Waste Takezo

From the Vault is a neat little rarities collection from Spock's Beard originally released in 1998. The CD contains demos, alternate mixes, live cuts, one Japanese bonus track, and two cover songs. For the Spock's Beard completist, From the Vault is a must have…

Though Status Quo is best known for fast and undistinguished boogie rock, they were quite capable of subtlety when it suited them. Despite the name, most of the music on Piledriver is varied and subtle enough to be interesting. The power boogie is indeed there, as represented by crowd-pleasers like "Don't Waste My Time" and "Paper Plane," but so also are quieter, softer pieces with acoustic textures and progressive structures. The melancholy "A Year" is a standout track, a stark, melancholy song about carrying on after a loved one has died.

Rufus Wainwright has popular-song chops and an ambitious streak (see his opera), so it makes sense that he’d want to set Shakespeare’s sonnets to music. On Take All My Loves, he even provides multiple interpretations of individual pieces. "Sonnet 43" is first arranged for spoken vocals and flinty electronics before it’s presented with orchestral sweep and operatic singing. “Unperfect Actor (Sonnet 23)” tilts into adult-contemporary rock, while other tracks have a progressive folk feel. Throughout, Wainright’s sonic diversity complements the range of literary devices that reside in the Bard's source material.

Brian Eno & Karl Hyde - High Life (2014) {Opal WARPCD255}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 278 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 102 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 220 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2014 Opal / Warp Records | WARPCD255
Electronic / Synth Pop / Electro-Acoustic / Alternative

High Life, the second collaboration between Brian Eno and Underworld's Karl Hyde, began immediately after the completion of Someday World. Its release follows a mere two months later. While some traits of the former are present here – a heavy reliance on African-sourced rhythms, and hypnotically repetitive keyboard and bassline – it is a very different companion. While the pair relied on more formal "song forms" on Someday World, High Life is looser. These six tracks place more value on jamming. The centerpiece is Hyde's guitar. It's front and center throughout, with myriad rhythm tracks close behind. A two-chord reinvention of Chuck Berry's signature riff commences album-opener "Return" before becoming subsumed in sonic treatments and Edge-like sounds.

Another solid Slim set with an additional emphasis on the considerable contributions of second guitarist John Primer, who handles vocals on three cuts (including covers of Otis Redding's "Hard to Handle" and Eugene Church's "Pretty Girls Everywhere"). This was a particularly potent edition of Teardrops, pounding through Slim's own title cut and "Please Don't Waste My Time" and Albert King's shuffling "Cold Women with Warm Hearts" with barroom bravado.