TV Times 02 May 2020

“Anybody fancy a season of BM re-releases with lots of juicy extras?” asked Brian May through his Instagram feed in 2020. “We’re working on a plan!!!” The first stage of that plan comes to fruition now, with the long-awaited reissue of the legendary Queen guitarist’s superlative debut solo album. Almost 30 years on from its initial release, Back To the Light stands as an intimate and expansive testament to the talent and tenacity of one of the foremost guitarists and songwriters of his generation.

On Nov. 27, “Black Friday,” independent jazz label Resonance Records will continue its ongoing tradition of releasing previously unissued archival recordings as limited-edition Record Store Day exclusives with a stellar new three-LP collection of historic Sonny Rollins performances, Rollins in Holland: The 1967 Studio & Live Recordings.

On 21st and 22nd April, 1983, Brian May was joined at Record Plant Recording Studios, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. by his friends Eddie Van Halen (guitar), Alan Gratzer (drums), Phil Chen (bass), and Fred Mandel (keyboards). The output of the two days’ sessions was captured on a 3-track mini album and released on October 31st, 1983, titled Brian May + Friends: Star Fleet Project. Now celebrating its 40th anniversary, Star Fleet Project will be given the full reissue treatment as part of Brian’s ongoing Gold Series. Brian and his studio team, Justin Shirley-Smith and Kris Fredriksson, have created a completely new 2023 mix of the sessions from the original multi-track master tapes, and the artwork has been completely digitally recreated from the original 1983 source material, to give fans the very best experience at the highest possible quality.

Andy Williams is one of the world's most successful recording artists, achieving huge success on both sides of the Atlantic throughout the '60s and '70s, scoring over 50 hit singles in the US and 21 in the UK. His long-running TV series The Andy Williams Show as top-rated in both the US and the UK throughout this period. This sixty track set includes Twenty-One UK Top 40 singles, from 1962 to 2002. Williams had eight UK Top 10 hits, including "Can't Get Used To Losing You", "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" And "Can't Help Falling In Love" in the '60s, along with "Solitaire" and "(Where Do I Begin) Love Story" In the '70s. "Music To Watch Girls By" belatedly became a #9 hit in 1999 when it was featured in a TV ad for Fiat, and in 2002 Andy hit the charts again with a re-recording of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", a duet with Denies Van Outen. Also featured are the classics "Moon River", "Happy Heart", "Battle Hymn Of The Republic", and "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year", alongside his unique versions of songs like "The First Time Ever (I Saw Your Face)", "For The Good Times", "Born Free", "Maria" and "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head".

‘Cassette Culture’ is an in-depth tome and 46-track comp of top shelf tape obscurities charting the scene evolution between the early ‘80s and the emergence of the internet in the mid ’90s, with 2hrs of music spanning choice cuts by Muslimgauze, Beequeen, Storm Bugs, R Stevie Moore and many, many more.

Sonny Rollins - Rollins In Holland (2020) {Resonance Records}
FLAC (tracks) - 16bit/44.1kHz - Official Digital Download -> 756 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 313 Mb
Full Artwork (jpg+pdf) -> 105 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1967, 2020 Resonance Records / Nederlands Jazz Archief | HCD 2048
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Saxophone

This new 2-CD set of 1967 studio and live recordings of Sonny Rollins is given first class treatment with interviews, detailed histories, and commentaries with photographs in an included 98-page booklet. Discovered poorly labeled in the Dutch Jazz Archives, these performances are fiery and powerful. His Dutch bassist Ruud Jacobs and drummer Han Bennink, who while accomplished, wondered how they would manage, yet they met the challenge brilliantly; Rollins gave them plenty of opportunity to solo and explore. Rollin's himself at age 89 had a hand in the production with Zev Feldman, and his interview is included. Aidan Levy, Rollin's biographer, provided notes and full analysis of each tune. Comments on the choice of saxophone manufacturer and mouthpieces were interesting and unusual.