E.s.e Sessions

On what may seem like a readymade gag, the psych-folk favorite covers the lost Dave Matthews Band album in full. He convincingly connects his adolescent love to his adult explorations.

In a way, Napalm Death's Peel Sessions better represent the group's extreme classic sound than any of their '80s albums. Albums such as Scum and From Enslavement to Obliteration still stand as testaments to the group's innovative approach to prototypical grindcore, but as historically important as these albums are, they're awfully lo-fi. The pristine clarity and live aggression of the group's sessions on John Peel's influential BBC radio show make for a better sample of exactly how amazing this storied group was during its fabled era with vocalist Lee Dorrian, guitarist Bill Steer, drummer Mick Harris, and drummer Shane Embury…

Monster is indeed R.E.M.'s long-promised "rock" album; it just doesn't rock in the way one might expect. Instead of R.E.M.'s trademark anthemic bashers, Monster offers a set of murky sludge powered by the heavily distorted and delayed guitar of Peter Buck. Michael Stipe's vocals have been pushed to the back of the mix, along with Bill Berry's drums, which accentuates the muscular pulse of Buck's chords…

This Final Sessions release captures Arrau's tone better than any CD album I have heard. From the intial English Suites, all four of which were recorded during Arrau's Debussy sessions in Switzerland. The Beethoven is from Arrau's final Beethoven cycle, left incomplete at the time of his death and vary somewhat from his 60's set containig the concerto's and variations. The Schubert is wonderful. I can imagine a better vehicle for Arrau's wonderful sound and legato than D894. The Debussy, attainable only on Warner France, is also very incitful. Arrau does not subscribe to the Gieseking haze, but rather combines a germanic profundity with Michelangli's precision.
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Feel Flows: The Sunflower & Surf's Up Sessions 1969–1971 is a compilation album and box set recorded by the American rock band the Beach Boys and released by Capitol/UME on August 27, 2021. It is largely dedicated to material that the group recorded during the making of the albums Sunflower (1970) and Surf's Up (1971). Produced by Mark Linett and Alan Boyd, it is the band's first major archival release since Wake the World and I Can Hear Music in 2018, and the first issued on physical media since Sunshine Tomorrow in 2017. The title is taken from the Surf's Up track "Feel Flows". The compilation was released in four different formats: a five-CD box set, a two-CD set, a double vinyl set, and a quadruple vinyl set.

Forty years ago, on September 2, 1982 – the year of Michael Jackson’s Thriller and Steven Spielberg’s E.T. – Glenn Gould’s legendary second recording of the Goldberg Variations closed a circle that his revolutionary 1956 recording of Bach’s masterpiece had opened. While his first recording is the exuberant, fast-paced work of a 22-year-old pianistic prodigy, his second is the measured, richly detailed interpretation of an experienced studio artist. Just five weeks later, the Canadian pianist died unexpectedly, leaving the world a masterpiece of recording art that – awarded two GRAMMYs – is still one of the most listened to classical albums worldwide.