On Tejas, ZZ Top countrified the bluesy posture of their previous albums, resulting in a slight detour between the madcap spirit of Fandango and the psychedelic strut of Deguello. While the album lacks any singles as strong as "Tush" or "La Grange," "Arrested for Driving While Blind" is one of ZZ's classic anthems, capturing the group's wacky humor and jaunty good-time boogie…
Marc-Andre Hamelin's first solo Alkan recording (CDA66794) met with the most superlative critical reception imaginable (culminating in Fanfare magazine's "one of the best releases of anything to have been made, a classic of the recorded era"). This follow-up proves to be no less spectacular. The disc is framed by two of the 'monster' works for which Alkan is notorious. The four movements of the Symphony for solo piano are taken from his magnum opus, the 12 Studies in the minor keys Op 39. This piece has become one of Alkan's best known but never has its finale (once described as a 'ride in hell') been so spectacularly thrown off.
The second studio release with "Ripper" Owens, Demolition is an intriguing album. Listening to this one sometimes makes you wish that they had decided to go with a moniker other than Judas Priest. The reason is that, although this album is very strong, it really does not fit in with the historical sound of the band. It seems like a completely new group might have released it. Such a distinction almost seems to deserve a different band name. There are moments that do feel like older Priest, but the overall texture is harder and more modern. At times Owens comes across like Rob Halford (listen to the first verse of "Blood Suckers"), but he is really working to carve out his own identity. If you are a fan of classic Priest, maybe you should hear this one first, but if you are into more modern dark metal, by all means, pick it up.
Tokyo Tapes is the first live album by German hard rock band Scorpions and their final album released by RCA Records…
If you're going to pillage someone else's ideas, then go for broke. Because even if you find yourself crammed between the barriers of creative space, utterly at a loss for ideas, expression, or thought, you'd still have a self-respect buzzing in your ear like a mad angelic insect, putting down the newspaper and taking out a cigar to remind you that, hell, if want to sound like Radiohead when even Thom Yorke doesn't want to sound like Radiohead, you might as well take it to preposterous, bombastic, over-the-top levels…
The Very Best of Chris Rea is the third compilation album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 2001. The last track "Saudade" was originally written and recorded in 1994 as a tribute to the formula 1 racing driver Ayrton Senna who died in a crash at Imola on 1 May that year. The word Saudade in Portuguese language roughly means the feeling, emotions and euphoria of a certain moment in time. It reached #69 position in UK album charts, and was certified Gold in 2004.
Blind Faith's lone album is often considered vivid proof as to why superstar collaborations simply don't work, but that is a little unfair – in contrast to, say, Chess Records' various Super Blues releases, which stuck top musicians such as Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf together in awkward combos that they didn't really want to be part of, the guys in Blind Faith really were trying to work together on a long-term basis, and had an affinity for each other's work; the group just never had the time to evolve properly. And in retrospect, the album does have something to offer, including two songs that are touchstones of classic late-'60s rock: "Can't Find My Way Home" and "Presence of the Lord," not to mention the bracing "Sea of Joy."
Motörhead's overwhelmingly loud and fast style of heavy metal was one of the most groundbreaking styles the genre had to offer in the late '70s. Though the group's leader, Lemmy Kilmister, had his roots in the hard-rocking space rock band Hawkwind, Motörhead didn't bother with his old group's progressive tendencies, choosing to amplify the heavy biker rock elements of Hawkwind with the speed of punk rock. Motörhead wasn't punk rock – they formed before the Sex Pistols and they loved the hell-for-leather imagery of bikers too much to conform with the safety-pinned, ripped T-shirts of punk – but they were the first metal band to harness that energy and, in the process, they created speed metal and thrash metal. Unlike many of their contemporaries, Motörhead continued performing into the next century. Although they changed their lineup many, many times – Lemmy was their only consistent member – they never changed their raging sound.
After several years in England's pub rock scene, ex-Duck Deluxe members Nick Garvey and Andy McMaster formed the Motors in 1977 with vocalist Bram Tchaikovsky and drummer Ricky Slaughter. Their first album was a splendid piece of guitar-driven pop/rock highlighted by the single "Dancing the Night Away." Approved By was the album that earned them the U.K. hits "Airport" and "Forget About You"; the record saw the band's songwriting improving with forceful melodies and invigorating performances. After that record, the Motors split up; Garvey and McMaster used the band's name for the 1980 album Tenement Steps, which didn't equal the spark of their first two records.