The Wire's 100 Records That Set The World On Fire [When No One Was Listening] (1998)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_kVSsv_muU

^ Last Exit got pretty metal too sometimes

Bailey's Ballads was the way in for me. Probably picked up on it from here actually. I recall Marcello being a fan. Some really beautiful, delicate playing, shards of melody or jazzy chords which are then reconfigured in all kinds of way. He "deconstructs" them, but not in some kind of juvenile noise chaos manner. Not that there's anything wrong with juvenile noise chaos.
The Ruins stuff is kinda cool, but maybe their progginess reins him in a bit.
Last Exit is cool, but for me the best thing Laswell did with Sharrock is Ask The Ages. Definitely a jazz album, with the interaction between Sharrock and his incredible band (featuring Elvin Jones and Pharoah Sanders) being at the heart of it. Then Laswell gets Sharrock to overdub one or two extra guitar parts, so you've got an interesting tension between live, semi-improvised playing and studio trickery. But that's by the by, the main thing is the music, which is gorgeous. Many Mansions has one of the greatest guitar riffs of all time, and Elvin Jones slays on that track.

Have you got the Jazz Satellite comps Kevin Martin put together? You should be able to dl them. Loads of electronic or studio-fucked jazz stuff on here, from classic 70s stuff to industrial skronk. It avoids fusion by and large - even the tracks by Mahavishnu et al are more abstract and electronic. I found those a great way in to a lot of kick ass high-energy jazz influenced music.

Jazz Satellites is awesome. I didn't realize there was more than one volume though?

Oh I see it was never released.

http://kozmigroov.blogspot.com/2008/08/jazz-satellites-ii-original-version.html

Beat me to it!

And a good blog on the first vol:

http://surrealdocuments.blogspot.co.uk/2007/12/various-artists-jazz-satellites-vol-1.html

Larry Young's Laurence of Newark, as posted above, is indeed the bomb, but there's also the album he did with Love Cry Want which is completely, gloriously nuts. Features one Nicholas on "Prototype Guitar Synthesizer, Ring Modulator, Wind, Rain, Thunder, Lightning, Water, High-Tension Wires, and Wailing Dervish". The synth guitar sounds insane.
Got a ltd reissue a year or so back. More here: http://prognotfrog.blogspot.co.uk/2007/07/love-cry-want-love-cry-wantusa1972psych.html

I'm going to have to dedicate some time to pursuing and listening to music recommendations from this thread, thanks. I've got K-Mart's Macro Dub comps but not these.

cosign on Lawrence of Newark, which is genuinely slept. That Monoton album is also really cool. Have never quite been able to get into World of Echo, sadly.

er, slept *on*

While listening to the Camaron/Paco record the other day I was thinking again about owning every record. This is my favourite list of records.

IIRC the 4 Hero, Jeff Mills, and Oval albums were treated as seminal records in their genres even back in 1998, so I'm not sure why they're on the list... Unless The Wire seriously expected "Atlantis" and "94 Diskont" to become popular outside electronic music audiences, which would be a bit silly.

― Tuomas, Friday, 8 June 2012 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

They should *expect* it to be come known outside their milieu. About having aspirations beyond the music being confined to a room of genre enthusiasts. This is why its such a good list, and any thread on this would bring a variety of people with different erm, core listenings.

On another note I don't think I like Bailey's Ballads that much, or that the acclaim for them was a bit weird -- almost as if what he was doing was not enough. A lot of 'hey he can play a tune', which he always could - there are little melodies on almost every record, only that they are an unstable element, like everything in most of his music.

The list needs a sequel.

I just want to say that from the records I've heard (67/100) this list is one of the best I've seen and it seriously needs a sequel.

lol at all the "On The Corner was a number one summertime jam"-ism on this thread. "Who doesn't know 30 Seconds Over Tokyo by obscure-assed college rock band Pere Ubu, that's what I wanna know!" Lord almighty.

that's kind of what i was meant when i said "lord, the days before the internet" . something something barriers to entry something something

Bill Dixon's Intents and Purposes is so insanely unlike anything his contemporaries were doing. Just came out on CD for the first time last year (after being out of print for 30+ years); can't recommend it highly enough.

xxp: Quite. But still, don't mock the advanced listening aesthete, they just have different erm, core listenings to you.

Wasn't mocking. I'm basic.

to follow up on an earlier strand of thought...

i was reading a memoir this afternoon in which the author walked into a restaurant where on the corner was playing. it's not a music-related book, but the guy's a music geek and gets excited when he sees that world come into connection with his own.

xp: Fair play. I own a fair few of these records but none of the jazz/improv ones. It's a foreign country to me.

Who is the memoir of?

the memoir is beaten, seared, and sauced: on becoming a chef at the culinary institute of america by jonathan dixon. turns out all the chefs at the cia are into jazz, hardcore punk, and the grateful dead -- they'd dig the wire list, i think.

I think Anthony Bourdain probably likes Alice In Chains though.

Thought it was very badly researched that the original article came with a photo of the wrong Bad Brains since the Hudson bros one lasted so long and the Cro-mags drummer one didn't.

But I remember reading that article quite a bit. Still got it somewhere.

Nice job on that Spotify playlist - they have a lot more of these than I would have expected. Remembering the days when one would be psyched to come across one of these rarities in a record store...

voted for anything but Charles Ives cos i'm an idiot

here's a little sampler i threw together (no sequencing, no re-tagging, just music for any order you like):

http://www.sendspace.com/file/bgizq2 (part 1)
http://www.sendspace.com/file/nietlx (part 2)

ps: oh god, the last exit stuff is SO GOOD.

i come back to this list every now and then when i thurst for something new to listen to but don't know where to turn. one of the greatest records this list turned me onto would be the iggy pop/james williamson record. what a gem.

p.s. thanks for all the samplers!

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wire%E2%80%99s_%E2%80%9E100_Records_That_Set_the_World_on_Fire_(While_No_One_Was_Listening)%E2%80%9C

I've been working my way through the albums I haven't listened to. Last few nights: The United States of America, Dr John (well tose two were listened to a couple of weeks ago as I was on a '68 theme), Modern Lovers, Bad Brains, Lee Perry, Skip Spence and Cluster ending up as the best one. I've no idea how I missed it!

The Resident's Satisfacton is really bad (the end of 60s write-up doesn't scan to me at all), as is Comus - that's the one album I bailed out on about 2 mins in.

LOL poor old Comus.

the residents made no good records, prove me wrong

Totally understandable how Comus could initially put someone off. Try The Herald though as it's as beautiful as some of the other stuff is grotesque.

Just looked and Comus are from Bromley! xp = cool will do

also blimey lol my write-up of "dancing in yr head" in that list (which i had totally forgotten i ever wrote)

The Residents made no bad records (till some time in the 80s), I think you mean.

Couldn't really see what was the fuss was about Comus. It might be strange thing to say for an Incredible String Band fan, but stuff that's routinely described as psychedelic or progrssive folk rarely impresses me.

i know what i mean

I think I got "Dancing.." on the strenght of your write-up mark :) although I was almost certainly into Ornette by the time I got my hands on that issue.

Before this idea of mine (thank the lockdown) I had almost all of the jazz/improv and some of the 'rock'. If we add in what I've listened to it then leaves me with about half of the list so I'll do updates as I listen in batches of 10. I assume youtube won't have about 10 of these so you will have one less update to put up with.

xp = see I love Incredible String Band! I was re-listening to "Hangman's..." and its so good. I am not sure what put me off Comus. I do work through an item at around midnight so maybe I should give them another go. Am generally enjoying everything -- although I don't need to hear Modern Lovers ever again.

Lee Perry is the one guy I really want to work through (and maybe a couple more Cluster albs)

Just checking which Cluster album, and that's the best of their 'weird' albums.

The Monoton record highly impressed me when I first heard it. Certainly prescient and clever. I think this was the first place I read about it.

need to dig out that cathy lane piece i rep for also

I started listening to Sowiesoso, really enjoying their more melodic strand anyway but I knew I would dig in a hole for myself that would last a couple of weeks (once you take in Harmonia, Eno, etc.) at least so I paused it for now xxp

handy spotify playlist

^^^unused JBR screenname

Lol @ only having to write a single paragraph for each album and still managing to spend a decent chunk of the 'Joey Beltam - Places' review talking about his facial bone structure, the picture on the cover, and the fact that the song titles aren't about drug deals.

Comus sound like the ISB on a bad meditation trip with Family's Roger Chapman having a nervous breakdown in the corner of the room. What's not to love?

I'd rather listen to ISB doing ISB on a bad mediatation trip and Roger Chapman having a nervous breakdown in Family.

Comus go in way harder than any ISB I've heard. They bang. Surprised at the lack of love here.

I mean I like ISB but Comus are basically the world's first doom-folk prog band, and as far as I know never converted to Sc13nt0l0gy either.

just dropping in to say "another huge Comus fan here"

ISB I can take or leave honestly, although I have the 1st 4 LPs

Comus isn’t really my thing but I recognize that they are fucking awesome.

I heard Comus years ago because Mikael Åkerfeldt from Opeth was promoting them constantly in interviews. They were OK for a folk thing.

I looked up the list (surprised nobody just straight-up posted it in the thread) and I own or have heard about a quarter of it. There are a few other things that intrigue me, but not that many; I'm never gonna go on some quest to Hear It All.

Bat Chain Puller was actually released on CD in 2012 - probably how it wound up on the list. It's long out of print, though, and not on streaming services or anything.

yeah, that CD is one of the most valuable CDs I own now, kind of a bummer

Yes hard to track down Lawrence Of Newark unless you want to pay through the nose. I have one track from it on a Wire compilation. Love, Devotion Surrender is good too.

>Ron Pate's Debonaires feat. Reverend Fred Lane - Raudeluna's Pataphysical Revue *

this did make it to CD! a lot weirder than the Shimmy Disc Fred Lane discs, in a way that sort of safely frames it as performance art but man when they break to that extended performance of Anne LeBaron's 'Concerto For Active Frogs' that really gets me pumping my fists in the air

Got a near mint copy of Lawrence of Newark for a tenner off Discogs last year

There’s a mint copy of it for $16.99/£12.90 on discogs now

wow, was thinking 10 years ago might be a bit less than when the Lawence of Newark cd came out. it's actually close to twice that, Castle put out a number of Perception label reissues in 2001.
Still would think thatmight be something people might want to keepo in print but maybe I'm confusing quality with what sells.

this did make it to CD! a lot weirder than the Shimmy Disc Fred Lane discs, in a way that sort of safely frames it as performance art but man when they break to that extended performance of Anne LeBaron's 'Concerto For Active Frogs' that really gets me pumping my fists in the air

― Milton Parker, Saturday, 15 August 2020 bookmarkflaglink

Ah I think I've heard the wrong record because I mistakenly heard one of the Fred Lane records: https://www.discogs.com/Fred-Lane-Ron-Pates-Debonairs-From-The-One-That-Cut-You/release/2937571

And not this: https://www.discogs.com/Ron-Pates-Debonairs-Raudelunas-Pataphysical-Revue/release/1357335

I will listen later.

Cabn you still play the Record without a Cover? I thought people were supposed to have been walking on them for the duration of an art exhibition.

YT has an excerpt. I assume is just crackly sounds. Might look at that one later as well.

i have a copy somewhere, relatively unwalked on

on YT all records are unwalked on.

(Bally Sagoo was a lot of fun though I think some of the groves are overcooked. Pearls Before Swine was really meh and the Cohen cover wasn't doing anything)

Dug out some old Bally Sagoo CDs in response to this thread: Wham Bam 2 is pretty good but I like Essential Ragga (which the one just before WB2) whole lot more.

Odd that that Public Enemy is on that list, it's hardly obscure and I think was the last time when PE were part of the Zeitgeist.

Odd that that Public Enemy is on that list, it's hardly obscure and I think was the last time when PE were part of the Zeitgeist.

― Boring, Maryland

public enemy were for a very, very long time the rap group White People championed to prove that they were Not Racist

i checked out some of the lesser acclaimed ones, records that the people writing the list probably didn't really listen to much but just wanted to champion to prove that their avant-gardism was not a culturally imperialist project. i enjoyed bally sagoo ok, don't knowk how it's dated but i'm sure there are worse records in the genre. if anybody ever talked at all about bally sagoo in the states i don't know who they are. i liked the chaba fadela too. the rai i know is mostly from, uh, i think a numero comp and the cheikha rimitti album which is really clearly and obviously an attempt to cross over to hipster western audiences but is also very fucking good

re: pearls before swine, balaclava never struck me much but i got a friend who's really into tom rapp. rapp was also big in the terrastock scene, bardo pond, and the free folk and all that, i get the sense that he's up there with the incredible string band in those circles

rapp could write some beautiful songs. "raindrops" is a great one. some of the stuff on "wizard of is" hits me pretty good too, but it's mostly rough and wild recordings - that's my scene. "love, you are not alone", you know, fucking amazing song.

I've subscribed to the wire for a long time and there has been a very visible changeover fro the old guard (yer Penmans, Reynoldses, Watsons with a focus on white 60s derived avant garde) to a less white and male stable of writers and focus of coverage. All to the good of course.