Shamen - UV - 1998

 I'm sitting in a truck stop in the middle of Kansas trying to edit this as I speak.  Hopefully I can get done before it actually posts. 

 After the glory of their  last four albums, I was really looking forward to this new album when it came out.  The Universal single have been out for couple months, and I was really enjoying it. So, one would expect a spectacular album.   How wrong I was. 

 There are some awesome songs on this album, but it is a far cry from Boss Drum or Axis Mutatis.  In fact, there are a couple songs in which you almost wonder if this is the same group. They seem to have shifted from their techno pop sound back into and electronic Indie-type sound.   For the most part, though, it will probably leave you disappointed. This is here for the completists.  

 All in all, there are several songs that would definitely end up on a greatest hits selection. There are tracks worth listening to, and enjoying. And thank you for those of you who helped me find the missing mixes of U-Nations. 

 UV

 Universal/U-Nations

 

Shamen - Universal/Beamship tracks needed....

I hate to tease you, but I am not posting this album today.  I will be posting it near the end of September.  I am still collating all of the tracks, and trying to find some missing ones.  Below is a list of the tracks I still need to complete this collection...

Universal (Sharp Vocal Remix)
Universal (1999 Extended Vocal)
Universal (1999 Dance Vocal)
Universal (Mr C. Vocal Edit)
Universal (Mr C Tech House)
U Nations (187 Lockdown Dub No 1)
Beamship (Original Mix)   
Beamship Captain Is Insane (Crazy Mr Anderson Remix)

A note on the Beamship requests - the version on the album is called "Brief Sighting".  I do not need that version.  If the tracks you have are around 43 seconds, then this is the wrong one. These two versions I need supposedly exist, but I cannot find them.  If I am mistaken, and these tracks I supposedly need are simply renamed versions of the same track, then please let me know!
  
If I could please get some help on these, I would really appreciate it!   ---Thanks!

Shamen - Hempton Manor - 1996

Only a few small points to make on this little nugget.  I had to post it, because it's very difficult to find online.  And, it's also the last good album the Shamen ever made, even without the fabulous raps of Mr C.  The original cover of the CD was made from hemp paper.  Also, finding (or making) a decent scan of the album cover as it was intended, without looking like a scan, is very very difficult.  I had to take a bad scan of the cover and literally redraw the entire graphic.  Fortunately, it wasn't too horribly difficult.  Lastly, I have always liked their parting message for the One Little Indian founder, Rick Birket.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, do some research and I bet it will make you smirk a bit as well.

Shamen - Hempton Manor - 1996

Mr C - Hectic Times - 2004

I can't remember a time during my "Techno" years when I didn't listen to the Shamen.  I liked them so much, my love for them carried on throughout the 90s, and well into today.  It's unfortunate they went the route that they did, and eventually dissolved, because if they were still making music today, I would still be listening to it.

I understand the problems they had with their label and with the public and with their producers.  They were pushed into a style that I'm sure wasn't right for the direction they wanted to go.  And I know that a lot of people dismissed them as bubble-gum pop and trendy, which they were.  But, I didn't care.  I loved them anyway.  I loved their sound, their style, their subject matter, their remixes (Beatmasters rock), all of it.  But, I really listened to hear the rapping of Mr C.  He was incredible.

As you are all well aware, Shamen's last album really sucked bad.  It was a cataclysmic disappointment for me.  I still continued to follow Mr. C, though.  His work beyond the Shamen has proven to be quite mature, relevant and appealing.  His albums weren't too bad, but it was his singles that really showcased his talent.

Listening to these once again, I can still hear remnants of the Shamen tucked down into the melodies of the tracks.  I can still hear some of the same bleeps and bloops that made the Shamen so fantastic.  I can also hear his own style growing and turning into something all it's own and more.  If the Shamen were still working together, I think that this is what they would sound like, and I wish it were still the case.  But, alas, this is as close as we'll get.  It's enough, though.

He never had any cover art for his singles, so I took these tilt-shift pics of NYC and laid some cool font effects over the top.  Hectic Times is the title to twelfth track in this comp, and it suits the comp well.  I know it's not from the era of early Techno, but it still holds a lot of the same heart that it did back then.

Thanks, Mr C!  You're definitely the Main Geezer!

Mr C - Hectic Times - 2004 - Part 1

Mr C - Hectic Times - 2004 - Part 2 

 

Shamen - En-Tact V.0 - 1991

As an obsessive compulsive, being a Shamen fan can be difficult.  Mostly because there are so many different versions and mixes of their songs.  But, with En-Tact, my problem was compounded by the fact that there were a bunch of non-album tracks as well.  Good thing is, I was able to make En-Tact V.0. 

I wanted to try and capture some of the sound that they had from their first few albums, that got lost when En-Tact came out.  I pulled all of the earliest versions of the singles from En-Tact that I could find. Plus, we have a host of non-album tracks that obviously sound pre-Tact.  A definite Indie-electro sorta sound.

Purple Haze is an interesting cover, In the Bag and Something Wonderful are great, and the rest of the non-album tracks are pretty good as well.  Omega Amigo mix is an awesome rendition, as is Ben Chapman's Lightspan. 

Definitely a glimpse of a group on the verge of exploding onto the British music scene, this one makes a great transition from the pre-Tact albums to the post-Tact.  A nice little set to wrap it all up.

Shamen - En-Tact V.0 - 1991

Shamen - Axis Mutatis - Arbor Bona, Arbor Mala - 1995

And so the fun continues!!!!

After Shamen's awesome Boss Drum album, they followed it up with Axis Mutatis.  Although, IMHO, it wasn't as good as Boss Drum, it was an incredible album with even more mixes by the Beatmasters and a host of talented mixers.  We had four incredible singles, and a wonderful mix disc called Arbor Bona, Arbor Mala.

This album came out the year before I got married, and I spent the better part of a year really soaking these guys in.  By the time I got married, my wife was sick of them, I played them so much.  They were trying to follow on the success they had with Boss Drum, but I think they missed the boat by switching their female vocalist.  Jhelisa should have stayed with them, as her vocals accounted for more on Boss Drum than Colin's vocals did, again, IMHO.  Of course, Mr.C's raps were great, and I would have been happy with more of them, in fact.

The first half of the album was pop hit after pop hit, while the second half was a little more grounded and album based, where they could focus on writing music rather than hits.  I personally am not a fan of Transamazonia, as it was TOO pop, and it makes the first half of the album seem like a greatest hits album, and somewhat disjointed.  But, Persephone's Quest, Axis Mundi, and even Moment really stole the show for me.

Although, I'll still dance my ass off whenever Destination Eschaton or MK2A plays...

I think I have all the mixes here, so build that collection, boys and girls!  This only comes along once in a lifetime!

Destination Eschaton

Heal (the Separation) 

MK2A 

 Transamazonia

 Axis Mutatis

Arbor Bona Arbor Mala 

Shamen - The Boss Drum Singles - 1992-1993

Having fallen in love with Make It Mine and Move Any Mountain, I was ecstatic when Boss Drum came out.  The album, fresh out of the wrapper is easily and instantly accessible.  Every song is a pop hook.  Every track is sticky sweet electronic candy.  Which makes it, after several listens, a little bit too much.

I know that a lot of people made fun of these guys for this album and the album after, Axis Mutatis, for being bubble gum pop music.  Most thought they were ball-less, lacking substance and depth with no clear song writing ability shy of a clever rhyme and rap.  Maybe so. Maybe that's why they aren't around today.  Maybe that's why they sound dated, now.  And, after looking back at where they started and how they evolved, and the sound they tried to return to, we all know it wasn't all their fault.  No need to go into it, just wiki their history and you'll know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, I collected as many of their releases as possible and mixes where I could find them.  There are way too many to make a single mix disc.  In fact, there are so many mixes for this one album, I was able to compile a mix disc for each single.  I know that I'm missing about 6 mixes total, not counting the album track remixes on The Face.  Some are simply impossible to find digitally, and I don't have a turntable to hook up to my computer.  But, I think there are enough here to keep you satisfied.

One idea, collect all the Beatmasters tracks on one disc and pop that in the car.  It might be fun for a while...

Boss Drum

Ebeneezer Goode

Love Sex Intelligence

Phorever People

Comin' On

Re:Evolution