ROBERT WYATT (ABO#123)

ROBERT WYATT
REVOLUTION WITHOUT R
(1970-2007)

God exists, His name is Robert Wyatt. He is very discreet but we can see him almost everywhere from the greatest film soundtracks (Travelling Birds, ...) to many artists as guest (Björk, Nick Mason, . . .) He really never stops working even if a long time lasts between to of his solo albums.
This gorgeous carreer begins in 1970 when Wyatt sees himself in artistical disagreement with his collegues from Soft Machine (see ABO#073). His first solo album was a deeply experimental album. During his experience with his own band Matching Mole, Wyatt was injured in a party and became paraplegical, preventing him from playing the drums. Fortunately, Robert was one of the (if not 'the') best voices of the Canterbury scene. His second and real solo carreer began then with 1974 'Rock Bottom' which became one of the very best albums of all times ! After a second album, 'Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard', Wyatt became less prolific, making an album almost every 5 years... But what an album that is!
It's very interesting how a man like Robert Wyatt logically brought his music from an extraordinary Canterbury style to a vocal jazz.

Extracts
Sea Song

Heaps Of Sheeps

My Robert Wyatt TOP3 :
1. Rock Bottom (1974)
2. Nothing Can Stop Us (1982)
3. Shleep (1997)

My Robert Wyatt BOTTOM3 :
1. A Short Break (1992)
2. The Animal Film (1983)
3. The End Of An Ear (1970)

or

LOVECRAFT'S METAL MONSTERS (VAC #014)

LOVECRAFT'S METAL MONSTERS

A selection of metal songs (mosty death & black) on lovecraftian themes. The master of horror has always been a great inspiration to the metal scene and lately, with the rise of more extreme genres, it has only increased a little more. The Great Old Ones (ancient gods of the abysses in Lovecraft's mythos), the Necronomicon (an unholy book and another creation of Lovecraft's twisted mind credited to ancient arabic poet Abdul al-Hazred circa 730) and the recurring theme of evil possession developped by Lovecraft in his novels had to have an impact on metal, and they did!
I hope you'll enjoy this selection with famous bands such as Black Sabbath, Metallica, Rage, Entombed and Therion and more obscure ones such as Dawn Of Relic, Disincarnate or Arkham.

Entombed - Clandestine

Dethklok - Awaken (Mustakrakish)

STEPPENWOLF (ABO#122)

STEPPENWOLF
FULL MOON NIGHT
(1967-1976)

Steppenwolf is a rock band that helped establish heavy metal music in the late 1960s along with bands like Blue Cheer and Iron Butterfly. The band was formed in 1967 in Los Angeles by vocalist John Kay, guitarist Michael Monarch, bassist Rushton Moreve, keyboardist Goldy McJohn and drummer Jerry Edmonton after the dissolution of its predecessor, The Sparrows.

The band has sold more than 25 million units worldwide, releasing 8 gold albums and 13 Hot 100 singles, including three top-10 hits in "Born to Be Wild", '"Magic Carpet Ride", and "Rock Me". Steppenwolf enjoyed worldwide success from 1968 to 1974, but clashing personalities led to the end of the core lineup. (wiki)

By the 80's Steppenwolf came back with only original member John Kay as frontman. Even if John Kay's SW sounds a bit like the band before, I have to admit that it was a lot more disappointing musically. That's why this Baistophe ends with the last original Steppenwolf album : Skullduggery.

Extract :
Monster / Suicide / America

My Steppenwolf TOP 3 :
1. Monster (1969)
2. The Second (1968)
3. Skullduggery (1976)

My Steppenwolf BOTTOM 3 :
1. For Ladies Only (1971)
2. Hour Of The Wolf (1975)
3. Slow Flux (1974)

YVES MONTAND (ABO #121)

YVES MONTAND
SES PLUS BELLES CHANSONS

Yves Montand (13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991) was an Italian-born French actor and singer.
Montand was born Ivo Livi in Monsummano Terme, Italy to Josephine and Giovanni, poor peasants. Montand's family left Italy for France. He grew up in Marseille, where as a young man he worked in his sister's barber shop, and later on the docks. He began a career in show business as a music-hall singer. In 1944 he was discovered by Édith Piaf in Paris and she made him part of her act, becoming his mentor and lover.
He went on to international recognition as a singer and actor, starring in numerous films. His recognizably crooner songs, especially those about Paris, became instant classics.
In 1951 he married the actress Simone Signoret, and they co-starred in several films throughout their careers. The marriage was, by all accounts, fairly harmonious, lasting until her death in 1985, although Montand had a number of well-publicised affairs, notably with Marilyn Monroe, with whom he starred in one of her last films, Let's Make Love. During his career, Montand acted in a number of American motion pictures as well as on Broadway. He was nominated for a Cesar Award for "Best Actor" in 1980 for "I comme Icare" and again in 1984 for "Garçon!"
In the French dubbings of Looney Tunes, the character Pepé Le Pew is an Italian skunk named "Pépé le putois". The voice characterization was often based on Montand's performances.
In 1986, after his international box-office draw power had fallen off considerably, the 65-year-old Montand gave one of his most memorable performances, as the scheming uncle in the two-part film: Jean de Florette, co-starring Gérard Depardieu, and Manon des Sources, co-starring Emmanuelle Béart. The film was a world-wide critical hit and raised Montand's profile in the U.S., where he made an appearance on "Late Night with David Letterman." (wikipedia)

Grands Boulevards

A bicyclette

SPIRIT (ABO#120)

SPIRIT
FATHER IN LAW
(1967-1996)

Another unusual history in Rock. Spirit was founded by Ed Cassidy with an original idea from gender Randy California who has long been playing with old friend Jimi Hendrix. The band emerged in the psychedelic landscape with a soft clean music which doesn't forget its blues roots. Like a poppy Hendrix style, but without that craziness in the guitar playing, Spirit became one of the most influent bands in USA, even inspiring Led Zeppelin's Stairway To Heaven (listen to Taurus below).
The band's history became unusual when California was injured in an accident so that the album Feedback was made without the main founding member.
When Spirit came back, it had almost become a one-man band with California nearly alone with his guitar and beat-box. After then the band reunited and disbanded frequently around the two essential members. but never made as good as before Feedback... except maybe for their 1978 huge live album "Made In Germany" which is one of the most recommended live albums in Rock history and for Potatoland (1981) which has been a great surprise in that early decade.
Spirit made a last great album, "California Blues" but Randy died not long after while trying to save his son from drowning. Another sad day for Rock.

Extracts :
Taurus

Family

My Spirit Top 3 :
1. 12 Dreams Of Dr. Sardonicus (1970)
2. Spirit (1967)
3. The Family That Plays Together (1968)

My Spirit Bottom 3 :
1. 13th Dream (1984)
2. Rapture Of The Chamber (1990)
3. Father Along (1977)

CLANN ZU (ABO #119)

CLANN ZU
THERE WILL BE NO MORNING

Clann Zú was an Australian and Irish band that formed in Melbourne in 1999.
The forming members drew inspiration from an eclectic mix of musical styles, such as punk, rock, folk, electronic, and classical. Their fusion of Celtic folk, electronic music, and rock has created a unique epic soundscape full of powerful atmospheric sounds and off-beat instrumentation.
This compilation includes songs from Clann Zú 3 releases (one ep and two lps) and 4 songs from singer Declan de Barra's debut solo album who, with his powerful voice sometimes reminding of the Buckleys (father and son), was an important part of the band's sound.
Dearly missed and yet unreplaced, Clann Zú is a must hear for adventurous rock lovers.

One Bedroom Apartment

THE PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN ... FROM ANOTHER POINT OF VIEW (VAC#013)

THE PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN ...
... FROM ANOTHER POINT OF VIEW

Here's another cover oriented project. This has always been mine but didn't really think that it could have been possible to assemble a whole Pink Floyd album only with cover versions. I begun with the very first album they recorded but, for sure, I won't stop there. I know many other will be easy to make but for others (More, Ummagumma, Obscured, The Wall, ...), I think I won't be able to find every track covered. So Two solutions may be possible : the first is not to treat them at all. The second is to gather some of those albums together as only one album... Except if someone can help me to complete my unfinished collection...
This first album has been much easier to complete because of Syd Barrett who was (and still is) an icone of rock'n'roll. However, some were very hard to find as "Pow R Toc H" or "Chapter 24". But I did it ! I just listened to it and realised it was really another album, so it wasn't a useless effort. Some bonus tracks are also included as at that time the Pink Floyd made some non album singles. Enjoy !

Extracts :
Niki Mono & Nikolaus Klau : Flaming

David Bowie : See Emily Play

We just changed the back cover. Indeed, one of the artists in the tracklist was wrong : Instead of David Lansing You had to understand Cult Of Apollo. Sorry for that mistake and sorry to Max Niketic to have mistaken his presence in that track.

R.I.P. Rick

CARAVAN (ABO#118)

CARAVAN
THE WORLD IS YOURS
(1968-2003)

Caravan is the pop side of Soft Machine (see ABO#073). The comparison is not a fortuitous one. In fact Soft Machine and Caravan were born from the same band : The Wilde Flowers. While Ratledge and Wyatt went to create Soft Machine bringing The Wilde Flowers music into a Jazz experience, Pye Hastings and brothers Sinclair made it popier, even if the canterbury sound remains a common ground to both formations. Jazz is no stranger to Caravan : some improvisations are included on almost each of their albums, even if by the year 1975, the music came to be writen as a more classic prog process. Caravan is, as many other Canterbury acts, one of my favourite bands for that reason : making intelligent music affordable to anyone.

Extracts :
For Richard (edit)

Jack And Jill

My Caravan TOP3 :
1. In The Land Of Grey And Pink (1971)
2. For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night (1973)
3. Blind Dog At Saint Dunstans (1976)

My Caravan BOTTOM3 :
1. The Battle Of Hastings (1995)
2. Better By Far (1977)
3. Back To Front (1981)

or

NEVERMIND THE WALRUSES (VAC #012)

NEVERMIND THE WALRUSES

A selection of covers of the 1967 Beatles song... Those tracks were chosen because of either their quality or what they brought to the original... I've had to span over 50 versions of I Am The Walrus to make that selection, it's been a lot of fun and I hope it'll be as much fun listening to it. Enjoy!

Samples
Lord Sitar

Jim Carrey

OTH (ABO #117)

OTH
LES CLOWN ELECTRIQUES
1979-1993

Damned ! Here's one of the best French alternative rock bands of the 80's!
OTH (short for "On Tender Hooks") have surely imprinted one of the finest pages of the French rock.
Born a punk band at the end of the 70's in Montpellier (south of France), OTH identifies itself by its highly energetic, diabolical and inspired rock'n'roll even allowing itself to possess a sense of humour!
The band's discography isn't a huge one: five studio albums, two live albums and a compilation.
On this "best of", I've tried to gather the energitic hard core, the good proportions of thin and fat so that you can absorb, smell the sweat of their savage rock, may it make you sweat too!
They are the electric clowns, we are (and will remain) their faithful servants.

Samples:

La France Dort

Clown Electriques