Alternative Rock Compilations music reviews

There are very few places that you can find music like this anymore. Quite a bargain, too. Highlight are Comfort by Athenaeum, and AFH by Slackjaw. Counting Crows fans pay attention... this is an album for you....

This is not a retrospective of the highly respected German-based Bear Family label. Rather it's a celebration of 25 years. Many of these 27 tracks were recorded exclusively for this release. The album opens and closes with a couple of ragtime instrumentals from Ian Whitcomb (on accordian!): "March of the Bear Family" and "The Bumbling Bear," both written by Whitcomb with no trace of the man who hit the Top Ten in 1965 with "You Turn Me On." [Note: All songs contain the word "bear" or "bare" in the case of Jon Emery's "Bare My Soul."]

Most of the tunes are in a country/rockabilly mode: Paul Marshall's "Bear Valley Jail," Ray Campi's "Bear Skin Rug," Wanda Jackson & Ted Herold's take on the Elvis chestnut "Teddy Bear" and more.

But there is some variation on the theme. The Majestics offer the
blues-based (think Los Lobos) "El Oso Negro (The Black Bear)." The Casey Sisters serve up the boogie-woogie/Western swing "Grizzly Bear Stomp." Big Jay McNeely wails on his sax on the instrumental "Big Bear Blues." Sixty-six year old Henry Hill does a terrific Merle Travis-style guitar instrumental "Bear Emotions." And Skip Heller's Hot Six perform the hot jazz number "Trapeze Over an Open Bear Trap."

You can't beat the price. [I got mine free.] And there's lots of terrific music here to enjoy over and over again. For about the cost of a value meal at McDonald's, you get over 70 minutes of wonderful Bear Family music. If, like me, this is your first exposure to the Bear Family catalog, I guaranteee you won't be disappointed. RECOMMENDED

For the most part, this CD seems to flow well. It starts off with the early new wave songs, and then gradually moves on into the mid 80's. There are some rare versions of a couple of songs like "Safty Dance" and a different lengthed version of "Lay Your Hands on Me" by the Thompson Twins. There are some hard to find songs on here such as INXS's "What You Need" not found on a various artist CD too often. Also ABC's "Be Near Me" is hard to find too. The sound quality though, is a little under par, but still worth listening to.

Top Sail's recent pair of collections, one featuring 70s classic rock, and this one featuring 80s new wave hits, are an interesting contrast. Both catalog the commercial spin of underground movements; 70s classic rock having been, to a large extent, a by-product of underground rock of the late 60s, and 80s new wave having been a commercial spin-off of late-70s punk rock. What separates them, however, is the humanity and lasting listenability of the music.

The guitar-fueled rock of the 70s retains an earthy presence that, while certainly of its time in many ways, still shows much of the music's original vitality. In contrast, 80s new wave, or at least many of the cuts anthologized here, feel contrived. Perhaps it's an inability to separate these tracks from the embryonic videos that gained them play on a pre-geologic MTV. How can anyone hear A Flock of Seagull's "I Ran (So Far Away)" without thinking of Mike Score's haircut? Or a-ha's "Take On Me" without remembering the accompanying animated/live-action video? Perhaps it's just the disposable nature of so many of these bands - the count of one-hit wonders is lengthy.

Nearly every one of these tracks is likely to make you think more of the video that made it a hit than where you were or who you were with the first time it played. And perhaps that's a mark of just how well this volume is selected, since they show just how influential style and video were for top-40 new wave of the 80s. Since many of these tracks were produced to sound mechanical, it's no surprise that they retain that feeling today. But what might have sounded innovative in 1982, now sounds like an over-reliance on synthesizers. What still stands out, though, are the remarkable vocalists (Annie Lennox, Boy George, Roland Gift, and Chrissie Hynde, among others) who often fronted these bands. Top Sail's stuffed nearly 80 minutes of music on this disc, providing your retro-80s party non-stop dancing action!

This is a collection from 1994 (duh!) done by the once cutting-edge recordlabel Amphetamine Reptile. They helped Helmet and countless others to launch their careers in the late 80's and early 90's and the bands feautered here could be called the last generation of bands that this label spawned.

All the three bands have the energy-level of a bunny on cocaine. They play fast and scream out their anger loud.

Chokebore have a singer that sounds like he has swiss genes or something cause his drawn-out screaming are almost like some mad yodeling.
Today Is The Day are the most aggresive of the trio, their material bordering almost into metal. They also have very complex rhythm parts, like a predecessor to Dillenger Escape Plan some places. No doubt are they the most talented of the bunch. All their albums are worthy a listen.
Guzzard are the only band of these that I don't think exists anylonger. They play straigh-forward but still immensly catchy hardcore with a flair of originality.

All in all, every act here are well-deserved members to anyone's collection.

With a movie featuring Dani Filth, the throat of Cradle Of Filth, and a serial killer resembling Rob Zombie, one would expect a metal soundtrack. Right? Wrong. Most of the songs here are industrial techno and one would be hard pressed to tell one from the other. It's good as background music or as something with BPMs fitting for a long nighttime car drive. However, if one sees grim visions or becomes demonized as a result, don't be surprised.

There are bits of dialogue linking one song with another, and in Intense's "Time Space Continuum," there's a [bit] of dialogue unflattering describing Dr. Rotting, a character from the movie and the modus operandi of Kemper, the serial killer/hypnotist/cannibal.

However, the [sounds] of death, bestial roars, and splattering liquid that begin with the eerie techno of "Fallout/The Beast Within" should alert the listener what he or she is in for.

However, there are some highlights. "Plastic Surgery" by Jezebel, has fuzz guitar accompanying the industrial techno resulting in a NIN sound. The vocalist sounds like an [inexpensive]knockoff of L7's lead singer.

"Disconnected/Resurrected" and "Blueprint/Rip The Face Off" by Lungworm has some distorted vocals and heavy beats mixed in. The Dark Poets' grim "It Doesn't Matter" begins with dialogue between Nick and Thomas, with Nick shooting Thomas after telling him he wants his leg. They also do the pounding "Breakbeat Hallowe'en," one of the more upbeat tracks here.

Cradle Of Filth's techno "Dance Macabre", originally on their Lovecraft and Witch Hearts greatest hits, has some elements of the Midian album song "Saffron's Curse" and movie dialogue mixed in. The ominous phrase, "You never believed in evil!" repeated throughout. In fact, COF provide the only metal song here, "Lord Abortion," taken from their Midian album, but there is some dialogue mixed in at the beginning of the song.

"Shoes" by D.O.P.E. is the minimalist track of beats that closes the movie, if I recall collectly. However, it ends with some screams and monstrous roars.

Not a bad gothic industrial collection. Anyone who hasn't seen this movie first will get a clear picture via this soundtrack. Those of us who have seen it, myself included, have sunken deep into that paradise of depravity.

Hey if you like Lets Active you will like this interpretation Great band that will never get the attention they deserved... Saw them many times in the 80's and man Mitch Easter knows how to deliver a pop song ... and do a good cover of the Rover by Led Zepp.. At William and Mary Hall in Williamsburg, VA opening for REM

"The business of America's talking/If your speed's good you're in demand." Post-Iraq, Mitch Easter's tart 1984 couplet still sounds savvy.

The North Carolina producer (REM, Pavement, dBs, Velvet Crush, Some Loves) is less well known as a remarkable writer and performer. The bands he produced rarely matched his own Let's Active, a stellar band of the 1980s.

US East Coast groups stand out in this tribute. Also appearing are West Coast groups and Sydney's Soap Star Joe. Australia's own pop guru, Stuart Coupe, co-produces.

Easter's pure pop inventiveness properly inspires several performers to have a go at emulating it. Long-time Easter associate Don Dixon delivers a spacious take of "Horizon", while Doug Powell deconstructs the difficulties of "Waters Part" with strings and psychedelia. Trolleyvox and Saving Graces stay nearer the originals, but make sparkling work of them. Less successful are efforts to completely subvert the intoxicating originals of "In Little Ways" and "Every Dog Has His Day".

These acolytes know their stuff. Their twenty covers scoop the cream of the 40-odd Let's Active songs we have. I pined for the dual-paced swamp-grunge of "Night Train", but in golfing terms I think that one's an unplayable lie.

Tributes rarely work as albums in their own right, but the sheer quality of the songs makes this one a pleasure. I hope it inspires people to seek out the wonders of the Let's Active back catalgoue.

i really enjoyed this compilation, almost all female vocalists and its nice to hear different obscure singers and bands. on the first cd, i am in love with prolapse's "chill blown" and nina simone's "my baby just cares for me" is quite lovely. on the second cd, i'm really diggin brix e. smith's "oringina" and rita lynch's "call me your girlfriend" is by far the sexiest lesbian love song ever! on the third cd, "teenile dementia" by the morgan is real wild to listen to and "strange fruit" by billy holiday is a pure classic. all in love, delicious and wonderful compilation!

This review is not for old fans/DJ's who are used to the "unmixed" state of Hed Kandi's CD's but since this one seems to feature a lot of well known tracks and some well know artists - new to Hed Kandi might stumble upon this disc and wonder what's what.

This is NOT a typical mass market dance mix CD that you can drop into your player and hit play or shuffle. These are tracks in sort of a raw state ready for a DJ (amateur or pro) to begin their mixology mastery - grabbing bit here and there, dropping it on another track, etc, etc ... for those who are DJ's and mixers, you already know what you're getting and you don't need a review - you know what you're getting with every Hed Kandi release but for average/new dance fans who want to listen to this CD or drop it and hit play at a party - this is not that kind of a CD. All the raw elements are here but you need to mix it up and cook it. If that's what you're ready for, this CD is a 4-star CD. If you're not prepared to break out mixing turntables and/or software - this CD is not a just-for-listening dance CD.

The first CD is terrible. I tried to listen to it but just can't do it. The second one is wonderful, great compilation!

This is a great album from the Hed Kandi series. Twisted Disco 02.04 is a great mix of electro-pop dance numbers that make up disc one, and some great dance anthems on disc two. Scissor Sisters make two appearances on the first disc, first on the extended mix of "Comfortably Numb" and then a reworking of Bucci Bag's "More Lemonade". There's a great cover of the Go Go's "Our Lips Are Sealed" that opens the first disc, an instant highlight. My favorite track is Bastian's "Bladerunner (I Think I Love You)", which closes off the first disc. Other highlights on this disc include "You Used To" by Richard X, "Sometimes" by Les Rhythmes Digitales, and "Paddle" by Touche. The second disc as I said is more dance and house sounding. There's some great tracks here, namely "Da Hype" by Junior Jack, "Superstars" by The Loose Cannons, and "Sweet Serendipity" by Bonnie Bailey. Overall a great collection to own, especially if you enjoy the other albums in the Hed Kandi series, this one won't disapoint.

This is a collection of songs played live on the Mountain Stage radio show. Most of the songs here are the blues, but there are other styles represented. My personal favorite is the acappella version of "Purple Haze" by the Bobs.

I have had all eight of the Mountain Stage series for a number of years and they all get play time in my house. Somehow, though, I always come back to this one. It's a good thing.

Marcia Ball rips through "That's Enough..." If you don't dance to that, you're dead. The soulful Charles Musselwhite lays down one of the best guitar licks I've ever heard on "It's Getting Warm in Here". Pops Staples recalls his days traveling with Martin Luther King including a conversation the day before MLK was killed.

Get the disc and be happy.

These bands had so many better songs than the ones selected here. When I think shoegazer, I think a wonderful AM drone . . .and this just isn't it. The songs sound so much more like Ride's Twisterella era music than Nowhere. And the singing on many of the tracks is flat and off key.

I'm not sure who put this together, but it's a collection of "shoegazer" bands from the early 90's. Included are some bigger names such as "Ride", "Slowdive", and my favorite "Lush", as well as some obscure acts like "Moose", "Drop Nineteens", and "Adorable". There are a few genre-defining groups missing here, like "Catherine Wheel", "Curve", and "MBV", perhaps even "Cocteau Twins" and "Jesus And Mary Chain", but this is still a decent collection. Anyone looking for more of this sound should just check out any of the above mentioned bands.

1989-1994 (for me at least) was a time of long car trips to NYC and, later (to see the same girl) DC. Lush, Ride and Adorable were great bands to just zone with the passing intermittent lines along the Interstate. They spoke to my young, naive and overly romantic self-aborption with life. And as I write this, I see I can easily slide into self-absorption again (-; It's a nice, though incomplete, compilation of the songs of the shoegazers. Sadly, My Bloody Valentine, Curve (to a degree) and most sadly, the Boo Radleys, are nowhere to be found on this disc. Listen up, let's roll out Vol II.