GENTLE GIANT (ABO#092)

GENTLE GIANT
MAGICAL PATCHWORK
(1970-1980)

How did we not dare look after that huge band Gentle Giant is? This band is, in my opinion, the most underrated in all rock history. Melting both progressive and medieval roots for an amazingly beautiful result their sound is quite unique including great vocal harmonies and interlaced instruments including both rock and classical ones, violin, trumpet, vibes... In concert, one of the great moments was the duo or trio of accoustic guitars... And what a great one that was!
Gentle Giant didn't last long, ten years from 1970 to 1980. One can say that they should have continued their adventure, but I do think they stopped at the right time avoiding some disappointing albums in the 80's as any other prog made in that godforsaken era... However, one thing can be unfortunately sure : they will never come back, whereas they must be the only one that should!

Extracts :
Funny Ways

Just The Same

My Gentle Giant TOP3 :
1. Octopus (1973)
2. Free Hand (1975)
3. The Missing Piece (1977)

My Gentle Giant BOTTOM3 :
1. Giant For A Day (1978)
2. Three Friends (1972)
3. In'terview (1976)

TARAF DE HAÏDOUKS (ABO #091)

TARAF DE HAÏDOUKS
TZIGANITA, A GYPSY COLLECTION

Taraf de Haïdouks are a troupe of Romanian Roma musicians, from the town of Clejani, the most prominent such group in Romania in the post-Communist Era.
They are known in their native Romania as "Taraful Haiducilor". Roughly, this means "band of outlaws", but "taraf" is also the traditional name for a group of lăutari (traditional Romanian Gypsy musicians). "Haidut" or "haydut" is a word of Turkish origin which means "outlaw"; in Romanian it has a rustic or archaic connotation. Most of those who know the band in the Western world know them by way of French-speaking areas, where they are known as "Taraf de Haïdouks."
The group formed in 1989, shortly before the death of dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu, but actually they discovered Romanian ethnomusicologist Speranta Radulescu, who first recorded them in 1983 for the archive of "The Institute for Ethnography and Folklore". The original group encompassed about a dozen musicians; later configurations were to include as many as thirty.
Their music both has feelings of melancholy & happiness (sometimes at the same time) and is a feast for the ears and an uncompromised display of the Romanian gypsy sound (except for the remixes, of course). Enjoy this slice of gypsy pie!

Samples:

Duba, Duba... Si Hora

Ostinato & Romanian Dance

TERRORVISION (ABO #090)

TERRORVISION
THE BRITS CAN ROCK!

Alongside New Model Army and a fertile bhangra scene, Terrorvision are the Yorkshire city of Bradford's chief musical export. And, after capturing a UK number 1 single in 1999, there is every reason for them to be a source of local pride. After abandoning the name Spoilt Bratz in 1991, Terrorvision (named after a cult B-movie) formed around vocalist Tony Wright, guitarist Mark Yates, bass player Leigh Markley and drummer Shutty. A single demo tape was enough to convince EMI Records to offer them not only a deal, but their own imprint, Total Vegas. A succession of albums followed, melding pop hooks with metal guitars (akin to a harsher Cheap Trick). These included Formaldehyde (1992), How to Make Friends and Influence People (1994) and Regular Urban Survivors (1996). These spawned a series of chart appearances for singles such as "New Policy One," "Pretend Best Friend," the excellent "Alice, What's the Matter?" and "Perseverance." The latter took them into the UK top five, illustrating their broadening commercial appeal. That was confirmed with the release of 1998's Shaving Peaches, a heady mix of wacked-out pop and rock piledrivers with a real dumb charm that some compared to the Ramones. Despite attendant single "Tequila" topping the charts, Terrorvision were nevertheless dropped by EMI before the end of the millennium. However, their own label scored a working relationship with Papillion in May 2000. A sixth appearance on the "Never Mind the Buzzcocks" Christmas special soon followed prior to the band returning to the studio the next year. Good To Go, their fifth album which sparked the hit single "D'Ya Wanna Go Faster?," appeared in February 2001. Sadly, after a string of spring shows, Terrorvision's 13-year career came to a halt when the band disbanded in June. (allmusic guide) They left us five terrific albums melting teen excitement and hard rockin' guitars from which all the songs from this compilation were taken.

Samples:

Oblivion

Enteralterego

III Wishes

JULIETTE & THE LICKS (ABO #089)

JULIETTE & THE LICKS
...AND NOW SHE ROCKS!

She's played quite a few high-energy freaks for Hollywood, but none of her silver screen characters can prepare audiences for the over-the-top ferociousness Juliette Lewis unleashes when she fronts her band, Juliette and the Licks. Lewis' first public flirtations with rock & roll can be traced back to 1994 when she appeared in the video for Melissa Etheridge's "Come to My Window." A year later she was singing PJ Harvey's "Hardly Wait" in the film Strange Days, but musical aspirations would only be hinted at for the next eight years. Film work took up Lewis' time until she took a break from it in 2003. That year she appeared in the video for H.I.M.'s "Buried Alive by Love" and rounded up her four-piece band, the Licks.
It was at Johnny Depp's club, the Viper Room, that audiences first got to hear the Van Halen-meets-Iggy Pop sound of the Licks and the first time they got to hear the songs Lewis had been writing with hit songwriter Linda Perry. The band toured the West Coast hard for the next year with Lewis hitting the stage in spandex, high-heeled boots, and other attire that shouted "rocker." Audience and critical reaction to the Licks' live show varied from positive to blown away. In September 2004, Lewis appeared as vocalist and co-songwriter on the Prodigy's album Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned.
A month later the Licks' debut EP, ...Like a Bolt of Lightning, was released on Fiddler Records. More touring — including a stint on the tenth annual Vans Warped Tour — followed before Juliette and the Licks released their full-length debut, You're Speaking My Language, in May 2005. The band hit the road again to support the album and began writing songs for their sophomore release along the way. Their drummer split by the end of the tour, but Nirvana/Foo Fighters drummer Dave Grohl saved the day. While he had originally planned to just help with some demos, he stayed with the band for the recording of the album Four on the Floor, which was released in late 2006. (allmusic guide)

Sample:
Sticky Honey

URIAH HEEP, vol. 2 (ABO#087)

URIAH HEEP
HEEP HEEP HEEP ... URIAH ! vol. 2
(1976-2008)

After David Byron left the band in 1976, former Lucifer's Friend's frontman John Lawton joined to fit Byron's place. That new recrew gave fresh blood the Heep's music and also a new direction : although we could still hear some soft songs, Uriah Heep was to become more and more a Hard Rock band than before, especially live. Lawton left only 3 years after he joined making the band fall into debth until they found a stable line-up with Bernie Shaw at the microphone. Although Bernie's style was not the best a Heep's singer ever had, we all must admit that it was Heep's voice for that period. 10 years after a deeply disappointing album, Sonic Origami, Uriah Heep is now back for good. Their new album is one of the best ever made since 1976.
(If you've missed vol. 1, you'll find it here)

Extracts :
I'm Alive


Wake The Sleeper

My post-Byron Uriah Heep TOP3 :
1. Firefly (1976)
2. Wake The Sleeper (2008)
3. Fallen Angel (1979)

My post-Byron Uriah Heep BOTTOM3 :
1. Equator (1985)
2. Head First (1983)
3. Different World (1991)

JEAN-JACQUES GOLDMAN (ABO#086)

JEAN-JACQUES GOLDMAN
SACHE QUE ...
(1982-2002)

Jean-Jacques Goldman has been so many criticized that we* had to give him one last chance. His lack of popularity abroad (from France) can be explained by the french languaged songs and a will not to go on tour for too long nor too far away. He began playing and singing in prog band Taï Phong but wanted to write songs for other people. While anyone wanted to sing him and as the band broke up in the late 70s, he decided to sing his own songs. So, from a talented prog guitarist, Jean-Jacques Goldman turned into a pop singer. The success came rapidly within his country, his public being mostly feminine. Indeed, his song are really poppy and and often very light (in France, we call it "guimauve").
However, even if Goldman has made some easy girlsy songs, I must admit some of them caught my interest, to begin with Rouge, a huge left-winged prog song featuring the Red Army Choir
* I, in fact, because the other members haven't supported me to make this baistophe...

Extracts :
Il Suffira


Rouge

My Jean-Jacques Goldman TOP3 :
1. En Passant (1997)
2. Frederiks Goldman Jones (1990)
3. Rouge (1993)

My Jean-Jacques Goldman BOTTOM3 :
1. Chanson Pour Les Pieds (2002)
2. Positif (1984)
3. Entre Gris Clair Et Gris Foncé (1987)

HAPPY DRIVERS (ABO #085)

HAPPY DRIVERS
ATTENTION AUX INDIENS 1985-93

Heading from France (Angers), this 3 piece changed a lot in its short career. the five (short) albums the Happy Drivers released from 1987 to 1994 saw them starting as a rockabilly band (the first two albums) then moving to some sort of metallized psychobilly (the third) to, finally, include medieval influences to their sound! All those years, they toured, toured and toured some more establishing themselves as one of the finest live-acts of the french alternative blossoming at that time. Here's a 20 songs/50 minutes compilation spanning their whole discography and including two very sweet covers that became essentials of their live-show. Enjoy!

Samples:

La Isla Bonita (Madonna cover)

Tristan

(for the complete tracklist, click on the backcover image)

BELGIUM : CONFIDENTIAL (ABO #084)

VARIOUS ARTISTS
[BELGIUM : CONFIDENTIAL]
AN PIERLE - GIRLS IN HAWAII - GHINZU

Belgium is a little country but full of musical talents. I have chosen here to present three of them, those I actually know the best. All being young artists, and not having enough material yet for a full best-of of their own. Other volumes could follow in the future !

Let’s start with the only woman: An Pierlé recorded a first album in 1999 (Mud Stories), as a single piano-voice performance. Two albums follow then, Helium Sunset (2002) and White Velvet (2006), both being enriched with a real band (guitar, drums, cello and some extra…). She's playing a smart pop, successfully shifting from sad and lonely moods to much more rejoicing and dynamic atmospheres.

Girls in Hawaii, then, have released two albums so far, From here to there (2004), and Plan your Escape (2008). Those six boys (here is the con! there's neiter a single woman in this band, nor a Hawaiian of course...) have quickly become a major pop band, building strong melodies, most of the time brightened up with pretty good multi-voices singing. For the amateurs, just note that they're quite often compared to Grandaddy.

Ghinzu finally, started in 2000 with a first album (Electronic Jacuzzi), followed in 2004 by the excellent Blow. They are currently recording a third album. Those are probably the most powerful of the trio presented here, varying and experimenting from vigorous pop-rock to much more electronic sounds, not forgetting of course a couple of really enjoyable ballads. Once more, the melody is never forgotten, this being a common denominator to all those artists. They're all worth listening, try 'em !
(Thanks to our special contributor Max for a wonderfully crafted selection and artwork!)

An Pierlé "It's Got to Be Me"

Girls In Hawaii "Found in the Ground"

Ghinzu "Blow"

(Those samples have lower bitrate than the downloadable MP3's)

MANU CHAO (ABO #083)

MANU CHAO
QUE PASO QUE PASO

Chao was born on June 26, 1961, in Paris to Spanish parents — his father, Ramon Chao, a respected writer, comes from Galicia, his mother Bilbao. Growing up bilingual, he was also influenced by the punk scene across the English Channel that happened while he was still in his teens. As a teen he played in bands, including a rockabilly outfit called Les Hot Pants, which won local critical praise. After that, Chao and his cousin began Mano Negra, named for an anarchist organization that operated in Spain. They recorded their first album , "Patchanka," for Boucherie Productions (Pigalle, Les Garçons Bouchers, etc.) but its French success led them to a contract with Virgin — something many early fans decried as selling out.

Multilingual and decidedly multicultural, but with an edge heavily influenced by the punk rock of the Clash, Mano Negra seemed comfortably at home anywhere. In 1992 they began a seemingly odd tour of Latin America, traveling by boat with actors and a circus, playing in port cities on both the Atlantic and Pacific sides. In 1995, Chao moved the band to Spain, where he also formed another outfit, Radio Bemba Sound System, employing both musicians from Mano Negra and outside, which, according to rumors, caused rifts within the ranks, leading to the split.

Chao then returned to South and Central America, spending the next few years drifting around with his guitar and a four-track, recording here and there. The resultant collection of songs was released in 1998 under the title Clandestino. The album itself took off very slowly, but after a year was going stronger than ever, a sleeper that found its niche in the burgeoning Latin alternative scene (even though its lyrics freely mixed English and French along with the Spanish). In june of 2001, he released his second album, Proxima Estacion: Esperanza, which showed that his musical self had been spending the last couple of years soaking up the sounds of the Caribbean. This was further explored on Radio Bemba Sound System, a live recording done in 2002 that was taken from the tour following Proxima Estacion: Esperanza. In 2004 Chao released his first French-only album, Sibérie M'était Contéee and in 2007 Radiolina. This best of spans his entire solo career and displays how talented and versatile an artist Manu is. Enjoy!

1. Clandestino 2:28

2. Bongo Bong 2:38
3. Je ne t'aime plus 2:03
4. Welcome to Tijuana 4:04
5. Dia Luna... Dia Pena 1:30
6. Minha Galera 2:22
7. Merry Blues 3:36
8. El Dorado 1997 1:30
9. La Primavera 1:53
10. Me Gustas Tu 4:00

11. Mr Bobby 3:49
12. Por Donde Saldra El Sol ? 2:41
13. Peligro 3:09
14. El Viento 2:41
15. Rumba de Barcelona 3:31

16. Radio Bemba 0:34
17. Que Paso Que Paso 1:10
18. Pinocchio (Viaggio in Groppa al Tonno) 0:45
19. La valse à sale temps 3:41
20. Les mille paillettes 4:05

21. Helno est mort 3:34
22. Te tromper 1:13
23. Te souviens-tu... 2:34
24. 13 Dias 2:37
25. Politik Kills 3:03
26. Rainin' In Paradize 3:41
27. Me Llaman Calle 3:14

28. La Vida Tombola 3:16
29. Panik Panik 1:46
30. Sone Otro Mundo 1:19

SWEET (ABO#082)

SWEET
GOURMANDISE
(1968-1982)

Originally, the Sweet were called the Sweetshop and consisted of Brian Connolly (vocals), Mick Tucker (vocals, drums), Frank Torpey (guitar), and Steve Priest (bass). In 1970, the group truncated their name to Sweet and signed a record contract with Fontana/EMI, releasing four unsuccessful singles. Sweet signed to RCA Records in 1971, where they were placed under the direction of songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. During this time, Sweet were writing their own B-sides and album tracks. All of the group's compositions were harder than Chinn and Chapman's songs, featuring crunching hard rock guitars. Consequently, the duo decided to write tougher songs for the group. "Blockbuster," the first result of Chinn and Chapman's neo-glam rock approach, was the biggest hit Sweet ever had in the U.K. For the next two years, Sweet continued to chart with Chinn and Chapman compositions, including the Top Ten hits "Hell Raiser," "Ballroom Blitz," "Teenage Rampage," and "The Six Teens."

By the summer of 1974, the members of Sweet had grown tired of the control Chinn and Chapman exerted over their career and decided to record without the duo. By the end of the 70s, the group continued to churn out albums, which were all less successful than their predecessor. Sweet bounced back into the charts in 1978 with "Love Is Like Oxygen," but the single proved to be their last gasp.

Connolly left the band after "Love Is Like Oxygen" and the group replaced him with keyboardist Gary Moberley. The group carried on for three more years, releasing three more albums that all achieved little success. After several years of little success or attention, Sweet broke up in 1982. (Source : AMG)

1. Man From Mecca
2. Blockbuster
3. The Ballroom Blitz
4. The Six Teens
5. Medussa
6. Man With The Golden Arm
7. Set Me Free

8. Sweet F.A.
9. AC/DC
10. Cockroach
11. Keep It In
12. Action
13. Lost Angels
14. She Gimme Lovin'
15. Hard Times
16. Funk It Up (David's Song)
17. Love Is Like Oxygen
18. Anthem No.2



My Sweet TOP3 :
1. Sweet Fanny Adams (1974)
2. Desolation Boulevard (1974)
3. Off The Record (1976)

My Sweet BOTTOM3 :
1. Identity Crisis (1982)
2. Funny How Sweet Coco Can Be (1971)
3. Water's Edge (1980)