Esoteric Recordings are proud to announce the release of a newly re-mastered and expanded edition of the classic 1970 album Home by Procol Harum. Released in June 1970, the record followed on from the huge international success of the band's debut single A Whiter Shade of Pale and the superb albums Procol Harum, Shine On Brightly and A Salty Dog. Hailed by many fans as one of the finest albums released by the band, Home saw the exquisite song writing of Gary Brooker and Keith Reid reach new heights on pieces such as The Dead Man's Dream, the epic Whaling Stories, About to Die and more. Produced by Chris Thomas, the album captured a new line-up of the band featuring Gary Brooker (voice, piano), Chris Copping (bass guitar, organ), Robin Trower (lead guitar), and B.J. Wilson (drums).
Newly re-mastered from the original tapes, this Deluxe edition of Home has been expanded to include 11 bonus tracks…
The Madcap Laughs is Syd Barrett's first solo album after being replaced in Pink Floyd by his old school friend David Gilmour. The title of the album comes from a line in the song Octopus. After leaving the group, Barrett began recording sessions with former Pink Floyd-turned-Syd Barrett manager Peter Jenner in May 1968. Although the sessions were brief, and they produced some fine material, the project was abandoned for almost a year while Barrett spent much of the year as a recluse.
Album Details Recorded over a period of 10 days in August 1969 & released on October 10th of the same year In The Court Of The Crimson King stands as one of the defining albums of British rock music & one of the finest debut albums of all time. Described at the time as "an uncanny masterpiece" by Pete Townshend, the album has achieved legendary status over the years. It is the only studio document of an extraordinary year in the life of King Crimson; a year that began with the group's first rehearsals on January 13th, included a residency at the Marquee Club, a concert in Hyde Park with The Rolling Stones, the recording and release of the album and ended with the dissolution of the lineup at the close of Crimson's 1st American tour in December. In the 40 years since its release In The Court of the Crimson King has never been out of print or unavailable in any of the world's main music markets & continues to enjoy consistently high sales. Now expanded with a completely new mix, previously unreleased tracks & a stunning 5.1 Surround Sound mix. Steven Wilson said of the mixing work "The intention is certainly not to try to replace or supersede the 1969 mix (which, like many classic albums, is what it is partly because of the limitations of the original recording circumstances), but to provide an alternate perspective to what must now be considered not only a rock masterpiece, but also the foundation stone of progressive rock."
To simplify my life considerably, I'm going to combine the "reviews" of all six Stage releases into a single entry, even though they were released individually. Also, to save a lot of time and effort, I'm not going to give complete track listings of the twelve discs, or do song-by-song reviews (hey, we're talking over 800 minutes of music here, give me a break). If you need to know the track listings, they're probably available through an on-line music sales site like CDNow, or an information site like the All Music Guide. There's probably a few other Zappa sites that list them as well. Maybe one day when I have the time, I'll come back and expand this section to really cover all twelve discs in detail. Until then, I'll just give some general facts and opinions, focusing on highlights and material unique to the Stage series.
Love's Forever Changes made only a minor dent on the charts when it was first released in 1967, but years later it became recognized as one of the finest and most haunting albums to come out of the Summer of Love, which doubtless has as much to do with the disc's themes and tone as the music, beautiful as it is…