The 39 Steps (2008)

Chris Poland's "voice" is instantly recognizable. His guitar tone is thick, warm, yet edgy. He's sort of a cross between Bill Frisell and Joe Satriani, with the tone obsession of the former and the accessibility of the latter. His instrumental trio Ohm: features fretless bassist Robert Pagliari, who played fusion with him before Poland joined Megadeth in the '80s. As for drummers, Circus of Sound employs three, all quite capable. The standout, however, is Kofi Baker, son of Ginger Baker. This is appropriate, since Cream is one of Ohm:'s major inspirations. Baker is ferociously funky, and the record picks up noticeably with his work at its end. Ohm: play fusion in the purest sense: jazzy, with complex chords and copious swing.

Rising from the ashes of pub rock band Ducks Deluxe, the Motors began life as Status Quo lite, a boogie band with better ideas and hooks than other bands in the same mold. Led by talented singer/songwriters Nick Garvey and Andy McMaster, the Motors' 1977 self-titled debut sounded better on paper than it did on the home stereo. Scoring a semihit with the single "Dancing the Night Away" was a surprise to all, but certainly gave Virgin enough confidence to back a second album. When Approved by the Motors hit the shelves in 1978, the band had become one of the finest pop/rock bands in the U.K., refining their sound (the boogie was nowhere to be found) and writing songs filled with great melodies. Garvey and McMaster's harmonies had become as unique as fellow popsters Difford & Tilbrook's, although the Motors sound was far more gritty than the duo from Squeeze. Even lead guitarist Bram Tchaikovsky and drummer Ricky Slaughter seemed to have an expanded role in the sound of the band. Standout tracks like "Forget About You," "Sensation," "Soul Redeemer," and the beautiful "Today" were the heart and soul of this fabulous sophomore release, and the album even garnered them a bonafide hit with "Airport".

Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the new wave of British heavy metal movement. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitars, backing vocals), and Vivian Campbell (guitars, backing vocals)…

The Japanese company, BMG Japan, sorted the original RCA RED SEAL CDs according to the composers and the year when the music pieces were created. BEST100 series are the best representative CDs, which were carefully chosen from those music pieces by acting and recording, and they were released again with the mark of RCA BEST100. These CDs are the most impressive records in the classical field at RCA’s best. Theoretically, we could find the single originals of those CDs, but BMG Japan reorganised excellently for everyone. During BMG Japan period, it was released for the first time in 1999 and for the second time in 2008 after SONY took over BMG. BEST100 series belong to the latter.

Bryan Ferry’s ninth solo studio album Mamouna is being reissued as CD and vinyl deluxe sets in November. The 1994 album was Ferry’s first studio album of original material for seven years and for a time it had the working title ‘Horoscope‘. Eventually the recordings developed into the finished Mamouna album, but for the first time, these previously unreleased alternate recordings are released as Horoscope on both 3CD deluxe and 2LP vinyl editions of the Mamouna reissue.

William Christie’s account on Erato is probably now a first recommendation… he has marshalled expert singers; Alan Ewing’s Polyphemus is particularly good, well characterized and spirited. Indeed, the whole performance is full of life and personality, and Christie holds everything together with finesse and grace.

The performance here of Samson is definitive. It is lively, colourful and highly dramatic. There is no comparison with the tedious performance by the Sixteen on Coro. The performance of the Messiah with limited modern instrumental forces of the English Chamber Orchestra and Chorus with very good soloists doesn't sacrifice grandeur nor does it go to the other extreme of over-blown pomp. It is a very good performamce on modern instruments under the direction of the Baroque music specialist conductor Raymond Leppard.