Velvets, Bruce, Elephant9, Damn The Band, Ganes

Five more interesting albums to check out. Again, nice listening through these again. And again, music from different genres, rock, jazz, hiphop.

The Velvet Underground: VU.

First, VU is not a regular album, and not a proper Velvets album, but a collection of previously unreleased recordings. Released in 1984, it came out long after Velvet Underground had left the world stage as a working band. Recorded between February 1968 and September 1969, it includes 10 tracks from Velvets prime time. And it is a lot of interesting, prior unreleased material here. In short, VU is a very rewarding complement to the proper Velvets album. A must for serious Velvets fans. 

A-side include two more Velvets songs titled after a woman saying… This time Stephanie Says, a smooth ballad that easily is another says-highlight. Lisa Says is another fine song, if not fully in the same class as Stephanie. Overall, the two songs from 1968, including Stephanie, with the original four Velvets are, not surprisingly, the best cuts here. The other eight are from 1969 with the later Doug Yule-quartet, after he had replaced John Cale. They are generally very good too, in some cases excellent.

VU is a welcome and fine addition to the Velvet Underground song treasure. It is a compilation of moments and cuts prior missed and unheard. But it is not a Velvets album proper, and it is not on par with the albums that the active group The Velvet Underground released. That’s vital to remember, and therefore it is better to start there and later complement with this fine album.

Bruce Springsteen: BossInEastBerlin - Anatolia (3LP).

Classic Radio broadcast from East Germany, presenting The Boss live in East Berlin on July 19th 1988, over 3 LP:s. Great setlist and great concert. According to Discogs there is also a 3 CD version available that includes the whole concert, with four cuts that are said to be from audience sources. I bought this 3 LP album in a record store in Helsinki, not in Germany.

Wonderful concert opener Badlands is unfortunately interrupted in the middle by a short radio broadcast announcement. It increases the authenticity of course, this really is The Boss in East Berlin, but sadly disturbs a great version of Badlands. Bruce and The E Street Band then continue with The River and Promised Land. Hard to imagine a greater start. Deeper cut Spare Parts ends a wonderful side A.

On Side B Bruce takes a strong political stand with War, followed by Born In The USA and cover Chimes Of Freedom. The audience go wild and loudly sings the chorus in an amazing version of Born In The USA. A definitive highlight, perhaps the highlight on this album. Unfortunately the short speech Bruce gave before Chimes Of Freedom is not included on this recording, but the song itself is magnificent and can’t be underestimated. This landmark concert has been referred to as a significant moment for raising freedom sentiments that contributed to the development that later lead to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. An interview with Bruce is included (and simultaneously translated to German), where he explains how overwhelmed he is by the audience and their knowledge of the songs. Fine instrumental Paradise By The C with saxophonist Clarence Clemons in the driver seat closes this wonderful and significant side. 

The second record brings in both classic hits and deeper cuts on side C. I’m On Fire and Dancing In The Dark as well as I’m A Coward and Light Of The Day. The audience gives a roaring response. Side D is on paper perhaps the most formidable side, packed with classics Born To Run, Hungry Heart and Glory Days. 

Side E starts and finish with wonderful covers of I Can’t Help Falling In Love and Sweet Soul Music respectively, and three fine Bruce originals in-between, before Side F brings closure to a superb concert experience with Raise Your Hand and a pumpin’ Twist And Shout. The sound quality is quite fine throughout, some smaller dips of muddiness in sound, but overall good technical quality, not excellent or exceptional. The concert, alas, is excellent. Bruce and the Band are in superb form and they really give their all here. An exceptional performance. 

Elephant9: The Greatest Show On Earth (LP + CD).

This Norwegian jazz album starts slowly in a mellow rhythmic mode. Almost eerie soundscapes in mesmerizing Way Of Return. The Norwegian trio was among the best things that happened on the jazz scene in the 2010’s. After the slow and meditative start on the album, Actionpack 1 certainly do credit to its title, directly increasing speed and intensity from the go, before settling for a groovier and tempo-varied beat. It’s hard to overstate the brilliance of these three musicians as they vary the soundscape and each impresses with both respective solos and as parts of the common full band soundscape. Farmer’s Secret has a multifaceted soundscape that draws you in and creates a puzzling listening experience. It is a feeling of surprised emptiness when, suddenly, the last tone ends. So far side A.

Dancing With Mr. E gives us an enjoyable jazz-funky bass-driven beat. It is a highlight among highlights. Bass features overall soundwise much more center-stage on side B. Slowing down the tempo significantly, mellow Mystery Blend puts bass prominently in the center of the soundscape. Freaks also starts slowly and with a prominent bass rhythm. Hammond solo and pumping drums puts all three members center-stage here. And they complement each other exceptionally well. This is a masterclass of three highly talented musicians creating a truly great show on Earth. I only dislike the faded ending, which is far inferior to the strong, direct ending on side A. But otherwise, hey, this is a superb album.

Damn The Band: Damn The Band.

Damn The Band were founded already in 1987 and pioneers on the Finnish hiphop-scene. This debut album from 1991 is the very first Finnish hiphop-album in English. An important early landmark album. At that time it was also controversial, for example front figure J.A.K. said in an MTV interview 2015 that they were threatened with violence only for releasing such an album. Sounds unbelievable today, but hiphop was truly underground in Finland 1991. And luckily Damn The Band released this album. Today we can enjoy a true classic.

The tone is set right away with the pumpin’ beat and sirens on opener Violence. An earlier release on 12” (Radical World/J.A.K. Is On The Mic) preceded the album in 1990 and both those cuts are also found here. J.A.K. Is On The Mic is a definite highlight on side A. I Am The Prince & I Am Proud continue the same vibe before Remember ends side A on a slightly slower and heavier funky beat.

J.A.K. Is Back opens side B and, yes, it is more of the same great same. J.A.K. Is Back is another essential highlight and Damn The Band presents catching grooves, one after another, on this debut album. Wonderful that the strong and rare 12” Radical World is included too, as is a fun and supershort ”hood” cut, South-Haaga. Sexism that is just too often present in hiphop is here represented by Kinky Women. Another strong and mesmerizing driving beat, but why not a hood-reflecting South-Haaga lyric instead? You could put that same kind of question forward to most hiphop-artists. And really should. That aside, this is superb Finnish old school hiphop. A classic album.

Hurriganes: Roadrunner (50th Anniversary Edition, 2LP).

And talking about classics, Roadrunner by Hurriganes is the classic Finnish rock album. The cornerstone of Finnish rock, by the most legendary of all rock band. The album itself is a mammoth, a review must be 5/5, especially when considering it’s importance and influence. But put that aside and you still have a superb rock album. Recorded in great studio in Stockholm and performed well by a very tight and talented trio. Albert Järvinen is the greatest guitarist ever in Finnish rock and we get many fine examples of his superb guitar licks and solo technique here. Get On is of course the most well known blockbuster, perhaps the best Finnish rock song ever produced. The rhythm section is extremely tight and guitar god Abe is just unearthly amazing. But also for example covers Tallahassee Lassie and Slippin’ And Slidin’ or original Oowee-Oohla leaves you breathless when Abe solos on his Stratocaster. I Will Stay is a sweet ballad moment among the rockers. Title track, cover Roadrunner, is another strong cut, and amazing finale. 

The proper album is truly ace and needs no more introduction. The selling point for another version, 50th Anniversary, then, would be the bonus disc. And here lies the problem. It is really a meager bonus-LP with only about 12 mins of sound. What you get is just five cuts, in total much shorter than one normal LP-side. And of the five cuts three are jams. Albert’s Boogie comes in two versions, one previously released and another (the better one) unreleased. Plus an alternative Roadrunner intro. Not the song, though, just the intro, unfortunately. Side C is in turn less than five minutes music and include unreleased songs Somebody Help Me (interesting but not exceptional, and not the one from 10/80) and Boogie Boogie Morning (fierce rocker, the best bonus cut). The bonus cuts are in themselves fine, but it is just a little too little, too short. Some unreleased live versions from the period would really have helped and made the bonus disc  worthwhile - and are there really no second takes to include of the original album songs? Or are they cynically saved for next anniversary album? If you already have the mother album, it is expensive to buy it again just for the bonuses. I bought mine in a second-hand record store, and I am happy I did. Seems like the record company acted like fat cats and didn’t bother to give fans and listeners a really full-worthy 50th Anniversary Edition. Devoted Hurriganes fans deserve more. It is too easy to compare this edition to the Anniversary editions of Rock And Roll All Night Long (which included a bonus LP with rare released songs, newly remastered single cuts from the period, and two great unreleased gems) or Crazy Days (that included a bonus album with live cuts of the album tracks, some released earlier in box sets and others unreleased gems). For those albums the record company released fine Anniversary packages, and the bonus albums definitely were worth the cost, but unfortunately not for this, the most legendary of Hurriganes’ album. Completists will still want this edition too, not least for the bonus cuts, but will most likely feel somewhat cheated to only get about 12 mins bonus sounds. A wonderful opportunity missed by the record company.

There you have it. Five more reasons to own a record player in 2026. I love most formats, but vinyl is closest to my heart.

Det våras för C-kasetten?

Trodde aldrig jag skulle skriva den där rubriken 2026.

Det våras för C-kasetten?

Frågetecknet på sin plats, förstås, men ändå.

Det har varit lite retro-nostalgi på gång, puttrat lite svagt, särskilt i hiphop-kretsar, där blandband och hemgjorda mixar tillhör old school-historiens originalutgåvor.

Avgörande i större skala var nog ändå Marvels tre filmer, och alldeles särskilt den första, om Guardians Of The Galaxy. Om de udda och utstötta som bildar sin egen udda men kärleksfulla familj, till tonerna av ett verkligt, äkta blandband. På kasett. I rymden. Det perfekta blandbandet dessutom. En hel ny generation Marvel-fans fick lära sig vad en kasett är, vad ett blandband är, och viltigare än så, varför det är coolt. I dessa tider, då olika uttryck för en mättnad på det ogripbart digitala har skapat olika retrofenomen i marginalen, är det här ett av de mera sympatiska.

Ok, det fanns ju en orsak till att vi valde vinyl och sedan CD istället för C-kasett. Den kan avmagnetiseras, bandet brista, gå av eller töja ut ljudvågorna. Man vet sällan vad man får om man köper begagnat och olyssnat, men nu finns också en del nyutgivet att tillgå. Köpte en ny ghettoblaster i höstas, så jag har dessutom en bra grej att lyssna på band på. Och så stereokasettdecket förstås. Fick ett infall och köpte under påsken en drös, tio, kasettband på loppis, från klassiker till ok album. Här de fem första och några ord om vart och ett, vartefter de rullat på ghettoblastern. I sommar kommer de bästa kanske med ut på picknic. Det är nåt oerhört sympatiskt och romantiskt med förgängliga c-kasetter som plötsligt kan sluta fungera.

The Bodyguard - The Soundtrack. Mest känt för den där Whitney Houston-klassikern. A-sidan är helt tillägnad Whitney Houston, som här gör ett mycket fint, halvt album med magiska I Will Always Love You som ingång och höjdpunkt. B-sidan är en blandad kompott med allt från Kenny G and Aaron Neville till Lisa Stansfield och The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M.:s härligt soulfunkiga It’s Gonna Be A Lovely Day. Jag bytte sida med tanken, ursäkta mig, att B-sidan ska vara lite av utfyllnad för Whitney Houston-låtarna. Den är emellertid mycket bättre än så. Kenny G’s och Aaron Nevilles långa, mjuka duett Even If My Heart Would Break sätter genast ribban högt. Kenny G’s andra spår på kasetten, Waiting For You, är en bonus som inte ingår på albumets amerikanska version. Ingen större förlust för dem, dock. En rätt banal instrumental låt med en ljudbild som omedelbart och fullständigt förpassar lyssnaren tillbaka till sent 1980-tal. På slutet tappar albumet kanske lite styrfart, även om slutet faktiskt överraskar. Ingen klassiker, men en fullt godkänd helhet, med beröm.

Graham Central Station: Now Do U Wanna Dance. Funkiga combon Graham Central Station startar i klassisk finstämd soul-terräng med Stomped Beat-Up And Whooped. Titelspåret är däremot funk, and nuthin’ but da funk. Basvirtuosen Larry Graham leder Central Station genom ett dans-svängigt tungt beat. Men jag saknar ändå ett riktigt lyft här, en final. Love And Happiness brummar på starkare och intensivare och i Earthquake spänner Graham slutligen funkbasen till bristningsgränsen. En grym, genomsvettig final på A-sidan. Det låter som en given stenhård konsertavslutning, men på ett studioalbum. Suverän mästarklass. Hur kan B-sidan toppa det här?

En blandning av tyngre funk och lättsammare soul fortsätter även på B-sidan och utmynnar i den soulindränkta och kärlekskranka utdragna finalen Have Faith In Me. Vackert så. Även om B-sidan inte toppar A-sidans tunga Earthquake är helhetsintrycket gott. Larry Graham visar att hans Central Station förmår kombinera tunga funkrytmer med smäktande soul på ett underhållande album.

Hurriganes: Hot Wheels. Ett otroligt tajt och avskalat album. Hot Wheels spelades in i den asketiska Microvox-studion i Lahtis och avsikten var ett avskalat ”no nonsense”-album med rotnära rock’n’roll. Och det lyckades. Remu, Cisse och Ile river av ett tungt album. Allra tyngst är groovet i Elephant’s Boogie, en av albumets absoluta höjdpunkter. Ile Kallio är framförallt en strålande boogie-drivande rytmgitarrist, vilket också får stort utrymme här, större än på något annat album. Det gungar, svänger, rockar hårt när trion kör igång, låt efter låt. En obeveklig och tungt manglande rockmaskin. Woo-oo-oo-oo-o lättar lite på trycket och bjuder sedan plats för halvsnabba balladen Judy som tillfälligt bryter öset, och utgör en fin brygga till b-sidan.

Tripper’s Story inleder andra sidan som fortsätter där A-sidan slutat. Kenny At The Corner med Iles frenetiska svängande gitarrdriv är en höjdpunkt likaså titelspåret med sitt klassiska rock’n’roll-ös. En fin hyllning till Bo Diddley finns också med, Hey Bo Diddley, och en sådan försvarar väl sin plats här. 

Hot Wheels var ett album som jag länge var litet delad till, det var en helhet av no nonsense-rock utan ljudmässiga krusiduller. Skitig rakt-på-sak rock utan finesser. Det är albumet fortfarande, men det är just där charmen ligger här, det är en egen mikrovärld i Ganes produktion. Efter det lyckade experimentet i Microvox återvände Hurriganes till mera professionellt utrustade studior. Men det minimalistiska, avskalade och nästan burkiga underground-soundet klär Hot Wheels. Albumet låter som det låter för att det just spelades in på rätt plats vid rätt tid. Remu Aaltonens envishet fick rätt. Just så här ska Hot Wheels låta. Utmärkt i sin avskalade minimalism.

Leevi And The Leavings: Raparperitaivas. Kampela är en melankolisk, mjuk ingång till ett album som andas vemod, nostalgi, drömmar bort från en bitter vardag och finländsk moll-stämning, ett soundtrack för en tid av svår ekonomisk lågkonjunktur (1991). Och tyvärr just därför så aktuellt igen år 2026.  Ljuva Vaaleanpunainen Asuntovauno är som en tröstande yllefilt i samhällskylan om en sol som ler och problem som lämnas bakom när man lägger sig i sanden. Längtan och en förtröstan om bättre tider skymtar mer eller mindre tydligt i varje låttext och i de melankoliska och mjukt vaggande melodier som geniet Gösta Sundqvist tonsatt och skrivit.

A-sidan är superb, men det blir faktiskt ännu bättre än så. B-sidan inleds med titelspåret, den underbara, längtansfulla och melankoliska Raparperitaivas, som är en av de finaste och mest välkända finska poplåtar som skrivits och som dessutom är aktuell i detta nu. Inte minst med sin textstrof ”Raparperitaivas/Missä se lie?”, som mången finländare längtansfullt kan rikta blickarna mot i ett iskallt och bittert sönderslitande samhällsklimat som ytterhögerregeringen Orpo-Purra har utsatt landet för medan de kollapsat både den ekonomiska utvecklingen och välfärdssamhället. Leevis melankoliska melodier och bitterljuvt vackra och vardagsbeskrivande texter från 1990-talet känns igen oerhört aktuella för det hårt prövade finska folket 2026. Sateisena Päivänä och Köyhän Miehen Danny och Jos Itken Illalla fortsätter med dystopiska titlar ett sympatiskt ljudlandskap, som förstår den svagare befolkningsdelens umbäranden. Kanske ingen överraskning att albumet utkom 1991, det vill säga då den ekonomiska kollapsen, laman, drabbat Finland efter ett upphaussat 1980-tal. Nu befinner vi oss i en laman 2, kanske ännu värre än den förra lågkonjunkturen och med en regering som förenar svaghetsförakt och rasism till en ytterst osund hopplös brygd. Hade gärna hört nya Leevi-texter om vår nutid.  Giganten Gösta Sundqvist (”Leevi”) var en känslig och genial uttolkare av den finska folksjälen och Raparperitaivas var ett av bandets främsta album och låt. Finsk folksjälspop, och populärkultur av högsta klass. Magnifik klassiker.

A-Ha: Hunting High And Low. Norges bästa och mest berömda popband genom tiderna. Första hiten, inledningsspåret Take On Me är en renodlad synthpop-klassiker och en gigantisk 1980-talshit. Och den har inte förlorat något av sin glans på vägen, tvärtom. Ifjol kom en RSD-utgåva med åtta olika versioner av Take On Me. En låt som faktiskt är suverän i alla former. Originalet är en fantastisk poplåt med ikonisk och oförglömlig musikvideo. Men också som långsam unplugged-version är Take On Me oemotståndlig, då som djupt gripande och naket närvarande. Jag har kört bildspel till tonerna av den på en begravning, och det fungerade otroligt väl, känslomässig och bedårande vackert. Bara för den är det värt att skaffa Hunting High And Low. Och samtidigt får man en drös andra högklassiga poplåtar på ett utmärkt album. A-sidan inleds med Take On Me och B-sidan med den lika magiska The Sun Always Shines On T.V. Frågan är om något annat popband har lika starka inledningsspår på både A och B. Titelspåret är en tredje stark hit, och sedan har vi resten, som till exempel pigga Love Is Reason. Det förekommer en hel del väder i A-Ha’s sånger och titlar, avslutande Here I Stand And Face The Rain är en typisk A-Ha titel. Hunting High And Low är välgjord och bra pop över hela linjen, ställvis, men inte alltid, exceptionellt bra.

Det finns en trevlig tankelek och spel som handlar om att försöka svara på frågan Vad skulle du ta med dig om du blev strandsatt på en öde ö?

Jag inser att om frågan handlar om musik kunde jag klara mig rätt långt med en bergssprängare och en påse av mins bästa C-kasetter. Av de ovan nämnda vore åtminstone Raparperitaivas självskriven, kanske någon/några fler. Beror kanske på hur många som skulle få tas med. Fundera på det, vilka sex album kommer med om du bara kan välja sex?

14 CD:s + 1 DVD Easter Holiday

Some 14 CD albums more or less randomly chosen from the collection, based on being interesting albums that I haven’t heard for a while - and a DVD I bought for one euro at a flea market just before Easter. Well worth the euro too. Enjoy the last red day before the working week.

Eurythmics: We Too Are One (a last highmark before breakdown, it would take 10 years to the next Eurythmics album. Decent album, here with five bonuses. The theme in King And Queen of America is still current, and it is also the best track here, actually in both album and bonus 12” versions. Not a favorite album by Eurythmics, but still good, especially in this remastered version with bonuses.

Laakso: My Gods (After Laskso we don’t need any more Swedish bands, according to  the entertainment newspaper Nöjesguiden. Well, not really. Laakso sure have talent and attitude and there is much to like on My Gods, a great indiepop album, no doubt. High Drama, for example, impresses. Would like to hear it’s driving beat and desperation live. Same goes for Never Satisfied, and so on. And with a song titled Hamburg Night, how could you ever go wrong?).

Freundeskreis: FK10 1997-2007 (CD+DVD) (10 year anniversary compilation by the gifted Stuttgart hiphop crew. New songs, anniversary FK 10, and political Das Prinzip Hoffnung, are among the highlights, but greatest of all is the wonderful history-themed Leg Dein Ohr Auf Die Schiene Der Geschichte, pure magic. Reggae-song Halt Dich An Deiner Liebe Fest moves nicely and the cool vibes continues on You Can’t Run Away, where FK are guest artists on a groovy Udo Lindenberg cut. Esperanto, Exklusivinterview, Erste Schritte/Retroperspektive, Mit Dir. All Pure Ace too. And then we have the DVD too. A fine 56 mins band documentary. This is an awesome way to celebrate 10 years.

Marian Valinta: Maagiset Kirjaimet (DIY EP-album with eight songs, white label, truly homemade. The black disc is hand-sprayed or -coloured black, but underneath you still see, and can read, that it’s an ordinary, recordable computer-CD. Actually rather cool, Marian Valinta has made a hand-written cover too. They show attitude and it looks alt indie or punk, and definitely is cool - if the music lives up to expectations. Recorded in Kajaani 2002, we are informed. Not a clean and beautiful voice, but there is something appealing in the mellow soundscapes and sweet performances. It brings an amateurish Leevi and The Leavings to mind, without Göstas beautiful singing voice, his brilliant lyrics, and the harmonic well-performed melodies. However, this is an album with some nice, mellow and appealing performances, and with a vibe and atmosphere reminding of Leevi & co. And that alone is valuable. Ending Herää Jo is also a beautiful, short instrumental. This is not bad, not bad at all, Marian Valinta.

Hurriganes: Rock And Roll All Night Long - 50th Anniversary Edition (Classic debut album by the most legendary Finnish rock band Hurriganes. This is pure rock’n’roll, and with such performative power by the trio Remu, Cisse and Albert. It is especially a showpiece of the virtuoso guitar god of Finnish rock, Albert Järvinen, with the wonderfully tight rhythm section of Remu (Drums) and Cisse (Bass). The latter is on this album named Rock Häkkinen, and he certainly was the live concert wild man on stage. Half the album was recorded live, the other half in studio, and it’s especially the live cuts that shines. This anniversary version has eight bonus songs, six before released and two previously unreleased. The latter two are the real pearls here, both are great bonuses. The album is remastered, and especially the bonus songs sounds fresher than ever, the album proper was already well remastered before and don’t sound that much better now. All in all, a stunning album, and better than ever.

Nieminen & Litmanen: Third (Had almost forgot how great N&L are, so great to listen through the record collection occasionally. Beautiful Hammond sounds and stable swingin’ drumming, and Paleface does a fantastic guest rap on groovin’ highlight Vaalirahakynnytys, not forgetting guest vocals by Jonna Tervomaa on the great and jazzy Marraskuu. Wonderful record of pure stadin jaska (Helsinki jazz), with inspirations from rocksteady, tango, swing, twist and more.

Funf Sterne Deluxe: Alles Muss Raus (cool compilation but very wide and unruly in content. Aimed strictly at fans of FSD. Schund (Apollo Lovemachine RMX) is a first funky highlight. Followed by some joke-like wordplay in 49 sec and then another cool tune, Discotizer 100 bpm remix. The Apollo Lovemachine remixes is where it really is at here. Ja ja… Deine Mutter! (Hamburg Deadline Sebus Rmx) is another highlight. Prof. Professor feels like experimental time-waste before the beat of Silliun (Arj Snoek Rmx) relentlessly starts pumpin’.. Always interesting and occasionally wonderful compilation by this fine Hamburg crew. Fan club-CD limited to 500 copies and originally released with a skateboard. Mixed compilation Just sit back, for 77+ mins and enjoy the flow.

Tocotronic: Golden Years (Tocotronic made the greatest song of 2024 and a superb album. Golden Years follow suit, another sign of strength by this great Hamburg crew. Der Tod Ist Nur Ein Traum is a powerful start on an album that also includes life-affirming songs like Bleib Am Leben, wistful title track Golden Years, strongly political Denn Sie Wissen, Was Sie Tun and other highlights, like Bye Bye Berlin. Almost as good as their prime album and prime cut from 2024. And that doesn’t say little. This is a great album by a band still in their absolute  prime. Cool.

2Pac: The Best Of - Part 1: Thug (The best of is in two parts, forming the 2Pac line Thug Life. There was room for more than 11 cuts on the first, CD-version, but what 11. After 2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted (with Snoop Dogg) and California Love (original mix feat Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman) you already know you’re in the presence of genius. ”Thug Life” mentioned, on his chest, in strongly personal tale So Many Tears. And among all conscious ghetto life-cuts also the sweet and honest declaration of love to Dear Mama. No fillers, only killers and thrillers on this compilation. Superb depictions from a reality and spatial place middle-class America never comes across in established media. Truly ”Black CNN”. Stunning.

2Pac: The Best Of - Part 2: Life (The second part of The Best Of 2Pac. Sequencing could be questioned, like why is Definition of a thug nigga here and not on the Thug part, or why is Dear Mama not here on Life. Anyway, the parts need to be heard together and you need them both. Early classic Brenda’s Got A Baby is here, together with another 10 great cuts. I think the Thug part is the better album, but both are essential.

Christian Falk: Hosts Swedish Open - Dirty Dancing (worth noticing that there is s different album from 1999 that is plainly titled Swedish Open. This one takes us further into electronica/dance territory, and the styles of house, future jazz and deep house. Hiphop vibes too, in highlight Men, Women, Boys, Girls. I’m In Love is a fine funky dance cut while Gypsy King features a distinct Latin soundscape before heavier percussion-drums characterize Oriental Wind. A rather varied and club-intense album on theme dirty dance moves. Party on!

Rio Reiser: Familienalbum - Eine Hommage (Various Artists) (Sehr schön, great tribute to rock and songwriting legend Rio Reiser. 15 cuts including one bonus and one by Rio himself. Hard to pick any favorites here, but already the start - with Söhne Mannheims, Fettes Brot, Ferris MC, and Rio himself superb on Herzverloren - is outstanding. And it certainly doesn’t end there and then. Internationally the perhaps  most well-known artist here, Nena, presents a fine cover of Schritt Fur Schritt Ins Paradies. Wonderful vibe throughout on this Familienalbum. This is an hommage album to return to.

Rio Reiser: Familienalbum, Band 2 (Various Artists) (Another hommage to Rio Reiser with 18 cuts reminding of his songwriting skills. His own live recording from 1988 of Fur Immer Und Dich is one of the highlights here, as is a sensitive B Seite by Annett Louisan, followed by an intense Bis Ans Ende Der Welt. Klee’s vulnerable Lass Uns Ein Wunder Sein, the great bass-drive in Komm Schlaf Bei Mir by Clueso feat. Stefan Kerth and catching Mensch Meier by Keimzeit are other highlights on this second strong hommage album to Rio Reiser. 

Scorpions: Tokyo Tapes  (One of the great legendary hardrock/heavy metal live albums from the late 1970’s - early 1980’s. This live album from 1978 was also Ulrich Roth’s farewell album and tour with Scorpions. The band is in prime, superb, form and deliver ultimate versions of some tracks, perhaps especially favorite Steamrock Fever and Speedy’s Coming. This version was without Polar Night, as it is a remastered one-CD version from 2001. Still brilliant. A stunning live album.

The Real Group: Live At Stockholm Concert Hall (DVD) (Wonderful a cappella performance  from 2005 by highly praised Swedish quintet vocal ensemble The Real Group. Strong stage presence and beautiful voices that elegantly fit together in chorus. Highly skilled performers that mesmerized the concert hall audience with their voices. Five great singers perform a strong repertoire. At just 56 mins, it is a tad short, including two sets and three encores. First part is brighter, and the sets differ in mood, like a daytime set and a late night set. The sets end with a impressive Count Basie Medley. The absolutely brilliant and enjoyable encores are all in Swedish, including a stunning version of Den Makalösa Manicken, and ends with Underbart Är Kort (Wonderful Is Short), which feels like a very fun and fitting end to this superb 56 mins concert DVD. 

Easter eggs: Skull Snaps, Bowie, Kela, Depeche & The Roots

Some funk, some Finnish, some hiphop, some synth and some rock godness. A batch of five more interesting albums, this time in the Easter holiday. It is a long weekend, Friday-Monday, so there is reasonable time for some popular culture. Here are some vinyl albums to digest with Easter eggs, Finnish speciality mämmiä (memma) or sima (mjöd). Delicious, actually. Or whatever you happen to eat and drink during the weekend and whether you celebrate Easter or not. Anyway, you can check out and perhaps enjoy some music. These were on my deck last weekend.

Skull Snaps: Skull Snaps.

Ultra-rare soul/funk album, at least before it was re-released. The original is still very rare. Famous mainly for the stunning beat in killer cut It’s A New Day. That cut figures in many different deep funk- and rare funk-compilations and made the interest for the mother album skyrocket. Yes, it’s insanely funky, super in any way you want. But it is not, unfortunately, representative for the album, rather it stands out. It’s the only really funky cut on side A, what you mostly get is soul and even some hints of proto-disco. Having You Around is mellow and very fine, and My Hang Up Is You is soul to the ears. It’s an album made in 1973, with a skull cover you certainly would have noticed back then, and now. Whether it is a great or good album is currently debated, but almost all agree that It’s A New Day is a stunner. My vinyl ex is a reprint and not the expensive original version, but it is a nice red-colored version. 

Side B starts funky with I’m Your Pimp. This three-piece band does a fine job, and are for example here strengthened by both horns and strings, so the soundscape is far from thin. I Turn My Back On Love is another funky cut with a full sound, including prominent horns and cool drum fills. Skull Snaps move between soul and funk and while this album is including far more fine moments than only It’s A New Day, it is still fair to say that It’s A New Day is in its own league. If you accept that the superb heavy, dirty, minimalist feel on It’s A New Day is not reprised otherwise on the album, but that it mainly moves smoothly in soulful territories, with funk- and proto-disco influences, then you will like the Skull Snaps album, and not just one thrilling killer cut.

David Bowie: Blackstar.

Rolling Stone called Blackstar his ”best anti-pop masterpiece since the Seventies” and rewarded it 4/5. 

It’s jazzy and experimental, eerie and even haunted soundscapes at times. This was Bowie’s farewell album before his death. A strong last statement of creativity, and certainly with a feeling of doom and darkness. You really can’t find a darker, blacker really, lyric booklet or album cover. And of course the title is, well, Blackstar.

It is a tremendous loss to the world of popular music to lose such a genius and gifted giant as David Bowie. ”Look up here I’m in Heaven” he sings in the wonderfully sad and majestic third track Lazarus, with beautiful crying saxophones high in the soundscape. 

Released so closely before Bowie’s death, it probably somewhat affected the stellar reviews and prices that it received, a last highmark for one of the truly exceptional giants of popular music. Listening to the album now, and looking back, it is perhaps fair to say in hindsight that it was perhaps slightly overrated at the time, due to circumstances. However, that said, Darkstar is definitely a very good album, an impressive last stand and truly interesting. Never less than very good, it’s highlights are superb, especially the magnificent Lazarus.

On the B-side I love Girl Loves Me, with its fine percussion from James Murphy.

A passionate and swinging I Can’t Give Everything Away ends the album, again with saxophone prominently present in the soundscape, as well as swingin’ high-hat drum fills.

It leaves an empty feeling when the last song slowly fades out. It is over. But the memories remain.

One moment I personally cherish with Bowie is his short speech on Live Aid, before the controversial and heart-breaking first showing of the Ethiopia Famine video, to the sound of Drive by The Cars. It moved a world.

I was also fortunate to see Bowie live, at Provinssirock festival 2004, his very last live performance in Finland, as part of the A Reality Tour. A stunning performance. And it proved to be historic. His last of a total of five live performances in Finland. RIP.

Anssi Kela: Parasta Aikaa (2 LP).

I was very sad to have missed Anssi Kela’s concert at classic rock club Tavastia just a few weeks ago. But this summer he will make a tour celebrating his wonderful debut album Nummela. And that really is a must.

Parasta Aikaa is Kela live on album, from 2016. He is a great live artist, with an equally great band behind him. I have seen him live a few times, and always liked what I saw, great shows. 

Miten Sydämet Toimii? (How Does Hearts Work?) is a very strong start on this set, followed by equally fine fan favorite Jennifer Aniston. Last on side A is my old favorite Puistossa, but I must admit that this later new arrangement is not really to my liking, as I love the original driving bass beat, that also works better live than this re-arranged version. It is not at all bad, a rather fine version, but it’s not as good as the superb original. Hope Kela choose the original arrangements for the Nummela tour. 

Side B begins strongly with impressive film hit Milla and includes the superb hiphop-inspired and groovy Petri Ruusunen, honest self-examination rocker Nostalgiaa, and a touching love gone wrong story, Palava Silta (Burning Bridge). It’s effective, considering the topic, that it ends the side without applause, just with the very last tone. 

Side C brings us Levoton Tyttö (Restless Girl), a great instrumental and unforgettable hit 1972. I have heard Anssi Kela present Kuoleen Miehen Kitara (Dead Man’s Guitar) with such a moving story that it strengthened the enjoyment of this song. No introduction is included here, but it’s still a very fine tune.

Side D is mostly reserved for the long and tender classic Nummela, a major highlight in Anssi Kela’s career, which is presented here in a very intense version, and D-side then ends with the title track Parasta Aikaa (The best times), which is a very fitting end. Anssi & Band gives the listeners a frenetic and very inspired finale live.

Overall, then, a very strong live album, fine highlights, and a clear reminder why you should check out Anssi Kela live. There is of course not room for all great songs on a double album, but perhaps one of the fragile and beautifully delicate Älä Mene Pois or Kipinöitä could have been added, or the catchy Mikan Faijan BMW?

Fine as his songs are on a live album, they are even better when delivered live on stage. A great Finnish artist.

Depeche Mode: Global Spirit Tour - Live At Volt Festival, Sopron, Hungary, 26.6.2018 (2 LP).

Perhaps the greatest of Depeche Mode tours as a three-piece band. And the last to feature founding member Andrew Fletcher. On later tour(s) they have unfortunately scrapped the two major songs from the Spirit album, Going Backwards and Where’s The Revolution. But: When have they been more relevant and contemporary than right now? Perhaps they became too contemporary for DM? .Both surviving members Martin Gore and Dave Gahan lives in Trump-led America nowadays. Or perhaps they think they already have had their say, and now leaves that stage to other artists. That would of course be a choice and stand they are free to take. But on this tour they were very much in the setlist and Going Backwards sets the vibe from start at Volt in Hungary. Interestingly, in a show in Hungary, that also has taken many steps backwards, under Orban’s autocratic leadership.

Going Backwards, then, is a heavy start, serious and adult, more statement than party, and a very fine tune. It’s also brave to start with a tune which repeatedly states ”We feel nothing inside”, but the Hungarian fans shout their approval, and darkness is always part of the mature DM sound. It’s No Good then puts the concert in hit mode and is followed by A Pain That I’m Used To and Useless, more dark moods alright. Pain has transformed into a live blockbuster with a superb fat bassline and the bass stays heavy on Useless.

Side B starts great with World In My Eyes, before Cover Me. It’s a fine piece too, but really a disappointment that it is included instead of Where’s The Revolution. The latter was a milestone on this tour and one of the highlights when I saw Depeche live in Helsinki on the same tour. Of course there is not room for a whole show on two LP:s, but, really, Revolution is a better and more contemporary live cut than Cover Me, but perhaps too controversial in Orban's Hungary. Well, we have elections coming up now, and his position is swaying. Anyway, it’s a disappointment that Where’s The Revolution is not included. Otherwise I can’t argue with the setlist. The chosen songs are all well-performed in stellar versions. After chilling down with Things You Said and In Your Room at the end of side B, it’s time for the big guns and megahits on the second disc.

Side C starts with superb Everything Counts and DM never lose grip or slows the dance mood down. Stripped, Personal Jesus and Never Let Me Down Again excite and exhaust all fans in the audience. 

Side D calms things down and gives the listeners a chance to catch their breath. Somebody is Martin Gore’s vocal masterpiece, also in this version, and then Walking In Your Shoes pumps up the speed again before the concert crescendo Enjoy The Silence and Just Can’t Get Enough.

It is a stunning concert, and a fine-sounding recording of a global superstar band in splendid form.

It’s also a heartwarming document of the last tour with founding member Andrew Fletcher. Amazing, really.

The Roots: Organix (2 LP).

Questlove in The Roots has become the new Chuck D (Public Enemy) as the intellectual brain of hiphop. If not before, so definitely after his very well-received landmark book Hiphop History (2024). Well, his international  hiphop credibility stems mainly from his role in The Roots and productions of other hiphop acts. 

Organix is The Roots’ debut-album and it has been called both experimental and jazzy. The views are mixed and divided over it, and by many seen as one of the weakest Roots albums. However, I would argue that Organix is worth to check out and not just be dismissed as weak. It might not be a classic, but it still has its moments. The Anti-Circle is a definitive highlight on side A. Black  Thought, Questlove & co delivers an interesting album, that moves and grooves nicely. It’s very well-performed, but without lifting to the greatest heights. Grits, for example, is pumping along on a fine beat, and the same goes for Leonard I-V. 

Side C starts with a fine experimental improvisation live from Slovenia, Essawhamah? (Live at the Soulshack), that both Roots and the audience seems to enjoy. Popcorn Revisited is a highlight on C, building on Black Thought MC:ing over a groovy and catchy bassline. Common Dust is another landmark on side C, with Questlove driving the beat. Great funky stuff.

Side D is totally dominated by 12-minute The Session (Longest Posse Cut In History). It has a fresh jazzy feel with horns prominent in the buildup. A slow and relentlessly rollin’ groove over which Black Thought intensively MC:s. Yes, it works very well. We are quite a few minutes in when the bassline and drums starts driving the beat. Syreeta’s Having My Baby is a fine 43 seconds instrumental while Carryin’ On is a jokey end that also copies some tones from Daylight.

Organix is an unfairly dismissed album. It might not be top of The Roots’ line, but it is definitely not a bad record. It has a few highs, and The Session is one of them, but not much of real lows. Some of the short joke numbers could have been scrapped, though.

So, it’s a good album, very good even. Not a classic, but dismissers would do wisely to check out Organix again. You could be surprised, hell, you should be surprised.

This list may give some moments, or hours, occupation if the weekend program is dull or you want to explore some newer territories in music. Or perhaps an Easter Music Quiz with friends and family? Perhaps the albums are like Kinder eggs, chocolate outer and hollow, but with a secret and surprising gift inside, or like Mignon chocolate eggs, compact dark nougat-chocolate under the white egg shell. Music can be like that too. Albums may hide secrets and surprises within, songs you would never have expected. Or they may look one way but be something else completely, what you see is not always what you get. Test these albums on your friends, some will love them, others will not. That’s life. We are not alike and that’s the way it should be.

Keep your eyes on the blogg, there might be more Easter eggs for the long weekend. Films or series perhaps.

For now I wish you a Happy Easter weekend, or just some well-deserved time to chill.

For now, over and out.

Paleface, St Pauli, Jan D, Biggie, Nina S

 Here’s five albums from the collection again, worthy of revisiting - or ripe for a first time acquaintance. Paleface from Helsinki, St Pauli Dance Core and Jan Delay from Hamburg, The Notorious B.I.G. from New York and Nina Simone from Tryon, North Carolina. 

Här är fem album från samlingen igen, värda att återupptäcka eller mogna för upptäckt. Paleface från Helsingfors, St Pauli Dance Core och Jan Delay från Hamburg, The Notorius B.I.G. från New York och Nina Simone från Tryon, North Carolina.

Paleface: Helsinki-Shangri-La (2LP, 10th Anniversary).

Den som har läst bloggen vet att jag nyligen kort-recenserade det här albumet som ett av 40 CD album. Men sedan dess har jag köpt tio-års-jubileumsutgåvan på vinyl (originalalbumet plus en skiva live med Paleface & Räjähtävä Nyrkki). Och det är den utgåvan jag recenserar här. 

Titelspåret Helsinki-Shangri-La är en av de bästa samhällskommentarer som skrivits om Helsingfors de senaste decennierna. Ett superbt hiphop-spår. Och titelspåret är minst lika aktuellt nu som för tio år. Kommer att lyssna på det ofta.

Annars är albumet en intressant mix av hiphop och närmast klassisk finsk folksång, med samhällsinnehåll. Talonomistaja låter som en gammal folksång medan Merkit för oss tillbaka till hiphop-scenen igen. Där mellan finsk musik från ett antal decennier rör sig albumets ljudbild, det här är hiphop som influerats av den finska sångskatten och den stereotypa finska folksjälen. 

Riisto Räppääjä är hiphop med basen snarare i den finska rocken än funk- eller soulbeats. Inget illa med det, det är ju finsk hiphop och Paleface förtjänar snarare beröm för att bygga sin hiphop med inspiration från beståndsdelar ur den finska ljudbilden. Dessutom är resultatet mycket bra. 

Kalpeaakin Kalpempaa är en underbar version av A Whiter Shade Of Pale och en stämningsfull avslutning på ett strålande album. Helsinki-Shangri-La är ett väldigt finskt album, men det är inget typiskt finskt hiphop album och det gör det faktiskt bara ännu bättre. Blandningen av gamla ”ralleja”  kombinerat med rock och progressiva hiphop-texter och rytmer fungerar utmärkt.

Finsk är stämningen också när Merkit drar igång på live-vinylen, men själv spåret är progressiv text till klassisk hiphop-rytm. Elokuun Leijona tar i sin tur influenserna från reggaerytmer.

Live-disken är utmärkt och förmedlar fina vibes från Tammerfest 2011. Saknar ändå verkligen Helsinki-Shangri-La i livematerialet på bonusskivan, men är desto nöjdare att Palefaces suveräna single Vaalirahakynytys med jazzduon Nieminen & Litmanen finns med, här i en betydligt hiphopigare version. Hela paketet gör full rättvisa åt firandet av Helsinki-Shangri-La. Och är tillräckligt bra för att motivera inköp, även om man redan har originalalbumet. Åtminstone för mig. Snyggt.

Like I earlier wrote about the original album on CD: Old time ”ralleja” vibes combined with contemporary hiphop makes a fine musical brew and title song Helsinki-Shangri-La and the A Whiter Shade Of Pale-version in Finnish is excellent. Not a typical Finnish hiphop-album and actually all the better for it. This is the 10-year anniversary version, on vinyl and including a second disc live from Tammerfest 2011. This is actually a very Finnish album, with influences from traditional Finnish folk songs, ”ralleja” and Finnish rock as well as typical hiphop. It is hiphop with a very Finnish soundscape in the background. The live disc is more typical hiphop, with funky, but also reggae influences. Progressive texts set to cool rhythms. I really miss Helsinki-Shangri-La on the live disc, but I am very happy that the great single Vaalirahakynytys, with jazzduo Nieminen & Litmanen, is here in a hiphopier live version. Great double album, great enough to buy even though you may have the original album from before. For me at least. 

Starkt, Paleface, Strong.

St. Pauli Dance Core (Various Artists).

This is a 13 track double EP compilation. So in the strictest sense, not an album at all. However, as it is long in running time, like an album, I see it as an ”album”, dig? Acid/Hardcore is what is was labelled as in the Hamburg shop where I bought it. House grooves are also present. It is connected to St. Pauli, but there’s no background info on the cover. Music for clubbin’, obviously, but which club? Well, there is a logo for Unit, and according to info on discogs Unit was the first club in Hamburg that played electronic music, and was located on Talstrasse in St. Pauli. That makes sense, and explains the title. I bought it for the St. Pauli connection and thus guessed it could be cool. And yes, it is. Originally it is said to have come with a sticker, St. Pauli Against Racism. That would make it all the better. Unfortunately my copy doesn’t have that sticker. It would have been a nice bonus. 

The music on Dance Core is rather fine electronica-based cuts for nights clubbin’ rather than home listening. You would prefer to draw the volume knob to 11 and dance away than sit back, listen and analyze. So, not ideal for home stereo systems then (if you have neighbours). But, hey, you can easily enjoy for example the brilliantly named One Nation Under One Housegroove either way. And at the same time enjoy the title pass to Parliament’s funk classic One Nation Under A Groove. Cool. Das Auge by XPC also brings together interesting influences. Whether this is music reminding of the Unit vibe or actual favorites on the Unit dancefloor remains a mystery. For  now. The cover only states: ”This compilation is forced by Unit”. I guess this is actual dancefloor killers at Unit, setting the vibe for club nights there.

This album, then, works as a means, from a safe distance at home, to experience club music, in this case Unit in St. Pauli. It’s convenient, safe and perhaps some feeling of light ”edginess” to not watch, but hear from, club scenes. Of course this kind of music is always produced to dance to rather than to listen to. And if it is good enough you can do both. This dancecore album has it’s moments also for listeners, like the before-mentioned cuts and Visual Attack by Endless Loop, which strongly starts the second disc. Marcello Mancur’s No. 95 is a track quite suitable for both club dancin’ and home stereo listening while X-Dream’s DJ’s Hardattack is more strictly aimed for the dancefloor and less well suited for listening. 

Repitcher sets a darker intensified dance mood with Thing on side D, and the hard dancecore intensity is upheld on Master, on the only double EP side containing four cuts. Electropia by Electropia closes the double loop EP. There’s nothing wrong with this cut, it’s actually kinda cool, but it doesn’t feel like a piece for ending an album, or a night out. At least it is not faded out, but has a proper ending.

Jan Delay & Disko No 1: Earth, Wind & Feiern - Live Aus Dem Hamburger Hafen (2 LP + 7”).

Jan Delay is one of the greatest contemporary German artists, a personal favorite, and live he and Disko No 1 are almost unbeatable. I saw him live in Stuttgart in 2025, celebrating 25 years as an artist. So cool. Beginner, Absolute Beginner, solo as Jan Delay. All good, all great. A live album from home city Hamburg is thrilling, and Earth, Wind & Feiern is of course a fun travesty on Earth, Wind & Fire. And yes, it’s a rump-swinging mix of disco, soul, funk, hiphop and reggae. 

Intro is not any intro, but the superb Mercedes Dance Intro, and on this high level the live album begins and continues strongly with Klar. Side A is party on from start to finish, which is the groovy and head-bangin’ Turlich, Turlich. I listed this as one of the best albums in 2022, and so it has remained. Just brilliant. 

The discosoul of Large opens side B, before the cool reggae-grooves of old fan favorite Vergiftet. Given the title, many songs from album Earth, Wind & Feiern are present here in live versions, three of them ends Side B. Best of them is Zuruck, that is set to a sweet, swingin’ rhythm, with some nice horns excelling. Lächeln features a very prominent and memorable bassline. I like.

However, late part of side B and early part of side C is the moment you often experience in concert when the energy level is on a lower flame, slightly catching the breath from an early climax before the latter part highlights. This is also where you play the more unknown or lower-grade hits. This part of the album is not bad, never worse than ok and mostly really good. Disko lifts the bar again with its captivating and dancable discosoul. Party on! Ska-rhythmic and charming Saxophone continues the party vibe that reaches its peak on wonderful Eule. 

Side D takes the listener down to quieter moments, to catch the breath, with sweetly chilled Alexa, before Intro/Raveheart slowly begins pumping up party grooves again. The whole album (and concert) ends with an impressive and ass-shaking, brain-boiling finale, wonderfully intense Oh Jonny, followed, of course, by anthem St. Pauli. That would be a strong ending on any Jan Delay concert, like the one I saw in Stuttgart 2025, but it is an wildly explosive live peak here, on home turf in Hamburger Hafen. 

Pure Magic.

And then we are also spoiled with a fine pink-colored double A-side bonus 7” single, at least on the first edition of this album.

Die Bass & Die Gang rolls along fine without adding anything significantly new. Alles Gut is slower and the better cut, mostly thanks to a relevant text and a warm and sensitive chorus.

One of the absolutely best albums of 2022, and still totally stunning.

The Notorious B.I.G.: Ready To Die.

In hindsight, this album title was sadly relevant, as Biggie was killed at a young age and the hiphop and larger music world lost a great talent. Both he and Tupac fell victim’s to insane drive-by shootings, at roughly the same time.

On this album, though, Biggie is still very much alive and presents a premium collection of hiphop cuts. Juicy cruises fine for starters and Gimme The Loot doesn’t leave much to fantasy, set to a heavy, funky rhythm. It is an example of a hiphop ”Black CNN”, reporting from the neighborhoods where corporate white media never visits, if not for demonizing the place and it’s people.

So you wanna be hardcore?, begins Biggie acidly on Machine Gun Funk, before some more rappin’ and storytellin’. The I love to. do the funk line is repeated many, many, many times before the cut fades out. Yeah, love the funk. And an even heavier, thumping funk rhythm is pumpin’ in Warning. Another great rap, to another superb soundscape. Until it ends in a nighttime discussion leading up to a shoot-out. Considering the history of Biggie, and his demise, you can’t but feel a chill.

Unbelievable is rollin’ on and Method Man guests on The What. Respect is another great rap tale of black lives from the boroughs of New York. Diana King does a good job on additional vocals. But Biggie’s storytelling is, again, in focus. The start on One More Chance is rather embarrassing, and grows to a relationship rap it is Biggie that is asked for a new chance, not the other way round). His ”They don’t call me big for nuthin’” line sounds rather juvenile, and is a hint to the answer on next song’s question: I wonder why you call me Big Pop-pa?, in Big Poppa. Well, Biggie is better on social commentary and more serious storytelling than on hiphop machismo numbers. The beats, on the other hand, are always great.

Nina Simone: Sunday Morning Classics (2 LP).

On the cover, this compilation is described as seriously chilled out tracks that are ”the perfect companion for your easy going Sunday mornings”. I don’t know if RCA market dept. has even listened to the album, or haven’t understood the lyrics, but some of them are extremely far from easy going Sundays. Mississippi Goddam, I Wish I Knew How To Be Free, Baltimore. Just to name three. All fantastic songs, but serious and deep, not easy going.

Of course this album is wonderful to listen to on Sundays too, and great for chillin’ out, but it’s not easy listening muzak. It is superb songs, beautifully sung by one of the emperors of soul, with an astonishingly sensitive delivery, be it black power anthems, heartbreaking soul and wonderful covers of classics. Seriously chilled out vibes, ok, and sometimes easy going, but not so easy going when you actually start to hear, and think, what Nina sings. This is concious stuff, and need to be heard and respected for it, way too good to be dismissed as easy going Sunday morning muzak.

That said, I love to hear this album on Sundays, it chills me, it moves me, it inspires me, and not necessarily in that order. 

Side A starts gloriously with classic Mr. Bojangles, a beautifully sad and concious tale, that immediately puts you in a Nina Simone mood. A-side also include stunning classics Angel Of The Morning, Baltimore as well Blues For Mama. 

Side B continues the vibe. Jazzy I Want Some Sugar In My Bowl is sweetly sung, followed my favorite cut, I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free, crescendoing and increasing pace like a freighttrain steamin’ up. I remember the first time I heard this song  and how it smashed into my consciousness. Wow. And it has lost none of that energizing feel. In The Dark slows things down to a relationship piece, yearning for togetherness, grapping a moment in the dark. Nina Simone is superb as soul singer, jazz singer, in short, she is a superb singer. She puts her very own grip on I Shall Be Released. Overall, the B-side is strong on themes of lust and love, which is as close a topic to Nina’s repertoire as black conciousness.

Side C starts on a high note with social commentary in great Backlasher Blues, continued by life-affirming class-concious high-spirited anthem Ain’t Got No-I Got Life. A wonderful highlight. To Be Young, Gifted And Black is another song on the fight for equality, and against racism. Set in a time when justice and equality was questioned, a little like in today’s dark trumpian days for America and democracy. Ending this side with covers of two fine classics - Turn, Turn, Turn! and Just Like A woman - Nina again shows what a fantastic and personal interpreter she if  of other people’s songs. Here she slows them down, jazzifies, and makes them her very own. Nice.

Side D brings in a few live cuts too, In The Morning not least, and that is essential, as Nina Simone is also a truly breathtaking performer live. Just listen to the absolutely stunning resistance and protest anthem Mississippi Goddam here. What a high-water-mark. The compilation ends with a emotional and rhythmical live version of Miriam Makeba’s Westwind. Perhaps a somewhat surprising end, but a strong piece of relentless percussions and Nina's intimate voce. 

Earlier on side D, O-o-h Child presents a positive future vision of comfort, told from adult to a child, that things are gonna get easier, and boosted by a gospel choir. It is sweet and hopeful, and contemporary also for these later dark times. Yesterday approximately 8 million people protested and demonstrated against ”the mad king” trump administration on the streets all over USA, and in some global cities like Paris, London and Amsterdam. This song could have been sung from a mother to a child then, it feels that contemporary. We all need to believe and hope that better days are coming.

Sunday Morning Classics is a great collection, and offers so much more than Sunday morning chills, even if it delivers that too. It gives a fine introduction to Nina Simone’s genius, but I really recommend the 4 CD box set next, or the box set with all her albums. Nina Simone is not one of the best female singers of all time, she is simply one of the best singers. Every tone might perhaps not be technically perfect, but every tone is sung with great conviction and soul. If a tone would break, it is because life itself breaks. Thus, it is perfect, even if every note is not necessarily technically perfect. It’s  impossible to not be moved by Nina Simone’s voice, at least if the listener has any humanity left inside. 

So there you have it, five more albums to enjoy. In a time when AI-made copycat songs are currently topping charts, it is a relief to hear human genius, hard-earned musicianships, and stellar performances by real artists like Nina Simone, Jan Delay and Paleface.

Fem Album - Five Albums (Kent, Gil Scott-Heron and more)

Fem intressanta album att återupptäcka, eller upptäcka från scratch, med Kent, Gil-Scott-Heron, 100% Dynamite, Sugarman Three och Ultravox.

Five interesting albums to rediscover, or to discover from scratch with Kent, Gil Scott-Heron, 100% Dynamite, Sugarman Three and Ultravox.

Kent: Tigerdrottningen.

Ett Kent-album som lite oförtjänt ofta hamnar på sidan om när man diskuterar Kents storhet. Men Tigerdrottningen är inget dåligt album, utan en lite bortglömd pärla. Det är höstmörker och tunga synthar i ljudbilden och texterna stöder den helhetsbilden. Det är ingen sommarnattskänsla utan iskall och mörk novemberblåst. Men det fungerar och det låter bra, förstås. Väldigt bra. Förstås. Det är ju Kent. 

Mirage är en utmärkt ingång och sätter tonen för den höstdrypande känslan på sida A. Finstämt och melankoliskt, även om materialet avmattas mot slutet. B-sidans La Belle Epoque är av best of-kvalitet och fokuspunkten på det här albumet. Svart Snö för oss tillbaka till en finstämd och melankolisk senhöstskänsla. Vem vill vara ensam?, som Jocke Berg avslutar sången med. Dysterheten och melankolin fördjupas i den långsamt drivande Allt Har Sin Plats, innan en pumpande elektro-puls stegvis höjer tempen och tempot. Och det tar en tid av tveksamhet innan låten finner sin röst och medryckande refräng, innan tempot igen skruvas ner och låten slutar med några elektroniska hjätslag. Visst, det är en vandring, upp och ner, och ett intressant koncept, men slutresultatet känns ändå lite oklart och, ja, ofärdigt.

Också sida C startar, precis som A och B, mycket bra. Innan Himlen Faller Ner är ännu en Kent-pärla, stämningsfullt och storvulet framförd, och den följs av vackert nostalgiska Din Enda Vän. Efter en oerhört stark inledning tappar den tyvärr lite riktning på slutet och precis som sidorna innan tappar sidan lite fart efter en superb inledning. Godhet med Beatrice Eli är tyvärr inte den starka mindblowing duett man skulle hoppas på. Inte dålig, men inte särskilt berörande heller. 

Simmaren och På Andra Sidan, sida D, glider långsamt framåt på en sympatisk, nostalgisk och melankolisk ljudbild, men utan att överraska. En till alla delar helt ok platta, vore säkert bra för de flesta band, men det känns lite jämntjock för Kent. När På Andra Sidan fades down och avslutar albumet så är det kanske symptomatiskt. Lyssnaren lämnas väntande, på det crescendo som aldrig kommer. Tigerdrottningen tangerar som helhet, och med det slutet, nivån lagom bra för albumet och höjer sig bara till utmärkt med beröm godkänt på 3-4 spår. De andra är inte dåliga, inte ett enda är det, men de är just, ja… lagom bra. 

Lagom har aldrig varit gott nog för Kent.

Gil Scott-Heron And Brian Jackson: From South Africa To South Carolina.

Global and Black American issues of racism and activism are in focus on this inspirational album. Johannesburg immediately sets the tone, commenting resistance to apartheid and also knits it to black struggles for freedom and rights in America. A strong start, and the album offers many songs of resistance and for fighting, in-violently, for your rights. ”Well I hate it when blood starts flowin’/but I’m glad to see resistance growin’, Scott-Heron sings in Johannesburg. The Summer of ’42 includes a long and highly welcomed bass solo before a mellow Beginnings end side A, firmly stating ”We want to be free”.

South Carolina starts proceedings on side B, commenting environmental concerns and questioning the absence of resistance: ”Whatever happened to the protests and the rage/Whatever happened to the voices of the sane/Whatever happened to the people who gave a damn”. You might ask exactly the same questions when following current world politics, meaning there are some unfortunate connections to contemporary times and politics. And that actually figures. This album was released in 1975. The latest published democracy index report, for 2025 (V-Dem Institute), puts the current situation for democracy on par with late 1970’s and note that the positive global democratic trend since Portugal’s democratization in 1974 is now all but wiped out. Tragic and certainly worrying. And the more reason why Gil Scott-Heron’s questions need answers, here, in our time.

A cool and jazz-funky bassline is prominent in Essex and compared to solo efforts by Gil S-H, this is a more jazzy affair, meaning jazz-funky, rather than distinctly funky with proto-hiphop raps. Fell Together is brought to end by repeating the wishful  ”Set you free” line while fading away. After all cuts about resistance, the album closes on a positive note, with mellow and tranquil A Lovely Day. And that’s an important learning too, we need to notice, react and act when we see problems (here: mainly racism) but we also need to leave room for the positive sides and moments of life: ”All I really want to say/is that problems come and go/but the sunshine seems to stay”.

An important album. A classic. Where are the Gil Scott-Herons’ of 2026?

100% Dynamite (Various Artists) (2 LP).

Legendary first installment from 1998 in a celebrated series of reggae compilations (the following parts were called 200%, 300% and so on, but none of them surpassed the greatness of this, the first compilation in the series). It states on the cover that it contains Ska, Soul, Rocksteady & Funk in Jamaica, and it includes 14 tracks ”of music that show the influence American Jazz, Funk and Soul has had on Jamaican Reggae”.

And the start is impressive, Willie Williams’ Armageddon Time, which in turn inspired British punk icons The Clash, who also covered it brilliantly. Williams’ delivery is, of course, marvelous. So is Rock Steady by The Marvels, before the superb funk-heavy Popcorn by The Upsetters sets in with a sweaty bassline. By now there can’t be many asses left sitting down, the grooves are infectiously bum-shaking. 

The relentless and rhythm-based heavy grooves continues mercilessly on side B. There is no pause from heavy, sweatin’ dance-beating tracks, and it’s no need at all for any DJ to interrupt the running order, three super-bassheavy cuts (Green Mango-Greedy G-Real Hot), followed by a slightly poppier vibe in Johnny Osbourne’s We Need Love.

Side C continues in the same fine style, but with more anonymity, the first two songs doesn’t stick out, but that is clearly corrected by the mind-blowing Granny Scratch Scratch by Sound Dimension. Yes, there’s some serious guitar-scratchin’ and funky vibes going on here. A definitive highlight. 

Side D starts with some valuable social commentary in funky Woman Of The Ghetto, showing all is not groovy, shakin’ party tunes in Jamaican music. Far from it, actually. Wonderfully stompin’ Cuss Cuss and another fine funk-heavy cut by Sound Dimension, Drum Song, ends this inspirational and great compilation bass-heavy Jamaican reggae music. I’ve had this album for years on CD, but instantly bought it on vinyl last year when I saw it in a wonderful Plattenladen in Hamburg. Yes, it’s that good.

The Sugarman Three: Soul Donkey.

Astonishing new (well, 1999) funk music by The Sugarman Three (led by Neil Sugarman). First heard of them on a superb Desco sampler compilation, Spike’s Choice - The Desco Funk 45’ Collection Part 2 (Part 1 is equally good). One of the best songs on this album, Turtle Walk, is included there, but unfortunately not the superb single side Cherry Pickin’. 

The album proper is much more of that same relentless heavy groovin’ funk, not least on superb Chicken Half. Oh yeah, party on! 

Soul Donkey is a great album, with some heavily danceable tunes, especially before-mentioned Turtle Walk and Chicken Halk, that brings out sweat  of excitement even if you are sitting still. Baby I Love You puts in a lower gear of funk-pumping rhythms, but is by no means mellow. Turtle Walk increases the tempo again before Daisy Rides Again sets in a lower gear of funk-pumping rhythms again, bringing a high-octane funk side to a stop. Stunning side, simply mind-blowing.

It’s with high expectations that the album B-side is played and Double Back immediately sets the tone, cruisin’ mercilessly on a deep funk sweaty dance beat. Smashing. 

Soul Donkey was the second album for this cool funk revival band. They started out with a more boogaloo feel on their debut album, but Soul Donkey from 1999 is a mega-dose of sweet and pure funk. And man, does it groove! B-side is every bit as good as the A-side, with Saddle For Two and Double Back as great highlights and So Long Donkey as a heavier workout number, ending the record with some applause.

Yes, by all means, applause are certainly in order here. This is an album you don’t wanna sit still to, you simply can’t sit still. Every cut is a stunner, and this album is nothing but a modern classic. Amazing.

Ultravox: Quartet (2LP).

Quartet could easily be described as one of the most polished and sharpest produced albums in the Ultravox catalogue. It is not necessarily only a good thing. In fact, it is a little too polished, if anything, and while for example Vienna included some timeless classics like Vienna and New Europeans, this is a much more, dare I say, mature and cohesive sounding album. That doesn’t make it a better album than Vienna, though, but it is a good album. 

The focal points are of course Reap The Wild Wind and Hymn, but in all their grandiosity and splendor lies also a risk for hybris. Good as their are, and they are, the best song is found elsewhere. Mine For Life is spectacular live (check the version on Monument) and also great in studio, but the real pearl here is the soundscape on ballad Visions In Blue. So beautifully desolate, until it gains speed and momentum. 

There’s quite a lot to enjoy on Quartet, an album that has been more easily written off as pompous than classic album Vienna or the more remix-accessible follow-up Lament. But give it a chance to impress, and it will.

This version of Quartet includes a half-speed master and new stereo mix of the album and an instrumental version. The sound is updated, crisper and clearer than beforehand while the new mix is not that prominent, but then it doesn’t state remix but mix, and that’s preferable. Quartet didn’t need remixing. This limited RSD edition is also good looking, with 180 gm clear vinyls. While it is also interesting to hear the instrumental versions, it’s perhaps not really that useful, compared to an extra disc of live versions. 

A remastered version of Quartet was well-motivated. You can hear it on tracks like Serenade, When The Scream Subsides, and perhaps most clearly on We Came To Dance and Cut And Run, that the sound really has improved. An then, lastly, right at the end of album ending The Song (We Go), suddenly, after some fine signature Warren Cann drum fills, a smooth a capella moment comes to life, some tender seconds right at the end that are barely heard or noticed in the original mix.

I liked Quartet the first time, in the 1980’s. That hasn’t changed, and it sounds even better now. It is of course better to get instrumental versions as bonuses than no bonus record, but the box set version includes some interesting live material, so it’s a tad unfortunate that you don’t find anything of it here. What we get is a fine album and an updated remastered sound. Sound purists will probably prefer the instrumentals to any live stuff. And the instrumentals are indeed not bad, nor pointless, as Ultravox’ music is sometimes referred to as symphonic pop or symphonic synthpop. That also means that the instrumental versions work better than for most bands on the pop/rock side of the aisle. And with the improved stereo mix and half-speed mastering the instrumentals also come to fine life here. All are not that essential, though, so a perfect bonus record could have included one side with the best instrumental versions, and one side with the best live cuts. I will not often listen to a full record of Quartet instrumental versions. But that’s a minor concern.

All in all, five highly interesting albums, two that have been neglected compared to more well-known or hyped albums by respective band, one that is already a classic, one a should-be modern classic that kinda unfairly is still left underground, and one stunning compilation that also deserves to be reviewed.

Totalt fem högintressanta album, två har blivit förbisedda jämfört med mera välkända och hypade album med respektive band, ett är redan en klassiker, ett borde vara en modern klassiker men har orättvist förblivit lite underground och en utmärkt samling som också förtjänar att recenseras.

There you have it.