Illuminations

A French band with a very distinctive sound centered around Roland Bocquet's ghostly Farfisa organ. Their first album (recorded March 1971 at Studio ETA) was a mixture of easily accessible tunes, strange wordless chanting, high hippie spirits, Arabian elements, strong percussion and a few avant-garde excursions. Their music had a very spontaneous feeling, as if the group was assembled for some kind of occult ritual using music to reach a higher consciousness. Arguably they had some common ground with the early Pink Floyd and Amon Düül philosophically, but it lead to other conclusions musically. Masq is also notable for its surrealistic cover design…

Glass is a Progressive Rock trio from the Pacific Northwest who have blazed the path for alternative instrumental music in that area and beyond, since their inception in 1970. As one of the first Progressive bands in Washington State, Glass made a name for themselves across college campuses and coffee houses, weaving their unique blend of English progressive influences (i.e. ELP, Yes, Soft Machine) into impressive concerts. In the mid 70's members of the band made their way to England, the birthplace of their musical roots. Demo tapes in hand, they garnered attention from several British management agencies and a few record label A&R people. But their goal of being signed to a European record label was not forthcoming and they returned home in the summer of '75…

Anne-Catherine Gillet - Barber - Berlioz - Britten (2011) {Aeon AECD 1113}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 328 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 161 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 147 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2011 Aeon | AECD 1113
Classical / Vocal

Belgian soprano Anne-Catherine Gillet has had a significant career in European opera houses, but she has been little-known in the United States. Her 2011 solo album debut, an outstanding recording of three song cycles, ought to change that, though, and bring her to the attention of a broader public. She sings with a tone that is sweet, full, focused, and brightly colorful. Her intonation and technique are irreproachable. Her voice is absolutely solid, from the depths that Berlioz requires to a lyrically soaring top.

RCO - Anthology of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Vol 3, 1960-1970 (2005) {14CD Box Set RCO 05001, Limited Edition}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 4.67 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 2.40 Gb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 230 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1960-70, 2005 Radio Netherlands Music / RCO LIve | RCO 05001
Classical / Orchestral

Despite rumors some months ago that the RCOA series might be discontinued (fortunately unfounded), here we have Volume III, a 14-CD set that contains much of interest, but surely—for this collector—doesn't live up to its potential. For me, ideally that would concist of some of the outstanding performances of great symphonic music played by this magnificent orchestra, recorded in the extraordinary acoustics of the Concertgebouw with the usual Radio Nederland sonic expertise. During the decade represented in this set (1960-1970) the Concertgebouw Orchestra's programming often emphasized contemporary music and that surely is reflected in this album. We have well over five hours of music by Martin, Varèse, Berg, Webern, Henze, Lutoslawski, Nono and Dallapiccola as well as Dutch composers Ketting, Escher, and Vermeulen, and Polish composer Grazyna Bacewicz's Music for Strings, Trumpets and Percussion, an 18-minute three-movement work of imagination and vivid scoring.