Autosport From 4 August 2016

It's obvious from the greasy opening blues vibe in "Exodus of Venus," the title track of Elizabeth Cook's first album in six years, that something is very different. Produced by guitarist Dexter Green, this set is heavier, darker, and harder than anything she's released before. Its 11 songs are performed by a crack band that includes bassist Willie Weeks, drummer Matt Chamberlain, keyboardist Ralph Lofton, and lap steel guitarist Jesse Aycock…

Lindsey Stirling's third album, Brave Enough, is where her crossover sound falls nicely into place. Her first two efforts – thrilling collisions of violin acrobatics and electronic embellishment – were novel, but there was something missing to that new age dubstep. On Brave Enough, Stirling taps into a deep well of pain – inspired by her own emotional maturity and the death of her best friend and keyboardist, Jason Gaviati, in November 2015 – and the result is an organic interplay between her instrument and digital beats that focuses more on pleasant rhythms than dubstep muscle.

Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - Hell or High Water (2016) {Soundtrack, Milan Music 399 862-2}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 260 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 102 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 98 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2016 Milan Music | 399 862-2
Stage & Screen / Soundtracks / Country / Pop

Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, who both play in the Bad Seeds and Grinderman, score a lot of films together. Their latest endeavor is Hell or High Water, a David Mackenzie-directed film starring Jeff Bridges and Chris Pine. CBS Films will release the movie in theaters August 12, which is the same day the soundtrack comes out via Milan Records. It features several pieces of score from Cave and Ellis, plus songs by Waylon Jennings, Townes Van Zandt, Chris Stapleton, and others.

With three studio albums and a career spanning eleven years, Aisles have become one of South America’s most acclaimed prog acts of the last decade. Their fourth album, ‘Hawaii’ was released on July 29th, 2016 through Presagio Records. In November 2015 they went to a local beach house, spent a week together, writing music the whole time. It must have been an amazing experience for them, with the final result of this successful double CD. Obviously designed as a concept album "all the music was written with our hearts and minds, set on the idea of these human colonies - a small group of people who are able to preserve some of the heritage of mankind after earth is destroyed".

Mick Softley - Any Mother Doesn't Grumble (1972) {Morello Records MRLL65 rel 2016}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 231 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 98 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 6 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1972, 2016 Morello Records / Sony Music | MRLL 65
Folk Rock / Folk / Singer/Songwriter / Guitar

Mick Softley's 1972 album released for the first time on CD. Born in 1941 in South Woodford, Essex, Mick Softley was at the forefront of the folk revival scene of the early 1960s. Mick helped Donovan with guitar-picking styles when they were both involved with the folk club in The Cock pub in St Albans. Later, Donovan would record two of Mick's songs 'The War Drags On' and 'Goldwatch Blues'. Recorded at The Manor in Oxfordshire and at Sound Techniques, Chelsea, musicians included Jerry Donahue (Fotheringay / Fairport Convention), Gerry Conway (Fotheringay), Pat Donaldson (Fotheringay), Barry de Souza (Curved Air) and Lyn Dobson (Manfred Mann / Soft Machine). Produced by Tony Cox, talented keyboard player who played with Sandy Denny and Mike Heron. 'Disc and Music Echo' magazine probably captured the essence of this unique recording most succinctly when they reviewed the album and stated that 'listening to it, one almost feels an intruder into the man's soul'.

Boris Giltburg's 2016 release on Naxos consists of two sets of piano pieces by Sergey Rachmaninov, the Études-tableaux, Op. 39 (1916-1917), and the Moments musicaux, Op. 16 (1896). The Études-tableaux are a cross between technical studies and character pieces, reminiscent of the etudes of Frédéric Chopin, and they present considerable challenges, even to virtuoso pianists. Here, Giltburg displays his remarkable skills, as well as a range of expressions that run from the fiery and turbulent to the atmospheric and melancholy. In the Moments musicaux, Rachmaninov experimented with short forms, such as the nocturne, etude, funeral march, barcarolle, and theme with variations, and these pieces demonstrated his mastery of piano technique, if not yet his full maturity as a composer. Giltburg's playing brings out a variety of colors and textures, and his passionate interpretations accord with Rachmaninov's youthful, ardent style.

Grateful Dead - Frost Amphitheatre, Palo Alto, California May 7 1989 (2016) {2CD Mojo Filter MFRCD2004}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 712 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 352 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 8 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1989, 2016 Mojo Filter Records | MFRCD2004
Rock / Classic Rock / Psychedelic / Folk Rock / Jam Band

Fine, energetic show on the day of Bill Kreutzman's 43rd birthday! Highlights include killer version of "Foolish Heart and a mighty "Other One". Broadcast by KZSU-FM and remastered for pristine audio quality.

Quintessence was the great underground band of the 1970s. Formed in March 1969, they were quickly signed to Island Records and later that year released their debut album, In Blissful Company. Between 1969-71, Quintessence, a counterculture phenomenon, made three albums for Island Records. Now, recently sourced from Island's multi-track tapes and digitised at Abbey Road Studios, this packed 2CD set reveals a wealth of stunning, hitherto unheard recordings in pristine studio sound.