Brahm Xrcd

Usually the name Gold: Greatest Hits means "avoid this album." Many times small labels will buy the rights to some obscure songs by a big-name artist and then release it under that very title. But despite the name, this collection keeps the crap in the middle of the album, buried between the good stuff. In fact, this is a really good retrospective of this band. The dark and lonely ballads that Karen Carpenter sang take center stage, pushing brother Richard's pop contributions to the background. The album starts strong enough, featuring several of their biggest hits, including "Superstar," "Rainy Days and Mondays," "Goodbye to Love," and "It's Going to Take Some Time." And the album ends with more big hits, such as "Top of the World," "(They Long to Be) Close to You," and "We've Only Just Begun"; even their Klaatu cover, "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft," makes it. But the middle is a danger zone of filler, featuring forgettable tracks like "Please Mr. Postman" and its ilk. But this collection has the requisite amount of good Carpenters songs to make it worthwhile, and anyone who does not have these songs on album should give this a listen.

Hank Mobley - Soul Station (1960) {2009 Audio Wave XRCD24 Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 269 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 89 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 242 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster | XRCD24
© 2009 Audio Wave / Blue Note | AWMXR-0001
Jazz / Hard Bop / Saxophone

Leonard Feather once famously described Hank Mobley as 'the middleweight champion of the tenor saxophone.' Middleweights never get much respect. But before drugs and general dissipation got him, Mobley recorded some albums for Blue Note in the 1960s that make time stand still. Soul Station exemplifies the suave, flowing melodicism and erotic rhythmic subtlety that made Mobley unique. With a rhythm section for the ages behind him, Mobley delivers profundities of soul and swing now gone from planet Earth. This Audio Wave reissue uses JVC's XRCD24 mastering and manufacturing technologies and gets you closest to Blue Note's master tapes.

Horace Parlan - Speakin' My Piece (1960) {2009 Audio Wave XRCD24 Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (image)+CUE+LOG -> 365 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 124 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 231 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster | XRCD24
© 2009 Audio Wave / Blue Note | AWMXR-0002
Jazz / Hard Bop / Piano

Horace Parlan had a gift for relaxed, swinging hard bop which placed his piano in a central, yet unassuming role. Speakin' My Piece is one of the first albums to find Parlan getting all the ingridients right, from his own subtle playing to soliciting fine contributions of his backing band. Stanley Turrentine, in fact, turns out to be an excellent complement to Parlan, playing in a similarly tasteful style. Five of the six numbers are band originals, and each number is quite similar – bluesy, gently swinging hard bop.