The Scourge of the Earth - My Pastie Weighs a Ton (Warner ESP)

The Black Dog is the sort of artist that, just as you are wondering what they're doing or where they've been, come back at you with the – always surprising - answers. Last time it was a set of remixes of Lalo Schrifrin's Bullitt theme. Yes, the 60's movie, recently used in the Ford Puma ad.. Now we are presented with a collaboration with Israeli vocal sculptress Ofra Haza, with a raft of remixes from Lazonby, Terminalhead, Scanner and an obscure genius masquerading under the pseudonym of The Scourge Of The Earth. I think I'll raise a few eyebrows when I "exclusively" reveal that said Scourge is the latest trading name of none other than The KLF's Jimmy Cauty. And it's a classic return to form - screaming babies, warplanes, tanks, bombs and all!

But Who Exactly is the Black Dog? They are very keen on "dis/information" so it's difficult to sort the wood from the trees. Black Dog definitely has nothing to do with the classic breakbeat diva track of the same name by D*Note. Or Plaid, the breakaway group who are currently enslaved to touring with Orbital. Or the grizzly action adventure film of the same name starring Patrick Swayze and Meatloaf. Oh no. Black Dog definitely IS behind the breakthrough elctronique albums, Bytes, The Temple Of Transparent Balls, Spanners and Music For Adverts (And Short Films). And the Dog is certainly behind obscure leftfield remixes of the likes of Bjork, Blondie, Neds Atomic Dustbin, the Moody Boys and U.N.C.L.E.. Or maybe it’s the other way round...

As for Babylon, the music is like nothing I've heard before. Egyptian downbeat, anyone? Ofra Haza's vocalisings, frankly, haven't changed much since Paid in Full. But at least here they're used in a fresh way, so maximum points to the Dog and "nul" points to Mystery Year favorites the Sisters of Mercy, whose Temple Of Love track with Ofra is pastiche Goth-rock. Regardless of all the celeb remixes on offer, the original shines through as the first pre-millennial single to raid the 20th century for emotion from every continent.

Scanner's remix is very standard - but shouldn’t be overlooked. Scanner's The Garden Is Full Of Metal album from last year was a gem. A multimedia ambient tribute to his friend Derek Jarman. For maximum DJ cool, skip to the Terminalhead mix, with which Nick Warren recently opened his set at Cream. Peter Lazonby is also in the mix on this CD and apparently described his interpretation as "my best work to date", although you should be the judge of that.

'Babylon' is a rare confusing epic. If the Jimmy Cauty remix can make it stand out into the mainstream, there’s a shock in store for all the ears out there glued to 1FM.

The Mike Douglas Show with John Lennon & Yoko Ono (Rhino Records)

This has to be the ultimate evening-in for Lennon and Beatles heads. In fact, with over six hours of footage in this delicious new box set, it's more of a barricade yourself in the living room for a weekend scenario. In '70s heyday, the Mike Douglas Show was the talk show to be seen on. And for one week only he was joined every night by two special co-hosts: Mr & Mrs Lennon. Needless to say, they bought with them not only some classic (and little-heard) tracks to air, but also a weird assortment of guests, comedians, activists and fruitcakes from the seventies New York underground.

Did it really change the course of television history? Well John & Yoko put together a bill that even today would make pretty breakthrough viewing on prime time TV. Like student activist Ralph Nader, yippie Jerry Rubin, comedian George Carlin, a macrobiotic cook, a biofeedback therapist and various others. You'll also the art work of Yoko getting a platform - interactive and multimedia pieces which predated anything we have now by a good thirty years.

Oh and there's some pretty good music too. There's not enough room to list each and every rare performance you get to see. But on-stage antics with Chuck Berry (John's all-time hero), a film cameo from Andy Warhol and the Plastic Ono Band in full effect should be enough to get most bedroom rock historians' hearts beating.


This review also published in: The Times

Hell - Munich Machine (Disko B)

Munich Machine is the new LP from DJ Helmut Geier and sounds like US electro meeting the more curious edges of Deutsche technology. With Kraftwerk videos popping up regularly on MTV Europe's Chill Out Zone recently, perhaps the time is right for the Europeans to invade the more credible UK dancefloors as well as the cheesefloors.

Having released a staggering 30 singles across a 20 year DJ carrer, this is surprisingly only Hell's second album. Try it and you'll hear industrial beats mashed up with a power drill across camp Barry Manilow samples. Skip a track to find euro-vocoder narratives mixed with beats and pulses that sound more Detroit than Munich.

The style and presentation of Hell very much reminds me of Kirlian's brilliant debut LP of last year, also on the Disko B label. But Munich Machine sounds more like a danced up version of the Fun Lovin’ Criminals without the big sell out factor. The Kirlian and FLC similarities end with choice chunks of throbbing Germanic trance that compromise tracks like 'Suicide Commando' and 'Jack The House'. On the other hand 'Copa' and 'Warm Leatherette' (yes, a cover of the Grace Jones classic!) could be chart hits in the making. Stardust ('Music Sounds Better With You') has given fresh hope to the 97% of dance artists that do not have major label backing. DJ Hell: more please!