Playlist

Last night I made a Playlist, the first in a long while.

MOVIES, THE – Black Country Lady

WINDING, KAI – Mini-Skirt

MR. BIG MOUSE – Drop That Ghetto Blaster

WRIGHT, GEORGE – Mannix

HUDSON, KEITH – Torch of Freedom / Freedom Movements

MANCINI, HENRY – Charade (’72)

BALKAN BEAT BOX – Joro Boro (BBB Remix)

LAST, JAMES – Neanderthal Man

A CERTAIN RATIO – Skunk

LANIN, LESTER – A Hard Day’s Night / The Word

RADIO STARS – Dirty Pictures

HASSILEV, ALEX – Cohve Chuva (Listen To The Rain)

VON ZAMLA – Ten Tango

REVOLUTIONAIRES, THE – Red River Dub

CORNWELL, HUGH – Rain on the River

HAYSI FANTAYZEE – Shiny Shiny

ROSSO, NINI – Il Silenzio

EL GENERAL – Muevelo

XTC – Scarecrow People

DEEP PURPLE – Speed King (Live ’72)

1999

5-19-10 1999

While digging through some papers at home, I recently found a detailing of what I was listening to in 1999. Where were you in 1999?

Afro Celt Sound System – Vol. 2: Release (Realworld CD)

Cafe Tacuba – Reves / Yosoi (Warner 2CD)

Corduroy – Click! (Pony Canyon Jpn CD)

Ekova – Soft Breeze and Tsunami Breaks (CBS FR CD)

Goblin – Original Remixes Vol. 1 (Japanese CD)

Golden Earring – Paradise In Distress (CNR NL CD EP)

Lynden David Hall – Medicine 4 My Pain (Cool Tempo UK CD)

Hideki Kaji – 15 Angry Men (Trattoria Jpn CD)

The Montgolfier Brothers – Seventeen Stars (Advance CD)

Mr. Oizo – Analogue Worms Attack (F Beat FR CD)

Pizzicato Five – Nonstop To Tokyo (Nippon Columbia Jpn CD EP)

Scritti Politti – Anomie & Bonhomie (Virgin EU CD)

V.A. – Plastics Tribute – Welcome To The Plastic World (Epic/Sony Jpn CD)

V.A. – Pop Romantique (Trattoria Jpn CD) with Kevin Ayers!

I wouldn’t start blogging for another three years when the above batch of releases were filling my ears. I waited the better part of a decade for the Scritti Politti album, and yet another almost-decade before he came and played live in L.A. “Click!” was to be Corduroy’s last album of all-new material. Pizzicato Five essentially ceased to operate in 2001; Did The Montgolfier Brothers ever have a 2^nd album on Poptones? British soul singer Lynden David Hall passed away after one (or two) more albums. Even Trattoria Records ceased trading shortly (I was on their mailing list – and most of their new releases were being sent to me in 1999).

Gilles sent me a video of Mr. Oizo “Flat Beat” from France – so I knew I had to have whatever album it was going to come from. I’d been a Goblin fan since I first got “Profondo Rosso” – and “Suspiria” is one of my all-time favorite progressive rock albums – despite it being the bookmark that ends the ‘prog rock’ years. Golden Earring still exist and probably still make great sounding music in 2010. Whatever happened to Ekova? I guess Café Tacuba went on to be mega-stars south of the border – but this was the last album by them that I ever encountered.

I first saw Afro Celt Sound System on “Later with Jools Holland” around the time of their debut release – I stayed with them for an album after “Vol. 2”, too. I have been a fan of both Hajime Tachibana and Toshio Nakanishi for nearly 30 years – so a Plastics Tribute CD interested me greatly. I hear that they’ve “re-formed” yet again and are touring Japan this summer.

I’m still pretty OK with all of these releases, a full decade on. I still buy whatever I can find by Mr. Oizo…and there is a Golden Earring SACD that I’m looking for…

Frank Zappa - Greasy Love Songs

5-18-10

Frank Zappa “Greasy Love Songs”

I recently mail-ordered a ‘new’ Frank Zappa CD from zappa.com” “Greasy Love Songs” – an actual CD issue of the LP mix of “Cruisin’ With Ruben & The Jets” (album #5), from 1967/8. It’s nifty, tough & bitchen.

http://www.zappa.com/flash/greasylovesongs/index.html

The good news: Sounds great. Bonus tracks are ‘of interest’. Packaging is nice – but I wish the Cal Schenkel artwork was featured more prominently (like on the exterior of the package). The bad news: It’s expensive ($21 + tax + shipping charges) and comes from a place called “Musictoday”.

When Mr. Zappa re-mastered everything “to digital” in the 80’s, he messed with 3 albums that are fairly close to my soul: “We’re Only In It For The Money”, “Cruisin’ With Ruben & The Jets” and “Hot Rats”. I mean, all of the early Zappa albums had a little ‘digital reverb’ whapped on – but these three were made almost unlistenable – for “Only Money” and “Ruben” – Mr. Zappa actually had musicians over-dub new bass and drum parts (!), not to a good effect. For “Hot Rats”, I think ‘tape noise’ was so mightily feared, handcrafted multi-track tapes were “re-tweezed” (and re-mixed) until the charm of the original album was truly squashed. Yes, the CD is longer, but the mix is ‘not good’. The ZFT ( = Zappa Family Trust ) has now ‘done the right thing’ with 2 of the 3 albums mentioned. Can an expensive mail-order CD of the LP mix of “Hot Rats” be far behind? I hope not!

Yes, the really expensive sets that once-and-for-all take care of “Freak Out” (album #1) and “We’re Only In It For The Money” (album #3) / “Lumpy Gravy” (album #4) are wonderful, excellent – worth every penny. Um, looks like they have ‘forgotten’ “Absolutely Free” (album #2) – I’d be willing to pay Musictoday entirely too much money for a multi-disc set of that album – but, they haven’t done it yet!

“Cruisin’ With Ruben & The Jets” is a good album for people who are uncomfortable with the ‘musique concrete’ aspect of Zappa’s work. There’s none of that here. It’s 13 pop songs, expertly written & performed, and very charming. I got the original LP of this so long ago…more than 40 years ago. I was a child. I took it at 100% face value, and it made it past ‘the inspector’ and has been in my brain / soul ever since. Is it pastiche / parody of 50’s ‘greaser’ songs? Not really, it’s Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention playing music that they really like. And it shows. Lots of ‘fun’.

Caravan

5-17-10

Caravan

Along with Soft Machine, a fine Canterbury band…

CD BBC 1969 - 1973 pirate MY PHENIX ZA 88

1996? 10 TRKS Live, pirate CD of poorly recorded BBC radio broadcasts – musically, very interesting

LP CARAVAN & THE NEW SYMPHONIA LONDON US PS 650

1974 5 TRKS Live

CD CARAVAN & THE NEW SYMPHONIA re DECCA UK 882969.2

1974 10 TRKS (5 x bonus tracks) Live '74 ('01 issue)

LP CARAVAN MGM UK 2353 058

1969 8 TRKS stereo, 1st album

CD CARAVAN UNIVERSAL JPN UICY-9208

1969 9 TRKS ('02 issue) kami sleeve (1 x bonus track)

LP FOR GIRLS WHO GROW PLUMP IN THE NIGHT DERAM UK SDL-R 12

1973 7 TRKS The first Caravan LP I ever heard

CD FOR GIRLS WHO GROW PLUMP IN THE NIGHT (UNIVERSAL JPN UICY-9060

1973 12 TRKS ('01 issue) kami sleeve (5 x bonus tracks)

7" HEADLOSS (mono) / (stereo) promo LONDON US 5N-20080-DJ

1973 2 TRKS no pic sleeve, promo

7" HEARTBREAKER / IT'S NEVER TOO LATE KINGDOM UK KV 8009

1980 2 TRKS with pic sleeve

CD IF I COULD DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN… UNIVERSAL JPN UICY-9065

1970 12 TRKS ('01 issue) kami sleeve (4 x bonus tracks)

LP IN THE LAND OF GREY AND PINK DERAM UK SDL-R 1

1971 5 TRKS Probably my favorite Caravan LP

CD IN THE LAND OF GREY AND PINK UNIVERSAL JPN UICY-9058

1971 10 TRKS ('01 issue) kami sleeve (5 x bonus tracks)

7" STUCK IN A HOLE / LOVER DECCA UK FR 13599

1975 2 TRKS no pic sleeve

LP WATERLOO LILY LONDON US XPS 615

1970? 7 TRKS

CD WATERLOO LILY UNIVERSAL JPN UICY-9059

1972 9 TRKS ('01 issue) kami sleeve (3 x bonus tracks)

I like them well enough to have purchased most of their original early albums as little paper album cover CD’s the last time I visited Japan, in 2007.

I was always amused by vocalist Richard Sinclair, whose contributions to the first LP by Hatfield & The North are wonderful. I mean, what is Hatfield & The North except Caravan with the keyboard player from Egg? Seriously, I love this stuff. And when you can’t get enough Caravan…there’s always National Health.

Start with “In The Land of Grey & Pink”, then go on to “For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night”. If you don’t get the joke by then, give up. The others won’t help.

So, why did they make Caravan 45’s in the US? It’s not like they were ever going to get played on anything but “Progressive” FM stations, anyway – stations that notoriously did not ever play 45’s.

I recently found the British re-mastered CD of “Caravan & The New Symphonia” – the new CD about doubles the length of the original LP. I never got this far with Caravan at the time. I don’t quite know why.

Kraftwerk

5-14-10

Kraftwerk

No, I haven’t fallen for the recent re-mastered CD’s, but I bet they sound OK. What I am waiting for are the first three albums to come out on legit CD.

CD AUTOBAHN EMI DE CDP 746153.2

1974 5 TRKS original CD issue

LP AUTOBAHN PHILIPS DE 6305 231

1974 5 TRKS original issue

12" COMPUTER LOVE EMI UK 12EMI 5207

1981 2 TRKS with pic sleeve

7" COMPUTER LOVE / NUMBERS WARNER US WBS 49795

1981 2 TRKS no pic sleeve

LP COMPUTER WORLD EMI UK EMC 3370

1981 7 TRKS English language

CD COMPUTER WORLD (Elektra) ELEKTRA US 3549.2

1981 7 TRKS

CD COMPUTER WORLD (Warner) WARNER US 3549.2

1981 7 TRKS original issue CD, paint face

LP COMPUTERWELT EMI DE 1C064-46311

1981 7 TRKS original issue

CD DIE MENSCH MASCHINE EMI DE CDP 746131.2

1978 6 TRKS in German

LP DIE MENSCH MASCHINE EMI DE 1C058-32843

1978 6 TRKS original issue

LP ELECTRIC CAFÉ EMI DE 1C064-240644.1

1986 6 TRKS

7" KOMETENMELODIE 2 (PS) VERTIGO UK VER 3

1974 2 TRKS with pic sleeve

LP KRAFTWERK (1970) PHILIPS DE 6305 058

1970 4 TRKS original issue

LP KRAFTWERK 2 PHILIPS DE 6305 117

1971 6 TRKS original issue

12" KRAFTWERK'S DISCO BEST (#8865) promo CAPITOL US SPRO-8865

1977 4 TRKS no pic sleeve, promo-only

12" KRAFTWERK'S DISCO BEST (#8866) promo CAPITOL US SPRO-8866

1978 4 TRKS no pic sleeve, promo-only

CD MIX, THE ELEKTRA US 60869.2

1991 11 TRK Collection

7" MODEL, THE CAPITOL NL 5C006-85673

1978 2 TRKS with pic sleeve

12" POCKET CALCULATOR EMI UK 12EMI 5175

1981 3 TRKS with pic sleeve

7" POCKET CALCULATOR / DENTAKU WARNER US WBS 49723

1981 2 TRKS with pic sleeve, green vinyl

12" POCKET CALCULATOR promo WARNER US PRO-A-951

1981 2 TRKS no pic sleeve, promo

CD RADIO-ACTIVITY CAPITOL US CDP 746474.2

1975 12 TRKS

LP RADIO-AKTIVITAT EMI DE 1C064-82087

1975 12 TRKS insert, original issue

LP RALF & FLORIAN PHILIPS DE 6305 197

1973 6 TRKS poster, original issue

LP RALF & FLORIAN PHILIPS JPN BT-8102

1973 6 TRKS ('79 re-issue)

12" SHOWROOM DUMMIES CAPITOL US 8501

1977 2 TRKS no pic sleeve

12" TOUR DE FRANCE EMI PATHE FR 1545056

1983 3 TRKS with pic sleeve

7" TOUR DE FRANCE EMI UK EMI 5413

1983 2 TRKS with pic sleeve

CD TOUR DE FRANCE SOUNDTRACKS ASTRALWERKS ASW 91708.2

2003 12 TRKS

LPx2 TOUR DE FRANCE SOUNDTRACKS EMI UK 591708.1

2003 12 TRKS

CD TRANS EUROPA EXPRESS EMI DE 746133.2

1977 8 TRKS original CD issue

LP TRANS EUROPA EXPRESS EMI DE 1C064-82306

1977 8 TRKS poster, original issue

12" TRANS EUROPE EXPRESS CAPITOL US 8513

1977 2 TRKS no pic sleeve

LP TRANS EUROPE EXPRESS CAPITOL US SW-11603

1977 7 TRKS English language vers.

12" TRANS EUROPE EXPRESS / METAL ON METAL CAPITOL CAN 75001

1977 2 TRKS no pic sleeve

Ringo Starr

5-13-10

Ringo Starr

1 of only 2 Beatles still walkin’ around!

7" BACK OFF BOOGALOO / BLINDMAN APPLE US 1849

1972 2 TRKS with pic sleeve – great A-side

LP BAD BOY PORTRAIT US JR 35378

1978 10 TRKS

7" BEAUCOUPS OF BLUES / COOCHY-COOCHY APPLE US 2969

1970? 2 TRKS with pic sleeve

LP BLAST FROM YOUR PAST (Collection) re-issue CAPITOL US SN-16236

1975 10 TRK Collection, re-issue

7" DROWNING IN THE SEA OF LOVE / JUST A DREAM POLYDOR DE 2001 734

1977 2 TRKS with pic sleeve

CD EXTENDED VERSIONS BMG SPECIAL US 746525.2

2003 10 TRKS ('01 recordings)

CD GOODNIGHT VIENNA TOSHIBA JPN TOCP-70507

1974 14 TRKS (3 x bonus tracks) ('08 issue) kami sleeve

LP GOODNIGHT VIENNA APPLE UK PCS 7168

1974 11 TRKS Always did really like this LP…

LP GOODNIGHT VIENNA TOSHIBA JPN EAS-80095

1974 11 TRKS insert

CD I WANNA BE SANTA CLAUS MERCURY US 546668.2

1999 12 TRKS Xmas

7" IT'S ALL DOWN TO GOODNIGHT VIENNA / OO-WEE APPLE US 1882

1974 2 TRKS with pic sleeve

CD LIVE FROM MONTREUX RYKODISC US RCD 20264

1993 15 TRKS Live

CD LIVERPOOL 8 CAPITOL US 17388.2

2008 12 TRKS

7" NO NO SONG / SNOOKEROO APPLE US 1880

1974 2 TRKS no pic sleeve

7" OH MY MY / STEP LIGHTLY APPLE US 1872

1973 2 TRKS no pic sleeve

LP OLD WAVE RCA CAN DXL1-3233

1983 10 TRKS Gary Brooker, John Entwistle etc.

7" ONLY YOU / CALL ME APPLE US 1876

1974 2 TRKS with pic sleeve

CD PHOTOGRAPH - VERY BEST OF CAPITOL US 4932.2

2007 20 TRK Collection + DVD (8 tracks) – the DVD was fairly amusing

7" PHOTOGRAPH / DOWN AND OUT APPLE US 1865

1973 2 TRKS with pic sleeve

CD RINGO TOSHIBA JPN TOCP-70506

1973 13 TRKS (3 x bonus tracks) ('08 issue) kami sleeve

LP RINGO APPLE US SWAL-3413

1973 10 TRKS booklet, another really good Ringo LP!

CD RINGO & HIS NEW ALL-STAR BAND KING BISCUIT US 88003.2

2002 16 TRKS Live

CD RINGO STARR AND HIS ALL-STARR BAND RYKODISC US RCD 10190

1990 12 TRKS Live

LP RINGO THE 4TH POLYDOR UK 2310 556

1977 10 TRKS

LP ROTOGRAVURE POLYDOR UK 2302 040

1976 10 TRKS

CD SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY CAPITOL US CDP 798615.2

1970 12 TRKS ('95 issue)

LP STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES BOARDWALK US NBI 33246

1981 10 TRKS Paul McCartney, George Harrison etc.

CD TIME TAKES TIME PRIVATE US 82097.2

1992 10 TRKS "Weight of the World"

CD VERTICAL MAN MERCURY US 558598.2

1998 13 TRKS

7" WRACK MY BRAIN BOARDWALK US NB7-11-130

1981 2 TRKS with pic sleeve

7" YOU'RE SIXTEEN / DEVIL WOMAN APPLE US 1870

1973 2 TRKS no pic sleeve

No I don’t yet have his most recent album, “Y Not” – I have yet to see it priced favorably.

I think it gets often overlooked that Ringo made some of the very best Beatles’ solo albums – “Ringo” and “Goodnight Vienna” (nice that both of those got the little paper album cover kami CD treatment in Japan!).

http://www.ringostarr.com/home.php