Caterpillar: Modern Earthmoving Marvels

Modern Talking is one of the better-known outfits in European techno-pop, and on Alone the group delivers another batch of technologically advanced ditties. Utilizing all the elements of techno music, Modern Talking comes off as an ABBA-esque group of sugary sweet songwriters who make the most inoffensive music this side of the Carpenters.

Robert Paterson’s The Four Seasons consists of four song cycles, with a total of twenty-one songs, for four different voice types: soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, and bass-baritone. Each voice type represents a different season: Summer Songs (soprano), Autumn Songs (mezzo-soprano), Winter Songs (bass-baritone), and Spring Songs (tenor).

"The Modern Jazz Quartet - Modern Jazz Quartet + Laurindo Almeida Live London December 19th, 1963 (Restauración 2023)" is a notable live recording featuring the collaboration between The Modern Jazz Quartet and Brazilian guitarist Laurindo Almeida. This performance took place in London on December 19th, 1963.

The Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) was a jazz combo established in 1952 that played music influenced by classical, cool jazz, blues and bebop. The Quartet consisted of John Lewis (piano), Milt Jackson (vibraphone), Percy Heath (double bass), and various drummers, most notably Kenny Clarke (from 1952 to 1955) and Connie Kay (from 1955 to 1994). The group grew out of the rhythm section of Dizzy Gillespie's big band from 1946 to 1948, which consisted of Lewis, Jackson, and Clarke along with bassist Ray Brown.

German dance-pop duo Modern Talking were formed in Berlin in early 1983 by Dieter Bohlen, then a composer and producer employed by the Intersong label. Teaming with vocalist Thomas Anders, they soon began work on their first single, 1984's "You're My Heart, You're My Soul." Modern Talking's debut LP, succinctly titled The 1st Album, followed a year later on the heels of their second single, "You Can Win If You Want." The duo's sophomore effort, Let's Talk About Love, appeared in late 1985, launching the smash "Cheri Cheri Lady." With 1986's Ready for Romance, Modern Talking scored their biggest hit yet with "Brother Louie." However, after 1986's In the Middle of Nowhere, tensions between Bohlen and Anders reached a boiling point, and following the release of their fifth LP, Romantic Warriors, Bohlen assembled a new project, Blue System. The final Modern Talking album, In the Garden of Venus, appeared in late 1987 after they had disbanded. Anders then launched a solo career. In 1997, the duo reunited for a comeback effort in 1998's Back for Good. Though Modern Talking would disband again in 2003, the span produced another five albums: Alone (1999), 2000: Year of the Dragon (2000), America (2001), Victory (2002), and their 12th career album, Universe (2003). The latter produced the German number two hit "TV Makes the Superstar," which also charted in Austria and Switzerland. They returned to the studio again for 2017's Back for Gold: The New Versions, a collection of original and reworked versions of their biggest hits.

German dance-pop duo Modern Talking were formed in Berlin in early 1983 by Dieter Bohlen, then a composer and producer employed by the Intersong label. Teaming with vocalist Thomas Anders, they soon began work on their first single, 1984's "You're My Heart, You're My Soul." Modern Talking's debut LP, succinctly titled The 1st Album, followed a year later on the heels of their second single, "You Can Win If You Want." The duo's sophomore effort, Let's Talk About Love, appeared in late 1985, launching the smash "Cheri Cheri Lady." With 1986's Ready for Romance, Modern Talking scored their biggest hit yet with "Brother Louie." However, after 1986's In the Middle of Nowhere, tensions between Bohlen and Anders reached a boiling point, and following the release of their fifth LP, Romantic Warriors, Bohlen assembled a new project, Blue System. The final Modern Talking album, In the Garden of Venus, appeared in late 1987 after they had disbanded. Anders then launched a solo career. In 1997, the duo reunited for a comeback effort in 1998's Back for Good. Though Modern Talking would disband again in 2003, the span produced another five albums: Alone (1999), 2000: Year of the Dragon (2000), America (2001), Victory (2002), and their 12th career album, Universe (2003). The latter produced the German number two hit "TV Makes the Superstar," which also charted in Austria and Switzerland. They returned to the studio again for 2017's Back for Gold: The New Versions, a collection of original and reworked versions of their biggest hits.