Ok then, here's the final volume of the Magical Power From Mars series from everybody's favorite uber-prolific space-psych masters Acid Mothers Temple. And like we say every time, but after so many releases, you would expect the quality to suffer, but it doesn't and this is as good as any other AMT release and if you love them or already have the first two volumes, you will obviously need this. We still have issues with the execution of the series: less than 20 minutes per disc (meaning all three volumes would fit on one disc) at $11 a pop, the same cover and disc artwork on all three volumes, etc...read more ranting about that in the review of volume two. But what does this volume sound like? Well, to be honest, this is our least favorite of the three, it's not bad really, just sounds sort of tossed off, a twenty minute ambient space-scape of swooshing, bleeping, blooping, analog-synthesisers-set-on-dreamy-spaciness, almost new-age, Hawkwind-intro-stretched-as-far-as-it-will-go effervescence. Nice, but just nice. And for you slowpokes we still have a few copies of volume 2 left. Like all three volumes, limited to 1000 copies!
One of Japanese hippy rock impresario Makoto Kawabata's more blissful exercises now makes the all-so-appropriate jump from compact disc to vinyl. As with Eclipse's vinyl version of AMT's "Pataphysical Freak Out MU!!", we're faced with bonus material, the title track in fact. Plus the record is pressed on 180 gram vinyl, and it's in a swank gatefold package. Deluxe in other words.
Here's what we had to say about the original cd version of this album, released on PSF in 2000:
The night before recording this album Father Moo (aka Kawabata Makoto) took his handmaidens and lackeys on a lysergic excursion of metaphysical proportions. We'll spare you the details of the trip (as most acid recollections have little literary worth). Nevertheless, "Troubadours From Another Heavenly World" is the result of said trip, leaving the Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso UFO nursing a collective hangover resulting from too little sleep and too many chemicals. With sore muscles that have never been sore before, they vaguely recall making an album of lugubrious psych rock, like a really good Bardo Pond record, that oozes out thick walls of mellow cosmic jams and half conscious female vocals. Certainly not as incendiary and crazy as some previous Acid Mothers Temple recordings, but this provides some worthy psychedelic exploration nonetheless.
Let me just mention the crucial facts up front. It has been said that "Vrioon" is all out of print and Raster-Noton is not going to be repressing this record any time soon. Thus we will not be able to get any more than what limited stock we have at the moment. Don't say we didn't warn you.
"Vrioon" is a collaboration between Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto (of Yellow Magic Orchestra) in which Sakamoto provided source material of impressionistic piano pieces to Carsten Nicolai (aka Alva Noto), who blurred many of the edges into a beautiful ambience and added clusters of slow-moving rhythms. It's very simple and very effective and very beautiful... and soon, very out of print. If we could have got more, this would have likely been a 'record of the week' pick -- it's the kind of thing we instantly sell whenever it's playing on the store stereo.
With the third Angels Of Light album "Everything Is Good Here / Please Come Home," Michael Gira has succeeded in severing the major ties to his former Swans, a band which admittedly underwent several distinct stylistic shifts in its 15 year lifespan. A few strands obviously remain, as Gira's voice is still central to his music, a proud and defiant baritone responding to the catastrophes of Gira's world, self-created or otherwise. Beyond his voice, fleeting reflections of the hypno-rock grooves of Swans' mid period albums "White Light From The Mouth Of Infinity" and "Love Of Life" manifest themselves in the self-described 'lonesome angry cowboy productions' of The Angels Of Light. As powerful and magnificent as the Swans were in the '80s and '90s, the suffocating abjection of those albums rendered them a climactic exaggeration of spectacle and theatricality. Don't get me wrong, "Filth" and "Children Of God" are still two of my most treasured (if that's the right word) albums. It's just that in Angels Of Light, Gira has eased up on some of the control tactics and allowed for his emotional core to speak unrestrained by the artistry of his productions. While continuing to express his aggression and rage, he has recognized the need to expose his weaknesses and his ignorance. For in those human traits, there is the possibility of profound beauty and tender wisdom. And I think it's fair to say that he's found an honest way of articulating those emotions on this album. At the same time, Gira allows for himself to take a backseat on occasion to the Angels Of Light, the band that he happens to be in. Throughout "Everything Is Good Here..." elliptical patterns of post-country / western motifs cycle and flutter with the motorik hypnosis of German krautrock. Another incredible, dignified release from M. Gira.
International Harvester, Algarnas Tradgard, Trad Gras Och Stenar, Kebnekajse. If those names mean anything to you then you're probably like us -- a big fan of Sweden's answer to krautrock, the Svenska psych-prog-folk bands of the seventies. There's been a veritable smorgasbord of cd reissues of awesome if obscure classic LPs by these and other '70s Swedish outfits over the past couple of years, and now comes this, a cd version of the third (we think, but maybe it's the fourth?) album by this legendary group, Arbete & Fritid, from 1973. Like Harvester and Kebnekajse especially, you'll hear plenty of traditional Scandinavian traditional folk music mixed up with a kinda Velvet Underground rock style in A&F. They've been described as sounding like the "Third Ear Band meets Terry Riley" and that's pretty accurate, especially on the last track here, a 20 minute drone-jam called "Ostpusten-Vastpusten" that's probably worth the $17 this costs alone. That's actually a bonus cut, taken from the Arbete & Fritid side of a 1972 split LP with some other band we've yet to hear. While that's the highlight, the rest of this disc is mighty fine too, the only problem perhaps being how their diverse interest in folk, politics, repetitive minimalism, and experimental jazz doesn't always lead to them maintaining a consistent vibe. During one song you'll be transported to the a cold farmhouse in the Swedish wilderness filled with rustic hippies sawing on violins, but then on the next you're in a basement radical jazz club pondering urban issues after a streetfight with the Man. In a way though that's kinda cool. Tea party waltzes and heavy fuzz jams, they're all here. Had we heard A&F before those other bands mentioned above, it's quite likely that they'd be the measure by which we'd judge the rest, as apparently they were a seminal influence on the scene -- in fact, members of the Parson Sound/Trad Gras Och Stenar axis later joined A&F after this particular album. Hopefully then this is only the first of a slew of A&F reissues!
It's about time we got a second installment of Gary Davis' avant-garde music fanzine Arcane Candy. His Keiji Haino and Tokyo psych obsession continues to be evident, and likeminded souls (us!) will be happy to read the reviews of *EVERY* PSF label release ever (done with help from PSF English language liason Alan Cummings, who is also interviewed, along with PSF label head honcho Hideo Ikeezumi, in lengthy sidebar format beside the cd reviews)!! There's also an update of Gary's overview of Keiji Haino's recorded works, obligatory reviews of other non Keiji/PSF records, and more. The more includes two other major pieces: a Harry Partch feature and an very entertaining in-depth interview with former Germs drummer, record collector extraordinaire and general freakazoid Don Bolles. Good stuff. Japanophiles in particular will find the PSF info fascinating...and anyone who bought the Les Rallize Denudes 2cd that we had in stock here oh so briefly a few weeks back will be happy to learn that at PSF's Modern Music store in Tokyo, the original double cd-r version of that used to be priced at $800!!
Oh, here's some Factsheet Five style 'zine specs: 63 pages on newsprint, full magazine size dimensions.
This is another in the recent spate of releases chronicling William Basinski's experiments with short wave radio. This 2 disc set, 90 minutes in length to reflect two sides of a cassette tape, is a 2 part piece recorded in 1983 using shortwave radio and primitive tape loops. Fans of Phillip Jeck should pick this up immediately. It's got that sepia toned, gorgeous, hazy old victrola sound, with lots of rough edges, staticky fuzz and warm hum. The tape loops are mostly Muzak, slowed down and stretched out into creepy and hypnotic melodies, under and over shifiting shortwave. Supposedly this was Basinski's attempt to emulate the warm dreamy sounds of the Mellotron, a vintage synthesiser that utilises short loops of tape. And in some ways he has succeeded, creating a weirdly lush, gauze-y, droney soundscape all culled from random shortwave transmissions. So nice!
Second full length from Virginia backwoods trio who play old timey music heavy on the fiddle. Serious barnstorming party music. Cello and homemade baritone banjo make appearances. Any fan of those Revenant releases that have done so well here at AQ (Dock Boggs, Charley Patton, Charlie Feathers, Stanley Brothers) will like these guys.
The Blood Brothers are from Seattle and play a sort of hardcore/avant garde punk. This is the vinyl version of their major label debut, which comes out on March 18th. This is some crazy, rad, chaotic stuff. Their live shows are said to change ones life. Judging by this release, they are another example of a band signing to a major label yet retaining their dignity, style and control. I (Sadie) totally love this band, they know the history of punk and proudly deconstruct and destroy whats been done over and over. So good.
Jordan Blilie and Johnny Whitney, taking turns at the mic with guitarist Cody Votolato, drummer Mark Gajadhar, bassist Morgan Henderson are the Blood Brothers. BB joined forces in 1997 in Seattle, while still in high school. They've been dubed the next big thing, and got some crazy budget to record their forthcoming major label release. We wish them luck. We would love to live in a world where The Blood Brothers were REALLY the next big thing. Arty nervous energetic hardcore, and even though that isn't always my thing, I still love this band. They play the familiar qualities of punk loud craziness but in their own fucked up distorted way. This is a compilation of all their previous 7"s.
Sam Coomes of the fabulous Quasi takes a detour from his usual fuzzy pop stylings into totally raw, psychedelic blues-iness!! Somewhat startling and strange as it begins, but stick with it 'cause it proves to be an altogether engaging listen. Yelp'n'howl vocals. Trashy but totally tight drumming. Churning, bristly guitars. A little swamp / hillbilly, a little T-Rex-ish, a little bit of Quasi-ness (you can catch glimpses of their trademark organ sounds in fab songs like "Born To Die") and closing the album is a lengthy, reeling, jazzy free-for-all. Very very cool and super right-on recommended!
Attention all Calexico fans! We're pleased as punch to be one of only two shops in the whole world to have not one but two splendid self-released Calexico discs which are otherwise only available at their shows or on their website. However, please note: we've got very limited quantities of these, so hop to it! Both make fine companions to the band's albums proper.
This is their 2001 collection of recordings which took place in a number of locales - at home in Tucson, in the Wavelab studio also in their hometown, in Nashville, TN, and live on the KPRO Radio in Amsterdam. It should actually be subtitled "Family and Friends" as it features exactly that! The Burns brothers, Mia Convertino, Howe and Sofie Gelb, Doug McCombs among many others. A whopping twenty three tracks in all that make for a remarkably cohesive 56 minutes of music! Included are a stirring cover of Nick Drake's "Clothes Of Sand", an instrumental of Goldfrapp's "Humano", as well as a handful of traditionals "Bees And The Flies", "All The Pretty Horses" and "6 White Horses". Recommended!
Attention all Calexico fans! We're pleased as punch to be one of only two shops in the whole world to have not one but two splendid self-released Calexico discs which are otherwise only available at their shows or on their website. However, please note: we've got very limited quantities of these, so hop to it! Both make fine companions to the band's albums proper.
Never failing to amaze and enthrall, these fellows' live concerts are simply not to be missed. For those who have witnessed their performances, you know exactly what we mean. For those who haven't, what are you waiting for? But in the meantime, here's your opportunity to experience the next best thing. Unlike many live albums that are plagued by poor sound quality and extraneous noise, this cd as well as 2001's Aerocalexico capture the magic and vitality of Calexico beautifully. Crisp recordings, much adoring but not intrusive audience response, and oh yes, the songs! So many favorites like "Sonic Wind" and from The Hot Rail, "The Ride Pt. 2" and "Stray" from The Black Light, a reworking of "Paper Route" from their first album Spoke, an extended rendition of "Crystal Frontier" plus a version of "Lost In Space" (which they originally did with Lisa Germano in OP8). All but three of the thirteen songs were recorded live right here in San Francisco at the Great American Music Hall in January of 2002. the others were from the Roskilde Festival in Denmark and at the Temple Of Music & Art in their hometown Tucson, AZ. 69 minutes.
Hailing from Nashville and currently in NYC, chanteuse Laura Cantrell possesses a voice that's bell-clear, as clean and fresh as a glass of milk. Her second album is crisp, simple, classic country (with touches of bluegrass and folk) along the lines of Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, even a little Freakwater, and especially Nanci Griffith. No fake twang, very sincere. Singalong-able, catchy, touching. It makes me wanna go to a thrift shop immediately to buy one of those cotton flower print thrift store dresses I wore back in the late '80s. Languid pedal steel, jangling mandolin, and lots of acoustic guitars. Unfortunately the best songs on the record weren't written by her, but that's ok. You could say the same about goddesses Emmylou Harris and Nanci Griffith. Give the soundclips a try -- fantastic! Windy likes this a lot.
A very timely release in light of the last few years' acute rash of no-wave revivalism. Actually it would've been good to see it even sooner! This box set arrives to shine a spotlight on one of the major players in the NYC no-wave scene back in the late '70s and early '80s. The man in question? James Chance (aka James White). The four cds compile his rare, out of print and unreleased skronky sax-laden white boy funk/jazz/rock tracks along with his four albums including the awesome, rare Buy This. Actually, four discs is really quite a bit of Mr. Chance - sure to thrill his most ardent of fans! But for the rest of us, perhaps a more welcome and more wallet-friendly release would've simply been that of the aforementioned album. Ask yourself, can you afford to contort yourself this time?
This movie's theme song by DMX is so catchy and tough and mean. I (Sadie) would buy this cd for that song alone, that is if you haven't seen the commercial so many times you're sick to death of it. The second song on the cd is by Eminem, who I swear I try to give the benefit of the doubt more than anyone else, In fact, I'm even kinda obsessed with him, but Christ. This song sounds like a parody of himself: totally flat, monotonous and still women hating (issues much, Em?). So booooring. "Go to sleep bitch die mother fucker die why are you still alive, die you nameless bitch". Ha ha, so funny...I guess. And sadly the rest goes kinda goes down hill from there. Relitively dull and nondescript hip hop. But maybe worth it for that DMX track!
Dear Nora is the moniker under which Ms Katy Davison performs her sweet lullaby tunes, and she's got the absolute perfect voice for it. Here it's just her and her 8-track in her kitchen doing a cover of Bob Dylan's "Girl From The North Country" (although when it started we could've sworn it was "Scarborough Fair"). On the flipside of this baby blue record are pop sweetheart twosome Mates Of State doing their version of Jackson Browne's "These Days". With Jason handling the lead vocals, it's given an almost John Denver-y feel. So there you have it - a lil' SF split 7" to give you the warmest of fuzzies.
The Scots certainly have a magic touch when it comes to creating absolute pop splendor. Just think of artists like Belle And Sebastian, Mogwai, Teenage Fanclub, Arab Strap, not to mention supergroup The Reindeer Section... and then there's this band! You might recall Windy and Cup both gushing over the Delgados' last album The Great Eastern a couple of years back. Oh my! Well, we're happy to report that with this, their fourth full length, they've picked up right where they left off. That is, continuing to finely craft their splendid compositions full of a swirling carousel of strings, woodwinds and horns, honey-sweet male and female lead vocals, and an angelic choral accompaniment. Plus they've done so once again with the notable presence of Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Sparklehorse, Mercury Rev) in the producer's seat. Such a wonderful combination it is! Making for an even grander big picture than they created together on the super lush Great Eastern. Clouds of shimmering cymbal crashes punctuate the glorious, dramatic atmosphere, definitely revealing that distinct Fridmann touch. Wistful, lulling melodies are introduced in the most spartan of settings -- a lone voice and guitar -- but soon build to epic proportions. And the lyrics? Ah yes, quite capable of stirring heartswelling sighs and misty eyes from the coldest of men with their crushingly bittersweet imagery (lyrics are included in the cd booklet). If you've even a glimmer of affection for glorious orchestral pop, the Delgados are for you! Luminous and lovely and so very recommended.
Note: Includes a video for their song "Coming In From The Cold" and two bonus tracks not on the Mantra UK pressing.
SF group Delta Song make a pleasing mellow racket on their seven song cd-r. Their music is primarily draped around a jazzy post-rock framework - much like San Diego's Tristeza or any number of Chicago combos - however what sets them apart are their distinct warbled folky male vocals. Maybe not for everyone, in-store play has drawn both very warm and chilly response to the singing. Wanna decide for yourself? Check out "Exorcist IV" (which also stands apart from the other six, in that it sounds as though it was recorded in a school classroom). All in all, a very well executed and promising debut.
The Elephant 6 collective keeps on truckin', and here's one particular E6 troop's compilation of sugar pop singles - just in case you missed them the first time around! Lots and lots of harmonious sweetie-pie gal vocals over fuzzy-crunch guitars. Immediately hum-along-able, sunshiny indie pop blossoms just in time for spring.
So is it a novelty record? Mmmm... Yes. As the title implies, "Dub Side of the Moon" is in fact a reggae rendition of Pink Floyd's seminal concept album. True to the original though, the Easy Star All-Stars have recreated the record in its entirety -- segues, back up diva vocals and all. If nothing else the All-Stars at least warrant an E for effort. And maybe a bit more. The production is excellent, not cheesy in the slightest. The rhythm section is top notch, and they use several classic Jamaican rhythms -- a lot of Sly & Robbie's Rockers variants here. Actually most of the musical transliterations are successful in their way -- much of Gilmore's guitar solos are replaced by horns and melodica, which works much better for reggae anyhoo. If anything it is some of the staccato vocal deliveries that sell the version short. The one exception to this is Ranking Joe's toasting over "Time" which is great. Kind of wish they'd just let him toast over the entire album. And in case anyone out there was wondering whether this version is Wizard Of Oz compatible, there are easy to follow instructions included to insure proper synchronization with the video.
Entrance is the solo project of 21 year old Guy Blakeslee, who has also played bass for Baltimore's Convocation Of... Though this stuff is not much like that band's proggy post-punk, that's presumably why he landed on the same record label as that band. Also maybe 'cause he's performed with Will Oldham and Cat Power, and done a split 7" with Papa M... Anyway, Entrance could be better compared to Guy's friend and touring partner, the wonderful Devendra Banhart (you've all got his album, we know!). Playing solo with just an acoustic guitar and his voice, and maybe a tambourine or somesuch, Guy sounds a bit like Syd Barrett and looks a bit like Marc Bolan. As he proved here not long ago when he played an instore with Devendra, Guy can project his music quite well with no help from amplifiers or microphones! This disc is much in the same spirit as that instore. Rambling lovely string tangle, dramatic late-night laments, violent strumming, and vocal outpourings building on the folk-rock vibes of mystic fellows of decades past. The disc features mostly originals (apparently never played the same way twice, thanks to Entrance's loose, in-the-moment aesthetic and reliance on enthusiasm rather than training technique-wise) but also some suitable covers by blues/folk forebears Skip James ("I'm So Glad") and Bob Dylan ("Tommy Thumb's Summertime Blues"). Basically, Entrance is somewhere between the eccentric folk troubadour vibe of pal Devendra Banhart and the more aggro attitude of the White Stripes' damaged, stomping garage rock n' roll... if you can imagine them in the person of one fuzzy haired guy with an acoustic guitar, which is a stretch. At any rate both are historically minded and inspired, if you know what I mean, making for some timeless music that's immediately understandable.
Ok, this is a black metal band, but non-metallers into the improv-drone sounds of the Jewelled Antler collective, Richard Youngs/Simon Wickham-Smith and the like should keep reading!
Not to be confused with the other Forest we've raved about (the psychedelic British folk band from thirty years ago), *this* Forest is a Russian black metal outfit, and a pretty good one belonging to the raw, primitive, corpse-painted end of the genre. The first four tracks on here consist of blasting, frozen Darkthrone worship, keeping alive the cult spirit that so few bands today still possess -- maybe because those tracks were actually recorded in 1996. Malevolent, majestic pagan metal full of Burzumic mayhem. Fans of this vein of true, trancey black metal darkness will be pleased. And if that was all that was on this disc we'd think it was cool. But then comes the fifth and final track, a surprise twenty-minute opus called "Winter Howl" taken from a 1994 rehearsal tape. Suddenly Forest isn't so obviously black metal at all, they've entered a psych-drone realm that's more akin to the aforementioned Jewelled Antler stuff (Thuja, The Birdtree, etc) or Taj Mahal Travellers or Reynols or Amon Duul's krautrock jams, still as forest-y and primitive as the preceding metal songs though. A wavering whispy wordless vocal winds over a bed of lost, primal percussion and haunting washes of mild feedback. Simple melody lines on guitar wander through the increasing haze, with deeper vocals providing additional layers of drone. If you really heard this in a forest you'd be mesmerized and scared, but it's really nice and pretty (in a damaged way) when heard at home...pretty to us anyway, dunno if Kaldrad and Dagorath meant it to be so! The vocals, until they get a little more metal-ly, totally remind us of the bliss-out singing by British folk experimentalist Richard Youngs or Jewelled Antler's pop soul Jason Honea. If Finnish avant-forest-folk folks like Avarus and Kemialliset Ystavat or the Jewelled Antler collective decided to make black metal, this is what's we'd imagine it would sound like! (Actually, there IS an upcoming black metal-inspired release from Jewelled Antler, a 3" cd-r by a group they call Tomes, but Tomes takes an even more subtle approach than "Winter Howl"...look for that here at AQ soon!) Meanwhile, on the black metal side, fans of Mistigo Varggoth Darkestra, Caacrinolas, Potentiam, and other weird ones should dig this track, along with Forest's other more typical black metal sounds. Recommended.
Glass Candy's debut full length sounds not unlike a severely chemically altered collision between the Missing Persons (y'know, the '80s new wave group from L.A. responsible for "Destination Unknown", "Mental Hopscotch" and "Walking In L.A." with squeaky-voiced, hottie chanteuse Dale Bozzio) and Altered Images (remember them? the '80s British pop band with squeaky-voiced, cutie chanteuse Clare Grogan who were responsible for "Happy Birthday" and "See Those Eyes"). However, the music that backs GC vocalist Ida No (who, for the record, has a voice much richer, if no less affected, than the aforementioned ladies) is nothing like that of either of those groups whatsoever. Glass Candy (formerly Glass Candy & the Shattered Theater) push a dark, stripped-down aesthetic of big guitar, streamlined, insistent, pounding drums, and stylized vocals bathed in delay, with the occasional addition of heavy, A Certain Ratio-esque basslines and synths. At their hair-raising best, Glass Candy remind me of an unholy combo of Christian Death ("Romeo's Distress," "Jesus, Where's the Sugar" -- when Christian Death was good, they were amazing, OK?) and the Stooges. Before it was goth, it was death rock, and before that it was just punks wearing a lot of eye make-up-- and Glass Candy embody that tough, raw rock n' roll energy mixed with sexy, theatrical glamour perfectly. It's a tough task to fully capture the insane energy of their live shows (which are well known to be trainwrecks of throbbing, writhing dramatics) on record, but I think "Love Love Love" is to the challenge. An impressive and satisfying debut that situates Glass Candy near the top of a current group of bands (including fellow Portlanders Get Hustle and Baltimore's Love Life) referencing the darker side of post-punk. Includes an appropriately intense, wrenching cover of the Screamers' "I Wanna Hurt."
True to his extensive catalog of techgnostic experiments between the 'values' of information and sound, Andrew McKenzie -- the sole member of The Hafler Trio -- offers another conundrum which fuses sound, word, and context into a massive knot of post-rational thought. Musically speaking, McKenzie has reduced all of the erratic jumpcuts and jarring juxtapositions that dominated his early albums down to a refined aesthetic of tone flutter. Controlled feedback oscillations are the primary material for "Whistling About Chickens"; however, McKenzie's use of feedback bears little resemblance to the no-input sampler / mixing board work of Sachiko M or Toshimaru Nakamura. Instead, McKenzie has resampled, filtered, processed, and composed feedback in such a way as to imply that these sounds are the impressions of something much greater, something which has to be closely investigated in order to discover its nature. It has to be said that there has always been the possibility that this 'something' is actually nothing and McKenzie has been playing with the aesthetics of simulation to such an extent as to mimic impressions of that which does not exist. Considering that the title of this album comes from the aphorism "talking about music is like whistling about chickens," there is a certain absurdity and futility in attempting to examine the Hafler Trio's work. This album is no different, but McKenzie has done such an incredible job at composing these sounds into a sublime, beautiful piece of minimalism that the conceptual frustrations are rendered obsolete.
Graced with an amazing black & white (mostly black) cover photo of a spectral, luminous Keiji Haino reading a book, this has got a French title 'cause it's released on a French label, Turtles' Dream, apparently a sub-division of the A Bruit Secret label that's known for releases in the Japanese "onkyo" genre...well, Haino is of course Japanese too but this is far from the zen-like silence of onkyo stuff! Improv-psych master Keiji Haino kicks out the jams here not with his usual apocalyptic guitar playing (what he's best known for) but with "rhythm machine" and his own unique vocal stylings. Dunno what "rhythm machine" means tech-wise exactly, some sort of drum machine it seems, plus what sounds like a real cymbal being hit. My Keiji Haino fan friends and myself are now convinced that the man could play *anything* (a kazoo, a rainstick, a bug-zapper?) and still sound like himself -- that is, amazing. He certainly expands the assumed area of expression of the drum machine with this album, making even Ikue Mori sound tame. The recording or production itself is an important part of that, it really is *present*, the drum hits sounding like they're smacking you in the forehead. This is presumably a live recording, but the vocals are somehow overdubbed/multitracked/looped and layered, at moments building with the drum machine's frenzy into insane mayhem as if multiple Hainos were wrestling one another, while in other sections of this piece (for it is one long, 45 minute track) being strangely beautiful, just unearthly haunting cries, with no beats beneath. Definitely an intense listen, Haino taking to mechanical extremes his percussion obsession of late (other indications of this obsession: that he took over the drum stool in his band Fushitsusha, and recently released an amazing live video of solo percussion-only performance...)
Perhaps Kristin Hersh's most subdued and spartan work to date. Threadbare emotions are conveyed via fragile voice and a loosely woven shawl of hushed guitars, piano and strings. She's joined by the solid presence of Howe Gelb of Giant Sand and Squirrel Nut Zipper Andrew Bird. Very intimate and lovely. For more of Ms Hersh, check out the new Throwing Muses' release - yes, they're back together! - which came out right at the same time as this solo full length. It stands in stark contrast to this work (for one thing it's completely amped up as opposed to this being fully acoustic), and together they make for a wonderfully well-rounded and enveloping Hersh experience.
Psst... by the way, to save you from the puzzlesome search, we'll slip you the tip that The Grotto's song titles are printed on the digipak's spine. Cup finally spotted them after much scrutinizing.
If Thousands are a duo from Duluth, Minnesota who abandoned their previous areas of musical and instrumental experience (voice and bass, respectively) in order to take a more "naive" approach to music making. The resulting instrumentation (moog, theremin, samplers, digital & analog loops, circuit benders, children's keyboards, shortwave, electric razor, "miscellaneous noise," as well as the more pedestrian guitar, drums, and vocals) is employed to create dreamy, cinematic, primarily instrumental (hushed vocals make an appearance or two) washes of sound not unlike Windy & Carl or Landing, evocative of the wide open landscapes around that famous national park for which the album is named. Appropriately, they have worked closely with experimental documentary filmmaker Travis Wilkerson, contributing the score to "An Injury To One," about the lynching of a Wobbly organizer in Butte, Montana. Also appropriate to the spare, lovely sound is Yellowstone's release on Chairkickers Music, the label run by Low's Alan Sparhawk, who also recorded the record in a church in Duluth. Like Low, If Thousands' icy sound incorporates roundabout Joy Division influences, with tribute paid via a cover (Isolation). Really nice stuff.
Aaron Turner has had his hand in many of AQ's favorite metalcore albums, whether releasing them through his Hydrahead imprint (Neurosis, Sunn, Cave In, Coalesce, Atomsmasher / Phantomsmasher, etc.) or doing artwork for them (Agoraphobic Nosebleed) or making the music himself on 'em through his continuously impressive projects Isis and Old Man Gloom. Isis' second album "Oceanic" is quite possibly the strongest work to date for Turner. That is quite a feat considering how great those Old Man Gloom albums were. Where Turner shaped Old Man Gloom into an uncompromising drone 'n' grind outfit that speculated upon the sci-fi themes of alien-monkey hybrids, Isis is a bit more straightforward in tightening up the complex orchestrations of Neurosis with a whip-smart pop sensibility. Don't let the 'pop' of Isis fool you; "Oceanic" is a brutal album of dynamic metalcore that sculpts its propulsion by intertwining huge chugging riffs and counterpointed rhythms into the band's already massive percussive pummel. Isis' use of those grinding riffs is so hypnotic through its monochromatic distortion that when the band works up to a chord change (which can take 3 or 4 minutes to get to), it becomes a catastrophic pop hook as the New Pornographers, Get Up Kids, or Pinback but just super fuckin' heavy and aggressively dramatic. As the album unfolds, an emo vein to Isis becomes apparant, in part due to the reliance upon urgent minor keys and Turner's scream-against-the-void-or-maybe-just-my-parents vocals filled with rage and angst. Isis have also employed the talents of Maria Christopher of the Relapse post-rock band 27 on one the album's later tracks "Weight", where her breathtaking vocal mantra is the perfect harmonious complement to Isis' crushing dissonance. This track matches the only other well-executed arrangement we've heard for female vocals in a metalcore song found on From Autumn To Ashes' "Too Bad You're Beautiful." Yeah, this one totally rules.
Jazzkammer is the Norwegian duo of Lasse Marhaug and John Hegre, typically resorting to the Voice Crack / Yoshihide-like avant-turntable collages disfigured by computer generated noise attacks. "Pancakes" is a detour down the 12K_ Line aesthetic with sub-audible, pristine low-frequencies spiked with crisp, high-end sinewave. Headphones required.
If you're familiar with the film, each of the seven jazzy tracks on this cd will certainly bring their respective scenes vividly to mind - whether it be the light lounge piano of "Radio Two" or the darker horn-filled final track. Polish composer and musician Krzysztof Komeda worked together with director Roman Polanski on many of his early films. He was responsible for the soundtracks to such notable films as Cul De Sac, Knife In The Water, and just prior to his untimely death at the age of 38, Rosemary's Baby. Komeda's works are a prime example of just how powerful and effective a film's soundtrack can be. Subtle, precise and highly influential.
For all of the successful albums that Thomas Koner has produced and been a part of, it was inevitable that he'd release a dud. "Zyklop" -- a double disc featuring radio plays, incidental music for installations, and live performances -- will never be remembered as Koner's finest moment. Many of the tracks have this feel of being "Imaginary Sound Design." Not dissimilar to the Imaginary Film Score, these pieces sound as if they had been lifted directly from an unidentifiable film, having two distinctly different layers of sound. The first being the ambient sounds, voices, and everything that matches up with the action seen through the camera, and the framing mechanisms of synthetic atmosphere which underscores a set of pre-determined moods that the director uses to develop context and atmosphere. The sporadic narration of French and German texts are clearly anomalous to Koner's previous albums, and without the film, installation, or live performance, these voices simply don't work very well. Koner's much better at establishing meaning through the unspoken languages of the isolationist drone. Futhermore, entire passages from his masterful album "Daikan" have been regurgitated onto "Zyklop." As Koner's work explicitly asks for careful listening, why would you think you could get away with releasing the same material twice?
Delightfully distorted and happily hectic, everyone's favorite Rhode Island bass/drums duo, the incredible Lightning Bolt, strike again with "Wonderful Rainbow", inflicting more of their maddeningly mathy, colorfully chaotic, utterly infectious, riotously weird, stripped-down and amped-up rawk on the world! Sounds a lot like the previous Lightning Bolt opus "Ride The Skies" -- they still love that "Frere Jacques" progression -- and thus should not disappoint their legions of fans. Not much more to say, really -- if you like them already, or Hella, or Ruins, we're pretty sure you'll dig this. Old old Bolt fans should be aware, they have NOT gone back to the totally wrecked recording quality of their earliest efforts, a criticism (of sorts) that some also leveled against "Ride The Skies", but I think the dextrous spazz vs. sheer noise balance here is just right.
Nope, nothing to do with the 1930's book/movie about Shangri La. This Lost Horizon is a different sort of paradise, one for fans of over-the-top European power metal. A troupe of buff Swedes in body paint and capes, galloping musically across the galaxy, with soaring vocals, shredding lead guitar, and sci-fi keyboard coloration. This is their second full-length, which sees two new band members, Equilibrian Epicurius (responsible for "string romanticism...translation for mortals: guitars") and Perspicacious Protector (playing the "soulhealing euphoria generators...translation for mortals: synthesizers"), joining the crew of Transcendental Protagonist, Preternatural Transmorgifyer, Ethereal Magnanimus, and Cosmic Antagonist. These comic-book names might sound tongue in cheek, but we think these guys are actually pretty serious in their view of heavy metal music as being a ruling, spiritual force in the universe. Certainly they're channeling something beyond most mortals... And, there's even a song -- eleven minutes long -- about the movie Highlander, of course called "Highlander (The One)"!
Cheesy in *such* a good way. Even more melodic (and a bit mellower) than their debut, this definitely gets thumbs up from Andee and Allan, and Cup's a fan of their names/conceptualization/packaging. It's a transdimensional revelation (translation for mortals: pure ridiculous power metal genius).
There has been something of an Angus MacLise revival going on in the past couple of years, stemming from the discovery of many archival Maclise recordings by Tony Conrad. In the '60s, MacLise had been a instrumental figure in the inception of LaMonte Young's Theatre of Eternal Music as well as the first incarnation of The Velvet Underground, before infamously departing after learning that they would get paid for a gig. Anyway, he thought VU was too structured. A creative wanderlust led him out of those pursuits, working with dozens of composers, poets, film-makers, artists, etc. and travelling all across the globe in pursuit of hermetic wisdoms and Buddhist teachings. "Astral Collapse" collects 6 tracks from the MacLise archives, offering a variety of instrumentation including organ, bongos, piano, autoharp, cembalum, bells, an Arp synthesizer, field recordings, voice, and plenty of effects. As heard on previous recordings, MacLise transforms everything into shimmering, intoxicated trances of amorphous sound. As talented as MacLise may have been as a poet, I can't say that the spoken word entries on "Astral Collapse" are all that successful; however, the haunting arpeggiated organ on "6th Face Of The Angel" and the dreamy, sonic shape-shifting of "Cloud Watching" more than make up for the incongruities of psychedelic drones topped with an earnest recitation of Buddhist mysticism.
Two 'new' releases from the USA's most cult '80s era true/power/heavy/epic metal band. We've lauded them before, as being a uber-eccentric low-budget take on Maiden and Manowar, with hints of '70s prog, precursor to the likes of The Lord Weird Slough Feg and near-contemporaries Brocas Helm. Like Brocas, Manilla Road are still around. With a revised line-up, "Spiral Castle" is their 13th album in a 27 year career. A lot more melodic than their year 2001 comeback disc "Atlantis Rising", this really sounds like classic Manilla Road of old, complete even with their Edgar Allen Poe fixation (his story "Shadow" inspires a track here) and Mark "The Shark" Shelton's distinctive guitar and vocals. Cool!
"Mark of the Beast" also sounds like old Manilla Road -- 'cause it's actually an unreleased album from 1981, originally titled "Dreams of Eschaton". The band didn't like the recordings at the time and shelved them, but bootleg tapes have circulated among the Manilla Road faithful for years. Now Monster Records have persuaded Shelton & Co. that it's time to give the album a proper release at last. Boasting cover art from Thin Lizzy cover artist Jim Fitzpatrick, "Mark of the Beast" is a worthy addition to the Road's official catalog, though not their heaviest -- it's a doomy but kinda mellow and psychedelic album of epic, sad melodicism and majesty. Like all Manilla Road, this doesn't fit any generic metal template...some of this reminds us of Rush's early songs, and there's even a proto-Current 93 narration thing happening on one track too!
Two 'new' releases from the USA's most cult '80s era true/power/heavy/epic metal band. We've lauded them before, as being a uber-eccentric low-budget take on Maiden and Manowar, with hints of '70s prog, precursor to the likes of The Lord Weird Slough Feg and near-contemporaries Brocas Helm. Like Brocas, Manilla Road are still around. With a revised line-up, "Spiral Castle" is their 13th album in a 27 year career. A lot more melodic than their year 2001 comeback disc "Atlantis Rising", this really sounds like classic Manilla Road of old, complete even with their Edgar Allen Poe fixation (his story "Shadow" inspires a track here) and Mark "The Shark" Shelton's distinctive guitar and vocals. Cool!
"Mark of the Beast" also sounds like old Manilla Road -- 'cause it's actually an unreleased album from 1981, originally titled "Dreams of Eschaton". The band didn't like the recordings at the time and shelved them, but bootleg tapes have circulated among the Manilla Road faithful for years. Now Monster Records have persuaded Shelton & Co. that it's time to give the album a proper release at last. Boasting cover art from Thin Lizzy cover artist Jim Fitzpatrick, "Mark of the Beast" is a worthy addition to the Road's official catalog, though not their heaviest -- it's a doomy but kinda mellow and psychedelic album of epic, sad melodicism and majesty. Like all Manilla Road, this doesn't fit any generic metal template...some of this reminds us of Rush's early songs, and there's even a proto-Current 93 narration thing happening on one track too!
Upon first sight of this cd, we were taken aback by the odd identicalness of the band members' mouths. Byram proclaimed that they looked like seagulls flying off in the distance - thin inky curving lines - and they absolutely do. But enough about their petulant embouchures, this album marks not only the debut of Johnny Marr's new band but also of his premiere as a lead vocalist and frontman. As well, all but one of the songs are credited to Marr as the sole songwriter. The lone exception is "Inbetweens" which was co-written with bandmates bassist Alonzo Bevan (ex-Kula Shakur), guitarist Adam Grey and drummer Zac Starkey (who is indeed Ringo's son). Generally this is standard Brit rock fare (think watered down Stone Roses or Oasis) made notable only by the presence of Marr's name on it. Unfortunately the one thing we all hoped would be the highlight and defining factor of Boomslang is all in all absent - that is, Marr's guitar playing. Alas!
Despite the title's implication, Microstoria actually presents the fourth in the "Invisible Architecture" series from Audioglobe, packaged obnoxiously in the oversized 'super jewel cases' alongside the work of Janek Schaefer, the duo of Christian Fennesz & Miko Vainio, and a turntable excursion from Jeck / Tetreault / Yoshihide. The collaboration between Jan St. Werner (Mouse On Mars) and Markus Popp (Oval), Microstoria improvises with purely electronic sound to build tone-bent half melodies and plinky-plonk abstractions. Recorded live at Kaaitheaterstudio in Brussels during the summer of 2000, "Invisible Architecture #3" does not stray far from the successes of their previous albums "SND" or "Model 3,Step 2."
The first Ministry album since 1999's disappointing Dark Side Of The Spoon is certainly cause for fans' celebration as it marks Al Jourgensen's return to prime form. Following years of albums that sounded like pallid imitations made by Ministry wannabes, Animositisomina sounds like the Ministry of old. Pummeling, aggressive, malevolent and huge. You may be asking (as many around here have already) why you'd want / need any more Ministry records if you already own the classics such as Land Of Rape And Honey and The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste. Well, good question... but there are definitely plenty of fresh new ideas brewing in the Jourgensen camp and a kick-ass group of players to execute the mission including longtime bandmates Paul Barker, Louis Svitek, Skrew mainman Adam Grossman and drummer Rey Washam formerly of Scratch Acid who alone elevates and propels this album immensely. Ten tracks in all including a cover of Magazine's "The Light Pours Out Of Me".
Unfortunately, we can't play this disc in the store too often because Andee expects to be taken out for pizza and Jim starts having these creepy ice skating flashbacks from his childhood. But for those of you out there who love big organs, and I *know* you're out there, you're guaranteed to feel the swell of these pipes down in your loins when you crank this one up. Originally released in 1957 and 1958, the two albums on this disc are classics in the pipe organ genre. They were both produced by 101 Strings creator Dick Miller, who was apparently always keeping his sights on the bleeding edge of hipness. What's more is that Georges Montalba was nothing more than a pseudonym. The real man behind the organ here was Bob Hunter, a man who already had an immensely successful career as a concert pianist and arranger. While this may not seem all that odd -- plenty of people in show business use pseudonyms -- the persona of Georges Montalba was made ever more mysterious by two additional circumstances. The first was that Mr. Hunter, for some reason, never told anyone about his being Mr. Montalba with the exception of an audience attending a 1964 performance by "Montalba" in which he revealed his true identity. The second was the exploitation of Montalba's true identity by none other than the Church of Satan's longtime leader Anton La Vey. La Vey apparently milked a Church of Satan follower's suspicion that he was in fact Montalba. It wasn't too difficult to fabricate a story to fit since he had -- prior to acquiring his day job as Satan's spokesman -- been a successful theater organist in the San Francisco bay area. The whole gruesome (well, not really gruesome, but very interesting none the less) story is related in detail by both reissue producer Toby Dammit and Anton La Vey's own daughter Zeena Schreck (who disputes her father's claim) in the liner notes. Listening to this disc, it comes as no surprise that one might become convinced that Mr. Church of Satan himself was behind the pedals. The playing by Hunter of the huge Robert-Morton Pipe Organ (to which was affixed an additional complement of a Deagan vibraphone and a set of orchestral chimes) is truly possessed. Not to disparage Mr. La Vey or his followers, but upon closer listening you can tell that the caliber of playing is a notch above Mr. Satan's. On these two Hi-Fi Mono recordings Hunter performs the works of Saint-Saens, Khatchaturian, Rimsky-Korsakov, Manuel de Falla, Wagner, Sousa, Grieg and more (including a couple original compositions) with all the ferocity of Swedish progster Bo Hansson (see Hansson & Karlsson). Take this one home and crank it up 'til your neighbors' ears bleed.
Mr. Airplane Man are a Boston female duo playing Howling Wolf covers and songs with rad Bo Diddleyesqe back beats. Fucked up punk/ blues, reminiscent of the Gories, which coming from me (Sadie) is an enormous compliment. They formed in 1995, playing on the streets for rent using a battery powered amp and 5 gallon bucket for a drum. It's said that these two ladies' mutual love of Howlin' Wolf is what brought them together, his songs being where they got their band name and the name of this record. This is not fuzzed out chaotic garage like The Bad Times cd from the last list. It is old style Delta back woods blues but it's smooth in an amazing rockin' way. Recorded in Detroit by Jim Diamond (who is affiliated with other Detroit greats like the Dirtbombs and the White Stripes), and was mixed by Doug Easley and Greg "Oblivian" Cartwright. So recommended!
Ms. Mukai and her Chinese er-hu (a bowed, 2 stringed instrument) have been a part of the underground Tokyo improv psych scene since the '70s playing in the PSF "dream-psych" band Che-Shizu, while Osaka's Seichi Yamamoto is known to most AQ customers as the gonzo guitarist for Boredoms, Omoide Hatoba, Rovo and more. This live document, another real cd on the moving-away-from-cdrs label Last Visible Dog, sees the two of 'em teaming up for two long duets of late-night atmospheric rumble and squeak. It's totally dark in the Keiji Haino drone mode, or like Taj Mahal Travellers, all abstract and drifty, cries echoing out in a black, empty space. Real nice in other words. Plus there's a third, thirty-minute track where the Mukai/Yamamoto duo are joined by an all-star Japanese drone trio with the humorous name of Lamones Young (yes, their idea is 'what if Lamont Young played Ramones songs', though that's not necessarily what they sound like). Cellist Fukuoka Rinki, drummer Kosakai Fumio, and bassist Nagakubo Ryuichi (variously, members or former members of Incapacitants, CCCC, G-un, Overhang Party, etc.) add even more scraping, sawing drone to the proceedings, while Yamamoto's guitar and Mukai's voice, percussion and er-hu continue to generate sheer alienated psychedelic beauty as per their duo tracks.
NB. if you liked the Tangerine Dream Syndicate cd we had a while back from the Alchemy Label, be aware that the Lamones Young were essentially an early version of that band. The liner notes by Tokyo psych expert Alan Cummings provide further info...
The Nortec Collective have succeeded in convincing the masses (including Chris Blackwell of Island Records and all of the arts editors at NPR) that an idiosyncratic, cute fusion of traditional Mexican music (such as the tambora flares for tuba and accordion ballads) and club-friendly, big-beat rhythms would be a good idea. I have not been convinced, holding the ill-tempered opinion that they are electronica's version of The Gypsy Kings, or at least that they've allowed themselves to be marketed as such. Thus, it came as surprise that Murcof is a pseudonym for Fernando Corono, who is one of the members of the Nortec Collective. While the appropriating force is still at work in Murcof, it's handled with a considerable greater sense of gracefulness than the archetypal Nortec sound. Furthermore, it's Morton Feldman and Arvo Part that Corono is sampling, and not North Mexican folk music. Looping evocative motifs from those minimalist composers into elegant patterns, Corono adds very simple Chain Reaction heroin house grooves to create a very pleasant, very polite sound that runs through the Martes record. The result is a melancholic electronica album that complements Boards of Canada, without resorting to mimickry.
Another posthumous release from Muslimgauze, "Uzbekistani Bizarre And Souk" is a caustic album of Arabic percussion contorted to fit into disjointed breakbeats and hypnotic electronic grooves. Originally released as a DAT (yes, a DAT only release!) from Staalplaat about 10 years ago, this disc also features a couple of selections from "Islamaphobia" an comes in a beautifully letter-pressed packagaing. Limited to 1000 copies.
If you're a regular AQ customer you already know that we're all huge fans of Village of Savoonga, the darkest and most dramatically experimental of the many musical outfits hailing from the loose collective of musicians based in Bavaria, Germany. Another group from this incredibly fertile scene, The Notwist started out as a punk band but have gotten better and more different with each release (reflecting the Acher brothers' growing musical smarts and proficiency), culminating in this nice rock album. But not just any indie rock, this music is wistful, lyrical, softly flowing music that's *extremely* well executed, no filler, and brings in all kinds of non-rock elements -- in sort of the same way that the Beta Band does -- *casually*, not making a big deal out of it. Cos electronic keyboards and programming and stuff (courtesy Martin Gretschmann of the solo electronic act Console) are merely one facet of The Notwist's sound, which also includes very catchy minor key hooks, attractively textural cracklings and wooden clop clops, plucked strings (cello?), machine made gurgles and squishies, even out-of-place (-but-not-really) breakbeats that actually work.
In addition to the guy from Console, The Notwist personnel includes the abovementioned Acher brothers Micha (Village of Savoonga, Tied+Tickled Trio) and Markus (VoS, T+TT, Lali Puna).
Highly recommended! This is a grower.
First in a series of cd singles from Dave Pajo, who you know not only as Papa M but as founding member of Slint, collaborator with Will Oldham, and member of Billy Corgan's new group Zwan. All three songs were recorded on the fly on the road, and are lovely and pretty and not at all throwaway. The first features wistful harmonica and hushed vocals that remind me of Nick Drake. The second track has this aching violin that approaches Dirty-Three-style proportions in terms of poignancy and tension. And the third is a Reverend Gary Davis cover, I mean really what more could you want?
Petit Mal is the work of Berkeley musician Jim Kaiser, who improvises through a post-Industrial context to arrive at deep hypnotic ambience marred by vocal samples, broken effects, and metallic scrapings. Dark murky drones dominate "A Sense Of Closure," often recalling the densely processed sounds of Troum or Cranioclast. Yet Kaiser is often much looser in his compositions than either of those references, allowing for distortion, misfirings, and analogue errors to accumulate within the overlapping washes of sound. "A Sense Of Closure" is at its best when Kaiser picks up an acoustic guitar to splutter textured strumming not unlike the groundswell of damaged avant-folk (i.e. Neil Campbell, Avarus, Dead Raven Choir, etc.) within the omnipresent dark ambience.
The Prisoner -- the cult '60s TV show that's really one of the best TV shows EVER, taking the spy genre into areas dealing symbolically with issues of free will and man's role in society -- now has spawned three volumes of soundtrack music on cd, proving that beyond the classic series theme song, the show also utilized a bunch of cool original compositions and library music pieces (their Prisoner titles and original library titles given here, so we know that "Spinning Car" from the show was originally a library track called "Psychedelia", for instance) as well, and all were important to the impact of the series. With snippets of dialogue from the show thrown in to additionally evoke the Prisoner's surreal world of paranoia and philosophy, these discs are going to be hard for fans to resist. We listed volume one recently (on AQL #154) -- so you can refer to that review, and your local video store, for further background on the Prisoner phenomenon.
File #2 features music and dialogue from the episodes Free For All, The General, Many Happy Returns, Dance of the Dead, Checkmate, Hammer Into Anvil, A Change Of Mind.
File #3 covers Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, The Girl Who Was Death, Once Upon A Time, and the famously bizarre series conclusion Fall Out (though the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love", an integral part of the soundtrack to that episode, isn't included here -- but you know it pretty well anyway). Each volume also includes the main title theme, and a booklet with lots of photos and Prisoner related information.
The Prisoner -- the cult '60s TV show that's really one of the best TV shows EVER, taking the spy genre into areas dealing symbolically with issues of free will and man's role in society -- now has spawned three volumes of soundtrack music on cd, proving that beyond the classic series theme song, the show also utilized a bunch of cool original compositions and library music pieces (their Prisoner titles and original library titles given here, so we know that "Spinning Car" from the show was originally a library track called "Psychedelia", for instance) as well, and all were important to the impact of the series. With snippets of dialogue from the show thrown in to additionally evoke the Prisoner's surreal world of paranoia and philosophy, these discs are going to be hard for fans to resist. We listed volume one recently (on AQL #154) -- so you can refer to that review, and your local video store, for further background on the Prisoner phenomenon.
File #2 features music and dialogue from the episodes Free For All, The General, Many Happy Returns, Dance of the Dead, Checkmate, Hammer Into Anvil, A Change Of Mind.
File #3 covers Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, The Girl Who Was Death, Once Upon A Time, and the famously bizarre series conclusion Fall Out (though the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love", an integral part of the soundtrack to that episode, isn't included here -- but you know it pretty well anyway). Each volume also includes the main title theme, and a booklet with lots of photos and Prisoner related information.
