Black Widow 6.3

This CD is an album that falls into a niche category of productions. Those familiar with the band's history will recognize the main title of this album, as it is the same as their debut album from 1972. The subtitle, “The Complete Works”, indicates that this isn't merely a reissue, of course. It is not a reissue with added bonus tracks or in other manners issued in an extended version either. Instead, this is a remake of their first album. New recordings of their old album, extended with additional tracks, and when I compare the track list of this 2014 edition with the original album, it appears that the album has been rearranged fairly extensively too. Some compositions are shorter, other are longer, some appear to be missing altogether, at least as far as track titles go. It is, in short, a new album, a brand new version of their debut album from 1972.

The most devoted fans of the Three Tenors (José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, and Luciano Pavarotti) may already have the music included in this album of greatest hits taken from their concerts in Rome (1990), Los Angeles (1994), and Paris (1998), but for listeners new to the singers, this disc makes a good introduction. The repertoire is weighted toward the Latinate, featuring primarily popular song and opera excerpts from Italy, Spain, and Latin America, but also included are songs from The Merry Widow, Carousel, Singin' in the Rain, and West Side Story. Most of the music has a strongly Romantic, emotionally charged, lyrical feeling that's enhanced by the lush orchestral arrangements.

Forty-fifth anniversary box set release from The Velvet Underground & Nico featuring the latest remastering. Set consists of 6 discs includes 29 unreleased tracks in a 92-page hardcover book packaging with a sticker of banana. Japanese edition features the high-fidelity SHM-CD format (compatible with standard CD player). The set includes both stereo and mono versions of the album "The Velvet Underground & Nico" (Disc 1-2), as well as Nico's 1967 solo debut CD "Chelsea Girl" (Disc 3), a studio session at Scepter Studio recorded to acetate, and unreleased recording footage from rehearsal at Andy Warhol's Factory in January 1966 (Disc 4), and a live show from Columbus, Ohio (Disc 5-6).

Alice Cooper - The Studio Albums 1969-1983 (2015) {15 Disc Box Set Rhino-Warner 081227953744}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 3.51 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 1.31 Gb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 311 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1969-83, 2015 Rhino / Warner | 081227953744
Rock / Hard Rock / Shock Rock / Glam Rock

Weighing in at 15 CDs, The Studio Albums 1969-1983 is a hefty box set but, at $85, it is relatively affordable considering that it contains everything Alice Cooper – both the band and the man – recorded at Straight and Warner. Whatever bonus material attached to CD reissues over the years has been stripped away – nothing from the 2001 deluxe edition of Billion Dollar Babies, then – and there are no new remasters of the albums, but this set isn't bare bones. The mini-LP replicas contain a few inserts carried over from the vinyl and, more importantly, those early Straight Records are present, which is good because they were out of print for a while. Not everything here is great – he did have a rough patch in the late '70s and early '80s – but it's all interesting, and it's especially nice to be able to get the entire catalog so easily and cheaply.

Ars Nova: This female keyboard trio started in the next line-up: Keiko Kumagai (keyboards), Kyoko Kanazawa (bass) and Akiko Takahashi (drums). In '92 ARS NOVA released their promising debut-album "Fear & Anxiety", a tribute to ELP with floods of powerful Hammond organ and flashing synthesizer solos, supported by a strong and adventurous rhythm-section. After several album and changes in the line-up, ARS NOVA is still going strong and end 2003 the trio released their new CD entitled "Biogenesis Project": it's loaded with spectacular instrumental prog rock in the vein of ELP, UK and TRACE. The current ARS NOVA includes Keiko Kumagai (keyboards), Akiko Takahashi (drums, voice) and Mika (vocal and chorus)…