THE ONLY ONES (ABO #148)

THE ONLY ONES
ANOTHER BAND, ANOTHER PLANET

Led by the raffish and slightly scuzzy romance-obsessed Peter Perrett, the Only Ones were one of the punk era's most underrated bands. Not as confrontational as the Sex Pistols, as politically indulgent as the Clash, or as stripped-down as the Ramones, the Only Ones played not-so-fast guitar rock that sounded deeply indebted to the New York Dolls and other mid-'70s proto-punks. Singing his intelligently crafted pop songs in a semi-tuneful whine of a voice and backed by a band that effectively combined youthful exuberance with gracefully aging veterans (non-punk drummer Mike Kellie had done time with early-'70s clod-rockers Spooky Tooth, bassist Alan Mair was nearly 40), Perrett was an astute chronicler of the vagaries of modern, dysfunctional love. Despite a career that lasted from 1978-1981 and one certifiable "hit" song to their credit (the brilliant "Another Girl, Another Planet"), the Only Ones became the archetypal contenders that never broke big, despite assurances from fans and critics that they couldn't miss.
Although they split up in 1981 after only three records, the Only Ones, due in large part to "Another Girl, Another Planet," became more influential than one would have guessed. Listen to Paul Westerberg and you'll hear more than a little Peter Perrett (in fact, the Replacements covered "Another Girl"); look at the number of Only Ones releases over the past decade (a half-dozen at least) and you soon realize that a significant cult surrounding the band grew after their breakup. Ironically, it was the posthumous release of the sessions for John Peel's BBC show that, more than any of the proper studio releases, accurately displayed the muscle and smarts of this fine band. There have been many rumors surrounding Perrett's life after the Only Ones, many of them involving an alleged heroin addiction. Perrett did continue to record and release solo projects during the '80s, including a project known as the One in the mid-'90s.
The band reformed in 2007 following the band's biggest hit "Another Girl, Another Planet" being used in a Vodafone ad campaign in 2006. They completed a small UK tour in June 2007, more dates in 2008 and they're scheduled to release a brand new album in 2009. It is, thus, more than time to catch on this semi-obscure and underrated band with this introducive compilation "à la Baistophe".

Another Girl, Another Planet

PETER GABRIEL (ABO #147)

PETER GABRIEL
GAMES WITHOUT FRONTIER

Peter Gabriel... Well... Let me start by telling you this has been a hard one to make. I love Peter Gabriel and feel all his albums have much to offer. For example, listening to his first album (aka Car) made me want to pick almost every song on it which would have been silly, let's admit it. Therefore, tough choices had to be made and... God! Was it a hard!
What I wanted was to offer a rich panorama of the man's art using only his studio recordings (a trick I used so to limit the choice for this very compilation) and include a few rarities so to spice up the selection a bit. I hope I managed that and that you will enjoy the wide variety of emotions and sounds Mr. Gabriel has been able to create throughout his long (but not so) productive career. Anyway, here it is, give it a try and don't forget to tell me what you thought of it.

Here Comes The Flood

MY PETER GABRIEL TOP
1. 1 (Car)
2. So
3. 3 (Melt)
4. Up
5. 4 (Security)
6. Us
7. 2 (Scratch)

GUNS N' ROSES (ABO#146)

GUNS N' ROSES
14 YEARS OF SILENCE
(1986-2008)

Guns n' Roses are one of the last great (or the great last) old school hard rock bands (alongside with Great White and the Darkness). Surfing over the 70s revival wave in the early nineties to reach upon a huge success with their bilogy Use Your Illusion. Those who discovered them at that time must have been further in the past with their great first LP : Apetite For Destruction. After such a big success in 1991, Gn'R began to travel a long period of musical hesitation and too often line-up changes. Although a 'not so bad' album (The Spaghetty Incident) nothing ever helped lead singer Axl to pursue alone the adventure, while his old friend managed a great effort with the Velvet Revolver (even the name is a good wink to the former band).
At last, at the end of 2008, Axl made it : Chinese Democracy issued after a long work ...
This last album is the first to come out after 14 years of silence (if we don't count the singles in between).

Extracts :
Welcome To The Jungle

Get In The Ring

My Gn'R TOP:
1. Appetite For Destruction (1986)
2. Use Your Illusion II (1991)
3. Use Your Illusion I (1991)
4. The Spaghetti Incident (1993)
5. Gn'R Lies (1987)
6. Chinese Democracy (2008)

ARTHUR H (ABO #145)

ARTHUR H
SIMPL'HUMAIN

Arthur H is truly a one-of-a-kind artist. Son of poet/singer/troubadour Jacques Higelin he's been able to create a world of his own mixing jazz and chanson in a way no one has done before. The easier way to describe his style would be to label him "the French Tom Waits" which, in a sense, he is: his deep/broken voice, use of jazz instrumentations and peculiar lyrics certainly tend to remember good ole Tom though it has to be said he relies less on country and blues than Mr. Waits does. Whatsmore, there's also some Serge Gainsbourg and Randy Newman in the man's art which slowly evolved from an all-jazz background to more diverse and groovy territories while still remaining faithful to his roots.
All his 7 albums (released from 1990 to 2008 with "L'homme du Monde") are very consistent which made the choice of the tracklist to this compilation a quite hard one... I thus deliberately choose to pick tracks both from his more arty works and easier ones to display a good panorama of what the man's capable of. And if it sure helps to speak french to fully appreciate his art, I'm certain the music holds well enough on its own so that non-French speakers will be delighted too.

I hope you'll enjoy this selection and will want to explore Arthur H's catalogue further on, it sure deserves your attention. In the meantime, let your ears feast on Simpl'Humain and make sure to tell me what you thought of it!

La Chanson de Satie

My ARTHUR H top
1. Adieu Tristesse (2005)
2. Negresse Blanche (2003)
3. Trouble-Fête (1996)
4. Arthur H (1990)
5. Bachibouzouk (1992)
6. Pour Madame X (2000)
7. L'Homme du Monde (2008)

ATOM HEART MOTHER ... FROM WITHIN (VAC#017)

VARIOUS ARTISTS
ATOM HEART MOTHER ... FROM WITHIN

Now as an habit (bad habit ?), I'm purposing to you a cover version of a Pink Floyd album. This one could be the best of a long serie as AHM is my fav' PF album, but also because some tracks are simply amazing of interpretation... to begin with the eponymous track by the Paris Conservatory of Music which brings in this 30+ minutes version an incursion into Time (a song from Dark Side Of The Moon ... wouldn't yoy have guessed ? ;-) )
The other songs don't have to be ashamed because the versions are also nice. Even the Trance Remix version of Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast has an interest !

Extract (with the video !):

PINK FLOYD ATOM HEART MOTHER
envoyé par allainraphael

KING CRIMSON (ABO#143)

KING CRIMSON
ONE TIME
(1969-2003)

King Crimson is considered as the creator of progressive rock. Even if some other great so-called progressive albums were issued before KC's first issue in 1969, no one can object upon the fact that King Crimson has been the most creative, dignified and sacred band progressive music has ever generated. Even Pink Floyd nor Yes haven't much aura within music lovers community.
This baistophe was hard to set, first because so many best ofs have been made, second because of the 3 different eras that don't have much common points with each other. I finally decided just to keep the most pop/polished songs to establish what could be called a "beginner's guide"... but the beginner's guide had already been chosen for a KC best-of...
For those who will cry not to find their favourite song or more experimental ones, I (or another contributor) will be looking after a more technical King Crimson best of, comprising of only live material, be they official or not.

Extracts :
Cirkus

Three Of A Perfect Pair

One Time

My King Crimson TOP3:
1. Red (1974)
2. In The Court Of The Crimson King (1969)
3. Lark's Tongues In Aspic (1972)

My King Crimson BOTTOM3:
1. Beat (1982)
2. Three Of A Perfect Pair (1984)
3. In The Wake Of Poseidon (1970)