Posted in Folk-Rock on May 26th, 2008 No Comments »
Thirty years have now passed since Nick Drake’s death. Its impossible to keep count of the contemporary artists who cite Drake as an inspiration, but a cursory round-up includes R.E.M., Paul Weller, Travis, Portishead, The Coral, Coldplay, David Gray, Super Furry Animals and Beth Orton. Along with household names of his creative lifetime the Stones, The Beatles, Marley, Hendrix his albums have become an unofficial set text for anyone passionate about music.
Thoughts Of Mary Jane (alternate take)
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Posted in Grunge on May 26th, 2008 No Comments »
Prior to Nirvana, alternative music was consigned to specialty sections of record stores, and major labels considered it to be, at the very most, a tax write-off. After the band’s second album, 1991’s Nevermind and , nothing was ever quite the same, for better and for worse. Nirvana popularized punk, post-punk, and indie rock, unintentionally bringing it into the American mainstream like no other band to date.
Polly (Live in Chicago, 12 Oct 1991)
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Posted in Neo-psychedelia on May 26th, 2008 No Comments »
Having recorded a fistful of critically acclaimed — and increasingly successful — albums with neo-psychedelic pioneers Comets On Fire, frontman Ethan Miller lit out for fresh musical territories, located somewhere between the Santa Cruz, CA-based band’s familiar sonic maelstrom and a more organic, melodic, groove-oriented rock that hearkened back to his halcyon daze growing up on California’s “Lost Coast” (Humboldt County), home of lumberjacks, college students, unreconstructed hippies, and off-the-grid botanists.
Dancers At The End Of Time (HearYa Live Session, April 2008)
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In January of 1969, The Beatles got together with director Michael Lindsay-Hogg to film the rehearsals for the bands first live concert in 3 years. They recorded the sessions both as audio and video - planning a TV documentary, then later, an album. Fighting within the group led to most of the plan being scrapped. However the footage from this rehearsals was released the following year instead as a feature film: Let It Be.
Across the Universe (Let it Be Sessions, January 1969)
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Posted in Folk-Rock on May 26th, 2008 No Comments »
David Hemmings (November 18, 1941 – December 3, 2003) was an English movie actor and director, whose most famous role was the photographer in Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blowup in 1966 (opposite Vanessa Redgrave), one of the films that best represented the spirit of the 1960s. In 1967 Hemmings recorded a pop single (”Back Street Mirror”, written by Gene Clark) and an album, David Hemmings Happens, in Los Angeles. The album featured instrumental backing by several members of the Byrds.
Bell Birds [2:30]
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Posted in 60's Psychedelia on May 26th, 2008 No Comments »
The Outsiders (from Amsterdam, Holland) could issue a serious claim for consideration as the finest rock band of the ’60s to hail from a non-English-speaking nation. The group was quite comparable to England’s Pretty Things in their fine raw, punky R&B/pop with basic but riveting hooks. The Outsiders made similar psychedelic/progressive ventures in the late ’60s that cut loose from their R&B roots without losing sight of them entirely.
Prison Song [5:38]
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This Heat are widely considered a missing link between progressive rock (especially krautrock) and such later experimental genres as post-punk, post-rock, and noise rock. Deceit is now seen as a classic of the post-punk era comparable in quality and invention with Closer, Chairs Missing or Metal Box. This Heat split up in 1982 after completing their final European tour.
S.P.Q.R ( Netherlands, Live 1980 & 1981) [3:04]
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Posted in Art Rock on May 25th, 2008 No Comments »
“See Emily Play” was the second single recorded by British psychedelic rock group Pink Floyd. It was written by original frontman Syd Barrett and recorded on May 23, 1967. The single featured “Scarecrow” as its B-side. It later appeared on the compilations Relics (1971), Works (1983), Shine On (1992), Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd (2001) and The Piper at the Gates of Dawn 40th Anniversary Edition (2007).
See Emily Play [2:52]
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Posted in Prog-Rock on May 25th, 2008 No Comments »
Formed at the dawn of the progressive rock era in 1969, Gentle Giant seemed poised for a time in the mid-’70s to break out of its cult-band status, but somehow never made the jump. Somewhat closer in spirit to Yes and King Crimson than to Emerson, Lake & Palmer or the Nice, their unique sound melded hard rock and classical music, with an almost medieval approach to singing.
Cogs in Cogs (Stockholm 12 Nov 1975) [3:19]
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Posted in Prog-Rock on May 24th, 2008 No Comments »
Porcupine Tree is unquestionably one of the most difficult-to-categorize and innovative bands working today. The music is breathtaking, ranging from psychedelic trip-hop to progressive metal, and a compendium of other sounds and genres in between.
Fear of a Blank Planet, the band’s most ambitious and cohesive work to date, is already the band’s most critically acclaimed and commercially successful album of the band’s career.
Anesthetize (Ilosaarirock Festival, 14 July 2007)
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Posted in New Wave on May 24th, 2008 No Comments »
Tears for Fears were always more ambitious than the average synth pop group. From the beginning, the duo of Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith were tackling big subjects. On Elemental, Tears for Fears is Roland Orzabal, and he backs away from the cinematic production of The Seeds of Love, preferring a more direct and soulful style of pop music that appeals to both adult contemporary and adult alternative radio audiences.
Break It Down Again (acoustic)
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Probably demos recorded shortly prior to the sessions for All Things Must Pass, this is Harrison playing solo, unaccompanied by anything but his voices and guitar, sometimes electric, but usually acoustic. The fidelity is absolutely marvelous, at the point of the top of the pyramid for an unreleased recording.
Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
Run Of The Mill (Beware of ABKCO!)
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Posted in Indie Rock on May 24th, 2008 No Comments »
Grizzly Bear do not skimp. They’re remarkable not just for their attention to detail but for their concern for how a song feels: flush with heart and melancholy, their music is seductive and intimate, deep with hazy-eyed choruses, whistles, piano and banjo. This is experimental mood music with love for classics and standards.
He Hit Me (Daytrotter Sessions)
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Posted in 60's Psychedelia on May 24th, 2008 No Comments »
H.P. Lovecraft was a psychedelic band that employed baroque arrangements (flute, clarinet, harpsichord). George Edwards (Charles Ethan Kenning) had been merely a folksinger (a disciple of Fred Neil), but he teamed up with keyboardist Dave Michaels (Miotke), who boasted a classical training. H.P. Lovecraft (1967) contains their “acid” anthem, White Ship.
At the Mountains of Madness (Live 11 May 1968) [4:33]
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