Section 25 - The Key Of Dreams - LP (1982), U.K.

The Key Of Dreams, a strange title for an album that is more of an unstructured nightmare. This is the second album by Post-Punk/Synth-Pop cult band Section 25, who are best known for their hit album From The Hip (1984). Section 25 formed back in 1978 in Blackpool by brothers Larry (vocals and bass) and Vin Cassidy (drums) and were hastily joined by Paul Wiggin (guitar).
In 1979, the band organized and performed a charity concert event for the International Year Of The Child along with Joy Division and Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD). After the event, Joy Division vocalist Ian Curtis and manager Rob Gretton were so impressed with their live performance, they helped Section 25 produce and release their first 7" Girls Don't Count (1980). Section 25 would later release their first album, Always Now (1981) produced by the legendary Martin Hannett (A.K.A. Martin Zero) and distributed by the long extinct Factory Records.
The Key Of Dreams (1982) is truly an experimental album compared to their previous effort and it shows. As it turns out, the nine tracks from the album were taken from a five hour jam session! What else can I say? It is definitely not for everybody, but only for those who are brave enough to sit through forty two minutes of improvisation. What do you think?

Details:

Section 25 - The Key Of Dreams - LP (1982), U.K.

Side 1 (A):
1. Always Now
2. Visitation
3. Regions
4. The Wheel
5. No Abiding Place
6. Once More

Side 2 (B):
7. There Was A Time
8. Wretch
9. Sutra

Review

More Information:
Official Myspace
Official Website

Killing Joke - Wilful Days - Compilation - CD (1995), U.K.

Stress, freezing temperatures (both indoors and out) and lack of motivation have prevented me from posting here the past few days. Yet here I am back again to share a great band which I'm sure people have heard of or haven't (take your pick). Who's this band I'm referring to? Killing Joke! Killing Joke!? Isn't that the Batman graphic novel!? NO!! Killing Joke was a relatively unknown band in the U.S. (except within the heavy metal community), yet quite popular in the rest of the world (obviously).
Killing Joke formed in 1978-79 in Notting Hill, London and were quite notorious for displaying controversial political imagery on their records and during live performances. Their song Eighties was briefly featured in the John Hughes' teen comedy classic Weird Science, starring the beautiful Kelly LeBrock (at the time) and the opening guitar riff intro was ripped off by those awful Seattle grungers, Nirvana.
The band was fronted by Jeremy "Jaz" Coleman (vocals and keyboards - who is also a believer of the coming "apocalypse"), Kevin "Geordie" Walker (guitar), "Big" Paul Ferguson (drums) and Martin "Youth" Glover (bass - later to be replaced by the late Paul Raven).
The material I'll be presenting is from a compilation CD released in 1995 by Caroline Records. It features KJ's music dating back to '79 with Are You Receiving, to the mid 80's with a slightly different version of their atmospheric hit song Love Like Blood and lastly to the late 80's with the lame sounding extended version of America. When I first got this CD, I was mislead into thinking it was their "best of" but instead got a collection of songs that sound like they'd belong in their "worst of". Don't get me wrong! There are some gems in this compilation such as the aforementioned Love Like Blood, yet I feel this release was just an attempt by Caroline Records to cash in on the new found KJ popularity after the critically acclaimed album Pandemonium (1994). Okay enough of my rambling, let's get on with the music shall we?

Details:

Killing Joke - Wilful Days - Compilation - CD (1995), U.K.

1. Are You Receiving
2. Follow The Leaders (Dub)
3. Sun Goes Down
4. Dominator (Extended)
5. Me Or You
6. Wilful Days
7. Eighties (Serious Dance Mix)
8. A New Day
9. Love Like Blood (Gestalt Mix)
10. The Maddening Crowd
11. Ecstacy (The Extended Mix)
12. America (Extended)
13. Change (Re-Evolution Mix)

Review

More Information:
Official Myspace
Official Website
Band History

The Smashing Pumpkins - Live At The Cabaret Metro - CD-R (1988), U.S.A.

For today's post, I have an unexpected and pleasant surprise for everyone. Coming from Chicago, IL "The City by the Lake" The Smashing Pumpkins! They are a very well known grunge/metal/prog rock band in the music world of course, but I won't post anything here that everyone has already heard. Instead, I'll stick to the original intent of this blog and share a very rare side of the band.
Led by the megalomaniacal Billy Corgan (voice and guitar), James Iha (backing vocals and guitar), D'arcy Wretsky (bass) and Jimmy Chamberlin (drums and percussion) the Smashing Pumpkins were a group that was just starting out in the late eighties and still just years away from making it big with their grunge hit album Siamese Dream.
The live bootleg I'm about to present, was taped on October 5, 1988 at the Cabaret Metro and was distributed (in limited quantities on CD-R) at what was supposed to be the last performance of the band on December 2, 2000. Upon listening to the live performance, you'll notice the band exhibits a late post-punk sound with touches of dream-pop and neo-psychedelia (minus the nauseating whiney singing from Corgan!). They would've fit in nicely alongside bands such as Abecedarians and For Against!

Details:

The Smashing Pumpkins - Live At The Cabaret Metro - CD-R (1988), U.S.A.

1. There It Goes
2. She
3. My Eternity
4. Under Your Spell
5. Bleed
6. Spite Face
7. Nothing And Everything

Review

More Information:
Official Myspace
Official Website
Band History

Urban Verbs - Early Damage - LP (1981), U.S.A.

To start off the new year I have a very unknown group called Urban Verbs, hailing from Washington D.C., the murder capital of the world (during the late 80's and early 90's) and home to bands such as Minor Threat and Fugazi. Urban Verbs formed in the late 70's and were the first band from D.C. to play at the now defunct CBGB in New York City.
Members of the group were Roddy Frantz (vocals), Robin Rose (synths), Robert Goldstein (guitar), Danny Frankel (drums and percussion) and Linda France (bass).
It's a shame that Warner Bros. didn't take too kindly with the album Early Damage (1981). Spooky sounding synths, ray gun sound effects, brooding guitars, tribal drumming and droning vocals weren't marketable material to those knuckleheads. The family connection with Talking Heads (Roddy Frantz is the brother of TH's drummer Chris Frantz) didn't help either, thus the band disintegrated.

Details:

Urban Verbs - Early Damage - LP (1981), U.S.A.

Side 1:
1. When The Dance Is Over
2. Jar My Blood
3. Acceleration
4. Early Damage
5. Promise

Side 2:
6. For Your Eyes Only
7. Business And The Rational Mind
8. In The Heat
9. Terminal Bar

Review

More Information:
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Discography