Quantum of Solace 4K 2008

Dedicated fans of Sarah McLachlan had a lot to buy in 2008, when the Canadian songwriter issued three retrospective albums. Rarities, B-Sides & Other Stuff, Vol. 2 led the pack in April, followed by a deluxe edition of Fumbling Toward Ecstasy several months later. Closer: The Best of Sarah McLachlan brought up the rear, arriving in October and compiling McLachlan's greatest hits along with two new songs…

Many believe that all starts from a certain hit record by one of America’s pioneering and premiere ‘garage’ bands. Yes, it all kicked off with the raucous sound of ‘Louie Louie’ by The Kingsmen, a smash hit back in 1963. A combination of teenage angst and an insidious ‘hook line’ ensured the number would become a classic and inspiration to future generations of rockers. The Kingsmen came from Portland, Oregon and were headed by singer Jack Ely and guitarist Mike Mitchell. ‘Louie Louie’ was their debut single, written by Richard Berry and recorded by him way back in 1957. The Kingsmen’s version got to Number 2 in the US chart and proved a Top 30 hit in the UK in 1964. Although the group was the subject of internal dissent after their first big hit, they went on to enjoy more chart success with such songs as ‘Money’ and ‘The Jolly Green Giant’, both included on this 20 track compilation.

Viola da gamba player Vittorio Ghielmi is the founder of the viol consort Il Suonar Parlante, which plays Purcell's Fantazias of Four Parts, mostly written in 1680. At that time, the viol was on the way to being considered an archaic instrument, having been largely replaced by the fretless members of the violin family. A consort of viols, though, was still the most convenient ensemble for playing contrapuntal music, and Purcell needed an outlet for adventurous self-expression as a break from his duties of writing conventional dance music for King Charles II. The fantasias he wrote are indeed very odd, particularly in their chromatic harmonies, many of which would not reappear with regularity in the Western musical vocabulary until the twentieth century.