Oklou Choke Enough

Who would have thought that the lead singer for one of Sweden’s most beloved melodic death metal bands would be hiding such a talent for classic rock? Well, Bjorn ‘Speed’ Strid, the voice behind SOILWORK, has been leading a double life for over a decade now with both his main band and THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA, formed alongside then bandmate David Andersson in 2007 and also including former members of ARCH ENEMY and KING DIAMOND. Yesterday, their fourth album came out via Nuclear Blast Records, entitled Sometimes the World Ain’t Enough and it might just be the most bonkers record you hear this year…

Mighty Sam McClain has never been content to rest upon his considerable reputation as a soul-blues belter. He's always expanding his musical visions and even cut a world music album with Iranian singer Mahsa Vahdat, 2010's Scent of Reunion: Love Duets Across Civilizations. Here he drops a whole lot of funk and gospel into the mix for an album that'll motivate your feet even as it lifts your spirit. McClain wrote all the tunes here with longtime guitarist Pat Herlehy, and his soulful playing throughout is a perfect complement to McClain's warm, congenial vocals. They slip into a seductive Philly soul groove on two outstanding tracks: "Tears," with an arrangement that brings to mind the work of Thom Bell with its simmering midtempo groove, and "So Into Me," a fervent love song with a simple heartfelt lyric that McClain delivers with a down to earth passion.

Lindsey Stirling's third album, Brave Enough, is where her crossover sound falls nicely into place. Her first two efforts – thrilling collisions of violin acrobatics and electronic embellishment – were novel, but there was something missing to that new age dubstep. On Brave Enough, Stirling taps into a deep well of pain – inspired by her own emotional maturity and the death of her best friend and keyboardist, Jason Gaviati, in November 2015 – and the result is an organic interplay between her instrument and digital beats that focuses more on pleasant rhythms than dubstep muscle.

Peggy Lee's 1979 album Close Enough for Love is a disco-themed take on her classic themes of love and romance. "You" is a light, mellow funk ballad, while the standard "Just One of Those Things" becomes a propulsive dance anthem. Those looking for songs similar to Lee's trademark "Fever" will want to add the smoldering, sexy "Easy Does It" to their collection. Peggy Lee's voice sounds a bit depressed on this album, indicating, perhaps, an unfamiliarity with the new musical trappings. But that quality also gives the album's more straightforward numbers, like "Rain Sometimes" and "Come in From the Rain" (sounding like Wings), a moving, somber tone. An example of a dated album, but one that is a ripe for a rediscovery.

“Playing solo has just been something that’s been in the back of my head,” he says. The appeal, he adds, is the beauty that lives in sitting with oneself — and that being enough.” “I think when you have a lot of technique and you can play almost everything that’s in your head, it’s hard to commit to beauty. It’s hard to not do the flashy stuff,” says Akinmusire. “So I wanted to do a solo project that is just about sitting in the center of the beauty. The center of self, which is, for me, beauty.”

Jerry Lee Lewis - Who's Gonna Play This Old Piano (1972) & Sometimes A Memory Ain't Enough (1973) {2015 BGO Records Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 429 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 154 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 33 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1973-73, 2015 Mercury / BGO Records | BGOCD1174
Country / Rock'n'Roll / Honky Tonk

Two Mercury label country albums dating from 1972 and 1973. Both albums reached the Top 10 US Country chart, spawning the hits 'No More Hanging On', 'Sometimes A Memory Ain't Enough', 'I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone' and 'Who's Gonna Play This Old Piano'. With his new biography getting rave reviews, Jerry Lee's profile is as huge as ever. Digitally remastered and slipcased, and with new notes by Andrew McRae.