Regularly, The Book Los Angeles picks a selection of notable releases from some of the most progressive labels in the US and the rest of the world. Click on the links to access artists and labels web sites, where you will find complete merchandise, pictures and biographies.

You can also purchase these releases directly from here through our exclusive arrangement with Amazon. CLICK ON THE COVER to listen to sample tracks, and purchase online.

Artist: U2
Title: GO HOME, LIVE FROM SLANE CASTLE, IRELAND (DVD)
Label: Interscope Records
Link: www.u2.com/
Root: Ireland/ Rock
In the summer of 2001, U2 returned to the grassy lands surrounding Shane Castle, the 18th century historic landmark where in 1984, the band recorded their seminal album, “The Unforgettable Fire”. The live concert footage covering a three decades, 10 albums career in 19 songs, is everything you’ve come to expect from U2: sweeping crane shots over thousands of devoted fans, vanguard projections and graphics on jumbotrons floating above a stage the size of a shopping mall, and a million kilowatt light show illuminating the night under the majestic watch of the monumental architecture. But it’s the band’s timeless message of love and peace soaring over folk ballads and rock anthems, that steals the show in soul revealing close ups. There are rare moments of self indulgence in this portrait of the artist as a middle aged rock star, but any Gucci addiction can be forgiven when measured against the band’s political contribution and cultural impact on its time. As an added feature, the 1984 documentary “The Unforgettable Fire”, offers an intimate look behind the scenes during the making of that album, as the camera wanders through centuries in the halls and ballrooms of the castle, transformed for its unique acoustic into a temporary recording studio. There perform the video ghosts of a band once young, who under the guidance of producer Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, strived to achieve greatness through a painstaking studio recording process. Witnessing how much work goes into creating a song like “Pride (in the name of love)”, one understands that such a career is not built on whimsical opportunity alone. Having experienced more success than is usually healthy for a band, dodging trends, labeling and ego wars, Bono, the Edge and Co. have aged with remarkable humility. Outside on the fields, a new exalted generation chants “I will follow”.

Artist: COLDPLAY
Title: LIVE 2003 (2-DISC DVD & CD SET)
Label: Capitol Records
Link: www.coldplay.com/
Root: UK/ Rock
One of few young bands to still display an aura of authenticity in light of their phenomenal success, Coldplay’s 90 minutes live concert offers the opportunity (for those who missed their shows) to discover the young Londoners outside of the realm of high concept music videos. Covered by 9 cameras using Super-16mm film, the footage has an organic, quasi documentary quality, making great use of simple photographic techniques: over-saturated colors, surreal depth of focus, moody grain, making each frame a living painting, which with the help of a fantastic edit, aims to give the viewer a complete “takes you there” experience. “There” is Sidney’s Horden Pavilion on July 21 and 22, 2003, at the tail end of a year long tour. What makes the film remarkable, is that it is treated as a cinematographic piece, not a television broadcast. An occasionally piano bound, guitar clenching Chris Martin takes center stage with soul and conviction during the 17 songs performance, exuding a maturity well beyond his years. “Live 2003” essentially does for Coldplay what “Under A Blood Red Sky” did for U2: summarizing a short career lifespan, mixing every great song from their two albums with the fans enthusiasm, providing a feast for both the ears and the eyes. Added features include a 40 minutes video diary and a 70 minutes edited down audio CD of the concert.

Artist: MOBY
Title: 18 B-SIDES (2-DISC DVD & CD SET)
Label: V2 Records
Link: www.moby.com/
Root: US/ Electronica
Entering Moby’s world is such an intimate experience that you may find last week’s dirty pair of socks hiding behind a stack of synthesizers. Always bent on self-depreciation as a mean to avoid the lures of success, the “little idiot” plays the part of Santa’s helper with an offering generous enough to fill every techno geek’s stocking from here to Japan. A quick lesson in studio tweaking will teach the viewer that a basic Moby song is achieved in under 30 minutes, an experience which renders every b-side track, remix and demo essentially as disposable as elevator musak. But the way Moby brings Joy to the world this time around, is by way of a video montage dubbed Moby TV, a voyeuristic odyssey into the life of a nerd who laughs everyday on his way to the bank, editing together music videos and the way they were made, a trip down to his Manhattan vegan restaurant, the aforementioned music lesson, and occasional comedic stints worthy of Saturday Night Live. Fearless and unbound by format, Moby then takes on the Glastonbury Festival main stage with techno pulse, punk attitude, heavy metal testosterone and cinematic splendor, in a live concert videotaped in front of 160.000, closing with a cover of Radiohead’s “Creep”. A very big bang for your x-mass buck.

Artist: GILLES PETERSON
Title: TRUST THE DJ - ECLECTIC 1 & 2
Label: Virgin
Link: www.gillespeterson.com
Root: UK-Various/ Eclectic Groove
If you miss Gilles Peterson since the departure of “Worldwide” (his BBC1 produced weekly show) from the California airwaves, you are left with two choices: catch the show via internet broadcast, or get your hands on these two masterfully compiled eclectic groove collections. Geared towards an audience with a discerning ear, the mix of vanguard rarities taps into the guru’s personal flair for putting artists and genres on the map years ahead of anyone else. An insight look into the future of hip-hop, R&B, acid jazz, and musical expressions still awaiting a namesake, Gilles builds a thread that obeys only to his refined taste and wisdom. The connoisseur will relish in the novelty, while the novice should definitely trust this DJ.

Artist: SHAKATURA
Title: GALACTIVATION
Label: Cyberoctave
Link: www.shakatura.com
Root: US/ Downtempo
Shakatura’s inspiration draws from the same shamanistic realms explored by the Orb and Banco de Gaya, but navigates deeper into a subconscious world of beauty and contemplation. A headphone pleaser unsuited for the dance floor, bass lines give rhythm and pace to a meticulous layering of tribal drums, exotic instruments, enchanting foreign vocals and hypnotic atmospheric textures. This trance inducing global mix, the work of San Francisco based producer Galen Butler, succeeds in generating its own enchanted world, slowing down the pulse and awakening the mind to a gentler reality, creating an esoteric experience that transcends familiar musical boundaries.

Artist: NICOLA CONTE presenta ROSALIA DE SOUZA
Title: GAROTA MODERNA
Label: Avatar Records
Root: Italy-Brazil/ Bossa Nova-Electronica
Riding the tail end of the new Bossa Nova wave, “Garota Moderna” benefits from a perspective gained by the success of its predecessors, namely Bebel Gilberto and Cibelle of Suba. A collaboration between Italian New Jazz master-producer Nicola Conte and Rosalia de Souza, one of Brazil finest new vocal talent, “Modern Chick” departs from mellower samba antics, while occasionally packing a punch in the ass shaking department with drum and bass uplift. Conte never overwhelms the production with electronic gimmicks, and gives the album a classic undertone, especially when revisiting Brazil’s greats like Baden Powell, Vinicius de Moraes and Stan Getz. Rosalia’s torchy vocals ad swing and passion to the compositions with the cozyness of a fire place, the sensuality of a tropical rain.

Artist: JAMES HARDWAY
Title: BIG CASINO
Label: Hydrogen Dukebox Records/Ubiquity
Link: www.jameshardway.com
Root: UK/ Progressive Acid Jazz
“Big Casino” doesn’t ask of you what you hear, but what you feel between the ears. While your cerebral cortex wanders aimlessly in search of references (is this progressive house? abstract jazz? dub-ambient electronica?), an otherworldly journey has already begun, demanding attention and providing a narrow escape from convention and clichés. The hybrid tweaking makes the case for creative gamble, once the hallmark of the electronic movement, now sunk in overabundance of disposable garbage. James Hardway, a recent production moniker for scene veteran David Harrow, whose worldly travel have led him to this very point in time, has combined every electronic subgenre of the past two decades into a risky forward thinking oddball. “Big Casino” does more than provide a soundtrack for a Vegas inspired film noir, it becomes a metaphorical bet on the future of the genre.

Artist: VARIOUS
Title: STARGAZING
Label: Guidance Recordings
Link: www.33rpm.com/
Root: Various/ Electro
As a little slice of electro-pop heaven that falls on the right side of indie-rock, Stargazing is gently intoxicating, without the hangover suffered from too much hype. This collection of 13 songs create a mellow metropolitan atmosphere without ever becoming a trendy bar’s soundtrack. Familiar names like Ladytron, Telepopmusik and Blue States, rub shoulders with Iceland’s Flunk and their quirky reinterpretation of “Blue Monday”, the melancholic “Infinite Love Song” by Maximilian Hecker, who’s inescapable hooks never let go, while Alpine Star’s keyboard anthem “77 Sunset Trip” becomes the best driving song of its generation. Without any real common thread other than an infatuation with technology, the selection takes surprising turns into this cool, futuristic landscape. Alas, Stargazing is a fine tribute to musical invention, reconnecting with an era where listening to Depeche Mode was considered revolutionary.

Artist: BENT
Title: THE EVERLASTING BLINK
Label: Guidance Recordings
Link: www.33rpm.com/
Root: UK/ Electronica
In the Mid 90’s, a snippet of interview emerged on a Coldcut album with the following question: “What do you call this music?” answered by: “Country-disco-symphonic-punk” followed by a wheezy chuckle. Having made this quirky scenario a reality more akin to schizophrenia then sarcasm, Bent rides a fine line between unbearable cheese and ultimate cool. More cohesive than “programmed to love”, its predecessor, “The Everlasting Blink” paints a fairy tale landscape on the walls of a mental institution, with songs as weird as they are beautiful. Sometimes as abrasive as a bubble bath with sandpaper, the production exudes originality, the downtempo beats never succomb to redundance, and random oddities make background listening impossible. Not a single note is taken for granted. "Beautiful Otherness" (featuring Beloved's Jon Marsh on vocals) blissfully soars as the highlight of the album, while “Magic Love” packs enough groove to star on Soul Train. In the end, like marmite on English toast, whether this musical genius will be recognize is a personal matter of taste.

Artist: UNKLE
Title: NEVER, NEVER LAND
Label: Universal Int'l
Link: www.unkle.com/
Root: UK/ Electronica
Cut and paste visionary James Lavelle, teaming up with long time friend Richard File for this second incarnation of Unkle, delivers a murky album in search of itself through a musical palette ranging from 70’s progressive rock to early 80’s post punk new wave. Recognizable samples and loops abound, a nod to influences ranging from Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath, to Joy Division and Love and Rockets. Assembled via dance music production techniques, these “rock” songs create a boundary-free hybrid. Quiet ballads are juxtaposed to sweeping cinematic epics, all becoming the sum of their parts, with contributions from Ian Brown and Mani (Stone Roses), Jarvis Cocker (Pulp) and Brian Eno, 3D (Massive Attack), Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), and Joel (South). Gone are the hip hop and dance floor antics of the first album, replaced by an emphasis on song writing and melody, making “Never, Never Land” an introspective affair slow to reveal itself, but once it does, becomes a shoegazing manifesto.