Posted by Rare 1

Rare Earth was an unusual group. They literally did their own thing. They had their own style. Rare Earth is one of those rare groups that I find difficult to compare to other groups because they set a standard rather than following one. You can clearly hear an array of influences in their music, but their music was their own. Their music was unique and fun, and I highly recommend this CD if you liked long rock tracks and funk from the early 70s, or if you like good rock music regardless of the era. I wish this music was more common, then or now. Enjoy!

A very different set than Teldec's Bach 2000. The Hanssler Bachakademie, supervised by Helmut Rilling, is not HIP (historic instruments performance). The orchestras are warm and lush (but not huge). The soloists are, in general, extraordinary. The tempos are sane. Hanssler has included fragments of some incomplete BWV's that are not included in the Teldec set; a minor plus but appealing. I found I preferred these traditional instruments and the daring using of forte-piano in place of harpsichord on a few of the recordings (flute sonatas). Highlights for me are The Well-Tempered Clavier Books 1 and 2, Musical Offering, Flute Sonatas, The Motets. I also found I prefer these Cantatas recordings to any other, including the new Koopman, Suzuki and the well-known Leonhart-Harnoncourt. While not the newest recordings, the sound is warmer which I prefer to the new state-of-the-art HIP recordings. Although most of the Cantatas are older recordings, much of the Hanssler Bachakademie edition is newly recorded for this project and the sound is consistent and excellent.

Jan Hanford, J.S. Bach Home Page

Karajan - The Complete EMI Recordings 1946-1984, Vol. 2: Opera & Vocal (72 CD)
72 CDs | APE, CUE, Log | Booklet | Complete Size: 15.8 GB | Rapidshare

For the first time ever EMI Classics are making available, in two handsome sets, the complete recordings that Karajan made for EMI between the years 1946 to 1984. The first set of 88 CDs comprises all the orchestral and concerto recordings and the second set, of 72 CDs, the Choral and Opera recordings. Both sets can be acquired at bargain prices, presenting a rare opportunity to add these historically important recordings to your collection. The last discs in each set (88 & 72 respectively) contain all the libretti, sung texts, a selection of photographs and a series of interviews with musicians who knew and worked with Karajan.

Mosaic Select is a jazz reissue series of numbered limited-edition releases that focus on an artist's important but neglected work in a 3 CD set.
The music on Mosaic Select 14 was recorded live at the Keystone Korner, San Francisco, between May 13, 1978, and March 27, 1979

Free Hand was to become their most successful effort; in America it peaked at No. 48, their best placing in a run of chart albums which stretched from Octopus in 1973 to The Missing Piece in 1977. In Britain, where their following remained fiercely loyal but relatively small, Free Hand made a fleeting appearance in the lower reaches of some album charts, the only one of their twelve albums to do so. Their new label's publicity drive, some favourable airplay, and the attention of one or two rock journalists(most notably Phil Sutcliffe of 'Sounds') all helped, but in retrospect the album's success was well-deserved on its own merits. It was, perhaps, more commercial than previous releases, but still had the complexity and polish fans had come to expect.