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Spanning the full twenty-one years of Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds illustrious career, this comprehensive three CD set, entitled B-Sides & Rarities, presents a thrilling and eclectic retrospective collection of material by the band, some of which has been deleted, featured on a disparate number of soundtrack albums or has never been officially released before....

The ambitious Swiss electronic duo Yello comprised vocalist/conceptualist Dieter Meier -- a millionaire industrialist, professional gambler, and member of Switzerland's national golf team -- and composer/arranger Boris Blank. Meier, a former solo artist who also spent time with the group Fresh Colour, began collaborating with Blank in 1979, and the duo bowed with the single "I.T. Splash." After signing with the Residents' label, Ralph Records, Yello issued their 1980 debut LP, Solid Pleasure, which spawned the dance hit "Bostitch."


With 1981's Claro Que Si, Yello made its first forays into music video; their clip for the single "Pinball Cha Cha," directed by Meier, garnered considerable acclaim and in 1985 was selected as one of 32 works included in the Museum of Modern Art's Music Video Exhibition. Visual accompaniment remained a pivotal component of the duo's work after they signed to Elektra in 1983 for the LP You Gotta Say Yes to Another Excess, as the videos for "I Love You" and "Lost and Found" received heavy airplay on MTV.


1985's Stella proved to be Yello's commercial breakthrough: while the singles and videos "Desire" and "Vicious Games" found success upon their initial release, the duo enjoyed a delayed hit with the album track "Oh Yeah," which reached the U.S. singles chart after being prominently featured in the films Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The Secret of My Success. After the remix project 1980-1985: The New Mix in Go, Yello recruited diva Shirley Bassey and ex-Associate Billy McKenzie for 1987's One Second.

Despite the success of 1988's Flag, which contained the international hit "The Race," over the course of the next several years Yello grew increasingly involved with film projects: after scoring the comedy Nuns on the Run, Meier directed his own feature, 1990's Snowball. In 1991, the duo resurfaced with Baby, followed three years later by Zebra. 1995's Hands on Yello compiled reinterpretations of the group's songs by the likes of Moby, the Orb, and the Grid, while Pocket Universe, a collection of new material, appeared in 1997. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

The Blues Explosion have gotten into a habit of following up their albums with B-side collections. Extra Width begat Mo' Width, Orange begat Experimental Remixes, and now Xtra Acme USA emerges as the child of Acme. This may be the boldest of the Explosion's follow-up releases, 19 tracks (plus a hidden surprise) consisting of remixes and unreleased cuts. Surprisingly, Xtra Acme USA doesn't sag under the weight of guest stars like dirty soul legend Andrew Williams or remixers like Moby and David Holmes. In fact, Williams's vocal turn on "Lap Dance" is hysterically dazzling and Holmes steals the whole show with his gospel-fueled remix of "Talk About the Blues" Unreleased tracks like "Wait a Minute" and "Leave Me Alone So I Can Rock Again" pack just as much punch--maybe even more--as the cuts that made it onto Acme. This may be the funkiest that indie rock has ever gotten. Amen!

Ben Folds' first solo project away from the ultra-pop of Ben Folds Five is not the upbeat, piano banging you would expect after listening to his previous work. As his project's name spells out in bold letters, Fear of Pop collects all of the nasty little demons running through Folds' mind when he's singing his sweet ditties. The biggest distinction is the addition of guitar, a BF5 no-no. Screeching chords christen the album's title track as Folds howls at his most unharmonic. From there, every track continues on in a different experimental vein which paints Folds as some manic child who has just gotten a recording studio for Christmas. 1970s sleaze funk mixes with avant-garde flute and muffled crime-scene samples on "Kops"; "Blink" sounds like background music at a planetarium laser light show; the synth-pop throwback "Avery M. Powers Memorial Speedway" sounds like a lost Heaven 17/Sigue Sigue Sputnik collaboration. Most interesting of Folds' experiment is "In Love" which gives William Shatner, Mr. Golden Throat himself, a chance to mutter suave, obscure poetry over a sea of smooth backing vocals and tinny drum machines. Shatner's appearance is enough to clue us in that Folds is anything but serious with this eclectic surge of energy. If anything, the bizarre humor mixed with the swift sounds and firm beats makes Volume 1 a danceable novelty record with a justified sense of end-of-the millennium attention deficit disorder.

(The Dresden Dolls merge) the playful eroticism of Weimar-era German cabaret with the intensity of modern rock opera.
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Ever since taking up arms in mid-2000, the über-dynamic duo of Amanda Palmer (Piano/Vox) and Brian Viglione (Drums) has been selling out clubs in Boston, New York and beyond. Palmer accompanies her confessional story-songs with a thunderous and shimmering piano style that rests on the shoulders of Jerry Lee Lewis, Kurt Weill and Nina Simone. Viglione’s jazz and hardcore-influenced drums are the perfect foil, providing in turns a delicate cradle of rhythm and a piercing bed of nails onto which Palmer lays her raw, tragicomic lyrics. With the their new debut album, produced by Martin Bisi (SWANS, Sonic Youth), receiving accolades from both mainstream and underground media, the Dolls are poised to transcend cult status and smash all commonly held ideas on what a rock band is supposed to be. Their awe-striking live energy and singular look has earned them opening slots for Beck, the B-52s and Jane’s Addiction and a tour with Edward Ka-Spel of the Legendary Pink Dots.

Album Description
Combine the smoky cellars of a Weimar-era cabaret with the rock n’ roll fury of Joan Jett, PJ Harvey and The Violent Femmes and you have a remote idea of what to expect when experiencing The Dresden Dolls.

Even a fan of more "serious music" like this Owl needs a good laugh now and then too.

After crashing his motorcycle in the desert (some time not long after the original Star Trek series was cancelled), Shatner claims to have had an "otherworldly" experience that inspired him to make this album, in collaboration with composer/arranger Don Ralke.

What ensues is a collection of high-camp bombast that would make the likes of Yes blush with embarassment (remeamber "Tales From Topographic Oceans"?), among the highlights are:

1) "Spleen" the "creepy old house on a stormy night" intorduction to the even more bizarre deconstruction of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" (featuring groovy backup singers). Ya just gotta love how---he breaksss--up----SENNNNN-TEN--CEEEESSS!!!

2) "Theme From Cyrano" is actually a artists rant I can get behind which then segues into "Mr. Tambourine Man" with a hilarious cartoonish woodwind intro and eventually more bleating trumpets than a Batman episode. Best yet is Shatner's desparate "junkie in need of a fix" delivery, culminating with his psychotic yelling at the end. Side-splittingly classic!

3) Saving the best for last, "The Transformed Man" shows Shatner at his over-the-top best as he attempts to meet God face to face!

The scary thing to me is, he was actually SERIOUS when he was doing this!