Udsacd 2255

Controversial at the time, delayed because of fights with the record company over lyrical content and the original title (Volunteers of America), Volunteers was a powerful release that neatly closed out and wrapped up the '60s. Here, the Jefferson Airplane presents itself in full revolutionary rhetoric, issuing a call to "tear down the walls" and "get it on together." "We Can Be Together" and "Volunteers" bookend the album, offering musical variations on the same chord progression and lyrical variations on the same theme. Between these politically charged rock anthems, the band offers a mix of words and music that reflect the competing ideals of simplicity and getting "back to the earth," and overthrowing greed and exploitation through political activism, adding a healthy dollop of psychedelic sci-fi for texture.

Private Eyes solidified Hall & Oates' status as one of the most popular acts in America in the early '80s, and with 1982's H2O, they capitalized on its success, delivering an album that turned out to be bigger than its predecessor, as it climbed higher on the charts and launched three Top Ten singles with "Maneater," "One on One," and "Family Man."…

The Knack attempted to update the Beatles sound for the new wave era on their debut – a good idea that was well executed, but critics cried "foul" when millions sold after Capitol's pre-release hype (it went gold in 13 days and eventually sold five million copies, making it one of the most successful debuts in history)…

Earth, Wind & Fire has delivered more than its share of excellent albums, but if a person could own only one EWF release, the logical choice would be That's the Way of the World, which was the band's best album as well as its best-selling. Open Our Eyes had been a major hit and sold over half a million units, but it was World that established EWF as major-league, multi-platinum superstars. Fueled by gems ranging from the sweaty funk of "Shining Star" and "Yearnin' Learnin'" to the gorgeous ballad "Reasons" and the unforgettable title song, EWF's sixth album sold at least five million units. And some of the tracks that weren't major hits, such as the exuberant "Happy Feelin'" and the gospel-influenced "See the Light," are equally powerful. There are no dull moments on World, one of the strongest albums of the 1970s and EWF's crowning achievement.

Anna Gourari - Canto Oscuro (2012) {ECM New Series 2255}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 161 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 143 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 31 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2012 ECM Records | ECM New Series 2255 / 476 4661
Classical / Contemporary / Modern / Baroque / Piano Solo

Anna Gourari is a young musician steeped in the venerable Russian piano school, its technical verities and Old World glamour. She has “a very physical, even visceral quality to her music-making that conjures the sound of such golden-age figures as Horowitz and Cortot,” declared Fanfare. With her ECM debut, Gourari offers a set of Canto Oscuro: dark songs.

Companion was recorded in a special three-night series of shows in July, 1999 at Chicago's famed Green Mill jazz club — an unusually short amount of time to produce a live album. To mine as much material as possible from those nights the performances were run more like recording sessions than live shows, with the crowd reverently hushed. Patricia Barber is in her element and the only thing that seems to have suffered for the recording circumstances is the album's length — at seven songs and 40 minutes, it walks the line between standard EP and full-length size. One surmises that it might have been longer had there been more album-quality material from the performances. Recalling the energy that was present on her critically worshipped Cafe Blue album, there is an ease and creativity on Companion which makes her fans' devotion understandable.

Miles Davis - Miles Smiles (1967) {2018 Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs UDSACD 2201}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 272 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 102 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 34 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1967, 2018 Columbia / Sony Music / Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs | UDSACD 2201
Jazz / Hard Bop / Modal Music / Trumpet

The clarity afforded by history proves Miles Davis' second great quintet vying for the unofficial honor of being the finest small jazz combo to ever record to tape. Originally released in 1966, Miles Smiles is largely responsible for the feat, as it commences a series of five groundbreaking albums – chronologically rounded out by Sorcerer, Nefertiti, Miles in the Sky, and Filles de Kilimanjaro – guided not by chordal patterns but open responses to melodies. Music would never again be the same. Neither will experiencing Miles Smiles once you hear this definitive-sounding hybrid SACD reissue.

Audiophile Reissue Sourced from the Original Master Tapes: Mobile Fidelity's Hybrid SACD Presents 1991 Album with Cinematic Sound and Transparent ClarityHypnotic Record Features 'Calling Elvis, 'Heavy Fuel,' and Introspective Title TrackDire Straits never made a big to-do about it's final run. In classic understated British fashion, the band simply let it's music speak for itself. And how. Originally released in September 1991, On Every Street became the group's swan song - a lasting testament to the influence, musicianship, and integrity of an ensemble whose merit has never been tainted by cash-grab reunions or farewell treks. It remains an essential part of the Dire Straits catalog and a blueprint of the distinctive U.K. roots rock the collective played for it's 15-year career.Sourced from the original master tapes and housed in mini-gatefold-LP packaging, Mobile Fidelity's hybrid SACD of On Every Street presents the album like it has always been meant to be experienced: in reference-grade audiophile sound.

Hall & Oates were in the middle of recording Private Eyes when Voices suddenly, unexpectedly broke big, with "Kiss on My List" reaching number one not just on the Billboard charts, but in Cashbox and Record World…