4 卢巧音

The second recording and first studio set by the L.A. Four matched together Bud Shank on alto and flute, guitarist Laurindo Almeida, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Shelly Manne for a diverse yet consistently enjoyable program. The selections range from "Dindi" and "Manteca" to "St. Thomas" and a 13-minute exploration of "Concierto de Aranjuez." As usual, the band mixes together bossa nova and Brazilian jazz, some touches of classical music, and cool-toned bop. Recommended as a strong example of the group's appealing sound.

4 Non Blondes howled their way onto the charts in 1993 with "What's Up?" and then vanished without a whisper. Formed in 1989 with Linda Perry (vocals), Shaunna Hall (guitar), Christa Hillhouse (bass), and Wanda Day (drums), 4 Non Blondes had no problems attracting major labels based on live shows and local radio support from KUSF, but the labels didn't know how to market them. After Day was replaced by Dawn Richardson, the group was eventually signed to Interscope Records and released Bigger, Better, Faster, More? in 1992. Although Hall contributed guitar tracks and some songs, she left before the album was released (replaced by Roger Rocha for the tour). Dominated by Perry's high-pitched singing, "What's Up?" was slowly added to modern rock stations and then crossed over into the mainstream, peaking at number 11 on the Billboard Top 200…

Best known for their huge international hit single from 1965, ‘Concrete And Clay’, Unit 4 + 2 were a part of the British Beat explosion, with a strong emphasis on vocal harmony. Their guitarist was Russ Ballard, who later enjoyed further fame with Argent and as a solo artist.
The band four hits in total, the others being their debut 45 ‘Green Fields’ (No. 48, 1964), ‘(You’ve) Never Been in Love Like This Before’ (No. 14, 1965) and ‘Baby Never Say Goodbye’ (No. 49, 1966).
Unit 4 + 2 signed to Decca in 1964, enjoying notable success and recording a string of singles, an EP and an album for the label before over a three-year period…

San Francisco's 4 Non Blondes burst onto the national scene with their massive, neo-hippie anthem "What's Up" from their debut Bigger, Better, Faster, More? Although they failed to recreate the single's success, the album, as a whole, is a fairly engaging mix of alternative rock, quasi-funk, and blues. The focal point is on lead singer Linda Perry who also plays guitar and was the primary writer of the material. Perry has a powerful set of pipes akin to Johnette Napolitano, but, unfortunately, she tends to cut loose when a little more restraint would benefit the proceedings. However, "Superfly" is a feel good, funky number and "Spaceman"'s yearning lyrics are delivered over a quiet, martial drum rhythm. A solid debut that got lost in the wake of its mammoth hit.

This is the reissue of 2nd Limbus album, which was originally released by OHR in 1970. This is very early, very crazy Germanic freakout, freeform madness. Formed in 1968, Limbus were a most unusual band who grew a unique music out of jazz, folk and avant-garde roots. As the more varied instrumental quartet Limbus 4, with swirling organ, studio effects and a most bizarre use of kazoos, Mandalas is the OHR album has perplexed and confused many. Limbus 4 were certainly one of a kind. Four musicians who were never heard from again after this: Odysseus Artner, Bernd Henninger, Matthias Knieper & Gerd Kraus on piano, bass, cello, viola, violin, flutes, percussion, tablas.

Decca/London introduced Phase 4 Stereo in 1961. For classical music, the Phase 4 approach was based on miking every orchestra section individually, along with mics for selected instruments – up to a maximum of 20 channels, which were then mixed via a recording console. This resulted in a dynamic, in your face sound with relatively little hall ambience. The quality of the sound mostly depended on how skillfully the recording engineer balanced each channel – and the results were not always consistent. Thus, the Phase 4 sound was the antithesis of the minimally miked, “simplicity is wisdom” approach of the RCA’s early Living Stereo and Mercury’s Living Presence recordings, along with Telarc’s early digital recordings.

Reaktor 4 from Bottrop-Vonderort, situated in the north-western Ruhr area, mainly played instrumental, sometimes session-like progressive rock music.
There is only one single dub plate of this LP, i. e. one individual copy, which was given as a present to the band's drummer, Reinhold Stania, in 1975. It was unfortunately played too often and is therefore damaged significantly; the master tape was thrown away. Great efforts have now been made to restore and decrackle the LP as far as possible in the Kerpen Railroad Tracks studio, which is probably the best-equipped studio worldwide for this purpose. The result is highly superior to the original, but it is unfortunately still unsatisfactory, especially tracks one and three - more improvement was simply not possible…

How do you describe Leopold Stokowski in one word? Showman, impresario, visionary, firebrand, agent provocateur, magician? Take your pick as he all that and more. It’s 40 years since the passing of one of the most colorful characters in Decca’s roster and one of the most indefatigable innovators in music performance history. His complete recordings for Decca/Phase 4 are presented together for the first time, with a bonus audio documentary featuring an interview with the maestro himself, in a handsome Limited Edition 23-CD boxed set.