RhoDeo 1410 Aetix

Hello, still no news from the missing airplane, although they manage to confuse more and more, it looks to me these Malaysians don't react well to sudden stress, or maybe it's just we in the West are used to much more controlled news...... Anyway 239 lives remain lost, and Boeing can start to worry as news of previous problems with the airplane become known.

It's the final post on the Paisley Underground an early genre of alternative rock, based primarily in Los Angeles, California, which was at its most popular in the mid-1980s. Paisley Underground bands incorporated psychedelia, rich vocal harmonies and guitar interplay in a folk rock style that owed a particular debt to The Byrds, but more generally referenced the whole range of 1960s West Coast pop and garage rock. The term "Paisley Underground" originated in late 1982, with a comment made by Michael Quercio of the band The Three O'Clock, during an interview with the LA Weekly alternative newspaper.

Paisley Underground bands frequently shared bills, socialized and collaborated. Members of Rain Parade, The Bangles, The Dream Syndicate and The Three O'Clock joined together to form Rainy Day, releasing an eponymous album of cover versions of songs by The Velvet Underground, Buffalo Springfield, Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, Big Star, Jimi Hendrix, and The Who. As "Danny and Dusty," Steve Wynn of The Dream Syndicate and Dan Stuart of Green on Red made the album The Lost Weekend (A&M, 1985) backed by members of each band along with most of The Long Ryders. Clay Allison was an offshoot band composed of David Roback and Will Glenn (Rain Parade), Kendra Smith (The Dream Syndicate), Sylvia Juncosa (Leaving Trains) and Keith Mitchell (Monitor).

Todays band was associated with the Paisley Underground music movement; of the bands in that movement,The Rough Guide to Rock called them "one of the few worthwhile traditional American guitar rock bands of their era. While most of the essential groups of the time were pushing back the limits of the form, they had the distinction of managing to breathe new life into the genre..  . . ....N'Joy

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Out of the same mold as L.A.'s Paisley Underground bands, True West didn't fit because they were from Davis, CA (operating out of the nearby nexus for guitar bands, San Francisco) and a little darker and less dreamy than the others. They debuted with True West, an EP in 1983 on Bring Out Your Dead Records. It was produced by the band's Russ Tolman and the Dream Syndicate's Steve Wynn. Hollywood Holiday, released by France's then-very hip New Rose label that same year, contained the debut EP as well as some new tracks. By 1984, the band signed a deal with U.S. indie label PVC for Drifters. Drummer Josef Becker left to join the similar, though darker California-centric roots band Thin White Rope, and after recording, so too did Tolman. 1986's Hand of Fate for CD Presents features guitar work by the Rain Parade's Matt Piucci and Green on Red's Chuck Prophet in place of Tolman. Shortly after, the band called it quits. West Side Story (Skyclad, 1989) is an odds-and-sods collection, Best Western (Skyclad, 1990) a compilation of of old demos, and TV Western (Skyclad, 1990) adds some live tracks to the demo sessions. Singer Gavin Blair and guitarist Richard McGrath worked as Fool Killers after the breakup, and Tolman is a prolific singer/songwriter. Becker went on to play with Game Theory. The group's bassist was Kevin Staydohar.

True West were the black sheep of the paisley underground set. While their pals were recording major-label records with Sandy Pearlman (the Dream Syndicate), working with Prince (both the Bangles and the Three O'Clock), hanging out with Gene Clark (the Long Ryders), or becoming critical darlings (Green on Red), True West were relegated to a relatively tiny indie label (PVC) and split up before making much of an impression on more than a handful dedicated fans. Atavistic's 2007 release of the band's first two releases (1983's Hollywood Holiday and 1984's Drifters) proves that while True West may have faded into obscurity, their music remains challenging and inspiring, and stands up better today than many of their peers' best efforts. Influenced as much by the sound of mid-'70s N.Y.C. (Television) as by the psychedelic '60s (Pink Floyd, Quicksilver Messenger Service), the group was defined by the intricate and passionate guitar duels between Russ Tolman and Richard McGrath, the unhinged vocals of Gavin Blair, and the incredible amount of drama and mystery in its sound. Hollywood Holiday is a raw document of a band that already sounds fully formed and ready to make a splash. Everything on the record seethes with energy and imagination, but the highlights -- like the melancholy jangle pop of "And Then the Rain," the wild tribal improvisation "I'm Not Here," the very catchy title track, and the awesome "You," which features Tolman and McGrath's mind-reading interplay at its most breathtaking -- are some of the best examples of the American underground of the early '80s you'll ever hear.

 After such an impressive debut, the next album was almost sure to be a major letdown. In True West's case, though, there is only change to be found on Drifters, not disappointment. Drifters is a more polished record, made in a real studio with Sandy Pearlman's engineer behind the board (again, they were one step behind their scene-mates). While the sound is cleaner (oh, those cursed mid-'80s drum sounds!) and slightly less immediate than on Hollywood Holiday, it sounds raw and fiery enough to put, say, The Medicine Show to shame. McGrath and Tolman still manage to work up storms of six-string majesty throughout, especially on "What About You," where McGrath channels Tom Verlaine very convincingly, the rampaging "Backroad Bridge Song (What Could I Say)," and the chiming "Morning Light." For the most part, though, the guitars are on the back burner and Blair's vocals and lyrics are moved more to the forefront. He proves himself ready for the spotlight -- his vocals are powerful and well suited to the uptempo songs reminiscent of the first record, like "Look Around" and "At Night They Speak," but also the type of country-influenced rockers ("Morning Light," "Speak Easy") and ballads ("Ain't No Hangman") the band was moving toward. While some critics and fans thought the record played it too safe, any excitement lost in the studio polish is offset by the strength found in the songcraft, arrangements, and performances. It's not as classic a statement as their debut, but it remains a highly listenable artifact of the era.

Added on to the compilation are three tracks the band recorded with Tom Verlaine in late 1983 after the release of Hollywood Holiday. EMI financed the session but passed on signing the band, so the songs were left in the can until the release of the (long out of print) Best Western collection in 1990. They provide a clue as to what a completely stripped-down version of Drifters might have sounded like, and fill in a missing piece of the True West story. They may not be the first band you think of when reminiscing about the paisley underground, but to forget them entirely means missing out on some very good and important music. With this long overdue reissue, you no longer have a valid excuse to overlook True West.

True West - Hollywood Holiday Revisited  (flac 532mb)

Hollywood Holiday (83)
01 Steps to the Door 3:14
02 I'm Not Here 2:23
03 And Then the Rain 3:48
04 Hollywood Holiday 4:10
05 Lucifer Sam 3:12
06 It's About Time 4:38
07 Throw Away the Key 3:12
08 You 4:47
Drifters (84)
9 Look Around 4:30
10 At Night They Speak 3:22
11 Speak Easy 3:29
12 Shot You Down 3:32
13 What About You 4:47
14 Hold On 4:43
15 And Then the Rain  4:24
16 Backroad Bridge Song (What Could I Say)  3:01
17 Ain't No Hangman 2:47
18 Morning Light  4:02
The Verlaine Demos
19 Burn the Roses 3:24
20 Look Around 4:22
21 Throw Away the Key 3:13
 
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The neo-psychedelic group Opal formed in the mid-'80s, featuring former Rain Parade guitarist David Roback and former Dream Syndicate bassist Kendra Smith. Initially, the group was called Clay Allison, but the group dropped the name after one single; Roback, Smith, and drummer Keith Mitchell released the remaining Clay Allison tracks under their own name in 1984 on the Fell From the Sun EP. After its release, the group adopted the name Opal and released an EP, Northern Line, in 1985. Happy Nightmare Baby, their first full-length album, followed in 1987. Smith left the group during the Happy Nightmare tour, effectively putting an end to the band. Roback continued with vocalist Hope Sandoval; the group then metamorphosed into Mazzy Star.

At once drowsy, psychedelic, entrancing, and possessed of a sinuous spark, Happy Nightmare Baby may have been Opal's only album but deserves more attention than merely being a blueprint for Roback's later work in Mazzy Star. For one thing, Opal was very much its own band, with Kendra Smith's particular lyrical visions of mystic power and universe-scaling dreams and nightmares its own entity. As is her singing, though she's got less of Hope Sandoval's wistful drift and more focused control -- check out the brief "A Falling Star," where the comparatively stripped-down arrangement places her singing in the foreground, notably without much in the way of echo. Roback's playing certainly won't surprise anyone per se who backtracks to this group from albums like She Hangs Brightly, and the atmosphere of textured, moody power is evident right from the start with the wonderful early T. Rex tribute, "Rocket Machine." The compressed string swirl and steady stomp is pure Marc Bolan-via-Tony Visconti, though Smith avoids Bolan's style of warble for her own cool, something also quite evident on the slow-groove stomp of the great "She's a Diamond" and the concluding "Soul Giver." Meanwhile, other familiar elements Roback would later use are present aplenty -- very Ray Manzarek-like organ lines on the mantra-chugs of "Magick Power" and "Siamese Trap," compressed acid rock solos and lots of reverb. The title track itself stands out a bit as being a bit more of a '60s Europop confection in a stripped-down 1968 setting -- Roback's electric guitar adds some fire, but it's the slightly jazz-tinged rhythm and easy delivery from Smith that helps establish its own character. It's a release that stood out both in time and place (a 1987 release on SST Records, of all places!), but it stands up to future years and listens darn well.

Opal - Happy Nightmare Baby  (flac 236mb)

01 Rocket Machine 4:24
02 Magick Power 6:14
03 Relevation 2:53
04 A Falling Star 1:21
05 She's A Diamond 4:18
06 Supernova 4:17
07 Siamese Trap 6:38
08 Happy Nightmare Baby 2:52
09 Soul Giver 8:34

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Formed in Los Angeles in 1978, the Plimsouls merged roots, retro and guitar rock with a ramshackle punk aesthetic. At a time when rock music was shifting gears, the Plimsouls' brand of soul-punk -- a modern take on '60s soul, British Invasion and garage rock sounds -- fit right in with the '80s post-punk American guitar band movement. Known for their kinetic live performances, the Plimsouls had an exceptional frontman in singer/songwriter Peter Case whose decision to pursue a solo career effectively ended their '80s run, but whose songs have kept the group's slight catalog and legacy in the public eye.

After their eponymous Planet Records debut full-length, the Plimsouls took the major-label bait and signed on with Geffen Records. Everywhere at Once, their first Geffen album, has mixed results. While the change to a major label did have a profound impact on the band, it wasn't always for the best. While Jeff Eyrich's somewhat heavy-handed production did take a little air out of their performance, the end result is far less clinical than other major-label mainstream rock records of the day. Everywhere at Once does contain the Plimsouls' greatest recorded achievement, "A Million Miles Away," which packs all of the passion and punch of some of John Lennon's finest recordings with a wonderful power-driven Byrds-like arrangement. Other standouts on this record include "Play the Breaks" which, while not quite as awesome as it is in a live performance (they were possibly the finest live band in Los Angeles in this period), still shines.

Plimsouls - Everywhere At Once  (flac 236mb)

01 Shaky City 2:36
02 Magic Touch 3:10
03 Oldest Story In The World 3:21
04 Lie, Beg, Borrow And Steal 2:46
05 Play The Breaks 4:19
06 How Long Will It Take 2:31
07 A Million Miles Away 3:35
08 My Life Ain't Easy 2:37
09 Inch By Inch 3:15
10 I'll Get Lucky 2:43
11 Everywhere At Once 3:18
12 Hobo 3:25

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