#13.




Nirvana - Live at Redding
(622 Points, 9 Votes)

Tracklist:
1. "Breed" 2:57
2. "Drain You" 3:54
3. "Aneurysm" 4:34
4. "School" 3:12
5. "Sliver" 2:13
6. "In Bloom" 4:33
7. "Come As You Are" 3:34
8. "Lithium" 5:10
9. "About a Girl" 3:09
10. "Tourette's" 1:51
11. "Polly" 2:48
12. "Lounge Act" 3:04
13. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" 5:53
14. "On a Plain" 3:00
15. "Negative Creep" 2:54
16. "Been a Son" 3:23
17. "All Apologies" 3:25
18. "Blew" 5:23
19. "Dumb" 2:34
20. "Stay Away" 3:41
21. "Spank Thru" 3:05
22. "Love Buzz" (Shocking Blue cover, appears only on DVD version) 4:56
23. "The Money Will Roll Right In" (Fang cover) 2:13
24. "D-7" (Wipers cover) 3:43
25. "Territorial Pissings" 4:30

Amazon.com Product Description: Ranked #1 in Kerrang Magazine's "100 Gigs That Shook The World" and voted as "Nirvana's #1 Greatest Moment" by fans in an NME poll, Nirvana's historic August 30, 1992 headlining appearance at the UK's Reading Festival is one of the most bootlegged concerts in the annals of rock n roll. Now, fans will have an opportunity to own a pristine copy of that entire performance -- color-corrected video from the original film with audio sourced from the original multi-track masters. Nirvana Live At Reading will be issued in a limited edition CD+DVD Deluxe Edition as well as DVD-only, CD-only configurations on November 3, 2009, followed by a 2LP version on November 17, 2009.

AMG Says: Certain concerts create a legend as soon as the final note ceases to ring. Nirvana's headlining appearance at the 1992 Reading Festival is one of these shows, a concert that arrived at precisely the right moment and stands as testament to a band at the peak of its powers...and right before things started to turn sour within the Nirvana camp. Despite the happy news of the birth of Frances Bean Cobain a mere 12 days before this August 30 festival, rumors swirled around Nirvana right up until the band hit the stage. Kurt Cobain took full advantage of these scurrilous stories, making his entrance in a hospital gown and wheelchair pushed by journalist Everett True. Cobain feebly reached for the microphone to croak out the opening lines of "The Rose," only to collapse onto the stage, milking the drama for a moment before leading Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl through a ferocious "Breed." This impish sense of humor has been obscured over the years, lost under the weight of the band's tragic legacy, along with the fact that Nirvana could actually be fun as well as furious. Live at Reading brings all this roaring back. This is Nirvana's purest blast of rock & roll: there's a boundless, invigorating energy here and, just as importantly, there's a sense of joy to the performances, a joy that bubbles to the surface when Kurt laughs during the intro of "Sliver" but can be heard throughout the show, as the band rushes in tandem, pushing the tempos on "Aneurysm" and "Territorial Pissings," ebbing and flowing as one. Hints of this could be heard on the live comp From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah, but this is a complete document of Nirvana in full flight and one of the greatest live rock & roll albums ever.

Ranked Highest By: spiridofeden (#4)

Amazon Link

#12.




Neil Young - Archives, Vol.1 1963-1972
(645 Points, 4 Votes, One #1 Vote)

Tracklist:
Disc 00 - Early Years (1963-1965)

1. "Aurora" (2:07) - The Squires – from the 45 RPM single (mono)
* Neil Young - Guitar; Allan Bates - Guitar; Ken Koblun - Bass; Ken Smyth - Drums; Bob Bradbum - Voice
2. "The Sultan" (2:32) - The Squires – from the 45 RPM single (mono)
* Neil Young - Guitar; Allan Bates - Guitar; Ken Koblun - Bass; Ken Smyth - Drums, gong
3. "I Wonder" (2:21) - The Squires – previously unreleased song (mono)
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Allan Bates - Guitar; Ken Koblun - Bass; Ken Smyth - Drums
4. "Mustang" (2:23) - The Squires – previously unreleased instrumental (mono)
* Neil Young - Guitar; Allan Bates - Guitar; Ken Koblun - Bass; Ken Smyth - Drums
5. "I'll Love You Forever" (3:22) - The Squires – previously unreleased song (mono)
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Ken Koblun - Bass; Bill Edmondson - Drums
6. "(I'm a Man and) I Can't Cry" (2:30) - The Squires – previously unreleased song (mono)
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Doug Campbell - Guitar; Ken Koblun - Bass; Randy Peterson - Drums
7. "Hello Lonely Woman" (3:57) - Neil Young & Comrie Smith – previously unreleased song
* Neil Young - Guitar, harmonica, vocal; Comrie Smith - Guitar
8. "Casting Me Away from You" (2:13) - Neil Young & Comrie Smith – previously unreleased song
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Comrie Smith - Guitar, vocal
9. "There Goes My Babe" (2:23) - Neil Young & Comrie Smith – previously unreleased song
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Comrie Smith - Guitar, vocal
10. "Sugar Mountain" (2:43) - Neil Young – previously unreleased demo version (mono)
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal
11. "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" (3:05) - Neil Young – previously unreleased demo version (mono)
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal
12. "Runaround Babe" (2:39) - Neil Young – previously unreleased song (mono)
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal
13. "The Ballad of Peggy Grover" (2:48) - Neil Young – previously unreleased song (mono)
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal
14. "The Rent is Always Due" (2:54) - Neil Young – previously unreleased song (mono)
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal
15. "Extra, Extra" (2:41) - Neil Young – previously unreleased song (mono)
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal
16. "I Wonder" - The Squires – previously unreleased alternate version (mono) (Hidden track)
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Ken Koblun - Bass; Bill Edmondson - Drums
17. "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" - Buffalo Springfield – from the album Buffalo Springfield (mono) (Hidden track)
* Richie Furay - Guitar, vocal; Stephen Stills - Guitar, vocal; Neil Young - Guitar, harmonica, vocal; Bruce Palmer - Bass; Dewey Martin - Drums

Disc 01 - Early Years (1966-1968)

1. "Flying on the Ground is Wrong" (3:08) - Neil Young – from the Buffalo Springfield Box Set (mono)
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal
2. "Burned" (2:16) - Buffalo Springfield – from the album Buffalo Springfield (mono)
* Neil Young - Guitar, piano, vocal; Stephen Stills - Guitar, vocal; Richie Furay - Guitar, vocal; Bruce Palmer - Bass; Dewey Martin - Drums
3. "Out of My Mind" (3:05) - Buffalo Springfield – from the album Buffalo Springfield (mono)
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Stephen Stills - Guitar, vocal; Richie Furay - Guitar, vocal; Bruce Palmer - Bass; Dewey Martin - Drums
4. "Down, Down, Down" (2:11) - Neil Young – previously unreleased version (mono)
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal
5. "Kahuna Sunset" (2:52) - Buffalo Springfield – from the Box Set (mono)
* Neil Young - Guitar; Stephen Stills - Guitar; Richie Furay - Guitar; Bruce Palmer - Bass; Dewey Martin - Drums; Cyrus Faryar - Percussion
6. "Mr. Soul" (2:44) - Buffalo Springfield – from the Box Set (mono)
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Stephen Stills - Guitar, vocal; Richie Furay - Guitar, vocal; Bruce Palmer - Bass; Dewey Martin - Drums
7. "Sell Out" (1:40) - Buffalo Springfield – previously unreleased song (mono)
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Stephen Stills - Guitar; Richie Furay - Guitar; Bruce Palmer - Bass; Dewey Martin - Drums
8. "Down to the Wire" (2:29) - Neil Young – from the album Decade (mono)
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Stephen Stills - Guitar, vocal; Richie Furay - Vocal; Mac Rebennack - Piano; Bobby West - Bass; Jesse Hill - Drums, timpani
9. "Expecting to Fly" (3:45) - Buffalo Springfield – from the album Buffalo Springfield Again
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Jack Nitzsche - Electric piano; Don Randi - Piano, harpsichord; Russ Titelman - Guitar; Carole Kaye - Bass; Jim Gordon - Drums; Choir - Merry Clatyon, Brenda Holloway, Patrice Holloway, Gloria Jones, Shirlie Matthews, Gracia Nitzsche; Also - English horn, vibes, timpani, strings
10. "Slowly Burning" (2:58) - Neil Young – previously unreleased instrumental
* Neil Young - Guitar; Jack Nitzsche - Electric piano; Don Randi - Piano, harpsichord; Russ Titelman - Guitar; Carole Kaye - Bass; Jim Gordon - Drums; Also - English horn, vibes, timpani, strings, sleigh bells
11. "One More Sign" (2:01) - Neil Young – from the Box Set
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal
12. "Broken Arrow" (6:13) - Buffalo Springfield – from the album Buffalo Springfield Again
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Richie Furay - Guitar, vocal; Stephen Stills - Guitar; Chris Sarns - Guitar; Don Randi - Piano, organ; Bruce Palmer - Bass; Dewey Martin - Drums, vocal; Also - strings. Jazz theme: Don Randi - Piano; Jim Horn - Clarinet; Hal Blaine - Drums; Also - Bass
13. "I Am a Child" (2:19) - Buffalo Springfield – from the album Last Time Around
* Neil Young - Guitar, harmonica, vocal; Gary Marker - Bass; Dewey Martin - Drums
14. "Do I Have to Come Right Out and Say It?" - Buffalo Springfield - from the album Buffalo Springfield (mono) [Hidden track]
* Richie Furay - Guitar, vocal; Stephen Stills - Guitar, vocal; Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Bruce Palmer - Bass; Dewey Martin - Drums
15. "Flying on the Ground is Wrong" - Buffalo Springfield - from the album Buffalo Springfield (mono) [Hidden track]
* Richie Furay - Guitar, vocal; Stephen Stills - Guitar, vocal; Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Bruce Palmer - Bass; Dewey Martin - Drums
16. "For What It's Worth" - Buffalo Springfield - from the album Buffalo Springfield - second version (mono) [Hidden track]
* Stephen Stills - Guitar, vocal; Richie Furay - Guitar, vocal; Neil Young - Guitar; Bruce Palmer - Bass; Dewey Martin - Drums, vocal
17. "This Is It!" - Buffalo Springfield - excerpts from their final concert - previously unreleased montage (mono) [Hidden track]
* Stephen Stills - Guitar, vocal; Richie Furay - Guitar, vocal; Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Jim Messina - Bass; Dewey Martin - Drums

Disc 02 - Topanga 1 (1968-1969)

1. "Everybody Knows This is Nowhere" (2:15) - Neil Young – from the stereo promotional 45 RPM single-second pressing
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Jim Messina - Bass; George Granthan - Drums; Also - Flute
2. "The Loner" (3:50) - Neil Young – from the album Neil Young
* Neil Young - Guitar, pipe organ, vocal; Jim Messina - Bass; George Granthan - Drums; Also - Strings and celli
3. "Birds" (2:15) - Neil Young – previously unreleased version
* Neil Young - Guitar, piano, vocal; Jim Messina - Bass; George Granthan - Drums
4. "What Did You Do to My Life?" (1:53) - Neil Young – previously unreleased mix
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Jim Messina - Bass; George Granthan - Drums
5. "The Last Trip to Tulsa" (9:27) - Neil Young – from the album Neil Young
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal
6. "Here We Are in the Years" (3:17) - Neil Young – from the album Neil Young – second version
* Neil Young - Guitar, piano, organ, harpsichord, vocal; Jim Messina - Bass; George Granthan - Drums; Also - strings
7. "I've Been Waiting for You" (2:28) - Neil Young – previously unreleased mix
* Neil Young - Guitar, piano, organ, vocal; Jim Messina - Bass; George Granthan - Drums
8. "The Old Laughing Lady" (6:00) - Neil Young – from the album Neil Young
* Neil Young - vocal; Ryland Cooder - Guitar; Jack Nitzsche - Electric piano; Carol Kaye - Bass; Earl Palmer - Drums; Choir: Merry Clatyon, Brenda Holloway, Patrice Holloway, Gloria Jones, Shirlie Matthews, and Gracia Nitzsche; Also - Trumpet, trombone, tenor sax, French horn, clarinet, strings and timpani
9. "I've Loved Her So Long" (2:44) - Neil Young – from the album Neil Young
* Neil Young - vocal; Ryland Cooder - Guitar; Jack Nitzsche - Electric piano; Jim Messina - Bass; Earl Palmer - Drums; Choir: Merry Clatyon, Brenda Holloway, Patrice Holloway, Gloria Jones, Shirlie Matthews, and Gracia Nitzsche; Also - Piano, trumpet, trombone, oboe, clarinet, strings and timpani
10. "Sugar Mountain" (6:16) - Neil Young – previously unreleased stereo master
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal
11. "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" (5:21) - Neil Young – from Volume 00 — Sugar Mountain - Live At Canterbury House 1968
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal
12. "Down By the River" (9:17) - Neil Young with Crazy Horse – from the album Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Danny Whitten - Guitar, vocal; Billy Talbot; Bass - Ralph Molina - Drums, vocal
13. "Cowgirl in the Sand" (10:06) - Neil Young with Crazy Horse – from the album Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Danny Whitten - Guitar, vocal; Billy Talbot; Bass - Ralph Molina - Drums, vocal
14. "Everybody Knows This is Nowhere" (2:29) - Neil Young with Crazy Horse – from the album Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Danny Whitten - Guitar, vocal; Billy Talbot; Bass - Ralph Molina - Drums, vocal
15. "The Emperor of Wyoming" - Neil Young - from the album Neil Young [Hidden track]
* Neil Young - Guitar; Jim Messina - Bass; George Granthan - Drums; Also - Strings

Disc 03 - Live at the Riverboat (Toronto 1969)

1. Emcee Intro. / Sugar Mountain Intro. (1:18)
2. "Sugar Mountain" (5:34) - Neil Young – previously unreleased live version
3. Incredible Doctor Rap (3:10)
4. "The Old Laughing Lady" (5:14) - Neil Young – previously unreleased live version
5. Audience Observation / Dope Song / Band Names Rap (2:59)
6. "Flying on the Ground is Wrong" (3:58) - Neil Young – previously unreleased live version
7. On the Way Home Intro. (:25)
8. "On the Way Home" (2:40) - Neil Young – previously unreleased live version
9. Set Break / Emcee Intro. (1:20)
10. "I've Loved Her So Long" (2:13) - Neil Young – previously unreleased live version
11. Allen A-Dale Rap (2:20)
12. "I Am a Child" (2:27) - Neil Young – previously unreleased live version
13. "1956 Bubblegum Disaster" (2:04) - Neil Young – previously unreleased song
14. "The Last Trip to Tulsa" (7:00) - Neil Young – previously unreleased live version
15. Words Rap (2:14)
16. "Broken Arrow" (4:38) - Neil Young – previously unreleased live version
17. Turn Down the Lights Rap (:53)
18. "Whiskey Boot Hill" (2:22) - Neil Young – previously unreleased live version
19. Expecting to Fly Intro. (:54)
20. "Expecting to Fly" (2:55) - Neil Young – previously unreleased live version
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal (all tracks)

Disc 04 - Topanga 2 (1969-1970)

1. "Cinnamon Girl" (3:00) - Neil Young with Crazy Horse – from the album Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Danny Whitten - Guitar, vocal; Billy Talbot; Bass - Ralph Molina - Drums, vocal
2. "Running Dry (Requiem for the Rockets]])" (5:35) - Neil Young with Crazy Horse – from the album Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Danny Whitten - Guitar, vocal; Bobby Notkoff - Violin; Billy Talbot; Bass - Ralph Molina - Drums, vocal
3. "Round And Round (It Won't Be Long)" (5:54) - Neil Young with Crazy Horse – from the album Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Danny Whitten - Guitar, vocal; Robin Lane - Vocal
4. "Oh Lonesome Me" (4:00) - Neil Young with Crazy Horse – previously unreleased stereo mix
* Neil Young - Guitar, piano, harmonica, vocal; Danny Whitten - Guitar, vocal; Billy Talbot; Bass - Ralph Molina - Drums, vocal
5. "Birds" (1:37) - Neil Young with Crazy Horse – from the 45 RPM single (mono)
* Neil Young - Guitar, piano, vocal; Danny Whitten - Guitar, vocal; Billy Talbot; Bass - Ralph Molina - Drums, vocal
6. "Everybody's Alone" (2:31) - Neil Young with Crazy Horse – previously unreleased song
* Neil Young - Guitar, piano, vocal; Danny Whitten - Guitar, vocal; Billy Talbot; Bass - Ralph Molina - Drums, vocal
7. "I Believe in You" (3:28) - Neil Young with Crazy Horse – from the album After the Gold Rush
* Neil Young - Guitar, piano, vibes, vocal; Danny Whitten - Guitar, vocal; Billy Talbot; Bass - Ralph Molina - Drums, vocal
8. "Sea of Madness" (3:16) - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – from the original soundtrack album Woodstock
* Neil Young - Organ, vocal; Stephen Stills - Guitar, vocal; David Crosby - Guitar, vocal; Graham Nash - Percussion, vocal; Greg Reeves; Bass - Dallas Taylor - Drums
9. "Dance Dance Dance" (2:24) - Neil Young with Crazy Horse – previously unreleased version
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Danny Whitten - Guitar, vocal; Billy Talbot; Bass - Ralph Molina - Drums, vocal
10. "Country Girl" (5:11) - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – from the album Déjà Vu
* Neil Young - Guitar, organ, harmonica, vocal; Stephen Stills - Guitar, vocal; David Crosby - Guitar, vocal; Graham Nash - Guitar, vocal; Greg Reeves; Bass - Dallas Taylor - Drums
11. "Helpless" (3:45) - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – previously unreleased mix
* Neil Young - Acoustic guitar, harmonica, vocal; Stephen Stills - Lead guitar, piano, vocal; David Crosby - Vocal; Graham Nash - Guitar, vocal; Greg Reeves; Bass - Dallas Taylor - Drums
12. "It Might Have Been" (4:18) - Neil Young with Crazy Horse – previously unreleased live version
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Danny Whitten - Guitar, vocal; Jack Nitzsche - Piano; Billy Talbot; Bass - Ralph Molina - Drums, vocal
13. "I Believe in You" - Neil Young with Crazy Horse - previously unreleased mix [Hidden track]
* Neil Young - Guitar, piano, vocal, sleigh bells; Danny Whitten - Guitar, vocal; Billy Talbot; Bass - Ralph Molina - Drums, vocal
14. "I've Loved Her So Long" - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - previously unreleased live version (mono) [Hidden track]
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Graham Nash - Vocal

Disc 05 - Live At the Fillmore East (New York 1970)

1. "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" (3:36)
2. "Winterlong" (3:40)
3. "Down By The River" (12:22)
4. "Wonderin'" (3:35)
5. "Come On Baby, Let's Go Downtown" (3:51)
6. "Cowgirl In The Sand" (16:09)
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Danny Whitten - Guitar, vocal; Jack Nitzsche - Piano; Billy Talbot; Bass - Ralph Molina - Drums, vocal (all tracks)

Disc 06 - Topanga 3 (1970)

1. "Tell Me Why" (2:57) - Neil Young – from the album After the Gold Rush
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Nils Lofgren - Guitar, vocal; Ralph Molina - Vocal
2. "After the Gold Rush" (3:46) - Neil Young – from the album After the Gold Rush
* Neil Young - Piano, vocal; Bill Peterson: Flugelhorn
3. "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" (3:09) - Neil Young – from the album After the Gold Rush
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Danny Whitten - Guitar, vocal; Nils Lofgren - Piano; Greg Reeves - Bass; Ralph Molina - Drums, vocal; Bill Peterson: Flugelhorn
4. "Wonderin'" (2:10) - Neil Young – previously unreleased version
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Nils Lofgren - Piano, vocal; Greg Reeves - Bass; Ralph Molina - Drums, vocal
5. "Don't Let it Bring You Down" (2:57) - Neil Young – from the album After the Gold Rush - first pressing
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Nils Lofgren - Piano; Greg Reeves - Bass; Ralph Molina - Drums
6. "Cripple Creek Ferry" (1:34) - Neil Young – from the album After the Gold Rush
* Neil Young - Piano, vocal; Danny Whitten - Guitar, vocal; Greg Reeves - Bass; Ralph Molina - Drums, vocal
7. "Southern Man" (5:31) - Neil Young – from the album After the Gold Rush
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Nils Lofgren - Piano, vocal; Greg Reeves - Bass; Ralph Molina - Drums, vocal; Danny Whitten - Vocal
8. "Till the Morning Comes" (1:16) - Neil Young – from the album After the Gold Rush
* Neil Young - Piano, vocal; Danny Whitten - Guitar, vocal; Greg Reeves - Bass; Ralph Molina - Drums, vocal; Stephen Stills - Vocal; Bill Peterson - Flugelhorn
9. "When You Dance, I Can Really Love" (3:46) - Neil Young with Crazy Horse – from the album After the Gold Rush - first pressing
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Danny Whitten - Guitar, vocal; Jack Nitzsche - Piano; Billy Talbot - Bass; Ralph Molina - Drums
10. "Ohio" (3:00) - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – from the stereo 45 RPM single
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Stephen Stills - Guitar, vocal; David Crosby - Guitar, vocal; Graham Nash - Vocal; Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuels - Bass; Johnny Barbata - Drums
11. "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" (4:15) - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – previously unreleased live version
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Stephen Stills - Double bass; David Crosby - Vocal; Graham Nash - Vocal
12. "Tell Me Why" (5:41) - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – previously unreleased live version
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Stephen Stills - Double bass; David Crosby - Vocal; Graham Nash - Vocal
13. "Music is Love" (3:20) - David Crosby, Graham Nash & Neil Young – from the album If I Could Only Remember My Name
* David Crosby - Guitar, vocal; Neil Young - Guitar, bas, vibes, vocal; Graham Nash - Congas, vocal
14. "See the Sky About to Rain" (3:56) - Neil Young – previously unreleased live version
* Neil Young - Piano, vocal
15. "Don't Let it Bring You Down" - Neil Young - from the album After the Gold Rush - second pressing [Hidden track]
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Nils Lofgren - Piano; Greg Reeves - Bass; Ralph Molina - Drums
16. "When You Dance I Can Really Love" - Neil Young with Crazy Horse - from the album After the Gold Rush - second pressing [Hidden track]
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Danny Whitten - Guitar, vocal; Jack Nitzsche - Piano; Billy Talbot - Bass; Ralph Molina - Drums
17. "Birds" - Neil Young - from the album After the Gold Rush [Hidden track]
* Neil Young - Piano, vocal; Danny Whitten - Vocal; Ralph Molina - Vocal

Disc 07 - Live at Massey Hall (Toronto 1971)

1. "On the Way Home" (3:42)
2. "Tell Me Why" (2:29)
3. "Old Man" (4:57)
4. "Journey Through the Past" (4:15)
5. "Helpless" (4:16)
6. "Love in Mind" (2:47)
7. "A Man Needs a Maid/Heart of Gold (Suite)" (6:39)
8. "Cowgirl in the Sand" (3:45)
9. "Don't Let it Bring You Down" (2:46)
10. "There's a World" (3:33)
11. "Bad Fog of Loneliness" (3:27)
12. "The Needle and the Damage Done" (3:55)
13. "Ohio" (3:40)
14. "See the Sky About to Rain" (4:05)
15. "Down By the River" (4:08)
16. "Dance Dance Dance" (5:48)
17. "I Am a Child" (3:19)
* Neil Young - Guitar, piano, vocal (all tracks)

Disc 08 - North Country (1971-1972)

1. "Heart of Gold" (3:49) - Neil Young – previously unreleased live version
* Neil Young - Guitar, harmonica, vocal
2. "The Needle and the Damage Done" (2:10) - Neil Young – from the album Harvest
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal
3. "Bad Fog of Loneliness" (1:55) - Neil Young with The Stray Gators – previously unreleased version
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Ben Keith - Pedal steel guitar; Tim Drummond - Bass; Kenny Buttrey - Drums; Linda Ronstadt - Vocal; James Taylor - Vocal
4. "Old Man" (3:22) - Neil Young with The Stray Gators – from the album Harvest
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Ben Keith - Pedal steel guitar; James McMahon - Piano; Tim Drummond - Bass; Kenny Buttrey - Drums; Linda Ronstadt - Vocal; James Taylor - Banjo, vocal
5. "Heart of Gold" (3:08) - Neil Young with The Stray Gators – from the album Harvest
* Neil Young - Guitar, harmonica, vocal; Teddy Irwin - Guitar; Ben Keith - Pedal steel guitar; Tim Drummond - Bass; Kenny Buttrey - Drums; Linda Ronstadt - Vocal; James Taylor - Vocal, banjo
6. "Dance Dance Dance" (2:14) - Neil Young – previously unreleased version
* Neil Young - Guitar, harmonica, vocal; Graham Nash - Banjo, vocal
7. "A Man Needs a Maid" (4:10) - Neil Young with the London Symphony Orchestra – previously unreleased mix
* Neil Young - Piano, vocal; with the London Symphony Orchestra
8. "Harvest" (3:09) - Neil Young with The Stray Gators – from the album Harvest
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Ben Keith - Pedal steel guitar; John Harris - Piano; Tim Drummond - Bass; Kenny Buttrey - Drums
9. "Journey Through the Past" (2:21) - Neil Young with The Stray Gators – previously unreleased version
* Neil Young - Guitar, harmonica, vocal; Ben Keith - Pedal steel guitar; John Harris - Piano; Tim Drummond - Bass; Kenny Buttrey - Drums
10. "Are You Ready for the Country?" (3:22) - Neil Young with The Stray Gators – from the album Harvest
* Neil Young - Piano, vocal; Ben Keith - Pedal steel guitar; Jack Nitzsche - Lap steel guitar; Tim Drummond - Bass; Kenny Buttrey - Drums; David Crosby - Vocal; Graham Nash - Vocal
11. "Alabama" (4:03) - Neil Young with The Stray Gators – from the album Harvest
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Ben Keith - Pedal steel guitar; Jack Nitzsche - Piano; Tim Drummond - Bass; Kenny Buttrey - Drums; David Crosby - Vocal; Stephen Stills - Vocal
12. "Words (Between the Lines of Age)" (15:52) - Neil Young with The Stray Gators – from the original soundtrack album Journey Through The Past
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Ben Keith - Pedal steel guitar; Jack Nitzsche - Piano; Tim Drummond - Bass; Kenny Buttrey - Drums
13. "Soldier" (3:22) - Neil Young – previously unreleased mix
* Neil Young - Piano, vocal
14. "War Song" (3:29) - Neil Young & Graham Nash with The Stray Gators – from the 45 RPM single (mono)
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Ben Keith - Pedal steel guitar; Jack Nitzsche - Piano; Tim Drummond - Bass; Kenny Buttrey - Drums; Graham Nash - Vocal

Disc 09 - Journey Through the Past - A Film By Neil Young

Special features include the theatrical trailer, radio spots and archival galleries.
BD-Live Downloads

1. "I Wonder" - The Squires – previously unreleased basement rehearsal (Made available around May 1, 2009) (24-bit/192 kHz audio)
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocal; Doug Campbell - Guitar; Ken Koblun - Bass; Randy Peterson - Drums
2. "Here We Are in the Years" - Neil Young – unreleased 2009 remix (Made available around July 26, 2009) (24-bit/192 kHz audio)
* Neil Young - Guitar, piano, organ, harpsichord, vocal; Jim Messina - Bass; George Granthan - Drums; Also - strings
3. "Cinnamon Girl" - Neil Young & Crazy Horse - live at the Fillmore East, March 7, 1970 (track left off the Fillmore East NYAPS release) (Made available on or very shortly before Sep. 15, 2009) (24-bit/192 kHz audio)
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocals; Danny Whitten - Guitar, vocals; Jack Nitzsche - Electric piano; Billy Talbot - Bass; Ralph Molina - Drums, vocals
4. "Mr. Soul" - Buffalo Springfield - live at the KHJ Appreciation Concert, Apr. 29, 1967 (Made available on Oct. 5, 2009) (24-bit/96 kHz audio)
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocals; Stephen Stills - Guitar; Richie Furay - Guitar; Jim Fielder - Bass; Dewey Martin - Drums
5. "The Rent Is Always Due" - Neil Young - demo from the Buffalo Springfield box set (Made available on Nov. 2, 2009) (24-bit/192 kHz audio)
* Neil Young - Guitar, vocals
6. "Shakey Pictures Fanfare" - Jack Nitzsche - opening fanfare for all Shakey Pictures productions, along with instructions for a ringtone download (Made available on Nov. 18, 2009) (24-bit/48 kHz audio)
* Jack Nitzsche - Composer


Amazon.com Product Description: This is the first volume of the Neil Young Archives series of box sets, produced by Neil Young himself. This series is the definitive, comprehensive, chronological survey of his entire body of work. Volume I covers the period from his earliest recordings with the Squires in Winnipeg, 1963, through to his classic 1972 album, Harvest and beyond, including studio and live tracks with the legendary Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and Neil Young with Crazy Horse. This Blu Ray disc edition contains 10 discs, each in its own custom sleeve. 9 of these discs hold a total of 128 tracks (12 hidden), all presented in ultra high resolution 24-bit/192 Khz stereo PCM state-of-the-art master quality sound, and featuring nearly 60 previously unreleased songs, versions, mixes, or rare tracks. Also found on these 9 multimedia discs are 20 special feature videos, film clips, and film trailers, an additional 55 audio tracks of rare interviews, radio spots, and concert raps, and an array of interactive features, including image galleries of archival photos, press, lyric manuscripts, documents, biographies, tour dates, and complete lyrics, as well as an interactive timeline feature which presents an in-depth overview of Young's life and career. Each of the 10 Blu Ray discs feature 1920X1080 high definition picture quality. In addition, a Blu Ray disc of Young's acclaimed first film, 'Journey Through The Past', available for the first time since its original theatrical release in 1973, is included, featuring pristine picture transfer, audio presented in both DTS 5.1 surround and stereo 24-bit/96 Khz PCM, plus archival materials. Included in the durable custom display box are a digital download card to access MP3 files of all 128 audio tracks, a lavish 236 page fullcolor hardbound book that features additional archival materials, tapes database, and detailed descriptions of the music and artwork, a foldout Archives poster, a custom keeper for the 10 sleeved discs, and more.

AMG Says: Any project in the works for two decades is bound to generate its fair share of myths and so it is with Neil Young's Archives, a series of a multi-disc box sets chronicling Young's history. Originally envisioned in the late '80s as a Decade II, the project quickly mutated into a monster covering every little corner of Neil's career. With its escalation came delays, so many that it sometimes seemed that the project never really existed; it was just a shared fantasy between Neil and his faithful. During that long, long wait, fans held tight to the idea that Archives was a clearinghouse of rarities similar to Bob Dylan's The Bootleg Series, a treasure trove of unreleased songs and epochal live performances that would trump whatever bootleggers had to offer. While rare and unheard music is certainly a key part of Archives, particularly on the first disc covering the pre-history of 1963-1965, viewing this project as merely a CD box set is wildly misleading. Neil Young has designed Archives as nothing less than an immersive multimedia autobiography, an interactive experience where the music, text, video, and pictures feed off each other, creating a virtual journey through Neil's past.

Because this is a biography, Archives, Vol. 1 winds up relying very heavily on previously released recordings, containing almost all of Neil Young, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, After the Gold Rush, and Harvest, key Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young cuts, and the previously released archival live albums Live at the Fillmore East 1970 and Live at Massey Hall 1971. Such a large chunk of familiar material is bound to disappoint any listener expecting Archives to be a rarities-only set, forgetting that its origin was as a sequel to Decade, the triple-LP set that mixed up hits with unreleased tunes. Archives follows a similar blueprint, excavating many rare gems -- some, like "Bad Fog of Loneliness" quite familiar to bootleggers; some, like an extraordinary "Dance Dance Dance" cut with Graham Nash, not -- and placing them neatly alongside his well-known jewels, so the end effect isn't a rush of discovery but ongoing quiet revelation, an impression underpinned by the set's leisurely pace.

The entire Archives is designed to trace Neil's evolution, to explain how his dead ends were really detours and how his mood swings weren't all that wild; it preserves Young's history as he perceived it. To that end, the DVD and especially BluRay editions of the set are essential to understanding both the project and Neil himself, so much so that the CD edition feels almost like an afterthought, a skimming of the surface of a deep lake. Often, Young delayed Archives due to the limits of technology, a claim that seemed no more than an excuse to keep the project incomplete, but Archives in its BluRay incarnation lives up to all of Neil's promises over the years, coming close to collecting everything -- lyrics, press, artwork, TV performances, doodles, scraps of every sort -- in one place, letting users linger for as long as they'd like in a specific era. Surely, the sound quality on BluRay is extraordinary -- the music leaps out of the speakers yet never sounds overly clean, digital, or modern -- but it's the interactive nature of the set that impresses most. While the DVD set also is complexly interactive, BluRay is designed to be continually updated via the Internet, so Young can add songs and videos whenever he wants, placing the new material as a virtual pushpin on each disc's time line. Acting as a supplement to the text biographies on each disc -- the biography only covering the years on the disc -- the time line places Young's evolution on a broader scale and is illuminated by this extra material, such as a downright thrilling CSNY performance of "Down by the River" on ABC-TV, but this is merely a teaser for the main event: the virtual filing cabinet, where every song on the set has its own folder bulging with handwritten lyrics, press clips, photos, snippets of in-concert introductions, alternate takes -- the list is almost endless and it's always different, so it's easy to flip back to a song and discover a bunch of information you missed the first time around. Add to this, there are an untold number of Easter eggs, sometimes housing the best stuff here, such as videos of Young combing through the archives and reminiscing in 1997, or a 15-minute film clip of Young discovering a CSNY bootleg while record shopping in the early '70s and then taking it from the store.

This level of detail may suggest the one serious flaw in Archives: it cannot be taken casually. It demands complete, undivided attention, requiring users to dig as deep as they'd like, and it's no stretch to say that it could take a week or two to discover everything here. Also, the set comes so tantalizingly close to being complete, it's a major irritation to have one song lopped off of each the albums; surely, the extra storage space on DVD and BluRay could have allowed for complete runs of Everybody, Gold Rush, and Harvest. But really, these complaints feel churlish when faced with a box that is an embarrassment of riches, offering so much more than anybody could have imagined during that long, long wait. Not only was the wait worth it, Archives feels like it was 20 years in the making. It's an extraordinary work that redefines what an autobiography can be.

Ranked Highest By: Saskadelphia (#1)

Amazon Link

#11.




Dark Was The Night
(668 Points, 5 Votes, Two #1 Votes)

Tracklist:"THIS DISC"

1. "Knotty Pine" – Dirty Projectors and David Byrne – 2:23 (mp3)
2. "'Cello Song" (Nick Drake) – The Books featuring José González – 3:54
3. "Train Song" (Vashti Bunyan) – Feist and Ben Gibbard – 3:02
4. "Brackett, WI" – Bon Iver – 4:03
5. "Deep Blue Sea" – Grizzly Bear – 3:46
6. "So Far Around the Bend" – The National – 3:43
7. "Tightrope" – Yeasayer – 3:18
8. "Feeling Good" (Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse) – My Brightest Diamond – 3:54
9. "Dark Was the Night" (Blind Willie Johnson) – Kronos Quartet – 3:51
10. "I Was Young When I Left Home" (Bob Dylan) – Antony with Bryce Dessner – 4:55
11. "Big Red Machine" – Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner – 4:39
12. "Sleepless" – The Decemberists – 7:54
13. "Die" – Iron & Wine – 1:07
14. "Service Bell" – Grizzly Bear and Feist – 2:23
15. "You Are the Blood" (Castanets) – Sufjan Stevens – 10:14

"THAT DISC"

1. "Well-Alright" – Spoon – 2:46
2. "Lenin" – Arcade Fire – 4:06
3. "Mimizan" – Beirut – 2:43
4. "El Caporal" – My Morning Jacket – 3:33
5. "Inspiration Information" (Shuggie Otis) – Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings – 4:06
6. "With a Girl Like You" (The Troggs) – Dave Sitek – 3:27
7. "Blood Pt. 2" (Castanets) – Buck 65 Remix (featuring Sufjan Stevens & Serengeti) – 3:36
8. "Hey, Snow White" (Destroyer) – The New Pornographers – 4:26
9. "Gentle Hour" (Peter Gutteridge) – Yo La Tengo – 5:31
10. "Another Saturday" – Stuart Murdoch – 2:56
11. "Happiness" – Riceboy Sleeps (Jónsi & Alex) – 8:37
12. "Amazing Grace" – Cat Power and Dirty Delta Blues – 3:34
13. "The Giant of Illinois" (The Handsome Family) – Andrew Bird – 4:45
14. "Lua" (Bright Eyes) – Conor Oberst & Gillian Welch – 5:54
15. "When the Road Runs Out" – Blonde Redhead & Devastations – 3:28
16. "Love vs. Porn" – Kevin Drew – 3:57


Amazon.com Product Description: On the occasion of WORLD AIDS DAY today, December 1st a press announcement was made with the complete list of participating artists and cover art for the upcoming 4AD
release Dark Was The Night. Dark Was The Night will be released on February 17th, 2009. Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National produced the album, and John Carlin, the founder of the Red Hot
Organization was the executive producer. A total of 31 exclusive tracks have been recorded for the compilation. It will be available as a double cd/triple viny and will benefit the Red Hot Organization - an international charity dedicated to raising funds and awareness for HIV
and AIDS. Red Hot was founded on the premise that even without a cure, AIDS remains a preventable disease and music is a great vehicle to raise money and awareness for it.

Dark Was The Night began three years ago with a casual conversation between Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National and John Carlin. In discussing the project, they agreed it made sense not to do a "theme" album per se; but something that showcased the bast in independent music, with an emphasis on traditional themes played and arranged in a contemporary way, and on songwriting, which is the strength of many of the artists featured here. As Aaron and Bryce started inviting their peers to contribute, their intuition about the pro-social disposition of so many of them was confirmed. As a result, 31 exclusive tracks were recorded.

AMG Says: The 20th Red Hot compilation Dark Was the Night also arrives during the AIDS charity's 20th anniversary. Curated by the National's Bryce and Aaron Dessner and John Carlin, this double-disc set plays like a who's who of late 2000s indie rock, especially of the mellow and/or folky variety: Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, Iron & Wine, Sufjan Stevens, Feist, Ben Gibbard, and Jose Gonzalez all contribute tracks. Though Carlin and the Dessners didn't specify a particular theme for the project outside of updating traditional themes, Dark Was the Night's first disc is remarkably cohesive. Bon Iver's "Brackett, WI," the Decemberists' "Sleepless," the National's "So Far Around the Bend," and Iron & Wine's "Stolen Houses (Die)" are quintessential examples of what these artists are all about. Many of the brightest moments have a spooky, strangely antique feel, particularly the Kronos Quartet's update of Blind Willie Johnson's title track, which keeps the ruminative soulfulness and grit of the original while transporting it to a very different setting. Antony Hegarty and Bryce Dessner's take on Bob Dylan's "I Left Home When I Was Young" is similarly lonely and haunting, but the real standouts is My Brightest Diamond's ambitious cover of "Feelin' Good," which nods to Nina Simone's classic version while staying true to Shana Worden's chilly yet intimate musical vision. Likewise, Feist's collaboration with Grizzly Bear on "Service Bell" brings out an unearthly, almost unrecognizable side to her voice. Dark Was the Night's second disc is more disjointed, but arguably a more interesting listen -- Spoon's brash "Well-Alright," the Arcade Fire's anthemic "Lenin," and Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings' slinky cover of Shuggie Otis' "Inspiration Information" have little in common other than that they're all well-crafted. Skipping from indie hip-hop ("Blood, Pt 2," Buck 65's remix of Sufjan Stevens' cover of Castanets' "You are the Blood" featuring rapper Serengeti) to filmic Americana (Andrew Bird's take on the Handsome Family's "The Giant of Illinois") to roots rock (My Morning Jacket's "El Caporal"), there's little rhyme or reason but lots of entertainment. Other highlights include the Dirty Projects' and David Byrne's "Knotty Pine," Stuart Murdoch's simple and beautiful "Another Saturday," and Blonde Redhead and Devastations' dreamy, unsettling "When the Road Runs Out." Though some of the tracks contributed by Dark Was the Night's artists are a touch too predictable, it's uncharitable to nitpick too much when the collection offers so much music for such a good cause.

Ranked Highest By: Paul, arkin (#1)

Amazon Link

oops. I guess you didn't transfer my #2 vote for AOTY over to this poll.

oops?

#10.




The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)
(685 Points, 6 Votes)

Tracklist:
The Stone Roses album
# Title Length
1. "I Wanna Be Adored" 4:52
2. "She Bangs the Drums" 3:42
3. "Waterfall" 4:37
4. "Don't Stop" 5:17
5. "Bye Bye Badman" 4:00
6. "Elizabeth My Dear" 0:59
7. "(Song for My) Sugar Spun Sister" 3:25
8. "Made of Stone" 4:10
9. "Shoot You Down" 4:10
10. "This Is the One" 4:58
11. "I Am the Resurrection" 8:12
12. "Fools Gold" (UK 12" single version; bonus track) 9:53
The Lost Demos
# Title Length
1. "I Wanna Be Adored" (Demo) 3:42
2. "She Bangs the Drums" (Demo) 3:46
3. "Waterfall" (Demo) 4:45
4. "Bye Bye Badman" (Demo) 4:03
5. "(Song for My) Sugar Spun Sister" (Demo) 3:30
6. "Shoot You Down" (Demo) 4:25
7. "This Is the One" (Demo) 4:00
8. "I Am the Resurrection" (Demo) 6:38
9. "Elephant Stone" (Demo) 3:13
10. "Going Down" (Demo) 2:40
11. "Mersey Paradise" (Demo) 2:47
12. "Where Angels Play" (Demo) 3:16
13. "Something's Burning" (Demo) 3:03
14. "One Love" (Demo) 6:22
15. "Pearl Bastard" (Demo; previously unreleased track) 3:42
The B-sides
# Title Length
1. "Elephant Stone" 4:50
2. "Full Fathom Five" 3:03
3. "The Hardest Thing" 2:41
4. "Going Down" 2:46
5. "Guernica" 4:22
6. "Mersey Paradise" 2:46
7. "Standing Here" 5:07
8. "Simone" 4:25
9. "Fools Gold" 9:53
10. "What the World Is Waiting For" 3:50
11. "One Love" 7:43
12. "Something's Burning" 7:44
13. "Where Angels Play" 4:16
Live in Blackpool DVD (recorded live at the Empress Ballroom in 1989)
# Title Length
1. "I Wanna Be Adored" (Live) 5:14
2. "Elephant Stone" (Live) 3:35
3. "Waterfall" (Live) 3:35
4. "(Song for My) Sugar Spun Sister" (Live) 3:27
5. "Made of Stone" (Live) 4:26
6. "She Bangs the Drums" (Live) 3:41
7. "Where Angels Play" (Live) 4:10
8. "Going Down" (Live) 2:44
9. "Mersey Paradise" (Live) 2:51
10. "I Am the Resurrection" (Live) 12:32
Music videos
# Title Length
1. "Waterfall" (Video) 3:36
2. "Fools Gold" (Video) 4:14
3. "I Wanna Be Adored" (Video) 4:33
4. "One Love" (Video) 3:47
5. "She Bangs the Drums" (Video) 3:41
6. "Standing Here" (Video) 3:15

Amazon.com Product Description: Meshing simple, exceedingly catchy hooks with rhythmic beats, The Stones Roses led the UK's so-called "Madchester" scene straight into the U.S. with their eponymous debut. The Stone Roses achieved one of the most successful fusions of classic pop songwriting and acid house culture, and managed to snare fans from both genres. By the end of 1989, their debut had landed on many a top-ten list for that year; NME even declared it "The Greatest Album Of All Time."

Twenty years from the moment when four Manchester musicians stepped onto the stage of the Blackpool Empress Ballroom for what would become a legendary gig, Silvertone/Legacy is set to re-release the classic album that is THE STONE ROSES in 4 new formats. Over two decades, the impact of the band's debut album has increased exponentially, inspiring musicians to form bands, marking a re-engagement of guitar music with the mainstream, and creating a youth culture that retains its influence across music, fashion, politics and art to this day.

AMG Says: Routinely named as the greatest British album of the past 20 years in British music mag polls, sometimes rivaling such sacred cows as Revolver whenever those publications decide to do a Greatest Albums Ever list, The Stone Roses remains one of those classic albums that somehow defies translation across the pond. To be sure, it's not that the British overrate the Stone Roses. Rather, it's that the U.S., apart from some Anglophiles and Gen-Xers, missed the golden moment when the Stone Roses were the best band in the world, capturing a crystalline moment where nostalgia for the Summer of Love refracted through the prism of burgeoning acid house. Unlike the Happy Mondays, the Stone Roses weren't really immersed in the pulsating E-underworld of raves, but their music was certainly informed by this new thumping psychedelia as much as it was by the '60s jangle, which is why the Stone Roses can feel somewhat out of time even as it thoroughly, undeniably is about its moment.

That timelessness is one of the chief reasons The Stone Roses endures as a modern classic and why it's been given this spectacular 20th Anniversary reissue. There are multiple editions, all of interest: a basic remastered single-disc, an extensive two-disc/one-DVD set that pairs the original album with a "Lost Demos" CD and video of a live show from Blackpool Empress Ballroom, then finally, a gargantuan set that has all this, plus another disc that rounds up the non-LP singles and B-sides as well as more extensive liner notes, art prints, and a USB disc with unreleased backwards tracks, music videos, and other collector's treats. All this is a fanatics treasure, and there is quite a bit of musical worth here too, especially on the B-sides, which may have already been reissued on Made of Stone but is nice to have paired here. Still, the main revelation of the "Lost Demos" is how perfect John Leckie's production of The Stone Roses is. On these demos, the songs are firmly intact but the colors are muted, and Ian Brown's notoriously wobbly vocals are quite shaky; they are clearly a blueprint, not a final product. Listening to the full album after the demos, The Stone Roses seems even more wondrous: Leckie coaxed the right performances out of all four members, letting Mani and Reni lock into a muscular, fluid groove, encouraging John Squire to paint as vividly with his guitar as he did in his artwork, finding a way for Ian Brown to seem swaggering and spectral simultaneously, a resurrection whose adoration was an inevitability. For longtime fans, this is reason enough to dig into this deluxe anniversary edition, and for those who have never known, there's no better place to get enchanted.

Ranked Highest By: dwight, Saskadelphia (#2)

Amazon Link

way to plow, paul.

there were better re-issues then albums this year

lots of good stuff on this list

I should just download that Archives box already, fuck.

#9.




Death - For The Whole World To See
(714 Points, 7 Votes, One #1 Vote)

Tracklist:
1. Keep On Knocking
2. Rock-N-Roll Victim
3. Let The World Turn
4. You're A Prisoner
5. Freakin Out 2:48
6. Where Do We Go From Here???
7. Politicians In My Eyes

Amazon.com Product Description: Death were a black power trio from Detroit who released a single in 1975 and pretty much disappeared after that. Inspired by the raw Rock 'N' Roll of The Stooges and MC5, the three brothers moved away from their Funk/R&B roots into a new realm. ...For The Whole World To See features the two songs from the single ('Keep On Knocking' and 'Politicians In My Eyes') and five other tracks. Drag City. 2009.

AMG Says: Detroit in the early 1970s was rife with raucous wild music of all kinds: the loopy, psychedelic funk of George Clinton's crew, the raging rock of MC5, the Stooges, the Frost, SRC, Bob Seger getting ready to crack the big time, the entire Motown scene, Grand Funk Railroad banging on the upper reaches of the charts, etc., it was all happening in various places in full view. Music was one of the only places in the Motor City where notions of race and class became virtually invisible. And Detroit radio stations, albeit in off-hours, supported a lot of local music. The influence all these bands had on the local scene was tremendous, as was the influence of Alice Cooper, who'd begun making music in the city before hitting the charts after relocating to Los Angeles.

Enter the Hackney Brothers: guitarist David, bassist Bobby, and drummer Dannis (aka Death). These three brothers had been woodshedding in various funk and soul units until about 1973 when they began digging into the heavier sounds of the day, particularly the Stooges and Alice Cooper. They adopted their rather macabre moniker and began playing loads of parties and garage shows and the occasional ALSAC Teen dance bashes on Sunday afternoons. In 1973 they recorded a demo that they gave away at shows that were becoming hot word of mouth affairs. They got it into the hands of producer Don Davis, who brought them into United Sound and cut the singles that have become, thanks to Drag City, released as For the Whole World to See, which finally saw release after 35 years in the can! The sound here is a whomping, woolly blast of garage rock in the grand Detroit tradition. The songs are beautifully written, raw but very tight, rhythmically compelling, guitar-drenched and feedback-littered but focused. Check out the band's best-known tracks such as "Where Do We Go from Here?" and the hyper-political "Politicians in My Eyes." Here ultra-sonic bass rumble, staggered kick drum and snare attacks merge with blistering shards of six-string mayhem. This is proto-punk at its best. Period. Stop-start cadences meet overdriven power chords and slippery riffs and the primal testosterone energy that the very best of Detroit rock & roll brought to bear: frustration, rage, hedonism, and a Fuck You attitude. The feedback and distortion squalls at the end of "Politicians...." are the equal of anything that ever came from the era. Add to this the smoking party anthem "Keep on Knocking," the no-holds barred rave-up of "Rock 'n' Roll Victim," and the Hendrix-ian guitar blast of "You're a Prisoner" and you'll be left shaking your head in wonder and even awe. The music on For the Whole World to See is not a collection of dead dog cuts assembled for a quick buck. In an era where "lost" albums and "classics" seem to come from every label on the planet, Death's meager 26-and-a-half minutes of recorded sound become a proper chapter in the secret history of rock. Yes, it's true that the hardcore collector crazies have been paying a fortune for the original singles, but it's the music that matters. This amazing record is more evidence of Detroit music's secret story. Fans of Bad Brains, Hendrix, Iggy and the Stooges, etc., take note. The word "classic" in this sense is not only accurate, it cannot be overstated.

Ranked Highest By: Ted Falconi (#1)

Amazon Link

#8.




5 Years of Hyperdub
(739 Points, 8 Votes)

Tracklist:
Disc 1:
1. Meltdown King Midas Sound
2. Time Patrol (feat. Cha Cha) Kode9, The Spaceape
3. Aidys Girl's a Computer Darkstar
4. Roller Skates Samiyam
5. Disco Balls Flying Lotus
6. Purple Smoke Black Chow
7. Fostercare Burial
8. Weekend Fly Cooly G
9. Tarantula Zomby
10. Mega Drive Generation Martyn
11. Turn Away (feat. Dandelion) Lv
12. Level Nine Mala
13. Shake It LD
14. Bleeps from Outer Space Quarta 330
15. Sahara Michael Ikonika
16. Stash Joker, Ginz

Disc 2:
1. 9 Samurai Kode9
2. South London Boroughs Burial
3. Bad Kode9, LD
4. Money Honey [feat. Warrior Queen] (Remix) The Bug
5. Globetrotting (Erol Bellot) Lv
6. Distant Lights Burial
7. Ghost Town Kode9, The Spaceape
8. Fukkaz Kode9, The Spaceape
9. Return Samiyam
10. Need You Darkstar
11. Spliff Dub Zomby
12. Please Ikonika
13. Kaliko Zomby
14. You Don't Know What Love Is 2000F, J Kamata
15. Digidesign The Joker
16. 9 Samurai (Quarta330 Remix) Kode9

AMG Says: Not to slight other dubstep-rooted labels productive from 2005 through 2009 -- Tectonic, Deep Medi, Hessle Audio -- but this half-new/half-retrospective set supplies all the evidence necessary in determining the form's supreme source. Released to acknowledge the fifth anniversary of Kode9's Hyperdub, these two discs, assembled in the wake of 30-plus 12" releases and three albums, should be the starting point for anyone late to the party. There is a slight catch, though: only a fraction of the contents is truly dubstep. In short, dubstep extends and mutates dub, drum'n'bass, U.K. garage, and grime in various permutations. It's merely a foundation for the majority of these producers, whose releases have inspired a flurry of neologisms, like wonky and even post-dubstep; each one has been met with some stiff resistance. Regardless, there is no refuting the significant disparity between Burial's grayscale "South London Boroughs" and 2000F & J Kamata's vibrant "You Don't Know What Love Is," a pair of disc-two tracks released, respectively, in 2005 and 2009. The former's sub-bass and sweeping-scythe percussion takes rhythmic tension to the brink of oppressiveness, while the latter's booming bass and wriggling synths spawn synthetic funk at its most voluptuous. That the first disc contains the new material speaks to the label's desire to continue pushing. It does not quite surpass the second disc of past highlights, yet it's nothing short of generous. A handful of comrades who hadn't previously appeared on the label, like Flying Lotus and Martyn, make appearances; perhaps unsurprisingly, it's the Hyperdub artists who deliver the most moving tracks. King Midas Sound's "Meltdown" is psych ward lovers rock. On "Time Patrol," Kode9 places crisp, tightly coiled percussive friction and jabbing strings beneath the Space Ape and Cha Cha's urgently whispered threats/come-ons. Ikonika's "Sahara Michael," enhanced with sub bass and swarming strings, is one of the most complex productions, stunningly layered with drums that switch between a swaying lurch and a stomp as acidic bleeps flutter and gurgle. The second disc features most of the label's essentials, including Darkstar's "Need You," Joker's "Digidesign," Samiyam's "Return," and the Rustie mix of Zomby's "Spliff Dub," all of which are unique and equally representative of Hyperdub.

Ranked Highest By: Heretix (#2)

Amazon Link

should be higher imo

#7.




R.E.M. - Reckoning (Deluxe Edition)
(819 Points, 8 Votes, Two #1 Votes)

Tracklist:
1. "Harborcoat" – 3:54
2. "7 Chinese Bros." – 4:18
3. "So. Central Rain (I'm Sorry)" – 3:15
4. "Pretty Persuasion" – 3:50
5. "Time After Time (AnnElise)" – 3:31
6. "Second Guessing" – 2:51
7. "Letter Never Sent" – 2:59
8. "Camera" – 5:52
9. "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville" – 4:32
10. "Little America" – 2:58

2009 Deluxe Edition bonus disc (Live at the Aragon Ballroom)

1. "Femme Fatale" (Lou Reed) – 3:19
2. "Radio Free Europe" – 3:54
3. "Gardening at Night" – 3:38
4. "9-9" – 2:48
5. "Windout" – 2:13
6. "Letter Never Sent" – 3:03
7. "Sitting Still" – 3:13
8. "Driver 8" – 3:28
9. "So. Central Rain" – 3:23
10. "7 Chinese Bros." – 4:27
11. "Harborcoat" – 4:34
12. "Hyena" – 3:26
13. "Pretty Persuasion" – 3:49
14. "Little America" – 3:23
15. "Second Guessing" – 3:07
16. "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville" – 4:30


Amazon.com Product Description: Reckoning "confirms R.E.M. as one of the most beautifully exciting groups on the planet." wrote NME in 1984. R.E.M.'s second full-length album also prompted The Washington Post to proclaim that "there isn't an American band worth following more than R.E.M." Twenty-five years later, Reckoning remains a fan favorite for capturing R.E.M. during the youthful freshness of a new, fiercely independent American music scene.

The two-CD Reckoning - Deluxe Edition features the original album remastered plus a bonus disc of a previously unreleased concert recorded during the band's Little America tour at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom on July 7, 1984 and broadcast on WXRT. On the Deluxe Edition's bonus disc, the group not only performs eight of Reckoning's ten songs, "Gardening At Night" from 1982's Chronic Town EP and "Radio Free Europe," "9-9" and "Sitting Still" from Murmur but also new songs that had yet to make it onto tape: "Driver 8" would later debut on R.E.M.'s third album and "Hyena" on its fourth.

AMG Says: Like the deluxe edition of Murmur, the 2009 expansion of Reckoning contains none of the scattered B-sides and outtakes rounded up the 1992 U.K. reissue. Most of these stray songs wound up on Dead Letter Office or the bonus disc of And I Feel Fine anyway, so this no great loss, and the live show from the Aragon Ballroom in 1984 that takes up the second disc is a great gain, particularly as it contains early versions of "Driver 8" and "Hyena," the latter performed two years prior to its appearance on Lifes Rich Pageant. As a whole, this concert doesn't crackle like the Toronto show added to the 25th Anniversary edition of Murmur: the band is a bit tighter and the sound is bit more open, so it winds up lacking the furious rush of that highly adrenalized Toronto concert. Nevertheless, the Aragon show shares much of the same ragged spirit, the band playing with a joyful abandon, a spirit that straightens out the ethereal elements of their earliest work and provides one hell of a good time.

Ranked Highest By: dwight, chocothunder (#1)

Amazon Link

should be lower imo

#6.




Ghana Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds and Ghanaian Blue 1968-1981
(838 Points, 8 Votes)

Tracklist:
1 Kai Wawa [Mono Version] The Mercury Dance Band 3:00
2 Owuo Adaadaa Me [Mono Version] TO Jazz 2:51
3 Din Ya Sugri Christy Azuma & Uppers International 7:02
4 Aaya Lolo [Mono Version] Barbecues 3:48
5 Ohiani Sua Efir [Mono Version] Asaase Ase 4:02
6 Bofoo Beye Abowa Den [Mono Version] St. Peter & The Holymen 3:14
7 Nya Asem Hwe [Mono Version] City Boys Band 4:51
8 Edinya Benya Hedzoleh Soundz 3:17
9 Hwehwe Mu Yi Mpena [Mono Version] Cutlass Dance Band 3:17
10 Sei Nazo [Mono Version] Dr. K. Gyasi & His Noble Kings 3:02
11 I Go Die for You Kyeremateng Atwede & His Kyeremateng... 5:22
12 Obi Agye Me Dofo [Original Version] Vis A Vis 9:50
13 Twer Nyame Ebo Taylor 5:21
14 Mi Nsumõõ Bo Dõnn [Mono Version] Big Beats 3:39
15 Odo Mmera [Mono Version] Pa Steele's African Brothers 3:01
16 You Monopolise Me [Mono Version] The Ogyatanaa Show Band 3:14
17 Wompe Masem The African Brothers International... 4:19
18 Akoko Ba Super Complex Sounds 5:26
19 Akampanye Sweet Talks 4:27
20 Enuanom Adofo [Mono Version] Houghas Sorowonko 3:09
21 Bukom [instrumental] Oscar Sulley's Nezele Soundz 3:28
22 You Can Go [Mono Version] Bokoor Band 3:21
23 Kyenkyen Bi Adi M'Awu K. Frimpong & His Cubanos Fiestas 6:56
24 Dr. Solutsu Fela Kuti ... 3:22
25 Tamale [Mono Version] Pagadeja 3:11
26 Omusus Da Fe M'Musu Hedzoleh Soundz 4:58
27 Yahyia Mu Uhuru Dance Band 4:10
28 Noble Kings Dr. K. Gyasi & His Noble Kings 5:46
29 Bindiga [Mono Version] The Wellis Band 3:24
30 Boombaya [Mono Version] Boombaya 3:39
31 Owuo [Mono Version] Sawaaba Soundz 4:20
32 Them Go Talk of You [Mono Version] Cutlass Dance Band 3:29
33 Sisi Mbon [Mono Version] Honny & The Bees Band 6:47

AMG Says: The U.K. label Soundway Records has vaulted itself to the head of the pack within the narrow field of African anthologies. They specialize in hard '60s and '70s funk, disco, and rock from West Africa, as heard on their Nigeria Special series as well as the earlier Afro Baby and Ghana Soundz sets, not to mention a disc devoted to the best-of Nigerian singer-guitarist Sir Victor Uwaifo. This latest volume, a two-CD set of funk and rock from Ghana all recorded between the late '60s and early '80s, is a churning sea of polyrhythms, chanted vocals, thick, distorted organ sounds, blaring horns, and scorching guitar that are equal parts James Brown and No Wave. Indeed, there are tracks here that sound like an African take on the jagged N.Y.C. funk of the Contortions, while others adapt the innovations of legendary Nigerian bandleader Fela Kuti (who appears as a guest on one track). Of course, it's not all raucous shouting and distorted blare; there are some extraordinarily skillful jazz-funk records here, like the Sweet Talks' "Akampanye," with a stinging trumpet solo, or the jazz flute (and beautifully clear, bell-like vocals) of Christy Azuma & Uppers International's "Din Ya Sungri." A few songs ("Them Go Talk Of You," "I Go Die for You," "You Monopolize Me," "You Can Go") are sung in English, but most of the others will be incomprehensible to a U.S. listener -- and it won't matter one bit, because the rhythms and melodies are so overpowering and forceful that the music functions as pure limbic imperative. If your ass isn't shaking when this stuff is on, seek medical attention.

Ranked Highest By: plaid is rad, stphone (#2)

Amazon Link

#5.




The Jesus Lizard - Goat (Deluxe Remastered Reissue)
(882 Points, 9 Votes)

Tracklist:
1. "Then Comes Dudley" 4:23
2. "Mouth Breather" 2:16
3. "Nub" 2:30
4. "Seasick" 3:11
5. "Monkey Trick" 4:18
6. "Karpis" 3:10
7. "South Mouth" 3:03
8. "Lady Shoes" 2:41
9. "Rodeo in Joliet" 4:49
Deluxe Remastered Reissue
# Title Length
10. "blank track" 0:09
11. "Sunday You Need Love" 2:45
12. "Pop Song" 2:15
13. "Seasick" 3:05
14. "Lady Shoes" 2:37
15. "Monkey Trick" 4:32

Amazon.com Product Description: Re-mastered in 2009 by Steve Albini and Bob Weston. Vinyl packaged in deluxe gatefold album jacket with 12" x 24" double sided color insert including never before seen photos & extensive liner notes by the band & by journalists who were there. Vinyl also includes a digital download coupon for the LP, plus 5 bonus tracks not included on the LP itself. HQ-120 virgin vinyl pressing made at RTI. CD in deluxe Digipak with 14" x 20" double sided color folder including never before seen photos & extensive liner notes by the band & by journalists who were there. CD also includes 4 bonus tracks.

AMG Says: The Jesus Lizard's second album followed in the vein of the first with little immediate variation: loud, excellently produced by Steve Albini, plenty of space in the recording to emphasize the sheer force of McNeilly's drums and Sims' bass, and more besides. The little-remarked-upon ability of the rhythm section to kick out some ass-shaking jams spikes up such great numbers as "Nub," which almost predicts Rocket From the Crypt down to the gang-shout vocals, and the slower but no-less-compelling grind of "Rodeo in Joliet" (also one of the band's most inspired titles). Denison's guitar playing seemed a touch more focused at points here, the results almost suggesting such post-punk groove monsters as Gang of Four and even the Pop Group. There's a more evident melodic lead role for his work as well, as the just plain great riff that fires up "Mouth Breather" and his near-countryish twang on "Karpis" makes perfectly clear. Yow, meanwhile, steps ever more into his own persona, his lyrics now downright comprehensible and his singing levels a touch less doom- (and bass) heavy, if no less aggrieved. The staggered vocal overdubs on "Monkey Trick" are a standout, especially when Denison suddenly serves up another one of his surprisingly sweet passages as a bed. Other treats on the album include the opening "Here Comes Dudley" -- in context one of the more non-welcoming greetings around -- and the Morricone-tinged freakout of "Lady Shoes," assuming Morricone scored movies about doctors dealing with some freaky female patients. The whole album seems like a party in hell, not to mention demonstrative proof that there's still plenty of fun to be had with a basic rock lineup; it's all in the matter of how it's handled.

Ranked Highest By: Pavement Ist Rad (#2)

Amazon Link

Yeeeeeeeeeeaaahhhhh.

Second poll that album has been "ranked highest by Pavement Ist Rad (#2)" in, btw.

#4.




2131 South Michigan Avenue: 60's Garage And Psychedelia From USA And Destination Record
(915 Points, 8 Votes, One #1 Vote)

Tracklist:
Disc: 1
1. The Lost Agency: One Girl Man
2. The Shady Daze: I'll Make You Pay
3. Oscar and the Majestics: Got to Have Your Lovin'
4. The Foggy Notions: Take Me Back and Hold Me
5. Lord and the Flies: Echoes
6. The Messengers: Midnight Hour
7. Ronnie Ross and the Good Guys: If You Ever Go
8. Oscar and the Majestics: Soul Finger
9. The Jokers: I'll Never Let You Go
10. The Sheffields: Do You Still Love Me
11. The Great Society: I'm the One for You
12. The Cryan' Shames: Ben Franklin's Almanac
13. The Foggy Notions: Need a Little Lovin'
14. Oscar and the Majestics: I Can't Explain
15. The Buckinghams: Don't Want to Cry
16. The Boyz: Come With Me
17. The Cryan' Shames: You're Gonna Lose That Girl
18. The Cherry Slush: I Cannot Stop You
19. The Lost Agency: Time to Dream
20. The Buckinghams: ROWE jukebox promo

Disc: 2
1. The Counts: Stop Cheating on Me
2. Trafalgar Square: Till the End of the Day
3. The Boyz: Hard Times All Over
4. Lord and the Flies: You Made a Fool of Me
5. The Ricochettes: I Don't Want You
6. The Messengers: Hard Hard Year
7. Oscar and the Majestics: No Chance Baby
8. The Jokers: What'cha Gonna' Do
9. Gary and the Knight Lites: I Don't Need Your Help
10. The Flock: Are You the Kind
11. The Daughters of Eve: Help Me Boy
12. The Buckinghams: I'm a Man
13. Oscar and the Majestics: My Girl Is Waiting
14. Michael and the Messengers: Lifs (Don't Mean Nothin')
15. Park Avenue Playground: The Trip
16. Park Avenue Playground: I Know
17. The Cherry Slush: Gotta Take It Easy
18. The Flock: What Would You Do If the Sun Died
19. The Lost Agency: Time to Dream (alternate vocal)
20. The Daughters of Eve: Radio Spot

Amazon.com Product Description: Though the '60s garage band explosion was felt in every corner of the country, the local uprising of talent in Chicago thrived unlike anywhere else. The Windy City had the perfect infrastructure in place; from a booming population of teenagers, to hip music stores in every suburb, a proliferation of teen clubs willing to take their money, and a powerhouse radio station (WLS) equally up to promoting local bands.

When it came to giving local groups a shot at 45 rpm fame, no Chicago label--not even the hallowed Dunwich Records--was more prolific than USA Records. USA's Jim Golden was such a strong supporter of Midwest talent that he started up a second label focused solely in this area, Destination Records.

A quarter century into the CD age, it's hard to believe these pivotal labels have never been properly anthologized. Until now, that is! Sundazed once again arrives to the rescue with an exhaustive dive into the pure, undiluted garage side of USA and Destination Records; tapping into everything from priceless artifacts from the Lost Agency, the Foggy Notions, and Park Avenue Playground to label hitmakers the Buckinghams, the Cryan' Shames, and the Flock at their most rockin'. There's so much impossibly great music on these labels, we had to expand this collection to 40 tracks available as both a 2-CD set and a 3-LP high-definition vinyl set.

The album artwork is stuffed with rare photos, band bios, and an interview with the legendary Jim Golden. For a full course of Chicago '66 garage at its finest, look no further than 2131 South Michigan Avenue: 60's Garage & Psychedelia from USA and Destination Records!

AMG Says: In the mid-'60s, Chicago had one of the liveliest rock & roll scenes in the nation, with great bands packing the city's teen clubs and a few even making their way onto the national charts. The most notable act on the Windy City garage rock scene was the Shadows of Knight, but they were far from the only game in town; while they recorded for the local Dunwich Records label (who had national distribution through Atlantic), the Buckinghams, the Messengers, and a number of other notable Chicago groups were signed to U.S.A. Records, an important regional label run by Jim Golden. Most of the U.S.A. masters have been out of print for years, but thankfully, Sundazed Records has stepped up to release a comprehensive sampler of their output (as well as their sister label, Destination Records), and 2131 South Michigan Avenue: 60s Garage and Psychedelia from U.S.A. and Destination Records is a fine, lavishly packaged collection of 40 rare tracks from their archives. Dunwich tended to focus on the tougher and grittier Chicago-area teen acts, while Golden demanded a bit more polish from his U.S.A. artists, so anyone hoping for a set of Back from the Grave-style bashing should look elsewhere. Similarly, the label petered out in 1968, so most of the "psychedelic" material here is of the "Wow, I Feel Strange" variety rather than authentic stuff for connoisseurs. But U.S.A had plenty of acts who could rock out, and Golden and his crew knew what to do with them in the studio; anyone with a serious taste for mid-'60s rock will be impressed with the scope and talent displayed on this set. The Buckinghams were U.S.A.'s biggest act, and their hit, "Kind of a Drag," wasn't available for this set, but their energetic take on "I'm a Man" shows they were heavier than their signature tune would suggest. While Oscar Hamod & the Majestics had one of the least graceful names in the history of Chicago rock & roll, they delivered some forceful R&B-influenced performances, including a great vocal take of the Bar-Kays classic "Soul Finger." The Messengers scored a Midwest hit with their version of "In the Midnight Hour," but the flipside, "Hard, Hard Year," is a great slice of moody folk-rock that deserves a wider hearing. Every scene had at least one all-girl band back in the day, and the Daughters of Eve were a great one, and "Help Me Boy" is top-notch AM pop. A long way from their later horn-infused recordings for Columbia, the Flock offers up some Byrdsian jangle on "Are You the Kind" and the impressively addled "What Would You Do If the Sun Died." The Lost Agency let loose with some deadly fuzztone swagger as they warn the opposite sex about their troubles with commitment on "One Girl Man." And The Cryan' Shames merge tough garage rock guitar with silky harmonies on the terrific "Ben Franklin's Almanac." As usual for a Sundazed project, the mastering makes the most of these rare tapes, the liner notes are entertaining and informative, and there are lots of great photos and label scans to go along with the great music. 2131 South Michigan Avenue is a superb tribute to one of the key labels on the Midwest rock & roll scene in the garage rock era, along with the excellent bands who created music worth documenting, and this is likely to be the landmark garage rock reissue of 2009.

Ranked Highest By: simakos (#1)

Amazon Link

#3.




Anthony 'Shake' Shakir - Frictionalism 1994-2009
(925 Points, 5 Votes, Four #1 Votes)

Tracklist: 1 Mood Swing
2 Live For Friction
3 Plugged In
4 Here, There and Nowhere
5 Arise
6 The Floor Filler
7 Happy To Be Here
8 March Into Darkness
9 Breathe Deep
10 Electron Rider
11 Stereotype
12 Detroit State of Mind
13 Fact of the Matter
14 Roaming
15 One Beat (Just Wont Do)
16 Mr. Gone is Back Again
17 Perseverence
18 ...Like a Dream
19 My Computer is an Optimist
20 Simpatico
21 Travellers
22 Things Come and Go
23 The Fake Left, Go Right Plan
24 Assimilated
25 Spectre
26 The Other One
27 For the Lamented
28 Frictionalized
29 Lay Back In the Cut
30 Psychotic Tango
31 Your Little Black Robot
32 Fractional Beat Nr 5
33 Fenchie
34 Get a Feeling
35 The Old Way

Product Description: *My oh my oh my. Has there been a more anticipated release this year??? What we have here are four LP's and a bonus 7" of classic, untouchable, unobtainable, UTTERY IMMENSE tracks from Anthony 'Shake' Shakir from the Frictional vaults - all of them long long long unavailable on any format and even including a previously unreleased track, making for a tally of 15 tracks - every single one an absolute treasure* Detroit fiends, your prayers have been answered! A healthy proportion of the groundbreaking house and techno credited to Anthony "Shake" Shakir has been lovingly compiled as 'Frictionalism 1994-2009', remastering and regrouping some of the most essential (and hugely underrated) electronic tracks of a generation for an extensive 4 x 12" + 7" vinyl set limited to only 750 copies for the world. Shake's influence is irrevocably written through the last 20 years of dance music history. From his earliest roles cutting tape and assisting the earliest productions of Derrick May and Juan Atkins, to managing the office of Metroplex and appearing on the seminal 'Techno! The New Dance Sound Of Detroit' compilation, his integral participation in a major musical movement is hugely respected by those in the know, but criminally underappreciated by nearly everyone else. These 15 tracks go a long way to redress the balance, giving credence to an artist hailed as a massive influence by everyone from Autechre to Smith 'n Hack or T++ to Matthew Herbert. The guy is simply a rhythm master in the truest sense of the word. His beats are crafted with a funky sleight-of-hand and inimitable flex that blatantly comes from his past, splicing inches of tape and manipulating hardware, while also informed by a knowledge of the rhythm mechanics that make up the classic soul, disco, industrial and synth music which coalesced into techno and house around early 80's Detroit and Chicago. Whether it's the filtered jack beats of 'The Floor Filler', the electric gremlins weaved into the disco magic of '...Like A Dream' or the percolatin' trademark 'Frictionalized', Shake sets his own agenda built on masterful sampling and edit techniques. It's this innate understanding, alloyed with the ebullient personality that imbues his tracks with so much melodic character, which makes them fearsomely effective dancefloor tools, and charmingly unique artifacts of a modern black art. A triple CD and digital release will follow in the coming months, but right now this is about the most essential set of tracks you can lay your hands on, finally untethered from logistical wranglings to hopefully influence a new generation of beat makers and breakers in the fields of dubstep, hiphop, post-garage, House and Techno that owe this dude so much. Hugely Recommended - seriously - do not miss this.

Ranked Highest By: vurt, Bruegel, undo, Michael K.(#1)

Amazon Link

#2.




Big Star - Keep An Eye On The Sky
(1486 Points, 13 Votes)

Tracklist:DISC 1

1. Psychedelic Stuff (original mix) - Chris Bell
2. All I See Is You - Icewater
3. Every Day as We Grow Closer (original mix) - Alex Chilton
4. Try Again (early version) - Rock City
5. Feel
6. The Ballad of El Goodo
7. In the Street (alternate mix)
8. Thirteen (alternate mix)
9. Don't Lie to Me
10. The India Song (alternate mix)
11. When My Baby's Beside Me (alternate mix)
12. My Life Is Right (alternate mix)
13. Give Me Another Chance (alternate mix)
14. Try Again
15. Gone with the Light
16. Watch the Sunrise (single version)
17. ST 100/6 (alternate mix)
18. The Preacher (Excerpt) - Rock City
19. In the Street (alternate single mix)
20. Feel (alternate mix)
21. The Ballad of El Goodo (alternate lyrics)
22. The India Song (alternate version)
23. Country Morn
24. I Got Kinda Lost (demo)
25. Back of a Car (demo)
26. Motel Blues (demo)

DISC 2

1. There Was a Light (demo)
2. Life Is White (demo)
3. What's Going Ahn (demo)
4. O My Soul
5. Life Is White
6. Way Out West
7. What's Going Ahn
8. You Get What You Deserve
9. Mod Lang (alternate mix)
10. Back of a Car (alternate mix)
11. Daisy Glaze
12. She's a Mover
13. September Gurls
14. Morpha Too (alternate mix)
15. I'm in Love with a Girl
16. O My Soul (alternate version)
17. She's a Mover (alternate version)
18. Daisy Glaze (rehearsal version)
19. I Am the Cosmos - Chris Bell
20. You and Your Sister - Chris Bell
21. Blue Moon (demo)
22. Femme Fatale (demo)
23. Thank You Friends (demo)
24. Nightime (demo)
25. Take Care (demo)
26. You Get What You Deserve (demo)

DISC 3

1. Lovely Day (demo)
2. Downs (demo)
3. Jesus Christ (demo)
4. Holocaust (demo)
5. Big Black Car (alternate demo)
6. Manana
7. Jesus Christ
8. Femme Fatale
9. O, Dana
10. Kizza Me
11. You Can't Have Me
12. Nightime
13. Dream Lover
14. Big Black Car
15. Blue Moon
16. Holocaust
17. Stroke It Noel
18. For You
19. Downs
20. Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On
21. Kanga Roo
22. Thank You Friends
23. Take Care
24. Lovely Day
25. Till the End of the Day (alternate mix)
26. Nature Boy (alternate mix)

DISC 4 - Live at Lafayette's Music Room, Memphis, TN, January 1973

1. When My Baby's Beside Me
2. My Life Is Right
3. She's a Mover
4. Way Out West
5. The Ballad of El Goodo
6. In the Street
7. Back of a Car
8. Thirteen
9. The India Song
10. Try Again
11. Watch the Sunrise
12. Don't Lie to Me
13. Hot Burrito
14. I Got Kinda Lost
15. Baby Strange
16. Slut
17. There Was a Light
18. ST 100/6
19. Come On Now
20. O My Soul


Amazon.com Product Description: KEEP AN EYE ON THE SKY-arriving September 15-spans 1968 to 1975 and the collection uncovers a trove of unreleased demos, unused mixes, alternate versions of songs, and a 1973 concert recorded in Memphis. The lavish packaging includes extensive liner notes, rare and never-before-seen photos, and insightful essays about the cult of Big Star and the band's history. Spotlighting the band's roots, the box set opens with several songs recorded before Big Star formed, including 'Try Again,' one of the first songs Bell and Chilton wrote together. Big Star inspired a fevered allegiance among fans of power pop, giving rise to a cult of believers who spent decades spreading the gospel. Their enthusiasm turned this obscure Memphis pop band-one that got little airplay, sold few records, and only played a handful of times-into a remarkable rock and roll resurrection story. Big Star's trek from obscure Memphis band to standard bearers for an entire genre of music has never been fully mapped-until now.

AMG Says: As the object of intense devotion for so many fans, it's fitting that Big Star receive a box set designed for the intensely devoted: four discs containing every song the band cut in the '70s, often present in slightly alternate mixes or versions in addition to the originals, a clutch of solo songs from both Chris Bell and Alex Chilton, as well as a handful of pre-Big Star cuts by Icewater and Rock City, all topped off with a live disc culled from a three-set stint at Memphis' Lafayette's Music Room in January of 1973, not long after Bell left the band. Excepting subsequent reunions in the '90s and 2000s, no corner of the band's career remains untouched on Keep an Eye on the Sky and rarities are abundant, with 55 of its 98 tracks previously unreleased. This is a staggering statistic but it's also misleading, for 20 of those cuts are from the live disc and the rest are either alternate mixes, alternate versions, or demos -- there are no unheard songs, aside from an excerpt of Rock City's "The Preacher." Of these, only a handful are markedly different either in their lyrics or attack, with all finding the songs and even arrangements essentially intact, even in their demo form. Consequently, Keep an Eye on the Sky contains fewer revelations than it initially appears, which isn't to say it lacks any: the earliest demos for 3rd are by and large lighter in tone than the album (although there's no way "Holocaust" ever could seem cheery), a testament to how much a song can change during the recording process.

In a way, all of Big Star's career is a testament to the recording process. They were a creature of the studio, not stage, having free rein at Ardent Studios, where they stayed up into the next morning tinkering at the same set of songs. This resulted in the crisp, sterling sound of #1 Record and the deliberately looser Radio City, as well as the sliding, sprawling mess of 3rd, but it didn't result in outtakes -- it resulted in alternate mixes and instrumental scraps, the stuff that enthralls fetishists, sometimes justifiably so. Those are the listeners who will find Keep an Eye on the Sky most rewarding, but anybody who has loved the band will find something to cherish here, whether it's the crackerjack live show -- which provides roaring covers of the Flying Burrito Brothers' "Hot Burrito #2," T. Rex's "Baby Strange," and Todd Rundgren's "Slut" (later revived 20 years later on their reunion concert), as well as a startlingly effective take on "The India Song" -- or merely the context of the set, which tells the story of America's greatest cult band this side of the Velvet Underground in a complete and affecting fashion.

Ranked Highest By: Badger, Rob Gordon, Nick, Paul (#2)

Amazon Link

What could be next? probably still going to be a Pavement re-issue.

#1.




The Beatles - The Beatles in Mono
(3834 Points, 25 Votes, Fourteen #1 Votes)

Tracklist:
* Please Please Me (1963)
* With The Beatles (1963)
* A Hard Day's Night (1964)
* Beatles for Sale (1964)
* Help! (1965)
* Rubber Soul (1965)
* Revolver (1966)
* Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
* Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
* The Beatles (1968)
* Mono Masters (1962-1970)


Amazon.com Product Description: The Beatles Mono Box Set was compiled as a special interest package for the hard-core fan. It presents the first ten albums in re-mastered mono (the final 3 albums made their debuts in stereo only), and a double album of singles and EPs, called "Mono Masters". At the time of writing, the mono albums are not available individually. Why would anyone want a newly minted mono collection? The final mono songs were sometimes different. Stereo mixes were usually done days, if not weeks after the original mono mix, and could include different takes when the engineers made the overdubs. Stereo mixes, particularly for the first five albums, did not include as much critical listening from George Martin, and almost none from the Fab' Four. Also, stereo in early 60's England was not broadcast over the air, and the format was largely the preserve of the hi-fi snob. For more than half The Beatles recorded repertoire, the most affordable "weapon of choice" for the twisting, shouting teenage market was the mono mix. Ironically - this box set is the best The Beatles have ever sounded. Like the stereo sibling these are re-mastered, not re-mixed, but unlike the stereo, they have not been clipped or limited to push levels closer to current music ingested through our MP3 players. These albums are cleaner than ever before and compared to the 1980s CD editions you're taken aback by how much dynamic range is on those original tapes. Nothing in this box sounds like a 45 year old recording. Each disc is presented as if it were a miniature "33", replete with plastic anti-scratch sleeve, inner paper sleeve, original album cover, inserts and all original text rendered frustratingly small for anyone old enough to have bought the LPs the first time around.

AMG Says: The Beatles always stood apart from their peers, a self-evident statement that sadly extended to the treatment of their catalog in the digital age. Where all their peers from the Byrds to the Who have had their catalogs remastered and reissued in deluxe editions, sometimes several times, the Beatles remained stuck in the early days of digital, their 14 albums plus Past Masters singles collection remaining untouched since 1987. Anniversaries came and went, but no remasters arrived until the release of the video game The Beatles Rockband pushed a long-overdue revamping of the band's entire catalog into the stores on 9-9-09. This reissue campaign corrects almost all the problems of the original 1987 CDs: the sound and artwork are improved, and all the original mono and stereo mixes finally see the light of day. Naturally, it's possible to quibble about some details of the presentation, particularly the decision to split the reissue into two separate box sets, one covering the stereo mixes and one the mono mixes, with only the stereo mixes available as individual discs (it's still possible to complain that the albums do not add era-specific singles or outtakes, but such expansions were never really in the cards), but both boxes still constitute the best Beatles by far. Crucially, it's also inarguably the best-sounding Beatles music ever released, robust and rich even on the earliest rock & roll. None of the albums have been remixed -- although Help! and Rubber Soul retain Martin's 1987 mixes, the original stereo mixes are bonuses on the mono set -- so this doesn't shock the way the Yellow Submarine soundtrack did with its reimagined stereo mixes. Nevertheless, these remasters surely do surprise with their clarity and depth, with each album feeling bigger and fuller than the previous CD incarnation, but not artificially so. It's not that these are pumped up on digital steroids; it's that the veil has been lifted, so everything seems full and fresh. Appropriately, there's more to savor from Help! onward, as the Beatles' productions grew ambitious, but Please Please Me, With the Beatles, and A Hard Day's Night all have a strong punch, while Beatles for Sale is warmer than the previous disc.

The stereo set may be the official canon, but what Beatlemaniacs have really craved is the mono box. This limited-edition box is laden with new-to-CD mixes, including the genuine rarities of the previously unreleased mono mixes of the four new songs from Yellow Submarine, and its packaging is gorgeous, filled with mini-LP replicas with stiff cardboard sleeves of every album from Please Please Me to The Beatles, complete with replicated gatefolds and packaging inserts, all protected in resealable plastic sleeves. As pure physical product, this satisfies any collector itch, but this also is arguably the better-sounding of the two sets, providing ample evidence that the Beatles did spend more time on mono mixes during much of their career. For generations of listeners raised on stereo mixes, there are plenty of surprises here, from the faster versions of "She's Leaving Home" and "Don't Pass Me By" to the numerous little differences that pop up on Pepper, The White Album, and Revolver, all adding up to dramatically different experiences. Sometimes, the density of mono just has more force -- "Lady Madonna" rolls like a freight train, "I'm Down" hits to the gut -- and sometimes the colors just seem more vibrant; in either case, there's enough emotional difference to make this worthwhile for the dedicated, and depending on taste, it may even be preferable. But there's no question of one thing: of the two sets, as a package, the mono box is a thing to behold. And there's also no question that those who waited 22 years to hear a better version of the Beatles will not be disappointed (although they may still wonder why it took so long for the Fabs to be treated as they deserve).

Ranked Highest By: Bobzilla, Mitchell, Pavement Ist Rad, TJENZ, andystripes, velocity, Rob Gordon, redmedicine, Nick, the dude, spiritofeden, plaid is rad, stphone, Heretix (#1)

Amazon Link

Good music all around.

A disappointing 30-11 made up for by a mostly fantastic top 10.

I also forgot to vote for that death album since I didn't find time to do a compilations list.

Is it too late to vote?

ASS with a late charge - 5 votes, 4 of them #1!

Can't complain about either of the top 2 really though, and #1 is about as right and fitting as it's possible to be.

never heard of #3, might be worth tracking down.

thanks for the countdown Paul.

Been listening to Frictionalism a lot the last few days. It truly is a textbook of 2nd/3rd wave detroit techno. I love that Steely Dan sample in Arise. What a great loop.

I've heard 1/4 of Frictionalism, if that.

comfortable, however, w/ my vote

What he said.



Him too.

Thanks Paul.

Just catching while on vaca. Nice job Paul. Good reminder for me to get some of those comps.

Awesome job, Paul. Tons of great stuff to check out in this thread.

Excellent list! Love seeing the Stone Roses, Reckoning, and Big Star in the top 10!

Great job, Paul!

I think I'll go try to get that Forge Your Chains thing after work tomorrow.
I haven't heard a note of it, so it should be an exciting purchase.

It's pretty fucking wonderful. A great jumping-off point for a lot of really cool music.

^ to that end Paul, could we please get this as a straight list at some point? Thank you.

Rank, Title, Total Points, Number of Votes, Number of #1 Votes


1 Beatles - The Beatles In Mono (box) 3834 25 14
2 Big Star - Keep An Eye On the Sky 1486 13 0
3 Anthony 'Shake' Shakir | Frictionalism 1994-2009 925 5 4
4 2131 S. Michigan Avenue: 60's Garage & Psychedelia from U.S.A and Destination Records 915 8 1
5 Jesus Lizard - Goat 882 9 0
6 Ghana Special: Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds & Ghanaian Blues 1968-1981 838 8 0
7 R.E.M. - Reckoning (Deluxe Edition) 819 8 2
8 Five Years of Hyperdub 739 8 0
9 Death - ...For the Whole World to See 714 7 1
10 Stone Roses - The Stone Roses 685 6 0
11 Dark Was The Night 668 5 2
12 Neil Young - Archives Vol 1 645 4 1
13 Nirvana - Live At Reading 1992 622 9 0
14 Forge Your Own Chains: Heavy Psychedelic Ballads and Dirges 1968-1974 599 6 1
15 Pearl Jam Ten 534 4 0
16 Vaselines - Enter The Vaselines 501 5 1
17 Where The Action Is: Los Angeles Nuggets 1965-68 480 5 0
18 R.E.M. Live @ the Olympic 455 4 0
19 Radiohead - OK Computer (Deluxe Edition) 450 5 0
20 Omar Souleyman - Dabke 2020 - Folk and Pop Sounds of Syria 445 5 0
21 Can You Dig It? The Music and Politics of Black Action Films 1968-75 428 5 0
22 Red Red Meat - Bunny Gets Paid (Deluxe Edition) 424 6 0
23 Jawbox - For Your Own Special Sweetheart 386 5 0
24 Kraftwerk - The Catalogue 385 3 0
25 Radiohead - Kid A (Deluxe Edition) 372 5 0
26 Nirvana - Bleach 366 6 0
27 Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique 362 4 0
28 Score! 20 Years of Merge Records (inc. covers and remixes) 340 3 0
29 U2 - The Unforgettable Fire 340 4 0
30 Feelies - Crazy Rhythms 335 5 0
31 Adventureland OST 290 3 0
32 Oneohtrix Point Never - Rifts 284 5 0
33 Harmonia & Eno - Tracks & traces 270 2 1
34 Warp 20 239 3 0
35 Zero Boys - Vicious Circle 236 3 0
36 Jesus Lizard – Liar 235 4 0
37 Blur - Midlife: A Beginner's Guide to Blur 222 3 0
38 sunny day real estate: diary 213 3 0
39 Pylon - Chomp More 209 3 0
40 Melvins - Chicken Switch 208 3 0
41 Radiohead - Amnesiac (Deluxe Edition) 202 3 0
42 13th Floor Elevators – Sign of the 3 Eyed Men 200 1 1
43 Chris Bell - I am the Cosmos (Deluxe Reissue) 200 1 1
44 Henrik Schwarz, Ame, Dixon - The Grandfather Paradox 200 1 1
45 Jesus Lizard - Inch (singles collection) 200 1 1
46 RJD2 – 2002-2010 200 1 1
47 Volcano Suns - All Night Lotus Party 200 2 0
48 Serge Gainsbourg - Histoire de Melody Nelson 190 2 0
49 Omar S - Fabric 45:Detroit 180 2 0
50 Close Lobsters - Forever Until Victory! The Singles Collection 179 2 0
51 Jesus Lizard - Head 179 2 0
52 Rolling Stones - Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! 175 2 0
53 Leonard Cohen - Live in London 170 2 0
54 Idjut Boys : Death Before Distemper Vol 3 - A Fistful Of Ferrets 169 2 0
55 Legends of Benin 163 3 0
56 Beatnick & K-Salaam Presents Never Can Say Goodbye 160 1 0
57 Miles Davis – The Complete Columbia Album Collection 160 1 0
58 Mortika: Recordings From a Greek Underworld 160 1 0
59 Picking O'er The Bones 160 1 0
60 Raks Raks Raks - 17 Golden Garage Psych Nuggets From The Iranian 60s Scene 160 1 0
61 Spiritualized - Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space-Deluxe 160 1 0
62 Leonard Cohen - Live At The Isle of White 1970 154 2 0
63 Pisces - A Lovely Sight 150 2 0
64 Terror Danjah | Gremlinz (The Instrumentals 2003-2009) 145 2 0
65 Radiohead – Hail to the Thief (Deluxe Edition) 140 2 0
66 Rinse 10 Mixed by Marcus Nasty 140 2 0
67 sunny day real estate: lp2 140 2 0
68 Radiohead - The Bends (Deluxe Edition) 135 2 0
69 Slits - Cut 135 2 0
70 Twilight Saga: New Moon OST 132 2 0
71 Monks - Black Monk Times 130 2 0
72 Spaceman 3 - The Perfect Prescription 130 2 0
73 Flipper - Public Flipper Ltd. 126 2 0
74 Daniel Wang Presents: The Balihu Years 1993-2008 125 1 0
75 Iron Maiden – Flight 666 125 1 0
76 James Brown - Live at the garden 125 1 0
77 Prince - Purple Rain (Japanese Reissue) 125 1 0
78 Volcano Suns - The Bright Orange Years 125 1 0
79 Beck – Modern Guilt (Acoustic) 124 2 0
80 Morrissey - Swords 118 2 0
81 Flipper - Gone Fishin' 113 2 0
82 world is shaking: cubanismo from The congo 1954-55 112 2 0
83 Kevin Drumm - Impish Tyrant 108 2 0
84 Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Remix Collection) 104 2 0
85 69 | The Legendary Adventures Of A Filter King 100 1 0
86 Def Leppard – Pyromania (Deluxe Edition) 100 1 0
87 Fabric 50 mixed by Martyn 100 1 0
88 Feelies - Good Earth 100 1 0
89 Village Orchestra - FACT Mix 100 1 0
90 Zero Boys - History Of 100 1 0
91 Milky Disco, Vol. 2: Let's Go Freak Out! 98 2 0
92 Dubstep Allstars Vol. 7 90 1 0
93 Factory Records: Communications 1978-92 90 1 0
94 Feelies - S/T 90 1 0
95 Jeff Beck - Truth (Sundazed mono vinyl) 90 1 0
96 Mr. Green – Classic Beats Vol. 2 90 1 0
97 Richard Thompson - Walking on a Wire 90 1 0
98 Underworld Vs. the Misterons – Athens 90 1 0
99 Amorphous Androgynous - A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble Exploding In Your Mind-Volume 2 - Pagan Love Vibrations 80 1 0
100 Studio 1 - Studio eins 80 1 0

i voted this # 6 and idolatry voted it # 8

also, don't seem to see the Oasis vinyl reissues I voted on.

Bottom of the list: STUDIO EINS.

SMH at you nutters.

For realz, how is this possible? I was the ONLY vote...???

I would have voted, but tried to keep my list to things I actually own. Too many redundancies in that set, considering what I already have - which, in my case, is a strike against it.

I did vote for the mono Sundazed reissue of the Psychedelic Sounds... LP in my 2008 list.

Now, someone please reissue the mono Easter Everywhere separately.

From what I understand, there are plans to milk the fanbase for all it's worth, with individual releases of much of what was in that (now totally sold out) box. Fucking bastards, but whatever. I have basically everything, now, and that's good enough. Plus, it's fucking GORGEOUS.

No such thing

Have a swell birthday, Paul!

yeah, that should've been a vote for Crazy Rhythms. I couldn't remember shit atm.

http://roberawards.com/rober-awards-2009/2...ents-playlists/