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)

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.

Pauline Murray and The Invisible Girls  - Untitled (1980)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

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)

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. Unterm Arm die Gitarre - 15 Jahre Singebewegung - Ein Report (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

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)

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.

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

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Joni Mitchell - Newport Folk Festival 1969

Here´s a recording from Joni Mitchells evening concert at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island, July 19, 1969. Sounds like a good soundboard stereo recording, excerpt of track 9 which is of lesser quality from a different source.

Joni Mitchell also participated in an afternoon songwriters workshop at the Newport Festival,  along with Leonard Cohen, Judy Collins, Janis Ian, David Blue, Mike Settle, Tom Paxton, and Eric Andersen.


"THE LADY IN NEWPORT  By Lachlan MacLearn

In the summer of 1966 [sic, should be 1967] a relative unknown walked onto the stage at the Newport, Rhode Island Folk Festival, after being introduced by Judy Collins. It was a breezy summer's evening and the crowd was restless. I remember thinking that this newcomer, whoever she was, was stepping into some serious company. I can't recall the exact lineup. Probably Tim Hardin, Fred Neil, Odetta, Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, and the like. As I said, `serious company...' She appeared to be carrying a tiny Martin Triple-0, but I couldn't be sure. She wore a long dress. I was too far back to decipher the face.
There was a round of light applause when she was introduced. A tentative strum rolled from the huge PA, then another, and she was beginning her opening number.
The song was 'Michael from Mountains'. And by the end of the first verse, the crowd had gone from bordering-rude to pin-drop silence. I was riveted.
When the song ended, the strangest thing occurred. For at least five seconds (look at your watch...try to imagine it) the place was dead-silent - ten or fifteen thousand people - dead silent - and then a huge release of cheers and applause.
The short set included `Chelsea Morning', and I think she played `The Circle Game' before leaving the stage to a tumultuous and prolonged standing ovation.
I remember feeling so grateful for this amazing new talent and feeling equally sorry for anyone unfortunate enough to be going onstage after her."


Tracklist:
01 Chelsea Morning
02 Cactus Tree
03 Night In The City
04 For Free
05 Willy
06 The Fiddle and the Drum
07 Both Sides Now
08 Get Together
09 The Circle Game

Joni Mitchell - Newport Folk Festival 1969
(256 kbps, front cover included)

Dave Van Ronk - Sunday Street (1976)

This album, originally released in 1976, may or may not be, as annotator (and former Dave Van Ronk guitar student) Elijah Wald claims, "Dave's greatest single album" (frankly, Van Ronk has made so many albums for so many fly-by-night labels that it is hard to endorse so sweeping a statement), but it is certainly a very good one.

Van Ronk had made various efforts in recent years to accommodate pop and rock music on his albums, but this one was a return to his usual repertoire of folk-blues tunes and jazz and ragtime transcriptions for guitar, with one Joni Mitchell song ("That Song About the Midway") and an original, the title song, thrown in.

And it was a solo album on which Van Ronk sang and accompanied himself on acoustic guitar. Thus, it approximated what a good set in a club by this artist would sound like, minus the singer's witticisms, of course. Van Ronk never hid his influences, but he never sounded exactly like them, either, and on this album he was very much himself. Maybe it is his greatest single album; it is certainly one of his most representative.  

Tracklist:
A1 Sunday Street 3:27
A2 Jesus Met The Woman At The Well 5:34
A3 Nobody Knows The Way I Feel This Morning 3:51
A4 Maple Leaf Rag 3:59
A5 Down South Blues 4:35
B1 Jivin' Man Blues 3:03
B2 That Song About The Midway 3:33
B3 The Pearls 4:29
B4 That'll Never Happen No More 3:48
B5 Mamie's Blues 4:19
B6 Would You Like To Swing On A Star? 2:38


Dave Van Ronk - Sunday Street (1976)
(192 kbps, cover art included)

The Modern Folk Quartet - Changes (1964)

With their first self-titled collection having received considerable lauds from peers and critics alike, the Modern Folk Quartet -- consisting of Cyrus Faryar (guitar, vocals), Henry "Tad" Diltz (banjo, vocals), Chip Douglas (bass, banjo, guitar, ukulele, bells, vocals), and Jerry Yester (guitar, vocal, cymbals) -- cut their 1964 follow-up, "Changes", with an ear toward sustaining the fresh sound of their predecessor.

 Once again, they blend their arrangements and adaptations to another impressive lineup of modern compositions from the group's contemporaries. The hearty gospel-influenced opener, "Sing Out," sets the pace for a further slew of refreshing and spirited selections. Lee Hays of the Almanac Singers, Weavers, and Baby Sitters fame is the source for the midtempo down-and-outer "Time's a Getting' Hard," featuring an exceptional example of Douglas' reserved yet potent basslines. Phil Ochs' "The Bells" -- which the author derived from "The Birds" by Edgar Allan Poe -- provides a platform for the four-part vocal harmonies to unravel their unique slant on the song, keeping it fairly close to Ochs' original. The dark "In the Hills of Shiloh" stands out for its practically palpable foreboding and distinct contrast to the bombast of "Bullgine" and the cover of Bob Gibson's "Jordan's River" -- undoubtedly the impetus for the folk craze parody "Good Book Song" by the fictitious Main Street Singers from the cinematic spoof A Mighty Wind. By comparison, Gibson also supplied the stately historical ballad "St. Clair's Defeat," one of the zeniths of the effort. "Riu Chiu" is a 15th century Spanish ballad that may be familiar to fans of the Monkees, as the ersatz Fab Four used it to great effect, closing the Christmas episode of their 1966 television program with Micky Dolenz taking the a cappella lead. Bob Dylan's "Farewell" is likewise a focal point as the prominent banjo accompaniment gives the number a more rural texture and a less lonesome feel. 

Although the MFQ would not record a third long-player for Warner Bros., they did issue a handful of additional singles before splitting later in the decade, with all four members continuing to contribute to the pop/rock scene for the remainder of the decade and beyond.

Changes was released in early-1964. As the album was distributed, the band - along with a multitude of other musical acts - were influenced into "going electric" by Dylan and the onset of the British Invasion. The Modern Folk Quartet relocated to Greenwich Village; however - aside for a few non-LP singles - never recorded again, which is credited to a heavy touring schedule.

Tracklist:

A1 Sing Out
A2 Time's A Gettin' Hard
A3 The Bells
A4 And All The While
A5 In The Hills Of Shiloh
A6 Hold The Fort
B1 Bullgine
B2 St. Clair's Defeat
B3 The Little House
B4 Riu Chiu
B5 Farewell
B6 Jordan's River

The Modern Folk Quartet - Changes (1964)

(256 kbps, cover art included)

Aufwind - Gassn Singer - Jiddische Lieder & Klesmermusik

The main focus for Aufwind (Up-current) is Eastern European Jewish and Yiddish music.Their repertoire reveals considerable originality, remarkable disquisition and inspiring musicianship.

The current line-up comprises Jan Hermerschmidt (vocals, clarinet), Claudia Koch (vocals, violin, viola), Hardy Reich (vocals, mandolin, guitar), Andreas Rohde (vocals, bandoneon, guitar) - the last three of whom fouded Aufwind in 1984 - and Heiko Rötzscher (bass).

The album "Gassn Singer" was recorded an mixed in September 1991 at Funkhaus Nalepastraße, Berlin.

Tracklist:

1. A GLESELE LECHAJIM
2. DEM SEJDNS NIGN
3. WOSS DERGEJSSTU MIR DI JORN
4. DOLJE
5. DOJNA/SIRBA
6. EJNSAM
7. HORA/LEBEDIK UN FREJLECH
8. LEJBKE
9. JASCH/RUSSIAN SCHER
10. UNTER BEJMER
11. SKOCNE
12. GASSN SINGER


Aufwind - Gassn Singer - Jiddische Lieder & Klesmermusik
(320 kbps, front cover included)

Mikis Theodorakis - Axion Esti - Lobgepriesen sei (Eterna, 1983)

Originally posted in September 2021:

Mikis Theodorakis, the renowned Greek composer and Marxist firebrand who waged a war of words and music against an infamous military junta that imprisoned and exiled him as a revolutionary and banned his work a half century ago, died on Thursday at his home in central Athens. He was 96. Rest in peace!

This is a wonderful recording of what can be called Theodorakis' most prolific composition ever. "Axion Esti" ("praised be") on texts of Nobel prize winning author Elytis combines elements of byzantine-, western classical- and greek folkmusic. Written in the late fifties for classical and popular orchestras and male soloists, recitant and choir and first recorded in 1964 with Bithikotsis as the popular singer it soon became theodorakis' best selling album within Greece. The rightwing government of that time had actively discouraged musicians to take part in the recording process which meant that the score was not given its full scope and potential but it still remains an undeniable classic. A few other recordings have been made since, among them one in swedish and a new greek version with Yorgos Dalaras as soloist and Theodorakis conducting, a version which because of a dull sounding live recording has never much appealed to me. So here we have "Lobgepriesen sei". One has to get over the initial shock of hearing this "greekest of greek music" sung in german but it soon becomes apparent that the translation has been done with the utmost respect for the colour and the cadanse of text and music and that the live performance is outstanding. Theodorakis himself conducts the east german musicians and Lakis Karnezis appears as bouzouki player as he did on the original version. - Pieter U. Hendriks The titles of the three sections make it clear that "Axion esti" is a liturgy, albeit a secular one, which follows a threefold development line: the poet´s birth, suffering and visionary foresight in the form of a lyrical first person is supported at a second level by the history of the Greek nation - from the "genesis" of the liberation of Crete (home to the poet Elytis) from the Turkish domination in 1912, through the "passion" during the second world war, to the utopia of a more peaceful future. A third, higher level is achieved by a general, human hope of winning the eternal battle of good against evil and creating a new, better world. Tracklist: A1 I. Genesis (I Iénesis) 5:56 II. Passion (Ta Páthi) A2 1. Und hier, so sieh! Bin ich (Idhú Eghó Lipón) 2:39 A3 2. Lesung: Der Marsch an die Front (I Poría Pros To Métopo) 4:10 A4 3. Nur diese eine Schwalbe (Éna To Chelidhóni) 3:03 B1 4. Berge um mich her mein fester Grund (Ta Themélia Mu Sta Vuná) 5:23 B2 5. Mit Dem Lüster der Sterne (Me To Líchno Tu Ástru) 3:17 B3 6. Lesung: Der große Exodus (I Megháli Éksodhos) 3:35 B4 7. Höre, reine Sonne der Gerechtigkeit (Tis Dhikeosínis Ílie) 4:30 C1 8. Intermezzo 3:14 C2 9. Purpurn färbte Mmch das Blut (Tis Aghápis Émata) 4:04 C3 10. Kirchen, gestickt ins Lichtmuster des runden Himmelsdoms (Naí Sto Schíma T'Uranú) 3:09 C4 11. Lesung: Weissagung (Profitkón) 6:23 C5 12. Ich öffne den Mund (Ànigho To Stóma Mu) 3:26 D1 13. Ich ziehe in ein Land hinab, fernab von hier (Se Chóra Makriní) 2:44 - D2 III. Lobgepriesen sei (Axion Estí) 16:06 This is a live recording from the concert on October 16, 1982 in Leipzig with Gothar Stier (bariton), Gunter Emmerlich (bass), Friedrich Wilhelm Junge (speaker), the "Beethoven-Chor des VEB Elektromaschinenbau Sachsenwerk Dresden", the "FDJ-Chor der EOS Kreuzschule Dresden", the "Kinder-Kammerchor der Dresdner Philharmonie", the "Orchester der Hochschule für Musik "Carl Maria von Weber" Dresden", directed by Mikis Theodorakis. Mikis Theodorakis - Axion Esti - Lobgepriesen sei (Eterna, 1983) (256 kbps, cover art included)

Phil Ochs - A Toast to Those Who Are Gone

"A Toast to Those Who Are Gone" was a 1986 compilation of recordings that Phil Ochs made in the early-to-mid 1960s, mostly between his contracts with Elektra Records and A&M Records. In line with recordings made on the former, Ochs espouses his left-leaning views on civil rights on songs like "Ballad of Oxford", "Going Down To Mississippi" and "Colored Town", his views on worker's rights on "No Christmas in Kentucky", his attack on the Ameri can Medical Association on "A.M.A. Song", and the unwilling hero (perhaps Ochs himself) on the title track.

 

The family of Phil Ochs sanctioned this scavenger attack into his collection of early, unreleased demos. An unusual aspect of the mid-'80s vinyl release was liner notes by actor Sean Penn, who Ochs fans can hope and pray has abandoned his vision of playing the role of Ochs in a Hollywood film biopic. Perhaps playing a jazz guitarist in Woody Allen's Sweet and Lowdown burned Penn out on musician roles. How much this collection will appeal to Ochs fans will depend on what camp they belong to, i.e., is his best material the early, strictly topical and journalistic-style stuff, or did he improve with age and the influence of competing spinners of "high art" such as Bob Dylan and the Beatles as they strove to create the most complex and pretentious lyrics this side of Ezra Pound? This set of concise and often hard-hitting songs would make a case for the former, and certainly there is no better "folk singer armed with guitar" than Ochs, his commitment to various social causes always seeming much more honest than the more famous Dylan, most likely because it was. "Christmas in Kentucky" is one of the few protest songs written about this part of the world that really holds its own with the repertoire of performers, such as Aunt Molly Jackson, who actually came from mining families. "Colored Town" and "Going Down to Mississippi" are solid reflections of the civil rights movement that hold their own with more well-known songs such as "Oxford Town." Two pieces in some ways preview the more reflective, personal probing of the psyche Ochs would move his fans with later on, although both "A Toast to Those Who Are Gone" and "Song of My Returning" are simpler and more sentimental. Of course, there is plenty of evidence here that these recordings were made when the artist was still forming an identity and was far from the master of the songwriting craft that he would become. Yet the relative small size of his discography and collection of songs are factors that contribute to the warm welcome this set has received.

Phil Ochs - A Toast To Those Who Are Gone
(192 kbps, front cover included)

Tom Rush - Tom Rush (1965)

With his warm and slightly world-weary baritone voice, solid acoustic guitar playing, and gifted if hardly prolific songwriting skills, Tom Rush was one of the finest and most unsung performers to come out of the '60s urban folk revival. Born February 8, 1941 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Rush began his performing career in 1961 while attending Harvard University (where he majored in English literature), and he soon became a regular on the east coast folk circuit. A careful, unhurried songwriter, he was also a fine song interpreter, and had a knack for finding just the right song from new songwriters, being the first to introduce work from then-new songwriters like Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Murray McLauchlan, William Hawkins, and David Wiffen, among others, and found ways to breathe new life into any number of traditional folk, country, and blues numbers, as well. In a five-decade career that has been steady and consistent but hardly lived out in the public spotlight, Rush has recorded a little less than 20 albums, several of them live sets - a spare output given the length of his recording career, but it is a sturdy legacy by anyone's measure, with at least one of his compositions, the resigned and bittersweet "No Regrets" from 1968, standing as an acknowledged classic in the folk field.

It's unfortunate that Tom Rush's third album has such a strong reputation among rock listeners - not that it doesn't deserve it, but it sort of distracts them from this album, which was as natural a fit for rock listeners as any folk album of its era. Rush's album is filled with a hard, bluesy brand of folk music that's hard on the acoustic guitar strings and not much easier on his voice; he sings stuff like "Long John" and "If Your Man Gets Busted" with a deep, throaty baritone that's only a little less raw than John Hammond's was while doing his work of the same era. Rush had the misfortune to be equated with Bob Dylan, but he had a more easygoing and accessible personality that comes out on numbers here such as Woody Guthrie's "Do-Re-Mi" and Kokomo Arnold's "Milkcow Blues," which are thoroughly enjoyable and quietly (but totally) beguiling. Additionally, he isn't such a purist that he felt above covering a Leiber & Stoller number such as "When She Wants Good Lovin'."

Tom Rush - Tom Rush (1965)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Witthüser & Westrupp -Trips & Träume (1971)

Apparently, Witthüser & Westrupp came into being at the Essen "Podium" folk club where Walter Westrupp worked as a DJ. Bernd Witthüser was already known as a protest singer, Westrupp was playing in a skiffle band, and when the two met they realised there was a magical chemistry between them. They busked and played in local clubs creating their own unique repertoire. Although working as a duo since 1969, their debut was released under Bernd Witthüser's name, as it contained music composed by him, with lyrics taken from the writings of politically minded poets and novelists, like Novalis, Heine and Brösel.

As a proper duo the Witthüser & Westrupp sound came on in leaps and bounds, their music was pure innovation, drawing on Westrupp's classical background, and enthusiasm from Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser, Witthüser & Westrupp became the cosmic buskers! With some of the finest session musicians in Germany, they went on to record three of the most original progressive folk-rock albums of the early-70's.

"TRIPS & TRÄUME" is, excepting a couple of shorter catchy folk songs, a very cosmic affair, with long spacious tracks oozing out atmosphere, like ancient folk diversions from Ash Ra Tempel. Up first is "Lasst uns auf die Reise gehn" which is such a moving tune for me, i´m so touched by this song. "Nimm doch einen Joint, mein Freund" is a (sort of) cover of THE FRATERNITY OF MAN"S "Don't Bogart Me" made popular by it's inclusion in the film "Easy Rider". This version is such a blast as we get English vocals for the first time as they sing about sharing weed and singing about hash and lsd. Humerous stuff.

The next two albums on the Pilz label developed the sound on an even richer more complex level with massed keyboards, a little more rock, more guitars and even choirs, many of the guests being from Wallenstein. After disbanding, both musicians went onto other folk and political bands: Baier Westrupp, Die Walter H.C. Meier Pumpe, etc. A double live album of Witthüser & Westrupp was also issued.

Tracklist:

A1	Laßt uns auf die Reise gehn	4:00
A2	Trippo Nova	8:55
A3	Orienta	7:35
B1	Illusion I	4:35
B2	Karlchen	9:05
B3	Englischer Walzer	1:38
B4	Nimm doch einen Joint, mein Freund	3:30

Witthüser & Westruppe - Trips & Träume (1971)
(192 kbps, cover art included)