Deep Purple "Made in Japan" (1972) (live)

Made in Japan (live)
release date: Dec. 1972
format: cd (1989 reissue)
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: Deep Purple
label: EMI - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Highway Star" - 2. "Child in Time" - 3. "Smoke on the Water" - 4. "The Mule" - 5. "Strange Kind of Woman" - 6. "Lazy" - 7. "Space Truckin'  "

Live album by Deep Purple originally released as a double vinyl album on Purple Records is taken from three live concerts - at the Festival Hall, Osaka, on both Aug. 15 and 16, and then at Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Aug. 17, 1972.
The album really functions well to document how fine musicians this 'Mark II' constellation were. The tracks are at this point of their career highlights and it's a fine collection of songs, but also the live versions are quite different from the original tracks, mostly as much lengthier compositions.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, SputnikMusic 5 / 5 stars ]

Skids "Scared to Dance" (1979)

Scared to Dance [debut]

release date: Feb. 23, 1979
format: vinyl (US issue - VI 2116) / cd
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,35]
producer: David Batchelor
label: Virgin Records - nationality: Scotland, UK

Track highlights*: A) 1. "The Saints Are Coming" (5 / 5) - 2. "Scared to Dance" (4 / 5) - 3. "Contusion" (4 / 5) - 4. "Into the Valley" (5 / 5) (official video) - 5. "Integral Plot" (4 / 5) - - B) 1. "Sweet Suburbia" (5 / 5) (Peel Session) - 2. "Charles" (4,5 / 5) - 3. "Melancholy Soldiers" (4 / 5) - 5. "Of One Skin" (5 / 5) (live) - 6. "Hope and Glory" - 7**. "T.V. Stars" (4,5 / 5)
*US issue - **Extra track, not listed

Studio debut album by Scottish band Skids. This is one of my absolute favourite albums of the punk rock era. I never understood why the band wasn't praised until U2 and Green Day decided to make a cover version of "The Saints Are Coming" in 2006. I think, it's one of the best and most original debut albums ever made. Although, it was well-received, Skids is one of the most underrated bands in punk rock history. The album deserves at least the same amount of recognition as the debut by The Clash. The songs are equally as good, maybe slightly better - the production is clearly better and then only fans know of it! Musical composer, lead guitarist, and vocalist Stuart Adamson later on experienced greater success with the band Big Country, but he still made another three albums with Skids. The other main front figure is songwriter Richard Jobson on lead vocals, and together with William Simpson on bass, and Thomas Kellichan on drums these four were Skids (at this point).
Various issues have different track listing, and they are not equally good. I happen to own the first US issue of the album, which I consider the best version, as it includes great tracks like "Contusion", "Sweet Surburbia", and "T.V. Stars" - three important tracks that somehow don't figure on the original UK release. After the album release, drummer Kellichan left the band and no new member was included, although, Rusty Egan became the band's preferred drummer for a time. I must have played this album a zillion times at maximum volume whenever I listened to "Of One Skin" or some of the other amazing tracks of this favourite of mine. The album deserves to figure as a year-best-release, but 1979 gave the world three other great albums: Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division, The Jam's Setting Sons, and London Calling by The Clash, and in that fine short list of rock's finest you also find Scared to Dance.
Stuart Adamson R.I.P. (1958-2001)
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5, Smash Hits 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Adam and the Ants "Prince Charming" (1981)

Prince Charming
release date: Nov. 2, 1981
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,06]
producer: Chris Hughes
label: CBS Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Scorpios" (3 / 5) - 3. "Prince Charming" - 6. "Stand and Deliver" (4 / 5) - 10. "S.E.X."

3rd and final studio album by Adam and the Ants shows a stylistic change that really only made the band more mainstream as new romantic was flourishing everywhere. The band had turned down the more aggressive elements from punk rock and new wave, so this comes out as a more polished pop release. However, the band now appealed to a new audience who perhaps found bands like Duran Duran and ABC more tolerable, and AATA stood by a cross road [and made a wrong turn]. Many fans familiar with the band's first two albums saw this as mainstream pop and a bad decision.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5 stars ]

New Order "Ceremony" (1981) (single) (2)

Ceremony, 12'' single
release date: Sep. 1981
format: vinyl (FAC 33/12)
[single rate: 4 / 5] [4,16]
producer: Martin Hannett
label: Factory Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: A) 1. "Ceremony" (4,5 / 5) - - B) 1. "In a Lonely Place"

First single release by New Order on Factory Records. This version is a an alternate recording of "Ceremony" now featuring Gillian Gilbert on guitar. The sound differs from the original recording, which was made with little attempt to differ from the sound of Joy Division. Ian Curtis (lead vocalist) wrote and sang the lyrics for Joy Division (the songs appear in a live version on the Joy Division double live album Still) but Bernard Sumner eventually performed the vocal part after Curtis' death.
[ live version from Still, another live version featuring Ian Curtis ]

Deep Purple "Machine Head" (1972)

Machine Head
release date: Mar. 25, 1972
format: vinyl (TPSA 7504) / cd (2008 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,12]
producer: Deep Purple
label: Purple Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: A) 1. "Highway Star" (4 / 5) - 2. "Maybe I'm a Leo" (3 / 5) - 3. "Pictures of Home" (2,5 / 5) - 4. "Never Before" (2,5 / 5) - - B) 1. "Smoke on the Water" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Lazy" (4,5 / 5) - 3. "Space Truckin' (3 / 5)

6th studio album by Deep Purple is once again produced by the band, and it's the first album to be released on their own new-founded label Purple Records.
The band continue its grounding in hard rock with strong bonds to the album Deep Purple in Rock (1970) as contrary to the predecessor Fireball (1971) as the band has returned to play more simple and direct heavy rock based on blues rock, which means a move away from the progressive and experimental touches one finds on the '71 album.
Chart wise, the album was even bigger success than the predecessor topping the national albums chart list and reaching the same top position in many countries, and for the first time making a top-10 in the US with a position as number #7 on the Billboard 200, and it's the first (of just two) Deep Purple albums to sell Platinum in the US (the other being Perfect Strangers from 1984).
Machine Head is famous for the band's biggest ever hit "Smoke on the Water". Personally, I have always liked the band's more instrumental and progressive tracks, and "Lazy" is in my mind the perhaps most complex and best track of the album. It's undoubtedly a classic album, but I find that it's a bit uneven. It has 3 great and unforgettable tracks but also its lows are not memorable. The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com 5 / 5 stars ]

Ramones "Ramones" (1976)

Ramones [debut]
release date: Apr. 23, 1976
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,18]
producer: Craig Leon with Tommy Ramone (associate producer)
label: Sire Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: A) 1. "Blitzkrieg Bop" (5 / 5) - 2. "Beat on the Brat" (4 / 5) - 3. "Judy Is a Punk" (5 / 5) - 4. "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" - 5. "Chain Saw" (3,5 / 5) - 6. "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue" (3,5 / 5) - 7. "I Don't Wanna Go Down to the Basement" (3,5 / 5) - - B) 1. "Loudmouth" (3,5 / 5) - 2. "Havana Affair" (4 / 5) - 3. "Listen to My Heart" (4 / 5) - 4. "53rd & 3rd" (3,5 / 5) - 5. "Let's Dance" (4 / 5) - 6. "I Don't Wanna Walk Around With You" - 7. "Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World" (3,5 / 5)

Studio debut album by Ramones. This is a most legendary album. Joey Ramone (Jeffrey Ross Hyman) is lead vocalist, Johnny Ramone (John William Cummings) lead guitarist, Dee Dee Ramone (Douglas Glenn Colvin) handles bass and backing vocals, and Tommy Ramone (Thomas Erdelyi) plays drums. The band was formed in 1974, and they began playing a type of fast and simple rock early on, which initially was labelled 'bubblegum' but later when as the band had started playing at the CBGB with other artists of the new music scene in New York it eventually became known as punk rock. The album had only little commercial success but still Ramones were invited to play concerts in England, presumably because the label had consumers on both sides of the Atlantic, and Ramones initiated a tour in London, Jul. '76 where among others, members of Sex Pistols and The Clash attended several of their gigs. Not long after the tour, bands dedicated to punk rock sprung out all over England and a new musical wave had been ignited. Ramones were themselves inspired by primarily American proto punk artists from the early 1970s but are pinned out as the most influential band to the British punk rock wave, which reverberated back to the US and started a second wave in the motherland with a more aggressive sound that was labelled hardcore punk. In Britain a similar progression started at the same time, although, many other labels were at play like anarcho-punk, oi!, art punk, glam punk, psychobilly, and post-punk. Anyway, this album was launched in 1976. I didn't hear of it until around 1980 when punk rock had already been declared dead. No other artists sounded like this in '76 but many soon created music inspired by this, and it's really no wonder 'cause it's catchy, energetic and young at heart. The single tracks may sound much a like, but so does jazz, electronic or pop music, or a lot of other music. I think, for the devoted fans, the tracks are very different because you'll hear all the details and I'm still impressed. This is still positive, happy, and lots of fun. Maybe I should rate it higher but I feel they were slightly better later on. Anyway, quite logically it's enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". The album is still great and it contains modern classics like "Blitzkrieg Bop", "Beat on the Brat", "Judy Is a Punk", "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue", and "Havana Affair" (although, their not all my personal favourites), but the music is at a stage of sketching up a style, and the variation is not all that broad. Hell, who gives a damn! Just hit it!
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone, NME 5 / 5 stars ]

1976 Favourite releases: 1. Jean-Michel Jarre Oxygène - 2. Ramones Ramones - 3. Ennio Morricone Novecento (OST)

Shu-bi-dua "Shu-bi-dua 6" (1979)

"Shu-bi-dua 6"
release date: 1979
format: vinyl (gatefold - 2380 075)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]
producer: Shu-bi-dua
label: Polydor Records - nationality: Denmark

6th studio album by Danish pop / rock satire band Shu-bi-dua.

BEST OF 1971:Deep Purple "Fireball" (1971)

Fireball
release date: Jul. 1971
format: vinyl (SHVL 793) / digital (2008 remaster)
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,63]
producer: Deep Purple
label: Harvest Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: A) 1. "Fireball" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "No No No" (4 / 5) - 3*. "Demon's Eye" (4 / 5) - 4. "Anyone's Daughter" (4 / 5) - - B) 1. "The Mule" (5 / 5) - 2. "Fools" (4 / 5) - 3. "No One Came" (3,5 / 5)
*(On the org. US and Canadian release the track is replaced by "Strange Kind of a Woman")

5th studio album by Deep Purple produced by the band. The album had its first release on Warner Bros. in the US and Canada Jul. '71, which was followed by its European release on Harvest Records (sublabel of EMI) Sep. 71 following the same recipe by releasing in the US first.
With Deep Purple in Rock (1970) the band had taken a remarkable stand and positioned itself as one of the most original and hard rockin' bands of the early '70s but with this they extent their repertoire to embrace an experimental hard rock style they unfortunately abandoned after this.
With this Deep Purple made its first number #1 charting album in the UK, which it copied in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Germany, and critics were delighted about the album.
I received a bag of vinyl albums including eight Deep Purple albums by my older brother when he moved out of our family home at some point back in the late 1970s when I was 13. The album was one of several Deep Purple albums that he gave me on that occasion but this one has always been my favourite by the band. Even in '78, I think this had a modern sound, and I really like the production side of it. To me, the title track and the instrumental "The Mule" are the album's true highlights but really, it doesn't contain fillers or mediocre tracks.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

1971 Favourite releases: 1. Deep Purple "Fireball" - 2. Joni Mitchell "Blue" - 3. T. Rex "Electric Warrior"

New Order "Ceremony" (1981) (single) (1)

Ceremony, 7'' single
release date: Mar. 6, 1981
format: vinyl (first pressing - FAC 33)
[single rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,25]
producer: Martin Hannett
label: Factory Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: A) 1. "Ceremony" (5 / 5) - - B) 1. "In a Lonely Place"

First single by New Order released as FAC 33 on Factory Records. This is my most beloved single. The fact that I rate it as a near masterpiece, is because of its originality - you simply couldn't find anything remotely as avantgarde on the post-punk scene at this point of modern popular music. And then it also marks the rebirth of a band. At this point I guess they still play in concordance with Joy Division and Bernard does his best to (at least) make his voice match the tone of Ian Curtis - the latter being a much better singer, though. Despite the odds, it works almost beyond perfection. The trembling, simple, and thin voice combined with the beauty and roughness of the instruments makes the song reach a dreamy state of despair. And the skills with the instruments are at a new higher level than heard of before. It’s not that the guitarist or bass is played with extreme skilfulness - it’s more the way they are capable of using the instruments to produce brand new music. The inclusion of keyboardist Gillian Gilbert only opens the potential. The perfection in handling an instrument comes from Stephen Morris, who was the only true skilled instrumentalist, and who was the driving force within the band and who has always known to find new ways of expressing himself as a drummer, and composer of music. I bought this single the day it was released in Denmark. Luckily my hometown had a small but great record shop. The owner imported lots of new stuff, especially from London, and he was interested in the new scene and left the major music stores to sell pop / rock, disco, dance pop, and whatever people heard on the national radio. I just recall how I spotted the cover and immediately knew the music was interesting and something different - unique. I had the owner play the single and by the first 5 seconds I knew I had to buy it. Alas, I knew almost zero of Joy Divison, so I started by buying New Order's first ever single [today a collector's item] - falling head over heels for this band and its music, and then I moved backwards trying to collect Joy Division material as fast as I could, which is another story. A must for anyone interested in modern pop / rock music.
[ Joy Division live version from Still, another live version featuring Ian Curtis ]

[ collectors' item ]

The Stranglers "IV (Rattus Norvegicus)" (1977)

IV (Rattus Norvegicus) [debut]
release date: Apr. 15, 1977
format: vinyl (1982 reissue - FA 3001)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,68]
producer: Martin Rushent
label: Fame / Liberty - nationality: England, UK

Studio album debut by The Stranglers originally released on United Artists Records. The band consists of Hugh Cornwell on vocals (lead vocals on tracks #1-2, #5-7, and #9), guitar and backing vocals, Jean-Jacques Burnel on vocals (lead vocals on tracks #3-4, #8, and #10-11), bass guitar and backing vocals, Dave Greenfield on keyboards, organs and backing vocals, and with Jet Black on drums and percussion.
The album is the only by The Stranglers to be enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".

Killing Joke "Killing Joke" (1980)

Killing Joke [debut]
release date: Aug. 11, 1980
format: digital (2005 remaster)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]
producer: Killing Joke
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Requiem" (4 / 5) - 3. "Tomorrow's World" - 5. "The Wait" (4,5 / 5) - 6. "Complications"

Studio album debut by English post-punk band Killing Joke originally released on E.G. Records. Killing Joke is from London's Notting Hill area and was originally formed by lead vocalist, keyboardist and primary lyrical composer Jaz Coleman (aka Jeremy Coleman), guitarist Geordie Walker (aka Kevin Walker), bassist Youth (aka Martin Glover) and drummer Paul Ferguson.
Stylistically, Killing Joke are regarded as one of the first real sources of inspiration to what emerged as industrial rock in the 1990s, but at the time of the release the music was labelled as post-punk just as much other music, which wasn't easy to categorise as popular genres / styles and had obvious links to the punk rock scene.
Killing Joke is characterised by it's heavy use of drums and bass, which bonds closely to a heavy metal rhythm and on top of that the band has put a distorted punk rock guitar sound and synthpop synthesizer. The vocal of Coleman is another particular trait known for his aggressive tone, and all-together the band makes a highly original music that also bonds with gothic rock with its near ceremonial darkness.
I didn't come across the album until after purchasing The Bum's Rush (1983) at a local record store, only to discover years later that it's actually a bootleg album. I didn't fully appreciate the music by Killing Joke in the early '80s. Yes, I knew of and truly enjoyed "Requiem" and "The Wait", but thought of the band as too inconsistent and with a too bold heavy sound.
In retrospect, I understand why the band has been attributed much glory and for being a major source of inspiration for bands of industrial rock. The album is included in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Select 5 / 5, Mojo, SputnikMusic 4 / 5, Uncut 3 / 5 stars ]

"Pære Punk" (1979)

Pære Punk (compilation)
release date: Apr. 11, 1979
format: vinyl (KPLP 1) / cd
[album rate: 3 / 5]
producer: various
label: Kong Pære - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: A) 4. Sods "Rock 'n' Roll" - 5. Sods "Tin Can People" - 6. "Military Madness" - - B) 1. Kliché "Militskvinder" - 2. "Farvel" - 4. Brats "I Do What I Wanna Do"

Danish compilation album featuring several acclaimed and notorious punk rock bands of the national scene including Lost Kids, Sods, Kliché, and Dream Police. The production sound is poor but it's quite an interesting album with two tracks from Sods that wasn't included on its debut album earlier that year, and also one fine track by Kliché that didn't make it to that band's great debut album Supertanker (1980). Pære Punk was remastered and reissued on cd in 2010.

[ collectors' item - 3rd pressing - 'near mint' from €50,- ]

Lou Reed "Lou Reed" (1972)

org. cover

Lou Reed [debut]
release date: Apr. 1972
format: cd (2006 remaster)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]
producer: Richard Robinson, Lou Reed
label: BMG Japan - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "I Can't Stand It" - 4. "Lisa Says" - 5. "Berlin" - 6. "I Love You" - 7. "Wild Child"

Solo debut album by Lou Reed after leaving The Velvet Underground originally released on RCA Records. The album was recorded in London with British session musicians, and although, the album only contains one song composed with all members of The Velvet Underground, nearly all of the songs here are actually previously-unreleased Velvet Underground songs, at least in studio versions, which means: Loud Reed-composed song for the band as it normally had been. Of the above-listed tracks, both the first and "Lisa Says" are found on the compilation album VU (first to be released in '85), and "I Love You" and "Wild Child" never made it to official album releases by The Velvet Underground but both are known to have been played live, and they also appear on later compilations albums. Only "Berlin" and the song "Going Down" (track #2) are new compositions by Reed.
The album was a highly anticipated release, but it didn't quite satisfy the expectations, and the origin of the songs - composed over a span of years - some of which were already familiar songs, and while taking part of The Velvet Underground, all makes it a bit of a mixed album debut. Stylistically, it doesn't represent anything new or original, as it's all arranged and played as had it been a new collection of songs by Velvet Underground. That said, the song quality is not bad, it's just like bread crumbs instead of a wholesome meal.

Adam and the Ants "Prince Charming" (1981) (single)

Prince Charming, 7'' single
release date: Sep. 4, 1981
format: vinyl (A1408)
[single rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,55]
producer: Chris Hughes
label: CBS Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: A) "Prince Charming" - - B) "Christian D'Or" (3,5 / 5)

Single release by Adam and the Ants issued to promote the band's third album Prince Charming (Nov. '81). The style is much the same as the second album - perhaps with more focus on new romantic and less on new wave. The single promised a fine new album and went to number #1 on the national singles chart, but when the album came out two months later that really only proved that this was one of only two fine songs from the new album. The B-side is better than most tracks on the forthcoming album but wasn't included. I had already heard the first single, "Stand and Deliver" from the upcoming album, and found that a great tune, so I just bought this.

Joy Division "Transmission" (1980) (single)

Transmission, 12'' single
release date: Dec. 1980
format: vinyl (FACT 13-12) / digital
[single rate: 4 / 5] [4,18]
producer: Martin Hannett
label: Factory Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: A) "Transmission" (5 / 5) (live) - - B) "Novelty" [from 'Warsaw' (rec. May 3 & 4, 1978): "Transmission"]

Single release by Joy Division released as 7'' single, Oct. '79 containing two tracks. Both of these had been recorded in '78 at a time when the band were in search for a proper deal with a record label. Actually, the two compositions figure on the tracklist of the officially unreleased (but what remains the much sought for bootleg album Warzaw) debut. This edition is, however, recorded and produced with Martin Hannett at Factory Records but really shows their potential at the early stages of the band. The A-side track also appear on the live album Still as well as on the first John Peel release.
My edition of the single is from the first pressing with embossed front cover.

Joni Mitchell "Ladies of the Canyon" (1970)

Ladies of the Canyon
release date: Apr. 1970
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,45]
producer: Joni Mitchell
label: Reprise Records - nationality: Canada

Track highlights: 1. "Morning Morgantown" (3,5 / 5) - 3. "Conversation" - 4. "Ladies of the Canyon" - 7. "Rainy Night House" - 9. "Blue Boy" - 10. "Big Yellow Taxi" (4,5 / 5) - 4. "The Circle Game" (4 / 5)

3rd studio album by Joni Mitchell originally released on Reprise Records is another fine classic singer / songwriter and folk album characterized by lyrics focusing on environmental, social and political issues - stories about peace love and understanding. Also, the album is change of sound more than a stylistic change. It's the same folk music as on her first two albums, but what really has changed are the arrangements now featuring strings and percussion both for amplifying and a widening of the soundscape. The album is clearly bettering Clouds from '69, and her debut album from '68, in so far this is more uptempo, lighter, and with a more positive sound. It's not folk rock but it surely hints to that, but in essence it's her so far best album, imho.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]