RH BAND 122701 (HP Cycle) lp 13.98
Latest missive from these mysterious dronesters. This being probably their most spare, minimal work to date. Shimmering tones and barely-there ambience. Think an even more STRIPPED DOWN Stars Of The Lid. It's that subtle and ethereal. Notes hover almost motionless like wisps of smoke frozen in midair. Super minimal, totally mesmerising, lowercase drone. You can almost feel the air suck out of your ears when the record stops. Totally obscure reference: Remember in the movie Phantasm, there was a gateway to another world, and the gateway was two vibrating metal posts (like a tuning fork) that disrupted the time space continuum creating a portal to that other world. This record kind of sounds like that gateway! Good stuff.

RH BAND First Tone (Drunken Fish) cd 12.98
The second full album of improvised dronology very similar to AMM or the more acoustic oriented Zoviet France played with circuits, wires, analogue feedback, things bowed, 'McNaughton' (what/whoever that is...), delay units, smoke, and 'that fucking flute'.

RHAPSODY Power Of The Dragonflame (LMP) cd 14.98
Either you've been eagerly awaiting this new full-length album from Italy's best, most baroque, bombastic symphonic metal band since their last release (the "Rain Of A Thousand Flames" ep), or you could care less. Double bass drums, crazy keyboards and guitar, it's absurdly operatic metal to the max, from the Carmina Burana inspired opening to the epic, 19 minute closer "Gargoyles, Angels of Darkness". And it's a concept album, part IV (the final chapter ) of Rhapsody's "Algalord Chronicles", which you can read about in the thick, full color booklet -- there's even a map of the band's Middle Earth-like fantasy world.
They call what they do "Hollywood Metal" but that refers to a Hollywood that only makes blockbuster fantasy films about dragons and wizards...not surprisingly, Peter Jackson gets a mention in band leader Luca Turilli's thanks list!
If you want to take a chance on some ridiculous yet amazing metal, you could do no better than check this out!
RealAudio clip: "The March of the Swordmaster"
RealAudio clip: "When Demons Awake"
RealAudio clip: "Steelgods of the Last Apocalypse"

RHAPSODY Rain of a Thousand Flames (SPV) cd 14.98
These over-the-top, sword-swinging Italians return with not a new album but a 42-minute "ep" teaser for their upcoming 2002 full-length. As always, they've cranked out some utterly ridiculous yet wonderful symphonic fantasy metal. The thirteen minute track "Queen Of The Dark Horizons" pays tribute to their countrymen Goblin by quoting a part from Goblin's soundtrack to Dario Argento's Phenomena horror flick. Elsewhere, in the four-part, 22 minute epic "Rhymes of a Tragic Poem -- The Gothic Saga" Rhapsody employs an excerpt from a Dvorak symphony. But it's their own keyboard-laden, hyperspeed pomp prog metal stylings that make them the guilty pleasure they so surely are for several of us here at AQ. Rhapsody's obsession with Hollywood fantasy soundtracks pretty much defines the word "bombastic" in the realm of metal. Blind Guardian, Lost Horizon, Labyrinth, and others (all great) can try to compete, but nobody does it quite like Rhapsody.
While supplies last, we'll be stocking the digipack version of this disc, which folds out into a pop-up monster, and features a cd-rom video clip for the title track. The video is unbelievably cheesy, and we wouldn't have it any other way.
RealAudio clip: "The Poem's Evil Page"

RHAPSODY Symphony Of Enchanted Lands II (Magic Circle Music ) cd 16.98

RHAPSODY The Dark Secret (SPV) cd + dvd 15.98

RHAPSODY OF FIRE Triumph Or Agony (Magic Circle Music) cd 17.98

RHODE, LORENZ A Little Something (Exploited) 12" 12.98
We knew from the bastardized artwork on this 12" which uses Millie Jackson's classic Feeling Bitchy cover as its blueprint that there might be some super fun & funky sounds in these grooves and boy were we right! Lorenz Rhode comes from Dusseldorf, Germany and we get the feeling his home listening probably includes everything from Kraftwerk, Daft Punk, Go Plastic era Squarepusher, lots of late '70s/early '80s funk to all kinds of synth heavy space-funk odysseys. We're sure folks like Lazer Sword, Chromeo, Simian Mobile Disco and Dam-Funk will all be loving these sounds. We sure are. Don't ever think Germans don't know how to let loose and boogie cause here is some golden proof that they know how to make totally great and contagious party sounds.

RHODES, EMITT American Dream (Lilith) cd 21.00
Finally available on cd, Emitt Rhodes' first record after disbanding his '60s baroque-pop group The Merry-Go-Round. Since The Merry-Go Round only recorded one album, Rhodes was contractually obligated to give A&M another record, marking the beginning of a promising solo career plagued by similar obligations and label pressures. While Rhodes voice sounds very much like Paul McCartney, uncanny for a Californian, American Dream's pop-perfection arrangements actually read likes a lost Beatles record on most of the songs, that is if John Lennon decided to sit that one out. His use of session musicians on this record gives this a different feel from the sound he developed later for his absolutely amazing self-titled album on Dunhill a year later, where he built his own studio and recorded all the instruments himself. So American Dream sounds closer to a second Merry-Go-Round record than a proper debut solo record (In fact, the only other available release of American Dream is on a best of The Merry-Go Round compilation). But that shouldn't take away from the fact that this is a great record from an incredible talent who never really got his due. That's a shame because his early records are soooo good!! Much better than Paul McCartney's solo records we daresay. Seek them out!
MPEG Stream: "Pardon Me"
MPEG Stream: "The Man He Was"

RHODES, EMITT Recordings (1969-1973) (A&M / Geffen ) 2cd 31.00
Finally, after a handful of shoddy reissues, bootleg compilations, and a never ending quest to track down every bit of recorded brilliance from this unsung pop genius, comes this amazing and comprehensive collection from the greatest pop singer song writer you've probably never heard of.
Some folks might be familiar with Rhodes from his time in psych pop combo The Merry-Go-Round, but it's on these 4 solo records, that Rhodes truly blossomed into something of a pop music marvel, playing almost all of the instruments himself, drums, bass, piano, guitar, writing, recording, singing, and creating some of the most timeless pop music you'll ever hear. Often called 'the one man Beatles' (in fact there's a new documentary about Rhodes with that title) due in no small part to his voice, a dead ringer for Paul McCartney's, as well as his songwriting, which definitely owes much to the Beatles and the Wings (McCartney again obviously), in fact, sometimes it's incredible how much some of these songs sound like they could have been Wings tracks, but unlike the Wings' tendency toward bombast and overkill, these songs remain sublime and simply brilliant. Besides the McCartney comparisons, there's also the Kinks, the Bee Gees, among others, you might have even heard Rhodes on the soundtrack to The Royal Tenenbaums, and he did have some moderate success, with at least one album and one single charting, but for the most part hovered just below the radar, which is criminal once you hear these songs, 4 albums, every song a practically perfect pop gem, from brooding heartfelt ballads, lush soaring chamber pop, to jangly power pop, his vocals gorgeous, the harmonies angelic, the arrangements incredible.
All four records are fantastic, but his self titled debut, from 1970, ranks up there as one of THEE absolute greatest pop records of all time. Every song could have been a hit, just listen to the sound samples below, the first 5 tracks from that record, impossibly catchy, and dreamy, and lush and so goddamn good. Especially "Long Time No See", with it's strangely morose minor key main melody, fuzzed out psych guitar, strange mix, and super dynamic arrangement, really dark, but still so catchy. As for modern musicians who owe a debt to Rhodes, we'd wager Elliott Smith was a huge fan, and if he wasn't he sure would have been, and Ted Leo is another, mostly the voices, and the knack for crafting hooks.
And while most singer songwriter music from the 70's sounds dated, ALL of these tracks sound as fresh and exciting as ever. If you've never heard Rhodes, you're in for a treat, this collection is one of those rare records, that had practically everybody here in a tizzy, and thus gets played nonstop.
Total pop perfection. Absolutely recommended and totally essential.
MPEG Stream: "Long Time No See"
MPEG Stream: "With My Face On The Floor"
MPEG Stream: "Somebody Made For Me"
MPEG Stream: "She's Such A Beauty"
MPEG Stream: "Lullabye"

RHOMBUS, THE Margins (self-released) cd 9.98
On his second release, Bay Area artist The Rhombus (aka Cody Hennesy) offers utterly soothing, warm, down to earth folk pop. The softest spoken acoustic guitars and male vocals are joined by some equally mellow shufflin' electronic textural and rhythmic elements. Everything is ultra hazy and blissed out. For fans of Arab Strap, Badly Drawn Boy, Casiotone For The Painfully Alone and The Delgados seeking something a little lighter and more playful. Really really comfy good!
MPEG Stream: "Target"
MPEG Stream: "Rice"

RHUITH Voormithadreth (Gate Of Ganzir) cd-r 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We first heard about Italian one man outsider black metal band Rhuith, via the Hammer Smashed Jazz blog, one of our favorites, a blog that doesn't offer bands' music for free, instead highlighting cool releases and directing folks to places where they can buy em. So this band Rhuith, were apparently a killer weirdo black metal band from Italy, who besides crafting grim twisted outsider buzz, also has a serious obsession with dark pop and classic eighties music, which most definitely found its way into the band's sound, but also meant that he would often cover music from that era, as well as offering up blackened versions of distinctly non-metal tracks, Depeche Mode, Portishead, Placebo etc. Our kind of band for sure!
So we finally got in touch, and small world, ends up, Rhuith is a long time aQuarius mailorder customer. Which sort of makes sense, considering his twisted take on black metal and the fantastically unlikely hybrid that is Rhuith. So we managed to get a whole bunch of his most recent release, Voormithadreth, a four song demo, LIMITED TO 66 COPIES! Which just so happens to include two bonus tracks from another out of print releases, one of which is his Portishead cover, which is worth the price of admission alone.
SO what does Rhuith sound like? Imagine a super lo-fi take on classic black metal, the riffing frenzied and buzzy, the drums way down in the mix, pounding away, but the vocals, holy shit, so over the top and out there, slipping from long slow reverbed mooooooans, to effects drenched shrieks so loud they blow out the whole song. Another track sounds all swampy and garage-y, midtempo and groovy, the vocals even more freaked out, with some strange dubbed out effects, so it almost sounds a bit like a black metal Butthole Surfers. The 48 second long "The Owls" is a furious bit of primitive blast and buzz that leads into the loping Burzumic dirge that is "The Son, The Lion And The Phoenix", a keyboard flecked bit of creepy black doom, with more crooned vocals, and a second half that's all warped and twisted guitars, and swirling distorted effects, weirdly pretty.
Two bonus tracks, the first a gorgeously poppy bit of blackened jangle, a killer main guitar part that sounds straight out of the Breakfast Club soundtrack, but super distorted, the sound crumbly and raw, the vocals a hissy demonic shriek, a killer combo of harshness and pure eighties pop, peppered with some super creepy minimal breakdowns, all spoken word and low slung drones. And then the Portishead cover, an amazing version of "Over", no drums, just super blown out downtuned guitars, playing that main riff over and over, the vocals deep and emotional and dramatic, this could easily be a Rhuith original, and dare we say it adds a whole new vibe to the original, and the more we listen to this, the more we just might like the Rhuith version better. Dark, and haunting, and hypnotic, just today, we've probably listened to that one track 10 times. Can't wait to hear what he decides to cover next. But it's not just the covers that make Rhuith so special, he has definitely cultivated a unique sound, one that touches on lots of stuff we dig, but twists it all up into something new and bizarre and bad ass. It's rare to be digging a record so much, that you find yourself ALREADY looking forward to the next one, but that's exactly how we're feeling with Voormithadreth!
Packaged in a dvd case, with a black and white cover, and inside a xeroxed insert, both the cover and the disc itself hand numbered.
MPEG Stream: "Sadoqua"
MPEG Stream: "Over (Portishead Cover)"
MPEG Stream: "The Son, The Lion And The Phoenix"

RHUITH + ROTORVATOR February (Dokuro) cassette 11.98
It's been a while since we've heard from Italian one man black metal band Rhuith, who had a penchant for strange covers, including Depeche Mode, Placebo and Portishead. On this brand new tape, he teams up with fellow Italian noisemaker Rotorvator, for a truly twisted and brilliantly tweaked chunk of abstract industrial pop flecked blackness. The opening track sets the stage, with its simple motorik drumming, swirling shimmery atmospheres, bizarre howled vocalizations, and blasts of blown out industrial crunch, which eventually leads into the second track, a much more metal proposition, but still weirdly industrial and also seriously twisted, the guitars murky and buzzy, the drums mechanical and super distorted, the vocals a buried in the mix monstrous growl, the whole thing laces with weird almost techno sounding synth stabs, the vocals getting more and more croaky, over the churning trancelike rhythm, the sound shifting from muted and muddy, to bright and brittle, everything hazy and washed out but still distorted and seriously heavy.
The rest of the record spirals into creepy depressive dirge, spidery minor key guitar melodies, hushed haunting falsetto vox, clomping percussive thumps, thick squalls of psychedelic blacknoise, an ultra distorted noise drenched blackened pound, infused with wild shrieks, detuned guitar crumble, and swirling buzz, which slips into a murky gurgly drone, before exploding again into some super distorted, raw and frantic black metal pound, the guitars in-the-red, the vocals super hot and WAY up in the mix, the drums a robotic programmed d-beat. Eventually the sound slips into something more spaced out and synthy, even a little new agey, the sounds panned hard careening from speaker to speaker, laced with stuttery chopped up rhythms, deep growled vox, chiming harmonics, streaks of effects and glitched out electronics, the tape speed constantly in flux, the distorted sounds growing more and more distorted, the bass woozy and pulsing, a sort of low slung new wave that quickly transforms into a hysterical noise metal plod, that pounds and pounds until the tape runs out.
So bizarre, and bafflingly brilliant, noisy and sort of poppy, rhythmic and atmospheric and just totally far out. But sadly CRAZY limited. We got about 10 copies, and will NOT be able to get any more. Comes in a cool black and white fold out poster sleeve.

RHYS, GRUFF Candylion (Team Love) cd 14.98
We know we're only a few months into 2007 but we're pretty sure that Candylion will be right there at the top of the list of our favorite pop records of the year! While we've always sort of liked Super Fury Animals, we have to say this solo outing by front man Gruff Rhys surpasses anything they've ever done! So totally catchy, quirky and impeccably crafted, Candylion is pretty much everything you could want in a pop record. It's so fitting that this record showed up right when Spring finally sprang on SF... this is the perfect soundtrack to carefree afternoons, balmy evenings, topdown freeway excursions as the wind blows in and the sun glows in the sky. Rhys demonstrates great taste and a pretty impressive knowledge of obscure psych rock/pop of the past, in creating his own timeless masterpiece. Whether singing in English or his native Welsh (as he does on a couple tracks), he's a master of vocal melodies and the perfect instrumental accompaniment. When you listen closely you realize there is so much going on from Gameboy beats to flute to pedal steel to stylophone, but like all great pop maestros Rhys knows so perfectly how to incorporate all those elements smoothly and subtly to create dense and dreamy near perfect pop. So totally recommended!
MPEG Stream: "The Court Of King Arthur"
MPEG Stream: "Cycle Of Violence"
MPEG Stream: "Gyrru Gyrru Gyrru"

RHYS, GRUFF Candylion (Team Love) 2lp 17.98
Now available on vinyl!!!
Here's what we had to say about the cd version:
We know we're only a few months into 2007 but we're pretty sure that Candylion will be right there at the top of the list of our favorite pop records of the year! While we've always sort of liked Super Fury Animals, we have to say this solo outing by front man Gruff Rhys surpasses anything they've ever done! So totally catchy, quirky and impeccably crafted, Candylion is pretty much everything you could want in a pop record. It's so fitting that this record showed up right when Spring finally sprang on SF... this is the perfect soundtrack to carefree afternoons, balmy evenings, topdown freeway excursions as the wind blows in and the sun glows in the sky. Rhys demonstrates great taste and a pretty impressive knowledge of obscure psych rock/pop of the past, in creating his own timeless masterpiece. Whether singing in English or his native Welsh (as he does on a couple tracks), he's a master of vocal melodies and the perfect instrumental accompaniment. When you listen closely you realize there is so much going on from Gameboy beats to flute to pedal steel to stylophone, but like all great pop maestros Rhys knows so perfectly how to incorporate all those elements smoothly and subtly to create dense and dreamy near perfect pop. So totally recommended!
MPEG Stream: "The Court Of King Arthur"
MPEG Stream: "Cycle Of Violence"
MPEG Stream: "Gyrru Gyrru Gyrru"

RHYTHM & SOUND s/t (Rhythm & Sound) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Mark Ernestus and Moritz von Oswald (aka Maurizio) are the shadowy figures whose anonymous productions through the Basic Channel, Chain Reaction, and Rhythm & Sound monikers / labels remain the foundation for German electronica as we know it. While the two have been quite wary of such statements about their own work, they have been known to offer highly articulate histories of the connections between Detroit's and Berlin's techno, as well as pronouncements of their fascination with Brooklyn dub producer Lloyd 'Bullwackie' Barnes. Clearly informed by techno's underlying futurism and dub's schizophonic techniques, the essential Basic Channel / Chain Reaction sound minimized techno and house to its most primitive geometric patterns, with virtually no melodies or hooks to top the infinitude of their rhythmic grooves. By reversing, filtering, and manipulating decay patterns from reverb units, Ernestus and von Oswald trigger tiny sonic events within the layers of their repetitive soundscapes which manifest themselves as seismic rumbles and thunderous cracklings.
As Basic Channel morphed into Chain Reaction, Ernestus and von Oswald began Rhythm & Sound to explore and exaggerate dub techniques within their techno constructions. There isn't much to the Rhythm & Sound approach, but that's the point, with an uncluttered yet seductive drum machine pulse, an incredibly deep bass line, and a metallic organ riff as the offbeat rhythm. But, the cavernous dub which softens all of the sounds into amorphous currents and dissolves time into a languid stupor is what makes Rhythm & Sound so effective.
RealAudio clip: "No Partial"
RealAudio clip: "Smile"
RealAudio clip: "Imprint"

RHYTHM & SOUND See Mi Yah (Burial Mix) cd 15.98
Hmmm, rhythm and sound. What else is there? What else do you need? Especially when the rhythm is a shuffling dubbed out reggae filtered through that Berlin minimal techno heroin-house aesthetic we love so much, and the sound is the gorgeous vocals of reggae vocalists like Sugar Minott, Paul St. Hilaire (aka Tikiman), Jah Cotton and others. Thus we have this latest outing from Rhythm & Sound, the German production team of Mark Ernestus and Moritz von Oswald. On their last record from a few years back, With The Artists, Ernestus and von Oswald teamed up with various reggae vocalists, and See Mi Yah is a bit of a continuation of that, a modern minimalist version of the 'one rhythm' album, where each vocalist takes a turn singing over the same rhythm. But unlike most one rhythm records, Ernestus and von Oswald arrange and mix the rhythm differently for each track, so See Mi Yah ends up sounding like one totally gorgeous, 46 minute long, druggy, drifty, shimmery, hypnotic slab of blissed out dub. Which it basically is. The See Mi Yah rhythm is a lush bit of heroin-reggae (think Chain Reaction heroin house meets the dubbiest of reggae) a drifting skeletal pulse above a murky and dense soundscape, shuffling and throbbing, slowly shifting and stretching farther and farther out. So completely mesmerizing. Vocalists include: Sugar Minott, Paul St. Hilaire, Freddy Mellow, Bobbo Shanti, Ras Donovan, Ras Perez, Koki, Walda Gabriel, Rod Of Iron, Jah Cotton and Willi Williams. So glad we finally were able to get this in, been waiting for it for a while due to lame distribution problems!
MPEG Stream: "See Mi Yah"
MPEG Stream: "Dem Never Know"
MPEG Stream: "Rise And Praise"

RHYTHM & SOUND See Mi Yah Remixes (Burial Mix) cd 15.98
All hail Rhythm & Sound, our favorite German produced, blissed out murky reggae dub outfit ever. Simple and spare, dreamy and laid waaaaay back. Every track a druggy, dark and hypnotic jam. This disc gives R&S's recent See Mi Yah album the remix treatment, and who are we to argue with more looped digital dubbed out bliss?
The tracks that work best for us, are the ones that are stripped even further down, stretched farther out, and taken as far out as possible. Worth it for the Vainqueur remix alone, a looped reggae groove transformed into a fuzzy slab of 'heroin house', like some Gas dubplate being pumped out of some Jamaican sound system. So good. The opener, remixed by the Basic Channel guys, is a killer as well. Still spare and spacious, but a little more propulsive and a bit more techno. The Villalobos remix is cool too, a weird stuttery jam, with chopped up horns, falsetto vocals and bad ass toasting. The rest of the disc follows the same sort of pattern, the stripped down originals given a slight rhythmic overhaul, but with a definite dancefloor bent. Lots of techno mixes and four on the floor beats, but it works, since the originals were so sparse already and just begging to be reworked and remixed.
MPEG Stream: "See Mi Version (Basic Reshape)"
MPEG Stream: "Let We Go (Villalobos Remix) w/ Ras Donovan and Ras Perez"
MPEG Stream: "Rise And Praise (Vainqueur Remix) w/ Koki"

RHYTHM & SOUND SMY Remix (Burial Mix) 12" 11.98

RHYTHM & SOUND The Versions (Asphodel) cd 13.98
We've been getting these Burial Mix 10" singles in here for some time now and probably the single most asked question regarding them has been "when the hell are they going to release these on CD?" Well, the time has come. Rhythm & Sound created a stripped down post-Detroit techno sound reminiscent of Chain Reaction and the Stefan Betke/Pole continuum of Euro-dub artists. Unlike others though, Rhythm & Sound took it one step further and acquired the talents of some excellent modern roots vocalists like Paul St. Hilaire (Tikiman), Cornel Campbell, Shalom, The Chosen Brothers, Love Joy, Jennifer Lara and Jah Batta. Asphodel has pragmatically chosen to release the singles as two separate discs, one of the A-sides including the vocals and one of the B-side dub remixes; cuz sometimes you feel like a nut, n' sometimes you don't.
MPEG Stream: "Queen Version"
MPEG Stream: "Troddin Version"

RHYTHM & SOUND The Versions (Basic Channel) lp 16.98
Now available on vinyl. We've been getting these Burial Mix 10" singles in here for some time now and probably the single most asked question regarding them has been "when the hell are they going to release these all together on one record?" Well, the time has come. Rhythm & Sound created a stripped down post-Detroit techno sound reminiscent of Chain Reaction and the Stefan Betke/Pole continuum of Euro-dub artists. Unlike others though, Rhythm & Sound took it one step further and acquired the talents of some excellent modern roots vocalists like Paul St. Hilaire (Tikiman), Cornel Campbell, Shalom, The Chosen Brothers, Love Joy, Jennifer Lara and Jah Batta. Asphodel has pragmatically chosen to release the singles as two separate discs, one of the A-sides including the vocals and one of the B-side dub remixes; cuz sometimes you feel like a nut, n' sometimes you don't.
MPEG Stream: "Queen Version"
MPEG Stream: "Troddin Version"

RHYTHM & SOUND W/ The Artists (Asphodel) cd 13.98
We've been getting these Burial Mix 10" singles in here for some time now and probably the single most asked question regarding them has been "when the hell are they going to release these on CD?" Well, the time has come. Rhythm & Sound created a stripped down post-Detroit techno sound reminiscent of Chain Reaction and the Stefan Betke/Pole continuum of Euro-dub artists. Unlike others though, Rhythm & Sound took it one step further and acquired the talents of some excellent modern roots vocalists like Paul St. Hilaire (Tikiman), Cornel Campbell, Shalom, The Chosen Brothers, Love Joy, Jennifer Lara and Jah Batta. Asphodel has pragmatically chosen to release the singles as two separate discs, one of the A-sides including the vocals and one of the B-side dub remixes; cuz sometimes you feel like a nut, n' sometimes you don't.
MPEG Stream: "King In My Empire"
MPEG Stream: "Jah Rule"

RHYTHM & SOUND W/ The Artists (Basic Channel) lp 16.98
Now available on vinyl. We've been getting these Burial Mix 10" singles in here for some time now and probably the single most asked question regarding them has been "when the hell are they going to release these all together on one record?" Well, the time has come. Rhythm & Sound created a stripped down post-Detroit techno sound reminiscent of Chain Reaction and the Stefan Betke/Pole continuum of Euro-dub artists. Unlike others though, Rhythm & Sound took it one step further and acquired the talents of some excellent modern roots vocalists like Paul St. Hilaire (Tikiman), Cornel Campbell, Shalom, The Chosen Brothers, Love Joy, Jennifer Lara and Jah Batta. Asphodel has pragmatically chosen to release the singles as two separate discs, one of the A-sides including the vocals and one of the B-side dub remixes; cuz sometimes you feel like a nut, n' sometimes you don't.
MPEG Stream: "King In My Empire"
MPEG Stream: "Jah Rule"

RHYTHM & SOUND W / JAH BATTA Music Hit You (Burial Mix) 10" 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

RHYTHM & SOUND W/ THE CHOSEN BROTHERS Mash Down Babylon (Burial Mix) 10" 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

RHYTHM OF BLACK LINES Human Hand, Animal Band (GSL) cd 14.98
While they definitely possess their own unique sound, when placed among their contemporaries Rhythm Of Black Lines fall in step with the likes of Pleasure Forever (particularly on the ninth song "Dark Mountain"), 90 Day Men, Laddio Bolocko and TV On The Radio. ROBL craft their intriguing music out of residual artifacts of post-rock, Goblin and Morricone film scores, post punk, pop and jazz among other things. The results are at once darkly intoxicating, cerebral and filled with moody tension. And yes, many male vocalists get compared to Thom Yorke these days and I wouldn't want to lump ROBL in with the pack 'cause their far from it, but Omar Chavez and Clint Newsom's hazy dual vocals are indeed reminiscent of the more creative, richly expressive vocalizing of Yorke (rather than his more tried 'n' true melodramatic moan and wail). Along with the vocals, the distinguishing presence of tenor sax, trombone, congas and strings adds much atmosphere and depth to the band's core guitar, bass and drums. Very cool!
MPEG Stream: "Is It In Or Is It Out?"
MPEG Stream: "Dark Mountain"

RHYTON s/t (Thrill Jockey) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
So, sure, "experimental/improv/psych" bands based outta Brooklyn are probably a dime a dozen these days, so what makes the debut from this new Thrill Jockey signing worthy of glorious Record Of The Week status here at aQ? Well, for one thing, Thrill Jockey have had a pretty good track record in that area lately, with aQ fave bands like White Hills and Barn Owl, and fans of either ought to check out Rhyton. At least, we had to give it a listen, and when we did, WOW! Totally tripped out and hypnotic, stonery psych explorations embraced our ears - and we think gently tingled any mystic sixth or seventh senses we may possess. Their jamming has a fuzzed-out edge, and a definite exotic, Eastern vibe, buzzing with electric saz for one thing... as if they're not from Brooklyn, they're from Brooklynistan!
The mesmeric music of Rhyton is a mind-melting mind-meld involving three well-matched musicians, a supergroop of sorts, the trio consisting of D. Charles Speer from the No Neck Blues Band, Jimmy SeiTang of Psychic Ills, and Spencer Herbst from some bands we confess we've not heard of before. Speer is on the strings, playing electric saz, electric mandolin, and baritone guitar. SeiTang is on bass and tape delay. Herbst is on drums and percussion (and videocassettes, we read somewhere?). A good set up for playing something that's rock, but not.
Over the course of the five, mostly long, mainly instrumental tracks here, Rhyton easily convinced us to make this Record Of The Week, or maybe hypnotized us into doing so! We just couldn't say no to their repetitive, reverby bath of shuddering soundwaves, sub-bass pulsations, meandering raga-like "split stereo, dual amped" leads, and loads of oscillators, loops, n' effects.
Relatively mellow opening track "Stone Colored" eases us in, giving us a sense of, if not where Rhyton is going, at least how they're gonna get there. And, as the cliche says, the journey is the destination. That's before the 12+ minute "Pontian Grave" heavies things up even more, and the raw side of Rhyton's experimentation is revealed. And so it goes, Rhyton getting into outre modes of instrumental psychedelic possession, centerpiece "Teke" being the perhaps the most druggily dubbed-out of the album's varied transmissions...and then, on the fantastic final cut, "Shank Raids", we REALLY hear the Middle Eastern influence come to the fore. It's not just the electric saz they've been making use of, on this one the rhythms n' melodies sound straight out of the Turkish psych songbook, stately and spacey, but also gnarly, warped and distortion-damaged, almost what it would be like to Greg Ginn's Gone, or Black Flag circa The Process Of Weeding Out, attempting a Mogollar or 3 Hur-el cover, yeah! There's a whiff of Sun City Girls to this as well.
Eastern aspects aside (or not), Rhyton's unique vibrations are on roughly the same wavelength as those of such outfits as Carlton Melton, Davis Redford Triad, White Hills, Titan, Bardo Pond, etc., and thus this should appeal to quite a few of you. So we say, get it! And get it quick, as the compact disc edition, packaged in a slim handmade sleeve (abstract art glued on front, hand-stamped text on back), is ultra limited to only 200 hand-numbered copies!! We got a bunch, but that bunch is probably all we'll get. Meanwhile, the differently-appointed vinyl version is just a bit less limited, 500 copies made, and it comes with a postcard insert and free download code.
MPEG Stream: "Pontian Grave"
MPEG Stream: "Teke"
MPEG Stream: "Shank Raids"

RHYTON s/t (Thrill Jockey) lp 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
So, sure, "experimental/improv/psych" bands based outta Brooklyn are probably a dime a dozen these days, so what makes the debut from this new Thrill Jockey signing worthy of glorious Record Of The Week status here at aQ? Well, for one thing, Thrill Jockey have had a pretty good track record in that area lately, with aQ fave bands like White Hills and Barn Owl, and fans of either ought to check out Rhyton. At least, we had to give it a listen, and when we did, WOW! Totally tripped out and hypnotic, stonery psych explorations embraced our ears - and we think gently tingled any mystic sixth or seventh senses we may possess. Their jamming has a fuzzed-out edge, and a definite exotic, Eastern vibe, buzzing with electric saz for one thing... as if they're not from Brooklyn, they're from Brooklynistan!
The mesmeric music of Rhyton is a mind-melting mind-meld involving three well-matched musicians, a supergroop of sorts, the trio consisting of D. Charles Speer from the No Neck Blues Band, Jimmy SeiTang of Psychic Ills, and Spencer Herbst from some bands we confess we've not heard of before. Speer is on the strings, playing electric saz, electric mandolin, and baritone guitar. SeiTang is on bass and tape delay. Herbst is on drums and percussion (and videocassettes, we read somewhere?). A good set up for playing something that's rock, but not.
Over the course of the five, mostly long, mainly instrumental tracks here, Rhyton easily convinced us to make this Record Of The Week, or maybe hypnotized us into doing so! We just couldn't say no to their repetitive, reverby bath of shuddering soundwaves, sub-bass pulsations, meandering raga-like "split stereo, dual amped" leads, and loads of oscillators, loops, n' effects.
Relatively mellow opening track "Stone Colored" eases us in, giving us a sense of, if not where Rhyton is going, at least how they're gonna get there. And, as the cliche says, the journey is the destination. That's before the 12+ minute "Pontian Grave" heavies things up even more, and the raw side of Rhyton's experimentation is revealed. And so it goes, Rhyton getting into outre modes of instrumental psychedelic possession, centerpiece "Teke" being the perhaps the most druggily dubbed-out of the album's varied transmissions...and then, on the fantastic final cut, "Shank Raids", we REALLY hear the Middle Eastern influence come to the fore. It's not just the electric saz they've been making use of, on this one the rhythms n' melodies sound straight out of the Turkish psych songbook, stately and spacey, but also gnarly, warped and distortion-damaged, almost what it would be like to Greg Ginn's Gone, or Black Flag circa The Process Of Weeding Out, attempting a Mogollar or 3 Hur-el cover, yeah! There's a whiff of Sun City Girls to this as well.
Eastern aspects aside (or not), Rhyton's unique vibrations are on roughly the same wavelength as those of such outfits as Carlton Melton, Davis Redford Triad, White Hills, Titan, Bardo Pond, etc., and thus this should appeal to quite a few of you. So we say, get it! And get it quick, as the compact disc edition, packaged in a slim handmade sleeve (abstract art glued on front, hand-stamped text on back), is ultra limited to only 200 hand-numbered copies!! We got a bunch, but that bunch is probably all we'll get. Meanwhile, the differently-appointed vinyl version is just a bit less limited, 500 copies made, and it comes with a postcard insert and free download code.
MPEG Stream: "Pontian Grave"
MPEG Stream: "Teke"
MPEG Stream: "Shank Raids"

RHYTON The Emerald Tablet (Three Lobed / Divide By Zero) lp 19.98
BACK IN STOCK! Last few copies we assume...
Earlier this year, as we hope you recall, we made the "totally tripped out and hypnotic, stonery psych explorations" of Rhyton's self-titled debut for Thrill Jockey an aQ Record Of The WeekÉ it was a limited edition lp, and even more limited cd, and neither version lasted long, flying out of here fast. Sorry if you missed it. Good news then, that at least the Brooklyn-based trio (featuring members of No Neck Blues Band and Psychic Ills) is back already with a new release, this one vinyl-only, and also limited - to just 619 copies, we're told.
On The Emerald Tablet, Rhyton offer up three more slowburning, instrumental psych jams (two of them quite long). Over steady percussive pulsations, side one's 19-minute opus "Obligation" slowly meanders, replete with echoing, effected whale call guitar distortion and improvised, sorta snake charmer melodies. Frazzled fuzz (from electric saz?) smolders amidst this laidback, krautrock inspired throbulation. Think Davis Redford meets Richard Bishop, something like thatÉ There's a slight edge of jazzy skronk, too, moreso on side two's 13 and a half minute finale, with the esoteric-sounding title of "Trismegistus Sto Smaragda". That one's kinda like the first long track, meandery, but with more swing to it, and more chaotic sprawl. And in-between you get the spacey "Revert To Daze", six or so minutes that do sound quite dazed, but melodic and Middle Eastern-y too.
140 gram vinyl, jacket art by Arik "Moonhawk" Roper, includes mp3 download code.
MPEG Stream: "Obligation"
MPEG Stream: "Trismegistus Sto Smaragda"

RIBOT, MARC Asmodeus (Tzadik) cd 16.98

RIBOT, MARC Don't Blame Me (DIW) cd 18.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Guitarist Ribot's take on many jazz tunes, standards and otherwise ("Body and Soul", "I'm In The Mood For Love", Albert Ayler's "Ghosts", Charlie Haden's "Song For Che", and many more).

RIBOT, MARC Exercises In Futility (Tzadik) cd 16.98

RIBOT, MARC Saints (Atlantic) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Simply solo guitar from one of the great stylists Marc Ribot, denizen of the downtown Knitting Facotry avant jazz scene. He puts his own flavorful, loping, precise take on pieces by Albert Ayler (three of them), Leonard Bernstein, The Beatles, John Zorn, John Lurie, and a few traditionals. Very stark, slow, and contemplative.
RealAudio clip: "Holy Holy Holy"

RIBOT, MARC Scelsi Morning (Tzadik) cd 16.98
The latest from downtown NY jazz guitarist Marc Ribot manages to sound as much like a Ribot record as any of his other recordings while sounding totally alien and beautiful. The liner notes mention Ribot's "world of atavistic horror", and then mentions that the compositions touch on Ayler, Feldman and obviously the Italian composer Giacinto Scelsi mentioned in the title, and while you can definitely hear those influences on this record, Ribot douses them in plenty of Goblin/Argento darkness and drone-y doomy clatter. From the opening track, with it's haunting distorted guitar, scrabbling over a brambly bed of chaotic percussion, with thorny tendrils of Klezmer woven throughout and sounding not unlike a free jazz Tom Waits number, the record gets dark and sppoky and keeps the creepiness coming with throbbing pump organ, pulsing bass notes, moaning low end and rumbling drones, noisy, clattery clangy free form guitar over a militaristic framework of tribal tom toms, occasional squalls of machine gun guitar and splattery percussion, stumbly bass and tinkly piano, heavily affected guitars, buzzing and shimmering, all culminating in the music concrete drone of the 12 minute centerpiece 'Geese', with accordion, pump organ, violin, viola, clarinet, bass clarinet and of course guitar, stretching a 20th century composition into occasional atonal Nitsch style fugues and Reichian repetetive motifs. Quite possibly our favorite Ribot record yet, and one that definitely hits the spot for you drone loving, free clatter creepiness afficianados.
MPEG Stream: "Bataille"
MPEG Stream: "Scelsi Morning"

RIBOT, MARC Shoe String Symphonettes (Tzadik) cd 15.98
"From brilliant surf guitar to perverse improvisation to Cuban rhythms, this eclectic compilation of his cinematic music displays the full range of his talents and the sick depths of his mind....listened as an album without the visuals, suggests a twisted and vivid narrative drama."

RIBOT, MARC Spiritual Unity (Pi Recordings) cd 15.98

RIBOT, MARC Y LOS CUBANOS POSTIZOS Muy Divertido! (Very Entertaining!) (Atlantic) cd 15.98
Ribot'mrairplanelikethat.ra
mrairplanenotliving.ras second record with his band, Los Cubanos Postizos, of sort-of-traditional Cuban music. Nice.

RIBOT, MARC Y LOS CUBANOS POSTIZOS s/t (Warner) cd 16.98

RIBOT, MARC'S SHREK LIVE Yo! I Killed Your God (Tzadik) cd 15.98
Marc Ribot's comedy record? Sorry, we love Marc Ribot, but this is, um, not so good. Indeed, one listen to the title track (skronk-punk with perhaps the worst vocal ever) will cause a painful full-body cringe. The original Shrek record on Avant was lovely, stick with that.

RICE, BOYD / NON Terra Incognita: Ambient Works 1975 - Present (Mute) cd 15.98
Terra Incognita is the second retrospective of the work of Boyd Rice / Non, with the first being the emphatically abrasive Easy Listening For Iron Youth released back in the early '90s. For all of his Social Darwinist propaganda, deleterious noise, and semantic provocation, Rice has enjoyed a curious affinity for mood music throughout his 30 year career. For the most part, Muzak and mood music hold benevolent (if insipid) intentions; but this is not so for Rice, as his motivations are a forced communication, in which he directs, wills, or suggests a meaning upon the listener. Within the ambient work that dots his entire catalogue, Rice lulls the audience into relaxing their defenses, at which time he can then slip in any number of subliminally dark or subtly perverse themes. At times, these take the form of complex phase patterns as heard on the infamous Black Album pieced together from physically factured pieces of vinyl sounding like the noxious older brother of Philip Jeck; at other times, Rice presents a grandiously bleak form of isolationism. It's still surprising to hear how listenable these recordings can be.
MPEG Stream: "Father's Day"
MPEG Stream: "Untitled 1"
MPEG Stream: "The Fountain Of Fortune"

RICE, DAMIEN O (Vector) cd 17.98

RICE, DAMIEN O (Vector) cd + dvd 19.98

RICHARD HELL Go Now (Codex) cd 9.98
NYC punk icon Hell reads the first two chapters of his novel Go Now, backed by Robert Quine's guitar.

RICHARDS, EMIL Stones - Journey To Bliss (The Omni Recording Corporation) cd 17.98
You may not necessarily know who Emil Richards is, but you've most definitely heard him play. The list of his musical accomplishments, is nearly Zelig like, seeming to appear everywhere and on pretty much every great recording, and having played with a who's who of performers, jazz, rock, underground, mainstream, even a small sampling of his music resume will have you wondering why he isn't a household name. He played with Charles Mingus, Lord Buckley, Lenny Bruce, Frank Sinatra, Nelson Riddle, Doris Day, Judy Garland, he performed frequently with Harry Partch, he plays the bongos that open Lalo Schifrin's theme to Mission Impossible, he's the guy snapping his fingers on the theme music from the Addams Family, he played tuned bowls and gongs on Jerry Goldsmith's iconic soundtrack to 1968's Planet Of The Apes. He later played with Frank Zappa, George Harrison (he even traveled to India with Harrison) as well as Blondie, and hundreds of other pop artists, and played on soundtracks like Taxi Driver, The Exorcist, Shaft, Chinatown, Dirty Harry, and again, HUNDREDS more.
But for weird music obsessives, he's no doubt best known for his record New Sound Element: Stones, originally released in 1967, which was a collection of 12 songs, each named for a month, and its specific birthstone, and which is infamous for the fact that it was in fact the first commercial recording to feature the Moog Synthesizer. But beyond that, it's a crazy record, some sort of twisted electronic jazz sci-fi exotica, the main instruments being ring modulated mallet instruments (marimba, xylophone, etc.) and synth, trippy and woozy, playful and silly, but at times, seriously twisted and darkly psychedelic. We're reminded of course of Perrey And Kingsley, after all for many of us, that was our first real exposure to early Moog pop, but Richards' compositions are a lot less goofy, less melodic too, more rhythmic, with the best tracks layering wild jazz drumming, over heavily effected marimba or xylophone, the sound locked into propulsive grooves, while the tones and overtones are constantly altered to created woozy warbly melodies, that's not to say this stuff isn't on the playful side, it most definitely is, the darker passages more than balanced by goofy, super melodic workouts, but the sound seems to always slip back into something a wee bit darker, whether it's the droney, swirly shuffle of "Emerald (May)", or the driving drum heavy psychedelic trip out of "Bloodstone (March)", the wild Moog swaddled xylophone shredding of "Moonstone (June)", or the fuzzy twisted jazzfunk of "Ruby (July)".
Imagine a drum/percussion driven sixties jazz record, re-engineered by some Moog mad scientist, and you'll get an idea of what Richards concocted on Stones, which has been floating around as a bootleg for years, but this is the first official reissue. And Stones is only the beginning. While it's most definitely the reason to pick this up, Omni has also tacked on a bunch of bonus tracks, first, a handful of songs from New Time Element, also originally released in 1967, which features a selection of pop and jazz standards, presented with odd time signatures and unique percussion, the original liner notes even give the listener breakdowns of the various rhythms of each song. It's not super far out, but a fun listen, and a nice chunk of sixties jazz. The final batch of extra tracks come from Richards' 1968 release Journey To Bliss, which is probably closest to Stones in sound, dialing back the electronic element, and heavy on the rhythms, lots of marimba, xylophone and percussion, some drum solos, a bit of fuzzy jazz funk, a heady psychedelic jazz excursion for sure, fans of the recent Spiritual Jazz collections will definitely dig, the album culminating in the final 18 minute six part epic "Journey To Bliss", which features a yogi like recitation, directions for meditation and inner peace, over Eastern raga style buzz, playful percussion, and more of Richards' wild psychedelic jazz.
Like all Omni reissues, gorgeous presented, with loads of pictures and extensive liner notes!
MPEG Stream: "Bloodstone (March)"
MPEG Stream: "Moonstone (June)"
MPEG Stream: "Opal (October)"
MPEG Stream: "Turquoise (December)"
MPEG Stream: "Journey To Bliss - Part III"

RICHMAN, JONATHAN Because Her Beauty Is Raw & Wild (Vapor) cd 15.98
Year in and year out, Jonathan Richman keeps on opening his heart in song to his legions of devoted fans delight. Charmingly heartfelt, genuinely sweet and seemingly ageless, his latest album Because Her Beauty Is Raw & Wild is Richman at his best. Just him and his guitar nailing you right in the heart over and over again in his unmistakable lilting, multilingual style. A perfect spring into summer album! Breezy and carefree!
MPEG Stream: "Es Como El Pan"
MPEG Stream: "When We Refuse To Suffer "

RICHMAN, JONATHAN Her Mystery Not Of High Heels And Eyeshadow (Vapor) cd 16.98
I saw the last 2 songs of Jonathan Richman's Live set opening up for Belle and Sebastian (who are rumoured to never have an opening band, except the Tindersticks, and I guess now Jonathan Richman). He was so personable and funny and gave me a warm feeling inside. This CD did the same. So sweet and lo fi and endearing. Cuddly man.
RealAudio clip: "Her Mystery Not of High Heels and Eye Shadow"
RealAudio clip: "Springtime In New York"

RICHMAN, JONATHAN Not So Much To Be Loved As To Love (Vapor) cd 17.98
We've had quite a month full of Jonathan Richman! Four nights at the Make-Out Room (he played two sets each evening just a hop, skip 'n' a jump around the corner from us) and a totally packed feel-good AQ in-store performance a few days prior to that. 'Twas a genuine non-stop lovefest between Jonathan and his fans! In case you were sleeping under a rock and missed all that... don't miss this! They're such warm and intimate recordings... it's almost like he's perched right there on your stereo guitar in hand. As the title of his 21st (holy smokes!) album suggests, he's so much more about the giving than the receiving. No one leaves without a smile firmly planted on his or her face. This album is pure Richman goodness with many tunes that rank among his best. No vast departures from his past efforts... there's no need for any! His trademark sweetly earnest, quirkily witty songwriting has stood the test of time. One listen will assure you that his wide-eyed musings on romance ("My Baby Love Love Loves Me"), human nature ("He Gave Us The Wine To Taste") and occasionally politics ("Abu Jamal") remain wonderfully intact. He's joined by his pals drummer Tommy Larkin, multi-instrumentalist Ralph Carney, and bassists Miles Montalbano and Greg Keranen. A definite Richman fan's delight!
MPEG Stream: "My Baby Love Love Loves Me"
MPEG Stream: "He Gave Us The Wine To Taste"

RICHMAN, JONATHAN O Moon, Queen of Night on Earth (Vapor Records) cd 14.98
Hark! O Moon, Queen of Night on Earth... 'tis a new album from the inimitable Jonathan Richman! Sure, his legions of diehard fans have undoubtedly scooped this up already, but some of us are slower on the draw and some folks have somehow yet to discover Mr. Richman as he alternately feverishly and liltingly strums his guitar, and charmingly croons his intimate, yearnful song-stories. He's now in his fourth decade of music making, and he's showing no signs of stopping. He has so many records (both solo and with The Modern Lovers), we've lost count, but we're happy to add this to the stack. A definite pleasure for fans, old and new!
MPEG Stream: "O Moon, Queen Of Night On Earth"
MPEG Stream: "Sa Voix M'Atisse"
MPEG Stream: "Even Though I Know I Am The Wind And The Sun, I"

RICHMAN, JONATHAN Take Me To The Plaza (Vapor) dvd 25.00
Now you can see San Francisco's favorite New England ex-patriate Jonathan Richman perform live in your very own home! Recorded at The Great American Music Hall in 2002 "Take Me To The Plaza" features 17 tracks from the former Bostonian including such favorites as "I Was Dancing In the Lesbian Bar" and the oft covered standard "Pablo Picasso". For those who've never seen the man perform, Mr. Richman's performances are just as popular for their music as the off kilter humour that he delivers during his concerts. Also included are two interviews with Jonathan, a complete interactive bio (okay, maybe it's not interactive, but in the spirit of things it sounds nicer) and two bonus tracks: "You Can't Talk To The Dude" and "Nineteen In Naples". Total running time is approximately 94 minutes. This DVD is NTSC region 1.

RICHTER, MAX 24 Postcards In Full Colour (Fat Cat) cd 14.98
Max Richter first caught our attention with his gorgeous arrangements on Vashti Bunyan's long awaited return to the world of music, 2005's Lookaftering. He's put out several of his own post-classical works, and his latest is just simply stunning. 24 short tracks made for gray days spent looking out the window as rain falls gently and memories drift to the surface. Most of these tracks are under two minutes and were actually intended to be used as ringtones. Somehow Richter is able to pack such strong emotions into these short tracks but also allows the listener to fill in the blanks and wander away. Anyone who uses these as ringtones will for sure be sporting the most elegant and classy cell phone around. Simply beautiful!
MPEG Stream: "Cathodes"
MPEG Stream: "Lullaby From The Westcoast Sleepers"
MPEG Stream: "In Louisville At 7"