Mellow

The upbeat rhythms and charismatic persona of Big Twist always afforded this group an accessibility greater than that of most hardcore Chicago blues acts. This debut set followed the same formula, mixing time-tested favorites such as Tyrone Davis' "Turn Back the Hands of Time" with the inevitable crowd-pleaser "The Sweet Sound of Rhythm & Blues."

Martin Allbritton, a melismatic and undeniably more powerful vocalist than the finesse-oriented Twist, proves an eminently worthy successor to the beloved big man on this highly enjoyable effort. Barge also pitches in with a few lead vocals as the group attacks a handful of joyous originals ("We'll Be Friends," "Street Party," "Broad Daylight") and storming R&B classics by Sam & Dave and Harold Burrage.

Filled with multi-layered harmonies and complex arrangements, this unfortunately underlooked album of beautiful, flowing, and wonderfully recorded British folk-rock (originally released in 1972) has been a favorite of record collectors for years. Luckily, the strength of the music holds up beyond its scarcity. Not merely electric updates of lost traditional numbers, the album works because it establishes a voice and a sound that is truly compelling. The arrangements range from the zigzagging light progressive bent of the opener, "Heaven Heath," to the more storming tempo changes of "Dan the Wing." Strewn across the record is some truly remarkable guitar work, with the blanks filled in with lush violin and piano fills…

The second in the AOR CITY series! The song selection and supervision is by Toshikazu Kanazawa, a leading AOR critic known for Light Mellow. It covers everything from AOR classics such as Boz Scaggs, TOTO, and AirPlay to rare tracks unique to this compilation. The artwork for the jacket is a new work by Hiroshi Nagai, a master of the illustration world known for Eiichi Ohtaki's masterpiece "A LONG VACATION".

It has been 40 years since the release of Boz Scaggs "Silk Degrees", which is said to be the original AOR! It is a 3-disc set that can be said to be the decisive board of the AOR compilation, and the song selection and supervision is by Mr. Toshikazu Kanazawa, a leading expert in AOR criticism. It covers everything from AOR classics such as Boz Scaggs, TOTO, and AirPlay to maniac songs unique to this compilation.

Keigo Oyamada (小山田 圭吾, Oyamada Keigo, born January 27, 1969), also known by his moniker Cornelius (CORNELIUS（コーネリアス）, Kōneriasu), is a Japanese musician and producer who co-founded Flipper's Guitar, an influential Shibuya-kei band, and subsequently embarked on a solo career…