Teenage Fanclub - Teenage Fanclub Have Lost It EP (1995)

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Not much to be said about this one. A tasty little acoustic, four song, EP from Australia. Well, from Teenage Fanclub, but released in Australia. Ahhhh Australia.

You know a funny thing about Australians... in Australia, pancakes are served at dinner rather than breakfast! I mean, seriously? Also, Australians don't have electricity, cars, public transit, dentists, and have never heard of pizza! Anyway, I kinda think this EP is of the promo variety, so enjoy it.

Pink Floyd - The Complete Zabriskie Point Sessions (2004)

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This album containins 15 outtakes from the famous sessions for the Antonioni cult classic.

After recording for several days, only three songs ended up on the official soundtrack. Over the years several outtakes appeared on dubious and soundwise poor bootlegs. In 1997 a revised edition of Zabriskie Point was released, including four previously unreleased Floyd takes. But there was more, much more as this release proves. No less than fifteen outtakes you never heard before in this quality.

R.I.P. Richard Wright 1943-2008
Wright died of an undisclosed form of cancer in his home in Britain on 15 September 2008. He was 65 years old. At the time of his death, he had been working on a new solo album, which was thought to comprise a series of instrumental pieces.

Bandmate David Gilmour said: "In my view, all the greatest Pink Floyd moments are the ones where he is in full flow. No-one can replace Richard Wright - he was my musical partner and my friend." He added: "In the welter of arguments about who or what was Pink Floyd, Rick's enormous input was frequently forgotten. He was gentle, unassuming and private but his soulful voice and playing were vital, magical components of our most recognised Pink Floyd sound. Like Rick, I don't find it easy to express my feelings in words, but I loved him and will miss him enormously. I have never played with anyone quite like him."

The Velvet Underground - And So On (1982)

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As with most stories regarding the history of the Velvet Underground, the tales behind each of the songs presented here are fascinating."It's Alright (The Way That You Live)" and "I'm Not Too Sorry" are among the very first recordings ever made by the Velvets, and they are among the prettiest melodies that Lou Reed has ever written.

According to Sterling Morrison, these songs were recorded in an unheated studio on Broom St. in New York City in the winter of 1966, "probably in November or December." They were recorded on a wobbly Wollensack tape machine, intended as demos to copyright the songs. Maureen Tucker had already joined the group, but did not play with them when these tapes were made."

"Guess I'm Falling In Love" is not the same version as the track from the "Peel Slowly And See" box set. "Pale Blue Eyes" is from La Cave, October 2, 1968 tape - it doesn't include the false start but has the famous alternate lyrics. "Stephanie Says" is different mix than official LP "VU" version.

This bootleg was published in 1982, reissued in 1983, then in 1990, some on green vinyl, some on marble purple/multi-color.

The Kinks - Rare, Unreleased, Demos, Outtakes & More (1963-1969)

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The Kinks, probably more than most of the great Sixties British bands, have too often been the victims of merciless, and at times brainless recycling at the hands of record labels.
Here are many of their lesser known works and alternate recordings. A good few of these have appeared on bootlegs, and American releases such as the ‘Kink Kronikles’ and ‘Great Lost Kinks Album’. Others were recorded for albums that never quite materialized (ie. Dave Davies solo album) or were only available only in demo form.

In recent years, the Castle reissues have resurrected some of these as bonus tracks. For the uninitiated, this can be frustrating, because no attempt has been made to explain the origins of songs, or place them into a meaningful context. 34 tracks in all, track listing in comments.

Broadcast - Live (1997-2005)

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As we patiently wait for the next Broadcast album to come and make our lives better I thought I might post this little collection of live tracks that have been accumulating on my computer. 18 cuts in all;

KEXP Session (2005)
01 I Found The F
02 Corporeeal
03 Black Cat
04 America's Boy

Lamacq Session (1997)
05 Come On Let's Go
06 Look Outside
07 The Book Lovers
08 Lights Out

Peel Session (2000)
09 Long Was The Year
10 Echo's Answer
11 Where Youth & Laughter Go I Am Not Welcome

Queen Elizabeth Hall (1998)
12 Intro
13 Come On Let's Go
14 Look Outside
15 Papercuts

One Music Session (2005)
16 America's Boy
17 Michael A. Grammer
18 Tender Buttons

Enjoy! And if you don't yet own their albums, go out and buy them all right now.

Joe Meek - I Hear A New World (1960)

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Basically, Joe Meek assembled a group he christened The Blue Men for the recording of I Hear a New World, insisting that they dress in silver space suits and paint themselves blue. He communicated his ideas for the album through recordings of himself humming the tunes and playing out the rhythms by tapping a spoon on a plate. Unfortuneatly, Joe was completely tone deaf and blessed with absolutely no music ability to speak of. The incongruity of moronically tuneless humming and randomly spoon-smacked plates has made these tapes legendary.

The basic ingredients for the recording of the album were a Hawaiian guitar (an highly off the wall instrument for a country band at the time), The Blue Men rhythm section and a deliberately out of tune piano. Meek fleshed out the songs with treatments of the sounds of bubbles blown through drinking straws, his toilet flushing backwards and electrical circuits shorted together.

If all this sweetness doesn't make you want to check this album out, nothing will. And I give up on you.

Serge Gainsbourg - Les Annees Psychedeliques (1966-1971)

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All of that sloppy french sexiness from the last Mr. Flash post sure got my juices flowing... so in keeping with that moist, gushy theme I figure I'd post this tasty sweet treat. You know in France, even today, food is generally eaten by hand, meats being sliced off large pieces held between the thumb and two fingers. Their sauces are highly seasoned and thick, heavily flavored mustards pies are also a common banquet item, with the crust serving primarily as a container, rather than as food itself, and it was not until the very end of the Late Middle Ages that the shortcrust pie was developed. Meals often end with an issue de table, which has now evolved into the modern dessert, and typically consists of dragees (in the Middle Ages meaning spiced lumps of hardened sugar or honey), aged cheese and spiced wine, such as hypocras! So I suppose one could deduce that the French invented dessert - and this album is kinda like dessert for the ears... Weird huh?

This package pulls together some of the best tracks by Serge from a host of late 60s and early 70s albums -- including some of his super-rare French soundtrack work -- from movies that include Le Pacha, Anna, Ce Sacre Grand-Pere, Cannabis, and Manon 70! The double-length set is overflowing with great grooves, tracks done with that subtly funky style that Serge cooked up with arrangers Michel Colombier and Jean-Claude Vannier. All topped with that breathy, nearly-spoken style that makes Gainsbourg so great. A few of the most break-heavy cuts are even presented with special bonus beats.

Titles include "Requiem Pour Un Con", "Je N'Avais Qu'Un Seul Mot A Lui Dire", "New Delire", "Pas Mal Pal Mal Du Tout", "Chanson Du Forcat", "Danger", "Premiere Blessure", "L'Alouette", "No No Yes Yes", "Breakdown Suite", "Psychastenie", "Boomerang", "Photographes Et Religieuses", "Generique Pop 2", and "En Melody"

Mr. Flash - Monsieur Sexe (2005)

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Voici quelques bouts doux de préparation de potage : Dans le grand pot, faites cuire le lard jusqu'à ce que des chips. Transfert à la serviette de papier et mis de côté. Jetez tout sauf la graisse de 1 cuiller à soupe du pot. Ajoutez les carottes, les poblanos, l'oignon, les jalapenos, l'ail et le cumin ; sauté jusqu'au brun d'or.

Ajoutez les pommes de terre, le bouillon de poulet et le sel. Apportez pour bouillir. Réduisez la chaleur pour maintenir doux fermentent, couvrent le pot et le cuisinier pendant 25 minutes, ou jusqu'aux pommes de terre sont tendres. Dans la cuvette, battez graduellement le lait dans la farine jusqu'à ce que le mélange soit lisse. Battez lentement le mélange de lait dans le potage. Faites cuire la chaleur moyenne finie, remuant de temps en temps, jusqu'à ce que du potage soit épaissi, environ 12 minutes. Enlevez le pot de la chaleur. Ajoutez les fromages, remuant jusqu'à fondu. Émiettez-vous le lard réservé. Puisez le potage dans des cuvettes et complétez avec le lard et l'oignon vert.

I have no idea what all that sexy french talk is about, nor do I really care... all you need to know is that you should go ahead and download this fantastic little promo release. It's chock-full of fuzzy french goodness.. managing to slide in and out of a handful of classics, including tracks like Serge's L'hotel Particulier, a personal fave.

The Zodiac - Cosmic Sounds (1967)

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The dozen signs of the Zodiac are ruminated upon during the pseudo-psychedelic Cosmic Sounds. This embarrassingly dated "concept" album was issued in late 1967 on Elektra Records. The recording -- replete with equally absurd cover art -- helped usher in the Age of Aquarius. Judging by the astrological psycho-babble in these grooves, it may well have been the age of excess as well. But what should one expect from an album whose caveat reads "Must Be Played in the Dark"? Cosmic Sounds narrator Cyrus Faryar's decidedly more musical credits include proficiencies as a bouzouki player, bassist, guitarist, and sometimes vocalist for a plethora of diverse artists, including Dave Guard & the Whiskeyhill Singers, the Modern Folk Quartet, as well as guest spots on albums by Cass Elliot, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Buffalo Springfield, Fred Neil, and even the Firesign Theater. Faryar animates Jacques Wilson's suitably antiquated '60s hippie prose, depicting the various characteristics unique to the respective 12 zodiac insignias. Backing Faryar's narration is a loosely corralled and completely uncredited aggregate of L.A. session all-stars and Wrecking Crew regulars: Carol Kaye (bass), Hal Blaine (drums), Bud Shank (bass flute), and Emil Richards (percussion), who often performs several different instruments during the same song. Along with some heavy-handed contributions from Moog synth guru Paul Beaver, the band churns out a series of non-descript ersatz rock melodies -- the likes of which might have been scored as incidental music for an episode of Dragnet or from any of the late-'60s hippie/biker flicks, such as Psych-Out or Hells Angels on Wheels. The cinematic nature of the musical scores come from Juilliard-trained pop composer/arranger/conductor Mort Garson, whose other credits include collaborations with Doris Day, Glen Campbell, Rod McKuen, and Mel Tormé. Pretensions aside, Cosmic Sounds is a definitive timepiece and nostalgic relic reflecting the heavy marketability in the so-called "counterculture" youth movement of the late '60s. Taken at face value it righteously succeeds. - AMG

Now, I of course didn't read a single word of that AMG blarble posted above so who really knows what the pro's are saying about this lovely album. What I can tell you is that you should most definitely own a copy. A great psychedelic album best summed up by this little fortune cookie of a lyric "...in the friendly open light of Uranus, all men can blend." Too true.