This second album from Karla Bonoff, 1979's "Restless Nights", has her incredible knack for deeply affecting, reflective songs on full display. She does once again go heavy on the love lyrics, but they're terrific love lyrics that are winningly intimate, & dig deep–it doesn't come across as mindless, annoying musings from some teenage girl's diary (even though they do seem extremely personal). They're a lot deeper than that & they are eloquently written. Karla's vocals are simply excellent: expressive, & lending themselves perfectly to the material (imagine a mix of the timbre of Linda Ronstadt with the delivery/ mannerisms of Jackson Browne). Speaking of the material, not only is it excellent lyrically–with rich melodies, masterful use of dynamics, & crisp performances, the songs come together gracefully & organically.
KENSO is from Japan. The music combines a Progressive jazz-rock or a Progressive rock mixed with jazz. The emphasis is on performance and improvisation with complex themes, breaks, elaborated developments and arrangements remind HATFIELD AND THE NORTH and BRAND X. The musicianship is excellent…
This is a Japanese numbered limited edition box set featuring SHM-CDs of the complete Kenso collection. Each album comes in a nice mini-LP style sleeve. In addition to a nicely put together booklet, you get the 11 studio/live albums (don't forget Music For Unknown Musicians was a double) plus a CD with unreleased studio and live tracks, a live DVD…