Style: Punk, New Wave. Similar Artists: The Stranglers, Dead Kennedys. Recording year: 1990, Epic.
With Prison Bound, Social Distortion began to metamorphasize from a rather ordinary L.A. hardcore band into a roots rock band willing to make with more than their share of the attitude, and this process continued on their self-titled third album (which was also their major-label debut).
Musically, Mike Ness and company had learned to split the difference between rockabilly and Ramones-style punk, not unlike fellow L.A. vets X, and if Ness couldn't sing or write with the skill or the resonance of John Doe, "Story of My Life" and "It Coulda Been Me" sound a lot more personal and deeply felt than anything on Mommy's Little Monster, and "Ball and Chain" and "So Far Away" prove he could crank out a respectable honky tonk number if he put his mind to it.
Thanks to Epic's sponsorship, the group had more time and money at their disposal for Social Distortion than on their previous albums, and producer Dave Jerden made the most of it; Mike Ness and Dennis Danell's guitars sound lean, sharp, and powerful; Ness's vocals are better controlled than ever before; and Christopher Reece's drums have a tight snap that suits both the thrashier numbers as well as the slower, blusier tunes.
Throbbing Gristle and their front man Genesis P-orrrige have been creating and then confounding the pop culture dialectic since 1976. Genesis P-orridige not only invented industrial music but also founded the first independent record label to promote it. If you listen to bands such as Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, or KMFDM, you owe a hand of gratitude to Throbbing Gristle; they invented the genre.
Abrasive, aggressive, and antagonistic, Britain's Throbbing Gristle pioneered industrial music; exploring death, mutilation, fascism, and degradation amid a thunderous cacophony of mechanical noise, tape loops, extremist anti-melodies, and bludgeoning beats, the group's cultural terrorism -- the "wreckers of civilization," one tabloid called them -- raised the stakes of artistic confrontation to new heights, combating all notions of commerciality and good taste with a maniacal fervor.
Formed in London in the autumn of 1975, Throbbing Gristle consisted of vocalist/ringleader Genesis P-Orridge, his then-lover, guitarist Cosey Fanni Tutti, tape manipulator Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson, and keyboardist Chris Carter. A performance art troupe as much as a band, their early live shows -- each starting with a punch clock and running exactly 60 minutes before the power to the stage was cut -- threatened obscenity laws; during their notorious premiere gig, P-Orridge even mounted an art exhibit consisting entirely of used tampons and soiled diapers.
From their first performances in 1976 to their last gig in San Francisco in 1981 (recorded and released as "Mission Of Dead Souls"), they challenged and threatend so-called "normal", society - denounced from the floor of the House of Commons as "Wreckers of Civilisation" as the Coum Transmissions "Prostitution" art show in London's ICA (at which TG played their third show) came close to causing riots and set the stage for the punk revolution.
Musically, they were extreme and uncompromising, using technology to make anti-music, which redefined music for all time. Their experimentation led them to pioneer sampling and looping techniques adopted by many of those who came after.
They split in 1981, with Genesis and Peter forming Psychic TV (and Peter later forming Coil) and Chris and Cosey becoming, well, Chris & Cosey. However, they came back together 23 years later in 2004 to plan an ill-fated weekend festival, which became a one-off recording session in London when the festival fell through, releasing a limited TGNOW album of the recordings.
Similar Artists: The Clash, Band Of Susans, Scritti Politti.
Recording Year: Dutch East India Trading, 1990.
In later years, some bandmembers claimed that the best Gang of Four album of all was, in fact, this collection of three separate sessions from 1979 and 1981. It's little surprise why -- recorded with brisk, blunt immediacy, Peel Sessions is both a showcase for the band's sheer power and amazing transformation of funk and punk for its own virulent ends, with all three sessions featuring the full original lineup. Good production from Bob Sargeant, who produced all tracks except the last three, helps immensely, while there's no track repetition at all. A gripping version of "I Found That Essence Rare" begins the collection, Andy Gill's guitar slashing like a vicious weapon and Jon King's vocals getting even more wired and intense as the song continues. As for the Dave Allen/Hugo Burnham rhythm section, it sounds like it could beat down walls. From there, Peel Sessions serves up one highlight after another. Also from the first session, "Return the Gift" builds to a powerful climax, King's plaintive call "Please send me evenings and weekends" echoing into the distance, while "At Home's He's a Tourist" is stripped-down aggression at its finest. On the second session, "Natural's Not in It" is the standout, featuring some of Burnham's best drumming ever, while Gill's clipped riff gets a deservedly strong performance. King's singing sends everything over the top, while his work on "Ether" is equally strong, balanced between collapsing quaver, simmering outrage, and smooth passion (consider his delivery of the final "white noise in a white room" in the midsong break). His occasional melodica, as heard on "Not Great Men," adds to the performances nicely. As for the last session, the murky, dislocated performance of "History's Bunk" makes for a fascinating, weird listen, while "To Hell With Poverty" tops things off with some brutal disco.
Similar Artists: Softcell, Eurythmics, Thomas Dolby.
Recording Year: Warner Bros., 1990.
Formed in Akron, OH, in 1972 by Kent State art students Jerry Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh, Devo took its name from their concept of "de-evolution" -- the idea that instead of evolving, mankind has actually regressed, as evidenced by the dysfunction and herd mentality of American society. Their music echoed this view of society as rigid, repressive, and mechanical, with appropriate touches -- jerky, robotic rhythms; an obsession with technology and electronics (the group was among the first non-prog rock bands to make the synthesizer a core element); often atonal melodies and chord progressions -- all of which were filtered through the perspectives of geeky misfits. Devo became a cult sensation, helped in part by their concurrent emphasis on highly stylized visuals, and briefly broke through to the mainstream with the smash single "Whip It," whose accompanying video was made a staple by the fledgling MTV network. Sometimes resembling a less forbidding version of the Residents, Devo's simple, basic electronic pop sound proved very influential, but it was also somewhat limited, and as other bands began expanding on the group's ideas, Devo seemed unable to keep pace. After a series of largely uninteresting albums, the band called it quits early in the '90s, and Casale and Mothersbaugh concentrated on other projects.
Gerald Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh both attended art school at Kent State University at the outset of the 1970s. With friend Bob Lewis, who joined an early version of Devo and later became their manager, the theory of de-evolution was developed with the aid of a book entitled The Beginning Was the End: Knowledge Can Be Eaten, which held that mankind had evolved from mutant, brain-eating apes. The trio adapted the theory to fit their view of American society as a rigid, dichotomized instrument of repression which ensured that its members behaved like clones, marching through life with mechanical, assembly-line precision and no tolerance for ambiguity. The whole concept was treated as an elaborate joke until Casale witnessed the infamous National Guard killings of student protesters at the university; suddenly there seemed to be a legitimate point to be made. The first incarnation of Devo was formed in earnest in 1972, with Casale (bass), Mark Mothersbaugh (vocals), and Mark's brothers Bob (lead guitar) and Jim, who played homemade electronic drums. Jerry's brother Bob joined as an additional guitarist, and Jim left the band to be replaced by Alan Myers. The group honed its sound and approach for several years (a period chronicled on Rykodisc's Hardcore compilations of home recordings), releasing a few singles on its own Booji Boy label and inventing more bizarre concepts: Mothersbaugh dressed in a baby-faced mask as Booji Boy (pronounced "boogie boy"), a symbol of infantile regression; there were recurring images of the potato as a lowly vegetable without individuality; the band's costumes presented them as identical clones with processed hair; and all sorts of sonic experiments were performed on records, using real and homemade synthesizers as well as toys, space heaters, toasters, and other objects. Devo's big break came with its score for the short film The Truth About De-Evolution, which won a prize at the 1976 Ann Arbor Film Festival; when the film was seen by David Bowie and Iggy Pop, they were impressed enough to secure the group a contract with Warner Bros.
While 1979's Duty Now for the Future was another strong effort, the band broke through to the mainstream with 1980's Freedom of Choice, which contained the gold-selling single "Whip It" and represented a peak in their sometimes erratic songwriting. The video for "Whip It" became an MTV smash, juxtaposing the band's low-budget futuristic look against a down-home farm setting and hints of S&M. However, Devo's commercial success proved to be short-lived. 1981's New Traditionalists was darker and more serious, not what the public wanted from a band widely perceived as a novelty act, and Devo somehow seemed to be running out of new ideas. Problems plagued the band as well: Bob Lewis successfully sued for theft of intellectual property after a tape of Mothersbaugh was found acknowledging Lewis' role in creating de-evolution philosophy, and the sessions for 1982's Oh, No! It's Devo were marred by an ill-considered attempt to use poetry written by would-be Ronald Reagan assassin John Hinckley, Jr. as lyrical material.
This compilation, released concurrently with Greatest Hits, collects some of the band's stranger experiments, early album tracks, and a few rarities, such as the Booji Boy releases of "Be Stiff" and "Mechanical Man" (both available on the Hardcore compilations) and a U.K. B-side, "Penetration in the Centerfold." It does serve as a good supplement to the Greatest Hits collection, even if it is a bit haphazard, but listeners who want more than one Devo disc are advised to go ahead and purchase the first three albums rather than these two compilations -- it's a better way to appreciate their achievements, and it's more entertaining.
Rise and Fall of a Decade is an internationally acclaimed French band trio born in 1988 his members are Thierry Sintoni, Pierre-François Maurin-Malet and Sandy Casado.
Artistas similares: Love & Rockets, The Mission UK, The Bolshoi
Año de grabación: Beggars Banquet, 1990.
Hijo de una humilde familia irlandesa, pero establecido en Inglaterra, Murphy conoce en el colegio a Daniel Ash (guitarra), con quien forma Bauhaus junto a David J (bajo) y Kevin Haskinss (batería). Bauhaus graban su primer single "Bela Lugosi is dead" en 1979 convirtiéndose en una de las formaciones punteras del movimiento after punk siniestro emergente en esa época, junto a gente como Joy Division o Siouxsie And The Banshees.
En 1985 Peter Murphy emprende carrera en solitario. Ayudado en la composición por el guitarrista Howard Hughes y por otro guitarrista de renombre John McGeoch (ex Siouxsie And The Banshees) edita en 1986 su primer disco en solitario "Sould the World Fail To Fall Apart", precedido por el single "Final Solution" (versión de un tema de Pere Ubu). Aunque ni el single ni el disco funcionan comercialmente, sirven para que Peter Murphy comience a abrirse camino en el mercado americano.
Tras una gira de gran éxito por EEUU y Europa durante todo 1988 y parte de 1989, Peter Murphy alcanza su cima de éxito comercial con el álbum "Deep" editado a comienzos de 1990. Aunque el disco va precedido por el single "The Line Between The Devils Teeth" que no acaba de calar, es con su segundo single "Cuts You Up" con el que consigue el auténtico boom mundial.
Disfruta de éste excelente disco en FOH.
Son of a humble Irish family, but settled down in England, Murphy knows in the school Daniel Ash (guitar), with whom forms Bauhaus next to David J (bass) and Kevin Haskinss (drums). Bauhaus " records their first single "BelaLugosi is dead" in 1979 and becoming one of the formation sharpshooting of the movement after emergent sinister punk at that time, next to people like Joy Division or Siouxsie And The Banshees.
In 1985 Peter Murphy undertakes his career alone. Helped in the composition by the guitarist Howard Hughes and another guitarist of reputation John McGeoch (ex- Siouxsie And The Banshees) publishes in 1986 its first record" Should the World Fail To Fall Apart" , preceded by single "Final Solution". Although neither single nor the disc works commercially, serve to Peter Murphy as an introduce to the American market.
After a tour of great success in the USA and Europe in 1988 and 1989, Peter Murphy reaches its top of commercial success with the album "Deep" published at the beginning of 1990. Although the disc goes preceded by single " The Line Between The Devils Teeth" that it does not finish piercing, is with his second single " Cuts You Up" with that it secures the authentic world-wide boom.
Artistas similares: KMFDM, Skinny Puppy, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult
Año de grabación: Sire, 1990.
Album en vivo de los grandes Minstry. Un concierto cuyas canciones fueron seleccionadas de dos de sus álbumes más poderosos 'Land of rape and honey' y 'A mind is a terrible thing to taste'.
Corto en duración y en número de tracks (solo 6), pero grande en intepretación.
Live album of greatest Minstry. A concert whose songs were selected of two of their more powerful albums at the time, ' Land of rape and honey' and ' The mind is a terrible thing to taste'.
Short in duration and number of tracks (only 6), but great in intepretation.
