Grateful Dead: Workingman's Dead
Vinile I have it ★★★★
Great album that brings the band back to the roots (Roots, indeed) of the most rural folk and country rock, after the acid apotheosis of Live/Dead. The latest studio work by the Dead, which I adore from start to finish. After that, I pretty much abandoned them. 4.5 for this, anyway.
  • Lao Tze
    6 apr 13
    Even American Beauty isn't bad at all. Along with these, they are the last official studio recordings of poor Ron McKernan.
Guided by Voices: Alien Lanes
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
It may not achieve that 'putrid' perfection of works like "Propeller" and "Bee Thousand," which, in my opinion, are peaks never again reached by that old drunk Pollard and his tipsy companions. Nonetheless, it’s a small masterpiece as well. Chock-full of genuinely wonderful, wonderfully silly pop song gems. Analog recording (so... with ass). Perfection.
  • imasoulman
    19 nov 15
    Well, what can I say... I find it hard to say that I like this gentleman (and his partner Tobin Sprout, the indispensable guitar arm of the Ohio deus ex machina) a bit less or that there are flaws, etc. Regarding "Alien Lanes," I once said that if the Monkees had come after the Fall and before Pavement, if the Beatles (or the Velvets?) had wanted to reform with Jad Fair, and if the Swell Maps, instead of breaking up, had wanted to go down in history by recording in the Northwest under the name Beat Happening... well, there you go.
  • SilasLang
    19 nov 15
    Great definition, Soul brother...
Guided by Voices: Propeller
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
Shit-Fi noise pop (?!?...whatever..) straight out of the ass hole. Gem.
Hawkwind: In Search of Space
Vinile I have it ★★★★★
Album of brain ejaculation. The fathers of that form of psychedelia they would call 'space rock'. For me, this is the cream of their production alongside the self-titled debut, embryonic but already beautiful, 'Doremi Fasol Latido' and especially the live 'Space Ritual'...
  • De...Marga...
    7 jul 14
    The words you often use in your definitions are truly worthy presentations of the albums; this time, however, you surpass yourself with a PERFECT comparison regarding the music of these dashing youngsters. A really great group.
Underrated masterpiece of the noise/alt/math/post hc underground and whatever else you want to throw in..."The Double Nickels on the Dime of the '90s," said the good Bisius on these pages some time ago. How can you argue with him, really... An eclectic, crazy album, among the most brilliant of that decade. Unfortunately, also one of the most obscure.
Helium: The Dirt of Luck
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
Five little balls, damn. A small masterpiece of twisted and uneven noise pop. One of my all-time favorite albums. A must-check for anyone who might have missed it at the time and/or wasn't around for age-related reasons... The following album [The Magic City] is also great, where the crystalline "indie" rock vein will merge with some progressive elements. Good grief.
Helmet: Strap It On
Vinile I have it ★★★★★
Heavy as a boulder. Riffs like chainsaws. A hell of an album and the absolute zenith of Page Hamilton's combo, one of the greatest riffmakers in history. I saw them live in 1994... I was stunned. And deaf for a week!
  • GIANLUIGI67
    9 aug 13
    I like them a lot. I'm listening to Unsane's "Wrech," it's not bad.
  • SilasLang
    9 aug 13
    Have you heard the first self-titled album by Unsane? It's brutal! I think it's the coolest :)
Helmet: Meantime
Vinile I have it ★★★★★
While not reaching the heights of the deadly debut of 1990 ["Strap It On," one of the most shocking, violent, and influential records of the last 30 years], this second work by the Page Hamilton combo still maintains high standards, albeit smoothing out some of the jagged edges of that wonderful noise of 1000 hardware stores at work from the first album. They could have even disbanded after this. They had said EVERYTHING.
  • De...Marga...
    5 mar 14
    I, the undersigned De...Marga... from Domodossola, arrive at this decision: today’s choice of Silas Lang is fully endorsed, with one caveat that I wish to add: from my perspective, the first two works of Mr. Hamilton should be regarded as a kind of single work.....one that makes you want to bash your skull against the first thing you come across...
  • SilasLang
    6 mar 14
    I saw them during the "Betty" tour... oh my God! They were a wrecking ball... riffs like boulders.
Hum: You'd Prefer an Astronaut
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
Ciccio Moreno and his Deftones have poured themselves into this album, I would bet my balls on it without hesitation. On "Little Dipper" there's practically all of White Pony. You can almost sing over 'Knife Party'...
  • hjhhjij
    14 nov 15
    Good to know, that track is one of the peaks of Deftones.
  • pixies77
    15 nov 15
    nice and straight, I didn’t know them. oh yes, they are my cup of porchetta.
Hüsker Dü: Everything Falls Apart
Vinile I have it ★★★★★
I speak of "Everything Falls Apart" without MORE... which I consider the first masterpiece of the three. Furious hardcore from total destruction. But beneath the blind fury and chaos, the wonderful pop vein of that genius Mould is already glimpsed ["From the Gut," "Everything Falls Apart," "Wheels," by Hart, with that bass line so close to certain new wave, and the beautiful "Gravity"]. 12 tracks in under 20 minutes. Perfection!
Hüsker Dü: Flip Your Wig
Vinile I have it ★★★★★
Great songs. Shitty production. And I love shitty productions. But an album recorded poorly has to be done in a way that slaps. That said, it’s still a great album.
  • madcat
    21 feb 14
    I haven’t listened to this much, regarding their less "famous" records I love New Day Rising, such a great album.
  • SilasLang
    21 feb 14
    New Day Rising...beautiful! As far as I'm concerned, all their albums are beautiful, the ones I like the least have always been the first Land Speed Record, recorded live and you can't understand a damn thing, and Candy Apple Grey.
  • madcat
    21 feb 14
    hehe "recorded live and you can't understand a damn thing" :D think that after that masterpiece of Warehouse: songs and stories I listened to candy apple grey, which in comparison to warehouse came out a bit battered, perhaps unfairly, but it didn't blow me away either.
Hüsker Dü: Metal Circus
Vinile I have it ★★★★★
With this EP, we reach the absolute pinnacle of Hardcore. Then comes Zen Arcade and...Christ!
i giganti: terra in bocca
CD Audio I have it ★★★★
Well. I was dusting off this record forgotten by God. Musically excellent, with a mix of Italian beats and prog influences, the plot annoys me a bit. And the inserts in Sicilian dialect. Nonetheless, a great record. Top-notch (almost) mold.
  • hjhhjij
    24 dec 15
    Not musty at all, that's the beauty of it. My advantage is that I really like the Sicilian dialect :D
  • SilasLang
    24 dec 15
    Muffoso was to say that it’s older than me XD. Great album. I also like the siculo. It clashes a bit in a prog album. But the inserts are sporadic and anyway... de gustibus. The album remains excellent.
  • hjhhjij
    24 dec 15
    Be a bit like the Neapolitan from Osanna and Napoli Centrale. Anyway, it's a great album.
Iggy Pop: Kill City
Vinile I have it ★★★★★
If I have to choose from the post-Stooges discography of the damned toxic iguana, I’m putting my finger right on Kill City, recorded in '75 between one day pass and another from a psychiatric clinic where he was hospitalized after his brains went "puff" for the first time... Filthy, rough, and essential Rn'R (with a hint of twisted black music) recorded in a haphazard way where rawness and sickness ooze from the pores of my stereo, which is a wonder.
  • hjhhjij
    10 feb 14
    Never even heard of this record, and considering that I really appreciate his two most famous ones. I have to make up for it, damn it.
  • SilasLang
    10 feb 14
    Really? Get it back, yes! He did this with James Williamson during a very dark period, for him I mean ahah.
  • Lao Tze
    11 feb 14
    beautiful, though I prefer The Idiot. It’s not all his own doing, but it’s too influential for a lot of things from the '80s. The rest doesn’t really excite me, even Lust For Life.
  • SilasLang
    11 feb 14
    Lao, I think I mostly agree with you here. I love this and I adore the icy "The Idiot," which is ultimately more of a Bowie record than an Iggy one, but "Lust For Life," while I appreciate it, has never driven me crazy. Then again...the only one I liked a bit more than the others was "American Caesar," from '93.
  • GIANLUIGI67
    11 feb 14
    This is perhaps the only notable album by Iggy Pop. The Idiot is not Iggy Pop; it has been completely de-natured, reshaped. It’s a good album, but its true essence lies elsewhere.
  • SilasLang
    11 feb 14
    I agree. Well, anyway, STOOGES uber alles
J Mascis: Several Shades of Why
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
Man, this album enchanted me a couple of years ago. I'm listening to it again today, and I find it damn beautiful. J disconnects and becomes the songwriter...
  • GIANLUIGI67
    21 feb 14
    J Mascis has always been a fine songwriter, even when he buried melodies under guitar distortions.
  • SilasLang
    21 feb 14
    Indeed! As they themselves defined it at the time of the first three masterpieces: EAR BLEEDIN' COUNTRY...
  • Radioactive Toy
    20 feb 19
    I agree, great album. And the following one ("Tied to a Star") I find even better. A true gem.
Janis Joplin: Pearl
Vinile I have it ★★★★
The best of Joplin, the most successful album. A little gem. And then the voice, a pure mix of heroin and southern comfort. 4.5.
Jawbox: For Your Own Special Sweetheart
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
Old glories.
After leaving the RHCP in '92, Frusciante sinks into heroin, mental illness, becomes a recluse, and between the occasional pear, records these delusions on a rudimentary 4-track tape, balancing between ragged folk, delirium, various out-of-tuneness, psychedelia, and psychopathy. A beautiful album. Perhaps his only great record. It hurts... damn, this music hurts so much...
  • madcat
    23 apr 14
    You described it very well, Silas; however, he’s also come up with some great ones afterwards for me.
  • SilasLang
    23 apr 14
    Hehehe... I get to the second one, which, however, is way too delirious! But it has some great tracks ["Height Down" with the late River Phoenix above all]. Then, in my opinion, it has become a bit too "easy," little songs, at least for me... and he doesn't have the voice for little songs, he. Anyway, de gustibus. I'm off to work, in spite of Patatraccolo...
  • madcat
    23 apr 14
    Well, immediately I think of the empyrean where there aren't exactly any pop songs, huh? :D
A great pop album. Perhaps the only major record he's released during his post-bug career. Rating: 4.5
  • Lao Tze
    3 jan 13
    maybe also Imagine and Walls & Bridges, come on. Double Fantasy is penalized more for Yoko's songs than anything else; if it had been an album by just John, it would probably have been his last masterpiece.
  • SilasLang
    4 jan 13
    Imagine is still good but it convinces me less than this one, while Walls and Bridges, apart from a couple of tracks, didn’t grab me at all. Well, tastes are tastes!
  • SilasLang
    4 jan 13
    P.S. by Yoko Ono, I like an album: "Fly"
Johnny Thunders: So Alone
Vinile I have it ★★★★★
Tears disc for me. After releasing two of the coolest albums ever [the self-titled by the New York Dolls and L.A.M.F. with the Heartbreakers], Johnny delivers his third masterpiece in '79, his first solo effort. And, to be fair, the last one where he still manages to maintain a semblance of stability before his life and career get completely consumed by too much "living the Rock n' Roll"....
Jonathan Wilson: Gentle Spirit
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
One of my favorite albums of 2011
Joy Division: Closer
Vinile I have it ★★★★★
There would be nothing to say about this LP. It's like discovering hot water. One of the most beautiful records of all time, in my opinion.
  • Psychopathia
    24 aug 14
    I like Joy Division just fine. Of course, they're incredible. But if you dare to voice any criticism, like I did years ago in a forum, they will crush you. Some fans (not you) have zero objectivity, and they won't accept any objections. It’s either musical geniuses or those who criticize just don’t get it. That's what makes me feel left-handed about them.
  • Lao Tze
    24 aug 14
    they grind you down, they really do.. some JD tunes sometimes resemble those stubborn prog fundamentalists, haha.. I think it’s because, in the end, listening to them has changed the lives of quite a few, as is natural... then of course, there are also the many Ian necrophiles who talk a big game and have never read a text... they've always given me huge feelings, lyrics and music equally, but I wouldn't put them in the small group of those who have changed my life. Among those from Manchester back in the day, I’ve always preferred The Fall - maybe because by nature I’m more erratic than depressed..? Bah;-
  • SilasLang
    24 aug 14
    Don't worry, psycho. I HATE fans. Of anything.
  • SilasLang
    24 aug 14
    ...and I hate the taliban proggaroli, especially XD
  • Buzzin' Fly
    25 aug 14
    The worst are the jazz talibans, almost like those of Zappa.
  • Psychopathia
    25 aug 14
    Well, I like Zappa, I have about thirty of his albums... but if someone doesn't like him, I won't shoot them! Personally, I’m not a fan of any band, at least not beforehand. If a band I like put out a mediocre album, I would say so without hesitation. There are some bands I've even stopped following, keeping only the good albums :)
  • SilasLang
    25 aug 14
    Absolutely. For example, the latest albums by bands I love like Melvins and Boris have really disappointed me... but I'm saying it! P.S. I agree about the jazz-talibans and zappa-talibans. Even though I love certain jazz and the Mothers of Invention...
  • Marco Orsi
    25 aug 14
    Certain fans of JD sometimes resemble those irreducible fundamentalist prog fans -----> I confirm! I am one of those fans, and I must say that, although I listen to a lot of other music as well, I absolutely cannot stand those who speak ill of JD. Immense.
  • SilasLang
    25 aug 14
    I sign with my blood, dear Marco...
Julian Cope: Fried
Vinile I have it ★★★★★
A little gem, for sure. Along with the mate World Shut Your Mouth. I've never understood what was so great about the Teardrop Explodes. That damn Killimanjaro has never meant a thing to me. Who knows.
  • Lao Tze
    17 jan 13
    I Teardrop Explodes, one of the most "hard to interpret" bands in history. When people talk about them, it’s always a "half" something. "Kilimanjaro" a "half" masterpiece (for me it WAS a masterpiece, there's a huge slice of Liverpool pop in there: an album, an era), "Wilder" a "half" misstep (for me it WAS a real misstep, Julian had just started with the acids and hadn’t fully processed them yet...)
Kelley Stoltz: Circular Sounds
CD Audio I have it ★★★★
Delicious pop disc. Released in 2008, although you wouldn't say so once it's playing, as it seems time has irreparably paused in 1967 among the grooves of these sticky baroque and psychedelic pop candies, referencing a "fused" Brian Wilson from the Smile era and an acid Ray Davies. Light and enjoyable.
Kevin Ayers: Joy of a Toy
Vinile I have it ★★★★★
Masterpiece of utterly flipped pop songs. Damn those acids, damn! Genius
Killing Joke: Killing Joke
Vinile I have it ★★★★★
5 palettes are just too few. The joke that kills
King Crimson: Larks' Tongues in Aspic
Vinile I have it ★★★★★
Five starz!
  • pana
    22 oct 12
    Actually, I’m dots, but for the rest I totally agree.
Kraftwerk: Autobahn
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
Perfect album to spend some time staring blankly at the walls of your home.
Kyuss: Wretch
Vinile I have it ★★
Let’s be honest, this album is half-assed, if it weren’t for those two tracks that give us a glimpse of future potential ["Son of a Bitch" and "Stage III"]. And to think that a year after this punk/metal mess, a masterpiece like Blues For The Red Sun will come out...
Loop: A gilded eternity
Vinile I have it ★★★★★
Milestone personnel.
Lubricated Goat: Psychedelicatessen
Vinile I have it ★★★★★
How could I forget to include such a gruesome masterpiece from the '90s in the rankings? Noise-Blues at its most rancid and toxic from the southern hemisphere.
  • hjhhjij
    18 nov 13
    Interesting.
  • SilasLang
    18 nov 13
    Yes... didn't you know them? Australians... the guy (Stu Spasm) was even married to the chick from Babes In Toyland and they even released a pretty cool album in '94 under the name Crunt, with the drummer from Blues Explosion. Really great stuff. Then it all went to hell because of Spasm's little habit with heroin, if I remember correctly :)
Lubricated Goat: Plays The Devil's Music
Vinile I have it ★★★★★
The first work from that twisted mind of Stu Spasm and his brawling companions. I'm afraid it's been out of print for years. Filthy noise-blues from Australia... Never was a title more fitting for an album.
  • GIANLUIGI67
    19 nov 13
    I don't know him, I've heard of him.
  • SilasLang
    19 nov 13
    Absolutely. Rotten noise at its best. Recorded with the ass. Coincidentally, one track is called "Anal Injury" ahahah
  • GIANLUIGI67
    19 nov 13
    I know "Psychodelicatessen" or something similar; after a brief listen online, this seems less crazed, more oriented towards "canonical" blues noise...
  • SilasLang
    19 nov 13
    it is not canonical at all. listen to it closely. ps. psychedelicatessen is another awesome album.
Lucio Battisti: Anima Latina
Vinile I have it ★★★★★
Perhaps one of my all-time favorite Italian LPs. Perfection. Lyrics on the verge of nonsense, a distant voice in the mix, it's more of a music album than a song album; in fact, none of these beautiful tracks are known by the average Italian who only knows the usual 4 love songs by Battisti. A masterpiece of "progressive" pop.
Lydia Lunch: Queen of Siam
Vinile I have it ★★★★★
Nothing from a psychiatric hospital. Discone. Only Satan knows how much I loved this woman...
  • Psychopathia
    29 sep 13
    This album has always seemed too too heterogeneous to me. Instead, 1313 is a wall-banger! Beautiful even if less known than this one.
  • GIANLUIGI67
    29 sep 13
    By the way.. the debut of LIVE SKULL has been reissued with a CD of unreleased tracks. To be obtained...
  • hjhhjij
    29 sep 13
    Yes, this is awesome but I'm with Psycho 1313, if possible it's even better.
  • Lao Tze
    29 sep 13
    Robert Quine has been here, too. And he's another figure who revolutionized the USE of the guitar.
  • SilasLang
    29 sep 13
    If that's the case, dear Psychopath, the complete works of Teenage Jesus are the best, for me. ineptitude in power. really, the only chord they seemed to know how to play was perhaps the guitar jack. and yet... damn, forget about Petrucci's drivel!
  • Psychopathia
    29 sep 13
    Yes, it's a beautiful record. 20 minutes of fire. I would be curious to hear Beirut Slump as well, where it seems she was there too...
  • Claudyo
    3 mar 18
    Beirut Slump has only produced a single 7" included in the TJ&J CD compilation "Shut Up And Bleed." Other tracks by Beirut Slump are included that should be unreleased. Single:
Mainliner: Mellow Out
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
Among the most rotten records I own. From the Rising Sun, year 1996. I don't know how to define them. Like a filthy and rancid bootleg of Comets On Fire (who didn't even exist in '96) played in symbiosis with Metal Machine Music. But even more warped and recorded with a bad setup. An assault on the neurons (and on the eardrums).
  • fuggitivo
    18 jul 14
    I have it too, on vinyl. All fuchsia. I fell in love with it at first listen, the riff of "Black Sky" is something monstrous and super cool. Really, there are no words. I don’t know if you’ve listened to it yet, but also with Kawabata, I highly recommend the first Musica Transonic, which is even more full-tilt noise. And there’s also the self-titled debut from Purling Hiss, which is another crazy delirium...
  • fuggitivo
    18 jul 14
    Since we have similar tastes and we both drool over psychedelia, I also recommend "Out" by White Heaven, another Japanese band. I swear, don’t pay attention to what I wrote in the review here, that album is one of the highest peaks ever reached by psychedelia. That album is rotten, the guitars and the vocals sound like they're melted by the sun (there’s Michio Kurihara, no joke), the drums are minimal and the bass takes center stage, except for two minor rock tracks, the rest is pure gold. I keep it like a relic in my room.
  • SilasLang
    18 jul 14
    My dear, "Out" is among my favorite albums from the '90s :-) I also have it on vinyl... I didn't specify while collecting ahahaah... of course, you love the Ghosts too...
  • fuggitivo
    19 jul 14
    Sorry for the presumption, it's just that when it comes to records like these, you never know. Anyway, I'm glad you like it, but it couldn't be otherwise, haha! The Ghosts have also done memorable things, "Agate Scape" and "Summer's Ashen Fable" in particular hold a special place in my little heart, but the first self-titled one is beautiful too. How did you find the latest Mainliner that came out recently? I can't listen to this stuff anymore because I've gotten tired of spending 30 euros on new headphones every time. :-)
  • SilasLang
    19 jul 14
    What a presumption. Let's call it enthusiasm. I also get carried away talking about music and records, and sometimes I might come off as a show-off, but it’s pure enthusiasm driven by my love for this art. No, I only have this one from Mainliner; I found it in Rome, can you imagine, years ago at a hippie's stall. I also picked up the second one from 35007, another amazing band, but they're Dutch... I especially adore Ghost for 'Lama Rabi Rabi'.
  • fuggitivo
    19 jul 14
    In fact, the two titles I mentioned are the last two tracks from "Lama Rabi Rabi." What an amazing album that is. Anyway, your "Mellow Out" should be the first limited edition vinyl pressing, cool. I read something about the 35007 a while ago, but I can’t remember where; I removed it from my mind.
  • SilasLang
    19 jul 14
    Red vinyl...yes, I actually paid a good amount to the guy and he told me it was quite rare. I highly recommend the 35007, especially the EP 'Sea of Tranquillity' and the album 'Liquid'...but also 'Into The Void We Travelled' (which I bought from the guy upstairs) and the latest, quieter and even more extended 'Phase V'...one of the greatest bands to emerge in the old continent in the last 20 years.
  • fuggitivo
    22 jul 14
    Yes, exactly red vinyl. Of these 35007, I've searched and found only the first one, "Especially for You," on CD. I'm interested mainly because, in your definition, you mentioned Electric Wizard, of which I'm (you have no idea how much) longing for "Dopethrone" and "Come My Fanatics." Right now, I'm tuned into stoner, but I can't find anything around. Actually, at Soul Food, they had Fu Manchu.
Manic Street Preachers: The Holy Bible
CD Audio I have it ★★★
While organizing my things nicely, I found records I bought 20 years ago from bands whose existence I had forgotten. This is one of those. I listened to it again today... just to jog my memory. Nice. And dated. Now it can go back to the oblivion, where it deserves to be.
  • hackerhacked
    1 mar 13
    Is the group leader the one who insinuated that Michael Stipe was HIV-positive?
  • SilasLang
    3 mar 13
    And who remembers it! I remember one of them vanished into thin air, I think it was the guitarist.
Mark Lanegan: Scraps At Midnight
CD Audio I have it ★★★★
After that indescribable masterpiece that was "Whiskey For the Holy Ghost," Lanegan cleans himself up and returns with this excellent work of dark folk songs. At the time, I expected more after the previous masterpiece, but this is still quite an excellent album! "Bell Black Ocean" brings tears...
Marlene Kuntz: Ho Ucciso Paranoia
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
A truly great album, in my opinion one of the best Italian records of the '90s, and at the same time, in my view, the only real great album they ever made. Well, we all know how it ended up, becoming truly repellent and irritating to me.
  • SilasLang
    8 oct 13
    F**K! I was referring to Il Vile non paranoia. Those messed up covers got me!
Matmos: A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
One of the coolest electronic records of the last 20 years..
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