... Magazine

... Magazine

Vive Le Rock pays tribute the late Killing Joke guitar great Kevin "Geordie" Walker – a most-fitting cover feature for magazine so strongly focus on punk (including post- and proto-punk) and new wave legends! Other items welcome look back at the legacy of Poly Strene and X-Ray Spex, UK Subs, The Damned, Madness, Amyl & The Sniffers, Iggy Pop, Death Cult, Rhoda Dakar, Jim Jones, Bad News, Millie Manders , Ferocious Dog and more – plus a month-by-month look back at Vive Le Rock's favorite albums of 2023. Magazine

A 40th anniversary look at The Cult, in all their many early formations too – along with other 80s-sensitive articles on Ruts DC, Pauline Murray, Stranglers, Crass Records, Motorhead, JJ Burnel, Madness, and some of the other sorts of artists who always make Vive Le Rock such a blast from the past – and a surprising reminder of who's still out there and working! Magazine

A classic shot of The Clash live in the Combat Rock era is on the cover – for a feature on that pivotal era for the band, in which they were breaking out bigger in some ways and in some regions (particularly in the US in the early days of omnipresent music videos on TV) and in other ways starting to signal the end of the band as we knew it! It's a great piece, and there are loads of other features, smaller items, news and reviews on bands both old and new in this issue –including The Godfathers, The Professionals, Ruts DC, New Model Army, Die Toten Hosen, Nine Below Zero, Random Hand and lots more. As usual, just flipping through the pages and seeing ads for all the gigs coming up around the UK is worth the price alone! Magazine

That's John Lydon in Tokyo circa 1983 on the cover – but the issue has a contemporary interview with the man himself, as well as a conversation with his previous PiL partner Jah Wobble! There's plenty more from that same scene too – Gang of Four at the start of a new tour, Alice Cooper still going strong, and more on Tom Robinson, The Sound, Siouxie, Love & Rockets, Fun Boy Three, Lene Lovich, and lots lots more! Magazine

A remix-heavy version of a record that may have the year 1993 permanently locked into its title – but a set that's got more than enough strength to survive strongly over the decades – the first great statement from Cali giants Souls Of Mischief, and a record that would set the tone for the Hiero Imperium scene for years to come! The set's filled with jazz inspired, headnodding boom bap production at its finest – topped with some of the finest ensemble rapping of the time, all at a level that breaks new lyrical boundaries! This set is a mix of instrumentals and 12" tracks – with titles that include "93 Til Infinity (12" remix)", "That's When Ya Lost (I ain't trippin rmx)", "Never No More (78 Seville mix)", "Good Feeling (12" version)", "Make Your Mind Up (rock on mix)", "Never No More (LP inst)", "That's When Ya Lost (LP inst)", and "93 Til Infinity (rmx inst)". LP, Vinyl record album

A totally cool collection of songs, sound effects, and vintage movie trailers – all pulled from the glory days of the American horror film! The package is a tribute to the old time monster shows that used to travel the theater circuit – a mix of horror movies and live action activity – revived by by the folks at Something Weird in live performances, a great counterpart to all the great films they've given us on DVD over the years! This set brings together the kind of deep knowledge that only fans of these lost b-movie gems could discover – a massive 32 track package that features the songs "The Morgus Creep" by The Daringers, "Cemetary Stomp" by The Essex, "Count Dracula" by The Rockin Continentals, "Haunted House" by Oscar & The Majestics, "The Giggler" by The Pot & The Wildcats, "The Guillotine" by The Executioners, "Transylvania" by The Mysterians, and "Night Beat" by The Night Beats – plus a huge host of film trailers, radio spots, and more! Also features a bonus DVD of the live Something Weird Spook Show. LP, Vinyl record album

John Lennon revisits the rock and roll canon after years of emotionally charged solo material – a move that was partially imposed by legal necessity, but got even more messed up from there – culminating a solid, set of pure Rock N Roll in '75! Includes sessions produced by Lennon in fall of '74, plus the 4 tracks that survived the '73 sessions with Spector. Includes "Be-Bop-A-Lula", "Stand By Me", "Rip It Up/Ready Teddy", "Ain't That A Shame", "Sweet Little Sixteen", "Slippin' And Slidin'", "Peggy Sue", "Bony Moronie", "Just Because" and more. LP, Vinyl record album

A beautifully done look at the music of Harvey Scales – a damn funky cat from the Milwaukee scene, finally getting his due! The package is overflowing with groovers – hard funky 45 cuts that Scales recorded for the Magic Touch label – mostly in the late 60s and start of the 70s – wrapped up here in a lavish booklet that's filled with well-researched notes, and vintage photos – a set that really sets a whole new standard for the Tuff City label! Scales' groove is one that we've always loved on 45 – a dancefloor-directed version of soul that falls somewhere in a space between Archie Bell & The Drells and Dyke & The Blazers – but with a heavier sound overall. Yet having all these cuts together in one place seems to give them even more intensity than before – a powerhouse package of 20 rare tracks that run the gamut from upbeat soul to heavy funk to a few early disco numbers as well. Titles include "Love-It is", "Broadway Freeze", "Get Down", "The Yolk", "The Funky Yolk", "Get Down 1970", "Funky Football", "Trying To Survive", "Bump Your Thang", "Groove On Sexy Lady", "Rock The World", "Welcome Home", "The Sound Of Soul", "Too Good To Be True", and "Love Is A Gas". Beautifully done package – with an almost Numero-like feel inside the booklet! CD

Chubb's 6th album, with production by KRS-One, Easy Mo Bee, and others. Songs include "Reputation" featuring KRS, "Beef" featuring PMD and Das EFX, "Games We Play", "I Will Survive", "East vs West", and "Clear The Decks". 13 tracks deep. LP, Vinyl record album

A harder-rocking sound from this second incarnation of Amon Duul – with titles that include "Pig Man", "Apocalyptic Bore", "Dr", "Ladies Mimikry", "Mozambique", "Fly United", and "A Morning Excuse". LP, Vinyl record album

Dutch revolutionaries The Ex at a high point of an incredible early run – rolling into the mid 80s with a fiery double album! By this point they had a strong blueprint for their sound and style – steady propulsive rhythms that roll to hypnotic effect, sing-speak vocals that work as well as poetic marching mantras as song lyrics, off kilter bits of instrumentation that fit in with noise jazz as much as post-punk rock – and they're right on cusp of a peak here. Includes "Jack Frost Is Innocent", "A Good Buy To You", "Boohoo", "Requiem For A Rip-Off", "Pleased To Meat You", A Plague To Survive", "Kidnap Connection", "Fire And Ice", "Food On 45", "Scrub That Scum", "The Rise Of The Dutch Republic", "Love You Till Eh", "Rabble With A Cause" and the title track. LP, Vinyl record album

Heady sounds from Bahrain – recorded in the early 80s by this ultra-cool group who would have been right at home in the European prog scene at the start of the decade before! Drums are heavy, guitar lines are great, and there's some especially cool moogy moments – including some solos that may well be the centerpiece of the album! There's a bit of vocals, but most of the record's got an instrumental appeal that's universal – and which has the same touches of exotic and funky bits that we love in Turkish rock of the early 70s – although maybe with slightly more proggy results overall. Titles include "Sailor On The Seas Of Fate", "Struggle To Survive", "Fantasy", "Embers Of A Flame", "Autumn", and "Paradox In A Major". Includes bonus insert with notes, too! LP, Vinyl record album

A private press relic from the Santa Cruz Mountains by Eddie Callahan – a really cool mix of soft rock melodies with soul searching lyricism and unpredictable instrumentation – one that's been heavily sought by collectors and is well worth it! There's a bit of post hippie spiritualism, but it a plainspoken, unpretentious way that's really endearing – and the music is totally creative. There's some laidback folk rock guitars and oddball bits of Moog, mellotron and stylistic detours abound. Cool stuff revived with reverence by Time-Lag Records! Includes "Paper Rain", "Dying To Sing", "Don't You Know (How I Feel?)", "Judge Me", "Where Will I Be Tomorrow?", "Just Across The Line", "Santa Cruz Mountains", "Shake Your Woogie" and "Flying". CD

Some of the most righteous recordings ever issued – a rich batch of soul, funk, rock, and spoken word tracks from the boldest era of African American empowerment! The set does a great job of mixing together classic cuts and overlooked nuggets – all of which bring forth the message of the times with energy that's far more direct, and far more powerful than some of the more easygoing songs of the Civil Rights era – a musical shift that follows the cultural one documented in the book of the same title! The collection and notes are done by Pat Thomas – who wrote the Listen Whitey book – and he's done a really amazing job of picking just the right selections, and finding a way to make them all resonate together beautifully – in ways that only increase the focus and strength of their message. Titles incude "Free Bobby Now" by The Lumpen, "I Ain't Black" by Kain, "Free Huey" by Stokely Carmichael, "Invitation To Black Power (parts 1 & 2)" by Sahid Quintet, "Woman Of The Ghetto (live)" by Marlena Shaw, "Who Will Survive America" by Amiri Baraka, "Winter In America (solo version)" by Gil Scott Heron, "I Hate The White Man" by Roy Harper, "Dem Niggers Ain't Playing" by The Watts Prophets, "Tim Leary" by Eldridge Cleaver, and "Angela" by John Lennon & Yoko Ono. CD