Friday, April 2, 2010

Vertical Slit - 1990 - Vertical Slit and Beyond (US)

Vertical Slit - 1990 - Vertical Slit and Beyond (US)
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As I understand it from those who know, this was the one CD to get from defiantly underground, Columbus OH-based first wave art/damage group VERTICAL SLIT, as it collected material from their 1977-78 debut records as well as from a wealth of cassette-only spewings. For those who followed the band closely, and there weren’t too many of ya, Vertical Slit & their now-deceased-by-his-own-hand leader Jim Shepard were way-outsiders revered for a sonically robust space rock that was full of cynicism and anger, and which also gained from a “submerged fidelity” aesthetic that rendered some aural puzzlement to their wailing keyboards & screaming guitars. Every time I tried to get into the band while they were around, I was stymied by actually listening to them. They stood for many things I enjoyed & continue to enjoy: conscious divorce from any ethos of the era (e.g. what the other kids are doing); reverence & obvious hardcore knowledge for their forebears (which I’ll call out as Can, Destroy All Monsters, Hawkwind, weird avant-geniuses like Kim Fowley, and a boatload of experimental music from the 20th century); and a wreck-the-speakers approach to making distorted, complex rock music. Things we all appreciate. But I always thought the end product was just “good enough” – good enough to intellectually appreciate from a distance, but never great enough to actually play repeatedly at home. 

“Vertical Slit….and Beyond” does little to challenge my initial take on ‘em, though it’s by no means a bad disc. There’s a lot of angry musical staredowns going on in each creepy 4- or 5-minute sonic mélange, which ingests some of the aforementioned influences and spit out a creative, well-differentiated artpunk that was about as basement as it gets. Shepard comes off as a pretty frustrated dude, but one who certainly knew his ass from his elbow & who probably had more ideas racing through his cranium than he did the native ability to lay them down successfully. Where Vertical Slit ended and Shepard’s other band V-3 began I cannot say; there are numbers on this one (the pissed-off revenge fantasy “Party/Cop/Judge” being one of them) that I remember from V-3 material I once owned. (V-3 are the 1990s recipient of the Hampton Grease Band award for the worst-selling and most unlikely major label record, which in both cases means it was pretty good – great in the Grease Band’s case). If I could pick out even one track as the number I’d throw on my “Modern ArtPunk Space Pirates, Volume 4” comp CD-R for you, I’d at least have a Vertical Slit ditty to hang my hat on. But alas, such a number does not exist. Again, on paper it’s a potent brew, but I’d be shirking my duty as a teller of truth if I gave the Slit any more than the meritocratic 3 stars they dutifully earned. Respectful disagreements or new ways of seeking sonic truth are heartily welcomed. 
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source Agony Shorthand blog (link)

Monday, March 29, 2010

Ideal - 1980 - Ideal LP (GER)

Ideal - 1980 - Ideal LP (GER)
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Ideal was one of the more successful German Neue Deutsche Welle music groups. It is best known for the songs "Blaue Augen" (Blue Eyes), "Berlin", and "Monotonie" (Monotony).

In early 1980, Annette Humpe, Ernst Ulrich Deuker, Frank Jürgen "Eff Jott" Krüger and Hans-Joachim "Hansi" Behrendt formed the band "Ideal".
Annette Humpe had played previously in the band Neonbabies alongside her sister Inga Humpe, before forming Ideal. Eff Jott Krüger previously played for the X-Pectors. In May 1980, Ideal released their first single on Eitel-Imperial—their own record label—entitled "Wir stehn auf Berlin" / "Männer gibt's wie Sand am Meer", which soon sold out.
The British rock band Barclay James Harvest—who were particularly successful in Germany—performed a free open air concert on August 30, 1980 in front of the Reichstag building. The 150,000 visitors also saw Ideal, as they were booked as an opening act; this was a large step toward mainstream popularity.
In November, Ideal released their a self-titled LP on the Innovative Communication label. The album reached number three on the German charts. Oddly enough for an LP, it was supposed to be played at 45 rpm, the speed intended for singles and which results in improved sound quality. This was not done with subsequent releases. This was followed by concerts in Switzerland and Austria. In August 1981, Ideal played in front of 22,000 fans at the Berliner Waldbühne. This was broadcasted nationwide by SFB as part of Rocknacht.
Following this, the band began recording a second album. Together with the help of producer Conny Plank, they produced "Der Ernst des Lebens", which was released in October 1981. At the same time, Ideal's debut album went gold, and marked the first time an album released on an independent record label went gold.
Ideal performed 27 sold-out concerts during their 1981/1982 tour through German-speaking countries. By their final concert on the tour, they had received another gold record, this time for "Der Ernst des Lebens."
In the fall of 1982, Ideal produced their third album, "Bi Nuu", under the direction of Micki Meuser. It entered the chart in December 1982, but only peaked at 20th place; these sales did not meet the expectations of the record label and a planned tour was cancelled.
On March 31, 1983, Ideal sent an announcement to the media via Telex: "The group Ideal is dissolving. From the beginning, Ideal was planned as a project, a corporation, which was intended to exist as long as the differences between the individual members made the work enjoyable and creative. Our music was always a result of the clashing of four different personalities, not of compromise, but of creating songs that all enjoyed. In three terrific years, we have gotten the best out of this constellation."
June 1985 saw the release of "Zugabe" (Encore), a live album of "remembrance, farewells, and gratitude for all the fans".
On April 26, 2007, Frank Jürgen Krüger died at 58 following a long fight with cancer.
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source Wikipedia (link)