Mcray

38 Special is a prime example of an AOR band with deep roots in Southern rock. The band hails from Florida, and vocalist Donnie Van Zant is the brother of none other than Lynyrd Skynyrd's Ronnie and Johnny Van Zant. The group's 1982 album, Special Forces, included the flawless Top Ten rocker "Caught Up in You," which injected the mainstream with a shot of much-needed grit. That album's follow-up, 1983's Tour De Force, upped the ante, showing the band's skills at their peak. Propelled by the effortless blend of melody and power stirred up by Van Zant, vocalist/guitarist Don Barnes, guitarist Jeff Carlisi, bassist Larry Junstrom, and drummers Steve Brookins and Jack Grondin, Tour De Force is loaded with irresistible hooks.

When Milcho Leviev left Bulgaria, it was 1970. A new generation has grown up since. Can you possibly imagine how much music has flowed under his fingers since then, how many concerts, records, arrangements and compositions he has done. And all these have been beyond reach in his native country, his music was arrested and silent. It was yet another enormity of a society the memory of which will still be haunting our dreams for years to come. Yet, in spite of everything, of the distance and the impossibility of normal communication, Milcho Leviev's influence on the development of Bulgarian jazz did not decrease. His ideas in the 60's were the basis for almost all young musicians to set forth on their way.