On The Nose 2001

Deben Bhattacharya (1921–2001) was a field recordist, poet, filmmaker, musicologist and amateur ethnomusicologist, based in Calcutta and Paris. Highly influential, it would not be too bold a stretch to say that his work shaped how we listen to the world: he produced a vast number of LPs, CDs, videos and radio shows of traditional music from India, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe from 1953 until his death in 2001.

Turns On is a collection of early Soft Machine recordings sold in two separate volumes. Turns On, Vol. 1 catches the newly formed group in their first studio recordings and live performances in early to mid-1967, all pre-dating the first LP. The lineup on most of the 16 tracks consists of Robert Wyatt, Mike Ratledge, and Kevin Ayers. Daevid Allen appears on four studio recordings. The repertoire draws a lot from the Wilde Flowers' songbook, Ayers, Hugh Hopper and Brian Hopper having written most of the material (Wyatt and Ratledge were only beginning to submit material). Sound quality goes from poor to very weak, but it is still better than on Turns On, Vol. 2 - while the latter focuses on live material, this one contains more studio demo cuts…

Sessions is Union Square Music’s 2CD urban and dance music range. Aimed at both the hardened dance music fan and the impulse purchaser, each Sessions title is packed full of hit singles, big club tracks and a choice selection of forgotten gems and underground classics picked out by our expert crate-digging compilers. Strong generic packaging including an outer slipcase, informative sleeve notes and a low price in the shops have made Sessions one of our most popular labels.

CARAVAN were the other half of the WILDE FLOWERS - the SOFT MACHINE being the other - that originated in Canterbury, Kent. The band itself was originally formed in early 1968 by guitarist/vocalist Pye HASTINGS, keyboardist Dave SINCLAIR, bassist/vocalist Richard SINCLAIR (later of HATFIELD & THE NORTH, NATIONAL HEALTH, etc.), and drummer Richard COUGHAN. All four members of CARAVAN were, at one time or another, in that band. They were a leading exponent of what became known as "the Canterbury sound". “In the land of Grey and Pink” is one of Caravan’s finest albums, possibly THE finest. While the centrepiece is the side long “Nine feet underground”, the complete album offers a melodic and coherent 40 minutes. A truly superb album, worthy of any music collection (prog or otherwise!).

This double-live disc really shows why Judas Priest made a big mistake in not taking Rob Halford back. The album rocks out and captures the Priest magic much better than his old band's live album. Perhaps the spirit of JP lives on in this group more so than in the band being called "Judas Priest."…

Best of Temptations Christmas features the popular Motown group performing a number of Christmas favorites. Most of the favorites are here: "Silver Bells," "The Christmas Song," "White Christmas," "Oh Holy Night," and "Silent Night." There are some playful moments here as well, such as the album-opening "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," making this a fun collection. Motown fans should adore this.

Many great jazz artists have recorded, with great success, a live album at the Olympia in Paris while they visited or lived on Paris. Among these greats is Rhoda Scott. Her vast discography on Barclay is more or less still in the master tapes vaults but the "Live At The Olympia" CD, reissued on the Jazz In Paris CD program, is very good pick in the vaults. Supporting Scott playing the Hammond B3, the trio are Joe Thomas on flute/tenor saxophone and Cees Kranenburg on drums. Scott has always had great nose for mixing musical genres and tunes on her records, and "Live At The Olympia" is no exception . The trio treats the standards Bluesette", "I Hear Music", "Wade In The Water", "Equinox" and "People" with great musical inventiveness and interplay - they really tells us a new story on known themes.