Sonntag, 24. August 2025

Leftfield - Song Of Life (1993)

"Song of Life" was the fourth single released under the Leftfield name and the first to have a C single release.

The song was released on 12" and CD in January 1993. The sleeve of the single had the footnote "dedicated to the memory of Steve Walters whose support, friendship and encouragement will never be forgotten".
It made #59 in the UK charts. The song was also used as the backing track for Channel 4's Dispatches programme.


Tracks:
1. Song of Life 4:17
2. Song of Life (Extended Version) 8:42
3. Fanfare of Life 6:05
4. Release the Dub 5:44
.
Leftfield - Song Of Life (1993)
(192 kbps, cover art included)

Bernd Witthuser - Lieder von Vampiren, Nonnen und Toten (1970)

“If I’d perform in front of miners and sing about how we’d sweat because of the exhausting mining-work the miners they’d laugh about me, since I haven’t gone to work for more than two years.” Bernd Witthüser refused to be received as a political folk-singer for the working class. From 1964 up to 1969 the folk-festival at “Burg Waldeck” (in the Hunsrück mountains) played an important role for the development of a musical underground in post-WW-II-Germany. The music performed there offered an alternative to the German “Schlager” and was influenced by the American and French folk music, but even more important than that musical references was a very strong Marxist tradition that the new generation connected with (Bertolt Brecht functioned as an important role model). Not unlike Pete Seeger in the U.S., folk music was considered to be not only the voice of the people but something to educate people with, raise people’s consciousness, teach them about society etc.: “We shall overcome”…

That highly political (and arrogant at times) approach often led to controversial events. Not unlike Pete Seeger attacking Dylan’s amplification with an axe, there were similar incidents at “Burg Waldeck”. For example there was the time Rolf Schwendter disturbed Reinhard May’s concert with a snare drum, because May’s songs weren’t political enough for Schwendter’s taste.
As a result to the politicised/political climate during the late 1960’s the festival turned out to be dominated by discussions and teach-ins and all these incidents/discussions during these years were as necessary as self-centered: On the one hand the festival and its music/musicians worked as an instrument to politicise people – on the other hand the privileged middle-class kids had to learn that the “revolutionary subject” (i.e. the working class) they were talking about/looking for was somewhere else: at work – and not at a hippie-festival in the Hunsrück mountains. As a consequence in 1969 the preaching to the converted came to an end (the festival was put on hold until 1973) and the folk-music-scene disbanded and headed off to different shores.

Some of the folk musicians referred to the psychedelic music as a druggy escape-route from a reality that needed to be changed (and because of drug-use remained unchanged), some referred to the psychedelic aesthetics as a way to enter the doors of perception – as a first step towards a new society. The crucial point (still): is smoking pot revolutionary or counter-revolutionary behaviour?
By 1968 Bernd Witthüser had already had some local success as a protest-singer, but he didn’t want to sing about mining when his everyday life was more about smoking pot and reading poetry. It seemed ridiculous to him.

Instead of performing the “working class hero” he chose to sing about vampires, nuns and the dead. Influenced by medieval and romantic poetry (like Novalis and Heinrich Heine) he recorded a gothic-folk or folk-noir record for Rolf Ulrich Kaisers Ohr-label (with whom he had also worked before when he managed the “Essener Songtage” in 1968). But it wouldn’t be a Witthüser (& Westrupp is on board already, too) record without a good measure of goofy jokes included: The last song on the record is an adaption of the theme tune from the TV-series “Flipper” and until that last song a lot of – more or less – funny wordplays and gags come with a lot of the songs on “Lieder von Vampiren, Nonnen und Toten”.

But the all in all frivolous approach is a good thing, actually. Otherwise “Lieder von Vampiren, Nonnen und Toten” would be an unbearable proto-neo-folk-disaster. But Bernd and Walter had a reefer once in a while and their daily dose of Marihuana kept them away from turning into morbid youngsters longing for death.

It’s quite difficult to write about the music on “Lieder von Vampiren, Nonnen und Toten” without thinking of the lyrics all the time. And being a native speaker of the German language I wonder how the record is received if you don’t get the lyrics (which is – the other way round – in 99,9% the case for all the Anglo-American music “Krauts” listen to). “Lieder von Vampiren, Nonnen und Toten” is a lovely, unadorned folk music record garnished with a lot of humour and a slightly psychedelic vibe. Mostly guitar and voice, with a bit of percussion, a flute, a trombone and stuff like that here and there. Imagine Cheech & Chong singing Current 93.

After “Lieder von Vampiren, Nonnen und Toten”, Witthüser & Westrupp went on to perform and record as a duo and they released three studio-records (“Trips und Träume”, “Der Jesuspilz” und “Bauer Plath”) and a live-record (“Live ’68-’73”). It’s all about smoking pot, making fun of authorities, daydreaming and enjoying life, basically. Not sure, if this can be considered as a revolutionary agenda, but for a few years it seemed to work – and they both remain swinging until this day! ~ Krautrock database

Tracklist:
01. Dracula (4:35)
02. Das stille Grab (2:26)
03. Wir möchten dieses Lied noch singen (3:40)
04. Kann die Klage deuten wer? (3:51)
05. Ich bin dahin (3:19)
06. Welcher Wechsel doch im Leben (2:58)
07. Leis ertönt die Abendglocke (3:10)
08. Hinüber wall ich (2:54)
09. Wenn ich ein Fröhlicher wär (2:52)
10. Die Beschwörung (2:54)
11. Liebeslied (4:10)
12. Die Lilie vom See (4:04)
13. Wer schwimmt dort? (1:59)


Bernd Witthuser - Lieder von Vampiren, Nonnen und Toten (1970)
(192 kbps, cover art included)

Samstag, 23. August 2025

The Slits - Man Next Door (Single, 1980)


Along with the Raincoats and Liliput, the Slits are one of the most significant female punk rock bands of the late '70s.

"Man Next Door" (also known as Quiet Place or I've Got to Get Away) is a song based on Paul Witt's 1964 American hit 'A Quiet Place' and originally recorded by John Holt with his group The Paragons in 1968.

The Paragons version was produced by Duke Reid and first released on his Duke label as the B-side of "Left with a Broken Heart".

The song has been covered by numerous other reggae artists including Dennis Brown, UB40 and Horace Andy who also sang in a more electronic version of the song for the Massive Attack album "Mezzanine", with a sample of the drum riff from Led Zeppelin's cover of "When the Levee Breaks".

The song was released as a single by The Slits in 1980, when it reached number 5 on the UK Indie Chart, staying on the chart for 13 weeks.


Tracklist:

1 - Man Next Door
2 - Man Next Door (Version)

The Slits - Man Next Door (Single, 1980)
(ca. 220 kbps, cover art included)

Freitag, 22. August 2025

G. Love & The Special Sauce - Blues Music (Single, 1994)

G. Love & Special Sauce is an American rock band from Philadelphia. They are known for their unique, "sloppy", and "laid back" sound that encompasses blues, hip hop, rock, and soul. The band features Garrett Dutton, better known as G. Love; Jeffrey Clemens on drums; and Jim Prescott on bass.

The band formed in January 1993, when Dutton was performing at a Boston bar, The Tam O'Shanter. There he met drummer Jeffrey Clemens. Dutton and Clemens began working as a duo, and were joined a few months later by bassist Jim Prescott, and became the house band at The Plough and Stars in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1994, they released their self-titled debut album on Okeh Records.


Tracklist:

Blues Music (Slow) 4:15
Rhyme For The Summertime 3:06
Lila 3:29
Blues Music 4:09




G. Love & The Special Sauce - Blues Music (Single, 1994)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Sonntag, 17. August 2025

Witthüser & Westrupp - Der Jesuspilz (1972 German Prog Acid Folk)

After their ultimate acid folk classic "Trips & Träume", the duo is back with an other surprising effort whose concept is to convince (within a satirical dimension) that the bible is all about drugs. However it doesn't matter for those who don't speak German, let's be focused on the music which is one more time brilliant and gorgeously pastoral, delicate and trippy. The introduction part (Liturgie) is a humorous little composition written in a very folkish vibe. "Schöpfung" is among my favourite Witthuser & Westrupp pieces: it starts with acoustic, dreamy like, quasi magical guitar parts. It also features narratives in German and a very poetical, mystical sense of harmony. "Erleuchtung" is a luminous, druggy psych folk tune wich includes a variety of acoustic instruments (voluptuous flute lines, folk guitars, percussions), an effective, dancing chant in German and children choirs...a really intimate, beautiful song. "Besuch aus dem Kosmos" is a ravishing spaced out folkish excursion for deep organic chords and acoustic guitars...it also include vocals in German. A lovely, living, dying soundscape with a magnificant classical (almost flamenco) introspective guitar melody. Among my favourite kraut-folk compositions. The instrumental sections are more achieved than on the previous recordings (notably the guitars). Really german folk music with an evident taste for old, odd music, popular counts, mysteries and dark medieval age...at the top of 70's psychedelic folk music.

Line-up / Musicians
- Bernd Witthuser / vocals, guitar, banjo, kazoo, triangle, tambourine
- Walter Westrupp / vocals, organ, harmonica, flute, ukelele, congas, tambourine, triangle
- Dieter Dierks / Mellotron, bass, vocals
- Gille Lettman / vocals, Mexican & Indian recorder

Songs / Tracks Listing
1. Liturgie (2:00)
2. Schöpfung (8:25)
3. Erleuchtung und Berufung (4:50)
4. Versammlung / Bekenntnis / Die Aussendung (10:21)
5. Nehmet hin und esset (3:33)
6. Besuch aus dem Kosmos (9:45)

Total Time: 38:54

Witthüser & Westrupp - Der Jesuspilz
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Dienstag, 12. August 2025

Pauline Murray and The Invisible Girls - Untitled (1980)

"Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls" (sometimes called "Untitled") is the only album made by Penetration singer Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls, John Cooper Clarke's backing band. It was released in September 1980 on the RSO label.

Alongside core members Martin Hannett on bass and record production, Steve Hopkins on keyboards and Paul Burgess on drums, the band included several musicians from other Manchester bands: The Durutti Column's Vini Reilly and Dave Rowbotham on guitar, John Maher from Buzzcocks on drums, Dave Hassell on percussion and Murray's boyfriend Robert Blamire on bass. Like Murray, Blamire had been a member of Penetration until it dissolved in late 1979. With Blamire in the band, Hannett moved from bass to keyboards. Blamire and Murray reunited in the similarly short-lived Pauline Murray And The Storm, before retiring from the music business at the start of the following decade.



Tracklist:

"Screaming in the Darkness" – 3:36
"Dream Sequence 1" – 3:19
"European Eyes" – 3:20
"Shoot You Down" – 2:07
"Sympathy" – 2:47
"Time Slipping" – 4:04
"Drummer Boy" – 3:03
"Thundertunes" – 3:23
"When Will We Learn" – 3:35
"Mr. X" – 4:27
"Judgement Day" – 4:25
"The Visitor" – 3:44
"Animal Crazy" – 3:16
"Searching for Heaven" – 2:59


The three songs from the single "Searching For Heaven" are included as bonus track

The version of "Dream Sequence 1" on this CD differs from the one on the original vinyl release. It may be a completely different take or possibly a different vocal recording over the same backing.

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Donnerstag, 7. August 2025

Vladimir Visotsky · Владимир Высоцкий – Self-Portrait · Автопортрєт (1981, vinyl rip)

Until his death, Vladimir Vysotsky was a prophet without honor in his own country; although he wrote more than a thousand highly popular songs, he died without an official record release to his name. The reason for this studied neglect lay in the political tenor of his material. Vysotsky, who began performing in the 1960s, was quite critical of the Communist regime, and his lyrics took position on the Soviet status quo. His songs derived from the blatny pesny (literally, delinquent song) tradition, with its celebration of sex, drink, and street fights. Informally distributed cassettes ensured Vysotsky a wide and enthusiastic following. After his death, in 1980, Gorbachev granted his music an imprimatur and a 20-album retrospective was released.

Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky (January 25, 1938 – July 25, 1980) was an iconic Russian singer, songwriter, poet, and actor whose career has had an immense and enduring effect on Russian culture. Though his work was largely ignored by the official Soviet cultural establishment, he achieved remarkable fame during his lifetime, and to this day exerts significant influence on many of Russia's popular musicians and actors who wish to emulate his iconic status.

His songs – over 600 of them – were written about almost any imaginable theme. The earliest were Outlaw songs. These songs were based either on the life of the common people in Moscow (criminal life, prostitution, and extreme drinking) or on life in the Gulags. Vysotsky slowly grew out of this phase and started singing more serious, though often satirical, songs. Many of these songs were about war. These war songs were not written to glorify war, but rather to expose the listener to the emotions of those in extreme, life threatening situations.
Nearly all of Vysotsky's songs are in the first person, although he is almost never the narrator. When singing his criminal songs, he would adopt the accent and intonation of a Moscow thief, and when singing war songs, he would sing from the point of view of a soldier. This created some confusion about Vysotsky's background, especially during the early years when information could not be passed around very easily. Using his acting talent, the poet performed his role play so well that until told otherwise, many of his fans believed that he was, indeed, a criminal or war veteran. Vysotsky's father said that "War participants thought the author of the songs to be one of them, as if he had participated in the war together with them." The same could be said about mountain climbers; on multiple occasions, Vysotsky was sent pictures of mountain climbers' graves with quotes from his lyrics etched on the tombstones.
Not being officially recognized as a poet and singer, Vysotsky performed wherever and whenever he could - in the theater (where he worked), at universities, in private apartments, village clubs, and in the open air. It was not unusual for him to give several concerts in one day. He used to sleep little, using the night hours to write. In his final years, he managed to perform outside the USSR and held concerts in Paris, Toronto, and New York City.
With few exceptions, he wasn't allowed to publish his recordings with "Melodiya", which held a monopoly on the Soviet music industry. His songs were passed on through amateur, fairly low quality recordings on vinyl discs and magnetic tape, resulting in his immense popularity. Cosmonauts even took his music on cassette into orbit. – His writings were all published posthumously except for one poem printed in 1975.
Every year on Vysotsky's birthday, festivals are held throughout Russia and in many communities throughout the world, especially in Europe. Vysotsky's impact in Russia is often compared to that of Bob Dylan in America.

From the linernotes:
"The present record contains the last performances by Vladimir Visotsky during his visit to Sofia. The spontaneity, the binding text between the songs and the whole atmosphere of the recording give us the chance to experience the pleasure of the direct contact with the poet, the actor, the musician and the person Vladimir Visotsky."

The album was published in 1981 on the Balkanton label.

Tracklist
1. Song about the pilot 05:05
2. Yellow lights rush into my dream 05:04
3. About the battle in the air 03:07
4. The visit of the muse or song about the plagiarist 02:31
5. Wild boar hunt 02:43
6. Incident on the road 02:57
7. At the start – the four leaders or who is running for what ? 04:51
8. What a thing, what a thing ! 02:35
9. Dialogue in front of the television set 04:11


(320 kbps, cover art included)

Mittwoch, 6. August 2025

Ruts - Penetration - BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert

With their unique blend of raucous punk rock laced with reggae and dub, the Ruts were one of the most exciting bands to emerge from Britain's late-'70s scene. Their career was cut cruelly short by the death of their singer in 1980, but still the group released six crucial singles and a seminal album in their short lifetime, while the surviving members soldiered on as Ruts D.C. 

They were also a powerful force within Britain's Rock Against Racism movement, ensuring a political legacy at least as vital as their music. On classic tunes like "Babylon's Burning" and "In a Rut," the band delivered rough-and-ready punk rock as strong as any of their peers in the first wave of U.K. punk, but "Jah War" showed they were similarly expert with reggae rhythms and dubwise production, and "Staring at the Rude Boys" showed they could blend punk sounds and West Indian themes, honoring each side equally.

Penetration is a punk rock band from County Durham, England formed in 1976. They re-formed in 2001 with several new members. Named after the Stooges song of the same name the band were formed in late 76 in Ferryhill County Durham by three friends Pauline Murray, Robert Blamire and Gary Smallman after seeing the Sex Pistols play in Manchester. They played their first gig in October 76 at the Middlesborough Rock Garden and played their first London gig at the famous Roxy Club in January 77 supporting Gen X.
Their debut single, "Don't Dictate", is now acknowledged as a classic punk rock single and their debut album, "Moving Targets" (1978), is still widely admired.

This concert was originally recorded for the BBC 7th July 1979 at the Paris Theatre and broadcasted the same month. The Ruts songs have been bootlegged on vinyl as "I Ain't Sofisticated" and "Shine On Me: Paris Theatre, London 7th July 1979".


Tracklist:

1 The Ruts - Your Just A ... 3:02
2 The Ruts - It Was Cold 4:16
3 The Ruts - I Ain't Sofisticated 2:29
4 The Ruts - Dope For Guns 2:15
5 The Ruts - Sus 3:27
6 The Ruts - Babylon's Burning 2:43
7 The Ruts - Jah Wars 3:05
8 The Ruts - Criminal Minds 1:46
9 The Ruts - In A Rut 4:37
10 Penetration - Danger Signs 2:37
11 Penetration - Lovers Of Outrage 3:59
12 Penetration - She Is The Slave 3:18
13 Penetration - Come Into The Open 2:54
14 Penetration - Movement 3:14
15 Penetration - Nostalgia 3:58
16 Penetration - Free Money 4:12
17 Penetration - Stone Heroes 3:45

Ruts - Penetration - BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Dienstag, 5. August 2025

Penetration - Race Against Time (1979)

Penetration is a punk rock band from County Durham, England formed in 1976. They re-formed in 2001 with several new members.
Their debut single, "Don't Dictate", is now acknowledged as a classic punk rock single and their debut album, Moving Targets (1978), is still widely admired.

The only summation one can make of the career of English punks Penetration is, what a disappointment. In 1977, Penetration released a classic chunk of punk rock defiance titled "Don't Dictate." With Pauline Murray's impassioned vocals (sounding a bit like X-Ray Spex's Poly Styrene) leading the way, this was a blazing piece of anti-authoritarian rant: loud, snotty, and proud. Sadly, it was to be the one song they remained best noted for (assuming there are people who still remember Penetration). The problem was that they traded in barely competent but energetic bashing and thrashing for a more "mature" new wave/"punk-ish" rock sound. As a result, their debut LP, "Moving Targets", although it has its moments, never lived up to the promise of "Don't Dictate." Still, Pauline Murray was a force to be reckoned with. Easily one of the best singers to come out of English punk rock, she made the band interesting even when the songs weren't there, the production was overwrought, and the whole enterprise was terribly uneven. It was to the surprise of no one that by 1980 she was fronting a new band, the Invisible Girls, who based on Murray's strengths became known as Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls. Still, major success eluded Murray, and she later moved into singing more elegant, mainstream pop/rock, remaining one of England's best unknown singers.

Although Penetration's debut, "Moving Targets", is smoother and better produced, it doesn't pack the raw wallop and bristling energy of this collection of demos and live recordings cut from 1977-79. The live side, recorded in the band's hometown of Newcastle, provides the greatest thrills per song, but ultimately the Penetration saga is one of missed opportunity and overinflated expectations. Most importantly, "Don't Dictate" is here in demo form, and it still sounds pretty great, although the version that shows up on the CD reissue of "Moving Targets" sounds better.


Tracklist:

Demos 1977-Jan 78
A1 Duty Free Technology
A2 Firing Squad
A3 Race Against Time
A4 In The Future
A5 Free Money
A6 Never Never
A7 V.I.P.
A8 Silent Community
A9 Don't Dictate

Live At Newcastle Dec 78-Oct 79
B1 Come Into The Open
B2 Movement
B3 Lovers Of Outrage
B4 She Is The Slave
B5 Too Many Friends
B6 Killed In The Rush
B7 Danger Signs (Unreleased Studio Version)


Penetration - Race Against Time (1979)
(192 kbps, cover art included)

Montag, 4. August 2025

Television Personalities - ...And Don´t The Kids Just Love It (1981)

The first full album by Television Personalities, recorded after a four-year series of often brilliant D.I.Y. singles recorded under a variety of names, including the O-Level and the Teenage Filmstars, is probably the purest expression of Daniel Treacy's sweet-and-sour worldview.

The songs, performed by Treacy, Ed Ball, and Mark Sheppard, predict both the C-86 aesthetic of simple songs played with a minimum of elaboration but a maximum of enthusiasm and earnestness and the later lo-fi aesthetic. The echoey, hissy production makes the songs sound as if the band were playing at the bottom of an empty swimming pool, recorded by a single microphone located two houses away, yet somehow that adds to the homemade charm of the record. 

Treacy's vocals are tremulous and shy, and his lyrics run from the playful "Jackanory Stories" to several rather dark songs that foreshadow the depressive cast of many of his later albums. "Diary of a Young Man," which consists of several spoken diary entries over a haunting, moody twang-guitar melody, is downright scary in its aura of helplessness and inertia. The mood is lightened a bit by some of the peppier songs, like the smashing "World of Pauline Lewis" and the "David Watts" rewrite "Geoffrey Ingram," and the re-recorded version of the earlier single "I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives," complete with deliberately intrusive prerecorded bird sounds, is one of the most charming things Television Personalities ever did. 

This album must have sounded hopelessly amateurish and cheaply ramshackle at the time of its 1981 release, but in retrospect, it's clearly a remarkably influential album that holds up extremely well.

Tracklist:

  1. This Angry Silence
  2. The Glittering Prizes
  3. World Of Pauline Lewis
  4. A Family Affair
  5. Silly Girl
  6. Diary Of A Young Man
  7. Geoffrey Ingram
  8. I Know Where Syd Barrett Lives
  9. Jackanory Stories
  10. Parties In Chelsea
  11. La Grande Illusion
  12. A Picture Of Dorian Gray
  13. The Crying Room
  14. Look Back In Anger

Television Personalities - ...And Don´t The Kids Just Love It (1981)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Samstag, 2. August 2025

Phil Ochs - Pleasures Of The Harbor

Phil Ochs - Pleasures Of The Harbor
Going into the studio after Dylan's move into rock accompaniment and Sgt. Pepper's vast expansion of pop music, Ochs wanted to make a record that reflected all these trends, and he hired producer Larry Marks, arranger Ian Freebairn-Smith, and pianist Lincoln Mayorga - all of whom had classical backgrounds - to help him realize his vision.


The result was "Pleasures of the Harbor", his most musically varied and ambitious album, one routinely cited as his greatest accomplishment. Though the lyrics were usually not directly political, they continued to reflect his established points of view. His social criticisms here were complex, and they went largely unnoticed on a long album full of long songs, many of which did not support the literal interpretations they nevertheless received. The album was consistently imbued with images of mortality, and it all came together on the abstract, electronic-tinged final track, "The Crucifixion." Usually taken to be about John F. Kennedy, it concerns the emergence of a hero in a corrupt world and his inevitable downfall through betrayal. Ochs offers no satisfying resolution; the goals cannot be compromised, and they will not be fulfilled. It was anything but easy listening, but it was an effective conclusion to a brilliant album that anticipated the devastating and tragic turn of the late '60s, as well as its maker's own eventual decline and demise.

From the liner notes by Richie Unterberger:
"If ever a record by a major 1960s artist was a "transitional" album, Phil Ochs’ Pleasures of the Harbor was it. The LP was his first recording to use full band arrangements; his first to almost entirely depart from the topical protest folk songs with which he had made his reputation; his first to be recorded for a then-young A&M label; and his first to be recorded in Los Angeles, the city to which he moved from New York in the late 1960s. It is undoubtedly his most sonically ambitious work, and if the almost ludicrously huge scope of his ambitions guaranteed an uneven album, it nevertheless contained some of his most enduring and successful songs and performances."

Phil Ochs - Pleasures Of The Harbor
(192 kbps, front cover included)

Freitag, 1. August 2025

Unterm Arm die Gitarre - 15 Jahre Singebewegung 1966 - 1980 - Ein Report (Amiga 1981)

"Singe-Bewegung" and "Oktoberklub" in East Germany, part 8.

On 7 October 1949, the founding of the GDR (German Democratic Republic, often called simply East Germany) was proclaimed in Berlin. At the end of the Second World War, there were already violent disagreements between the four victorious allies: the USA, England, France and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union wanted to found a socialist German state, while the Western powers wanted a democratic Germany.

The political officials in the Soviet-occupied zone (as the GDR was named before its foundation) carried out the preparations for founding a state very systematically. They started up the “Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands” or SED (Socialist Unity Party) and the organisation “Freie Deutsche Jugend” or FDJ (Free German Youth).
The proclamation of the constitution of the German Democratic Republic sealed the division between east and west in legal terms. Two states had arisen in Germany, both of which claimed to be the core and model for a single united Germany that was to be created in the future. With elections based on “Unity” lists of candidates, strict control and direction of government and society by the Socialist Unity Party, the GDR followed the pattern of the “people’s democracies” set up as Soviet protectorates in eastern central and southeastern European states.
Today it will have been 63ears since the founding of the German Democratic Republic (GDR).
The so called "Tag der Repblik" commemorates the 7th October 1949, at which the German Democratic Republic was constituted .
This is a good occasion to continue our series of postings dealing with the "Singebewegung" in the GDR.
This double album is a report about the "Singing movement" in the GDR, released in 1981 and giving an overview about the last 15 years. It has liner notes by Gisela Steineckert about the experiences in the years 1966 to 1980. Gisela Steineckert was a politician or functionary as well as a writer and poet, now honorary chairman of the dfb ("Democratic Women´s Association").
The "Singebewegung" was the East German variant of the Hootenanny and other folk movements and was channeled by SED and the FDJ, which does not always succeed. The songs on this album are partly shaped by this conflict between governmental control and slight irony and subversion.

(256 kbps, cover art included)


 Tracklist:

LP 1:
1.
Oktoberklub
Sag mir, wo du stehst
2.
Oktoberklub
Schau her
3.
Singeklub "Geschwister Scholl" Wismar
Lied vom Schiffsbau
4.
"Gruppe Pasaremos" Dresden
Dran und drauf
5.
Oktoberklub
Friedenslied
6.
Perry Friedman
Wenn die Neugier nicht wär
7.
Kurt Demmler
Was machen wir zu Pfingsten
8.
Singeklub der Lessing-Oberschule Hoyerswerda
Budjonny-Reiterlied
9.
"Venceremos-Club" Berlin
Es beginnt erst der Mensch
10.
Oktoberklub
Oktoberklub
11.
Songgruppe der Tu Dresden
Zugvögel
12.
Kurt Demmler und der "Venceremos-Club" Berlin
Lied aus dem fahrenden Zug zu singen
13.
Reinhold Andert
Im Treptower Park
14.
"Venceremos-Club" Berlin
Hüttenwerk
15.
Singeklub Neubrandenburg
Der Tag hat uns bei der Arbeit gesehn
16.
Singeklub der N.V.A. Neubrandenburg
Mein kleiner Bruder
17.
Singegruppe "Spartakus" der PH Potsdam
In Potsdam wird gebaut
18.
Kurt Demmler
Dieses Lied sing ich den Frauen (Maria)
19.
Jahrgang '49
Fahnenlied
LP 2:
1.
Jahrgang '49
Jahrgang `49
2.
Liedertheater Karls Enkel
Oma Amler
3.
Skiffle Schwerin
Sonderschicht
4.
Gruppe Schicht
Gavroche
5.
Oktoberklub
Hier wo ich lebe
6.
Oktoberklub
Neutronenbombe
7.
Bernd Rump und Gruppe Schicht
Vor der Karte
8.
Oktoberklub
Wir sind überall
9.
Jahrgang '49
Trassentrinklied
10.
Oktoberklub
Saigon ist frei
11.
Singegruppe "Spartakus" der PH Potsdam
Hamburg `78
12.
Gruppe Schicht
Regenbogenlied
13.
Liedertheater Karls Enkel
Sektlied
14.
Singeklub der P.O.S. Maxim Gorki Salzwedel
Mensch denkste denn
15.
Singeklub der B.B.S. Des Wälzlagerwerkes Luckenwalde
Wenn`s Uus Lehrlinge nicht gäbe
16.
Singeklub der E.O.S. Carl von Ossietzky Berlin
Betrachtendes Lied
17.
Oktoberklub
Da sind wir aber immer noch

Donnerstag, 31. Juli 2025

Joe Gibbs & The Professionals ‎– African Dub All-Mighty, Chapter 1 (1975)

Producer Joe Gibbs took the credit for the four discs released in the mid-'70s under the title African Dub All-Mighty, but the musicians were in reality a shifting aggregation of members of the Soul Syndicate, We the People, and Revolutionaries bands, and the man actually working the mixing board was famed sound engineer Errol Thompson.

On this first installment in the four-volume series, the dub mixes are actually quite tame - they're unfailingly pleasant, but there are none of the challenging sonic gestures that characterized the work of colleagues like King Tubby and (especially) Lee "Scratch" Perry during the same period.

But as mood music, "Chapter 1" is a fine listening experience - note in particular "Campus Rock" (a dub version of Dennis Brown's "Let Me Live") and "Treasure Dub," which is a version of the Jamaicans' rocksteady classic "Ba Ba Boom." Recommended.                

Tracklist:

A1 African Dub
A2 Universal Dub
A3 Midnight Movie
A4 Getto Skank
A5 Lime Key Rock
A6 Lovers Serenade

B1 Treasure Dub
B2 Schooling The Beat
B3 Campus Rock
B4 Half Ounce
B5 Worrier
B6 East Africa


Joe Gibbs & The Professionals ‎– African Dub All-Mighty, Chapter 1 (1975)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Mittwoch, 30. Juli 2025

Belina & Jens Brenke - Wenn die Jidden lachen (1960)

Jens Brenke (* 1935; † June 16, 1988 in Hanover ) was a German cabaret artist. Brenke was the tenant of the Hanoverian bar Jenseits , in which he performed his own literary-musical cabaret programs from 1960 to 1980 using texts by well-known authors that were published on records. He had joint programs with Belina and The Three Travelers . Fritz Graßhoff once called Brenke “probably the best entertainer in Germany”.

Belina (born 1925 near Treblinka , Poland ; died December 12, 2006 in Hamburg ; actually Lea-Nina Rodzynek ) was a Jewish folk singer. She was fluent in six languages ​​and sang her songs, chansons and international folklore in original lyrics in 20 different languages. She was born in a village near Treblinka. Her musical talent, which was encouraged by her parents, showed up early. The folk and sacred songs in the family were the first impulses for her later artistic work. As a young woman, Lea-Nina fled to Germany, where she found work in a factory with forged papers and under a false name. When the swindle was discovered, she was arrested and taken to a concentration camp, from which she was able to escape. She managed to stay hidden until the end of National Socialism. The first station in freedom was Paris. There she tinkered as a singer through the many cellar bars. She was called the Black Angel of Montparnasse .

In 1954 the artist went to Switzerland. There she worked as a beautician and had her voice trained. She has had small television and radio appearances and has toured the province. In 1954 she got an engagement at the Yiddish Theater in Paris, and her first records appeared.

The album "Wenn die Jidden lachen" was recorded at the "Jenseits" in Hannover and features Jewish jokes and songs.


From the linernots:

"The Jewish joke has not only a certain spice to offer but also all the healthy crispness of unleavened bread, all the substance and transparent depth of a satisfying clear soup. As well as a punch-line, it shows intellect and an awareness of tradition. You will laugh once, then after further thought again, this time for deeper reasons; or you may just grin, or greet yet another story with surprised silence. The Jewish joke is rarely satisfied with a mere belly-laugh; it sets the grey matter of the brain working too, not to forget the heart.

Jewish songs have just the same measure of unmistakable individuality. They can be enjoyed for themselves, but rarely are they lacking in deeper implications. As well as a surface sparkle, they have depth; their gaiety is often in a distinctly minor key. Text and melody seem fundamentally related, and having heard the first bars, it is difficult not to listen with complete absorption.

There is little point in believe that when Jewish or some related word occurs, we should sit and twiddle our thumbs in embarassed silence. Why should laughter be out of order? The Jewish songs and jokes featured on this record are of the kind where a good laugh also provokes a little thought: perhaps startling thoughts in some cases, but in all of them, as refreshing and worth-while as the proceedings recorded are smooth and accomplished.

This recording is not intended as a carefully rehearsed demonstration of fraternal feeling; no flags, however praiseworthy, are being waved. This is just a brief visit to the Jenseits Bar in Hannover, jenseits being best translated perhaps as hereafter. Everyone was invited, Jews, gentiles and others! And they all drank, ate, danced... and laughed.

The host was Jens Brenke, the blond, crew-cut owener of the Jenseits. He was joined at the microphone by Belina, the raven-haired singer form Poland. For recording managers and the like there was no need!

The whole evening was conducted with a strange feeling of give and take. The doors had been thrown open, a mixed crowd hat gathered, but anyone who was prepared to pay for his laughter with a modest measure of mental activity must have felt quite at home. This long player retains for posterity what was said and sung when the herafter admitted mortal beings to its circle, a circle which may well have been expaded as a result. And what, we may well ask, is wrong that? Shalom!"

Tracklist:

A1 Bei mir biste schön (Performer: Belina, Jens Brenke)
A2 Jiddische Tochter (Performer; Belina)
A3 Ja wie nennt man a bissele Massel (Performer: Jens Brenke)
B1 Die Schwieger (Performer: Jens Brenke)
B2 Havah Nagilah (Organ: W. Keller)
B3 Tumbalalaika (Performer: Belina)

Between the songs, Jens Brenke performed Jewish jokes.

(320 kbps, cover art included)