Review: Captured in San Francisco in December of 1982, only over six months before their original dissolution in July of the following year, this live performance from gloom maestro goth rock pioneers Bauhaus leans heavily on material from their (at the time) two-month old third full-length The Sky's Gone Out including their opening cover of Brian Eno's 'Third Uncle' and 'Silent Hedges', as well as 1981's career height sophomore classic Mask, with cuts such as 'In Fear Of Fear', 'Kick In The Eye', and 'Hollow Hills' making appearances. Some love is shown to their debut In The Flat Field with the inclusion of 'Spy In The Cab', but most noteworthy is that the set features an early live unveiling of 'She's In Parties', which wouldn't see release for another four months with the band breaking up just a week before the single's adjacent album Burning From The Inside would drop.
Review: Kate Bush enjoyed an unlikely renaissance (and a welcome boost to her bank balance, no doubt) with the younger generation when her music was used in iconic scenes in the hit Netflix show Stranger Things. She has long been a revered pop great who always had an outlier sound which despite that saw great commercial success. For that reason, she was invited to the BBC for a Christmas Special in 1979 and that recording is now pressed up just in time for the festival season. It features plenty of her best moments which will bring great warmth to the winter including the likes of 'December Will be Magic Again' and 'The Man With The Child' plus a version of Peter Gabriel's 'Here Comes the Flood' featuring the former Genesis frontman himself.
Review: After recording sessions for their legendary fifth LP Combat Rock would come to a close at the end of 1981, punk heroes The Clash embarked on a six-week jaunt across Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Thailand (where they shot the iconic cover for their forthcoming record) and Hong Kong. Hitting the city of Kowloon on 25th February only a few months out from record release, this was an era when Hong Kong was still a colony of the British Empire (the last existing dependency of any significance at this time) and enjoyed less government interference in personal freedom, yet there had never been an act as bold as The Clash over to visit. With a setlist that reads today more like a greatest hits including the signature opener 'London Calling' along with bangers galore from 'The Guns Of Brixton' to 'I Fought The Law', '(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais' and 'Jimmy Jazz', with the band even treating the crowd to an early earful of Combat Rock lead single 'Know Your Rights' more than two months before official release (a time when no one had smart phones to film and throw up on YouTube or include on Setlist.fm as "New Song"), this performance and tour would also be one of the final to feature drummer Topper Headon, who would be fired due to his heroin addiction just a few months down the line, marking the end of the original line-up.
Review: Following the end of recording sessions for what would become their iconic fifth full-length Combat Rock in December 1981, punk legends The Clash would embark on a six-week tour of Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand (where they would shoot the cover for the upcoming album) and Hong Kong. Captured in Kowloon on the 25th February three months before record release, and during a time where the city enjoyed less stringent government oversight, there had still never been an act as rambunctious and declarative as The Clash to hold court. Delivering a set that now reads like a greatest hits from the obligatory opener of 'London Calling' to bangers such as 'Tommy Gun', 'The Guns Of Brixton', 'I Fought The Law' and 'Jimmy Jazz', while even unveiling Combat Rock lead single 'Know Your Rights' two months before studio release, the performance and subsequent tour is also noteworthy for being one of the last with the original line-up, as drummer Topper Headon would be fired due to his heroin addiction only a couple of months later.
Review: Amsterdam has two celebrated, long standing venues - the Paradiso and the Melkweg - and this 1979 broadcast caught the soon to be huge Cure in action in the latter, way more intimate one. It's a collection of the tracks that made the early part of their career as a wiry, lean three post-punk piece more than goth behemoth - 'Killing An Arab', '10:15 Saturday Night', 'Boys Don't Cry' and two speedy versions of 'A Forest' that both come in under five minutes (as opposed to the latter versions that are closer to ten) all figure. It's a period that has its own, rather different following to the normal Cure legions, and this display of sharp pop sense and its jagged approach to sonics showcases just why that is.
Review: This superb recording of a Live FM Broadcast captures the wonderful Depeche Mode at their dynamic peak during the Songs of Faith and Devotion tour. Recorded in San Francisco, this live set detailed their evolution as they blended dark synth-pop with raw, rock-infused energy. Classics like 'Rush' and 'World In My Eyes' shine alongside then-newer, grittier tracks that showcased Dave Gahan's electrifying vocals and Martin Gore's emotive songwriting. The high-quality audio helps immerse you in the band's onstage charisma while offering a nostalgic yet timeless revisit to a wonderful period in the band's history.
Review: New wave icons The Jam performed Boston in what would become their final year as a group. The set was part of their Trans-Global Express tour, which was put together to promote their penultimate studio album The Gift. The band were at the peak of their powers at this point having been on the road for months. The setlist is a career-spanning joy with some of their most-loved numbers, including 'That's Entertainment', 'Pretty Green' and 'Carnation'. Of the material from The Gift, the single 'A Town Called Malice' is an era-defining banger that can't help but induce a giddy sense of joy and the title-track is full of snarl and bite and a perfectly rowdy way to close the set. The shade of green that this vinyl has is perfect - you wouldn't want it looking any other way.
Review: The title is lifted from a line in the song from their 1969 studio album, More, which is an acoustic folk ballad titled 'Green Is The Colour': "Heavy is the bond between the hopeful and the damned." Live they slap on a more electric feel with Gilmour's inimitable soloing a strong part of it. The overarching loose, exploratory feel to this collection is a result of Pink Floyd's tendency to improvise and see where the music takes them. Clearly playing for themselves here but nevertheless compelling and awe-inspiring in what they do.
Review: Captured at Parque O'Higgins in Santiago, Chile, on April 1st 2017, just two months before the release of their ninth full-length studio album Trouble Maker (though the set features no early sneak peek cuts), El Punk No Ha Muerto offers up a fly-on-the-wall earful from California punk lifers Rancid, deep into their seasoned veteran status. Boasting a catalogue spanning greatest hits set featuring classics such as 'Maxwell Murder' and 'Ruby Soho', this live LP is Rancid as they were always meant to be heard. Messy, chaotic, gruff yet underpinned with a poignant precision and internal understanding of live dynamics and audience appeal, this is as close as you can get to the intense camaraderie of one of their incomparable shows without paying the price of admission (for a ticket anyway, no freebies).
Review: Siouxsie Sioux remains a real icon of post-punk. The English singer and songwriter was the powerhouse lyricist behind her band the Banshees from formation in 1976 until they stopped performing in 1996. She is often held up as a pioneering women who was way ahead of her time. With her band, she was part of this iconic 1991 performance at Le Zenith in Paris, right when they were at their peak and delivering an unforgettable fusion of haunting vocals and brooding post-punk energy. The legendary setlist includes fan favourites such as 'Spellbound' and 'Kiss Them for Me' which both capture the dark, hypnotic essence that defined their sound. Now, this historic concert is immortalised and means you can relive it time and time again.
Review: Offering up a fly-on-the-wall earful of the legendary punk spoken word songstress at the peak of her prowess, First We Take Manhattan is a live LP captured at New York City's iconic CBGB's on August 11th 1979, whilst touring in promotion of the Todd Rundgren-produced Wave, which would mark the third and final album billed under the Patti Smith Group. Whilst receiving somewhat of a mixed reception upon release due its more radio-friendly oriented sound, longtime staples such as 'Frederick', 'Seven Ways Of Going' and 'Dancing Barefoot' all make appearances, exuding Smith's unbothered stance towards critical reception, while also making room for Easter deep cut 'Space Monkey', as well as a reliably hefty dose of material from her classic 1975 debut solo LP Horses, including 'Redondo Beach' and 'Kimberly'.
Review: Keep Me Safe Keep Me Sane offers up a scholastic batch of rarities from Iggy Pop fronted proto-punk timebomb The Stooges, all captured in and around 1972 when the band had reformed from their first break up and were in the process of crafting their cult classic Raw Power. Boasting an array of studio outtakes, tour rehearsal cuts and unhinged live performances, this collection gets you as close to the madness as a fly on the wall of a dingy tour van or sweaty rehearsal studio, yet prevents from being caught in the chaotic drug-fuelled egotistical malaise that would eventually torpedo the group.
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