Mutantes: Punk Porn Feminism (2009) [re Up]

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. Formed in London in 1974, the group – originally dubbed Ultravox! – was led by vocalist and keyboardist John Foxx (born Dennis Leigh), whose interest in synths and cutting-edge technology began during his school years…

In 1970, Os Mutantes re-recorded in English a full LP's worth of their best songs, apparently hoping to crack the American and European market. (Brazilian expats Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil would make the same move, for political reasons, one year later.) If ever, the late flowering of the psychedelic era was the perfect time for a Mutantes breakthrough, considering the trio's zany songwriting sense and even more anarchic production methods. And though the album never saw release until the next century - Western audiences proved far more understanding of Sergio Mendes' easy-pop version of Brazilian music forms anyway - Tecnicolor acquired a new lease on life when it was finally reissued in 2000. By no means did Mutantes commercialize their sound…

This live symphonic DVD celebrates the 35th anniversary of the release of the band's 1974 self-titled debut album. The show was filmed on February 7, 2009 in HD mixed in 5.1 surround sound at Washburn University's White Concert Hall…

2009 collection from the acclaimed French vocalist. Patricia is the most successful French artist abroad, the proud musical descendant of Piaf, Chevalier, Montand and Co. She adopted a style perfectly suited to her warm and powerful voice. Popular at home, famous abroad, Patricia Kaas is a role model for French youth today…

A unique phenomenon in popular music history, Jethro Tull have been and still are one of the most successful live performing acts on the world stage, rivaling Led Zeppelin, Elton John and even the Rolling Stones. After forty years at the bottom, at the top and various points in between, with now some 30-odd albums to their credit and sales totaling more than 50 million, Jethro Tull are still performing typically more than a hundred concerts each year. This concert recorded in 2008 is one of their best.

What if Genesis had decided to go back to their progressive roots rather than a commercial direction in the 1980's? Of imagine if you will the notorious three reuniting to do likewise. The result might sound something like The Underfall Yard. You've got your mellotrons, twelve string guitars, a lead vocalist, David Longdon, who sounds just like Phil Collins (Phil called and he'd like his vocal style back), also the occasional flute.
After that Big Big Train starts to diverge from the old Genesis sound. David's flute playing is more reminiscent of Ian McDonald than Peter Gabriel. The bass work by Andy Poole is more complex than the basic bass of Mike Rutherford and reminds me more of Geddy Lee…

"Chapters" is a double album compilation by Swedish progressive rock band Anekdoten, released in May 2009. The first disc contains the band's favourite tracks from their 3 latest albums, "From Within", "Gravity" and "A Time of Day". It also features the newly recorded track "When I Turn", a track originally written for the From Within album. The second disc focuses on the band's earlier years, including the very first Anekdoten track "Sad Rain", which previously only was available as bonus track on the Japanese version of "Vemod", and demo versions of songs from "Nucleus" and "A Time of Day".

With its titanic guitar solos, symphonic suites, and multi-layered melodies, Muse's fifth album operates under the assumption that bigger is better. This is the very definition of a super-sized album, an album that takes its cues from Queen, its lyrics from science fiction novels, and its delivery from rock opera. It's also the first time that Muse has truly sounded like Muse, as few bands since Queen have so readily explored the intersection of bombast and extravagance. The Resistance is most certainly extravagant - there are snatches of classical piano entwined throughout, not to mention bilingual lyrics, concert hall percussion, coronet solos, and song titles like "Exogenesis: Symphony, Pt. 2 (Cross-Pollination)" - but it's also quite beautiful, capable of moving between prog rock choruses and excerpts from Chopin's "Nocturne in E Flat Major" within the same song…