November 18, 2003
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Angel Corpus Christi
title:: Divine Healer
label:: GulcherAndrea Ross is a women from San Francisco who sings and plays accordion and harmonica. With her husband Rich Stim (vocalist of MX-80) and guests, she has been recording as Angel Corpus Christi since 1984.
'Divine Healer' is a brand new studio LP - her first since the 'White Courtesy Phone' came out on Herb Alpert's Almo records in 1995. The record is a true joy, and I recommend that you hear it yourself.
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Buff Medways
title:: Just 15 b-w The Doo Rek
label:: TranscopicJust 15 is the first single from the new album '1914.' The Doo Rek is the non-LP B-side that you will need to buy this 7inch for. It is my favorite song on the single, and will prove to be crucial to any Billy Childish fan.
The Buff Medways have not changed any of the ingredients that constitute a great Billy Childish track - the guitar still sounds like it descended from The Kink's All Day and All of the Night and the beat honors fallen heroes like Keith Moon.
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Chicks On Speed
title:: 99 cents
label:: Chicks On Speed RecordsThe third COS album '99 cents' is a record I have waited for. Chicks On Speed predated the electroclash scene, and have managed to stay relevant afterwards.
5:58 into Fashion Rules is a bonus track called Flame On that was produced by Mika Vainio, and is pretty darn great! If this bonus track is not on any licenced versions of '99 cents' on other labels, it is worth trying to find the Chicks On Speed Records version to have Flame On.
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DJ Shadow / Cut Chemist
title:: Product Placement
label:: 7inch RecordsA follow-up to DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist's groundbreaking Brainfreeze (the sampler of source material, Brainfreeze Breaks was reviewed here), Product Placement keeps the heavy duty seven inch soul slices, off the cuff mixing, and scratching alive and well. Like Brainfreeze, Product Placement is two extended tracks of approximately 30 minutes, and emulate the live DJ tour that inspired both sets.
Originally Brainfreeze and Product Placement were sold in very limited quantities, but since have been heavily bootlegged, so if you see these cds, chances are you are looking at the bootlegs and not the real thing.
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Down in the Basement
various artists
label:: Old Hat EnterprisesThank god for the collectors in this world, and in particular thanks to Joe Bussard, a collector who for more than 50 years has been keeping a collection of 78 records in his basement in his Maryland home. Over the years Joe has collected 25,000 78 RPM records, and Old Hat has collected 24 of them on Down in the Basement: Joe Bussard's Treasure Trove of Vintage 78s 1926-1937. Everything from jazz, blues, cajun music, gospel and bluegrass music is included here, in incredibly crisp sound.
Old Hat must be commended for this collection and of course Joe Bussard for the hard work and many, many years he's spent hunting for these rare and obscure 78s. There are obscure artists like Gitfiddle Jim and The Corley Family and more known artists like Big Bill Bronzy and Gene Autry all showcased equally here. To add to the wonders of the music in these digital grooves, Old Hat has also included a 70 page book with stories for each artist along with Joe's own recollections, so it truly is like a trip down into his basement, just as it is a trip back in time, when you pop on this compilation cd.
