Rock

Limited to 2000 copies (including 1 bonus track)

Sanity.com.au:

Writing in the south of France and recording at Sphere Studios in London, the band members are currently working with producers Rich Harrison (Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys, Beyonce, Usher) and Don Gilmore (Good Charlotte, Linkin Park, Pearl Jam, Sugar Ray), thereby drawing on a unique combination of pop and alternative rock experience.
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The boys have had an amazing reception following the reunion and recording sessions, with seventeen sold out arena dates in the UK & Ireland and a victory at the BRIT Awards where the band members were honored for their "Outstanding Contribution to Music." They've also received Lifetime Achievement Awards at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York and the Q Magazine Awards in London in the past year.

Writing and recording material between these triumphant tour dates and accolades, the band poured their rediscovered chemistry and creative energy into the new album.

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"When we last left the ever-confounding saga that is Bob Dylan's now-superhuman recording career, he'd reunited with producer Daniel Lanois, with whom he cut 1997's Time Out of Mind, his most coherent and appealing collection in nearly a decade. Now the still-reigning prince of musical contrariety and potent wordplay is back with his most focused, well-played collection since 1989's Oh Mercy, another Lanois production. One listen to the fade-in of the opener "Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum" and it's clear that all Dylan's roadwork has shaped him and his band (including guitarist Charlie Sexton) into a mighty musical weapon. And while his craggy howl continues to resonate, it's the songs here that astonish. A sturdy midtempo melody makes "Mississippi" the equal of the best numbers on Time, which it was actually written for. He convincingly puts over the R&B swing (yes, swing) number "Summer Days." "Honest with Me" ("I'm not sorry for nuthin' I've done / I'm glad I fight, I only wished we'd won") is a driving rocker that packs a genuine punch. And the light, lounge-like "Bye and Bye" and the southland ramble "Floater (Too Much to Ask)" show extraordinary confidence. He's labeled these songs "blues-based," but in typical Dylan fashion what would promise to be the most overtly blues number here--"High Water (for Charlie Patton)"--sounds like a banjo-based gunfighter ballad. But then that's this artist's gift: confounding expectations. --Robert Baird"

Pop/Rock

One of the few recommended Simply Vinyl reissues, good news as the original is as rare as can be, being pressed in the 1990s.

"Although they didn't include my favorite, "Lying Eyes," there's enough good stuff on the Eagles' reunion CD to make me feel 20 years younger with the first few notes of "Desperado" or "Life in the Fast Lane." Time has thickened Glenn Frey's and Don Henley's voices slightly and slowed the tempos on some cuts, but "Hotel California" ' new concert opening and closing work much better than the original studio version. Henley's voice sounds better for not being buried in studio reverb, and is enhanced here by added dynamic range, subterranean drums, bass slam that doesn't quit, superb air and soundstaging, and pinpoint placement of the acoustic guitar and keyboards. Best is the moment of recognition when the crowd finally realizes which song is being played and goes wild. Play this cut on the biggest, baddest audio system you can afford." - Larry Greehill, Stereophile

Bossa Nova Jazz

Death / Black  Metal

"This vinyl box is strictly limited to 2000 numbered copies! GRAVE Morbid Ways To Die Doubtlessly the most complete collection of Grave songs ever All studio albums, all demos, All in all 16 (!!!)"

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"What needs to be said in a film, and can't be said with words or pictures, is finally said with music.  Oddly enough there is more possibility of misunderstanding the words and/or images.  Although the music is both more precise and more ambiguous, it is, surprisingly, always clearer.  And when it works well it is so braided into the fabric of the film that it it inseparable from the final emotional result....This album is an appetizer, a taste of Grusin's extraordinary musical gifts and imagination."
 

-Sydney Pollack
Excerpts from liner notes

1. On Golden Pond (Theme From ' On Golden Pond')
2. New Hampshire Hornpipe (From 'On Golden Pond')
3. Heaven Can Wait (Theme From Movie 'Heaven Can Wait')
4. An Actor's Life (Main Title From 'Tootsie')
5. It Might Be You (Theme From 'Tootsie')
6. Fratelli Chase (Main Title From 'The Goonies')
7. The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter (Theme From Movie)
8. Mountain Dance (Theme From 'Falling In Love')
9. Letting Go (T.J.'s Theme From 'The Champ')
10. The Champ (Theme From 'The Champ')
11. Condor (Main Theme From 'Three Days On Condor')
12. Goodbye For Kathy (From 'Three Days On The Condor)
13. Plo Camp Entrance (From 'Little Drummer Girl')
14. Epilogue (From 'Little Drummer Girl')
 

Jazz / Pop / Soundtrack

A great collection of Dave Grusin's finest, an audiophile favorite.  Includes the theme song from "St. Elsewhere", and the funky "Serengeti Walk", as well as audiophile staples "Mountain Dance" and "On Golden Pond".

Verve Music Group:

"When legendary Grammy winning composer Henry Mancini died in 1994, he left behind an incredible legacy of film and television music whose jazzy and orchestral innovations inspired a whole generation of film scorers and jazz performers. Among his great friends and admirers was Dave Grusin, who drew upon the early Mancini influence to carve out his own Oscar-winning niche as one of the premier movie music writers of the past thirty years, as well as a prolific career as a contemporary jazz pianist."

Pop / Rock / Folk

Indie

"It's perhaps inevitable that Keane's debut album, Hopes and Fears, will draw numerous comparisons to Coldplay. Like them, Keane were discovered by indie label Fierce Panda, who released a single ("Everybody's Changing"). And, like Coldplay, Keane also do a fine trade in catchy and heartfelt indie-pop, all bruised verses and soaring choruses. But though their sound is sure to please fans of Coldplay and Travis, the reality is that Keane manage to sound that little bit more delicate.

This could be down to the band's relatively unusual make-up: rather than guitars, the trio use a piano.

Jazz vocals,

pop/jazz

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

With Ry Cooder as guest.

Blues Road:

Taj Mahal has gone a long way since the release of his second album, "The Natch'l Blues", in 1968. When putting this record on, don't expect to listen to the Blues entertainer he has become during the 1990s. This is plain, mainly acoustic, serious Soul-Blues.

Taj Mahal's performance is calm, with simple accompaniment and sober arrangements. The sound of this Taj Mahal debut recalls Keb' Mo's own (released 26 years later) in a smoother style.

Read More at Blues Road ....
 

Amazon.com Review:

natch'lly great, September 5, 2000
Reviewer: A music fan

"Here it is 2000, The Natch'l Blues, an album with songs over 50 years old, recorded more than 30 years ago, is still as fresh and energetic as anything recorded since. I first heard this album in 1970 and it introduced me to a kind of acoustic blues like I had not heard before and unfortunately, rarely since.

I still have the lp and whenever I have played it for friends, they have two reactions: its the best Delta country blues they ever heard, and why couldn't they get a copy? Thank you Sony/Columbia for this reissue. Taj signaled with this recording that country blues could be played with a hipness worthy of the Fillmore West/East and other hip venues of the times while being true to the forms of the genre. The Natch'l Blues is intelligent, relaxed and fun but it cooks and jumps and you know from the first notes of Good Morning Miss Brown that this album is has a special energy. Other cuts are just as much fun. Corrina and The Cuckoo are songs that have become Taj staples, but never done better than here on Natch'l Blues. The playing is done with intergrity. His grasp of the playing acoustic Delta blues wrings out an artistic honesty on every cut on this album that is uncommon.

This is Taj Mahal at his very country blues best; in my opinion, he has never recorded the Delta blues any better. He just keeps getting better, but, believe me: he was the best when he recorded Natchl Blues. And with Jesse Ed Davis and Ry Cooder on the session, the music on this cd is historic in musical proportions. The Delta blues don't get better than The Natch'l Blues."

Stereophile R2D4 - Barry Willis

"What's this?! Satan's work in Stereophile? Cancel my subscription! Music from the dark side: Metallica's James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, and Jason Newsted here demonstrate beyond all doubt why they so deservedly rule the heavy metal rockpile, whose peak they claimed without a scrap of radio support. Not daunted by bleak titles like "The Unforgiven," "My Friend of Misery," or "The God that Failed"? Then go ahead, release that deep-seated pain: an unrelenting dose of hate and anger is sometimes the best medicine. Not for the faint of heart."

** Webmaster's Note:  In fairness, to quote a division2.com article on Metallica - "from Lars Ulrich - "Metallica has always been a law-abiding easy-listing Christian-rock band and will always be a law-abiding easy-listing Christian-rock band. Anyone who says or prints anything to the contrary will be receiving a letter from our attorneys."
 

Amazon.com essential recording
Called "the Black Album" by many (due to its monochrome cover), Metallica marks the group's entrance into the mainstream, with shorter songs, simpler song structures, and slower tempos overall. That said, this is an excellent album, featuring some of the best songwriting Metallica has ever done. "Enter Sandman," "Wherever I May Roam," and "God That Failed," despite being slower and more groove-oriented than the band's earlier work, feature the same heavy riffs and heavier rhythms that have always been a feature of Metallica's music. The band goes introspective with "Unforgiven," and proves that they can write a ballad with "Nothing Else Matters," which succeeds better than one might expect. Overall, this is a high-energy album despite its laid-back approach, and is in many ways superior to the previous . . . And Justice for All, which was weakened by overly complicated song structures and mediocre production. -- Genevieve Williams
 

Alanis Morissette MTV Unplugged - Elegantly beautiful!, January 1, 2004 - K. Wyatt  (Jamestown, NC United States)

Excerpts from the audiophile classic "Warm Your Heart" album.

Three track 12" 33/45 rpm sampler from the forthcoming Classic Records LP reissue of Aaron Neville's "Warm Your Heart". Tracks include: "Louisiana 1927", "Angola Bound" and "Close Your Eyes" (duet with Linda Rondstadt).

Alternative Rap / Funk

Amazon.com
At a time when experimentation is taboo in most overground rap, that’s all Outkast seem intent on executing. Firstly, this double CD has no cohesive link, other than the fact that it sounds like a pair of solo albums stitched together to demo exactly how Andre’s yin works to augment Big Boi’s yang. Andre 3000’s Love Below disc rates as the more eclectic of the two, given that he’s turned in his emcee credentials to become a full-on funk-soul-jazz vocalist who mostly sings about items of love ("Happy Valentine's Day"), carnal lust ("Spread"), and female adoration ("Prototype"). Minus the big band schmaltz of "Love Hater" and cheesy cover jobs ("My Favorite Things"), Andre’s disc is sick (meaning great). As is to be expected, the Big Boi disc is less arty, more gangsta and worldly, and features the less-progressive guest raps of ATL crunk purveyors Lil’ Jon and The Eastside Boyz ("Last Call") and Jay-Z who rhymes the hook on "Flip Flop Rock". Unlike Big Boi, Andre keeps his collabos to a minimum, once crooning alongside Norah Jones on the cool yet sappy "Take Off Your Cool", and once with Kelis. Boi fulfills his Dungeon Family duty with flying colors by flipping some dirty southern up-tempo raps over electro beats on "GhettoMusick". By the time Cee-Lo sermonizes on "Reset", Speakerboxx and Love Below rate mostly as majestic and inspiring, with the remaining 23 per cent being just plain incredible --Dalton Higgins

Rod Stewart Gathers All Star Cast For Songbook 3
By Paul Cashmere
22 September 2004, www.undercover.com.au

Rod Stewart has gathered together Stevie Wonder, Bette Midler, Dolly Parton, Eric Clapton and Dave Grusin for the third instalment of The Great American Songbook.

The new album titled 'Stardust … The Great American Songbook Vol III' features Bette Midler on 'Manhattan', Eric Clapton on 'Blue Moon', Dolly Parton singing 'Baby It's Cold Outside' with Rod and the Stevie Wonder and Rod Stewart duet of the classic Louis Armstrong track 'What A Wonderful World'.

The first two albums debuted at No. 4 and No. 2 respectively in the USA. "Singing these amazing songs has moved me deeply and given me a much-needed kick in the arse," Rod says.

According to BMG Chairman Clive Davis "Rod's first album of The Great American Songbook won a Grammy nomination and literally exploded in sales all over the world. Then Volume II repeated the phenomenon with another Grammy nomination and another multi-platinum sales success. Quite simply, Rod inimitably captures wonderful classic standards, breathes new life into them and makes them his own. Stardust: The Great American Songbook: Volume III will be its own gem. It's sparkling, fresh and alive, with Rod being more and more comfortable in this great genre of music."   Read More ....
 

This record has been deleted for some time now.

Recorded in Nov/Dec ´93 at TITS AND ASS Studio, Halmstad SWEDEN

Amazon.com
Elton John doesn't seem like a natural choice to write for a Disney musical, but he rose to the task on The Lion King, transcending his usual penchant for the softest of soft rock. Sir Elton's collaboration with Tim Rice (former writing partner of Andrew Lloyd Webber) helps connect the soundtrack to the theatrical lineage of all Disney musicals--so much so that, like Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King was eventually adapted for Broadway. Undistinguished songs like "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" are far outnumbered by stirring, stately tunes that lent the film so much of its sense of pageant and play. --John Sanchez

From Parents' Choice®
If you've seen the movie (and you should have if you're over six), you know that one reason this Disney instant classic inspired tears of joy from both parents and kids was the music. Elton John's swirling rhythms and melodies and Tim Rice's lyrics create a sweeping musical panorama of Africa. Rarely has a soundtrack added such depth and magic to a screen narrative, making the animated characters and the storyline come to life in striking fashion.

Review by Stephen Cook
"The by turns grizzled and vaporous-toned Webster really hit his stride on the Verve label. During a stretch from roughly 1953-1959, the Ellington alumnus showcased his supreme playing with both combos and string sections, swingers and ballads — and lurking beneath his blustery and hulking sound were solo lines brimming with sophistication and wit. This 1957 date with the Oscar Peterson Trio is one of the highlights of that golden '50s run." - Read more at AMG