Aerosmith Rockin' The Joint (2005) [japanese Edition]

Ever since their beginnings Jaga have been a band who have searched for something different - without any interest in the latest trends, with no concern for who is on the cover of which magazine, this ten piece collective from Norway have focused their efforts on evolving a unique sound which can collectively express their musical ideas.
After months spent on writing new material, the band ripped it all up, went into an isolated studio out in the Norwegian woods and recorded the demo now known as the Spydeberg Session. Put down in one take in one day, it was a breakthrough moment for the group. A sound that was closer to their live sound than ever before. The band began to whisper about their rock album…

When New Order returned in 2001 with their first new record in eight years, the album they created (Get Ready) was given a great deal of leeway by fans (if not critics). Was it original? Not very. Although the band never recycled a riff, many of the songs recalled not just the band's salad days, but often specific performances from '80s touchstones Brotherhood or Low-life. What saved Get Ready from irrelevance was a brace of great songs, a new look at the band as capable rockers, and what's more, that uncanny ability to produce timeless, ever-fresh recordings. Almost as surprising as that comeback record was its follow-up, Waiting for the Sirens' Call, which arrived in 2005. If New Order's ambition was only to reinforce themselves in their fans' imaginations as members of a working band (à la their contemporaries Echo & the Bunnymen or even Duran Duran, for that matter), then the album is a success…

Porcupine Tree have always been pigeonholed with the modern prog movement, but the reality is that they're both a riff-addicted metal band and a troupe obsessed with rich harmonies and memorable refrains. Take the grinding guitar work of "Shallow" which dukes it out with frontman Steve Wilson's undeniably melodic chorus before easing into the delicate, beautifully crafted "Lazarus." Few bands exhibit this kind of depth, be it the dreamy, Pink Floyd-inspired hallucination "Halo" or the Queensrÿche echoes of "Open Car." If the 12-minute sonic meander known as "Arriving Somewhere but Not Here" is as head-trippy as rock music gets anymore, it is reassuring to know that this Tree is still growing. Ideal for headphones, Deadwing - despite its title - takes flight nonetheless.

"This is Ryan" continues to confirm that trumpeter Ryan Kisor is more than a "young lion, a label he received after winning the Thelonious Monk Competition back in 1990. At the still young age of 32, he is continuing in the tradition of the modal-minded trumpet players who preceded him, sounding like he comes from the direct lineage of the great Woody Shaw. His excellent trumpet technique, especially clear in the upper register, makes possible seamless solo lines. "This is Ryan" features compositions by three major trumpet players from the '50s-60s: Kenny Dorham's "Una Mas, Don Cherry's "Art Deco and Dizzy Gillespie's "Con Alma". The CD also includes four solid Kisor originals: "Waiting for Brown, a hard driving modal tune; "Maiden Lane, a smooth flowing ballad; "Dirty Ernie, a hard swinger; and "Solitaire," a swinging waltz…

Fierce Kate Bush fans who are expecting revelation in Aerial, her first new work since The Red Shoes in 1993, will no doubt scour lyrics, instrumental trills, and interludes until they find them. For everyone else, those who purchased much of Bush's earlier catalog because of its depth, quality, and vision, Aerial will sound exactly like what it is, a new Kate Bush record: full of her obsessions, lushly romantic paeans to things mundane and cosmic, and her ability to add dimension and transfer emotion though song. The set is spread over two discs. The first, A Sea of Honey, is a collection of songs, arranged for everything from full-on rock band to solo piano. The second, A Sky of Honey, is a conceptual suite. It was produced by Bush with engineering and mixing by longtime collaborator Del Palmer.

Lush, gorgeous, colorful and moving would be only be a few of the many adjectives that would still not describe the full wonders of the Garden of Eden. But these would accurately describe this album from pianist Rolf Lovland and violinist Fionnula Sherry better known to us as Secret Garden. Filled with classically influenced melancholy melodies that we have come to expect from this musical couple, the album also includes uplifting Celtic jigs, the occasional stirring vocal rendition, and even a hymn of praise to close the album out in grand and graceful style.

When New Order returned in 2001 with their first new record in eight years, the album they created (Get Ready) was given a great deal of leeway by fans (if not critics). Was it original? Not very. Although the band never recycled a riff, many of the songs recalled not just the band's salad days, but often specific performances from '80s touchstones Brotherhood or Low-life. What saved Get Ready from irrelevance was a brace of great songs, a new look at the band as capable rockers, and what's more, that uncanny ability to produce timeless, ever-fresh recordings. Almost as surprising as that comeback record was its follow-up, Waiting for the Sirens' Call, which arrived in 2005. If New Order's ambition was only to reinforce themselves in their fans' imaginations as members of a working band (à la their contemporaries Echo & the Bunnymen or even Duran Duran, for that matter), then the album is a success…

This family pop group from Ilford, Essex, England, was based around siblings Jim, Frank, Anne, Kathy (all b. Ilford, Essex, England) and John Dooley (b. Whitechapel, London, England). They sang as a group for their relatives, but in 1973 decided to try to turn professional. Their musical accompaniment was provided by Frank on lead guitar, John on rhythm, plus the addition of ‘outsiders’ Bob Walsh (bass) and Alan Boean (b. Oldham, Lancashire, England; drums). In 1976 they created their own slice of history by becoming the first British singing group to tour the Soviet Union. However, they had to wait until 1977 for their first hit, ‘Think I’m Gonna Fall In Love With You’.

Due to his insatiable interest in traditional world music and his urge to innovate, the African-American singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Taj Mahal has placed the blues genre in a wider musical context for years. After experimental musical encounters of the blues with music from India, Hawaii and Mali, with the album Mkutano he turns his gaze to Zanzibar, an island on the coast of East Africa. The economically very poor country has a rich musical tradition as the cradle of taarab music: a melting pot of Arab, African, European and Asian music styles. The main taarab orchestra is the Culture Musical Club. Taj Mahal (vocals, guitar, banjo), Bill Rich (electric bass) and Kester Smith (drums) traveled to Zanzibar for a musical encounter with the Culture Musical Club (instruments: zither, lute, flute, violins, accordion, double bass and percussion)…