Kosmik Radiation Radio - Apr 20, 2012 Playlist

CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Sleep "Jerusalem" 1999 (USA)

This week's Classic Album consists of a single 52 minute long song, probably the greatest epic in the history of heavy metal. Originally clocking in at over an hour in length and titled "Dopesmoker", as Julian Cope has noted this monstrosity comes across like a religious work from a desert cult founded on the sacred texts of Black Sabbath's first four albums. Quasi-Rastafarian pseudo-biblical lyrics exalting the sacred herb chanted over doom riffs that last until the end of time are not the sort of thing record labels are looking to release, so although this piece was recorded around 1996, it was not released until a few years later after the band had already broken up (in 2003 another even longer mix was released under the original Dopesmoker title). Impossible to ignore, Sleep's Jerusalem/Dopesmoker has only continued to rise in stature over the years.
Sleep has reunited to perform recently, though have not released any new albums this decade -- here's "Jerusalem" live in 2010 (or the first 15 minutes anyway). One gets the impression that if Sleep showed up for a gig and just played their most famous song that most of their fans would be happy, but they did release a couple of albums before this one, the second of which (Holy Mountain) includes a classic Sabbath soundalike called "Dragonaut". After disbanding in the late 1990's, the rhythm section of Al Cisneros (bass & vocals) and Chris Haikus (drums) continued on as a duo called Om with a mystical doom vibe similar to Sleep (but without any guitar!) -- here is Om live performing "Flight Of The Eagle". Meanwhile Sleep's guitarist Matt Pike formed a more conventional heavy metal group called High On Fire. I couldn't feature Sleep without also mentioning the band that started it all (heavy metal in general and "doom riffs" in particular) -- Birmingham UK's immortal Black Sabbath.

(N) = New Release

Artist	Song	Album	Year (label)	Country
Steppenwolf	The Pusher (by Hoyt Axton - live)	Early Steppenwolf	rec. 1967, rel. 1969	USA/Canada (Germany)

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso UFO	Psycho Buddha	New Geocentric World	2001	Japan
White Hills	You Dream You See	Frying On This Rock (N)	2012 (Thrill Jockey)	USA

Black Bananas	Killer Weed	Rad Times Xpress IV (N)	2012 (Drag City)	USA
Mother Of Fire	Hex (part 1)	Feral Children (N)	2012 (Sword Finger)	USA
Cribshitter	4:19 / Hippie Girl	Methlehem (N)	2012 (Medicated G)	USA
Black Dice	Rodriguez	Mr. Impossible (N)	2012 (Ribbon)	USA
The Beatles	What's The New Mary Jane?	Anthology 3	rec. 1968, rel. 1996	UK

Sleep	Jerusalem (parts 1-4)	Jerusalem CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK	1999	USA
Sleep	Jerusalem (parts 5-6)	Jerusalem CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK	1999	USA
Black Sabbath	Sweet Leaf	Master Of Reality	1971	UK

Starcastle	Shine On Brightly	Citadel	1977	USA
Camel	Rhayader / Rhayader Goes To Town	The Snow Goose	1975	UK
Mashmakhan	Nature's Love Song	Mashmakhan	1970	Canada
The Marshall Tucker Band	Everyday (I Have The Blues) (by Memphis Slim - live)	Where We All Belong	1974	USA