history

BEASTIE BOYS Released Second Ace Album ‘PAUL’S BOUTIQUE’ 30 Years Ago…

Posted on by JL

24 July 2019

On 25 July 1989, yep, already 30 years ago, legendary hip-hop rap punks BEASTIE BOYS released their second, ace longplayer ‘PAUL’S BOUTIQUE‘ Maybe not their best known album, but certainly one of their very best. Rowdy, clamorous, mental, inventive & totally cuckoo!

Rolling Stone wrote: ” ‘Paul’s Boutique’ named after a Brooklyn store whose radio ad is tossed in the mix and whose picture graces the cover, surprises from the get-go. Each track brims with ideas and references too numerous to catalog, veering in new directions at every verse. The songs are buoyed by the deft interplay of the three voices and a poetic tornado of imagery. The Boys’ rap references range from Magilla Gorilla to Dickens, their musical samples are equally far-flung, including Johnny Cash, Hendrix and Jean Knight’s ‘Mr. Big Stuff.’ The Boys are just being themselves, thrashing about in a reality ignored by too many mainstream white-rock acts.” – Score: 4/5 – Full review here

Top Single: Hey Ladies…

Album in full…

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BEASTIE BOYS: Facebook

Macho Rockers GUNS N’ ROSES Released Debut Album ‘APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION’ 30 Years Ago…

Posted on by JL

21 July 2019

GUNS N’ ROSES, probably the most famous and successful macho rockers in history released their smashing debut LP ‘APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION‘ today 30 years ago,
on 21 July 1987. A thunderous cock rock record filled with tons of hellish electricity. Hot,
rowdy, vicious, filthy and controversial with Axl Rose howling at times like a hungry hyena and barbed-wire guitar duo Slash and Izzy Stradlin producing a tumultuous series of rip-roaring riffs, huge hooks and lively licks. Fucking hard rockin’ riotous racket it was. Damn right!

Rolling Stone wrote: “GN’R mixed drugs, punk and classic rock to make their brilliantly trashy debut. The album looked both forward and backward: The punky rawness of its sound and the pained artistry of its lyrics made it a bridge between commercial Eighties hard rock and the alternative music of the next decade. But Appetite was also among the last classic rock records to be mastered with vinyl in mind, to be edited with a razor blade applied to two-inch tape, to be mixed by five people frantically pushing faders at a non-automated mixing board.”
Full review here.

The absolute highlights…

– PARADISE CITY –

– SWEET CHILD O’ MINE –

– WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE –

GUNS N’ ROSES: Facebook – All Albums

NEIL YOUNG Released Darksome ‘ON THE BEACH’ Album 45 Years Ago…

Posted on by JL

15 July 1974

All time legend NEIL YOUNG released ON THE BEACH, his fifth longplayer, 45 years ago, on 16 July 1974. A darksome blues record inspired by troubled times, professionally and personally, for the iconic singer/songwriter. For the fans, like me, one of his most affecting achievements. Human, honest and wholehearted. Cutting songs, gripping vocals. Gloomy masterwork, captivating performances.

The world is turnin’,
I hope it don’t turn away

Rolling Stone said: “For many, many years, On the Beach was Neil Young’s great lost album. The LP didn’t generate a lot of heat when it came out in 1974, and Young didn’t release it on CD until 2003. Its absence from the marketplace turned it into somewhat of a mythical album, and those who dug it up in the pre-Internet days discovered an incredibly depressing album about the perils of fame. The opener ‘Walk On’ confronts Young’s critics, while the creepy ‘Revolution Blues’ is told from the perspective of a Charles Manson-like serial killer. Side two is a more serene affair. ‘Ambulance Blues’ and ‘On the Beach’ are two of the strongest songs Young has ever written, and two of the saddest.”

Album in full…

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NEIL YOUNG: Facebook – All Albums

The Late Great TIM BUCKLEY Released Third Album ‘HAPPY SAD’ 50 Years Ago Today…

Posted on by JL

10 July 2019

This day 50 years ago, on 10 July 1969, the late great Washington D.C. born TIM BUCKLEY released his third, superb LP ‘HAPPY SAD‘. A truly remarkable longplayer. Ambitious, jazzy, bluesy and with a similar exploring and soul-stirring effect as Van Morrison‘s Astral Weeks.

ALL MUSIC wrote: “Easily Tim Buckley’s most underrated album, Happy Sad was another departure for the eclectic Southern California-based singer/songwriter. After the success
of the widely acclaimed Goodbye and Hello, Buckley mellowed enough to explore his jazz
roots. Sounding like Fred Neil’s Capitol-era albums, Buckley and his small, acoustic-based ensemble weave elegant, minimalist tapestries around the six Buckley originals. Lovingly
under-produced this is one of the finest records of the late ’60s.”
Full review here – Score: 4.5/5

Stream HAPPY SAD here…

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TIM BUCKLEY: Biography – Facebook


R.I.P.

THE B-52’S Released Their Eponymous Amazeballs Debut LP 40 Years Ago…

Posted on by JL

5 July 2019

40 Years ago, on 6 July 1979 a totally weird looking combo out of Athens, Georgia called THE B-52’S released their amazing self-titled debut longplayer. A wacky mix of retro dance-pop and surfy funk twisted upside down and wrapped up brilliantly as the new chic back then and still sounding damn hip today! A solid gold masterpiece, a bona fide classic.

Rolling Stone wrote: “The debut by the B-52’s sounds like a bunch of high school friends cramming all their running jokes, goofy sounds and private nicknames into a New Wave
record. It turned out nobody could resist the band’s campy, arty funk, or the eccentric
squeals and bouffant hairdos of Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson…”

Turn Up The Volume’s selected highlights: Planet Claire / Rock Lobster and
Dance This Mess Around

– PLANET CLAIRE –

– ROCK LOBSTER –

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– DANCE THIS MESS AROUND –

Album in full…

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THE B-52’s: Website – Facebook – All Albums

THE PRODIGY Released ‘MUSIC FOR THE JILTED GENERATION’ 25 Years Ago Today…

Posted on by JL

4 July 2019

This day 25 years ago, on 4 July 1994 techno-punks THE PRODIGY released their game-changing longplayer ‘MUSIC FOR THE JILTED GENERATION‘. An overwhelming cross-over acid house monster. A droning anti-establishment soundtrack for illegal 24 hour-parties. Unfortunately, this birthday is entirely overshadowed by Keith Flint‘s unexpected and premature death on 4th March of this year. I want to turn this day into a celebration of
a unique artist and a one of a kind performer who deeply loved what he did and who was astonishing good at it. Let’s remember Mister Flint with these highlights of THE PRODIGY‘s 25-year old second album, their breakthrough sledgehammer…

– NO GOOD (START THE DANCE) –

– POISON –

– VOODOO PEOPLE –

Album in full…

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THE PRODIGY: Website – All Albums

The First Stone BRIAN JONES Passed Away 50 Years Ago Today – He Was Only 27…

Posted on by JL

3 July 2019

50 years ago today, on 3 July 1969 Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones aka BRIAN JONES, musical genius, troubled mind and co-founder of THE ROLLING STONES drowned in his swimming pool, only 27 years old. The coroner’s report stated ‘death by misadventure‘ and noted that his liver and heart were heavily enlarged by drug and alcohol abuse.

He was born on 20 February 1942 in Cheltenham, UK. When he was 20 he placed an advertisement in a London magazine called Jazz News in May 1962, inviting musicians to audition for a new R & B group. The rest is Rolling Stones history. An extended bio of the legendary, highly influential multi-instrumentalist and controversial character right here.

Here’s a short photo montage and tribute to The First Stone while
applicable song ‘I’m Not Like Everybody Else‘ by The Kinks plays over it…

ERIC CLAPTON Released Solo Debut Album ‘461 OCEAN BOULEVARD’ 45 Years Ago…

Posted on by JL

1 July 2019

Blues addict at heart and globally adored guitar hero ERIC CLAPTON released his commercially and critically successful solo debut album ‘461 OCEAN BOULEVARD‘
this day 45 years ago, on 1 July 1974. After his one-album Blind Faith supergroup experience and his equally short-lived Derek And The Dominos project Clapton
decided to do it all (mostly) by himself and smoother than before.

ALL MUSIC wrote: “Although there are some new reggae influences, the album doesn’t
sound all that different from the rock, pop, blues, country, and R&B amalgam of Clapton. However, 461 Ocean Boulevard is a tighter, more focused outing that enables him to
stretch out instrumentally.” – Score: 4.5/5 – Full review here

Turn Up The Volume‘s highlights: Motherless Children / Willie And The Hand Jive /
Let It Grow and of course, I Shot The Sheriff, a cool cover of the Bob Marley classic…

Full album here…

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ERIC CLAPTON: Website – Facebook

PINK FLOYD Released Second Longplayer ‘A SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS’ 53 Years Ago…

Posted on by JL

29 June 2019

This day 53 years ago, on 28 June 1966 space rock legends PINK FLOYD released their second album ‘A SAUCERFUL OF SECRETS‘. The last on which co-founder Syd Barrett appeared on (only one of the songs – Jugband Blues – he played on ended up on the LP). He became, due to his drugs influenced behavior, unmanageable and was replaced during recordings by David Gilmour.

ALL MUSIC wrote: “A transitional album on which the band moved from Syd Barrett’s relatively concise and vivid songs to spacy, ethereal material with lengthy instrumental passages. The band begin to map out the dark and repetitive pulses that would characterize their next few records”.

Album in full…

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PINK FLOYD: Website – Facebook