. The logic of indiscriminate profit regardless of the social costs and environmental damages results in a profoundly unjust situation in the globalized world of today.

 
It is certainly not singing a song that you can change the course of history, but as Víctor Jara has taught us a song can leave a mark deeper than that of a bullet. A song helps us not to forget the past history to face the future. A song can evoke and nurture a spirit.

Tracklist:

1 - La Cocinerita
2 - Asy Como Hoy Matan Negros
3 - El Aparecido
4 - El Cigarrito
5 - Herminda de la Victoria
6 - Cai Cai Vilu
7 - Luchin
8 - Zamba Del Che
9 - A Cochabamba Me Voy
10 - Te Recuerdo Amanda
11 - Ni Chicha Ni Limona
12 - La Partida
13 - Manifiesto
14 - Manifiesto Sikuriada

Ugo Guizzardi & Angelo Palma - Cancion Nueva - Omaggio A Victor Jara

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Julie Felix - Changes (1966)

Although she enjoyed stardom and an enduring multi-decade career in the U.K., folk singer Julie Felix never achieved widespread recognition in her native United States. After immigrating to England in the mid-'60s, the Californian was able to capitalize on the country's sudden post-Dylan appetite for American folk music and subsequently became the first solo folk artist to sign a major-label deal there. During her late-'60s peak, Felix's career in England was booming; she had scored a number of hits, sold out Royal Albert Hall, and hosted a popular variety television show. Her popularity continued into the early '70s, after which she spent a period living and recording in Norway -- where she also had several hits -- before returning to California and focusing on humanitarian issues. Moving back to England in the '90s, she revived her career and released a string of original albums on her own label, becoming a much-loved veteran of the U.K. touring circuit throughout the next two decades. Prior to her death in early 2020, Felix had celebrated her 80th birthday with a new album, "Rock Me Goddess", in 2018.

Felix debuted with a self-titled album and a single of Ian Tyson's "Someday Soon," and she also scored a hit on television, on The Eammon Andrews Show. By 1965, she was a headlining performer, referred to in The London Times as Britain's First Lady of Folk. She cut two more LPs for Decca over the next two years, including an album of Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie songs, and was also one of the biggest exponents of the work of Leonard Cohen before he'd established himself beyond a small cult of listeners in England. She also began getting recognized for her commitment to charitable causes, and not only raised money for hunger relief but visited several of the more troubled countries in the Third World. By the end of 1965, Felix had filled Royal Albert Hall for one of her concerts, reportedly the first folksinger based in England to accomplish that feat. In 1966, she moved to the Fontana label, for which she cut three albums -- her 1966 album, "Changes", is regarded as one of her best, mixing traditional and contemporary material and utilizing the support of Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick. Meanwhile, on-stage she came under the wing of Brian Epstein, who booked her and Georgie Fame together at the Saville Theatre, with a then-unknown Cat Stevens appearing as the opening act.

While this is by no means an outstanding record, it might be the most appealing offering in the Felix catalog for folk and folk-rock collectors. That's due not to Felix herself, but the presence of a pre-Pentangle John Renbourn as guitar accompanist. British folk giant Martin Carthy, as well as a pre-Fairport Convention Dave Swarbrick (on guitar and violin, respectively), also show up on "Geordie." The guitar playing is good, but as for the actual product, it's competent but rather colorless mid-'60s folk. It also seems as though Felix and Fontana were not quite sure in which direction to tug: The mood is predominantly acoustic folk, but there's also some tentative, awkward folk-rock with rudimentary drums (particularly on the cover of Sylvia Fricker's "Gifts Are for Giving"), strained experimental-surreal comedy ("Brain Blood Volume"), and orchestration (on "Rainy Day" and "I Can't Touch the Sun") that indicates a fruitless stab at the pop market. The songs are a mixture of covers of songs by the likes of Bob Dylan, Donovan, and Gordon Lightfoot -- none of them too obscure -- with pleasant, unmemorable Felix originals. Her takes on Dino Valenti's classic "Get Together" and Lightfoot's "The Way I Feel" are, lamentably, embarrassingly stiff. The LP's one for curiosity seekers, both for the session musicians and for an illustration of a '60s folky unable to make a smooth transition into more progressive sounds and arrangements.


Tracklist:

A1 The Lost Children
A2 One Too Many Mornings
A3 Gifts Are For Giving
A4 Geordie
A5 To Try For The Sun
A6 Brain Blood Volume
A7 Rainy Day
B1 Changes
B2 Love Minus Zero - No Limit
B3 Ballad Of A Crystal Man
B4 Get Together
B5 The Ones I Love The Most
B6 The Way I Feel
B7 I Can't Touch The Sun

Julie Felix - Changes (1966)

(320 kbps, cover art included)