Action Figure Party

Rock? Jazz? All great fun. Eventually, you ask yourself where one ends and the next begins. You might find the answer in Action Figure Party, the eponymous brainchild of Geggy Tah co-founder Greg Kurstin.
Reading like a guest list from the after-hours party at an alternative rock festival, this album boasts the likes of Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist Flea, Buckcherry's Yogi on guitar, alumni of Garbage, No Doubt, Air, Soul Coughing, and, not least, Sean Lennon (cutting wax, no less). Normally, all-star casts have all-star egos with which to contend, but all seems to be in harmony on these twelve tracks, only two of which feature vocals from multi-instrumentalist Kurstin. Instead, the writer/pianist/producer chooses to share the spotlight with the bevy of outstanding talent that he has assembled, including a two-piece horn section, four drummers, five bassists, and Kurstin himself helming the operation at either the piano or an organ that sounds fresh from the ballpark. The result hovers somewhere between Medeski, Martin & Wood and Bootsy Collins on the funk-meter.

This is one for your collection.The mixture of jazz, rock, ska, and fun MUST be heard to be appreciated. Give it a try - a worthy addition. Party Hardy.

1. Everybody Ready 2. Action Figure Party 3. Pong Baby 4. Gamera 5. No Sleep
6. Clock Radio 7. Where's The Moment 8. George & Cindy 9. Gettem 11. The Clapper
12. Flow

actionfig

partay

30 Seconds Over D.C. - Punk comp

Although the Washington D. C. area wasn’t as notorious as New York or London during the heyday of punk, it had a good scene. The Bad Brains were the most notable group from that period but others were here, too. This is a comp of some of the folks in that scene during the first wave of punk/new wave. The DIY ethic is evident throughout these raw cuts. Standouts – Slickee Boys, Billy Synth ( like Suicide), The Nurses, Mark Hoback and my personal fave - Stay Limp. Get it - you'll feel like a 17 year old hopped up on MadDog and caffeine pills all over again.

1. The Break - The Penetrators 2. Imagination [Live] - The Rudements 3. Thank You for Sending Me an Eno - The Mock Turtles 4. Attitude [Live] - Slickee Boys 5. Jet Lag Drag – Chumps 6. Every Time You Give Me a Call – Billy Synth 7. Get Up 'N Dance - Jeff Dahl 8. I Want Something New - Half Japanese 9. I Hate - White Boy, White Boy 10. I Can Explain – The Nurses 11. No Fun – Mark Hoback 12. Martyr Me – Judies Fixation 13. Knocking Down Guard Rails - Tina Peel 14. Murder One – Young Turds 15. Mr. President [Live] – Da Moronics 16. Stay Limp – The Raisinets

wash

Big Surf - Action Heros

Happy 4th of July! We're starting the fireworks with some killer surfin'.

Phil Dirt- 2003 http://www.reverbcentral.com/Classical roots, progressive inversions, surf reverb and visuals, Big Surf have created a unique and infectious brand of adventurous surf. Action Heroes is a playful romp through a comic book world of Surf. Go from a Journey to the Stars to the dark world of Gotham, from a cowboy spaghetti western to a mad scientists lab and his monstrous creation, from a Navel Patrol to a Stormwatch. Action Heroes is an action packed surf ride that will leaving you screaming to do it again.

1. Tarfoot 2. Diamond Head 3. Monsta Stomp 4. High Plains Marinara 5. Darkwave 6. Blue Surf 7. Rap City 8. Navel Patrol 9. Prowl 10. Ace 10 11. Falafel 12. Gotham Blues 13. Bareback 14. Journey to the Stars 15. Stormwatch 16. Ebb Tide

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Phil Manzanera - Quiet Sun

Quiet Sun was Phil Manzanera's pre-Roxy Music endeavor. (Few people realize that he was originally Roxy Music's sound person. He joined Roxy Music when their original guitarist--David O'List, formerly of the Nice--was not working out.). Quiet Sun came perilously close to gaining their own record contract in 1971, but their complexity and radical style did not gel with the appetites of the record execs they auditioned for. They broke up in 1972, and when Manzanera had money and studio time, they reformed.

The Soft Machine influence is obvious, but in execution Quiet Sun created something completely different. Phil Manzanera simply sears on guitar here, leading a Canterbury-style jazz-rock band with all the edge of "Red"-era King Crimson, AND the Latin passion of Santana. The production and mastering on this are amazingly hot, so the highs do tizzle a bit at times, still - the compositions are interesting and diverse, and the performance is brimming with spontaneity and band chemistry.

It is a shame that the album was a one-shot deal--they apparently have other material from the sessions--as the playing and intensity are awe-inspiring. You'll never look at Phil Manzanera the same way again; I guarantee it.

As a fan of the edgier sorts of progrock, this qualifies as one of my prize possessions. This OOP beauty is a magical album, too bad they didn't do another--but it's doubtful they could have topped THIS sizzling slab of raw beauty. Do yourself a favor and get it.

1. Sol Caliente 2. Trumpets With Motherhood 3. Bargain Classics
4. R.F.D. 5. Mummy Was an Asteroid, Daddy Was a Small Non-Stick Kitchen Utensil
6. Trot 7. Rongwrong

sunny

Phil Manzanera - Diamondhead

This is really a wonderful album, one of the not-so-well-known gems of the '70s Roxy Music-related canon. Despite not being a singer, guitarist Phil Manzanera put together a surprisingly coherent, witty collection of (mostly) vocal rock. Backed by the Roxy Music rhythm section (including the great drummer Paul Thompson) with plenty of help from Eno, Eddie Jobson, and Andy Mackay, this is the closest thing extant to a Roxy album sans Bryan Ferry. And that's actually not a bad thing.

Manzanera's guitar and compositional skills come to the fore here, but he rarely showboats as a lead guitarist, as one might expect in a solo album by a "guitar hero." As with Roxy, he's more interested in creating textures with his guitar, and he does it in many different styles: hard rock, funk, jazz, and more.

Still, it's primarily an album of songs. Even the instrumentals are more about composition and mood than chops, including the exceptional title track and the complex and riveting "East of Echo." The vocal tracks are highlighted by two cool Brian Eno songs: "Big Day" and the bizarre and rocking "Miss Shapiro." Robert Wyatt pitches in with the sung-in-Spanish but still catchy "Frontera." The usually horrid (as a singer) John Wetton even turns in a credible performance on the funky "Same Time Next Week." Few albums featuring multiple, unrelated vocalists come off as consistently listenable or coherent as this one.

Get it for "Diamondhead" alone. You will not be disappointed.

1. Frontera 2. Diamond Head 3. Big Day 4. The Flex 5. Same Time Next Week
6. Miss Shapiro 7. East Of Echo 8. Lagrima

philly

Funkadelic - Funk Gets Stronger

Musicologists love to debate where Jimi Hendrix may have ventured had he not tragically died in 1970. It is true the master was going to work with Miles Davis, and that would have been monumental. It is worth exploring the possibilities of a foray into the newly developing funk scene as well, and nobody came closer to carrying on the Hendrix legacy than Funkadelic.

If Hawkwind had listened to nothing but Herbie Hancock's Blue Note records, then I have a hunch that they would've sounded like Funkadelic or like Miles Davis, ca. 1975. Either way, they would have been just as good -- only much, much different. But the differences between heavy Funkadelic and electric Miles are not that many or that great. The point is that Funkadelic cherry-pick elements from rock, funk, jazz, heavy metal, and space rock, and they do so very, very well. Unlike records that simply sample a diverse number of styles or genres, this record seemlessly combines, mixes, and matches those genres. The end result is a wonder to behold, and so this record should appeal to many people with different musical tastes. If the Jimi Hendrix Experience had covered CAN, then they would have sounded like this. Soul music meets Krautrock. While that may sound contrived, it's not so difficult to imagine how sensuous would be just such a sound.

This is a nice intro – something of a best of – hitting all but one of their longer funkier jams from their mid period. Cosmic Slop and Maggot Brain are absolute guitar standouts, no collection should be without.

1. Funk Gets Stronger (Killer Millimeter Longer Version) 2. Cosmic Slop
3. One Nation Under a Groove 4. Maggot Brain [Live] 5. If You Got Funk, You Got Style
6. Cholly (Funk Gettin Ready to Roll) 7. (Not Just) Knee Deep
8. Electric Spanking of War Babies 9. Icka Prick 10. Who Says a Funk Band Can't Play Rock?!

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adelicious

Hawkwind - Complete '79

Very worthwhile 2-CD release of the band's UK tour recorded sometime in November,1979. Starts off "Shot Down In The Night" and "Motorway City", neither have ever been my favorite, but I liked these live versions. Perhaps because of the 'new' life synth-wiz Tim Blake(ex-Gong member)provides. Also good to hear are "Spirit Of The Age","Urban Guerilla","Lighthouse" and "PXR 5" again. I've completely forgot about "World Of Tiers" as I haven't heard it in awhile now. I really enjoyed th Tim Blake pieces, "New Jerusalem" and “Lighthouse” – which are more lively than the versions on Blakes own solo release. Satellite" is short, but one of the better cuts of the entire show. Of course,there are a few Hawkwind staples present,like "Brainstorm"(shouldn't be played without Nik Turner),"Master Of The Universe" and a superb performance of "Silver Machine".The encore number,a great aural assault of "Levitation" . Plenty of swirling synth/keyboard action really seems to make this gig pull together.

Most fans say that the commercial release- 'Live 79' is a better document of their performance of that time period – it certainly is recorded better. This, though, is what a full show would be like, not edited performances. This was recorded while the Hawks were out of contract, having left Charisma, and they self-recorded these shows and hawked(!) the tapes around until Bronze picked them up release. Yea, the sound is muddy in places and the bass is damped – I can live with that, this is as real as it gets. Line-up:Dave Brock,drummer Simon King(he left after this tour),Tim Blake,Harvey Bainbridge and original HW guitarist Huw Lloyd Langton. A must-have for all true Hawkfans.

Shot Down In The Night 2. Motorway City 3. Spirit Of The Age 4. Urban Guerilla 5. Who's Gonna Win The War 6. World Of Tiers 7. New Jerusalem 8. Light House 9. Brainstorm 10. Satellite 11. Pxr 5 12. Masters Of The Universe 13. Silver Machine 14. Levitation

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more

Sci-fi’s Greatest Hits – Defenders of Justice

Summertime means fun, sun and blockbuster superhero popcorn movies. This year we have Iron Man, the Hulk, Indiana Jones, Hancock, Batman lighting up the screens. Here at the Lounge – we are doing our part to keep you in the zone this summer. This one will take you back to the good old days of getting up early on Saturday mornings to sit in front of the t.v. for half the day. Lots of cool tracks, like the 60's version of the Astroboy theme; Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet (which are sort of like cousins to each other); Underdog; Batman: The Animated Series (one of the most amazing shows ever. Period.); The Green Hornet with it's great rendition of "Flight of the Bumblebee" played by trumpeter-extraordinaire Al Hirt; the original Spiderman cartoon theme (which everyone likes better than the new one); The Tick with it's crazy, jazzy, scat theme; Knight Rider, which is awesome and unforgettable; Max Headroom, the late, great, short lived show that deserved a much better fate; and Quantum Leap. There are many more, some good, some so-so, all interesting choices (Mortal Kombat is one of those 'interesting' choices, as they aren't really defenders of justice. Oh well.) A few of the cuts are “recreations”, like The Flash theme and they still stand up well. All in all – the perfect blast for the summer movie season. POWER UP!

1. Astro Boy 2. Gigantor 3. Speed Racer 4. Thunderbirds 5. Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons 6. Captain Video and His Video Rangers 7. Tom Corbett, Space Cadet
8. Space Patrol 9. Underdog 10. Atom Ant 11. Batman (tv) 12. Batman: The Animated Series 13. Batman (film) 14. Batman Returns 15. Superman (Film)
16. Lois and Clark - The New Adventures of Superman
17. The Green Hornet 18. The Amazing Spider-Man 19. Spider-Woman
20. Wonder Woman 21. The Flash 22. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
23. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 24. The Tick 25. X-Men
26. The Six Million Dollar Man 27. The Bionic Woman 28. The Incredible Hulk
29. Knight Rider 30. Max Headroom 31. The Terminator 32. RoboCop
33. RoboCop - The Series 34. Quantum Leap 35. Escape From New York
36. The Road Warrior 37. Mortal Kombat

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justice

The Reverb Syndicate - Operation Jet Set

To celebrate their new disc of reberb drenched spy-fi soundz – we bring you a blast from the past ----
The Reverb Syndicate is a crack team of free thinking, strong willed (and even stronger chinned) individuals from Ottawa Canada who form a top secret intelligence agency sworn to uphold the freedom of martini swilling bachelor pads and good taste. They are four, sixties-styled men that can - nay, will - make a difference in our modern world. Each agent is a trained covert tactical specialist, armed with exceptional taste in music, bucket-loads of charisma and their own god-given talents. Our heroes will use the purest form of music to combat the evil plans of commercial radio and ensure that popular youth culture will never succumb to the mind withering conformity of Top 40. What music is still pure you ask? The reverb soaked, red-lined, key pounding all out assault of SPY-FI!Review:Operation: Jet Set! -- has got everything you could want in the latest Flint or Matt Helm flick... cool, surf-style instrumentals that would make Hank B Marvin and his fellow Shadows proud --Allan Wigney, The Ottawa SunMuch of the music here is very inviting from an arrangement and playing perspective, as well as lovely tone. The Reverb Syndicate have a number of very good songs here, and I found myself enjoying it more the more I listened. --Phil Dirt, Reverb Central ( http://www.reverbcentral.com/ )

1 - Theme To "Operation: Jet Set!" 2 - I Am The New Number Two3 - Oil Slicks And Ejector Seats 4 - On To Checkpoint Bravo5 - Shake Don't Stir 6 - The Code Is ********7 - I Am Not A Pleasure Unit 8 - Zis Is KAOS! 9 - M's Lament10 - Inlet Of Dire Consequences 11 - ...And The Hero Gets The Girl

Hello! Agent Vic20 from the Reverb Syndicate here. We just stumbled on this blog, and we would like to encourage you to download our album. We think it's pretty good, and we hope you enjoy it! If you don't like it, that's okay too. We understand. If you do enjoy it, and you're considering picking up a copy foryourself, it's only $9.97 on CDBaby. How cool is that? We promise that no proceeds will go to major labels, A&R guys, slickadvertising campaigns or $100,000 music videos directed by Spike Lee. We're a completely independent band with no music business ties whatsoever. All proceeds will go towards the recording and productionof our second album we'd like to make in the fall.Thanks for listening! Tell your friends! Keep in touch!

Cheers!Agent Vic20

jetset

Go buy their EXCELLENT new set – Sputnik A-Go-Go at CDBABY here NOW!!!!

I already have mine and it does not disappoint!!

Sounds Orchestral - Meet James Bond

Sounds Orchestral – Meet James BondThis is not a soundtrack or the original pieces as heard in the James Bond movies, instead these are loungified bachelor pad martini instrumentals INSPIRED by the James Bond scores. You will recognize the familiar themes and motifs, just a little bit on laid back, whacked out side. Fun background and party music to relax and chill to.Review:Sounds Orchestral was, for a time, Pye Records' answer to EMI's Sounds Incorporated, although unlike their better known rivals, they were more of a studio ensemble and never got into the position of touring with the Beatles. The group was formed in early 1965 by Pye Records producer John Schroeder, who perceived an audience looking for a sound other than the driving Liverpool beat that had dominated the British airwaves and charts for almost two years. The original line-up included veteran pianist John Pearson, born in 1925 and a bit long-of-tooth to be competing in the rock 'n' roll world, and ex-Johnny Dankworth drummer Kenny Clare, along with 21-year old bassist Tony Reeves, later of Curved Air, Greenslade, and Colosseum, among other bands. Their rendition of "Black Is Black" was a popular dance record, and has turned up on several Northern Soul collections. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music

01 – Thunderball 02 – Solitaire 03 - Goldfinger Theme04 - Mr - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang 05 - Blues for Pussy06 - Mr – Oddjob 07 – Moonshot 08 - James Bond Theme 09 - Spectre10 - From Russia With Love 11 - Kissy Suzuki 12 - 007 Theme

Originally posted by DaBoss on EektheCat.
Pass - eektcat

bondykins