A new live album by Depeche Mode is out right now, December 5th. An interesting concert from Mexico City during the Memento Mori tour. Also out is the M film, with the concert. Needless to say, I bought both the 4 LP-box and the 2 Blueray + 2 CD-box. However, I will give it a few listenings and watchings before doing a review. So, I will be back shortly! In the meantime, there are some other ”not so new but new to me” nice music finds to report.
Jaco Pastorius: Truth, Liberty & Soul - Live in NYC 1982 - came out on remastered 2 CD with an impressive booklet already in 2017, I bought it in November. Jaco was for bass players what Jimi Hendrix was for guitar players. An unbelievable talent, a genius. Of course he is center stage here, but it is a wonderful jazz big band performing and a truly great concert. Should have bought it years ago, happy to hear it now, and from now on. An essential jazz recording by the true Mr Bassman. Breathtaking stuff.
Compilation albums can easily be a combination of hits and misses, same with theme albums. If you want to hear an important anti-war album, which is not that very well-known but comes with a multitude of great tracks I can recommend the wonderful Body of War - Songs that inspired an Iraq war veteran. A tripple-LP album that is truly amazing. War Veterans Against the War is behind it and a superb list of artists and songs are included; from Springsteen, Neil Young, Roger Waters, Pearl Jam and Lennon to Bad Religion, Public Enemy, Rage Against The Machine, System of A Down, Dilated People, Bouncing Souls, and Tori Amos. Eddie Vedder & Ben Harper plays No More Live, which is sort of the title song here. Spellbinding from starting ballad Hero’s Song by Brendan James to ending Day After Tomorrow by Tom Waits. Perhaps the best album I have heard this Fall. Great stuff.
Found also some nice german hiphop when visiting some of the great record shops in Hamburg, where prices can be significantly lower than in Finland. And, of course, the supply is fantastic! Visited also a record fair there, but, sadly, it was one of the worst ever, had difficulties finding even one really interesting record. Made the finds at Zardoz, Freiheit & Roosen, Filmgarten this time, and even Media Markt, that really has an impressive width of new records and films. But for the real vinyl finds it is the cool genuine record stores that counts most and they are quite a few in Hamburg. Zardoz and Groove are the best, Filmgarten the friendliest, and Freiheit & Roosen is also a must, but I have also had many great times at Plattenrille, Michelle and Fischkopp. And it doesn’t end there. I truly love Hamburg as a music metropolis, a world center of music.
I already bought Thomas D:s latest mini-album Mega D on cd during summertime, but it is so great that I had to have it on vinyl, in the limited RSD edition, unnecessary expensive of course, but superb. Nie wieder krieg is possibly my favorite song in 2025. Just like the Tocotronic song with the same song was best song in 2024. Got the point?
Classic Eins Zwo’s first album is very expensive on vinyl but I found a limited cd for a tenner, and did not hesitate. Great album, a real german hiphop classic. I found that and about ten other interesting hiphop albums at Zardoz, someone obviously had a winter clearout of wonderful german hiphop albums and cd-maxis, including Fettes Brot, Fanta 4, Funf Sterne Deluxe, Schnabel & DJ Meru, Beginner and Denyo 77. I’m certainly not complaining.
A great box set, Ultravox’ classic album Lament (on 7 cd + 1 dvd) gives you all you could possibly want or need of Lament. Not too expensive and very interesting. Original album in two mixes, lots of remixes, and 2 cd’s live, plus an audio-dvd. A nice Christmas present for Ultravox-fans.
And at last a nice 12” maxi from 1991, Kraftwerk: Radioaktivität, with some great mixes from Francois Kevorkian and William Orbit. Yes, it is cool remixes of the Radioaktivität/Radioactivity version on The Mix album, so it is the more modern anti-nuclear version of the great classic. Kraftwerk played live in Helsinki this winter and in Berlin next week, sadly I was not there and will not be there, but I have seen them twice live. Memorable concerts indeed, but now it is only Ralf Hutter left of the greatest, classic line-up. True legends, and this 12” is, of course, magnificent. Bought in Helsinki, where there are also some excellent record shops, like Black & White, Keltainen jäänsärkijä and Levykauppa X. The latter is quite expensive, but also a place where you can make nice finds, especially in their Kallio shop, where there are more interesting used records. Stupido, Music Hunter and Goofin’ can also be worth a visit.
