Cloud 9

Posthumous LP of lush Susumu Yokota sketches written around ‘The Boy And The Tree’ (2002), newly dusted down and issued to mark the 5th anniversary of his untimely departure.

Double bassist Joshua Abrams provides the compositions for this studio album performed with Ari Brown on tenor sax, Jeff Parker on guitar and Gerald Cleaver on drums, an exceptional quartet of master improvisers who balance lyrical and soulful playing with explorative impulse, fueled by an empathetic responsiveness that only a long history of collaboration can engender.

Endle St. Cloud - Thank You All Very Much (1968) {International Artists–Charly SNAX609CD rel 2009, Remastered and Expanded}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 226 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 88 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 134 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1968, 2009 International Artists / Charly / Licensemusic / Snapper Music | SNAX609CD
Rock / Psychedelic Rock / Blues Rock / Country Rock / Pop Rock

A typically freaky 1968 release from the estimably freaky Texas label International Artists, Thank You All Very Much is an all-over-the-map blend of guitar-based heavy psych, early country-rock, and an oddball music hall sound possibly influenced by the Kinks (especially on the jaunty "Jessica") and certainly unusual for a Texan group of their era. Singer and pianist Endle St. Cloud (it's also the band's name, à la Brinsley Schwarz) has an unusual voice with a heavy vibrato and often a higher-than-normal pitch; he sounds a bit like a slightly less-elfin version of T. Rex's Marc Bolan on a lot of tracks.

To say that the past decade has been kind to Amorphis would be an understatement. From the elegance of Silent Waters to the pomp of Circle, the Finnish prog metallers have carved a solid foothold for themselves over the course of eight years. So, of course, when a new album is released, the inevitable question of whether or not the flavor has gone bland comes up. Sure enough, Under the Red Cloud proves to be another worthy addition to Amorphis’s discography, as well as one of the best progressive metal releases this year so far.