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 !







Tuesday, March 30, 2010

STEELEYE SPAN (ABO#357)

STEELEYE SPAN
ANTHROPOMORPHISM
(1970-2009)

Funny how our programmation have put Steely Dan and Steeleye Span very close to one another. A very similiar name for completely different sound. Steeleye Span was planned in january but too hard to finish or many other projects that I wanted to do made it only be posted today. As we took awareness of Tim Hart's death, the idea of making Steeleye Span's Baistophe came to an evidence. This essential english folk band has been very prolific and is not really as famous as they deserve it. Their music is truly beautiful, especially when Maddy Prior singing, and very few albums are to forget. This constance in quality and this longevity had to be saluted in our blog.










My Steeleye Span TOP3 :
1. Ten Man Mop (1972)
2. Parcel Of Roghes (1973)
3. Commoner's Crown (1975)

My Steeleye Span BOTTOM3 :
1. Time (1996)
2. Winter (2004)
3. Back In Line (1986)



Sunday, March 28, 2010

HOT CHIP (ABO #356)

HOT CHIP
COLOURS


With their mix of indie electronica, synthpop and subtle dancefloor tendencies, Hot Chip has become quite an institution among those who know. Not only does the band do good songs they also have a lyrical and musical sense of humor which, if it doesn’t dominate their art, is still very much welcome. With four full-lengths and a handful of EPs, Hot Chip’s talent is not to be demonstrated anymore. This compilation, a 77 minutes exploration of the band’s discography up to this year’s One Last Stand, is only meant to be an introduction to a band that has a lot to offer those of you looking for clever/playful indie “poptronica”.




RIYL:
LCD Soundsystem, The Rapture, New Order, The Postal Service

Friday, March 26, 2010

STEELY DAN (ABO#355)

STEELY DAN
NO STATIC AT ALL
(1972-2003)

Once more, one of our dear fans has become a member of our community. His first attempt has been for Steely Dan, a band I nearly absolutely don't know. However, I do believe this selection will take me aware of how talented this band has been. Pioneer of the "soft-rock" tradition that would become the 80s pop (the good one), Steely Dan has writen a armful of hits from their golden era (1972-1980). After that, the band simply went separate ways and reunited at the end of the 90s for a pair of studio albums that have never been unfair to their glorious past. Thanks to GEERMARCUS to have been looking after this band.


Thursday, March 25, 2010

FLOWERING: SPRINGTIME SONGS (VAC #040)

VARIOUS ARTISTS
FLOWERING:
SPRINGTIME SONGS

For this final installment of my seasonal series, I wanted something that, beyond the simple title of the songs, evoked the lightness and happiness of springtime. This is the new season, when nature is reborn, girls go in shorter skirts and we all feel a little younger, people!
Indeed, the very sound of this compilation aims towards the easy-listening end of the musical spectrum with genres ranging from plain kitsch orchestral, jazz, folk, country, indie rock, pop, etc. Of course, I added a little gravity to the mix which, otherwise, would have felt too “honeyed” but, you’ve got it, I wanted a crowd pleaser not a tortured selection.
Welcome to springtime, might those songs bring a little sunshine and warmth to your heart.




(This one is actually not featured on the compilation by this artist but I found two cover versions that open and close the selection and I thought it might be a good idea to offer you the original version as well.)

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

[REPACKED] METALLICA (ABO #039)

METALLICA
DEATH INC.

We’re continuing our series of reworked compilations with the new version of what once was named “Fuel My Fire” at Baistophe. Since we posted this first selection, about two years ago, the Mets have released Death Magnetic helping them to re-establish the band as a quality act after the huge disappointment St. Anger was. Like with Queensrÿche, this new selection benefits from our better skills with the artworks but it also offers a broader view of Metallica’s career. In addition to the 9 studio albums, we chose tracks from their cover collection (Garage Inc.), their two live albums (Live Shit: Binge & Purge and S&M) as well as the live cuts from the Some Kind of Monster EP.
With 37 songs and almost 4 hours of music, Death Inc. offers a wide panorama of the biggest metal band in the world and, though we still thing some tracks are missing, it was a prime concern of ours to keep it varied and entertaining from start to finish while covering just about every aspect of the band’s career with the notable exception of St. Anger of which no song appear here for obvious reasons.
We sincerely hope you’ll enjoy the ride.

(click to enlarge)





My METALLICA Top Three
1 – Master of Puppets (1986)
2 – Ride the Lightning (1984)
3 – Load (1996)


My METALLICA Bottom Three
1 – St. Anger (2003)
2 – St. Anger (2003)
3 – St. Anger (2003)
(Yes, it’s that bad!)

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

[REPACKED] QUEENSRYCHE (ABO #009)

QUEENSRYCHE
WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD


Back when we started this little adventure called “Baistophe”, when we were eager and youthful but didn’t know too well our chops and tricks, I did a Queensrÿche compilation I called “Band in a Box”. This wasn’t a bad compilation as it displayed most of the Q’s own favorites, it had a decent artwork and all… Yet, something itched me since. Was it the chronological order I went with, the fact that Queensrÿche has since released another album (a good one that is), the simple revelation that some of my choices weren’t as essential as I thought they were? Well, I can’t tell but one thing was certain, someday I’d have to re-do the work and now that the links are dead is as good a time as any.
So, here it is, “Welcome to the Real World”, the revamped, repacked, rethought, resurrected double Cd compilation from one of the world’s finest, cleverest metal bands. A 158 minutes long feast for those who love their metal to be melodic, a little progressive, thoughtful and , well, touched by the grace of the metal gods. With songs from their entire studio catalog (from the 1983’s Ep “Queen of the Reich” to 2009’s “American Soldier”), it is, in my humble opinion a perfect introduction to this unique music group and/or, for those already familiar with Tate & Co, a set filled with what the band did best in its 27 (!) years in the business. I hope you’ll like it.







My QUEENSRYCHE Top Three
1 – Promised Land (1994)
2 – Rage for Order (1986)
3 – Empire (1990)

My QUEENSRYCHE Bottom Three
1 – Q2K (1999)
2 – Tribe (2003)
3 – Take Cover (2007)


RIYL:
Fates Warning, Pink Floyd, Rush, Savatage

Warning: track 7 on Cd two has not been tagged well, it is, in fact Scarborough Fair, not a second version of Sign of the Times. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Monday, March 22, 2010

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN (ABO #354)

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN
IT COULD HAVE BEEN A BRILLIANT CAREER

Coming from Glasgow and named after a French children book and tv series of the 60s, Belle and Sebastian have crafted their delicate (retro) pop sound through the years establishing a cult following but failing to win mainstream audiences. With 7 studio albums, a lot of EPs, some live recordings and a double b-side compilation, the band proved to be both productive and consistent. So much that it hasn’t been an easy task to select the 36 tracks displayed here. Of course, most of the tracks come from the band’s studio albums but, considering the quality of the material released on their various EPs, I had to include some excerpts from it.
And, voilà, a 2 CDs filled with a little under 2 and a half hour of retro-indie pop at its best. Enjoy!






My BELLE AND SEBASTIAN Top Three
1 – If You’re Feeling Sinister (1996)
2 – The Boy With the Arab Strap (1998)
3 – The Life Pursuit (2006)


RIYL:
The Smiths, Of Montreal, Love, The Magnetic Fields

Saturday, March 20, 2010

LOFOFORA (ABO#353)

LOFOFORA
LA OU CA FAIT MAL
(1994-2008)

Making Lofofora took me back to my very late college years. Listening to associative local radio, I found everything that I wanted to discover. Those amateur radio shows were different from usual national radio shows. They were playing music that no other radios would play : punk, metal, classic rock, progressive rock, ... One night I then discovered Lofofora with their song L'oeuf. At that time I was expecting big sound and Lofofora was exactly what I was waiting for.
That rap-metal music with has got a huge punk spirit: they covered Les Béruriers Noirs, and their lyrics really fit that philosophy. Against fascism, hatred, violence, they funilly put violence against itself. As lead singer Reuno Wangermez uses to say : "when it hurts you don't only say ouch, you scream, so we scream." This centense resumes by itself the whole thing about Lofofora : A huge sound against what's disturbing, hitting only where it hurts.




My Lofofora TOP3 :
1. Peuh! (1996)
2. Les Choses Qui Nous Dérangent (2005)
3. Dur Comme Fer (1999)

My Lofofora BOTTOM3 :
1. Mémoires De Singes (2007)
2. Le Fond Et La Forme (2003)
3. Lofofora (1995)


Friday, March 19, 2010

LADIES : C (VAC#039)

VARIOUS ARTISTS
LADIES : C

Third part of this new serie was much easier to compil than B. There are much more C-beginning first names and much more songs only named by that kind of word. This could have been a double set CD but in order to maintain the tradition of 1CD ladies collection for each letters, I had to cut down my selection. This latter is very eclectic, with songs from 1959 (Johnny Cash) to 2010 (Wolfmother), with also really famous bands like Steve Hackett, A-Ha or Joni Mitchell and others much more obscurs (Bi Kyo Ran, Flyleaf, Maga, ...). As usual, there are some great surprises like A-Ha's song that is really great by a band I didn't expect to.




NB : A-ha's song is not Celine but Celice. I'll correct the inside and back cover as soon as possible.










Thursday, March 18, 2010

[RE-UP] FUNKADELIC (ABO#144)

FUNKADELIC
FUNKADELICIOUS
(1970-1983)

Second part of complete reup. This one has not been rouched at all. Simply because not enought time.
Funkdelic is one of the very most unusual bands, just because their music is. To my restricted knowledge, Funkadelic is the only band that mixes like that psychedelic rock and funk music.
I discovered Funkadelic by their epic song Maggot Brain and felt amazed how such a band could play such song. By discovering the rest of the discography, my surprise hadn't decrease. This (at least) 9-pieced band was really an orchestra making really rich funky music and the better was live, as often. The last Funkadelic album was recorded early in the 80s but are still touring, still led by George Clinton who either plays alone or with his 3 usual bands : Funkadelic, Parliament, P-Funk Allstars



My Funkadelic TOP3 :
1. Cosmic Slop (1973)
2. Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow (1971)
3. Hardcore Jollies (1976)


Wednesday, March 17, 2010

[RE-UP] LESLIE WEST & MOUNTAIN (ABO#088)

LESLIE WEST & MOUNTAIN
POUND FOR POUND
(1969-2007)

Sometimes things go strange. As my friend SFP was checking all our Baistophes, two of them haven't been found... completely disappeared! the first one is the one I repost today. It's finally not a bad thing it had vanished because the artwork I made at that time was pretty horrible. So that was a good reason to rework it. I chose not to change the tracklist even if a new Mountain album had been edited since. This Bob Dylan Tribute is not necessarily a bad album but doesn't bring much to Leslie West's discography.
For those who don't know Mountain, this band was a Felix Pappalardi idea after he was a bit disappointed by the previous band he was producing (Cream). He found in Leslie West what he was looking for as a guitarist and singer. He then decided to produce him and manage him. he first Leslie West album was named Mountain and set up what was to become the band Mountain. By consequence, it was hard for me to split Mountain's and Leslie West's solo carreer. One thing has however to be noticed : Leslie West's solo carreer is now quite different than Mountain's one. Mountain has always made some Hard Rocking albums. Leslie West has become, as a solo artist, a blues singer. You'll find that difference on the second CD as both Leslie West and Mountain went on recording albums in parallel.









My Leslie West & Mountain TOP3 :
1. Nantucket Sleighride (1971)
2. Climbing (1970)
3. Whatever Turns You On (1973)

My Leslie West & Mountain BOTTOM3 :
1. Theme (1988)
2. Go For Your Life (1985)
3. Blue Me (2006)