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Parker, Graham - Stick to Me (77 ^ 96mb)
After spending much of his early adulthood working odd jobs, Parker began seriously pursuing a musical career in 1975. Until that time, he had played in a number of obscure pub rock groups, but it wasn't until Dave Robinson, one of the co-founders of the new independent label Stiff, heard one of Parker's demo tapes and encouraged the songwriter, helping him assemble a backing band called the Rumour. Robinson rounded up several stars of the pub rock scene -- guitarist Brinsley Schwarz and keyboardist Bob Andrews, guitarist Martin Belmont, drummer Steve Goulding, and bassist Andrew Bodnar -- to form the Rumour, and the band was soon supporting Parker on the dying pub rock scene. With the assistance of DJ Charlie Gillett, the group landed a record contract with Mercury by the end of 1975.
Graham Parker & the Rumour headed into the studio to cut their debut album with producer Nick Lowe, who gave the resulting record, Howlin' Wind, an appealingly ragged edge. Howlin' Wind was greeted with enthusiastic reviews upon its summer release, as did the similar Heat Treatment, which followed in the fall. Despite the positive press, Parker was growing frustrated with Mercury, believing that the company was not properly promoting and distributing his records. His third album, Stick to Me, had to be re-recorded quickly after the original tapes were discovered to be defective prior to its scheduled release. As a result, Stick to Me received mixed reviews upon its fall 1977 release, which derailed Parker's momentum slightly. Frustrated by his career hitting a standstill, Parker released the live double album "The Parkerilla" in the summer of 1978 in order to get out of his contract. Parker signed to Arista Records, where he released "Mercury Poisoning" -- a blistering attack on his former record label -- as the B-side of a promotional single as his first record for the label.
"Squeezing Out Sparks", Parker's first album for Arista, put a halt to that decline. Sporting a slicker, new wave-oriented production -- it was the first of his records not to have any involvement from Nick Lowe -- the album was greeted with terrific reviews and, on the strengths of radio hits like "Local Girls," it became his most successful album, selling over 200,000 copies. Parker was poised for a major breakthrough, but that didn't happen. He followed Squeezing Out Sparks in 1980 with the Jimmy Iovine-produced "The Up Escalator", which was considerably slicker than its predecessor. The Up Escalator didn't sell, and Parker decided to ditch the Rumour, who had already begun a solo career. For 1982's" Another Grey Area", he hired producer Jack Douglas and a team of session musicians, resulting in a radio-ready production that received mixed reviews, yet managed to peak at number 51. "The Real Macaw", which followed in 1983, suffered a similar fate. For 1985's "Steady Nerves", Parker moved to Elektra Records and formed a backing band called the Shot with guitarist Brinsley Schwarz, who helped him deliver his most radio-ready collection. This time, the pop move paid off.
Despite his moderate commercial success with Steady Nerves, he also ran into trouble with Elektra, leaving the label after just one record. Parker wasn't able to deliver another album until 1988, when he signed with RCA and released "The Mona Lisa's Sister" in the spring. Hailed as a comeback by several critics upon its release, instead of being the beginning of a comeback, the album turned out to be a last gasp -- " Live! Alone in America" (1989) , "Human Soul" (90), "Struck By Lightning" (91), all received good reviews but sales dissapointed, so RCA let him go-- Parker switched to Capitol and released "Burning Questions", which was ignored by all except his cult following.
Parker switched back to independent labels -- In 1994, he released the Christmas Cracker EP on Dakota Arts, and then he signed with " Razor & Tie" , where he released " 12 Haunted Episodes" in the spring. Like The Mona Lisa's Sister and Struck By Lightning before it, 12 Haunted Episodes was hailed as a comeback, and it sold in respectable numbers for an indie release. Parker followed it with two albums in 1996, " Live from New York, NY" and " Acid Bubblegum" . Parker continued to issue a steady stream of archive and live releases into the mid-2000s, and moved into singer/songwriter mode for the albums " Deepcut to Nowhere" and " Your Country" . The Figgs were back for 2005's Songs of No Consequence, an album that Parker declared "rocks like safari park chimp" , unreleased material, rare edits, and remixes were featured on "Official Art Vandelay Tapes, Vol. 2" , which appeared two weeks after Songs of No Consequence. Last year Parker released " Don't Tell Columbus " 2007.
01 - Stick to Me (3:26)
02 - I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down (3:25)
03 - Problem Child (3:24)
04 - Soul on Ice (2:58)
05 - Clear Head (2:55)
06 - The New York Shuffle (2:58)
07 - Watch the Moon Come Down (4:49)
08 - Thunder and Rain (3:15)
09 - The Heat in Harlem (6:52)
10 - The Raid (2:28)
--Xs--
11 - Hey Lord, Don't Ask Me Questions (3:51)
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Rupert Hine - Immunity (81 ^ 99mb)
Rupert Hine earned perhaps his greatest notoriety as one of the most successful and prolific producers of the synth-pop era, he has produced over 100 albums in total, many featuring songs written for and with the artists in question. In addition, Hine has recorded eleven albums as an artist himself. Hine was founder of the 1976's band Quantum Jump, releasing two albums Quantum Jump and Barracuda. Returning to solo work with 1981's Immunity,Immunity marked a return to solo work for Rupert Hine after a few years with Quantum Jump. Early-'80s synth-pop did not age very well as a genre, but this album is the exception. The disquieting moods, oblique accompaniments, poetic lyrics, and dramatic effects hold up the album thru time. Highlights include ...each of the album's original nine tracks is a gem, full of clever ideas and daring artistic choices, with Hine handling most instruments. . For anyone interested in Hine's singer/songwriter career, Immunity is the place to start.
His breakthrough year as a producer was 1984, when he helmed Howard Jones' smash Human's Lib, as well as Tina Turner's comeback smash Private Dancer; the Power Station's self-titled debut confirmed Hine's status as one of the hottest producers around. Under the guise of Thinkman, he returned to solo work in 1986, with The Formula, Life Is A Full Time Occupation (88) and Hard Hat Zone (90) .At the same time Hine also began working with Rush, producing their LP Presto as well as its 1991 follow-up Roll the Bones. His last solo effort was the ambient Deep End (95). He now releases records sporadically, always with poetic lyrics written by his wife, but has concentrated since on production, one of those people that have been greatly influencing modern pop music, but prefers to stay out of the limelight.
01 - I Hang On To My Vertigo (4:59)
02 - Misplaced Love (Voc. Marianne Faithfull) (4:10)
03 - Samsara (5:06)
04 - Surface Tension (4:12)
05 - I Think A Man Will Hang Soon (4:09)
06 - Immunity (3:50)
07 - Another Stranger (4:31)
08 - Psycho Surrender (4:05)
09 - Make A Wish (6:15)
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Nitzer Ebb - That Total Age (87 ^ 132mb)
Nitzer Ebb began when Douglas McCarthy met Bon Harris, they shared an interest in witchcraft, talking to trees, and collecting runestones in Chesterfield and Little Baddoe, England. They found inspiration in the punk ethos of bands such as DAF, Killing Joke, and Bauhaus. In August 1983, they recorded their first demo tape, Basic Pain Procedure. They released their debut single "Isn't It Funny How Your Body Works" (85) on their own label Power Of Voice Communications, and their music soon became a fixture on the club scene. two singles followed before signing to Mute. In May 1987, they released their debut album on Mute Records, That Total Age, which spawned a hit with the pounding bass rhythms and barked vocals of "Join In the Chant" and "Let Your Body Learn". What the Douglas McCarthy/Bon Harris duo did on their first full album was to give it a distinctly English-language bent, as well as drawing on some of the further developments of EBM over time. If the resultant debut was a bit one-note as an overall release, the duo already showed a bent for making sure their concoctions were instantly memorable and undeniably thrilling.
After the release of That Total Age, Nitzer Ebb toured Europe supporting label; mates Depeche Mode, and the pop sensibilities appeared to inspire them. By the time of their second album, Belief, Gooday had disappeared (to be replaced by Julian Beeston) and Flood had taken over the producer's role from Harding, nudging Nitzer Ebb closer to the dancefloor and shearing away the militaristic bent of much of their earlier recordings. Singles like "Hearts and Minds," "Shame," and "Lightning Man" were loaded with the cold aggression of earlier recordings, working well on dancefloors as well as college radio stations; the 1990 single "Fun to Be Had" even reached number two on the dance charts. The following year's Ebbhead was released in September 1991 and showcased a new confidence in the band's songwriting and production (ably assisted by Flood and Alan Wilder). A hugely successful world tour from Autumn 1991 to Summer 1992 spanning the US, Europe and Russia hinted that the band could potentially break into the mainstream and become a bona fide 'crossover' act. Meanwhile they had consolidated their position with alternative audiences, with at least two well-known singles, "I Give to You" and "Godhead." As a whole, though, the album showed Nitzer Ebb a bit confused as to where industrial music was going.Which became apparent when the follow up album took 3 years to record and a schism between Harris and McCarthy developped, they failed to deliver the album required to 'crossover'. The Nitzer Ebb machine ground to a halt towards the end of the Big Hit tour (final dates were advertised then cancelled). Although the group never officially split, Mccarthy and Harris both went their separate ways.The compilation Body of Work 1984-1997 appeared in 2006 and was immediately followed by set of new remixes titled Body Rework.
01 - Fitness To Purpose (5:00)
02 - Violent Playground (3:46)
03 - Murderous (5:40)
04 - Smear Body (5:40)
05 - Join In The Chant (6:01)
06 - Alarm (3:55)
07 - Let Your Body Learn (2:47)
08 - Let Beauty Loose (2:24)
09 - Into The Large Air (4:08)
10 - Join In The Chant (Metal Mix) (5:13)
11 - Fitness To Purpose (Mix Two) (4:54)
12 - Murderous (Instrumental) (5:02)
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All downloads are in * ogg-7 (224k) or ^ ogg-9(320k), artwork is included , if in need get the nifty ogg encoder/decoder here
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