history

50 Years Ago Living Legend SCOTT WALKER Released His Fifth Album ‘SCOTT 4’…

Posted on by JL

1 November 2019

50 years ago, on 1 November 1969, SCOTT WALKER released his fifth solo album,
yet it was titled SCOTT 4 as his previous longplayer, a collection of songs he had performed for a BBC television series had been his fourth. The LP was issued under his birth name Scott Engel, and was the first to contain only self-penned songs. Unexpectedly, despite its consistent top quality it failed to chart and only years after its release it got the praise it truly deserved. I’m sure Scott 4 is a record owned by singer/songwriters/crooners such as Nick Cave, Bon Iver, Richard Ashcroft, The National, Tindersticks and many more…

AllMusic wrote: “Walker dropped out of the British Top Ten with his fourth album, but
the result was probably his finest ’60s LP. While the tension between the bloated production
and his introspective, ambitious lyrics remains, much of the over-the-top bombast of the orchestral arrangements has been reined in, leaving a relatively stripped-down approach that complements his songs rather than smothering them. This is the first Walker album to feature entirely original material, and his songwriting is more lucid and cutting.”
Full review here – Score: 4.5/5

Album in full…

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SCOTT WALKER: Facebook

THE FALL Released Their Second Album ‘DRAGNET’ 40 Years Ago Today…

Posted on by JL

26 October 2019

40 years ago today, on 26 October 1979, THE FALL released their second LP called ‘DRAGNET‘. Probably one of their messiest, rawest, grimmest and most chaotic longplayers ever with the late MARK E. SMITH spitting and sneering viciously and mercilessly from start to finish. Most of the critics loved it despite the minimalistic
and shrill production. Mark E. Smith and Marc Riley were the only two members of the original line-up who remained after the release of debut LP Live At The Witch Trials
which appeared in March of the same year. The beginning of countless different
The Fall line-ups had started.

Stream the recalcitrant album here. Turn up the turmoil and blow up your ears…

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THE FALL: Facebook – All Albums

THE WEDDING PRESENT Released Their Electrifying Mixed Emotions Album ‘BIZARRO’ 30 Years Ago…

Posted on by JL

23 October 2019

30 years ago today, on 23 October 1989, Leeds post punk misfits THE WEDDING
PRESENT led by troubled mastermind DAVID GEDGE released their second album,
titled ‘BIZARRO‘. A spiky, edgy and mind-boggling stream of electrical jingle jangle
intensity and cutting mixed emotions grimness with Gedge‘s jagged verbalˌsharp-
wittedness triggering every nerve in your body. Thirty years later it sounds as
fired-up and sharply strung as back then and still highly influential. Open your
ears and you will here countless young bands trying to capture its turbulent
buzziness today.

AllMusic wrote at the time: “The Wedding Present’s second proper studio album, ‘Bizarro’ cut down a bit on the frenetic jangle the band was known for in its early days and replaced it with healthy doses of darkness and power. Adding some fuzzy, crunchy distortion to give the guitars some hefty impact, slowing the tempos down to speeds that allow vocalist David Gedge to squeeze more heartbroken despair and bleak sarcasm out of every line, and generally upping their game in every way, the album is the fullest realization of the Wedding Present’s sound yet.” Full review here. Score: 4/5.

Three of Turn Up The Volume favourite highlights: Brassneck / Kennedy / No…

– BRASSNECK –

– KENNEDY –
(Released as a single. Reached #33 in the UK)

– NO –

Album in full…
(Original tracklist: #1 – #10)

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Check THE WEDDING PRESENT‘s remaining BIZARRO live dates right here.

THE WEDDING PRESENT: Facebook – Website

Legends LED ZEPPELIN Released Their Second Breakthrough Album 50 Years Ago…

Posted on by JL

Classics from the past…

21 October 2019

50 years ago, on 22 October 1969, rock icons LED ZEPPELIN released their second LP, simply called ‘Led Zeppelin II‘ in the US and nine days later, on 31 October in the UK. Their blues rock sound got heavier and rawer. Six of the nine songs were written by the band, while the other three were reinterpretations of Chicago blues songs by Willie Dixon (‘Whole Lotta Love‘ and ‘Bring It On Home‘) and Howlin’ Wolf (‘The Lemon Song’). As usual, no song
of the LP was released as a single in the UK (never was during their whole career). But outside the UK the band released ‘Whole Lotta Love‘ successfully as a single.

LED ZEPPELIN II was a huge commercial triumph. The group’s first number one LP in both the UK and the US. The album’s cover designer David Juniper was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package in 1970. By 1999 the highly influential longplayer had sold more than 12 million copies worldwide.

Highlights…

– WHOLE LOTTA LOVE –

– MOBY DICK –
(Live version including John Bonham‘s extended drum solo – London 1970)

– HEARTBREAKER –
(Live version Madison Square Garden, New York in 1973)

Album in full…

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LED ZEPPELIN: Facebook – Website – All Albums

Ska Legends THE SPECIALS Released Self-Titled Stellar Debut LP 40 Years Ago…

Posted on by JL

Classics from the past…

18 October 2019

40 years ago, on 19 October 1979, Coventry legends THE SPECIALS reworked 60s Jamaican ska music with their gloriously stimulating, self-titled, Elvis Costello produced debut album on Jerry Dammers‘s Two Tone Records label. Led by charismatic frontman Terry Hall the band injected the original genre with a high dose of punk vitality, politically and socially charged outspokenness and a series of amazeballs top tunes, including some covers of older Jamaican songs such as ‘Monkey Man‘ (by Toost And The Maytals), ‘Too
Hot‘ (by Prince Buster) and hit single ‘A Message To You Rudy’ (by Dandy Livingstone).
The longplayer hit the UK albums top 5 and remained for 45 weeks on the charts.

NME wrote at the time: “Although the predominant musical influence is black (ska, bluebeat, reggae and soul), it’s wrapped in ferocious rock’n’roll: the kind of hybrid that so many other British bands have tried to contrive but, in comparison, failed to make convincing … This LP embraces two decades of black and white music, gives it perspective and then goes on to
reflect the modern rock’n’roll culture … It’s the kind of album that’s musically fathomless and
it will probably establish The Specials as true hopes for the ’80s. At the very least this debut is essential for anybody who wants to know what’s going on in rock’n’roll today”

Three of the many highlights…

– GANGSTERS –

– A MESSAGE TO YOU RUDY –

– TOO MUCH TOO YOUNG –
(live version)

Album in full…

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THE SPECIALS: Facebook


Back sleeve

KATE BUSH Released Her Sixth Album ‘THE SENSUAL WORLD’ 30 Years Ago…

Posted on by JL

16 October 2019

30 years ago today, on 16 October 1989, legendary singer/songwriter and innovative performer KATE BUSH released her sixth, triumphant album ‘THE SENSUAL WORLD‘.
The ever eccentric and noise-exploring Bush sings about falling in love with a computer, dressing up as a firework, and dancing with a dictator and the intriguing music translated
her wayward views bizarrely fitting, yet accessible. Never a dull moment with Kate Bush!

AllMusic wrote: “An enchanting songstress, Kate Bush reflects the most heavenly views of love on the aptly titled The Sensual World. The follow-up to Hounds of Love features Bush unafraid to be a temptress, vocally and lyrically. She’s a romantic, frolicking over lust and love, but also a lover of life and its spirituality… She possesses maternal warmth that’s surely inviting, and it’s something that’s made her one of the most prolific female singer/songwriters to emerge during the 1980s. She’s never belonged to a core scene. Bush’s intelligence, both as an artist and as a woman, undoubtedly casts her in a league of her own.” Full review here. Score: 4.5/5

The singles/clips…

– THE SENSUAL WORLD –

– THIS WOMAN’S WORK –

– LOVE AND ANGER –

Album in full…

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KATE BUSH: Facebook

U2 Scored Their 2nd No 1 LP In The UK 35 Years Ago With ‘THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE’…

Posted on by JL

13 October 2019

35 years ago today, on 13 October 1984, Irish mega rockers U2 scored their second
No 1 album in the UK with their fourth studio album ‘THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE’.
The band hired two musical experts, Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, to help them with
their experimentation with a more ambient and abstract sound. The album’s title is
a reference to ‘The Unforgettable Fire‘, an art exhibit about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 by the USA. The longplayer also topped the charts in
New-Zealand and Australia and peaked at #12 in America.

The two singles…

– PRIDE (IN THE NAME OF LOVE) –

‘THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE’

U2: Wesbite – Facebook

JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION Released Barbed Garage Blues Album ‘ORANGE’ 25 Years Ago…

Posted on by JL

12 October 2019

On 12 October 1994, today 25 years ago JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION released
their fourth studio album LP ORANGE. A boiling collection of barbed blues crackerjacks, smoking garage crackers and some nasty psychobilly rockers. The Village Voice ranked the album #16 on their best of 1994 list while NME named it the 16th best album of that year.

AllMusic was euphoric: ” ‘Orange’ is almost entirely new sonic terrain, but it keeps the trio’s trademark sweaty, musical terrorism and hedonistic rage upfront… Drummer Russell Simins meets Spencer and Judah Bauer’s guitars with cracking snares and breaking beats, rolling
them out like staccato machine-gun fire yet perfectly on the one… The sound feels just like
electricity actively coursing through the spine… Funk, hypnotic thrashing white-boy blues, and punk fistfight one another for dominance … Orange is the most commercially successful set JBSE ever turned in, but that’s beside the point. In the 21st century, it sounds every bit as messed up, necessary, and frenzied as it did in 1993.” Full review here. Score: 4/5

Here’s the smashing single BELLBOTTOMS (without the LP’s strings)…

And here the album in full…
(original tracklist: #1 – #13)

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JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION: All Albums

FRANK ZAPPA Released His First Solo Album ‘HOT RATS’ 50 Years Ago…

Posted on by JL

11 October 2019

Eccentric music genius FRANK ZAPPA released his first solo LP called ‘HOT RATS’ on
10 October 1969, 50 years ago. Zappa called it a ‘movie for the ears’ as five of the six
jazz influenced compositions were instrumental. Only ‘Willie the Pimp‘, the opening track featured vocals by his equally kooky mate and legend Captain Beefheart. The only member of Zappa’s Mothers Of Invention band who played on the record was multi-instrumentalist Ian Underwood.

AllMusic wrote: “Aside from the experimental side project Lumpy Gravy, Hot Rats was the first album Frank Zappa recorded as a solo artist sans the Mothers, though he continued to employ previous collaborators, most notably multi-instrumentalist Ian Underwood. The result is a classic of the genre. Hot Rats’ genius lies in the way it fuses the compositional sophistication of jazz with rock’s down-and-dirty attitude, there’s a real looseness and grit to the three lengthy jams, and a surprising, wry elegance to the three shorter, tightly arranged numbers… Zappa is unquestionably the star of the show. Hot Rats still sizzles; few albums originating on the rock side of jazz-rock fusion flowed so freely between both sides of the equation, or achieved such unwavering excitement and energy.” Full review here. Score: 4.5/5

Album in full…

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FRANK ZAPPA: Facebook

SUEDE Released Their Masterpiece Album ‘ DOG MAN STAR’ 25 Years Ago…

Posted on by JL

Classics from the past…

10 October 2019

25 years ago, on 10 October 1994, British rockers SUEDE released their magnum opus DOG MAN STAR. Their second and final album with guitarist and co-songwriter Bernard Butler who left even before the final recordings were over. It’s a fabulous record with a series of outstanding songs that went much farther than the Britpop label. David Bowie and Roxy Music‘s glam and glitter influences were obvious but in the end it was a 100% Suede album in all its theatrical and melodramatic structure and resonance with Brett Anderson as the bona fide rock star in the middle. Definitely my favorite Suede LP.

All Music wrote: “As it stands, Dog Man Star is a strangely seductive record, filled with remarkable musical peaks, from the Bowie-esque stomp of “New Generation” to the stately ballads “The Wild Ones” and “Still Life,” which are both reminiscent of Scott Walker. And while Suede may choose to wear their influences on their sleeve, they synthesize them in a totally original way, making Dog Man Star a singularly tragic and romantic album.”
Full review here. Score: 4/5

Singles/clips…

– NEW GENERATION –

– THE WILD ONES –

– WE ARE THE PIGS –

And their own Bolero called ‘STILL LIFE‘…

Album in full…
(Original tracklist: #1 -#12)

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SUEDE: Website – Facebook


Back sleeve