None of the Band's previous work gave much of a clue about how they would sound when they released their first album in July 1968. As it was, Music from Big Pink came as a surprise. At first blush, the group seemed to affect the sound of a loose jam session, alternating emphasis on different instruments, while the lead and harmony vocals passed back and forth as if the singers were making up their blend on the spot. In retrospect, especially as the lyrics sank in, the arrangements seemed far more considered and crafted to support a group of songs that took family, faith, and rural life as their subjects and proceeded to imbue their values with uncertainty. Some songs took on the theme of declining institutions less clearly than others, but the points were made musically as much as lyrically…

This release is very interesting set of nostalgic sides from sessions in Art Blakey's name, with a big band he formed independently of the Jazz Messengers. Featuring Trane in an ensemble setting with Al Cohn (writer of most of the charts, according to Charles Waring's liner notes) Donald Byrd, Sahib Shihab and Bill Graham, the record has a slick but not superficial, swinging sound, bright and cheering. This package also features a second disk of alternate takes and one bonus track ("Oasis") making the set a nice catch.

Iconic and prolific composer and musical collaborator in the progressive rock universe, Neal Morse brings a new project to the genre with Neal Morse & The Resonance. Rather than an international alliance, like Transatlantic, The Resonance unites local musicians from the Nashville area.
The album consists of only five songs: but it's three short songs bookended by two prog opuses at over 20 minutes, Of course, in true Morse tradition, the two longer songs, Eternity In Your Eyes and No Hill For A Climber, are adventures in prog rock creativity and experimentation. Both are divided into parts with both instrumental and voice sections.
Of the shorter songs, Thief throws you a curve with its mild start, but then erupts with a heavier middle with some big drums and hard organ…

A relatively standard release from Clifton Chenier, the then reigning king of zydeco. The music bumps and grooves in all the ways it's supposed to. One of the songs dates the album a bit ("Zydeco Disco"), but aside from that one, the rest of the album is pretty much straightforward zydeco and blues. In spots it delves a little into jazz, but only in spots. In and of itself, delving into jazz wouldn't be such a bad thing, but this band's form of the genre tends to be a bit sloppy. When it comes to zydeco, there's no stopping them, but elsewhere they're more stoppable.

Substance is a double-disc set collecting New Order's singles, including several songs that were never available on the group's albums, at least in these versions. While there are a couple of re-recordings of earlier singles, most of Substance consists of 12" single mixes designed for danceclub play. Arguably, these 12" mixes represent New Order's most groundbreaking and successful work, since they expanded the notion of what a rock & roll band, particularly an indie rock band, could do. Substance collects the best of their remixes, and in the process it showcases not only the group's musical innovations, but also their songwriting prowess - "Temptation," "Blue Monday," "Bizarre Love Triangle," and "True Faith" are some of the finest pop songs of the '80s. Although it is a double-disc set, Substance isn't overly long. Instead it offers a perfect introduction to New Order, while providing collectors with an invaluable collection of singles.

The Evpatoria Report was born in January 2002 and the band consists of two guitars, a bass, drums, a violin and a keyboard. The band offers an instrumental rock combining serenity, power and intensity. The Evpatoria Report is a brilliant band. Their music feels interstellar, putting you in the body of an astronaut as they float among the stars. It can be calming just as much as it is suspenseful while you sit in anticipation for the unknown. It is the flawlessness in how human this music sounds that makes this album so powerful. The songs are long, giving the music plenty of room to breathe and create tension and do with it as it pleases.
Its first release was a two-track EP in 2003, followed by two albums: "Golevka" in 2005 and "Maar" in 2008.

Blood Incantation’s Absolute Elsewhere is unlike anything you’ve ever heard before. At roughly 45 minutes, the two compositions that make up this album are as confounding as they are engaging in their scope, melding the 70's prog leanings of Tangerine Dream (whose Thorsten Quaesching appears on "The Stargate [Tablet II]") with the deathly intent of Morbid Angel. Absolute Elsewhere, which takes its title from the mid-70's prog collective (best known as a celestial stopover for King Crimson drummer, Bill Bruford), Blood Incantation are leaving the notion of genre behind and writing a new language for extreme music itself.
Deluxe Artbook Edition featuring 3 CDs containing “Absolute Elsewhere” (Album), “All Gates Open” (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), “Luminescent Bridge” (Maxi Single, 2023, previously only released on vinyl).

British trumpeter Ken Colyer, one of the major New Orleans revival brassmen, had broken up his regular group in 1971 due to his erratic health but fortunately he continued playing on a part-time basis during the remaining 17 years of his life. This infectious set (which came out on CD in 1998) was performed at a church in 1972 before a live audience and although Colyer and his septet play songs that could be thought of as hymns, there is nothing somber or overly reverent about the interpretations. Colyer (who is in excellent form), clarinetist Sammy Rimington, trombonist Barry Palser, pianist Ray Smith, banjoist Pete Morcom, bassist Alan Jones and drummer Colin Bowden put lots of feeling into the music and there are plenty of stomps and ensemble-oriented jams. Among the ten selections (all of which are quite enjoyable) are "Just A Little While To Stay Here," "Sing On," "Bye And Bye" and "Walking With The King." This is easily recommended to New Orleans jazz collectors.

The Deaton Le May Project was established and set up as a 100% pure studio project by Craig LeMay (drums and percussion) and Roby Deaton on guitar, keyboards, and vocals.
The sound of the Deaton LeMay Project truly reminds of bands like Saga, Camel; but it also “shows” influences of Rick Wakeman and even Keith Emerson. The latter influence can be heard in Different Place In Time, which is packed with beautiful flowing and sometimes dramatic keyboard motifs and melodies; but the duo also has a tendency towards classic hard rock elements and even some AOR characteristics. The second part of the album which consists of the six-part Elements Of Life Suite is the highlight and most extraordinary song of The Fifth Element. A true prog rock gem packed with tempo changes, intense vocals, pompous keyboard textures, impressive instrumental passages, and stunning guitar work…

['ramp] is a collective of German musicians, making music in the vein of the Berlin school of electronic music. Frank Makowski and Steve Parsick are joined by Lambert Ringlage and Martina Fantar in various studio and concert sessions. Using a wide range of synthesizers, samplers and sequencers, Ramp adds an original and fresh touch to the history of German electronic music, with a deep and dark ambient sound, similar to Tangerine Dream and Radio Masacre International.
Originally released on Manikin records in late 1998, "Nodular" became Ramp's first major exposure to the world of electronic music. Billed as "Germany's response to Britain's invasion of sequencer-based and mellotron-heavy retro electronica from Redshift, Radio Massacre International, and Node"…

When Ritchie Blackmore departed Deep Purple in the mid-'70s and formed Rainbow (which featured Ronnie James Dio), his replacement was Tommy Bolin. To be sure, Blackmore was a darn tough act to follow, but Bolin proved himself to be a fine guitarist in his own right on Come Taste the Band, his first album with Deep Purple. But unfortunately, Bolin didn't have exceptional material to work with - decent and likable, but hardly exceptional. While sweaty yet melodic cuts like "Dealer," "Lady Luck," and "You Keep on Moving" are far from bad, nothing here is in a class with "Smoke on the Water" or "Highway Star." Deep Purple's more hardcore devotees will want this album, though it's far from the best representation of their '70s work.

In many respects, you could call Hound Dog Taylor a cult artist. Respected by bluesmen and critics alike, he built a small, devoted following across America simply by constently touring. There were no hits and very few covers of hs songs, but his rowdy concerts and incendiary records on Alligator convinced any who heard him. In the process, he put Alligator Records on the blues map, so it only makes sense that the label return the favor with Hound Dog Taylor: A Tribute, one of the few blues tributes that really works. Taylor's wild, careening slide guitar became one of more influential sounds in contemporary blues, as evidenced by this quality-packed record…

Many great jazz artists have recorded, with great success, a live album at the Olympia in Paris while they visited or lived on Paris. Among these greats is Rhoda Scott. Her vast discography on Barclay is more or less still in the master tapes vaults but the "Live At The Olympia" CD, reissued on the Jazz In Paris CD program, is very good pick in the vaults. Supporting Scott playing the Hammond B3, the trio are Joe Thomas on flute/tenor saxophone and Cees Kranenburg on drums. Scott has always had great nose for mixing musical genres and tunes on her records, and "Live At The Olympia" is no exception . The trio treats the standards Bluesette", "I Hear Music", "Wade In The Water", "Equinox" and "People" with great musical inventiveness and interplay - they really tells us a new story on known themes.

To mark Crises' 30th anniversary, Mike Oldfield's eighth studio album appears as a 3CD + 2DVD Box Set Edition comprising the 13-track digitally remastered CD album which includes eight bonus tracks and a 12-track 'Crisis Tour' double CD recorded live at Wembley Arena on 22nd July 1983.
Following a long-established production pattern, Mike Oldfield assembled some relatively simple pop- and rock-flavored numbers following one long introductory piece on his 1983 Disky release, Crisis. The 20-minute opening title-track is a quintessential Oldfield texture study that consists of sparkling synth washes with edgier material weaving in and out. A fine setup, this track cleanses the aural pallet, preparing the listener nicely for the tunes that follow. Yes fans who can adjust to the sugary highlight "In High Places" will enjoy Jon Anderson's springy vocal work on the track…

Curated by DJ/production duo Blank & Jones, the So80s ("So Eighties") series compiles 12" versions and rare B-sides of artists who had their heyday in the '80s. This collection features classic extended mixes of some of OMD's biggest tracks including 'If You Leave', 'Telegraph', 'Dreaming', 'So in Love', 'Tesla Girls' and many others. While the tracks were selected by Blank & Jones, none of the titles were mixed by them.