BILLY IDOL (ABO#420)

BILLY IDOL
IDOLIZE ME
(1981-2006)

Billy Idol's solo work needs baistophing since so many of his albums are uneven. There’s some great hard rock in here and some inventive new wave. Although he had some success after Generation X without guitarist Steve Stevens ("Cradle of Love"), his weakest period was after Stevens left in 1987. Cyberpunk was an attempt to reinvent himself in the grunge era, and it's awful. After that, label conflicts prevented him from releasing new music, although he briefly posted two advanced tracks for free on Mp3.com until the label forced him to take them down. This music was never officially released, but one track is included here ("Find My Way") and you may hear others live and on bootlegs. Billy regrouped with Stevens and finally released new material in 2005. He continues to release new tracks on best hit compilations (an annoying trend) and there have been rumors of a new album since 2008. Until then, enjoy this Billy Baistophe.

Thanks to EYE OF NEWT for this great awaited Baistophe

Extracts :

Rebel Yell
(from Rebel Yell, 1983)
This song is supposed to be Idol's fans fave. It deserves a great mixture of both Hard Rock and New Wave sounds.

World Comin' Down
(from Devil's Playground, 2005)
Devil's Playground is the result of a great return of Billy Idol with long time side man Steve Stevens. This album is as ballsy as it can and prove that Idol is a real rock'n'roll singer.

Eye of Newt’s Billy Idol Top 3:
1. Rebel Yell (1983)
2. Devil's Playground (2005)
3. Whiplash Smile (1986)

Eye of Newt’s Billy Idol Bottom 3:
1. Cyberpunk (1993)
2. Happy Holidays (2006)
3. Charmed Life (1990)

CORONER (ABO#419)

CORONER
'TIL DEATH DO US PART

Of the many Thrash bands which raided the Metal scene in the second half of the eighties, Coroner (from Switzerland) are among the finest and most original, no doubt.
Alas, a deadly combination of bad luck, lack of support from their label (which shows promotionally as well as with the quality of the recordings doomed by low budgets). But, as quality almost always wins, Coroner has gained a well-earned cult status.
From their early material, something like a more melodic and technically evolved Kreator, to their final album (the much underrated Grin), the band has known a tremendous evolution continuing to set themselves apart from their scene-mates. Eventually, the three-piece will grow tired of their lack of success and recognition and call it a day leaving the metal scene short of one of its greatest values.
Not much has been heard from the three lads since. Tommy Vetterli alone will keep on the radar, joining country-mate Stephan Eicher as a live musician and, later, Kreator during their most controversial period.
Coroner recently came back together with plans for a Celebratory World Tour. No recording has been scheduled yet.
About the compilation, I chose a chronological order as to demonstrate how big an evolution Coroner has seen. Also, I excluded both the covers the band recorded, namely The Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy" and Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze"; both are fine versions but not good enough to be included here. I hope you'll enjoy what I came up with and won't mind the somewhat muddy production of most of Coroner's recordings.

A taste of what you'll get:

3 samples to demonstrate Coroner's technical skills, compositional abilities and evolution, ENJOY!

Masked Jackal (1988)
from "Punishment for Decadence"

Read My Scars (1989)
from "No More Color"

Host (1993)
from "Grin"

RIYL:
Kreator, Death Angel, Watchtower, Celtic Frost

PAUL McCARTNEY (ABO#418b)

PAUL McCARTNEY
SELECTED HITS
(1971-1993)

As said Burns in our previous post, Its something useless baistophing Mcca's Hits because they are so much known that there's no point doing that. It was also my opinion until I listened to what Burns sent me beside his Baistophe : his complete single-o-graphy. 50-or-so titles that weren't all very famous but quite a majority was indeed very popular.
In a first approach, I really didn't want to do that Baistophe because I felt that Paul's official best of Wingspan was a top one, even if it focused on his Wings carreer.
By the way, none of his latter singles were in it an I felt it was unfair not to mention any of it at all, to begin with C'mon People and Hope Of Deliverance which are songs I really like.
You will find no tracks from Band On The Run for two reason : the first one, the real one is that they are already on Burns compilation. The second one is that Band On The Run is a splendid album and you can buy it to complete this panorama

Extracts :

Mull Of Kintyre
(1977 single, included as a bonus track on 1993 reissue of London Town)
Simply because it is my absolute favorite Mcca's song. I love pipe bands too.

C'mon People
(1993 single, issue from the album Off The Ground)
That year Paul McCartney has issued two great singles and those two ones, included in that Baistophe are imho the best ones sice Mull Of Kintyre. That proves that he has never really lost his inspiration.

PAUL McCARTNEY (ABO#418a)

PAUL McCARTNEY
INCOGNITO
(1970-2007)

When Paul McCartney said in 1969 that he was leaving in the Beatles, there was no question that the band would no longer exist, but the group was so brilliant that it seemed obvious we would now have at least two great bands instead of one. What did we get from one of the greatest composers of the Twentieth Century? Mary Had A Little Lamb, We're So Sorry Uncle Albert and My Love whoa whoa whoa whoa. Paul had not been my favorite, but I knew he had written some very good songs in the past. As time went on, I became more disappointed. This year I decided that there weren't many Beatles left, and it was time to reconcile. I listened to all of the twenty-three studio albums from Wings and his solo rock career, ignoring the four classical works. I've also put aside his albums as The Fireman. I will tackle those at a later date. My goal was to produce a two disc Baistophe, and it was apparent that the studio albums would provide more than enough material and I would not be able to fit in anything from his seven concert albums. Because I disliked most of his hit songs, and because they are very well known and widely available on store shelves, I decided to leave those off the collection also. When It was done, I thought that only four of his albums were truly wretched and three of those were conceptual albums. The others could be counted on for at least one good song other than the hit single. I really liked six of them, and the rest fell somewhere in the middle. I am impressed with the songs that ended up in this Baistophe. McCartney is capable of equaling his former efforts but it seems that he only occasionally makes an effort. In my opinion, his work has improved greatly in the past ten years. Before I apply a rank to McCartney's albums, I will remove four of them from the running. Thrillington, Liverpool Sound Collage and Give My Regards To Broadstreet are concept albums and cannot be considered part of the canon. They are only for completists. Run Devil Run would be in my Top Three but for the fact that it is mostly covers of Fifties rock 'n' roll songs. I enjoyed it very much but it is unneccessary and listening to the originals would be a better use of your time.

Thanks to BURNS for having compiled this BAISTOPHE. This one is finally a 3CD set just because it deserves it... and I let BURNS say why :

"These are the three Paul McCartney discs that I made. My intention was to only make a two disc collection for Baistophe. It later was agreed on La Caverne d'Ali Baba that there should be three discs, with a third possibly containing concert recordings. I do not want to do that, but I had already made a third disc for myself that contained a few hits and what was left over from the Baistophe."

Extracts :

Little Willow
(from Flaming Pie, 1997)
It seems like an evidence that the recent edition of Bealtes' Anthology had taken Mcca in a nostalgical mood. This song must undoubtedly be compared with such beautiful songs like Julia

Run Devil Run
(from Run Devil Run, 1999)
The album is a full fifties' rock cover. This also might be considered like a tribute to Paul's early Beatles days.

Band On The Run
(from Band On The Run, 1973)
One of the only 3 hit singles included in this Baistophe is on of McCartney's best work : a 3-pieces tune recorded like a scenarized story. All 3 pieces are independantly great. The all 3 gathered are just excellent.

BURNS' Mcca Bottom 3 :
1. Wings At The Speed Of Sound (1976)
2. McCartney II (1980)
3. Flowers In The Dirt (1989)

BURNS' Mcca Top 3 :
1. Ram (1971)
2. Band On The Run (1973)
3. Driving Rain (2001)

THE POLICE (ABO#417)

THE POLICE
DEMOLITION MEN

It took me quite some time to finally do this one. The thing is, the Police don't have that many albums which - with the pre-existing compilations - kept me from doing this one before.

A few days ago, I was asked by a friend of mine to do a compilation that, while displaying most of the band's hits would also be an introduction to more obscure tracks in their repertoire.

Initially, I wanted not to include "Don't Stand So Close to Me" and "Every Breath You Take" but changed my mind when listening to said tunes. Others didn't have that chance, "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da", "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic", "Spirits in the Material World" or "Wrapped Around Your Fingers" all got shafted.

Getting rid of those songs obviously opened slots for more surprising material such as the two instrumentals ("Reggatta de Blanc" and "Behind My Camel") or overlooked tracks such as "Driven to Tears", "Truth Hits Everybody", "Darkness" and a few more.

Also, I chose not to order the track-list in a chronological order which wasn't as easy as the Police have known quite a radical evolution throughout their short career. Anyway, I hope the transitions are as smooth as possible and that you'll enjoy how the whole disc unfolds.

A taste of what you'll get:



Driven to Tears
(from Zenyattà Mondatta, 1980)
An infectious funk number which, at the time, strayed from the "Reggae Pop Rock with a touch of Jazz" the Police had so talentfully crafted.



Synchronicity II
(from Synchronicity, 1983)
The closest the Police ever got to Progressive Rock, this exquisite track has a very nice Arena feel to it, no wonder it became one of the landmarks of the band's last two tours.



So Lonely
(from Outlandos d'Amour, 1978)
The Police still retained the nervousness of their punk roots on their debut album, So Lonely is just that: a great Reggae Rock number with just enough Punk energy to spice it up.

(all these samples are at 128kbps, the compilation is at 320kbps)

My THE POLICE list:
1 - Synchronicity (1983)
2 - Zenyattà Mondatta (1980)
3 - Outlandos d'Amour (1978)
4 - Ghost in the Machine (1981)
5 - Reggatta de Blanc (1979)

RIYL:
Talking Heads, Squeeze, XTC, Dada

FERNANDEL (ABO#416)

L'IRRESISTIBLE
FERNANDEL
(1931-1968)

.

I didn't expect making such low success with my Weather Report post so I do what I want and I post something I really wanted to for a long time.
Fernandel is one of french most famous actors within France. His filmography is somewhat any actor would have all wanted to have. He was french autor Marcel Pagnol's favourite actor for his films.
But Fernandel began his carreer as a cabaret singer like many others in the 30s. His carreer exploded with the film Ignace in which he sings (as most of the films he played). The eponymous song of this film brought him as a star very quickly and he never having success even if some of his post war films are a bit worse.
Outside of France, he is mostly known for one of his recurrent character : Don Camillo. But, even if Charles Chaplin, Bob Hope, and Jerry Lewis had become friends of his, he never reached the english or american fame.
Beside his actor job, he never really stopped singing even if, after WWII his discography is les dense.
Fernandel died in 1971, aged 68 after a 40 year carreer whose best musical trace is a TV show recorded in 1968 called "Le Palmarès de la Chanson" from which 2 extracts were taken to illustrate this Baistophe. As an evidence, non french speaking people will hardly understand the songs especially the humour.

Fernandel - Felicie Aussi par bisonravi1987

WEATHER REPORT (ABO#415)

WEATHER REPORT

DAYLIGHT AT SUNRISE

(1971-1986)

Weather Report was my first attempt to introduce myself into the world of Jazz and I was very lucky to start with their 1976 album Black Market whose eponymous title remains my favourite WR track.

At their beginnings, Weather Report really sounded like Miles Davis' Bitches Brew. Surprise when you know that Joe Zawinul (keyb) and Wayne Shorter (sax) learned a lot with the master. Until their 1973 Sweetnighter album, this filiation is quite an evidence.

Weather Report found their musical identity with their 1974 album Mysterious Traveller and much more with their 1975 Tale Spinnin'. To their fusion sound was added an african sound. That brought the band to another direction and, to me, the highest point of their carreer was Black Market. After that and especially after their excellent live album 8.30, everything became much more flat even if this african color kept featuring in the Weather Report sound. The 80s are not as good as the decade before but no one can argue that Weather Report's albums in the 80s were at least very good. Weather Report never becam an infamous Smooth Jazz band and that 's a good thing.

Here will you find every period of the band from the beginning to the end in a chronological order. No albums have been voluntarily forgotten but the golden years (1972-1978) is the best represented.

You may notice that another huge album like "I Sing The Body Electric" is under represented because 2 of its best (to me) tracks were chosen from other live albums like Live In Tokyo or Live & Unreleased.

Enjoy this compilation like I enjoy this band.

My Weather Report TOP3 :

1. Black Market (1976)

2. I Sing The Body Electric (1972)

3. Tale Spinning (1975)

My Weather Report TOP3 live albums :

1. Live & Unreleased (1973-1983/2002)

2. Live In Tokyo (1972)

3. 8.30 (1979)

wait if it's temporary unavailable

FOREIGNER (ABO#414)

FOREIGNER
FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME

I don't like Foreigner. Never did, never will. Actually, I consider their huge success to be kind of a fraud. Strange as it is for me to claim my relative dislike of the band’s music and still do a compilation of their finest tracks, I sure can appreciate the entertaining value of some of their songs, especially those from their first four albums. And, in the "cheese" department, Say You Will and I Want To Know What Love Is (repectively from Inside Information and Agent Provocateur, both terrible albums by the way), are worth a ton of your finest Philadelphia.
In order to complete the task of making a worthy selection, I listened to the whole of their studio discography and, trust me, it was sometimes painful. What I came up with, in the end, is this 20 songs compilation with an evident focus on Foreigner's early material. I chose not to put the songs in a chronological order to create kind of an "album-feel" to it. Also, I hope you'll like the humorous artwork... I just couldn't resist it.
Anyway, here “Feels Like the First Time”, I hope you’ll like it.

Related if you like
Boston, Journey, Styx

GARY MOORE (ABO#413)

THE
GARY MOORE
ANTHOLOGY

It's a mammoth of a baistophe I'm delivering today. Actually, it's a lot more than just the finest tracks of an artist as it takes us through Gary Moore's entire career starting with his "Cream", Irish Psychedelic-Blues Rockers Skid Row. From there, I considered every album Gary Moore ever laid his divine axe or his soulful vocals on.
And here it is! Six CDs worth of blues, hard rock, fusion, progressive rock… and more! To tell you the truth, I was rather surprised as how varied and good Gary Moore career had been. Obviously, I knew of his participation to Irish legends Thin Lizzy, and so did I know about his progressive/fusion endeavors with Colosseum II. Also, I was no stranger to both his Hair Metal and Blues Rock career. I even had the chance to see him live twice: first supporting the “Still Got the Blues” album, then with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker promoting their BBM album. Both concerts had been memorable experiences with Mr. Moore shining as the true Guitar Hero he was. Alas, his (failed) return to commercial music of the late 90’s and early 00’s (with “Dark Days in Paradise” and “A Different Beat”), made me lose sight of his music. Like I said, I knew almost every trick up Gary's sleeve but, considering it as a whole, it's amazing what the man has achieved. And so, naturally, I have been utterly shocked by the news of his death and decided it was time to pay the man tribute on this very blog.
I hope you’ll appreciate the work I’ve put into this Gary Moore Anthology and that it’ll lead you to want to know more about each and every step this dearly missed musician has taken on the Stairway to Heaven.
We miss you Gary. R.I.P.

DAZED AND CONFUSED (FSS#001)

DAZED AND CONFUSED
(SOUNDTRACK)

I don't know if it's ever happened to you, it sure did happen to me. You're chilling out, watching a good movie with a mighty fine soundtrack. The next day, you go to the store only to find out how incomplete the track list of said soundtrack is. Actually, Dazed and Confused pushes the borders of incompletion and exploitation even further than most soundtracks do. Get that: upon releasing the film in the theaters, a 14 songs compilation was made available for people to buy it. Only problem is the movie featured 29 songs! One year later (1994 that is) the production released another twelve tracks so that they could pick pockets even more efficiently. The thing is there are two songs that are still missing. And you bought two CDs! Pissed. Here's how this FSS (Full Soundtrack Series) came to life.
And so, we’re now happy to unleash the real full Dazed and Confused soundtrack in its 29 songs grandeur. I even added the Led Zeppelin song which gave its name to the movie. Actually, it was supposed to be part of the soundtrack but, while Jimmy Page agreed to its presence, Robert Plant refused. It only feels right that's it's added here as a bonus track. To keep things simple, I’ve included only unedited studio versions I’ve placed in the order they can be heard in the film.
For those yet unfamiliar with the movie, Dazed and Confused tells the story of a life-changing night for high-school students at the end of 1976’s school's year. As the plot is set in the seventies, you know you’re going to get you eyeful of alcohol abuse, weed smoking and…Well, sex, of course! The soundtrack consists of tunes from that particular era with songs featured having been released between 1968 and 1976 and makes for a great collection of 70’s classics and more obscure but equally juicy tracks.
Speaking of the cast, let me tell you that the movie features future major films stars such as Milla Jovovich, Parker Posey, Matthew McConnaughey, Adam Goldberg or Ben Affleck, all in their teens, delivering like experienced pros.
Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy the selection. Feel free to share your ideas and suggestions for future references in Baistophe's brand new series.