The Pogues LIVE

1985


"Live in Munich, Germany 1985"

"The Pogues Live 1985 - Poor Paddy,Waxies Dargle"


1988


"Live at The Town & Country Club 1988" part 1

Part 2 --- Part 3 --- Part 4





The Pogues and The Dubliners "The Irish Rover" (1988?)



2012

"Fairytale Of New York" (feat. Ella Finer) Olympia, Paris, September, 2012

"Fiesta", Olympia, Paris, September 2012

Part 1 of the full concert in Paris, 2012

Blur "Parklife" (1994)

Parklife
release date: Apr. 25, 1994
format: digital (1999 reissue)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,76]
producer: Stephen Street
label: Food Records / EMI Japan - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Girls & Boys" - 2. "Tracy Jacks" - 3. "End of a Century" (4 / 5) (live) - 4. "Parklife" - 9. "To the End" - 13. "Magic America"

3rd studio album by Blur following the one-year old Modern Life Is Rubbish is like that again produced by Stephen Street.
The album continues the style of britpop with lyrics about everyday-life and a music building on a mix of pop / rock and mod traditions with a few exceptions proving the band was always experimenting with musical styles - something that later on would be much more clear, when thinking of the band's later albums and the various projects of front-man Damon Albarn.
I didn't like much of the britpop at the time except for Suede, and the much talked about duel Oasis vs. Blur was just another obscure pop thing that I didn't involve in. In retrospect, I have made an easy and clear choice about the two bands, and I literally find it hard not to come to the obvious conclusion that of those two, Blur was the only band worthwhile, and with Parklife they truly deserved a considerable spot among the all-time greatest British music artists.
As the band's first, the album topped the national albums charts, it was nominated the Mercury Prize, it won Best British Album at the 1995 Brit Awards, and it's enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com 5 / 5, NME 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

"Sound d'Afrique" (1981)

Sound d'Afrique (compilation)
release date: 1981
format: vinyl (MLPS 9697) / digital (1989 reissue)
[album rate: 4 / 5]
producer: various
label: Mango / Island Records - nationality: various African countries

Tracklist: A) 1. Mekongo President "Me bowa ya" - 2. Eba Aka Jerome "Massoua mo" - 3. Kambou Clement "Dounougnan" - - B) 1. Pablo "Bo mbanda" - 2. Etoile de Dakar "Jalo" - 3. Menga Mokombi "Moboma"

Compilation album later aka Sound d'Afrique, Vol. 1 with six different artists and only six tracks but it's not just a Mini-Album as it has a running time of 44 minutes playing time. The six artists come from [as listed on back cover]: Cameroun, Ivory Coast, Upper Volta, Zaire, Senegal, and Congo.
This is perhaps the first African compilation album I have come across, and I think I must have found it at the library around 1982 or '83. I just fell for the energy and wonderful original songs. The first track just... makes me feel happy, I guess. The original vinyl album was re-issued on cd in '89.
Highly recommended.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer "Brain Salad Surgery" (1973)

Brain Salad Surgery
release date: Dec. 19, 1973
format: digital (1987 reissue)
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,38]
producer: Greg Lake
label: Manticore / Atlantic Records - nationality: England, UK

4th studio album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer and the first to be released on the trio's new-founded label Manticore Records (the cd issue by Atlantic). Well, since ELP is not really my cup of... anything, the only reason I came across the band in the first place was because of the front cover made by Swiss artists H.R. Geiger. Musically, this is not as good as the trio's earlier works. They seem stuck in their classical adaptational mood rather than making interesting music. Somehow, I wish I would rate this higher than I do - but frankly, I probably already rate it higher than I would if not album and band had such high status. I don't listen to this. I find it annoying but... original, and for that it hand it 2,5 stars, although, I could throw 1 star at it for taste and enjoyment, but hey, the cover is great!
Some notes on the title.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Emerson, Lake & Palmer "Trilogy" (1972)

Trilogy
release date: Jul. 6, 1972
format: digital (1987 reissue)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [2,88]
producer: Greg Lake
label: Warner-Pioneer, Japan - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "The Endless Enigma (Part One)" - 6. "Hoedown (Taken From Rodeo)" - 4. "From The Beginning"

3rd studio album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer originally released on Island Records in the UK and by Atlantic for the US market. Prior to this, the band released its first live album, Pictures at an Exhibition (Jan. '72) - a rock-interpretation of the classical work by Modest Mussorgsky. The style is and never was a favourite of mine. The band, however, has iconic status. In the huge pile of symphonic rock and prog rock artists of the early 70s, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Jethro Tull, Genesis, and Mike Oldfield were the most tolerable and interesting, imho. Having said that, this album has probably been a great source of inspiration for some, or perhaps even all of the aforementioned and many other artists of the period. The way the first track starts out with the sound of a heart beat perhaps came to more fame when Pink Floyd extended that use on The Dark Side of the Moon, released almost one year later. Together with Pink Floyd and Yes, ELP was one of the pioneering band in terms of broadening the musical possibilities within popular music by including elements from classical music and through experiments with music based on synthesizers more than traditional guitar and bass. In my mind, this is the band's most tolerable album.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5 stars ]

Emerson, Lake & Palmer "Tarkus" (1971)

Tarkus
release date: Jun. 14, 1971
format: cd (2014 reissue)
[album rate: 2 / 5] [2,05]
producer: Greg Lake
label: Victor Entertainment - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Tarkus"

2nd studio album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer, originally released on Island Records, which established the band as one of the most daring and pioneering bands into progressive rock or symphonic rock that evolved from psychedelic rock in the early 1970s. Well, it's there - it's a critically acclaimed album but I just don't really dig it. It's mostly somewhat annoying. Hammond organs can be great, and both Pink Floyd and Deep Purple showed that, just as many of the early punk rock bands did in the late 70s, or for that matter great artists of traditional soul, but here it's just notes and chords babbling out and running wild from my speakers. I don't really like it and see no heads and tails in it. I acknowledge the importance of ELP but don't like the taste. Still, and for obscure reasons the album is enlisted in "1001 Albums I Must Hear Before I Die" - so I did.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5 stars ]

R.E.M. "Murmur" (1983)

Murmur [debut]
release date: Apr. 12, 1983
format: cd (1992 - The I.R.S. Years Vintage 1983)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,58]
 producer: Don Dixon and Mitch Easter
label: I.R.S. Records - nationality: USA

Tracklist: 1. "Radio Free Europe" (4 / 5) (Live on Letterman) - 2. "Pilgrimage" - 3. "Laughing" - 4. "Talk About the Passion" (4 / 5) - 5. "Moral Kiosk" - 6. "Perfect Circle" - 7. "Catapult" - 8. "Sitting Still" - 9. "9-9" - 10. "Shaking Through" - 11. "We Walk" - 12. "West of the Fields
Bonus tracks on 1992 extended edition: 13. "There She Goes Again" - 14. "9-9" (Live) - 15. "Gardening at Night" - 16. "Catapult" (Live)

Studio album debut by R.E.M. released on I.R.S. Records and produced by Don Dixon and Mitch Easter. I don't recall, buying this album until it was re-issued in the series "The I.R.S. Years" in 1992 but I listened to it at some point in the mid-80s before Document (1987).
The music is unpolished and simple, and the production is very one-dimensional. It's obvious that the band has great potential, but I think the songs lack more to acknowledge them as great. It feels more like a great demo.
Anyway, the classic R.E.M. tracks "Radio Free Europe" and "Talk About the Passion" are the best here, and they were later included on the 1988 compilation album Eponymous. The expanded re-issue Murmur "The I.R.S. Years Vintage 1983" is a fine document of the band as it contains four bonus tracks including two great live takes and a cover of The Velvet Underground classic "There She Goes Again" (written by Lou Reed), which is included on the original release of Dead Letter Office (1987). The cover songs really show their source of inspiration at this point of their style. The simplistic one-dimensional sound is much like the 'art rock' of the late 1960s. Their first hit song "Radio Free Europe" gave them their first tv live performance on Letterman. The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com, Slant 5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

original cover

Interpol "Antics" (2004)

Antics
release date: Sep. 27, 2004
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,88]
producer: Peter Katis, Interpol
label: Matador - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Next Exit" - 2. "Evil" (4 / 5) - 3. "Narc" (4 / 5) (live) - 4. "Take You on a Cruise" (4 / 5) - 5. "Slow Hands" (5 / 5) - 8. "C'mere"

2nd studio album by Interpol with producer Peter Katis who also worked with the band on the debut. Now, how could they but not fail? This was one of the most expected follow-up releases, and it's damn good, and in fact very close to succeed big time like the debut. The music is not that different, and that's the first real flaw: that it sounds so much alike the debut. I think, the production has improved a bit. It's not something you'll hear right away, but I find that the sound is more ambient (not the style ambient), adding a further layer to the sound. It contains some great and truly fine tracks but... and that's the second flaw: it also contains three obvious fillers ("Not Even Jail", "Length of Love", "A Time to Be so Small"), which subtracts something from the overall experience and underlines that they could not make another great album so soon.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Van Morrison "Hard Nose the Highway" (1973)

Hard Nose the Highway
release date: Jul. 1973
format: cd (1997 reissue)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,16]
producer: Van Morrison
label: Polydor Records - nationality: Northern Ireland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Snow in San Anselmo" - 2. "Warm Love" (4 / 5) - 3. "Hard Nose the Highway" - 4. "Wild Children" - 8. "Purple Heather"

7th studio album by Van Morrison originally released on Warner Bros and produced by Van Morrison. All except 2 tracks are composed entirely by Morrison, but what mostly distinguishes this from its superior predecessor St. Dominic's Preview, as well as the two great albums Moondance and Astral Weeks is not Morrison's ability to write fine lyrics, 'cause this is there all right, but more so the resulting musical output. There are a few very fine songs here but the overall sensation is really a lack of memorable tracks. "Warm Love" is fine and memorable and both the title track and "Snow in San Anselmo" are fine works, but they aren't sufficient to lift the album to the heights of his better releases. As a result the album turns out with a certain remoteness turning the album into a lesser lesser release by Morrison standards 'cause it's still far from any signs of mediocrity. Hard Nose the Highway is unfairly considered by many critics an unsuccessful album, but it's likely as a contender as his first album off peak in the 1970s. However, with several fine compositions and superior lyrics, this is still a much better release than his debut.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5 stars ]

R.E.M.

~ ~ ~

"early photo"

"later"
 

"2011"

R.E.M. is an American quartet formed in Athens, Georgia 1980 consisting of Michael Stipe (vocals), Peter Buck (guitarist), Mike Mills (bass), and Bill Berry (drums). After 31 years the band, which was turned into a trio in 1997, as drummer Berry decided to lead a life out of the spotlight (while he made the remaining band members promise they would continue the band instead of dissolving), R.E.M. officially declared the disbandment on Sep. 21, 2011 after having released 15 studio albums.

I first discovered the band at some point in 1984 as I came across the new album Reckoning (1984) at the local library. The band was (almost) totally unknown in my local community but I fell for their original style, although, I didn't fully enjoy their music until the release of their third studio album Lifes Rich Pageant (1986). From here on I bought every new album without listening to it first, and the band soon became one of my absolute favourite bands. Out of Time (1991) signalled a new era for the band. Since the debut, critics had noticed the band and many described them as the next big thing. It took them another six studio albums to reach the huge crowds of fans but when they finally did, it was world-wide and with enormous numbers of albums sold. Out of Time was the band's first and also most mainstream pop / rock album of all their 15 studio releases, which is why some older fans, myself included, for the first time welcomed one of their new albums with little enthusiasm.

However, R.E.M. understood to use the power of mainstream music to build on their style combining and loaning from different styles to produce several fine and all the time very well selling albums. For me, at least up until the release of New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996), which was the last album to feature all 4 founding members. After Bill Berry had left the band in 1997, the band never really made another truly great album, imho. Up (1998) and Reveal (2001), I only copied to a cassette since a friend bought the albums, and I had lost the interest for the band's new music, and simply found these two albums dull and uninspiring, and upon listening to a few songs from Around the Sun (2004), I felt the band was as good as dead. That is simply the band's low point, and I never listened to any of their new albums until around 2012 / 13, when I decided to purchase Up and Reveal (although, I had them digitally) and also listen to their last albums - just to reconsider my 'verdict'.

The first two albums without Berry were exactly like I remembered them, and the 2004 album still remains their worst effort ever, but the band actually seemed to put things back together after that horrendous release, 'cause Accelerate (2008) and the final album Collapse Into Now (2011) are equally as good as New Adventures..., and I think betters Reveal. Not that they are stylistically the same, but it seems the band had more to offer. And looking at the 15 studio releases, it is a truly unique and fine career with a strong contribution to the history of modern popular music, which is hard to par.
[ official site: remhq.com ]

~ ~ ~

Felt "Ignite the Seven Cannons" (1985)

Ignite the Seven Cannons
release date: Sep. 20, 1985
format: vinyl (2017 remaster - FLT 183) / cd (2003 reissue)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,92]
producer: Robin Guthrie
label: Cherry Red Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "My Darkest Light Will Shine" (4 / 5) - 2. "The Day the Rain Came Down" (3,5 / 5) - 3. "Scarlet Servants" (4 / 5) - 4. "I Don't Know Which Way to Turn" (3,5 / 5) - 5. "Primitive Painters" (5 / 5) - 6. "Textile Ranch" (3,5 / 5) - 7. "Black Ship in the Harbour" (3,5 / 5) - 8. "Elegance of an Only Dream" (4 / 5) - 9. "Serpent Shade" (4 / 5) - 10. "Caspian See" (3 / 5) - 11. "Southern State Tapestry" (3,5 / 5)

4th studio album by Felt introduce Robin Guthrie as producer, which may be heard. It's a sort of transitional album, introducing a new style by the band. It's the last studio release for Cherry Red and the first with new bassist Marco Thomas and keyboardist Martin Duffy, who are partly responsible for a more complex style. Another important change is the role of Robin Guthrie, who has incorporated a more ambient and dream pop feel - not far from the sound of his own project-band Cocteau Twins. This stylistic change gave the album some hard reviews, basically, from people who couldn't see the benefits from Guthrie as belonging to this kind of band, however, I find that the album is one of the band's best, and it features their perhaps most legendary (or: pop-styled) single ever: "Primitive Painters" featuring Elizabeth Fraser (Cocteau Twins) on vocals. The whole album is cleverly produced with keyboards, guitars, lead vocal and backing vocals nicely sown together, and it's evident that the band has come along way since the sound and style of the first three albums. A familiar thing that is continued from their previous albums is the inclusion of instrumental tracks, which on their previous albums often seemed like strange fragments, or strange pauses, now are strong 'songs' with Duffy's Hammond organ and Deebank's electrical guitars combined, so the missing vocal is no longer a downside at all 'cause compositional complexity through verse and chorus is there.
EDIT 2019: I purchased the 2017 remaster of the album, which has been remixed by songwriter Lawrence and original recording engineer Kevin Metcalfe, and the new sound is quite phenomenal.

org. vinyl cover
On the back it reads:
"and Set Sails for the Sun"

2018 remastered
vinyl issue,
Cherry Red

Turboweekend "Bound" (2010)

Bound, ep
release date: Nov. 2010
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,33]
producer: Turboweekend
label: (self-released dl-ep) - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 2. "Into the Pavement" - 4. "Now" (4 / 5) - 5. "Spider of Light"

A 5-track ep by Turboweekend released by the band. As usual it's solid and above most other Danish acts without imitating international stars.

BEST OF 1977:Ramones "Rocket to Russia" (1977)

Rocket to Russia
release date: Nov. 4, 1977
format: cd
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,42]
producer: Tony Bongiovi, Tommy Ramone
label: Sire Records - nationality: USA

Tracklist: 1. "Cretin Hop" (5 / 5) - 2. "Rockaway Beach" (4,5 / 5) - 3. "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow" (4 / 5) - 4. "Locket Love" (4 / 5) - 5. "I Don't Care" (3,5 / 5) - 6. "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" (5 / 5) - 7. "We're a Happy Family" (4 / 5) - 8. "Teenage Lobotomy" (4 / 5) - 9. "Do You Wanna Dance?" (org. video) (4,5 / 5) - 10. "I Wanna Be Well" (4 / 5) - 11. "I Can't Give You Anything" (3,5 / 5) - 12. "Ramona" (3,5 / 5) - 13. "Surfin' Bird" (4 / 5) - 14. "Why Is It Always This Way?" (3,5 / 5)

3rd studio album by Ramones follows 10 months after Leave Home. The band has kept the same producer-duo from the predecessor, which had a hard rock tone that sort of didn't pay justice to the band or its image, and luckily, the two producers have helped creating a much more fitting sound.
The album shows a matured band who has learned what works and what doesn't, and despite having the same producer duo as on Leave Home (Jan. 1977) this sounds much better. The compositions seem stronger but perhaps it's more the impression of a more diverse album with the usual fast 1-2-3-4 'bubblegum'-like tracks combined with fine distinctive hooks, slower compositions, and a band now flirting with surf rock inspiration that just add other ingredients. The album is the last to feature the original line-up as drummer Tommy Ramone (Thomas Erdelyi) left after the release to concentrate on mixing and producing music.
This is my all-time favourite Ramones album, and back when I heard it first around 1980, I played and shouted "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker na-a-a-a-ow!" at maximum volume so my parents must have asked themselves whatever happened to my ABBA albums.
[ allmusic.com, NME 5 / 5 stars ]

1977 Favourite releases: 1. Ramones Rocket to Russia - 2. The Clash The Clash - 3. The Jam In the City

Van Morrison "Saint Dominic's Preview" (1972)

Saint Dominic's Preview
release date: Jul. 1972
format: cd (1997 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,88]
producer: Van Morrison, Ted Templeman
label: Polydor Records - nationality: Northern Ireland, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)" - 2. "Gypsy" - 3. "I Will Be There" - 4. "Listen to the Lion" - 5. "Saint Dominic's Preview" - 6. "Redwood Tree" - 7. "Almost Independence Day"

6th studio album by Van Morrison is like the predecessor co-produced by Ted Templeman and originally released on Warner Bros., and is a nice return to his strong stylistic singer / songwriter combo of r&b, folk rock, soul and parts of celtic folk and chamber pop. It doesn't really come close to any of his previous albums, but it sounds more like a great cocktail of them all. There are strong uptempo r&b songs, more celtic-founded folk, and then there are strong soul-fuelled compositions and those with a clear jazz element - and the strength of it all is the coherence, which is clearly there despite all the different styles it incorporates, which ultimately also distinguishes this from its two most recent predecessors - both lacking coherence. Some tracks here follow the matrix of Tupelo Honey and The Street Choir, whereas others pick up the tone and style of Astral Weeks. There are simple chorus-based pop / rock songs and more meditative progressive 'experiments'. But it's all held together by Morrison's songwriting skills, his strong vocal, an element of bass and string-based compositions with the addition of brass instruments. And almost as usual with Van the Man: All tracks are composed by Van Morrison. It could be confused by a compilation or even best of album 'cause there are literally no weak tracks here.
This is no less than Van Morrison's third best album so far and a timeless classic.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 5 / 5 stars ]

Felt "Primitive Painters" (1985) (single)

Primitive Painters, 12'' single
release date: Aug. 1985
format: digital
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4 / 5]
producer: Robin Guthrie / John Leckie
label: Cherry red Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "Primitive Painters" (5 / 5) - 2. "Cathedral" (3 / 5)

Single taken from the forthcoming album Ignite the Seven Cannons.  Track 1 is produced by Robin Guthrie whereas the second is taken from the '82 debut album and it's produced by John Leckie (originally recorded by John A. Rivers). "Primitive Painters" features Elizabeth Fraser on vocals, and it remains the band's perhaps best pop song.