Donna Hughes From The Heart (2014)

Italian composer and musician Marco Ragni has been a presence in the Italian music scene for a quarter of a century or thereabouts, and following a couple of decades in various band constellations he decided to venture out as a solo artist a few years back, launching his first solo album back in 2010. "Mother from the Sun" is his fourth studio recording, released towards the end of 2014. To give you an idea, think of the Pink Floyd albums A Saucerful of Secrets, More, Ummagumma, Atom Heart Mother (side two), Meddle, and Obscured By Clouds as major inspirations. Add to this the late sixties California hippy scene and the fact that Marco is Italian, and you have three strong foundations for a unique blend of psychedelic music with folk and funk and classic prog.

With the subtitle "Songs from the Vault," you'd be forgiven if you thought 24 Karat Gold was an archival collection of unreleased material and, in a way, you'd be right. 24 Karat Gold does indeed unearth songs Nicks wrote during her heyday – the earliest dates from 1969, the latest from 1995, with most coming from her late-'70s/early-'80s peak; the ringer is a cover of Vanessa Carlton's 2011 tune "Carousel," which could easily be mistaken for Stevie – but these aren't the original demos, they're new versions recorded with producer Dave Stewart. Running away from his ornate track record – his production for Stevie's 2011 record In Your Dreams was typically florid – Stewart pays respect to Nicks' original songs and period style by keeping things relatively simple while drafting in sympathetic supporting players including guitarists Waddy Wachtel and Davey Johnstone and Heartbreakers Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell.

A remake of the original album by Big Big Train. Remade by Steve Hughes at Thunted Hex Sound Labs, London.
From the River to the Sea was originally released as a demo tape in 1991. It was recorded on a newly-purchased Fostex R8 eight-track reel-to-reel tape recorder (the R8 was marketed at the mid to high-end home recording market). From the River to the Sea features the first songs commercially released by Big Big Train. After positive reviews in fan magazines for the demo tape version, it was decided to re-issue the demo album on CD (1992).

Gap Band albums from 1986 and 1988, originally released on the Total Experience Records label. ‘Gap Band 8’ features the UK Top 5 hit single ‘Big Fun’, also a US Top 10 R&B chart hit. This BGO package includes bonus tracks. At the end of the 1990s, The Gap Band stopped recording and Charlie Wilson embarked on a solo career. Digitally remastered.