Turna A Surrento

While not quite as strong as the band's debut, Scoundrel Days is still a-ha succeeding as a marketed "pretty boy" band which can connect musically and lyrically as much as any musical sacred cow. The opening two songs alone make for one of the best one-two opening punches around: the tense edge of the title track, featuring one of Morten Harket's soaring vocals during the chorus and a crisp, pristine punch in the music, and "The Swing of Things," a moody, elegant number with a beautiful synth/guitar arrangement (plus some fine drumming courtesy of studio pro Michael Sturgis) and utterly lovelorn lyrical sentiments that balance on the edge of being overheated without quite going over. Although the rest of the disc never quite hits as high as the opening, it comes close more often than not…

Recorded at the Oslo Spektrum in December 2010, Ending on a High Note: The Final Concert is a chance for those a-ha fans who couldn't get a ticket for the Norwegian synth pop trio's last ever live performance to bask in the glory of their triumphant swan song. Their third live album, following 2001's Live at Valhall and 2003's's How Can I Sleep with Your Voice in My Head, features 16 of the 21 tracks that were played on the globe-conquering tour's emotional finale, which wisely celebrates the entirety of their career, with every one of their nine studio albums represented (although songs from 1990's East of the Sun, West of the Moon and 1993's Memorial Beach are only included in the CD/DVD edition).

After 14 years of silence, alt-metal supergroup A Perfect Circle returned with Eat the Elephant. Previously active on 2004's antiwar eMOTIVe – when the U.S. was embroiled in a different state of social upheaval – they re-emerged in 2018 at another pivotal time with just as much to say. While much transpired in their absence, A Perfect Circle evolved, addressing government shifts, technological advances, and social deterioration in a manner befitting of frontman Maynard James Keenan, who delivers some of the most wickedly barbed lyrics of his career. Here, Keenan and co-founder Billy Howerdel are joined by a revamped lineup that includes James Iha, Matt McJunkins, and Jeff Friedl, as well as producer Dave Sardy (Oasis, LCD Soundsystem).

Coming from the home of Future Sound of London and credited to their ‘producer’ Yage, "Ignition of the Sun" is a deep and evolving journey through liquid spewing analogue sequences, warm saturated swampy sine waves. It calls back to a time from the early 70s with bands such as Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze.
All sounds were created and sequenced entirely on the EMS Synthi AKS, multitracked and mixed to 15ips 1/4 Revox tape. The EMS Synthi AKS was first introduced in 1971, one of the earliest Synthesisers available and as used by Radiophonic Workshop, Pink Floyd, Brian Eno.

Tenor saxophonist Reed was retired for a brief time while he wrote the songs for this recording, and then came back to live performing and touring. His band is a bit rough and a little out of control at times, as the backing guitars are sharp and out of tune. For the most part, though, things are together. There are two cuts from unearthed older sessions featuring the late Albert Collins, some neat horn charts, and cameos from singers Maurice John Vaughn, Sammy Fender, and Arthur Irby, which work to varying degrees. Reed's songs emphasize various social ills, some optimism, and a blues-chasing attitude that always feels good. Reed's signature funky blues crops up on the title track, a travelers anthem about Mickey D's, B.K., and similar places, during which he admits that he eventually "ate a foot long dog," knowing it wasn't good for him…

To hear tenor saxist A.C. Reed bemoan his fate on-stage, one might glean the impression that he truly detests his job. But it's a tongue-in-cheek complaint - Reed's raspy, gutbucket blowing and laid-back vocals belie any sense of boredom. Sax-blowing blues bandleaders are scarce as hen's teeth in Chicago; other than Eddie Shaw, Reed's about all there is. Born in Missouri, young Aaron Corthen (whether he's related to blues legend Jimmy Reed remains hazy, but his laconic vocal drawl certainly mirrors his namesake) grew up in downstate Illinois. A big-band fan, he loved the sound of Paul Bascomb's horn on an obscure Erskine Hawkins 78 he heard tracking on a tavern jukebox so much that he was inspired to pick up a sax himself…

Recorded by Paul Smith at ACME Studio, Chicago on October 25, 1989. Released on Wolf Records. Feautres the great A.C. Reed on tenor sax and vocals, Big Wheeler on harp and vocals along with Luther Adams and John Primer on guitar, Willie Kent on bass and Timothy Taylor on drums.

Tenor saxophonist Reed was retired for a brief time while he wrote the songs for this recording, and then came back to live performing and touring. His band is a bit rough and a little out of control at times, as the backing guitars are sharp and out of tune. For the most part, though, things are together. There are two cuts from unearthed older sessions featuring the late Albert Collins, some neat horn charts, and cameos from singers Maurice John Vaughn, Sammy Fender, and Arthur Irby, which work to varying degrees. Reed's songs emphasize various social ills, some optimism, and a blues-chasing attitude that always feels good. Reed's signature funky blues crops up on the title track, a travelers anthem about Mickey D's, B.K., and similar places, during which he admits that he eventually "ate a foot long dog," knowing it wasn't good for him…

In the 17th century, an astonishing stream of compositions poured out of Naples, and Neapolitan composers and performers enjoyed extraordinarily high reputations all over Europe. One of the most important occasions in Neapolitan musical life were the so-called Spassi di Posillipo, open-air festivals on the Neapolitan shore.