V/A Fresh Fruit (Lo Recordings) cd 6.98
Brand new Lo Records compilation, this time for an unbelievably low price of $6.98. Exclusive tracks from the likes of Kid 606, The Remote Viewer, Hrvatski (excellent track), Rothko, Ceefax, and much more. At 21 tracks in length, the price is right.

V/A Friends and Lovers: Songs of Bread (Badman) cd 13.98
If you think you don't know Bread's music, think again. It might just be that you don't know the name of the artist behind that old tune you know and love so well. Many of Bread's songs have become so much a part of the day-to-day (let alone Musak'd ad nauseum), that song credits are seldom mentioned.
Who doesn't know the '70s tear-jerkers "If", "The Goodbye Girl", "Everything I Own", "Make It With You" or the puzzlingly titled "Baby, I'm A Want You" by this band? Do you remember, as Cup does, that there was even a non-Muppet puppet performance set to that song on the Muppet Show!? Well, it seems there's plenty of other folks who have a fond Bread memory or two or three too. '70s nostalgia is here with a -- albeit gentle -- vengeance, and Bread were definitely a soft rock staple of that decade. Sure those songs that we heard on AM radio back then were as vanilla as can be, but you have to admit the popcraft is still the sweetest something to behold. Main songwriter David Gates skillfully captured the weepy lows of love lost or unrequited. Oh so much yearning and heartache! This tribute kicks off with Josh Rouse doin' his best Gates impersonation on "It Doesn't Matter To Me". Following him are much less faithful but still very respectful covers performed by Kings Of Convenience's Erland Oye ("Friends & Lovers"), Call And Response ("Baby, I'm A Want You"), Oranger ("Make It With You"), Paula Frazer ("Everything I Own"), The Moore Brothers ("Look At Me"), Parchman Farm's Eric Shea with Bart Davenport ("Goodbye Girl"), Mojave 3's Rachel Goswell ("If"), Emily Sparks ("Too Much Love"), Cake ("The Guitar Man"), Holy Sons ("The Last Time"), Dambuilders' Dave Derby ("I Use The Soap"), and the Posies fellas Jonathan Auer and Ken Stringfellow doin' one song each on his own ("Games Of Magic" and "Down On My Knees" respectively). If you're too young to have experienced these songs firsthand, you might still wanna give this comp a listen 'cause it offers shining examples of fine pop artists present coming together with fine pop songs past.
MPEG Stream: FRAZER, PAULA "Everything I Own"
MPEG Stream: SHEA, ERIC & BART DAVENPORT "The Goodbye Girl"

V/A Frisco Freakout I (10-11-08) (self-released) cassette 5.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The annual all-day Frisco Freakout psychedelic festival has happened on two occasions so far, most recently earlier this month and also back in October of '08. Perhaps you were there! You shoulda been, it was a great show, both years. Co-sponsored by KUSF radio, Arthur Magazine, and yours truly Aquarius Records, and organized in part by Ripley from Wooden Shjips, the Frisco Freakout benefits Creativity Explored, a worthy cause right here in the Mission, where developmentally challenged adults get to express themselves artistically (and make amazing art they do!).
This year at the festival, there was a limited edition compilation cassette for sale featuring a selection of live performances recorded at the first Freakout. We scored a few copies - and are selling 'em for what we paid for 'em, $5 each, all of which goes to Creativity Explored. They only made 100 tapes and we of course just have a handful, when they're gone they're gone, so first come first served, and sorry if you don't get one.
There's songs here from Crystal Antlers, Art Lessing, Wooden Shjips, Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound, Ascended Master, The Bad Trips, Greg Ashley, Sequin Trails, and Earthless (who's track is an excerpt 'cause of course an entire Earthless jam would have probably filled a whole side of this tape!).

V/A Frisco Styles (Deitch Projects) 2cd 13.98
You know that guy with the Grizzly Adams beard you're always seeing skating down Valencia 'n dumpster diving outside Ti Couz? That would be the world famous artist that AQ knows as nice Mr Chris Johansson, who has single handedly released this double disc set featuring almost 50 of his favorite Bay Area rockscene bands (many of the tracks live). Everyone from Coachwhips to Caesura, Touched By a Janitor, Vetiver, Mr and Mrs Evil, Tarentel, Veronica Lipgloss, Trackstar, Total Shutdown, Quails, Troll, Erase Errata, A Tension, Tussle, Virginia Dare, Zmrzlina, Aislers Set, Tommy Guerrero, Crack W.A.R., Sonny Smith, Zeigenbock Kopf, Deep Throats, and so many more.
As with most comps meant to survey a local scene, this is a mixed bag, but there's tons more good stuff here than bad, and it's a real good way to taste what the local scene has to offer if you're not one of those folks that goes out to hear live music all the time. An exciting listen.
Double disc foldout digipack features artwork by local artists Jo Jackson, Chris Corales, Tony Cox, Dave Schubert, many more, but not, as far as I can tell, any of Johansson's stuff.
MPEG Stream: COACHWHIPS "Prisoner 119"
MPEG Stream: AISLERS SET "Emotional Levy"
MPEG Stream: MR AND MRS EVIL "Ballad of Big Lurch"

V/A From Brussels With Love (LTM) cd 19.98
A remastered reissue of this compilation of word and sound from 1980! The title might be From Brussels With Love -- the city where the original release's label Les Disques Crepuscule was based -- but the contributions are by artists from well beyond that city's limits drawing from comrades in Manchester and London (many from the Factory Records camp). It features many wellknowns, soon to be wellknowns and certainly more obscure artists from back in the day: John Foxx, Thomas Dolby, Repetition, Harold Budd, Durutti Column, Martin Hannett, Michael Nyman, Phill Niblock, Richard Jobson, Bill Nelson, Kevin Hewick, New Order, Radio Romance, Gavin Bryars, Der Plan, B.C. Gilbert and Graham Lewis. Along with the music are included two interview clips with Jeanne Moreau and Brian Eno. The latter is layered with Niblock's gently droning "Third Trombone". Although it does come with a 20 page booklet, unfortunately this new cd version doesn't come with any special packaging unlike the original cassette release which purportedly came in a PVC jacket with a badge and booklet. A very cool and incredibly varied historical document.
MPEG Stream: NYMAN, MICHAEL "A Walk Through H"
MPEG Stream: DURUTTI COLUMN "Piece For A Ideal"

V/A From Dubplate To Download (Greensleeves) 2cd 19.98

V/A From Koenji To Eternity (Inoxia) cd 17.98
Finally back in stock!
BORIS BORIS BORIS BORIS BORIS. Okay. Just wanted to get the attention of all you freaks who can't get enough of Japan's mighty Boris (and we know there's a lot of you, since we can't seem to keep any Boris in stock for more than two seconds!!) And since this compilation features an unreleased Boris track we knew you'd want to have it. Lucky for us, the rest of the bands are pretty great too. Korean Buddhist God spit out a noisy Boredoms meets the Unsane ungodly racket. Gaji play a sort of lo-fi, stripped down Shellac-ish sort of rhythmic rock with wailing far away female vocals. Two tracks by Konk + Null (that's right, KK Null from Zeni Geva): one a crushing hyper distorted grind, and one a sort of tribal spiritual with industrial blurts. Three tracks by OAC, who play a sort of sped up, spazzed out, super nosiy almost-pop punk. Two tracks by the awesomely titled Mustard Maturbation, who lurch along heavily, in a Jesus Lizard-ish bass-heavy groove. One fairly straight ahead rock track from Kirihito. And of course Boris, who do a weird half ambient industrial whirr / found sound snippet collage, half pounding metallic noise rock, like the Stooges on PCP. This came out a few years ago, but it seems like lots of folks missed it first time around, so don't make the same mistake this time!!
MPEG Stream: BORIS "Vacuuum"
MPEG Stream: KONK + NULL "Godzilla"
MPEG Stream: KOREAN BUDDHIST GOD "Big Oriental Muff"
MPEG Stream: MUSTARD MASTURBATION "Present"

V/A From L.A. With Love (ArtDontSleep) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A rare occurrence happened the other day when LA producer and promoter Andrew Lojero came by the shop selling this collection he put together of underground L.A. artists from the hip and difficult-to-classify hybrid genres of soul, jazz and electronica. We recognized a few of the artists such as the Madlib produced Yesterday's New Quintet and Sound Directions as well as Flying Lotus and Georgia Anne Muldrow, so we bought a couple and when we put it on in the store, two people came up and immediately bought both copies we had. Sensing a hit on our hands, we called Andrew up while he was still in town and ordered a bunch more and it has been selling rather steadily without much assistance from us. But we're listing it anyway, because it's really, really good.
Not so much a compilation as it is a collection of specially made tracks that showcase the sunny multifaceted vitality of the urban LA scene. Tripped out broken beats, lounge-y interludes, jazzy R&B inflected grooves, sometimes edgy, sometimes mellow and all sounding remarkably fresh. Along with each track, Lojero asked contemporary LA artists to design a unique piece of art, all of which are featured in the accompanying booklet. 17 tracks of blissful awesomeness awaits you. Don't hesitate.
MPEG Stream: FROM LEAF TO FEATHER "Night Sun"
MPEG Stream: BLANK BLUE "All The Shallow Deep"
MPEG Stream: SOUND DIRECTION "Wildflower"
MPEG Stream: FREE MORAL AGENTS "Sound At Sea"

V/A From L.A. With Love (ArtDontSleep) 2lp 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A rare occurrence happened the other day when LA producer and promoter Andrew Lojero came by the shop selling this collection he put together of underground L.A. artists from the hip and difficult-to-classify hybrid genres of soul, jazz and electronica. We recognized a few of the artists such as the Madlib produced Yesterday's New Quintet and Sound Directions as well as Flying Lotus and Georgia Anne Muldrow, so we bought a couple and when we put it on in the store, two people came up and immediately bought both copies we had. Sensing a hit on our hands, we called Andrew up while he was still in town and ordered a bunch more and it has been selling rather steadily without much assistance from us. But we're listing it anyway, because it's really, really good.
Not so much a compilation as it is a collection of specially made tracks that showcase the sunny multifaceted vitality of the urban LA scene. Tripped out broken beats, lounge-y interludes, jazzy R&B inflected grooves, sometimes edgy, sometimes mellow and all sounding remarkably fresh. Along with each track, Lojero asked contemporary LA artists to design a unique piece of art, all of which are featured in the accompanying booklet. 17 tracks of blissful awesomeness awaits you. Don't hesitate.
MPEG Stream: FROM LEAF TO FEATHER "Night Sun"
MPEG Stream: BLANK BLUE "All The Shallow Deep"
MPEG Stream: SOUND DIRECTION "Wildflower"
MPEG Stream: FREE MORAL AGENTS "Sound At Sea"

V/A From the Closet to the Charts: Queer Noises 1961-1978 (Trikont) cd 16.98
Would you rather fight than swish? If so, we think you may be protesting too much, as this compilation of gay themed tunes contests. This hilarious and thankfully varied comp from the fine folks at Trikont showcases the prevalence of "the love that dare not speak its name" in songs from the early sixties to the late seventies. Starting with Jose Saria (aka. The Widow Norton) who held court at the Black Cat in San Francisco in the 50's and ending with Sylvester's uplifting Disco classic "You Make Me Feel", the 24 songs here range from novelty tunes ("Florence of Arabia"), spoken word (Rod McKuen!) queer subtext in songs by "straight" bands (The Kinks, The Ramones) and just rare and amazing songs by Curt Boettcher, The Twinkeyz, and Black Randy & The Metro Squad that are well worth the price of admission no matter where your proclivities lie. Check it out, we won't tell.
Extensive liner notes in both English and German.
MPEG Stream: B. BUBBA "I'd Rather Fight than Swish"
MPEG Stream: CURT BOETTCHER "Astral Cowboy"
MPEG Stream: THE TWINKEYZ "Aliens In Our Midst"

V/A From The Entrails To The Dirt (End All Life) cd 11.00
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**
We figured that since we were reviewing two collections of old Deathspell Omega stuff on this list, that we oughta get a few of these back in, as a few folks probably missed out on this amazing comp when it first came out, featuring as it does excluive Deathspell stuff as well as exclusive music from Antaeus, Mutiilation and Malicious Secrets!
Originally released as a series of SUPER limited split vinyl eps, a 7", a 10" and a 12", each teaming up bizarre mysterious French black metallers Malicious Secrets with some of their more well known countrymen: Antaeus, Mutiilation and Deathspell Omega. Holy shit! You might as well stop reading right now and order one of these as fast as you can. You shouldn't even need us to tell you how totally fucking mindblowing this comp is. Antaeus offer up a short buzzing blast of ultra grim blackness, a fuzzed out blur of droning black metal, downtuned guitars, blown out lightning fast blast beats, guttural growls, the whole thing a white hot lo-fi blast of utter brutality. Then of course there's Mutiilation, who not only offer up a reverb drenched burst of atmospheric blackened buzz, also super lo-fi, blasting and buzzing, and hauntingly creepy crawly like it was recorded in a cave or at the bottom of a well, but they also do a cover of Sinatra's "My Way"! But you wouldn't necessarily know it, the croonsome original becomes a harsh pitchfork to the head, dripping with thick droney guitars and shrieking black howls, although it does have a super cool, riffy sort of un-metal breakdown in the middle. Most of you will need this for the final track, a brand new, exclusive to this comp 20 minute epic from Deathspell Omega, rife with impossibly obtuse riffs, weird atonal guitar skree, super complex rhythms, haunting ambient dronescapes, weird math-metal breakdowns, and of course some of the fiercest fucked up black metal ever. Woah.
As if that weren't enough, let's not forget the three tracks from Malicious Secrets, each of their three tracks from the splits are totally dizzying swirls of ultra fucked up, BIZARRE black metal, riffs are bent and twisted into impossible shapes, blasting drums are sprayed wildly all over the place, each song is a serpentine, non-linear sonic mindfuck, a huge spastic black churning whirlpool, with little bits of riff or little streaks of blast beat surfacing now and again, while over the whole thing the vocalist moans and groans, low and haunting, each syllable stretched into long drawn out bellows, sometimes breaking into hacking coughs or throat clearing before once again returning to an utterly agonizing wail. So totally fucked up and so totally amazing!
MPEG Stream: MUTIILATION "My Way"
MPEG Stream: DEATHSPELL OMEGA "Mass Grave Aesthetics"

V/A From The Kitchen Archives No. 3, Amplified: New Music Meets Rock 1981-1986 (The Kitchen) cd 21.00
If you dig the two New York Noise comps that Soul Jazz released recently, here comes another comp that is an absolute must have. While the Noise on those aforementioned comps actually leaned more towards the rhythmic and even dancy side of the early 80's NY scene, the newest installment in the Kitchen Archives series gets a little more down and dirty. It kicks off with two very rare versions of early Sonic Youth tracks the first featuring lyrics, vocals and guitar contributed by Michael Gira! (Swans, Angels of Light, Young God Records), then Swans jump in with two tracks of their own, from back in their pre-Jarboe existence. Then it's Arthur Russell time! We can never get enough of the totally wild and wide range of sounds Russell created in in his all too short life. His tracks here focus more on his no-wave minimalist, rough around the edges and completely haunting sounding as opposed to his later dancefloor leanings. And no comp focusing on early '80s sonic exploration in NYC would be complete without Christian Marclay whose turntable manipulations would foreshadow so much of the 'turntablism' and experimental music in general that was to follow in the upcoming decades. Rhys Chatham represents with his classic "Guitar Trio" and the disc is rounded out by a free jazz influenced rock-out track by Elliott Sharp. Another totally tasty slice of that early '80s NY underground that we can't stop eating up.
MPEG Stream: ARTHUR RUSSELL "Hiding Your Present From You"
MPEG Stream: SONIC YOUTH "World Looks Red"
MPEG Stream: RHYS CHATHAM "Guitar Trio"

V/A From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music (Warner Bros) 3cd 49.00
Compiled by the venerable Country Music Foundation, this features Ray Charles, Ivory Joe Hunter, Al Green, Charley Pride, Aaron Neville, Ted Hawkins, Stoney Edwards, Professor Longhair, Etta James, Joe Tex, Leadbelly, the Supremes (!), Wynonie Harris, Solomon Burke, and a host of lesser known black country music musicians.

V/A Fruited Other Surfaces (Vermiform) cd 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Experimental hardcore, power violence, noise, crust, etc. comp--starring Amps For Christ, Bastard Noise, Bullet In The Head, Drop Dead, Lightning Bolt, Men's Recovery Project, Rubber O Cement, Tit Wrench, and many others.

V/A Fubar: The Album (Aquarius Records Canada) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Miss Cup has been raging about it for months. Allan finally got a hold of an import dvd of it (and a t-shirt!). Andee's just about to watch it. And we've got the import soundtrack compilation in stock now!
Sooo, what's with all the hubbub?! Well, the center of attention is a mockumentary indie film which may be described as "Driver 23" meets "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" meets "American Movie", but... Canadian. It's all about the tragicomic misadventures of two Molson-chugging burnouts (think a Canadian Bill and Ted, ten years older and wasted most of the time) spewing stoner wisdom like "turn up the good, turn down the suck!"
If that piqued your interest (or not), give the following news a moment's ponder too...
This cd contains a couple of extra special songs performed by AQ ultra-fave Canucks the New Pornographers *and* Sloan (psst, they even do a Rush song)! This very well could be the only peep you'll be hearing from those NPs until they unleash their new album sometime next year, and who knows when we'll be hearing from those Sloan boys? So if you need your fix... FUBAR is where it's at! It's also where you'll find NoMeansNo, Chixdiggit, The Sweet, Girlschool and more. For the most part the concept here is Canadian indie/pop punk bands doing covers of Canadian rock/metal classics from the past: thus, NoMeansNo does Neil Young, GOB tackles Kick Axe's "Heavy Metal Shuffle", Sum 41 performs the Helix anthem "Rock You", while other bands cover April Wine, Loverboy, Toronto, BTO, etc. And lets not forget he-man Canadian metaller Thor (a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek 80's relic himself) doing the film's catchy theme, "FUBAR Is A Super Rocker". Throw in some originals from Creeper (loser metal band of Fubar star "Dean") and some out-of-context dialogue from the film, and what other album could possibly be more fun and surreal?? ...Know what else? These filmmakers received funding from the Canadian government to do this. Fill yer boots, eh!
Finally as a little aside, we'd like to clarify that the Aquarius Records who released this compilation is not us, but a Canadian label with the same name. But, unlike most things on their label, we'd be proud to have put this out ourselves if we were a label... Canada + Comedy + Metal + The New Pornographers + Helix + Thor + Sloan + Kick Axe = Aquarius Record of the Week Big Time!!!
RealAudio clip: THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS "Your Daddy Don't Know"
RealAudio clip: TERRY & DEAN "Shotgun A Few Beers"
RealAudio clip: GOB "Heavy Metal Shuffle"

V/A Fujirekodsu (Fujirekodsu) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
What the hell am I listening to? That's the reaction to a few minutes spent with this comp in the cd player. It's a very weird mix of stuff! Fujirekodsu is a new label set up by Tokyo's Cha-Bashira and Cologne's A-Musik labels to release unknown and unusual music from Japan and Europe (and all the artists on here, Japanese or not, either live or have spent time in Japan). This new label/project has received some assistance from the Tokyo record shop Los Apson, who some might recall released a bizarre compilation of their own back in '96 or so. We are told that this is sort of part II of that, and it is equally crazed. Don't get the idea that this is your typical Japanese noise thing, as it's not particularily noisy in the Merzbow sense; rather, there's a lot of different musical styles on here, including electronic groove, installation sounds, "actionism", lo-fi pop, and odd glitch-works. Nothing remotely ordinary however. Some of the names involved (a few that folks might know, but not many!): Why Sheep?, Smurf Otoko Gumi, Susumu Yokota, Christophe Charles/Brandon Labelle/Steve Roden, Q of Q, Noise Ramones (Eye and Yoshimi of Boredoms), Evil Moisture, Hair Stylistics, AOA, Rudolpf Eb.er, Nagata Kazunao, Tennessees, American Cherry, Tapes Klar!, L?K?O?, Vagamoron, many more. There's 29 tracks of this insanity. Pretty cool!

V/A Fun From None: Live From the No Fun Fest 2004 & 2005 (Load) dvd 17.98

V/A Fundamental Experiment (Neil Young Tribute) (self-released) lp 17.98

V/A Fundamental Experiment (Neil Young Tribute) (self-released) lp 17.98

V/A Funk Mundial (Man Recordings) cd 17.98
Awesome collection of singles originally released as 12"s in Man Recordings Funk Mundial series. This is chock full of high energy Baile Funk done so totally right! Daniel Haaksman who started this series has a great ear for the best of the bangers, so it's kind of like getting someone to cut the weaker stuff out and hand you sixteen of the most sizzling, grooving thrillers that have come out of the Baile Funk scene over the last few years.
We were only familiar with a few of these artists like Crookers and Chancha Via Circuito but all the new artists to our ears for sure have been making us shake our stuff. Mixing elements of tech, hip-hop, booty bass, rave culture, all with a frenetic energy that's so damn infectious. We love how this scene seems to be mixed equally with fierce females and charismatic males. While still full on crazy fun, these tracks come off a bit more musical and memorable then the tracks on the Rio Baile Funk comps put out by Essay, we still love those comps but right now Funk Mundial is giving us the goods in a way we can't resist!
MPEG Stream: CROOKERS FEAT. MC LEKA "Para De Gracinha"
MPEG Stream: CHANCHA VIA CIRCUITO FEAT. MC PRETINHO "Bu�etao"
MPEG Stream: SEIJI FEAT. MC DOLORES "Todo Mundo"

V/A Funkrock (BBE) cd 16.98
Mixmaster of the moment DJ Spinna shows his impeccable taste in "rock breaks and guitars for funky people" with this compilation (put together by Spinna and Monty Burns). The '70s ride again with the choice cuts found here: tracks by Sly Stone ("Trip To Your Heart", which you'll recognize from its sampled use by LL Cool J on "Mama Said Knock You Out"), Santana, Herbie Hancock's Head Hunters, P-Funk diva Ruth Copeland, Buddy Miles, Betty Davis, The Moog Machine (a funky synth treatment of music from Hair!), Zoo, Yellow Sunshine, Julie Driscoll & Brian Auger, Steve Winwood, and more -- even Can (who were heavily influenced by James Brown's rhythm section after all). What can we say, this stuff's all great. And don't worry, it's not mixed or scratched or any of that stuff, this is a great selection of original tracks, some we were already familiar with and some we're now glad to have heard (like Babe Ruth's funk-meets-spaghetti western Morricone adaption "The Mexican"). Only one question: what, no Jimmy Castor?

V/A Funky Chicken (Trojan) cd 15.98

V/A Funky Frauleins (Bureau B) cd 17.98
For all the stereotypes about how serious and rigid German culture is, we love how so many compilations in recent years have revealed just the opposite, revealing how damn fun and playful so much of the music bursting out of Germany during the '60s and '70s really was. We're talking full on go-go kaleidoscopic cocktail party galore! Much in the spirit of like minded compilations like The In-Kraut series and Disco Deutchland, Funky Frauleins puts its fun focus on the colorful groovy, funky, and disco sounds of the beat queens of Germany from 1968-1978. Just as fun, sassy and spirited as their French go-go counterparts but very much in the '70s with instrumentation that would sound right at home on a game show, in a porno, or even especially at a full on dance party. We only knew a few of these ladies: Su Kramer, Hildegard Knef and Caterina Valente, so we were introduced to a bunch of other super fun vixens. The booklet offers up great photos and bios of all the artists. This is one of those turn off your brain and step into a sweet and delicious cocktail haze kind of records. And we love it.
MPEG Stream: TOPSY K�PPERS "Sagen Sie, Frau Zimmermann"
MPEG Stream: HILDEGARD KNEF "Ich Wart Auf Die Nacht"
MPEG Stream: SHIRLEY THOMPSON "Goldene Insel"

V/A Funky Frauleins (Bureau B) lp 17.98
Now available on vinyl!
For all the stereotypes about how serious and rigid German culture is, we love how so many compilations in recent years have revealed just the opposite, revealing how damn fun and playful so much of the music bursting out of Germany during the '60s and '70s really was. We're talking full on go-go kaleidoscopic cocktail party galore! Much in the spirit of like minded compilations like The In-Kraut series and Disco Deutchland, Funky Frauleins puts its fun focus on the colorful groovy, funky, and disco sounds of the beat queens of Germany from 1968-1978. Just as fun, sassy and spirited as their French go-go counterparts but very much in the '70s with instrumentation that would sound right at home on a game show, in a porno, or even especially at a full on dance party. We only knew a few of these ladies: Su Kramer, Hildegard Knef and Caterina Valente, so we were introduced to a bunch of other super fun vixens. The booklet offers up great photos and bios of all the artists. This is one of those turn off your brain and step into a sweet and delicious cocktail haze kind of records. And we love it.
MPEG Stream: TOPSY K�PPERS "Sagen Sie, Frau Zimmermann"
MPEG Stream: HILDEGARD KNEF "Ich Wart Auf Die Nacht"
MPEG Stream: SHIRLEY THOMPSON "Goldene Insel"

V/A Funky Frauleins Vol.2 (Grosse Freiheit / Bureau B) cd 17.98

V/A Funky Frauleins Vol.2 (Grosse Freiheit / Bureau B) lp 17.98

V/A Funky Funky Chicago (Funky Delicacies) cd 15.98

V/A Funky Funky Detroit (Funky Delicacies) cd 15.98
A '70s funk/soul rarities comp called Funky Funky Detroit has gotta be good, right? Or, to put it another way, it had better be good! And this one sure enough lives up to the Motor City's reputation for funk supremacy. It's a collection of rare and unreleased tracks from the vaults of the Big Hit, Northern and Sport record labels, circa '67-'78. Big Hit and Northern were both owned by Johnnie Mae Matthews, a talented Detroit soul veteran also responsible for the production and quite a lot of the songwriting on the cuts found here. She also was the mother of Kaiya and Artwell Matthews, musicians who co-founded what seems to have been a pretty bad-ass funk band called Black Nasty, based on the six tracks they contribute here. Along with Black Nasty, this 17-track comp includes such artists as The Dramatics, Little Daddy Walton, Herbie Thompson, Calvin Williams, and Lynn Day -- with Black Nasty backing up some of these singers as well. So it's quite a funky family affair documented here. For fans of the funk, definitely worth checking out, especially if you liked that Midwest Funk comp we reviewed a while back on Jazzman. Good stuff to get down with.
MPEG Stream: BLACK NASTY "Keep On Stepping"
MPEG Stream: LYNN DAY "Bit Off More (Than I Can Chew)"

V/A Funky Funky New Orleans 4 (Funky Delicious) cd 15.98
We wouldn't really consider ourselves experts on the early 70's funk scene in New Orleans but after getting schooled by this comp we can say we like how it sounds a whole lot! With a collection of soul/funk pleasers from 1969-1973 this is the kind of comp that once you press play all of a sudden your body start swaying and your head starts boppin. With not a stinker in the bunch you get a great glimpse of what it might have been like to be hunkered down in a dark seedy New Orleans nightclub in 1971 while groups with names like Brotherhood, Trick Bag and The Brothers Two, offered up some nice down home, funky funky stuff.
MPEG Stream: BROTHERHOOD "The Monkey That Became President"
MPEG Stream: FANTOMS "Turn me On"
MPEG Stream: LARRY JONES "Funky Jaws (instrumental)"

V/A Funky Funky New York (Funky Delicious) cd 15.98

V/A Funky Kingston: Reggae Dancefloor Grooves (Trojan) cd 14.98

V/A Funky Nassau: The Compass Point Story 1980-1986 (Strut) cd 16.98
We're so thrilled that the Strut label seems to have come out of hiding recently with not only another great Disco Not Disco comp but now this highly essential collection of jammers from The Compass Point studios in the Bahamas as well. Compass Point was where Chris Blackwell of Island Records fame held court with a house band and production team spearheaded by Sly & Robbie. This collection brings some of the tightest and catchiest jams recorded at Compass Point from 1980-86. Whether it's Grace Jones, Talking Heads, Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Gwen Guthrie (mixed by Larry Levan!), Ian Durry or Chaz Jankel, they were all reaching a creative and grooving peak during this magical era inside Compass Point. While Sly & Robbie have lent their skills to thousands of songs this batch really demonstrates that when they were at their best, those guys helped cultivate a whole new sound and feeling that brought elements of dub and Jamaician roots into disco, soul, funk and new wave.
We can't get enough Funky Nassau, just about every single day since this has arrived whoever's been working up front has been blasting this like crazy (if you've been in lately and now have the lines "I'm Spasticus! Autisticus!" stuck in your head, that's why!) and we're pretty sure this will start getting some heavy rotation on your stereo as well. So damn good!
MPEG Stream: CHAZ JANKEL FEAT. LAURA WEYMOUTH "Whisper"
MPEG Stream: GRACE JONES "My Jamaican Guy (12" Version)"
MPEG Stream: IAN DURY & THE SEVEN SEAS PLAYERS "Spasticus Autisticus"

V/A Funky Precedent, The (Loosegroove) cd 15.98
Funky compilation of turntablism, hip hop, soul, and more, all to benefit music education in urban public schools. Featuring Cut Chemist, Jurassic 5, The Beat Junkies, Ozomatli, Black Eyed Peas, Divine Styler, Aceyalone, and others.

V/A Future Bass (Soul Jazz) cd 21.00
Another killer Soul Jazz compilation, this one focused on a new genre they've decided to call 'Future Bass', but which is essentially the next step in the evolution of dubstep. Some of the names here are recognizable, as already having made a serious splash in dubstep circles: Ginz, Coki, Ramadanman, LD, but then there are some wild cards, like aQ faves Four Tet, who seem to stick out, but who have actually been making their own sort of 'future bass' for a while now when you think about it, and of course there's a whole mess of names we've never heard before, but somehow, all of these random jams and disparate soundmakers do manage to fit together, into a sound that's definitely futuristic and definitely big on the bass, but beyond that, manages to sprawl in all sorts of incredible and unexpected directions.
The record begins with Mala's "Don't Let Me Go", a stripped down bit of techno skitter, wreathed in chirping electronics, and blurred cascades of space-y shimmer, but the coolest part, is this peripheral rhythm that seems to be constructed from that weird stuttering cell phone interference you sometimes get, that and some softly wheezing dubby melodica, so nice. Four Tet lock into a clipped loop right off the bat, then add their own little shuffling rhythm over the top, and then keep on adding, weird little fragmented melodies, little bits of squelch, thick buzzy synths and playful little bursts of bloop and bleep, a few moments can all synthy and swirly and ambient, but for the most part it's awesomely and endlessly motorik and mesmerizing.
The dubstep contingent definitely push the genre boundaries, Ginz takes a playful melody, and adds a WICKED, crumbling buzzy synth bassline that is SO KILLER, and a strange juxtaposition with the rest of the light airy sounds in the track, Coki's jam might be the most typically dubstep, but that bass warble here is way more brittle and percussive, and a little sci-fi, and it's chopped up a bit so it's a little glitch, sometimes stuttering, other times buzzing, while the rest of the track creeps along ominously in the background, Ramadanman's jam sounds like a sample of "White Lines" sped way up and layered, a throbbing rumbling warbly bassline beneath some dubbed pout ambience and a super skeletal rhythms, the whole thing warped and wonderfully warbly.
Elsewhere the sound slips from playful and party-ish, jittery and bumping, to dark and washed out and almost Portishead-y, all grainy and gristly, like some slowed down electro ballad, to super spare Raster Noton style click and glitch, but even then the bass rumbles and buzzes, to late night almost bossanova sounding shuffles and piano driven half tempo jungle jams that sound downright cinematic, it's all pretty great, big beats, buzzing bass, anyone who's been digging the last few Soul Jazz comps, or all the killer weirdo electronica of late, especially all the variants of the dubstep sound will dig this big time.
MPEG Stream: GINZ "Boss"
MPEG Stream: MALA "Don't Let Me Go"
MPEG Stream: COKI "Ransom"
MPEG Stream: RAMADANMAN "Bass Drums"

V/A Future Bass (Soul Jazz) 3lp 28.00
Another killer Soul Jazz compilation, this one focused on a new genre they've decided to call 'Future Bass', but which is essentially the next step in the evolution of dubstep. Some of the names here are recognizable, as already having made a serious splash in dubstep circles: Ginz, Coki, Ramadanman, LD, but then there are some wild cards, like aQ faves Four Tet, who seem to stick out, but who have actually been making their own sort of 'future bass' for a while now when you think about it, and of course there's a whole mess of names we've never heard before, but somehow, all of these random jams and disparate soundmakers do manage to fit together, into a sound that's definitely futuristic and definitely big on the bass, but beyond that, manages to sprawl in all sorts of incredible and unexpected directions.
The record begins with Mala's "Don't Let Me Go", a stripped down bit of techno skitter, wreathed in chirping electronics, and blurred cascades of space-y shimmer, but the coolest part, is this peripheral rhythm that seems to be constructed from that weird stuttering cell phone interference you sometimes get, that and some softly wheezing dubby melodica, so nice. Four Tet lock into a clipped loop right off the bat, then add their own little shuffling rhythm over the top, and then keep on adding, weird little fragmented melodies, little bits of squelch, thick buzzy synths and playful little bursts of bloop and bleep, a few moments can all synthy and swirly and ambient, but for the most part it's awesomely and endlessly motorik and mesmerizing.
The dubstep contingent definitely push the genre boundaries, Ginz takes a playful melody, and adds a WICKED, crumbling buzzy synth bassline that is SO KILLER, and a strange juxtaposition with the rest of the light airy sounds in the track, Coki's jam might be the most typically dubstep, but that bass warble here is way more brittle and percussive, and a little sci-fi, and it's chopped up a bit so it's a little glitch, sometimes stuttering, other times buzzing, while the rest of the track creeps along ominously in the background, Ramadanman's jam sounds like a sample of "White Lines" sped way up and layered, a throbbing rumbling warbly bassline beneath some dubbed pout ambience and a super skeletal rhythms, the whole thing warped and wonderfully warbly.
Elsewhere the sound slips from playful and party-ish, jittery and bumping, to dark and washed out and almost Portishead-y, all grainy and gristly, like some slowed down electro ballad, to super spare Raster Noton style click and glitch, but even then the bass rumbles and buzzes, to late night almost bossanova sounding shuffles and piano driven half tempo jungle jams that sound downright cinematic, it's all pretty great, big beats, buzzing bass, anyone who's been digging the last few Soul Jazz comps, or all the killer weirdo electronica of late, especially all the variants of the dubstep sound will dig this big time.
MPEG Stream: GINZ "Boss"
MPEG Stream: MALA "Don't Let Me Go"
MPEG Stream: COKI "Ransom"
MPEG Stream: RAMADANMAN "Bass Drums"

V/A Future Sounds Of Jazz Volume 7 (Compost) cd 17.98

V/A Future Soundtrack For America (Barsuk) cd 12.98
How many reasons do you need to buy this amazing compilation? The fact that 100% of the proceeds go to non-profit progressive organisations "working to involve more Americans in our political process, to advocate for ordinary people and traditional American values, and to help keep the United States a country all of us can be proud of"? Or how about unreleased tracks by Death Cab For Cutie, Elliott Smith, Tom Waits, Old 97's, Fountains Of Wayne, They Might Be Giants, Nada Surf and more? Well, what about OK Go doing a killer version of the Zombies' "This Will Be Our Year"? Or Jimmy Eat World doing an super kick ass version of Guided By Voices' "Game Of Pricks"? Or live tracks from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bright Eyes, and The Flaming Lips. Or alternate versions of tracks by Blink 182, R.E.M., The Long Winters and more? I'll stop right there, because as far as reasons go, that's plenty! Definitely the best comp like this in a long while!
MPEG Stream: OK GO "This Will Be Our Year"
MPEG Stream: DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE "This Temporary Life"
MPEG Stream: ELLIOTT SMITH "A Distorted Reality Is Now A Neccessity To Be Free"

V/A Fuzz, Flaykes, & Shakes Vol 5 (Dionysus) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Those sweethearts from Dionysus/ Bacchus Archives (who brought us the awesome Hava Narghila Compilation) released this great series of early to mid 60's American garage, a while ago, but we only recently discovered them. Great sound quality, and a collection of obscure songs. Not a greatest hits garage comp that sounds like an hour on an oldies station, but some super hard to find gems with an emphasis on psychedelically tinged garage. Volume Five has The Bram Rigg Sets, The Seven Dwarfs, Glass Candle, The Bittersweets and many more.
RealAudio clip: THE NOBLEMEN "She Still Thinks I Love Her"
RealAudio clip: CREATURES "Letters Of Love"

V/A Fuzz, Flaykes, & Shakes Vol. 2 (Dionysus) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Those sweethearts from Dionysus/ Bacchus Archives (who brought us the awesome Hava Narghila Compilation) released this great series of early to mid 60's American garage, a while ago, but we only recently discovered them. Great sound quality, and a collection of obscure songs. Not a greatest hits garage comp that sounds like an hour on an oldies station, but some super hard to find gems with an emphasis on psychedelically tinged garage. Volume two has teenage garage craziness from Dave Travis Extreme, John English & Lemondrops, Zorba & The Greeks, The Sunrisers, Soul Inc. The Amoeba, The Last Chapter, The Deepest Blue, The Backgrounds, The Graven Image, The Hackers, The Tracers, The Other Four, The Denims, Flowers, Fruits & Pretty Things, The Druids, The Search plus a lost song by The Traces of Time.
RealAudio clip: JOHN ENGLISH & LEMONDROPS "Just Dont Complain"
RealAudio clip: TRACES OF TIME "Oh Bob"

V/A Fuzz, Flaykes, & Shakes Vol. 4 (Dionysus) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Those sweethearts from Dionysus/ Bacchus Archives (who brought us the awesome Hava Narghila Compilation) released this great series of early to mid 60's American garage, a while ago, but we only recently discovered them. Great sound quality, and a collection of obscure songs. Not a greatest hits garage comp that sounds like an hour on an oldies station, but some super hard to find gems with an emphasis on psychedelically tinged garage. Volume four includes The Rock Shop's "Is That Your Halo," a previously unreleased Canterbury Fair track, Apperson Jackrabbit, The Menaces, and more.
RealAudio clip: TROJANS OF EVOL "Why Girl"
RealAudio clip: PRIMATES "She"

V/A Fuzz, Flaykes, & Shakes Vol.6 (Bacchus Archives) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Those sweethearts from Dionysus/ Bacchus Archives (who brought us the awesome Hava Narghila Compilation) released this great series of early to mid 60's American garage, a while ago, but we only recently discovered them. Great sound quality, and a collection of obscure songs. Not a greatest hits garage comp that sounds like an hour on an oldies station, but some super hard to find gems with an emphasis on psychedelically tinged garage. Volume six is titled Come Into My World and has tracks from Thackeray Rocke, Those Guys, The Tasmanians, King James and The Royal Jesters, The Night People, The Insects, The Endd, and much more.
RealAudio clip: THACKERAY ROCKE "Bawling"
RealAudio clip: THOSE GUYS "Lookin' At You Behing The Glasses"

V/A Fuzz, Flaykes, & Shakes Vol.7 (Bacchus Archives) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Those sweethearts from Dionysus/ Bacchus Archives (who brought us the awesome Hava Narghila Compilation) released this great series of early to mid 60's American garage, a while ago, but we only recently discovered them. Great sound quality, and a collection of obscure songs. Not a greatest hits garage comp that sounds like an hour on an oldies station, but some super hard to find gems with an emphasis on psychedelically tinged garage. Volume 7 garage by the Spirits of Blue Lightning, The Lazy Eggs, The Cindermen and others, including a rarity by a different, not-famous Ides of March.
RealAudio clip: THE SPIRITS OF BLUE LIGHTNING "Love Muscle"
RealAudio clip: PALACE GUARDS "Sorry"

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 Gabon: Myene Songs (Ocora) cd 17.98

V/A Garage Beat '66 #1: Like What, Me Worry? (Sundazed) cd 15.98

V/A Garage Beat '66 #2: Chicks Are for Kids! (Sundazed) cd 15.98

V/A Garage Beat '66 #3: Feeling Zero (Sundazed) cd 15.98