Needle Time

  Cabaret Voltaire - Yashar [FAC 82 UK 1983 24-Bit 17.4kHz FLAC] I've been washing Cabaret Voltaire records today, it seems that many of you missed my rips of their first three albums, so rather than just dig out my old rips, I believe I can greatly improve on my previous work. The first three albums will re-appear here from next week - only better than before. Which brings me to Yashar . After yesterday's New Order & John Robie fiasco, I thought I would also wash down this old Factory Records Robie reconstruction of the Cabs track from their 2X45 album. I think Robie got this one right, I know others may think differently but all the same, this new rip sounds great! Where are they hiding? A1 Yashar B1 Yashar

  Stephen Mallinder - Pow-Wow [FM2010 UK 1982 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Ripped from my original UK pressing on Fetish Records, here is the debut solo album from Cabaret Voltaire voice & bass, Stephen Mallinder. Based around five key compositions of warped dub-funk in the Cabaret Voltaire style dispersed with short industrial works recorded with Last Few Days, this album has seen a recent reissue, however to these ears the original still sounds the best. A1 The Devil In Me A2 0-58 A3 Pow-Wow A4 Three Piece Swing A5 1-20 B1 1-37 B2 In Smoke B3 1-59 B4 Length Of Time B5 1-34

  Cabaret Voltaire - Three Mantras [RT 038 UK 1980 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Here is a record which I've never ripped before ...well until today that is. Actually it took several attempts at a rip over a good few weeks, and at last I have one that I am happy with.  Deliberately designed to confuse, is it an album or is it a single? It has a Rough Trade single catelogue number, but it plays at 33rpm and each side runs at over twenty minutes. Oh yes, and there are only two mantras. Conceived by the classic line-up of Mallinder, Kirk and Watson at their Western Works facility in Sheffield from distorted rhythms, treated guitars, analogue synths and a backwards loop of the name of another well known Sheffield band, West meets East head-on during this somewhat 'difficult' record. Enjoy (if you can). A1 Western Mantra B1 Eastern Mantra

  Cabaret Voltaire - James Brown [CVS4-12 UK 1984 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] This is a brand new rip ...and possibly as good as it gets for this popular Cabaret Voltaire single. The Cabs get funky with a crisp new rip from one of the penguinflight boxes to seven and a half minutes of funky greatness on their classic James Brown . This mix sounds much much better than the original album version on Micro-Phonies . You will also want to dive in to the excellent  Bad Self on the b-side. A1  James Brown B1  Bad Self (Part One)

  Cabaret Voltaire - Eddies Out [RT 096 UK 1981 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Another new rip of an old favourite... The listener is going to be challenged by the Sheffield trio's complex intertwining of electronic knob twiddly soundscapes, treated guitars, distorted vocals and operatic samples on the full ten minutes plus of Eddies Out . The hit parade was not to beckon for our industrious heroes, however I will suggest that the more upbeat Walls Of Jericho evidences some of the earliest forms of electro-squelching so popular in later years in acid house.  A1   Eddie's Out B1   Walls Of Jericho

  Cabaret Voltaire - The Dream Ticket [CVS 2-12 UK 1983 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] A classic but much overlooked Some Bizzare era Cabaret Voltaire twelve, which fits in perfectly between The Crackdown , Just Fascination and Sensoria -  ripped to full resolution and running at over fourteen minutes in total. Oh ...go on then! A1 The Dream Ticket B1 Safety Zone

  Richard H. Kirk - Time High Fiction [DVR 2 UK 1983 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] This rip has been on my back burner for a while, I'm finally pleased with the results of my rip of this difficult double album, released back in 1983 on Cabaret Voltaire's Doublevision label in a classic Neville Brody sleeve, similar to The Crackdown era Cabs. Most of the tracks on Time High Fiction date back to 1979 Western Works sessions rather than the later beat driven works. Consequently this album is more a compilation of experiments over time rather than works of a specific period in RHK's recordings. This is remarkably accessible music in places and there is much to like, however those with a nervous disposition should best stay clear of the two Dead Relatives pieces. A1 The Greedy Eye A2 Shaking Down The Tower Of Babel A3 Force Of Habit A4 Day Of Waiting B1 Black Honeymoon B2 Nocturnal Children B3 Wiretrap B4 The Power Of Autosuggestion C1 Dead Relatives Part O...

Cabaret Voltaire - Drinking Gasoline [CVM 1 UK 1985 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC] Drinking Gasoline is four eight minute slabs of pure power industrial electro released as a 12" 45rpm double pack back in 1985. I remember much confusion over titles back when it was released as it appeared the tracks were mislabeled according to the gatefold sleeve and labels. My copy is a first week purchase and hence has no correction sticker.  Looking back, I was always sure the tracks were put in the wrong order on the sleeve as the etching on the run offs shows that Big Funk should have been side A, Kino on side C and so on. Anyway, this oversight doesn't spoil your enjoyment of this fine electronic hard funk as only Cabaret Voltaire could produce. Or perhaps, Porky just got it wrong. Recorded & released during their most productive period between the  Micro-Phonies and  The Covenant, The Sword And The Arm Of The Lord , I would likely agree with anybody who suggests that this is the l...

  Cabaret Voltaire - Sensoria [CVS 312 UK 1984 24-Bit FLAC] This regular crowd pleaser and old college party floor filler, gets dusted down, a drop of surfactant and now made available in a choice of resolutions. Let this one boom from your speakers and everything will feel right again. This is likely my best effort at a rip so far. Do right! A1   Sensoria B1   Cut The Damn Camera

  Cabaret Voltaire - Crackdown • Just Fascination [CVS 1-12 UK 1983 24-Bit FLAC] We lost Richard H. Kirk this week. As a small tribute, here - in my mind - is Cabaret Voltaire's finest moment ever on vinyl. Co-produced by John Luongo, these two eight minute tracks marked a significant shift in the duo's sound; clean and stripped back, broody and dark, yet funky and tight. A1 Crackdown B1 Just Fascination Someone somewhere...... ...cracks down ....and then also publishes a full spectrum 32-bit 176.4 kHz version.

  Cabaret Voltaire ‎- The Voice Of America [ROUGH 11 UK 1980 24-Bit FLAC] Here is a rip of my original UK pressing of Cabaret Voltaire's uncompromising second album. I was checking Cabs posts across my blogging history and realised that I had never attempted a rip before, well until now. Self-recorded and self-produced at their own Western Works studio, Voice Of America is a dark sampled examination of the world on the other side of the Atlantic ..from these Sheffield industrial music pioneers' perspective of course. Stay Out If It gets a special mention as it is the least electronic track in the band's entire repertoire: untreated guitar, vocals and bass; live drums; and what sounds like a Contempi organ. I am sure this now makes it ten from ten rips of the most important Cabaret Voltaire albums on Needle Time. A1 The Voice Of America / Damage Is Done A2 Partially Submerged A3 Kneel To The Boss A4 Premonition B1 This Is Entertainment B2 If The Shado...

 Cabaret Voltaire - Eight Crepuscule Tracks [TWI 749 BEL 1988 24-Bit FLAC] A1 Sluggin Fer Jesus (Part One) A2 Sluggin Fer Jesus (Part Two) A3 Fools Game - Sluggin Fer Jesus (Part Three) A4 Yashar B1 Your Agent Man B2 Gut Level B3 Invocation B4 Theme From Shaft

  Cabaret Voltaire - The Crackdown [CV 1/DV 1 UK 1983 24-Bit FLAC] Now seems a good time to visit the finest hour of Cabaret Voltaire with a new rip - naming a particular album as an artist's best is purely subjective, so I will comfortably suggest that the albums which followed were just not as important.  The Crackdown  represented a shift in direction as The Cabs left Rough Trade for a licensed deal with Some Bizzare, bringing in Dave Ball (from Soft Cell) and Alan Fish (from Hula) as extra musicians. Pounding sequenced electronica replaced multi-textured distortion and experimentation, Mal's voice needed less treatment, as did his bass guitar. This was a stripped back almost danceable soundtrack to post-industrialism, where Cabaret Voltaire left all their peers in their wake. Ask me to name a favourite track and it would likely be Animation where the Cabs find a groove, but the title track and the morphed-disco of Just Fascination will find favour with many as well. ...

  Cabaret Voltaire - The Covenant, The Sword And The Arm Of The Lord [CV 3 UK 1985 24-Bit FLAC] A new 2021 rip of this popular Cabaret Voltaire long player and their last for the Some Bizzare/Virgin Records alliance. Recorded during the most productive period in their career, the album divides fans due to its loud production and over-sampling. This was my opportunity to rip it with a better deck and share the consequences. The distortion and loudness is deliberately injection by the band during the production process, I suggest any recent remasters could sound worse.  Micro-Phonies and The Crackdown were tough acts to follow and I suggest that The Covenant, The Sword And The Arm Of The Lord couldn't live up to its predecessors. Its not a poor album by any standard, its just to these ears the ideas were beginning to run thin and the production always seemed very flat and two-dimensional, lacking definition and space, replacing them with volume distortion and too many dub ef...

  Cabaret Voltaire - Groovy, Laidback And Nasty [PCSX 7338 UK 2LP 1990 24-Bit FLAC] Mal & Richard spent a chunk of EMI's advance on plane tickets to Chicago and some studio time with Marshall Jefferson. I'm assuming that the cash ran out as only three tracks came out of the trip, none of which were to be singles. The band settled on  Hypnotised and Keep On (I Got This Feeling) which were worked out at Fon with Mark Brydon and Robert Gordon - a mini-hit factory in their own right. Perhaps if they had the nerve to consider  Searchin' as single, then EMI may have had a return on the investment as the track would have worked comfortably in the UK house music market. Groovy, Laidback And Nasty is the album which most Cabs fans love to dislike, it is easy to hear why - these electronic masters had ceased to lead the field, choosing instead to follow the market. The album flopped, but still deserves a fresh listen today. This is my UK double vinyl edition with an extra ...

  Cabaret Voltaire - Code [PCS 7312 UK 1987 24-Bit FLAC] Here is my 24-bit 88.2kHz rip of Cabaret Voltaire's first album for EMI - they had come far since those original pioneer days and this album was a serious stab at the mass market. All the Some Bizzare-era fingerprints are there, proving the band managed to keep some sort of artistic control.  The decision to get Adrian Sherwood to produce Code was a stroke of genius. Whilst the Cabs would have been very capable of producing their own work, Code could just have been the bastard son of   The Covenant, The Sword and The Arm Of The Lord - Cabaret Voltaire's previous album and their worst production (imho), were if it not Sherwood's exemplary skills at the mixing desk.  His signature big beats and samples are all over this, and there are comparisons to what he had done with Ministry on Twitch . In true EMI fashion the album was plundered for singles in a multitude of remixes (none of which swelled the Wardou...

Cabaret Voltaire - Red Mecca [ROUGH 27 UK 1981 24-Bit FLAC] A bad workman usually blames his tools, in the case of a vinyl ripper a dodgy pressing makes for plenty of excuses for shoddy workmanship. Original Rough Trade pressings were never of the best quality, that and the general condition of this record were the reasons I have never attempted a rip ...until now of course. I don't own any of the Cab's reissues so have no material for comparison, however I am pleased with the resultant rip of this thirty-nine year old record. My moving coil cartridge picks up much more depth and detail in the lower frequencies than moving magnets and allows space around the peripherals for all the electronic trickery employed by the band at Western Works, therefore I was happy to master this at 24-bit/88.2kHz. Sheffield industrial pioneers were about to undergo a period of significant change with the pending departure of one third of the band, Red Mecca marks Chris Watson's last contribu...

  Cabaret Voltaire - The Drain Train [DVR 21 UK 1986 24-Bit FLAC] In 1986, Cabaret Voltaire had left their Some Bizzare/Virgin Records alliance following their well received  The Covenant, The Sword And The Arm Of The Lord album. Whilst a new deal with EMI/Parlophone was in the discussion stage, they recorded these tracks at Western Works for release on their own Doublevision label. Most Cabs fans will highlight Menace and Electro-Motive as some of their best work from the period, the A-side (here in three mixes over two twelves) follows much the same vein as the Covenant singles. A1  (Shakedown) The Whole Thing B1  Menace B2  Electro-Motive C1  (Shakedown) The Whole Thing (Version) D1  (Shakedown) The Whole Thing (Dub)

Stephen Mallinder - Temperature Drop [FE 12 UK 1981 24-Bit FLAC] I can't help but notice that US label, Ice Machine Records, has reissued the Pow-Wow album by Cabaret Voltaire bassist Stephen Mallinder. I resisted the urge to splurge on the baby blue expanded double vinyl edition purely because I am becoming quite wary of current day vinyl remasters and until I hear good reports on the pressing quality, I stay clear of it. In the meantime, here is the original 1981 Fetish Records pressing of the accompanying single Temperature Drop as it was supposed to sound. A1 Temperature Drop B1 Cool Down

Cabaret Voltaire - Johnny Yesno (The Original Soundtrack From The Motion Picture) [DVR 1 UK 1983 24-Bit FLAC] Here is my rip of the original UK pressing on Doublevision of Cabaret Voltaire's soundtrack to the Peter Care short arthouse movie, Johnny Yesno. Recorded by the original three-man line-up at Western Works during 1981, this album stands out for the main piece, Taxi Music (in two versions) which is genuine classic Cabaret Voltaire, everything else remains incidental music for the movie. A few years back, Mute Records issued a redux version on compact disc which was greatly expanded with remixes and other works alongside a DVD of the original film and other shorts. Here is how is first sounded from near mint vinyl. A1 Taxi Music A2 Hallucination Sequence A3 D.T.'s A4 Cold Turkey B1 The Quarry (In The Wilderness) B2 Title Sequence B3 Taxi Music Dub