Bijou - El Profeta

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2005
Time: 61:38
Size: 141,4 MB
Label: Luna Negra
Styles: Progressive Rock/Neo Prog
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Los Albores Del Fuego Imperecedero - 6:34
 2. El Camino A Casa - 4:12
 3. Encuentros - 5:42
 4. Imakinacion - 6:23
 5. Triste Euforia - 8:49
 6. Sueno En La Noche De Los Tiempos - 5:49
 7. El Profeta (Part I - El Reino De La Nada) - 5:55
 8. El Profeta (Part II - Recuerdos De Invierno) - 8:20
 9. El Profeta (Part III - En Mi Voz) - 9:50

"El Profeta" ("The Prophet", I believe) is the debut CD by the Spanish quintet BIJOU. Their website is under construction, and the page with the band's bio is so far inaccessible.
As in the case of Sympozion's "Kundabuffer", I perceive the subject of this review to be one of the finest debuts of the past year, the album being impressive not only for its exceptional originality and compositional intelligence, but also for the musicians' mastery. Besides, Bijou appears to be a group of broad-thinking men, for whom work within the framework of one single direction would probably be a sort of self-isolation. With ease, they manipulate several different progressive styles, now giving preference to one of them, then again bravely intermixing them in different variations. Without exaggeration, each of the instruments credited is a showcase instrument for Bijou, though most of all I am impressed with the performance skills of Ruben Garcia, who, I believe, is a classically trained pianist, and Alberto Mateos, whose bass lines are at times more intricate and compelling than guitar solos. That said, these guys are the primary masterminds in the band in addition, which becomes obvious already upon the first spin, without looking into the CD booklet for credits in the songwriting department. Well, it's one of the guitar players, Nacho Moran, who penned the second track. However, it would've been better if he'd had at least some help from his colleagues, because El Camino a Casa turns out to be the only relatively monochromatic track of the nine instrumentals, representing a 'metallized' Hard Rock - which is tasty and mesmerizing, but only semi-progressive in nature. As implied above, piano is the leading keyboard instrument, while the others, synthesizer and string ensemble, seldom come to the fore. The pieces composed primarily by Ruben Garcia: Loas Albores, Encuentros and Triste Euforia are in many ways close to our traditional conception of classic symphonic Art-Rock, although it would be pointless to search even for rough points of comparison in this case. Each piece has a few piano-laden classical-like interludes and is imbued with a magical flavor of Classical music in general, which remains manifest even when the band goes heavier. Sparkling melodies, complex rhythms and many more essential progressive features are inculcated within each, reflected in the fine textural and dynamic nuances and in the skillful interweavings of different instruments. El Reino de la Nada is Cathedral Metal (or progressive Doom Metal) lushly enriched with symphonic features rather than vice versa. Imakinacion and Recuerdos de Invierno are similar, but while the guitars and bass are also often in the lead, both for the most part display well-balanced arrangements for the whole ensemble. There also are emulated string instruments on the latter, giving a wonderful oriental piquancy to the music. Most of the tracks on the album are gems, but the mesmerizing power of Recuerdos de Invierno is overwhelming. It's like a never-heard-before Eastern fairytale with a dramatic, highly intriguing storyline. The remaining two compositions, Sueno en la Noche and En Mi Voz, are notably different from the others, but are equally impressive. Each has a unique combination of symphonic Space Rock and atmospheric Space Fusion in its basis, but the latter at times returns the listener to the Cathedral Metal realm in addition.
Bijou is definitely a band to watch in the future, and their "El Profeto" is quite close to the status of masterwork in my understanding, though I had to get over the first two tracks to come to this conclusion. In any event, I feel fully confident in highly recommending this album to anyone on a good footing with contrasting, stylistically polymorphous Progressive. Those exclusively into traditional, Genesis- or Yes-like, Art-Rock should look elsewhere.

El Profeta

Headspace - I Am

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2007
Time: 25:30
Size: 58,8 MB
Label: Blueprint Management
Styles: Progressive rock/Progressive metal
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Never Let Go - 4:12
 2. Sane Life - 6:58
 3. Symbol - 6:15
 4. Sober - 8:04

Headspace is a new band out of the UK that consists of Damian Wilson (vocals), Adam Wakeman (keyboards), Pete Rinaldi (guitar), Lee Pomeroy (bass) and Rich Brook (drums), They quietly released in late 2007 a four song EP called ‘I Am’ I was one of the few, it seems, that received a copy since I saw nothing up on any of the popular progressive rock discussion groups, mailing lists or forums. The only names I’m familiar with in the band are Damian (Threshold, Star One, ex-Landmarq), Adam (son of Rick) & Lee (Rick Wakeman).
The music is a hybrid of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Yes and Genesis to name a few. The result is a crossover band that would appeal to classic and progressive rock fans alike. Each of the four songs featured have elements of those bands but done in such an original way, in my opinion. I feel this EP is a teaser of the great music that’s to come.
I think evidence of Headspace’s beginnings can probably be found on the Magna Carta Yes tribute album ‘Tales From Yesterday’ when Damian and Adam performed along with Fraser Thorneycroft-Smith (guitars), Tony Fernandez (drums) and Phil Williams (bass) in a band called Jeronimo Road. I always wanted to hear more of that band and now with Headspace, I think more people will. I can’t recommend this band and it’s debut EP enough. Check them out on MySpace and you’ll hear how wonderful their music is.

I Am

Alessandro Meroli - Broken Jazz Dream

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2017
Time: 64:39
Size: 149,2 MB
Label: To Be Jazz
Styles: Jazz/Smooth Jazz
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Senor Blues - 4:09
 2. Little Sun Flower - 7:14
 3. Black And Tan Fantasy - 6:51
 4. A Laugh For Rory - 3:44
 5. Naima - 6:16
 6. Peggy Blue Skylight - 5:35
 7. Softly As In A Morning Sunrise - 5:44
 8. Duke Ellington's Sound Of Love (feat. Silvia Donati) - 7:21
 9. Bags Groove - 3:56
10. Sail Away - 6:46
11. You Don't Know What Love Is - 6:58

Alessandro Meroli, sax baritono e flauto, vanta collaborazioni in vari campi musicali. Dagli anni ‘90 ad oggi con gli Splatterpink, miglior gruppo jazz core italiano. Ha collaborato per un decennio sia come musicista che come manager e produttore con Neffa. Turnista molto apprezzato nella musica elettronica sia dance sia di sperimentazione, ha lavorato con le etichette Irma Records, Compost Records, Sony, Universal, BMG, poi con Pasta boys, Dj Rodriguez, Dj Volcov, Ohm Guru, Osun Lade, Black Mighty Orchestra, Dj Trevisi, LTJ experience, Rima, Frankie Valentine, Ninfa, Gunkhole, Atelewo. Membro fondatore dei Faze Liquide gruppo di Nu Jazz il cui lavoro e uscito per la  prestigiosa etichetta dei Jazzanova Sonar Kollektiv. Membro fondatore del quintetto AfroJazz degli Afronauti il cui lavoro A Jazz Odyssey e stato molto ben recensito. Da un anno supporta il produttore Riccardo Rinaldi nella gestione dell’etichetta bolognese To Be Jazz.

Broken Jazz Dream

Mick Simpson - Black Rain

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2017
Time: 47:20
Size: 108,6 MB
Label: Mad Ears Productions
Styles: Blues/Blues Vocals
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Sweet Lorraine - 4:19
 2. Destination Blues - 3:47
 3. River of Life (Feat. Eva Carboni) - 4:16
 4. Black Rain - 4:53
 5. To Hell and Back - 3:47
 6. Last Train Home - 4:10
 7. Don't Cry - 4:19
 8. Top of the World - 3:09
 9. When the Sun Goes Down - 5:07
10. Gravy Train - 3:36
11. Promised the Earth - 5:50

An exciting mix of retro rhythm & blues, driving rock anthems, melodic southern rock, and soaring blues guittar.
Mick returns with his 4th studio album 'Black Rain', a collection of 11 great new tracks of soaring blues guitar, driving rock anthems, retro rhythm & blues, and melodic southern rock. The album features a diverse range of guitar syles influenced by the likes of BB King, Gary Moore, Peter Green, Jeff Beck, Derek Trucks, Django Reinhardt and Robert Johnson. Album highlights include the Ray Charles-esque 'Sweet Lorraine', the in your face rocker 'To Hell and Back, the laid back jazz-blues tinted 'River of Life' (Feat. Eva Carboni), and the Irish folk-rock title track 'Black Rain'. Once again Mick teams up with producer & co-writer Andy Littlewood, and guest musician's include Dave Hunt, Michael John McElligott, and Pete Nelson.

Black Rain

Negra Linea - 13 Visions

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2004
Time: 59:59
Size: 139,2 MB
Label: Gazul Records
Styles: Progressive Rock/Crossover Prog
Art: Full

Tracks Listing:
 1. Introduktion a la nuit -  2:10
 2. Premier Rivage -  5:01
 3. All-Night Cinema -  4:35
 4. Closeyes -  2:40
 5. Cegzebox -  4:12
 6. Intermede Pour Petite Tete -  2:06
 7. Eclairci Avant La Descente -  2:39
 8. Hullabaloo -  5:05
 9. Lugano Bar -  5:15
10. Disconatra -  3:03
11. Deep Into The Night -  5:24
12. Kalle Boroka -  4:07
13. Voici le jour - 13:36

"13 Visions" is the debut album by NEGRA LINEA from France. As far as I can figure out the band's name, it should be translated as Black Line, although I feel a bit confused recalling that "black" in French is "noir", and "negra" is in Spanish.
The CD is one hour in duration, and there are 13 tracks, none of which exceeds five and a half minutes. Five of them feature female vocals with lyrics either in French or in English (according to the titles of the songs), and the others are instrumental compositions, even though there is some male narration on a few of them. The songs possess a rather strong mesmerizing effect, which to a great extent is due to the specific, kind of lazy, yet, really charming singing of Alexandra Prat, for whom the participation in this project is by no means the first experience in progressive music. The songs aren't homogeneous structurally, though this remark is topical regarding most of the album's contents in general. It seems the band initially has made a point of not sticking to some special rules when working on the material. There are only a few compositions whose morphology is obvious enough to cast doubt on it, while the others can be described only in a general context. Overall, the music appears as a complex exotic cocktail of maybe a dozen different genres and styles, the most prominent of which are quasi- and genuine Jazz-Fusion, guitar Art-Rock, and Minimalist music. The attendant forms include RIO, free jazz, some kinds of folk, ethnic, electronic and heavy music, to name a few. But while the structural constitution of the album seems to be exceptionally unstable, the arrangements do always have the right vector, which makes them both interesting and rather comprehensible already upon the first spin. The sound is also well balanced, with only the slight predomination of electric instruments over acoustic ones, among which acoustic guitar and saxophone often play the key role, on most tracks. As to the exceptions, all three of them are instrumentals and, what's central, are almost free of jazzy textures, unlike the other compositions. Those two that take the sixth and the seventh position aren't separated by pause. Besides, they are submitted to the same compositional concept, with the central theme played on accordion, and are just parts of the same composition. That's Folk, folks. Finally, there is the rhythmic Disconatra. The only straightforward and, thus, disappointing number in the set, this is somewhat of an electronic minimalism.
From my personal standpoint, keyboards should've been a bit more widely used, but it's just a matter of taste. "13 Visions" is an extraordinary album. It is excellent, but is not everyone's cup of tea. However, those with broad interests in progressive music will certainly give it its due, at least. Recommended.

13 Visions

Cornell Dupree - Doin' Alright

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2011
Time: 66:56
Size: 153,5 MB
Label: Friars Point, Inc. & Bright Echoes, Inc.
Styles: Jazz/Guitar and Hammond Jazz
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Doin' Alright - 4:51
 2. I Ain't Got You - 4:47
 3. I Got a Woman - 6:02
 4. Help Me Make it Through the Night - 5:00
 5. Honky Tonk - 5:22
 6. The Bird - 6:12
 7. Erma's Shades - 5:01
 8. Rainy Night in Georgia - 4:52
 9. Squirrel - 4:07
10. Ham - 6:05
11. Cl Blues - 6:14
12. K.C - 4:02
13. I Got A Woman (With The Cornell Stamp) - 4:15

A veteran of over 2,500 recording sessions, guitarist Cornell Dupree worked most prolifically in R&B and blues, but he was equally at home in jazz, particularly funky fusion and soul-jazz. Dupree was born in Fort Worth, TX, in 1942, and by the age of 20 was playing in King Curtis' R&B group. He became a session musician soon after, playing on Brook Benton's "Rainy Night in Georgia," as well as records by stars like Lou Rawls, Paul Simon, Barbra Streisand, Harry Belafonte, Lena Horne, Roberta Flack, Joe Cocker, Michael Bolton, Mariah Carey, and countless others. Dupree was also a member of Aretha Franklin's touring band from 1967-1976, and during that time also became a presence on many jazz-funk recordings, the sort that would find favor with rare groove and acid jazz fans in the years to come. Dupree's first jazz session as a leader was 1974's Teasin', which was followed by Saturday Night Fever in 1977, and Shadow Dancing in 1978. During the same period, Dupree was a member of the studio-musician fusion supergroup Stuff, which signed with Warner Bros. in 1975 and recorded four albums. They also reunited periodically in the '80s and spawned a mid-'80s spin-off group called the Gadd Gang, which Dupree also belonged to. Some of Dupree's most rewarding jazz albums came in the late '80s and early '90s; 1988's Coast to Coast was nominated for a Grammy, and funky sessions like 1991's Can't Get Through, 1992's live Uncle Funky, and 1993's Child's Play received positive reviews. 1994's Bop 'n' Blues was his most straight-ahead jazz album, also ranking as one of his best.
Many words have been used to describe Cornell Dupree's guitar playing over the last 45 plus years, but one label that fits the bill is the ultimate session guitarist. He has over 2500 credits, playing with the likes of King Curtis, Aretha Franklin, Donny Hathaway, Bill Withers, Brooke Benton, Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, the Gadd Gang and of course he was a member of the super session jazz/fusion group Stuff. Known as "Uncle Funky", Cornell, had a slew of well received solo albums over the course of his career, Like "Teasin", "Can't Get Enough", "Childs Play", "Cornell Dupree" "Who It Is" To name a few. Cornell who had been seriously ill over the past few years, passed away in May of 2011, but not before completing the final solo recording of his career, just eight weeks prior to his passing. His final words to his wife Erma was "I'm Doin Alright", hence the title of this cd. As sick as Cornell had been, attached to oxygen, he entered the recording studio, and let his wonderful guitar speak one more time. The result is stunningly well played Jazz/blues, with a touch of funky overtones that has a sound that is vintage Cornell till the end. Highlights include the funky "Doin Alright", a beautiful take on Brooke Benton's "Rainy Night In Georgia', which Cornell played on. He adds spice with a funkified take on "Help Me Make It Through The night". He then uses a jazz shuffle on the tune "I Ain't Got You", complete with sax solo, that will get anyone's feet moving. This is a wonderful farewell recording that should not be missed by anyone who loves Jazz/Rock fusion. He is supported by a tight back-up band in the studio, With B.E Smith "Frosty" on Drums, Mike Flanigin on organ, Nick Connelly keyboards, Ronnie James and Larry Fulcher as well as George Porter on bass. This cd was released as an import under the title "Doin alright", and recently domestically under the title "I'm Alright" Both are exactly the same. It is difficult to find, but it is available on itunes for $7.99. You can also go to [...]. It has been a pleasure to listen to this man's recordings over the past 40 years both as a session and solo artist. I only hope the RRHOF, will see fit to elect Cornell into its session wing, as one of the great influential guitarists of the modern pop era. RIP "Uncle Funky"!

Doin' Alright

Lauren Mitchell - Desire

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2017
Time: 58:10
Size: 133,4 MB
Label: Eigen Beheer
Styles: Blues/R&B
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. I Don't Need Nobody - 3:11
 2. Soul Music - 5:36
 3. Desire - 3:59
 4. Jump Into My Fire - 4:07
 5. Good to Me as i Am to You - 4:35
 6. Feels so Good - 4:17
 7. Stand Up Like a Man - 3:15
 8. Today - 4:24
 9. I Ain't Been (Licked yet) - 4:06
10. Anti-Love Song - 4:27
11. Bridge of My Dreams - 4:46
12. Lead Me on - 6:02
13. Brown Liquor - 5:17

I love the female voice. Just in case you were wondering. Nothing against male singers, I count many among my favorites, but my favorite instrument is a woman’s voice. The intonation, the range, and the emotion that they convey touch my soul.
As a result, I’m always on the lookout for new performers to try out, and most are good, but don’t take me to the places my favorites do. That is, until now.
Let me introduce you to Lauren Mitchell. This Florida performer has just released a new CD, Desire, and frankly, it knocked me out. Her vocals are amazing, and she straddles that blues-soul fence with the best of them, and I do mean the best. I have no problem putting her alongside my favorites from the past and present and look forward to catching more of her work as soon as humanly possible.
She’s no lightweight, and she brings Super Producer Tony Braunagel to the project. Braunagel could make a career out of working with the likes of Bonnie Raitt, but he’s in demand for his amazing skills. He picks only the best albums to work on, and he’s done a great job on this one.
Mitchell kicks off the album with a rousing anthem, (I Don’t Need Nobody To Tell Me) How To Treat My Man. Her voice growls and tells anyone who is listening to back off, she knows what she’s doing. This is a great opener and sets up the feeling that she is a take-no-crap-from-anyone woman.
Next up is Soul Music, a song Mitchell co-wrote with Sheri Nadelman. The two will collaborate on three other songs, but for this first one, the sound is sweet, and the horns add a nice touch. The phrase “soul music” has a couple of meanings – the genre of music is one, and the other is music for the soul. In this one song, Mitchell captures both meanings. I love soul music, and this is one I’m going to enjoy playing – a lot.
The title track, Desire, is another Mitchell-Nadelman collaboration and for this song, they are joined by songwriter Jeff Paris to create a beautiful number that fires on all its blues cylinders. Her vocals are honed to a knife’s edge and are backed by pure power. Damn, this is a good song, and you better believe I’ll be featuring this one soon on Time For The Blues.
She picks up the tempo with Jump Into My Fire, and it features some nimble guitar work. I love the darkness in her voice, this is someone you know who has experienced the pain of which she sings. Sometimes you hear someone who sings the blues, in her case, Mitchell lives the blues. You can tell the difference in her approach.
She brings the tempo way down, but keeps the heat going on Good To Me As I Am To You. This is an old-fashioned torch style song that is pure blues. I could hear any of the great voices in the past take on this song and do it proud, and it Mitchell’s case, it merely cements my opinion that she is one of the great voices of the present – and the future. There are already several songs you’ll be hearing on the show, and we’re not even halfway through.
Feels So Good has a late night chanteuse feel. This Tomcat Blake number reaches into Mitchell’s soul and brings out the pain she’s experiencing. The backing vocals add that soul flair to the number. Listen for the gospel flavored organ break. Nice touch.
She swings some on Stand Up Like A Man, and exhorts the listener to do what’s right. The guitar mixes well with the organ and the backing vocalists add a soulful touch. It’s a good, quick number. She slows down the tempo for the next song, Today. It’s a quiet, unassuming number that strips away some of the instruments and utilizes her voice to take the song into different dimensions. Things will never be the way they were, the future is unknown, and all we have is today…
Mitchell takes on I Ain’t Been (Licked Yet), a song written by singer songwriters Ashford & Simpson. It’s funky and soulful, and her voice tears into the lyrics with fierce abandon. It’s a song of triumph amidst all the pain she’s endured until now.
She keeps the funk going on Betty Mabry’s Anti-Love Song. The song utilizes a cool jazzy musical backdrop with bass and piano doing the heavy lifting and allowing Mitchell’s edgy voice to deliver the goods. It’s not my favorite song on the album, but it’s different approach to the music does make one sit up and pay attention.
Mitchell follows up with the swinging gospel tinged Bridge Of My Dreams. It’s old-school as she takes us to church and delivers a sermon that begs to be heard. Throughout the album, Mitchell has demonstrated her versatility in the number of different styles she covered with ease. I am in awe of her talent and can’t wait to find more of her work.
Once again Mitchell teams up with Nadelman and they add the talents of percussion genius and producer Tony Braunagel for Lead Me On. It’s a low, slow, emotional song that really gives Mitchell’s voice a workout. She manages to wring out every single painful memory and pour them out over a sparse musical accompaniment. It’s the longest song on the album at just a shade over six minutes, and it’s also one of the best.
She closes out the album with one last collaboration with Nadelman on Brown Liquor. It’s funky and fun with enough attitude for an entire album of songs. How many times have we turned to liquid medicine only to find that it only helped temporarily? Still, it makes for a great song, and maybe a little bit of a warning. Great way to finish it off.
If you haven’t figured out by now, I’m crazy about this album. I want to play just about every song on Time For The Blues, but since that’s most likely not going to happen, you might want to invest in your own copy. Check out her music and travels at her website, http://laurenmitchellband.com and take a chance on her, you just might find a new favorite singer.

Desire

Southside Aces - A Big Fine Thing

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2011
Time: 63:49
Size: 146,4 MB
Label: Self Released
Styles: Jazz/New Orleans Jazz
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Perdido Street Blues - 3:52
 2. Tootie Ma is a Big Fine Thing - 3:17
 3. Back Room Romp - 3:18
 4. His Eye is on the Sparrow - 6:36
 5. Back to Black - 4:35
 6. Burgundy Street Blues - 3:42
 7. My Blue Heaven - 3:23
 8. Diga Diga Doo - 2:20
 9. Blues in the Air - 4:32
10. Baby Don't You Tear My Clothes - 2:39
11. I'm Still in Love With You - 2:50
12. Mushmouth Shuffle - 2:48
13. Smoke Rings - 5:39
14. Nomad Shuffle - 3:07
15. Comes Love - 4:47
16. Dinah - 2:12
17. Goodnight - 4:04

The Southside Aces are a fantastic traditional New Orleans Jazz band, and I worked with them to create the cd packaging for their 2011 release, “A Big Fine Thing.” They wanted to showcase playing card symbols while evoking an eclectic and playful vibe.
I remember when Andrew contacted me about doing this album artwork and being absolutely thrilled that they had photography. It’s funny to think how many projects I’ve worked on since then that were significantly less prepared. These guys are pros, through and through.
A friend of mine played Back to "Black" at a small Lindy Hop event and the song is fantastic so I had to investigate the album. It did not disappoint. I purchased it immediately and fell in love with the following: My Blue Heaven, Perdido Street Blues, Back to Black, Goodnight, and Smoke Rings. All the songs are great, but these really appealed to me. Good job band! I hope to dance to you in the future.

A Big Fine Thing

The Fargone Beauties - Dark Side Of The Moo

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 1993
Time: 36:02
Size: 83,4 MB
Label: Dino Music ‎
Styles: Country
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Mama Weer All Crazee Now - 3:00
 2. Fat Bottom Girls - 3:19
 3. I Hear You Knockin' (Walk Don't Run) - 2:18
 4. Johnny B Goode - 2:30
 5. Get It On - 4:17
 6. Top Hog - 2:27
 7. That's The Way (The Hustle) - 3:09
 8. Judgement Day - 2:43
 9. Ballroom Blitz (Magnificent 7) - 3:44
10. I'm Walkin' (Fats Domino) - 2:14
11. She's So Fine - 2:09
12. I'm Not In Love - 4:05

Formed in 1989, The Fargone Beauties were the originators of thrashgrass, which is the performance of classic rock songs the way they were truly intended to be loud, electric and bluegrass style. The band released three albums, performed on countless TV shows, played all the pubs and clubs, and scared the life out of audiences at every major country music festival in Australia.
In July 1989 the great Australian guitarist Tommy Emmanuel was about to perform some solo shows and dates with his brother Phil in Sydney. He called a musician friend, John Spence, with a dilemma. “Spencey, I’ve just found out we’re onstage at 11.00 pm tomorrow night and we need a support act. We need someone to play between 8.30 and 10.30 & warm up the punters before we go on. Can you help?”
No problem Tommy. John called his mate James Gillard, who had recently moved to Sydney from Melbourne where he’d been playing bass and singing with Mondo Rock and Broderick Smith’s Big Combo. John & James put a song list together and, without rehearsing, played the show the next night as a duo.
“Hey, that was great, but I reckon we can crank it up a bit,” said Tommy backstage after the first night. “In fact let’s make it a band tomorrow night, and I’ll play drums.” It’s a little known fact that besides being one of the greatest guitarists in the world (Tommy was inducted as a CGP – Certified Guitar Player, by the legendary Chet Atkins, one of only 3 worldwide), Tommy is also a fantastic drummer, and loves playing when he gets the chance.
So John hauled in another muso mate, virtuoso guitarist & Cockney looney, Terry Murray, to join them the next night. Again with no rehearsal, the “band” played a great set and at the conclusion a band agent and venue booker, Tim Kirkland from Peak Promotions, walked out of the audience & said “Who are you guys, what is this band & do you want some work ? I can book you next weekend if you like.”
Problem was, it wasn’t really a band, we didn’t have a name, and there were certainly no plans to do any more shows. But on hearing this Tommy chimed in, “I’m up for it. I’m in Sydney for the next three weeks doing sessions, and I’m in, as long as I get to play drums.” James very quickly added the band name, “we’re called The Fargone Beauties”.
After we all did a double take on the double meaning of the name, we laughed and thought why not, just go out and play a few gigs, have some fun & it’s all over.
From www.fargonebeauties.com.au

Dark Side Of The Moo

Sometimes Y - I Am

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 1999
Time: 45:27
Size: 104,6 MB
Label: Self Released
Styles: Progressive Rock/Christian Rock
Art: Full

Tracks Listing:
 1. Genesis - 1:41
 2. Spirit Garden - 5:43
 3. Divided - 5:13
 4. I Am - 3:25
 5. River's Prayer - 5:56
 6. Delve - 3:50
 7. Always Love You - 3:35
 8. No Goodbyes - 4:19
 9. Redemption - 3:46
10. Feed Me - 5:46
11. Silence - 2:08

Musicians:
Lora Nigro - Lyrics & vocals
Kevin Roberts - electric, acoustic, classical gutars, mandolin & vocal
Rob McWilliam - Chapman Stick®, stand-up electric bass, keyboards, grand piano & bagpipes
Peter Buffett - Synclavier
Jeff Gaudes - Drums, congas, tumba, electronic percussion & vodka twister

No information about the group

I Am

Barock Project - Detachment

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2017
Time: 74:58
Size: 172,4 MB
Label: Artalia
Styles: Progressive Rock/Neo Prog
Art: Full

Tracks Listing:
 1. Driving Rain - 1:02
 2. Promises - 5:02
 3. Happy To See You - 7:36
 4. One Day - 7:23
 5. Secret Therapy - 5:36
 6. Broken - 9:06
 7. Old Ghosts - 4:07
 8. Alone - 3:11
 9. Rescue Me - 4:55
10. Twenty Years - 6:04
11. Waiting - 5:42
12. A New Tomorrow - 7:44
13. Spies - 7:25

Fifth studio album for the Italian Symphonic Rock leading band Barock Project, lead by multi-instrumentalist and composer Luca Zabbini. Following a worldwide success with SKYLINE (2015) with sales in 40 countries, Zabbini is ready to launch another 75 minutes of his well established and unique music. One full year of hard work for Barock Project, 13 new tracks, many new sounds and joint composing and arrangement efforts to ensure a totally new approach and musical direction to the project.
It’s a rollercoaster of notes and multiple scenarios. Take some rock, jazz, metal, prog, flamenco, oriental, folk, celtic, pop, symphonic and mix it well. You won’t believe how your ears will depart for a journey through music.
Recorded and mastered in Italy in 2016 and early 2017, DETACHMENT features the musicians who made Skyline one of the best album of 2015 in Rock Progressive. Luca Zabbini (piano-keyboards-acoustic guitar-lead vocals), Francesco Caliendo (bass), Marco Mazzuoccolo (electric guitar) and Eric Ombelli (drums and percussion). Plus a very special Guest joining in to help make DETACHMENT a work to remember: Peter Jones, of Tiger Moth Tales, Camel, Red Bazar and Colin Tench project (and more…), signs the lyrics of 3 tracks and sings 2 of them!
Here is your chance to reserve your copy and be rewarded by exclusive extras and updates of the “Band on the road” in the ACCESS PASS, reserved for this pre-order campaign.
Release date 20 March. Act now, and spread the word to make this the BEST ROCK new blood album of 2017!

Detachment

Tommy Talton - Let's Get Outta Here

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2012
Time: 44:46
Size: 103,6 MB
Label: Hittin' the Note
Styles: Southern Country Rock/Blues/Americana
Art: Full

Tracks Listing:
 1. Let's Get Outta Here - 3:32
 2. You Can't Argue with Love - 3:55
 3. Dream Last Night - 5:11
 4. Make it Through the Rain - 3:46
 5. Slacabamorinico - 4:28
 6. Where is the World? - 4:06
 7. Recent Rain - 4:26
 8. Sunk Down in Mississippi - 3:03
 9. If Your Attitude is Funky (Nobody Wants Your Monkey) - 3:44
10. Half of What She is - 3:09
11. Momma Julie Remembers - 0:45
12. Give A Little Bit (Tribute To Levon Helm) - 4:35

The 11 original songs on this album are each unique - different time signatures, different keys, different genres of musical styles - but they all have that down home Talton sound. Southern country rock, blues, Americana, just classic Talton!
On Talton’s third release from Hittin’ the Note Records, titled Let’s Get Outta Here, he has written the most compelling music of his career. Always known as a gifted wordsmith and creator of authentically timeless melodies, Tommy has reached deep within his creative well to create a classic Southern masterpiece. VERY Special guest include Chuck Leavell, Paul Hornsby, Rick Hirsch, Scott Boyer, NC Thurman, Bill Stewart, Kelvin Holly, Brandon Peeples, David Keith and Tony Giordano.
Attending Tommy Talton's live shows recently has been quite like visiting a community garden every week or so, just to see what has popped up out of the ground. He has germinated, nurtured, and developed some of the finest music of his 45 year career during the past year. Talton has obviously given considerable thought to "Let's Get Outta Here," and the songs that distinguished themselves enough to be included on this CD. The notes and individual musical elements created on this recording aren't stacked like cordwood, or the layers of a cake, they mesh together perfectly as if every note depends on every other for their very existence. David Keith, engineer, co-producer with Talton, percussionist, and owner of Gintown Studio in Graysville, AL is responsible in part for the quality, and intricacy of this recording.
Great music should take the listener far away from everyday life. This album undeniably does that. The CD opens with the title track, Let's Get Outta Here, and whisks the listener down I-26 in this catchy, horn-driven, foot-tapping, breezy nod to Carolina's Beach Music scene. Talton's solid rhythm and blues roots shine here, and long-time friend Kelvin Holly steps out on lead guitar. You Can't Argue With Love was co-written with Rick Hirsh of Wet Willie fame, and is the only track on this album not written wholly by Talton. This track lures the listener across the Atlantic to meet England's Royal Family, and showcases Talton's soaring slide guitar, and formidable vocals. The arrangement, and thickness of the production here is reminiscent of Phil Spector's Wall of Sound recordings.
The next track, Dream Last Night, is meditative proof of Talton's ability to wrap the listener in a warm blanket of notes, and coax them to follow him wherever he chooses to go. Stern warning and disclosure here: Don't close your eyes during this track, because you could just wake-up anywhere...or nowhere at all. Talton's trademark slide guitar and Rick Hirsch's ethereal guitar coexist like smoke rings on a windless day.
Make it Through the Rain brings lifelong friend and Cowboy band mate, Scott Boyer, onboard to sing harmony vocals for the first of several tracks. This heartfelt ballad showcases the delicacy of Talton's songwriting, and the gracefulness of his acoustic guitar styling. This track is a fall day stroll down a leaf covered country road in the mountains of North Carolina. The listener can almost hear rain dripping from the eaves in this subtle masterpiece.
Slacabamorinico is a real-life story (Google Slacabamorinico if you don't believe me), set to a rollicking New Orleans, Second Line, horn, bass, and piano driven parade march. This track dances the listener through the streets of NOLA, and eventually on through the streets of Mobile, AL. Talton is joined again by Boyer on vocals, as well as an array of former band mates and friends, including Allman Brothers and Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell, and human metronome, Bill Stewart (drums). The horn section here including Chad Fisher (trombone), Shane Porter (trumpet), and Brad Guin (saxaphone), amply challenge Leavell's finessing barrelhouse piano. This track also includes the nastiest, funky four-note guitar lick since Blackhearted Woman.
Where is the World reaches out to blues, and rock fans, but also exudes an edgy, mindful folk, and Americana vibe. Talton is joined by old friends, Kelvin Holly (rhythm guitar), Paul Hornsby (organ), Bill Stewart (drums), Brandon Peeples (bass), and Chuck Leavell (piano), making this track musically pristine. Recent Rain again finds Talton tugging at the listeners heart lyrically, and with notes that cry cinematic with this gut-wrenching ballad about a great love found, and lost. Talton, the master of moods, consoles that all of this heartache shall wash away, just like the Recent Rain.
The classic, electric slide driven Sunk Down in Mississippi sweeps the listener down the big muddy to the Mississippi line. Here he chronicles Robert Johnson's fatal, true-life story, explaining that it really was not the poison, or pneumonia that killed Johnson; it was the woman that turned his head. Talton electrifies six strings in a musical tornado that testifies to some of Johnson's, and Talton's, finest emotionally gritty guitar work.
If Your Attitude is Funky (nobody wants your monkey) is Talton's adaptation of the old tavern anecdote that begins, "Sure she's gorgeous, but you can bet your last dollar that somewhere there is a guy that is glad she's gone." Talton tells this story with a conviction born of perspective.
Half of What She Is introduces the listener to Talton's boyhood home of Winter Park, Florida. This track is obviously a love song written for, and about Talton's mother, Julie Talton. The song fades into history with a recording that Talton unearthed, after his mother's passing, of her talking about his father; explaining how much she loved him, and how happy they were. Simply breathtaking.
Coil Talton up tightly, and watch what happens as he concludes the album with Give a Little Bit...a tribute to old friend, Levon Helm, who originally covered this funk masterpiece. Talton's wah-wah slide and Tony Giordano's bending, twisting keyboards intertwine on this track that features the rest of the original Tommy Talton Band; Brandon Peeples, bass, and David Keith on percussion. This track is the only cut not recorded by David Keith. It was laid down at Studio 1093 in Athens, GA by former Capricorn wizard, Jim Hawkins.
What is it they say? If you stay in the public eye long enough the truth is revealed. "Let's Get Outta Here" reveals volumes about Tommy Talton; as a man, a musician, and as a writer. If you are looking for a dose of nostalgia, look elsewhere. Talton is a survivor...an exception to the rule.

Let's Get Outta Here

Greasy Gravy - When The Game Is On

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2017
Time: 44:17
Size: 101,6 MB
Label: Big H Records
Styles: Blues/R&B/Soul
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Tell it to My Heart - 3:03
 2. Love on the Rocks - 3:50
 3. Good Thing - 3:39
 4. Like a Stone - 5:06
 5. When Love Comes Around - 3:30
 6. Love Potion # 9 - 3:07
 7. Soulfood - 5:46
 8. When the Game is On - 3:32
 9. I-M a Worried Soul - 4:55
10. Everybody Understands the Blues - 3:38
11. Memphis Train - 4:07

Vokalist Tom E. Holmlund har skrevet halvparten av tekstene, delvis sammen med andre, mens den avdode norskamerikaneren R.C. Finnigan star for tre. I tillegg har de med to stralende coverlater; Leiber & Stollers «Love Potion No. 9» og Rufus Thomas klassiske «The Memphis Train».
Lukk oynene og la deg bli tatt med tilbake til den gang amerikansk soul fra 60- og 70-tallet fanget nordmenns oppmerksomhet. Den gang Otis Redding, Booker T & The MG’s og Sam & Dave gjestet Oslo og Njardhallen.
Seksmannsbandet Greasy Gravy har virkelig fot for denne musikken, de har bade grooven og innlevelsen.
De behersker i tillegg nyansene og virkemidlene. Alt fra blasere til Hammond-orgellyd, rytmikk og en gitarist som styrer med sikker hand. I front har de en sanger med det rette stemmematerialet.
Summen blir en velkomponert hyllest til en musikalsk arv som virkelig fortjener et band som dette. Noen som klarer a komme under huden pa sjangeren og fore arven videre. Greasy Gravy var opprinnelig et bluesband, men har omfavnet soulmusikken som om de aldri har gjort noe annet. Fortsatt ligger selvsagt bluesen i bunn, n?r beslektet som sjangerne er.
Nar bandet trar til med «Like a stone», er det med frydefullt resultat. Eller de roer det ned med «Soulfood», og en neddempet lekenhet fester seg. Igjen ma gitaren fremheves, samtidig som samspillet gir tommelen opp.
Tematisk er det den problematiske kj?rligheten som besynges. Bandet er tro til et klassisk soul-lydbilde, og heldigvis tukler de det ikke til eller prover a overraske med musikalske krumspill. Produsent Kim Bergseth har fatt frem det beste.
Vi kan trygd si bandet har satt i gang et spill, og na er det bare a glede seg til en konsert med denne gjengen. Det er pa scenen i mote med publikum som er det virkelig rette stedet for denne hoyst vitale musikken.

When The Game Is On

Cory Weeds Quintet - Everything's Coming Up Weeds

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2009
Time: 52:04
Size: 120,0 MB
Label: Cellar Live
Styles: Jazz,Straight-ahead/Mainstream
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. B.B.'s Blue Blues - 6:33
 2. Biru Kirusai - 7:19
 3. Ella's Walk - 5:42
 4. Little Unknown One - 5:22
 5. I've Never Been In Love Before - 5:59
 6. Bailin' On Lou - 5:48
 7. 323 Shuter - 4:44
 8. Cyclaman - 5:14
 9. The Pour - 5:20

Everything's Coming Up Weeds, the 50th release from the Cellar Live stable, is a stellar recording featuring an extraordinary quintet. At first blush, it recalls the energy and fervor of wonderful Benny Golson bands and, if the memory can be stretched a wee bit further, also some memorable sessions of Jazztet—or even a Jazz Messengers middle passage. The date is led by the big tenor sound of Cory Weeds—saxophonist, broadcaster, jazz impresario extraordinaire and owner of Canada's leading West Coast nightspot, The Cellar Restaurant and Jazz Club. There is also excellent work from pianist Ross Taggart, trumpeter Jim Rotundi, bassist John Webber and drummer Willie Jones III.
There are several remarkable aspects to this record. First, the writing of the originals is of the very highest order. The music is wonderfully crafted with an extraordinary ear for tonal colors and rhythmic textures, whether it is a blues such as Taggart's "BB's Blue Blues," which appears to be an oblique tribute to Thelonious Monk, or an exotic narrative from Rotundi, "Biru Kirusai," which is almost a title in Bunga Emas (the language of Malaysia) and conjures up images of the sights and smells of exquisite Southeast Asia. The highlight, of course, is Weed's writing, which is mature and exquisitely crafted, with a fine sense of the sonority and sliding elegance of the tenor saxophone. On his "Little Known One," Weeds paints sonic images of Dexter Gordon. And like Gordon, Weeds is able to bend his fat sound to practically cry at the most tender moments of the song.
On Frank Loesser's "I've Never Been in Love Before," Cory Weeds establishes his mastery over the ballad, digging deep into his horn an extracting a genuine, glowing warmth that few tenor saxophonists today have been able to summon, even in balladry. Weeds also exhibits remarkable command of the bebop rhythm with his "Bailin' On You" and "323 Shuter." His chart, "The Pour," sounds like a classic tune from a Jazz Messengers songbook. But make no mistake, this is all Cory Weeds.
This is, in fact, the second remarkable aspect of this record. It is bursting with ideas and superb expression. Few small ensembles playing today complement each other with sensitivity to each other's sound. It is like an Duke Ellington band, where each of the players, like alchemists, forge tones that meld into one another. The interplay is almost seamless, with Taggart's "Cyclaman" and Weeds' "The Pour" bringing that molten sound of the quintet to sublime fruition.
This is also a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek title: Everything's Coming Up Weeds. If anything, there is jazz in full bloom here, end-to-end.

Everything's Coming Up Weeds

Freehand - Thinking Out Loud

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 1997
Time: 65:28
Size: 150,5 MB
Label: InEar Visions Music (1997)
Styles: Progressive Rock/Jazz Rock Fusion
Art: Full

Tracks Listing:
 1. Kinetic Eggs -  7:10
 2. Camels Dance -  6:22
 3. 3 Chords of Something -  4:45
 4. Mastodon -  5:18
 5. Thinking out Loud -  5:08
 6. Another Way to Survive -  6:05
 7. RH factor -  8:27
 8. Mirkwood -  5:48
 9. Eagle's Wing -  6:15
10. Spacehounds ... earthshine - 10:04

If you consider yourself a progrock or jazz-rock fusion lover then make sure to
add this release to your collection. This North Carolina band recorded and released the early cassette version of this in 1988-89. Time moved on and Freehand dissolved as so many other quality prog/fusion entities have. It's a shame I have lived so close to this band's stomping grounds and somehow Fate clouded their existence out of mine until after the fact. Thankfully, Freehand chose to re-release their fine music in a CD format nearly a decade later. Two unreleased songs are added with a ton of historic liner notes and excellently artsy packaging to boot. Best of all the sound quality has been vastly enhanced over the original cassette version.
Freehand used to play Happy the Man, UK, and King Crimson covers and these
influences clearly show in their songs. If you like fusion guitar, quirky keys, cosmic
synths, complex time signatures, melodic and creative bass lines then you'll enjoy
Freehand. "RH Factor" is the song most likely to please HTM fans with saxophone
included. "Camels Dance" is also a HTM inspired song. I picked up S.F.F.'s Symphonic
Pictures coming thru in that one as well. That Kit Watkins otherworldly carousel ride is
spinning away on these pieces. Even a taste of Jean Luc Ponty composition graces
"Mirkwood" -- only lacking Ponty's violin. Adrian Belew era Crimson is all over the
place. "Mastodon" vocals and stampeded-loud guitars shout blatant Belew/Crimson and  it's all crazy fun. I could go on but I leave the joy of surprise to your future listening.
Musicianship is flawless, creative, passionate, ballsy, and precise. Robert
Howerton and David Bollinger are excellent guitars and decent vocals. David also does keys. Brian Preston is big bass and God bless 'im, brainchild behind the re-release. Jeff Lindsey did the challenging drumlines and Todd Barbee's tenor sax added the "instant HTM" ingredient. Freehand is a band that should not have faded away but they were "before the times" and they flashed in the pan brightly but briefly. Tell 'em thanks and pick this treasure up while the tide is out. More than highly recommended.  -- John W. Patterson

Thinking Out Loud

Gary Wright And Wonderwheel - Ring Of Changes

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2016
Time: 50:08
Size: 115,8 MB
Label: Esoteric Recordings
Styles: Classic Rock, Pop Rock
Art: Full

Tracks Listing:
 1. Lovetaker - 4:33
 2. Wild Bird - 3:42
 3. Something For Us All - 4:09
 4. Set On You - 3:59
 5. Ring Of Changes - 3:53
 6. Goodbye Sunday - 4:34
 7. For A Woman - 5:02
 8. Workin' On A River - 3:57
 9. Creation - 5:18
10. I Know - 2:57
11. What Can We Do - 5:09
12. Somebody - 2:50

English keyboardist Gary Wright began his career as songwriter and vocalist for the band Spooky Tooth. Their music offered an amalgam of blues rock and hard rock,resulting in an enjoyable, compelling form of progressive rock that was quickly gaining the band a wider audience. But a bizarre business decision—releasing a collaborative (and disliked)  one-off project with French experimental composer Pierre Henry and promoting it as the band’s third album—wound up fracturing the band, with Wright leaving the group in 1970 to start a solo career.
Thankfully, Wright’s work with Spooky Tooth had impressed a few important people, most notably ex-Beatle George Harrison, who invited him to participate in the recording of All Things Must Pass. His involvement would lead to a friendship that would last for the rest of Harrison’s life, and he would make associations that would help start his solo career with two fine albums, Footprints and Gary Wright’s Extractions. To promote the records, he formed a live band and dubbed them Wonderwheel. Wright quickly realized his band–which featured Spooky Tooth guitarist Mick Jones–had a special chemistry, and he began working on his third album with them.
The new material came together quickly, and it sounded great, too. The band could throw down some heavy blues rock grooves (“Lovetaker,” “Workin’ On A River”), while putting down some delicate ballads (“Creation,” “Wild Bird”). Wright was in excellent form, as the band came up with material that rivaled Derek & The Dominoes, Bad Company, and The Allman Brothers in terms of intensity and quality. George Harrison arranged for them to work in the famed Apple Records studio on Savile Row. The album they recorded, Ring Of Changes, was to be one of only a few records to be fully created there. Harrison would even step in for a guest appearance on a few numbers; that’s his slide guitar on “Goodbye Sunday.”  The album complete, Wright presented it to A&M, who made plans to release the album. They would release a non-album single, “I Know,” to promote the forthcoming record. Unfortunately for Wright, the single flopped, and the album was quietly and unceremoniously shelved.
So why did Ring Of Changes go unreleased? That’s a good question, and one with no clear answer. Superficially, A&M weren’t interested. His two previous solo albums flopped, in spite of their all-star cast, and as good as Ring Of Changes might have been, the label had lost confidence in him, and it didn’t help that the record simply sounded too contemporary for its era. This last point is important, for even though it’s strong blues-rock, it’s not particularly distinctive blues rock, and a label has to recoup on its investment. Wright had simply struck out twice, and A&M wasn’t going to give him a third chance.
Is that fair?  Fairness has nothing to do with it; it’s business. Wright himself didn’t put up much of a fight with the decision; it only added to his self-doubt. He would return to his old band, Spooky Tooth, convinced his solo days were over—absurd, because he would soon have an international hit with his classic number, “Dream Weaver,” as well as a long, storied career as  solo act and as a studio musician. Yet the doubts  about Wondewheel remained; he had some trepidation about revisiting Ring Of Changes for the reissue, but was pleasantly surprised at how good it was.  It all seems so damned foolish now, because it’s obviously an excellent record, but one must remember the context in which it was rejected.
Still, better late than never, right? Ring Of Changes might not have the reputation of other lost masterpieces, but it’s nothing less than a great sounding blues rock album that exemplifies the quality of rock music coming from England in the early Seventies.

Ring Of Changes

Jack Jezzro - Sinatra On Guitar

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2017
Time: 52:41
Size: 121,1 MB
Label: Green Hill Productions
Styles: Jazz/Smooth Jazz
Art: Full

Tracks Listing:
 1. Come Fly with Me - 3:38
 2. You Make Me Feel So Young - 3:46
 3. Strangers in the Night - 3:54
 4. Fly Me to the Moon - 4:04
 5. The Way You Look Tonight - 4:41
 6. I've Got You Under My Skin - 4:31
 7. I Get a Kick Out of You - 3:53
 8. All the Way - 4:47
 9. Witchcraft - 3:25
10. The Lady is a Tramp - 3:56
11. Young at Heart - 3:52
12. New York, New York - 3:34
13. My Way - 4:33

JACK JEZZRO has been one of Nashville’s most versatile musicians and record producers for over 30 years. He has appeared on many Grammy winning recordings and has numerous albums as an artist to his credit. His vast guitar discography as a recording artist includes the critically acclaimed Jazz Elegance and Brazilian Nights recordings, along with the Grammy nominated A Days Journey album. As a bassist, he was a member of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra from 1981-1991. He continues to be a member of the Nashville String Machine, playing on countless hit songs including those by Garth Brooks, Faith Hill, Bruce Springsteen, Carrie Underwood, Amy Grant, George Strait, Jennifer Lopez, Matchbox 20, Vince Gill, Wynonna, Olivia-Newton John, Rascal Flatts, Neil Diamond, Dolly Parton, and The Beach Boys. His productions, which number over 300 albums, include legendary jazz pianist Beegie Adair, acclaimed Dove award winning vocalist Kathy Troccoli, Grammy winning pianist/composer and producer Michael Omartian, jazz vocal sensation Jaimee Paul, tenor sax ace Denis Solee, renowned violinist David Davidson, bassist/vocalist Jim Ferguson featuring jazz sax great Chris Potter, singer/songwriter Christina Lake, trumpeter Leif Shires, and jazz violinist Antoine Silverman featuring virtuoso pianist Stefan Karlsson. His music and productions could also be heard in several motion pictures, including the recent Woody Allen movie, "To Rome With Love."

Sinatra On Guitar

Brandon Miller Band - Live at Knuckleheads

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2017
Time: 65:07
Size: 149,2 MB
Label: Self Released
Styles: Blues/Blues Rock
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Slow Train - 4:51
 2. Hot as the Texas Heat - 4:38
 3. Do You Know - 6:57
 4. How Many More Times - 4:57
 5. Forevermore - 4:24
 6. Hero's Mistake - 5:54
 7. Better off Without You - 5:22
 8. Breakin' in - 7:22
 9. Freedom and Faith - 5:34
10. Dark Heart of Mine - 9:04
11. Last Goodbye - 6:00

Recorded live at Knuckleheads Saloon on Saturday, January 14th, 2017.

Live at Knuckleheads

Ruthie Foster - Joy Comes Back

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2017
Time: 42:27
Size: 99,6 MB
Label: Blue Corn Music
Styles: Soul Blues
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. What Are You Listening To - 4:17
 2. Working Woman - 4:00
 3. Joy Comes Back - 4:31
 4. Open Sky - 4:24
 5. Good Sailor - 3:04
 6. War Pigs - 4:35
 7. Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever - 4:13
 8. Richland Woman Blues - 3:51
 9. Abraham - 4:41
10. Forgiven - 4:44

Ruthie Foster’s powerhouse new album Joy Comes Back presents the genre-muddling blues/soul/rock/folk singer in the deepest sweet spot of her sizzling game. Her last album, Promise of a Brand New Day, was produced by Meshell Ndegeocello, who encouraged Foster to focus on songwriting. That one was good, but the new set is a greater triumph, matching Foster’s honeyed voice with a varied batch of songs by top talents ranging from Mississippi John Hurt to The Weepies’ Deb Talan to Black Sabbath.
The opener, “What Are You Listening To?” is a brilliant midtempo soul number by Chris Stapleton that puts Foster’s assured vocals and thoughtful sensibility at center stage, where it stays for the duration of the album. Power of a different kind streams through the tight feminist rocker “Working Woman” by Grace Pettis: “When you gotta get it done, call the working woman…This country’s run by the working woman.”
Derek Trucks adds tasteful slide guitar to the title track, an old-timey, gospel-flavored but not tiresomely religious number by Sean Staples. Here producer Daniel Barrett slides Foster’s vocals into a drunken gumbo of guitars, piano and organ, upright bass and “sloppy” percussion. Hurt’s “Richland Woman Blues” is another nod to the old days, and here, as usual, Foster matches her singing style to the tradition and feel of the material, feathering it up just right for the jaunty song.
The only Foster original on the album, the light-soul “Open Sky,” is one of her best compositions, evoking the great 1970s grooves and pop-blues styles of both Marvin Gaye and Carly Simon, her voice soaring at the end like a contented Aretha. In the same vein is a straightforward “Loving You is Sweeter Than Ever,” written for the Four Tops by Ivy Jo Hunter and Stevie Wonder.
A deliberate but fun take on Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” leans heavily on Simon Wallace’s harmonica and Foster’s own Dobro. At the opposite end of the spectrum is the slow, simple build of “Abraham,” which put me in mind of Etta James’s version of “Out of the Rain.” But here, again, Foster softens her delivery into a folky beam of pale light before the rainbow of vocal harmonies enters. “When I do good I feel good. When I do bad I feel bad. That’s my religion.” Those lyrics, by Shawnee Kilgore, Austin folk singer-songwriter and Joss Whedon collaborator, build to a triumphant climax that Foster takes all the way to the horizon.
Brilliantly chosen and produced, beautifully played, and beautifully sung, the songs of Joy Comes Back give us Ruthie Foster at her absolute best. And that’s absolutely fine.

Joy Comes Back

Quaser - Phase Transition

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2003
Time: 49:06
Size: 113,0 MB
Label: Flap Records
Styles: Progressive Rock/Jazz-Rock Fusion
Art: Full

Tracks Listing:
 1. Promised Land Suit I - 4:05
 2. Promised Land Suit II - 4:31
 3. Promised Land Suit III - 5:33
 4. Chang - 4:36
 5. Tarotmaster - 5:15
 6. Helianthus - 4:06
 7. Wait or Nothing - 4:21
 8. Brigade of Hope - 8:25
 9. Promised Land Suit IV - 8:10

Hailing from Kobe in Japan, QUASER performs Progressive rock of the highest quality. Originally in the vein of AIN SOPH or KENSO, the band ventures even further in the EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER territory, and knows how to electrify things when needed. Jointly published by the Musea and Poseidon labels, the fourth album "Delta Flux" (2011) opens with guitar riffs worth of the best Progressive heavy-metal bands arounds, duelling with a fierce Hammond organ. Only a second later, the gentle symphonic side takes control, led by delicate piano notes and typical nippon vocals. There are rhythm changes all over the place, creating a refreshing musical maelstrom. Let's note several guest-musicians, including a violin player, and a cover-version of PROKOFIEV's "Enemy God". Not to be missed !

Phase Transition

Dogs - Different

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 1979
Time: 34:10
Size: 79,7 MB
Label: Philips
Styles: Rock/Alt.Rock
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. A Different Me - 2:46
 2. Gotta Tell Her - 1:56
 3. Words - 2:45
 4. More From You - 1:46
 5. I'm Real - 2:03
 6. Stranger Than Me - 2:47
 7. (I'm Gonna Learn To) Live With It - 2:18
 8. Nobody But Me - 1:58
 9. Terminal State - 2:14
10. Fortune Teller - 2:01
11. The Greatest Gift - 4:00
12. Lonesome Hearts - 2:40
13. Sally's Eyes - 4:50

French rock & roll is usually heaped with ridicule, deservedly so for the most part. There are exceptions of course like Jacques Dutronc and Plastic Bertrand's "Ca Plane Pour Moi." Add to that list the tough and melodic post-punk/new wave/power pop group the Dogs. Their debut record from 1979, Different, is a little gem of a record full of spiky guitars, frantic tempos, and solid songcraft. The disc sounds like a lost Only Ones record; singer Dominique Laboubee has a world weariness in both his voice and his lyrics similar to that of Peter Perrett. At the band's best, on tracks like "Stranger Than Me," "A Different Me," the aching ballad "The Greatest Gift," and the Buddy Holly-esque "(I'm Gonna Learn To) Live With It," they almost reach the heady level of the Only Ones or the Real Kids. The only thing holding them back is too much restraint and cleanliness in the production of the record. Still the record deserves to be heard by fans of classic post-punk songcraft and power pop hooks. It's a perfect rejoinder to anyone who says the French can't rock. [The album was reissued in 2003 with a raft of bonus tracks, including three songs from their 1977 Charlie Was a Good Boy single and five tracks from the 1978 EP Go Where You Wanna Go. The songs from 1977 lack the studio polish of the album and are really good, especially the pounding "19." The EP tracks are closer in sound to the album but possess a touch more energy and verve; the songs are on par as well. "Go Where You Want to Go" is a stately rocker that calls to mind mid-period Flamin' Groovies and features some of the band's best guitar work. "You're Gonna Loose Me" sounds like a lost Heartbreakers song with some very Thunders-like guitar. These tracks are a perfect addition to an already great album.]

Different

Ron Levy's Wild Kingdom - Funky Fiesta!

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2012
Time: 65:04
Size: 149,2 MB
Label: Levtron.com
Styles: Jazz/Acid Jazz/Hammond B3
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Bunga Bunga Akimbo - 6:46
 2. Rebbe of Rhythm - 5:25
 3. Back in the Back - 6:19
 4. Badd Mannish Boyz - 5:30
 5. Street Beats - 5:34
 6. Saxy Girl - 5:42
 7. Hittin' it Hard & Sweet - 6:13
 8. Phunky Memories - 6:10
 9. Sunny Sunday - 5:53
10. Funky Fiesta - 6:19
11. Someday - 5:09

Musicians:
Ron Levy - Producer, composer, arranger, organ, acoustic & electric pianos, basses, drums, percussion, synthesizers, strings, vibraphone, rhythm & melody guitar [Street Beats] & programmer
Adrome MacHine- Drums & percussion
Ronaldo Levito - conga, bongo & timbales
Jeff ‘Lockhart Monster’ Lockhart - Guitar - rhythm & solos
[#5 & 8]
‘Sax’ Gordon - Tenor sax [solos]
Scott Shetler - Tenor sax, clarinet & charts
Mark Early - Baritone sax
Doug Woolverton - Trumpet & flugelhorn
Lil’ Joe from Chicago - Trombone

2012 - Levy's newest album "Funky Fiesta!" featuring his latest compositions with superb backing and personnel. Killer keyboards galore. Soulful & fun!
Ron Levy is a madman. In a good creative kind of way. But a madman none the less. Levy’s compositions on his new CD, 'Funky Fiesta', feature numerous musical styles and instruments crisscrossing and or supporting each other in way that are not usually done. Each composition is like a journey through Levy’s mind, and it’s a colorful and beautifully chaotic landscape. Like the best jazz albums, this Levy disc reveals something new with each listen because the composer has packed it full of aural nuggets. He uses mostly electronic percussion and programmed drumming for this outing. In fact, in his credits Levy lists the drummer’s name as 'Adrome MacHine'.
Aside from Levy’s usually tasteful organ swirls, opening track “Bunga Bunga Akimbo” has got a sprinkling of piano over a hopped up, heavy funky bass line that still manages to sound organic even though it’s been layered for this song. “Sax” Gordon Beadle blows out a thick tenor saxophone melody that really spices up this keyboard jaunt. Levy seems to be following a play it by ear recipe here. He just throws in whatever sounds good. An organ chord strikes. A piano goes barrelhouse. Percussion dazzles. It’s all part of the kaleidoscope of sound that keeps changing, modifying itself in Levy’s ever flexible aural imagination.
“Rebbe Of Rhythm” finds Levy laying out another fine set of organ notes. What goes on around him is even more colorful. Trash can lid percussion provides a warm colorful sound and some other sounds, synthesized, remind of Prince. It’s the thick crunchy layering of instruments that makes this tune an alluring piece of chunky funky.
Levy slows things down a bit on “Back In The Back” to give his resonating vibraphone notes a work out. Adding a feeling of mystery is the take your time organ chords. Then, suddenly, without warning, it turns into an Afro-pop percussion frenzy before sliding into a grooving, moody saxophone glide. Told ya, Levy is mad. Simply mad. But at least he keeps things interesting.
“Badd Mannish Boyz,” as the ghettoized Muddy Waters song title implies, combines hints of blues idioms with hints of modern urban music. Levy plays a smoking blues organ line that is aggressively punctuated by heavy duty bass and electronic percussion. He also midis his keyboard to make it sound like a futuristic musical instrument with a metallic timbre. Even the electric guitar here has been adjusted to sound like something you need a time machine to visit in the future. However, just when you think Levy has you settled into this modern funktified rhythm thang, his saxophone boy darts in with organic melodic offerings. Told ya, this Levy cat is crazy.
“Street Beats” is an interesting concoction. Amidst an old school saxophone, percussion, and organ comes an occasional, measured horn sound that could’ve been lifted off a 1960s movie soundtrack. Its pop injection conjures images of an odd character motioning oddly around a movie scene. It also gives this piece a split personality in its timbres that works. The song is definitely cool. There’s an irresistible chemistry and symmetry between keys, sax, percussion, and numerous other things going on.
“Saxy Girl” uses a fresh take on keyboards. Tinsel piano notes and metallic organ chords layer this heavy synth bass-driven, saxophone-lead take on modern funk. Levy finely balances traditional keyboards and drums with synthesizers and drum programming. These extra layers open up the sound fully and allow Levy to compose and record something much more colorful, interesting, and fresh. And mad.
“Hittin’ It Hahd & Sweet” finds Levy delving more deeply into urban bass and drum sounds while spicing up the melody the old fashioned way, with clavinet and vibraphone. Jeff “Lockhart Monster” Lockhart peels off funky melodic phrases from his guitar that he has registered up high in the scale with an effects pedal, appealing as the lead guitar has an other worldly freshness.
“Phunky Memories” is kicking keyboards galore. Punchy organ work grinds out a solid center while there are other keyboard melodies wafting around. Synth-bass and electronic percussion speed things up here and because they have such a wide timbre, they open up the space above for Levy to romp around. He’s like an artist with a huge canvas, filling it in with many colors. Listening to this on headphones turned up loud can blow your mind. There’s many flavorful sounds flying around and each one can remind of a certain stage in funk music history. The sounds will also get you high on their aural kaleidoscope dynamics and changes.
Levy rocks the keyboards on “Sunny Sunday.” He’s got a wiry vibraphone melody sweetening things up while a synth-bass drops dollops of funky, knobby low end dexterity. The drumming is so tight that it forces Levy to keep all of his glorious keyboard sounds measured, distinct, and clean. There is an obsessive-compulsive control to all of the melody instruments here. These instruments only squeeze off so many brief notes and chords at a time. This allows them to dance around each other with mutual respect and discipline. The synth bass tells its own story of glory with bulbous low end notes that are durable enough to drive an 18 wheeler over.
Title track “Funky Fiesta” is the loosest goose on this album. Its organ notes race over the song’s already speedy measures. Each keyboard note and chords is a shiny, pretty thing that the mad maestro has moving around with more energy than Mexican jumping beans. A jazzy, sprightly saxophone line zigs and zags its way with an unstoppable forward momentum. Doug Woolverton’s trumpet chimes in with a suppressed energy that makes it nervous and angsty like a person who can’t wait to get something off his chest. “Funky Fiesta” sounds like its title implies. Blazing horn section, quick runs of organ, and racing percussion burn big and bright as a bonfire.
Levy closes out his album with “Someday,” a thoughtful piece that carries its pleasant thick sound along like a cloud on a breeze. Multiple keyboards are fully inspired and inspire the listener with their interwoven majesty, a work of art that requires busy thought, busy playing, and a touch of madness. The composer also has a way of emphasis. There’s a simple finger snapping sound placed just right to give it the importance of punctuating all that Levy has going on in his mellifluous, multi-melodic work.
Funky Fiesta is one of Levy’s best albums and certainly his most interesting. It is a fetching work of art, beauty, genius, and artistic madness. A music composer simply has to have a unique way of hearing music and a unique way of imagining of how numerous sounds, some seemingly incompatible, would work once stacked up against each other. Levy certainly has that beautiful creative madness. Let’s just hope he doesn’t cut off his own ear or turn up dead in a Baltimore alleyway.

Funky Fiesta!

Chris Bergson Band - Bitter Midnight

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2017
Time: 43:07
Size: 99,3 MB
Label: Self REleased
Styles: Blues/Electric Blues/Americana
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Pedal Tones - 2:57
 2. 5-20 - 3:43
 3. Just Before the Storm - 3:13
 4. Knuckles and Bones - 3:38
 5. Explode Or Contain - 3:45
 6. Lullaby - 3:26
 7. 61st & 1st - 4:04
 8. Blues For Dave - 4:56
 9. Small Trouble - 3:45
10. Another Day - 5:14
11. Bitter Midnight - 4:21

The Chris Bergson Band’s new release Bitter Midnight is the band’s first studio album since 2011’s critically acclaimed Imitate the Sun. Bitter Midnight showcases the band’s “gut-busting, horn-bedecked NY blues” (MOJO) with eleven original songs all recorded to two inch tape at Brooklyn’s Mighty Toad Recording Studio. New York Blues Hall of Fame guitarist/singer Chris Bergson "...one of the most inventive songwriters in modern blues music" (All Music Guide ) is joined on the album by soul singer Ellis Hooks (Steve Cropper), baritone saxophonist Jay Collins (Gregg Allman), trumpeter Steven Bernstein (Levon Helm), drummers Aaron Comess (Spin Doctors), Tony Mason (Darlene Love), bassists Andy Hess (Gov’t Mule), Richard Hammond (Joan Osborne), Matt Clohesy (Patti Austin), and keyboardist/tenor saxophonist Craig Dreyer (Dispatch).
“It was great to record with some of my favorite musicians,“ says Bergson. “Some of the guys, like Richard Hammond, Aaron Comess, and Tony Mason, I’ve been playing with for years but had never recorded with before, so it was nice to finally document the rapport we’ve developed over many gigs.” “I got it - just drums and clav on the intro!” And with that impromptu suggestion in the studio from drummer Aaron Comess, so begins “Pedal Tones”, the album’s opening track which Bergson penned with one of his most frequent collaborators, co-lyricist Kate Ross. With Comess’ opening snare drum fill leading to a funky clavinet riff from Craig Dreyer, the swampy groove keeps percolating with the addition of Jay Collins’ cowbell in this rumination on absence and loss.
Many of the songs on the record were inspired by Bergson’s recent European tours that have included performances in France, Spain, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and Ireland.

Bitter Midnight

Die A Tribe - Albatross

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 1997
Time: 63:17
Size: 145,5 MB
Label: Contribed Records
Styles: Progressive Rock/JRF
Art: Front

 1. The Sound Scary - 1:38
 2. Choke - 4:11
 3. Ostrich - 4:07
 4. Foreshadow - 5:26
 5. Neurotic Heart - 5:23
 6. Huck Friend - 4:54
 7. Tribal Spirit - 6:51
 8. We Don't See - 6:46
 9. Thicker - 4:51
10. Gravity - 3:25
11. Mighty Simba - 5:57
12. Fear - 5:11
13. Love's Majestic Promise - 4:29

Musicians:
Ginny Simmons - vocals;
Jonathan Peek - bass, vocals;
Ted Tuck - guitar, vocals;
Todd Taylor - drums, percussion.

Die A Tribe throws down a cutting-edge cool, jazzy-rock fusion, alternafunked, you-can-dance-to-it, (sometimes), but always a cerebral groove. This is one of the finer blends of many genres, crossing over effortlessly back and forth — staying tight instrumentally, everywhere the laser strobes. I hear Allan Holdsworthian, Scott McGill-ish soaring and blue-white hot guitar leads, bridges, and fills. Bass work is right up there with the likes of Jeff Berlin or old Sting. I mention the Police here because the changeups and rhythms call to mind Bruford's Feels Good To Me or the peppy bounce of Sting, Summers, and Copeland on Ghost In the Machine. Is the drumming right on the money and diverse enuff? You betcha! Todd Taylor is solid on keeping the rhythms afire. These guys wail and jam like mutant hybrids of some occultic, fusion gene pool. I go on now to the bigger surprise. This paragraph was merely the teaser.
Up comes Ginny Simmons to the mike and then you really are blown away. Out flows the forceful grace of Laura Martin of Finneus Gauge, the sultry, passion-fired croonings of The Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde, and even the bombastic, speak-sing of Annette Peacock of Bruford. Simmons truly explodes on "Fear". Guitarist, Ted Tuck, and bassist Jonathan Peek both sing well, (hear them on "Tribal Spirit" and "We Don't See"), but the power and glory is Simmons. She lures you in, wraps the song around you, and just makes it all uniquely click. An undercurrent of angst and introspection threads heady lyrics which thankfully avoid the trap of other bands' empty-headed songs. Here's another semi-obscure reference for folks out there to get oriented — Band of Susans. Die A Tribe goes light years beyond that band's compositions and redundant, wall-of-feedback-noise guitars. Both however, display the effective female lead/ male backup vocal parallels.
So much is so very wonderful about this polished group. They know their instruments, all the tricks, effects, voicings, and are precise on time signatures. Harmonies are strong, compositions interesting, and flowing. Everyone has plenty of room to stretch and Simmons doesn't sing all the time. The instrumental portions versus vocals are balanced just right. Thirteen songs are offered that never fail to surprise, entertain, and melt you away — right into the places where great jazz fusion and solid rock from the heart shine forever— far, far beyond the pale ghosts of mainstream. Highest recommendations. ~ John W. Patterson

Albatross

Wayne Wilkinson - Full Cicle

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2007
Time: 52:07
Size: 119,5 MB
Label: Self Released
Styles: Jazz/Bebop
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Swingin' - 3:34
 2. Martino's Waltz - 4:36
 3. Lament - 5:34
 4. Change The World - 4:56
 5. The Heritage - 6:49
 6. Full Circle - 4:26
 7. Speak Low - 4:18
 8. Here We Go Again - 6:22
 9. So Many Stars - 5:23
10. Sleepwalk - 6:03

Straight ahead jazz guitar.Wayne Wilkinson is a jazz guitar player in the Washington D.C. area. and former member of the premier Air Force jazz ensemble “The Airmen of Note” based in Washington, D.C. The latest CD, “Full Circle”, is a guitar trio with some special guest. Among the personnel on the recording are some of Washington DC’s finest and all world class musicians including Chuck Redd, Scott Giambusso, Michael Bowie, Byron McWilliams, Zack Smith, Bruce Swaim and Andy Kochenour.
In 1989, he was a semi finalist in the national Conac Henessy Jazz Search competiton. Among the venues he has performed at while in the “The Airmen of Note” are Carnegie Hall, The White House and The Detroit Jazz Festival. Also, while in the band, He played with Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Joe Williams, Ernie Watts, James Moody, Henry Mancini and Stanley Turrentine. Other people he’s played with in his career are Jack Jones, Dianne Shure, Bob Hope, Roger Williams, Louis Belson and The Four Freshman.
He's also a member of "Zach Smith & The Dixie Power Trio" which plays music of Louisiana. This nationally known group travels the country and can be heard on XM Radio, NPR and other stations.

Full Cicle

David Thomas and Ronnie Gun - The Giants Dance

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 1996
Time: 72:55
Size: 168,1 MB
Label: Blueprint
Styles: Progressive Rock
Art: Full

Tracks Listing:
 1. Great Western - 3:56
 2. I Get The Feeling - 3:58
 3. Somewhere Upon The Way - 2:43
 4. A Minor Epic - 3:39
 5. I Know She Danced - 5:18
 6. (Give My) Love To The Future - 5:08
 7. Coolly I Love You - 2:28
 8. Walk To The Water - 6:01
 9. Bring Back The Old Money - 4:58
10. Falcon Rise - 3:48
11. Hillside - 4:13
12. Memoriam - 2:31
13. Hey Lady - 3:20
14. Go Get The Girl - 3:53
15. To My Surprise - 2:42
16. Fate Is A Dancer - 5:49
17. Black Rat Sleepy Tune - 1:08
18. The Giants Dance - 7:13

Musicians:
David Thomas - vocals, piano, guitar, synths;
Ronnie gunn - vocals, piano, harmonium;
Ant Philips - guitar;
B.ff. de Leonard - bass;
Hugh Etheridge - drums.

The Giants Dance is a collection of demos recorded during the 1970s by Ant's friends David Thomas & Ronnie Gunn. David & Ronnie were both members of the pre-Genesis band The Spoken Word that included Peter Gabriel on drums, and David later sang backing vocals on From Genesis To Revelation. They also appear on the recordings of Ant's songs Master of Time and The Beggar & The Thief.
The CD also includes sleeve notes by Tony Banks, David Thomas & Peter Gabrie
A charming pot-pourri of songs and instrumentals mainly dating from the late-sixties to mid-seventies, The Giants Dance represents a glorious insight into the work of two early contributors to the mighty Genesis legacy. The Giants Dance, as Peter Gabriel eloquently states in the sleevenotes that accompany the album, is "full of atmosphere, interesting chord progessions, poignant singing and quirky arrangements." The Giants Dance - a very English treasure.
Thomas and Gunn have both played in early versions of Genesis and participated on the first Genesis album (backing vocals). The booklet contains both words from Banks as from Gabriel. Ant plays on the album itself.
Is a collection of songs recorded over the years ('69-'79). In a way the music reminds me somewhat of Genesis, but not much. The music is very English, has a lot of acoustic guitar and piano and some synth. You can hear well at times that the music comes from different periods.
The music itself is not something to get overly enthusiastic about and might not be called progressive by most. The style must be compared to Ant Philips solowork mostly and as such the tracks are not bad and some are even good: the instrumental A Minor Epic, the more hectic Walk to the Water and the Genesislike, lamenting Falcon Rise or the slow The Giants Dance. If you want to hear Genesis go somewhere else, but if you are interested historically or if you are a fan of Ant Philips and like to hear something "similar" then you might give it a try.

Another archival album, this time from two of Anthony Phillips' long standing friends, David Thomas and Ronnie Gunn. Many Genesis fans may be familiar with David, he was, after all, the guy whose flat Tony Banks and Peter Gabriel shared for almost five years, as well as assisting on their first album, "From Genesis To Revelation". The album draws on material which the two main protagonists wrote in the period between 1969 and 1978, and as such is very much a product of its time as well as being an intriguing snapshot into an ear of music that has been undeservedly maligned by the smart set who sadly dominate our music industry these days.
Don't let the Genesis tag fool you, however. This album is not a "Collection of Antiques & Curios" to paraphrase another well known album of the period. Instead, the music ranges across the spectrum from the rhythmically elegiac tribute to the age of steam in the opening track, "Great Western", and the beautiful piano based "Somewhere Upon The Way" and the beautiful sounds of a polymoog (remember them?) on "A Minor Epic", which fans of vintage Genesis will love.
Another highlight is the blues style playing of one Anthony Phillips on "Coolly I Love You". Another highlight is the truly wonderful elegiac beauty of "Memoriam", a magnificently bitter-sweet piano instrumental which along with the other tracks on this album begs the question, why has it taken so long for this music to be made available?
There are many fascinating echoes of a golden era on this album, including the wryly humorous lament for pre-decimalisation Britain of "Bring Back The Old Money", as well as the music itself which is rooted in the early seventies and that is no bad thing. In fact, it does us good to remember the period when lyricism and musicality were not the dirty words that they seem to be today.
Accompanying David and Ronnie are a host of equally talented musicians including our very own Anthony Phillips, Jeremy Ensor (later to form Principle Edwards Magic Theatre) and a very young Martin Robertson. As an album of music, this will endear itself to Genesis fans for the all too obvious connections to the early band. However, there is much more of worth than the associations and to my jaded senses; this album came as a welcome breath of fresh air, helped in no small measure by he accompanying booklet including sleeve notes by Tony Banks and Peter Gabriel, and several previously unseen photographs spanning the period of the album's conception.
Highly recommended to fans who like a little more to their music than our present day chart fodder.

The Giants Dance