27-08-2021 FAVTRAX:MiX ~ 33 FAVOURiTE tracks 1991-1996 >>Massive Attack, Gong, Peter Gabriel, Medeski Martin & Wood, Anekdoten, Helmet, Grant Lee Buffalo, King Crimson, Monster Magnet, Beck<<
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Bristol collective whose combination of dark rhythms, reverb-laden guitars, and atmospheric samples helped pioneer the sound of trip-hop.
Anarchic, experimental, and whimsical ensemble originally led by guitarist Daevid Allen, a founding member of the Soft Machine.
Theatrical leader of '70s-era Genesis and a bona fide pop star by the '80s despite his experimental, often exotic, material. As the leader of Genesis in the early '70s, Peter Gabriel helped move progressive rock to new levels of theatricality. He was no less ambitious as a solo artist, but he was more subtle in his methods. With his eponymous debut solo album in 1977, he explored dark, cerebral territory, incorporating avant-garde, electronic, and worldbeat influences into his music.
Peter Gabriel
Progressive New York City-based jazz fusionists who straddle the gap between avant-garde improvisation and accessible groove-based jazz.
The Swedish Anekdoten answers one of the great "what if" questions of art-rock: what if King Crimson hadn't broken up in the mid-seventies? Anekdoten is a remarkable sound-alike to Red-era King Crimson, which is hardly surprising given Anekdoten's roots as a tribute band. Its instrumentation of viola, distorted Rickenbacker bass, highly pitched drums, Frippy guitar, and mellotron all evoke this era of art-rock; the smoky English vocals only add to the effect.
Early alternative metal heroes from New York City who combined lacerating riffs, tight rhythms, spare song structures, and shouted vocals. Like many influential bands, Helmet were born out of an unusual set of influences. Oregon-born guitarist and founder Page Hamilton had actually moved to New York City to study jazz, but found inspiration in the late '80s through post-punk acts Sonic Youth, Killing Joke, and Big Black, and envisioned a group that combined then-unusual tunings (particularly dropped D) with uneven and jazz-like time signatures and harmonies.
Critically acclaimed alternative rock band of the '90s known for its witty, darkly etched lyrics and haunting, lo-fi vision of folk-rock. Although heralded by the critics and championed by their musical peers, the '90s alternative/roots rock trio Grant Lee Buffalo failed to break through to the mainstream, despite strong songwriting and an original style.
Arguably the definitive exponents of British progressive rock, spurred on by Robert Fripp's innovative guitar work. If there is one group that embodies progressive rock, it is King Crimson. Led by guitar/Mellotron virtuoso Robert Fripp, during its first five years of existence the band stretched both the language and structure of rock into realms of jazz and classical music, all the while avoiding pop and psychedelic sensibilities...
New Jersey retro-rockers who delivered sludgy, drug-fueled, and feedback-heavy hard rock from their debut in the late '80s. Retro-rock visionaries Monster Magnet spent much of the 1990s struggling against the prejudices imposed upon image and sound by the alternative rock elite...
One of the most inventive, eclectic figures of the alternative era, the epitome of post-modern chic in an era obsessed with junk culture. Initially pegged as the voice of a generation when "Loser" turned into a smash crossover success, Beck wound up crystallizing much of the postmodern ruckus inherent in the '90s alternative explosion, but in unexpected ways. Based in the underground anti-folk and noise rock worlds, Beck encompassed all manner of modern music, drawing on hip-hop, blues, trash rock, pop, soul, lounge music -- pretty much any found sound or vinyl dug up from a dusty crate -- blurring boundaries and encapsulating how '90s hipsters looked toward the future by foraging through the past...
favtraxmix label The player always plays the latest playlist tracks. / A lejátszó mindig a legújabb playlist számait játssza.
1991-1996
Bristol collective whose combination of dark rhythms, reverb-laden guitars, and atmospheric samples helped pioneer the sound of trip-hop.
Daydreaming (W. Badarou / Robert del Naja) 4:14
Be Thankful for What You've Got 4:09
Five Man Army (Robert del Naja) 6:04
Unfinished Sympathy (Robert del Naja) 5:08
from Blue Lines 1991
The first masterpiece of what was only termed trip-hop much later, Blue Lines filtered American hip-hop through the lens of British club culture, a stylish, nocturnal sense of scene that encompassed music from rare groove to dub to dance. The album balances dark, diva-led club jams along the lines of Soul II Soul with some of the best British rap (vocals and production) heard up to that point, occasionally on the same track... Flaunting both their range and their tremendously evocative productions, Massive Attack recorded one of the best dance albums of all time.
Anarchic, experimental, and whimsical ensemble originally led by guitarist Daevid Allen, a founding member of the Soft Machine.
Shapeshifter (Daevid Allen / Didier Malherbe) 4:43
Hymnalayas (Daevid Allen / Keith Bailey) 7:38
Dog-O-Matic (Shyamal "Banana Ananda" Maitra) 3:00
from Shapeshifter 1992
For their first album of new material in over 20 years, the real Gong (i.e., one led by Daevid Allen and containing a number of players from the classic '60s-'70s period) offer -- well, much of what made them so popular in the first place. There's an impish sense of humor to the lyrics, Gilli Smyth's deeply echoing space whisper, stunning sax and flute work from the criminally underrated Didier Malherbe, and plenty of trademark glissando guitar from Allen himself. Goddesses are invoked, gnomes are mentioned, and rhubarb is eaten, among many other things. Guitarist Steffi Sharpstrings fills what was Steve Hillage's role with plenty of post-punk energy, but really it all revolves around Allen's personality and some stunning music. Time's been kind to Gong. Their pioneering space rock ways found a home with the ambient crowd and their music shows they've listened to what's gone on and incorporated it into their sonic journey, which is part prog rock, part jazz, and part just out there...
 |
| Daevid Allen |
Theatrical leader of '70s-era Genesis and a bona fide pop star by the '80s despite his experimental, often exotic, material. As the leader of Genesis in the early '70s, Peter Gabriel helped move progressive rock to new levels of theatricality. He was no less ambitious as a solo artist, but he was more subtle in his methods. With his eponymous debut solo album in 1977, he explored dark, cerebral territory, incorporating avant-garde, electronic, and worldbeat influences into his music.
Peter Gabriel
Come Talk to Me (Peter Gabriel) 7:05
Only Us (Peter Gabriel) 6:32
Digging in the Dirt (Peter Gabriel) 5:18
Kiss That Frog (Peter Gabriel) 5:19
from Us 1992
Six years after earning his first blockbuster, Peter Gabriel finally delivered Us, his sequel to So. Clearly, that great span of time indicates that Gabriel was obsessive in crafting the album, and Us bears the sound of endless hours in the studio... Since the music is so muted, it's no surprise that the album failed to capture a mass audience the way So did, but it's foolish to expect anyone but serious fans to unravel an album this deliberate. Gabriel is as adventurous as ever, yet he is relentlessly sober about his experiments, burying exotic sounds and percussion underneath crawling tempos measured atmospherics -- this is tastefully two-toned music, assembled by a consummate craftsman who became too immersed in detail to make anything but an insular, introspective work... But it takes a lot of spins and patience to get to that point, since this is an album he made for himself, and only those dedicated to the artist will have the patience to decode it.
Progressive New York City-based jazz fusionists who straddle the gap between avant-garde improvisation and accessible groove-based jazz.
Beeah (Billy Martin / John Medeski / Chris Wood) 6:59
Where's Sly? (John Medeski) 5:23
Shuck It Up (Billy Martin / John Medeski) 7:45
from It's a Jungle in Here 1993
A cerebral soul-jazz trio gives up some art and some funk with guest horn players and guitarist Marc Ribot. They call it "Shuck It Up," and rightly so, since they're neither as dissonant nor as ironic as many of their peers playing around downtown New York City. But that doesn't explain why these three don't swing as hard playing Monk, Coltrane, and King Sunny Ade as they do laying down their own earnest grooves and dismantling Bob Marley for mixing up with the Monk. Whether it's insecurity, indifference, or the physical chops they haven't developed to match their minds is for demanding listeners to decide. Or else it's all the same dilemma and will go away with time, just like the band's slow tunes.
The Swedish Anekdoten answers one of the great "what if" questions of art-rock: what if King Crimson hadn't broken up in the mid-seventies? Anekdoten is a remarkable sound-alike to Red-era King Crimson, which is hardly surprising given Anekdoten's roots as a tribute band. Its instrumentation of viola, distorted Rickenbacker bass, highly pitched drums, Frippy guitar, and mellotron all evoke this era of art-rock; the smoky English vocals only add to the effect.
Karelia (Anekdoten) 7:21
The Flow (Anekdoten / Jan Erik Liljestrom) 7:00
Wheel (Anekdoten / Jan Erik Liljestrom) 7:52
from Vemod 1993
Anekdoten's debut shows them a little rougher, more Gothic in tone, and less tonally subtle than in later years, but compelling nonetheless. From the crashing bass and Mellotron in the opening track "Karelia," it's clear that King Crimson reigns over their work -- not to mention that it features riffs nicked from Crimson's "Easy Money." "Wheel" also has the dissonance and horns of the Lizard album. But they are creating something unique here, as the gentle instrumental "Longing" attests... this first album shows a band of great promise.
Early alternative metal heroes from New York City who combined lacerating riffs, tight rhythms, spare song structures, and shouted vocals. Like many influential bands, Helmet were born out of an unusual set of influences. Oregon-born guitarist and founder Page Hamilton had actually moved to New York City to study jazz, but found inspiration in the late '80s through post-punk acts Sonic Youth, Killing Joke, and Big Black, and envisioned a group that combined then-unusual tunings (particularly dropped D) with uneven and jazz-like time signatures and harmonies.
Wilma's Rainbow (Page Hamilton) 3:53
I Know (Page Hamilton) 3:41
Biscuits for Smut 2:53
from Betty 1994
...Eschewing Cobain's neo-punk power pop instincts, Helmet opted instead for a more a minimalist approach, whereby rhythmic tension over 4/4 melodies reigned supreme. Now poised to step into their role as future darlings of a sound that can only be described as bludgeoning agro-punk atonal rock, the band was propelled by a massive hype campaign and heralded as East Coast tastemakers du jour... And although Helmet's tuned down, stop-go-stop dynamic (originally pioneered by New Yorkers Prong) would go on to influence hundreds of up-and-coming acts, their complete lack of image or star quality (a key ingredient to Cobain's magnetism, as much as he himself despised it) would play a major role in eventually doing them in. Betty initiated a commercial spiral for the quartet that not even the return-to-form and progress displayed by 1997's massive sounding Aftertaste could reverse.
Critically acclaimed alternative rock band of the '90s known for its witty, darkly etched lyrics and haunting, lo-fi vision of folk-rock. Although heralded by the critics and championed by their musical peers, the '90s alternative/roots rock trio Grant Lee Buffalo failed to break through to the mainstream, despite strong songwriting and an original style.
Lone Star Song (Grant-Lee Phillips) 4:34
Mockingbirds (Grant-Lee Phillips) 4:42
Mighty Joe Moon (Grant-Lee Phillips) 2:47
from Mighty Joe Moon 1994
With their second album, Grant Lee Buffalo strip back their sound to its bare essentials, which accentuates Grant Lee Phillips' rural myths. Not only does the approach make songs like "Lone Star Song" rock viciously, but it also makes the bittersweet beauty of ballads like the gorgeous "Mockingbirds" all the more poignant.
Mighty Joe Moon is a criminally underrated and under-appreciated album that sounds exactly opposite to the music that was invading the radio waves at the time. Filled with beautiful melodies, rich lyrics and an incredibly big sound for just three guys, Mighty Joe Moon is a start to finish masterpiece of weird American folk-rock...
Arguably the definitive exponents of British progressive rock, spurred on by Robert Fripp's innovative guitar work. If there is one group that embodies progressive rock, it is King Crimson. Led by guitar/Mellotron virtuoso Robert Fripp, during its first five years of existence the band stretched both the language and structure of rock into realms of jazz and classical music, all the while avoiding pop and psychedelic sensibilities...
Vrooom (Adrian Belew / Bill Bruford / King Crimson / Robert Fripp / Trey Gunn / Tony Levin / Pat Mastelotto) 4:38
Coda: Marine 475 (Adrian Belew / Bill Bruford / King Crimson / Robert Fripp / Trey Gunn / Tony Levin / Pat Mastelotto) 2:41
Coda: Marine 475 (Adrian Belew / Bill Bruford / King Crimson / Robert Fripp / Trey Gunn / Tony Levin / Pat Mastelotto) 6:37
Walking on Air (Adrian Belew / Bill Bruford / King Crimson / Robert Fripp / Trey Gunn / Tony Levin / Pat Mastelotto) 4:38
from THRAK 1995
...King Crimson returned from a ten-year exile in 1995 with THRAK, their first album since 1984's Three of a Perfect Pair. As with the '80s band, guitarist/ringleader Robert Fripp recruited singer/guitarist Adrian Belew, bassist Tony Levin, and drummer Bill Bruford for this incarnation of his classic band. However, he added to this familiar quartet two new members: Chapman Stick player Trey Gunn and ex-Mr. Mister drummer Pat Mastelotto. Effectively, Fripp created a "double trio," and the six musicians combine their instruments in extremely unique ways. The mix is very dense, overpoweringly so at times, but careful listens will reveal that each musician has his own place in each song; the denseness of the sound is by design, not the accidental result of too many cooks in the kitchen... King Crimson came back in a major way with THRAK, and proved that, even in its fourth major incarnation, Fripp and company still had something to say. High-quality prog.
New Jersey retro-rockers who delivered sludgy, drug-fueled, and feedback-heavy hard rock from their debut in the late '80s. Retro-rock visionaries Monster Magnet spent much of the 1990s struggling against the prejudices imposed upon image and sound by the alternative rock elite...
Dopes to Infinity (Dave Wyndorf) 5:44
Look to Your Orb for the Warning (Dave Wyndorf) 6:32
Ego, the Living Planet (Dave Wyndorf) 5:07
from Dopes to Infinity 1995
Expecting Monster Magnet to change from art-sludge-psych monsters into sweet cuddlebunnies from album to album clearly demonstrates a loss of reason. Wyndorf himself doesn't need to worry about losing his reason in particular, given how psychotically entertaining his band already is, and Dopes to Infinity is about as far apart from Superjudge as the original Siamese twins were to each other. Maybe "Dopeheads to Infinity" would have been the better title, but as the title track fires up into another rampage of excessively flanged guitar, storming lead riff, and steady drum stomp, all criticisms get left behind along with any sort of sanity. Wyndorf's singing is a touch crisper in the mix this time out, while the guitar playing is even more powerfully direct and epic amidst all the space-out swirl and rockets to the moon. ..
One of the most inventive, eclectic figures of the alternative era, the epitome of post-modern chic in an era obsessed with junk culture. Initially pegged as the voice of a generation when "Loser" turned into a smash crossover success, Beck wound up crystallizing much of the postmodern ruckus inherent in the '90s alternative explosion, but in unexpected ways. Based in the underground anti-folk and noise rock worlds, Beck encompassed all manner of modern music, drawing on hip-hop, blues, trash rock, pop, soul, lounge music -- pretty much any found sound or vinyl dug up from a dusty crate -- blurring boundaries and encapsulating how '90s hipsters looked toward the future by foraging through the past...
Devils Haircut (Beck / James Brown / Phil Coulter / John King / Bernard Purdie / Thomas Scott / Mike Simpson) 3:14
Hotwax (Beck / Alexandra Brown / George Douglas / Monk Higgins / John King / Horace Ott / Bernard Purdie / Mike Simpson) 3:49
Lord Only Knows (Beck / Mike Millius / Don Thomas) 4:15
from Odelay 1996
Unlike Stereopathetic Soul Manure and One Foot in the Grave, the indie albums that followed his debut Mellow Gold by a mere matter of months, Odelay was a full-fledged, full-bodied album, released on a major label in the summer of 1996 and bearing an intricate, meticulous production by the Dust Brothers in their first gig since the Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique... Like Mellow Gold, Odelay winds up touching on a number of disparate strands -- folk and country, grungy garage rock, stiff-boned electro, louche exotica, old-school rap, touches of noise rock -- but there's no break-neck snap between sensibilities, everything flows smoothly, the dense sounds suggesting that the songs are a bit more complicated than they actually are... Like a mosaic, all the details add up to a picture greater than its parts, so while some of Beck's best songs are here, Odelay is best appreciated as a recorded whole, with each layered sample enhancing the allusion that came before.
1996
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