Kazakstan 1993 2000

Altoist Jackie McLean has recorded so many fine albums throughout his career, particularly in the '60s for Blue Note, that Mosaic could have reissued his complete output without any loss of quality. This four-CD limited-edition box set contains six complete LPs worth of material plus one "new" alternate take…

Clifton Chenier was to zydeco what Elvis Presley was to rockabilly, only more so - the genre's founding father and tireless ambassador. Rhino has done an admirable job of collecting the accordionist's important work for this two-disc, 40-track set, harking back to a wonderfully chaotic "Louisiana Stomp" that he waxed in Lake Charles, Louisiana in 1954 for J.R. Fullbright's tiny Elko label. Whether you're in the market for one zydeco collection to summarize the entire genre or ready to delve deeply into the legacy of the idiom's pioneer, this is precisely where to begin.

Voyage 34, originally a two-volume EP series from 1992-1993, was expanded into "The Complete Trip" after Steven Wilson remixed and added production for its eventual re-release seven years later. Album story is based on a LSD-trip experienced by a guy named Bryan. There are several parts on the album which are familiar with some classic prog material out of the 70's. Once you have a effect of the epic piece A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers by Van Der Graaf Generator and for most part from Pink Floyd a famous guitar rhythm from The Wall, which continues throughout "Voyage 34 - The Complete Trip". These ideas may be stolen from these legendary bands, but they fit incredibly well to the trippy atmosphere of this psychedelic rock concept…

The Seventh House came out almost four years after IQ's previous studio album, Subterranea. In light of this CD, it appears that the critically acclaimed 1997 concept album was the band's creative peak, which does not mean The Seventh House is weak. The general feeling of the album makes it closer to 1993's Ever. Peter Nicholls' theatrical voice gains in beauty with age. The playing is unsurprisingly tight, the musical approach firmly anchored in melodic progressive rock. Highlights include "Guiding Light," "The Wrong Side of Weird," and the title track, the latter a complex and exhilarating number. On the other hand, "Erosion" and "Zero Hour" feel like they miss a dimension, even if the acoustic guitar on the latter brings in a different texture…