Bad Brains - Rock for Light (Abstract 1983)

The power of Bad Brains' classic 1983 hardcore album has not diminished over the years. Lightning fast and taut like razor-wire this record helped to define the sound of American punk. While Rock for Light is available on CD, the version that you can buy is completely different to this vinyl release. The CD contains 20 songs, most of which are significantly faster than the original recordings.
Check out this clip of a 1982 live show at New York's CBGB's. Total chaos:



Tracklisting:

1. Coptic Times
   
2. Attitude
   
3. We Will Not
   
4. Sailin' On
   
5. Rally 'Round Jah Throne
   
6. Right Brigade
   
7. F.V.K.
   
8. Riot Squad
   
9. The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth

1. Joshua's Song
   
2. Banned in D.C.
   
3. How Low Can a Punk Get?
   
4. Big Takeover
   
5. I and I Survive
   
6. Destroy Babylon
   
7. Rock for Light
   
8. At the Movies

Get it HERE.

L'Afrique Danse Presents Orchestre Stukas (1976)

Glorious Rumba/Soukous from the mid-'70s. This is frantic, psyched-out stuff, twitchy drums and madly phased, wah-wah guitars. Here's what Gary Stewart had to say about the band in his great book Rumba on the River:

"The Stukas Boys had gotten their start as a neighbourhood band doing James Brown covers in 1968, nearly two years before their more successful competitors Bella Bella and Zaiko came along. In 1970 the group had improved to the point that it was able to secure a booking at the prestigious Para Fifi night club...and the next year it cut some records. By than a fairly stable core had evolved that included singers Lita Bembo, Lomingo Alida, Kisola Nzita, and Suka Bola, guitarists Samunga Tediangaye and Bongo Wende, and drummer Bakunde Ilondjoko

Like the Trio Madjesi, The Stukas Boys were known less for their music than for theirgreat live performances. And Zaire's developing show system was made to order for their front man, the incredible Lita Bembo. Young and athletic, Lita...had a workmanlike voice but the instinctive moves of a premier dancer. Once on stage, he alone commanded the audience.

Samunga, barely into his twenties, anchored the band with a flashy lead guitar which he sometimes plucked with his teeth a la Jimi Hendrix. But when the 'showman' Lita Bembo appeared, no one else had a chance. 'The young man will literally dominate the scene,' reported. 'He will make the mike "suffer." Dropping to his knees like a voodoo man in a trance, exhibiting his sacred dance...Lita Bembo proves his skill by showing off his impossible postures.' After his stellar performance at Zaire 74, Salongo declared 'he set the tone for the evening. And the concert he presented to the public brilliantly confirmed his rank as a great star of Zairean music'"

Here's a clip of this great band in action on a Saturday night variety show:



Tracklist:

01 C'est La Vie
02 Esta Bibisha
03 Colombo
04 Awuti Poto

Get it HERE.

Genius of Rap - Various Artists (1982)

This is a great archive of sounds from that delicious moment when hip hop burst out of New York's ghettoes in a blaze of spangly disco grooves and delerious, sharp tongued swagger. Here's a clip from the 1984 BBC documentary, Beat This, which featured all the great dj's, mc's, breakers and bombers of the time:

This film certainly caused a stir in my school playground, and you can watch the whole thing here.

Tracklist:

01	Twennynine Featuring Lenny White -	Twennynine (The Rap)
02	T-Ski Valley -	Catch The Beat
03	Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde -	Genius Rap
04	Afrika Bambaataa & The Jazzy 5 -	Jazzy Sensation
05	Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five -	Superappin'
06	Bon Rock & The Rythem Rebellion -	Searching Rap
07	Tom Tom Club -	Rappa Rappa Rhythm
08	Compass Point All Stars -	Peanut Butter

Get it HERE.

Manitas de Plata - Manitas et les Siens (1967)

Absolutely stunning gypsy flamenco recorded live at the festival of Saintes Maries-de-la-Mer in the Camargue region of France. During the '60s and '70s, Manitas de Plata (Little Hands of Silver) was one of the most famous flamenco guitarists in the world, playing the Carnegie Hall, the Royal Variety Performance and at a United Nations gala. For purists, his music was too raw and unpredictable to be considered as flamenco, but the improvisational flair of his performances and his ecstatic immersion in the creative moment make for engrossing listening.
Here's some footage:


And just for a treat, here's another clip from Tony Gatlif's moving film about the Rom people, their journeys and their musics, Latcho Drom:


Tracklist:

01 Eglise Maure
02 Sara La Noire
03 Hommage a Baroncelli
04 Benediction de la Mer
Side 2 Senor Carcelero - Galop de Camargue - Fandango de Manero et de Jose - Chant du Berger - Sola Lagrima

Get it HERE.

La Maya Y Otros 15 Exitos Para Su Fiesta - Various Artists

Picked up this fabulous compilation of Colombian Musica Tropical at a local bootsale. Full of cumbias and porros by some of the country's best bandleaders, it's a thoroughly entertaining listen that evokes the excitement of the dancehalls and fiestas of urban Colombia in the '50s and '60s.

Tracklist:

01 La Maya - J. Nuncira Machado Y Su Orquesta
02 El Pelequero - Ramon Rupain Y Su Orquesta
03 Te Casas Con Ella - Rufo Guido Y Su Orquesta
04 Cojan El Hombre - Manuel Villenueva Y Su Orquesta
05 Boyo E' Yuca - Pedro Salcedo Y Su Orquesta
06 Nada - Carlos Roman Y Su Orquesta
07 La Diana - Cumbiamba Ritmo Baranoero
08 Bogota - J. Nuncira Machado Y Su Orquesta
09 La Pollera Colora - Pedro Salcedo Y Su Orquesta
10 O A - J. Nuncira Machado Y Su Orquesta
11 La Electrica - Manuel Villenueva Y Su Orquesta
12 Wellcome - Carlos Roman Y Su Orquesta
13 Falta la Plata - Rufo Guido Y Su Orquesta
14 Se Vold - Ramon Rupain Y Su Orquesta
15 Labriegos De Mi Tierra - Julio Ojito Y Su Orquesta Polonuevo
16 La Quebrada - Cumbiamba Ritmo Baranoero

Get it HERE.

Scratch the Upsetter - Revolution Dub (Anachron 1990)

"This is dub revolution: music to rock the nation"

Originally released in 1975, Revolution Dub is Lee Perry's landmark dub album. The record is the result of years of experimentation in his Black Ark Studio, exploring the phonic possibilities of the mixing desk and twisting the music of The Upsetters into impossible shapes. The group's easy rhythms are stripped bare and splashed with fragments of vocal or dialogue from a broken television set that burbles away in a forgotten corner. The whole thing is a bit reminiscent of the feeling you get when you sit in a dark room on a very sunny day.

Tracklist:

01 Revolution Dub
02 Woman's Dub
03 Kojak
04 Doctor on the Go
05 Bush Weed
06 Dreadlock Talking
07 Own Man
08 Dub the Rhythm
09 Rain Drops

Get it HERE.

Chief (Dr) Sikiru Ayinde Barrister (The Africa International Music Ambassador) - Fuji Garbage (1988)

Here's some more of that frantic fuji music. This album has it all: frenzied talking drums, groovy out of tune keyboards and Barrister's rough toasting, it is delightfully demented.

Here's a taste of his fuji sound:


Tracklist:

Side 1: Fuji Garbage / Lau Erebe / Four Jolly Friends

Side 2: O Dowa Agbagba / Psychology / Won Oma Doyika Ni / Awa Lolorun Fun / Hawaian System / Otunba Wahab Oshinubi

Get it HERE.