European-American collaborations were not uncommon during the disco and post-disco eras. Donna Summer's work with Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte was most prominent and groundbreaking, while Change was among the most noteworthy – yet somewhat overlooked – international acts to spring up during the early ‘80s. Driven by Guadeloupian producer Jacques Fred Petrus and Italian partner Mario Malavasi, Change is most commonly associated with “The Glow of Love,” a 1980 single featuring Luther Vandross over a wistful Chic-like production. Through a series of minor transformations – a shifting array of vocalists and behind-the-scenes associates – the group released 11 other charting singles from 1980 through 1985, as well as six charting albums, two of which peaked in the Top Ten of Billboard’s R&B Albums chart.
After leaving Brian Auger's band and becoming the musical and life partner of pianist/composer Keith Tippett, Julie Tippetts issued Sunset Glow, her first solo recording, in 1974 on the Polydor label. After her soul, pop, and R&B beginnings, Tippetts redeveloped her voice, taking it and her music in a different direction. She began to extend its reach in improvisation, breath control, and uncommon phrasing. She is one of the most compelling and original singers in recorded music's history. Sunset Glow is a curious recording, one that walks the razor's edge of composition and improvisation.
Although it's a dual-leader album, in which oud player Dhafer Youssef's performance is at least as important as that of guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel, one of Glow's chief causes for celebration is Muthspiel's on-form presence. After releasing the shimmeringly beautiful Bright Side (Material Records, 2006)—a little-known masterpiece which may yet take its place alongside such jazz guitar iconographs as Johnny Smith's Moonlight In Vermont (Roulette, 1953, reissued 2004) and Wes Montgomery's Incredible Jazz Guitar (Riverside, 1960)—Muthspiel's project with drummer Brian Blade, Friendly Travelers (Material Records, 2007), was a disappointment, interesting in conception but not entirely convincing in execution.
Dark Green Glow tells a conceptional horror story, which is set in a mysterious green glowing forest. This theme is musically underlined with crushing jungle beats, many percussive elements and a lush forest-ambience throughout. Memorable hooks and melodies, as well as a defined Prog-Metal-sound take center stage in our music.
Bonnie Raitt enjoyed critical success and blues/folk credentials with her self-titled debut, Give It Up, and Takin' My Time. By 1975, Raitt's style began to be defined by producer Paul Rothchild. Home Plate and Sweet Forgiveness were uncomfortable overtures to commercial propositions where Raitt's persona and sense of fun got lost. Produced by Peter Asher, The Glow was released in 1979 and includes great players like Danny Kortchmar, Bill Payne, and Waddy Wachtel. During this time, sales might have been a consideration as well as Raitt's tough image. If anything, Asher accentuated Raitt's rough edges and provided his customary production polish. Like many Asher productions of the period, The Glow gets its strength from its covers. Raitt takes on "I Thank You," "Your Good Thing (Is About to End)," and "Bye Bye Baby," and struts through them all with ease. "The Boy Can't Help It" doesn't fare as well. Robert Palmer's "You're Gonna Get What's Coming" makes for a great fit. Surprisingly, her take on Jackson Browne's "Sleep's Dark and Silent Gate" doesn't dig as deep as the great original.
Sublime sonics from Detroit dub techno lord Rod Modell and Taka Noda aka Mystica tribe operating in a somewhat melancholy ambient mode. This is the forlorn sound of wandering rainy city streets at night, lights reflecting in puddles and shiny surfaces. There's an ever-present radiant luminescence punctured by environmental sounds, field recordings and ghostly brittle rhythms that emerge and retreat. If you dig Modell's Shorelights and Waveform Transmissions projects, then make some time for "Glow World". Pure bliss.
Steve Kilbey and The Church are most known for their classic 1987 hit Under The Milky Way which appeared in the movie Donnie Darko and has been covered by everyone from SIA, The Killers to Rick Springfield! "Glow and Fade" is the fifth album from Steve Kilbey (The Church and writer of the iconic song Under The Milky Way) & Martin Kennedy (of Aria nominated soundscapers All India Radio).
The first sound you hear on Kilbey Kennedy's fifth proper studio album, 2017's empyrean Glow and Fade, is a hollow, amorphous sigh, a space wind filtered through what sounds like a digital phone with a woman's voice buried deep beneath…