Broadway in a Box

This 7CD set is the fruit of the love affair that developed in Paris between Leonard Bernstein and the Orchestre National de France in the 1970s. Beside long-admired studio recordings, featuring Mstislav Rostropovich and Alexis Weissenberg among the soloists, it presents live performances completely new to the catalogue: a 1975 programme to celebrate Ravel’s centenary – with Bernstein himself as soloist in the G major piano concerto – and orchestral suites taken from two of Bernstein’s most celebrated and brilliant works, both infused with jazz: the film score On the Waterfront and the landmark Broadway musical West Side Story. 25th August 2018 marks the centenary of the birth of American conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990). He was one of the most celebrated and charismatic musicians of his time, an artist who transcended conventional boundaries between genres.

The five CDs in this box set comprise 106 wonderful songs from what truly are the greatest musicals of the 20th Century. While the artists are not the ones you'd immediately recognize from the movie versions of these productions, they are nevertheless top-notch and probably were in the casts of the stage shows. So far, I haven't heard a single one that wasn't excellent. For those who love songs from great musicals, this is surely one of the great bargains of the 20th Century.

Joseph Kerman was a leading musicologist, music critic, and music educator from the 1950s to the 2000s. He reshaped our understanding and appreciation of Western classical music with his first book, Opera as Drama (1956), to his last, Opera and the Morbidity of Music (2008), including his studies on Bach, Beethoven, William Byrd, concertos, and more. He was a professor at the University of California at Berkeley, where he served two terms as chair of the Music Department. He wrote Listen together with his wife, Vivian Kerman.

Artie Shaw - Self Portrait (2001) {5CD Box Set Bluebird 09026 63808 2 rec 1936-1954}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.64 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 835 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 247 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1936-54, 2001 Bluebird / BMG | 09026 63808 2
Jazz / Bop / Swing / Big Band / Sweet Bands / Clarinet

As a rule, record companies don't give artists the chance to pick the songs when a boxed set is assembled. They might ask the person who writes the liner notes to interview the artist, or they might even have the artist write the liner notes. But the label, not the artist, usually chooses the material. Self Portrait is an exception; when this five-CD, 95-track boxed set was assembled in 2001, a 91-year-old Artie Shaw was given a rare chance to make the selections himself and comment on them. And for those who are seriously into the clarinetist, it is fascinating to see what he chooses. Self Portrait, which spans 1936-1954, contains most of his essential swing, era hits, including "Stardust," "Begin the Beguine," "Frenesi," and his ominous signature tune, "Nightmare."

The original Ambient Cookbook came out back in 1995, and gave the listener a good cross section of the music available on Fax at the time. There was a mixture of music from not just Namlook, but also from the numerous other artists and collaborators on the label. Now, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the label, the Ambient Cookbook II has been released. Comparisons with the original release are of course inevitable, but in reality this new 4 CD set is something entirely new. Whilst still featuring an excellent selection of music from Fax, the majority of the tracks are by Namlook or Namlook & Collaborators. The only non-Namlook tracks are Atom's "Tuff Transmitter", Inoue's "Magnetic Field" and Jochem Paap's "Dx Synth". Overall, this is a highly recommended release, which would serve as a good introduction to the label…

The archive contains of 3179 tracks from 1899 until 1956 on 168 CDs and 2 books with 180 pages of artist biographies each. High-End mastered at 24-bit and 96 kHz.
The Archive is split into 42 Sets x 4xCD. Each CD is untitled and dedicated to one musician, who mostly appears in different collaborations.

The archive contains of 3179 tracks from 1899 until 1956 on 168 CDs and 2 books with 180 pages of artist biographies each. High-End mastered at 24-bit and 96 kHz.
The Archive is split into 42 Sets x 4xCD. Each CD is untitled and dedicated to one musician, who mostly appears in different collaborations.

In a remarkable career spanning six decades, singer-songwriter Paul Simon has amassed 9 Grammy awards and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, first as a member of Simon & Garfunkel, then in 2001 as a solo performer and composer. Encompassing nine studio albums - all contained herein - Simon's catalogue is one of the most diverse, literate, adventurous, and musically rich in all of popular music. Simon is an American treasure, and this awesome collection celebrates his ever-growing legacy.

Elvis Presley - The Complete Elvis Presley Masters (2010) {30CD Box Set Sony Music, Ltd. Numbered Ed. 88697118262}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 11.4 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 4.79 Gb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 518 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2010 RCA / Legacy / Sony Music | 88697118262
Rock & Roll / Pop / Rockabilly / Gospel / Folk

This is the definitive collection: all 711 master recordings as released during Elvis’ lifetime, mastered from the original analog master tapes where available. Each recording has been carefully restored to achieve the best sound reproduction ever without compromising the audio quality of the original master. The collection also contains 103 additional rare recordings and a 240-page hardbound book featuring an annotated discography, original album artwork, rare and classic photos, a complete song index and an essay by Peter Guralnick. Housed in a beautiful, limited edition display case, THE COMPLETE ELVIS PRESLEY MASTERS is an indispensable piece of music history and the one collection no true connoisseur should be without.