Espresso 5.8

A few brush strokes have come to define the otherwise obscure 18th-century composer later known as 'Il Divino Boemo', or the Divine Bohemian: Josef Myslivecek. He was a close friend of Mozart and a musical influence on him. He was one of the most celebrated opera composers in Italy in the 1770s.

Featuring a wide variaty of Dire Straits tours and a very good recording of the last concert of The Notting Hillbillies tour from 1990. All songs are taken from soundboard recordings, good to very good sound quality.

This is a two-CD collection capturing King Crimson during a pair of multi-night stands at The Longacre Theater in New York City (November 20-25, 1995) and The Metropolitan Theater in Mexico City (August 2-6, 1996). This double-trio lineup includes the talents of: Robert Fripp (guitar, soundscapes), Adrian Belew (guitar, vocals), Trey Gunn (touch guitar), Tony Levin (basses, stick), Bill Bruford (percussion of all sorts), and Pat Mastelotto (percussion of all sorts). Vrooom Vrooom includes much of the same frenetic energy and immaculate sonics that awaited attendees of these performances. Happily much of the repertoire focuses on materials from the 1995 studio release, Thrak, King Crimson's first in over a decade. Likewise, both the Mexico City and New York City sets are laden with the profound and otherwise solicitous vibes that present themselves whenever this band is running at full capacity on all six cylinders…

In the hands of Richard Galliano, the mechanical intricacies of the accordion become agents of a compelling musical power, grace, and expression. A virtuoso of the instrument, Galliano exploits the complete orchestral potential of the keys, buttons, and air beneath his fingers. On Laurita, his musicianship is put in the service of utterly swinging jazz that is informed by the romantic and impressionistic influences of Galliano's French-Italian heritage. Call it the soundtrack for the boulevardier who likes to chase his espresso with a shot of bop. The core group on this 1995 session is Galliano, drummer Joey Baron, and bassist Palle Danielsson — a formidable trio in which Baron's muscular, musical touch and Danielsson's rich tone and technique have unfettered space to interact with Galliano's multiphonics.

Lounge music is a type of easy listening music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It may be meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place, usually with a tranquil theme, such as a jungle, an island paradise or outer space. The range of lounge music encompasses beautiful music-influenced instrumentals, modern electronica (with chillout, and downtempo influences), while remaining thematically focused on its retro-space-age cultural elements.

L’amor conjugale tells the same story as Beethoven’s Fidelio, but in a charmingly different adaptation of the original French text by the Italian librettist Gaetano Rossi. In Giovanni Simone Mayr’s hand, the conjugal love is not just between the two principal characters Amorveno and Zeliska, but also between two theatrical and musical traditions, a love affair between two styles developed north and south of the alps. While the orchestration is clearly influenced by Mozart and Haydn, the vocal writing is often purely bel canto, and this blending of styles is one of the most attractive and unique attributes of the opera.