John Lee Hooker - The Great (1963)

John Lee Hooker was the king of the endless boogie, a globally cherished bluesman whose droning, hypnotic, one-chord grooves were driving, primitive, and timeless. 

During a 50-year career, he melded regional sounds from the Delta, Detroit, and Chicago in a trademark, oft-imitated approach. From the late 1940s until 1969, he cut more than 100 singles for labels such as Modern, Chess, Federal, Atco, and Vee-Jay, including hits such as "I'm in the Mood," "Hobo Blues," "Boogie Chillen," "Crawling Kingsnake," and "Boom Boom." 

In 1966 he resurrected and reinvented the '50s R&B hit "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" and made it his own.


Tracklist:

A1 I Need Love So Bad
A2 Sally Mae
A3 Key To The Highway
A4 How Can You Do It?
A5 It Hurts Me So
B1 She Left Me
B2 I Got Eyes For You
B3 Let's Talk It Over
B4 I'm A Howling Wolf
B5 Tease Your Daddy

John Lee Hooker - The Great (1963)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

VA - Beyond the Wildwood – A Tribute to Syd Barrett (1987)

Like a supernova, Roger "Syd" Barrett burned briefly and brightly, leaving an indelible mark upon psychedelic and progressive rock as the founder and original singer, songwriter, and lead guitarist of Pink Floyd. Barrett was responsible for most of their brilliant first album, 1967's "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn", but left and/or was fired from the band in early 1968 after his erratic behavior had made him too difficult to deal with (he appears on a couple tracks on their second album, "A Saucerful of Secrets"). Such was his stature within the original lineup that few observers thought the band could survive his departure; in fact, the original group's management decided to keep Syd on and leave the rest of the band to their own devices. Pink Floyd never recaptured the playful humor and mad energy of their work with Barrett.               

Beyond the Wildwood – A Tribute to Syd Barrett is a tribute album consisting of music written by Syd Barrett. The musicians performing on the album are British and American indie rock artists. The songs featured come from Pink Floyd's singles; the albums The Piper at the Gates of Dawn and A Saucerful of Secrets; and Barrett's two solo albums: The Madcap Laughs and Barrett. Although Barrett's productive recording career had only lasted from 1967 though 1970, his music had a great influence on the development of psychedelic rock, alternative rock and indie rock music.

"Beyond the Wildwood" is a must have for any serious Syd fan. This album of covers is a fine tribute, the songs are not at all "replicas"; they are all fresh and re-worked, some of them quite radically. 


1. The Mock Turtles - No Good Trying
2. Plasticland - Octopus
3. SS-20 - Arnold Layne
4. Paul Roland - Matilda Mother
5. Fit And Limo - Long Cold Look
6. The Shamen - Long Gone
7. Opal - If The Sun Don't Shine (Adaptation Of Jugband Blues)
8. The Ashes In The Morning - Baby Lemonade
9. The Lobster Quadrille - Wolfpack
10. The Paint Set - Golden Hair
11. Tropicana Fishtank - No Man's Land
12. The T.V. Personalities - Apples And Oranges
13. The Soup Dragons - Two Of A Kind
14. The Green Telescope - Scream Thy Last Scream
15. The Chemistry Set - See Emily Play
16. What Noise - Rats
17. Death Of Samantha - Gigolo Aunt

^{VA - Beyond the Wildwood – A Tribute to Syd Barrett (1987)
(256 kbps, cover art incuded)}

King Tubbys, Prince Jammy´s, Scientist - Dubwise Revolution

King Tubby is to this day synonymous with dub. He was a man who had a passion for fiddling with sound equipment, and turned that passion into a new musical genre and a veritable art form. He may have started his career as a repairman, but before he was done, his name was one of the most respected around the world. He worked with virtually every artist in Jamaica, and his name on a remix was like gold, a seal of quality that was never questioned.

A member of dub's royal family, Lloyd James (aka Prince Jammy, aka King Jammy) began his career as an apprentice mixer under the late great King Tubby.

Scientist was an employee of Tubby's, fixing transformers and televisions, when one day, after an animated conversation about mixing records, Tubby challenged the Scientist to take a shot at remixing a record.

Guess "Dubwise Revolution" is a 1970s dub album, produced by Prince Jammy and mixed by Scientist nd King Tubby.

Tracklist:

Come Dub
Iniquity Dub
Just One Dub
Late Night Dub
Ants Nest
Holy Dub
Crisp Dub
Echo Chamber
Better Must Dub
Big Dub
Vanity Dub
Bell The Cat Dub
Rock A Dub
Play On Dub


King Tubbys, Prince Jammys, Scientist - Dubwise Revolution
(192 kbps, front cover included)

John Hartford - Morning Bugle (1972)

John Hartford remains best known for the country-pop standard "Gentle on My Mind," a major hit for Glen Campbell and subsequently covered by vocalists ranging from Frank Sinatra to Aretha Franklin. The song remains among the most often recorded in the history of popular music, its copyright netting Hartford well over a hundred thousand dollars annually for many years. But there was more to Hartford than that curious mix of highly literary folk music and MOR romantic nostalgia, told from the perspective of a homeless man remembering days of perfect love. Hartford was a multi-talented old-time musician, a riverboat captain, a satirical songwriter, a one-man showman of exceptional talents, and one of the founders of both progressive country music and old-time string music revivalism.

"Morning Bugle" is one of Hartford's finest records. Done mostly live in the studio with virtually no over-dubs, this is a fine collection of song covering a variety of subjects. Two of the most poignant are "Howard Hughes Blues" and "Nobody Eats at Linebaugh's," which addresses country music's abandonment of the Ryman and downtown Nashville in favor of "the park." The album features jazz double bassist Dave Holland, who performs with both Hartford and Norman Blake for the very first time. It was recorded at Bearsville Sound in Bearsville, New York and released in June, 1972. The music was all written by Hartford, except for two traditional tunes.

John Hartford - Morning Bugle (1972)
(192 kbps, cover art included)

Rolando Alarcon - Canciones de la Guerra Civil Espanola (1968)

 

On 18 July 1936, a group of military officers attempted a coup to overthrow the leftwing Popular Front government that had come to powerbin Spain in February. That date marks the beginning of the Spanish civil war, which killed 500,000 people and resulted in 450,000 fleeing Spain.

Here´s the another fine compliation with Rolando Alarcon´s recordings of songs related to the spanish civil war. It was released in 1968.

Tracklist:

01. Si me quieres escribir
02. El quinto regimiento
03. El turu ru ru ru
04. Las morillas de Jaen
05. Dime donde vas, morena
06. Viva la quinta brigada
07. Eres alta y delgada
08. Los cuatro generales
09. Nubes y esperanza
10. No pasaran

Rolando Alarcon - Canciones de la Guerra Civil Espanola (1968)

(128 kbps, cover art included)

Jalda Rebling - Hans-Werner Apel - Stefan Maass - Jews in Germany (1250-1750) - Juden in Deutschland (1994)

Today we remember the anti-Jewish pogrom in Nazi Germany and Austria on 9 to 10 November1938, also known as "Novemberpogrome", "Reichskristallnacht", "Reichspogromnacht" or "Pogromnacht" in German.

This album features jewish music from 5 centuries performed by the famous jewish vocalist Jalda Rebling and the well known musicians Hans-Werner Apel and Stefan Maass. No easy-listening, but excellent and very impressive. The album was recorded in 1994.

The present recordings provide for the first time a representative cross-section of the Jewish history of music in Germany. The highlights of Hebrew, Yiddish and German songs tell us of 500 years of fruitful and dreadful neighbourhood in a country, which seemed to be a second, intellectual home for the Jewish people, and yet became the place of ruthless persecution.

Tracklist:

1a. Wa heb' uf, unt niht envint - komponiert von Süßkind von Trimberg
1b. Ich var uf der toren vart - komponiert von Süßkind von Trimberg
2. Ein wolf vil jaemerlichen sprach - komponiert von Süßkind von Trimberg
3. Möcht ich dein wegeren
4. Der Winter will hinweichen
5. Judenverfolgung zu Passau 1477
5a. O du armer Judas
5b. Variationen auf den armen Judas - komponiert von Hans Gerle
6. Judentanz - komponiert von Hans Newsidler
7a. Vintz Hanß Lied - komponiert von Elchanan b. Abraham Helen
7b. Triumphmarsch - komponiert von Elchanan b. Abraham Helen
8. Judentanz - komponiert von Wolff Heckel
9. Addir hu - komponiert von Johann Stephan Rittangel
10. Galgengesang des Joseph Süß Oppenheimer
11. Eins wollt ihr es nennen
12. Ergötzlichkeit zur rechten Zeit - komponiert von Adam Krieger
13. Kallalied
14. Zu Chassene und B'rith-Mile - komponiert von Elchanan b. Abraham Helen
15. Akdomus - komponiert von Leijb Chasan
16. Das neue Jerusalem
17. Ki lo naeh - komponiert von Johann Stephan Rittangel

Jalda Rebling - Hans-Werner Apel - Stefan Maass - Jews in Germany (1250-1750) - Juden in Deutschland (1994)
(192 kbps, cover art included)

On-U Sound Disco Plate Collection Part II

A disproportionate amount of the best modern reggae has emerged from the strange, dark depths of the Berry Street studio in London, home base of Adrian Sherwood's On-U Sound label. On-U material has always been notoriously difficult to get in any format, but most elusive of all are the legendary 10" "disco plate" singles Sherwood produced in the early 1980s and 1990s.

This disc is the second volume in an attempt to remedy that situation by reissuing the best of the disco plates on CD. Though fans of the label will already own alternate versions of a number of these tracks (such as "93 Struggle" and Bim Sherman's "Keep You Dancing") and even the exact same versions of a couple of others ("Autobiography" and "Breaking Down the Pressure" have been credited elsewhere to Singers & Players), this disc is more than worth the investment if only for the brilliant obscurities: Undivided Roots deliver a charming lament titled "England Cold," which is followed by a typically over-the-top Sherwood dub mix; "Can't Stop Jumping" is a dub version of "Keep You Dancing" featuring Dr. Pablo on keys.

This is pure reggae & dub gold, and devotees are well advised to snap it up while they can...

VA - On-U Sound Disco Plate Collection Part II
(192 kbps, small front cover included)

Slapp Happy & Dagmar Krause - Ultra Rare Trax

Slapp Happy was formed in 1972 when British keyboardist and avant-garde composer Anthony Moore met New York guitarist/artist/cartoonist/poet Peter Blegvad. The two were living in Hamburg at the time, and Moore had already released several albums of “new music” for Polydor. When Polydor rejected one of his albums outright, he proposed a pop-oriented project instead. Local girl Dagmar Krause, a former member of the folk-rock group The City Preachers, was recruited as vocalist and Slapp Happy was born.

This terrific collection was released in 1996.


Tracklist:

          Casablanca Moon EP:
                Casablanca Moon (single edit)
                Me and Pavarti (single edit)
          City Preachers:
                Hey, La La La
                Who are you
                Any Day in Wonderland
                Sometimes the Sky is filled with Rain
                Canada
                On a Train Ride
                Betty Dupree
                Wenn Abendlichter Glanzen
                Penelope
                Golden Yesterdays
                Come Back
                Franky and Johnny
                Old Shanty Town
          Commuters:
                The Ventriloquist
                The Young Lieutenant
                The Architect
                The Poet
                The Man on the Island
                The Acrobat
                The Organist
                The Philosopher
                The Gentlemen on the Stairs
                The Priest
          Sort Of EP:
                Alcohol
          Anthony Moore EP:
                Judy (single edit)
                Lucia (single edit)
          Slapp Happy Including Anthony Moore EP:
                Johnny's Dead
                Mr. Rainbow


Slapp Happy & Dagmar Krause - Ultra Rare Trax
(320 kbps, cover art included)

The Members - Uprhythm, Downbeat (1982)

The punk-orthodoxy view of the Members is that after a string of promising reggae-tinged singles, the septet released one fine album in 1979's "At the Chelsea Nightclub", then lost the plot completely with the follow-up, 1980: "The Choice Is Yours", after which they're ignored with an embarrassed throat-clearing. In point of fact, however, the Members rebounded after their second album (which itself is actually not nearly as bad as many would have you believe, sort of the Members' own version of "Sandinista!" in its appealing looseness and lack of consistent focus) by ridding themselves of any lingering punk associations and going for a complete sonic makeover. 

The band joined up with producer Martin Rushent (Human League, Altered Images, the Go-Go's), who was a master of making unpromisingly non-commercial bands have big shiny hit records without losing their souls in the process. Rushent nailed it immediately with the Members, concocting the utterly delightful "Working Girl." A mixture of snarky lyrics about the joys of freeloading and a genuinely transcendent chorus, "Working Girl" is a classic '80s pop single and -- despite the protestations of the punker than thou -- easily the best thing the Members ever did. Yes, including "Solitary Confinement." Sadly, the rest of Uprhythm Downbeat doesn't reach the same heights, but the good outweighs the bad, including an inspired reggae version of Kraftwerk's "The Model," the self-celebrating "The Family" and "Boys Like Us," and another minor hit, "Going West."

Tracklist:

"Working Girl" (Nick Tesco, Jean-Marie Carroll) 4:09
"The Family" (Jean-Marie Carroll) 4:11
"The Model" (Ralf Hütter, Karl Bartos, Emil Schult) 5:10
"Chairman of the Board" (Nick Tesco, Payne, Jean-Marie Carroll) 4:05
"Boys Like Us" (Nick Tesco, Adrian Lillywhite, Chris Payne, Jean-Marie Carroll, Simon Lloyd, Steve Thompson, Nigel Bennett) 4:11
"Going West" (Chris Payne) 4:10
"Radio" (Nigel Bennett) 5:52
"Fire (in My Heart)" (Nick Tesco, Adrian Lillywhite, Chris Payne, Jean-Marie Carroll, Simon Lloyd, Steve Thompson, Nigel Bennett) 4:19
"You and Me Against the World" (Nick Tesco, Adrian Lillywhite, Chris Payne, Jean-Marie Carroll, Simon Lloyd, Steve Thompson, Nigel Bennett) 4:22
"We the People" (Nick Tesco, Chris Payne) 5:10

2006 CD Bonus Tracks:

"Working Girl" (single version)
"Holiday in Tanganika"
"Every Day is Just a Holiday"
"If You Can't Stand Up"
"At the Arcade"
"Membership"

The Members - Uprhythm, Downbeat (1982)

(128 kbps, cover art included)

Mississippi John Hurt - Friends Of Old Time Music Concert, December 13, 1963

No blues singer ever presented a more gentle, genial image than Mississippi John Hurt.

A guitarist with an extraordinarily lyrical and refined fingerpicking style, he also sang with a warmth unique in the field of blues, and the gospel influence in his music gave it a depth and reflective quality unusual in the field. Coupled with the sheer gratitude and amazement that he felt over having found a mass audience so late in life, and playing concerts in front of thousands of people -- for fees that seemed astronomical to a man who had always made music a sideline to his life as a farm laborer -- these qualities make Hurt's recordings into a very special listening experience.
Here´s the soundboard recording of the "friends of old time music concert", School of Medicine, Alumni Hall
New York, N.Y., December 13, 1963.

Tracklist:
1.Do Lord intro
2.Do Lord Remember Me
3.Since Ive Laid My Burden Down
4.C.C. Rider
5.Casey Jones
6.Nobody's Dirty Business
7.Richmond Woman Intro
8.Richmond Woman Blues
9.Let The Mermaids Flirt W Me
10.Spike drivers Blues
11.Stagger Lee
12.Pallet On Your Floor
13.Coffee Blues Intro
14.Coffee Blues
15.My Creole Blues
16.Franky and Jonnie
17.Talking Casey

Filler tracks from 1964:
18.Monday Morning Blues
19.Pallet on Your Floor

Thanks to http://arizjones.blogspot.com/!

Mississippi John Hurt - December 13, 1963
(320 kbps, no cover art included)

Minimal Compact – Minimal Compact (1982, Crammed)

Minimal Compact was an Israeli rock band associated with the post-punk and indie rock movement of the 1980s.

When punk and new wave blew up in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, the fallout was felt on a global level even though acts from the U.S. and the U.K. snagged most of the attention. Minimal Compact from Tel Aviv, Israel were one of the little-known post-punk acts outside of the usual suspects. Formed in 1981 by vocalist Samy Birnbach, bassist Malka Spigel, and guitarist Berry Sakharof, Minimal Compact incorporated native Middle Eastern sounds into dark European rock, breaking ground that groups such as Blancmange and Savage Republic would eventually cross. 

What prevented Minimal Compact from becoming completely obscure because of their geographic roots was that they relocated to Amsterdam early in their career and therefore found support within the European music community. The band wanted refuge from their native land's provincial attitudes; moving to Amsterdam enabled them to fulfill their dream of international recognition. The group was signed to the Belgian label Crammed and released this self-titled EP in 1981.


Tracklist:

Statik Dancin' 3:47
Creation Is Perfect (I Am A Camera) 4:28
Ready-Made Diary 4:37
To Get Inside 5:18
Happy Babouge 3:29

Minimal Compact – Minimal Compact (EP, 1982, Crammed)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Tom Rush - The Circle Game (1968)

A candid and charming collection of songs that glisten as beautifully as a clear mountain stream. Singer/songwriter/poet Tom Rush had a wonderful idea in mind for a concept album, working with music business greats Arthur Gorson and Paul Harris to blend the best of the time period's songwriters. The effort results in a splendid achievement of emotionally and lyrically gripping material.

Taking advantage of his resonant tenor voice and the majestic talents of a stirring crew of musicians, Rush performs wistful and ethereal versions of some of his favorite songs. Material selected includes deeply lyrical tunes such as Joni Mitchell's "Tin Angel" and "Urge for Going," and romantic songs like James Taylor's "Something in the Way She Moves." The album, titled "The Circle Game", features Mitchell's radio hit single of the same name.

Certainly during the '70s this album was marketed well and fared with great success among the listening public, inviting Rush into an elite group of solo singer/songwriters of the decade. Just to prove to the world that he is no fluke himself when it comes to arranging and composing, Rush succeeds with two beautifully crafted works of his own, masterfully woven and spun on the acoustic guitar, along with an endearing work of lush production featuring the brilliant efforts of conductor Paul Harris and orchestra. A must-listen for those who are sincerely curious and are seeking a good singer/songwriter talent from this period.                

Tom Rush - The Circle Game (1968)
(192 kbps, cover art included)

Francesco De Gregori – Rimmel (1975)

Francesco De Gregori's first three records, as brilliant as they often were, went largely unnoticed. Everything changed with "Rimmel", the 1975 release that made him into a pop superstar, and second only to Fabrizio De André as the greatest of Italian cantautori. 

With a little help from friends such as Lucio Dalla, De Gregori expanded his singer/songwriter compositions into full-blown pop songs. Accordingly, the spare acoustic guitar that dominated his previous albums is replaced by band arrangements, with the central role given over to piano and organ. Certainly, the addition of keyboards, drums, backing vocals, electric bass, and studio effects made the record much more radio- and concert-friendly, but the secret of Rimmel's triumph lies in its concise yet uniformly brilliant set of songs. 

Every De Gregori greatest-hits collection includes at least half of this album's nine tracks. In fact, it is hard to think of any other album by any Italian artist that brings together so many songs destined to become standards of modern Italian pop music. It is also this record that started the accusations leveled at De Gregori of selling out his left-wing beliefs for commercial success, by committing the ultimate sin of writing love songs. While in retrospect this appears as utter insanity, it is testimony to the charged climate of 1970s Italy, as well as to the key role played by politics in the music and public persona of Italian songwriters. More importantly, such accusations manage to ignore the blatant fact that Rimmel has its fair share of remarkable "political" songs, such as the classics "Il Signor Hood" and "Pablo," both subject to much debate as to who were the real-life personalities that inspired them, as well as the gorgeous "Le Storie di Ieri," about the childhood of the son of a political opposition figure. Furthermore, De Gregori's love songs are a far cry from the trite offerings of, say, the San Remo Festival. In fact, a song like the stunning "Pezzi di Vetro" is full of the same surrealist imagery and enigmatic characters that populate the songwriter's universe, as it stubbornly refuses any easy interpretation while managing to suggest a myriad of complex emotions. Lastly, separate mention is due to the extraordinary title track, which juxtaposes an elegant, lilting piano melody with a subdued vocal; they gradually mount together into a crescendo, to ultimately settle for resignation. As the verses go by, De Gregori shapes contrasting yet coexistent waves of bitterness, dejection, gratitude, and lingering affection into a farewell thank-you/curse-you note to an ex-lover; to many, it is one of the finest Italian songs ever written. "Rimmel" became De Gregori's signature song, and it is only fitting that one of the most important Italian albums of the 1970s should be named after it.


Tracklist:

A1 Rimmel 3:42
A2 Pezzi Di Vetro 3:08
A3 Il Signor Hood 3:11
A4 Pablo 4:22
A5 Buonanotte Fiorellino 2:05
B1 Le Storie Di Ieri 4:08
B2 Quattro Cani 3:16
B3 Piccola Mela 2:45
B4 Piano Bar 2:45

Francesco De Gregori – Rimmel (1975)

(320 kbps, cover art included)

Patti Smith - Divine Intervention (Roskilde 1996)

"Three chord rock merged with the power of the word."

So Patti Smith described her music on the 1975 release of "Horses", her celebrated debut album; and so she has continued to blend the spoken and sung arts in incantatory fashion with her latest work, "Twelve".

Impossible to categorize, moving easily between the literary and musical worlds, always unpredictable and impassioned, she is an idiosyncratically unique performer who has always remained true to her artistic vision.

Born in Chicago and raised in Woodbury, New Jersey, just across the state line from Philadelphia, Patti's mother, Beverly, was a jazz singer cum waitress. Her father, Grant,

worked at the Honeywell plant; she was the oldest of four siblings: her sisters Linda and Kimberly (the latter plays mandolin on Gone Again's "Ravens,"), and brother Todd. Unable to find her place in high school society, she took refuge in the images of Rimbaud, Bob Dylan, James Brown, and the Rolling Stones. Dropping out of Glassboro State Teacher's College, she headed for the bright lights - big city of New York.

.

"Divine Intervention" (1996, Rupert 9681) is a recording of her performance on June, 30, 1996 at the Roskile Festival in Denmark. The performance and the sound quality are good, so enjoy another Patti Smith bootleg...

.

Patti Smith - Divine Intervention (Roskilde 1996)
(192 kbps, front cover included)

Lucio Dalla - Francesco De Gregori – Banana Republic (1979)

This live album is a document of the famous Lucio Dalla-Francesco De Gregori 1979 tour, backed up by a band that included a then unknown Ron and members of Stadio and Cyan.

Both Dalla and De Gregori were at the crest of their popularity; unsurprisingly, the tour became a sensation in Italy. In retrospect, what strikes the listener most about this otherwise fine live recording is its rather odd track selection. With the exception of "Ma Come Fanno i Marinai," the single Dalla and De Gregori issued that year (presumably to promote the tour), both singers refrain to include their most recent hits. Dalla chooses three classics from his early period (including what is arguably the definitive version of "Piazza Grande"), while De Gregori picks the most obscure track (and the weakest) from the hit-studded Rimmel, the best two songs from 1976's Bufalo Bill, and none from 1978's De Gregori. 

The remaining three songs are covers, including a forgettable jazzed up take on Paolo Conte's "Un Gelato al Limone," and a delightful Italian version of Steve Goodman's "Banana Republic," made popular by Jimmy Buffet. This song, together with "Ma Come Fanno i Marinai" constitutes the peak of the whole Dalla-De Gregori ongoing collaboration that took place between 1975 and 1980, as it perfectly amalgamates their contrasting personalities and voices in a bittersweet, nostalgic setting. One can only regret that the two artists never agreed or had the time to do an entire studio album in this vein, preferring instead to go on a tour. In their defense, and based on the evidence of this album, the experience must have been a lot of fun.


Tracklist:

"Banana Republic"
"Un gelato al limon"
"La canzone di Orlando"
"Bufalo Bill"
"Piazza Grande"
"4/3/1943"
"Santa Lucia"
"Quattro cani"
"Addio a Napoli"
"Ma come fanno i marinai"

Lucio Dalla - Francesco De Gregori – Banana Republic (1979)

(320 kbsp, cover art included)

Soleda Bravo - Vol. 4 (1972)

Spain-born and Venezuela-raised Soledad Bravo has been one of the leaders of the nueve cancion ("new song") movement that swept through latin America in the '70s and '80s. Although equally proficient at singing traditional and popular songs, Bravo made her greatest impact as a protest singer.

According to Billboard, "her voice is an exceptional instrument." The Diario, a newspaper in Madrid, claims "her voice captivates you, the range is so wide and its strength is amazing."
Bravo, who inherited her political convictions from her father, emigrated to Venezuela with her parents at the age of seven. While attending the Liceo Rafael Urdaneta, she began singing with a group. She continued to sing while studying architecture, psychology and literature at the Central University of Venezuela. Shortly after her graduation in 1967, Bravo was hired to perform every morning on a television show Buenos Dias. She remained on the program for years. Her debut album, "Soledad Bravo Canta", released in 1968, included her interpretation of Carlos Puebla's tribute to Che Guevera, "Hasta Siempre."

Between 1969 and 1976, Bravo continued to focus on the songs of Latin America, releasing three commercially successful albums and touring throughout Peru, Argentina, Chile and Mexico. In 1972, Bravo recorded a double-album, "En Vivo", featuring songs of the Spanish Civil war. Four years later, she was invited to perform in Spain. An appearance on Spanish television, with accompaniment by flamenco guitarist Manolo Sanlucar, helped to make her a nationally known artist. During the four years that she remained in Spain, Bravo recorded several albums including one with Spanish poet Rafael Alberti in 1977, and a collection of songs of the Spanish Jews, "Cantos Sefardies", that received a Grand Prix Du Disque award in France. Switching her attention to the tropical repertoire, Bravo traveled to New York to record "Caribe", produced by salsa musician Willie Colon. Four years later, she recorded a self-titled album with accompaniment by Eddie Gomez, Airto Moreira, Paquito D'Rivera, Jorge Dalto, Ray Barreto, Yomo Toro and Spyro Gyra.

Tracklist:                           

A1	Punto y Raya
A2	Entra y Sale
A3	Uno De Abajo
A4	Qué Dirá El Santo Padre
A5	De Qué Se Ríe
A6	Niño y Estrella
B1	Canción De Toribio García
B2	Canción De Pablo
B3	Volver A Los Diecisiete
B4	El Violín De Becho
B5	Patria Amada Idolatrada, Salve, Salve

Soleda Bravo - Vol. 4 (1972)
(ca. 224 kbps, cover art included)

Richard Hell & The Voidoids – Blank Generation (1977/1990)

Richard Hell was one of the first men on the scene when punk rock emerged in New York City as an early member of both Television and the Heartbreakers (he left both groups before they could record). 

But his own version of punk wasn't much like anyone else's, and while Hell's debut album, "Blank Generation", remains one of the most powerful to come from punk's first wave, those anticipating a Ramones/Dead Boys-style frontal assault from this set had better readjust their expectations. 

"Love Comes in Spurts" and "Liars Beware" proved the Voidoids could play fast and loud when they wanted to, but for the most part this group's formula was much more complicated than that. Guitarists Robert Quine and Ivan Julian bounced sharp, edgy patterns off each other that were more about psychological tension than brute force (though Quine's solos suggest a fragile grace beneath the surface of their neo-Beefheart chaos). And while most punk nihilism was of the simplistic "Everything Sucks" variety, Hell was (with the exception of Patti Smith) the most literate and consciously poetic figure in the New York punk scene. 

While there's little on the album that's friendly or life-affirming, there's a crackling intelligence to songs like "New Pleasure," "Betrayal Takes Two," and "Another World" that confirmed Hell had a truly unique lyrical voice, at once supremely self-confident and dismissive of nearly everything around him (sometimes including himself). Brittle and troubling but brimming with ideas and musical intelligence, "Blank Generation" was groundbreaking punk rock that followed no one's template, and today it sounds just as fresh - and nearly as abrasive - as it did when it first hit the racks.

Tracklist:

Love Comes In Spurts 1:59
Liars Beware 2:50
New Pleasure 1:52
Betrayal Takes Two 3:33
Down At The Rock And Roll Club 3:37
Who Says? 2:07
Blank Generation 2:41
Walking On The Water 2:14
The Plan 3:53
Another World 8:10

plus 1990 CD reissue bonus tracks:

I´m Your Man

All The Way


Richard Hell & The Voidoids – Blank Generation (1977/1990)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Karol Rathaus - Der letzte Pierrot - Sinfonie Nr. 1 (Decca Entartete Musik)

Karol Rathaus was one of those indirect victims of Nazism that Decca’s Entartete Musik series has been so indispensable in rediscovering. Polish-born, he was briefly very successful in pre-war Germany (an opera was premiered by Bruno Walter; Furtwangler and Horenstein also took him up). Seeing the way the wind was blowing he left Germany the year before Hitler came to power, wrote film music and a ballet in Paris and London but found few openings and fewer performances in America, where he eventually settled.

The First Symphony (there are two others) was roundly abused at its premiere in 1926; this recording is its first performance since then, and the composer – not yet 60 – went to his early grave believing the score to beRead more lost. It is a prodigiously inventive work, 40 minutes long though in only two movements, in a frowning, sinewy post-romantic style that might remind you just a little of the symphonies of Honegger or of the more austere pages of Martinu. The thematic language, though, is much closer to the Viennese tradition and its roots in Mahler, Reger and (Rathaus’s teacher) Schreker are clearly perceptible. But it has an individual emotional vein, often grim, sombre or shadowed, rising at times to a bitter eloquence that is very striking; orchestrally, too, it is highly accomplished. According to an accompanying note Rathaus was frightened by the reaction to the work and by the anti-Semitism of some of his critics; it is hard not to hear some such prejudice in dismissals of the symphony as ‘atonal’. It is no such thing, and although many of its melodies are angular and some of its dissonances harsh, it is by no means especially innovative for its period.

Even so, Rathaus apparently changed his style soon afterwards. Not radically, if his ballet The last Pierrot is anything to go by. Its melodies are sometimes smoother; no doubt association with dance added an element of grace to his manner, but the music is evidently by the same composer as the symphony. Jazz elements are introduced (and adroitly used to convey real menace at one point) and there is a violent forcefulness that aptly reflects the plot – this is a Pierrot in modern times, seeking his Columbine among factories and dance halls. It is effective and was for a while very popular. But it is the Symphony that whets one’s appetite for more of this impressively gifted composer’s music, especially in such eloquent performances as these. The Symphony is a tough piece to bring off – it had to wait five years for its premiere, because conductors were scared of it – but Israel Yinon has its full measure. I look forward to future recordings by him as eagerly as I do to more music by Karol Rathaus.

-- Michael Oliver, Gramophone [9/1998]

Tracklist:

Sinfonie Nr. 1
01. Erster Satz
02. Zweiter Satz

Der letzte Pierrot
03. Erster Akt
04. Zweiter Akt
05. Dritter Akt

Karol Rathaus - Der letzte Pierrot - Sinfonie Nr. 1 (Decca Entartete Musik)
(256 kbps, front cover included)

The Celibate Rifles – The Celibate Rifles (1984)

Playing stripped-down, loud, and fast Ramones-inspired guitar rock, the Celibate Rifles were one of the earliest Australian punk bands to emerge during the post-Radio Birdman/Saints era. 

Taking their cues from these Aussie bands, along with the American hard rock of the Stooges, MC5, and Blue Öyster Cult, the Rifles were led by the twin-guitar attack of Kent Steedman and Dave Morris and the deadpan baritone of vocalist Damien Lovelock. 

They exploded out of the gates in 1982 with a series of records (released in Australia only) fueled by high-speed guitars, wah-wah-strangulated solos, and cartoonish, tongue-in-cheek lyrics


Tracklist:

Wild Desire
Kiss Me Deadly
Pretty Colours
Back In The Red
Darlinghurst Confidential
Thank You America
Rainforest
Netherworld
Electric Snake River

The Celibate Rifles – The Celibate Rifles (1984)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

Hein & Oss - Singen Volkslieder (1976)

Hein & Oss were born identical twins on September 17th 1927 in Pirmasens, Germany. Through the influence of their mother and their grandfather they found a very early interest in singing and in music.

They belong to the small band of German folksingers who are internationally famous through their various concerts, broadcasting and television appearances.

Through their extensive travels they got to know the world and its music; their repertoire is extremely varied and interesting and is drawn from nearly every part of the folk word. Shanties or chansons, soldier´s songs, protest songs or spirituals - the congenial twins from Pirmasens enthrall their audience in Berlin and Calcutta, Paris and Rome, Athens, Teheran, Munich, Bagdad,Hamburg and London.

Hein & Oss belongend to the founders of the "Chanson Folklore International", whose annual festival was held at Castle Waldeck, Germany and was considered as a meeting point of well known folksingers from various countries.

This double album was recored in Munich, August 1976.

Hein & Oss - Singen Volkslieder - Auf den Plätzen, auf, in den Straßen (1976)
(192 kbps, front cover included)