The Damned - Damned Damned Damned [30th Anniversary Expanded Edition]

Band: The Damned
Album: Damned Damned Damned [30th Anniversary Expanded Edition]
Country: UK
Release Date: 2007

If you like punk rock at all, you pretty much have to have a soft spot for the Damned's epochal 1976 debut album Damned Damned Damned, one of the masterstroke releases of the first wave of British punk which still sounds fresh, exciting and brilliantly snotty three decades after it was released. But if you love Damned Damned Damned, well, this remastered and lavishly expanded edition will bring a broken-toothed grin to your face in no time flat. This three-disc set (yes, three discs!) opens with the original album, which seems to have hardly dated a bit. For all the group's manic energy, the playing is sharp and muscular, Dave Vanian's vocals are powerful enough to make his histrionics work, Rat Scabies' drumming holds the band tight, Captain Sensible's bass provides a solid foundation for the melodies and Brian James' guitar wails with primitive force. The songs still communicate, and the band's lack of an upfront political or social agenda means these songs aren't chained to their era the way the early Clash, Sex Pistols or Stiff Little Fingers discs are, great as they may be. Disc two serves up 26 demos, B-sides, non-LP single tracks and radio recordings, which equals nearly everything the band recorded during their first year of operations. The two John Peel sessions and a ten-song BBC live concert will delight anyone with a fondness for the band's first era, and you may want to give "Singalong Scabies" ("Stab Yor Back" minus its vocal track) a spin at your next karaoke party. And Disc three features a lo-fi recording of one of the Damned's first public gigs, a set recorded in London during the 100 Club's first Punk Rock Festival in the summer of 1977. The recording quality is only fair, and the audience doesn't seem to be too enthusiastic, but the Damned give their all, and the show is both exciting and historically priceless. The set comes with a 16-page booklet packed with photos and featuring an excellent historical essay from Kieron Tyler. [The 30th Anniversary Expanded Edition of Damned Damned Damned not only adds plenty of fine music and historical perspective to one of the great album of the British punk scene, it actually improves on the fine box set Play It at Your Sister, which covers most of the same territory before sinking into the disappointment of the group's misbegotten second album, Music for Pleasure; this is simply essential stuff, and rock & roll fun at its most dangerous.]

CD1 - Original Album

1.	Neat Neat Neat	2:43
2.	Fan Club	2:57
3.	I Fall	2:06
4.	Born To Kill	2:37
5.	Stab Yor Back	1:00
6.	Feel The Pain	3:36
7.	New Rose	2:44
8.	Fish	1:38
9.	See Her Tonite	2:29
10.	1 Of The 2	3:08
11.	So Messed Up	1:51
12.	I Feel Alright	4:27

CD2 - Demos, B-Sides & BBC Sessions

1.	I Fall (demo june 1976)	2:56
2.	See Her Tonite (demo june 1976)	2:40
3.	Feel The Pain (demo june 1976)	5:11
4.	Help (Stiff b-side october 1976)	1:43
5.	Stab Yor Back (Peel session 1976-11-30)	0:59
6.	Neat Neat Neat (Peel session 1976-11-30)	2:39
7.	New Rose (Peel session 1976-11-30)	2:40
8.	So Messed Up (Peel session 1976-11-30)	2:28
9.	I Fall (Peel session 1976-11-30)	2:10
10.	Singalongscabies (Stiff b-side february 1977)	1:00
11.	Fan Club (Peel session 1977-05-05)	3:03
12.	Feel The Pain (Peel session 1977-05-05)	3:33
13.	Stretcher Case Baby (Peel session 1977-05-05)	1:48
14.	Sick Of Being Sick (Peel session 1977-05-05)	2:29
15.	I Feel Alright (In Concert 1977-05-19)	4:49
16.	Born To Kill (In Concert 1977-05-19)	3:01
17.	Sick Of Being Sick (In Concert 1977-05-19)	2:50
18.	Neat Neat Neat (In Concert 1977-05-19)	2:56
19.	Fan Club (In Concert 1977-05-19)	2:55
20.	Stretcher Case Baby (In Concert 1977-05-19)	2:26
21.	Help (In Concert 1977-05-19)	1:32
22.	Stab Yor Back (In Concert 1977-05-19)	1:02
23.	So Messed Up (In Concert 1977-05-19)	2:35
24.	New Rose (In Concert 1977-05-19)	3:26
25.	Stretcher Case Baby (Stiff single july 1977)	2:14
26.	Sick Of Being Sick (Stiff single july 1977)	2:00

CD3 - Live At The 100 Club

1.	1 Of The 2	3:41
2.	New Rose	2:57
3.	Alone	3:50
4.	Help	1:47
5.	Fan Club	3:01
6.	I Feel Alright	4:20
7.	Feel The Pain	4:46
8.	Fish	1:50
9.	Circles	4:42
10.	See Her Tonite	2:51
11.	I Fall	3:08
12.	So Messed Up	2:38

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Carbon/Silicon - The Last Post

Band: Carbon/Silicon
Album: The Last Post
Country: UK
Release Date: 2007

Aversion.com review:

Mick Jones has made a career out of being there first. As guitarist for The Clash, he was as responsible as anyone was for developing the three-chord sound; along the way, he helped expose punks to world-beat sounds, reggae and funk. He also managed to be one of the first to record a rap song ("The Magnificent Seven") before splitting with The Clash in 1984. From there, he dove headlong into Big Audio Dynamite, which, after spawning the first single to heavily feature samples to land in the British pop charts ("E=MC²"), embraced the embryonic rave scene.

With Carbon/Silicon (in which Tony James, of Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik fame joins him), Jones is once again a few steps ahead of the game: Since forming in 2002, the act championed online music distribution, spewing demos and three full-length albums onto its website for fans to grab virtually free, making it the first act of any reputation to go the free-online-distro route. Thom Yorke can thank them later.

Maybe there are only so many fresh ideas in Jones' head -- heck, he's already turned himself into the Thomas Edison of rock'n'roll -- but, for all the amazing back story and powerful lineup behind Carbon/Silicon, The Last Post doesn't sound nearly as cutting-edge as it should. Dropping the dance/funk/hip-hop/punk hybrid of his BAD days, Jones reverts back to traditional rock'n'roll riffs, peppering everything with liberal doses of digital sampling. It is, for all intents and purposes, a refinement of the back-to-basics rock on BAD's final effort, 1995's F-Punk (Radioactive).

But what a refinement. Where Jones' talent seemed to be receding faster than his hairline on the past couple BAD records, The Last Post -- the first Carbon/Silicon full-length to wind up with a hardcopy release -- starts bringing him and James back up to speed. And if it isn't as essential as anything in either guitarist's combined resume, it's at least a dose of pop-rock positivism to prove Jones has some vitality left in him, even if his music's retired from the cutting edge. "The News" opens the album with a walloping kick-beat bounce and a one-track garage-rock groove as Jones brims to overflowing with optimism that the world will, one day, be a pretty great place. "War on Culture" attaches wiry guitars to Jones' less-than-oblique criticism of stuffy conservatives' take on modern art, "The Whole Truth" throbs as bass, guitar and kick drums lock into a thumping start-stop riff that's descended in a right-hand line from The Kinks and The Clash most basic riffs. "Why Do Men Fight" is snappy dose of guitar pop that shows Jones and James haven't lost their knack for crafting a killer hook.

Jones worked out the difficulties that plagued the last couple Big Audio Dynamite albums without completely dismissing the pop-rock energy from his agenda. If it's not up to the cutting-edge standards Jones set in his past, it's at least a fun listen.

1. The News
2. The Magic Suitcase
3. The Whole Truth
4. Caesars Palace
5. Tell It Like It Is
6. War On Culture
7. What the F**k
8. Acton Zulus
9. National Anthem
10. Really the Blues
11. Oilwell
12. Why Do Men Fight?

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Gogol Bordello - Multi Kontra Culti vs. Irony

Band: Gogol Bordello
Album: Multi Kontra Culti vs. Irony
Country: USA
Release Date: 2002

The sound of New York’s Gogol Bordello is a combination of reckless fervor, foot-stomping rhythms, outlandish lyrics and a circus of surreal stimuli that leaves progressive minded music fans spinning in the their wake. Drawing upon Gypsy, Slavic and punk-rock traditions, Gogol Bordello is the genesis of a new aesthetic that bridges the gap between Eastern European and Gypsy influence with Western culture. This new direction in music is singer/lyricist/visionary Eugene Hutz’s passion, who uses the term "Ukrainian Gypsy Punk Cabaret" to describe their singular sound. "The title of the new album sums of the spirit of the band and the people around it. Gogol Bordello is about creating new musical possibilities. We all come from a very distinct tradition of music that is largely driven by Eastern European sounds, visions and colors as well as punk rock and street culture. We’re a multicultural unit with an underdog energy and a sense of humor, although a pretty twisted one," says Hutz.

Allmusic Guide review:
The idea of colliding Romany music with punk may at first seem bizarre, but there's more common ground to be found than one might first suspect, not the least of which involves the rejection of authority and dominant cultural norms. Musically, the Romanies' exuberant celebration of life may appear the antithesis of punk's original nihilism, but both are kindled by a sense of immediacy, a "no future, let's play for today" atmosphere that fires every song. And so Gogol Bordello, while certainly unique, is not as odd as it may seem. The group long ago left the concept of borders, musical or otherwise, behind. The members may have met in New York City, but bar one, all traveled far to get there, arriving from Israel and a variety of Eastern European nations. Singer/lyricist Eugene Hutz brought with him his rich Ukrainian heritage, a gift for storytelling, a twisted sense of humor, and a sharp sense of irony. The bandmembers brought their excellent musicianship, a love of their own cultural sounds, and a magpie's delight in plundering from others. The group's name pays tribute to Ukraine's most feted author, Nikolai Gogol, whose distinctive style and leitmotif provide inspiration for Hutz's lyrics. Skipping stealthily from the real world to the surreal, the pugnacious to the paranoid, the singer spins out his tales of wonder and woe, commonplace occurrences and counterintuitive events. Behind him, the band lets loose with an accompaniment that makes a nonsense of genres, a storming backing awash in melody that pushes toward pop, but cries out to the vast Eurasian steppes. Incredibly anthemic, Multi Kontra Culti will set your head spinning and your body with it, your blood racing to the rhythms, and your spirit soaring with the wildness of the untamed sounds within.

1.	When The Trickster Starts A-Poking	5:06
2.	Occurence On The Border	3:26
3.	Haltura	5:01
4.	Let's Get Radical	3:59
5.	Smarkatch	3:14
6.	Future Kings	4:40
7.	Punk Rock Parranda	3:56
8.	Through The Roof 'n' Underground	5:29
9.	Baro Foro	9:02
10.	Hats Off To Kolpakoff	2:21
11.	Huliganjetta	5:39

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Gogol Bordello - Voi-la Intruder

Band: Gogol Bordello
Album: Voi-la IntruderCountry: USA
Release Date: 2003

Gogol Bordello are a completely original New York entitity. Rubric is reissuing their debut release, Voi-La Intruder, with the track order revised and an additional 5 tracks. This is Ukranian party music. Leader Eugene Hutz is a major NYC DJ at the Bulgarian Bar on Saturday nights. The place is packed weekly with Eastern European immigrants and the hipsters who love them. The music is best described as a sort of Pogues meets traditional Ukranian folk music in a sweaty dance bar. One foot in punk rock and one foot in traditionalism, Gogol Bordello have been packing clubs in NYC and have recently toured the Czech Republic and Switzerland. They’ve also shared the Central Park stage last summer with international sensations Manu Chao. This is sexy, uplifting party music that gives one hope for the future.

1.	Sacred Darling	1:51
2.	Voi-La Intruder	3:10
3.	Greencard Husband	2:22
4.	Passport	4:24
5.	Start Wearing Purple	3:44
6.	Shy Kind of Guy	3:30
7.	Mussolini vs. Stalin	2:44
8.	Letter to Mother	3:52
9.	God-Like	5:36
10.	Nomadic Chronicle	4:24
11.	Letter to Castro	3:23
12.	Invisible Zedo	4:29
13.	Sex Spider	3:11
14.	No Threat	3:35
15.	Against the Nature	7:23

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American Hardcore: The History of American Punk Rock

Band: Varous Artists
Album: American Hardcore: The History of American Punk Rock
Country: USA
Release Date: 2006

There'd be no Nirvana, Beastie Boys, or Red Hot Chili Peppers were it not for hardcore pioneers such as Black Flag, Bad Brains, and Minor Threat. Hardcore was more than music; it was a social movement created by Reagan-era misfit kids. Featuring twenty-six definitive tracks, this is the audio companion to the feature-length documentary, released by Sony Pictures Classics in September 2006. Artists include Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Circle Jerks, Cro-Mags, Adolescents, Die Kreuzen, Flipper, Gang Green, Negative Approach, DOA, MDC, DRI, and more.

1. Black Flag - Nervous Breakdown 2:05
2. Middle Class - Out Of Vogue 0:59
3. Bad Brains - Pay To Cum 1:29
4. D.O.A. - Fucked Up Ronnie 1:19
5. Circle Jerks - Red Tape 0:54
6. Minor Threat - Filler 1:31
7. MDC - I Remember 1:56
8. Untouchables - Nic Fit 0:59
9. Gang Green - Kill A Commie 1:05
10. The Freeze - Boston Not L.A. 0:20
11. Jerry's Kids - Straight Jacket 0:22
12. SS Decontrol - Boiling Point 0:51
13. Void - Who Are You?/Time To Die 3:36
14. Scream - Came Without Warning 1:41
15. Negative Approach - Bad Attitude (1983 Demo) 1:07
16. Articles Of Faith - Bad Attitude 2:36
17. Die Kreuzen - Think For Me 1:37
18. Battalion Of Saints - My Minds Diseased 2:30
19. 7 Seconds - I Hate Sports 0:39
20. Big Boys - Brickwall 0:38
21. Really Red - I Was A Teenage Fuck Up 1:18
22. Adolescents - I Hate Children (1980 Demo) 1:36
23. YDI - Enemy For Life 1:08
24. D.R.I. - Runnin' Around 1:02
25. Cor-Mags - Don't Tread On Me (1982 Demo) 1:20
26. Flipper - Ha Ha Ha 2:13

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Alberto Y Los Trios Paranoia - Snuff Rock EP

Band: Alberto Y Los Trios Paranoia
Album: Snuff Rock EP
Country: UK
Release Date: 1977

Les Alberto y Los Trio Paranoias sont un groupe de rock humoristique fondé en 1973 à Manchester. Ils ont conçu une comédie musicale à la fin des année 1970 nommée Sleak au sujet d'une vedette rock qui est amené à se suicider sur scène. Ils ont enregistré quelques chanson de se spectacle pour en faire le Snuff Rock EP.

Alberto y los Trios Paranoias was a comedy rock band formed in Manchester, England, in 1973 They mounted a play, Sleak, about a rock star talked into committing suicide on-stage and they recorded some of the song from that play and put them on the funny Snuff Rock EP. It's a nice document of what's been a succesful stage show and a nice spot-on parody of punk rock.

1. Kill
2. Gobbing On Life
3. Snuffin' Like That
4. Snuffin' In A Babylon

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Pop Group - We Are Time

Band: Pop Group
Album: We Are Time
Country: UK
Release Date: 1980

Le Pop Group ne possède de Pop que le nom et cette compilation le démontre très bien. Le groupe mélange de façon exceptionelle funk, dub et punk, en fait on devrait plutôt parlé de collision que de mélange. Laissez-vous le Pop Group vous déstabiliser..... domage que le classique We Are All Prostitute ne s'y trouve pas, mais on ne peu pas tout avoir.....

Allmusic guide review:

Some artists churn out records for decades and leave behind little of significance. Others record little and leave a substantial legacy. The Pop Group belongs in that second category, releasing two studio albums and the odds-and-ends collection We Are Time during a three-year life span. When it becomes de rigueur to call an obscure band "seminal," it's worth reiterating why that band is important and reinvesting the cliché with some meaning. The Pop Group was among a handful of acts that harnessed the energy of punk, truly recognized the possibilities it opened up, and took music in exciting directions. The band used punk's back-to-basics ethos as a springboard for experimentation with funk, dub, and jazz, blending dance rhythms and rock in ways that continue to inspire artists. They also politicized rock with an intensity and urgency that put rebel poseurs like The Clash to shame. In addition to different versions of already available tracks, We Are Time features previously unreleased live, studio, and radio-session material. Demos from 1978 like "Trap" and "Sense of Purpose" display the frenetic rhythms, jagged guitars, and free jazz inclinations that would be further explored on the 1979 debut album. Taken to the brink by Mark Stewark's wailing vocals and Gareth Sager's squalling sax, the searing "We Are Time" and the staccato punk-funk rush of "Thief of Fire" show the band was as strong live as in the studio. The unlikely standout is "Amnesty Report" -- an alternate version of a 1979 B-side -- featuring Stewart's shouted recitation of an "Amnesty International Report on British Army Torture of Irish Prisoners" set to a fierce, heavily funky soundtrack. The Pop Group's official studio releases alone contained a wealth of musical ideas that still resonate. We Are Time simply confirms that the "seminal band" clichés are justified.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Trap (demo) Thief of Fire (live) Genius or Lunatic (live) Colour Blind (demo) Spanish Inquistion (live) Kiss the Book (live) Amnesty Report (alternate) Springer (live) Sense of Purpose (demo) We Are Time (live)

4:17 3:56 3:52 4:05 3:21 2:47 2:41 1:09 4:24 7:11

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