V/A Fuzzy Felt Folk (Trunk) cd 16.98
This delightful new collection from the great British crate-digger Johnny Trunk focuses on the lighter and more whimsical obscurities of British Folk. Think a more kid-friendly Wicker Man Soundtrack-same spooky and wondrous undertones but without all the, er... shall we say, ribald subtext. There is definitely an acidy H.R. Pufnstuf vibe to some of the songs which made some of us imitate those overacting kids on Barney. In fact some of these songs were recorded for children's movement classes in the early seventies, using lots of zany instruments like penny-whistles, kazoos and ocarinas. While this is not strictly aimed at children (some songs like Basil Kirchin's sublime "I Start Counting" might be too slow for full kiddie enjoyment), we think parents would rather have their young kids listening to this stuff than crap like Barney or Raffi. Fans of "incredibly strange music", novelty records, and sixties and seventies folk-pop should check this too. Far out!
MPEG Stream: BASIL KIRCHIN "I Start Counting (Demo)"
MPEG Stream: THE BARBARA MOORE SINGERS "Singing Low"
MPEG Stream: REG TILSEY "The Troll"

V/A Fuzzy Felt Folk (Trunk) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This delightful new collection from the great British crate-digger Johnny Trunk focuses on the lighter and more whimsical obscurities of British Folk. Think a more kid-friendly Wicker Man Soundtrack-same spooky and wonderous undertones but without all the, er..shall we say, ribald subtext. There is definitely an acidy H.R. Pufnstuf vibe to some of the songs which made some of us imitate those overacting kids on Barney. In fact some of these songs were recorded for children's movement classes in the early seventies, using lots of zany instruments like penny-whistles, kazoos and ocarinas. While this is not strictly aimed at children (some songs like Basil Kirchin's sublime "I start Counting" might be too slow for full kiddie enjoyment), we think parents would rather have their young kids listening to this stuff than crap like Barney or Raffi. Fans of "incredibly strange music", novelty records, and sixties and seventies folk-pop should check this too. Far out!
MPEG Stream: BASIL KIRCHIN "I Start Counting (Demo)"
MPEG Stream: THE BARBARA MOORE SINGERS "Singing Low"
MPEG Stream: REG TILSEY "The Troll"

V/A G-Spots: The Spacey Folk Electro-Horror Sounds Of The Studio G Library (Trunk) cd 16.98
No longer vinyl only, G-Spots is now on cd. We didn't know it would happen so soon, but it's boon for all the turntable-deprived amongst you. And it's got six extra tracks on it, as well! Here's more or less what we said about this collection when we highlighted the LP version:
Aside from the eye-popping cover art, the first thing you might notice about this record is its intriguing title - G-Spots: The Spacey Folk Electro-Horror Sounds Of The Studio G Library. But what does it all mean, and how could the music live up to such a ridiculously awesome yet difficult to parse description? Well, check the sound samples to find out, or read on...
Some of you may remember the equally great, SUPER limited (not to mention uber-pricey) Electrosonic record from a few lists back, featuring library music from esteemed BBC Radiophonic Workshop composer and titan of early electronic experimentation, Delia Derbyshire. Much in the vein of that long gone gem, G Spots contains selections from the somewhat mysterious Studio G, a production company started by one John Gale, whose work in advertising inspired him to up the ante on the music we either take for granted or generally find annoying as shit. Rather than approaching this work as mere background music, Gale wrangled in a number of composers to bring his vision to life. Things kicked off with a series of 7" records before moving on to lps. Gale claimed to release the first collection of library music to feature actual artwork, and you are advised to go to Trunk's website to view some stellar examples of Studio G's visual aesthetic.
The music, of course, is pretty dang great as well. The songs basically set out to mimic the popular trends of the time, resulting in a sound that is at once familiar, yet strangely distant, as they were produced in a laboratory-like setting with studio musicians. Of course, that kind of thing happened all the time, but it's much more intriguing to imagine this as some sort of parallel reality interpretation of pop music in the '60s and '70s, made by chain smoking guys in their thirties with thick horn-rimmed glasses and neckties. Aside from song titles, the 20 spacey folk electro-horror tunes collected here are identified only by their catalogue numbers and composers, most (all?) of whom you will not recognize. This lack of information only adds to the mystery, in the best way.
It is possible, based on the 4 digit catalogue numbers, to piece together some sort of loose history, not only of Studio G's evolution, but of musical trends in general. Opening with the moody organ piece "Icicles", many of the other songs on the first side are fun, lightly psychedelic pop that would have fit perfectly in any number of party scenes in any number of 1960s movies. Airy acoustic guitars mesh with the occasional spacey weirdness, the songs are at times accompanied by live drums, but sometimes feature early, primitive rhythm machines. The final song on side one of the vinyl (track 15 here), however, the perfectly named "Deformed Theme", is an anti-melody that ventures into darker territory, a creepy synthscape setting the mood for much of the rest of the disc, where ominous, surprisingly heavy Goblin-esque songs like "Cosmic Dust" and "Cosmic Blues" rub elbows with "Freak Blues", which would not sound too out of place on Bruce Haack's The Electric Lucifer. Then there's the hilarious "Dangerous Voyage", a funky, tropical-tinged piece that would sit well in your favorite '70s porn film, with its lead harmonica, fretless bass, and hi hats galore. Other songs feature flutes, more synths, weird tape effects, and random elements of percussion. Throughout it all, things flow perfectly, all part of the style that John Gale created with Studio G.
MPEG Stream: "Icicles"
MPEG Stream: "Deformed Theme"
MPEG Stream: "Dangerous Voyage"
MPEG Stream: "Cosmic Dust"
MPEG Stream: "Cosmic Blues"

V/A G-Spots: The Spacey Folk Electro-Horror Sounds Of The Studio G Library (Trunk) lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Aside from the eye-popping cover art, the first thing you might notice about this record is its intriguing title - G-Spots: The Spacey Folk Electro-Horror Sounds Of The Studio G Library. But what does it all mean, and how could the music live up to such a ridiculously awesome yet difficult to parse description? Well, since we don't have sound samples, you'll just have to trust your buddies here at aQ and get this vinyl-only collection on your turntable to discover for yourself.
Some of you may remember the equally great, SUPER limited (not to mention uber-pricey) Electrosonic record from a few lists back, featuring library music from esteemed BBC Radiophonic Workshop composer and titan of early electronic experimentation, Delia Derbyshire. Much in the vein of that long gone gem, G Spots contains selections from the somewhat mysterious Studio G, a production company started by one John Gale, whose work in advertising inspired him to up the ante on the music we either take for granted or generally find annoying as shit. Rather than approaching this work as mere background music, Gale wrangled in a number of composers to bring his vision to life. Things kicked off with a series of 7" records before moving on to lps. Gale claimed to release the first collection of library music to feature actual artwork, and you are advised to go to Trunk's website to view some stellar examples of Studio G's visual aesthetic.
The music, of course, is pretty dang great as well. The songs basically set out to mimic the popular trends of the time, resulting in a sound that is at once familiar, yet strangely distant, as they were produced in a laboratory-like setting with studio musicians. Of course, that kind of thing happened all the time, but it's much more intriguing to imagine this as some sort of parallel reality interpretation of pop music in the '60s and '70s, made by chain smoking guys in their thirties with thick horn-rimmed glasses and neckties. Aside from song titles, the 20 spacey folk electro-horror tunes collected here are identified only by their catalogue numbers and composers, most (all?) of whom you will not recognize. This lack of information only adds to the mystery, in the best way.
It is possible, based on the 4 digit catalogue numbers, to piece together some sort of loose history, not only of Studio G's evolution, but of musical trends in general. Opening with the moody organ piece "Icicles", many of the other songs on the first side are fun, lightly psychedelic pop that would have fit perfectly in any number of party scenes in any number of 1960s movies. Airy acoustic guitars mesh with the occasional spacey weirdness, the songs are at times accompanied by live drums, but sometimes feature early, primitive rhythm machines. The final song on side 1, however, the perfectly named "Deformed Theme", is an anti-melody that ventures into darker territory, a creepy synthscape setting the mood for much of side 2, where ominous, surprisingly heavy Goblin-esque songs like "Cosmic Dust" and "Cosmic Blues" rub elbows with "Freak Blues", which would not sound too out of place on Bruce Haack's The Electric Lucifer. Then there's the hilarious "Dangerous Voyage", a funky, tropical-tinged piece that would sit well in your favorite '70s porn film, with its lead harmonica, fretless bass, and hi hats galore. Other songs feature flutes, more synths, weird tape effects, and random elements of percussion. Throughout it all, things flow perfectly, all part of the style that John Gale created with Studio G.
While this record comes with the highest possible recommendation, like many things of this nature, it is quite limited. We just hope that of Studio G's 48 release 4 volume output, Trunk will keep the G Spots... coming. Get it? HAHAHAHAA!!!!!!!!!

V/A Getting Off! The Seductive Sounds Of 70's Adult Cinema (Lucky Monkey) cd 11.98
More funky fucked up soundtracks from lost porno films, a la the Deep Note compilations, but unlike those classic seventies jams, these all seem to be from the eighties and most of them seem to be borrowing themes from popular music and television shows, which sounds weird, and it is, but it also makes these pretty fun and freaky. Plus try to imagine folks doing the nasty to most of these songs and it's downright impossible. It more likely that you'll be imagining car chases, and poolside brunch on the Love Boat or some strange montage on Fantasy Island.
From "Move On" which is a total rip of that song that goes "Whatchoo gonna do when she says good bye..." with some very Steely Dan sounding instrumentation, to "I P Walk" which borrows heavily from that Rick Astley song "Never gonna give you up...". The best title of the bunch is definitely "Hawkwind And Fire", but instead of sounding like Hawkwind, it absolutely is the theme to some totally famous eighties TV cop drama. But the pinnacle of whatthefuck on this comp has to be "The Heist" which is actually the theme from People's Court!!! Who the hell is fucking to the theme from People's Court?!? Unless it's from some People's Court spoof porn movie, People's Pork or something....
The coolest track by far though is "The Bends" a groovy laid back heavy psych rock jam, with super out of place space age synths, all fuzzed out, the whole track peppered with weird damaged FX. Another track that makes it difficult to imagine folks fucking to it.
A pretty fun and fantastic listen all around, but it's definitely gotten us dying to see what sort of weird and wild sex could have possibly transpired to the demented strains of these far out tunes. Maybe the next porn music reissue, instead of just issuing a cd, should just go for it and reissue the actual porno? Just a thought...
MPEG Stream: "The Bends"
MPEG Stream: "Hawkwind And Fire"
MPEG Stream: "Disco Fever"
MPEG Stream: "The Heist"

V/A Gimme Dat Harp Boy! (OZit Morpheus) cd 15.98
From the label that brought us Dust Sucker and Mersey Trout (the Magic Band live in Liverpool) comes a collection of recordings -- from the 1920's to the 1960's -- which serve to illuminate the vast musical influences of the enigmatic and inimitable Don Van Vliet a.k.a Captain Beefheart. As one might imagine, such a musical map would surely cut a broad swath. While many of the tracks have a direct connection to the Captain's works like "New Minglewood Blues" by the Noah Lewis Jug Band, whose opening lines are exactly the same as "Sure 'Nuff 'n' Yes I Do". Other tracks, like those by Blind Willie Johnson and Rahsaan Roland Kirk point out obvious influences on Vliet's vocal style and proclivity for playing two wind instruments at once. While the majority of tracks here are early blues & string band recordings -- Blind Blake, Victoria Spivey & Lonnie Johnson, Uncle Bud Landress, Al Simmons, Blind Joe Taggert, among others -- there's also plenty of jazz cuts -- Charlie Parker, Cab Calloway -- and oddballs like Lord Buckley, The Fang and Hawaiian slack key players Kanui & Lula. On top of all this are interspersed rare tracks of the Magic Band, interview snippets and random remarks from Captain Beefheart. Whether you're a fan of Captain Beefheart or not, you just might like this collection anyhow as just an interesting mix cd.
RealAudio clip: BOSS-TONES, THE "Mope-Itty Mope"
RealAudio clip: KIRK, RAHSAAN ROLAND "Jungle Suite"
RealAudio clip: FANG, THE "Nervous Norvus"
RealAudio clip: CAPTAIN BEEFHEART "Little Scratch"

V/A Gold Record Studio: Live At Laney Flea Market (Edgetone Records) 2cd 14.98
BACK IN STOCK! Record collectors, check it out: in a sense, this is a compilation of tracks from some of the rarest records EVER -- even though they were just recorded last year! That's cause they only existed in editions of, like, one. Ok, this is gonna require some explanation. The Gold Record Studio is the latest contraption/conception from our man Jon Brumit (whom we first met when he brought us field recordings from the San Francisco dump!) and colleague Lisa Mezzacappa... Basically a set-up where one-of-a-kind vinyl records were pressed on-the-spot with an antique record cutter for folks who recorded live (and impromptu) in an open-air, homebuilt studio at a local flea market! This was totally free of charge, with instruments and even guest musicians provided, and apparently proved very popular. This took place over several weekends last spring at the Laney College Swap Meet over in Oakland... the City of Oakland actually ponied up some arts-funding money to help make it happen. And it seems like a pretty cool thing, for both the participants (the "recording artists") and now listeners who get to check out the diverse array of talent (and otherwise) who made records at the flea market, the best (and worst? no such distinctions really being made) have been compiled onto this sprawling double disc set. There's contributions from folks of all ages, backgrounds and ethnicities. Some musical pros show up (including a couple Serbian prog rockers, and the DJ from the Ghetto Boys!), but also many total amateurs, young kids n' senior citizens. Lots of surprises in other words!
This man-in-the-street, instant-gratification, no-rules recording project really let some folks get, shall we say, expressive. And creative. And downright weird. Portions of this do come off like a rather dubious talent show, or drunk mom karaoke -- but lots of tracks could be some really underground, experimental cd-r fodder, too. As a whole, it's almost like a hypothetical installment of the Sublime Frequencies series dedicated to the sounds of why-be-normal urban America, jumping from track to track with ADD abandon. For instance, among the many tracks of disc one, you've got a woozy improv session with a barking dog factored in, followed a few tracks later by a version of "My Favorite Things" recast conversationally (and humorously) between teenage girls. There's also a pretty badass blues rock guitar instrumental, some crazy scat singing, and a song that sounds to us a lot like The Shitty Listener! And much much more... It's mind-boggling and exhausting and pretty darn special. Even the recognizable tunes that people try (for good or ill) are enhanced in our ears by the bustling flea market field recording happening in the background.
And then, there's a whole 'nother disc. 50 cuts on disc two, starting off with some very lovely solo guitar from "Sam"...which is followed by a much more maniacal track with a shouting child... and then some guy singing "Let It Be"... a super-distorted rap by a teenage girl... and on and on and on. There's definitely some Gong Show moments, which are good for a laugh or can be taken as something maybe unintentionally avant-garde. We really like the more "damaged", confusional tracks (of which there's plenty), where it sorta sounds like the people you hear DON'T know they're being recorded, or at least seem unaware of where the microphone is, or when the song is supposed to start or stop.
Even in the age of mp3 and MySpace, this Gold Record Studio project has taken the democratization of the "music industry" a step further, down to street level! There's just something really joyful about it, possibly due to the serendipitous social interaction happening right then and there at the point of creation. You're getting a glimpse at the inner musical burgeonings of people who until that fateful day they were wandering around the flea market, probably never ever ever dreamed that they would so soon be the proud owners of a physical vinyl artifact with their own singing/rapping/playing/barking/whatever on it, whether silly or serious. And that's pretty cool.
Also, if you get this, you'll definitely have some good material to put on your outgoing answering machine message for months to come... file it with stuff like MSR Madness anthologies of song-poem recordings, or Jacob Smigel's Eavesdrop disc of found sound recordings, although this takes its own unique place in that array of oddity...
MPEG Stream: "Lee, Jon, Suki, Brian, Tom, Jesse"
MPEG Stream: "Emily, Amara, Lucio"
MPEG Stream: "Sam"
MPEG Stream: "Birana, Tanaya, Shelley, Micha"

V/A Good For What Ails You - Music Of The Medicine Shows 1926 - 1937 (Old Hat) 2cd 28.00
This is most definitely a lost corner of old timey rhythm and blues music that we had not really thought about too much, let alone even considered there could be a huge amount of lost and undiscovered music worth collecting and releasing. But all we can say now is WOAH. It would take a lot for any collection to rival the also recently released second volume of American Primitive early 20th century gospel recordings, but this one comes darn close. Unlike American Primitive, with its haunting otherworldliness, the tracks here are more about fun and entertainment. This was post Civil War, before radio, or TV, when folks often got their entertainment (as well as elixers and whatnot) from travelling medicine shows. Two discs of fun and funny, playful, foot stomping, catchy and kooky, even a bit randy and risque. Twangy guitars, banjo, fiddle, even kazoo woven together into rollicking blues vamps underpinning tales of no good women, no good men, food, money, cars, cats and dogs, sickness, cops, parents and anything else folks might worry or obsess or want to hear songs about. Packaged in a beautiful six panel digipak, with a MASSIVE seventy page book packed with liner notes on each performer and every track, tales of old medicine shows, an eyewitness acount of travelling in a medicine show, and an amazing batch of rare and never before seen photos!
MPEG Stream: DADDY STOVEPIPE & MISSISSIPPI SARAH "The Spasm"
MPEG Stream: GID TANNER AND RILEY PUCKETT "Tanner's Boarding House"
MPEG Stream: LIL MCCLINTOCK "Don't Think I'm Santa Claus"
MPEG Stream: DALLAS STING BAND WITHCOLEY JONES "Hokum Blues"

V/A Great Googa Mooga (Ace) cd 16.98
Last list we had the Great Googly Moo, a delightful compilation of nonsense novelty tunes from the early rock era, from the mid '50s thru the mid '60s. We mentioned it was the sequel to another comp, this one, Great Googa Mooga, released in 2003. Same idea, songs with wacky verbiage. Like it says on the cover: "These Words Don't Make No Sense!". And what words they are, here's a sampling from some of the song titles, all run together: ookey ook bip bop bip um bow bow bim bam ting ting boom scat voo-it voo-it du-bi-a-do oochie pachie mamo mamo boom pacha boom ooh poo pah doo yacka hoom boom ay la bah mama oom mow mow bama lama bama loo oo-ma-liddi loo-key doo-key!!! Plus of course you get, not only "Great Googa Mooga" (by Tom & Jerrio, 1965), but also "Good Googa Mooga" (by The Magic Tones, 1953). Little Richard appears here, also LaVern Baker, The Rivingtons, Little Anthony & The Imperials, Richard Berry, and plenty others, more obscure, that we hadn't really heard of before (except on the other comp, maybe). The Bobbettes, Billy Byrd & His Penguins, The Chips, Dolly Cooper, King Coleman... There's 27 tracks in total. Some more RnB, some more doo wop, some more surf. Great stuff, just like its sequel, loads of fun. Makes you wonder if these early rock n' rollers were inspired by the church meetings of snake handling holy rollers, the whole speaking-in-tongues thing, 'cause the vocals/lyrics here are positively glossolaliac! There's obviously some connection.
Comes complete with a thick cd booklet of detailed liner notes. Now we want more, hoping a third volume is in the works!
MPEG Stream: THE CHIPS "Rubber Biscuit"
MPEG Stream: GAMMA GOOCHEE HIMSELF "(You Got) The Gamma Goochee"
MPEG Stream: THE RIVINGTONS "Mama Oom Mow Mow (The Bird)"
MPEG Stream: CLAUDE MCLIN "Jambo"

V/A Great Googly Moo (And More Undisputed Truths) (Ace) cd 16.98
The title says it all. This is a compilation of jumpin' and jivin' treats from the early years of rock n' roll, circa 1955-1965 or thereabouts, and the one thing they all have in common (besides rockin') are NONSENSE LYRICS... thus amongst the 24 tracks here you'll find such wonderful gibberish statements as "Tutti Frutti", "Woojamacooja", "Chop Chop Boom", "Bom Bom Lulu", "Yodee Yakee", "(You Got) The Gamma Goochee", "She Goes Oonka Chicka", "Shtiggy Boom", "From The Top Of Your Guggle (To The Bottom Of Your Zooch)" and more, including of course "Great Googley Moo". Some of this strange lingo represents onomatopoeic sound effects. Others, teen slang that was hip at the time. Or, just plain ol' silliness. And some, no doubt, are euphemistic stand ins for other words, often risque if you read between the lines.
Wow, what a great comp! Fun, fun stuff, this is rock and roll at its purest, it don't have to make sense, it just has to rock, and roll, and make those crazy kids dance!! And, we're pretty sure both Lewis Carroll and Dr. Seuss would approve.
The artists, most of 'em fairly obscure, nowadays anyway, include Little Richard (naturally), Screamin' Jay Hawkins, The Spaniels (with the title track), The Kingsmen, The Tammys, The Premiers, The Astro-Jets, LaVern Baker, Gene & Eunice, Shirley Ellis, The Rivingtons, The Five Blobs, and many others. The thick, colorful, heavily illustrated cd booklet (24 pages) features super detailed notes on each song and artist, along with vintage photos and record label graphics. Really nicely done. Turns out this is actually a sequel to a previous Ace comp along the same lines, called Great Googa Mooga, so we'll have to get that one in soon too...
MPEG Stream: LARRY WILLIAMS "Hocus Pocus"
MPEG Stream: THE SPANIELS "Great Googley Moo"
MPEG Stream: THE BOSS-TONES "Mope-itty Mope"
MPEG Stream: THE BOBBETTES "Rock And Ree-Ah-Zole (The Teen-Age Talk)"

V/A He And She (Pet Records) cd 14.98

V/A Head Over High Heels: Strong & Female 1927-1959 (Trikont) cd 17.98
24 classic tracks of deadly glamour from a venerable who's who of twentieth century torch song: Billie Holiday, Eartha Kitt, Rita Hayworth, Ginger Rogers, Doris Day, Mae West, Kay Starr, Shirley Bassey, Marlene Dietrich, Mitzi Gaynor, Carmen Miranda, Jean Harlow, Julie Christie, Peggy Lee, Josephine Baker, and Marilyn Monroe. Sizzling!

V/A Home Schooled: The ABCs Of Kid Soul (Numero Group) cd 17.98
Oh man is this making us drool! Take two of the things we love most in the world: old school soul and little kids making their own music and bring them together and you have one of our new favorite compilations! The latest from the always righteous Numero Group is a collection of obscure kid groups from the early '70s who were whipping up some amazing soul and proving that there were way more new kids on the block belting out infectious songs then just the Jackson 5.
The Numero Group has done their homework with this one, digging through a forgotten history so rich and plentiful and just waiting for it's moment in the spotlight. Besides Jr & His Soulettes, the great Oklahoma brother and sister outfit we gushed about a few lists back, most of these kids of the '70s were completely unknown to us. Names like Patrizia & Jimmy, Otis The 3rd, or Cindy & The Playmates were never household names beyond their parents' house but damn did the kids on this compilation have some talent and crazy charm. The packaging and captivating liner notes accompany priceless photos of many of these kids in super soul action. Of course there is something novel, endearing and super cute about little kids making their own music but what makes this comp so great is that it all sounds so good! Vintage soul in lots of shapes and sizes from rambunctious stompers to silky serenades, these kids were dialed into the spirit of soul in a way that still sounds so pleasing to our ears.
MPEG Stream: MAN CHILD SINGERS "Right On"
MPEG Stream: TRIADS "If You're Looking For Love"
MPEG Stream: PATRIZIA & JIMMY "Trust Your Child Pt.1"

V/A Human Breakdown of Absurdity: MSR Madness Vol. 3 (Carnage Press) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The series that started with the classic "Beat of the Traps" lp continues, with dozens more examples of "amateur lyrics ground through the song poem mill". Rodd Keith fans will weep with joy.

V/A Human Element - The World's First Human Beatbox Compilation (108 ) cd 14.98

V/A I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive (Trikont) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Newest offering from Germany's Trikont label. Yet another genre spanning collection of music, this time devoted to Hank Williams. Featuring covers by such disparate artists as The Residents, Hasil Adkins, Killdozer, Isaac Hayes, Link Wray, Freddy Fender, Mekons, Al Green, Buckwheat Zydeco, Jad Fair, Charlie Feathers and much more!

V/A I'm Just The Other Woman: MSR Madness Vol. 4 (Carnage Press) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The series that started with the classic "Beat of the Traps" lp continues, with dozens more examples of "amateur lyrics ground through the song poem mill". Rodd Keith fans will weep with joy.

V/A In-Kraut Vol.3 (Marina) cd 17.98
Achtung! Last chance to get with the In-Kraut, if you haven't already! This excellent series' third (and, sadly, final) volume offers up another twenty tracks of rare, super groovy dancefloor filling fodder from West Germany, circa 1967 to 1974, all of it pretty amazing and also amusing, in that it's generally waaay over the top and ultra-kitschy. In fact some of these tracks are so ridiculous, sooo deliberately go-go ga-ga "psychedelic" and "hip" and "groovy" that it's almost like they're parodies of these sort of swingin' sixties sounds, a la Austin Powers - who if he were German, would be getting down to exactly these sorts of swinging tunes.
If you're already an In-Kraut initiate you know what to expect: a mix of instrumentals and vocal numbers (speaking of vocal numbers, "Butterflies Never Cry" by Georgees is INSANE, utterly out of hand) done by big band-ish combos looking to wow the hipster denizens of Deutschland's discotheques back in the day. Which means this stuff is delightfully dated and far out at once, with fuzzy acid rock guitars slipped in alongside the funky beats, jazzy, zazzy horns, and lush orchestral maneuvers.
Other than the Peter Thomas Sound Orchestra (whose "World Is Gone" is almost as disturbing as it is gleefully goofy and groovy) we don't really recognize too many of the artists here, except a few who also appeared on previous In-Kraut installments, most are totally unknown to us, yet awesome, which is a reason to buy a compilation like this. Some names: Daisy Clan, The Rainbow Orchestra, Inga, Ambros Seelos, Rolf Kuhn, Certain Lions & Tigers, Adam & Eve, Acid, Heinz Kiessling, The German Top Five, Memphis Black, Karl Schiller... and a bunch more. Just a few of the highlights include the Beatles composition "A Hard Day's Night" as performed by Katja Ebstein (which could have been a standout on that recent Easy Beatles collection), and a quite, uh, horny rendition of Led Zep's "Whole Lotta Love" done by Dieter Zimmermann (and band), in the tradition of the Deep Purple cover that appeared on vol. 2.
From pop-rock covers to original soundtrack themes, there's plenty of shuffling grooves and slinky instrumentals (Acid's "Hipguard" would thrill Christine 23 Onna) to make this the perfect lava-lamp / mirror-ball crossover collection. Ja, vol. 3 is as strong the first two, highly recommended. You can't listen to this and NOT be having fun!
And as usual with these In-Kraut comps, the cd booklet is packed with graphics and text pertaining to each track. It's quite clear that the compilers know their stuff!
MPEG Stream: DIETER ZIMMERMANN "Whole Lotta Love"
MPEG Stream: GEORGEES "Butterflies Never Cry"
MPEG Stream: ACID "Hipguard"

V/A In-Kraut Vol.3 (Marina) lp 19.98
Achtung! Last chance to get with the In-Kraut, if you haven't already! This excellent series' third (and, sadly, final) volume offers up another twenty tracks of rare, super groovy dancefloor filling fodder from West Germany, circa 1967 to 1974, all of it pretty amazing and also amusing, in that it's generally waaay over the top and ultra-kitschy. In fact some of these tracks are so ridiculous, sooo deliberately go-go ga-ga "psychedelic" and "hip" and "groovy" that it's almost like they're parodies of these sort of swingin' sixties sounds, a la Austin Powers - who if he were German, would be getting down to exactly these sorts of swinging tunes.
If you're already an In-Kraut initiate you know what to expect: a mix of instrumentals and vocal numbers (speaking of vocal numbers, "Butterflies Never Cry" by Georgees is INSANE, utterly out of hand) done by big band-ish combos looking to wow the hipster denizens of Deutschland's discotheques back in the day. Which means this stuff is delightfully dated and far out at once, with fuzzy acid rock guitars slipped in alongside the funky beats, jazzy, zazzy horns, and lush orchestral maneuvers.
Other than the Peter Thomas Sound Orchestra (whose "World Is Gone" is almost as disturbing as it is gleefully goofy and groovy) we don't really recognize too many of the artists here, except a few who also appeared on previous In-Kraut installments, most are totally unknown to us, yet awesome, which is a reason to buy a compilation like this. Some names: Daisy Clan, The Rainbow Orchestra, Inga, Ambros Seelos, Rolf Kuhn, Certain Lions & Tigers, Adam & Eve, Acid, Heinz Kiessling, The German Top Five, Memphis Black, Karl Schiller... and a bunch more. Just a few of the highlights include the Beatles composition "A Hard Day's Night" as performed by Katja Ebstein (which could have been a standout on that recent Easy Beatles collection), and a quite, uh, horny rendition of Led Zep's "Whole Lotta Love" done by Dieter Zimmermann (and band), in the tradition of the Deep Purple cover that appeared on vol. 2.
From pop-rock covers to original soundtrack themes, there's plenty of shuffling grooves and slinky instrumentals (Acid's "Hipguard" would thrill Christine 23 Onna) to make this the perfect lava-lamp / mirror-ball crossover collection. Ja, vol. 3 is as strong the first two, highly recommended. You can't listen to this and NOT be having fun!
And as usual with these In-Kraut comps, the cd booklet is packed with graphics and text pertaining to each track. It's quite clear that the compilers know their stuff!
MPEG Stream: DIETER ZIMMERMANN "Whole Lotta Love"
MPEG Stream: GEORGEES "Butterflies Never Cry"
MPEG Stream: ACID "Hipguard"

V/A Inside Deep Note: Music Of 1970's Adult Cinema (O.S.T. Grammofonpladen) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Second volume of classic porn soundtrack recordings following the successful "Deep Note" compilation we listed a year ago. Like the previous collection, this one comes interespersed with dialog from the films themselves. And while the sound quality of the music is much better (many of the previous album's tracks seemed to be dubbed straight from the VHS tapes), the variety in the music is less interesting. Given that there's not much information on the individual tracks, it's guess work as to when they were recorded. But it seems clear that these tracks come from a later period of porn films. The musicians, more accustomed to what's expected of them in the studio are less likely to experiment. Either that, or the producers just chose to pick a collection of tracks which better represent what one might expect to hear on a porn soundtrack: smooth, funky jams and a few jazzy numbers. Which is a bit of a disappointment. With this collection is included a glossy booklet with plenty of sexy film stills and liner notes entitled "Casting Room Capers of a Female X-Rated Movie Director (circa 1974)" in which a supposedly "female" porn director recounts her experiences casting her first film "Hot Rocks". Unfortunately, the producers of this disc forgot to credit her name at the end of the booklet and a search on google revealed no such film from the early 70's so we can't give you "her" name either. Any porn experts out there who might be able to enlighten us? Once again, this one's for fans of Vampyros Lesbos, Schulmaedchen Report and other sexy soundtracks.
MPEG Stream: ANONYMOUS "Slip It In"
MPEG Stream: ANONYMOUS "I Dig Your Vibe"

V/A Killing Melody: Instrumental Music From Japanese Pinky Violence Movies (Ethbo) lp 28.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Lots of folks probably have no idea what Pinky Violence movies are, but avid readers of the aQ list, might have scene (or hopefully bought!) several records by a local turntablist called DJ Female Convict Scorpion, whose name is in fact borrowed from one of the more famous Pinky Violence series of films.
In the late sixties, traditional gangster movies in Japan were replaced with "Pinky Violence" movies, which embraced nudity and violence and bondage, women in prison, women gangs, who often fought topless, low brow, lowest common denominator, maybe, but many of the films infused the sex and violence with plenty of subtle social and political critiques, and as you might imagine, they caught on, and became a sensation. Often psych rock bands like the Jacks or the Flowers were tapped for music, but just as often, a small cadre of composers created the strange sonic hybrids that were the soundtrack to some of the most over the top films you'll ever see.
From Western style Morricone soundtrack music, all strings and whistles, haunting and ominous, to sultry smoky jazz, groovy fuzz funk, and full on psychedelic garage rock, the sounds here are all over the map. In some ways this could have easily been an installment in Sublime Frequencies' ever expanding catalog of world musics, so varied and catchy and wildly exotic. Jazzy drums underpin fluttery flutes, crunchy fuzz guitar all tangled up with woozy porno funk, sexy sax, wah wah guitars, soaring strings, Eastern melodies, all wound into groovy cinematic funk jazz, xylophones and marimbas, horn sections, strange sound effects, wild drumming, it's hard to imagine how this stuff hasn't been sampled to death by DJ's. super funky, but WAY out there and psychedelic, sometimes dark, but more often jubilant and unhinged and FUN.
Super extensive liner notes, with a history of the genre, the soundtracks, the composers, and of course the starlets, and besides simply being a killer collection of funky soulful cinematic sounds, hopefully it'll get some folks out there to track down some of these amazing movies...

V/A Kosher Nostra: Jewish Gangsters Greatest Hits (Essay) cd + book 22.00
This just might be the coolest compilation ever. A musical compendium focused on the sound, singers and groups, who were in some way linked to the infamous Jewish mafia, aka the "Kosher Nostra", an organization including such underworld legends as Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, Dutch Schultz, Louis "Lepke" Buchalter and Meyer Lansky, a group who worked alongside the more well known American mafia, and who had a huge influence on popular music, creating a musical movement that was equal parts big band, jazz, swing and Yiddish music, a musical scene which existed parallel to the mainstream, with its own radio shows, record labels, and superstars. Organized by the artist Oz Almog, who is also a curator at the Jewish Museum in Vienna, and who created a high profile exhibition of his original paintings of Jewish gangsters, along with articles, biographies and crime scene sketches, along with someone named Shantel who wrote his thesis on the Kosher Nostra and did extensive research on organized crime and its influence on American musical culture, all of which is detailed in the massive booklet that accompanies this compilation. But even knowing nothing about the roots of these tracks, the music here is amazing, from Connie Francis doing a classic Yiddish tune, to Tom Jones singing the super dramatic "My Yiddishe Mamme", from The Andrews Sisters first big hit "Bei Mir Bistu Sheyn" to Chubby Checker singing in Yiddish on "Misirlou", Solomon Schwartz's fuzzy groovy version of the Jewish classic "Hava Nagila", tracks from Al Jolson (with the Andrews Sisters), Sophie Tucker and loads more. Some of the tracks live, others presented as part of old time radio shows, complete with announcers and advertisements, a gorgeous, and fascinating glimpse into this remarkable social and musical subculture, or as the label describes it "an unparalleled journey back in time to the music clubs, vaudeville theaters and gambling casinos of the 1920s to the '60s bearing compelling witness to this enormously diverse and truly remarkable fusion of styles". Easily our reissue/compilation of the year so far. So totally great!
Fantastic packaging, a massive booklet, loaded with extensive liner notes on the music, and the history of the Kosher Nostra, lots of pictures do, the cd in a similarly designed digipack, all housed in a swank slipcover.
MPEG Stream: THE ANDREWS SISTERS "Bei Mir Bistu Sheyn"
MPEG Stream: CHUBBY CHECKER "Misirlou"
MPEG Stream: HAE BAGLEMAN SISTERS & ABE ESSSTEIN ORCHESTER "A Vabele, A Tsnie"
MPEG Stream: HE GILT EDGED FOUR "Yiddisher Charleston"

V/A Kosmos: Soundtracks of Eastern Germany's Adventures in Spaace (All Score Media) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Similar to the spirit of those 'Ein Wigwam...' compilations of film music from East German westerns (Vol. 2 we listed just a few weeks back), 'Kosmos' collects the music from East German science fiction films and television programs, which while maybe not quite as bizarre as the "Eastern Western", is still an odd combination. In the early seventies, there was a huge interest in producing (and viewing) big Hollywood-style science fiction movies. And as we all remember, Hollywood sci-fi in the seventies was hokey and cheesy and pretty low brow -- and so '70s East German filmmakers, with a fraction of the budget/resources, still did their best to capture that essence, even if they couldn't manage the expensive special effects of a "Star Wars" or "Close Encounters". And while we haven't seen the films, we do have the music, and the music is pretty amazing and completely bizarre! The sounds range from fuzzed out psychedelic rock to Esquivel-esque lounge/exotica to lo-fi electronica, to funky jams, to abstract collages of 'space sounds', to groovy hardrock, to syrupy easy listening and there's even a 'spaced out' version of 'Singing In The Rain'. Squealing and burbling analogue synths, soaring artificial strings, wild flutes, all manner of percussion, hammond organs, 'waka-waka' porn movie guitars, and lush sixties-girl-group harmony vocals augment a pretty standard rock'n'roll set-up of drums, bass, and guitar. Plus they included some special effects sounds and German dialogue from the films. And just like the 'Ein Wigwam' compilations (not to mention the 'Schulmadchen Report'!) from past AQ lists, these crazy sounds have us desperately trying to track down some of these films. Highly recommended.
RealAudio clip: FISCHER "Variation"
RealAudio clip: KURZBALS/JAGER "In Den Kosmos"
RealAudio clip: HOBMANN, RUTH "Im Staub Der Sterne"
RealAudio clip: SASSE "Wir Rufen die Venus"

V/A Kosmos: Soundtracks of Eastern Germany's Adventures in Space (All Score Media) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Similar to the spirit of those 'Ein Wigwam...' compilations of film music from East German westerns (Vol. 2 we listed just a few weeks back), 'Kosmos' collects the music from East German science fiction films and television programs, which while maybe not quite as bizarre as the "Eastern Western", is still an odd combination. In the early seventies, there was a huge interest in producing (and viewing) big Hollywood-style science fiction movies. And as we all remember, Hollywood sci-fi in the seventies was hokey and cheesy and pretty low brow -- and so '70s East German filmmakers, with a fraction of the budget/resources, still did their best to capture that essence, even if they couldn't manage the expensive special effects of a "Star Wars" or "Close Encounters". And while we haven't seen the films, we do have the music, and the music is pretty amazing and completely bizarre! The sounds range from fuzzed out psychedelic rock to Esquivel-esque lounge/exotica to lo-fi electronica, to funky jams, to abstract collages of 'space sounds', to groovy hardrock, to syrupy easy listening and there's even a 'spaced out' version of 'Singing In The Rain'. Squealing and burbling analogue synths, soaring artificial strings, wild flutes, all manner of percussion, hammond organs, 'waka-waka' porn movie guitars, and lush sixties-girl-group harmony vocals augment a pretty standard rock'n'roll set-up of drums, bass, and guitar. Plus they included some special effects sounds and German dialogue from the films. And just like the 'Ein Wigwam' compilations (not to mention the 'Schulmadchen Report'!) from past AQ lists, these crazy sounds have us desperately trying to track down some of these films. Highly recommended.

V/A Kung Fu Super Sounds (De Wolfe) cd 21.00
Soon after heaping tons of praise on the mighty Enter The Dragon Soundtrack, we're thrilled to also see this killer compilation of unreleased De Wolfe library tracks drawn from the legendary Shaw Brothers martial arts films circa 1976-1984. If you've seen a Hong Kong Ku Fu flick of that vintage, chances are good you've seen a Shaw Bros. movie. Influencing everyone from The Wu-Tang Clan to Quentin Tarantino, these low-budget "bashers" with insanely impossible story lines have fed the fertile imaginations of midnight movie geeks for years. These 43 movie cues hand-picked by Gareth "Cherrystones" Goddard, Joel Martin and Jon Jigoku, display quite a sweeping emotional range of sounds: moody spy themes, old west-style standoffs, funky Moog passages, ritual drums, suspicious flutes and percussion, tense orchestrations, haunting siren song. The best part is the names the De Wolfe library gave the cues: "Electro Beat 5", "Nerve Stretch 2", "Tension Trip", "Moonbird", "Bitter Lemons", "Dogarnit". For the library music fan or martial arts geek in your life!
MPEG Stream: "Perceptions In Rhythm"
MPEG Stream: "Moonbird"
MPEG Stream: "Dr. Witch-Wot"
MPEG Stream: "Crime Club"
MPEG Stream: "For and Against"
MPEG Stream: "Dogarnit"
MPEG Stream: "Moog Shot 25"

V/A La Paloma #1 (Trikont) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another new and truly amazing compilation (the first in a series of ten!) from our current favorite German label, Trikont. On this you'll hear musicians from vastly varied genres and times covering the same song: "La Paloma". From Charlie Parker, to Carla Bley, to Jelly Roll Morton, to Amon Duul, to slack key wizard Ray Kane, to Tex-Mex guru Flaco Jimenez, to... Ahh, there's a bunch here that you and I have never heard of, but that will kick your butt. Must be heard to be believed... No, just plain must be heard.

V/A La Paloma #2 (Trikont) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Part two in Trikont's ten part "La Paloma" series continues with an equally varied line up of renditions from such notables as Esquivel, Paco De Lucia, Babba Brooks, Hank Snow, Freddy Fender, Xavier Cugat and much more!

V/A La Paloma #3 (Trikont) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
It never ends... Volumes 3 & 4 of Trikont's hefty "La Paloma" project are now available. As the title implies, and as you may recall from the first two we had in previously, these are compilations of artists from various genres and points in time doing renditions of the song "La Paloma." It's an honorable effort, if not a bit obsessive (the total number of tracks in the series now clocking in at 103). Listening to any one of these anthologies the whole way through and you can start to lose your mind. A new song begins, with new instrumention, a different arrangement and key... And yet, it's the same melody all over again. Definitely not for the faint of heart.
Volume 3 has such greats as Dean Martin, Perez Prado, Eddie Peabody, Unbekannte Harfinistin Pariser Metro, Bing Crosby and much more.

V/A Luke Vibert's Further Nuggets (Lo) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
More jacked up space funk and acid drenched future musik from the libraries of Chappell, Southern, iM, Bruton, Peer and Parry. For those unfamiliar, what has come to be known as library music is essentially commissioned music pieces -- usually instrumental (though there's the occasional ambiguous vocal harmonies, la-la-la's and what not) -- and archived for use as backing tracks in film and televison. As expected, some of the heavy hitters of documented library music are here: Roger Roger, Jack Arel, Georges Teperino, Eric Peters, Paul Bonneau, etc. Like Vibert's first volume, this collection rides all sorts of genres, though ultimately what holds everything together is tha funk. There's psychedelic orchestral funk ala Alain Goraguer's "La Planete Sauvage". Roger Davy's aptly titled "Crazy Flute Happy Guitar" fuses distorto hammond space organ with tripped out flute (all breathy and raw like Roland Kirk) and porno wah wah strumming and snazzy horn rawkus. Lots of Moog, tons of drum breaks, and loads and loads of sticky cheese. Big props to Lo for scavanging the choice cuts in the massive collections and making them available to us! A must for any self respecting sample happy musician -- breakbeats and exotica galore! For more space funk dementia, be sure to check out Luke Vibert's Nuggets volume one and Barry 7's Connectors (both on Lo), as well as the Music For Dancefloors collections on Strut!
RealAudio clip: RICHARD DEMAIRA "Studio 96"
RealAudio clip: ROGER DAVY "Crazy Flute Happy Guitar"
RealAudio clip: ROGER ROGER "Sound Industrial 15"

V/A Lukk Opp Kirkens Dorer: A Selection Of Norwegian Christian Jazz, Psych, Funk & Folk 1970-1980 (Plastic Strip Press) cd 17.98
Maybe this will make up for all the Satanic Norwegian church-burning music we sell! A compilation of, as the subtitle puts it, "A Selection Of Norwegian Christian Jazz, Psych, Funk & Folk 1970-1980". And it's quite fantastic. Quasi-kitschy Xtian funky and folky fun, with an acid-rock edge, really good stuff indeed, and 'cause the lyrics are all in Norwegian, those of us with an aversion to God-talk can comfortably listen to this without feeling like we're being preached to! Well you can tell when they sing "Hallelujah" and "Jesus" but the accent makes it cool. Apparently, there was quite a burgeoning youth-oriented Christian music scene and attendant recording industry in Norway in the '70s, kickstarted in the late '60s by something called the Ten-Sing or Teenage Singing movement, a kind of Norwegian version of Up With People!, further powered by the whole Jesus Freak thing that came along when hippies everywhere started to find God. So, this music, while Christian, isn't exactly square. It's full of fuzz guitars and fuzzy analog synth, gorgeous female vocals and bombastic brass, and is moving not just in spiritual way, but also movin' in more of a GROOVY kind of way. And is very delightfully very seventies sounding, from jazzy disco fusion to rock opera to delicate singer-songwriter stuff. There's 20 tracks in all on this import cd (13 on the vinyl version), sunshiney testifyin' from the following artists: Joyful Singers, Good News, That's Why, Arnold Borud, Keryx, The Crossing, Angelos, Sky Sing, The Heralds, Jan Simonsens, Kari Hansa & Gregers Hes, Grete Salomensen, Soli Deo, Reflex, and Presens. The digipak cd comes with a 36 page booklet, and the lp too has a printed insert, featuring extensive liner notes and vintage photos.
Hip '70s Norwegian groovy gospel music, who knew? Hallelujah! Highly recommended.
MPEG Stream: JOYFUL SINGERS "Kort Appell"
MPEG Stream: GOOD NEWS "Konklusjon"
MPEG Stream: THAT'S WHY "Dyp Av Nade"
MPEG Stream: GRETE SALOMENSEN "I Ham"
MPEG Stream: SOLI DEO "No Smoking"

V/A Lukk Opp Kirkens Dorer: A Selection Of Norwegian Christian Jazz, Psych, Funk & Folk 1970-1980 (Plastic Strip Press) lp 23.00
Maybe this will make up for all the Satanic Norwegian church-burning music we sell! A compilation of, as the subtitle puts it, "A Selection Of Norwegian Christian Jazz, Psych, Funk & Folk 1970-1980". And it's quite fantastic. Quasi-kitschy Xtian funky and folky fun, with an acid-rock edge, really good stuff indeed, and 'cause the lyrics are all in Norwegian, those of us with an aversion to God-talk can comfortably listen to this without feeling like we're being preached to! Well you can tell when they sing "Hallelujah" and "Jesus" but the accent makes it cool. Apparently, there was quite a burgeoning youth-oriented Christian music scene and attendant recording industry in Norway in the '70s, kickstarted in the late '60s by something called the Ten-Sing or Teenage Singing movement, a kind of Norwegian version of Up With People!, further powered by the whole Jesus Freak thing that came along when hippies everywhere started to find God. So, this music, while Christian, isn't exactly square. It's full of fuzz guitars and fuzzy analog synth, gorgeous female vocals and bombastic brass, and is moving not just in spiritual way, but also movin' in more of a GROOVY kind of way. And is very delightfully very seventies sounding, from jazzy disco fusion to rock opera to delicate singer-songwriter stuff. There's 20 tracks in all on this import cd (13 on the vinyl version), sunshiney testifyin' from the following artists: Joyful Singers, Good News, That's Why, Arnold Borud, Keryx, The Crossing, Angelos, Sky Sing, The Heralds, Jan Simonsens, Kari Hansa & Gregers Hes, Grete Salomensen, Soli Deo, Reflex, and Presens. The digipak cd comes with a 36 page booklet, and the lp too has a printed insert, featuring extensive liner notes and vintage photos.
Hip '70s Norwegian groovy gospel music, who knew? Hallelujah! Highly recommended.
MPEG Stream: JOYFUL SINGERS "Kort Appell"
MPEG Stream: GOOD NEWS "Konklusjon"
MPEG Stream: THAT'S WHY "Dyp Av Nade"
MPEG Stream: GRETE SALOMENSEN "I Ham"
MPEG Stream: SOLI DEO "No Smoking"

V/A Mind Expanders Volume 1: In Search of the Orgiastic Flashtastic Psychspastic Groove (Grey Past / Waterpipe Records) picture disc 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
From the wonderful folks who brought us Turkish Delights comes a crazy-psychedelic picture disc of "Psychedelic Sitar Trash Go-Go". Though the name implies there will be a good deal of sitar to be had here, in actuality this isn't entirely the case. There is a bit of it here, but the collection seems to take a broader definition of "Psychedelic Sitar Trash Go-Go". Perhaps title implies more a general exotic nature of psychedelic sounds. The groups on this album hailed from Spain, France, U.K., Belgium, Germany, U.S.A., and Canada. While some of the cuts here could have easily been culled from Vampyros Lesbos, others are just straight up fuzzed out and fucked up garage punk instrumentals. Then there's Les Paul-meets-moog synth musings coupled with bizarre string and percussion sound effects. There's Los Diablos, basically a heavier version of Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass plus guitars. There's even a fuzzed out psychedelic version of "Baia" which sounds like a pissed off Martin Denny. This is definitely a must have for anyone who's interested in the off kilter history of psychedelia. Features rare gems by Los Diablos, The Jokers, The Jim Sullivan Sound, The Dave Myers Effect, Guy Pederson & Son Grand Orchestre, Blue Phantom, La Voix Psychedelique, Crazy Elephant, The Sound Of Lane, The Morgans, Horror Charly, Les Apollo & La Danse Cosmique, The Rowdies, Sun Rock Rodeo Round Up, Lord Sitar and Clubman.

V/A Mind Expanders Volume 2 (Grey Past / Waterpipe Records) picture disc lp 25.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Second volume of psychedelic, exotica, go-go, groovy tunes from the people who brought us the beloved Turkish Delights compilation. Much like the first, there's lots of strings, fuzzed out guitars, sexy eastern-esque tabla-clarinet duets, sitar, hammond organs and even steel drums. Cover tune award on this one goes to The Soulful Strings for their sitarred and feathered version of the Beatles "Within You Without You". This album is a must for fans of Vampyros Lesbos and sundry other exotic porn soundtracks. And like the last volume of Mind Expanders, this one comes on a beautiful picture disc and -- maybe more importantly -- is also a very limited pressing... ie: so don't hesitate. This one features tracks by such obscurities as: The Stradivarius, The Flying Guitars, Mr. Acker Bilk, Emery Deutsch & the Astro Sounds, The Scottmen, The Dynatones, Bauer Productions, Shell Steel Orchestra, Didier Vincent, The Renegades, Robert Gretch, Jaime Perez, Timezone, The Soulful Strings and Thomas Natschinski und Scine Gruppe.
MPEG Stream: PEREZ, JAIME "Tema Arabe"
MPEG Stream: TIMEZONE "Spacewalker"

V/A Museum Of Future Sound Vol. 1 (Flogsta Danshall) cd 12.98
Yo droids! You wanna know what's been boomin' on Pluto lately? It's gotta be skweee. Y'know here at Aquarius we're always on the lookout for something new, the next big thing perhaps (though we're talking big 'round here, not necessarily elsewhere). Well we think we've found it! SKWEEE. Skweee? That's the self-proclaimed name for a new scene of electronic music in Scandinavia. It's basically Nordic b-boys doing DIY electro, and it's true, if they hadn't called it skweee but something less silly like, uh, "Scandi-funk" or "Vikinglectro", we might have not been as initially intrigued, though we did already have an interest in electro from Finland 'cause of that Sound Of Suomi comp we listed a while back. Something about "skweee" though just grabs us. You don't have to like bad puns to like skweee but it helps. Hey what are you doing this skweeekend? There's a skweee show Saturday skweeevening. Some of our favorite skweeejays will be spinning. Skweee you there!
We kind of randomly found out about it on the internet, listened in to some online samples on the "Nation of Skweee" webpage, and were hooked. Imagine a warped crossover between old school video game music and '90s hiphop instrumental tracks, that laidback Dr. Dre style funk as if hacked on a Commodore 64, programmed by Finnish and Norwegian kids trying to stave off the boredom and depression of long sunlight-deprived winters (as opposed to embracing it like their countryfolk into black metal would do). There's an obscure but active scene up in that part of the world skweeepin' it real with the support of a couple local labels, Harmonia and Flogsta Danshall, releasing the skweee on 7" and 12" singles. We did discover this one compact disc compilation that Flogsta Danshall put out, and figured we had to get it, it features a lot of the "stars" of skweee and obviously would be a good starting point for us, and any AQ customers who wanted to get turned on to skweee. And funnily enough, the guy from Flogsta Danshall had previously been to Aquarius on a trip to the USA, so he was himself excited that we wanted to stock some skweee in our shop!
Here's the artists: Mesak, Pavan, Rigas Den Andre, Beem, The Munchies, Randy Barracuda, Wizards of DOS, PJVM, Mangrove, Uday, Vakttornet, Daniel Savio, Maja Hedin, and Claws Costeau (great name!). Although each one's different, there's a definite "skweee ID" shared between 'em: elements like distorted squelching synthetic bass, computery bloops and bleeps, fractured funk beats, crazed dance logic, and what's either a playful sense of humor or just plain weirdness. Or both. Some tracks (say, Pavan) are a bit more uptight techno-rigid kraftwerkouts than others, which skweee like along with the looser, more fucked up cuts (like Randy Barracuda's which sounds like Inspector Gadget done Doug E. Fresh style or somethin').
The Museum Of Future Sound exhibits 14 trax, 54+ minutes of the finest in skweee, packaged in a thin, square, black plastic cd case, with simple, stark black & white cover graphics and a tracklisting on stickers affixed to the front and back. [2008 update: now it's in a cardboard sleeve, not plastic, a la vol. 2.] No further info is given about any of the contributors, unfortunately, so they stay mysterious... but they probably all have MySpace pages and would love to get visitors!
Next big thing? Could skweee. We'll skweee.
MPEG Stream: MESAK "Popkumm"
MPEG Stream: RANDY BARRACUDA "Rick James Is Dead"
MPEG Stream: CLAWS COSTEAU "The Franzzz Connection"

V/A Music De Wolfe Vol. 1 (Megaphone) cd 14.98
Like a Molotov cocktail for the spy-chase set, this compilation of sixties and seventies instrumental funk and soul from the De Wolfe Library and selected by Baltimore DJ and Library music geek, Jason Willet has all the stuff you need to get your feet and ass moving. Tense chase themes are intermixed with sexy bachelor-pad space grooves from one of the best library music houses in Britain, much of it on cd for the first time. So whether you are living out your Blaxploitation Spy fantasies or facing a daunting labor-intensive task (like we are creating this list for you), this set makes it all OK! Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Hard Hitter"
MPEG Stream: "Heavy Lace"
MPEG Stream: "Orgy"

V/A Music for a Bachelor's Den (DCC) cd 14.98
I mean, is the title suggesting women won't like it, or that we'll find it very sexy? Arthur Lyman, Dick Hyman, Jackie Gleason, Martin Denny, etc.

V/A Music For Mentalists (Psychic Circle) cd 17.98
Most of the time, compilations are intended to bring you the "best" of something. This one, though, is different! The compilers have deliberately put together a compilation of the WORST. A collection of "the obscure, the peculiar, and in some cases the downright disturbing". And of course, we recommend it! Now, the Psychic Circle label is known for all their keen compilations of '60s psych pop, "instro-hipster" groove, glam rock, and other vintage obscurities. Many of their discs are compiled by Nick "Bevis Frond" Saloman, who here, along with colleague Mick Dillingham, delve into a very different, and certainly much less cool/good/valuable, section of what must be vast, vast record collections. The section labeled "incredibly strange (or daft) music"! Collectable perhaps, but definitely more as a compulsion than an investment. They're mostly flea market and junk shop finds, we imagine. Barmy commercial jingles. Novelty tunes. Celebrity cash-ins. Easy listening attempts to be hip. Embarrassing (though fairly witty) rapping by an old white Englishman promoting his darts themed TV quiz show. Disco-sploitation. Would-be exotica and/or erotica. Super sappy lovesongs. "Ethnic" oddities (including more rapping). Et cetera, et cetera. Like other Psychic Circle comps, it's stuff from from the '60s and '70s (though it's possible that the ones with the rapping could be from the early '80s), some tracks having an increased humor factor due to their datedness. The other humor factor: how terrible, terrible this music is. Quite painful some of it. But also really funny. And sometimes pretty darn catchy. Which actually is a dangerous thing - you might wind up with some really bizarre stuff stuck in your head as a result of listening to this. Don't say we didn't warn you. But who wouldn't want, ferinstance, "These Boots Are Made For Walking" as performed (for some reason) by an outfit appropriately called Balsara & His Singing Sitars stuck in their head? Certainly not you.
There's an overwhelming 33 tracks here (OMG!). And immediately you'll find confusional, cringeworthy fodder for your next voicemail greeting, or something to render the next mix tape (cd-r, playlist, whatever) you make just a little bit weirder! Most of the stuff here was previously quite unknown to us (though we venture to guess that if you grew up in the UK, there's a chance you might be more familiar with some of the entries). And even if we knew the artists, such as the celebrity contingent of David McCallum, David Carradine, and Xaviera "The Happy Hooker" Hollander (performing separately, not together, now that would be REALLY crazy), that didn't really prepare us for what their tracks were all about. Or maybe it did. Bizarre stuff in any case, as are all the rest of the tracks here, which include everything from Micky Katz's Yiddish version of "K'nock Around The Clock" to a silly shoe advert ("The Weakling In Thom McCann Shoes") to opera singer Cathy Berberian's faux-classical take on the Beatles' "I Want To Hold Your Hand" to a big band version of the Monkees theme to naive outsider homemade pop to discofied Pink Floyd. Just when you think it can't get any worse or weirder, it does!! And let's not forget, this starts off pretty insane, with track two being about the weirdest bit of civic boosterism ever, a song called "Energy In Northampton", commissioned by The Northampton Development Corporation and sung by one Linda Jardim, this song tells of aliens from outer space crash landing in the town of Northampton and finding it quite to their liking!
It's like Saloman and Dillingham took turns one-upping each other with the most absurd, atrocious recorded artifacts they (perversely) treasure... "Oh, you thought that was bad? Get a load of THIS!" and you get to hear it all, in its awesome/awful glory. The cd booklet provides some mercifully brief details about each track along with appropriate accompanying graphics in full color (and also reveals that most of the blame here goes to Mr. Dillingham, from whose crazy collection most if not all of these records were sourced). We're sorta surprised this is on Psychic Circle, and not, say, the Trunk label. This disc seems destined to become a beloved best seller... at least here at Aquarius!
MPEG Stream: LINDA JARDIM "Energy In Northampton"
MPEG Stream: REGINALD BOSANQUET "Dance With Me"
MPEG Stream: HYLDA BAKER "Substitute"
MPEG Stream: MARVIN JAMES "Together In Iceland"

V/A Musics In The Margins (Sub Rosa) cd 14.98

V/A Nashville Sputnik: The Deep South / Outer Space Productions Of Jack Blanchard and Misty Morgan 1956-2004 (The Omni Recording Corporation) cd 17.98
Jim Blanchard and Misty Morgan were two of country music strangest creatures. Not only releasing some far-out sides as a duo, they helped produce many of Nashville's more left-field acts. Nashville Sputnik, the latest compilation from the Omni Recording Corporation (who also released Porter Wagoner's The Rubber Room, and Bruce Haack's Electric Lucifer) features many of Blanchard and Morgan's production highlights from the fifties to the present. Like the space-age sounds of Joe Meek meeting the down-home (and often cornball) wit of Hee-Haw, this compilation covers obscure and little heard sides of country-pop gold.
Hailing from Buffalo, but meeting in Hollywood, Florida where they both played lounge piano in neighboring clubs, the duo seemed psychically connected to meet (especially after finding out they were born in the same hospital, and their parents and siblings shared the same names, amongst other strange synchronicities). Releasing a string of 45's under different names and independent labels, Blanchard found his way into Nashville as an independent producer after producing surprise hit "Gemini" which ended up being covered by The Ventures. Influenced by The Tornadoes, "Telstar", Blanchard and Morgan saw a way for country music to be taken out of the "earthly moorings" that had reigned supreme in Nashville. Years before mavericks like Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson had wrangled creative control for themselves from the grip of the Nashville machine in the seventies, Blanchard and Morgan, consummate outsiders, managed to shake up the establishment by penning tons of tunes with a novelty flair and studio gimmickry that became increasing popular. Mostly because they weren't about the usual country music themes. Songs about the space age, time travel, dancing skeletons, and living dead chickens along with more common themes about travelin, cowards, and sensitive love songs, gave the duo enough credibility by taking country music out of its more provincial themes and actually relating to current events and style trends emerging in the sixties. Although most of the acts they produced early on like Joel Mathis, Rusty Diamond, Donel Austin, and Brad Wolfe never broke big, they were paving the way to break out themselves, charting a string of hits in the seventies such as "Tennessee Bird Walk" and "Somewhere In Virginia In The Rain" (of which a disco version is included here). Nashville Sputnik contains a rare glimpse into a spacey sound that is so little heard or remembered in country music, but one that should be played as often as possible.
MPEG Stream: JACQUELINE HYDE AND THE MOONFOLK "Strange New World"
MPEG Stream: JOEL MATHIS "Time Machine"
MPEG Stream: RUSTY DIAMOND "Skellykins"
MPEG Stream: JACK BLANCHARD AND MISTY MORGAN "Midnight Greyhound"
MPEG Stream: THE JACK BLANCHARD GROUP "New World"

V/A Now We Are Ten (Trunk) cd 11.98
Marking their 10 year anniversary as THE purveyor of quaint, vintage, obscure and unflinchingly British ear candy, Trunk Records has released a splendid compilation of the cream from *most* of their best releases from the past decade. Most is the key word here as three of their best releases, the awesome soundtracks to "The Wicker Man", "Psychomania", and the unreleased film music of "Dawn of The Dead" are not represented. But Trunk has always been a mixed bag label, and odd horror scores were only one facet of their obsession, the others being pastoral jazz, long forgotten children's songs, off-kilter ad jingles, library music, documentary film scores, and cosmically avant-garde electronic compositions. If you were curious about any of their past releases such as the Fuzzy Felt Folk compilation of obscure children's folk, or the Sven Libaek anthology of underwater documentary soundtracks, or the Michael Garrick Trio's lost cosmic jazz, or any of Basil Kirchan's sublimely eccentric compositions (all of the above are awesome BTW!) but wary to commit to a full album then this compilation might be a smoother introduction to Trunk's unusual tastes. What's even better is that 7 of the 22 tracks are previously unreleased with inclusions from Delia Derbyshire, Herbie Hancock, Douglas Wood and Paul Lewis. Please note that the sound samples are from the unreleased selections because many of the Trunk releases we had already thoroughly reviewed, so if you are curious about what Michael Garrick, Sven Libaek or the Fuzzy Felt Folk comp sounds like, check out the reviews and samples elsewhere on our site. They are all worth your time. Congrats Trunk!
PS includes the unlikely UK radio hit "The Ladies Bras" (all 36 seconds of it!).
MPEG Stream: DOUGLAS WOOD "Icicles"
MPEG Stream: PAUL LEWIS "Waiting For Nina"
MPEG Stream: BASIL KIRCHIN "Negatives"

V/A Nuggets: Luke Vibert's Selection (Lo Recordings) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Twenty eight tracks of rare and unreleased funk and exotic outerworldliness specially selected by Luke Vibert from the music libraries of Chappell, Southern, iM and PIL. Artists featured include Nino Nardini, Jack Arel, Eddie Warner, David Holland, Anthony King and many, many more! Some very wonderfully strange music indeed.

V/A Nuggets: Luke Vibert's Selection (Lo) 2lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now on vinyl! Twenty eight tracks of rare and unreleased funk and exotic outerworldliness specially selected by Luke Vibert from the music libraries of Chappell, Southern, iM and PIL. Artists featured include Nino Nardini, Jack Arel, Eddie Warner, David Holland, Anthony King and more. Don't be misled into thinking this is Luke Vibert's music, it is him doing the selecting and mixing but the music is your average loungey stuff.

V/A Off The Charts (OST) (Complex Corporation) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This is the soundtrack/companion to AQ pal Jamie Metzger's brilliant song poem documentary Off The Charts just released on DVD and reviewed elsewhere on this list. The movie, in case you missed it or haven't checked out the review yet is funny, sad, poignant and amazing. So good. This compilation follows suit, compiling many song poem classics as well as tons of our favorites. This is definitely the best song poem compilation yet! For those of you who are new to song poems, there is a whole industry of musicians (and shysters of course) that would set your poem to music for a couple hundred bucks. Often promising fame and fortune. Well, listening to the results it's obvious why fame and fortune eluded most of these folks, but that doesn't mean these songs aren't brilliant, because they are definitely some of the weirdest most amazing songs we've ever heard. From the surreal sixties exotica of Human Breakdown Of Absurdity, to the eighties tinged bizarre tale of...well, um "Non-Violent Taekwando Troopers", to the all time classic "Blind Man's Penis", to the "best song ever" (as Andee and Allan like to call it) "Jimmy Carter Says Yes!" This stuff is just so totally remarkable and satisfying and absolutely genius! The best song-poem compilation yet.
MPEG Stream: NORM BURNS AND THE SINGERS "Human Breakdown Of Absurdity"
MPEG Stream: DAVID FOX "Non-Violent Taekwando Troopers"
MPEG Stream: GENE MARSHALL "Jimmy Carter Says Yes"

V/A On The Brink (Psychic Circle) cd 16.98
Oh yeah! I'm sure you all remember in your youth, just going nuts on the dance floor, shaking and frugging and getting down to the latest smash from the likes of The Shock Absorbers ("It's Your Thing"), The Keith Mansfield Orchestra ("Soul Thing"), or Ken Woodman's Picadilly Brass ("Mexican Flier"), right? Whew, those were the days! What, you weren't making the scene in swinging sixties London? Well this comp should give you some idea what it maybe might have coulda been like, it's called On The Brink. Subtitled: Return Of The Instro-Hipsters. And the cover blurb goes on to state: "A happening and eclectic mix of vintage instrumental grooviness from the UK, with sitars, flutes, organs, horns and fuzz guitars." And that's no lie. This cd, compiled by none other than noted psych record collector Nick Saloman of the Bevis Frond, is a veritable cornucopia of late '60s/early '70s instrumental toe-tappers from studio-bound big bands and nightclub combos letting their hair down and getting their funk on, swank stuff that could be the soundtrack to the coolest cocktail party ever. Delightfully goofy, some of this, dated of course, and verging on the psychedelic for sure... especially Stanley Myers' "Organ Fantasia In D Major", now that's an awesomely groovy freakout. Myers is one of the few names we already know here, session sitar guy Big Jim Sullivan being another, but it's nice to also become acquainted with the often ephemeral likes of The Chris Barber Soul Band, Trax Four, The Mike Cotton Sound, The Les Reed Orchestra, The Fidd, The Vic Flick Sound, and all the rest. 20 bands, 20 tracks, jazzy and snazzy, lush and bombastic, racy and romantic... not a clunker in the bunch, though we might have to frown about how much The John Schroder Orchestra's "Nightrider" sounds sooo much like the famous theme to Batman. Definitely if you love library music, or those In-Kraut compilations, this is kinda like the UK version of the same sort of thing, almost... and being British and from the swinging sixties, it's also no wonder that a lot of this could fit nicely in a spy movie, some of it very James Bond/Austin Powers sounding. The cd booklet includes notes on each track, photos, and lots of bright color. Right on.
MPEG Stream: MIKE VICKERS "On The Brink"
MPEG Stream: STANLEY MYERS "Organ Fantasia In D Major"
MPEG Stream: WYNDER K. FROG "I'm A Man"

V/A Park Avenue Hillbillies and West End Cowboys (Collector's Choice) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Awesome collection of 40's and 50's big band novelty songs. The sound ranges from the torch song vocals of Dorothy Shay, to the cheesy big band Lawrence Welk Orchestra sound of the Four Lads to the twangy redneck hick humor of Arthur Godfrey. We just threw it on, but we (Allan and Andee) ended up listening to the whole thing and cracking up more than once. A great listen and a perfect party record. Some names you might recognize, Doris Day, Dinah Shore, The Hoosier Hotshots, but most of the artists are unknown (at least to us) especially Dorothy Shay, who seems to be the 'star' of this record, and who is responsible for the best song on this compilation, 'Feudin' And Fightin', a hilarious (and catchy) tale of feudin' neighbors, featuring lyrics like: "Grandma, poor old Grandma, why'd they have to shoot poor Grandma" and "Daughter, baby daughter, poisoned all the neighbors chickens, daughter shouldn't ought'er, at least til she can run like the dickens, they hit her with a shovel" and "Let's give our daughter a pistol, now that she's four." Weird and fun. (But be warned, some of the material is a bit rough and doesn't seem as funny as we're supposed to assume it was in the '40s; check out the sound sample for 'Slap 'Er Down Again, Paw').
RealAudio clip: DOROTHY SHAY "Feudin' And Fightin'"
RealAudio clip: ARTHUR GODFREY "Slap 'Er Down Again, Paw"

V/A Pop Electronique (Spinning Wheel) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
German collection of weird experimental electronic pop tunes -- all previously unreleased by the likes of Moog pioneer Jean Jacques Perrey, Jean Michel Herve, Amadeo Tommasi, and Pell Mell(!).

V/A Pop-Shopping Volume 1 (Crippled Dick Hot Wax) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another collection of sugary sweet pop from the sixties & seventies. This time the focus is aimed specifically at German television ads that aired between 1960 and 1975. Featuring Gert Wilden (Schulmadchen Report), Klaus Doldinger, Johnny Teupen, Christian Bruhn and many others. Would fit snugly in any record collection between Stereolab and the High Llamas.

V/A PopShopping Mixed Up (Crippled Dick Hot Wax) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another edition from this playful series. Warning: there are some painful easy listenin' tracks (for instance, track 3) that seem to have somehow escaped the quality control and the remix knife, and that are not even tolerable on the kitsch level. Nonetheless, many others kick some groovy ass butt, and are perfect for gettin' down and doin' the funky slide through the racks of your chosen chi-chi boutique. Frivolous Euro-fun. Like a revved-up, house-y Charles Wilp. Fans of Arling and Cameron... ahoy!

V/A Popshopping Vol. 2 (Crippled Dick Hot Wax!) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Aaah, the wonder of advertising jingles! Cleverly, insidiously hooking the consumer through the ear. Love 'em or hate 'em, we've all caught ourselves pleasantly humming a tune only to realize it's for some junk food we'd never ever lay a hand on. Pizza on a bagel, anyone? Oops. But what if the melody was for a product from another country? You'd could hear and enjoy the music without visions of the product dancing in your head. Well, that's the case with the Pop Shopping Series from Crippled Dick Hot Wax! Twenty seven ultra-lively tracks from '60s and '70s German commercials. Not as tiki-lounge-y-centric as past like-minded compilations, this one runs the stylistic gamut. Embellished with plenty of playfulness - including but not limited to kooky horns and exuberant voice-overs. Check out the stand-out track "Shoe Shoe Twist"! You just might even hear a bit of "Goldfinger", the theme from "S.W.A.T." or Cat Stevens. Campy, kitchy goodness. Recommended.
RealAudio clip: HERMANN GEHLEN "Exposition K'71"
RealAudio clip: CHARLES NOWA "Super-Nowa-Jingles"
RealAudio clip: FISCHER /MALTZ "Shoe Shoe Twist"

V/A Power Up! Mutations & Mutilations of 8-Bit Hits (Dwell) cd 16.98
Nintendo theme music as performed by a bunch of video game addicted indie musicians! First up, is "The Legend Of Zelda (Overworld Theme)" tackled by supremely qualified for this sort of thing math/metal rockers The Fucking Champs. The mathiness continues with Upsilon Acrux (Rush n' Attack) and Ahleuchatistas (Bad Dudes), both prog rock bands who when not practicing their instrumental chops, must be glued to their gaming consoles. Then there's some artists with more of an electronica approach, also quite appropriate here, like Cripple Camp (Ghosts n' Goblins), Animal Style (Tetris), and Christopher Willits (Metroid). Doug McDiarmid of Anticon artists Why? provides a break from the plugged-in, caffienated craziness of some of these tunes with his pleasant piano rendition of the music from Marble Madness. Most far out is maybe Flossin (Kid 606 + Christopher Willits + Hella's Zach Hill, right?) with their spacey, psychedelic and chaotic version of "Castlevania". As with all tribute comps, there's some bands we hadn't heard of before, like Kindergarten Hazing Ritual (River City Ransom) and Twelve Handed Men Of Mars (more from The Legend Of Zelda)... but whoever they are, they know their Nintendo.
MPEG Stream: AHLEUCHATISTAS "Bad Dudes"
MPEG Stream: DOUG MCDIARMID "Marble Madness (Piano Medley)"
MPEG Stream: DEFENSIVE MODE "Mega Man 2 (Metal Man)"