Sunday, April 30, 2006

Dream Syndicate: The day before wine and roses


And here comes some more stuff from DREAM SYNDICATE: a beautiful live album recorded during a radio show a few days before they entered the studuio to record their first LP "The days of wine and rose"(hence the title) . So, in here there are songs that obviously ended up on that, but also a garage-rock version of DYLAN's "Outlaw blues", a more rocking cover of DONOVAN's hit "Season of the witch" and, last but not least, BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD(but penned by NEIL YOUNG)'s "Mr. Soul" (quite known for "stealing" THE ROLLING STONES' most famous riff...).
DOWNLOAD:

Monday, April 24, 2006

Dream Syndicate: Days of wine and roses bonus tracks


In these days Twilight Zone (http://rideyourpony-twighlightzone.blogspot.com/) has been uploading lots of stuff of THE DREAM SYNDICATE, and I have noticed that it has not uploaded the bonus tracks from the CD version of "The days and wine and roses", the DS's beutiful first work, so now I am (uploading it).
For those of you who do not know anything of this american band, well...then you need to know that STEVE WYNN (leader and singer) were part of the so-called Paisley Underground, an american rock scene of the early 80's, that had its roots in 60's psychedelia, garage, but also in 1977's punk. DREAM SYNDICATE definetely were the band that had to make it: after this first record they signed for a major (WB, like Huskers Du did), but without getting really anything out of it. No success, and no more great albums. In fact after the Velvet Undergound strongly-influenced "The days of wine and roses" and more acid and free jazzy/walls-of-guitars-all-the-way-'round second "The medicine show" they never were so (damn) good. Maybe because the line-up was different, maybe not, but eventually they split up.
But here they are at nearly their best, with some songs unissued, like the first "Sure thing", but also with aleternative versions of LP's tracks (previously appeared on a very limitied edition EP), or with rehearsal takes.
TRACKLIST:
- Sure Thing (EP version)
- That's What You Always Say (EP version)
- When You Smile (EP version)
- Soma Kinda Itch (EP version)
- Too Little, Too Late (15 Minutes)
- Definetly Clean (15 Minutes)
- That's What You Always Say (Rehersal)
- Last Chance For You (Rehersal)
DS on Steve Wynn's official site:
DS on Wiki:
DS's fan site:
DOWNLOAD:

Monday, April 17, 2006

For R.E.M fans...

Just a tip. Take a look at RBally (http://rbally.net/) -I put it also among the links-because he has posted a very good 1984 concert of R.E.M.
Highly recommended for their fans.

Tangerine Dream: Zeit



Here is TANGERINE DREAM's third LP, "Zeit" (english for time), and one of the most beautiful and most ambience-like albums of the krautrock band, though very far from the new agey music they will end up playing in the late 70's and later on. This is, as JULIAN COPE would say, the ultimate "kosmische musik", made by some of the most talented german musician of their age (including POPOL VUH's deus ex machina Florian Fricke on Moog).
Only four tracks, for what once was a double LP (it is about 74 minutes long), with names only a krautrock band would choose: "Birth of liquid plejades", "Nebulous dawn", "Origin of supernatural probabilities" and, of course, "Zeit".

Official site:
TD on wiki:
Fan site:

Friday, April 07, 2006

Massive Attack: Live in Berlin 2003

Here is a beautiful concert of one of the most important "electronic" bands of the nineties, MASSIVE ATTACK, out of his 2003 world tour. It is also very interesting to listen to it because, and if you have seen one of their gigs you know it, MASSIVE usually do not bring along on tour the "special guests" that usually feature on the albums, so there is no Sinead O'Connor, no Elisabeth Fraser, but nonetheless MASSIVE ATTACK songs sound still great.
Tracklist:
  1. Future proof
  2. Everywhen
  3. Risingson
  4. Black milk redux
  5. Angel
  6. Special cases
  7. Karmacoma
  8. Butterfly caught
  9. Name taken
  10. Teardrop
  11. Mezzanine
  12. Hymn of the big wheel
  13. Safe from harm
  14. Inertia creeps
  15. Antistar
  16. Unfinished sympathy
  17. Group four
Official site:
Fan site:
MASSIVE ATTACK on Wiki:
DOWNLOAD Part 1:
DOWNLOAD Part 2:

Thursday, April 06, 2006

Blur: Live at Le Bataclan


BLUR are one of the few great bands left, one of those (like RADIOHEAD) that grow up (or maybe grow better) album after album. There are not many of them. Mostly these days bands are a matter of a few (good) singles, a fast matter-of-a-hype kind of bands. Blur are not, though when they first reached success (during the "Parklife"/"The great escape" period) they could look like just another rock group for (brit)teenagers. But now a lot time has passed and BLUR showed that thay are something way different. A band that matters (in the history of rock 'n' roll). A band whose albums are not a mere collection of songs but homogenic works that deal with both personal and social issues, not unlike from what albums reached out to be in the late 60's.
This is one of the reasons why, in my opinion, they are a gret band: because they belong to this time and space, whereas many other hyped bands (see STROKES, INTERPOL, BLOC PARTY, etc), though they are not playing bad stuff at all, seem to have little to do with the now and then.
And this is also the reason why I have uploaded this french concert of theirs, one with a good quality sound by the way. As you can easily see from the tracklist below, it is part of the last tour, the one after the beautiful "Think tank" album. It is a bit of sad to hear Albarn tell the audience: "Graham wasn't really with us on the album...but it doesn't mean he's not coming back". Well, I'm afraid he isn't (and the absence of his guitar playing is audible and a pity). It is a good listen anyway. Enjoy.
Tracklist:
  1. Intro
  2. Ambulance
  3. Beetlebum
  4. Girls and boys
  5. Badhead
  6. Gene by gene
  7. For tomorrow
  8. Sweet song
  9. Moroccan peoples revolutionary bowls club
  10. Tender
  11. Caravan
  12. Out of time
  13. Crazy beat
  14. Brtohers and sisters
  15. Song 2
  16. Trimm Trabb
  17. My white noise
  18. Pop scene
  19. On the way to the club
  20. We've got a file on you
  21. This is a low
Official site:
Fan site:
BLUR on Wiki:
DOWNLOAD:

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Kraftwerk: 2


This is one of my favourite krautrock albums: made by KRAFTWERK long before they became a widely known band (and long before hits like "The man machine"), "2" does not sound so different fron other german bands of the time as POPOL VUH, with those eastern-influenced melodies and mantras. More importantly, it is an album where the machine is still part of an organic ensemble and does not have the lead on it (unlike the KRAFTWERK of second half of the seventies), so guitars and flutes and such are not more important than drum machines or synthesizers.
Official site:
Kraftwek on Wiki:
The early years '68-'73:
Download: