Rock Open 2006

The loss of a key member is always traumatic for a band, no matter how amicable, and so it was with the departure of Mostly Autumn keyboard player Iain Jennings at the beginning of 2006. Indeed, early live shows after his exit were tentative at best, with Chris Johnson coming in to supply back up keys while Angela Gordon gamely added more keyboards to her excellent flute work. At the time, Johnson looked like a temporary member, there to fill a gap at a time of need. However, bandleader Bryan Josh clearly had a master plan, and the group's excellent new album Heart Full of Sky (Mostly Autumn Records (UK) AUT0933, 2006), and the first on their all-new label, introduces Johnson as a new creative force in the invention of Mostly Autumn music. Not as a keyboard player, but as a writer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. In doing so Josh and Johnson appear to have invigorated the band.

Guitarist, ideologue and SF fanatic, Pinhas has influenced a wide assortment of contemporary musicians and electronic composers. Though primarily remembered for his uncompromising work with industrial rock pioneers Heldon, Pinhas' solo recordings are vital expressions of his own personal commitment to the intersection of rock with philosophy, science fiction, technology and revolutionary politics. Metatron finds Pinhas in relatively calmer waters than on previous solo efforts - though not without a few brain-searing guitar leads for which he's well known. But overall, the twelve pieces on Metatron show Pinhas' maturation as a composer of sound as opposed to a composer of songs…

Leaving Songs by Tindersticks frontman Stuart Staples is his second solo album; his first, Lucky Dog Recordings 03-04, wasn't released in the States until now, as it is included here, thankfully, as a bonus disc. Leaving Songs is a true departure for Staples. The vocals and backing tracks were recorded in Nashville by Mark Nevers with the overdubs recorded back at Lucky Dog in the U.K. After the first lines of "Goodbye to Old Friends," the opening cut, it's obvious that this record is different, in its way, from what Staples has done before, either with or without his band; the tempo, horn lines, the chorus of female backing vocalists.

Soft Machine Legacy - Steam (2006) {2014 Japan Mini LP SHM-CD Remaster VSCD4265}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 390 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 156 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 336 Mb | 5% repair rar | Canterbury Scene Vol.1 Series
© 2006, 2014 Vivid Sound / MoonJune Records | VSCD-4265
Jazz / Jazz Rock / Rock / Avant-Garde Jazz / Art Rock

Cardboard sleeve reissue from Soft Machine Legacy features SHM-CD format. This series features the following albums: "The Soft Machine Legacy," "Live In Zaandam," "Live Adventures," and "Steam." Potent jazz-rock fusion – British "Canterbury" style – from the legendary Soft Machine alumni. Live in Zaandam is the first salvo from exclusive MoonJune artists' Soft Machine Legacy, showcasing visceral grooves with sizzling solos and telepathic interplay.