This is the first album from the group. The album came out in 1966. I recently picked up a copy of this album repressed from 2008. The first track on the US version is I Feel Free. This song is actually the second single released from the album. The first being Wrapping Paper. When I listened to the first track, I Feel Free, I could swear that there was something wrong with the track. At about the 30 second mark there was something missing. I thought that I had to be wrong because I was never a super fan of the group and I was relying on my memory from when I was a kid. I went so far as to download the track from the internet. This downloaded version sounded exactly the same. This last weekend I found a copy pressed from Atco in 1967. This is the regular American release. I thought that finding an original copy would be where the truth would be found. The Atco copy looked really clean so I picked it up. As it turns out there is an extra beat in the original version. It is such a minor issue though. Who knows how long this glitch has been in the system. I think that most of the fans have gotten used to the glitch and don’t know that the record companies have done this to the current master tapes. I don’t think that the problem was on purpose but it is there in current releases today. The 2008 repressing that I picked up has five extra tracks on it. The original pressing has ten tracks on it. This new 2008 pressing also has a new logo on the cover. The title, Fresh Cream, is formed into the shape of a dollop of cream. The original logo for the title was rectangular and had a green boarder around it. The track I Feel Free was not included on the UK version. Instead Spoonful was on the album. It is for this reason that I Feel Free is listed as a bonus track on the 2008 repressing. There was a Swedish version that had two extra tracks. Those two extra tracks are also included in the 2008 repressing. Those two tracks are called Wrapping Paper and The Coffee Song. The last two bonus tracks on the album that were never included on any version in the past are You Make Me Feel and Lawdy Mama.
Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures
This is the groups’ first album. It was released in 1979. The album did very poorly upon first release. With the release of the 1980 single Love Will Tear Us Apart, the album gained more popularity. Here is some info from Wikipedia about the album:
The front cover image comes from an edition of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Astronomy, and was originally drawn with black lines on a white background. It presents successive pulses from the first pulsar discovered, PSR B1919+21—often referred to in the context of this album by its older name, CP 1919. The image was suggested by drummer Stephen Morris and the cover design is credited to Joy Division, Peter Saville and Chris Mathan. The back cover of the album contains no track listings, leaving a blank table where one would expect the listings to be. The original release came in a textured sleeve.
The original LP release contained no track information on the labels, nor the traditional "side one" and "side two" designations. The ostensible "side one" was labeled Outside and displayed a reproduction of the image on the album cover, while the other side was labeled Inside and displayed the same image with the colors reversed (black-on-white). Track information and album credits appeared on the inner sleeve only.
I learned about the group as a kid with the single that is Love Will Tear Us Apart. It was not until a few years ago that I found out that they put out two albums. This album is not a great album but it took the music industry in a new direction. Well not single handedly but this along with many other albums that were pushing the boundaries of popular music. It is a good album but a rough album. I like it and think that everyone should listen to it at least one time.
Oingo Boingo – Only A Lad
This is the first full length album from Oingo Boingo. It was released in 1981. The album is incredibly complex using changing time signatures, key changes and borrowing from jazz and classical music. This album marked a change in their music style to bring them into the new wave genre. The first single, Only A Lad, was actually released on the preceding EP. This song gained popularity with the help of the KROQ radio station. The next single from the album is Little Girls. There was a video made for this song. The video is just as vague as the lyrics are. If you read into the lyrics you could think that he is singing about a character that likes to have sex with little girls. I can’t prove that this is the truth but the music is fun if you can get over that little thought. They also did a cover of the song You Really Go Me, originally done by The Kinks. It was done in a style similar to the cover of (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction originally written by The Rolling Stones and covered by Devo. They are both great covers but I prefer the cover done by Devo a little better. I originally bought this album on vinyl through an Ebay seller. The listing said that it was a playable record but may skip. I bought it when I was just learning about used records. When I got the record in the mail I was excited. I opened the package and pulled the record out. I was very disappointed and angered to find that the record was actually cracked on one radius. There was no way to play the record. I was so mad. I later found a good copy that I could look at before I bought it. It is because of this purchase that I have done my best to stay away from Ebay all together.
Beck – Gamboy Variations (Hell Yes Remix)
This is considered a remix album released in 2005. This EP goes by multiple names in the fan world. Those names are Hell Yes (obviously), Ghettochip Malfunction, or GameBoy Variations. The EP has four tracks that come from the album Guero. Each of the for songs are remixed using 8-bit or 16-bit video game sounds. Each of the songs are given a secondary name. The first track is called Ghettochip Malfunction. It is a remix of the song Hell Yes. This is the title track for the EP. This track is so cool. There is one point in the song where beck and a girl with an Asian accent is listing off words and a computer voice sounds back the words. Beck reads off the ling, “Hell yes” and the electronic voice repeats back, “Be-ach” in the late 90s black colloquialism. Every time I hear that I laugh. The second track is Gameboy/Homeboy. The song that it is remixed from is called Qué Onda Guero. This is not my favorite song but it is done very well. The next track is called Bad Cartridge. The song that it is remixed from is called E-Pro. The original song is actually the first single from the album Guero. The last song on the EP is Bit Rate Variations in B Flat. The first two tracks are remixed by someone that goes by the name 8-bit. The last two tracks are remixed by a guy that goes by Paza. I actually have a few EPs by Paza so I know his work. I got them for free from a page called The 8 Bit Peoples (http://www.8bitpeoples.com/). They are a group of people that creates music using only the low bit rate soundcards from the early videogame consoles. It is really brilliant that someone can come up with great music in such limited confines. And yes, The guy on the cover is shredding with a first series Nintendo Gameboy plugged into a Marshal stack.
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