HardRockSampler

[Kit Taylor]

Julian Cope's put this up on his site as a free streaming download, for Feb only AFAIK.

It's a comp of hairy proto-metal obscurities from the late-60/early-70s. Exciting stuff. The sometimes terrible musicianship makes the awesomeness of Black Sabbath all the more obvious, but there's helluva killer doomy atmosphere and gnarly rock power. Good Hammond action, too.

Read all about the great contents of HardRockSampler - http://headheritage.co.uk/unsung/albumofthemonth/1853

BTW the text on the album spine is from a book of Sabbath lyrics translated into Arabic. "Would you like to see the Pope on the end of a rope?/Do you think he's a fool?"

 

[Joe Hutch]

Julian Cope is God.

 

[Kit Taylor]

Only here for a day or two now. Worth a spin, IMO.

http://headheritage.co.uk/unsung/albumofthemonth/1853

 

[Kit Taylor]

Julian Cope is God.

Not sure Julian would approve of being referred to as god, Joe, but he seems to have a good ear for minimalist, knotty hard rock.

F'instance, I only know enough about KISS' actual music to be vaguely offended, but this version of "Parasite" on that YouTube is super awesome. Peter Kriss is actually a good drummer, and he gets extra rock points for how his kit wobbles about all blanc mange-y while he's bashing away.

Their epic concept album Music from "The Elder" is also good, like "The Writ" off of Black Sabbath's Sabotage. Or a heavier, more streamlined and opulent take on early Alice Cooper (KISS share producer Bob Ezrin).

 

[Kit Taylor]

Just re-listening to this. Phwoar, really gets the juices flowing, especially the second half.

The Troggs' "FEELS LIKE A WOMAN" is jolly good, and Budgie's "Crash Course in Brain Surgery" gets extra rock points just for the title.

 

[Have Fun]

I can't bear to listen to track 1

it'ss that sssspittiest sssssibillance again

 

[Kit Taylor]

Plenty more where that came from! Listening on my crappy Philips laptop tiny speakers, EQ'd to hell to with everything above 400Hz thrown in the bin.

 

[rod]

Aww crap. I wished I had caught this when you first posted Kit. Looks great (mostly).

 

[Kit Taylor]

Aww crap. I wished I had caught this when you first posted Kit. Looks great (mostly).

Still there

Hurry hurry

http://headheritage.co.uk/unsung/albumofthemonth/1853

The music and playing is sometimes terrible (though often great, too), but there's a continuous thread of great sound and atmosphere. Fine cover art, too.

David Bowie also had a go at hardrock, which I didn't know. It's in there and pretty Good.

 

[Kit Taylor]

Well, Hardrocksampler is no more, but now Nefarious Artists is here to stream:

http://headheritage.co.uk/unsung/albumofthemonth/1860/

Twenty-first century stoner metal, doom rock and that sort of thing. Thicker, soupier and sludgier than the previous glassy, stinging stuff from the 60s/70s.

Less immediate but a grower; I've listened twice so far. The evolution is fun to hear and quite substantial IMHO. Things seem filtered through much krautrock, spacerock, Melvins, Sleep* and, surprisingly enough, Empty Bell Ringing in the Sky by Pelt.

I can wallow in this stuff all day, a la Brian Eno when he was feeling poorly in his bed. I'll be listening again.

*Jerusalem is the superior version of this album, with it's sweeter, warmer, more fudge like mix/mastering.