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…

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.

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.

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…

Silent Circle is a German euro disco band formed in West Germany in 1985. Silent Circle first performed in 1979 but soon parted ways. In the early '80s, the trio reformed and decided to form a more solid group. Hence, that marked the beginning of Silent Circle. Their first single, "Hide Away - Man is Comin'!", gained considerable limelight followed by a number of other successful singles like "Touch in the Night", "Stop the Rain", "Love is Just a Word" and "Time for Love". In 1986, they released their first album No. 1, consisting of 11 songs. In 1987, 2 singles were released on Teldec, "Danger Danger" and "Oh, Don't Lose Your Heart Tonight". In 1990, another album was released by Silent Circle, containing 10 songs, two being from 1987 and two being remixes. In 1993, a compilation entitled Best Of Silent Circle was released and contained only remixed and other versions of their old songs. In 1994, a new album was released entitled Back, containing 12 new songs.

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.