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Various Artists – Fourteen Songs for Greg Sage and the Wipers (Tim Kerr)
Although this came out in 1993, I’d never heard it before I picked up a copy last week. It’s a pretty good tribute comp, for the most part, although like most tributes it makes me wanna play the original recordings. One notable exception is the version of “No One Wants an Alien” by the band HONEY, who I know next to nothing about. It’s an exceptional version that I like as much as the original and it’s very different as well. Other fine acts on here include POISON IDEA (doing “Up Front”), NIRVANA (doing “Return of the Rat”), HOLE (doing “Over the Edge”), NATION OF ULYSSES (doing “Telepathic Love”) and THURSTON MOORE and KEITH NEALY (doing “Pushing the Extreme”).
Overall, lots of songs from their debut Is This Real? and a surprising number from GREG SAGE’s overlooked 1984 solo debut Straight Ahead are tackled here, as well as a few from Over the Edge with only a couple of others from different albums or EPs.
Sam Cooke – One Night Stand: Sam Cooke Live at the Harlem Square Club, 1963 (RCA)
An incredible live album that not only rivals but surpasses JAMES BROWN’s more well-known Live at the Apollo, this is THE album to play for those who think that Cooke (possibly the greatest vocalist who ever lived) played it too safe during his all too brief career by catering to white pop audiences. Sure some of his hits and his numerous appearances at the legendary New York nightclub the Copa Cabana were intended as such, but this is as raw, gritty and dirty as soul and r’n’b got in the early ‘60s. Hits like “Having a Party” and “Nothing Can Change This Love” are transformed into full-fledged soul rave-ups and the versions of “Twistin’ the Night Away,” “Somebody Have Mercy,” “Chain Gang” and other songs are downright revelatory as well.
Kiki and Herb Live at the Knitting Factory (Not Rated)
This new DVD release of KIKI AND HERB’s performance from the Knitting Factory in New York last year (after a “farewell” performance at Carnegie Hall and a Broadway show) gives you a hint of what it’s like to see them in person. Of course the experience isn’t the same, but it’s still enjoyable nonetheless. A highlight is Kiki’s extended monologue about the life of Jesus, which isn’t to be missed.
Fucked Up – “Year of the Pig” EP (What’s Your Rupture?)
A sort of follow-up to last year’s “Year of the Pig” 12” from this extremely prolific band, this features a much shorter, edited version of the title track on side A and a short, relatively fast hardcore blast called “Mustaa Lunta” on the B-side.
Cluster – Cluster 71 (Phillips/Sky/Water/Captain Trip)
This is really the first, eponymous full-length album by Cluster, but when it was reissued in 1980 on Sky, it was given the new title of Cluster 71 to distinguish it from the previously released albums they made under the name Kluster. The Water reissue from 2006 retains the Cluster ‘71 title but with the original Phillips cover art and last year’s Captain Trip reissue restored the Sky cover art.
Anyway, the music on here is incredible, foreshadowing everything from BRIAN ENO’s ambient experiments and DAVID BOWIE’s “Berlin” period (especially side 2 of Low and parts of Heroes) to more modern electronica. Amazingly, though, no synthesizers were used at all, though you’ll have a hard time believing it.
Shorebirds – It’s Gonna Get Ugly (No Idea)
Recently released in the U.S. via Florida punk label No Idea, this release goes back to the label’s early ‘90s pop-punk (before that term became a dirty word) beginnings. This isn’t only true because this band had CHRIS BAUERMEISTER (formerly bassist of the incredible JAWBREAKER; incidentally No Idea once put out a split 7” between Jawbreaker and SAMIAM that featured the great Samiam song “Head Trap”) among its members, but because the overall sound here is less reminiscent of Jawbreaker than of Chicago punk stalwarts PEGBOY (who recently reunited for the most recent Riot Fest). Thus, if you’re nostalgic for early ‘90s punk and an era when being melodic could go hand in hand with being hard-hitting, pick this up. Unfortunately, the band has broken up since the album’s release.
Descendents – Bonus Cups (no label)
This isn’t an official release, but something I found floating around in cyberspace. Its contents are, however, from the standpoint of this long-time Descendents fan, simply astounding. This stuff is like the holy grail for fans of all things pertaining to the ALL-o-gistics. Not only are better-quality versions of all 4 songs from the I Don’t Want to Be Bootlegged 7” (these are leftovers from the sessions for 1986’s Enjoy!, including an alternate version of “Green”, entitled “Red”) here, but several other songs from the same Enjoy! sessions appear as well. All told, demos for 5 of the songs from Enjoy! are here as well as three others (“Shattered, “Veni Vidi Vici” and “Doug Rides a Skateboard”) that never saw the light of day.
In addition to this, there are lots of live tracks (including an almost unrecognizable “Ace” and covers of X’s “Los Angeles” and THE GERMS’ “What We Do is Secret”), several demos from the sessions for the 1996 comeback album Everything Sucks and more! All told, the studio material is a lot better quality than the live stuff on here, but it’s all worth hearing.
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – The Effects of 333 (Abstract Dragon)
This is BRMC’s first album to be released on their own Abstract Dragon label. As such, it didn’t get anywhere near the promotional push of their previous albums, so I didn’t even realize that it was out until a few weeks ago. Anyway, another difference from any of their previous albums is that it’s entirely instrumental. It’s less psychedelic than informed by ambient, noise, Krautrock and even SUICIDE. This is an enjoyable album and a brave move for a band clearly unafraid to do whatever they want. They first risked alienating fans with 2005’s stripped-down third album Howl and after last year’s Baby 81 tried unsuccessfully to return them to the sound of their 1st 2 albums, this is an interesting next step. Let’s see where they go from here.
Mattheu Roth – Losers (Push, 2008)
When my wife told me about this book, I knew I had to order a copy. It’s a great novel about a Russian Jewish immigrant living in Northeast Philadelphia and entering his first year of high school, this reads like both a coming-of-age tale of an adolescent first trying to establish his own identity and a (at times tough) love letter to Philadelphia.
Don McLeese – Kick Out the Jams (Continuum, 2005)
Of all the books in the 33 1/3 series that I’ve read so far, this one is less about the specific album than a pocket history of the MC5. Their origin, rise, fall and dissolution are all covered here. Much of it won’t be new to big fans of the band, but it’s still a nice companion to the shelved documentary A True Testimonial. If nothing else, it really makes me wanna crank up all of their stuff, so on that level it succeeds as well.
