Ric Emett

When Cindy Castillo and Frédéric d'Ursel told me about their project involving the six Sonatas for violin and keyboard by J.-S. Bach and invited me to write pieces for violin and organ to frame two of them, I immediately and intensely felt the challenge. The juxtaposition of styles that would inevitably result implied an equation that was not easy to solve: the music to be created had to be in connection, in dialogue with that of this "Master" - one of the most famous in the entire History of Western Music! In any case, it seemed to me that the project had to aim at a proposal for an overall form whose elements would be brought together in a coherent architecture that would be perceptible to the listener.

As the lead singer and song writer for New Wave legends The Cars, the late Ric Ocasek created a catalog of unforgettable hit singles that appealed to mainstream and underground audiences alike. For his debut solo album Beatitude in 1982, Ocasek put his experimental foot forward to create an album that included his trademark Cars sound, but also veered into a more electronic direction. Aided by drum machines and bringing keyboards to the forefront, Beatitude spawned two well-received singles. Something To Grab For could have fit on any Cars album with its upbeat and catchy hook, while Jimmy Jimmy takes a serious tone tackling teenage hardships and challenges. This newly remastered CD edition now includes several bonus tracks, including the 1983 re-recording of Jimmy Jimmy in both its single and dance mix versions. Also included are remixes of the electro-epic Connect Up To Me and the soulful Prove.

On album of songs covering over a hundred years of French mélodie, from Reynaldo Hahn to the present day. It includes classics of the genre (Debussy's Nuit d'étoiles, Poulenc's Les chemins de l'amour), but also very recent compositions, in the form of two song cycles by Frédéric Chaslin. Chansons pour elle (to poems by Jean Cocteau) and Nudités (texts by Alain Duault) are imaginative works, free in their expression. Music of today meets music of yesterday and the result is both subtle and poetic.

Johnny Adams - I Won't Cry: The Complete Ric & Ron Singles 1959-1964 (2015) {Ace Records CDCHD 1424}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 196 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 131 Mb
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© 1959-64, 2015 Ace Records | CDCHD 1424
Rhythm and Blues / Soul Blues / New Orleans R&B / New Orleans Blues

Ace's 2015 compilation I Won't Cry: The Complete Ric & Ron Singles 1959-1964 covers familiar territory but in an appealingly thorough fashion. Adams had only one nationally charting hit on Ric or Ron – "A Losing Battle," which went to 27 in 1962 – but they were popular in his native New Orleans and over the years remained favorites of fans of Crescent City soul. Adams tended to be a little smoother than a lot of his Big Easy contemporaries: there's a recognizable NO lilt to some of the songs, but he was more of a crooner, sounding equally comfortable on dramatic ballads and lusher pop crossovers.

Eddie Bo - Baby I'm Wise: The Complete Ric Singles 1959-1962 (2015) {Ace Records CDCHD 1429}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 180 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 115 Mb
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© 1959-62, 2015 Ace Records | CDCHD 1429
Rhythm and Blues / Deep Funk / New Orleans R&B / Boogie-Woogie

All nine of Eddie’s Ric 45s plus several originally unissued masters making their CD debut. The years 1959 to 1962 were a musically fertile period in Eddie’s career, yet his Ric recordings are often overlooked in favour of his later funk classics. The tracks here show just what a great singer and songwriter Eddie was in his youthful prime, and how unlucky he was not to have made it as big as, say, his Crescent City compatriot Lee Dorsey.

Various Artists - You Talk Too Much: The Ric & Ron Story, Volume 1 (2014) {Ace Records CDCHD 1390 rec 1958-1960}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 216 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 136 Mb
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© 1958-60, 2014 Ace Records | CDCHD 1390
Rhythm & Blues / New Orleans R&B / Early R&B / Rock & Roll

Ric & Ron are legendary New Orleans labels from the late '50s and early '60s, both founded by Joe Ruffino. Naming his twin labels after his sons, Ruffino didn't draw much of a distinction between his imprints, but Ric arrived first, with the recordman issuing a handful of sides he inherited from Ace before moving into local New Orleans artists he recruited with the assistance of Edgar Blanchard, who was hired as head of A&R. Blanchard didn't stick around long and his replacements Harold Battiste and Mac Rebennack –- later better known as Dr. John – helped Ruffino build a N.O. R&B empire that was the stuff of legend.

Various Artists - Ain't It The Truth! The Ric & Ron Story, Volume 2 (2014) {Ace Records CDCHD 1416 rec 1960-1963}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 228 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 140 Mb
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© 1960-63, 2014 Ace Records | CDCHD 1416
Rhythm & Blues / New Orleans R&B / Early R&B / Rock & Roll

This is the second volume celebrating the history and recordings of Joe Ruffino’s New Orleans-based Ric & Ron Records. The first volume, You Talk Too Much (CDCHD1390) came out some 6 months or so ago and concentrated on the early years of the label, between 1958 and 1960. This set completes the story covering the period from 1960 to early 1963, at which time the label wound down operations following Ruffino’s death.

Agustín Barrios - Obras completas de guitarra (Complete guitar works) - Philippe Lemaigre (1999) {5CD Set Ricercar RIC 148}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.36 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 811 Mb
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© 1999 Ricercar | RIC 148 / 207392
Classical / Classic Guitar / Chamber Music / Modern / Early 20th Century

Agustin Barrios was both a virtuoso and a brilliant composer. Some of his pieces, always the same, are repeated by guitarists from time to time. But Philippe Lemaigre began to engrave the complete parts found of the Argentine master, for the happiness of those who have been able to obtain the rare box of 5 CDs. The work is exceptional, absolutely sublime interpretation, on a magnificent instrument. No equivalent in the history of the guitar.

Richard Theodore Otcasek known as Ric Ocasek, is an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He is best known as the vocalist, rhythm guitarist and songwriter for the rock band the Cars. In 2018, Ocasek was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Cars. Negative Theater, a European-only import CD, is the fifth solo album released by Ric Ocasek. Negative Theater was originally intended to be Ocasek's fourth solo effort consisting of a double CD and a book of poetry. However, in North America, Reprise Records declined to release the CD in Ocasek's original form. Instead, the company took 7 tracks from Ocasek's project, and had him record 7 additional tracks with producer Mike Shipley. The resulting record was issued as Quick Change World in North America only. For European release, Negative Theater was issued as a 15-track CD. It included 7 tracks that were issued on Quick Change World, and 8 tracks that are exclusive to this album.

Last time around, Ric Ocasek went for a big sound in an attempt at a big comeback, enlisting Smashing Pumpkin Billy Corgan as a co-producer for about half the album and using such alt-rock luminaries as Bad Religion guitarist Brian Baker and Hole/Smashing Pumpkin alumna Melissa Auf der Maur as bassist. The record may have worked but it wasn't a hit, and Ocasek retreated back to his lucrative career as a producer, taking a full eight years to deliver his next solo album, 2005's Nexterday…