Lou Reed "Street Hassle" (1978)

Street Hassle
release date: Feb. 1978
format: vinyl (AB 4169) / cd (2016 remaster)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,88]
producer: Lou Reed, Richard Robinson
label: Arista Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "Gimme Some Good Times" (4 / 5) - 3. "Street Hassle: a) 'Waltzing Matilda' - b) 'Street Hassle' - c) 'Slipaway' " - 4. "I Wanna Be Black" - 5. "Real Good Time Together" (4 / 5) - 6. "Shooting Star" - 7. Leaving Me Alone" - 8. "Wait" (4 / 5)

8th studio album by Lou Reed follows 1½ years after Rock and Roll Heart (Oct. '76) and it has been co-produced by Reed and Richard Robinson. The album may not contain his greatest songs, but it may just be a fine document of his ongoing struggles in and with life itself - and in many ways this is a fine return to form. The 70s probably sent Lou on his most frightening trips, experimenting with (too many) substances and finding himself in and out of relationships. All that may be heard on the album, but it also documents his writing capabilities. When Lou is good, he really rocks away - not like a gifted singer or a prodigy guitarist, but more like a freight train providing whatever is needed. The sound here is dark and somewhat murky but not in a negative way. It's an album that reflects real lived life in a truly honest and genuine way.
I have always preferred this particular album over many of his more acclaimed releases, and I find it refreshingly honest. There's no bull about it - just very straight forward and it's a sheer blast when played loud. Over the years it has been revealed how Reed has put songs written while playing with The Velvet Underground on many of his solo albums, and this is no exception. "Real Good Time Together" was recorded by The Velvet Underground in 1969 and it appears on the outtakes compilation Another View (1986), which followed the acclaimed outtakes album VU (1985).

Imho, this is his third-best solo album throughout his long career only bettered by New York (1989) and his best-ever: Transformer from 1972.
(My issue is a US-import cut-out record)
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5, Chicago 4 / 4, Rolling Stone Album Guide 5 / 5 ]

Jan Garbarek "Eventyr" (1981)

Eventyr
release date: Dec. 1981
format: cd (ECM 1200)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,16]
producer: Manfred Eicher
label: ECM Records - nationality: Norway

Tracklist: 1. "Soria Maria" (4 / 5) - 2. "Lillekort" - 3. "Eventyr" - 4. "Weaving a Garland" - 5. "Once Upon a Time" - 6. "The Companion" - 7. "Snipp, snapp, snute" - 8. "East of the Sun and West of the Moon"

Studio album by Jan Garbarek with Naná Vasconcelos and John Abercrombie. Vasconcelos plays berimbau, talking drum, percussion, and is credited for voice performance, and Abercrombie for playing guitars.
It's an interesting release by the great Norwegian saxophone player who has already established his special "Nordic" sound of ambient or contemporary jazz, closely related to the works of Palle Mikkelborg and / or Danish jazz band Entrance.
The overall impression is a somewhat uneven album with too many interests, and personally, I find other works by Garbarek better.

The Pogues "Rum, Sodomy & the Lash" (1985)

cd version

Rum, Sodomy & the Lash
release date: Aug. 1985
format: cd
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,33]
producer: Elvis Costello
label: Stiff Records - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: 1. "The Sick Bed of Cuchulainn" (5 / 5) - 2. "The Old Main Drag" (4 / 5) - 3. "Wild Cats of Kilkenny" (4,5 / 5) - 4. "I'm a Man You Don't Meet Everyday" (3,5 / 5) - 5. "A Pair of Brown Eyes" (4,5 / 5) - 6. "Sally MacLennane" (5 / 5) - 7. "Dirty Old Town" (3,5 / 5) - 8. "Jesse James" (3,5 / 5) - 9. "Navigator" (3,5 / 5) - 10. "Billy's Bones" (4 / 5) - 11. "The Gentleman Soldier" (3 / 5) - 12. "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" (4,5 / 5)

2nd studio album by The Pogues following less than a year after the fine debut. By now the band has expanded to a septet with the addition of guitarist Philip Chevron. This is the best combination of folk(lore), celtic rock, and punk rock I have ever come across. If many artists find the follow-up to a promissing debut a hard and difficult move, which has often resulted in poorer albums, The Pogues really got everything right here, as I think it's simply their best ever album. Elvis Costello produced the album and I think, he succeeded pretty good in finding the right combo of Celtic folk tradition and folk punk energy, and then he was perhaps also the right choice for the simple reason that he wasn't a great producer but instead focused on not tampering with what worked so fine. In the end, he made sure to record the music as is - live in the studio without traditional post-production.
Red Roses for Me was interesting and is by no means a bad album but on this one they simply turned up the punk rock element, which was more subdued on the debut paying more attention to folk and celtic rock in a traditional perspective. Shane MacGowan was on top and wrote and sang at the peak of his career also distinguishing this from the debut by having less traditional songs and more tracks composed by MacGowan, who actually had been foreseen as an upcoming author long before making music. Much like the band's music is filled with references to life on the edge, in the shadows, with streams of alcohol and a life at an everlasting party, Shane is infamous for having lived life in the fast lane and soon became notorious for his alcohol abuse as well as his lifestyle with no regrets, or at least that's how it seemed.
This very album remains their manifest and legacy, I think, and it's enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". A 2004 cd-reissue of the album also contains the 4-track ep Poguetry in Motion (1986) as bonus tracks.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com, Sounds 4,5 / 5, Mojo, Q Magazine 5 / 5 stars ]

1985 Favourite releases: 1. Ry Cooder Paris, Texas (OST) - 2. The Smiths Meat Is Murder - 3. The Pogues Rum, Sodomy and the Lash

org. album cover

Best of 2010:Søren Huss "Troen & ingen" (2010)

Troen & ingen [debut]
release date: Oct. 18, 2010
format: cd
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,36]
producer: Søren Huss & Christoffer Møller
label: Universal - nationality: Denmark

Tracklist: 1. "Som mejslet i massiv granit" (4 / 5) (live) - 2. "Velkommen hjem" - 3. "Du er" (4 / 5) - 4. "Fra tanke til..." (4 / 5) - 5. "... Hvorfor?" - 6. "Svigt" - 7. "Jeg finder vej" - 8. "Intet er, intet bli'r" (4,5 / 5) - 9. "Et hav af udstrakte hænder" (5 / 5) (live) - 10. "Troen og ingen" (4 / 5) (live) - 11. "Tak for dansen" (4 / 5)

Studio solo debut from frontman / lead vocalist of Danish pop / rock, soft rock band Saybia, Søren Huss, and what a breathtaking accomplishment it is. Huss (aka 'Søren Huus', birth name) born Sep. 6, 1975, grew up in Nyborg, Denmark. Since 2008, the band's activities have been paused, presumably as a consequence of the tragic death of his girlfriend, who was killed by a truck Dec. 17, 2007 - an accident that severely injured and almost killed his two-year-old daughter too. Troen & ingen is about his loss and tragedy. Knowing just a small part of the tragic circumstances that motivated Huss to write these songs, makes it overwhelming to have this small glimpse of one man’s personal tragedy and existential struggle with life, and its hopeless conditions. He narrates openly about his deepest frustrations, about the fatal loss of life of his beloved girlfriend, the meaninglessness about life as such, and he ends this sinister tale, which forever will be present in his mind and soul, with an open-minded and more productive approach on life - and in that demonstrates the will to live on.
The songs are far from sing-a-long pop songs but more like chapters of a diary with words meant to be taken in. The lyrics are in that way honestly brutal, and yet he accomplishes with some fine arrangements, which make the single tracks stand out as individual compositions on what seems much like a conceptual album. Yes, this is an outstanding performance, and it aspires more than any to this year’s best Danish album release.

2010 Favourite releases: 1. Søren Huss Troen & ingen - 2. The Chemical Brothers Further - 3. Robyn Body Talk

Lloyd Cole and The Commotions "Easy Pieces" (1985)

Easy Pieces
release date: Nov. 22, 1985
format: vinyl (LCLP 2) / digital
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,92]
producer: Clive Langer, Alan Winstanley
label: Polydor Records - nationality: Scotland, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Rich" - 2. "Why I Love Country Music" (4 / 5) - 3. "Pretty Gone" - 4. "Grace" - 5. "Cut Me Down" - 6. "Brand New Friend" (4 /5) - 7. "Lost Weekend" (4 / 5) - 8. "James" - 10. "Perfect Blue"

2nd studio album by Lloyd Cole and The Commotions released one year after the debut album Rattlesnakes (Oct. 1984). The album has a stronger pop / rock and polished mainstream sound - most likely due to the choice of the producer-duo Langer / Winstanley, but it basically continues the original blend of styles.
Ultimately and without any fillers, I find it slightly bettering a mighty debut.
Highly recommended.
[ allmusic.com, Sounds 3 / 5, Record Mirror 5 / 5 stars ]

Kitchens of Distinction "Quick as Rainbows" (1990) (single)

Quick as Rainbows, 12'' single
release date: Mar. 1990
format: vinyl (43TP12)
[single rate: 4 / 5] [3,92]
producer: Kitchens of Distinction
label: One Little Indian - nationality: England, UK

Tracklist: A) 1. "Quick as Rainbows" (4 / 5) - 2. "Mainly Mornings" (4,5 / 5) - - B) 1. "In a Cave" (4 / 5) - 2. "Shiver" (4 / 5)

Single release by Kitchens of Distinction contains four tracks. The title track is recorded by Martin Hannett and it's included on the forthcoming second studio album Strange Free World (1991), and the remaining three songs are taken from the '89 debut album, Love Is Hell but here in live recordings making this a very strong release.
Ep or 12" single? There's hardly any difference. This 12" single has 4 tracks just like the Drive That Fast ep. Anyway, what makes this a more interesting release is the inclusion of live material.
Front cover info: "Includes all Kitchens lyrics ever."

The Chemical Brothers "Exit Planet Dust" (1995)

Exit Planet Dust [debut]
release date: Jun. 26, 1995
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,76]
producer: Tom Rowlands, Ed Simons, Cheeky Paul
label: JBO / Freestyle Dust / Virgin - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Leave Home" (4 / 5) - 2. "In Dust We Trust" - 3. "Song to the Siren" - 4. "Three Little Birdies Down Beats"

Studio debut album by The Chemical Brothers consisting of Tom Rowlands and Ed Simmons. The album contains some really groundbreaking tracks. I only listened to the album after purchasing Dig Your Own Hole (1997), and I didn't find it nearly as appealing, until some 10 years later. Today, I fully understand the hype and attention they received from this, and it's striking how much it resembles the style and beats on Music for the Jilted Generation (1994) by The Prodigy, which is one of my favourite albums of the '90s. "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com 5 / 5, The Guardian, Select 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars ]

R.E.M. "Green" (1988)

vinyl cover

Green
release date: Nov. 7, 1988
format: vinyl (925 795-1) / 2 cd (2013 reissue - 25th Anniversary Edition)
[album rate: 4,5 / 5] [4,36]
producer: Scott Litt and R.E.M.
label: Warner Bros. - nationality: USA

Tracklist: A) 1. "Pop Song 89" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Get Up" (4,5 / 5) (live from Tourfilm) - 3. "You Are the Everything" (5 / 5) (live from Tourfilm) - 4. "Stand" (4,5 / 5) - 5. "World Leader Pretend" (4,5 / 5) (w. lyrics) - 6. "The Wrong Child" (4 / 5) - - B) 1. "Orange Crush" (4 / 5) - 2. "Turn You Inside-Out" (4 / 5) - 3. "Hairshirt" (4 / 5) - 4. "I Remember California" (4 / 5) (live from Tourfilm) - 5. [untitled] (5 / 5)

6th studio album by R.E.M. is their first on Warner Bros. and it's the band's second to be produced by coproduced by Scott Litt. On the original vinyl release, side A is labeled 'Air' and the B-side is labeled 'Metal'.
This one is like the amalgamation of what I enjoy the most about the band: the strong original R.E.M. sound, which has its origins in the 1960s folk rock guitar-string bands, their combo of jangle pop and alt. rock, and the blend of energetic electrified compositions with great vocal harmonies and choruses. I see this as the best of Lifes Rich Pageant (1986), Document (1987), AND its successor Out of Time (1991). Some tracks are sheer energy: "Pop Song '89", "Get Up", "Turn You Inside-Out", others are beautifully arranged serenity: "You Are the Everything", "Hairshirt", and "[untitled]" (the end track), and then some that are more complex compositions within the same musical space as later hits ("Losing My Religion"), "Stand", "World Leader Pretend", "Orange Crush", and "I Remember California".
Imho, this is simply the band's best album ever, and it's the best alternative rock / pop-rock album of 1988, and quite naturally, it has been enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
The album was reissued in a remastered 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition including the bonus disc "Live in Greensboro 1989".
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5, Q Magazine 5 / 5 stars ]

2013 25th Anniversary
Deluxe Edition

1988 Favourite releases: 1. Chet Baker Memories: Chet Baker in Tokyo - 2. R.E.M. Green - 3. Talk Talk Spirit of Eden

Top 5 albums by R.E.M.
1. Green
2. Lifes Rich Pageant
3. Document
4. Monster
5. Automatic for the People

Show lyrics <- click...

~ ~ ~
"You Are The Everything"

"Sometimes I feel like I can't even sing
(say, say, the light) I'm very scared for this world
I'm very scared for me
(say, say, the light) Eviscerate your memory
Here's a scene: you're in the back seat
(say, say, the light) laying down the windows
wrap around to the sound of the
(say, say, the light) travel and the engine

All you hear is time stand still in travel
And feel such peace and absolute
The stillness still that doesn't end
But slowly drifts into sleep
The stars are the greatest thing you've ever seen
And they're there for you
For you alone you are the everything

I think about this world a lot and
(say, say, the light) I cry and I've seen the films and the eyes
(say, say, the light) But I'm in this kitchen
Everything is beautiful and
(say, say, the light) she is so beautiful
She is so young and old
(say, say, the light) I look at her and I see the beauty
Of the light of music

The voices talking somewhere in the house
Late spring and you're drifting off to sleep
With your teeth in your mouth
You are here with me
You are here with me
You have been here and you are everything

Sometimes I feel like I can't even sing
(say, say, the light) I'm very scared for this world
I'm very scared for me
(say, say, the light) Eviscerate your memory
Here's a scene: you're in the back seat
(say, say, the light) laying down the windows
wrap around to the sound of the
(say, say, the light) travel and the engine

All you hear is time stand still in travel
And feel such peace and absolute
The stillness still that doesn't end
But slowly drifts into sleep
The greatest thing you've ever seen
And they're there for you
For you alone you are the everything
For you alone you are the everything"

~ ~ ~

Lise Westzynthius "Siberian Mission" (2007)

Siberian Mission

release date: Nov. 5, 2007

format: cd

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,26]

producer: Lise Westzynthius

label: A:larm / Auditorium - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Siberian Mission" - 2. "Childlike Curves" - 3. "Motion Picture" - 4. "Soldiers" - 5. "Long Dark Night of the Soul"

3rd studio album by Lise Westzynthius follows the album Rock, You Can Fly (Mar. 2004) by close to four years. Where the predecessor starred British producer Ian Caple, this new album is made with Westzynthius producing seven tracks, mixing engineer and producer Carsten Heller and Henrik Balling (of Gangway) both producing one track each, and then British musician Rob Ellis as producer and arranger of two songs (tracks #1 and #8) still offer high quality guest appearances - it's probably no coincidence that Ian Caple, who produced Westzynthius' 2004 album later produced husband Peter Sommer's Destruktive Vokaler (2008), on which Henrik Balling and guitarist Søren Bigum appears - Bigum also plays guitar on six tracks here, and then also Peter Sommer appears on two songs.

Stylewise, Siberian Mission is in some ways an extension of her 2004 album, blending indie pop and electronica with subtleness, but along the way it's obviously a much more folk-oriented album compared to the predecessor, but also less of a coherent release. Most tracks are soft and mellow in style, some are uptempo pop, but a few tracks simply burst with aggressiveness, which makes them stand out much more when surrounded by quiet and gentle songs, and then hardly any songs in particular attracts your attention and makes this a great album. In fact, I find it a bit underwhelming when thinking of how good the predecessor was.

Elvis Costello & The Attractions "Punch the Clock" (1983)

Punch the Clock
release date: Aug. 5, 1983
format: vinyl (XXLP 20) / digital (2013 remaster)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley
label: F-Beat Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Let Them All Talk" - 2. "Everyday I Write the Book" - 3. "The Greatest Thing" - 4. "The Element Within Her" - 5. "Love Went Mad" - 6. "Shipbuilding" (5 / 5) - 7. "TKO (Boxing Day)" - 13. "The World and His Wife"

8th studio album by Elvis Costello - his sixth with The Attractions and the first of two consecutive albums to be produced by the pop-producer-duo Langer / Winstanley, who at this point had faced great sales with albums like The Rise & Fall by Madness and Too-Rye-Ay by Dexys Midnight Runners, and the duo's job was to secure hit material singles that had been missing on his previous album, Imperial Bedroom (Jul. '82). Langer / Winstanley stood for large-scale arrangements and they brought with them strings arranger David Bedford, the Afrodiziak [backing choir] and the brass-constellation, The TKO Horns in support of The Attractions.

The 2013 remaster is released by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab.

I recall buying the vinyl album immediately upon its release - I found the single "Everyday I Write the Book" rather nice despite signalling a new pop tone to the sonic universe of Costello. I also recall how I found the album too slick and without much else. Yes, it also contains his modern classic "Shipbuilding", originally written by Costello to be released with Robert Wyatt [Wyatt version] on lead vocals in Aug. '82 - a quite unforgettable version - and as Costello thought of it as his best song ever he included it here with his own vocals and with the addition of a trumpet solo by Chet Baker; and then a few other fine songs, but the overall impression wasn't entirely positive. The video to "Everyday I Write the Book" became an MTV staple and together with a positive Costello, who no longer rejected the press but now willingly stood up for interviews, all in all secured good sales, and the album eventually sold Gold, both in the US and in the UK, where the album peaked at a high top 3 - making it his best-selling album since Get Happy!! (1980).

Over the years it has proved to contain other fine songs but it's still an album that has that unfortunate Langer / Winstanley 'over-produced' touch all over it - a notion several contemporary critics also heard when they referred to the album as 'pretentious' - a tendency that would prove to be further accentuated on Goodbye Cruel World (rel. Jun. '84) - also produced by Langer / Winstanley. The album may be touched, or slightly ruined from poor production and too heavy arrangements, but it's still an album that reveal great songwriting, and in that perspective, it's not a bad album at all.

[ allmusic.com, Blender, Uncut, Mojo 3 / 5, Rolling Stone, Sounds 4 / 5 stars ]

The Chemical Brothers

~ ~ ~

The Chemical Brothers: formed 1992, Manchester, UK. The band is a duo consisting of Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons (aka Bonus Beats Orchestra, aka The 237 Turbo Nutters, aka *The Dust Brothers). The duo has been one of the primary sources (together with The Prodigy and later Fat Boy Slim) to the popularity of big beat as a sub genre of electronic music. They have experimented on the electronic scene with downtempo and neo-psychedelia, and most recently, they have stretched the style into more electro house oriented compositions.
*An American trio also exists by this name. Originally, Rowlands and Simons took this name in homage to the American band but threats of a lawsuit made them change name to The Chemical Brothers.

~ ~ ~

Everything but the Girl "Idlewild" (1988)

Idlewild
release date: May 3, 1988
format: vinyl / cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,72]
producer: Ben Watt
label: Blanco y Negro - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1 "I Don't Want to Talk About It" (4,5 / 5) - 2. "Love Is Here Where I Live" - 3. "These Early Days" - 5. "Oxford Street" - 10. "Tears All Over Town" - 11. "Lonesome for a Place I Know"

4th studio album by Everything but the Girl. It comes in at least three different versions with individual track listings. The original vinyl pressing (both British and German pressings) consisted of 11 tracks that are found here as tracks #2-12. Track #1 is something as unusual as a cover-version written and composed by Danny Whitten of Crazy Horse. On some cd issues it's enlisted as track #12.
Idlewild is luckily not just another attempt into sophist-pop but makes a return to a more simple form making it more of the natural successor to Love Not Money from 1985, thus being a much better release than the '86 album, although, the duo still seems a bit stuck in which way to choose. There are some very fine jazz pop compositions and jangle pop tunes, but it also contains tracks built in bolder symphonic sophisti-pop with mixed with funky frettless bass-lines that doesn't improve things, really; however, Watt and Thorn are back as fine songwriters, and that's nice. And when Thorn contributes with her melancholic jazz alto, it's as if anything shines that brighter.
To me, the album comes out as the duo's second best album so far.
It's the first of only two albums by EBTG to be included in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5 stars ]

Peter Sommer "På den anden side" (2004)

På den anden side [debut]
release date: Oct. 11, 2004
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5]

Tracklist: 1. "Valby Bakke" (4 / 5) - 2. "Bombesikker" (3,5 / 5) - 3. "Københavns Energi" - 4. "Flygtning" (3,5 / 5) - 5. "Endnu en sommer er forbi" - 6. "Halvleg" - 7. " Chris & Tania" - 8. "Tigger" (4 / 5) (live) - 9. "Vand ved siden af" - 10. "Hvis bare jeg ku' " - 11. "Pigen & øen"

A promising debut album after leaving (?) the duo Superjeg. The album was like a sunbeam to Danish music, especially in the sense that it's a folk rock singer / songwriter album with lyrics in Danish, which was a rare but very welcome initiative at the time, and Sommer was almost inevitably compared to the great C.V. Jørgensen. Having said that, I think the album lacks great songs. "Valby Bakke", "Bombesikker", "Flygtning", and "Tigger" are the really fine songs here, but the rest are mediocre and basically feel a bit like fillers to make a full solo album a reality. Having said that, I think it's... promising.

Peter Sommer

~ ~ ~

Peter Sommer: (aka Peter Sommer Christensen, birth name) born Aug. 28, 1974, was born and grew up in Skanderborg, Denmark. Former member of the band Superjeg, a duo with Carsten Valentin Lassen (guitar & keyboard), which was active from 2000-2003. He formed the collaboration duo De Eneste To in 2010 with Simon Kvamm (lead vocalist of Nephew). Peter was married to Danish singer / songwriter Lize Westzynthius, (2003-2010). He is primarily a singer / songwriter and he made his solo debut in 2004.

~ ~ ~

Neil Young & Crazy Horse "Live Rust" (1979) (live)

Live Rust (live)
release date: Nov. 1979
format: digital
[album rate: 4 / 5]

Released as Neil Young & Crazy Horse this is another live album, and originally a double vinyl issue. Compared to Rust Never Sleeps this is the music of his great career, both as soloist and with Crazy Horse, and in that respect it is a 'must-have'. The album starts out with a track he wrote in the late 1960s before going solo, followed by a song for Buffalo Springfield, "I Am a Child", also a track from the '60s, and in that way the album continues on a journey up until his most recent songs. In one way it resembles Rust Never Sleeps, and that's how the album is split up in an acoustic start and an electrified ending, only here it's only the first 5 songs, side A on vinyl, that are (slow) acoustic and the rest, which is 11 tracks that make up side B, C, and D on the double lp version, are electrified folk rock compositions.

Alela Diane "About Farewell" ('About Farewel', 2013)

Rodriguez "I Think of You" ('Coming From Reality', 1971)

Buika "En el último trago" (2009)

En el último trago
release date: Oct. 19, 2009
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5]

Track highlights: 2. "Sombras" (live) - 6. "En el último trago" - 7. "Se me hizo fácil"

Studio album by Spanish artist Concha Buika, or: Maria da Concepción Balboa Buika [birth name], better known as just Buika on an album featuring the Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés. The music is latin jazz with mostly just Buika singing accompanied by piano. It's simple and nice.

Sena Ehrhardt "Buried Alive" ('All In', 2013)

New Order "Taras Shevchenko" (1983) (Live in New York, November 18, 1981)

Taras Shevchenko, video
release date: Aug. 1983
format: vhs
[ vhs rate: 4 / 5]

Set list: 02:56 "Chosen Time" - 07:01 "Dreams Never End" - 10:23 "Everything's Gone Green" - 15:35 "Truth" -  20:12 "Senses" - 24:46 "Procession" - 28:46 "Ceremony" - 33:32 "Denial" - 38:32 "Temptation"

First official video featuring New Order. It was recorded from a live concert held in New York at Taras Shevchenko (The Ukranian National Home), Nov. 18, 1981 and was released Aug. 1983. I used to own this great live recording on VHS. It's the band's first tour in the US. Joy Division was scheduled to tour in the summer of 1980 - a tour that was cancelled because of lead vocalist Ian Curtis' suicide. The band continued as New Order with Gillian Gilbert on keyboard and guitar, and guitarist Bernard Sumner took the part as vocalist. This concert shows his unfamiliar part as vocalist. Later on he proved to do much better, but despite his poor singing qualities at this stage, it works, and perhaps mostly because of Stephen Morris' excellent job playing drums, and at times like a drum machine. Fantastic performance.