The Mill And The Cross 2011

In this magnificent collection presented melodies performed by these masters of jazz piano: Scott Joplin, James P. Johnson, Eubie Blake, Mandy Randolph, Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, Joe Sullivan, Teddy Wilson, Count Basie, Oscar Peterson, Thelonious Monk, Nat King Cole and many, many others …

Various Artists - Wizards of Country Guitar: Selected Sides 1935-1955 (2011) {4CD Set, JSP Records JSP77144D}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 608 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 559 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 87 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1935-55, 2011 JSP Records | JSP77144D
Country Boogie / Jazz / Early Country / Instrumental Country / Western Swing / Guitar

The invention and introduction of electrically amplified instruments – most notably the guitar and steel guitar – began slowly transforming every branch of pop music beginning in the mid- to late '30s, shifting emphasis in bands from an ensemble approach to one that allowed for sharper sound definition and easily heard instrumental solos, all of which made the world, at least the recorded version of it, more defined and, well, louder. For the Western swing, honky tonk, and country genres, the change came when steel player Bob Dunn went electric with his group Musical Brownies in 1935.

The Cross & the Crucible is the fifth studio album by the British neo-progressive band Pallas, released in 2001. The album was recorded in their own studio The Mill in Crathes, Aberdeenshire in the winter of 2000 to 2001. For the first time Pallas use guest musicians. The song The Cross And The Crucible is based on the Requiem by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The music of this album was, according to the reviewers, compared with Pallas' classic in the genre, The sentinel, especially in the pompous-sounding parts. The new logo of Pallas is also a return to The Sentinel. Patrick Woodroffe, creator of that album cover, designed it. The album tends to be a concept album about (the abuse of) science and faith.

The Top 100 '60s Rock Albums represent the moment when popular music came of age. In the earliest part of the decade, bands were still regularly referencing earlier sounds and themes. By the middle, something powerful and distinct was happening, which is why the latter part of the '60s weighs so heavily on our list. A number of bands evolved alongside fast-emerging trends of blues rock, folk rock, psychedelia and hard rock, adding new complexities to the music even as the songs themselves became more topical. If there's a thread running through the Top 100 '60s Rock Albums and this period of intense change, it has to do with the forward-thinking artists who managed to echo and, in some cases, advance the zeitgeist. Along the way, legends were made.

Percy Sledge - The Atlantic Recordings (2010) {4CD Set Rhino Handmade RHM2 526138 rec 1966-1974}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.69 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 741 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 181 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1966-74, 2010 Atlantic / Rhino Handmade / Warner Music | RHM2 526138
Soul / R&B / Deep Soul / Southern Soul

Rhino Handmade unveils the first comprehensive collection of Percy Sledge's recordings for Atlantic. This four-disc set spans 1966-74 with 104 songs, including both studio and live recordings as well as several rare and unreleased tracks. The music, arranged mostly in chronological order, offers a richly detailed portrait of the King of Country Soul’s career following the massive success of “When A Man Loves A Woman.” In fact, the song is featured twice, opening the collection with the well-known studio version and closing it with an alternate take recorded during the same session.

Downhome Blues 1959 contains 46 tracks, spread out over two CDs, tracing the rural blues guitarist Mississippi Fred McDowell’s earliest recordings. The sessions take place on the front porch of his Como, MS farm between September 21-25, 1959 and recorded by folk researcher Alan Lomax with assistance from Shirley Collins. On the first disc, McDowell is heard playing acoustic guitar and is occasionally joined by guitarist Miles Pratcher with Fannie Davis on kazoo and comb, with vocals by McDowell’s wife Annie Mae, James Shorty, Sidney Carter, and Rose Hemphill. The second disc includes one McDowell track, “Shake ‘Em on Down,” with the remaining cuts spotlight other Lomax recordings from the same time by bluesmen Forrest City Joe, Boy Blue, Willie Jones and the fife and drum duo of Ed Young and G.D. Young…