Nika Paris Lonely (live)

Sol Gabetta’s first recording of the Elgar Cello Concerto, with the Danish National Symphony, was much admired when it appeared six years ago. This one, taken from a concert in the Baden-Baden Festspielhaus in 2014, is a far glossier affair orchestrally. Simon Rattle’s tendency to overmould the phrasing is sometimes too obvious, but Gabetta’s playing is intense and searching, less introspective than some performances in the Adagio, perhaps, but epic in scale in the outer movements, and always keenly responsive. Those who possess her earlier disc might not think they need to invest in this one, but would then miss Gabetta’s vivid, pulsating account of the Martinů concerto, which went through a quarter of a century of revisions before the definitive 1955 version she plays here, with Krysztof Urbański conducting. She finds real depth and intensity in it, both in the slow movement and in the introspective episode that interrupts the finale’s headlong rush.

The great veteran pianist Jay McShann (also known as Hootie) enjoyed a long career and it is unfair to primarily think of him as merely the leader of an orchestra that featured a young Charlie Parker. He was mostly self-taught as a pianist, worked with Don Byas as early as 1931 and played throughout the Midwest before settling in Kansas City in 1936. McShann formed his own sextet the following year and by 1939 had his own big band.

It is commonly perceived that the essence of the New York Dolls was never satisfactorily captured by their two albums for the Mercury label, both of which many believe suffered from unsympathetic production. Fortunately for us all, the band's untutored rawness, unencumbered strength of purpose and unique vision is better served by the recordings that are gathered together for the first time on Personality Crisis: Live Recordings & Studio Demos 1972-1975. A trio of pre-Mercury demo sessions - arguably as close as the Dolls ever got to nailing their sound in the cold austerity of the recording studio - are joined by a collection of incendiary live shows (including two American radio broadcasts) that, despite the variable sound quality, capture their unfettered outrageousness and life-affirming vitality.

Andrew Gold - Lonely Boy: The Asylum Years Anthology (2020) {6CD Set, Esoteric Recordings QECLEC 72722}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.69 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 716 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 108 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2020 Esoteric Recordings / Cherry Red / Warner | QECLEC 72722
Rock / Pop Rock / Soft Rock / Classic Rock

As a solo artist and a collaborator, Andrew Gold defined a strand of mainstream pop during the late 1970s. His work with Linda Ronstadt – he led her band and arranged her blockbuster albums of the mid-'70s – catapulted him to a position where he was given the chance to score his own hits, which he did with 1977's "Lonely Boy" and 1978's "Thank You for Being a Friend," not to mention "Never Let Her Slip Away," which was a U.K. smash in '78. Gold stepped away from this solo career after 1980's Whirlwind, re-emerging in the late 1990s when he was acknowledged as the cult figure he is.

Andrew Lloyd Webber: Unmasked (The Platinum Collection) are the all-time greatest hits from one of the most successful composers of our era. The 4CD set collects the finest of his cherished works from the past five decades. Featuring newly-recorded versions of songs by Lana Del Rey, Gregory Porter, Nicole Scherzinger. Plus, a 40 page booklet including an introduction by Andrew Lloyd Webber and new testimonies from artists including Barbra Streisand, Glenn Close, Michael Crawford and Tim Rice.