Timbuk3 - Greetings from Timbuk3 (1986)

'For most people, Timbuk 3 is the answer to that music trivia question of what band had the one hit in the mid-1980s about the future being so bright you have to wear shades. But for those of us living in Austin, Texas in the 80s, they were the little band made good on the same Indie label as R.E.M., and when their second album didn't strike the same national chord as the first, we shrugged and thought the third would. But it didn't, nor did the fourth or the fifth even though fans like myself bought them. Pegged as a novelty band, their fifteen minutes were used up in that one song, to be replaced on national radio by quirkier bands like Smash Mouth, Barenaked Ladies and Cake.

I like all their albums, but I find this debut to be the most consistent although certain later individual songs are stronger. At the time of this release, Timbuk 3 were the husband and wife team of Pat and Barbara McDonald. Pat played guitar and harmonic while Barbara played bass or guitar. The unofficial third member of the group was the boombox with drum loops. For their live shows, for example, Pat would place the boombox on a stool on the stage of the Hole in the Wall, a burger joint on the Drag next to the University of Texas, and he and Barbara would swap out cassettes depending on the song they wanted to play. (They would later expand to an actual four piece with a rhythm guitar and drummer.)

Greetings from Timbuk 3 captured perfectly the quirky and unconventional arrangements fostered by being a two-piece trying to sound larger (think They Might Be Giants). The opening one hit, signifying its difference from the run of the mill with the opening funky guitar and harmonic, then the nasally voice of Pat singing, "I study nuclear science / I love my classes / I've got a crazy teacher / He wears dark glasses." Personally, the song appeals to me as much for the intertwined voices of Pat and Barbara (recalling some kind of 80s indie Fleetwood Mac) as the implied sarcasm (or is it understated irony) of the lyrics. Like the Mac, each song features the harmonies of a male and female singer, with one voice taking a slight lead.

The album switches between the goofy ("Hairstyles and Attitudes"), the serious ("I Love You in the Strangest Ways"), and the indescribable ("Facts About Cats"). But all of the songs have infectious melodies on the order of "The Future's So Bright," albeit neither vocalist has a strong or soothing voice, typically sounding more like Stan Ridgway and Exene Cervenka than Elvis Presley and Karen Carpenter. What then becomes the focus is the lyrics, which, even in the love songs, are clever and surprising. For example, in the song "Just Another Movie," Pat sings:

"Presidential elections are planned distractions
To divert attention from the action behind the scenes
Like a game of chess when the house is a mess
Or a petty money squabble when your marriage is in trouble
Or a football game when there's rioting in the streets"

I'm sure some of why I like this album is its Austin roots. But the main reason it appeals to me is its strange blend of cynicism and humor and the egalitarian union of male and female. It's an album that reflects me, my beliefs and style, and that proves it irrestible.' Amazon.com review



Tracks:

1. The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades
2. Life Is Hard
3. Hairstyles and Attitudes
4. Facts About Cats
5. I Need You
6. Just Another Movie
7. Friction
8. Cheap Black and White
9. Shame on You
10. I Love You in the Strangest Way

my vinyl @256

The Gadgets - Gadgetree (1980)

The Gadgets' debut album which came out in March 1980. Band members were Colin Lloyd Tucker, Matt Johnson (who became famous as "THE THE"), and John Hyde. Great minimal synth/electro album which reminds me of early Yello and The Residents. Since most of the tracks fade into each other I decided against a track indexing so that it doesn't spoil your listening pleasure...


Tracks:

1- SIDE A (Kyleaking/Making Cars/Narpoth/U.F.O. Report No.1/Sliddery/Singing In The Rain/Only One Me/Shouting ‘Nispers’/There Over There

2- SIDE B (Termite Mound (The Sound)/Slepe/Devil’s Dyke/Six Mile Bottom/U.F.O.Report No.2/Autumn 80/Duplicate/Pog Track/Thin Line)

my vinyl @256

my God, forgive me when I complain about life

my God, forgive me when I complain about life

Novalis - Flossenengel (1979)

one of the very few NOVALIS albums which are out of print (a CD version is know to exist, but I never came across a copy), this is the "Flossenengel" concept album from 1979. Symphonic prog/pop rock at its best, although at the end of that decade the 'prog' element was trimmed down to a minimum when compared to earlier albums like "Sommerabend" or "Banished bridge". Subsequent albums after "Flossenengel" paled in comparison, the 80s just weren't the right decade for these proggers and they split up in 1985.


Tracks:

1- Atlanto
2- Im Brunnen der Erde / Brennende Freiheit / Im Netz
3- Flossenengel
4- Walzer für einen verlorenen Traum
5- Sklavenzoo
6- Alle wollen leben
7- Rückkehr / Ob Tier, ob Mensch, ob Baum

my vinyl @256

The Schramms - Rock paper scissors dynamite (1992)

'Melding pop, folk-rock, and alt-country sounds with quirky wit and a keen intelligence, the Schramms were the brainchild of gifted guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Dave Schramm, who debuted the group in 1987. Schramm, who had previously played with Human Switchboard and Jon Klages, left Yo La Tengo in 1986, following the release of their debut album, Ride the Tiger, and he soon began working up material with fellow Human Switchboard alumnus Ron Metz and drums and bassist Terry Karydes, who had played in an embryonic version of Yo La Tengo. After Karydes' bass was stolen, she moved over to keyboards, and Mike Lewis, another former member of Yo La Tengo, took over on bass, with guitarist Todd Novak and sax player Pete Linzell filling out the lineup. The band dubbed themselves the Walking Wounded and lined up a short tour only to discover a group in California was already using that name; as a joke, the band billed themselves as the Schramms for the duration of the tour, only to discover the name stuck. They opted to keep the moniker. The pocket-sized independent label OKra Records invited the Schramms to record an album, and they released Walk to Delphi in 1989. However, OKra's distributor, Rough Trade, went out of business a matter of weeks after the album came out, effectively stalling its release in the States. To the band's good fortune, the Schramms developed a strong following in Germany, and the European label Normal Records signed on to release the second Schramms album, Rock, Paper, Scissors, Dynamite, in 1992. By this time, Lewis, Novak, and Linzell had bowed out of the band; Al Greller signed on as the new bassist, and Schramm opted to go on without a sax or second guitarist. In 1993, Karydes also left the band, with George Usher taking over on keyboards; this edition of the Schramms recorded two albums, 1994's Little Apocalypse and 1996's Dizzy Spell. (Little Apocalypse was released in the United States by East Side Digital, who the following year reissued Walk to Delphi and gave Rock, Paper, Scissors, Dynamite its belated American debut; Dizzy Spell was distributed by the fledgling alt-country label Checkered Past.) In 2000, the Schramms returned to the recording studio with another new lineup -- Andy Burton joined as keyboard player after the departure of Usher, and a second guitarist, Jon Graboff, who had often guested with the group, signed on full-time. 100 Questions was the Schramms's first album which was not self-produced; J.D. Foster oversaw the sessions, and Syd Straw, Richard Buckner, and Jeb Loy Nichols contributed guest vocals." ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide


Tracks:

The Welfare Of Your Enemy
The Right Place
Cycle Of Days
Let Them Lie Down
How Many Lives
Talking To Me Poor
Funeral Song
In The Mirror
The Chill
Her Darkness
Nine Years
In The Ghost House

@256

Rain Parade - Crashing dream (1985)

"Crashing Dream, Rain Parade's major label debut, has one simply beautiful song ("Depending on You"). Another ("Mystic Green") sounds uncannily like the Records, while "Don't Feel Bad" hybridizes two Beatles songs (you figure out which ones). The album is attractive but flimsy--competent technique in search of a spine and a direction. In other words, it sounds like the work of a band on the verge of breaking up--which, in fact, Rain Parade did not long after the album's release." Mazzy Star
This was my first RAIN PARADE album, I bought it back in 1986 after it was voted 'Album of the month' in the German MusikExpress magazine. Great songs, great sound, and it's a shame that it has never been released on CD. This is the vinyl version (I once also had the official MC version, but it's slurring so heavily that you don't really want to listen to it ;-)


Tracks:

1- Depending on you
2- My secret country
3- Don't feel bad
4- Mystic green
5- Sad eyes kill
6- Shoot down the railroad man
7- Fertile crescent
8- Invisible people
9- Gone west
10- Only business

my vinyl @256

Zoogz Rift - Amputees in limbo (1982-85)

..and here's another one, a fine selection of Zoogz Rift recordings from 1982-85. Or as the maestro sez: "a collection of odds and ends too good to go unheard". Right on.


Tracks:

1. Heart Attack [1984]
2. But the Picture Has a Mustache [1984]
3. Moron Serenade [1984]
4. Evil Eye [1982]
5. Buffy and Jody [1982]
6. My Daddy Works for the Secret Marines [1982]
7. Searchin' for Clams Under the Glass Bottom Boat [1984]
8. Secret Marines - The Sequel [1983]
9. Disintegration Waltz [1983]
10. Eyes of Bodhidharma [1985]
11. Art Band [1984]
12. My Stuffed Animals Have Rabies [1982]

my vinyl @256

Voice Farm - The world we live in (1982)

'San Francisco's Voice Farm was a trio - two guys who appear on the front cover dressed only in their underpants, and a less-exposed female - employing synthesizers, vocals and acoustic percussion to weave moody instrumentals.

Then, Voice Farm finds the group reduced to its core: Charly Brown (vocals/keyboards) and Myke Reilly (keyboards/percussion/voices). Aided by an assortment of backing singers and a guitarist, the two are firmly in vocal/song mode, pairing their rhythmic sonic adventures with witty, pointedly satirical lyrics about intriguingly offbeat modern subjects.'

I had a sealed vinyl copy of this, the first VOICE FARM album and put it onto CDR. Enjoy this little masterpiece!


Tracks:

1. A.M. City
2. Lost Adults
3. Beatnik
4. Davy's Big Battle
5. Mama Made Me Do It
6. Sally Go Round the Roses
7. Double Garage
8. Follow Me Home
9. Voyeur
10. Cheeno
11. Over and Over

my vinyl @256

Gary Lucas - Gods and monsters (1992)

'Here is the brillant follow-up to Gary Lucas' Skeleton at the Feast. It is an unique sculpting of compositions and utilization of various musicians from different backgrounds and cities. Mr. Lucas appears to have a keen, supreme way of knowing, or selecting the proper folks to create his monstrous brew. Hence, we have the first Gods and Monsters recording. Once again I find his work very approachable, honest, sincere and have used this recording almost like a library archive; it was my first Lucas acquistion when it came out. We also have Gary piloting the controls at warp factor #10 so you can be assured of a very memorable ride. The first composition: "glo-worm" is a lightning ripping fingerpicked floopter that is jangled nicely by Rolo McGinty's vocals. Rolo hails from the group, "The Woodentops." " Poison Tree" exudes textures that are akin to a visitation, or the levitation of women in Andrei Tarkovsky films. Mary Margaret O'Hara's voice seems to spread out and circulate like the delicious geometry of the lovely St. Lawrence river on an autumn afternoon. " Astronomy Domine" is a high-octane cover of the Syd Barrett composition and reminds one of how delicious a vivace for lemonade can truly taste. " The Brain from Planet Eros" scorches the very walls of Gotham as it roars and cries out for more. The piece features Jon Langford on vocals who hails from , " The Mekons." "King Strong" closes out the album and is bold and courageous like red, or Beethoven riding a tidal wave into shore...' from an Amazon customer review.


Tracks:

1. Glo-Worm
2. Skin The Rabbit
3. Poison Tree
4. Jack Johnson/Ghostrider
5. Whip Named Lash
6. Fool's Cap
7. Astronomy Domine
8. The Brain From Planet Eros
9. Dream Of A Russian Princess
10. The Crazy Ray
11. King Strong

@256

Paul Roland - Sarabande (1994)

another fine Paul Roland album, this is the out of print CD version.


Tracks:

1- The King will come
2- Morgan Le Fay
3- Beyond the realm of sleep
4- Sister Jazz
5- Ophelia
6- Serpent's skin
7- A thousand and one nights
8- I'm not like everybody else
9- Waltzing the square ring again
10- Meadows of the sea
11- Me and the Devil blues (CD extra track)

@256

Zoogz Rift - Nonentity (Water III: fan black dada) 1988

The cover photo of Zoogz Rift looking pensively through tree branches might lead you to wonder if the famously angry and eccentric guitarist had released a sensitive, low-key album. The surprising answer is yes, he did -- at least, by his standards. Throughout Nonentity, Rift sings in a more relaxed, conventional style than at any other point in his career, and he's surprisingly affecting -- the normally confrontational, forbidding artist allows a bit of yearning and playfulness into his material. Unusually, much of that material is written by other people -- Rift covers three Tim Buckley tunes and one song by his frequent collaborator, John Trubee. The latter number, "When My Ship Rolls In," is the high point of the album. Though this version doesn't have the lush orchestration that Trubee gave it on his own album, the quieter, more intimate setting fits the song very well. Elsewhere, Zoogz Rift plays around a bit -- though he hates being compared to Frank Zappa, "Chromium Slit Negatives" is very reminiscent of Zappa's '60s rock parodies. Those who purchased the vinyl version of Nonentity only got the material which appeared on side one of the cassette or the first half of the CD version. The second half is mostly taken up with a rambling instrumental that is by turns fascinating and frustrating, as accordionist Rocky Howard keeps breaking into "Roll out the Barrel" in the middle of a rock jam, with various other bandmembers collaborating or playing countermelodies. It's a piece of lighthearted fun that fits Nonentity, an album that doesn't abandon Zoogz Rift's quest to awaken his audience, but tries a different strategy. ~ Richard Foss, All Music Guide


Tracks:

1. Deliquent Payments
2. Locked Out
3. Look at the Fool
4. Chromium Slit Negatives
5. With My Bare Hands
6. When My Ship Rolls In
7. The Enigmatic Embrocation of Mrs. Compost Heap
8. Bring It on Up
9. Helpless

@256

Dreams So Real - Gloryline (1990)

the second and last of my DREAMS SO REAL posts, this is their 3rd album "Gloryline" which almost levels their previous work "Rough night in Jericho"..close but no cigar. But still an excellent album.


Tracks:

1- Gloryline
2- Stand tall
3- We have danced the night away
4- The knife edge
5- Overton Park / Faith
6- Here comes the train
7- Day after day
8- Here to speak my mind
9- World gone mad
10- Long road
11- The fine line

@320

Miracle Workers - Overdose (1987)

the album is hard to find these days...recorded in May 1987 in Berlin, Germany (a three hour drive from where I live), this is a much more punk rock oriented album. Gone is the Farfisa Organ sound which categorized them as 60s neo psych band, and although I think it's a nice album it doesn't quite reach the same level of intensity as albums like "Inside Out" or "Moxies Revenge". But download and be happy...


Tracks:

1- Rock'n'Roll revolution in the streets, Pt. 2
2- Lights, camera, action
3- Just can't find a better way to waste your time
4- No use
5- Without her around
6- When a woman calls my name
7- She's got a Patron Saint
8- Teenage head
9- When are you gonna care
10- Little doll

my vinyl@256

Zoogz Rift - Murdering Hell's Happy Cretins (1988)

another one of my Zoogz Rift albums, this is the CD version which includes "Mongoloid Middle America" (one of you bloggers requested this title, so here it is). Released in 1988, the first half ("Live in Holland") contains a live recording in Eindhoven, The Netherlands on May 14,1988. Side B ("Dead in Los Angeles") are studio cuts recorded in August '88.


Tracks:

1- Story of a soldier
2- Alienation
3- Mongoloid Middle America
4- Heart Attack
5- With the necessary changes having been made
6- Look at the fool
7- Sleazeball
8- When my ship rolls in
9- Puke Island paradise
10- Murdering hell's happy cretins
11- Tender romance sequence
12- "One of us!"
13- A equals A

@256

The Gadgets - Love, curiosity, freckles & doubt (1980)

the second of my GADGETS postings, this is also their second album which was recorded in May 1980. If you like their first one "Gadgetree" you will certainly also love this one. Instead of the crappy vinyl I once had I was lucky to find a used CD which sounds much better. Synths and vinyl surface noise just don't fit together well :-)


Tracks:

1- Bodorgan
2- Godgetspeak
3- Checking to make sure (yep)
4- Aeron
5- Leave it to Charlie
6- Prayers
7- Happy Enido
8- Quatt
9- Pictures of you
10- An ft
11- Railway line through Blubberhouses
12- She's Queen of Toyland (Hurrah)
13- Sex
14- It wasn't that way at all
15- The death and resurrection of Jennifer Gloom
16- Bill Posters will be prosecuted

CD@256

M+M (Martha & the Muffins) - The world is a ball (1986)

"The World Is A Ball" makes me think of weather. We did the rhythm tracks at Le Studio, north of Montreal, surrounded by huge snow drifts. Drummer Yogi Horton and bassist Tinker Barfield had come up from New York, (still wearing their Luther Vandross tour jackets), to do some tracks. Walking with Martha and me down a half-buried lane, they were astounded by the snow. "So this is what Canada is like!" Then on to David Lord's studio in Bath, England where we spent the spring and summer of 1985 doing overdubs and mixing. A lot of rain in a beautiful city.We returned to Toronto in the middle of summer to find it buried under a canopy of trees. It seemed almost tropical. Perhaps the climate changes as well as the obsessively long recording process influenced the making of "The World Is A Ball", for it seems to me the most schizophrenic album we have ever made. Straightforward pop/funk tunes like "Song In My Head" rubbed shoulder to shoulder with angry diatribes like "Stuck On The Grid" and "Don't Jump The Gun", the latter marrying our love of noise, (angry wasp sounds and underwater shouting from a "sub-igloo"), to David Lord's masterful vocal arrangements. When RCA balked at releasing "Only You" as a single, (featuring the brilliant rhythm section of David Piltch on bass and Michael Sloski on drums), Martha and I took the matter into our own hands. We shot several hours of black and white Super 8 film footage utilizing projected lyrics and primitive, real-time "special effects" like mounting the camera on a washing machine in spin cycle. With the inspired editing of our friend Bob Kennedy, we made the best video of our careers for only a few thousand dollars. RCA released the song as a single and the video received considerable critical acclaim as well as influencing the look of several subsequent television commercials." from Martha & the Muffins official website.

This was taken from my MC version which sounds as good as the CD (if there ever was one?!..) One of my fave Martha recordings, only beaten by their 1st & 3rd album...


Tracks:

1- The world is a ball
2- I watch, I wait / Watching the boys fall down
3- Only you
4- By the waters of Babylon
5- Song in my head
6- Don't jump the gun
7- Stuck on the grid
8- Someone else's shoes
9- As a matter of fact

my MC@256

Who played with dolls

Who played with dolls. If you remember Put Like

The Gadgets - Blue Album (1983)

The Gadgets' third work, released in 1983 and sounding a bit different than the two previous, more minimal synth oriented albums. From the rare Plastic Head CD which is long out of print. After the "Blue Album" Matt Johnson left the band and got popular with "Soul mining", his second THE THE album which got released the same year.


Tracks:

1- We had no way of knowing
2- Space in my heart
3- Bodies without heads
4- The boyfriend
5- Uneasy listening
6- Juice of love
7- Discuss the sofa
8- Long empty train
9- Bite the sawdust
10- Broken fall

CD@256

 

KTP (Kissing the Pink) - Certain things are likely (1986)

By 1986, Kissing the Pink had shortened their name to KTP and recorded their most successful LP, Certain Things Are Likely. More commercial than any of their previous efforts, Certain Things Are Likely was Kissing the Pink's concession to their label Magnet's demand for a chart smash. The hits never really came, except that the title track reached number one on the Billboard dance charts; moreover, the single "One Step" went to number one in Italy. from Answers.com


Tracks:

1. One Step
2. Never Too Late to Love You
3. Certain Things Are Likely
4. Dream Dream
5. No-One's on the Same Side
6. Can You Hear Me
7. Jones
8. Identity Card
9. One Day
10. I Won't Wait
11. One Step (extended mix)

@192

Squirrel Bait - Squirrel Bait (1985)

'Squirrel Bait were a mid 1980's (1983-1988) punk band from Louisville, Kentucky. Their sound, a metal flavoured hardcore featuring pronounced tempo shifts, clearly foreshadowed the grunge sound as well as math rock. They signaled the second coming of American punk - bands of little brothers and sisters who got to grow up on Black Flag and Hüsker Dü without a preparatory course in Supertramp. ... Like a hundred other little Düs across the country, Squirrel Bait managed to make a couple of records before spintering off to form five more bands. Unlike most of that punk rock loam, the members of Squirrel Bait chewed up their legacy and shat out something curious and consequential." Wikipedia

This is their first mini album which came out in 1985. Great great stuff, a lot better than their follow-up 'Skag Heaven'.


Tracks:

1. Hammering So Hard
2. Thursday
3. Sun God
4. When I Fall
5. Final Chapter
6. Mixed Blessing
7. Disguise
8. Perfect

@VBR