Gentle Giant In'terview (emi Music Japan Shm CD Tocp 95086) 76

Generally considered to be the last must-have recording from these progressive rock giants. Recorded at a frenetic pace, the band had the impossible task of topping their classic, Free Hand. While they didn't surpass the success of previous efforts, they did continue to propel their unique brand of complex music into surprising new directions. Interview is actually a concept album centering on a fictitious interview based upon the music business…

With the new romantic movement they'd helped spearhead on the way out, futurist icons Spandau Ballet began thinking seriously about the future on their second album. The seeds of the group's transition to a slick, MOR soul outfit can be heard in hits like "Chant No. 1," the best song Spandau Ballet had come up with…

By 1983, with the new romantic movement they'd sprung from a rapidly fading memory, the members of Spandau Ballet showed they had no intention of traveling the same path. Always ambitious, the British quintet really got down to business: Gone were the kilts, frilly shirts, and makeup – as well as the sometimes chilly electronics of their first two albums…

Changing their band name as often as they changed the genre of music they played, Spandau Ballet began as a punk rock band calling themselves The Cut. Shortly after they changed their name to The Makers, and again In 1978 they changed their sound to a more power pop renaming themselves Gentry. Changing their sound once again to a more polished, synth heavy pop with an emphasis on the romantic the band changed their name for a last time to Spandau Ballet after (as the story goes) seeing the name "Spandau Ballet" written on a lavatory wall in a bar in Berlin…

Parade was Spandau Ballet's follow-up to their most successful LP, 1983's True. "Only When You Leave" reached number three on the U.K. charts. The three other singles that were released do successively worse: "I'll Fly for You" (number nine), "Highly Strung" (number 15), and "Round and Round" (number 19)…

The Johnny Smith Trio - Johnny Smith Favorites (1959) {2016 Japan SHM-CD Jazz Masters Collection 1200 Series WPCR-29141}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 185 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 78 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 51 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24bit remaster
© 1959, 2016 Roost / Parlophone / Warner Music Japan | WPCR-29141
Jazz / Cool / Guitar

SHM-CD reissue. Comes with a mini-description. Features new remastering if it comes from Parlophone. Guitarist Johnny Smith in a sweet, laidback trio setting – just the kind of mode that's perfect for his gentle sense of color and tone – a style he virtually invented for jazz guitar in the 50s! The album's one of his classics for the Roost label, and it's a masterpiece in chromatic hues – subtle, simple, but completely fantastic – at a level that makes Johnny Smith one of the true legends in jazz guitar from the 50s. Accompaniment is by George Roumanis on bass and Mousie Alexander on drums – but both players are extremely gentle, and leave most of the sound to Johnny – as it should be. Titles include "Little Girl Blue", "My Funny Valentine", "Polka Dots & Moonbeams", "Everything Happens To Me", "Pavanne", and "Blues Back Stage".

Elvin Jones - Puttin' It Together (1968) {2014 Japan SHM-CD Blue Note 24-192 Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 263 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 99 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 295 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit 192 kHz remaster
© 1968, 2014 Universal Japan / Blue Note | BN 75th The Masterworks | UCCQ-5051
Jazz / Post Bop / Modal Music / Avant-Garde Jazz / Drums

Features the high-fidelity SHM-CD format (compatible with standard CD player) and the latest 24bit 192kHz remastering. Proof that Elvin Jones wasn't just riding on the laurels of the Great One during his years with John Coltrane – as the album's a breakout date that has Jones firmly establishing his own voice in jazz! There's an explosive power here that makes us think that Elvin must have really just been biding his time with Coltrane – waiting for the chance to try out his own new ideas in music, and finding the perfect accompanists here in a trio that includes Jimmy Garrison on bass and a young Joe Farrell on tenor, soprano sax, and flute! The lack of a piano in the group really makes for a sense of new freedom that's totally great – not dreamy, melodic piano-less work, as in some of the LA groups of earlier years – but a searing, soaring intensity that Farrell was a perfect choice to head up.