My '80s Remastered - Pigbag

Born from jam sessions in the aftermath of punk, Pigbag gathered steam after convincing Simon Underwood to join the fun following his departure from The Pop Group. The band signed to Dick O’Dell’s Y Records. Their first single was 1981's instrumental classic called “Papa’s Got A Brand New Pigbag”, a stonking tight groove with skronky horns and a title that gave a "wink, wink" to James Brown. It stormed the charts, getting to #3 in the UK. I lived in the UK at the time, and became an instant fan - that's my copy of the 45 in the picture above. They continued to record but were never quite able to match the success of their debut single. Now Fire Records has compiled a two-disc set called "Pigbag Volume One and Pigbag Volume Two" that combines their debut album Dr. Heckle & Mr. Jive with a second disc or 12" versions, b-sides and live takes. It has been remastered and the result is fab, mixing punk, funk, jazz, ska, reggae and afrobeat into a heady, edgy brew. It is amazing to hear how well this stuff holds up today!

Pigbag - Papas Got A Brand New Pigbag (7" version)

Emerald, Sapphire, Gold

ESG - Dance To The Beat Of My Moody
London’s Fire Records has released a great two-disc compilation - Dance To The Best of ESG - from New York's legendary punk/funk family band ESG (Emerald, Sapphire and Gold.) Covering their earliest Martin Hannett produced tracks such as "Moody" and "UFO" right through their latest releases from the oughties, this compilation leans heavily on the foundation that made them one of the most sampled artists of all-time. A list of artists who sampled them? TLC, the Wu-Tang Clan, the Beastie Boys, Big Daddy Kane, Gang Starr, Tricky, Jay-Dee (J-Dilla) and indie rockers like Unrest and Liars. I'm a huge fan of their tight, minimal grooves. Over the last decade Soul Jazz records has reissued most of their albums, as well as the new music they recorded in the early 2000's. I own them all. This compilation is a great introduction for those of you who have never heard their post-punk funkiness but are curious. Highly recommended!

The Music Says I'm Old

This week's new releases that I am interested in are all... reissues of old records.

In case you live under a rock, this week brings remastered reissues of The Beatles back catalog. It is exciting for me because I only have the old albums on vinyl - I never did the original run of Beatles CDs in the '80s or the reissues in the '90s. If you have the big bucks (and can find it in a store) you can get them all together as a box set with a bonus DVD. I am choosing to go with the individual albums - I am a big fan of the later years, so I'm skipping some of the early stuff. From what I've managed to hear so far these reissues sound fantastic - crisp and clean and loud. So if you don't already own 'em I would recommend picking up a few.

The Stone Roses - Shoot You Down
The Stone Roses' self titled debut turned 20 years old this year, and this week it gets the deluxe 20th anniversary "legacy edition" treatment. In my musical kingdom it is almost as important as The Beatles records - a classic British rock record. Back in the day it was my fave for a long time. Remastered by original producer John Leckie and singer Ian Brown, it includes the original album with Fools Gold added as a bonus track, and a second CD of "The Lost Demos". You also get a DVD with a live show recorded in August of 1989 at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool as well as 6 music videos. It is a glorious reissue of a seminal album. It has been reissued before, but I stuck with my original issue CD. The old CD is a lot quieter than today's releases so I am pleased with the improved sound quality for sure! Haven't listened to the demos yet - not usually my thing - but have watched some of the live stuff and videos and it is all good! Shoot You Down is all about the guitar and shuffle-y beats - glorious!

The Feelies - Slipping (Into Something)
A couple of classic reissues from The Feelies hit stores this week too - Crazy Rhythms & The Good Earth. I was short on fundage so I went with The Good Earth from 1986. Produced by REM's Peter Buck, it is a fantastic set of VU inspired, jangly college rock that sounds just as good today as it did 23 years ago! The only annoyance is that the bonus content is not on the CD - you get a code to download three extra songs. Seems a bit goofy really, but whatever. Slipping (Into Something) is slow burning simmer with sinuous guitar that slowly builds into a storm of feedback and drums. Rock!!

What's In A Name?

Death were a Detroit based trio of brothers - David, Bobby and Dannis Hackney. In the early '70s they started playing r'n'b in their garage, but after seeing Alice Cooper in concert they decided to start playing hard rock. This was the mid seventies, and the African American community was listening to funk, soul and disco. Death did not fit, but they were undeterred and continued to rock. They signed with a small label and started recording. They completed their demo. Supposedly the band's producer met with Clive Davis and played him the music. Clive was into it, and purportedly said he would offer them a deal on one condition - they had to change the band name. This rankled David Hackney, and he refused. No deal. They soon parted ways with their label, self released a single in '76 and soon moved on to other musical projects and raising families. The story takes a crazy twist. Last year one of their kids hears the 1976 single at a party and recognizes his Dad's voice. He finds out that Death has a cult reputation that has grown from the one 7" single. He tells his Dad who digs out the demo from his attic. The son mentions the demos on the internet and a collector who owns a copy of the single happens upon the post. He contacts Drag City, the label contacts the Hackneys, and, as they say, the rest is history.

Death - Where Do We Go From Here...For The Whole World To See hit record shelves in February. It is a choice historical nugget, a primo slice of high energy garage rock. It is a juxtaposition of styles - classic FM rock a la Hendrix meets the crunching pre-punk sounds of The Stooges & MC5. Its seven songs rage hard, full of quick time changes, catchy choruses and blazing solos. It is, as a recent NY Times article called it, punk before punk was punk. I love it. A highly recommended reissue that I think rock fans will really enjoy.

My '80s Remastered - New Order

Factory Records' flagship band New Order have finally gotten the remastered reissue treatment. The two disc Collector's Edition sets of the first five records ('Movement,' 'Power, Corruption & Lies,' 'Low-Life,' 'Brotherhood' and 'Technique') arrived in the UK in September & October and were released in the US on November 11th. Hardcore fans the world over rejoiced, myself included - some of these early records I've only ever owned on vinyl. These same fans soon started to complain about the sound quality of the tracks on the bonus discs. Turns out they had good reason to, because it has since been disclosed that the bonus disc material (remixes, instrumentals, 7" & 12" versions) on these reissues were sourced from commercially available vinyl recordings instead of the original master tapes.

Wow. It is amazing to me that the catalog of a band as big a New Order would get such shoddy treatment. You would think that quality control would be an important issue here, and Rhino is usually pretty good with these deluxe editions. It is also surprising than nobody in the music press picked up on it in their reviews.

Peter Hook had this to say on his Myspace;

This is a very difficult one , we are aware of the problems and because we did not have finished product to listen to? It has, shall we say……. slipped through the net?? My great friend claude flowers has taken it on himself to sort this mess out personally, but please be aware , that after the fact it is going to be very difficult, unfortunately because many of you have purchased them already ( a great compliment in itself) we are doing all we can to try and get fresh masters made and available , somehow ? to try and remedy the situation, so please bear with us.
I have said before how difficult it is compiling this stuff, the masters steve and I listened to, were all basically from people's collections, so it was then left to someone? In the library department to compile, as much as possible from original masters, this is where it seems to have gone wrong , unfortunately it is industry standard these days to not have production masters of the cd's or the sleeves, much to pete saville's amazement, but that's just the way it is , hopefully they might resurrect the process after this. Here's hoping, hooky."

On November 20th, 2008 Rhino Records announced that they plan to reissue the reissues and will allow fans to exchange their dodgy CDs for good ones. They issued this statement;

"Warner Bros. UK, Rhino and New Order regret that the initial pressings of the Collector Editions of 'Movement,' 'Power, Corruption & Lies,' 'Low-Life,' 'Brotherhood' and 'Technique' contain some minor audio problems on the bonus discs."

"We are now in the process of correcting the problems, but it should be noted that due to the age and condition of some of the original source tapes, the sound quality may vary. A further statement will be issued once the corrected product is available. At that time, the procedure for exchanging CD's will be announced. Thank you for your patience while we resolve this situation."

Wow again. A costly and somewhat embarrassing mistake for the labels. Thankfully it will end up working out for us fans - I've got 5 of them that will need to be exchanged!

Today's selections come from the band's last live gig in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in November of 2006. The show was taped from a radio broadcast so there are a few radio station IDs included.

Ceremony (Live)
Your Silent Face (Live)
Blue Monday (Live)

My '80s Remastered - "Boy"

Island Records has finally gotten around to giving the first 3 U2 albums (Boy/October/War) the 2 disc "deluxe edition" treatment. You get the remastered original album, overseen by The Edge, and you get a bonus disc of nuggets, including live and unreleased stuff. I was a fan of the band from the first time I heard the opening riff of I Will Follow. They followed this with the remarkably assured debut album Boy. I spent hours listening to it. I loved how it didn't really sound like anyone else - hell, some of it doesn't even sound like U2 yet! It was spiky post-punk, full of energetic riffs and thundering drums and plenty of swagger. It rocked. It began a long, rocky relationship with the band. I loved them, bought the records and saw them live at the old Wembley Arena (The Unforgettable Fire tour, with The Waterboys opening). Then, after the overkill of The Joshua Tree and Rattle & Hum I was done. I returned to the fold a few years later, but for me nothing they have done has ever matched their first 3 records. Boy still impresses me with it's energy and charisma, and sounds as good to me now as it did when I was 16.
U2 - I Will Follow
U2 - Into The Heart
U2 - 11 O'Clock Tick Tock (Live at The Marquee, London)
_________________________
I've written a couple of posts for ickmusicdiy.com so be sure to visit on your travels through these interwebs. Check out LEGO album cover tributes, what Barack Barama has on his iPod, nab some Cristina mp3s and watch the great new Grace Jones video.

Funky Friday - Philly Soul Edition

Bunny Sigler & Dee Dee Sharp - Conquer The World Together
Love Commitee - Darling Come Back Home
Ruby & The Party Gang - Ruby's Surprise Party

I picked up this great compilation last week. It is a Legacy reissue of a 1971 compilation of lesser known tracks from the classic label Philadelphia International Records. Home to writers/producers Gamble & Huff and bands like The O'Jays, Harold Melvin And The Blue Notes, MFSB, Lou Rawls and Labelle, it is a treasure trove of the '70s soul scene. This comp has lots of lost gems and lots of the label's trademarks - deep grooves. lots of big orchestration, loads of sweet harmonies - the funk, ya dig?
_____________________

Check out my latest muxtape...

Don Cherry - I Walk
Estelle vs. The Ting Tings (DJ STV SLV) - Shut Up, American Boy
Alice Cooper - Clones (We're All)
Heaven 17 - Are Everything (12" Version)
Captain Beefheart And The Magic Band - Pachuco Cadaver
Bob Sinclar - Rock Solid
Thomas Dolby - Airwaves
David Van Tieghem - Out of the Frying Pan
Fiction Factory - Ghost of Love
S.O.S Band - Take Your Time (Do It Right)
Yellow Magic Orchestra - Pure Jam
Calvin Harris - Certified

_____________________

On your travels around the interwebs be sure to check out the newly created ickmusicdiy.com. The mission - "Let the people have the power. Let the general public create the content, and share their passion for music with others. As long as it’s music related, pretty much anything goes." I have already posted a couple of items, and plan on contributing regularly. Check it out and feel free to get involved!

The Lesson(s)

Steinski - What Does It All Mean? 1983-2006 Retrospective
(Illegal Art)
How a nice Jewish boy from the suburbs became one of the most influential producers in hiphop, sampling, and cut & paste.

Worked as an advertising copywriter for 6 years - Polaroid, Volkswagen, Atari, etc. Taught copywriting at The School Of Visual Arts. Spent all disposable income on records. Promoted and DJ'ed dances in Brooklyn, hung out at early downtown Manhattan hiphop clubs; Negril, the Roxy. Quit advertising.

With partner Double Dee (Douglas DiFranco; a prince), co-produced the series of records known as The Lessons: The Lesson (The Payoff Mix), Lesson 2 (The James Brown Mix), Lesson 3 (The History Of Hiphop) for the Tommy Boy label. The first lesson won a nationwide remix contest by Tommy Boy Records that was judged by Afrika Bambaataa, Shep Pettibone, Jellybean Benitez and Arthur Baker, and subsequently became a Top 10 request on urban radio nationwide. These analog tape cut-and-paste collages, still widely bootlegged (and wildly illegal), are generally acknowledged as three of the most influential works in the world of hiphop and dance music production. Cited as definitive influences by DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist, who recorded their own series of Lessons.

As a solo producer, crafted “The Motorcade Sped On” turning historic broadcasts of the Kennedy assasination into a hiphop record. The NME gave away a quarter-million copies of the song as a Flexidisc stapled to the cover of the magazine.

Solo productions for Ninjatune include “It's Up To You” and “I'm Wild About That Thing” a satire on sex licensed to Pretty Polly Bras (UK) for TV advertising campaign. Go figure.

Reunited with Double Dee (a prince) after 10 years to produce “Jazz” for Tommy Boy's 10th Anniversary. Also illegal, also bootlegged.

Other recordings include:

Numerous 12" remixes and collages,

Remix of “Relax” (Frankie Goes To Hollywood) for the film Zoolander,

Burning Out Of Control, an album length mix of the Sugarhill Records catalogue for the Antidote label (UK)

12" collage “Ain't No Thing” for the Stone's Throw release of The Third Unheard (Connecticut Rap) compilation.

Nothing To Fear, a mix CD reviewed extensively and favorably by Entertainment Weekly, The Village Voice, URB, Salon.com, Metro, The Wire and Hiphop Connection.

Featured in the documentary film Scratch.
______________

This is a two CD set, with 14 retrospective tracks on disc 1, and the 28-track Nothing To Fear on disc 2. The second disc (along with The Lessons) is perhaps the most obvious precursor to Girl Talk's Night Ripper and was described by Salon as “The closest thing to a [mashup] masterpiece the genre has yet produced.” Packaging includes a 20-page booklet featuring liner notes by Hua Hsu (The Wire, New York Times, Village Voice, Slate, etc.) and Steinski himself.

Lesson 1 (The Payoff Mix)
Lesson 2 (James Brown Mix)
Lesson 3 (History of Hip Hop)

Original Simple Minds Lineup Hitting The Studio

This item comes from simpleminds.com ...

The original members of Simple Minds are due to work together for the first time in 27 years when they enter a recording studio in the middle of June '08. In an event that many never thought would happen again, Brian McGee, Derek Forbes, Mick McNeil, Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill, have set their aim on producing at least two new tracks that could be released later this year. Regarded by both Jim and Charlie as a 'nice experiment', particularly as it falls within their 30 year anniversary, the week-long reformation is being viewed as one of many 'let's see what happens' ideas that they look forward to working on over the course of the next year.

Jim Kerr said 'Of course I am excited with the prospect of working with the original line - up once more. I had always believed that the day would come when we would get the opportunity to do so. The last time we worked together was on our "Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call" album, featuring songs like "The American", "Themes for Great Cities", "Love Song" etc, and it is still considered by many as among our best ever work. We have a lot to live up to, but we intend to have some fun attempting to do just that.'

Woo-hoo! That last part about Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call certainly pertains to me. It remains my favorite record(s) of theirs today, and still gets played a fair amount (in it's nifty remastered reissue form). I gave up on the Minds in the late '80s - '89's Street Fighting Years was the last record of theirs I bought, and haven't really paid them much mind since. They got a bit too bloated for my liking. This news is pretty exciting, and I look forward to hearing what they come up with. Here are some prime examples of this classic lineup's post-punk-slash-prog abilities...

I Travel
This Fear Of Gods
Empires And Dance
Love Song
Theme For Great Cities
Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call

My '80s Remastered - Night Time

Love Like Blood
Eighties (Kid Jensen Session)
The second wave of Killing Joke remasters hit stores back in February. Their 1985 breakthrough album Night Time has always been one of my favorites. This record saw them embracing slicker production values and a lot more keyboards, and saw them have a sizable hit with Eighties. It also displayed a new side to lead singer Jaz Coleman, one that had him actually singing instead of his gruff screaming. Turns out he has a lovely voice. Don't get me wrong here - there are still plenty of the hardcore riffs, tribal beats and chunky bass that KJ fans love, it is just presented a bit more subtly. I love it's mix of moody atmospherics, punk riffs and a dash of art rock. The remaster more than doubles the original's length with an extra nine songs; 4 Kid Jensen session tracks, non-album single New Day and it's b-side, and 3 remixes. A fine album on it's own, and even better remastered!
________________
This item from www.killingjoke.com will also be of interest to fans...

ORIGINAL LINE UP RETURN!!! JAZ, GEORDIE, YOUTH AND BIG PAUL WORLD TOUR

Finally, after numerous line-up changes through the years, all original Killing Joke members reunite for new album and world tour.

Drummer, Paul Ferguson, rejoins the line up for the first time since 1987 enabling a whole new generation of fans to see Killing Joke’s legendary original formation. Diehard fans have been waiting for this moment for two decades!

Bassist, Martin ‘Youth’ Glover also steps back into the live arena after a near 15 hiatus, having not played live with Killing Joke since 1994’s Pandemonium tour.

The tour will see Killing Joke take up a two night residency in most venues offering a different set on each evening. On the first night, they will play their first two albums in their entirety, 1980’s self-titled album followed by the album ‘What’s This…For!’. Their
second performance in each city will treat fans to 1994’s Pandemonium and the Island Records singles of’79 to ’80.

Godfathers of post-punk, Killing Joke return with their eagerly anticipated new album to coincide with their world tour. Album release date TBC.

My '80s Remastered - Steve McQueen

Prefab Sprout's second album Steve McQueen would probably make it onto a list of my top 25 favorite records of all time. Originally released in 1985 and produced by Thomas Dolby, it has been remastered (by Dolby) and paired with a second disc of newly recorded acoustic versions. The reason I checked out this album in the first place was because of Dolby's participation, and I remain glad that I did. It is a lush, dreamy album of pop songs detailing love and heartbreak. Singer/songwriter Paddy McAloon's influences range from Broadway show tunes to the '60s pop of the Brill Building writers to Brian Wilson, Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello. You get the idea - sharp, literary and musically complex. According to the liner notes this is really Dolby's album; "I gave him a huge collection of songs (some dating back as far as 1976), and almost all of the ones he picked were written in 1979, long before Swoon (the band's debut). I had no opportunity to test out any of my ideas about layers of sound. I had to get somebody who knew about that, someone on the technical side who was also a good keyboard player." Dolby fits the bill to a T, with his trademark synth sounds and production suiting the melancholy of the songs perfectly. And what songs! Bonny, Appetite, When Love Breaks Down, Goodbye Lucille #1, filled with sharp emotion and even sharper melodies, the kind of songs that make the hair on the back of your neck stand up and you arms gooseflesh-y. My brother and I once had a discussion about this album and we determined that it's first 6 songs (side A of the vinyl version of the album) make it one of the best "sides" ever produced in pop music. I still think this true.

When Dolby was working on the remaster last year he wrote on his blog "I am in Los Angeles remastering Prefab Sprout’s second album ‘Steve McQueen’ which I produced for them in 1985. It sounds INSANELY good. Many writers and music afficionados list this among their top LPs of all time, and listening to it for the first time years, I have to agree. Even if I was objective, I would agree. It’s a stunner! The fact it was never successful in America is one of the greatest crimes in living memory. Paddy McAloon’s voice; those chunky guitar lines interweaving with soaring piano; Neil Conti’s tastful drum grooves; Martin’s melodic, inside-out bass; and Wendy Smith’s breathy bittersweet harmonies, all combined in a magic formula that was at once soulful and challenging. If you never heard this album, I urge you to seek it out. You won’t regret it. And, if you like my music, please know that you don’t have a complete overview unless you own this album and 1990’s ‘Jordan: The Comeback’–because these two works are as close to my heart as anything I’ve ever put out under my own name."

Dolby's remaster suits the record well and was a great choice for the project. His familiarity with the material makes it easy for him to preserve the vision of the original. The accompanying disc of acoustic remakes strips all of the production, focusing on the songs themselves, and some of the versions are arranged quite differently. I love these songs, and its cool to hear the difference, but I think I will always prefer the album versions. Today I share two of the most swooningly gorgeous songs ever, and I heartily recommend that you go out and pick up this remaster for yourself!
Bonny
Bonny (Acoustic)
Appetite
Appetite (Acoustic)

Two Sevens Clash

(from the original album liner notes)"One day Joseph Hill had a vision, while riding a bus, of 1977 as a year of judgment -- when two sevens clash -- when past injustices would be avenged. Lyrics and melodies came into his head as he rode and thus was born the song "Two Sevens Clash" which became a massive hit in reggae circles both in Jamaica and abroad. The prophecies noted by the lyrics so profoundly captured the imagination of the people that on July 7, 1977 - the day when sevens fully clashed (seventh day, seventh month, seventy-seventh year) a hush descended on Kingston; many people did not go outdoors, shops closed, an air of foreboding and expectation filled the city."

Culture's album Two Sevens Clash has since become a roots reggae classic, having helped establish a vocabulary of terms that became the norm in reggae. It took inspiration from Marcus Garvey, Rastafarianism and Jamaica's reggae rhythms. It proved inspirational to the UK punk rock scene, with bands like the Clash and The Ruts embracing reggae rhythms. The music was impressive, making ample use riddim kings Sly & Robbie and their crack band, and production came courtesy of the legendary Joe Gibbs. The vocals are so sweet, with Joseph Hill's (RIP) lead working beautifully with the harmonies of Albert Walker and Kenneth Dayes. This year is the 30th anniversary of this classic and Shanachie has remastered it and reissued it with a bunch of bonus stuff. It is a lovely record, low key and simple. Today's selections are the stellar title track, and two of the bonus cuts, both dub plate versions of album tracks. Sweet skanking...
Two Sevens Clash
See Dem Dub
Not Ashamed Dub

Funky Friday - New York Latin Hustle!

Soul Jazz Records brings the hotness again with this smoking 2 disc set of NuYorican tastiness. Covering "The Sound Of New York" from the Latin POV, it's tracks range from the '60s to the '80s. It covers all the bases, with authentic rhythms bumping up against jazz, funk and disco. The big names are here; Tito Puente, Willie Colon, Eddie Palmieri and Ray Barretto all represent. There are lots of lesser known gems too, including a great cover of "Ain't no Stopping Us Now" by La Charanga 76. There are a few other covers of "Tighten Up" and "Soul Makossa", and a classic bit of lost disco greatness by J Walter Negro And The Loose Jointz. There is no chronological order to the comp, and I'm sure they missed a bunch of stuff, but when the end result is a good as this who am I to argue? A fantastic selection of funkiness to get you grooving today...
Nature Zone - Porcupine
Louie Ramirez - Do It Anyway You Wanna
Jose Mangual - Mai Kinshasa
J Walter Negro And The Loose Jointz - Shoot The Pump

Look for more Latin hotness on The Hype Machine and elbo.ws.

My '70s Remastered - The Pop Group

Rhino Records is a great label when it comes to reissues - everybody knows that. In April they put out a remastered and (slightly) expanded version of the classic Y by seminal UK post-p(f)unkers The Pop Group. It is a glorious thing. The only problem is that it is a Euro only release. Seeing as how the label has a big presence in the US I find it surprising that it hasn't surfaced yet. This week I came across the import at my local priced at $17 and had to have it. I have been rocking a crusty rip of this record for years now and it is ace to hear a crisp, loud and clear recording.

Originally released in 1979, this is the Bristol band's debut, produced by UK dub master Dennis Bovell. It is a royal soundclash, with funk, punk, jazz, art rock and radical politics all colliding in a sometimes heady brew. Lets be upfront here - it is not an easy listening record. Half the time it sounds as if the five members are all coming from someplace different. But then they hit that spot where they are all in agreement and BAM! You get a song like their debut single
She Is Beyond Good And Evil. Not on the original version of the album, it is a memorable bit of audio roughing up, as vocalist Mark Stewart rants and shrieks and squawks at you while the band plays like The JBs on acid. Included on this reissue is the bonus cut 3:38. A cool bit of psychedelic dub, it was created when Dennis Bovell took the track for She Is Beyond Good And Evil and played it backwards. A nice bit of deconstruction.

For further critical analysis read this review on Julian Cope's Head Heritage site or this review from Stylus.

Listen to more of The Pop Group on The Hype Machine.

New Music Tuesday - Big Science

This is the time. And this is the record of the time.
Today brings the release of the re-mastered 25th anniversary edition of Laurie Anderson's debut LP Big Science. I lived in the UK when this came out and I can remember how amazed I was that O Superman almost topped the UK charts (it got to #2) - all 8 minutes (!) of it, with it's bizarre repetition and vocodered vocal samples and sounds. It remains one of those rare moments when a performance art piece reached out and crossed over into popular culture, and it's hit status still amazes me today.

In the early 1980s Laurie rose to prominence as a conceptual artist and composer in the Lower Manhattan music-visual avant garde art-performance scene that Philip Glass and David Byrne emerged from. At the time of its original release, the NME wrote of Big Science, “There’s a dream-like, subconscious quality about her song which helps them work at deeper, secret levels of the psyche.” With instrumentation ranging from tape loops to found sounds to bag pipes to sampling, Big Science anticipated much of the contemporary electronic and dance music that followed over the past 25 years. Most of the songs were adapted from United States, her seven-hour performance art/theater piece. She was able to articulate the social/political anxiety she perceived in American society as well as a longing for safety and emotional connection. Big Science includes images of planes falling out of the sky (From the Air), the comforting yet sinister embrace of technology (O Superman), and the failure of men and women to speak in the same language (The It Tango). This reissue includes liner notes written by Anderson, and is enhanced to include the classic video for O Superman, and an mp3 of it's original B-side track Walk the Dog. Despite it's age it sounds remarkably good today. This is the beginning of a bit of a media blitz for Anderson; next year Nonesuch Records will release her new album Homeland, and she will then be touring extensively.

Check out the Big Science micro site at laurieanderson.com for some very interesting interview footage about the making of/history of/imagery of the record, as well as song lyrics. There is also a great clip over on YouTube of a new song called Only An Expert/Maybe If I Fall, where she tackles the state of the world's environment and the current US policy towards Iraq. As always she is right on the money. Here are the last two songs from Big Science - they run into each other so let them play together and enjoy the gently undulating rhythms of Let X=X and It Tango.

My '80s Remastered - Concert Edition

Tonight the wife and I are going to see this trio of geezers from the '80s who have recently reformed, The Police. You may have heard of them before - they were "the shit" for a while there. They conquered the pop charts of the world over the span of five albums before their pompous git of a lead singer/songwriter left to pursue jazz-lite, yoga and tantric sex. As much as I am not a fan of Sting, I am a fan of The Police. I love the punk-ish energy of their debut Outlandos d'Amour, the reggae grooves of Regatta de Blanc. and the world dominating pop of Zenyatta Mondatta. Yes, I enjoy the other two records, just not to the degree that I like the first 3. I feel a tad bit guilty about forking over my hard earned $$$ to Stink - like he needs it - but I never saw them back in the day, and I loved 'em so, so there you go. As you would imagine, I have spent the last week listening to my remasters from 2003. Here are three songs from those early records, and bring on the geezers rocking!Next To You
Walking On The Moon
When The World Is Running Down

Funky Friday Is A Family Affair

All seven of Sly & The Family Stone's classic albums have been remastered and expanded, many with previously unreleased tracks. They are available as a box set (which my fave record shop had on sale for $60.00 - now that's a deal!) and individually. They are numbered, limited editions in digipaks. They have expanded booklets with lots of photos and liner notes and details. They are fantastic. Seminal recordings, radical ideas, and tight ass musicianship - it's all good. Starting in the late '60s they blended pop, funk, soul and psychedelic rock in a unique and accessible way. Over the years (and with the help of a lot drugs) things got looser and funkier and spacier. I highly recommend these reissues to anyone with more than a passing interest in good music. Tracks marked with an * are previously unreleased...

Are You Ready
Higher (Unissued Single Version)*
Dance To The Music

Underdog
You Better Help Yourself (Instrumental)*
A Whole New Thing

Family Affair
You Caught Me Smilin'
There's A Riot Goin' On

Time For Livin'
Loose Booty (Alternate Version)*
Small Talk

Best Of 2006 - The Reissues

2006 was a very good year for reissues, particularly for fans of the music of the early '80s. You had expanded remasters of all kinds of stuff - all of the Yello albums, Depeche Mode 2 disc-ers, the Siouxsie & The Banshees back catalogue, The Cure 2 disc-ers, the early Ultravox albums and Heaven 17's early stuff. Then there were the Jesus And Mary Chain reissues (BOO! for the lack of bonus stuff), the Wire reissues, the first two Pretenders records as well as their Pirate Radio box. There were some nice compilations - Delta 5's Singles & Sessions 1979-81, Zero | A Martin Hannett Story '77-91, A Tom Moulton Mix from SoulJazz and 7"Up! - Singles Only UK 78-82 which collected rare and obscure post-punk stuff. Then you have The Clash's Singles box, The Incredible Bongo Band's Bongo Rock, the Ike Yard collection and The Beatles' Love. Not too shabby. And then there are these...

Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 - Daytripper
Herb Alpert Presents...
A&M finally reissued the band's first three albums. I have loved these guys since I was like 2 or 3, so I was psyched to pick these up. Bossa nova treatments rule.

Robert Fripp - Chicago
Robert Fripp - Northstar
Exposure
I blogged this album a bit earlier this year. This reissue collects two different mixes of the album with a bunch of bonus material. Ambient, prog, punk and art rock are all present, as well as stellar vocals from Daryl Hall.

Au Pairs - You
Au Pairs - Inconvenience (12" Version)
Stepping Out Of Line - The Anthology
The complete, collected works of the Au Pairs. That's two albums plus all kinds of 12" mixes, b-sides and live stuff. Great stuff.

Josef K - Sense Of Guilt
Josef K - Endless Soul
Entomology
Finally, a comprehensive set to commemorate this Scottish combo's brilliant but brief career! Full of scratchy, jangly goodness.

Brian Eno & David Byrne - The Jezebel Spirit
Brian Eno & David Byrne - Defiant
My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts
My personal fave reissue of the year. I have waited a long time for this, and it didn't disappoint. It still sounds as good to me as now as it did all those years ago, and the bonus material is pretty interesting.