Ethiopiques - Volumes 14, 15 & 16

no tracklist today...just three more volumes of the awesome "Ethiopiques" series...
suffice it say, if you liked the other volumes in this series, you'll want these, too!

John Paul Jones - Zooma (1999)

01. Zooma Jones 5:52
02. Grind Jones 5:20
03. The Smile of Your Shadow Jones 5:50
04. Goose Jones 4:58
05. Bass 'N' Drums Jones 2:32
06. B. Fingers Jones 5:26
07. Smake Eyes Jones 7:32
08. Nosumi Blues Jones 5:48
09. Tidal Jones 6:50

John Paul Jones stayed quiet for years after the disbandment of Led Zeppelin, performing the occasional arranging, soundtrack, or production gig, or collaborating with such avant garde musicians as Diamanda Galas. Throughout it all, he never released a full-fledged solo album — until the fall of 1999, when he unleashed Zooma. Anyone that was following who Jones worked with in the '90s — including Galas, the Butthole Surfers, and R.E.M. — shouldn't be entirely surprised by the depth, range, and gleeful strangeness on Zooma, but those expecting something like Led Zeppelin IV will be disappointed. That's not to say that there's no Zeppelin here at all. Jones was a key member of Zep, contributing heavily to their sonic majesty and experimental bent, all things that are apparent throughout the album. The difference is, Jones frees himself and his collaborators — including Paul Leary and members of the London Symphony Orchestra — to push the envelope hard by making Zooma an instrumental effort. Freed from the boundaries of songs, but not compositions, Jones crafts a series of nine truly impressive songs, blending together blues, worldbeat, heavy rock, jazz, and the avant-garde into a distinctive, unpredictable, and original sound. It may have been a long wait to receive the first solo album from Jones, but the end result makes it all worthwhile...AMG

Traffic - Smiling Phases (1991)

cd1:
01. Paper Sun 4:15
02. Hole In My Shoe 3:01
03. Smiling Phases 2:39
04. Heaven Is In Your Mind 4:12
05. Coloured Rain 2:37
06. No Face, No Name, No Number 3:28
07. Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush 2:36
08. Dear Mr. Fantasy 5:36
09. You Can All Join In 3:32
10. Feelin' Alright 4:13
11. Pearly Queen 4:15
12. Forty Thousand Headmen 3:11
13. Vagabond Virgin 5:13
14. Shanghai Noodle Factory 5:03
15. Withering Tree 3:00
16. Medicated Goo 3:32

cd2:
01. Glad 6:59
02. Freedom Rider 5:26
03. Empty Pages 4:34
04. John Barleycorn 6:21
05. Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys 11:26
06. Light Up Or Leave Me Alone 4:41
07. Rock & Roll Stew 4:18
08. Shoot Out At The Fantasy Factory 5:58
09. Walking In The Wind 6:38
10. When The Eagle Flies 4:22

During their tumultuous existence between 1967 and 1974, Traffic had two distinct phases separated by a year (January 1969 to February 1970) during which the band was temporarily dissolved. In its first phase, Traffic was heavily influenced by the pop psychedelia of its time, but were also developing a distinctive blues-rock jam style. When Steve Winwood reconvened the group in 1970 without Dave Mason, he was ready to take the spotlight more forcefully, and Traffic evolved into a band that played long, largely instrumental songs. In constructing a two-CD retrospective of Traffic, compiler Kevin Patrick has taken the obvious step of devoting disc one to the early phase of Traffic and disc two to the later one. He faces different challenges in selecting tracks for each disc. The first CD is necessarily diverse; the early singles must be included, and so must some of Dave Mason's material, though his songs tend to sound more like solo tracks. The challenge for disc two is simply that the songs from 1970-1974 tend to be so long, and it's difficult to decide which ones to include. Patrick has met both of these challenges admirably. Though both discs are a bit short by CD standards, running a little over an hour each, there are few significant tracks that are missing. On disc two, Patrick has striven to be fair to the later Traffic albums, even though they are not as good as their predecessors from this phase, but he strikes a reasonable balance. Until 1991, Traffic had had no more than a few single-disc compilations, the most readily available being The Best of Traffic, which contained nothing from the group's later period. So, Smiling Phases was a welcome addition to the catalog, with solid selection and sequencing...AMG

Songs Clapton Taught Us: Clapton Classics (80's jap cd)

the essence of Clapton and his blues...

01 All Your Love / Otis Rush
02 Hideaway / Freddy King
03 Born Under A Bad Sign / Albert King
04 Spoonful / Howlin' Wolf
05 Rollin' And Tumblin' / Muddy Waters
06 Cat's Squirrel / Dr. Ross
07 Ramblin' On My Mind / Robert Johnson
08 I'm So Glad / Skip James
09 Outside Woman Blues / Blind Joe Reynolds
10 Sittin' On Top Of The World / Howlin' Wolf
11 I Wish You Would / Billy Boy Arnold
12 Too Much Monkey Business / Chuck Berry
13 I Got Love If You Want It / Slim Harpo
14 Smokestack Lightnin' / Howlin' Wolf
15 Five Long Years / Eddie Boyd
16 Willie And The Hand Jive / Johnny Otis
17 Jesus Is Coming Soon / Blind Willie Johnson
18 Swing Low Sweet Chariot / The Staple Singers
19 Everybody Oughta Make A Change / Sleepy John Estes
20 Worried Life Blues / Big Maceo
21 Further On Up The Road / Bobby Bland
22 Have You Ever Loved A Woman / Freddy King
23 Steppin' Out / Memphis Slim
24 The Sky Is Crying / Elmore James
25 Eyesight To The Blind / Sonny Boy Williamson
26 Crossroads / Robert Johnson

that's not the real cover as i could barely find any infos at all about this Japanese compilation cd from the 80's...but, this the essence of Clapton's blues...
truly, the "Songs Clapton Taught Us".

Ethiopiques Volume 13: Ethiopian Groove (2003)

One of our favorite compilations in this amazing series – a killer batch of 70s funk from Ethiopia! The instrumental grooves are very much in the style of the best American work at the time – like tracks by James Brown or Kool & The Gang – but the vocals have this amazing other-worldly feel that makes the music sound totally unique, and which pulls out some strange pitches in the instrumentation that really gives the whole thing a wild and edgey feel! The set's got 17 tracks in all – none of which you've probably heard before – and titles include "Tashamanaletch" and "Wededku Afqerkush" by Alemayehu Eshete, "Muziqawi Silt" by Wallias Band, "Gedawo" and "Gud Aderegetchegn" by Ayalew Mesafin, "Ya Djaleleto" and "Antchin Yagegnulet" by Tamrat Ferendji, and "Yemendjar Shega" by Muluqen Mellesse

These recordings are almost all from 1976 and 1977, so it's last-gasp-time before the military dictatorship clampdown killed off that golden age.
Another very solid Ethiopiques compilation that will both satisfy the series' veterans and whet the appetite of newcomers...

01. Tashamanalétch (She Stirs Up Covetousness) - Eshèté, Alèayèhu
02. Ewnètègna Feqer (A True Love) - Abbèbè, Tesfaye
03. Mètch Ené Terf Fèlèghu
04. Wèdèdku Afqèrkush (I'm in Love, I Love You) - Eshèté, Alèayèhu
05. Antchin Yagènulèt (When They See You) - Fèrèndji, Tamrat
06. Muziqa Muziqa
07. Atraqègn (Don't Go Away from Me) - Haylè-Michael, Tèzè
08. Yèmendjar Shèga - Menguistu, Shèwalul
09. Muziqawi Silt [Instrumental] - Bèyènè, Girma
10. Djemeregne - Menguistu, Shèwalul
11. Feqer Aydèlèm Wèy (Isn't It Love?) - Mèsfin, Ayalew
12. Ya Djalèléto (My Beautiful Beloved) - Fèrèndji, Tamrat
13. Tegel Nèw - Haylè-Michael, Tèzè
14. Gud Adèrègètchegn (She Shattered Me) - Mesfin, Ayalèw
15. Gèdawo (The Lucky One) - Mesfin, Ayalèw
16. Mètché Nèw (When?) - Sissay, Tèshomè
17. Amlak Abét Abét (Lord, I Pray of You) - Sissay, Tèshomè

Ethiopiques, Vol. 12: Konso Music and Songs (2003)

For just the second time in the Ethiopiques series, there's something fairly new, not vintage. Volume two brought material from the early part of the 1990s, but this is real modern fieldwork, the music of the Xonso people, revolving around the voice, the flute, and the lyre. They have an interesting view of music; not only is it a part of everyday life, but it is also a way to pass messages to their descendants. While the instruments are present, it's always the sound of people that's to the fore. There's singing, clapping, stomping, chanting, and myriad variations -- almost any way of making noise that's possible with the voice or body. That could seem off-putting, but in fact it's warm and oddly reassuring. The sense of pleasure the Xonso have in their music-making is palpable, communicating itself in every second of the disc. So while this is a definite departure for this series, the music more than makes up for the change of pace. - AMG

01 Kabalula Kossa - Xorma
02 Kusse Guibada - untitled
03 Tadesse Deyasa - Wattatra
04 Choir - Parga
06 Kabachare Jiraato - Timma qollo
07 Kahano - Hoppa
08 Kosey A Gamecho - Tansa
09 Kabachare Jiraato - Oyayo
10 Tadesse Telliy A - Kampalutu
11 Choir - Kirna Yoqaa
12 Choir - Untitled
14 Karacho Tayye - Tansa 2
15 Tamiru Tzareghe - untitled
16 Tadesse Deyasa - untitled
17 Tadesse Telllya Jankara - Xorma 2
18 Sagooyya Jiwwa - Xorma 3
19 Changara - Tansa 3
20 Arrimma Shingoda - Songo Gawadi
21 Hoire Katano - Untitled
22 Robisha Weghegira - Untitled
23 Kabalula Kossa - Daletya

Ethiopiques Volume 11 – Alemu Aga: Harp Of King David

One of the more recent recordings in this series of CDs focusing on Ethiopian music – and one of the more mellow, too! The CD's devoted to work played on the Beguena, or "King David's Harp" – one of Ethiopia's oldest instruments, and one with a weirdly haunting sound. The style is kind of like a fretless bass being played in echoey bottom registers – acoustic here, but with an enigmatic electricity of its own that creates many trance-like moments! © 1996-2010, Dusty Groove America, Inc.

Ethiopiques Volume 11: Alemu Aga

01. Abatatchen Hoy - peter Noster
02. Medinanna Zelesegna - Medina And Zelesegna
03. Tew Semagn Hagere - Cher Concitoyen
04. Yeemebetatchen Selamta
05. Keto Ayqerem Motu
06. Sele Sene Seqlet
07. Abba Gragn Mote
08. Sele Sene Fetret
09. Dagem Metseat
10. Sele Genna
11. Man Yemeramer?
12. Yebeguenna Derdera

The Zombies - Odessey and Oracle (UK 1968) Mono & Stereo + bonus

Odessey & Oracle was one of the flukiest (and best) albums of the 1960s, and one of the most enduring long-players to come out of the entire British psychedelic boom, mixing trippy melodies, ornate choruses, and lush Mellotron sounds with a solid hard rock base. But it was overlooked completely in England and barely got out in America (with a big push by Al Kooper, who was then a Columbia Records producer); and it was neglected in the U.S. until the single "Time of the Season," culled from the album, topped the charts nearly two years after it was recorded, by which time the group was long disbanded. Ironically, at the time of its recording in the summer of 1967, permanency was not much on the minds of the band members. Odessey & Oracle was intended as a final statement, a bold last hurrah, having worked hard for three years only to see the quality of their gigs decline as the hits stopped coming. The results are consistently pleasing, surprising, and challenging: "Hung Up on a Dream" and "Changes" are some of the most powerful psychedelic pop/rock ever heard out of England, with a solid rhythm section, a hot Mellotron sound, and chiming, hard guitar, as well as highly melodic piano; "Changes" also benefits from radiant singing. "This Will Be Our Year" makes use of trumpets (one of the very few instances of real overdubbing) in a manner reminiscent of "Penny Lane"; and then there's "Time of the Season," the most well-known song in their output and a white soul classic. Not all of the album is that inspired, but it's all consistently interesting and very good listening, and superior to most other psychedelic albums this side of the Beatles' best and Pink Floyd's early work. Indeed, the only complaint one might have about the original LP is its relatively short running time, barely over 30 minutes, but even that's refreshing in an era where most musicians took their (and our) time making their point, and most of the CD reissues have bonus tracks to fill out the space available. — Bruce Eder

that's what the AMG guy said.
i say get it for "Beachwood Park" and play that song over and over because
it's a such a cool fuckin' summer song!