CD Review: Gary Numan/Love & Rockets 5 Albums Box Sets
Beggars Archive is a re-issue label that specializes in maintaining the back catalog of Beggars Banquet, the now-defunct indie label who helped introduce the world to groundbreaking acts like Bauhaus, The Fall, and The Gun Club. However, as beloved and well-regarded as the Beggars backstock is, not much of it exactly flies off the shelves today. Let’s be honest, most people interested in Bauhaus just want to buy a greatest hits CD that has “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” on it, and lesser acts like Gene Loves Jezebel and Felsh For Lulu are probably on the verge of being lost to the sands of time forever, save for whatever tracks they had on 80s teen comedies.
As an effort to keep many of their lesser artists, and less popular albums by their established artists, in print, Beggars Archive have started packaging together budget-priced “5 Album” box sets that include, you guessed it, five CDs from a band’s back catalog. Five CDs that, the label suggested, would be out-of-print otherwise.
The first two artists to get the “5 Album” treatment from Beggars Archive are Love & Rockets and Gary Numan. And while both are collections of great albums that many people might not purchase otherwise (and that’s a shame) I’m having a hard time figuring out just who these box sets are for.
Vinyl Review: Cause & Effect Vol. 1 (VIP Edition)
Joyful Noise is one of my favorite record labels. And it’s not just because they’re home to great artists like Lou Barlow, Talk Normal, Deerhoof and Kishi Bashi (KISHI BASHI IS SO GOOD YOU GUYS), but it’s also because they seem to be one of the only labels out there having fun with the physical format.
Joyful Noise puts out cassette tapes. Not only that, they put out giant cassette tape box sets. They put out flexi-discs flip books. They sell their test pressings. They love colored vinyl, elaborate packaging and everything else that makes record collectors go gaga. Even better, they tend to do it in an affordable fashion. They’re the ideal label for the collector on a budget.
The label’s latest budget-minded limited edition release is Cause & Effect Vol. 1, a boxed collection of three split singles with an interesting concept; the A-side of each single has a historically significant solo musician, while the B-side features a modern act influenced by them.
Vinyl Review: Alice In Chains – The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (Limited Picture Disc Edition)
When Alice In Chains reformed in 2008 with new lead singer William DuVall, it was a move that shocked, and even angered many of their fans. But much of that discontent was quelled when the album by the newly reformed group, Black Gives Way To Blue, ended up being pretty good; a welcome addition to the Alice In Chains discography that updated their sound in way that wasn’t embarrassing.
Now they’re back again with The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here, and while it is also a solid entry into the Alice In Chains cannon that should appease both old fans and newcomers to the legendary grunge rockers, it’s still hard to recommend simply from a technical standpoint.
Vinyl Review: Kavinsky – OutRun
I really wanted to dislike this record.
I’m typically not a fan of “kitsch” retro music, any music that goes out of its way to sound “retro” or “vintage.” Whether it be chiptune, faux-glam, pseudo-classic rock or throwback rap, I typically find it boring. It’s an obvious, quick and easy way to find an audience that’s not very discerning, one that puts a style of music over its general quality.
And OutRun, the full-length debut by electronic artist Kavinsky, is clearly aiming for a retro feel in just about every way imaginable. He named his album after a Sega arcade game, and filled the sleeve with imagery evocative of it. He relies almost entirely on 80s-style synth and guitar licks, and the album itself is a concept record that begins in the mid-80s. There’s wearing your influences on your sleeve and then there’s tattooing them on your arm. It just all came off as so obvious.
But dammit, this is a great record.
Moroder 101
Giorgio Moroder is probably the hippest 72-year-old on the planet, thanks to his appearance on Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories. But I’m willing to bet at least a few people who bought the album and listened to the track “Giorgio by Moroder” immediately thought “who the hell is this old guy and why should I care about his life story?”
Well, I’m not going to judge those people. No matter how influential and groundbreaking his work was, Moroder hasn’t exactly been a household name for the past 20 years or so.
But they should know, dammit. And while I’m not going to judge them, I’m sure going to do my best to educate them.
Vinyl Review: Daft Punk – Random Access Memories
Daft Punk is back! And they brought disco!
But don’t worry, it’s okay, I promise.
I’m going to be honest with both myself and you all reading this: you don’t need to read my opinion of Random Access Memories. By now you’ve probably listened to the album for yourself, and probably even read dozens of other, much more in-depth reviews. And they’re all right: the record is a game changer. It will blow your mind. It re-invents dance music by taking it back to synth-pop, disco and funk all while putting its own spin on all of it. It’s bloody brilliant. You’ve never heard anything like it, but at the same time it wears its influences on it sleeve in the best ways imaginable. Name a praise for the album, it’s accurate.
You should buy this album
But should you buy it on vinyl?
Record Sleeve Finds: XTC’s Paper Box
Most goodies hidden in record sleeves are flat, for obvious reasons. However, in 1989 XTC thought outside the box and were able to give their fans a…box.
Review: Final Fantasy Vinyls
The plural of “vinyl” is, in fact, “vinyl.”
Now that I got that out of the way, Final Fantasy Vinyls (sigh) is a a 5LP box set featuring music from the first ten Final Fantasy games. Each song was hand picked by series composer Noburo Uematsu and specially remastered for this vinyl release.
The box set came out in Japan in November. I was lucky enough to snag one while I was there, and I’ve been meaning to review it ever since. However, I wanted to review both the vinyl and the downloadable MP3s that came with it, but I was unable to redeem the codes due to them being on a Japanese website, and me speaking/reading/understanding zero Japanese.
Twitter to the rescue! With the help of one Matthew Keehan, I was able to get my downloads in order, and now I am finally able to present to you my thoughts on this box set.
And after all that wait, what do I think of it?
Eh, it’s okay I guess.
Yars’ Revenge – The Record
I love Yars’ Revenge.
It’s my favorite 2600 game, no question about it. Sure, Demon Attack was great, and Pitfall is a classic, but if I had to choose one Atari game to hold above all others, it would have to be Yars’ Revenge.
I played the hell out of this game as a kid, emulated it like crazy in the 90s, and even bought it legit again (on Microsoft Game Room no less) a few years back so I could rock it on my Xbox 360.
I love this game.
So I am totally stoked that I own it on vinyl.
Review: Blade Runner Original Soundtrack (Audio Fidelity Edition)
It’s easy to forget, but when Blade Runner was first released in cinemas in 1982, the film was both a commercial and critical dud. It wasn’t until the Director’s Cut was released to theaters ten years later that many began to turn around on the film and see it for the sci-fi classic that it is now considered to be.
However, one point that was never in contention even during the harshest critiques of the film was its score. Composed by Vangelis, who also brought us the iconic Chariots of Fire theme, it was instantly lauded as sensational, and even earned itself several award nominations. Oddly enough though, an official soundtrack was never released during the film’s original run. Instead all fans got was an album of “orchestral interpretations,” something that was not at all representative of Vangelis’ haunting, mostly synthesized, score. It would take over 10 years for the actual soundtrack to see the light of day. But by the time it was released in 1994, LPs were at an absolute nadir in terms of sales, so it was only given a CD release.
Now, over 30 years since the film’s original release, the original soundtrack has been released properly on vinyl, thanks to re-issue label Audio Fidelity. And while I wouldn’t say it’s been worth the wait, fans who were holding out all these years for a vinyl copy of the film’s iconic score probably will not be disappointed.