Sting 3.0

Playing sideman to Rick Braun, Larry Carlton, Gato Barbieri, the Neville Brothers, and many others introduced guitarist/vocalist Steve Oliver to smooth jazz fans, but it was with Steve Reid's band that Oliver found a following. It was 1996 when Reid contacted Oliver at the last minute to fill in for a canceled opening act. Oliver hit the stage as a solo act and Reid was impressed with the guitarist's vocalese skills and summery sound. Oliver had come to vocalese not through King Pleasure or Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, but through Bobby McFerrin and Pat Metheny's work with Richard Bona and David Blamires, who sang along with guitar solos. Being a fan of the earthy Metheny sound, Reid hired Oliver after the gig and featured him in his touring band. Reid's Mysteries and Passion in Paradise albums featured Oliver not only as guitarist but songwriter as well. Oliver struck out on his own in 1999 with his debut, First View, released by Night Vision. The album spawned three hit singles on smooth jazz radio and earned the guitarist a Debut Artist of the Year award from Smooth Jazz News.

In the grand tradition of MTV's Unplugged series, MTV Unplugged in Athens features German hard rock stalwarts Scorpions putting on an all-acoustic set for the good people of Greece. Rather than the intimate studio performances that put the series on the map in the '90s, however, the set was recorded at the Lycabettus Theatre in Athens, a setting that feels appropriately grand given the band's arena-rocking tendencies…

On the heels of Metallica's similarly conceived S&M comes the Scorpions' Moment of Glory, a presentation of past favorites (plus three new songs) with full orchestral backing courtesy of the Berlin Philharmonic. The rock instrumentation blends in best on the ballads, but some of the up-tempo rockers can also be pretty exciting, if a little bombastic…

Arcadia - So Red The Rose (1985)
EAC AccurateRip | APE, IMG+CUE, LOG | 230,7 MB | Complete Scans (300 dpi) | 21,9 MB
New Romantic, New Wave, Synth-pop | Label: Tritec/EMI Records | Catalog Number: CDP 7 96358 2 | Time: 43:45 | RAR | RS.com

Arcadia was the arty quarter of Duran Duran's side project. Members Simon Le Bon and Nick Rhodes were left to complete it after Roger Taylor left the group. They still strove to create the "western evocative of east" blueprinted by Japan's Tin Drum. They didn't achieve it with this, but it's certainly the best album Duran never made. Like earlier work Rio, the sleeve perfectly describes the record inside. The opener "Election Day" is darkly romantic irking toward erotic and has brass stabs not dissimilar from their Bond score View to a Kill. The following songs are lighter: "Keep Me in the Dark" and the U.S. single "Goodbye Is Forever." "The Flame" has a sharp beat and sultry bass groove that nods at Nile Rodgers. Two dream works, "Missing" and "Rose Arcana," precede "The Promise," which guests Pink Floyd's Dave Gilmour, Sting, and Herbie Hancock. "El Diablo" has a latin flavor but still sounds like two Englishmen daydreaming of an escapade to El Salvador. Finally, to the dramatic splendor of "Lady Ice," a fantastic conclusion to a very good album. Thankfully, Arcadia chose not to pursue this album like their other Duran offshoot.

AMG