American V From September October 2015

Conductor Ferdinand Leitner (1912-96), learning his trade from masters like Walter, Busch, Richter and Karl Muck (as rehearsal pianist at Bayreuth), gained the experience that lead to his being dubbed the "singers' conductor" by all who worked with him during a long and lustrous career marked by his tenure as Zurich Opera music director (1969-84) and some 300 commercial recordings. The 1970s-80s Bayreuth stalwart, bass-baritone Franz Mazura as Tamerlano and famed American lyric soprano Helen Donath as Asteria headline this 1966 Leitner-led performance of Handel’s Tamerlano.

Max Richter’s landmark 8.5 hour work SLEEP in an abrdiged 90 min. version. The SLEEP project explores new ways for music and consciousness to interact, a “personal lullaby for a frenetic world…a manifesto for a slower pace of existence.”

You won’t be seeing Mark Knopfler in melodramatic newspaper headlines or on talent show panels. The much-travelled craftsman prefers to reside wherever the song takes him, from writing room to rehearsal space, recording studio to concert hall. He is, as tirelessly and inquisitively as ever, on the trail of some musical truth, just as he has been since the 45s of Ricky Nelson and Lonnie Donegan, or the playing of Hank Marvin and Duane Eddy, sent him down a path that led to 125 million record sales.

The Country Side Of Harmonica Sam - Open Letter To The Blues (2015) {El Toro Records ETCD6068}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 222 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 88 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 21 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2015 El Toro Records / ETCD 6068
Country / Honky Tonk / Hillbilly / Rockabilly

It’s rather ironic that a lot of the current European artists are outdoing their American counterparts when it comes to reproducing a sincere country sound. A fine example of this transition is The Country Side of Harmonica Sam and their current album ‘Open Letter To The Blues’, because it doesn’t come much more authentic than this when replicating country music from the late 50s and early 60s. With the countries of origin for this new long player stemming from Sweden, this latest guise for Harmonica Sam (real name Samuel Andersson) is one that fits splendidly as the honky tonk sound of the aforementioned periods in history is resuscitated and delivered inch perfectly as if it never went away!