M. C. Lemon

Combines the contents of both LPs issued on the Cicadelic label in the mid-'80s (Crystal Pure and Second Album) onto one CD, making this indeed the definitive collection. Almost all of their known tapes, covering both their searing electric garage/psych and softer, acoustic garage/folk sides. Dating from 1967 and 1968, this features a lot of original material that the band recorded in Chicago studios, as well as some drummerless home demos. These are endearing (and still moving) relics of an age of great exuberance, innocence, and hope. Good harmonies on the psychedelic ballads, which have been described as "garage-band Donovan." One of the best reissues of unknown '60s garage/psychedelic music.

Unlike the majority of bubblegum bands, the Lemon Pipers' albums are actually quite good, not least because they were one of the few bubblegum bands who were a proper band with their own songwriters (although outside writer/producers did provide the two hits, the inescapable "Green Tambourine" and the actually even better "Rice Is Nice," a sweet, harp-laden depiction of a wedding day). Even the album tracks are pretty groovy, like the Cat Stevens-like character sketches "Shoeshine Boy" and "The Shoemaker of Leatherwood Square," which effectively use trippy string sections and playful harmonies. The snottier folk-rock of "Ask Me if I Care" and the far-out "Fifty Year Void," to say nothing of the nine-minute freakout "Through With You," give Green Tambourine a harder edge than most bubblegum albums, though it's still closer to, say, the Cyrkle than Cream. Seek it out, bubblegum snobs: you'll find yourself pleasantly surprised.

The longtime lead vocalist for Krautrock pioneers Can, Kenji "Damo" Suzuki was born in Japan on January 16, 1950. An expatriate street poet inspired by Jack Kerouac's On the Road, he spent the better part of the late 1960s wandering through Europe, and while busking outside a cafe in Munich in May of 1970 was discovered by Can members Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit; asked to replace the group's former frontman Malcolm Mooney, Suzuki joined them onstage that very night, making his recorded debut later that same year on the LP Soundtracks. With Suzuki in the lineup, Can produced its most enduring and innovative work, including classic LPs like 1971's Tago Mago, 1972's Ege Bamayasi and 1973's Future Days; however, upon completing work on the latter, he left the band to become a Jehovah's Witness. Absent from music for a decade, in 1983 Suzuki began showing up unannounced to perform at shows by the band Dunkelziffer, eventually joining the group full-time and recording a pair of LPs; in 1998, he founded the Damo's Network label, issuing a series of live recordings including V.E.R.N.I.S.S.A.G.E., Seattle and the seven-CD box set P.R.O.M.I.S.E..

Curated by the same team behind last year's award-winning 5-CD box set Scared To Get Happy, this highly anticipated reissue will be housed in a 'clamshell'-style hinged box, with a chunky booklet including a 11,500-word sleeve-note by Neil Taylor and lots of pretty pictures. In the NME's own words…"The album, first released on a cassette with NME in 1986, went on to inspire a generation of indie bands and features music by Primal Scream, The Pastels, Shop Assistants and The Wedding Present among many others. Former NME writer Neil Taylor, who assisted in compiling the original 22 track album nearly 30 years ago, has written the liner notes for the reissue and helped with the curation of two bonus discs of material which will include songs exclusive to CD and some never released before including tracks by The Love Act, North of Cornwallis and Paul Groovy & The Pop Art Experience."

"Lemon Incest" is a song written, composed and performed by Serge Gainsbourg in duet with his daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg. Recorded in 1984, the song was released as a single from Gainsbourg's album Love on the Beat in 1985. It is also available on Charlotte's 1986 album Charlotte for Ever. Deemed as controversial at the time, the song achieved success in France. The background vocals are sung by The Simms Brothers Band. The music is inspired by the étude n° 3, named "Tristesse", in E major, Op. 10, by Frédéric Chopin. The Chopin tune is commonly played at weddings and is often featured collections of wedding music because of its romantic style.