Miscellaneous Music - Compilations
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Comp. - Coctail Mix Vol. 1: Batchelor's guide to the Galaxy - 47:29 - 1995
Boy do I love this music only CD. It's just choc full of neatest, most keen and swell odysseys in stereophonic sound. You can just imagine Ward Cleaver with his smoking jacket and slippers lighting his pipe in his paneled den settling down for a long night of spanking June who's bound over the cadenza. This music is both innocent and evil, tonally white yet rhythmically ethnic. This stuff is perverse, you've got all manner of sounds: vibes, springs, helicopters, phones, you name it. A perfect CD for almost any occasion.

Comp. - Disco Fever Rock the Planet - 36:10 - 1996
Disco got a bad rap because just like any other new genre, a handful of people created new and exciting things, that hordes of untalented people saught to mimic for profit, thus flooding the public conciousness with a glut of crap, adn further obscuring the true core. (You can pretty much apply that same principle to just about anything) That's pretty much why rap sucks, or punk, or just about anything that unexpectedly gains acceptance from the masses. There were however, a lot of great disco tunes, and you owe it to yourself to get at least one of these lame compilations.

Comp. - Earache:Earplugged2... - 53:38 - 1997
A lot of different lables offer low priced compilation samplers showcasing their stable of artist, and usually this is a great chance to check out some bands you may have been curious about. Additionally, it's really hard to go wrong with Earache, because they have such a phenominal collection of tallent at their disposal. You can find legends like Napalm Death, Godflesh, and Entombed, as well as upstarts like Misery Loves Co., or Pitch Shifter, and there's even the incomprible A.C. And although the styles range from a strong foundation of metal (death, black, hate, etc.), to hardcore techno, one thing they all have in common is uncomprimising aggression.

Comp. - Eternal Masters:Black Sabbath Tribute - 49:44 - 1994
I picked this item up at the flea market, and it's not bad, but it's not great either. The best song is the first track: War Pigs by Sacred Reich. Killer drum work supercharge this cover. Also of note is a band I've never heard of called Cords. They have a female singer and do a cool cover of Snowblind. Cannibal Corpse does a really shitty Zero The Hero. Most of the other songs are not bad, but they are very lackluster and uninspired.

Comp - Freedom of Choice New Wave Hits...Today's Stars - 65:16 - 1992
This CD is friggin' horrible. It takes all your old 80's new wave favorites and reproduces them in the most benign way possible. All the pretense, camp, high tech fun, and spirit that brought these songs to life are molested like a dead animal in the hands of an oafish mental deficient giant. The culprits are a large roster of bands that don't quite sell enough to be labeled alternative. There is, however, one saving grace to this unabridged festival of crap, and that is Superchunk's cover of Devo's "Girl U Want". For that reason only, I will give this CD one light. The cover of "Hero Worship" isn't bad either.

Comp - Identity - 72:16 - 1995
Some of you may recall me mentioning that you can usually get sampler discs from different labels, for a really great price. Well, I should have listened to my own advice because I bought this a the pawn shop (where I do most of my CD shopping), where I paid a mere $4, however, the joke was on me because list price was only $2 - DOH! Anyway, this compilation is from Century Media, and is a generally good sampler of the hard bands in their stable. There's 2 songs that really jump out at me: the first being a really ripping song from Stuck Mojo (a band I dogged recently), and a wonderfully sludgy Entombed knock off by Grave.

Comp. - Kiss My Ass, Classic Kiss Regroved - 45:51 - 1994
Lenny Kravitz takes the hole shot with his cover of "Deuce", and frankly leaves the pack behind. What follows is mostly bland reworkings of what were predominately mediocre songs to begin with. No disrespect, but the wrapping was most of that package. Although I applaud the Mighty Mighty Bosstones version of "Detroit Rock City", their spirit just doesn't pan out with the horns. Most of the other tracks are a bunch of crappy bands like Extreme and Toad and the Wet Anus; these bands couldn't make oral sex sound good. Go buy "Destroyer" and forget about this one.

Comp. - Masters of Reggae - 77:05 - 1991?
This is one of those shitty compilations that some unscrupulous company slops together out of public domain material, or really poor quality recordings that they can get the rights to cheap just to make an easy buck. Not to mention that it's a double CD set with just a few minutes over a single's capacity. The only thing is, I've grown to really like these songs, which is really a testament to the artist themselves. One interesting aspect is the popping you can hear in many songs which along with the mono tracks let you know we are really pushing the envelope of technology. Bob Marley gets about 4 tracks on this double CD set, where as everyone else gets only one. These are old tunes, but have a lot of heart.

Comp. - Metalheadz - Platinum Breakz - 133:63 - 1996
Just by looking at the cover, you should be able to figure out that this has something to do with Goldie. What exactly that relationship is, I'm not sure, but he is credited with writing and producing a few tracks, and as a whole, the sounds on this double CD sound like they were lifted from the Timeless sessions. As such, none of these songs are real jaw droppers, but almost all of them will keep you busy and entertained. Also, you don't have to worry about the ubiquitous diva that all too often plagues so many DJ's, as these cuts are all instrumental Drum and Bass/Breakbeat fun. (this one came with an extra CD sampler from London/ffrr, which was also pretty good) Out of this bunch, my money is on Photek. All and all, a lot of beats for your buck.

Comp. - Metalmeister A Metal Blade Compilation- 58:12 - 1997
Metal Blade has always had a soft place in my heart, if for no other reason than the fact that they've played host to my beloved GWAR. Although, ironically they chose to include probably THE worst GWAR song ever written on this CD. My favorite discovery is Broken Hope, who turn in wickedly chaotic song. Usually I don't go for that Canibal Corpse/Cookie Monster vocal style, but I am definitely going to check these guys out. Their is some amazingly bad fruity metal on this thing by the likes of King Diamond, Divine Regale and others of their ilk. Generally speaking, there's not a whole lot that gets me fired up on this CD, other than BH, and maybe Anvil, but for 6 bucks, it's hard to beat.

Comp. - Mutant Beatz - Abstrakt Hip-Hop, Future Funk..(etc.) - 69:35 - 1997
You can't always judge a book by it's cover, (or a look by the lover. ABC. sorry) but sometimes you can. Also, your gut can be very instrumental in decisions. But, as your genitalia can often override your brain, you brain can often usurp your guts, which the brain will often regret later. Such was the case with this disc, which was a cheapy flea market purchase. The tip offs were bad layout and color on the cover coupled with a stupid title utilizing tired catch phrases. There are about 3 descent cuts, one of which utilizes some African tribal music quite nicely, but the majority hardly hold your attention at all.

Comp. - Pimps, Players & Private Eyes - 36:25 - 1991 (72-74)
Despite this CD's short lived playing time, it is one of my all time favorite CDs. Ice-T contributes to the production of this compilation which is home to the cream of the crop of black exploitation film themes. This has got to be the most mackin assortment of songs ever assembled! Some heavy hitters include Curtis Mayfield, Isaac Hayes, and Marvin Gaye: featuring songs from such classic films as the Shaft movies, Superfly, Foxy Brown, Cleopatra Jones, The Mack and Three The Hard Way. There are two songs in particular, one by Bobby Womack and one by The Four Tops, that are nothing short of incredible. These songs range from soulful ballads depicting the struggles of inner city life, to straight up pimped out afro puffed anthems for bad motherfuckers.

Comp. - The Best of Rave - 43:34 - 1993
You don't hear people talking about rave much anymore, but it is still certainly out there in one form or another. Neophytes can slice the techno sub genre into about one billion different phylum. Not me, I get confused. At any rate, there are just about that many compilation "Best of..." CDs out there, most with artist only the club kids can keep up with. All that aside, this is a good CD with serious butt stomping dance tracks. My favorite is by LFO; anyone who uses a Speak-n-Spell is ok in my book.

Comp. - Road Kill Vol. 1 - 51:36 - 1995
Pavement brings us this sampler of some of their artist, who cover a fairly wide spectrum of metal, from heavy and brutal, to "artistically" fruity. Getting things off on the right foot (and bringing up the rear as well) is a personal favorite Crowbar. I think my favorite unknown (to me) is B-Thong, who provides a slick, fast and funky track. Covering the dark side are the likes of Melevolent Creation, Gorefest, and which is all stuff that I can get into if I'm in the mood. But for a few notable exceptions, this is a pretty good comp.

Comp. - Super Bad - 43:13 - 1991 (70-78)
Any of you who were around in the late seventies and early 80's will no doubt remember those commercials for hit compilations brought to you by K-tel. Usually K-tel's forte was coming up with the most cheesy, lame, broad appeal, mass market, make a buck compilations imaginable, but every now and then they would do some really good ones. This is just such a case; it's pretty much a radio funk 101, with some nice liner notes to boot. James Brown, Rufus, War, Ohio Players, Curtis Mayfield, P-Funk, Sly, BT Express, Isley Brothers, & Kool & The Gang all turn it out! I would have rated it better if it was just a little longer.

Comp. - Television's Greatest Hits Vol. II - 73:12 - 1986
I still remember seeing the "not sold in stores" commercial for volume I of this series. I was hyped, I saved my money up and sent away. My expectations were exceeded ten fold. Being a slightly post gen-x, latch key kid, television was my companion, my passion, and my savior for many years (before music took full effect). I think just about every volume in this series is a soul classic. Most of the tunes are original - some are pretty good approximations. Excellent fact filled liner notes! Some all time greats include: "Spider-Man", "The Monkeys", "Rawhide", and 62 other greats.

Comp. - T.I.A.M.P - 73:48 - 1995
This compilation covers an assortment of post industrial bands, generally along the lines of the Skinny Puppy set. Most of the artist teeter on the brink of being interesting, but a lot of it is just ho hum, and kind of dated. Oh, and did I mention, the artists are indigenous to Texas? Probably my favorite, and least dated sounding track is from CDjunkie associates Puncture, who's big sound and aggression seem a little out of place on this CD. I'm a little short for words here, because although this CD isn't very interesting, it doesn't irritate me either.

Comp. - Tommy Boy Greatest Beats - 65:57 - 1985 (81-84)
If you're intestered in rap/hip hop herritage, than this compilation from a great label, can't be beat. Most of the artist here are virtually unknown outside of their own circles, but there's no doubt you have heard samples from these early pioneers something close to a billion times. Other artist such as Afrika Bambaataa and Jonzun Crew are just as amazing to me today as they were when they blew my mind back in high school. Hip hop was defined by Afrika Bambaataa and from that sprung forth a plethora of techno/dance generes!

Comp. - Trip Hop Nation Vol. 2 More Dementia - 69:35 - 1997
You've just got to love the fine folks at Rolland, for bringing us such wonderful machines as the 303's and the 808's. Where else could one man with little or no knowledge of music, produce such wonderfully hypnotic analouge delights? There are elements of Kraftwerk all over this thing, as well as a number of true hip hop bits that follow bands like Nucleus. This CD is a typical example of just about any techno (used in the broadest context) compilation you're likely to pick up. Overall, generally mediocre with notable exceptions both in the positive and negative, and usually entirely comprised of artist who you have never and will never hear of. If you pay over $7 for a CD like this, it's usually not worth it.

Compilation - We Are Not Devo - 38:27 - 1997
In yet another display of my undying love for Devo, I saw this tribute CD with covers from a bunch of nobodies, and I had to have it. There are a few bands you've heard of, like SNFU who kick off the CD with a scorching rendition of "Uncontrollable Urge", and the Voodoo Glow Skulls chime in with a delightfully upbeat "Time Out For Fun". The covers are mostly straight up, and a tad more up-tempo than the originals, and a few are wacky interpretations like one of my favorites "Love Without Anger" which is kind of a Mexican Ska version. The best thing about this CD is that it breathes new life into these great songs, and for a fraction of a second I remember what it was like when I heard them for the first time.

Comp. - Acid X-Mas - 65:37 - 1997
When I bought this at the flea market, I thought, "hmm, techno, Christmas, could be funny, what the heck". But, the funny thing about it is, it actually turned out to be pretty good. As usual, it's a bunch of no name D.J.'s, doing what they do best, only to the vague outlines of Christmas classics. A lot of the tunes you can't really tell, and some of them only have Christmas in the title. Most of the songs are done really well, and it's the subtlety that make's it really pay off. A handful of these songs containing trip hop, techno, rave, break beat, jungle (etc.) are even good enough for me to keep an eye out for some of these nobody D.J.'s

Comp. - Billboard Christmas Hits 35-54 - 29:46 - 1989 (35-54)
What a rip, 30 minutes, that's bullshit. Now, on a lighter note, the 10 songs they do put on here are all mostly great. This is the kind of stuff that I think Christmas is about. There's something surreal about the way old recordings sound, it's sort of depressing but cozy at the same time. I think some of that has to do with the classic crooners that lay down the tracks like hot buttered velvet. In my cynical old age, I find it increasingly difficult to feel anything about Christmas anymore, but stuff like this, that reaches back into my subconscious, helps dig up forgotten emotions just a little. At least until "All I Want for Christmas.." comes on, and then it's like having an ice pick jammed in my tear duct.

Johnny Mathis - Merry Christmas - 44:16 - 19
"If I didn't care..." I wouldn't give you the 411 on this one (just had to sneak in a little Fred G. for you) Yeah baby, this is the stuff. Johnny Mathis is one smoooooth brother. With his ultra suede. Doppler effect voice, he could croon the pants off the Pope. This is classic Christmas music at it's best, from bouncy happy tunes like "Sleigh Ride", to the mellow "Silent Night, Holy Night". The music is equally suited to Christmas in it's airy but deeply moody strings. I know I've said it before, but they just don't make voices like this any more.

Ren & Stimpy's - Crock O' Christmas - 46:37 - 1993
On the one hand, this CD is really lame, completely stupid and not nearly up to par for the boys. On the other hand, it is kind of funny. If you are into jokes about meat (that means you Primus fans) you've come to the right place. Basically you get just enough banter to lay out the premise to the next adaptation of a classic Christmas song. Not a whole lot of imagination went into this little gem, but there are definitely a few cheap laughs to be had. Ren & Stimpy rule, this CD does not. "Honey, go get me my dog whompin 2x4 from the shed!"