Sacd, Hybrid

An adult contemporary pop super duo, Airplay was a one-off project featuring the combined talents of noted session players/producers David Foster and Jay Graydon. They released a sole 1980 album, Airplay, which showcased their laid-back brand of West Coast pop/rock in the vein of Toto and Chicago. Guitarist Jay Graydon and keyboardist David Foster were both already West Coast studio pros with deep credits by the time they recorded their polished 1980 album Airplay. Prior to this, they worked with an impressive array of artists from across the pop and R&B spectrum, including Boz Scaggs, Barbra Streisand, George Harrison, Michael Jackson, and others. Graydon famously beat out both Larry Carlton and Robben Ford to play the guitar solo on Steely Dan's 1977 hit "Peg."

Shinin' On is the eighth album by Grand Funk Railroad and was released in 1974. Although not as successful as its predecessor, We're an American Band (1973), it peaked at #5 in the US and was certified gold, and its first single, a cover of "The Loco-Motion" topped the U.S. charts. The original cover was done in bi-visual 3-D and included the required blue and red lensed glasses to view it. A Quadraphonic mix of the album was available in the Quadraphonic 8-Track cartridge format. The title song was featured in The Simpsons' 7th season episode "Homerpalooza" on May 19, 1996.

Vibraphonist Cal Tjader is in typically fine form on this live set from 1968. His quintet at the time featured Armand Perazza on congas and pianist Joe Kloess and his repertoire ranged from Afro-Cuban jazz to occasional straightahead tunes. Six of the eight selections on this date are originals by band members or Gary McFarland. Although Tjader had been playing this style of music for 15 years by this time, he still was quite creative and enthusiastic, and is heard throughout in excellent form.

Vocalion's reissue of classic easy-listening album by Paul Mauriat and His Orchestra, originally released in 1978 on the Philips label. Remastered from the original analogue stereo tapes for Vocalion's trademark crystal-clear sound. French composer/conductor Paul Mauriat is a classically trained musician who decided to pursue a career in popular music. His first major success came in 1962, as a co-writer of the European hit "Chariot." In 1963, the song was given English lyrics, renamed "I Will Follow Him," and became a number one American hit for Little Peggy March. Mauriat is best remembered for his 1968 worldwide smash "Love Is Blue."

The world was hardly clamoring for another recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons violin concertos, but the Australian Chamber Orchestra has evolved into one of the world's top concert attractions, and it's natural that their fans would want to hear them in this ubiquitous work. Violin soloist Richard Tognetti plays a 1743 Guarneri instrument with a powerfully flashy tone, and he gets a large variety of sounds from it. These are complemented by the inclusion in the booklet of the four sonnets included by Vivaldi in the score (and possibly written by the composer himself).

18 tracks live at the Panama Club 2004. Tracks include 'Angel', 'Turn The World' & 'Sleepwalking'.

Two classic easy-listening albums by famous French orchestra leader/arranger/composer Paul Mauriat, originally released in 1976 and 1973 on the Philips label, together on one CD and remastered from the original analogue stereo tapes for Vocalion's trademark crystal-clear sound.

Herbie Hancock - Head Hunters (1973) {2007 Japan SACD Hybrid, SICP 10073}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 271 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 100 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 98 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2007 Columbia / Sony Music Japan | SICP 10073 | SACD Hybrid DSD
Jazz / Fusion / Jazz Funk / Post Bop / Piano

Head Hunters was a pivotal point in Herbie Hancock's career, bringing him into the vanguard of jazz fusion. Hancock had pushed avant-garde boundaries on his own albums and with Miles Davis, but he had never devoted himself to the groove as he did on Head Hunters. Drawing heavily from Sly Stone, Curtis Mayfield, and James Brown, Hancock developed deeply funky, even gritty, rhythms over which he soloed on electric synthesizers, bringing the instrument to the forefront in jazz.

Two classic easy-listening albums by Paul Mauriat and His Orchestra, originally released in 1979 on the Philips label, together on one CD and remastered from the original analogue stereo tapes for Vocalion's trademark crystal-clear sound. French composer/conductor Paul Mauriat is a classically trained musician who decided to pursue a career in popular music. His first major success came in 1962, as a co-writer of the European hit "Chariot." In 1963, the song was given English lyrics, renamed "I Will Follow Him," and became a number one American hit for Little Peggy March. Mauriat is best remembered for his 1968 worldwide smash "Love Is Blue."