Middle of the Road is a Scottish pop group who have enjoyed success across Europe and Latin America since the 1970s. Before ABBA established themselves in the mid 70s, Middle of the Road were the sound of early europop with their distinctive harmonies and lead vocals from Sally Carr. Four of their singles sold over one million copies each, and received a gold disc: "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep". "Sacramento", "Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum" and "Soley Soley". By early 1972 the group had sold over five million records…
Jazz-rooted former pop singer Curtis Stigers has made a fine homage to Frank Sinatra’s 1966 Sinatra at the Sands album with Count Basie’s orchestra, recorded live as the original was. Stigers is much more gruff and rugged than a smoothie like Michael Bublé, as hip in his timing as Kurt Elling, if not as unpredictable – and he could hardly be in more cracking company than the Danish Radio Big Band, which catches the punchy Basie sound and the twists of Quincy Jones’s arrangements with immense aplomb.
This recording was the third and final matchup between guitarists Herb Ellis and Joe Pass and, unlike the first two (which were both made for Concord), this is a duo date rather than a quartet session. Pass was just beginning to gain recognition for his remarkable unaccompanied solos, but Ellis had not recorded in such a sparse setting before. They complement each other quite well on such tunes as "Love for Sale," "Seven Come Eleven," "Oh, Lady Be Good," "I've Found a New Baby," and two versions of "Cherokee."
…Stockfish continues to shine with its groundbreaking SACD technology. The precision and clarity of the stringed instrumentation is flawless, augmenting the acoustics without compromising the intended starkness. (…) Songs For The Road is an engaging album.
As previously announced, Frontiers Music Srl is pleased to welcome Finland's Rust n' Rage to the label's ever-growing stable of exciting new young talent. The band will release its label debut "One For The Road", produced by Jimmy Westerlund (One Desire). Through lots of hard work and gigging, Rust n' Rage has been starting to make a name for itself in home country Finland…