That’s right…your stereo is f…ed up!

Tracklist:
1. Say No! to Authority
2. Wanna Die
3. Society
4. California Sucks
5. Murder in the Brady House
6. I Can’t Stand Myself
7. My Song
8. High Ambitions
9. March of the Lawmowers
10. Leave Me Alone
11. Don’t Touch My Car
12. 7-11
13. Cows
14. Work
15. Wavin Gerbs
16. Liar
17. O.M.W.
18. Clean-Cut Asshole
19. Raining Needles
20. BPD
21. Experience the Ozzfish
22. Jockpunk
23. K-Mart Blues
24. Bates Hotel
25. Hardcore Hippie
26. What Is Right
27. Yeah Baby!
28. In the Hospital
29. I Feel Like Shit
30. I Hate Led Zeppelin
31. American Suicide
32. A Political Song for Screeching Weasel to Sing
33. Twinkie Warfare
34. Stoned and Stupid
35. Life Sucks (And So Do You)
36. I Wanna Be Naked!
37. My Right
38. Hey, Suburbia
39. Ashtray

Auditia materialelor din anii 80 ale celor de la Screeching Weasel reprezinta un punct foarte bun de pornire pentru cei care vor sa se familiarizeze cu ceea ce insemna punkul acum doua decenii.

E vorba de 39 de piese compresate in mai putin de 40 de minute, majoritatea foarte scurte si foarte “hardcore”. Inregistrari de o calitate indoielnica, profanitati la tot pasul, teribilism si versuri la ‘sto. Dar si foarte, foarte mult talent. Albumul este un diamant neslefuit al genului. Instrumentistii si solistul incepeau sa aiba experienta si acest lucru se simte in momentul in care compari piesele acestea cu variantele lor initiale, de pe  primul demo, pe care il veti gasi pe bootlegul Punk Rock Superheroes, in cazul in care veti reusi sa suportati calitatea execrabila a sunetului (eu am reusit si chiar mi-au placut.  Au fost primele piese Screeching Weasel pe care le-am ascultat si care m-au facut sa cercetez trupa mai indeaproape).

Caracterul uneori contradictoriu al versurilor, care avea sa devina obisnuit pe urmatoarele albume, este prezent si aici. Piesa I Can’t Stand Myself zice asa: “girls are repulsed by the sight of me i slouch and i don’t brush my teeth don’t have a job – don’t go to school and worst of all – i think i’m cool, i can’t stand myself”. Versuri care spun multe despre atitudinea punk, insa si despre genul de umor gustat de Ben Weasel (fondatorul trupei, vocalistul si “poetul” din spatele versurilor). Alte piese duc umorul “Beavis&Butthead” si mai departe, cum ar fi Wavin’ Gerbs, o descriere succinta a activitatii de prajire a unui hamster la microunde. Majoritatea pieselor au continut liric apropiat de acest nivel. Asa ca daca genul acesta de umor va face sa va puneti mainile in cap, cel mai bine e sa evitati albumul din start. Pe cei pe care nu ii deranjeaza atat de mult povestile cu hamsteri si aparate de tuns iarba care explodeaza, si imprecatiile la adresa hippiotilor demne de Cartman, acest album ii va surprinde si cu unele piese care incearca sa depaseasca acest nivel, insa nu prea multe. (A Political Song For Screeching Weasel To Sing, My Right).

Din punct de vedere muzical, albumul ii va incanta pe fanii de hardcore. Amatorii de punk clasic vor gasi si ei cateva piese interesante (Hey, Suburbia), desi influenta celor de la Ramones se va simti mult mai mult pe urmatoarele albume. Instrumentatia este una tipica pentru hardcore, tobosarul face o treaba foarte buna, iar chitara are cateva momente in care arata in mod neasteptat creativitate (cum ar fi finalul piesei Cows, altfel total neinteresanta, care este salvata de aceasta mica interventie solistica a lui Jughead).

Pe scurt, Screeching Weasel este o auditie obligatorie pentru toti fanii de hardcore. Cei care s-au familiarizat cu Screeching Weasel prin albumele acestora pop-punk s-ar putea sa nu il guste, insa adevarul e ca acesta e cel mai punk dintre albumele lor si are un mare plus la capitolul atitudine.

Piese recomandate: I Can’t Stand Myself, Cows, Wavin’ Gerbs (animal violence for the win!), O.M.W. , In The Hospital.

Rating: 7.5/10
Gasiti acest album, alaturi de intreaga discografie Screeching Weasel, aici.

Tracklist

1. Paperhouse
2. Mushroom
3. Oh Yeah
4. Halleluhwah
5. Aumgn
6. Peking O
7. Bring Me Coffee or Tea

When I first started listening to “Tago Mago”, a few people advised me against it. It seems there are many theories in circulation about why you shouldn’t listen to it. It can lower your libido, make you paranoid or, even worse – every night of the remainder of your short life, you might be visited by Jimbo, the Easter weasel that sings serenades about radioactive cotton swabs whilst sneezing vanilla-scented peanuts. So you can either heed these warnings, or just go on listening anyway (I’ve listened to this album several times, and none of the above happened to me, so you should be all right, too). You probably won’t regret it, if you don’t mind the occasional mindf***, that is (I meant to write ‘mindscrew’, but damn, is the F key close to the S key! – plus I really like asterisks).

Now, if you haven’t heard of the band “Can” yet, feel free to head over to last.fm, Wikipedia, Youtube or whatever and get a sample of their music. I’m just going to give you a brief introduction to the band – they were probably one of the finest krautrock acts to emerge from Germany, if not from the whole world. They were krautrock pioneers back in the late 60′s and the 70′s and their music has influenced many avant-garde, punk – and even ambient artists. Edgy, yet cosmic, minimalist, yet complex, their music is like a cross between Syd Barret’s psychedelic experimentation, Velvet Underground’s artsy guitar noise and Brian Eno’s flamboyant, but minimalist approach to music. Think “Piper at the Gates of Dawn”, only louder, faster, and more spaced-out.

Of all Can albums, “Tago Mago” is probably the one that has stood the test of time best, and one of their more widely-known performances. It starts off with ‘Paperhouse’, the first part of which (to me at least), bears a slight resemblance to some of the work of Hendrix and perhaps even The Doors. This vague familiarity evaporates soon though, when the band break into a psychedelic solo, filled with hypnotic, droning instrumental and vocal bits. Then, almost unexpectedly, ‘Mushroom’ starts – a song with such an infectious groove that it will keep repeating in your mind long after you’ve finished listening to it. With distinguishable yet somewhat opaque lyrics, one might interpret it as describing the world seen through the eyes of a child born at Hiroshima on the day the atom bomb fell. “When I saw mushroom head, I was born, I was dead.” ‘Oh Yeah’ is a trippy song with backwards vocals at the beginning. I tend to like the second half of the track more, as it is slightly more exciting than the first part. ‘Halleluhwah’ is trippy, groovy and quite repetitious – but nothing groundbreaking, in any case. ‘Aumgn’ and ‘Peking O’ are freak-out moments that don’t treat your ears too kindly. ‘Bring me Coffee or Tea’ is a fairly melodic psychedelic improvisation (somewhat similar to Pink Floyd’s “Careful With That Axe Eugene”) that builds up gradually and is more like the first four songs of the album than the previous two tracks.

Overall, I would say “Tago Mago” is a must-listen for anyone who likes progressive rock, avant-garde and experimental music. However, it takes more than one play to get used to it. And I suppose I could say that one should listen to it in moderation (all jokes from the introduction to this review aside). I am only giving it a rating of 8 because I’m not very fond of some of the sonic experimentation on the album (especially on tracks 5 and 6). In any case, listen to it and make up your own mind!

Standout tracks: Paperhouse, Mushroom, Oh Yeah

Rating: 8

A few years ago, I was going through a phase where I would listen to a considerable number of albums every day, in the hope of finding something that would resurrect the excitement I had once felt when listening to albums such as King Crimson’s “In the Court of the Crimson King” or, better yet, Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here”. While my goal was somewhat clear, nothing seemed to work for me then. I was about to give up, when I read a review about an album that would soon flush away all the frustrations about not being able to draw any feeling from the music I listened to.

The moment I discovered Jeff Buckley’s “Grace”, my experience of music took an unexpected turn for the better. In many ways it was different from the two aforementioned quintessential prog albums (which I had often used as a measure for other music). However it possessed a sensibility and fragility that I had never found elsewhere. It was as if some ethereal creature from another world had decided to leave a sign of its presence on Earth, but remain anonymous by using Buckley’s voice and likeness. And this analogy, which might seem a bit far-fetched, might actually reflect to a certain extent Jeff Buckley’s influence on the music scene. Gone from the world far too early, a person of formidable talent, he did manage to leave a legacy, in the form of one album, that will send shivers down the spines of music lovers for… well, forever. I can’t really see it any other way.

It’s not easy to objectively comment upon an album one is so emotionally attached to, but I’ve decided that, after all, I’m not even going to try to write an objective review. No, this will be about the “Grace” that blew my mind away, sending waves of adrenalin through my body, literally F-ing up my psyche into sheer ecstasy (by ‘literally’ I actually mean ‘figuratively’, just so you know). But just to entertain the illusion that this is not my personal review, I’ll use the second person from now on. This should hopefully do the trick of getting you involved in the description I’m about to give.

MOJO PIN

The album opens with some quiet, otherworldy electric guitar harmonics and arpeggiated chordal work, subtly emphasised with a whammy bar and volume pedal. Then Buckley’s voice comes in. This is when you realise your ears are in for a real treat. The voice strikes you as gentle yet raw and you get a certain feeling that this is not where the surprises stop. And indeed it isn’t. By the second chorus, the voice starts to soar while the instrumentation simply explodes in a Zeppelin-esque manner. There’s tension and release, then tension and release again, and your brain slowly gets flooded with endorphins. Now you’re ready for what comes next.

GRACE

The title track is simply amazing. Retaining some of the tension and otherworldliness of the previous song, it manages to take you new places with its slightly more constant and alert beat and Buckley’s vocals ranging from breathy to almost shouted. And here you start to get the sense of the singer’s incredible 4-octave vocal range.

LAST GOODBYE

‘Last Goodbye’ is somewhat of a pop song, which doesn’t mean it is any less enjoyable. The intro slide guitar riff, complemented by the catchy bass line (which gets repeated in different forms throughout the song) is one of the better moments of the song. The run through different tonalities and timbres makes the song interesting enough to belong on this nearly-perfect album.

LILAC WINE

‘Lilac Wine’ is the first cover on the album (there are two more: ‘Hallelujah’ and ‘Corpus Christi Carol’). It is a serene and sensitive song and its sparse and quiet instrumentation leaves room for the singer’s perfectly-controlled voice. At this point you realise that there are many sides to Buckley’s musical sensibility.

SO REAL

‘So Real’ is one of the more powerful moments on the LP. The lyrics and the vocal melody blend so well that you cannot help but think of how it echoes the avant-garde experimentation on Tim Buckley, Jeff’s Father’s, album ‘Lorca’. Complete with dissonant guitar parts and controlled vocal disorder, it hints at the darker, more chaotic side of Buckley’s psyche.

HALLELUJAH

‘Hallelujah’ is one of the few covers in rock history that manage to surpass the original. While Leonard Cohen’s version is indeed a wonderful performance, Buckley adds the depth of his own voice and sensibility to the song. While the dynamic variations in the song are subtle, there are so many hair-rasing moments that it is as if you were enraptured and taken apart, neuron by overstimulated neuron, by Buckley’s voice – which, on this track, reaches its peak in terms of clarity and expressiveness. It is hardly imaginable how a song conveying so much pain and disappointment can have such an uplifting effect.

LOVER, YOU SHOULD’VE COME OVER

A composition more in the realm of soul music than anything else, ‘Lover, You Should’ve Come Over’ nicely highlights Buckley’s vocal ability, and the band’s instrumental prowess. Buckley’s voice is perfectly fitted for this kind of composition.

CORPUS CHRISTI CAROL

A reprise of a Middle English hymn, ‘Corpus Christi Carol’, with its peaceful instrumentation and ethereal vocal part, is a song that, while somewhat detached from the rest of the album, can bring the listener to emotional areas yet unvisited. Buckley shifts freely from his head voice to his falsetto voice throughout the song, which contributes to the feeling of otherworldly serenity.

ETERNAL LIFE

The heavy ‘Eternal Life’ kicks in full blast, spoiling the effect of the previous song a little. The lyrical content is also powerful, while possessing a certain naivety. It’s a song that kicks your heart around as if it were a soccer ball in a room with walls only two feet apart. A good song indeed, but it somewhat pales in comparison to the final track.

DREAM BROTHER

‘Dream Brother’ closes the album in a vigorous and emotionally intense manner. Lyrically making reference to Buckley’s father’s absence during Jeff’s early life, this song is almost mind-altering. It is as if digging out the bones of hated memories and then pouring cement over them. The closing line – “asleep in the sand, with the ocean washing over” literally washes over your mind, sending shivers and spikes through your body. Now you know what it means to be Jeff Buckley. Now you feel the tragedy, the pain, the fear, the disappointment, but also the joy and numinous ecstasy of his short existence.

Jeff Buckley’s album “Grace” is not just an LP that you listen to, it is an experience of the senses that pulls you in and doesn’t let you go until you listen to it again and again and again… Well it doesn’t really ever let you go. After hearing it once, your perception of music will never be the same.

Rating: 9.5/10

Profit de aceasta ocazie pentru a vi-l prezenta pe noul membru al echipei Zamislitilor Salbateci, Odd Overtones. Venirea sa marcheaza transformarea blogului nostru intr-unul bilingv, recenziile sale fiind in limba engleza. Give him a big hand ladies and gentlemen!

un cover punk “old school” dupa piesa asta:

Tracklist:
1. Priceasna ardeleneasca de munca
2. Supravietuitor
3. Drumul meu
4. Priceasna ardeleneasca de resemnare
5. La arme
6. Snob-man
7. Priceasna ardeleneasca de convietuire
8. Mai bat un cui in sicriu
9. Rusine
10. Priceasna ardeleneasca de dragoste
11. Pula-n cur si bani de drum
12. Priceasna ardeleneasca de saracie
13. Paine si circ (cu Andy Ghost)
14. Pesa de dragoste
15. Priceasna ardeleneasca de bunastare
16. Teoria Lunetistului

Nu am avut niciodata o parere foarte buna despre metalul extrem autohton. De prea multe ori se dovedeste a fi o imitatie palida a ceea ce canta (sau cantau) trupele din strainatate. O “copie xerox de cacat pe hartie proasta”, ca sa ii parafrazam pe baietii de la Truda. Insa ei se incadreaza oare in acest cliseu al trupelor romanesti etern aservite trendurilor occidentale? Hai sa vedem.

In urma auditiei acestui material (partiala ce-i drept, pentru ca din downloadul pus de ei moca pe net lipsesc vreo 3-4 piese ale albumului), pot sa spun ca Truda, trupa relativ noua care (cred) scosese doar un album pana acum, imi depaseste asteptarile. Asta nu spune multe, pentru ca asteptarile mele erau deja foarte reduse. Da, instrumentatia e lipsita de originalitate, si da, vocalul suna ca o imitatie de Andy Ghost (deci practic imitatia unei imitatii), dar parca ei nu se iau tocmai in serios, lucru care din punctul meu de vedere ii iarta de multe pacate. “Pricesnele ardelenesti”, debordand de expresii licentioase, sunt prima indicatie a acestui lucru. Asa ar fi sunat probabil interludiile de pe Mugur de Fluier al lui Phoenix, daca Nicu Covaci ar fi fost beat. Totusi, ele au efectul ludic scontat, si ofera si coeziune albumului.

Despre piese nu se pot spune prea multe. Unora le place genul asta de muzica, altora nu. Mie din intamplare nu imi displace, iar acesti tineri se vede ca au entuziasm si “vana”. E vorba de un heavy metal cu influente death la nivelul vocalului. Nu este o muzica peste masura de agresiva, insa cu siguranta va pune pe fuga pe un fidel ascultator de Bambi. Unele momente solistice ale chitaristului sunt reusite, dar majoritatea sunt aceleasi riffuri pe care le-am auzit cu totii de la Jimmy Page incoace. Solistul are unele momente in care vrea sa ne arate ca stie si sa cante, dar destul de rare si deloc revelatoare. In rest, sa zic ceva despre mesaj? Inca de la prima piesa Truda ne demonstreaza ca nu vrea cu nici un chip sa iasa din cliseul “sistemul e de cacat”. Si nu se dezminte pana la finalul albumului, numai ca dupa cum am mai spus, ceea ce ii salveaza pe Truda de caderea in derizoriu si teribilism este factorul “caterinca” prezent in muzica lor.

Recomandari nu prea am, cam toate piesele sunt la acelasi nivel.

Rating: 6.5/10 (de ascultat numai pentru cine gusta genul muzical).

STANEE! Las-o baa!

Tracklist:
1. Perfect
2. Vecina
3. Luca
4. Tanta
5. Emigrant USA
6. Stan
7. Namol
8. Victoria

Succesul unei trupe ca Timpuri Noi la scurt timp dupa ’90, atunci cand muzica romaneasca ce nu se conforma ideii de “slagar” iesea in sfarsit din anonimat, este foarte explicabil. Tineri, plini de entuziasm si de idei, baietii aveau si unele atuuri in comparatie cu trupe deja recunoscute la nivel national precum Cargo sau Iris: in primul rand, ceea ce cantau ei suna mult mai “fresh”, si in al doilea rand, ei nu se prea luau in serios. Ironia si autoironia se face simtita de la vizionarea copertei pana la fiecare acord de pe fiecare piesa, si totusi piesele suna extrem de autentic si au un stil inconfundabil, preluat intr-o masura mai mare sau mai mica de multe trupe care le vor urma (Sarmalele Reci, Vama Veche, Taxi, etc).

Fara indoiala ca sufletul trupei e reprezentat de solistul Artan si de chitaristul Dan Iliescu (uneori solist si el). Insa intregul registru instrumental e foarte bine pus la punct si suna excelent. Toate piesele se incadreaza in limbajul rock, insa abordarea este variata. Piesa Emigrant USA este cel mai bun exemplu, incepand ca un blues traditional si incheindu-se in stil de heavy metal 70′s. Piese ca Vecina, Luca, Tanta, Namol au setat un standard pentru piesele pe care Timpuri Noi aveau sa le lanseze pe tot parcursul anilor 90: ghiduse, haioase, fredonabile, de facut show in concerte. Stan face si ea parte din categoria asta, fiind in acelasi timp un prilej pentru Iliescu sa isi etaleze skillurile de chitara (nu fara obisnuita autoironie, personajul Stan fiind un “chitarist” care isi tortureaza vecinii de la bloc). Pacat de calitatea inregistrarii, care la fel ca in cazul Cargo prezentat mai devreme,  lasa de dorit.

Prima si ultima piesa (Perfect si Victoria) reprezinta parca o incercare a trupei de a isi depasi limitele si de a face mai mult decat caterinca, versurile dobandesc un anume substrat in contextul societatii romanesti in tranzitie.

Timpuri Noi e cu siguranta un album de referinta pentru timpul sau si ramane unul dintre cele mai bune produse ale muzicii usoare de la noi, ridicandu-se fara nici o problema la standardele de calitate ale muzicii de afara, din toate punctele de vedere…mai putin cel al inregistrarii.

rating: 8.5/10

piese de referinta: Perfect, Tanta, Victoria

Tracklist:

Disc 1

1. Overture
2. heaven On Their Minds
3. What’s The Buzz?
4. Strange Thing, Mystifying
5. Everything’s Alright
6. This Jesus Must Die
7. Hosanna
8. Poor Jerusalem
9. Pilate’s dream
10. The Temple
11. I Don’t Know How To Love Him
12. Damned For All Time
13. Blood Money

Disc 2:

1. The Last Supper
2. Gethsemane
3. The Arrest
4. Peter’s Denial
5. Pilate And Christ
6. Hosanna
7. King Herod’s song
8. Can We Start Again Please
9. Judas’s Death
10. Trial Before Pilate
11. Superstar
12. The Crucifixion
13. John 19:41- Orchesta

Acesta este mult mai mult decat un simplu album muzical, dupa cum probabil ca stiti. Jesus Christ Superstar a fost primul musical de pe Broadway dedicat in intregime muzicii rock, realizare revolutionara la acea vreme. De asemenea este una dintre primele opere rock in adevaratul sens al cuvantului, alaturi de Tommy a celor de la The Who. Jesus Christ Superstar a fost interpretata si reinterpretata de atatea ori incat este imposibil de spus care e cea mai buna varianta, fiecare dintre ele avand meritele sale. Insusi Ian Gillan de la Deep Purple este prezent in rolul lui Isus in interpretarea originala, si ramane unul dintre cei mai buni interpreti ai rolului, alaturi de Steve Balsamo. Cat despre antagonistul sau Iuda, el a fost interpretat genial de Carl Anderson in filmul din 1973. Printre artistele notabile care de-a lungul timpului au interpretat rolul Mariei Magdalena se numara si Sarah Brightman.

Albumul relateaza povestea lui Isus, concentrandu-se pe perioada dinaintea mortii sale, si pe relatia conflictuala dintre el si Iuda. interpretata, ce-i drept, mai liber decat o prezinta textele biblice. Cu toate acestea naratiunea si dialogul respecta indeaproape Evangheliile, mult mai mult decat lasa sa se inteleaga titlul operei, care probabil ca le-a creat multor credinciosi o parere gresita in legatura cu continutul. De fapt, nu este nimic blasfemiator sau batjocoritor la adresa crestinismului si a lui Hristos. Este mai degraba o interpretare moderna a textului biblic, si atat crestinii cat si cei de alte confesiuni sau convingeri pot sa se bucure de ea in egala masura. Calitatea principala a unei opere de arta autentice este deschiderea la cat mai multe interpretari, iar Jesus Christ Superstar sta foarte bine la acest capitol. Finalul nu este unul cu happy-end, de Hollywood, insa este unul deschis oricarei interpretari. Multi crestini il critica, deoarece considera ca omiterea Invierii este un refuz de recunoastere a divinitatii lui Hristos. Pe acestia ii invit sa citeasca Blaga, si sa se elucideze in legatura cu corola de minuni si celelalte chestii invatate prin liceu.

Din punct de vedere compozitional, avem de a face cu ceva mult peste media albumelor pe care eu cel putin obisnuiesc sa le ascult, se cunoaste imediat mana unor profesionisti (Andrew Lloyd Webber si Tim Rice, cunoscuti si pentru alte musicaluri precum Evita). Se pune accentul evident pe performanta vocala, insa instrumentalele sunt extrem de variate, chitara electrica si alte instrumente moderne intersectandu-se deseori cu orchestra simfonica, rezultatul fiind unul neasteptat de reusit. Punctul culminant este monologul lui Isus in gradina Ghetsimani, care (in variantele in care este foarte bine interpretat) poate produce fiori pe sira spinarii (un exemplu marca Steve Balsamo aici ).

Pe scurt, Jesus Christ Superstar ofera o auditie care combina calitatea muzicii clasice cu energia muzicii rock, si a avut o contributie importanta la vremea sa la revitalizarea musical-ului. 40 de ani mai tarziu, continua sa aiba succes in randul audientelor de varste si convingeri cat se poate de diferite. Desigur, simpla auditie a albumului nu se compara cu forta pe care au avut-o multe dintre punerile sale in scena, insa ii acord nota 9/10 , singurul lucru pe care i-l reprosez fiind ca multe dintre momentele sale nu se apropie de intensitatea si genialitatea lui Gethsemane.

pentru incheiere va las in compania lui Sarah Brightman: