Colin Hay

Colin Hay first emerged as songwriter/vocalist for hitmakers Men at Work before establishing himself as a solo artist. But his love for music was born in his native Scotland while working at his parents' record store and hearing the hits of the day. At home during quarantine in 2021 Hay was moved to record some of his favorites from that period. From the Kinks' "Waterloo Sunset" to Faces' "Ooh La La" and Dusty Springfield's "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself", Hay delivers a set a lushly reimagined classics that showcase both his talent for interpreting songs and his iconic vocals.

Ringo Starr, continuing to recognize a good thing when he sees it as he did back in 1962, is still organizing all-star (or "All-Starr") bands and touring regularly with them. This disc melds a concert performance at the Casino Rama in Ontario, Canada with a good deal of backstage documentary-style footage…

Men at Work were one of the more surprising success stories of the new wave era, rocketing out of Australia in 1982 to become the most successful artist of the year. With its Police-styled rhythms, catchy guitar hooks, wailing saxophones, and off-kilter sense of humor, the band's debut album, Business as Usual, became an international blockbuster, breaking the American record for the most weeks a debut spent at the top of the charts. Their funny, irreverent videos became MTV favorites, helping send "Who Can It Be Now?" and "Down Under" to number one. Men at Work's momentum sustained them through their second album, 1983's Cargo, before the bottom fell out of the band's popularity. After releasing Two Hearts in 1985, Men at Work broke up, becoming one of the better-remembered phenomena of new wave.

Colin Towns + NDR Big Band - Frank Zappa's Hot Licks (And Funny Smells) (2005) {Rent A Dog}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 442 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 156 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 170 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2005 Rent A Dog / Provocateur Records / NDR | rad 2007-2
Jazz / Jazz Rock / Experimental Big Band

If this scorching live set is anything to go by, the November tour by Germany's NDR Big Band playing Colin Towns' arrangements of Frank Zappa classics will be unmissable. One-time rock keyboardist Towns (who worked for Deep Purple star Ian Gillan) became a film and TV composer, then a jazz bandleader, and the founder and funder of creative indie label Provocateur Records. His writing for big jazz ensembles mixes rock, improv, postbop and a slashing Stravinskyesque melodic wildness - but the result often comes at you with a visceral energy of such heat that it melts the edges.

Ringo Starr has announced details of his 20th studio album, to be titled What’s My Name and released by UMe on 25 October.