Auburn Lull - Alone I Admire (1999)

When I die, I'd like something apocalyptic to be the last music I hear. Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica, Stravinsky, Beethoven's 9th, recollections of these musical miracles spring to mind when I think about me taking my last breath. To hear Don Van Vliet grate my eardrums, and Pachuco Cadaver and the whole circus of the Magic Band, would be a beautiful last experience. Well, normal people would probably be satisfied with the ethereal tunes of the criminally unknown Auburn Lull.

Auburn Lull qualifies as dream-pop, ambient-pop, something like that. It's beautiful, just listen.

stockard drive
192kbps

Dog Faced Hermans - Those Deep Buds (1994)

I am not entirely sure at the moment if I have once told you all how much I love the Dutch band called The Ex. Anyway, they are a highly influential band who have made everything ranging from hardcore punk to African tribal music over the span of 30 years. This band, Dog Faced Hermans, is a band from Edinburgh, Scotland, who moved to Amsterdam and are closely related to The Ex. Andy Moor, formerly an Ex-member, has been in the band from 1990 until the disbandment in 1995.

Their music is just us powerful, underrated and unusual as the music of The Ex. This is their last album, because they disbanded a year later. Great band, hear this!

human spark
192kbps

Lee Scratch Perry - Arkology (1997)

I'm about to do something quite special, although I hope that everything that I post is in some way special. It's special because it is a unique document about Lee Scratch Perry. Lee Perry used to have a recording studio called The Black Ark, established in 1973, where he founded dub. Bob Marley and a shitload of other reggae artists recorded some of their music over there, but Perry was at its best when he was reworking these pieces, and that's what dub is about. In 1979, after a tough time for Perry, he took a magic marker, scribbled the walls full of unreadable doodlings, and burned The Black Ark down to the ground. All the Upsetters records were made there, Junior Byles' stuff, you name it.

On this 3-CD collection, all the best stuff that was created inside The Black Ark, a place that didn't have the best equipment available, but that still created some of the most sonically daring and innovative sounds in electronic music. Have a shitload of fun with this! It's all tagged the way it should be by the way, so just throw it into iTunes and listen away.

arkology part 1
arkology part 2
arkology part 3
320kbps

This Heat - This Heat (1979)

I posted the post-punk masterpiece Deceit a few months ago, and that album is one of those album that everyone just has to love. Marquee Moon is another example out of the post-punk field. Deceit is fantastic. It is haunting, it is tribal, and it's downright scary at times. I'm giving you a great quality version of their first album, called This Heat now. This Heat, the album, is not as magnificent as Deceit is, but it still is a very fresh studio document on how great this band was functioning around this time.

I recommend the John Peel sessions they recorded as well, and they did a very nice EP and an album called Repeat with three 20-minute songs on it. A band that has not a large oeuvre, but that still has made so much different music.

horizontal hold
320kbps

Gong - Flying Teapot (1973)

I posted the second album of the Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy a few months back, and I have to say that I like this album, the first in the trilogy, even more. I just think that Gong is, though part of the Canterbury scene, so much a band on their own, that is hardly a matter of being a prog-fan or not to appreciate this band. On the Flying Teapot there is so much going on, and I see the same going with bands like Magma and the Soft Machine, who's image is suffering, just because they are called prog.

Let Daevid Allen and his Gong do his stuff for you, and you'll see that you will automatically start to like them sometime.

the pot head pixies
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Junior Delahaye - Reggae (1982)

So this is the real hidden gem we all were waiting for. Junior Delahaye was picked up by the American indie-reggae label Wackie's in the 80s, but apart from that, little is known of this fabulous record. Recollections of Junior Murvin spring to mind when one hears the voice of Delahaye and the six lengthy compositions are all very laid back (even for reggae) and mellow. But boy, it is so well executed.

And so our journey into reggae continues.

all i need is jah
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Prince Far I - Dub To Africa (1979)

This is not a normal Prince Far I album, I warn you. On this record, Prince Far I's band plays amazing dub versions of his songs. The only thing Prince Far I himself does on this record, is announce the songs at the start of 'em. He does that marvelously, off course. His raw jungle voice is only needed at the start of each song to create the same effect that some singers need the whole song for to create.

And what's better than Prince Far I dedicating a whole LP to my favourite continent. Oh, and by the way: I'm going to Africa in April for a month. And as far as reggae and this blog goes: I've tried everything to keep reggae at a distance for a while, but it is just too strong at the moment. So I'm afraid Life As A Rehearsal is kind of turning into a reggae blog, if that is in any way a bad thing.

good music brother
224kbps

Big Youth - Screaming Target (1972)

I have to admit: this album owns it merit more to being revolutionary, than being the best in it sort. If you want you some good toasting, you should check out U-Roy or I-Roy, or wait until I post them, but Big Youth was arguably the first one who committed it to the tape machine. His delivery tends to get a bit same-ish, but still, his raw vocals do seem to have influenced Prince Far I. Big Youth also plays one of the bigger roles in the best reggae movie ever, called Rockers. Everyone who has been downloading my reggae over the months, should watch that movie! This week, I tell you!

Dr. Alimantado, Leroy 'Horsemouth' Wallace, Gregory Isaacs, Jacob Miller, Winston Rodney, Lee Perry, they all star in the film! Absolutely unmissable. In listen to this record in the meantime.

honesty
192kbps

Atahualpa Yupanqui - ¡Soy libre! ¡Soy bueno! (1968)

I'm so awfully sorry that I haven't posted anything in almost a month. I'm afraid that the eternal flame concerning my love for music, has been dying a bit in my heart. I have experienced this fact about three times before, and music always comes back to me. Anyway, I wanted to post this album for a long time. It is a low quality version of this record (128). I am pretty sure that it is the best quality version available on the internet, so please forgive me.

The music is too great to leave it unposted. Atahualpa Yupanqui is the artist name Héctor Roberto Chavero Aramburo, and he is an Argentinian folk singer. Very beautiful little songs, and I hope you will enjoy this record. And, if someone ever finds a better copy, please let me know.

soy libre
128kbps

The Gladiators - Trenchtown Mix Up (1976)

So, I went to Sweden: Stockholm and Göteborg for a week. That's why I kind of disappeared. But here I am, I am appearing again. Let's move on with a very fine roots reggae album, that is quite well-known in the reggae scene, but therefore still too unknown off course, because reggae albums don't quite surface outside the reggae field. I will post some more obscure albums in the upcoming weeks, because that was what I wanted to do with this summer, but I love this album so much at the moment, that the only thing I can do is just post it.

Very, very high quality reggae, definitely one of the four or five real reggae classics, besides Bob Marley. The others being Marcus Garvey by Burning Spear (already posted), Satta Massagana by the Abyssinians (stay tuned), and Right Time by the Mighty Diamonds (I think I've posted it). Enjoy this album, because most of the time I post more unknown reggae, but one has to know where to got it from as well! Also: listen to Thief in the Night, at the moment my favourite reggae tune.

thief in the night
256kbps

Sugar Minott - Showcase (1977)

Almost all of the reggae records that I know of (with the exception of Ijahman) have 10 or sometimes 11 or 12 songs on it. This one only has 6, but still takes up a half hour. On this record are some longer versions of classics like 'Roof over my Head' and they are all six really nice, smooth and loungy. I don't like that the name Sugar Minott isn't integrated more into the reggae library of nowadays, so let me put him back into it.

His vocals just seem very effortless, that's what struck me about this record. It all seems very natural and fluid. Beautiful dozing reggae record.

guidance
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Congress-Woman Malinda Jackson Parker - Tubman Goodtype Songs of Liberia (1971)

This EP came out from the leftfield when I discovered it. Where the hell did this come from, was the only coherent thought that crossed my mind. So what we have here, is a former congress-member from Liberia, sitting behind a piano, performing songs for half an hour. Not always in tune, not always playing the piano in a perfect way, but always intriguing. She is one of these outsider artists, that can't be compared to any other artist at all. I know that that's basically the deal with outsider art, but I guess this woman is an exception in every way.

Stunningly unknown off course, because the commercial value of this record is as important nowadays as the karaoke fitness record by Hulk Hogan (which I in fact own, requests are welcome).

bush cow milk
320kbps

Le Nimba De N' Zerekore - Gon Bia Bia (1980)

I was going to start delving into obscurity by posting an album by the Argentinian folk singer Atahualpa Yupanqui, because I have an album of his that I have enjoyed thoroughly for the last few years. I noticed that I only had a 128-copy of it though, and as I'm trying to keep this blog free of bad quality copies (although it doesn't really matter in these cases: most of these are vinyl rips anyway), a moral dilemma occurred and I have decided to share this fantastic African group from Guinea.

Their music is, as you will expect, very rhythmical and just plain funky. I hear some Caribbean influences as well, it sounds familiar to the calypso at times. Very enjoyable, and totally unknown.

gon bia bia
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Flamin' Groovies - Teenage Head (1971)

Yesterday I said that I would be posting less albums in the coming months, and I still think that this will happen, but I had a daydream today and it told me that I have to focus more on albums that are so extremely obscure that they don't get no attention at all at the moment, whereas the most albums I post at the moment are mainly albums that are great, but don't get enough attention. So that's what I'm going to do the next few weeks. But before I do so, I just want to sneak in this fan-tas-tic album by the Flamin' Groovies. They were an early garage rock band from San Fransisco, but who had the same snarl as punk had ten year later.

The vocalist also reminds me a lot of Beefheart, as does the bottleneck guitar. They were a rougher version of the Stones, and at times they actually beat Sticky Fingers. Mick Jagger admitted.

high flyin' baby
192kbps

Yabby You - Conquering Lion (1975)

Sweat is pouring off my face as I write these words. Summer has officially begun in Amsterdam. I feel that the time has come for you to listen to all the music I've posted, instead of having to download new one's every day. Therefor I hope everyone will not be surprised that I'll take it easy in the summer time. Two or three albums a week will be the maximum up until August, so please enjoy everything that I've posted so far and keep discovering new artists in the time I that I am going slow with this blog.

Here is one of the greatest reggae performers, who passed away this January. This is his best album and the man is called Yabby You. His songs are great and his place in reggae is important, though underrated. And remember: I will be back, probably even this week, but not as frequent as you're used to. But I will be again.

conquering lion
192kbps

Angry Samoans - Back From Samoa (1982)

As a connaiseur of hardcore punk from the United States, I can say that the Angry Samoans weren't among the most 'scene' bands around. Nor were they the most 'hardcore' band ever. But they definitely were one of the most fun bands around, although I wasn't there: I know it. The music is, although extremely tight, very funny. They hit the nail on the head with this album, and that makes it among my favourite hardcore releases (I have to admit that this list is long).

They Saved Hitlers Cock may well be one of the funniest song titles in hardcore and Anal Cunt has had a hard time to beat that funny title.

gas chamber
192kbps

Popol Vuh - Hosianna Mantra (1972)

This album is so mesmerizingly beautiful, the music it contains so sacred, that it often makes me think that higher spirits do exist. This music sounds like if it was made by angels, especially the second part of Kyrie, the second song. Popol Vuh is considered among the best krautrock-bands, although they don't have much in common with the other bands in the genre. But that was the nice thing of krautrock: it doesn't sound like anything, it's just a bunch of amazing bands from Germany. Damn the Brits who dared to call it krautrock.

Popol Vuh makes ethereal music and they composed the soundtracks for the best movies of Werner Herzog (such as Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes, probably my favourite film of all time), and they did it like no one would ever be capable of. The music fits the movies so intensely, that it seems like it's part of the Amazon rain forest, where Aguirre was shot. Go see that movie by the way!

hosianna mantra
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Todd Rundgren - A Wizard, A True Star (1973)

Ignore the ridiculously out-of-fashion album cover. Why is there a third ear coming out of the right eye of Todd, I hear you ask. Well, I have in fact no idea. So leave that stupid album cover be. It's the music that I want to talk about here. Something/Anything? may be has masterpiece, purely looking at the length of the piece, but A Wizard, A True Star is better. It is in fact an experience that you will never forget if your ears allow you to enjoy it to the fullest.

It has in fact everything: Spectorian wall-of-sound space pop, dizzying electronic experiments, heavy metal snippets, goofy novelty tunes, a sixty-five second vaudevillian number, an avant-garde noise piece, and last, but definitely not least: a ten minute medley belter consisting of doo-wop and soul classics. If I haven't convinced you by now, please leave this blog alone.

when the shit hits the fan
192kbps

Bernard Fevre - The Strange World Of Bernard Fevre (1975)

If I haven't told you about Library Music yet, I will do it now quick. I have been listening to this music a lot and what is, is this: it's music made by guys like Bernard Fevre and the rights of this music aren't owned by the composers, but by music libraries and the music is most often used for soundtrack purposes.

Bernard Fevre's world isn't strange at all: it's incredible. He creates a world consisting of 23 minutes of the purest melodies ever created on synthesizers. Take a song like Molecule Dance, this could well have been something Daft Punk builds their career upon. Absolutely essential listen.

cosmic rays
192kbps

Wild Man Fischer - An Evening With Wild Man Fischer (1969)

Let me introduce Wild Man Fischer. He's actually a guy from Los Angeles, who is in fact called Larry Fischer, and who has a bipolar disorder and a severe form of schizophrenia. He attacked his mother with a knife when he was only 16 and was then institutionalized. So, yeah. A weird guy. He used to walk down the streets selling 'completely original songs' for a small amount of money. Frank Zappa was intrigued by him and followed him around across the streets and recorded what he had to say and sing. This has lead up to an album of 80+ minutes full of the philosophical musings of Wild Man Fischer.

All I can say to you is: enjoy!

new kind of songs for sale!
320kbps

Cabaret Voltaire - Red Mecca (1981)

Red Mecca is the most important and most praised album recorded by the industrial band from Sheffield, UK, called Cabaret Voltaire. They recorded and released an incredible amount of albums, as a lot of industrial acts from the early 80s did, like Clock DVA, Throbbing Gristle and Coil, and they explored the likes of dub and house in their music as well.

This album is far from flawless and I think a lot of industrial music can be pretty boring at times, but still this album has some unknown quality that makes me come back to this band every time again. I own this album on vinyl and if I spin this record, I always become moved by the haunting qualities of the vocals on this album. I recently coined a term with a friend of mine, called Monster Vocals and I'd like to stuff this album into that category as well.

black mask
224kbps

The Pop Group - We Are All Prostitutes (1998)

I really hate the fact that The Pop Group is only remembered because of one album: Y. Indeed: why? Because they made a bunch of other great records, of which this one, a compilation from 1998, is great example. The album they made after Y, was just as good as their first one if you ask me and on this compilation, the best songs of their second album are combined with some leftovers from that period. Still as funky as on Y, and at times even more splintered, with great saxophone performances that once again remind me of the great sax work by Captain Beefheart.

A great and highly underrated band that made a lot of great music apart from Y. Go listen to this stuff, because it seems people are forgetting the complete picture of this band.

we are all prostitutes
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Scientist - Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of the Vampires (1981)

Scientist is the one who took dub to a higher level for me. It is not per se better, or heavier, but it is different no less. I like that. Development, good or bad, development is always better than standing still. On this album, a concept album on vampires, there are a lot of monster vocals done by the Scientist himself present and this album is his most praised and arguably his best.

If you feel that dub and reggae are starting to sound a bit same-ish, having heard all the posts I did on reggae, please listen to this record and revive your love for reggae. By the way, even if every reggae record sounded the same, it'd still be one of my favourite genres!

your teeth in my neck
192kbps

Harmonia - Deluxe (1975)

One of the greatest krautrock records combined with one of my favourite album covers. This album cover is such an exact description of this record, it's beyond words. It's like the cover of Instellar Space by Coltrane: the sky is not the limit. This records takes you to such epic heights, by the ever growing guitar solos, very pleasant. The band name and title seems to be spelled in honey, dripping from the cover. It looks as sweet as honey, and I actually would like to lick it off the cover.

This supergroup consists of krautrock mastodonts Michael Rother from Neu! and both men from Cluster. A lovely band that eventually also added Brian Eno to their line-up.

immer wieder rauf und runter
320kbps

Alexander "Skip" Spence - Oar (1969)

Skip Spence is a key figure in the music scene from the late 60s. He was the first drummer and thus a founding member of Jefferson Airplane and he was also one of the guitarists in the great Moby Grape. He is one of the best examples of a hippie who couldn't cope with all the drugs that went around in the scene. At one point, he was completely unbearable to his friends and verging on going insane, so he was put away in a mental asylum. He wrote this album in Manhattan, when he was on the brink of mental collapse.

When he was released, he drove his motor bike all the way to Nashville and recorded the album in a few hours. And that was the end of his career. This, his final statement in rock music, is a bewildering rollercoaster through the worlds of schizophrenia and paranoia.

lawrence of euphoria
192kbps

Blind Lemon Jefferson - King Of The Country Blues (1985)

Today, I want to introduce everyone to one of the greatest blues players that has ever lived. It is a blind fellow from Texas, who lived in the first decades of the previous century. His name was Blind Lemon Jefferson. He was a blind man with a very fat belly and he played his guitar like no one else did in that day. He wrote an epic amount of blues evergreens, covered by all the great other Delta-players in the years coming. Lightnin' Hopkins was taught how to play by Blind Lemon Jefferson when he was a little kid.

On this collection are 23 songs, all really awesome, if you think away the often abominable sound quality. But hey, we're talking about 1926 here, so don't bother about the sound quality. Be glad it exists!

one dime blues
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Emitt Rhodes - Emitt Rhodes (1970)

If you're tired of the Beatles, here's Emitt Rhodes. Emitt Rhodes is a guy from California who could best be described as a 'one man's Beatles'. His voice sounds extremely like Paul McCartney's voice, and the songs are very alike of the Beatles' repertoire. But hey, he does it fantastically, so why bother?

12 very catchy songs make for a nice 30 minutes of 70s pop music. He plays all the instruments on the record: all of them. He recorded the album at home when he was only 19 years old, but still it sounds very mature and confident. I also like the innocence that comes with this record.

with my face on the floor
320kbps

Van Dyke Parks - Discover America (1972)

Because Van Dyke Parks is a goddamn hero, as big a hero for me as Brian Wilson, with whom he made important music, and also because he is totally unknown for our generation, I'm posting another Van Dyke Parks album. I posted Song Cycle a while ago, which remains one of my favourite albums ever, I'm actually listening to it as we speak and I have goosebumps!

This album was made by Parks when he had made a trip to Trinidad, where the roots of calypso are to be found, so this album is heavily calypso-influenced, and at times pure calypso. Van Dyke Parks has the gift to create American landscapes in his songs, he makes me understand America better, so it remains bearable that I haven't been there yet.

sweet trinidad
320kbps

Alice Cooper - Killer (1971)

As for glam-rock, I have decided that I like Alice Cooper about as much as I love David Bowie. Alice Cooper is the ultimate bad-ass rocker and he makes all these Aerosmith and Guns 'n Roses guys look like Peter Pan. He started on Straight Records, the experimental hippielabel of Frank Zappa, where he released a lot of obscure stuff like Wild Man Fischer and The G.T.O.'s. Captain Beefheart eventually left Straight Records because he thought he was among freaks when he found out what Alice Cooper did on a stage.

The music is fantastic, he is so powerful on this record, as well as on the other early records. The music is like a campy version of Black Sabbath. I absolutely love that description and if I were you, I would definitely download this record because of it. Especially that first song really makes you feel like a winner!

under my wheels
320kbps

Todd Rundgren - Something / Anything? (1972)

This. Is. Something. (/Anything?). One of the greatest pop records ever made. On par with Stevie Wonder's Innervisions and Van Dyke Parks' Song Cycle, but the good thing is: it is twice as long! This record consists of 4 sides of incredible alternative pop songs, and 3 of the 4 sides are completely made by Rundgren himself. Every sound you hear, every guitar, piano, banjo, drum, is produced by Todd himself. On the 4th side a big orchestra takes over and gives the record yet another push to gain its classic status.

Todd Rundgren is one of my favourite performers from the 70s, it was a time when you could make pop music and not be totally corny. Like Steely Dan, and others, but Todd Rundgren perfected it. He was not only uncorny, he was 100% cool with it. He plays guitar like Hendrix, he creates songs like McCartney and he has the voice of a genius. Must listen! You must!

something / anything? part 1
something / anything? part 2
320kbps

Aaron Copland - The Complete Music For Solo Piano (1979)

Aaron Copland is one of the greatest American composers. He was born in 1900 and died two weeks after his 90th birthday in 1990. I was almost a year old when he died. As did other American composers, he combined the modern classical with American folk styles. His piano music is very beautiful, complex and you can hear that he is an American composer. American composers just have that American thing going on which is hard to describe, listen to Charles Ives for instance.

His complete piano music, composed from the late 10s to the mid 70s, is here performed by Leo Smit and the recording is from 1979. Enjoy this one, it is important, it is beautiful music and it is necessary.

complete music for solo piano part 1
complete music for solo piano part 2
256kbps

Harry Pussy - A In an Emergency You Can Shit on a Puerto Rican Whore (1993)

I gave you all some time to download the massive load of albums that I posted on this blog over the last four months. It may be time to take it easy for some time, as summer is coming up et al. So don't expect as much albums from me as you're used to, but keep checking off course!

I can also imagine that when I say noise rock, noise isn't quite what you were thinking when you heard Shellac and The Jesus Lizard. Both great bands, but noise. Noise means irritating and harsh sounds. So here is Harry Pussy, real noise. Check this EP out and you're ears will beg for mercy. Great, classic 90s EP!

i don't care about sleep anymore
192kbps

Pharoah Sanders - Karma (1969)

I was about to quit posting jazz for the coming time, because I have posted enough of it over the last month now, when I was just in time reminded by myself to post this album: one of the greatest. Pharoah Sanders is a goddamn animal when he has a saxophone in his hands, and on this album that's quite noticeable. He builds up to an enormous free jazz explosion by playing some of the nicest music ever heard. Incorporating a lot of spiritual elements and even lyrics and thus, vocals.

One of the greatest free jazz, and even jazz, records. I hope you will like this as much as I do. It is truly a masterpiece, I promise.

the creator has a master plan
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X - Wild Gift (1981)

When I posted the debut album by the great punk rock band X awhile ago, about three months ago already I guess. When the blog had just started. Time goes fast. Anyway, when I posted their debut I got some nice reactions about their music. They are really catchy, and not just catchy, but really catchy. They have interesting riffs and melodies to give us and they are, apart from that, important pioneers in the hardcore punk field.

This is their second album, almost as good, and at some days even better. It has 13 songs where the debut had 10, so there's even more to love here. Enjoy your day and enjoy X!

in this house that i call home
192kbps

Squirrel Bait - Skag Heaven (1987)

Because the word 'emo' became associated with horrible musical acts like Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance, it used to stand for a group of emotional hardcore bands that came out of the United States during the second half of the 80s as a supplement of hardcore punk. One of the best bands of that era was Squirrel Bait. Squirrel Bait became popular just after bands like Rites Of Spring and Hüsker Dü created and popularized the genre.

One of the most original bands of that time, Squirrel Bait, gives you 25 minutes of great hardcore songs. This is their only studio album, and they released an EP as well during that time. Short-lived band, great songs.

tape from california
320kbps

The Art Ensemble Of Chicago - A Jackson In Your House (1969)

The second album to be released on BYG Actuel, and also the debut album of The Art Ensemble Of Chicago, under the name they got famous for. The Art Ensemble Of Chicago is a really unique group of people that make free jazz as close to art as possible. When this group toured Europe in 1969, the year this record came out, they used over 500 instruments on their tour. A performance by this collective is as much an aural experience as it is a visual spectacle.

I really like this album, it is definitely not their best, nor is it their most famous, but it shows you how great BYG used to be and how much talent this group of people had together. All multi-instrumentalists and up for the experiment.

get in line
VBR

Andrew Hill - Point Of Departure (1965)

When this album happened in 1965, the year of the invention of free jazz, the hip jazz world was more and more descending into free jazz territory. This album was made by Andrew Hill with a sextet that, among others, had Eric Dolphy playing the saxophone, the bass clarinet and the flute. Dolphy was and will always be considered as one of the greatest players in jazz, and the albums he made as a leader are among my favourite jazz material.

So yeah, this album is a great mixture of avant-garde jazz going a wee bit free jazz at times, but most of all it is a balanced set of compositions that Andrew Hill made when he was at the top of his career.

spectrum
256kbps

Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 5 (1997)

One of the most important composers of the late-Romantic time, and being a bridge between the music of the late 19th century and the start of modernism. What I'm giving you here is a great performance by the Wiener Philharmonic, conducted by Pierre Boulez (not only a great conductor, but one of the nicest composers of the 20th century) from 1997.

This 5th Symphony contains the fourth movement Adagietto, and that movement is probably the most recognizable music Mahler ever made. The 5th Symphony overall is also his most important work and Mahler is still considered as one of the greatest today.

trauermarsch
192kbps

Rashied Ali & Frank Lowe - Duo Exchange (1972)

Another really free album that came out of the free jazz burst at the end of the 60s. Easiest comparison to this album is Interstellar Space by John Coltrane, on which Coltrane and Ali played together as a duo. One of the greatest duo performances this is, ever. Although totally obscure, that doesn't mean it isn't any good. Frank Lowe is not Coltrane, obviously, but his way of playing is really fresh, free, and most important of all: great. Rashied Ali plays more structured than he does on Interstellar Space, and Duo Exchange is a much more urgent listen than Interstellar Space.

I guess you have all noticed that I've been posting a lot of (free) jazz lately. I hope you all like it, if not, bear with me, because I really want to post this masterpieces and I want people to like them. There aren't enough people listening to this kind of music, and I hate that. I'm writing an essay about free jazz at the moment, so this is all I really listen to.

duo exchange
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Peter Brötzmann - Machine Gun (1968)

Machine Gun, the greatest ever European free jazz record, is not only alike of the sound machine guns, it also sounds a lot like a bunch of wild African elephants coming down the stairs. This record is so bombastic, so brutal and so over the top, that it's hard to imagine it was made in 1968, before the BYG Actuel storm, before a lot of great American free jazz happened. The Europeans were influenced by the Afro-American cats like Ayler and Sanders, who wanted more out of jazz then great, coherent melodies.

The urgency of this record was never topped by Peter Brötzmann and his fluctuating crew (on this album, an in-cre-di-ble line-up: Evan Paker, Han Bennink, Willem Breuker, Fred Van Hove, Peter Kowald, you name them) afterwards. This record catches the time it was made in: a ferocious time with a lot of uncertainties, and a lot of anger, as well. This record is as much an essential as most of the output by Ayler and his buddies.

machine gun
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Miles Davis - Nefertiti (1968)

Before Miles Davis went crazy with creating fusion, Bitches Brew and all those dark fusion-jazz albums that came after it, he made some lovely little albums with some of the people who would go on to create the fusion in jazz with him. Present on this albums are Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams and Ron Carter. This line-up is also known as 'the second classic quintet'.

On this album there are some fine moments when the horn section plays the rhythm and the rhythm section improvises underneath it. Most noticeable on the title track. This album is really the missing link between post-bop and fusion-jazz, as this sounds really fusion, while remaining completely acoustic.

madness
192kbps

Dave Burrell - Echo (1969)

The quintessential wild free jazz album lies here in front of you. Free jazz is all about the abstract creation of freedom. Through sounds, through forms, shapes, a free jazz player tries to escape the material world to just exist within the song and his instrument. On the first side of Echo, we have a very wild piece of 20 minutes called Echo on which all the players (BYG all stars Clifford Thornton, Alan Silva, Archie Shepp, Grachan Moncur III, Sunny Murray, Arthur Jones and leader Dave Burrell) are going completely over the top. You have to hear it to believe me.

The second side of the record is calm compared to the first piece, but still beautiful and still far from normal jazz, as most people know it. I'm giving you a vinyl rip that contains some scratches, so bear with me. It is the only digital copy around on the net, so enjoy it.

echo
320kbps

Gene Clark - No Other (1974)

The story of this album is really simple: Gene Clark was one of the founding members of The Byrds, with whom he made some beautiful records, but he quit the band in the early stages of the late 60s. The Byrds had released their best albums, and Gene Clark left the sinking ship. He released some fairly successful solo records in the early 70s, and when he began recording No Other, expectations were high.

This record was completely dismissed back in the day though, due to its experimental nature, 8 long alt-country compositions, and critics didn't like it for that. But we all know that critics are idiots, especially if you see their reactions to records some thirty years ago. This is now Gene Clark's absolute masterpiece, and it deserves all its praise it gets nowadays.

life's greatest fool
192kbps

Sunny Murray - An Even Break (Never Give A Sucker)

Sunny Murray could well be the most important drummer in free jazz. He was the drummer on Albert Ayler's Spiritual Unity and he used to hang out a lot with Cecil Taylor. He was, and is, a great and accomplished drummer and an important band leader. He recorded a total of three records for BYG Actuel, of which this is the second one. This is number 32 out of 53. Spoken word is present, a lot of great horns, crazy drumming and some African influences.

Great, great drummer and a total hero for releasing under BYG, because BYG = the shit. He released his most famous records under ESP-Disk, pretty much the only label that released some free jazz in the 60s in America. Spiritual Unity came out on ESP as well.

invisible blues
192kbps

Archie Shepp - Yasmina, A Black Woman (1969)

After a few years a searching, I have fulfilled my destiny: I own all the 53 studio albums that came out on the French free-jazz label BYG Actuel. All these albums were released in the period of 1969-1971, when a lot of American jazz-players, visited Paris and recorded a lot of music for this epic label. It actually might be my favourite label overall.

To celebrate this fact, I will share some more free jazz with you all. To start of with the 4th of 53 releases, is this very obscure record by Archie Shepp. Archie Shepp was one of the bigger names to release music under BYG. We see Archie at his wildest on this label, because everything on BYG is extremely wild: no American labels were releasing this music back then. (with a few exceptions of course, but not on this scale, 53 records in 2,5 years).

body and soul
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Waylon Jennings - Honky Tonk Heroes (1973)

Waylon Jennings was one of most important players in the movement called Outlaw Country. The outlaw movement, often referred to as just 'outlaw music', was a reaction to the country made in Nashville, called Nashville Sound. The outlaws made a fundamental distinction between their own outlaw authenticity and the smooth, commercial sound of the Nashvillers.

This album is Waylon Jennings best studio album, and songs 1 to 9 are written by Billy Joe Shaver, another outlaw musician. Apart from song number 10, this whole album was written by Shaver. Jennings makes the songs his own though, and no-one does it as well as he does. Enjoy this lovely country album, because country is: great!

honky tonk heroes
192kbps

Frederic Rzewski - The People United Will Never Be Defeated! (1999)

Frederic Rzewski has to be one of the most ground breaking composers of our time. This piece, The People United Will Never Be Defeated! from 1975, is a set of 36 variations of the Chilean song with the same name (but in Chilean). This recording that I'm giving you, was performed by Marc-André Hamelin and recorded in 1999. The opening theme is a piano version of the song, but after that: hell breaks loose. 36 epic variations of that theme make this composition of the best of the 20th century, in my opinion.

I think everyone who normally doesn't listen to (modern) classical music, but is interested in Das Experiment, will love this piece. I wish everyone a brilliant first experience.

the people united will never be defeated!
320kbps

Brainiac - Hissing Prigs In Static Couture (1996)

Brainiac was a cool little band from Dayton, Ohio who disbanded a year after the release of this album because of the death of lead singer Tim Taylor. Taylor died in a car crash in 1997, during the pre-production of their fourth album, an album that has never surfaced since. So that was that. A lot of potential, but what we're left with are three albums, of which the last two are really good.

Brainiac was a notorious live act in their day and they supported The Jesus Lizard, The Breeders and Beck, but their music doesn't sound anything like any of these three bands. I like to call their music synthpunk, because dance punk happened a few years later and sounded a lot shittier than this.

i am a cracked machine
192kbps

Insect Warfare - World Extermination (2007)

I have noticed that extreme metal is extremely unpopular on my blog, which is a pity, because I love to stress out on grindcore every once in a while. So therefore I'm testing you once again, and let's see if this release can get a lot of downloads. Why is it that you're all so into reggae by the way, I love that.

Anyway, this record is as dark as grindcore gets, the singer's voice is as dark as I've ever heard and the songs are all, 20 of them, grind classics. This is one of the most influential grindcore releases of the last ten years and grindcore is actually one of the genres in music that's blooming the most at the moment.

necessary death
VBR

Brian Eno - Here Come The Warm Jets (1974)

Ok, this is Eno's debut album, released when he was still in Roxy Music. It sounds very glam-rock, as does his second record, but he totally abandoned that style after the first two records to create ambient, and to do a whole lot of other stuff. But, yeah, what to say: this is an Eno-record, it's his debut even, so off course it's awesome.

Just listen to it, and love it the rest of your life. In my opinion this beats even the first Roxy Music records, so Eno proves that he actually can't do anything wrong, because he even masters the silly genre that glam-rock is. Good stuff.

needles in the camel's eye
VBR