Hello V1.5

The Long Hello was an instrumental progressive album recorded in August 1973 by David Jackson, Hugh Banton, Guy Evans & Friends (including another ex-Van Der Graaf Generator - bassist Nic Potter and guitarist Ced Curtis - both at the time of the session were members of Rare Bird) soon after VDGG was disbanded. The music on that album was truly beautiful, well-arranged, quite relaxing and very melodic (with plenty of flute, sax and classical guitar) but also dark, twisted and most of the time very similar to the early VDGG style. This unjustly underrated record was originally signed by the band members, titled 'The Long Hello’ and released in 1974 on Italian United Artists label. 2 years later it was reissued in the UK (with different cover and with reversed sides) by the band ‘The Long Hello’ themselves as a limited edition of 5000 copies. This CD has been carefully remastered from original, analogue source.

After the massive success of his 1981 album Face Value, Phil Collins didn't take a much of a break. Genesis released Abacab six months later, then headed out on a long tour. When they got back, Collins jumped right into recording his second solo album, 1982's Hello, I Must Be Going! The album wasn't a huge departure from the formula established on Face Value, built as it was on introspective, gut-spilling ballads, horn-driven R&B jams, arty rockers, and dramatic breakup songs…

Mose Allison - The Mose Chronicles: Live In London, Vol. 1 (2001) {Blue Note 7243 5 29747 2 6}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 405 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 160 Mb | Artwork | 5% repair rar
© 2001 Blue Note | 7243 5 29747 2 6
Jazz / Hard Bop / Jazz Blues / Vocal Jazz / Piano

On this first volume of The Mose Chronicles, singer-songwriter and pianist Mose Allison brings his idiosyncratic brand of southern comfort to London for this well-cheered live session. Flanked by a crowd that wholeheartedly embraces both his sardonic drollery and the supple rhythm section of bassist Roy Babbington and drummer Mark Taylor, Allison is in top form in this enthralling program that's characteristically wry and full of sharp wisdom. Mose is always divinely swinging, too, leveraging the hundreds of gigs he's played with this trio. Plain-folk advice marks the jumping "No Trouble Livin'," just as poetic social commentary rivets the sly "Everybody's Cryin' Mercy" and the joyfully apocalyptic "Ever Since the World Ended." Straight-ahead balladry comes to the fore on "Meet Me at No Special Place," an early favorite of Nat King Cole's trio. Allison's punchy piano style is as effervescent throughout the Chronicles as his singing is backwoods, and it makes for great listening.

Ritter's literate, highly romantic brand of folk has gained him attention on both sides of the Atlantic. Hello Starling, his third album, sees him pushing the boat out further and trying to move beyond the evident influence of Bob Dylan. It doesn't always work: the up-tempo "Kathleen" and "Man Burning", with their swirling organs, clearly carry the mark of Zimmerman, as does the soft and heartfelt "You Don't Make It Easy Babe", a troubled ode to a troubling girl. But this doesn't necessarily matter. Ritter's vocal performances may lack the intensity and weight of Dylan or Leonard Cohen (an equally heavy influence, most evidently on the track "Wings"), but he has a charm and lightness of touch that will endear him to many. Beyond this, it's a real joy to hear a musician attempting ambitious narratives ("Wings", "Bone of Song") where many singer-songwriters cower cravenly behind impressionistic cut-up techniques or, worse still, spatter us with self-obsessed drivel. Perhaps a few albums on, Ritter will truly find his own voice and be considered a real find.

In 2016, Cheap Trick were finally elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which is often a double-edged sword for a working band. While the induction represents a powerful acknowledgment of their legacy, it's also an honor most often bestowed on bands that are well past their golden era…

Chaka Khan is set to return with her first album in 12 years. The full-length is dubbed, Hello Happiness, and is due for arrival on February 12th.
Hello Happiness serves as the long-awaited follow-up to 2007’s Funk This. It’s being released through Diary Records, the new label co-founded by Major Lazer member and Grammy-nominated producer Switch.
The forthcoming LP spans a total of seven “empowering” songs, including the previously released “Like Sugar”. It also features today’s unveiled title track, on which Khan celebrates “the life-affirming power of music” by successfully returning to the warm groove and strut of her disco roots.