Follow-up volumes appeared in 1993 and 1996, extending the time period to 1979 and with additional songs from the 1972-76 period, available on cassette or CD (ALL 25 volumes were issued in both formats). Each volume has twelve songs. Despite the greater capacity of compact discs, the running time of each of the volumes is no longer than the limit of vinyl records in the 1970s, from 38 to 45 minutes long.
Leaving Songs by Tindersticks frontman Stuart Staples is his second solo album; his first, Lucky Dog Recordings 03-04, wasn't released in the States until now, as it is included here, thankfully, as a bonus disc. Leaving Songs is a true departure for Staples. The vocals and backing tracks were recorded in Nashville by Mark Nevers with the overdubs recorded back at Lucky Dog in the U.K. After the first lines of "Goodbye to Old Friends," the opening cut, it's obvious that this record is different, in its way, from what Staples has done before, either with or without his band; the tempo, horn lines, the chorus of female backing vocalists.
A CERTAIN RATIO are back with a new album, ACR Loco. Revitalized by their most successful tour in over two decades, the band returned to the studio to record their first album in 12 years – due for release September 25 on Mute.
Not a Good Sign is a project by AltrOck and some bands’ members of the label. Marcello Marinone, Paolo «Ske» Botta and Francesco Zago, after a successful collaboration in Yugen and Ske, propose a new blend of their musical attitudes. The result is an ominous, fascinating sound melting vintage keyboards, powerful guitars and voice, besides ethereal and autumn nuances, supported by a compelling rhythmic drive. The band takes their name from one of their own songs but the expression also alludes to their take on the present economic climate across the globe, a situation that in turn mirrors the dark mood on the debut album. At the forefront of their sound is a wide array of vintage keyboards that includes Hammond organ and Rhodes and Wurlitzer pianos…
The Headless Children is the fourth studio album by heavy metal band W.A.S.P., released in April 1989 through Capitol Records. The Headless Children showcases a new level of maturity from the band compared to their previous three albums, which had stereotypically lewd "rock and roll" lyrics. Politics and social issues are now a theme throughout the album. The Headless Children was the first W.A.S.P. album to feature ex-Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali and the last studio album to feature guitarist Chris Holmes for nearly a decade until he rejoined the band in late 1997 to record Kill Fuck Die.
Live…In the Raw is the first live album by W.A.S.P. (fourth album overall), released in 1987. This album can be seen as something of a breakwater between the 'old' W.A.S.P. of the first three albums and the more mature sound of the releases that would follow. It is also the album to feature "Harder Faster", which is about the PMRC declaring them "sexual perverts". "The Manimal" and "Harder Faster" were written specifically for this album and the studio song "Scream Until You Like It" was recorded for the movie Ghoulies II. The acoustic version of "Sleeping (In the Fire)" is also a studio recording. This would be the final release to feature drummer Steve Riley, who would leave the band shortly after the conclusion of the tour to join L.A. Guns.
The Crimson Idol was released on May 24th, 1992. A remastered edition was reissued in 1998, containing a bonus disc of B-sides and live material from 1992. This being the band’s fifth studio album, reached the top 40 in over five countries. This was also one of the bands first attempts of a concept album which tells of the rise and fall of fictional rock star Jonathan Steel.
New Amsterdam and Nonesuch Records release The Blue Hour, a song cycle written collaboratively by the female composers Rachel Grimes, Angélica Negrón, Shara Nova, Caroline Shaw, and Sarah Kirkland Snider; this unique joint vision among a female collective is available October 14, 2022. The cycle was commissioned by, and is performed with, the Boston–based chamber orchestra A Far Cry. (Nova also is featured as vocal soloist.) Set to excerpts from Carolyn Forché’s epic poem On Earth, the music follows one woman’s journey through the space between life and death via thousands of hallucinatory and non-linear images. Exploring memories of childhood, of war, of love, and of loss, The Blue Hour amplifies the beauty, pain, and fragility of human life from a collective female perspective.
Still Not Black Enough is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band W.A.S.P., first released on June 10, 1995 in Japan only. It was not released in the U.S. until August 1996 through Castle Records. Still Not Black Enough was originally slated for release as a Blackie Lawless solo album, but due to the heavy content, Lawless changed his mind and decided to release it as a W.A.S.P. album. This had also been the case for the previous album, The Crimson Idol. Still Not Black Enough is considered somewhat a successor to The Crimson Idol, bearing a strong resemblance with its lyrical themes. However, instead of telling the story of the fictional character Jonathan, this album is mostly a collection of personal songs from Blackie Lawless, including issues involving the death of his mother and personal crises just after world tour for The Crimson Idol.