I’m starting to think through what comes next after wrapping up my Flower Kings series (should be done this week), and make sure it doesn’t interfere with the other big series I have coming up – that’s the 11th annual Hooptober marathon over on Letterboxd, where an ever-increasing amount of folks band together over the course of late September into October watching way too many horror films based on a set of strict rules. My list is here, and I expect to summarize my reviews here to make up for the lack of consistent content until the marathon wraps up on Halloween. And so I looked over at my carefully arranged futon at all the vinyl records, cassettes, and CDs that came in and, uh…yeah. I’m pretty well sorted for the next month or so.
This summary won’t count as actual reviews, but here’s what I grabbed or received in the last week that I plan to cover, sorted by format:
VINYL
Gun – Gun (S/T): Forget for a moment what kind of music this is, and just check out that album cover, painted by none other than the legendary Roger Dean. Gun (or The Gun) were a short-lived power trio and Gun is their 1969 debut. expect the kind of groovy heavy rock that I guess would be classified as “proto-metal” nowadays based on the riffing going on in opener “Race With The Devil” but the band had plenty of tricks up their sleeves, including more chamber-oriented pop on “The Sad Sags Of The Boy and the Bee” and the extended 11-minute freak jam of closing number “Take Off”.
Alternative TV – The Image Has Cracked: From early hard rock to early punk rock, I think I first came across the work of Alternative TV in a Henry Rollins book, and quickly grabbed a digital copy of the record back when streaming wasn’t a reality and you had to buy your digital albums. Finding this pristine copy of the band’s debut album (an Italian reissue) upstate at my home away from home LRS Spike’s Record Rack was a nice surprise, and I had no choice but to bring it home. Musically this isn’t exactly top tier British punk (it’s no Damned or Buzzcocks), but it has weird post-punk edge I enjoy.
Roky Erikson – The Evil One: The mighty, the one of a kind Roky Erikson was another discovery by the way of Mr. Henry Rollins and his radio show. I quickly picked up digital copies of his albums, including this classic album which actually compiles sessions from two different lineups in the late 70s. I managed to find decent CDs for Gremlins Have Pictures and Don’t Slander Me, but was holding out for a vinyl for his best album. Once again, Spike’s had me covered with this lovely re-issue from Light in the Attic Records. If you’re looking for some cookin’ rock and roll look no further.
Blondie – Autoamerican: Chalk this one up to my wife, although to be fair I have absolutely no complaints. When we first met and started dating she saw I was learning to play guitar, and told me she could play some piano. When pressed she pulled out the smallest Casio keyboard you ever saw and proceeded to play the vocal melody – badly – to “The Tide Is High.” 30+ plus years later we’re still together and since I was out I decided she needed that song on vinyl. I was actually looking for and expecting to find the greatest hits collection, but the record shop weirdly only had six copies of Autoamerican. Fortunately it not only has “The Tide Is High” but also “Rapture” and additionally might be their most out-there album. All winning points in my book.
Goat – Commune: Not an album I expected to ever own a physical copy of, but when I saw a copy of the great Swedish fusion/world/psych band’s 2014 opus at a great price (it was only $15) I had to grab it. It’s hard to put to words the kind of music Goat make: there’s definitely a world element that also heavily favors reverb and droning melodies that evoke a trance, albeit one that is more danceable than meditative. I’ve seen some comparison to Spacemen3, another band I just discovered and can’t wait to dig more into. Regardless of classification, Goat are doing some really tremendous stuff on Commune and I’m looking forward to digging deeper into the tracks.
These last three were recent mail orders that arrived:
Miles Davis – On The Corner (Mobile Fidelity Edition): My very first MoFi album, and it’s a doozy. I’m one of those weirdos who doesn’t place Bitches Brew as high on the Mt. Rushmore of fusion classics (or even Miles Davis classics) as everyone else, preferring In A Silent Way and this album, which is way more straight ahead funk and rock-oriented. I had seen a few rough copies around for a lot of money; when Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs announced they were releasing a Supervinyl version of the album I jumped at the chance to add this to my collection. Will be able to hear the sonic differnces on my okay but nothing to write home about sound system. Maybe not…yet.
Piah Mater – Under The Shadow Of A Foreign Sun: Folks still lamenting the loss of “heavy” Opeth cheered with the release of “§ 1”, the first single from the forthcoming Last Will And Testament. I suspect they’re going to be in for some disappointment (not me, I can’t wait); in the meantime they should be cheering for the likes of Piah Mater, a South American band doing the Opeth thing like no other band right now. Super heavy, super progressive, and filled with little touchstones that will recall Opeth but also call to the band’s Latin roots. I loved their prior release, 2018’s The Wandering Daughter and have been waiting for years for the next thing. Now it’s here and I’m very, very happy.
Zeal & Ardor – Greif: I’ve been on board the Manuel Gagneux train since Zeal & Ardor’s debut Devil Is Fine before it was pulled and then eventually re-released. It’s been a series of highs and not quite as highs, alternating in turn: a brilliant and shocking debut, mixing furious modern black metal with spirituals and the soul of rebellion; a sophomore effort (Stranger Fruit) that aimed a little too high and got muddled in its proggy expansiveness; a third self-titled album that consolidated everything and honed it to a razor’s edge that for me remains the apex of the band. And now we have album #4, a record that aims for more a concise experimentation in form and…kinda succeeds? I definitely like it, but need a little more time before rendering a final verdict. Thankfully the vinyl will help with that.
Compact Disc
Led Zeppelin – Inner City Blues: I blame a lot of folks for my sad, sad plummet into bootlegs…just kidding – I love it. Supposedly this broadcast performance from 1973 in Southampton was Jimmy Page’s choice for an official live album release but was overruled in favor of the MSG release that became The Song Remains The Same. Were they right? I have no idea – all I can tell you is this bootleg sounds AMAZING, and the band is simply on fire. Two discs, every song a stone cold classic played with the fire of Hell. LaserCD has been a devil in their offerings, often speaking directly to my soul, whispering of bootlegs from Genesis, Pink Floyd, and others that I’ve had no choice but to buy. This is just the latest in a series, and damn if it isn’t one of the best so far.
Deep Purple – Live in Japan (Japanese Import): I’ve mentioned in multiple posts now my recent fascination with all eras of Deep Purple. I’m still looking for a good vinyl copy of Made in Japan; in the meantime, this Japanese import on CD has a remastered and corrected version (Blackmore is panned correctly) of the album on Disc 1, and a bonus disc of additional tracks from the other nights the band played. I’m a sucker for a good obi strip (the Roky Erikson vinyl has one, too) and even thought my recent deep dives have been in the Coverdale and Steve Morse iterations of the band, you can’t deny the staying power of the classic configuration, and damn if tracks like “Child In Time” and Highway Star” don’t sound absolutely massive on this disc.
Velocity Girl – Ultracopacetic (Copacetic Remixed and Expanded): Someday I’ll write about how Velocity Girl’s Simpatico! was a defining album of my college years; until then, I’m content to dive deep into this completely overhauled version of the College Park, MD indie band’s debut album. I had listened to Copacetic a few times after discovering the band, but soon pushed it away due to the horrendous production job in favor of cleaner, clearer pastures. This new version takes into account decades of learnings about production and – if you believe the press release – this new mix is what the band have always envisioned the album sounding like. I absolutely love it, finding a depth and maturity right off there cuff I never identified before. This kind music was as much the soundtrack to my college years as anything heavy I might have been listening to, and I’m overjoyed to have it in my collection.
Tim Bowness – Butterfly Mind: Tim Bowness is one half of No-Man, the progressive pop outfit with Steven Wilson. He’s also one half of The Album Years, a very fun podcast he does with Wilson. But even though Wilson is present here on Butterfly Mind as the person doing the mixing and mastering, make no mistake: this piece of progressive pop confection comes from Bowness. I took a chance on this after hearing the single for his forthcoming album Powder Dry and so far I’m very happy with what I’m hearing: challenging and innovative music that is “pop” without catering to a lowest common denominator. More to come when I review, as this is the two disc edition with alternate mixes and bonus tracks.
Epitaph – Outside The Law: I definitely know the origins for this one. All the way back in 2007 there was an article in Decibel Magazine from Scott Seward about “The Filthy 50” – a list of 50 albums that covered more obscure late 60s/early 70s proto-metal. It’s where I learned about Toe Fat, Dust, Bloodrock, High Tide (all albums I’ll be covering on this site)…and Epitaph, a German band whose 1974 album sparked comparisons to Wishbone Ash and others. It rocks, it’s fun, and finding a copy of the CD means I’ll be annoying my wife for the next few months on road trips. I know there were dozens of bands aping the big league players, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t jewels to be found, and this’ along with the others I mentioned above all have some shades that strike at my rock and roll heart.
Aurora Clara – IV: Fourth (shocker, I know) from this jazz fusion outfit out of Madrid. Came up on Sea of Tranquility’s The Professor’s Picks with Ken Golden, who runs LaserCD. It was the perfect antidote to the vast amount of progressive rock and metal I was listening to. Sometimes you just want some fusion, you know? The group throws in world and flamenco influences, and there’s some jazz flute that kinda kills. If you dig great guitar solos, you could do a whole lot worse than check out the fretboard fury of Raul Mannola – dude is a wizard. That goes for the whole band, which also features flute and keyboards in the solo section along with a terrific rhythm section. My plan is to start here at the new album and work my way backwards.
Cassette
Deceased – Children of the Morgue: I’m not going to say that cassettes have anywhere near the fidelity of either vinyl or CDs…hell, I’m not even 100% sure why I’m still collecting cassettes i the first place. But there’s something about the format that draws me, especially when it holds filthy death metal like Deceased have consistently been putting out for decades. The new albums instantly brings me back to the first time I heard 1997’s Fearless Undead Machines.. Who else was putting out seven and eight minute death metal like this? There are odd atonal shades of Voivod in the new album’s riffing, just going to show you these old dogs know plenty of new tricks.
Wraithfyre – Of Fell Peaks and Haunted Chasms: This is the kind of music you gran on cassette. Powerful traditional black metal mixed with a healthy dose of death. I’ve heard a lot of complaints from the Nine Circle crew about the vocals, but I really like them…and then I realized why: they sound a LOT like what I do in Necrolytic Goat Converter. Oh well, I’m fine with that, and I’m doubly fine the with the brand of black metal this UK group is dealing in. Their label Naturmacht has been involved in some sketchy things, but so far I don’t detect any hate or weird racist bullshit in the band’s music, so I’m calling this safe and have been putting it in steady rotation on my serviceable deck.
Okay, what was supposed to be a brief summary of my purchases turned into over 2000 words, so we’re cutting it here. Expect the last Flower Kings review, the next playlist, and then interspersed with way too much horror we’ll start breaking these and other records down.
Be safe.
Consuming the Tangible 