Eric Clapton Eric Clapton's Rainbow Concert (1973) [1987, Rso Records, 831 320 2]

Eric Clapton's eponymous solo debut was recorded after he completed a tour with Delaney & Bonnie. Clapton used the core of the duo's backing band and co-wrote the majority of the songs with Delaney Bramlett – accordingly, Eric Clapton sounds more laid-back and straightforward than any of the guitarist's previous recordings. There are still elements of blues and rock & roll, but they're hidden beneath layers of gospel, R&B, country, and pop flourishes…

Laserlight's 2001 release With the Yardbirds & Jimmy Page, is another reissue that pairs early live Yardbirds recordings with the 1965 jam session credited to the Immediate All Stars (featuring Clapton, Jimmy Page, Bill Wyman, Ian Stuart, and Mick Jagger).

Crazy Nights is the 14th studio album by American rock band Kiss, recorded from March to June 1987 and released on September 18, 1987 by Mercury and Vertigo in Europe. This was the second album to feature the new line-up of Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Bruce Kulick, and Eric Carr…

Eric Clapton's eponymous solo debut was recorded after he completed a tour with Delaney & Bonnie. Clapton used the core of the duo's backing band and co-wrote the majority of the songs with Delaney Bramlett – accordingly, Eric Clapton sounds more laid-back and straightforward than any of the guitarist's previous recordings. There are still elements of blues and rock & roll, but they're hidden beneath layers of gospel, R&B, country, and pop flourishes. And the pop element of the record is the strongest of the album's many elements – "Blues Power" isn't a blues song and only "Let It Rain," the album's closer, features extended solos. Throughout the album, Clapton turns out concise solos that de-emphasize his status as guitar god, even when they display astonishing musicality and technique.

Although Eric Martin is best-known as the lead singer of rock quartet Mr. Big, he was a seasoned music veteran before that outfit in 1988. Born on October 10, 1960, in Long Island, NY, Martin moved often during his childhood due to his father's career as an Army officer. When the family settled in San Francisco in 1976, Martin formed the band 415 with some high school friends…

Barney Kessel - To Swing Or Not To Swing (1955) {Contemporary OJCCD-317-2 rel 1987}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 224 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 97 Mb
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© 1955, 1987 Contemporary Records | OJCCD-317-2
Jazz / Bop / Cool / Guitar

Guitarist Barney Kessel's string of recordings for Contemporary in the 1950s included some of the finest work of his career. The unusual repertoire on this set – which includes "Louisiana," "Indiana," and "12th Street Rag," along with four Kessel originals and more usual standards – would by itself make this bop/cool set noteworthy. Add to that a very interesting lineup of players (trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison, Georgie Auld or Bill Perkins on tenor, pianist Jimmy Rowles, the rhythm guitar of Al Hendrickson, bassist Red Mitchell, and Shelly Manne or Irv Cottler on drums) and some excellent showcases for Kessel, and the overall result is a recording highly recommended to fans of straight-ahead jazz.

Terry Gibbs Dream Band - Volume Two: The Sundown Sessions (1959) {Contemporary CCD-7652-2 rel 1987}
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© 1959, 1987 Contemporary Records | CCD-7652-2
Jazz / West Coast Jazz / Big Band / Vibes

The legendary Terry Gibbs Dream Band, a notable unit that from 1959-62 made a few albums for Mercury and Verve, was well served by the five CDs of previously unreleased material released by Contemporary in the late 1980s. Vol. 2 has charts by Bill Holman, Al Cohn, Manny Albam, Lennie Niehaus and Med Flory on six swing-era songs and four later tunes, including Gibbs' "The Fat Man." Of the soloists featured during this live set, which also resulted in part of Vol. 3, vibraphonist Gibbs, trumpeter Conte Candoli, altoists Joe Maini and Charlie Kennedy, Bill Perkins on tenor and pianist Lou Levy are most notable. Recommended for fans of swinging big bands.

Cannonball Adderley - Takes Charge (1959) {Landmark LCD-1306-2 rel 1987}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 334 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 126 Mb
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© 1959, 1987 Landmark Records | LCD-1306-2
Jazz / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Saxophone

A hardbop classic from Cannonball Adderley – and one of his harder to find albums from the Riverside days! The set has Cannon playing without his usual group, in the context of an all-star batch of players that includes Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Jimmy Cobb – who he worked with in his time with Miles Davis – plus occasional guest rhythm work by Albert and Percy Heath. The set's strong and straight ahead – a good bridge between Cannon's early Mercury recordings, and his later albums for Riverside and Capitol – tightly crafted solos with a good deal of soul, Adderley holding down all the horn work on the record.