5 comments about Respect: A Century of Women in Music.

1. I love this boxed set, but my main mission here is to fill some of you in. Yes, the collection would be better with Joni Mitchell, but if you bothered to read the liner notes, you'd know that SHE is the one who said she would never allow any of her work to be on any collection of strictly women musicians.



2. I bought this and I think I will get it for all my girlfriends this year. The first three CD's are alone worth the price and the box and book inside are also lovely.

   The only thing that bothered me about this collection was the lack of Joni Mitchell, Annie Lennox and the Indigo Girls. I like everything else about it. But these three artist deserve a place amoung these other great women (as much as Paula Cole I don't know why she's on here.)

   The early jazz and blues stuff is great!! CD 4 is good and thank god for Joan Baez!

   All in all a good collection and a nice gift for the woman in your life who has everything, chances are she doesn't have this much great music all in one place...




3. If Amazon had a half-star system, I would have given this (otherwise) fantastic collection a four and a half. Missing Joni is not enough to cost it a star, just half.

   But rather bewildering, considering Joni being one of the most influential women in rock, and considering Rhino's access to her Reprise and Asylum catalogs.

   But really, this is one hell of a box set. Just the first two discs alone are worth the trouble.




4. What a fabulous collection! Some others may feel that there were some glaring omissions from this collection, but I think it's perfect the way it is. I love that a lot of lesser-known artists were included. I'm tired of sets that are totally predictable and love having my musical horizons expanded. That's the best way to explore unfamiliar names without buying a whole disc you may not like. I also like that each disc has a theme so I can hear what I am in the mood for at the time. Best of all, it's not geared to only one genre. I try to be open-minded and give all music styles a chance and this allows me to do just that. Buy this for yourself, or another music-lover, you will not be disappointed!



5. When I received this for Christmas, I was overwhelmed to tears reading all the wonderful talent that I held in my hand. Rhino has once again outdone themselves, working extremely hard to represent a century of women who impacted and reflected the times in which they sang. The music is amazing, I continue to get goosebumps hearing many of the songs. Rhino execs admit that they weren't able to include everyone, and have graciously printed the names of hundreds of women who were musicians in the past century. The liner notes continue to match Rhino's top quality standards. What I appreciate most about this box set is that Rhino admits they chose not to include performers who buyers likely already have in their collection (Indigo Girls, the Mamas and the Papas, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, ABBA, Helen Reddy, Karen Carpenter, etc.), but worked to expose listeners to undiscovered nuggets, while still satisfying the craving for well known treasures. I defy any 60s fan (any race, any gender) to listen to Disc 3 and not be overwhelmed with joy at the outpouring of passion, fun and love. This just rocks, plain and simple.

1 comments about Divine Divas: A World of Women's Voices.

1. Unfortunately the information provided in the description of this THREE CD set is not complete, including the track listing, so it would be difficult to get an idea of whether or not you wanted to purchase this collection. Personally, I would advise you to do so if you are interested in women vocalists and world music. This collection (and its predecessor Global Divas) is a gorgeous, perfect marriage of women's voices from all over the world. Unlike many other collections which serve as a "volume two" to some other collection, this does not suffer as a sophomore effort. In fact, the world is so vast and full of creative artists such as those featured here that we could probably be treated to many more similar collections without tapping the same material or artist more than once.

   This collection seems to collect efforts from lesser known women artists worldwide, providing a huge array of diversity. The result is three CDs of depth and a showcase for emerging talents. With both this collection and the Global Divas collection I was introduced to some extremely outstanding talents (with whom I might otherwise have been unacquainted), and this inspired me to seek out their individual albums. In some cases, that proved difficult, but from this collection I was able to purchase quite a few gems which have enhanced my entire music collection.

   Among the gems here (although it is misleading to single anyone out because every single contribution to this collection is superb) are: French pop chanteuse Francoise Hardy with her unforgettable "Comment Te Dire Adieu?", Tex-Mex folk style singer Tish Hinojosa with the moving "Déjame Llorar", Italy's Alessandra Belloni with "Canto di Hecate", the very typically Balkan "Your Scarf Will Not Hold Your Hair" from Zana Leskaj and Luljeta Ilia (which is wonderful but will take some getting used to for those not familiar with Balkan music), the mystical and mysterious sounds of "Jheel Mai Chand" from Najma, the enchanting voice of American Alison Krauss (who is in fact well known in the U.S. but heretofore unknown by me, not being a country fan. But Alison transcends this label with this heartbreaking rendition of "Baby, Now That I've Found You"), and some other beautiful songs on the third CD from Judy Frankel, Saozinha from Cape Verde, Éva Molnár from Hungary, and Emma junaro from Bolivia. The real standout among all the CDs in this collection-- entirely unique-- is a singer called Marina with a song called "Illoqarfik". Marina is apparently the most popular singer in GREENLAND, and she lives and works in her native northern Greenland.

   This is another crowning achievement, and I highly recommend this collection!

No comments about Collectors Box.

5 comments about The Complete Peel Sessions 1978-2004.

1. Dabbling in The Fall's back catalogue is a daunting task, considering the prolific nature of the band, the various line-up changes, and the varying quality of their output. For those new to the band, the best place to start is the excellent 2 CD compilation "50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong", while more seasoned fans will find much to treasure in "The Complete Peel Sessions" - a 6 CD set covering all of the sessions recorded for the late British DJ from 1978 to 2004.
   
   To describe the sound of The Fall, eclectic would be the best word to start with. Their punky edge of the late 70's gave way to more conventional rock and pop sounds in the 80's, as is represented on the first three discs. The first hint to their talent becomes apparent on "Rebellious Jukebox", "Mess of My", and "Container Drivers" - a barnstorming, almost rockabilly tune. Attended to by brash guitars, occasionally spastic drumming, and Mark E. Smiths snide vocals, The Fall's sound is solidified on the first disc alone. Better tunes lie ahead, as disc three contains some of the highlights from my favorite three Fall albums: "This Nation's Saving Grace", "Bend Sinister", and "The Frenz Experiment". For me, this is the most accessible period of The Fall's career, and a good starting point for new fans. The band's mid to late career output is well represented on the remaining three discs, with many highs (songs from "Middle Class Revolt" and "Light User Syndrome" are especially riveting) and occasional lows (most of the tracks recorded after 2003 fail to pack the same punch as the earlier material). Whatever the quality of the albums that have been released over the years, The Fall have proven to be a formidable live act, and this is showcased to maximum effect on "The Complete Peel Sessions". The sound quality, even of the earliest recordings, is fantastic.
   
   The box set itself is a handsome package, with six slimline cases and a full-color booklet with extensive notes on each session, and the tracks are organized by the date of the recording session. Attempting to listen to all six discs in one sitting is likely to induce delirium, so this set is best enjoyed in small doses. Like a good wine, this set will get better with time, and the charms will be revealed with each listen.
   
   Even in North America, John Peel was highly regarded as a champion of some of the UK's best bands, including The Undertones, Joy Division, and especially The Fall. Knowing that he passed away during the development of this box set adds a poignancy to the music, and the booklet will make you realize how important the Peel Sessions were to the band's career. For any fan, this is a must have.



2. Actually they are one of the great groups of all time and this becomes clear with this box set. While at first it may seem overkill, it is a fantastic selection of their songs over the years.



3. This set contains all 24 Peel Sessions by The Fall. What more do you need to know? This is, hands down, THE greatest Fall collection ever. The holy grail. Period. The highs (and there are so many) and the lows (there are a couple or three) all come together to provide a fairly accurate history of the band in a way that no "best-of" ever could. If you are still reading this, buy it already.



4. John Peel had been presenting his show on Radio One for over a decade before he aired the first session from the Fall on 15 June 1978. Nevertheless, over his unbroken thirty-seven years of broadcasting for the BBC, his name became most closely linked with that of the mighty Fall, "the great miracle of my musical life", in a symbiotic relationship which had them recording twenty-four exclusive sessions for his programme, far more than any other one act, and they are all magnificently here.
   Such a box set had been eagerly awaited for years, and the contents and presentation are pretty much everything that could have been hoped for. The sessions are presented in their entirety and a fulsome booklet gives all the details of line-ups, producers and engineers where known (oddly these details are not known for some of the sessions from 1987 onwards, including the two most recent).
   Curiously, the location is not specified (usually BBC Maida Vale Studio 4, at least until 1994, though sometimes in Maida Vale 3 or 5, and once in 1981 at Langham Studio 1, in Regent Street). The liner notes were written by Fall expert Daryl Easlea and are generally illuminating and concise, and where he might express an occasional opinion with which one disagrees - well, this is part of the pleasure of the Fall experience.
   The BBC sessions came about because of restrictions in the amount of records they were allowed to play ("needle time") and were turned from being regarded as something of a limitation into one of the BBC's great strengths by John Peel, who encouraged the acts he booked not to merely attempt to replicate their current single, a doomed exercise given the time and studio limitations, but to use their day as a platform to experiment and try out new material; in fact, to do whatever they wanted at the BBC's expense.
   It is a testament to the production and engineering skills of the staff at London's Maida Vale that bands could turn out around four tunes in a session that were often more robust and focused than their commercially available counterparts. Though some bands would simply produce as-live versions of highlights from their latest LP, the Fall fully realised the Peel ethos by regularly previewing material that would not be recorded for a year or more, if at all - as in the case of Mess Of My, for example, or the lengthy Words Of Expectation.
   They also submitted a number of exclusive and unpredictable cover versions, such as their bizarre send-up of Do The Hucklebuck; the long overdue Mr Bloe revival on Groovin' With Mr Bloe; Max Bygraves' Jingle Bell Rock; Lee Perry's Kimble The Nimble, which was released on a single and reached 34 in the 1992 Festive Fifty; This Perfect Day by the Saints in 1998, or Strychnine by the Sonics, both showing that Mark E Smith had rightly retained his love of garage.
   On Nancy Sinatra's The City Never Sleeps At Night (the B-side of These Boots Were Made For Walkin', so nothing obvious) a guest singer, Lucy Rimmer, was drafted in to sing lead. Perhaps best of all was the Fall rendition of Captain Beefheart's Beatle Bones'n'Smoking Stones, originally from Strictly Personal in 1968.
   Eight other Peel session tracks reached the annual Festive Fifty of listener's votes, in preference to the records, between 1985 and 1998 (Cruiser's Creek, ROD, Athlete Cured, Ladybird, M5, Hey! Student, Feeling Numb and Shake-Off), proving that the days of radio sessions being regarded as second best were truly dead and buried.
   Twenty-four sessions in twenty-six years is insufficient to chronicle all the multifarious line-up changes the Fall has undergone, and by the last only Mark E Smith remained from the first, though as he has pointed out, "If it's me and your granny on bongos, it's The Fall". It is noticeable how fresh and vital the band still sound, with a passion and creativity many of today's new young pretenders should envy.
   Despite his reputation as a hard taskmaster, like Captain Beefheart, it is also significant how members who have left the band are prone years later to return, presumably missing the challenges being in one of the most prolific and inventive bands around could bring. Guests were often brought in to augment the sessions, providing clarinet, fiddle or (possibly, unless it is Mark E Smith uncredited) harmonica, and on their very first session I believe I can hear Marc Riley's backing vocals on Rebellious Jukebox (he was their roadie at the time, and had only joined the band by the time of their second session).
   Covering twenty-six years in a breakneck seven hours of Fall history is also insufficient to do justice to their many sides but it does highlight their remarkable consistency of quality in a variety of forms.
   Fall enthusiasts will be encouraged to see that Whizz Bang from session 13 (which was never broadcast, perhaps at the band's request as the song never surfaced on record either) is included, as is the track Job Search, an extra track they recorded at their final Peel session that was broadcast on the occasion of his 65th (and final) birthday.
   Other Radio One live concert broadcasts and sessions such as those for Saturday Live and the Evening Session (one of which was re-broadcast on the John Peel programme) are not included. The 5th session, incidentally, was recorded on 19 August 1981, and first broadcast on 26 August, not as stated in the liner notes.
   There have been other compilations of Fall Peel sessions. Should you own any of them, throw them out now and buy this. Pass them on to any unsuitable curmudgeonly young person and brighten their life.
   
   The Fall: "They are always different, they are always the same" - John Peel



5. Exhaustively, inevitably, ultimately, it's six hours of the long march along MES and his band of dozens. For a Fall compilation, unusually insightful (rather than inaccurate, fawning, or cryptic) liner notes accompany this compendium of John Peel's favorite band. I only wish captions were included. It would've been nice to have a Pete Frame-type of family tree of Fall members, or at least pics of each of the lineups, however. Also, the six plain-wrap cd's look identical, and you cannot see the disc listings on the back, but only by flipping the cases open. My discs keep falling out of the cardboard box as well, eager to be played! Any Fall fan will find what to like and what to skip, but after dutifully hearing it all over the course of a week, general comments for anyone considering this investment of time and money. A fine value for the committed lifer, but start with "50,000" for the double-disc appetizer. I assume any listener to this six-disc box, on the other hand, has fifty or so Fall CD's (at least) already. By the way, this completely supersedes the earlier 2-disc "Words of Expectation" issued a few years ago.(I purchased the import; Amazon's domestic cost for the set compares favorably, much less than list price.)
   
   Sound quality's great, and even the frequent doldrums encountered throughout this audial slog are made a bit more endurable by the presence of fidelity. Lyrics often emerge more articulately than on studio versions, and since the vast majority of the tunes that have album versions benefit from either the freshness of their early takes or the lack of polish shown in these radio sessions, the production that is stripped from many of the Fall's best and some of its worst songs generally plays to the band's frenetic advantage.
   The Fall's official website carries much more comprehensive reactions to the minutiae of these songs, and I will not take up too much space here enumerating the high and low stretches.
   
   Suffice to say, Disc One has the punkiest artifacts, and these again sound better than their often dated production from the studio versions at the time. It's evident how quickly the Fall found its own style(s), for by sessions 3 and 4, the early 80s atonal assault can be heard superbly especially with Paul Hanley's drums powering "Container Drivers." Disc Two brings you through what I hold to be one of the darker periods of the band ("Garden" especially rumbles on fearsomely) pre-Brix into her arrival and transformation into a more poppy-ish sound. Continuing through Disc Three, lesser known songs such as "Gut of the Quantifier" "Faust Banana" and "Gross Chapel--British Grenadiers" and "Athlete Cured" shine unexpectedly. Disc Four pairs a chugging "Cab it Up" and "Deadbeat Descendant" to a catchy effect. By the early 90s, another fallow period gives songs like "A Lot of Wind" even less energy than on the album versions, and such listlessness dominates more often as Disc Five progresses. The 1990s is an up-and-down period for the band, and its mangling of Xmas carols, for example, is less fun than it may have seemed at the time. Session 19, however, taking material from "Light User Syndrome" cd, marks a bit of a revival and the Peel versions of "He Pep" and "Hey Student!" do make good use of background vocals, including Brix again (trying to sing more than her screeches often heard elsewhere on live renditions of many of her earlier tunes) on some of the better selections from the mid-90s. Disc Six is nearly agony to get through Sessions 21 and most of 22. By now, the disintegration of the longtime line-up can be felt, and "Antidotes" offers no remedy. Only the Saints' "This Perfect Day" salvages the first half of the final disc. Of course, the 2003 and 2004 sessions, with the newest Mrs. Smith and another energized, if no less stable, band, show a welcome maturity (and a cover of The Move's "I Can Hear the Grass Grow") and a return to caring about the sound as well as the image for MES and his hired help.
   
   P.S. 3 stars for packaging; 5 for sound; 4 for content, as the mighty Fall does drag more as any fan knows for long stretches of this sonic marathon, best taken at shorter one-hour sprints. I still wish that John Peel's favorite session men (and women) had recorded Peel's favorite song, the Undertones' "Teenage Kicks"! But all 96 songs are here, at last.

5 comments about Threesome.

1. I'm giving this 5 stars even though I'm not really into the Disney songs (Got No Strings disc), but the other two discs are so full of extra great music that it averages out to 5 stars. Seriously!



2. After her triumphant "Deep Natural" Shocked 2-disk release, she set herself a very high bar and she tried to reach that bar with a three disk set!
   
   If you're a diehard Shocked fan, like me, you'll want the set. Otherwise, take advantage of Amazon and listen since most people aren't going to equally like all three disks.
   
   Disc One (Mexican Standoff) is my least favorite only because I'm not too fond of Mexican music -- not because there is anything wrong with that genre nor her songs. Some of the songs are not Mexican at all but are old-school Hammond Organ style blues. I love those tracks!
   
   Disc Two (Don't Ask, Don't Tell) is my personal favorite and is more what I expect of Michelle Shocked's original pieces. It's folksy, bluesy and poignant -- although she has avoided the over-heavy seriousness of a couple of her albums.
   
   Disc Three (Got No Strings) is my favorite to listen with my 6 year old in the car. I'm always looking for albums that both she and I enjoy, and this is certainly one. It a simple, sweet little tribute to the old "Disney style" songs that I was raised on.
   
   If you are a first-time Michelle Shocked album buyer, I'd probably steer you to her earlier works like "Short Sharp Shocked " or "Arkansas Traveler" (best yet, Mercury Poise, if you can get it) or I'd recommend my personal favorite, "Deep Natural".
   
   However, if you already know how great Michelle Shocked is, then I'd say go for the set! You may not like every song but you'r sure to like enough of them to make the set worth it since you get three discs fore the price of two.



3. I am a fan of Michelle and I own every release that I can find. I was a bit disappointed with this release; it could have been a killer record with a little trimming.
   
   The real complaint that I have is with the packaging. The rubber dots that hold the discs in place have already come off and the cover itself is very sparse.



4. Michelle Shocked is endlessly creative, moving effortlessly between genres and styles of music, from pop to Tex-Mex Rhumba beats to sweet Disney songs done to swing. Her voice is always great, her amusement at the wonders and horrors of this little planet always shines between the lyrics and the musical lines. Have fun. Be shocked. Be surprised. Your ears will be happy.



5. OK, first off, to the previous reviewer, a 1 out of 5 because of the packaging is a little harsh isn't it? LOL, just kidding. Well, I gave this a 4, based mostly on the fact that it's a worthy effort, and that Michelle Shocked is one of the best artists I know of. She is right there in the upper eschelon. Having said that, I really did not enjoy this collection very much. Not that it was terrible music, just that it wasn't my cup of tea. I guess this is no shock, because this has happened before with me. I was blown away by Short Sharp Shocked and Arkansas Traveler, but wasn't crazy about Kind Hearted Woman or Captain Swing. I was then blown away again by Deep Natural, but this latest set just doesn't hit the mark with me. My sugestion is that, seeing that it's right here at your fingertips, I would give the sample cuts from Amazon a listen before investing the $25 or $30. If given the option, I think I would have given this more like a 3.5 out of 5, but a 3 is too harsh.

5 comments about 2½ Years.

1. If you can find it at a decent price, & you don't have these cd's, it's worth it. I got it used for less than I'd have paid for the 4 cd's separately. The mixes are good, some of the bonus material is worth listening to, & the booklets & notes are nice.



2. This is it! This is the one! Forget the Rhino reissues, this is still the best place for the old school Attractions sound. Reason? El Mocombo (sp?). Simply stated it is one of the most blisteringly honest live albums ever produced! Essentially a bootleg the Mocombo disc gets by on guts and fire alone. Now, I am not suggesting you pay $250 for this box set, especially if you did already fork it over for the Rhino's....BUT! I cannot honestly think of a better way to spend $250.
   These old Ryko issues hold their own to the recent Rhino's despite the paucity of bonus material. However, until Mocombo is given its proper due, or you are lucky enough to score one somehow, somewhere, DO WHAT YOU MUST to include this disc in your arsenal of rock'n'roll.
   And it cannot be overstated enough: the screaming OWWWWWWW dude does greatly annoy these nerves of mine. Time does diminish his presence though.
   Buybuybuy!



3. Brilliant as everyone says. The live album included is killer except for one thing....this dude keeps yelling OWWWWWWWWWW really loudly throughout EVERY song!!!!! In fact, half way through the live set you start listening for the OWWWWW if you haven't heard it in the last 15 to 20 seconds (the way you listen for a snore when a snorer stops breathing for a really long time). And so one of the best live albums ever is ruined by some drunken idiot. An OWWWWWW or two between songs is acceptable if annoying. OWWWWWW's every 10 seconds throughout a concert is worthy of the crowd going Who-concert-in-Cincinatti on you ___. It's like those idiots who blow horns throughout an entire 90 minute soccer game or the people with really bassy sound systems in their cars. We hear you, we acknowledge that you exist, now please shut up!



4. For any fan of Costello and almost any fan of rock 'n roll, this set is indispensable. Costello's first 3 albums are included, along with one live disk. All the included albums here have added tracks - many interesting songs not previously released along with alternate versions of standards. One of my favorite new songs is 'Stranger in the House', an early demonstration of Costello's country interests which was left off 'My Aim Is True' because the record company couldn't tolerate the idea of a country-styled song on a rock album.



5. That's three words to describe this collection of Elvis Costello's first 3 albums - packaged here in an excellent box set from Ryko (who also did a rather good job of repackaging the Bowie back catalogue some ten years ago). Sadly, this box set is not available here in the U.K. anymore (hasn't been for at least 2 years) so us Limeys have to buy it in on import - no problem, especially as the U.S. version features Elvis's name in cutout form on the front of the box - this version went out of print in the U.K. circa 1996. The studio albums are complimented with a superb live CD which was previously unreleased, except as a rare promo LP. Elvis Costello is one of the best songwriters to emerge from Britian since the Beatles...it's no surprise to me that he is so popular in the U.S. as his appeal - like the Beatles, Bowie, Sting, Pink Floyd and other great British acts - is universal (unlike sad British bands like Oasis). Costello's best work was, like Bowie's, his early work and that's what you get here - a collection of his finest work of the late 1970s. Having said that, "Imperial Bedroom" and "King Of America" are also great albums from the 1980s that are worth checking out. This is a great value box set containing some really great music. Well worth every penny, dollar, whatever...get on and and buy it!

1 comments about Great Songs of Indifference: The Anthology 1986-2001.

1. I can't believe no one has written a review on this compilation yet! Bob Geldof's solo work is great--he's a lyrical poet and musical shapeshifter all in just four short albums.
   
   This package has all four of his solo albums digitally remastered with bonus tracks. The only shame is that no one thought of remixing it into 5.1 surround sound! That would have been awesome.
   
   Deep In The Heart Of Nowhere (1986): I saw the video for "This Is The World Calling" on MTV (Yes, when they used to play videos) in November 1986. I got this on cassette for my 14th birthday. The version of "This Is The World Calling" on that cassette is different from the cd versions, but not by much. This is my favorite Geldof album and it sounds fantastic digitally remastered. The track order on the cassette was different from the track order on the original cd and this remastered version. I always kind of liked the sequencing of the cassette and the version of "This Is The World Calling" on it as well. Standout tracks include "I Cry Too", "When I Was Young", "This Heartless Heart", "The Beat Of The Night", "Night Turns To Day" and "August Was A Heavy Month". The four bonus tracks are okay and do not detract from the rest of the album.
   
   The Vegetarians Of Love (1990): I got this on cd when it was released in August 1990 (I Think). A major music style shift with a more stripped down effect. Still, I think this is also a great album, and my second favorite from Geldof. Standout tracks include "Love Or Something", "The Great Song Of Indifference", "Thinking Voyager 2 Type Things", "Big Romantic Stuff", "The Chains Of Pain", "A Rose At Night" and "No Small Wonder". The seven bonus songs here are probably the best of the four albums.
   
   The Happy Club (1992): I got this on cd when it was released in April 1992. This remastered version omits "Yeah, Right" from the original release, but I went back and listened to it and felt that it was a good idea to leave it off the digital remaster. The track order is slightly different too on the digital remaster, and I think it works much better. Standout tracks include "Attitude Chicken", "The Soft Soil", "A Hole To Fill", "My Hippy Angel", "Too Late God", "Road Of Germany (After BD)" and "A Sex Thing". The three bonus tracks are okay.
   
   Sex, Age And Death (2001): Obviously and intentionally bleak what with the suicide of his ex-wife and Michael Hutchence between albums. I don't like this one as much as his others. Standout tracks include "One For Me", "$6,000,000 Loser", "Scream In Vain", "Inside Your Head" and "10:15". The nine bonus songs are, again, just okay.
   
   The reason to get this for those, like me, who already have them individually is that they're all digitally remastered and come with extra tracks. The booklet is informative with a review of each of the four albums followed by all the lyrics to each original album's tracks. There are no lyrics to the bonus tracks. All in all, much more than I'd hoped for and you can get it cheaper if you order it from Amazon.uk

4 comments about Beyond the Valley of the Gift Police.

1. This album was very good. However, it seemed to lack the passion and energy that so many of Jello's albums have displayed so very well. Sure, Jello wrote and researched well, but there were few moments when you could really feel that glorious liberating feeling that comes out of so many other speeches from Jello's glory days. However, this album does happen to contain my favorite of his SW pieces: "Eric Meets the Moose Diarrhea Salesman". Being a fan, it's so entertaining to hear about how he got to where he is. And, if you're not a fan I think you'll like it too. Give it a try....



2. The truth is far stranger than this



3. Jello Biafra, former lead singer of the Dead Kennedys, continues to perform punk rock without the music on "Beyond the Valley of the Gift Police." He also has the quality that most good speakers possess -- even when you disagree with him, you still enjoy his ranting and raving. This is the fourth in a series of spoken word efforts, all of which, I would argue, are of the same general level of substance and quality. Maybe it is because the substance is essentially the same and always poignant -- the police state is coming/here. Like an evangelist who warns us of the final days of earth, Biafra warns us about the final days of freedom. Big Brother, big government is the antichrist, and no one delivers this message so well. Part of this stems from his own experience, which he recounts in one way or another throughout his spoken word recordings, as an artist persecuted by the establishment. For those of you who are unaware, Biafra was arrested and charged with distributing harmful matter to minors and tried in Los Angeles in the latter 1980's (there was a hung jury and the case was dismissed). Biafra's food for thought is seasoned heavily with contempt for the religious right and absolute paranoia with respect to government control -- you get the feeling he is expecting a death squad to be waiting for him outside of the lecture hall at some points. Even so, you, the listener, wind up asking yourself, "What if even 10% of this is true?" It is alarming, to be sure. Unlike many others who peddle inflammatory rhetoric on one subject or another, however, Biafra frequently throws out the sources of his information for his audience. Ultimately, his message really is, "Don't take my word for it, check it out yourself." To use the Bill Maher line from "Politically Incorrect," somebody's got to say it. If somebody's got to say it, you can't do any better than Biafra.



4. Jello has has agreat series of Spoken Word Albums and this is by far the best one!

2 comments about Singles, Vol. 2.

1. Elvis Costello had begun the transformational phase of his career. After three perfect albums in a row ("My Aim Is True," "This Year's Model" and "Armed Forces"), he was tiring of what he perceived as a rut. When he convened The Attractions to begin work on "Get Happy," he'd made the decision to make a break from the "punk rock" tag. And so, a whole new era began.
   
   "Singles Volume 2" covers the ground from "Get Happy" to just before "Punch The Clock." Elvis was on a creative tear that saw him dabbling in everything from soul ("High Fidelity") to Nashville Country ("A Good Year For The Roses") to the studio experimentation of "Imperial Bedroom." He was also adjusting his skills as a vocalist. He was toning down his attack to the point where the crooning of the country singles and the nuance of "Man Out Of Time" didn't exceed his delivery.
   
   For the collector, there are a couple of goodies here. "Party Party" makes its first appearance on an Elvis CD, as do some of the DJ edits and extended versions. The collection closes with "Pills And Soap," a blistering diatribe against Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher released under the penname The Imposter. It ceded Costello's love of the single medium as a way to issue statements, and ends this box-set with one of his most brilliant singles. Collectors may not get much from this set, but it still found a place in my library.



2. Made in EU in 2003, Serial# ELVISBOX-102, Playing Time 103:33

   Are you a Costello completist? If you are, there's no doubt you'll buy this 12-disc box set!

   However, this set is not quite as "interesting" as the first of the series: though this is my favorite EC era, there's nothing here that even the casual fan won't already have, especially if (s)he owns the remastered version of "Get Happy!" and/or the expanded versions of the albums.

   This box covers the 12 UK singles released between April 1980 and May 1983, and includes tracks from the 7-inch and 12-inch versions (which sometimes had different b-sides); for example, disc 7 (I'm Your Toy) has 6 tracks on it!

   Just like the 1st box set did, this little "chest" includes a 12-page booklet that gives a track-by-track history of each of the singles.

   While the first box set would have fitted on a single disc, this one wouldn't (even by removing the duplicate appearance of the "Imperial Bedroom" song.)

   Furthermore, the first box had a few tracks making it onto CD format for the first time; there are even fewer this time, so this one is more for the EC collector.

   If you are considering getting only 1 of the 3 boxes, I would suggest you start with volume 1; you'd at least get a few tracks otherwise unavailable on CD, and get your own opinion as to the merit of purchasing these boxes... quite frankly, even though it IS good music, this one is mostly if you like the packaging idea, and deem it worthy of the price tag!

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