D+a Magazine Full Year

Inspired by a fable by La Fontaine, Rameau produced perhaps his most brilliant music for his penultimate great work, blending reality and the surreal on several levels. This passionate new production by José Montalvo stunningly choreographed by Montalvo and Dominique Hervieu, sets new standards in entertainment, charm and ingenuity. The sharp and spectacular multimedia staging does full justice to Rameau's dazzling burlesque, confirming Olivier Rouvière's statement that ‘Les Paladins' is the last laugh of a witty 77-year old composer’. Recorded live in 2004 at the Paris Théâtre du Châtelet in true surround sound, both the virtuoso cast and Les Arts Florissants are in top form, clearly enjoying themselves in the masterful hands of William Christie.

Extensive 5CD set, produced in conjunction with the band, exploring the first wave of The Primitives’ career, 1985-1992.

With the resurgence of interest in post-punk, ZERO is a timely and kaleidoscopic collection of the work of producer Martin Hannett who changed the musical landscape of the late twentieth century. He was what you want a producer to be. A mad scientist, notoriously difficult and demanding, tormented and troubled, in the tradition of Joe Meek, Phil Spector, Jack Nitzsche, and Lee Perry.

Emma Kirkby, doyenne of the Early Music scene, here shows that she's just as comfortable in music of a more recent vintage. Amy Beach was a woman ahead of her time, performing as solo pianist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra by the age of 18. The same year (1885), she married Henry Beach and, no longer able to perform publicly (it would have gone against her social status), she instead settled down to composing. And delightful stuff it is, too, as Kirkby and friends demonstrate in this charming recital. A number of the songs add violin, cello, or both to the piano and voice combination. "Ecstasy," for instance, has a most effective violin part that is an ideal foil to the purity of Kirkby's voice. Other highlights include the Schumannesque Browning Songs and the amiable Shakespeare Songs (the last of which, "Fairy Lullaby," is irresistible). The final item here, "Elle et moi," is an upbeat little number that suits Kirkby's lithe soprano to perfection. Occasionally, in some of the more lushly textured songs, such as "A Mirage" and "Stella Viatoris," perhaps a fuller voice would have been preferable, but then sample "Chanson d'amour" (written when Beach was only 21 and with a wonderful cello part in addition to the piano) and try to imagine it being better sung. The purely instrumental items are played with unfailing sensitivity and elegance. The Romance is straight out of the salon, while the much later Piano Trio (though actually based on early material) packs plenty of emotion and variety into its 14 minutes. The recording is exemplary, as are the concise notes and texts and translations.

Wily Bo Walker teams up with guitar maestro E D Brayshaw again to work on a new album 'Stone Cold Beautiful' for release in 2015. Wily Bo weaves an album of cinematic storylines and EDB lays down magnificent and timeless guitar solos. Some fine guest musicians make appearances on the album tracks including the beautiful backing vocals of Kareña K. “Just do yourself a favour, go out and get it, I'll be playing tracks from it forever I think… it's one of those album that just grabs you. E. D. Brayshaw's guitar is phenomenal, Wily Bo Walker's vocals are to die for and the musicianship on it is astonishing. Just a fantastic album!" ~ Richard Dunning, Blues on the Radio.

The Muggs is an American blues-rock band from Detroit, Michigan. Formed in February 2000 by guitarist Danny Methric, bassist Tony DeNardo and drummer Matt Rost. They were ranked in December 2008 on the "100 Hot Unsigned Band" list by Music Connection Magazine. They won several awards including the Best Blues Artist and the Best Rock Band for 2007. The band recorded a live show at Cadieux Cafe in Detroit, MI. in late 2012 which they released in April 2013 entitled Full Tilt. On their awesome double Live disc, The Muggs nail down 22 tracks of brain-damaging, killer, retro-sonic, heavy guitar power trio jams that captures the Detroit Rock Machine in all their raw, loud, dirty rock n' roll glory. Including 3 cover jams by Rory Gallagher, the Full Tilt disc brings & delivers a double dose of bad-ass, powerful guitar rock mojo. Highly recommended to fans of Mountain, Led Zeppelin, Grand Funk, James Gang & Budgie.

EMERSON LAKE & PALMER (ELP) reformed for the first time since 1998 to headline the High Voltage Festival on Sunday July 25th 2010. 2010 marked the 40th anniversary of the creation of Emerson Lake and Palmer, the band that was formed from King Crimson, The Nice and Atomic Rooster. They became the first true prog-rock Super Group and defined an era…