Emeralds - Live CD-R (2008)

A collection of 5 live sets spanning from 10/02/07 to 03/22/08. These shows were performed around the time of Solar Bridge so the material on here is of a very similar ilk. If you've never heard Emeralds before, this isn't a bad place to start. They are a group of upstanding youngins who can essentially do no wrong. They have successfully internalized the teachings of Cluster & Terry Riley and used their lessons to create works that stand head and shoulders above their peers.

Destroy All Monsters - Box (1974-76)

Who knows what exactly prompted it, but one of the most unlikely box sets/multi-disc collections ever put out surfaced in 1994 courtesy of a co-release between Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace! and Byron Coley's Father Yod label -- and even got distribution via Warner Bros. at that! Covering the years in question, 1974-76 is an exhaustive three-disc overview of Destroy All Monsters' little-known early days, when the original core quartet were doing music for themselves and nobody else and punk was an incipient scene no matter where one looked. Given that the Asheton years are the ones most people would know, it's thrilling to hear what was going on before he came along -- while the Stooges were an admitted influence on the band, it was merely one of many. Kelley assembled the package, providing the collage of band-created artwork and an informative history of the group, its ties to Ann Arbor, and the desire of the four to do something well beyond the surrounding milieu of post-hippie/frat row life in the town. Given that everything was recorded on cheap tape using often broken or run-down equipment, the sound is still quite good. The three discs clearly show that the band definitely had the same "try anything, screw the rules, and what is supposed to be quality" approach that fellow acts like Pere Ubu, Suicide, and Chrome were coming up with, only steering even further away from what rock was supposed to be. The inclusion of some free jazz guest performers from the area isn't surprising at all, squalling sax and other brass popping up here and there. With a rhythm box providing the percussion and everything from traditional guitars and bass to any number of appliances providing the other sounds, along with Niagara's alternately sassy and sweet singing and other odd spoken word bits, the end result is woozy weirdness of high quality. The occasional cover surfaces -- "Mack the Knife," "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" -- but otherwise it's all original, from the bad movie snippets to the drones and murky hooks throughout. Some of the Asheton tracks surface towards the end, and okay enough rock they are too, but it's the real band material that needs to be heard, and now finally can be, in spades.

Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Brian Eno & Nico - June 1, 1974

It isn't just that the four credited lead players are together, it's also that Robert Wyatt and (if one is excited by such a thing) Mike Oldfield are helping out as well. The whole result should have been a mind-blowing example of one moment of twisted brilliance after another, captured for the ages. And is it? Well, close enough. The week's rehearsal mentioned in the liner notes seems to have gotten everyone more or less on the same wavelength for the chosen songs, but Ayers, who was the headliner, just sounded too laid-back in the end to match the chilling brilliance of his guests, even with old Soft Machine mate Wyatt along for the ride. The first half of the album is the real winner as a result, not least for the sharp song choices. Eno's two selections are inspired; "Driving Me Backwards" gets even more freaked out than the studio version, turning into a lacerating death crawl thanks to Cale's violin, while "Baby's on Fire" in contrast almost turns friendlier at the end. Both Cale and Nico make strong marks with two of their most notable and notorious cover versions. The former's "Heartbreak Hotel" keeps much of the spaced-out paranoia familiar from the studio cut, just ominous enough. Meanwhile, Nico's take on "The End" easily equals her own studio take, the song creeping with dread and fear. Ayers' selections take up the remainder of the album and they're, well, nice. But after the earlier shadows and psychosis, there's a little too much guitar mellowness and bongwater lounge grooves in contrast, aside from a wonderful, dramatic take on "Two Goes into Four." His between-song asides are fun, though, while his voice is in fine shape, even if the French part on "May I?" just makes him sound like a dirty old man instead of Serge Gainsbourg.

Yo La Tengo - Big Day Coming (1993)

A single from Yo La Tengo's masterpiece "Painful" album. Side A is the rock version of "Big Day Coming" and side B is a stunning live rendition of "Double Dare" that is quite a bit different than the album version.

The Dead C. - Golden / Canine 12" (2008)

A super limited tour only 12" from The Dead C's short but sweet 2008 US tour. Two instrumental cuts that are quite a bit weirder and dronier than anything that has appeared on recent albums.

Steve Fisk - Over & Thru The Night (1995)

While 448 Deathless Days had been his formal solo vinyl debut, Fisk had released a series of cassettes via K and other labels throughout the '80s. Over and Thru the Night cherry-picks them for a fine sampling of his rougher beginnings, exhibiting all the fun and off-kilter sonics of his later work with slightly less crisp recording quality. The opening track, "I Wish I Were Dead," is a masterpiece in and of itself, a sampling of some old cartoon character weeping, sneezing, and crying out the title phrase, looped over and over with maudlin violin music playing along. It's simple enough yet utterly harrowing as well as goofy, as perfect a demonstration of Fisk's ear for sonic tweaking as one could want. From there the collection skips about without regard to chronology, though most of the tracks come from 1985 and 1986. Some feature side performers from Pell Mell, the Screaming Trees, and others, but mostly this is Fisk on his own, freaking out just so. Most of the songs utilize a random vocal snippet from a movie, broadcast, or other source at the core, sometimes looped (like the introductory voice on "One More Valley"), sometimes left to run along as the music groans, moans, and swirls around it. Evangelists and general ranters are recurring tropes -- even Ronald Reagan -- with the combination of their usual fervor and the music's often creepy moods making for gripping results. Hints of Fisk's varying musical obsessions crop up again and again -- motorik/Krautrock trance drums, dub's deep, slow crawl, slamming hip-hop breaks -- stewed into a weird, unsettling combination. One of his most hilarious moments is none other than the Beatles' "Taxman," sampling and looping the original recording while adding extra drones, slowed voices, and other effects -- it's one of the best remixes around.

-Ned Raget, All Music

Guided By Voices: The Classic Era 1992-1996

In celebration of the upcoming reunion of the classic line-up of Guided By Voices (Bob Pollard, Tobin Sprout, Mitch Mitchell, Kevin Fennell & Greg Demos) I have put together this two disc 60 track collection spanning the time period this line up will be covering during their reunion tour. To put it quite simply, I firmly believe that GBV's highly prolific output from 1992-1996 would stack up against the best years of any band in rock history. Charmingly lo-fi and with hooks galore, these 60 songs will serve as a reminder that one of the greatest bands of our time is about to take the stage again to rock our faces off.

Tracklisting:

Disc 1 (1992-1994):

1- Over The Neptune / Mesh Gear Fox
2- Weedking
3- The Quality of Armor
4- Unleashed! The Large Hearted Boy
5- 14 Cheerleader Coldfront (Live)
6- Wished I Was A Giant
7- Jar of Cardinals
8- Gleemer (The Deeds of Fertile Jim)
9- Wondering Boy Poet
10- My Impression Now
11- Dusted (EP Version)
12- Hey Aardvark
13- Johnny Appleseed
14- Dusty Bushworms
15- Spring Tiger
16- Ester's Day
17- Buzzards & Dreadful Crows
18- Tractor Rape Chain
19- The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory
20- Echoes Myron
21- Gold Star For Robot Boy
22- Smothered In Hugs
23- Peep-Hole
24- Kicker of Elves
25- Queen of Cans & Jars
26- Stabbing A Star
27- Do The Earth
28- Scissors
29- Planet's Own Brand
30- I Am A Scientist (Single Version)

Disc 2 (1995-1996):

1- A Salty Salute
2- Watch Me Jumpstart
3- Game of Pricks
4- As We Go Up, We Go Down
5- A Good Flying Bird
6- Motor Away
7- Hit
8- Blimps Go 90
9- Striped White Jets
10- My Son Cool
11- Always Crush Me
12- My Valuable Hunting Knife (Shernoff Version)
13- If We Wait
14- The Key Losers
15- The Worryin' Song
16- He's The Uncle
17- Why Did You Land?
18- The Official Ironman Rally Song
19- Redmen & Their Wives
20- Sheetkickers
21- Big Boring Wedding
22- Drag Days
23- To Remake The Young Flyer
24- Your Name Is Wild
25- Dodging Invisible Rays
26- Don't Stop Now
27- Office of Hearts
28- Look At Them (Live)
29- Cut-Out Witch (Live)
30- Drinker's Peace (Live)

The Stooges - 1970: The Complete Fun House Sessions

While fans of the Stooges are by their nature a hardy breed, this set is the ultimate litmus test to separate casual admirers from the truly obsessed: 1970: The Complete Fun House Sessions is a six-CD set that contains every single sound the Stooges committed to tape while making the album Fun House. False starts, mikes going haywire, bad jokes, Iggy Pop imitating a wrestler, Ron Asheton and Scott Asheton trying to play "Wipeout" -- it's all here, along with 30 (count 'em!) takes of "Loose" spread out over seven and three-quarter hours. While this is admittedly tough going for any but the most devoted Stooges fan, it's more a matter of bulk than a question of quality. The performances are remarkably consistent throughout, and while the multiple takes of each song get to be a bit much after a while, the songs do indeed grow and shift as they go along; the Stooges seem to have taken the approach that they knew how these songs would start and finish, but what happened in the middle was up for grabs. And it's obvious that the band knew what they wanted for this album; there are only two unreleased songs on deck, neither of which they spent much time on, and the between song patter is kept to a minimum. For a band that's often regarded as sloppy and incoherent, 1970: The Complete Fun House Sessions indicates that the Stooges were a lot more focused and methodical in the studio than anyone might have imagined; this set is fun and fascinating for those strong enough to wade through it.

- Mark Deming, All Music

Durutti Column - Live in Bruxelles 8/13/1981

Part of LTM's early-2008 reissue series of a slew of Durutti Column releases that had originally appeared on Crepuscule, Live in Bruxelles was the sole "new" release, though as the title indicates it's actually an archival tape seeing official light for the first time. Taken from a radio soundboard recording done for broadcast, the set is a mix of tracks from The Return of the Durutti Column, the then-unreleased LC, and various singles and one-offs, including the highly obscure, somewhat unsettling physicality-of-romance portrait "Stains (Useless Body)." Compared to the almost preternaturally clean atmospheres of the studio recordings at the time, Live in Bruxelles is rougher around the edges, not just simply because of the recording quality (fair but not pristine) and the mix, which often foregrounds Bruce Mitchell's drums. It's hearing those drums that gives the disc part of its impact, though -- having just recently begun to work with Vini Reilly, you get a sense that he's still testing out the feeling of the partnership to the full, and moments like the breakdown toward the end of "Sketch for Dawn" and the various mini-solos throughout "Jacqueline" show both what a remarkable drummer he is and how well he slotted in with Reilly's own muse. Reilly himself shines as expected; while his singing is much more direct and sharp given the mix, as can especially be heard on a stellar take on "The Missing Boy," as ever it's still a voice notable more for absence rather than presence, translating most of his feelings into his trademark fluid guitar runs and deceptively calm melodies. (There's one notable exception to this via some crazy soloing on "Self Portrait," which almost comes out of nowhere.) An enjoyable bonus appears at the end with the inclusion of an interview done just after the performance, where Reilly thoughtfully answers various, if sometimes muffled, questions about his work, including some thoughts on the balance between experimentalism and accessibility he found himself aiming for (which in many ways remains true through the present day), as well as a calmly stated but fierce denunciation of the venue's PA system he's just performed with.

-Ned Raggett, All Music

Yellow Swans - Going Places (2010)

Released after the duo formally called it a day, Yellow Swans' literal swan song found the two still exploring their way through often majestic drone -- if the roots of the band had always been as much in uncontrolled experimentation as in serene contemplation, here the two sides found a fine fusion. It's evident from the start with "Foiled," where a buried mantra of a melody is surrounded by cascades of feedback and rhythmic, quick-paced sonics that feel like being caught in the world's biggest washing machine. It sets the general tone for the rest of the album, as the contrast -- simple but devastatingly effective -- of scraggly aural squalor and a looming sense of near-romantic melancholy plays out. "Limited Space" takes a slightly different feeling, cutting back the deeper, booming bass levels and featuring a central chime that feels more like you're floating above a thunderstorm than caught in the middle of it, building up to a steady, percussive pulse like a god's heartbeat. The title track, meanwhile, provides a fitting conclusion to both album and band, an increasingly high-volume squall that feels like an endless rise up and out, concluding on one last guitar part screaming away into the heavens behind a last swirl of distorted echo. "Opt Out," the longest track featured, might be the pinnacle of how the chaotic noise gets more violent even as a lovely guitar part fights to be heard in the mix; it's a fine representation of the album as a whole.

-Ned Raggett, All Music