Golden Visa

The 70s were the decade of progressive rock music of all calibers. And it seems not one country of this world was spared when the new kind of sound spilled over like a giant wave of inspiration. Even the European Eastern Block countries where rock music was regarded as subversive by the authorities had their share of rock bands with a hippie, heavy or freaked out direction. We recall Omega from Hungary, SBB from Poland or Modry Efekt from the Czech Republic and of course Phoenix from Romania. The latter were the biggest rock music export of their home country but there were others with them building a solid spine for the still young and expanding rock scene. One of these nowadays rather unknown forces was Progresiv TM, a band not to categorize too easily. They loved big melodies with a yearning approach for the vocals, mixed up blues, folk, jazz and playfully twisted rock patterns…

This Swedish opera star's flair for dramatic roles (not to mention his distinctively beautiful voice) made him one of the most in-demand tenors in the world. This set collects the best of Bjorling's EMI solo recordings plus highlights from the three complete operas he recorded for his longtime label. He sings La Donna E Mobile Verdi; E Lucevan Le Stelle Puccini; Cielo E Mar Ponchielli; Mi Batte Il Cor O Paradiso Meyerbeer; Instant Charmant En Ferment Les Yeux Massenet, plus Borodin, Gounod, Sibelius and more!

There’s nothing disastrous about Daniel Pemberton’s fine score. Pemberton’s star has been on the rise for a few years now and it was 2015 that turned out to be his real breakthrough year, with his very impressive (and very different) scores for The Man from UNCLE and Steve Jobs. There’s a bit of the effortless cool of the former heard in Gold but by and large this is another very different affair, a fun action/adventure score that stays refreshingly free of the turgid sounds that tend to dog these things these days.