WOODSTOCK (VAC#031)

VARIOUS ARTISTS

A WOODSTOCK CELEBRATION

(1969)

First of all, we'd like to wish you all an happy new year 2010. May it be much better than 2009 which was musically a bit sad.

But 2009 was the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock festival that took place in 17,18,19 august. The most famous festival in the world, thanks to the film, is also one of the very best, with Monterey 1967 and Wight 1970. It's my favourite one.

This 2009 saw the issue of a 6CD box set that contains never before released recording and complete the two other albums issued in 1970 and 1971. Some might say that this 6CD box is a good set of music to discover Woodstock, but some decision may be arguable. The decision to keep some songs apart or not does not make this box set, the best one. It is highly perfectible.

Even if I, as an hardcore woodstock fan, need to possess the complete recording (or something close), I think it's a hard job to make a good Woodstock compilation. That's why I really enjoyed making it.

First of all, I really considered every recordings in my possession, including Woodstock, Woodstock two, Woodstock Diaries, the 6CD box set, the complete Woodstock bootleg (13 CDs !) Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock and some of the recently complete live recordings of some of the bands playing there... and also a serie of bonus tracks uneasy available.

My first decision was to make every artist appear on it. The second was to keep only one song of each. You'll notice that I couldn't respect this contract for the Jimi Hendrix's set, keeping everithing from Voodoo Chile to Villanova Junction. I did it because, anyway, this would have been a 4CD set.

I rapidly understood that this wouldn't be a 3CD set as I was expecting (1CD for each day) because of the length of some songs I decided to keep for this baistophe (Jefferson Airplane = 20 minutes ! ; Canned Heat = 30 minutes and of course Grateful Dead's Dark Star with "only" 16 minutes).

Last but not least, I know some of my choices would not be understood by many of you, so let me explain them.

Joe Cocker : the logical choice would have been "With A Little Help From My Friends" because this is the song that really touched everybody's mind and made him a star straight away. But I didn't choose it because I don't really appreciat this version, to begin with the backing vocals that are a bit ridiculous. I prefered I Shall Be Released because it is really a good interpretation and there's a feeling in it that can touch anyone.

Joan Baez : I chose Sweet Sir Galahad simply because it's my favourite song in her recorded set.

John B Sebastian : I wanted Younger Generation because this is a really sweet song that really smell happiness and optimism. Also, I like when he was too stoned and missed the lyrics

Mountain : Southbound Train was to me the best one because it was the only one that was really different from the studio version. In fact, I really like Theme From An Imaginary Western too, but ST won its place.

Janis Joplin : Ball & Chain, because of the speach inside.

Jefferson Airplane : White Rabbit was a too easy choice and this 20 minutes version of Wooden Ships is simply amazing

Blood Sweat & Tears : Spinning Wheels was also to an evidence and You've Made Me So Very Happy is simply better.

Crosby Stills Nash : Suite Judy Blue Eyes was the best one to me but I chose 4 + 20 because of its slight difference with the studio version which is much slower.

Hope you'll understand my choices.

PS : Only Keef Hartley Band has a bootleg source and incomplete track. So sad that this however good band never got an official recording of their Woodstock performance.

MINNIE RIPERTON (ABO #322)

MINNIE RIPERTON
ANGEL VOICE

For the Lady's Month's finalé, we thought long and hard what was the best possible choice and what genre we could have left aside. Sure, we lack on the jazz part but jazz compilations are not that easy to make. Let's sum it up, we had pop, rock, hard rock, rythm'n'blues, folk, chanson, world music, punk, indie... That pretty much covers the whole spectrum I'd say.
And so, I decided that some soul/funk would be cool. We already had Barbara Lynn and thus needed something different. I thought about Betty Davis, Millie Jackson, Aretha Franklin and a few others but either those had too many records for me to explore on short notice or their repertoire lacked in quality songs so that the "baistophe" wouldn't be satisfactory...
And then it came to me as if a divine light had fallen from the sky: Minnie Riperton! Most of you only know her for her big hit and classy soul ballad "Loving You" or the songs Quentin Tarantino used for hus Jackie Brown soundtrack, "Inside My Love" and do not realize what an amazing artist with a surreal voice she was. She only made a handful of quality albums before dying of breast cancer in 1979 at the age of 32 and is still very missed among soul music connoisseurs.
So here's a 20 songs resumé of her too short career (only 6 albums as a solo artist), may it want you to check out more.

My MINNIE RIPPERTON List
1 - Adventures in Paradise (1975)
2 - Perfect Angel (1974)
3 - Come to My Garden (1970)
4 - Minnie (1979)
5 - Stay in Love (1977)
6 - Love Lives Forever (1980)

RIYL:
The Rotary Connection (Minnie's 60s band), Donny Hathaway, Roberta Flack

KAKI KING (ABO#321)

KAKI KING

... AND IT'S NOT OVER YET

(2003-2008)

Kaki King's childhood passions were the drums and Brit-pop, and she figured if she ever made it big it would be because of her skills behind the kit. However, her musical talents didn't stop there: she also played the guitar, and though she learned Beatles and Fleetwood Mac songbooks, she found herself drawn to the styles of Preston Reed and Michael Hedges. Moving from Atlanta to New York to attend college, King got her first taste of solo guitar performance thanks to campus open-mike nights, and upon graduation in 2001 she decided to pursue the instrument more seriously. She started playing in subways, a venue that helped her develop her percussive technique, and when passengers would ask her if she had CDs, she realized that she could possibly make a living as a musician. A copy of her 2002 demo got her a short gig at the Tap Bar in the Knitting Factory, where she was seen by Velour Records head Jeff Krasno, who released her debut, Everybody Loves You, the following year. King moved to Epic imprint Red Ink for her second album, 2004's Legs to Make Us Longer, but she returned to Velour for 2006's Until We Felt Red, which, in addition to including other instrumentation (which was also found on Legs to Make Us Longer), had King's singing prominently featured. After a busy 2007 -- not only was the guitarist recording her fourth full-length she also appeared on albums from Tegan and Sara and the Foo Fighters and contributed to the soundtracks for Into the Wild and August Rush(source : AMG)

GIRLSCHOOL (ABO #320)

GIRLSCHOOL
ONLY WOMEN BLEED?

Girlschool is a monument in the history of grrrl rock. Though the Runaways paved the way for all the other all-female rock bands, it was UK's Girlschool who managed to put girls on the world's rock map as something else than a novelty concept.
Sometimes told to be the female counterpart of once label-mates Motörhead (both were on Bronze records in the late 70s), Girlschool is, above all, a classic hard rock outfit which, and here's the new element, didn't much care about make-up and looking hot. They were, and still are, rock musicians just like the males they "compete" with.
This compilation displays 33 songs from their 11 albums and, though the production is sometimes quite questionable (not to the point to spoil the fun of their music), it's a real treat to hear those women rock their asses off and kick ours with powerful and simple riffs, heavy pounding bass and drums, gutsy vocals and skilled, if not overly complicated, songwriting.
Enter the school of rock'n'roll where girls are just as good as men.

My GIRLSCHOOL Top 3
1 - Demolition (1980)
2 - Hit and Run (1981)
3 - Legacy (2008)

My GIRLSCHOOL Bottom 3
1 - Running Wild (1985)
2 - Girlschool (1992)
3 - Nightmare at Maple Cross (1986)

RIYL:
Rock Goddess, Saxon, Motörhead, The Runaways

ARS NOVA (ABO#319)

ARS NOVA

THE DEVIL'S NEST

(1992-2009)

Here's my last contribution for this ladies month and my last post, then, for this year (*). I'm happy to see that this ladies month has had great success and that we managed to span many music styles. Today's post is dedicated to japanese godess of the keyboards : Keiko Kumagai and her band Ars Nova.

Not to be mistaken with early 70s english band, this is a quite recent ensemble that made revive the glorious aura of the golden years of prog. With male alter ego Gerard, Ars Nova was one of thos band that sounded like ELP, but made it quite better than them at the same time. Of course, this was a great challenge, but anyone can confess that, in 1992 Emerson, Lake & Palmer were not into it at all anymore. Anyway, Ars Nova's music reminds us the great moments of the older trio with its power, its highlights and also its pompousities.

When we first had established that december would be a ladies month, I first though of Ars Nova because it was the only 100% female band, but sadly, the latest albums saw the line-up change and become from a female trio to a bi-duo male/female. no matter, Keiko Kumagai carries all the talents and responsibilities for the band.

My Ars Nova Top 3 :

1. Fear & Anxiety (1992)

2. Biogenesis Project (2003)

3. The Goddess Of Darkness (1996)

(*) don't panic, SFP, TT and the other members are still here to make this blog turn round ! So have a merry christmas and see you next year !

(RS.de)

OR


(MU)

THE RAINCOATS (ABO #318)

THE RAINCOATS
SELECTED DROPS
(1980-1996)

In a twisted and humorous way, England's The Raincoats could be compared to the Shaggs, once said to be the worst band in the world. They share the same quirky sense of destructured melody and weird harmonies, the notable differences being that The Raincoats do it voluntarily and to a result that actually sounds good.
It's no wonder this all-girls post-punk combo reached cult status. For starters, witnessing girls playing music that is usually all-male and infusing into it a real feminity is a breath of fresh air. Then the use of harmony vocals and fiddle certainly bring something new to their folk-influenced avant-pop punk music. In my opinion, the only thing that kept these birds from becoming a major success is the totally uncompromised way they did their thing which is another good point to their credit.
This baistophe displays song from the three classic albums released in the early 80's, their 1983 live album and some more from their 1996 reformation album which, incidentally, happened after Kurt Cobain claimed his love of their music. I know the Cobain reference will drive some people away from the Raincoats, that would be a mistake and, trust me, their music deserve your attention more than many male formations do. Enjoy.

My RAINCOATS List
1 - Moving (1984)
2 - Odyshape (1981)
3 - The Raincoats (1980)
4 - Looking in the Shadows (1996)
5 - The Kitchen Tapes (live) (1983)

RIYL:
Liliput, Young Marble Giants, Television Personalities

PATTI SMITH (ABO#317)

PATTI SMITH

ORDRE DES ARTS ET DES LETTRES

(1974-2008)

I still recall hearing her "Horses" album on the Late John Peel show. just before Punk was breaking, it was a threshold moment, I had heard nothing like it before, I now know that their was referances and influences, but I didnt then. She has rarely troubled the charts but did have a massive hit with Because the night, co-written with Bruce Springsteen. She retired virtually to be a full time mother, returning full time after death of her husband Fred "Sonic" Smith of the MC5. She hasnt stopped since, recently performing at the final gig at New York's legendry CBGBs, where she first came to prominance over 30 years ago. This BAISTOPHE covers her entire career from Punks Poetess to Rock and Roll's Grand Lady. Both CDs end with a selection of songs from CBGBs, side one from 1979 and side two almost 30 yrs later, CBGB's final night, but not Patti's, long may she continue.

-TT-

LISA GERRARD (ABO #316)

LISA GERRARD
TO THOSE WHO CARE

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Lisa Gerrard (born April 12, 1961) is an Australian musician, singer and composer who rose to prominence as part of the music group Dead Can Dance with former music partner Brendan Perry.
Her career began in 1981 and she has been involved in a wide range of projects. Gerrard received a Golden Globe Award for the music score for film Gladiator, on which she collaborated with Hans Zimmer and Klaus Badelt. The movie also received an Academy Award nomination for best music score, but only Hans Zimmer was nominated. Both Gerrard and Badelt were deemed ineligible for the nomination. She also sings and is an instrumentalist for much of her work, most prolifically using the yangqin (a Chinese hammered dulcimer).
This baistophe, crafter by our collaborator Diod, displays both her solo works and collaborations for soundtracks and other projets. Enter the dream.

RIYL:
Dead Can Dance, Irfan, Loreena McKennit

SUSHEELA RAMAN (ABO#315)

SUSHEELA RAMAN

TRUST IN ME

(2001-2009)

When I first heard of Susheela Raman, this was on a 2001 compilation about new discovers in pop. At that time, I wasn't in a mainstream mood at all and, even if Susheela is not Mainstream at all, I felt it sounded like. But, to my big surprise, I really enjoyed this song, Trust In Me.

Until this year, I didn't hear of her and this ladies month made me immediately think of her. Don't know why.

Anyway, I then planned to listen to her whole discography, and dropped onto 4 extraordinary good albums. Susheela sings folk-pop songs with a very simple but clever construction. Her oriental origins can be heard on several of her songs and brings joyful colors to her melancolic pop. Her last album, 33 1/3, contains number of covers that are not unseless at all, for sure.

SUSHEELA RAMAN & GETACHEW MEKURIA - Love Trap (Live in Ethi
envoyé par bbpradi0. - Regardez la dernière sélection musicale.