DAKTARIS Soul Explosion (Daptone) cd 14.98
Fela Kuti lovers take note! This is one of the best post-Fela Kuti inspired Afro beat records of the last decade for sure. Originally released in '98 just a year after Fela passed away, this was sadly the one and only album released by The Daktaris. Melding Afro beat, soul and funk with total perfection these are songs that make you walk with better posture and with total purpose. They pay homage to their heroes with amazing renditions of James Brown's "Give It Up Turnit Loose" as well as the aforementioned Fela Kuti's "Upside Down." Like Antibalas this was a group carrying the flame that Fela lit with total devotion and a commitment to his spirit. Polyrhythms that will make your body shake, your heart race, and you'll be smiling all over. Good stuff!
MPEG Stream: "Musicawa Silt"
MPEG Stream: "Upside Down"

DAKTARIS, THE Soul Explosion (Daptone) lp 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
NOW AVAILABLE ON VINYL!!
Fela Kuti lovers take note! This is one of the best post-Fela Kuti inspired Afro beat records of the last decade for sure. Originally released in '98 just a year after Fela passed away, this was sadly the one and only album released by The Daktaris. Melding Afro beat, soul and funk with total perfection these are songs that make you walk with better posture and with total purpose. They pay homage to their heroes with amazing renditions of James Brown's "Give It Up Turnit Loose" as well as the aforementioned Fela Kuti's "Upside Down." Like Antibalas this was a group carrying the flame that Fela lit with total devotion and a commitment to his spirit. Polyrhythms that will make your body shake, your heart race, and you'll be smiling all over. Good stuff!
MPEG Stream: "Musicawa Silt"
MPEG Stream: "Upside Down"

DALE, JON Rotten Sun (Rhizome) cd-r 12.98

DALE, JON Son d'Or (Rhizome) cd-r 7.98

DALEK A Purge of Dissidents (Ipecac) book+DVD+CD 31.00
48 page book.
10 animation DVD.
30 song soundtrack.
Some of the dissidents:
Melvins
Grant Hart
David Yow
Jon Spencer

DALEK Abandoned Language (Ipecac) cd 15.98
Tons of amazing hip-hop has come through here lately. We were all a-flutter over the most recent J. Dilla and El-P albums. And now we have the fourth album from Newark, NJ's Dalek. While not as mind blowing as either of those two, it's still a pretty cool disc. Minimalist rhythms follow the old-school bass/snare/bass-ba-bass/snare pattern and land Abandoned Language consistently somewhere between Tribe Called Quest and the Fugees in BPM's, but somehow the record fails to deliver the lyrical depth those groups thrived on. However, the aptly titled "Abandoned Language" is chock full of super interesting samples and strange scratching, at a speed perfect for contemplative head bobbing. This album definitely finds Dalek forging new sonic paths and we're curious to see where they'll lead next...
MPEG Stream: "Paragraphs Relentless"
MPEG Stream: "Stagnant Waters"

DALEK Abandoned Language (Ernest Jenning) 2lp 21.00
Tons of amazing hip-hop has come through here lately. We were all a-flutter over the most recent J. Dilla and El-P albums. And now we have the fourth album from Newark, NJ's Dalek. While not as mind blowing as either of those two, it's still a pretty cool disc. Minimalist rhythms follow the old-school bass/snare/bass-ba-bass/snare pattern and land Abandoned Language consistently somewhere between Tribe Called Quest and the Fugees in BPM's, but somehow the record fails to deliver the lyrical depth those groups thrived on. However, the aptly titled "Abandoned Language" is chock full of super interesting samples and strange scratching, at a speed perfect for contemplative head bobbing. This album definitely finds Dalek forging new sonic paths and we're curious to see where they'll lead next...
MPEG Stream: "Paragraphs Relentless"
MPEG Stream: "Stagnant Waters"

DALEK Absence (Ipecac) cd 17.98
It's been almost three years since we've had a full length release from Dalek, which is WAY too long. It's always refreshing to get some new hip hop in that doesn't follow the formulaic patterns that rigidly rule most hip hop releases. Absence is barely a hip hop album at all. Beginning with a 30 second a cappella from Dalek, we're quickly submerged into a wash of beautifully torrential guitar feedback drone and pounding almost metallic drums. From that point on Absence progresses as an album closer to My Bloody Valentine's Loveless, or early Seefeel than to most hip hop albums. Not only in that Absence is lushly layered with droning feedback, keyboard sweeps and grinding blasts of noise, but Dalek's voice tends to get submerged -- way down in the churning murky mix, making his voice just another strange sound swirling and swooping amidst the chaos, and making this record a truly fucked up sort-of-hip-hop record!
MPEG Stream: "Distorted Prose"
MPEG Stream: "Koner"

DALEK Deadverse Massive Vol. 1: Dalek Rarities 1999-2006 (Hydra Head) cd 14.98
Dalek has always represented the flipside to glossy commercial mainstream hip-hop. In fact we remember first hearing them on their Gern Blandsten debut, a label best know in the 90's for releasing hardcore, and spazzy indie rock. It makes sense that Dalek have spent their career on labels that don't usually venture into that sort of sound (Ipecac, Tigerbeat 6, Hydra Head), as their brand of dark and brooding hip-hop has a lot in common with the world of underground rock and beyond. Their eerie and moody vibe borrows as much from psych and kraut as it does the grittier side of hip-hop. In fact they even collaborated with Faust a few years back for a record that's now sadly out of print. This is a great collection compiling a bunch of rarities, remixes and a few previously unreleased tracks. And unless you have hunted down all their 12"s in the past this will probably be the first time you've heard any of this stuff. One of those killer collections that really captures all the elements of what a group is all about. From moody instrumentals to the dark and intense lyrical flow, this serves as either the perfect introduction or a wonderful reminder of what a great and essential voice in the world of hip-hop Dalek represent.
MPEG Stream: "Desolant Peasants"
MPEG Stream: "Vague Collection"

DALEK From Filthy Tongue Of Gods And Griots (Ipecac) cd 17.98
Not purely hip hop nor dub nor electronic, Dalek might be right at home on Mike Patton's similarly genre-leaping label Ipecac. You may have heard Dalek rapping on top of Techno Animal's "Dead Man's Curse" track, a big favorite of Windy's from 2001. This full length is ferocious and powerful, full of threatening silences and massive bursts of noise. I like it. Dalek's epic, incantatory vocal stylings are pushed right up against apocalyptic, doom-laden instrumentation: high pitched squealing feedback that sounds like air raid sirens, abandoned machine bleeps, paranoid dub-heavy beats, crashing cymbals and other live drumming, shimmering guitar. There's even a psychedelicky track called "Forever Close My Eyes" that's got staticky record hiss, tabla, ethereal organs, melancholy melodic guitar strumming, even (what sounds like) sitar. Very well done! There's comparisons to be made with the DefJux (El-P, Cannibal Ox, Company Flow) sound -- scary hip hop with lots of noisy bits -- so if you like DefJux you'll porobaby get into this. Also definitely for fans of Spectre, Sensational, Techno Animal. Look for an upcoming split with Kid606, and there's even a collaboration with krautrockers Faust that'll hopefully get released by someone.
RealAudio clip: "Spiritual Healing"
RealAudio clip: "Forever Close My Eyes"

DALEK Gutter Tactics (Ipecac) cd 16.98

DALEK Untitled (Latitudes) cd 14.98
These last few months have finally seen the arrival of the most recent batch of Latitudes releases, some that had been in the pipeline for months, maybe even years, first Gang Gang Dance and Gowns, then Nadja and Mount Eerie, and most recently the Master Musician of Bukkake, and now finally, this sprawling avant hip hop doomscape from Dalek, who already pushes the boundaries with his proper releases, but this one takes it even further, a massive 44 minute untitled sonic sprawl, epic and abstract, dark and ominous, lush and majestic, a slow burning dubbed out bass heavy intro lays the groundwork. Warped and warbly, a shimmery downtempo creep, laced with distant melodies, buried vox, folky guitars, there's some rapping, more like spoken word, but it fades out quickly as the surrounding sounds blossom and expand into a dark swirling dronescape, bits of twang and garbled voices drift on a sea of hiss and hum, of muted melody and crumbling textures, and then things get serious, the sounds is cranked up, the low end thick, the rhythms industrial and grinding, almost like some sort of hip-hopped SUNNO))) / Godspeed hybrid, the vocals buried in the mix, before it all winds down again, and then in come the tablas (!), wrapped in weird backwards swoops and heaving slabs of low end rumble, building again, this time into a lumbering string laden machine like trudge, doomy and dark, almost like a more blissed out Gnaw Their Tongues, orchestral and epic, and after about 27 minutes, a proper hip hop beats swoops in, still wreathed in caustic buzz, and surrounded by all manner of fractures sounds and effects, and suddenly it's like the hardest heaviest hip hop you've never heard, super distorted and blown out, a crushing chunk of post apocalyptic robo funk lope, which eventually fades out, leaving just a long stretch of hushed shimmer, and tangled steel string melody, all blurred and smeared into a hazy expanse of ominous minimal drift, and one final verse, delivered ominously over the tense droning whir beneath. Fucking KILLER.
LIMITED TO 1000 COPIES, the covers the immediately recognizable brown and white origami style Latitudes sleeves, this one with a black and silver cover image glued to the front, and a full color insert inside.
MPEG Stream: "Untitled"

DALEK Untitled (Latitudes) lp 16.98
FINALLY AVAILABLE ON VINYL, this sprawling avant hip hop doomscape from Dalek, who already pushes the boundaries with his proper releases, but this one takes it even further, a massive 44 minute untitled sonic sprawl, epic and abstract, dark and ominous, lush and majestic, a slow burning dubbed out bass heavy intro lays the groundwork. Warped and warbly, a shimmery downtempo creep, laced with distant melodies, buried vox, folky guitars, there's some rapping, more like spoken word, but it fades out quickly as the surrounding sounds blossom and expand into a dark swirling dronescape, bits of twang and garbled voices drift on a sea of hiss and hum, of muted melody and crumbling textures, and then things get serious, the sounds is cranked up, the low end thick, the rhythms industrial and grinding, almost like some sort of hip-hopped SUNNO))) / Godspeed hybrid, the vocals buried in the mix, before it all winds down again, and then in come the tablas (!), wrapped in weird backwards swoops and heaving slabs of low end rumble, building again, this time into a lumbering string laden machine like trudge, doomy and dark, almost like a more blissed out Gnaw Their Tongues, orchestral and epic, and after about 27 minutes, a proper hip hop beats swoops in, still wreathed in caustic buzz, and surrounded by all manner of fractures sounds and effects, and suddenly it's like the hardest heaviest hip hop you've never heard, super distorted and blown out, a crushing chunk of post apocalyptic robo funk lope, which eventually fades out, leaving just a long stretch of hushed shimmer, and tangled steel string melody, all blurred and smeared into a hazy expanse of ominous minimal drift, and one final verse, delivered ominously over the tense droning whir beneath. Fucking KILLER.
LIMITED TO 1000 COPIES!
MPEG Stream: "Untitled"

DALL, CYNTHIA Sound Restores Young Men (Drag City) cd 14.98

DALL, CYNTHIA Untitled (Drag City) cd 13.98
Relaxed and off-key in all the right ways, Untitled floats her beautiful airy voice over simple, repetitive piano, noisy guitar, and the occasional cello, violin, and viola. There's a stunning, sparse song sung in Russian, and the whole thing was engineered/produced by Jim O'Rourke & Tom Mallon. Bill Callahanof Smog makes a few appearances as well.

DALL, CYNTHIA Untitled (Drag City) lp 8.98
Relaxed and off-key in all the right ways, Untitled floats her beautiful airy voice over simple, repetitive piano, noisy guitar, and the occasional cello, violin, and viola. There's a stunning, sparse song sung in Russian, and the whole thing was engineered/produced by Jim O'Rourke & Tom Mallon. Bill Callahan of Smog makes a few appearances as well.

DALTON, KAREN 1966 (Delmore Recording Society) cd 16.98
No laments here about diminishing returns on archival releases, this new KD collection is a keeper! Delmore digs up another round of wonderful home recordings from one of our favorite folk singers and interpreters. Like a companion piece to their last great Karen Dalton collection, Green Rocky Road, 1966 feels more warm and intimate, focusing more on present day songs mostly from friends and then-contemporaries, Tim Hardin and Fred Neil with some jazz and traditional standards thrown in there too. While Green Rocky Road felt intimate in a sort of ghostly way, as the songs were largely British folk standards and sung with a haunting air that was beautiful yet slightly chilling in an out-of-time way. The recordings on 1966 feel more at ease, the kind that are easy to sing along with, especially Tim Hardin's songs, "Don't Make Promises" and "Reason To Believe". Not that those songs aren't without their melancholy, but perhaps it's the accompanying vocal and instrumental presence of Dalton's then partner, Richard Tucker on some of the tracks that give this set recorded by Carl Baron on his reel to reel recorder, such a naturally relaxed quality. There are also early versions of "Katie Cruel" and Neil's "Little Bit of Rain" plus a version of "God Bless The Child", that is sung like a true lullaby. Quite lovely indeed and highly recommended!
The cd comes with a booklet containing rare photos and an essay written by Ben Edmonds of Mojo. The lp comes with a 4 page heavy insert, an exclusive color portrait and a download card.
MPEG Stream: "Reason To Believe"
MPEG Stream: "Don't Make Promises"
MPEG Stream: "While You're On Your Way"
MPEG Stream: "Shiloh Town"

DALTON, KAREN 1966 (Delmore Recording Society) lp 21.00
No laments here about diminishing returns on archival releases, this new KD collection is a keeper! Delmore digs up another round of wonderful home recordings from one of our favorite folk singers and interpreters. Like a companion piece to their last great Karen Dalton collection, Green Rocky Road, 1966 feels more warm and intimate, focusing more on present day songs mostly from friends and then-contemporaries, Tim Hardin and Fred Neil with some jazz and traditional standards thrown in there too. While Green Rocky Road felt intimate in a sort of ghostly way, as the songs were largely British folk standards and sung with a haunting air that was beautiful yet slightly chilling in an out-of-time way. The recordings on 1966 feel more at ease, the kind that are easy to sing along with, especially Tim Hardin's songs, "Don't Make Promises" and "Reason To Believe". Not that those songs aren't without their melancholy, but perhaps it's the accompanying vocal and instrumental presence of Dalton's then partner, Richard Tucker on some of the tracks that give this set recorded by Carl Baron on his reel to reel recorder, such a naturally relaxed quality. There are also early versions of "Katie Cruel" and Neil's "Little Bit of Rain" plus a version of "God Bless The Child", that is sung like a true lullaby. Quite lovely indeed and highly recommended!
The cd comes with a booklet containing rare photos and an essay written by Ben Edmonds of Mojo. The lp comes with a 4 page heavy insert, an exclusive color portrait and a download card.
MPEG Stream: "Reason To Believe"
MPEG Stream: "Don't Make Promises"
MPEG Stream: "While You're On Your Way"
MPEG Stream: "Shiloh Town"

DALTON, KAREN Cotton Eyed-Joe: The Loop Tapes Live in Boulder 1962 (Delmore) 2cd + dvd 30.00
We have been waiting with baited breath for this since we first heard rumor of its impending release. 2 cds of newly discovered and previously unreleased live recordings by enigmatic folk legend Karen Dalton! Recorded in 1962 by Joe Loop, a musician who owned and managed an influential night spot in Boulder, Colorado called "The Attic", these intimate recordings capture the raw talent of Dalton's smoky delivery and sparse 12-string guitar and banjo arrangements. While not as solid a set as her debut recording released 7 years later, these sessions offer us a feel of what it was like for traveling folk musicians during the heyday of the folk revival, who literally had to sing for their supper. Working out unique arrangements of tunes by Fred Neil ("Blues On The Ceiling" and "Red Are The Flowers"), Ray Charles ("It's Alright", "Blackjack") and traditional folk blues such as "In The Evening" and "Pallet On Your Floor", this is a shining example of an artist in her element, lost in the delicate emotive possibilities of performing songs so close to her heart. Includes a DVD of early film footage of Dalton performing, some of which was on the last import reissue of It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best, but in a friendlier format than before. It also includes home movie footage from when she lived in Summerville Colorado most likely around the same time these sessions were recorded. So Beautiful!
MPEG Stream: "Red Are The Flowers"
MPEG Stream: "Pallett On Your Floor"
MPEG Stream: "Katie Cruel"

DALTON, KAREN Green Rocky Road (Delmore) cd 19.98
This is the one!! The beautiful, raw, and majestic lost Karen Dalton recordings we've all been waiting for. While we loved the recent release Cotton-Eyed Joe, it was mostly because we thought we'd never get to hear any other recordings, so we were happy with the below lo-fidelity and wavering performances (Dalton never liked performing live, so we don't think those recordings showcased her best side). Then these recordings showed up and have blown the others away. Recorded in 1962 at home on two track tape, played mostly on solo banjo, Green Rocky Road captures Dalton at her most intimate and unearthly. Like some old dusty recordings of lost Appalachian folk, Dalton's circular fingerpicking and warm wooly voice invokes a magical quality as she works through several interpretations of traditional folk songs including versions of "Katie Cruel", "If I Had A Ribbon Bow", and "In The Evening", which were featured on her studio albums.
Other songs not previously featured are the British Folk classic "Nottamun Town", the ghostly "Little Margaret" and the famous cowboy song "Whoopee Ti Yi Yo". There's even a nice moment where you hear Dalton talking to her mother about going to dances. The quality of the recordings while still raw is so much greater in fidelity than Cotton Eyed-Joe, you'd think she was singing to herself in your home not realizing you were secretly standing behind her hanging on to every breath, praying that nothing breaks her transcendent spell. We can't recommend this enough!!!
MPEG Stream: "Green Rocky Road"
MPEG Stream: "Little Margaret"
MPEG Stream: "Whoopie Ti Yi Yo"

DALTON, KAREN In My Own Time (Light In The Attic) cd 14.98
Wow!! It wasn't just but three lists ago when we were lamenting that Karen Dalton's second album (and only other recording), In My Own Time had yet to be reissued, and now here we are reviewing it (thanks Light In the Attic!). And we have to say, it has never sounded better! Recorded in 1971 with a full band at Bearsville studio in Woodstock, In My Own Time has a much different feel then Dalton's spare and smoky first recording, It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You the Best. Since Dalton had so little recorded output, the differences between the two records has given In My Own Time, an unfairly maligned reputation over the years by folk purists and others due to its more contemporized feel and bluesy folk-rock arrangements. True, In My own Time, doesn't quite meet the folk majesty of It's So Hard To Tell, and there are a couple of song choices, such as the all too familiar "When A Man Loves A Woman", and the saccharine Motown stalwart, "How Sweet It Is", that we could probably do without (however, in Dalton's defense, if we had to hear either of those songs again, we would prefer her versions to anyone else's! Such is the strength of her musical interpretations.). But every other song is purest gold, from the heartbreaking opener by Dino Valenti, "Something's On Your Mind", to the traditional tunes "Katie Cruel" (covered recently both by Bert Jansch and White Magic) and "Same Old Man", where we get to hear her play her mighty 27 fret banjo. Produced by Harvey Brooks, who played bass on her first album, In My Own Time is right up there with the best folk and roots rock albums of the time put out by Dylan, The Band, The Byrds, and Crosby, Stills and Nash. Featuring a 30-page booklet with lots of pictures and extensive liner notes by Lenny Kaye, Nick Cave and Devendra Banhart. Reissue of the year and of course absolutely essential!!!!
MPEG Stream: "Something On Your Mind"
MPEG Stream: "In My Own Dream"
MPEG Stream: "Same Old Man"

DALTON, KAREN In My Own Time (Light In The Attic) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
NOW ON VINYL!
Wow!! It wasn't that long ago we were lamenting that Karen Dalton's second album (and only other recording), In My Own Time had yet to be reissued, and now here we are reviewing it (thanks Light In the Attic!). And we have to say, it has never sounded better! Recorded in 1971 with a full band at Bearsville studio in Woodstock, In My Own Time has a much different feel then Dalton's spare and smoky first recording, It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You the Best. Since Dalton had so little recorded output, the differences between the two records has given In My Own Time, an unfairly maligned reputation over the years by folk purists and others due to its more contemporized feel and bluesy folk-rock arrangements. True, In My own Time, doesn't quite meet the folk majesty of It's So Hard To Tell, and there are a couple of song choices, such as the all too familiar "When A Man Loves A Woman", and the saccharine Motown stalwart, "How Sweet It Is", that we could probably do without (however, in Dalton's defense, if we had to hear either of those songs again, we would prefer her versions to anyone else's! Such is the strength of her musical interpretations.). But every other song is purest gold, from the heartbreaking opener by Dino Valenti, "Something's On Your Mind", to the traditional tunes "Katie Cruel" (covered recently both by Bert Jansch and White Magic) and "Same Old Man", where we get to hear her play her mighty 27 fret banjo. Produced by Harvey Brooks, who played bass on her first album, In My Own Time is right up there with the best folk and roots rock albums of the time put out by Dylan, The Band, The Byrds, and Crosby, Stills and Nash.
MPEG Stream: "Something On Your Mind"
MPEG Stream: "In My Own Dream"
MPEG Stream: "Same Old Man"

DALTON, KAREN It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best (Koch) cd 16.98
Wow, what a gem of an album that I (Windy) can't believe I never heard before. Doubtless some of you are already aware of Karen Dalton, but for those of you who, like me, are new to her, here's the story:
The half-Irish, half-Cherokee Oklahoman moved to New York around 1960, where she immediately fell in with the Greenwich Village folk scene (there's an awesome photo here of her, Bob Dylan, and Fred Neil). Though Dalton didn't write her own songs, her interpretations of pieces by Fred Neil, Jelly Roll Morton, Tim Hardin, etc. are just lovely...
And HER VOICE! It's this glowing, honeydripping voice -- a country-blues Billie Holiday kind of voice. It is *stunning*. The instrumentation includes Karen on 12-string guitar and banjo, and she's got a talented band backing her up, but her gorgeous voice is foregrounded clearly throughout.
Includes lots of liner notes (written by Peter Stampfel of the Holy Modal Rounders, Fugs, etc.) that appear to only scratch the surface of this amazing woman: she was a lifelong dumpster diver, for one thing, and also a single mom. She was reportedly so shy that only by sort of tricking her into a recording session were these songs ever laid down on tape! Most of them are first and only takes, recorded in one day: so fresh, so alive, so sweet. Enjoy.
MPEG Stream: "Sweet Substitute"
MPEG Stream: "Ribbon Bow"

DALTON, KAREN It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best (Light In The Attic) lp 19.98
First LP reissue of this longtime aQ favorite on deluxe 180 gram vinyl, and newly remastered. Comes with an 18" x 24" poster!
Considered the "Queen" of the Greenwich village folk scene of the sixties, Karen Dalton was no protest singer but a highly nuanced interpreter of traditional folk songs, as well songs by her contemporaries such as Dino Valenti, Tim Hardin and Fred Neil. Slow and sedate, her vocal delivery recalls Billie Holiday's, thick as smoke and tinged with hurt, while her sophisticated guitar and banjo playing hangs on every turn of phrase. Such deliberately paced performances however made playing with bands difficult. Often racked with stage fright, she performed rarely for audiences instead opting just to play at social gatherings with friends. It was at one of these gatherings that Nicholas Venet, who produced many of the best sixties folk records, recorded her with the promise that it was just for his personal collection. How lucky we are, he did not stay true to his word. It's amazing this magical recording was done in a single take, with an amazing group of players including Harvey Brooks, who would arrange most of her second album and who is interviewed for this reissue. A devastatingly beautiful performance!! So fresh, so alive, so sweet!
MPEG Stream: "Sweet Substitute"
MPEG Stream: "Ribbon Bow"

DALTON, KAREN It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best (import w/DVD) ( Megaphone) cd + dvd 24.00
Deluxe import reissue from French Label Megaphone of Karen Dalton's legendary first album and one of our favorite records ever. Considered the "Queen" of the Greenwich village folk scene of the sixties, Dalton was no protest singer but a highly nuanced interpreter of traditional folk songs as well songs by her contemporaries such as Dino Valenti and Fred Neil. Slow and sedate, her vocal delivery recalls Billie Holiday's, thick as smoke and tinged with hurt, while her sophisticated guitar and banjo playing hangs on every turn of phrase. Such deliberately paced performances however made playing with bands difficult. Often racked with stage fright, she performed rarely for audiences instead opting just to play at social gatherings with friends. It was at one of these gatherings that Nicholas Venet, who produced many of the best sixties folk records, recorded her with the promise that it was just for his personal collection. How lucky we are, he did not stay true to his word. It's amazing this magical recording was done in a single take. A devastatingly beautiful performance!! What's even better is that this reissue comes with a DVD of rare live footage including a performance of her singing "God Bless The Child".
Our only complaint is that her underrated second album (and only other recording), In My Own Time was not included, which would make the expense of this release even more worthy. Hopefully with the recent White Magic single which covers her version of "Katie Cruel" from In My Own Time, and the popularity of Devendra Banhart (whose signature warble was cribbed almost entirely from Dalton), we'll be seeing that reissue soon enough. Of course this is absolutely recommended!!!
MPEG Stream: "Sweet Substitute"
MPEG Stream: "Ribbon Bow"

DALTON, KAREN Something On Your Mind b/w Katie Cruel (Light In The Attic) 7" 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Released in conjunction with Karen Dalton's freshly reissued second album, In My Own Time, this 7" single of "Something's On Your Mind" and a previously unreleased alternate take of "Katie Cruel" features two of the best cuts from the album. Her rich sweet voice was made for vinyl, and if you have never heard it before, than this is just the place to start.
MPEG Stream: "Something's On Your Mind"

DAM FUNK Rhythm Trax Vol.4 (Stones Throw) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

DAM-FUNK Toeachizown (Stones Throw) 2cd 16.98
Funk - It's a tricky thing. In the wrong hands it can be some of our least favorite music in the world (think cheesy bass slapping bro's in dorky outfits, you know that scene) but the few who really possess TRUE FUNK can move us like no others.
Of course there is the old school pantheon of funk pioneers like Parliament-Funkadelic, The JB's, The Gap Band, The B.T. Express, Cameo, Betty Davis, Rick James, Zapp, Con Funk Shun, and Prince, but when it comes to modern day funk it's really rare to get the real deal. Folks either be faking the funk so hard it hurts, or they rely so heavily on being retro copy cats that they don't really bring any new flavor to the funk legacy they so want to be a part of. Which brings us to Dam-Funk, who has most definitely got the true funk special spirit running through his veins. We had heard his amazing mixes over the last couple years and knew the guy had talent but it wasn't until this proper full length of his own songs that we totally realized just how damn special and full of the real funk this man is.
While of course taking inspiration from many of the above mentioned funk pioneers, Dam-Funk is no mere retro act, as he knows that one of the major defining forces of true funk is how it should always be injected with a sense of very modern/future minded vision that's always a bit left of center. While folks like Outkast, Sa-Ra, and Gnarls Barkley have gotten close to entering that realm, Dam-Funk really lives, breathes and exudes the true funk aesthetic. He's able to bring in his futuristic electronic stylings informed by everyone from Kraftwerk to Cybotron/Model 500 and inject such natural soul into his beats and grooves.
Everything about this record kills, all the elements come together so perfectly, the production, the vocals, the actual songwriting, it's all there and it all just oozes real funk! There's also a second all instrumental disc, which helps keep Dam-Funk's amazing party of a record going on and on and on and we STILL really can't get enough. No joke, every single time we've played this in the store someone has bought a copy, and even if you're a bit funk-shy we think you should give this a chance! Funk jam of the year contender for sure!
MPEG Stream: "Let's Take Off (Far Away)"
MPEG Stream: "Burn Straight Thru U"
MPEG Stream: "Searchin' 4 Funk's Future"
MPEG Stream: "Rollin'"

DAMAD Burning Cold (Prank) cd 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Second album from this Southern crust and doom metal outfit. Huge and droning and hypnotic and heavy and pretty weird, with a female vocalist that adds some surprising warmth and depth to the usually all too typical cookie monster metal vocals. Wicked cover art by Pushead (Metallica, Aerosmith, Septic Death, etc.)

DAMAD Burning Cold (Prank) lp 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Second album from this Southern crust/doom metal outfit. Huge and droning and hypnotic and heavy and pretty weird, with a female vocalist that adds some surprising warmth and depth to the usually all too typical cookie monster metal vocals. Wicked cover art by Pushead (Metallica, Aerosmith, Septic Death, etc.)

DAME DARCY DVD Hi-Jinx (Press Pop) dvd 21.00

DAME SATAN Beaches & Bridges (Ghost Mansion) cd 9.98
Dame Satan's pace is a slow lysergic creep. You might've caught a glimpse of it on their split 7" record (with Two Sheds) we carried late last year. This Bay Area band is back with their second full length. Unlike many other artists of the seemingly similar southern psych-tinged folk ilk, Dame Satan's sound, though definitely dark and dirgey, is remarkably clean and free of swampy sludge. Beaches & Bridges starts out with the album's most heady gloom number "Downstream" and gets progressively more clear-eyed and straightforward. It's almost like the band was sobering up with each subsequent song... or gently wresting itself from the clutches of a fever dream.
MPEG Stream: "Downstream"
MPEG Stream: "Oregon Trail"

DAMENBART Impressionen '71 (Psychedelic Pig) cd 15.98
A long lost Krautrock artifact? Perhaps not, as the distributor we got this from nudgingly noted that this had an April 1st release date. Actually the story (which itself may be suspect) is that this is a cd reissue (with 'bonus tracks') of a LP hoax originally perpetrated upon the record collectors of the world in 1989 by members of German experimentalists HNAS. And while the amazing collage cover art looks convincing, did they really think their false beards in the band photos were going to fool anyone? Plus the production doesn't really sound like something recorded back in 1971. But just 'cause it's fake Krautrock (actually, if it's HNAS its technically still is Krautrock in a way...) doesn't mean it's bad. In fact, this is a pretty cool record, full of freaked out sounds -- spacey, scary orgel, synthi, gitarre and effekte. Pretend or authentic, it doesn't really matter, it's still a droning psychedelic bad trip (with some nice droning pretty parts too) that krautheads and those into krautrock's modern equivalents will definitely enjoy. File this with the likes of German Oak, No Neck, Brainticket, Reynols, Sand, Angelblood, Acid Mothers Temple, those suspicious PsiFi "Unknown Deutschland" bands, and Tangerine Dream's "Electronic Meditation"...
MPEG Stream: "Innovative Schwingungen"
MPEG Stream: "Bring Uns Den Frieden"

DAMNATION ARMY The Art Of The Occult (God Is Myth) cd 13.98

DAMNED THINGS, THE Ironiclast (Mercury) cd 14.98
Okay, odds are most aQ list readers aren't gonna be interested in this. But in the spirit of aQuarius, and the sort of open mindedness we try to engender here, hopefully a few folks will give this a chance, cuz it's actually pretty great. The math sounds bizarre and it most definitely is, take two parts Fallout Boy, two parts Anthrax, and one part Every Time I Die (literally, it's members of those bands!), and this is what you get, a bombastic blast of super heavy, ultra melodic, catchy as hell classic eighties style hard rocking heaviness. Big riffs, wild leads, pounding drummage, some super epic clean vocals, classic metal guitar harmonies, all wound into super hooky heavy jams that kick tons of ass.
"We've Got A Situation Here" is THEE one here, a pretty much perfect pop song rendered in shades of chug and crunch and wail and blast and pound. The guitars crunchy and heavy, the vocals throaty and what you might expect from the dude from ETID, but with a chorus most bands would kill for, not to mention some seriously heavy breakdowns, one in particular that seriously swings and sounds almost like Pantera or Down. And the rest of the songs are pretty much just as good, born from a shared love of Thin Lizzy, it's got that kind of classic rock vibe, some songs sounding a little like Kiss, others more like Queens Of The Stoneage or Foo Fighters, but the Damned Things, definitely temper their poppiness with some serious heaviness, and some killer songs. Scoff if you must, but some of us (mostly Andee) have been listening to this like crazy!
MPEG Stream: "We've Got A Situation Here"
MPEG Stream: "Handbook For The Recently Deceased"
MPEG Stream: "Bad Blood"

DAMNED, THE Damned Damned Damned: 30th Anniversary Expanded Edition (Castle Music) 3cd 26.00
All the Damned you will ever want or need on 3 cds. Damn!

DAMNED, THE Neat Neat Neat - The Alternative Anthology (Sanctuary) 2cd 25.00

DAMNED, THE The Black Album (Chiswick) 2cd 26.00

DAMO SUZUKI'S NETWORK Seattle (Damo's Net Work) cd 29.00
Recorded live in Seattle, WA, last October near the end of an all too brief west coast tour, this is an artfully packaged double cd of improv conjured by former Can vocalist Damo Suzuki, his former Can-mate Michael Karoli, Mandjau Fati, Thomas Hopf, and Alex Schonert. Additional sounds and textures created by Mark Spybey (Zoviet France, Dead Voices on Air, Download) and Dustin Donaldson (I Am Spoonbender). Nine lengthy tracks including a version of CAN's "Mother Sky".

DAMON & NAOMI The Sub Pop Years (20/20/20) cd 10.98

MPEG Stream: "Eulogy To Lenny Bruce"
MPEG Stream: "I'm Yours"
MPEG Stream: "Eye Of The Storm"
MPEG Stream: "The Great Wall"

DAMON & NAOMI Song To The Siren: On Tour With Kurihara (Sub Pop) cd+dvd 16.98
This is definitely the week of former Galaxie 500ers, isn't it? Let's take a peek at where two of the three are at these days (for the other third, check out the Luna review this AQ list), shall we? We've not heard from them since their 2000 collaboration album with Japanese psych group Ghost, so although you might be hoping for a new full length, the Damon and Naomi camp instead present this combo live cd and dvd set on which they're accompanied by Ghost's guitarist Michio Kurihara. Just shy of an hour long (59 minutes), the cd features a beautiful concert of 11 songs in San Sebastian. The intimate and moving set is captured remarkably well. You'd barely know it was a live performance if it weren't for the minimal stage banter and applause - almost as if the audience was so completely entranced that they held their breath during each number. As an added bonus, they lovingly cover Tim Buckley's "Song To The Siren" laced with spacious, tremoloed guitar. And just a bit shyer of an hour (54 minutes) is the dvd also named after the Buckley song which includes Naomi Yang's video diary of their time on the road, commentary from the duo, and discographies. Very nice.
RealAudio clip: "Song To The Siren"
RealAudio clip: "Love"

DAMON & NAOMI The Earth Is Blue (20/20/20) cd 13.98
Intimate. Beautiful. Inspired. Damon & Naomi! The Earth Is Blue features 10 tracks, recorded in their home studio with special guest guitarist, Michio Kurihara, of Japan's psych-folk great ones Ghost. Also contributing are Greg Kelley and Bhob Rainey. Eight original tracks feature harmonic delicacies and melodic intricacies. In the same vein, interpretations of George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and Caetano Veloso's "Araca Azul" resound sweetly on this release. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Beautiful Close Double"
MPEG Stream: "Araca Azul"

DAMON & NAOMI The Earth Is Blue (20/20/20) lp 13.98
Now on vinyl! Intimate. Beautiful. Inspired. Damon & Naomi! The Earth Is Blue features 10 tracks, recorded in their home studio with special guest guitarist, Michio Kurihara, of Japan's psych-folk great ones Ghost. Also contributing are Greg Kelley and Bhob Rainey. Eight original tracks feature harmonic delicacies and melodic intricacies. In the same vein, interpretations of George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and Caetano Veloso's "Araca Azul" resound sweetly on this release.
MPEG Stream: "Beautiful Close Double"
MPEG Stream: "Araca Azul"

DAMON & NAOMI With Ghost (Sub Pop) cd 15.98
The retail/press info sheet for this goes on and on about what a boundary-crossing, genre-defying acid folk milestone this 'inevitable' collaboration between D & N and Japanese space-folk collective Ghost is. Too bad that's so far from the truth. 'Cause maybe if Damon and Naomi's sound wasn't so apparently inalterable and they did indeed plan on *actually* collaborating, this could have really been something amazing. But instead, it's your basic dreamy, reverby, 80's college radio space/folk pop. Truth be told, three tracks into this cd, we barely noticed Ghost's presence at all. It was as if they were...oh never mind. This is basically your standard Damon and Naomi record (essentially, Galaxie 500 with more ethereal vocals and less catchy songs) with Ghost acting as their 'house band'. So if you like Damon and Naomi already, then you will probably need this record. But, if you were waiting for some new Ghost, keep waiting.

DAMON & NAOMI Within These Walls (20/20/20) cd 13.98
Damon & Naomi's seventh full length Within These Walls is deep, dark and languid. They're joined by guests Ghost's Michio Kurihara, Espers' cellist Helena Espvall, and avant garde soprano saxophone player nmperign's Bhob Rainey. With their own impressive pedigree and these luminaries on board, you'd think that this would be a boundary pushing, resonant album, but in fact this rings with an air of '70s adult contemporary (a la Burt Bacharach, Carly Simon, etc). Pleasing, but surprisingly mild. Where they fare best is on the album's closing track "Cruel Queen", the most traditional folk number of the ten. It's an austere beauty that you'll be glad you stuck around for, but we wished there was more of its ilk on the rest of the album.
MPEG Stream: "A Silver Thread"
MPEG Stream: "Cruel Queen"

DAMON, LIZ Orient Express (Rev-Ola) cd 16.98

DAMSEL Distressed (Temporary Residence) cd 14.98
Zach Hill (Hella, The Ladies, etc) and Nels Cline (Wilco, Geraldine Fibbers, etc) are probably two of the busiest and most prolific musicians in the 'underground' these days. They've been trying to find time for ages to make a record together, as their talents do seem to speak to a similar ecstatic aesthetic. But finding the time proved to be quite a feat. Luckily when Wilco had a day off in Chicago and Zach was also in Chicago, the two decided to have an improv jam together and Distressed is the result. Hill's trademark frantic drumming moves more towards avant jazz as Cline once again shows why he is such an in demand guitarist. What if in their prime Van Halen were cool enough to cover a Pharaoh Sanders record? Maybe it would sound something like this.
MPEG Stream: "Space Needle"
MPEG Stream: "Fork-Fed"

DAMSELS, THE Dirty Love (Skinny) cd ep 4.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The debut release from San Francisco's the Damsels contains three jangle pop tunes for our listenin' enjoyment. Gentle, bouncing guitar hooks. Shy boy vocals occasionally a bit shoegazerish. Quite reminiscent of a young Teenage Fanclub circa "Bandwagonesque". Yes, it's time to dig out your fuzzy cardigan again. Clocking in at just over thirteen minutes, here's hoping there'll be more from them soon.
RealAudio clip: "Defy Your Radio"

DAN THE AUTOMATOR Wanna Buy A Monkey? (Sequence) cd 17.98
A sixteen-piece "mixtape" created by Dan the Automator. While there are plenty of tracks that he himself originated or remixed (like Deltron 3030, Gorillaz, Lovage) there are also personal favorites of his that he's messed with in typical cool Automator fashion (Tortoise, Zero 7, Bobby Digital, Air, Masta Ace). It all runs seamlessly together, very downtempo loungey. But, Dan, you bought all those weird dancehall 7"s from us, along with Hermann Nitsch, the Sounds of American Doomsday Cults, Daddy's Curses and other full-on oddities -- we'd really *love* to hear you mix THAT stuff together...
RealAudio clip: TORTOISE "Seneca"
RealAudio clip: FANTOMAS "intro"

DAN THE AUTOMATOR Wanna Buy A Monkey? (Sequence) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Finally available on vinyl!!
A sixteen-piece "mixtape" created by Dan the Automator. While there are plenty of tracks that he himself originated or remixed (like Deltron 3030, Gorillaz, Lovage) there are also personal favorites of his that he's messed with in typical cool Automator fashion (Tortoise, Zero 7, Bobby Digital, Air, Masta Ace). It all runs seamlessly together, very downtempo loungey. But, Dan, you bought all those weird dancehall 7"s from us, along with Hermann Nitsch, the Sounds of American Doomsday Cults, Daddy's Curses and other full-on oddities -- we'd really *love* to hear you mix THAT stuff together...
RealAudio clip: TORTOISE "Seneca"
RealAudio clip: FANTOMAS "intro"