Nick of Time not only was an artistic comeback for Bonnie Raitt; it brought her largest audience yet, so there was no reason to mess with success for its sequel, Luck of the Draw. And sequel is the appropriate word, since Luck of the Draw is nothing if it isn't Nick of Time, Pt. 2. True, there's a heavier reliance on original material this time around, but the sound and feel of the record is identical to its predecessor…
These aren't exactly Jim Croce's greatest hits, although most of them–"Operator", "Time In a Bottle", "Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown," and "I'll Have to Say I Love You In a Song" among others–are here. More specifically, 24 CARAT includes the complete YOU DON'T MESS AROUND WITH JIM album, plus the best cuts from LIFE AND TIMES and I GOT A NAME. Better yet, everything's been beautifully remastered in typical DCC fashion, which means that the lower frequencies seem more burnished than ever. The overall clarity is remarkable, and particularly works to the advantage of Croce's signature sound of two finger-picked acoustic guitars playing harmony lines.
Relaxin' features the Miles Davis Quintet in a pair of legendary recording dates – from May and October of 1956 – which would generate enough music to produce four separate long-players: Cookin', Relaxin', Workin', and Steamin'. Each of these is considered not only to be among the pinnacle of Davis' work, but of the entire bop subgenre as well…
One of Wes Montgomery's finest recordings, a Riverside date that showcases the influential guitarist in a quintet with pianist Hank Jones, bassist Ron Carter, drummer Lex Humphries, and the congas of Ray Barretto…
This release presents the complete album Getz Meets Mulligan on HI-FI, including the two last tunes from the session, originally issued on another LP Getz and Mulliogan's only collaboration ever in a quintet format. The trade horns on the album's first three tracks, allowing the listener the rare opportunuty to hear Getz on baritone and Mulligan on tenor.
Queen were straining at the boundaries of hard rock and heavy metal on Sheer Heart Attack, but they broke down all the barricades on A Night at the Opera, a self-consciously ridiculous and overblown hard rock masterpiece…
Among revolutionary rock albums, Van Halen's debut often gets short shrift. Although it altered perceptions of what the guitar could do, it is not spoken of in the same reverential tones as Are You Experienced? and although it set the template for how rock & roll sounded for the next decade or more, it isn't seen as an epochal generational shift, like Led Zeppelin, The Ramones, The Rolling Stones, or Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols, which was released just the year before…
Kill 'Em All may have revitalized heavy metal's underground, but Ride the Lightning was even more stunning, exhibiting staggering musical growth and boldly charting new directions that would affect heavy metal for years to come. Incredibly ambitious for a one-year-later sophomore effort, Ride the Lightning finds Metallica aggressively expanding their compositional technique and range of expression…
Less heralded than their collaboration with Thelonious Monk (as documented on Bags' Groove and Miles Davis and the Modern Jazz Giants), this August 5, 1955 session with vibraphonist Milt Jackson was Davis' last all-star collaboration before the formation of his first classic quintet…
Even though Master of Puppets didn't take as gigantic a leap forward as Ride the Lightning, it was the band's greatest achievement, hailed as a masterpiece by critics far outside heavy metal's core audience. It was also a substantial hit, reaching the Top 30 and selling three million copies despite absolutely nonexistent airplay…