APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION.....GUNS N ROSES.................

In 1987, Guns N' Roses exploded onto the national scene with "Appetite for Destruction." It was their first and best album. On the first track, "Welcome to the Jungle," Slash's beginning riffs and Axl's eerie howl set the stage for the rest of the songs. "Jungle" is a no-holds-barred look at the dark, drug-infested world beneath the glitz-and-glamour exterior of Los Angeles. "It's So Easy" shows the heart of the band: Axl's interplay with Slash and Izzy Straldlin. "Night Train" is another exploration of the sex, drug, and alcohol-fueled world of an L.A. club band at the time that Guns was coming up. "Out Ta Get Me" is the first glimpse of Axl's paranoia and self-absorption, which would ultimately lead to the band's downfall. "Mr. Brownstone" is a song about (surprise!) heroin, and with the lyrics "the show usually starts around 7. We go on stage around 9," it would prove prophetic about the chaotic nature of Guns N' Roses and their live concerts. "Paradise City" begins in (and the choruses return to) a Southern-Rock style, but is mostly the blues-and-punk-flavored hard rock that made them famous.
"My Michelle" is the darkest song Guns N' Roses ever produced. It's the semi-true story of a girl trying to grow up in L.A. without any support from her family, and then falling prey to the demons of wanton sex and drugs. "Think About You" is one of the most under-rated Guns songs. It's a sweet ballad about first love, but set to a hard-rock beat. Not a power-ballad, but a great song that never got the acclaim it deserved. "Sweet Child O' Mine" is another love song set to a rock beat, and showcases Slash's unique talents as a guitarist probably better than any other song on the record. "You're Crazy" shows the band's punk influences. "Anything Goes" is a straight rocker about a mutually self-destructive relationship. The record ends with "Rocket Queen," one of their best, and least appreciated. Slash and Izzy's guitar greatness are on display here probably better than anywhere else in the album. "Rocket Queen" also shows Axl's vocal and song writing talent. It starts as a rocker about a virile young stud (probably Axl) and an older woman. But after the famous interlude, (if you don't know what I mean, find out for yourself,) the song switches gears seamlessly, to a mellow ballad about friendship and love through tough times. It's a truly amazing song.

The cassette version of "Appetite" is the first album I ever bought. Time has not diminished the impact of these songs for me. Guns N' Roses are my personal favorite band, and "Appetite" is their high point. As they say, once you reach a peak, it's all downhill, but that's not important. What is important is to remember them as what they were: a definitively groundbreaking band. Bulldog 51. 

VIOLATER...............DEPECHE MODE..................

Before the release of "Violator" in 1990, Depeche Mode was an alternative act with a huge cult following. This album finally gave them the mass success they deserved. "Violator" is a high-quality recording from start to finish. There are no "album tracks" on this set, every single song stands on its own. There are solid love songs like "Blue dress" and "Waiting for the night". They also talk about their experimentation with drugs in well crafted songs like "Sweetest perfection", "Clean", and "Enjoy the silence." Also included in "Violator" is the song "Policy of Truth" which, for me gives the best advice any song has ever given on personal relationships.
What amazes me the most about the music on this set is that appears to be timeless. The album came out almost twenty years ago and the songs continue to sound fresh, never dated. 

This is an essential album. If you are a music collector you have to experience this album. Carlos Calderon 

MY LIFE IN THE BUSH OF GHOSTS..BRIAN ENO & DAVID BYRNE.....

Released in 1981, My Life in the Bush of Ghosts is a collaboration between ambient pioneer Brian Eno and Talking Heads frontman David Byrne. On Ghosts, the two strong-willed musicians manage to come to a meeting of the minds, blending Byrne's herky-jerky funk with Eno's atmospheric sound sculpting. More than anything, this is a large album, intent on pushing itself to the front of the listener's consciousness. Abundant percussion (everything from booming tribal drums to eerie electronics) reverberates in the background while Byrne and Eno toss all manner of found sounds, field recordings, and radio broadcasts into the mix. What results is a groundbreaking album that introduced a generation to the dazzling possibilities offered by electronic recording techniques. Highlights include "The Jezebel Spirit," an electro-funk workout that uses a recording of an exorcism as its focal point, and "Very, Very Hungry," a mysteriously ethereal display of electronic percussion and large-scale sonic architecture. --S. Duda 

COMPLETE LIVE AT SAN QUENTIN.........JOHNNY CASH........

While Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison, the 1968 album that made Cash a household word, spent only two weeks at No. 1, this 1969 follow-up topped the charts for 20 weeks. As withFolsom, the San Quentin LP had to be edited due to space limitations. Now, 31 years after the fact, the show can at last be heard in true perspective. All the original performances hold up, including the album's hit single: Shel Silverstein's "A Boy Named Sue," presented unbleeped for the first time. Equally impressive are the eight restored tracks and unexpurgated between-song patter. Cash's opening renditions of "Big River" and "I Still Miss Someone" are bracing. So are four closing songs teaming Cash with his complete performing troupe (the Carter Family, Carl Perkins, and the Statler Brothers). Their gospel performances ("He Turned the Water into Wine," "The Old Account," and an early version of "Daddy Sang Bass") are electrifying, as is a concluding medley featuring everyone. Cash is presented here at his roaring, primal best. --Rich Kienzle 

PARANOID..............BLACK SABBATH..............................

Black Sabbath's Paranoid album is not only the band's finest hour but also one of the best heavy metal albums ever produced. Although there were many great moments on their first five albums, Paranoid is their only release that is fantastic from beginning to end. Also worth noting is that Paranoid, with the exception of AC/DC's Back In Black, is the best album ever recorded where the songs are based on heavy memorable riffs.

How great are the tracks here? Three of the greatest heavy metal songs ever, "War Pigs", "Iron Man", and the title track are all present here with the latter two being the band's only Top 100 hits. Lead singer Ozzy Osbourne still performs all of these songs regularly whether it's with his solo band or with Black Sabbath on the Ozzfest tours. "War Pigs" is arguably one of the greatest anti-war tracks recorded, which is astounding since these issues were typically touched on more by singer/songwriters like Bob Dylan and Neil Young than bands of their genre. "Iron Man" is still one of the coolest guitar riffs ever recorded and along with the title track still receives generous airplay on classic rock radio. Amazingly, the rest of the album is very strong as well. The tracks "Electric Funeral" and "Hand Of Doom" both feature slow memorable riffs in the chorus and verses and then go into killer jams during the middle of the track. The instrumental "Rat Salad" is also excellent, carried by Bill Ward's underrated energetic drumming. The heavy shuffle of "Fairies Wear Boots" and the moody "Planet Caravan" are also great tracks. This is also their most influential album as Paranoid encouraged literally thousands of teenagers to pick up a guitar and later form heavy metal bands. You can still hear this influence in many of today's heavy bands like Staind and Disturbed. An essential album for all heavy metal fans. Highly recommended. John Alapick 

LADY IN SATIN.................BILLIE HOLIDAY......................

This is not an easy record to warm up to. Have patience...once you've reconciled the tone and manner of Lady Day's fragile, fading, sorrowful voice with the sweeping elegance of Ray Ellis' orchestrations, you might find yourself in love with this CD...Billie's voice is at once brilliant and shattered, like a broken mirror, especially in the studio cuts added as narrative to the original set. My favorite song, "The End of A Love Affair", is a haunting testimonial to romance gone bad; the music and the lyrics are unforgettable. Lady In Satin is not for the squeamish; not even, perhaps, for a lot of Holiday fans. But if you don't mind a front row seat to the closing act of the tragic opera that was Holiday's life; if you can find beauty in sorrow and hope in pain, this CD will unveil a new meaning for the term "soul music"... DXR The Eyeful. 

KOLLAPS..........EINSTURZENDE NEUBAUTEN.......................

You know, sometimes you just end up getting yelled at no matter what you do. Well, Blixa Bargeld is more than willing to accommodate in that department. And he'll screech, scream, and caterwaul at you too. Occasionally, just to make sure you are paying attention, he whispers (ominously). (That he does so in German renders his harangues all the more perplexing if you don't speak the language. If you do, well, good for you.) All the while, he and the rest of the Neubauten Gang flail, pound, scrape and clang with all the subtlety of jackhammers and power tools. (Okay, so they actually USE such implements.) Which isn't to say this is all just a bunch of structureless noise - - far from it. Their take on "Je T'aime" (phonetically retitled "Jet 'M"), in fact, is almost tender; no wonder it's less than 1:30 long and an instrumental, sort of. You might not be inclined to dance to any of this, but it definitely makes for compelling listening. Far from any intended nihilism, far from sounding as if they are gleefully heralding any apocalypse, Einsturzende Neubauten on KOLLAPS actually sounds more like a crew of intrepidly industrious construction workers with a particularly unreasonable foreman. And that's what you get for listening, so there. Hor' mit ein Sense of Humor. Mark Champion. 

FISHERMANS BLUES......WATERBOYS.........................

It is no small wonder that a song as raw and charming as this album's brilliant title track was recorded in the 80s, a decade of such excess and tasteless production as to have permanently altered the landscape of the music industry. Yet, for all the sideshows that passed for "music" throughout those years of awful haircuts and clown makeup, this album sounds conspicuously like the real thing: a festival of acoustic guitars, accordions, organs, fiddles and slide-mandolins lifted to the heavens on the glories of Mike Scott's unmistakable vocals. No one can say "whooo-hooo!" with as much conviction as that man, hooting, hollering and scraping his way through the beautifully bombastic "We Will Not Be Lovers" and the piano-hysterical "World Party." Opening as it does with four consecutive masterpieces, this album joins another Irish triumph, U2's "The Joshua Tree," as one of the most perfectly sequenced albums in rock history -- up there with Dylan's "Blood on the Tracks" or Lou Reed's "New York." Though the album's momentum slows gradually with the progressively bland "Sweet Thing" and "Has Anybody Here Seen Hank," it never loses sight of its muse. Tunes like "The Stolen Child" or "Strange Boat," while hardly the album's most interesting compositions, still command a clarity and urgency almost unheard of throughout the decade from which they so improbably emerged. "Fisherman's Blues" is that rare thing: an album that smacks of as much relevance and power today as it did the day it was released. Gianmarco Manzione.  

DESERTERS SONGS..................MERCURY REV................

'Deserters Songs' is almost like removing a layer of dirt and uncovering a sparkling diamond. It seems like Mercury Rev were hit by golden rays of sunshine, going from an experimental-shoe-gaze sound to songs of amazingly lush beauty. This CD is very much in the same vein as 'The Soft Bulletin' by The Flaming Lips, yet less joyous and more reflective, with songs that make you want to drift-away to another place. Add to that the delicate strings of Badly Drawn Boy and quirky Brian Wilson-type structures/studio-noises, eg, flutes, harp, trumpets, bells, etc. Listen closely and you'll also find nuggets of Sgt Pepper's genius. A surprise lurking around every corner. Along with the neo-psychedelic angle, 'Deserters Songs' also has a wonderfully rich sound, almost like a classical symphony fused with Pink Floyd, deliberately crawling forward, moody and surreal. The way this album balances the complexities of the studio with emotion is astounding, intended for both production aficionados and those just wanting to be inspired. Easily one of the more brilliant releases of the 1990's. A delicious serenade. A crescendo of stunning musical beauty. Wickerlove 

LIVE 66........................BOB DYLAN........................................

1966, Royal Albert Hall Manchester, England. Bob Dylan straps on an electric guitar to the chagrin of all his fans. Yes, it's the infamous Judas concert. This also is the best-recorded Dylan concert you could hope to find. The quality, both technical and musical, is superb. This may be billed as a "bootleg" but the sound is nearly that of a studio album.

The first CD of course is Dylan's acoustic set. For seven songs, it is just Dylan, an acoustic, and a harmonica and it is nothing short of amazing. Dylan does not make one false step in the entire set, perhaps wanting to give the old folk days a good send off before ripping into R 'n R. He seems to be playing with a new sense of vigor, although it may be just excitement at not knowing how the crowd will respond to the coming electricity (he had had bad experiences when first plugging in at the Newport Festival - he had to come back and do some acoustic numbers to calm the crowd down). Even the song Mr. Tambourine Man, which I never liked that much, has new life breathed into it

The second CD is Dylan's electric set, backed by a full band. When I first listened to this, I expected to hear loud booing right away but I was surprised that the audience not only claps loudly for Dylan, but actually laughs when he jokes at the beginning of I Don't Believe You ("This is `I Don't Believe You', it used to be like that (referring to acoustic) now it goes like this") before ripping into the song. I was expecting an immediate outcry and I admit I was slightly disappointed that the much-hyped Judas concert was turning out to be nothing like I thought. Then at the end of Tom Thumb's Blues the crowd really starts to lay into Dylan, interrupting him when he talks by clapping loudly as well as heckling him (I could barely make out someone yelling "Sell out!!"). It really gets bad before Like a Rolling Stone though. After the clapping for the previous song dies down there is a moment of nearly complete silence and someone yells clearly "Judas!" and is met with rousing applause from the rest of the crowd. When that dies down you can hear someone once again yelling about how Dylan has "sold out". "I don't believe you" Dylan replies, then right before the song he says "You're a liar!" The crowd is so loud at this point that Dylan turns to the band and yells "Play f**king loud!" And they certainly do! The version of Like a Rolling Stone that follows is something to behold. Dylan's singing is fueled by the crowd's boos and insults and is without a doubt his best performance of the song to date.

Ignoring the historic significance of the concert, the music itself on the electric half is Dylan's best. Every song is infused with new energy, and puts the original versions to shame. Perhaps it is because of the crowds boos, the novelty of performing with electrics for the first time, but whatever it is you can't deny it is something special. If I had to pick favorites, I would pick everything from Leopard-Skin Pill-box Hat through Rolling Stone. The whole thing is great, but the band seems to get more energized and louder as the evening goes on (again, probably propelled by the reaction from the crowd). This is nothing short of essential listening for any fan of good music.

Whether you buy it to hear the rock and roll history, the great music, or just because you are a Dylan completest, the reason does not matter. What matters is that you buy this. It is an experience that you won't soon forget. John.

CROSSING THE RED SEA WITH.....THE ADVERTS....................

If you own the debut albums of the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, and The Clash, then you should have "Crossing the Red Sea With the Adverts", as well. Punk doesn't get any more sincere and passionate than this. You can read about the Adverts in Jon Savage's *very* detailed "England's Dreaming". Chet L Young

RATTUS NORVEGICUS........THE STRANGLERS......................

This album is an absolute classic, great for putting on if you've had a bad day!
Although the general tone is of unadulterated anger typical of the punk era, it is rich both musically and lyrically. A one-mega tone bass is perfectly offset by almost medieval keyboards in the typical early Strangler's style. The lyrics go from insane, offensive and hilarious to moody, lovesick and serious but always seem to hit the mark.
At the time the Stranglers had recently moved to London. The sewer is a thinly veiled metaphor for the big city, the people are rats - hence the name of the album.
This is by far the best Strangler's Album. Nigel Jones. 

CLOSER.........................JOY DIVISION..........................

Why buy "Closer" ?
(1) It's the best album from Joy Division - one of the best bands of the post-punk (end of 70s - beginning of 80s) and one of the most influential - you have a whole universe of musicians who'll recognize the impact of Joy Division in their music
(2) You'll never forget it - once you listen (with your full attention) the songs and the ambiance will never leave you; you can enjoy the album or hate it, but it will have a major impact
What is "Closer" ?
Joy Division started in 1977, as Warsaw, and quickly improved its sound (with the help of producer Martin Hannet from Factory Records) to its impressive debut album "Unknown Pleasures" (1979). Powerful songs were released only in EPs ("Transmission", "Atmosphere"), and "Closer"'s release was scheduled to happen just after Joy Division's 1st US gig - a trip that did not happen due to the suicide of Ian Curtis in 18 May 1980. The posterior release of "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (EP) and "Closer" was seen as a 'final message' from Ian. OK, but even without knowing Ian's background and personal life, you can enjoy the strenght of the lyrics, the atmosphere created by the music and the beauty of all this together.
Here is a rapid review of the songs, but a quick note: the original release (in vinyl) has no particular order for the sides (no A/B); songs 1-5 were in one of the sides, 6-9 in the other.
1. Atrocity Exhibition: Deriving its title from a J.G. Ballard book, it 's a powerful song that sets the tone for the whole album (4 songs last more than 5 min), and the line "This is the way - step inside" speaks by itself
2. Isolation: In this song you can see again a common pattern: each instrument starts at a different time, each going its own way, then, when they're all together, a new pattern emerges, which will support Ian's voice; this song's electronic front will make you sing together with Ian "But if you could just see the beauty ..."
3. Passover: This song starts playing with the slowing down of the beat, setting a tone of desperation that goes on through the next 2 songs; the guitar makes a poignant appearance
4. Colony: The acceleration of the rhythm in this song will make you anxious, just to meet ...
5. Means To An End, A: This song will mess you up ... the speed changes, the beat, and the lyrics ... sparse, but setting a sense of defeat: "I put my trust in you" ...
6. Heart And Soul: Now we start a new journey ... the keyboard comes back to the front, the beat starts cutting through, the voice changes and now you have the impression of someone looking at things from far away, already detached from it ... it's simple and beautiful
7. Twenty Four Hours: Now the speed and the urgency come back, but for no purpose at all ... everything is lost
8. The Eternal: You never heard anything like it ... slow, compelling ... you feel like you're in a dream ... or a funeral procession ... again an instrument comes cutting through, now the piano ...
9. Decades: The closing of the album, a judgement of the past, with a powerful beat and keyboard, wonderful voice effects, it will leave a final and lasting impression on you, together with the question: "Where have they been ?" M. Carreira. 

MEAT PUPPETS II................MEAT PUPPETS......................

This is, in my opinion, the Meat Puppets' BEST album. Many fans will point to its successor, "Up on the Sun," as the artistic zenith of the Pups, but I feel that this is the one that really packs a punch. Whereas "Up on the Sun" features equally solid songwriting, tighter arrangements and some downright jaw-dropping musicianship, "II" is the one that showcases the greatest level of pure, undiluted rock n' roll energy that just emanates from your speakers like desert heat waves. You can FEEL the keen musical awareness that each of these musicians brings to the table as well as the dynamic interplay amongst them (we can easily forgive them for drifting slightly off-beat every now and then!). Look at the album cover, and you may get some idea of how this album sounds and feels: colorful, floating, breathing, LIVING music with a unique vibe all its own. Recommended for ANYONE who appreciates quality rock music. Eric Thompson. 

RAIN DOGS.....................TOM WAITS...........................

It's 1:30 AM. You're alone and it's hot, and ALL your sheets are firmly to the wind. Rain Dogs [and another drink] is all you need.
Waits' style is a personal one, distinct and poetic, so trying to convince me he's got a best album is like trying to convice someone they like filet mignon more than grilled salmon! All his albums are great meals, so just because you're bound to prefer one to another doesn't mean your tastebuds are better than anyone else's -- the only way to know which you like best is to sample them for yourself.
Because if you like Blues and standard arrangements, try Heartattack and Vine or Blue Valentine. If you like softer stuff or jazz hipsterism, try Heart of Saturday Night or Nighthawks. And if you like it more deviant, try Swordfish or Bone Machine. Waits's got something for everyone.
And yet in answer to all the critics, if you want them all on one plate -- if you want pop and jazz, blues and acoustic, raveups and hoedowns, and lyrics you actually want to read like a book -- there's no way you can go wrong with Rain Dogs. I don't doubt this is the one album that would make ALL Waits fans' top 5.
From there, you're on your own. Because like all great experiences in life, one person's worst might just be your best. Le Chimp. 

MORE SONGS ABOUT BUILDINGS & FOOD.........THE TALKING HEADS..

With a title that in a refers to the supposed "sophomore slump," the Talking Heads managed not only to continue the quirky charms of their initial "77" album, they managed to top it. 
The first noticeable difference between their debut and "More Songs" is the fullness of the sound. While "77" was stark and minimalistic in its sound quality, "More Songs" sounds fuller, denser, and adds more to the atmosphere of songwriter David Byrne's eccentric (and sometimes paranoiac) world. 
The other difference is the assertiveness of the Frantz-Weymouth rhythm section. The Talking Heads have always been a dance band, and while "77" is certainly danceable, the rhythms laid out on such tracks as "Found A Job" "The Girls Want to be with the Girls" and "Warning Sign" are downright mean and delicious. 
Byrne's songwriting is also masterful, continuing to address such topics and gender behavior ("The Girls"), and a couple saving their relationship by having a top rated T.V. show ("Found A Job") but his song writing and the groups selection of a cover (Al Green's "Take Me To The River") form double edged meanings. 
Is Byrnes singing about religious enlightenment or a can't miss corporate America strategy on "The Good Thing"? What about "River?" Is it about a thirst for righteousness in the name of God, or underage sex?

Whatever you interpret, there is no doubt about this: "More Songs" is the first display of the Heads at their full strength. A band which would make many more masterworks in the future. You will find these songs and their mix of artiness and grooviness and indispensable part of your life. Tyler Vincent. 

SCREAM...................SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES...........

This is one of the most frightening albums of punk or any other genre... it's like a Halloween rape spree in its sheer mindless evil. Stomping boogie like 'metal postcard', Horrible cries of angst like 'pure'... music like someone wanting to cave in your head then smear your brains all over their porkchops. Music to dine with Hannibal with. Music to make you want to strew entrails on your children. This is not a 'fun' album... but it is indispensable. No other album I've heard carries it's scent of urban 70s horror. To cheer up afterwards? watch 'apocalypse now'.

cheers!
Doc 

STATION TO STATION..............DAVID BOWIE..................

It's a tragedy that Bowie himself can't remember any of the events that went into the making of this 6-track, filler-free magnum opus. This album is great from beginning to end. Starting out with the 10 minute+ "Station To Station," which is almost symphonic in it's composition, we take a train ride into pop music. "Station To Station" is considered by many to be Bowie's best song, with Bowie not even singing until 3 minutes, 17 seconds in. After that, we head off with a slow start crescendoing to a grand finale of a song. "Golden Years" is pure pop. It's rumored that Elvis Presley was offered to sing this, but turned it down. It's not not to tap your feet and dance to this one. "Word On A Wing" is probably Bowie's plea to God. Apparently, it was answered, since Bowie kicked the habit and left for Germany shortly thereafter. "TVC15" is another pop number. It's one of the most catchiest things you'll ever heard that you'll enjoy having stuck in your head. "Stay" is the backwards version of "Station To Station." The last 2 or so minutes are a instrumental (his next album, "Low," really delved into the art of instrumentals.) It's probably the least exciting song of the album. "Wild Is The Wind" is the only cover song on this album (and it was recently covered again on the George Michaels album "Songs of the 20th Century.") It's a plaintive love song, with one of the most theatrical pleas ("Don't you know you're life...itself! ") Bowie shines on this album. If you go out and buy this right now, you will never look back and you will never be disappointed. Marc-David Jacobs  

PHAEDRA..................TANGERINE DREAM......................

If I could pick one of the over 60 Tangerine Dream albums, "Phaedra" would be it. Recorded in 1974, it was released during a time that was gloriously free of heavy drum beats or anything that detracted from the harmonious flow of the music. Track one starts out as a crescendo of electronic arpeggios that climax into a glorious, colorful burst, producing waves of major chords and sonic waveforms that seem to be in tune with the surreal portions of the mind. Although less than 40 minutes long, this wonderful composition marks the gem of the three best TD albums, the others being "Ricochet," (1975) and "Stratosfear" (1979). Unique, timeless and inimitable, music like Tangerine Dream is what the people of the future will be calling classical. 

Aw, how the uneducated and those with no musical talent mark this album as something like "knob twiddling". If only there was a requirement to keep the uneducated from diluting the quality reviews that "Phaedra" deserves. No supporting premises, no argument, no respect. No matter though, we'll see right through it. 

Most electronic artists like Edgar Froese and Chris Franke (the two geniuses of TD at the time) have a love for their work that is evident in their recordings and disdain mislabelling. Call "Phaedra" electronic or ambient, but don't call it "new age." I listen to it to escape the petty cares of this world and take off into space. Must have a good pair of headphones for "Phaedra," my transport into a blissful, meditative state. Not to be misunderstood for the tragic drama of Greek Mythology, Phaedra, daughter of Minos, 'Phaedra' from Tangerine dream will never get old. If I ever need to get to the year 3000 right now and forget about everything else, the headphones go on with bass boost and repeat all--then I'm gone, floating out there somewhere in space. Up here in my mind, I'm already gone. Not even Steve Roach, although quite masterful with his sequencers and home-made instruments and binural, innovative synthesizations, took me beyond the limits of my imagination for such a small, infinitesimal fare. M.D.Mcginley 

MURDER BALLADS...NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS.......................

I bought this CD after reading some of the reviews and I must say its some of the most downright chilling music I've ever heard. It isn't the lyrics, you can hear songs equally violent listening to rap. Its all in the musical arrangements and Cave's sinister vocal style. That combustible combination makes Murder Ballads a vicious yet delicious masterpiece.
Stagger Lee is simply stunning. I have heard old versions and they don't come close to what Cave has done after he adds his touch.
Where the Wild Roses Grow is a hauntingly beautiful and strikingly sordid song that reminds me of one of Joyce Carol Oates' early macabre short stories. Kylie Minogue's angelic vocals as victim are in sharp contrast to the evil that emanates from Cave's.
My favorite is the epic O'Malley's Bar, a tale of a man gone mad who ruthlessly and brutally murders everyone in his neighborhood bar but shrinks at the end from taking his own life. Appalling violence marks this fourteen minute saga from start to finish.
Songs of murder and violent death have been around since the days of antiquity, but here Nick Cave masterfully takes the genre to a new level. If you enjoy mystery, horror, a well-written and well-told tale, aren't too squeamish and are open to something unusual, then I highly recommend that you buy Murder Ballads. You won't be sorry. Kurt Harding 

BORN TO RUN.......BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN...........................

Few albums are as fueled by hope, possibility, and the lure of the open road as Born to Run, a virtual concept album about small-town Jerseyites in search of a better life via hot-rodding out on the turnpike, scoring some small-time hustle, or blowing out of town altogether, either across the river to New York City or west for parts unknown. Songs like "Jungleland," "Thunder Road," "Backstreets," and the title track are epic productions, both sonically and lyrically, borrowing from Phil Spector, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, and West Side Story. When Born to Run was released in 1975, it earned then-unknown Springsteen the rare honor of simultaneous covers on both Time and Newsweek. The attention was warranted then, and it still is now. --Daniel Durchholz 

ABBEY ROAD ...........THE BEATLES...................

As the Beatle's were coming apart, they came together to create one of the greatest albums of all time. The fact that that they could no longer stand to be in the same room together and yet create such a monumental album is incredible. Every song in this collection is fantastic, but for my money side two is one of the greatest sides ever laid down on vinyl. The flow and ebb of side two remains to this day, one of the greatest achievements in rock and roll history. With out a doubt the greatest of the Beatle's albums. If you don't have it, get it. Frank 24 

THE VELVET UNDERGROUND...................................

For their third album, the self-titled THE VELVET UNDERGROUND, Lou Reed got rid of both producer Andy Warhol and art-rocker John Cale. And the result is a surprisingly melodic collection of soft ballads, thoughtful lyrics, and flashes of flat-out fun rock and roll that echos the sound of the band's previous recordings without actually repeating it in any discernable way.
This is the Velvet Underground's most accessible album, the one that most people first experience and find easiest to enjoy. After opening with the meloncholy "Candy Says," a song suggested by the musings of transexual Candy Darling, the band ramps up into a go-go beat with slightly mid-eastern guitar twists for my personal favorite on the album, "What Goes On"--and then settles into a series of equally memorable cuts that range from the soft beauty of "Pale Blue Eyes" to the mantra-like "Jesus" to the good time "Beginning to See the Light." Whether upbeat or meloncholy, Lou Reed's unique style of talk-singing imparts a chant-like quality to the entire album, and although he has sometimes equaled these vocals in later work, he has never really bested them. Of course, the Velvets wouldn't be the Velvets without out at least one truly far-out-down-right-weird selection, and they offer it with "The Murder Mystery," a collage of conversation-like speech and lanquid singing that changes rhythms from moment to moment and which challenges the listener to sort out the individual voices and words. And then the album wraps up with an unlikely 1930-ish tune, "Afterhours," sung by drummer Maureen Tucker--and her completely unaffected, non-singer and off-key voice has surprising unstudied charm, rather like that of a school girl unaware that she is being recorded.
Even straight-laced pop fans will likely enjoy this particular album--and as such it is the perfect place for the uninitiated to begin a journey into The Velvet Underground. Everything about it is beautifully done, and it is a welcome twist to the band's earlier, much edgier sound. Strongly recommended, especially for first-timers. Gary F Taylor.  

METAL BOX.....................PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED.........................

How can PiL's second album be best described? It's the most evil disco album ever made. It's arguably the single most powerful post-punk musical statement. It's PiL's best album and it's one of the finest and most influential albums ever recorded. Generally speaking, "Metal Box" gets more respect than your average album (certainly more so than any other PiL album) and perhaps the fact that it's completely uncompromising is the reason why it still sounds like a remarkably contemporary record today. As a Sex Pistol, John Lydon's vocal was almost exclusively in attack mode: in "Metal Box," he's as direct as he ever was, but he screams, he chants, he wails, he howls, he sneers and can conjure up an entirely different mood for every song - not bad for such a famously "one-note" singer. As Johnny Rotten, Lydon sang from the head and at times it was difficult to gauge the genuine outrage from Lydon's warped sense of vaudeville. On "Metal Box," Lydon's anguish comes from the soul and he allows himself to sound vulnerable. However, it's the music that makes this album, and musically, "Metal Box" runs the gamut: disco dub, electronica, world music, punk, funk, melodic, non-melodic, fluid, static, music you want to dance to, music you want to die to. By its ominous nature, "Metal Box" exposed the comatose, non-threatening nature of post-Pistols Punk/"New Wave." The impressive ten-and-a-half-minute opener, "Albatross," continues the theme of the previous album's "Public Image," with Lydon still doing his best to cast off the shackles of public perception of him as Johnny Rotten ("Getting rid of the albatross..."). "Memories" is the perfect amalgam of Jah Wobble's bouncy bass and Keith Levine's withering Arabic guitar line. "Death Disco" is Lydon's decidedly non-sappy tribute to his mother (who was dying of cancer at the time), set to a six-note bass motif from Wobble and Levine murdering the melody of "Swan Lake" on guitar. The heartbreaking "Poptones" is arguably the best PiL song ever, "Careering" is terrifying, Lydon sneers his best on "The Suit," the sinister piquant notes of "Bad Baby" make for one of PiL's most unnerving moments on record, and the instrumental numbers ("Graveyard," "Socialist," "Chant") are effective and avoid pretension. "Metal Box" is a beast of an album, an ugly force of nature that boiled over from a "band" beset by egoism, drugs, money shortages, and drummers changing right and left. Listening to it, you can't help but feel the misanthropy that eventually split the Lydon/Levine/Wobble triumvirate. It's a great album to listen to - but you wouldn't have wanted to been there when they were making it. NOTE: "Metal Box" was originally released as three 12'' singles encased in a metal canister. The American edition, and subsequent 1980 UK re-release, was packaged as a conventional double-LP under the title "Second Edition." The drainpipe 

DREAMS INTERUPTED......THE GLAXO BABIES..............

Glaxo Babies were a firm favorite with John Peel, the Glaxo's soon notched up their first session following on from the highly acclaimed first release, the This Is Your Life EP, which included the classic 'Who Killed Bruce Lee'. Always underrated but never dismissed. Cherry Red. 2005.Glaxo Babies were born out of the thriving Bristol punk scene in 1977. They enjoyed Indie chart success with the 12" EP 'This Is Your Life' in 1979 and notoriety when its follow up 'Christine Keeler' was banned by Radio One. John Peel, who offered them sessions and gigs with his legendary road show, championed the Glaxo Babies. Sadly though, the band was always too recalcitrant, headstrong and idealistic for their own good and imploded acrimoniously after barely 18 months together. With a sense of unfinished business, the nucleus of the original band (Rob Chapman - vocals, Dan Catsis - guitar, Charlie Llewellin - drums) reformed in 1985. Here are the results, inventive and melodic psychedelic pop and warped funk that somehow sounds fresher now than it did in the 1980's. Cherry Red. 2007. 

WHATEVER PEOPLE SAY I AM THATS WHAT I AM NOT...ARTIC MONKEYS

The Arctic Monkeys have rocketed to the top of the UK music scene on the basis on a couple of great singles, and when their debut album was released a few weeks ago, it broke the record of the one-week sales. NME declared "Arctic Monkeys have delivered a Definitely Maybe" (referring to Oasis' debut album). Not so fast... 

"Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" (13 tracks, 41 min.) brings basically a great bar band delivering mostly up-tempo songs about the life of 19 and 20 yr. olds (which is what the band members are). Track 2 "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" is the break-out single and an irresistible 3 min. blast of great music. While the first half of the album staggers a bit, the second half truly takes off with the pensive "Riot Van", followed by the best track of all, "Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured", a slightly reggae-flavored track that delights and delivers. Other stand-outs follow: "Mardy Bum" is a mellow singalong, and "Perhaps Vampires Is A Bit Strong But..." is the meatiest track of all. "When The Sun Goes Down" is the other attention-grabbing single, quite good. 

In all, this is quite a good album. But to say that this equals the towering "Definitely Maybe" does disservice to Arctic Monkeys. Let these guys (kids, really) develop and let's see where they go from here. Paul Allaer 

STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON.......N.W.A...................

This is one of those CDs that is a must have. Not just for a Hip-Hop fan but a music fan in general. This album defines an era. Great production, great raps, strong attitude. Could you ask for more?! This CD is as relevant today as it was 20 years ago. The second you hear it you feel the energy you want to take a stand. 

The guy saying that they are not from Compton needs to check his facts. Why would you use 2000 census numbers for a group that started in the late 80's anyway. The only person in N.W.A. not from Compton is Cube and he is from South Central. Killer SIM 187   

IN UTERO................................NIRVANA................

Personally I like this album better than Nevermind. The production on Nevermind was too clean. Steve Albini did a good job on this album: it gave Nirvana a rougher, harsher sound. Get this album now! Johnny. That pretty much sums up how I feel about this album. I remember the first time I heard it. IT MADE ME CRY, ITS JUST SO SAD  

The La's.........

Too bad this group saw fit to release only one CD. But what a great one it is! Of course, 'There She Goes' has become a pop classic, despite its middling chart position back in '90. It also blows Sixpence's recent remake version away. The rest of the songs on the CD come close to that standard, while the psychedelic last track brings the CD to a shattering close (a cool way to end it). Very worthy addition for an intelligent pop CD collection - you won't find this stuff on the 'soft and easy' music stations. Erik Vitols  

SCREAMADELICA............PRIMAL SCREAM..........

This is it, the album where psychedelia, techno and blues rock all blend together in one blissful mix. This is also one of the best albums I've ever heard just for the sheer variety of styles that can be found. Most of the tunes are very trip hop oriented then there are the blues rock flavorings that resemble the Stones at their peak. This was the exact opposite end of the musical spectrum back in the 90's when, in the U.S., the grunge scene was in full swing. In the U.K. this album was a big hit but it didn't make quite that big of a splash over here in the states as we were engrossed in Cobain and company. But this album deserves more attention than it has received, its one of the most original albums I've ever heard, true it may be a mish mash of familiar genres but the way its all put together and heard sounds brand new. Anyways highly reccomended! Jack Barrett 

MAN MACHINE.................KRAFTWERK.......................

The album on which Kraftwerk got serious about their legacy of fusing human flesh and the technology it has inspired into an indistinguishable whole, Man-Machine also ironically embodies some of the band's most endearing contradictions. The case is stated up front with the techno classic "The Robots." The journey continues to worlds both utopian ("Spacelab") and dystopian ("Metropolis"). Then it segues into a bona fide, hook-laden dance track ("The Model," perhaps inspired by the club success that Kraftwerk's previous album,Trans Europe Express experienced at the hands of enterprising early mixmaster DJs). There's also a downright sentimental cityscape, "Neon Lights." But lest anyone think that Schneider, Hutter, and company are too human, they wrap up the proceedings with the robotic dance-groove of the title track, inspiring dizzy listeners to ponder: Kraftwerk--men or machines? --Jerry McCulley 

2112....2112....2112....2112....2112....2112........RUSH...............

If you're not interested in 20 minute long songs, hard driving guitar and rhythm sections, sci-fi inspired lyrics, long instrumentals, a high pitched voice singing the lyrics, then 2112 is not for you. This is Rush's fourth album, their breakthrough which legitimately set them to become one of the most lyrically profound and musically astute power trios in the entire world. 2112 (pronounced "twenty one, twelve") is the main song on the album. It tells of a society ruled by the communist priests of the Temples of Syrinx who believe in crushing the human spirit so every one lives according to a lifeless conformity. The hero dares to defy them and leads the revolution through music. How does it end? Listen to the album. Also present are five less-lengthy songs like A Passage to Bangkok, which sounds like a shopping list for drugs, Something for Nothing, a song that defines reality itself, the acoustic show-stopper Tears, the Twilight Zone and Lessons. The lyrics of most songs are done by drummer Neil Peart, who sounds like a college professor. Alex Lifeson contributes hard-rocking guitar lines which soar and frighten. And bassist, vocalist, keyboardist Geddy Lee sounds like a Medieval minstrel. At times you almost start to think that he is the hero of the story. A classic album and a must have for any serious lover of heavy metal and lyrical profundity. Astyanax

ROXY MUSIC..DEBUT...........ROXY MUSIC..........................

Nothing before or since sounds like Roxy's debut effort. It lurches all over the map, including bits of loud rock, odd tape samples, heavily ironic takes on pop music, 50's rock-n-roll & some stuff you can't even identify. Some times, all in the same song. Roxy Music probably paid a heavy commercial price the rest of their career for this album, since it indelibly tagged them as arty weirdos long after their sound changed completely. Nonetheless, it is terrific on its own merits. Anyone with a taste for the unusual (but not atonal) should consider this a must-have.
For those whose image of Roxy is the Siren-to-Avalon dreamy mood, this does not even resemble that band. Eno's influence was at its zenith on the debut. Not the ambient Eno, but the madcap cut-&-paste pop pastiche Eno. Plenty of loud guitar, greasy sax & Paul Thompson pounding the drums to leaven the mayhem. All in all, lots of fun interspersed with a serious dose of "what in the world was that?" Michael strom 

PINK MOON.......................NICK DRAKE.............................

In the throes of a depression that would see him dead at the age of 26 from an overdose of anti-depression medication, Nick Drake still managed to produce his last album, "Pink Moon." Unlike his first two efforts, which consisted of orchestrated folk-pop music, this 1972 album was just Drake playing his acoustic guitar and singing (with a bit of piano here and there). The result is a bleak testament to melancholy and alienation that has a haunting and pristine beauty. There are only eleven songs, most of which are under three minutes in length, which is why the album is not even a half-hour long, but there is a sense in which anything longer would be too much to bear. "Pink Moon," by itself, justifies Drake's status as a cult figure among those who love folk-rock.
Ironically, you have probably hear Nick Drake's music before, because the title track was used for a Volkswaggen commercial, just another example of how music is perverted to commercial interests (what else is new?). I have been spending the cold winter putting together mixes of folk music (in the broadest sense) and making a concerted effort to get beyond Bob Dylan and the Byrds to explore the likes of Sandy Denny and the Beau Brummels. Checking out Sandy Denny led me to Fairport Convention and Richard Thompson, and eventually to Ralph McTell and Nick Drake. Now I can only wonder what rock I have been living under that I have never come across these artists before.
The title track is a beautiful folk ballad, performed with just Drake's superb acoustic guitar playing and haunting vocal. Throughout the album you notice the depth of his lyrics and his guitar playing. The latter might have been lost in an album with orchestration, but here you have the opportunity to listen to the openings of "Radio" and "Parasite" unadorned. For the former a choice example would be the opening of what is probably the best song on the album (it is hard to choose), "Which Will," which begins: "Which will you go for/Which will you love/Which will you choose from/From the stars above?" There is a simple elegance to the lyrics, captured by the vocals, and complimented by the more complex guitar playing.
Nick Drake only produced three albums, so there is no reason not to have all of them in your music library. These works represent the very best of the British folk-rock scene and Drake is a first rate singer-songwriter whose songs of failed romance, mortality, and depression are quite affective. Drake intended "Pink Moon" to be his final album, saying he had nothing left to record. When you lose yourself listening to these songs, you can actually convince yourself that this was true. Lawrance M bernabo 

MAGGOT BRAIN...................................FUNKADELIC.......................

This is one of those albums that you look back on years later & realize that a major shift in music history was underway. The "Funkadelic" side of George Clinton's mighty army was on the rise along side it's "Parliament" alter ego and what they produced with this album is simply amazing! The album show cases, in my opinion, the Greatest Guitarist Ever to pick up the instrument, Edward Earl Hazel. 

He has always in some ways lived under the shadow of Jimi Hendrix due to being a black guitarist playing with a "rock-n-roll" feel to his music. Most people consider these 2 to be somewhat different & unique cause rock is mostly associated with "white" acts. It must be remembered that rock is a child born of it's mother and father, jazz & blues. Eddie like Jimi was a master of both & the feeling he brought forth when he played was other worldly. 

The title cut is a symphony of pure and passionate brilliance. His guitar tells a story of sadness, pain, renewal & ultimate joy. Prior to recording, George asked him to imagine that he found out his mother had died & then later realize that instead she was in fact still alive! 

The ride he takes you on is simply amazing! Other notable tracks are "Hit it & Quit It" & "Super Stupid" where Hazel rips into a flurry of guitar glory complete with wah wah peddle & special effects! The additional tracks in this release are a nice addition to the original album. I highly recommend this album especially to anyone whose just getting into the wonder that is The Parliaments & The Funkadelics! M.Jones 

CHUNGAS REVENGE........FRANK ZAPPA...........

chunga's revenge is, by far, fz's most underrated album. many consider it just an average album from his early years but that's as far from the truth as one can get. it's only 40 minutes long. a very quick and easy listen that should be played over and over again. the album's highlights are the hard-rocking song "tell me you love me" and the commercially potential "sharleena" (there is a slower and smoother 11 minute version of sharleena on the lost episodes cd. many people consider that version superior. i don't. the 4 minute version here is the best.), "twenty small cigars" (a tune reminiscent to "little umbrellas" from "hot rats" ; it can easily be called "son of little umbrellas"). there's a gothic instrumental "transylvania boogie" that makes you feel like you're face-to-face with count dracula himself. a sex-oriented pop tune "would you go all the way?" asks the question to a naive female u.s.o. dancer. there's the union-bashing "rudy wants to buy yez a drink"...the definitive song to depict the attitudes and activities of union big shots nationwide. the instrumental head-banging "chunga's revenge" is a cross between hard-rock and international music from far away places. the album really has to be heard to be believed. one of the top 5 zappa albums ever! essential! don't listen to the others...what you've heard about chunga's revenge is wrong! it's great! William Caputo 

SUEDE DEBUT & DOG MAN STAR...........................

Nearly fifteen years after its release, Suede's eponymous first album remains as lushly gorgeous as ever, perhaps because even at the time of its release it seemed to be looking back to the glam rock of the seventies and the best of the Smiths in the eighties. Today the music seems hardly to have aged at all. Although Suede made several albums, they were at their best only in their first two albums, during which singer/lyricist Brett Anderson teamed with guitarist/writer Bernard Butler teamed to write some of the most spectacularly theatrical songs to emerge from the decade. After SUEDE and the almost equally superb second album DOG STAR MAN (named after a series of avant-garde short films by experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage) Butler left the band.

It is tragic that Anderson and Butler couldn't have remained collegial longer. As a team they perfectly complimented one another. Anderson sold the songs with such passion and sensuality that could perhaps be matched only by Jarvis Cocker during the same period. Though they recorded in the wake of punk, Anderson sounded as if he could have fronted any of the great glam bands of the seventies. As for Butler, did Great Britain produce a greater guitarist in the entire decade? Or even in the decade that followed? Stylistically he always reminded me of someone who listened to a lot of Dave Gilmour before discovering Johnny Marr. The heart of his playing owes a lot to Marr, but the edges are softer and darker, like Gilmour. Though SUEDE and DOG STAR MAN are not often thought of as great guitar albums, they in fact contain some of the most brilliant playing of the last twenty years.

Though the Anderson-Butler version of Suede stayed together only a while, they left us with a string of utterly stunning singles. "So Young," "Animal Nitrate," "The Drowners" (which was a massive hit), "Sleeping Pills," and "Metal Mickey" are all songs that are simply perfect. Though not the most celebrated cut on the album, my favorite Suede song might be "Pantomime Horse," which combines some of Anderson's most passionate singing with some of Butler's most astonishing playing to produce an epic masterpiece.

Anyone who loves music needs this album. I recently was talking to a huge Radiohead fan who incredibly had never heard this album. It is hard to realize if you have been following music for more than a couple of decades how quickly albums move from being "contemporary" to being "classics." But regardless of the label, this is an album anyone not knowing it really needs to own. It is one of the essentials. Robert Moore 

FIRE OF LOVE..........................THE GUN CLUB.........................

"Gonna buy me a graveyard of my own
kill everyone who ever done me wrong
gonna buy me a gun just as long as my arm
kill everyone who ever done me harm"
Quite possibly one of the most perfect albums ever. From start to finish every track reeks of originality. Even their interpretation of PREACHIN THE BLUES swaggers and stabs at your ear. Los Angeles owes a debt of gratitude to THE GUN CLUB, X and countless other bands from the late 70's and early 80's. They've allowed a city steeped in musical fad to retain an aura of credibility. This album, like countless albums from the GOLDEN AGE at SLASH remains timeless and influential.

In the new garage rawk era of WHITE STRIPES, YEAH YEAH YEAHS and other standard bearers, FIRE OF LOVE proves just how far ahead of the curve JEFFREY LEE PIERCE and company were. I've owned this album for three decades now, and I still come back to it several times in the course of the year. The songs on FIRE OF LOVE remain raw and fresh, holding up remarkably well. For any fans of THE BIRTHDAY PARTY, X, BEASTS OF BOURBON, THE SCIENTISTS, CRAMPS, etc. Your LA Underground education begins here. BUY THIS RECORD NOW! Chauncey Gardner 

ENTER WU TANG....THE WU TANG CLAN....................

This debut revolutionized hip-hop (and launched half a dozen solo careers), as much for The RZA's raw barrage of off-kilter, off-key loops and sound effects as for its elliptically violent lyrics. Martial arts--at least as they appear in kung fu movies--are the Wu-Tang Clan's favorite metaphor, but they're also the organizing principle of the group, a crowd of eight rappers, each with his own way-out-there "fighting style." They created their own little self-contained culture, with its own symbols and shifting identities, and let listeners figure it out for themselves. Unless you're willing to immerse yourself in its world, it can be baffling and a little dry, but its aggression and originality are undeniable. --Douglas Wolk  

LOVELESS...........MY BLOODY VALENTINE...............................

Let me start off by saying, many hate this album and many adore this album. I, for one, started off in the disliking zone and quickly moved into the adoring group. This album is AMAZING! If you can learn to love this album, you can learn to love anything. It takes a bit of patience to find the right way of listening, but when it happens--this album is a blast! Definitely give it a chance...you should start by not buying it and solely listen to it on Youtube or something, but once you're ready--buy it! It's a great album to add to any collection, it seriously takes me away. I do have other albums that I may like better, but this is up there with my favourites. M Bryant. I remember once I went on a mountain walking holiday, in the lake district in the UK. I was on my own just me and my rucsac and my Sony walkman with a couple of tapes, one of which was MY BLOODY VALENTINES LOVELESS it was great walking through the mountains with this as a soundtrack. It just blew me away it still does. Dave

INITIALS SG;.......BEST OF SERGE GAINSBOURG............................

Buy this album if you are interested in the music of Serge Gainsbourg but don't know where to start. The CD contains a wide range of songs from different aspects of his distinguish musical career. As a musician, Gainsbourg 'hopped' through different styles of music: from 'mambo', 'cabaret', 'french pop', 'rockabilly' and even to 'raggae'. It's hard to discribe in one word what this CD's like, but it's a great starting point to get accustomed to Gainsbourg's work. It contains songs that are fun, exotic, and dark. Dna

AS HEARD ON RADIO SOULWAX.........2 MANY DJ'S.....................

Soulwax members Stephen and David Dewaele (2 Many DJ's) created a series of radio-show mix sessions, few, if any were recorded live; which is somewhat obvious, since the mixes are so tight and precise. They use the glory of computer processing and editing software to deconstruct pop music from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s into exciting new directions. Due to licensing impossibilities, the mixes are sadly only available as import only releases, fully licensed and bonded for the Benelux countries alone, which means we just have to pay more for them.

Spanning 30 tracks in just 60 minutes, these complex jaw dropping mixes pass quickly, leaving the desire for repeat listening. One may think that mixing 3 records together at once would leave a cluttered mess, if so, reevaluate the way you think. These mixes are tightly produced using computer software, leaving no sloppy, ill timed mixes behind. The sound is much better than your average exclusive mixes you may have heard for internet radio stations.

Mixing an equal number of underground techno records, with pop music makes for a perfect balance. The track listing above isn't very accurate, so don't get confused by my following comments. The opener, a mix of Emerson Lake and Palmer's live version of "Peter Gun" and Basement Jaxx's "Wheres Your Head At" is a larger than life intro for the album. The Velvet Underground's "I'm Waiting For The Man" is equally satisfying. Ready For The World's "Oh Sheila" mixes in some sweet percussion. It's amazing how seamlessly they mixed "Independent Women" by Destiny's Child with Dolly Parton's "9 to 5". Also not listed above, Michael Jackson's "Billi Jean" also gets mixed in. My personal favorite mix is Skee Lo's "I Wish" mixed with "Cannonball" by the Breeders. This mix is similar to The Avalanches' "Gimix", also mixing in "Sandwiches" by Detroit Grand Pubahs.

Overall, 2 Many DJ's resets the standards of what you can do with mixing, turning it into an exhilarating art form. This CD has something for underground gurus and pop junkies alike. It's spreading like wildfire among my friends; they just got to have it after they hear it. If you're drooling as you read the track listing above, asking yourself - I wonder if it sounds a great as it looks, the answer is YES. Alan Pounds 

DIRTY...DAYDREAM NATION..............SONIC YOUTH.......................

Dirty and Daydream Nation are the only two Sonic Youth albums I own, but they are both utterly amazing, though for different reasons. In the case of Dirty, its for cooler-than-cool, disaffected post-punk and grunge-pop. More song-based and straight-ahead rock than the somewhat proggy Daydream Nation, its nevertheless tempered with fine bursts of white noise, magical guitar duelling, grinding riffs and propelling, heavy bass.
Everyone mentions '100%' and 'Sugar Kane', and both are good, the former a driving, posturing, cool punk number and the latter a radio-friendly, poppy rock song. However this album by no means stops there. Springing to mind is the utterly wonderful 'Theresa's Sound-world' which builds from quiet, reflective melody to a wall of beautiful, heavy, ear-bleeding noise. 'Drunken Butterfly' is propelled by a catchy riff (recently ripped off by Cooper Temple Clause for their single 'Promises Promises') and an earnestly ironic chorus of 'I love you, I love you, I love you, what's your name?'.

Their political drive comes to the fore on the slower, but equally menacing 'Youth Against Fascism', which contains sneering vocals, a monster of a bass sound and guitars that sound as if they are being ritualistically tortured rather than played. The album veers from creepy ('Shoot', 'On The Strip') to all-out punk ('Orange Rolls, Angel's Spit' and the cover of 'Nic's Fit'). The more commercial 'Chapel Hill' sits alongside 'Sugar Kane' nicely, but every track on here has a sense of melody. Then there is a bit of lunacism, like the strange and twisted closer 'Creme Brulee'.

Every track on this album digs its own musical furrow and the album is all the better for it as despite its length of 15 tracks each one is worthy of high acclaim. Above all, listening to Dirty, you get the sense that they were influencing scores of alternative bands to come: much of the album seems a template for bands like My Vitriol, Cooper Temple Clause and Ikara Colt, 'Youth Against Fascism' seems to have influenced Mclusky and 'Chapel Hill' sounds like it may have wormed its way into the minds of the Manic Street Preachers at times. This is an amazing album, an equal of Daydream Nation, and probably the best starting point for newcomers to this brilliant band. Alexliamw 

BLANK GENERATION......RICHARD HELL & THE VOIDOIDS.............

Before the Sex Pistols came along, the Punk movement was very different. It wasn't about nihilism or politics, it was created to prove that no matter who you are, you can still create a damn good rock 'n' roll record. Hence, Iggy & the Stooges, the Ramones, Patti Smith, Richard Hell, and others were given a chance to shine that wouldn't have happened in almost any other movement. Aside from Patti Smith, NY's punk poet laureate was Richard Hell. Like many other bands from the CBGBs, Hell knew how to blend intelligent and witty lyrics with strait ahead rock 'n' roll. He even gave a name for the movement, crowning it the "Blank Generation". His lyrics were unique at the time, and perfectly painted a portrait of the scene at the time - a group of aimless misfits who decided to begin their own counterculture that embraced both the Beats and pre-Beatles rock 'n' roll. While they were revolutionary and mavericks, it was a different kind of revolution than what would take place a few years later with the British punk rock scene. Anyone who claims the Sex Pistols invented punk is incredibly misguided. Timothy Farrell22 

VIOLENT FEMMES........VIOLENT FEMMES........VIOLENT FEMMES..

Emerging, literally, from the streets of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where they gained notoriety through busking, this strange trio led by guitarist-vocalist Gordon Gano became a cult favorite with their self-titled debut album in 1983. Influenced greatly by Jonathan Richman's Modern Lovers, the Femmes' minimalist sound pitted Gano's low-volume electric guitar against Brian Ritchie's acoustic bass guitar and Victor De Lorenzo's ashcanlike homemade drum kit--all of which only served to make Gano's angst-ridden adolescent tirades more arresting. Highlights here are the rockabillyish "Gone Daddy Gone," the snotty "Kiss Off," and the emblematically nervous "Blister in the Sun." All in all, a fond reminder of the innocent days of alt-rock. (Note: The 20th anniversary deluxe version of the album includes an additional 26 demos and live tunes, 22 of them never before released.) --Billy Altman 

IRON FLAG..................WU TANG CLAN..........

Where here it is, the one and only "Iron Flag". A lot of people hated this album, and it makes me mad. Even true Wu fans were like "Man why did WU release this?". They are ignorant. Trust me. This album is definately hott. After "The W" came out, a year later they released this in 2001. It sort of seemed to short after "The W" that they released this album. Sort of seemed that they should have waited a little longer to put more time into it. But I didnt trip on that because this album is really good lyrically and nice production wise. Let me break it down for you.

Lyrically, WU AGAIN, DOES NOT FALL OFF! The lyrics are still on point. Im totally feeling the rhymes on this album. Some WU member shine more than others, but than happens on all the albums. On this album, there are a couple tracks where the lyrics arent as good as some on other tracks, but they are all on point. They still talk on that street sh**, and AGAIN no mainstream/commercial sh** which I loved. The lyrics are street, in point and they drop knowledge together, on the 4th clan album! Lyrically, this album succeeds!

Production wise, THIS is where people are like "WHAT THE F*CK!" lol, well let me explain, the beats on this album are hott. True street beats. People said WU went mainstream with this album, you have got to be KIDDING ME! Seriously, wow a group isnt going to make the same beats for ever, production changes and you true Hip Hop fans know this, they never stay the same. "36 Chambers" beats arent going to be around forever though. But this album is unique and banging in its own little way. Compared to "The W", there isnt as much grimyness in it. A little more light in that factor, but its still banging. There are a couple tracks that are close to being grimey. Production wise, this album is hott and dont let ANYONE tell you sh** if you liked the other WU albums, this album is great.

So let me tell you, if you have already heard "36 Chambers", "Wu-Tang Forever" and "The W" then this is the next group album your getting. 12 songs of pure hiphop. There is again alot of production by RZA, so dont worry about anything. If people tell you to not get this album, dont listen to them, listen to ME and get it. Because its not mainstream/commercial sounding, its real hiphop like im saying. Cop this now and support the WU MOVEMENT!! Wu Tang Assassin