Dub Be Good To Blog

December 14th, 2011

I think I’m starting to run out of barely-known acts from the 80s and 90s to write about. I’ve gone pretty deep down the new wave/dance/electronic rabbit holes, but are there any acts out there you all would recommend that I haven’t yet featured on this blog? Any suggestions would be appreciated. I’m trying to get more into 90s dance music, but there’s just so much of it! I love acid house and trance, if that’s any help to anyone thinking of recommendations.

Tonight’s post is all “dub,” a genre whose defining aural charactistics are as mysterious to me as its name. I only know that these tracks are dub because the Internet tells me it is true.

What makes these songs dub? The basslines? The general “grooviness” of them? Their instrumental passages? And what the hell does dub have in common with dubstep? How the hell did that connection form? Reggae has about as much in common with Skrillex as baroque pop has with Mastodon.

Dreadzone
Zion Youth (Dreadzone Mix)
Zion Youth (Digidub Mix)
Zion Youth (Underworld Mix)
Zion Youth (Dan Donovan Mix)
Dreadzone is a dub/reggae/electronic group comprised mostly of former Big Audio Dynamite members, including Dan Donovan and Greg Roberts. When you consider the fact that I own every single release Big Audio Dynamite (II) ever put out, the fact that I had never even heard Dreadzone until I picked up this 12″ single last week is pretty amazing. It’s less amazing when you consider the fact that I don’t really like reggae.Don’t get me wrong, after listening to a bit of their music I’m convinced that Dreadzone are very good at what they do – it’s just not my scene. However, if I smoked weed this shit would probably sound amazing.

Even if you don’t like dub/reggae I recommend checking out the Underworld mix, since it basically transforms the track into an above-average mid-90s rave tune. In fact, I suspect they reused much of their work on this remix for their own track, “King of Snake,” a few years later. It certainly sounds familiar to that legendary track.

Beats International
Won’t Talk About It (12″ Norman Cook Mix)
Won’t Talk About It (7″ Norman Cook Mix)
Won’t Talk About It (12″ One Big Bad World Mix)
Won’t Talk About It (12″ Frankie Foncett Mix)
Won’t Talk About It (7″ Beats International Theme)
Beats International was the first dance music vehicle for Norman Cook (AKA Fatboy Slim) after his days as the bass player for The Housemartins, but before his days as Freak Power, Pizzaman, The Mighty Dub Katz or whatever other horrible name he went by for five minutes in the mid-90s. That’s an interesting bit of music trivia, but what I find to be much more of an interesting tidbit about Beats International is that they employed a graffiti artist as a band member. This person’s only job was to spray paint shit on the stage during live shows.

And I thought that The Mighty Mighty Bosstones were the only band to have members whose sole purpose was to do stupid shit on stage. The Internet, read it, you’ll learn shit. Not important shit, mind you, but hey, beats working.

These are all excellent mixes of a great tune. I especially love the “One Big Bad World Mix,” as it has a pretty awesome intro. The “7” Beats International Theme” mix is pretty great too, although its propensity for using record scratches as a backbeat totally wreaked havoc with my scratch-removal software.

Posted in Beats International, Dreadzone, Fatboy Slim | 6 Comments »

Dropping Love Bombs on Northern Towns

December 8th, 2011

It seems like forever that I’ve had a post of nothing but random 80s remixes! Sounds like a problem that I need to fix.

The Dream Academy
Life in a Northern Town (Extended Mix)
Test Tape No. 3
Poised On The Edge of Forever
 Did you know that Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour produced The Dream Academy’s debut album from which “Life in a Northern Town” originally appeared? I didn’t know that until I scoped the linear notes for this 12″ single.

David Gilmour’s 80s career was…weird. In addition to producing and contributing guitar work on this album, the legendary guitarist also appeared on or produced albums with Wings, Bryan Ferry, Arcadia, Pete Townshend, Dalbelldo(!!!), Kate Bush, Warren Zevon and Atomic Rooster. He also worked with Berlin on their 1986 album Count Three & Pray, contributing an amazing outro guitar solo for their seven-minute ode to junkies in love, “Pink And Velvet.” That song is one of Berlin’s best, and if you haven’t heard it, I recommended you check it out. And I’m not just saying that because of my long-standing unrequited crush for Terri Nunn.

Anyways, back to The Dream Academy. “Life In A Northern Town” is a classic tune, and you probably know it , even if you don’t know that you know it. It’s one of those ubiquitous tunes that have become part of the world’s collective subconscious (no matter how much Sugarland’s shit cover damaged its reputation).

You also probably know the original version of “Edge Of Forever” if you grew up in the 80s and watched Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. This renamed version is a little different than the album cut (which was the version that appeared in the movie). It has some crowd noise at the end, but I suspect that was tacked on to give it the illusion of sounding live. I suspect it may be a demo version or early mix. I’m certain that’s what “Test Tape No. 3” is, if for no other reason than the rampant amount of tape hiss in the original recording.

Godley & Creme
Cry (Extended Version)
Love Bombs
Speaking of songs you don’t know you know, I bought this 12″ single just because I saw Trever Horn’s name on it. I had no idea that it was the song that had that awesome video with the fading/morphing faces from the 1980s. This extended remix is completely awesome, and it may be the mopiest song that I’ve rocking out to all week/month/year. I should hate this song, it’s so “Waaaah! Please don’t leave me!” But I think I’m too busy screaming “You make me wanna cryyyyyyyyy” at the top of my lungs to accumulate any amount of hate for this truly magnificent ode of rejection. Although I suspect my roommate may be getting sick of it.

“Love Bombs” sounds like a Sparks song gone horribly wrong, but kind of in a good way. It definitely has Trevor Horn’s fingerprints all over it, and a shitload of bongos.

Also “Love Bomb” sounds the worst sexual slang ever, but I don’t think it is.

Bryan Ferry
Limbo (Latin Mix)
Limbo (Brooklyn Mix)
Is it just me or does Bryan Ferry sometimes sound like Bob Dylan on Quaaludes?  There is nothing “Latin” nor “Brooklyn” about either of these mixes, unless there’s something about excessive synthesizers being from Latin America/New York that I don’t know about. They’re still cool mixes though.

Posted in B-sides, Bryan Ferry/Roxy Music, Godley & Creme, remixes, The Dream Academy | 5 Comments »

The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh – Original Soundtrack

December 6th, 2011

I’ve lived in Pittsburgh for almost eight years now, and it’s a decision that I can honestly say I’ve never regretted. I love this city. I love its crazy roads, obscene colloquialisms (Jag Off!), awesome food and legendary record stores.

I also love its cinematic history, mostly because it’s so weird. Sure, we got George A. Romero’s zombie flicks to lay claim too, but the greater Pittsburgh also played hosts to classics like The Deer Hunter and Flashdance, as well as “classics” such as Sudden Death, Striking Distance and Stigmata.

The selection of movies to be filmed in my adopted hometown are as idiosyncratic and quirky as the town itself, and the oddest of the bunch has to be the 1979 critical and commercial dud, The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh.

The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh stars basketball legend Dr. J as Moses Guthrie, the star player for the (fictional) Pittsburgh Pythons. The team sucks, until a spunky ball boy convinces Guthrie and the coach to cut everyone from the team except Moses, and replace them with players who share his astrological sign of Pisces.

Why?

Don’t worry about that. It just works, okay? It works so well that the team (renamed the Pittsburgh Pisces) goes on to win almost every game of the season, make the playoffs, and face the dreaded L.A. team in the Finals (spoiler alert: they win in thrilling fashion). Yes. It’s cheese, but its wonderfully aged cheese, made all the better by its amazing disco/funk soundtrack.

The soundtrack to The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh features performances by a variety of artists, it’s mostly the work of Thomas Bell. If you don’t know who Thom Bell is, you still probably know some songs he was involved with. During the 70s, Bell was one of the driving forces behind the Philly Soul sound, contributing as a songwriter/producer to some of the biggest acts of the scene, such as The Delfonics, The Stylstics and The Spinners (who are on this soundtrack). Bell produced, arranged and conducted every song on the record, and he wrote all the songs on the album as well, with the occasional assist from Leroy M. Bell (his nephew) and Casey James, the duo who made up Bell & James (who, not coincidentally, are also on this soundtrack).

The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh bombed huge when it came out in 1979 (I know, what a shocker) so the soundtrack was never even granted an official release. The few copies that were made were only issued as promos for radio stations. However, thanks  to Discogs, I know have one of those copies. So now, I am more than pleased to present to you the soundtrack to The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh, the finest soundtrack to a film about Pittsburgh basketball and its relationship with astrology that you’ll ever hear.

Thomas Bell Orchestra featuring Doc Severinsen – A Theme For L.A.’s Team
An odd starting number for the soundtrack, considering that the movie is about the team from Pittsburgh, but it still serves as a solid opening number that sets the vibe for the whole album. And hey, it has Doc Severinsen from The Tonight Show, so that’s something.

Phyllis Hyman – Magic Mona
In the film, Mona is the astrologer/spiritual adviser who helps coordinate all the players’ star charts so they’ll know their strengths and weaknesses for each game (sure, it sounds stupid when I say it like that). For her theme song, Bell recruited Phyllis Hyman, a soul singer with a powerful voice who was actually raised in Pittsburgh (but born in Philly). Hyman had a few minor disco/dance hits in the 70s and 80s, and even had something of an acting career going for a while, but she committed suicide in 1995 at the way too young age of 45. I don’t know much about her other than that (which I culled from her wiki page) but she sure had an amazing voice, even if “Magic Mona” is a silly song.

The Sylvers – Mighty Mighty Pisces
The theme song for the Pittsburgh basketball team was contributed to by The Sylvers, a family act of nine (holy shit!) brothers and sisters from Memphis, Tennessee. Maybe the popularization of birth control is one of the reasons why we don’t see bands like this anymore. This song is basically one long hook “Mighty mighty Pisces/now you’re making history!” with some inspirational verses thrown in. Just like the movie itself, it’s stupid as hell, but instantly charming and fun.

The Spinners – “(Do It, Do It) No One Does It Better
One of Thom Bell’s more memorable projects, The Spinners were a big name for a while, scoring a string of amazing soul singles throughout the 1970s. Their funky soul style doesn’t really shine with this track though. If you want to see just how awesome The Spinners were, check out this performance of “Rubberband Man,” one of the best soul tracks of the decade.

Bell & James – The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh
Thom Bell was burying the lead by making the title track the last track of the first side, because this song is amazing! It’s probably the main reason why I’ve fallen in love with the movie so much. It’s impossible to feel down or sad after hearing to this track, which is one of the most oppressively upbeat disco tunes I’ve ever heard, which is quite the feat when you think about how disgustingly upbeat most disco is.I dare you to find a better funk/disco track about a Pittsburgh-based basketball team. You won’t! Seriously though, it’s pretty incredible, if all music was this fun and exciting the world would be a much better place.

As for Bell & James, the short-lived duo never really scored a major hit on the charts during their short-lived career, although Bell recently reappeared on The X Factor recently, which is just weird. He was eliminated, but I bet if he would’ve won if he sang this track.

Frankie Bleu – Moses’ Theme
There’s a really odd romance subplot to The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh involving Dr. J’s Moses character and the big sister of the ballboy. The “seduction” scene pretty much involves her watching Moses play streetball by himself (in slow motion) while this slow jam plays. Download this song, try that out for yourself and report back to me.

The Four Tops – Chance Of A Lifetime
I really hope I don’t need to explain who The Four Tops are. I mean, they’re only responsible for “Baby I Need Your Loving,” “I Can’t Help Myself,” “It’s the Same Old Song,” “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” and “Bernadette,” (my favorite vocal group song of all time). “Chance Of A Lifetime” is less than a fraction of good as those tracks, but it’s still one of the best songs on the record. Like most of the best songs on the soundtrack, it’s upbeat disco with a “you can do it theme” that’s impossible not to like.

I need more motivational disco in my life. Wah-wah guitars make me feel like I can accomplish anything.

William Hart – Follow Every Dream
This soundtrack works best when it’s trying to be funky and semi-inspirational, so this love song by the lead singer of The Delfonics is kind of meh. It’s fine. But whenever I listen to it I usually stop it halfway though and play “Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time)” instead.

Eubie Blake & Thom Bell – Ragtime
It’s a ragtime song…dude, I have no idea. It’s only a minute and twenty seconds long, just go with it.

Loretta Lynn & Frankie Bleu – Is It Love, Must Be Love
The Coal Miner’s Daughter was the last person I expected to see on a soundtrack that predominately features soul, R&B and disco, but if the 70s were anything, they were random. This is a cute 70s soft-rock style song, generic, but cute. I have no idea who the unfortunately-named Frankie Bleu is.

 

Posted in Complete Albums, soundtrack | 23 Comments »

Smashing Pumpkins Reissues: Mini-Reviews

December 3rd, 2011

I’m going to keep this rather brief, because while I like these new Deluxe Editions, I really don’t have much to say about them. I also have other music I’d rather be writing about.

I’ve already gone over the sound quality of these sets, but what about the content itself?

Both of these Deluxe Editions are three-disc sets, each containing their own bonus CD of rare material and a live concert DVD.

I’ll start with the CDs. There are very few “new” tracks on these discs. If you’re looking for previously unheards songs, you’re probably going to be a little disappointed. The Gish bonus disc only includes two completely unheard tracks (demo versions of “Hippy Trippy” and “Jesus Is The Sun”) while the Siamese Dream bonus CD includes four never-before-heard tunes (demos of “STP,” “Moleasskiss,” “USA” and “USSR”). The rest of the tracks on both discs are either previously released B-sides that weren’t on Pisces Iscariot, or alternate/early versions of previously released material.

But that’s not to say that this material still isn’t worth having. In fact, the majority of these demos and alternate versions stand up on their own as complete songs, and not just curiosities designed to appeal to the hardcore fans and no one else. I really enjoy the demo version of “Today,” since it’s far heavier than the original, and helps to convey the actual dark and disturbing lyrics of the song way more than the final version ever could, and it’s great to have another eight-minute version of the Singles soundtrack cut “Drown” (this one with a different guitar solo). The lo-fi demo versions of “Spaceboy” and “Luna” are great as well.

I haven’t been able to fully absorb the live DVDs yet, but they both sound great. They are videotapes from the early 90s, however, and look about as bad as you might think. If you never got to see the Smashing Pumpkins during this era of their career, you should be in for a treat.

So, consider my mind blown. Someone finally treated classic albums from the 90s with the respect they deserve, giving us deluxe editions that should please both old and new fans alike. If you love the Pumpkins or if you’re a bit younger and have never really heard them, these new editions are great jumping on points.

Now…for tonight’s music. To be honest. I got nothing. All the rare Smashing Pumpkins I have is in print. So instead I’ll once again direct you to the Internet Archive, where you can find a complete recording of the Smashing Pumpkins’ performance from VH1’s Storytellers. It’s a great show with a lot of interesting comments from Billy. I suggest you check it out.

Posted in The Smashing Pumpkins | 3 Comments »

A Shocking Lack Of Rage (In A Cage): Smashing Pumpkins Week Day 2

November 29th, 2011

So far, the important albums of my generation haven’t fared too well when given the “deluxe” treatment. Pearl Jam’s Ten was re-issued in an amazing deluxe package, but the record itself was compressed to hell. Nirvana’s Nevermind had it even worse (a fact I’ve documented here repeatedly) thanks to a shameful box set that might go down in history as one of the worst re-issues of all time.

Because of that, I was more than a little trepidatious when Billy Corgan announced that he would be remastering and re-releasing the entire Smashing Pumpkins catalog over the course of the next few years – starting with re-issues of Gish and Siamese Dream. I was even more apprehensive when I discovered that Bob Ludwig, the hypocrite behind the Nevermind remaster, would be behind the mixing desk for these new deluxe editions.

Thankfully, while neither album makes it through the loudness wars entirely unscathed, I’m happy (wow, I’m happy?!?) to report that the damage is rather minimal.

Allow me to explain.

Here’s “Siva.” The top is from the original CD release, the bottom from the remaster:

Original Dynamic Range: 11
Remaster Dynamic Range:  8

“Tristessa,” another great track from Gish

Original Dynamic Range: 10
Remaster Dynamic Range:  8

Onto Siamese Dream and “Cherub Rock.”

Original Dynamic Range: 10
Remaster Dynamic Range: 8

Let’s do one more for good measure, my favorite Smashing Pumpkins track, “Silverfuck.”

Original Dynamic Range: 11
Remaster Dynamic Range:  8

So yes, the new editions of both Gish and Siamese Dream suffer from decreased dynamic range. However, look at those dynamic range differences, they aren’t that drastic, nothing like the hack job that Nevermind was subjected to. I suspect that if there is any difference in fidelity with these re-issues, most audio equipment (and ears) won’t be able to pick it up. I sure as hell didn’t.

Did these albums need to be louder? Probably not, but at least they didn’t seem to be noticeably damaged in the process.

They also come with some pretty solid extras, which I’ll talk more about in my next post.

Until then, let’s celebrate this unlikely event with an awesome bootleg!

Smashing Pumpkins – Pluggletric (Click here to download the complete album)

Spaceboy
Dancing in the Moonlight
Rocket
Cherub Rock
Today
Drown
Disarm
Siva/Disarm
Geek USA
I Am One
Cherub Rock
Silverfuck
I Am One
I don’t know why, but I associate the Smashing Pumpkins with the 90s more than any other band from that era.

One experience that was especially “90s” for me were my weekly trips to the local record store and scouring their collection of bizarre “import” CDs, many of which were really bootlegs.  I spent many a paycheck at that CD Warehouse, buying poorly labeled and typo-ridden bootlegs of bands like Garbage, Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails and, most often, the Smashing Pumpkins.

Of those boots, Pluggletric was one of my favorites. As its name suggests, half of it is acoustic and the other half electric. Of the acoustic stuff, “Today” and “Cherub Rock” are highlights, mostly because they lend themselves so well to the acoustic format – very mellow and chill. When it comes to the electric live tracks, the choice cuts include a blistering rendition of “Geek USA” and the epicly epic “Silverfuck,” which is extended to 11 minutes in length here.

And if you think that’s impressive, when I saw them live in 1997 they played a version of that song that was almost 30 minutes long. You may call that excessive, drawn-out and masturbatory, but I call it the point where the Smashing Pumpkins became my favorite band in the world until they disbanded three years later.

 

Posted in The Smashing Pumpkins | 5 Comments »

Smashing Pumpkins Week Day 1: If I Were Dead Would This Record Sell

November 28th, 2011

It’s a big week for the Smashing Pumpkins, and I mean the actual Smashing Pumpkins, not that group that Billy Corgan has with him now.

This Tuesday we get new Deluxe Editions of both Gish and Siamese Dream. For many children of the 90s (myself included) these records hold just as much weight, if not more, as Nirvana’s Nevermind and Pearl Jam’s Ten. While those albums showed that rock could work when it was stripped down and bare, the best stuff by The Smashing Pumpkins proved that sometimes bigger (and bigger) was still sometimes the way to go. I love the bombast, guitar wankery and batshit self-indulgent grandiosity of the classic Pumpkins tracks. Nothings sounds like them, even to this day.

The extras on these Deluxe Editions look to be pretty stellar, let’s just hope they don’t fuck it up this time (Bob Ludwig is mastering it…). Expect a full review by yours truly later this week. Until then, here are a couple Smashing Pumpkins bootlegs that are absolutely smashing (see what I did there)?

Smashing Pumpkins: Live at the Axis Nightclub – September 23rd, 1991
Intro
Rocket
Tristessa
Window Paine
Bury Me
Siva
If that date above looks familiar, that’s because it’s the same date as this Nirvana show. That’s right, The Smashing Pumpkins were the opening act for that night. That’s a lot of awesome for one night.

This recording is a little muddy, but it definitely sounds better than the Nirvana recording that was made the same night. The nine-minute version of “Siva” is fucking awesome too.

Like the Nirvana bootlegs I’ve hosted, this is yet another gift from the awesome Duane Bruce. I thank him for hooking me up with the files.

Smashing Pumpkins: Live at the Cabaret Metro – October 5th, 1988
There It Goes
She
My Eternity
Under Your Spell
Bleed
Spiteface
Nothing And Everything
The last (real) Smashing Pumpkins concert was at the Chicago Metro in 2000. Attendees of that legendary show got this CD, which is a bootleg recording of the group’s very first concert as a complete band (before this show they played with a drum machine). It’s not unlistenable, but it’s definitely more of note for its historical relevance than its actual quality: there’s a reason why you probably never heard of any of these songs.

Still jonesing for more Pumpkins bootlegs? Head over to the Internet Archive, they have an amazing selection of high-quality Smashing Pumpkin bootlegs from the 80s to today. If you don’t know where to start I highly (highly) recommend their second-to-last show from November 29th, 2000.

I was at that concert, I’m certain my ears never completely recovered from it (wear earplugs kids) and it was totally worth it. And it’s a high-quality FM rip, so it sounds amazing.

Posted in bootlegs, The Smashing Pumpkins | 1 Comment »

We Be Pearl Jammin’

November 22nd, 2011

Here is the rare Pearl Jam I was going to post a few weeks ago, but was too disgruntled to bother. My heart really isn’t in talking about the group still, which is why this post is kind of brief. Good tunes though.

Pearl Jam
Of The Earth (Live)
This is a new song that Pearl Jam premiered on their 2010 European tour. This live recording is an after-credits easter egg on the concert documentary film The Kids Are Twenty, the “for the fans” documentary about the band that the fans can no longer buy because the band chose to make it a limited edition release. But I’ve bitched about that enough…moving on.

Foldback
Harmony
Thunderclap
These three tracks are instrumentals that were used as background music for a couple of montages from the Touring Band 2000 DVD that came out in 2001. Slight, but still worth a few listens. Much like their origin suggests, they make for great background tunes.

No Jeremy
Falling Down
The annual “holiday” single is the only reason why I stick with the Ten Club (Pearl Jam’s fanclub). Over the years the band has used the Ten Club single to premiere many great tunes, including “Last Kiss,” and their covers of “Sonic Reducer” and “Love, Reign O’er Me.” This year’s single was one of the best, featuring these two incredibly rare tracks. “Falling Down” is an entirely original song that was only performed once, while “No Jeremy” is a radical reworking of “Jeremy” that restructures the song into something else entirely. Both recordings are taken from the same 1995 concert at Red Rocks.

Even though it’s Thanksgiving this week, I hope to get at least two more posts up before the holiday, including another Duane Bruce bootleg.

The probability of this happenings is directly related to how insane my family drives me and how much vodka is in my father’s house.

Posted in B-sides, live, Pearl Jam | 7 Comments »

Nirvana Live at the Axis Nightclub – September 23rd, 1991

November 17th, 2011

A couple weeks ago former WFNX DJ Duane Bruce was kind enough to share a recording of a rarely heard Nirvana concert from 1990. He put it up on Soundcloud, but it hit its download limit there within minutes. I contacted him about sharing it through my site, and he was kind enough to oblige me.

He also shared with me this tease:

I’ll have something else just as rare coming around thanksgiving. Not saying anything else right now, but you will be very happy.

He wasn’t kidding. This is…awesome.

Nirvana: Live at the Axis Nightclub – September 23rd, 1991 (Complete concert download)
Intro
Aneurysm
Drain You
School
Smells Like Teen Spirit
Come As You Are
Sliver
Jesus Don’t Want Me For A Sunbeam
Floyd The Barber
Polly
About A Girl
Breed
Rape Me
Blew
Been A Son (Excerpt)
Negative Creep

I’ll let Duane share the details:

Well my friends…here it is. Nirvana’s full length set from the now legendary WFNX 8th Birthday Bash at Axis on Sept. 23rd 1991.

But, you must take the bad with the good. I did not record the show . However, the party that did was in the pit for the first 4-5 songs, so it is historical but muffled at times. Axis was packed to the gills. Think ‘Green line on a Friday rush hour with a Sox game at home’ packed. By the time “Come As You Are” starts, the sound quality improves to about as good a bootleg as you could hope for (thanks to Mike Zeigler at nirvanaguide.com for the assistance).

The concrete walls and floor of Axis provided the perfect acoustics for the raw energy. Dave Grohl’s first Boston gig with the band. This is also the first time that they ever played “Jesus Don’t Want Me For A Sunbeam” by the Vaselines. Both Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic comment that “We just learned this one today”. It was a rare night that only a small number (1200+) saw.

I remember that the WFNX staff was pumped for this show more than any other in its history and deservedly so. The Axis staff was also ready to go. MTV was on hand as well as a number of other local, national and international journalists. The show was later written about in NME. By the time that you get to “Rape Me” you will be transfixed and may even start to tear up a bit. It was only the fourth time that they had performed it live. WFNX had an early copy of ‘Nevermind’ and we played some tracks for the great Lenny Kaye, guitarist for Patti Smith, about a week before the show. He had never heard of Nirvana, but upon hearing them declared “that somebody has to protect them”.

I have had this recording as well as the previously released Nirvana show at ManRay for the past 20 years and realized that it was time to share with everyone. One day, I will be gone and they will wind up on the curb. They deserve better than that. It’s rock and roll history. Thank you Maxell for making a quality product that lasted.

I remember that right before the set, both Krist and Dave were on stage and ready to go, but no sign of Mr. Cobain. I had to dash upstairs through the thick crowd and met Kurt on the stairwell as his bandmates cat-called him from the stage. I can still hear Krist in his falsetto voice…”Oh Kuurrtt” coming through the speakers.
30 seconds later, then WFNX Music Director Kurt St. Thomas introduced them……..enjoy!

Some technical disclaimers: I made no effort to clean this up, and the only edit I made while cutting the concert into individual tracks was to decrease the volume at the very beginning of “About A Girl” because it was way louder than the rest of the recording. Part of “Been A Son” is missing, but that is also the fault of the source material and not me.

Like Duane says, it’s a rough recording, but it’s not unlistenable – I’ve heard (and posted) way worse boots. The power of this performance pushes its way past the technical limitations of the recording. If you consider yourself even the slightest of Nirvana fan then you must download this now.

And thanks again Duane! You are a Golden God for sharing this.

Posted in bootlegs, Nirvana | 8 Comments »

The Smiths: So This Is America – A Bootleg That is Criminally Vulgar

November 14th, 2011

The Smiths – So This Is America (Complete Album Download)
Intro
How Soon Is Now
Hand In Glove
I Want The One I Can’t Have
Still Ill
Frankly Mr. Shankley
Panic
Never Had No-One Ever
Stretch Out And Wait
The Boy With A Thorn In His Side
Cemetery Gates
What She Said
Is It Really So Strange?
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
That Joke Isn’t Funny Any More
The Queen Is Dead
The Draize Train
I Know It’s Over
Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now
Big Mouth Strikes Again
What She Said (Encore)

Vinyl bootlegs have always fascinated me. Anyone can record a concert and put it online today, and in the 90s it wasn’t too terribly difficult to press a small run of bootleg CDs (or just burn them to cheap CD-Rs), but going through the effort of pressing an illegal album to vinyl is rather impressive.

As I’ve read it, many bootleggers were able to get their albums pressed thanks to down-on-their-luck pressing plants looking for any source of income. The bootlegs would usually be pressed “after hours” when the major work of the day was done. Then the bootleggers would take their stash and the major labels would be none the wiser. That’s a lot of cloak and dagger work for muddy audience recordings, but hey, some people are dedicated.

I’ve also always found the outrage of labels towards bootleggers to be idiotic, and the idea that concert bootlegging somehow hurts legit album sales is a stupid one without any basis in reality. No one is going to pick up an audience-recording of a concert in lieu of a legitimate release. The person who buys a concert bootleg is the kind of person who has already seen the band on tour; owns the band’s entire discography; and most likely has many of the artist’s import releases and singles. They’re fanatics.

I don’t know about you, but when I think of bands that have fanatical fans, The Smiths are usually one of the first groups that come to mind. So it makes sense that there are tons of Smiths bootlegs out there. I don’t proclaim to be a huge Smiths fan (I’m just not that miserable anymore) but when I saw this one at Jerry’s Records for $15, I knew that price was most likely a steal and I snatched it immediately. Considering I’ve only seen one copy for sale online, for close to $100, turns out that I may have been right about this one.

This sounds like it was recorded by a fan in the audience, so it’s not the clearest bootleg you’ll hear. Still, since The Smiths never released official live versions of many of their best tracks, including “How Soon Is Now,” it’s worth at least one listen if you’re a fan of The Smiths.

Additional note: If you download this and wonder why the ID3 tags list 22 tracks and you only have 21, it’s because the bootleg had a “bonus” track: U2’s “Wire (Celtic Dub Mix).” While oddly fascinating (and kind of random), that track is on the deluxe edition of The Unforgettable Fire, so I’m not featuring it here.

I’m 50% certain my next post won’t be a bootleg. But I’m not making any promises.

Posted in bootlegs, Complete Albums, The Smiths | 1 Comment »

Urgh! Revisited Again (Not For The First Time)

November 10th, 2011

Now that I have a great turntable and pre-amp, I’ve been visiting the archives to see which albums and singles deserve to be re-recorded and re-posted. Obviously, the soundtrack to Urgh! A Music War was one of the first on the list. These new recordings sound light-years better than my last attempt, and I highly recommended you download them even if you have an older copy I posted.

I’ve talked about Urgh! several times over, so I’ll keep the intro brief. It’s an amazing document of a time period in music, when the punk rock influences of the 70s were starting to find their way into pop music; the white British kids were discovering reggae; and when people like Gary Numan determined that any musical problem could be solved with more synthesizers. I don’t think there’s ever been another movie like it, and there certainly hasn’t been another soundtrack like it. Let’s take a look at it, one side at a time.

Side 1
The Police – Driven To Tears
Wall Of Voodoo – Back In Flesh
Toyah Wilcox – Dance
Orchestral Manoeuvers In The Dark – Enola Gay
Oingo Boingo – Ain’t This The Life
XTC – Respectable Street
Urgh! starts out a little weak, with one of The Police’s more bland efforts serving as the opening track. Things pick up quick though, thanks to an awesome lesser-known number by “Mexican Radio” fans Wall of Voodoo, followed by a freak-out of a performance by Toyah Wilcox. OMD calm things down a bit with their mid-tempo ode to nuclear warfare, but the calm doesn’t last long thanks to Danny Elfmann and the rest of Oingo Boingo rocking out “Ain’t This The Life,” one of their best tracks in my opinion. Closing side one out is a live cut by XTC, delivered so passionately and powerfully that it makes that eventual retreat from live performances all the more heartbreaking.

Side 2
The Members – Offshore Banking Business
Go-Go’s – We Got The Beat
Total Eclipse – Klaus Nomi
Athletico Spizz ’80 – Where’s Captain Kirk
Alley Cats – Nothing Means Nothing Anymore
Jools Holland – Foolish I Know
Steel Pulse – Klu Klux Klan
Side two is polarizing for me. It has some of my favorite tracks; Go-Go’s “We Got The Beat,” and the crazy “Where’ Captain Kirk” by Spizz, but it also has many of the album’s lesser numbers (at least in my opinion). I’ve never enjoyed reggae, so I almost always skip The Members and Steel Pulse tracks, and Jools Holland’s little piano bit is just annoying to me. Still, this side does have the jaw-dropping Klaus Nomi on it, so in the end it’s more good than bad.

Side 3
Devo – Uncontrollable Urge
Echo And The Bunnymen – The Puppet
The Au Pairs – Come Again
The Cramps – Tear It Up
Joan Jett & The Blackheats – Bad Reputation
Pere Ubu – Birdies
Gary Numan – Down In The Park
If side three of the Urgh! soundtrack was a standalone release it would still be worth buying. Amazing tracks by legendary bands such as Devo, Echo and The Bunnymen, Joan Jett, Gary Numan and The Cramps! All back-to-back! Epic. The Au Pairs hold their own against these more well-known bands, with their fun and quirky song about getting off (or not), and Cleveland-born freaks Pere Ubu accomplish the impossible and out-weird Gary Numan’s offbeat performance of his best song from the time period. All awesome stuff.

Side 4
Fleshtones – Shadow Line
Gang Of Four – He’d Send In The Army
John Otway – Cheryl’s Going Home
999 – Homicide
X – Beyond And Back
Magazine – Model Worker
Skafish – Sign Of The Cross
Side four is kind of a let down after the jam-packed collection of awesome that is side three. Yes, it does have X and Gang of Four (wanna hear a secret? I don’t like them!) but it also has forgettable tracks by forgotten artists like John Otway and Skafish. 999 does save things a bit though with “Homicide,” the best tribute to murdering fools that you’re ever likely to hear. Also, while some of these tracks are kind of mediocre, none of them are bad or annoying (save maybe for the Gang of Four number – but don’t tell anyone I said that), so it’s still a worthy finale to a near-flawless record.

But wait, there’s more!

Did you know you can buy Urgh! now? It’s available to purchase via Warner Brothers’ Warner Archives site. It’s just a DVD-R, but it’s in anamorphic widescreen and it sounds incredible. It definitely looks and sounds better than my worn-down VHS tape.

As you may know, there are many tracks in the Urgh! movie that weren’t featured on the soundtrack. Here are those songs, ripped directly from the DVD’s audio track (except for the Slodgenessabounds tune, since that’s not on the DVD for some reason).


Non-Album Tracks Ripped from DVD (Slodgenessabounds taken from VHS)
John Cooper Clarke – Health Fanatic
Chelsea – I’m On Fire
Dead Kennedys – Bleed For Me
Surf Punks – My Beach
Invisible Sex – Valium
Splodgenessabounds – Two Little Boys
UB40 – Madame Medua
The Police – Roxanne
The Police –  So Lonely
Klaus Nomi – Aria from Samson and Delilah (End Credits Music)
Highlights here include John Cooper Clarke and his breakneck punk rock poetry slam; the Dead Kennedys’ Jello Biafra comparing the oppressive governments of Afghanistan to living in Nebraska for his intro for “Bleed For Me,” and the…I don’t even fucking know what of Invisible Sex’s “Valium.” The extended jam version of “Roxanne” by The Police isn’t that bad either (and I usually can’t stand that song).

Enjoy and I’ll see you all next week.

Posted in Complete Albums, soundtrack | 15 Comments »

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