Alabama 3 – Hits and Exit Wounds

Let’s face it — “Greatest Hits” albums from bands you like tend to suck. It’s all stuff you’ve heard before, out of the context in which you’re used to hearing it.

In fact, when I first heard that Alabama 3 was releasing a “Greatest Hits” album, I was more than a little bit snarky about the whole thing over at Free A3.

However, being the fanboy I so obviously am, I still had to get it. And frankly, I ended up a bit surprised.

Yes, I’ve heard it all before, even the “uncollected” bits like “SKA’D for Live”, which they did with Orbital for the movie SW9 (and of which I am very fond).
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Hangin’ with Alabama 3 at SXSW

If you read this site much, you’ve undoubtedly noticed that I’m a big fan of Alabama 3, the UK “techno country” band (“The best live band in the UK” according to The Guardian).

Last week, they were back in the US to appear at South by Southwest Music in Austin. Well, since I’m in Dallas, I couldn’t really not go, could I?

Unfortunately, I had a limited window during which I could sneak off for a day, and I had to book a hotel well in advance of the official schedule. Long story short, we ended up in Austin the night before they were to perform, with no real way to stay over an extra night.
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Alabama 3 – 12 Label Free Steps

Not to be outdone by the likes of NIN or Radiohead, Alabama 3 has launched an ambitious 12-month plan to put out a new album.

Produced totally without labels, and totally with the fans.

Each and every month for the next yer, the Boys from Brixton are putting up 3 new songs on their web site. Fans get to vote on each song, and afterwords they get to download all three songs — which they are free to remix and send back to the band
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Rock Freebase Solo Stuff

Rock Freebase, the legendary guitarist from Alabama 3 has just released a bunch of solo songs, which you can download now from Amie Street.

They’re not free, but the most expensive one is all of 47 cents, so how can you go wrong? Cheaper than iTunes Music Store, and none of that nasty DRM.

Go get ‘em while they’re hot!

(via FreeA3)

Up Above My Head

Alabama 3 – Amos Moses

Always nice to see a D.Wayne feature number…

Woke Up This Morning & Got a Mention in the NYT

Alabama 3, that is — AKA “A3″ in the US, AKA “The UK’s best live band” AKA “The greatest band nobody’s ever heard of”.

Apparently the New York Times’ Virginia Heffernan managed to hear of them, and decided to talk a bit about them, in place of the last season of The Sopranos, the show that almost put them on the map in the US…

As Mr. Lucas explains: “So you know, although ‘The Sopranos’ is certainly one of my favorite programs, I can tell you that Alabama 3 got royally screwed by HBO/Chase & co. out of getting an ongoing weekly credit for their theme song on the program, which would have helped their currently no-profile career a great deal (I mean, their song really helped make that show … much as the Rembrandts’ tune ‘I’ll Be There for You’ helped make ‘Friends’ a hit — and the Rembrandts get a credit every time ‘Friends’ airs anywhere in the world).

If you’d like to find out (and listen to) a bit more, feel free to peruse the archives here, their official site, or (my personal favorite), FreeA3 – The Unofficial Alabama 3 Fan Forum, which manages to be haunted fairly frequently by not only some great music, but a few members of the band.

(Thanks to Harry for the heads up!)
[tags]Alabama 3, A3, FreeA3, Larry Love, D.Wayne Love, Woke Up This Morning, The Sopranos[/tags]

Alabama3 – Glade Festival 2006 Video

The boys from Brixton doing “U Don’t Dans 2 Tekno Anymore” and “Bulletproof”, live at the Glade Festival, 2006.

(Caution – some NSFW lyrics here…)

(via FreeA3)

One sunny afternoon in 2129

I swear it’s not my intent to turn this into just a collection of YouTube posts (or of Alabama3 posts, for that matter), but this was posted up over to FreeA3, and it was so good I couldn’t resist. Shame it’s not a bit longer…

Reading from left to right, that’s Rock Freebase, Devlin Love and Larry Love…

A bit of trivia from the YouTube comments…

Her stage name is Devlin Love, real name Zoe Reynolds. She’s Malaysian and married to Nick Reynolds, the harmonica player in the Larry Love Showband (and sometimes Alabama 3). He also happens to be the son of Bruce Reynolds, aka The Great Train Robber, and the subject of the Alabama 3 song “Have You Seen Bruce Richard Reynolds”. Very incestuous band!

(The song is “2129″, available (at full length) on the La Peste album)

Alabama 3 – Intervention (The Futech Mixes) – Review

Okay, anybody who knows my taste in music (or lack thereof) knows that I tend to collect remixes of Alabama 3 music like a dark shirt collects cat hair.

Naturally, the quality of these mixes tend to vary from “Hey, that’s pretty good!” to “Just how loaded were they?”, but some of the consistently best remixes have come from a denizen of the Unofficial Alabama 3 Forum named Futech.

While most of us A3 fans are anxiously awaiting the new studio album, due out someday fairly soon with any luck, Futech has put together 8 of his best remixes into an album, which he’s titled “Intervention”. He’s even done up cover art.

While this is far from official (and far from authorized, probably), there is some outstanding stuff here.

You can find it all right here, as either individual tracks or a whole album download. All in sweet pretty DRM-free MP3s.

Enjoy!

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