By the end of his life, the fame of Dietrich Buxtehude as an organist was so great that in 1706 the young J.S. Bach took four weeks’ leave from his employment at Arnstadt and travelled on foot over 200 miles to Lübeck to hear him perform in concert. Ironically, the meteoric rise of the career of Bach himself as a composer meant that, until very recently, Buxtehude was primarily known simply as a forerunner to the great man, when in fact he was a major composer in his own right.

In an ocean of pop and teen influenced country music recurrently being produced in Nashville, the Linemen's sound is a vessel of true country authenticity.

So why am I only hearing this now? Damn that is frustrating, probably my ears aren’t big enough if I haven’t listened to a single thing, until now, that is remotely connected to the solo career of UFO’s keyboardist / rhythm guitarist, Paul Raymond…

Siegmund von Hausegger - Rasilainen - Natursymphonie für großes Orchester und Schlußchor
WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln / WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln / Ari Rasilainen
EAC+LOG+CUE | WV: 248 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: CPO # 777237-2 | Country/Year: Germany 2008
Genre: Classical | Style: Early 20th Century

…If your taste leans towards Austro-German late-Romantic music and you are, perhaps, also enjoying CPO’s superb on-going Weingartner series then this SACD is a must. It certainly deserves a top recommendation.

Arik Einstein & Shalom Hanoch - Shablul
EAC+LOG+CUE | WV: 325 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Phonokol # 4193-2 | Country/Year: Israel 2004, 1970
Genre: Rock | Style: Classic Rock, Israeli Rock

…Einstein was impressed with the young artist's craft, and asked him to write his material. Within weeks, they would start a partnership which would later produce some of Israeli rock's biggest milestones: 1970s albums Shablul (Snail) and Plastelina (Plasticine). The former was billed as an Arik Einstein album, with all compositions by Hanoch; the latter was credited to both. The two albums would prove to be the turning point of Israeli popular music, from sweet melodies with elevated lyrics to a dirty rock sound with psychedelic echoings and slightly lewd lyrics…

Melody Gardot - The Absence (2012) {Japan SHM-CD Edition}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 307 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 120 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 116 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2012 MG / Decca / UM Japan | UCCU-1351
Jazz / Vocal Jazz

Album release from Melody Gardot. Features the high-fidelity SHM-CD format (compatible with standard CD players). Bonus Track: Japan edition bonus track. If Melody Gardot's 2009 sophomore effort, My One and Only Thrill, sustained the sultry, atmospheric vibe of her critically acclaimed 2006 debut, her 2012 follow-up, The Absence, is a bit of a creative departure for the vocalist. Apparently inspired by her world travels, and specifically by a trip that brought her to the desert around the city of Marrakech, the album moves her away from smoky, small-group jazz and into a bright, if still bedroom-eyed, rhythmically exotic sound.

The Barry Harris Trio - Magnificent! (1969) {2006 Japan Mini LP Edition}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 219 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 93 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 49 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2006 Prestige / Victor Entertainment | VICJ-41566 | 20-bit remaster
Jazz / Bop / Piano

From the opening tour de force reading of Coleman Hawkins' "Bean and the Boys" to the closing performance of Charlie Parker's "Dexterity," Magnificent brilliantly illustrates Barry Harris' unique rapport with the bop piano tradition. Absolutely unlike the enervating, curatorial approach of the neo-con movement, Harris deals with the tradition as a continuum, perpetually rejuvenating and extending it. Along with the opening and closing tracks, the classics on this 1969 date include a caressing exploration of "These Foolish Things" and a dazzling treatment of "Ah-Leu-Cha."

Richie Havens - Wishing Well (2002) {Stormy Forest}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 301 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 114 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 37 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2002 Stormy Forest Prod. | GEL 4040
Rock / Folk Rock

The earnest Richie Havens of Woodstock has turned into a mellower, wiser man and a very spiritual individual – which infuses his music with a wonderful depth. "The Well," the album's opening track, is a prime example, a small path toward truth and love. But love in all its forms is the central idea of the album – even down to one of the covers, a glowing, laid-back version of Gary Wright's '70s FM staple "Love Is Alive" that's enough to make you forget the original (now if he could only manage the same for "Dream Weaver").

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD) - English Electric (2013) {BMG}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 210 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 118 Mb | Artwork | 5% repair rar
© 2013 BMG / 100% Records | 53800780 0
Synth Pop / Indie / Alternative Dance

On their second album since their 2005 reunion, synth pop pioneers Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark rekindle the spirit of two new wave classics, the first being their own "slept on" masterpiece from 1983, Dazzle Ships, an album that pushed the boundaries sonically. From the blippy, robotic, and almost musique concrète opener "Please Remain Seated" to the geometric sleeve that credits DZ designer Peter Saville with Executive Art Design, English Electric carries on the pop-meets-avant-garde spirit of that fan favorite album.

Swampabilly Shindig leaps deep into the bayous and plantations of the Deep South. Here, although racial segregation remained law, black and white music mixed with country and rockabilly taking beautiful shape as the hillbilly cats learnt from their blues playing and gospel singing neighbours…