When Robert Fripp is away from King Crimson, truly magical things come from his guitar. In a solo context, Fripp presents Soundscapes, built on the tradition of Frippertronics, a mode of musical expression he pioneered with Brian Eno over the course of two albums in the 1970s, No Pussyfooting and Evening Star. Those early albums relied on actual physical loops of tape, adding new elements with each repetition. Such limitations no longer exist. Working here in the realm of one guitar, and many, many effects processors, Fripp produces tones and textures that one would not assume are coming from a guitar at all.
On Eva’s latest recording, An Afternoon with Ella, she is backed by legendary players including drummer Chester Thompson (Weather Report, Phil Collins), bassist David Hungate (Toto) and Catherine Marx (Reba) on piano. These stellar musicians bring eloquent life and beauty to Eva’s second full-length studio album…
Afternoon in the Garden is the first official release of Elvis Presley's afternoon concert at Madison Square Garden in June 1972. While highlights of the evening concerts were released weeks after the concert in 1972, the afternoon shows sat in the vaults until the 25th anniversary of the performance rolled around. Although the album is very similar to the previously released As Recorded at Madison Square Garden, it is nevertheless quite entertaining, capturing Elvis at the height of his extravagant, Vegas-style hits revue. It may not offer any new insights, and it may not be necessary for anyone but hardcore fans, but the record is undeniably fun.
Rejecting the abrasive guitars of their punk-era contemporaries in favor of lushly romantic synthesizers, Ultravox emerged as one of the primary influences on the British electro-pop movement of the early '80s.
On her second full-length record, Head of Roses, Jenn Wasner follows a winding thread of intuition into the unknown and into healing, led by gut feelings and the near-spiritual experience of visceral songwriting.