The Flaming Mudcats - Get Loose

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2018
Time: 37:53
Size: 86,9 MB
Label: Mudcat Music
Styles: Blues
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Moving to the Country - 3:46
 2. Rooster Blues - 2:47
 3. Why Why - 3:37
 4. Cut Me Loose - 2:41
 5. Missed My Chance - 2:48
 6. Trying to Get Ahead - 3:33
 7. Getaway - 3:28
 8. Hey Margarita - 2:47
 9. Show Me Some Love - 3:45
10. Sneakin'  Around - 3:45
11. Welcome to My Blues - 2:25
12. Cry No More - 2:25

After a long hiatus, The Flaming Mudcats return with the new Album, ‘Cut Loose’, reflecting their eclectic influences and styles as they celebrate their tenth year together. ‘Cut Loose’ evolved following the addition and influence of Californian bass play Johnny Yu, heralding in a new era as the band continues to seek and revitalise their take on the blues. A stomping collection of mostly originals, across a wide range of roots music styles, song about life’s experiences familiar to anyone… loving, living, splitting and paying bills … themes that are timeless and universal. There’s even a couple of covers sprinkled into the mix for good measure to, because hell, they’re just damn great songs. The Flaming Mudcats continue to perform locally and internationally. Never straying far away from their grounding in the blues, good-time Rhythm and Blues and Rock’n’Roll. So sit back, crank it up and get ready to have some fun!

Cut Loose

Chilliwack - Look In, Look Out

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 1984
Time: 36:45
Size: 84,2 MB
Label: Solid Gold Records
Styles: Rock/Soft Rock/AOR
Art: Full

Tracks Listing:
 1. Got You On My Mind - 3:34
 2. Don't Shoot Me Down - 4:17
 3. Who's Winnin' - 4:37
 4. I'm Comin' To You - 4:46
 5. Gettin' Better - 3:43
 6. Run With Me - 3:30
 7. Are You Really Gonna Walk Out - 3:59
 8. Don't Stop - 4:00
 9. Dream Of You - 4:15

Generally better known for their late 70's AOR albums, this group was one of the earliest Canadian prog groups since they were directly descending from the 60's group THE COLLECTORS which had released a mind-blowing debut album and an confirming second effort, before changing their name to CHILLIWACK, their hometown's name in British Columbia. Both albums are included in the proto-prog section of the database. As the group had encountered some success in the late 60's (both as an album but also a single's band), the group felt they had to modernize their name, image and contracts. But in the essence the group remained quasi-intact and given the changing of the times, their first album under their new name became a bit looser and less structured. The music became more dreamy and sometimes involving long improvisation (but never becoming a jam band), bordering on the psychedelic prog with Claire Lawrence's saxes and flutes giving loving caresses to your eardrums.
Gradually, as the key members will float away and leave the ship, the sound (which had a distinct west coast touch) shifted more and more towards typical late 70's AOR with a slight country rock touch. The group will end its career in the early 80's in the general indifference after a string of unremarkable (from our point of view) string of albums. The band went on to become Headpins with a huge ard rock sound.
So what will interest progheads in Chilliwack are the first few albums that are definitively wilder and looser, but still as worthy as their superb Collectors album (couldn't resist that one ;-).

Look In, Look Out

Tiger Moth Tales - Story Tellers-Part Two

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2018
Time: 47:45
Size: 113,7 MB
Label: White Knight Records
Styles: Progressive Rock/Neo-Prog
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Best Friends - 3:14
 2. Kai's Journey - 4:37
 3. Toad of Toad Hall - 3:40
 4. Hundred Acre Wood - 3:16
 5. Eternity - 4:36
 6. The Boy Who Cried Wolf - 6:44
 7. Three Little Pigs - 6:33
 8. The Palace - 8:44
 9. Match Girl - 3:48
10. Best Friends Reprise - 2:28

Although for Pete Jones 2018 was largely dominated by his participation as a singer, keyboardist and saxophonist on the tour of progressive rock legend Camel, he still found the time and space to work on new songs for Tiger Moth Tales. This results in the album Storyteller Part Two, in which Jones returns to composing music based on stories from some of his favorite youth authors, this time including Hans Christian Andersen and A.A. Milne.
Storyteller Part Two has become a diverse album that shows a varied palette of styles. There are several compositions about The Snow Queen and Jones has managed to tie his old vocal partner Emma Friend for a few duets. On the one hand, we are confronted with the colourism interpretations of Monty Python as in The Three Pigs and The Boy Who Cried Wolf (the latter is a musical adaptation on a fable of the Greek poet Aesop, known for his stories in which animals behave like humans), on the other hand he delivers on pastoral progressive reads rock songs in the style of Genesis and Big Big Train, with opening songs Best Friends and Kai's Journey the listener immediately withdraw the atmosphere of the album.
Toad or Toad Hall and Hundred Acre Wood show that Jones knows how to fascinate the listener with clever songwriting and amazing musical dexterity. The instrumental The Palace is a highlight on the album. Jones pays homage to Steve Hackett, the guitarist he sees as his source of inspiration. The result is an astonishing result of progressive extremes, which make the listener enjoy the musical talent of Pete Jones.

Story Tellers- Part Two

Ad Astra - Surface Of Last Scattering

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2015
Time: 50:09
Size: 114,9 MB
Label: Three In One Records
Styles: Progressive Rock/Symphonic Prog
Art: Full

Tracks Listing:
 1. Surface Of Last Scattering - 11:00
 2. Lament -  6:51
 3. Cradle to Grave to Life - Grief -  9:21
 4. Cradle to Grave to Life - Recognition -  7:24
 5. Cradle to Grave to Life - Redemption -  4:35
 6. A Gift Of Peace -  1:44
 7. Pathways -  9:11

Progressive rock band Ad Astra returns with Surface of Last Scattering. Led by Doug Bowers (music), and Christopher Flynn (lyrics) the material is classic Ad Astra, with all the dreamy, melodic and cinematic elements that fans around the globe have learned to love over the years. However, this incarnation of the band mixes it up with adding elements of physics, stellar cartography and church liturgy that place this album somewhere in between the late 60's proto prog and the new generation of art rock.
Ad Astra is a progressive rock band cut from the legends of the 1970's. Bands like Yes, Ambrosia, PFM, Alan Parson's Project, Genesis, Flower Kings. We believe in growth and stretching our compositions. Each Ad Astra release is a new creation. Decidedly differing from the previous release, yet maintaining continuity of character and purpose.
Comprised of two writers Doug Bowers (keyboards, electric and acoustic guitars and lead vocals) and Christopher Flynn (6 & 12 string guitars and vocals) together with superb musicians:
Henry Jablonski (bass and vocals)
Chuck Tidwell (lead guitars)
Mitch Rall (percussion)
Create Ad Astra’s Surface of Last Scattering as a modern prog release. You'll find tasty synth layering, strong lead and harmony vocals, thought provoking lyrics, ripping lead guitars and driving bass lines within.
Surface of Last Scattering - The title track for the project is an effort to see the surface and the beyond to the truth behind the first glance. This piece combines physics, meteorology and church liturgy to find out where we finally join together as a single entity in creation.
Lament - Asks the question “How Long?”, yet doesn't leave the listener without hope. Cradle to Grave to Life - Is a triptych, a three part tour de force. From grief to recognition to renewal this tune takes you through the process of redemption.
A Gift of Peace - Doug's instrumental that beautifully that transitions into the depths of Pathways. Pathways - Originally written as an expression of grief over the loss of our fathers. Pathways tells the story coming to terms with loss. The Reverend John Shoaf provided the music and melody to the lyrics while Doug provided the definitive progressive rock statement of the song.
Surface of Last Scattering was recorded by Doug Bowers at Three in One Studios. Arranged by Us and mastered by Gene Crout at Audio Digital Studios.Photography, layout and design by Christopher Flynn at Trout Studios.

Surface Of Last Scattering

Pymlico - Directions

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2012
Time: 56:14
Size: 129,4 MB
Label: Spider House Records
Styles: Progressive Rock/Crossover Prog
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Compliments Of Sharkey -  5:00
 2. Heroes - 14:04
 3. The Little Grey Cells -  6:05
 4. R.W. -  6:21
 5. 2280 -  6:37
 6. Regulus - 18:04

Compliments of Sharkey" is, if I am not mistaken, a tribute to the exalted world of E.P. Jacobs, a Euro-cartoon icon, famed for his "Adventures of Blake and Mortimer" series. Sharkey was adjutant to Colonel Olrik, the nasty fiend and nemesis to both Francis Blake of SIS and Professor Philip Mortimer. If so, putting the exhilarating pseudo sci-fi anti-hero as a platform for some rollicking prog is quite an original twist, waltz or fandango. Fittingly the mood is pulsating, grandiose and epic, a Norwegian one-man instrumental show led by Arild Broter and some family and friends. Arild is a professional live drummer (Lucifer Was), so the beat is a non-worry issue. Fun beginnings but one would never expect a stellar follow-up track and the 14 minute + "Heroes" (referring again to Blake and Mortimer?) is as fabulous as instrumental prog can get, an expedition of monumental sound where everything fits superbly, gorgeous synthesizers painting the fjord-lit night sky, interweaving melodies and evocative arrangements that span the spectrum, from idyllic pastoral beauty where the flute section seems straight out of Hostsonaten's Springsongs, to more typical guitar-led symphonics that ignite images of mellow proggers Camel, David Minasian, The Inner Road, Odyssice and Trion. The term "beautiful" sums it up quite succinctly, the lead axe crying out in utter ecstasy, uniting with a long extended synth solo that parallels the main theme, massive and hot mellotron blasts are there in abject support. Another stellar track that is on my current playlist, the classic "Heroes" will provide the listener with many happy returns, as the low-end is well served with some amazing bass playing. Simply splendid piece of music.
How do you follow up with anything remotely listenable after such joyous perfection? Well "The Little Grey Cells" has a more menacing feel, a cinematic power prog piece with a heavy space-rock feel, led by a mammoth bass glide that sets the pace convincingly. The absolute unexpected killer bullet is the steamy and sensual sax solo with a sultry, sweaty and slightly perverse sound that will knock you for a loop! Okay, so how do you follow up that one?
Two 6 minute wonders then appear out of the fjord's mist, much to our listening pleasure. On "R.W." spooky sonar bleeps, fuzzy atmospherics and a diaphanous mood will certainly veer the mood, albeit only temporarily as the ornate piano slowly carves out a melancholic reverie. Dense, almost Floydian soundscapes enter the fray, yeah that big bluesy guitar wail we all know and love, giving some much desired angst to the flow. Its more aggressive companion "2280" is more pulsating, almost like highway driving music, with sashaying rhythmic guitar caresses, bubbly synths pinging and ponging out of sight, all served by a relentless bass and drum propeller. The electric lead screeches with tons of sustain and angry desperation amid an electronic bubble bath that Rick Wright would be drooling over, up there in VCS3 heaven!
'Directions' ends with the mammoth "Regulus", an 18 minute+ affair that should blow your mind, possessing initially a rather quirky James Bond-like cinematographic feel , which then develops into a more conventional symphonic piece with electronic slants, abundant raucous snippets, tons of start and stop techniques, playful experimentation, overt directional interludes that all sort of gel well together. The rowdy bass carves nicely its way through the joyous marimba phase, the sweeping synth passages, the drenched organ sections and whatever else Aril throws in its path, be it steamy sax fury, vaporous space fluttering or dissonant insanity.
Broter has a good handle of creating memorable melodies, a necessary prerequisite for first-rate instrumental music, unless of course one is a fan of minimalistic drone electronica or RIO/Avant-garde sonic dysfunction. Fine addition to any prog collection, especially the fans looking for something off the beaten path.

Directions

Pymlico - Inspirations

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2011
Time: 65:57
Size: 152,2 MB
Label: Spider House Records
Styles: Progressive Rock/Crossover Prog
Art: Full

Tracks Listing:
 1. Aldebaran -  3:21
 2. P.I.G. -  4:42
 3. Pictures-Part I -  3:28
 4. The Website -  6:42
 5. Constantinopole -  3:06
 6. Smiert Spionam -  8:12
 7. Summer'08 -  7:08
 8. Dance Of The Kleptomaniacs -  6:49
 9. Pasadena -  4:18
10. Pictures-Part II - 11:12
11. Sirius -  6:54

Arild Broter is the man behind the Norwegian project of Pymlico, former drummer for Lucifer Was in their live performances.He started it all around the spring of 2009, when two demo tapes inspired him to work more on his own music.The next year and a half he focused on composing material for an upcoming debut, eventually released in 2011 as an auto-production under the title ''Inspirations''.Broter plays drums, guitars, bass and keyboards and he is helped by several friends, including his brother, on additional keyboard, guitar and bass parts.
So where do the inspirations come from for this Norwegian musician?The answer lies somewhere between the happier parts of THE FLOWER KINGS, the instant and deep melodies of KAIPA and the more grandiose approach of LIFE LINE PROJECT as the closest comparison to his keyboard themes.The album is all instrumental with ideas ranging from good to simply fascinating, featuring a fantastic mix and a very good production.His style swirls mostly around the lines of traditional Symphonic Rock with occasional bits from Jazz and Electronic Music, though quite modern sounding.Broter's arrangements are often more than interesting, based on lovely guitar themes and solos, powerful vintage organs and very sharp synthesizers with both melodic and virtuosic passages, always well-crafted and carefully executed.And he never forgets to pass through several different atmospheres.From intense, dramatic textures and spacey introductions to retro-inspired nostalgia and postive, easy-going tunes.
Very good stuff indeed.Excellent addition for all fans of instrumental Classic Progressive Rock and a nice listening for anyone searching for demanding music with positive vibes.Strongly recommended...

Inspirations

Il Cerchio d'Oro - Dedalo E Icaro

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2013
Time: 48:50
Size: 112,3 MB
Label: Black Widow
Styles: Progressive Rock/RPI
Art: Full

Tracks Listing:
 1. Il Mio Nome E Dedalo - 4:56
 2. Labirinto - 7:15
 3. La Promessa - 9:06
 4. L'arma Vincente - 4:15
 5. Una Nuova Realta - 7:39
 6. Oggi Volero - 4:25
 7. Il Sogno Spezzato - 6:01
 8. Ora Che Son Qui (Icaro...La Fine) - 5:09

 Il Cerchio d'Oro's roots date back to the seventies when they released some singles. After a long hiatus, the band came back to life in 2006 and in 2008 released their first full length album, Il viaggio di Colombo. In 2013 they released an excellent second work on Black Widow Records, Dedalo e Icaro, with a consolidated line up featuring veterans Franco Piccolini (organ, piano, Mellotron, synth), Giuseppe Terribile (bass, acoustic guitar, vocals), Gino Terribile (drums, gong, vocals) and Piuccio Pradal (12 string acoustic guitar, vocals) plus a new member, Bruno Govone (electric guitar). During the recording sessions they were helped by some prestigious guests such as Pino Sinnone (drums), Marin Grice (flute, sax), Giorgio "Fico" Piazza (bass), Ettore Vigo (piano), Daniele Ferro (electric guitar) and Athos Enrile (mandolin) who contributed to enrich the sound. The new work is a concept album freely based upon the myth of Daedalus and Icarus where the music and lyrics do not try to tell in an emphatic way a story that probably everyone already knows, but rather focus on the emotions and feelings of the protagonists trying to stir your imagination. Well, maybe the beautiful art work by Stefano Scagni describes the content of the album better than all my words...
The music and lyrics of the opener "Il mio nome e Dedalo" (My name is Daedalus) introduce the character of Daedalus and his challenge. We meet a proud, unscrupulous genius who is able to invent an endless array of tools and who is jealous of his secrets and of his craft. The music starts softly, then the rhythm rises following the course of a baroque vanity. At last Daedalus accepts to build a labyrinth without a way out for the king of Cnosso and the following "Labirinto" (Labyrinth) is a beautiful instrumental track that depicts this challenge trying to evoke all the difficulties of the project and of its realisation...
The long, complex "La promessa" (The promise) begins with a vocal part a cappella, then the rhythm rises and goes through many changes in mood and atmosphere and you can feel desperate rage, hope and overwhelming energy. This track depicts in music an words a man betrayed but still untamed, prisoner of his work and art. Daedalus is in the labyrinth now, there's no way out, his world has begun to fall to pieces around his head but he does not accept his destiny and he's planning an escape for him and for his beloved son. He swears that he'll find the way...
Next comes the calm, dreamy "L'arma vincente" (The winning means) that describes the feelings of Icarus. He's just an unconscious, curious boy attracted by the splendour of the sun and he's sure that his bravery will help him out... Then it's the turn of "Una nuova realta" (A new reality), a beautiful track that announces the end of the nightmare and conjures up a feeling of hope in a better future. You can dream of a breakthrough obtained defeating old taboos, soaring in the air and talking to the wind...
"Oggi volero" (I'll fly today) describes in music and words the day of the take off and the strong, fiery emotions of the departure, a dream that comes true, flying away, higher and higher, towards the sun... Then the nervous rhythm of the following "Il sogno spezzato" (The broken dream) takes you back to earth. Icarus is falling down, his ambitions are melting in the sun like his wings of wax. For Daedalus it's time for mourn and pity, his moaning will to fly for ever... Can you hear it?
The last track, "Ora che son qui (Icaro... La fine)" (Now that I'm here - The end of Icarus), describes Icarus' final lament, his last thoughts and feelings, his regrets and his pain. Now he's in the afterlife and asks just for a flower that will bring him another bit of sunlight... Can you hear him?
On the whole, I think that this is really a great album. Of course, every now and again the influence of bands such as PFM, Le Orme, New Trolls, Delirium or the Trip is apparent, but the band managed to recreate a vintage atmosphere without sounding out of date nor derivative and the final result is impressive!

Dedalo E Icaro

The Val - Heading For The Surface

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2015
Time: 44:51
Size: 102,9 MB
Label: Soundarella Records
Styles: AOR/Progressive/Symphonic/Melodic Rock
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Heading For The Surface - 0:54
 2. Wish You All The Best - 4:07
 3. Crusaders - 4:09
 4. Roses And Chains - 3:36
 5. Up To Where U Are - 3:52
 6. She's Dumb And Blind - 4:45
 7. Stardust - 4:42
 8. My Heart Is Beating - 3:54
 9. I Saw Him First - 4:10
10. Breathe Me In - 4:03
11. Wreckage Of My Heart - 3:53
12. Borderline - 2:41

The Val is a Melodic Rock band formed in Madrid (Spain), in 2010. The Val's first CD already was a wonderful pack of carefully crafted melodic songs. Second effort "Heading For The Surface", still retaining the delicate AOR / Melodic Rock melodies but with various
steps forward in terms of songwriting, arrangements and production. It is a vital album in which the band incorporates melodic rock sounds from Symphonic Rock and Progressive Rock among others. Musically diverse and emotionally revealing, the album takes The Val to a new level of creative achievement.
The Val return with a smashing follow up to their debut album Back (2011) The Val are Female fronted melodic rock band hailing from Spain. Gabrielle de Val: Vocals; Alfonso Samos: Guitars; Alex Morell: Bass Guitar;
Tony Ortega: Keyboards; Ruben Berengena: Drums.

Heading For The Surface

The Val - Back

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2011
Time: 51:49
Size: 118,8 MB
Label: Avispa
Styles: AOR/Progressive/Symphonic/Melodic Rock
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. A Kiss in a Dragon Night - 4:05
 2. Dreaming - 5:16
 3. Pay for the Lonely Nights - 3:36
 4. Trapped Between the Lines - 5:25
 5. Johnny's Got a Red Car - 3:13
 6. Hold On - 4:25
 7. Back - 4:04
 8. When Midnight Comes - 3:55
 9. The Devil's in the Band - 3:49
10. Every Beat of My Heart - 3:05
11. The Unwritten Songs - 6:11
12. The Age of the Sun - 4:40

Musicians:
Gabrielle De Val - Vocals;
David Erick Criado - Keyboards, Backing Vocals;
Alfonso Samos - Drums, Bass, Guitar, Backing Vocals.

The Val is a Melodic Rock band formed in Madrid (Spain), in 2010. The Val's first CD already was a wonderful pack of carefully crafted melodic songs. Second effort "Heading For The Surface", still retaining the delicate AOR / Melodic Rock melodies but with various
steps forward in terms of songwriting, arrangements and production. It is a vital album in which the band incorporates melodic rock sounds from Symphonic Rock and Progressive Rock among others. Musically diverse and emotionally revealing, the album takes The Val to a new level of creative achievement.

Back

Architecture Of The Absurd - Beluga

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2016
Time: 42:39
Size: 97,8 MB
Label: Martian Sheep Records
Styles: Progressive Rock
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Photosynthesis (feat. Marco Minnemann & Damian Erskine) - 5:21
 2. Paris Ragtime (feat. Marco Minnemann & Damian Erskine) - 6:10
 3. Trying to Be a Court Clown (feat. Marco Minnemann & Damian Erskine) - 5:27
 4. Under a Black Cloud (feat. Marco Minnemann & Damian Erskine) - 7:11
 5. Thylacine (feat. Marco Minnemann & Damian Erskine) - 6:20
 6. Monologue (feat. Marco Minnemann & Damian Erskine) - 6:45
 7. Sunny View (For Douchebags) [feat. Marco Minnemann & Damian Erskine] - 5:24

We are a Progressive Rock band. The same kind of rock that motivated thousands of avid brains to join a musical movement that enclosed everything. Undefined rock, with no boundaries or limits. A delicious caricature of music.
ARCHITECTURE OF THE ABSURD is a Progressive Rock band. The same kind of rock that motivated thousands of avid brains to join a musical movement that enclosed everything. That undefined rock, with no boundaries or limits. That rock that laughed at the world and at itself, a delicious caricature of music.
ARCHITECTURE OF THE ABSURD gathers influences from bands like Van Der Graaf Generator, Gentle Giant or King Crimson. It filters them through a Mr. Bungle strainer and performs in an imaginary Cirque Du Soleil. The result can’t be more unpredictable. Nothing is what it seems and nothing looks like nothing.
This seemingly senseless parallel world has been created by Lorenzo Matellan and Razl, two musicians characterized by an unlimited creative inquisitiveness fed by their ability to transform the simple and pretty into weird and odd, which can actually be a bit scary. At least it might trouble you. Through their compositions, Architecture of the Absurd proposes imaginary situations based on tales, movies or stories they’ve heard, and they put them in very direct words, with an extraordinary double meaning.
Lorenzo Matellan is a keyboard player and a sound engineer defined by his restlessness and his need to be musically free. He’s obsessed with breaking his own walls, eliminating complexes with machines that can generate very absurd sounds. His motto: anything goes except the word “ni”.
Razl is an out of the ordinary guitar player. After a constant process of finding himself, he discovered that he was more than one person, which led him to fund Architecture of the Absurd. His solo albums, “Rotonova” and “Microscopic”, got very good critics in specialized media, but now, he finally embraces the project that will take him to a cosmic fame. Whatever that means.
The presence of the extraordinary (and no less weird) drummer Marco Minnemann has given Architecture of the Absurd an extra push. His participation in the project has taken the band to give a step forward in their musical intentions, strengthening them with a rhythmic weight only comparable to the power of the engine of a stellar spaceship taking off.
The last tier of this intricate network has been Damian Erskine, virtuoso bass player who has perfectly understood the fevered and damaged minds of L. Matellan and Razl acting as the perfect glue between the uncontrollable pulses of Marco and the incoherent musical methods of Architecture of the Absurd.
Architecture of the absurd is the final result of something that started in a total random and undefined way. Most of the tracks have shaped themselves almost at the very final moment before entering the record studio. Both Lorenzo and Razl kept suggesting new ideas and fragments that were stored in a sort of imaginary archive without knowing how many tracks would finally be part of the album. At some point, the number of musical fragments was so high that Architecture of the Absurd started to feel a bit stressed for not being able to use them all. So, they set up a specific date to start recording; stop the constant influx of ideas and put some order in everything that had been created to far. As it was extremely difficult to make sense of it all and use every idea, Architecture of the Absurd tried to think of a more abstract concept for the album, something with and without meaning. And under this notion, they integrated all the fragments they had and shaped the tracks.

Beluga

Galactic - Ruckus

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2003
Time: 43:55
Size: 100,6 MB
Label: Sanctuary
Styles: Jazz Funk/Jam Band/Jazz Fusion/New Orleans
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Bittersweet - 3:28
 2. Bongo Joe - 3:21
 3. The Moil - 3:10
 4. Paint - 3:19
 5. Never Called You Crazy - 3:07
 6. Gypsy Fade - 3:27
 7. Mercamon - 3:12
 8. Uptown Odyssey - 3:13
 9. Kid Kenner - 3:24
10. The Beast - 2:49
11. Tenderness - 3:45
12. All Behind You Now - 3:39
13. Doomed - 3:54

On Galactic’s recording Ruckus they blend their usual spices of New Orleans funk, jazz and soul with the urban sound and feel of hip-hop music and culture, along with a healthy dose of dance and techno. Galactic has found a niche on the jam-band circuit, which encourages freedom of experimentation, and that is what this outfit has been doing for the past few years. They have dug into the soul of urban music and come up with the sound and most importantly the feel of urban hip-hop music and spice it up with some dance licks and techno samples. They enlisted the help of Dan the Automator to the bridge the gap between their organic sound and the knob twirling and electronic tricks of hip-hop and dance. The call to arms comes on the opening salvo, ironically entitled "Bittersweet." Drummer extraordinaire Stanton Moore kicks off a roll and fill and you are is off to an aurally exciting and musically invigorating adventure. While the song is next to flawless, the thin vocals of Theryl "The Houseman" de’ Clouet during the chorus takes ever so slightly away from an invigorating and uplifting listen. The common theme of this recording centers around the ever so in-the-pocket, behind-the-beat playing of drummer Stanton Moore. He is to be, if not already, included among the greats of the legendary drumming tradition of the Crescent City; no doubt a top ten member. His groove is ever so infectious on the laid back "Bongo Joe" and "Gypsy Fade." These tunes put you on a lawn chair under an umbrella on a hot summer's day with your hands wrapped around an ice-cold bottle of Abita beer. This tone is further set effectively with the use of a breathy harmonica lead and Delta blues slide guitar accent accompaniment.
The up-tempo and rocking song “The Moil” challenges you to not only try and not dance but try and keep up with the changes and fluctuations of its rhythm and pace: A flawless execution.
The recording's one flaw, be it a minor one, lies in the approach to “Kid Kenner.” For a reason not easily explainable, it feels unrealized as a composition and a bit out of place. While not a fatal flaw, it had me reaching for the fast forward button on my CD player for the next and ever so pleasurable piece, “The Beast.”
Ruckus is not for the faint of heart. It challenges you to open your mind to new sounds and new blends of tones and styles: think Digable Planets, if you need a reference point. You'll find a new excuse to turn up to eleven and take a nice one-hour road trip with no particular destination. Don't go near this record if you like to put artists into categories or pigeonholes!

Ruckus

Grateful Dead - Wake Of The Flood

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 1973
Time: 45:48
Size: 105,1 MB
Label: Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab
Styles: Folk Rock/Country Rock/Psychedelic Rock
Art: Full

Tracks Listing:
 1. Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo -  5:46
 2. Let Me Sing Your Blues Away -  3:19
 3. Row Jimmy -  7:19
 4. Stella Blue -  6:25
 5. Here Comes Sunshine -  4:42
 6. Eyes Of The World -  5:24
 7. Weather Report Suite - 12:51

Musicians:
Jerry Garcia – Guitars, Vocals;
Bob Weir – Guitars, Vocals;
Keith Godchaux – Keyboards, Vocals;
Phil Lesh – Bass;
Bill Kreutzmann – Drums, Percussion.

The Grateful Dead‘s long awaited sixth studio album, Wake of the Flood, marked a new era for the California band. Their first studio album in nearly three years, this was the first album on their independent Grateful Dead Records label as well as the first to feature the couple Keith Godchaux on piano and keyboards and Donna Jean Godchaux on backing vocals. This seven track album features compositions which draw from a blend of influences, ranging from the roots genres of country, folk and ragtime to a seventies modern fusion of funk and jazz rock.
In 1970, the Grateful Dead released two critically acclaimed studio albums, Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty, where they scaled back their sound with heavy folk and country influences. Following this breakthrough success, the band did extensive worldwide touring and would release three live albums in three years – Grateful Dead in 1971, Europe ’72 in 1972, and Bear’s Choice in 1973. Keith Godchaux joined the group in 1971 as a pianist alongside founding keyboardist Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, when Pigpen was moved exclusively to Hammond B3 organ at the time. In 1972, McKernan’s health deteriorated, leaving him unable tour, and  ultimately lose his life in March 1973 due to complications from liver damage. Percussionist Micky Hart also temporarily left the band during this era, leaving drummer Bill Kreutzmann as the sole member behind the skins.
In August 1973, the Grateful Dead took a break from touring to record studio versions of new songs which had been in live rotation. The band chose to record Wake of the Flood at the Record Plant in Sausalito, California, near their Bay area home base. The band self produced the album along with help from staff engineers and recorded everything is less than two weeks.
Sonically, Wake of the Flood moves from very simple to more complex as the album moves along. The opening “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo” has a real loose, live feel as a down-home bluegrass track featuring the fiddle of guest Vassar Clements throughout. Jerry Garcia‘s lead vocals are somewhat low in the mix of this track which likely got its title as a play on “Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champs”, a mid-sixties bluegrass group started by Garcia, McKernan and guitarist Bob Weir. “Let Me Sing Your Blues Away” introduces Keith Godchaux to the listening audience as lead vocalist and co-writer with lyricist Robert Hunter. The first single from this album, this song has some strong melodic ideas and harmonies which are not completely formed on this recording.
Garcia’s complex and rhythmic “Row Jimmy” is the first sonically satisfying song on the album as a ballad accented with clavichord and percussion to complement the usual fine bass by Phil Lesh along with dual guitar licks. The exquisite “Stella Blue” is the best showcase of Garcia’s emotional vocals and is an overall well produced and tight ballad with an original and beautiful vibe with Hunter’s lyrics telling a story of lost love and sadness.
The album’s second side starts with the song that gives album its title. “Here Comes Sunshine” features another rich musical mix with an optimistic story of better days to come. The funky track “Eyes of the World” furthers the group’s sonic advancement into the fine mixes which they would display later in the 1970s, with great chord progressions, rudiments, rhythms and lead guitar. This leads to the album closer, Weir’s fantastic, three part “Weather Report Suite”, which showcases incredible, layered guitars and a smoothly put together and exquisitely produced jazz-influenced musical journey throughout. The “Prelude” section is an acoustic instrumental with slowly building rhythmic accompaniment, leading to “Part I”, featuring lyrics by guest Eric Andersen. The song addresses the seasons, and their relationship to the narrator’s state of mind. “Part II (Let it Grow)” feature’s Weir’s longtime lyrical partner John Perry Barlow and is the most upbeat part of the suite with music is perfectly laid out with various elements, including rich horns and a closing dual sax and harmonica lead, all making for a fine closing of this album.
Reaching the Top 20, Wake of the Flood fared better on the pop charts than any previous studio album. The Grateful Dead Records did not last all that long, collapsing in 1976, which resulted in this album all but disappearing from the marketplace for about a dozen years until it was issued on CD in the late 1980s.

Wake Of The Flood

Mitch Ryder - Christmas (Take a Ride)

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2018
Time: 31:44
Size: 72,8 MB
Label: Goldenlane
Styles: Holiday
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. What Christmas Means To Me - 2:32
 2. Blue Christmas - 2:45
 3. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - 2:29
 4. Someday At Christmas - 2:52
 5. Jingle Bell Rock - 1:55
 6. Santa Claus - 2:50
 7. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer - 2:56
 8. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - 2:40
 9. Sleigh Ride - 2:44
10. Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer - 3:26
11. Let It Snow - 1:57
12. Put A Little Love In Your Heart - 2:33

Celebrate the holiday season with one of the most distictive voices in rock history, the brilliant Mitch Ryder! Here the voice of "Devil With A Blue Dress" and "Jenny Take A Ride!' breathe new life into these holiday classics made famous by Elvis Presley, Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, and more! Mitch has ben inducted into the Michigan Rock N' Roll Hall Of Fame, and he continues to perform live (both with and without The Detroit Wheels) around the country!

Christmas (Take a Ride)

The LA Cowboys - Endless Summer

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 1993
Time: 44:46
Size: 103,4 MB
Label: InsideOut
Styles: AOR
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Tokyo Woman - 5:19
 2. Endless Summer - 4:59
 3. Aubree's Melody - 4:37
 4. Say You Love Me - 4:34
 5. Holding Back the Tears - 3:55
 6. Know Me By Heart - 4:14
 7. Eye of the Storm - 5:02
 8. Walk Me on the Water - 4:18
 9. Terra - 3:47
10. Something In My Heart - 3:57

‘Endless Summer’ is one of the early 90’s most under-rated Westcoast / AOR albums, despite its high quality. This is because this album was released only in Japan, with little promotion in 1993. The LA Cowboys are comprised of James Studer and Wayne Nelson. When Endless Summer was released, Japanese Westcoast / AOR fans
did not pay much attention to the album because of misleading promotion by the label, which I will detail later. There were no music websites in those days, thus Westcoast / AOR music lovers in Europe or the United States had no way of knowing about this album.
The album was already out of print by the time people started to talk about it. When it was reissued by AOR Heaven in 1998 in a limited 1000 copies, it did not take a long before the warehouse became empty. In the late 80's. while Wayne Nelson kept busy with LRB, James Studer started to produce Mari Iijima, a young talented Japanese female singer/songwriter. They met while recording Mari’s album ‘Miss Lemon’ in 1988, and were married the following year. James co-produced Mari's next 8 albums, which featured first-call LA musicians including Joseph Williams, Jeff Porcaro, John Robinson, Michael Landau, Lenny Castro and LA Cowboy partner, Wayne Nelson. It was during this time that James and Wayne got a recording deal for their own project. Yes, this was “Endless Summer”. You might feel interesting that the album closes with a very beautiful ballad “Something In My Heart” featuring Joseph Williams as the lead singer. Also you should note that many great musicians were involved in this hidden gem; Michael Thompson, Buzzy Feiten, Tris Imboden, Mick Fleetwood, George Hawkins Jr. and many others. I hope you will enjoy this reissued CD for years to come.

Endless Summer

Bushman's Revenge - Jitterbug

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2010
Time: 53:40
Size: 123,0 MB
Label: Rune Grammofon
Styles: Progressive Rock/JRF
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Always in Motion the Future is - 9:59
 2. Kill Your Jitterbug Darlings - 4:14
 3. While My Guitar Gently Breaks - 6:33
 4. Too Old to Die Young - 5:42
 5. Wind and Fire - 5:52
 6. Professor Chaos - 5:44
 7. Damage Case (Happy Go Lucky Karaoke Version) - 2:55
 8. Personal Poltergeist - 7:48
 9. Waltz for My Good Man - 4:48

BUSHMAN'S REVENGE is a power jazz-rock trio formed 2003 in Oslo, Norway by Even Helte HERMANSEN (guitar), Rune NERGAARD (bass) and Gard NILSSEN (drums).
After establishing themselves as a club and festival band in the years following their formation, and garnering a highly enthusiastic following in the process, BUSHMAN'S REVENGE released their debut album, "Cowboy Music", through Jazzaway Records in 2007. Following an extended Western European tour, and appearances at several jazz festivals, they signed with Norwegian jazz-rock label Rune Grammofon, and released their sophomore album, "You Lost Me at Hello", in 2009, to great critical acclaim.
The following year produced the band's third album, "Jitterbug", which shows the band more on the rock side of things, and features Ståle STORLØKKEN (ELEPHANT9, SUPERSILENT) on Hammond organ on two of the tracks. "A Little Bit of Big Bonanza" and the LP only release recorded during the same sessions, "Never Mind the Botox", consisting mostly of covers, followed in 2012.
After touring Europe, and also Japan, in 2012, the band released their first live album, "Electric Komle - Live!", in early 2013, followed by their sixth studio album "Thou Shalt Boogie!" later that year. The latter album features David WALLUMRØD (NEEDLEPOINT) on, most significantly, Hammond organ, which pushes the band's sound closer towards prog and space rock.
WALLUMRØD followed up his guest appearance in studio with joining the band in concert for some occasions in 2013/14. Another occasional live collaborator in recent years has been saxophonist Kjetil MØSTER (ULTRALYD, MØSTER!). Putting these two on stage with what is one of the most exciting young (all the members are still just in their early 30's) bands on the international jazz scene today, turning the trio into a quintet, makes for an explosive live experience, perhaps the most ferocious the writer has had the privilege of witnessing.
The live experience in question was their concert at Café Mono, Oslo, during Oslo Jazz Festival in August 2014, which resulted in the appropriately named live album "Bushman's Fire", released in 2016, simultaneously with the band's seventh studio album, "Jazz, fritt etter hukommelsen" (Jazz, From Memory), where they were back as a trio, playing their jazziest, least hard-hitting music to date.
The band's name is taken from a highly potent brand of South African chilli sauce, made from some of the hottest chillis available, very fittingly, as their highly energetic, and also distinct, sound, a unique blend of heavy rock/metal and instrumental free jazz, inspired as much by Jimi HENDRIX, PIXIES, CREAM, BLACK SABBATH, Jeff BECK and "Red" period KING CRIMSON as MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA, SOFT MACHINE, Alice COLTRANE, John COLTRANE, Ornette COLEMAN, SUN RA, Sonny SHARROCK and Albert AYLER, you're sure to get a kick out of!
Recommended to fans of the aforementioned artists, and to those who enjoy the jazzier side of bands like THE ARISTOCRATS, and BUSHMAN'S REVENGE's labelmates HEDVIG MOLLESTAD TRIO, as well as fans of other bands in the Rune Grammofon catalogue such as KROKOFANT, SCORCH TRIO, MOTORPSYCHO, SHINING, ULTRALYD, and GRAND GENERAL, a prog fusion supergroup which features BUSHMAN'S REVENGE guitarist HERMANSEN.

Jitterbug

Hot Lunch - Hot Lunch

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2013
Time: 46:22
Size: 106,5 MB
Label: Tee Pee Records
Styles: Rock
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Handy Denny - 3:42
 2. Killer Smile - 3:25
 3. Ripped at the Seam - 4:05
 4. Knife Edge - 3:59
 5. Lady of the Lake - 7:53
 6. You're Alright - 2:44
 7. She Wants More - 2:47
 8. Tragedy Prevention - 4:37
 9. Gold Lyre - 4:59
10. Monks on the Moon - 8:06

Anyone familiar with the heavy, hard-driving punk ‘n’ roll of San Francisco’s Hot Lunch will tell you that they took too long to release their debut album. But the Lunch lads prefer to do things the old fashioned way – they funded it by saving the money made from playing shows. They also wanted to work with Tim Green of Louder Studios, who could capture the ass-kicking, face-punching, mouth-slapping intensity of their live performances onto an analogue two-inch tape medium for a classic sounding fidelity.
It seemed like a no-brainer to release their eponymous LP on Who Can You Trust? Records out of Germany – home to bands like Lecherous Gaze, Witch and White Hills. The label was so impressed with Hot Lunch’s drive to piss off old folks and ruin people’s hearing, that they made this release their catalogue’s first ever full-length album.
The band is happy. Guitarist Aaron Nudelman (Mensclub), singer Eric Shea (Parchman Farm), bassist Charlie Karr (Harold Ray Live In Concert) and drummer Rob Alper (SLA) never wanted anything from music but to press vinyl that would sit comfortably in their record collections alongside such influences as Grand Funk Railroad, Black Flag, UFO, Rush, BL’AST!, Ace Frehley, Coloured Balls, Dead Kennedys and Hawkwind.
With a deep love for skateboarding, the Hot Lunch dudes don’t take for granted that they get to regularly play with other bands redefining skate-rock. They are thankful to call Lecherous Gaze, Earthless, Hightower, The Shrine, Pins Of Light, Glitter Wizard, Carlton Melton and Drunk Horse their friends. But instead of trying to impress you by dropping the names of the more popular acts they’ve played with, the guys in Hot Lunch would prefer to brag about the time they rocked on the deep-end decks of the pool where the Tim Brauch Memorial Skateboard Contest was held. Or when they played the after-party for the Nevada City premier of Stacy Peralta’s Bones Brigade documentary. Or that Thrasher Magazine leaked a couple of these tunes to soundtrack their King Of The Roadvideo before inviting the band to play a party at Double Rock, their private skatepark.
All this aside, the band would much rather have you listen to their music than read about it. So with that in mind, thank you for your time and enjoy the heavy jams of Hot Lunch’s self-titled debut album on Who Can You Trust? Records.

Hot Lunch

Handsome Jack - Everything's Gonna Be Alright

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2018
Time: 41:59
Size: 96,2 MB
Label: Alive Natural Sound Records
Styles: Blues/Blues Rock
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Keep on - 3:53
 2. City Girls - 3:52
 3. Getting Stronger - 3:40
 4. Baby Be Cool - 3:44
 5. Holding Out - 3:31
 6. Bad Blood - 3:50
 7. Everything's Gonna Be Alright - 4:25
 8. Why Do I Love You the Way I Do - 3:27
 9. Hey Mama (Put Your Red Dress on) - 3:37
10. Do You Dig it - 4:02
11. Got it Bad - 3:54

Hailing from Lockport NY, Handsome Jack plays a powerful and emotional fusion of boogie soul rock n roll that has earned the admiration of fellow rock travelers such as Chris Robinson (CRB, Black Crowes), Zachary Gabbard (Buffalo Killers), and Ben McLeod of All Them Witches, who produced their new record.
On ‘Everything’s Gonna Be Alright’ the trio digs deeper into its soulful influences, brilliantly bringing back to life the classic sounds of Chicago, Memphis and Muscle Shoals, all rolled into one timeless record of American rock music for a new generation.
Handsome Jack is Jamison Passuite (guitar/vocals), Joey Verdonselli (bass/vocals), and Bennie Hayes (drums/vocals).

Everything's Gonna Be Alright

Robben Ford - Purple House

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2018
Time: 34:59
Size: 80,1 MB
Label: earMUSIC
Styles: Blues/Electric Blues
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Tangle with Ya - 3:45
 2. What I Haven't Done - 4:13
 3. Empty Handed - 4:29
 4. Bound for Glory - 3:23
 5. Break in the Chain - 4:33
 6. Wild Honey - 2:52
 7. Cotton Candy - 3:55
 8. Somebody's Fool - 4:14
 9. Willing to Wait - 3:32

earMUSIC is proud to announce the worldwide signing of Robben Ford – the blues, jazz and rock virtuoso, who is one of the most innovative and influential contemporary premier electric guitarists, vocalist and songwriter with a celebrated career that has spanned almost five decades. The five-time Grammy nominee achieved worldwide fame for both, being a solo artist and for his collaborations with a diverse musical Who’s Who that includes Miles Davis, George Harrison, Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, Dizzy Gillespie, Georgie Fame, Kiss and many more. With both parents being passionate musicians themselves, Robben early found his love for music and especially for playing guitar – and it was a love that should last forever. Today his commitment to teaching and passing on what he’s learned over the years to current and future musicians is an essential component of his career.
Purple House, his forthcoming brand new studio album, co-produced by Casey Wasner, features nine powerhouse tracks and the album’s genesis, according to Ford, was simple and uncomplicated. “My concept for the record was to do something with a lot more emphasis on the production than I’ve had in the past”, says Robben. “I’m always pushing myself with each record. I haven’t made one record that sounded like the one before it and this was going to be no different. ‘Purple House’ was a great opportunity to try something really different.”
And he adds: “I used to deliberately write blues and rhythm and blues. The Blue Line, that band really focused on blues and rhythm and blues. Traditional. But over the years I’ve really tried to expand that and this new record, more than anything I’ve ever done, is a real departure from tradition in terms of the songwriting.”
On Purple House we hear special guests appearances such as blues powerhouse vocalist Shemekia Copeland; she sings a duet with Ford on “Break In The Chain.” Travis McCready, the lead singer of the Natchez, Mississippi band Bishop Gunn, contributes the lead vocals on “Somebody’s Fool.”  And we hear a fantastic guitar solo of Bishop Gunn’s guitarist Drew Smithers on the album’s closing track “Willing To Wait”.
From end of October 2018 onwards Robben Ford will take Purple House on a European tour. The first dates in The Netherlands, France and Italy have just been released. Dates in the UK, Germany and Scandinavia in Spring 2019 will be announced shortly.

Purple House

Dale Bandy - Blue

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2018
Time: 30:58
Size: 71,0 MB
Label: Elastic Penguin Records
Styles: Blues/Rockin' Blues
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. My Bad Reputation - 3:28
 2. If I Could Only Take It Back - 3:32
 3. Get It On - 2:36
 4. Big Legged Woman - 4:11
 5. Country Star - 3:19
 6. The Thrill Is Gone - 3:47
 7. Comin' Down - 3:55
 8. I'm on Your Side - 3:39
 9. Trouble in Mind - 2:28

Musicians:
Dale Bandy - vocals, guitar, bass on track 4,organ, program drums/keys;
Gary Thompson - Bass on all tracks except 4 & 4;
Joe Bolero - Tenor Saxophone track 4;
Goran Eric - Trombone track 3.

It has been a long journey to release the album “blue”.  It’s a long story that we can get into later, but first, let’s talk about “blue”.
Almost everything on this album has been done by Dale Bandy.  Gary Thompson was kind enough to lend his unique approach to blending the rhythm to the melody through the bass on all tracks except "Big Legged Woman" Thanks to Gary, as he has helped breathe new life into this project.  Also, Joe Bolero played a fantastic Tenor Sax solo on “Big Legged Woman”. a Piano solo was performed by John Savage on "Country Star".  Also, a trombone solo was added by bigaudiobox  on "Get It On".
 I have played or programmed all other aspects of this album.  I have also acted as engineer and producer.  It has been a tough road to hoe, but I hope you agree that it has been well worth the effort.
The music has been inspired by life events that have affected many areas of my life.  “Comin’ Down” was a song I wrote  over 25 years ago. It has finally founds it’s place for release.  Written by a younger, and rather colorful artist.  the song is simple yet powerful.  We’ve all had moments when we know we have gone too far.  This sentiment is embodied in “If I Could Only Take It Back”.  In this instance, I knew my sharp tongue had hurt the one I loved. I couldn’t sleep as this song poured out from within.  Luckily, this song was accepted as my apology.  “My Bad Reputation” is a hyped up version of meeting the love of my life.  “Get it On” is a current day song that should hit home with anyone who has been in a long term relationship. The song “Country Star” came to me in a dream.  During the dream, I was in a large studio giving direction to the band.  Suddenly, I awoke.  Luckily I was in my home studio and had the opportunity to record the rough version almost immediately.  I couldn’t help but put a couple of covers on this album.  I’m On Your Side” by Keb’ Mo’ was able to say something that I wasn’t able to say.  I began recording “The Thrill is Gone”  before B.B. passed. 
It’s almost as if it must be released now.

Blue

Janie Cribbs and the T.Rust Band - Queen of Fire

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2018
Time: 52:23
Size: 120,1 MB
Label:  Singing Tower Music /B.M.I
Styles: Blues/Roots Rock
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Queen of Fire - 5:03
 2. No Shelter - 4:59
 3. One of These Days - 4:59
 4. Wouldn't Change a Thing - 5:37
 5. Step It Up - 3:42
 6. Changed My Life - 3:12
 7. Freedom - 7:03
 8. Lucy Left Chicago - 4:22
 9. Meet Me Half Way - 4:38
10. Medicine Show - 4:38
11. Shine - 4:06

Queen of Fire is and all-original album of songs written by Janie Cribbs and Joe Reggiatore and recorded with the T.Rust Band on a little island nestled in the great Pacific Northwest's Puget Sound.
All of the songs and especially the title cut "Queen of Fire" are a tribute to women everywhere who have experienced the struggle and strife of being a strong woman through the ages.
Dedicated to such pioneers of the music world as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Big Mama Thornton, KoKo Taylor, Mavis Staples, Etta James, Aretha Franklin and Janis Joplin who all have the common thread of standing tall - despite huge obstacles, singing their hearts out to the world, telling their stories - voices filled with fire, hope and some sassy anger.
(https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/janiecribbsandthetrustband0

Queen of Fire

Allomerus - I Have a Secret

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2018
Time: 43:47
Size: 101,3 MB
Label: Self REleased
Styles: Progressive Rock/Eclectic Prog
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Fates - 9:20
 2. I Have a Secret - 6:39
 3. Fool In Disguise - 6:26
 4. Fuse - 7:32
 5. Ineffectual - 7:12
 6. Get with the Program - 6:36

Allomerus is a band from Melbourne Australia, the duo of John Wegner and Paul Wegner. Their music uses not only real instruments but also synthesizers and sequencers on iPads. They also use a guitar synth for saxophone and trombone sounds and Electronic drums and percussion.

I Have a Secret

IO Earth - Solitude

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2018
Time: 72:45
Size: 167,7 MB
Label: Self Released
Styles: Progressive Rock/Crossover Prog
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Solitude -  7:44
 2. Strangest Ways In Life -  9:22
 3. Madness -  8:33
 4. Hold on - 10:11
 5. Breakdown - 10:12
 6. Embrace -  9:27
 7. Race Against Time -  7:39
 8. Find a Way -  9:34

A new IO Earth album is always a matter for rejoicing. Not only have they produced symphonic prog of the highest order for the best part of 10 years, but they’ve built a fan base that’s more like a family than a conventional audience. Solitude, however, is particularly welcome as it’s new vocalist Rosanna Lefevre’s debut on an IO Earth record. Lefevre has an immediate impact. Where previous vocalist Linda Odinsen brought clean Scandinavian precision to recordings, Lefevre brings darker rock and blues sensibilities to bear. On the serious and heavy Breakdown, Lefevre demonstrates that she has technique to spare – few could so easily reach a note so high it might shatter glass, but it’s her lower register and mid-range that give IO Earth a new emotional centre. Long-time fans may be wondering how Solitude shapes up against 2015’s A New World. Leaving aside the vocal shifts, Solitude is arguably IO Earth’s darkest record yet. Certainly, all the things we’ve come to love from Dave Cureton and co are there – grand symphonic sweeps, flashes of metal, extraordinary guitar wig-outs and vast songs – but Solitude is unquestionably the more affecting record. It explores themes of depression, loneliness, courage and connection in a way that’s both personal yet universal. When Cureton sings, ‘I feel so alone inside… but you understand my mind,’ on the epic Race Against Time, it reveals layers of sensitivity that the casual prog fan might not expect. It should become a live favourite.
Solitude also feels more confident than A New World. That album produced some stone-cold live classics such as Colours and New World, but Solitude relies less on bangs-and-whistles. Opener Solitude is an object lesson in patience and judgement. It dares to take the first third of its seven-minute run time on scene setting, Cureton offering a mesmeric ‘1, 2, 3, 4’ count over minimalistic key washes, strings and Lefevre’s spooky vocals. It could be disastrous. Instead, its bravado pays off. When the track finally explodes, it delivers thrills and chills. In case anyone thinks Cureton and Adam Gough have gone all fey and forgotten how to rock, Solitude remains unafraid of some powerful progressive wig-outs. The band’s core duo have always had a gift for melody, but this album shows new maturity. The soloing from sax player Luke Shingler, as well as Cureton on Madness, is jaw-dropping, but they never lose sight of the song. Solitude represents a fantastic addition to the IO Earth catalogue. It’s a step forward and its 75 minutes will leave you delighted, thrilled and almost certainly emotionally wrung out.

Solitude

Legacy Pilots - Con Brio

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2018
Time: 50:56
Size: 116,7 MB
Label: Self Released
Styles: Progressive Rock/Symphonic Prog
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. The Emerson Empire - 7:05
 2. Handle with Care - 4:09
 3. Value 8 - 3:54
 4. The Stumbling Heart - 8:31
 5. No Place for Us - 5:10
 6. The Spirit is Forever - 5:27
 7. Fight the Demons - 8:08
 8. For a Better World - 3:05
 9. Con Brio - 5:23

Frank Us and his friends have created a debut album that delivers an enormous bandwidth and that was clearly inspired by the golden era of progressive rock. Bands like ELP, Genesis, Marillion, UK, Yes, Rush, the early Queen or King Crimson were the influences that cemented Frank's love for this genre. "Con Brio" features many big names in the scene: Marco Minnemann (UK, Steven Wilson), Steve Morse (Deep Purple), Todd Sucherman (Styx), Steve Rothery and Mark Kelly (Marillion) and John Mitchell (Arena, Cinema), to name but a few. This project not only offers intense music with top-class artists, it also supports the children's aid organization World Vision, which Frank has been helping for so long.
For more than one and a half years, Frank Us has been working on the debut of Legacy Pilots.
The result is an album that demands attention from the listener. The compositions are deep, providing the artists with the necessary freedom for their art. The incorporated time and tempo changes that create interesting polyrhythms, sound textures that build worlds in the listener’s mind and styles that vary from elegy to emotional outbursts.
Much attention has also been paid to the sound quality and production which deserve to be heard in an audiophile setting.
That’s why Legacy Pilots’ debut album Con Brio is considered to be an invitation to an audible voyage.

Con Brio

Evership - Evership II

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2018
Time: 62:59
Size: 144,8 MB
Label: Atkinsong Productions, LLC
Styles: Progressive Rock/Symphonic Prog
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. The Serious Room -  7:52
 2. Monomyth - 10:43
 3. Real Or Imagined -  8:17
 4. Wanderer -  7:38
 5. Isle Of The Broken Tree: I. Castaway / II. Meadow of Shades / III. My Father's Friend / IV. Hall of Visions / V. My Own Worst Enem - 28:26

Powerful and approachable Symphonic Progressive Rock. Musically sublime from epic to elegant, lyrically poetic.The sophomore album from Nashville-based Symphonic Progressive Rock band Evership is more of the journey we started with the well-loved debut, with added dimension! A fantastic continuation in every way.

Evership II

Evan Hause - Plastic Island Pentecost

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2018
Time: 43:38
Size: 101,5 MB
Label: Self Released
Styles: Progressive Rock/Crossover Prog
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. The Mountain Of Signs - 2:29
 2. Metempsychosis (Palindrome) - 5:33
 3. Send For The Captain - 6:31
 4. Bal Des Ardents - 7:34
 5. Temple Of The Moon - 2:41
 6. Aileron - 4:34
 7. Winter Flower - 2:16
 8. Running The Land - 2:45
 9. Hymn To The Lake - 2:33
10. Temple of the Sun - 6:38

Evan Hause is an award-winning composer and multi-instrumentalist who traverses and fuses experimental classical and rock music. His music has been called "spectacularly audacious" and "ingenious" [Gramophone], "from the sublime and elegant to bawdy and vulgar" [American Record Guide], "delightful and clever" [Records International], "astounding" [The Denver Post], "compelling" [The New York Times], and "fresh and dramatic" [Opera News]. "Modern rock of the highest order, co-mingling influences too numerous to count...epic guitar licks and stellar musicianship." -Dave Mandl [World of Echo, WFMU-New Jersey] "a perfect fusion of pop and classical, requiring both exquisite precision and arena rock levels of passion" 
In "Plastic Island Pentecost," his fourth and most ambitious prog rock solo album to date, he has created a journey by turns raucous, melancholy, and beautiful that conjures up mountains, shipwrecks, ritual dances, temples, and flying shamans. But this is no mood music - these are detailed musical excursions, replete with skilled guitar playing ("dude plays a mean guitar" - Dave Cantrell, Stereo Embers Magazine), a heavy dose of Mellotron and other classic keyboards, some stupendous guest musicians, and creative drumming.

Plastic Island Pentecost

Oak - False Memory Archive

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2018
Time: 54:55
Size: 126,5 MB
Label: Karisma Records
Styles: Progressive Rock/Crosover Prog
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. We, The Drowned -  5:23
 2. Claire De Lune -  7:15
 3. False Memory Archive -  4:47
 4. Lost Causes -  8:29
 5. Intermezzo -  1:42
 6. The Lights - 10:33
 7. These Are The Stars We're Aiming For -  4:18
 8. Transparent Eyes -  4:58
 9. Psalm 51 -  7:25

Oak is a Norwegian progressive pop/rock band that originally emerged from a folk-rock duo. The four members have a diverse background spanning from classical piano to electronica, prog- and hard-rock, with references to the alternative scene as well as progressive rock – something that has combined to make a distinguished and unique sound. Mixing this with great musical skills and a vision of being accessible to a wide audience resulted in their debut album Lighthouse in 2013.
Five years later, they are back with the stunning follow-up False Memory Archive. A natural continuation from Lighthouse, to which it has several small nods and references, the album has been meticulously crafted, with further use of electronics and low bass frequencies. It's both darker and groovier than its predecessor, while still sounding familiarly like Oak. They've taken several steps as songwriters and musicians here, and end up in slightly darker and progressive territory – where the light still shines through in shape of catchy elements and stunning vocal harmonies.
The band has a wide source of inspiration - Opeth, Ulver, Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree, Depeche Mode, Mew, Simon & Garfunkel, John Martyn, Massive Attack, Jeff Buckley –  and also classical composers like Chopin, Bach and Dvorak; and film composers like Hans Zimmer, Harry Gregson Williams, James Horner and John Williams. No wonder that Oak really doesn't sound like anything else. False Memory Archive was recorded in Ljugekroken Studio and Toyen church, and was mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren with Oak at Fascination Studios.

False Memory Archive

Dave Keller - Every Soul's a Star

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2018
Time: 42:08
Size: 97,3 MB
Label: Catfood Records
Styles: Blues Soul
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Don't Let Them Take Your Joy - 3:38
 2. Every Soul's a Star - 3:33
 3. Baby, I Love You - 4:27
 4. Old Tricks - 3:40
 5. You Bring the Sunshine - 4:34
 6. Freedom is Ours - 3:13
 7. This is Gonna Hurt - 3:04
 8. It's All in Your Eyes - 3:36
 9. Kiss Me Like You Miss Me - 3:27
10. When Are You Gonna Cry - 5:23
11. Ain't Givin' In - 3:30

Soul/blues singer and guitarist, New Englander Dave Keller debuts on Catfood Records, the home of his mentor Johnny Rawls, James Armstrong, Barbara Carr and others in the soul/blues field. Every Soul’s a Star is a breakthrough for Keller who first caught attention by singing on Ronnie Earl’s Living in the Light. Since then he’s been nominated for a BMA for Best Soul/Blues Album, won the IBC Best Self-released CD Award, and been chosen for Downbeat’s Best Recording of the Year. 
The album was produced by Grammy winner Jim Gaines (Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Luther Allison) and recorded as are  most on the label, at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, TX (near El Paso), West Texas being a completely new experience for Keller. The album has ten Keller originals and a cover of the late Aretha Franklin hit, “Baby I Love You.”  The Catfood Records “ house band, “ The Rays, lend support. They include soul icon and label owner Bob Trenchard on bass, legendary Motown guitarist Johnny McGhee, Dan Ferguson on keys, Richy Puga on drums, Mike Middleton(trumpet) Nick  Flood (tenor/baritone sax) plus backing singers Janelle Thompson and Shakara Weston. Christopher Serrano adds percussion.
Trenchard calls Keller “The most talented songwriter I’ve ever worked with.”  High praise indeed and Keller is equally effusive about working with The Rays. “What really impressed me about The Rays was how much heart they put into this record. They’ve played on tons of records, and they could easily have just done it as a paint-by-numbers affair. I love how everyone put so much of themselves into the record. I could tell that they really dug the songs, and really cared about doing them justice. I love how you can hear all their individual ideas on the record, and feel their personalities, their souls, and yet everything is in service to the songs.”
This has been in the making for some time, tracing back to a conversation between Keller, Trenchard, and Rawls five years ago at the Blues Music Awards. You can almost see Keller grinning from the opening track, “Don’t Let Then Take Your Joy,’ claiming the comfort level made for his most dynamic singing yet on record.  That’s saying something because his award-winning self-released efforts are excellent too. The horns and B3 welcome in the title track, continuing the upbeat vibe of superb soul songs, as the backup singers carry the chorus. Keller takes guitar solos on five tracks while McGhee takes three of them, heard first, appropriately enough, on the Aretha cover.
”You Bring the Sunshine” takes a ballad tempo, giving way for Ferguson’s brief Wurlitzer solo, as the horns blare in support. “Freedom Is Ours” nods to the many recent protest marches, as Keller launches into an inspired guitar solo and follows with a more measured one on “This is Gonna Hurt.” “it’s All in Your Eyes’’ has a funky groove, and features McGhee’s soulful line guitar lines and on the Memphis-styled “Kiss Me Like You Miss Me.” The album’s longest track, “When Are You Gonna Cry?,” at five and half minutes, has a smoldering build, several dynamic shifts and one of Keller’s best vocals. The rousing “Ain’t Givin’ In” closes a terrific soul album.

Every Soul's a Star

Fiona Boyes - Voodoo in the Shadows

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2018
Time: 45:29
Size: 105,4 MB
Label: Reference Recordings
Styles: Blues/Electric Blues
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Call Their Name - 5:19
 2. Party at Red's - 4:15
 3. What You Put on Me - 3:47
 4. Dark and Dangerous Love - 3:57
 5. Little Things - 4:05
 6. New Orleans - 3:27
 7. Don't Leave Your Feet at Home - 3:14
 8. I Ain't Fooling - 4:27
 9. With a Little Respect - 4:24
10. Tell Your Story Walking - 3:39
11. Ember - 4:50

Brand new Australia-only electric album release!!! Featuring Fiona’s Melbourne band - Tim Neal (Hammond, piano, bass, baritone sax), Mark Grunden (drums, percussion) and award winning New Orleans musician Johnny Sansone (harmonica,accordion).
Fiona Boyes is Australia’s most successful and celebrated international Blues artist. Her previous Reference Recordings release, Professin’ The Blues, received the 2017 Acoustic Album of the Year award from Blues Blast Magazine. The Blues Foundation in Memphis has honored her with 6 Blues Music Award nominations, including Acoustic Album of the Year and Best Acoustic Artist in 2017. In 2003, she won their International Blues Challenge, representing The Melbourne Blues Appreciation Society.
This new album, Voodoo In The Shadows, is a self-produced session by the multi-talented guitarist/singer-songwriter, exploring the allure of the back roads from Memphis, through Mississippi, to New Orleans and down to the Gulf. In 11 songs, including 9 originals, we hear stories of respect, partying, attitude, mystery, sensuality, and love.
Joining her are two Australian bandmates: multi-instrumentalist Tim Neal (Hammond B3, piano, bass and baritone sax) and drummer/percussionist Mark Gruden, plus Johnny Sansone, one of New Orleans’ nest musicians, who adds his harmonica and accordion to richly season this international gumbo! As is customary, Fiona plays a cornucopia of guitars; her 6-string Maton, three cigar-box instruments and her rare baritone National Resolectric. Players combine in several groupings, featuring their different instruments, and a collaborative magic emerges, taking listeners along on the journey.

Voodoo in the Shadows

Kirk Fletcher - Hold On

Bitrate: 320K/s
Year: 2018
Time: 47:58
Size: 109,9 MB
Label: Self Released
Styles: Blues Soul
Art: Front

Tracks Listing:
 1. Two Steps Forward - 5:05
 2. You Need Me - 3:47
 3. Sad Sad Day - 4:49
 4. The Answer - 8:10
 5. Time's Ticking - 6:20
 6. Dupree - 6:40
 7. Gotta Right - 8:23
 8. Hold On - 4:40

Kirk Fletcher ist mit seinem neuen Studio-Album »Hold On« zurück und besser denn je! »Hold On« ist ein sehr solides, hörenswertes und bewegendes Album, dass das Wort »monumental« in den Sinn kommt. Es legt die Messlatte für künftige Alben im modernen Rhythm & Blues fest und es erinnert die Welt, dass das Genre nach wie vor stark und bedeutungsvoll ist.  Nachdem er jahrelang mit legendären Künstlern und seiner eigenen Band auf Tournee gegangen ist, kommen Kirks tief verwurzelte musikalische Sensibilität und Lebenserfahrungen für diese erfrischende, furchtlose und funky Sammlung von Original-Songs zu einem Höhepunkt zusammen. Er gilt als einer der besten Blues-Gitarristen der Welt und hat den Respekt und die Anerkennung von Kritikern, Kollegen und Fans auf der ganzen Welt gewonnen. »Das ist meine erste echte Solo-Platte«, sagt Kirk und bezieht sich auf seine vorherigen Werke, die er mit anderen Künstlern kreierte. »Das bin ich..Kirk Fletcher pur, jede Note davon!« Von Beginn an des Albums, ist es klar was das bedeutet. Kirks sehr persönliche Texte, sein gefühlvoller Gesang und Kompositionen kreieren, vielleicht zum ersten Mal, ein umfassendes Portrait von dem Mann hinter der Gitarre.

Hold On