2008-02-27

The Sound - In The Hothouse (1985)(1997 Reissue)



The reissue of The Sound's live album, originally issued in 1985; digitally remastered by Wally Brill in 1996. The Sound were tragically overlooked in their time and have remained unjustly neglected since. We can but hope that the re-issuing of most of their albums, plus the posthumous release of late frontman Adrian Borland's last solo work, will bring them into the light. In The Hothouse is an amazing live recording from The Marquee in August 1985. 15 stonking tracks show how versatile, intense and committed this band were. How does a quartet make such complex and layered music onstage? Layered rhythms, effects and counter-melodies from the keyboards, guitar solos and duets, fine vocals. "Winning" is harsh and insistent, "Skeletons" dark and jobsonic, "Prove Me Wrong" exuberantly cheerful and snappy, "Heartland" ragged and stirring, "Hothouse" almost bluesy and "Judgement" sketchy and a little lost. The best part of the album, by far, is the quartet of songs it ends with, "Red Paint", "Silent Air", "Sense of Purpose" and "Missiles". The band seem to relax on these, perhaps finally having dispelled the paranoid expectation that the crowd would all leave if they let any song go past three minutes. Borland's tenuous vocal control is pushed to its tolerance when the arrangements expose his singing, but that's a detail that gives these live versions a much-needed identity of their own. "Red Paint" is excitingly Comsat-Angels-ish, "Silent Air" is majestic, the bass runs on "Sense of Purpose" are electrifying, and "Missiles" is unapologetically epic.  
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"In The Hothouse" is a double live thriller from London's Marquee, with all the claustrophobic ambience of the club's packed space coming through on the recording. Live records this immediate sounding are hard to find. With the bulk of the material chosen from "Heads & Hearts" and "From The Lions Mouth", this is a superb introduction for the curious. "Thunder Up" is a middle ground between "All Fall Down's" emotional warfare and the later, more sensuous pop. Punching right in with one of their most exciting tracks, "Acceleration Group", the album is a rollercoaster ride through desolation ("Shot Up and Shut Down"), titillation ("Kinetic"), cynicism ("Prove Me Wrong") and profound beauty ("You've Got a Way"). Though the contrast can be jarring, unpredictability is a strength, and this is a bold up/down, hot/cold, built-up/knocked-down record most bands would not attempt. It was to be their last such uncompromising work; the group finally called it quits in early '88.   
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1. Winning
2. Under You
3. Total Recall
4. Skeletons
5. Prove Me Wrong
6. Wildest Dreams
7. Burning Part Of Me
8. Heartland
9. Hothouse
10. Judgement
11. Counting The Days
12. Red Paint
13. Silent Air
14. Sense Of Purpose
15. Missiles
16. Monument (bonus track)
17. Fire (bonus track)

Personnel:
Adrian Borland: Guitar, Vocals
Colvin "Max" Mayers: Keyboards, Guitar
Graham Bailey: Bass Guitars
Michael Dudley: Drums, Percussion

2008-02-19

VA - The Sunset Shadows Sessions (The Black Velvet Voices)



I jeszcze jeden składak tym razem z zakamarków tej mroczniejszej
części mojej szuflady - spokojne i nastrojowe kompozycje,
zapraszam na gothic session:

1 My Dying Bride - For my fallen angel
2 Deine Lakaien - A forest
3 Dreadful Shadows - Estrangement
4 Peter Murphy - A strange kind of love
5 Love Like Blood - Dear Catherine
6 Tiamat - A deeper kind of slumber
7 Sopor Aeternus - May i kiss your wound
8 Co2 - Black
9 Asylum - Desolation
10 Deine Lakaien - The game
11 Engelstaub - We die a martyr to god
12 Gossamer - Memoir
13 Him - Gone with the sin
14 Unheilig - Close your eyes
15 Moonspell - How we become fire
16 Mist of Avalon - A beatiful nightmare
17 Deine Lakaien - Return

2008-02-12

Iam Siam - She Went Pop (1984)



Była prośba o tę płytę od Margitki z Last.fm, poszukałem i udało się, tak więc zapraszam do zapoznania się z albumem.

W przypadku IAM SIAM trudno mówić o zespole, gdyż był to bardziej projekt studyjny powołany do życia przez muzyka Briana Rothschilda. Oprócz niego Iam Siam tworzyli: Stefan Vienna (Steven Wiener), David Sonenberg, Larry Fast. Wydali jeden LP i kilka singli.

Wokalnie udzielali się głównie zaproszeni goście, np. Rena Devere, którą możemy zobaczyć w video do singla 'She Went Pop', ciekawie wyreżyserowanym przez Zbigniewa Rybczyńskiego:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJouJJLbY3Q
- ironiczne spojrzenie na karierę artystów oraz kulturę pop lat 80tych, oglądamy gwiazdę, która jest prześladowana przez paparazzi czy też agentów w czarnych garniturach, nie kończy się to dobrze dla niej;
a tutaj drugi teledysk do singla 'Talk To Me':
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17sHHKQ7mCE
- piosenka, która muzycznie kojarzy się z Blancmange.

Iam Siam was not so much a band as a studio project. Mainly the brainchild of Stefan Vienna (Steven Weiner) who wrote most of the lyrics, Iam Siam also included songwriter Brian Rothschild, producer David Sonenberg and Larry Fast (of Synergy fame). Most of the songs on this overlooked 1985 album, She Went Pop, featured various female vocalists. Iam Siam was best known for their minor hits "Talk to Me (I Can Hear You Now)" and "She Went Pop" both which featured cutting edge videos shown on MTV back in the day.

More information:
http://waxtraxboy.home.mindspring.com/index.html







1 Prologue
2 In the Common Tongue
3 She Went Pop
4 Te Amore
5 I Am Siam
6 Talk to Me (I Can Hear You Now)
7 Stimulation
8 Running in Place
9 Step Into the Light
10 Reprise
11 Talk to Me (I Can Hear You Now) (single version)
12 Escape to Lamoria
13 She Went Pop (single version)
14 Talk to Me (I Can Hear You Now) (LP Version remix)
15 Talk to Me (I Can Hear You Now) (Ext. Dance mix)
16 Talk to Me (I Can Hear You Now) (Dub)