The i 31 May 2016

John Holt - 4000 Volts Of Holt: The Classic Albums Collection (2016) {2 CD Set Trojan Records TJDCD547 rec 1974-1976}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 999 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 359 Mb
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© 1974-76, 2016 Trojan Records / BMG / Sanctuary Records | TJDCD547
Reggae / Reggae Pop / Smooth Reggae / Rocksteady

In 1972, one of Jamaica's most popular and successful singers, John Holt, teamed up with British-born record producer, Tony Ashfield to create a style of reggae aimed at appealing to music listeners of all ages and colours throughout the world. By combining Jamaican rhythms with sophisticated western arrangements, the pair succeeded in their aim, producing an album that exceeded all expectations. ‘The Further You Look’ set the standard for what later became widely known as ‘pop reggae’ and quickly became a must-have album for a broad spectrum of record buyers, selling in vast numbers amongst both black and white communities.

Strictly Come Dancing - today one of the most popular shows on television - is the latest manifestation of the BBC's enduring love affair with dance. Whether it was profiling stars such as Margot Fonteyn, reluctantly teaching us how to do the twist or encouraging us to dance like John Travolta, the BBC's cameras were there to capture every move and every step. From ballet to ballroom and beyond, this is Dance at the BBC.

Blake Shelton - If I'm Honest (2016) {Warner Bros. 9362-49200-3}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 359 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 120 Mb
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© 2016 Ten Point Productions / Warner Bros. 9362-49200-3
Country / Country Pop / Contemporary Country / Neo-Traditionalist Country

Blake Shelton veered toward the somnolent on the quite pleasing Bringing Back the Sunshine so it's not entirely surprising its 2016 sequel, If I'm Honest, is a bit crisper and livelier. Some of this brightening in attitude may be due to him lightening his load following a much-publicized 2015 divorce from singer Miranda Lambert – certainly the title suggests it's time for the singer to get down to what's real – but the electronic sheen and good times also feel like a reaction to Shelton sliding too deeply into softness. If If I'm Honest is indeed a divorce album, it's a Back in the High Life, not a Blood on the Tracks: Shelton is seizing the day, embracing his new lease on life with renewed vigor and a new love, who just happens to stop by to sing "Go Ahead and Break My Heart." Gwen Stefani's presence offers a reminder that Shelton stars on the televised singing competition The Voice, and If I'm Honest is targeted more at the mainstream audience attracted by the show than country radio proper.

PentaTone's live recording of John Corigliano's The Ghosts of Versailles is billed as the world premiere recording, though it was preceded by the 1991 video recording of the Metropolitan Opera's production, which was conducted by James Levine and starred Teresa Stratas. Even so, this 2016 audiophile presentation of the LA Opera production, conducted by James Conlon, is a major event for opera lovers, especially since the Met's recording is difficult to find and performances of The Ghosts of Versailles are rare.

Eric Clapton - I Still Do (2016) {Bushbranch-Surfdog 4786177}
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© 2016 Polydor / Bushbranch / Surfdog | 4786177
Rock / Blue Rock / Contemporary Pop

Reuniting with producer Glyn Johns, the steady hand who guided Slowhand back in 1977, doesn't provide Eric Clapton with much of a jolt for his 23rd studio album, but it does provide the veteran guitarist with no small degree of nicely weathered warmth. Such mellowed good vibes are the calling card of I Still Do, which otherwise proceeds along the same path Clapton's records follow in the 21st century: he blends covers of well-worn blues standards with a couple of J.J. Cale tunes, a few old pop standards, a Bob Dylan chestnut, and original songs that draw upon aspects of all of these.

I Still Do is the twenty-third solo studio album by the English rock musician Eric Clapton. The album was released on 20 May, 2016 through the independent Bushbranch Records/Surfdog Records label. The album features a combination of new material written by Clapton as well as cover versions of classic songs, contemporary tunes and influences interpreted in his own style. For the album, Clapton reunited with record producer Glyn Johns and had the album's artwork painted by Sir Peter Blake who also previously worked with Clapton.[3] The album follows up to Clapton's global hit album The Breeze: An Appreciation of JJ Cale released in summer of 2014, his compilation album Forever Man released in spring of 2015 and his also commercially successful concert film and live album Slowhand at 70 – Live at the Royal Albert Hall released in late 2015.

Norwegian pop trio A-ha has had their catalog revamped and repackaged a number of times since their inception in the 1980s, but 2016's Time and Again: The Ultimate A-ha brings their canon of hits up to date with the inclusion of material from each of their ten studio albums. The first disc of this set is generally concerned with their hits, beginning, appropriately, with the sunny synths of "Take on Me" and winding chronologically through the years to the sweeping orchestral ballad "Under the Makeup" from their 2015 LP Cast in Steel. The expected tracks like "Touchy!," "The Living Daylights," and their lush cover of the Everly Brothers' "Crying in the Rain" are all included alongside later-era cuts like 2000's "Summer Moved On," which was a number one hit in their home country. The second disc in the set is dedicated entirely to alternate mixes and remixes of their hits, some of which hold some historical value like Jellybean's previously unreleased 1986 remix of "Cry Wolf" and Justin Strauss' rare dub mix of "You Are the One."