Stegzy's Music Project

A commentary on Stegzy's album collection

Jun 12

Music Project – Album #40 – A Saucerful of Pink: A Tribute to Pink Floyd

by stegzy

A Saucerful of Pink: A Tribute to Pink Floyd by Various Artists

Somebody once said to me “You know when a band is good by the number of tribute acts”. Someone else once said to me “Turn this fucking racket off”. This album illustrates why both these people were correct.

This album is the result of a group of lesser known artists such as Psychic TV, Sky Cries Mary, Eden, Alien Sex Fiend and Controlled Bleeding gathering together to tortuously mutilate 2 hours of Pink Floyd instrumentals and songs. Some say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. After 30 minutes of this album I challenge them to repeat that claim without a grimace on their face.

To be fair, some of it isn’t too bad. Nothing is “individual” or stands out. I suspect this is another album heading its way to the digital recycle bin in the sky. Of course, if you’re brave you’re welcome to ask me to upload it somewhere for you…..

I swear, my musical tastes have become a lot more conservative in recent years….

1995 Pink Floyd Various Artists

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Jun 11

Music Project – Album #39 – A Rush of Blood to the Head- Coldplay

by stegzy

A Rush of Blood to the Head by Coldplay

I never did the Coldplay thing. To me they were too mainstream, boring, bland, over exposed and overused. Listening to this album again did nothing to change that opinion.

While listening I kept expecting the soothing tones of Kirsty Wark or Prof Brian COCKs to pipe in over the top and tell me about the illusionary one armed orphan made of atoms that was in need of some respite or donations so they could buy a camel to dig a waterhole in their flooded landscape with their one eyed baby. Or someone like Lenny Henry to start telling me about Samanfa from Barnes who has over come her addiction to jam and has returned to the area where her abuse of jam started only to be reunited with Kelly her old friend who has now lost a leg. Or something.

If you’ve watched any documentaries or charity programmes since this album was released, there is no doubt you have already heard this album. I don’t know why. Perhaps it just brings to mind unbearable mental images of depression, deprivation and false hope.

Anyway, for you guys, I listened to the whole album. I didn’t want to. I wanted to gloss over it but I am loyal to you and so I tortured myself by listening to it. Please don’t make me do it again…..I can’t. I’ve recycle binned it…

Coldplay

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Jun 10

A Radical Recital – Rasputina (#38)

by stegzy

A Radical Recital by Rasputina

Sometimes on a musical journey you unearth a treat. On one such foray into the musical world I was fortunate to come across this delightful live set which introduced me to the bands rather unusual works. On first listen I was hooked and listening to it again I’m still filled with warm squishy feelings and squees. Radical Recital is a good starting point for those interested in exploring Rasputina.

If you are unaware of Rasputina, which I suspect quite a few people are, they’re usually a trio of musicians, 2 cellists and a percussionist (onetime Brian from Dresden Dolls) who play a weird Country/goth/rock fusion. It works. I believe the genre is New Weird America. It would be interesting to hear your opinions…..

Brian Viglione Rasputina

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Jun 9

Music Project – Album #37 – A Psychedelic Guide to Monsterism Island- Various Artists

by stegzy

A Psychedelic Guide to Monsterism Island by Various Artists

Towards the end of my most recent exploration of musical genres I kind of rediscovered Psychedilia for myself. One of the many trophies I gathered from my foray was this collection.

Of course, listening to it again I can only assume that somehow my ears had been affected by something. Not drugs. Probably tiredness.

Whatever the case..this is utter bollocks. Except maybe for the fact it has a Belbury Poly tune on it. Nah…it’s shite. Don’t waste your time….

Various Artists

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Jun 8

A Noise Severe- The Gathering [#36]

by stegzy

A Noise Severe by The Gathering

I first came across The Gathering ages ago, specifically their album Mandylion. I was immediately transfixed. It was at this time that I started to realise how controlled the British music press and culture is. I did research and found very little in the way of acknowledgement in the UK that this bunch of Dutch rockers actually existed. Why? They had been going for a while, the lead singer was a hot chick called Anneke, and their music was enjoyable, diverse and melodic. So why? Why did they not have as much recognition in the UK than they had on the continent. After all, it wasn’t as if they were singing in Dutch or Norse or some weird Scandinavian dialect. They were singing in English.

And bloody good too.

A quick look at their tour history had them touring most of Europe. Big city gigs in the likes of Berlin, Amsterdam, Prague, Liepzig. Festivals all over the place (including Wave Gothik Treffen). But it seemed like they only played the UK a few times, and even then, far off obscure parts (London mostly). Why? The same issue with Ayreon, Sieben and many other artists. Absolutely massively popular in Europe and other parts of the world but in the UK…nothing. Or very little.

Anyway, this album is a live set featuring the lovely Anneke Van Giersbergen who belts out a proper pot pourri of The Gathering’s greatest hits. If you’re keen to try new “metal”ish rock and you’re looking for something different, coherrent and comfortable, I suggest you whet your appetite with this album. Favourites Probably Built in the Fifities and Strange Machines feature as do several tracks from the Mandylion and Home albums but yeah, I think it’s a good starting place if you’re unfamiliar.

So in what is becoming tradition, here is a little video of my favourite song from the album:

2007 Gathering (The)

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Jun 7

Music Project – Album #35 – A New World Record – ELO

by stegzy

A New World Record by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO)

 

If you have been around since the seventies, chances are you’ve heard ELO. Chances are you’ve even heard of their music. Chances are you even probably know more than Mr Blue Sky. 

 

I’ve liked ELO since childhood and even to this day, I find their music easy to listen to and never offensive. Indeed, I would probably go as far to say, listening to ELO frequently involves me saying “Oh! They did this did they?!”

A New World Record is the sixth ELO album and was released in 1976. It has a number of their hits such as: Telephone Line and Livin’ Thing. According to my records I’ve only ever listened to this album twice before (in MP3 format since 2001). Still enjoyable but surprisingly short at just over 36 minutes in length…..

 

1976 ELO

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Jun 6

Music Project – Album #34 – A Monsterous Psychadelic Bubble- Various Artists

by stegzy

A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble by Various Artists

One of the many pitfalls of downloading music illegally is that sometimes you download an incomplete rare album and you’re unable to find the missing tracks to make the album complete. Usually I’ll just delete and discard. But this compilation is somehow connected to my mind in some sort of mystical way.

You see, it has been my wish for a very long time, that in the event of ever finding out I have a terminal illness and a short period of life remaining, that I obtain some LSD and trip to the other etheric plains. This album, it seems, will be one of the albums that play during this trip session.

A curious compilation of all manner of Psychedelia tunes mixed by Amorphous Androgynous. If you’re planning on dropping some acid soon, I suggest this is what you want to have on in the background. Unless of course if, to you, dropping acid means a chemical spill in the lab. You might not want this on when the HSE come to visit.

Various Artists

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Jun 6

Music Project – Album #33 – A Momentary Lapse of Reason

by stegzy

imageA Momentary Lapse of Reason by Pink Floyd

 

Oh you knew it was going to happen. This is the problem when you have 2 computers, one of which you use sparingly, and don’t sync them. Well it’s happened. The first one out of sequence.

So there I am, being diligent and thinking of you dear reader, and I think “I know, I’ll listen to the next album while I wfh”. What happens? I see this album. It begins with an A. A – M. Fucksticks.

I’ve already gone on to A-N.

Never mind. Fortunately, as this is already a repost, I can jig about in the backend and you’ll never know. Unless of course you were keeping an eye on it. But as there are only a few readers at the moment, I’ll let it lie.

So, A Momentary Lapse is possibly, in my opinion, the best of the Dave Gilmore led Floyd albums.

I came to Floyd rather late. I knew of The Wall but didn’t really have much of an interest in Floyd back then. It wasn’t until 1990 when Shitbag played me Animals and said: “You’ll never find these on CD you know”

A challenge.

So I nipped out to Penny Lane Records on Penny Lane and picked up this album along with Animals and Gong’s Angel’s Egg: Radio Gnome Invisible Part II just to prove him wrong.

Shitbag was a pink sweater wearing parsnip brain.

A Momentary Lapse is a nice “Background” album. It’s not in your face (though One Slip is a little brisk). I managed to do a good 51 minutes of work while it was on.

1987 Pink Floyd

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Jun 5

A Little Different – Barry Louis Polisar [#32]

by stegzy

A Little Different by Barry Louis Polisar

During the dawn of the Internet, before Black September, there existed a website called Peoplesound. Peoplesound empowered unsigned musicians to produce an album and sell it through the site. So of course, it was inevitable that other unsigned artists would be keen to promote their wares through the platform.

As a fan of the underdog, I have always been keen to hear artists “raw” and unoverproduced so you will see lots of bands from Peoplesound in the process of this project. One such artist was Barry Louis Polisar. Polisar had already made a name for himself on Sesame Street writing songs for children and had chucked out a fair few albums to a small audience. One of which was this. Of course, when the film Juno came out with a Polisar tune in the soundtrack, people started saying to me “Hey have you heard this guy he’s so cool” and I was like “Yeah, I heard of him years ago. I’m so cool” and they were like “No. We’re cool because we heard of him after you heard of him so we are cooler because you’re not really cool you’re more lukewarm”

Anyway, as my ownership of this album since 2000 holds testament, I am far ahead of all the Coolkids and hipsters, musical taste-wise. Regardless.

So. Polisar is a bit like an American Rolf Harris/Jay Foreman hybrid. Here is a sample:

2000 Barry Louis Polisar Peoplesound

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Jun 4

A La Carte – Triumvirat [#31]

by stegzy

A La Carte by Triumvirat

Triumvirat, for me, was one of those mystical bands that were impossible to find in conventional music shops. Whenever I went to HMV and browsed the “T” section I was always unsurprised to not find Triumvirat. Triumph, yes. Trivium, Yes. No Triumvirat. It was hardly surprising having “inherited” Illusions on a Double Dimple on vinyl from my brother who himself had “won” it in a competition.

So with the advent of the internet I was able to find out all about Triumvirat. How fantastic they were. How they were from Germany (not Finland as some sources say). How one of the original band members died in an accident. How the style changed following the death and how the line up changed constantly in true Prog Rock fashion. . I was also able to “obtain” their entire catalogue. Acesticks.

In A La Carte, the curious mix of Emmerson Lake & Palmeresque twiddly gets brushed into the musical recycle bin to give way for a more “ELO” tweeness.

Which doesn’t work.

There are two songs on this album that I like: Waterfall (sung by Barry Palmer) and For You. I will give a sample for you, of For You for you. For you, to fore ewe. Four eu?

1978 Triumvirat

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Jun 3

A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC – Hayseed Dixie [#30]

by stegzy

 

Screen Shot 2014-06-03 at 16.46.08A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC by Hayseed Dixie

You’ll probably now see a lot of albums that start “A Tribute” or similar. On the back of the artist of the previously reviewed album, Beatallica, I was introduced, through a conversation, to Hayseed Dixie.

Hayseed, as discussed earlier, were one of the many “tribute scene” bands that “fused” styles with artists in the last decade. I’m still waiting for a Folk version of Rammstein or a Tweecore tribute to something like Fields of the Nephilim. I guess I’ll have to wait.

I went to see Hayseed when they toured the UK. They played, and played, and played. The Student Union staff at Liverpool turned on the lights. They continued to play. The security unplugged their equipment. They continued to play. We left. They continued to play.

One trick pony.

I’m not a fan of AC/DC. I am aware of their works. But I am not a fan. I guess a lot of this is wasted on me.

2006 Hayseed Dixie

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Jun 2

A Garage Dayz Nite – Beatallica [#29]

by stegzy

A Garage Dayz Nite by Beatallica

A couple of years ago there was a craze where tribute acts would “fuse” music styles and create a unique sound for which to bang out other artists work. So for example – AC/DC was turned hill billy by Hayseed Dixie; Pink Floyd played by accordion players became Polka Floyd. The fusion that worked with the Beatles was the unlikely fusion of Metallica and Beatles to become – BEATALLICA.

Now, when I first heard of them I was blown away. I thought “How original!”.

Michael Jackson’s lawyers didn’t think so and slapped a DMCA notice on them preventing the use of the Beatles music. However, one US court battle later and it was deemed “Fair use and Parody” and Beatallica continued, prevented, however, from making a profit from their music by the court.

Garage Dayz Nite is an early collection of Beatallica’s work. It’s ok. It gets a bit too much towards the end and the joke does wear thin quickly.  But if you want a taster of Beatallica, there are plenty of examples of their work on the web, Uncle Google is your friend. But as we are all lazy here is a sample:

2001 Beatallica

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Jun 1

Music Project – Album #28 – A French Kiss in the Chaos – Reverend and the Makers

by stegzy

A French Kiss in the Chaos by Reverend and the Makers

I met Jon McClure some years ago, just as his Makers were starting out in the big wide world of showbiz. His then girlfriend Laura Manuel (One of the Makers) was working with Mrs-soon-to-be-ex-Gnomepants and Gnomepants Manor would often receive demo cds of the Reverend’s new work.

 

Personally I thought he was a wanker.

The Mrs liked him though and went skinny dipping somewhere wild with the whole band.

Laura was ok though.

Jon was a wanker.

Anyway, historically, I liked their first album. This is their “difficult” second album. It’s shit. Don’t bother.

2009 Reverend and the Makers

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May 31

Music Project – Album #27 – A Curious Thing – Amy MacDonald

by stegzy

A Curious Thing by Amy MacDonald

Well it’s was a curious thing as to why this album was in my music library. None of the songs seemed familiar (apart from the cover track at the end) and I couldn’t work out why. Then I realised it was a case of “Oh I like the first album, their other albums must be just as good” – This is not a good philosophy to have.

In brief:- Scottish chick with guitar. Hurt. I’d do her.

2009 Amy Macdonald

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May 30

A Collection – The Doors [#26]

by stegzy

A Collection – The Doors

I remember seeing a film about this woman who collected plaster casts of famous people’s knobs. On the film Jim Morrison was having his knob cast. Whenever I hear The Doors, I think of that film.
But for me, the Doors will always be the band in that film with Val Kilmer. The film with Val Kilmer that I watched round at Beanhead’s place with Regzy.

This album is 3 hours long and feels like every song Jim Morrison wrote. I’m not a huge fan so I couldnt say if it is or not. I can say that it does have my favourite Doors songs on it: Riders on a Storm and Break on Through.

1999 Doors (The)

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May 29

Music Project – Album #25 – A Change in the Weather – Bliss

by stegzy

A Change in the Weather – Bliss

25 hours of listening in 96 days of 24 hour listening remaining.

I went to see Chris Isaak with Laura Beachball in 1991 and the band that was supporting was called Bliss. At first they were booed but the audience warmed to them rapidly. I did likewise.

The following day I ran into town and bought the album from HMV in that future proof format – Cassette Tape.

What a knob.

Of course they never made it big and as the CD vanished off the shelves forever, the tape became one of my valued possessions. That’s not to say I never listened to it. I did. I listened to it many times over the following years until my cassette player was packed away never to return. Before packing away the player, I connected the bugger up to my PC and copied the precious audio from the cassette tape.

I’m glad I did.

A few months later, I got a new car. With an in car Cassette player. “I know” I thought, “I’ll listen to some of my old cassettes”.  Then….driving down the M1 imagine my horror when Rachel Morrison starts sounding like she’s having a stroke. Imagine my horror growing as tape starts spewing out of the aperture.

Bloody glad I ripped the cassette now though. Bloody good tunes..

1991 Bliss

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Jan 20

A Broken Frame – Depeche Mode [#24]

by stegzy

A Broken Frame– Depeche Mode

I was surprised to find this album in my library; I’d never heard of it.

Turns out this is the second studio album by DM; the first following the departure of Vince Clarke. Seems like Martin Gore described it as “our worst album”. It shows.

I’m not familiar with any of the songs on here and if you’d said to me this was DM I’d have said “Is it?!”

1982 Depeche Mode

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Jan 20

A Bit O’ This & That – Emilie Autumn [#23]

by stegzy

220px-Emilie_Autumn_-_A_Bit_o_This_and_ThatA Bit O’ This & That – Emilie Autumn

I guess this is one of them “Oh you need to be a fan” type albums. I’m not a fan. I have no idea why this album is in my library.

I tried. I really did. I played 8 tracks off this before turning it off.

It must be one of those things. Age? Hearing? What I had for breakfast? No idea. Just guess it’s not my cup of tea.

Anyone want it before it gets deleted forever?

2007 Emilie Autumn

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Jan 20

01011001–Ayreon [#22]

by stegzy

000-ayreon-01011001-(advance)-2cd-proof-2008

01011001 by Ayreon

I can’t remember how I first heard about Ayreon. It might be listening to a compilation or something but from the first song that I heard, I just knew that I would like his work.

So I managed to get his back catalogue with this fantastic double album being released at the moment that I began getting Ayreon’s work.

I think that Ayreon, or Arjen Anthony Lucassen, does a bloody good job of uniting various artists such as Floor Jansen, Anneke Van Giersbergen, Bruce Dickinson and Fish under a single project umbrella. Much in the same way as Ivo Russell-Watts did with 4AD and This Mortal Coil. The difference being that Lucassen creates a concept album as the central cusp of the union.

So let us see….changing artists – Check; Concept albums – Check; Bearded and hairy musicians – check; Rock music – Check….so does that make it prog? New prog? In my opinion, yes it does.

01011001 tells the tale of the descent of man into destruction despite alien entities, psychically beaming visions of our destruction into our little heads. It works. It tells a story. With music and catchy tunes.

2008 Ayreon

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Jan 19

9012 Live: The Solos & 90125- Yes [#20] & [#21]

by stegzy

9012 Live: The Solos – Yes

People that have known me for a while will no doubt agree when I say, as a youth, I was weird. When all my contemporaries were enjoying U2, Deacon Blue, Blur and Shakespear’s Sister; I was deeply entrenched in a puddle of prog. Most notably, Yes and Triumvirat.

As I reached my early teens my desire for music grew. HMV became the Minaret that called me through it’s doors to the music Mecca that was inside. Remember, this was many years before the Internetz and free musicz. You would have to go through the LPs and CDs alphabetically by artist and hope that there would be something new or exciting within your price range. If they didn’t have the album, you could ask them to order it, but they’d probably charge a fortune. Or you could just hope that on the off chance it would somehow miraculously appear in the racks.

In the day, records were out of my price range and I would use Christmas and Birthdays to boost the contents of my music library by asking grandparents to buy me the albums or by using gift vouchers. One of the albums I got during this time was this. Unfortunately the vinyl got warped somewhere between the printing press and my record player. I didn’t have a receipt. I didn’t have the courage to ask for a refund. Instead I listened to the listenable bits and made do.

This album reminds me of so much about my childhood. Probably because this and the accompanying studio album and video were on repeat

90125 – Yes

I wrote to Jimmy Peado Saville and asked him to fix it for me to sing with Yes because of this album. He was obviously too busy fiddling to Fix anything for me.

90125 is a break from the twiddly weirdness of their earlier stuff. A complete style change from Tormato and Drama. Yet it works. It works well. They even had a new guitarist. Trevor Rabin (Steve Howe had gone to play with Asia). He looked so cool I wanted long hair like his. I wanted to be dark haired so I could have long hair like his. This was new stuff and a new style that would continue to evolve and grow like me. I must have listened to this album a million times as teen and as a twenteen. With the VHS live video to accompany it too.

Incidentally, this is the album which contains Owner of a Lonely Heart; Yes’ most famous song.

1983 Yes

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Jan 19

Music Project – Album #19 – 2001: A Space Odyssey – Original Soundtrack

by stegzy

2001: A Space Odyssey – Various Artists (Original Soundtrack)

As a child I thought 2001 was boring. Too much talk. Not enough lasers or explosions. And what was that thing about the huge slabs of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk in space about? And why was Rigsby talking with a Russian accent? But hey! Look at all that cool stuff we’ll have in 2001! Holidays in space, floaty pens and Commodore 64s will have huge red lights and be able to kill you. Wow.

As a twenty something, 2001 became the wall paper for mind experiments. Mostly to do with the weird bits at the end. A chap I knew edited the weird trippy hyperspace sequence at the end into a 3 hour stoner flick complete with far out music. Suffice to say, his place was popular with hippies and tourists of the ether on a Friday night after the pubs had closed.

The soundtrack for 2001 is a mix of familiar classical Strauss waltzes interspersed with more unusual Modernist works by Gyorgy Ligeti. Ligeti, you might recall, is a progenitor of the atmospheric style of music. Eerie chanting choirs (they chant “Eeee” and nothing more) are part of the course with Ligeti and sections of his Requiem provide further feelings of unease and suspense. It’s amazing what music can do isn’t it? Some might think of six minutes of people going “eeeeee” discordantly would be torture, while others listen through the surface and deep below feeling the pulses and rhythms on an almost synesthesic level.

On reflection I seem to recall one of my brothers having the 2001 soundtrack when I was a child. I’m certain my mum insisted that he did not play the album when I was around as it might be too scary. It probably was, but I’m sure the continuous playing during my early years, altered my mind on some level, meaning I can appreciate atmospheric, true industrial, noise and rhythmic genres on a significantly different level.

Or perhaps has given me the ability to spout shite.

1968 Soundtracks Various Artists

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Jan 18

1984 – Rick Wakeman [#18]

by stegzy

1984 – Rick Wakeman

Take one Chaka “Chaka” Khan (out of deep storage), a dose of Kenny Lynch, a teaspoon of Jon Anderson, a pinch of cockney rebel Steve Harley and mix well with copious amounts of bearded prog rock keyboard player (remove beard). Garnish with sprinklings of Tim Rice Libretto which has been steeped overnight in a solution of George Orwell’s 1984. Leave to play for 46 minutes.

Serve with bemusment.

Rick the bearded grump mashes out another album of prolonged twiddling this time without the ice skating panto horses. Instead he collaborates with Tim “Jeeeesus Christ Superstar” Rice and tells the story of Orwell’s 1984.

If you can listen through Chaka “Chaka” Khan’s screeching you will hear something quite entertaining. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t “Lounging about on the sofa drinking coffee” music, nor is it “bring some girl home and romance her” music (unless you’ve found the mythical female prog fan). It isn’t even “Aren’t we refined” dinner party music. It’s “Let’s vacuum the house” or “Wash the dishes” music.

Admittedly I used to listen to it when I did my paper round so it isn’t all that bad really.

Except for the screeching.

<

1984 Rick Wakeman

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Jan 18

Music Project Album #17 – 1200 Curfews – Indigo Girls

by stegzy

1200 Curfews – Indigo Girls

What is this shite doing in my music library and how did it get there?!

1995 Folk Indigo Girls

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Jan 17

Music Project Album #16 – 666 – Aphrodite’s Child

by stegzy

666 – Aphrodite’s Child

Aphrodite’s Child is to Greece what the Beatles are to Liverpool and Abba to Sweden. If Greece had maintained such quality progrock output I suspect they wouldn’t be in financial difficulty now.

Though what do I know about economics? Stuff all.

I suspect most of you will not have heard of Aphrodite’s Child (AC) but I’m certain you may be aware of two of the lead members: Vangelis and Demis Roussos. The band was a product of a time when Prog was popular in the west – long before punk appeared. With a style similar to the Moody Blues, AC only managed to churn out 3 albums. 666 is the last AC album before they split to pursue solo projects and is a concept double album based on the bible’s Book of Revelation.

I’ve only ever attempted to listen to the album all the way through a couple of times. It’s quite hard going but there are a couple of sections that stir up desires and send prog infused shivers to your toes via your spine. These being most notably The Four Horsemen and Hic and Nunc If you know the works of Vangelis and Roussos you would probably listen to it blissfully unaware of who you are listening to, this album being so detached from their later styles.

But to truly experience the album in its fullness, you need to abide by the following recipe:-

You will need:
A room (plastered, painted white with lines of blue to resemble some form of Greek restuarant)
Some form of heating (can be natural)
A beard
3 chest wigs
A kaftan
Some drugs
Metaxa
Strong smelling aftershave from the 1970’s (Brut 33, Blue Stratos, Denim or HiKarate will do)
A record/tape/MP3/media player
A couple of friends with beards and kaftans
Numerous cushions (varying in size)
A mezze board of kebab meat

Method:

1. Take the room, heat to unbearable sweaty levels. Sit in the room. On a cushion. Wearing your kaftan with your beard and similarly attired friends. Stuff the largest cushions up your kaftan and encourage your friends to do the same. This is to increase your girth and make you at one with Roussos, Sideros and Vangelis.

2. Douse each participant in the strong aftershave and apply the chest wigs (if you are doing this on your own because you have no friends, use all three chestwigs for full appreciation). Repeat until fumes effect visibility or motor functions. Ensure all participants have worked up a really big sweat.

3. Partake in the drugs and metaxa. Cannabis is recommended here as you can usually get a good hit if you use a hooka pipe which will also add to the authenticity of the experience. Other drugs can be used but may effect the overall experience detrementally (especially crack or crystal meth).

4. Play the album and nibble on mezze board.

5. Chill

6. Halucinate and sway about.

7. ???

8. Profit.

1972 Aphrodite's Child

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Jan 17

101 – Depeche Mode [#15]

by stegzy

101 – Depeche Mode

Depeche Mode’s music incites a strange mix of emotions and feelings. Kind of kinky dirty but also grimey in the same way. I suppose it’s because I know some members had a really bad smack habit so often images of Grange Hill’s Zammo slumped in a dirty public bog, hypodermic needle in his arm and dirty burnt silver foil in his hand come to mind.

Saying that, some songs especially those off Songs of Faith & Devotion onjour images of Martin Gore and Dave Gahan in bondage gear flagellating each other in some weird S&M orgy involving penguins and matchsticks. Dunno why….it just does.

My first post-childhood exposure to Depeche Mode, as in one where I was starting to become aware of popular music, occurred in 1992 when I was a student at Sheffield Hallam University. It was while supporting my studies working at Halfords I met a strange chap (who smelt of used sleeping bags) whose belief was no Sunday was complete without 7 hours of constant Depeche Mode. I suppose the repetition helped. I even went and bought their albu Songs of Faith and Devotion, the tracks from which became the soundtrack of those days. Mostly because it was the only CD other than Mike Oldfield that I had with me during my stay at Uni. But I’ll go into that more in about a year or so…when I get to S.

101 is a live album. As with all good live albums they provide a snap shot of a band’s catalogue at the time of going to press. Indeed, I find live albums a good way of determining whether or not I’ll like a band. With some exceptions. But we’ll get to that in a few months time.

Recorded in 1989 at the Pasadena Rose Bowl,101 is a good collection of Mode favorites. Most importantly it has an accompanying live concert video which I saw back in the mid nineties. I recall seeing it when at Ginger Chris’ house. Everyone was smashed out of their heads on their intoxicant of choice and discussions regarding Egyptian spirituality, UFOs and conspiracies were rife. I suppose that situation reinforced the imagery I described earlier in this entry.

Mode, like Abba, are one of those bands who feature on everyone born in the 1960’s to 1970’s personal life soundtrack. I’m sure there are some younger readers who will also say “Ah but they feature on my life soundtrack too”, and that may be the case. Such is the power and distinctive style of Depeche Mode. Indeed, this live set contains some of their earlier more poppie tunes (I maintain the best thing that Depeche Mode ever did was persuade Vince Clarke to leave) such as Just Can’t Get it up enough and People are People

It would be pertinent to expect to see a fair bit of DM during this project.

1989 Depeche Mode

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