Titãs - Cabeça Dinossauro (1986)

The majority of the members of the band met at Colégio Equipe in São Paulo at the end of the seventies and, after their first live performance at the school itself in 1981, the band began to play shows in several night clubs in the city. The first formation was: Arnaldo Antunes (vocals), Branco Mello (vocals), Marcello Fromer (guitar), Nando Reis (bass guitar), Paulo Miklos (sax and vocals), Sergio Britto (keyboards and vocals), Tony Bellotto (guitar), Ciro Pessoa (vocals) and André Jung (drums). It was a pop/new wave-styled band, with a rather conventional sound and odd looks, with tender and little ball neckties. In 1984, without Ciro Pessoa, who left over a disagreement about Andre Jung's drumming skills, the band signed with the WEA label to record their first album, Titãs, produced by Pena Schimdt. Although poorly promoted and hardly a success, the band spawned their first hit: "Sonífera Ilha"(Sleepy Island), later recorded by singer Moraes Moreira.
In 1985, with Charles Gavin replacing André Jung on drums (the latter going on to Ira!), their second album, Televisão (Television), produced by Lulu Santos, was released with tighter arrangements than their debut album. Not only was the title track their greatest hit to date, the album was more heavily promoted than the first one and brought more opportunities to the group.
In November 1985, Tony Bellotto and Arnaldo Antunes were arrested for heroin traffic and transportation. The episode made so much of an impact in the band, the next album, Cabeça Dinossauro, released in June 1986, contained a lot of tracks criticizing the public institutions ("Estado Violência"(Violence State) and "Polícia"(Police)), as well as other "pillars" of the Brazilian society and indeed society in general ("Igreja" (Church) and "Família" (Family)). The heavy and punk-influenced rhythms and the forceful lyrics, characteristic of the band in this phase, are fully represented in this album which is considered by the critics one of the best works of the group and one of the landmarks of the Brazilian rock.
Jesus Não Tem Dentes No País Dos Banguelas (Jesus doesn't have teeth in the country of the toothless), released at the end of 1987, continued in the same vein as the previous album in tracks like "Nome aos Bois"(Name to the Oxes, an expression meaning "Naming the guilty"),"Lugar Nenhum"(Nowhere) and "Desordem"(Disorder), however adding samplers in tracks like "Corações e Mentes"(Hearts and Minds), "Comida"(Food) and the aforementioned "Lugar Nenhum". After some international performances, the band recorded some of their hits in live venues and released Go Back (ao vivo) in 1988.
The producer Liminha (a former adjunct member of Os Mutantes) was always an important associate of the band since Cabeça Dinossauro, and this association arrived to its climax in Õ Blésq Blom (untraslatable), one of the most popular productions of the band by that time. Some of the prominence tracks: "Miséria" (Misery), "Flores" (Flowers),"O Pulso" (The Pulse) and "32 Dentes" (32 Teeth). One of the prominent features of this work was the special guest appearance of a couple of improvisors, called Mauro and Quitéria, discovered by the band in a beach in Recife.

Wikipedia

Duplex Longa - Forças Ocultas (1992)

Tudo começou em 1987, quando Mário Resende e Carlos Raimundo pensaram em entrar no concurso Novos Valores da Cultura. Para tal, precisavam de ter um projecto viável e original, e pelo menos três músicas. Ambos faziam parte de diferentes grupos que partilhavam o mesmo local de ensaios. O Mário era violinista nos Seres, grupo que explorava sonoridades portuguesas em ambiente Pop e o Carlos era baixista na banda Meliufell, com um estilo Rock / Vanguarda, na linha mais gótica.
Aproveitaram o feriado de 10 de Junho para começarem a acertar agulhas e trocar ideias. Dias depois, nascia a música "Primeira Viagem". Seguiu-se o tema "Tuareg", depois de um estudo dos vários estilos do Norte de África. Ainda faltava a terceira música e apareceu "Rio da Prata". Já podiam inscrever-se no concurso. Foram apurados e em Outubro tiveram a sua eliminatória.
Não venceram mas mereceram uma menção honrosa. Para princípio de carreira, parecia promissor.
Nos meses seguintes, dedicaram-se à criação de novos temas, e no ano seguinte participaram no 2º Concurso Novos Valores. Desta vez levaram o 2º Prémio, sendo o primeiro lugar para os K4 Quadrado Azul.
Mas foi o suficiente para começarem a ter convites para concertos em todo o país, entrevistas em rádios e participações na televisão (na altura, apenas a RTP). Foram gravados dois video-clips com passagem no programa "Pop-Off" do Canal 2. Apesar das suas músicas passarem diáriamente nas rádios, por via de maquetas, não havia convites para gravar por parte de nenhuma editora. A desculpa era sempre a mesma: "Não é comercial, portanto não vende. Se não vende, não se grava".
Lembraram-se então de explorar outra forma de espectáculo: convidaram vários músicos a tocarem com eles de forma improvisada ou semi-improvisada. Assim, tiveram participações como Anabela Duarte (Mler Ife Dada), Rodrigo Amado (Acidoxi Bordel), Luís Desirat (Ena Pá 2000), Cramol (Coro Feminino), Vitor Rua e Jorge Lima Barreto, além de outros músicos.
Em paralelo, criaram bandas sonoras para filmes ("Romance de uma música" de João Ponces de Carvalho), passagens de moda, clips de publicidade, etc.
Assim se passaram dois anos. Até que a editora MTM do Porto lhes propôs a edição do CD. Havia uma condição, sem a qual tal não seria possível. Era a gravação da master no próprio estúdio dos Duplex Longa, sendo apenas a passagem para DAT feita num estúdio profissional. Foram acordados todos os pormenores e, em 1992, saiu o tão esperado disco dos Duplex Longa, "Forças Ocultas".
A partir daí, e após a pequena promoção do disco, já que uma editora independente não pode suportar as campanhas promocionais que uma multinacional é capaz, os concertos dos Duplex Longa começaram gradualmente a escassear. Consequência do meio musical controlado por meia dúzia de tubarões? O certo, é que antes da gravação do CD, os espectáculos sucediam-se, sendo preciso, por vezes, de recusar concertos por coincidirem com datas já agendadas.
É certo que continuaram a dar concertos, mas de tempos a tempos. Em 1995, convidaram Fernando Guiomar, um excelente guitarrista e compositor, a entrar para a formação, passando esta a ter três elementos base. Ainda fizeram novos temas com o Fernando, além de arranjarem os antigos para comportarem a guitarra.
Infelizmente, por motivos alheios à sua vontade, tiveram que pôr um ponto final na sua já longa carreira.

www.geocities.com/duplexlonga/

Dogbowl - Cyclops Nuclear Submarine Captain (1991)

Cyclops Nuclear Submarine Captain is an album of bizarre love songs. Strange lyrics play over a backdrop of clarinet solos and melody. Dogbowl spares no one in making music that is incredible challenging and very likable at the same time. Really, the core of the songs are pop love songs, but he approaches them with such strange imagery that the music comes alive more than any straightforward ballad could ever. Cyclops Nuclear Submarine Captain doesn't compromise anything for palatability. It is really pop music that has mutated into a similar but different entity. The melodies are sweet, but the lyrics and sound are so far removed from anything the average music fan is familiar with. Dogbowl writes good songs outside any kind of standard convention. The mismatched imagery is reminiscent of King Missile, but each track is a full-rounded song. The noticeable difference between King Missile and Dogbowl is that Dogbowl has replay value as well as a bizarre sense of humor. Cyclops Nuclear Submarine Captain offers up complete songs that are very sing-able. Dogbowl has created music that is memorable and strange and definitely underappreciated.

Matt Whalley, All Music Guide

Grasshopper And The Golden Crickets - The Orbit Of Eternal Grace (1998)

The Orbit of Eternal Grace is outer space music for your inner spaces, full of alien sounds yet strangely familiar, like the music you heard when you were too young to know what music was.
Opener "Silver Balloons" mourns a love lost with proto-techno bleeps and squealing, phoned-in guitar. Yet there's a sadness in the melody, a mood developed more completely on "The Ballad of the One-Eyed Anglefish," a pretty, folksy drone that proves you don't have to like Jethro Tull to enjoy a nice flute every once and a while.
"Nickel in a Lemon" is another soothing, rainy-day lament, the kind of song that makes calling in sick and drinking hot tea all afternoon sound like the only plausible option. Yet to get there you have to go through "O-Ring (Baby Talk)," a punky, rattling missive built on a sinister mood and an alien groove. And not long after the exquisite "September's Fool" Grasshopper drops you into "Univac Bug Track," a techno number seemingly made without the aid of any technology developed since 1984.
But these moments of disorientation are somehow just as important -- and rewarding. They show the Mercury Revsters, in whatever guise, are still working on the fringe of reason and well beyond the dictates of fashion, eager to redefine what they're allowed to do. Among rock bands, perhaps only the Super Furry Animals and Primal Scream are so dedicated to the cause. Climb aboard.

Ink Blot Magazine

40 Anos / 40 Years (Portugal)

Carlos Paredes - Guitarra Portuguesa (1967)

Banda do Casaco - Hoje Há Conquilhas Amanhã Não Sabemos (1977)

Pop Dell'Arte - Free Pop (1987)

Ornatos Violeta - Cão! (1997)

JP Simões - 1970 (2007)

Opal - Early Recordings (1989)

Like most people besotted with something or someone, I've lost the perspective necessary to determine whether my aesthetic judgments might be replicated by a wider audience. But I'll try to convey why this long-out-of-print album has been on my heavy rotation for years.This is one of those right place, right time kind of things. The singer, Kendra Smith, had played bass for Dream Syndicate, which sucked. After Opal, she went on to make a couple of solo records, the content of which ranged from the tolerable to the execrable. A clue to the nature of their awfulness: her first solo album was named The Guild of Temporal Adventurers. David Roback, Opal's guitarist, had previously played for Rain Parade-- which, I might add, sucked. He followed Opal with Mazzy Star, which (as you probably know) was a colossally boring, pretentious drone-folk outfit with a few nice tunes. Of course, their big hit was the ubiquitous "Fade Into You," which achieved some kind of milestone of incongruity by appearing in the movie Starship Troopers.So this is a classic case of two musicians with unfortunate tendencies holding each other in check. Not quite Lennon-McCartney, but they did make one hell of an album in Early Recordings. Roback pulled Smith back from the precipice of ridiculous Nicoesque mysticism and theatricality (she even nicked the pump organ thing in her solo career). Meanwhile, Smith breathed some life into Roback's dull folky dirges.Opal differed from most groups who idolize the Velvets in that they were good. Upon hearing the words "psychedelic folk," most right-thinking people will cringe and throw brickbats. And usually I'd be right there with you, my face twisted with rage and hatred, a Molotov cocktail in my hand. But just hold on now. Just hold on. How can I put this? Take the lyrics. To my mind, lyrics rarely improve a song; they usually only cripple it. Here, as a dedicated hater of New Agey bullshit, I can firmly attest that the lyrics do not cripple the music. Faint praise-- and I now realize I'm not going to be able to convey exactly why I love this album-- but look who we're dealing with here; it could have been really bad. The lyrics are willfully simple, intentionally banal, allowing the words to fade into the background until the odd haunting line rears its head.Early Recordings grew on me (it does not immediately grab one's attention), and now I simply never tire of it. With most of my musical obsessions, such as that for Pavement, I occasionally require time off to recharge my enthusiasm. Not the case with this album. Look, I'll describe it, so you have some flavor of what I'm talking about, but I won't be able to really convince you. This is why I'm not a music critic. This and the self-respect.You've got train obsession ("Northern Line" namechecks the folkie ballad "The Wreck of the Old 97" and Opal also had previously covered Elizabeth Cotton's "Freight Train"). You've got beautiful, simple tunes ("My Only Friend," "Fell From the Sun," "Strange Delight"). You've got loopy faux-country guitar work ("She's a Diamond," "Harriet Brown"). You've got "Venus In Furs"-like funeral marches with lazy, melodic vocals from Smith ("Brigit on Sunday"). And you've got my vote for one of the most beautiful songs of all time, "Grains of Sand."Oh, it's good, so good. Hey, Rough Trade: reissue it. I have no idea why this should be out of print and incredibly scarce, when the vastly inferior Happy Nightmare Baby, their official album release, is available on the market. It's probably exposure to Happy Nightmare Baby that prevents more people from seeking out Early Recordings.

cornchipsandpie.blogspot.com

Philip Glass - Songs From Liquid Days (1986)

Songs are perhaps our most basic musical expression. Though I have worked widely in the fields of opera and music theater, I had not until this last year worked with the song form as such. Writing the song cycle Songs from Liquid Days became for me truly a voyage of discovery.
I began by asking David Byrne to write words that I could then set to music. We had worked together once before, and I found it such an easy and natural collaboration that I thought of extending the process with an entire record of songs.
It seemed to me that the people best suited to help with the lyrics would, like David, be other songwriters. It was clear that they, more than anyone else, would understand the practical demands of setting words to music. The people I asked — Paul Simon, Suzanne Vega, David Byrne and Laurie Anderson— are, I feel, not only outstanding songwriters on their own but also lyricists whose poetry reflects individual styles and approaches to songwriting.
The words come first. From these I fashioned a set of six songs which, together, form a cycle of themes ranging from reflections on nature to classic romantic settings. After the music was written, I — along with producer Kurt Munkacsi and conductor Michael Riesman— began the long and difficult process of "casting" singers for the individual songs. We felt that the interpretation a singer brings to a song is an immense contribution to its character — contributing their own personality to the work perhaps more than any other performer.
All in all, Songs from Liquid Days has brought together quite an astonishing assortment of people, from the progressive Kronos String Quartet to singers Linda Ronstadt, Doug Perry and Janice Pendarvis and Bernard Fowler. Among them, they cover a fair range of the contemporary music practiced in our time, from experimental to rock to opera. Add to them the writers already mentioned and one might well ask, "What have they all got in common?"
For me, their commonality is that they are an uncommonly talented group of people — and about as diverse in personal style and practical approach to music— making as you're ever likely to find working together. I personally am very proud of my association with all these artists and, lastly, grateful to them for their contribution to this record.
Philip Glass

Mystery Slang - Venus Groove (1991)

Lets start with some basics first, like Mystery Slang is not a 'they' it's a 'he'. Latif Gardez was born of a Scottish mother and an Italian journalist father. It was a distinctly creative, distinctly volatile upbringing.Latif has spent a lot of time drifting around the country going from job to job, town to town, hanging around in bands, teaching himself to play and devouring books, catching up on a lost education. He has immersed himself in the words of Rimbaud, Conrad, Samuel R Delaney, Baudelairè, Bukowski and T S Eliot…. the 'Blue Period' music of Scott Walker, Miles Davies and Sinatra.He moved to Bristol for a long period and released two singles, one for New Bristol Records and another for Wavelength Records.

After a time...Latif moved back to London where he found himself stepping into the vacated shoes of King Triggers vocalist but soon found that the bands desperate repertoire was pulling them into two halves with Gardez' natural inclination towards the darker, more intense side rather than the pop that King Trigger had hitherto been involved with. The end was inevitably more or less in sight.Latif spent a few years wandering around Soho. As his personal life hit a downward spiral, Mystery Slang was born. He found himself staying at a flophouse in Westbourne Grove called The Venus Hotel where his fellow hostellers were all shades of dodgy. The six months he spent there later became the main source of inspiration for the first album 'Venus Grove'.

sugarshackrecords.co.uk

40 Anos de Idade / 40 Years Old

1967
1977
1987
1997
2007

Boris Ex Machina - Tango Infernal (1996)

C A P O L A V O R O! Non esiste altra parola per definire il lavoro di questo singolarissimo gruppo portoghese. Alla base della musica dei Boris Ex Machina stanno folk, tradizione e fado suonati con strumenti essenziali come chitarra, rullante, contrabbasso e fisarmonica. Il tutto arricchitto dall'uso di tastiere e dall'inserto di suoni sinteizzati e poi intinto in una soluzione oscura, nera ed ipnotica. Il risultato è sorprendente, tredici pezzi cupi e vellutati, a spirale, che suscitano arcane fantasie e neri brividi senza fare minimamente uso dell'armamentario orrorifico/gotico/esoterico di circostanza. Ostico e sublime.

Manfred (versacrum.com)

The Colorblind James Experience - Why Should I Stand Up? (1989)

BIO

The seven-piece from Rochester, New York was led by James "Chuck" Cuminale, aka Colorblind James (guitar, vibraphone, vocals), who saw nearly two dozen players pass through the band's friendly gates. The alumni association includes eight bassists, five guitarists, three trombonists and a host of others. Throughout it all, however, the Experience's sound remained incredibly stable, which is, of course, a testament to the clearly defined character and easy command of its namesake's songs and musical vision. Elements of string-band music, honkytonk, country blues, polkas and more invite hybrid descriptive handles like Nino Rota Jug Band or Memphis Slim Cabaret Orchestra.
On the self-titled debut, the Experience is a quartet led by the estimable Mr. James, who sings, talks and plays a mean vibraphone (and some guitar to boot). The album pretty much lays the groundwork for everything to come, as Colorblind delivers his story-songs over repetitious-but- very-sprightly figures, containing hints of country, blues, lounge jazz, polka and Tex-Mex in assorted permutations and combinations. The whole enterprise reaches its pinnacle on "Considering a Move to Memphis," wherein James ponders the consequences of relocation ("I'm considering a move to Memphis / That's Memphis, Tennessee / It worked for Elvis Presley / Why can't it work for me?"). "Dance Critters" and "Gravel Roads" explore the group's country side and "A Different Bob" is a comically deadpan song of loss and betrayal. Other numbers concern a visit by some German girls, camel walking and an inept circus attendant.
British airplay for the debut led to a number of tours there and on the continent, where they quickly amassed a following far in excess of any response back home. The band's next two records were released first in England and then licensed to an American outlet. While adding two horn players, Why Should I Stand Up? takes a mild spin in country and contains the defensive "Rockin' as Fast as I Can," about a confrontation with angry fans shouting "let's rock!"
The all-acoustic Strange Sounds From the Basement finds Colorblind and crew (now dubbed the Death Valley Boys, even though the only personnel change from the last Experience album is one trombonist) delving further into the country side of things, and relying more on traditional verse-chorus song structures rather than on ad infinitum repetition. Fortunately, the wit and bizarre subject matter remain unchanged.
Solid! Behind the Times makes a fine entry point into the CBJE oeuvre, with more songs that mix humor, gentility and compassion. The funny stuff always leads you in, rather than slapping you on the head or squirting you in the eye.
A German label picked up the ball for I Saved Your Life, and the album features a strong, stable lineup; Rita Coulter's vocals add a perfect foil to the mixture. In particular, she brings warmth and confidence to "I'll Never Get Tired," a simple celebration of undying love that wouldn't have been possible without her. As usual, the songs win with characters that spring to life; the range of indignities, discomforts and doubts suffered may bewilder, but never overwhelm, them. They're never looking for redemption or intervention, rather, just some company for commiseration. As Colorblind James sings in "I Can Be Your Guide," "If you want to find your way home, I'll just step aside / But if you're lost and want to stay lost, I could be your guide."
Colorblind James died in his Rochester pool, reportedly of heart failure, in July 2001. He was 49.

Dave Schulps/David Greenberger

Karl Biscuit - Secret Love (1984-87)

1 Karl Biscuit in brief
The complete electropop works of the young French artist who came from the world of contemporary ballet (he had collaborated with the likes of Philippe Decouflé etc) and became a mysterious cult figure following his three releases which combined electro beats, tongue-in-cheek romantic darkness and strange mambo influences. Karl Biscuit went back to his first love and formed successful modern dance company Castafiore, which he co-directs to this day.

2 Karl Biscuit by Jack Barron
The cookie has crumbled and the grains have been tumbled out of the aerosol of synth-tone poppery into a dark, dank well where turbulence and torment cling to the talents of Karl like poisonous fungi. Since seeing this singer (pronounced Bisk-wee) in Paris last year, he seems to have undergone an amputation with traumatic side-effects. Adroitly fingered at the time as a Serge Clerc character in 3-D, the accompanying stylised cocktail mannerisms have dried out and what remains is an emotional brainburn where Fairlights blink with a hangover instead of grinning like dumb robots. 'Death', 'Loneliness', 'No Friends', 'Requiem' - with song titles like these you get the idea of the horrorshow on offer, how many ways you can terminate or be terminated is equal to the pleasures of this record. Pleasures ? Hell, yes, but not of the ugly bedsit torment sort. Karl is pretty enough to have aimed for the wide-eyed-innocent end of the synth spectrum with its lure of big bucks. Instead, he's inhabiting the cutting space that both the Human League and Depeche Mode are trying to reach in vain at present. 'Regrets Eternels' is pimple synth-pop lanced until the pus runs. Vampire instrumentation sucks at the neck of linear tunes, foreign textures unfurl and infect the clean kid's ideas. Take a peek at the liner notes and everything makes sense. Aided in sections by Blaine L.Reininger and Honeymoon Killer Marc Hollander, the whole project is filtered through the hemlock hands of Gilles Martin of the great Tuxedomoon. 'Regrets Eternels' is the alternative madness in the method dance"
This text appeared in UK weekly Sounds in 1984

3 Karl Biscuit in the press
"Synthetic melodies sung by the deep voice of a metaphysical dandy... intriguing and fascinating" (Rock & Folk, France, '86)
"Serge Clerc in 3D" (NME, UK, '84)
"An eye-opener to those who think that the French contribution to popular culture stops at Michel Platini and Citroen BX cars" (Melody Maker, UK, '85)
"When he sings, his multilingual, cosmopolitan delivery conjures Slavic or Central European impressions. His show is somewhat mile a pocket opera, a post-electronic cabaret show, it's entertainment yet also an artistic statement" (Art Press, France, 1986)

Andy Summers & Robert Fripp - I Advance masked (1982) + Bewitched (1984)

I Advance Masked

1. I advance masked

2. Under bridges of silence

3. China - Yellow leader

4. In the cloud forest

5. New marimba

6. Girl on a swing

7. Hardy country

8. The truth of skies

9. Painting and dance

10. Still point

11. Lakeland/Aquarelle

12. Seven on seven
13. Stultified

This is one of two collaborative albums between guitarists Andy Summers and Robert Fripp. It was recorded during a hiatus between albums for their respective mother bands, The Police and King Crimson. On some tracks, it is fairly obvious telling who is playing what parts, with Summers' ringing, rhythmic style as displayed in The Police running a sharp contrast to Fripp's nimble, angular fingerwork. However, on other tracks it is harder to tell who is who.
The overall effect of many tracks is a Frippian dominance (which most consider a good thing), but remember that Summers has proven quite adept at emulating Fripp stylings (e.g. "Mother" on The Police's Synchronicity). "China-Yellow Leader" and "Girl on a Swing" feature the same erratic soloing more widely recognized on King Crimson tracks like "Sheltering Sky" and "Sartori in Tangier." Similarly, both the title track and "Hardy Country" present music that would later show up on Beat's "Neurotica" and "Neil and Jack and Me," respectively. Though it probably won't blow anyone away, I Advanced Masked still makes a very interesting historical supplement for fans of 80s King Crimson.

Joe McGlinchey

An effective match of two guitarists who may not be as opposite as you might think. Summers' heavily chorused guitars were a sound familiar to radio listeners around the time of this release, as he chimed through the Police's hit records. The sounds of King Crimson, though, are what ring out on I Advance Masked. Imagine 80's Crimson without Levin and Bruford. This all-instrumental release has Summers taking Belew's role, while Fripp's backdrops and sustained leads swarm about. Most of the songs are short concise musical statements that have Fripp's stamp all over them. Though Summers does not come across as very distinctive here, the two really work well together. If you enjoy 80's era Crimson and some of Fripp's ambient soundscapes, this should slide nicely into your collection. Also, the two did release a second recording.

Eric Porter

Bewitched

1. Parade

2. What kind of man reads Playboy

3. Begin the day

4. Train

5. Bewitched

6. Tribe

7. Maquillage

8. Guide

9. Forgotten steps

10. Image and likeness

In the first installment of the Police and King Crimson guitarist collaborations, I Advanced Masked, the Fripp influence seemed to dominate. The follow-up, however, shows more of Summers' stamp, as he wrote most of the songs and is the sole producer here. Generally speaking, Fripp plays more of a supportive, 'let me know when to lay down that lead guitar track' role. Seems to me he was probably investing his energy more in King Crimson and Three of a Perfect Pair. The opening track, "Parade," was actually my first exposure (forgive the pun) ever to Robert Fripp. Those who are old enough will recall that there was a video made for this cheerful new wave instrumental that got some play on MTV, with Fripp playing the straight man role (i.e., austere owner of a mansion) and Summer doing a comic turn as Fripp's butler and head of staff. I still listen to this track fondly, in part thinking of the video. The rest of Bewitched, though, unfortunately doesn't stand out very much to me. "What Kind of Man Reads Playboy," despite the great title, is a meandering jam that really isn't worth its 11 minutes. There are some nice pieces in the second half of the album, where it sounds as if the duo are striving to achieve the Brian Eno territory of ambient instrumentals. These include the title track (somewhat reminiscent of a Talking Heads instrumental circa Remain in Light), "Tribe," the ambient "Forgotten Steps," and the clever duet of harmonics "Image and Likeness." Mostly though, this is an average album, one that is not exactly helped by its dated drum machine and keyboard sounds. Not bad, but there are worthier efforts to set your sights on. If you are curious about Summers and Fripp's work together, I'd pursue I Advanced Masked, then get this as an addendum if needed.

Joe McGlinchey

Cybill Shepherd - Mad About The Boy (1976)

In contrast to most actor/actresses-turned-vocalists, there's nothing to joke about on this album-no Golden Throats candidates, except maybe the title track. For starters, Shepherd has a solid jazz ensemble backing her up, led by Stan Getz and arranged by Oscar Neves, and gives us a very enjoyable jazz-flavored record. She takes the Fred Astaire approach to singing, not denying that she has a limited range but working carefully within that range and even using those limitations to her advantage. Getz's solos perfectly compliment Shepherd's voice, and she stretches out ravishingly on "This Masquerade," "I'm Old Fashioned" is a sexy torch number in her hands, without a trace of campiness, "Speak Low" soars subtly and elegantly, and the opening number, Ginastera's "Triste," is a sophisticated piece of concert music and a triumph for her as well. Peculiarly enough, the title track doesn't hold up as well as the rest, the weakness in her voice coming through at various points in its length, and is the only second-rate number here, although it is fun. Frank Rosolino (trombone), Terry Trotter (piano), and Monty Budwig (upright bass) make up the rest of the core of the band.

allmusic.com

David Byrne - Music for the Knee Plays (1985)

In spring 1985, David Byrne released `Music For The Knee Plays`, a series of musical vignettes designed as 'joints' between longer scenes in a projected theatrical epic by Robert Wilson entitled The CIVIL WarS.
The use of such "knee plays" was not original to this work - for they had been a feature of the 1976 opera by Wilson and Philip Glass 'Einstein on the Beach'. Glass described them there as being 'short connecting pieces which appear throughout the work much as prelude, interludes and post-ludes. Taken together they form a play in themselves.'
It was natural for Byrne to link up with Wilson, whose theatrical vision began in the visual arts and relied on observational, conceptual themes. The notes to the Japanese version of the LP provide (in translation) something of the background : "At first, Robert Wilson asked David to compose pieces for several sections of The CIVIL warS, but on account of David's limited time, he composed only The Knee Plays part. The CIVIL warS was supposed to be played in its complete form at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, but if one plays every part, it takes at least eight hours. There was also a financial problem for playing every part. So only some parts of it were staged there. David himself was very interested in composing for such a play and dance and this time again he enjoyed this work very much. Last time, for The Catherine Wheel, he used recorded tape, but this time he made musicians play on the stage."
"The Knee Plays" was released on cassette and vinyl only. The album was never released on CD and is a rarity these days.

talking-heads.net

The Gothic Archies - The New Despair (1997)

The Gothic Archies is the Gothic rock-bubblegum pop band of celebrated songwriter Stephin Merritt, also of The Magnetic Fields, The 6ths, and Future Bible Heroes. Merritt is the only member although he hopes to acquire more soon.
What makes this band different from The Magnetic Fields is that any glimmer of hope is absolutely extinguished.

houseoftomorrow.com

Joeboy In Mexico [Tuxedomoon] (1998)

"This record has something for everyone. Alot of "ambient" in the true sense of the word. Some minimalist a la satie; bass and clarinet as opposed to bass and drum, some groove-trance and a bit of imaginary film-soundtrack...plus a great cover of colored engravings.""So close your eyes and cross the threshold with members from Tuxedomoon, a passage to and through a Mexico both ancient and po-mo, a soundscape where an electric guitar can appear to be a waterfall and the sounds of waterfalls can resemble winds rushing through Aztec pyramids...where a serene clarinet and bass guitar piece can go down like a smooth sip of tequila, but as so often with Tuxedomoon, watch out for the haunting quality which can cause a catch in the throat...move to the undulating jauntiness of saxophones, slinky guitars and rhythm tracks by the light of the luminerias, and pass through the shadows and fog of aural dimensions.Cross all musical borders with "Joeboy in Mexico," from world music to ambient and beyond, and listen to the sound-trek from the best film you'll "see" this year."

Amazon.com

Home - 13: Netherregions (1998)

Home, like Chicago, number all their recordings in order of their release, but don't expect any Peter Cetera-like vocalizing, 'cause that's pretty much where the similarity ends. Home is just as likely to derail one of their gorgeous melodies with an abrupt hiss of static as they are to allow you to wallow in it for seven minutes.The inebriated ending of "The Bogeyman" will make you think that you're listening to a warped piece of vinyl, but the delicate, twelve-string finger-picking of "Industry 2000" could easily belong to a classic rock song. While the brutal, rhythmic pounding of "Rebel Base" and "PS A.R." would be suitable accompaniment for an H.R. Giger-designed torture chamber, Home makes like an indie-rock George Winston on the beautiful, comforting, "Another Season." And just to make sure you can't nail them down, on "Our Blue Navy," they come across as a bug-eyed and drooling Return To Forever from, well, the nether regions. Each spin of this disc will reveal something new, as Home is a band rich in intelligence, humor and heart.

"Home may be the last great no-fi/lo-fi band to come slouching out of the primordial alterna-soup, ready to swap sonic gills for lungs and write the score to the millenium..."
Magnet (3-4/98, p.68)

"...plumbs the depths of indie experimentation with lo-fi noodling both resourceful and homespun. On NETHERREGIONS, the band throws in the kitchen sink to piece together and eclectic esthetic that's effortlessly rich..."
Option (3-4/98, p.92)

Shriekback - Oil & Gold (1985)

Oil & Gold, the third full-length Shriekback album, is widely considered the band's highest moment. Released in 1985 on Island Records after the failure of 1984's Jam Science on Arista Records, Oil & Gold saw the band metamorphose from contemplative to rocking. The addition of Martyn Barker on drums and Lu Edmonds on guitar give many of the songs an almost-punk rock feeling.In many ways, Oil & Gold is the bridge between the old trio of Barry Andrews, Carl Marsh, and Dave Allen, and the new vehicle for Andrews alone. Longtime singer Marsh, left the band halfway through the recording, leaving Andrews to take over the vocals. Still, the album's highlights, including the three opening songs, sung by Marsh, and the minor hit, "Nemesis", became the band's signature sound.

Wikipedia

Croix Sainte - Discografia (1984-1986)

BIOGRAFIA
Grupo constituído por João Robert (baixo), André Louro de Almeida (voz), Paulo Monteiro (guitarra) e Luís San Payo (bateria).
O grupo formou-se em 1981. Em 1984 concorrem ao 1º Concurso do Rock Rendez-Vous e ficaram em 3º lugar.
No ano seguinte lançaram, em auto-edição, o máxi-single "The Life of He". O máxi incluía os temas "The Life Of He", "Enabell", "The Birthday" e "Everspring". Nesse ano o grupo desloca-se a Toulose, França, para actuar no "Les Biceps del Rock". Paulo Miranda (processamento de efeitos e teclas) participa em alguns concertos deste ano.
O tema "We Built Cities" é incluído na colectânea "Divergências" da Ama Romanta.
O LP "Earth Time" é anunciado mas nunca seria gravado.
André Almeida sai da banda em 1987. O grupo nunca mais teria voz humana. O grupo passou a ter a participação de músicos como o saxofonista Rodrigo Amado (o primeiro concerto foi em out/87 na Galeria Monumental) ou o violinista Mário Resende (dos Seres e Duplex Longa).
Em Janeiro de 1996 apareceu uma notícia no jornal "Blitz" a dizer que a Independent Records poderia editar um CD com os temas gravados pelo grupo em Maio e Setembro de 1984. A cassete, na posse de Paulo Miranda, incluía os temas "Kahahari" e "Conviction" (ambos em duas versões), uma versão de um tema dos Bauhaus, o instrumental "The Orchid" e mais seis temas.
O disco "The Life Of He" consta da selecção do jornal Público com "Os Melhores Álbuns da Música Popular Portuguesa".
DISCOGRAFIA
The Life Of He (Máxi, Alliance Records, 1985)
Colectâneas
Ao Vivo no Rock Rendez-Vous (1984) - The life of He

Divergências (1986) - We Built Cities

anos80.no.sapo.pt

Hambi and the Dance - Heartache (1982)

Banda formada em final de 1979, e que duraria até 1982, por Hambi Harolambous (voc,gtr) (ex Tontrix) e em cujas fileiras passaram nomes como Wayne Hussey (gtr) (ex Walkie Talkies, posteriormente nos Dead or Alive e Sisters of Mercy), Steve Lovell (gtr) (ex Hollycaust, que veio depois a trabalhar com Julian Cope), Gazza Johnson (baixo) (a ingressar mais tarde nos China Crisis), Chris Hughes (ex Tontrix, seguiu para os Adam & The Ants), e um dançarino, Paul Rutherford (sim, o mesmo dos Frankie Goes To Hollywood).
Gravaram um único álbum, ‘Heartache’ para a Virgin em 82 que incluia os singles "Living In A Heartache", "Major Major", "Too Late To Fly The Flag" e o excelente "L'Image Craqué".
Descobri este disco através do MEC, ao ler pela primeira vez "Escrítica Pop" onde num texto escrito para o Se7e dizia assim: "Hambi and the Dance vem de Liverpool dos Bunnymen, dos Wah! dos Teardrop e dos Manoeuvres. O segundo single deles acaba de sair, chama-se "L'Image Craqué" e deveria ser distribuído gratuitamente à população mundial. Porque é belo, só por causa disso".
Grande Diospiro

-----------------

Liverpool's Hambi and the Dance attempted an interesting combination of synthesized art-rock and traditional rock'n'roll, with mixed results. When ex-Tontrix singer/songwriter Hambi Harambolous draws on influences ranging from Phil Spector and the Searchers to the Roxy/Bowie/Ultravox school, the record can be very impressive ("Living in a Heartache," "Madelaine"). He is less successful, however, when trying arty synthesized rock that sounds like Ultravox outtakes.

Karen Schlosberg

The Scissor Girls -Here Is The "Is-Not" (1997)

The Scissor Girls were a Chicago collective that centered around keyboardist Azita Youssefi and drummer Heather Melowicz.

The music on We People Space With Phantoms (Atavistic, 1996), their only album, concocted a schizoid mixture of art punk, funk, avantgarde electronic music and improvised jams.

The longest and busiest tracks, evoked everybody from God Is My Co-pilot to early Sonic Youth to John Zorn and Faust.
Here Is The Is Not (Atavistic, 1997) collects two early singles (highly volatile and cartoonish fantasias such as The Mighty I Am) as well as the 10" EP So That You Can Start To See What, which includes what is arguably their masterpiece, the suite Weird 09 (27 minutes).

Piero Scaruffi

The Apartments - Apart (1997)

"The best way to define the Apartments would be: "the best kept secret in the universe." Peter Milton Walsh, founding member of this Australian group, describes his universe as a place of absence and loss."
popnews.com

A brisk Australian chamber pop group with echoes of Frenchman Serge Gainsbourg as well as Leonard Cohen and post-punk, the Apartments were formed early in the '80s by frontman and guitarist Peter Milton-Walsh, though the band's unhectic release schedule resulted in only three albums during their first dozen years. The Evening Visits... was released in the Apartments' home country in 1985, and though it did only moderately well there, the album became a cult classic in France. Seven years after the debut, Drift followed with similar exposure, causing a French label to sign the group for third album A Life Full of Farewells. After re-releasing the first two LPs, plus Fête Foraine (which featured acoustic renditions of previous songs), the Apartments even gained American release on Twin/Tone Records. Their fourth proper album, Apart, was released in 2000(*).
John Bush, All Music Guide

(*) U.S.A.

Section 25 - Always Now (1981)

"Their most complete statement, several complementary shades of gloomy"

Q Magazine

"A modern redevelopment of psychedelia"

Melody Maker

"One of the best albums Britain's second city has unleashed"

Q magazine

"Section 25 were great at grim insistance, and hard to top"

eMusic

"Superb reissue. Section 25 seem to have been forever trapped between austere Factory cultishness and the actual thrust of this amazing, other music. Always Now has a sound closer to a Can hybrid, but no-one wanted to notice. Recommended"

Boomkat

The Pale Fountains - Pacific Street (1984)

The Passage - Pindrop (1980)

"Pindrop is a murky, swirling, pulsating mass. Drums are pounded urgently, with organ and voice wavering in and out of the mix like some kind of aural phantasy. Composition plays second fiddle to the lyrics, which are often buried in the mix anyway. Alienating, even disorienting! And engineered to sound like it was recording in the same olde back alley recording studio where lynch's eraserhead soundtrack was mastered. Pindrop is easily one of the most mysteriously brilliant albums ever."
Scott Gibbons

"With the disquieting Pindrop, The Passage can be accepted as major even by the cowardly, cautious and cynical: it's a work of disciplined intellectual aggresssion, frantic emotions and powerfully idiomatic musicality."
New Musical Express

"The Passage confront love, fear, repulsion and pain and all the most negative, most vindictive emotions humans are capable of, in the same sober, relentless way Joy Division did."
Sounds

"...twisting insanity; frightening, surreal experience; the pain of clashing relationships... their subjects are as sophisticated as their songs' structural make-up, which belies the overall impression of idealistic youthfulness."
Record Mirror

"...dark, spacey, disturbing and quite beautiful"
Trouser Press

Extra tracks here: (RS)

14-17 (1978)

18-21 (1979)
e/and Radio session - Manchester 22-27 (1981)

40 Anos de Idade / 40 Years Old

1967
1977
1987
1997
2007