PASSWORD:
BAISTOPHE

DEAD LINKS

NOTE : DEAD LINKS
We'd like to thank everyone for preventing us of dead links. For the moment, we are note able to re-up them.

Feel free to keep on preventing us of those dead links. We will update them when we (I and Jeb-E-Diah) have more time to (understand : from september). Some of them will be partially or completely repacked considering albums which would have been issued thereafter and surely with new and improved artworks.

Stay tuned !







Sunday, February 17, 2008

KING'S X (ABO #014)


KING'S X
The Power Of Love (1987-1997)

It all started in 1979(!) when bassist Doug Pinnick and drummer Jerry Gaskill met. Soon, guitarist Ty Tabor joined them. King's X was born? Not quite yet... First they were named The Edge and specialized in classic rock and Top 40 covers, one had to eat. In 1983, tired of the cover-clubs routine, they changed their name to Sneak Preview and started recording original material. Later that year, they released a self-titled album that attracted no attention from the recording business. From here, in 1985, the band moved from Springfield, MO to Houston, TX where they had made connections with Star Song Records which lead to nothing but landing in a new town where luck was awaiting them as they met Sam Taylor, then vice-president of the ZZ Top production company. Taylor convinced the band to change their name to King's X (pronounced King's Cross) and helped them secure a deal with independant metal label Megaforce Records in 1987 while assuming the position of manager and producer.
Their first album, Out Of The Silent Planet, came out in 1988 but, while receiving a unanimous critical acclaim, did not sell much peaking at #144 on the Billboard album charts. The singles from this album, King and Shot Of Love, failed to get more attention. It's a killer album by the way, like all first 6 albums of the band are and, same as with their debut, every King's X album were to be critically acclaimed but selling too few copies to put the band as a big name on the U.S. rock map.
Musically, their mix of heavy guitars, blues roots, pop and soul vocals and slightly progressive influences was an interesting and inovating mix. I hear some Black Sabbath, some Jimi Hendrix, some Beatles and Beach Boys in that music and, all the same, the band has its own identity. One I very much wanted to put a spotlight on with this very compilation comprising 19 songs from their six first albums and one track that was only featured on their 1997's farewell to Altantic records Best Of compilation. If you check out that particular compilation and compare it with mine, you'll see there are songs I left aside to replace it by others (and more, the 1997 Best Of featured only 17 tracks).
Do enjoy this very much underrated genius of a band and tell me what you think!


1.Power Of Love
2.Wonder
3.Goldilox
4.Shot Of Love
5.Summerland
6.The Difference (In The Garden Of St. Anne's-On-The-Hill)
7.Mission
8.Don't Believe It (It's Easier Said Than Done)
9.It's Love
10.Mr Wilson
11.Six Broken Soldiers
12.Legal Kill
13.Lost In Germany
14.Dream In My Life
15.Shoes
16.Flies And Blue Skies
17.Complain
18.Looking For Love
19.American Cheese (Jerry's Piano)
20.April Showers

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Merci de mettre à l'honneur ce groupe
maudit/mythique. Beaucoup d'albums exceptionnels (1ère période) et une audience catastrophique mais ils sont toujours là.

S.F.P. said...

Oui... hélas, il ne sont plus ce qu'ils étaient... Sans doute l'usure d'avoir fait si longtemps de si bons albums en étant si peu compris par le public...

Anonymous said...

Excellente compil' merci !
Mais "over my head", elle est pas
là !?!

S.F.P. said...

Hé ben non... Vu la durée d'un cd (80 minutes) des choix cornéliens ont dû être fait et Over My Head (entres autres) en a fait les frais...

Adopted Son said...

I agree with not including "Over My Head" - the most over-played King's X song, however, I would have included "Life Going By" from "Ear Candy," and "More Fool You," from "Dogman." Nice collection otherwise.

S.F.P. said...

80 minutes is 80 minutes... Some hard choices had to be made.

I'll soon post a second compilation covering the following works from the band. Any idea how it should be called?

P In The Hole said...

Good compilation, my friend. I did a similar thing, when trying to get people to listen to King's X. Check mine out if you want:

http://rapidshare.com/files/113764279/King_s_X_-_Paul_s_Trax.part1.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/113795620/King_s_X_-_Paul_s_Trax.part2.rar

If anyone has the Sneak Preview album - in any format - please let me know!!!!

pintheholeATgmailDOTcom
Paul/Bradford UK

Anonymous said...

I would like to state this:

1) this blog is awesome, and brings me to artist I had never heard of

2) this blog makes me BUY music: each time I come across something I like, I buy it. Thanks to illegal download I have bought more & more CDs.

3) 10 years ago I was really into prog rock, with SpocksBeard, DreamTh., Porcupine, etc, but lost interest. Now THIS is something else: this is NOT prog, this is rock, but with a real musical twist, that I really love. I already bought 3 CDs in two days, including the very late Live Love in London...

Thank you BAISTOPHE !

By the way, I am currently downloading the compilation from Paul, from Bradford...

PeterP said...

Thank you for all the work you have done.