TOAD (ABO#247)

TOAD

MY SWEET PRINCE

(1970-1995)

I always remember that rockumentary about Yes where Chris Squire talks about Patrick Moraz recruitment. he says "He's a Swiss musician. How many swiss group are famous? not too many." Maybe didn't he think of Toad.

Toad was a Hard rock band who only became famous for one album : Toad (1972). That's indeed right that this is their really best one. With only 3 albums in the 70s, it should have been unfair to baistophe them while so many hugely discographed band still mis here. It was without counting with a 1995 come back CD and two unreleased 70s albums, everything turns to be much more understandable. So, if you missed that band, that's the good reason for a remedial lesson.

My Toad TOP :

1- TOAD (1972)

2- B.U.F.O. (1970/2003)

3- Tommorrow Blue (1973)

4- Dreams (1974)

5- Hate To Hate (1995)

SUMMER SONGS (VAC #027)

A SUNNY SELECTION OF
SUMMER SONGS

If you're expecting something as ambitious as Ayah's Pink Floyd covers' project, pass your way. This compilation is nothing but 80 minutes of various songs put together with an obvious theme (Summer!) patching them together so to make kind of an imaginary Summer Movie soundtrack.
As you can see, the tracklist is quite diverse (from hard rock to jazz, from folk to pop, from bluegrass to indie rock) which makes, in my humble opinion, for an entertaining listen. Whatsmore, you might discover some artists and songs you had never heard about. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed making it.

BRICKS (VAC#026)

VARIOUS ARTISTS

BRICKS

Here we are! I think most of you have waited for this one and it's been a long long time for me to make it real. Here's the new Pink Floyd Cover Concept album. Based upon The Wall, it has necessarily its highs and lows. Indeed, I really wanted to make the whole album without forgetting any track, even Stop or Outside The Wall. But for some of those songs had I not the choice at all. Maybe I have not searched enough but that's what I really got. The biggest difficulty was to find each song from a different singer. That's what I nearly did. But Stop and The Trial are from the same singer. I had another version of The Trial from a swiss musical but the one from luther wright was much better. Here it is for your great pleasure!

SCISSOR SISTERS | COMFORTABLY NUMB @ Yahoo! Video

WHITESNAKE (ABO #246)

WHITESNAKE
1977-2008

Whitesnake is an English hard rock band, founded in 1977 by David Coverdale (formerly of Deep Purple). The band's early material has been compared by critics to Deep Purple but by the mid eighties Whitesnake had moved away from the early blues-rock influenced heavy metal to a more commercial hard rock style. They were recently named the 85th Greatest hard rock band of all time by VH1.

DAVID COVERDALE
ONLY MY SOUL: THE SOLO WORKS

As a bonus, I give you the best of David Coverdale's three solo albums. The first two were released between Deep Purple's split and Whitesnake's formation, the third in 2000 while Whitesnake was in hiatus. I've also included songs from his album with Jimmy Page. Enjoy.

My WHITESNAKE Top Three
1 - Ready an' Willing (1980)
2 - Saints & Sinners (1982)
3 - Lovehunter (1979)

My WHITESNAKE Bottom Three
1 - Slip of the Tongue (1989)
2 - Good to Be Bad (2008)
3 - Restless Heart (1997)

BEN HARPER (ABO#245)

THE POWER OF

BEN HARPER

(1992-2009)

I won't be long by talking about Ben Harper because mostly everyone knows him, and that's a good thing. Just that, like anyone else, some of his songs are real masterpieces and are not very well known. Of course, Ground On Down (available live here) is one of his most popular songs and one of his best but other great tunes like The Power Of Gospel (really touching) and God Fearing Man (really outblowing!) are what he made the best. So it's one more reason to take an ear back to his whole carreer. You'll have understood : My favourite BH album is Fight For Your Mind, by far...

My Ben Harper TOP3 :

1- Fight For Your Mind (1995)

2- Burn To Shine (1999)

3- Welcome To The Cruel World (1993)

My Ben Harper BOTTOM3 :

1- There Will Be A LIght (w/ The Blind Boys Of Alabama) (2004)

2- Lifeline (2007)

3- Diamonds On The Inside (2003)

LEVELLERS (ABO #244)

LEVELLERS
A MEETING OF MINDS

The Levellers are an English rock band influenced by punk and traditional English music. They are based in Brighton, England where they were founded in 1988. There are several stories regarding how they got their name; from the Levellers, a radically democratic faction of Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army; as a reference to "The Level", a flat open space near where members of the band used to live in Brighton; or simply, according to guitarist, Simon Friend, a word they chose from a dictionary. Strongly interested and outspoken about green anarchism issues the band have built up a strong and devoted fanbase, despite being nearly universally ignored by mainstream critics. The band have been spokespeople for a number of issues including campaigning against the Criminal Justice Act (and its measures against rave parties ) and various anti-capitalist and environmental issues. They continue to tour extensively around Britain and Europe but maintain a mutual dislike with the music press which stems from their early days.

My LEVELLERS Top 3
1 - Levelling the Land (1992)
2 - A Weapon Called the Word (1990)
3 - Zeitgeist (1995)

My LEVELLERS Bottom 3
1 - Hello Pig (2000)
2 - Green Blade Rising (2003)
3 - Mouth to Mouth (1997)

THE DOOBIE BROTHERS (ABO#243)

THE ESSENTIAL

THE DOOBIE BORTHERS

(1970-2000)

As one of the most popular Californian pop/rock bands of the '70s, the Doobie Brothers evolved from a mellow, post-hippie boogie band to a slick, soul-inflected pop band by the end of the decade. Along the way, the group racked up a string of gold and platinum albums in the U.S., along with a number of radio hits like "Listen to the Music," "Black Water," and "China Grove."

Disbanded in 1980 after their forgettable album One Step Closer, the Doobies were back in the late 80s for much more forgettable ones. In fact the band intensively toured, what they do the best and at the exception of one last studio album in 2000, the Doobie Brothers only record live albums with no new composition, which is a bit sad. [freely inspired from AMG]

My Doobie Brothers TOP3 :

1. What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits (1974)

2. The Doobie Brothers (1971)

3. Toulouse Street (1972)

My Doobie Brothers BOTTOM3 :

1. Brotherhood (1990)

2. One Step Closer (1980)

3. Cycles (1989)

KYUSS (ABO #242)

KYUSS
DESERT ROCK

A cult favorite if there ever was one, Kyuss is also a very important band that influenced the whole stoner scene. Yet, they were in a league of their own. This band smells of dust and gasoline, never compromised yet established themselves as a driving force in this new scene we now call stoner rock. Certainly, the influence of bands such as Black Sabbath or Blue Cheer can be noticed in their music but they infused their sound with a unique blend of heavy psychedelia that made the difference. Sadly, they never got the success they deserved but their following projects (Fu Manchu, Unida and, even more, Eagles of Death Metal & Queens of the Stone Age) managed to secure an audience that always failed to confirm Kyuss success.
For the few of you who haven't yet had a taste of this amazing band, here's the chance to embark on a one hour ride...through the desert.

My KYUSS List
1 - Welcome to Sky Valley (1994)
2 - Blues for the Red Sun (1992)
3 - ...And the Circus Leaves Town (1995)
4. Wretch (1991)
5. Sons of Kyuss (1990)

FRANK MARINO & MAHOGANY RUSH (ABO#241)

FRANK MARINO

SPIRITUAL SON

(1972-2005)

As many canadian artists, Frank Marino and his band suffered from USA's domination on american show business. But he sure was a great artist and made nothing less than 14 albums (including 2 live albums!). Sadly Marino didn't took fame as much as he should have. Even with a great position in the second edition of The Cal Jam (in 1978), he and his band never went further than a close fan base. His guitar is yet much greater than any other Hard/Blues/Rock guitar heroes ! A better comparison is that, for me, Frank Marino is the only man who has been able to feel Hendrix's absence since his death un 1970. If you don't know him, the first listen of any of his songs should remind you what Jimi sounded like. But, in a way, no one ever wanted another Hendrix...

My Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush TOP3 :

1. Tales Of The Unexpected (1979) [MR]

2. Juggernaut (1982) [FM]

3. World Anthem (1978) [MR]

My Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush BOTTOM3 :

1. From The Hip (1990) [FM]

2. Power Of Rock'n'Roll (1981) [FM]
3. Child Of Novelty (1973) [MR]

KLAUS NOMI (ABO #240)

KLAUS NOMI
DO YOU NOMI?

This strange little man from Essen, Germany became somewhat of a cult idol after his tragic death in 1983. He was, back then, at the beginning of a promising career which was sadly interrupted by AIDS. Relocated on the other side of the Atlantic ocean, his falsetto voice, strange costumes, otherworldly aura all created a character which became a favourite of New York City's arty/new wave late 70s scene. It took him quite a long time to secure a record deal even after his spectacular appearance with David Bowie on Saturday Night Live but, when he finally did, success was there for him. Two albums were released while he was alive, the self-titled "Klaus Nomi" and "A Simple Man", both displaying Nomi's peculiar mix of new wave and operatic themes. One can wonder why a career that short deserved a "baistophe", the answer is quite simple: it just needed it. Whatsmore, the addition of 2008's "Za Bakdaz: The Unfinished Opera" (a collection of early demos) has provided a worthy addition to the tracklist. So, here it is, "Do You Nomi?", a 55 minutes long tribute to a great artist which left us too soon.

GACKT (ABO #239)

GACKT
THE VIZITOR FROM THE SKY
(1999-2007)

For Baistophe’s first venturing into the world of Japanese Pop-Rock, let’s have a look back at the solo career of Gackt. Half-pop idol half-rock star, Gackt gained fame from his early years as the singer of the Visual Kei band Malice Mizer. There he proved being not only a great singer, but also a finemulti-instrumentalist and composer. After leaving Mizer in 1999, he initiated a solo career which was closely followed by many fans since the very beginning.
Hiding both private life and musical projects behind a veil of mystery, Gackt is a hugely popular figure in Japanese culture. He was committed as an actor in several features, as a main character in a Final Fantasy episode, wrote his autobiography along with poetry, and even provided his voice for the vocal synthesis "Vocaloid" series. Yet this CD explores what he does best : writing songs that can get tremendous success and radio airplay, but adding significant production values. His shows, all the best being available on DVD, are also nothing short of spectacular.

MY GACKT TOP 3
1- Crescent (2003)
2- Mars (2000)
3- Diabolos (2005)

MY GACKT BOTTOM 3
1- Love letter (2005)
2- The seventh night unplugged (2004)
3- Rebirth (2001)

(this BAISTOPHE has been cooked by Kaworu & Baker, may they be thanked for their great work)

BLUR (ABO #238)

BLUR
FOR TOMORROW

One of the britpop's finest bands and one that was able to evolve into something arty, Blur is certainly a band that needs no introduction. Throughout their career, these London lads released 7 albums all of which have more ups than downs. While their third album, the very entertaining Parklife (1994), was the one launching their international stardom it was their self titled 1997's release which helped them break free of their britpop etiquette and allowed them to start experimenting on a whole other level. That was probably what caused their demise too as the limitation of the band ultimately lead Damon Albarn to want to pursue new projects of which Gorillaz is the most famous. True too that Graham Coxon, their guitarist, leaving the band didn't help and the mixed bag their final, to this day, album (2003's Think Tank) certainly suffered his lack of implication in the project. But that was 6 years ago and now the four men matured, patched up their differences and did a few concerts so to officially bury the hatchet. Let's hope it'll lead to a brand new album and that it'll be as good as the songs displayed on this compilation. I guess we'll have to wait and see and, meanwhile, enjoy Blur's baistophe.

Blur - Girls And Boys

Blur - Charmless Man mv

My BLUR List
1 - Parklife (1994)
2 - 13 (1999)
3 - The Great Escape (1995)
4 - Blur (1997)
5 - Modern Life is Rubbish (1993)
6 - Think Tank (2003)
7 - Leisure (1991)