5 comments about Mutiny on the Bay.

1. I'm sorry, but I see both sides of the issue between Jello and the rest of the band. Saw Jello speaking live in Seattle 7 years ago, and saw DK with the substitute singer in Tucson a year later. I had to give this 4 stars just because I find a live DK, with all its blemishes and better points, as worthwhile. I don't care about the fighting between the two factions.



2. Hey, to everyone who thinks the former DK members lawsuit against Jello was the wrong thing to do, what do you think Jello was doing with all the money he has made off all these albums over the years? He made several hundred thousand dollars and didn't give any of the other band members any money! It sounds like Jello was cashing in to me. Now, about them using the DK name and playing without Jello sounds totally ridiculous to me, the bottom line is Jello ripped them off bigtime. Come on, man. I am a drummer and if I played on an album that sold like DK's stuff, I would want my share. Why should Jello get to keep all that money? And as far as this album is concerned, it sounds okay for what it is. It could have been better, could have been worse. Enuff said...



3. I love the Dead kennedys. They are my favorite band. This live album is pretty good too. The performance is a little rough around the edges though. They probably have better live albums out there, but this one is fun to listen too once in a while. "Too Drunk To F**K" is probably the best. The first 7 tracks don't have good sound quality. It gradually sounds better towards the end. "Holiday in Cambodia" and "Police truck" sound pretty damn bad unfortunately.



4. I bought this album because I have never been lucky enough to get my hands on a bootleg. I wish I would have tried a lot harder to get one now. It's also difficult to resist the urge to buy a "new" DK album-especially when, like me, you were too young to get the opportunity in the 80's. The most notable songs are rather mediocre on this album, so my favorites on "Mutiny" would have to be "This Could Be Anywhere", "I Am the Owl" and "Riot." Jello always managed to keep the songs timeless with his live takes, and it's a shame the new singer can't at least do the so without the same level of creativity. It is obvious how this whole lawsuit/Manifesto/reunion thing came about when you look to the solo efforts of the other members too. I would especially recommend a good long look at Klaus' "The Light is Flickering",or Ray's "Sex is Sex" before anyone goes defending them. I saw Peligro at Social Chaos Tour in Lawrence,KS in 1999 and they were good live, but the albums didn't have the same resonance (plus all he talked about was being the drummer for DK, even wore a DK shirt-geez move on! Meanwhile he was suing his former frontman over money! Way to carry on the legacy!). This album, like any other DK release, is worth having-as long as you can sleep at night knowing who you're supporting. It's the same feeling you get drinking a Coke after you hear stuff about them assassinating union leaders in South America...diirrrty!



5. Full title:'Mutiny On The Bay-Dead Kennedys Live!From The San Francisco Bay Area'.Apparently,former vocalist Jello Biafra had lost a lengthy court battle to block the release of 'Mutiny...',the one of just two legit live Dead Kennedy archive performanes.This fourteen track CD was pulled from four(4)different live shows that took place in 1982 and 1986,which is 'strung' together as one.I LIKE that in a live release.Overall,just great body slammin' all American punk.Tunes that did it for me were "Holiday In Cambodia",the in-your-face "Moon Over Marin",the radical "MTV-Get Off The Air","Too Drunk To F**k" and "Hell Nation".Line-up:Biafra-vocals,East Bay Ray-guitar,Klaus Flouride-bass and D.H.Peligro-drums.A must-have for any and all true fans of 'angry/misguided' punk.Should appeal to fans Minor Threat,Black Flag,T.S.O.L.,Circle Jerks and The Germs.

5 comments about Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah.

1. If you like Me First and the Gimme Gimme's brand of rocked up cover songs, then you will like this album. It's a good sounding live recording complete with screw ups and the usual humurous inbetween song banter. A couple of the song selections aren't that great but I enjoy most of them. I'd rate it a definite buy if you dig the Gimme's.



2. ...Oh dear, poor old Wojo below just doesn't get it boys and girls. These guys prove that practice does make a perfectly good live album. Tongue-in-cheek on so many levels with deadly serious musician-ship - a lethal compination that shows that Me First are not just studio brats.
   Shalom from the best damn cover band in the world!



3. Taking great songs and ruining them with screaming and every song sounds the same. There are about a million other things better to do with your money and time.



4. Man, these guys got guts to blatantly put out a CD & video based on a bad bar mitzvah. I've been a Gimmes fan for about 5 years and this one is for fans really. If you are starting off on Gimmes you are better off listening to the earlier stuff like "Have A Ball", "Are A Drag", etc.



5. I got this after I heard 'Are A Drag' and figured that it couldn't be for real. Well, I'm sure that it is. These guys are great. I turned a lot of people onto them that wouldn't even get into punk but know these songs and enjoy what they do with them. The quality of the recording is pretty amazing. It might be lame to say, but it's probably one of the best live recordings that I've come across. Their remakes of tunes are just great and you can tell that they are pretty serious about their love for the music that they do. I didn't cringe like one reviewer did at Stairway to Heaven, it was as short as it needed to be without being blasphemous. The singing is really great on this and the things that they say between the songs are quite humorous. One wish? They recorded their break (which was kind of odd but not unlike them probably) so that it ate up time on the disc. I would've like more songs, they were just sounding great!! If you like music because it entertains you, this is for you. I am a pro musician and usually analyze music. I don't to this; it's meant to be for enjoying and nothing else.

5 comments about Live In Brazil.

1. This album is tied for my favorite live album of all time with Nocturne by the Banshees. Johnette Napolitano was really pumped up and inspired for this show. She has such emotion in her delivery and great nuances in her voice. The selection of songs is excellent. You get the best of their old songs and the best of their first comeback album 'Group Therapy.' This would be a good choice if you were looking to have that first Concrete Blonde album. Johnette has announced that the band is officially retired. They were one of the greatest rock bands and one of the most overlooked given their talent. Johnette writes greatlyrics plays awesome bass, sings, screams, dances and twirls in front of a super talented band. I 've seen them live and it was an unforgettable enriching memory. Since evidently they will never play together again, get this album, which captures their live energy quite well. If you don't know the band your missing out and should get this album. This was an easy 5 stars.



2. Johnette is the best rock singer ever, in my opinion, as since her 2002 comeback she has surpassed even Janis Joplin and Grace Slick. And she is a much more prolific songwriter than either, especially Janis who hardly wrote. And she's one of the best rock bass players ever. Whew. Mankey is godlike as always, but better, as they have both improved. Ramirez is Bonham-like, as always live with the Blonde. I only wish I could have seen more shows before they broke up. Oh well, Johnette is still the most important rock musician right now, and fans should check out her myspace site and offical website for tour and other info. This is a poem that I wrote about Johnette after seeing Concrete Blonde live for the first two times in the summer of 2002. It's kind of cheesy, but heartfelt. I'm working on a PhD in poetry, and she is still a better poet than me. 
   
   Nature embodied, force uncontainable
   Yet wielded with large consciousness
   Who could constrain you, your wild lightnings
   Crackling, surging
   No one, no nation of fools
   Living in a past that never was, never could be
   There should be no mold for truth
   What hammer or chain could withstand its
   Inevitable flowering?
   I do not wish to.
   The eloquence of your vocal surge
   Is a connecting link, a lightning rod.
   Life and love - can they be one and the same?
   I dare not think so
   Unless they both flowed from you
   Like a shimmering tidal wave
   On the verge of sweeping over me
   And all the traditions that I walk, sit, sleep among,
   Bringing a clean destruction
   And hope for this failing world.
   God's lioness come to full power
   How can such a sensitive spirit
   Live as a warrior?
   She moves with the assuredness of a warrior
   Going into battle
   And the enemy is everywhere - she cares not.
   This is beauty - the exercise of the will
   In poetic expression.
   This is song - the harmony of courage and
   Self-possession.
   The poise that shuns the comforting façade
   And moves from moment to moment
   Without false security.
   She is her message - the meaning is pure
   Beauty of the soul - there is no other.



3. As many "Live in Rio" albums do....this one really ROCKS. Buy it.



4. Although I've heard several Concrete Blonde songs over the years ('Tomorrow Wendy', 'Bloodletting' and the amazing cover of Leonard Cohen's 'Everybody Knows', among them), 'Live in Brazil' is the first of their albums I listened to. Although 'Live in Brazil' is not a perfect introduction, it is truly a great album, and I'm sure I'll be listening to lots more from the Los Angeles Trio.

   The greatest disadvantage is 'Live in Brazil' is that the songs lack something of an identity, blurring a bit with each other. Even after multiple listening, I'm still not quite sure, looking at the song lists, what 'Little Conversations' or 'Your Haunted Friend' are like, exactly.

   But this is a minor flaw. This is an album with amazing guitars, powerful punky melodies, and lots of enthusiasm by the band. Mostly, it is Johnette Napolitano amazing vocal that carries the melodies, firing haunting eulogies ('Tomorrow Wendy') ironic love songs ('Tonight') and angst ridden tirades ('Violent') with equal conviction.

   Among the highlights in these two albums is opener 'God is a Bullet', which features one of the best song titles I've encountered in recent times, combined with a great if simple ascending bass line and a great refrain: The music stops while Napolitano screams "God is bullet have mercy on us everyone".

   Another highlight is the Leonard Cohen cover, "Everybody Knows", introduced with an amusing commentary, "This is a song by a great-great-great-great-great-great-greatgreatGREAT Man". If Cohen's song was an ironic satire, a tale of depression told with a laugh around the bar, Concrete Blonde turn it into a bitter, haunting punk rock song, ending, quite appropriately, with Napolitano's version of Cohen's bitterest lyric in the song 'Everybody knows that you've been discrete/ but there were so many bitches you just had to meet/ without your cloths/Every body Knows'.

   Also memorable is 'I was a Fool', where the acoustic song becomes in the final chorus to a Post Punk yell, with heavy guitars and bass to match, "Scene of the Perfect Crime' which is just beautiful and sad, and set closer 'Tomorrow Wendy' an alternative rock classic, even if the guitar reminds me a little bit too much of the Pixies's 'Where Is My Mind?'

   Concrete Blonde's live album is a must have for fans of alternative rock. If you like guitars distorted, songs aggressive, and vocals angry, bitter and chaotic, this is an album for you.




5. Happened to catch a song by Concrete Blonde in a store and went looking for an album. I am surprised that I haven't discovered this great band before now. I want to particularly thank the guy who complained that entertainers should not express their political opions (unless, presumably, it agrees with the opinions authorized by Big Brother). I am particularly pleased to have the opportunity to take a small action in opposition to this particularly repugnant and unAmerican notion, and to support a band with the courage to speak out against those who are trying to destroy the most cherished American values.

2 comments about Alive.

1. It took a few listens to get used to it, but I find this 1998 gem to be one of their best. The Beastie's have ditched the funk beats and reduced the number of samples (all fine and dandy, but it was time for something new), and the result is something sublime.



2. Ooh, part 2 has an Alive remix, and a Jam cover "Start." I wish the boys would release those action figure dolls and fatten their pockets even more.

5 comments about Bootleg Detroit.

1. If you're considering this album, you're probably already familiar with Morphine and have some of their stuff. "Bootleg Detroit" provides a glimpse into their live show, and yeah, the sound quality isn't the greatest, that's why "bootleg" is in the title. Apparently some people (see rorscach12's review below) are too slow to get that. and the fact that stage "banter" is included is part of what makes this release cool, some people don't get that either (see same simpleminded review below). for those who never got to see them live, it's interesting to hear that part of a live show. plus there's material (Come Along) you won't hear on any other releases. if you're a Morphine fan, should probably get it, if you're just getting into them, pick up another studio album first.



2. This is Morphine at their raw best! This recording is a snapshot of one of Morphine's best live performances ever! Mark stated the following year that "the last time we played here at St. Andrews was one of the best shows we've ever had". The band was touring in support of their hit album "Cure For Pain" when they rolled into Detroit on this Monday night to play to one thousand lucky fans at this packed, intimate Detroit club. I remember leaving the show that night with the master tape in my bag -- that is now memorialized on the this disc -- feeling completely energized and transformed. I was repeating the phrase "that was the best show I have ever seen" over and over to any one who would listen. I thank God I was rolling tape that night, recording the "Morphine experience". Unfortunately, when Mark edited it he left out 20 minutes of great music. However, the 40 minutes that is there is exceptional. I am grateful Mark had the opportunity to again enjoy this stellar performance and found it worthy to share with all of you. He is greatly missed. If you never had the chance to see Morphine live, or want to relive the experience, buy this cd, turn the lights down low, close your eyes, crank up the volume and experience the power and magic that was Morphine! Cheers, Alan



3. Morphine's Bootleg: Detroit is a textbook example of how not to assemble a live album: Take a fairly average performance; record it with second-rate equipment; do not eliminate any of the lead singer's banter, no matter how tiresome, mummbly and hackneyed ("Thank you very much, Detroit, Michigan. We're happy to be here") and leave almost half of the disc blank (Don't be fooled by the fact that Bootleg: Detroit contains eighteen tracks. Every instrumental prelude and piece of banter is considered a selection. The album is eleven songs and only forty minutes). Diehard Morphine fans who may already possess a stack of better, actual bootlegs of the band's shows, should be disappointed by Bootleg: Detroit and neophytes can certainly find better examples of the band's slinky night-rock than this murky recording of a sub par concert.



4. BUY IT!!! If you like Morphine, or kinda like Morphine, or have never even heard of Morphine, buy it. You won't be dissapointed. There are no bad songs on the album. It even has the onstage banter with the crowd. There are few bands that have been able to accomplish what Morphine has. With only 3 musicians in the band the have been able to create a huge sound and with great diversity. Mark (rest in peace) Sandman is a master with the great art of composition. With such talented musicians they have been able to create a sound like no other. And this "LIVE" album showcases their great ability and beautiful art. BUY IT!!!



5. Good smattering of Morphine -- gives you the flavor of a live Detroit performance. Not as polished as a studio track though, so if that bothers you you might want to think twice. Personally, I think it's pretty good.

5 comments about So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter.

1. is the funk. Ani 70's. Doin it with Horns. Talkin to the audience in a way that would enrAgE some. Dig important right on crusAder songs lliKe "Letter tO a John" aNd the first song..



2. I bought dialte and really liked it. I took a chance and bought this.
   Wow! I normally listen metal and rock. This has become one of my favorite albums of all time. I read some of these reviews and saying stuff like sloppy recording and other negative comments. Give me a break it's pure
   artistry. Ani un edited. The lady has an opinion and has something to say.
   The lyrics are great the musicianship of her and her band are as good as any. Every time I listen to it I hear something new. I'm guy and am touched to near tears on several songs and am not afraid to admit it. Gratatute and welcome to in perticular.
   This girl can get an emotion accross in a song like few can. So many styles combined. I needed some thing differnet and was bored with the same 50 classic rock songs and stations playing the same 20 new songs for 4 months. Just what I needed. Refreshing.



3. You MUST be a fan to enjoy this. One of the worst guitar sounds I've ever heard in a professional recording. I knew Ani was a love her/hate her performer, but a couple of her full acoustic songs I had heard weren't too bad. I got this record from Swaprocks.com (thankfully I didn't pay for it). Very disappointing. The songwriting is quirky, and the lyrics intricate, but didn't work for me. If you're sure you like her music you may have a better chance at finding this release enjoyable.



4. This album is amazing! I am a huge Ani fan and this double disc is one of my favorite Ani releases. It is a collection of a lot of her great songs[32 Flavors, Dilate, and my favorite, Jukebox] but with a funky spin. Every note is harder and has more emotion then the versions you will find on her CDs. She performs with her 6 piece band which is made up of some horns, keyboards, and a booming bass. A lot of the songs sound completely new because of the passion in the performance. It also has 3 previously unreleased songs on it. I strongly recomend this CD to anyone, from obsessive fans to first timers!



5. This album will do much to increase the "Ani is the female Dylan" hype. Like his Bobness, Ani often tries to reinvent herself, tours relentlessly, inspires loyal dedication in her fans and now (as this release proves) can't choose a good live set of tracks to save herself.
   
   I loved Ani's last live release (Living in Clip) which I picked up before I had the chance to see her live. I gave LIC four stars but then I had no point of comparison. When this release was announced I was looking forward to hearing some of the inspired versions of great songs that I had seen at live shows. Sadly the songs here do nothing to inspire the way "Clip" did and leave me fondly remembering concert highlights that for some reason were overlooked in favour of the dud tracks presented here. This is definitely Ani's version of "Dylan and the Dead" and is best overlooked in favour of the far superior concert releases avaliable on her official site.

5 comments about Gogitchyershinebox.

1. This album is hard to find b/c it's good, and b/c the record company, Watermelon records I think, went bust, I think. The Gourds new record company is Sugar Hill Records. Also signed Sam Bush and other bluegrass favorites.



2. If you can get your hands on it, it is worth every penny if only to hear their version of Gin and Juice (originally Snoop Doggy Dog). Around the net, popular wisdom is that the cover is by Phish or Ween, but THIS is it so find this album and buy it!!!



3. I love Gin and Juice, some friends from Fayetteville introduced it to me over the Fourth of July weekend and I had to get the CD the only way to get it was over the computer. I wish it was more popular so maybe we could hear it on the radio sometime.



4. The Gourds flat out rock and this album is outstanding. There's nothing better than rolling the bones, tossing back cold skeet, and jamming to Gin & Juice.



5. The Gourds flat out rock and this album is outstanding. There's nothing better than rolling the bones, tossing back cold skeet, and jamming to Gin & Juice.

5 comments about Toward the Within.

1. I must admit that I had this CD for a long time, and only casually listened to it (being much more absorbed with DCD's studio albums). Recently, I brought it out again and gave it a fresh, concentrated listen.
   
   Dead Can Dance has always seemed to me to be three bands -- the one that was Brendan Perry, the one that was Lisa Gerrard, and the one that was both of them together. That's not a criticism, but an appreciation of how they could capture such a cohesive trinity in their work.
   
   This recording is no different, and in fact adds the extra dimension of live intimacy.
   
   Many of these songs you may have heard on their other albums. But not this way.
   
   (Also equally entrancing, the concert DVD: Dead Can Dance - Toward The Within)



2. One thing to bear in mind when choosing Dead Can Dance albums is that the duo of Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry went through at least four distinct stylistic phases, so you may find that certain albums appeal much more than others. This live album is a wonderful starting point, because it straddles a broad range of their musical styles and abilities. Also, while most artists' live albums simply rehash their existing popular work, of the 15 tracks on this album, only four (Yulunga, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, Cantara, and Song of the Sybil), have appeared on previous DCD releases, making this an individual album in its own right. (Studio versions of two of Lisa's tracks, Persian Love Song and Sanvean, later appeared on her solo Mirror Pool release.) Both performers have never sounded better vocally, and are backed by a band of multi-instrumentalists with impeccable musicianship.
   
   The album opens with one of DCD's all time best tracks, Rakim, long a staple of their live shows but making its first official recorded appearance here. Brendan and Lisa work as an integrated team here, melding her shimmering yang ch'in (Chinese hammer dulcimer) and lilting vocals with his rich Sinatra-like baritone over a driving percussion beat. Percussion is also used to great effect on a later track, Oman, which has a somewhat African and middle eastern flavor. Lisa shines on her vocal showpieces of Persian Love Song, Yulunga, Cantara and Sanvean, demonstrating her amazing multi-octave vocal range. Haunting flutes feature prominently on Desert Song, Piece for Solo Flute, and I Am Stretched On Your Grave; the last is a masterpiece of gloomy goth stylings resonantly delivered by Brendan over an ominous drone. Tristan and Song of the Sybil feature the group in its traditional medieval mode.
   
   The most surprising tracks on the album, which have no stylistic counterparts in DCD's studio work, are three original songs by Brendan: I Can See Now, American Dreaming, and Don't Fade Away. These find Brendan in a singer/songwriter mode, primarily accompanying himself on acoustic guitar, conjuring up comparisons to Tim Buckley and some of Bruce Springsteen's more introspective work. The last two tracks mentioned are among the best songs on the album, but if there is any criticism of them it is that they really don't fit stylistically with the rest of the album or the group's overall oeuvre. In fact, these songs foreshadowed the musical directions Brendan would pursue in his later solo album, Eye of the Hunter.
   
   Listeners finding that they like the medieval styled tracks on the album should check out Aion. Those drawn to Cantara, I Am Stretched On Your Grave, Persian Love Song, and Sanvean should check out Within The Realm of a Dying Sun, Spleen and Ideal, and The Serpent's Egg, along with Lisa's solo album Mirror Pool. Those drawn to Yulunga and the more middle eastern tracks may want to check out Into The Labyrinth, which also features some more straightforward pop songs by Brendan, as of course does his solo album Eye of the Hunter.



3. I was without the internet/cable for several days and I don't own a radio, so I popped this cd in to listen to. I expected that I would tire of it after two or so repetitions, but I didn't. There's such a wonderful variety of styles of music on the cd that it never feels redundant. From start to finish you travel a wonderful journey that never gets old. Not even when you're playing it on constant repeat for 24 hours straight.



4. Sometimes they sound like cloistered monks, at other times like Druid nature worshipers, and at others like North African nomadic tribes. Their range is amazing as you hear the sounds of Palestine, Ireland, and Libya combined with a very contemporary existential presentation of dark brooding, mournful loss.
   
   Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard seem like contemporary priests of the earth goddess mourning the end of the harvest and the coming winter. At other times Brendan Perry's dark masculine smooth baritone seems to be romantic and passionate, as if we mourning the loss of a lover.
   
   The instrumentation is excellent with a broad range of world instruments. In this CD, which was made from a live performance in Santa Monica California, the power of a live presentation with its required spontanaeity heightens the work.
   
   There were many strong selections on this CD, but some of the best are: Rakim, Piece for solo flute, The wind that shakes the barley, American dreaming, Oman, and Don't fade away. Some of these works are on other CDs but the live performances have an immediacy that is very nice.



5. About the Band:
   Dead Can Dance is considered the seminal example of the ethereal (in the US) or heavenly voices (in Europe) genre. In fact, the name of the label, 4AD, which carried many of the 1990s DCD releases, is sometimes also used to describe this genre of music, which is a fusion of subtle electronics, vocals, drums, world music, and a near limitless count of instruments. Brendan Perry sometimes has been described as a gothic Frank Sinatra. Lisa Gerrard's enchanting vocals are often sung in a language only known to Lisa. I count myself among the many that hold these two musicians in the highest esteem.
   
   About the Album:
   Toward the Within is a live album from 1994, and though many music fans will often prefer the quality associated with a studio recorded album, I personally feel that heavenly voices music is designed to be emotional and moving ... and this album has a sincerity that will touch any listener. Toward the Within is one of my favorite albums. Fans of Brendan Perry's vocals will likely be more pleased by this album, as he provides the lead on the majority of the tracks.
   
   Recommended Tracks:
   - I Can See Now
   - Don't Fade Away
   - Rakim
   - American Dreaming
   - Desert Song
   - The Wind that Shakes the Barley (I like this live version better)
   - Cantara
   
   In contrast to two very popular DCD offerings that are also worth checking out, Aion (which is very medieval sounding) and Into the Labyrinth (which is a bit remorseful and dark), I found this entire album extremely uplifting and inspirational. I can't stress enough how much I wish I could sing like Perry, and the truth is that I find myself doing so with this album. Fans of folk and romantic music will absolutely love this album.
   
   Similar Artists:
   If you love DCD because of Lisa's and Brendan's vocals, then I am confident you'll enjoy the following heavenly voices artists:
   - Impressions of Winter (hard to find) - considered better than DCD, by many DCD fans lucky enough to hear them!!!
   - Das Zeichen
   - Love is Colder Than Death
   - Deine Lakaien
   - Qntal
   - Helium Vola
   - Corvus Corax
   - Soil & Eclipse

5 comments about Live At The Continental And The Esplanade.

1. Paul Kelly is undoubtedly the most negligently overlooked Australian artist there is. One can argue with the song selection on his recent greatest hits compilation, but the songs chosen for this live effort all hit the mark. Alternatively acoustic and then some great guitar based interpretations of well chosen, sensational studio songs - this warrants repeated listenings. It is the Kelly album that I nominate when anybody asks where to start on this artist. Standout tracks are Dumb Things and When I First Met Your Ma. As a group of songs, this is also the best live album I own period, the closest being early Neil Young.



2. This is Paul Kelly at his very best. It captures the spirit of his live performances, at the peak of his career, and features extraordinary performances of 'Just Like Animals', 'Pouring Petrol On A Burning Man' and the heartbreaking 'Maralinga'.

   It probably helps to have heard the originals of some of the songs on this album such as 'To Her Door', as he varies them a bit in these live versions, but if you're already a P.K. fan then this is - absolutely - his best album. We have over 4,000 CDs at home, and this is easily our most-played CD.




3. Run, don't walk, and buy this CD. This is Paul at his best---funny (Dumb Things), tongue-in-cheek (God's Hotel) and socially conscious (Maralinga). Pouring Petrol on a Burning Man has a groove you won't soon forget. "Under the Sun" is my favorite Paul Kelly album, and many of its songs are reworked here to great success. Actually the best live CD I own.



4. This CD has some truly brilliant tracks. My favorites are When I first met your ma & To her door. The stories they tell and so well written they will make you laugh and cry. The music will bring a lump to your throat.

   Paul Kelly is a great singer/songwriter who has been known and respected in Australia since the early 80's. His music ranges from folk/country through blues to recent foray's into techno music. This is a great album to listen to if you're feeling down, and I recommend a walk in the park afterward to complete the sensation!




5. Paul Kelly has put out many fantastic recordings but this live CD has an appeal all it's own. Many of the older songs feature new arrangements and surprises. The intimate audience adds flavor to this performance and begs the question...."Why is Paul Kelly unknown?!?!"

5 comments about Filth/Body to Body, Job to Job.

1. Most people, I think, would find unfathomable the very notion of releasing a collection of music as impossibly dour, humorless and grating as Filth. Hopefully New York's Swans have little interest in achieving popularity on the Top 50 charts, because nothing from this album could ever be accepted as 'good music' by your average Joe-FM Jockey. And who can blame him? The entire album seems like some kind of mean spirited drunken mess.
   
   The first (and most accessible) track of Filth lumbers along with a bass-line like an inebriated dance beat, swaying off kilter in slow motion; while a singer who obviously is some kind of bull-horned hairy man-beast brutishly barks things like, "Be Strong! Be Hard!" over and over again until one gets the impression that the insecure creature fears it is neither. After the first track falls awkwardly on the coffee table and blacks out, things start to get really out of control. The band seems to abhor rhythm only slightly less than it does melody, because both are rather scarce in this misanthropic recording. Songs either stomp around angrily, like some kind of red-faced troglodyte, ranting or lamenting one thing or another, or, as with "Freak," devolve completely into primordial soupiness, a cacophony which envisions musicians not playing instruments so much as simply punching them. It's a pretty unusual style: Gothic metal which is neither Gothic (no fay romanticism to leaven the depressive qualities, and too unmelodious) nor metal (too repetitive and arrhythmical). Filth ends with a hazy sounding set of concert recordings, which pummel the ears even harder without the clarity of the studio recording humanizing the proceeding.
   
   "Filth: the cd" also offers a sequel disc. Body to Body, Job to Job is a compilation, not a proper album, of tracks recorded before and after Filth was officially released. The sound is a continuation of Filth's fury however and offers no relief from the blunt-force trauma headphone users doubtlessly suffered while listening to the first disc. Some are rough, live cuts of dubious engineering quality, and others are clear studio recordings of dubious moral motivation. Songs like "I'll Cry for You" and "Mother, My Body Disgusts Me" are every bit as demented as on the main album, and good for scaring little old ladies.
   
   It's all rather Lo-fi, and while certainly aggressive (an album that would probably rough you up in a back alley just for the hell of it) the production seems to tone down the ferocious bellowing of the singer, burying in deep rumbling noise. The effect is rather like Martin Hannett's production for the band Joy Division. In fact, technically and thematically the music here is strongly reminiscent of Joy Division. Just a hell of a lot meaner.
   
   I honestly can't imagine anyone calling this their absolute all-time favorite album, but frankly, for all of it's rejection of musical standards, there is something strongly compelling about Filth by Swans. Most people will be put off and annoyed by it, but as Amazon.com shows, a number of people also think it's pretty great. So maybe these Swans characters are on to something. Despite the fact that he still has his pretty little pop-icons, catchy songs, his teeth and his sanity, maybe Joe-FM Jockey is the one who is missing out. I for one am am going to dab my bleeding ears while looking forward to what the band releases next!



2. Swans could only have come from New York, no other city other than Berlin could have produced such a glorious cacophony of unrelenting brutality. For me Swans rests somewhere between real industrial (not 90s industrial metal) and noise-rock. Their only peers would have been Glenn Branca, The Butthole Surfers, early Sonic Youth (who were more song based) and Einsturzende Neubauten. On `Filth' they use repetition to exhilarating effect slowing everything down to a virtual crawl. It's difficult to describe this album but know one thing: nothing produced before or after it can match it in the brutality stakes. Like a wrecking ball it demolishes your weak mind while never overstaying it's welcome. This release also includes plenty live material as a bonus, which is where one can really feel the power and beauty in their destruction. `Filth' is as the title would suggest an ugly beast of an album that will beat you and leave you paralysed on floor simply because it can. This release in particular is one of my favourite albums of all time and life without it would be incomplete. Strong medicine indeed and highly recommended. Swans were in my opinion one of the greatest bands ever.



3. No, seriously, what's there not to love about Swans? Personally, I cannot get enough of them whether it's the early days or the later days. This is the album that started it all and it left behind a reputation that will make Swans infamous for decades yet to come. This music is simply HEAVY, and I mean it "that" way. Forget these slow doom metal and drone bands; Swans will engulf you, beat you, drag your bloody pulp of a body against the floor, and rape your rotting carcass. If that is your kind of thing, then obviously this album is a winner. There are no conventional rock structures here, but don't let that fool you... this is rock in its most pure and shocking form. It's a real pity that Michael Gira never hit the charts with any of these songs because, really, these songs are just totally danceable. If I was throwing a party I would definitely throw some Swans on... Not necessarily to freak everyone out, but to get everyone moshing. Of course, you should know that Michael Gira hates that kind of behavior. In actuality, he would rather have you brooding around your crummy apartment drunk while listening to this record. But, who can blame him? This music is true art. There are no compromises; it's punk rock in essence. It has the old school do-it-yourself mentality that you simply cannot find in the shallow and vapid bands that come out nowadays.
   
   Swans are simply for people who want challenging, yet rewarding music.



4. Angry, dark, brooding, sludgy, this is the equivalent of a heavy duty sledge hammer crushing it's mass on the head of the mainstream.



5. SWANS sound like they've just climbed out of the sewer and haven't washed up yet. This analogy works especially well when discussing their very early work, namely "Filth." The first words that will come to mind will probably include "heavy," "sludgy," "ugly," and quite possibly "filth." If you're an adventurous listener, and tolerant of an oppressive, miserable, hellish atmosphere, and believe that noise and screaming can be musical, your words might also include "very cool."
   
   "Filth" is really not that unlistenable. The grating noise and dissonance will be off-putting to many, but when it's placed in the framework of steady, pounding, almost catchy industrial rhythms, as it is here, it seems at least partially tamed and ultimately tolerable if the listener is patient with it - and Swans is a band that demands much more attention than it's gotten. They are true innovators of heavy music, from grindcore to death metal to noise rock, and carved a truly singular niche for themselves in the post-punk/alternative world. Combining the depression of Joy Division with the anger of Throbbing Gristle, and the repetative power of both bands, then adding the messy, slow noise, growled vocals, themes of power and degradation, and wrenching two and three note riffs that were to become their trademark, Swans make a noise that effectively depicts a very dark and murky worldview. All underground music fans owe it to themselves to investigate immediately. Listening to Tool, NIN, Slayer and other popular outfits is fine, but to be truly hip I think you need to know the whole story.
   
   The album begins VERY strongly, with a blast of feedback, a grumbling bass riff, and a powerful, menacing industrial rhythm. They are the backdrop for a roaring guitar drone and Michael Gira's repeated commands of "Flex your muscles" and "Be Hard" in an increasingly loud and angry growl. The song, "Stay Here," is a perfect kickoff for the set, combining everything about the album that is great: the ever increasing intensity, the dark lyrical themes, the massively heavy sound, and the uncompromising brutality. Among other highlights: "Big Strong Boss" approaches Danceability but before reaching it is very suddenly cut off, in an uncommon moment of Swans' gallows humor; "Blackout" showcases Gira's vocal chords getting a workout with loud, raspy growls; "Freak" is a rare break from the slow tempo and sludgy riffs, experimenting with tape loops and Gira's yelled ramblings about murder; "Weakling" gets into Einsturzende Neubauten-ish territory with metal percussion and groaning guitar drones. All of this music is actually a lot of fun, and with a little imagination from the listener - catchy. Of course, these aren't singalongs, they're "roaralongs."
   
   Check this band out. You know you're interested. NOTE: The edition of 'Filth' that Amazon has released also contains a CD of collected Swans tracks from the 82-84 period called "Body to Body, Job to Job." Very good, but I don't have time to review it right now.