Jean Maillard's life is shrouded in mystery, and his music is rarely heard today. Yet in his own time his works were both influential and widely known: indeed, the musicologist François Lesure held him to be one of the most important French composers of his era. Who better, then, than Rory McCleery's Marian Consort to give this composer's rich and varied output its first dedicated recording? Their characteristically precise and yet impassioned performances bring out both the network of influence in which Maillard's music participated its Josquin-esque pedigree, and influence on successors including Lassus and Palestrina and its striking, individual beauty.
For the 1977 Je Suis le Temps, Capitol sent the group to London to record with Eddie Offord, the engineer responsible for Yes and ELP's classic albums. For a moment, Morse Code believed they had a chance to break out on the international market, what they weren't counting on was prog rock's brutal crash in the late '70s. Dropped by its record company, the group disbanded. It re-formed in 1983 with the same lineup for a tentative comeback as an intelligent pop group with the LP Code Breaker, but this attempt failed rather miserably. In the early '90s, Capitol issued a CD compilation of the three French albums, allowing a new generation of Quebecers to discover a national prog treasure. Capitalizing on the good sales of the CD, the group recorded a new album, 1995's D'Un Autre Monde, and scored a minor campus radio hit with "Le Fils du Grand Dragon," but plans to put a tour together failed and Morse Code disappeared once again.
2016 two CD collection of recordings by the former Rolling Stones bassist, both solo and with his Rhythm Kings. With all the tracks chosen by Bill Wyman himself, these two CDs present the perfect introduction to his recordings. Disc One contains songs from Bill's solo albums, kicking off with '(Si Si) Je Suis Un Rock Star', his big hit from 1981, as well as the follow-up hits. Disc Two features songs from Bill's Rhythm Kings, the ten-piece band with revolving guest stars that he put together in the 90s after leaving the Rolling Stones, as well as tracks from Willie And The Poor Boys, Bill's 1985 all-star side-project. The guest stars include Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Jimmy Page, Paul Rodgers, Georgie Fame, Peter Frampton, Chris Rea, Gary Brooker, Andy Fairweather Low, Charlie Watts, Dr John, Joe Walsh, Van Morrison and many more. The booklet lists who plays what on every track, along with annotation by Tony Rounce.
After 5 years of silence the French Black Metal band, Epheles, presents its third material Je Suis Autrefois. Excellent French Black Metal