ELLIOTT SMITH (ABO#110)

ELLIOTT SMITH
BYE !

After playing in the rock band Heatmiser for several years, Smith began his solo career in 1994 with releases on the independent record labels Cavity Search and Kill Rock Stars. In 1997 he signed a contract with DreamWorks Records, for which he recorded two albums. Smith rose to mainstream prominence when his song "Miss Misery", included in the soundtrack for the film Good Will Hunting, was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Original Song category in 1997.

Smith battled with depression, alcoholism and drug addiction for years, and these topics often appeared in his lyrics. At age 34, he died in Los Angeles, California from two stab wounds to the chest. The autopsy evidence was inconclusive as to whether the wounds were self-inflicted. At the time of his death, Smith was working on his sixth studio album, From a Basement on the Hill, which was released posthumously on October 19, 2004.

(source : wikipedia)

Thanks for one-time contributor Great Deceiver for this selection

DONNA SUMMER (ABO #109)

DONNA SUMMER
SECRET LOVE AFFAIR
(1972-2008)

Sometimes things go wrong. You say everywhere that you don't like disco music. And one day you listen to Donna Summer and immediately fall in love with her music (and with her too). In fact, as with any other music, if you don't like a kind of music, it's because you've not heard the good example... and let's admit that Disco music is full of shitty examples. Donna is to me the best example that is apart. There may be other ones I guess.
Donna Summer is not only a disco singer. As Stevie Wonder, she travelled almost every kind of black music, from funk to RnB with, on almost every of her albums, a pair of soul songs. Her nice looking ads the pleasure to listen.
Well you must have guessed : I'm in love with Donna Summer.

My Donna Summer TOP3 :
1. Love To Love You (1975)
2. I Remember Yesterday (1977)
3. Four Seasons Of Love (1976)

My Donna Summer BOTTOM3 :
1. Christmas Spirit (1994)
2. Another Place And Time (1989)
3. Cats Without Claws (1984)

WISHBONE ASH, part 2 (ABO#108)

WISHBONE ASH
SECOND CHANCE
(1970-2007)

I was just listening to Wishbone Ash's last album 'The Power Of Eternity' in my car and found that had been a bit too fussy about it... So I remind that I really had difficulties to fill only 2 CDs with what I wanted to feature... So, from what I took away of my selection, I made a new compilation with 16 songs, only to give them a second chance. So here it is.

WHATEVER THE WEATHER (VAC #009)

WHATEVER THE WEATHER

UNE SELECTION METEOROLOGIQUE

I sometimes enjoy making compilations with no other starting point than a theme "uniting" the songs... What I like most about those is that it's generally varied and allows to (re)discover songs in a whole other way... So, here's on ot those with various meteolorogical phenomenons as the theme. Enjoy!

CHILDREN OF BODOM (ABO #107)

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CHILDREN OF BODOM

IT'S BODOM TIME!

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Children of Bodom is a heavy metal band from the city of Espoo, Finland. There is some contention regarding the band's genre classification, but in general the band's musical style can be described as a cross between melodic death metal and power metal. The band's name is derived from the Lake Bodom murders.
The lyrics of Children of Bodom's songs are written in English and are most often concerned with the subjects of death/the grim reaper, personal struggles, war and the Lake Bodom murders. Recent albums have seen a shift to more antagonistic lyrics (songs such as "You're Better Off Dead" and "In Your Face") and a more straight-forward heavy metal style.
This baistophe covers the 6 studio albums released by the band from 1997 to 2008 with two bonus (a song from their live album recorded in Japan and a cover by hard rock german band Scorpions). Enjoy another fine selection by our special collaborator Platoche.

NICK DRAKE (ABO #106)

NICK DRAKE
TIME HAS TOLD ME

Really, it's ironic how I used a title that's not included in this compilation. You have to understand that there are so many great tunes on everyone of Nick Drake's three albums that hard choices had to be made... As it turns out, the songs from this compilation are not just taken from Nick's triplet, three outtakes and rarities albums have been released after his tragic death two of which included gems worthy of this selection.
So... Nick Drake. I feel there's no real need to introduce the talented folk oriented singer-songwriter he was but let's do it anyway: "Nicholas Rodney Drake (June 19, 1948 – November 25, 1974) was an English singer-songwriter and musician best known for his acoustic, autumnal songs. His primary instrument was the guitar, though he was also proficient at piano, clarinet, and saxophone. Although he failed to find a wide audience during his lifetime, Drake's work has grown steadily in stature, to the extent that he now ranks among the most influential English singer-songwriters of the last 50 years." Wikipedia pretty much sums it up, doesn't it? Now, you'll just have to enjoy the bittersweet harmonies of Mr. Nick Drake!

EELS (ABO #105)

EELS
FREAK SHOW

Eels is basically Mark Oliver Everett. The man, previously known as E. started his "band" in 1996 and became one of the first band to get a deal with Dreamworks SKG (Spielberg, Katzenberg, Geffen) and the first successfull act of the new-born label too with a debut album, "Beautiful Freak", that combined the melodic talent to release memorable melodies and an artistry few other bands demonstrated back then. Eels was a three piece or so we thought... Starting with "Eletro-Shock Blues" (1998, a much more experimental album that, sometimes, shown a Tom Waits influence) we had to witness that the band was essentially its leader with accompanying musicians, not that there's anything wrong with it... Four albums followed that saw the band changing style on each of them: a return to a more easy pop sound with "Daisies Of The Galaxy" (2000), a more blues rock side with Souljacker (2001) while "Shooteranny!" (2003) and "Blinking Lights And Other Revelations" (2005) showed E's songwriting going, with few exceptions, to a more folksy sound. All in all, what marks Eels' style is its leader talent to craft great melodies and, of course, his voice, a highly recognizable one that is.
For this compilation, I chose to make two cds. CD1 is, basically, the best songs from Eels' 6 srudio albums while CD2 offers rare and non-album songs. Each link below has one cd in its entirety. I hope you'll enjoy Mr. Everett's music as much as I do.

NIGHT ON BALD MOUNTAIN (VAC #008)

MODEST MUSSORGSKY'S

NIGHT ON THE BALD MOUNTAIN

(original and cover versions)

Modest Mussorgsky's A Night On Bald Mountain has always been a favourite of mine. It's a powerful and lively musical evocation of a russian legend. It's also known for its use in Walt Disney's Fantasia animated film (1940). In addition to the Mussorgsky orchestral piece, I give you covers from bands ranging from 70's Electronica (Tomita) to Jazz (Bob James), Progressive Rock (Fireballet), Folk (The Pogues, for 1987's film "Straight to Hell"), Disco (David Shire, on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack), Progressive Thrash Metal (Mekong Delta) & Cinematic Synth Music (Manheim Steamroller). Each and everyone of those versions demonstrates how rich and captivating Mussorgsky's themes are regardless of the genre used to express them... Enjoy!

KRAFTWERK (ABO#104)

KRAFTWERK
LAUNCH THE MACHINES
(1970-2003)

Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany.The signature Kraftwerk sound combines driving, repetitive rhythms with catchy melodies; mainly following a Western classical style of harmony, in a minimalistic arrangement. The group's simplified lyrics are at times sung through a vocoder or generated by computer-speech software. In the mid to late 1970s and the early 1980s, Kraftwerk's distinctive sound was revolutionary for its time, and it has had a lasting impact across nearly all genres of modern popular music. (source = wikipedia)

ELLA FITZGERALD (ABO #103)

ELLA FITZGERALD

SIMPLY THE BEST

(1917-1996)

As it's virtually impossible to make a compilation of Ella Fitzgerald's work that would satisfy everybody this should not be considered as the ultimate greatest tunes' selection of one of jazz's greatest Ladies but as an introduction to warm up the beginners' appetite to look for more. Almost all the songs here are timeless standards and, though it could be questioned if those versions are the greatest for each, Ella delivers the goods with her oh so unique talent! What's more, all the songs here are in top notch remastered versions and at 320kbps so that even the younger generation and audiophiles can appreciate it. 22 songs and 79 minutes to convince people how great a singer Ella was!

FAITH NO MORE (ABO #101)

FAITH NO MORE

1985-1997

FAITH NO MORE! If a band changed the face of metal related music in the late 80's/early 90's they're undoubtedly the one!
Gaining a cult status with their first two albums (featuring afro-american singer Chuck Mosely) the band became a true musical phenomenom when they recruited singer extraordinaire Mike Patton (then at a demo stage with his band, Mr. Bungle). With such a talented man in their midst they finally could evolve into this amazing band that redefined metal and alternative music influencing others that will later become the big names of the scene: the infamous Korn, the delightful Incubus and many others...
With albums like The Real Thing (1989), Angel Dust (1992) and King For A Day... Fool For A Lifetime (1995) they proved to be the more intelligent and creative band of their time. After a final album (Album Of The Year, 1997) that, though it displayed good songs, demonstrated the band was no longer evolving, they decided to call it quits when so many others would have tried to milk the cow until it went completely dry and never returned.
Now Patton is an important musician of both the alternative and avant-garde scenes, drummer Mike Bordin - after playing with none other than heavy metal legends, Black Sabbath - found his way to the cash-machine when joining Korn or playing with Ozzy Osbourne. The other two important members (we'll leave aside guitarists Jim Martin & Dean Menta), bassist Billy Gould and keyboardist Roddy Bottum have failed to renew they career after the band's break-up.
This compilation is destined to show the younger generation how important a band Faith No More have been and remember those who lived the years of their fame how brilliant the music still is in 2008! Enjoy!

FRANK ZAPPA (ABO#100)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY BAISTOPHE !
THIS IS BAISTOPHE #100

... What could have we done better to celebrate this anniversary. Today is a special day because this will be a triple baistophe !

The man we are dealing with is something like the best, the smarter, the funnier musician ever. That genious was a huge fan of Vartese and did mostly anything in music : classical, jazz, rock, hard, blues, electro, hip hop, reggae, ... everything ! His genious can be recognisable as he made 3, 4, and sometimes 5 albums per year ! So how could have we managed to sum up such a prolific discography in a reduced compilation ?

JAZZ IS NOT DEAD IT JUST SMELLS FUNNY





ABO#100a : JAZZ

This first part brings all together the best jams made by the master of the guitar. For those who don't know the man and want to discover him, I just advise them that this music sometimes is difficult to appreciate.

My 3 favourite Frank Zappa Jazz albums :
1. The Grand Wazoo (1973)
2. Waka Jawaka (1972)
3. Zappa In New York (1977)

ABO#100b : IS NOT DEAD

This second part is just like a conventional compilation, gathering the best "single-able" songs Frank ever made. This compilation is, in the contrary of the first, much more affordable to a unexperimented ear.

My 3 favourite Frank Zappa conventional albums :
1. One Size Fits All (1975)
2. Over-Nite Sensation (1973)
3. Absolutely Free (1967)

ABO#100c : IT JUST SMELLS FUNNY

This last one will please many people as it is a compilation that brings together some of the funniest songs. Humour or cinism was one of the favourite expressions used by Zappa. This third baistophe will enlight any morose day. Special mention for 'In France' : that's so true ^^

My 3 favourite Frank Zappa funny Albums :
1. We're Only In It For The Money (1967)
2. Roxy And Elsewhere (1974)
3. The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life (1991)

BRAINIAC (ABO #099)

BRAINIAC
A DEMONSTRATION IN 17 ACTS

Brainiac was an American synthpunk/indie rock band of the 1990s.
They formed in Dayton, Ohio in January 1992 with vocalist, guitarist and keyboard (particularly Moog synthesizers) player Tim Taylor, bassist Monostereo (Juan Monasterio), guitarist Michelle Bodine and drummer Tyler Trent. On the March 12th, the band played its first show at Wright State's University Cafeteria, under the name We'll Eat Anything.
After a couple of singles, they released their debut album, Smack Bunny Baby, on Grass/ BMG Records in 1993. Bonsai Superstar, now with John Schmersal on guitar in place of Bodine, followed the next year. In 1995 they played on the Lollapalooza side stage and recorded 4 songs in the UK for the BBC Peel Sessions. They joined Touch and Go Records and released Internationale, produced by Kim Deal (of the Pixies). The following year, their third album, Hissing Prigs in Static Couture, was released on the Touch & Go label. All three of their albums were produced by Eli Janney (of Girls Against Boys).
Brainiac generated a buzz as the live act to see that resulted in opening tours for Beck, the Breeders and the Jesus Lizard and receiving offers from major labels. In 1997 they released an electronic-based EP called Electro-Shock for President which turned out to be their last record: Tim Taylor was killed in a car accident on May 23, 1997, during the pre-production for their fourth album, which was due out on Interscope Records. The group soon disbanded.
Schmersal later went on to form Enon. Monasterio directs music videos, including two for Enon, and recently released an album with a new band called Model/Actress; Schmersal makes appearances on this album. Trent briefly joined the Breeders and most recently played with The Dirty Walk. Bodine became the guitarist and singer of O-matic and Shesus. (source: Wikipedia)