Stylus Groove レコード& CD

Review: We've encountered a few Woodstock '94 live albums in recent months. 30 years on, and the festival remains one of the most ill-conceived, poorly executed and abhorrently capitalist failures the live music scene has ever witnessed. When you cram 350,000 into a site aimed at half that, don't think about infrastructure, overcharge on everything and then stand idly by as a revolution begins to unfold, only responding when things become a life or death situation, how do you expect to be remembered? At least people actually played the event, though, unlike the likes of Fyre, which never even managed to get started. And the lineup for 1994's cash-in on the legendary New York State gathering was decent in many ways, Aerosmith stepping up at the height of their commercial fame to deliver a typically spectacular show of mainstream rock & roll with blues roots. Here's the recording.

Review: This limited edition 10" double album is a real Beatles lover and vinyl collector's dream. It comes on red vinyl and showcases the very best of the Beatles from 1962 to 1966 so truly captures the essence of the legendary pop outfit in the studio, in concert, and live on air. Spanning the halcyon years when the Beatles were at their most tight and cohesive, this anthology highlights their touring, recording, and broadcasting brilliance. This deluxe collector's edition also includes a full-length e-book and features classics like 'Love Me Do,' 'Yesterday,' 'Day Tripper,' 'Help!' and "She Loves You'.

Review: There are some very special Beatles reissues landing right now and this is one of them: The Lost Studio Tapes 1962-1964 comes on limited hand-numbered blue vinyl double 10". It is a remarkable collection that takes a deep dive into the world of what might have been as these priceless recordings reveal the creative process that shaped cultural history. Featured is the Beatles' audition for Decca Records, the most controversial recording session in popular music history. Despite the impressive tape produced during this session, Decca Records famously decided not to sign the Beatles. Now, nearly 60 years later, you can listen in and decide for yourself what they were

Review: The year 1970 truly served as the dawn of Black Sabbath with not only the release of their iconic self-titled debut LP but also their even more legendary sophomore follow-up Paranoid also arriving the other end of the calendar. Embarking on a mammoth 121 date tour across Europe and the United States, kicking off in Swansea, Wales in September all the way through to April 1971, the middle point just before Christmas saw the metal pioneers land at L'Olympia, Paris on 20th December 1970 for a grandiose performance made up of some their greatest works and legitimately the most vital metal tracks of all time. From the opening riffage of the quintessential title-track to the resurgent 'Iron Man', the proto-doom stylings of 'N.I.B' and 'Behind The Wall Of Sleep' to the ultimate anti-war anthem 'War Pigs', this setlist reads almost exactly like the first disc of one the band's many greatest hits collections, as it just so happens that this early in their tenure, they'd already penned such a bevvy of classics. Pulled directly from the soundboard, this is Ozzy and co in their absolute prime before ego and mass quantities of narcotics would join as a permanent fifth member.

Review: A chance to catch the 1989 iteration of Black Sabbath in action in Japan on their Headless Cross, in support of their 14th fourteenth studio album (of the same name), the second with Tony Martin on vocals. This nine track selection from the show is fairly evenly spread across their already almost two decade long career, with that album's title track nestling alongside older triumphs such as 'Iron Man', 'Paranoid' and 'Black Sabbath' and Ronnie James Dio-period faves like 'Mob Rules' and 'Heaven & Hell'. The recent addition of the legendary Cozy Powell on drums just makes it an even tastier prospect.

Review: This album is the ultimate treasure for fans of the legendary American rock outfit Green Day. It is a special limited edition and hand-numbered yellow marbled vinyl pressing of the band's legendary 1994 Woodstock broadcast, which has never been available on wax before. As we as the tracklist form that historic night when the band were at the height of their fame, it also includes a rare gem from Saturday Night Live with an explosive performance of 'Geek Stink Breath.' But that's not all, as it also features three ultra-rare acoustic recordings from WMMR radio making it a must-have for every Green Day nut.

Review: In January 1980, Joy Division toured Europe as they prepared to enter the studio to record their second album Closer. This recording from Amsterdam's legendary hippy hangout Paradiso catches them right at those crucial musical crossroads, building on the success of the hulking rhythms of Unknown Pleasures and heading towards the proto-electronic influences that would shape that second album (and the even more seminal career of New Order beyond that). As well as pre-studio outings for Closer tracks like 'She's Lost Control', 'Atrocity Exhibition' and 'A Means To An End', there's also a relatively rare airing of what would become their sonic talisman, 'Love Will Tear Us Apart', alongside the - as ever - frighteningly heavy debut LP material.

Review: If you've seen Metallica live and in the flesh you'll appreciate how ferocious their shows are. It's not just the music that's loud, all aspects of the performance seems to hit like wrecking ball, raising the volume and intensity on each chord of every riff, drum-packed crescendo, and disorientating outro. And it's always been that way, as this reissued recording from one of their legendary shows proves. Captured in 1994, when the thrash metal pioneers played Woodstock, USA, Justice For All certainly lives up to the name of the outfit's classic 1988 LP, And Justice For All, which earned them their first Grammy nomination. It's pretty powerful, potent stuff, running through a number of the group's strongest tracks in a live context, which goes some way towards transporting us to the gig itself.

Review: Ignore the typically self-depreciating title - when the 'same old bollocks' in question happens to be a set of songs that changed the world irrevocably, they can have all the reissues they want. Capturing the notorious London punk monarchs on their first foreign live outing, to Paris in September 1976, this double album presents pretty much the whole of their only studio album Never Mind The Bollocks thrashed out in adrenalin-fuelled fashion, with the addition of three other lesser spotted tracks. This trio, namely a suitably snarling cover of the Monkees' 'Stepping Stone', plus originals 'Did You No Wrong' and 'Satellite', are worth the admission price alone, with the latter's delightfully nihilistic polemic ("Lookin' like a dirty lavatory/There ain't no bid for your chastity") proving unmissable. The dog's, inevitably...

Review: Frank Zappa once told KPFM-FM Radio that 'Sinister Footwear' is "a ballet about a guy who designs the ugliest shoe in the world and then all the things that happen before you get to wear it. And the shoe has been designed and I just saw like about ... twenty pairs of it, sitting around this place, it's really great." Ever the enigma, 'Sinister Footwear' could refer to the Frank Zappa track itself, 'Theme From The 3rd Movement of 'Sinister Footwear', or 'Sinister Footwear II'. Or this album, which collects highlights from his legendary New York City broadcast on 17th November 1981. A spectacular artefact from the height of his creative expression, at least some of the atmosphere, energy and creativity that captivated back then have survived onto this recording.

Review: Not to be confused with Zoot Allures, the 22nd studio album by American rock enigma Frank Zappa - released in 1976 - but purposefully confusable with that record, Zoot Alloors is just one artefact from the artist's critically acclaimed and technically astounding broadcast from New York City in November 1981. Like everything else Zappa, this mini-LP is part of a wider universe he constructed for himself before inviting fans to exist in it with him, and his inimitable performances style is captured here beautifully. Even the recording does its best to suck us right in there and leave us to explore. Tracks aren't so much tracks, but jumping off points for intense rock & roll, jazz, blues, glam and psyche jam movements that are invigorating, captivating and disorientating. A true original.