Reviews by markjazz

Not exactly my favorite release by Manufactura but overall I thought it was ok. I think the problem I have with it is that it spans to many styles in one album. Some tracks sound like they came right off an album from the Alfa-Matrix label with that hard hitting EMB sound mixed with pretty average lyrics, some sound like they should be used at a hardcore rave while others are pure rhythmic noise. What I end up doing is skipping tracks or going back and forth through the album depending on what mood I'm in, and I hate that. Don't get me wrong though, Manufactura is an awesome artist that seems to be getting better and better, as far as production goes. I'm just not much of a fan of mixing rhythmic noise with lyrics. Overall though, it's worth a listen for sure.

Well, I got this album for free and I'm glad. It has that elevator jazz quality to it but there are some good moments and there's a good mix of jazz on here. Think Pat Metheny, but more boring I guess. There's some female vocals on a couple tracks, like Pretty Blue, and this song is not to bad. One of the better ones on the album. There's orchestra on some tracks too, like on One Way Home, I prefer these ones as well. This album lacks that drive or "Umph" that jazz fans need to hear. It's just too slow of an album with many boring parts to put you to sleep. Tracks like Miles From Davis is something you would hear on those traffic camera channels, for example.

This was something I picked up cheap and I knew it was going to be pretty average. You have disc one, which is remixes, and then disc two is a mish-mash of live tracks, different versions and demos. The remixes are the usual you would expect to hear from a compilation like this. Nothing stands out but at least there wasn't any I truly hated. The 2nd disc has some neat material as well and I bought this mainly because I haven't heard any live material from Leæther Strip before. I was surprised at how much I liked the live tracks. They all sounded awesome and run as one long take too. What I found really interesting was the 1982 demo of Dreaming. It sounds so new wave and doesn't even sound like it came from Leæther Strip.

In short this is a good buy for the major fan but I wouldn't go spending a lot of mulla on it. I wouldn't mind getting a whole live recording of his early 90's material. Very well done! Oh, and it's limited to 3333 in case you care.

This is a pretty good compilation and I'd totally recommend someone buying this if they are new to this artist. I was never a hugh fan of Leæther Strip but I also never really hated anything he ever did. There isn't a whole lot to complain about for this compilation, aside from the cheap 1 page insert. Here's some info where the tracks come from:

1/5/8 are taken from Yes I'm Limited.
2 is taken from Aspects of Aggression.
9/11/14/15 are taken from The Pleasure of Penetration.
3/6/7/10/12 taken from Science for the Satanic Citizen.
4 is taken from Object V.
13 is taken from Body Rapture Vol. 1.

I've heard well over 300 noise releases over the past 5 years so something has to really stand out in order to get a 5/5 from me. This album does not. It is a fairly good album and has some good moments but it's just to average sounding to me. Estranged is a really quiet ambient track that contains a few guitar plucks here and there and doesn't pick up until the 19 minute mark. Forest Floor 1 has a low tone drone and some interesting feedback noise comes in after 6 minutes, but it's nothing I haven't heard before, or even done myself for that matter. Forest Floor 2 has this high pitched loop that repeats during the whole track and I can't even finish the track because after 5 minutes it just starts to get annoying. I won't comment on the other tracks because I'd be repeating myself. Overall it's an ok release but it's nothing great, especially from the guys that made this music. If this came out like 15 years ago it'd be a 5/5 for sure, but not now-a-days.

This is a pretty crappy single from this group and it was during that time when rap was getting "cool" and bands like this were using it in industrial and rock. Hell, even Front Line Assembly was guilty of it.

It starts off with a junky remix and the flow is so lame and the guitar is boring as all hell. It's suppose to be all 'hard core' but it puts you asleep. The Original mix, track two, is way better. It's a faster track with good keys, stonger guitar and it's mixed tighter and keeps me interested. I don't mind this track at all. The Julian Beeston is a pretty good mix. It kinda sounds like the original but with some effects added on the instruments. A pretty good mix. Now comes the live version, who cares, skip! Then there is the Dawning of Doom live, which is an ok track. It's an average track but it fits this single pretty good. The High Tech Low Life (Julian Beeston Remix) picks up the pace again with it's heavy drums and guitar. I never heard the original before but this track is alright. Again, it's an average track and doesn't stand out at all. The Metal Machine Music (The Cassandra Complex Remix) doesn't sound a whole lot different from the original except for the use of effects on vocals and some extra samples tossed in. I prefer the original, just like everything else on this single. The single ends with Rings of Steel (Pro-Pain Remix) and it's one mess of a track. It's slow, then fast, then slow, has crappy lyrics and vocals. I hate this track. Overall this single is junk and the only song I really like a lot is the original version of Bloodsuckers. Spare yourself some pain and don't buy this.

This is one of the best JATP albums I own. It features its usual 1950's Verve JATP line up with Krupa and Rich battling again. But this time the drum battle is much longer than say the, "Gene Krupa & Buddy Rich - The Drum Battle - At JATP", album; which was recorded around the same time. There's at one point a 6 minute drum solo from Rich! So much drumm'n going on and if you looking for an album that showcases the true 'battle' between these two masters, then look no further, this one delivers! Another good feature is there is no crowd cheering in the background which tends to drown out some of the actual drum solo's that appeared on the previous mentioned JATP album.

I still can't believe this album was made in 1978! It boggles the mind and it doesn't really sound dated. Sure it sounds verrrrry electronic but it still sounds original to this day! I can't imagen sitting at home in 1978 and then this pops on the radio. It starts off with the classic Robots track that pretty much sums up the band entirely. There is a track on this album that was not to appear on any other albums they did, style wise, and that is the very lyrical track The Model. The first time I heard this track I thought three things; 1) It's so short. 2) There's a ton of lyrics for once and 3) It's damn good and the lyrics are pretty funny, but true. The thing with Kraftwerk is they sung about stuff that's still relevant to today. That's why I'm convinced they're from the future!

The track Space Lab is one of the dreamiest electronic tracks I've heard. It still sends chills up my spine once those keys get going. I won't do a track by track review but simply put all the songs on here are hits. There's nothing to skip and it's a classic brought to us by German Robots from the year 2054.

This is probably my favorite Kraftwerk album overall simply because there's no filler tracks, outside of the last one which is just a continuation of Franz Schubert. The hit on this album is the ambient sounding techno track Trans-Europe Express but it's Europe Endless that I find loving more as it's a bit less tiresome and I like the lyrics more as well. The two following tracks The Hall of Mirrors and Showroom Dummies both have their own great quality to them and The Hall of Mirrors is pretty dark and depressing for an electronic band, which I love because you never heard that back in the late 70's...hell, you never heard this type of music back then either for the most part. Trans-Europe Express is an awesome track but I think after 5 minutes I start to get bored of it and then it has Metal on Metal as it's tag along which is a good track for the most part but again, it drags on a bit to long. Franz Schubert then breaks open as a beautiful electronic-orchestra piece and when I first heard it I couldn't stop playing it. It's slow moving and melts my brain.

Even though I've said some negative feedback on this review I still think it's almost perfect simply because of the time it was released and the fact that people still reissue this album to this day! It has legendary standards and should be placed on a million data discs and shot out into space for the whole Universe to hear!

One of my favorite tracks is the epic 22+ minute track Autobahn and to me it sounds like this band had a lot of fun with making this track, which is why it's so long, they loved it so much and kept adding to it and played it live it seems. The use of horns sounds and the long key strokes to simulate cars passing by is about as genuis as their track Trans Europe Express. The does get a bit tiresome after a while but it has it's moments that kinda force you to want to hear the whole track. I own it on vinyl so I have no choice. I just sit back and let it play. Some points it goes into a very dreamy sound with flutes and light keys. At about the half way point a creepy computer voice comes in with swishes of sounds and car horns. This is the part I like best.

The other 4 tracks are a different story, but are just as good. These tracks seem to be the driving at night to dawn ones. Kometenmelodie (Comet Melody) 1 and 2 play together as one 11+ minute track of fairly depressing sounding key strokes. Part 1 takes you on a slow journey and then part 2 picks you up with its happy sounding pace. Mitternacht (Midnight) is obviously a dark sounding track that has some experimental type sounds and low keys. There's some very light ticks and bangs used as the drums and it's probably about as dark as this group ever got. Morgenspaziergang (Morning Walk) is one of their tracks that surprised me the most when I first heard it. It features a flute mixed with some computer blips and beeps and is my least favorite track on here. It soon developes in something very Japanese sounding and doesn't seem to fit the rest of the album. Overall this is a classic album but mostly noted for its 22 minute title track, which they're most known for.