Detail 2001

Recommended: not so much for the performance or even the work as for the experience. And even that is not necessarily something you will want to repeat very often. The point is that it may be now or never. Robert le diable, received triumphantly in Paris at its premiere in 1831, took centre- stage in the opera houses of Europe for two or three decades: a pantechnicon of an opera I was about to call it, and then thought to see what the dictionary had to say, finding there ‘the name of a bazaar of all kinds of artistic work’ – and the date 1830!

For their second release, Tool explore the progressive rock territory previously forged by such bands as King Crimson. However, Tool are conceptually innovative with every minute detail of their art, which sets them apart from most bands. Make no mistake, this isn't your father's rock record. Sonically, the band has never sounded tighter. Long exploratory passages are unleashed with amazing precision, detail, and clarity, which only complements the aggressive, abrasive shorter pieces on the album. There is no compromise from any member of the band, with each of them discovering the dynamics of his respective instrument and pushing the physical capabilities to the limit. Topics such as the philosophies of Bill Hicks (eloquently eulogized in the packaging), evolution and genetics, and false martyrdom will fly over the heads of casual listeners…

Plaid are the London electronic music duo Andy Turner & Ed Handley. They are former members of The Black Dog and used many other names (such as Atypic and Balil) before settling on Plaid. They have collaborated with female singers Mara Carlyle, Nicolette and Björk, and have released records on the labels Clear, Warner, Black Dog Productions, and Warp Records.
Plaid - Double Figure (2001). Inspired to get back to basics after the release of the Trainer retrospective, Plaid returned in 2001 with an LP of tough machine music, closer to the melancholy beatbox style of their mid-'90s singles than the rangy, dynamic sound of 1999's Rest Proof Clockwork. Except for the cycling guitar-like lines on the opener "Eyen," there aren't many traditional-sounding instruments on Double Figure…

When they released their debut álbum, Words Of Nostradamus, back in 2000, Nostradameus were little more than endowed students of the Swedish power metal school. And what is Swedish power metal, you ask? Well, take the Finnish power metal stylings of Sonata Arctica (minus the keyboards), mix them with the hard rock overtones of local heroes Hammerfall (minus most of the cheese), add a pinch of mid-period Helloween joyfulness and just a hint of Blind Guardian medievalism. Voilá! Swedish power metal, as seen by Nostradameus…

In the summer of 1956, the famed Harlem congressman Adam Clayton Powell arranged for Dizzy Gillespie to embark on a worldwide goodwill-ambassador tour sponsored by the State Department. Gillespie and an all-star big band featuring trumpeter Quincy Jones, the late trombonist Melba Liston, alto saxophonist Phil Woods, and tenor saxophonist Benny Golson performed in Ecuador, Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil to frenzied, beret-wearing fans. Recordings were made but they weren't commercially available and were played only for a select group of musicians before Gillespie's death in 1993. Now the sides have been released, showcasing Dizzy at his bebopping best.

Louise Farrenc - Les 3 Symphonies - Orchestre de Bretagne, Stefan Sanderling (2001) {2CD Set Pierre Verany PV700030}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 404 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 234 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 73 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2001 Disques Pierre Verany / Arion | PV700030
Classical / Romantic / Symphony / Orchestral

If you want to check a symphonist's freshness and originality, go to a trio section. It always marks out the jobsworths. By that test Louise Farrenc well deserved her prominence as pianist, composer and teacher. All her symphonies date from the mid-1840s, when hardly anybody else in Paris wrote in the form, and though acclaimed they were never published. Yet they evolve purposefully from a Hummel-Mendelssohn style to something uncannily like Schubert, both in harmonic quirks and in the prominence of the woodwind.

Paul Bley - Solo In Mondsee (2007) {ECM 1786 rec 2001}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 205 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 130 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 17 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2001, 2007 ECM Records | ECM 1786
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Free Improvisation / Piano

Fully 35 years after Open, to Love, Paul Bley's seminal solo piano recording for ECM (which stands as a watermark both in his own career and in the history of the label – i.e., unconsciously aiding Manfred Eicher in establishing its "sound"), the pianist returns to the label for another go at it on Solo in Mondsee. Recorded in Mondsee, Austria, in 2001, and not issued until Bley's 75th year, these numbered "Mondsee Variations" were played on a Bösendorfer Imperial grand piano, an instrument that is, like its player, in a class of its own. Bley moves through ten improvisations lasting between two and just under nine minutes each.

Like their West Coast contemporaries in Death Cab for Cutie, Rilo Kiley steadily gained traction in indie pop circles throughout the late '90s and early 2000s before the record industry (and public at large) officially took note. Led by former child actors Jenny Lewis (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Blake Sennett (guitar, vocals), the L.A.-based quartet held its first practice in 1998. Bassist Pierre de Reeder and drummer Dave Brock (later replaced by ex-Foundation Lassie member Jason Boesel) completed the lineup, and a weekly residency at the Spaceland nightclub in Silverlake allowed Rilo Kiley to hone its mix of classic pop, country, torch song, and folk. Collection includes: Take Offs and Landings (2001); The Execution of All Things (2002); More Adventurous (2004); Under the Blacklight (2007).