This is very much a chamber jazz set. Mundell Lowe plays "Our Waltz" as an unaccompanied guitar solo and his trio with bassist Trigger Alpert and drummer Ed Shaughnessy is joined by either Al Klink or Phil Bodner on various woodwinds during seven of the 11 other selections. The bass clarinet, flute, oboe, and English horn are quite atmospheric, adding to the beauty of the ballads. The brevity of the individual selections is understandable but it is unfortunate that this CD reissue is only 32 and a half minutes long, for what is here is quite memorable. Guitar Moods, which lives up to its name, is recommended anyway.

Released in the wake of the critically acclaimed Earthshaker, 1982's Black Tiger was expected to catapult Y&T's career to the next level…

Even though he has had a spot with the Oscar Peterson Quartet since 1997 and has been on four Ray Brown CDs, including Some of My Best Friends Are…Guitarists, Ulf Wakenius has not yet gained the name recognition accorded to other European guitarists such as Philip Catherine. It's hard to figure out why, given his prodigious talent, which he displays in the company of fine New York jazz musicians, plus Danish pianist Niels Lans Doky. Wakenius favors the cleaner-cut to guitar. Individual notes can be heard and chords are not overly complex. He shows his harmonic creativity on such cuts as "The Way You Look Tonight." This cut has Wakenius making exceptional use of space, understanding that the guitar has to stop and breathe every now and then rather than demonstrating how fast and furious the axe can be played…

EMI's Greatest Hits starts off as any Suzi Quatro collection should, with the stunning one-two punch of "Can the Can" and "48 Crash" followed by the cat-scratch glam boogie of "Daytona Demon" and "Devil Gate Drive." From there the rest of the disc collects some of Suzi's best rockers and ballads, providing a wide-angle view of her stellar career. Quatro doesn't get the credit she deserves for being a female hard rock pioneer; in the U.S. she is seen as Leather Tuscadero from Happy Days first and foremost with her recording career an afterthought at best.

Ernst Mielck - Dramatic Overture / Macbeth Overture / Finnish Suite / Altböhmisches Weihnachtslied / Altgermanisches Julfest
Juha Kotilainen / Helsinki University Symphony Orchestra / Mikk Murdvee
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 271 MB | Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Toccata Classics TOCC 0174 | Country/Year: UK 2013
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic

"…Mielck composed all his works in the short span of four years. His catalogue includes a large number of works in the field of chamber music, including a string quintet and a string quartet. He also composed a symphony (1897), two overtures, a concert piece for piano and orchestra as well as one for violin and orchestra, the Finnish Suite, and two major vocal works in the German language…"

Delegation was a British soul musical group with a lengthy career, and an amount of international success. They are generally viewed in the U.S. as a one-hit wonder, based on the crossover hit, "Oh Honey" (1978). Their biggest UK success came in 1977, with the Top 30 hit single, "Where Is The Love (We Used to Know)"

Formed by ex-Annihilator bassist Dave Sheldon and Endast vocalist James Arsenian, Toronto/Montreal’s Exes For Eyes has recently gained attention for the innovative marketing technique that has surrounded the release of Tongues Like Figure Eights, its second record.Artistically, Tongues Like Figure Eights is less of an innovator than its marketing campaign would suggest. Though competently written and performed, the album is at too many moments reliant on Soilwork’s mid-career moments, and it’s no surprise that Soilwork vocalist Bjorn “Speed” Strid makes an appearance on “Done For Good”. That said, Tongues Like Figure Eights remains a professional and invigorating record that prominently showcases the vast experience that both Sheldon and Arsenian posses in the underground metal industry.