WELLS, BILL / STEFAN SCHNEIDER / ANNIE WHITEHEAD / BARBARA MORGENSTERN Pick Up Sticks (Leaf) cd 11.98
Bill Wells and co. keep it short 'n' sweet on Pick Up Sticks (just shy of 21 minutes long) -- a subdued and unobtrusive improv of brass, synths, bass, keyboards and melodica. Although the overall atmosphere is airy and drifting, the focus of the eight numbers is on the smattering of Annie Whitehead's hazily hushed trombone. Slow, cautious and contemplative much like the title suggests. Nice!
MPEG Stream: "Family Sighs"
MPEG Stream: "Perfect Window"

WELLS, BILL TRIO Also In White (Geographic) cd 16.98
Whoa! The Bill Wells Trio are pouring out some smooth, easy-listenin' jazz full of mellow piano, baritone sax, trumpet, and harmonica. It immediately transported me back to the highschool years. Y'know, the kind of dinner jazz performed by the school's senior ensemble at the year-end assembly that made the brass players' parents beam with pride and want to dance the night away? There's even a song called "Jab The Chemistry Teacher"! In indie circles, this may succeed in doing for soft jazz just what Rachel's did a few years back for chamber music. The lone track that differs in pace among the ten - much more antsy and perked up - is "New Ascending Staircase" (catch that Marcel Duchamp/Salvador Dali reference?). The guest list runs the music gamut, from avant-jazz multi-instrumentalist Lindsay Cooper (playing tuba on "Presentation Piece #1" and bass on "D.A.D.E.") to The Pastels' Stephen and Katrina (providing keyboards and vocals respectively on "D.A.D.E.").
RealAudio clip: "Presentation Piece #1"
RealAudio clip: "New Ascending Staircase"
RealAudio clip: "D.A.D.E."

WELLS, BILL TRIO Also In White (Geographic) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Whoa! The Bill Wells Trio are pouring out some smooth, easy-listenin' jazz full of mellow piano, baritone sax, trumpet, and harmonica. It immediately transported me back to the highschool years. Y'know, the kind of dinner jazz performed by the school's senior ensemble at the year-end assembly that made the brass players' parents beam with pride and want to dance the night away? There's even a song called "Jab The Chemistry Teacher"! In indie circles, this may succeed in doing for soft jazz just what Rachel's did a few years back for chamber music. The lone track that differs in pace among the ten - much more antsy and perked up - is "New Ascending Staircase" (catch that Marcel Duchamp/Salvador Dali reference?). The guest list runs the music gamut, from avant-jazz multi-instrumentalist Lindsay Cooper (playing tuba on "Presentation Piece #1" and bass on "D.A.D.E.") to The Pastels' Stephen and Katrina (providing keyboards and vocals respectively on "D.A.D.E.").
RealAudio clip: "Presentation Piece #1"
RealAudio clip: "New Ascending Staircase"
RealAudio clip: "D.A.D.E."

WELLS, BILL TRIO Incorrect Practice (Geographic) cd 14.98
A refreshing surprise from the Geographic label out of Scotland (said label headed by Stephen of the Pastels), the Bill Wells Trio is an instrumental outfit composed primarily of piano, trumpet, and harmonica. While this is certainly not jazz, or even jazz lite, there's something in the delicate evocative quietness of this group that nonetheless reminds us of late '50s cool jazz -- unhurried, purposeful, swirling pastoral sketches that wouldn't be out of place in some arthouse film about a boy coming of age, or "Love Story", or a French new wave film set in a fishing village. Heartbreaking chord changes. Modest grandiosity. Stevie Jackson (Belle and Sebastian second guitarist) contributes just gorgeous, wistful, Morricone-worthy harmonica. It's lovely! Fans of the Rachels, Halifax Pier -- heads up! We can only hope for another album, and soon, 'cause our only complaint about this one is that it's way too short (20 minutes or so!)...
RealAudio clip: "Incorrect Practice"
RealAudio clip: "Bad Plumbing"

WELLS, SCOTT Day Songs (Root Strata) cd-r 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another ultra limited cd-r from Root Strata, only 100 copies, most of which are already gone, so we'll be brief, but grab one of these before they're gone, it's quite lovely.
A mere 20 minutes long, a series of hushed barely there ultra delicate guitarscapes, all drift and shimmer, breathless and minimal, a glacial swirl of muted tones, and subtle overtones, no attack, just decay, notes left to hang as they slowly fade out, only to have another hazy note laid over the top. Dreamy and ethereal and ephemeral, strap on some headphones to truly get lost in these blurred stretches of soft focus guitar, you'll most likely end up setting your player on repeat, laying back, and letting these sounds carry you away.
So gorgeous. As is the packaging, brown chipboard, sleeves with a hole cut out, each one displaying a water colored insert, every one unique, all done by hand, and LIMITED TO 100 COPIES...
MPEG Stream: "Untitled I"
MPEG Stream: "Untitled III"

WELLWATER CONSPIRACY Declaration of Conformity (Third Gear) cd 12.98
Ex-Monster Magnet member and 2 ex-Soundgarden folks delve into 60's psyche-pop. Includes covers of obscure Japanese beat groups. Limited lp version on Super-Electro also available. The tastemakers at Ptolemaic Terrascope are big fans of this group.

WELLWATER CONSPIRACY s/t (Transdreamer) cd 15.98
The return of the groovy, fuzzy sixties psych rock side project of John McBain formerly of Monster Magnet, and Matt Cameron, formerly of Soundgarden. But those formerly's can only mean one thing, that Wellwater Conspiracy is a side project no more! We've sort of known that for a while now, but it becomes more evident with each successive record, as they just keep getting better and better.
A ragged, psychedelic sixties jangle groove filtered through Cameron and McBain's elite stoner/space/cock rock pedigree with lots of meandering, spacy shimmer, bizarre production, loping, walking bass lines, lots of super affected, weirdly squiggly leads, harmonies, tamborine and even bongos. Think a slightly heavier, more well produced Kinks, Who, Blues Magoos, Fuzztones or Pretty Things. Heavy enough to still hit the spot for all you Monster Magnet / Soundgarden fans, but druggy and psychedelic enough for all you Ptolemaic Terrascopers / lo-fi psych-folkers!
MPEG Stream: "Wimple Witch"
MPEG Stream: "Galaxy 265"
MPEG Stream: "Night Sky"

WELLWATER CONSPIRACY The Scroll and Its Combinations (TVT) cd 16.98
Third record from the duo of Matt Cameron (ex-Soundgarden) and Jon McBain (ex-Monster Magnet). Wellwater Conspiracy is their sort of retro sixties psych pop band, complete with tamborines and jangly guitars, but a little harder edged and heavier. Like a mix of early Who, early Kinks, stoner rock and sixties garage pop. Pretty great! With three albums now to their credit, it's time that Wellwater gets its due as more than just a "project". Guests include Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), Amy Denio (Hitting Birth, Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet), Ben Shepard (Soundgarden) and others.
RealAudio clip: "I Got Nightmares"
RealAudio clip: "Tidepool Telegraph"

WELTER IN THY BLOOD The Transference of Misery (Totalvernichtung) lp 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This is actually the first we've heard from LA black metal trio Welter In Thy Blood, and what an introduction. A super limited, and insanely elaborate lp, three songs, two sides, nearly 30 minutes of creeping, harsh, hellish, doom-ed blackness. WITB are often classified as black metal, but sonically they definitely fall more in line with ultra doom outfits like moss or Khanate, but with a distinctly black streak.
The Transference Of Misery begins with slow sprawl of black ambience, all deep cavernous rumbles, groans and creaks, drips and whirs, distant industrial clatter, barely there tones, all blurred into a swirling sonic abyss. Eventually the second songs surfaces from the murk, even more drones, a particularly hellish blackdrone, that sprawls and oozes, sinister and malevolent, before a strange voice speaks and the song proper kicks in, a spaced out, abstract bit of ultra doom, hellish vocals shrieking over black squalls of crunch and buzz, lots of space in between, ultimately, the various parts coalesce and the song transforms and becomes a black doom plod, the guitars blown out and blurred into streaks of crumbling buzz, the vocals even more harsh and processed, the band lumber along, a hellish sonic death march, slipping occasionally back into dreamy black drift, before returning to the crushing black dirge that dominates the side.
The flipside offers up another sidelong sprawl of creeping black doom, the drums a skeletal framework for more shrieked demonic vokills, moaning gnarled riffage, all detuned and angular, in fact, the B-side sounds quite a bit like a black metal Black Flag at 16rpm. An endless doomic plod, that while plenty hellish and black, is sonically way more Moss or Monument Of Urns or Bunkur, than Deathspell Omega or Funeral Mist. Fucking incredible. Essential listening for the doomlords, the black hordes, and the deathdoomdronedirgedrift obsessed...
Incredibly elaborate and beautiful packaging. Pressed on thick black vinyl, housed in a black inner sleeve with a printed red obi style insert. That sleeve is then housed in a second sleeve, printed black on black, with printed red blood splatters, everything is then wrapped in a thick, gorgeously printed outer slipcover / sleeve. LIMITED TO 300 COPIES!!!

WENDY & BONNIE Genesis (Sundazed) cd 15.98
Really mellow soft-pop from 1969, the sole album by teenage San Francisco sisters Wendy and Bonnie Flower (ages 17 and 13 respectively, at the time this album was cut). Very pretty and summery, but NOT super happy, it's got a melancholy sadness (and sweetness) to it, evoking late afternoon, end of summer feelings. Maybe they're a bit like a more folky, psychedelic 5th Dimension? Very sixties, as evidenced by song titles like "The Paisley Window Pane", "You Keep Hanging Up On My Mind", and "It's What's Really Happening". Includes five demo bonus tracks. Brought to you/us by the same fine folks at Sundazed who were responsible for the Millennium reissue reviewed last list, although this is not nearly as weird and wondorous as that collection. Nice though.
RealAudio clip: "Five O'Clock In The Morning"
RealAudio clip: "Endless Pathway"
RealAudio clip: "The Winter Is Cold"

WENZEL, GERALD Hollow Way (Phthalo) cd-r 12.98
Gerald Wenzel's first album for Phthalo (one of the cd-r pressings) is a unique reconstruction of electronic debris into squiggly damaged breakbeats and patterned machine noise abstraction that sounds like it could be the night stalker side project of Aphex Twin.

WENZEL, GERALD Prairie Program (Phthalo) cd 12.98
On his second album for Phthalo (this one an actual cd, not a cd-r), Wenzel tries to create an aural representation of prairie desolation. "Prairie Program" is an exceptional collection of distilled electronica and computer synthesis that varies from the clinicism of Raster's post-techno to metallic percussive 808 bombast.

WEREJU Monuments (Basses Frequences) cd-r 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We last heard from Wereju was on a sprawling two track, double cd released early last year. The ambient drone side project of Irish ultra doom heavies Wreck Of The Hesperus, Wereju deviated from the mothership bigtime, their take on the slow and low a whole 'nother beast entirely, and then even not all that beastly. It wasn't massive or heavy or sludgey, instead it was dreamy and mysterious, the low end more soothing than corrosive. There were definitely some intense moments, but for the most part, the sound of Wereju was a gorgeous blackened late night shimmer.
So here we have the follow up, released on Basses Frequences, one of our favorite new labels, who recently brought us that cool Tamagawa triple 3"cd-r with the origami lantern, and several other releases elsewhere on this list. Wereju, sonically, are a perfect fit on BF, this disc another two tracker, the first, a gauzy glimmering slow motion soundscape, the sound of a camera slowly panning across a barren landscape, cloaked in fog, wreathed in smoke, the trees barely visible, just dark shapes wrapped in whites and greys, rendered in gorgeous loooong tones, not all low end either, in fact, this is firmly in the upper register, distant keening high end streaks, smoothed into strange slithery melodies, bell like tones ring out, the decay stretching out forever, softly pulsing as the sound waves drift heavenward, beneath it all, a soft rumble whirs lazily, like an ancient engine powering this slow moving celestial body of sound. Shimmering, glittering, ethereal, the sound of sunlight on water, of sunbeams filtering through the clouds, infusing the otherwise barren soundscape with a soft burnished glow.
The second track, is a bit more ominous, a bit more minimal. Distorted guitars moan way off in the distance, a deep undulating low end, spreads out like a black cloud in front of the sun. Bits of feedback and reverbed melodies drift by, but where as the first track was day, this is most definitely night. Dark, ominous, shadowed, cloudy, lots of rumbling low end, but not quite disguising the soaring shimmering remnants of the opener, that seem to be lurking just below the surface, a softly churning, constant battle for sonic supremacy, light versus dark, high versus low, but a soft war, the two sounds not so much clashing, as bleeding into each other, black and whites become greys, the sound gorgeously languid and soft focus, a long, luxurious slow burning fade to black. Gorgeous.
Incredible packaging too. The cd is seated in a black tray within a hinged metal tin, with a paste on front cover, full color sticker, and a sticker inside too with the liner notes.
LIMITED TO ONLY 100 COPIES!!!
MPEG Stream: "A Monument To What's Been Done"
MPEG Stream: "A Monument For Things To Come"

WEREJU Through The Depths Of Unknowing (Electric Requiems) 2cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A while back we listed a killer chunk of ultra sludge from Irish doom-mongers Wreck Of The Hesperus, whose particular brand of doom fell more in line with Eyehategod than Esoteric. A sort of blown out slithery not quite groovy drugged out sludgey bile spewing stoner doom. Phew. We dug it very much though. But who would have thought that under all that blown out distortion and downtuned swagger, lurked a shimmery droney drifting soft side. Certainly not us, but here we are, sinking deep into the dolorous embrace of Wereju, the dark ambient drone side project of one of those Hesperians. Not so much black ambient as dreamy droney drift, although that may just be splitting hairs. Hard to say what the sound source is, we're guessing guitar, but the end result is pretty and shimmery, dark and billowy, slow soft swells of rumbling whir, steel string reverberations smoothed into muted abstract melodies. At it's most fierce, you can hear some Sunn 0))), as the tones distort and overload the poor speakers on our computer, but more often than not Wereju occupies a sonic space somewhere between the hushed minimalism of Niblock and Coleclough and the slightly more active and blown out doomdone ministrations of the more aggressive proponents of dark ambience. Two discs, loooooong songs, every one a slow shifting hypnotic slab of mysterious darkness and ur-drone divinity.
Way Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "In The Midst Of Forgetting"
MPEG Stream: "A Siege Of Shadows"
MPEG Stream: "Drift...Like Sleep"

WEREWOLF The Temple Of Fullmoon (No Colours) cd 16.98
Finally back in stock!! Yet more buzzy, drone-y, murky, frosty grimnity!!
Werewolf are a mysterious Polish horde who specialize in murky, brittle, lo fi grimness a la their countrymen Graveland. Huge guitars swirl and buzz, the rhythms veer from seasick waltzes to buzzing blackened blasts, thick walls of guitarfuzz and swirls of chaotic ambience create a dense foresty murk, where drums pulse and throb way down in the mix, like tribal war chants barely heard drifting like the stench of death on the wind. The vocals are a growling gargle, another layer of buzz in Werewolf's chaotic sonic squall, the cymbals splash and shimmer like acid rain eating away at everything it touches. This is more of that glorious loping buzzy droning black metal we can never seem to get enough of. The mix is so thick and overblown that the riffs eventually blur and smear, the whole record becoming a super buzzy trancelike drone. Awesome.
MPEG Stream: "Wolfish Famine Of Blood"
MPEG Stream: "Return Of Black Ravens"

WERQU, ASNAQETCH Ethiopiques Vol. 16 : The Lady With The Krar (Buda Musique) cd 15.98
Reason #16 for sticking with the Ethiopiques series: 'cuz just when you think you've got the series pegged, along comes something from way out in left field to kick your generalizing ass. And that's exactly what Asnaqetch Werqu did to ours. So no, this is not another funk groove record -- for those of you who may have had enough of that. Like the Harp Of King David (Ethiopiques #11) that was released back in 2001, The Lady With The Krar is more of a "traditional" Ethiopian music disc. Culturally though, the Krar is the polar opposite of the Beguena and considered quite literally to be "the devil's instrument". The performer of this demi-satanic instrument, along with holding the claim to fame of being the first actress to appear on the Ethiopian stage, arose against the odds to acheive super star status as a sort of Woody Guthrie meets The Bard political minstrel performer. This is because Asnaqetch Werqu was not born into a family of performing musicians, a caste known as Azmari. Instead she acquired her fame through sheer lyrical, improvisational and musical prowess. A five (sometimes six) stringed lyre with a gut resonator, the Krar sounds not unlike an old-time five string banjo; though with its creepy tuning it sounds closer melodically to something out of Java than the Appalachians. Werqu accompanies her vocals with the Krar, playing a semi-paralleling melody to her vocal line. The interweaving of Werqu's soft, lilting voice and the percussive twang of the Krar is absolutely hypnotic. Andee almost immediately proclaimed this his new favorite in the series, to give you an indication of the magnitude of this recording. Highly recommended! Comes with a 30 page booklet with biographical liner notes, lyrics and historical photos. The 22 tracks included on this disc were taken from two LPs recorded by Werqu in 1974 and 1976.
MPEG Stream: "Mengedegnaw Lebe"
MPEG Stream: "Shemonmwanayewa"

WERREN, PHILLIP Electronic Music (Cast Exotic) 2cd 21.00

MPEG Stream: "Phases I (1969)"
MPEG Stream: "Phases II (1969)"

WERTHMULLER, MICHAEL/STEPHEN WITTWER I (Grob) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Notorious Swiss drummer (of Alboth! and 16/17 fame) Wertmuller and guitar experimentalist Wittwer release improv tracks that are equal parts airy and dense, raucous and careful. Lovely yet super heavy. Caspar Brotzmann fans (like us) will enjoy. Recommended.

WESLEY, FRED & THE J.B.'S Damn Right I Am Somebody (People) lp 14.98
There is little doubt that the band behind James Brown from the late sixties to the mid seventies was just about the tightest unit around. Of course, Brown's habit of fining his players for missing beats would keep any band in check. But the band wasn't dubbed The JB's until after a legendary moment where most of Brown's band, including key figures Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker, and Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis, up and quit on him. Brown, in a pinch, quickly grabbed a young Cincinnati-based backing band, The Pacemakers, which included a young Bootsy Collins before he joined Funkadelic. With a new band, a new decade and a new sound, Brown pretty much singlehandedly created funk music, and the recently defected Wesley, Parker, and Ellis quickly returned to the fold. The JB's went under many different names and line-ups, including Fred Wesley and the JB's, Maceo and The Macks, Fred Wesley and The New JB's. The Last Word, and The First Family, but the core personnel were more or less the same except for the Collins brothers who were only on the first JB's 1970 lp Food For Thought which contained the hits "Pass The Peas" and "Gimme Some More". All of their records up until 1974 are solid funk staples with hits "Doing It To Death", "Same Beat", and "If You Don't Get It Right The First Time, Back It Up and Try It Again, Party" that would be endlessly sampled in hip hop for decades to come. Good to have these on vinyl again! Funk essentials!

WESLEY, FRED & THE NEW J.B.'S Breakin' Bread (People) lp 14.98
There is little doubt that the band behind James Brown from the late sixties to the mid seventies was just about the tightest unit around. Of course, Brown's habit of fining his players for missing beats would keep any band in check. But the band wasn't dubbed The JB's until after a legendary moment where most of Brown's band, including key figures Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker, and Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis, up and quit on him. Brown, in a pinch, quickly grabbed a young Cincinnati-based backing band, The Pacemakers, which included a young Bootsy Collins before he joined Funkadelic. With a new band, a new decade and a new sound, Brown pretty much singlehandedly created funk music, and the recently defected Wesley, Parker, and Ellis quickly returned to the fold. The JB's went under many different names and line-ups, including Fred Wesley and the JB's, Maceo and The Macks, Fred Wesley and The New JB's. The Last Word, and The First Family, but the core personnel were more or less the same except for the Collins brothers who were only on the first JB's 1970 lp Food For Thought which contained the hits "Pass The Peas" and "Gimme Some More". All of their records up until 1974 are solid funk staples with hits "Doing It To Death", "Same Beat", and "If You Don't Get It Right The First Time, Back It Up and Try It Again, Party" that would be endlessly sampled in hip hop for decades to come. Good to have these on vinyl again! Funk essentials!

WESLEY, FRED AND THE HORNY HORNS FT. MACEO PARKER A Blow For Me, A Toot To You (Atlantic) lp 13.98

WESLEY, FRED AND THE HORNY HORNS FT. MACEO PARKER Say Blow To Blow Backwards (Atlantic) lp 13.98

WEST COAST POP ART EXPERIMENTAL BAND Part 1 & Vol. 2 (Headlight) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

WEST COAST POP ART EXPERIMENTAL BAND Volume One (Sundazed) cd 12.98
A few months ago we obtained those long-awaited cd issues of the WCPAEB's four albums, remember? Well when it rains it pours: this is the official reissue of the legendary pop outfit's FIRST, SELFRELEASED album, which places it chronologically *prior* to the four albums fans have known and loved (and traded for large sums of money) for 20 years. Features radically different (more lush and sunny, less VU-ish) versions of songs that appeared, reworked on the latter four albums, plus *eight* previously unissued pieces.

WEST COAST POP ART EXPERIMENTAL BAND Where's My Daddy? (Aurora) cd 17.98

WEST COAST POP ART EXPERIMENTAL BAND, THE Part One (Sundazed) cd 16.98
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band is one of those groups whose status in the collectorskum underground means that I once spent $75 on one of their LPs. Ouch. Thankfully most of their recorded output has finally been put out on cd by the excellent reissue label Sundazed. This band never quite made it big, never had a hit record, but god were they good. They were stalwarts on the LA pop scene in the late '60s and released six albums (I think). The music is arty and psychedelic but also totally appealing and approachable, like a weird mix of Capt Beefheart with the Association or the Byrds. Very fun and very "of its time" -- with several anti-Vietnam War songs, the requisite sitars, Fifth Dimension-style vocals, lyrics invoking fairies and dwarves, etc. Their sound was alternately sweet and silly, epic and serious... and you must hear it!
The voluminous liner notes (different in each of the three discs) are super interesting. I had no idea that what looks like the main guy in the band (he's in the middle in all the pictures) was this eccentric trust fund millionaire who kind of took over the band by buying them a big ole psychedelic light show system (their live shows were famous for this) and who was so annoying and odd that the other guys in the band tried to not let him do anything else on stage but play tambourine. The other band members, interviewed in the notes, say they hated him and feel like they would've been a better more popular band without him etc. Sour grapes! But perhaps that's what made the band so amazing, the push and pull of varying aesthetics resulting in a beautiful music.
RealAudio clip: "Shifting Sands"
RealAudio clip: "I Won't Hurt You"
RealAudio clip: "Scuse Me, Miss Rose"

WEST COAST POP ART EXPERIMENTAL BAND, THE Part One (Reprise / Rhino) lp 14.98
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band is one of those groups whose status in the collectorskum underground means that plenty of folks found themselves forking over HUGE sums for copies of the original releases. Thankfully most of their recorded output was reissued on cd by the excellent reissue label Sundazed. And now released on vinyl by Reprise / Rhino. This band never quite made it big, never had a hit record, but god were they good. They were stalwarts on the LA pop scene in the late '60s and released six albums (we think). The music is arty and psychedelic but also totally appealing and approachable, like a weird mix of Capt Beefheart and the Association or the Byrds. Very fun and very "of its time" - with several anti-Vietnam War songs, the requisite sitars, Fifth Dimension-style vocals, lyrics invoking fairies and dwarves, etc. Their sound was alternately sweet and silly, epic and serious... and you must hear it!
We recently discovered that what looks like the main guy in the band (he's in the middle in all the pictures) was this eccentric trust fund millionaire who kind of took over the band by buying them a big ole psychedelic light show system (their live performances were famous for this) and who was so annoying and odd that the other guys in the band tried to not let him do anything else on stage but play tambourine. The other band members, say they hated him and feel like they would've been a better more popular band without him etc. Sour grapes! But perhaps that's what made the band so amazing, the push and pull of varying aesthetics resulting in a beautiful music. Needless to say, all three of these albums are essential listening, and these reissues are super swank, done up right, and not all that expensive. Definitely Recommended.

WEST COAST POP ART EXPERIMENTAL BAND, THE Vol. 2 (Sundazed) cd 14.98
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band is one of those groups whose status in the collectorskum underground means that I once spent $75 on one of their LPs. Ouch. Thankfully most of their recorded output has finally been put out on cd by the excellent reissue label Sundazed. This band never quite made it big, never had a hit record, but god were they good. They were stalwarts on the LA pop scene in the late '60s and released six albums (I think). The music is arty and psychedelic but also totally appealing and approachable, like a weird mix of Capt Beefheart with the Association or the Byrds. Very fun and very "of its time" -- with several anti-Vietnam War songs, the requisite sitars, Fifth Dimension-style vocals, lyrics invoking fairies and dwarves, etc. Their sound was alternately sweet and silly, epic and serious... and you must hear it!
The voluminous liner notes (different in each of the three discs) are super interesting. I had no idea that what looks like the main guy in the band (he's in the middle in all the pictures) was this eccentric trust fund millionaire who kind of took over the band by buying them a big ole psychedelic light show system (their live shows were famous for this) and who was so annoying and odd that the other guys in the band tried to not let him do anything else on stage but play tambourine. The other band members, interviewed in the notes, say they hated him and feel like they would've been a better more popular band without him etc. Sour grapes! But perhaps that's what made the band so amazing, the push and pull of varying aesthetics resulting in a beautiful music.
RealAudio clip: "In the Arena"
RealAudio clip: "Delicate Fawn"

WEST COAST POP ART EXPERIMENTAL BAND, THE Vol. 2 (Reprise / Rhino) lp 14.98
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band is one of those groups whose status in the collectorskum underground means that plenty of folks found themselves forking over HUGE sums for copies of the original releases. Thankfully most of their recorded output was reissued on cd by the excellent reissue label Sundazed. And now released on vinyl by Reprise / Rhino. This band never quite made it big, never had a hit record, but god were they good. They were stalwarts on the LA pop scene in the late '60s and released six albums (we think). The music is arty and psychedelic but also totally appealing and approachable, like a weird mix of Capt Beefheart and the Association or the Byrds. Very fun and very "of its time" - with several anti-Vietnam War songs, the requisite sitars, Fifth Dimension-style vocals, lyrics invoking fairies and dwarves, etc. Their sound was alternately sweet and silly, epic and serious... and you must hear it!
We recently discovered that what looks like the main guy in the band (he's in the middle in all the pictures) was this eccentric trust fund millionaire who kind of took over the band by buying them a big ole psychedelic light show system (their live performances were famous for this) and who was so annoying and odd that the other guys in the band tried to not let him do anything else on stage but play tambourine. The other band members, say they hated him and feel like they would've been a better more popular band without him etc. Sour grapes! But perhaps that's what made the band so amazing, the push and pull of varying aesthetics resulting in a beautiful music. Needless to say, all three of these albums are essential listening, and these reissues are super swank, done up right, and not all that expensive. Definitely Recommended.

WEST COAST POP ART EXPERIMENTAL BAND, THE Vol. 3 : A Child's Guide to Good and Evil (Sundazed) cd 14.98
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band is one of those groups whose status in the collectorskum underground means that I once spent $75 on one of their LPs. Ouch. Thankfully most of their recorded output has finally been put out on cd by the excellent reissue label Sundazed. This band never quite made it big, never had a hit record, but god were they good. They were stalwarts on the LA pop scene in the late '60s and released six albums (I think). The music is arty and psychedelic but also totally appealing and approachable, like a weird mix of Capt Beefheart and the Association or the Byrds. Very fun and very "of its time" -- with several anti-Vietnam War songs, the requisite sitars, Fifth Dimension-style vocals, lyrics invoking fairies and dwarves, etc. Their sound was alternately sweet and silly, epic and serious... and you must hear it!
The voluminous liner notes (different in each of the three discs) are super interesting. I had no idea that what looks like the main guy in the band (he's in the middle in all the pictures) was this eccentric trust fund millionaire who kind of took over the band by buying them a big ole psychedelic light show system (their live shows were famous for this) and who was so annoying and odd that the other guys in the band tried to not let him do anything else on stage but play tambourine. The other band members, interviewed in the notes, say they hated him and feel like they would've been a better more popular band without him etc. Sour grapes! But perhaps that's what made the band so amazing, the push and pull of varying aesthetics resulting in a beautiful music.
RealAudio clip: "As the World Rises and Falls"
RealAudio clip: "Eighteen is Over the Hill"
RealAudio clip: "In the Country"

WEST COAST POP ART EXPERIMENTAL BAND, THE Vol. 3: A Child's Guide to Good and Evil (Reprise / Rhino) lp 14.98
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band is one of those groups whose status in the collectorskum underground means that plenty of folks found themselves forking over HUGE sums for copies of the original releases. Thankfully most of their recorded output was reissued on cd by the excellent reissue label Sundazed. And now released on vinyl by Reprise / Rhino. This band never quite made it big, never had a hit record, but god were they good. They were stalwarts on the LA pop scene in the late '60s and released six albums (we think). The music is arty and psychedelic but also totally appealing and approachable, like a weird mix of Capt Beefheart and the Association or the Byrds. Very fun and very "of its time" - with several anti-Vietnam War songs, the requisite sitars, Fifth Dimension-style vocals, lyrics invoking fairies and dwarves, etc. Their sound was alternately sweet and silly, epic and serious... and you must hear it!
We recently discovered that what looks like the main guy in the band (he's in the middle in all the pictures) was this eccentric trust fund millionaire who kind of took over the band by buying them a big ole psychedelic light show system (their live performances were famous for this) and who was so annoying and odd that the other guys in the band tried to not let him do anything else on stage but play tambourine. The other band members, say they hated him and feel like they would've been a better more popular band without him etc. Sour grapes! But perhaps that's what made the band so amazing, the push and pull of varying aesthetics resulting in a beautiful music. Needless to say, all three of these albums are essential listening, and these reissues are super swank, done up right, and not all that expensive. Definitely Recommended.

WEST, KANYE 808s & Heartbreak (Roc-A-Fella) cd 15.98
Some records are totally unanimous AQ favorites and then there are those times that we are split pretty divisively on something. The latest from Kanye West has both some haters and some big time lovers here at the store. Those who love it (Irwin, especially!) can't get enough of its raw emotion (these are songs recorded after the death of his mother and the breakup of his engagement) and totally stripped down 808 beats that almost sound like they could be at home on a Kraftwerk or Suicide record if it was produced by Timbaland. This time out Kanye isn't rapping as much as he is singing, but knowing he doesn't posses the world's best singing voice he uses a whole lot of auto-tuning on his vocals. That's where those not as in love with the record tend to get turned off as he does use them on almost every track, a la T-Pain, but those who love the record feel that those vocals fit so perfectly in the flashing heart on sleeve feel of the record. Anyone who has recently experienced heartbreak will probably have a much easier time fully surrendering to these songs. It's almost like some kind of electro-emo-hip-hop carried out with such fiery passion and it almost sounds like it was all recorded in his bedroom on an 808 infused with the emotions and dire after-effects of a broken heart. So thumping, electric and pulsating. The record does sound like a heart pulsating with such rapid motion throughout. Give this record a chance, even if you have a hard time with Kanye's huge ego, because under all the bluster and bravado he really is pretty talented!
MPEG Stream: "Say You Will"
MPEG Stream: "Paranoid"
MPEG Stream: "Love Lockdown"

WEST, KANYE Graduation (Roc-A-Fella) cd 15.98

WEST, KANYE Late Registration (Roc-A-Fella) cd 16.98

WEST, KANYE My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (Roc-A-Fella) cd 17.98
We really want to hate Kanye. He seems kind of like a dick. Anyone who spends that much time shooting his mouth off, most definitely deserves to at least be ignored, if not openly ridiculed. But you know what, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy gets him a pass. Big time. Sure he's probably nuts, and most definitely a prima donna, but he's also apparently a twisted visionary, cuz this record is so far removed from hip hop as you know it, it's hard to believe this is mainstream shit, that this is probably the most popular record in the world, or at least one of em. Some seriously NEXT level shit. This stuff is fucking WILD, and sprawling, and over the top, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy indeed. Assuming Kanye's fantasy was to create some sort of progressive rock opera hip hop epic, which is pretty much precisely what he's done.
None of that tired rapping over loop and beats, this is so much more. Beginning with "Dark Fantasy", which opens up with a lush vocal/piano refrain, majestic and dramatic, sounding like some Antony / E.L.O. collaboration, before the beats kick in, and then over the course of the track, strings soar, soulful vocals are crooned, which leads into the fuzzed out psychedelic groover "Gorgeous", with it's buzzy psych guitar leads, and yeah, we said GUITARS, more awesome vocals wound around those guitars too, and sure there's rapping, but the vibe is more psych pop than hip hop. Then there's "Power", odds are you've probably heard it by now, it's pretty much a game changer, driven by chanted female vocals and handclaps, not to mention some fat fuzzy bass, loping rock drums, and bursts of crunchy guitar, super processed distorted vocals, and of course, a perfectly placed sample of King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man". One of those rare tracks that doesn't have a single misstep. Dark and intense, funky and groovy, but also rocking and intense and emotional.
The rest of the record continues in a similarly obtuse and surprisingly prog rock fashion, the songs convoluted and sprawling, the rhymes fucked up and funny and super clever. The other standout (on a record full of them) is probably "Monster", a stuttery bit of twisted dark pop, with tons of guests, most notably, Nicki Minaj, whose verse pretty much puts ALL others to shame, even Jay-Z, whose verse is particularly bad ass, but Minaj is a twisted weirdo, slipping in and out of characters, flitting from accent to accent, growling, yelping, crooning girlishly, talking endless amounts of hilarious shit, the track finishes off with still more moody crooning, reminding us that this is so much more than a run of the mill verse for verse trade off
And so it goes, soulful, funky, proggy, dark and dreamy, heavy and crunchy, strings, guitars, beats, and of course Kanye's twisted unorthodox flow (best line: "I got two White Russians, but we also need some drinks"), a dizzying masterpiece of truly bizarre and epic prog hop.
MPEG Stream: "Power"
MPEG Stream: "Monster (Feat. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj & Bon Iver)"
MPEG Stream: "Gorgeous (Feat. Kid Cudi & Raekwon)"

WEST, KANYE The College Dropout (Roc-A-Fella) cd 16.98
You already know how good this is. Smart and funny and funky. Everyone's hip hop record of the year. Not hard to see why.
MPEG Stream: "All Falls Down"
MPEG Stream: "Spaceship"

WEST, SPEEDY Guitar Spectacular (Sundazed) cd 13.98

WEST, SPEEDY Steel Guitar (Sundazed) cd 13.98
Pedal steel guitar player Speedy West, along with being half of the legendary duo with country / jazz guitarist Jimmy Bryant is one insane mother fucking player. He's credited as country music's first pedal steel player, starting with Spade Cooley (read about Spades tumultuous life and tragic death in the new issue of Murder Can Be Fun) and later working with such notables as Johnny Horton, Spike Jones and Roy Rogers. Renowned for his lightning fast playing -- how else does one get named Speedy? -- explosive chords and myriad effects that would make a seasoned vaudevillian blush, he was also quite the songwriter. The 12 instrumental originals on this album were recorded in 1960.
MPEG Stream: "Speedin' West"
MPEG Stream: "West of Samoa"

WEST, SPEEDY / JIMMY BRYANT Flamin' Guitars (Bear Family) 4cd boxset 95.00
"This 112 song collection includes West and Bryant's complete recordings for Capitol from 1950 through 1956 and both Speedy's post-Bryant solo LPs for Capitol. But it goes further, featuring the first known recordings each man made as an accompanist and an entire disc sampling their rich and varied career as Los Angeles studio musicians, accompanying everyone from Tennessee Ernie Ford and Kay Starr to Spike Jones... from straight ahead country to big band jazz, always leaving their own mark while making the artist sound good. For those who've heard only a sample of these two at their peak and want it all, here it is. The 52-page book includes a newly researched biography by Rich Kienzle and a copmplete discography."

WEST, SPEEDY / JIMMY BRYANT Swinging On The Strings (Razor & Tie) cd 15.98
Sequel to 1995's "Stratosphere Boogie: The Flaming Guitars Of Speedy West & Jimmy Bryant", and like that disc, this is an essential collection of tunes by this absolutely legendary pedal steel/guitar duo. Country-jazz? Yes indeedy. 20 more choice cuts by these instrumental virtuosos from the 1950s.

WESTERBERG, PAUL Besterberg - The Best Of Paul Westerberg (Rhino) cd 17.98
Yes, we have to admit we've found his last few releases to be sorta hit-or-miss, love/hate, however with the amusingly titled Besterberg it's nothing but love love LOVE for Mr. Westerberg. Ah, that endearingly hoarse voice, those unmistakable guitar melodies -- it's like getting together with an old friend from your college days. Diehard fans will surely already have all of the older material compiled on this cd, and will probably have their own gripes over their personal fave tunes that might not have been included. Alas, such is always the case with best ofs, innit? However, amid the plentiful twenty career-spanning songs there's an added bonus to pique the interest of Westerberg's completists -- a trio of previously unreleased songs! "All That I Had", "C'mon, C'mon, C'mon" and an alternate mix of "Once Around The Weekend".
MPEG Stream: "Dyslexic Heart"
MPEG Stream: "All That I Had"

WESTERBERG, PAUL Come Feel Me Tremble (Vagrant) cd 15.98
Those of us who loved the Replacements, hung on to post-Replacements Paul Westerberg for dear life, convinced that somewhere underneath all that shitty adult contemporary soft rock and schmaltzy balladry beat a heart soaked in booze and kept in a hot van and just bursting with rock and roll! So finally, after years of diappointment, Come Feel Me Tremble comes along to keep us all from feeling like jilted schmucks. This is some really good stuff. Not classics Replacements caliber classics by any stretch, but there are glimmers of that glorious booze adled rock-and-roll-brilliance that once shone so brightly. A little sloppy, a little rocking, and a little catchy, vocals buried in the mix, honky tonk Stones guitars way up in the mix, and songs that actually stick in your head. Not all of em, but enough to keep Replacements fans from having to listen to Let It Be or Tim for the five millionth time!
MPEG Stream: "Dirty Diesel"
MPEG Stream: "Making Me Go"
MPEG Stream: "Soldier Of Misfortune"

WESTERBERG, PAUL Folker (Vagrant) cd 14.98
The ever-prolific Paul Westerberg continues to keep his songwriting floodgates open with his fifth solo full length, Folker, recorded in his basement. In the string of his homespun releases, this is by far the most cohesive and focussed. Previous ones (released under his own name as well as his alter ego Grandpaboy) tended to ramble and stumble without direction, but this time the only cringe inducer is the title. Ouch. Frequently though, as he's done on his past few releases, the devil-may-care rock rogue Westerberg does sacrifice pitch perfection in favor of capturing ragged off-the-cuff immediacy. That said, fortunately it usually makes a song all the more scruffily engaging ("$100 Groom"). Although the vocal comparisons used to be the reverse, oddly enough Westerberg now sounds more like Wilco's Jeff Tweedy than Jeff Tweedy. Highlights include the very Beatles-y "Now I Wonder" and the abovementioned "$100 Groom".
MPEG Stream: "Now I Wonder"
MPEG Stream: "$100 Groom"

WESTERBERG, PAUL Stereo (Vagrant) 2cd 15.98
This very strange new "Stereo" from rock vet Paul Westerberg finds its home on emo-boy haven Vagrant Records. And although many of the youngsters on that label owe a great deal to the former Replacement's amazing songwriting pen, we're not so sure if this release maintains the high standards he's set nor if it sets such a good example for others to follow... but then again, maybe it's not intended to do so. We should note that this release actually contains two albums, the first is the low-key mostly acoustic collection of home recordings, and the second is the hidden Grandpaboy (Westerberg's rock'n'roll alter ego) album. Addressing the former first: He does let us know in the liner notes that these recordings were done at home, completely unpolished and unedited, admitting them to be "unprofessional" yet "real". So, what does that means for the audience? A somewhat bumpy listening experience, that's what. What you get are a dozen meandering songs that abruptly start and stop without warning. Catchy hooks are few, instead it's primarily folky and barebones with a few bursts of tremoloed guitar. Most puzzlingly, his trademark emotive rasp seems to have mutated into something resembling Bob Dylan. And the verse melody of "Got You Down" reminded me quite a bit of Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down". Hate to say it but, these spontaneous middle-of-the-night creations may be "for completists only". Onwards to the second disc... and into more familiar terrain. Funnily enough I used to think Jeff Tweedy and Wilco sounded a lot like Westerberg and the Replacements, now I think it might be the other way around especially on songs like "Between Love & Like".
RealAudio clip: "Baby Learns To Crawl"
RealAudio clip: "Got You Down"
RealAudio clip: "Silent Film Star"
RealAudio clip: "Between Love & Like"

WESTERN GREY Glacial Erratic (Dr Jim's) cd 14.98
Recently we uncovered the lost thud-rock treasures of Dumb and The Ugly, an Australian ensemble from the early '90s that splattered heavy-duty riffs with sinister ambience and weirdo psychedelia. Since then, Dumb and the Ugly guitarist David Brown has plunged himself into the experimental community of Melbourne, with a number of interesting projects including Candlesnuffer, Lazy, and Western Grey. All of these are a far cry from Brown's musical infancy when he had a brief encounter with celebrity as the guitarist in AC/DC for about a month back in 1976!
Western Grey is the electro-acoustic improv trio involving Brown, Philip Samartzis, and Sean Baxter. The three rotate through their pallette of scrabbled guitar textures (Brown), electric hums, noises, & tones, (Samartzis), and improv jazz drum stutter (Baxter), highlighting the extreme contrasts of these sounds rather than attempting to synthesize them into a holistic, meditative sound as found on recent AMM releases for instance. Brown and Baxter take turns colliding into Samartzis' finely tuned electrocutionist drones, splattering the sound field with off-kilter squiggles and harrowing scrapes. The final 24 minutes of Glacial Erratic finds Western Grey accompanied by sample-based British improviser Kaffe Matthews; and the expanded quartet explore the dynamics of the drone much more than earlier on the record.
RealAudio clip: "Electrostatic Transfer"
RealAudio clip: "Open Space"

WESTSIDE CONNECTION Terrorist Threats (Capitol) cd 15.98

WESTWORLD (OST) (Turner) cd 16.98
Soundtrack to the classic Sci-Fi flick Westworld, composed by Fred Karlin.

WET HAIR Dream (Release The Bats) cd 14.98
If you were sad to hear the end of Iowa City's Raccoo-oo-oon, have no fear, for Shawn Reed and Ryan Garbes have returned to the trance-punk altar with a new band, Wet Hair. With two synths, a drum kit, and some hazy distorted vocals the duo offer up Dream, their debut lp, a krauty punk offering of free synth meanderings and cosmic filth, all thrown together in some dusty garage. Pretty cool sunny day avant-punk improv for the deep dreamers.

WET HAIR Dream (Not Not Fun / Release The Bats) lp 17.98
If you were sad to hear the end of Iowa City's Raccoo-oo-oon, have no fear, for Shawn Reed and Ryan Garbes have returned to the trance-punk altar with a new band, Wet Hair. With two synths, a drum kit, and some hazy distorted vocals the duo offer up Dream, their debut lp, a kraut punk offering of free synth meanderings and cosmic filth, all thrown together in some dusty garage. Pretty cool sunny day avant-punk improv for the deep dreamers, already out of print from Not Not Fun, we managed to get our grubby hands on a few, so act quick if you want one.

WET HAIR Glass Fountain (Not Not Fun) lp 15.98