5 x 2

Another band that has benefitted big time from joining the PPR label, a band we at Caerllysi Music have championed from it's birth with One in Every Crowd some 15 years ago, album number 5 has all the bombastic trademarks we have come to treasure and they are destined to elevate themselves to a higher plain with this very strong concept offering which will touch a few nerves with most of us. Cracking Stuff!

None of the Band's previous work gave much of a clue about how they would sound when they released their first album in July 1968. As it was, Music from Big Pink came as a surprise. At first blush, the group seemed to affect the sound of a loose jam session, alternating emphasis on different instruments, while the lead and harmony vocals passed back and forth as if the singers were making up their blend on the spot. In retrospect, especially as the lyrics sank in, the arrangements seemed far more considered and crafted to support a group of songs that took family, faith, and rural life as their subjects and proceeded to imbue their values with uncertainty.

Sofia Gubaidulina - The Canticle of the Sun (2001) {EMI Classics 5 57153 2}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 253 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 176 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 66 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2001 EMI Records | EMI Classics | 5 57153 2
Classical / Contemporary Classical

Sofia Gubaidulina (born in the former Soviet Tatar Republic in 1931) has earned immense regard from performers and new music intellectuals for her mingling of sonic innovation with a deep sincerity, and with a respect for the cultural traditions of her homeland. Her music abounds with unfamiliar sounds and equally unfamiliar playing techniques: one of her string quartets has the players bouncing rubber balls off of their instruments' strings. It is impossible, however, to accuse her of innovation for the sake of ego gratification, or merely to shock performers and audiences. Her music, as varied as it is, is consistently personal and honest, and unfailingly humble.

Overlooked German band with great love for 70's progressive rock, led by (professional chemist) Arne Schaefer, also leader of the side-project Apogee. They were formed at the dawn of the 90's by Schaefer and drummer Stefan Maywald, who were members of the new wave band ''Vague Venture''. Keyboardist Ekkehard Nahm saw Scahefer playing at a solo concert and meant to be the third member of the band's early years. The Frankfurt-based trio recorded their debut in 1994 with Schaefer playing basses, guitars and handling the vocals.
As Schaefer is a devoted fan of Peter Hammill, plenty of the material is song-based without lacking in instrumental intensity…

Madredeus - Movimento (2001) {EMI 7 243 5 31590 2 3}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 445 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 184 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 297 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2001 EMI / Valentim de Carvalho | 7 243 5 31590 2 3
World Music / Fado / Western European Traditions / European Folk

On their ninth CD, this Portugese group's sound is pretty much the same as it has been since their 1992 debut: pan-cultural world music with a decided Brazilian influence. With the emotional resonance of the best Portugese fado, but an ear for melody that's downright universal, guitarist Pedro Ayres Magalhaes crafts gentle, ethereal compositions perfectly suited to Teresa Salguiero's heavenly voice, which floats above the airy tunes like a melancholy angel. With no drums to hold down the rhythm, the songs on Movimento all have a decidedly ambient sense of spaciousness, flowing smoothly along without so much as a ripple to disturb the peaceful waters. And with 16 tracks, the near-constant mood and tempo can get a bit monotonous at times. But the sad, serene beauty of songs like the opening "Anseio" and the lilting "Afinal - A Minha Cançáo" show that while Madredeus may do only one thing, they do it very, very well.

If anything, CCR's third album Green River represents the full flower of their classic sound initially essayed on its predecessor, Bayou Country. One of the differences between the two albums is that Green River is tighter, with none of the five-minute-plus jams that filled out both their debut and Bayou Country, but the true key to its success is a peak in John Fogerty's creativity. Although CCR had at least one cover on each album, they relied on Fogerty to crank out new material every month. He was writing so frequently that the craft became second-nature and he laid his emotions and fears bare, perhaps unintentionally.

While their subsequent chart-topping albums would contain far more ambitious songwriting and musicianship, the Police's 1978 debut, Outlandos d'Amour (translation: Outlaws of Love) is by far their most direct and straightforward release. Although Sting, Andy Summers, and Stewart Copeland were all superb instrumentalists with jazz backgrounds, it was much easier to get a record contract in late-'70s England if you were a punk/new wave artist, so the band decided to mask their instrumental prowess with a set of strong, adrenaline-charged rock, albeit with a reggae tinge.

Free Hand was Gentle Giant's seventh album originally released in July 1975. This album was the most commercially successful of the band's career reaching the top 40 albums in Billboard Magazine. It stands as the culmination of the band's maturity, following the successes of 'In A Glass House' & 'The Power & The Glory'. Having toured Europe & North America non-stop in the years prior to this release with artists like Jethro Tull, Yes, Zappa etc, the band had gone from strength to strength…

Gene Harris and The Three Sounds - Live At The 'It Club', Volume 2 (1970) {Blue Note 7243 5 23997 2 7 rel 2000}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 357 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 139 Mb | Artwork | 5% repair rar
© 1970, 2000 Blue Note / Capitol | 7243 5 23997 2 7 | 24bit remastering
Jazz / Soul Jazz / Hard Bop / Jazz Piano Trio

All the rave reviews about this album are justified; this is a superb, sizzling, and very soulful live recording from 1970. According to the liner notes this recording was made "almost as an afterthought" by Blue Note. But afterwards, the label decided not to release the show, keeping it in the Blue Note vaults until it finally saw the light of day in 2000. But patience is rewarded; this is a fantastic album.