Rephrase - Little Victories [2007]

Arrgh! I've had two opportunities to move permanently to Australia and I waish I has because the music scene there is rocking - I mean I knew about the live band rock scene but little did I realize that the best in dub/reggae/soul is coming from NZ and some hot beats/breakfunk is pouring out from AUS. And here's my sacrificial lamb to represent the Australian quarter. Some great breakfunk and mellow funky house all put together on one album - and even an AGFA remix to round it off.

Get Down, get down under.

Purchase: emusic, juno, itunes

Freeloaders: the usual d6218c3e

Mp3Fiesta, Completeness and I

Whilst I tend to stick to emusic as my source for music I recently took the plunge with mp3fiesta since besides emusic it seemed to be able to fill the gap for the more obscure albums I was after - however I haev noticed that they have more than back catalog stuff which made me a little suspicious at the prices they charge.

Of course I did 'check them out' and their ecommerce credentials are impeccable - unfortunately a google search suggested that they were good boys, subsequent searches have shown me that they're acually a russian outfit mostly posting stuff they've scraped from torrents or elsewhere (hence the variety of bitrates etc). So once my current balance is out I'll not be using them as clearly they do not in any way support artists/labels (I thought the latter since it seemed back-catalogue stuff to me) and they basically just recycle stuff you can get for free anyway.

As for tagging stuff as available from them - I shall carry on as my intention here is to find the best source of mp3s on the web and if it happens to be a site in Russia (that is legal under Russian law) well that says more about the record industry's failure to get stuff out there and create mp3 portals where you get can just about anything you ever want. I mean if I was a seller I'd take requests (I mean once burnt you can resell ad infinitum and data on what's being requested would informa marketing decisions add infinitum).

My big debate now is whether I should make a concerted effort of tagging torrents (where available) and iTunes (which I just plain don't like) to see how good as sources they are too.

Please feel free to comment on this one...

Gioachino Rossini - Petite Messe Solonnelle beginning [1863]

I'm getting married this December so I've been attending to my soul a bit more lately and am pleased to say that the C of E has lightened up/modernised a fair bit since my school days (i mean the vicar basically flogged us a DVD called Evan Almighty (it is a good film, mind you) and we even had a hymn to the tune of Dambusters to finish the service on in high spirits. But that was the only good him the rest where solemn latin dirge's that are about as connected with Jesus as capitalism is. And given that Jesus (if nothing else) was at heart a progressive rebel and worldchanger, it's always disappointeed me that his followers are so conservative. Which brings me to this little number, Rossini was an Italian master of Opera but like me (and anyone sane) he thought church needed jazzing up a little bit and so he created this take on mass. And boy is it so much better than anything less modern than a 20th century gospel choir of course whether or not its for you may depend on how against religion you are but Rossini said it best when discussing the work:

Have I just written music for the blessed or just some blessed music?

I'd say both, you?

Purchase: emusic, amazon, 7digital

Freeloaders: sharebee 9fd05937

It's The Blues Man - Eddie "Blues Man" Kirkland [1961]

Whilst Eddie Kirkland is still going lion strong (strong as any Jamaican born Alabama raised bluesman can be), his first album (and I believe before he hooked up with John Lee himself) is my favourite - and since despite a re-release it seems hardish to find on CD (and mp3 but not ringtone!? it seems...) it qualifies as underscovered. Energetic, wistful (of course), and getting hotter every track in - King Curtis on sax and some sweet female vocals all adding to the brew, I challenge you to not feel yourself juking the joint. "Blues Man" indeed.

Purchase: mp3fiesta
Freeloaders: sharebee 95fcaceb

DJ Shadow - What Does Your Soul Look Like [1995]

Probably the best single CD single purchase I have ever made.

Whilst DJ Shadow is by no means underscovered (in fact very few of the stuff here really is - perhaps I just mean hard to get a hold of via the Freewave) I feel that no music blog of mine could be complete without this album, and since this shit is 13 years old maybe you haven't heard it.

Anyway, these tracks are all available on the 98 album Preemptive strike which you should go buy right now.

Why? Well like some of the other posts here this qualifies as, if I can be so pretentious (and I can because I always am), spiritual/moving and all the rest of it. I mean the title says it all so listen to it all in one go and go to a better place. Serious beats, vocals, atmospheric instrumentation, whimsy and emotion you name it its go it. Deep, deep, deep, phat ph*cking sh*t

Purchase (album not single): mp3fiesta plong

Freeloaders: sharebee 5b08a7b9

MJ Cole - Cut To The Chase [2003]

[Waffle deleted]

My best summer ever was the summer in Brixton where the whole of South London was flooded with the sunshine tunes of M J Cole's Sincere. And heres the follow up album that I think was largely ignored - not as groundbreaking and elegant as his debut but nonetheless a listen that will help you understand why dubstep producers are in so much mourning for 2 step - only the good die young.

Purchase: plong, mp3fiesta

Freeloaders: sharebee ee7504e6

Charles Kynard - Reelin' With the Feelin' ['69]/Wa-Tu-Wa-Zui ['71]

This one's for my first comment poster, AcidJazzy as a thank you for poppin my posting cherry.

Recorded in the hazy days of cool this might be a bit too retro for the average nineties/naughties Acid Jazz buff but there's still plenty of licks worth digging; and, if when you hear Blue Note you think of a record label rather than a phat night club, you'll be styling like a good un.

Oh yeah and Wa-Tu-Wa-Zui means "wear a nappy" in spanky speak coz that track has me needing restraint everytime I hear it, simply fantastic

Purchase: mp3fiesta

Freeloaders - sharebee 2426ea08