Gymnasium 5

The world of pop music was hardly ready for the Velvet Underground's first album when it appeared in the spring of 1967, but while The Velvet Underground and Nico sounded like an open challenge to conventional notions of what rock music could sound like (or what it could discuss), 1968's White Light/White Heat was a no-holds-barred frontal assault on cultural and aesthetic propriety…

West German rock band Grobschnitt will see a very limited 17CD super deluxe box set of all 14 of their albums released later this month that comes with almost seven hours of bonus material. The box set is titled 79:10 and covers the entire output of the band from 1972 to 1989. Everything has been newly remastered and in total there is over 22 hours of material for fans to enjoy. The reason for ’79:10′ is that each of the 17 CDs has 79 minutes and 10 secs of audio, so they are packed with content!…

Aerosmith Celebrates 50th Anniversary and Completely Moves to Universal Music! Aerosmith celebrates its 50th anniversary this year with a complete transfer of its entire catalog to Universal Music! For 50 years, the legendary Boston rock band, Aerosmith, has been a household name, delivering anthems and hits that everyone knows and loves, winning four Grammy Awards(R) and being certified Diamond for the highest-selling album of all time (note: 10 million copies sold in the U.S.). This 3 CD deluxe edition of the ultimate best-selling album of the Smiths' entire career includes 3 bonus live discs prepared by the band for Japanese fans, for a total of 6 discs.

Playing Falla in date order makes an odd-shaped recital: the tail is at the front. But it gives a graphic portrait of an explorer. The Spanish presence steadily insinuates itself until it grows fiercely concentrated, finally almost aphoristic. Baselga, an individual pianist in this very personal music, plays the Piezas españolas intensely, with plenty of staccato and a free pulse, scorning easy charm to find strength. In the stupendous Fantasía bética he lets the rhythms take hold gradually and locates the full gypsy-like restlessness of the ultra-ornamented melody at the centre. His ear for balance and virtuoso control of pace are compelling, but short of the ultimate physical exultation. Around these peaks he browses rewardingly, with more warmth and more pedal for the early pieces, relieving the often dry piano tone. It’s the mature and late works that awaken his interest most, and these include the quirkiest of them. Imagine the ‘Song of the Volga Boatmen’ in the style of Pictures at an Exhibition and you’re halfway there: an improbable political commission that Falla met at full power.