Country Life From 12 February 2014

They were a pioneering jazz-rock outfit and a hit singles band (which shows how progressive pop music got in the late '60s/early '70s) that wowed fans and critics alike. They were Blood, Sweat & Tears and this two-CD, 32-track set offers not only the most comprehensive collection ever compiled of their work, but also the most appropriate lens through which to view their long and often chaotic career…

If truth be told, the Allman Brothers Band have always been the quintessential American rock band, shaping a rootsy mix of blues, jazz, country, and rock into an elegant, nuanced sound that single-handedly created what became known as Southern rock. Full of beautiful dual guitar leads and driven by double drummers, and possessing a lead singer who, when he was on his game, had as much soul as anyone around, the Allman Brothers Band were also an improvisational band who found all kinds of new corners in their classic catalog when they played live, no matter what the configuration of the band was at the time.

Merle Haggard - Original Album Classics (2012) {3CD Box Set, Epic–Sony Music 886919685626 rec 1981-1983}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 652 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 281 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 70 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1981-83, 2012 Sony Music / Epic / Legacy | 886919685626
Country / Folk Rock / Progressive Country / Traditional Country

The 2012 box set Original Album Classics contains three of Haggard's most popular albums for Epic: Big City, Going Where the Lonely Go, and Pancho & Lefty. Hag made many more great records than this, but this is an easy, convenient way to get three fine albums from the early '80s all at once.

Music Inspired by the Life and Times of Scrooge is the first solo album by Finnish songwriter and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, best known for his work in the symphonic metal band Nightwish. The album is based on the Walt Disney graphic novel "The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck" written and illustrated by Don Rosa, who illustrated the cover artwork. It was released on April 11, 2014, with the first single "A Lifetime of Adventure" being released on February 5, 2014 along with a music video directed by Ville Lipiäinen. It features several vocalists including Johanna Kurkela, Tony Kakko of Sonata Arctica and narration by Alan Reid, with lyrics in English and Scottish Gaelic. It also features the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the choir group Metro Voices, and several guest musicians including fellow Nightwish member Troy Donockley. Limited Edition includes bonus CD, which contains the entire album as instrumentals.

Storytone arrived at the end of a year that already saw another new Neil Young album – that would be A Letter Home, a collection of folk covers recorded at Jack White's Voice-O-Graph direct-to-vinyl recording booth at Third Man Records – which itself was only the tip of the iceberg that was Neil's 2014. That spring, Young launched a high-end digital audio system called Pono, which was followed by the summer news that he was divorcing Pegi, his wife of 36 years, an event that led to a fresh feud with David Crosby that then led to Young saying he would never play with CSN again and, if that weren't enough, Young also published his second book, Special Deluxe: A Memoir of Life & Cars, just prior to the release of Storytone.

Continuing with the stylistic developments of Stranded, Country Life finds Roxy Music at the peak of their powers, alternating between majestic, unsettling art rock and glamorous, elegant pop/rock…

Silhouette describes itself as Melodic/Symphonic Rock. All songs are composed by the band-members themselves who are influenced by bands as Genesis, Marillion, Pink Floyd and IQ among others.
The genesis of the band was Jos Uffing responding to an ad from Brian de Graeve in 2001. Brian was looking for a drummer & singer for his band. By the time Jos called though, the band had already broken up. But during the phone call, they found that they had a shared taste related to music. So they kept in touch , working on their own songs & sharing them with each other from time to time. By 2004, they came to a point where they felt they were ready to get a band going to complete their songs…

Silhouette describes itself as Melodic/Symphonic Rock. All songs are composed by the band-members themselves who are influenced by bands as Genesis, Marillion, Pink Floyd and IQ among others.
The genesis of the band was Jos Uffing responding to an ad from Brian de Graeve in 2001. Brian was looking for a drummer & singer for his band. By the time Jos called though, the band had already broken up. But during the phone call, they found that they had a shared taste related to music. So they kept in touch , working on their own songs & sharing them with each other from time to time. By 2004, they came to a point where they felt they were ready to get a band going to complete their songs…

Kacey Musgraves - Same Trailer Different Park (2013) {Mercury Records 0602537140961}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 255 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 97 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 54 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2013 Mercury Records / Universal | 0602537140961
Country / Americana / Contemporary Country / Country-Pop

Kacey Musgraves could easily be contemporary country's next big thing. She's a sharp, detailed songwriter with a little bit of an edge, and while it's tempting to think of her as another coming of Taylor Swift, say, she's got the kind of relaxed sureness about what she's doing as a songwriter and performer that puts her closer to a Miranda Lambert. On her first nationally distributed album, Same Trailer Different Park, she definitely sounds more on the Lambert side of things, with a sparse, airy sound that lets her lyrics shine, and she'd as soon use a banjo in her arrangements as a snarling Stratocaster.