Anti-Flag - 1998 - Their System Doesn't Work For You

2000's Their System Doesn't Work for You resurrects the nine tracks from 1998's limited-edition EP, North America Sucks, and adds ten previously-unreleased, later-vintage tracks for good measure. The songs from the EP are prime Anti-Flag, political punk that never loses its sense of humor even when making its most important points. "Indie Sux, Hardline Sux, Emo Sux, You Suck!" decries the Balkanization of the D.I.Y. scene in the '90s to the album's catchiest chorus, while the title track and "Anti-Violent" take aim at the usual suspects. Unfortunately, with only a couple of exceptions, the later tracks sound like half-baked filler; indeed, the beyond-lo-fi sound suggests that they might be rough demos not originally intended to be heard outside the band, a supposition backed up by the lazy, sluggish performances, and meandering song structures. There are a few promising tracks among the dross, particularly "Betty Sue Is Dead," which makes incredibly effective use of an old-school punk-reggae middle section in the style of the Ruts, but overall, the second half of Their System Doesn't Work for You doesn't work for anybody.

1 I Can't Stand Being With You 2:05
2 Their System Doesn't Work for You 2:31
3 We've Got His Gun 2:25
4 Born to Die 2:05
5 The Truth 2:40
6 You'll Scream Tonight 5:15
7 Indie Sux, Hardline Sux, EmoSux, You Suck! 2:05
8 Anti-Violent 3:05
9 20 Years of Hell 2:32
10 I'm Having a Good Day 2:41
11 I Don't Want to Be Like You 3:30
12 Too Late 2:50
13 I Don't Need Anybody 3:49
14 Betty Sue Is Dead 3:14
15 If Not for You 3:16
16 Meet Your Master 3:57
17 We Won't Take No 2:34
18 Save Me 3:00
19 I'm Feeling Slightly Violent 3:29

¡Aquí!

VA - 1986 - Sounds From True Stories

This soundtrack to the Talking Heads film True Stories was the second release in a planned trilogy, the last of which -- the film's actors covering the Talking Heads songs from the album -- never surfaced. Fortunately, this second volume did, a selection of background music and non-David Byrne tunes written for the film. Of the Byrne-penned selections, only a few borrow from Heads songs, and the original compositions, perched somewhere between Penguin Cafe Orchestra and a general Americana feel, are pleasant. Meredith Monk's "Road Song" does Byrne one better in this department, and Carl Finch's incredibly silly "Mall Muzak" suite pokes cockeyed fun. The only proper songs here are Terry Allen's "Cocktail Desperado" and Steve Jordan's Tex-Mex "Soy de Texas," both romping good fun.

1 Cocktail Desperado
2 Road Song
3 Freeway Son
4 Brownie's Theme
5 Mall Muzak
6 Dinner Music
7 Disco Hits
8 City of Steel
9 Love Theme from "True Storeis"
10 Festa Para Um Rei Negro
11 Buster's Theme
12 Soy de Tejas
13 I Love Metal Buildings
14 Glass Operator

¡Aquí!

Komputer - 1997 - The World Of Tomorrow

Consciously retro in an electro-pop kind of way, The World of Tomorrow succeeds because the group doesn't try to sidestep their obvious debt to Kraftwerk. The analog synthesizers, vocoderized singing, and lockstep beats all point to the godfathers of techno, and Komputer does a good job of it. They even manage to push the envelope a bit farther, with commentary -- albeit superficial -- on tracks like "Bill Gates" and "More Automation." As a tribute LP, The World of Tomorrow is delicious fun; as a standalone work, however, it fails to add much to the Kraftwerk legacy.

1 The World of Tomorrow Komputer 4:11
2 More Automation Komputer 5:07
3 Bill Gates Komputer 4:26
4 Valentina Komputer 4:53
5 Looking Down on London Komputer 4:14
6 Terminus Interminus Komputer 7:40
7 Singapore Komputer 4:50
8 The Perfect Pop Band Komputer 4:09
9 Komputer Pop Komputer 5:17
10 Motopia Komputer 3:04
11 Valentina [Phobos Mix] Komputer 7:15
12 Valentina [Probe Mix] Komputer 6:03
13 Looking Down on London [Metroland Mix] Komputer 8:19

¡Aquí!

ABBA - 1981 - The Visitors

ABBA's final album was recorded during a period of major personal shakeups, principally in the decision by Benny Andersson and Frida to follow the same route to divorce that had already been taken by Björn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog. Both male members of the group would soon remarry, but at the time, despite all of these changes in their circumstances, The Visitors was never intended as ABBA's swan song -- they were to go on recording together. That may explain why, rather than a threadbare, thrown-together feel, The Visitors is a beautifully made, very sophisticated album, filled with serious but never downbeat songs, all beautifully sung and showing off some of the bold songwriting efforts. The title track is a topical song about Soviet dissidents that also manages to be very catchy, while "I Let the Music Speak" sounds like a Broadway number (and a very good one, at that) in search of a musical to be part of, and "When All Is Said and Done" is a serious, achingly beautiful ballad with a lot to say about their personal situations -- even "Two for the Price of One," a lighthearted song sung by Björn Ulvaeus about answering a personal advertisement, offered several catchy hooks and beautiful backup singing. "Like an Angel Passing Through My Room" ended the original album on a hauntingly ethereal note, but not as any kind of larger statement about the quartet's fate. The intention was to keep working together, but Andersson and Ulvaeus' growing involvement with their stage project, Chess, prevented any further work together by the group beyond three songs, "The Day Before You Came," "Cassandra," and "Under Attack" -- they're all present as bonus tracks on the 2001 remastered edition (in gatefold packaging), along with the orphaned B-side "Should I Laugh or Cry" from the same sessions as The Visitors, and only add to the appeal of the original album.

1 The Visitors Andersson, Ulvaeus 5:45
2 Head Over Heels Andersson, Ulvaeus 3:46
3 When All Is Said and Done Andersson, Ulvaeus 3:17
4 Soldiers Andersson, Ulvaeus 4:37
5 I Let the Music Speak Andersson, Ulvaeus 5:18
6 One of Us Andersson, Faltskog, Lyngstad… 3:54
7 Two for the Price of One Andersson, Ulvaeus 3:35
8 Slipping Through My Fingers Andersson, Ulvaeus 4:02
9 Like an Angel Passing Through My Room Andersson, Ulvaeus 3:34

¡Aquí!

Joy Division - 1979 - Unknown Pleasures

It even looks like something classic, beyond its time or place of origin even as it was a clear product of both — one of Peter Saville's earliest and best designs, a transcription of a signal showing a star going nova, on a black embossed sleeve. If that were all Unknown Pleasures was, it wouldn't be discussed so much, but the ten songs inside, quite simply, are stone-cold landmarks, the whole album a monument to passion, energy, and cathartic despair. The quantum leap from the earliest thrashy singles to Unknown Pleasures can be heard through every note, with Martin Hannett's deservedly famous production — emphasizing space in the most revelatory way since the dawn of dub — as much a hallmark as the music itself. Songs fade in behind furtive noises of motion and activity, glass breaks with the force and clarity of doom, minimal keyboard lines add to an air of looming disaster — something, somehow, seems to wait or lurk beyond the edge of hearing. But even though this is Hannett's album as much as anyone's, the songs and performances are the true key. Bernard Sumner redefined heavy metal sludge as chilling feedback fear and explosive energy, Peter Hook's instantly recognizable bass work at once warm and forbidding, Stephen Morris' drumming smacking through the speakers above all else. Ian Curtis synthesizes and purifies every last impulse, his voice shot through with the desire first and foremost to connect, only connect — as "Candidate" plaintively states, "I tried to get to you/You treat me like this." Pick any song: the nervous death dance of "She's Lost Control"; the harrowing call for release "New Dawn Fades," all four members in perfect sync; the romance in hell of "Shadowplay"; "Insight" and its nervous drive toward some sort of apocalypse. All visceral, all emotional, all theatrical, all perfect — one of the best albums ever.

		1		Disorder	Curtis, Hook, Morris, Sumner	3:36
		2		Day of the Lords	Curtis, Hook, Morris, Sumner	4:43
		3		Candidate	Curtis, Hook, Morris, Sumner	3:00
		4		Insight	Curtis, Hook, Morris, Sumner	4:00
		5		New Dawn Fades	Curtis, Hook, Morris, Sumner	4:47
		6		She's Lost Control	Curtis, Hook, Morris, Sumner	3:40
		7		Shadowplay	Curtis, Hook, Morris, Sumner	3:50
		8		Wilderness	Curtis, Hook, Morris, Sumner	2:35
		9		Interzone	Curtis, Hook, Morris, Sumner	2:10
		10		I Remember Nothing	Curtis, Hook, Morris, Sumner	6:00

¡Aquí!

Flamin' Groovies - 1976 - Shake Some Action

A lot had happened with the Flamin' Groovies in the nearly five years that separated the epochal Teenage Head album and their return to American record racks with Shake Some Action. The Groovies lost their record deal with Buddah, lead singer Roy Loney had quit the band leaving Cyril Jordan as uncontested leader, and they had spent a lot of time in Europe, building a significant following in the United Kingdom. As a result, the Flamin' Groovies on Shake Some Action almost sound like a different band, albeit one driven by a similar obsession with the utter coolness of pre-hippie rock & roll. (The fact that Jordan and bassist George Alexander were the only holdovers from the Teenage Head lineup probably had a lot to do with the different approach as well.) The rawer blues and rockabilly accents were gone from the Groovies' sound, with the guitar-fueled cool of the British Invasion era taking their place. While this version of the Flamin' Groovies didn't rock out with the same manic fervor as they did on Flamingo or Teenage Head, they could indeed rock when they felt so inclined, as demonstrated by the glorious "Please Please Girl," "I Can't Hide," and "Let the Boy Rock and Roll," while the Brit-flavored take on "St. Louis Blues" showed that some shades of the old band were still visible. And the title cut was a stunner -- a brilliant evocation of the adventurous side of British rock circa 1966, "Shake Some Action" was tough, moody, wounded, and gloriously melodic all at once, and by its lonesome served as a superb justification for the Groovies' new creative direction. If Shake Some Action was the first salvo from the new and improved Flamin' Groovies, it also demonstrated that this edition of the band had as much promise as the Loney-fronted group.

		1		Shake Some Action	Jordan, Wilson	4:34
		2		Sometimes		2:21
		3		Yes, It's True	Jordan, Wilson	2:29
		4		St. Louis Blues	Handy	2:39
		5		You Tore Me Down	Jordan, Wilson	2:49
		6		Please Please Girl	Jordan, Wilson	2:03
		7		Let the Boy Rock and Roll		2:18
		8		Don't You Lie to Me	Berry	2:27
		9		She Said Yeah		1:38
		10		I'll Cry Alone	Jordan, Wilson	2:15
		11		Misery	Lennon, McCartney	1:39
		12		I Saw Her	Hunter, Jordan	2:41
		13		Teenage Confidential	Jordan, Wilson	2:45
		14		I Can't Hide	Jordan, Wilson	3:12

¡Aquí!