Janice Weber is an excellent guide to Ornstein’s imaginative world, yet her account of the splendid Fourth Sonata, whose echoes of Debussy and Stravinsky intermingle with the Romantic emotional directness that is Ornstein’s own, doesn’t banish memories of the yet more incisive and rhythmically focused one that Marthanne Verbit recorded years ago on a Genesis LP.

Calum MacDonald @ Classical-music.com

Resphigi's Violin Sonata is a challenging work. The sonata is cast in three movements, the first of which, marked Moderato – Agitato – Tempo I, is haunting in its passionate, quasi-nocturnal main theme given by the violin. Because Respighi was both a violinist and pianist, the writing for the two instruments is deftly wrought here and throughout the work in its exchanges and blending of sonorities. The middle panel is a lovely Andante espressivo that opens with an extended piano solo. The finale is a passacaglia marked Allegro moderato ma energico. It is a dramatic and powerful piece whose stormy main theme yields both profound and colorful music.

This is Faithscience. The second album and the follow up to 2005’s Transformation. While the debut for us, was an era of labor intensive exploration of possibilities, between Tim and myself as the producer and general co-pilot, with fewer guest performances, Faithscience is Tim’s maiden voyage stepping into the role of producer and working with various players and many performers, in several studios, each with other engineers in different cities and states.

Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention - Cruising With Ruben & The Jets (1968) + Uncle Meat (1969) {2012 UMe Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 1,01 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 386 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 60 Mb
© 2012 UMe / ZFT | ZR 3838 / ZR 3839
Rock / Experimental Rock

Frank Zappa loved '50s doo wop music. He grew up with it, collected it, and it was the first kind of pop music he wrote (like "Memories of El Monte," recorded by the Penguins in 1962). Cruising With Ruben & the Jets, the Mothers of Invention's fourth LP, is a collection of such music, all Zappa originals (some co-written with MOI singer Ray Collins). To the unexperienced, songs like "Cheap Thrills," "Deseri," and "Jelly Roll Gum Drop" can sound like an average doo wop song. A closer look reveals unusual chord sequences, Stravinsky quotes, and hilariously moronic lyrics – all that wrapped in four-way harmony vocals and linear piano triplets.

Solti and the Chicago forces are great. I cannot conceive why people say that the Chicago S.O. could not "do" opera; under Solti's steady yet propulsive beat they play beautifully and the climactic moments really come off because Solti in his latter years became better at avoiding the cheap thrill approach and went more for the slow build.

3D Vision Records from France is out with their second compilation in their chill out series called Module. There is a time for silence, there is a time to Relax. The 9 new tracks selected by Tiya soothe the soul and refresh the mind. And, of course, the production is phenomenal. Nomad and Talamasca with Yuman show off the finer points of their respective songwriting skills with two of the album's stand out selections: Desert Wind and Ze Masterplan. Blue Planet Corporation is back as well with the groovy little Stalker. We're also treated to appearances from Ultimae artists Solar Fields, Aes Dana, and Koala.

"From the Heart and Soul" is the best album I have heard from Chick Willis in years. Chick's guitar work, song writing, and singing are intense and soulful. The backing band is first rate and the horns arranged by Rusty Smith add a nice punch and upbeat feel to the project. Skeeter Brandon heats up the session with some "in the pocket" Hammond organ. The album is clean and never over produced sounding and compares well to some of the best blues out there.–By Sam Wilson

Willis takes things a little more seriously than usual, concentrating largely on covers of material by Percy Mayfield, Howlin' Wolf, Clarence Carter, and Guitar Slim. His own contributions include "I Ain't Jivin' Baby" and "Bow-Legged Woman" (he couldn't resist the raunchy stuff entirely!).
–by Bill Dahl

This Zeffirelli production of Verdi’s ever-popular, melodic opera was filmed in February 2002, in Busseto, near Parma, Italy, close to the composer’s home and birthplace. Zeffirelli had filmed La Traviata before, in 1982. The Italian film director whose credits include: The Taming of the Shrew (1966); Romeo and Juliet (1968); Jesus of Nazareth (TV) (1977); Othello (1986); and, more recently, Tea with Mussolini (1999), began his professional career as a stage director…

– Ian Lace, MusicWeb International