Udsacd 2259

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.

Bassist Arild Andersen shines as the principal soloist in a celebration of music from ECM with specially-commissioned new big-band arrangements of well-known pieces by Dave Holland, Chick Corea, Trygve Seim, Jan Garbarek, and Keith Jarrett. The resourceful Tommy Smith adds powerful tenor solos, arranges Garbarek’s “Molde Canticle”, and directs the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra. Andersen’s composition “Independency” is a 16-minute highlight, in a sensitive and powerful arrangement by Mike Gibbs. Other contributing arrangers are Makoto Ozone, Christian Jacob, Geoff Keezer and Trygve Seim/Øyvind Bræke: all of them contribute sterling work, and their arrangements are likely to enter modern jazz’s big band repertory book. Recorded live at Glasgow’s Royal Conservatory, “Celebration” is a highly attractive album for a broad listenership, and as a statement about music introduced by ECM will be of special interest to long-time followers of the label.

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.

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.

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…

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.

At the close of the '70s, Hall & Oates began inching toward a sleek, modern sound, partially inspired by the thriving punk and new wave scene and partially inspired by Daryl Hall's solo debut, Sacred Songs, a surprising and successful collaboration with art rock legend Robert Fripp. While 1979's X-Static found the duo sketching out this pop/soul/new wave fusion, it didn't come into fruition until 1980's Voices, which was their creative and commercial breakthrough…

Released at the peak of Hall & Oates' popularity in the early '80s, 1983's Rock 'n Soul, Pt. 1: Greatest Hits effectively chronicles the time when the duo could do no wrong – namely, the period between 1980's Voices and 1982's H2O, which includes only one other album, 1981's excellent Private Eyes…