5 comments about The Blow-Up.

1. The live version of Little Johnny Jewel is an event. Listen to this to hear the inheritor of the Jimi Hendrix mantle. Listen to this for another world, a dark vision beyond goth or metal. Listen to this for an artist pushing beyond stupid formula into new territory. Listen to this.



2. What a find! I've always _liked_ Television, but the studio records left me just a wee bit cold. This burns a hole in your spakers. Not just for previous fans. Art-rockers will no doubt like the studio stuff better, but rock-rockers will likely appreciate this more. I'm a bit of a tech-geek and I hate badly engineered records, but I find this eminently listenable. The sound is not necessarily full, but its reasonably crisp. It is a live reocrding after all, and sounds like it. But this should not keep anyone away. Yes, the shorter, quiter, more 'composed' songs like Venus do work better in the album versions. But most of the material here benefits from the looser, more energetic playing. One could say its more passionate, but that doesn't begin to describe it. These guys are playing like their lives are at stake. Even if disc one was a total waste, which it isn't, disc two would be worth more than the price of admission even WITHOUT 'Little Johnny Jewel", and that particular track is priceless. I think this is simply one of the great rock and documents ever, right up there with The Who Live at Leeds.



3. If you havent heard Television and want to learn the origins of todays and tomorrows rock, than buy this record. Everyone seems to only mention Tom Verlaines work, but its the virtuosity of the guitar interplay that occurs between Richard Lloyd and Tom Verlaine (2 geniuses of the guitar) that make this band extraordinary (and Tom Verlains haunting vocals).
   
   I am amazed by their last studio effort in '92 which almost surpasses Marquee Moon and Adventure. I saw them live in '92 at Roseland in NYC and was amazed how fresh and new this band still sounded. No other band compares. Kudo's to Bono for mentioning Television and Patti Smith as their main influences during this years rock and roll hall of fame. I wish other bands would admit their ideas were borrowed if not stolen from these legendary bands and composers.
   
   Catch them while you can and buy their albums!



4. This is simply one of the greatest recorded live performances I've ever heard and I spend a good deal of my life listening to live music in person and on CD.

   The downer is that the sound quality is pretty poor in spots, but does get better on some tracks. Consequently, listening to this on headphones definitely beats listening to it in your car. In short, the sound quality will annoy you at times, but if you listen carefully, I believe you'll find it well worth it.

   On "The Blow-Up" you hear a band that is literally fearless. It's a bit like watching four incredibly gifted artists sprint back and forth on a tightrope. Not only is the collective performance incredible, but Verlaine's material ranks with the finest in rock history. Yes, the guitars are awesome, but the rhythm section of Fred Smith and Billy Ficca is equally incredible.

   Buy Marquee Moon first (everyone should own a copy of that), but get this too to hear what Television were capable of live.

   If you can find a copy, I'd also highly recommend Television - Live At The Old Waldorf: San Francisco, 6/29/78. This disc is a much shorter show, but it was professionally recorded and the sound quality is top notch. The performance is excellent, but perhaps not quite as incendiary as on "The Blow-Up."

   Sadly, Rhino Handmade only issued 5,000 copies of "Live At the Old Waldorf," so you'll have to do some hunting on Ebay, etc. However, if you love great rock and roll, it's worth the trouble and expense.




5. The first Television album is all tension and restraint -- beautiful guitars slashing at each other over Verlaine's wavery voice and a thumping rhythm section. "Marquee Moon" is the sound of a world class garage band, and one of the great guitar bands of all rock music playing majestic music, nearly losing control at each curve, but catching themselves before they fell apart.

   This album strays at every opportunity. It's loud and indulgent. The playing is sometimes ridiculously sloppy, but when the band gets it right, as with the 15 minutes of "Little Johnny Jewel," it's as breathtaking as anything on "Marquee Moon."

   I still prefer the studio versions of every song on this album to the live ones, but this is the perfect companion to "Marquee Moon." Even though the album was recorded after "Marquee Moon" was released, it works well as a backdrop for that album. Compared to the insane experimentation here, the solo on the studio version of "Marquee Moon" sounds tame and structured. The full-blown feakout of "Friction" is compressed into a tight single in the studio.

   Which isn't to say the album doesn't stand on its own. As a double live album with low quality sound, it doesn't have much going for it in principle, but the guitars are fantastic. Very raw, very loud, and a lot of fun. Any fan of rock music owes it to themselves to buy "Marquee Moon" first (THAT'S the essential album), but this works well for those of us who can't get enough of a good thing.

No comments about 1969 Velvet Underground Live with Lou Reed.

5 comments about The Sessions.

1. This is a great CD for those into the early Stranglers stuff.
   I saw them live back in the 70's & this CD brought back the memory of those cookin' shows. Excellent versions of all the classics especially "Burning Up Time". A must for fans of the early Stranglers pre "la Folie" LP.



2. Probably the best bit of these sessions is the marriage of Nuclear Device and Genetix. But I have to say, these aren't nearly as good as the studio versions (especially Goodbye Toulouse). One the other hand, the liner notes do put the sessions in an interesting context about what they were trying to convey on John Peel's show. Still, I would suggest looking at the songs listed here and getting the studio albums on which they originally appear.



3. I've had this for years, and thought it was good all the way through, but I've recently become more drawn to the '82 session tracks i.e. the final three. The Nuclear Device / Genetix medley works OK, but if you have "Rattus Norvegicus" or any live album with "Down in the Sewer" in it, then get this. You will not hear a sweeter, cleaner version of this song anywhere else, so far as I know. The instruments are almost perfectly balanced, and Jet's drumming is beautiful in it's simplicity, but Hugh's guitar gets washed out a bit somehow.



4. The Stranglers a name that put fear and loathing to the GLC.A band that,fired the nation into punk.4 guys a chemist,icecream salesman,a musian,and a student,The Stranglers.
   This cd shows off the band to their best.11 tracks ranging from thier first album,to their last(at that time La Foile).
   The best of the tracks are Wog,No More Heroes,Sewer.
   This cd shows how the band sounded when Hugh and JJ were working togthere,not pulling each other a part,an excellent cd a must for those who love the band,a must for those who like The Stranglers,a must for those who want to hear how the band sounded in the good old days.



5. THe stranglers have always been sort-of outsiders. From the very early days they were the first punk band to incorporate a keybord, and their lyrics always took on deeper, sleazier, darker, yet still good humoured topics. In all honesty, I believe that the stranglers are perhaps one of best alltime punk rock bands to ever have graced sound systems. This recording is a collection of some of their best and catchiest songs done live in a studio. All the songs are tight and clear, and every instrument sounds superb. Infact, if I didn't know any better I would have thought this to be a plain old studion album. You can tell the difference by the following: in this album the bass is thumpier and smoother-as opposed to their other studio works where the bass is growly and slightly distorted-and there is much more guitar, that is, the guitar is more audible, whereas regular stranglers records have a predominant keybord sound. ALso, the backing vocals are much more noticeable than on the regular recordings. These are nit-picky details, but in some cases add an improvement, but frankly if you want a nut-shell reasoning, the overall recording is just cleaner than regular stranglers' records. Other bands to whatch out for in this vain of punk rock would be the Jam, Radiobirdman, and the much newer fore-runners of the current punk rock scene, The International Noise Conspiracy. Forget blink-182, sum-41 and newfound glory. If you are looking for some real punk rock with cathcy melodies and humorously ingenious lyrics, then buy this album.

No comments about Live in a World Full of Hate.

No comments about United.

1 comments about V.M. Live.

1. First off, the VML live series was a good idea in theory, however in practice it just didn't work. The concept was that if they put a couple mic's in the crowd at a show and just roll tape live than you would get a fair represention of what its like to have been there. Fair enough. You also get tons of background noise, loss of the low end (the bass and drums) and depending on the P.A. muffled or completely lost vocals. In the case of Furious George none of this matters (at least for yours truly). To my recollection FG have been around for about 6 years, with only one album and a couple singles to thier name. Having a new FG album regardless of the dubious quality was cool. As for the band it self, they get lumped into the Ramones-core group by the press but I personally don't see it, what you do get is a sloppy (in a good way) punk rock band with more incommon with the Angry Samoans than the Ramones. George Tabb (singer/guitarist) is comedian at heart and its his personality and warped world view that make this band great. Its just a fun little punk rock record, go buy it.

5 comments about The Oath That Keeps Me Free (Live).

1. Recorded live in December of last year as a benefit for a cause undefined (at least on my promo copy), Earth Crisis rip through a set of their brashest material. To be honest, I usually approach metal-cum-hardcore with a sense of impatience, as I place a high premium on the sort of variety that normally eludes these types of bands, but Earth Crisis rise above their genre limitations, only faltering during a grindcore cover of Cream's "Sunshine Of Your Love" (and then only because Fudge Tunnel beat them to it). But despite my favorable impression of this particular album, I still wish bands of this style (grind-influenced hc/thrash) would take a lesson from similar groove-oriented bands such as Helmet or Clutch and start incorporating vocal melodies in place of the throat tearing screams which, yes, even Earth Crisis are guilty of. What you lose in out-and-out bottom heavy crunch you make up for in versatility (and let's face it- you're never going to beat Cannibal Corpse or old Slayer anyway).



2. First off... earth crisis is, and always was a "local" band to me... i grew up in syracuse ny,... the home of alot of amazing hardcore bands... and the home of an amazing scene... The oath that keeps me free is indeed an amazing live album from this great NYHC god that is earth crisis.... Recorded at hungry charlies in syracuse new york.... i was there.. and the show was in fact amazing... and if you like true hardcore music and you respect earth crisis as a great sxe hardcore band then this is definately a cd to pick up...



3. This was actually one of the first hardcore cds i ever bought in 1998. This was an eye opener to the passion of SxE Hardcore! The CD is raw power, passion, and deep meaning from start to finish! It's also heavy as hell! Buy it if you want to hear an awesome Hardcore band at their best: Live!



4. I gotta give these guys credit for being one of the most passionate groups out there right now--hardcore or not. These guys play and perform with such raw intensity and power you can't help but take notice. You wanna talk about passion in life, these boys seem to have it! Like them or not, they play with such ferocious and unbridled energy it is easy to get caught up in it. And only this kind of PASSION in a band could draw such a strong following and at the same time such deep hatred, as well. Props to the Earth Crisis boys. And what a powerful message, too! Word up! --Kelly Magovern



5. Earth Crisis is the best straight edge hardcore Band on the Market. Not for your average radio listener Check out the samples and see for yourself.

5 comments about Mystery White Boy: Live '95-'96.

1. This is the only stuff I've ever heard by Buckley. I bought this CD after hearing "I Woke Up in a Strange Place (Live)" on Pandora. Definitely a great track. Other reviewers were right, the sound quality on this CD is good and most of the tunes are intriguing. Still, nothing really grabbed me. I'm gonna try the "Olympia" recordings and hope they deliver as promised by other reviewers.



2. To start with, I am a huge Jeff Buckley collector, and pride myself on the various rare bootlegs and vintage recordings that I have (including ones from the late 1980s that I suspect ANYONE else could possibly have - yes, I could myself very lucky).
   
   That said, I am always critical when they release a Jeff Buckley record, and this one was no exception. Don't get me wrong, when they do it right, they REALLY do it right. The collector in me was ecstatic when they released the 3 Disc 'Live in Sin E' a few years ago - that remains perhaps the best document of Jeff as a live performer.
   
   Needless to say, I was not at all happy with this recording. The only saving grace is that they stuffed as much music as possible onto this, thus giving us our moneys' worth. But the recordings themselves are very sub-standard. If you're new to Jeff, this would be a horrible place to start. If you're a casual fan, I can't imagine you being inspired by anything here.
   
   Primary culprit is the very cheap material they have used for actually recording the session. Hisses are present throughout, and very often the boisterous crowd sounds louder than Jeff. Know some of those old Pearl Jam bootlegs where the crowd sounds louder than the group? Well, thats how bad it sounds here. Not a good thing.
   
   I'm sorry, but I cannot recommend this. There are FAR TOO MANY good bootlegs out there that make this redundant. I recently put together my own Jeff Buckley's Rarities 7-CD compilation (for my personal listening pleasure) and did not choose to include one track from here. As it stands, both his bootlegs from Glastonbury and Rotterdam rate higher than this - so do try to get those instead.
   
   Two Stars. And both of those generous stars are for the memory of Jeff.



3. Your first mistake is turning to Amazon reviews to decide whether or not you should buy one of Jeff Buckleys LIVE CDs!! I had to share this CD with my sister, who happened to introduce me to Jeff Buckley and we both agree that there are no complaints on this compilation. If you've never heard Jeff Buckley...you will only appreciate this CD if you absolutely love music, seeing as its live and its only perfect in the sense that it was performed for a live audience. Hopefully, youll share the experience.



4. I'll be my ususal caustic self: They dont know what their talking about. This was the first JB disc I ever bot and remains my favorite.
   Dream Brother
   Woke up in a Strange Place
   Mojo Pin
   What Will You Say?...and on & on the list goes. There's a couple of, dare I say, Dogs, but not many. If your new to Jeff's music &/or world, this is a good starting point. Looser but less encumbered (ie-overthought) than his two studio releases. What could have been?-Who knows. The giant money bag has been thrown at "his estate" so a movie is fourthcoming. Enjoy this disc now while he still remains "a mystery white boy".



5. I was really excited when i bought this as I have both grace and live at sin-é but this was very dissapointing. 'Dream Brother' and 'Mojo Pin' are good but i found 'Hallelujah' pretty poor. He sings in this wierd tone like he's had anaesthetic injected into his mouth. Don't get me wrong, I'm as big a Buckley fan as anyone but steer clear of this, by far not his best live performances.

5 comments about Gotta Let This Hen Out!.

1. I have a bias; Robyn Hitchcock is 1 of my 2 favorite songwriters AND one can only get better live recordings of RH w/the Egyptians on the Kershaw Sessions CD. If you're just starting out, try Black Snake Diamond Role, Fegmania, Invisible Hitchcock, Eye, and anything by the Soft Boys (RH's previous group if you didn't already know). Then your next wave should include this CD, but by then you'll be in love and get everything else anyway.
   
   That aside, please ignore the gibberish and 1 star (?!?!) of the other review. Maybe 5 is about 1/2 or 1 star generous, but somebody had to step it up!



2. i wanna hear the sample put some sample on plzzzz
   and it ill be 1 star till i get the samples



3. The sound quality is excellent; the band is in top form and really KICKS (and by the way, the Egyptians live backing harmony vocals, unlike those of the vast majority of other bands, are always spot-on perfect); Robyn's songs are uniformly great and it's especially nice to hear two songs, "America" and "The Cars She Used To Drive" rehabilitated from the "Groovy Decay" album in MUCH superior versions. In fact, many of the tunes here cut the studio versions. Personal favorite: the exhilerating "Brenda's Iron Sledge." Pretty easily one of the best live rock albums ever.



4. This album was my first encounter with Robyn's music; my sister had just borrowed it from her boyfriend and we were listening to it in the car; something about the music and the tone, the man's madcap introductions, and in the course of an hour, I wanted to fall in love, run across the country on foot, trash Stonehenge with my bare hands and most of all, it made me want to join a rock band. I must have sat in a corner the rest of the night with my ear pressed to the speaker listening to "My Wife and My Dead Wife" over and over again trying to figure it out.

   Almost ten years later, I still don't know for certain, but I do know this: some of Robyn's best moments collected onto one disc. In spite of the two different "Best Of..." albums out there, this one will give you everything he's got except the delicate moments like "Glass Hotel". A must have.




5. Perhaps being sparked by the critical success of "I Often Dream of Trains" and "Fegmania!", Robyn accepted an offer to record his new group, The Egyptians, live at the Marquee in London. The results became much more than a standard live album: it was a glorious call to arms, and a bit of a defense against years of defeat.

   The songs are an interesting mish mash. Four are from the Soft Boys days, and all recreated with the love of days that never were...the glory of a band revered more in memory than when they existed. The rest recreate interesting portions of Robyn's solo career, and almost all better their studio predecessors. Of special notice are "The Cars She Used to Drive" and "America", both rescued from "Groovy Decay" an album which almost single handedly destroyed Robyn's career. These songs, perhaps because of their place of origin, seeth and spit venom.

   But then,that's the spirit of this album, which kicks harder than anybody had a right to expect. Perhaps it's the sound of a band meeting its audience for the first time and celebrating in joy? Perhaps its the sound of a man rebelling against his past and railing against a music world that has no time for his strange little songs? Actually, it's both. And beyond that, it's invigorating. A must own and a perfect introduction to one of the most unique musicians this century has produced.

No comments about Live at the House of Blues.