So vote on one. I can only download one of these this month. The other will have to wait.
1. [img][300:300]http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0002RNAGM.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg[/img]
From dusty groove:
Quote:
An incredibly beautiful set of work from Arthur Russell -- one of the few records to be issued under his own name during his tragically short life -- and a hauntingly spare blend of vocals, hand percussion, and solo cello -- recorded with more than enough echo to live up to the title! The style is incredibly hard to peg -- at times delivered with an almost Nick Drake-like approach that's extremely personal, but also sharing some styles with the mellower work of Suicide and other New York art rock groups from Russell's generation. Russell's voice billows out in a field of echo, directed almost imperceptibly by resonant notes on an electrified cello, and bumped along by muted rhythms that have almost no "attack" but lots of delay. One thing is extremely clear: that the album, which virtually died upon release back in the 80s, was years ahead of its time -- and has a quality that easily ranks it as one of the most inventive recordings of its decade. The whole thing's as surprisingly appealing as it is experimental, and this extra-deluxe package features a number of additional tracks. Titles include "Wax The Van", "Tone Bone Kone", "Answers Me", "Being It", "She's The Star/I Take This Time", "Tree House", "See Through", "Lucky Cloud", "Happy Ending", "Tower Of Meaning/Rabbit's Ear/Home Away From Home", and "Our Last Night Together".
2.
In case you don't know who he is, he was the keyboardist in the Skatalites.
From dusty groove:
Quote:
Ahhh yes! The fine folks at Blood & Fire turn their sights towards the catalog of Jackie Mittoo, and come up with a burning set of tasty mid 70s nuggets from Jamaica's king of the keys! 17 mad groovers from the man behind so many of the classic Studio One jams, many of them served up here in a spacey dub wise style, but never loosing the warm sound of Jackie's organ rippling too far in the background. As with all the other releases on Blood & Fire,... they've gone to great lengths to dig up the hottest versions of these already mighty tunes, including "Champion In The Arena", "Hot Milk", "Darker Shade Of Black", "Drum Song", "Super Charge", "One Step Forward", "Ram Jam", "In Cold Blood", "Earthquake", "Atom Sounds" and "Clean Up The Arena".
np: Decemberists "Picaresque"
