Finland's Deathchain is known for two things — their death/thrash assault, and their album-title gimmick. While gimmicks can be cheesy, this particular one hasn't limited Deathchain's music development in the least. Ritual Death Metal sees the band delving deeper into their dark mysticism by replacing Lovecraftian imagery with Sumerian themes. Cthulhu has stepped aside for Pazuzu, and Shub-Niggurath has given place to Tiamat

New Telarc signing Mighty Sam McClain is considered by many to be our greatest living soul singer. The story of his rise from years of obscurity to his triumphant return to the top tier of soul blues performers is the stuff of legend. Featuring a powerhouse horn section, Blues for the Soul, is a showcase for the Mighty One’s ever-evolving vocal and songwriting talents, and is sure to be considered one of his most masterful recordings.Produced by McClain’s longtime producer Joe Harley (whose Telarc resume includes discs with Terry Evans and Ronnie Earl), Blues for the Soul spotlights 12 original compositions…..

Michael Osborn was John Lee Hooker’s guitarist for 13 years (I do remember seeing him with The Boogie Man at London’s Hammersmith Odeon) and he has a respectable discography himself, with three albums for Blue Rock’It between 1988 and 1996, and now releases on his own Checkerboard label. It certainly shows on this release, which is definitely modern blues but without any of the vacant posturing that term sometimes implies….

Having performed, recorded and toured with a veritable “who’s who” of the jazz realm, the Jazz Professors return with their second album Do That Again. The new release features an expanded set list and a larger repertory of players. Opening with a joyous reading of the Johnny Mercer classic “I Remember You,” the album also features several original songs including Rupert’s “(The Home Of) Happy Feet,” his tribute to the Savoy Ballroom. Marty Morell’s “El Vuelo” is the album’s sleeper tune. The beautiful harmonies of pianist Per Danielsson are blessed with Rupert’s sensitivity for ballads and Richard Drexler’s always melodic bass.

Walking Shadows is the highly anticipated new album by acclaimed saxophonist, Joshua Redman. The album, comprising twelve ballads, is Redman’s first recording to include an orchestra ensemble. Produced by Brad Mehldau, the recording features the core quartet of Brad Mehldau, Larry Grenadier and Brian Blade. Walking Shadows includes original tunes from Redman and Mehldau along with works by a wide range of composers such as John Mayer and Pino Palladino; Kern and Hammerstein; and Lennon and McCartney.

Dan Visconti (b. 1982) composes concert music infused with the directness of expression and maverick spirit of the American vernacular. His compositions often explore the rough timbres, propulsive rhythms, and improvisational energy characteristic of jazz, bluegrass, and rock—elements that tend to collide in unexpected ways with Visconti’s experience as a classically-trained violinist...

With the success of the band Incantation and ethnic South American music in 1982-1983, Chris Rea introduced his sixth album, Wired to the Moon, with the track "Bombollini," which was over six minutes of jungle-sounding drums and the haunting sound of pan pipes. The ethnic flavor continued on the second track, "Touché d'Amour," which was reggae in the unashamed style of lovers rock. However, Rea wasn't going to disappoint his fans altogether, small in number though they were in the U.K., having built a career over several albums of soft rock tracks and midtempo ballads with Dire Straits-style guitar breaks, and the rest of the tracks on Wired to the Moon fell easily into this category, especially "Shine, Shine, Shine" and "Holding Out," which were lovely emotive ballads.

Jacques Duphly & Joseph Bodin de Boismortier - Harpsichord Works
Jos van Immerseel - Laurence Boulay
EAC+LOG+CUE | WV: 334 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Apex # 2564 60372 2 | Country/Year: Europe 2003
Genre: Classical | Style: Baroque

…An appealing and most melodic selection of rare French harpsichord works, expertly performed with a very decent sound. Highly recommendable listening.

Bandleader, vocalist and guitar player Olof Wikstrand comments: „It feels great to finally have finished this long awaited third ENFORCER record. Now with Nuclear Blast on board we’re gonna make sure to spread it to every corner of this planet. You can expect nothing but the total, self defining ENFORCER record.“