John Legend

The most distinctive thing about Double Fantasy, the last album John Lennon released during his lifetime, is the very thing that keeps it from being a graceful return to form from the singer/songwriter, returning to active duty after five years of self-imposed exile…

The most distinctive thing about Double Fantasy, the last album John Lennon released during his lifetime, is the very thing that keeps it from being a graceful return to form from the singer/songwriter, returning to active duty after five years of self-imposed exile. As legend has it, Lennon spent those years in domestic bliss, being a husband, raising a baby, and, of course, baking bread…

John Dowland was no less famous for his misfortunes than for his works. This subtle, elusive and strangely-behaved character led rather an adventurous life. Hailed as an Anglorum Orpheus (or “Orpheus of the English”) of almost divine powers, he inspired more comments and praise than most great musicians of his generation. To comply with legend, we were to associate him only with tears, sleep and gloom, in the gallery of Shakespearian heroes he could be placed somewhere between Hamlet and Jaques in As You like It. Although the legend may be partly based on truth, the musician himself contributed a great deal to it in his various writings; these are the confessions of a man full of dissonances, at once vulnerable and ambitious, ingenuous and haughty – an egocentric ever at odds with a world by which he felt himself rejected.

The most distinctive thing about Double Fantasy, the last album John Lennon released during his lifetime, is the very thing that keeps it from being a graceful return to form from the singer/songwriter, returning to active duty after five years of self-imposed exile. As legend has it, Lennon spent those years in domestic bliss, being a husband, raising a baby, and, of course, baking bread. Double Fantasy was designed as a window into that bliss and, to that extent, he decided to make it a joint album with Yoko Ono, to illustrate how complete their union was…

The latest recording by Zorn’s newest ensemble Chaos Magick is a suite inspired by the ancient Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice. Combining contemporary classical with jazz, funk, rock, blues, film soundtrack, noise improvisation and so much more this is a wild and evocative trip thru Hell and back. Tight conductions, complex melodies, burning solos, telepathic group interaction and all the wit, humor, joy and mystery that one has come to expect from Zorn’s dedicated and passionate crew of virtuosi are in abundant display in this beautiful and unique rendering of the classic Orpheus legend.

Herbie Hancock - The Imagine Project (2010) {Sony Music 88697718992}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 449 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 158 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 32 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2010 Hancock Records / Sony Music | 88697718992
Jazz / Contemporary Jazz / Soul / Alternative / Folk / Fusion

Herbie Hancock's star-studded The Imagine Project was several years in the making, recorded in seven countries with musicians from all over the globe. Hancock's band with producer/bassist Larry Klein, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, percussionist Alex Acuña, and guitarist Lionel Loueke is a common denominator. Much of what's here is interpretations of well-known pop, folk, and soul songs. That said, The Imagine Project (named for the John Lennon song) feels more like an overreach than a seamless or successful series of collaborations.