Dave Bass No Boundaries

This one-off collaboration between the Cure's Robert Smith and Siouxsie and the Banshees' Steven Severin resulted in an eccentric, and at times incompatible, mix of psychedelic sounds wrapped around alternative '80s pop. Writers Smith and Severin's more eccentric tendencies are as likely to evoke pictures of a carnival as a funereal march, but the backbone rests largely on tightly constructed tunes with occasional forays into the experimental…

Hank Marvin, mostly playing a Favino acoustic guitar (and, occasionally, the "Hank Marvin"-model Fender Stratocaster), turns in some delightful work on this 58-minute CD, supported by players including Ben Marvin on guitar, Ray Martinez on bass, Gary Taylor on rhythm guitar, and Ric Eastman on drums. The music ranges across the decades from the 1950s to the 1970s – the virtuosity is beyond question and the arrangements on familiar fare such as "Sunny Afternoon," "American Pie," "Ticket to Ride" and "Eleanor Rigby" bring out some unexpected attributes to the songs, as well – only "Your Song" does what one would expect in its arrangement, and that tune is so pretty that one would never want to deviate too far from the basics on it. Some of the original tunes are less than memorable melodically, but the playing is always interesting enough to hold the listener, and one of them, "A Tall-A Tall Dark Stranger" could have made a good single two or three decades ago, with its rippling double-lead guitar parts.

Neil Ardley - Kaleidoscope of Rainbows (1976) {Dusk Fire DUSKCD101, 24bit remastered rel 2005}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 328 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 131 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 25 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1976, 2005 Gull / Dusk Fire Records | DUSKCD101
Jazz / Experimental Big Band / Progressive Jazz / Third Stream

Considered by many to be one of the Great British Jazz recordings of the 20th Century, this acclaimed "Lost Masterpiece" has only had limited availability on CD. It was beautifully recorded in 1976, featuring the cream of British Jazz Muscians including Barbara Thompson, Tony Coe, Ian Carr & Paul Buckmaster. Now issued in all its glory via 24Bit 96 k/Hz digital remastering. When it was originally released, Karl Dallas in Melody Maker said: "This work is possibly the most significant piece of composition since 'Sgt.Pepper', 'Pet Sounds', 'Miles Ahead' and 'Tubular Bells'. Its beauty and sense of structure will mark it out in no uncertain terms as ONE OF THE GREAT MUSICAL ACHIEVEMENTS OF OUR AGE."

Herbie Hancock's edition in the Columbia This Is Jazz series draws six tracks from the approximately 12-year period between 1974 and 1986. An electric band is featured on half of the selections, including "Gentle Thoughts" from Secrets, "Actual Proof" from Thrust, and "Calypso" from Mr. Hands. These aren't exactly the best tracks from Hancock's electric period, and the acoustic portion – covering "The Sorcerer" from a 1981 V.S.O.P. performance in Tokyo, the live duet "Maiden Voyage" by Hancock and Chick Corea, and "The Peacocks" from the 1986 film 'Round Midnight – are similarly erratic. All of the selections on This Is Jazz are good, but it doesn't make much sense to feature such a scattered set of tracks.

British saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer John Surman turned 80 in 2024. During six decades of laudable achievement, he has recorded and performed in dozens of configurations from solo to big band, chamber quintet to orchestra conductor. Words Unspoken is Surman's first ECM date since 2018's trio offering, Invisible Threads. It marks a reunion with the remarkable, Oslo-based American vibraphonist Rob Waring. Award-winning British guitarist Rob Luft (whose solo albums on Edition have won international praise) and Norwegian drummer Thomas Strønen balance the quartet. The bandleader brought some sketches into the studio and passed them out without specific instructions as to who would play what when. He wanted the recording to sound like the band created it spontaneously by wedding modern jazz, avant improv, and folk music in the moment.

Mixing well-read indie rock with joyful, Afro-pop-inspired melodies and rhythms, Vampire Weekend grew from one of the first bands to be championed by music bloggers into a chart-topping, Grammy Award-winning act that helped define the sound of indie music in the late 2000s and 2010s. After establishing the foundations of their bright, intricate style with 2008's Vampire Weekend, the band soon became hugely successful; they're the first indie rock act to have two consecutive albums (2010's Contra and 2013's Modern Vampires of the City) enter the Billboard 200 at number one. With each release, Vampire Weekend's music grew more diverse, incorporating ska, hip-hop, and '80s pop influences that nevertheless complemented their signature style. Similarly, the band weathered the loss of founding member Rostam Batmanglij to deliver some of their most polished and ambitious work with 2019's Father of the Bride, their third chart-topper.

Two years in the making, Close To The Noise Floor is a 4CD, 60-track set exploring the origins of electronica in the UK. Featuring tracks from key figures on the cassette label underground alongside early releases by future stars of the movement, this is part primitive rave, part synthesiser porn and part history lesson.