Thε Claus Ogεrman Orchεstra - Gatε Of Drεams (1977)

One of the loveliest sounding Third Stream albums ever made by one of the coolest cats around, Claus Ogεrman is considered top rate as far as classical composers and arrangers of the last half century go, particularly in his contributions to the studio work of Antonio Carlos Jobim and Frank Sinatra. 

In all honesty though, Claus's own projects and less prominent collaborations are far more interesting to these ears, with Gatε Of Drεams being premier among his own select works. Romantic and enthralling in equal measure, cuts like opening suite 'Time Passed Autumn'are on par in some ways with anything Bill Evans ever did, swelling under the bridge in some darkened town with spacious strings, leading into a nostalgic guitar sequence midway through the game to seal the deal.

Part jazz quartet, part romantic classical, part bossa nova and 100% class, albums like this paved the way and inspired the works of modern composers such as the renowned Joe Hisaishi and Yoko Kanno, and there aren't too many things out there in the vast sea of music that measure up to this when the hour is right.

Hope you all enjoy this essential recording as much as I do!

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Giиo Vαииεlli - Nightwalker (1981)

The last stone cold Westcoast classic in a five-string album run going all the way back to 1975's Storm At Sunup, this is a remarkable recording from the Canadian captain of all things strange and passionate, Giиo Vαииεlli.

Listening to these awesome songs is strangely comparable to a line in the opening title track: "dreaming at night is like chasing a madman's rainbow": the journey is a nonsensical mess you'll wake up from later, but while caught within it...there's nothing else that matters.

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Jεαи-Lυc Poиτy - Tнε Gifτ Of Tiмε (1986)

After singlehandedly redefining the violin for all jazz-fusion heads everywhere back in the 70's as part of Mahavishnu Orchestra and via some classic solo records of his own, Monsieur Ponτy steered his ship to new waters in the advent of the 80's, pushing the boundaries of just how far one could take experimental synth-violin in an era where, surprisingly....nobody had really tried yet.

The title track on this late-80's gem of his should be indicative enough at just how monstrously successful some of these experiments were, but I digress: if you be a'lookin' for smooth jazz that bores you out of your skull and doesn't hypnotize and amaze in equal measure, you are looking in the wrong freakin' place.

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Tнε Hεαvy Bliиkεяs - Tнε Nigнτ Aиd I Aяε Sτill So Yoυиg (2004)

Young, Canadian and vitally alive with the tremendous, timeless spirit of late 60's baroque pop, Tнε Hεαvy Bliиkεяs are an indie bunch with a fine ear for orchestrations and harmony, making things tick like fine clockwork toward a certain confectionery perfection...an ambition brought to fruition in 2004's Tнε Nigнτ Aиd I Aяε Sτill So Yoυиg.

Distinctive in many fashions but cut from the same glorious genetic cloth as outfits such as The Zombies, Todd Rundgren and The Association, I can only hope these guys continue to bless this ADD-riddled musical world with more timeless melody as the years roll on, and I don't think I'm the only one who'd like that either!

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Giиo Vαииεlli - A Pαupεя Iи Pαяαdisε (1977)

One of jazz and pop music's unheralded geniuses, Giиo Vαииεlli is a singer/songwriter of Italian and Canadian descent who has been performing and recording since the early 70's into the present day. Blessed with an operatic tenor somewhere between Tim Buckley and Bobby Caldwell and purporting an approach to music that has just as much in common with Marvin Gaye as it does with The Alan Parsons Project, this guy is ridiculously distinct and unlike anyone you folks have ever had the pleasure of running across in whatever musical trails ya'll might have been following.

This late 70's release is my favorite album by Vαииεlli: it came out about a year after Parsons' Tales Of Mystery And Imagination, and thus leads one to believe that there is some classical influence to be derived from that amazing release. The title track which closes out this album is a four-part classical suite, and the rest of the pop-oriented fare is equally jaw-dropping in their execution. Feeling up for something smooth and ideal for a late night drive? Try the unusual 'Valleys Of Valhalla' or bossa nova-kissed 'The Surest Things Can Change'. Wanting some bounce to your beat? Let 'Mardi Gras' stab you and get that blood flowin' in all the right ways.

Killer vocals, progressive songwriting and a spacey late 70's atmosphere make this record a cult classic if there ever was one, and it's a damn fine place to make headway into the strange, yet groovy world of Giиo Vαииεlli.

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Daisнi Daиcε - Thε P.I.A.и.O. Sεt (2009)

Japanese piano/beat oriented techno with a tendency towards the cinematic and picturesque. Probably too smooth for clubs, but it sets a fine mood if you just want to kick back for awhile. As the title infers, there's a lot of piano here, so be prepared for that going in.

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Mαнαvisнnu Orchεstrα - Apocαlypsε (1974)

Unfairly lambasted in its own time and overshadowed in popular consciousness by MO's previous two masterpieces (The Inner Mounting Flame and Birds Of Fire respectively), Apocalypse witnessed a completely new lineup (Jean-Luc Ponty on violin!!!!!) behind guitarist John McLaughlin executing a strange, yet beautiful mixture of classical orchestration into this band's signature hellfire brand of jazz fusion.

Falling into a more atmospheric subtext of the then-gathering-speed of Third Stream groups, this was indeed a true classic of the 70's. People just didn't realize it until that decade was gathering dust in Father Time's old sock drawer.

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Kip Шiиgεя - This Coиvεяsαtioи Sεεms Likε A Drεαm (1997)

The debut solo masterpiece from this great former hair-metal singer/songwriter's 90's alternative rock period, done in the wake of the death of his wife. Regardless of whether he's doing harmonic walls-of-sound shredders such as 'Kiss Of Life' and 'Monster' or more atmosphere oriented knives in your emotional belly like 'Here' and the acoustic 'Naked Son', K.W. treats his voice as if it were the only candle he possesses against the vast darkness of the world. However, he also takes advantage of his dynamic vocal power as a textural instrument to complement whatever grandiose designs he chooses to lay around it.

Great men make great music, ladies and gents, so pick this up and experience it for yourself.

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Asturias - Brilliant Streams (1990)

In terms of Japanese instrumental glitz-wankery, tonight's offering is an exercise in pure class. Lush keyboards, sparkling piano and warm choral vocalizations abound in wondrous movement, seemingly forever at best and gone within a moment at worst. At times it feels like a classic Studio Ghibli soundtrack or a vintage Nintendo game, yet a heartbeat later and I'm back in the 80's with a slick new ride and an air guitarist who thinks its cool to shred his synth-axe in the back seat without a seatbelt. Dayum!

Still, as far as neo-progressive stuff goes, this is awfully wonderful sounding when your in a nostalgic mood. Find out if your in that mood tonight!

Listen Here - "Highland"

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Univers Zero - Heresie (1979/2010)

2010 remix/remaster of the one and only chamber-avant-rock album you DO NOT want to listen to when its late at night and there's not a soul around for miles. You might start seeing things that you didn't want to see before. The tension, especially in the nail-biting 'La Faulx' is fucking unbelievable. The fact that a bassoon gets plenty of screentime throughout these four compositions doesn't hurt for cool points either.

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K.B. - Aerial (2005)

Everyone's favorite British female pop eccentric did some mighty fine work a few years ago on this final (so far) studio release: a whopping 16 songs divided between two sides: seven interesting pop songs and a suite of vaguely orchestral deeps brought into recorded resonance. Lyrically things are quite wry as well - washing machines are likened to a romantic coupling in one instance ['Mrs. Bartolozzi'] and in another we see a jazzy, synth-laden Peter Gabriel-esque delving into the mathematical meaning..or perhaps merely love ['Pi']. Impressive...and that's only two great songs in a whole damn set of them.

In my opinion, this may not be another Hounds Of Love, but this shit will move your soul like the rest of Bush's catalog. Lets hope this isn't her last musical outing!

Listen Here - "Joanni"



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FictionJunction - Future Soundscape II (2005)

The second soundtrack to CLAMP's Tsuabasa Chronicle anime series, and yet another interesting case where the music is more compelling than the material it was originally attached to.

The eighteen tracks here alternate between longer and shorter tracks, playing around prominently with a balanced mix of classical instrumentation and electronic, rock and jazz. Opening piece 'Voices Silently Sing' is a particularly nice example of the the latter two, swiveling a saxophone between a distant sounding guitar screech and choral mantras. The stylistic range of things here is rather impressive though, and is the soundtrack's strongest trait: 'Storm and Fire' comes off like a gypsy folk rocker while 'Endlessly' walzes by with prominent flute and operatics aboard the violin brigand.

It's nice to know that Japanese composers aren't afraid to get their feet wet when it comes to mixing up genres and ideas for film and series soundtracks. We could learn from that a bit here in the West I think, especially when there are albums like this floating around over there!

Listen Here - "Voices Silently Sing"


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Tuxedomoon - The Ghost Sonata (1991)

Underrated release by everyone's favorite Californian post-punkers, where the bizarre and the furious meet pristine classical tradition and culminate into one hell of a late night haunter.

Basically, this was a suite the band wrote up back in the mid 80's but didn't get to record til 1990 or so, and its pretty interesting to see how a group of their freakish pedigree handle such high-minded songwriting. Not that is anything like what Chopin or Bach spent their lives composing; spoken word psychosis meets the sounds of black wind and the fading tide of strings, footsteps and the crackling of a wet knife slipping in between the soul and the ribcage. Elegant, but not human nor lined in warmth.

The atmosphere you ask? Quite disorienting, yet beautiful and horrible in a vaguely Oriental way. Listening to The Ghost Sonata at any point in it's 14 track run is like picking up an old Japanese kaidan and sitting back to read it amidst graves and silent spaces at midnight's zenith on Halloween. This music sounds ancient, peerless and will unnerve the shit out of you in the proper frame of mind. This is the sort of material the dead dream to, alone in their mausoleums with naught but an old record player for company in the blackness. I don't like the places where my mind goes accompanied by some of this stuff, but maaaaan does it take you!

I know we're heading into turkey season now, but I hope a little post-season jitters finds you from these shadowed fragments. Let them sink inside you and out of sight, as if your mind were a deep, deep sewer that drags these tunes into death among the garbage and unseen bodies.

Listen Here - "The Ghost Sonata"


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