Henry Cow - In Praise Of Learning (1975)

Henry Cow's third album, originally released in 1975, found them expanded to an eight-piece ensemble after a guest session on another group's record. Henry Cow absorbed Slapp Happy into their lineup after appearing on Slapp Happy's "Desperate Straights" album. It was a tenuous relationship (lasting only long enough for this release, and with Slapp Happy crumbling after Dagmar Krause decided to stay on with Henry Cow), but one that produced some stunning results. Anthony Moore and Peter Blegvad's "War" has enormous proportion and power that would have been beyond the scope of a relatively quiet trio. The sheer ambition of this work is bracing. Intricately composed and arranged pieces, rife with lyrics that meld poetry with politics, give way to extended improvisations. While that had always been the Henry Cow recipe, it was never given such dramatic sweep. No one has ever, before or since, sounded like this incarnation of Henry Cow.   

Henry Cow's politics were as radical as their music, and this was never more explicit than on this album. The trademark chainmail sock was deep red, and the cover was adorned with a quote from the left wing film maker John Grierson - 'Art is not a mirror, it is a hammer'. The titles of the two instrumentals also explicitly refer to the band's left wing politics; "Beginning: The Long March" is a reference to the Chinese Revolution, while "Morning Star" is the name of the daily paper published by the Communist Party of Great Britain.

Among their contemporaries, only Matching Mole ever released an album as explicitly political as this with 'Little Red Record'. Whether you agree with their politics or not, music as passionate and committed as this is all too rare, and in the prog field it is almost unprecedented. Listen and be amazed.

Tracklist:

War	2:24
Living In The Heart Of The Beast	15:18
Beginning: The Long March	6:20
Beautiful As The Moon- Terrible As An Army With Banners	6:55
Morning Star	6:02

Henry Cow - In Praise Of Learning (1975)
(ca. 192 kbps, cover art included)

The Ex - Blueprints For A Blackout

"Blueprints For A Blackout" was a double-album by The Ex, released in 1984, and out of print.

Reviews:

"It's caustic. A real burner. (...) While still retaining an all important relevant edge to their musical comment , they've introduced elements of tunesmithing, attack, decay and composition that places them head and shoulders above their contemporaries."

"Well-known venom, but the music becomes more experimental (i.e. slower, richer, more stirring, fed by yet rather remarkable set of instruments) with every new release."
         


Tracklist:

1-5
1	Streetcars Named Desire / Animal Harm (Medley)	2:39
2	Blueprints For A Blackout	3:54
3	Rabble With A Cause	2:19
4	Requiem For A Rip-Off	2:52
5	Pleased To Meat You	4:17
	6-11
6	A Goodbuy To You	3:39
7	The Swim	1:48
8	Boohoo	2:29
9	U.S. Hole	2:41
10	(Not) 2B Continued	1:10
11	Grimm Stories	4:52
	12-15
12	A Plague To Survive	5:22
13	The Rise Of The Dutch Republic	3:53
14	Kidnap Connection	2:17
15	Fire And Ice	4:41
	16-19
16	Jack Frost Is Innocent	2:53
17	Love You Till Eh	2:48
18	Food On 45	3:17
19	Scrub That Scum	8:18

The Ex - Blueprints For A Blackout (1984)
(192 kbps, cover art inlcuded)

Robert Wyatt - The End Of An Ear (1970)

Of all the projects Robert Wyatt created apart from his tenure with Soft Machine and Matching Mole, "The End of an Ear" has to be the strangest, and among the most beautiful and misunderstood recordings of his career. Recorded near the end of his membership in Soft Machine, "End of an Ear" finds Wyatt experimenting far more with jazz and avant-garde material than in the jazz-rock-structured environment of his band.

The Wyatt on "The End of an Ear" (a play on words for the end of the SM era, and another session called "Ear of the Beholder") is still very much the fiery drummer and percussionist who is interested in electronic effects and out jazz and not the composer and interpretive singer of his post-accident years. Influenced by Miles Davis' electric bands and the fledgling Weather Report who did their first gigs in the U.K., Wyatt opens and closes the album with two readings of Gil Evans' "Las Vegas Tango, Pt. 1." These are the most structured pieces on the recording, and the only ones not dedicated in some way: "To Mark Everywhere," "To Caravan and Brother Jim," "To Nick Everyone," "To the Old World (Thank You for the Use of Your Body, Goodbye)," "To Carla, Marsha, and Caroline (For Making Everything Beautifuller)," and others. The titles reveal how personal the nature of these sound experiments can be.

Wyatt, because of his association with many in the Canterbury scene, not the least of which is SM mate Elton Dean who prominently appears here, was learning alternate structures and syntax for harmony, as well as the myriad ways rhythm could play counterpoint to them in their own language. The interplay between Wyatt, bassist Neville Whitehead, cornet player Marc Charig, and alto man Dean on "To Nick Everyone" is astonishing. Wyatt creates time from the horn lines and then alters it according to Whitehead's counterpoint both to the formal line and the improvisations. Toward the end of the track, Wyatt's piano is dubbed in and he reveals just how expansive he views this new harmonic approach. The piano becomes a percussion instrument purely, a timekeeper in accordance with the bass, and the drums become counterpoint - in quadruple time - to everyone else in the band. When David Sinclair's organ enters the fray and another piano courtesy of Mark Ellidge, as well as assorted percussion by Cyril Ayers, the entire thing becomes a strange kind of rondo in free jazz syntax.

Elsewhere, on "To Caravan and Brother Jim," a 2/4 time signature opens the track and the organ plays almost a lounge-jazz-type line with drums rumbling in the back of the mix, almost an afterthought, and Ellidge's piano stumbling in with dissonant trills and riffs until he creates a microtonal line against the organ's now carnival chords until certain drums fall out, then back in, and the piano plays an augmented chord solidly in glissandi until the piece just sort of falls apart and ends. If you are Robert Wyatt, this is the way you find something new, you "play" at it. And that's what is so beautiful about "The End of an Ear" - the entire record, unlike the "seriousness" of Soft Machine "Third", is that this is being played with tonalities, harmony, language, and utterance that are all up for grabs in an investigation of freedom both in "music" and "sound."

"The End of an Ear" is the warm and humorous melding of free jazz amplification and musicians' playtime.            

Tracklist:

All tracks composed by Robert Wyatt; except where indicated

Side A

1. "Las Vegas Tango Part 1 (Repeat)" (Gil Evans)
2. "To Mark Everywhere"
3. "To Saintly Bridget"
4. "To Oz Alien Daevyd and Gilly"
5. "To Nick Everyone"

Side B

1. "To Caravan and Brother Jim"
2. "To the Old World (Thank You For the Use of Your Body, Goodbye)"
3. "To Carla, Marsha and Caroline (For Making Everything Beautifuller)"
4. "Las Vegas Tango Part 1" (Gil Evans)

Robert Wyatt - The End Of An Ear (1970)
(256 kbps, cover art included)

João Gilberto‎– O Amor, O Sorriso E A Flor (1960)

"O Amor, o sorriso è a flor" (Love, a Smile, and a Flower) is the second in the trilogy of formative bossa nova albums released by João Gilberto between 1959 and 1961.

The most essential albums recorded by João Gilberto are his first three, "Chega de Saudade" (1959), "O Amor, O Sorriso e a Flor" (1960), and "João Gilberto" (1961). All three remain extremely up-to-date and share in common a superb standard of quality in compositions, arrangements (mostly designed by Tom Jobim), and Gilberto's performances at the guitar and voice. These albums are quite literally the aesthetic and musical blueprints for a genre that would exert an irresistible worldwide influence on popular music.

The second LP recorded by João Gilberto, "O Amor, O Sorriso e a Flor", included the "Samba de Uma Nota Só" ("One Note Samba") by Tom Jobim/Newton Mendonça, which was immediately successful the previous year with the release of the single "Samba de Uma Nota Só" and became a classic of bossa nova. Gilberto also interpreted "Outra Vez" (Jobim), which had been recorded by Dick Farney and Elizete Cardoso with quite different results. It was the first time that Gilberto recorded the other classics, "Só Em Teus Braços" (Jobim), "Se É Tarde, Me Perdoa" (Carlos Lyra/Ronaldo Bôscoli), "Meditação" (Tom Jobim/Newton Mendonça), "Corcovado," "Discussão," and "Outra Vez."                


Tracklist

A1	Samba De Uma Nota Só
A2	Doralice
A3	Só Em Teus Braços
A4	Trevo De 4 Folhas
A5	Se É Tarde Me Perdoa
A6	Um Abraço No Bonfá
B1	Meditação
B2	O Pato
B3	Corcovado
B4	Discussão
B5	Amor Certinho
B6	Outra Vez

João Gilberto‎– O Amor, O Sorriso E A Flor (1960)
(256 kbps, cover art included)

Matching Mole - Smoke Signals (1972)

"Recorded at various European performances from the spring of 1972, this is a substantial addition to the catalog of a band that only put out two studio albums. The sound is good, and the performances almost wholly instrumental art jazz-rock, not far removed from those heard in the early 1970s by the Soft Machine, drummer/singer Robert Wyatt's previous band. It's electric pianist Bill McRae who wrote most of the material on this disc, and it's the sort of cerebral, intricate, serious fusion-y stuff that might appeal as much, or more, to jazzheads as to prog rockers. Wyatt goes off into some wordless scats at one point, but these aren't conventional rock-songs-with-lyrics at all. There is an admirable variety of textures with some distortion and buzzing, cooked up by McRae and guitarist Phil Miller, but it doesn't boast very accessible melodic ideas, preferring to furrow into angular and at times ominous progressions. The eerie, electronically treated vocal scatting on Wyatt's mischievously titled "Instant Pussy" is a highlight. Five of the nine songs, incidentally, do not appear on the band's studio albums." - allmusic.com         

'Smoke Signals' was recorded in spring 1972 during an European tour mainly in Belgium and France. As these tapes were not planned for release the sound quality is just acceptable. A good idea so to re-create the original track order of the concerts with different sources.
'Smoke Signals' is an interesting document, because 'Matching Mole' just elaborated from a backing band for Robert Wyatt,(more or less imposed by CBS) and who had only played on one half of the first record to a real band. Most tracks appearing here were written by Dave Mc Rae and Phil Miller and would be recorded later for 'The Little Red Record'. Dave Sinclair who started the tournee with the band had left and was replaced by keyboarder Dave Mc Rae who had already guested on the first record and brought with him some fine tunes like 'March Ides' and 'Smoke Signal' presented here for the first time in a rough version. After a band introduction by Robert the band launches into 'March Ides'.The theme is played by Phil Miller, who is soloing then over an ostinato bass line, followed by a drum solo. The second theme is 'Smoke Signal' (here re-named 'Smoke Rings), maybe the most beautiful 'Matching Mole' theme by Dave Mc Rae. The theme is then followed by a longer improvisation until the re-exposure. The next theme 'Nan's True Hole' was written by Phil Miller, who plays an repeated riff over which Dave Mc Rae plays an improvisation followed by another drum solo. 'Brandy As In Benji' follows the same structure of expostion solo, followed by a heavily distorted e-piano solo, that launches again into the 'March Ides' theme, followed by 'Instant Pussy' the only Robert Wyatt composition from the first record, with treated vocals by Robert and an e-piano improvisation.The 'Smoke Signal' appears again, followed by another improvisation and a bass solo and finally the band launches into 'Lything and gracing' a Phil Miller composition, that would appear only as a Hatfield leftover on 'Afters'. A part from the fact, that the sound is not brillant the tapes miss the 'funny' side of the band and especially the Robert Wyatt lyrics, leaving a jazz rock outfit, that improvises mainly over an ostinato bass line and sometimes in a not very inspired way as on 'Lything and Gracing' which is utterly boring.Still an interesting document in the history of Matching Mole, but not recommended as a starter. - progarchives.com

Tracklist:

1	Intro	0:44
2	March Ides I	4:22
3	Smoke Rings	7:51
4	Nan True's Hole	6:00
5	Brandy As In Benj	4:22
6	Electric Piano Solo	1:11
7	March Ides II	4:56
8	Instant Pussy	2:51
9	Smoke Signal	6:55
10	Lything & Gracing	11:48

Matching Mole - Smoke Signals (1972)
(ca. 224 kbps, cover art included)

Nico - Desertshore (1970)

While Nico was the member of the Velvet Underground who had had the least experience in music prior to joining the group (while she had recorded a pop single in England, she'd never been a member of a working band before Andy Warhol introduced her to the Velvets), she was also the one who strayed farthest from traditional rock & roll after her brief tenure with the band, and by the time she recorded "Desertshore", her work had little (if anything) to do with traditional Western pop.

John Cale, who produced and arranged "Desertshore", once described the music as having more to do with 20th century classical music than anything else, and while that may be going a bit far to make a point, even compared to the avant-rock frenzy of the Velvet Underground's early material, "Desertshore" is challenging stuff. Nico's dour Teutonic monotone is a compelling but hardly welcoming vocal presence, and the songs, centered around the steady drone of her harmonium, are often grim meditations on fate that are crafted and performed with inarguable skill and intelligence, but are also a bit samey, and the album's downbeat tone gets to be rough sledding by the end of side two. Cale's arrangements are superb throughout, and "My Only Child," "Afraid," and "The Falconer" are quite beautiful in their own ascetic way, but like the bulk of Nico's repertoire, "Desertshore" is an album practically designed to polarize its listeners; you'll either embrace it's darkness or give up on it before the end of side one. Then again, given the thoroughly uncompromising nature of her career as a musician, that's probably just what Nico had in mind. 

Tracklist:

Janitor Of Lunacy	4:01
The Falconer	5:39
My Only Child	3:27
Le Petit Chevalier	1:12
Abschied	3:02
Afraid	3:27
Mütterlein	4:38
All That Is My Own	3:54

Nico - Desertshore (1970)
(320 kbps, cover art included)             

Joe Gibbs & The Professionals - African Dub All-Mighty - Chapter 3

The third (and most impressive) of four volumes of dub mixes from the studio of producer Joe Gibbs, "African Dub, Chapter 3" finds engineer Errol Thompson getting a bit more adventurous than he had on the earlier installments. More of these dub versions keep shreds and snatches of the original vocal tracks in the mix, which is almost always a plus in a dub context - little snippets of disembodied vocals float through the otherworldly musical atmosphere, lending a sometimes spooky human element to the sound and often casting new and refracted light on the meaning of the original lyrics.

And on this volume, Thompson seems to be taking a few cues from his competitor Lee "Scratch" Perry, throwing such extramusical elements as water sounds (on "Freedom Call") and ringing telephones (on "Jubilation Dub") into the mix along with the usual gossamer shreds of guitar, horn, and keyboard. Highly recommended.               


Tracklist:

Chapter Three
Rema Dub
Tribesman Rockers
Freedom Call
Jubilation Dub
The Entebbe Affair
Angolian Chant
Zion Gate
Jungle Dub
Dub Three

Joe Gibbs & The Professionals - African Dub All-Mighty - Chapter 3
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Jorge Ben - África Brasil (1976)

This 1976 album is undoubtedly one of the greatest classics of Brazilian popular music, with Jorge Ben mixing funky samba, Afro-Brazilian beats, and crunching guitars to create one of the most fascinating sounds ever recorded in Brazil.

The album kicks off with the raw, energetic "Ponta de Lança Africano," and from there on it never slows down, but continues to pile up one fiery, funky gem after the other. The samba soul and samba funk scenes of the '70s in Brazil produced many great artists and many great recordings, fully comparable with the best soul and funk music recorded in the U.S. during the same period. Jorge Ben was the most prominent figure of this scene and "África Brasil" is probably the most famous of his '70s recordings. For any person who is interested in the music of Jorge Ben, or indeed Brazilian funk in general, there is no better sample of it than "África Brasil".

Tracklist:

A1	Ponta De Lança Africano (Umbabarauma)	3:58
A2	Hermes Trismegisto Escreveu	3:04
A3	O Filósofo	3:30
A4	Meus Filhos, Meu Tesouro	3:53
A5	O Plebeu	3:18
A6	Taj Mahal	3:10
B1	Xica Da Silva	4:00
B2	A História De Jorge	3:53
B3	Camisa 10 Da Gávea	4:18
B4	Cavaleiro Do Cavalo Imaculado	4:43
B5	África Brasil (Zumbi)	3:48

Jorge Ben - África Brasil (1976)
(320 kbps, cover art included)             

Leroy Smart - Let Everyman Survive (1979)

Leroy Smart (born 1952, Kingston, Jamaica) is a reggae singer and producer. He was orphaned at the age of two. He was raised at Maxfield Park Children's Home and educated at Alpha Boys School, where he studied singing, drums and dancing.

Smart recorded his first single, "It Pains Me" in 1969 for a producer called Mr. Caribbean. In 1970 he recorded "Ethiopia" for Joe Gibbs, and the first version of one of his most famous songs, "Pride & Ambition", with producer Gussie Clarke. His breakthrough would come in 1973 with "Mother Liza", produced by Jimmy Radway, which topped the local singles chart, and led to "Pride & Ambition" also becoming a big local hit. After working with Bunny Lee for several years, he recorded another of his best-known songs, "Ballistic Affair" at Channel One, in 1976, and began producing himself in 1977. Smart has continued recording and remains popular, with over 35 albums to his name. He is regarded as one of Jamaica's most outrageous and colourful characters.
Smart appeared in the film Rockers along with contemporaries such as Gregory Isaacs and Jacob Miller.

In 1979, Leroy Smar joined up with producer Alvin "GG" Ranglin to bring out two albums, "Showcase Rub A Dub" and "Let Everyman Survive". It becomes abundantly clear from the ten numbers on this album that besides singing talent, Leroy also possesses original ideas and the ability to convert them into flowing texts.

Tracklist

1	Sugar In My Coffee
2	Jah Is At Hand
3	I Still Pray
4	If You Want My Love
5	Live Up Right
6	Let Everyman Survive
7	Collie Give Me Wisdom
8	You Are Mine
9	Black And White
10	You Never Need Me

Leroy Smart - Let Everyman Survive
(192 kbps, front cover included)

Claire Waldoff - Immer ran an´ Speck

Claire Waldoff , born Clara Wortmann) was a famous cabaret singer and entertainer in Berlin during the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s.

Clara Wortmann was born in 1884 the eleventh child of 16. Her parents owned a tavern in Gelsenkirchen. After completing school, she studied theatre and chose as her pseudoynm Claire Waldoff. In 1903, she got her first theatre jobs in Bad Pyrmont and in Kattowitz. In 1907, she went to Berlin, where she performed at the Figaro-Theater on Kurfürstendamm. In 1907, she also began a working as a cabaret singer. Rudolf Nelson gave her a job at the theatre Roland von Berlin on Potsdamer Straße. She had great success during the next several years in German cabaret. She sang at Chat Noir on Friedrichstraße and at the Linden-Cabaret on Unter den Linden. Waldoff was known for singing her songs in distinctive Berliner slang. Waldoff's success reached its peak in the 1920s. She performed at the two great Berlin varietés, Scala and Wintergarten, sang together with Marlene Dietrich, and had her songs played on the radio. Her repertoire included around 300 original songs.

Waldoff lived together with Olga von Roeder. The lesbian couple lived happily in Berlin during the 1920s. Together they met often other lesbian friends in the club, Damenklub Pyramide, in Berlin. After the German Nazis won the elections 1933 and Hitler came to power, Waldoff's success ended. In 1939, she and Olga von Roder left Berlin together, and they lived in Bayerisch Gmain. After World War II, she lost her money in German Monetary reform in 1948. In 1953 she wrote her autobiography. 1954 she got a little monetary support by senate of city Berlin. Waldoff died in 1957 and she was buried on the cemetery Pragfriedhof in Stuttgart. Waldoff has a star in Walk of Fame of Cabaret.

Tracklist:

1. Mir hab'n se die Gurke vom Schnitzel weggemopst
2. Na Dann Lass Es Dir Mal Jut Bekommen
3. Warum Soll Er Nicht Mit Ihr
4. Immer Ran An' Speck
5. Raus Mit Den Männern Aus Dem Reichstag
6. Im Nussbaum Links Vom Molkenmarkt
7. Mich Hat Ein Fremder Mann Geküsst In Der Nacht
8. Wat Braucht Der Berliner Um Glücklich Zu Sein?
9. Meine Maxe
10. Emilie Vom Kurfürstendamm
11. Der Schlips Im Kohlenkasten
12. Lied Der Harvenjuhle
13. Er Ist Nach Mir Ganz Doll
14. Wenn Der Bräut'gam Mit Der Braut
15. Wenn Die Soldaten Durch Die Stadt Marschieren
16. Mein Paulchen Ist Weg
17. Verliebt, Verlobt, Verheiratet
18. Unsere Minna
19. Dann wackelt die Wand

Claire Waldoff - Immer ran an´ Speck
(192 kbps, front cover included)

The Residents – The Third Reich 'N' Roll (1976)

Technically the third album from the group, though released as a follow-up to "Meet the Residents", this 40-minute assault on the music of the '60s follows Picasso's dictum of all artists killing their (aesthetic) fathers. 

Two side-long medleys of songs both classic ("Papa's Got a Brand New Bag") and obscure ("Telstar") are destroyed, deconstructed, mangled, spat on, spit out, ground up, and injected with gleeful humor. If there's any concept here, it's that the brain-numbing catchiness of pop music was fascism in disguise, keeping teenyboppers docile while selling them rebellion, hence the cover art of a gestapo-uniformed Dick Clark holding a carrot. 

Whether it's only much-suppressed love for these songs (as they went on to return again and again to the themes and artists examined here, including James Brown, "Land of 1000 Dances," and "Double Shot"), it's up to the listener to decide. Mostly any fan of the group will spend many hours trying to decode all the songs here, all the time with a smile on their face. (Officially, there are 29 songs, but there could be more).

The album generated some controversy due to its cover art and Nazi imagery (promotional photos featured the Residents dressed as giant swastikas and wearing oversized swastika glasses). A window display in Berkeley was met with protests and threats of violence, and the album with its original cover (featuring American Bandstand host Dick Clark dressed in a Nazi uniform clutching a carrot) is still banned in Germany. Regardless, it is considered one of the group's masterworks along with most of their material from the 1970s.

Tracklist:
1 Swastikas On Parade
2 Hitler Was A Vegetarian

Bonus Tracks:
3 Satisfaction
4 Loser ≅ Weed
5 Beyond The Valley Of A Day In The Life
6 Flying

The Residents – The Third Reich 'N' Roll (1976)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Alton Ellis - Sunday Coming (1970, Studio One)

Alton Ellis is one of the best Jamaican vocalists to have emerged during the ska and rocksteady periods in the '60s. His singing prowess remained intact through the reggae, dancehall, and ragga years as well, proving that his uniquely soulful delivery and impeccable phrasing could transcend reggae's many changes.

Recording with his preferred producer Clement Dodd, Ellis cut "Sunday Coming" around 1969-1970 at Dodd's legendary Brentford Road studio. Most likely backed by the producer's Sound Dimension band (featuring the great Jackie Mittoo as arranger and organist), Ellis offers up a typical set of originals and choice covers from the day's charts. On the handful of tracks Ellis co-wrote with Dodd, breezy medium-tempo cuts like "It's True" and "The Picture Was You" particularly stand out; the buoyant soul-based rocksteady beats, occasional jazz chords, and sweet harmonies all seem to be part of a musical setting in which Ellis thrived.

The point is substantiated by great Ellis performances on similarly disposed covers like the Guess Who's "These Eyes," Blood, Sweat & Tears' "You Make Me So Very Happy," and the Junior Walker hit "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)." Ellis also shows some musical flexibility with his funky James Brown-inspired jam "Alton's Groove" and the fine roots reggae track "Reason in the Sky"; he even proves his contemporary relevance on two impressive tracks from 1994, including the updated rocksteady cut "Joy in the Morning" and a digitally enhanced number entitled "The Winner." This disc is one of Ellis' best and comes highly recommended to newcomers and reggae enthusiasts alike.

Alton Ellis - Sunday Coming
(320 kbps, front cover included)

Sun Ra - Pictures Of Infinity (1971)

Although no precise date is given, these five cuts are thought to have been documented circa 1967-1968 by Sun Ra (piano) and his Arkestra in New York City, where the band was in residence at the time. There is a mixture of older works as well as newer selections on 1971's "Pictures of Infinity".

That said, even the established compositions - most notably the full-throttled reading of "Saturn" that commences the collection - are given fresh sonic visages. Tenor saxophonist John Gilmore is particularly potent with his flawless fluidity running melodic yet hard bopping lines over top of the solid rhythm section. He gives a hearty personality to his interjections as they dart in and out of the spiraling mile-a-minute arrangement. Bassist Ronnie Boykins is commanding, especially as his solo emerges out of drummer Nimrod Hunt's rapid-fire timekeeping. "Song of the Sparer" is an exquisite and rarely documented tune that begins with some intricate phrases from Ra before evolving into a languid and practically dirgelike improvisational piece. "Spontaneous Simplicity" is highlighted by some warm and inviting interplay between a flutist - presumably either Danny Davis or Pat Patrick - and Ra, whose strident piano accompaniment is remarkably suited to the earthy nature of the woodwind's ethereal, alternately liberating and plaintive sound. Immediately contrasting the more rural expressions is the aggressive extended free jazz attack heard on "Somewhere There." The bombastic percussion and practically sadistic sax-and-drum onslaught thrash about in an almost definitive example of the sheer power possessed by the Arkestra. The "Outer Spaceways Incorporated" chant concluding this long-player is similar to other versions and remains an affirmative statement juxtaposing an inescapably dissonant introduction with the playful nature of the singalong quality of the verses.                

Tracklist:

A1		Somewhere There	15:10
A2		Outer Spaceways Incorporated	7:02
B1		Saturn	6:08
B2		Song Of The Sparer	4:22
B3		Spontaneous Simplicity	7:56

Sun Ra - Pictures Of Infinity (1971)
(256 kbps, cover art included)

39 Clocks - Cold Steel to the Heart (1985)

The 39 Clocks were an underground band from Hannover. Together with Nova Express, The Beauty Contest, Shiny Gnomes, Multicoloured Shades, Kastrierten Philosophen and Yellow Sunshine Underground they contributed to the German underground neo-psychedelic scene of the 1980s.

In 1976, Jürgen „J.G.39“ Gleue (guitar, bass, vocals) and Christian „C.H.39“ Henjes (guitar, orgal, vocals), both from Hannover, played together under the name Killing Rats, and later Automats (trans: "Machines"). The nucleus of the band was soon expanded with the addition of drummer Claudius Hempelmann (he later joined labelmates and new wave proponents Der Moderne Mann) and Rüdiger Klose, also known for his work with Die Kastrierten Philosophen. In the studio they were joined by, amongst others, Süsskind from Kosmonautentraum (Spaceman Dream) on the melodica, and Emilio Winschetti, singer with labelmates Mythen In Tüten, later in Mint and The Perc Meets The Hidden Gentleman, on synthesizer. In 1980, a 7" of 'DNS' was released through the independent record label, No Fun Records, as was their 1981 LP, 'Pain It Dark'. For their second record, Gleue and Henjes founded their own record label, Psychotic Promotion, through which Die Kastrierten Philosophen also released their first record. In 1983, the duo split and Henjes founded The Beauty Contest, who released records through the Hamburg label, What's So Funny.

Visually, the band were reminiscent of the Velvet Underground, and musically, they were influenced by the American garage rock of the 1960s with a psychedelic direction and its comparable simplistic production techniques, along with a bastardised use of the English language, somewhat similar to what we know today as "Denglisch" (the German equivalent of Franglais). They were always dressed in black, wearing sunglasses, and coined phrases such as "black and white TVs show better films than colour sets." Rather than melodic psychedelic rock, they called their music "psycho-beat". Many speak retrospectively of thegroup as "the German Velvet Underground" - a comparison that the duo always rejected. The Clocks never had an entry into the Hannover rock hall of fame, however they've not quite been forgotten. For example, in 1998 one of the Clocks' songs found its way onto the soundtrack of the film, "23 - Nichts ist so wie es scheint" ("23 - nothing is quite as it seems"). In addition, many remember them as the forerunners of the German psychedelic renaissance.


39 Clocks - Cold Steel to the Heart (1985)
(256 kbps, front cover included)

VA - Bluegrass Breakdown - Newport Folk Festival

This recording documents live Newport Folk Festival performances by many of the greatest bluegrass artists of the Sixties, an era in which bluegrass was to see some radical changes. Younger artists were discovering the music with great enthusiasm, and were carrying on the tradition established by the music´s originators with tremendous vitality.

Here can be heard the roots of bluegrass, in the od-timey fiddle styles of Lue Berline, Clayton McMichen and Fiddling Arthur Smith; the bluegrass bands that were legends in their time, Bill Monroe and The Bluegrass Boys, The Stanley Brothers and The Dillards; and of course the next generation, citybillies who eagerly embraced the older styles and embellished them with their own imaginations and talents: Byron Berline, The New York City Ramblers and the Greenbriar Boys.

This album was recorded at the Newport Folk Festival in 1963 - 1965. It ends with "Bluegrass Breakdown", which gives this collection its name, another Bill Monroe original that always left the audience hollering for more.


Tracklist:

1	–Lue Berline And Byron Berline	New Broom
2	–Lue Berline And Byron Berline	Old Logan
3	–Lue Berline And Byron Berline	Crazy Creek
4	–Lue Berline And Byron Berline	Dusty Miller
5	–Stanley Brothers, The	How Mountain Girls Can Love
6	–Stanley Brothers, The	A Man Of Constant Sorrow
7	–Stanley Brothers, The	Big Tildy
8	–Stanley Brothers, The	Orange Blossom Special
9	–Fiddling Arthur Smith	Leather Britches
10	–Fiddling Arthur Smith	Blackberry Blossom
11	–Greenbriar Boys, The	Levee Breakin' Blues
12	–Greenbriar Boys, The	At The End Of A Long Lonley Day
13	–Dillards, The	Old Joe Clark
14	–Dillards, The	Ground Hog
15	–Dillards, The	Banjo In The Hollow
16	–Dillards, The	Polly Vaughn
17	–Dillards, The	Dueling Banjos
18	–Clayton McMichen	Alabama Jubilee
19	–Clayton McMichen	Sourwood Mountain
20	–New York City Ramblers, The	You Better Get Right Little Darlin'
21	–New York City Ramblers, The	I'm Coming Back But I Don't Know When
22	–New York City Ramblers, The	Cedar Hill
23	–New York City Ramblers, The	Tell It To Me
24	–Bill Monroe And The Bluegrass Boys*	Muleskinner Blues
25	–Bill Monroe And The Bluegrass Boys*	Blue Moon Of Kentucky
26	–Bill Monroe And The Bluegrass Boys*	Walls Of Time
27	–Bill Monroe And The Bluegrass Boys*	Somebody Touched Me
28	–Bill Monroe And The Bluegrass Boys*	Bluegrass Breakdown

VA - Bluegrass Breakdown - Newport Folk Festival
(256 kbps, front cover included)

VA - Dance Crasher - Ska To Rock Steady (Trojan)

Probably only of interest to the most diehard reggae fans, "Dance Crasher" traces the Jamaican music scene from fast-paced ska to slower rock steady. These two forms were later to develop into what is now known as reggae. It's a fascinating chronicle with tracks from reggae superstars like the Skatalites, the Maytals, the Ethiopians, and Lee Perry and the Soulettes.

All of the songs were cut between 1962 and 1966, and many such as "Hallelujah," "Doctor Dick" and "Big Bamboo" were produced by the legendary C.S. Dodd, one of Jamaica's early studio pioneers.

Some of the recording quality leaves much to be desired, but it's still a good listen. The most interesting piece is "Shame and Scandal," a hilarious story of Jamaican family life ("your daddy's not your daddy, but your daddy don't know"),  recorded by what was then called Peter Tosh and the Wailers.   

Tracklist:

1. Big Bamboo - Lord Creator

2. Latin Goes Saka - The Skatalites

3. Hallelujah - The Maytals

4. Garden Of Love - Don Drummond

5. Rough And Tough - Stranger Cole

6. Beardman Ska - The Skatalites

7. Shame & Scandal - Peter Tosh & The Wailers

8. Street Corner - The Skatalites

9. Bonanza Ska - Carlos Malcomlm And The Afro Caribs

10. Dance Crasher - Alton Ellis & The Flames

11. Let George Do It - Don Drummond

12. Rudie Bam Bam - The Clarendonians

13. Ska Jam - Tommy McCook & The Supersonics

14. Doctor Dick - Lee Perry & The Soulettes

15. Ball O'Fire - The Skatalites

16. Owe Me No Pay Me - The Ethiopians

17. Independece Ska - Baba Brooks & Band

18. Don't Be A Rude Body - The Rulers

VA - Dance Crasher - Ska To Rock Steady (Trojan)
(256 kbps, front cover included)        

VA - Help Rwanda! African Artists For Africa (1995)

"Help Rwanda! African Artists For Africa" is a charity album supporting "Ärzte ohne Grenzen" ("Doctors Without Borders") and UNHCR.

In 1990, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel group composed of nearly 500,000 Tutsi refugees, invaded northern Rwanda from their base in Uganda, initiating the Rwandan Civil War. The group condemned the Hutu-dominated government for failing to democratize and confront the problems facing these refugees. Neither side was able to gain a decisive advantage in the war, but by 1992 it had weakened Habyarimana's authority; mass demonstrations forced him into a coalition with the domestic opposition and eventually to sign the 1993 Arusha Accords with the RPF. The cease-fire ended on 6 April 1994 when Habyarimana's plane was shot down near Kigali Airport, killing him. The shooting down of the plane served as the catalyst for the Rwandan genocide, which began within a few hours. Over the course of approximately 100 days, around 800,000[ Tutsi and politically moderate Hutu were killed in well-planned attacks on the orders of the interim government. Many Twa were also killed, despite not being directly targeted.

The Tutsi RPF restarted their offensive, and took control of the country methodically, gaining control of the whole country by mid-July.[ The international response to the genocide was limited, with major powers reluctant to strengthen the already overstretched UN peacekeeping force. When the RPF took over, approximately two million Hutu fled to neighbouring countries, in particular Zaïre, fearing reprisals;[ additionally, the RPF-led army was a key belligerent in the First and Second Congo Wars. Within Rwanda, a period of reconciliation and justice began, with the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the reintroduction of Gacaca, a traditional village court system. Since 2000 Rwanda's economy, tourist numbers, and Human Development Index have grown rapidly; between 2006 and 2011 the poverty rate reduced from 57% to 45%, while life expectancy rose from 46.6 years in 2000 to 59.7 years in 2015.


Tracklist:
1 –Bundhu Boys * Radio Africa 4:05
2 –Four Brothers * Uchandifunga 4:33
3 –Real Sounds * Wende Zako 8:23
4 –Biggie Tembo * Out Of Africa 5:40
5 –Machanic Manyeruke * Kana Vatsvene Vopinda 3:44
6 –Bundhu Boys * Pombi 5:08
7 –Four Brothers * Rudo Chete 4:57
8 –S. E. Rogie * My Lovely Elizabeth 2:59
9 –Machanic Manyeruke * Cain Na Abel 3:32
10 –Biggie Tembo * Punza 5:33
11 –S. E. Rogie * I Wish I Was A Cowboy 3:14
12 –Real Sounds * Dynamos vs. Tornados 13:21


VA - Help Rwanda! African Artists For Africa (1995)
(320 kbps, front cover included)