MR. SHOW The Complete Third Season (HBO) 2dvd 35.00
Best sketch comedy show ever. Hard to know what else to say. Everyone here has been OBSESSED with Mr. Show since it first aired on HBO years ago. To the point that some of us even spent a fortune buying crappy quality bootleg tapes on Ebay just to be able to see the show again! So we were SO EXCITED that HBO finally planned on releasing all four seasons! FUCK YEAH! A crazy mix of video and live sketch comedy starring Bob Odenkirk and David Cross. Cross you might recognise from his numerous guest appearances: Men In Black 2, Scary Movie 2, and about a million TV shows as well as his comedy record on Sub Pop 'Shut Up You Fucking Baby.' Mr. Show is brilliantly twisted, offensive and foul mouthed, ridiculous and unbelievably clever, obsessed with sex, drugs, rock and roll, reality police shows, old folks, streaking, British people, and of course cock rings! This is season three and features the amazing Sid And Marty Croft spoof Drugachussetts which is worth the thirty five bucks all by itself. And if you decide you are as obsessed as us, we can also order you the first and second season DVD set!

FRITH, FRED Rivers And Tides - Working With Time (Winter & Winter) cd 16.98
You probably know artist Andy Goldsworthy -- the British 'sculptor' (I guess you'd call him a sculptor?) who works with materials found in the natural environment, creating amazing pieces constructed from leaves or sticks or rocks or ice, on site? If not, check out his books -- for his works often exist only long enough to be photographed -- they're certainly some of the best, widely available volumes to hit the coffee tables of the world in recent years. Last year, a beautiful, beautiful documentary film called Rivers And Tides took viewers into Goldsworthy's world. Hopefully you saw it. When that film was basically taking over San Francisco (it was at the Roxie for a loooong time), we got many requests for the soundtrack, which didn't yet exist. We knew though that if it ever did come out, we'd sell a ton. Composed by the amazing Mr. Fred Frith, it was a big part of the film's appeal, no mean feat considering that the visuals were so great already. And now at last, we're happy to announce, here it is, the highly anticipated soundtrack to Rivers And Tides. And yes, it is as good as you remember it -- not some uninspired background music this! The album draws you in immediately, the main melodic theme slipping out effortlessly within the first 30 seconds of the album and repeated throughout. Running water gives way to highpitched soprano sax only to be subsumed under the surface of Frith's calm, stilling guitar, plucked Brazilian berimbao, and other, droning ethnic instrumentation. Tension and calm ebb and flow like, er, the tide. The reed instruments interweave, sprightly and evocative. Even if you haven't seen the film, this soundtrack rates as major highlight of one of our favorite experimental composer's ouevre. Highly, highly recommended!
The packaging is also gorgeous as per Winter & Winter's norm, with heavy duty digipak, letterpressed cover, and full color multipanelled foldouts of Goldworthy's works.
MPEG Stream: "Part I"
MPEG Stream: "Part III"
MPEG Stream: "Part IV"

PSYCHOMANIA (OST) (Trunk) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
When I found out we were getting this record, I (Allan) just about flipped. Psychomania!? THE Psychomania?!? The soundtrack -- never before released, as it turns out -- to the creepy British zombie biker horror flick that has haunted my nightmares for years and years, ever since I saw it on TV, unsupervised by my parents I have to assume, when I was a little kid in the early '70s! Actually for a long time growing up I never knew it was an actual film, I kinda thought all these weird freaky mental images of maniac hippie bikers with British accents were my own imaginings from some bad dream but then as a teenager I found out the truth about my childhood trauma when I ran across the Psychomania VHS tape at a local video shop -- "Hey! That's the film I must have seen!" Perhaps you've seen it too, maybe even under similar circumstances (several people I've described it to have had long-buried memories come to the surface, and in fact one of the people who contributed liner notes mentions a similar experience to mine!).
As near as I can remember/surmise, it was about a gang of bikers who commit suicide and come back from the dead to terrorize innocents. Hence the cover tag line "Seven Suicides - and they roared back as The Living Dead!" But I also think that maybe someone gets turned into a frog? Or the bikers worship a frog, maybe? (Their must be a significant frog in the film, anyway, 'cause I remember one and there's a track called "The Frog" on here -- also the studio musicians on this soundtrack are billed as a band called Frog!)... Definitely some weird witchy LSD biker 'sploitation happenin's. A unique formula for a grade-Z flick to be sure. Released in 1972, this film about a cult has itself become a cult film, resulting a last in this release of composer John Cameron's soundtrack music.
While I can't really comment on the merits of the film (I still haven't seen it again since way back when, and while I'm tempted to find it and rent it now, I doubt it could compare to that initial experience!), it turns out that the soundtrack is KILLER. Yes indeedy. From the first track to the last, exploitation film scores don't get much better. It's got it all -- total Morricone/Goblin/Carpenter horror flick spookiness, interludes of suitably weird dialogue from the film (someone's mother telling him she's worried the police will arrest him and his delinquent friends gets the response: "the word, mother, is fuzz...the word, mother, is busted"), and lashings of evil acid rock/funk to further pander to and/or corrupt the long-haired kids to whom this must have been marketed. Repeatedly, you'll hear the band (that'd be "Frog") vamping on a simple but effective fuzz riff, presented slightly differently on every occasion. You can't argue with it, it's good. Oh, and let's not forget the folk-pop biker ballad "Riding Free" as sung by Harvey Andrews. Then it's back to the scary music and effects (was that a croaking frog?).
John Cameron explains in his liner notes that this was recorded before synths were in common use, so "every trick was used: Musser vibes through phase and wah-wah pedals, phased bowed bass, drumsticks inside a grand piano, electric harpsichord through a compressor, Hammond organ fed through a phase unit and Leslie speakers, and wordless solo voice." Thus, experimental ominous psychedelic bizarroid film music that gets our highest recommendation. And everyone we've played it for has been equally enthused. (We wouldn't make this Record Of The Week *just* 'cause of some repressed childhood memory...) Rev up your bikes and ride for the FROG. (Vinyl coming next week, for those who want even more of an authentic '70s experience.)
MPEG Stream: "Secret Of The Locked Room"
MPEG Stream: "Motorcycle Mayhem"
MPEG Stream: "Riding Free"
MPEG Stream: "One By One"
MPEG Stream: "The Trap"

STYLE WARS (Plexifilm) 2dvd 24.00
Anyone at all into hip hop, rap music, break dancing or graffiti MUST own this!! In fact even if you're not into any of that, after watching this film you will be!! Originally broadcast on PBS in 1983, Style Wars is an amazing look at NYC in the eighties, and the emerging hip hop/graffiti phenemenon that would totally transform music, dancing, art and modern culture. Features the original film with 23 extra minutes of original outtake footage, several commentaries as well as amazing songs from Grandmaster Flash, The Treacherous Three, Trouble Funk, The Fearless Four and more!
The bonus disc features TONS of artists' galleries with interviews, trains and rare photos of pretty much all the important graffiti artists of the time, interviews with Fab 5 Freddie, Guru (from Gangstarr), Goldie, DJ Red Alert, an awesome 30 minute loop of over 200 whole train cars, and music from Def Jux-ers El-P, RJD2, Aesop Rock and a bunch more. Beautifully packaged and assembled as always by the folks at Plexi, who were responsible for the DVD version of the Wilco movie and the disturbing Christian haunted house documentary Hell House. Totally essential!

NOXAGT Turning It Down Since 2001 (Load) cd 13.98
There's a lot of weird stuff going on with this Noxagt band. First, it's maybe not the kind of band you would imagine finding experimental drone guitarist Kjetil Brandsal fronting. And playing bass no less. You might not expect it, but once you hear it, it makes perfect sense. And Noxagt has an instrumental line-up that you definitely don't see everyday: bass, drums, and...viola! But once you hear the viola, again it makes perfect sense. And you also then wouldn't necessarily expect to find this band on Rhode Island's Load records, although they fit quite nicely between the neanderthal noise rock of Pink And Brown and the spastic grind prog of Lightning Bolt. So here we are, the second record from Norway's Noxagt, a sludgy thud rock band in the finest tradition of pummelling crunch and spastic clomp. Pretty fucking heavy for just a bass and a viola. Take some Jesus Lizard, some Load rock, some Bulb rock, some eighties Homestead rock, and some modern noise rock (Laddio Bolocko maybe) and mush it all together into a stinky little rehearsal space or an even stinkier little van, and you get this brief (26 minutes) blast of burly, instrumental quasi-abstract abrasiveness. Produced by heaviness guru Billy Anderson (Sleep, High On Fire, Cathedral, etc.) with really funny liner notes by Stefan Jaworzyn (Skullflower, Whitehouse, Ascension, etc.) And the inside is one of those amazing pictures that when you stare at it long enough with your eyes blurred just the right way a hidden 3-D image pops up. So cool!
MPEG Stream: "Mek It Burn"
MPEG Stream: "Cupid Shot Me"

SHAGGS Philosophy of the World (RCA) cd 16.98
I really love this album.
Championed by Lester Bangs, Terry Allen of NRBQ, and Frank Zappa, who famously claimed the Wiggins sisters to be "better than the Beatles."
Perhaps the ultimate "outsider music" album, there's the obvious element of "so-bad-it's-good" or, for some, "so-bad-it's-excruciating," but deeper listens to the Shaggs yield rewards beyond surface novelty. No, they couldn't play well- the girls felt they really needed more practice before recording an album- but the resulting sounds, existing in realms apart from any usual notions of tempo, rythm or melody- are bafflingly compelling in their expressiveness.

FUNKADELIC Maggot Brain (Westbound) cd 17.98

FUNKADELIC Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On (Westbound) cd 17.98

TRAD GRAS OCH STENAR Mors Mors (1/2 Special) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Yes! Maximum damaged Swedish guitar psych jamming in the house! Knowing how much we at AQ LOVE the sixties Swedish psych sounds of Parson Sound/International Harvester/Harvester/Trad Gras Och Stenar (multiple manifestations of basically the same band, whose crucial original LPs and unreleased recordings have been reissued on cd over the past couple of years, a boon to music-lovers everywhere -- see elsewhere on our website for reviews) you can imagine how excited we were to find out that TWO MORE Trad Gras Och Stenar LPs of early seventies vintage were now being reissued by new US label 1/2 Special, who indeed do a bang up job with these two discs. The booklets feature lots of photos and posters, a discography, and detailed liner notes from the band (delving into remembrance of the personal and social transformations of the hippie era). Plus, each disc's got a hefty bonus track (32 minutes on "Djungelns" and 27 on "Mors")! And of course it's the music that really makes these essential.
Influenced by Scandinavian folk music, drugs, radical politics, Terry Riley, the Velvet Underground, Jimi Hendrix, Indian ragas, etc. this is some awesomely messed-up far-out rock music for sure. If these guys were German instead of Swedish, we'd be talking about a Krautrock legend. TGOS, as the final incarnation of group that started as Parson Sound, features a stripped-down line-up playing music that is perhaps more conventionally "rock" based than earlier formations, but definitely the heavy minimalism of Parson Sound and the Amon Duulish folked-out trippiness of Harvester remain important elements of their lugubrous sound.
"Djungelns Lag", originally issued in 1972, collects tracks recorded by TGOS on tour in Sweden and Norway during the summer and fall of 1971. You get extended dual guitar tangle and lovely sad folk laments, brief bouts of sunshiney nonsense vocals backed with acoustic guitar strum ("Dibio"), and even hippie hoedown jaw-harp jams ("Munfiol"). Wherever they wander, this is generally mellow yet moving, always measured and stately even when at its most abstract and electric.
Likewise with "Mors Mors" (a 1973 album of tracks originating on tour in Sweden and Denmark in '72), which continues with both the gentle freakiness and distorted thud. The Rolling Stone's "Last Time" gets a TGOS treatment (not quite as blasted as their take on "Satisfaction" found on their self-titled album, though) and again their originals feature plenty of what we dig: moments of ragged Haino-worthy axe attack, tripped-out Quicksilver leads, and lovely folk-drone...
So it's appropriate that both discs were reissued simultaneously, if you want one you'll want 'em both. What else can we say...well, anyone who buys Acid Mothers Temple discs ought to be sure to take some Trad Gras Och Stenar home too, that's for sure. As with all the reissues from this camp, highly recommended.
RealAudio clip: "Rocktrall"
RealAudio clip: "Klangbron"

TRAD GRAS OCH STENAR Djungelns Lag (1/2 Special) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Yes! Maximum damaged Swedish guitar psych jamming in the house! Knowing how much we at AQ LOVE the sixties Swedish psych sounds of Parson Sound/International Harvester/Harvester/Trad Gras Och Stenar (multiple manifestations of basically the same band, whose crucial original LPs and unreleased recordings have been reissued on cd over the past couple of years, a boon to music-lovers everywhere -- see elsewhere on our website for reviews) you can imagine how excited we were to find out that TWO MORE Trad Gras Och Stenar LPs of early seventies vintage were now being reissued by new US label 1/2 Special, who indeed do a bang up job with these two discs. The booklets feature lots of photos and posters, a discography, and detailed liner notes from the band (delving into remembrance of the personal and social transformations of the hippie era). Plus, each disc's got a hefty bonus track (32 minutes on "Djungelns" and 27 on "Mors")! And of course it's the music that really makes these essential.
Influenced by Scandinavian folk music, drugs, radical politics, Terry Riley, the Velvet Underground, Jimi Hendrix, Indian ragas, etc. this is some awesomely messed-up far-out rock music for sure. If these guys were German instead of Swedish, we'd be talking about a Krautrock legend. TGOS, as the final incarnation of group that started as Parson Sound, features a stripped-down line-up playing music that is perhaps more conventionally "rock" based than earlier formations, but definitely the heavy minimalism of Parson Sound and the Amon Duulish folked-out trippiness of Harvester remain important elements of their lugubrous sound.
"Djungelns Lag" ("Jungle Law" in English), originally issued in 1972, collects tracks recorded by TGOS on tour in Sweden and Norway during the summer and fall of 1971. You get extended dual guitar tangle and lovely sad folk laments, brief bouts of sunshiney nonsense vocals backed with acoustic guitar strum ("Dibio"), and even hippie hoedown jaw-harp jams ("Munfiol"). Wherever they wander, this is generally mellow yet moving, always measured and stately even when at its most abstract and electric.
Likewise with "Mors Mors" (aka "Bye Bye"), a 1973 album of tracks originating on tour in Sweden and Denmark in '72, which continues with both the gentle freakiness and distorted thud. The Rolling Stone's "Last Time" gets a TGOS treatment (not quite as blasted as their take on "Satisfaction" found on their self-titled album, though) and again their originals feature plenty of what we dig: moments of ragged Haino-worthy axe attack, tripped-out Quicksilver leads, and lovely pastoral folk-drone...
So it's appropriate that both discs were reissued simultaneously, if you want one you'll want 'em both. What else can we say...well, anyone who buys Acid Mothers Temple discs ought to be sure to take some Trad Gras Och Stenar home too, that's for sure. As with all the reissues from this camp, highly recommended.
RealAudio clip: "Var Vila"
RealAudio clip: "Munfiol"

V/A Studio One Story (Soul Jazz) cd + dvd + book 36.00
It's finally here! You've seen the teasers on the previous two Soul Jazz Studio One releases, now's your chance to have the whole kit n' kaboodle for relative little pocket change. 4 hours, yes four friggin' hours of video for your pleasure. The meat of the footage is an extended interview (over two and a half hours) with Coxsone Dodd in his Kingston studio and hanging out in Kingston at some of the old dancehall locations surrounded by adoring fans and Studio One stable staples. Interspersed throughout are additional brief interviews with King Stitt, Alton Ellis, Ken Booth, Studio One engineer Sylvan Morris, Sister Ignacious of the Alpha Boys School (who produced some of the island's greatest musicians) and many other old timers from Studio One's glory days recounting the label's illustrious history. As bonus features to this documentary are some interviews with Alton Ellis, Norma & Courtney Dodd, Ken Boothe, King Stitt, Dennis Alcapone and more. But wait, there's more! And it's not a collection of steak knives. Soul Jazz has also thrown in a best of Studio One collection (LP or CD, your choice) that seriously kicks ass and a 100 page book filled with archival pictures and bios. Considering the huge role Studio One / Coxsone Dodd had in shaping Jamaican music through the sixties and seventies (not to mention the lasting effect the treasure of Studio One rhythms continue to have on the island's music) this document is an excellent source of historical info.
I can't close this up without expressing one bone to pick with the creators of this film. You'll notice when you pop this puppy on your DVD player (by the way, the discs we've got are region free NTSC) is a horrible video title generated frame that surrounds the picture -- kind of like the trademark frame that surrounds all the Soul Jazz Studio One releases. No, this doesn't go away ever during the film and no, you can't get rid of it if you want to. It really sucks and I can only suspect the most nefarious of reasons that Soul Jazz would include it throughout the entire film. Shame on them for that. Chances are, like us, you'll mentally crop that frame out soon enough. This thing is just too damned good to let a stupid frame ruin it! Can I also say that it makes an excellent stocking stuffer? (the CD version anyway, the LP you might have to have a big ass sock to fit it.)
RealAudio clip: HEPTONES "Baby"
RealAudio clip: DUB SPECIALIST "Banana Walk"
RealAudio clip: LONE RANGER "Love Bump"

TANGERINE DREAM Alpha Centauri (Castle / Sanctuary) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Tangerine Dream's second album from 1971. While it is a bit spacier and more synth-based than predecessor "Electronic Meditation", it's structurally much the same as the first, with lots of moody dark improv drones weaving and building into mad psychedelic rock jams. Mostly the change apparent here is that various synths and organs move to the fore while guitars, flute and drums hang out in the back, only dominating the sound in the loudest, rocking passages. This domestic reissue includes a bonus track, "Ultima Thule Part 1", an epic rocking single the group released in 1971. This one's also remastered, w/ slipcase, & liner notes from noted krauthead Julian Cope.
RealAudio clip: "Sunrise In The Third System"
RealAudio clip: "Ultima Thule Part 1"

WIPERS Box Set (Zeno) 3cd 25.00
Yeah, this has been out for a while. A long while actually, but due to random distributor problems which resulted in us being unable to get more than a few of these at a time, we were never able to list it, UNTIL NOW. And we were dead set on listing this, because the three records that make up Box Set contain some of the most intense, brooding and rocking post punk EVER. The Wipers are one of those bands that never got all that popular, but were definitely a band's band, the kind of group that gets namechecked by everybody, and thus influenced everybody, but still remained way below the radar.
Formed in 1978, the Wipers spent their career toiling away in obscurity, seemingly adverse to recognition or popularity, even turning down the opening slot on several Nirvana tours, worried that it would seem too opurtunistic. And Cobain was probably the Wipers' biggest supporter, even covering a bunch of their songs. In fact, lots of people who hear the original versions of "D-7" or "Return Of The Rat" think it must be some punk band covering Nirvana, instead of the other way around. And the more Wipers you hear, the more you realize Cobain did more than just cover their songs, his songwriting style and melodic flair is definitely heavily indebted to the Wipers. Some of the more brooding less rocking Wipers songs sound just like Nirvana tracks that could have been. Minor key mope rock that sort of builds and builds, not necessarily getting louder and faster (although sometimes they did) but getting more and more intense, threatening to explode, the kind of genuine angst and fury that can NOT be faked and imbues music with that sort of emotional charge that turns good music into great music. Cobain had it. So did Greg Sage. And these records prove it. Dark and driving. murky and moody, rough and totally rocking. One of the best bands you may have never heard. And if you picked up that recent Nirvana box, there are a couple Wipers covers on there, and they drive the points home that, not only did Kurt Cobain owe a huge debt for the 'inspiration' but also that Sage was a songwriter on par with Cobain himself, who many consider to be one of the best songwriters of the late eighties / early nineties. Box Set contains the first three Wipers records, Is This Real?, Youth Of America, and Over The Edge, all remastered. A total of 51 songs, 23 of them never before released. Liner notes by Greg Sage himself!
MPEG Stream: "D-7"
MPEG Stream: "Is This Real?"
MPEG Stream: "Tragedy"
MPEG Stream: "Mystery"

AGITATION FREE Second (Garden Of Delights) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Here's two long time AQ Krautrock favorites -- the first and second albums by Berlin band Agitation Free -- that have been previously available as cds on the Spalax label. But now Garden of Delights has done new reissues, which is great 'cause we love these records and we're glad of an excuse to list 'em, as we hadn't ever reviewed them before. And Garden of Delights is known for their thorough, high-quality productions. In the thick cd booklets, you get a band history essay (in English and German), collector's info on various vinyl pressings, photos, graphics, discography, and the obligatory Garden of Delights catalog (but that they've shrunk to 2 pages, to leave more room for all the Agitation Free material). Really nice. And the sound is great too of course. No bonus tracks, though, so if you've already got the Spalax versions, an upgrade to these will be mainly a visual/textual improvement.
The ethnic influence that so defined Agitation Free's debut is not as much a factor on 1973's "Second" -- but both the West Coast style guitar jamming AND the way-out-there electronics experimentation really come to the fore. Again, mostly instrumental (one exception being the ominous, electronically treated reading of an Edgar Allen Poe poem that forms the last track, backed by gloomy Mellotron-led prog rock), psychedelic, trippy stuff, utterly gorgeous. Electronically created environmental sounds, wild and spacey synths, and relaxed, melodic guitar are all to be found here in abundance. "Second" was the second great album from this brilliant, often overlooked, Krautrock band. After "Second" they departed the scene with their excellent swansong live album, "Last" (not yet reissued by Garden of Delights, but still available on Spalax), though some other posthumous live/archival documents have subsequently been released.
RealAudio clip: "Laila, Part I"
RealAudio clip: "Dialogue And Random"
RealAudio clip: "Haunted Island"

SCIENTIST Meets The Space Invaders (Greensleeves) cd 15.98

LIGHTNING BOLT The Power Of Salad & Milkshakes (Load) dvd 21.00
Holy shit! The Bolt get a proper visual document for those of you who missed out on the live action! Or if you were there and couldn't see past the rabid flurry of sweat and flesh of the adrenalin charged audiences! Or if you did see everything and now you want to see yourself on film, you narcissistic bastard! Speaking of which, camera whore and AQ doorman John Dwyer makes his international film debut as himself and as Pink of Pink and Brown, he's all over this thing like flies on shit, relaxing in someone's backyard completely in costume or just bobbing along to the live action!! Anyway, the film takes us across America with one of the loudest bands on the planet. Join Brian Chippendale and Brian Gibson as they whip unsuspecting crowds into disco frenzied mosh pits. Rarely does a band make the audience bang their heads *and* shake their booties -- these kids do it right. Watch indie rock nerds get knocked over as they're trapped in the Bolt's surprise attack from the back of the room, opposite the stage. See scenesters get ridiculously stupid as Gibson's 3800 watt tower scrapes earwax outta their pretty little heads! If you couldn't really get into their records (since their music certainly has a physical element which could only be imagined whether you've seen them or not), this will definitely knock you on your ass! Bonus features include two hilariously animated music videos, a remix video by Libythth, a gallery of Brian Chippendale's wonderfully screenprinted poster art and a humorous clip of the duo rehearsing and discussing the relevance of their art. Very well done.

WICKER MAN, THE (OST) (Silva America) cd 16.98
Oooh -- a domestic release (somewhat different from the previously available version issued in 1998 by the UK's Trunk label, more on that later) of the soundtrack to the amazing and supremely creepy 1972 British pagansploitation film The Wicker Man! A group of folk musicians, most of whom appear in the film, bring nordic lyre, harmonica, concertina, recorders, guitars, hand drums and more (some psychedelic electric guitar at one point!) to Paul Giovanni's exceptional Celtic influenced compositions. More than just film accompaniment music, the soundtrack plays an important role in the film's characterization of the pagan inhabitants of a remote island off Scotland (led by their Laird, played by Christopher Lee in what he considers his greatest role) who are suspiciously reticent in helping a stuffy, upright Christian policeman (Edward Woodward) investigate the mysterious disappearance of a young girl. Sometimes bawdy, sometimes haunting, and ultimately infused with the film's mounting sense of menace, the songs capture the lusty forces of nature which embrace death as readily as birth. As much as they work in the context of the film, these songs form an album that is great in its own right. Divided into "Songs From Summerisle: Ballads of Seduction, Fertility and Ritual Slaughter" and "Incidental Music From The Wicker Man," the tracks are culled from newly unearthed stereo masters as well as rougher and perhaps more appropriate sounding mono mixes which originally appeared in the film. Highly recommended, both for fans of English folk (of the sixties revival and/or "apocalyptic" varieties) as well as for fans of cult oddities. Truly the "unholy grail" of film soundtracks, as the Trunk version's liner notes put it.
Oh, if you've got that disc, and are wondering what's different with this release, here's the lowdown: That 1998 cd release was a mono recording, taken from the music and effects tapes from the shortest (86 minute) cut of the film, whereas this new version was done from the newly-discovered stereo masters of Giovanni's music, and includes the wonderful song "Gently Johnny" which only appeared in the longer, uncut version of the film and thus was missing from the Trunk cd. The sound effects and dialogue aren't mixed over the songs, as with the earlier version, and as mentioned, this new disc is organized with a suite of tracks of incidental music and sound effects presented separately, following the actual songs (rather than mixed all together, arranged as in the film). However, this new Wicker Man's running time is actually a few minutes *shorter* than the previous version, even with "Gently Johnny" included. Hmm. We're not exactly sure what's missing, presumably some of the incidental music /effects were edited differently. But no matter, this still must be considered the definitive Wicker Man soundtrack, because of its superior stereo sound source, as well as the packaging, which includes a handsome booklet of photos and text housed beside the cd's jewel case in a cardboard slipcover.
And if you haven't ever seen the movie, it's on DVD now, go rent it!!
RealAudio clip: "Gently Johnny"
RealAudio clip: "Maypole"
RealAudio clip: "The Masks/The Hobby Horse"
RealAudio clip: "Willow's Song"

DAVIS REDFORD TRIAD The Mystical Path Of The Number Eighty Six (Holy Mountain) cd 13.98
Psychedelic rock music inspired by and/or the cause of various psychological anomalies and psychic phenomena! Seriously. The Davis Redford Triad is the fully levitational drone-rock unit centered on the outer-mind guitar explorations of Steven Wray Lobdell (just don't call him Stevie Wray!). He's the bearded hippy with the brow, holding the dog in his lap, both of whom stare out at you from the back cover of this release. You may also know him from his other projects (Baseball Astrologer, Sufi Mind Game, and the lovely acoustic solo set "Automatic Writing By The Moon", also on Holy Mountain). Oh, and of course he's also the guitarist in Faust! Yes, although Lobdell's from the Pacific Northwest, he somehow ended up playing guitar with those re-united krautrockers on their last few albums. Faust of course wouldn't hire just any old long-hair to play guitar, and our favorite 'new Faust' album "Ravvivando" wouldn't have been nearly as excellent without him.
We really liked the Triad's second album, 2000's German-titled but Eastern-tinged "Ewige Blumenkraft" but really, *really* liked their much heavier first LP, "The Mystical Path Of The Number Eighty Six". Originally released in 1997 as a limited edition vinyl artifact, the Triad's debut album has long been in need of compact disc reissue, and at last here it is. This classic has now re-emerged in remixed and re-sequenced form, and includes a theremin track mysteriously missing from the LP version...
It's a really good late night listen, as Lobdell & co. conjur a kosmic kraut vibe via deep, droney instrumental psych jams on guitar and organ, with drums on one track and some electronics thrown in. But mostly guitar, lots of guitar! It's essentially a solo album. Fans of Keiji Haino (another Faust collaborator) and his band Fushitsusha should dig this...though Fushitsusha can be a lot more abrasive. Lobdell's clouds of distortion are rather more 'round' and pleasant than the extremes of Haino's skree. Yet amid the Triad's transportational anthems you'll find some abrasive distorto-grind to be sure (right in the very loud, very dark first track actually). Other comparisons could be made to guitarists like Caspar Brotzman (at his most Hendrix-feeling), or Blue Cheer's Randy Holden (at his most abstract)...
Truly essential for anyone into heavy drone-psych guitar from Bardo Pond to Population II to Fushistsusha. Even if you have the original vinyl, you should check this cd out, as it's quite a bit different. And look for a new Triad release in the fall.
RealAudio clip: "Solar Aquarius"
RealAudio clip: "Mysteries of Cydonia"
RealAudio clip: "Hymn of the Virgin Sun Queen"

IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE (SOUNDTRACK) (Higher Octave) cd 17.98
Wong Kar Wai's In the Mood for Love was one of the best films of 2001. At least that's the thought round here! Starring Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung as starcrossed lovers married to others and too proper to consummate their relationship, it's a wonderful movie. And let's just pause for a moment to recall how fucking gorgeous Maggie is in her Chinese dresses. When I saw the film, the people in the theater audibly gasped everytime she entered a scene with a new outfit.
Anyway, Wong wanted the soundtrack to reflect the era during which the film is set -- the mid-'60s. Thus we have a few Latin-tinged Nat King Cole numbers plus some extra special, ever so charming Chinese pop songs of the day. Rounding out the album is a lot of moody sad violin soundtrack stuff from Michael Galasso, and a single composition by Umebayashi Shigeru which is the main theme of the film. It's mostly achingly sad violin and it's simply gorgeous. The entire record evokes the film -- a success, no throwaway material. Recommended!
RealAudio clip: UMEBAYASHI SHIGERU "Yumeji's Theme"
RealAudio clip: DENG BAI YING "Shuan Shuan Yang"
RealAudio clip: ZHANG YUN XIAN & LI HONG "Shuang Ma Hui"
RealAudio clip: NAT KING COLE "Quizas, Quizas, Quizas"

MORRICONE, ENNIO Danger: Diabolik (OST) (Sycodelic (M.D.W.C.G.C.G.)) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
One of the early filmworks from Mario Bava (best known for his horror flicks), Danger: Diabolik is a spectacular, unusual and campy romp of a movie. From 1967, it's an Italian comic book come to life complete with wonderfully mad leaps of logic, a bevy of foxy ladies, and a suitably sexy musical accompaniment. Move over Batman! James Bond, step aside! You're no match for Diabolik who we should mention is no super-hero. He's a super-criminal wrapped in skin-tight black leather and latex. This soundtrack offers up a smattering of gleefully stilted dialogue snippets including Cup's fave, the "Dry up, stupid!" line, but the seemingly relentless revisiting of the main track "Deep Down"- slinkily kitten-crooned, perky horns, slow'n'wistful, sly Peter Gunn-esque and oh so many more - may quickly wear on your nerves without D:D's swoonful eye candy. FYI: Even if you've yet to see the film, you might already be familiar with its kitschful flair. Mike Patton (in Fantomas) and the Beastie Boys have both plundered this amazing film for it's seriously astounding set designs and stunningly sleek wardrobe.
RealAudio clip: "Driving Decoys"
RealAudio clip: "Criminal / Justice Solution"
RealAudio clip: "Charading Chauffeurs In Wait"
RealAudio clip: "Deep Down"
RealAudio clip: "Valmont (Underworld Don) Philosophies"
RealAudio clip: "Money Orgy"

MY BLOODY VALENTINE Loveless (Warner / Sire) cd 12.98
We just realised that this record, one of AQ unanimous all time favorites, never got listed on the website OR the AQ list. And while most of you may already have this, a few of you are in for a big surprise and a musical awakening. "Loveless" stands at the pinnacle of the UK shoegazer movement of the early '90s also populated by Ride, Slowdive, Blind Mr. Jones, Lush, and dozens of lesser knowns on Creation and Cherry Red Reords. Almost all of these bands were enthralled by '60s pop, extending Phil Spector's wall of sound into thick tapestries of distortion and reverberation that almost completely buried their distinctly pop structures. My Bloody Valentine was no exception, but were certainly the most adventurous in terms of production techniques and most definitely the best songwriters of the lot (though Ride and Slowdive did write some amazing songs) culminating with their masterpiece (and swansong) "Loveless." Led by the intertwined guitars and vocals of the bleary eyed duo of Kevin Shields and Bilinda Butcher, My Bloody Valentine blurred what would normally be punk-as-fuck distortion into a velvety wash of sleepwalking sound, soothed further by their hushed lullabye vocals. Yet, My Bloody Valentine weren't just interested in lulling their audiences to sleep, as "Loveless" borrows more than a few tricks from the contemporary Manchester sound (Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, etc.) with their brilliant track "Soon" filled with rolling basslines and spry breakbeats.
That track along with the equally groovy-yet-dreamy "Glider" ep had been the basis for Simon Reynolds curious thesis that My Bloody Valentine had produced some of the earliest jungle tracks. More plausible was that MBV were one of the first rock bands to actively incorporate sampling into their production techniques. My Bloody Valentine had resampled their guitar feedback digitally to created strangely warbling layers of sound and allow for additional tools to build their bittersweet, melancholic melodies. "Loveless" may remain the final testament to the musical prowess of My Bloody Valentine, as Kevin Shields continues to state the claim that another album is in the works... well it's been in the works for over a decade and has no signs of ever being realized. Nevertheless, this album *still* sounds totally fresh and wholly superior to all of the bands that have attempted to revive the My Bloody Valentine sound (Lilys, Swirlies, Flying Saucer Attack, Third Eye Foundation, Fennesz, Chessie, etc, etc, etc).
Perhaps our opinion best stated by former Aquarian Marc Kate: "If you don't own it, I won't be mad, but you will certainly earn my pity." An earthshattering record. Period.
RealAudio clip: "Only Shallow"
RealAudio clip: "I Only Said"
RealAudio clip: "Sometimes"
RealAudio clip: "Soon"

COLTRANE, ALICE Transfiguration (Sepia Tone) 2cd 14.98
Although Alice Coltrane released few recordings back when she was performing regularly in the '60s and '70s, several welcome reissues have come to light in recent years. This is the first time on cd for Transfigurations, a live performance from 1975 at UCLA, and her last official album (except for later selfreleased cassettes). Most of the material is performed with just a trio -- including Roy Haynes on drums and Reggie Workman on bass -- and it's quite varied: some of the tracks feature long jams of Alice's extremely weird 'n warbly organ sound, and some feature five-minute long drum solos. But the best track is, in my opinion, "Prema", a meditative, melodic piece that has just gorgeously creepy strings overdubbed onto it, including no less than six violins, two violas and a pair of cellos. Also includes a 36-minute, two-part version of her late husband John's "Leo".
RealAudio clip: "Prema"
RealAudio clip: "Affinity"

AMON DUUL II Phallus Dei (Revisited) cd 17.98
Split apart from the more politicized fraction known as Amon Duul I (Psychedelic Underground, etc.), Amon Duul II emerged in 1969 when they released this fantastic debut album. It's a masterwork of drug-dazed guitar psych, long tracks, middle eastern influence, churning trance rock, etc. With the same four bonus tracks as found on the prior Gammarock label cd version: "Freak Out Requiem I - III", & "Cymbals In The End". Where the music of Amon Duul I flowed freely like the loose collective of hippies they were, Amon Duul II was a delirious explosion of psychedelia that, with small exception, always kept one foot firmly planted in structure. The extended jams, especially the title track, have the benefit of being both very accessible straight ahead, heavy, psychedelic rock while retaining the spontaneity of an improv sensibility. Hopefully this new, excellent-sounding digipak Repertoire-label reissue won't go out of print as quickly as previous versions did!
RealAudio clip: "Phallus Dei (excerpt 1)"
RealAudio clip: "Phallus Dei (excerpt 2)"
RealAudio clip: "Freak Out Requiem II"

LES SAVY FAV Go Forth (French Kiss) cd 14.98
These east coast art-rocking boys are back with their third release. Word has it that this band is pretty right-on live. This record is totally dancy and catchy, and much more emo and peppy than previous releases. Their post-punk guitar assault swings from propulsive new wave into hectic, raw Birthday Party-like radness, and on into something akin to Fugazi. Although this may seem somewhat scattered - each song does stand out from the next - the record does flow quite well.
RealAudio clip: "track 1"
RealAudio clip: "track 5"
RealAudio clip: "track 7"

V/A Soul of Angola: Anthologie de la Musique Angolaise 1965/1975 (Lusafrica) 2cd 38.00
Here's a double cd compilation of Angolan shantytown pop from 1965-1975, with a similar lineup of artists as the "Angola '60s" and "Angola '70s" comps we've already been carrying: Artur Nunes, Os Kiezos, Urbano de Castro, Oscar Neves, Jovens do Prendo, Os Bongos, and many many more. Some tracks are sunny and energetic, some sad, slow and languid. Electric guitars, and rhythms from the Congo, Brazil and the Carribean all combined with native Angolan music. This is stuff from a creatively fertile, politically explosive era of Angolan history, when it was a Portugese colony on the verge of independence. Delightful music, but bittersweet, as the liner notes point out that several of the artists on here didn't survive the violence in their country in the late '70s.
RealAudio clip: AVOZINHO "Mama Divua Diame"
RealAudio clip: ARTUR NUNES "Dito Ze"

FAUST The Faust Tapes (ReR) cd 17.98
Faust's third album (or fourth if you count the Tony Conrad & Faust "Outside the Dream Syndicate" album), originally released in 1973, is now available for the first time on cd with the original artwork (excepting the box set) instead of the horrible cover that originally graced the previous Recommended reissue. Faust Tapes is a collection of Faust's more experimental forays, recorded between 1971 and 1973 at Wumme, with lots of short snippets of improvised noise and textures. There are a few composed "songs" on this album (some of their best, like "Flashback Caruso"!), but overall it's a lot more chaotic and random sounding than Faust's rock efforts such as "IV" and "So Far". Completely essential, however.
RealAudio clip: "Exercise - With Several Hands On A Piano"
RealAudio clip: "Flashback Caruso"
RealAudio clip: "Untitled"

KRAFTWERK Ralf And Florian (Germanofon) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

BORIS Flood (MIDI Creative) cd 24.00
BACK IN STOCK! Allan's favorite Boris release... As you may know, Boris are perhaps Japan's number one Melvins worshippers! But that's not to say they're unoriginal, rather the opposite, since the Melvins themselves are so unpredictable and eccentric. But in terms of heaviness, Boris measure up. Though they thew us for a loop with this, their third full-length album. Yep, it's not cheap, but there's no US release planned anytime soon or ever as far as we know. And anyway, as we'll explain, it's well worth the money. Like their drone-behemoth debut Absolutego, Flood is just one long song (broken into tracks on the cd for convenience, we suppose). But unlike Absolutego (or any other Boris stuff we've heard), the heaviness is kept in reserve. Instead, this starts off with a very pretty, repeating guitar figure that gradually starts to layer and loop in upon itself. It's quite mellow and meditative. As the disc progresses, momentary echoes of doom emerge from the sonic background, like thunder in the distance, or waves crashing on shore. Meanwhile, the guitars, joined by drums, spin a quiet, gorgeous, dreamlike hypnosis sounding like something somewhere between Gastr del Sol and kosmische krautrock (Agitation Free, Gunter Schickert). Or Eddie Hazel's Funkadelic solo psych guitar masterpiece "Maggot Brain" stretched into infinity. Flood is a minimalist, psychedelic, post-rock masterpiece that can only be compared to the Melvins the way something like Bohren & Der Club of Gore can -- with an understanding that heaviness isn't always all about loudness and riffage. (And, well, even if it did get Melvins heavy at some point, we wouldn't tell you, 'cause you need to hear this unfold for yourself.) Brilliant. (And although this is great, fans of Boris' more usual heaviness needn't despair that they won't return to the rock -- we've heard some new Boris demos that make the Stooges sound mild!)
MPEG Stream: "excerpt 1"
MPEG Stream: "excerpt 2"

SCIENTIST Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires (Greensleeves) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The albums in this series are composed of tracks recorded by the Roots Radics band at Channel 1 between 1981 and 1982 which were later mixed by Scientist at King Tubby's.
The dubs on these album reside on the very minimal side of the dub spectrum. Not much in the way of additional tracking was done for these records aside from percussion. The rest of the crafting is done by the Scientist behind the mixing board chopping up the tracks, recklessly sliding faders and pouring tons of delay and reverb atop the mix.
Possibly the best album in this series, 'Rids the World...' utilizes the most effects and cut up wizardry in the bunch. Along with his usual bag of tricks, Scientist brings out what sound like rhythm boxes and loads them with so much effects as to turn them into proto-synthesizers. It's also the only title in this series that attempts to match the visual theme / title with an audio equivalent: "The Voodoo Curse", which starts the album, is full of ominous effects and several other tracks get vocal intros a la Lee Perry's "Vampire" requesting blood, and other stock horror intros including Mummies, Frankenstein, Werewolves and the living dead.
Cover note: features Scientist crashing a midnight monster party on his sound system loaded air boat. All your favorites are there: the mummy, Frankenstein, Dracula, the werewolf, and more. In the background is the Munster's house and tombstones cover the woods. Creeeeeepy!
Allan informs me to tell all you videogame fans that the reggae music on Grand Theft Auto 3's "Jah 1 Radio" for Playstation 2 is this entire album.

RZA, THE Music From The Motion Picture Ghost Dog (Victor Japan) cd 31.00
So we know a bunch of you bought the Ghost Dog soundtrack, threw it on, and realised you were listening to a completely mediocre rap compilation that had very little to do with the movie, and thought 'What the fuck?' Well, there is an explantion. If you were like us, you were expecting the -score-, all that moody, creepy instrumental RZA incidental music that did so much to set the mood of the movie. But Andee discovered a copy in a soundtrack specialty store in New York (for $40!) and we tried desperately to track down copies. For some reason the score was only released in Japan and has been incredibly difficult to get. But this is it. Dark and meandering beats, swelling strings, and moody atmospheres. Mixed up with clips from the movie. So good. If they had released this instead of the crappy 'soundtrack' they would have sold so many more. But again Hollywood underestimates our tastes and panders to the lowest common denominator taste wise. We've had copies on and off for the last couple of months but never enough to list it. Now, we finally managed to get a few more copies, but VERY few, so this is on a strictly first come, first served basis. If you don't manage to snag one, we can put you down for one, but there is no guarantee we'll ever be able to get more. You have been warned.

GOBLIN Phenomena (OST) (Cinevox) cd 16.98
Known in the USA as "Creepers", starring Donald Pleasence, written and directed by horror master Dario Argento. This edition features alternate versions of songs *not* used in the film. While the original soundtrack LP of 1985 was a blend of Goblin songs with rock tracks from various other artists, this new disc can be considered the instrumental sequel to that work -- all tracks composed and performed by Goblin, with the addition of 4 movie takes and 11 unissued tracks. The cd starts with a Halloweenesqe riff with far away female vocals. Slowly it evolves into crazy wanking guitar and hectic drums. This soundtrack is eerie and suspenseful, just like the film. A great example of Italian prog rock soundtrack geniuses Goblin.
RealAudio clip: "Phenomena"
RealAudio clip: "Jennifer"
RealAudio clip: "The Wind ("Insects" - Film Versions suite 2)"

GOBLIN Profondo Rosso (OST) (Cinevox) cd 23.00
Distributed and better known in the USA as "Deep Red", this is the wonderful soundtrack to the beautifully photographed Dario Argento classic. Twenty eight tracks total, this expanded edition features all of Goblin's contributions to the film as well as Giorgio Gaslini's chilling score.

MCGINTY, KATHY s/t (Hamburger Records) cd 11.98
BACK IN STOCK! If you missed out on this all-time AQ "comedy" fave before, now's your chance... here's what we said about it when it was first reissued on cd back in 2001, and we made it Record Of The Week:
FINALLY! We've been waiting ages for this to get reissued and the wait is now over! Easily one of the funniest, weirdest, most fucked up records ever. As I'm writing this, everyone else here is laughing hysterically while this plays in the store. In fact, I'm having trouble concentrating or even typing with this playing. It is so goddamn funny. But also kind of creepy and totally bizarre. But mostly very very funny! Originally released as a cd-r, later bootlegged by an unscrupulous LA record label, Kathy McGinty is now available as a professionally pressed cd (no longer a cd-r) with new liner notes and bonus material not included on the original cd-r release!! Here's what we had to say about the original:
You ever have that problem where you're in an internet sex chat room, and you make a date with some pervy girl for a phone sex session, and then when you call her up it's actually some jerk with a sampler loaded with a sexy female voice telling you things like "Taco Bell is sooo good?" Well if you did, chances are you're one of the crank call victims on this extremely funny and fucked up cd. We guarantee, if you hear this stuff you'll die laughing (unless you're a total prude, of course). It's really unbelievable how pathetic the guys are who attempt to carry on a phone sex chat with "Kathy McGinty", who is pretty obviously a recorded voice triggered by someone's Yamaha SU10 sampler. They don't seem to mind that she sounds like she's talking to them over a CB radio, or that most of what she says is absurd and nonsensical, like a random sound collage from a porno movie. Her Taco bell comment just gets a moan of agreement from the hapless caller.
A few of the callers figure it out, and then it gets even more pathetic as they continue to masturbate, being such geeks that they're turned on by the technical details of the joke (one guy asks, excitedly, about if the sampler is triggered by keyboard or mouse). But most of the guys are so clueless and horny that they're completely unfazed by Kathy's bizarre comments ("I think you might be racist", "I want to have your retarded babies", "I've got a pickle in my ass", "You know I'm only 12?", "I sell used cars", "Check out my hairy balls", "I'm all fucked up from huffing Scotch Guard", "I think I might be having a miscarriage") and limited vocabulary (she says "Yesssss!" the same way every time), or her deafeningly noisy, Merzbow-level obviously-looped screams of orgasmic ecstasy. We could go on, but we don't want to reveal too much. Just get this, it's the best crank call disc we've heard in a long time. You'll be playing it for everyone you know, except maybe your mom. Absurdly funny.
MPEG Stream: "Very Large Hands"
MPEG Stream: "OK, This Is A Recording"
MPEG Stream: "This Is Damien"
MPEG Stream: "I Look Like A Cock"
MPEG Stream: "How Many Fingers?"

BAD BRAINS I Against I (SST) cd 16.98

CLUSTER Zuckerzeit (Spalax) cd 17.98

HAWD GANKSTUH RAPPUHS MC'S (WID GHATZ) Wake Up and Smell the Piss (Load) cd 14.98
You can never have too much Hawd Gangstuh Rappuhs MC's (Wid Ghatz). And god knows we're trying! Full length number two, in less than a year, and it's everything you've come to love from these East Coast miscreants. Bad drum programming, stupid lyrics, bad skits, horrible sense of humor. Fucking Brilliant. If the last HGRMWG was too much skit and not enough music for you, then this should balance it out, much more music, hardly any skits, and not as much rapping as you might expect. But the rapping that is there is really stupid and really, really funny. Includes what I think was their first track ever, the Cypress Hill spoof 'The Bong (Get In The)'.
RealAudio clip: "The Bong (Get In the)"
RealAudio clip: "Operation Albino"

GOBLIN Zombi (OST) (Cinevox) cd 16.98
This is the 20th Anniversary Special Edition cd from the Lucio Fulci (Argento produced) classic ZOMBI! Features six bonus tracks not featured on the original release...whoops, we screwed up with this description. One of our favorite customers, Jordan Perry, happened to catch our mistake, so we thought we'd just put his whole email about it up here to clarify matters:
"...you list the Goblin soundtrack "Zombi" as being
directed by Fulci. But it's not. And it's a complicated story, so please, bear with me. "Zombi" is actually Argento's Italian cut of
Romero's "Dawn of the Dead." Argento was the producer of the film, and for it's release in Italy, he chose the film to be edited in slightly
different ways than Romero had. Goblin composed a soundtrack, but from my understanding, Romero didn't much like it and only used it sparingly in his cut of the film. Argento, however, I'm guessing used more of Goblin's music in his version, perhaps explaining why this soundtrack is called "Zombi" instead of the much better-known title "Dawn of the Dead." But then there's Fulci's zombie film too, which was called (in Italy) "Zombi 2," likely an attempt to cash in on the success of
Romero's/Argento's film by claiming itself a sequel. For its American release though, it was simply called "Zombie." The chance for
confusion here then is obvious: Fulci's American title is only one letter different from Romero's/Argento's Italian title. Most important in all of this though is that Goblin did NOT compose the soundtrack to Fulci's film. Rather, that was Fulci-regular Fabio Frizzi (The Beyond, City of the Living Dead, Manhattan Baby), and IT is an amazing soundtrack, far better I think than Goblin's for their zombie film, particularly Frizzi's chilling main theme that got me so into horror
soundtracks in the first place (this was about four months ago, and now I've got over 30 horror soundtracks in my collection). And I've been
spending heaps of time renting horror movies of late, that is why I have all these facts down pat. And if you've only heard the soundtrack to Suspiria and not seen the movie, I most highly recommend you do see it. Of the fifteen or so horror movies I have seen in this past month's spree, Suspiria still easily ranks at the top (due in large part to the brilliant Goblin soundtrack for it). So... yeah. Do what you wish with this information."
Thanks Jordan, for all the interesting info. Sorry for our misinformation!

GOBLIN Suspiria (OST) (Cinevox) cd 27.00
This is an older release which we've never listed, due to problems with keeping it in stock. However recently this label has improved its distribution situation, so here we go: Not as beautifully packaged as the recent Dagored LP repress, this cd features those same tracks from Goblin's classic horror-film soundtrack, plus four bonus cuts not featured elsewhere. If you're going to buy one Goblin record, make it this one! If you're going to buy two, however, the Profondo Rosso soundtrack is equally wonderful! Essential!

LIGHTNING BOLT Ride The Skies (Load) cd 15.98
This is the long-awaited, highly anticipated full length release from Providence, RI's amazing bass and drums duo LIGHTNING BOLT! Imagine Tokyo drums/bass duo Ruins in their early years: way obvious prog influence and heavy as fuck, then subtract the zeuhl (Magma) inspired vocals and substitute a super distorted vocal scree (supplied by drummer Chippendale via contact mic shoved down his throat and secured by a tight fitting spandex mask, or something like that). But although Lightning Bolt exhibit the dexterity of the Ruins (who themselves are no strangers to noise) the particular sort of abrasive sound LB generates places them closer to (but beyond) that other infamous drums/bass outfit, Godheadsilo. The distorted bass frequencies are less a side product of their songs than a building block of their compositions themselves...which often build up to a point where instrumental precision blurs, parts being played so fast and/or repetitively to achieve a mind-numbing stasis, a kinetic drone-buzz. On "Ride the Skies", our dynamic duo rips out eight tracks of spastic, nervous energy. If you're familiar with their past releases, you'll notice a cleaner production, which is almost shocking given their aesthetic of noise and, well, shitty production (it suited them, really). However, the new sound only proves their acrobatic abilities and dynamicism, and it'll still drill the wax out of your ears. Great! The screenprinted vinyl edition was lovingly hand crafted at the now defunct Fort Thunder in Providence, RI.
RealAudio clip: "Track 1"
RealAudio clip: "Track 2"

COLTRANE, ALICE Journey In Satchidananda (Impulse) cd 15.98

STOOGES Funhouse (Elektra) cd 12.98

FAUST IV (Caroline / Blue Plate) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Here's a top-ten essential krautrock record for sure. Indeed, it's even got a song entitled "Krautrock" on it! As crucial as Can's Tago Mago or Future Days, Amon Duul II's Yeti, or Neu! 1... Spacey (Andee thought we were listening to Spacemen 3) and weird and wacky and quite wonderful. Not in the Faust box, either.

LIBYTHTH Dissolve A Diamond (Phthalo) cd 12.98
Libythth is the wacky electro-percussion project from the same sick mind who came up with the Guy Albino persona in Hawd Gangstuh Rappuhs MCs Wid Ghatz. "Dissolve A Diamond" is the first recording for the Libythth project, being a spasmodic spluttering of car-crashed electronic rhythms and bango jangle. Think Matmos attempting to collaborate with Atom & His Package... so silly it borders on the painfully moronic.

DAVIS, BETTY Nasty Gal (MPC Ltd.) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Reissue of 1975's "Nasty Gal", the third album by Betty (ex-wife of Miles) Davis. We already praised the sexy funk of the first two recently reissued Davis discs on the last AQ-list, and this one is more of the same, maybe a little more "rock" than before. We have to fault MPC though for including absolutely no liner notes at all -- there's not even any musician credits, which at least the first two reissues had.

FUNKADELIC Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow (Westbound) cd 17.98
The funk equivalent to the Stooges' "Funhouse"! Very very LSD etc. damaged funk-rock, weirder even than it is funky. The second album from the Funkadelic.

GOBLIN The Best of Goblin Vol.1 (Cinevox) 2cd 17.98
Everyone's favorite Italian horror-film soundtrack rock band Goblin gets a handsome "best of" treatment on this import double cd. The first disc is the "best of" portion, concentrating on the Goblin's spooky prog-funk contributions to the '70s gore-thriler classics of Dario Argento (with tracks like "Profundo Rosso", "Death Dies", "Tenebre", "Suspiria", "Mad Puppet"...) that will be familiar to fans of the films and/or the band. Now maybe you already have Goblin cds with those tracks (if not, you should, or get this!) but even then true fans will be intrigued by disc two, a live Goblin concert recording from 1979, never before released. The sound quality is ok, and the music of course is great -- and even features a lot of vocals, something normally absent from Goblin's better known soundtrack material!

FUCKING CHAMPS, THE IV (Drag City) cd 14.98
The one, the only, the...fucking...Champs! After three years, finally we get their second album (called "IV" on account of the couple of cassette releases that preceded "III"). Ok. Here's the run down, for those who do and who don't know the Champs (and to know them is to love them): they're a trio, they have two guitarists very interested in harmonies, but no bassist, they have song titles like "These Glyphs Are Dusty" and "Thor Is Like Immortal", they play metal but pass it off as indie rock in order to be popular (hey, they're on Fucking Drag City), and they are primarily an instrumental band. Oh, and they have lots of self-imposed problems with their name, always worried about being confused with those "Tequila" oldsters. This time, they're the FUCKING Champs (I prefer: The C'fuckin'hamps myself), but you've probably run across that amazing "III" record by C4AMP5, it's the same band of course. So, how's the new album? Well, it rules. It's a lot shorter than "III" (which was a double LP for goshsakes) at 38 minutes, and pretty much each and every one of those minutes is packed with Thin Lizzy/Maiden/Metallica/Van Halen lovin' genius. There's a lot less of the techno keyboard interludes that they did on "III", this has its gentle moments but none of that Trans Am-ish stuff. (Although it is on current heavy rotation in Windy's 1980 Firebird Trans Am, hey! ) It's also a bit poppier, on the whole. And in another brilliant move the Champs make you wait until the very last song ("Extra Man") to hear vocals. Drummer Tim Soete's vocals and the catchiness of the tune are certainly manifestations of their Thin Lizzy worship, but, being the Champs, even this vocal cut has a lot of instrumental sections, including a lengthy bit in the middle that seems dropped in from a hypothetical black metal math rock record. You'll be playing it over and over again, along with the rest of the disc. The Champs are probably the best (=least boring) post-rock band in the world, 'cause they're in fact a METAL band.
(And let's face it guys, if you're not metal, then you're a novelty act...but if one indie rock kid gets into Thin Lizzy or Carcass 'cause of The Champs, then more power to 'em!) Recommended, if you hadn't guessed! The perfect back-to-school rock soundtrack.
RealAudio clip: "Extra Man"
RealAudio clip: "So What's a Little Reign?"

SPINAL TAP s/t (Polydor) cd 16.98
Spinal Tap's infamous "Smell The Glove" album now reissued and remastered, with 2 versions of "Christmas With The Devil" added as bonus tracks! An all-time classic, we don't have to tell you that. "Tonight I'm Going To Rock You Tonight", "Big Bottom", "Sex Farm" and all the rest never sounded better!

TRANS AM Red Line (Thrill Jockey) cd 14.98
The love-'em-or-hate-'em electronic post-rockers' fifth album. Their Vocoder still ain't broken. Over twenty tracks here, including one that I thought was a cover of Black Flag's "Thirsty And Miserable".

TARKOVSKY, ANDREY Andrey Rublyov (Toei) cd 32.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Over the years, I have met many people who have taken the pains to make cassette dubs of the "Stalker" soundtrack straight from the video. No longer necessary. Dark and heavy orchestrations and vibrations resonating from the claustrophobic cloak of the cold, cold iron curtain. And one folk dance. Very highly recommended. And if you have seen (heard) "Solaris" lately, you know how beautiful and mysterious it is too. Japanese imports, hence the price (nice packaging though.) "Ivanovo" is a little cheaper because it's a little shorter.