M´boom

Reissue label drops ball. Thanks to some significant differences in track selection, Castle's Long Stick Goes Boom: The Anthology isn't quite the equal of Arista's Definitive Collection, released three years prior. During the first half of the '80s, Krokus were semiregular occupants of the lower reaches of the U.S. mainstream rock chart. Since this compilation was released in the U.K., it doesn't emphasize the group's stateside successes, since roughly half of the group's chart entries – including the early singles "Burning Bones" and "Winning Man" – are not included. Another unfortunate thing is that three of the songs – "Long Stick Goes Boom," "Lay Me Down," and "Eat the Rich" – are live performances, which defeats the purpose of having the best representation/introduction possible.

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (An Anthology) covers the bulk of Warren Zevon's career, conveniently skipping over his long-forgotten first album and concentrating heavily on his Asylum records, as well as his albums for Virgin and Giant. Over the course of the double-disc set's 44 songs, nearly every one of Zevon's greatest songs is featured, including six songs each from Warren Zevon and Excitable Boy, as well as a number of songs only featured on soundtrack albums, a handful of outtakes, and Hindu Love Gods' cover of Prince's "Raspberry Beret."…

On most informed lists of rock & roll villains, the Crew Cuts would have to rank near the top. They weren't rock & rollers in the first place: their clean-cut white harmony glee club approach was really in the style of early- and mid-'50s groups such as the Four Aces, the Four Lads, and the Four Freshmen. The Canadian quartet differed from those acts, however, in their concentration upon covers of songs originally recorded by R&B/doo wop vocal groups.

Guitarist Jean-Paul Bourelly's ensemble combines his own heavy guitar sound and R&B-tinged vocals, the passionate African chants of Abdourahmane Diop, and the percussive drive of Samba Sock on boograboo (four large African congas with bells) and Slaka on djembe. Reggie Washington (of Steve Coleman renown) plays bass on four tracks, doubling the low end with Big Royal Talamacus on "filtered boom bass," which sounds like bass through a fuzz box. Two high-profile guest saxophonists, Archie Shepp and Henry Threadgill, appear on several tracks, enlivening the session with their free jazz sensibilities.

Perry's time in London in the 80ies also resulted in Time Boom X De Devil Dead,
a collaboration with British dubmeister Adrian Sherwood.
Influenced by Perry in the past, co-producer Adrian Sherwood provides a steadying hand,
so the music is consistent, even if Perry's personality — he does all the singing — seems restrained.
While perhaps lacking the eccentric edge of Perry's own work, the album is still weird and wonderful,
a sample of some of the best avant-garde groove music being made today.

Sonic Boom is the nineteenth studio album and the first in 11 years from KISS, released on October 6, 2009. The album was recorded at Conway Recording Studios in Hollywood, CA and produced by the band's co-leader Paul Stanley and co-produced by Greg Collins. The line up is Paul Stanely, Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer, & Eric Singer, this is their first studio recording with these members.