Somewhere 莫文蔚

Somewhere in Afrika, an ode to Mann's home country of South Africa, contains a formula that is atypical of Manfred Mann's Earth Band sound. With rhythms that combine an African flavor with a modern rock feel, vocalist Mick Rogers takes over on vocals with the number 22 hit "Runner," released as the album's only single. Tracks such as "Demolition Man" and "Eyes of Nostradamus" are model Earth Band efforts, but the compelling material lies in songs such as "Lalela," "Koze Kobenini," and the title track, which conveys Mann's love for his birthplace without sounding overly pretentious or manufactured. The instrumentation is solid and free-flowing, with drums and other percussion work coming to the forefront while maintaining the group's atmosphere as a rock band.

For the live recordings of his acclaimed album To Watch The Storms, Steve Hackett put together a new band. Already before its release in 2003 he had performed a few pieces on a tour of South America, including the breathtaking "Mechanical Bride" and the enchanting and wonderful "Serpentine Song".

Originally intended as a side-project, Subsignal were founded back in 2007 by former Sieges Even members Arno Menses (Vocals) and Markus Steffen (Guitars). The first result of this collaboration was a song called ‘A Wallflower On The Day Of Saint Juliana’ which eventually appeared under the title ‘Eyes Wide Open’ on the 2007-Sieges Even-output ‘Paramount’. After Arno and Markus had left the band in the summer of 2008, they immediately started to look for adequate musicians to turn the project into a functional ‘real’ band. The first to join was Ralf Schwager (Bass), who was known for his work with German progmetal outfit Dreamscape. The line-up was completed by the Dutch drummer Roel van Helden (Sun Caged) and keyboarder David Bertok (also Dreamscape).

Although Eric Martin is best-known as the lead singer of rock quartet Mr. Big, he was a seasoned music veteran before that outfit in 1988. Born on October 10, 1960, in Long Island, NY, Martin moved often during his childhood due to his father's career as an Army officer…

Taken from the Deadwing tour in 2005 and featuring superb live performances from the band - Steven Wilson, Gavin Harrison, Richard Barbieri and Colin Edwin with John Wesley - this edition is the first time the film has been available on Blu-Ray…

Four different groups led by Sun Ra are featured on this intriguing if generally ragged set. Although Ra's usual band members of the period appear on most of the cuts (including singer June Tyson, trumpeter Michael Ray, altoist Marshall Allen and tenor saxophonist John Gilmore), this CD also has many musicians one would not expect in this setting during 1988-89: drummer Billy Higgins, trombonist Julian Priester, Don Cherry on pocket trumpet, altoist James Spaulding and (briefly out of retirement) trumpeter Tommy Turrentine. The ensembles perform some typically eccentric Ra compositions, including "Stardust for Tomorrow," "Love In Outer Space" and "Hole In the Sky," in bands ranging from four (the unusual quartet of Cherry, Spaulding, Ra and singer Tyson) to 22 pieces.

In the hipster climate of 2011, Night Ranger T-shirts were the only way to out-ironic your friend who showed up wearing Styx, something set in motion when the film Boogie Nights used “Sister Christian” and helped make the band representative of Rock at its most excessive and vacant…