Jade Warrior - Last Autumn's Dream (1972 British Folk-Psych)

Jade Warrior never scored a hit single and it seems bizarre to think that anyone ever dreamed it could. Buried away on side two of its third album, however, "The Demon Trucker" not only has unexpected smash written all over it, but the words were large enough that the band's U.K. label Vertigo clearly felt the same way. One must sincerely regret there never came a day when a nation's pop kids were ordered to "throw their hands up to the ceiling, get out on the floor and stamp your feet with feeling." Or maybe they were, but only when Slade told them to. Coming from a band better-known for weird flute solos and complicated time signatures, the demand was possibly less compulsive. It's still a great song, though, one of the finest rock & rolling dance numbers of the age and, if the remainder of Last Autumn's Dream doesn't quite match those same pounding, resounding peaks, that's only because the band was busy elsewhere, piecing together some of the best-realized songs (as opposed to moods, scapes, and symphonies) of its career. By that token, then, Last Autumn's Dream takes a lot more getting used to than longtime fans might have expected; the funkily pretty "May Queen," the proto-Eno-esque "Borne on the Solar Wind," and the freaked guitar rage of "The Snake" all emerge out of nowhere to slice away at preconceptions, while even the "typical" numbers have atypical moments. For anybody just discovering Jade Warrior, Last Autumn's Dream is certainly the last of its truly essential albums; subsequent releases for the Island label have their moments, but they grow scarcer as time elapses. For anyone schooled in the delights of the first two LPs alone, however, there are things in here you might never forgive, like "The Demon Trucker."

01. Winter's Tale
02. Snake
03. Dark River
04. Joanne
05. Obedience
06. Morning Hymn
07. May Queen
08. Demon Trucker
09. Lady of the Lake
10. Borne on to the Solar Wind

AMG Review by Dave Thompson

Cure - Faith (Great Goth-Rock 1981)

Certainly not the "darkest" the Cure would eventually get, Faith is, as represented by the cover art, one of the most "gray" records out there. Melancholy and despondent (the feel of funerals and old churches just oozes from this record) without the anger that would over take Pornography, Faith comes off as not just a collection of songs, but as a full piece. "The Holy Hour," "All Cats Are Grey," and the spectacular "Faith" are slow atmospheric pieces that take the softer elements from Seventeen Seconds, and — when sidled up next to faster tracks like the single "Primary" and "Doubt" — paint an overall picture of the ups and downs contained within a greater depressive period. But it's not all gloomy keyboards and minimalist percussion, Faith is also a milestone for Robert Smith lyrically, branching out into questions of faith and spirituality he never quite touched on so well ever again. A depressing record, certainly, but also one of the most underrated and beautiful albums the Cure put together. They would not touch on this sort of lush sadness so well again until 1989's Disintegration.

AMG Review by Chris True

Can - Soundtracks (Kraut-Rock 1970)

Soundtracks is a soundtrack album by the Krautrock group Can. It was first released in 1970 and consists of tracks written for various films. The album marks the departure of the band's original vocalist Malcolm Mooney, who sings on two tracks, to be replaced by new member Damo Suzuki. Stylistically, the record also documents the transition from the psychedelia-inspired jams of their first recordings (i.e., Monster Movie and Delay 1968) to the more meditative, electronic, and experimental mode of the studio albums that followed (such as Tago Mago and Ege Bamyasi).

Malcolm Mooney passes the baton to Damo Suzuki for Soundtracks, a collection of film music featuring contributions from both vocalists. The dichotomy between the two singers is readily apparent: Suzuki's odd, strangulated vocals fit far more comfortably into the group's increasingly intricate and subtle sound, allowing for greater variation than that allowed by Mooney's stream-of-consciousness discourse.

01."Deadlock" - 3:27 (from the film Deadlock, 1970, dir. Roland Klick)
02."Tango Whiskyman" - 4:04 (from the film Deadlock, 1970, dir. Roland Klick)
03."Deadlock (Titelmusik)" - 1:40 (from the film Deadlock, 1970, dir. Roland Klick)
04."Don't Turn the Light On, Leave Me Alone" - 3:42 (from the film Cream)
05."Soul Desert" - 3:48 (from the film Madchen... nur mit Gewalt, 1970, dir. Roger Fritz. Cited on album sleeve as "Madchen mit Gewalt")
06."Mother Sky" - 14:31 (from the film Deep End, 1971, dir. Jerzy Skolimowski)
07."She Brings the Rain" - 4:04 (from the film Bottom - Ein grofler graublauer Vogel 1971, dir. Thomas Schamoni)

Post by ChrisGoesRock

Danielle Dax - Jesus Egg That Wept (1983 Indie Rock)

Dax's second LP, Jesus Egg That Wept, takes its name from a headline in a supermarket tabloid. Here you'll find enough peculiar characters -- from psychotic star-crossed lovers to slave-holding bible thumpers -- to fill up an issue of The Weekly World News. Perhaps her best song to date, "Evil Honky Stomp" combines a looped sample from an old honky tonk number ("Jukebox Boogie") and some bad-to-the-bone guitar buzz for a tale of bigotry and religious hypocrisy. As always, Dax's most potent weapons are her vocals, which sound at points like Kate Bush's sardonic sister, while at other instances they approach near-Elvis impersonation. Karl Blake, Dax's former Lemon Kittens mate, lends a hand on one track. As on Pop-Eyes, the arrangements are spare but effective, with most songs recorded on a Teac 4-track.

AMG Review by Michael Jourdan

H.P. Lovecraft - First & Second (1967-1968 Great Psychedelia with Chicago origin)

Often considered as folk rock this Chicago-origined group is most surely one of the prime examples of intelligent and adventurous psychedelic rock (as opposed to the more conventional Garage rock groups discussed in the Nuggets box-sets compilations) and shows that late 60's in new world were also a fertile ground for progressive psych rock. Comparable groups of the era would be JEFFERSON AIRPLANE, SPIRIT and LOVE.

Folkie guitarist-singer George Edwards had recorded a few folk tracks, before playing with jazzman Will Mercier, where Edwards met KB man Dave Michaels, before heading back to his next solo single which will become the first HP LOVECRAFT recording - they took the name from their collective love of the writer's oeuvre to which they asked his estate for permission to use the name. Guitarist Cavalleri, bassist McGeorge and drummer Tegsa completed the line-up. Their first album is a mostly-covers (albeit completely rearranged) album that can be compared to a much more subtle VANILLA FUDGE album.

They relocated to the San Francisco region following a few high-profile shows at the Fillmore West opening for PROCOL HARUM, DONOVAN, PINK FLOYD, TRAFFIC as well as all the local San Fran Flower Power groups and were on the brink of wide success. Around this time HP Lovecraft was at its peak touring almost constantly and a stupendous show was recoded on May 11, 1968, (but not released before 91), showing just how great and progressive they were.

Their second album had everything to achieve that goal (including a change of bassist) but they seemed to lack confidence in their own songwriting skills (it is formidably underrated) and again concentrated on covers. The album is incredibly strong and still nowadays quite impressive. However, just after its release, KB man Michaels will leave (exhaustion and loos of musical direction) prompting the group to implode soon after, causing the label to pull its promotional effort.

They tried to reform early 70, but failed (even as they had found anew record deal), but this effort prompted a group with no link to the original line-up (except for drummer Tegza) to record an album as LOVECRAFT (but bearing no resemblance to the first album) and a second album in 75, this time a funky affair. Most of the original members still dabble in music nowadays, around the Chicago area with Edwards and Michaels still playing together in folk circuits.

http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=2273

Eyeless in Gaza - Rust Red September (1983 Superb Alternative Rock - coinsiding the autumn mood after summer vacation!)

Officially the band's fifth full vinyl release, Rust Red September finds the group further moving away from the brusquer hooks of its earliest days to a calmer reflectiveness. If anything, the duo also achieved a light, airy pop feeling with this album, slotting it alongside more successful sounds from the U.K. in the mid-'80s without actually breaking through or, on a happier thought, pandering to achieve such success. This newer approach comes courtesy of Bates' singing voice, here sweetly overdubbed at many points with butter-melting-in-mouth effect -- indeed, such is the purity he reaches here it almost sounds like he should be in a Scandinavian jangle pop act! "New Risen," the single from the album, balances both a catchy melody and a curious, unexpected keyboard/rhythm arrangement -- the closest parallel might be to the similarly not-quite-straightforward work of the Associates, if on a generally calmer level. The elegant arrangements he and Becker create truly, completely shimmer with a strange, sparkling power, light without ever sounding either airily new age or anything remote easy listening. Consider Bates' simple but effective electric guitar work on "Pearl and Pale," which had to have been an influence on any number of later acts on the Projekt record label, heartbreaking chimes, and atmospherics while avoiding simply turning on the effects pedals. Becker's abilities with rhythm work serve the duo quite well -- what initially seems like an intriguing-enough off-time drum pattern on "Leaves Are Dancing" takes a further subtle turn with the introduction of another percussion line on the chorus, steering away from 4/4 into differing realms. His many other understated touches throughout -- the accordion wails on "No Perfect Stranger," the beautiful synth backing on "Bright Play of Eyes" -- help further the beauty of this striking album. The CD reissue of Rust Red September contains some excellent bonuses for the appreciative fan. Three, "To Steven," "Sun-Like-Gold," and "To Elizabeth S.," originally from the Myths. Instructions. I compilation on Sub Rosa, are rougher, murkier instrumentals with an appropriately shady appeal. The remaining three are the B-sides from the Sun Bursts In EP that followed the album, resulting in a near comprehensive picture of the band's work at that time.

AMG Review by Ned Raggett

Have a nice summer vacation (preferably on a Greek island!!!)

Hurry up! The beaches (and other places too) are beautiful, safe and not that expensive, if you know how to move around.

The pictures are not mine, were found somewhere in the net. The owner please let me know.

Everything you see is from Elafonissos, Southern Greece and I tell you honestly, the colour of the sea is what you see. See you in a couple of weeks!

Phantom - Phantom's Divine Comedy part 1 (Great album 1974)

How do you rate an album like this? On originality, it gets about a zero, but as a hint at what another Doors album could have sounded like, it gets a nine out of nine -- "Tales From a Wizard" aping the group at its most pretentious, and "Devil's Child" as a parody of numbers like "Love Me Two Times." Other titles, like "Spiders Will Dance (On Your Face While You Sleep)" (which opens up seemingly bent on parodying "Alabama Song") and "Stand Beside My Fire" are equally self-explanatory. Actually, it's hard to imagine Morrison, Manzarek, Krieger, and Densmore coming out with something quite this unimaginative -- they always added something new to each album -- unless they were producing themselves and Morrison was really wasted. But the album is a good imitation of what the Doors' music sounded like if you weren't listening too closely to it on the radio. At the time, it fulfilled a need for some listeners, and it was an early indicator of just how large Jim Morrison loomed in the back of some listeners' consciousnesses, long before Oliver Stone ever got near a movie camera. The sound is decent but unexceptional, not that this is a big consideration on this sort of album. There never was a Part 2, incidentally, or at least not one that saw the light of day, but this record did point the way toward careers for Doors tribute bands like Crystal Ship, L.A. Woman, and Soft Parade.

AMG Review by Bruce Eder

Iggy Pop - New Values (1979 Superb Classic Album)

From the time the Stooges first broke onto the music scene in 1967, Iggy Pop was rock's most remarkable one-man freak show, but by the mid-'70s, after the Stooges' messy collapse, Iggy found himself in need of a stable career. The rise of punk rock finally created a context in which Iggy's crash-and-burn theatrics seemed like inspired performance rather than some sort of cry for help, and in 1979, with everyone who was anyone name-checking Iggy as punk's Founding Father, he scored a deal with Arista Records, and New Values became his first recording since the new rock gained a foothold. These days, New Values sounds like Iggy Pop's new wave album; while former Stooges associates James Williamson and Scott Thurston worked on the album, the arrangements were dotted with synthesizer patches and electronic percussion accents that have not stood the test of time well at all, and the mix speaks of a more polite approach than the raw, raging rock of Iggy's best work. But the growth as a songwriter that David Bowie encouraged in Iggy on The Idiot and Lust for Life is very much in evidence here; "Tell Me a Story," "Billy Is a Runaway," and "How Do Ya Fix a Broken Part" are tough, unblinking meditations on Iggy's war with the persona he created for himself, and "I'm Bored" and "Five Foot One" proved rock's first great minimalist still had some worthy metaphors up his sleeve. If New Values wasn't a great Iggy Pop album, it was a very good one, and proved that he had a future without David Bowie's guidance, something that didn't seem so certain at the time.

AMG Review by Mark Deming

Iggy Pop - Lust For Life (1977 Superb Classic Album)

On The Idiot, Iggy Pop looked deep inside himself, trying to figure out how his life and his art had gone wrong in the past. But on Lust for Life, released less than a year later, Iggy decided it was time to kick up his heels, as he traded in the mid-tempo introspection of his first album and began rocking hard again. Musically, Lust for Life is a more aggressive set than The Idiot, largely thanks to drummer Hunt Sales and his bassist brother Tony Sales. The Sales' proved they were a world class rhythm section, laying out power and spirit on the rollicking title cut, the tough groove of "Tonight," and the lean neo-punk assault of "Neighborhood Threat," and with guitarists Ricky Gardner and Carlos Alomar at their side, they made for a tough, wiry rock & roll band -- a far cry from the primal stomp of the Stooges, but capable of kicking Iggy back into high gear. (David Bowie played piano and produced, as he had on The Idiot, but his presence is less clearly felt on this album.) As a lyricist and vocalist, Iggy Pop rose to the challenge of the material; if he was still obsessed with drugs ("Tonight"), decadence ("The Passenger"), and bad decisions ("Some Weird Sin"), the title cut suggested he could avoid a few of the temptations that crossed his path, and songs like "Success" displayed a cocky joy that confirmed Iggy was back at full strength. On Lust for Life, Iggy Pop managed to channel the aggressive power of his work with the Stooges with the intelligence and perception of The Idiot, and the result was the best of both worlds; smart, funny, edgy, and hard-rocking, Lust for Life is the best album of Iggy Pop's solo career.

AMG Review by Mark Deming