George Murasaki & Mariner – 2 (the Ancient Mariner) 1980

In 1980 TK guitarist Christer Åkerberg formed a blues rock band with progressive rock influences together with singer Georg Trolin, drummer Per Ingels and bassist Tomas Holmqvist. Now their recordings from 1980 have finally been released on CD! Recorded in the legendary rehearsal room of Trettioåriga Kriget, Grunden in Saltsjöbaden Sweden in June 1980. Almost 39 years later these recording are now released!

Narrated by Robert Powell this work was released by Virgin Records in 1975. Great album sleeve with a noteworthy credit being Mike Oldfield assisting on guitars. The album itself comprises of two parts, Rime Of The Ancient Mariner 1 & 2. Oldfield's association with David Bedford went back to The Kevin Ayers and the Whole World band. While Oldfield was flexing his creative muscle and getting frustrated within the confines of that band he confided more and more with David Bedford and struck up a strong rapport with the keyboard player that lasted long after 1975.

Recorded across two shows with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in October 2018.
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are one of the earliest, most commercially successful, and enduring synth pop groups. Inspired most by the advancements of Kraftwerk and striving at one point "to be ABBA and Stockhausen," they've continually drawn from early electronic music as they've alternately disregarded, mutated, or embraced the conventions of the three-minute pop song. Outside their native England, OMD are known primarily for "Maid of Orleans" and the Pretty in Pink soundtrack smash "If You Leave," yet they scored 18 additional charting U.K. singles in the '80s alone. These hits supported inventive albums such as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (1980), Architecture & Morality (1981), and commercial suicide-turned-cult classic Dazzle Ships (1983)…

Just ten or fifteen years ago, the idea that two pieces might be enough to fill an album of Howard Skemptons music would have seemed astonishing, but here are two works, each over 30 minutes long. Skempton takes on Coleridge's epic poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, and presents it sparsely for solo baritone (Roderick Williams) and small chamber ensemble (BCMG).

One of the most prolific musicians working in Italian prog today, Fabio Zuffanti - bassist and composer has been responsible for numerous bands and projects including Finisterre, La Maschera Di Cera, Aries and Höstsonaten who's 2012 release is this first part of The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner. Aided by a good number of other musicians including most of La Maschera Di Cera it's all beautifully performed as you'd expect from a Zuffanti project with violin, flute, sax and even bagpipes alongside the more traditional instruments. Vintage keyboards in abundance alongside some fiery guitar work and the seemingly ever present Maurizio Di Tollo turning in some solid drumming.

Iron Maiden's World Slavery Tour was one of the longest and most extensive tours ever undertaken by a rock band. Lasting from August 9, 1984, to July 5, 1985, and visiting such countries as Poland, Austria, Hungry, Yugoslavia, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Scotland, England, Germany, Sweden, Canada, Japan, and the U.S., the show included a mammoth setup that replicated the intricate ancient Egyptian scenery of the Powerslave album cover…