The Candlebox of 2016 isn't the Candlebox of 1996, lacking many of its members – only mainstay lead vocalist Kevin Martin and drummer Dave Krusen remain – and also most of the grunge signifiers that turned the band into a chart-topper in the glory days of '90s alt-rock. Two decades on, Pearl Jam isn't a touchstone: Matchbox Twenty is, as is Third Eye Blind, two titans of the smoother post-grunge movement that ushered bands like Candlebox out of the charts. Perhaps the Seattle-based quintet, which is now essentially a vehicle for Martin's music, is slightly behind the curve by concentrating on this sound, yet the broader lines, slower tempos, and emphatic pleading suit a band now in middle age: it's adult alternative rock the way they used to do it back in the day.
This set brings together two albums of modern music for solo cello played by Emmanuelle Bertrand. The first disc, Bertrand's début release on harmonia mundi, features works by Dutilleux, Crumb, Henze, Ligeti and Bacri. The second, released under the title Le violoncelle parle (the Cello Speaks), includes Suites for Solo Cello by Britten and Cassado and Kodaly's Sonata for Solo Cello. In Bertrand's hands, the cello truly 'speaks' and takes us beyond geographical boundaries and straight to the heart of the language of cultural inspiration.
Greatest hits albums are a big thing for Air Supply. Their first, 1983's Greatest Hits, is their biggest seller in the United States, earning five platinum certifications within its first decade of release, after which it was continually replaced by collections both considered and sloppy. All of which is to say, Real Gone Music's 2016 The Columbia & Arista Years: The Definitive Collection has some stiff competitors for the title of definitive Air Supply compilation, but this physical rendition of the 2014 digital release The Essential Air Supply does offer an overview of the soft rock duo's prime that's thorough in a way its predecessors aren't. Much of this is due to sheer length: at 30 tracks and two CDs, it's nearly a third longer than the previous standard bearer, 2003's Ultimate Air Supply (and it doesn't replicate all of that disc's songs, either, cutting away four tracks most fans won't miss).
Playing sideman to Rick Braun, Larry Carlton, Gato Barbieri, the Neville Brothers, and many others introduced guitarist/vocalist Steve Oliver to smooth jazz fans, but it was with Steve Reid's band that Oliver found a following. It was 1996 when Reid contacted Oliver at the last minute to fill in for a canceled opening act. Oliver hit the stage as a solo act and Reid was impressed with the guitarist's vocalese skills and summery sound. Oliver had come to vocalese not through King Pleasure or Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, but through Bobby McFerrin and Pat Metheny's work with Richard Bona and David Blamires, who sang along with guitar solos. Being a fan of the earthy Metheny sound, Reid hired Oliver after the gig and featured him in his touring band. Reid's Mysteries and Passion in Paradise albums featured Oliver not only as guitarist but songwriter as well. Oliver struck out on his own in 1999 with his debut, First View, released by Night Vision. The album spawned three hit singles on smooth jazz radio and earned the guitarist a Debut Artist of the Year award from Smooth Jazz News.
LSD: Love, Sensuality and Devotion gathers over a decade's worth of Enigma's definitive tracks, including the song that started it all, "Sadeness, Pt. 1." "Return to Innocence," "Beyond the Invisible," and "Cross of Changes" are all featured as well, and though the collection ranges from the rock-tinged "I'll Love You…I'll Kill You" to atmospheric, electronic fare like "Shadows in Silence," since it's all essentially Michael Crétu's vision, it flows surprisingly well. Since Enigma's sound has varied fairly drastically over the years, LSD: Love, Sensuality and Devotion is the perfect starting point for anyone curious about Crétu's music, and the only Enigma album that casual fans might need.
Since 2009, Carus has been issuing a CD series with Handel’s oratorios as well as select vocal works, operas and instrumental compositions. Now a box containing 13 CDs and comprising several large-scale oratorios has been compiled: it includes, in addition to Messiah, Alexander’s Feast, Israel in Egypt,Brockes-Passion, Solomon as well as the relatively unknown gem L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato.
This powerful six disc anthology brings together the very best of the legendary live radio and TV broadcasts by Fleetwood Mac during the halcyon years from 1975 to1988, during which the classic line-up of the band released five amazing studio albums.