The Kind Of Boy You Can't Forget The Raindrops

Jimmy Bryant - Frettin' Fingers: The Lightning Guitar Of Jimmy Bryant (2003) {3CD Set Sundazed SC11134 rec 1950-1967}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 700 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 353 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 28 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1950-67, 2003 Sundazed Music / EMI Music | SC 11134
Country / Jazz / Americana / Western Swing / Guitar

Here's the kind of gargantuan production that only Bear Family in Germany has usually undertaken for vintage American country artists: a three-CD set, encompassing 75 songs and nearly three hours of music recorded by guitar great Jimmy Bryant from 1950-1967. This is on Sundazed, however, and it's good to see an American label taking a chance on a major archival collection on a not-too-famous performer that by its nature is going to rule out casual buyers. Many listeners will be sated with a single-disc compilation of Bryant's work (particularly the tracks on which he collaborated with pedal steel guitar master Speedy West), and the wholly instrumental format might make this hard to listen to in one sitting even for committed fans.

The success of "The Crying Game" marked a comeback for Boy George, especially in the U.S., where his solo career had never taken hold beyond the dance clubs, and SBK (distributor of his label, Virgin) took advantage of his resurgence by compiling this 75-minute, 19-track album, which combines his former group Culture Club's biggest hits with selections from his solo work. The ten Culture Club tracks are of a piece, from 1982's "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" (which here leads off with an ominous voice intoning, "Popularity breeds contempt") to "Love Is Love," which wasn't a hit but is a better choice than the missing "War Song," which was. The solo tracks are a more mixed batch, and not only because Top 40 U.K. hits like "Keep Me in Mind," "Sold," and "To Be Reborn" are missing. They often rely on loud percussion tracks that strand Boy George's tender tenor somewhere in the distance. He remains most effective on rhythmic ballads, whether "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me," "Everything I Own" (his chart-topping first U.K. solo hit), or "The Crying Game".

George Frideric Handel - Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne; Anthem for the Foundling Hospital / Joseph Haydn - Missa Brevis
Judith Nelson & Emma Kirkby / The Academy of Ancient Music / Simon Preston
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 348 MB | Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Decca "Editions de L'oiseau-Lyre" # 421 654-2 OH | Country/Year: UK 1989, 1978
Genre: Classical | Style: Baroque, Viennese School, Sacred, Vocal

…The Queen Anne Ode is a solemn piece, again, a real pleasure to listen to, but not exactly a memorable showstopper. If you are a fan of Hogwood, as am I, this is a must have CD. Nothing he ever did is a complete wash, and this collection a far cry from it. This is Vintage Hogwood. Call it "Early Original Instrument."

This is an album with a difference. If you’re looking for songs that grind, you’ll find them here in the title track, “The Prophets and The Planet” and “The Saints.” If you’re looking for inspirational songs, you’ll find them here in “Die Empty” and “Time Goes On”. But if hot songs are all you’re after you’re going to miss the true gems of this piece. The Prophets and The Planet is not just a collection of great songs, instead it’s one of the few concept albums of its kind. It leads those who care to follow through a deep cavern of truth and expression that stirs up broken dreams and bleeds hope for every life…

In these two live concerts, rock's legendary Allman Brothers Band whip up the kind of excitement their fans have loved for years. This pioneering Southern rock band, including Gregg Allman and Dickey Betts, blazes through their classics in a concert performance live from Gainesville, Florida. Then the band rocks for more than an hour at the Capitol Theater. Also included is rare footage of an on-the-road hotel room jam session and a peek at a private acoustic "unplugged-style" session in a recording studio.