Japanese proggy power pop band I've been falling in love with lately: some of their material has been featured in cool anime series' such as Eden Of The East and C: The Money Of Soul And Possibility Control.
This sophomore release sums up their sound quite well I think: inventive, even jazzy/avant-garde arrangements with poppy power chords. excellently layered vocal work and a heavy dose of 8-bit synth to round out the package. Bloody good fun, especially if you actually know what the hell they're singing about.
Italy's favorite progressive rockers go full-on AOR on this late 80's trufflefest, and it's actually a pretty damn good time. Also, those keyboards on 'Josephine Baker'....*whistles in awe*.
Few people are as good as injecting pure veins of blackened, rotting dread into the sonic canvas of the world as singer-songwriter/hermit/mystic/magus Scoττ Шαlkεя; every release he's done since the early 70's seems to reach deeper and deeper into some abstract realm of madness that underlies reality, bellowing up his throat like golden bile...and it is truly wonderful to behear.
If you love your classic 50's pop blended raw into the industrial and dark-eyed avant-garde, I'd be surprised if you didn't fall head over heels for Tнε Dяifτ and all that dwells within.
It's been quite some time since German prog. metalers Subsigиαl emerged from the broken remnants of the legendary Sieges Even and stormed onto the Top 10 lists of music moguls everywhere with 2009's nefarious yet excellent Beautiful & Monstrous (which I actually posted up HERE back in April). Question is, could they outdo that masterpiece in a mere two years?
I respond to that inquiry, ladies and gents, with a plane-shattered, world resounding YES!!!!!
At one point the biggest soul/funk band on the planet in terms of sheer popularity and also the favorite group of guys like Miles Davis and Quincy Jones, this particular 1979 release caught EW&F at the point they were transitioning from a harder edged funk unit into post-disco pop stars, providing Philip Bailey and co. the environment they needed to work with some excellent people in creating music that straddled both sides of the musical divide with almost intuitive excellence. A couple of killer cuts (the thinking man's pop-funker 'In The Stone' and the languid 'After The Love Is Gone') and near-claustrophobic chemistry in the rhythm section only make this deal sweeter methinks, so nab it while it lasts.
A wonderful band who never really got the opportunity they deserved to strike at the fickle heart of the then-commercially-viable progressive rock market, Cαpαbiliτy Bяowи deserved a better hand than they were dealt. Nevertheless, with five fantastic covers of some early Rare Bird and Steely Dan classics and a 20-minute hellishly good slice of suite called 'Circumstances', this record was about as glorious a death as one could ask for in the fast paced record biz', and like my stash of tequila it has aged magnificently.
Intriguingly, it is not common knowledge to the masses at large that Columbia is home to awesome things besides drug dealers. Nevertheless, those who do not know of warlock warbler Dagon and his thrashy black metal ensemble Iиquisiτioи are missing out on an awe inspiring discography of debauchery, pissed off space demons and enough dimension-shattering guitar/blast beat asswhoopery to satisfy even the most degenerate rabble.
After realizing that my last compilation wasn't competent enough to be an ideal sampler for L.A. jazz pop "Westcoast" scene from 1973 through 1989, I went back to the drawing board and started from square one. And this time folks, I think I got it right. :P
This set of 24 songs covers Westcoast music from its era of commercial relevance while making room for the different stylistic variations that emerged in the genre during that period (blues-based, baroque, Hi-Tech, etc.) and even throws in a number of artists from here in the 21st century who are doing a fantastic job at keeping the fire alive (Ole Borud, Frank Ådahl, Jeff Pescetto).
If you hate jazz-inflected pop, you will find this compilation very trite indeed. If you have no romance in your soul, you will most certainly see no redeeming qualities whatsoever in these songs of broken bonds, city hustlin' and the occasional cosmic dalliance.
For the rest of you however, this is an ideal tape to throw down in casual settings amongst friends who aren't allergic to the 80's, killer grooves and smooth sensibilities, and in all likelihood it'll serve as a springboard to introduce them to many kickass artists they didn't know before.
Tracklist
1. 'Nice Nice, Very Nice' by Ambrosia
2. 'Jojo' by Boz Scaggs
3. 'Broken People' by Ole Børud
4. 'Last Plane Out' by Kevin Gilbert
5. 'Heart Hotels' by Dan Fogelberg
6. 'These Chains' by Toto
7. 'Marooned' by Larry Lee
8. 'Heart To Heart' by Jeff Pescetto
9. 'Real Thing' by Bobby Caldwell
10. 'The Light Is On' by Christopher Cross
11. 'I Get This Feeling' by John Warren
12. 'Who Are You' by Bill Cantos
13. 'Out On The Streets' by Patrick Simmons
14. 'Marianne (I Was Only Joking)' by Eric Tagg
15. 'Hypnotized' by Fleetwood Mac
16. 'Roxann" by Warren Wiebe
17. 'Love Will Follow' by Kenny Loggins
18. 'Merry Go Round' by Phillip Bailey
19. 'Fly Away' by Robbie Dupree
20. 'Echo Park' by Time Gallery
21. 'If I Saw You Again' by Pages
22. 'Goin' Down' by Greg Guidry
23. 'Nothin' You Can Do About It' by Frank Ådahl
24. 'When This Love Affair Is Over' by Peter Allen
A gorgeous pitch-black martini mix of nu-jazz, vocal lounge, trip-hop and surprisingly compelling dubstep touches. For reference, think of modern jazz favorites like KDJE or Bohren & Der Club Of Gore with a sumptuous female vocalist and you'll understand why you NEED this ASAP.
Dαvid Foѕτεя, the man responsible for some of the biggest Westcoast pop hits of the 80's (and then some), gets an allstar treatment here from a variety of high-profile singers and musicians as they breathe new life into some of his best songs he's written over a thirty some year career. Delish!
That "other" classic space ambient album I mentioned in my last offering, and possibly the best of the two as far as well-meaning attempts to capture that loneliness that lies between the stars go.
Damn it, why does this record have to be so friggin' beautiful sounding to these seasoned ears? It boggles the mind that ambient records this magnificent are stepped all over in favor of hipster bullshit like Stars On The Lid.
This will be The Widening Eye's last uppage from the glorious Mr. Sεяяie, and in my opinion his finest record overall. Bless your meager fortunes that you all now have an opportunity to add it to your collections.
Sorry for the prolonged absence my dear intrepids: real life advertising-competitions/conferences-in-Houston make blogging a real bitch. Eight hour drives back n' forth don't help either!
Anyway, I've already made a point quite some time ago about how wonderful this particular New Age/Space Ambient maestro is on this post. However, I consider this particular release one of his absolute two best. It drifts (no pun intended) a bit from the usual ambient formula and incorporates a strange, exotic sort of lounge feel courtesy of sax and flute making numerous appearances amidst the endless synth refrains, and it helps me go to sleep EVERY SINGLE NIGHT without fail!
Again, Mr. Sεяяie is unparalleled in this genre. His compositions are melodic, almost ungodly good in atmospheric craft and minimalistic to the degree where it serves in a variety of mood setting and/or sleep inducing purposes without trouble....and you can't ask for a better ambient record than that I'm afraid.
