Murder on D Street D Zaka no Satsujin Jiken (1998) [re Up]

This group of musicians (feat. David Sylvian, Harold Budd, Roger Eno, David Torn, Steve Jansen, Richard Barbieri) are some of the finest that were working in the 80s and 90s "alternative" music scene that was more focused on musical and sound explorations. "Marco Polo" is very listenable, creating a musical voyage that suggests destinations without overt musical cues (like a Japanese flute or Buddhists chanting to make it sound Asian). Very subtle, the music often unfolds gracefully, introducing elements of dischord like sax as contrast.

Writer-director Guy Ritchie's street-tough look at London's decrepit underworld and the unsavory dealings of four best friends whose cockiness is undercut by some serious trouble features a soundtrack of quick dialogue sound clips, a smattering of classic rock, pop, and reggae, and a few current submissions as well. Junior Murvin's "Police and Thieves," known most to rock audiences by the Clash cover, is a great piece of political resistance and laidback dub groove. James Brown's "The Payback" and "The Boss" and Iggy and the Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog" stake out the sharp end, while the late Dusty Springfield paints the softer corner with "Spooky." Ocean Colour Scene delivers the backwards guitar driven "100 Mile High City," and Stretch's "Why Did You Do It?" is a great recreation of early '70s soul.

The second installment in the Classics Sarah Vaughan chronology concentrates almost exclusively upon her Musicraft recordings made between July 1946 and November 1947. After hearing her in performance at the Three Deuces on 52nd Street, producer Albert Marx lost no time in drawing up a three-year contract between the singer and Musicraft. Backed by two different bands led by her soon-to-be husband, trumpeter George Treadwell, as well as by Teddy Wilson's Quartet and Octet, Vaughan makes each song into a miracle of elegance, style, and grace. The collective lineup of jazz players in this portion of her discography is stunning, with saxophonists Don Byas, Budd Johnson, Charlie Ventura and "Big Nick" Nicholas; trumpeters Buck Clayton and Emmett Berry; and drummer J.C. Heard, whose lifelong admiration for Vaughan dates back to these exquisite performances…

1947 (1998). Bucking the tide while beginning to surf on a wave of increasingly mannered modernity, Stan Kenton's orchestra maintained its popularity during the post-WWII decline of the big bands. Volume four in the Classics Stan Kenton chronology presents all of his Capitol recordings made between January 2 and September 24, 1947. June Christy continued to be the featured vocalist, often backed by Kenton's newly formed vocal group, the Pastels. Dave Lambert was the director of this ensemble and sang with them on at least the first three tracks heard here. Noteworthy instrumentalists present in Kenton's 19-piece band during 1947 were drummer Shelly Manne, trombonists Kai Winding and Eddie Bert, as well as saxophonists Vido Musso, Boots Mussulli…

Claus Zundel (aka "The Brave") is a German composer, songwriter, producer and pianist. He has created several worldwide successful musical projects, most notable Sacred Spirit and B-Tribe (sold 20 million. copies combined), as well as more Indie projects such as "Moroccan Spirit", "Classical Spirit", "Divine Works", Ancient Spirit and his latest project "Tango Jointz". His music style is usually called as "The Brave Sound" as it considers a large number of music styles mixed in his special way. He often collaborates with musicians and singers from around the world and creates "The Brave Sound" projects with them.

For many years, Metallica's 1987 EP Garage Days Re-Revisited was the most sought-after item in their catalog; it was constantly bootlegged in the '90s, and often supplemented by a host of covers Metallica had released on singles and compilations throughout the years. By 1998, the band had understandably grown frustrated with this situation and decided to confront the problem head-on by reissuing all these rarities. Savvy businessmen that they are, they also realized they needed to give hardcore fans who already owned all the covers a reason to purchase the new set – hence, the expansion of the Garage Days EP to the double-disc blowout Garage, Inc…

Gäa from the German state of Saarland have become quite known in collectors’ circles thanks to their LP "Auf der Bahn zum Uranus" from 1974. It is a mature and well-balanced album, the artistic value of which long remained undiscovered. The tasteful cover was designed by Eduard Bell, the brother of Gäa bassist Peter Bell. There were several re-issues of the album - LPs as well as CDs -, but unfortunately not all of them legitimate releases. The CD on Garden of Delights was released in co-operation with the artists and has the original cover artwork.
In early 1975 they recorded three tracks for a, however, unfinished second album. They are simply brilliant and show how mature and inventive the band was at that time…

To irritate snobbish rock critics in the 1970s, all a band had to do was play heavy metal or progressive rock. Imagine their horror when Uriah Heep came along and consciously fused both styles. Uriah Heep was the subject of one vicious critic's infamous quote, "If this group makes it, I'll have to commit suicide." …

Borrowing from a menagerie of musical influences, Hands keeps your attention with the same kind of quirky arrangements and their use of a wide array of instruments makes for a unique sound that is always in transition - both traditional rock and untraditional orchestral instruments are used extensively throughout the album. The material for this CD is put together from recordings from 1977, 1978, and 1980. Shroom Productions' first release, simply called Hands, was a little more progressive, while this CD is more toward the medieval and folk-rock that also could be heard on the first release. The instrumentation is as various as on the debut though. This is definitely worth checking out.