Beta 2018

The gathering of Arena's famous musicians makes a super-group: Mick Pointer (Ex-Marillion) plays the drums, Clive Nolan (Pendragon) the keyboards, and Keith More (Asia) played the guitar until replaced by John Mitchell (Ex-Kino). Vocalist Rob Sowden has been with the band since Immortal? and the bass player is Ian Salmon. There have also been some guest appearances by Tracy Hitchings (singer of Quasar, Strangers on a Train & Landmarq) and Steve Rothery (Marillion's gifted guitarist).
"Songs From The Lion's Cage" is then a very professional Progressive rock, both close to Marillion and hard-rock. "Pride", their second opus issued in 1996 (one year after the previous one) confirmed the high musical level of this band, at a time when they added a touch IQ to their music…

Blue Dogs (2015). Named after The Muffins' 1978 debut album - one of the essential Canterbury-related releases - Manna/Mirage is the newest project by founding member Dave Newhouse (one of the band's two woodwind players). Not surprisingly, fellow Muffins Billy Swann and Paul Sears are also on board, as well as Newhouse’s son George, guitarist Mark Stanley (of Chainsaw Jazz and Thee Maximalists), and newest recruit, Steve Pastena, on French horn. The ensemble's debut, released in the autumn of 2015, bears the title of Blue Dogs - a title inspired by a painting by artist and RIO/Canterbury fan Gonzalo Fuentes Riquelme (aka Guerrilla Graphics), which graces the CD cover. The album was mixed and produced by none other than Mike Potter of Orion Studios - probably the most important venue for progressive music in the US, and the setting of The Muffins' most recent performance to date, in May 2015…

The Beta Band were a Scottish musical group formed in 1996. They were critically acclaimed and have achieved a cult status. Their style was described as being "folktronica", a blend of folk, Scottish, electronic, rock, trip hop, and experimental jamming. The acclaimed Scottish band released just three albums and three EPs between 1996 and 2004 (when they disbanded) and it’s those three EPs – Champion Versions, The Patty Patty Sound and Los Amigos Del Beta Bandidos – that were brought together to form their first ‘album’.

An American Treasure, the first posthumous Tom Petty project, is designed as an aural biography of the late rocker, telling a tale that begins with a Mudcrutch session from 1974, running through the glory of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers in 1976, and concluding with a live version of "Hungry No More" from 2016, just over a year prior to his tragic 2017 passing. Arriving roughly a year after Petty's death, the timing for An American Treasure makes sense – he certainly deserved a tribute – but in strict discographical terms, there didn't seem to be a need for a second career-spanning box set, as he already had 1995's rarity-laden box Playback and a multi-disc The Live Anthology from 2009. Happily, An American Treasure offers a story that's not told on either previous set, and that's a complete picture of Petty's career, told entirely through byways, not highways.

On October 5, Universal Music celebrates the apex of John Lennon’s solo career with a six-disc box set, Imagine – The Ultimate Collection. This historical, remixed and remastered 140-track collection is fully authorised by Yoko Ono Lennon who oversaw the production and creative direction. Spread across four CDs and two Blu-ray discs, this truly unique expanded edition offers a variety of listening experiences that are at once immersive and intimate, ranging from the brand new Ultimate Mixes of the iconic album, which reveal whole new levels of sonic depth, definition and clarity to these timeless songs, to the Raw Studio Mixes that allow listeners to hear Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band’s original, unadorned performances, to enveloping 5.1 surround sound mixes, and a Quadrasonic Album Mix, presenting the original four speaker mix remastered in Quadrasonic sound for the first time in nearly fifty years.

Scherzoo is an Avant-Prog/Zeuhl/RIO band founded by the composer/multi-instrumentalist François Thollot around 2005 after his solo album "Contact" recorded with the participation of Phillipe Bussonnet and Daniel Jeand'heur. Four albums has already been released: "01" in 2011, "02" in 2012, "03" in 2015 and "04" in 2018. Darkened jazz with a lot of avant-garde, Canterbury and some zeuhl influences. Where the first album was saxophone dominated, there is a lot more Hammond organs on "02". The balance between Hammond organs, guitars and saxophone creates an entity which really works on second album. The music itself is pretty much RIO melody structures dominated. The mood is dark and brooding.

Vespero got together as a quartet (Arkady Fedotov - vocals, bass, flute, synths; Valentin Rulev - violin, synths; Ivan Fedotov - drums, percussion; Alexander Kuzovlev - guitar, bass, synths) in Astrakhan (south of Russia) 2003 on the common interest in playing psychedelic music. Later Natalya Tjurina (vocals) joined, and the band moved into more progressive rock-related areas. As their Moscow fellows Kaftan Smekha, Vespero are deeply influenced by avant theatre and experimental poetry. Since the very first demos their sound has been influenced by Gong, early Pink Floyd, Faust and related bands from that era. Highly recommended for all fans of these (and beyond!).

The Tikiyaki Orchestra exist in a class by themselves. There really is no other band quite like them on the planet. They take the Exotica tradition as established by pioneers Denny, Lyman and Baxter and bring it into the 21st century. Their unmistakable sound is a blend of the coolest retro styles–exotica, lounge, space-age bachelor pad, crime jazz, spy, surf, spaghetti western and more. They headline sold out shows, have appeared at the major Tiki festivals and have had their music featured in numerous television shows and Tiki documentaries. Hailing from Los Angeles, CA, The Tikiyaki Orchestra has been wowing audiences since 2008 with their own brand of Exotic Lounge music and unique and charismatic showmanship.

An adventurous fusion outfit, New York's Tauk emerged in the early 2010s playing a cross-pollinated brand of jazz, funk, prog, and instrumental jam band rock. Although friends since their teens, the bandmembers came to wider attention after Tauk toured with Umphrey's McGee and released their own 2013 album, Homunculus. Favorites on the jam band circuit, Tauk keep an intense live schedule, appearing at festivals around the globe. Hailing from Oyster Bay, New York, Tauk feature guitarist Matt Jalbert, keyboardist Alric Carter, bassist Charlie Dolan, and drummer Isaac Teel. Friends since the seventh grade, Jalbert, Carter, and Dolan played together in various bands growing up before forming Tauk…

Three CD set. For more than three decades, Bon Jovi has used great hooks, epic-sounding productions and stadium-sized passion to forge a sound that combines a pop sensibility with a heavy-metal attitude. They ended transcending the big-haired '80s, withstanding changes in style and sound to become one of the biggest American rock bands of their time; selling over 120 million albums. In The Many Faces of Bon Jovi, we will present the work of their two main members, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora before they would join forces and also, we will review their massive hit-making catalog with revamped versions from members of some of the most popular bands from the '80s. The Many Faces Of Bon Jovi is a fantastic album that showcases the work of one of the most admired hard-rock bands of our time.