Guru Guru: Känguru
CD Audio I have it ★★★★
The closure of the great parabola. After that, the transition from a bewildering period of inspiration to an equally bewildering mediocrity. But so far, it's (almost) all perfect. "Oxymoron" the latest masterpiece.
  • GIANLUIGI67
    2 aug 13
    Maybe I prefer Ufo, anyway it's great. I've never listened to the other works so as not to ruin my memory of these two gems.
  • BARRACUDA BLUE
    2 aug 13
    The self-titled album from '73 is a fantastic record: the first side is all reimagined R'N'R', only Zappa and the Residents have managed to push themselves into such sacrilegious evocations. And the second side features a lysergic pairing, Der Elektrolurch and The Story Of Life, that would make the Floyd pale, already converted to diodenaro at that time. Ax Genrich's solos spray acid with a toy gun, and what a rhythm! They still held up here... and they were entertaining too!!!!!
Hatfield and the North: Hatfield & The North
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
One of those things that remains astonishing even after the 634th listen. What could have been going through their minds while recording all of this is hard to interpret.
  • Psychopathia
    2 aug 13
    I finished listening to The Rotters' Club for the first time half an hour ago... I found it for 5 euros along with other prog gems. I haven't decided yet if I liked it or not. A bit bizarre, for sure. Maybe I'll include it in my next order.
  • GIANLUIGI67
    2 aug 13
    great album, definitely superior to the following The Rotters' Club
  • hjhhjij
    2 aug 13
    Immense, however, here it is, for me the next one is just a bit better. I repeat, immense.
  • Lao Tze
    2 aug 13
    It's prohibitive to choose between the two. Personal preferences come into play. For me, they are both masterpieces.
  • ranofornace
    2 aug 13
    Hatfield and the North, one of the supreme masterpieces and a cornerstone of Canterbury jazz-prog, an exceptional group led by the great musician and keyboardist Dave Stewart. For me, it's just slightly superior to "Rotter's Club," only for the harmonies, which here are laden with poignant melancholy.
HUMAN LEAGUE: DARE!
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
"Take time to see the wonders of the world, take a cruise to China or a train to Spain... everybody needs cash to spend, these are the things that dreams are made of..."
  • Psychopathia
    20 jun 14
    perhaps the last acceptable one. the previous ones, especially the first, were in my opinion better. I bet you know them also by the name the future... I had a reissued record in 2002 but now I don't have it anymore. however, I remember similarities even with cabaret voltaire.
  • GIANLUIGI67
    20 jun 14
    I really like "Reproduction"; in the reprint, the very first work is included, featuring very experimental electronic drawings.
  • BARRACUDA BLUE
    20 jun 14
    Between this and its twin Love And Dancing, I prefer this one: the dancefloor holds up much better to the sound of 12" Version.
  • Lao Tze
    20 jun 14
    The Future, of course, with a lineup of 4 - Oakey/Ware/Marsh + Adi Newton. Reproduction remains the first choice of the HL (the FIRST HL) for me as well, but this is a classic '80s Pop track that feels monumental, from the music to the lyrics, which are by no means just a detail. Paradoxically, it was my detachment from the dancefloor that made me see that something extra in this album.
  • Lao Tze
    20 jun 14
    sorry, here sleep is taking over: training at THREE - without Oakey, damn it ;-))
  • rolando303
    23 jun 14
    Good.
Hypnos 69: Legacy
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
Hard, psychedelic, progressive, dark, possessed, grandiosely SEVENTIES: what an enormous piece of Disco.
  • GIANLUIGI67
    15 sep 13
    I don't know them, but I already like them from their name. I'm going to get them. Tonight I brushed off the Novalis and the Astral Navigations, two wonderful albums...
  • ZannaB
    16 sep 13
    Oh, I've had these on my shopping list for at least 2 years and I've never bought them! Heard something about them on YouTube, they impressed me!
  • SilasLang
    16 sep 13
    I've got it, I've got it. Very nice. Well, much more 70's Progressive than psychedelic...
  • ranofornace
    16 sep 13
    They deserve credit for having made good use of the knowledge acquired with considerable skill.
  • Lao Tze
    16 sep 13
    there's a bit of everything, the progressive component prevails but it's not overwhelming; the best they've done - in my opinion - is precisely to reclaim it all with personality... where others have simply limited themselves to imitation. So, nowadays, a record like this certainly stands out.
  • SilasLang
    16 sep 13
    yes yes, indeed it’s really nice. Actually, you know what? I’ll put it back on tonight :)
Ian Gillan Band: Clear Air Turbulence
CD Audio I have it ★★★★
Questionable cover but a surprising work, much closer to Billy Cobham than to Deep Purple, dense with jazz/exotic/progressive instrumental deviations. Notable are "Five Moons" and "Goodhand Liza", with the latter showcasing the dexterity of the rhythm section John Gustafson/Mark Nauseef.
  • hellraiser
    7 oct 13
    Yes, Gillan changes style after the Purple, without much commercial success but with great albums. It's a shame that his voice will decline significantly from this period onward.
  • Lao Tze
    7 oct 13
    yeah, unfortunately, yes.
Iggy Pop: The Idiot
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
Sono sepolto nella produzione di massa.
  • iside
    25 dec 13
    perfect, from the first second to the last. one of my favorite albums of all time.
Iggy Pop: Lust for Life
CD Audio I have it ★★★
Uhm...
  • March Horses
    21 mar 14
    absolutely right... the other day I was listening to Raw Power, first the Bowie mix and then the Iggy one... with all due respect to the Duke, there’s no comparison
  • hjhhjij
    21 mar 14
    Rough Power!
  • Psychopathia
    21 mar 14
    I never loved Bowie too much, but Iggy is definitely worth more with the Stooges than as a solo artist. Maybe I liked American Caesar and Bide Bide Bidem'ap.
Il Rovescio Della Medaglia: La Bibbia
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
LIVE because in the studio live recording: in '71 they played louder than any other band in Italy. "Progressive" because conceptual, but in reality, this is pure and bloody HARD with dark instrumental interludes that have a demonic quality. "Sodoma & Gomorra": a blast of granite electricity.
  • GIANLUIGI67
    26 sep 13
    in the now endless list of albums to listen to....... I believe that one lifetime is no longer enough for me
Inspiral Carpets: Life
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
Well. An album that is hard to forget. The "sixties" organs of Clint Boon and beautiful post-punk rhythms - dry, tight, reminiscent of Julian Cope and the Teardrop Explodes up close. But here we were in Manchester (Oldham, to be precise) and not in Liverpool. The Ma(D)chester of the early, great Stone Roses. It was 1990.
  • De...Marga...
    3 jun 14
    Great revival, Lao!! One of yours...after all, you are one of the best connoisseurs and knowledgeable about that magical musical period for the English land; certainly, in those years in Ma(d)Chester there was a proliferation of super bands...If I remember correctly, it was with the Inspiral that Gallagher's older brother cut his teeth as a roadie.
  • Lao Tze
    4 jun 14
    It's true, and there was also a not remotely unlikely chance that Noel would join as a permanent member. The rest is the story of someone who, on one side, made billions, and a band that, on the other, didn’t even receive 40% of what they deserved... oh well. New album from the Carpets in September, barring another delay which would be yet another one, by the way. I hope the anticipation can help them in terms of sales.
Jaco Pastorius: Word Of Mouth
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
Orchestral jazz + fretless bass, a strange alchemy completely counter to the trends of that time, and it's precisely for this reason that I consider "Word Of Mouth" Jaco's true masterpiece of the '80s, along with "Invitation."
  • rolando303
    29 dec 13
    If only there were still today these "riccardoni" as someone calls them.
    Very, very beautiful.
Jade Warrior: Jade Warrior
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
A masterpiece ahead of its time by at least 15 years. But for crying out loud, I would buy the vinyl too (original press), with that cover artwork which – in itself – is a work of art; yes, if only I had ever found it for less than 200 euros…
  • BARRACUDA BLUE
    25 jan 13
    At least until Way Of The Sun of '78, they continued to be always 15 years ahead. If you like the cover, go for a reissue; the Vertigo Swirls can only be bought by making a crazy move.
Mr. Zimmerman revisited (with a focus on the nighttime atmospheres of "Oh Mercy" and "Time Out Of Mind," conveniently) in a jazz-instrumental key for piano/Hammond, double bass, and drums - Saft, Cohen, Perowsky. And Mike Patton interpreting "Ballad Of A Thin Man" in his own way is worth the price of admission for the whole album...
Japan: Gentlemen Take Polaroids
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
I don't know... I think I've listened to it 1750 times or so. And when I listen to it for the 1751st time, I realize once again how "Methods Of Dance," and it's certainly not the only title one could mention, is simply one of the SUM expressions of Art-Music.
  • BARRACUDA BLUE
    29 sep 13
    A magnificent album: I own prints in different formats, and apart from the various cover shots, over time I've discovered that Some Kind Of Fool and Burning Bridges are actually the same piece, that instrumental from another dimension... a mistake or a strange game to confuse the enthusiasts? Taking Islands In Africa, alongside the first Sylvian/Sakamoto songwriting, has always been my favorite piece, which made me buy the CD as well because of the Steve Nye remix.
  • BARRACUDA BLUE
    29 sep 13
    An instrumental up to a certain point, when you least expect it, almost at the end of the piece, Sylvian starts singing, but he always seemed to me to be in total symbiosis with that sound vortex very YMO, Karn's saxophone allowing. Nobody does this stuff anymore.
  • Lao Tze
    1 oct 13
    I agree completely, of course. Taking Islands is another highlight, but also the Marvin Gaye FUTURIST of Ain't That Peculiar... an indescribable cover. If the choice of All Tomorrow's Parties on Quiet Life could be (minimally) predictable - Sylvian being one of the few who could stand up to Nico in her territory - with this, Japan showed themselves to be, in fact, musically omnipotent.
Jean-Luc Ponty: Individual Choice
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
Succeeding where others have amassed embarrassing failures: making the violin and electronics get along, avoiding the coldness of the virtuoso and being modern with taste and "feeling." Within such a context, luxury guests like Allan Holdsworth and George Duke can only bask in it.
Jefferson Starship: Red Octopus
CD Audio I have it ★★★★
Another piece from the endless "family" collection that I hardly remembered having. Beautiful vinyl, nice picture on the back. We're not that far from the last works of the Airplane, here the Starship were still very much alive. "Miracles" is the masterpiece of Marty Balin, the most "Pop" soul of the old band. Grace does not disappoint.
  • hjhhjij
    17 jan 14
    Their best album maybe. Then slowly, but not that slowly, they made a lot of mistakes.
  • Lao Tze
    18 jan 14
    damn forever the one who made me listen to Nuclear Furniture. One of the ugliest records ever. An unlistenable jumble of terrible things. One might say, "well, they weren't really themselves anymore"... who cares, it was definitely them: Grace was there, Kantner was there, Freiberg was there, who had played with Quicksilver, not just talk... how much does it matter to try to keep up with the times and make money without inspiration... eh. Never mind.
Joe Jackson: Night & Day
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
An already extraordinary concept-pop idea on its own. If you then check with your ear HOW it was made... yes, this was also called Pop. And they also called Joe a "creator," but he was and remains a Mind.
  • De...Marga...
    30 aug 14
    Listened to it again just a couple of days ago, after an eternity; it's a great album for the Jackson of Music that I prefer.
  • De...Marga...
    30 aug 14
    Listened to it again just a couple of days ago, after an eternity; it's a great album for the Jackson of Music that I prefer.
  • imasoulman
    31 aug 14
    Of this man, everything can be said except that he wasn't astonishing. An ultra-classical training (conservatory) that leads to record debuts born from the rough and tumble of the late seventies like "Look Sharp" and "I'm the Man," followed by a continuous desire to reinvent himself, from the hot, uplifting funk of "Beat Crazy," to the jazz that dad loved in "Jumpin' Jive," culminating in a (?) perfect synthesis of Cole Porter in a Latino-metropolitan style in "Night and Day." Well, in hindsight, one of the greats of the last century (at least until the super-underrated "Blaze of Glory," which I always listen to with great pleasure and which I almost enjoy as much as his more celebrated major albums).
  • imasoulman
    31 aug 14
    seventysevens
  • Lao Tze
    31 aug 14
    I wholeheartedly agree, especially with the statement about Blaze Of Glory... a vinyl that has never been abandoned, an album that, over the years, has not received the recognition it deserves, and I don't know why. I challenge 90% of musicians to put jazz, pop, Middle Eastern instrumentals, and sophisticated rock (never mundane) into a single album without getting lost in confusion. Some have to struggle to find balance, while others have that sense of balance innately. Perhaps it's because Joe has never lost the brilliance and eagerness of being 19... just as he sang in Blaze Of Glory.
John Cougar Mellencamp: The Lonesome Jubilee
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
Inside the fold-out cover, an explosive formula of words and music, as true and straightforward as possible, spontaneous more than 95% of what is commonly called "American." The perfect tracklist of the Coguaro. And also the record that consecrates a young violinist, who had a decent career ahead of her...
John Foxx: Metamatic
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
I haven't always followed him throughout his record journey, but the first two albums by John Foxx, just released from Ultravox, deserve a discussion of their own. If you're looking for the ICY rarefaction of classic '80s synth-pop, this is one of the building blocks to start with. A masterpiece.
JOHN LENNON: WALLS AND BRIDGES
CD Audio I have it ★★★★
The most underestimated album of a discography that is too often overrated for reasons that are not purely musical. But myth or no myth, Lennon or no Lennon, it's impossible not to be moved by "#9 Dream" or "Old Dirt Road," and not to acknowledge the dizzying heights of "Steel & Glass," "Bless You," "Nobody Loves You." Unfortunately, not the entire duration of the album flows at the same levels.
John Lennon: Double Fantasy
CD Audio I have it ★★★
Yoko Ono: "For this record, I wrote pieces like Kiss Kiss Kiss because I wanted to create something that resembled Lucky Number by Lene Lovich." What more can be added, everyone can comment as they wish...
  • GIANLUIGI67
    3 oct 13
    John Lennon as a solo artist is highly overrated..........I hate that song whose name I dare not speak, the soundtrack of the most pathetic situations, a nightmare.
  • hellraiser
    4 oct 13
    Apart from a few songs, I agree with Gianluigi, Lennon is too overrated, and this album, in my opinion, is a disaster.
  • Lao Tze
    4 oct 13
    Half-listenable record, and the half is obviously John’s. Woman and Beautiful Boy, it’s undeniable that they are great songs. The best Lennon has always been the more intimate one; that’s why I will forever prefer Walls & Bridges to Imagine. As for the quoted phrase, I refuse to comment.
John Mellencamp: Uh-Huh
CD Audio I have it ★★★★
...and overall it doesn't match the two that will come, but "Authority Song" is Rock'n'Roll.
John Zorn: Kristallnacht
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
Among the absolute Zornian peaks. Klezmer, yes, and it could be nothing else but the THEME. But to say that this is just a simple klezmer album is like saying that "Hot Rats" is a jazz-rock album. Here we are infinitely higher up.
  • proggen_ait94
    16 oct 13
    Have you listened to this year's mysteries?
  • Lao Tze
    17 oct 13
    I find it a bit too contemplative. I have to say, an album themed around Nymphs, Sappho, and mystery cults, I expected something different from Zorn. However, I don’t mind it at all; lovers of ECM jazz and Bill Frisell will be thrilled.
John Zorn: Xaphan: Book of Angels Vol. 9
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
...it is well known that when you look to the East, enormous discs always seem to appear. If you also have the slight added value of being a Genius, then the odds increase even more. Odd times, drums and percussion, electronics, Arabic scales from the first to the last minute. In 10 years, not many albums have come out better than this.
Johnny Winter: Second Winter
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
The historic double album with only 3 sides remains a mandatory listen in the genre, featuring the greatest version of "Highway 61 Revisited" ever heard. "Memory Pain" and "I'm Not Sure," with Edgar's electric piano solo that GOES CRAZY, follow closely behind. A monument to the Guitar of the Albino.
  • March Horses
    2 jun 13
    The second track, I can't remember what it's called, is something immense.
  • March Horses
    2 jun 13
    and slippin' and slidin', too
  • Lao Tze
    3 jun 13
    the second one is "I'm Not Sure", exactly. Printed in memory after the first listen, there's no denying it.
Jon Hassell: Power Spot
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
"Wing Melodies" induces hypnosis in less than two minutes, no joke.
Juicy Lucy: Lie Back and Enjoy It
CD Audio I have it ★★★★
Semi-forgotten English hard blues, yet you should listen to this record (I'm talking to you lovers of Cream, Taste, Rory Gallagher, Ten Years After...) - because it features the best cover of "Willie The Pimp" in history.
Kayo Dot: Choirs of the Eye
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
I've never understood anything about this album. The only condition for being able to keep loving it.
  • urlicht
    13 dec 12
    Wow, how beautiful it is!
Kenny Loggins: Celebrate Me Home
CD Audio I have it ★★★★
A debut solo of great class, with plenty of session musicians who at the time hovered around Steely Dan and the like. A very different artist from the one who would totally tarnish his image in the Eighties, between "Footloose" and that abomination "Vox Humana."
Kevin Ayers: Shooting At The Moon
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
David Bedford, Lol Coxhill, and Mike Oldfield (who was this guy in 1970?) providing support in this wacky alternation of melodic pop ("May I?", with Ayers as a pure chansonnier) and experiments such as in... "Pisser Dans Un Violon" (!!). But the peak, at least for me, remains "The Oyster & The Flying Fish".
Kevin Ayers: Joy Of A Toy
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
"Oleh Oleh Bandu Bandong, Baju Penteg Podong Sarong."
Killing Joke: Killing Joke
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
The requiem mass for the deceased Rock.
  • GIANLUIGI67
    12 feb 14
    Fundamentals. It's incredible how many diverse groups, from metal to electronic, cite them as an influence.
  • SilasLang
    12 feb 14
    What a damn record!
Kim Ki Duk: Ferro 3
CD Audio I have it
Unrated film, out of respect for those who were moved by such a "grand" work. But many will know how I feel.
  • I don't understand what could be so moving about this thing, by the way.
Kip Hanrahan: Vertical's Currency
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
Different from the debut but equally perfect. Classy pop jazz halfway between salsa, samba, and Afro-Cuban, an inspired crossover more focused on the song model and less on the jam. Not a single flaw, goosebumps galore. 10 out of 10.
It’s truly a pleasure to find at least ONE work by Wakamatsu in a very poor debaserian landscape of (the best) Eastern cinema. It’s certain that here we are at the top, not only of pinku eiga, but of Japanese cinematic art as a whole. A masterpiece on par with "Embrione," "Estasi degli angeli," and others.
Kula Shaker: Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts
CD Audio I have it ★★★★
It's definitely not a bad album; it's just overshadowed by its predecessor. But if someone didn't APPRECIATE "K," it's unnatural for them to appreciate this. At least 7 or 8 tracks are excellent.
  • SilasLang
    9 apr 13
    Christ, what have you dug up... I had completely erased those memories, I even saw them live, like in '96... Pretty hippy stuff.
  • Lao Tze
    9 apr 13
    definitely hippy...
  • SilasLang
    9 apr 13
    Well, you made me want to listen to them again, alright..
  • Psychopathia
    10 apr 13
    I bought it in '98 but I never listened to that one before. As an album? Well... maybe because back then I was listening to different things. I should give it another listen if I can find it.
Led Zeppelin: In Through The Out Door
CD Audio I have it ★★★★
Ready for the worst insults - but if "Presence" makes me yawn, I've always liked this album so much more. And damn, there might be some filler but there's "Carouselambra", there's "Fool In The Rain" which tells the story of drumming just like "Home At Last" and "Rosanna" (and drummers know it well), there's "All My Love", there's "I'm Gonna Crawl"... if only we had more awful albums like this...
  • March Horses
    17 dec 13
    I think it's also ruined by an awful production.
  • ZannaB
    17 dec 13
    I remember very, very fondly I'm Gonna Crawl, a top-notch piece! The rest I recall as negligible, although Carouselambra was fun...
  • hjhhjij
    17 dec 13
    While I respect your opinion, this time I disagree; I’ve always found this album to be mediocre at best.
Living Colour: Time's Up
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
"Funk-metal"...? - reductive. Here we’re dealing with a STRA-Disco based on one of the most explosive CROSSOVERS ever played. And with Vernon Reid in the role of a futuristic and visionary Hendrix, incendiary lyrics about sex, politics, and religion travel at the same speed as a furiously brilliant electric guitar.
Liz Phair: Exile in Guyville
CD Audio I have it ★★★★
The pinnacle and the end of a career. After that, it will be just conventional and utterly banal American rock, closer to Sheryl Crow than to anything that can be defined as "alternative"; the 5, however, I would prefer to reserve for other albums.
  • cappio al pollo
    14 nov 13
    I totally agree with Cutugno, but I also give him a high five, if only for "Canary."
  • SilasLang
    14 nov 13
    I love this album. Even the next one, Whip-Smart, while still good, starts to show signs of wear...then unfortunately it goes from bad to worse.
Loop Guru: The Third Chamber
CD Audio I have it ★★★★★
Of those records that are referred to as..."monumental," indeed.
Loredana Berté: Bandabertè
CD Audio I have it ★★★
Good record... "Dedicato" surpasses Fossati's version as an interpretation, but the arrangement is terrible, with cheesy keyboards that don't match the blues of the song AT ALL. And then, well, the rendition of "Prendi fra le mani la testa" pales in comparison to the original.