Sting recorded 'The Bridge' during the pandemic with a coterie of trusted musicians beaming into his studio remotely. That easy sense of musical camaraderie, connection and kinship is on full display in the lead single 'If It's Love', an unabashed pop song which is lent wings by a whistled refrain, joyful handclaps, and uplifting brass and strings. The urgently staccato, electric guitar-driven 'Rushing Water' soars with Sting's trademark melodic invention and vivid imagery. The decidedly romantic 'For Her Love' is a delicate pledge that harkens back to some of Sting's classic ballads. That said, Sting can breakdown the genesis of 'Harmony Road', a jazzy jam that artfully combines fever-dream, social realism and autobiography. The circle of trust of a group of likeminded musicians pulling in a myriad of brilliant directions but with one accord, is a solid foundation of 'The Bridge'.
Many years ago there was a thriving Queen market for silver discs with labels such as Gypsy Eye, Queen Digital Archives and Wardour pumping out many interesting titles each month. These days Wardour produce a couple of titles per year (and not very good ones at that) and both Gypsy Eye and QDA are gone leaving on Tarantura, trolling the vast Mr. Peach tape archive, as the sole provider of great Queen silver titles. Rare Cuts Vol. 1-6 is the releases of a new Queen-dedicated label Master Stroke. Like QDA a decade ago, their initial efforts focus upon collecting upgrades of very common material and mixing up with much more rare tracks…
The third studio long-player from the Grammy Award-winning hard rockers led by powerhouse vocalist Lzzy Hale, Into the Wild Life doubles down on the more radio-friendly elements that were introduced on 2012's Strange Case Of…, but it also plays fast and loose with the formula, pouring as many different stylistic elements as it can into each of its 12 (15 if you pick up the deluxe version) cuts. As per usual, Hale's tornadic vocals lead the charge, and she lays down some of her best work to date on stand-out cuts like "I Am the Fire," "Gonna Get Mine," the heartfelt ballad "Dear Daughter," and the blistering, aptly named "Mayhem," the latter of which eschews some of the more traditional hard rock Halestorm tropes (of which there are many) in favor of a nervy blast of pure punk-metal malevolence.
Return to the Centre of the Earth is a studio album by the English keyboardist Rick Wakeman, released on 15 March 1999 on EMI Classics. The album is a sequel to his 1974 concept album Journey to the Centre of the Earth, itself based on the same-titled science fiction novel by Jules Verne. Wakeman wrote a new story of three unnamed travellers who attempt to follow the original journey two hundred years later, including the music which features guest performances from Ozzy Osbourne, Bonnie Tyler, Tony Mitchell, Trevor Rabin, Justin Hayward, and Katrina Leskanich. The story is narrated by Patrick Stewart. Upon release, the album reached number 34 on the UK Albums Chart.