Reviews by Saturn Loft

One of the more oddball Beatles albums, and therefore a personal favorite. Features such songs as the majestic "Strawberry Fields Forever", the effervescent "All You Need is Love", and the downright bizarro "I Am the Walrus"
Good stuff.
P.S. Writing reviews for Beatles albums seems a bit pointless. I mean, who doesn't like The Beatles? Who actually bucked the trend, and sits obstinately in a musical closet somewhere, declaiming their hatred for all things Paul, John, Ringo, and George?

Like a lot of people who bought this collection, I picked it up because it had songs used in the film Harold and Maude. (Love that movie!)
Anyway, these songs are pleasant, uncomplicated, and for the the most part very positive.
P. S: Since this album was released in 1984, there's an interesting note in the insert from Cat Stevens, now Yusuf Islam, explaining how he quit the music business and became a Muslim. Just in case anyone out there is still wondering what happened to him.

You can almost always count on Anonymous 4 to crank out exceptionally good albums of early music, but this one of special interest because it contains songs dealing with the end times-- the end times circa 1000 AD, that is. It's also a good album to play when someone you know is nattering on about 2012. People have it fairly easy these days, especially compared to the plagues and pervasive filth of Medieval Europe. Jury's still out on whether the music's better though.

This is the debut album of a very unique band, and it finds them still in the process of finding their signature sound. There’s a dash of goth here, and a heavy amount of post-punk sensibility.. (Think Joy Division, early Cure, Siouxsie & The Banshees and so on.)
Compared to the lush majesty of their later albums, Garlands is like an icy dip in a glacial lake. Stark, eerie, with Liz Fraser’s voice lilting over an unadorned and fairly crunchy soundscape. Standout tracks include “Blind Dumb Deaf”, “Grail Overfloweth”, and “But I’m Not”.

Pictures at an Exhibition is fairly excellent, especially the portion representing the witch Baba's Yaga's house on chicken legs. I can really see that thing tromping through the Russian forest!
However, Night on Bald Mountain is what sells it for me. This music will make anything nefarious, even the act of brewing your morning coffee. This is stuff for malicious and supernatural doings in the dead of night. In fact, this is the soundtrack for the night the Clown God of insanity paid a visit to Madame Fognozzle's Home for Wayward Orphans. And yes, I cackle when I hear it. Who doesn't?

Sometimes the only antidote to a hard day at work are the addictive ditties of a blind and dentally-challenged Cajun man from the early part of the century. I love Blind Uncle Gaspard!
This album has some rare truly rare specimens of vintage American folk, and although the sound quality is a bit rough, it’s definitely worth a listen.

Early jazz doesn't get much more frenetic than this. It's irrepressible and addictive; at the least you may find yourself tapping your feet, at the most you may need someone to hold you down.. Also, if the song "Who'sit" isn't the most perfect song for a zombie apocalypse ever devised, I'll eat my hat. Gotta have that slide whistle!

Superb album presents a wide selection of medieval and renaissance tunes played with consummate skill.. notably the harp of Elena Polanska and the recorder work of Steve Rosenberg. It's hard to find purely instrumental music of this type that doesn't sound somewhat wooden, but this album reproduces the wonderful vibrancy of the period. Well worth hunting down!

This is early music performed by some major talent, The Hilliard Ensemble, but there have been some liberties taken, most notably the addition of Jan Garbarek's saxophone. For the most part, this odd combination works, lending atmospheric and meditative touches to the structured vocal chants. At some points, though, the saxophone becomes an over-powering presence, just on the cusp of being intrusive or slightly irritating. It's an acquired taste, but a nearly perfect soundtrack for wandering the cobblestone lanes of old medieval towns or watching rain fall outside the window of a warm coffeehouse. Verdict: A solid album, but could have used more balanced sound adjustment between the sax and the voices.

First off, I have to say this album has one of the least appealing covers I've ever seen. (For god's sake, have a sandwich!) However, don't let that put you off from checking it out, because there's some great stuff on here.
The brain behind the Durutti Column is one Vini Reilly, an adroit guitarist and composer who's been influential to musical artists like Morrissey and Brian Eno, and helped pave the path for scores of dream pop bands. He's an introverted fellow and not big on self-promotion, but definitely an authentically talented artist.
Highlights: "Sketch for Winter", a dreamy, melancholy instrumental track and "Otis", a bluesy song that conjures scenes of trains and wistful departures.