Steve Beard

On his previous albums British musician Steve Thorne was assisted by a line-up of well-known progressive rock musicians, who certainly lifted the quality of the music to a higher level. Steve Thorne knows how to write fine tunes and provide them the necessary arrangements and instrumentations to make it more than just ordinary songs. This CD demands the listener's full attention to be fully appreciated.
Another collection of quality tunes on this 2012 release featuring guests Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel), Nick D'Virgilio (Spock's Beard, Big Big Train) and Martin Orford (IQ, Jadis).

Tyrannosaurus Rex's fourth album, A Beard of Stars, was the turning point where Marc Bolan began evolving from an unrepentant hippie into the full-on swaggering rock star he would be within a couple of years, though for those not familiar with his previous work, it still sounds like the work of a man with his mind plugged into the age of lysergic enchantment…

Tyrannosaurus Rex's fourth album, A Beard of Stars, was the turning point where Marc Bolan began evolving from an unrepentant hippie into the full-on swaggering rock star he would be within a couple of years, though for those not familiar with his previous work, it still sounds like the work of a man with his mind plugged into the age of lysergic enchantment. "A Daye Laye," "Pavilions of Sun," and the title tune sure sound like the writings of an agreeably addled flower child, and Bolan's vocals are playfully mannered in a manner that suits his loopy poetry. However, after shunning the corrupting influences of electric guitars on Tyrannosaurus Rex's early recordings, A Beard of Stars finds Bolan plugging in as he turns on, and he sounds like he's clearly enjoying it; the wah-wah solo that closes "Pavilions of Sun" demonstrates how just a little electricity gave this music a new lease on life…

Being soloist and band member, Steve Morse released so many albums. His works range from progressive rock Dixie Dregs, guitar shredder in his solo albums, up to as part of Deep Purple. With such range of musics, one still can easily distinguished Steve Morse licks, the bluesy chromatic passage that attached to his style. Surprisingly, in this new album, The Sessions, Steve Morse works with many other singers and sing some cover tunes. This album is not Steve Morse's typical instrumental guitar album. Well, a bit disappointing for guitar fans, but the album provide excellent standard hard rock album, that very bluesy, very American in vibes.

From Miles Davis' Doo-Bop to albums by Greg Osby and Steve Coleman, much of the "jazz/rap fusion" released has been more hip-hop than jazz – essentially, hip-hop with jazz overtones. Bill Evans, however, has featured rappers in much the way a hard bopper would feature a singer – on "Reality" and the poignant, reggae-influenced "La Di Da," rapper Ahmed Best successfully interacts with an actual, spontaneous, improvisatory band instead of merely pre-recorded tracks. Best's rapping style – a cerebral approach akin to De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest instead of more hardcore rappers like Tupac Shakur and Ice-T – is well-suited to this challenging and complex jazz-fusion setting.