Ursula Rucker

Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso

Nils Petter Molvaer

Air titolotalkie walkieartistaair etichettavirginn. dischi1data23 gennaio 2004supportocd audiogenerepop e rock internazionale——brani1.venusascolta2.cherry blossom girlascolta3.runascolta4.universal travelerascolta5.mike millsascolta6.surfing on a rocketasco

Giovanni Ferretti

Frankie Hi-Nrg Mc titolo-ero un autarchicoartista-frankie hi-nrg mc etichetta-rca italianan. dischi1data-24 ottobre 2003supportocd audiogenerehip hop e rap——track listings1. prima2. rap lamento3. morsi e rimorsi4. gli accontentabili5. cane inane6. voci di piazza7. generazione di mostri8. virus9. chiedi chiedi10. i trafficati11. o tempora o mores - frankie hi-nrg mc, beccafichi12. animanera13. le perdute ali dell'olecrano14. l' inutile15. zero a zero16. sana e robusta

Csi

Van Der Graaf Generator Named after a machine designed to produce electrical static, Van Der Graaf Generator were an extraordinary phenomenon in the British alternative music scene of the early 1970s. Bracketed together with progressive-rock bands of the time, in fact they had none of the comforting insularity and carefully structured instrumentation often associated with such music. Intense distorted organ and saxophone riffing combined with Peter Hammill's spectacularly chilling and tortured vocals (a critic referred to him as a male Nico) to produce a lacerating live sound that would have had most punk bands running out the door. In the studio they were marginally more restrained, producing music of icy beauty and twisted romanticism that combined effectively with Hammill's intricate and poetic lyrics. Pawn Hearts was the last of four albums from the first phase of their career, lasting from 1969-1971. Guitarist Robert Fripp featured on it, contributing to an even more varied sound palette and epic workouts such as the 20-minute "A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers". Issued almost simultaneously with Hammill's excellent solo album Fool's Mate, within months of Pawn Hearts's release Van Der Graaf Generator had broken up, only reforming for a while in 1975 to produce another three uniquely oddball offerings. —James Swift

Sigur Ros SIGUR ROS () (2002 UK CD album from the Icelandic trio featuring 8 untitled tracks presented in a jewel case picture sleeve with outer die-cut white plastic picture slipcase)

Food

Various Cd > Popular Music > Movie SoundtrackCD > POPULAR MUSIC > MOVIE SOUNDTRACK

Tori Amos TORI AMOS Strange Little Girls (2001 UK 12-track CD album featuring cover versions composed by such artists as Neil Young Eminem Boomtown Rats and Depeche Mode)

Kings of Convenience With Riot on an Empty Street Kings of Convenience prove yet again that understatement and subtlety can be truly thrilling. When not attempting to replicate the harmonious acoustic shimmer of Simon and Garfunkel on lacklustre tracks such as "Homesick" and "Surprise Ice", Norwegian folksters Erlend Oye and Eirik Glambek Boe deliver charming, self-effacing lyrics backed by unhurried and refreshingly simple melodies that embrace and cajole. Stand-out moments include "I'd Rather Dance with You" and the sublime upbeat acoustic strut of "Love Is No Big Truth", which mixes Eirik's infectious banjo hook with artfully mellifluous lyrical observations. Fragile, emotive and as biting as the Nordic wind Riot on an Empty Street is a demonstration of enduring talent. —Christopher Barrett

C.S.I.

Modena City Ramblers titolo-terra e liberta'artista-modena city ramblers etichetta-black outn. dischi1data19 settembre 1997supportocd audiogenerepop e rock italianofolk e country-brani——1.macondo expressascolta2.il ritorno di paddy garciaascolta3.il ballo di aurelianoascolt

Prodigy

Africa Unite

Depeche Mode

Air AIR The Virgin Suicides (2000 French issue 13-track CD album composed for the Sofia Coppola film including Playground Love Clouds Up & Bathroom Girl sealed picture sleeve)

Radiohead

Radiohead Though the songs on Amnesiac were recorded at the same time as those on its predecessor, Kid A, the gap between the releases of the pair suggests a determination on Radiohead's part that the two should not be perceived as halves of the same whole. However, there is little in the way of meaningful stylistic divergence between the two albums—Amnesiac shares with Kid A an atmosphere of defeated, vengeful paranoia, a heavy reliance on electronic noises and distorted vocals, a somewhat frustrating absence of Jonny Greenwood's guitar and the song "Morning Bell", which reappears on Amnesiac in a slightly less mournful arrangement. It may just be that Radiohead felt that it might have been a bit much to ask anyone, even Radiohead fans, to consume this entire lugubrious trove at once. Amnesiac, like Kid A is heavy going. And, also like Kid A, Amnesiac rewards repeated listenings generously. The more acute Thom Yorke's lyrical biliousness grows, the harder the band work to redeem matters with some moments of astonishing beauty. "You and Whose Army?" contains gorgeous knelling piano evocative of "Karma Police", "Like Spinning Plates" deploys a backwards backing track to bewitching effect, and the closing track, "Life in a Glasshouse", is an exuberant Laughing Clowns-style wig-out, featuring veteran jazz trumpeter Humphrey Lyttleton. Once again, it is not so much that Radiohead have not put a foot wrong, but that they're walking where nobody else has trodden. Amnesiac is another giant leap. —Andrew Mueller

Lucio Battisti

Daft Punk Solely responsible for the current interest in all things funky and French, the Daft Punk boys, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, can do no wrong. Breaking into the club scene with their own blend of techno-disco in 1995, their debut album is the 80's electro-funk record of your dreams. Influenced by old school Chicago house and Detroit minimalist techno (all name checked on "Teachers"), Homework ranges from the warped electro that has become their trademark on "Around the World" and "Da Funk", to banging acid techno on "Rollin'and Scratchin'" and "Alive". An album so funky it could make James Brown cry, and with so much bite you can feel it at the back of your throat. —Ed Potton

Santana

Giorgio Gaber

America

Inti-Illimani

Beastie Boys

Modena City Ramblers titolo-radio rebeldeartista-modena city ramblers etichetta-black outn. dischi1data20 febbraio 2002supportocd audiogenerepop e rock italianofolk e country-brani——1.ramblers dub ascolta2.una perfecta excusaascolta3.carretera austral ascolta4.la legge gius

Modena City Ramblers titolo-fuori campoartista-modena city ramblers etichetta-black outn. dischi1data20 settembre 1999supportocd audiogenerepop e rock italianofolk e country-brani——1.etnica danzaascolta2.fuori campoascolta3.natale a san cristobalascolta4.la rodaascolta5.cel

Joao Gilberto

Oasis Cd > Popular Music > RockCD > POPULAR MUSIC > ROCK

Eric Clapton, B.B. King Cd > Popular Music > BluesCD > POPULAR MUSIC > BLUES

Dire Straits

Santana

Add N To (X) Describing themselves as "aggressive futurists" who find "harmony in building sites", Add N to(X) have a history of reclaiming seemingly redundant tin-pot electro-equipment and using it to create hard-hitting contemporary soundscapes. Loud Like Nature, their fourth album, is their best effort yet, and sees the three band members forging their own distinct sonic personalities. Barry 7, as befits a DJ, contributes the Teutonic dance of "Quantum Leap", the wild techno of "Lick a Battery" and the spacey lounge music of the "Walk On By"-sampling "Up the Punks". Steve Claydon is more of a rocker. His "Total All Out Water" is a Soft Cell-style glam stomp, "Sheez Mine" is like a raucous Fad Gadget, while "All Night Lazy" is a sleazy rock groove. Ann Shenton, meanwhile, is all over the place, delivering the minimal piano and strings of "Pink Light", the lo-fi Plastic Bertrand-ish pop of "-U Baby" and "Electric Village", a kind of freaky, squeaky "All Right Now". Yet though the individual influences are different, the approach is always the same—every style and genre approached is warped to the max, challenging the listener to find melody amidst the noise, the familiar amidst the downright strange. You'll find the search rewarding, and fun too. —Dominic Wills

Mike Oldfield [ARTIST: Mike Oldfield ][ALBUM: Ommadawn ] 1. Part One [19:24] 2. Part Two [17:18} - EAN:724384937027

Ryuichi Sakamoto The stated intention of this album is to introduce Sakamoto to a new audience. To this end, a selection of his most memorably melodic themes are presented pretty much in order of fame. Beginning on the eminently hummable "Forbidden Colours" from Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence is therefore the perfect way to go. This is the only cue with vocals; the remainder spotlight an affinity for emotional manipulation through the sonority of elegiac string work. "The Last Emperor" is perfectly partnered by "Little Buddha", utilising his Japanese sensibilities to perfect cinematic effect. If the Ralph Fiennes version of "Wuthering Heights" lingers in the memory far less than Olivier's it is certainly not through fault of the composer. Somehow Sakamoto has tapped into time, geography, and heart all at once, resulting in this sumptuous motif. Then so as not to pigeonhole his style to a new-found audience, the album finishes with the cyclic rhythms of "Replica" (from his Musical Encyclopedia solo album), and the bombastic—often atonal—" El Mar Mediterrani" which opened the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. If anyone is genuinely experiencing his music for the first time this really is an ideal introduction. —Paul Tonks

Asian Dub Foundation

Bertallot Alessio V/A

Subsonica

Teenage Fanclub

Radiohead After the massive success of Pablo Honey—or, more specifically, the single "Creep"—had made them a household name, most had written Radiohead off as one-hit wonders. That they could return with an album as awesome and monumental as The Bends, therefore, must have been particularly unexpected. Not that Pablo Honey is a bad album, but rather, when compared to the epic grandeur of The Bends, it's obvious that the five Oxford-based boys had matured immensely since the release of their debut. "High And Dry", "Just", "Street Spirit", "Fake Plastic Trees": nary a pop song among them, yet it's testament to their greatness that they all were hit singles. And really, it's easy to see why: Thom Yorke's falsetto crying over a wall of acoustic and electric guitars, as lyrics and music blend to create a masterpiece of melancholy beauty. The Bends is one of the most essential albums of the 1990s, and a spectacular indicator of further greatness to come. —Robert Burrow

Radiohead Radiohead may well be the most courageous band in Britain. Their second album, The Bends, was a success both critically and commercially, and they followed it up with an album of epic prog-rock, OK Computer, that would have destined a lesser band to commercial failure and, eventually, obscurity. Instead, it was almost universally hailed as one of the finest albums ever recorded. So it should come as no great surprise that their fourth album, Kid A, is even more experimental, owing a debt to the studio-born soundscapes of Brian Eno, Aphex Twin and even later Talk Talk.

Kid A is an album that would not sound out of place on the Warp Records roster, as keyboards, sequencers and electronic effects take the place of guitars on most tracks (particularly unusual for a band that boasts three guitarists). In fact, this is an album that succeeds without rock's bombast, from the looping keyboards of album opener "Everything In It's Right Place" to the bouncing, bass-led "The National Anthem" to the album's hauntingly atmospheric highlight, "Idioteque". Meanwhile, more traditional Radiohead tracks like "How To Disappear Completely" and "Optimistic" offer a natural bridge between the electronic noodlings of Kid A and the (slightly) more mainstream-sounding OK Computer. Radiohead may well be the most innovative popular band since the Beatles; as such, Kid A represents the most successful evolution of a major British act since Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. —Robert Burrow

Beck Polydor, Group, ged24908 Jewel Case 14 Track 2002

Motel Connection

Depeche Mode Singles 1986-1998 is a worthwhile purchase for casual admirers and completists alike. The two-disc set contains revamped versions of the major singles from 1986 to 1998 and a version of "Little 15" that was first released only in France. The set's "grand finale" is the live recording of "Everything Counts", from the 101 album. Although the original studio version of the "Everything Counts" single appeared on 1984's People Are People, DM fudged the chronology to justify including this astounding live recording on the album. The live recording highlights the worshipful crowd applauding, cheering, and chant-singing "The grabbing hands / Grab all they can / Everything counts in large amounts" long after the song has ended.—Beth Bessmer

Subsonica

David Byrne

Joy Division

Alan Parsons Project

The Blues Brothers "The Blues Brothers" began as an affectionate joke-cum-tribute to R&B music, and taken in that spirit it retained its entertainment value, even after this live album topped the charts, sold two million copies, and produced hit singles in "Rubber Biscuit" and "Soul Man". The guardians of popular music have always been entirely too reverent and humourless, however, and it wasn't long before they were levelling charges of rip-off against the Brothers and complaining that John Belushi couldn't sing as well as Otis Redding. So what? No one seems to have noticed that Belushi was as obsessive about citing his sources as Frank Sinatra is about naming his arrangers — you'd have thought those critics would have appreciated the footnotes. The beneficiaries of Belushi's encomiums didn't mind the increased exposure or the renewed royalty checks ("I suggest you buy as many blues albums as you can", Belushi told the audience), and even today, what comes across in these performances is the sincerity of feeling — that and some tasty playing from a top-notch band. —William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

The Doors

The Cranberries

Manu Chao As one of the driving forces in the French-Spanish ethno-punk band Mano Negra, songwriter-guitarist Chao delivers a surprising solo endeavor. Centered around a simple editorial writing style and an acoustic guitar, this album chronicles his political and personal travels around the world, studying the foibles of life in Latin America and the Caribbean, through Africa and back to Europe. He quotes but never actually plays salsa, son, reggae, Latin pop, and African folk music, all to the service of his songs (written and sung in English, French, and Spanish). The backing is a deceptive hodgepodge of guest artists and collected sounds he has pasted together to service the simple songs he sings. There is a circuslike feel to the whole project, a childlike sense of wonder coupled with a cynical and sometimes sly glance at the "real world." This is a single piece of work, each song bleeding into the next without stopping, a train ride that slows at each station along the way but never stops. It has charm, wit, and depth—a rare and potent combination of virtues for a pop musician. —Louis Gibson

Various

Eros Ramazzotti titoloerosartistaeros ramazzotti etichettadddn. dischi1data17 ottobre 1997supportocd audiogenerepop e rock italianocanzone italiana ——-brani1.terra promessaascolta2.una storia importanteascolta3.adesso tuascolta4.ma che bello questo amoreascolta5.musica e'ascolta6.occhi di speranzaascolta7.piu' bella cosaascolta8.memorieascolta9.cose della vita / can't stop thinking of youascolta10.l'auroraascolta11.ancora un minuto di soleascolta12.quasi amoreascolta13.se bastasse una canzoneascolta14.un'altra teascolta15.favolaascolta16.quanto amore sei

Elton John ELTON JOHN Something About The Way You Look Tonight (Deleted 1997 UK 3-track CD single including Candle In The Wind 1997 and You Can Make History complete with picture sleeve PTCD1)

Jean Michel Jarre Jean Michel Jarre, son of film composer Maurice Jarre, is one of the true pioneers of electronic music. Oxygene is one of the original e-music albums. It has withstood the test of time and the evolution of digital electronica. Jarre's compositional style and his rhythmic instincts were his strong points in 1976. While his popularity has escalated exponentially over the years, he never quite achieved the quality of this amazing recording. The innocence and freshness provide most of its charm. Jarre's techniques and ability provide the rest. This epic CD will appeal to fans of Tonto's Expanding HeadBand, Tangerine Dream, Synergy, Kraftwerk, and Klaus Schulze. —Jim Brenholts, All Music Guide

Subsonica

Air & Alessandro Baricco

Queens of the Stone Age On Songs for the Deaf, core Queens of the Stone Age members Nick Oliveri and Josh Homme, with the help of like-minded consorts Dave Grohl and Mark Lanegan, balance pure guitar-induced carnage with more complex, though no less aggressive, speed rock that whips by so fast it creates its own breeze. The disc explodes with "You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire", a toxic squall of power chords and now-classic Oliveri death howls. It's here the album's recurring concept/conceit is introduced, as a generic-sounding announcer from LA's "Clone" radio spits out some psychobabble reinforcing the tired if true cliché that commercial radio stinks. Similar mock broadcasts surface elsewhere, but they're easily forgivable, given the bounty on offer.

Homme-powered tracks dominate—the lurching, weirdly springy single "No One Knows" is a kind of "Monster Mash" for grown-ups; the vocal harmony-driven "The Sky Is Falling" is almost dreamy until a small army of guitars surge to the front lines to begin firing. And a lyrically winking hidden track, "Mosquito Song", is either an in-joke of ridiculous proportions or a declarative statement about the level of musicianship lurking just beneath the quaking veneer of the Queens' sound. Either way, genuine excitement comes early and often on Songs for the Deaf. It's a remarkable achievement—a hard rock record so good that it immediately evokes a conspiratorial fervour that makes you want to tell everyone you can about it. Er, job done. —Kim Hughes

Radiohead RADIOHEAD Pablo Honey (Deleted original 1993 US issue 13-track CD album including Stop Whispering Anyone Can Play Guiter plus 2 versions of Creep complete with picture sleeve. This copy has a deletion cut on the spine but is still factory sealed with original pink & white hype sticker on the front CDP7814092)

Brian Eno

Brian Eno

The Band

St. Germain

Franco Battiato

Jamiroquai Jamiroquai have soundly established themselves as a name synonymous with the summer breeze sound they've claimed as their own. Space Cowboy is no exception, as the salsa jazz-fusion buzzes wistfully and harmoniously through every track on the album. Following the path laid out in Emergency On Planet Earth, this second album catapulted the band into stardom and left front man Jay Kay dancing to songs of admiration as the first self-appointed Space Cowboy. The title track epitomises the essence of big band dance music with a funky fresh vibe of feel good energy and toe-tapping excitement. Although the album lacks any big surprises, the definitive Jamiroquai sound captures mind, body and soul, making it difficult for any music lover to ignore. —David Trueman

Various Artists

The Beach Boys titolosurfin' safari - surfin' usaartistabeach boys etichettaemin. dischi1data10 settembre 2001supportocd audiogenerepop e rock internazionale——brani1.surfin' safariascolta2.county fairascolta3.ten little indiansascolta4.chug-a-lugascolta5.little miss a

Various

Eminem titolo-the eminem showartista-eminem etichetta-interscopen. dischi1data23 maggio 2002supportocd audiogenerehip hop e rap-brani——1.curtains upascolta2.white americaascolta3.businessascolta4.cleanin' out my closetascolta5.square danceascolta6.the kissasco

Various Artists Champs Elysees Cafe comes from the same French label responsible for the critically acclaimed Hotel Costes compilations and have again captured the essence of the Parisian electronic music scene with this edgy snapshot of a city enjoying a minor musical renaissance. After Daft Punk, Cassius and Stardust headlined the first wave of gallic dance music in the late 90s they left the door open for a new breed of producers to champion the French sound—the majority of which, including Shazz with the bumpy grooves of "Fallin In Love", Ark with their homage to the Chicago sound on "Sucubz" and Fab Sioul with the twisted pop of "Silence"—are featured here. The overall feel of the compilation steers away from the downtempo loungy sound that is common to the Hotel Costes offerings in favour of a more bumpy, darker path. The soulful feel is still there however, especially on the Ernest St Laurent remix of Llorca's "I Cry" and the sultry vocal track "The Promise" by Cassiopee, but it's the funky electro sounds of Doctor L with "Lost in Da Machine" and the Godfather of French dance music Laurent Garnier with the breakbeat sound of "Sore Fingers" that bring this forward-thinking collection to life.—Miles Atkinson

Various

Chemical Brothers Freestyle, Dust, 116822 Jewel Case 10 Track 2002

Timoria

Jose Padilla

Various Artists An oasis of calm amid the turbo-fuelled clubbing tornado that is Ibiza , Café Del Mar is the White Isle's original home of red-eye chill-out vibes and weepy sunset soundtracks. The series of compilations bearing the bar's name, meanwhile, have long patented that authentic sound of Balearic bliss (even claiming Madonna as a huge fan) and this seventh volume maintains the high standards. Founding DJ Jose Padilla may have long moved on, but his successor, DJ Bruno, is clearly well aware of the old adage about fixing what ain't broke. There's the usual mix of names well-known (Moby, Bedrock, Nightmares On Wax) and head-scratchingly obscure (Uko, Lux, Aromabar), but the sound of beautiful music for loved-up and lazy beach-bums stays the same. Frankly, this sounds as good at home as it does on the early morning terraces of San Antonio.—Calvin Bush

Various Artists

Moby

Subsonica

Moby Admittedly, 18 isn't a million style miles away from its predecessor, but this can only be a good thing. If it ain't broke (and let's face it, Play was a pretty hole-free record all told), then don't fix it. Hence the dominance here of Moby's heartbreaking way with strings, pianos and those sampled gospel vocals he's so cleverly made his own.

"In My Heart" is familiar territory: a mournful blues voice sat astride the epic swell of military drums and tear jerking symphonia, while further tales of love gone bad surface on the bass-driven "One of These Mornings" and the subtle house simmer of "Another Woman". Is there anyone else out there that can do grief you can dance to? Thankfully "We Are All Made of Stars" does shed a little optimism, and there are some cool collaborations here too. Sinead O'Connor lends fragile breath to "Harbour" while MC Lyte and Angie Stone bring sassiness to the funky hip-hop anthem, "Jam for the Ladies". Welcome back, little man. —Claude Walls

Eminem Interscope, 490629-2, Jewel Case 18 Track 2000

Basement Jaxx BASEMENT JAXX Kish Kash (2003 UK 14-track CD album featuring collaborations with Siouxsie Sioux Dizzee Rascal and JC Chasez picture sleeve XLCD174)

BEASTIE BOYS BEASTIE BOYS To The 5 Boroughs (2004 Taiwanese edition 15-track CD album produced by Mike D Adrock and MCA & produced by Supa Engineer Duro including the block-party rocker Ch-Check It Out picture sleeve + unique wrap-around obi-strip)

Various Artists

Moby

Metallica For many heavy metal fans, Metallica epitomizes the genre, especially for those listeners who remember the band's fast-and-furious 1983 debut, Kill 'Em All. As a result, their continued foray into a more stripped-down, laid-back sound with this album has met a mixed response. However, there's enough innovation and just plain strange stuff on this album to make it worth a listen. The creepy "The Memory Remains" is perfectly accentuated by Marianne Faithfull's backing vocals, and "Where the Wild Things Are" features the multi-layered vocals and guitars that Metallica is famous for, albeit at about half their usual speed. The opening ("Fuel") and closing ("Fixxxer") tracks are especially strong, and intermixed with some slower, country-inflected tunes are the obnoxious rockers that made Metallica the long-running success they are. —Genevieve Williams

Kill Bill Vol. 2 Original Soundtrack n. dischi1data9 aprile 2004supportocd audiogenerepop e rock internazionalecolonne sonore——brani1.a few words from the bride - uma thurmanascolta2.goodnight moon - shivareeascolta3.il tramonto - ennio morriconeascolta4.can't hardly stand it - charlie feathersascolta5.tu mira (edit) - lole y manuelascolta6.summertime killer - luis bacalovascolta7.the chase - alan reeves, phil steele and philipp brighamascolta8.the legend of pai mei - david carradine & uma thurmanascolta9.l'arena - ennio morriconeascolta10.a satisfied mind - johnny cashascolta11.a silhouette of doom - ennio morriconeascolta12.about her - malcolm mclarenascolta13.truly and utterly bill - david carradine & uma thurmanascolta14.malaguena salerosa - chingonascolta15.urami bushi

Elbow

Robert Wyatt Cuckooland, Robert Wyatt's first full-length of new material since 1997's Shleep, is no less mischievous, witty, and poignant. As has become his custom, Wyatt offers a set of 16 new songs seemingly composed for a wide array of musicians including Annie Whitehead, Eno, David Gilmour, Tomo Hayakawa, Karen Mantler, Phil Manzanera, Paul Weller, and others he enlisted to record it. The album is divided into two halves. The first eight selections being 'neither here...' while the last eight are 'nor there...'. What divides the halves are in Wyatt's mind and aesthetics alone, as the disc feels like a seamless, unified whole. From the opener, "Just A Bit," a dastardly yet delightful bit of cynicism directed at organized religion and new age phoniness, the listener hears Wyatt in good humor with razor-sharp political sensibilities, and in fantastic musical form. The songs on Cuckooland are, in many ways, the most accessible he's written since Nothing Can Stop Us. Here, on cuts like "Old European", one of five collaborations with poet Alfreda Benge, Wyatt's wife, French salon music, smoky jazz from the cool jazz era, bossa rhythms, and Anglo melodies entwine in a bewitching nocturnal pop song. Others, such as "Beware", one of a pair of writing collaborations with Karen Mantler—who contributed two more fine songs written for Wyatt'set—feature the strident harmonics of post-millennial jazz as it intersects in dialogue with pop forms from the ancient to the future. Wyatt's reading of Ms. Benge's "Lullaloop" is a gorgeous, wooly bit of swinging New Orleans jazz, shot through with Weller's bluesy, distorted, electric guitar solo and big, wondrous trombones by Whitehead.

These are tomes full of melodic and harmonic creativity, offered as deathly serious as words of elegance and grace, and become elegies sending the listener off with more to think about than a pop album would normally dictate. Most importantly, Wyatt has demonstrated once again that it makes no difference what else is going on in the pop world, he still creates a fiercely independent and wide open notion of song and composition that is always abundantly "musical", topically relevant, as well as entertaining, provocative, and completely, utterly engaging from top to bottom. —Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention

Gorillaz The Gorillaz claim to have found their motley crew of cartoon characters sleeping in Leicester Square, but Blur's Damon Albarn (a.k.a. 2-D) and cult cartoonist Jamie Hewlett (Murdoc) are not fooling anyone. As the ultimate experiment in manufactured image, the Gorillaz are a virtual, cartoon-character-based hip-hop band which bring together some of the wittiest, silliest lyrics and the most seriously talented musicians. Infectious old school hip-hop rhythms, rhymes and effects courtesy of Deltron 3030's Kid Koala and Del Tha Funkee Homosapien (Russel) are combined with Albarn's passion for chugging lo-fi and edgy melodies to create a seemingly raw but ultimately slick blend of styles which is all their own. This is nowhere more evident than on hit single "Clint Eastwood", which is carried along by the sound of 2-D's slurred voice and a bluesy harmonica melody interrupted by Russel's punching rhymes. But the surprises do not stop there: Ibrahim Ferrer's appearance on "Latin Simone" could have come straight from Buena Vista Social Club but for the obvious Blur-influenced piano style, while the spooky intro to "M1 A1" wouldn't sound out of place on Michael Jackson's Thriller. Backed up by Jamie Hewlett's death wish character on bass, Cibo Matto's Miho Hatori (Noodle) on guitar and occasional hyperactive vocals, and produced by Dan "The Automator" Nakamura, it's hardly surprising that Gorillaz is marked both by a sense of playfulness and a passion for experimentation. —Caroline Butler

Moby

Dire Straits

Dire Straits titolo-dire straitsartista-dire straits etichetta-vertigon. dischi1data9 giugno 1983supportocd audiogenerepop e rock internazionale-brani——1.down to the waterlineascolta2.water of loveascolta3.setting me upascolta4.six blade knifeascolta5.southbound aga

Eagles CD > POPULAR MUSIC > ROCK

Air AIR 10000 Hz Legend (2001 European 11-track CD album from French chill out duo featuring the single Radio #1 and following on from their Moon Safari debut & The Virgin Suicides soundtrack albums picture sleeve CDV2945)

Caparezza

The Who This 1975 collection excels in large part due to its modest goal. It's the Who's singer-songwriter record. Without the ostensible shield his "rock operas" provided, Pete Townshend's personal demons strut about nakedly. Not a pretty sight, but an involving spectacle nevertheless. "They Are All in Love" and "How Many Friends" are forgotten Who songs, but they've aged beautifully. John Entwistle's "Success Story" sequences nicely with the rest of the album. And "However Much I Booze", "Dreaming from the Waist", and "In a Hand or a Face" are great decade-early exercises in mid-life self-pity. There are only three bonus tracks here—live versions of "Squeeze Box", "Dreaming from the Waist", and the earlier "Behind Blue Eyes"—but By Numbers is such a cohesive collection that they're less welcome extras than annoying distractions. Still, By Numbers now stands as one of the linchpins in a great band's catalogue. —Steven Stolder

The Chemical Brothers INC NOEL GALLAGHER - SETTING SUN

The Chemical Brothers

Audioslave AUDIOSLAVE Audioslave (2002 UK 14-track CD album) Take one of THE voices of rock/grunge (Chris Cornell of Soungarden) add the talented mind and fingers of Rage Against The Machines Tom Morello and you have a startling new sounding metal/rockalbum for the 2000s. Includes the single - Cochise.

James Taylor Quartet

Apollo 440 Apollo 440's fourth studio album, Dude Descending a Staircase, is their most retro album yet. Taking its name from a neo-psycadelic painting by Ausgang, its acid funk influences couldn't be more apparent if they had a photo of George Clinton on the cover.

The title track and lead single is a collaboration with the Beatnuts on vocal duties over a melee of piano loops, squelchy 303s and a guitar that sounds like Carlos Santana's. It sounds like it should be a mess but is held together by the band's incredibly slick production skills, which have improved greatly over the years. "Hustler Groove" featuring Lightnin' Rod is a homage to the pioneering Hustler's Convention by Rod featuring Kool & the Gang, but aside from the classic vocal, it sounds remarkably similar to the aforementioned title track and indeed most other songs on the album.

Dude Descending a Staircase has all the key elements that have pleased fans since the mid-1990s. However, rather than develop their big beat style into something exciting and different, like the Lo fidelity Allstars they have produced a sanitised variation of their former self that is at best an exercise in nostalgia, at worst a support for that wonky leg on the coffee table. —David Trueman

Cristina Dona

Charlie Haden, Pat Metheny This subtle, sublime collaboration finds bassist Charlie Haden and guitarist Pat Metheny crafting bejewelled chamber duets that transcend genre. With their shared Missouri lineage as a thematic touchstone, Haden and Metheny forge a lyrical, mostly acoustic style at once intimate and expansive. Both pare their playing to a Zen-like economy, focusing on a purity of tone, clarity of harmony, and counterpoint to achieve a tender lyricism.

Metheny's acoustic steel-string and classical guitars predominate, but he also applies discreet overdubs (including some delicate synthesizer and keyboard textures) to sculpt orchestral detail. Haden, as always, is both a generous foil and a deft melodist on his own, moving easily into his instrument's upper register as he twines through Metheny's lines. The set's emotional coherence is particularly satisfying in light of the material, which spans Ennio Morricone ("Cinema Paradiso"), Henry Mancini ("Two for the Road"), Jim Webb ("The Moon is a Harsh Mistress"), and Roy Acuff ("The Precious Jewel") as well as affecting originals by both leaders. And giving the project a sense of closure, while commenting obliquely on the generational dialogue it represents, is the luminous "Spiritual" (composed by Haden's son, Josh), an instrumental prayer that exemplifies the balance of concision and deep emotion at the heart of this exquisite triumph. —Sam Sutherland

Ralph Myers and the Jack Herren Band Norway's Ralph Myerz follows up his last buzz-heavy EP with the full-length A Special Album—a weightless yet pleasing mix of good-natured cheese and sunny down tempo. With a light trip-hop touch, Myerz draws from artists such as Bent and Gus Gus, while incorporating elements of dub and astral jazz. Some songs have a Martin Denny-esque exotica quality about them, such as "Casino" but the record plays it straight most of the time, infusing mellow electronics with dreamy reverb and throbbing bass tones. Myerz' experiments do occasionally go awry, for example, the retro-funk of "Funky Bizness" goes nowhere. Nevertheless, A Special Album promises great things in the future with its airy, off-kilter sensibilities. —Matthew Cooke

Bob Marley & The Wailers

Devendra Banhart More a companion piece than a fresh LP in its own right, Nino Rojo compiles the studio out-takes from Devendra Banhart's 'proper' 2004 album, Rejoicing in the Hands. But far from revealing this San Franciscan faerie-folk finger-picker as a talent stretching himself too thin, it offers some very real evidence that Banhart's muse is at the very least, eerily deep, and at the most, potentially bottomless. And really, why not? That high, quavering voice would sound good reciting a shopping list, and his guitar-playing – deft in complexity, fingers audibly scraping from fret to fret – seems to be limitless in its capacity to discover strange, creepy-pretty melodies. As before, Banhart doesn't always present his songs totally neat: "Ay Mama" gains a gentle power from quiet yawns of background brass, while "We All Know" and "Be Kind" are as close as he gets to full-band tracks, bolstered by slapped tambourines and reedy harmonica. The finest song here, though, is "Little Yellow Spider", a quaint nursery-rhyme with a barb in its tail: "Hey there little sexy pig, you made it with a man/ And now you've got a little kid with hooves instead of hands". Magic, as is the Banhart way. —Louis Pattison

Radiohead Cd > Popular Music > RockCD > POPULAR MUSIC > ROCK

Morgan

Delgados Long-heralded by those in the know, (and not just for running influential record label Chemikal Underground), The Delgados' new album Universal Audio is as good as pop gets. Following the success of the band's peers Snow Patrol, it may be that this album could be the band's breakthrough, and if there is justice, this album will propel the band towards a larger audience. The divine voice of Emma Pollock- half brittle as glass, half sweet as honey- is the key factor that catches the ear, but the songs on offer are strong enough to hold attention. Opening with the excellent "I Fought The Angels", which starts off as a sparse, jerky verse building into a lushly orchestrated anthem that more than matches the commercial power of anything similarly feted right now, and the quality continues, covering much ground from the traditional Delgados sound to something slightly more windswept and eerie. As always, the use of Alun Woodward's expressive second voice is a good counterpoint, and is put to excellent use in the bouncy "Girls of Valour". Whilst not as lush as their last album Hate, the sound is still powerful enough to satisfy the fans and convert any curious parties. —Thom Allott

Gorillaz

Various Artists

Luca Carboni

Original Soundtrack CD - germany 1996 ATLANTIC (7567-8296123)

Spagna

Royksopp

The White Stripes

Various Artists

Autechre If proof is needed that one man's tuneless bleeping is another man's electronic masterpiece, exhibit A would surely be Autechre. From the title on down (Untilted—geddit?), this is an album that will have conservative rock fans pulling off their ears, howling at the lack of 'real tunes' contained herein, whereas those with ears more accustomed to off-kilter beats, strange noise and a penchant for finding melody and beauty buried in the near-random soundscapes, will have a field day. The tracks ('songs' doesn't quite seem like a justifiable description) contained on here echo some of Autechre's finest work, both as artists and as remixers. Opener "LCC" melts from its initial metallic percussion loop into a softer, textured ambient mood piece, and the running time is enough to allow the song to complete a gradual shift, without sounding laboured (indeed, most of the tracks on here stretch to nearly 10 minutes, with closing masterpiece "Sublimit" – reminiscent of Tortoise's "Djed" in its multipart Teutonic structure—clocking in at 15).

As the album flies by, so do the various sounds, ping-ponging between channels like super-fast flies and adding to the ambience sculpted within. Danceable it ain't, but as a think-piece, it's very effective. —Thom Allott

Daft Punk DAFT PUNK Human After All (2005 UK 10-track CD album recorded in just 6 weeks in their home studio in Paris and includes the single Robot Rock) Daft Punk return with their first new studio album in four years. As ever the music is diverse andfresh whilst retaining their trademark Daft Punk sound this time with a more spontaneous and direct quality to the recording.

Jimi Hendrix

Sixties

Jefferson Airplane

Sonic Youth

Various Artists

Enzo Jannacci

Dimas De Moraes, Jobin

Fugees (Tranzlator Crew)

Eldissa

Beastie Boys, Nas, Santigold

Gorillaz

Radiohead

The Chemical Brothers CHEMICAL BROTHERS Push The Button (Rare 2005 Thai issue limited edition 11-track CD album including the singles Galvanise and Believe featuring collaborations with Tim Burgess Q-Tip and Kele Okereke of Bloc Party complete with unique album artwork button badge!)

Weather Report

Jean Michel Jarre Oxygene 7-13 continues where Jean-Michel Jarre left off 20 years before, that is, the last track ("Part 6") of 1977's Oxygene. Much had changed in the interim, for both Jarre and synthesizer technology. The result is a set of up-tempo, highly melodic electronic trance reminiscent of Steve Hillage's work of the time, as well as German trance producers like Sven Väth. Though it will sound best to those already familiar with his music, Jarre's influence was considerable, and he continued to prove it in the late 90s. —John Bush, All Music Guide

Mouse On Mars

Moloko, Mark Brydon Statues may surprise Moloko fans pulled in by 2000's Things to Make and Do as this is no cheesy attempt to cash in on the Ibizian success of "Sing It Back" and "The Time is Now". With a voice like a latter day Kate Bush, anything sung by vocalist Roisin Murphy is going to come out sounding like the post-Apocalyptic gospel, and producer Mark Brydon's artistically complex arrangements are like hearing a new beautiful language.

The album begins in a dancefloor-friendly vein with the appropriately titled "Familiar Feeling", but "I Want You", the orchestral "Over and Over" and the somber title track are steeped in a newly grown-up melancholy. However, the mischievousness and electro-soul found in the likes of "100%" and "Cannot Contain This" are always there to bring things back to the party again. —Ruby Tuesday

Dream Theater There's always been an element of slightly camp theatricality about progressive rock—witness Peter Gabriel dressing up as a giant hogweed—so the idea of a progressive musical isn't too much of a stretch. Dream Theater's Metropolis Pt 2: Scenes from a Memory takes the progressive rock staple of a concept album in a stagy new direction. You know they're up to something when the booklet divides the album into "Act One" and "Act Two", the lyrics are told from the point of view of a cast of characters, and the band credit themselves as "The Orchestra". In the hands of almost anyone else this would seem risibly pretentious, but Dream Theater somehow manage to carry it off (just) by virtue of their uniquely heavy metal slant on the old progressive format. Their blistering, even-louder-than-Metallica riffing takes the dainty edge off the proceedings (most of the time) as the story of dying and "learning to live" unfolds.

Both their fans and the band seem to agree that 1992's Images and Words is their finest work to date, so it's only fitting that the plot here is an extension of the track "Metropolis, Part 1" from that album. The extraordinary virtuoso musicianship of the band is, of course, abundantly on display again (amateurs can only shake their heads in despair when players this good let rip), and James LaBrie sings all the "roles" with real gusto. With a new keyboard player to fill the talent gap left by the departure of Kevin Moore, and studio production that rightly gives all the individual instruments their due, Dream Theater seem finally to have found their musical feet again. —Mark Walker

Dave Gahan

Bent Nottingham's Bent are like the funny uncle of the chill-out world—scruffy, eccentric, often embarrassing, but lovable all the same. The Everlasting Blink, the duo's second album, is like a similarly oddball relative; interestingly strange, but not the kind of thing you'd want to live with for any length of time. It's every bit as beautiful as the likes of Lemon Jelly and Zero 7, but with a roughness and fuzziness that makes it impossible to dislike.

In Bent's world, smooth grooves and multicoloured soundscapes are replaced by dodgy samples from cheesy charity-shop records, crisp beats and cheap ambient synth sounds. Their debut album, 2001's Programmed to Love, took this spiky cut-and-paste approach to extremes, with intensely laidback cuts next to odd electronic work-outs. On the other hand, The Everlasting Blink is a much smoother proposition—just as silly and cheesy, but with altogether better production and less freaky weird-outs. It's full of glimmering trinkets of sonic loveliness; gems such as the poppy "Beautiful Otherness" (featuring the Beloved's Jon Marsh on vocals); lead single "Magic Love"; semi-acoustic country sing-a-longs and quirky electronic interludes. For those who've already fallen in love with Bent, this is nothing new; for those yet to convert, it should be a revelation. —Matt Anniss

Various Artists

Moloko Do You Like My Tight Sweater was released in a year when female vocalist led down-tempo acts were hitting saturation point. There seemed to be literally hundreds of enthusiastic epigones attempting to emulate the work of "trip-hop" artists like Tricky, Massive Attack, Portishead and Smith and Mighty. Most of these acts took the same introspective, zeitgeist-capturing route of these seminal Bristol bands—but not producer Mark Brydon (House Arrest, Cloud 9) and singer Roisin Murphy, aka Moloko (a name taken from the Anthony Burgess novel A Clockwork Orange).

Their debut album, cheekily titled Do You Like My Tight Sweater, arrived on the dance scene without fanfare at around this time and presented a radically different take on the down-tempo sound. Boisterous, surreal and humorous, the LP resists the temptation to conjure up yet more disenchanted inner city isolation, seeking instead to paint a brighter—or at least quirkier—picture of modern living. Murphy's elfish, stream-of-consciousness lyrics are delivered here with an infectious slink appeal and are the perfect match for Brydon's slightly bonkers mix of hip-hop beats and funk mixed with groans, creaks, springs and slams.

Featuring the cult hits "Fun For Me" and "Night For Day", Do You... also showcases a bunch more bewitching records, from the Os Mutantes sounding "Lotus Eaters", the sultry "Dominoid", the drum & bass kick of "Butterfly 747" and the silly funk of "Killa Bunnies". It's a rare and genuinely entertaining album. —Paul Sullivan

Timoria

Ennio Morricone

VARIOUS

Goldfrapp

Buena Vista Social Club, Ry Cooder Ry Cooder's name has helped bring attention to this session, but it's the veteran Cuban son musicians who make this album really special. Reminiscent of Ellington in its scope and sense of hushed romanticism, Buena Vista Social Club is that rare meld of quietude and intensity; while the players sound laid-back, they're putting forth very alive music, a reminder that aging doesn't mean taking to bed. Barbarito Torres's laoud solo on "El Cuarto de Tula" is both more blinding and more tasteful than any guitar showcase on any recent rock album; a quote from "Stormy Weather" and some very distinct parallels to Hawaiian styles remind us of why it's called "world music." —Rickey Wright

Autechre If you thought Autechre were forever lost in the chattering electronic static and tempo-less industrial fog that characterised their oppressively difficult last album, Draft 7.30 should come as a very welcome return to formality. Stripping much of the machinery away, Autechre have left hallucinogenic keyboard washes, pumping sub-bass and intensely complex drum patterns, all of which mutate and interact according to some alien logic. Fans suggest that previous album Confield was best listened to quietly in the dead of night; well, Draft 7.30 is best listened to very loud, through massive speakers. It's the perfect way to appreciate the meaty low-end that palpitates through tracks like "Surripere", the child-like chimes that creep through the background on "Theme of Sudden Roundabout" or the gut-pounding rhythm of "Xylin Room" that suddenly halts for a split-second leaving one sprawling forward on the track's sheer momentum. Hardcore fans might dismiss this as a step back from the brink, a mere retread of ground that's being stamped flat by Autechre's army of copyists. But ultimately, Draft 7.30 is a blast to listen to—a genuine rarity in leftfield electronica nowadays. —Louis Pattison

Wu-Tang Clan

Massive Attack Cd > Popular Music > Movie SoundtrackCD > POPULAR MUSIC > MOVIE SOUNDTRACK

1. The Answer,2. Carry on,3. An Ordinary Man,4. Take me home,5. Let me be,6. Chocolate for the Prize,7. Out of mind,8. Horse,9. What if ...,10. Remember,CD1, 2004, Sony Music / Mescal, —-fz—,

Various

Various

It S All About the Blues

Statuo

Paolo Rossi

Lucio Battisti

Depeche Mode

Rage Against The Machine, Zack de la Rocha

Rage Against The Machine titolo-evil empireartista-rage against the machine etichettaepicn. dischi1data11 aprile 1996supportocd audiogenerehard rock e metal——brani1.people of the sun2.bulls on parade3.vietnow4.revolver5.snake charmer6.tire me7.down rodeo8.without a face9.wind b

Moby This 2-disc Limited Edition version includes a bonus 'ambient music' CD. Once a roving maverick who skipped from euphoric rave to speed-metal to ambient soundscaping as if just to prove he could, recent years have seen Richard Melville Hall relax into a comfortable – and yes, lucrative – niche. On the surface, Hotel follows a similarly laid-back trajectory to his last two albums, Play and 18: a collection of melancholic torch-songs indebted to electro-pop, gospel, and David Bowie's "Heroes", it's typified by the rousing, keyboard-drenched likes of "Beautiful" and the twinkling, optimistic "Spiders". But that's not to say Moby is stagnating, exactly: for one, he's bravely jettisoned the vocal samples that powered the likes of "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?", relying instead on his own understated, faintly awestruck vocals – and, indeed, those of guest vocalist Laura Brown, whose sparse, synth-and-drum-machine cover of New Order's "Temptation" is a low-key highlight. But there's also a return to his raving roots on the pulsing, diva-led "Very", and a touch of politics on "Lift Me Up" – a song that hides its contempt for the Bush Administration amid a dark carnival of sweeping strings and disco-noir rhythms. —Louis Pattison

Modena City Ramblers

Modena City Ramblers

Marcella Bella

Hi-Nrg Frankie

Various

Lucio Battisti

The Police

Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel

Frankie Hi Nrg Mc titolo-deprimomaggioartista-frankie hi-nrg mc etichetta-ricordin. dischi1data-29 febbraio 2008supporto-cd audiogenere-hip hop e rap——brani1.pugni in tasca 2.direttore 3.rivoluzione 4.chicco e spillo 5.precariato 6.anoniman 7.il giocattolo 8.mattatoy (skit) 9.squarto uomo 10.call center (skit)

Marvin Gaye

Litfiba

Zucchero titolo-oro incenso e birraartista-zucchero etichetta-polydorn. dischi1data12 giugno 1989supportocd audiogenerepop e rock italiano-brani——1.overdose (d'amore)ascolta2.nice (nietzsche) che diceascolta3.il mare impetuoso al tramonto sali' sulla luna e diet

Various

Metallica As many of their early fans would agree, Danish-Californian quartet Metallica seemed to lose it around the mid 90s. Dropping the hard-nosed, blue-collar appeal they had cultivated with their initial slew of albums, the band began to pander to a more commercial audience with diluted outings such as Load, Re-Load, Garage Inc.—not to mention 2003’s risible St Anger. Death Magnetic, Metallica’s first album in five years, is hence much anticipated. Will it be a long-awaited return to form, or a failed attempt to rekindle their inaugural power? In truth, it’s a bit of both. Helmed by veteran producer Rick Rubin, Death Magnetic reinstates many of Metallica’s early motifs—searing riffs, shredding solos, pounding drums—and even updates them with a huge, 21st century sound. The album has a decent selection of heavyweight thrills and spills, from the haunting, evocative opener "That Was Your Life", the live jam groove of "The End of the Line" and the flesh-ripping "Broken, Beat & Scarred". While Death Magnetic doesn’t come anywhere near the smouldering genius of Master of Puppets or other formative Metallica records, the band haven’t sounded this vital for many years. Reason enough for fans to rejoice. —Danny McKenna

Motorhead

Genesis In The Beginning (2 CD-Box Set) by Genesis - 23 Tracks: - CD 1: 1. Where The Sour Turns To Sweet 3:16, 2. In The Beginning 3:47, 3. Fireside Song 4:20, 4. The Serpent 4:40, 5. Am I Very Wrong 3:34, 6. In The Wilderness 3:29, 7. The Conqueror 3:42, 8. In Hiding 2:40, 9. One Day 3:22, 10. Window 3:36, 11. In Limbo 3:32, 12. The Silent Sun (Single Version) 2:11, - CD 2: 13. A Place To Call My Own 1:59, 14. A Winter's Tale 3:29, 15. One Eyed Hound 2:32, 16. That's Me 2:39, 17. Image Blown Out 2:12, 18. She Is Beautiful 3:47, 19. Try A Little Sadness (Demo Version) 3:20, 20. Patricia (Demo Version Of 'In Hiding') 3:06, 21. Where The Sour Turns To Sweet 2006 3:18, 22. The Silent Sun 2006 2:14, 23. In The Wilderness (Rough Mix) 2:56 - Original Artists - Teilweise Neuaufnahmen im verbesserten Sound - Einige Songs dieser CD wurden neu eingespielt (re-recordings) von einem oder mehreren Mitgliedern der original Gruppe bzw. dem original Artist. Es kann sich auch um Live-Aufnahmen handeln. - Format: 2x CD, Compilation, Box, Schuber (Slipcase) - Label: Black Box - Vertrieb/Company: Weton-Wegram, NL - Bestell-Nr./Catalog#: BB2221 - VÖ/Released: 04/06/2007 - Land/Country: UK - Interpret/Artist: Genesis - Titel/Title: In the Beginning - Genre: Rock & Pop - EAN/UPC: 8717423044284

Nirvana One of the defining moments of the 1990s, despite happening at the start of the decade. The guitars start jittering, then "BOOMA-ABOOMA-ABOOMA-ABOOM!", the drums kick in and grunge splatters itself all over a generation of MTV viewers. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" will surely always speak to alienated teenagers, while giving them something to thrash around their rooms to, kicking the whole thing off as it means to go on. "Come As You Are" is dark and twisted, while "Lithium" and "In Bloom" show Kurt Cobain's often overlooked sense of humour, and "Stay Away" highlights the best way to shred your vocal chords. It's nigh-impossible not to love this album, and it will remain Nirvana's most affectionately remembered work. It's just a shame that a misplaced sense of "selling out" (stupid term if ever there was one) led to such an internal rejection of "...Teen Spirit". A work of genius, no question. —Emma Johnston

Bob Dylan Then a holding action while Dylan unloaded his head after his May 1966 motorcycle crash, now a nostalgia merit badge for boomers and a course in Dylan 101 for newcomers, Greatest Hits stands up remarkably well as a listening experience. Smartly programmed to ride all over any residual worries about acoustic-vs.-electric authenticity—in fact, blowing a raspberry in their face by opening with the Salvation-Army-band blast of "Rainy Day Women #12 and 35"—this best-of stacks smashes and protest anthems together in celebration of a pop star like no other before. —Rickey Wright

Pink Floyd Originally planned as a kind of soundtrack from The Wall, The Final Cut was to have featured versions of tracks recorded for the film and rejected material from the album sessions. Instead, it effectively turned into the first Roger Waters solo project and is sub-titled "A Requiem For The Post-War Dream, by Roger Waters, performed by Pink Floyd". In fact, David Gilmore and Nick Mason only made small contributions to the album, and it is reputed that Gilmore and Waters, for some time not the best of friends, never spent time simultaneously in the studio. Keyboardist Rick Wright had already been dismissed by Waters shortly after the recording of The Wall and much of the album was put together using session musicians and under Waters's sole direction. As a concept album, it is in fact much more coherent than The Wall, focusing its rage and bitterness upon the destruction of the post-war consensus on peace, the welfare state and international co-operation by short-sighted and self-serving world leaders. Additionally, it explores the havoc wrought upon individuals by war and how scarring experiences, if unacknowledged through pride and fear, can cut a person off from the rest of humanity. The Final Cut is an altogether underrated release. Although necessarily gloomy, it is extremely powerful, has good songs, biting lyrics and excellent production, with trademark sound effects used very effectively. On "Not Now John" in particular, it appears as if every one of the 64 recording tracks was being used for a different sound. However, like any album that deals with political events, certain references now sound somewhat dated. —James Swift

Zucchero

Africa Unite

Modena City Ramblers titolo-la grande famigliaartista-modena city ramblers etichetta-black outn. dischi1data20 febbraio 1996supportocd audiogenerepop e rock italianofolk e country-brani——1.clan banlieueascolta2.grande famigliaascolta3.canzone della fine del mondoascolta4.sa

Ry Cooder

Various Artists

Various Artists

Various Artists

Sonic Youth

DJ Shadow DJ Shadow, a.k.a. Josh Davis, could be credited with bringing newfound introspection to the gloating sounds of hip-hop. Condensed with urban oscillations and scatological beats, Endtroducing... shutters with eclectic samples and aural montages that reach beyond the constraints of hip-hop style. Enhancing the mix with fundamentals of rock, soul, funk, ambient, and jazz, the modern fusions fail to go unnoticed, even by the casual listener. While most of the tracks are compiled by layering samples from vinyl treasures found in used-record bins, the production quality of the mosaic is unmatched. Darkened melodies carry throughout the album with its eye on the end of the tunnel. The narration samples come from numerous sources and keep the listener involved and waiting for resolution. With a message as fragmentary as an overheard conversation, Endtroducing... conveys no apparent conclusion, but begs the mind, body, and soul for some rewind. —Lucas Hilbert

DJ Shadow

Aphex Twin APHEX TWIN Selected Ambient Works Volume II (1994 UK 23-track 2-CD album set from British electronics genius Richard James who claims he heard the compositions on Selected Ambient Works Volume II in lucid dreams fold-out mini poster picture sleeve WARPCD21)

Cowboy Junkies Tracks 1-5 recorded 3rd July 1989 for Saturday Sequence. Tracks 6-8 recorded 27th February 1992 for Nicky Horne and Tracks 9 - 12 recorded 27th February 1996 for Mark Radcliffe. Tracks include: Sun Comes Up It's Tuesday Morning, Thirty Summers, You Will Be Loved Again, Cause Cheap Is How I Feel, Powder Finger, Black Eyed Man, Last Spike, Townes Blues, Common Disaster, Just Wanna See, Lonely Sinking Feeling, Lay It Down

Libra

Original Soundtrack

Various

Fugees (Refugee Camp)

Unkle Like the end-of-season regenerations of Doctor Who, every new record from James Lavelle's UNKLE finds the musical project at the climax of some dramatic transmutation. Never, Never, Land is no exception. Soon after the release of 1999's Psyence Fiction, beats wizard DJ Shadow announced he'd never work as a member of UNKLE again—and accordingly, the first thing you notice about Never, Never, Land is the absence of his robust percussion. But once over that minor disappointment, it's not hard to wallow in this record's impressively dark scope.

With the aid of new collaborator Richard File, Lavelle has made a record that connects the dots between the creeping melancholy of Talk Talk, the scaly electronics of Massive Attack's Mezzanine and the grand sky-bound epics of the Verve. Like its predecessor, there's a proliferation of guest appearances: Jarvis Cocker, Josh Homme, Brian Eno, Ian Brown, Massive Attack's Robert del Naja. But the vocals are assimilated much more successfully here, ensuring that guest never overpowers song. Lavelle still has a fine eye for casting his songs in the grandest narratives: "Panic Attack" samples the robotic pulse of Joy Division's "She's Not Control" and overlays it with blurred electronic shimmers and driving bass. Mind you, it might be the understated numbers—"Glow", "Inside"—that provide some of the record's loveliest moments. —Louis Pattison

Neffa

Neffa

Royksopp ROYKSOPP The Understanding (2005 Taiwanese issue 12-track CD album from the Norwegian duo including the single Only This Moment picture sleeve plus unique wrap-around obi - sealed)

Various Artists

Timoria

Brian Eno

Ryuichi Sakamoto

ENO, BRIAN

Brian Eno

Brian Eno, David Byrne Released in 1981, My Life in the Bush of Ghosts is a collaboration between ambient pioneer Brian Eno and Talking Heads frontman David Byrne. On Ghosts, the two strong-willed musicians manage to come to a meeting of the minds, blending Byrne's herky-jerky funk with Eno's atmospheric sound sculpting. More than anything, this is a large album, intent on pushing itself to the front of the listener's consciousness. Abundant percussion (everything from booming tribal drums to eerie electronics) reverberates in the background while Byrne and Eno toss all manner of found sounds, field recordings, and radio broadcasts into the mix. What results is a groundbreaking album that introduced a generation to the dazzling possibilities offered by electronic recording techniques. Highlights include "The Jezebel Spirit", an electro-funk workout that uses a recording of an exorcism as its focal point, and "Very, Very Hungry", a mysteriously ethereal display of electronic percussion and large-scale sonic architecture. —S. Duda

Mike Oldfield

Radiohead RADIOHEAD I Might Be Wrong - Live Recordings (Out of print 2001 UK 8-track CD featuring The National Anthem Idioteque and Everything In Its Right Place plus the previously unreleased True Love Waits - recorded from various shows in Oxford Berlin Oslo and Vaison La Romaine. Issued in a slightly oversized gatefold card picture sleeve)

Robert Fripp & The League of G

Pink Floyd Echoes is a double-CD collection of some of Pink Floyd's best songs; it's also an interesting document of the band's history. They began life as Syd Barrett's mandrax-flavoured nursery-rhymers—gnomes, scarecrows, cats and bikes a speciality—before clasping the wings of Icarus and ascending towards the sun on an epic space-rock odyssey, eventually turning left once they reached the dark side of the moon and burning up on re-entry, crash-landing on every earthlings' home hi-fi with the imperious but seething embitterment of their (or more pertinently, Roger Waters') pomp rock; the sociological (Animals), totalitarianism (The Wall) and World War (The Final Cut). And it's all here—30 years of the Floyd's awesome back catalogue trimmed down to two handsome CDs. It is worth reiterating that, despite a fondness for pyrotechnics (and fittingly—and perhaps deliberately—the album was released on November 5th), Pink Floyd were never a prog-rock band. Sure, some of their songs were a bit long, and they never released singles (at least not for 11 years), but the same could be said for Led Zeppelin. Clinically devoid of the cod-classical overtures and vainglorious musicianship of that era, Pink Floyd were a pole apart; Meddle's epic maritime tone-poem "Echoes" remains The Floyds' apogee. But here, on this collection, "the albatross" which "hangs motionless upon the air" has had its wings clipped—seven full minutes are missing, but you'd never be able to tell. The sonar bleeps, the screeching seagulls, the howling winds are all retained and whoever wielded the editorial axe did so carefully, Eugene. Interestingly, the non-chronological track listing works—the summery, childhood enchantment of "See Emily Play" timetabled right next to the square-bashing school discipline of "Happiest Days Of Our Lives"—and at least this way no-one will switch off when material from "A Momentary Lapse in Reason" comes around. Despite the curious omission of "Atom Heart Mother", this really is the very best of the Floyd—from the throbbing "One Of These Days" (conceived as an attack on disc jockey Jimmy Young), to the pop operatic "Great Gig In The Sky" and the genius silvery fluidity of Dave Gilmour's guitar work. This is timeless, as many members of Sigur Ros, Radiohead, Blur, Beta Band etc will no doubt testify. —Kevin Maidment

Mark Knopfler Up until now, Mark Knopfler seems to have had three separate modes of operation: there's been the moody rock style of Dire Straits, the quieter introspection of his soundtracks and the more boisterous lads-down-the-pub humour of his solo outings. With The Ragpicker's Dream, his third solo album, he indulges in all three, often to great effect. Naturally, the humorous tracks (the "King of the Road"-like "Quality Shoe" and Auf Wiedersehen Pet theme "Why Aye Man") are throwaway items. But when Knopfler mixes his two dearest loves—American roots music and the "real" life of the working-man—he produces some of his most heartfelt material to date. The title track is a sweet Christmas narrative, a downbeat "Fairytale of New York". "Marbletown" and "Coyote" are both Southern-style travelling songs, the latter being like an up-tempo "Ode to Billie Joe". Best of all, though, is the mournful and slightly loungey "A Place Where We Used to Live", in which the protagonist looks back on the poignant moments of a hard life. It's a beautiful song, almost matched by the delicate, and sorely troubled "Hill Farmer's Blues", the only track to feature major bursts of that trademark Dire Straits ambient guitar. Knopfler fans will love this album, and there's plenty for roots aficionados, too. —Dominic Wills

Photek EXPERIMENTAL FUTURISTIC ALBUM

Mouse on Mars Purveyors of blubbery, squelchy Krautrock, in the past German post-techno outfit Mouse On Mars have suffered from an excess of wibble, and a surfeit of groove. It's good to see that on Niun Niggung, they're making a good go at redressing the balance. "Yippie" joyfully patters into life, a constantly remoulding, shifting surface of bubbly playdoh funk that knocks the likes of Mouse On Mars' closest competitors—ambient technoids Plone, or the doped-out burble of Two Lone Swordsmen circa Stay Down—into a cocked hat. It's a shame, though, that Niun Niggung suffers from the same faults that have plagued some of Mouse On Mars' previous albums—there's a lingering, fidgety texture to "Super Sonig Fadeout" and "Distroia" that sees the best ideas hastily discarded, and then linger on Mouse On Mars rooting aimlessly through the sonic dustbin. Shame, because on the whole, this is their best effort yet —Louis Pattison

Brian Eno

Massive Attack, Mad Professor MASSIVE ATTACK V MAD PROFESSOR No Protection (Deleted 1995 UK Circa Records 8-track CD album including Radiation Ruling The Nation & Bumper Ball Dub complete with picture sleeve WBRCD3)

Robert Fripp Brian Eno

Roni Size, Reprazent Full Cycle's core members of Roni Size, Suv, Krust and Die spent six years sniping innovative twelves from their studios in Bristol before the majors finally started reaching for their chequebooks—Giles Peterson eventually clenching the deal for his well respected Talkin' Loud. A couple of singles and a slew of remixes followed before this album was released to critical acclaim. Switching between the minimal to the full, oppressive to the inviting, "New Forms" nods its head to the jazz experimentation of the sixties. At the same time, it retains a cutting edge feel, proof that the sound of Full Cycle is, without any doubt, one of the most advanced operating within drum and bass. "Share the Fall," captures the spirit of the whole album with harsh bass stabbing at clicked breaks and tumbling rolls, the trashily EQ'd vocal slicing apart a strung out midsection and hazy atmospheres before the beats solo out to stalk individual members of the roaring crowd. As at home in a club as it is in a car stereo or living room, "New Forms" has proved to be a seminal album that, though uniquely drum and bass, aspires to something much larger.—Kingsley Marshall

Kosheen Resist is the first full length album from Kosheen, the Bristol massive who have been around for over two years with a string of dancefloor classics, including "Slip & Slide (Suicide)" and "Hide U". The singles are featured, along with other sublime electronic breakbeat tracks and drum 'n' bass torch songs, on their debut album. Darren Decoder and Markee Substance are the production merchants, while singer/songwriter Sian Evans has raided her mother's Carly Simon and Joni Mitchell collection to come up with songs that combine traditional tunes with state-of-the art beats. In a warm, grainy voice she sings about urban relationships—being cool, being wanted, being watched, being saved. Kosheen are the drum 'n' bass act most likely to achieve that elusive crossover status. Compulsive. —Lucy O'Brien

Radiohead RADIOHEAD My Iron Lung (Deleted 1994 Australian exclusive 8-track CD EP includes Permanent Daylight Creep [Acoustic] You Never Wash Up and Lozenge Of Love fold-out picture sleeve with band photo and liner notes inside!)

Alan Parsons

Brian Eno

Mike Oldfield

Harold Budd and Brian Eno HAROLD BUDD/ BRIAN ENO WITH DANIEL LANOIS The Pearl (1997 UK Editions EG label 11-track CD album picture sleeve. A majestic piece of work full of hushed ethereal tones and nostalgia in the truest sense of the word produced by Eno and Daniel Lanois. An ambient classic EEGCD37)

Brian Eno

Alex Gopher Alex Gopher's debut is full of late-night house music in the images of smoochy jazz, Prince-styled funk and the romantic airs of 1990s revisionist disco. The most immediate tracks are party pleasers with butt-oriented beats and strident vocals demanding that you get down and get with it. Elsewhere Gopher is more considered—even melancholy—sampling Billie Holliday on "The Child" or collaborating with AIR for the intimate alt. ballad "Ralph and Katy" (a swooning track with poetic vocoderisms and fragile airs). Much of the album shows Gopher's credentials as doyen of the French house movement—like Bob Sinclair or AIR (both of whom debuted on the Solid imprint co-founded by Gopher), he makes a version of house/electronica that is metropolitan and urbane. He also holds a warm nostalgia for the lost world of Studio 54 and remakes disco as a luxurious modern music—a winning approach. —Tony Marcus

Alex Gopher

Massive Attack

Wind & Fire Earth

Moby MOBY Rare: The Collected B-Sides (Deleted 1996 US 24-track 2-CD album set comprising of on disc one a collection of DJ only alternate mixes and other rarities while on disc two there is Go: The Collected Mixes a journey from trance throughdub electronic into rave and beyond)

Alice Cooper Wicked Young Man (2 CD-Box Set) by Alice Cooper - Two Albums: Brutal Planet (2000) and Dragontown (2001) - 23 Tracks : - CD 1: Brutal Planet (48:03) 1. Brutal Planet 2. Wicked Young Man 3. Sanctuary 4. Blow Me A Kiss 5. Eat Some More 6. Pick Up The Bones 7. Pessi-Mystic 8. Gimme 9. It's The Little Things 10. Take It Like A Woman 11. Cold Machines - CD 2: Dragontown (50:56) 12. Triggerman 13. Deeper 14. Dragontown 15. Sex, Death & Money 16. Fantasy Man 17. Somewhere In The Jungle 18. Disgraceland 19. Sister Sara 20. Every Woman Has A Name 21. I Just Wanna Be God 22. It's Too Much Too Late 23. The Sentinel - Format: 2x CD, Album, Box, Schuber (Slipcase) - Label: Black Box - Vertrieb/Company: Weton-Wesgram, NL - Bestell-Nr./Catalog#: BB2218 - VÖ/Released: 2007 - Land/Country: UK - Interpret/Artist: Alice Cooper - Titel/Title: Wicked Young Man - EAN/UPC: 8717423047803

Aphex Twin, Aphex Twin (Mixed By) APHEX TWIN 26 Mixes For Cash (2003 UK 26-track 2-CD album set - a bizarrely comprehensive selection of the twisted mixes that Mr. Richard D James has done for others. Housed in a tri-fold digipak picture sleeve WARPCD102)

Crosby Stills Nash and Young Crosby, Stills and Nash were already a "supergroup" before Neil Young, previously of Buffalo Springfield, joined them for this album. Indisputably one of the key albums of the immediate post-Woodstock era, Déjà vu does at times however sound a bit of a period piece. Ranging in emotion from the almost cutesy "Teach Your Children" and "Our House" to the moody, dark guitar sounds of "Almost Cut My Hair" and their version of Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock", it is nevertheless an important document of the time. Young, who would go on to release the excellent After The Gold Rush later in the same year, provides the best moments with "Helpless" and the "Country Girl" medley. —Tim Perry

Zucchero

Jimi Hendrix Experience Axis: Bold As Love, Hendrix's second album, doesn't resonate through rock history the way its gatecrashing predecessor, Are You Experienced? did. In places, it almost seems as if Hendrix is cruising, albeit sublimely. Yet it's nonetheless a vital album, containing some of rock's most molten milestones. There's the fluid psychedelia of "Castles in The Sand", the viciously funky "Little Miss Lover" and the so-beautiful-it-hurts "Little Wing." Hendrix really hits altitude with "If 6 Was 9", where he waves his "freak flag high" over a tidal wave of guitar and a cacophonous army of Moroccan flutes—and "Bold As Love", based around Hendrix's typically far-fetched hankering for the axis of the planet to be tilted, thereby transforming life on earth. It works up into a head-melting frenzy of distorted guitar, a precursor to the staggeringly expansive leap forward he would take with 1968's Electric Ladyland. Hendrix dreamed the impossible and achieved it on his guitar. —David Stubbs

Radiohead

Radiohead It’s very likely that even if you haven’t heard the contents of Radiohead’s seventh album, you’ll be aware of its existence. Released as a digital download by the band themselves before a CD release was even considered, In Rainbows was lauded for innovation before a note of music was heard. Luckily, the music matches the hype—it takes the best part of Radiohead's previous works and advances the formula even further. While the opener "15 Step"—all skittering drum patterns and dub-style bass—may hark back to the electronica of Kid A, the sound soon gives way to a more guitar-based sound. Whilst not as musically heavy as previous albums, the tunes are far more focused and passionate—"Bodysnatchers" is based around a hypnotic, distorted bass riff, while the beautiful string-drenched "Nude" is a true Radiohead classic. Lyrically, like Thom Yorke’s solo album The Eraser, the lyrics are sketches of suburban paranoia, and the eerie sense of things no! t being quite right. This is especially true on the piano-based closer "Videotape", which poignantly details a man watching his life’s achievements in his final moments. In short, In Rainbows is another masterpiece from the Oxford quintet. —Thomas Allott