Jumbo

Jumbo's second album was recorded very soon after their debut and its release happened the same year. Still on the Phillips label, but offering a rather controversial gatefold artwork (with as well as an equally debate-sparking title, musically speaking, there is a world of difference between their debut and DNA, almost a genetically modified change, if you will…

For those who like a their prog a little on the Bluesy side then JUMBO will be just the treat you have been needing. JUMBO delivers complex classic Bluesy prog in a very non-traditional Italian style. This release is in my opinion the best jumbo output although I love their earlier albums too… "Vietato…" offers great guitar work, lots of keyboards (including a mellotron), nice and complex drumming with loads of acoustic guitar. Vocals are raw and a little harsh until you get used to them…

Jumbo's second album was recorded very soon after their debut and its release happened the same year. Still on the Phillips label, but offering a rather controversial gatefold artwork (with as well as an equally debate-sparking title, musically speaking, there is a world of difference between their debut and DNA, almost a genetically modified change, if you will. With an unchanged line-up, this is a very impressive change showing how quickly they matured. Don't be driven off by Alvaro Fella's reputation of having a difficult voice, this is completely inaccurate as he is in the average of Italian prog singers, no more, no less…

This DVD features a short documentary about the history of the band. Alvaro Fella, Daniele Bianchini and Aldo Gargano talk about the beginnings of "Jumbo's adventure" and the Italian prog rock scene of the early seventies while some excerpts from "DNA" and "Vietato ai minori di 18 anni?" are in the background (the dialogs are in Italian with English subtitles). You can see also many old pictures that can give you an idea of the "halcyon days" of the band. An unplugged version of "La strada porta al fiume", from Jumbo's debut album closes the first part of the DVD.
The second part features some live excerpts from a concert in 1995. Many tracks are taken from the most recent albums ("Folle corsa", "La mia vita", "Bella & finta", "Metropolis" and "Lakota"). Nothing special indeed, although the final track, a long and original version of "Suite per il sig. K." is absolutely worth listen to.
The DVD ends with some short excerpts from a live performance in Paris in 1990…

West German rock band Grobschnitt will see a very limited 17CD super deluxe box set of all 14 of their albums released later this month that comes with almost seven hours of bonus material. The box set is titled 79:10 and covers the entire output of the band from 1972 to 1989. Everything has been newly remastered and in total there is over 22 hours of material for fans to enjoy. The reason for ’79:10′ is that each of the 17 CDs has 79 minutes and 10 secs of audio, so they are packed with content!…

Laid back mid tempo songs, cool slide guîtar and good vocals & harmonies, a record in the spirit of the US West Coast scene…

Kyuss' triad of Chris Goss-produced albums ranks among the '90s most important and influential body of work. Released overseas in this limited, special-edition collector's box, 1992's Blues for the Red Sun, 1994's Sky Valley and 1995's …And the Circus Leaves Town remain desert metal masterpieces, whose legend continues to grow year by year. First time listeners may hesitate to take the plunge into such a large package, but chances are starting with any one of the three individually will only lead to the other two in the end.

One of the most dramatically accomplished of all the bands lumped into Britain's late-'60s prog explosion, Curved Air was formed in early 1970 by violinist Darryl Way, a graduate of the Royal College of Music, and two former members of Sisyphus, keyboard player Francis Monkman and drummer Florian Pilkington-Miksa. Adding bassist Robert Martin, the band named itself from avant-garde composer Terry Riley's A Rainbow in Curved Air, a touchstone that would inform much of their early work…

You Are What You Is was another of Frank Zappa's periodic post-Over-Nite Sensation efforts that concentrated on tight songwriting supported by satirical lyrics. Originally a two-record set featuring 20 songs, You Are What You Is skewered a variety of targets, from teenagers, punk rock, disco, and country music to the media, yuppies, the beauty-and-fitness industry, upper-class vice, religious hypocrisy, suicide, and the military draft – all the trappings of Reagan-era America…

Paul Oakenfold has always been a DJ who has refused to give himself exclusively to one genre. Throughout his career his sets have always been musically varied but consistently melodic and energetic…