Customer Reviews

Rare on Air 2: Kcrw Performances

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A wonderful collection of songs from all kinds of artists, the Rare on Air series demonstrates the breadth of music on offer on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic Show. For me the highlight is "The City Sleeps" by MC 900ft Jesus, a slowly burning groove beneath a tale of metropolitan arson. But hip-hop is just one facet of Rare on Air Volume 2 - from Joni Mitchell's 90's folk to Cibo Matto's trippy pop, the whole series shows the true value of public broadcasting. Commercial broadcasters just don't (or won't), showcase such a wide variety of musical styles. Without commerce as their raison d'etre, stations such as KCRW can afford to broaden the horizons of their listenership, and that's why a CD like Rare on Air should be part of any open-minded music fans collection.

I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do!

Why do I love compilations like this? Because I find myself listening to--and enjoying--music I would never have listened to otherwise. Who'd've guessed that a rocker like me would ever like MC 900 Ft Jesus? Cibo Mato, I've not entirely warmed to, although I understand why it's so loved.

Lovers of music, incidentally, should visit kcrw.org where you can listen to their music programming 24/7. As eclectic as this disc is, it just glances on how truly adventurous kcrw is as a radio station. How I miss living in Los Angeles.

Warm, sweet, human, and raw. An end-to-end listening will put you in a contemplative, positive mood. This is not background music - it deserves your undivided attention, but it does not demand it of you; it is extremely easy on the ears and mind.

This compilation does not attempt to combine an inordinate number of musical genres, which, in my opinion, is a common problem with so-called "eclectic" collections. Rather, this is a coherent selection of artists and performances that blend well with one another.

A beautifully transparent production. Even the two triphop selections sound uncommonly clean and live.

Sad is the only word that describes the state of most of our radio airwaves. Sad, because by listening to most of the albums of rare and live material issued by Santa Monica's eclectic radio station, KCRW, reminds once more that there's much that we're not been provided by commercial radio (sure enough, a reason why it's called commercial!)

'Rare on Air: Volume 2' compiles the station's live sessions from KCRW's now legendary program "Morning Becomes Eclectic" recorded between 1993 and 1994, now onto its second decade! I hadn't heard their previous compilations: up to now, beside listening to the station, which I highly recommend -tune in at kcrw.org-, I'd purchased the "KCRW: Sounds Eclectic Too" album back in 2002. Well, I was so gladly surprised to discover that KCRW's roots and commitment to only the best music run deep into the heart of what's available out there, to bring back some otherwise unbelievably good and tough-to-find works and artits.

As for the album, specifically, Glass' "Opening" and Joni Mitchell's "Just Like This Train" blew my mind, but so did the rest of the material, most of which introduced new artists to me (something I just LOVE about KCRW!) To sum it up, all I have to say is: get it! I was extremely lucky to run into it (because it's out of print) at a local indy record store for an incredible $5! You might not be as lucky, but once you get it, you will dig it so much, that you won't regret paying a little more for it. Enjoy... peace out!