THE SOUNDTRACK TO THE REVOLUTION
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Dubliftment (Universal Egg) 2004
The minute you see Universal egg on the back, you just know it is going to be special, the minute you bung it in the machine, you prove it is. This is rootical dub straight outta sound system land. Bass lines that test ya woofers, twiddly bits that twiddle ya earlobes, echoes that can bounce around an aircraft hanger and a nice little brass section to give it an organic edge. As their reputation grows and their love spreads, Mark Iration, Madu, Boney, Vitamin 'M', Stevie Splitz and Wayne McArthur join in the vibrating for this progressive album, lovingly crafted in the “all-new-Vibronics-Vibrations studio, a humble but vibrant base, equipped with an array of the latest computer hardware and vintage dub effects alike”.
MASHED (EMI) 2007
This is apparently the first ‘legal’ mash up album, following EMI throwing their weight behind the project and persuading the artists to give clearance for the project. Apparently David Bowie was very supportive, Mark having remixed stuff for him before. Iggy pop also supplied masters to enable a ‘cleaner’ mix.
As a result we have things like Iggy Pop’s ‘Passeneger’ with Peggy Lee singing ‘Fever’ over the top and Jim Morrison singing ‘Riders on the Storm’ over the top of Blondie’s ‘Rapture’. It is all very clever stuff and on the less familiar tracks they blend so well you cannot tell it is a ‘cut and shut’. When the mixes feature some of our favourites, like the Iggy/Peggy thing, it is wicked; I am sure some of these tracks will get played over and over for years to come here at Iguana HQ. However, there is an awful lot of disco stuff on there, mixing two tracks that we did not like in the first place; these are impressive for their execution, but once the admiration wears off it is unlikely we will be pulling them out to play to the grand kids (now there’s a frightening thought) to show them what we were playing back in 07. A lot of the stuff on here is disposable, but perhaps that is what pop is supposed to be; for the time being it is bringing a smile to the iguana tribe and some of the stuff on there will be keeping us smiling throughout the summer and beyond.
Cant be arsed to pay for the album? Fear not, plenty of MPFREEs on his website.
Demo 2007
We aint sat down and listened to any blues rock for a long time, but this 5 track demo has got us reminiscing about Sunday nights in the Newbridge Memo and dusting off those old Ten Years After CDs. Hendrix’s ‘Red House’ and 'Fire', Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Oh Well’ and Keef’s ‘Happy’ get the snake hips treatment, plus one original track‘Loan Shark’ which fits in so smoothly you cannot see the join. Clearly they have been influenced by the likes of Zeppelin and Cream and the spirit of Rory Gallagher shines through, but hey, if you are gonna be influenced by someone, be influenced by the best! Most importantly they are able to recreate that vibe with class, we assume they have been plying their trade for many years before forming this outfit in 2005, cos the musicianship cannot be faulted. Or maybe they are new to this and they did a deal with the devil down at the old crossroads in Carmarthen! They are far more than just a covers band though, the original tracks stand up well against the old masters and they have stamped their own personality on the whole package. Hopelessly stuck in the past, but so is the Mini Cooper and that is as cool now as it ever was! Another reason to drive west beyond the end of the M4.
