BEEFHEART - BAT CHAIN PULLER

• beefheart: bat chain puller
  (2012, cd, usa, vaulternative records vr 2012-1)

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band recorded"Bat Chain Puller" in 1976, shortly after a European tour. Both Bruce Fowler and Elliot Ingber left the Magic Band, so replacements had to be made and John French and Denny Walley were joined by Jeff Moris Tepper who would take on the guitar duties (he was a former neighbour of Don Van Vliet) and John Thomas who would be playing keyboard bass.
Unfortunately, shortly after the recording, label owners Frank Zappa and Herb Cohen got into a dispute and Cohen had all of Zappa's equipment and archived recordings confiscated, including the Bat Chain Puller master tape.
Zappa and Cohen went to court and Zappa did win the case. In 1982. So the Bat Chain Puller master tapes came back to surface some six years after the recording session.
In the meantime, Beefheart had already re-recorded most of the material with a different band for "Shiny Beast". The result was that the original master recording got stored in the Zappa Vault.

However, shortly after the recording of BCP a demo tape of the album had been sent to a couple of journalists for review purposes. Copies of the tape made it to the fans, and eventually bootlegs of the album turned up as well.

Last month, the Zappa Family Trust released "Bat Chain Puller" on CD. The original album plus some bonus tracks.
I've always had a soft spot for "Shiny Beast" and for the original "Bat Chain Puller" recordings.
Listening to BCP only makes these feelings stronger.
It's a joy to hear the original recordings in a superb audio quality.
I have been playing BCP for three days in a row, and all that I can say is that it has become my favorite Beefheart album.

ESSENTIAL LISTENING !!

Read more at:
http://www.beefheart.com/datharp/albums/official/batchainpuller.htm

DWALMACAT 464

Go to http://www.fmbrussel.be/programmas/dwalmacat.aspx
and click on “Luister” to enjoy

• PAUL McCARTNEY – Frozen jap


• HOLGER CZUKAY – Hey Baba reebop


• O.N.T.S. - 道玄坂ウキィー


• THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS – Lie still, little bottle


• ANDRE BRASSEUR – The kid (holiday)


• TINY TIM – I got you babe (live in London)


• THE FALL – Happi song


• SAMSIMAR – Indang pariaman


• CAMBERWELL NOW – Working nights


• SEMA – Untitled


• WOODEN SJHIPS – Crossing remix (by Andy Weatherall)


• HARALD SACK ZIEGLER & FRANK SCHÜLTGE “BLUMM” - Toygrooves


• MATMOS – Polychords


• LOUIS NEEFS - ‘K zag twee beren


• GORKI – Wie zal er voor de kinderen zorgen


• ETANT DONNES – Aime-moi

DWEEZIL ZAPPA - F.O.H.

• dweezil zappa: f.o.h.
  (2012, 2cd, usa, fantom records)

Dweezil Zappa's "Front Of House" album arrived last week. If I understand it correctly,"Front Of House" means that the recordings on this discs are from the mixing board. No multi-channel tweeking.
"F.O.H." includes material from the Zappa Plays Zappa tours from 2007 untill 2011. I know that a lot of fans are quite frustrated by the recent ZFT clean-up on YouTube, but that does not make this a less good album. Actually, it's pretty impressive. I like the sound of the front-of-house-mix, and the performance of the band is excellent.
It's a good-looking package as well: a 2CD fold-out set, with beautiful Cal Schenkel artwork.
The only minor thing is the price, which Dweezil addresses in the liner notes saying that illegal downloads makes putting out CDs less profitable.

Pricey, but highly recommended.

AKA MOON - AKASHA VOL.2

• aka moon: akasha vol 2
  (1996, cd, bel, carbon 7)

Aka Moon will be doing a couple of concerts next month. I will see them at De Singer in Rijkevorsel (B) on 21/4, and also at 'De Casino' in Sint Niklaas (B) on 26/4.
I saw the band live for the first time only a couple of years ago, and it was absolutely breathtaking. One of the best gigs that I ever saw. And I've seen a few.

Fabrizio Cassol (sax), Michel Hatzigeorgiou (bass) and Stéphane Galland (drums) are top. If you want to catch a fine jazz concert, you know where to go.

To get in the mood, I pulled out "Akasha Vol.2", their 1996 album (and added the cover & other data to the United Mutations Archives). Recorded in 1995 in India with three local musicians, the album continues where "Vol.1" ended.
World music jazz? Whatever one might call it, I love it.

VARIOUS ARTISTS - DE LAATSTE PLAAT VOLUME 2

• various artists: de laatste plaat - volume 2
  (2012, cd, bel, woestijnvis / humo)

Volume two of "De Laatste Plaat" got released earlier this week. Again, the CD was only available with weekly tv-mag Humo, but I was told that all the tracks are available as (iTunes?) download as well.
Songs that you might / shouldknow from Soulwax, Tim Van Hamel, Mauro Pawlowski, TC Matic and other belgian bands, are covered by Sam Vloemans, The Zita Swoon Group, The Brussels Philharmonic and others.
Good thinking by Woestijnvis, who not only produced the show during which these tracks were recorded, but who also owns Humo.
Unfortunately, this is the final volume. I only hope that there will be more projects like this.

THE CNDM PERFORMED ZAPPA

Last October I mentioned that the CNDM ensemble would be performing Zappa's arrangement of Ravel's 'Bolero' and various other Zappa pieces in concert in Madrid on October 4, 2011.

The concert got broadcast on TV, and you can watch the complete show over here:
http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/los-conciertos-de-la-2/conciertos-2-cndm-concierto-inaugural-proyecto-veinte-21/1236262/

This is great !!

-- info: Javier

LAST SHOP STANDING

Last Shop Standing is a collaboration between award winning feature film company Blue Hippo Media www.bluehippomedia.com and Proper Music Publishing Ltd.

Based on the successful book by Graham Jones of the same name, "Last Shop Standing" will be a 60-minute documentary to be released in the summer of 2012. It will be a celebration of the unique spirit of comradeship and entrepreneurial ingenuity that has enabled so many shops to keep operating successfully against the backdrop of massive changes in the music industry, the biggest recession in years, the growth of online file sharing, and the explosion of choice in music consumption.

Did you know…

Not long ago there was a record shop on every high street, but over 500 independent record stores have closed during the last few years.
But record shops were always more than retail outlets. They are part of our culture; they support new bands and local talent. A place for musicians and music fans to congregate, to browse away a few hours, to walk away with music they didn't know existed.

Read more & support the project:
http://www.indiegogo.com/Last-Shop-Standing-Documentary-phase-2

SUN RA RESEARCH : CONVERSATION WITH JUNE TYSON PART TWO

Sun Ra Research conversation with June Tyson, September 25, 1986 El Grenada, California part two.



-- info: Peter Hinds

THE ED PALERMO BIG BAND IN CONCERT ON APRIL 5

here's a message from Ed Palermo:

This just came up, folks.

Many of you know of my favorite club in the universe, the Falcon.

Well, we are appearing there next THURSDAY, APRIL 5 playing the music of FRANK ZAPPA (and some others, but mainly ZAPPA).

Then on FRIDAY, MAY 11 we will be back but featuring the Chicago blues music of PAUL BUTTERFIELD AND MIKE BLOOMFIELD.

I love this project and wish we did it more often. It features the astounding harmonica and vocal work of ROB PAPAROZZI and guitarist GEORGE NAHA.

But first things first. Next week, it's ZAPPA TIME!
Show times 7:30 and 9:00 PM

AND THIS PLACE CHARGES NO COVER!! Just a donation box.

THE FALCON
1348 Rte 9w Marlboro, NY 12542
(845) 236-7970

I hope to see you there! Thanks!

-- ed palermo

MARCEL AND CATHERINE CELLIER

Stefan Schwietert's latest documentary is called "A Tickle In The Heart" and it tells a story of fifty years ago. Of Marcel and Catherine Cellier and their search for exceptional music behind the Iron Curtain.