Opening songs - XTC, Locanda delle Fate, Kenso, Egg, Aphrodite's Child...

A message by Ottadamson:

Hello! Could you tell me please what are these songs (artist and song name) which are in the Medley series, File Factory upload section? All the songs are really really good and I would be very happy to know what songs these are :) I'm from Estonia and I love your blog! My e-mail is.... [xxxx], so maybe you could send me the names of these Medley songs :)

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Dear Ottadamson and all the other visitors who asked me for titles of the songs in the sequence: here you find all titles, authors and verious sources you need. Including Photos!  :-)

Happy listening  :-)))

The song named LDF is by "Locanda Delle Fate", an Italian band; the LP is named "Forse le lucciole non si amano più" (Polydor 1977). The track is the one opening the album, "A volte un istante di quiete". The band did a big promotional tour in Italy at the time, and from those tapes a posthumous LP wsas published, "Live" (Mellow, 1993), but the group disbanded in 1978. Many years later, in 1996 the band reformed and published a second LP, "Homo homini lupus" (BTF, 1999), very different from the marvellous first work. These are the only albums I have of them, I don't think they did a fourth record. If you search a bit around through the blogs, you're going to find some link for direct download without problems

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The song named "S" is from the band XTC, and it's titled "Somnambulist".  It saw the light at the time of the band's fourth LP, "Black Sea" (Virgin, 1980), but was not included on the album.  Strangely enough, because I find this piece unique and adorable, hypnotical and placidly erotic...
Below: the very first edition of the album Black Sea by XTC, where the album was wrapped by a light green paper outer bag. Same idea as it was by John Lennon's "Two virgins" (Apple 1968) and the "United States of America" (CBS, 1968). Inside this green bag there was the "normal" album, with cover and the original lyrics insert, and this remained the official edition for all the worldwide reprints.

Below: The "normal" cover version of the Black Sea album, with the lyric insert, as it was originally included and wrapped inside the green outer bag.  This cover picture is the one that we regularly know to this day, but actually the real cover should have been the one reproducing the green bag ;-)

Below: the EP "Generals and majors", where "Somnambulist" was first published, on side B.

I had to wait years before finding a better copy of Somnambulist: it finally was first released on LP on the double album "Waxworks / Beeswax", two separated single records where XTC reissued almost all those songs taken from EPs, Maxis and 45 singles, that for years were never issued on LP.  "Somnambulist" was present on the second LP, "Beeswax" (picure below).  It is also available today on the CD reissue of "Black Sea", as a bonus track.

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The song named "SD" belongs to a fabulous Japanese Neo-Prog band, Kenso. The title is "Sacred dream 1" and the album that you can see below is titled "III".  If you search a little bit around, this is an LP you can find on some other blog.

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The track "TCS" is by the band Egg, entitled "Germ patrol", it's the opening number from their third album "The civil surface" (Caroline, 1974).  The band was in regular activity in the years 1969 and 1970 with two studio albums, "Egg" and "The polite force", on Decca Nova and Deram. They disbanded and reformed for this one-off last studio album, but as far as I know they didn't tour.  However, I shall add that for those who love the band - and I'm one - that there exists a live recording of a concert, "Live in Colchester", of medium quality, the year is said to be 1972, although this leaves me a bit perplexed.  there is also a version of Germ Patrol included, very faithful to the official one published later, in 1974.  Probably I will soon upload this bootleg here.

Below: their first two studio LPs, very much recommended:

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The marvellous track named "AS" is by Aphrodite's Child, stays for "Aegian Sea", from the double album "666" (Vertigo, recorded in 1971 but released one year later after problems and controversies).  Back in 1975, the first time I heard the notes of the guitar solo of David Gilmour on "Shine on you cazy diamond part one", I jumped up and said: -  "But what the fk...!?!  this is the copy of Aegian Sea!!!"   -  I didn't change my mind to this day, I must frankly say.  All the music on this album was composed by Vangelis, but we own this wonderful solo to a Greek guitarist named Silver Koulouris.  He was supposed to be in the first line-up of the band sharing their first successes, but compelled to join the army, he couldn't be part of the picture.  All my most sincere compliments to him,

Above: a particular of the inner artwork of the "666" double album.

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Also recommended: "It's five o'clock" (Mercury, 1968)

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The track RD stays for "Rain dance", it's by Gryphon from their fourth album, named also "Rain Dance" (Transatlantic, 1975). Sadly, is the last album containing this bizarre and wondrous hybrid of folk and prog that characterized the middle-period of the band, two years before their conclusive album of betrayal, perfectly-for-the-occasion named "Treason" (Harvest, 1977)

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The track "TD" stays for Todd Rundgren's "Tiny Demons".

If you look for "Tiny demons", you must first look for the album "Healing" (Bearsville, 1981), a very good LP from the middle-period production of TR, at the time that he had long time given up making fabulous albums full of brilliant lunacy and pirotechnical pastiches (see especially "A wizard / A true star" and "Initiation", my two top favourite LPs of him, fling yourselves to GET them if you didn't yet!!), in favour of records made of ... songs.  Tiny demons was not included on the grooves of "Healing", but on a bonus free single contained inside the album, precisely the B-side of "Time heals".  I don't follow the market CD reissues, but I imagine that surely this song is available today on some "Healing" CD release.

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.... TO BE CONTINUED ....

The last - but not least - of the medley tracks belongs to an Italian composer, Ferruccio Busoni (1866- 1924).  As you may already know, Classical music is also a favourite of mine, anywayy I won't put myself to  write about Busoni's life and works, you can easily find anything you wanna know on some online Encyclopedia.  You can see above the LP I took the piano Sonata from, BUT please notice that what you hear on my medley is a complete reworked and refiltered version that I have done for myself, "for my pleasure" only ...  A purist might find this operation absolutlely disrespectful, incoherent and destructive, but me personally, I feel it's something extremely pleasing, cathartic and even erotic, to listen to all these harmonies that become sonor waves upon waves upon more and more waves... 

So that's why I named it FBP, stays for Ferruccio Busoni Pastiche ;-)

In case someone is interested, I will publish tis fabulous LP where so many extraordinary pieces for piano solo are recorded.  The pianist is Paul Jacobs, year 1979, Nonesuch Records.

BYBY for now  xxx

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