*Highlights:

• some gems from the ECM label - legendary high quality sonics and performances

• Diana Krall's first-ever full-length LP

• Excellent reggae and folk/rock albums from the Earmark label, a label known for its high-quality analog reissues

Blues-Rock, Hard Rock, Album Rock
 

Honkin' on Bobo

* Aerosmith's latest album released in 2004,  and they play the blues *

Aerosmith are one of the few arena-sized bands still capable of playing it down-to-earth when the occasion calls. For Honkin' on Bobo, the boys return to their bar band roots with this set of classic blues and soul covers generously peppered with harmonica, horns, and boogie-woogie piano. For years, Aerosmith sprinkled similar ditties on their LPs, but devoting a whole disc to material associated with John Lee Hooker, Mississippi Fred McDowell, et al? That takes chutzpah--and they've got it to spare here. "Shame, Shame, Shame" is a finger-waggin', hip-shakin' romp, while "Baby, Please Don't Go" starts out spooky, then escalates as Steven Tyler builds to a full-throttle holler with Joe Perry's guitar blazing his backside all the way. Tyler even snatches one signature song ("Never Loved A Girl") away from the Queen of Soul...at least for a few minutes. --Kurt B. Reighley

Jazz, World

Charly Antolini

Knock Out - 180gr

As the album liner suggests, this is an audiophile legend.  The drums definitely can knock out with  their power and speed. Includes guitar and percussion as well. Warning: only for systems that can handle drum power and transients well.

JETON

Contemporary Reggae

Big Youth

Ride the Lightning: The Best Of 1972 - 1976 - HQ

Big Youth: A Reggae Phenomenon.  The voice of downtown Kingston in the 70s, in his home country only Bob Marley rivaled him in popularity. He took deejay lyricism to a higher and more conscious level and remains one of the most respected artists of his generation.

He was the first one to bring the culture into it and coined a lot of phrases like ‘natty dread.'

Avant-Garde Jazz,

Post-Bop

Bley, Carla

Dinner Music

"First excursion on a funky trail, executed immaculately. Near essential. " - AMG

"Post-bop jazz has produced only a few first-rate composers of larger forms; Carla Bley ranks high amongst them. Bley possesses an unusually wide compositional range; she combines an acquaintance with and love for jazz in all its forms with great talent and originality. Her music is a peculiarly individual type of hyper-modern jazz. Bley is capable of writing music of great drama and profound humor, often within the confines of the same piece."   Read more at AMG ...

Avant-Garde Jazz,

Post-Bop

Bley, Carla

Duets - Carla Bley and Steve Swallow

"With Steve Swallow on bass, their tremendous musical rapport and precise wit are really beautiful. It comes highly recommended. " - AMG

Avant-Garde Jazz,

Post-Bop

Bley, Carla

Fleur Carnivore

"On Fleur Carnivore, pianist Carla Bley deftly integrates her beautiful melodies into five complex, yet effortless sounding pieces. Taken from 1988 live dates at Copenhagen's Montmartre club, Carnivore spotlights Bley's very accomplished big band ... , which includes, amongst several others, trumpeter Lew Soloff, alto saxophonist Wolfgang Pusching, trombonist Gary Valente, tenor saxophonist Andy Sheppard, and organist/harmonica player Karen Mantler (Bley's daughter). The title track is a romantically bittersweet ballad swinger, which includes impassioned solos from Pusching and Soloff, while, in nice contrast, there's the buoyant, Latin-tinged "Song of the Eternal Waiting of Canute," featuring rousing solos by Valente and tenor saxophonist Christof Lauer. In addition to these extended pieces, there is the suite composition, "The Girl Who Cried Champagne (Parts 1/2/3)." This breezily swinging bossa nova features meaty tenor work from Sheppard and a minimalist harmonic solo by Mantler. Rounding out the set are the whimsical "Ups and Downs" and the gospel R&B tune "Healing Power." Combining surprising arrangements and pop song melodies, Bley creates a unique jazz language, setting herself apart from both traditionalist bandleaders (Wynton Marsalis, Thad Jones) and more avant-garde stylists (Muhal Richard Abrams, George Russell). Fleur Carnivore is one of Bley's best titles and good place to start for newcomers." - AMG

Jazz, Traditional Middle Eastern Folk, Modal Music, Ethnic Fusion, World Fusion

Barzakh

"The role of the Arabic, lute-like, stringed instrument, the oud, has been revolutionalized through the playing of Anouar Brahem. While used in the past to accompany vocalists, the oud is used by Brahem as an imaginative solo instrument. In 1988, Tunisian newspaper, "Tunis-Hebdo", wrote, "If we had to elect the musician of the 80s, we would have, without the least hesitation, chosen Anouar Brahem". The British daily newspaper, "The Guardian", that Brahem was "at the forefront of jazz because he is far beyond it"." - AMG

"This starkly beautiful collection of 13 tracks by Tunisian composer Anouar Brahem is his debut release for the ECM label. The album spotlights Brahem's solo oud pieces, which range from the meditative ("Sadir") to the propulsive ("Ronda"). This solo work is nicely augmented by stellar contributions from violinist Bechir Selmi and percussionist Lassad Hosni; Selmi is featured on the transcendent "Barzakh," while Hosni figures prominently on "Souga" and "Bou Naouara." The three musicians come together for the joyous dance number "Parfum de Gitane." Throughout Barzakh, Brahem and the others forge an appealing mix of Middle Eastern sonorities and jazz phrasing, an intimate sound perfectly suited to the clean and spacious ECM recording style. This is a great title for fans of both international music and jazz. " - AMG

Singer / Songwriter, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Contemporary Singer / Songwriter

Songbird -LTD-

Original pressing from Blix, very limited.

Amazon.com
Songbird cherry-picks tracks from the three locally released albums of Eva Cassidy, whose hauntingly beautiful vocals went virtually unheard outside her native Washington, D.C., during her short 33 years with us. Lost to melanoma in 1996, Cassidy sang with an unaffected purity and an astonishing ability to make both classic and contemporary songs sound like they were written just for her. Sting's "Fields of Gold" finally lives up to its title through the alchemy of Cassidy's transcendent rendition, while other tracks on this anthology showcase her ease in the realms of pop (Christine McVie's "Songbird"), soul ("People Get Ready"), gospel ("Wade on the Water"), and traditional standards ("Autumn Leaves" and "Over the Rainbow"). Framed by understated jazz and pop arrangements, Cassidy's clear, soulful voice and exquisite phrasing make her that rarest of vocalists whose interpretations are a complement to any song. A fine introduction to a true talent. --Billy Grenier

People
The CD is rendered hopelessly poignant by the knowledge that Cassidy died two years ago at 33 from melanoma.... Whether in jazz, folk or inspirational music, Cassidy's potential was huge, and this album stands as a testament to popular music's loss.

Le Freak/Forbidden Lover (12")

"Chic became disco/ R&B/ pop favorites with such hits as "I Want Your Love" and "My Forbidden Lover." The striking "Le Freak" was written about the dance craze of the same name. It parked at number one R&B for five weeks. With its infectious energy, the record stands as the group's most arresting single. The certified platinum single hit number one pop three times. First in December 1978, then returning to the top spot two more times after hits by Barbara Streisand and Neil Diamond ( "You Don't Bring Me Flowers") and the Bee Gees ( "Too Much Heaven") had occupied number one. In the process it sold over four million copies and became Atlantic Records' best-selling single."

London Calling

Stereophile R2D4.

"Bursting at the seams with creative energy, the Clash's stunning 1979 double album more than made up for the artistic and commercial disappointment of its predecessor, 1978's tried-too-hard Give 'Em Enough Rope. With ex-Mott the Hoople producer Guy Stevens harnessing their sound as never before, the band yielded what proved to be the best work of their career. Bouncing from hard rock (the apocalyptic vision of the title track) to rockabilly ("Brand New Cadillac") to reggae ("Rudy Can't Fail") to pop (the Top 40 hit "Train in Vain"), the Clash knocked down all musical walls and, in the process, ended the argument over punk's viability in the U.S. --Billy Altman" - Amazon Essential Recording

Ballads

"In 1962 John Coltrane was under assault from conservative critics who had labeled his tumultuous extended performances "anti-jazz." In response he entered the studios to create this classic collection of both well known and obscure ballads. Coltrane was one of jazz's greatest ballad players, a fact sometimes overlooked in the controversy that swirled about his work, and his lyrical gifts are in sharp relief here. They're transmitted through one of the most beautiful tones that jazz has ever produced, suggesting a rare metal that has just been discovered. The material brings out the best in pianist McCoy Tyner, who is prominently featured and whose harmonic subtlety and limpid grace shine throughout. --Stuart Broomer" - Amazon Essential Recording

Rock Steady/Respect

"Aretha Franklin is one of the giants of soul music, and indeed of American pop as a whole. More than any other performer, she epitomized soul at its most gospel-charged. Her astonishing run of late-'60s hits with Atlantic Records -- "Respect," "I Never Loved a Man," "Chain of Fools," "Baby I Love You," "I Say a Little Prayer," "Think," "The House That Jack Built," and several others -- earned her the title "Lady Soul," which she has worn uncontested ever since." - AMG

""That girl stole that song from me," Otis Redding says during a clip in a VH-1 special on Aretha Franklin that aired in spring 2001. The "stolen" song is Redding's own "Respect." No doubt the "theft" was made up for by the hefty writer royalties the Memphis soul great earned from the million-plus sales of the single. Though Redding had a 1965 number five R&B hit with the song, it would be Franklin's version which earned the most "respect." Recorded in February 1967, the recording session boasted the same Muscle Shoals rhythm section that had played on her million-selling Atlantic Records debut single, "I Never Loved a Man (The Way That I Love You." Franklin and her sister/frequent collaborator Carolyn Franklin are credited with coming up with the song's signature "sock it to me" break. Saxman King Curtis supplied the fat, cohesive key-changing solo which is akin to his work on Sam and Dave's "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby." With input from Arif Mardin and engineer Tom Dowd, the Jerry Wexler-produced "Respect" held the number one R&B spot for an astounding eight weeks and number one pop for two weeks in spring 1967. " - AMG

Demolition - HQ Vinyl

"Although the Runaways preceded them by several years, Girlschool was one of the first all-female outfits to emerge in the male-dominated world of heavy metal/hard rock, helping to pave the way for similar groups of the future."

Uh Huh Her

"How can someone so unpredictable behave so predictably? Every time PJ Harvey releases something sophisticated and clean like 2000's Mercury Music Prize tipped Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea, it just about guarantees a contradictory follow-up album is around the bend. Her ambitious 1992 debut, Dry, inspired the bitter death rattle of Rid of Me. Her third offering, 1995's elegant To Bring You My Love, gave way to the stormy Is This Desire?. Harvey's sixth solo album, Uh Huh Her, doesn't disappoint. It's a nasty riposte to the success of its predecessor, built on grubby blues-punk riffs and the brooding, primal howl that Harvey uses when she wants to impersonate a she-wolf. Some of it seems disappointingly remedial ("The Letter," "Cat on the Wall"), but the best material ("The Desperate Kingdom of Love," "Who the Fuck?") just reconfirms that no matter how raw the British songwriter serves it up, the beauty of her work is undeniable. --Aidin Vaziri"

Voodoo Crossing - Tribute

A tribute to Jimi Hendrix from some notable guitarists - Steve Lukather, Scott Finch, Robben Ford, Larry Coryell, Pat Travers, etc.  Click on the title above to view the songs and artists involved.

Live At Newport - HQ vinyl

"Recorded in 1965, Live at Newport captures Hopkins in a loose mood communing with an appreciative audience. The mostly solo electric set apparently didn't cause any controversy (as Dylan's electric set with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band would in 1965). The nice thing about the album is that all the material seems to have come from the same set, giving the listener a taste of what seeing Hopkins at Newport might have been like. Good versions of "Baby Please Don't Go," "Trouble in Mind," and "Where Can I Find My Baby?" show up early in the set, and feature an intimate interplay between Hopkins and the audience. The latter part of the set rocks a bit harder by adding drums. The percussion pushes the energy level up a notch on "Jealous of My Wife" and "Shake That Thing," pieces that probably had old-timers boogying in the aisles. Live at Newport also includes several unreleased versions, making it a good album to add to one's Hopkins collection." - AMG

Mojo Hand - HQ Vinyl

"One of Lightin' Hopkins' greatest and rarest releases is now out on LP. Mojo Hand (originally released on the Fire label in 1960) is particularly interesting because it presents Hopkins in a context that ranges from blues to classic R&B. The album's title track, originally released as a single, has become one of the artist's signature tunes. While 'Have You Ever Loved A Woman' features Hopkins on piano, 'Glory Be' is characterized by Hopkins' trademark guitar playing. 'Sometimes She Will' is also characterized by Hopkins' instantly recognizable guitar and pronounced vocals, while 'Awful Dreams' is notable for its apocalyptic text."

Today - HQ Vinyl

Stereophile R2D4.

 I don't know of a more singular rediscovery in the current blues renaissance than Mississippi John Hurt. It is possible to categorize roughly most bluesmen - by regional style and sometimes by focus of thematic content. John Hurt, however, resists compartmentalization.

For example, Hurt is a raw, harsh chronicler of the human condition in the manner of many Mississippi-shaped blues story tellers.

Hurt, moreover, is an unusually subtle bard. Consider the delicacy of his dynamics, the complexity of his seemingly effortless guitar work, the finely shaded nuances of his phrasing. Nor does he limit himself to the blues alone. As is clear here, he transmutes a variety of material - from popular standards to religious themes to the blues - into his introspectively probing way of music. The colors of the blues are pervasive in all his work, but they are of many different hues, thereby underlining again that the blues are not all limited to primary colors.

Bert Jansch - HQ Vinyl

"Recorded with a portable tape player on a borrowed guitar in the kitchen of his London flat, the impact of Jansch's debut has been somewhat blunted by time, but it was a vastly influential work. His masterful acoustic picking, which blended elements of traditional British folk, blues, and jazz, inspired not just other folk players, but rockers who frequently used acoustic guitars. Specifically, Jimmy Page and Neil Young have gone on record as noting their heavy debts to Jansch's early material." - AMG

Birthday Blues - HQ Vinyl

"It's no accident that Jansch's 1969 album sounds like a modified version of the Pentangle. He was a member of the great British folk-rock group at the time of this album's release, which was produced by Shel Talmy (who also worked with the Pentangle). And he's backed by the group's sterling rhythm section of Danny Thompson (bass) and Terry Cox (drums), with occasional touches of harmonica (played by British blues singer Duffy Power), alto sax, and flute. The effect is akin to hearing an unbalanced Pentangle, with no John Renbourn on dueling guitar or Jacqui McShee on vocals. That's not at all a bad thing — Jansch was one of the group's main motors, and can still be a compelling writer and performer on his own. All of the cuts on this LP are originals, showing the artist leaning a little more toward bluesy styles than usual, though the mood is predominantly British folk." - AMG

Facing You

"Keith Jarrett's first solo acoustic piano recording remains one of his best. At this point in late 1971, Jarrett had just started improvising completely freely. That does not mean that his solos were necessarily atonal but simply that they were not planned in any way in advance. The music on these eight improvisations are often quite melodic, very rhythmic and bluesy. This set makes for a perfect introduction to Jarrett's many solo piano recordings. " - AMG

Koln Concert

"A musical chameleon, pianist Keith Jarrett was at his finest when he recorded these sustained solo improvisations in a German concert hall in 1975, the first lasting 26 minutes, the second 40. Melodies and rhythmic figures arise fluidly from his fingers as he moves from one idea to another, while his strong left hand is often used for repeated motifs that generate a rolling hypnotic power. This couples with strongly consonant harmonies to impart the flavor of gospel music at times, dance musics and Debussy at others. Above all, it's Jarrett's ability to knit all of his moods and wanderings into an almost seamless tapestry of warm and tuneful ideas that gives this music its enduring appeal. --Stuart Broomer "

Solo Concerts - Bremen/Lausanne

"These are the recordings that made Keith Jarrett famous. Originally released as a three-LP set, the two solo piano recitals feature Jarrett freely improvising and never seeming to run out of ideas. A simple figure often develops through repetition and subtle variations into a rather complex sequence and eventually evolves into a new figure. One of the improvisations lasts for three LP sides (64 minutes), while the second concert has two long solos for 30 and 35 minutes, respectively. Despite the length, the music never loses one's interest, making this an essential recording for all jazz collections." - AMG

The Greatest Hits

A hit country album also popular with audiophiles due to the sonics, and it's a great blend of female vocals. Rare, we are lucky to get a few pieces from our suppliers, brand-new.

"These singles document the rise of Naomi and Wynona Judd, a mother-daughter team who seemed, at times, to be singing for every bank teller, teacher, and struggling single mama in every small town in America. Songs like "Why Not Me," "Mama He's Crazy," and "Girl's Night Out" were more than country hits; they're like validation for every woman brave enough to believe in innocence even when she knows better." - AMG

The Girl In The Other Room

Singer/pianist Diana Krall breaks new ground interpreting modern standards by Tom Waits, Mose Allison, and Joni Mitchell, as well as compositions by her and her new husband, Elvis Costello. Krall's piano-jazz cred comes through loudly and clearly on her Count Basie-styled version of the Bonnie Raitt staple "Love Me Like a Man" (written by folk-bluesman Chris Smither). But it's the collaborations with her spouse that unearth untapped emotional nuances of her velvet voice; many are reminiscent of Bill Evans's moody, impressionistic pieces. The title track, "Narrow Daylight," "Abandoned Masquerade," and "I’m Coming Through" all deal with love and loss. "Departure Bay," a picturesque ode to her hometown of Nanaimo, B.C., proves that this is the start of something big, and that two heads--and hearts--are better than one. --Eugene Holley, Jr.

"While the jazz fascists (read: purists) may be screaming "sellout" because Diana Krall decided to record something other than standards this time out, the rest of us can enjoy the considerable fruit of her labors. The Girl in the Other Room is, without question, a jazz record in the same manner her other outings are. The fact that it isn't made up of musty and dusty "classics" may irk the narrow-minded and reactionary, but it doesn't change the fact that this bold recording is a jazz record made with care, creativity, and a wonderfully intimate aesthetic fueling its 12 songs. ..." Read more at AMG

African Herbsman

Soul Rebels - HQ Vinyl

"Originally issued in 1970, this was the first album credited to Bob Marley & the Wailers, and it was also the band's first full-length collaboration with producer Lee "Scratch" Perry, for whom they had already recorded a string of fairly successful singles. Working with the newly configured Upsetters band, Marley and crew delivered a strange and wonderful set of early reggae that at times plays fast and loose with the already established conventions of the genre — on "My Cup" the beat sounds inside out, while "It's Alright" sounds like a slightly Jamaicanized version of Motown soul. Other songs, such as the beautifully harmonized "Try Me," show their deep roots in rocksteady. One of the most arresting tracks on the album is the Bunny Wailer composition "Four Hundred Years," on which Wailer unburdens himself of some of his typically dread pronouncements in his rich, chesty voice." - AMG

Metallica Deluxe

80/81

Guitarist Pat Metheny gets to play with the big boys on this spirited double album. Having made a string of well-received albums with his young band, featuring keyboardist Lyle Mays, Metheny (a former Gary Burton sideman) had graduated to the front rank of youthful jazz and fusion guitarists. He's a warm player with a harmonically sophisticated approach to soloing, and his breezy compositions made him easily approachable for casual listeners but belied the complexity of much of the music. 80/81 is Metheny's musical bar mitzvah: a chance to step up and be counted among the men of the congregation. Instead of his usual band of contemporaries, Metheny opts to work out with four of jazz's most respected graybeards: bassist Charlie Haden, drummer Jack DeJohnette, and saxophonists Dewey Redman and Mike Brecker. That both Haden and Redman are long associated with Ornette Coleman is represented by a cover of Coleman's "Turnaround," a surprising move that augured Metheny's own future collaboration with the alto legend (on Song X). Still, in the final analysis, Metheny is the leader and the band plays his music. --Fred Goodman

Pat Works

Pat Metheny Group

Last Temptatiopn Of ...

Very nice cover art alone worth the price of admission :)

Out Of Time

Song for Everyone

"Shankar, a violinist, singer and composer, teaches Indian Classical styles by incorporating them into Western musics. He has worked with many Western musicians, including Peter Gabriel, Yoko Ono, Bruce Springsteen, Phil Collins, Talking Heads, and Lou Reed." - AMG

"Song For Everyone heralds the return of the groove in Shankar's East-West-minded music, with former Shakti colleague Zakir Hussain on tabla, Trilok Gurtu on percussion, and Shankar's own manipulation of a drum machine tending to the rhythms. The result is a brighter, more outgoing record than its predecessor Vision, veering between Western acoustic and electric grooves and the complex beats churned out by the tabla." - AMG

Trampin' - LTD-

Arise Black Man -HQ Vinyl

"Showcase is a test/reference LP for people interested in music and serious High Fidelity and who wants to test or enjoy good HiFi equipment with a carefully made selection of acoustic music, World, Folk, Blues, Jazz and Classical music in a harmonic mixture  -  from the latest Opus 3 releases."

Hoodoo Man Blues

De Stijl

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