Dope and Glory

'Dope and Glory' is a collection of '30s and '40s vocal jazz music with marijuana as the single defining theme. - AMG review
A wonderful collection on the german reissue label Trikont. I have a few of the "marijuana jazz" compilations, and this selection is by far the best, with all the meat and none of the fluff. It was posted at spaceblues.blogspot.com and then kindly reposted again at my request, for which SpaBlu gets my kudos and undying respect.


Various Artists - Dope and Glory
224 kbps, 237 mb total
Links to three archives on Rapidshare

Disc 1:
1. Sendin' the Vipers - Mezz Mezzrow
2. Vipers Drag - Fats Waller
3. When I Get Low I Get High - Ella Fitzgerald, Chick Webb & His Orchestra
4. I'm Gonna Get High - Tampa Red & The Chicago Five, Blind John Davis
5. Spinach Song (I Didn't Like It the First Time) - Julia Lee & Her Boy Friends
6. Do You Dig My Jive - Sam Price
7. Ol' Man River - Cootie Williams
8. Knockin' Myself Out - Yack Taylor
9. Reefer Man - Harlan Lattimore
10. The Man from Harlem - Cab Calloway
11. Here Comes the Man With the Jive - Stuff Smith & His Onyx Club Boys
12. If You're a Viper - Bob Howard
13. Texas Tea Party - Benny Goodman & His Orchestra
14. Light Up - Buster Rhythm Busters Balley
15. Jack, I'm Mellow - Trixie Smith
16. Sweet Marihuana Brown - Barney Bigard Sextet
17. Viper Mad - Sidney Bechet, Noble Sissle
18. Weed Smokers Dream - Harlem Hamfats
19. The 'G' Man for the 'T' Man - Johnson, Cee Pee & Band
20. All the Jive Is Gone - Andy Kirk & His Twelve Clouds of Joy
21. Stuff Is Here - Georgia Brown
22. Weed - Bea Foote
23. Knockin' Myself Out - Lillian "Lil" Green
24. If You're a Viper - Lorrain Walton
25. Save the Roach for Me - Buck Washington
Disc 2:
1. Killin' Jive - The Cats & the Fiddle
2. Mary Jane - Meltone Boys
3. Sweet Sue, Just You - Louis Armstrong
4. Hit That Jive, Jack! - King Cole Trio
5. All Teeed Up - Sam Price
6. Golden Leaf Strut - New Orleans Rhythm Kings
7. Reefer Head Woman - Jazz Gillum
8. Blue Reefer Blues - Richard M. Jones
9. I'se A-Muggin, Pt. 1 - Mezzrow, Mezz & His Swing Band
10. I'se A-Muggin, Pt. 2 - Mezzrow, Mezz & His Swing Band
11. Jive Man Blues - Frankie "Half-Pint" Jaxon
12. Knockin' Myself Out - Jean Brady, Big Bill Broonzy
13. Muggin' the Blues - Richard M. Jones
14. Mellow Stuff - Lil Johnson
15. Minor Goes a Muggin' - Tommy Dorsey
16. Reefer Man - Cab Calloway
17. Try Some of That - Oscars Chicago Swingers
18. Dopey Joe - Slim & Slam
19. The Stuff Is Here and It's Mellow - Cleo Brown
20. Don't Credit My Stuff - Cedar Creel Sheik
21. A Vipers Moan - Bryant, Willie & Orchestra
22. Chant of the Weed - Rodman, Don & Orchestra, Sidney DeParis
23. Smoking Reefers - Larry Adler
24. Muggles - Louis Armstrong
25. Willie the Weeper - Frankie "Half-Pint" Jaxon

Tibetan Buddhism, Tantras of Gyütò: Mahakala + Centerafrique: Musique Gbaya/Chants a penser

Despite the umlauts, Tantras of Gyütò are not heavy metal.
These two ethnographic recordings are example of a unique crossover. The people who tend to listen to them do not belong to the hardcore folk music crowd, but rather to a completely different audience - that of the minimalism, electronic avantgarde, krautrock, IDM etc. I guess this is a case of two extremes converging - if you wander far enough away from the conventional music, you might meet some people who left it heading in the opposite direction. And, indeed, these records are very far from conventional music, lacking melody, harmony, lyrics - they are in the realm of sound-painting that the modern man left some time ago and that some are now struggling to return to.


Centerafrique: Musique Gbaya/Chants a penser
megaupload
mediafire
192 kbps, 70 mb


You can get Tibetan Buddhism, Tantras of Gyütò: Mahakala [EDIT: zippyshare or uloz.to] at the extremely interesting ýlowek scavel-cronek blog, full of rare LP rips and other unique audio stuff.

Also worth a look: a small gallery of LP covers for african ethnographic recordings, mostly very beautiful.

The Tiger Lillies - Shockheaded Peter

An accordion-wielding freak show, complete with the evil clown make-up, castrati-style falcetto, and songs about the pleasures of crucifying Jesus and copulating with inflatable sheep. Does this sound like a ticket to instant success and an engagement on the Disney channel? Yeah, no kidding.
Mostly, the Tiger Lillies' over-the-top-ness is a bit too much for my taste. However, at least once in their career the parts came together perfectly to form the ultimate artistic statement, the perfect fusion of form and content - the Shockheaded Peter opera. The magic ingredient in the stew was Struwwelpeter, the classic german children's book by Heinrich Hoffmann. It's a collection of didactic verses about the perils of misbehaving, untainted by the modern quibbles about all that money the kids will have to spend on phychiatrists. While reminiscent of the american "Ruthless Rhymes" (AKA Little Willies) and russian "маленький мальчик" verses, Hoffmann's poetry really stands out by its very serious tone: "The great tall tailor always comes / To little boys that suck their thumbs. / And while they dream what he's about / He takes his great sharp scissors out / And cuts their thumbs clean off, - and then / You know, they never grow again."
Read the book and admire the illustrations, or proceed directly below to hear the wonderful interpretations by Martyn Jacques and Co.


The Tiger Lillies - Shockheaded Peter
192 kbps, 46 mb
megaupload
mediafire
1. Struwwelpeter Overture
2. Cruel Frederick
3. Dreadful Story About Harriet And The Matches
4. Bully Boys
5. Story Of The Man That Went Out Shooting
6. Snip Snip
7. Augustus
8. Fidgety Philip
9. Johnny Head In Air
10. Flying Robert
11. Shockheaded Peter


PS. You can also get "The Circus Songs" at hiskilla.blogspot.com

Blind Boy Fuller - Truckin' My Blues Away

This CD was my first introduction to Blind Boy Fuller, to Piedmont blues, to pre-war blues in general. As it often happens with the first impressions, it was the strongest one. I've heard a lot of old blues since - the raw power of Charlie Patton, the effortless virtuosity of Blind Blake, the encyclopedic repertoire of Gary Davis - but Fuller remains my favorite. Pigmeat and the title track still make me jump, and Walking My Troubles Away still gives me chills, just like it did the first time I heard them almost fifteen years ago. I listened to it over and over, trying to figure out how many guitar players are there on this record. Now I know it's just one, the one and only Blind Boy Fuller.
Of course, an additional bonus is the cover by Robert Crumb.


Blind Boy Fuller - Truckin' My Blues Away
REUP 2/8/2014:4shared
192 kbps, 55 mb
1. Truckin' My Blues Away
2. Untrue Blues
3. Homesick And Lonesome Blues
4. You Never Can Tell
5. Mamie
6. Jivin' Woman Blues
7. Weeping Willow
8. Funny Feeling Blues
9. I Crave My Pigmeat
10. Corrine What Makes You Treat Me So?
11. Meat Shakin' Woman
12. Walking My Troubles Away
13. Painful Hearted Man
14. Sweet Honey Hole

Brian Eno - Here Come The Warm Jets + Taking Tiger Mountain

Brian Eno - Here Come The Warm Jets
224 kbps, 69 mb
NEW LINK: depositfiles
reviews
1. Needles in the Camel's Eye — 3:10
2. The Paw Paw Negro Blowtorch — 3:05
3. Baby's on Fire — 5:18
4. Cindy Tells Me — 3:25
5. Driving Me Backwards — 5:11
6. On Some Faraway Beach — 4:36
7. Blank Frank — 3:35
8. Dead Finks Don't Talk — 4:20
9. Some of Them Are Old — 5:11
10. Here Come the Warm Jets — 4:02


Brian Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)
320 kbps, 98 mb
depositfiles
reviews
1. Burning Airlines Gives You So Much More — 3:15
2. Back in Judy's Jungle — 5:15
3. The Fat Lady of Limbourg — 5:05
4. Mother Whale Eyeless — 5:46
5. The Great Pretender — 5:10
6. Third Uncle — 4:50
7. Put a Straw Under Baby — 3:25
8. The True Wheel — 5:11
9. China My China — 4:44
10. Taking Tiger Mountain — 5:33

Shanghai Lounge Divas Vol. 1

In 2003 the global music company EMI was clearing out an old warehouse in Mumbai, India in preparation for its demolition. EMI had been there since the 1920s when it manufactured and distributed records under the Pathe label. In the warehouse, workmen unearthed a trunk with Chinese writing on it and inside were the mother shells of about 800 songs from the thirties and forties. These were the reels used to press the stamper that produced the old vinyl 78s [...] Music as unique as the city in its golden era, a mixture of Eastern and Western influences, blues, jazz, traditional Chinese opera and folk music. Read more


Shanghai Lounge Divas, CD1 - The Remixes
320kbps, 150 mb
zippyshare
1. Plum Blossom – Li Xiang-lan
2. Waiting 4 U – Bai Kwong
3. If Only… - Li Xiang-lan
4. Stop Singing – Chow Hsuan
5. The Pretender – Bai Kwong
6. All the Stars in the Sky – Chang Loo
7. This Love is Not for Me – Yao Lee
8. Listen Up – Bai Hong
9. Autumn Evening – Bai Kwong
10. The Wandering Songstress – Chow Hsuan
11. The Plough Song – Chang Loo
12. Ye Shanghai – Chow Hsuan

Shanghai Lounge Divas, CD2 - The Originals
320 kbps, 160 mb
depositfiles
1. Plum Blossom – Li Xiang-lan
2. Waiting 4 U – Bai Kwong
3. If Only… - Li Xiang-lan
4. Stop Singing - Chow Hsuan
5. The Pretender – Bai Kwong
6. All the Stars in the Sky – Chang Loo
7. This Love is Not for Me – Yao Lee
8. Listen Up – Bai Hong
9. Autumn Evening – Bai Kwong
10. The Wandering Songstress – Chow Hsuan
11. The Plough Song – Chang Loo
12. Ye Shanghai 2003 – Chow Hsuan
13. Longing for You – Gong Chio-xia
14. Lingering Love – Man Ping
15. Shangri-La – OuYoung Fei-ying
16. Shanghai Miss – Zhang Yi-wen
17. Love that’s Gone – Gu Ying
18. Song of the Fisherman – Wang Ren-mei
19. Harmonious Couple - Lang Yu-xiu
20. Hundred Birds – Li Li-hua/Yan Hua
21. Fallen Petals – Lu Min
22. Heavenly Spring Dream – Lu Ming
23. The Blossom Youth - Chow Hsuan
24. The Night Is Too Beautiful To Last – Pei Ni

Pere Ubu - Modern Dance + Dub Housing

I am somewhat swamped at work now, so I will keep my reviews brief for the next while... I will also update many dead links, so those of you who are reading this through RSS will see many old postings - sorry about that.

The first two albums from the notorious art-punk (or, as they called themselves, avant-garage) group. The first one's been my favorite for a long time; in fact, I have it on vinyl, having bought it before the reissue rush of the late 90s. People say Dub Housing is the better of the two, but I disagree.


Pere Ubu - The Modern Dance
AMG review
192 kbps, 50mb
REUP: rapidshare or sendspace
192 kbps, 49 mb
1. Non-alignment Pact (3:19)
2. Modern Dance (3:30)
3. Laughing (4:37)
4. Street Waves (3:06)
5. Chinese Radiation (3:29)
6. Life Stinks (1:53)
7. Real World (4:00)
8. Over My Head (3:51)
9. Sentimental Journey (6:08)
10. Humor Me (2:44)


Pere Ubu - Dub Housing
AMG review
Another good review
megaupload
256 kbps, 64 mb
1. Navvy – 2:40
2. On the Surface – 2:35
3. Dub Housing – 3:39
4. Caligari's Mirror – 3:49
5. Thriller! – 4:36
6. I Will Wait – 1:45
7. Drinking Wine Spodyody – 2:44
8. Ubu Dance Party – 4:46
9. Blow Daddy-o – 3:38
10. Codex – 4:55

A Compilation of West African Funk

...two of them, in fact.
REUP: both albums on depositfiles


Booniay!! A Compilation of West African Funk
192 kbps, 73 mb
01 Brigth Engelberts And The B.E. Movement - Get Together
02 Gyedu Blay-Ambolley - Akoko Ba
03 Matata - Good Samaritan
04 William Onyeabor - Body And Soul
05 George Danquah - Hot And Jumpy
06 Gyedu Blay-Ambolley - Fa No Dem Ara
07 Brigth Engelberts And The B.E. Movement - Tolambo Funk
08 Atomic Bomb Zigoto - Menyeckse
09 Vis A Vis - Susan Sue
10 Gyedu Blay-Ambolley - This Hustling World


The Danque!! A Compilation of West African Funk
192 kbps, 69 mb
01 George Danquah - Just A Moment
02 Dancing The Kuri Kuri - Deity
03 Vis-A-Vis - Kankyema
04 Bright Engleberts - Civilization In The World
05 Guerilla - La Popo
06 Mustapha - I'm Coming
07 Smahila and the S.B.s - Natural Points

Love - Story

AMG pick: Double-CD box contains most of their classic first three albums (including the entirety of Forever Changes), all three non-LP tracks from their 1966-1968 prime, and highlights of the post-Bryan MacLean albums from the late '60s and early '70s.


Love - Story

CD1: megaupload, 100 mb

CD2: megaupload, 108 mb

1. My Little Red Book
2. Can't Explain
3. A Message To Pretty
4. My Flash On You
5. Softly To Me
6. No Matter What You Do
7. You I'll Be Following
8. Hey Joe
9. Signed D.C.
10. No Fourteen
11. 7 And 7 Is
12. Stephanie Knows Who
13. Orange Skies
14. ¡Que Vida!
15. The Castle
16. She Comes In Color
17. Your Mind And We
18. Laughing Stock
19. Alone Again Or
20. A House Is Not A Motel
21. Andmoreagain
22. The Daily Planet
23. Old Man
24. The Red Telephone
25. Maybe The People Would Be The Times Or Betwenn Clark And Hilldale
26. Live And Let Live
27. The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This
28. Bummer In The Summer
29. You Set The Scene
30. August
31. Your Friend And Mine
32. Good Times
33. Singing Cowboy
34. Robert Montgomery
35. Always See Your Face
36. I'll Pray For You
37. Listen To My Song
38. Doggone
39. I Still Wonder
40. Run To The Top
41. Willow Willow
42. The Everlasting First
43. Keep On Shining
44. Everybody's Gotta Live

Two Neil Sedaka best-of's and then some

This is a double treat: you can enjoy pop music and boost your credibility by saying things like: "I can hear these vocal arrangements influenced rocksteady and early reggae of the Melodeans and the Wailers". The first one is a collection of his hits from the 50s and early 60s, which is my favorite stuff; the second one is a more complete career overview. The second link is stolen from somewhere online; I admit I did not listen to it yet and I suspect his later stuff might not be as good, so beware.


55mb, 192 kbps
megaupload
1 Oh! Carol
2 Calender Girl
3 King of Clowns
4 Next Door to an Angel
5 One Way Ticket
6 Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
7 Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen
8 Little Devil
9 I Go Ape
10 Stairway to Heaven
11 Diary
12 That's When the Music Takes Me
13 You Mean Everything to Me
14 Girl for Me
15 I Must Be Dreaming
16 Let's Go Steady Again


Neil Sedaka - Timeless (The very best of Neil Sedaka)
mediafire Pt.1 and Pt.2
or one file on megaupload
320 kbps, 163 mb
01.Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen
02.Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
03.Calender Girl
04.Our Last Song Together
05.Oh Carol
06.I Go Ape
07.One Way Ticket (To The Blues)
08.Next Door To An Angel
09.Standing On The Inside
10.The Immigrant
11.Laughter In The Rain (Original Version)
12.The Hungry Years
13.That's When The Music Takes Me (Live)
14.Solitaire (Live)
15.Love Will Keep Us Together
16.Breaking Up Is Hard To Do (Slow Version)
17.The Queen of 1964
18.Little Devil
19.The Other Side of Me
20.Stairway To Heaven
21.The Miracle Song
22.Laughter In The Rain (New Version - Duet With Dara Sedaka)

And if that's still not enough, there are several Sedaka albums at the oldies-research-center.blogspot.com

Kazutoki Umezu - Eclecticism

Everything is extreme in Japan. They got the hardest rock, the heaviest metal, their jazz is the most free of all, their country is the most western and I don't know if they got any bluegrass, but if they do, I bet it's the bluest grass on the planet. And this album has it all, from the free-est jazz to the hardest rock and the farthest-out avantgarde. It's the infamous Knitting Factory crew - Marc Ribot (in fact, his presence was why I bought this record in the first place), Dougie Bowne, Brad Jones, Curtis Fowlkes, Samm Bennett - the people behind the weird and wonderful records by Lounge Lizards, the Jazz Passengers, and many Zorn projects - but they are led by the japanese saxophone-toting prophet, Mr. Umezu, who takes them places even they haven't been to before. And the name, Eclecticism, reflects not a cold, self-conscious genre-hopping, an undead Frankenstein awkwardly sewn together from salvaged parts, but rather a joyful celebration of music-as-music, unconstrained by the genre boundaries.


Kazutoki Umezu - Eclecticism
REUP 11/11/14: zippyshare or uloz.to
230VBR, 73mb
1. Yakitori
2. Western Picaro
3. Juicy Mami
4. Horse Work
5. Stable Steven
6. Lulu & Roro
7. Junk
8. Ballet Dancer

Rancho Texicano: The Very Best Of ZZ Top

No introduction needed.
A great career-spanning compilation.


Rancho Texicano: The Very Best Of ZZ Top
192 kbps, 213 mb
CD1 on rapidshare
REUP: CD2 on megaupload
1. Brown Sugar
2. Goin' Down To Mexico
3. Just Got Back From Baby's
4. Francene
5. Just Got Paid
6. Bar-B-Q
7. La Grange
8. Waitin' For The Bus
9. Jesus Just Left Chicago
10. Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers
11. Mexican Blackbird
12. Tush
13. Thunderbird
14. Blue Jean Blues
15. Heard It On The X
16. It's Only Love
17. Arrested For Driving While Blind
18. I Thank You
19. Cheap Sunglasses
20. I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide
21. A Fool For Your Stockings
22. Tube Snake Boogie
23. Pearl Necklace
24. Gimme All Your Lovin'
25. Sharp Dressed Man
26. Legs
27. Got Me Under Pressure
28. Sleeping Bag
29. Stages
30. Rough Boy
31. Velcro Fly
32. Woke Up With Wood
33. Doubleback
34. My Head's In Mississippi
35. Viva Las Vegas
36. Cheap Sunglasses (Live)
37. Legs (Dance Mix)
38. Velcro Fly (12'' Remix)

Charlie Rich - The Complete Smash Sessions

An undeservingly obscure country/rockabilly artist, Charlie Rich had a long musical career. Charlie was a singer/songwriter/keyboardist with a piano style desribed as "one parts Errol Garner to two parts Professor Longhair and at least three parts church" *. He recorded for the Sun label in the 50s (yes, that Sun); Sam Phillips, the label owner, reportedly called Rich "the most talented artist who ever recorded in the Sun studio". He also wrote songs for other artists on Sun roster, including Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash. Despite his excellent songwriting, powerful voice, versatile instrumental skills, and high-profile fans (Bob Dylan named Rich as his favorite singer; Elton John, Mark Knopfler and Elvis Costello also admired him) Charlie Rich remained larely unknown by the general public.
In the seventies, he was finally able to break commercially by singing, well... commercial country dreck of the worst kind, and, unfortunately, that's how he is remembered by many. However, his best work may come from the 60's, when he was recording for the Smash label. This compilation presents his complete work for Smash. It is pop-rock with a country tinge; this may sound generic, but in fact, it's not - the songwriting is great, and his singing and piano are top-notch; it includes his biggest single to date, "Mohair Sam". I first heard of Rich through a Slim Harpo cover of "Mohair Sam", which is every bit as good, too.


Charlie Rich - The Complete Smash Sessions
REUP: megaupload
160kbps, 80mb
1. Dance Of Love
2. Man About Town [prev. unreleased]
3. Mohair Sam
4. I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water
5. Down And Out
6. I Can't Go On
7. The Best Years
8. A Field Of Yellow Daisies
9. Something Just Came Over me
10. When My Baby Comes Home
11. She's A Yum Yum
12. Double Dog Dare me
13. Just A Little Bit Of You
14. Santa Claus' Daughter
15. Just A Little Bit Of Time
16. Hawg Jaw
17. Moonshine Minnie
18. Have I Stayed Away Too Long
19. It Ain't Gonna Be That Way
20. That's My Way
21. Everything I Do Is Wrong
22. Party Girl
23. You Can Have Her
24. Lonely Weekends
25. Blowin' Town
26. Tears A Go-Go
27. No Home
28. So Long
29. Let The Party Roll On

iPod accessories you can't live without (clickable)


More iPod geekery

Atomic Cafe

A fantastic out-of-print LP with a collection of atomic power-themed songs, ripped by a russian music collector with impeccable taste. This is a soundtrack to a documentary of the same name. The tunes range from jazz to gospel to blues to country and are interspersed with bits of interviews.
Enjoy - but if you're at work, make sure not to turn it up too high when Sonny Boy bleats: "The japanese, they are so rotten / And I just looooove to see them die!"


megaupload
Atomic Cafe
200VBR, 82mb
SIDE ONE
1. ATOM AND EVIL - Golden Gate Quartet
2. Major Thomas Ferebee, “Enola Gay” bombardier, 8/15/45
WHEN THE ATOMIC BOMB FELL - Karl and Harty
3. President Harry S. Truman 8/9/45:
Captain Kermit Beehan, “Great Artiste” bombardier, 8/15/45
WIN THE WAR BLUES - Sonny Boy Williamson
4. David E. Lilienthal, first Chairman of the A.E.C., 10/28/46
ATOMIC POWER - Buchanan Brothers
5. Winston Churchill, 3/31/49
JESUS HITS LIKE AN ATOM BOMB - Lowell Blanchard with the Valley Trio
6. Rep. James E. Van Zandt (R), Penna., 5/8/53
WHEN THEY DROP THE ATOMIC BOMB - Jackie Doll and His Pickled Peppers
7. ATOMIC SERMON - Billy Hughes and the Rhythm Backaroos
8. OLD MAN ATOM - Sons of the Pioneers

SIDE TWO
1. URANIUM - The Commodores
2. 50 MEGATONS - Sonny Russell
3. ATOM BOMB BABY - The Five Stars
4. SATELLITE BABY - Skip Stanley
5. SPUTNIKS AND MUTNIKS - Ray Anderson and the Homefolks
6. ATOMIC COCKTAIL - Slim Gaillard Quartette
7. ATOMIC LOVE - Little Caesar, with the Red Callender Sextette
8. ATOMIC TELEPHONE - Spirits of Memphis Quartet
9. RED’S DREAM - Louisiana Red

The Misfits - Static Age

The classic of horrorpunk. How can you not love lyrics like "Some kinda love / Some kinda hate / Maggots in the eye of love / Won't copulate"? If it wasn't for the troubles with record companies and personal tensions, they could have been as big as Sex Pistols... and if they knew how to play those instruments, they could have been even bigger!
The time passes, the band get older, but the audience stays the same - teenage skatepunks. Does that mean the Misfits are juvenile retards? Or does it mean their music is timeless? I am not sure...


The Misfits - Static Age

They are all over the blogosphere, so I'll leech the links:
rapidshare; PW: www.mediaportal.ru
~80mb