The Mexican (Mister Mushi Special edit - vocal) (5:20)
The Mexican (Mister Mushi Special edit - instrumental) (5:16)
Review: When British prog rock band Babe Ruth recorded 'The Mexican' - a low-slung funk-rock workout that came complete with weighty bass and killer drum breaks - they could have had no idea of the impact it would have during the block party phase of hip-hop's evolution (or, for that matter, that Jellybean Benitez would record a Latin hip-hop cover in the early 80s). It's the track's significance within hip-hop that inspired these revisions from break-digger Mister Mushi. Both of the producer's 'Special Edit' versions - vocal on the A-side, instrumental on the flip - make the most of the track's prototype hip-hop breaks, restless bassline and Latin-tinged fuck-rock guitar licks. They're basically the breaker-friendly revisions the dancers want and need.
Review: In the pantheon of prog rock landmarks, none come bigger than The Dark Side Of The Moon. Pink Floyd's magnum opus struck the perfect balance between grandiose vision and universal appeal, carrying relatable themes alongside innovative production and providing the fuel for any psychedelically-minded listener to trip out on a precision crafted trip. As the album celebrates its 50th birthday, this stellar recording of a full live performance of Dark Side... from Wembley in 1974 is seeing its first pressing on vinyl. It's faithful to the album in Floyd's exacting way, but it's also a revelation to hear such a wide scope of sound recreated on stage, not least the likes of 'On The Run'. A fascinating insight into the legacy of a towering, seminal work in the history of modern music.
Review: Machine Head is the 1972 sixth LP from Deep Purple, best known for its pandora's box-style unleashing of one of the best-recalled rock riffs in the world: 'Smoke On The Water'. Now Warner and Rhino honour the album's boisterous legacy with a comprehensive reissued version, with new mixes and previously unreleased live recordings all in tow. The new indie exclusive mainly recalls such intensive wildouts such as 'Never Before', 'Lazy' and 'Highway Star', all of which betray the tightest of tight early heavy metal playing, as the genre transpired gracefully outwards from the groundwater spring of rock & roll in the early-to-mid 70s; in fact, the band and album were considered somewhat responsible for the development for the heavy metal genre as a whole; no wonder Machine Head was their most successful album.
Review: Haze, an Exeter band that in 1981 endlessly toured the South West of England and released the album "SILVERTOPS REFLECTS HAZE" upon which many contemporary tracks were given the Haze treatment from Barry Manilow's 'I Can't Smile Without You' to Johnny Cash's 'Ghost Riders in the Sky'. In the mix Azymuth's Latin funk anthem 'Jazz Carnival' and Space's legendary electronic 'Magic Fly' surfaced, the latter two of which make up this exceptional 7" release by Panorama records, this relatively new label that celebrates idiosyncratic rarities. Haze seem to like breaking down the original and making space between the beats and yet on this A side an already pumping track pumps faster with an extra electronic edge on the Moog-ish organ, whilst paradoxically Haze's lead guitarist takes on Jose Roberto Bertrami's originally syncopated keys in a more regulated way - not a bad thing if not a jazz dancer but someone who just loves to dance! Intelligently, Panorama have coupled this with Haze's percussion heavy version of 'Magic Fly' on the B side, that even if it remains more so electronic, even poppy, it nicely compliments the Brazilian homage of side A. If you love a rare version, 7" 45s and early 80s jazz funk with a synthesised edge you'll love this.
Review: After three groundbreaking albums with black midi, including 2023's Hellfire, Geordie Greep has carved out time to release his debut solo project, The New Sound. This album showcases an eclectic and vibrant approach to alternative pop, granting Greep the freedom to pursue creative impulses without restraint. He reflects on this liberation, stating that without a band to answer to, he could fully explore his artistic vision. The recording process involved over thirty session musicians across Sao Paulo and London, blending diverse influences. Greep notes the spontaneity of working with local talent in Brazil, where tracks were recorded in a matter of days. Musically, The New Sound delves into themes of urban life and human experiences, juxtaposing light-hearted melodies with darker narratives. Songs like 'Holy Holy' merge indie pop with lush Latin arrangements, while 'Motorbike' features bassist Seth 'Shank' Evans in a poignant lament. Greep's ambition is evident throughout the eleven tracks, aiming to engage listeners with intricate lyrics and unexpected turns. He hints at future live performances, aiming to capture the album's dynamic spirit in various settings.
Review: Dream Division present their latest album Rose In The Garden Of Winter, a contemporary gothic disco undertaking of polished and still genre-various proportions. Echoing the stylistic ambitions of Bauhaus, but perhaps describably updating their sound for the modern ear, Dream Division offer a metamorphic record, able to shapeshift into a range of chiropteran forms: cinematic punk, dub, goth-disco, lounge, even interluding raga. Impressively, the personnel list on this record make up an intricate human nonagram, through the central vector on this ritual star is Tom McDowell, who handles synths, vocoder, production and songwriting and commands a puppeteer's control over various synthesists, sitar caressers and theremin cooers. Delightfully devilish throughout, A Rose... reminds of something between a lycanthropic, late 70s Mancunian punk blowout and a fanged Italo-disco bashment in which the sprinklers sprinkle blood on sight of a daywalker.
Review: Hi-def mono reissue of Floyd's classic 1967 album, remastered in 2017 from the original analog tapes. Known for its rough, crunchy psych sound that predated the band's later, boundless space rock sensibilities, this is the wall-breakers at their most primordial, and their least beat-around-the-bush. This one's been given an anniversary reissue a whopping three times in a row; of course, we should endeavour not to overlook the more perfunctory, audiophiles' rarities such as this. Make sure you add it to your 'Gates Of Dawn' collection while you can.
The Czar: Usurper/Escape/Martyr/Spiral (instrumental) (9:25)
Ghost Of Karelia (instrumental) (5:35)
Crack The Skye (instrumental) (5:51)
The Last Baron (instrumental) (12:47)
Crack The Skye (Blu-ray)
Review: .Originally released in 2009, Crack The Skye would serve as the fourth full-length and creative rebirth of sludge-indebted alternative metal behemoths Mastodon. Inspired by the suicide of drummer Brann Dailor's sister in their youth, the album takes cues from prog classics such as Pink Floyd's Animals and King Crimson's In The Court Of The Crimson King to craft a monolithic sonic journey spread across seven tracks. With their later material taking on a more instantaneous approach to composition, whilst coming off the back of the harsh dynamics of 2004's Leviathan and 2006's Blood Mountain, the mercurial middle point the band found themselves on this LP emboldened them to add Dailor as a third lead vocalist, providing a melodious fulcrum between the snarl of bassist Troy Sanders and nasal croon of guitarist Brent Hinds. A hallucinogenic, astral projecting prog epic in the search for peace accumulated through unprocessed grief, the project has been held near and dear to the hearts of the band and their fanbase in the fifteen years since initial release and now celebrates such a milestone with this definitive boxset. Spread across gold vinyl 2xLP with a bonus blu-ray, poster, magnet sheet and 12-page booklet.
Review: Takeshi Inomata is a pioneering drummer in Japan's jazz scene who launched the band Sound Limited in the late 1960s and set to work blending jazz and rock in a vibrant new direction. Influenced by the brass rock movement, Inomata sought to create music full of energy and free from the constraints of modern jazz. He brought together young, talented musicians to play with vitality and envisioned a large-scale sound. Their debut album, The Sound of Sounds LTD back in 1970, became a classic filled with dynamic performances, including the iconic 'Theme~Mustache,' a track that continues to define the band's legacy.
Review: In March 1972, Pink Floyd headed to Japan for a live tour debuting their then forthcoming album Dark Side of the Moon. The Travel Sequence presents one of those performances in full, with the legendary prog rock four-piece blending live versions of the as-yet-unreleased set with a smattering of fan favourites and elongated freak-outs. While the recording quality is undeniably fuzzy (the tapes the concert was recorded to had been in storage for over 50 years), the two-disc set captures the band at the peak of their powers. Highlights include still-in-development versions of 'On The Run' and 'The Great Gig in the Sky', a chaotic version of psychedelic fave 'Careful With That Axe Eugene' and a vast, 25-minute extension of 'Echoes' to close the concert.
Review: Given that it is the fourth biggest selling artist album of all time, with some 45 million copies in circulation, you'd be forgiven for questioning the point of this 50th anniversary edition of Pink Floyd's most celebrated work. Yet, like the various Beatles albums that have been remastered and remixed in recent years, there is certainly a point to polishing the sound using modern technology. Put simply, 'Dark Side of the Moon', an album that's famously sonically detailed and was painstakingly recorded at the time, has never sounded better. With its mix of ambling progressive rock epics and memorable songs, it has always lent itself to listening on headphones; now, thanks to a sparkling and stunning 2023 mix, it's a more immersive and enveloping listening experience than ever (and that's before we get to the separately available surround sound and Dolby Atmos versions).
Reise Durch Ein Brennendes Gehirn (Journey Through A Burning Brain) (12:21)
Kalter Rauch (Cold Smoke) (10:42)
Asche Zu Asche (Ashes To Ashes) (4:00)
Auferstehung (Resurrection) (3:30)
Review: Cult German electronic outfit Tangerine Dream made an indelible impression with Electronic Meditation, their first big release and first grand studio project. It was rebased in 1970 and is a thrilling fusion of Krautrock, experimental rock, psychedelia and electronic rock that utterly belies the times in which it was made. It is also the only LP to feature the line up of Edgar Froese, Klaus Schulze and Conrad Schnitzler and was recorded using just a two-track Revox tape recorder. At times haunting and tense, at others more dreamlike and contemplative, it is a uniquely freeform style of music.
Review: When is an album not an album? How about when it's the second outing from Catapilla, a band that promised plenty in the formative years of English progressive rock (circa 1971), but wound up delivering just two record before seemingly disappearing into the ether from which their music was born. Comprising just four tracks, even with two songs running upwards of 12 minutes this collection falls short of the standard 80-minute LP we're used to. But then there's nothing standard about the band in general. Otherworldly, epic, unbound by rules or expectations and always keen to see what happens with just that little bit extra on the break, refrain or weaving harmony, this is exactly the sort of thing we've been taught not to expect in 2020, but exactly the sort of thing you should have been looking for.
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