Totally 80s

The 2013 self-titled debut album from the 1975 is a superb album that finds the Manchester outfit poised on the brink of stardom. When rock guitars meet dancefloor synths, '80s influences become hard to deny, but while the 1975 definitely have a retro vibe (hence the name), the alchemy of how they bring those influences to bear is totally contemporary.

This DVD features a tribute concert for the legendary Buddy Holly. Recorded in Austin in 1987, it features Brian Setzer, John Fogerty, Carl Perkins, The Crickets and others.
Buddy Holly is perhaps the most anomalous legend of '50s rock & roll he had his share of hits, and he achieved major rock & roll stardom, but his importance transcends any sales figures or even the particulars of any one song (or group of songs) that he wrote or recorded. Holly was unique, his legendary status and his impact on popular music all the more extraordinary for having been achieved in barely 18 months.

"Strange Angels" is the debut solo album by British guitarists David Mark Pearce. Having served the progressive rock genre as the lead guitarist for Oliver Wakemen's band, Pearce enters melodic hard rock territory with this solo effort "Strange Angels". Indeed "Strange Angels" has more in common with `80s melodic rock, even glam metal than the progressive nature of David's previous ventures. On this effort, Pearce is supported by an impressive cast of musicians most notable being Goran Edman ("YJM Rising Force") and John Payne ("Asia") both of which contribute lead vocals…

Just in from the always beautifully presented Die Schachtel label, a two-CD and DVD package housed in a linen slipcase devoted to unheard recordings by the legendary Gruppo Di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza, a group whom it's always been frustratingly hard to pin down on disc or LP despite their powerhouse line-up. The GINC was a performer/composer ensemble with revolving members active from the mid-'60s to the mid-'80s; the recordings and film collected here are from what is arguably their greatest and most innovative era which spanned the years 1967-1969, when the core group consisted of Franco Evangelisti, Ennio Morricone (yes, that Morricone), Roland Kayn, Mario Bertoncini, Ivan Vandor, and John Heineman. Usually mentioned in the same breath as another great electro-acoustic improvising ensemble, AMM, who were navigating similar terrain to that of the GINC, each member brought their own composing and improvising sensibility to bear on a collective effort that is never less than totally engaging. They performed a totally unique melange of free improvisation, with white noise, analog electronics, extended technique, and a knowledge of composition that encompassed centuries worth of developments, from the Renaissance on up to the latest innovations of Stockhausen, Cage, or Xenakis. The DVD features a 45-minute-long black and white film of a performance given by the group at the Gallery of Modern Art in Rome in 1967. [MK] (Reissued 2006)