A musical excursion through psychedelia,hip hop,country and jazz,in a compact slice of sample rich mayhem,uses Them "I Can Only Give You Everything" as its pivotal riff along side typically obscure Beck lyrics and Stooges drumming,these shambolic ingredients cook a juicy mean groove.
This entry and the one before it come from a compilation called pop-shopping - juicy music from german commercials 1960-1975, and I can only imagine seeing these with their original car commmercials. This music is fast, stylish, and vintage.
from pop-shopping - juicy music from german commercials 1960-1975
Not since the mid-eighties have Heaven 17 nailed a song so beautifully. "Let Me Go" eschews icy synthetic, new wave romance gone wrong. "Dive" updates it for a newer generation. Beautiful music and a sound which makes you wonder where the hell they've been hiding for umpteen years. Sadly, heaven 17 disappeared again after 1996 and have yet to resurface... The album "Bigger Than America" I consider to be their best.
One of the far too few originals on this great underrated LP.The duo has a familiar west coast pop-jazz sound,much like their labelmates Bud Shank & Joe Pass.Except where as those two have way too much generally lackluster output,this duo has tons of talent packed into one exciting session! Ken plays an icy alto & soprano not unlike Paul Desmond and Beverly sings with all the grace and soul of ladies like Lena Horne and Dinah Shore. In this track, one of the most energetic on the LP,the group swings in a brisk 5/4,with Ken blowing a soulful line and alternating into creshendos with Beverly paralelling in a sassy vocalese. Wonderfully breezy,and just the kind of peppy bossa-like lounge tune you'll listen to over & over & over...They also do great versions of"A Man & A Woman"(with Ken adding some tasteful vocals himself)and "Eleanor Rigby"! A tough record to find, and no compiled tracks are anywhere to be found.... sad.
This is the first song I heard by Lene Lovich and I imidietly fell in love. Probably one of the coolest new wave-tracks from that time. Very fast and groovy beat. Lene's voice is icy and deep and really on top. A great song from a great album
from Stateless (Stiff) available on CD - The Stiff years vol. 1
The Kings of electro-funk strike again! This has got to be thier funkiest song. Weird synths battle against funky beats and moog style bass. Was there ever a better tasting jam? Pretty much undescribable, but fantastic. Simply fantastic.
The pinnacle of soft pop! And I can't imagine it not being followed up by "kinda wasted without you"! Twin peaks! Vinyl buffs are at a disadvantage there, you have to get up quickly for the side change to experience the epiphany, and deal with the "pops-and-crackles" chiaschuro instead of "sterile" atomic clock mastering. Also included, my favorite version of the Lovin' Spoonful's "Cocoanut Grove", even better than the one by David Lee Roth! Well, I probably lost a few of you on that one. Roger Nichols went on to later fame and fortune as Paul Williams' songwriting partner on several smash singles, mostly by the wrongly-maligned Carpenters. After that, engineering on all of the Steely Dan albums. Not too many superstar engineers, but on those albums, it was notable. Fagen'n'Becker dubbed him Roger "the Immortal" Nichols on some liner notes. Now he has a byline in some stereo mag, or so I am told.
from Roger Nichols and the Small Circle of Friends, available on CD
gregcaz: Roger Nichols/pop genius and Roger Nichols/Steely Dan engineer are actually two different people. When Steely Dan toured Japan, people kept asking him to sign their "Small Circle" CDs! So funny! klatu: How embarrassing to be the spreader of internet misinformation! I've heard that from several places. It seemed so plausible, with the Ted Templeman Harper's Bizarre/Van Halen connection. Or is that two Ted Templemans? Thanks for the correction. So it's probably the Steely Dan guy who writes the article? I'll have to check that out.
Another shock modern recommendation! San Serac's second album, 'Ice Age', came out earlier in the year, and I had the pleasure of touring with the band. I got to be a big fan of several of their songs, but I think this one is the best. The singer describes the lyrical content as 'paranoid bullshit', but I find it quite compelling.
Musically, this is very percussive electronic music with a very fresh sounding 80s influence. It's atmospheric and relentlessly beaty. More info is available at http://www.frogmanjake.com/iceageinfo.html.
pure bubblegum psychedelic soft pop, with lyrics about sucking on "lollipops". the most familiar version of this song is probably the one written for france gall, but i prefer the version where serge himself (in a great faux-na�ve manner)provides the vocals. the sugary strings of the original(?) are replaced by a great subdued wah wah guitar and organ backing on this version, and a lot of little touches wich help make the song a bit more bizarre and playful than the other version. nice for sunny picnics and bicycle rides in the countryside, eh?
it's strange how people change. this group was led by steve howe, yes, the man from yes (a horrible group!). the song 'my white bicycle' �s a cover version. psychedelic trip!
from the single my white bicycle (parlophone) available on CD - nuggets ii (rhino)
stushea: Yeah, this is a great one. Not only is it trippy and funny, but very aggressive and intense in its own way.