[ aquarius records catalogue

IMPORTANT (Please read to avoid confusion): Some items below may be tagged with a bold, red, all-caps OUT OF PRINT/UNAVAILABLE notice. This does NOT mean that all other items not so tagged are, in fact, in stock — or for that matter, in print and available, though there's a good chance they are. Some folks get confused on this point, and we can see why, so please read this for further clarification and other important before-you-order information. Unlike some mailorder websites, we don't have an electronic inventory system linked to our site, so you can't be sure of what we actually have or don't have in stock at any given moment without asking us — please email our mailorder department for availability status — or better yet, just go ahead and place your order using our shopping cart function and we'll get back to you with the status of each item. If you have general non-mailorder questions, email the store.

Showing results 51 through 100 of 1521.

The legendary guitarist's third album (from 1964) reissued with four bonus cuts. 'Fahey's dark sound, quirky humor and moody slide work are all in evidence on this release' it says here, and it's true.

Ol' John Fahey, we just can't get enough of him...sadly he's gone now but every now and then we're blessed with a new reissue or, in this case, a rare live recording. The Great Santa Barbara Oil Slick was taped at the Matrix in San Francisco at two shows back in 1968 and 1969 (and is now the earliest live Fahey album out). It draws on material from his albums of the period, including The Yellow Princess, Blind Joe Death and Requia among others. Eccentric genius fingerpicked guitar and wry, charmingly mild mannered on-stage commentary doesn't get much better than Fahey, now does it? And where else are you going to hear such great music alongside brief tracks with titles like "Fahey Blows His Nose"? Comes beautifully packaged, with liners written by Glenn Jones of Cul de Sac.

MPEG stream: When The Springtime Comes Again
MPEG stream: When The Catfish Is In Bloom

If this was truly John Fahey returning from the dead, we'd be afraid that he had not moved on to a better place. Taken from a rare out of print double 7" release from 1997, The Mill Pond has got to be one of Fahey's doomiest outings. Recorded with the help of Jeff Allman who adds some electronic elements, it features Fahey on vocals (!), delivering some ghostly shamanistic moans over washes of intense treated, distorted guitar. Titles like "The Mill Pond Drowns Hope" and "You Can't Cool Off In The Mill Pond, You Can Only Die" up the creep factor into an antithesis of baptismal redemption. Fahey fans will be fascinated, especially those who looking for a Fahey release in a more (or most) experimental vein -- this is it. Or if you're not so sure about Fahey's usual acoustic mode, if you need your music to have a more malevolent edge, check this out! We think fans of the doomdirge likes of Nadja might even dig this. Also, his vocals bring to mind the most out-there trips of '70s psych-cult Yahowha 13. Comes with an extensive booklet featuring Fahey's paintings, drawings and collages that offer a unique glimpse into Fahey's eccentric peculiarities. Recommended!

MPEG stream: Ghosts
MPEG stream: You Can't Cool Off In The Mill Pond, You Can Only Die

If there was ever an argument for Christmas albums that you could play all year, John Fahey's two Christmas records of solo guitar music would be at the top of our lists. Recorded in 1968 and 1975 respectively and included here on one cd, Fahey covers a lot of traditional territory in such a way that makes classic Christmas songs altogether fresh and new. Quiet, understated and peaceful, Fahey's song selection is far reaching past the usual carols we're familiar with and into more obscure Episcopal hymns from his childhood, and even a few songs of his own invention, including the incredible 12 minute improvisation, "Christmas Fantasy (Part II)". So Beautiful!

MPEG stream: Joy To The World
MPEG stream: Christ's Saints of God Fantasy
MPEG stream: Christmas Fantasy (Part II)

Another absolutely killer John Fahey box set , this time compiling his first six Takoma lps recorded between 1962 and 1967: Blind Joe Death; Death Chants, Breakdowns, And Military Waltzes; The Dance of Death and Other Plantation Favorites; The Great San Bernardino Birthday Party; The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death; and Days Have Gone By. All reissued on 180 gram vinyl with deluxe old school tip-on style jackets. Chances are if you are a fan, you may have some if not all of these, but maybe not all on lp, eh? or if you do, we bet you don't have a T-shirt, or poster, or postcard that are all also included here, hmmm? Or what about that good friend you are always trying to turn onto classic Fahey records, might be a nice gift for them. Or even better yet perhaps this is the time to give your shitty scratched up thrift store-bought copies to that good friend and buy this incredible set for yourself! For those few readers who may have absolutely no idea what we're talking about, here is a simple overview from past reviews to get you caught up. John Fahey revolutionized guitar folk. His immediately recognizable, simultaneously ethereal and earthy virtuosic guitar picking and compositions combined influences from the folk blues of Charley Patton to Indian ragas to classical music, gospel, and Americana, and has had a vast influence on too many trad folk, neo-folk and psych artists to mention. His singular approach to the ephemeral culture and the stubborn individualism of early American musical history led him to create wondrous, contemplative, melancholy and drone-oriented works in a metaphysical hybrid of esoteric sound and spirit. While there are many practitioners of the solo guitar craft, there are none with the crazy wisdom, guts and breadth of knowledge that Fahey exhibited in his lifetime. Incredible!

One of the strangest, most controversial and fantastic releases of the vast Fahey catalog has been reissued and restored to its original glory by the great minds at 4 Men With Beards. Like the America double lp reissue, The Voice of The Turtle from 1968 is now once again a gatefold lp with a 12 page illustrated booklet with bizarre liner notes written by Blind Joe Death (the first sentence in the liner notes is 561 words long, a feat even our Andee may have difficulty in topping). At this point, the conceit of Blind Joe Death as a real figure who taught John Fahey to play was still in full swing, and even the credits were listed to both Mr. Death and Fahey. But there were also rumors that some of the recordings on this record were retaped from old blues 78s made by Walter Beasley and Sylvester Weaver. Even Fahey has said that the record was an elaborate hoax. But it is this conceit with the illustrated ephemera and Biblical tone of an age gone by that gives this record its strange beguiling charm. It's one of the first of many experimental approaches to the historical nature of his craft that he seems to exploit with the most unfettered reverie. Musically, the inclusion of old recordings with their scratchy sound quality, mixed with the addition of fiddle and flute players, Tibetan monk chants and gongs seem to mark a dividing line between past and future, as the raga meditations seem to point the way ahead to a folk-laden psychedelia. Essential Fahey!

Here's a nice new reissue of this Fahey classic (his eighth album, originally released in 1968). The iconoclastic "American primitive" guitarist is at his finger-pickin' best here, performing pieces loaded with spacious, aching, pristine loveliness, like "View (East From The Top Of The Riggs Road/B&O Trestle)", "Dance Of The Inhabitants Of The Invisible City Of Bladensburg", and the title track, indeed a jaunty clipper ship of a tune. All in some ways traditionally inspired, but with a unique, creative talent to additionally experiment and innovate. Entering Fahey's world on The Yellow Princess (or via other classic albums of his like Death Chants, Breakdowns And Military Marches or The Legend Of Blind Joe Death), is to behold a wondrous architecture of beauty and meaning, held aloft by one man's fingertips, with help from the spirits of the past. One reason that this new reissue is so nice is that they've tacked on several bonus tracks! Three of 'em, recorded in 1965 ("the lost Elektra demos"), all previously unreleased. And, appended to Fahey's own original, inimitable and illuminating liner notes in the thick cd booklet, there's new notes also from modern day Fahey acolytes/appreciators Glenn Jones (of Cul de Sac) and M. Ward.

MPEG stream: The Yellow Princess
MPEG stream: March! For Martin Luther King

This compilation seemed to have come out of nowhere, but it's noteworthy because it collects the best of Fahey's Varrick years. Varrick, for those who may not know, was (still is?) a subsidiary of Rounder Records and in the eighties and early nineties they released a string of Fahey releases from 1984's Let Go to 1992's Old Girlfriends and Other Horrible Memories. Yes, these were Fahey's lost-in-the-wilderness years, and these releases with their bad eighties new age-y artwork and hodgepodge song selections (lots of cover versions from Rodgers and Hammerstein, Stravinsky, Bola Sete and Eric Clapton, with only a few originals) have never been the sought-after records in his huge body of work. But this compilation takes most of the Fahey originals from those releases and puts them together on one disc for the first time, spotlighting an otherwise overlooked period of his career to great measure. His originals from this period, though few, were among the best pieces these releases had to offer, from the Delta excursionary "Black Mommy" to the sad Hawaiian guitar of "Love On Waikiki". (Thankfully, the compilers left off his version of "Layla"!) This is one of those occasions where a 'best of' comp is the way to go, so Rounder has done quite a service here for Fahey fans!

MPEG stream: Black Mommy
MPEG stream: Improv In E Minor
MPEG stream: Love On Waikiki

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. Another wonderful record of Fahey's experimental bluegrass guitar.

Young fans of John Fahey who may have thought it all began with Blind Joe Death and the Takoma label will be in hidden treasure heaven with this incredible 5cd box set of Fahey's earliest recorded output for Joe Bussard's Fonotone label, the very last 78 rpm record label. Seasoned fans who may have long tired of seeking out these rarer than rare "cut-on-demand" releases can breathe a sigh of relief that these recordings made between 1958-1965 have been lovingly archived with a big beautiful 88 page book filled with liner notes, extensive histories, anecdotes, indexes, track-by-track commentary, photographs, and production information by Fahey follower Glenn Jones, who has worked for years on this project with a host of contributors. Here are 115 tracks, most of which are on cd for the first time. It's hard to quantify how many of the originals were made, because Fonotone was a cut on demand mailorder label, meaning someone would have to order the title and the records would be hand cut (not pressed like they are today) from the master tape. Since each one was cut in real time, there were often slight discrepancies in the speed of the record, making each one a unique individual object. While Bussard claims he sold a lot of Fahey's records during his 14 year label lifespan, Jones was never sure if that meant 50 copies or one hundred or more, but given the scarcity of them in the collector resale market, Jones surmises that they might not have been more than 5 complete sets made. So there is a lot of gold to be discovered here. While some of the tracks are early recordings of Fahey Takoma-era classics like "Transcendental Waterfall" and "In Christ, There Is No East or West", there are a myriad of recordings attributed to Blind Thomas, one of Fahey's lost bluesman alter-egos, but unlike his more well-known alter-ego Blind Joe Death, Blind Thomas sang in a gruff world-weary manner, which we'll leave it up to the listener to decide if that is a good or bad thing. Our favorites are a few lovely collaborative tracks with flautist Nancy Maclean and folksinger Fran Vandiver, as well as a long beautiful instrumental track played with Indian instruments ("Western Medley"). But there is so much to pore over and obsess about here that any review we can write can hardly contain our enthusiasm and amazement over such a huge and immersive labor of love. Another score for Dust-To-Digital!!! (Who, by the way, also just brought out an amazing 4cd boxed collection of vintage African 78s called Opika Pende that we have in stock too, and will endeavor to review on our next list...)

MPEG stream: Buck Dancer's Choice 1
MPEG stream: Green River Blues (as Blind Thomas)
MPEG stream: Wissenschaftlich River Blues Part 2 (as Blind Thomas)
MPEG stream: Revelations On The Banks Of The Pawtuxent
MPEG stream: Dreaming Under the B&O Trestle (w/ Nancy Maclean)
MPEG stream: Take This Hammer (w/ Fran Vandiver)
MPEG stream: Portland Cement Factory
MPEG stream: I Am a Rake and Rambling Boy
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Boston psych/folk/space rockers Cul de Sac covered a Fahey tune on their first album, Ecim, and here they finally get to collaborate with their hero, an ordeal (so say the liner notes) but with quite excellent results as expected.

John Fahey's second major label album was sort of a continuation of the fuller-sounding, more-musicians, New-Orleans-brass-band direction he had begun with the 1972 album Of Rivers and Religion. There's clarinet, trombone, trumpet, ukulele, mandolin, alto And let's all get a kick out of the terrible, terrible cover art, featuring a couple in prom gear waltzing blissfully under a disco ball. Oh my GOD it's bad.

RealAudio clip: Hawaiian Two-Step
RealAudio clip: New Orleans Shuffle

MPEG stream: The Tubes
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Failing Lights is the solo project of Mike Connelly, who's better known for the cacophony he produces in the Hair Police and Wolf Eyes. The lo-fi soundsculpting embraced by both of those aforementioned projects is present here as well, but the capacity for ultra-violence and raw explosiveness is replaced by an unsettling atmosphere of dread. The album opens with a somber metallic klang repeating over a building rumble of controlled low-end feedback, and electronic bleeps all set off in various delay patterns. It's a very primitive, but very evocative form of cold industrially-minded musique concrete, coming pretty damn close to what Premature Ejaculation had done in the '80s. This band itself was something of an obtuse performance-art cross-pollination of LAFMS wild-eyed experimentation and Los Angeles goth chic (after all Rozz Williams of Christian Death was in Premature Ejaculation.) Anyway, Connelly is one to leave lots of space between his episodes of grim rumblings, lazer shot electronics, tape machinations, and sporadic bursts of power electronics overdose. By the middle of the record, Connelly uses these empty spaces to push forward an unstable, Jandekishly strummed guitar through a murk of tape decay. This can be hardly qualified as a song; it's more of conscious disintegration of a song, slumping into a stupor right before crumbling out of existence. The finale of the album comes by way of a crusty chord organ, that expands from a reedy whine into a scruffy powerdrone that's equal parts Charlemagne Palestine and Gate. Disquieting to say the least!

MPEG stream: Moon On The First Hunt
MPEG stream: Serve In Silence
MPEG stream: The Comfort Zone

Check out these stylin' Brit-inflected synth-wavers from Nebraska! The Faint make music that's coolly sparse and punchy with synth sounds straight outta the '80s. And they throw in a well-placed hook or herky-jerk when they see fit. Makes me think of a young, pouty, punky Pulp. Quite good, yes.

RealAudio clip: Sex Is Personal

Holy Duran Duran! I Am VSS-bender! What if Ladytron were all guys and into Talk Talk instead of drawing 'inspiration' from Kraftwerk? Yes folks, it's kinda like that. Song-oriented new wave that sounds like the '80s actually happened! Vocoded vocals,

RealAudio clip: Agenda Suicide
RealAudio clip: Your Retro Career Melted

Remixes can be pretty darn hit-or-miss. Among other things, they can breathe life into lackluster songs, or obscure the originals way far beyond any recognition, or fuse two sonic worlds into something new, magical and completely faithful to both artists. Not quite sure yet where these Danse Macabre remixes fall. On the first few listens, I was struck with the sense that most of the remix artists here seem to have very little affinity to the band - diluting the punch and catchiness of these Nebraskans' songs into just so-so, slick house and techno tracks. I mean, the original Danse Macabre songs are entirely capable of packing a dancefloor on their own, thank you very much! Participants includes Paul Oakenfold, Junior Sanchez, Ursula 1000, Tommie Sunshine, and Photek.

Rad! If you're already a fan of this Omaha, NE band, you're gonna love this! And if you're an older (i.e., pre-Danse Macabre) fan you're probably going to love it even more 'cause it's juiced up with some earlier Faint elements (like some infectious hooks and saucy lyrics) that the band more or less ditched on their last album, Wet From Birth. That album had the band going in a more balls-out rock direction, and their live shows followed suit. Fasciination finds them getting back to the synthesizers and electronics - super textured, thick and gnarly! -- and perhaps increasingly so. They seem to have devoted much more attention to sculpting the sound design, but not at the expense of the aggressive energy and the songs themselves. Although their access to recording production resources has no doubt increased with their popularity, they haven't been blinded by the bright lights or technology. Nothing's too glossy and no one seems to be sitting on any laurels, they still sound like The Faint. As we've said before this band too often gets unjustly lumped in with the legions of dumbshit vacuous dance punk bands, but c'mon, it's usually just a new-wave prejudiced knee-jerk reaction to the synth sounds and arpeggiated basslines (something which the band no longer seems to rely on anyways!). If you dismissed them long ago, you just might want to give Fasciination a spin because while they're quite capable and willing to whip a dance party into a frenzy, The Faint have always had far more going on in both craft and intent. Released on their own label Blank.Wav.

MPEG stream: Get Seduced
MPEG stream: Machine In The Ghost

Check out the early sounds of Nebraska's new wavers' The Faint. This is their first album which was released back in '98.

Grab this up before it's gone! The Faint take on Sonic Youth's "Mote" for this one-off GSL release (their usual label is Saddle Creek) and they do so in supreme synth-rock style. They busted this track out for their encore at their recent show here in SF. These lanky Omaha new wavers are positively driving the kids wild. Triggering the dance mechanism in all. This vinyl-only release

The long-awaited,�highly anticipated follow-up to the ultra rad Danse Macabre album has arrived, saddled with the burden of high expectations (it also comes with perhaps the worst title and cover art). Unfortunately and unjustly lumped in with the vapid electro-clash crowd (they were actually head and shoulders above the dance-punk fashionista pack -- showing some brain behind the style sheen), The Faint's new album has already been receiving the post-trend backlash. A number of us here at AQ dug D.M. quite a lot and wanted to�resist that post-trend trend, hoping for an onwards and upwards progression from that album. We'd heard rumblings about intriguing changes in direction, new focuses, etc. However much to our chagrin, the first song struck us�like an uninspired�rehash of something that didn't even make the cut last time, but with the addition of more high-tech bells and whistles (E.L.O.-esque string flourishes, a wider range of vocal processing, etc). Their former insanely infectious hooks are nowhere to be found. Disappointed, we found ourselves asking, did they too succumb to�the vacuous hipster hype machine? Well, not entirely... although it does seem�that when they were making this album they were�at least partially conscious of the newfound demands of appealing to the more mainstream kids. There are many songs that are clearly going to be instant crowd pleasers, but they're also among the band's most superficial work with lots of simplistic 'short-hand for new wave' accessories. That said�Wet From Birth has�some of The Faint's most�ballsy 'rock' sounding�songs in years (check out the big distorted nu metal-ish guitars in "Dropkick The Punks").�As well, vocalist Todd Baechle has clearly been working on his delivery, expanding his dynamic range so as to not have to rely on studio applied effects�to provide�depth, personas, etc.�Simply put, he's no longer enslaved to the vocoder.�The�space between the highs and lows of this album are considerable (for instance, the abovementioned "Dropkick..." is revved-up and exciting, while the album's single "Disappear" is�downright aggravating), but we suppose that's to be expected from a band�poised to make the jump to the next level of commercial success while at the same time still trying to�eke�out some artistic progress.�Nonetheless, we'd still recommend revisiting Danse Macabre or their earlier Blank Wave Arcade.

MPEG stream: I Disappear
MPEG stream: Dropkick The Punks

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. Angular art rock, very lo-fi. This is an extremely limited edition of 100 clear vinyl lps hand cut in New Zealand, and we've got the West Coast exclusive.

Besides the incomparable freakiness of Betty Davis, and sheer force that is Chaka Khan, we don't see too many female soul singers that can equally seduce us with their soulful wiles, then go in for the kill with their hard-hitting funk edge, and still make us feel their pain. Beginning her career as a featured singer for the James Brown Revue, Fair cut her teeth at Motown recording a single with Marvin Gaye that made Motown producer Norman Whitfield (Undisputed Truth, Rose Royce) take notice, producing a string of singles in the early seventies. Her lone album, The Bitch is Black has been thankfully reissued by Reel Music and features her version of The Temptations classic "Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On", Stevie Wonder's "Tell Me Something Good" and her UK hit "It Should Have Been Me", a spurned lover's soul-shattering breakdown. Just check out the cover, you don't want to mess with this 'bitch'!

MPEG stream: Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns me On
MPEG stream: It Should Have Been Me
MPEG stream: Let Your Hair Down

If you have been digging the recent Kaleidoscope (UK) reissues, then here is another treat: This re-issue of Fairfield Parlour's debut album on the Vertigo label, From Home to Home. The story behind this album and band name have never been fully made clear, as Kaleidoscope and Fairfield Parlour were the same band. Perhaps tired of being confused with the American band Kaleidoscope, who were better known; or sensing that the candy-coated psychedelia they had been dabbling in for two albums was waning fast, Kaleidoscope decided to adopt the new band moniker, Fairfield Parlour, and change their look from colorful twee paisley folksters to Old Tyme country-psych balladeers. So what is the music like? Well, while there is definitely a more haunting, lushly orchestrated sound evoking a darkly antique and mystical psych-pop vibe full of harpsichord, mellotrons, flutes and 12-string guitars, and the songwriting is more serious, it's not too far from a type of sound Kaleidoscope would have naturally progressed toward had they kept the same name. Lots of bands of the era from the Kinks to the Byrds had similar stylistic evolutions from psych pop to roots rock, but perhaps the band (or the label) felt that audiences somehow wouldn't make the transition. We can't help but think the confusion over the name change only made things worse for the band (they disbanded the following year after making one more album which was never released), it's a shame too because this album is really really great! This re-issue features the original album plus eight bonus tracks of singles demos, and alternate tracks. For fans of Euphoria, The Byrds, the Incredible String band and Muswell Hillbillies-era Kinks.

MPEG stream: In My Box
MPEG stream: Soldier of the Flesh

For some time now I've been meaning to make this *great* album "Oldie but Goodie of the Week", and then lo and behold, it got reissued with 8 extra tracks! So it is with great pleasure that we offer Fairport Convention's Heyday. I'm a big fan of this band, who formed in the late '60s and whose sound melded traditional British Isles folk music with rock influences. Heyday is actually Fairport at their most rock -- it predates their better known (and much more "traditional" classics such as Unhalfbricking and Liege & Leaf), and is almost completely comprised of covers. This earliest incarnation of Fairport (which has since seen almost all its founding members move on) included the immensely talented Richard Thompson, Sandy Denny, Simon Nicol, Ian Matthews. Thompson's sublime guitarwork on Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne" absolutely brings that song to its feet, plus they cover Cohen's "Bird on a Wire" and animate tracks by Joni Mitchell, Richard Farina, the Everly Bros, Gene Clark, etc. The eight extra songs included with this extended version of Heyday were similarly recorded in the late '60s and are mostly covers / traditionals, including tracks by Bob Dylan and Jackson C. Frank. They're more folky and less rock than the proper Heyday tracks, but in that they tantalize the listener by offering a glimpse at where the band was going, they're more than worthwhile. That these tracks made it to tape is lucky -- the band performed live on the radio about once a month but tried to never repeat themselves! So it is a precious document, and it sounds great. You will never tire of Heyday.

RealAudio clip: Suzanne
RealAudio clip: Tried So Hard
RealAudio clip: Si Tu Dois Partir
RealAudio clip: Gone, Gone, Gone

The first four Fairport Convention albums are cannon, no doubt about it. But while many may disagree with the inclusion of the first album, the one before Sandy Denny joined, and their full on embrace of traditional folk material on the fourth, Leige and Lief, pretty much all Fairport fans can agree that their second album, What We Did On Our Holidays, and third, Unhalfbricking are their very best. Thankfully Water has reissued both. Unhalfbricking? What the hell does that mean? Perhaps the title was alluding to the transitional shedding of American rock elements that had featured more prominently on their first two records and laying the foundation towards redefining a traditional British sound. Sure there are still Dylan covers, in fact three of them, but the exiting of Ian Matthews brought in another Fairport stalwart, fiddler Dave Swarbrick which tipped the balance musically towards classic British folk. And what's more British than this cover? We think that's Sandy Denny's parents. So awesome! Of course, strong songwriting doesn't hurt, and Sandy Denny contributes her most famous song, "Who Knows Where The Time Goes" and the equally haunting "Autopsy". But the finest moment of the album (and prescient of their future sound) goes to the eleven minute take on the traditional tune, "A Sailor's Life". Rumor has it, that they recorded this song in a single take because Denny, suffering from a cold, didn't think she could sing it more than once (though she wouldn't stop smoking). It's definitely the band at their peak and one of the finest recordings they made. Unfortunately, as we mentioned in the "What We Did On Our Holidays" review, the band was cursed and this was the last record for teenage drummer, Martin Lamble, who died in a freak accident involving the band's van. This cemented their future foray towards traditional material as the band refused to play live any of the music that they previously recorded with Lamble. But it's the air of that legendary rock curse (which would also tragically claim Sandy Denny, eight years later) that gives the early music of Fairport Convention it's mysteriously bewitching and dark edge. Recommended!

MPEG stream: Autopsy
MPEG stream: A Sailor's Life
MPEG stream: Who Knows Where The Time Goes

The first four Fairport Convention albums are cannon, no doubt about it. But while many may disagree with the inclusion of the first album, the one before Sandy Denny joined, and their full on embracement of traditional folk material on the fourth, Leige and Lief, pretty much all Fairport fans can agree that their second album, What We Did On Our Holidays, and third, Unhalfbricking are their very best. Thankfully Water has reissued both. What We Did On Our Holidays is our definite favorite. If there were one classic British folk-rock record we could recommend, it would be this one, mainly because it's so unclassic sounding. Here is the band at their most adventurous and unsettled, moving into different territory with each song. Mixing covers of American songwriters Joni Mitchell and Dylan with a wide array of original numbers and spirited takes on traditional material, we're taken through a trip of lively blues stomps, eastern mysticism, ghostly ballads and the best pairing of male and female vocal harmonies from Ian Matthews and Sandy Denny. Fairport Convention had the blessing of being made up of many other talented songwriters and musicians as well, including Richard Thompson, Martin Lamble, Simon Nicol, and Ashley Hutchings, but they were forever cursed by never having the same line-up twice on any of their records. While replacing former co-lead singer Judy Dyble (Giles, Giles and Fripp, Trader Horne) with Sandy Denny definitely upped their musical profile, this was sadly the last record for Ian Matthews. He went on to found Matthew's Southern Comfort and then later pursue his own solo work, but it just wasn't on the same par as his work on the first two Fairport albums. This is arguably the best line-up they had which makes for our highest recommendation.

MPEG stream: Book Song
MPEG stream: Tales In Hard Time
MPEG stream: She Moves Through The Fair

We've been totally obsessed with EM's recent reissue of Istikhbars & Improvisations by Algerian pianist Mustapha Skandrani, and before we even had a chance to begin wearing that one out, along comes yet another magnificent gem, this one from Thai violinist Thonghuad Faited, the Thai violin in question a two stringed sor, a mainstay of Isan music (which you may have heard on the Sublime Frequencies compilation ISAN: Folk and Pop Music of Northeast Thailand); Faited being perhaps the instrument's greatest proponent, and one of the few sor players to have made the transition from background musician to revered solo artist. Diew Sor Isan is the first proper anthology from Faited, gathering up many of his finest performances from various recordings, many of which are available here for the first time outside of Thailand, Faited's sound part of the 'Molam' tradition, again, sampled on another couple of Sublime Frequencies comps, Molam: Thai Country Groove From Isan volumes 1 and 2, Molam is the dominant musical tradition in rural Thailand and is focused around the exotic meditative melodies of the sor, and a style of playing that in some ways is definitely reminiscent of Celtic music as well as bluegrass, but ultimately it remains so distinctive, and utterly unique, the music collected here lush and emotional, dreamily melodic and groovy, from aching solo sor pieces, to lush full band grooves, sensual and soulful, to haunting percussion driven folk, to much more modern sounding Thai funk, from fuzzy garage-y grooves, to gorgeous vocal / sor interplay, some of the tracks super distinctive, the melodies especially the vocals, will be instantly recognizable to folks who remember the Butthole Surfers' purloined-Thai-music-sampling jam "Kuntz", Faited's sor so versatile, whether unfurling smooth, clean sinewy melodies, or sawing way wildly, the Thai folk version of 'shredding', it's no wonder he's a star, ALL the tracks here mesmerizing, every time we put this one, we end up just pushing repeat and listening to it over and over and over again. So fantastic. The cd is housed in a full color gatefold cardboard sleeve, the lp in a nice full color jacket, both with a fold out full color insert with photos, and liner notes in both English and Japanese.

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MPEG stream: Diew Sor Kid Hod Baan
MPEG stream: Ruammit
MPEG stream: Eua Aree See Sor

Like Ali G's German fashion maven, Bruno, says, "Marianne Faithfull gets a... Wattschhupp." And actually, much to the credit of her co-writers this round (PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, Damon Albarn, and Jon Brion) these songs are good. Real good. Faithfull weaves her vocals around each song's style and rhythm. With Harvey, the tracks are punkish and throbbing or slow and moody. With Cave, melodramatic and artfully tragic. With Albarn, big and britpoppy. Brion's nursery-lullaby, "City of Quartz", closes the album with a scattering of kinder-esque instruments, faux-glockenspiel, toy piano, etc. Indeed. Faithfull and company offer a grand performance of the highest caliber! Mmmyes... Bravo.

MPEG stream: My Friends Have
MPEG stream: There Is A Ghost

Where the long, amazing and intense road that is Mariane Faithfull's music career began. This is her debut (actually one of two simultaneous debuts) she released in 1965. This was the darker companion to the more cheerful pop of her self titled release of that same year. The record gives a sneak peak at the darker side of Faithfull, that would unravel in the decades to come. She takes on many folk standards and with her immaculate voice and charismatic touch and makes them very much her own. Relevant as ever, as these days you can hear her influence all over the recent great underground folk scene through the voices and stylings of folks like Marissa Nadler and Josephine Foster amongst many. With her own great release last year Before the Poison it's really nice to get a listen back to her roots and marvel at the trajectory of an amazing artist's career. The record ends perfectly with "Sister Morphine" which she penned with one time lover Mick and his cohort Keith, which predated their rendition on Sticky Fingers. When you can love what someone made in 1965 as much as you love what they came out with in 2005 you know you are dealing with someone so totally special. While those boys Mick and Keith, we haven't cared about them for decades.

MPEG stream: Lonesome Traveller
MPEG stream: Sister Morphine

Besides being such a cultural icon, Marianne Faithful has some pretty amazing music in her back catalog. Her last album, 2005's Before The Poison was one of the most potent and emotionally stunning records of her career. It's an album some of us still listen to a lot, her voice with all its life experience shines through with so much truth, pain, and beauty. Her latest record, Easy Come Easy Go finds her tackling twelve cover songs and while we do think there should be a moratorium on covers albums, heck Marianne Faithful can do whatever she wants, and has made a career of turning other people's songs into her own. If you are a musician and got a call that Marianne Faithful wanted to cover your song you would likely be pretty thrilled and honored, so we can't even imagine what folks like the Espers or the Decemberists thought when they got word that Marianne was going to cover their songs (those covers are two of the big standout tracks on this record!). Along the same lines, getting the call to be a part of Marianne's back up band would be pretty much mind blowing as well, so it's no surprise that the musicians on this album are some of the biggest heavy hitters around: Jim White (Dirty Three, Smog, Cat Power, etc.) on drums. Marc Ribot on guitar, Greg Cohen on bass and the list goes on and on. She also called upon some pretty recognizable voices to join her on some of the tracks like Antony, Cat Power, Rufus Wainwright, Jarvis Cocker and Nick Cave! But make no mistake, this record is still totally all about Marianne Faithful and the way her weathered but brilliant voice is able to truly wrap itself around your ears. Whether tackling tracks by Dolly Parton, Brian Eno, Merle Haggard, Smokey Robinson, Morrissey or Judee Sill, she brings such emotional weight and such a volatile punch to these songs. Produced by Hal Willner, whom she last worked with on Strange Weather, you can feel his influence a bit too much on a few of the tracks, which go for a more old timey/cabaret feel, but luckily there are only a few of those, the rest of the album is much more driving, powerful and present sounding. While The Rolling Stones may have ushered her into the spotlight all those decades ago, it's clear that as time has gone on Marianne Faithful sounds a million times more relevant and full of integrity than the Stones do now. A true living legend!

MPEG stream: The Crane Wife 3
MPEG stream: Hold On Hold On
MPEG stream: Ooh Baby Baby

Having just got back from tour with my band, during which I read Marianne Faithfull's autobiography, I have to say this release is timely. I feel like I know her. I could tell you about all of her sexual exploits, and all the drugs she did, the rock stars she hung around. Sadly that's all anyone ever cares to speak of in regard to Miss Faithfull. Why? Well... probably because it's a lot more exciting than her music. This is her first record in 3 years. Beck, Jarvis Cocker (of Pulp), Dave Stewart (of the Eurythmics) as well as Blur all help her out on this one - 'though not nearly enough. After reading the book I didn't like her at all. I got tired of her bragging and dull stories, and after listening to this cd (twice) I was equally unimpressed. Bad techno with horrible droning vocals and embarrassing lyrics. The music really embodies how I feel about her; substanceless, dull, show-offy crap. Unbearable.

RealAudio clip: Sex With Strangers
RealAudio clip: Wherever I Go

Swathed in stealthy Designer's Republic packaging, Michael Fakesch's "Marion" is the first solo album from half of the German electronica duo, Funkstorung. As with most Funkstorung related projects, Fakesch's sound is superficially identical to that of Autechre. Yet, upon closer investigation, "Marion" veers ever so slightly from the archetypal Autechre sound with a bleaker take on the streaming pulse of melodic "electrons" and a more spastic fracturing of the electro breakbeat.

New San Francisco band featuring ex-members of Elephone. While they're still in their infancy as a band they have recorded a debut ep, almost like a demo, just to get their music out in the world. And from the sounds of these four songs they're off to a pretty good start. Driving guitar fueled rockers that remind us a bit of folks like Interpol, The Editors and even Afghan Whigs. Will be cool to see what the future holds for them. And super cool that this ep so cheap.

MPEG stream: Mouth To Speak
MPEG stream: Few Plus One

Those of you into obscure '70s heavy rock - or cult '80s metal for that matter - ought to be interested in this new album from the power trio Falcon. It's their second record, following a self titled debut in 2004. That one featured a cover of Bang's "Redman", and also a cameo vocal performance by Bobby Liebling of Pentagram, on a song dedicated to the memory of Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynott... and that should give you an idea of where Falcon is coming from, in terms of influences/atmosphere. Capturing the spirit of the '70s proto-metal that we dig so much here at AQ too. Bang! Pentagram! 'Lizzy! c'mon!! Some other obvious selling points in Falcon's favor has to do with who's who in the band. They've got Greg Lindstrom from '80s epic doomsters Cirith Ungol on bass and Darin McCloskey of stoner metal act Pale Divine on drums. The third, crucial part of the trio is vocalist/guitarist Perry Grayson, who used to play in a much more technical power metal band called Destiny's End but gave that up to concentrate on his true love (well, next to the weird pulp fiction of H.P. Lovecraft), full on '70s-sounding downer rock. He's one of those guys with the crazy record collection full of vintage vinyl proto-metal platters, trying to bring it all back to life a la Magnus from Witchcraft. And being a badass guitar player with heavy friends makes it look easy, with Falcon now on to their second album, this one, so let's tell y'all some more about it... Die Wontcha - love the title, love the cover art, which we can only guess was probably lifted from an old issue of Weird Tales or something like that - features ten tracks of groovy, rockin', bellbottomed '70s heaviness worship. Nine are Falcon originals, the tenth a killer cover of "Leader" by Aussie proto-metallers Buffalo (you'll find the original on their 1972 album Dead Forever, the reissue of which is reviewed elsewhere on our site). Since Perry recently relocated from LA to Australia, it's even more appropriate they do a Buffalo song. And boy howdy does it fit in with their own material. The disc starts off with Lindstrom's lament for Scottish Formula 1 race car driver Jimmy Clark, who died in a tragic crash back in '68. It's totally the sort of thing a band like this back in the '70s would have written... almost a modern-day folk song. Definitely very Thin Lizzyish, with Perry's slightly gruff, deep voiced vocals, melodic minor key guitar leads, and classic, loping, hummable riffage. For those more into fantasy subjects, a couple tracks later Falcon's got "The King Of Elfland's Daughter", inspired by a poem by Irish fantasist Lord Dunsany. It too has a lot of Lizzyish licks... Everywhere, Falcon's fuzzed out guitar and fat riffs scream '70s, as do the lyrics, Perry dropping lines like "back in the days of yore/hippie to the core" and "hit the stage with heavy rockin' band/tour the world kickin' out the jams/turn the amps up loud/stun the crowd". Yep, that's rock n' roll like they used to do, and Falcon bring it. But maybe the best expression of Falcon's mission is found in the lyrics to the disc's final track, penned by Lindstrom, entitled "Show You All" - which is all about going to a big show by some currently popular so-called rock band and unavoidably thinking they could do much, much better, Perry singing: "I want to jump on stage/and show you how all to play". That's kinda cocky, but we're sure some of you will share Falcon's sentiments, folks we'd recommend this to who also enjoy such quality, ripping n' riffy bands with retro-rawk '70s influences as Witchcraft, Burning Saviours, Bible Of The Devil, Slough Feg, Danava, Drunk Horse, etc... By the way, although we never listed it before, we do have a just a few copies of Falcon's equally rad s/t album in stock as well, the one with the Bobby L. cameo. We figured since we were highlighting this, some folks might want to pick that one up too, so we got some from the band. They're a little cheaper, 'cause the copies we have of that are pro duped cd-rs, not actual cds, FYI. They still have the same cool metallic foil stamped covers of the original cd version, though. And *this* disc is indeed a real cd, not a cd-r.

MPEG stream: Jimmy Clark
MPEG stream: Careless

1st album from these retro-proto-metal-doomin' throwbacks, featuring guest vocals on one cut by Bobby L. from Pentagram!!! NOTE: the ones we have are cd-rs, not real cds. The packaging is the same as the original cd version, but the band ran out of disc so had cd-rs made to use up the overrun of covers they had on hand...

Fans of the NWOFHM, get ready for the NWOFAOR. First off, please go read our review of Circle's Incarnation to get the whole back story about this release. 'Cause our pals Circle, the celebrated Finnish space/kraut/WTF? rockers, are not Circle anymore, they're Falcon (Ex-Circle). It's all part of an elaborate scheme we try to explain in that Incarnation review. But explanations are difficult, as there are multiple layers of meaning to what Circle, we mean Falcon, are up to here. On the surface, Falcon (Ex-Circle)'s debut album is all high concept hijinks, total retro '80s AOR good times party tunes love songs, a mix of arena-ready hard rock and radio-friendly soft rock with flashy guitars, melodic singing, and cheesy keyboards. Every track sorta sounds like a 'training montage' song from a movie, if you know what we mean. But we don't think it's ironic parody. Maybe homage, but not parody. If you pay attention, listen to the lyrics, it's not just joking. There's an underlying sadness, a yearning, a sincerity to Falcon (Ex-Circle)'s journey into, uh, the realms of Journey - a synth-laden, fantasy MTV rock n' roll pleasure zone. Take a close look at the cover art to see what we mean about possible divergent depths of meaning - what's that about? Listening, we're hearing hints of lots of stuff we used to hear on the radio growing up - from Billy Idol to Styx to the Psychedelic Furs to Golden Earring to Aldo Nova to Neil Young (circa Trans?), and more. These former Circle guys have gone beyond their previous forays into the "New Wave Of Finnish Heavy Metal" to get waaaay more pop than metal here, though we do hear a bit of a galloping Thin Lizzy-ish riff on "Leather Seat", sprinkled however with magical synthesizer fairy dust. Tracks like "Horses" and "Ace Of Hearts" also boogie pretty hard. Falcon (Ex-Circle)'s songs are good, good enough to make the grade as undeniable "guilty pleasures" just like some of their obvious inspirations. Almost the only thing that makes this NOT seem like you must have heard it on the radio back in the '80s is that the vocals, while melodic, can have a bit of a rough edge to 'em, plus the Finnish accent. Really, we thought the Falcon (Ex-Circle) 7" that came out earlier last year, was a one-off, that was going to be the extent of the joke. Instead it was the lead single for this album. So, as with a lot of Circle & Jussi related projects, one begins to wonder... maybe it's not a joke? In fact, Jussi insisted to us that this whole Circle/Falcon (Ex-Circle) stunt is actually an artistically significant, serious thing for him. He even wrote an essay about it, explaining what he's trying to achieve, but unfortunately we couldn't read it 'cause it's all in Finnish. He did ask us to list/review both Frontier and Incarnation at the same time, that was important. And so we comply. Of the two albums, Frontier and Incarnation, the one under the Circle moniker is indeed easier to see as Circle, on the extreme experimental/drone side of their aesthetic. Even though it's not "really" Circle. Meanwhile, this Falcon disc, actually by Circle (confused yet?), does not sound much like anything Circle has ever done. Cause these are more traditionally structured pop/rock songs, verse/chorus/verse stuff, although they can't get away from the hypno-rock repetitive thing entirely. Anyway, like we say in the Incarnation review, lots of interesting questions raised, but at the end of day, what's important is are you gonna like listening to it? Well we do, these songs are BUILT for heavy rotation and that's what we're giving this disc. At first we were like, haha, but now we're addicted!!

MPEG stream: Partners In Crime
MPEG stream: Ace Of Hearts
MPEG stream: Miami Tits

Ahhhhhhhh!!! Blood! Dragons! Bards!! Kings!! Longswords!!! Squires!!! Potions!!! SOLOS!!!! Yeesh, sorry. It's so rare that we get to hear actual good power metal around these parts that we sort of lose our minds and just start yelling nerd words whenever it happens. And man oh man, does "good power metal" not even start to do this album justice. Sweden's heroic spellcasters of mystical folk/power metal have returned with their eighth studio album, and after what has by many considered to be a pretty lengthy dry spell for this band (many had written them off right around their third album) Black Moon Rising is a serious return to form, utilizing the sing-song catchiness of the best power metal without any of that airy-fairy ruffly sleeved nonsense that tends to get hauled along as unwanted baggage (although a quick Google image search reveals these guys definitely do own some ruffly shirts). Instead musically Black Moon Rising sounds more like some cross between the precision killing-machine heavy metal of Painkiller-era Judas Priest and the jaunty epic medieval songsmithery of Nightfall-era Blind Guardian. It's a record absolutely chock full of awesome riffs (especially for those of us still mourning the dissolution of the glorious Mithotyn from whom this band was spawned!), pummeling drums (there are even a few blastbeats in there!) and most importantly: genuinely great songs. Plus there's Falconer's secret weapon, vocalist Mathias Blad, whose patient worldweary croon adds a certain theatrical gravitas to the record, sounding more like something from Chess The Musical than some candy-coated Stratovarius record or Journey cover band. Needless to say, anyone the slightest bit interested in power metal needs to hear this, but even those into meatier heavy metal like Grand Magus, Manowar or Doomsword should have no problem getting to this. Awesome stuff indeed!

MPEG stream: Locust Swarm
MPEG stream: Black Moon Rising
MPEG stream: At The Jester's Ball

Falconer's self-titled debut from last year was one of the "true metal" sensations around AQ at the time (that is, for Andee and Allan anyway, and I think we're getting Windy into 'em now too). The band's folk-derived melodicism and sheer heavy metal might

RealAudio clip: The Clarion Call
RealAudio clip: Busted To The Floor

No, the title isn't referring to the techno sort of Grime! This is the fourth album from the Swedish power-metal troupe, who if they DJed would certainly play tracks by Metal Church, Yngwie's Rising Force, and Judas Priest, not Dizzee Rascal. If you know who they are, by now you're either a fan of Falconer mainman Stefan Weinerhall's distinctive guitar work and '80s inspired, storm-the-castle-style of metal songsmithery, or this just isn't your sort of thing. But if you haven't heard 'em before and do think you might be interested, we'd suggest checking out one of their other albums, their self-titled debut perhaps, or follow-up Chapters From A Vale Forlorn, before this one. Fans, though, will find that Grime Vs. Grandeur's got all the usual Falconer sing-along theatrics and folky bits. Weinerhall's guitar playing -- his medieval riffs and melodies -- remains individual and recognizable, something quite unusual in a genre that's often so, uh, generic. He's to be applauded for that. The wailing vocalist -- the kind of Euro power-metal belter who can (and does) rhyme "rose" with "overdose" -- isn't so distinctive, but he gets the job done though. Overall, what we've got here is another Falconer album, and you probably know if you need one or not. Cheesy? Definitely, sure. And this could be their cheesiest. But they're still a better band than many in this genre, for some of us (Allan and Andee) quite the guilty pleasure.

MPEG stream: Purgatory Time
MPEG stream: Child Of The Wild

Andee hopped off the Falconer longboat/bus here, but Allan's still along for the Viking power metal ride. With their original, best vocalist back on the mic, it's another folky Falconer opus.

[ aquarius records catalogue — F ]