New Gems from

Elliott Sharp! Steve Lantner! Toy Killers! Kuryohkin box! Chadbourne/Blechdom! 2 from Keith Rowe! Rudresh Mahanthappa! Clusone 3!

Boredoms + 77 Boa Drummers! 2 from Acid Mother Temple [what..again?!?!?]! Out-Of-Print Thomas Chapin and Briggan Krauss releases! Rare Bird! H P Lovecraft! ..




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TWO DOWNTOWN MUSIC GALLERY BENEFITS - NEXT WEEK!!!

Wednesday December 17th - 10pm at Bowery Poetry Club!
Featuring:

* TISZIJI MUNOZ' HEART-BURN TRIO with BOB "RA-KALAM" MOSES & DON PATE & Special Guest Rebazar Munoz!
* THE ROBERT MUSSO/RAOUL BJORKENHEIM EXPERIENCE with ELLIOTT LEVIN, KEITH MACKSOUD & ERIC SLICK!
* ELLIOTT SHARP'S BOOTSTRAPPERS With MELVIN GIBBS & ANTON FIER!


Saturday December 20th - 8:00 at Roulette! NEW EARLIER TIME - TAKE NOTE!
Featuring:

* JOHN ZORN, LOUIE BELOGENIS, SHANIR BLUMENKRANZ & KENNY WOLLESEN!
* DOWNTOWN HORNS With ROY CAMPBELL, SABIR MATEEN, DANIEL CARTER!

Reservations (for you + 1) for the Benefit at Roulette can be made by replying to this via e-mail ONLY.
No phone calls please. Reservations will be held until 7:45 only, after that it is first come first serve as there are only 75 seats.

Admission for each benefit is $25.

PLEASE COME AND SUPPORT DOWNTOWN MUSIC GALLERY - WE WOULDN'T ASK IF THERE WAS ANY OTHER WAY. The past few months have been very slow for us here at DMG and the future is uncertain.
Even if you can't make it to our benefits, you can still contribute to the 'Friends of Downtown Music Gallery Fund' which was prompted by our good friend and mentor Anthony Braxton. Assuming you recognize that we are an institution that goes beyond mere record retail ..and you can afford it, please help us with a contribution of any size.
Happy holidays to all and thank you from the bottom of our hearts. - Bruce, Manny, Chuck, Bret, Joe M, Mike P & Jacob


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This from our friend Patricia Parker [no one does more to keep performance alive in New York!]:

We need your help to build a Center for Innovative Arts in the Lower East Side. Come celebrate art and innovation with us at the Arts for Art Gala on December 15 at the Angel Orensanz Foundation, 172 Norfolk Street. Join us for a festive evening of stellar performances and help us launch this project that will enrich the growing arts culture of Downtown Manhattan!
Artists of all ages and disciplines have come together with the local community to create this vibrant place for mentoring the next generation of innovators, performing groundbreaking work and advancing the distinctive heritage of downtown arts. Your support will enable the first crucial step: identifying a building, in the vicinity of the Bowery, as a permanent home for the Center.
Arts for Arts has received a $100,000 Capital Reserve Challenge grant from the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust. Help us take best advantage of that generous award; we have until December 31, 2008 to do so. If you can't join us at the Gala, please consider a donation at www.visionfestival.org. Now more than ever, nurturing imagination and inspiration in New York City is a vital necessity!
Arts for Art, Inc. cordially invites you to a Gala Fundraiser

to create the Innovative Arts Center

A Place for Innovation in Music, Arts and Thinking

Monday, December 15, 2008

Dinner Open Bar: 7:30pm - 9:30pm
Performances: 9:30pm - 11:00pm
Attire: Festive

The Angel Orensanz Foundation
172 Norfolk Street
New York, NY, 10002

Speakers:
Margaret Richardson, Obama Transition Team, Marc Lambert, Puffin Foundation
Patricia Nicholson-Parker, Arts For Art, Inc.

Performances by:
Yerba Buena, William Parker's Inside Songs Of Curtis Mayfield, Citizen Cope & Burnt Sugar and other Surprise Guests

Tables start at $2000. Individual tickets start at $250.
Special Friends Artists Price $150.
Price for Performance only: $50.
Students & Seniors $35.

Special Performances: 9:30pm - 11:00pm

Please RSVP Todd at: info@artsforart.org
For more information please email us at info@artsforart.org
or call us at 212.254.5420

Tickets available through BROWN PAPER TICKETS - 1-800-838-3006


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ELLIOTT SHARP/ORCHESTRA CARBON - Q-Mix [Ltd Ed] (Zoar ZPO-06; USA) Q-Mix is an incredibly wide-ranging collection of soundtracks composed and performed by E# for a variety of formats: film, video (including MTV), museum installations, and theater. It's like listening to a wildly eclectic radio station playing a mix that is somehow all over the globe but still deeply connected to one inner stream. The sounds range from mutant electric guitar ruminations, pulsing electronica, and jazzy lyrical Latin-tinged nylon-string guitar improvisation through Memphis soul, Celtic mandocello, and a funky tribute to The Meters. All different but all somehow sounding like E#! These tracks were created for filmmaker Jenn Reeves, playwright Dael Orlandersmith, video artist Jaye Rhee, and a large NYC natural history museum among others.
In addition to guitars and sax, E# plays keyboards and synths both analog and digital, chromatic harmonica, and percussion. He's joined on various tracks by Anthony Coleman, Sim Cain, and Joseph Trump and more. 72 minutes of music!
CD $20



New on HAT!

STEVE LANTNER QUARTET With ALLAN CHASE/JOE MORRIS/LUTHER GRAY - Given: Live In Munster (hat ology 663; Switzerland) Steve Lantner piano; Allan Chase saxophones; Joe Morris double bass; Luther Gray drums Given - Live In Muenster, is the Steve Lantner Quartet's second effort. Its sax-piano-bass-drums line-up invites weight against the measure of classic albums like Misterioso, Black Fire, Giant Steps, and Saxophone Colossus on the one hand, and thousands of rote quartet recordings on the other. Lantner's contribution falls on the right end of the spectrum by doing exactly what a jazz album must in order to justify its carbon footprint in the 21st Century; it presents a vivid impression of a singular musician with a strong band moving the music forward. Or as Lantner puts it, "I am trying to play jazz music in a language that I think is a natural evolution past tonal/modal sensibilities."- Bill Meyer
CD $20

CLUSONE 3 [MICHAEL MOORE/ERNST REIJSEGER/HAN BENNINK] - Soft Lights And Sweet Music (hat ology 657; Switzerland) Michael Moore reeds; Ernst Reijseger cello; Han Bennink drums
Musicians play Irving Berlin because he makes them sound good. The pretty songs make you sound poetic just reading; the tap-inflected songs Astaire introduced will bring out your swing if you have any. So what you get with Irving Berlin is melody so strong and self-supporting it keeps its integrity, no matter how stretched or yanked from context. And you get music so common, to America and to jazz at least, musicians may make free with it without losing you. You have, in short, perfect fodder for Clusone 3 - which they knew even before they were approached about doing an unspecified concept album. While feasting on the individual selections, please note how nicely programmed this disc is. As live, Clusone 3 cut the wide open stuff with tight swingers. You can argue for cosmic implications: the music expands and contracts like the universe. Or you can just say the rhythm's as natural as breathing: in, out, in, out. - Kevin Whitehead
CD $20



New on LEO!

SERGEY KURYOKHIN With CLUBFOOT ORCHESTRA/UT GRET/HENRY KAISER - Absolutely Great!: In California 1988 [Ltd Ed 7 CD Box Set] (LEO 910-916; UK) - with Club Foot Orchestra, Ut Gret and special guests Andrew Voigt, Henry Kaiser, Larry Kassin, Boris Rayskin, etc.
Twenty years ago, in the autumn of 1988, Sergey Kuryokhin toured USA and in October of that year he performed for three nights in the Bay Area. Every night he played two sets which started with his long solo introductions. Some 15-20-30 minutes later he was joined by many American musicians. On the first night he was joined by the Club Foot Orchestra consisting of eight musicians, on the second night he played with Andrew Voight and Henry Kaiser and eight special guests plus two dancers, and on the third night in Santa Cruz he played again with Andrew Voight and Ut Gret consisting of seven musicians. These three nights, two sets each, constitute six CDs. The seventh CD is a bonus - it is a duo recording with Henry Kaiser which they recorded while Sergey was in California. Some 20 years ago this disc was released by RYKO disc under the title 'Popular Science' and has been unavailable for a long time.
This 7-CD set is being released as a limited edition of 500 copies which makes it an instant collector's item because half of the edition will be shipped to Russia to Nastya Kuryokhina, Sergey's widow, who runs SKIF - Sergey Kuryokhin International Festival - in St. Petersbu
7 CD set for $75

MARK O'LEARY/STALE STORLOKKEN/STEIN INGE BRAEKHUS - St. Fin Barre's (Leo 526; UK) It's the tenth CD by Mark O'Leary on Leo Records and a new departure. It's been recorded in the magnificient Cork's Cathedral St. Fin Barre's. Mark chose his partners very carefully. The church organist Stale Storlokken is a member of Norwegian cult band Supersilent as well as member of Terje Rypdal's trio. Stein Inge Braekhus is a sensitive drummer who works with subtle nuances and dynamic breaks of tension. Although it was recorded in 2002 it marks yet another phase in Mark's recorded journey. Liner notes by Steve Day.
CD $17

CARL LUDWIG HUBSCH'S LONGRUN DEVELOPMENT OF THE UNIVERSE With MATTHIAS SCHUBERT/WOLTER WEIRBOS - Is This Our Music? (Leo 525; UK) This CD is a brainchild of the tubist Carl Ludwig Hubsch (who is one of the four composers on the recently released CD LR 513 James Choice Orchestra). Other members of the Hubsch's trio are Matthias Schubert (tenor sax) and Wolter Wierbos (trombone). The highly original music on this CD has been inspired (but not influenced) by the composers Carl Stolling and Karlhinez Stockhausen. It can be termed as structured improvisation, and, considering a very unusual instrumentation (tuba, sax & trombone), it is music of great fun and wit. The booklet is in two languages - English and German.
CD $17

MOSCOW COMPOSERS ORCHESTRA [MCO] With SAINKHO NAMCHYLAK [NAMTCHYLAK] - Portrait Of An Idealist (Leo 527; UK) "Portrait of an Idealist" is a very special project. It is a homage to Nick Dmitriev, the man who put together Moscow Composers Orchestra at a very troubled time in the history of Russia - the years following "perestroika". It is partly based on the poetry of the great Russian poet Daniil Kharms, and partly on Sainkho's poetry. What Sainkho tried to do was to preserve in music the spirit of perestroika, spirit of changes, the general mood and atmosphere of those years. Musicians of the Orchestra raised for the occasion and brilliantly transformed that atmosphere into the sound.
CD $17



KEVIN BLECHDOM/EUGENE CHADBOURNE - The Chaddom Blechbourne Experience (Victo 112; Canada) Hallelujah! Finally some positive vibes from our good pal Dr. Chadbourne and his ridiculously wacky duo with the groovy Ms. Kevin (a/k/a Kristin) Blechdom! This hilarious and often bizarre duo/disc was taken from two concerts, one at the Victo Fest in May of 2007 and the other at The Stone in April of 2007. Both Eugene and Kevin sing and play banjo with Kevin also playing some piano. What I love about Dr. Chad in general and this disc specifically is the surprising selection of songs: numerous traditional songs, "Good Vibrations", two from early Pink Floyd and even a rap tune. What is truly great is the way this duo breathes life into and turns these songs inside-out! The opening medley of traditional bluegrass songs really made me smile, it is joyous hoedown of familiar tunes that made me wanna dance around the kitchen and just go nuts. Both Kevin & Eugene have charming, goofy voices that really warm the heart. The version of the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" is blended with "Kiss Off" by Gordon Gano and must be heard to be believed. Both songs collide but somehow work together in an odd way. Who would've thought that Pink Floyd's psychedelic classics "Astronomy Domine" & "Chapter 24" could work with just two banjos and two voices!?! It does and they are both grand. Another highlight is a cover of "Danger (Ben So Long)" by Mystikal, an impossibly rude song that boasts all kinds of funny sh*t. Hearing Dr. Chad howl on "Graveyard" also had me screaming along, no doubt my neighbors think that I've lost my mind. The grand finale is an unbelievable version of "Reflections on Dueling Banjos" which starts with an audience member (my fiance actually) screaming because the largest cockroach we've ever seen walked across the stage at The Stone and ran under her chair. It was indeed a moment that none of us in attendance will ever forget and we still crack up thinking about. This piece ends with a (fake) gunfight between Kevin and Eugene and the liner notes explain the story behind the use of guns on stage in a time of heightened security. There is no other disc on Victo quite like this one and it comes just at the right time considering that we all could use a boost in our collective morale during these troubled times. Special thanks to Ms. Blechdom and Mr. Chadbourne from your good friends here at DMG. - BLG
CD $15


TOY KILLERS [MARK E MILLER/CHARLES K NOYES] With JOHN ZORN/ARTO LINDSAY/WAYNE HORVITZ/ELLIOTT SHARP/NICKY SKOPELITIS/BILL LASWELL et al - The Unlistenable Years: 1980-1983 (ugExplode 30; USA) 25 tracks/67 minutes of previously unheard vintage no wave/improv/noise/post-punk insanity from '80-'84 feat. madmen drummers Charles K. Noyes and Mark E. Miller. with incredible, newly unearthed performances by John Zorn, Bill Laswell, Arto Lindsay, Elliott Sharp and more. this is exactly what it sounds like folks . . . amazing studio and live tracks, selected, mixed and mastered by Weasel Walter, with liner notes by Anton Fier. stay tuned for new Toy Killers jams in 2009!!!! hear tracks and see video at myspace.com/toykillers !!!!
"I had the good fortune or perhaps lack of sense to witness the Toy Killers on a handful of occasions at Studio Henry and the Zu Loft in the early 1980's. The Toy Killers were basically Charles K Noyes and Mark Miller on drums, percussion and explosives. You never knew how much danger you might be putting yourself into when madman Mark E Miller was involved. I recall Mark throwing fire crackers in the audience and setting his hand on fire at certain gigs. I also remember some dude in a suit leaping out of his seat during a crazy Toy Killers set at Studio Henry and shouting, "This is bullsh*t! I'm from the NY Times and you are going to hear about this!" Some members of the audience applauded when he left. Weasel Walter has done an admirable job of editing this timely compilation. There is alot more going on than I would've expected and this is not just noise for its own sake. The Toy Killers were a great No Wave band that combined the best of many opposing worlds/scenes. Arto Lindsay's distinctive voice and unique guitar are featured on a half dozen of these tracks, as well as contributions from John Zorn (bird calls & sax), Elliott Sharp & Nicky Skopelitis on guitars, Bill Laswell on bass and Wayne Horvitz on keyboards. A few of these pieces were recorded in a studio, but most of them were recorded live at various clubs which no longer exist. Yes it true, that yours truly, Bruce Lee Gallanter, recorded a bunch of the live tracks found here. I am proud to have been a part of this scene and to have contributed to this fine disc. Those were the days." - BLG
CD $15


THE SCENE IS NOW - Tonight We Ride (Lexicon Devil 26; Australia) Between the years 1984 and 1988, The Scene Is Now released three magnificent albums which have been out of print for a dog's age and have never seen the light of day on compact disk -- until now. This exclusive Lexicon Devil CD reissue of the band's third album, Tonight We Ride, has been fully remastered from original tapes by the band. Some folks compared them to the Red Krayola or Pere Ubu, some to SST outfits such as the Meat Puppets and Slovenly, and some people even hail them as the world's finest no wave jug band. The Scene Is Now (TSIN) were formed at the dawn of the 1980s by Philip Dray and Chris Nelson, a band born from the ashes of no wave trio Information (the third partner of that outfit being Rick Brown). The beauty of TSIN lies in their deceptive simplicity. What at first appears to be a straightforward, rootsy rock tune twists and turns throughout its lifespan into something completely different, keyboard lines and guitar licks darting out to and fro and seemingly pulling in different directions. The Scene Is Now remain -- as indeed they still exist -- one of the great post-Beefheart harmolodic American pop bands. Influenced equally by the ragged avant-folk sounds of the Holy Modal Rounders and the Fugs, the screech of DNA and Mars, and the traditional Americana of Bob Wills and Hoagy Carmichael, TSIN instantly set themselves apart from the pack. If you like the music of their fans -- Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo (who covered an old TSIN track on their Fakebook LP) -- the music of their peers -- Mofungo, Pere Ubu, dBs, Fish & Roses, The Feelies -- or the sounds of their acknowledged influences -- Sun Ra, Red Krayola, Minutemen -- you'll love the music of The Scene Is Now. Their music was an indefinable mixture of the old and new, the impenetrable and the accessible and the weird and wonderful. Certainly the most accessible of the three, this album features the added talents of ex-dBs Will Rigby and Pere Ubu wunderkind Tony Maimone, expanding the TSIN clan to a family of six. Playing it 20 years after its original release, it still stands tall as one of the great, virtually unknown albums from 1980s underground America.
CD $14


RUDRESH MAHANTHAPPA'S INDO-PAK COALITION With REZ ABASSI/DAN WEISS - Apti (Innova 709; USA) Apti, the groundbreaking debut album of Indian-American alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa's Indo-Pak Coalition, clearly blazes new trails into the future of jazz in the 21st Century. Synthesizing jazz with the astutely improvised musical forms of South Asia, this trio with guitar virtuoso Rez Abbasi and tabla star Dan Weiss is turning heads internationally in both the jazz and world music scenes. While most attempts to engage jazz and South Asian music often feel incoherent, with musicians from neither side able to comfortably bridge the musical divide, the music on Apti clearly transcends any previous notion of "Indo-Jazz fusion". In melding Indian concepts of melody and rhythm with his inventive style as a jazz composer and improviser, Mahanthappa has masterfully provided a compositional context that has brought out spectacular interplay within the ensemble. Apti is a major achievement in cross-cultural musical creativity and a landmark contribution to modern music that bears no precedent.
[in stock Monday]
CD $14


KEITH ROWE/TAKU UNAMI - Rowe/Unami (Erstwhile Erstlive 06; USA) Featuring Keith Rowe on solo guitar on table & laptop and Taku Unami on computer with objects, contraguitar & mandolin. This set was taken from the Erstwhile label's ongoing AMPLIFY Fest in Japan from 2008. This festival marked Rowe's fourth trip to Japan in his 40+ year career and the first time he was able to work closely with so many Tokyo musicians on their home turf. As the only non-Japanese participant in the festival, Rowe took the opportunity to both move his aesthetic towards his collaborators (in the duo sets). The first of those four sets are now available in the ErstLive series: the premiere meeting of Rowe and Taku Unami AMPLIFY 2008: light was an intense and deeply immersive experience for all who were lucky enough to be present and quite a bit of that was attributable to Rowe's four sets.
"Keith Rowe seems to excel in the duo situation and has played with a strong cast of characters over the past decade: Fennesz, Evan Parker, Oren Ambarchi, John Tilbury, Sachiko M and Toshimaru Nakamura. This is another fine duo of well-matched sonic explorers. Since we can't see who is doing what, we can only hazard a guess. There are a number of distinctive sounds that Mr. Rowe coaxes from his guitar-on-table, however what really matters is the results, the combination of fascinating sounds evolving as they unfold. Taku sounds like he has sampled and sped up a metronome or typewriter for the first section of this set. The sounds here are more boisterous, intense at times and move more quickly than Rowe's solo set. There are some times when the electronic sound become more dense and eventually mesmerizing. Sometimes it sounds as if two helicopters are mating or perhaps it is two insects buzzing together and thus being magnified. Again, the Erstwhile label shows the way for the future providing contemporary sounds between any established categories." - BLG
CD $13

KEITH ROWE - Keith Rowe: Cultural Templates (Erstwhile Erstlive 07; USA) Featuring Keith Rowe on solo guitar on table with various devices. This is an entire solo set from the iconic improviser and distinguished sonic explorer, Keith Rowe, taken from the Erstwhile label's ongoing AMPLIFY Fest in Japan from 2008. The festival marked Rowe's fourth trip to Japan in his 40+ year career and the first time he was able to work closely with so many Tokyo musicians on their home turf. As the only non-Japanese participant in the festival, Rowe took the opportunity to both move his aesthetic towards his collaborators (in the duo sets), as well as to make a strongly contrasting individual statement in his solo set, which he later titled 'Cultural Templates'.
"Considering that this is only Mr. Rowe's 4th solo disc in more than forty years since he began with AMM in the mid-sixties, he again has focused hard on creating his own sound/world. The crackling of fire or the soft hiss of electronics, what is the difference and what does it matter? That how one might describe the opening of this set. Mr. Rowe soon samples (through the guitar pick-up) a radio signal of what sounds like solo oboe from a classical piece. He slowly adds sonic fragments as seasoning while the subtle action unfolds. He selectively manipulates the humming and drone-like sounds, adding bits of static and bouncing something on the strings. Another classical choral radio signal emerges like ghosts in the machine as he combines the ancient with the modern, voices with technology. I love the way that this is recorded with the greatest of attention to each detail in the stereo mix. Keith uses space and suspense just right, giving the set time to unfold in a most organic, natural way. Without a doubt this is the finest solo guitar effort of the year, yet it rarely if ever sounds like a guitar being played." - BLG
CD $13



BOREDOMS [YAMANTAKA 'YAMATSUKA' EYE et al] - 77 Boa Drum [2 CDs + DVD + Book set] (Commmons 46037; Japan) Japanese-only live CD release from Boredoms featuring audio from their 77 Boa Drum performance July 7, 2007 in New York on two CDs. Also includes a bonus photo book and DVD. "Deluxe package containing the full 100-minute '77 Boa Drum' performance on 2 CDs, split at the point in between the two sections of the piece. The two CDs are housed inside the front and back covers of a lovely 8"x12" hardcover book containing 28 pages of full color photos from the event. Also included is a DVD (NTSC format, All Region) including approximately 20 minutes of short segments from the performance. The presentation on this is truly top-notch. It's easily the most extravagant Boredoms artifact since 1999's Vision Creation Newsun box. The performance itself is an extraordinary example of the modern-day Boredoms approach to sprawling, rhythmic psychedelia. Their current lineup of three drummers (including mainstay Yoshimi P-We) plus EYE on electronics and vocals is further bolstered by an all-star cast of 74 additional drummers, including Hisham Bharoocha (Soft Circle, ex-Black Dice), Kid Millions (Oneida), Aaron Moore (Volcano The Bear), Tim DeWitt (ex-Gang Gang Dance), Dave Nuss (No Neck Blues Band), Andee Connors (A Minor Forest, Lumen), Sara Lund (Unwound), Ryan Sawyer (Tall Firs), Josh Madell (Antietam) and Brian Chippendale (Lightning Bolt) at #77." -- ning nong
2 CD + DVD + Book set for $110


SANHEDRIN [HAINO KEIJI/TATSUYA YOSHIDA/MITSURU NASUNO] - Sanhedrin (Breathing Bass 01; Japan) "Sanhedrin is the trio of Keiji Haino (Fushitsusya, etc.), Tatsuya Yoshida (Ruins, Koenjihyakkei) and Mitsuru Nasuno (Altered States, Korekyojinn, etc.). 2nd album of the real rock monster Sanhedrin includes 2 live performances that were recorded in 2007 on mult-track recorder. This is the masterpiece live album. Is equal to of the whole body which passion gushes from. Recorded March 3, 2007 at Earthdom and June 9, 2007 at Live Inn Rosa, Tokyo. Three panel glossy card-sleeve with obi. Tour-only CD, sold during the Sanhedrin tour of Japan in early October 2008."
CD $18


YAMAMOTO SEIICHI & ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE - Giant Psychedelia [2 CD Set] (AMT 020; Japan) "Live recording from AMT Festival vol. 6 on December 8, 2007. This is a double CD set with a 6 panel cardboard jacket. Limited to 1000 copies. Recorded on digital 16 track multi-recording system. Features: Yamamoto Seiichi: guitar, voice (Boredoms, Omoide Hatoba, Rovo, etc); Tsuyama Atsushi: bass, voice (Omoide Hatoba, AMT & TMP U.F.O., AMT SWR, etc.); Shimura Koji: drums (AMT & TMP U.F.O., AMT & TCI, Miminokoto, ex-High Rise, ex-Mainliner, ex-Nagisa Nite, ex-White Heaven, etc.); Higashi Hiroshi: synthesizer (AMT & TMP U.F.O., AMT & TCI, Galax, Cosmic Dew); Tabata Mitsuru: freak-out, voice (AMT & TCI, Zeni Geva, ex-Boredoms, Leningrad Blues Machine, etc.); Kawabata Makoto: guitar (AMT & TMP U.F.O., AMT & TCI, AMT SWR, Gong, ex-Mainliner, etc.); with Kuriyama Jun: voice (Jiyujigen, ex-Ox).
2 set CD for $23

ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE & THE MELTING PARAISO U.F.O. - Acid Mothership Live [Ltd Ed] (AMT 019; Japan) "Includes 'Dark Stars In The Dazzling Sky' (aka 'Dark Star Blues'), 'Pink Lady Lemonade,' 'La Le Lo' and an improv track. This is the tour CD of their U.S. & Canadian tour 2008. Limited to 1000 copies only."
CD $17

ABLAYE CISSOKO & VOLKER GOETZE - Sira (ObliqSound 106; USA) Featuring Ablaye Cissoko on vocals & kora and Volker Goetze on trumpet. Ablaye Cissoko is a griot musician who was born in Kolda, Senegal while Volker Goetze is a German musician who is currently living in NYC. Ablaye wrote many of the pieces with a couple by Volker or together plus a few traditional songs. What is so nice about this duo is the way the kora and trumpet complement each other. Ablaye often sounds like he is playing an acoustic harp, delicate sound is so similar. Volker often has that Miles-like haunting muted tone that is ever so mesmerizing. Ablaye sings on about half of these songs and his voice is also enchanting but perhaps a bit too familiar. The instrumental songs have soothing, calm, melancholy sounds that is often exquisite and most touching . One of the most exquisite gems we've heard on a while. A perfect to end your day with these soothing sounds. - BLG
CD $15


EVE PACKER & NOAH HOWARD - Now Playing: Poetry/Jazz (Altsax 6054; USA) Featuring Eve Packer - words & voice and Noah Howard alto sax & synth with Bobby Few on piano and Bobby Kapp or Calyer Duncan on drums. The first time I had heard about Eve Packer was some 20 years ago when she did a set in the Alter Knit during a What is Jazz Fest. My two temporary roommates, Bob & Nestor, caught her set and weren't too sure what to think. Eve was drinking some hard liquor on stage as she read and offered it to members of the audience if they chose to do so. I've heard Eve Packer a few times since then and I am still not too sure what to think. Listening to this disc, perhaps it is just that Eve is too real. Her voice is not soothing but her words are often strong, shrewd and revealing. Legendary ESP saxist Noah Howard does a fine job of setting up a groove with his synth and adding tart sax lines around Eve's feisty voice. Perhaps it is just that Eve speak things as she sees them and that we don't often want to deal with "the truth". Sometimes I just want to escape the woes of the world but I can't when I listen to this disc. - BLG
CD $15


DAVEY WILLIAMS - Antenna Road (Trans Museq 18; USA) This is a rare solo effort from longtime Birmingham (Alabama) based avant guitar hero, Davey Williams. Davey plays (sometimes layers of) electric & acoustic guitars, steel-body resonator guitar, electric sitar, objects, motors and voice. I've been a fan of Davey Williams for nearly three decades, from the early days of the downtown scene when he worked with Eugene Chadbourne & John Zorn, through his longtime duo with LaDonna Smith through his many years with the mighty Curlew band. For this disc, Davey has worked hard on showing his distinctive sound and approach with some thirty mainly short tracks of solo guitar and upwards of 11 guitars piled up with overdubbing.
Each piece seems to evoke a different theme, time and place or genre. No matter how many guitars Davey uses on any particular cut, the overall sound is focused, fresh and has its own life. I can hear bits if inspiration from Derek Bailey, Captain Beefheart, traditional slide blues players and other unique guitarists too many to mention here. I recall Davey using an electric fish toy to coax sounds from his guitar at some great improv gig way back when and can hear him still using some of the same tricks put to great use on this disc. There are definitely some moments when it is nearly impossible to tell what exactly he is doing, yet mystery, fascination and fun runs throughout this entire great disc. Overall, many of these pieces remind me of setting the scene for a short movie quick-changing stories. A most impressive treasure chest of the infinite sounds that a gifted player can get from his one or many layers of guitars. - BLG
CD $14


MICHAEL SNOW/ALAN LICHT/AKI ONDA - Five A's, Two C's, One D, One E, Two H's, Three I's, One K, Three L's, One M, Three N's, Two O's, One S, One T, One W (Victo 111; Canada) Featuring Michael Snow on CAT synth, piano & radio, Alan Licht on electric guitar and electronics and Aki Onda on cassettes & electronics. This disc was comprised from two sets, one at the Victoriaville New Muisc Fest in May of 2007 and the other from the Goethe Institute in Toronto in October of 2006. All three members of this unique trio come from much different backgrounds. Michael Snow, who will turn 79 this week, hails from & still lives in Toronto and is best known as a director of experimental movies, as well as a painter, sculptor and writer. He has also a founding member of the CCMC, an avant-garde music ensemble that has been around for more than three decades. Alan Licht is originally from NJ and is known equally as an informative writer (he is an authority on minimalism) and as a distinctive electric guitarist & a composer who has worked with Loren Mazzacane, the Blue Humans and Text of Light. Aki Onda is both a fine producer and a master of cassettes. His solo efforts reveal his unique perspective of utilizing cassette tapes and manipulating them in unique ways to come up with inspired and evocative results. Alan and Aki, who are many years younger than Mr. Snow, have a fine duo CD which was released last year, but this is the first disc from this particular trio.
I was in attendance to the set up at Victo and didn't know what to think before or after the set. Listening to it now, it sounds much better than I remember. MIchael's strong, free piano playing is featured in the first section. Soon, strange electronic sounds and odd guitar fragments float in while the piano swirls underneath. The blend of disembodied voices, growling feedback and warped electronics are fascinating to hear and evolve slowly. This music is much more mysterious to listen to than it is to watch, hence it is filled with surprises when you can only hear what is going on. The electronics or synth sound almost ancient and give this a certain old-school charm. Some of this a bit dark and even scary but I found it all to be engaging and mesmerizing at times. A successful meeting of the minds and commune of the spirits. - BLG
CD $15



PETERIS VASKS - Cantus Ad Pacem (Wergo 6712; Germany) "This CD is the first to be devoted exclusively to the organ music of the Latvian composer Peteris Vasks. With the exception of the 'Te Deum' (recorded in St. Gertrude in Riga), all of the works were recorded on the magnificent organ of the cathedral in Riga. Here, over the course of the past 20 years, Talivaldis Deksnis, since 1984 one of the principal organists of this venerable house of worship, has performed all of Vasks' works for organ, many of them for the first time. Besides original compositions for organ, this CD also includes two adaptations of works for string orchestra, 'Viatore' and 'Canto Di Forza,' both dedicated to Talivaldis Deksnis, with whom Vasks has maintained a lifelong friendship."
CD $24

MOSHE BERLIN & ENSEMBLE - Aneinu! Hasidic-Orthodox Music (Wergo SM 1628; Germany) "Aneinu! contains repertoire from the Israeli Hasidic-Orthodox klezmer tradition. The field recordings of Israel's foremost klezmer clarinetist, Moshe Berlin, were made by ethnomusicologist Joel Rubin in a yeshiva during the ceremony celebrating the end of the holiday Simchat Torah. They show the vital role that the music of the klezmorim and the ecstatic singing of nigunim (melodies of spiritual elevation) play among orthodox Jews, displaying at the same time a microcosm of the variety of ethnic and cultural influences to be found in the musical traditions of Israel today."
CD $24

EL TANBURA - Between The Desert And The Sea (World Village 450002; Germany) "El Tanbura is a collective of veteran Egyptian master musicians, singers, fishermen and philosophers. They hail from Port Said, the gateway to the Suez Canal and the world beyond. Like their hometown, El Tanbura boast influences from East and West (and North and South): Gallibiya, Levis and Gucci sunglasses, Fez and Nike caps jostle for prominence. Their music is driven by the seductive call of the simsimiyya -- an ancient lyre dating back to the Pharaohs, revered both for its mesmerizing properties and occult origins in ancient exorcism rituals. Founded in 1989, El Tanbura perform to enthusiastic audiences across Egypt and have made numerous international festival appearances in Jordan, Tanzania, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Canada and the UK. Their first album was released with the Paris-based Institute du Monde Arabe, and they have also collaborated with One Giant Leap on the forthcoming film 2sides2everything."
CD $20



Rare [defunct] Knitting Factory releases -short supplies found:

BRIGGAN KRAUSS With WAYNE HORVITZ/KENNY WOLLESEN - 300 (KnitWorks 221; USA) Outstanding debut disc from this downtown all-star trio!! Both Briggan & Kenny have moved to NY in the past few years and have made this scene all the better. They are both in a variety of cool units. Briggan plays alto sax & claribone and can be heard in the Andrea Parkins trio & his own "Good Kitty" on KFW also. Kenny is everyone's favorite all-purpose drummer around here, he was in the New Klezmer trio, subbed amazingly on Masada gigs, and most recently kicked butt with Zorn-Ribot-Medeski at Tonic. Wayne is also a giant keyboardist from Naked City, the President, Pigpen (w/ Briggan) & now-Zony Mash. These guys are masters of the downtown multi-genre hop, yet not as abrupt as Naked City, but sometimes as intense! They do 2 Wayne tunes, both lovely and delicate, quiet beauty. Briggan also composed 3 pieces, each a unique challenge from down-home melodies to extreme post-punk blasting to modern classical restraint. 300's recent gig at Obeca Li during the What Does Texaco Have To Do With Jazz Fest was a total knockout! Bravo!! - BLG
CD $10.00 7 for 6 SALE.

BRIGGAN KRAUSS - Descending To End (KnitWorks 251; USA) Intense alto saxist - Briggan Krauss - seems a restless spirit & sound-explorer. He never fails to burn bright in any of the numerous situations he places himself - Babkas, Pigpen, Sex Mob, his trios with Wayne Horvitz & Andrea Parkins and earlier this year delighting Leo Smith in his (Zorn organized) Creative Music Orchestra. And now this - a solo alto sax manipulation exploration!?! Actually, what we hear is mostly weird but well-sculpted electronic sounds somehow triggered by the sax squawking. At points I am reminded of Pierre Henry splicing tapes of noise/sounds with altered acoustic guitar rumblings. Alien textures & unusual sounds, droning, humming, twisting shapes, even occasional screams of tortured (sax?) sounds. This is quite an unexpected surprise & departure from our local sax hero. Difficult music for the difficult world in which we try to survive. This is a brave (and maybe a bit ridiculous move) both for Briggan to capture and the Knit's label to release this strange specimen. Even the odd computer manipulated cover art seems to fit just right. Are you brave enough to submerge in this vat of well crafted sound/noise? - BLG
CD $10.00 7 for 6 SALE.

BRIGGAN KRAUSS With CHRIS SPEED/MICHAEL SARIN - Good Kitty (KnitWorks 178; USA) Krauss-alto sax, Chris Speed-tenor sax & clarinet and Michael Sarin-drums perform twelve collective improvisations, composers credit on all to Krauss. It's a free wheeling, avant extravaganza with occasional melodic signposts, ethnic inferences and loaded with tangential interplay from these bad cats. At their most rhythmically centered is "MSSM," a dense funk with a well defined melody line displaying true collective improvisation. More circus like is "Inky Stinky" with rollicking counterpoint, while "Wow, You're Kidding" has Sarin playing farcical flexitone, bike horns and other percussion gone goof. There are six improvisations "G.K.," one live, that all display scattered improvisations with varying beats and non-beats, "#1" being low-key, "#3" more rockish, "#4" squawking harmonically prior to Speed's lovely clarinet solo, "#5" swinging a little, and "#8" fluttering and kinetically bouncing. "Painball" starts as a dreamy clarinet led lullaby before moving into distented phrasings, and "Aloha" you'd think would be Hawaiian based, but sounds Balkan with a fast beat and an Ed Blackwell style solo from Sarin. ... Depending on your taste, this is probably for a specialized audience, but there's a definite high level of skill here that is undeniable. - Michael G Nastos, AMG
CD $10.00 7 for 6 SALE.

THOMAS CHAPIN TRIO With MARIO PAVONE/MICHAEL SARIN - Night Bird Song (KnitWorks 240; USA) I recently wrote a long article about my friend and inspiration Thomas Chapin for a magazine that the Knit is starting. The article explored our ten year friendship and history, highlighted when I convinced the Knit to let Thomas' trio open for a Zorn trio where everyone in attendance was blown away by both units. The Knit soon started their own label, signed Thomas' trio and eventually released six cds by this wonderful trio. This cd was actually recorded in 1992, during the early days of this trio. It was shelved until now and as Thomas wished, it would be released after last year's final effort 'Sky Piece.' Although three of the pieces on this cd were also on "Sky Piece', the versions found here are earlier and different. I recall all these pieces with deep affection, after witnessing this amazing trio on dozens of gigs through the years, as well as playing 'Sky Piece' every day at DMG for months after Thomas' devastating and untimely passing in February of '98. On "Opening" it is Thomas' gorgeous flute playing that soothes a world filled with dark spirits. It is also Thomas' flute that fills "Aeolus" with a sad but breathtakingly beautiful vibe, it was also the very last piece Thomas played in public just two weeks previous to his passing. "Alphaville" was often a set opener, due to its rambunctious groove, it explodes with passion and the celebration of life after the opening alarm clock wakes us all up. It is here where Thomas' bittersweet tone and honking swagger sound rather Dolphy-esque. For many of us, this was thee perfect trio that could do anything-Mario Pavone's contrabass and Michael Sarin's drum are a constant source of combustion, release and surprise, from whirlwinds to soft breeze. Besides alto sax and flute, Thomas also played the rarely heard sopranino on two pieces found here. The sopranino is both shorter and higher pitched than a soprano sax, still Thomas sails with this exotic sounding horn, once more parting the heavens with his soaring sound. Thomas' laughter at the beginning of the final piece "Changes Two Tires" reminds me of the happy spirit that always defined his vibe, this final piece explodes as his alto unleashes frenzied lines for the last wonderful assault on our senses. Thomas chose the mystical Panamanian cloth cover art as well. Just the right cover to adorn this superb release. - BLG
CD $10.00 7 for 6 SALE.

THOMAS CHAPIN TRIO With MARIO PAVONE/MICHAEL SARIN or STEVE JOHNS - Alive: Third Force/Anima/Insomnia/Menagerie Dreams/Haywire/Sky Piece/Night Bird Song/Live On Tour [8 CD Box Set] (KnitWorks 248; USA) Incorporates all seven of the late legendary saxophonist/wind player Thomas Chapin Trio's [with Mario Pavone bass and Michael Sarin drums; Steve Johns is the drummer on Anima and Third Force] CD releases on the Knitting Factory [Knitworks] label:
Third Force
Anima
Insomnia plus Brass: Al Bryant (trumpet) Frank London (trumpet) Marcus Rojas (tuba) Curtis Fowlkes (trombone) Peter McEachern (trombone)
Menagerie Dreams with guest John Zorn
Haywire plus Strings: Mark Feldman (violin) Kiyoto Fujiwara (bass) Boris Rayskin (cello)
Sky Piece
Night Bird Song
plus an eighth, previously unreleased disc 'Live! On Tour' which contains 50 minutes from University Of California-Davis 3/4/92 concert (audio) plus "Night Bird Song (Excerpt)" at the 1995 JVC/Newport Jazz Festival (video). Luxuriously packaged in book binder/pocket style and recieves our extremely highest recommendation musically (as well as for presentation)!!!
"Listening to Thomas Chapin's seven trio CDs in the wake of his untimely death only drives home further the loss the jazz world suffered when he succumbed to cancer in 1998. Chapin's discography extends beyond the seven albums he and his trio released in the 1990s, but he never sounded more complete and rounded than when with his trio mates--bassist Mario Pavone and drummers Steve Johns and, for most sessions, Michael Sarin. Chapin's searing, rapid-fire solos and intricate melodies begged for a bassist that could match his stair-climb sprints and steep descents, and Pavone did so at all times. With Alive, you get the best tribute imaginable: a complete set of Chapin's Knitting Factory CDs along with a previously unreleased 1995 live session. From his trio debut, Anima, to the last studio album, Sky Piece, the band seems aimed at a group concept that's well defined and intensely creative. Chapin plays with a formal sense and tunefulness that owes tons to Sonny Rollins. Riffs build into minisolos, and rhythmic breaks become melodies, almost without the ear noticing. Chapin's group concept was expandable, too, which shows on Insomnia--with its five added brass players--and Haywire--with its three added string players. Where Insomnia milks the brass for thick funk, Haywire spins waltzes and string textures that emphasize a completely different realm of sonic nuance. The final CD of the set catches the trio live at the 1995 JVC-Newport Jazz Festival, and they play the complex tunes letter perfectly, with Sarin drumming especially hard and Chapin roughing up his tone far more than usual. At different times, he plays with the bittersweet bite of Eric Dolphy and the drive of Hank Crawford. He made it all an amazingly fluid continuum." -Andrew Bartlett
8 CD Box Set for $110

THOMAS CHAPIN & BORAH BERGMAN - Inversions (MuWorks 1009; USA) Featuring Thomas Chapin on alto sax & Borah Bergman on piano. So, sometime in the late 80's, Borah Bergman, who I had become friends with, asked me to recommend some "intense" sax players for him to collaborate with. Players who could go the distance with Borah's powerful piano playing. I suggested Louie Belogenis, Elliott Levin and my pal, Thomas Chapin. Borah did in fact rehearse and play live with Louie & Thomas. Thomas Chapin and Borah Bergman went to record two discs as a duo, this the first one and it is mind-blowing studio effort and later, near the end of Thomas' short life, they also recorded a much different live disc. There is a great deal of fireworks on this disc. As of now (12/08), we have just 5 copies left [new but not shrink wrapped] of this long-out-of-print item & that's all she wrote. - BLG
CD $20



H P LOVECRAFT - Dreams In The Witch House - The Complete Phillips Recordings: I/II ..plus! (Cherry Red/Rev-Ola 88; UK) "A greatly in-demand title that now finally gets a re-press! H.P. Lovecraft, the legendary 1960s Chicago underground band fondly remembered for some of the earliest FM hits. As much of a European cult as Captain Beefheart or Love, yet they remain almost a mystery band -- few pictures, and few facts -- until now! Rev-Ola presents their complete recordings, lovingly remastered, and beautifully packaged -- the full unknown story of H.P. Lovecraft -- with notes, including new interviews with the band members by Nick Warburton, band biographer, historian and official webmaster, as well as many previously-unseen pictures, including legendary and rare psychedelic posters. This material has never been on CD in Europe before, and that's not all! We also include two never-compiled-not-even-on-vinyl bonuses: the innovative radio edit of 'The White Ship' (the version which made it a huge FM hit!) and the staggering phased-to-the-max single mix of 'Keeper Of The Keys'! The haunting sound of H.P. Lovecraft as you've never heard or seen it."
CD $17


TIM HARDIN - Tim Hardin 1 (Water 230; USA) "Tim Hardin's first album, originally released in 1966, is an accidental classic. The album is comprised of a number of demos, and features string arrangements on many tunes that the artist himself knew nothing about. Yet, despite this, 1 remains a folk-rock-blues classic of the highest order. Though Hardin's work is often known more through other artists' interpretations, his own versions are almost always superior, including such classic songs here as 'Reason To Believe,' 'Don't Make Promises,' and 'Misty Roses.'"
CD $15


LOUDEST WHISPER - Magic Carpet [Ltd Ed 6 CD Box Set] (Sunbeam 5061; UK) The legendary Loudest Whisper have long been one of Ireland's best-loved bands. Formed by brothers Brian and Paud O'Reilly in 1968, they celebrate their 40th anniversary with this deluxe 6CD boxed set. Featuring early demos, their first three albums (including 1975's classic Children Of Lir), every non-LP single and B-side from the '70s and '80s, vintage live recordings and more recent work with Donovan and others, Magic Carpet spans acid folk, psychedelia, rock and roll, rural rock and straight pop. The magnificent music is accompanied by a lavish booklet incorporating a detailed band history, a full discography, many rare photographs and an introduction from Brian O' Reilly himself, making this set essential for all fans of melodic folk-rock and psychedelia. Numbered limited edition of 1000
6 CD set for $60


CHARLIE LOUVIN - Sings Murder Ballads And Disaster Songs (Tompkins Square 2127; USA) "Although some might be surprised by a thematic Charlie Louvin album dealing with death and despair, one needn't look any further than the very first Louvin Brothers album to find a connection. Tragic Songs of Life, released in 1956, is full of emotional songs detailing heartbreak, betrayal, violence and loss. Inspired by Tompkins Square's recent Grammy-nominated 3CD box set People Take Warning!, Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs, 1913-1938, Charlie reached back for a couple of songs from that first Louvin album, five songs from the box set, and assorted other choice picks to create a moving and sometimes raucous new take on traditional songs of tragedy. Liner notes by Holly George-Warren. Guests musicians include Andrew Bird and Chris Scruggs."
CD $14


JACK ROSE - Dr. Ragtime And His Pals (Tequila Sunrise 12007; USA) Limited edition of 960. Domestically-pressed vinyl, housed in a European manufactured hard board inner-sleeve slipped inside a matte board jacket with j-card style obi. Jack Rose's lastest full length, Dr. Ragtime And His Pals was originally issued on CD by Tequila Sunrise in April 2008. "The Appalachian Trail runs 2175 miles south from Mount Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia, though there are those who want to stretch it further, into Alabama, because the mountains go there. Why not extend it? Trails are made for that. But there's another Appalachian Trail, too -- one that goes through time, extending from unfinished studios in Williamsburg, NY, winding down the grooves of ancient 78s to the 1920s or even earlier, past Stephen Foster's wet dream to a place beyond the compass of change. If you're hiking on *that* trail, you're likely to run into a lot of post-grad Parsifals with inscrutable hair and de-tuned banjos -- these days, you can't swing a cat around without hitting one! But if you're lucky, you might stumble across a clearing somewhere south of Lily Dale, where revolutionists stop for orangeade and Dr. Ragtime hangs out with his pals. If you ask him politely, he might offer you a taste of his elixir -- made from codeine, sarsaparilla, and goat-gland extract -- guaranteed to restore memories that never were. And if you're quiet, he might let you stay and listen to the music: Ethiopian novelties, characteristic marches and parlor favorites -- bittersweet slices of Methodist pie, familiar tunes, at least in those sections where the square dance has not yet been supplanted by the fox-trot. And if you have a couple of dimes to rub together in your pocket, you'll want to purchase his newest, electrically-recorded phonograph recording, entitled Doctor Ragtime And His Pals. The Doctor, who hitherto has recorded only on his own, is joined here by Micah Blue Smaldone (who has been compared to both Tiny Tim and Kierkegaard), Glenn Jones (of Cul de Sac, last seen around these parts urging college students to contemplate the prospect of their own death on a balmy September evening), Michael Gangloff (late of Pelt and the Black Twig Pickers), Nathan Bowles (also of the Black Twig Pickers as well as the Spiral Joy Band) and the mysterious Harmonica Dan (from Pennsauken, New Jersey by way of ethereal caminos). This release is conjoined with a recording by Jack Rose, the Mike Morgan of the American minimalist neo-primitive sub-underground. This recording, entitled Jack Rose -- previously available to the buying public only in severely limited forms -- is here presented as a bonus to the consumer and perhaps as an act of folly for the producer." -- Charles Fourier, Tequila Sunrise Records
LP $21

also available..

JACK ROSE - Dr. Ragtime And His Pals/Jack Rose [2 CD set] (Tequila Sunrise 5006/7; USA) Domestic version of Jack Rose's new full length, Dr. Ragtime And His Pals, coupled with a reissue of last year's self-titled CD/LP housed in a custom designed and fabricated off-set printed card cover with j-card style obi. Limited edition of 1000. "The Doctor, who hitherto has recorded only on his own, is joined here by Micah Blue Smaldone (who has been compared to both Tiny Tim and Kierkegaard), Glenn Jones (of Cul de Sac, last seen around these parts urging college students to contemplate the prospect of their own death on a balmy September evening), Michael Gangloff (late of Pelt and the Black Twig Pickers), Nathan Bowles (also of the Black Twig Pickers as well as the Spiral Joy Band) and the mysterious Harmonica Dan (from Pennsauken, New Jersey by way of ethereal caminos). This release is conjoined with a recording by Jack Rose, the Mike Morgan of the American minimalist neo-primitive sub-underground. This recording, entitled Jack Rose - previously available to the buying public only in severely limited forms - is here presented as a bonus to the consumer and perhaps as an act of folly for the producer." - Charles Fourier, Tequila Sunrise Records
2 CD set for $16



More Rare Bird reissues!

RARE BIRD - Born Again (Cherry Red/Esoteric 2092; UK) "Esoteric Recordings follow on from the highly successful reissues of Rare Bird's first two albums in 2007 with this classic rock album from 1974, their second release for Polydor and fifth album overall. Best known for their hit single 'Sympathy,' by the time of this album, Rare Bird had changed line-ups, though still retained their 'progressive' style. Born Again was Rare Bird's final album and included their classic 'Diamonds.' This Esoteric reissue is a companion CD release to their 1973 album Somebody's Watching and also features both sides of their final 1975 single Don't Be Afraid as bonus tracks."
CD $20

RARE BIRD - Somebody's Watching (Cherry Red/Esoteric 2091; UK) "Esoteric Recordings follow on from the highly successful reissues of Rare Bird's first two albums in 2007 with this classic rock album from 1973, their first release for Polydor and fourth album overall. Best known for their hit single 'Sympathy,' by the time of this album Rare Bird had changed line-ups, though still retained their 'progressive' style. Somebody's Watching features guest musicians Nic Potter (of Van Der Graaf Generator) and former Family and future King Crimson member John Wetton and includes their classic interpretation of Ennio Morricone's theme to A Fistful of Dollars. This Esoteric reissue also features both sides of their 1973 single Virginia as bonus tracks."
CD $20

still available..

RARE BIRD - Epic Forest (Cherry Red/El 099; UK) 3rd album. Though it made little commercial impact on its release in 1972, Rare Bird's Epic Forest has since been widely acclaimed as a classic of the pre-punk era: a unique album that fuses the emotional reach of classical music with the harmonies of Sixties pop. This album is somewhere between Procol Harum, The Moody Blues and West Coast Psychedelia, and Epic Forest is one of the masterpieces of progressive rock (file under prog and sunshine pop). We are restoring it to the catalogue in its classic form with three superb additional tracks that were given away as a 33rpm 7" with the first edition of the original album.
CD $17

RARE BIRD - As Your Mind Flies By (Cherry Red/Esoteric 2002; UK) 2nd album. Following the success of their debut album and single ("Sympathy"), the band recorded this classic album in the Summer of 1970, to which this CD adds three BONUS cuts! "As Your Mind Flies By" featured the epic "Flight", a legendary piece which dominated the albums second side. An excellent work, the album met with much success, with Billboard magazine in America declaring Rare Bird to be in the top ten best new acts of the year.
CD $20

RARE BIRD - Rare Bird (Cherry Red/Esoteric 2001; UK) 1st album. Rare Bird are perhaps best remembered for having the distinction of being the first act to be released on Tony Stratton Smith's gloriously eclectic label Charisma records (also the home of GENESIS, THE NICE and VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR to name but a few) and for their excellent 1970 hit single "Sympathy". Like fellow future Charisma stable mates Van Der Graaf Generator, Rare Bird was formed around the principle of keyboard dominated progressive rock which eschewed the use of guitars. In December 1969 their eponymous debut album was released to great critical acclaim, (also becoming a US Billboard chart hit) and was followed in January 1970 by the release of "Sympathy" b/w "Devil's High Concern", which are included on this CD. The single reached the UK Top 30 and was a subsequent major hit throughout Europe.
CD $20


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