Hakuchyu no Shikaku Aka Dead Angle (1979)

5 is the fifth album by J. J. Cale. Released in 1979, it was his first album in three years. Most of the tracks were recorded and mixed at The Lakehouse, Old Hickory, Tennessee. When the album was re-issued on CD, "Katy Kool Lady" was replaced by a new song listed as "Out of Style," though it was still listed as the former on the CD. "Out of Style" is also included on the 2007 album Rewind: The Unreleased Recordings". There is still no U.S. domestic release of the song "Katy Kool Lady" on CD. 5 marks the first appearance of Christine Lakeland on a J.J. Cale album, a singer and musician who would play a significant role in Cale's music in the years ahead.

Unlike many bands whose careers had begun in the early 1970s, Camel still continued to enjoy much success at the close of the decade. I Can See Your House From Here was a revitalized work that included many fine songs such as Ice (featuring Phil Collins on Percussion), Hymn To Her and Your Love is Stranger Than Mine. Produced by Rupert Hine, the album was a chart success and spawned an extensive World tour. This Esoteric Recordings edition has been re-mastered from the original tapes and features two Bonus Tracks, including a live version of Ice recorded by the BBC in 1981. The accompanying CD booklet includes copious photographs and memorabilia and a new essay.

Happily, it is not the responsibility of this review to address in detail the train wreck that was the 1979 film adaptation of the stage musical Hair. A complete misfire conceived by a screenwriter, Michael Weller, and a director, Czech expatriate Milos Forman, who did not seem to have the slightest familiarity with hippies, the '60s, America, or even Broadway, the movie was miscast with supposedly bankable young film stars of the day (Treat Williams, John Savage, Beverly d'Angelo), and the essentially plotless libretto of the stage version was replaced by a contrived Hollywood script in a textbook example of how not to do an adaptation.

With this album, Oldfield began to make an attempt to break down his extended structures into a more commercially acceptable format, with the side-long title track being separated into four sections. Early versions of the album included "Sally," Oldfield's paean to his partner Sally Cooper, while later pressings include "Into Wonderland."

The Long Run is the sixth studio album by American rock group the Eagles. It was released in 1979 by Asylum Records in the United States and the United Kingdom. This was the first Eagles album to feature bassist Timothy B. Schmit, who had replaced founding member Randy Meisner, and the last full studio album to feature Don Felder before his termination from the band in 2001. This was the band's final studio album for Asylum Records. It also turned out to be their last studio album during their original tenure, as the Eagles disbanded in 1980; even though they reunited in 1994, they did not release another studio album until 2007's Long Road Out of Eden. The album was certified 7× Platinum and has sold more than eight million copies in the US.

Obscure material by Stanley Turrentine - recorded in 1967, but not issued until 1979, and then only briefly! This album is a very pleasant and stylish gathering of some top musicians, featuring among them Donald Byrd, Pepper Adams, McCoy Tyner, Joe Farrell and Ron Carter. The tunes are arranged by Duke Pearson and recorded superbly by Rudy Van Gelder.
The album's got Stan working strongly in the Joyride style of his previous Blue Note hit - with larger arrangements from Duke Pearson, in a groove that sets Turrentine's tenor up with plenty of soulful rhythms! Pearson brings a nice sense of lyricism to the session, even a hint of bossa at times - and the sharp-edged Turrentine tone is a welcome one throughout - setting sparks and illuminating corners of the music with a deeply personal feel.

Featuring his popular composition "Frevo," Egberto Gismonti's Solo disc finds the great Brazilian guitarist ranging wide on a handful of stunning originals. Having already established himself as a composer in his native country and in Europe, Gismonti began to gain even wider notice with a series of topnotch ECM releases starting in 1977. His resumé includes work with such Brazilian heavyweights as Nana Vasconcelos (his longtime musical partner), Airto Moreira, and Flora Purim, as well as collaborations with jazz greats like Cal Tjader, Herbie Hancock, and Jan Gabarek. Here, Gismonti is just fine as he takes flight without any companions, treating listeners to a provocative and often meditative solo program.