Monday, 8 March 2021

Various Artists - Lammas Night Laments (Remastered)

 













01. Paul Giovanni & Magnet - The Wicker Man (Main Theme)
02. Anne Briggs - Standing On Your Shore
03. C.O.B. - Spirit Of Love
04. Water Into Wine Band - Waiting For Another Day
05. Forest - Bluebell Dance
06. Dulcimer - Caravan
07. The Trees - Garden Of Jane Delawney
08. Tir Na Nog - Time Is Like a Promise
09. Dr Strangely Strange - Frosty Morning
10. Midwinter - Waters Of Sweet Sorrow
11. Stone Angel - The Bells Of Dunwich
12. Third Ear Band - Fleance
13. Vashti Bunyan - Rainbow River
14. Tea And Symphony - Winter
15. The Sun Also Rises - Tales Of Jasmine & Suicide
16. Mark Fry - The Witch
17. Pearls Before Swine - Images Of April

In the last few years of doing this blog, I receive more messages about the Lammas Night Laments series than anything else. Specifically, can I provide a higher quality version than the one I originally posted.

It seems all online versions are the same low quality. So, around a year ago, I decided to try and recreate the original volume with better quality versions. Since the release of the original, a lot of the artists included have had their back catalogue re-issued and remastered. I've included these versions (where possible) for this new volume.

From my original post: "This is the first in a series of CDR albums compiled by Mark Coyle through the now defunct website The Unbroken Circle. Something of an underground cult, finding information on these compilations (including original release dates) is difficult. They pop up on blogs from time to time but they found their original audience through collecting and trading."

Along with this 'remastered' version of the album comes new, original artwork courtesy of Cumbrian illustrator Emily Ford.

You can find more examples of her work here.




Huggy Bear - For Every Wolf That Roams

 













Famous Monsters Of Filmland 1994.

01 Katholic Kunt
02 Pansy Twist
03 How Scum Achieve #1
04 T-Shirt Tucked In
05 Limit 2 Surf
06 It's About for Every Wolf that Roams
07 Tuff Lovin'
08 Sizzlemeet
09 Steppin' on Bugs
10 Red Flipper
11 Teen Tighterns
12 February 14th

I was recently sorting out the discography of Huggy Bear for myself and a friend. I didn't realise this 1994 cassette was actually quite rare.

Recorded live at The Place, Harlow Square on the 22nd of March 1994.

Info from an archived webpage (via Discogs):

"This cassette was released in early 1994 and was an entire recording of a band playing a live gig at Harlow Square. The sound quality is pretty good for a live recording and this cassette showcases much of the bands material aside from Weaponry Listens To Love. This cassette was limited to only 57 copies and it came with handmade covers. This cassette was released by Famous Monsters Of Filmland"

Get our fill of live early 90's Riot Grrrl here.

Goatherder - Voices / Other Voices

 













TOR079. 2021.

01 Live Intro
02 Heavy Bangs #1 - The Chapel in the Woods
03 Grune Point (Soundtrack)
04 Heavy Bangs #2
05 Aira Force 3:33 (Soundtrack)
06 Pica Mast (Live)
07 Bells #1
08 Heavy Bangs #3 - Voices
09 Keyboard 6 (Soundtrack)
10 Open/Winter (Live)
11 SCOTCH 180 (Soundtrack)
12 Piece 238
13 Other Voices (Live)
14 Bells #2
15 Calm (Soundtrack)

One of my own again now; it's a collection of soundtracks, live performances and improvisations.

Tracks 1, 6, 10 & 13 recorded live at Warwick Bazaar Life Drawing, December 13th 2019.
Tracks 2, 4, 8 & 13 performed by Stephen Benson and Jill Wallace. Recorded at Kirriemuir Way, 2016.
Tracks 3, 5, 9 & 11 recorded at Gilnockie Holly Moor House, 2020.
Tracks 7, 12 & 14 recorded 2017-2018 at various locations.
Track 15 recorded at Warwick Bazaar, 2017.

'Other Voices (Live)' contains elements of 'The Drone of the Forest', performed by
Federico Falletti, Jessica Lowes, Lucy Matthews, David Thompson and Jill Wallace.


Sunday, 7 February 2021

Spacemen 3 - Vol 1.1 1984-1985

 














Self made compilation 2021

01 T.V. Eye [1984 Rehearsal]
02 Blow My Top/Funhouse [1984 Rehearsal]
03 By The River [1984 Rehearsal]
04 Things'll Never Be The Same [1984 Demo]
05 2.35 [1984 Demo]
06 Walkin' With Jesus [1984 Demo]
07 Fixin' To Die  [1984 Demo]
08 T.V. Catastrophe [1984 Demo]
09 Things'll Never Be The Same [1984 Demo - Alternate Mix]
10 Walkin' With Jesus [1984 Demo - Alternate Mix]
11 These Things Have Got To Be [Rehearsal 02-08-85]
12 Mary-Anne [Rehearsal 02-08-85]
13 Things'll Never Be The Same [Rehearsal 02-08-85]
14 Hey Man [Live at the Mercia Park Leisure Center, Coventry, 11/85]
15 Things'll Never Be The Same [Live at the Mercia Park Leisure Center, Coventry, 11/85]

Throughout the second half of 2020, I was compiling information on Spacemen 3 records and releases via a request on an S3 fan group / forum. Their discography is such a nightmare and the list was exhausting to make. Now it's done, it has informed a set of compilations; essentially, tracks that do not appear on the original four albums or the original run of singles and E.P.'s, assembled chronologically.

This includes all tracks that appeared on miscellaneous releases and various artist compilations during their lifetime, as well as tracks that have appeared on the many posthumous albums.

I'll be posting these volume compilations as I complete them.

If you're a fan, you'll enjoy.

Tracks 1-3, 14-15 released on 'How The Blues Should've Turned Out' (Sonic Boom self released 2005).

Tracks 4-10 self made 1984 demo tape. Later released as 'For All The Fucked Up Children In The World We Give You Spacemen 3' (Sympathy for the Record Industry 1995).

Tracks 11-13 released on the bootleg 'Out of it Sessions'.




Saturday, 6 February 2021

The Electric Prunes - Release Of An Oath

 













Reprise Records 1968

01 Kol Nidre
02 Holy Are You
03 General Confessional
04 Individual Confessional
05 Our Father, Our King
06 The Adoration
07 Closing Hymn

The forth and final Electric Prunes album and this time it really is in name only. David Axelrod once again composed the music here, making it very much a follow up to 'Mass in F Minor'. However, the original Prunes were ousted in favour of  Colorado group Climax and even they didn't get to play much on the final album.

Session musicians were once again brought in to realise Axelrod's vision. Not sounding to dissimilar to it's predecessor, its another L.P. of religious chanting psyche, including all time classic 'Holy Are You'.

Brocken Spectre - Live Bootleg Cassette

 













TOR078. Released January 2021.

01 Drive-by Election
02 Beyond Nostalgia
03 Corkscrew
04 Stockholm Cancelled
05 We Vs. The Bastards
06 Art Defacer
07 Out Of Range
08 Unwound
09 UYA
10 Terror
11 Feature Length
12 Downtown Abstractions
13 Moscow
14 I Am Your Fuel
15 Colour Fucker
16 Ended Here
17 Fireworks Thrower


When Brocken Spectre reformed in April 2017 with Steve Orchiton on drums, we began rehearsing for live gigs immediately. In its previous incarnation, the band had only rehearsed to record, not once venturing out to play in front of a crowd.

We made our live debut a few months later, at a party for my birthday. Shortly after this, we were offered our first gig in front of a paying audience. Those first few gigs were nerve wracking affairs; getting used to a crowd, the variable on stage sound and the obligatory stage fright.

By mid 2018, we had several live performances under our collective belt and we received more offers on a regular basis, including festival appearances.

Our sound had really begun to develop too, songs with psychedelic touches or with melody at the forefront were swapped out for newer material featuring the live sound we now had; a band driven, violent, brutal sound. All members were contributing to the compositions and the dynamics and it was this sound that became our identity.

We enjoyed playing live and we were surprised to find how comfortable we had became on stage. It now felt like the natural home for the band.

We played our final gig (to date) on the 7th of December 2019, before the pandemic quashed our plans for more festival appearances and the offer of gigs around the country.

During the various lockdown periods of 2020, we managed a few rehearsals and even recorded a single ('Interference Overhead/Fireworks Thrower', which can be found here). However, we look forward to a time when we can play live again.

The concept behind this release was a stop gap until live music can resume again. It also provides a home to songs that have went unrecorded and other songs that rarely got an outing. It documents a period of the band that we all got a lot out of and hopefully gets across some of our visceral live sound. 

The material was recorded on a variety of devices and is of a distinctly lo-fi quality, this is reflected in the artwork, which is a homage to the live bootlegs so loved by myself and Marc. We would purchase bootlegs of our favourite artists from record fairs, markets and from the back pages of music publications. - Ste.



The line up for this album was Stephen Benson (Guitars, Vocals), Marc Gillen (Vocals, Guitars), Steve Orchiton (Drums) and Jill Wallace (Bass). The locations for the recordings were; The Brickyard, The Source, Warwick Bazaar, Fell Bar Penrith, Fell Bar Kendal, Solfest, Wild on the Wall Festival, Kendal Calling and The Fisher Street Festival.



Wednesday, 13 January 2021

Geinoh Yamashirogumi - Osorezan

 













Victor 1976

01 Osorezan
02 Doh No Kembai

Two sides of far out avant garde sounds from Japan. Taking in jazz, funk, musique concrète, folk art and more. Terrifying in places.

Geinoh Yamashirogumi were a massive collective of artists, musicians and non musicians and this was the debut release.