Celebrate, Groove 1 Mono Wall

Hello, Into The Groove had a wide ranging scope within the rhotation format, it pretends to be fridaynight music, and you know there's bars and bars, today we start at the singles again bar, with a compilation aptly called Back To Mono, admittedly the music here is 40 years old so, well after a few glasses too many everything becomes stereo again and thoose grooves in the face disappear into the wall of sound. Next stop, a tea house or coffeeshop as they are known in the Netherlands, chill funk by nine true rastafarians, Cymande..There's always somewhere an eighties/disco party going on, and what would it be without some spirit lifting Earth Wind & Fire..finally as a bonus , the music that inspired the Ill of the Beastie Boys , Ll Cool J, had no stumach to vinylrip the album, but then i had an EP for 18 months in my preps directory, so finally it gets a posting after all.

Last word, i hope you liked the Celebration week (those that found it that is, i noticed just a third of my visitors coming in at the front page, the others will hopefully be surprised later), anyway i enjoyed compiling it. That said i'm amazed that i kept this tempo up for more then a year on end..but no more, there's other things to do, watch and listen. I will continue at Transgloballs.

Best of luck to you all

Rho

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

VA - Phil Spector , Back To Mono 3 ( ^125mb)

Spector was born on December 26, 1939 to a lower middle class Jewish family in the Bronx in New York City. His grandfather emigrated from Russia. Spector changed his last name from 'Spektor' to 'Spector'. As the originator of the "Wall of Sound" production technique, Spector was a pioneer of the 1960s girl group sound and clocked in over twenty-five Top 40 hits between 1960 and 1965, Primarily with the Crystals and the Ronettes.

Spector's trademark during that era was the so-called Wall of Sound, a production technique yielding a dense, layered effect that reproduced well on AM radio and jukeboxes. To attain this signature sound, Spector gathered large groups of musicians (playing some instruments not generally used for ensemble playing, such as electric and acoustic guitars) playing orchestrated parts — often doubling and tripling many instruments playing in unison — for a fuller sound. Spector himself called his technique "a Wagnerian approach to rock & roll: little symphonies for the kids". Often called a mad genius because of his eccentric and temperamental behavior, Spector's idiosyncrasies were almost always validated by the artistic and commercial results of his sessions, which combined dozens of instruments and innovative production techniques into end products which only he could combine into works of art. His influence was immense, not only in the dozens of imitation Wall of Sound productions (some very accurate and worthy, it must be added) that flooded the market between 1962 and 1965, but as an inspiration to Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, Rolling Stones producer Andrew Loog Oldham, and others.

By the mid sixties Spector's teen operas were becoming out of fashion, although he enjoyed a lot of success with blue-eyed soul duo the Righteous Brothers specially with You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'", ( listed by BMI as the song with the most U.S. air play in the 20th century). After the failure of Ike & Tina Turner's 1966 single "River Deep, Mountain High" -- which he always considered among his greatest achievements, (although it was a big hit in Britain) -- he retired to his L.A. mansion, marrying Ronnie Bennett, lead singer of the Ronettes. In later years he worked with such artists as John Lennon, George Harrison and the Ramones with similar success, including production work on the Academy Award winning Let It Be and Grammy Award winning Concert for Bangladesh soundtracks. In 1989, Spector was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer.

The 2003 shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson in his Alhambra, California home led to his being charged with murder in the second degree. His first trial ended in a mistrial; his second trial resulted in a conviction of second degree murder on April 13, 2009. In addition he was found guilty of using a firearm in the commission of a crime.Spector was immediately taken into custody and will be formally sentenced on May 29, 2009.

At the time Back to Mono was released in 1991, Phil Spector's reputation as one of pop's great visionaries was intact, but there was no way to hear his genius. It wasn't just that there were no collections spotlighting his productions, there weren't collections of artists he produced. It wasn't until Back to Mono that there was a thorough overview of Spector's greatest work, and while it's not without flaws, it still stands as one of the great box sets. Later it was released as 4 seperate albums.



01 - Righteous Brothers - You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
02 - Ronettes - Born To Be Together
03 - Righteous Brothers - Just Once In My Life
04 - Righteous Brothers - Unchained Melody
05 - Ronettes - Is This What I Get For Loving You?
06 - Darlene Love - Long Way To Be Happy
07 - Righteous Brothers - (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons
08 - Righteous Brothers - Ebb Tide
09 - Modern Folk Quartet - This Could Be The Night
10 - Ronettes - Paradise
11 - Ike & Tina Turner - River Deep, Mountain High
12 - Ike & Tina Turner - I'll Never Need More Than This
13 - Ike & Tina Turner - A Love Like Yours (Don't Come Knockin' Everyday)
14 - Ike & Tina Turner - Save The Last Dance For Me
15 - Ronettes - I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine
16 - Ronettes - You Came, You Saw, You Conquered
17 - Sonny Charles And Checkmates Ltd - Black Pearl
18 - Checkmates Ltd - Love Is All I Have To Give

Celebrate, Groove 2 Cymande

Cymande - Best of (73/74 ^ 148mb)

Cymande (pronounced Sah-mahn-day) were an eclectic band who released several albums throughout the early 1970s. The group was formed in 1971 in London, England by musicians from Guyana and Jamaica. The name Cymande is derived from a Calypso word for Dove, which symbolizes peace and love. Although underappreciated and woefully overlooked during their original tenure together, the fine early-'70s outfit Cymande was one of the first to merge African rhythms with rock, funk, reggae, and soul. Comprised of members who hailed from such exotic locales as Guyana, Jamaica, and St. Vincent, the nine-man lineup (who were all entirely self-taught) contained Steve Scipio (bass), Ray King (vocals, percussion), Derek Gibbs (alto/soprano), Pablo Gonsales (congas), Joey Dee (vocals, percussion), Peter Serreo (tenor), Sam Kelly (drums), Mike Rose (alto, flute, bongos), and Patrick Patterson (guitar). The band issued a total of three releases: 1972's self-titled debut (which spawned one of their best-known songs, "The Message," peaking at number 22 on the domestic R&B charts in 1974), 1973's Second Time Round, and 1974's Promised Heights -- before splitting up.

However, by the '90s, Cymande became the recipient of a strong cult following as another track from their debut, "Bra," was included on the soundtrack to Spike Lee's motion picture Crooklyn, and several of their songs were sampled by rap artists (including Raze, Master Ace, MC Solaar, De La Soul, DJ Kool, and the Fugees). Due to sudden interest in Cymande, a pair of compilations were issued --Cymande can now be seen as one of the most sophisticated of the funk acts that evolved in the early 1970s. Members of the band reunited for a performance in Brighton (UK) on May 19, 2006 during the UK Funk All-Stars night at the Corn Exchange. It formed part of the Brighton Festival 2006.



01 - The Message
02 - Brothers On The Slide
03 - Dove
04 - Bra
05 - Fug
06 - For Baby Woh
07 - Rickshaw
08 - Equitorial Forest
09 - Listen
10 - Getting It Back
11 - Anthracite
12 - Willy's Headache
13 - Genevieve
14 - Pon De Dungle
15 - Rastafarian Folk Song
16 - One More
17 - Zion I

Celebrate, Groove 3 Earth Wind

Earth, Wind & Fire - The Very Best Of vol 1 (^147mb)

Earth, Wind & Fire were one of the most musically accomplished, critically acclaimed, and commercially popular funk bands of the '70s. Conceived by drummer, bandleader, songwriter, kalimba player, and occasional vocalist Maurice White, EWF's all-encompassing musical vision used funk as its foundation, but also incorporated jazz, smooth soul, gospel, pop, rock & roll, psychedelia, blues, folk, African music, and, later on, disco. The band could harmonize like a smooth Motown group, work a simmering groove like the J.B.'s, or improvise like a jazz fusion outfit. Plus, their stage shows were often just as elaborate and dynamic as George Clinton's P-Funk empire.

After numerous line up changes their career took of in 75, when they scored a movie that flopped but they had the good sense to release the soundtrack beforehand, That's the Way of the World contained their first no 1 hit -Shining Star album sales went platinum and EW& F was in business. 1977's All n' All was another strong effort that charted at number three and spawned the R&B smashes "Fantasy" and the chart-topping "Serpentine Fire"; meanwhile, the Emotions topped the pop charts with the White-helmed smash "Best of My Love." The following year, White founded his own label, ARC, and EWF appeared in the mostly disastrous film version of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, turning in a fine cover of the Beatles' "Got to Get You Into My Life" that became a Top Ten pop hit .

1979's I Am contained EWF's most explicit nod to disco, a smash collaboration with the Emotions called "Boogie Wonderland" that climbed into the Top Ten. The ballad "After the Love Has Gone" did even better, falling one spot short of the top. Although I Am became EWF's sixth straight multi-platinum album, there were signs that the group's explosion of creativity over the past few years was beginning to wane. The eighties, again saw numerousline up changes and limited chart success, as a consequence they were dropped by their label Columbia in 1990. EW &F returned on Reprise with the more traditional-sounding Millennium in 1993, but were dropped when the record failed to recapture their commercial standing despite a Grammy nomination for "Sunday Morning". Tragedy struck that year when onetime horn leader Don Myrick was murdered in Los Angeles. Bailey and the White brothers returned once again in 1997 on the small Pyramid label with In the Name of Love. After 2003's The Promise, the group realigned itself with several top-shelf adult contemporary artists and released 2005's Illumination.



01 - Let's Groove
02 - Getaway
03 - Shining Star
04 - Spread Your Love
05 - Reasons
06 - Can't Let Go
07 - Serpentine Fire
08 - Boogie Wonderland (Voc.The Emotions)
09 - Star
10 - Jupiter
11 - Electric Nation
12 - Fall In Love With Me
13 - And Love Goes On
14 - Keep Your Head To The Sky

***** ***** ***** ***** *****
bonus

LL Cool J - I Can't Live Without My Radio EP (85 ^39mb)

Born James Todd Smith on January 14, 1968, Ladies Love Cool James (LL Cool J) began his career in Queens, N.Y. when he was 16 years old, though he had been rapping since the age of nine. His grandfather bought him a mixing table and LL began to record tapes in his home. Inevitably, he sent his tapes to various record labels and finally interested Def Jam Productions. In 1984 they signed him and released his first single, "I Need A Beat." The single sold more than 100,000 copies and established LL Cool J in the rap industry. His debut album, I Can't Live Without My Radio, (which went platinum) was recorded in 1985 after LL left high school to pursue a career in music. Al 4 tracks from Radio

01- I Can't Live Without My Radio (5:27)
02 - You'll Rock (Remix) (4:32)
03 - Rock The Bells (4:00)
04 - El Shabazz (3:24)

Celebrate, AZ Soup 2 Rush

XXXX insert XXXX
Must be a new record, certainly for Rho-Xs, the Genesis page was taken down within 2 days, seems EMI is not having anyone comprimise their exorbitandly priced Genesis Box or fully priced remaster. They likely have someone scouring blog world for any infringement of their percieved cashcows. ..They still don't get it, if anything, hearing one of the boxsets remasters would stimulate interest...

Here's the original Alphabet Soup intro

Hello, Alphabet Soup delivers some seventies favourites of mine, first up Foxtrot, the remastered one, the album was a big part of my first holiday with friends, singing along with Suppers Ready halfdrunk, oh well Rome and Florance were inspiring aswell and the sambuca very cheap. Rush was another band i bought all albums from until the early eighties. Caress of Steel was the album where they found their path to enduring collaboratiuon and stardom, ironically that album didnt sell as much but it prepared the way for their 2112 breakthrough...Finally a last minute switch , i had prepared World Record by Van Der Graaff Generator ..its still availble btw..but i decided to switch to Peter Hammill's solo album Over. It's hard to say what grabbed me at the time because thematically it wasnt something i connected with-at the time, however 10 years later when i was his age when he recorded it i understood, anyway i have his first 11 albums so posting one makes sense

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Rush - Caress Of Steel (75 ^ 100mb)

Never the critics favourite and rare recipients of mainstream pop radio airplay, Rush nonetheless won an impressive and devoted fan following while their virtuoso performance skills solidified their standing as musicians' musicians. Rush formed in Toronto, Ontario, in the autumn of 1968, and initially comprised guitarist Alex Lifeson (born Alexander Zivojinovich), vocalist/bassist Geddy Lee (born Gary Lee Weinrib), and drummer John Rutsey. In their primary incarnation, the trio drew a heavy influence from Cream, and honed their skills on the Toronto club circuit before issuing their debut single, a rendition of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away," in 1973. A self-titled LP followed in 1974, at which time Rutsey exited; he was replaced by drummer Neil Peart, who also assumed the role of the band's primary songwriter, composing the cerebral lyrics (influenced by works of science fiction and fantasy) that gradually became a hallmark of the group's aesthetic.

With Peart firmly ensconced, Rush returned in 1975 with a pair of LPs, Fly by Night and Caress of Steel. Their next effort, 1976's 2112, proved their breakthrough release: a futuristic concept album based on the writings of Ayn Rand, it fused the elements of the trio's sound -- Lee's high-pitched vocals, Peart's epic-length compositions, and Lifeson's complex guitar work -- into a unified whole. Fans loved it -- 2112 was the first in a long line of gold and platinum releases -- while critics dismissed it as overblown and pretentious: either way, it established a formula from which the band rarely deviated throughout the duration of their career.

When Rush finished their third album, Caress of Steel, the trio was assured that they had created their breakthrough masterpiece. But when the album dropped off the charts soon after its release, it proved otherwise. While it was Rush's first release that fully explored their prog rock side, it did not contain the catchy and more traditional elements of their future popular work -- it's quite often too indulgent and pretentious for a mainstream rock audience to latch onto. And while Rush would eventually excel in composing lengthy songs, the album's two extended tracks -- the 12½-minute "The Necromancer" and the nearly 20-minute "The Fountain of Lamneth" -- show that the band was still far from mastering the format. The first side contains two strong and more succinct tracks, the raging opener, "Bastille Day," and the more laid-back "Lakeside Park," both of which would become standards for their live show in the '70s. But the ill-advised "I Think I'm Going Bald" (which lyrically deals with growing old) borders on the ridiculous, which confirms that Caress of Steel is one of Rush's more unfocused albums.

A Farewell to Kings followed in 1977 and reached the Top 40 in both the U.S. and Britain. After 1978's Hemispheres, Rush achieved even greater popularity with 1980's Permanent Waves, a record marked by Peart's dramatic shift into shorter, less sprawling compositions. As the 1980s continued, Rush grew into a phenomenally popular live draw as albums like 1982's Signals, 1984's Grace Under Pressure, and 1985's Power Windows continued to sell millions of copies. As the decade drew to a close, the trio cut back on its touring schedule.

At the dawn of the 1990s, however, Rush returned to the heavier sound of their early records and placed a renewed emphasis on Lifeson's guitar heroics; consequently, both 1991's Roll the Bones and 1993's Counterparts reached the Top Three on the U.S. album charts. In 1996, the band issued Test for Echo and headed out on the road the following summer. Shortly thereafter, Peart lost his daughter in an automobile accident. Tragedy struck again in 1998 when Peart's wife succumbed to cancer. Dire times in the Rush camp did not cause the band to quit. Lee took time out for a solo stint with 2000's "My Favorite Headache". It would be five years until anything surfaced from the band. Fans were reassured in early 2002 by news that Rush were recording new songs in Toronto. The fruit of those sessions led to the release of Rush's 17th studio album, Vapor Trails, later that spring. In 2004 the band embarked on their 30th anniversary tour, and in 2006 they returned to the studio to begin work on a new album. The resulting Snakes & Arrows was released in May 2007, followed by Snakes & Arrows Live in early 2008.



01 - Bastille Day (4:37)
02 - I Think I'm Going Bald (3:38)
03 - Lakeside Park (4:07)
04 - The Necromancer (12:29)
p1 - Into The Darkness (4:12)
p2 - Under The Shadow (4:25)
p3 - Return Of The Prince (3:51)
05 - The Fountain Of Lamneth (19:58)
p1 - In The Valley (4:13)
p2 - Didacts And Narpets (1:02)
p3 - No One At The Bridge (4:18)
p4 - Panacea (3:14)
p5 - Bacchus Plateau (3:14)
p6 - The Fountain (3:50)

Celebrate, AZ Soup 3 Hammill

Peter Hammill - Over (77 ^ 113mb)

Born Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill, November 5, 1948, in Ealing, London, to parents of fairly good means, Peter Hammill grew up in the embrace of Jesuit teachings, an element that has continued to affect and influence his songwriting throughout his career as much as his studies of philosophy and art. The drive of his particular muse, fueled additionally by the '60s groundswell of new approaches to science fiction led to collaboration with Chris Judge-Smith at Manchester University, with Van Der Graaf Generator forming around them -- albeit briefly. The band broke up after a number of gigs, with Hammill going solo. The arrival of a Mercury Records contract led Hammill into the studio, accompanied by various friends, for a brief but intense recording session. The first three VDGG albums for Charisma moved through a variety of shattered and darkened landscapes, with some genuinely chilling moments.

Hammill's first solo outing, Fool's Mate (both a chess and Tarot reference), came alongside the Van Der Graaf Generator album H to He Who Am the Only One. It consisted, in the main, of an assortment of songs deemed too small for the band. In contrast, following the dissolution of VDGG following Pawn Hearts, Hammill's sophomore release, The Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night, was a bleak affair indeed. Hammill seemed to need to strip things down to the bare essentials, recording at home (the first appearance of Sofa Sound) for the most part, his lyrics telling more personal tales.

With The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage, Hammill began to find a voice away from VDGG, though his writing had yet to completely mature . In Camera saw him handling most of the instrumental work himself and experimenting with ambient soundscapes. In 1975, he once again dug into the back catalog of his songs, assuming the leather-jacketed persona of Rikki Nadir for Nadir's Big Chance, a noisy, chaotic album of garage band-styled rock & roll. The album seems to have had its effect in the British music community, being cited by more than a few in the following punk uproar as an influence -- even John Lydon went public with a degree of admiration for Hammill's work.

1975 saw the rebirth of Van Der Graaf Generator in a somewhat calmer format, while the songs still extended to epic length, the tendency towards proto-jazz explosions with rock underpinnings had been shorn away, the drumming was more laid back, and the lyrics tended towards examinations of people. The first two releases, Godbluff and Still Life, were fine albums, with one of Hammill's finest songs, "My Room (Waiting for Wonderland)" appearing on the latter, but by the third album, Van Der Graaf Generator - World Record The band fractured yet again early 76. The support tour thru the US and UK made it clear that making music together and touring abroad isn't for everyone.

Meanwhile Hammill got his own troubles back home and in july 76 he recorded Over, one of the best albums ever made about the end of a relationship and the trauma that results, Over is the harrowing document of the failure of a long-term relationship Peter Hammill had been in. With a brief side-step to examine the loss felt by parents when their children move out ("Autumn"), Hammill exposes feelings of guilt, rage, betrayal, attempts at understanding, and attempts at healing. From the self-recrimination of the furious "Crying Wolf," to the angry lashing out of "Time Heals," through the heart-wrenching sadness of "This Side Of The Looking Glass" (with Hammill turning in a beautiful vocal performance against an orchestral setting), to the extremely tentative healing steps of "Lost And Found" (which includes a middle eighth that concludes "La Rossa" from Van Der Graaf Generator's Still Life, but in a cynical way), the songs avoid compromise and simplicity, making this a sometimes difficult listening experience; the lyrics are often bitterly clever and cutting. Beautifully produced, Over is Peter Hammill at his musical and lyrical best.

The album was recorded during a period of line-up change for Hammill's band Van der Graaf Generator. It features VdGG drummer Guy Evans, VdGG's new recruit Graham Smith (formerly of String Driven Thing) on violin, and the return of VdGG's bass player from 1969 to 1970, Nic Potter. It was issued for the first time on CD on Virgin Records in the early 1990s, Hammill had refused earlier cd release such was the intensity of his emotions about the album, he likely didnt want to confront his later marriage with it, bad luck for me as my vinyl had suffered chronic damage. It was reissued again in a remastered version in 2006 with bonus tracks.



1 - Crying Wolf (5:14)
2 - Autumn (4:19)
3 - Time Heals (8:43)
4 - Alice (Letting Go) (5:40)
5 - This Side Of The Looking Glass (7:04)
6 - Betrayed (4:49)
7 - (On Tuesdays She Used To Do) Yoga (3:58)
8 - Lost And Found (7:33)