Today we review my favorite reissues and various artists compilation records in the past season. This year was particularly interesting because more and more reissues also come out on vinyl, often with extra material. Compilations are also cool, tributes are always interesting, new and old materials equally. I always value carefully crafted compilations from which you can learn new things.
Here’s the list of my favorite various artists compilations last year:
Garage Swim Compilation
The Records: Tribute Starry Eyed
New Centre of the Universe Vol 2
Skrang! Sounds Like Bobby Sutliff
Feeling High: The Psychedelic Sound of Memphis
Under The Covers Vol 2 – A Tribute To The Nerves
Mojo Presents Heavy Nuggets vol 2
And here’s the list of my favorite reissues:
Shoes ‎- One In Versailles
Shoes – Bazooka
Tav Falco – Lore And Testament Vol 2
Roky Erickson ‎- Don’t Slander Me
Roky Erickson ‎- The Evil One
Lemonheads – Hate Your Friends
Lemonheads – Creator
Lemonheads – Lick
R. Stevie Moore – Delicate Tension
Rainer and Das Combo – Barefoot Rocking;
I forgot to include Tav Falco in the playlist today, but I’ll make it up next week.
Roky Erickson – Haunt;
Roky Erickson – Two Headed Dog;
Lemonheads – So I Fucked Up;
Lemonheads – Mod Lang;
R. Stevie Moore – Oh Pat;
Shoes – Kristine;
Shoes – Love Took A Turn;
Rainer and Das Combo – Away;
Jerusalem – Frustration ;
The Changin’ Tymes – Blue Music Box;
Donovan’s Brain – Hearts in Her Eyes;
Russ Tolman – The Devil And The Sea;
Hunx and His Punx – When U Find Out;
The Stevens – Elpho Beach;
Mikal Cronin – Better Man;
OBN Ills – A Good Lover.
Today we take a roundtrip from Tucson and back via many different places. We start off with Rainer and Das Combo. His legendary first album Barefoot Rock was reissued together with a bonus cd. Also, recall that earlier this year also Ptacek’s old tape Mush Mind Blues also saw the light of day in form of a bandcamp download. The we go to Las Vegas where we check out the new blues rock band called The Lucky Cheats. Than we land all the way down under where we check out the new band called The Straight Arrows form Sydney and a duet of two ladies Super Wild Horses from Melbourne. Both bands were released on the new volume of the comilation record New Centre of The Universe. Then we fly to Europe. Sweden’s Plastic Pals had a wonderful album this year called A Turn of The Tide and we finally get to hear it in this show too. Then we go to Chicago. Phil Agnotti played the entire Zombies Odessey and Oracle, only months after Ben Mason did a similar thing earlier this year. And then, via Chicago, where I recorded his new song, we go back to Tucson and Rainer’s old friend, Howe Gelb from Giant Sand.
We begin today with some new bands for us. Mexican Knives come from Detroit and A Place to Bury Strangers come from Brooklyn. A Place… lead by Oliver Ackermann is not a new band, but their recent EP is a tribute to Dead Moon, and it’s impossible to ignore. Boston legends Big Dipper, a band that had some very nice albums in the late 80s, reunited last year and today we check out their new alvum Big Dipper Crashes on the Platinum Planet. After a new album last year, dB’s are back with the new ep Revolution of the Ming. And finally, a rare 1983 cassette tape The Mush Mind Blues by the legendary dobro player from Tucson, Rainer Ptacek and his Combo, came out as