BECK Midnite Vultures (DGC) cd 15.98
Uh, hi. You've probably already made up your mind about Beck, and ain't gonna be swayed one way or the other. So please enjoy Jim's following track by track analysis. You may disagree, and that's okay! [1.] Soul-funk appropriations that feature an odd concoction of chemically imbalanced sex-talk between Prince and Marilyn Manson (if you think this is a cruel comparison, it's not. that's just what it sounds like). [2.] Really weird far-from-melodic orchestral meanderings not as good as The Beatles "Hey Jude" but in the same vein. [3.] In one ear and out the other. [4.] A Tom-Tom Club rip off of outerspace lite-electro-pop, with alot of white-boy-trying-to-be-black bass slapping. [5.] This is sorta what I thought Beck did... a glam rock reinvention of rap. [6.] Actual lyric from a song that sounds like Andy Gibb fronting the Latin Playboys: "We're on the good ship Menage a Trois" (!?!) [7.] Another Beatles reference, this time a really a super clunky revision of "Mr. Taxman." [8.] '80s cocaine club grooves with all sorts of spacey fx and a 'hip' '90s pastiche of turntablism and timestretching. [9.] Beck sounds like Courtney Love on a really bad heroin bender waking up next to Jimmy Buffet. [10.] ZZ-Top guitar-fuzz gated into the most driving song on the album (but that doesn't say much).[11.] Back to that Marilyn Manson / Prince fusion over horn soaked slow-jam funkiness. Is this supposed to be funny?
Prognosis: Worst album I've heard since that Geri Halliwell record.

BECK Modern Guilt (DGC) cd 16.98
While Beck's last album, The Information wasn't all that bad, it sure didn't leave much of a lasting impression. Which broke a streak of very memorable and eclectic releases from the all-grown-up-now wonder-kid from LA.
With Modern Guilt he's enlisted the services of Danger Mouse for production duties and has crafted a really solid West Coast pop record. We can't help but be reminded of Spoon, not only because of the cover art, but also some of the hooks and melodies in many of the songs are definite Spoonisms. But ultimately this sounds like a really solid Beck record without any kitsch but with lots of catchy and earnest songs throughout. Very nice.
MPEG Stream: "Gamma Ray"
MPEG Stream: "Replica"

BECK Modern Guilt (DGC) lp 14.98
Now on vinyl!
While Beck's last album, The Information wasn't all that bad, it sure didn't leave much of a lasting impression. Which broke a streak of very memorable and eclectic releases from the all-grown-up-now wonder-kid from LA.
With Modern Guilt he's enlisted the services of Danger Mouse for production duties and has crafted a really solid West Coast pop record. We can't help but be reminded of Spoon, not only because of the cover art, but also some of the hooks and melodies in many of the songs are definite Spoonisms. But ultimately this sounds like a really solid Beck record without any kitsch but with lots of catchy and earnest songs throughout. Very nice.
MPEG Stream: "Gamma Ray"
MPEG Stream: "Replica"

BECK Mutations (DGC) cd 15.98
It's the new Beck album that isn't the new album (i.e. not the intended sequel to Odelay). With previously released stuff and some new songs. You have to wonder at the Os Mutantes references: the album's name is Mutations and the featured single is called Tropicalia?! Hmmm...

BECK Odelay (whatever big label it's on, Geffen?) cd 14.98
Mr. Beck is back with a brilliant record, in extremely large part due to producing team the Dust Bros (of Paul's Boutique fame). "Rap", folk, pop, & lots else besides.

BECK Odelay (Deluxe Edition) (Universal) cd 27.00
For those of you who've worn your beloved copy of Odelay down to dust... and who have a few extra bucks in their pockets! Beck's arguably best album is the latest to grace the Universal Music deluxe reissue series. Hard to believe that Odelay was released almost a dozen years ago, but indeed it was! You can once again revel in the slacker glory of "The New Pollution", "Devil's Haircut", "Where It's At", and the other eleven album tracks. Yes, sooo good, but you don't have to stop there! On this double disc set you also get three bonus tracks, plus a second cd with three remixes (by Aphex Twin, U.N.K.L.E., and Mickey P) and a slew of b-sides!
MPEG Stream: "Where It's At"
MPEG Stream: "Richard's Hairpiece (Aphex Twin's Remix Of "Devil's Haircut")"

BECK One Foot In The Grave (K) cd 13.98

BECK One Foot In The Grave (Geffen / K) cd 16.98
Through all the genre's he's dabbled in, all the concepts he's fucked with, all the hits he's had, for many of us the story of Beck begins and ends with One Foot In The Grave. Recorded months before Mellow Gold, which ended up being released before it and turned Beck into a poster boy for the '90s alternative-nation, One Foot In The Grave is Beck's most stripped down, raw and impacting album. And a long time favorite of most folks around here.
Recorded by Calvin Johnson at Dub Narcotic Studios and released on K, this record shared much more in common with the humble raw sounds of the underground then it did videos on MTV, glossy photos shoots and all that would follow. The whole world seemed focused on "Loser" and and all the bullshit that came with Beck's sudden ascent to superstar status, but this record was proof that beneath it all was an amazing songwriter and a fantastic singer. While a stripped down lo-fi folksy/bluesy record sounds like such an ordinary thing now, back in the early '90s there really wasn't much of this going on. This was a decade before indie-folk would blow up big, it was the same year that Elliott Smith released his first solo album, the beginnings of a new burst of indie minded souls making folk music in a truly unique way. One Foot In The Grave was one of those records that kicked our asses, a record we could totally connect to, a record that we listened to ENDLESSLY. There weren't many singer songwriters around at the time who seemed to bring real grit to their sound, or who had any sort of unique perspective. Beck then was someone who you could tell loved Sonic Youth, Beat Happening and Neil Young, and was just sort of making real heartfelt songs, songs that sounded like they were being performed around a campfire, just us and beck, making s'mores, telling ghost stories and singing songs.
Rustic and haunting, simple and strong, One Foot In The Grave still sounds so great after all these years, and still manages to be the best sounding Beck record, even considering everything that came after!!
This reissue comes with sixteen bonus tracks (thirteen of which have never been released!)
MPEG Stream: "He's A Mighty Good Leader"
MPEG Stream: "I Get Lonesome"
MPEG Stream: "Teenage Wastebasket"

BECK One Foot In The Grave (Geffen / K) 2lp 32.00
Now available on nice heavyweight 180 gram vinyl!
Through all the genre's he's dabbled in, all the concepts he's fucked with, all the hits he's had, for many of us the story of Beck begins and ends with One Foot In The Grave. Recorded months before Mellow Gold, which ended up being released before it and turned Beck into a poster boy for the '90s alternative-nation, One Foot In The Grave is Beck's most stripped down, raw and impacting album. And a long time favorite of most folks around here.
Recorded by Calvin Johnson at Dub Narcotic Studios and released on K, this record shared much more in common with the humble raw sounds of the underground then it did videos on MTV, glossy photos shoots and all that would follow. The whole world seemed focused on "Loser" and and all the bullshit that came with Beck's sudden ascent to superstar status, but this record was proof that beneath it all was an amazing songwriter and a fantastic singer. While a stripped down lo-fi folksy/bluesy record sounds like such an ordinary thing now, back in the early '90s there really wasn't much of this going on. This was a decade before indie-folk would blow up big, it was the same year that Elliott Smith released his first solo album, the beginnings of a new burst of indie minded souls making folk music in a truly unique way. One Foot In The Grave was one of those records that kicked our asses, a record we could totally connect to, a record that we listened to ENDLESSLY. There weren't many singer songwriters around at the time who seemed to bring real grit to their sound, or who had any sort of unique perspective. Beck then was someone who you could tell loved Sonic Youth, Beat Happening and Neil Young, and was just sort of making real heartfelt songs, songs that sounded like they were being performed around a campfire, just us and beck, making s'mores, telling ghost stories and singing songs.
Rustic and haunting, simple and strong, One Foot In The Grave still sounds so great after all these years, and still manages to be the best sounding Beck record, even considering everything that came after!!
This reissue comes with sixteen bonus tracks (thirteen of which have never been released!)
MPEG Stream: "He's A Mighty Good Leader"
MPEG Stream: "I Get Lonesome"
MPEG Stream: "Teenage Wastebasket"

BECK Sea Change (DGC) cd 15.98
It appears Master Beck has set his galactic funk'n'soul genre-hopping eccentricities aside, following up 1999's heavily soul-influenced Midnite Vultures with an album of mature introspection of the likes that he hasn't approached since One Foot In The Grave. Heart-baring and lushly composed, Sea Change brings his exceptional songwriting skills back to the fore - unencumbered by the glitz and kitsch of past releases. Perhaps his most focused work to date, everything (mood, style, words and instrumentation) comes together beautifully within each song. Together, the twelve songs make for a deeply moving, orchestral pop/folk album. While Beck has not dropped his pastiche approach to songwriting, the apparent intentions and end result are not *ironic* sounding like many of his recent efforts. Which is all the more strange considering that the lode he's mining from here is the soft rock / folk stylings of such greats as Jim Croce, Gordon Lightfoot and Dan Fogelberg as well as heavyweights Leonard Cohen and Nick Drake -- to whom Beck might even have given posthumous writing or arranging credits to for his song "Round The Bend". Fans of Badly Drawn Boy might also take note. This is a mighty fine Beck album.
RealAudio clip: "Guess I'm Doing Fine"
RealAudio clip: "Lonesome Tears"
RealAudio clip: "Lost Cause"

BECK Stereopathic Soul Manure (Flip Side) cd 13.98

BECK The Information (Interscope) cd+dvd 17.98
Beck might be trying a bunch of new things in terms of presentation and packaging (for one thing the cover is a blank grid on which you can arrange the provided very Vice Magazine looking stickers), but it sure feels like he's retreading a lot of old terrain musically. Some songs sound like total rehashings of his 'hits' from Odelay and Sea Change. Actually two lyrics keep taking turns popping into our collective aQ head when we listen to this album. They are Steve Miller's "time keeps on slippin'... slippin'... slippin' into the fyooochaaa" from back in the '70s and Beck's own "I got two turntables and a microphone" from "Where It's At" (on his Odelay album). That said, all in all though this *is* a solid Beck album. It just didn't register the "Holy shit, this is groundbreaking stuff!" reaction that all the pre-release press made it out to be. It's just good ol' Beck recrafted and redesigned with fresh cool sounds and stickers too!
MPEG Stream: "Cellphone's Dead"
MPEG Stream: "The Information"

BECK The Information (Deluxe Version) (Interscope) 2CD+DVD 26.00
New Deluxe box version of Beck's latest outing with an extra disc of remixes from Ellen Allien, Ricardo Villalobos, and Jamie Lidell among others and a DVD with even more videos on it then before, plus a lyric book, a blank book (for your thoughts?) and complete set of stickers! Here's what we said before:
Beck might be trying a bunch of new things in terms of presentation and packaging (for one thing the cover is a blank grid on which you can arrange the provided very Vice Magazine looking stickers), but it sure feels like he's retreading a lot of old terrain musically. Some songs sound like total rehashings of his 'hits' from Odelay and Sea Change. Actually two lyrics keep taking turns popping into our collective aQ head when we listen to this album. They are Steve Miller's "time keeps on slippin'... slippin'... slippin' into the fyooochaaa" from back in the '70s and Beck's own "I got two turntables and a microphone" from "Where It's At" (on his Odelay album). That said, all in all though this *is* a solid Beck album. It just didn't register the "Holy shit, this is groundbreaking stuff!" reaction that all the pre-release press made it out to be. It's just good ol' Beck recrafted and redesigned with fresh cool sounds and stickers too!
MPEG Stream: "Cellphone's Dead"
MPEG Stream: "The Information"

BECKER, JIM & COLLEEN BURKE Interkosmos: A Film By Jim Finn (Shrug) lp 14.00
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**
Awesome soundtrack to some strange low budget film about the failed East German space program. Haven't seen the movie yet, but the soundtrack definitely has us curious. Especially considering the players, Jim Becker of Califone, Jim White from the Dirty Three, and lots of other folks who have backed up indie luminaries like Smog, Bright Eyes and more...
Beginning with some creepy shortwave radio, and some spoken German (Conet Project anyone?) the record quickly switches gear and launches into some awesome (Turkish style?) fuzz psych, blown out and wildly rocking, but with the strange addition of mandolin over the top. Ends up sounding like Calexico meets Erkin Koray!!
But like any soundtrack, the music is dictated by the scenes on the screen, so the sound are all over the place. That said, they gel surprisingly well on their own, it helps that many of the tracks are linked by strange radio broadcasts, mysterious German voices, and other distressed broadcast sounds. The rest of the music is a blast, from soft rock big band jams with horns, albeit imbued with a strange buzzy steel string element, to lonesome strings and wheezing accordion, shuffling percussion, a full on free-jazz drum solo that gives way to a primitive Logan's Run space rock synth drone, laid back blues rock, weird off kilter pop, and near the end, that opening blast of fuzzy psych gets revisited, this time with vocals, and it's even cooler.
Pressed on 180 gram swirled pink cotton candy vinyl, housed in an amazing jacket, an oversized matchbook style sleeve, screen printed and letter pressed, black and metallic silver ink on thick brown paper, liner notes printed on the attached inner sleeve, quite striking.
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES!!!

BECKETT, SAMUEL Whole Thing's Coming Out Of The Dark (Intermedia / Strunz) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
BACK IN PRINT! (Now in a jewelcase, not digipack.)
This is such a strange cd. And we've all become completely obsessed with it. A bizarre series of spoken instructions and long droning notes. Easier to just share Forced Exposure's description:
"The playing directions for the instrumentalist on this CD are derived directly from the so-called sucking stones sequence in Beckett's Molloy, where the author has his protagonists invent three variations of the correct way to suck 16 pebbles -- distributed between two coat or trouser pockets. Everything takes place inside the head, and yet these image provoking speech rituals find their way to the outside. Everything becomes the listener's projection room. We look on the speakers as we would an open, exposed interior. Speech is its own dissecting instrument. Existence is transferred into speech, being is removed from its time. The images remain, the sound of speech remains -- in which the secret of an entire world is concealed." Simply, it's 3 actors, reciting instructions like: "Take a stone from pocket one. Put it in your mouth. Suck it. Suck it...." and so on. With the occasional moaning horn. Totally surreal and creepy and super great.
RealAudio clip: "Image 1"
RealAudio clip: "Rule Number 3"

BEDEIAH Loving Conviction (E.E.E Recordings) cd-r 12.98

MPEG Stream: "Damned"
MPEG Stream: "To The Unholy"

BEDEMON Child Of Darkness: From The Original Master Tapes (Vessel / Black Widow) cd 13.98
Now no longer a European import, Bedemon has been released Stateside by our pal Pellet's new Vessel imprint. We've sold a ton of the previous edition, but if you missed it, we've got these now. They're the same as the import, but now a buck cheaper, and with slightly revamped packaging (the cd booklet is still HUGE), and also now they've got a big sticker on the front that quotes this very Aquarius review! (And also recommends this to fans of Wolfmother, among other bands...well why not?). Our review from before:
DOOM HISTORY HERE FOLKS! And not just that, it's a fantastic album. Ok, you know something is up when almost EVERYONE here at AQ absolutely loves a doom metal album. Not just the regular metal heads (Andee, Allan, Lauren) but also Jim too.
So what's all the fuss about Bedemon? Well some of you may be familiar with the band Pentagram from Maryland, who have about a 30+ year history, going on 40 in fact. Well Bedemon are essentially an obscure but very worthwhile footnote to Pentagram's history, being the "solo" recording project of original '70s Pentagram guitarist Randy Palmer, the majority of this recorded circa 1973-74 with a few tracks from a 1979 Bedemon session as well. They never played out, or even released any records. Bedemon were more of a practice room, basement-recording project that involved Palmer and friends, including the other members of Pentagram, most significantly the uniquely talented vocalist Bobby Liebling who sings on all of these cuts. It was just a way for Palmer to get his own songwriting down on tape, stuff that wasn't recorded by Pentagram. It's totally in the same vein as Pentagram though, if anything MORE dark and doomy than Pentagram's '70s output. Very heavy, and heavily Black Sabbath influenced, also with echoes of Blue Cheer, Randy Holden's Population II, and Iggy & The Stooges (the track "Time Bomb" is very Stoogey, in a way similar to Pentagram's "Last Days Here"). And for '73, this is definitely about as heavy as it gets, Sabbath and Pentagram themselves excepted. There's so many great tracks on here, each one more sorrowful and wrought with doomful emotion than the next, all of 'em throbbing and (awesomely) distorted. Yes, the quality of these rehearsal tape recordings is downright grungey and murky, but in our opinion that isn't a distraction nor a detraction. In fact, it only makes this better, totally capturing that spirit and raw energy of jamming in the garage for your own enjoyment. And it also sounds doomier that way too. Hands down, Randy Palmer wrote some of the best Pentagram songs, and many of these are just as good. Some of his riffs absolutely lay to waste those of his contemporaries. Just imagine if Palmer had decided to promote his doom skills rather than keep them for the most part to himself. Holy shit. At least we have this, one of the best "lost" albums ever uncovered in the realm of heavy, underground music.
Sadly, Palmer died in a tragic car accident just a few years ago, so the official release of this material at long last is also something of a tribute to his memory. Some of this stuff has been bootlegged before, but this legit release has been done with the blessings of Randy's survivors and the input of the other Bedemon musicians. There's even a Wes Benscoter cover painting based on Palmer's own hand-sketched ideas, as well as lots of photos, a Bedemon history written by Palmer before he was killed, and some very fascinating, detailed, and heartfelt liner notes from fellow Bedemon/Pentagram bandmate Geof O'Keefe.
Essential to all true fans of Pentagram, and also to anyone into heavy '70s Sabbathy psychedelic garagey proto-metal!!
MPEG Stream: "Child Of Darkness"
MPEG Stream: "Last Call"
MPEG Stream: "Time Bomb"

BEDEMON Child Of Darkness: From The Original Master Tapes (Black Widow) lp 23.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
DOOM HISTORY HERE FOLKS! And not just that, it's a fantastic album. Ok, you know something is up when almost EVERYONE here at AQ absolutely loves a doom metal album. Not just the regular metal heads (Andee, Allan, Lauren) but also Jim too.
So what's all the fuss about Bedemon? Well some of you may be familiar with the band Pentagram from Maryland, who have about a 30+ year history, going on 40 in fact. Well Bedemon are essentially an obscure but very worthwhile footnote to Pentagram's history, being the "solo" recording project of original '70s Pentagram guitarist Randy Palmer, the majority of this recorded circa 1973-74 with a few tracks from a 1979 Bedemon session as well. They never played out, or even released any records. Bedemon were more of a practice room, basement-recording project that involved Palmer and friends, including the other members of Pentagram, most significantly the uniquely talented vocalist Bobby Liebling who sings on all of these cuts. It was just a way for Palmer to get his own songwriting down on tape, stuff that wasn't recorded by Pentagram. It's totally in the same vein as Pentagram though, if anything MORE dark and doomy than Pentagram's '70s output. Very heavy, and heavily Black Sabbath influenced, also with echoes of Blue Cheer, Randy Holden's Population II, and Iggy & The Stooges (the track "Time Bomb" is very Stoogey, in a way similiar to Pentagram's "Last Days Here"). And for '73, this is definitely about as heavy as it gets, Sabbath and Pentagram themselves excepted. There's so many great tracks on here, each one more sorrowful and wrought with doomful emotion than the next, all of 'em throbbing and (awesomely) distorted. Yes, the quality of these rehearsal tape recordings is downright grungey and murky, but in our opinion that isn't a distraction nor a detraction. In fact, it only makes this better, totally capturing that spirit and raw energy of jamming in the garage for your own enjoyment. And it also sounds doomier that way too. Hands down, Randy Palmer wrote some of the best Pentagram songs, and many of these are just as good. Some of his riffs absolutely lay to waste those of his contemporaries. Just imagine if Palmer had decided to promote his doom skills rather than keep them for the most part to himself. Holy shit. At least we have this, one of the best "lost" albums ever uncovered in the realm of heavy, underground music.
Sadly, Palmer died in a tragic car accident just a few years ago, so the official release of this material at long last is also something of a tribute to his memory. Some of this stuff has been bootlegged before, but this legit release has been done with the blessings of Randy's survivors and the input of the other Bedemon musicans. There's even a Wes Benscoter cover painting based on Palmer's own hand-sketched ideas, as well as lots of photos, a Bedemon history written by Palmer before he was killed, and some very fascinating, detailed, and heartfelt liner notes from fellow Bedemon/Pentagram bandmate Geof O'Keefe.
Essential to all true fans of Pentagram, and also to anyone into heavy '70s Sabbathy psychedelic garagey proto-metal!!
MPEG Stream: "Child Of Darkness"
MPEG Stream: "Last Call"
MPEG Stream: "Time Bomb"

BEDHEAD Beheaded (Touch & Go) cd 14.98

BEDHEAD Beheaded (Trance Syndicate) lp 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

BEDHEAD Lepidoptera/Leper (Trance Syndicate) 10" 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
"The only song anyone in the band has ever written in musical notation is 'Lepidoptera', the seventh song on Transaction de Nova. A few months ago, in a rare serendipitous moment, the page of the music was turned upside down -- the bass clef became the treble clef, the treble became the bass -- It instantly made sense. It didn't sound backwards, but it sounded reversed, turned inside out and over all at once... a song that forms a mirror image of another song and is, literally, the perfect b-side, the record turned upside down." - from Bedhead's description of 'Leper'.

BEDHEAD Transaction de Novo (Touch & Go) cd 14.98

BEDHEAD What Fun Life Was (Touch & Go) cd 14.98

BEDTIME STORY Dream Therapy (self-released) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

BEE GEES 1st (Reprise) 2cd 25.00
What comes to mind when you think of The Bee Gees? Saturday Night Fever? Disco? White suits? 30 years of cheesy disco dancing to "Stayin' Alive"? The awesome(ly atrocious) film version of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band? SNL's "Barry Gibb Talk Show"? Probably all of those things.
Which is too bad, 'cuz if it weren't for all that stuff, maybe you'd think instead of lush melancholy experimental pop music, incredible vocal harmonies, horns, strings, orchestras, mellotrons, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Zombies...
Some of you probably have no idea what the heck we're on about, but well before disco and Saturday Night Fever and all that, way back in 1967, the Bee Gees were crafting some of the loveliest, most compellingly mysterious pop music around. With a sound that borrowed from other bands of the time, most notably the aforementioned big three, the Beatles, the Beach Boys and the Zombies, but incorporated those influences into a sound that was distinctly their own. A sound at times gorgeously classic sounding, and at others surprisingly strange and dark and experimental.
The influence of the Beatles and the Beach Boys is undeniable. The song "Please Read Me" is incredibly Beach Boys-esque, and marks the first time the group would employ falsetto vocal harmonies, obviously influenced by Brian Wilson, and which would of course become their trademark. And the cover of 1st is by the artist Klaus Voorman, who of course also designed the Beatles' Revolver. But scratch a little below the surface, and there is so much more. A musical world of dreamlike, melancholy psychedelia.
"Holiday" is a brooding and moody dirge, with haunting organ swells, and pizzicato strings, with soft horns and simple percussion, and a gorgeous vocal melody, as well as a strange and impossibly catchy bridge with simple nonsense vocals. Then there's "Red Chair, Fade Away" a dreamy, rainbow hued blast of psychedelic pop, blissed out and trippy, with tons of layered production, fuzzy guitars, jazzy horns, fluttering flute, all wrapped in a stained glass production, peppered with circusy calliopes and soaring strings.
But two of the tracks on 1st really stand out. Lovely and catchy, but so dark and emotionally intense. The first is "Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You", which begins with minor key strings over monk-like chanting background vocals, before the Strawberry Fields vocals kick in, over a shuffled rhythm and some deliriously fuzzy psych guitar, with the chanting vocals resurfacing throughout the song before it fades into a truly haunting outro, just those strings and some heavily reverbed drums that stumble into the darkness. The other is the amazingly monickered "New York Mining Disaster 1941" with it's haunting nearly a capella verses (backed up by barely audible guitar strumming WAY down in the mix), jangly guitars, throbbing simple percussion, the whole track mournful and melancholy, the minor key brightening briefly for the chorus before drifting baack into haunting melancholia. The track is laced with strange funereal strings, and again the vocals are just so beautiful, lush and dreamy.
The rest of the record is just as fantastic, every song a strange gem, it's difficult to pick which ones to mention, you'll of course recognize "To Love Somebody", which while not a huge hit for them (although it did crack the top 20), has become an international pop standard, and was originally a track the band wrote for Otis Redding, but their version is the best, so lush and rife with layer after layer of instrumentation, as well as some amazing melodic flourishes left off subsequent cover versions, then there's "Cucumber Castle" with its super dramatic strings, Spanish sounding trumpets, moaning cellos, and bizarre player piano background trills, all behind a main melody that is so unbelievably catchy... we could go on and on and on. Needless to say, it's difficult to not go all gushy and declare this as one of the all time greatest pop records. But what the heck, it is! Listen to this enough and you just may banish all thoughts of white suits and light up dancefloors from your head forever!
Gorgeously elaborate reissue, in a huge 8 panel digipak, full color with tons of amazing photos, a massive booklet also packed with photos, with lengthy liner notes, as well as notes on each track from the surviving members. The first disc contains the full version of the album, in both stereo AND mono, the second disc contains 9 alternate and early versions (including two dramatically different versions of "New York Mining Disaster 1941") as well as 5 unreleased tracks, most of which are as good as anything on the album proper!
MPEG Stream: "To Love Somebody"
MPEG Stream: "Holiday"
MPEG Stream: "New York Mining Disaster 1941"

BEE GEES Horizontal (Reprise) 2cd 23.00
A few months back, we made the Rhino reissue of the debut release from the Bee Gees our Record of the Week. Which raised a few eyebrows, at least until the ears nearby to those eyebrows actually heard the gorgeously melancholy, sweet, shimmery, sun dappled, minor key pop confections of the band that would somehow go on to be the kings of disco. But long before Saturday Night Fever and white disco suits and questionable movie music reinterpretations of Beatles albums, the Bee Gees were masters of lush moody pop, releasing what some consider to be one of the most perfect 1-2-3 pop punches in forever, 1st, Horizontal and Idea. 
The Beatles are definitely worth mentioning, as the Bee Gees shared a similar knack for both perfect hook filled pop and slightly trippy, druggy psychedelia, that managed to find it's way into much of their music and many of the lyrics. Horizontal is packed with plenty of sixties jangle and gorgeous vocal harmonies, but where as 1st was filled with short sharp pop, Horizontal is a much darker beast, the songs are longer, slower, and much moodier, lots of minor key melodies, wild squalls of psych guitar, wheezing instrumental stretches, the vocals are even more dramatic and emotional, soaring strings, unlikely instrumentation, the songs are still catchy, just more subtly so. 
The opener, "World" sounds like the Zombies, via the Kinks, with a slow burning urgency, long drawn out droning instruments, an insistent beat, and a hook to die for. Later on, "Really And Sincerely" almost sounds like Antony And The Johnsons, right down to the super emotional vocals. Then there's the super slinky "The Earnest Of Being George", that sounds like "Come Together" era Beatles, all smoke and slither. Then there's the title track, their own "Day In The Life", epic and intense, dark moody piano and haunting strings, with heartbreaking melodies and those perfect, perfect vocals. Such an amazing record. Along with the other two (1st and Idea), this is absolutely essential, some of the most timeless perfect pop you'll ever hear!
Gorgeously elaborate reissue, in a massive 8 panel digipak, full color with tons of amazing photos, a massive booklet also packed with photos, with lengthy liner notes, as well as notes on each track from the surviving members. The first disc contains the full version of the album, in both stereo AND mono, the second disc contains lost tracks, random B sides, alternate and early versions, as well as two gorgeous Christmas songs, one a medley of  "Silent Night" and "Hark The Herald Angels Sing", as well as 5 other unreleased tracks, most of which are as good as anything on the actual album!
MPEG Stream: "World"
MPEG Stream: "Massachusetts"
MPEG Stream: "Words"

BEE GEES Idea (Reprise) 2cd 25.00
Third times the charm for the Bee Gees, as we finally get around to reviewing the third double-disc remastered deluxe reissue in a series, this one of their 1968 third record, Idea. And it's not because this is our least favorite release, but quite the contrary, it's become the album we revisit the most frequently. Often letting it play in the store repeatedly through both stereo and mono versions.
A slight departure from the baroque arrangements and epic songwriting of 1st and Horizontal (but which they will return to in full form on 1969's Odessa), Idea focuses more on the band as an integrated rock combo rather than a harmony-pop group with accompaniment. The orchestra arrangements take a back seat in the mix, while the group utilizes a more upbeat hook-laden rocking sound in the vein of other seminal (and underrated at the time) albums of the era such as Something Else By The Kinks, The Notorious Byrd Brothers, and Headquarters by The Monkees (and influencing such later bands as Elf Power, Beachwood Sparks and Vetiver). Spotlighting electric guitar, 12-string acoustic, harmonicas and organ, as evidenced on the title track, "Kitty Can", "Indian Gin and Whisky Dry" and "Such A Shame", which stands out due to fact that it's the only song on the record not written by the Gibbs, but by then lead guitarist Vince Melouney.
But of course, this wouldn't be a classic Bee Gees album without some melancholic orchestral balladry which they were more known for, so we assume that is why opener, "Let There Be Love" with its piano and harp arpeggios, "I Started A Joke" and "I've Got To Get A Message To You" were pegged as the standout singles. All great songs surely, yet for us the lesser known songs are the real treats. Definitely one of the bands most underrated recordings and one which we hope this reissue will garner many new fans. Features both Stereo and Mono mixes and a bonus disc of alternate versions, unreleased tracks and even a couple of radio spots for Coca-Cola! Highly Recommended!!!!
MPEG Stream: "Such A Shame"
MPEG Stream: "Idea"
MPEG Stream: "Kilburn Towers"

BEE GEES Odessa (Reprise) 3cd 45.00
Odessa, the Bee Gees' fourth proper full length, from 1969, found the band returning to the lush baroque pop of 1st and Horizontal, after the more rock combo styled Idea. For those of you who only know the Bee Gees from their later incarnation as THE disco group and their iconic Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, boy are you in for a surprise. Well before any of that happened, the three brothers Gibb were masters at crafting gorgeous orchestral pop songs - think the Beach Boys, the Zombies, the Beatles, and you'll get an idea of what we're talking about.
Having three brothers in the band meant HARMONIES, and indeed, the vocal harmonies are heavenly, as is each of the brothers' voices on their own, but those angelic voices are backed up by a crack band, and some incredible orchestration. Odessa was infamous for many reasons: disputes over which single to release caused Robin to quit the band briefly, the non-Gibb guitarist Vince Melouney quite the band, the record originally came in red flocked covers that had to be discontinued because they were too expensive and workers assembling the lps complained of allergic reactions, and most importantly, the sound shifted somewhat dramatically, with the sound returning to the lush, almost overwrought, over the top sound of the first two records, and ends up being super sprawling, incorporating all sorts of psychedelic vamps, and stripped down ballads into the usual collection of perfect orchestral pop gems.
The quasi-bummer about this reissue, is that it's been expanded to a whopping 3 discs, the first two exactly the same except one is all stereo mixes, and the second is all mono mixes, while the third is called Sketches For Odessa, which is exactly that, raw takes and demos, a cool glimpse into the process of making the record, but really, only the most obsessive fans will ever listen to the 2nd or 3rd discs, cuz all you really need is the record proper, but as this is currently the only way to get Odessa, we have to say, even though it's pricey, for lovers of classic pop, it's well worth it. PLUS, the reissue has been restored to its red flocked metallic gold lettered glory!
As with the other records, Odessa is packed with the most amazing pop songs, catchy and wistful, melancholy and dreamy, lots of acoustic guitars, soaring strings, harps, subtle horns, shuffling drums, chimes bells, at it's most lush, it's almost syrupy, but then a song later, it'll be just vocals and guitar. A bunch of the songs sound SUPER Beatles-y, with the vocals more raw, the drums more propulsive, the sound pretty rocking, but even those songs are laced with strings, and are transformed into something distinctly their own. This is definitely a complicated record. Released as a double album, later as a single, lots of fantastic songs (if you loved "Holiday", off of 1st, odds are you'll find lots to love here), some strange almost variety show sounding jams, and a few far out numbers, that prove the boys never shied away from experimenting or doing their own thing. Heck, we made 1st a Record Of The Week, we probably could have / should have done the same with Idea and Horizontal, so keep that in mind when we suggest, that in some ways, Odessa might be the best / weirdest / most underappreciated of the four. So yeah, obviously recommended. Big time.
MPEG Stream: "Odessa (City On The Black Sea)"
MPEG Stream: "You'll Never See My Face Again"
MPEG Stream: "Lamplight"
MPEG Stream: "First Of May"

BEEHIVE & THE BARRACUDAS Cock Ready (Strange Sounds) cd 11.98
Git ready for some gritty bluesy rawk'n'roll, kids! Beehive & The Barracudas' fourth full length, the follow-up to their darkly brooding In Dark Love, gets things back on the track of their more characteristic smokin' punchy garage action! This is a band with plenty of shit-disturbin' attitude as is more than evident in their album art (an explicit collaged shamble of assorted peni and Dubya), song titles and lyrics (such as "Fuck It Out", "Stupid Asshole" and "Hitler's Cock")... not to mention the way they deliver them -- suitably slurred, sneered and snarled. Nasty!
MPEG Stream: "Stupid Asshole"
MPEG Stream: "White Noise Suicide"

BEEHIVE & THE BARRACUDAS In Dark Love (Swami) cd 14.98
San Diego's Beehive And The Barracudas are back at it again, but this time they're taking a rather more subdued, smouldering and angular approach than on their previous two heart-pounding, ass-kicking albums. Still it's no less raw, and certainly no less immediate -- featuring a mix of live drums and old drum machines, dingy guitars and squidgy analog synths. And it's all topped off with some rad lanky boy / saucy girl vocals. The third song "Stuck On The Bus" echoes with a certain bluesy Television-ness, and the rest of the album definitely has that early '80s New York art rock grittiness. Think of this as the soundtrack to the after-party that just might follow a whiskey 'n' jet-fueled Beehive live frenzy.
MPEG Stream: "Stuck On The Bus"
MPEG Stream: "Changes"

BEEHIVE & THE BARRACUDAS In Dark Love (Swami) lp 10.98
San Diego's Beehive And The Barracudas are back at it again, but this time they're taking a rather more subdued, smouldering and angular approach than on their previous two heart-pounding, ass-kicking albums. Still it's no less raw, and certainly no less immediate -- featuring a mix of live drums and old drum machines, dingy guitars and squidgy analog synths. And it's all topped off with some rad lanky boy / saucy girl vocals. The third song "Stuck On The Bus" echoes with a certain bluesy Television-ness, and the rest of the album definitely has that early '80s New York art rock grittiness. Think of this as the soundtrack to the after-party that just might follow a whiskey 'n' jet-fueled Beehive live frenzy.

BEEHIVE AND THE BARRACUDAS 'Plastic Soul' With The White Apes (Swami) cd 12.98
San Diego superstars ND (Rocket From The Crypt) and Dirty/Dustin join Kerry from the Red Aunts and a ton of others to form Beehive and The Barracudas. Not unlike the high octane fire power of RFTC, but more garage-y and tough. Fans of the White Stripes or the Gories should check this out. Listening to it is like being at a really rad, turbulent party in the mid-90s. Just wait for the pushing and shoving to ensue. This is their second release, both on John Reis' kick ass new label Swami.
RealAudio clip: "Dirty Soughts"
RealAudio clip: "Real Blue Flame"

BEEHIVE AND THE BARRACUDAS Featuring The Insects (Flapping Jet) cd 13.98
This is the first release from this all star supergroup. Members of Rocket From The Crypt, Tanner, The Red Aunts, The Pee-Chees, and Last of the Juanitas... Oh, but don't think they sound like any of the above. As a matter of fact, it's a sweet blend of soul, synthy '80s (think: the Cars!), garage, lounge, and casiotone preset rhythm radness. The entire record is ridiculously dance-ready with its raw, driving, pounding rhythms, and attitude-laced vocals.
RealAudio clip: "Big Time Suicide"
RealAudio clip: "Featuring the Insects"
RealAudio clip: "Fall Of 85"

BEEM The Famous/Mouth Everest (Flogsta Danshall) 7" 6.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Skweee!!! See our Museum of Future Sound review for more explanation...

BEENIE MAN Live Or Die (Special Remix) 7" 2.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Hip hop remix. Rhythm = "Midwest Swing" (St. Lunatics).

BEENIE MAN Model Mi Gal (RMC) 7" 2.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another cool dance hall single from Jamaica, this time around the rhtyhm is "One Minute Man" (Missy Elliott). B-side, though supposedly containing a "Remix" of the aforementioned rhythm, has a version that is completely unrelated.

BEENIE MAN More Prayer (Club Remix) 7" 2.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Hip hop remix. Rhythm = "What It Is" (Busta Rhymes).

BEENIE MAN Trend Setter (RMC) 7" 2.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Like a few of the newer hip hop dancehall remixes, this one utilizes a few different rhythms crossfaded in and out. The b-side says "version" on it, but -- surprize, surprize -- actually has the Elephant Man theme (using the melody to "Spiderman" of course.) Nice printing bonus on this single is a classic misspelling of Beenie Man as "Bennie Man".

BEEQUEEN A Touch of Brimstone (Korm Plastics) cd 16.98
"A Touch Of Brimstone" was intended to be the 10th anniversary release for the Dutch ambient / industrial duo Beequeen (Frans De Waard and Freek Kinkelaar), but the nature of Beequeen's extensive side projects delayed the anniversary by almost 4 years. Nevertheless, this album collects a number of (mostly) unreleased tracks from 1989 to 1995, with the one previously released track coming from their debut recording "Scala Destillans" which was issued in a whopping pressing of 250 copies. The Beequeen sound has been and probably will always be a synthesis of a number of pre-existing ideas. At this time, those references for Beequeen were the phasing ambience of Klaus Schultz and Brian Eno, the isolationist practices of Maeror Tri, the clinical feedback noise of early SPK, and the magickal psychedelia of the Legendary Pink Dots. Thus, soft drones, ghosts of songs, and distant drum machine pulsatsions structure Beequeen's ongoing activities.
RealAudio clip: "A Touch Of Brimstone"

BEEQUEEN Der Holzweg (Tantric Harmonies) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This happens to be the fourth and most comprehensive edition of the best album from Beequeen, the ephemeral drone project spearheaded by Frans de Waard and Freek Kinkelaar. Der Holzweg was originally released by Anomalous Records back in 1993, housing the disc in a smartly designed wooden sleeve. At the same time, a tiny cassette edition made its way into the world. Many years, later a vinyl edition of the material was issued; and now the Russian imprint Tantric Harmonies has thankfully reissued this album once again, with all of bonus material found on the cassette and vinyl versions as well as three additional tracks from some contemporary seven inches. Whew! Beequeen's musical output is emblematic of the dreamy, soft focus ambience that emerged out of a post-industrial framework back in the early '90s. Zoviet France, Paul Schutze, O Yuki Conjugate, Christoph Heemann, and Cranioclast were some of the more obvious influences on Beequeen, whose backwards masked guitars and ambling tape loops flicker across grey, synthetic drones. It's very nice to see this back in print, one more time!
MPEG Stream: "Dead Hares"
MPEG Stream: "Chorok"

BEEQUEEN Gund (Plinky Plonk) cd 16.98
Beequeen is the duo of Freek Kinkelaar and Frans De Waard, whose name you might recognise from his other projects, Goem, Shifts, Kapotte Muziek and a bunch more. Can't say I have been all the taken with most of De Waard's projects, but for some reason Beequeen records always hit the spot. The sound of Beequeen has been anything but static, with two musically restless souls exploring all aspects of sound and recording, coming up with extremely varied results, most actually quite appealing, but Gund, a collection of old unreleased tracks finds Beequeen at what I think is their perfect sound, dreamy drony, hypnotic, minimal throbbing shimmerscapes of dark rumbles, ethereal wisps of high end incandescence, and subtly shifting, distant low end murmurs of rustle and thrum, that will most definitely tickle the cochlea of even the most discerning of drones fans, and of course folks who can't get enough Coleclough, Mirror, and the like. This collection assembles four tracks from a proposed 12" where all four tracks were to be cut at different speeds, 16, 33, 45, and 78 RPM (eventually scrapped due to the difficulty in pressing such a record) as well as two tracks from an aborted collaborative split with MSBR. Really beautiful stuff. Limited to 500!
MPEG Stream: "For Daniel In The Lion's Mouth"
MPEG Stream: "I'll Call You Claude"

BEEQUEEN Music For The Head Ballet (Infraction) cd 11.98

BEEQUEEN Ownliness (Infraction) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Beequeen is but one of the many sides to Frans De Waard - the Dutch vangardist who has also explored post-techno minimalism in Goem, blissful guitar drone work in Shifts, musique concrete in Kapotte Muziek, and about a half-dozen other smaller projects. As with all of those aforementioned projects, De Waard typically follows the lead of a 'trendy' line in experimental music -- PanSonic, Main, Pierre Henry, etc. For Beequeen, it's a little more vague, originally taking off from the Legendary Pink Dots (as De Waard met fellow Beequeen member Freek Kinkelaar out of their mutual admiration of Ka-Spel and Co.), but more recently picking up cues from the Temporary Residence aesthetic of quiet guitar led introspection and moody post-rock atmospheres espoused by Sonna and Tarentel. As with the majority of the De Waard projects, Beequeen mimics its influences remarkably well.
RealAudio clip: "My Wicked Wicked Ways"
RealAudio clip: "Beam Ends"

BEEQUEEN Sandancing (Important Records) cd 14.98
Frans De Waard and Freek Kinkelaar have been very active in the Dutch experimental sound community for well over two decades in far too many projects to count. Beequeen was one of those projects, having originally producing some lovely post-Eno driftwork ambient pieces; yet, over the past three album, De Waard and Kinkelaar have steadily pulled atmospheric songs and folk structures out of that ambience. Sandancing is the latest venture and really seems to be mining the same skeletal songwriting as Low had on Secret Name. It doesn't hurt that the two have recruited vocalist Olga Wallis to join their project, as she's got a voice eerily similar to Low's Mimi Parker.
MPEG Stream: "Breathe"
MPEG Stream: "The Honeythief"

BEEQUEEN The Bodyshop (Important) cd 13.98

MPEG Stream: "Sad Sheep"
MPEG Stream: "The Dream-O-Phone"

BEETS, THE Spit in the Face of People Who Don't Want To Be Cool (Captured Tracks) cd 12.98
Now available on cd!
Captured Tracks is turning into the go to label for rad and limited vinyl pressings (and cd's!) of some of the most interesting and offbeat damaged garage pop bands around. Recent releases from the label include records by Blank Dogs, Brilliant Colors, Dum Dum Girls, etc. The Beets fit perfectly with the label's aesthetic, these are some way lo-fi reverbed out rudimentary garage pop gems with a charming kind of innocence about them. We hear a kinship with Thee Oh Sees, especially circa Sucks Blood, as these tracks have that same kind of stoned and lacka-daze-ical quality. Imagine what it might sound like if Dwyer and company did a bunch of Shaggs covers and you'd pretty much have the Beets. There is something so refreshingly effortless and free flowing about this record. Maybe it's their name but we have dreams of seeing them play live in a friend's kitchen as we nibble on snacks and they use everything in the kitchen sink to create totally endearing lo-fi punk rock brilliance.
MPEG Stream: "Happy But On My Way"
MPEG Stream: "Go Away"
MPEG Stream: "My Bones My Flesh And Me"

BEETS, THE Spit in the Face of People Who Don't Want To Be Cool (Captured Tracks) lp 16.98
Captured Tracks is turning into the go to label for rad and limited vinyl pressings of some of the most interesting and offbeat damaged garage pop bands around. Recent releases from the label include records by Blank Dogs, Brilliant Colors, Dum Dum Girls, etc. The Beets fit perfectly with the label's aesthetic, these are some way lo-fi reverbed out rudimentary garage pop gems with a charming kind of innocence about them. We hear a kinship with Thee Oh Sees, especially circa Sucks Blood, as these tracks have that same kind of stoned and lacka-daze-ical quality. Imagine what it might sound like if Dwyer and company did a bunch of Shaggs covers and you'd pretty much have the Beets. There is something so refreshingly effortless and free flowing about this record. Maybe it's their name but we have dreams of seeing them play live in a friend's kitchen as we nibble on snacks and they use everything in the kitchen sink to create totally endearing lo-fi punk rock brilliance.

BEEZY Thoughts In Retro (Rinse) 2x12" 23.00

BEHEAD THE PROPHET N.L.S.L. I Am That Great And Fiery Force (Outpunk) cd 11.98
Back in stock! This 1996 release by BTPNLSL -- featuring members of Mukilteo Fairies, Noggin and Tight Bros From Way Back When -- still rocks hard as fuck in 2004. An ear-splitting cacophony - 20+ short, fast bursts of frenetic hardcore (average song length being about 45 seconds) combined with a thick wall-of-noise punctuated by evil violin scree, and unlike much modern noise / metal / whatever, completely sans irony. This stuff rocks hard. Seriously hard. While their namesake may have been a Deicide song, their music comes from the '90s school of chaotic, complex punk / grind that has given birth to bands like Heroin, The Locust, Antioch Arrow, Clickitat Ikatowi, although the vocals are way less growly and demonic and more wildly gutteral stuck-pig squeal. Aside from having their own string section (in the form of the violinist from Northwestern free noise mavens Noggin) they also manage to pull off the best hardcore-and-saxophone combination ("Zero Zero Night Vision") since Siege's '84 dirge "Grim Reaper." Brutal and unrelenting like the best of them, yet smart too... underneath the neo-satanic stylings you can see their twisted Olympia-style humor (campy metal interludes lifted from Ted Nugent and "Heavy Metal Parking Lot") as well as lyrics with political themes and references to gay sex. Hardcore fans, noise-rock enthusiasts, metal warriors, homopunk faithfuls -- all will gratefully bow before the mighty Prophet!
MPEG Stream: "The Apocalypse Through Sound"
MPEG Stream: "Sacrifice On The Altar Of Convenience"
MPEG Stream: "Adam Faith"

BEHEAD THE PROPHET NO LORD SHALL LIVE/THRONES split 7" 3.99
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Blue Oyster Cult covers from both bands!