Heaven's Gate (1980) [extended Edition]

1993 release captures the heavy metal masters live in action. The Heaven's Gate line-up features guitar virtuoso / producer extraordinaire Sascha Paeth. Heaven's Gate were a German power metal band formed in 1987 from the ashes of an earlier group named Steeltower, where vocalist Thomas Rettke and drummer Thorsten Mueller achieved little recognition despite putting in almost five years of work and releasing an album in 1984. They would be far more fortunate with Heaven's Gate (also featuring guitarists Bonny Bilski, Sascha Paeth, and bassist Manni Jordan), which capitalized on the late-'80s and early-'90s power metal craze with solid efforts like In Control (1989), Open the Gate and Watch (EP, 1990), Livin' in Hysteria (1991), More Hysteria (EP, 1992), and Hell for Sale (1992).

Drugs and addictions defined most of Leo Parker's adult life, finally claiming it entirely in February of 1962 when he was only 36 years old. Only months earlier in 1961, in two sessions held on October 12 and October 20, Parker had played his heart out in what would have been his second album for Blue Note Records that year, and it had appeared that the baritone saxophonist was well on his way to a much deserved career comeback. The sessions, however, weren't released until almost 20 years later. Rollin' with Leo, presented here in remastered form, is a wonderful portrait of this unsung but brilliant player, whose huge, sad, but almost impossibly strong tone always felt like it carried the world on its shoulders…

After brief sojourns at Argo and Cadet, Lou Donaldson marked his 1967 return by recording Lush Life, the grandest project he ever attempted. With its plush arrangements and unabashedly pretty melodies, Lush Life stands in stark contrast to everything else he cut in the '60s. There are no blues, no stabs at soul-jazz grooves, no hard bop - only sweet, sensitive renditions of romantic standards. Donaldson shone on ballads before, but it's nevertheless surprising how successful he is on this set of slow love songs. His tone is full and elegant - it's easy to get lost in his rich readings of these familiar melodies, as well as his slyly seductive improvisations. Of course, it helps that his instrumental backdrops are as lovely as those his nine-piece backing band provide…

Calling a band Maboul (French slang for crazy, nutty) creates certain expectations. And this album does hold up to them. The result might be called Ethnic-Noise-Chamber-Rock. This album alternates between the bizarre (A Modern Lesson) and the obscure (I Viaggi Formano La Gioventu) with the many oriental/arab sounds in some of the tracks and the classical instrumentation in others. The oriental sounds here add a great flavour to the music alongside the punk in several songs and the chamber-rock in others. Inoculating Rabies is a sort of post-punk track with its noisy guitars on the one hand which sound as if they were a bit far away from the microphones and the wind instruments (bassoon and oboe) which are more in the front of the music…

This early 1980s set of funk-tinged instrumentals features Stanley Turrentine performing a set of easy-listening jazz with orchestral accompaniment. Though perhaps not the best example of the saxophonist's work, it does contain several nice set pieces, notably the big band arrangement of "Ghana," and the atmospheric after-hours ballad "Don't Misunderstand."

The sister of the Tubular Bells composer Mike Oldfield, Sally Oldfield had contributed to many of her brother's recordings before releasing her solo debut in 1978. Celebration (1980) is her 3rd studio album.
An euphoric collection of songs from Sally Oldfield, the soprano voiced, new-age trailblazer, and she even plays many of the instruments herself. Masterfully produced by Tom Newman, who also worked on Sally's cult-classic Waterbearer record, here is an exquisitely detailed tapestry of sounds. To start, a spell is cast with the steadily rising incantations of Mandala. This rhythmic style returns with Blue Water, which soon takes flight for a progressive folk epic - eight minutes of swirling bliss, a tribal pulse made for dancing ( love those conga drums ) and virtuoso vocals. Meanwhile, Woman of the Night is slow-tempo, aural seduction. A timeless album from Sally Oldfield.

Released right before the group called it quits, Abbiamo Tutti I Suoi Problemi is a must-have for fans of complex avant-prog rock and Rock in Opposition, and it can also seduce open-minded fans of Italian progressive rock. The young musicians of Picchio dal Pozzo here manage to carve out a unique sound, resolutely attuned to the most progressive elements in Italian and British progressive rock, yet entirely personal and never matched afterward. Abbiamo Tutti I Suoi Problemi shares strong similarities with Unrest-era Henry Cow in the complex metrics, use of wind instruments, and overall chamber ensemble feel of pieces like "I Problemi di Ferdinando P." and "Mettiamo il Caso Che." Other reference points include Gentle Giant for the contrapuntal writing, Grand Wazoo-era Frank Zappa for the melody and guitar work in "Moderno Ballibile," Premiata Forneria Marconi for Aldo De Scalzi's vocals…

Afters is a 1980 compilation album released by Canterbury scene band Hatfield and the North. Of the sixteen tracks, eleven are taken from the band's two studio albums Hatfield and the North and The Rotters' Club, three are live recordings, and the two remaining songs are those from their 1974 single "Let's Eat (Real Soon) / Fitter Stoke Has a Bath".
Emerging from the Canterbury, England musical community that also launched Gong and Kevin Ayers' the Whole World, the whimsical progressive rock unit Hatfield and the North formed in 1972. Named in honor of a motorway sign outside of London, the group's founding membership brought together a who's who of the Canterbury art rock scene - vocalist/bassist Richard Sinclair was a former member of Caravan, guitarist Phil Miller had tenured with Robert Wyatt in Matching Mole, and drummer Pip Pyle had served with both Gong and Delivery…

Despite being renowned in certain parts of the world (especially in Italy and their hometown of Paris), the space-age outfit Rockets remains largely obscure - even though they arrived on the scene at almost he same exact time as Kraftwerk and prefaced Devo by several years. The multi-membered outfit originally formed in 1972, under the name Crystal, performing on-stage in their regular street clothes. But by 1974, Crystal had evolved into Rocket Men, issuing a debut self-titled single, while its members began to assume the identities of aliens; complete with silver makeup covering their skin, grey contact lenses, space suits, and bald heads. It was also around this time that the group hooked up with producer Claude Lemoine, who would remain behind the studio boards until the early '80s…