O Vara de Neuitat [un Été Inoubliable] 1994 [re Up]

Jon Anderson's voice immersed in South American music might seem an unlikely match, but the rich and vibrant tones of Deseo provide a strikingly fresh setting for the singer. Augmented by well-known artists from across South and Latin America, the Yes vocalist seems content to recede into the background on many of the tracks, retaining a native flavor with stellar cameos from Maria Conchita Alonso, Boca Livre, Milton Nascimento, and many others. The songs, which generally clock in around three-and-a-half minutes, are warm and upbeat, mixing English, Portuguese, and Spanish vocals with propulsive percussion, acoustic guitars, bass, and synthesizers. The melodies are lovely and atmospheric, uncomplicated but evocative…

After the success of his album Apollo, Banco returns with Ollopa, a remix album that turns its source on its head: not only have the name and original track order been reversed, but the artwork is inverted too, with the sun becoming the moon and other symbols flipped upside down. The collection starts with Tripswitch’s sublime remix of Acquiescence, which builds slowly from an ambient opening into a downtempo delight, setting the tone nicely for both Antipodean duo, Deep Fried Dub, who add a cheeky dancehall lick to Oreia, and the high priests of sacred bass, Desert Dwellers, whose jittery yet soothing remix of All Sleeping is like sonic incense for the mind and body…

This album is definitely a transitional one for Anita O'Day. Four of the dozen performances are taken from June 1963. Her trio joins the singer on four of her "hits" ("Sweet Georgia Brown," "Boogie Blues," "Tea for Two" and "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square"), which were O'Day's final recordings until 1970 due to personal problems. The remainder of this set is from 1975-76, with several trios backing O'Day on a repertoire dominated by swing standards. Although her voice was not as young, O'Day was still in good form at that point, making this album a worthwhile acquisition for her fans.

Dance Naked is the 13th album by American singer-songwriter and musician John Mellencamp released in 1994. The album was released in response to the record company's accusations that Mellencamp's previous album, Human Wheels, didn't "fit the format." Mellencamp was irritated with this remark, feeling that none of his albums ever fit the format. As a result, he wrote several purposely radio-friendly songs and recorded them within the span of 14 days at his Belmont Mall recording studio in Belmont, Indiana, intending to show the lack of effort required to produce the type of album they were asking for.

Hong Kong is a live album by Jean-Michel Jarre released in 1994 on Disques Dreyfus. Even though the album is called Hong Kong and has pictures of the event on its booklet, most of the tracks are from the Europe in Concert venues, except for "Souvenir of China" which is a special mix consisting of the Paris la Defense version and the actual track played in Hong Kong. Also, "Fishing Junks at Sunset" was recorded from the Hong Kong concert rehearsals. Magnetic Fields 2 comes from the encore at Barcelona 1993, which appears on the VHS tape released of this concert. Band In The Rain is also from the Barcelona show.

Deep growling drones get this sixty two minute epic underway. It really sounds like the beast from the deep or some alien from outer space. Its dark ambient picture music of the very highest order. There's something out there to get you in every dark corner. In the ninth minute extra detail is added in the form of some faint vocal effects with a slight metallic quality to them giving a brighter edge to the sonic landscape. Ghostly wails are heard at about the fifteen minute mark making the whole proceedings seem even spookier. Around the eighteenth minute more detail starts to be added , oh so slowly. Its as if we are entering some subtly different area of space, the atmosphere is still dark but things seem sparser and maybe slightly less threatening…

Last Straw hail from the Isle of Wight and began recording circa 1972. They released a single in 1978 and toured extensively. The early studio tracks on this CD show a good progressive rock talent somewhere inbetween Yes and Hawkwind. The period feel of "Terence", its nifty lyricisim and awesome climactic jam elevate it into classicdom. Later tracks veer into a guitar based wishbone ash territory.

Having made a name for himself in the bands of Tommy Dorsey and Benny Goodman, trumpeter Bunny Berigan set out on his own in 1937. Heading up a big band that included such shifting personnel as drummer Buddy Rich, tenor saxophonist George Auld, trumpeter/arranger Ray Conniff, and pianist Joe Bushkin, Berigan blazed brightly and briefly, until alcoholism and a lack of discipline forced him to break up his band in 1939. This Classics disc features tracks cut before things went south. Covering the years 1937-1938, the 20 sides find Berigan and company in their prime, with sparkling solos coming from Berigan, Auld, Conniff, and Bushkin. While the disc sags a bit with some requisite filler by vocalist Ruth Gaylor, instrumental highlights like "Wacky Dust" (a possible cocaine-reference here?), Ellington's "Azure," and Irving Berlin's "Russian Lullaby" ensure this batch of mostly solid swingers stays fresh.

This compilation, gathered from recordings of her New York sessions in 1954, is an excellent sampler of the skills and charms of Lady Day. While the disc may appear to be just another throw-together of Holiday hits, with nothing in particular to distinguish it from the others, the arrangements, the performances and the recordings themselves are all wonderful. Backed by tight, laid-back session musicians (Oscar Peterson plays piano on many of the tracks–check out his solo on "Lover, Come Back to Me"), Holiday here enjoys the last full flush of her talents before health and substance abuse problems claimed her voice in the late '50s. In tracks like "He's Funny That Way" and "Softly," her raspy voice plays over melodies, caressing them, trailing off the end of phrases for emotional punctuation. Her tone is at once rich and wispy, managing simultaneously to convey vulnerability, despair, strength and sexuality…