David Thomas & The Pedestrians - THE SOUND OF THE SAND & OTHER SONGS OF THE PEDESTRIAN

After the original Pere Ubu broke up, the group's central figure, David Thomas, embarked on a fascinating body of work with the Pedestrians that was both highly musical and experimental. Alongside veteran female jazz pianist Lindsay Cooper, Thomas stayed at Rough Trade Records for a 45rpm album, The Sound Of The Sand And Other Songs Of The Pedestrian. It continued Thomas's preferred furrow of avant garde rock.

The Pedestrians include drummer Anton Fier, a frequent Thomas collaborator, and, rather bizarrely, the great British folk-rock guitarist Richard Thompson. Thompson acquits himself nicely, as you'd expect, he contributes an appropriately bouncy chord vamp on the polka-fied "Happy to See You,"on "Crush This Horn, Part Two" he's harnessed to an atonal chord progression that doesn't give him any leeway. On the other hand, Allen Ravenstine's overdubbed synth doodles work very nicely on that track.
A subsequent lull was broken by Variations On A Theme in 1984. The release of More Places Forever and The Monster Walks On Winter Lake (with the Wooden Birds) allowed Thomas to interact with a huge body of diverse talent; he has collaborated with Chris Cutler, Mayo Thompson(red krayola), Ralph Harney, Scott Kraus, Ian Green, Richard Thompson, Anton Fier (Golden Palominos), Philip Moxham (Young Marble Giants), Eddie Thornton and Allen Ravinstein, among many others. After the issue of Winter Comes Home on the experimental label Recommended, which was followed by Blame The Messenger,the idiosyncratic Thomas later re-formed Pere Ubu.

THE SOUND OF THE SAND & OTHER SONGS OF THE PEDESTRIAN (1981)
David Thomas & The Pedestrians
The Birds Are a Good Idea (1:58),
Yiki Tiki (2:16),
Crickets In The Flats (4:58),
Sound of The Sand (3:27),
The New Atom Mine (5:14),
Big Dreams (2:21),
Happy To See You (3:32),
Crush This Horn, Part Two (1:49),
Confuse Did (2:32),
Sloop John B (5:09),
and Man's Best Friend (4:28).

Musicians:
Ralph Carney, Chris Cutler, Anton Fier, John Greaves, Alan Greenblatt, Paul Hamann, Scott Krauss, Philip Moxham, Allen Ravenstine, Tan Tan, Mayo Thompson & Richard Thompson.

Recorded at Regent's Park Studios (London), May to June 1981;
ubuprojectz

Herbie Hancock - Crossings

"Mwandishi" from 1971(the first incredible recording by this line-up), was just the beginning. Hancock refined that compositional style to the greatest imaginable heights with this groundbreaking 1972 release, "Crossings" that points toward his future funk fusion.
There are numerous elements constantly at play. This is an album of contemporary 'classical' composition with gorgeous ensemble themes, meets infectious funk grooves,alongside psychedelia, often laced with concise solos, all within one monstrous epic.
There can be little doubt that pick of the three tracks on offer here is Hancock's only composition, Sleeping Giant. After this never-bettered 25 minute epic, about which I can't say anything you won't already know, the writing duties are passed onto reed man Bennie Maupin, who dazzles us with the deeply unsettling Quasar, and then harmonically stunning Water Torture.
The simple reason for this being the greatest Herbie Hancock album of them all is that if you were ever looking for the career of the great man condensed down into one album, you would have to choose Crossings.
Herbie Hancock - Crossings

1. Sleeping Giant — 24:50
2. Quasar — 7:27
3. Water Torture — 14:04

Herbie Hancock, electric piano, mellotron, percussion; Billy Hart, drums, percussion; Buster Williams, electric bass, percussion; Benny Maupin, soprano saxophone, alto flute, bass clarinet, piccolo, percussion; Eddie Henderson, trumpet, flugelhorn, percussion; Julian Priester, bass, tenor and alto trombone, percussion; with Patrick Gleason, Moog synthesizer; Victor Pontoja, congas; Candy Love, voice; Sandra Stevens, voice; Della Horne, voice; Victoria Domagalski, voice; Scott Beach, voice

Scorn - Vae Solis

Vae Solis, the debut album from Scorn, features original members of Napalm Death. Of the many bands from the earache label, i think Scorn are by far the most intriguing. Dealing in repetetive rhthyms and swirling drums one minute and apocalyptic, crashing noise the next, they are by turns hypnotic and ballistic,but don't expect a steady dose of minimal dub beats here.
In its first incarnation, Scorn was a pummeling Industrial hardcore machine in which both Nik Bullen and Mick Harris had the same specific weight. Add Justin Broadricks (Godflesh)detuned guitar squall all over it and you get an idea of the content on this album. The first half is more bass heavy hardcore, but as the record unfolds the sound widens out and gets kinda atmospheric, leaving space for some Ambient-experimental and Dub reference points.
Still, its far from the later/Mick Harris solo incarnation of the project, but it is a milestone album from the first half of the 90s."Heavy blood" and "On ice" are two of the stand-out tracks, listen out for samples of the Crass' track "Reality Asylum" in there as well. Let these nihlistic beats take hold and appreciate their true originality.
Scorn - Vae Solis

• Spasm
• Suck And Eat You
• Hit
• Walls Of My Heart
• Lick Forever Dog
• Thoughts Of Escape
• Deep In - Eaten Over And Over
• On Ice
• Heavy Blood
• Scum After Death (Dub)
• Fleshpile (Edit)
• Orgy Of Holiness
• Still Life

nik bullens monium label
scorn myspace

Chumbawamba - Slap! (1990) Shhh (1992) agit -prop

It's been 26 years since i first seen the Chumbas play in the back room of a grotty pub in newcastle, i carried on going to see them play well into the 90s, long after they'd lost favor with the anarcho-punk scene. They always got slagged off for wanting to take it a step further, Chumbawamba wanted to use music as a weapon in the war against Capitalism. My partner went to see the acoustic version of the band earlier this year & thought they were still excellent...
Formed in a squat in Leeds, England, in 1984, these northern anarchists were a most unlikely mainstream success story, originally comprised of former Men in a Suitcase frontman Dunstan Bruce, onetime Ow My Hair's on Fire drummer Alice Nutter, and computer technician Lou Watts. After recording a song for a compilation album, the trio teamed with Harry Hamer and Mavis Dillon( members of one of the LP's other contributors, the Passion Killers) and the Chumbawamba lineup was thus complete. Rather than opting for the cathartic and visceral approach of fellow agit-prop, anarchist groups such as Crass, Chumbawamba produced cerebral and reflective music & quickly became a thorn in the side of British conservatives, mounting a series of benefit concerts for a variety of anti-Thatcherite causes and campaigns; before long, they were also the subject of frequent police raids.Released at the height of Live Aid-era goodwill,Chumbawamba's debut LP, Pictures of Starving Children Sell Records appeared in 1986, brutally attacking the principles of media limelight and career-boosting they perceived at the heart of the charitable event. Never Mind the Ballots...Here's the Rest of Your Lives was rush-released in 1987 to coincide with the year's general elections, while their 1989 follow-up EP, English Rebel Songs 1391-1914, consisted primarily of authentic 14th century anti-poll tax protest songs.
With Slap!, Chumbawamba began experimenting with sampling, the follow-up album, to be titled Jesus H. Christ, was banned on the eve of its release after the band failed to obtain the right to cover songs by Kylie Minogue, Paul McCartney, and ABBA. (Consequently, the focus of Shhh was censorship.)

chumbawamba-Slap!

1. Ulrike

2. Tiananmen Square

3. Cartrouble

4. Chase PC's Flee Attack By Own Dog

5. Rubens Has Been Shot !

6. Rappoport's Testament:Never Gave Up

7. Slap !

8. That's How Grateful We Are

9. Meinhof

Recorded in January/February 1990.
Chumbawamba on this record are:
Lou - Vocals, guitar
Dunst - Vocals, percussion, soprano saxophone
Harry - Drums, percussion
Alice Nutter - Vocals
Danbert Nobacon - Vocals
Boff - Guitar, vocals, clarinet
Cobie - Live sound
Mavis Dillan - Bass, trumpet, vocals
Simon Commonknowledge - Keyboards, accordion, piano
with:
Alan Wilkinson - Alto and baritone saxophones
Neil Ferguson - Keyboards
Dill - Whine
Derek - Woof
Mia - Vocals
Tania - Mouth organ, Vocals
Elvis Presley - Quaalude, Placidyl

Also appearing on this record are: Carl Douglas, Mark E Smith, Dagmar Krause, Elvis Presley, Philip Glass, Adam Ant, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, George Gershwin, Penny Rimbaud, Jake Burns, Rob 'n' Raz, Lenny Bruce, Muzsikas Ensemble, Mark Perry, Gang of Four, Poly Styrene

chumbawamba-Shhh

1. Shhh

2. Big Mouth Strikes Again

3. Nothing That's New

4. Behave!

5. Snip Snip Snip

6. Look! No Strings!

7. Happiness Is Just a Chant Away

8. Pop Star Kidnap

9. Sometimes Plunder

10. You Can't Trust Anyone Nowadays

11. Stitch That

Chumbawamba: Boff (vocals, guitar); Mave (vocals, trumpet, bass); Lou (vocals, keyboards); Dunst (vocals, percussion); Alice Nutter, Bert Bacon (vocals).
Additional personnel : Mc Fusion, Howard Storey (vocals); Neil Ferguson (guitar, keyboards).
Recorded in March 1992.

live luton library 85 & 1st demo

live boston arms 87

band website
myspace

Television Personalities - The Painted Word

The TVP's were formed by London school friends Dan Treacy and Ed Ball in 1977. Inspired by the punk movement they went into the studio and cut their stunning debut '14th Floor' 7''. The follow-up 'Part Time Punks' 7'' was a snide satire of shambolic amateurism with three chords & got played heavily by John Peel on his radio show. The band went on to release a number of singles, a compilation 'They Could Have Been Bigger Than The Beatles' and two great LP's 'And Don't The Kids Just Love It' and 'Mummy You're Not Watching Me' before this seminal recording .

The Painted Word was recorded in 1982 but for various reasons its release got delayed for 18 months. The album travels into post punk psychedelia and it's easy to detect an influence from The Byrds, The Creation and The Velvet Underground. . There is a real sense that no record company had command over it, because it has way too much depth to merely lend itself to a broad strain of pop culture. In that sense, it is a very d-i-y punk album. TVP's sound was moving away from the ramshackle punk sound that was so evident on their early releases & moving into areas being explored by the Astronauts,Dukes of Stratosphere, Swell Maps, Cravats & the Only Ones.
The title track is a masterpiece which contains a great riff, freaky percussion and what sounds like a lovely out of tune trumpet. It even has a Byrdsian 12-string freak-out at the end.My personal favorite song on The Painted Word, entitled "Bright Sunny Smiles" is a song also about growing old and cynical. How, at some short but cosmic time in youth there was a reason to wear bright sunny smiles.
Television Personalities - The Painted Word

1. Stop And Smell The Roses

2. Painted Word

3. Life Of Her Own

4. Bright Sunny Smiles

5. Mentioned In Dispatches

6. Sense Of Belonging

7. Say You Won't Cry

8. Someone To Share My Life With

9. You'll Have To Scream Louder

10. Happy All The Time

11. Girl Who Had Everything

12. Paradise Estate

13. Back To Vietnam

a day in heaven

myspace
5 CD EP's over at the pessimist club
fashion conscioushere
TVPs documentary on youtube here

V/A - Epitaph for a Legend

Epitaph for a Legend is the story of the International Artist(s) label, which operated out of Houston,Texas from 1965 to 1970. The label was run by Lelan Rogers & developed a mystique during the 1960s as it was the label of the 13th Floor Elevators & a number of other artists, including Red Krayola (known on early recordings as Red Crayola) and under Rogers leadership the label released some significant music and he is justified in claiming that the San Francisco sound first emerged in Texas with the Elevators.
Before the International Artists label finally closed their doors forever they released an amazing 13-album box set, which included 12 of their best releases & a very special 13th double album which comprised entirely of unreleased tracks from the label's vaults. From Texas psychedelic stalwarts such as Red Krayola and 13th Floor Elevators (including incredible pre-Elevators tracks from Roky Erikson and the Spades), there are many fine cuts by obscure garage punk acts such as The Chapparrals, and a terrific cover of the Bee Gees "In My Own Time" by Patterns.
The Red Krayola demos (many of which would be re-recorded for their debut) are a treat. Side 3 (on the original vinyl) is perhaps the only downer, as the blues tracks from Big Walter, Lightnin' Hopkins and Dave Allen aren't particularly exceptional. The radio commercial for the Elevators' "Bull of the Woods" is a hoot, as is Roky's spaced out late-70s interview on San Francisco's KSAN-FM.
This is the Limited re/issue cd on the Italian SUNSPOTS label,which was remastered and came packaged in a gatefold sleeve.enjoy

V/A - Epitaph for a Legend

1. Night Time - The Chaynes
2. In My Own Time - The Patterns
3. I Tried So Hard - The Chapparrals
4. A Part Of You - Thursday's Children
5. If I Were A Carpenter - The Electric Rubayyat
6. Poor Planet Earth - Sonny Hall
7. Communication Breakdown - Inner Sense
8. Hurricane Fighter Plane - Red Crayola
9. Pink Stainless Tail - Red Crayola
10. Nickle Niceness - Red Crayola
11. Vile Vile Grass - Red Crayola
12. Transparent Radiation - Red Crayola
13. I Want My Woman - The Emperors
14. 25 M.P.H. - Lost & Found
15. Breakfast In Bed - Big Walter
16. C.C. Rider - Dave Allen
17. Saturday A.M. Blues - Dave Allen
18. Conversation With Lightnin' Hopkins - Lightnin' Hopkins
19. Black Ghost - Lightnin' Hopkins
20. Excerpts From Interview With Roky, KSAN 4/1/78 - Roky
21. You're Gonna Miss Me - Spades
22. We Sell Soul - Spades
23. Splash I - Roky/C. Hall
24. Right Track Now - Roky/C. Hall
25. Wait For My Love - 13th Floor Elevators
26. 60-Second Radio Spot/Bull Of The Woods - Bull Of The Woods
27. Fire Engine - 13th Floor Elevators

texas psych overload over at psychedelic lion