Extended

Dave Holland - Extended Play: Live at Birdland (2003) {2CD Set ECM 1864-65}
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© 2003 ECM Records | ECM 1864-65
Jazz / Contemporary Jazz / Modern Creative / Double Bass

Shockingly, Extended Play is Dave Holland's first live album for ECM, a label he has been associated with for 30 years! Holland's standing quintet – featuring trombonist Robin Eubanks, saxophonist Chris Potter, drummer Billy Kilson, and vibes and marimba virtuoso Steve Nelson – are, according to today's jazz standards, a veteran ensemble. On this Birdland date from 2001, they offer ample evidence as to why they are one of the most highly regarded ensembles in the music today. The material on this double-disc collection is, predictably enough, mostly taken from the band's studio releases. But that's where predictability ends.

Following on from the success of NOW That’s What I Call 12” 80s, NOW Music proudly presents NOW That’s What I Call 12” 80s: Extended. We’ve dived even further into the musical treasure trove of the 80s to bring you 45 stunning extended tracks in a 4CD compilation.

Following on from that reunion the original four return to present their ‘Inflight’ album. This time the band re-work their original hits and extend and stretch them in a 1980s 12” remix style. Ten brand new recordings, expanded to fill the imaginations of dreamers worldwide.

In an age of excess, 12" singles were a prime place for a band to preen, play out their pretensions, and indulge their every passing fancy. Programming the drum machine for an extra two minutes of tedium or allowing the rhythm section to carry on (and on) without the rest of a band was a popular maneuver for the creatively challenged (I mean you, Thompson Twins), with few bands actually utilizing the space in a meaningful manner. Ultravox, however, were one of the few exceptions, as this collection illustrates. "We Came to Dance" and "Lament" both benefited from the expanded format, but the highlight is "Dancing with Tears in My Eyes" which turns a three-minute warning of nuclear annihilation into a lifetime of memories. This latter ten-minute epic comes not from the 12" single, but is one of three tracks within that was remixed and appeared either on one of their CD album reissues or the Rare compilation.

Every Open Eye is the second studio album by Scottish synth-pop band Chvrches, released on 25 September 2015 by Virgin EMI Records and Goodbye Records. Self-produced, it is the band's follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut album, The Bones of What You Believe (2013). The album title comes from a lyric in the song "Clearest Blue". The album received positive reviews from music critics and was listed on several year-end best-of lists.

In an age of excess, 12" singles were a prime place for a band to preen, play out their pretensions, and indulge their every passing fancy. Programming the drum machine for an extra two minutes of tedium or allowing the rhythm section to carry on (and on) without the rest of a band was a popular maneuver for the creatively challenged (I mean you, Thompson Twins), with few bands actually utilizing the space in a meaningful manner…

Smokie's final album, 1982's Strangers in Paradise was the ideal follow-up to the now three-year-old Other Side of the Road – musically and lyrically, it's as strong as Smokie ever were, with the title track and "Two Strangers Falling" surely ranking up there with the best of the band's output. But the production was distinctly old-fashioned, as though the entire album had been recorded four or five years earlier, then left in a box 'till the time was right. Or, in this case, wrong. Add a record label that really didn't raise a finger to promote the band, and a musical climate that had long since moved away from the standards that Smokie held so dear, and the band weren't simply out of time, they were out of place as well.

Following two releases for Poppy Records in the early '70s, as well as a third recording that never saw the light of day, Chris Smither finally returned in 1984 with It Ain't Easy. Armed simply with guitar and voice, Smither delivers a dozen tunes (14 on the CD reissue) that embody the best tradition of blues and folk. Whether it's his originals, a standard like "Glory of Love," or material by the likes of Randy Newman, Chuck Berry, Mississippi John Hurt, and Howlin' Wolf, Smither infuses every track with the same timeless quality. Though he may, on occasion, choose rather standard folk, blues, and rock & roll fare ("Green Rocky Road," "Sittin' on Top of the World," "Maybelline") Smither never treats the songs as if they were museum pieces. In his hands, they're given a life and vitality they probably haven't seen in years. His masterful guitar work and dark, resonant baritone are ideally suited to the songs on It Ain't Easy. Like Mississippi John Hurt or Reverend Gary Davis, his playing is that perfect combination of simplicity and sophistication, discovering and filling harmonic voids without ever overstating or wasting a single note. There's not a false moment on the entire record. Highly recommended. (AMG)