Alphabet Soup II (R)

Hello, Alphabet Soup II has reached R (after skipping Q..who needs more Queens). Seventies brought us plenty of R but i went here for Lou Reed and Berlin , rather shunned at the time coming on the back of the commercial success of Transformer, when Reed really went walking on the wildside with the sometimes vicious actors in his tragic rock opera, it took time for recognition to come for this album.....Ride had a good thing going almost right from their start, and possibly thats why they fell apart just 7 years later when they came up against the first real headwind. Going Blank Again stems from their heydey (92)....Rammstein didnt bother about language , something they could do as the basis their German lyrics are so strong that even not understanding them connected..i suppose because im fluent in German...i really think Rammsteins lyrics are way out there (poetic even) compared to other Metal bands singing in english...So here we have Mutter after the wild success of Sehnsucht that had them touring and playing their first two albums..it was understandble that those songstructures were engrained and shine thru on Mother, innovation came with higher productionvalues some strings and even better lyrics there's a more room for contemplation aswell..and thus a liittle more livingroom friendly...

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Lou Reed - Berlin ( 73 ^ 99mb)

Berlin is a 1973 album by Lou Reed, his third solo album and the follow-up to the widely accessible and upbeat glam rock classic Transformer. In 2003, the album was ranked number 344 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, despite being labelled The Most Depressing Album of All Time by some. The album is a tragic rock opera about a doomed couple that addresses themes of drug use and depression. Upon its release, the response of fans and critics was not positive as many were expecting another upbeat glam outing. Despite lukewarm reviews the album reached #7 in the UK album chart (Reed's best achievement there). Poor sales in the US (#98) and harsh criticism made Reed abandon the album and in subsequent years he rarely played any 'Berlin' material in his live shows. Over time many have come to consider 'Berlin' to be among Lou Reed's best studio albums as a solo artist.

Musically, Berlin differs greatly from the bulk of Reed's work, due to the use of heavy orchestral arrangements, horns, and top session musicians (including Jack Bruce, Steve Winwood, Aynsley Dunbar, and Tony Levin). Instrumentally, Reed himself only contributes acoustic guitar. As with Reed's previous two studio albums, Berlin re-drafts several songs that had been written and recorded previously. The title track first appeared on Reed's solo debut album, only here it is lyrically simplified, the key changed, and re-arranged for piano. "Oh, Jim" makes use of the Velvet Underground outtake, "Oh, Gin". "Caroline Says (II)" is a rewrite of "Stephanie Says" from VU. The Velvets had also recorded a rather sedate demo of "Sad Song", which had much milder lyrics in its original form. "Men of Good Fortune" had also been played by the Velvets as early as 1966; an archival CD featuring live performances of the band playing at Andy Warhol's Factory provides the evidence of the song's age.

Reed and Ezrin planned a stage adaptation of the album upon its initial release but shelved the plans due to mixed reviews and poor sales. In 2007 Reed fulfilled his original hopes by touring the album with a 30 piece band and 12 choristers.Director Julian Schnabel filmed the concert and released in 2008 as "Lou Reed's Berlin", which opened to strong reviews.The album was digitally re-mastered and re-released on compact disc to commemorate the event. PS, excellent, extensive write up on Lou Reed @ Wiki.



01 - Berlin (3:25)
02 - Lady Day (3:39)
03 - Men Of Good Fortune (4:37)
04 - Caroline Says I (3:57)
05 - How Do You Think It Feels (3:43)
06 - Oh Jim (5:12)
07 - Caroline Says II (4:12)
08 - The Kids (7:51)
09 - The Bed (5:51)
10 - Sad Song (6:59)

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Ride - Going Blank Again (92 ^ 99mb)

Mark Gardener and Andy Bell had been to Cheney School in Oxford, appearing in the school's musical theatre productions, and in October 1988, they moved to Banbury to do Foundation Studies in Art and Design. There they met Colbert. Queralt, who also went to Cheney School. The band called itself 'Ride' after a piece of graphic design Gardener produced for a typography workshop. In February 1989, 'Ride' were asked to stand in at Oxford Poly that brought them to the attention of Alan McGee. After supporting The Soup Dragons in 1989, McGee from Creation Records signed a record deal with them.

Ride released three EPs between January and September 1990, entitled Ride, Play and Fall, each with distinctive artwork on the covers. The Fall EP was incorporated into the CD version of their debut, Nowhere, released in October 1990. The album was hailed as a critical success and the media dubbed Ride "The brightest hope" for 1991. Many fans regard this as their favourite album, with songs like "Vapour Trail", and "Dreams Burn Down" becoming shoegazing classics. Ride made their first international tour to Japan, Australia and France later on in 1991.

March 1992 saw the band release Going Blank Again. Opening with the anthemic 8 minute 17 second single "Leave Them All Behind", the album showcased the band's creative work and skill in working with the Wall of Sound style that typifies shoegazing bands. To some extent, the album represented the apogee of shoegazing proper, as opposed to the oft-cited Loveless by My Bloody Valentine. The twin rhythm guitars of Bell and Gardener, both distorted, both using Wah-wah pedals and both feeding back on each other was the highlight of the album's critical and chart success. Other tracks on the album showcased the band's innovative blend of melody and discord, not to mention one or two borrowed riffs.

Ride were able to see out 1993 riding on the success (critically, if not commercially) of Going Blank Again and a third LP was keenly anticipated. However, despite having a solid fanbase and some mainstream success, the lack of a breakthrough contributed to inner tension, especially between Gardener and Bell. Their third LP, Carnival of Light, was released in 1994, after shoegazing had given way to Britpop among mainstream listeners. Carnival of Light sales were sluggish and the shift in musical tastes devastated much of their original audience.

1995 saw the dissolution of the band while recording Tarantula. It appears that the band split due to creative and personal tensions between Gardener and Bell. Both had led the band away from their Shoegazing roots to become more contemporary, hoping to change their style with the times. By the time Tarantula appeared, the band was beginning to self destruct. Against all common sense from the record company, the album was released and remained on sale for one week before being withdrawn.



01 - Leave Them All Behind (8:17)
02 - Twisterella (3:42)
03 - Not Fazed (4:20)
04 - Chrome Waves (3:54)
05 - Mouse Trap (5:16)
06 - Time Of Her Time (3:16)
07 - Cool Your Boots (6:02)
08 - Making Judy Smile (2:37)
09 - Time Machine (5:52)
10 - OX4 (7:06)

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Rammstein - Mutter (01 ^ 99mb)

In 1993 by six East German ex-factory workers, Christoph "Doom" Schneider, "Doktor" Christian "Flake" Lorenz, Till Lindemann, Oliver Riedel, Richard Kruspe Bernstein and Paul Landers formed Rammstein. They took their name from the site of a US airbase where tragedy struck when three planes crashed during an aerial display, resulting in 70 fatalities and 350 seriously injured.. Four albums on, by 2005 they are the most successful German-language band (albeit their lyrics are not exclusively in German), famed for their theatrical /pyrotechnics stage shows. Their fan base extends way beyond any industrial metal hardcore. Wordplay is a fundamental component of Rammstein's lyrics, in many instances, the lyrics are phrased such that they can be interpreted in several ways, add to that the poetic qualities of singer /lyricist Till Lindemann who in November 2002 published the "Messer (knife)" a 54 poems book. All those female fans sure picked up on that part of Rammsteins dance - metal as they like to describe themselves. Rammstein could well be seen as the greatest rock act on the planet, considering the way they manage to go cross cultures from latin -america to asia, from USA to Russia and the palet of Europe, they cross gender and generations, almost unbelievable for a band that released their first album a decade ago.. and singing in german.



01 - Mein Herz Brennt (My heart burns)(4:39)
02 - Links 2 3 4 (Left 2 3 4)(3:36)
03 - Sonne (Sun) (4:32)
04 - Ich Will ( I Want)(3:37)
05 - Feuer Frei ! (Fire at will !) (3:11)
06 - Mutter ( Mother)(4:32)
07 - Spieluhr (Music-box)(4:46)
08 - Zwitter (Hermaphrodite) (4:17)
09 - Rein Raus ((In out) 3:10)
10 - Adios (3:49)
11 - Nebel (Fog) (4:54)

***** ***** ***** ***** *****
All downloads are in * ogg-7 (224k) or ^ ogg-9(320k), artwork is included , if in need get the nifty ogg encoder/decoder here !