The Raveonettes are a Danish indie rock duo, consisting of Sune Rose Wagner on guitar, instruments
and vocals, and Sharin Foo on bass, guitar and vocals. Their music is characterized by close two-part vocal harmonies inspired by The Everly Brothers coupled with hard-edged electric guitar overlaid with liberal doses of noise. Their songs juxtapose the structural and chordal simplicity of 1950s and 1960s rock with intense electric instrumentation, driving beats, and often dark lyrical content (e.g., crime, drugs, murder, suicide, love, lust, and betrayal), similar to another of the band's influences, The Velvet Underground.
Combining the noisy swells of the Jesus and Mary Chain with melodic elements of '50s rock & roll, Danish duo the Raveonettes are a band tied to the past, sonically and visually, but they're never afraid to give their trademark retro sound a slightly more modern update with new wave synths and hip-hop drum breaks while always staying true to their darkly dangerous vision.
Guitarist Sune Rose Wagner had tried assembling a band for several years, traveling between New York City, Las Vegas, Hollywood, and an island outside of Seattle in his search for like-minded musicians. A
longtime fan of Bob Dylan, he also prized the songwriting of Buddy Holly and the harmonies of the Everly Brothers, although it was the lovely dissonance of Sonic Youth and the Jesus and Mary Chain that ultimately motivated Wagner to pursue music professionally. His stay in America didn't exactly pan out, and Wagner returned to Denmark, where he connected with bassist/vocalist Sharin Foo. A fan of the Beatles and the Velvet Underground, Foo had studied qawwali and Hindustani classical music during a six-month stay abroad.
The duo met in Copenhagen and, after forming the band, began recording "Whip It On" at "Once Was
& Sauna Recording Studio", a former Sony Studios facility. They booked the studio for three weeks during non-session down time late in 2001 and handled all production chores by themselves. Adding guitarist Manoj Ramdas and jazz drummer Jakob Hoyer, The Raveonettes booked one of their first gigs at the SPOT festival in Aarhus, the second largest city in Denmark.
After the release of "Whip It On" on the seminal Danish Crunchy Frog label, Hoyer and Ramdas would contribute to the next three Raveonettes albums, along with other additional musicians. However, by the time "Lust Lust Lust" was released in 2007, Sune and Sharin would be the only two musicians credited, showing a return to the dynamic around the time of the mini-album.
Officially, the band was discovered by Rolling Stone editor David Fricke at the SPOT festival, and his rave review of the duo immediately resulted in a number of offers from major labels. Unofficially, the band discovered that David Fricke would be present at the SPOT festival, and they rushed a band together and headed for the festival. The band is managed by Richard Gottehrer, who has been with them from the start.
"Whip It On" was named "Best Rock Album of the Year" at the Danish Music Awards
(Denmark's Grammy equivalent) on 1 March 2003, while The Raveonettes were picked by Rolling Stone and Q Magazine as being among the harbingers of the "Next Wave" of contemporary music.
In 2006, Blender named Sharin Foo one of rock's hottest women, alongside Courtney Love, Joan Jett, and Liz Phair.
WHIP IT ON EP 2002
Whip It On is the debut mini-album of The Raveonettes. It was released on August 6, 2002. Every song is in the key of B-flat minor in contrast to the follow-up album Chain Gang of Love, which is almost entirely in the key of B-flat major. Each song also features only three chords.
TRACKS
01. Attack of the Ghost Riders 2:30
02. Veronica Fever 2:37
03. Do You Believe Her 2:07
04. Chains 2:34
05. Cops on Our Tail 2:58
06. My Tornado 2:05
07. Bowels of the Beast 3:14
08. Beat City 3:08
Total length: 21:10
MP3 @ 320 Size: 53,1 MB
Flac Size: 175 MB
CHAIN GANG OF LOVE 2003
The band's first full-length album, Chain Gang of Love, was produced by Richard Gottehrer and The
Raveonettes' own Sune Rose Wagner. The album was recorded in Denmark and New York from 9–17 October, 6–12 November, and 4–10 December 2002, and mixed in London in early 2003. The thirteen songs on Chain Gang of Love are written by Sune Rose Wagner with the exception of "That Great Love Sound", which Sune co-wrote with Gottehrer. Portions of this song were featured in a U.S. ad for Kmart. The album is notable in that all the songs were written in the key B-flat major.
TRACKS
01. Remember 2:41
02. That Great Love Sound Richard Gottehrer, Wagner 3:16
03. Noisy Summer 2:24
04. The Love Gang 2:16
05. Let's Rave On 1:55
06. Dirty Eyes (Sex Don't Sell) 2:26
07. Love Can Destroy Everything 2:54
08. Heartbreak Stroll 2:26
09. Little Animal 3:09
10. Untamed Girls 1:44
11. Chain Gang of Love 2:36
12. The Truth About Johnny 2:36
13. New York Was Great 2:48
Bonus Track
14. C'mon Everybody (Eddie Cochran) 2:29
MUSICIANS
Sune Rose Wagner: guitars and vocals
Sharin Foo: bass and vocals
Manoj Ramdas: guitars
Jakob Hoyer: drums
MP3 @ 320 Size: 85,5 MB
Flac Size: 263 MB
PRETTY IN BLACK 2005
The band's follow-up album, "Pretty in Black", broadened their musical palette, featuring guest vocals from Ronnie Spector of The Ronettes as well as guest instrumental spots from Maureen Tucker (of The
Velvet Underground) and Martin Rev (of Suicide). This was their first album in which Sharin Foo did not play bass; instead, The Raveonettes added bass player Anders Christensen, who had toured with seminal jazz drummer Paul Motian, amongst others. Christensen recorded on the album and toured with the band. At the end of the 2005 tour, guitar player Manoj Ramdas left the band to concentrate on his new band SPEKTR.
TRACKS
01. The Heavens 3:55
02. Seductress of Bums 3:50
03. Love in a Trashcan 2:52
04. Sleepwalking 3:29
05. Uncertain Times 3:58
06. My Boyfriend's Back (Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein, Richard Gottehrer) 2:39
07. Here Comes Mary 3:02
08. Red Tan 3:48
09. Twilight 3:36
10. Somewhere in Texas 4:28
11. You Say You Lie 2:56
12. Ode to L.A. 3:18
13. If I Was Young 2:46
UK bonus tracks
14. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (Hank Williams) 2:54
15. Everyday (Buddy Holly, Norman Petty) 2:54
16. Black Wave 4:24
17. I Wanna Be Taken 3:03
MUSICIANS
Sune Rose Wagner: guitars, vocals, synth, percussion, drums, bass, and programming
Sharin Foo: vocals and percussion
Jakob Hoyer: drums and percussion
Anders Christensen: bass, percussion, and organ
Manoj Ramdas: guitar
MP3 @ 320 Size: 139 MB
Flac Size: 399 MB
DEAD SOUND SINGLE 2007
The Raveonettes used drum machines instead of real drums, and recorded most bass and non-guitar sounds with keyboards.
TRACKS
01. Dead Sound
02. Honey, I Never Had You
I hear the sound of falling love as I wonder where you are
Hits the ground with a dead sound I now you ain't got far
You're too stupid and sissy-like to say that you want out
You make the eyes of a million girls and think you'll make them shout
Dead sound
Dead sound
I used to take you on every time that sparkle turned to black
I used to drag you through my streets when you came crawling back
Your cheap words that you bought on sale won't help you through tonight
You make the eyes of a million girls and think that's what they like
Dead sound
Dead sound
And now you go through a million girls and try to pick what's right
When nightfall comes and you're still alone do you feel it deep inside?
It's "oh so cold" on the other side where your thoughts can turn you down
You make the eyes of a million girls but I see no girl around
Dead sound
Dead sound
MP3 @ 320 Size: 18,9 MB
Flac Size: 47,9 MB
Hi Kostas,
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting these from The Raveonettes, excellent stuff.
Would you also have 'In And Out Of Control'? That would be really good to hear again too!
Great work!
Paul
@ Paul: Yes I have it. I will post it for you, with the "Lust, Lust, Lust" album, after 2-3 days from today. Many greetings from Athens, Greece.
DeleteBrilliant, thanks Kostas.
DeleteGreetings back from Sydney, Australia!
Rolling Stone? LOL! I got my Punky Brewster shirt at Hot Topic.
ReplyDeleteOh noes they have guns in that pic! Only the poleeces and military should have guns because government loves us and will be there just in time.