Epsilon Blue - We Have A Responsibility To Our Shareholders (New Zealand 2002)

Roddus Album Of The Day

1. Epsilon-blue (ft. Barnaby Weir) - we b movin (5:23)
2. Epsilon-blue - what to honour if not the planet we live on (9:21)
3. Epsilon-blue - loose in a landscape of meaning (9:02)
4. Epsilon-blue (ft. Tama Waipara) - may u b free (9:04)
5. Epsilon-blue - U R Here/Two Of Everything (9:35)
6. Epsilon-blue - being (pearl mix) (8:41)
7. Epsilon-blue - let the island recompose itself as music (6:45)
8. Epsilon-blue (ft. Josephine) - u r a star (5:23)
9. Epsilon-blue - transcendental object at the end of time (2:04)

Another strong musical statement from the New Zealand Electronica scene via this second effort from Epislon-Blue. Some cool beats and great booming effects like on the opener "We Be Movin" as well some great pop vocals from the guest vocalists giving those tracks a credible radio appeal. I have enjoyed this album overall although with the length of some of the instrumentals tracks it sometimes wavers. Another great summer driving album or chilling out with friends on the lawn with my rating of 3/5

Exuma - Exuma II (USA 1970)

Roddus Album Of The Day

1. Damn Fool (4:17)
2. Baal (6:37)
3. Paul Simon Nontooth (5:32)
4. Fire In The Hole (7:02)
5. A Place Called Earth (6:32)
6. We Got To Go (2:59)
7. African Rhythm (4:48)
8. Zandoo (4:50)

 In all the annals of contemporary music, there ain't nothing like this. A totally unique sound from this second album of tribal/African/voodoo/experimental sounding music blended with a touch of folk and weird soul into this exceptional platter. Difficult to describe whats going on here but it's good, very good. tongue in cheek stuff here as well the voodoo stuff  and his singing(think Blind Willie Johnson on acid), is so much a part of what sets this apart. One of  the best albums you have probably never heard, so change that now and see if you agree with my 4.5/5 rating.

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Help yourself - Help Yourself/Beware Of The Shadow (UK 1971/1972)

Roddus Album Of The Day

Help Yourself
DAVE CHARLES drms, vcls
MALCOLM MORLEY gtr, vcls
RICHARD TREECE gtr, vcls
KEN WHALEY bs

1.I Must See Jesus For Myself
2.To Katherine They Fell
3.Your Eyes Are Looking Down
4.Old Man
5.Look At The View
6.Paper Leaves
7.Running Down Deep
8.Deborah
9.Street Songs

Beware The Shadow
DAVE CHARLES drms, vcls
MALCOLM MORLEY gtr, vcls
RICHARD TREECE gtr, vcls
KEN WHALEY bs
PAUL BURTON bs, gtr

10.Alabama Lady
11.Reaffirmation
12.Calapso
13.She's My Girl
14.Molly Bake Bean
15.American Mother
16.Passing Through

Had this two on one reissue on the ipod for several days now as I just haven't been able to find the time to write my review, at this rate I'll never get through my music collection before I grow too old to complete.

Good quality English blues and folk influenced  pop/rock that should appeal to folks who dig FREE. I actually choose to review this one because the standout track "Reaffirmation" off the second album really caught my attention late last week. Well crafted couple of LPs which have grown on me over the last three days of listening and deserving of the 3.5/5 rating I gonna give.

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Alex Cline Ensemble - The Constant Flame (USA 1999)

RoddusAlbum Of The day

 1. Paramita (To The Memory Of Don Cherry) (6:34)
2. Evening Bell (To The Memory Of Toru Takemitsu) (12:37)
3. The Constant Flame (To The Memory Of John Carter) (12:03)
4. A Wreath Of Rain (To The Memory Of Krzysztof Kieslowski) (12:09)
5. Bridge (For David Sylvian) (13:13)
6. Summoning Spirits (For Will Salmon) (2:43)
7. Six Poems By Akiki Yosano (To Her Memory) (9:05)
8. Benediction (For Aina) (4:03)

This album by Jazz drummer Alex Cline is an appropriate follow up to yesterdays Sun Ra disc.This interesting disc is an amalgamation of  European style Jazz and avant-garde soundscapes, mixed in with some exotic Asian sounds and other world music touches, and borders on classical and new age in places. I found the soundscapes and the style of this music interesting and enjoyable, although it wears a bit thin after several listens on the ipod  while working. listening again on the Cyrus with headphones is a far better way to appreciate the different qualities of this album and the clarity of its production. Some of its reminds me of Varese and Zappa, which is properly why it appeals to me. I'll rate it 3.5.5.

Sun Ra and His Myth Science Arkestra - Cosmic Tones For Mental Therapy/Art Forms Of Dimensions Tomorrow (USA 1961/1963)

Roddus Album of the Day

01.And Otherness
02.Thither and Yon
03.Adventure-Equation
04.Moon Dance
05.Voice of Space
06.Cluster of Galaxies
07.Ankh
08.Solar Drums
09.Outer Heavens, The
10.Infinity of the Universe
11.Lights on a Satellite
12.Kosmos in Blue.

COSMIC TONES FOR MENTAL THERAPY: Sun Ra (Clavioline, drums, organ), Danny Davis (alto saxophone, flute), Marshall Allen (alto saxophone, oboe, drums), John Gilmore (tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, drums), Pat Patrick (baritone saxophone, flute),James Jackson (flute, log drums), Robert Cummings (bass clarinet), Ronnie Boykins (bass), Clifford Jarvis (drums, percussion), Thomas Hunter (percussion).

ART FORMS OF DIMENSIONS TOMORROW: Sun Ra (piano, keyboards, drums, percussion), Marshall Allen (alto saxophone, bells, sticks, drums), John Gilmore (tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, drums), Pat Patrick (baritone saxophone), Clifford Thornton, Manny Smith (trumpets), Ali Hassan (trombone), Ronnie Boykins, John Ore (bass), Clifford Jarvis, C. Scoby Stroman, Thomas Hunter (drums).

Its always  a nervous time when listening to a Sun Ra recording for the first time, his many many recordings cover the gambit from totally brilliant to unmitigated rubbish. These two original LPs from the early 60s, re released on one Cd, as were many of his records, fall some where towards the better end of that spectrum.

Mostly Avant-garde in nature with little melody or traditional structure, this experimental mixture could have easily ended up at the rubbish end of the Sun Ra musical Spectrum, but Ra manages to pull it off on these records as he often could and I find myself taken in by their exotic charms and strange sounds. some of the tracks are quite long and it can be a challenge to stay with them right through. The recording quality is quite good, another area where Ra can be inconsistent and overall I rate this 3.5/5.

Check it out Here

Stereolab - Emperor Tomato Ketchup (UK1996)

Roddus Album Of The Day

Krautrock! alive and well in London circa. 1996. Well not exactly Rock so to speak, more a combination of Suicide, Kraftwork, Faust and Neu! with the almost deadpan female vocals sung sometimes in what sounds like French and some German. Some of this album wouldn't have sounded out of place in the post punk of 1980s UK and it is quite catchy in places. "Percolator" is the first real catchy number and I dig the uptempo base lines."Olv 26" with the heavy synthesiser is right there in Suicide(the Band) territory and "The Noise Of Carpet" is just brilliant post pop."Motoroller Scalatron" is where Faust really comes into the picture. A mainly enjoyable album which survived the whole day on the ipod but as is the case with many releases in the CD age, goes on a bit too long and some of the tracks drone a bit. My rating 3/5

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Van Morrison - Astral Weeks (UK 1968)

Roddus Album Of The Day

  

I dig Van, I love his voice, I appreciate the quality of his muse and the clarity of his recordings, the power of his voice is phenomenal and he is a gifted composer. This album has been raved about by critics and musicians for over 40 years and I can appreciate the artistic and esoteric quality of these folky/jazzy meanderings and of course Van's singing is excellent, but I find myself  somewhat unmoved by the lack of cohesive melodies here and the songs seem to meander on forever , there is nothing here that you would hear on the radio, "The Way That Young lovers do" comes close but the chaotic base lines don't allow for smooth flow to the song, which applies to pretty much the rest of the album. Defiantly a unique artistic statement and if you could take out the freeform structure underlying these songs and make them a bit more conventional, this album could be far more. My rating 3/5

The Exploited - Beat the Bastards (UK 1996)

Roddus Album of The Day

1. Beat The Bastards (4:20)
2. Affected By Them (3:04)
3. Don't Blame Me (5:00)
4. Law For The Rich (3:20)
5. System Fucked Up (2:48)
6. They Lie (2:45)
7. If You're Sad (5:20)
8. Fightback (3:25)
9. Massacre Of Innocents (4:00)
10 Police TV (3:44)
11.Sea Of Blood (3:57)
12.Serial Killer (6:45)
13.15 Years (3:05)

And now for something completely different. Hardcore UK punk from this surprisingly long lived legendary Glasgow outfit. The blurred lines and subtle differences between hardcore punk and  thrash metal are sometimes hard to discern on this well recorded and adrenalin pumping album, but it defiantly falls mostly into the hardcore basket and a pretty good later example of the genre. Their Debut "Punks Not Dead" from around 1980 is one of my all time favorite punk albums and I annoyed the hell out of the neighbours many many times with it when I was in my early teens, Mum hated it too. This album may not have any classic stand out tracks but overall is a strong and enjoyable album. Play loud and your mother will hate it too. My rating 3.5/5

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Wiser Time - Beggars & Thieves (USA 2010)

Roddus Album of The Day

1. love and devotion (4:18)
2. on our way (3:55)
3. take me back home (5:09)
4. it's hard letting you go (5:39)
5. revolution 09 (5:01)
6. keep it on (4:16)
7. whiskey and wine (3:25)
8. working mans blues (3:49)
9. seagull (3:45)

Another album that I deliberately picked to review after I was enticed to check it out by its cover, that  I saw on a blog the other day and then having a quick listen last night I was instantly grabbed by it and decided I had to have it on the ipod today. Unfortunately it didn't load properly onto the ipod so this review is based on a couple of listens tonight and what I heard of it last night. As I mentioned, this album is one of those rarities that grabbed me from the first listen to the first song. Blues, country, rock combined into a great southern style very reminiscent of the Black Crows, a touch of Jack Johnson. and a dab of Blues Traveler for good measure. I like what I hear here more than any of the above mentioned artists and will have to reload it onto the ipod for a few more days listening.Highly recommended and my rating 4.5/5.

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Red Hot Chilli Peppers - By The Way (USA 2002)

Roddus Album Of The Day

I brought this after I saw them play a very good gig here not too long after this was released. Although I knew some of their music pretty well from exposure from various forms of media, I didn't own any of their music untill I brought this great pop album. Somewhat more mellow than their earlier music and a bit less funky but this is a mature effort from a band at the top of their game. A clutch of well crafted pop/rock songs with a fairly uniform quality throughout. Plenty of radio friendly numbers to sing along to and apart from some naughty lyrics and themes, not at all offensive to the ears. I must admit, though, that listening to this again after quite a long period, I feel like it has lost some of the impact it had when I first got to know this music, which indicated that it may not be aging too well. My rating 4/5

Cornelius - Fantasma (Japan 1997)

Roddus Album Of The Day

1. Mic Check (3:01)
2. The Micro Disneycal World Tour (3:38)
3. New Music Machine (3:52)
4. Clash (5:37)
5. Count Five or Six (3:03)
6. Magoo Opening (2:08)
7. Star Fruits Surf Rider (5:47)
8. Chapter 8 Seashore and Horizon (3:25)
9. Free Fall (4:06)
10.2010 (2:03)
11.God Only Knows (7:39)
12.Thank You for the Music (4:53)
13.Fantasma (0:55)

What a roller coaster of a ride this out there Japanese Album has been today. I feel like I have been hauled through almost half the history of popular music in just over 50 minutes. With bits of Dylan, the Beach Boys, The Jesus & Mary Chain, The Pixies,Tipsy.  contemporary indie pop, electronica,cartoon music as well as experimental type sound collages all blended into a very entertaining conglomerate indeed. very American influenced with only a hint of Japanese. No.10 album in the 100 Greatest Japanese Rock Albums of All Time according to Rolling Stone Japan (2007) , this gem must have had some deserving impact outside it's native  home as "Count Five or Six" is on one of my Rough Trade Counter culture compilations. Almost every song embraces a different style of music and yet the album still comes across as a cohesive whole. My rating 4.5/5.

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Fela Kuti and Africa 70 - Roforofo Fight (Nigeria 1972)

A Roddus Album of The Day

Fela was to Afrofunk what Bob Marley was to Reggae, Muddy Waters was to Blues and Louis Armstrong was to Jazz. A creative legend, a powerful musician and composer and politically active in the political cauldron of His home of Nigeria. Jazz and funk infused with African rhythms along with the cool pidgin English used deliberately to help his music speak to both his native brothers and the bigger world that wants to listen, And who wouldn't want to listen to this brilliant and evocative music. Rhythm to feed your feet and lyrics to feed your head, Fela's extended jams never stop grooving and never get boring, always so much happening. The standout track is the irresistible title track who's melodys were instantly recognisable to me when I first heard it because others had borrowed from it to infuse in their own music. The rest is all so good and I wish i had more time to wax elegant about it's wonderfulness , but alas time is against me and i will just have to give it my Roddus Rating of 5/5

Holy Fuck - LP (Canada 2007)

Roddus Album Of The Day

  

1. Super Inuit (3:36)
2. Milkshake (3:31)
3. Frenchy's (2:56)
4. Lovely Alien (4:32)
5. The Pulse (5:58)
6. Royal Gregory (3:53)
7. Echo Sam (4:19)
8. Safari (4:26)

  9. Choppers (4:16)

This sort of lofi electronica has really failed to interest me much. Sort of similar to Fridge and Battles to name a couple to better groups. Checked it out on the strength of some reviews I read but it I have failed to connect with it. A couple of catchy and interesting numbers would sound good on some collage radio play list, "Lovely Alien" is pretty cool and well constructed with its cool string sound and the execution of the music is good. Its not a bad album in of itself, but not for me. Rating 2/5. With a name like that, they defiantly ain't going for massive global domination and radio play.

Fat Freddy's Drop - Live At Roundhouse: London 5/12/2008 (New Zealand 2010)

A Recent Roddus Purchase

1. The Camel (13:29)
2. The Raft (16:11)
3. Flashback (12:15)
4. Pull The Catch (10:53)
5. The Nod (10:16)
6. Shiverman (15:57)

 

A bit of catching up tonight. I dam well missed Fat Freddy, when they played here recently and so snapped this CD up pretty quick when I first saw it. Six extended and fleshed out jams from across their repertoire. A well recorded and excellent representation of the Drop live, this is an essential purchase for any Freddy fan and as I have said before great summer chillout music, even though its freezing here right now in the middle of our winter. I give this a groove factor of 4/5

 

Buy this Here

Blood Horizon - Just One Fix (New Zealand 2010)

Roddus Album Of The Day

01. Red Dawn 01:53
02. Memoir Of A Dying Star 03:57
03. When The Knife Comes Down 04:33
04. Dead Inside 05:30
05. Let It Out 03:59
06. As I Wanna Be 06:15
07. Cult Of The Vampire 07:43
08. Lay The Wreath 03:55
09. Wasted Life 05:39
10. Blood Horizon 05:49

Here is some more metal, this time from the local metal scene here in NZ and this second album from this thrashy Auckland outfit. Well recorded and produced , this full on hardcore thrash will excite many a metal head. A strong album with a debt to Metallica, especially on the excellent "As I Wanna Be". Plenty of fast paced guitar and thunderous drumming with the usual gruff vocals, a very good effort. My rating 3.5/5

Check this wall of noise here

Bob Dylan - Good As I Been To You (USA 1992)

Roddus Album Of The Day

01. Frankie & Albert
02. Jim Jones
03. Blackjack Davey
04. Canadee-i-o
05. Sittin’ On The Top Of The World
06. Little Maggie
07. Hard Times
08. Step It Up And Go
09. Tomorrow Night
10. Arthur McBride
11. You’re Gonna Quit Me
12. Diamond Joe
13. Froggie Went A Courtin’

Quite possibly one of the worst covers I have seen adorns this late folk offering from Dylan. His first acoustic solo album in nearly 30 years, this collection of traditional folk, blues and country songs is preformed solo by Dylan with his guitar and harmoniker. Although I still have trouble with his late period nasal whine, Dylan's playing on this disc is just outstanding and it is well recorded and intimate and I am enjoying it immensely. Dylan, still the Folk master after all those years. Rating 4.5/5

High On Fire - Snakes For The Divine (USA 2010)

A Roddus Album Of The Day

If you have long hair and like nodding your head up and down in extremely exaggerated movements to very loud guitar orientated Rock music, then you will properly love this album. Metal all the way, this heavy bogan music is bonecruchingly heavy and the very gruff singer and the fast guitar pyrotechnics, will have any metalhead enthralled and nodding his head rapidly while riffing wildly on his air guitar. Which all boils down  to, overall, a slightly above average metal album, with the exception of the of  brilliant "How Dark We Prey" with its metellica like melodic riffing and tempo changes across it epic 8 minutes. My rating 3.5/5

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Samsara Blues Experiment - Long Distance Trip (Germany 2010)

A Roddus Album Of The Day

1.Singata Mystic Queen (11:35)
2.Army Of Ignorance (4:35)
3.For The Lost Souls (9:55)
4.Center Of The Sun (13:07)
5.Wheel Of Life (4:27)
6.Double Freedom (22:43)

Came across this recent release on my travels and with such a cool name I thought I would give it a listen.

66 minutes of post grunge psychedelic space music. With its roots planted firmly in the 70s kraoutrock scene, but more towards the guitar orientated end and not the weird out end, these mostly extended jams do get more enjoyable with repeated listens. Plenty of good psyched out guitar playing on this so called stoner rock album to keep any guitar head happy. Possibly a bit long winded, so difficult to keep my attention for the whole album, another wall of sound album but not too strong on catchy melody's.A Roddus rating of 3/5

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Killing Joke - Fire Dances (UK 1983)

Roddus Album Of The Day

The magnificent Killing Joke, teetering on the borderline between punk and metal, ending up producing a sound unique to both and still were on a roll with this 4th album. A heavy album with its thundering drums and wall of guitar. Great melodic slabs of pre grunge massage the ears for a musical roller coaster ride of 40 minutes of pure bliss. A classic that has stood well the test of time and its not even their best album.A Roddus Rating of 4/5

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Keith Jarrett - The Out Of Towners (USA 2004)

Roddus Album Of The Day

1. Intro / I Can't Believe That You're in Love With Me (12:10)
2. You've Changed (8:13)
3. I Love You (10:00)
4. The Out-of-Towners (19:45)
5. Five Brothers (11:12)
6. It's All in the Game (6:47)

I chose this album today because I happened to hear a track off it while doing last nights dinner dishes and was mightily impressed by what I heard. Modern Jazz with Jarrett on piano backed by bass and drums, this live album recorded in 2001 is an astonishing document of this trio and Keith's playing is outstanding throughout. A good mix of uptempo  numbers and ballads, this mix is for me an essential Jazz recording. I haven't been this impressed with a Jazz album for sometime. 5/5

If this sort of thing turns you on then I recommend having checking it out here

Otis Rush - Otis Rush 1956-1958 Cobra Recordings (USA 1989)

Roddus Album Of The Day

1. Double Troube (2:43)
2. Jump Sister Bessie (2:34)
3. Checking On My Baby (2:57)
4. Sit Down (2:22)
5. Love That Woman (3:01)
6. My Baby Is A Good 'Un (2:40)
7. If You Were Mine (3:06)
8. All Your Love (2:38)
9. It Takes Time (2:50)
10. Violent Love (2:31)
11. I Can't Quit You Baby (3:07)
12. Little Red Rooster (2:22)
13. My Love Will Never Die (3:08)
14. Groaning The Blues (3:04)
15. Three Times A Fool (2:51)
16. She's A Good 'Un (2:49)
17. Keep On Loving Me Baby (2:21)
18. I Can't Quit You Baby (3:40)
19. Double Trouble (5:10)
20. She's A Good 'Un (3:16)

 This compilation of classic Chicago blues, appears to be the first in a long line of reissues of these classic sides the young Otis recorded for Cobra at the dawn of his patchy career. The first thing that struck me as I listened to some of this last night, was the muddy sound of the recordings, which put me off a bit. After a couple of listens over the course of the morning I recognised several of the songs either from having heard Otis's original versions or from other peoples versions and over the course of the day I got more and more of the appreciation of the slow burning quality of these blues. A pretty laid back feeling permeates these sides of soulful blues and careful attention brings out their beauty to full effect, especially on my headphones. Otis's guitar playing is understated and  perfect and after my last revision of this compilation, I can confidently award it 4/5. For a better sound, all the above cuts and more can be  found on another release, "The Essential Otis Rush The Classic Cobra Recordings 1956-1958"

Primal Scream - Screamadelica (UK 1991)

Roddus Album Of The Day

1. Movin' on Up (3:50)
2. Slip Inside This House (5:16)
3. Don't Fight It, Feel It (6:53)
4. Higher Than the Sun (3:37)
5. Inner Flight (5:01)
6. Come Together (10:20)
7. Loaded (7:02)
8. Damaged (5:38)
9. I'm Comin' Down (6:00)
10.Higher Than the Sun [A Dub Symphony in Two Parts] (7:37)
11.hine Like Stars (3:45)

 I brought this on vinyl back in the day cos it was highly praised in the music tome that I read the most back then, the NME. An early, very influential  version of electronica, this deserving album is certainly a unique statement in music and is still an enjoyable mix of styles and influences today as it was back then when it was so new. Highlights include the awesome "Movin' On Up" as well as the trippy "Higher Than the Sun" and the party anthem "Loaded". not all dance music with some slower more atmospheric tracks as well across what was then a double LP. Even clocking in at 60 minutes, this album is interesting through out and I will rate it 4/5. Highly Recommended,.