Browse by Label: FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)

Artist:	TEENAGE FANCLUB
Title:	A Catholic Education
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$31.00
Catalog #:	FF 001LP

"Originally released in 1990 on Paperhouse, this is their classic debut album and it really catches that pop indie sound that flooded everyone's headphones in the early '90s. More raw sounding than their later releases, A Catholic Education doesn't really fit neatly into any category, being the perfect marriage of the better aspects of Britpop and the swirling dreamy guitars and melancholy pop melodies of the Big Star tradition."

Artist:	JACKIE-O MOTHERFUCKER
Title:	Liberation
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	2LP
Price:	$48.00
Catalog #:	FF 120LP

"Released as the follow-up to the acclaimed Fig. 5, 2001's Liberation finds these 12 artisans of sound (using a mix of percussion, guitar, vibes, saxophone, violin, and electronics) 'liberated' of the confines of any set genre or structure, hovering somewhere in the very outer stratosphere of song itself. From spaced-out jams like 'The Pigeon' and 'Peace On Earth', to their take on Dino Valenti's 'Something On Your Mind' (released on Karen Dalton's 1971 album), this amorphous beast can still deliver a rewarding experience to those who dare to journey beyond the instant gratification of the pop song, for it is here that the future of music is being written." Includes mp3 download card.

Artist:	JACKIE-O MOTHERFUCKER
Title:	Fig. 5
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	2LP
Price:	$48.00
Catalog #:	FF 121LP

"Formed in Portland, Oregon in 1994 by multi-instrumentalists Tom Greenwood and Jef Brown, and drawing inspiration from a multitude of sources (jazz, Appalachian folk, soul, African-American spirituals, west coast surf-rock, Protestant hymns, Louisville post-rock, bluegrass, electronic noise) and an ever changing roster of members, JOMF somehow manages to use this eclecticism to their advantage, creating a sound that functions as a cohesive whole. The critically acclaimed Fig. 5, originally released in 2000 on Road Cone, is a kind of dreamlike journey through the past and future of the American song. Such diverse offerings as the opening 'Analogue Skillet', the prison camp work song 'Go Down, Old Hannah', or the 24-min 'Michigan Avenue Social Club', become the inherent pieces of a unified manifesto." Includes mp3 download card.

Artist:	FAIR, JAD
Title:	Beautiful Songs: The Best Of The Best Of Jad Fair
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$31.00
Catalog #:	FF 138LP

"Fire Fidelity brings you an LP featuring 24 of the best songs spanning the career of the legendary Jad Fair and his band Half Japanese plus a free download card good for over 100 of Jad's best songs! This Best Of compilation also includes liner notes written by Everett True, who tells us, 'I love him for his boundless enthusiasm and shy genius...maybe it's wrong to call Jad naive because he knows what he's doing, but he has a child-like wonderment that to me is at the core of most great music I can name. The Shaggs, Leadbelly, Jonathan Richman. He makes my feet want to move, and there's no higher compliment, I've seen Jad play concerts with a rolled-up newspaper and upturned wastebasket for rhythm, with just his voice for color. I've also seen Jad play stadiums in precisely the same fashion - with a band behind him, sure, but with the spirit intact - in front of crowds of over 15,000, in support to Nirvana on their final tour.' Released at the same time as Jad's new album, His Name Itself Is Music, Beautiful Songs (The Best Of The Best Of Jad Fair) is the perfect complement to a prolific and imaginative artist whose gifts keep on giving."
"Jad Fair is the godfather of minimalist monster art rock - a gentleman and a beast," -- Edwin Pouncey, The Wire.

Artist:	ESG
Title:	Come Away With ESG
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$31.00
Catalog #:	FF 140LP

"By the time ESG's debut LP, Come Away With ESG, was finally released in 1983, the Scroggins sisters had already released two EPs for 99 Records and a single for England's Factory Records--produced by Martin Hannett (Joy Division)--and had become influential members of NYC's downtown No Wave scene. Nothing out of the ordinary, except for the fact that the Scroggins' sisters were four black girls from the South Bronx who had about as much in common with the Teenage Jesus as Teenage Jesus had with Jesus of Nazareth. And yet, somehow, their sound fit exactly into that scene of misfits."

Artist:	ADVERTS, THE
Title:	Crossing The Red Sea With The Adverts
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	2LP
Price:	$50.00
Catalog #:	FF 143LP

"What you have here is not only a reissue of one of the greatest punk debuts of all time, but everything the Adverts ever recorded before setting off to work on their second album. Along with all 13 tracks recorded for 1978's Crossing the Red Sea (including a version of 'Gary Gilmore's Eyes' originally intended for their US release and 'New Day Dawning', which was held back for a single), this deluxe double LP also includes the band's first three singles, along with six tracks taken from a never-before-heard recording of a gig the Adverts played at the Roundhouse in London in early 1978 (headlining over Sham 69), with brand new drummer, John Towe (from Generation X). A tape of this recording was just recently discovered sitting in a box in John's house, so this is the first time it has ever been heard by the public! Also featuring printed inners with lyric sheet and comments by T.V. Smith and author Dave Thompson!"

Artist:	ESG
Title:	Dance To The Best Of ESG
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	3LP
Price:	$65.00
Catalog #:	FF 156LP

"By 1978 over 40% of all buildings in the South Bronx had either been burned to the ground for insurance money or simply abandoned, but somehow in this time of Armageddon one of the most influential and visionary bands of the era not only managed to flourish, but become leaders of the avant-garde. Even more astounding was that the band members were four sisters and a family friend who at first could barely play their instruments, but this did not stop them from grabbing the attention of the ultra-hip 99 Records and Joy Division's legendary producer, Martin Hannett, who in 1981 recorded their first single for Factory Records. The song 'UFO' from this single has become one of the most sampled songs in history. This deluxe collection spans their entire history beginning with this first groundbreaking single through the decades to follow. 32 tracks and 8-page booklet."

Artist:	BARDO POND
Title:	Bardo Pond
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	PIC. DISC
Price:	$41.00
Catalog #:	FF 157LP

"Formed in 1989 in Philadelphia by the guitar-wielding Gibbons brothers, Bardo Pond's drug-inspired space rock--complete with droning guitars, heavy distortion, feedback, reverb, and white noise--soon made them cornerstones of the Psychedelphia scene (Aspera, Asteroid No. 4, Azusa Plane) and the same warped galaxy as bands like Hawkwind, Amon Duul II, Spacemen 3 and Mogwai. Now two decades and many albums later, Bardo Pond are still drinking the water in Philly and this latest eponymous album (released in 2010) is just one of its happy consequences. The album eddies in a whirlpool of country psych, with Isobel Sollengberger's vocals braving the acid-tainted rapids."

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Blurry Blue Mountain
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	PIC. DISC
Price:	$35.00
Catalog #:	FF 1610LP

Limited edition picture disc version. "2010 marks the 25th anniversary of Valley Of Rain -- the debut album by Giant Sand, the ever-shifting alternative rock band overseen by 'the Godfather of Alt. Country' Howe Gelb. With that in mind, the band are celebrating in the only way they know how: with a flurry of great music, including the release of this new Giant Sand record. This special edition is being released in a limited edition of 500 copies on picture disc. Says Howe Gelb of Blurry Blue Mountain: 'On this album, it happened that every session we were able to record came between workloads that rendered us at that point of sleeping and waking. Like the poppy fields in Wizard Of Oz, we went in and out of consciousness at various times during recording. This is not a bad thing. Nor does it make the record sound like we're asleep. It has the momentum of that place between sleep and being awake. And in that narrow slip of existence lies a landscape of reason that most of us hurry past in daily lives. This record is planted firmly there. Between the crystal clear focus of your day to day and the luxury of sweet fuzzy sleep, we welcome you to the blurry blue mountain.'"

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Valley Of Rain
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$31.00
Catalog #:	FF 162LP

"This HQ vinyl reissue on Fire Fidelity commemorates the 25th anniversary of Valley Of Rain - the debut album by Giant Sand, the ever-shifting alternative rock band overseen by 'the 'Godfather of Alt. Country', Howe Gelb. 'Giant Sand is a mood,' says Howe of Giant Sand, as if trying to offer a low-key explanation for his dizzying array of artistic exploration that includes a back-catalogue of some 40 albums as a singer, band-leader and producer. After growing up in Pennsylvania in the 1970s, it wasn't until he moved to Tucson, Arizona that he met his musical soul mate, the guitarist Rainer Ptaceck. The two formed Giant Sandworms and issued only a handful of recordings before the worms were put to rest: since then, Giant Sand have released 24 albums - an impressive haul when considering Howe's equally prolific output under other projects including Black Ranchette and Arizona Amp & Alternator as well as his solo releases. Howe, though, is definitely not content to rest on his laurels. Giant Sand's 2000 album Chore Of Enchantment has been declared one of the 'Best 1000 Records Ever Made' and scooped up plaudits from NME and The Guardian amongst others, with the former insisting the record cemented his reputation as 'a founding father of modern Americana'. His most recent solo project, meanwhile - 2006's Sno Angel Like You - earned a 5 star review in Mojo."

Artist:	GELB & A BAND OF GYPSIES, HOWE
Title:	Alegrias
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	PIC. DISC
Price:	$41.00
Catalog #:	FF 166LP

"Recorded in 2006 in Spain on a rooftop in Cordoba with Howe Gelb's Band Of Gypsies and virtuoso flamenco guitarist Raimundo Amador (who has also collaborated with Bjork and BB King), Alegrias is the latest excellent chapter in Gelb's lengthy discography. Many have tried to blend flamenco into their style and failed, but Gelb seems unable to stumble no matter what he tries his hand at. Here he manages to seamlessly sear together flamenco rhythms with echoes of his own Arizona desert...perhaps the common denominator being the fact that Spain and the American southwest are culturally (and musically) linked by so many hundreds of years of history. Mixed by the legendary John Parish (PJ Harvey), Alegrias sails effortlessly into uncharted seas."

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	The Love Songs
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$31.00
Catalog #:	FF 170LP

"For the past 25 years the Tucson-based Giant Sand (originally Giant Sandworms as a nod to the Dune books) has been one of the most consistently innovative in the American music scene. A recipe that could perhaps be best described as 1 cup well-executed grunge aesthetic, 1 cup downtown NY, 1 cup troubadour, and a dash of country outlaw. Although its membership has shifted greatly over the years, singer / songwriter (as well as guitarist and pianist) Howe Gelb has remained at the helm to help fill the coffers of what could be called the new American folk song. Often called Giant Sand's best album of their early period, 1988's Love Songs features an expressiveness and songwriting maturity that rivals Bob Dylan." 180 gram vinyl.

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Center Of The Universe
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$32.00
Catalog #:	FF 173LP

"Center Of The Universe was originally released in 1992, and is part of a series of Giant Sand reissues from Fire Fidelity. Giant Sand front man, Howe Gelb, holds Center Of The Universe close to his heart explaining that the record, 'Could be my favorite...written in a one room cabin at the end of the road in the high desert around Joshua Tree where I lived for a few years...recorded back in Venice, California with the same slant as was instilled in the writing...adorned with the "psycho sisters" who show where the melodies in these songs were hiding...now through the miracle of remastering, these tracks sound more vibrant and alluring.' What was a common approach to record making for Howe and Giant Sand, Center Of The Universe would be the last of a kind, 'it marks the last time I could work like this, before the advent of family life was to take over and populate the day...this record marks the final time of isolation with a happy careless abandon and an immediate urgency delivered by a wired up acoustic guitar with stomp box distortion ready and willing.' The experiment: to record a vocal in fragments while intentionally singing differently each time on the same song, then combining the takes instantaneously. The result was 'Loretta And The Insect World.'" Includes download code.

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Purge & Slouch
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	2LP
Price:	$48.00
Catalog #:	FF 174LP

"After the commercial and critical success of 1992's Center Of The Universe, Giant Sand looked to lay down the instinctive and impulsive spark of the band onto record, 'Believing in recording in "the moment of impact" to result in a "perfect harvest," where a song gets captured the first time it ever gets played, and this record marks the moment where 98.5 % of it was done like this.' Howe was planning on it being his Metal Machine Music album, but instead, 'some real songs happened too many times in the process...songs I have never learned.' Originally released in 1993." Includes download code.

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Ramp
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$32.00
Catalog #:	FF 175LP

"Ramp was originally released in 1991 and continues the program of Giant Sand reissues from Fire Fidelity. For Ramp, Giant Sand ushered in several new members to the fold, 'including young bassist Joey burns, the stunning voice of 74-year-old Pappy Allen, and our sweet, sweet friend Victoria Williams. We had begun recording in Tucson and finished it back in Venice, CA at Mad Dog Studio again...the first track was produced by Dusty Wakeman and featured the late great Duane Jarvis.' Howe describes that the experiment with Ramp was 'to record an electric song live in the studio and have the pre-recorded acoustic bridge be slotted in by DAT machine while then starting up again with the electric part live at the same pace as before the DAT take was applied with its different beat. What made this tricky was the mechanical delay of the play button on the state of the art day machine...you can hear the result in 'Warm Storm.'" Includes download code.

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Glum
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$31.00
Catalog #:	FF 176LP

"1994's Glum was to be Giant Sand's largest record and in order to make it so, Howe Gelb invited everyone along to the party. This carnival help create Giant Sand's best record to date and Glum is now proudly re-issued by Fire Fidelity. Howe Gelb explains Glum's story, 'This was our best record for a long time. It had Malcolm Burn producing it with me and it was done up at Daniel Lanois' studio in New Orleans. Since it was our first big budget session, I tried to get everyone who ever took part on a Giant Sand record to come to Dan's mansion and stay and be on the record somewhere. This made the atmosphere in the house more entangled then it had to be, but seemed like the way it should be. For some reason I began singing like an old man on this record, or maybe was inspired too much from my new talking distortion pedal on my guitar.'" Includes download code.

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Backyard Barbeque Broadcast
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$31.00
Catalog #:	FF 177LP

"Recorded and broadcast way back when...an actual back yard barbeque that an old buddy and WFMU radio host Nick Hill had set up to broadcast and record live on air at the radio station...watermelon and everything! This BBQ record nicely captures the sweetness of the season when Giant Sand were turning into something else. This collection of songs was recorded by WFMU over two live sessions for 'The Music Faucet' show in the summer of 1994 and 1995." Includes download code.

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Goods And Services
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	2LP
Price:	$48.00
Catalog #:	FF 178LP

"1995's Goods and Services was originally made for German ears only. Its re-issue will bring it to the attention of new fans as part of the series. Once not remembered fondly by Giant Sand's Howe Gelb, time has been kind and his perception has softened with the memories of Vic Chesnutt's contribution. Howe Gelb: 'Another live record. But this sound was bloated from Euro touring and was supposed to be a reaction of only how it was sounding then. Later, that made less sense to me since every tour the band's sound would change anyway. So I am not in love with this record and thusly never made it available for the States. But now, looking back on it, it brings a smile and also moistens the eye with the missingness of Pappy and Vic Chesnutt." Includes download card.

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Chore Of Enchantment
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	2LP
Price:	$48.00
Catalog #:	FF 179LP

"Realized through tragic circumstances, the passing of Rainer Ptacek and the birth of Calexico, it all came together at the end for Giant Sand. Arguably Giant Sand's finest album, the fruits of an astounding story and the mesmerizing high point of the 25th anniversary reissue series. 1999's Chore Of Enchantment features a collection of bonus tracks and includes a download card for all other bonus material."
"What does the title mean? Well, it's just the effort that it takes hanging on to the things that tend to enthrall. The exhausting act of keeping happy"-- Howe Gelb.

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Cover Magazine
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$31.00
Catalog #:	FF 180LP

"2002's Cover Magazine is a much less cryptic, typically literal title for one of Giant Sand's lighter alternative offerings. A collection of covers which says as much about Howe Gelb's personal musical taste as it does the friends he has made on his musical journey. Being in the fortunate position of looking back on Giant Sand's output with the 25th Anniversary reissue series, we are able to see the influences which have shaped the existence of the band at each turn and chapter. Neil Young, Johnny Cash, Nick Cave and of course Rainer Ptacek have all made an impression and the tables are turned as Giant Sand give thanks with renditions of Young's 'Out On The Weekend', Cash's 'I'm Leaving Now' and Rainer's touching 'The Inner Flame'. More contemporary takes on PJ Harvey and Goldfrapp show Giant Sand are forever keen and willing to listen. With Giant Sand's clattering percussion and Howe's meandering vocals, nothing should be assumed before listening. Each track is taken from a new (alternative, strange, weird, interesting, unexpected, intriguing) angle, so surprises are aplenty. A Black Sabbath lounge ballad anyone?" Includes download code.

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Black Out
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$31.00
Catalog #:	FF 190LP

"Fire Fidelity re-issues the rare and regarded Black Out recording from 1993. Forged from the embers of the recording session which was Purge & Slouch, and wholly acoustic, this collection of takes was originally released only in Germany. Black Out sits proudly amidst the Giant Sand re-issue project. 'When we gathered for the grand experiment of Purge & Slouch, Howe Gelb recalls, 'the idea of which was to record without having written anything prior for it. Some actual songs did pop out, perhaps for the sake of warm-up or while mics were being wired maybe just for the sake of vigorous deployment. Re-living some old songs there and then, we bundled 'em up after the fact for what would become Stromausfall instead. This was a limited batch release on a small German label that took my original title Black Out and translated it. The idea being that this is the sound that would happen during one... songs without electricity attached.' Since then, most of that original pressing made in Germany has mysteriously self destructed so it is with pleasure we have the opportunity to release the album." Includes download code.

Artist:	GIANT SAND
Title:	Is All Over the Map
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$31.00
Catalog #:	FF 191LP

"In 2004 Giant Sand had changed beyond recognition. The revolving door of band members that so invaluably contributed to a prolific and gifted past was now, literally, all over the map, and so were Giant Sand. Bassist Joey Burns and drummer John Convertino had now moved to pastures new with Calexico, in their place were a new Scandinavian backline which would enable Howe and Giant Sand to release the first original material since 2000's Chore of Enchantment. The reaction produced a record which at points harked back to the more rowdy and aggressive tones of Giant Sand of old, seemingly in search for the familiarity of earlier times, stretching in to new surroundings, distortion being the tool. The songs of course are great, Gelb's often whispered and crackly in-ear vocals, pretty piano, acoustic guitar (and with peppering of that distortion) all play their part to continue the Giant Sand train moving, um, all over the map." Includes download code.

Artist:	ROCKET FROM THE TOMBS
Title:	The Day The Earth Met The...
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	2LP
Price:	$45.00
Catalog #:	FF 196LP

Subtitled: Live From Punk Ground Zero, Cleveland 1975. "Fire Fidelity is thrilled to bring you this historic reissue by Ohio legends Rocket From The Tombs, The Day the Earth Met the Rocket From the Tombs. The Cleveland five piece (consisting of David Thomas and Peter Laughner, later with Pere Ubu, as well as Cheetah Chrome and Johnny Madanksy, later with the Dead Boys) formed in 1974, played only a handful of shows, never put out a record, and just 12 short months later called it quits, but in 2002 previously unheard demos, live recordings and bootlegs were unearthed culminating in enough material to make this album. These rare 1975 recordings come from three sources: the RFTT Rehearsal loft on Jul 18, the Picadilly Inn on July 24 and the Agora on May 5, and all serve to bear witness to the undeniable fact that Rocket From the Tombs' brand of proto-punk represents ground zero, and remains unmatched even 37 years later. Essential!" Housed in a full-color gatefold sleeve; with download code.

Artist:	ROCKET FROM THE TOMBS
Title:	Barfly
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$31.00
Catalog #:	FF 197LP

"The received wisdom (at least in America) goes that punk rock was invented in New York by the Ramones, who reconfigured Midwestern hard groove rock and '60s garage singles, into a formula that defined punk: short, fast, catchy, and unstoppable. But in some weird parallel universe, punk might have traced its roots to Rocket from the Tombs, a Cleveland band that lasted less than eight months (1974-75), and never made a studio recording. In those eight months they wrote songs that would become punk anthems: 'Ain't It Fun,' 'Sonic Reducer,' 'Final Solution,' '30 Seconds Over Tokyo,' 'Amphetamine, and they played them like there was no tomorrow. These men are ugly, old, and have not mellowed in any conceivable way. They've devoted their lives to raging against the boundaries, and they have been willing to pay the price." Includes mp3 download card.

Artist:	ESG
Title:	ESG
Label:	FIRE FIDELITY (ITALY)
Format:	LP
Price:	$31.00
Catalog #:	FF 222LP

"When ESG's debut EP hit the streets in 1981, no one suspected the profound impact these songs would have on the history of music, particularly 'UFO' (which soon became one of the most sampled songs in the history of hip hop) and 'Moody' (which was a huge hit on the downtown post-punk music scene), and the ripple effect of these songs have been felt ever since. After their label, 99 Records, folded in 1984, ESG maintained a low profile until making a comeback in 1991 with this self-titled LP. This release featured the two original smash hits from their 1981 debut, plus three cuts ('A New Day', 'Standing In Line' and 'Crash') from their obscure 1987 Bam Bam Jam EP, along with some previously unreleased material." Includes download code.

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