What do You Believe in

One thing you can not criticize Nektar for and that is making albums that sound the same. "Sounds Like This" was the result of a 2 day live in studio recording experiment without great gobs of editing and studio trickery.. They were pretty much just captured live and raw. The end result is still a very much psychedelic Nektar rock sound with a certain raw vibe throughout. The big problem with "Sounds Like This" was that it was sandwitched between "Tab In The Ocean" and "Remember The Future" and has forever been sadly greyed out by many in perspective. This might be really Nektar's most rock oriented album but still carries lots of progressive tendencies. This album was originally released as a double vinyl album and clocks in at about 75 mins and really does not stop from start to finish. Overall a superb album.

On the peak of their career in the USA, 'Huey Lewis & The News' came to Germany for a gig at the music show Rockpalast in 1984. The blooded musicians from San Francisco did a terrific show playing the highlights of their first three albums: 'Huey Lewis & The News', 'Picture This' and 'Sports'.

Status Quo are to release another batch of deluxe two and three CD releases via Universal Music. Under the spotlight this time are the '1+9+8+2' album released to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the bands formation, 'Back To Back' from 1983, which features the last studio performances of original bass player Alan Lancaster before he left the band in late 1985, 'In The Army Now' (originally released in 1986) and its 1988 follow up, 'Ain't Complaining' which are all due for release by UMC/Mercury on Friday 28th September 2018.

Theoretically, it should be easy to assemble a greatest-hits collection from Huey Lewis & the News, since they spent most of the '80s in the Top Ten. Time Flies: The Best of Huey Lewis & the News proves that assumption false. Although many of the band's biggest hits are here…

The History of Rock and Roll is a mammoth and, when considered on its own terms, frequently successful undertaking. The series, which was first presented in 1995, consumes some 578 minutes, with 10 episodes (there are no bonus features) spread out over five discs. Its pedigree is impressive, as is its scope, beginning in the pre-rock days of bluesman Muddy Waters and boogie woogie master Louis Jordan and continuing through the death of Kurt Cobain and the birth of the Lollapalooza festival in the mid-1990s. Along the way, dozens of big-name performers (with the notable exception of the Beatles) are on hand to lead us through the story.

This matchup between trumpeters Doc Cheatham (91 at the time) and Nicholas Payton (just 23) is quite logical and delightful. Cheatham, one of the few survivors of the 1920s, was still in remarkably fine form, while Payton (a flexible New Orleans player capable of ranging from Dixieland to Freddie Hubbard) is both respectful and inspiring. With Doc contributing occasional vocals and the settings ranging from a quartet to an octet with clarinetist Jack Maheu and pianist Butch Thompson, the brassmen explore a variety of 1920s and '30s standards, including a couple of obscurities ("Do You Believe in Love at Sight?" and "Maybe"). The interplay between the co-leaders, the many subtle tributes to Louis Armstrong, and the consistent enthusiasm of this swinging set make this a historic success and a very enjoyable outing.