Illuminations

Bona Fide is a studio album from the legendary British rock band Wishbone Ash. It is the first studio album in six years (since 1996's Illuminations) and is the only studio album to feature guitarist Ben Granfelt. The band began on a two-year, worldwide tour in support of the album beginning in 2002. In the main, the album remains firmly within the parameters established by the band over many years, guitar driven vocal rock being the order of the day. The brief dabbling with prog nuances of the early albums are pretty much absent here, the emphasis being on gathering together a collection of highly accessible numbers.

This Collector's Edition presents a challenge to reviewers. There's so much of it. I could never do it any sort of justice if I approached this as if reviewing a smaller set. This, after all, comprises 37 CDs. As it is all I have been able to do is to sample, reminisce about known recordings and write around the subject. With this caveat stated, let's make a start.
There are three principal strands of Britten recordings. These are broadly tied into and defined by record companies, artists and eras. First we have Britten recording Britten for Decca.

Ensemble Laude Novella - Ce moys de may (1998) {Helikon HCD1031}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 331 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 160 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 117 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1998 Helikon Records | HCD 1031
Classical / Medieval / 14th and early 15th centuries

As Notherners, we may be surprised to hear of Mediterraneans praising the month of May as eagerly as we do ourselves. Gathering around our bonfires on the last day of April, singing Northern May songs in shivering cold as a final farewell to Winter, we rather expect May to be full summer in Rome, Avignon or Barcelona. However, already in the Middle Ages, from Occitan troubadours of the 12th century onwards, we find the month of May celebrated as the true Spring month - not least in the present selection of songs and instrumental music from the late 14th and early 15th centuries. (Guillaume Legrant seems to be alone here in mentioning April as the suitable time for gathering flowers, but even then, the purpose seems to be preparations for coming May festivities…).

Insubmersible Daniel Darc. Trente ans après Taxi Girl en indépassable mythe fondateur, revenu de tous les excès, de tentations Jean Genet en illuminations religieuses, le chanteur christique tatoué à l’extrême avait expérimenté une gloire tardive au cours d’un épisode flamboyant synthétisé par une paire d’albums chez Universal, au mitan des années 2000, accouchés par Frédéric Lo en partenaire vertébral.

”Songs III: Bird on the Water” is Marissa Nadler's third full-length album, released in March 2007 on Peacefrog Records. It was distributed in the US and Canada in August 2007 by New York City-based Kemado Records. The album was nominated for Best Americana Record of the Year by the PLUG awards, as well as Best Female Artist, in 2007.