Pat And Mike

The Dreamboats & Petticoats brand has been developed to be synonymous with everything from the late 50/60's. Selling over 3.5 million copies across the album series, and boosted by the hit musical (sold over 1 million tickets), Dreamboats & Petticoats has now become cross generational with 'all the family' appreciating the iconic pop songs from this golden era.

"Seven the Hard Way" is Pat Benatar's sixth studio album, and her seventh album overall, released in 1985. It debuted on the US Billboard 200 album chart the week of December 14 and peaked at No. 26, producing the hits: "Invincible", "Sex as a Weapon", and "Le Bel Age". The album sold approximately 600,000 in the US and was certified Gold.

With 80/81, Pat Metheny took one step closer to his dream of working with The Prophet of Freedom (a dream he finally achieved with 1985’s Song X), and what better company than Coleman alumni Charlie Haden and Dewey Redman, both fresh off the boat of Keith Jarrett’s newly defunct American Quartet and both welcome additions to the extended Metheny family. Along with the technical mastery of reedman Mike Brecker and drummer Jack DeJohnette, plus a dash of post-bop spice, the result was this still-fresh sonic concoction. The atmospheres of the opening “Two Folk Songs” invite us with that expansive pastoralism so characteristic of Metheny. This makes Brecker’s highly trained yet raw stylings all the more marked, bringing as they do a sense of presence that explodes into a million pieces.

Jazz tribute albums are a dime a dozen. Often comprising familiar, oft-recorded material, many seem indistinct. Not so Hommage à Eberhard Weber, recorded live in January of 2015 on the occasion of the bassist/composer's 75th birthday. It features a host of collaborators and friends with the SWR Big Band under the direction of Helge Sunde. With the exception of Pat Metheny's suite-like composition "Hommage," everything was written by Weber, who is esteemed for his technique and custom-built instruments and as one of the architects of "the ECM sound." He has been unable to play since suffering a debilitating stroke in 2007. Thanks to technology, he is virtually present on two of these performances…

Pat Metheny - 80/81
Vinyl Rip in 24-Bit/96-kHz | FLAC tracks | no cue | no log | Covers | MU, RS, FF | 1.63 GB 3% recovery
1980 | Genre: Jazz-fusion | Label: ECM | ECM-2-1180 | US pressing, double LP | Vinyl: M

Pat Metheny's credibility with the jazz community went way up with the release of this package, a superb two-LP collaboration with a quartet of outstanding jazz musicians that dared to be uncompromising at a time when most artists would have merely continued pursuing their electric commercial successes.

(Richard S. Ginell - AllMusic Guide. This album was rated 4.5 out of 5 star)

Mike Dowling a true master guitarist, performs a unique blend of blues, ragtime, swing and roots music. Each of his arrangements is a virtual encyclopedia of essentials riffs that define the genre. Before embarking on a solo career, Mike performed with such legendary artists as jazz great Joe Venuti, mandolinist Jethro Burns and master fiddler Vassar Clements and has recently released a duo recording with Pat Donohue. On this DVD, Mike performs and explains six of his classical solo guitar pieces, in standard tuning and open tunings. In the special lesson sections, Mike carefully describes and explains the most important aspects and techniques required for each arrangement, and you can select from multiple camera angles: watch full performance or see a close-up of his right or left hand. In addition several bonus performances are included.

Seven the Hard Way is Pat Benatar's sixth studio album, and her seventh album overall, released in 1985. It debuted on the US Billboard 200 album chart the week of December 14 and peaked at No. 26, producing the hits: "Invincible", "Sex as a Weapon", and "Le Bel Age". The Grammy nominated single, "Invincible" was produced by Mike Chapman and recorded for the soundtrack of the Matthew Robbins' movie The Legend of Billie Jean, which, although doing poorly at the box office, became a cult classic to MTV fans in general. The song became a hit single and was included in the album, despite its musical style being quite different from Benatar's current one and more reminiscent of her earlier efforts.