[ 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 601 through 650 of 819.

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

SORRY. Finally back in print, everyone's favorite redneck/the south will rise again/bad taste/crime spree/joy ride through the dusty back roads of Texas with Mr. Jon Wayne riding shotgun and spouting an endless stream of obsceneties, epithets, and words of wisdom. All to the strains of out of tune, stumbling, drunken, fucked up barroom country. Depressing and absolutely hilarious. Offensive and totally essential. Brilliant and completely dumb.

Of course, the Jon Wayne we're talking about is not THE John Wayne, archetype of the bad-ass cop / cowboy / sheriff / general. This Jon Wayne appears as a scrawy, incompetent drunk who got it in his head that he needed to move to Fresno, California because Yet, there is no doubt that Jon Wayne loves Texas, for Texas is huge. Texas is oil. Texas is J.R. Ewing. Texas is The Alamo. Texas is country AND western. Texas is a pick-up truck with tobacco stains puddled on the running board. Texas is a Longhorn (both the cow and the football player). Texas is a fucked-up place where the good ole boys control the state with backroom politics, blaming problems on immigration, but won't dare have their sons working in the field instead of some Mexicans. While it may not be true for all, it's true for Jon Wayne: Texas is God. It's a mythology that holds similarities to the "South will rise again" belief of Tennessee rednecks, but the two should never be confused. It may not make much sense, but asking why will just get your ass kicked. So don't. In fact, it's hard to tell if Jon Wayne and his band are the genuine bastard sons of Texas or if they are a part of the great Southern lineage of telling tall tales of hard drinkin' and hard livin' or if they are just a bunch of indie-rock dorks method acting. I don't much care what Jon Wayne's intention is, just as long as it isn't irony. "Texas Funeral" was Jon Wayne's first album, mostly recounting how screwed up it was for this drunk Texan to be in the California Central Valley. His half mumbled / barely sung tales ambled alongside a raucous musical affair of sloppy cow-punk tunes and spouted the infamous epithets "I had to jerk off the dog just to feed the goddamned cat" and "Mr. Egyptian you're a goddamned liar." Even after all the time since its release in 1992, "Texas Funeral" remains an incredibly hilarious record. Nearly nine years later, Jon Wayne makes his musical return with his sophomore album, "Two Graduated Jiggers." Upon first listen, Jon Wayne has become just slightly more competent as a song writer, without so many of the miscues and false starts which ran through "Texas Funeral." Of particular note is the opener "Generator," which is exactly what a drunk Calexico would sound like, yet is much more musical than anything else Jon Wayne has ever recorded. The rest of the album stays truer to "Texas Funeral" with Jon Wayne's country/western two-step crashing out of rhythm and tune during almost every song. Lyrically, he's even less decipherable, with his drawl overtaking the delivery and reducing what little song their might have been to a rambling mumble of obscenities. To many, that may be a living hell. But to those of us who find the current output from Nashville reprehensible, Jon Wayne's drunk antics are a blessing.

RealAudio clip: Generator
RealAudio clip: Time To Drink Wiskey
RealAudio clip: Country Porno

Ltd to 300 numbered copies. Includes dvd, poster.

Ready to go clubbing? In another galaxy? With his latest record under the not-a-person-but-a-band Jonas Reinhardt moniker, Jesse Reiner (and friends) have turbocharged the synth swells and flourishes of their previous kosmische krautrock-inspired releases with some powerful booty-shaking beats. As much as we loved their self-titled debut, and Powers Of Audition (both on Kranky), we're happy that Jonas Reinhardt are providing fuel for our dance-making body parts. Such an effort seems fitting with their new home on Not Not Fun Records, a serious concern in new electronic and dance music that has also released material by aQ faves Peaking Lights among others. The result is an entrancing visit to planet space disco that owes as much to Giorgio Moroder and other Italo devotees as it does to Neu!... To kickstart the party, Reiner and co. rely less on the amazing motorik drumming of Damon Palermo and more on drum machines, which creates an equally ecstatic vibe, but for a more vertically positioned human. Frequent Jonas Reinhardt participants Phil Manley (Life Coach, Trans Am, The Fucking Champs), Diego Gonzalez (3 Leafs), Tim Soete (The Fucking Champs), Steve Moore (Zombi), and others are also on on board. Don't let all our talk of discoing make you think Mask Of The Maker is a soundtrack to the coke-fueled lives of mere beautiful people, because Jonas Reinhardt forms melodies with otherworldly synth sounds and stratospheric mantras from the ethereal mouth of Meryl Press (check out "Elimination Street") to guide you on your imaginary extraterrestrial journey. Thus Emeralds is still a definite comparison. Perhaps the Philip K. Dick quote "It is the basic condition of life, to be required to violate your own identity" on the inner-sleeve suggests the journey you are on is actually to a star called The Real You. Or maybe this turn towards real-deal dance music is the revelation that follows. That's just a guess, though. Jesse Reiner and his Jonas Reinhardt cohorts may have pulled back the veil a bit, but we still don't know what truths lurk under Reiner's red beard (which is on full display on the front cover), now do we?

MPEG stream: Jungle Jah
MPEG stream: Elimination Street
MPEG stream: Brood And Talk Riot

Sometimes you have to go straight to the source to get it really right. And no doubt, for the sounds of Jonas Reinhardt, that motherland (er, fatherland?) is Germany, as their kosmische sound has no doubt been shaped heavily by so many of the groups that came out of the Krautrock scene of the seventies and eighties. Spending some time in Berlin and recording this new record there seems to have really helped take JR's sounds to the next level. Music For The Tactile Dome, their vinyl only debut for Not Not Fun, is the most successful outing yet by JR, demonstrating different facets of their sound while still keeping a focused eye on the unknown cosmic sky. It also has some of the darkest elements that we've heard from these guys so far and those sounds really suit them so well. Analog synth overdrive orbiting a pulsating planet with mysterious and surprising twists and turns along the way. Conrad Schnitzler and Klaus Schulze would be proud!

Album number two for San Francisco kraut groove channelers, Jonas Reinhardt, who continue to mine krautrock, prog and cosmic gold with their spaced out and now sometimes even rocking sound. Powers Of Audition finds JR mastermind Jesse Reiner opening up his project as a full fledged band with members of Mi Ami, Trans Am and 3 Leafs hopping on board. While the sound is still very much steeped in the same sort of kosmiche aura as their debut, there are new sides to Jonas Reinhardt that have emerged with this sophomore outing. A few tracks even get very uptempo and rocking, like "Atomic Bomb Living" which sounds like some awesome lost car chase theme from a John Carpenter movie or a Giorgio Moroder score from the late '70s, and we for sure hear the contribution of Trans Am's Phil Manley there, as its a track that would have been right at home on one of those great Trans Am records like Futureworld or the Red Line. Meanwhile, title track "Powers Of Audition" is full on new-Neu done so spot on, motorik and and so totally entrancing. We even hear a bit of the soaring sound of Citay which makes sense as Reiner was once a member of that band. There are also more prog undertones that bring to mind Jesse's other old band Crime In Choir. But it's still the more spaced out, kosmiche side of the group that hits the hardest. One of the few modern groops worthy of carrying on the tradition of Conrad Schnitzler, Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream, Goblin, Manuel Gottsching, and Cluster. So damn good!

MPEG stream: Only You Can Achive Nitrogen
MPEG stream: Atomic Bomb Living
MPEG stream: Wastrel Eyelid

Two new killer tracks from one of our favorite modern day kosmiche music crews, Jonas Reinhardt. Before we get to the music we got to say the vinyl itself is pretty fucking cool, both sides have etchings on them and side A is pressed as a 7" to be played at 45rpm, and side B is cut as a 10" to be played at 33rpm, but ON A 12". Ok, now that we got that out of the way we can also geek out on how great the music is. If it's possible this might be the most intergalactic and spaced out Jonas Reinhardt offering yet, as the synths pulsate and glide with other dimensions on their mind. Channeling Klaus Schulze and Manuel Gottsching, in a spirit similar to other kosmisce explorers we love like Expo 70, Oneohtrix Point Never, and Emeralds. We dig that for how cosmic and baked these tracks sound, there is also a sense of song writing and structure within the grooves that really makes it a record you just want to flip over and over, dazed and blissed out by the these sweet sounds... Import, limited to 500 copies.

It's been a great year for krautrock inspired kosmiche pastiche. As records by Arp, Cloudland Canyon, Growing and White Rainbow have found a new generation using old analog synths to orbit the earth with lots of great results. It was so fitting and ideal that Jonas Reinhardt got to make their live debut playing the after party for the Cluster show in Big Sur at the beginning of summer which some of us were lucky to see, and we were immediately impressed with what is slowly becoming one of the most exciting outfits to emerge from San Francisco in a long while. Reinhardt is the alter ego of Jesse Reiner who played in Crime In Choir and Ascended Master, as well as serving as one of the guitarists in Citay, whom he recently parted ways with so he could focus all his attention on this project. He's really managed to find his inner Klaus Schulze with this record creating an album that shimmers and pulsates with strength and grace. Like the best of '70s era Tangerine Dream with the ominous moments of Goblin and healthy nods to Cluster and Harmonia this is sure to please fans of spaced out propelling cosmic adventures in sound. It seems as this was recorded before the live version of the band was formed as recent live shows finds Jonas Reinhardt catching much more of a groove as they create 'kraut style' dance parties with totally thrilling results. We can't wait to hear them capture that side of their sound on tape, but until then this is a really great beginning of what we have a feeling will be a long running and rewarding project!

MPEG stream: Lord Sleep Monmouth
MPEG stream: Every Terminal Evening
MPEG stream: Tandem Suns

Okay, no bullshit. This is one of the stupidest things we've ever heard. But with the catchiest electro-pop groove accompanying a male German disco diva reciting I'm The Disco Dancing! [sic] complete with vocalized whip snaps, the b-side to this single has become THE club hit for the AQ staff this month (you wouldn't believe how many times we've played this in the store!). A-side 'You're The One' is certainly less of a brain rot boogie with croonsome vocals a la Jarvis Cocker and a squelchy big beat pop song that destroys Fat Boy Slim and the Chemical Bros. Oddly enough, Aphex protege Cylob is responsible for the two great mixes filling out this four-track single. Better than 'I'm Too Sexy', up there with 'Der Commissar', somehow kinda like both. No ifs, ands, or buts...you'll either think this is silly and hate it, or think it's silly and love it. We love it!

Man, what a great set of releases the Numero Group is building. Each one not only details a particular artist/label in song, but through well-considered packaging and extensive liner notes we get a great sense of what went on behind the music. Amazing! Well, this time round, we have Fern Jones. A gifted gospel singer, who's voice carries similar croon power and soul-fire intensity as Patsy Cline or a young Elvis. Fern's career was bittersweet, however. Early on, Fern and husband played/sang their hearts out through Evangelical tent tours all over the South, selling a vanity recording (The Joneses Sing) out of the back of their sedan. Dot Records soon released Singing A Happy Song in 1959, for which Fern had acquired a stunning backing band: Hank "Sugarfoot" Garland on guitar (Roy Orbison, Marty Robbins, Conway Twitty, Hank Williams Sr., Everly Brothers), Floyd Cramer on piano (Booby Bare, Patsy Cline, Wings, Johny Cash, Chet Atkins), Joe Zinkan on bass (Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn), and Buddy Harman on drums (Reba McEntire, Hank Snow, Willie Nelson) -- all of whom were fresh off a 1958 session with Elvis. Despite several tours (without a single to promote), Fern's "rockabilly gospel style" songs never caught on with a conservative buying public. Fern soon stopped performing all together and found it impossible to gain back the rights to her songs after the label's lease was up. After constant threat that the master tapes might be destroyed (as were all others from that era of Dot) and a fifteen-year letter-writing campaign, Dot Records' second owners, MCA, finally awarded her the rights to these songs once again. And thankfully so. They're amazingly powerful devotionals. If you're a fan of Patsy Cline, and who isn't, you'll love love love these Fern Jones songs!

MPEG stream: By And By
MPEG stream: Be Thankful You're You

For ages now, we've wondered what it's gonna take for Cul De Sac guitarist Glenn Jones to finally be embraced by the masses the same way many of his American primitive, modern Appalachian, Takoma guitar school influenced brethren have been, like James Blackshaw, Ilyas Ahmed, Jack Rose, Richard Bishop, and even Bill Orcutt. All beholden to Fahey and Kottke and Bull in different measures, and all seemingly WAY more popular than Jones. But every time we listen to one of Jones' solo records, we're blown away, totally transported, his playing fluid and lyrical, a master of alternate tunings, and all manner of string instruments, his music is lush and gorgeous, the sound rife with lush tangles of steel string buzz, spare skeletal melodies, weaving darkly delicate, dreamily textured guitarscapes that really have no equal as far as we're concerned. The first track here is a perfect example, "A Snapshot Of Mom, Scotland 1957" is a sun dappled bit of dreamy acoustic shimmer, lush and languid, hushed and emotive, it Jones' own reimaging of the Takoma sound, recasting it as some sort of summery ballad, and it's breathtaking. Much of the record dips into more traditionally Appalachian sounds, but Jones definitely has his own way, a unique style, that definitely shines through and when he straps on the banjo, wow, a gorgeous instrument as it is, but Jones makes it sing, and weaves intricate buzzing melodies into something tranquil, haunting and just a little bit dark. And while all the songs here are pretty fantastic, the big surprise is the 17+ minute closer, "The Orca Grande Cement Factory at Victorville", which finds Jones teaming up with drummer Chris Corsano for a sprawling bit of avant folk, Jones' guitar the centerpiece, but Corsano matching the rhythm of Jones' fingerpicking with bursts of snare skitter, clouds of cymbal shimmer, locking into hypnotic motorik rhythms and then slipping into much more freeform percussive drifts, the drums definitely staying well in the background, until the final three minutes when Corsano lets loose with a wild maelstron of frenzied drum chaos, only to quickly slip right back into the shuffling snare accompaniment, and then quickly stumble to a halt, where we hear the voices of Jones and Corsano, and get a quick glimpse behind the recorded curtain. So fantastic, and thus obviously totally recommended. Here's hoping this new record, Jones' first for Thrill Jockey, does in fact get more people to check him out. And if you're a fan of any or all of the above mentioned guitarists (Blackshaw, Rose, Bishop) and have somehow not heard Glenn Jones, do yourself a favor...

MPEG stream: A Snapshot Of Mom, Scotland 1957
MPEG stream: The Great Pacific Northwest
MPEG stream: The Orca Grande Cement Factory At Victorville

So what's up with all this old timey guitar solo stuff? I mean, it's like everybody and their uncle's brother all of a sudden wants to pick up the 6 & 12 string guitars and make like they're John Fahey. Well in the case of this Mr. Glenn Jones, he's got some definite background qualifications for getting all John Fahey on us -- he's the guitarist from Cul de Sac, who did a fine record in collaboration with the late John Fahey some years back, and his interest in Fahey, Robbie Basho, Americana and roots music is deep. So we think it's ok (not that anyone asked us), and indeed a resultant great listen, that Jones' first ever solo album is devoted to avant-folk guitar solos in a Faheyesque mode. Besides his playing, Jones makes the Fahey connection/inspiration explict, with a track entitled "Fahey's Car" not to mention his liner notes which mention Fahey quite a bit. He also points out there that even though his instrumentals aren't really *about* anything, they still have associations for him, and will doubtless evoke unknown memories in the listener... This also features a guest appearance from Pelt's Jack Rose (dueting on the track "Linden Avenue Stomp") whose own solo albums of solo guitar music have been much praised by us and others, and who recently wowed AQ with an instore performance.

MPEG stream: Sphinx Unto Curious Men
MPEG stream: Nora's Leather Jacket

A fantastic split lp released for Record Store Day, on one side Mr. Glenn Jones, formerly of modern krautrockers Cul De Sac, now an undisputed master of the Appalachian guitar, on the other side, a bluegrass hoedown teamup, bluesman Charlie Parr and country string band the Black Twig Pickers. Fans of Jack Rose (who Jones dedicated this record to), James Blackshaw, Marisa Nadler, Ilyas Ahmed, Tom Carter and the like who haven't heard Glenn Jones, now's the time to remedy that for sure. Lush tangles of intricate steel string picking, gorgeous melodies, plenty of buzz and slippery slide, rich overtones, from moody dark drift to effusive folk flecked twang, every track here is a gem, Jones a modern master of the Appalachian guitar. The flipside finds Parr shacking up with The Black Twig Pickers for a serious hootenanny, a back porch, sun-going-down, campfire country folk bluegrass jam session, fiddles, banjos, steel string guitars, all whipping up a wild rollicking country workout, from dark haunting twang to old timey blues, from rollicking hoedown to mournful lament... LIMITED Record Store Day release, so these may not be around for long. Housed in a super heavy full color jacket, includes a download coupon, and multiple inserts, including some recipes from Charlie Parr.

Oh Grace, we've missed you so! The world is a much more fun, wild and thrilling place to be when you step into the spotlight. It's been almost twenty years since her last album, and this new incarnation of Grace Jones is sounding pretty great! With folks like Tricky and Brian Eno on board for production on a few tracks we were happily surprised at how this doesn't sound like too much of a forced comeback. In fact its a much better record than anything she released since the early to mid '80s. While she's never been one for total consistency, when she's on she is on fire! There are some totally slow burning and powerful tracks on Hurricane that rank right up there with some of her most classic songs. With disco revival in full swing and folks like Glass Candy/Chromatics practically aping her persona and sensual delivery it's so nice to hear from one of the most iconic, influential and enigmatic voices in the musical world of the last quarter century. While she is more often appreciated for her amazing fashion, outlandish antics and incredible body, which is like a piece of art onto itself, she has made some truly amazing music over the years as well. If you haven't explored her back catalog we think everything from '77-'82 is totally worth checking out (Nightclubbing will always be an all time favorite) and those records from the late '70s with Tom Moulton display a much more airy and full on disco sound than the dark and smoky diva we've come to know over the years. Besides having a handful of super good songs, this has to be some of our favorite album art in ages. Grace Jones in a chocolate factory mass producing chocolate faces of herself! Hurricane is not without a few misses but overall it's a really welcome return from one of the strongest forces of musical nature to ever grace this planet!

MPEG stream: Well Well Well
MPEG stream: This Is Life
MPEG stream: Corporate Cannibal

Lately we've fallen deeply under the spell of one of Grace Jones' best outings. While she might be best known for her amazing fashion, body, charisma, overall presence, and her appearances in the Conan and James Bond films, it's her early music that we've been totally obsessed with lately. So while this isn't a new reissue or anything we thought we'd share our love of this classic with you all. Recorded in 1981 in the Bahamas, Night clubbing is the ultimate snapshot of the greatness of Grace Jones. Musically it's for sure her strongest moment, with Sly & Robbie as her rhythm section the mood is so totally seductive and irresistible. There are so many hits or should-have-been hits on this album. While there have been a few different collections and best ofs, we really think that this proper album blows all of them away. From start to finish Night clubbing just sizzles so hot! It's the perfect late-night, up-to-no-good soundtrack! The title track is of course the Iggy Pop song written by Bowie that somehow Grace takes to new drugged out heights. In fact the whole album feels like the kind of drugged out, raw space disco that you can't help but give into. Sassy, sultry and so damn sexy!

MPEG stream: Pull Up To The Bumper
MPEG stream: Use Me
MPEG stream: Feel Up

Another clattery automated masterpiece from composer Joe Jones. It's hard to gather any information from the liner-note-less cd booklet or from the almost information-less website (what info there is, is in German) but what we can tell you, is Jones creates automated, often solar powered machines that beat drums, hit cymbals, strum autoharps and create mysterious, noisy robot jams, simple thumping caveman beats and cacophonous metallic clangs meander nervously over a continuous high end whir. Sort of like an android No Neck Blues Band warming up while Skullflower rehearses down the hall. Nice.

RealAudio clip: Back And Forth

On the same label (part of the Hundertmark Art Gallery in Germany) that released the last Hermann Nitsch document, comes 'Solar Music' from composer Joe Jones. A gauzy and cloudy shimmering wash of keening high pitched whines, hums and whirrs, and simple and

RealAudio clip: Solar Music 1

This is the second cd documenting composer/inventor/sound artist Joe Jones' Solar Music released on the same label (part of the Hundertmark Art Gallery in Germany) that released the last Hermann Nitsch document. This disc is live and was recorded in the "A gauzy and cloudy shimmering wash of keening high pitched whines, hums and whirrs, and simple and slow, calculatedly tribal percussion. At times it sounds like Pelt or Skullflower, at others an ethereal otherworldly hippie jam ala Taj Mahal Travellers." Totally essential for drone fanatics!

RealAudio clip: Solar Music At Sierksdorf, Ostsee

Local experimental guitarist Mason Jones -- you know him from his popular space rock band Subaranoid Space, and perhaps also from his isolationist guitar explorations under the name Trance (a moniker it seems he's dispensed with here), or his Japan-o-centric music 'zine Ongaku Otaku, or his former label Charnel Music, or his other dabblings in the world of Japanese noise, etc. -- presents this cd-r of guitar music. Really beautiful, spaced-out guitar music. These nine tracks incorporate both lovely, melodic note-picking and echo-effected ambience. We know Mason's got a ton of effects pedals and isn't afraid to use 'em, but the underwater drones and neighing-horse symphonies he creates don't stop him from actually utilizing his guitar in a more conventional sense here as well. Mason's pleasant, kinda sixties-sci-fi-sounding playing on this solo project (live to DAT, with subsequent edits) falls in zone somewhere betwixt the pretty post-rock dynamics of, say, Sonna, and the physicality and psychedelia of a Kawabata Makoto... good stuff Mason!

RealAudio clip: Snow In The Morning
RealAudio clip: The Last Remembered Moment

Guitar experimentalist Jones (of Trance and SubArachnoid Space) live in Japan, with some amazing guests--folks from Zeni Geva, Mainliner, Omoide Hatoba, Aube, Boredoms, and Hijokaidan!

Alright, after we got done coveting Ms Jones' dress that she's wearin' on the album cover, we set about listening to the music contained within. It is just as striking. Although she continues with her favored blend of jazzy pop, poppy soul, and old tyme Americana (unfortunately lumping her in with the Starbucks' set). Not Too Late leans more heavily on the latter more earthy, melancholic folksiness and is far less light and breezy in mood than either of her previous two albums. There's a touch more of an unpolished edge and smoky sass to her voice. Mind you, she's no less sultry and captivating, but Jones has slipped into increasingly somber, more worldly territory in which the air weighs heavy with heartache and despair. But all is not lost as the album's title seems to express, and her richly expressive voice glints with that glimmer of hope.

MPEG stream: The Sun Doesn't Like You
MPEG stream: Broken

It's hearing records like this that kind of make listening to any new rock n' roll, as lo-fi and garage-y as it may seem, just sound like total fluff. Today's rockers can't compare to the blasts of impassioned fire and raw righteous shouts of belief that come pouring with soul out of the body of Atlanta's Rev. Johnny L. Jones. For years he has been broadcasting his songs and sermons on WYZE in Atlanta, and Dust-To-Digital, who definitely have a knack for this sort of thing, knew that these were sounds that deserved a much wider audience. Because no matter what religious stripe you're are, or even those of us who don't believe in that higher being at all, you can't deny that this is music with 100 percent absolute conviction and raw power. This is total gospel rock n' roll, with the kind of early blues grit and hip shaking fuel that the best kind of soul music contains. Over this two disc collection there are over two dozen smoking songs as well as clips of sermons, guest soloists and some awesome short commercial clips that the Reverend delivers with the same kind of zealous urgency and single minded purpose. We can think of so many of our favorite frontmen, like John Reis (Rocket From The Crypt), John Dwyer (Thee Oh Sees), and Ian Svenious (The Make Up) who for sure would be sitting front and center, taking notes during any of Jones' services. We can't emphasize enough just how damn good this music is! And as always Dust-To-Digital does it right with handsome packaging and liner notes from the Reverend himself. We believe!

MPEG stream: Sit at the Welcome Table
MPEG stream: I Feel Alright
MPEG stream: I Don't Know What You Come to Do
MPEG stream: Lose That Man

We've been loving us some hell-fire Gospel tunes lately, thanks especially to Tompkins Square's Fire in My Bones triple cd threat and of course the granddaddy of all Gospel collections, Dust to Digital's Goodbye Babylon box set. So we're extra excited about this release coming from Parlortone, the vinyl arm of Dust to Digital. While this is not a Gospel Music recording per se, the figure at this center of this recording, The Rev. Johnny L. "Hurricane" Jones was a popular Gospel singer in the sixties and seventies, but he was even more well-known for his sermons, and since 1960 has recorded many of them on reel-to-reel and cassette tape. He still preaches in Atlanta to this day at the age of 73! So this record is a collection of some of his best sermons including the 13 minute title track, Jesus Christ from A-Z which he preaches in alphabetical verse. But what makes these sermons stand out is the sounds of the choir and his congregation responding with Amens, whooops, shouts, and Hallelujahs. Even if you are not religiously inclined, just the field recording quality of the sounds makes it amazingly worthwhile.

Amy Winehouse might have used the Dapkings as her band to gain all sorts of fame and fortune earlier this year but make no mistake, it's Sharon Jones who is still the queen of modern day soul! 100 Days, 100 Nights is her third album and it's three for three now, as it's just as solid, stunning and soulful as her previous outings. In fact this could be her best yet and that's saying a whole lot since her other two albums are big time favorites around these parts. Her voice is as strong and sexy as ever and the songwriting remains utterly top notch. Jones has this ability to transport us back in time to the late '60s when soul records sounded so warm, raw and punchy. It's incredible how her sound stands up when compared to the all-time great soul singers. Just put this on after some Candi Staton, Aretha Franklin, or Betty Lavette and it will be oh so obvious, that Jones will absolutely be remembered as another all time queen of soul!

MPEG stream: Nobody's Baby
MPEG stream: When The Other Foot Drops, Uncle
MPEG stream: Something's Changed

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

SORRY.

There is no stronger authentic soul voice in the present day then Sharon Jones. She is the real deal, a woman who's voice and presence is completely timeless, as it would have been right at home in the golden era of soul. Making her records even that much better is that her band, The Dap-Kings are by far one of the tightest, most skilled, and tasteful makers of soulful sounds around. Anyone who has seen them live knows that it almost seems like they could play the songs with their eyes closed and play every note spot on, they are just that damn talented. But you almost forget about that aspect because it's kind of impossible not to get swept up by the voice and power of Sharon Jones. Her voice takes you to another place, another era, yet it's no put on, no gimmick, no mere retro act. She is living proof that true soul can and will live on forever. I Learned The Hard Way is another wonderful achievement in an already great string of records. These songs are so damn sensual, intoxicating, smoky and groovy. Anyone of these songs could be mistaken for the best track on one of the Eccentric Soul compilations from the '60s and '70s that we all freak out about. Filled with more slow burners that full on stompers, yet all filled with a fire that smolders just under the surface. So damn good and totally recommended!

MPEG stream: I Learned The Hard Way
MPEG stream: Better Things
RealAudio clip: The Game Gets Old

Hot damn! This is some serious smokin' soul. It's no longer a secret that Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings are THE go-to group for contemporary true sounding soul that does what real soul music is supposed to, make you move and feel! They've proven it with their three great previous albums, and they've sealed the deal with what is probably one of the best live shows around, and they show no signs of slowing down. Soul Time! is a collection of tracks from various singles, a bunch of unreleased gems, including several songs that anyone who has seen them live will recognize as being show stoppers on stage like "What If We All Stopped Paying Taxes?" There's also a killer cover of the Shuggie Otis classic "Inspiration Information". We've been blasting this like crazy and falling in love so hard all over again with the grit, chops, and soul that oozes from these songs. The Dap-Kings are without a doubt the tightest band around, and with Sharon Jones running the show with her commanding voice, this collection proves they aren't rehashing, but instead they are keeping the spirit of hard hitting soul alive and kicking. So damn good.

MPEG stream: Genuine Pt. 1
MPEG stream: What If We All Stopped Paying Taxes?
MPEG stream: When I Come Home

Daptone Records has been putting out some of the hardest, heaviest funk 45s this side of 1969 since emerging from Desco (responsible for the awesome afrobeat of the Daktaris) a couple years ago. This is the debut full length from Daptone staples Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. Raised in the south on a diet of James Brown and singing in gospel choirs, Miss Jones is the real thing-- her voice overflows with "pure soul exitement," as per Daptone's mission. The Dap Kings recreation of a bygone era of funk is incredibly well executed and hits you right in the hips with infectious danceability, although the intentional anachronism is taken to pretty extreme levels. You won't find any release date on the album- and a Daptone magazine ad cheekily placed the release date in 1972. That aside, this is a great record regardless of era. "Dap-dippin'" pulls of feats such as infusing a cover of Janet Jackson's "What Have You Done For Me Lately" with a super-sized dose of bad ass soul- nice! Definitely one juicy bit of funk.

RealAudio clip: The Dip Dap
RealAudio clip: Got A Thing On My Mind
RealAudio clip: Make It Good To Me

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

SORRY. Now available on vinyl. Daptone Records has been putting out some of the hardest, heaviest funk 45s this side of 1969 since emerging from Desco (responsible for the awesome afrobeat of the Daktaris) a couple years ago. This is the debut full length from Daptone staples Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings. Raised in the south on a diet of James Brown and singing in gospel choirs, Miss Jones is the real thing-- her voice overflows with "pure soul exitement," as per Daptone's mission. The Dap Kings recreation of a bygone era of funk is incredibly well executed and hits you right in the hips with infectious danceability, although the intentional anachronism is taken to pretty extreme levels. You won't find any release date on the album- and a Daptone magazine ad cheekily placed the release date in 1972. That aside, this is a great record regardless of era. "Dap-dippin'" pulls of feats such as infusing a cover of Janet Jackson's "What Have You Done For Me Lately" with a super-sized dose of bad ass soul- nice! Definitely one juicy bit of funk.

Hooooly Dap-Kings. Join Jones and her Dap-Kings on the righteous road to a Funky Soul Revival, child! If you love James Brown's JB's as much as I do, you'll be smitten with Sharon Jones, her Dap-Kings and their latest full-length, Naturally. Staccato guitar lines, horns, vibes, thee tightest drumming all smathered with honey sweet n' funky soul vocals. Jones' lead vocals are like a hot, golden afternoon in the Bronx. A breeze of African rhythms opens up a song or two to a whole new realm of beauty that Soul proper wouldn't necessarily touch. It's pretty remarkable that the production suggest to nearly all first-time listeners that Naturally was recorded in 1960s Georgia. Recommended.

MPEG stream: How Do I Let A Good Man Down?
MPEG stream: Natural Born Lover

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

SORRY. Classic mid-century comedy recordings by bandleader Spike Jones and his outrageous orchestra, the super-wacky City Slickers. Pop music mangled in the worst way, with lots of the proto-avantgarde percussive effects for which his stuff was famous. 20 track collection, including "All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)".

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

SORRY.

Blimey, here's a "best of" from an early '70s UK prog band we'd never even heard of before, but we are now firm fans of (these nine tracks, at least). Ah, thank the gods for cd reissues and anthologies like this one, catching us up with worthy obscurities from way back when. Nothin' dusty here, as Jonesy kicks out some vigorous, vibrant, jazzy tunage all across this disc, offering up selections from their three albums (No Alternative '72, Keeping Up '73, and Growing, also '73) featuring searing horns, hard-charging guitars, melodic vocals -- and full-on mellotron abuse. The opening cut, "1958" sets the tone, and comes off sort of like Lalo "Mission Impossible" Schifrin meets Caravan. Meanwhile, at the far end of the disc, the wah-wah trumpet stylings of the 11+ minute "Jonesy" remind us the heck of '70s Miles, cool. And in-between, there's lots to like as well. It's propulsive stuff, energetic and superbly played, less about show-offy compositional complexifications (though there's enough of that to keep it prog!) or pretentious concepts (no Lord Of The Rings fantasies from these guys) than wild soloing combined with solid groove. The liner notes cite such influences and/or comparisons as King Crimson and Nucleus, and they'd be right about those two for sure... we might suggest a little early Chicago as well (hey Chicago's first album is pretty killer, trust us!). Amon Duul II and Neu! are also mentioned, but we can't quite see exactly how those krautrockers can be heard here. But we'd agree that the grooviness and experimentation of Jonesy give them something of a Continental character. As "prog" becomes more and more the "in" thing (hadn't you noticed?), the time is certainly right for a band like Jonesy to get some posthumous props. We'd suggest, ferinstance, that fans of Crime In Choir should investigate forthwith.

MPEG stream: 1958
MPEG stream: No Alternative

We listed the brand new record from the crazed Northwestern party black metallers a few lists back, and were a bit surprised that more people didn't TOTALLY FREAK OUT the way we did over these guys. Could it be describing them as "party black metal"? Not a phrase we coined, or one that's even all that applicable really, especially here. Could it be the name? JonnyX And The Groadies might be a goofy name, but these are goofy guys, the music though, ANYTHING BUT. The sound of JXATG is brutal and epic and heavy and fierce and twisted, a sort of new wave black metal hybrid, WAY heavier on the black metal. In fact, when someone was playing this up front this morning, we were all trying to figure out what black metal band it was, never occurring to us, for some reason that it could be JXATG. Which should speak to the power of this crew's black crush. TV Party collects loads of older tracks, from various splits and demos, culled from the early days of the band, and are even more raw and fierce and furious than the new record, which is saying a lot. In fact, if these guys were called Satanic Skullfuck or something and were from Norway, people would be shitting themselves, but they're not, deal with it, they're fucking called JonnyX And The Groadies and they're from the Pacific Northwest and they slay, they destroy, they brutalize. Don't believe us? Check out the sound sample for "Organ Failure", it may only be a minute long, but it's still the soundtrack to some subterranean Teutonic march, the musical accompaniment to an army of orcs destroying some ancient civilization, pounding beats, buzzing frantic riffing, shrieked demonic vox, a killer almost industrial breakdown, with some serious chugging, and a bitchin' riff. Hell every track here could be the soundtrack for some epic battle, or you know what, some CRAZY PARTY? This is raging, blasting, crusty, pounding blackened heaviness, and it utterly rules. We'd put these guys up against any of the black metal heavies, and not only could they hold their own, they'd whip out their buzzing synths and leave the grim buzzing blasters in the dust, and would probably be having a fuckload of fun while doing it. Definitely one of our favorite bands going, they should be yours too!!

MPEG stream: Spelunking the Caverns of Torment
MPEG stream: Organ Failure
MPEG stream: Broadsword
MPEG stream: Get Your Technology Out of My Spine

It's been a while, and we've waited patiently, but finally, it's the triumphant return of JonnyX And The Groadies, longtime aQ faves, and really, how could they not be? Self christened as the world's only "party black metal" band, these guys lay down some seriously grim black riffage, some howling hellish vox, but all wrapped around programmed beats, swirling new wave synths, howled chaotic screamo, all wound into a baffling, brilliant chaotic black synth, punk wave whatthefuck. And if anything, in the last few years, these guys have gotten even better, and WEIRDER. We described them in a past review as "Drop Dead, Arcturus, Teen Cthulhu, The Locust, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Behead The Prophet No Lord Shall Live, and Cradle Of Filth all packed into a sweaty filthy Portland Basement, playing before some strange mix of metalheads, emo kids and the walking dead!", which still pretty much applies, but these days, the blackness is way more intense, the riffing epic and frenzied, the songs super convoluted and complex, slipping from thrashing pound to inhuman blast and back again, but somehow, the new wave-ness has been cranked up too, with songs slipping into warped stretches of pulsing electronic drums, squelchy fuzzy synths, and occasional face melting blackened psychedelic blowouts of frantic guitars, screaming synths and chaotic drummachine damage, and besides all that, the songs RULE, catchy as hell, super varied and twisted and confusingly over the top. If these guys weren't from Portland, and weren't called JonnyX And The Groadies, and if they weren't one of the most awesomely motley looking crews ever, the long haired burnout glam metaller, the bearded metal lumberjack, the Dr. Jeckyll mad scientist, and of course the skeleton suited voodoo axeman, then they'd probably be oft discussed by the grim troo black metal hordes, a few championing their fucked up far out avant blackness, but most decrying their sullying of the true black traditions, so it's probably better that they exist well outside the black metal world, where they're free to twist their own peculiar brand of warped synth driven grind punk undead party synth brutal blackness into something this far out and fucked up and totally genius. Available both as a cassette and an lp, the lp version comes with a big full color poster.

[ aquarius records catalogue — J ]