Pop & Rock News

Formerly the backing band for Timperley's favourite son, Frank Sidebottom, Dream Themes have since carved out a niche for themselves by performing classic TV themes to appreciative audiences. Their debut LP, 20 Golden Greats is the final, and it has to be said, rather celebratory release from the Too Pure singles club. 20 tracks over two 7' singles will see the singles club's ten year run come to an end in style.

The apparition of Spanish female duo Las Grecas with their Gipsy-Rock sound in the 70s created quite a boom in the Spanish market at the time and paved the way for other similar gipsy-rock duos.

Morena y Clara were one of them. Launched by bizarre flamenco producer Lauren Postigo, they released a string of 45s and three LPs (highly sought after now) for the Discophon label. They mixed Rumba, Flamenco, Psychedelic Rock, Funk and Disco Music featuring an amazing production (heavy drums, fuzz-wah-phaser electric guitars, Moog, Hammond) over the wild flamenco female vocals of the duo.

Here's a compilation spanning 1974-1978, featuring their psychotronic hits like No llores más', Dejé de quererte', Buscando alegría' and more.

Insert with liner notes by Txarly Brown (Achilifunk) and photos.

Indeed, there was a time some four and a half decades ago that one Marc Bolan was, according to Bari's liner notes, the biggest pop sensation of the time'. Aided and abetted variously by Steve Peregrin Took (who died 35 years ago this week), Bill Legend (the only surviving member), Steve Currie, and Mickey Finn, Bolan ruled the charts and airwaves in the early '70s as the wild-haired wonder fronting both Tyrannosaurus Rex and its glammy successor, T. Rex. This is Watts' tribute to his hero. But it's not simply a collection of cover tunes (there are plenty of Bolan-related tribute albums already). Watts meticulously, but not slavishly, recreates some of Bolan's signature styles, right down to enlisting Middle Earth DJ (and America manager) Jeff Dexter to sit in for John Peel and contribute the spoken word segment of the title track while Bari emulates Bolan's bleating goat warble in the background.


So, with the respect due to Neil Innes for his own honourable discharge that is The Rutles, we can sit back and play spot the original' as Watts chronologically performs his own spot-on impressions of Bolan's Tyrannosaurus Rex period via the surreal wordplay on the hippie gumbo 'Ratskull', the slurred acid folk ballads, 'Here There Be Dragons' and 'Crystal Pagoda', the bongo fury of 'Kerenza' (complete with awesome Tookish vocal squeals), and the dreamy (albeit quite Prince-ly) 'Gypsy Girl', wherein Bari tries out some of his own Bolan guitar moves to great effect. (Bari understands how underrated a guitarist Bolan was and uses his own skill sets to attempt to acknowledge this in his own inimitable way. Check out his solos at the fade to 'Motorcycle Ram' and throughout the chugging swamp stomp of 'Demon Love'.)


The seminal T. Rex period is unveiled with the stomping flash of 'The Queen of The Marshes Call', the elegiac, 'Ballrooms of Mars'-y 'Magical Myst', and the intentional anti-Donovan whimsy of 'Magic Hurdy Gurdy Man' (I've got an idea for your next album, Bari!) For balls-to-the-wall rawk, bang a gong along with the 'Raw Ramp'-y 'Fly with the Silver Swan', slide' along to 'Boogie Mama', and put on your dancing shoes and do the 'Antediluvian Hop'. And if you haven't already guessed, the track list is a veritable litany of punny Bolanistic titles: 'The Wizard of The Skies', 'The Queen of The Marshes Call', 'Motorcycle Ram' (Bolan, probably to his and our eternal regret, never drove, but he wrote numerous car songs'), 'Crystal Pagoda', and 'Fly With The Silver Swan'.


Bari's own career dates back nearly three decades to his 1987 debut as the titular Lord of The Dark Skies', his debut release under the Outskirts of Infinity moniker on Nick (Bevis Frond) Saloman's Woronzow imprint (Saloman was the Outskirts' bassist on the album!) He also contributed to several Woronzow compilations and played some blistering guitar solos on several Bevis Frond albums (including the pseudonymous Scorched Earth), along with solo albums by Frond bassist, Adrian Shaw (see review elsewhere), who plays bass throughout in his own spot-on Steve Currie manner. (Saloman himself contributes Sitar Guitar to 'Magic Hurdy Gurdy Man'.) So Watts' pedigree as an ace axe man is unimpeachable. Here his talents as an inveterate interpreter of one of his own biggest influences is lovingly and respectfully presented and has the double advantage of appealing to fans of both its creator and its inspiration. As mentioned earlier, there are any number of straight Bolan tributes out there (cf., Resurrection of The Warlock, Children of The Revolution, the Bolan tribute band T.Rextasy's Legacy, and the curiously-titled Great Jewish Music.) By honouring instead of aping, Watts has created the best of the lot.

The Lp comes in the same packaging of the first Tyrannosaurus Rex album with textured cover on front and flip-back.

There's no better way to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of your best record than playing it in full, twenty-nine nights in a row. Hailing from Tokyo, beloved psych-doom shredders Boris performed their critically acclaimed album PINK in full, live in the Blue Room at Third Man Records. They recorded it direct to 8 track, 2' tape, providing an incredibly high fidelity document of an unforgettable night. Local weekly The Nashville Scene reviewed this show as at least in that moment...by far the greatest show Third Man Records has hosted to date.'
It's hard to disagree. Atsuo, Takeshi and Wata filled the room with foreboding smoke, dark red light reflecting off of the blue walls and, to this date, was our loudest performance yet. This is almost certainly the only time that we've handed out and required earplugs for every single audience member upon entry. And now you can keep the celebration of PINK going with the choicest tracks of the night - get this record!

Carl Perkins was born into a sharecropper family in fertile northwestern Tennessee, separated from neighboring states Missouri and Kentucky by curvy bends of the Mississippi River. Even in his early days scouting talent, Sun Records founder Sam Phillips had it right when he met Perkins and declared with reverence this is one of the world's greatest plow-hands." Carl Perkins was a proud country kid.
With Sun Records, Perkins released eight singles and one studio album, but his recording legacy is often undeservedly simplified to this singular, million-selling 7" record. Originally released in February 1956, "Blue Suede Shoes" b/w '"Honey, Don't" is a rock and roll standard and critically praised as one of the first massive blockbusters of its kind. It walks down the road forged by Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Ike Turner, Bill Haley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley to fuse elements of blues, country, pop and gospel in a completely new direction.
Though Elvis Presley's cover would cement the song's status as a standard, Carl Perkins owes a good deal to Elvis for his name recognition and success as an artist. With Elvis's cover of Blue Suede Shoes' recorded and ready to release at the same time as Perkins' original version, Presley requested that his major label distribution hold back his cover single until the original single sold one million copies, purely out of loyalty and consideration for his friend Perkins.

The label on this single hits the nail on the head — Michigan's singing cowboy! Despite a very long 45-year career in country music as a promoter, radio station operator, artist and label owner, very little is known about Earl Peterson. In late 1952, he formed Nugget Records with his mother, basically as a means of self-releasing his music.
While shopping his music down South, he met Sam Phillips and agreed to release his song on Sun Records in the spring of 1954. This bouncing, twangy single would prove to be a cult hit and original pressings still command a lofty price. As the first remotely contemporary country single on the label, Peterson's single paved the way for Sun to later pivot into the country genre.
From there, Peterson's story becomes a bit murkier. He recorded the same song for Columbia in the fall of 1954, strangely disregarding his contractual agreements with Sun. He went on to release a couple more singles with Columbia and by the '60s, was holed up in rural central Michigan to run a radio station (WPLB) with his family.

The Blue Room at Third Man shook with the sludge-drone majesty of Olympia, Washington's Earth. Anchored by wife-husband duo Adrienne Davies and Dylan Carlson, this band has an integral spot in American music by bringing a low-frequency uproar and six-string extremism to the forefront of the experimental, punk metal underground. More concisely, they are widely considered the pioneers of drone metal.
The band built their reputation on widely respected albums, starting with Sub Pop and moving to current home Southern Lord. Using the device of repetition, the band disarms and transforms first impressions with a performance so plodding and insistent that each song is stretched to its limits. The set spanned their catalog with four first-class compositions, employing powerful guitar drones and Davies' precise, slow-motion percussion swirling throughout.

Hailing from Tucson, AZ, The Fells were churning out high quality, catchy singles throughout the '90s with the same ferocity as well-known contemporaries the Mummies or New Bomb Turks. Their Italy Records single, which was the ninth 7' in the Fells' discography, is one of their most heavy-hitting and finest. The A-side Close Your Eyes' is practically bi-polar with all the pep, bop and swing that makes a single worth snatching up!

The backstory of this recording is one totally reliant on chance, and almost didn't happen. The Fells' van broke down while on tour from Tucson and they were stranded at The Hentchmen's house, aptly called the Hentch House. With time to kill, the group toted their gear over to their buddy Jack White's house and recorded these two killer songs for later release on Italy Records. It notably features special guest Johnny Hentch of The Hentchmen on piano

Almost all of Sun Records' early rock and roll artists hailed from the South. The one exception in these formative years was Detroit native John Pavlik, better known as Johnny Powers. Releasing his first songs with the fantastic Detroit label Fortune Records, Powers was determined to be signed to Sun Records after wearing out his copies of Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley singles.
His sole release on Sun titled With Your Love, With Your Kiss' b/w Be Mine, All Mine' is a highly collectible piece in the Sun catalog. The A-side is powerful and intense, with popping snare, blaring saxophone in the bridge and an impassioned Powers wailing all over the track. The B-side is more of a boogie rocker with an absolutely unforgettable falsetto vocal melody in each post-chorus.
After Fortune and Sun, Powers went on to release records with Motown Records, certainly the only artist to record for all three wildly diverse labels. This nugget of early rock history is not to be missed.

Prominent members of the Boston music scene and post-rock specialists, Pile began as the brainchild (and solo project) of Rick Maguire in 2007. In the earliest incarnations, the songs were the broken bones of bigger ideas: the impassioned, ramshackle work of one dude with a momentous sense of riff and mood. In the time between then and now, the band has enjoyed a steady output and expanded to include Kris Kuss, Matt Connery, Matt Becker and, from time to time, Chappy Hull.

This spring, their new critically-acclaimed LP A Hairshirt of Purpose was given a rare 10/10 by The AV Club, citing the record is still pushing the (rock music) form to its outermost limits," and fortunately, our live LP was recorded right after its release, capturing them at a distinctly creative peak and unparalleled energy. This record is somehow chilling and explosive - kicking off with their total jam Baby Boy' and including a surprise Blonde Redhead cover. It stands shoulder to shoulder with the rest of their catalog and will no doubt remain a shining example of our live series for years to come.

Out of the ashes of Toledo's Henry and June arose the mighty Soledad Brothers. This recording is the Soledad Brothers doing what they did best - houserockin' blues in full Midwestern malaise. This single was recorded in 1998 at Jack White's house on Ferdinand Street in southwest Detroit and was the band's debut release.
As key players in a scene of like-minded minimalist garage groups, vocalist, guitarist and master of harmonica Johnny Walker and drummer/future Third Man Records co-founder Ben Swank, were playing shows in Detroit so often, it eventually just made sense for Ben to pay Jack rent and become his roommate. This single features Jack playing a metal snow shovel on the B-side, "Johnny's Death Letter".

The Dirtys were a totally raw garage punk band originally from Port Huron, MI. Their energy, coupled with a sound somewhere between the Oblivians and the MC5, is what makes a live show worthwhile. Celebrated Detroit garage hero Mick Collins (Gories, Dirtbombs) played guitar on the A-side "It Ain't Easy," which was unsuccessfully pitched to the Detroit City Council as the new official anthem of Detroit.
Italy Records was founded to release this single by these knuckleheads before the release of their debut LP on respected German label Crypt Records. For one reason or another, this Dirtys 7" actually ended up being Italy's second release. Regardless, it's as punk as it gets and demands your full time and attention

30th Anniversary Edition of this Italian Cold Wave masterpiece from 1984.
On a cold autumn evening in Milan in 1981, Nino La Loggia met Giacomo Spazio for the first time. The two had the same passion for music: Kraftwerk, Joy Division, DAF and the whole new scene of proto-electronic wave headed by Cabaret Voltaire. Together they decided to start the musical project called 2 + 2 = 5, a tribute to Orwellian dystopia. Shortly after, Cha Cha Hagiwara joined the band. Already a keyboard player in Jeunesse d'Ivoire, she enriched the band's raw sound with sonority and resonance which we can now define as analog. After several gigs around Milan, Turin and Switzerland, in 1983 the trio entered the studio to record their first LP titled '...Into The Future', now reissued by Mannequin Records for the 30th Anniversary.

"Into The Future" is an edition of 500 copies on 160 gram black vinyl, including an exact replica of the original booklet.

Mastering by Rude 66.

Recorded in various locations in the UK and Europe and broadcast for WWO radio in 1989, this recording captures rare sessions featuring Neil's classics live in FM quality. A must for all his fans!

Recorded the day before the release of their 1993 breakout album, Siamese Dream, this magnificent radio broadcast is an acoustic record release party set from the legendary Tower Records in the group's hometown of Chicago. Amid drug addiction, internal band strife, Corgan's nearly crippling depression, claims of selling out, and massive pressure from the record label to become stars, it's hard to imagine the band could even perform together much less sound this good. A killer live acoustic set that draws mostly from Siamese Dream, but also includes two of the better tracks from their debut Gish, this radio broadcast is a must have for any Pumpkins fan.

We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want Records is honored to announce the reissue of extraterrestrial cult classic THE SOUND OF THE UFOs, a collaborative effort between Swiss jazz and electronic music icon Bruno Spoerri and innovative drummer extraordinaire Reto Weber, available on vinyl for the first time since 1978, housed in a 350g jacket and packed with all new liner notes.

Recorded live in Zurich in March 1978, THE SOUND OF THE UFOs finds Bruno & Reto improvising with a vast array of classic and customized synths and percussions from all corners of the globe (and the galaxy!). It's cosmic free jazz in audio gear heaven with a heavy dose of ambient, krautrock, primitive proto-techno vibes, and experimental space disco with a musique concrète mentality - anything's possible when a jazzman and a percussionist obsessed with finding new sounds collide and explore uncharted sonic territories! This groundbreaking gem is the ideal companion piece to Bruno Spoerri's highly coveted VOICE OF TAURUS LP.

Still very active recording, touring and collaborating (Julian Sartorius, Franz Treichler of Young Gods, Marco Repetto of Grauzone, Roger Girod...), Bruno Spoerri is an award-winning mythical figure of Swiss music, whose career started in the 1950s and covers jazz, electronic music, film and tv work, and everything in between. Improvisational maestro and synthesizer mega-connoisseur, Mr. Spoerri has influenced an entire generation of producers and musicians - hell, even Jay-Z sampled him!

The band project Drums Off Chaos was one of the central and on-going projects of the recently deceased drummer Jaki Liebezeit (who is normally associated first and foremost with the Cologne-based band CAN). In the early 1980s he had initiated an - at first - loose collective of drummers, who created a rhythmic concept on the basis of simple, strictly binding codes that enabled expansive improvisations.

Over the years the ensemble became smaller and refined its collaboration marked by repetitive patterns and their variation. You have to play monotonous,' a membr of the audience had already told Liebezeit in the 1960s. He took this to heart and there was hardly any other formation where he could bring this concept to life as regularly and with as much inspiration as in Drums Off Chaos.
During a development spanning more than three decades, this extra-ordinary band, which never saw itself as such, made numerous recordings but rarely any releases. However, in the last few months of his life Jaki Liebezeit, with colleagues Reiner Linke, Maf Retter and Manos Tsangaris, earmarked some tracks for imminent release on vinyl and CD - on different compilations. Liebezeit's death is all the more reason to go ahead with this plan.

Quite possibly the last truly sublime album ever recorded by Os Mutantes - a set that's a bit more rock-oriented then their first few, but still pretty revolutionary overall! The group have expanded to a quintet at this point, but haven't yet falling into the guitar-heavy groove of later years - and Rogerio Duprat is working with the group on arrangements, although Mutantes member Arnaldo Baptista is handling production chores himself. Odd styles still slide into the mix as the tunes roll on - creating that great sense of surprise that makes their best work so great, and keeping things fresh even when a bit more straight ahead! Titles include a reprise of "Baby", one of the group's early classics - plus "Portugal De Navio", "Virginia", "Tecnicolor", "El Justicero", "Lady, Lady", "Sarava", "It's Very Nice Pra Xuxu", and "Top Top".

Parliament-Funkadelic, live at Madison Square Garden in September 1977.

By September 1977, Parliament-Funkadelic were renowned not only for their outrageous blend of funk and rock'n'roll, but also their lavish stage show. Originally broadcast on WPLJ-FM, the superb performance presented here draws on a blend of up-to-date material and older classics, capturing them at their irresistible, eccentric best. Featuring George Clinton, Bootsy Collins and their many cohorts on peak form, it's presented here with background notes and images.

Rick Wakeman is an English composer, keyboardist, songwriter, author & actor that actually needs little introduction. He is best known for being in the progressive rock band 'YES' and for his solo albums released in the 1970s. Rick's early credits include playing on David Bowie's "Space Oddity" and on songs by T.Rex, Elton John, Cat Stevens, Lou Reed and Black Sabbath (among others). Mr. Wakeman's discography includes over 90 solo albums that range from several musical styles. To this date Rick continues to perform concerts worldwide in various capacities.

During the decades Rick Wakeman also composed numerous soundtracks and additional music for films. In 1990 this led him to compose a conceptual soundtrack for the legendary 1925 Lon Chaney silent film 'The Phantom Of The Opera' which was released under the moniker 'Phantom Power'. Unfortunately 'Phantom Power' was cut short and was missing more than half an hour of what Rick came up with - a silent realization required non-stop music for more than 80 minutes of action - yet, thought lost for quarter of a century, the score is now back in its original expanded form.

Combining baroque moves with romantic passages, sometimes in a rock setting, Wakeman's variations really bring back the original feel of this 1925 cinematic classic using a quasi-orchestral backdrop containing organs and harpsichord with the ghosts of Mozart and Bach lurking in the dark.

One Way Static Records is proud to present to you (for the FIRST TIME on vinyl) the complete unreleased recordings for 'The Phantom Of The Opera'. This is the original Rick Wakeman unedited soundtrack and contains the original mixes of the songs which are different to what eventually appeared on the Phantom Power' album. Spread over two glorious LP's, this set contains over 80 minutes & comes with extensive sleeve notes by Tim Scott.