Month: August 2021
PEARL JAM – Their Debut Album ‘TEN’ Turned 30
Back in time
29 August 2021
Band: PEARL JAM (Seattle)
Active: 1990-present / 11 studio albums
Anniversary album: TEN
Released: 27 August 1991 – 30 years ago today
Rolling Stone: “Pearl Jam hurtles into the mystic at warp speed.
They wring a lot of drama out of a few declarative power chords
swimming in echo.”
Turn Up The Volume: The little bombastic brothers of Nirvana had
to fight to be recognized with their big brothers around. Their debut was
not their best LP, in my grunge book, but (already) showed Eddie Vedder‘s
huge talent as a frontman and songwriter and the single ‘Alive’ still is a
mammoth of a striking song.
Singles/clips: Alive / Even Flow
– ALIVE –
– EVEN FLOW –
Full album…
.
.
THE BEATLES – Deluxe Edition For Their Final And Underrated LP ‘LET IT BE’
29 August 2021
Deluxe edition: LET IT BE
Original LP: Released 8 May 1970 – 51 years ago
Content: The expanded version will be available in several different formats
and packages. Producer Giles Martin (yes, the son of fifth 5th Beatle Martin) and
engineer Sam Okell have put together a new mixi in stereo, 5.1 surround DTS, and
Dolby Atmos, sourced from the original tapes. There’s also the Super Deluxe edition
of all reissue options, including four LPs, an EP, and a book. It’ll feature 27 previously unreleased session recordings, including the 14-song Get Back stereo record mix that engineer Glyn Johns put together in May of 1969 before the Fab Four decided to throw
the raw album mix in the dustbin.
Turn Up the Volume: Like for billions of people on this planet, The Beatles are
also for me, the best band ever. Their virtuoso talent and innovatory skills made
them turn pop music into something that elevated pop-ular music to an ingenious
and very, worldwide, accessible form of entertaining art. Let It be wasn’t a
masterpiece but it made zillions of bands jealous. Say no more.
Full original album…
.
THE BEATLES: Website
Order info here.
When Does DAMON ALBARN Sleep? GORILLAZ Drop New 3-Track EP ‘MEANWHILE’
29 August 2021
Band: GORILLAZ (UK)
Active: 1998-present / 7 studio albums so far
New EP: MEANWHILE
This new 3-track extended play celebrates the legendary the Notting Hill Carnival in London, once the inspiration for The Clash‘s debut single White Riot. Unfortunately, the carnival is cancelled this year due to the pandemic, something the 24/7 music-making Damon Albarn didn’t want to pass just like that.
Meanwhile features rappers AJ Tracey and Jelani
Blackman and dancehall artist Alicaì Harley.
Carnival starts here…
.
GORILLAZ: Facebook
BJÖRK – Spectacular Album ‘VESPERTINE’ Is 20
Back in time
29 August 2021
Artist: BJÖRK
Active: 1977- present / 9 solo studio albums
Anniversary album:
Released: 27 August 1991 – 20 years ago today
AllMusic: “An album singing the praises of peace and quiet,
Vespertine isn’t merely lovely; it proves that in Björk’s hands,
intimacy can be just as compelling as louder emotions.”
Full review here. Score: 4.5/5.
Singles/clips: Hidden Place / Pagan Poetry
– HIDDEN PLACE –
– PAGAN POETRY –
Full album…
.
BJORK: All Albums
Pop Boys THE KOOKS Released 15th-Anniversary Edition Of Debut LP ‘INSIDE IN/INSIDE OUT’
29 August 2021
Band: THE KOOKS
Who: Famous Brighton pop rockers
Active: Since 2004 / 5 studio album so far
Anniversary album: INSIDE IN/INSIDE OUT
Released: 23 January 2006 – 15 years ago
Pitchfork wrote: “The Kooks’ keen grasp of the banal isn’t the only factor keeping them from a distinct personality. Between bouncy Britpop, angst-ridden acoustic anthems, red-light skanking, “Hounds of Love” oh-oh harmonies, and the Delta blues intro to “Time Awaits”, it’s not clear the Kooks know who they want to be when they grow up yet.’ Full review here. Score: 6/10
Turn Up The Volume: Too calculated and commerce-orientated boys band songs.
But hey, it sold more than 2 million copies and peaked at #2 on the UK Charts, so
they pleased a mass of fans (mostly young girls).
Deluxe Edition features the original album remastered and thirteen previously unreleased tracks on all formats. Order info here.
Stream the full deluxe here…
Single This! KING CRIMSON
R.E.M. – 25th Anniversary Edition For 10th Album ‘NEW ADVENTURES IN HI-FI’
28 August 2021
Band: R.E.M. (Athens, Georgia)
Active: 1980–2011 / 15 studio LPs
Anniversary album: NEW ADVENTURES IN HI-FI
Released: 9 September 1996 – 25 years ago
AllMusic said back then: “Recorded during and immediately following
R.E.M.’s disaster-prone Monster tour, New Adventures in Hi-Fi feels like it
was recorded on the road. Not only are all of Michael Stipe’s lyrics on the
album about moving or travel, the sound is ragged and varied, pieced
together from tapes recorded at shows, soundtracks, and studios,
giving it a loose, careening charm.” Full review here. Score: 3.5/5.
Turn Up The Volume: Certainly not their best, but How The West Was
Won And Where It Got Us, The Wake-Up Bomb, Be Mine, and Departure are
ace songs.
Anniversary edition: “The bonus-filled 2-CD/1-Blu-ray Deluxe Edition offers a trove of audio-visual content, including the newly remastered album, 13 B-sides and rarities, a never-before-released 64-minute outdoor projection film (shown on buildings across five cities in 1996 to promote the album’s original release), and a previously unreleased 30-minute EPK. Additionally, the Blu-ray features New Adventures in Hi-Fi in stunning Hi-Res and 5.1 Surround Sound audio, plus five HD-restored music videos including “Bittersweet Me,” “Electrolite,” and “E-Bow the Letter.” Housed in a 52-page hardcover book, the collection includes archival photographs—many of which have never been published.”
Out: 29th October – more info here.
Taster: an alternate version of Leave
Original album…
.
R.E.M.: Facebook
NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS Share Shadowy Video For Previously Unreleased Song ‘VORTEX’
Clips to impress your ears and your eyes
28 August 2021
Living legend NICK CAVE and his BAD SEEDS bring us a
new, second, collection of ‘B-Sides & Rarities ‘, including
27 rare and unreleased tracks from 2006 to 2020.
Out 22 October, on vinyl and CD.
The first B-sides/rarities records
came out back in 2005 and will also
be available again on vinyl/CD.
The trailer…
Along with the announcement came
one of the previously unreleased tracks
called Vortex. And now a video clip
opened my eyes.
Black and white with footage
from live shows and the lyrics…
.
NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS: Facebook
No Bla Bla And ‘PRETTY SONGS’ For BOB VYLAN
28 August 2021
Band: BOB VYLAN
Who: Fiercely outspoken
gunslingers from London
New single: PRETTY SONGS
The Band: “The song really speaks for itself but it touches on direct action and is kind of a tongue in cheek critique on the new wave of ‘activists’ and ‘allies’ (including those in bands) we’ve seen grow over the past year or so, particularly those advocating for non-violence and passive resistance.”
Turn Up The Volume: This is awesome! I repeat, awesome! The way they ventilate their anger, frustration, and fury about white intolerant trash cuts like a first-class Swiss knife. It pumps you up and makes you want to hit the streets and kick some dreadful racists. And their explosive wall-of-towering sound, mixing rock and rap, resonates like cross-over-punk, which makes you even more combative. A pretty awesome small dunk!
“Black lives have always mattered, you were just never told so on TV.”
Damn bloody right…
You can buy the track via Bandcamp