Mckinsey Quarterly – Issue 4 2011

As with the other volumes in Blank & Jones' 12"-oriented So80s series, the selections here are mostly from the first half of the '80s, and they balance major pop hits with relatively deeper cuts as a way to catch the interest of a wide listening base. This fourth volume includes extended mixes of Gang of Four's "Is It Love," the Cure's "Close to Me," and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's "Telegraph," as well as alternate mixes of ABC's "King Without a Crown," Propaganda's "Dr. Mabuse," and Act's "Snobbery and Decay." The CD edition contains a DJ mix from the German duo, while tracks are provided unmixed on discs two and three.

2011 from the R&B superstar. Inspired by a diverse range of influences, from Fela Kuti to Debarge to Adele, this fourth full length solo release is her most diverse yet. The 60+ songs recorded for the album have been whittled down to the 12 that make up 4. This collection of very personal tracks reveals an artist who is unafraid to take chances…

Throw out your wooden chairs and bring in your chaise longue. This summer is not only about bouncy uplifting tunes, but also about these moments of peace, time only for your listening pleasure with no muscle movement required. Except for the heartbeat increase. There comes a 2 CD edition of the magnificent chilled tunes…

Deepest View (Archive Volume 3) (2011). Following closely in the footsteps of their first two archival releases, Space Debris return with a third volume of live recordings and bits and pieces. Starting off in an unusually subdued mood, with moody acoustic piano, the 10-minute opening cut Mary-Joe-Anna nonetheless gets going eventually into another heavy jam from the band. The shorter Reprise of the Sun features some nice electric piano. Off course, throughout is the sterling organ work that is something of a signature sound for Space Debris, provided on some tracks by current keyboardist Winnie Rimbach-Sator and on others by former keyboardist Tom Kunkel. But let’s not forget the tight rhythm section of Peter Brettel (bass) and Christian Jäger (drums) and the endlessly creative guitar playing of Tommy Gorny…

French composer Félicien David is a more or less forgotten name today but this fine period-instrument recording by the Cambini-Paris Quartet makes a good case for further exploration of his corpus of works. One or two of David's operas survived for a while in the French repertoire, but he was also more interested in instrumental music than many of his contemporaries. Many areas of his oeuvre lie almost entirely unexplored: his four symphonies, numerous choral works and dozens of songs, for example.