When the band recorded their follow-up to Love, it was originally named Peace, in keeping with the flow of the predecessor.  However, Peace seemed to have too polished a sound for the band’s liking.  They contacted Rick Rubin to ask him to re-mix “Love Removal Machine” in order to give it a more raw sound.  Instead, Rubin asked the band to re-record the song.  Once completed, the band so liked the sound, they decided to scrap the Peace sessions, and re-record the entirety of the new album with Rubin at the helm.

After the Rubin sessions, the new album was renamed Electric, and some songs that were recorded for, and sequenced into Peace were scrapped in favor of newer recorded tracks.  The Peace sessions were shelved.

To not completely ignore the Peace sessions material, the band released some of the tracks as B-sides for singles that issued from Electric.  Further, The Cult released The Manor Sessions, a limited edition EP that included five tracks from the Peace sessions.  In 2000, the limited run of the band’s Box set, Rare Cult, included the entire Peace sessions, correctly sequenced as it was intended to be released.  Rare Cult ran through its press run, and was never reissued.

On July 16, Beggars Banquet plans to reissue Electric along with the original Peace sessions in a 2CD set, and a separately available 2LP set, both to be referred to as Electric Peace.  Both discs will celebrate each sessions with their original sequencing, noted below:

Electric:

1. Wild Flower
2. Peace Dog
3. Lil’ Devil
4. Aphrodisiac Jacket
5. Electric Ocean
6. Bad Fun
7. King Contrary Man
8. Love Removal Machine
9. Born To Be Wild
10. Outlaw
11. Memphis Hip Shake

Peace:

1. Love Removal Machine
2. Wild Flower
3. Peace Dog
4. Aphrodisiac Jacket
5. Electric Ocean
6. Bad Fun
7. Conquistador
8. Zap City
9. Love Trooper
10. Out;aw
11. Groove Co.

There is no word on whether the sets have been remastered or not, or if a celebratory booklet will be created with new content to mark the event of the reissue.

On Monday, Ray Manzarek, who is best known as the keyboardist for The Doors passed away at the young age of 74, taken by the evil known as cancer.

Ray Manzarek
1939-2013
RIP

Ray Manazarek is well known as a vital member of The Doors.  The Doors have left a complete brand on the hide of Rock that is worn with pride even to this day.  But not many are aware of Ray Manzarek’s “other” band, Nite City.

Nite City was formed in 1977, just a few years after The Doors collapsed with the death of Jim Morrison.  Nite City released two good albums (Nite City; Golden Days, Diamond Nights).

After Nite City, Ray Manzarek did many things including a reformation of The Doors with Ian Astbury (The Cult).

Ray Manzarek’s death hits especially hard given his major status in the beginnings of Rock and Roll.  His passing is not without note, and his departed presence not without mourning.

You will be missed, Mr Manzarek.  Now go and teach The Great Band a new song…or two!

Today, another of the great ones left us.  Trevor Bolder, who knew no Rock and Roll boundaries, having played with David Bowie’s Spiders From Mars (with Mick Ronson), and Uriah Heep, died at the age of 62, also from cancer.

Trevor Bolder
1950-2013
RIP

Bolder joined the Bowie show recording on Hunky Dory (1971), up through Pin Ups (1973).  Bolder joined the late ’70s line-up of Uriah Heep beginning with Fireflies (1977)  Trevor Bolder joined a touring version of Wishbone Ash in support of that band’s Number The Brave release, which featured John Wetton as the bass player.  While most of Bolder’s career was folded around Uriah Heep, his impact is felt just as strongly as the passing of Ray Manzarek.  What Ray Manzarek was to a style of Rock, Trevor Bolder was to a harder-edged Heavy Metal.

And 62 was far to young to be removed from this earth.  However, he still will add a unique touch to The Great Band.

Mr Bolder, you will be missed.  I will be unable to play the previously mentioned Bowie albums, as well as the previously mentioned Uriah Heep albums without remembering your contributions.  I saw you during the Wishbone Ash tour at Chicago’s ChicagoFest way back when.

The fine folks over at Legacy Recordings have assembled and announced the upcoming issue of Sound System, a 12-disc set (with cool stuff, too) featuring the music of The Clash.  Within this richly filled box will be all of the band’s Epic Records studio recordings (The Clash, Give ‘Em Enough Rope, London Calling, Sandanista!, Combat Rock).  Each of the albums will be remastered.  And if that wasn’t reason enough to be excited, Sound System provides even more.

Besides the 8CDs used to cover each album (The Clash- 1CD, Give ‘Em Enough Rope – 1CD, London Calling-2CD, Sandanista!-3CD, Combat Rock-1CD), there are an extra three CDs with rare tracks, demos, non-album singles, and B-sides.  Those three CDs are highly coveted and contain:

Sound System Extra CDs tracklist:

Disc One

1. White Riot (Single version)
2. 1977 (B-side)
3. Listen (Capital Radio EP) / Interviews (Capital Radio EP)
4. Capital Radio (Capital Radio EP)
5. London’s Burning (Live B-side Remote Control)
6. Complete Control (Single version)
7. City Of The Dead (B-side)
8. Clash City Rockers (Original single version)
9. Jail Guitar Doors (B-side)
10. White Man In Hammersmith Palais (A-side)
11. The Prisoner (B-side)
12. 1-2 Crush On You (B-side Tommy Gun)
13. Time Is Tight (Black Market Clash)
14. Pressure Drop (B-side English Civil War)
15. I Fought The Law (Cost Of Living EP)
16. Groovy Times (Cost Of Living EP)
17. Gates Of The West (Cost Of Living EP)
18. Capital Radio (Cost Of Living EP)
19. Armagideon Time
20. Bankrobber (A-side)
21. Rockers Galore On A UK Tour (B-side)

Disc Two

1. Magnificent Dance (12”) 5:36 (available on Singles box set)
2. Midnight To Stevens (Outtake)
3. Radio One (B-side Hitsville UK)
4. Stop The World (B-side The Call Up)
5. The Cool Out (US 12” B-side of The Call Up)
6. This Is Radio Clash (A-side)
7. This Is Radio Clash (B-side 7” – different lyrics)
8. First Night Back In London (B-side Know Your Rights)
9. Rock The Casbah (Bob Clearmountain 12” mix) – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
10. Long Time Jerk (B-side Rock The Casbah)
11. The Beautiful People Are Ugly Too (Outtake) – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
12. Idle In Kangaroo Court (Outtake listed as Kill Time) – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
13. Ghetto Defendant (Extended version – unedited) – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
14. Cool Confusion (B-side Should I Stay Or Should I Go 7”)
15. Sean Flynn (Extended ‘Marcus Music’ version) – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
16. Straight To Hell (Extended unedited version from Clash On Broadway) – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Disc Three

Extracts from The Clash’s first ever recording session at Beaconsfield Film School 1976. Recorded by Julien Temple

1. I’m So Bored With The USA
2. London’s Burning – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
3. White Riot
4. 1977 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Polydor Demos – The Clash’s second recording session November 1976

Produced by Guy Stevens

5. Janie Jones
6. Career Opportunities
7. London’s Burning – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
8. 1977 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
9. White Riot – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Live at The Lyceum, London 28th December 1978

10. City Of The Dead
11. Jail Guitar Doors – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
12. English Civil War
13. Stay Free – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
14. Cheapstakes – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
15. I Fought The Law

In addition to those 11 CDs, there is a DVD, which is packed to the full mark with unseen footage filmed by Julian Temple, early Super8 film, ALL of the band’s promo videos, and previously unseen concert footage.  Imagine this:

Julien Temple Archive – 6:20
White Riot Interview – 7:10
Promo and interviews with Tony Parsons
1977 1:87
White Riot 1:48
London’s Burning 2:05

Sussex University 1977

I’m So Bored With The USA 2:14 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
Hate & War 1:94 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
Career Opportunities 1:42 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
Remote Control 2:73 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Don Letts Super 8 Medley 11:40

White Riot 1:52
Janie Jones 1:73
City of the Dead 2:04
Clash City Rockers 2:15
White Man in Hammersmith Palais 2:53
1977 1:41

Clash On Broadway – 19:50

London Calling
This Is Radio Clash
The Magnificent Seven
Guns Of Brixton
Safe European Home

Promo Videos

Tommy Gun 3:00
London Calling 3:20
Bankrobber 4:00
Clampdown (Live) 5:00
Train In Vain (Live) 2:10
The Call Up 3:10
Rock The Casbah 3:20
Should I Stay Or Should I Go (Live at Shea Stadium) 2:50
Career Opportunities (Live at Shea Stadium) 3:00

Discs aside, the Box will add in an “Owner’s Manual” booklet, along with a folder that will contain reprints of Armagideon Time 1, 2, qnd 3, new editions of the Clash fanzine recreated by Paul Simonon, and merchandise.  The merchandise will include dog tags, badges, stickers, and a Future Is Unknown notebook.  Also, a photo poster is included.

The 11CD/1DVD will be housed in a Simonon-designed Boom Box case.

For those unwilling to take this definitive Clash plunge, there will be a 2CD, and a 3LP collection called The Clash – Hits Back with 33 tracks from the band.  Track-list of this set follows:

Disc 1

1. London Calling
2. Safe European Home
3. Know Your Rights
4. (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais
5. Janie Jones
6. The Guns of Brixton
7. Train in Vain
8. Bankrobber
9.Wrong ‘Em Boyo
10. The Magnificent Seven
11. Police On My Back
12. Rock The Casbah
13. Career Opportunities
14. Police & Thieves
15. Somebody Got Murdered
16. Brand New Cadillac
17. Clampdown

Disc 2 (Joe Strummer’s setlist continued)

1. Ghetto Defendant
2. Armigideon Time
3. Stay Free
4. I Fought The Law
5. Straight To Hell
6. Should I Stay Or Should I Go?
7. Garageland

Additional Tracks:

8. White Riot
9. Complete Control
10. Clash City Rockers
11. Tommy Gun
12. English Civil War
13. The Call Up
14. Hitsville UK
15. This Is The Radio Clash

However. if you don’t want the complete Box or the collected tracks, then the next opportunity for the newly remastered Clash albums is to acquire The Clash 5 Studio Album Set, which contains the 8CDs, while a separately available LP set of the same five albums set will be made available with 8LPs.

If you love The Clash, then this set is for you…in any of the available configurations.

Everything arrives on September 10.

To call Blouse a retro band with all the right stuff is to ignore the art of taking popular music and infusing it with new things to make it stand out further, make it pop off the record and into your consciousness where it’s supposed to stay (if it has done its job).

With a full-length, self-titled album already in circulation since late 2011, Blouse has set the stage for a good future. The album is loaded. Ten songs in a span of about a half hour brings back a magic of the past that relied on awesome content, not so much the cram of many half-assed tracks that seem to permeate so many albums these days. Quality is the reason we fall in love with music, not quantity.

If you like any of the synth-pop from the ‘80s, then you’ll be immediately intrigued by this fresh band that takes a familiar sound and reshapes it into a twangy, ethereal gorgeousness.

The eponymous debut from Blouse contains contagious gems like “Into Black” (check out their stunning video for the song at the end of this piece), “Videotapes,” the perfection of “White,” and the quirky “Time Travel” with the interesting lyrics. You can stream the entire album below, thanks to the band and SoundCloud.

If ‘80s-styled pop — a little on the dark side — sounds like something you might be interested in, I highly encourage you to investigate Blouse. The name might be a generic oddity, but their music is memorable, deserving of a place in your playlist, or your library, or whatever it is that you use to listen to your music these days.

Mellonta Tauta have their geographcal roots in Argentina, comprised of three very versatile musicans that include Daniel López Quiroga (guitars/bass), Federico Aldaz (drums), and the vocally talented Karina Altamiranda, who also writes the songs found on Rainbow Melodies.  As the history of this band goes, Mellonta Tauta began in 1994 at a time when the Gothic music of the ’80s began to become a genre all its own with multiple spikes in various directions in style.

Fast forward some 20 years later, this band reassembles, as luck will have it, via the communicative powers of Facebook.  The result is the excellent neo-classical hybrid album that is Rainbow Melodies.

Rainbow Melodies is a collection of songs that skate from one side of the genre to another.  Cue the first song, “Love Is Happiness”, and you get a richly textured layer of sound, with Karina’s  ghostly vocals providing the shimmer of the track.  But move over into the second track, “Twenty Years Later”, obviously a reference to the re-emergence of the band, you get something entirely different.  With a steady drum track, and vocals sounding like the alien operatic in The Fifth Element (and I truly mean that in a good way as I adored that part of the film), the song is an immediate favorite.

Rainbow Melodies has within its parts, songs that incorporate a highly enjoyable jazz element with excellent saxophone blended in.  On  the lengthy and electric, “Travel To The End”, the sax is mournful and, when it meets Karina’s operatically talented voice, it offers an emotion of a different kind.  The sax is also heard in the equally lengthy folllow-up track, “Live Here Forever” but not before Karina has you travelling on a melancholy road.

“Paris Noir” gets a little psychedelically electric, and jazzy.  Karina handles it well because she has a voice that can do miracles with every style she embraces.  Her two musical partners, Daniel, and Federico supply no lack of expert musicianship to make the album what it is, one to pay attention to and to enjoy.  There’s not a whole lot of bands like them out there.

Rainbow Melodies is an excellent album.  After 20 years, it’s clear that Mellonta Tauta is destined to be together.  With its bold blending of jazz, neo-classical music, electric psychedelia, and heavenly voices, sometimes all in the same song (“Rainbow Melodies”), this album is one to be enjoyed.  So, call the music what you want – Shoegaze, Darkwave, Dreampop.  I’m going to call it refreshing and worth my time.

Release Date: April 16, 2013
Label: Projekt Records, Twilight Records
Website
Availability: CD, DD

–Matt Rowe

The discussion was interesting, and, as usual, with arguments for both sides of the coin.  One thing that I got from the thread was an interesting one, that many previous bands and artists had plenty of “filler” in their album.

The term “filler” can be construed as a strong word to an artist, who likely considers everything they’ve recorded as worthy of the wax, aluminum, and bits they take resident on and within.  Nevertheless, many bands in the history of Rock and Roll (and before) made albums with a few strong songs (or some with every song bad), and the rest less interesting.

It could also be said that the songs are strong but some overshadow the acceptance of the rest.  How would a song  follow “Black Dog”", “Rock and Roll”, and “Stairway To Heaven” on IV?  Well, the answer to that is from a purist’s standpoint, the album was solid beginning to end.  But to the other less tolerant listeners, the rest were filler to some degree or another.  (I know, bad choice as an illustration, but…!)

So, to continue the thread that we started, I thought I would ask the inevitable question, and see what popular albums out there had “filler” inside.  Since there are so many to choose from, feel free to add as many examples and declarations as you feel you should.

I have always made the classic argument that Bruce Springsteen created a 2LP hopeful with The River (right, Bill B? ;- )).  I have always felt that for The River to become classic through and through, like its predecessors, the unbeatable Born To Run, and the perfect  Darkness On The Edge Of Town, it needed to become a single LP.  (Now, this is just an example for the sake of this article as I’ve long been beaten to internet pulp too many times to want to go through this again as a stand-alone topic.)

I have others.  And so do you.  Let us hear your selection of albums with “filler”, and check to see if the mass agree.

Adam Green has a massive list of achievements in his background that includes involvement with The Moldy Peaches (a duo that helped shepherd the “anti-folk” movement, which is, essentially, folk not as a serious vehicle of political and social disenfranchisement, but rather, folk as an element not beholden to anger and frustrations, hence ‘anti-folk’.  After Moldy Peaches, Green released a series of good solo efforts.

Binki Shapiro has enjoyed her own brand of success.  During her career, she was part of Little Joy, a band formed with Rodrigo Amarante (Los Hermanos), and Fabrizio Moretti (The Strokes).  Additionally, she has worked with Beck.

In January (2013), Rounder Records released the pairing of Adam Green and Binki Shapiro in what is easily one of the best albums of the year.  The self-titled work is an album with ten radio-friendly songs, or, as I can easily say, a collection of A and B-side singles.  A best of collection, if you will.  Of course, this debut by the duo isn’t a best of, but it sure sounds like it.  I like this so much, I’m shelling out for an LP version.

The best way to explain the sound of Adam Green & Binki Shapiro, is that there is a charming connection between these two singer/songwriters.  Using folk as a kind of guide, a hint of country (folk), this album has all the feel of an alternative styled album with the heart of rock at its core.  A strange thing, that, but what else can I say other than it works, and works well.

The opening track (heard below in the embedded video), “Here I Am” offers a strong song for you to slip into (visit website for a free MP3 download of this track).  Its melodic brand of melancholy is followed by a different sense of it, but just as potent all the same with “Just To Make Me Feel Good”.

“Casanova”,  the Green (front and center) sung, “Pity Love”, and six other excellent songs from this electrically charged duo with some kind of music chemistry make up this ten track album.  It’s still hard to come up with the right words for something as good as this duo’s excellent debut, but I did try.

If you like folk with hints of other musical styles of influence, and you like the video that you may have already played (or intend to play), then this album is a no-brainer.  It spins often in several of my players, and is one that I don’t leave the house without.

I hope this duo stays together and gives us another album, and hopefully more than that.  They’re on a roll!!

Release Date: January 29, 2013
Label: Rounder Records
Band Website
Availability: CD, LP, DD

–Matt Rowe

1) The Best of Fridays:

This series arrived way back in 1980 as ABC TV’s counter to NBC’s wildly popular Saturday Night Live.  Surprisingly, Fridays not only entertained heavily, the borrowed formula of musical acts and hilarious skits gained a mass of fans that, to this day, still talk lovingly about the show and its stellar cast of comedians that included Michael Richards (Seinfeld), Melanie Chartoff (Parker Lewis Can’t Lose), and Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm).  Even so, the rest of the cast were equally as entertaining.

Not only were there great hosts like Andy Kaufman (with an interesting incident), Billy Crystal, and William Shatner, there were a superb selection of musical guests that included Devo, Graham Parker and The Rumour, KISS, The Clash, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, and others.

And the skits:  I still laugh about The Transphibians, Richards as an eccentric “ladies’ man”, and a wildly explosive kid in a sandbox infatuated with the war games of a military.

On August 6, Shout! Factory will release a collection of skits from the sixteen episodes that aired from 1980-1982.  The DVD will include bonus features like a cast reunion, a look at the Kaufman incident, and photos.  This has been a long time coming.

2)The RCA Album Collection – Harry Nilsson:

Harry Nilsson was a diamond among many precious stones.  His work, both accepted within the tall walls of Top40, and by the lovers of FM music, and especially by the genuine fans (who will splurge to acquire this elaborate 17CD Box) is timeless.  If you’re one of these fans, here’s what the Box will contain (and why you SHOULD get it!):

All fourteen of Nilsson’s albums are remastered and available here along with  a wealth of bonus tracks, 65 in all, 26 of which are previously unreleased tracks.  Those three newly compiled discs (Nilsson Sessions: 1967-1968, Nilsson Sessions: 1968-1971, Nilsson Sessions: 1971-1974) represent the hidden treasures of this massive Box containing 58 bonus tracks, 29 of them previously unreleased.

Each of the fourteen Nilsson albums here will not only include the Stereo versions but will include Mono cuts, and other bonus inclusions.  This set is slated for release on July 30.

[To view the extensive track-listing of this set, click here and input 'Nilsson' as the password.  Otherwise, those who DIDN'T care to see the lengthy listings would be endlessly scrolling.]

3) Wings Over America – Paul McCartney and Wings:

Not long from now, fans of the already expansive Wings Over America album, will be given the opportunity to pick up a new issue of the album with remastering and bonus materials.  On May 28, Hear Music will reissue the set in several formats including a massive, and definitive 3CD/1DVD Deluxe Edition with a massive 100-page leatherette bound book.  In that set, 2 CDs represent the original album, 1 CD contains a live set from The Cow Palace (San Francisco), and the DVD containing the 75-minute television special, Wings Over The World.  And there’s more there for you (check Amazon for the complete list if you’re interested).

The set will also be made available in standard 2CD sets and vinyl LP.

4) Rockshow – Paul McCartney and Wings:

After a brief run in the theatres, Rockshow will be made available to fans on DVD and BD via Eagle Rock.  This set will be fully restored and remastered, with an available 5.1 mix that should please everyone.  This previously released show, filmed at the Kingdome in Seattle was originally released in truncated form but will now be featured as the complete show.  Rockshow is slated for release on June 11.

5) Legend Remixed – Bob Marley and The Wailers:

On June 25, Island will reissue Legend from Bob Marley and The Wailers in a Remixed Edition.  The set will be known as Legend Remixed and will be made available as a CD, DD, and an LP.  More information as it emerges for this title.  But I know that you’re excited.

6) The Joker (40th Anniversary Edition) –  Steve Miller Band:

On June 25, Capitol Records will reissue a timeless classic in the Steve Miller catalog, his incredible The Joker, originally released in October of 1973.  I can still remember hearing “The Joker” on WLS-AM and being absolutely wowed by this great song.  Needless to say, I went to work right away to gain the money to purchase this album.   This is one set that I’m waiting for.  It releases in both CD and LP formats.  This 40th Anniversary set also releases in the UK on June 4.

7) Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Hot Rocks 1964-1971 clear vinyl LPs – The Rolling Stones:

On May 28, Abkco Records will reissue three prominent Abkco Stones titles (Beggars Banquet (1968), Let It Bleed (1969), and Hot Rocks 1964-1971 (1971), a collection of 21 Stones hits.  All LPs will be pressed in 180g-weight clear vinyl, with Hot Rocks a 2LP set.  BONUS: UMe will issue HD recordings (96k/24-bit) of Exile On Main Street, and Emotional Rescue, on June 11.

And to close out this day with some brief, emerging collectibles, we have two classic LPs coming that might be of interest to a few of you:

8) Five Leaves Left – Nick Drake:

Island Records will reissue Five Leaves Left on vinyl LP scheduled for July 2.

9) Nevermind – Nirvana:

Geffen Records have the landmark Nirvana album, Nevermind scheduled for LP reissue on July 9.

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The remarkable thing about the band is its unique ability to transition through periods noted by their compartmentalization of years (The Pink Years, The Virgin Years, The Blue Years, and so on, up through the present time.  Throughout those revolving door years, with many line-up changes, Tangerine Dream has persevered using many different styles to successfully maneuver through the decades.

Recently, the current band (with mainstay, Edgar Froese, and Thorsten Quaeschning, Iris Camaa, Christian Hausl, Bernhard Beibl, and Linda Spa) recorded a vocal album with the Tangerine Dream sound filling it with covers of familiar tracks.

The album, Under Cover, contains 14 tunes.  From “Cry Little Sister”, and “Everybody Hurts”, which are decent reworks, to a genuinely good “Space Oddity”, and a fascinating version of Kraftwerk’s brilliant “The Model”, Tangerine Dream has done a good job of it.  Of course, you’ll need to be a Tangerine Dream fan to appreciate what you are hearing, and why some aspects have been modified to fit into the TD mode (like “The Model”, which loses its steady techno rhythm to create a classically flavored tune).

“Hotel California” gets a strange re imagining, while two Leonard Cohen tunes, “Suzanne”, which sound bloody perfect, and “Hallelujah”, comes off sounding great.  Other covers include the interesting take on Bowie’s “Heroes, a good re-work of Alphaville’s “Forever Young”, and a pretty good cover of  the Pink Floyd classic, “Wish You Were Here”.

You’re going to have an affinity for Tangerine Dream to allow this to work, with the two Cohen covers being the only exceptions given how well they come off.  While I do have my favorite Tangerine Dream periods and recordings, I’m always intrigued by their pathways.

Release Date:  October 16, 2012 (US), 2010 (UK)
Label: Cleopatra Records
Website
Availability: CD

–Matt Rowe