100 Japanese Gardens

From December on, "Arthur Rubinstein The Complete Album Collection" will be the world's biggest CD edition for a solo artist according to Guinness World Records (TM). It features all the legendary pianist's issued recordings made by RCA Victor between 1940 and 1976, and includes one LP issued on the DECCA label in 1978. The collection also includes the recordings Rubinstein made in England for the English label His Master's Voice (HMV) between 1928 and 1940, most of which were released in the United States by RCA on its Victor label. The collection includes complete studio and live performances, solo, concerto and chamber music repertoire in reproductions of original LP sleeves and labels, the earlier recordings, initially released on 78-rpm discs, appear in three sets with 14 CDs in the edition.

Kestrel released their album of smooth, polished and song-based mid-70's symphonic progressive rock in 1975, and then vanished completely. Some of the most beautiful songwriting ever committed to vinyl. The piano and mellotron are exemplary here. It's typically lumped in with the progressive rock scene, and it is somewhat - but only tangentially so. I can hear parallels with Fruupp's "Modern Masquerades", Sebastian Hardie's "Four Moments", and Dragon's "Scented Gardens for the Blind" - a certain sophisticated AOR sound that is very hard to describe. And this is the best of that lot. This is one of those albums that doesn't sound good on paper, but if you have any tolerance at all for a commercially oriented sound, then Kestrel is a must listen.

Two young people, Hidenori and Sunako, are on the run from the law following Hidenori's killing of his mother. The two manage to hitch a ride in a passing ice-cream van, but Sunako is assaulted by its driver while bathing in a stream in a forest. They escape through the trees, eventually ending up in a secluded wooden cottage where they hide out, eking out a feral existence by raiding neighbouring gardens. With Hidenori still in a state of shock, Sunako eventually breaks the communication barrier using her body, seducing him in a bathtub full of floating ripe tomatoes. It is a turning point in their relationship, and Hidenori then becomes the sexually dominant partner in this strange relationship. One day, Hidenori plunges a knife into his stomach, forcing the pair to leave their makeshift haven and seek help in the big city.