Truck Repair

Jerry Lee Lewis - I-40 Country (1973) & Odd Man In (1975) {BGO Records BGOCD1216 Digitally Remastered rel 2015}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 366 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 147 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 50 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1973, 1975, 2015 Phonogram Inc. / BGO Records | BGOCD1216
Rock & Roll / Rockabilly / Honky Tonk / Country

BGO's 2015 two-fer pairs two mid-'70s albums from Jerry Lee Lewis – 1974's I-40 Country and 1975's Odd Man In – on a single CD. Jerry Lee Lewis didn't get much of a boost out of his 1973 return to rock & roll – a revival arriving on two separate LPs, one recorded in England (The Session) and one back home (Southern Roots) – so he slid back to country, scoring a hit with "Sometimes a Memory Ain't Enough" from the album of the same name. I-40 Country arrived a year later, easing into stores in 1974 under the guise of a truck-driving country LP. While these 11 songs do sound good on the open road, none of them are about big rigs or highways, nor do they roll along to a Bakersfield beat. No, they're straight-ahead barroom weepers punctuated by the very occasional novelty – so occasional, it doesn't extend beyond "Alcohol of Fame."

U2 - Artificial Horizon (2010) {Universal-Island Records Ltd. Ed.} (U2.com Subscription)
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 460 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 147 Mb
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© 2010 Universal-Island Records / Mercury / Interscope | U2.COM5
Rock / Alternative Rock / Post Rock

Running to 60 minutes, this limited edition remix collection was released exclusively to U2.com subscribers in 2010. Featuring 13 tracks remixed by some of the world's leading DJs and producers. Artificial Horizon stretching from If God Will Send His Angels (from 1997's 'Pop') to Get On Your Boots (from 2009's 'No Line On The Horizon') and includes three never-before released tracks: I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight (Live U2360 Remix); City Of Blinding Lights (Hot Chip 2006 Remix); and Get On Your Boots (Fish Out Of Water Mix); as well as two tracks with very restricted previous release: 'Staring At The Sun (Brothers in Rhythm Ambient Mix) and Magnificent (Falke Radio Mix). Footnote: while the Artificial Horizon collection on CD was only available as a gift to subscribers, a triple vinyl set of the same collection was made commercially available for two months until May 2010.

The Icicle Works - 5 Albums (2013) {5 CD Boxset Beggars Banquet - BBQCD 2107 rec 1984-1988}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 2.72 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 924 Mb
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© 1984-88, 2013 Beggars Banquet Records | BBQCD 2107
New Wave / Neo-Psychedelia / Alternative

This set features the band’s first four Beggars Banquet-released albums — The Icicle Works (1984), The Small Price of a Bicycle (1985), If You Want to Defeat Your Enemy, Sing His Song (1987) and Blind (1988 )— each expanded with bonus tracks (more than 30 in total), plus a live set recorded in 1986 (minus the two encore songs, since they didn’t fit on the CD).

Merle Haggard - Working In Tennessee (2011) {Vanguard Records 78208-2}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 216 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 83 Mb
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© 2011 Hag Records / Vanguard Records | 78208-2
Country / Bakersfield Sound / Traditional Country / Americana

Working in Tennessee, Merle Haggard's second album for Vanguard, plays a little slower and softer than 2010’s I Am What I Am, a record where Hag gently dwelled on his mortality. There are times where his age crosses his mind – particularly on “Sometimes I Dream,” where he casually lists off things that aren’t likely to pass his way again – but generally, he’s ready to “Laugh It Off” as he gripes about what’s playing on the radio, smokes a little dope, and enjoys playing a little bit of blues as he looks back to the past, even cutting a couple of old favorites (“Cocaine Blues,” “Jackson”) and a new version of “Working Man Blues.”

Frank Zappa - Road Tapes, Venue #3 (2016) {2CD Vaulternative Records VR 2016-1 rec 1970}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 961 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 345 Mb
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© 1970, 2016 Vaulternative Records / ZFT | VR 2016-1
Rock / Experimental Rock / Avant-Garde / Art Rock / Jazz Rock

Official Release #103. Performed/Arranged/Conducted by Frank Zappa. Road Tapes, Venue #3 features two complete shows from Tyrone Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, MN. The July '70 Mothers line-up featured Flo & Eddie, George Duke, Ian Underwood, Aynsley Dunbar & Jeff Simmons. FZ's vast Vault does not contain many full shows from this time period, so that alone makes this release a special one. The tapes were recorded to stereo reel-to-reel, but not without problems. Due to their historical relevance, we felt it was worth it, warts 'n all! Venue #3 does not disappoint.

Melvins - Basses Loaded (2016) {Ipecac IPC178}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 302 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 108 Mb
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© 2016 Ipecac Recordings / [PIAS] | IPC178
Rock / Doom Metal / Stoner Rock / Jazz Fusion / Experimental Rock / Country Rock

Like the great American filmmaker William Castle, the Melvins have learned that a gimmick is a big help in getting folks to pay attention to what you're doing. The grunge pioneers have a long, rich tradition of creatively rearranging their membership, and for a band obsessed with a thick and heavy low end, they've taken the logical step and made an album with a rotating lineup of bass players. Basses Loaded feature six different bassists scattered among its 12 tracks, including Steven McDonald (of Redd Kross and OFF!), Jeff Pinkus (from the Butthole Surfers and Honky), Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle and Fantômas), Jared Warren (from Big Business), and Krist Novoselic (formerly of Sweet 75, Eyes Adrift, and some band from Aberdeen).

Howe Gelb - Ogle Some Piano (2004) {OW OM Recordings - OW OM 07}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (image)+CUE+LOG -> 295 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 208 Mb
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© 2004 OW OM Recordings | OW OM 07
Jazz / Indie / Acoustic / Piano

Tucson's musical savant Howe Gelb has released an album of mostly instrumental keyboard music, Ogle Some Piano. It's a curious disc, even by Gelb's eccentric standards – nineteen tracks of piano meanderings in a variety of styles: jazz, rock, pop, tin pan alley and experimental avant-garde weirdness. And the titles seem a parody of art-rock pretentiousness: "Spangle Bib of Radiant Value," "Hammered and Hampered, We Then Took the Deeds Down by the Dozen," and "Someday They Will Have a Name for What Ails You as Opposed to Being Saddled with Speck Elation" are representative. The best tracks include Joey Burns on double bass and John Convertino on drums, making these tracks more or less Giant Sand pieces. There are also contributions from the usual suspects, including Nick Luca and Craig Schumacher of Wave Lab studios in Tucson, and the late great Rainer Ptacek as well.

Frank Zappa - Make A Jazz Noise Here (1991) {2CD Rykodisc RCD 10555/56 rel 1995}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 919 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 324 Mb
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© 1991, 1995 Rykodisc / The Zappa Family Trust | RCD 10555/56
Rock / Experimental Rock / Jazz Rock / Art Rock

Official Release #57. The third and final live album put together from recordings of Frank Zappa's 1988 concerts, the two-CD set Make a Jazz Noise Here focuses on the composer's instrumental pieces – which are not necessarily jazzy, by the way. As for the three vocal tracks included ("Stinkfoot," "Stevie's Spanking," and "Advance Romance"), they all feature interesting solos. The set presents old favorites, like the medley "Let's Make the Water Turn Black"/"Harry, You're a Beast," "King Kong," and "The Black Page." They are well-performed, but considering the number of versions of each of them available on other recordings, they hardly constitute the main interest of this album.

Ferde Grofé - Aviation Suite, Atlantic Crossing 1946-1950 (2009) {Naxos Official Digital Download 9.80172}
FLAC (tracks) - 16bit/44kHz - Official Digital Download (chandos.net) -> 157 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 110 Mb | Cover | 5% repair rar
© 2009 Naxos | 9.80172
Classical / Early 20th Century

Ferde Grofé was born Ferdinand Rudolph von Grofé, to Emil and Elsa von Grofé, in New York City on 27 March 1892. Shortly thereafter the family moved to Los Angeles. Ferde Grofé came by his instinct for music quite naturally. His father was a baritone and actor, while his mother was a cellist and music teacher of some note. In 1906 Grofé left home to work variously as a bookbinder, truck driver, usher, newsboy, elevator operator, lithographer, typesetter and steelworker, studying violin and piano in his spare time. By 1908 he began to take casual musical engagements at lodge dances, parades and picnics and in 1909 met Albert Jerome, a dancing teacher, with whom he toured Californian mining-camps.