19-12-2021 FAVTRAX:MiX ~ 33 FAVOURiTE tracks 2002-2006 (2h 45m)

HAPPY WiTH WHAT YOU HAVE TO BE HAPPY WiTH FAVTRAX:MiX ~ 33 FAVOURiTE tracks 2002-2006 (2h 45m)  >>King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, Radiohead, King Crimson, Steve Winwood, PJ Harvey, Califone, Cowboy Junkies, Adrian Belew, Ali Farka Touré, The Black Keys<<

 M U S I C  (2h 45m)

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2002-2006

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. The absence of mainstream compromises and the lack of an overt sense of humor ultimately doomed the group to nothing more than a large cult following, but it made their albums some of the most enduring and respectable of the prog rock era...

King Crimson 

Happy With What You Have to Be Happy With (Adrian Belew / King Crimson) 3:54

Potato Pie 5:03

from Happy With What You Have to Be Happy With 2002

The relationship between this EP and King Crimson's Power to Believe (2003) long-player mirrors that of the six-track Vrooom (1994) sampler and subsequent full-length release Thrak (1994). The music perfectly contrasts the primarily instrumental and live Level Five (2001) EP by honing in on the latest lyrical contributions from Adrian Belew (guitar/vocals)... This slams headlong into the thrashing title track, which is not too far removed from the angst-ridden alternative metal from the likes of Therapy?, Tool, and Rammstein. In true Belew style, he incongruously twists the subject matter into a sonically aggressive backdrop, cleverly dissecting his craft as a singer/songwriter, exemplified in the lyrics: "And when I have some words/This is the way I'll sing/Through a distortion box/To make them menacing."... This is without a doubt one of the most lyrically poignant and musically refined tunes in the King Crimson repertoire, taking its rightful place alongside tracks such as "One Time" or "Frame by Frame." Belew's vocals hang ethereally over the languid, inspired instrumentation. "Potato Pie" is a moody and dark blues containing angular chord structures as well as some symbiotic fretwork from Fripp and Belew... 

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. The record, as well as its two similarly titled successors, established Gabriel as a critically acclaimed cult artist...

Peter Gabriel 

Darkness (Peter Gabriel) 5:51

Sky Blue (Peter Gabriel) 6:37

I Grieve (Peter Gabriel) 7:24

from Up 2002 

Ten years is a long time, especially in pop music, but waiting ten years to deliver an album is a clear sign that you're not all that interested in the pop game anyway. Such is the case with Peter Gabriel, who delivered Up in 2002, a decade after Us and four years after he announced its title. Perhaps appropriately, Up sounds like an album that was ten years in the making, revealing not just its pleasures but its intent very, very slowly... Really, there is no other choice for an artist as somber and ambitious as Gabriel to craft an album as dense as Up; those who have waited diligently for ten years would be disappointed with anything less and, frankly, they're the only audience that matters after a decade. And they're not likely to be disappointed, since this album grows stronger, revealing more with each listen. Initially, it seems to simply carry on the calmer, darker recesses of Us, but this is an uncompromising affair, which is to its advantage, since Gabriel delves deeper into darkness, grief, and meditation... But those serious fans who want to spend time with this will find that it does pay back many rewards.

Radiohead is an English alternative rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK which formed in 1985. The band is composed of Thom Yorke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano, beats), Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboard, other instruments), Ed O'Brien (guitar, backing vocals), Colin Greenwood (bass guitar) and Phil Selway (drums, percussion).

Radiohead 

2 + 2 = 5 (Radiohead) 3:19

Sail to the Moon (Radiohead) 4:18

There, There (Radiohead) 5:23

A Punchup at a Wedding (Radiohead) 4:57

from Hail to the Thief 2003 

Radiohead's admittedly assumed dilemma: how to push things forward using just the right amounts of the old and the older in order to please both sides of the divide? Taking advantage of their longest running time to date, enough space is provided to quench the thirsts of resolute Bends devotees without losing the adventurous drive or experimentation that eventually got the group into hot water with many of those same listeners. Guitars churn and chime and sound like guitars more often than not; drums are more likely to be played by a human; and discernible verses are more frequently trailed by discernible choruses... At nearly an hour in length, this album doesn't unleash the terse blow delivered by its two predecessors. However, despite the fact that it seems more like a bunch of songs on a disc rather than a singular body, its impact is substantial. Regardless of all the debates surrounding the group, Radiohead have entered a second decade of record-making with a surplus of momentum.

01-12-2021 FAVTRAX:MiX ~ 33 FAVOURiTE tracks 1998-2003 (2h 36m)

01-12-2021 FAVTRAX:MiX ~ 33 FAVOURiTE tracks 1998-2003 (2h 36m)  >>Portishead, Tindersticks, Sleater-Kinney, St. Germain, Eels, Sparklehorse, Air, King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, Radiohead<<

 M U S I C  (2h 36m)

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1998-2003

Portishead may not have invented trip-hop, but they were among the first to popularize it, particularly in America. Taking their cue from the slow, elastic beats that dominated Massive Attack's Blue Lines and adding elements of cool jazz, acid house, and soundtrack music, Portishead created an atmospheric, alluringly dark sound. The group wasn't as avant-garde as Tricky, nor as tied to dance traditions as Massive Attack; instead, it wrote evocative pseudo-cabaret pop songs that subverted their conventional structures with experimental productions and rhythms of trip-hop...

Portishead 

Humming (Geoff Barrow / Beth Gibbons / Adrian Utley) 6:34

Cowboys (Geoff Barrow / Beth Gibbons) 5:01

All Mine (Geoff Barrow / Beth Gibbons / Adrian Utley) 4:02

Mysterons (Geoff Barrow / Beth Gibbons / Adrian Utley) 5:42

from Roseland NYC Live 1998

By the end of the '90s, artists realized that CD and CD-R bootlegs of live performances were in high demand, which meant that they could profit by officially releasing certain "special" live performances. Portishead's one-night stand at New York City's Roseland Ballroom, released as PNYC, certainly qualifies as one of those "special" occasions. Performing with a 35-piece orchestra, Portishead runs through selections from its two albums, favoring its second slightly. On the surface, it doesn't seem like the orchestra would add much to the performances, especially since the arrangements remain similar, but its presence makes the music tense, dramatic, and breathtaking... 

Which means, of course, that PNYC is much more compelling and essential than the average live album.

Tindersticks were one of the most original and distinctive British acts of the '90s, standing apart from both the British indie scene and the rash of Brit-pop guitar combos that dominated the U.K. charts. Where their contemporaries were often direct and to the point, Tindersticks were obtuse and leisurely, crafting dense, difficult songs layered with literary lyrics, intertwining melodies, mumbling vocals, and gently melancholy orchestrations...

Tindersticks  

Can We Start Again? (Dickon Hinchliffe) 3:53

If You're Looking for a Way Out (Dickon Hinchliffe) 5:06

Pretty Words (Dickon Hinchliffe) 3:18

From the Inside (Tindersticks) 2:54

from Simple Pleasure 1999

With a title like Simple Pleasure and songs like the disarmingly up-tempo opener "Can We Start Again?," at first listen Tindersticks' fourth proper album seems buoyed by a guarded optimism totally absent from previous outings; dig deeper, however, and it's all a come-on -- frontman Stuart Staples still inhabits a netherworld where nothing is ever simple, pleasure is an illusion, and starting again merely means making the same mistakes yet one more time. Nothing truly changes, which has been Tindersticks' point all along, of course -- hopes are still meant to be dashed and hearts still meant to be broken, and Simple Pleasure is neither the time nor the place to begin pretending otherwise. Staples' songs remain the very essence of romantic despair, stunning in their funereal beauty and devastating in their tormented desperation...

Like many a great band, Sleater-Kinney inhabited their time so thoroughly it took an extended hiatus to realize the extent of their legacy. In many respects, they were the defining American indie rock band of the second half of the '90s, the group that harnessed all the upheaval of the alt-rock explosion of the first part of the decade and channeled it into a vigorous mission statement. It was not incidental that Sleater-Kinney were an all-female band -- prior to S-K, co-leaders Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein both started playing music in Northern Pacific riot grrrl bands and their feminism and queercore roots were deeply embedded in their rock & roll...

Sleater-Kinney 

Hot Rock 3:17

God Is a Number 3:43

A Quarter to Three 4:03

from The Hot Rock 1999

Expectations for Sleater-Kinney's fourth album were stratospheric, with the raging, tuneful feminist catharsis of Call the Doctor and Dig Me Out having garnered near-universal critical raves and outlandish media hype. Afraid of falling into a predictable rut, though, the band bravely pushed its range of expression into more personal, subdued, and cerebral territory on The Hot Rock. That means the record isn't quite as immediately satisfying as its two brilliant predecessors, but it does reward those willing to spend time absorbing its nervy introspection and moodiness. Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein push relentlessly for more complex interplay, both in their vocal and instrumental work; even the gentlest songs might break into unexpected dissonance or take an angular, off-kilter melodic direction... 

27-08-2021 FAVTRAX:MiX ~ 33 FAVOURiTE tracks 1991-1996 (2h 49m)

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<<

 M U S I C  (2h 49m)

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1991-1996

Bristol collective whose combination of dark rhythms, reverb-laden guitars, and atmospheric samples helped pioneer the sound of trip-hop.

Massive Attack 

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.

Gong 

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.

05-08-2021 FAVTRAX:MiX ~ 33 FAVOURiTE tracks 1988-1992 (2h 34m)

05-08-2021 FAVTRAX:MiX ~ 33 FAVOURiTE tracks 1988-1992  >>Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, The Rolling Stones, Rabih Abou-Khalil, Lou Reed & John Cale, John Scofield, Massive Attack, A Tribe Called Quest, Gong, Peter Gabriel<<

 M U S I C  (2h 34m)

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1988-1992

Wildly influential British guitarist who made a splash with the Yardbirds and as a session player before founding Led Zeppelin. Unquestionably one of the all-time most influential, important, and versatile guitarists and songwriters in rock history is Jimmy Page. Just about every rock guitarist from the late '60s/early '70s to the present day has been influenced by Page's work with Led Zeppelin...

Jimmy Page 

Liquid Mercury (Jimmy Page)3:03

Hummingbird Lead voc. Chris Farlowe (Leon Russell) 5:22

Emerald Eyes (Jimmy Page) 3:31

from Outrider 1988

Outrider is an album by Jimmy Page, released by Geffen Records on 19 June 1988. It is his first solo studio album (and his only one as of 2021) and the first time since 1969 he has recorded with a record label other than Atlantic Records/Swan Song Records. Page recorded the music at his personal studio The Sol...

Former Led Zeppelin vocalist whose successful solo career has found him covering a wide range of styles... 1982 solo debut, Pictures at Eleven, Plant pursued a feverishly adventurous solo career, embracing synthesizers and art rock that seemed to be the antithesis of Zeppelin's majestic hard rock, but he'd also later dabble in sampling and world music, while taking detours to reunite with Zep guitarist Jimmy Page for both a rockabilly lark and a folk-based revival of their catalog. 

Robert Plant 

Tall Cool One (Phil Johnstone / Robert Plant) 4:38

Ship of Fools (Phil Johnstone / Robert Plant) 5:00

Helen of Troy (John Cale / Phil Johnstone / Robert Plant) 5:10

from Now and Zen 1988

After years of trying to separate himself from his legendary status as Led Zeppelin's frontman, Robert Plant finally reconciles with his past on Now & Zen. He borrows a few Zeppelin riffs, and even enlists Jimmy Page to play guitar on his hit "Tall Cool One." This album is also notable in that it marks his first collaboration with keyboardist Phil Johnstone, who would continue to play and write with Plant on subsequent albums.... a must-own for fans of Led Zeppelin.

23-10-2019 FAVTRAX:MiX ~ 33 FAVOURiTE tracks 1978-1973

Pere Ubu

23-10-2019 FAVTRAX:MiX ~ 33 FAVOURiTE tracks 1978-1973  >>Pere Ubu, Rory Gallagher, Peter Gabriel, The Stranglers, Van Der Graaf Generator, Soft Machine, Roxy Music, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Bill Withers, Pink Floyd, Betty Davis<<

M U S I C

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1978-1973

Influential art punk band whose experimental sound harnessed self-destructing melodies, scattershot rhythms, and industrial-strength dissonance.

Pere Ubu

The Modern Dance (Tom Herman / Scott Krauss / Tony Maimone / Allen Ravenstine / David Thomas / Pere Ubu) 3:28

Laughing (Tom Herman / Scott Krauss / Tony Maimone / Allen Ravenstine / David Thomas / Pere Ubu) 4:35

from The Modern Dance 1978

There isn't a Pere Ubu recording you can imagine living without. The Modern Dance remains the essential Ubu purchase (as does the follow-up, Dub Housing). For sure, Mercury had no idea what they had on their hands when they released this as part of their punk rock offshoot label Blank, but it remains a classic slice of art-punk. It announces itself quite boldly: the first sound you hear is a painfully high-pitched whine of feedback, but then Tom Herman's postmodern Chuck Berry riffing kicks off the brilliant "Non-Alignment Pact," and you soon realize that this is punk rock unlike any you've ever heard. David Thomas' caterwauling is funny and moving, Scott Krauss (drums) and Tony Maimone (bass) are one of the great unheralded rhythm sections in all of rock...

Skilled Irish blues-rock guitarist whose stripped-down brand of blues rock touched everyone who heard it.

Rory Gallagher

Shadow Play (Rory Gallagher) 4:45

Fuel to the Fire (Rory Gallagher) 6:16

from Photo-Finish 1978

...Reverting back to a trio, Gallagher toughens up his sound and blazes through some robust blues rockers  like "Last of the Independents," "Shadow Play," and "Brute Force & Ignorance" (one of his best hard rock riffs) with nervy energy... Still, the album has a samey feel due to some of the songwriting not being quite up to snuff, and a few tracks, like the moody, slow-burning "Fuel to the Fire," stretched well past its breaking point to over six minutes...

Theatrical leader of '70s-era Genesis and a bona fide pop star by the '80s despite his experimental, often exotic, material.

Peter Gabriel

Moribund the Burgermeister  (Peter Gabriel) 4:20

Solsbury Hill  (Peter Gabriel) 4:21

from Peter Gabriel 1 1977

Peter Gabriel tells why he left Genesis in "Solsbury Hill," the key track on his 1977 solo debut. Majestically opening with an acoustic guitar, the song finds Gabriel's talents gelling, as the words and music feed off each other, turning into true poetry. It stands out dramatically on this record, not because the music doesn't work, but because it brilliantly illustrates why Gabriel had to fly on his own. Though this is undeniably the work of the same man behind The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, he's turned his artiness inward, making his music coiled, dense, vibrant. There is still some excess, naturally, yet it's the sound of a musician unleashed, finally able to bend the rules as he wishes. That means there are less atmospheric instrumental sections than there were on his last few records with Genesis, as the unhinged bizarreness in the arrangements, compositions, and productions...

16-09-2019 FAVTRAX:MiX ~ 33 FAVOURiTE tracks 1981-1976

16-09-2019 FAVTRAX:MiX ~ 33 FAVOURiTE tracks 1981-1976  >>Peter Hammill, Tom Waits, Gil Scott-Heron, Frank Zappa, The Raincoats, Pere Ubu, Rory Gallagher, Peter Gabriel, The Stranglers, Van Der Graaf Generator, Soft Machine<<

M U S I C

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1981-1976

Founder of Van Der Graaf Generator, and solo artist who has covered styles ranging from progressive to lo-fi rock. 
Peter Hammill
Breakthrough (Peter Hammill) 4:01
Ophelia  (Peter Hammill) 3:15
Sitting Targets (Peter Hammill) 5:26
from Sitting Targets 1981
Peter Hammill again plays the same trick as he did in 1978-1979, when, after the strange, experimental The Future Now LP, came the more straightforward pH7. The same relationship exists between A Black Box and Sitting Targets. The latter LP, released in 1981, is often overlooked because of its cold, very early-'80s production, but it has yielded many classic songs that would grow out of their rather square studio arrangements and go on to provide fans with many memorable live moments. And once you get used to the sound (something a lot easier here than with Skin), Sitting Targets is actually a pretty strong record -- and the presence of drummer Guy Evans on most tracks is no stranger to that...

A neo-beatnik songwriter who grew weirder and wilder in the '80s, earning a cult following that only grew larger as the years passed. 
Tom Waits
Jersey Girl  (Tom Waits) 5:11
'Til the Money Runs Out (Tom Waits) 4:25
On the Nickel  (Tom Waits) 6:19
from Heartattack And Vine 1980
Heartattack and Vine is Tom Waits' seventh and final album for Asylum. As such, it's transitional. As demonstrated by its immediate predecessors, 1978's excellent Blue Valentine and 1977's Foreign Affairs, he was already messing with off-kilter rhythms even in the most conventionally structured blues and jazz songs, with nastier-sounding guitars -- he plays a particularly gnarly style of rhythm on this entire album. Five of these nine tracks are rooted in gutbucket blues with rock edges and primal R&B beats. By this time, his singing voice had deteriorated to a gasping-for-breath whiskey-and-cigarettes growl that could make words indecipherable from one another, but his jazzman-inspired phrasing more than compensated...  In sum, Heartattack and Vine reveals just how much Waits had grown during his tenure with Asylum. Though not perfect in sequencing -- the alternating juxtaposition of rowdy blues and heartworn ballads gets old -- almost every song stands on its own as a dusty gem.

Politically charged poet and singer of enrapturing 1970s jazz/R&B polemics, and a huge influence on countless hip-hop incendiaries. 
Gil Scott-Heron
You Can't Depend on the Train from Washington (Gil Scott-Heron) 4:47
Waiting for the Axe to Fall (Gil Scott-Heron) 4:48
The Klan (R. Havens) 4:48
from Real Eyes 1980
In 1980, Gil Scott-Heron had a nice opportunity to promote his Real Eyes album when he became the opening act on Stevie Wonder's Hotter Than July tour. On his own, Scott-Heron usually played small clubs, but opening for Wonder gave him the chance to perform in front of thousands of Wonder fans in major stadiums and sports arenas. Many of Wonder's white fans seemed to be unfamiliar with Scott-Heron (who had never had a major pop hit), while a lot of Wonder's black fans at least knew him for "The Bottle" and "Angel Dust" even if they hadn't bought a lot of his albums. Opening for all those Wonder fans certainly didn't hurt Scott-Heron's career, but it didn't make him a superstar either. While it's possible that some Wonder fans enjoyed Scott-Heron's opening sets enough to go out and purchase Real Eyes, most of the people who acquired this LP were already confirmed Scott-Heron fans. Unfortunately, Real Eyes lacked a hit single, although the material is excellent nonetheless...

The creator of radical rock during the '60s who later pursued even more adventurous avenues, ranging from jazz-rock to classical composition. 
Frank Zappa
Central Scrutinizer  (Frank Zappa) 3:28
Joe's Garage  (Frank Zappa) 6:09
Catholic Girls  (Frank Zappa) 4:19
from Joe's Garage Acts I, II & III 1979
Joe's Garage was originally released in 1979 in two separate parts; Act I came first, followed by a two-record set containing Acts II & III. Joe's Garage is generally regarded as one of Zappa's finest post-'60s conceptual works, a sprawling, satirical rock opera about a totalitarian future in which music is outlawed to control the population. The narrative is long, winding, and occasionally loses focus; it was improvised in a weekend, some of it around previously existing songs, but Zappa manages to make most of it hang together. Acts II & III give off much the same feel, as Zappa relies heavily on what he termed "xenochrony" -- previously recorded guitar solos transferred onto new, rhythmically different backing tracks to produce random musical coincidences. Such an approach is guaranteed to produce some slow moments as well, but critics latched onto the work more for its conceptual substance...