Journeys

Journeys in Solitude is a gothic/doom metal album by a band that appears to be unfairly lumped in with the overwhelmingly large gothic/doom metal scene, thus aiding their obscurity after two albums. Fading Bliss' music is like an ever enclosing cell of despair that crushes the listener after paralyzing him/her…

Changing their band name as often as they changed the genre of music they played, Spandau Ballet began as a punk rock band calling themselves The Cut. Shortly after they changed their name to The Makers, and again In 1978 they changed their sound to a more power pop renaming themselves Gentry. Changing their sound once again to a more polished, synth heavy pop with an emphasis on the romantic the band changed their name for a last time to Spandau Ballet after (as the story goes) seeing the name "Spandau Ballet" written on a lavatory wall in a bar in Berlin…

In spite of his numerous academic appointments Robin Orr steadily produced a sizeable output including three operas, three symphonies and a good deal of vocal and instrumental music. It all undoubtedly deserves to be better known though it really never lacked for performances. Very little of Orr's music has been available on records. His Symphony in One Movement (actually his first symphony) was recorded many years ago (EMI ASD 2279 - nla). This comparative neglect makes the present release the more welcome in that it not only pays a well-deserved tribute to the composer on his ninetieth birthday but also provides an excellent introduction to his varied output.

In May of 2011, Neil Young drove a 1956 Crown Victoria from his idyllic hometown of Omemee, Ontario to downtown Toronto's iconic Massey Hall where he intimately performed the last two nights of his solo world tour. Along the drive, Young recounted insightful and introspective stories from his youth to filmmaker Jonathan Demme…

The Emerson String Quartet formed in 1976 and kept the same personnel for more than 30 years. Journeys marks its final release with original cellist David Finckel, who has departed to pursue other projects (notably duo concerts with his wife, pianist Wu Han). It thus represents a turning point of sorts, and it is good to see that the group has not been content with simply recrossing safe territory but has delivered something innovative, both within its own catalog and in the general chamber music marketplace. The Emerson Quartet's repertory has rested solidly in the Haydn/Beethoven/Brahms mainstream. The group has rarely recorded Tchaikovsky, and Schoenberg never until this release. Journeys contains both, in the form of two sextets, Tchaikovsky's Souvenir de Florence and Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht.