:Cocteau Twins:

:Cocteau Twins:
You don't have to like the Cocteau Twins in order to appreciate their contribution & impact on
independent music,many a journalist & more than a few famous personalities (Madonna,Prince,Annie lennox,Robert plant,..plus many more') have expressed thier exasperation
over the Cocteau's unique & often overwhelming sounds.
Nevertheless,you'd be hard to find the average individual(including myself!).just what the hell you were talking about,if you stared discussing some of the cocteau's song titles..such as 'itchy glowbo-blows'!
But saying that people around the world know were talking about.Not only that,the amount of great bands that have been inspired by them,dispite this the Cocteau Twins continued to be obscure and yet quite sucessful(not to mention respected by artists around the world.
I myself first heard them on 'The John Peel show'..(bbc radio 1 broadcaster/dj)..a great man by the way if it wasn't for the great 'John peel' the great music & bands around today wouldn't have got any attention or air play..RIP JOHN PEEL!...
anyway back to the Cocteau twins..here's some of my personal favourite's by them.

Treasure:1983: 4AD









Victorialand:1986: 4AD







Blue bell Knoll:1988: 4AD









Heaven or las vegas:1990.4AD







Note* these albums are among my personal favourites..other albums i recommend are
Garlands,Head over Heels,The pink opaque,Four-calendar cafe,Milk&Kisses.
Elizabeth Fraser's voice is just totally unique and beautiful,drawing close comparison;it's been said with Maria Callas!...you can't just call them a 'Scottish indie band'..that wouldn't give them the musical credit the Cocteau twins so rightly deserve...a highly highly, recommended band...check them out, you'll be amazed! :)

This Mortal Coil: It'll end in tears: :1984:

This Mortal Coil: It'll end in tears: :1984:

The debut release of this indie superstar outfit shined! (and still does to this day) in it's glorious emotional beauty...just how can it be so beautiful?..the listener wonders.
The project was put together by 4AD guru Ivo Watts-Russell, which includes groundbreaking UK bands such as Cocteau Twins, Magazine,Dead Can Dance. Considering the Songs are from Musical legends,such as 'Tim Buckley'(the haunting 'song to the siren'),'Alex Chilton' of Big Star,
(the devastating 'Holocaust' and the heartbreakingly beautiful 'Kangaroo')..also Colin Newman of Wire ('not me')you're bound to come up with something that will be remembered& cherished by the 'old-school goths. Production of this album is amazing,the album in all ,is emotional,hypnotic and astonishingly beautifully crafted.
Track listing:
1.Kangaroo.
2.Song to the siren.
3.Holocaust.
4.Fyt.
5.Fond affections.
6.The last ray.
7.Another day.
8.Waves become wings.
9.Barramundi.
10.Dreams made flesh.
11.Not me.
12.A single wish.
Recommended tracks: Song to the siren, Kangaroo, Another day,Holocaust.
note* this album is a classic from the 80's which didn't get the attention that it so rightly deserved..if you want to hear a slice of the finest 80's indie brilliance..then this album is the one to check out.enjoy;)

Nick Drake: Five leaves left. :1969:

Nick Drake: Five Leaves Left.
I introduced myself to Nick Drake a few years back now,...Nick Drake has reached 'cult status' through his tragic death in 1974,,he went vitually un-noticed ,he only recorded three albums.
It's strange listening to a dead man's voice singing and playing in your ears,not that Nick's the only dead artist i listen to,but his music has a entrancing presence to it that i find totally warm hazy, & relaxing at the same time.
His fingerpicking style is just second to none,the way he put's his emotions and feelings on this album is genius..when ever i'm tired of hearing over produced over rated release's sometimes by the up coming artists,i just put this on to remind myself how a musician/songwriter use to be.
Five leaves Left i consider one of the best debut albums of it's time...i find it faultless,the songs have a sweet autumnal feeling to them...i know it sound's slightly 'hippyish man' but this really does capture that period of time in my own un-biased opinion.
If you haven't yet heard Nick Drake,then this is the one to start with.Buy it now!
Tracklisting:
1.Time has told me.
2.River man.
3.Three hours.
4.Way to blue.
5.Day is done.
6.'Cello song.
7.Thoughts of mary jane.
8.Man in a shed.
9.Fruit tree.
10.Saturday sun.
Recommended tracks: River man, Thoughts of mary jane, three hours,Day is done.
Note*Other albums are recommend to are Bryter layter,Pink moon, Time of no reply.(a compilation album) Enjoy:)

Juke Joint Blues: 25 vintage blues recordings.

Juke joint blues: 25 vintage blues recordings.
This great cd was a suprise christmas present from a friend..i thought just before i opened it on christmas day...it's going to be a pair of socks!..no! a botttle of aftershave no!...to my utter delight it was this great cd!...
I tend not to overdose on blues,but this cd,in my own opinion has some of the best 'Delta blues' artists that have ever lived.
Artists& Track listings.
1.Blind Willie Mctell- Statesboro' blues.
2.Sonny boy Williams-Good morning little schoolgirl.
3.Billie Holiday-Summertime.
4.Tampa Red-It hurts me too.
5.Robert Johnson-Cross road blues.
6.Bessie Smith-Nobody knows you when you're down out.
7.Casey Bill Weldon-You just as well let her go.
8.Big Bill Broonzy-Key to the highway.
9.Robert Petway-Catfish blues.
10.Robert Johnson-stones in my passway.
11.Memphis Minnie-What's the matter with the mill.
12.Muddy Waters-I be's troubled.
13.Leadbelly-midnight special.
14.Big Bill Broonzy-I feel so good.
15.Leroy Carr-Midnight hour blues.
16.Sonny boy Williamson-i been dealing with the devil.
17.Big joe Williams-Baby please don't go.
18.Blind Willie Johnson-Nobody's fault but mine.
19.Hambone Willie Newbern-Roll and tumble blues.
20.Billie Holiday-Strange fruit.
21.Lonnie Johnson-Winnie the wailer.
22.William Harris-Bull frog blues.
23.Oscar Woods-Lone wolf blues.
24.Robert Johnson-Ramblin' on my mind.
25.Tampa Red-Don't you lie to me.

Recommended tracks:
'Blind Willie Johnson-Nobody's fault but mine, Robert Johnson-Cross road blues,Robert Petway-Catfish Blues.
note* with this cd i've introduced lot's of my friends to where proper blues came from..if you want to hear..vintage blues at it's upmost best then this is great one to start with...hunt it down and check it out now,it's wonderful!

Goldfrapp-Seventh Tree. 2008

Goldfrapp- Seventh Tree. 2008
let me start by saying goldfrapp are a band i've only recently this year introduced myself to..ok i'd heard ..Ooh la la..which is a great track..but listening to 'Seventh Tree' in the company of good friends,it became clear to me what an outstanding album this is.
Seventh Tree has tinge's of psychedelic 'Revolver' beatles tone's in some of the tracks..Alison Goldfrapp's voice is very close to Cocteau twin's Liz fraser's at time's on this suprisingly brilliant
release...i shall be checking out previous albums by Goldfrapp very soon.
i highly recommend this album..
Track list.
1.clowns.
2.little bird.
3.happiness.
4.road to somewhere.
5.eat yourself.
6.some people.
7.A&E.
8.Cologne Cerrone Houdini.
9.caravan girl.
10.monster love.
Recommended tracks: clowns, little bird, monster love,..again these are my personal fave's at the moment..but the overall album just float's along...a great lazy sunday afternoon album!..enjoy:)

The Black Angels:

PASSOVER :2006: DIRECTIONS TO SEEK A GHOST:2008:
The black angels are a band that i only discovered last year,through a recommendation from a good friend..and what a discovery it was.
They are a new psychedelic rock band,the name derives from the velvet underground song
'the black angels of death song'..very reminiscent of the velvet underground, and the 13th floor elevators,and have been compared with The Warlocks & Black Mountain..also following in the footsteps of spiritualized & the spacemen 3...which all thrown into the musical melting pot together,creates a neo-psychedelic sound.
Passover:2006..was a outstanding debut album..which put them on the new band to watch out for on the Psychedelic rock scene...
the tracks which i recommend from Passover are 'black grease','young men' 'sniper at the gates of heaven'..these are my personal favorites from the album,but to be honest..the full album is a
modern classic...give your ears a musical feast...go and buy this album,you won't be dissapointed.

Directions to seek a ghost:2008.
A wonderful second release from the black angels..still following the neo-psychedelic sounds of
passover...with a side helping of ethnic sounds thrown in just to add some nice touches to make this album flow along nicely.Highlighted tracks to check out are 'doves' & 'deer-ree-shee.
If you like neo-psychedelic rock music at it;s best..then this is the band to check out...go for it folks!

F.S.O.L:Amorphous Androgynous-Alice in Ultraland. (2004)

Along with 'lifeforms' which was a landmark in 90's electronic music for the future sound of london...
If you have a open mind,and manage to forget the other wonderful
releases from F.S.O.L for a minute,and arn't afraid to listening to a mellow,far-out cosmic ray psychedelic experience,besides the electronics for a
moment,then it's possible you'll hear and understand just how outstanding of a album 'Alice in ultraland' is.
It's got everything in it progrock,it's funky with sitar-sliced euphoria,
musically & production wise this is a must have in your album collection..check it out you'll be amazed,i was!

Spirtualized: Royal Albert Hall October 10 1997(1998)

Let me start by saying on equal par to 'Echo & the bunnymen',Nick Cave & the bad seeds',
Spritualized are my favourite band...and my favourite album which captures the brilliance
of them is this one.Recorded in october 1997 this captures the band at their best,well before
jason decided to sack the band.
heres a except from wikipedia write-up on the band:



Following a major breakdown in relations between Spacemen 3 co-frontmen Peter Kember and Jason Pierce, the group's bassist Will Carruthers, drummer Jonny Mattock and session guitarist Mark Refoy decided to form a splinter group, before persuading Pierce to join alongside local friend Steve Evans to create Spiritualized. The band took their name from an adaptation of the text on the back label of a bottle of Pernod.

The first Spiritualized release, in 1990, was a cover of The Troggs' "Anyway That You Want Me"; the record heralded the official split of Spacemen 3 following contractual wrangles over the band's name and its use in Spiritualized-related promotional material (initial copies of "Anyway That You Want Me" came with a Spacemen 3 logo on the sleeve).

Evans was replaced on keyboards by Pierce's then-girlfriend Kate Radley for the follow-up single, "Run"/"I Want You". A number of singles followed, before the band, in early 1992, released their first LP Lazer Guided Melodies, which had been recorded in Rugby over the previous two years. A second album, Pure Phase, was released in 1995, and a third Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space emerged in 1997 to notable critical acclaim and commercial success.

The musical style of Spiritualized relies heavily on sustained 'pedal' notes and drones. Lazer Guided Melodies and Pure Phase incorporate elements of the shoegazing style, drones and tremolo. The landmark Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space saw the influence of African-American gospel and blues beginning to show, while "walls of sound" modeled after the production styles of Phil Spector and Brian Wilson also made their presence felt. Such influences dominated Spiritualized's next album, Let It Come Down which included over 120 musicians playing live for Pierce. Amazing Grace favored a more stripped down sound with the gospel, blues, and soul influences even more dominant than before.

I would also like to mention another essential live album to check out is 'Fucked up inside'.....but if you want to hear the band at their peak,then in my own opinion,this is the album to check out...i check it out quite frequently.

Echo and the bunnymen

Echo and the bunnymen: Ocean Rain.
Channeling the great experimental psychedelic sounds of Porcupine into a more conventional and simple structure,ocean rain emerges
as the bunnymen's most beautiful and memorable albums.
With a consistant flow of strong lyrical songs from Ian McCulloch
and subdued guitar features,sweeping string arrangements and
not to mention the outstanding production,'The killing moon'
ocean rain's centrepiece is the groups unrivalled masterpiece.
A great album..probably one of my favourite bands of all time!
go and listen to it..

Track Listing:
1.Silver.
2.Nocturnal me.
3.Crystal days.
4.The yo-yo man.
5.Thorn of crowns.
6.The killing moon.
7.Seven seas.
8.My kingdom.
9.Ocean rain.
Note*..i also recommend the other following albums :Crocodiles,Heaven up here,porcupine,Evergreen.

Portishead

Portishead:Third (2008)

It's been long time over due for this album to
be released..near anough 10 years!..but it's been worth the wait of anticipation for it to come.
the driving force of Beth Gibbons vocals are still amazing!..Portishead are back on track.
Track listing:
1.silence.
2hunter.
3.nylon smile.
4.the rip.
5.plastic.
6.we carry on.
7.deep water.
8.machine gun.
9.small.
10.magic doors.
11.threads.

The Ruts

Ruts:The crack
I was still at school when this album came out...
and wow!..what a impression it made on me.
This is just 'sheer brilliance'...and i highly recommend it.
Track listing:
1.Babylon's burning.
2.Dope for guns.
3.sus.
4.something that i said.
5.you're just a...
6.it was cold.
7.savage circle.
8.jah war.
9.criminal mind.
10.backbiter.
11.out of order.
12.human punk.
13.give youth a chance.
14.i ain't sofisticated.
15. The crack.
Recommended Tracks: Babylon's burning, Jah war, somthing that i said.

The psychedelic furs

The Psychedelic Furs:


this was one of my favourites when it came out on release..it still has passion to this day.

Track listing:
1.India.
2.sister europe.
3.susan's strange.
4.fall.
5.we love you.
6.soap commercial.
7.imitation of christ.
8.pulse.
9.wedding song.
10.flowers.
Recommended tracks: India, Sister europe, we love you, imitation of christ.