Mind Control Vinilo y CD

Review: Husband and wife singer-guitarist duo Lux Interior and Poison Ivy were the backbone and founding parents of The Cramps, whose lengthy career managed to outlive many of the formative-era punks they broke through with, first catapulting onto the New York gothabilly scene (well, arguably they invented it) circa 1976 and then only finally opting to call time in 2009, following the sad passing of Interior. During that tine, they inspired myriad garage, alternative, and heavy rock & roll bands that wanted to keep things minimal, and their work can still be considered as setting benchmarks today. Across this incredible collection of tracks, or rather Songs of Love & Hate captured live and on stage, the outfit certainly show exactly why their popularity was so long-lasting and their legacy so inimitable. You can hear elements of The Cramps in work from latter day legends such as Ezra Furman and Jim Jones, but ultimately there's nothing that comes remotely close the band themselves.

Review: These excellent live Dutch radio broadcast recordings of Depeche Mode from 1983 are for the first time available here on vinyl. Some of their earliest hits are featured, taken from the British band's first three seminal albums such as Speak & Spell, A Broken Frame and Construction Time Again. Highlights on the A side are the synthpop classics 'Everything Counts' and Get The Balance Right'. While over on the flip there are excellent versions never heard before of 'Told You So', 'New Life' and 'Just Can't Get Enough'.

Review: In the 1980s the Monsters of Rock festival on the Castle Donnington in the East Midlands was THE annual headbangers' ball - these were, after all, the days when you could count the amount of major festivals each year on one hand. Every metal and hard rock band worth its salt played it, from first headliners Rainbow in 1980 to Iron Maiden in 1988, although it was the tragic death of two fans during Guns 'N' Roses' set that year that grabbed most of the headlines, and beyond. This recording captures Motorhead's set in 1986, when they shared the bill with headliner Ozzy Osbourne, Scorpions, Def Leppard and, somewhat unbelievably, Bad News, the Rik Mayall/Adrian Edmonson spoof metallers. The 'Head are on top form here and this is a nice sharp recording of a momentous set performed in front of a massive and vociferously enthusiastic crowd, and as well as a clutch of longtime classics culled from their trio of evergreen peak era-albums Bomber, Overkill and Ace of Spades, the post Eddie Clarke line up featuring Wurzel on guitar rarely sounded as on form, registering their own live favourites like 'Killed By Death' and 'Steal Your Face'.

Review: Radiohead's performance at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark on July 2, 1994 was one that really showcased their early potential, as well as their ever-evolving sound and the great emotional depth that have always brought to their music. The famous set featured compelling renditions of songs from their debut album Pablo Honey, such as the still-much-loved singles 'My Iron Lung' and the alien beauty of 'The Bends' amongst many more. It's a powerful listen even 30 years on and reminds us just how unique Thom Yorke's vocal style really is.

Review: The recordings on this special The Smashing Pumpkins album are taken from two early '90s radio sessions. One took place in Hilversum in The Netherlands, the other in Central Park Ballroom, Wisconsin, America, and this is the first time they have been on vinyl. Included along the way are great renditions of plenty of the band's best tunes. It is filled with pure 90s Smashing Pumpkin greatness and is another reminder why they were one of the greatest bands of their generation. An absolute must for fans of the band, these versions show a different side to the, that is as good as any you already know.

Review: Before Tool were known for their grandiose live shows that keep frontman Maynard James Keenan shrouded in darkness next to drummer Danny Carey, before they were considered progressive metal titans unmatched by any act within the scene, they were just another four-piece alternative metal group made up of four outsider misfits who seemingly struck a unique balance with one another and a burgeoning fanbase. Captured in 1991 at a performance in the Los Angeles Jello Loft where they would cut their teeth, this set is made up of material from both their 1992 debut 'Opiate' EP and 1993's follow-up full-length Undertow, pre-dating the release of either project, with the songs landing on almost completely unsuspecting ears. Take a fly-on-the-wall earful of early versions of 'Cold & Ugly,' 'Sweat', and 'Hush', which showcase their first forays into aggressive grooves whilst the juxtaposition of these tracks next to their much darker, proggier successors such as 'Sober' and 'Swamp Song', highlight the singular vision they were already striving towards before even dropping one official project.

Review: Amy Winehouse was rarely less than utterly engaging when performing live but even by her own high standards her performance at the Oxegen Festival in Punchestown, Ireland, on July 12th, 2008 was a standout. This most unforgettable moment in music history is now captured on wax with this special album from Mind Control. Listening back it is all the more remarkable she was able to turn in such a fine performance even with her well-documented personal struggles. The bittersweet reminder of her extraordinary talent makes for emotional listening and shows just how unique an artist Winehouse really was.