Stop me if you've heard this one before (UPDATE: blind test tracklist, 6 April)

Here's a sprightly little teaser for this week's blind listening session - left that one out as it's probably not that hard to date (and the artist's name might not ring any bells at all) but that eclectic obscure album is well recommended. By inference - the session itself will mostly contain a few big acts doing something rather out-of-character...

...such as...

1) Paul McCartney - Ou Est Le Soleil ("Figure of Eight" SP B-Side, 1989, also on some of the deluxe editions of this album):

(YouTube also has a video clip version but with end cut)

Non-English continued with
2) Gwenno - Stwff ("Y Dydd Olaf" 2015 - did I mention that the album was inspired by Welsh cult sci-fi novel?)


Staying (kind of) Celtic with this one:
3) Chris De Burgh - Sin City ("Far Beyond The Castle Walls" 1974)

Then changing continents:
4) Toyomu - スメケに逢いたい ("Imagining "The Life of Pablo"" 2016 - Kanye West's Arthur Russell-sampling "30 Hours" being imagined allegedly without hearing the... pro-riginal?)


One your parents might know (though unlikely by this track):
5) Czesław Niemen (N. AE) - Mleczna Droga ("Katharsis" 1976)

Staying in Eastern Bloc with an Olympic disco cameo from a UK Christian band (click for back story and the link to the song):
6) Living Sound - Olimpiada-80 (1980, also available on "Давид Тухманов. Звездная песня неба" 2006, which also includes this better-known hi-nrg version)


A different kind of epicness:
7) Bo Hansson - The Black Riders & Flight to the Ford (De svarta riddarna / Flykten till vadstället)  ("Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings" 1972)

More synth wizardry by an erstwhile Frank Zappa sidekick, latterday jazz/funk/disco king:
8) George Duke - Nigerian Numberuma ("The Inner Source" 1973)

 ...and the closer, Russo/Estonian lounge with Maria Faust connection:
9) Dzuma – Lift Porno ("Dreambox" 2002) is not available online yet, so I'll play it in my Fantaasia radio show on Friday 10 pm, Klassikaraadio, consequently providing the link to it... (the video on YouTube is mistitled, it's actually "Letter From Tokyo" from the same album)

Overrated?

Do music's "sacred cows" need butchering or will they outlive all hapless toreros? For our 30 March session, some stabs from the NME blog:

The Beatles 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'
Full album:

Bob Dylan
(This is an artist profile rather than a record review, but HERE you can test the statement that his songs are better when covered)


Nirvana 'Nevermind'
Full album:

Radiohead 'OK Computer'
Full album:

He bangs (UPDATED)

Let's read this Rolling Stone selection of Lester Bangs reviews for our 23 March session (note that there are two pages and it's best to start from the bottom of page 2, with the earliest ones), plus this encore from the Village Voice.

Observe his judgments, comparisons, tone and values - and of course, take time to listen to some of the music he reviews. And if you haven't seen it yet, you might want to check out his portrayal in "Almost Famous" - too long to show in class but viewable here (it takes a few clicks on the arrow in the middle, and ignore the popup ads).

And hear him banging on:

Blind test tracklist, 9 March

1) unknown performer(s), Track 1, Kmart tape, October 1989

2) Ratkiller, Reflection on Class, Odor Orienting 2016

3) Viru Trio, Uue maailma ma loon, 1987 (available on Tahan olla veel moes 2014; backing track programmed by Stanislav Rubintsik on Yamaha CX5M)

4) J Geils Band, Detroit Breakdown, Nightmares...and Other Tales from the Vinyl Jungle 1974

5) The Space Lady, Born To Be Wild, 1990 (available on The Space Lady's Greatest Hits 2013) NB! In Tartu this Sunday!

6) Louis Philippe, Yuri Gagarin, Yuri Gagarin 1989

...and a bonus track which I didn't have time to play but which would have made pretty much of a full circle back where we started from: Sweet People, Et les oiseaux chantaient 1978. By an obscure Swiss group, it became UK Top 5 hit in October, two years later. Imagine that in the current charts?

...or does it just smell funny?

An intriguing essay on the demise of the album review: let's scan it for this week and read more closely for the next.

Let the celebrations begin...

Here's one of our most, well, argumentative critics at his, well, most argumentative - getting everyone into festive mood for national festivities...

Upping the ANTI

As advertised, a sizable amount of home-work for the Independence Day week as we'll compare the reviews for Rihanna's ANTI at our 2 March session. The album itself should be widely streamable. Also, here's a little something to get the terms straight (a rare and welcome occurrence of a YouTube mini-lecture with a non-annoying voiceover):

All time Low

Hello and welcome, everyone - for the next week, let's read this retrospective of contemporary to slightly more recent reviews of David Bowie's "Low" (1977), as well as this slightly longer piece from 2012 and an in memoriam review in Pitchfork.

The album should be widely available in streaming services but it's also here, with some bonus tracks:

.

Kaarel... your chuckle, warm heart and love for music will ever be remembered. RIP.

Back from the beyond

Had to share this - however iffy the album is (do check the Pete Townshend cameo for camp value), it beats the review. Whenever the "is/isn't" verb sticks out in this grating manner, you bet author has struggled through desperately not wanting to write the review. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21117-electronica-1-the-time-machine/