Man s Best Friend

Billy Bragg - Best of Billy Bragg at the BBC 1983 - 2019 (2019) {Cooking Vinyl, Fully Remastered}
FLAC (tracks) - 16bit/44.1kHz - Official Digital Download (7digital.com) -> 652 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 280 Mb | Cover | 5% repair rar
© 2019 Billy Bragg / Cooking Vinyl Limited
Alternative Folk / Folk / Folk Rock / Singer/Songwriter / Urban Folk / Anti-Folk

Billy Bragg releases a new album Best of Billy Bragg at the BBC 1983-2019. The 38-track collection is ‘fully remastered’ and features 38 tracks compiled from the BBC archive spanning 1983 – 2019. It includes selected highlights from sessions for John Peel, David Jensen, Janice Long, Phill Jupitus, Bob Harris, Tom Robinson and more. Many are previously unreleased. The collection draws from all corners of Billy’s catalogue and features, among many gems, his signature song A New England (later covered to huge acclaim by Kirsty MacColl), Levi Stubbs’ Tears, and his workers’ anthem There Is Power In A Union, with a couple of atypical covers thrown in, namely John Cale’s Fear Is A Man’s Best Friend and A13, his personal psycho-geography take on Route 66.

Featuring 38 Classic tracks compiled from the BBC archive spanning 1983 to 2019. Fully remastered many previously unreleased. Includes selected highlights from sessions for John Peel, David Jensen, Janice Long, Phill Jupitus, Bob Harris, Tom Robinson & more.

John Cale & Band - Live at Rockpalast (2017) {2 CD + 2 DVD NTSC, MIG 9030 rec 1983-1984}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 847 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 357 Mb
DVD9+DVD5 -> 9.41 Gb | All Regions | NTSC 4:3 | PCM Stereo | ~ 161 min | ISO Images
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 91 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1983-84, 2017 WDR / MIG-Music | MIG 90300
Rock / Art Rock / Baroque Pop / Modern Classical / Experimental

On this audio complement to a home video, John Cale is heard in two concert appearances, one on each CD, filmed and recorded for the German Rockpalast television series. On the first disc, from October 13, 1984, he plays with a band consisting of guitarist Dave Young, bassist Andy Heermans, and drummer Dave Lichtenstein; on the second, from March 16, 1983, he is solo, accompanying himself on either acoustic guitar or piano. Thus, the album encapsulates the two sides of Cale, the aggressive rocker and the classically trained recitalist and singer/songwriter. Interestingly, the two sides are explored sometimes with the same songs, albeit played differently.

John Cale - Fragments of a Rainy Season (1992) {Ltd. Edition 2016 Remastered Reissue with Outtakes Extra Disc}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 675 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 244 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 206 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1992, 2016 Hannibal / Domino ‎Recording | REWIGCD107X
Rock / Acoustic / Art Rock

John Cale's 1992 live Fragments of a Rainy Season holds a special place in the hearts of longtime fans. Cale was no stranger to concert sets. Among his most notorious are the snarling Sabotage/Live from CBGB's and 1986's howling Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. Fragments captures Cale completely solo. His iconic singing voice, rainbow variety of melodies, and poetic lyrics are accompanied only by his piano or acoustic guitar. It's easily his most welcoming album, the one that provides a solid introduction as he ranges through his back catalog.

While John Cale is one of the most famous and, in his own way, influential underground rock musicians, he is also one of the hardest to pin down stylistically. Much has been made of his schooling in classical and avant-garde music, yet much of what he's recorded has been decidedly song-oriented, dovetailing close to the mainstream at times. Terming him a forefather of punk and new wave isn't exactly accurate either.

On the eve of the New Year I offer you a small insight into the already so far away, but so cool twentieth century. And remember it will help you to Mario Lanza, Marilyn Monroe, Bill Haley & His Comets, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Louis Armstrong, Pat Boone, Jerry Lee Lewis, Perry Como, Paul Anka, Roy Orbison, Scorpions, Bob Dylan, The Mama's & Papa's, Stevie Wonder, Van Morrison, Fleetwood Mac, Simon & Garfunkel, David Bowie, Johnny Cash, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Shocking Blue, Guess Who, Black Sabbath, Jefferson Airplane, Rod Stewart, The Byrds, The Kinks and many many others … The greatest hits of the past millennium. Need I say more? Download and enjoy the great past.

John Cale - Fear (1974) {Island 262 046}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 234 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 96 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 15 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1974 Island Records / BMG Ariola | 262 046
Rock / Art Rock / Experimental

Right from the start, Cale makes it clear he's not messing around on Fear. If his solo career before then had been a series of intriguing stylistic experiments, here he meshes it with an ear for his own brand of pop and rock, accessible while still clearly being himself through and through. Getting musical support from various Roxy Music veterans like Brian Eno, Phil Manzanera, and Andy Mackay didn't hurt at all, and all the assorted performers do a great job carrying out Cale's vision.