The Last Poets – Delights Of The Garden (1977)

With their politically charged raps, taut rhythms, and dedication to raising African-American consciousness, the Last Poets almost single-handedly laid the groundwork for the emergence of hip-hop. The group arose out of the prison experiences of Jalal Mansur Nuriddin, a U.S. Army paratrooper who chose jail as an alternative to fighting in Vietnam; while incarcerated, he converted to Islam, learned to “spiel” (an early form of rapping), and befriended fellow inmates Omar Ben Hassan and Abiodun Oyewole.

<img src="http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_250/MI0002/784/MI0002784683.jpg?partner=allrovi.com&quot; width="201" height="201" alt="The Last Poets" styleUpon the trio’s release from prison, they returned to the impoverished ghettos of Harlem, where they joined the East Wind poetry workshop and began performing their fusion of spiels and musical backing on neighborhood street corners. On May 16, 1969 – Malcolm X’s birthday – they officially formed the Last Poets, adopting the name from the work of South African Little Willie Copaseely, who declared the era to be the last age of poets before the complete takeover of guns. After a performance on a local television program, the group was signed by jazz producer Alan Douglas, who helmed their eye-opening eponymous debut LP in 1970. A collection condemning both white oppression (“White Man’s Got a God Complex”) and black stasis (“Niggas Are Scared of Revolution”), The Last Poets reached the U.S. Top Ten album charts, but before the group could mount a tour, Oyewole was sentenced to 14 years in prison after being found guilty of robbery and was replaced by percussionist Nilaja.

After the 1971 follow-up “This Is Madness” (which landed them on President Richard Nixon’s Counter-Intelligence Programming lists), Hassan joined a Southern-based religious sect; Jalal recruited former jazz drummer Suliaman El Hadi for 1972’s “Chastisement”, which incorporated jazz-funk structures to create a sound the group dubbed “jazzoetry.” Following the 1973 Jalal solo concept album “Hustler’s Convention” (recorded under the alias Lightnin’ Rod), the Last Poets issued 1974’s “At Last”, a foray into free-form jazz; after its release, Nilaja exited, and with the exception of 1977’s “Delights of the Garden” – Last Poets on fire, highly recommended! – , the group kept a conspicuously low profile for the remainder of the decade.

Tracklist:

	It’s A Trip	4:44
	Ho Chi Min	5:16
	Blessed Are Those Who Struggle	3:41
	The Pill	5:08
	Delights Of The Garden	3:47
	Be	6:19
	Yond	4:58
	Er	7:36

The Last Poets – Delights Of The Garden (1977)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

<img src="http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_250/MI0002/462/MI0002462957.jpg?partner=allrovi.com&quot; width="201" height="201" alt="Oh My Peop                   

The Last Poets – Delights Of The Garden (1977)

With their politically charged raps, taut rhythms, and dedication to raising African-American consciousness, the Last Poets almost single-handedly laid the groundwork for the emergence of hip-hop. The group arose out of the prison experiences of Jalal Mansur Nuriddin, a U.S. Army paratrooper who chose jail as an alternative to fighting in Vietnam; while incarcerated, he converted to Islam, learned to “spiel” (an early form of rapping), and befriended fellow inmates Omar Ben Hassan and Abiodun Oyewole.

<img src="http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_250/MI0002/784/MI0002784683.jpg?partner=allrovi.com&quot; width="201" height="201" alt="The Last Poets" styleUpon the trio’s release from prison, they returned to the impoverished ghettos of Harlem, where they joined the East Wind poetry workshop and began performing their fusion of spiels and musical backing on neighborhood street corners. On May 16, 1969 – Malcolm X’s birthday – they officially formed the Last Poets, adopting the name from the work of South African Little Willie Copaseely, who declared the era to be the last age of poets before the complete takeover of guns. After a performance on a local television program, the group was signed by jazz producer Alan Douglas, who helmed their eye-opening eponymous debut LP in 1970. A collection condemning both white oppression (“White Man’s Got a God Complex”) and black stasis (“Niggas Are Scared of Revolution”), The Last Poets reached the U.S. Top Ten album charts, but before the group could mount a tour, Oyewole was sentenced to 14 years in prison after being found guilty of robbery and was replaced by percussionist Nilaja.

After the 1971 follow-up “This Is Madness” (which landed them on President Richard Nixon’s Counter-Intelligence Programming lists), Hassan joined a Southern-based religious sect; Jalal recruited former jazz drummer Suliaman El Hadi for 1972’s “Chastisement”, which incorporated jazz-funk structures to create a sound the group dubbed “jazzoetry.” Following the 1973 Jalal solo concept album “Hustler’s Convention” (recorded under the alias Lightnin’ Rod), the Last Poets issued 1974’s “At Last”, a foray into free-form jazz; after its release, Nilaja exited, and with the exception of 1977’s “Delights of the Garden” – Last Poets on fire, highly recommended! – , the group kept a conspicuously low profile for the remainder of the decade.

Tracklist:

	It’s A Trip	4:44
	Ho Chi Min	5:16
	Blessed Are Those Who Struggle	3:41
	The Pill	5:08
	Delights Of The Garden	3:47
	Be	6:19
	Yond	4:58
	Er	7:36

The Last Poets – Delights Of The Garden (1977)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

<img src="http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_250/MI0002/462/MI0002462957.jpg?partner=allrovi.com&quot; width="201" height="201" alt="Oh My Peop                   

Die City Preachers – Warum? – Deutsche Protestsongs gegen den Krieg (1966)

The City Preachers were the first folk-rock group in Germany. “Warum?” was their third album, released in 1966 on Philips.

Some “City Preachers” members became later very sucessful in Germany as solo musicians like Udo Lindenberg and Inga Rumpf. They played a mixture of folk and protest songs, spirituals, blues, flamenco and bouzouki. Jewish and Balkan songs, but also early German-language “Protest Songs” were part of their repertoire.

“Warum?” is an album with anti-war protest songs in german language.

Tracklist :

A1		Die Strassen sind so weit	2:28
A2		Der unbekannte Soldat	3:15
A3		Wiegenlied “66”	3:23
A4		Vor Sonnenuntergang	3:04
A5		Wo ist das Land?	2:21
B1		Was hast du in der Schule gelernt?	2:42
B2		Strasse der Verzweiflung	2:19
B3		Keiner weiss warum	3:04
B4		Die Hand	2:50
B5		Die Felder von Verdun	3:54
B6		Uns’re Welt	2:34

Die City Preachers – Warum? – Deutsche Protestsongs gegen den Krieg (1966)
(~150 kbps, cover art included)

Die City Preachers – Warum? – Deutsche Protestsongs gegen den Krieg (1966)

The City Preachers were the first folk-rock group in Germany. “Warum?” was their third album, released in 1966 on Philips.

Some “City Preachers” members became later very sucessful in Germany as solo musicians like Udo Lindenberg and Inga Rumpf. They played a mixture of folk and protest songs, spirituals, blues, flamenco and bouzouki. Jewish and Balkan songs, but also early German-language “Protest Songs” were part of their repertoire.

“Warum?” is an album with anti-war protest songs in german language.

Tracklist :

A1		Die Strassen sind so weit	2:28
A2		Der unbekannte Soldat	3:15
A3		Wiegenlied “66”	3:23
A4		Vor Sonnenuntergang	3:04
A5		Wo ist das Land?	2:21
B1		Was hast du in der Schule gelernt?	2:42
B2		Strasse der Verzweiflung	2:19
B3		Keiner weiss warum	3:04
B4		Die Hand	2:50
B5		Die Felder von Verdun	3:54
B6		Uns’re Welt	2:34

Die City Preachers – Warum? – Deutsche Protestsongs gegen den Krieg (1966)
(~150 kbps, cover art included)

Zupfgeigenhnasel – Andre, die das Land so sehr nicht liebten (Musikant, 1985)

The last joint work of Zupfgeigenhansel has become a concept album with brilliant textual documents of the Austrian poet and writer Theodor Kramer, who had to flee from the Nazis. 

It is – at least for those who like intelligent German folk music – an absolute masterpiece. The poems of Theodor Kramer are absolutely high quality and the musical interpretation can only be described as awesome. The title track is outstanding, a simple but very catchy tune with meaningful lyrics.

Tracklist:

01. Dass es noch möglich ist
02. Pfingsten für zwei alte Leute
03. Die Kamille
04. Fronleichnam
05. Wir kommen noch wie sonst zusammen
06. Trinklied vorm Abgang
07. Kino nach Tisch
08. Es ist schön
09. Schlaflied vom Rand der Welt
10. Ein Krampenschlag vor Tag
11. Beim Stromwirt
12. Andre, die das Land so sehr nicht liebten

Zupfgeigenhansel – Andre, die das Land so sehr nicht liebten (Musikant, 1985)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

 

Zupfgeigenhnasel – Andre, die das Land so sehr nicht liebten (Musikant, 1985)

The last joint work of Zupfgeigenhansel has become a concept album with brilliant textual documents of the Austrian poet and writer Theodor Kramer, who had to flee from the Nazis. 

It is – at least for those who like intelligent German folk music – an absolute masterpiece. The poems of Theodor Kramer are absolutely high quality and the musical interpretation can only be described as awesome. The title track is outstanding, a simple but very catchy tune with meaningful lyrics.

Tracklist:

01. Dass es noch möglich ist
02. Pfingsten für zwei alte Leute
03. Die Kamille
04. Fronleichnam
05. Wir kommen noch wie sonst zusammen
06. Trinklied vorm Abgang
07. Kino nach Tisch
08. Es ist schön
09. Schlaflied vom Rand der Welt
10. Ein Krampenschlag vor Tag
11. Beim Stromwirt
12. Andre, die das Land so sehr nicht liebten

Zupfgeigenhansel – Andre, die das Land so sehr nicht liebten (Musikant, 1985)
(320 kbps, cover art included)

 

Lou Reed – Rest In Peace!

“When you think the night has seen your mind
That inside your twisted and unkind
Let me stand to show that you are blind.
Please put down you hands cause I see you.
I’ll be you mirror.” 

“Rock & roll is so great, people should start dying for it. You don’t understand. The music gave you back your beat so you could dream…The people just have to die for the music. People are dying for everything else, so why not for music? Die for it. Isn’t it pretty? Wouldn’t you die for something pretty? ” 

“Nur die Musik verhindert, daß wir wahnsinnig werden. Du solltest dir zwei Radios anschaffen. Falls eines kaputtgeht.”

(L. Reed)

Rest in peace!

Lou Reed – Rest In Peace!

“When you think the night has seen your mind
That inside your twisted and unkind
Let me stand to show that you are blind.
Please put down you hands cause I see you.
I’ll be you mirror.” 

“Rock & roll is so great, people should start dying for it. You don’t understand. The music gave you back your beat so you could dream…The people just have to die for the music. People are dying for everything else, so why not for music? Die for it. Isn’t it pretty? Wouldn’t you die for something pretty? ” 

“Nur die Musik verhindert, daß wir wahnsinnig werden. Du solltest dir zwei Radios anschaffen. Falls eines kaputtgeht.”

(L. Reed)

Rest in peace!

Chambers Brothers – Now (1966)

This nine-song, 41-minute album, originally released on the Vault label, was recorded live at performances at the Unicorn in Boston and the Ash Grove in Los Angeles.

The shows, from 1965, pre-dated the Chambers Brothers‘ signing to Columbia by more than a year, and capture the group just coming up as a major discotheque attraction, still retaining elements of their gospel roots on songs such as “Baby Don’t Cry” and even “High Heel Sneakers.”

The set includes a some basic rock & roll, “Long Tall Sally” and “Bonie Maronie,” both highly animated in the playing as well as the singing, and stirring despite some moments of sloppiness, such as wrong notes, etc., but there’s also some slow blues (“It’s Groovin’ Time,” “C.C. Rider”) present, which gives the group a chance to stretch out. The closing number, “So Fine,” is about as perfect a song as the group generated during the early part of their history, showcasing their fine harmony singing, bluesy guitar work, and a rock steady beat in a performance that soars and surges for six solid minutes. This is one of the better-sounding live rock or soul documents of its period, captured in decent fidelity right down to the twisting guitar part in “Long Tall Sally” and about half of the vocals up fairly close as well. The band’s sound is divided between the two channels, drums one on side, bass on the other, and the voices split between the two.              

Tracklist:

A1		Introduction To
A2		High Heel Sneakers
A3		Baby Please Don’t Go
A4		What’d I Say
A5		Long Tall Sally
B1		Bony Maronie
B2		It’s Groovin’ Time
B3		You Don’t Have To Go
B4		C.C. Rider
B5		So Fine

Chamber Brothers – Now (1966)
(256 kbps, cover art included)

Chamber Brothers – Now (1966)

This nine-song, 41-minute album, originally released on the Vault label, was recorded live at performances at the Unicorn in Boston and the Ash Grove in Los Angeles.

The shows, from 1965, pre-dated the Chambers Brothers‘ signing to Columbia by more than a year, and capture the group just coming up as a major discotheque attraction, still retaining elements of their gospel roots on songs such as “Baby Don’t Cry” and even “High Heel Sneakers.”

The set includes a some basic rock & roll, “Long Tall Sally” and “Bonie Maronie,” both highly animated in the playing as well as the singing, and stirring despite some moments of sloppiness, such as wrong notes, etc., but there’s also some slow blues (“It’s Groovin’ Time,” “C.C. Rider”) present, which gives the group a chance to stretch out. The closing number, “So Fine,” is about as perfect a song as the group generated during the early part of their history, showcasing their fine harmony singing, bluesy guitar work, and a rock steady beat in a performance that soars and surges for six solid minutes. This is one of the better-sounding live rock or soul documents of its period, captured in decent fidelity right down to the twisting guitar part in “Long Tall Sally” and about half of the vocals up fairly close as well. The band’s sound is divided between the two channels, drums one on side, bass on the other, and the voices split between the two.              

Tracklist:

A1		Introduction To
A2		High Heel Sneakers
A3		Baby Please Don’t Go
A4		What’d I Say
A5		Long Tall Sally
B1		Bony Maronie
B2		It’s Groovin’ Time
B3		You Don’t Have To Go
B4		C.C. Rider
B5		So Fine

Chamber Brothers – Now (1966)
(256 kbps, cover art included)