Cult Legends Vinyl & CDs

Review: In October 1977, Australian rock titans AC/DC were set to enjoy a night off in London following two successful shows at the Hammersmith Odeon, before they were tapped by The BBC at the last minute to replace The Sensational Alex Harvey Band who had cancelled their scheduled appearance on the Sight & Sound In Concert show at the Hippodrome in North London's Golders Green. While the likes of Queen, Jethro Tull, The Kinks and Roxy Music would perform at the 3,000-capacity venue over the years, no band or set has ever rocked the Hippodrome like Bon Scott and the boys did on this fateful evening. Ripping through a truncated, all bangers setlist of seven tracks in just 40 minutes, including 'Problem Child', 'Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be', 'Whole Lotta Rosie' and 'T.N.T.', while Angus Young would run rampant whilst shredding through the balcony section, this performance has gone down as one of most iconic from this early definitive era of the band.

Review: The new Bauhaus BBC Sessions release hears British goth pioneers Bauhaus at their most vital, documenting the three-year period that they swept the airwaves like vampire bats with a hearse's worth of recordings made for UK radio. Spanning early post-punk urgencies to the relatively more textured darkness of their later work, these sessions were recorded for shows hosted by John Peel and David Jensen, flapping through alternate takes of 'Double Dare', 'In the Flat Field', and 'Third Uncle'. Together with a recent vinyl reissue of a 1983 performance at the Old Vic in London, which snapped a shot of Bauhaus at the peak of their dramaturgic snarks, both releases provide a compelling, rough-edged, bouffant counterpart to their studio albums, before goth went bird's nest: Bauhaus live and direct, with all the mood, menace and momentum fully intact.

Review: Another BBC Sessions edition compiles nearly two decades of live-in-studio performances from Echo & The Bunnymen, tracing the Liverpool legends' rise from wiry post-punk outsiders to accomplished songwriters. John Peel and Janice Long oversaw the sessions with eagle's eyes, as production polish from classics such as 'The Killing Moon', 'Rescue' and 'Lips Like Sugar' reveal the band's skeletal brilliance and moody immediacy. Something of a guide to the band's career arc as a whole, we hear the way paved for a more expansive, melancholic texture in the later years, despite an ever morphotic, modulable lineup. The Cult Legends reissue set offers longtime fans and newer listeners a chance to hear the Bunnymen with studio intimacy and live spontaneity; less theatrical than their stage shows, but just as haunting.

Review: At the close of 1991, Seatlle grunge gods Nirvana were well on their way to becoming the biggest rock band in the world, but the massive show in Del Mar, California, captured here actually featured them appearing in support of Red Hot Chili Peppers, although Pearl Jam had the prvilege of opening up the show. They'd spent much of the year touring, famously making the first of their two Reading Fesival appearances half way up the bill back in August 1991, and are evidently on peak form here as they wield a setlist dominated by Nevermind album highlights including 'Come As You Are' and 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'. Ending on a raging rendition of 'Territorial Pissings', the trio prove not only why they managed to definite the zeitgeist of the age, but also the fact that however finely tuned and honed they were, the all-important feel of impending anarchy was never far from the surface.

Review: The Purple One did a series of special live shows at the Miami Glam Slam Club in 1994 as part of a residency, and as they were recorded for live radio broadcast we can now relive them again with this reissue. The dynamic songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist and producer was in top form in the mid-90s and used this residency to further explore his blend of funk, rock and soul. With electrifying performances of hits and deep cuts, this album highlights his unparalleled musicianship and charismatic stage presence with plenty of classics all included from 'The Most Beautiful Girl In The World ' to 'I Believe In You.' A great slice of pop history.

Review: A well recorded, fascinating glimpse into the earlier days of the most notorious punk band of all time, captured at a show at the rarely acknowledged 76 Club in Burton-on-Trent. It's a suitable setting, of course, as British punk was the voice of the suburbs and the small towns around the UK that, ironically, all so often banned them from visiting. The material that would form their only studio album - surely one of the most seminal LPs of all time - Never Mind The Bollocks... was still taking shape at this point, with 'New York' and 'Seventeen' present but nestling under working titles alongside non-album original 'I Wanna Be Me'. There are also outings for a selection of cover versions that show the influences that shaped the revolutionary sound about to turn music on its head, from The Stooges' 'No Fun' and The Who's 'Substitute' to the Dave Berry 1964 single flip track 'Don't Gimme No Lip Child' and The Monkees' '(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone'. Top chaos for cash fun.

Review: Thrash metal pioneers Slayer have a ferocious reputation in the studio, but their live shows are where the unbridled energy, rage, passion and power really reach next level. Landing on the appropriately-named Cult Legends label, this recording of a 1991 show from Paris is exactly what we're talking about. Like pressing play on a juggernaut and watching hell break loose. References to the underworld abound here, of course, from 'Angel of Death' to the epic intro medley, 'Hell Awaits/Antichrist' i if indeed "medley" is an appropriate word to use for a band like Slayer. Pedantry aside, if you're looking for a record that truly speaks to the might and rabid majesty of metal in one of its most intense forms, then you've got it right here.