RECOMMENDED RECORDS SAMPLER (1982)

In 1982 after 4 years of existence Recommended Records released a 2 LP sampler of non- released materiel, Chris Cutler having asked all bands and musicians for new material. All came in a nice 2 LP packaging with extensive liner notes, lyrics and a nice inside jigsaw made by Cutler himself, one for each band. At the end of the 70's prog as a commercial issue for the major companies was on it's rapid decline. Apart from a couple of big acts who were asked politely to furnish some hits or at least radio-friendly material most prog bands either folded or went underground. One of the first to react to this new situation was Ex Henry Cow drummer Chris Cutler who decided to create an independent label followed by many others. Also the big momentum of mainstream prog was gone the early 80's saw the birth of many independant rock labels often in the postpunk field. The 1982 Recommended Records release presents a mixture of postpunk, RIO and avant prog without any stylistic clashes due mainly to Cutler's excellent music taste. The 2LP set was released on a 2 CD set in 2008 and today the quality and choice is even more stunning. With bands/musicians like Henry Cow, Aksak Maboul,Univers Zero, Picchio Dal Pozzo, Art Zoyd, Faust, Art Bears, Stormy Six, This Heat & The Residents among others the bandlists reads like an ultimate RIO & Avant prog catalogue. There is not one weak track on the compilation and as all tracks were unreleased back then and for the most part aren't available elsewhere even now this double record is one of the most outstanding documents of the late 70's and early 80's.

Very Highly Recommended!