Best of 2006

I know that I am no Pitchfork, but I still feel like doing my own List of the Best albums of 2006...What can I do? It's just a funny silly game we all want to play once in a while, and now is my turn.
So, these are the 15 album I have listened the most in these twelve months, there may be better ones, but these are the ones that have stayed in my head (and on my iPod and PC) the longest. If this list can make some people curious or someone else go back to something the y went past without noticing, then I'd be more than satiesfied.


1-Cat Power: The Greatest
I would just need the second voice that enters during the refrain to make this one of my fav
albums of the year. But also all the rest of it superb-quality songwriting.

2-Neko Case: Fox Confessor Brings The Floor
Even better than Blacklisted. Which is tough.

3-The Decemberists: The Crane Wife
A complex LP that makes you whistle, laugh, sing, and want to to listen to it again.

4-Julie's Haircut: After Dark, My Sweet

A great italian indie band that sounds like Pink Floyd-Live At Pompeii-era. Best live act I have seen this year, really awesome.

5-M. Ward: Post-War
A great Americana record.

6-Paul Simon: Surprise

Brian Eno's production does him a lot of good. And there is also this line in it: "You cannot walk with the holy if you're just a halfway decent man".

7-Sebastien Tellier: Sessions
I have loved this from the first second:his best songs played plain and simple with acoustic guitars, drums, and piano.

8-The Magic Numbers: Those The Brokes
Best voices around. Listen to Slow Down when the female chorus comes in: doesn't it sound like Bacharach? When Indierock meets 60's vocal pop.

9-Belle & Sebastian: The Life Pursuit
I know they are not the same band of If you're feeling sinister, so what? Bands do have to change. And B & S could not stay the same naive pop band forever. And all these pastiches are good for the heart (The blues are still blue is a great T-Rex-like song, funny as they only can be).

10- Arab Strap: The Last Romance
Incredible that this is their final work, but it is so good to end at the top: this is their best compromise with both pop and rock, but still an Arab Strap thing.

11-Jarvis Cocker: Jarvis
Jarvis Cocker in best shape, almost as good as on Pulp's Different Class. And Black Magic sounds like The Who that play a Lou Reed riff (Sweet Jane basically).

12-Mojave 3: Puzzles Like You
AKA Neil Halstead goes back to pop-rock. Not exactly the stuff they were doing as Slowdive (no shoegazer guitars in here), but not even the classic rock/c & w oriented music they have been playing in these last years. And Breaking the ice should have sold as Gnarls Barkley's Crazy.

13-Sparklehorse: Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of A Mountain
Mark Linkous will probably neverwrite hapy songs...but there is something in here that gets close to...Well, anyway, I find it their best album.

14-Broken Social Scene: Broken Social Scene
It is hard not to put a BSC album in one of these lists. Mainly because they are one of the rare -and really- new things in rock music. We will see if and how relevant (and influential) they will get in the future years.

15-Grizzly Bear: Yellow House
One of those bands you must give some time. And then you will find yourself listenig to them everytime you go to bed. Out of seasons and time.

Feel free to tell me what you think about it...and why don't you write your own Top 15 in the comments? It would be great. Thanks to all those who have stopped by in this year.
Happy 2007, everyone.

You are wondering what the new song on streaming is? It's P.I.L.'s Public Image !

I have just re-uploaded the link.
Hope you like it.

Grizzly Bear: Yellow House

Big time for re-posts: this time is Grizzly Bear's second album. The fact is that last time around the tenth and final track was missing, so now I have re-uploaded the whole album.

Yellow house

The Go-Betweeens: Botany Sessions

Many people asked me to re-post it, so here it comes: The Go-Betweens' so-called Botany Sessions, i.e. what could have been their 7th album, if they had not split (but fortunately only to come back in great shape 10 years later).
The album was to be an acoustic work, their "Blood on the tracks", and afterwards these songs finally made it to the MacLennan and Forster's solo LPs.

Info:
The Go-Betweens on wiki.
Articles and intervies with GB @ The GB Archive

And now another link for this link for this post...hopint that it won't be dead in a day. Merry X-mas, everyone.

Botany sessions(X-mas link)

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Howl EP Sessions

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club shocked plenty of people who used to listen to them with the release of their last LP, Howl, choosing to give up their usual Jesus and Mary Chain-feel to a recording deeply influenced by blues, stomp, and beat literature (hence the title: clearly an Allen Ginsberg reference).
And hard as it may seem for those who have not listened to Howl yet, they did make it: they do not sound like a band trying to dance to the Americana-Neo-contry-Post war folk(or whatever people may call all of this)-hype but like someone that has found their roots, and made the best out of it (everytime I get back to that album I always find myself pleased with it).
So what's next? Well, I personally hope they keep up the good work, but in the meantime (i.e. last february) they released (it was available to buy online or on their tour) six more songs from the same sessions -this beautiful Howl Sessions EP. A brief yet valuable download for all you BRMC fans (but not only: tracks such as the mesmerising Mercy or Feel it now are worth more than a try).


Howl EP (Media Fire Download)
Howl EP (Megaupload Download)

Jens Lekman: Oh You're So Silent Jens

Jens Lekman comes from Sweden, a land that has given us many brilliant pop artists (one of my favourites is Sondre Lerche, last album apart) and Lekman is definetely one of them: Oh You're So Silent Jens is not a proper LP but a collection of EPs instead and, maybe also because of this, OYRSSL is such a heterogenic and fascinating record, being so rich, having so many influences in it...but let's say that the names of people as Stephin Merrit's Magnetic Fields or Belle and Sebastian (but with a certain Burt Bacharach feel) often come to mind listening to him: soft balladry (with some almost-kitsch arrangements here and there) with great tunes.

INFO:
Jens Lekman on Wiki.

Oh you're so silent Jens

Grant McLennan: Solo

Grant McLennan was the founder and co-writer of the great Go-Betweens, the australian rock band that I am so fond of (if you've already been on this blog you possibly know this already...and I promise I am going to re-post soon the Botany Sessions too), he died last May and I am not yet able to consider him gone. I'll never hear anything from him or from his band (I may sound selfish, but, well, I don't mean it, I simply got in love with their songs in the couple of years prior his death... and probably many of you know how it feels when you get attached to a band and, after a while you realise it is not just one more band that you happen to listen to, but it is your band. And that's it: you're a fan. And you want to know more, you want to have more from them, and you look forward for the next single, the next CD... That's what happened to me with The Go-Betweens: they became my band, but I was too late: I've never had the chance to wait for their new album to come out. I will never feel that expectation and that's bad (and yeah, here I may be sounding really selfish, I know), too bad. But at least I got the chance to see them live once -about an year ago these days- and everytime my mind goes back to that concert (or when I watch their That stiped sunlight sound DVD) I get very sentimental about it, and about what they have meant to me (and maybe about music in general: one of the cons of this internet-era is that it gets harder and harder to be so involved in ONE band, or ONE artist, or whatever...or am I simply getting old? Dunno).
So forgive all of this fuss and let me just say that Grant McLennan also wrote 4 solo albums, and if you like the GB you should go try listen to some of his solo releases, maybe starting with this collection of songs I have picked. I don't know if this is his "Best of", it may as well be only my "best of" his work, but I still hope you find something in it something that can be of some use to you.
(If any of you is interested, I have took a selection of the songs he wrote in the Go-Betweens: nothing new, just something out of the curiosity of listening to his songs with GB without their counterpart -the Robert Forster's ones).

Grant McLennan Solo

Grizzly Bear: Yellow House

Grizzly bear is the alias for Edward Droste, a Brooklyn-born guy, who wrote and recorded his first album last year on his own in his bedroom and is now back, but he is now back with a full band and with an outstanding LP, this Yellow House, that has had all the best production it deserves.
It is hard to describe this muisic because there are plenty of influences in there butI don't think I'd be mistaken if I say that The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds is one of them (though this is in no way a happy-go-lucky kind of LP, it is more a matter of complexity of both writing and arrangements), along with something from the so-called freak folk...except that this the music's feeling is more subtle, and in saying so I mean that all the extravaganzas you can find in it are not mere divertissements but something meaningful to the idea and the building of the LP (as it was for Pet sounds).
Anyway, you'll listen to arcs, soft acoustic guitar (and banjo) arpeggios, woodwinds, accordion, and choirs modulating tunes from outer space...and it is quite as good as it can get with all this this stuff altogether.

Want to know more about it?

See their myspace page
Or Yellow House's review (8.7, by the way) @ Pitchfork
Or Wiki.

Yellow House

Music on streaming

Noticed the music on streaming on the right?
Hope you appreciate it!

Michael Nyman: Gattaca OST

Today's post is Michale Nyman's beautiful soundtrack to Gattaca, the 1997 movie by Andrew Niccol performed by Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman: a collection of lyric minimalistic pieces of music from one of the greatest living composers. Many know him because of his work on Jane Campion's The Piano but I find this just as good, and anyway a very heartfelt composition.
I hope you give it a try (and maybe go buy the CD if you can).

Gattaca

XTC: Skyrlarking

Skyrlarking is probably XTC's most famous LP, mostly because of the odd hit Dear god, but this is one of the casef where fame (I'd go with fame, and not success because XTC have never had much of this..) and artistic accomplishment meet. Stranger is that XTC have never really made it: they are a hell of a pop band (there are plenty of new and old bands that wouldi die to be half as good in writing songs as Andy Partridge is), and got very influential over the years: my mind goes to first Blur, but also these last Belle and Sebastian (or not? I would say so).
Anyway, Skylarking may be considered by some as their finest work also because of an over the top production by...Todd Rundgren (yeah, it's him), although Partridge did not really get along with him (meaning they must have had more than a fight during the recording, and over the decision on the tracklist as well), but still the collaboration gave birth to this beatiful child. You just need to listen to it: best british pop after The Beatles? Or something like it.
One more thing: Dear God was originally not included on the LP, but after its success it became part of every Skylarking reissue. And how many atheist hits do you know? See:

Dear God,
hope you got the letter, and...
I pray you can make it better down here.
I don't mean a big reduction in the price of beer
but all the people that you made in your image, see
them starving on their feet 'cause they don't get
enough to eat from God, I can't believe in you

Dear God, sorry to disturb you, but... I feel that I should be heard
loud and clear. We all need a big reduction in amount of tears
and all the people that you made in your image, see them fighting
in the street 'cause they can't make opinions meet about God,
I can't believe in you

Did you make disease, and the diamond blue? Did you make
mankind after we made you? And the devil too!

Dear God, don't know if you noticed, but... your name is on
a lot of quotes in this book, and us crazy humans wrote it, you
should take a look, and all the people that you made in your
image still believing that junk is true. Well I know it ain't, and
so do you, dear God, I can't believe in I don't believe in

I won't believe in heaven and hell. No saints, no sinners, no
devil as well. No pearly gates, no thorny crown. You're always
letting us humans down. The wars you bring, the babes you
drown. Those lost at sea and never found, and it's the same the
whole world 'round. The hurt I see helps to compound that
Father, Son and Holy Ghost is just somebody's unholy hoax,
and if you're up there you'd perceive that my heart's here upon
my sleeve. If there's one thing I don't believe in

it's you... Dear God.

For more:
XTC on Wiki
Fansite

Skylarking

Billy Bragg: Talking with the taxman about poetry

Today I am posting one of my fave albums ever: Billy Bragg's Talking with the taxman about poetry, an album I can't get off of my iPod, no matter how few space I have when I want to put new stuff in it..
Talking with...is Bragg's third effort, a more accomplished one after his first couple of LPs which were kind of raw, and it is so also (if not mostly) because of the splendid work on guitars by the five stars session man (and more importantly ex Smiths) Jonny Marr: listen to what he does in songs as Ideology or the opening track. I listen in awe every time (to me, he is one of the most underrated guitarists, and if he is so he probably is because he is not the typical guitar hero like, say, Jimmy Page or Eric Clapton; still he is by far one of the best rythm guitarist of the history of rock).
Anyway, on Talking with...Bragg gets the best out of his music tastes and inluences: The Clash on Help save the youth of america (it could be an outtake from Sandista!...but a very good one, indeed), and so with Bob Dylan on Ideology (doesn't the melody of the verse remind you of some Dylan songs? I can't remember which, but I am quite certain), but, all of these obvious references apart, what is important is the quality of the record:songs where both music and words are on the same level (and it was not so on his previous SO-much-agit prop songs), with beautiful lyrics full of wit and politics (though sometimes there is a little bit too much propaganda in it).
Moreover there are realy few people who are able to be as funny and at athe same time socially aware as Billy Bragg is on this LP. I haven't convinced you? Check this.

Greetings To The New Brunette (Shirley)

Shirley,
it's quite exciting to be sleeping here in this new room
Shirley,
you're my reason to get out of bed before noon
Shirley,
you know when we sat out on the fire escape talking
Shirley,
what did you say about running before we were walking
Sometimes when we're as close as this
It's like we're in a dream
How can you lie there and think of England
When you don't even know who's in the team
Shirley,
your sexual politics have left me all of a muddle
Shirley,
we are joined in the ideological cuddle
I'm celebrating my love for you
With a pint of beer and a new tattoo
And if you haven't noticed yet
I'm more impressionable when my cement is wet
Politics and pregnancy
Are debated as we empty our glasses
And how I love those evening classes
Shirley,
you really know how to make a young man angry
Shirley,
can we get through the night without mentioning family
The people from your church agree
It's not much of a career
Trying the handles of parked cars
Whoops, there goes another year
Whoops, there goes another pint of beer
Here we are in our summer years
Living on icecream and chocolate kisses
Would the leaves fall from the trees
If I was your old man and you were my missus
Shirley,
give my greetings to the new brunette.

Talking with the taxman about poetry (320k)

VA: Rainy Day

Here I am, back after a while, with a very rare 1983 record: Rainy Day, a brief compilation with cover versions of alternative classics (and not) played by members of the Paisley Underground like: The Bangles' Susanna Hoffs, Game Theory's Michael Quercio, Dream Syndicate's Kendra Smith, and Rain Parade's David Roback.
I invite all of you who love this rock scene to get it, also because this disc is really hard to find (I do not know if someone has edited it after Rough Trade did in 1984..but I have serious doubts about it), and because...well, take a loot at the tracklist:

1. I'll Keep It With Mine (Dylan)
2. John Riley (Gibson/Neff/Belamonte)
3. Flying On The Ground Is Wrong (Young)
4. Sloop John B. (traditional)
5. Soon Be Home (Townshend)
6. Holocaust (Chilton)
7. On The Way Home (Young)
8. I'll Be Your Mirror (Reed)
9. Rainy Day, Dream Away (Hendrix)

Rainy Day

Tom Verlaine: First solo album

Tom Verlaine became the indie myth with the first legendary LP of his Television, Marquee Moon. After their second LP the band split and he went on for a solo career started off with this homonymous album: nine songs that did not differ much from his previous band's material, yet they are a good promise for his solo career (as some people might have wondered if he had been able to be such a good songwriter without his past comrades at his side).
And for those who love The Velvet Underground I recommend to listen to Breakin' my heart (in here you will also find the Kingdom come covered by David Bowie on Scary monsters).

More about Tom Verlaine:
See The Wonder
and Oldielyrics

Tom Verlaine

Arab Strap: Acoustic Request Show

Arab Strap just split and this is a post to remind everyone what a great band they have been, also on stage: 11 acoustic tracks from their last tour (and mind the last one...there is a peculiar ghost track hidden in there).
I really hope their future solo careers will be at this level (and for those who have't: go and listen to Malcolm Middleton's last LP, which really is one of my favourite musical work of these years).

Acoustic request show

Danny & Dusty: The lost weekend

Danny & Dusty were much more than the names could lead you to think: it was (on writing "team") Dream Syndicate's Steve Wynn and Green on red's Dan Stuart, plus Stuart's colleague on GOR Chris Cacavas, Long Ryders' Sid Griffin and Tom Steffen, and at last DS's drummer Dennis Duck.
The lost weekend was a collaboration of a couple days only, when all of these people met only "for the fun of it", delivering good-rocking pub songs for drunks and old timers (including a more than enjoyable version of Knockin' on heaven's door).
Many consider this some kind of a lost masterpiece (lost given the fact that it has not been re-released for a long time), and I do not completely agree with that because I still think that the Paisley Underground (the californian scene that included all the three of these musicians' bands) produced better than this (Days of wine and roses and State of our union come to mind...), but still The lost weekend does not deserve to be left in the drawer of some label forever because it is a collection of songs that many Paisley underground Fans could truly appeciate, along with Neil Young fans (I think of Ragged glory) or Dylan's (specially if you like some of his slack material).

The lost weekend

Cha VanGaalen: Skelliconnection

Chad VanGaalen is a young and talented canadian artist, involved both in painting and musicmaking. He has just released this Album -Skelliconnection- on which he played all the instruments and where he shows the many sides of his music: soft-baladeering, folk-pop (the opening Sing me to sleep), lots of 60's references (the beautiful, stunning, and yet with simple chord sequence Graveyard that reminds me of Harvest/After the gold rush-era Neil young and first Belle & Sebastian, though the lyrics are more reminiscent of Smog), indie-rock, and more (like the electronic folk of Red hot drops).
On the whole Skelliconnection is an album with a lot of naiveté (in a good way) and one that is also able to surprise you quite often with its music shifts. There are not so many out there (and this is how I have decided to uploaded, while I usually do not post brand new stuff).
...and check out the Surprise link all you West Wing fans (if there are any in here).

For more info about him:
See his Myspace page (if you want to have a taste of his songs)
or Newmusiccanada
or the Eye Weekly (there's a nice article with his bio)

Skelliconnection

Track 11

Here is track 11 for those who could not extract it

Track 11

Robert Wyatt: EPs

I'm not a great Robert Wyatt fan, but this collection of EPs just takes my breath away: specially the first three EPs (songs 1-14), which are loaded with wonderful cover versions, one of which is Elvis Costello's magnificent Shipbuilding, playedeven better by Wyatt, but also with a is-this-really-it?-version of Neil Diamond's I'm a believer, and then Peter Gabriel's Biko among others. The fourth EP is a whole different matter, with the eerie sounds from The Animals Film, and the fifth is a series of remixes of songs from Wyatt's Shleep album.

(And check out the surprise link because it is big fun, trust me!)

INFO:
See Robert Wyatt on Wiki.
Look in here if you are looking for his solo discography.


This is big, so it's split two parts.

Part 1
Part 2

Morrissey: You have killed me + Feist: One evening

Today a post with two cd singles: MORRISSEY's You have killed me (with 2 previously unreleased tracks) and FEIST's One evening (with a remix, a live -I think- version of Lover's spit with her and BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE, and a solo piano version of the title-track).



Link Removed

Tangerine Dream: Alpha Centauri

Today's album is Tangerine Dream's second LP, the cosmic Alpha Centauri, released in 1971 after first drummer (and further on succesful solo artist) Klaus Schultze left the band. Nonetheless Alpha is -like all of the first four TD first four LPs- a magnificent piece of work, one of the highest points reached by the so-called Krautrock. So forget about further-on progressive -and kind of boring- TD, because this is real cosmic music, not new age-y stuff good for waiting rooms or mid age hipsters (as most of the stuff they played from the late 70's and on).

INFO:
Web page on Krautrock with lots of links.
TD Fan site with interviews, articles, picture, etc.


Alpha Centauri

Sebastien Tellier: Sessions

Today I'd like to introduce Sébastien Tellier to those of you who do not know his music talent: he is a 25 years old parisian who has already released three albums, "L'incroyable verité", "Politics", and this one, the last, "Sessions". "Sessions" is something peculiar in Tellier's discography because it consists in a one-day session that pictures his playing some song from his back catalogue (including also "Fantino", featured on Sofia Coppola's "Lost in translation"), an unreleased track, "Classics", and a cover version of Cristophe's "La dolce vita", in a bare and extremely impassioned acoustic performance.
What makes the difference betweens this and the previous Tellier's LPs is that the french musician avoids here his typical and a-bit-of-kitsch arrengements, and in doing so his songs sound more sincere, unlike their versions on "Politics" and "L'incroyable verité" (beautiful "La ritournelle" apart) that sometimes seemed more a divertissement than proper songs.

If you want to give him a try you can also go listen to ST's songs on his Myspace page.

Sessions

The Go-Betweens: Before Hollywood (expanded disc)

Just as I said, here is The Go-Betweens' "Before Hollywood" expanded disc. And it is not a matter of half-formed demos (although they are, mostly, demos) or such: they are all well-played songs, starting with "Just a king in mirrors" or "This girl, black girl", and it includes also the single (from the "Send me a lullaby"-first LP-period) "Hammer the hammer".

Before Hollywood Expanded Disc

The Long Ryders: 10-5-60 (EP) + End of the trail (Live)

The LONG RYDERS are another Paisley Underground band: they were a cow-punk or -if you prefer a country-rock ensemble lead by singer Sid Griffin in the early 80's. These days with musicians as Ryan Adams or Neko Case being so hip LONG RYDERS are definetely a name to re-discover.
Today's download is LR's first EP (released 1983), "10-5-60", and a good-quality Bootleg called "End of the trail" from the final part of their career (presumably shortly after "Two-fisted tale", their last LP).

For more info see LR'S page @ Sid Griffin's website (a very-well made one, where you can also find some MP3 of live material), or Wiki.

Two links this time for the download:

Long Ryders (Megaupload)

or

Long Ryders (Sendspace)

The Go-Betweeens: Before Hollywood

Hello, and sorry if I have been away for a while (on vacation in Paris, by the way), but now I'm back and with a hell of an album...and I know I have already posted a lot of THE GO-BETWEENS' stuff, but in Paris I bought this one (I had not bought it before because it is not available in Italy, so I had only bad MP3s of it) and I am so satisfied with it that I have decided to make it my comeback-post.
So, I'm talking about GB's second LP: "Before Hollywood", IMHO their first masterpiece (cointaining the absolute gem of McLennan's "Cattle and cane"), and one of those record that sound both naive and stunning...their sound is so clearly stuck in the past but still fascinating and beautiful (in that it kind of reminds me of REM's first album, "Murmur": it is clearly an LP made in the ealry 80's with all that crystalline sound and fine-sounding guitars...in fact both LP's were released in 1983!).
Anyone interested also in the bonus disc?

The Go-Betyweens on Wiki
The Go-Betweens Archive

Before Hollywood

Re-post: Robert Forster - Radio showcase

This is for those who did not make it to download Fosrster's radio showcase.

Showcase

Robert Forster: "Drop" CD single + Radio showcase

And here is something for the GO-BETWEENS fans: Robert Forster's "Drop" CD single, plus a radio showcase with also two songs from his GB days ("Rock 'n' roll friend", and the marvellous "When she sang about angels").
By the way, you like the picture? I hope you do, it comes from the "16 Lovers Lane"period, when he had dyed his hair silver... (I have taken it out of David Nichols' biopic on the Go-Betweens: take a look at Amazon if you are interest, it is a quite good bok).

Robert Forster

Galaxie 500: Demo tape

GALAXIE 500 were Dean Wareham, Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang, one of the most talented indierock bands of their time (late 80's), and probably one of the best ever. They unfortunately released only three LP's before splitting, but year after year we discover more recondings of theirs (like the "Uncollected" album, the "Peel session", and the "Copenhagen" live). This is one more GALAXIE 500 fans should be delighted of: 7 tracks from early demo tapes, four of which do not appear in the "Uncollected" G.500 compilation.

Here is the tracklist:

1-Walking song
2-The other side
3-On the floor
4-Pride
5-(Unknown)
6-Open road
7-We...all right

If you do not know much about GALAXIE 500 go visit their myspace site to listen to them, or get to their website, which is full of lyrics, tabs, and such.

Demo tape

Re-upload for The Triffids

I have uploaded again the Triffids album since it was dead.
Just click on "In the pines" in the previous post (I have changed the link).

The Triffids: In the pines

THE TRIFFIDS were an australian rock band active in the eighties: they sound like something between late-Byrds and english-american post punk bands. This beautiful LP, "In the pines" is one of their best efforts (together with the previous "Bord Sandy devotional" probably), having it all of their influnces, well-balanced, in it. For instance: the country music of "Once again", but also the perfect pop of the title track (it reminds of the poppiest STRANGLERS songs), while "Suntrapper" is a great stop-and-go new wave thing, "Kathy knows" might sound like early CURE stuff, and "Better off this way" is the closest a band grown in the punk scene can get to write a crooner kind of song.
Plus you will find also a bunch of interesting bonus tracks along with the original tracklist.

For more info see this well-done fansite and wiki (also, on their official site there's this wonderful page with lots of downloads of rairities.

In the pines

The Beatles: White album (one-disc only)

This is a bit of a game I played: I asked myself "What if the Beatles had made one disc out of all the music they put on tapes for the so-called "White album" instead oa double LP? (I think George Martin would have appreciated a more concise work)
And I know this could seem a bit pretentious and all, but I tried nonetheless to compile a one-disc version that might sound fine (and, at the same time, I tried not to leave all the McCartney songs out...which is a bit of a hard work. I have always thought this was one of his worst period as a writer. He did much better sooner -"Pepper"- and after -"Let it be").
This is the result. Don't take it too seriously (otherwise you would probably want to chop my head for putting also an Anthology-version track in it...), it was just fun (at least it was for me compiling it).
I won't tell you the tracklist (it would take half the fun out).

White album

4 Beatles fans

Here is a great link for all BEATLES fans: on Beatspace you can find lots and lots of their stuff (incluiding 17 discs of "Get back sessions"...highly recommended!).

CD 5 Track 7 & 13

This is for those who have had problems unzipping these tracks.

Tracks

Sandy Denny: A boxful of treasures 5

And at last (I know it has been a long time since the last post) the fifth disc!
In it there are many demos (also home-made demos) with a very impassioned feel. I hope you have enjoyed the whole box.
Next time I think I am going to post a one-shot, and a funny one, so you won't need to worry about delays.

Box 5

Cd 4 Track 5

This for those who have had problems unzipping the first part.

Track 5

Sandy Denny: A boxful of treasures 4

And now, at last, the fourth disc, with more stuff from the seventies this time, both from Sandy' solo carrer and from Fairport Convention.
This time the zips are two because it's a big file.
See here for more details on the tracklist.

Box 4 Part 1
Box 4 Part 2

Sandy Denny: A boxful of treasures 3

And now the third disc: here you wil find mostly SANDY DENNY solo stuff, some unreleased versions, some live songs, and some demos too...
Enjoy!


Box 3

Sandy Denny: A boxful of treasures 2

This is the second CD, including many FAIRPORT CONVENTION songs from their golden period, and also a version of "The ballad of easy rider" that they recorded for "Liege and Life" but did not release, but also an exclusive radio recording), plus more songs (both released and unreleased) with FOTHERINGAY, and with ALEX CAMPBELL & HIS FRIENDS.
For more details about the tracklist see here.

The surprise link is dedicated to the memory of SYD BARRETT, our lost crazy diamond, for he will not return anymore.

Box 2

Sandy Denny: A boxful of treasures 1

This is the first disc of a wonderful box set for all Fairport Convention and Sandy Denny fans: 5 CDs with lots of unreleased and altrnate takes (the fifth also being made of home recordings). On this first youn can find songs from her early career: as a solo artist and with the Strawbs.
See Amazon for the tracklist.
I also hope some of you who do not know Sandy will try to listen to this because she is one of the the most beautuful voices of all times and, to me, I have to confess that it is hard to be as struck by a voice as I was by listening for the first time to Sandy's "Who knows where the time goes?" as performed by her with Fairport convention. Here there is her first version (along wih the Strawbs).
You may want to read some reviews on this box @ the BBC site or @ Artistdirect.
And on this fan site you can find her discography, while on this other one lyrics and tabs.

Box 1

Bjork: Family tree CD 5

And at last the fifth disc, this one called "Strings" as well, that includes 4 more songs performed live with the Brodsky quartet (and a "Play dead" really great with stings instead of saxophones).

Family tree Disc 5

Bjork: Family tree CD 3 & 4.

So here come Disc 3 and Disc 4.
The first is called "Beats" and contains 4 songs from '91 to '97, with an unreleased one (on official albums) and 3 reworkings, while the latter, "Strings" shows 5 songs beautifully performed by Bjork and the Brodsky quartet live through 1999 and 2000 tours.

Disc 3 & 4

Bjork: Family tree CD 1 & 2.

In the next days I am going to post one of my favourite CD Boxes: BJORK's "Family Tree". Released in 2002, between "Vespertine" and "Medulla", this wonderful collection of songs is rather peculiar, being it 5 (mini)CDs, two of which are called "Roots", two are called "Beats", and the last one "Strings", that span throught the whole career of the icelandic singer, with both scarsely or totally unknown songs and re-arrangements or remixes of famous ones.
Today I'll start off with CD 1 & 2, "Roots": in the first you will find five songs played between 1980 and 1987, one of which solo, the rest with Kukl, Bjork's first punk band, and with Sugarcubes, while the second's tracklist is made of five more songs, but this time more recent ones (1996 to 2001) from her solo career, with new arrangements and a beautiful live version of "Generous palmstroke" (one of my favourites) for strings and voice at Accademia S. Cecilia in Rome.
For the tracklists see Amazon, and fore more info about Bjork take a look at her well-made official site (also for "Family tree") or her page @ Wiki.

"Family tree" CD 1 & 2

XTC: Go +

XTC are probably one of the best pop bands of all time, but they clearly did not have a real shot at success, and this is why they never grew to be as famous as they would deserve but still are an underground cult (even after more than 20 years of career).
If you have downloaded some of the Children of nuggets you kind of know them already, being them behind the name "DUKES OF THE STRATOSPHEAR", a revival-pychedelic side project of theirs. Well, this is another unusual work out of ther vast oeuvre, an EP originally released as bonus in 1978 -only 15000 copies- with their second LP "Go 2", and it is a very funny, even though naive dub reworking of that same album (actually only five pieces of it). Strange thing is that "Go +" shows -also 28 years on- ambition and originality that the original work lacks.
I assure you there is no need to be a raggae or a dub fan to be mesmerised by these five songs (otherwise I wouldn't, not being a big raggae/dub fan myself).
If you want to know more about XTC take a look at Wiki.

GO +

Kendra Smith: The guild of temporal adventurers

Here is a present for all DREAM SYNDICATE fans and those who love the Pasley Underground: the first solo album by KENDRA SMITH (and iI think it is out of print too), formerly a founder member of the DM (she played bass), and then played in OPAL (that, after she left, became MAZZY STAR).
This "Guild of temporal of temporal adventurers" is closer to OPAL/MAZZY STAR's work, since it's mostly about dreamy songs with harmoniums, chorus/fuzz-guitars and whispered voices. Like lullabies from the stratosphere, I would say...
But it is not only for her fans, being this a great album indeed, with extremely well-written pieces of music (sometimes it seems to me that it could be the kind of album that NICO could have made if she had had more melodical sense...and if she was she was born in south California in 1960, instead of Germany in 1938...)

And if you want to know even more about KS and her related bands try here.

The guild of temporal adventurers

Pandora

I don't know how many of you know about it, but there is a beautiful "musical discovery service" called PANDORA on the web that works like this: after you have chosen a song or an artist you like, Pandora creates a station which plays songs that are considered similar to the artist/s you chose. It is really simple and fun (it is like listening to a radio channel that can never really let you down). It is also possible to tell Pandora wheter you like the song it is playing or not (and in doing so Pandor won't play that artist again).

By the way, from now you can find it among my links too.

The Bangles: All over the place

After all this 60's music, now let's go jump forth to the eighties, with one of the most succesful bands of the time, THE BANGLES. They became wordly known thanks to their huge hit "Walk like an egyptian", but "All over the place" is often considered their best album (meaning not too commercial, not over-produced with lots of synths and such).

I have uploaded this because everybody seems to think about THE BANGLES as just another useless 80's band, the one-hit-and-go kind of, but...hey, Prince wrote "Manic monday" for them, so they probably deserve some respect.

Well, now I would not go and consider them a Paisley Underground band, as Wiki does: I know they are from L.A. as well, and they were friends with DREAM SYNDICATE and other L.A.-based groups, but , still, it is hard to see so many hints of that indie-punk/psychedelic spirit in these girls...

Anyway, this is a pretty good album, give it a try.

Bangles on Wiki

All over the place

CD 3, Track 12

For those who have hap problem extracting track 12 of CD 3...

12- You're driving me insane

The Dears: Live @ KCRW

For those of you who have loved THE DEARS' last album, 2003 "No cities left", I have uploaded a good radio showcase of theirs from 2004 .

If you want to know something about them and their forthcoming album you can find an excerpt here.

For more info on THE DEARS go take a look at their page on Wiki.

Tracklist:

1- Intro

2- We can have it all

3- Lost in the plot

4- Who are you, defenders of the universe

5- Interview

6- Hate, then love

7- Postcard from purgatory

8- Outro

DOWNLOAD

Nuggets II, Disc 3 & 4

At last the last two discs from NUGGETS II, I hope you have all enjoyed this trip!

And for the others, who have never listened to a NUGGETS compilation I remind them that NUGGETS II is based on garage and psychedelic bands from countries as Holland, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Austria, and Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, but also Japan and Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, and Brazil...! The time span is from 1964 to 1969.

Down here you can find the tracklist @ Rhino Records, the original press release, and a good article about NUGGETS II.

By the way, if you like the psychedelic image I used for this post you can find many more on the MALLEUS site, a great italian art lab which works on rock music, like on t shirts, posters, covers, videos, etc.

TRACKLIST @ Rhino.com

NUGGETS II Press Release

NUGGETS II Article @ Nude As The News

DOWNLOAD Disc 3

DOWNLOAD Disc 4

Nuggets II, Disc 2

Here is the second disc, with VAN MORRISON, THE MOVE, THE EASYBEATS, THE PRETTY THINGS and many more.

Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD:

http://www.megaupload.com/it/?d=JCIM0H4C

Nuggets II Disc 1

For all those of you who have appreciated NUGGETS here is NUGGETS II, a collection that comprehends thiose psych and garage bands that did not come from the USA (hence the subtitle: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond).

In this first disc you wilL find bands like THE SMALL FACES, THE PRETTY FACES, and MOVE.

For the tracklist see the link below.

TRACKLIST on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005JGA7/ref=pd_bxgy_text_b/002-9442634-5660839?%5Fencoding=UTF8

DOWNLOAD:

http://www.megaupload.com/it/?d=GLKNU0FJ

True West: Two true

Some days ago I found on "Twilight zone" (you can find it among the links), a download of a Paisley Underground band I didn't know (if you want to try it, I think the download is still working) called TRUE WEST: they sound something between LONG RYDERS and first DREAM SYNDICATE (but, sometimes with a darker appeal), and as many other californian bands of the time their music references go back to THE VELVET UNDERGROUND, THE BYRDS (mostly because of the guitar arpeggios) and generally to the west coast 60's psychedelia and garage rock, but quite often played with a punk angst.

Well, actually TRUE WEST didn't really fit in the Paisley, since they were not from LA, but it is as if they did.

Anyway, I searched something to post in here and I found this collection of songs of theirs that includes also the SID BARRETT-era PINK FLOYD's "Lucifer Sam", and the only-one-chord wonder "Steps to the door".

If you are willing to know more you can find some info about them and Paisley in the pages down here (and a very nice article about this californian scene too)

Short Bio on TRUE WEST:
http://www.answers.com/topic/true-west
Paisley Underground on Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paisley_Underground
Article about PAISLEY on Pop Matters:
http://www.popmatters.com/music/features/020430-paisleyunderground.shtml

DOWNLOAD:

http://www.megaupload.com/it/?d=0W1PTVQJ

Children of Nuggets Vol. 4

And at last also the fourth volume.

In here you will listen to PRIMAL SCREAM, the great Paisley Underground band RAIN PARADE (for all those who love Mazzy star), and lots more.
See the links in the post for the first volume if you are willing to take a look at the tracklist.

DOWNLOAD:
http://www.megaupload.com/it/?d=2JPUMYJ6

Children of Nuggets Vol. 3

And now comes the third volume. In this one there are bands as TEENAGE FANCLUB, FLAMIN' GROOVIES, THE CHURCH, and also JULIAN COPE.

Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD:

http://www.megaupload.com/it/?d=8TN4F0OE

Children of Nuggets Vol. 2

And here is the second volume!

You are going to have the third and fourth very soon, don't worry.

DOWNLOAD:

http://www.megaupload.com/it/?d=KPIEE3OQ

Children of Nuggets Vol. 1

This is "Children of Nuggets", a beautiful collection, the sequel to "Nuggets", which told the original 60's psychedelic era, while this one spans from 1976 to 1996. There are Paisley Underground bands as DREAM SYNDICATE, pop-psych straight revivalists as XTC's side project DUKES OF THE STRATOSPHEAR, and also early PRIMAL SCREAM and SCREAMING TREES.

In this first volume you will find DUKES OF THE STRATOSPHEAR, BANGLES, FLAMIN' GROOVIES, ROBYN HITCHCOCK's SOFT BOYS, and lots of other stuff (27 tracks, by the way).

TRACKLIST:

http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,3322724,00.html

CHILDREN OF...at Pitchfork:

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/comp/rhino/children-of-nuggets.shtml

DOWNLOAD:

http://www.megaupload.com/it/?d=RVRDA0OQ

The Go-Betweens: Cattle and cane video

Here is one more thing to commemorate GRANT MC LENNAN: the videoclip of the beautiful 1983 GO-BETWEENS' single "Cattle and cane" , a song penned by MC LENNAN and which, by the way, was prized by the Australian Performing Right Assosiation as one of the 10 greatest Australian songs of all time.

DOWNLOAD:

http://www.megaupload.com/it/?d=HSHVZDVN

For Grant Mc Lennan

On the 6th Grant Mc Lennan, founder of THE GO-BETWEENS died.

I do not know if I can add soething. But in the GB he wrote some of my favourite songs ever. I caught the news yesterday, and, after reading more about it (it is possible to post something about him, if you will, on the GB' s message board here: http://go-betweens.org.uk/cgi-bin/chatroom/discus.cgi) I listened and tried to play it myself his "Love goes on" from one of my most loved GB's LPs, "16 Lovers lane", over and over.

Listening, reading his lyrics,and then singing them really moved me: they were so typically of his songwriting, being so tender and bittersweet and still smart.

Here they are:

"There's a cat in the alleyway
Dreaming of birds that are blue
Sometimes girl when I'm lonely
This is how I think about you
There are times that I want you
I want you so much I could bust
I know a thing aboat lovers
Lovers lie down in trust

Love goes on anyway!
Love goes on anyway!

The people next door got their problems
They got things they can't name
I know a thing about lovers
Lovers don't feel any shame
Late at night with the lights down low
The candle burns to the end
I know a thing about darkness
Darkness ain't my friend

Love goes on anyway!
Love goes on anyway!

I'm gonna make you happy
I'm gonna spin you round
I'm gonna cut your strings

I put my foot flat down on the floor
I took it as far as I could
I took it down there to Sheridan Street
by the dark wood
Late at might when I want you
I lock you in my room
I know a thing about darkness
I know a thing about lovers
I know a thing about lovers
Lovers want the moon

Love goes on anyway!
Love goes on anyway!"

Today I have uploaded something for the fans, who probably own mostly all from THE GO-BETWEENS, but may not know much of his solo career, his first solo effort, from 1991, "Watershed".

THE GO-BETWEENS on wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_Betweens

THE GB's official site:

http://www.go-betweens.net/

GRANT MC LENNAN on wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_McLennan

DOWNLOAD:

http://www.megaupload.com/it/?d=AK9QDECX