A couple of the Blogger bloggers in my side bar don't allow comments from non-Blogger bloggers. I've grabbed a few things from their excellent uploads but I can't leave a thanks without signing up for a Blogger account. I can barely remember my own name sometimes, so there's just no chance of remembering user names and logins for every social networking site out there (note the use of hip and modern terminology). So, if any of you ever find this post, 'Cheers' for the noise. And can I ask you ever-so-nicely to liberalise your comment regimes so I can leave a more personal response in future? Ta.

Punk Torrents has opened up registration again. I don't know how long this will last for (in recent times it's been 24 hours), so you may want to register quick if you want to jump on the BitTorrent bandwagon. If you use Windows I'd suggest using uTorrent as your client (I've not bothered or needed to update it since the 1.6.1. build 483 beta version), although I'm hoping that one of the open source options will soon match its specs.

You may also want to have a read of an older post I wrote that explains the whole kaboodle in a bit more detail.

Subhumans - Internal Riot
Bluurg Records

More than twenty years on from their last studio release, the boys from Wessex have at last managed to drag their arses from the primordial punk slime to give us what we've all been waiting for. This record is, without doubt, their finest release to date. It's like they've dissected everything that's gone before, removed anything surplus to requirements and spliced the remaining material together again, capturing the very essence of the band in audio DNA.

As ever, Dick's words form the solid backbone of the beast unleashed. Straining with tension and urgency, they concentrate the mind very much on the matter at hand. But not with any sort of preachy dogma. He's much cleverererer than that, is Mr. Lucas. Instead they weave together some specifics of the moment (for example, the war in Iraq in 'This Year's War') with a broader analysis of the deeper issues and concepts underpinning them ('this year's war against terror, like the war on crime, is war against anyone, anytime'). And everything is underpinned with an almost personalised invitation (the kind you can't refuse) that drags you, the listener, right into the middle of the whole experience. It's a record that insists on and gets your active attention from start to end.

Musically, it's as flawless as the band have ever been. There's variation aplenty but it's as distinctive as hell. The bass and guitar trade witty and clever banter as they build their intricate wall of sound, while Trotsky's complex beats provide the framework. Meanwhile, Dick's voice cuts through at just the right volume to glue the whole lot together nicely. The power contained within this simple piece of plastic would give a thermo-nuclear device a run for its money (not that I'm suggesting you test this out in your living room).

I could rant on and on and on about this, but instead I'll just say 'Buy it. Buy it now, right this moment, before any other thought even has a chance to cross your mind'.

And in case you're wondering about the different cover images at the top, the one on the left shows the original artist's draft and the one on the right is the final version. To be honest, I think the draft is the better of the two except for the 'Subhumans' logo being too big (it's just about perfect on the final one). I suppose I could always colour mine in to match the original, but I'm not that sad or wreckless with my records (not these days, anyway).

Download sample track - 'Process'

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Artist: Chumbawamba
Title: Jesus H Christ
Source: Vinyl 12" LP
Bitrate: V0 VBR
Running time (h:m:s): 00:47:32
Size (mb): 84
Label: Everyone's Stealing From Someone (defunct - only existed for this release)
Year: 1992
Notes: Ripped as two tracks (Side A and Side B ) as it is a continuous mix.

Side A:
1 Intro
2 Alright Now
3 Don't Fence Me In
4 Money Money Money
5 Solid Gold Easy Action
6 Silly Love Songs
7 Get Off My Cloud

Side B:
1 Stairway To Heaven
2 Big Mouth Strikes Again
3 Street Music
4 I Should Be So Lucky
5 Stitch That

The first time I heard one of their early 'Sky And Trees' tapes I knew that Chumbawamba were going to catch on. They were unlike anything that had gone before but captured the spirit of the best that had, and they got my toes tapping and my grey matter whirring. Each release felt like it was built on the foundations of the last, and they weren't afraid to allow their own likes to seep into the mix. A Chumbawamba record is a work of passion, whether you actually like the end result or not. For sure, they had a bit of a wasteland period where things seemed to stagnate for a while, but we've all been there. Their latest incarnation is a return to form, and I'd recommend grabbing a copy of 'A Singsong And A Scrap' if you haven't already.

'Jesus H Christ' is an extremely rare bootleg (possibly 500 pressed?) from the anarcho-pranksters when they were at a creative peak, and it could only be found in the kind of places your mother warned you about. The band eventually remixed this and released it as 'Shhh' after apparently running into all kinds of legal difficulties regarding the use of samples, but this is how they originally intended it to sound. 'Shhh!' is a great album but this bootleg adds the final polish. There's loads of family fun to be had sample-spotting too. The wiki entry on 'Shhh!' has a good breakdown of the differences between the two albums and is worth a read.

From the sleeve:

"individual possession is the great entering wedge, which has split society into eight hundred million fragments. it virtually, practically and theoretically denies the brotherhood of man." (hiram stafford, 1844)

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Artist: Anarcrust
Album: Coalescence
Source: Vinyl 12" LP
Bitrate: V0 VBR
Running time (h:m:s): 00:19:24
Size (mb): 35.4
Label: Psylo (defunct)
Year: 1993

1. One Way To Death
2. Blue Eyes
3. The Thirst, The Pain
4. Pushed
5. They Try To Force Me
6. Express Your Feelings
7. Ni-Hau
8. Trapped

With a name like Anarcrust, what were you expecting? Actually, these Dutch punk stoners are a lot more complex than you might be led to believe. Yes it's intense, yes it's raging, but there are tempo changes aplenty and some mean talent behind the instruments, creating something a lot more ear-catching than the usual grindy offerings. It's still nice and shouty though, and not necessarily the first thing you'd associate with enthusiatic recreational drug use.

This was the first of only two studio albums, and they didn't release much else. whispered into existence has uploaded a great rip of one of their 7"'s and has written a bit more about 'em, so check it out.

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A recipe perfect for the winter months (with a small glass of cider into the bargain). Serves 3-4 depending on how hungry you are.

• 1 block (approx 200g) smoked tofu, cubed and marinated in shoyu or tamari for a few hours
• 250ml dry cider (I’d recommend Westons Strong Organic Cider)
• 1 tin (approx 400g) tomatoes, liquidised
• 1 tin (approx 400g) baked beans
• 2 medium onions (red if available), halved and thickly sliced lengthways
• 2 medium carrots, thickly sliced
• 4 sticks celery, thickly sliced
• 4 medium potatoes, quartered
• 200g mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 125g sweetcorn
• 1 red pepper cut into 2.5cm chunks
• 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped (optional)
• Bay leaf
• 1-2 fresh sage leaves, shredded
• Black pepper
• 1 tsp or to taste chili powder / flakes (optional)
• 1 tbs paprika powder
• 1 vegetable stock cube (I use Kallo organic stock cubes)
• 1 tbs tomato puree
• 1-2 tsp wholegrain mustard (optional)
• 1 heaped tsp cornflour mixed into a thin paste

Preheat an oven to 180C (gas mark 4, 350F). Steam the potatoes and carrots for 10 mins until just starting to soften on the outside. While they’re cooking, fry the tofu in a little oil until browned all over. If you don’t have tofu, use 4-6 vegan sausages or some Sosmix balls instead (cut sausages into quarters when cooked).

Put all of the vegetables, including the potatoes and carrots, and tofu into a large casserole dish and mix together. Add the tomato puree, stock cube (crumbled), mustard, chili, paprika and herbs, pour over the beans, tomatoes, cider, cornflour and enough water to bring the liquid to just below the top of the veg mix, and mix again. Add a good grind of black pepper and put a lid on the casserole dish. Place into the oven and cook for approx 1 1/2 hours, gently mixing every 30 mins, until everything is soft and the liquid has thickened (you can add a bit more liquid during cooking if it’s getting too thick).

I sometimes turn the heat down to around 150C (gas mark 2, 300F) after 45 mins then give it an hour and a half or so at this temp to really slow the cooking down and intensify the flavours.

Drink the rest of the bottle of cider while you’re waiting.

Serve with steamed Savoy cabbage, a chunk of bread if you’ve got a healthy appetite, and another bottle of cider.

Tastes even better the next day, so try and save a portion. Difficult, I know, but your tongue and belly will thank you.

Artist: Blyth Power
Album: A Little Touch Of Harry In The Night
Source: Tape
Bit rate: 192 kbs
Running time (h:m:s): 00:46:22
Size (mb): 63.7
Label: 96 Tapes
Year: 1986
Notes: Original rip downloaded from Punktorrents. It's from tape, so it's a bit flat and hissy!

Here's the last bit of the Blyth Power four-parter, their one and only tape. I'll let someone else give you the lowdown on this:

Thirteen hurtling songs, wrapped in a crew manual for a class 56 locomotive. What goes on here? Blyth Power has answers of sorts: 'Just as Revlon killed the rabbits in laboratory tests / Surely we shall die of Sony Walkman video cassettes…'

In songs like the classic 'Some of Shelley's Hangups' and 'Under The Seawind' Blyth Power's slyly wise words ring as sharp and abrasive as their guitarist.

But elsewhere, well, many nights may well be spent in good-spirited debate centred around these strangely phrased tales of trains, mythology, history, cricket and metaphysics. And soon it may well make sense…

As we recall the guitar chopped, jagged rush of early ATV/Wire, we can also note just as often the small but vital debt owed to folk balladry by their jerky, midpaced gallops and Josef's peculiarly English voice.

Blyth Power - raw and uniquely exciting - are as good as riding bikes, dancing until stupid, baking bread, or taking drugs, whatever is your kick. Or near enough at least.

Robin Gibson, Sounds, 02.02.85 (taken from BP's website)

Just about says it all really.

The sound quality is OK given its heritage, but sound levels are quite low. You could always try running it through Audacity if you want to have a go at perking it up some more (try using the compressor). Alternatively, the equaliser in Foobar2000 is pretty effective at rebalancing the frequencies, particularly if you reduce the high end. The ReplayGain option may also work too.

There's a 128 kbs rip that you might want to try available over at Kill Your Pet Puppy (louder, maybe less muddy but hissier), where you'll also find a load more 96 Tapes rips and other classic punk ephemera. It's also where I nicked the above cover image from.

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Artist: Blyth Power
Album: Junction Signal
Source: Vinyl 7" EP
Bitrate: V0 VBR
Running time (h:m:s): 00:06:29
Size (mb): 11.8
Label: All The Madmen
Year: 1986

1. Junction Signal
2. Bind Their Kings

In my ongoing quest to keep other old punks happy, here's the third part of the Blyth Power quartet. Two tracks, short and sweet. 'Junction Signal' is an upbeat tale of bitterness overcome by simple faith in all things train-related. Josef Porter once took part in a TV programme about religion where he said that his was trainspotting. Here, he's set his religion to a rather dapper tune. I think 'Bind Their Kings' has something to do with Charles I and the English Civil War, but I could be totally wrong. Ah well, I've been told that history's just a matter of interpretation, so my interpretation is as good as anyone's.

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Artist: Blyth Power
Album: Wicked Women, Wicked Men And Wicket Keepers
Source: Vinyl 12" LP
Bitrate: V0 VBR
Running time (h:m:s): 00:35:43
Size (mb): 65.4
Label: All The Madmen
Year: 1986
Notes: Some minor background noise

1. Goodbye General
2. Stand Into Danger
3. Bricklayers Arms
4. Smoke From Cromwell's Time
5. John O'Gaunt
6. Hurling Time
7. Untitled
8. Probably Going To Rain
9. Caligula
10. It Probably Won't Be Easy
11. Marius Moves
12. Ixion
13. Some OF Shelley's Hang Ups

See the previous post for more info about (and tunes from) this bunch of cheerfully deranged loons. This is BP's first full-length vinyl release and a mighty fine one it is too, never bettered in this writer's highly opinionated, err, opinion. Off-the-wall lyrics about medieval history, trains, the weather and other random influences are married to a barn-dancin', cyder-swilling punk-folk sound that'll leave you both smiling and confused.

The 'Ltd. Free 7"' mentioned on the cover sticker is 'Junction Signal' , their first 7" release which was limited to a couple of thousand numbered copies I think. That's next on the ripping list and, with the previously mentioned 'Harry' tape which I'll also up, will complete the set of the very first BP releases on tape, 7" EP, 12" EP and 12" album.

"Class War? Class 40 War! Woooo, the best sort!" - Josef Porter's response to some punky types shouting "Class War!" at a very early BP gig I was at.

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Artist: Blyth Power
Title: Chevy Chase
Source: Vinyl 12" EP
Bitrate: V0 VBR
Running time (h:m:s): 00:12:06
Size (mb): 19.6
Label: All The Madmen (defunct)
Year: 1985
Notes: Some minor background noise

1. My Lady's Game
2. Chevy Chase
3. God Has Gone Wrong Again
4. Song Of The Third Cause

This 12" was the first vinyl release by Josef Porter (ex-Mob / Zounds) and his merry band of brigands, and features the first punk song about cricket I'd ever heard (a bit of a specialist niche, it has to be said). Punkified folkiness with an added twist provides the perfect soundboard for Mr. Porter's obsessions (which are many and diverse). A Blyth Power record is always an enjoyably surreal experience and, if you can decipher / avoid the more esoteric ramblings, very enlightening too. Kind of.

If you catch the bug, seeing them live will take you to a whole new level. 20 years on and they're still out there (physically and mentally), doing it and taking your head on a one way journey to Strangeville. My recommendation is to buy the ticket, hop aboard and don't fasten the safety belt.

If you like this, I've got a reasonable rip at 192 kbs of their very first demo tape 'A Little Touch Of Harry In The Night', which I'm more than happy to upload. I've also got a couple more of their earliest vinyl releases (1st album and 7") which I can rip to my normal high standards Just let me know.

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