#Re-Release of the legendary album from 1998. All Tracks are remastered and will come on awesome 180gr transparent blue marbled Vinyl

[anokha-swad]

Paul Rudolph: Boston Government Service Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, 1962–1971

[davedimartino]

NEW THIS WEEK 08.10.09

A batch of welcome, unexpected reissues makes this week one of the year's best release weeks ever!

True, someone might take a look at some of the recordings below and note, My, how odd, a significant number of the spotlighted releases appear to be by well-established, sometimes legendary and sometimes dead artists rather than current label signings!  

On the other hand, others might say, Wow, that newly signed Jessie James looks like she's gonna sound great!

But, as always, there's enough to go around for everyone!  

So there's no point in thinking absolutely nothing of any interest is being released anymore! Because now that Soundscan is going to start considering T-shirts albums…everything has changed!

 Various Artists: Woodstock --40 Years On: Back To Yasgur's Farm (Rhino) Speaking of clothes, hats off to Rhino Records for one of the finest reissues in memory! On the heels of the 40th anniversary of the original Woodstock Festival--that historic moment when everything peaked and then nothing was any good anymore!--this superbly packaged 6-CD set aims to replicate the entire 3-day affair by providing in chronological sequence most of the great music by most of the artists, lots of the lovably dopey stage announcements about brown acid and women giving birth, and heretofore unheard music by such incredibly fab artists as Tim Hardin, the Incredible String Band, and Bert Sommer, among others, who weren't previously showcased on past Woodstock retrospectives! That the producers would allow the massively long version of Canned Heat's "Woodstock Boogie" to finally be heard, for example, shows that their hearts were completely in the right place; likewise, so much more of Country Joe McDonald's set was more fascinating than the well known "Give me an F" of his "Fish Cheer," its airing here is a musical public service of the highest order! The excellent liner notes, the fascinating complete festival setlist--definitely an eye-opener--and the love that was put into this project 40 years after the fact is fairly remarkable! Though the anal-retentive record collector completists among us may have hoped for a clip from the historically under-represented Keef Hartley Band--who apparently opted out--the inclusion of tracks by Quill and the suprisingly good, previously-unheard Creedence Clearwater Revival material, means that the all is right with the world! Combine that with the bonus LSD sprayed on the album's barcode, and you've got the package of the year!    

  George Strait: Twang (MCA Nashville)  While it's long been known in Nashville that George Strait was an industry giant, it's hard to believe it's taken this long for the country legend to  reveal that fact to the entire world! Yet here he is at last--pictured inside his colossal pick-up truck, playing a friend's guitar, delicately trying to not crush it with his giant fingers, attempting to look "just like one of the guys" despite being over 900 feet tall and trying to ignore that heart-rending fact just long enough to sings songs for us that will make us forget our own misery! Coming off his previous award-winning album Troubadour,  Twang will touch all of us who know deep in our hearts that it isn't how big or small a man is, it's how on earth this man found a company capable of manufacturing a hat that big!

 Slaughterhouse: Slaughterhouse (E1 Music)  When it comes to rap supergroups--and, truly, it always does--we could do much worse than Slaughterhouse, an admirably hatted quartet including Joe Budden, Royce Da 5'9", Crooked I and Joell Ortiz! Word is they may have had their ups and downs individually, but together they represent the best and brightest hope of contemporary hip-hop and graphic logo design!  With production by the likes of The Alchemist and DJ Khalil, this fabulous set makes Ortiz's proclamation--"We did an entire album in 6 days!"--fascinating and entirely believable! Vegans beware!

 Jessie James: Jessie James (Mercury) Like many of us, I often watch music videos while listening to other albums to save time! So it came as something of a surprise to me to finally hear Jessie James! You know how it is! What does she sound like? Well, she's written with and sung songs by the likes of Kara DioGuiardi, Katy Perry, and new country star Jamey Johnson, she's been previewed on Perez Hilton's website, she apparently sings "dance-rock scorchers" and "soulful blues" and counts among her biggest influences LeAnn Rimes, Christina Aguilera, Janis Joplin and Bobbie Gentry! Got that? In short, she appears capable of doing virtually anything--and as an added bonus photographs remarkable well! Whew! We're lucky artists' looks are only an afterthought these days!

 Willie Nelson: Lost Highway (Lost Highway) Despite the similar cover images, there's little chance fans of Jessie James will pick up this new Willie Nelson album and vice versa! It's the earrings! This fabulous 17-track compilation features country legend Nelson with a variety of guest singers--including Merle Haggard, Lee Ann Womack, Rob Thomas, Elvis Costello and Diana Krall--and track-for-track, in terms of raw sequencing, whether old material or new, this sounds like Nelson's strongest album in years! Closing tracks "Cowboys Are Secretly Fond Of Each Other" and "Ain't Goin' Down On Brokeback Mountain" certainly offer food for thought, but hey--who's hungry?

 John Martyn: Solid Air (Deluxe Edition)  (101 Distribution)  One of the all-time great guitarist/vocalists to emerge from the UK--who sadly passed away earlier this year--John Martyn recorded many, many albums. Most of them--especially the early ones--were very, very good. Solid Air, originally released in 1973, was probably his best and certainly his most accessible. This welcome deluxe edition includes a second disc featuring alternate takes of album tracks, the odd single version and some live takes, and--even for those who cherish the original disc, which is remastered here--is absolutely worth your purchasing. The growing audience out there who've come to love Nick Drake--Martyn's friend and in fact the subject of this album's title track-- will find much here they'll love as well. Buy it now!

 Robert Cray: This Time (Vanguard)  If the mood is right, a new album by Robert Cray sometimes really hits the spot! Especially if you listen to it! His bazillionth---the man's been recording for years--sounds just as good as his first, but filled with the sort of subtlety you'd expect nearly 20 years of record-making to bring! As always playing a mixture of blues, R&B, and stuff that will never get played on the radio in a million years so what's the point but that's OK, Cray and band tear through tracks like "Chicken In The Kitchen," "Trouble & Pain" and "That's What Keeps Me Rockin'," then leave the studio, drive through town, and eventually stop at a restaurant. Once there, they order dinner! Outside, dark clouds gather!

 The Nice: Fillmore East 1969 (EMD International import) I must say that in all my years as a rock critic--at least since 1998!--I have always parted company with my well-respected elders who have disrespectfully tossed the works of Keith Emerson's pre-Emerson, Lake & Palmer band the Nice into the same rubbish bin and declared them canonical inferiors to John David Souther, R.E.M. and, I dunno, Jay-Z! Dopes! Anyway, for two albums or so the Nice were one of the best bands ever--and this live package captures the fab flag-burners ripping through most of their best material in fine form! Perhaps its time we re-evaluate all pop music history and decide whether or not we've all of us--as a people--been fed lies, gross distortions of…(fades)....Hey look! A train!

 Anna Terheim: Leaving On A Mayday (Verve Forecast)  A great new album by Swedish songbird Terheim, who's a big deal in her homeland--she won the Best New Artist  Swedish Grammy for her 2004 album Something Outside--and will hopefully be a big deal here someday as well! It's a fair world! Great arrangements, interesting songs, cooly detached vocals, and just the sort of thing you'd hope for from a woman quoted as saying "If there's no pain, I have a hard time connecting to it"! Hopefully she wasn't talking about the Internet!

 Cobra Starship: Hot Mess (Fueled By Ramen/Atlantic) Devoting an entire album to the best track on the new Ashley Tisdale record is a fantastic idea! She's quite attractive!

[jazzviewswithcjshearn]

Reflections on Audiowave’s Blue Note XRCD audiophile reissue series

Generally on this blog, the spotlight is on reviews of jazz albums, new releases and some reissues.  I try not to refer to myself in reviews, shine my ego, make it about “me”, because my friend and mentor for a time, the incredible John Kelman at AllAboutJazz taught me that you have to let the words chosen say everything about the music.  Too often I've seen reviewers turn a discussion about an album into something less about music and more about them... so compared to my usual offerings, this post is a bit different, as it will explore the love of my favorite jazz record label of all time, and my love of sound.

Ever since I could remember when jazz captured my imagination as a small child, Blue Note has been a part of my life.  I recall being 3 4 or 5 and handling my first records as best I could, among them Jimmy Smith's The Sermon (Blue Note, 1958) and Midnight Special (Blue Note, 1960) the impeccable sounds captured by Rudy Van Gelder filled my ears.  I was also born with a natural aptitude for being an audiophile having grown up around stereo equipment, and my father and uncle (on my mom's side) being audiophiles.  I would be what you say an audiophile on a budget, the type that Steve Guttenberg, The Audiophiliac has called some of his favorite people.  In terms of “high end” audio, my system is not that, it's quite modest.  My main tools for listening are an Onkyo TX SR 304 receiver, Technics SB-A36 floor standing speakers, and my decade old Sony PS 3 I use as a CD player, aside from backing up my 700+ CD collection mostly in WAV format to my laptop and external hard drive.  What is the closest to being in an audiophile realm are the headphones I use, a pair of Beyerdynamic DT770 Pros which are my main form of listening.  Prior to that I've owned Grado SR 60's and two pairs of Audio Technica M40FS studio monitor headphones.  Like the Audio Technica's, the Beyerdynamics are a relatively flat frequency headphone, which is what I prefer, they are quite a bit heavier on bass than the M40's, but it's not like Beats heavy, and the Beats headphones to my ear are atrocious.  I once tested them at Best Buy to see what the hoopla was, and the completely throbbing, unmusical, bass was a massive turn off  which comes as no surprise.  The DT 770's also possess a solid mid range that enhances trumpets, saxophones and does a good job with the percussive thwack of drums... all things that relate to and benefit these Audiowave Blue Note reissues.  The DT 770's are revealing, and tell the truth about a recording, and compared to the M40's have a much wider soundstage, the M40's are almost mono, not a lot of separation. The Grado's were incredible, but they had a high frequency bump I found too overpowering.

The Journey into Blue Note XRCD

I had been familiar with the JVC XRCD series of CD's for quite a while, particularly since I owned a copy of Workin With The Miles Davis Quintet on a Japanese imported version mastered by Alan Yoshida which sounded quite nice.  I gave it to a friend who was building a jazz collection after I obtained The Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions box set mastered by Joe Tarantino utilizing the K2 process.  The JVC K-2 process is a fancy schmancy system developed by JVC to enhance the transfer of an analog source at high resolution and maintain the quality of the transfer despite being down sampled to the 16 bit, 44.1 kHz red book CD standard.  I also really like the sound of Tarantino's mastering, and the Miles set sounds so smooth. The XRCD process is full of technical jargon, but in a nut shell is a highly controlled one that ensures the best sound can be achieved on the CD medium, the caveat is that although it is marketed to sound as if it's a specialized format, it really is just a CD, and especially as the days of compact disc as a mainstream format are fading in the sunset, through the care of the mastering by Alan Yoshida, what a CD it is.

I knew of this series of issues way back in 2009 when they were released and always intended on picking up a few, but this past December was when I took the plunge.  My friend, who recently bought his first high end system, which I've had the pleasure of hearing, told me the XRCD's were on sale at elusive disc for $15 a pop instead of the standard $30.  He had recently purchased A Night In Tunisia by Art Blakey based on my album recommendation and was blown away.  I decided to order 17 titles, all priced at $15.  Rather than just order a few, I went all in, buying up favorite titles like the Blakey, Cool Struttin by Sonny Clark, True Blue and Back To the Tracks by Tina Brooks, but also many titles I never owned in any previous incarnation.  From all the reviews I read from people at the Steve Hoffman forums, even the usually vinyl centric Michael Fremer at Analog Planet, I knew these might be well worth it and they were.

Point of Departure

Like most serious Blue Note fans, my point of departure (pun intended) has been the original Ron McMaster mastered Blue Note CD's from their first wave of reissues in the mid 80's, early 90's, the TOCJ's (the acronym for Toshiba Classic Jazz) aka the Japanese Blue Note Works series, regarded by many to be some of the finest sounding CD reissues.  There also has been the limited edition Connoisseur series which began in 1994 featuring many titles mastered by Larry Walsh in the initial batches and the much derided RVG series, begun in 1998 and mastered by Rudy Van Gelder himself.  More on those in a minute, particularly how the XRCD's stack up vs the RVG's of some titles.  I also have a few of the superb 75th Anniversary reissues on SHM CD from Japan, and a 24/96 hi res version of Mosaic by Art Blakey, which is from Bernie Grundman's transfers.  There are also various vinyl reissues such as those done by Music Matters, which for some, outside of original Blue Note LP's, some United Artist era pressings and Japanese King pressings are considered to be the cream of the crop of Blue Note reissues on vinyl.  I do not do vinyl mainly because, having cerebral palsy, a physical disability that allows me the use of primarily one hand, handling vinyl is just not practical, and from the way I play music these LP's would probably be worn out!  Interestingly more knowledgeable folk than myself have indicated as good as the Music Matters 33 and 1/3 and the 45 RPM issues are they are nothing like a Blue Note original mastered by RVG. As a kid I owned plenty of original CTI LP's that Van Gelder mastered, and at WHRW my college alma mater's radio station I was able to hear a lot of Blue Note albums bearing the RVG stamp in dead wax.  Though each of the labels RVG made albums for had a distinct sound, whether it be Blue Note, Verve, Prestige, CTI, Impulse!,  Milestone, or Muse a unifying factor across all is that they had a very forward, exciting quality with a particular vividness to the horns and a punchy drum sound.  Some years ago at the website of London Jazz Collector, there was a post of a track from an original deep groove copy of trombonist Bennie Green's Soul Stirrin (Blue Note, 1958) and I was struck at how similar it sounded to an RVG mastered CD: the in your face quality, with a relatively flat 2 dimensional sound stage, with emphasis on a more “you are there” quality in the horns which has been described by Ohio based audiophile and long time  Blue Note and Organissimo forum member Lon Armstrong as reflecting a live jazz club experience.  

XRCD vs. Mc Master and RVG Blue Note CD's, etc.

The initial batches of RVG editions on Blue Note begun in 1998 initially were considered to be limited editions, but when the series gained momentum, his remasterings of Blue Note classics and some rarer titles gradually replaced the earlier McMaster CD's.  At the time, quite a few people were not content with the Ron McMaster renditions, and were eager to replace the then 10-15 year old masterings with the RVG's.  The first RVG I purchased and heard was Kenny Burrell's Midnight Blue (Blue Note, 1963) which I originally owned as mid 80's DMM Blue Note reissue LP when I was 6 or 7 years old. To my then 17 year old self I was struck by the clarity and the detail in the instruments, but at the same time, it was quite a bit louder and there was quite a treble and bass boost, not to mention a collapsed stereo spread that was more mono then stereo.  The early RVG's released in the US through 1999 had a near mono sound stage which was due to the anecdote that apparently Alfred Lion himself did not like the wider stereo spread, and also to the fact that Van Gelder monitored sessions in mono. Apparently Van Gelder wished to capture the original feel of how sessions sounded at playback, but according to message board posts by mastering engineers such as Steve Hoffman, and producer of the Audiowave Blue Note XRCD's,  and Music Matters LP reissues Joe Harley, this was not the sound on the master tapes.  The initial RVG batches had separate masterings for the US and Japan, and due to consumer complaints, Michael Cuscuna had the engineer restore a wider stereo spread to future releases.  There were also titles such as Wayne Shorter's Juju, The Soothsayer, and Herbie Hancock's Empyrean Isles that had to be redone entirely due to post production issues that added digital distortion.  The distortion on the horns on The Soothsayer RVG is so bad on the CD I have that I replaced it with a hi res 24/96 download from HDTracks.  The RVG is not bad otherwise, being from a much later batch from around 2007, but for whatever reason when Universal Italy put out Shorter's entire classic Blue Note run in a budget 11 CD set, The Blue Note Recordings they did not use the corrected RVG or mid 90's Ron McMaster version, which also had the error but was corrected.

I had gotten the A Night In Tunisia, and Sonny Clark Cool Struttin XRCD's to replace the RVG's and the Blakey title I had also owned in it's mid 80's Ron McMaster incarnation.  The MFSL gold CD was very out of print and far too rich for my blood to track down.  The difference between the RVG and Alan Yoshida mastered XRCD  was stunning.  The XRCD of the Clark title beat out the RVG no contest and has become my preferred version.  Here is why: the XRCD is just so natural. All these XRCD’s are so transparent. By comparison, the RVG (which was issued in 1998) is detailed, but has a narrow near mono sound stage, and over accentuated treble that makes Philly Joe Jones beautiful K Zildjian cymbals, splat rather than have a defined tonality with the attack of the stick definition, the bright initial tones that bring a sweet, dark wash that the XRCD brings out.  The horns sound incredibly realistic and vivid, Art Farmer's  fat, burnished middle register, and Jackie McLean's alto is rendered in all it's tart, acerbic glory. Paul Chambers' bass is nice and tight, round, and the infamous boxy Van Gelder piano sound? Somehow Yoshida's mastering breaks it out of the din, and the upper register sparkles.  And there is a fabulous depth of the sound stage where the sound of the famous living room of Van Gelder's parents' house is heard, bringing a 3 dimensional depth and bloom the RVG does not have.  Not to mention with all the Blue Note XRCD titles I have, the sound is breathtakingly transparent.  Even on my mid fi consumer grade Technics speakers, they virtually disappear, that's how well crafted these masterings are.  In Michael Fremer's Analog Planet review, he gives the edge to the Music Matters LP, but remarked on the “woodiness” regarding Philly Joe's sticks on drums.  What he really meant was hearing the attack of the sticks on the drum head, and cross stick patterns on the rim, and the XRCD really brings out this aspect.

Another big winner was Hank Mobley's iconic Soul Station (Blue Note, 1960) with the incredible supporting cast of Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and the ubiquitous Art Blakey on drums. Mobley recorded a grand slam of Blue Note titles that year with Roll Call, and Workout, the latter featuring Philly Joe Jones on skins instead of Blakey.  Soul Station might be akin to the Blue Note version of Miles Davis' Sketches of Spain (Columbia, 1959) in that it's a title that pops up in the collections of even those who aren't big on jazz. The relaxed, easy going vibe finds Mobley spinning inventive improvisations on standards like “Remember”, and his classic “Dis I Dig Of You” with superb accompaniment from the A list rhythm section.  The RVG edition of this title was underwhelming, again having the narrow mono like sound stage, and the bumped treble.  The XRCD version is revelatory to my ear.  Mobley has never sounded fuller, his tone is creamy and commands full attention.  Blakey's famous press rolls dynamically stunted on the RVG flow out like crashing waves with impact of the sound of sticks on the drum head.  I could go on about each reissue, but for the sake of brevity just a few were highlighted here.

Realism, 3-D Sound stage and the sense of space

In the final section of this article I would like to discuss the sense of space in these reissues.  Rudy Van Gelder recordings on many labels as I alluded to earlier possess a very specific type of sound stage where horns and drums in particular are very up front.  There isn't a huge depth in the sound stage, even on a fairly recent title like Joey DeFrancesco's Wonderful! Wonderful! (HighNote, 2010) the sound stage true to classic RVG form is very close, yet fairly monochromatic in depth.   While drums on classic Blue Note, Prestige and Impulse! recordings don't have microphones on every drum like many recordings of the past 35 years, the drum sound is very “in front” of the listener and alive.  On Jackie McLean's Bluesnik (1962) the late drummer Pete La Roca Sims' A. Zildjian ride cymbal is rendered with  stunning realistic clarity.  The A. Zildjian line is a much brighter cymbal than the K's, although they too can have a nice warm wash,  don't have the distinct shimmery metallic brightness that is a characteristic of Paiste's cymbals.  La Roca Sims' ride has a sunny attack and it's richness lies in the many rivets heard in the cymbal that create sustain.   Audiowave XRCD's positively shine in that it sounds like you are hearing an actual cymbal as opposed to a simulation.   The mid 80's and early 90's Blue Note CD's have this odd effect where the cymbals (particularly with Art Blakey) have a inarticulate white noise sputter to them.

On the mid 90's Connoiseur CD's and early 2000's entries that make use of Sony's Super Bit Mapping (SBM) process, the high end is almost hard and harsh, as an example, listen to Tina Brooks' The Waiting Game (Blue Note, 1961) for evidence, also the mids can appear a bit sand papery on quite a few of these SBM efforts.  Curiously, many Columbia/Legacy titles of Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis done by Mark Wilder use the same technology  sound wonderful and don't have this harshness to my ear.  The Blue Note Works TOCJ series is much more pleasing tonally than some of the earlier US Blue Notes.  Though mostly no mastering credits are given, it has been thought by some that these Japanese CD's are also mastered by Ron McMaster, although there has never been any confirmation to solidify this assumption.  On an early stereo session such as Jimmy Smith Plays Pretty Just For You (1957) issued only on CD in Japan, even with it's atypical sound stage of drums on the left, organ in the center and guitar on the right, there is  a depth quite similar to the Audiowave XRCD's. Another Organissimo and Steve Hoffman regular, Kevin Bresnahan has remarked that in his eyes the XRCD's are quite similar to the Japanese Blue Note reissues, and to my ear he is correct.  So for those that have both the XRCD and TOCJ versions of some of the titles, mileage may vary.  If you only have the XRCD, as far as standard CD the experience is a revelation.

The Rudy Van Gelder studio is an amazing sounding place, and A Night In Tunisia and Swing Swang Swinging by Jackie McLean capture this greatly. While on the original McMaster and the RVG of the Blakey title you could get a sense of this on the title track, on the XRCD the sound of the room naturally reveals itself beautifully.  The drums have body during the famous solo section with hand percussion and the cavernous tom drum hits with plate reverb linger at the end in a way not apparent on  other editions.  Perhaps it's a credit to Alan Yoshida's retention of dynamics that makes this quite noticeable, but the listener gets such a sense of the natural ceiling reverb combined with a bit of plate reverb on these reissues that is a characteristic of early 60's Blue Notes. You can bask in the space on Kenny Drew's Undercurrent and on Swing Swang Swinging, McLean's alto has the after trail of the ceiling reverb behind him, and on Horace Parlan's Speakin' My Piece Stanley Turrentine's big bold tenor is in the right channel with plate reverb going towards the center and left.  The realism of the horns is palpable on every title I've heard from this series but Tommy Turrentine, Lee Morgan, and Dexter Gordon are most impressive.  Al Harewood's fat, deep snare is captured to perfection on Doin' Alright by Dexter Gordon as well  as the Parlan titles.

Does the 3-D sound stage appear on other Blue Note CD's besides this Audiowave series? Yes.  On Eric Dolphy's Out To Lunch reissued in Japan for Blue Note's 75th anniversary in 2013, it comes very close to capturing that depth. Although a bit louder and brighter than the XRCD series, this 2013 reissue is the best CD version of the Dolphy I've ever heard.  The Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock titles from this series are outstanding as well.

Final words

In closing, I find that this Audiowave XRCD Blue Note series remastered by Alan Yoshida to be the best digital Blue Note I've heard.  I would have loved to hear titles such as Unity by Larry Young, Blue And Sentimental by Ike Quebec, Maiden Voyage by Herbie Hancock and Happenings by Bobby Hutcherson  and A Blowin' Session by Johnny Griffin in this series, but it appears it has come to an end. The mono titles like Lee Morgan's Candy are terrific and a massive improvement over it's inclusion in Mosaic's The Complete Blue Note Lee Morgan Fifties Sessions box set released in 1995.  Although that set's version uses a stereo tape, it is marred by a severe wow and flutter effect that's very noticeable on tracks like “Personality”.  While Hancock's Takin' Off, Lou Donaldson's Lou Takes Off, Look Out!, That's Where It's At by Stanley Turrentine and Grant Green's Talkin' About are listed as pre order, they have remained so for 4 or 5 years and it appears they are not coming out.  There is only one XRCD plant in Japan and that could be a possible reason.  I would also want to see more titles from the avant garde era of Blue Note  as the albums produced between 1964-66 are some of the best in the label's history, but perhaps the Audiowave series reflects the tastes of  the series producers and consumer base.  To be fair,  though outstanding, a lot of the titles are a bit musically conservative, falling on the hard bop spectrum and a bit more adventure would be great.  “Audiophile” selections in my experience tend to be a little safe musically. Overall, the series is recommended and should be purchased while they are still around.  Thanks for reading!  Peace, love, groove and keep swinging.

(c) 2019, CJ Shearn

[stormyrecords-blog]

GIANT new release list

stormy records13306 michigan avedearborn, mi 48126 313-581-9322 AMAZING week of new releases - we've got new works by old favorites (members of SCORN, PANASONIC), JOHN ZORN, EUGENE CHANDBOURNE, new music by COLLEEN, KING KRULE, DON CABALLERO, and hallowwen favorites including BOLLYWOOD BLOODBATH, GUNDELLA THE WITCH, and VINCENT PRICE!!!!!! so many great new tunes for your ears!!! new arrivals for 10-20-17 BULLY:   "LOSING"  (Sub Pop)  LOSER EDITION COLOR VINYL LP - $19.99 / CD - $13.99        BRAND NEW FULL LENGTH!   Free Poster & Sticker (while supplies last) WOLF PARADE:   "CRY CRY CRY"  (Sub Pop) LOSER EDITION COLOR VINYL Double LP - $24.99 / CD - $13.99       A couple of weeks late on this one, but we do have the Loser Editions!  Free POSTER and STICKER while they last COLLEEN:   "A FLAME, MY LOVE"  LP - cd $16.99 lp $21.99A flame my love, a frequency marks another bold step in Colleen's evolution as an artist, as Schott set aside her signature instrument the viola da gamba for an entirely electronic setup, utilizing pocket synthesizers and Moog pedals. Like her move from instrumental music to vocally driven songs, or her move from guitar to cello to the viola da gamba, the keyboard melodies of the album captures Colleen's ability to adapt and grow with each release, while retaining her singular qualities as an artist. KING KRULE:   "THE OOZ"  Double LP      $25.99   COURTNEY BARNETT & KURT VILE:   LP - $19.99 / CD - $13.99 DESTROYER:   "KEN"   Color Vinyl LP w/ BONUS 7" - $26.99 /  Black Vinyl LP - $19.99 / CD - $13.99   THE CLIENTELLE:   "MUSIC FOR THE AGE OF MIRACLES"  LP - $19.99 SPOON:   "GA GA GA GA GA"  Double LP - $29.99       10th Anniversary Re-issue.  Remastered 180 gram.  Download Included.   Extra 12" includes previously unreleased songs. SUPERCHUNK:   "SUPERCHUNK"   LP - $19.99      Remastered Debut Album comes with a poster & an additional download of a 1990 NYC concert. WILLIAM TYLER:   "DESERT CANNON"  Double LP - $21.99      Double LP cut @ 45 rpm.  USA Re-issue of this album originally an import only release from 2008 WILLIAM TYLER:   "MODERN COUNTRY"  LP - $19.99        Back In Stock!   Outstanding recent release by this wonderful instrumental guitarist.         A Stormy Records favorite! RADIOHEAD:   "OK Computer OKNOTOK"  Triple LP - $39.99      BLUE COLOR VINYL!!!! One Copy Back In Stock   PAVEMENT:   "CROOKED RAIN, CROOKED RAIN"  LP - $20.99       Back In Stock after a long absence. THE NATIONAL:   "SLEEP WELL BEAST"  Double LP - $25.99      Blue Color Vinyl.  1st time in stock.   JACKIE SHANE:   "ANY OTHER WAY" (Numero)  Double LP - $25.99 / Double CD - $21.99  Known by genre aficionados as one of the greatest singers and most riveting stage presences in soul music, Jackie Shane has remained largely unknown outside Toronto, where her career briefly flowered in the 1960s. Beyond her unmistakable gift of the gab, Shane is a pioneer of transgender rights, born in a male body but unabashedly living her entire life as a woman at a time when to do so seemed unthinkable. Any Other Way is the first artist-approved collection of Ms. Shane's work, collecting all six of her 45s and every highlight from the legendary 1967 live sessions at the Sapphire Tavern, including three mind blowing, previously-unreleased tracks. Rob Bowman's 20,000 word essay is Jackie's first communication with the public in nearly half a century, telling for the first time ever Jackie Shane's story in her own words. RITUAL HOWLS:  "THEIR BODY"  5 song 12" EP - $14.99       Back in stock - brand new music! ALEX LAHEY:   "I LOVE YOU LIKE A BROTHER"  (Dead Oceans)  LP - $17.99        Limited Edition OPAQUE YELLOW VINYL Pressing DON CABALLERO:   "SINGLES BREAKING UP (Vol. 1)"  LP - $21.99       13 song collection of singles from the 1990's.   COLOR VINYL first edition - download included.   HEADROOM:   "HEAD IN THE CLOUDS"  (Trouble In Mind)  LP - $17.99        Color Vinyl 1st pressing.   PASTOR T.L. BARRETT:   "LIKE A SHIP...(Without A Sail)"  (Numero)  LP - $16.99         FINALLY BACK IN PRINT!   JOHN CARPENTER:   "LOST THEMES"   (Sacred Bones)  LP - $18.99         GREEN VINYL * Limited to only 500 copies JOHN CARPENTER:   "ANTHOLOGY Movie Themes 1974-1998"  (Sacred Bones)  LP + 7" - $22.99         Limited Edition COLOR VINYL pressing - includes a bonus 7" CULTS:   "OFFERING"  LP - $21.99        Brand New Album REPTALIENS:   "FM-2030"  (Captured Tracks)  LP - $18.99          "Full of lush melodies and catchy hooks, Reptaliens create psychedelic, chameleonic dreamscapes on their debut album" NHK YX KOYXEN:   "EXIT ENTRANCE"  (DFA)  LP - $18.99 Exit Entrance is the Japanese techno artist’s first record for the veteran New York label. According to a press release, the album’s eight tracks cover “elegant arrangements and crisp drum breaks”. The album closes with ‘Outset’, a “somber hushed techno tune” dedicated to the late Mika Vainio, who collaborated with Matsunaga on several records over the years. SHIGETO:   "THE NEW MONDAY"  Double LP - $22.99         Brand New Release * COLOR VINYL and also comes with a SHIGETO button. MOGWAI:   "EVERY COUNTRY'S SON"  Triple LP Box Set - $52.99         third album in this limited edition Box Set includes demo versions.  Also comes with the CD version and a set of photo prints. ASTON NEIGHBORHOOD PLEASURE CLUB featuring DAVID J  -  "HIS SIDE / HER SIDE"    $9.99      BRAND NEW Clear Vinyl 7" Single released by HOLD FAST.        Limited Numbered Edition of 500 copies HER DARK HOST  -  "CRIMSON QUEEN" / "LYCANIA"         $6.99      Danzig / Blues Metal.   Brand New Single released by HOLD FAST.       Limited Numbered Edition of only 300 copies "THE ORBIT MAGAZINE ANTHOLOGY"    256 Page Book  $35.00   die ANGEL: Entropien l LP $23.99Ilpo Väisänen (Pan Sonic) and Dirk Dresselhaus (Schneider TM) retitle themselves Die Angel for Entropien 1, their eighth LP of electro-acoustic music together, and the duo's debut for Shapednoise's Cosmo Rhythmic label. Accompanied by skilled improviser Oren Ambarchi on two tracks, Die Angel model a complex physicality through raw, elemental inputs, exploring a flux of reactive feedback processes and mutating, unstructured sonic states generated from crackling fusions of electronics, drums, electric guitar, and field recordings warped and riddled with FX. Taking its title from both the Finnish word and German plural for entropy -- in physics, the measure of thermodynamic disorder within a system -- Entropien 1 renders seven examples of their kinetic systems in elusive action, keening from arrhythmic mulch to sloshing Brownian motions and a brilliantly towering 15-minute exploration that tips into billowing, white hot feedback with scintillating effect. The amorphous results document and describe a freeness of energy travelling from body to machine and diffused across alternating acoustic environments. Each player works as controlled, external variables which act upon and interact with the different acoustic conditions to tempestuous impact, convulsing between squashed, recursive diffractions in "Roha", to the sublimated roil of jazz drums and electric guitar wail in "Terminen Kevät", before harnessing sloshing feedback chaos in the combustible, diaphanous two parts of "Entropia" -- both "North" and "South" -- which bring the LP to its logical, compelling conclusion. With the addition of Wold or KTL-like metal emulsification and lacquer-bubbling grain in "Kitka", and Ambarchi's plasmic overdubbing in the burning plasmic plong of "Silvaticum", the overall impression is like auditive DMT, dissolving the senses and the ego -- simultaneously theirs and the listeners -- to better snag the listener in the music's metastable potential and aid our unanchored exploration in those dimensions. Entropien 1 is dedicated to Mika Vainio. RIYL: Pan Sonic, Mika Vainio, KTL. Mastered and cut by Matt Colton at Alchemy. Sun Ra: Discipline 27-II CD $16.99Corbett Vs. Dempsey present a reissue of Sun Ra Discipline 27-II, originally released on El Saturn Records in 1973. Arguably the last great original-era Saturn LP to be reissued on CD, Discipline 27-II has long deserved to be more familiar to Sun Ra fans and layfolk alike. Recorded during the same sessions in 1972 at Chicago's Streeterville Studios that produced Ra's most popular and best-known record, Space Is The Place (1973), it's got much the same vibe, from the 24-minute four-part suite of the title track -- an important conducted piece that Ra performed frequently in these years -- to the opening cut, "Pan Afro", with John Gilmore's sensational tenor work. Sporting a percussion-rich 18-piece Arkestra, the music can be thick, voluble, and dense or it can winnow down to a small group, as on the delightful track "Neptune", a vehicle for June Tyson's singing and the site of the indelible Sun Ra space chant: "Have you heard the latest news from Neptune, Neptune, Neptune?" This marks the first time Discipline 27-II has been reissued on CD. It has been remastered from the original tapes, includes a never published period photo of Ra by Charles Shabacon, and ends with an explosive bonus track from the same session, showing quite a different side of the same ensemble. Personnel: Sun Ra - electronic keyboard space age instruments, Moog synthesizer, vocals; John Gilmore - tenor saxophone, percussion, vocals; Marshall Allen - alto saxophone, flute; Danny Davis - alto saxophone, flute; Pat Patrick - baritone saxophone, bass; Danny Thompson - baritone saxophone, flute; Eloe Omoe - bass clarinet, flute; Akh Tal Ebah - trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals; Lamont Kwamie McClamb - trumpet, percussion; Russell Branch - percussion, congas; Stanley Morgan - percussion, congas; with Alzo Wright, Harry Richards, Lex Humphries, Robert Underwood on drums and vocals by June Tyson, Cheryl Banks, Judith Holton, and Ruth Wright. Cover art by LeRoy Butler; cover design by Alton Abraham. Recorded by Ed Michel at Streeterville Studios, Chicago, October, 1972; LP produced by Alton Abraham for Infinity Inc. Chadbourne, Eugene: Lost Eddie Chatterbox Session CD $16.99Corbett Vs. Dempsey present The Lost Eddie Chatterbox Session, a reissue of Eugene Chadbourne's album, first released as a cassette on No Prestige Records in 1988. Dateline: Christmas Day, 1977, San Francisco. On an ailing quarter-track tape deck, in a marathon session, Eugene Chadbourne recorded a series of slide guitar solos playing compositions by the likes of Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, and Ornette Coleman, along with a few standards and originals. Although the recording quality was imperfect, the playing was absolute genius -- enough so that Chadbourne was eventually convinced, a decade later, to issue it as a cassette tape, which he sold at concerts. Long pre-dating the slash-and-burn-and-reinvent approach to jazz songbooks now familiar from groups like News From Lulu, Chadbourne leapt into each short track with giddy abandon, introducing the piece with a nerdy credit line, then ripping and tearing at it adoringly, his improvisations forcing a new view of the familiar melodies. Anyone familiar with Chadbourne's wonderful duets with Frank Lowe on Don't Punk Out! (1979), waxed in the same period, has a general sense of his modus, but the complete commitment he gave to the project on The Lost Eddie Chatterbox Session makes it a special and wholly unique item in the manic master's chronicles. On this special CD reissue, the tracks have been tenderly but respectfully restored, eliminating some of the most distracting audio flaws but leaving the inconceivable artistry intact. Four unreleased tracks have been added to the jam-packed program, as well as the original cover photo and Chadbourne's unreadable track listing, which is carefully reproduced on the interior. Recorded December 25, 1977, in San Francisco John Zorn and Eugene Chadbourne: 77-81 LP+BK   $44.99Song Cycle Records present a reissue of 1977-1981, a collection of rare free-jazz pieces performed by John Zorn and selected by the American guitarist and music critic Eugene Chadbourne originally released in 1998. Originally released to accompany the book release of Sonora: John Zorn (Materiali Sonori), the album is presented here for the first time in an exclusive release in limited edition on vinyl. This special issue includes the original book that features exclusive interviews, essays, and photos about the artist's entire oeuvre up to 1988. VA: Bollywood Bloodbath CD $17.99 VA: Bollywood Bloodbath 2LP $29.99restock on one of carl's essentail listening favorites!!black vinyl,  2 slabs of screams, sighs, shrieks and sitars!! songs from horror slasher bollywood films - makes great halloween listening!! Caretaker: Everywhere At The End Of Time 1-3 3CD set $29.99The first three stages in a series of six albums by The Caretaker, compiled here on a deluxe three CD collector's edition. Each album reveals new points of progression, loss and disintegration, progressively falling further and further towards the abyss of complete memory loss and nothingness... Embarking on the Caretaker's final journey with the familiar vernacular of abraded shellac 78s and their ghostly waltzes to emulate the entropic effect of a mind becoming detached from everyone else's sense of reality and coming to terms with their own, altered, and ever more elusive sense of ontology. The series aims to enlighten our understanding of dementia by breaking it down into a series of stages that provide a haunting guide to its progression, deterioration, and disintegration, and the way that people experience it according to a range of impending factors. In other words, Everywhere At The End Of Time probes some of the most important questions about modern music's place in a world that's increasingly haunted or even choked by the tightening noose of feedback loops of influence; perceptibly questioning the value of old memories as opposed to the creation of new ones, and, likewise the fidelity of those musical memories which remain, and whether we can properly recollect them from the mire of our faulty memory banks without the luxury of choice. It's highly encouraged that you join The Caretaker on this, his final journey through the endless haunted ballrooms and mazy corridors of his wasting mind... Features new and exclusive artwork by Ivan Seal on each panel -- made especially for this series. Housed in a deluxe eight-panel, triple digifile. Mastered and cut by Lupo. Fret: Over Depth 2LP $28.99  Mick Harris (Scorn, Quoit, Painkiller) returns after several years of hiatus with ten tracks of blasting landmine bass and interlocking shrapnel rhythms. Derek Szeto on the album: "... For someone with decades of releases over various solo projects, collaborations and pseudonyms, whether it's doing blast beats in the original Napalm Death to crushing techno brutality as Monrella, or savage drum & bass as Quoit. Then of course there's the mighty Scorn and his numerous collaborations with fellow luminaries such as John Zorn and Bill Laswell (in Painkiller). Rather than being tied to genres or scenes, Mick Harris is one of those producers who creates a whole sonic world uniquely of his own . . . Needless to say his work has influenced legions of producers like Surgeon, Regis, Ontal, Vatican Shadow/Prurient, Fausten, Shapednoise et al. . . . And yet after all this time, it is impressive that Harris still stands way above his successors and has never been surpassed in his own production/performance game. After a hiatus of several years, he is back with a new album under the guise of Fret. Working at a faster tempo than his Scorn material, the Fret project first surfaced years ago on the Downwards label, rooting it firmly in the dark, industrial and technoid world, and appeared more recently on Tresor (Kern mix by Objekt), maintaining the characteristic colossal bass-heaviness and textural depth. And now a full album on Karlrecords, Berlin. Harris fans will be delighted to know that despite the 130 bpm tempo, the newest Fret still resolutely avoids any straight four-on-the-floor kick drums; every track lurches, stumbles, staggers and charges forth with beats in beautifully broken asymmetry. We get ten tracks of crushing, percussive destroyers, each itself a storm of precision chaos, with colossal low-end frequencies that'll cause stampedes in the right circumstances. The classic Harris sound is there; searing waves of feedback distortion, intricate, interlocking rhythms and cold, abattoir atmospheres . . . The lazy-minded would probably lump it in with the term 'techno', but the disciplined brutality, blasting landmine bass and interlocking shrapnel rhythms are clearly Harris's own trademark style, sitting somewhere between Scorn and Quoit. The tracks appear deceptively chaotic on the surface, yet each is meticulously and masterfully composed with great attention to layering and detail." 180 gram vinyl; Includes download code. Outro Tempo: Electronic And Contemporary Music From Brazil, 1978-1992 double cd $22.99Double CD release of the outstanding compilation, Outro Tempo: Electronic And Contemporary Music From Brazil, 1978-1992. Contains three tracks not included on the double LP version (MFM 016LP). For their first multi-artist compilation, Music From Memory take a trip to the heart of the Amazon rainforest. Outro Tempo: Electronic And Contemporary Music From Brazil, 1978-1992 explores the outer reaches of Brazilian music, where indigenous rhythms mix with synthesizers and where MPB mingles with drum computers. As Brazil faced the last years of its military dictatorship and transition to democracy, a generation of forward-thinking musicians developed an alternative vision of Brazilian music and culture. They embraced traditionally shunned electronic production methods and infused their music with elements of ambient, jazz-fusion, and minimalism. At the same time they referenced the musical forms and spirituality of indigenous tribes from the Amazon. The music they produced was a complex and mesmerizing tapestry that vividly evoked Brazilian landscapes and simultaneously reached out to the world beyond its borders. Features: Piry Reis, Nando Carneiro, Cinema, João De Bruçó & R. H. Jackson, Os Mulheres Negras, Fernando Falcão, Anno Luz, Andréa Daltro, Bené Fonteles, Maria Rita, Carlinhos Santos, Bené Fonteles, Priscilla Ermel, Carioca, Marco Bosco, and Luhli E Lucina. Greiner, Svarte: Knive LP $23.99Miasmah present a reissue of Svarte Greiner's debut album Knive, originally released on Type in 2006. 11 years since its inception, the surreal and darkly romantic Knive still sounds like a mystery and something that's hard to pin down. Svarte Greiner's debut album feels like a trip into the forest at midnight, with all the sounds and impressions that comes with it. Spiritual, horrific, and fragile in essence, its melancholic core is hard to shake off, and feels as present today as it did back then. While starting off the sub-genre of "acoustic doom" back in 2006, it's difficult to say what else to name it now, with its inspiration and elements from countless genres. The record flows through the dissonant cellos and washed-out vocals of "Ocean Out Of Wood" past the introverted church organs of "The Black Dress", distorted guitars and wooden beats of "The Dining Table" to the operatic finale of "Final Sleep". Everything is scattered, with field recordings from crows, branches, walking, sleeping, rain, wind, and who-knows-what. Knive stands on many feet, wherever they may be. Erik K Skodvin's path as Svarte Greiner have since been dwelling more and more into this world, picking each element apart to focus on them, stretching them out or cutting them down, looping, experimenting, and flooding with reverb -- trying to make time stop and night fall. But for now a re-visit to where it all started seems appropriate. Includes download code; Full-tone color artwork; Edition of 500. Partch, Harry: And On The Seventh Day Petals Fell In Petaluma  lp $26.99Performed by The Gate 5 Ensemble: Harry Partch (director), Danlee Mitchell, Harry Partch, Michael Ranta, Emil Richards, Wallace Snow, Stephen Tosh. Limited edition LP release (180 gram vinyl) with previously unpublished bonus tracks + free download card. "'In late 1962 Harry Partch returned to California and began a project that would not only become the bones of a masterwork, Delusion of the Fury, but have a life of its own. In a too-small space within an abandoned Petaluma chick hatchery, Partch gathered the instruments he had designed and built -- new and old -- eager to once again expand the boundaries of his compositional fabric. He learned each individual part as he composed, establishing that it could be played. And On The Seventh Day Petals Fell In Petaluma (1963-64, rev. 1966) was born of his exploration and assembled with that 'minimum of players' over a three-year period. In spite of rough conditions and meager resources Partch's dogged persistence, along with the efforts of his dedicated assistants, eventually succeeded in realizing the 34 verses of expanded duets. With this album we revisit an important work and turning-point, guided by the original 'Statement' Partch wrote for the first commercial release of the piece. Previously only excerpted, it is a voicing of his beliefs that transcends one project to illuminate an entire purpose. We also reprise exquisite notes by the late Bob Gilmore, who distills and explains the story of Petals so clearly and eloquently. No one wants a dead reissue, so by digging into the archives, I am pleased to offer hidden gems. First, The Petals Sessions is an aural glance into the cramped quarters of the recording space, as composer and players labor to bring new notes to life, Harry himself giving direction. The montage ends with a 'test take' by Danlee Mitchell and Michael Ranta that could have easily been a keeper! Finally, we present the original Verse 17. In 1964 Partch wrote two duets that used the Adapted Viola; by the time the piece was finished in 1967, he had excised them. The ending track -- never before released -- brings Harry back to life, playing and recording Adapted Viola for one of the last times. I was completely unaware of this recording until I examined the outtakes and it glows, fifty years on. That Petals ever came to be, like much of Partch's story, stands somewhere between determination and miracle.' --Jon Szanto, The Harry Partch Foundation" Price, Vincent: Hornbook for Witches  CD $12.99Reissue of the ultra-rare 1976 vinyl, Vincent Price's A Hornbook For Witches, Stories And Poems For Halloween, on CD for the first time. Turn up the volume, and turn down the lights. Suspense-master Vincent Price presents a hair-raising, bone-chilling collection of classic horror tales featuring a ghastly brew of witches, ghosts, and goblins. Edgar Allan Poe's eerie Dreamland, John Collier's offbeat Thus I Refute Beezly, and Marias Leech's practical but frightful How To See Ghosts Or Surely Bring Them To You, are just a few of the tales stirring up fear in this chilling concoction of horror. These stories, sounds, spells, and incantations will send shivers up your spine. This is a truly amazing landmark recording from the good old days presented by one of the greatest voices of horror. Also features pieces written by Leah Bodine Drake, Charles Kingsley, and John Kendrick Bangs. Comes complete with all the original stunning album artwork. Digitally remastered. Gundella - The Hour Of The Witch LP $27.99 Make someone love you, discourage an unwanted suitor, and more - with the power of witchcraft! Finally, this obscure LP of spells reappears! A descendant of the green witches of Scotland, part of a Detroit area coven, and author of multiple books and a newspaper column helping solve everyday problems from the Wiccan perspective, Gundella helps you test your psychic powers, make ritualistic candles, and mold wax dolls. She’ll define witchcraft & magic, and teach you how to cast your own spells! Gundella’s arcane instructions are accompanied by a perfectly atmospheric and esoteric soundscape created by her son. All scribed into bewitching green vinyl or CD! Both including extensive notes by Gundella’s daughter! The LP features a 16 page portfolio of Witch Watch articles compiled by Gundella herself! Kelela - Take Me Apart black vinyl $24.99 Kelela - Take Me Apart (TRANSPARENT VINYL) $28.99With great anticipation, Kelela's debut album emerges as an epic portrait of an artist spanning the past and future of R&B. In her hands, however, the genre knows no boundaries and so Take Me Apart exists as an absolutely singular and fearless addition to a canon of recent classics. From her very earliest work, honesty and vulnerability have been cornerstones of Kelela's art - even when clad in the armor of the avant-garde electronics she so deftly inhabits - and Take Me Apart sees her double down on both the emotional intensity and resonance of her message as well as the sonic seeking she is renowned for. Single vinyl with printed inner and outer sleeves includes download code. Various Artists - Detroit Ghetto Blues 1948-1954 LP $20.99 Laraaji - Bring On The Sun + Sun Gong CD restock  $17.99 Wolfe, Chelsea - Hiss Spun LP $26.99 While past albums operated on the intimacy of stripped-down folk music (The Grime and the Glow, Unknown Rooms), or the throbbing pulse of supplemental electronics (Pain Is Beauty, Abyss), Chelsea Wolfe’s sixth official album Hiss Spun wrings its exquisiteness out of a palette of groaning bass, pounding drums, and crunching distortion. Recorded by Kurt Ballou (Converge), the album was conceived as an emotional purge, a means of coming to terms with the tumult of the outside world by exploring the complexities of one’s inner unrest. “I’m at odds with myself,” she explains. “I got tired of trying to disappear. The record became very personal in that way. I wanted to open up more, but also create my own reality.” Hiss Spun features contributions by Aaron Turner (Old Man Gloom, SUMAC) and Troy Van Leeuwen (Queens of the Stone Age, Failure). Various Artists - Lake Michigan Blues 1934-1941 LP  $20.99 MacKay, Bill and Ryley Walker - SpiderBeetleBee LP $22.99 Drag City presents the second volume of Bill MacKay and Ryley Walker's inspired collaboration. It's been nearly two years since their much-admired 2015 debut, Land of Plenty (Whistler Records), and SpiderBeetleBee more than makes up for lost time with rich, resonant performances that elevate the sound of the guitar duo as they work with an ever-widening panorama of styles. Their first album was developed over a month-long live residency at Chicago bar The Whistler, and reflected MacKay and Walker's shared joy in a new relationship with a kindred spirit, in playing that might wordlessly finish a phrase or suggest a direction, as they spoke through their guitars. SpiderBeetleBee continues fluidly down the path of their initial psych-folkblues-raga tandem, brewing further explorations in mixed-and-matchedidioms, turning composed melodies inside-out via improvisation, and finding in the blend a shared Walker/ MacKay pasture, serendipitously found somewhere between Appalachia and the Highlands. SpiderBeetleBee radiates forth with equal parts austerity and whimsy, opening with an almost-baroque dance before giving way to a Celtictheme, both featuring MacKay and Walker's acoustics in rambling conversation, picking through intricate passages as though they were exchanges, thoughts and afterthoughts. The second of these, Pretty Weeds Revisited is enhanced by sonorous statements from Dutch cellist Katinka Kleijn (a veteran of the CSO), showing a deep, instinctive feel for the Walker/MacKay sound. The album then takes an unexpected turn at midpoint, slowly melting down and drifting soulfully through the expansive space of Naturita. Side two picks up the tempo on 'I Heard ThemSinging,' with the aid of MacKay's requinto (a kind of 5-string Mexican guitar), Walker's rolling chords and the percolating tabla of Ryan Jewell, suggesting a hitherto unknown short-cut from Brazil to India. Drafts of slide guitar and bittersweet blues evocation illumine further fruitfultravels before Dragonfly, also featuring Ms. Kleijn's haunting cello, closes the cycle with a flourish. Adorned with Bill MacKay's colorful and wilfully primitive cover-art, SpiderBeetleBee wanders through styles, landmasses and hemispheres, capturing the further adventures of MacKay and Walker with spellbinding snapshots that only bloom Iggy & The Stooges - Raw Power limited  RED VINYL lp $29.99 "Released less than a year after The Idiot, Lust For Life is a return to the sloppy, sleazy, blues-y, swagger of the Stooges. Though the record is, again produced by David Bowie, he takes much more of a back seat musically, allowing for Iggy Pop to take center stage in his return to form. His best solo album and an absolute classic from this legend. Limited edition of 1,000 on red vinyl." Upcoming events at Trinosophes Coming Soon:10/27: ��City of Djinn,  Lime Rickey International 11/3: Embral, Devotional11/10: Circuits Des Yeux - $10 general admission $12 at the door. Advance tickets available at Trinosophes or by phone during business hours. 12/2: NOW! (Alex Harding, Vincent Chandler, Leonard King, Phil Hales)12/6: Larry Oches/Nels Cline/Gerald Cleaver Trio. Related10/26: Joel Peterson performs an original score to silent classic   Der Golem  at Toledo Museum of Art EL CLUB UPCOMING SHOWS  (most shows all ages - ticket will say all ages or not)remember - tickets are cash only. this saves us all the service charges!! algiers fri oct 20th $13giraffage sun nov 5th $17kelela tues nov 7th $20parquet courts thurs nov 16th $17daniel ceasar sun nov 19th $15 MARBLE BAR (all shows 18 and over) cults sat oct 21st $19hoop sun oct 22nd $5bully wed nov 8th $15shy girls thur nov 9th $13cold specks wed nov 29th $10 ASSEMBLE SOUND (18 and over) the blow, ema fri nov 17th $13

[stormyrecords-blog]

new arrivals 3-1-17

stormy records13306 michigan avedearborn, mi 48126 313-581-9322 hello friends of stormy!!great used jazz lps in this week - django, herbie, miles, and a bunch of meat and potatoes rock and roll, with added dashes of experimental and sound effects lps. moog, kodak - it's bee a good week for interesting used lps!! in TODAY Goblin - Profondo Rosso (LP)  $32.99Goblin - Suspiria (LP)  $32.99Goblin - Tenebre (LP) $32.99goblin soundtracks for horror films back in stock!! always a spine tingling listen!! Coil - Astral Disaster (LP)  $26.99In 1998, Coil were invited to record at Sun Dial’s studios beneath the London Bridge Hop Exchange—a studio originally know as Samurai Studios, originally built and owned by Iron Maiden. The premises in Victorian times was an old debtors prison which had three underground levels, and still had the original chains, manacles and wrought iron doors from the old prison. This caught the attention of John Balance, who was very keen to record there. Coil spent a number of days recording at the studio during Halloween 1998. With Gary Ramon’s help, they developed a number of tracks, some of which resulted in this LP. Ramon produced and mixed the Astral Disaster recordings, as well as playing guitar and sitar on these sessions. A version of the album was later remixed by the band and released on their own label—but the Prescription mixes as released in 1999 are unique. This rare album was part of the legendary subscription-only Prescription label album series in the late 1990’s, issued in an edition of 99 signed and numbered copies, long since sold out. (If you are wondering, originals fetch £700+). This is the first time the album is being released officially since 1999. Taken from the original masters, this reissue comes with original sleeve artwork, insert, and the facsimile signatures of John Balance and Peter Christopherson that came with the first issue. Yellow vinyl limited edition of possibly the rarest of all Coil recordingsRecorded in 1998 at Sun Dial studios, in the bowels of a Victorian era debtor’s prison Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (2xLP)  $44.99Fire Walk With Me is an altogether more brooding affair than the Twin Peaks series soundtrack. Badalamenti won a grammy for the title track of this LP and it’s not hard to see why- it’s dangerous, and bursting with smokey jazz thanks to Jimmy Scott. We went back to the master tapes in the Warner Archives and had this recut to fit across two LPs as the score clocks in at 51 minutes. It sounds incredible and punchy, but super nuanced too.Director approved artworkComposer approved audioSleeve notes by film critic Mark Kermode (approved by David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti)Vinyl re-master by Tal Miller at Warner ArchivesLaquers cut by David Cheppa at Plush Vinyl2 × 180G Cherry Pie vinyl425gsm Gatefold sleeve housed inside a bespoke black die cut outer jacket with black spot varnish finish, complete with obi strip Angelo Badalamenti - Twin Peaks (Original Soundtrack) (LP) - 2nd Pressing  $32.99“I’m glad that after 25 years, Death Waltz Recording Company has re-released the original soundtrack for Twin Peaks for a new audience to enjoy. This is my defining work as a composer and I’m happy it will get a fresh listen” – Angelo Badalamenti 2016 Hayes McMullan - Every Day Seem Like Murder Here (LP)  $31.99Bluesman. Sharecropper. Church deacon. Civil Rights activist. Hayes McMullan should be a name on every Blues aficionados’ short-list and thanks to the preservation fieldwork carried out by one of the genre’s greatest researchers some 50 years ago – it might soon be. Born in 1902, Hayes McMullan was discovered by the renowned American roots scholar, collector and documentarian Gayle Dean Wardlow. Wardlow, author of the seminal blues anthology Chasin’ That Devil Music – Searching for the Blues, may be most famous for uncovering Robert Johnson’s death certificate in 1968, finally revealing clues to the bluesman’s mysterious and much disputed demise. Moreover, in his tireless and committed mission to preserve the Blues for future generations, he captured McMullan’s raw talent on tape and on paper. Wardlow recorded these sessions, transcribed the songs and now, writes the sleeve-notes for this landmark release. Wardlow and McMullan met by chance on one of the former’s record-hunting trips, in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, in 1967. Having introduced himself to McMullan on a hunch, it turned out this unassuming elderly man had not only heard of Wardlow’s idol, Charley Patton, but had played alongside him in the 1920s, as part of a brief musical journey that took him from the plantation to the open roads and juke joints of the Depression-era South. Striking up a friendship that was deemed unorthodox in 1960’s Mississippi, Wardlow traveled to McMullan’s sharecropper’s shack and convinced him to play guitar for the first time since he quit the Blues for the Church in the 30’s. “Hayes was playing like no one I had ever heard,” Wardlow writes with amazement. Wardlow visited McMullan on a handful of occasions, always taking his recorder, a guitar and some whiskey with him. It was during these visits that Wardlow captured – with surprising clarity – the songs that make up Everyday Seem Like Murder Here. Hayes McMullan passed away at the age of 84 in 1986, his talent and legacy largely unknown. “Reflecting now on our brief time together, I marvel at the small glimpse of something much larger I was lucky to have captured,” writes Wardlow. “The few old snapshots I took, the handful of tunes we recorded, and his brilliant performance of “Hurry Sundown” captured on film are all that’s left of the musical legacy of Hayes McMullan, sharecropper, deacon, and—unbeknownst to so many for so long—reluctant bluesman.” Konami Kukeiha Club - Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest OST (LP)  $27.99Mondo is proud to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Castlevania franchise with the premiere vinyl release of the original soundtrack to the 1987 Famicom / Nintendo Entertainment System sequel: Simon’s Quest. Featuring both the NES and FAMICOM versions of all 9 BMG tracks from the game. Musically, Simon’s Quest is the origin of one of the most popular of Castlevania BMG, “Bloody Tears.” A staple of the sonic landscape for the series, here it is as the soundtrack to your daylight encounters across the dangerous Transylvanian landscape. It is one of the catchiest 8-Bit tunes to ever come out of this era of Konami games and an example of the best of what Video Game Music has to offer. IN ON THURSDAY RUSSELL, ARTHURInstrumentals 2LP  $34.99"Remastered double LP with 12 page booklet including liner notes by Tim Lawrence, Ernie Brooks and Arthur Russell. All material previously released on the Audika CD compilation First Thought Best Thought (2006). Before disco, and before the transcendent echoes, Arthur wanted to be a composer. His journey began in 1972, leaving home in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Heading west to Northern California, Arthur studied Indian classical composition at the Ali Akbar Khan College of Music followed by western orchestral music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, before ending two years later in New York at the Manhattan School of Music. Traversing the popular and the serious, Arthur composed Instrumentals in 1974, inspired by the photography of his Buddhist teacher, Yuko Nonomura, as Arthur described, 'I was awakened, or re-awakened to the bright-sound and magical qualities of the bubblegum and easy-listening currents in American popular music.' Initially intended to be performed in one 48 hour cycle, Instrumentals was in fact only performed in excerpts a handful of times as a work in progress. The legendary performances captured live in New York at The Kitchen (1975 and 1978) and Franklin St. Arts Center (1977) feature the cream of that eras downtown new music scene including Ernie Brooks, Rhys Chatham, Julius Eastman, Jon Gibson, Peter Gordon, Garrett List, Andy Paley, Bill Ruyle, Dave Van Tieghem, and Peter Zummo. Pitchfork lauded Instrumentals Vol. 1 as a masterpiece and one of Arthur's 'greatest achievements'. Americana touching on Copeland, Ives, and maybe even Brian Wilson. Instrumentals Vol. 2 is a moving, deeply pastoral work performed by the CETA Orchestra and conducted by Julius Eastman. Also included are two of Arthur's most elusive compositions, 'Reach One', and 'Sketch For Face Of Helen'. Recorded live in 1975 at Phill Niblock's Experimental Intermedia Foundation, 'Reach One' is a minimal, hypnotic ambient soundscape written and performed for two Fender Rhodes pianos. 'Sketch For Face Of Helen' was inspired by Arthur's work with friend and composer Arnold Dreyblatt, recorded with an electronic tone generator, keyboard and ambient recordings of a rumbling tugboat from the Hudson River. For this remastered vinyl edition, a key part of Arthur's musical life has been restored. The sparkling, multidimensional results take the listener closer to Arthur's coast-to-coast journey: his iconoclastic determination to combine pop and art music; and his desire to make music that would resonate in the present and, ultimately, across time." BROTZMANN/VAN HOVE/BENNINK PLUS ALBERT MANGELSDORFFElements LP   $34.99Peter Brötzmann: tenor saxophone; Fred Van Hove: piano; Han Bennink: drums, voice; Albert Mangelsdorff: trombone. Recorded during the Free Music Market, August 27 and 28, 1971, in Berlin. Designed by Peter Brötzmann. Part of the legendary "Berlin Trilogy" originally released by FMP in 1971 (FMP 0030). 180-gram vinyl. One-time pressing of 500. First standalone reissue. "What reveals itself in the über energetics on display here is the ability of one quartet to take so much for granted and yet express so much in the process. Van Hove, for instance, shuns all conventions in his approach to the piano: he quotes Liszt and Schubert as well as Ellington and Peterson then wipes all of them out with his elbows as if erasing a chalkboard. His 'Florence Nightingale' is a perfect example. Texturally, he creates diversions from the fury while never disengaging from it. Brötzmann and Mangelsdorff are out and out challenging each other to see who can destroy their instruments first, and Han Bennick is the most proactive percussionist in jazz history. His use of anything and everything while simultaneously playing a trap kit that creates time is astonishing. Elsewhere, on Brötzmann's 'Elements,' African percussion and slow, long opened tonal drones by Mangelsdorff create a backdrop for the other two to explore without rushing in. Brötzmann enters almost tenderly, looking for a room to exit out of, but engaging himself in the microtonalities created by the rhythm section. Van Hove's long augmented chords create a mode for not opening but splintering that exit and Brötzmann ushers the band through in a hurry heading for the outer reaches of the possible. . . . one of the best documents of the period on any continent." --Thom Jurek, AllMusic, 1991 BROTZMANN/VAN HOVE/BENNINK PLUS ALBERT MANGELSDORFFCouscouss de la Mauresque  $34.99Peter Brötzmann: tenor saxophone; Fred Van Hove: piano; Han Bennink: drums, voice; Albert Mangelsdorff: trombone. Recorded during the Free Music Market, August 27 and 28, 1971, in Berlin. Designed by Peter Brötzmann. Part of the legendary "Berlin Trilogy" originally released by FMP in 1971 (FMP 0040). 180-gram vinyl. One-time pressing of 500. First standalone reissue. "Brötzmann's regular trio was joined by the trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff, one of the most respected German jazz musicians, who has managed to keep abreast of musical developments for more than a decade. Those who remember him only for those fine early-sixties albums (like Tension, on German CBS) will be in for a shock, because he's updated his playing all the way. On 'Couscouss De La Mauresque', for instance, his tonal distortions rival those of Paul Rutherford, as he backs Brötzmann's wailing with a rip-snorting obligato. He has the advantage of being a virtuous technician, so that some of his wilder flights are truly breathtaking. . . . Mangelsdorff's technique doesn't hinder his fire, either, and he's well able to stand up to the rest of this very hairy band. Van Hove and Bennink obviously know each other inside out by now, and you'll hear few more exciting passages of music than their interlude during the trombonist's solo on 'Couscouss'. Bennink is getting further into textures every day, and on this album makes great play with his steel-drum and many unidentifiable implements, thus giving the music a great deal of variety. If you wanted to buy just one of these records, it would be very hard to choose because the level is so high throughout." --Richard Williams, Melody Maker, February 5, 1972 BROTZMANN/VAN HOVE/BENNINK PLUS ALBERT MANGELSDORFFThe End  $34.99Peter Brötzmann: tenor saxophone; Fred Van Hove: piano; Han Bennink: drums, voice; Albert Mangelsdorff: trombone. Recorded during the Free Music Market, August 27 and 28, 1971, in Berlin. Designed by Peter Brötzmann. Part of the legendary "Berlin Trilogy" originally released by FMP in 1971 (FMP 0050). 180-gram vinyl. One-time pressing of 500. First standalone reissue. "The great thing about this trilogy/set is how naturally everything flows. . . . each subdividing of the group, each solo excursion, feels smooth and logical, as though the player(s) in question had nodded to the others as if to say 'Gimme a minute here, I've got an idea,' and received assent in response. There's all the ferocity any free jazz diehard could ask for, but it never goes on so long that it becomes schtick, and it's always countered by passages that are genuinely beautiful in the most conventional, you-could-play-this-for-your-mom sense. Even without Mangelsdorff, Brötzmann, Van Hove and Bennink were a remarkably empathetic and attuned team, and when he joined them (and these records document their second and third times playing together, ever), everyone's game was raised." --Phil Freeman, Burning Ambulance, 2013 Dominatrix: Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight LP $19.992017 edition. "The Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight has a long and storied history among connoisseurs of '80s New York dance music. Combining catchy, deadpan synth-pop and classic '80s electro hallmarks with the provocative edge of leather-and-lace sex culture, it remains a worldwide dancefloor staple to this day. Despite its popularity, little has been known about the song's background. The brainchild of producer Stuart Argabright (nee Arbright, a member of the groups Ike Yard and Death Comet Crew); alongside DJ and remixer Ivan Ivan; Kenneth Lockie (from Cowboys International, and early Death Comet Crew); and vocalist Claudia Summers; the song's dominating female subject was based on a person whom Arbright had dated. The song -- and a banned-by-MTV video that today could be mistaken for a Victoria's Secret commercial -- became a club smash at famed Danceteria and other urban meccas. But, despite some leather-clad live dates in 1984, the group itself was short-lived. This special Get On Down vinyl edition is sure to be coveted by fans and collectors. Beyond four original mixes of the song (12", Chants, Dominant and Beat Me) that fans know and love -- this full-length LP includes the newly unearthed song 'Play It Safe' and the rarely heard, hypnotic 'City That Never Sleeps,' in addition to the rare 1984 'Scratch Mix' of the original title song, with cuts by the legendary DJ Red Alert. The deluxe vinyl package is accompanied by a 16-page glossy booklet with text by writer Dave Tompkins and input from Argabright and Ivan Ivan. Additionally, fans will be thrilled into submission by visuals and press clips relating to the original release on Arthur Baker's Street Wise Records; the song's provocative video; as well as the dominatrix culture in New York City at the time which inspired this unlikely smash hit." Moondog: Viking Of Sixth 2LP $26.992017 repress, originally released in 2005. Tremendous gatefold presentation and one of HJR's most impressive documents to date. "The first overview of Moondog's amazing artistic life -- including recordings spanning from 1949 till 1995, with numerous 78s and various other vanished records revived for the first time (not to mention a couple of Weegee photographs!)." JULIE'S HAIRCUTInvocation And Ritual Dance Of My Demon Twin   $18.99Julie's Haircut - Italy's premiere psychedelic explorers - create a deep-end approach to sonic innovation on Invocation And Ritual Dance Of My Demon Twin, their debut release for Rocket Recordings. Seven albums into their mission, the band find themselves at a new plateau of small-hours elucidation and revelation that may summon the specters of the wayward squall of early Mercury Rev, the shamanic allure of Dead Skeletons, the freedom of Miles Davis, the repetition of Can, or the wild soundscapes of Amon Düül II to some, yet essentially sound like no one but themselves. The result is a record built on trance-like repetitions that grows to a mantric intensity, summoning atmospheres redolent of the psychic and surreal transgressions of its title - a double-helix tribute to both Frank Zappa and Kenneth Anger. Coruscating guitar overload and jazz-tinged blow-out collide amidst hypnotic soundscapes like the shamanically inclined "The Fire Sermon" and the eleven-minute motorik magnificence of the curtain-raiser, "Zukunft". Atmospheric restraint, glacial texture, and immersive groove play as large a part in this blinding and beatific sound world as droning darkness or overheated amp tubes. Lucier, A: Music On Long Thin Wire CD $14.991992 release. First released on Lovely Music in 1980. A 50-foot length of taut wire passes through the poles of a large magnet and is driven by an oscillator; the vibrations of the wire are miked at either end, amplified, and broadcast in stereo. The thin wire is set vibrating four times at four different frequencies; what results is not the low drone one might expect from a long, vibrating wire, but a complexity of evocative, ethereal chords. Music On A Long Thin Wire is a classic example of Alvin Lucier's investigations into the physics of sound and the sonic properties of natural processes. CHRISTIANSEN, HENNING  $29.99Opus 67 Strategygetarts A Symphony, Hommage A Richard Demarco LPOpus 67 Strategygetarts A Symphony, Hommage Á Richard Demarco is a previously unissued recording by Henning Christiansen from 1971. In 1970, the Richard Demarco Gallery in collaboration with the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf organized the exhibition, Strategy: Get Arts. This celebration of art from Düsseldorf was held at the Edinburgh College of Art during the Edinburgh International Festival. The title of the exhibition was a palindrome created by André Thomkins and featured works by Joseph Beuys, Claus Böhmler, George Brecht, Henning Christiansen, Robert Filliou, Dorothy Iannone, Mauricio Kagel, and Dieter Roth amongst others. Opus 67 Strategygetarts A Symphony, Hommage Á Richard Demarco was sent to Richard Demarco as a gift following the exhibition. Having returned to Denmark, Christiansen, along with sound technician Peter Sakse, created Strategygetarts, a sound collage incorporating field recordings from urban spaces, supermarkets, a boxing game, etc. The sole "musical" element is a piano motif which repeatedly punctuates the recordings. The first side moves forwards, the flip back. A reverse groove will set you straight. Opus 67 Strategygetarts A Symphony, Hommage Á Richard Demarco comes in a high-gloss sleeve, featuring two original artworks by Henning Christiansen; Edition of 500.