Puzzle 中原めいこ

Recorded with a help of 'soon-to-be-famous' producer Eddie Kramer and released in early 1969 (in an attractive, gatefold gimmick cover) on ABC Records label, the only LP of that US trio was a solid and quite original mix of early hard rock, white blues and psychedelia. The complex and catchy songs were full of interesting ideas and based on guitar sound characterized by nicely fuzzed sound, some awesome flanger and plenty of wah-wah - sometimes similar to the work of The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, Frost, Lincoln St. Exit and Savage Resurrection. In contrast, the last two songs were kept in more folk-psych vein, which added some flavor to that underrated and in many ways an amazing album.

A cinematic instrumental journey for the mind featuring elements of classic progressive rock. With his seventh full-length release in six years, The Man From RavCon (a.k.a. Charlotte, NC USA based multi-instrumentalist Mike Brown) invites you along for another journey… this time, the search for a sonic solution. Following the 2013 album, Skyscraper, which was well reviewed by a wide range of websites, blogs, and publications, including the UK’s PROG Magazine, The Puzzle Master further expands The Man From RavCon’s seductively atmospheric brand of instrumental rock.

Puzzle is the sixth album by Gianna Nannini. It was released in 1984. The first single from the album, "Fotoromanza", was a summer hit and went on to win the Festivalbar, Vota la Voce and a Gold Telegatto prize…

1990s Puzzle of Hearts is an album surprisingly similar to both Djavan and Oceano (both released in 1989), all of which are on Columbia Records, no less. In fact, no less than seven of the nine tracks on Djavan and Oceano (which are essentially the same album) make up the bulk of Puzzle of Hearts. The new tracks here are the title track, a soft sort of MPB in English, "Being Cool," another English number with a bouncier samba-based rhythm to it, and "Amazon Farewell," one more English work with a thumping bassline underneath a more exotic melody. While the album isn't necessarily particularly original when compared to the items released only a year prior, it's a nice piece of work.

The Mandrake Memorial - Puzzle (1969) {Not On Label ‎MM02371 rel 1995}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 286 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 119 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 17 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1969, 1995 Poppy Records / Not On Label ‎| MM 02371
Rock / Psychedelic Rock / Early Progressive Rock

While Mandrake Memorial's second LP (Medium) had moved them in a more self-consciously progressive hard rock direction, their third and final album went somewhat off the deep end in that regard. There was little left of the song-driven psychedelia of their first and best album, and what had replaced it came close to drowning in an inchoate blend of late psychedelia and early progressive rock. There's much apparent ambition on this record but little coherence, alternating semi-improvised-sounding noodly instrumental passages with not-so-great songs and positively weird swells of operatic doomsday voices and cinematic electronic rock.

Townsend: "So what is The Puzzle?.. well, its not technically my new record, it's more a collaborative, multimedia art project that acts as a stopgap between Empath and the next record, Lightwork (due out in March of next year on Inside Out Records). The Puzzle includes two 'soundtracks' of sorts (the highly orchestrated 'Puzzle' and the very chill 'Snuggles') along with a film, graphic novel, novel, and a huge amount of multimedia. It includes many artists (upwards of 50) that participated via Zoom during the pandemic and the experience gave me a chance to purge and be completely creatively free. As such, it is a stream of conscious, and very abstract collection of music that includes a narrative (in the form of a film) and is meant to be a documentation of what the pandemic felt like to me.

The French equivalent of prog-rock bands Yes and Genesis, Atoll recorded four albums in the mid- to late '70s with a lineup that stabilized by the time of the group's second album. L'Araignee Mal (1975) included vocalist/percussionist André Balzer, guitarist Christian Beya, bassist Jean-Luc Thillot, keyboard player Michel Taillet, and drummer Alain Gozzo. Gradually commercializing its sound beginning with third album Tertio, Atoll released only one more studio album Rock Puzzle before breaking up. In the late '80s, however, a new, pop-oriented version appeared. Including only Beya from the previous lineup, the band released L'Ocean and the live album Tokyo C'est Fini (both 1989).

Hailed by the music press as one of the most gifted pianists of her generation and recipient of many international awards, established German-Italian pianist and ECHO winner Sophie Pacini invites us on a very personal journey across the pianistic cosmos. In her own words: “On this album, I have combined pieces which have accompanied and reassured me in seemingly small, but ultimately crucial moments of my life.”