Message Display

Founded in Düsseldorf, Germany in 1968 - Disbanded in 1981. Originally born as a German-British band, the music of Message oscillates between a substantial heavy rock and a nice folk rock articulated around a range of keyboards arrangements. With a combination of compelling rhythms, first rate compositions and strong playing, Message come up with a winner this time. Murdoch continues his quirky experiments with vibrato-tremolo heavy guitar sound. It adds much of the needed distinction to the whole affair. And there's a greater sense of exploration this time round, making it all feel more "progressive".

By his own admission, emotion is central to the music of Peteris Vasks, though his intense outpourings are far from amorphous or undisciplined rhapsodies. Rather, his most passionate works are tempered by an appreciation of tradition and a practical awareness of instrumental techniques, timbres, and orchestral textures. Neo-Romanticism plainly dominates Vasks' works from the last quarter of the twentieth century, and this is revealed in the quasi-Mahlerian essays for string orchestra, Cantabile (1979) and Musica dolorosa (1983), the lush and brilliantly orchestrated Cor Anglais Concerto (1989), and the aspiring, suspension-filled Lauda (1986).

Despite their legendary status, the Police only released five albums during their brief reign from 1978-1983. In addition, the trio had amassed a healthy amount of both studio and live B-sides, plus songs that only appeared on soundtracks. For the 1993 four-CD box set Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings, every single song the Police ever recorded is included. All the tracks were digitally remastered for the project, sounding superior to the original CD versions of the single albums. Also included is a 68-page booklet that includes an interesting (and often humorous) biography, a time line, and notes from all three bandmembers regarding the rarities that appear for the first time on compact disc here. But of course, the real charm of the box set is the music - album tracks ("Hole in My Life," "It's Alright for You," "Driven to Tears")…

Recorded in 1969, this deluxe 2CD set comprises 3 albums by the critically acclaimed free jazz exponets.
Includes a photo-laden booklet with informative notes.
Originally comprised of saxophonists Roscoe Mitchell and Joseph Jarman, trumpeter Lester Bowie, bassist Malachi Favors, and later, drummer Famoudou Don Moye, the Art Ensemble of Chicago enjoy a critical reputation as the most influential avant-garde jazz ensemble of the 1970s and '80s. During the late '60s and early '70s, the Art Ensemble helped pioneer the fusion of jazz with European art music and indigenous African folk styles. They also combined music from sanctified church services, minstrel shows, and bawdy houses of late 19th and early 20th century America - with a modernist spirit and lively stage show that involved face paint and costumes as well as hundreds of musical instruments…