News & Events

 

PRICE: $32.00

CAT #: BEC 5156505

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

2024 restock. Originally released in 1999. Double 12" vinyl edition in gatefold sleeve. Includes CD. The CD included in the LP features the 16 tracks in the same order. 1999: after the global supremacy of Oasis and Blur, the world is looking for some musical freshness. Some artists such as Daft Punk and Air have already contributed to globally popularize what the English called the "French Touch", a new term that refers to a large musical French movement. 1999, the first album by Cassius, is one of the key pieces of this growing genre, and demonstrates once again the variety of the trend. Indeed, after have cooperated for a long time with MC Solaar, one of France's '90s best rappers, the hip-hop influence of both Cassius members had to have an impact on their personal concept, and it seduced a lot of listeners hungry for new musical flavors: more than 250,000 units sold worldwide and numerous unconditional fans.

 

PRICE: $29.50

CAT #: BT 118LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Black Truffle announces the first vinyl reissue of Trancedance, a wild slice of Swedish Afro-fusion from Christer Both?n, originally released in 1984. A major figure in Swedish jazz and improvised music since the 1970s, often heard on bass clarinet and tenor sax, Bothen studied doso n'koni (the large six-stringed "hunter's harp" of the Wasulu) in Mali in 1971-1972 before turning to the guinbri (the three-stringed lute of the Gnawa/Gnauoua) in Marakesh later in the decade. In between, he performed extensively with Don Cherry during his Organic Music Society period and taught Cherry the doso n'koni. In the later '70s and '80s he worked with the most important figures in the distinctive Swedish jazz-rock-world fusion scene, joining Archimedes Badkar for their African-influenced Tre and participating in Bengt Berger's legendary Bitter Funeral Beer Band. Many of the musicians who played on the Bitter Funeral Beer Band's ECM LP (including Berger on drums, Anita Livstrand on voice and percussion and Tord Bengstsson on piano, violin and guitar) joined Both?n for one of the sessions that produced Trancedance, the first release under his own name, dedicated to his compositions. The other session introduced his seven-piece group Bolon Bata, heard on the second track of each side. Using an expanded 16-piece ensemble, the music balances untethered improvisation with carefully arranged passages of knotty ensemble playing that at points suggest Mingus, Moacir Santos, or some of the ambitious post-free work being done in the same years by figures like David Murray or Henry Threadgill. A must for fans of the Swedish scene around groups like Arbete och Fritid and Archimedes Badkar, as well as any listener who has been seduced by Louis Moholo's Spirits Rejoice!, The Brotherhood of Breath, or, more recently, the guinbri grooves of Natural Information Society, Trancedance is a lost classic ripe for rediscovery.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: BLUE 033LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"In the Merry Month of May is the final studio recording of the late, great Tony Conrad, and the first duo release with Jennifer Walshe, one of Conrad's most important collaborators in the final decade of his life. Befitting these two absurdly gifted hell-raisers, this is a wild, improvisatory flaying of song, with Walshe's clarion voice at the heart of the enterprise. The sheer sonic force of opener 'In the Merry Month of May' recalls the ecstatic charge of Conrad's Slapping Pythagoras. Ramshackle, go-for-broke performances provide gist for your next twelve months of earworms. Conrad's and Walshe's prior work are about the only relevant reference points, and even then In the Merry Month of May is a one-of-a-kind concoction whipped up by two fearless and often peerless souls. It's a joy to hear the two of them, with such manifest mutual regard and commitment to busting a gut. According to Walshe, early in their collaboration Conrad related how they 'first began working together after they ran from service as servants of King Pepy I at the end of Old Kingdom Egypt. They were subsequently monks in Carolingean Gaul during the period roughly 820 to 850, Venetian courtesans at Pope Eugene's court during the mid-15th century, and prisoners on what was then Van Diemen's Land in 1843, where Walshe tried to secure Conrad's escape using 'remote viewing' techniques. The unfortunate outcome of the latter incident resulted in Conrad's work as a stage magician in Australia in the 19th century, where in trying an audience riot, they both accidentally ingested leprosy vectors and subsequently lost three legs and two arms between them.'"

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: BORNBAD 167LP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

2024 restock; double-LP version. Comes with printed undersleeve; includes download code. "... Watching a movie by Tati is a surprising experience; in his films, sound and music speak more than do words, overtaking the conventional discourse -- and boredom -- of adulthood. Hulot remains silent, or mumbles. Tati knows all about the noises of the modern world: beeps, rings, crackles, pneumatic drill, cars, mechanical, electrical and rubbery sounds, the high heels of secretaries and typewriters, factory noises, creaking doors, sighing chairs, machines and technical machines, franglais, vacuum cleaners and the whole range of small appliances... With all of that urban and domestic jumble, plastics of all sorts, linoleum and formica, he composes a virtuoso partition. Signs and signals, warning sounds and sirens mislead us in the urban space. Tati maliciously disorients us. Maximalist, he records on five tracks in skillful, tasteful rhythms -- a pleasure for the senses. Hearing Mon Oncle, Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot, Play Time changes one's outlook onto the world -- never again will you perceive the noises of towns and villages in the same way. The modern city is Hulot's playground -- with it he invents a totally new soundscape. Then there's the organic, the countryside, the barking dogs, the wasp bothering Fran?ois on his bicycle, all the way to the mailman's fall into the river . . . Tati masters the art of tempo -- there's not one sound, one note, one silence too many in the scenario. Pure sophistication. So try it tonight; put the record on, lie down, close your eyes and listen . . . Should you not ever have seen one Tati's brilliant films, nor his footwork and melancholy jokes, nor Hulot's poetic, funny perdition and all of his other meticulously sketched characters, then you're in for a trip . . . The world's noises concern and amuse him; they say just as much as the image does, take it into modernity, tell of our shortcomings, maladjustment and bewilderment. From music hall he kept a liking for Foley and the art of recreating sounds in a poetic otherworld. From the villages he brought back the funfair and the accordion; from the modern town: music the American way, jazz, some very Parisian tunes, and other merry-go-round melodies... Even without the images, it's still cinema! What's more: for his last scenario, Confusion, Tati had planned to collaborate with the Sparks, the talented band behind the soundtrack for Annette, L?os Carax's surprising film..." --Macha Makeieff Includes English and French liner notes.

 

PRICE: $32.00

CAT #: BB 448CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Founded in the southern German city of Bietigheim-Bissingen by Heiko Maile, Oliver Kreyssig, and Marcus Meyn in the year 1984, the band Camouflage scored an unexpected international hit with their debut album Voices & Images in 1988. Their sophomore album Methods Of Silence, released just a year later, was an even bigger success. Songs like "The Great Commandment" and "Love Is A Shield," went on to become perennial classics of the synth pop genre. Heiko Maile and Marcus Meyn recorded their fourth album Bodega Bohemia in the synthsound studio of Belgian producer and electro-pop pioneer Dan Lacksman. It was released on 26 April 1993. To mark the 30th anniversary of the album, the band opened up the archives to assemble a special bonus edition including a wealth of rare and unreleased recordings.

 

PRICE: $23.50

CAT #: COSMR 002LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2024 restock; reissue, originally released in 1976. Long before the term Cosmic Americana was of common use there was a band ideally fitting the role. Back in 1976 the long psychedelic wave was rapidly fading away, but the market of private press was still in demand. The self-debut album of Relatively Clean Rivers came out the same year on the leader Phil Pearlman's label. Pacific Is released just this sole album and was to a certain extent an original example of do it yourself. The brainchild of Phil Pearlman, the band was rapidly crossing genres focusing on extended long jam verging on Californian psych and proto-ambient country/folk. The man, a sort of local guru, was previously involved in two other projects: Orange County's own The Beat Of The Earth and The Electronic Hole, so to speak different names for the same group of musicians. While those two early efforts were explicitly devoted to a sort of LSD induced trip, the Relatively Clean Rivers stand on their own, merging styles and -- finally -- proposing an accurate songwriting. The first pressing of this sought-after, underground masterpiece has been traded for thousand dollars, now here's your chance to grab this rural manifesto. With much of the music being acoustic, there are elements of morphing electric guitars, smattered with strange, spacey moments creating a certain stoned atmosphere. The album is imaginative, melancholic, mellow, and exotically webbed. And then there's the band Wilco, citing Relatively Clean Rivers as being inspirational.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: DC 836CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Like a bolt echoing back from the blue, We Have Dozens of Titles restrikes the iron of Gastr del Sol, plunging the listener back into the maelstrom of their all-too-brief passage of 1993-1998 via an assembly of previously uncollected studio recordings and beautifully captured unreleased live material. Gastr del Sol's music was of the transformative variety?--?or was it transfiguration they were up to? Or transmigration? Flux was key, to be sure. David Grubbs formed Gastr from the final lineup of Bastro; on Gastr del Sol's debut, The Serpentine Similar, Grubbs, Bundy K. Brown and John McEntire downshifted from a thrashing electric outfit into a droning, acoustic-based one. Following this, the lineup shifted again, decisively?--?Brown and McEntire departed to focus on the project to be known as Tortoise, and Jim O'Rourke arrived, pairing with Grubbs to make a sequence of unpredictable leaps across genre and practical approach alike, over three LPs and a pair of EPs. We Have Dozens of Titles contains nearly an hour of previously unreleased live recordings, alongside another near-hour of studio recordings culled from previously uncollected singles, EPs, and compilations. As much as Gastr del Sol's albums showcase a group eminently at home in the studio, they were inclined to thoroughly reinvent their compositions in performance. While reviewing live tapes for this compilation, the studio versions of most things felt more and more definitive, with the exception of the live takes included here, which essay startling new qualities in pieces that have been in the public ear for several decades. The majority of these live performances come from a miraculous find in the CBC archive?--?a broadcast-quality recording of Jim and David from the 1997 Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville. The extended company of players on these numbers includes Jeb Bishop, Bundy K. Brown, Steve Butters, Gene Coleman, Thymme Jones, Terri Kapsalis, John McEntire, G?nter M?ller, Bob Weston, and Sue Wolf.?We Have Dozens of Titles revisits the slow-burning incendiaries of Gastr del Sol, finding, once again and after so much time elapsed, another, further set of reinventions."

 

PRICE: $65.00

CAT #: DC 836LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. "Like a bolt echoing back from the blue, We Have Dozens of Titles restrikes the iron of Gastr del Sol, plunging the listener back into the maelstrom of their all-too-brief passage of 1993-1998 via an assembly of previously uncollected studio recordings and beautifully captured unreleased live material. Gastr del Sol's music was of the transformative variety?--?or was it transfiguration they were up to? Or transmigration? Flux was key, to be sure. David Grubbs formed Gastr from the final lineup of Bastro; on Gastr del Sol's debut, The Serpentine Similar, Grubbs, Bundy K. Brown and John McEntire downshifted from a thrashing electric outfit into a droning, acoustic-based one. Following this, the lineup shifted again, decisively?--?Brown and McEntire departed to focus on the project to be known as Tortoise, and Jim O'Rourke arrived, pairing with Grubbs to make a sequence of unpredictable leaps across genre and practical approach alike, over three LPs and a pair of EPs. We Have Dozens of Titles contains nearly an hour of previously unreleased live recordings, alongside another near-hour of studio recordings culled from previously uncollected singles, EPs, and compilations. At long last, vinyl purchasers will hear the full range of 'The Harp Factory on Lake Street,' 'Dead Cats in a Foghorn,' 'Quietly Approaching,' and 'The Bells of St. Mary's' for the first time on vinyl -- all of it, live and studio alike, lovingly mastered and remastered by Jim O'Rourke, and packaged in a three-LP box set with a wicked Roman Signer image on its removable lid, interior printing on the box bottom and inner sleeves for each LP with performance credits for all the songs. As much as Gastr del Sol's albums showcase a group eminently at home in the studio, they were inclined to thoroughly reinvent their compositions in performance. While reviewing live tapes for this compilation, the studio versions of most things felt more and more definitive, with the exception of the live takes included here, which essay startling new qualities in pieces that have been in the public ear for several decades. The majority of these live performances come from a miraculous find in the CBC archive?--?a broadcast-quality recording of Jim and David from the 1997 Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville. The extended company of players on these numbers includes Jeb Bishop, Bundy K. Brown, Steve Butters, Gene Coleman, Thymme Jones, Terri Kapsalis, John McEntire, G?nter M?ller, Bob Weston, and Sue Wolf.?We Have Dozens of Titles revisits the slow-burning incendiaries of Gastr del Sol, finding, once again and after so much time elapsed, another, further set of reinventions."

 

PRICE: $13.00

CAT #: DC 876CS

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Cassette version. "Bill MacKay and Drag City are delirious with pride to announce the discovery of a new territory: Locust Land, a record which seeks to reflect the nerve-shredding consciousness run amok in our world today -- and somehow allay it with sound. Bill's music is a visceral crackling where it meets the air, and Locust Land can't help but reflect its era more than any other in his discography. It's been five years since the release of Fountain Fire -- but in the interim, Bill has barely stopped moving, collaborating with artists across the spectrum, including cellist Katinka Kleijn, banjo player Nathan Bowles, and keyboardist Cooper Crain. He's also contributed to recordings by Steve Gunn, Ryley Walker, Bill Callahan & Bonnie Prince Billy (Blind Date Party), and Black Duck (on their self-titled record featuring Douglas McCombs and Charles Rumback). Bill's sense of music as art is constantly modulating -- lifting off from where it is found and naturally migrating to some other place. Sometimes, that's elsewhere -- others, it's simply to be found deeper inside the starting point. And so, the action of moving on informs the landscape of Locust Land. Within the arrangements, there's also departure from previous norms -- in addition to the brilliant guitar work for which he is known, Bill plays a variety of keyboards, from piano to organ to synth, extending his music with the available voicings, while enriching the sound field without abandoning his signature brevity. Also different: on his previous solo recordings, Bill played every sound. Here, he has invited other illustrious Chicagoans to join him: Sam Wagster (The Father Costume, Mute Duo) plays bass on three songs, two of which feature the percussion playing of Mikel Patrick Avery (Natural Information Society, Jeff Parker, etc.). Additionally, Janet Beveridge Bean (Eleventh Dream Day, Freakwater) adds otherworldly vocal textures to the elegiac 'Neil's Field.' With cover art also by Bill MacKay (the third of his albums on Drag City to feature his work), Locust Land stands as a thoroughly personal statement from Bill to everyone everywhere."

 

PRICE: $23.00

CAT #: DC 876LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Bill MacKay and Drag City are delirious with pride to announce the discovery of a new territory: Locust Land, a record which seeks to reflect the nerve-shredding consciousness run amok in our world today -- and somehow allay it with sound. Bill's music is a visceral crackling where it meets the air, and Locust Land can't help but reflect its era more than any other in his discography. It's been five years since the release of Fountain Fire -- but in the interim, Bill has barely stopped moving, collaborating with artists across the spectrum, including cellist Katinka Kleijn, banjo player Nathan Bowles, and keyboardist Cooper Crain. He's also contributed to recordings by Steve Gunn, Ryley Walker, Bill Callahan & Bonnie Prince Billy (Blind Date Party), and Black Duck (on their self-titled record featuring Douglas McCombs and Charles Rumback). Bill's sense of music as art is constantly modulating -- lifting off from where it is found and naturally migrating to some other place. Sometimes, that's elsewhere -- others, it's simply to be found deeper inside the starting point. And so, the action of moving on informs the landscape of Locust Land. Within the arrangements, there's also departure from previous norms -- in addition to the brilliant guitar work for which he is known, Bill plays a variety of keyboards, from piano to organ to synth, extending his music with the available voicings, while enriching the sound field without abandoning his signature brevity. Also different: on his previous solo recordings, Bill played every sound. Here, he has invited other illustrious Chicagoans to join him: Sam Wagster (The Father Costume, Mute Duo) plays bass on three songs, two of which feature the percussion playing of Mikel Patrick Avery (Natural Information Society, Jeff Parker, etc.). Additionally, Janet Beveridge Bean (Eleventh Dream Day, Freakwater) adds otherworldly vocal textures to the elegiac 'Neil's Field.' With cover art also by Bill MacKay (the third of his albums on Drag City to feature his work), Locust Land stands as a thoroughly personal statement from Bill to everyone everywhere."

 

PRICE: $13.00

CAT #: DC 909CD

FILE UNDER: COMEDY

"The Emmy-winning 'Comeback Kid' himself comes back yet again with a blunt, brilliantly quotable stand-up special. Baby J takes the form of a wide-ranging conversation between John Mulaney, a kid in the balcony named Henry, and the rest of the sold-out crowd at Boston's Symphony Hall. And now, you! John dominates the chat, of course -- and while his cautionary tales are a bit too convulsive to be functionally preventative, you probably aren't here to be cautioned. So have at it!"

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: DC 909LP

FILE UNDER: COMEDY

LP version. "The Emmy-winning 'Comeback Kid' himself comes back yet again with a blunt, brilliantly quotable stand-up special. Baby J takes the form of a wide-ranging conversation between John Mulaney, a kid in the balcony named Henry, and the rest of the sold-out crowd at Boston's Symphony Hall. And now, you! John dominates the chat, of course -- and while his cautionary tales are a bit too convulsive to be functionally preventative, you probably aren't here to be cautioned. So have at it!"

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: DC 913EP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Should the name Jim Rafferty sound a tad familiar, he is in fact the older brother of Gerry Rafferty, of 'Baker Street' and 'Stuck In The Middle with You' fame. As a songwriter, Jim had signed a solo deal with Decca in the late '70s. Times were changing across the music business, and Jim, always seeking new challenges, continued to write interesting, idiosyncratic material. He signed a self-penned, nervy and minimalist new work 'I See Red,' to Hit & Run publishing, which was picked up by Phil Collins for Abba star Frida's solo album. The song's outsider narrative and implied reggae rhythm, made somewhat cartoonishly explicit in Frida's version, also found favor with a number of other artists, notably Clannad, whose album Magical Ring included their near identical version of 'I See Red,' and gained chart placing in the UK. The flip-side of Jim's 'I See Red' has its own cover history -- 'Fear Strikes Out' first appeared on Ian Matthews' 1984 LP, Shook. Matthews, a journeyman who'd once sung in Fairport Convention alongside Judy Dyble and Sandy Denny and later hit the charts several times as a solo act, roots his version firmly in Jim's ineffable arrangement, which makes sense -- but Jim's version notches up the excitement brightly, showcasing sharp guitar and keyboard textures in the mix. And sounding more like a hit. Shortly after this, Jim teamed up with producer Hugh Murphy and his then-wife, American born singer songwriter Betsy Cook, to form The Urbane Planners, working out of Hugh's Buckinghamshire studio on smart pop singles, such as 'Spirit of the Thing,' for release on Mays Records. These gained radio exposure in the UK, but failed to get the kind of promotion they deserved, possibly a little too smart for the charts at that point. Jim continued to write, and returned to his earlier career as a graphic designer, then moved to Canterbury, where he found to his surprise that multi-instrumentalist Geoffrey Richardson of prog-rock outfit Caravan lived right across the street. The two struck up an immediate musical friendship and began working on material together at Geoffrey's studio nearby. And to the present, where Jim's relatively unheard 1982 recordings finally make their splendidly remastered debut on Drag City. It's a surprise and delight, not just for Jim, but for collectors of sublime pop songs all around the world."

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: ELPALMAS 019LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2024 restock; last copies, reduced price. Few have done as much for salsa in Venezuela as band-leader, composer and pianist Ray P?rez. He burst on to the scene in the mid-60s with his group Los Dementes, creating the blueprint for guaguanco, Pachanga, and boogaloo in Venezuela. When the name salsa began to be used as something of a catch-all-term he was still at the forefront, recording two hugely-popular salsa albums with Los Dementes in 1967. Remarkably, that very same year, he also recorded two albums with a brand-new group, Los Calvos, that showed how as well as being the genre's most visible band-leader, he was also pushing the nascent genre to its limits. Estos Son Los Calvos is the first of the two albums he made with Los Calvos. On it, he recruited a drummer (unprecedented at the time for a salsa ensemble, which always used percussionists), switched from the trombones of Los Dementes to the much harder, direct sound of trumpets, and he recruited Carlos Yanez, best known as El Negrito Calav?n, as singer. Whereas Los Dementes had been aligned with the slightly pop sound of tropical orchestras, Los Calvos took an almost-jazz approach, allowing room for the musicians and vocalists to improvise, and they also took inspiration from the sounds of surf rock swirling around Caracas. Opening track "El Kenya" is the clearest example of that surf rock influence. They were intent on creating their own dance craze, and the song had all the credentials: rollicking montuno piano from P?rez, ingenious scatting and vocal improvs from Calav?n, and a middle section where the drums and trumpets battle it out hard. It's followed by "Mi Salsa Lleg?", which P?rez had already recorded with Los Dementes; here, it's a tougher beast, the sparser hits of the drums and trumpets giving a harder sound evocative of the times. Los Calvos was a group made up of some of Venezuela's finest musicians. The legendary Frank "El Pavo" Hernandez was on drum kit, with revered names like Alfredo Padilla, Carlos "Nene" Quintero, Pedro Garc?a, Miguel Silva, Enrique Vazquez, Rafael Araujo, and Luis Lewis, also involved in the group. Their versatility allowed Los Calvos to go from the slower, haunting groove of "Negrito Calavan", on to "Bailemos Kenya", another attempt by the group to create their own version of "The Twist". Los Calvos never played live, but that was always the intention. But the spirit of Los Calvos remained when P?rez then formed Los Kenya. Los Calvos would never have the same successes as P?rez's other groups, though, P?rez has revealed that the two albums he made as Los Calvos are some of the most fun he ever had recording.

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: ELPALMAS 020LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2024 restock; last copies, reduced price. El Palmas Music present a reissue of the second album from Venezuela's Los Calvos, ... y Que Calvos!, originally released in 1968. This second and lamentably final album found the group creating a signature sound with the musicians given free rein and a stronger push to the dance floor, this is m?sica bailable personified. The drum kit was instrumental to their image and sound; it was an instrumental unusual in salsa at the time. So much so that their own drummer Frank "Pavo" Hernandez had said disparagingly that "salsa with a drum kit is like pasta with avocado". Kudos then to "Pavo", along with fellow drummer Alfredo Padilla, who seamlessly integrated the instrument into the line-up, allowing its heavy hits to add energy and power to the group's sound. Vocal duties throughout are split evenly, five tracks a piece in fact, between Carlos "Carl?n" Asicio Rodr?guez and Carlos "Calaven" Yanes. It is Calaven who surprises the most, his mischievous delivery and ability to improvise and scat placing him in the higher echelons of vocalists, and not just within salsa. "Jos?", which is also a showcase for bandleader Ray Perez to free wheel on the piano, is a perfect example of Calaven's ability to enliven any descarga (jam) with unexpected vocal turns; but then, even on the album's original single "El Mo?o De Maria" he shows that with a few variations on the chorus, he can elevate any song. His partner in vocals, Carl?n, is no slouch either, leading the driving "Tiene La Raz?n" with ease and showing that he can get down and dirty on the percussion-heavy "El Tumbeleco". Perez was one of Venezuela's finest bandleaders, also helming the legendary Los Dementes, Los Kenya, and others, and he brings a number of famous friends and allies to the party. Professional lucha fighter turned composer Gustavo "El Chiclayano" Secl?n contributes the playful "El Marciano y Yo" ("The Martian and Me"), which allows Calaven plenty of opportunity to improvise, his imitations of intergalactic beings a wonderful thing, with what sounds like the rim of a wine glass being used to create Mars-esque special effects. You can also hear Perucho Torcatt, a regular collaborator of Ray Perez's in Los Dementes, adding his voice throughout the album. ... y Que Calvos! is not for the idle, it's an album which does not allow you to sit down. Powerful, inventive, and abundant of rhythm. A lost salsa classic.

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: PECLEC 2668LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2024 repress. "One of the first releases on EMI's progressive rock label, Harvest in July 1969, Alchemy was the debut album by Third Ear Band. One of the earliest signings to Harvest, the band was formed in 1968 around a nucleus of Glen Sweeney (percussion), Paul Minns (oboe), Richard Coff (violin, viola) and Mel Davis (cello). Third Ear Band were unique in their exploration of exotic baroque music fused with experimental rock. Signing to Blackhill Enterprises in 1969, the quartet opened for many of the legendary Hyde Park free concerts by Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and Blind Faith. Recorded at Abbey Road studios in the early months of 1969, Alchemy is regarded as one of the most striking and original works of the era with its unique gothic improvisational music and this new Esoteric Recordings 180 gram vinyl edition is a faithful reproduction of the original 1969 gatefold LP release. It has been re-mastered from the original Harvest master tapes and has been cut at Abbey Road studios for this definitive edition vinyl reissue."

 

PRICE: $35.00

CAT #: GOO 023XX-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Double LP version. Yellow color vinyl. "Culled from three 1985 gigs in the UK during a transitional and transcendent time in the band's story, Sonic Youth's The Walls Have Ears appeared/disappeared as a 2LP set in 1986, not just a live album but an artful tapestry full of live experimentation with songs, between-song tape segues, darkness, humor and audio verit?. It's now issued for the first time officially under the band's auspices.""The '85 shows were the second time the band appeared on UK soil, Brits now getting juiced to the mythos of the emerging guitar-slinging American independent underground; an art/punk band from NYC sporting casual attitudes and tees sporting Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, and Prince made some good press copy on top of their bludgeoning stage appearance. Paul Smith of the newly-founded Blast First label acted as an overseas diplomatic envoy for Sonic Youth through their SST years as well as issuing their classic 1988 Daydream Nation outside the USA. However the Smith-produced 'bootleg' of their '85 UK gigs surfaced much to everyone's surprise, just before EVOL was to be released. It turned out to be a marker of the group's dissatisfaction that ultimately led to the release's deletion, and the band and Smith parting ways after Daydream. In this 2LP set brimming with primitive classics like 'The Burning Spear,' 'Death Valley 69,' and 'I'm Insane' (uncredited on sleeve), segues and live guitar changes ooze together threaded by Madonna tapes and vocal loops off the board (somewhat a necessity for distraction until the band had a full-fledged stage crew to prepare guitars). The first two sides of Walls are massive, cavernous, with newly-drafted drummer Steve Shelley. SY tear it up especially on one trash-fi excerpt of 'Blood On Brighton Beach' (actually 'Making The Nature Scene') from a legendary outdoor gig November 8th where [Thurston] Moore, [Kim] Gordon and [Lee] Ranaldo's guitars treble-blast dissonant shockwaves over the black-stoned beach of Quadrophenia fame. The record's second slab spotlights an April 1985 at London's Hammersmith Palais and was one of the final appearances live of Bob Bert on drums, again featuring some molten takes on 'Brother James,' 'Flower' (listed as 'The Word (E.V.O.L.)'), and others. This document remains an essential representation of some lean and mean years of the quartet's throttling march out into the world." --Brian Turner

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: GUESS 180LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2024 restock, LP version. Reissue. Originally released as private pressing in 1971, the Farm album is highly sought-after and revered by collectors. Recorded by this Southern Illinois band in 1971 at the legendary Golden Voice studios, it's chock full of jammy, bluesy guitar psych with heavy dual guitars, organ, congas, harp... Recommended if you like Quicksilver, Allman Brothers, Canned Heat, Ten Years After... Remastered sound; original artwork; includes booklet with photos and extensive liner notes by Kevin Rathert (It's Psychedelic Baby) LP version includes download card. "A vital album for fans of vintage guitar action." --Patrick Lundborg (Acid Archives).

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: GUESS 235LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Restocked. Mixing fuzzed-out hard-rock with tinges of psychedelia, Majic Ship's only album from 1970 is a classic from the US private press/psych scene. Raw fuzz guitars, organ, and soulful-melodic vocals on nine original tracks plus their homage to Neil Young/Stephen Stills on the 11-minute cover of "Down by the river"/"For what it's worth." With original copies changing hands for hundreds of dollars, here's s legit straight vinyl reissue, featuring new remastered sound and insert with detailed liner notes.

 

PRICE: $31.00

CAT #: JPR 107LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Repressed. "In 1962, legendary jazz pianist Bill Evans collaborated for the first time on record with jazz guitarist Jim Hall to create the landmark album Undercurrent. And even though it is a two-person improvisational affair, it is almost unfathomable that these two giants alone fill up all the grooves on this record. The thoughtful interplay between these two musicians created such a beautiful, lush, and emotional journey that their work influenced many. At the time of this recording, Bill Evans was one of the top jazz pianists (his performance with Miles Davis on Kind Of Blue is still a high-water mark), but he had stopped performing and recording after the death of his peer, bassist Scott LaFaro. Eventually, he was persuaded to return to music, and this was one of the first recordings upon his return. Guitarist Jim Hall -- who had worked with Ella Fitzgerald, Sonny Rollins, and Chico Hamilton -- started his partnership with Evans during this time. Recorded over two sessions in April and May 1962, the two have that beautifully unspoken musical language of give and take; their recordings are refreshingly busy but also incredibly sparse. These two giants understand that intertwining their personalities and harmonic styles could create greatness. This notable re-issue is an all-analog production affair -- AAA Mastered and cut live by audio guru Kevin Gray (Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Charles Mingus) -- and it's never sounded better."

 

PRICE: $47.00

CAT #: LIB 5111LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Last copies. RSD 2024 indie exclusive. Official RSD UK Release. "Double LP on translucent tan vinyl. Beyond his achievements as a founding member of the Byrds, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Gene Clark was truly one of the most prolific singer/songwriters of the rock era. This album introduces previously unreleased studio sessions from Clark's pre-Byrds days in 1964 with studio recordings from 1967-70 plus the Nyteflyght sessions from 1982."

 

PRICE: $47.00

CAT #: LIB 5170LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Last copies. RSD 2024 indie exclusive. Official RSD UK Release. "Double LP on black vinyl. The Burritos had evolved into a solid bluegrass band and this magical performance, recorded in Amsterdam in January, 1972 fulfilled their record label contractual obligations. This amazing performance was recorded, then pirated on vinyl and then officially released with the band's management blessings. First time available in the U.S. and unavailable anywhere for over 50 years."

 

PRICE: $28.50

CAT #: LR 138LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2024 restock. Legendary German post-rock band formed in 1971 by undisputed noise pioneer Uwe Nettelbeck, Faust garnered an immediate following due to its artistically extreme experimentations with music cut ups and other mixed sources hinging on cacophony and distortion. Don't miss their 1971 cult classic debut, now reissued with its original clear printed sleeve on 180 gram clear vinyl.

 

PRICE: $31.00

CAT #: LION 103X-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Clear vinyl version. "Plastic Cloud recorded, quite simply, one of the greatest psychedelic albums ever made. This is a record with few equals, full of foreboding melodies and lovely hippie harmonies, as well as some of the most superb and trippiest, Eastern sounding fuzz guitar ever recorded. There is no point singling out a specific track, they are all excellent -- one is equally as good as the next. Take for example the album centerpiece, the ten-and-a-half-minute 'You Don't Care,' an insane piece of social commentary that features terrific back-of-the-mix fuzz guitar as an elusive focal point to its extended pounding-drum laden instrumental breaks; with a great chorus and a plaintive melody in the verse, it doesn't overstay its welcome, winding its way to a final freak out. Essential psychedelia!"

 

PRICE: $16.50

CAT #: MACD 097CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

After a hiatus of five years, The Pearlfishers, Glasgow's finest, return with their ninth album for Marina -- most probably their best and most immediate one so far. Driven by main man David Scott's exceptional songwriting and sophisticated arrangements, Making Tapes For Girls is a goldmine of pop gems -- full of witty and colorful lyrics about the affirmative and healing power of music and pop escapism. It is another Pearlfishers classic in the vein of My Dad The Weatherfan and Even On A Sunday Afternoon and also David Scott's nod to Terry Hall's The Colour Field.

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: MALP 097LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. After a hiatus of five years, The Pearlfishers, Glasgow's finest, return with their ninth album for Marina -- most probably their best and most immediate one so far. Driven by main man David Scott's exceptional songwriting and sophisticated arrangements, Making Tapes For Girls is a goldmine of pop gems -- full of witty and colorful lyrics about the affirmative and healing power of music and pop escapism. It is another Pearlfishers classic in the vein of My Dad The Weatherfan and Even On A Sunday Afternoon and also David Scott's nod to Terry Hall's The Colour Field.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: OUTS 016LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Limited 2024 restock. This gig, taped at the Warehouse in Preston, took place during the final round of UK dates Joy Division was to play before jetting off to the US. The live captures the band raw sound with Ian Curtis's haunting vocals. It's raw and powerful, a glimpse into that gig in February 1980 which became a live album. Translucent blue vinyl.

 

PRICE: $29.00

CAT #: SV 197LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Dicks' debut LP has been acknowledged as a foundational statement in punk ever since its initial 1983 release. Following their first single, 1980's Dicks Hate The Police, and a live split with fellow Austinites the Big Boys, Kill From The Heart does not disappoint. Originally released on SST, the album stands apart from the mass of generic thrash-hardcore contemporaries -- fueled by the manic, but controlled power of singer Gary Floyd along with the original lineup of guitarist Glen Taylor, bassist Buxf Parrot and drummer Pat Deason. Dicks were operating at an absolute peak at this point, alternating damaged workouts that suggest Flipper or No Trend on one end and highly charged tracks in the vein of Minutemen or Tales of Terror on the other. Straight out of the gate on 'Anti Klan,' the band trades blues-grounded guitar with squealing feedback and intensely political lyrics. The raw emotional sincerity of Floyd, who was openly gay in Reagan-era Texas, provides unmistakable urgency to songs such as 'No Nazi's Friend,' 'Rich Daddy' and the title track, which remains one of the stone-cold classic punk anthems. Forty years on, Kill From The Heart continues to smolder -- an arresting testament to the possibilities embodied in creative rage. It is no surprise that Dicks have been covered by Mudhoney, Jesus Lizard and more. Superior Viaduct is honored to present this truly essential reissue. Comes with original tracklist, insert and download card."

 

PRICE: $18.00

CAT #: SV 199CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

"Originally released in 1974 on Shandar, Dream House 78'17" is the second full-length album by La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela. This first-time US edition reproduces the original gatefold sleeve with beautiful calligraphy by Zazeela and liner notes by Young and French musicologist Daniel Caux. Side one was recorded at a private concert (on the date and time indicated by the title) and features Young and Zazeela's voices against a sine wave drone with Jon Hassell on trumpet and Garrett List on trombone. This work is a section of the longer composition Map of 49's 'Dream the Two Systems of Eleven Sets of Galactic Intervals Ornamental Lightyears Tracery' (begun in 1966 as a sub-section of The Tortoise, His Dreams and Journeys, which was begun in 1964 with Young's group The Theatre of Eternal Music). The piece evolves with the oscillator changing pitch and dictating an ornate pattern over the course of the performance. Side two is an example of one of the sets of frequencies sustained in the Dream House, the composite sound environments conceived by Young and Zazeela. The composer suggests listening while seated -- to experience how the sound interacts with the room and other perceptions of its arrangement -- as well as while walking. As Young states, 'The frequency ratios are monitored continuously as lissajous patterns on the oscilloscopes and, in spite of the great stability of the oscillators, the phase relationships of the sine waves gradually drift which causes their amplitudes to add and subtract algebraically. Not only does the sound become a bit louder and softer, but at very loud levels, one actually begins to have a sensation that parts of the body are somehow locked in sync with the sine waves and slowly drifting with them in space and time.'"

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: SV 199LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

LP version. "Originally released in 1974 on Shandar, Dream House 78'17" is the second full-length album by La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela. This first-time US edition reproduces the original gatefold sleeve with beautiful calligraphy by Zazeela and liner notes by Young and French musicologist Daniel Caux. Side one was recorded at a private concert (on the date and time indicated by the title) and features Young and Zazeela's voices against a sine wave drone with Jon Hassell on trumpet and Garrett List on trombone. This work is a section of the longer composition Map of 49's 'Dream the Two Systems of Eleven Sets of Galactic Intervals Ornamental Lightyears Tracery' (begun in 1966 as a sub-section of The Tortoise, His Dreams and Journeys, which was begun in 1964 with Young's group The Theatre of Eternal Music). The piece evolves with the oscillator changing pitch and dictating an ornate pattern over the course of the performance. Side two is an example of one of the sets of frequencies sustained in the Dream House, the composite sound environments conceived by Young and Zazeela. The composer suggests listening while seated -- to experience how the sound interacts with the room and other perceptions of its arrangement -- as well as while walking. As Young states, 'The frequency ratios are monitored continuously as lissajous patterns on the oscilloscopes and, in spite of the great stability of the oscillators, the phase relationships of the sine waves gradually drift which causes their amplitudes to add and subtract algebraically. Not only does the sound become a bit louder and softer, but at very loud levels, one actually begins to have a sensation that parts of the body are somehow locked in sync with the sine waves and slowly drifting with them in space and time.'"

 

PRICE: $33.00

CAT #: VL 900235LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2024 repress. 1982's Pornography, still considered by many to be their best, was the band's darkest album to date, cementing their role as beacons of the emergent gothic rock genre, with the band sporting their signature red lipstick and big hair look for the first time during this tour. Featuring 8 bonus tracks in a deluxe laminated gatefold 180 gram 2LP with poly-lined inner sleeves.

 

PRICE: $20.50

CAT #: TONY 008LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Limited 2024 restock. A collection of demos including 1975 demos featuring Richard Hell, and recorded by Brian Eno. Killer stuff from before Marquee Moon (many of the songs on this tape ended up featured on that album) while Richard Hell was still in the band.

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: WWSLP 067LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2024 restock; LP version. Wewantsounds announce a special edition of the legendary 1979 Masahiko Togashi album Song of Soil, recorded in Paris with Don Cherry and Charlie Haden and released on Japanese label Paddle Wheel. Supervised by Parisian producer Martin Meissonnier -- then Don Cherry's right-hand man -- Song of Soil reaches heights of spirituality mixing Eastern influences with jazz and deep ambient soundscapes. The album is reissued here with its original artwork and remastered by King Records in Japan. Masahiko Togashi's cult classic, Song of Soil was recorded just a few months after the Codona album release but unlike the landmark ECM album, Song of Soil was only released in Japan at the time. Thanks to Japanese pianist Takashi Kako, who was living in Paris at the time, a session had been set up with Don Cherry and Charlie Haden thanks to Martin Meissonnier, a young journalist and radio producer, who was starting to make an impression on the Paris music scene. Paris at the time was a buzzing city and one of the most active epicenters of jazz creativity. Masahiko Togashi was, at the time, one of Japan's most celebrated jazz musicians. He was a key exponent of the Japanese free jazz movement at the turn of the '60s. Despite an accident that had left him paralyzed from waist down, Togashi became more active than ever thanks to a special drumkit that enabled him to play like before. He came to Paris to record Song of Soil with the two American musicians who were touring Europe with their Old and New Dreams quartet (they'd played a concert promoted by Meissonnier at the Palais des Glaces on the July 31st). Always on the lookout for new inspiring adventures, Cherry agreed to do the session with Togashi and the musicians headed to the Ramses studio to record the album with Haden as the bassist. Comprised of six Togashi originals, Song of Soil is a superb blend of global improvisational interaction featuring Togashi's deep abstract drumming, Don Cherry's imaginary trumpet playing, and Charlie Haden's expansive basslines. Also present during the session was Don Cherry's friend, photographer Philippe Gras who'd shot the cult legendary short film Don Cherry in 1968. Gras shot the session for the album release and artwork. For Meissonnier, it was the beginning of a meteoric rise that would see him shape the global sound of the '80s with Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, and Rai musicians. A key album in Don Cherry's discography as well as an essential Japanese jazz album, Song of Soil is a unique meeting of the minds. Includes eight-page color booklet with liner notes by Jacques Denis/Martin Meissonnier and Paul Bowler plus unissued photos by Philippe Gras.