viernes, 10 de junio de 2011

Abuelos De La Nada - 1982 - Los Abuelos De La Nada

No te enamores nunca de aquel marinero bengalí
Sin gamulán
Como debo andar
En la cama o en el suelo
Ir a más
Tristeza de la ciudad
Creo que es un sueño más
Levantando temperatura
Guindilla ardiente
Te vas rica
Se me olvidó que te olvidé

¡Aquí!

miércoles, 8 de junio de 2011

Hammill, Peter - 1998 - This

Even if the gang of the pH quartet are supporting Peter, he wanted this album to be a very much personal matter (at least he said so).

But, as usual, it is the more band oriented songs that I will prefer. "Unrehearsed" has the indefinite Graaf feeling I like so much. Mighty Jackson is as great as ever and Stuart's violin is just remarkable. When you would combine these elements with a passionate vocal part, you just have to acknowledge that this song is outstanding.

Same perspective for "Since the Kids" which is another highlight from "This". More tranquil but same passion. These moments are pure joy. During his long and (too) prolific career, Peter has dotted his albums with such wonderful songs.

I wasn't really enthusiast about Peter's output in the nineties and "This" might well be his best work since "Roaring Forties" or "Out Of Water". The delicacy of "Nightman" or "Fallen" is so moving. Hammill at his best. Like he should have always been. Stuart being a very good add-on of course.

Some less inspired songs here and there ("Stupid", "Always Is next") bring the listener back on earth again. The long and closing epic is more on the experimental and atmospheric side.

About this song, Peter said: "This was entirely improvised as far as music is concerned. I began playing one morning in a completely open - if somewhat anxiously reflective and somber - frame of mind. Just I'm making music, in a free sense. I played my parts...my performance...in one continuous pass, adjusting the various sound sources I was using as I went.

Again, a process of editing brought the piece into (admittedly long) shape. By this time the vocal line, theme and lyrics were well under way. David and Stuart's contributions were made under strict rules: they were allowed only two passes each. The first was without having heard the music at all; the only reference points I gave them were It's 14 minutes long and it's Antarctic. I remain really happy with this piece".

My feeling is probably more mixed, but "This" remains a good album in the man's discography. Three stars.

1 Frozen In Place [Fragment] Hammill 0:47
2 Unrehearsed Hammill 7:01
3 Stupid Hammill 4:26
4 Since the Kids Hammill 5:57
5 Nightman Hammill 6:16
6 Fallen (The City of Night) Hammill 5:36
7 Unready [Fragment] Hammill 0:42
8 Always Is Next Hammill 3:58
9 Unsteady [Fragment] Hammill 1:02
10 The Light Continent Hammill 14:00

¡Aquí!

Richard, Little - 1957 - Here's Little Richard

Little Richard had been making records for four years before he rolled into Cosimo Matassa's J&M Studio in New Orleans and cut the epochal "Tutti Frutti" in the fall of 1955, but everything else he'd done -- and much of what others had recorded -- faded into insignificance when Richard wailed "A wop bop a loo mop a lomp bomp bomp" and kicked off one of the first great wailers in rock history. In retrospect, Little Richard's style doesn't seem so strikingly innovative as captured in 1956's Here's Little Richard -- his boogie-woogie piano stylings weren't all that different from what Fats Domino has been laying down since 1949, and his band pumped out the New Orleans backbeat that would define the Crescent City's R&B for the next two decades, albeit with precision and plenty of groove. But what set Richard apart was his willingness to ramp up the tempos and turn the outrage meter up to ten; "Tutti Frutti," "Rip It Up" and "Jenny Jenny" still sound outrageous a half-century after they were waxed, and it's difficult but intriguing to imagine how people must have reacted to Little Richard at a time when African-American performers were expected to be polite and the notion of a gay man venturing out of the closet simply didn't exist (Richard's songs were thoroughly heterosexual on the surface, but the nudge and wink of "Tutti Frutti" and "Baby" is faint but visible, and his bop threads, mile-high process and eye makeup clearly categorized him as someone "different"). These 12 tunes may not represent the alpha and omega of Little Richard's best music, but every song is a classic and unlike many of his peers, time has refused to render this first album quaint -- Richard's grainy scream remains one of the great sounds in rock & roll history, and the thunder of his piano and the frantic wail of the band is still the glorious call of a Friday night with pay in the pocket and trouble in mind. Brilliant stuff.

1 Tutti Frutti LaBostrie, Little Richard, Lubin
2 True Fine Mama Little Richard, Penniman
3 Can't Believe You Wanna Leave Price
4 Ready Teddy Blackwell, Marascalco
5 Baby Little Richard
6 Slippin' and Slidin' Bocage, Collins, Little Richard…
7 Long Tall Sally Blackwell, Johnson, Little Richard…
8 Miss Ann Johnson, Little Richard
9 Oh Why? Scott
10 Rip It Up Blackwell, Marascalco
11 Jenny, Jenny Johnson, Little Richard
12 She's Got It Little Richard, Marascalco

¡Aquí!

VA - 2002 - Hellfire: A Tribute To Tool

In the jazz world, tribute albums are inescapable. Every week, jazz artists are recording tributes to Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Cole Porter, or someone else they admire. But in rock, they aren't as plentiful -- for every Bob Dylan, Doors, or Rolling Stones tribute that gets recorded, there are a lot more Ellington or George Gershwin tributes coming from the jazz world. One of rock's more tribute-minded labels is Cleopatra, which has paid homage to countless rockers. As a rule, Cleopatra's tribute albums are interesting -- and this 2002 release (which finds 12 different artists providing Tool covers) is no exception. Even if A Tribute to Tool is mildly uneven; it has more ups than downs and offers a lot of intriguing takes on the headbangers' songs. The best covers are the ones that bring something new or different to a familiar song; operating on that premise, the artists on this CD acknowledge Tool on their own terms instead of slavishly emulating the band. While Tool's forte is alternative metal, A Tribute to Tool is full of industrial, darkwave, and goth rock interpretations of its songs. Not everything on the CD works, but most of the time, A Tribute to Tool hits its mark. Mists of Avalon successfully gives "Prison Sex" a goth makeover, while an industrial outlook works well for Translation Collapse on "Reflection," Beauty on "Disgustipated," and Razed in Black on "Part of Me." One of the best tracks is the Electric Hellfire Club's "Opiate" makeover; Hellfire's campy, over-the-top sense of fun is quite a contrast to Tool's artsy leanings. Do those with only a casual interest in Tool need to hear 12 Tool covers? Probably not. But Tool's hardcore fans will find this CD meaningful if they also have an appetite for industrial, darkwave, and goth rock.

1 Disgustipated Beauty 3:31
2 Reflection Fuchigami, Translation Collapse 4:44
3 Stinkfist Hyena 4:59
4 Part of Me Razed In Black 3:38
5 Intolerance Style 4:34
6 Die Eier von Satan Haujobb 4:49
7 4 Rosetta Stone 4:59
8 Ænema Collapse Into Reason 5:00
9 Hush Pistel 3:47
10 Opiate Electric Hellfire Club 4:38
11 Prison Sex Mists Of Avalon 4:38
12 Sober Butler, Enemies 4:43

¡Aquí!

martes, 7 de junio de 2011

Turner, Tina - 1984 - Private Dancer

In 1984, a 45-year-old Tina Turner made one of the most amazing comebacks in the history of American popular music. A few years earlier, it was hard to imagine the veteran soul/rock belter reinventing herself and returning to the top of the pop charts, but she did exactly that with the outstanding Private Dancer. And Turner did so without sacrificing her musical integrity. To be sure, this pop/rock/R&B pearl is decidedly slicker than such raw, earthy, hard-edged Ike & Tina classics as "Proud Mary," "Sexy Ida," and "I Wanna Take You Higher." But she still has a tough, throaty, passionate delivery that serves her beautifully on everything from the melancholy, reggae-influenced "What's Love Got to Do With It" to the gutsy "Better Be Good to Me" to heartfelt remakes of the Beatles' "Help," Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," and David Bowie's "1984." A reflection on the emptiness of a stripper's life, the dusky title song is as poignant as it is depressing. Without question, this was Turner's finest hour as a solo artist.

1 I Might Have Been Queen Hine, Obstoj, West-Oram 4:10
2 What's Love Got to Do with It Britten, Lyle 3:49
3 Show Some Respect Britten, Shifrin 3:18
4 I Can't Stand the Rain Bryant, Miller, Peebles 3:41
5 Private Dancer Knopfler 7:11
6 Let's Stay Together Green, Jackson, Mitchell 5:16
7 Better Be Good to Me Chapman, Chinn, Knight 5:10
8 Steel Claw Brady 3:48
9 Help! Lennon, McCartney 4:30
10 1984 Bowie 3:09

¡Aquí!

lunes, 6 de junio de 2011

Abuelo, Miguel - 1984 - Buen Día, Día

Unico disco solista editado en Argentina por Miguel Abuelo en 1984 en paralelo a la grabación del disco de Los Abuelos De La Nada "Himno De Mi Corazón".

De las diez canciones que componen el disco hay 2 temas que fueron grabados en 1978 en París Francia en el 'Manderly Studio' por el ingeniero Denis Coutard, ellas son: la reversión de "La Balsa" y "Va Silvestre Bajo El Sol".
De las ocho restantes que se grabaron en 1984 se destaca una reversión de su clásico "Mariposas De Madera".

Su anterior trabajo solista de 1973 "Miguel Abuelo et Nada" sólo fue editado en Francia y Bélgica dos años después de haberse grabado, es decir en 1975, bajo el sello de su productor francés Moshe Naim quien actualmente tiene los derechos de ése disco. Luego de la muerte de Miguel, se intentó en los años 90's hacer una publicación en argentina del disco de 1973, la cual no se concretó debido a los elevadísimos derechos que pretendía cobrar el Sr Naim por ceder los masters.

01. La Balsa
02. Pica Mi Caballo
03. La Mujer Barbuda
04. Americano Soy Del Sur
05. Apúrate Josefina
06. Verilí
07. Días De Kuberito Díaz
08. Va Silvestre Bajo El Sol
09. Mariposas De Madera
10. Buen Día, Día

¡Aquí!

domingo, 5 de junio de 2011

Hammill, Pater - 1997 - The Union Chapel Concert

A one-time event stemming from an offer to percussionist Guy Evans to do anything he wanted at the Union Chapel in London. An idea to collaborate with Peter Hammill on a variety of semi- improvisational material partly built on samples of Hammill's music soon expanded to incorporate more traditional performance ideas as well as connections to Evans' own colleagues in the Echo City troupe. By the time the planning stage was over, Hammill and Evans had decided to bring in members of Echo City, regular Hammill collaborator Stuart Gordon, drummer Manny Elias, and, to cap things off, longtime Van Der Graaf members Hugh Banton (who had retired to a life of organ-building) and David Jackson, who not only turned up with sax and flute in hand, but with his Soundbeam rig as well.

The resulting live album, spread over two discs, is an impressive document. It is certainly Evans' show all the way, with some of the best drumming Evans has ever captured on record, though Hammill gives a good account of himself -- as Evans says in his sleeve notes, Hammill instantly took up the gauntlet that Evans threw down. As a result, the album includes some of Hammill's best live playing, including a ferocious reading of "Accidents." For some, though, the highlight will most likely be the rousing, 15-minute performance of "Lemmings," which amounts to a Van Der Graaf Generator reunion. There is, however, far more to recommend this two-CD set. By far one of the most powerful Hammill showings to date.

Disc 1
1 Introduction
2 Fireworks
3 A Forest of Pronouns
4 Anatol's Proposal
5 After the Show
6 Roger and Out
7 Accidents
8 Four Kinds of Rice/Hello/Resolution
9 Women of Ireland
10 Ship of Fools

Disc 2
1 Hamburg Station
2 Seven Wonders
3 Adagio for Strings
4 Red Shift
5 Lemmings
6 Outroduction
7 Traintime

¡Aquí!

viernes, 3 de junio de 2011

New Year - 2001 - Newness Ends

When the Kadane brothers -- Matt and Bubba -- disbanded Bedhead, it was at the height of that band's creativity and excellence. Wherever they went, well-deserved critical acclaim seemed to follow, and for good reason: Their music was intricate, touching, and emotional to a degree few bands ever reach. Bedhead's final album, Transaction de Novo was particularly affecting. The New Year is led (and all its songs are written) by the Kadane brothers, who were apparently less taking a break from each other than from the project they had created. The New Year's debut album, Newness Ends, comes after the band had played only a handful of shows, and while it has obvious similarities to Bedhead, the reason for the name change is also apparent. The most blatant difference is the tempos on Newness Ends. Whereas Bedhead records rarely made it past a crawl, these new songs take a similar songwriting approach and hit the gas a bit. The first track, "Half a Day," announces the difference with a bouncing rhythm, something heretofore not seen by the Kadanes. The true test of Newness Ends' greatness, though, is whether it would stand on its own as a debut album by a group of unknowns, without having to live up -- or down -- to die-hard fans' expectations. Clearly it does, blending the brilliant writing and playing of these two slow rock pioneers' past an present. It's a step sideways into amazing, only partially discovered territory.

1 Half a Day Kadane, Kadane 3:56
2 Reconstruction Kadane, Kadane 3:21
3 Gasoline Kadane, Kadane 3:34
4 Great Expectations Kadane, Kadane 2:40
5 Simple Life Kadane, Kadane 3:29
6 One Plus One Minus One Equals One Kadane, Kadane 4:23
7 Alter Ego Kadane, Kadane 2:44
8 The Block That Doesn't Exist Kadane, Kadane 2:38
9 Carne Levare Kadane, Kadane 2:37
10 Newness Ends Kadane, Kadane 3:19

¡Aquí!

jueves, 2 de junio de 2011

VA - 2004 - Flowers Made Of Snow

1-1 Coph Nia – The Oath
Performer – Aldenon Satorial 4:19
1-2 Protagonist, The – The Sick Rose
Vocals – Jonathan Grieve 4:54
1-3 In Slaughter Natives – The Vulture
Performer – J. Havukainen* 4:55
1-4 Olen'k – Season Of Tears 3:25
1-5 All My Faith Lost ... – Sleep Now
Performer – Frederico*, Viola* 4:03
1-6 Last Hour, The – Into Empty Depth
Performer – Roberto Del Vecchio 4:01
1-7 Apatheia – Safehouse
Performer – L. Andersson* 3:24
1-8 Ataraxia – Incabala 3:31
1-9 Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio – Yesterday Brings But A Serpent Of Ash 5:01
1-10 Hesperos* – The Warm Whisper Of The Wind
Performer – Alessandra Santovito 4:08
1-11 Sibelian – The Sin Eater
Performer – Stephen Svanholm
Lyrics By – Bob Reeves 8:51
1-12 Sanctum – Lie Low
Performer – Håkan Paulsson, Jan Carleklev, Ulrika Carlsson* 4:27
2-1 Desiderii Marginis – Where I End And You Begin 4:48
2-2 raison d'être – Mouldering The Forlorn II
Performer – Peter Andersson 6:44
2-3 Atrium Carceri – Impaled Butterfly
Performer – Simon Heath 5:00
2-4 Mz.412 – In Hoc Signe Vinces
Performer – Drakhon, Nordvargr*, Ulvtharm* 6:53
2-5 Brighter Death Now – While You Sleep
Performer – Roger Karmanik 4:42
2-6 IRM – My Mother
Photography [Booklet] – H. Sternudd 6:28
2-7 Deutsch Nepal – Of Parasites And Disguises
Performer – Lina Baby Doll 7:11
2-8 Nacht – Death Posture
Performer – Tania Stene 3:55
2-9 Beyond Sensory Experience – The Trade 4:11
2-10 Sephiroth – Therasia
Performer – Ulf Söderberg 7:21
2-11 Skin Area – Choose Art... Not Life 6:01

¡Aquí!