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!

AIR - Moon Safari - 1998

My first exposure to Air, probably most people's first.  A great album that's better as a whole, then individual tracks.  I can see why they shifted their style for 10,000 Hertz Legend, though.  You couldn't really get away with making music that sounds like this for very long before people would get sick of it.  I still think 10000HL is a fucking classic, too.

Not too happy with the cover, though.  The font I used for AIR was a font I created back in the late 90s when I was making them a lot.  It was fun for a while and I created about two dozen.  If you go to dafont.com, and look up Kid Chaos, you will probably find them.  ANYWAY, not too happy with the cover, should have done something different.

Not a whole lot to say tonight, as we are getting ready to watch Pete's Dragon.  Boy, will I be happy when we get to a point where we're not stuck watching a Disney or animated movie all the time.  I'd rather watch a grown-up movie.

Have a great night, see you tomorrow.

AIR - Moon Safari - 1998

Chemical Brothers - Morning Lemon - the DYOH B-sides - 1998

In 1997 the Chemical Brothers knocked it out of the park with Dig Your Own Hole.  I had already purchased Exit Planet Dust and was really thrilled by it, but DYOH was where they went "mainstream" and helped bring the Electronica genre to the forefront along with Orbital, Prodigy, Underworld, Aphex Twin, Moby, Orb, Fluke and others.

The Chemical Brothers were a shade different than the rest, as they relied heavily on samples from early funk and soul albums amongst other genres.  Yes, there is still a lot of keyboards/synths, but they were wrapped around these incredibly unique samples.

By 1998 all of the singles had been released, and I had a nice disc of b-sides to fit snugly between DYOH and Surrender.  The cover is a photo I pulled off the net when I googled "beach sunrise" and then plugged through a host of PS filters and photo adjustments.  Once I completely overexposed the photo, I knew I had something worthy of a Brothers disc.  I like this cover a lot...

BUT, as good as DYOH was, I still strongly preferred Surrender.  But, that's another post from June 24th of this year....

Chemical Brothers - Morning Lemon - the DYOH B-sides - 1998

Suede - Head Music B-Sides - 1998

I'm not sure if Suede has already released a B-sides companion to Head Music or not, but I'm throwing this out there anyway.  Great album, and the b-sides were quite special as well.

I don't have much to say other than this was another of those great albums that came out in 98 or 99, and I found it to be really special.  Tooling down Interstate 435 in Kansas City with this one freekin' blaring in the stereo, my ears almost bleeding.  They are great rockers, but have mellowed significantly since.  I'll appreciate what they did release, though.  And, you should too!

Suede - Head Music B-Sides - 1998

Bjork - The Homogenic B-Sides - 1997-98

IMHO, this was Bjork's last good album.  Her newest one, Vulnicura, isn't bad.  But it doesn't compare to the masterpiece that was Homogenic.  A dark, personal album, it spent a vast majority of the time talking about her deepest, innermost thoughts and feelings.  Poetically, her lyrics were unbelievably fantastic (I'm a fountain of blood in the shape of a girl).  And the execution of the album was flawless.

I had already been collecting all of her work, but this album became a particular obsession to find every little piece related to it.  I had a poster of the particular I used for the cover above, there, hanging on my wall for nearly three years.  And, I still own it, rolled up in a tube downstairs, protected forever.

The disc I've collected today is one of the first b-side compilations I made when I got my first CD Burner.  I've burned it, listened to, worn out and reburned this disc three times in the last 20 years.  I've changed the cover several times since I first made it, but this is the first time that I've considered changing the green cover to red.  I think it turned out well.  Obviously, this is simply the b-sides and the remixes, as it was the original set that I compiled.  Plus, I didn't want to mess with the structure of the original album.  It would only pollute it's perfection.

With that, sod off. (It's the name of one of her songs.  I'm not literally telling you to sod off ;) )

Bjork - The Homogenic B-Sides - 1997-98

MDFMK - Self-titled - 1998

Although they ended KMFDM to "explore new sounds and songs", it all still sounds the same to me.  It still carries a lot of what I consider traditional, stock KMFDM sound, but I admit I am a fan of Skold's vocals.  The first half of the album is fantastic, the second half is mediocre.  It still fits great in my KMFDM library.

To be honest, I don't think I added anything to this album.  I just posted it because it's difficult to find, and goes great with my NIHIL post.

MDFMK - Self-titled - 1998