The first half of the Something Is Wrong CD set, beautifully pressed and presented, with its own twelve-inch-square booklet.
The second half of the CD.
Classic Zamrock, cooking up Hendrix and Taj Mahal, the Congolese rumba and Afro-beat.
12-page booklet.
The three albums for John Peel’s Dandelion label, plus live material, and recordings made for the BBC between 1968 and 1972. Clickety-click, sixty-six tracks.
‘Bridget St John proved to be the closest Dandelion got to acid folk and psychedelia; her two later albums for the label contain flashes of avant- garde adventurousness, but are closer in spirit to Nick Drake or a post- Fotheringay Sandy Denny’ (Seasons They Change).
The discs are presented in mini LP sleeves; the booklet includes memorabilia and comprehensive notes.
In the sixties they shared bills with every gospel superstar going (not to mention Little Bald Head Johnny, who had no tongue, and Mule Man, who presumably had a big willie and pendulous balls).
Sonatas or concerti, says Threadgill: Come and Go for saxophone and cello; Poof for saxophone and guitar; Beneath the Bottom for trombone; Happenstance for flute and drums; Now and Then for tuba and guitar.
‘By this point, the group’s reliance on the serial intervallic system that was the basis of the group’s unique sound is more felt than prescribed, relying on the musicians to fill in the rest.
‘All the other hallmarks are here: unpredictable forms, percolating rhythms, the interwoven melodic strains; there’s really nothing else remotely like it.
‘The best part of it all is that Zooid is the one platform where one still gets to hear Threadgill really play. His keening saxophone wail retains that unmistakable gutbucket blues feel, with no small measure of church thrown into the mix.’
From 1991, the debut, milestone release of this lineup featuring dual tubas and dual electric guitars.
A top-notch footwork compilation; easily the best intro around.
Signature Shackleton — paranoia flaring into dancefloor fire, gripping and rolling. With a chilled and crackling King Midas Sound, Hitomi forlorn. And finally The Bug himself, digital only, getting in your face.
A malevolent scorcher, with Middle Eastern percussion harking back to Hamas Rule; a ravening, scrabbling T++ remix. And a new departure — rich and spry, computer-unbound — with a truly epic, stunning Mordant.
‘A Squeeze-meets-XTC vibed track that will appeal to fans of the Rangers, as it sounds like a half-remembered lost classic from an ‘80s infomercial beamed onto a thrift-store VHS.’
Crucial Gil Cang re-do of the eighties classic, with the man himself at the mic.
Storming mixtape, stuffed with scorchers, funk to boogie to testifying and congregational. Great, great soul music, however you take it; killingly blended.
Originally released as fifty CDRs in 2010, and still fresh.
Performing live at the Arnolfini in Bristol, on Saturday February 19.
A 45s session, with Tiki on the mic; Friday 18 February, 10 till late, the Take 5 Cafe in Bristol.
Sold out!