The Cure And Nothing is Forever

In spite of the success of pianist Keith Jarrett over his long career, his compositions generally have not been explored very frequently by other jazz musicians. Guitarist Ulf Wakenius, recognized for his work as a leader and being a member of the Oscar Peterson Quartet, explores 14 of Jarrett's works, playing acoustic guitar and occasionally overdubbing a rhythm line. He's accompanied by Lars Danielsson (who plays bass, cello, and piano) and drummer Morten Lund. The relaxing ballad "Memories of Tomorrow" is a gentle bossa nova that translates very well into a guitar-driven vehicle. The Windup" is a playful calypso with a touch of funkiness…

As soul music moved into the early '70s, it became dominated by smoother sounds and polished productions, picking up its cues from Motown, Chicago soul, and uptown soul. By the beginning of the decade, soul was fracturing in a manner similar to pop/rock, as pop-soul, funk, vocal groups, string-laden Philly soul, and sexy Memphis soul became just a few of the many different subgenres to surface. Often, the productions on these records were much more polished than '60s productions, boasting sound effects, synthesizers, electric keyboards, echoes, horn sections, acoustic guitars, and strings.

As the post-punk dust began to settle, a particular strand of artist began applying a knowingly distant, colder aesthetic to their work. While much of the scene began to be dominated by bigger budget, commercially minded former punk and new wave acts, a darker undercurrent did survive, often more interesting, more dangerous and sexier than anything that could be heard on Top Of The Pops at the time. The first generation of the darkwave movement consisted of bands that were equally influenced by the fractured drama of Depeche Mode, Siouxsie & the Banshees and The Cure as they were by the art damaged experimentation of Cabaret Voltaire, Wire and Throbbing Gristle, always rich in Gothic spirt, societal displacement, urban isolation and sexual energy.

NOW Music is proud to present the next instalment in our ongoing ‘Yearbook’ series – and the second to celebrate the ‘90s, NOW – Yearbook 1990; 79 tracks from a fantastic year in Pop!

Metallica formed in 1981 by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich. The duo first met through an ad in a Los Angeles-based music newspaper…