V/A - 16 Dance Party Smash Hits! (16x7" Boxset, Various 1985)

Discs 1 & 2: Faust-Extracts

Disc 3: Peter Blegvad-Alcohol

Disc 4: Univers Zero-Triomphe Des Mouches

Disc 5: Art Zoyd-Manege

Disc 6: Joseph Racaille-Six Petites Chansons

Disc 7: Art Bears-Coda To Man And Boy

Disc 8: V/A-The Recommended Sampler EP

Disc 9: Art Bears-Rats & Monkeys/Collapse

Disc 10: Lindsay Cooper-Pictures From The Great Exhibition

Disc 11: News From Babel-Contraries

Disc 12: Chris Cutler & Fred Frith-Limoges

Disc 13: David Thomas, Chris Cutler & Alan Ravenstine-Didn't Have A Very Good Time

Disc 14: Cassiber-Time Running Out

Disc 15: Mnemonists-Nailed/Tic

Disc 16: Vogel featuring Ivor Cutler-Guten Morgen Arschloch

Well, this sprawling beast (clocking in at around 2 1/2 hours of music) took two full days to pull together, so it's gonna be my sole post for this round, but hopefully it's one that'll fill in a lot of desired blanks for those that recognize the centrality of R.I.O. in general and Recommended Records in particular to any discussion of adventurous music, as the contents herein offers both a spot on crash course in the idiom for the uninitiated and, for those already keyed into this vibe, a trawl through the obscure odds 'n' ends bin of some of the most radical bands of the last 30+ years; this jaw-dropping doorstop of a boxset serving as the repository for all of the accumulated bonus singles that had come with subscriber's editions of albums issued by this nonpareil Rock In Opposition imprint over the years (barring the Art Bears' Rats & Monkeys single, which was issued by Ralph). Sure, some of of this stuff has appeared elsewhere in the intervening years (most notably the four Faust sides, which were later repurposed for their Last LP and the subsequent 71 Minutes Of Faust CD), but it felt essential to make this set available in it's complete form, as the cumulative impact of experiencing all this back to back makes this one of the most impressive artifacts of the scene in existance, not least for the inclusion of the Art Bears' quietly harrowing Coda To Man And Boy, which gets my vote for the most sublime guitar work that Fred Frith has ever laid to tape. All the aforesaid does however come with the proviso that the 11-13 minute per side duration of the Art Zoyd single and The Recommended Sampler EP make both sound like they were pressed on recycled truck tires.

Contents:

Discs 1 & 2: Faust-Extracts
Disc 3: Peter Blegvad-Alcohol
Disc 4: Univers Zero-Triomphe Des Mouches
Disc 5: Art Zoyd-Manege
Disc 6: Joseph Racaille-Six Petites Chansons
Disc 7: Art Bears-Coda To Man And Boy
Disc 8: V/A-The Recommended Sampler EP
(Peter Blegvad, Ici La Bas, Faust, R. Stevie Moore)
Disc 9: Art Bears-Rats & Monkeys/Collapse
Disc 10: Lindsay Cooper-Pictures From The Great Exhibition
Disc 11: News From Babel-Contraries
Disc 12: Chris Cutler & Fred Frith-Limoges
Disc 13: David Thomas Chris Cutler & Alan Ravenstine-Didn't Have A Very Good Time
Disc 14: Cassiber-Time Running Out
Disc 15: Mnemonists-Nailed/Tic
Disc 16: Vogel featuring Ivor Cutler-Guten Morgen Arschloch

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*special thanks to Mutant Sounds for posting this (it was too tempting for me not to repost it...)