Showing posts with label Strange. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Strange. Show all posts

Monday, May 29, 2023

VA - Strain Crack Break: Music From the Nurse With Wound List Volume One (France) [2017] + Vol. 2 (Germany) [2021] (2 x CDs)

NURSE WITH WOUND LIST

VA - Strain Crack Break: Music From the Nurse With Wound List  Volume One (France) [2017] + Vol. 2 (Germany) [2021] (2 x CDs)

After years of mythology, misinterpretation, and procrastination, Steven Stapleton, the founder of Nurse With Wound, finally selected Finders Keepers Records as the ideal collaborators to release "the right tracks" from his Nurse With Wound List, a legendary and influential list of musicians and bands compiled by the experimental British group in the late 1970s. This resulted in the release of a French-specific Volume One of the authentically titled Strain Crack Break series. 

"Strain, Crack & Break: Music From The Nurse With Wound List Volume 1 (France)"       is a fascinating and diverse compilation that showcases some of the most experimental and boundary-pushing music from the French underground scene during the 1970s and 1980s. The tracks on this album span a wide range of styles, from avant-garde jazz and free improvisation to musique concrète and electronic music, and feature artists who were part of the wider scene and those who were on the list. The music is often challenging and unsettling, with dissonant sounds, unconventional rhythms, and unexpected shifts in tone and texture.  Despite the experimental nature of the music, there is also a sense of playfulness and creativity that runs through many of the tracks. The artists featured on this album were not afraid to take risks and explore new sounds, resulting in a collection of music that feels both timeless and ahead of its time. "Strain, Crack & Break: Music From The Nurse With Wound List Volume 1 (France)" is an essential listen for anyone interested in the history of experimental music, offering a fascinating glimpse into a vibrant and innovative underground scene that helped shape the course of music in the decades that followed. (B)

"Strain Crack & Break: Music From the Nurse With Wound List Vol. 2 (Germany)"   is a fantastic compilation album that continues the exploration of the influential and enigmatic Nurse With Wound list from the late 1970s.  The album features a diverse selection of tracks from some of the most groundbreaking and experimental artists of the time, spanning a wide range of genres including psych, prog, jazz, and electronic music. The album opens with "Output" by Wolfgang Dauner, a mesmerizing and atmospheric piece that sets the tone for the rest of the album. Other standout tracks include the haunting "The Executioner" by My Solid Ground, the psychedelic jazz of "Scorpion" by Association P.C., and the dreamy, ethereal "Fritz Müller Traum" by Fritz Müller.  The album also features some more avant-garde tracks, such as "It Loves Want To Have Done It" by Anima-Sound, which features unconventional sounds and vocalizations, and "Snakeskin Tango" by Brainstorm, which incorporates dissonant tones and unusual rhythms. The album closes with "Black Sand" by Brainticket, a haunting and hypnotic track that perfectly caps off the album's exploration of the outer limits of music.  Overall, it is a must-listen for anyone interested in the history of experimental music. The album offers a fascinating glimpse into a vibrant and innovative underground scene that helped shape the course of music in the decades that followed and showcases some of the most boundary-pushing and visionary artists of the time. (B)

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Track lists

Vol. 1

01 Jacques Thollot - Cécile 3:53

02 Philippe Besombes - La Plage 2:51

03 Igor Wakhevitch - Materia-Prima 4:04

04 Mahjun - Les Enfants Sauvages 8:03

05 Lard Free - Warinobaril 3:51

06 Etron Fou Leloublan - Le Désastreux Voyage Du Piteux Python 10:41

07 Jean Cohen-Solal - Captain Tarthopom 3:02

08 Z. N. R. - Solo Un Dia 2:59

09 Red Noise - Sarcelles C’est L’avenir 18:58

10 Pierre Henry - Générique (Thème De Myriam) 2:22

11 Horrific Child - Frayeur 8:40

12 Dashiell Hedayat - Fille De L’ombre 2:18

13 Jean Guérin - Triptik 2 5:43


Vol. 2

01 Wolfgang Dauner - Output 7:44

02 My Solid Ground - The Executioner 3:33

03 Association P.C. - Scorpion 6:29

04 Fritz Müller - Fritz Müller Team 8:40

05 Exmagma - It's So Nice 6:06

06 Anima-Sound - It Loves Want To Have Done It 2:53

07 Tomorrow's Gift - Jazzi Jazzi 2:54

08 Out Of Focus - See How A White Negro Flies 5:51

09 Brainstorm - Snakeskin Tango 2:19

10 Thirsty Moon - Big City 8:31

11 Gomorrha - Trauma 13:12

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Monday, February 20, 2023

VA - Incredibly Strange Music, Vol. 01 [1993] + Incredibly Strange Music, Vol. 02 [1995]

INCREDIBLY STRANGE POST

VA - Incredibly Strange Music, Vol. 01 [1993] + Incredibly Strange Music, Vol. 02 [1995] 

RE/SEARCH's two Incredibly Strange Music books are fascinating interviews with collectors and musicians, exploring the limits of weird and unclassifiable records, mostly from the '50s and '60s. If this compilation of excerpts from 13 of the LPs discussed in those books is an indication, though, this stuff is a lot more fun to read about than listen to. Most of these, essentially, are novelty records; bad psychedelic sitar, normal enough sounding songs with weirdly awful lyrics, mood music enlivened by off-the-wall sound effects, the "William Tell Overture" Performed by a whistler, an interminable "Cosmic Telephone Call, " and the like. In other words, the kind of things that are fun to hear once, and maybe later to pull out and play for friends -- once -- but not music to stand up to repeated listening. (AMG review by Richie Unterberger)

The second CD tied in with Re/Search's Incredibly Strange Music books (two volumes of interviews with collectors and creators of odd records) suffers from the same problem as Incredibly Strange Music, Vol. 1: compared to most of what's covered in the books, this CD is not really all that incredibly strange. On the other hand, there's some excellent stuff here, like a track from Del Close and John Brent's How to Speak Hip (reportedly Brian Wilson's favorite album while he was making Pet Sounds), prose poems by Ken Nordine, a version of the Box Tops' soulful hit "The Letter" as interpreted by the Nirvana Sitar and Strings Group, terrific tracks by noted weirdos Lucia Pamela and Eden Ahbez, and an appearance by everyone's favorite gospel-singing puppet, Marcy. Only devoted fringe-music fans will want to play this regularly, but everyone should hear it at least once. (AMG review by Stewart Mason)

I've always been into non-conforming music, and this CD fits the bill. I've had Volume I for years and was happy to finally find Volume II. One of the highlights is The Mummy by Bob McFadden and Dor - Dor being none other than Rod McKuen (his 1962 twist album is well worth tracking down and is available on CD). Other stand outs include Walking On The Moon by Lucia Pamela and the Ken Nordine tracks. Not for everyone, but if you like strange music, then this is the cd for you. I wish I knew if there were more of these albums because I would buy the whole set! Strange and wonderful all at once! Far out! (Amazon)

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Track lists

Vol. 01

01 Buddy Merrill - Busy Bee 2:42

02 Bob Peck - Sweet 16 2:04

03 Dean Elliott - Lonesome Road 2:37

04 Katie Lee - Will To Fail 2:34

05 Harry Breuer - Minute Merengue 2:02

06 Rajput And The Sepoy - Up, Up And Away 2:14

07 Scramblers - Mister Hot Rod 2:42

08 Dave Harris - Dinner Music For A Pack Of Hungry Cannibals 2:51

09 Perrey-kingsley - Swan's Splashdown 2:29

10 Jo Anne Castle - Tico-tico 2:02

11 Billy Mure - Hawaiian War Chant 2:10

12 Fred Lowrey - Wiliam Tell Overture 3:00

13 Kali Bahlu - Cosmic Telephone Call 10:55


Vol. 02

01 Hot Butter - Skokian 2:14

02 Bob Mcfadden; Dor - The Mummy 2:01

03 Nirvana Sitar - The Letter 1:51

04 Lucia Pamela - Walking On The Moon 3:06

05 Ken Nordine - Flesh 1:32

06 Billy Mure - Chopsticks Guitar 2:28

07 Myrtle K. Hilo - Lover's Prayer 2:37

08 Russell Garcia - Delicado 3:28

09 Del Close; John Brent - Introduction 1:15

10 Jean-jacques Perrey - Gossipo Peretuo 2:08

11 Ken Nordine - Green 1:32

12 Eden Ahbez - Full Moon 2:55

13 Harry Breuer - Bumble Bee Bolero 2:11

14 Marcy - Join The Gospel Express 1:27

15 Les Baxter - Terror 3:17

16 Ken Nordine - Yellow 1:32

17 Rusty Warren - 1st Song/opening Monologue 3:01

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John D. Loudermilk - The Open Mind Of... 1961-68 [2006]

J.D. LOUDERMILK

John D. Loudermilk - The Open Mind Of... 1961-68 [2006]

The eye-catching psychedelic art on the cover of 1969's The Open Mind of J.D. Loudermilk is more tongue-in-cheek than a reflection of the music within. Loudermilk, one of the greatest Nashville songwriters of the late '50s and early '60s, seemed to believe that this album would blow the lid off the music world, but it is not nearly as controversial as he suggests in the liner notes. A mixture of conservative and progressive political views, the songs blast the "new morality," the drug culture, and accuse peace protesters of killing policemen. "Goin' to Hell on a Sled" is the most overtly political cut on the album, but "The Jones" critiques Madison Avenue materialism and keeping up with "the Joneses," "Poor Little Pretty Girl" takes a swipe at the objectification of women, and "Brown Girl" looks at interracial romance. Other songs, such as "Nassau Town," are pretty folk-pop ditties of the sort more commonly associated with Loudermilk. The Australian CD reissue adds 15 bonus tracks from albums Loudermilk recorded earlier in the '60s, many of which deal with unconventional subject matter, from the environmental dangers of radioactive fallout ("No Playing in the Snow Today") to eminent domain disputes ("Ma Baker's Little Acre"). One stray track from a single, "That Ain't All," closes the set. Many of these recordings previously appeared on Bear Family's two anthologies of Loudermilk's RCA recordings, but the entirety of The Open Mind of J.D. Loudermilk makes its CD debut here. Collectors of oddball country music, as well as fans of Loudermilk himself, will be delighted to find this cult artifact available on CD. (AMG review by Greg Adams)

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Track list

01 John D. Loudermilk - Goin' To Hell On A Sled 2:05

02 John D. Loudermilk - The Jones' 3:18

03 John D. Loudermilk - War Babies 2:42

04 John D. Loudermilk - Peace Of Heart 2:30

05 John D. Loudermilk - Sidewalks 2:34

06 John D. Loudermilk - To Ann 1:44

07 John D. Loudermilk - More Than He'll Have To Give 2:20

08 John D. Loudermilk - Poor Little Pretty Girl 2:25

09 John D. Loudermilk - Nassau Town 2:04

10 John D. Loudermilk - Geraldine 1:36

11 John D. Loudermilk - Laura 2:44

12 John D. Loudermilk - Brown Girl 4:13

13 John D. Loudermilk - To Hell With Love 2:44

14 John D. Loudermilk - Ma Baker's Little Acre 2:27

15 John D. Loudermilk - No Playing In The Snow Today 3:39

16 John D. Loudermilk - Bad News 3:00

17 John D. Loudermilk - The Little Grave 2:18

18 John D. Loudermilk - Talkin' Silver Cloud Blues 3:51

19 John D. Loudermilk - I'm Looking For A World 2:00

20 John D. Loudermilk - The Lament Of The Cherokee Reservation Indian 3:34

21 John D. Loudermilk - Interstate 40 2:29

22 John D. Loudermilk - Where Have They Gone 1:51

23 John D. Loudermilk - The Little Bird 2:01

24 John D. Loudermilk - Tobacco Road 2:56

25 John D. Loudermilk - Bubble, Please Break 2:15

26 John D. Loudermilk - It's My Time 2:39

27 John D. Loudermilk - That Ain't All 1:52

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